#She'd imagined she'd come see him he'd grab her in his arms spin her around and then hold her and kiss her and kiss her

[mushroom-for-art]

Me writing the most self indulgent shit ever known to mankind lmao, also known as putting May through the pain suffering just because but this time it's Digimon, featuring our favourite horrid REDACTED belonging to @oogaboogaspookyman, he's here to be a cunt really, this is pretty dialogue heavy as lmao its basically just him bullying the shit out of her at her weakest point and rambling about things that would've happened previously in the time line and discussing May's troubled relationship post digimon time lmao, again self indulgent I just had these really specific scenes and gotta get them out lmao

Corruption

Digital energy crackled and pixelated from the unusual vortex in front of them, the crowd hushed and murmured in terror as something from within the blackness pushed forwards through into their world. May put herself at the front of the group shielding her siblings from view the best she could as Lopmon stood by her feet, ears spread to look more intimidating. Dripping dark energy pushed from the portal as sparks of red lightning cracked and whipped around shorting nearby electrical appliances as an unfortunately, familiar grinning maws greeted them, it didn't even try to look humanoid as a mouth closed and opened into a black eye with a frantic white pupil. The pupil bounced around scanning over the horrified faces of the people as its many mouths pulled into delighted grins with teeth large and sharp, a deep echoing laugh coming from each mouth and even the visible eye as it surveyed the terror gladly eating it up before its eye fell upon the three siblings narrowing to a pinpoint before blowing wide in entertainment and excitement.

"How, small and pitiful you all look, my even tinier than you were before."

It's voice mocked from its eyeball, still laughing from its mouths, the eye blinked into a mouth as other mouths closed and opened into eyes scanning around in an erratic manner, though more so to make them uncomfortable, this beast didn't know fear.

"I bet I could splatter you like insects right now, decorate your disease ridden world with your bright gorgeous blood."

"Then why don't you, you Prick." May's voice was cold and sharp as she glared taking a challenging step forward, "oh yea I know why, because you can't interact with this world, your data is too much and you can't fully come through so you just sit there and taunt trying to make us scared, trying to terrify people while you plot a way into this world. It didn't work last time though did it? And I'm not going to fucking let you try again." An eye fell upon her watching her as its other mouths twisted and contorted out of shape.

"Then why don't you come and stop me?"

It asked simply as it started to pull backwards into the portal, the pavement splitting from the ground beginning to float as the portal moved awkwardly into the sky, the slabs of pavement swirling around it as the creature grinned at them.

"Well, digidestine? Can you stop me this time? Or have you already lost too much?"

As its form disappeared, May could only grit her teeth as Lopmon looked up at her for guidance.

"We can't go through that portal May, times synced now in the digital world, we'll lose real time here. Let some other people deal with it, we can't be the digidestine anymore." Her sister spoke behind her and May looked at in confusion and disbelief at what she was hearing, even Salmon looked uncomfortable at the idea they weren't going to do something nuzzling into her sisters leg, May opened her mouth to argue that there was no one else they'd met no other younger digidestine.

"No." Matts voice snapped, "look you might have gotten out of that ordeal fine 10 years ago, but some of us did lose too fucking much!" His voice was a snarl as he moved to touch where his lower arm had been removed from his body, Labramon whimpered against Matt as he crouched on the floor, guilt and shame washing through May making her heart hurt. "You might not be so lucky next time, I wasn't." His words stabbed into her as she looked at him, her sister nodded a bit awkwardly adding.

"We got really banged up last time, I mean, you've seen the scars I got, you've seen what happened to Matt, you got off easy but you're not indestructible." May's hands clenched into fists, their words becoming poisoned jabs, snide hateful remarks for years and years, snipping snapping biting into her over and over as her eyes became wet with frustration.

"Fine. I wasn't even going to fucking ask you to come. I'll fucking deal with this myself." She turned walking away from them quickly, "let the weakest link smash that cunts face in!" Her voice a frustrated yell as she leapt onto a floating pave slab with Lopmon leaping up behind her following.

"May don't be fucking stupid for once in your life!" Her sisters words fell on deaf ears as she leapt and flipped up the platforms with acrobatic precision, ignoring her sister cussing her out insulting her, as she got closer to the portal the air felt static like as Lopmon flew up besides her, digital energy engulfed them both as they disappeared through the dark of the portal.

The local advertising screens came to life displaying the digital island they'd found themselves upon years ago as Dianamon landed gracefully but with force. She walked with a dangerous tremor in her step, "Where are you?! Come out you coward. Let's end this!" May and Lopmons voice overlapped creating an almost new voice as they scowled around looking for the black ink beast. She heard him laughing before she saw him, barely dodging a large black spike that ripped through the ground and would have went right through her.

"My my, all on your own? No siblings to back you up? No lover? Oh yes I forgot, he replaced you didn't he?"

She slashed at him with her moon sickle slicing through the black inky body as the ink fell to the ground with a splat before crawling away to a larger mass of blackness as the creature took form again, still inhuman with eyes and teeth grinning at her. She lunged at him again swinging and striking with her weapon, retreating to draw back her bow and shoot arrows through his inky substance splatting it off and watching it disintegrate. She wasn't going to amuse his games. Despite her attacking he seemed pleased simply reforming lost mass to sustain himself as he dodged or allowed her to slash his form just to pull himself up somewhere else.

"I suppose it does make sense. I mean, you always held them together, you were the link in their chain that strengthened them and how do they respond to that?"

He laughed a wicked laugh as a morphed pale form of her sister pulled through the black slime walking towards her with hollow black eyes. When it spoke it used her voice, it sounded distant like a recording rather than the vocal mimicry it did for its usual voice.

"Why do you always ruin things for me?! You're so fucking selfish you know why are you even in this fucking contest?! You just want to show me up! And are you happy?! I only came second because you fucked with my brain! Why the fuck would you go 'best of luck sis', don't you have any idea how much fucking pressure that puts on me to perform well when I know you're just going to do better?! You're such a shitty person sometimes May, I wish you'd fucking disappear sometimes!!"

Her sisters voice screamed at her even if it felt distant, May leapt back as the fake hollow version of her sister collapsed into black sludge as his voice laughed mockingly before tutting.

"Aw, now that really wasn't very kind."

It doubled over on itself laughing as its mouths snapped with teeth and its eyes rolled around.

"I mean, she was right, you were always better at the gymnast stuff. That must put an awful lot of pressure on her, funny though, you never ever won, not even third."

It straightened to look at her twisting it's head as it leant forward, it's body turned to sludge by another swing of the moon blade but that didn't stop it talking.

"Kind of stupid of her not to notice, why did you never tell her huh? Why did you ruin your own performances with rookie mistakes on purpose to receive worse points when she hated you for even being there? For daring exist?"

She gripped her weapon tightly, not giving it the satisfaction of an answer as it cackled dark ink encircling her and grabbing at her ankles before she slashed it away and flew up to avoid his mocking grabs.

"Oh that's right, because you loved her or something. When was the last time she was kind to you May? When was the last time you felt loved by your sister and not just shame and hatred?"

Dianamon shook her head to rid his voice from her ears, she couldn't afford to think of individual components right now, she was Dianamon now, she can be May later, she couldn't risk dedigivolving and losing her advantage. It seemed to sense her struggling shooting up black tendrils that slammed her back into the ground with a sickening crunch of something and a horrid gasp of pain from the celestial Digimon as she forced herself to her feet before the ink tried to consume her.

"You really struggle and fight so much for people that seem to loathe you, most of the world doesn't know you exist and yet here you are fighting to try to save it, but when has the world ever done anything for you? I know none of you received acknowledgement for what happened ten years ago, doesn't that make your blood boil in rage? That you risked life and well, your brothers limb and all you got was the terror and fear screaming, crying for help as you cradled your unconscious brother as his arm bled new blood."

Its mouth quirked into a wicked smile as her expression darkened knowing it had touched a nerve. She slashed and attacked with everything she had yelling in anger and pain trying to destroy him as his corrupted data mass remained consistent allowing flecks to crumble away to make a form to be slashed to keep her eye to exhaust her as it laughed at her torment. From the ink a pale Matt formed looking at her with bleeding black eyes as it too approached her.

"Look you might have gotten out of that ordeal fine 10 years ago, but some of us did lose too fucking much!"

His voice was distant like a recording once more as it parroted back things that had been said. More and more words came from its blackened mouth phrases that she'd heard throughout the years since coming back, passive aggressive 'good for you's, snarly snapping remarks, and things she hadn't heard, spiteful bitter whispers of 'why me', a cold harsh 'it should have been her,' that made her throat go dry and heart almost clench as though grabbed and crushed, Dianamon couldn't afford to cry and yet her eyes watered and her grip on her weapon trembled.

Once more the pale clone copy collapsed back into the blackness as it taunted and laughed.

"What a cruel thing to say! He said it often as well, oh how he wished you had suffered instead of him, he thinks it's unfair, unjust, that he didn't deserve it, how funny he believes that you in turn did deserve it. Its quite funny actually! I suppose it's because you never told him the full truth did you? I mean, you wouldn't have dared he lost his arm. Who are you to tell him it was going to be worse? And that you stopped it being worse like some savior when he was going through such a horrible affair, you would've looked like quite the dick, I can understand why you kept it to yourself."

Dianamons made more empty slashes at her tormentor, snarling "JUST SHUT UP AND DIE! I'LL DESTROY US BOTH IF IT STOPS YOU FUCKING TALKING!!" But it only cackled at her swirling and forming eyes and taunting mouths as it without her knowledge began to destroy the data around them, disintegrating trees and rocks leveling the area slowly.

"How fittingly self-destructive. You always did value others more than yourself."

Another hollow pale form, this time herself, or well the form of May, Dianamon struggled to maintain its own identity as the voice of May parroted from the past spoke.

"Please god don't hurt him! He's my baby brother, please you can take anything from me, humans, we have all kinds of interesting organs! Yea yea, I'll trade you, you could have my kidney! And you give him back yes? Please, I am begging you please take from me don't hurt him my skin, my hair, my eyes, my lungs Fuck you could take my heart kill me right now just just please, please let him go, please, he means too much to me I will do anything just don't please don't take him from me please"

Dianamons eyes watered uncomfortably at sickening memories from the past, her brother unconscious as an Archnemon regards him for experimentation for devouring planning to hack him apart and then dissolve his flesh. The hollow stared forward and through her before screaming horribly as it was cut open by nothing, Dianamon tearing her eyes away cringing and exhaling a shaky breath through her nose at they remembered the sensation of large hands plunging into her guts and pulling out what it wanted, the carving of her organs and the teeth, the horrid teeth that sank into her wound ripping her flesh away from her body and the sickening enjoyment the Archnemon had taken from the experience, helplessly caught in the creature web, and then the guilt and horror as it took a cleavor and-

Dark tendrils slammed her chest sending her flying backwards hitting the ground and bouncing slightly as she cried out her weapon flying from her hands and disintegrating before it hit the ground as she weakly hauled herself into a kneel.

"That was a dirty move." She snapped, but her component's were struggling, tears ran out of one eye at the guilt of not being able to stop the twisted digimon from taking her brothers arm. It only laughed at her in enjoyment feeling her terror, guilt and pain with great satisfaction. She pulled herself to stand but her body was struggling, the phantom pains still ripping away at her body as she shuddered, she'd never told anyone about what happened, not the truth at least. Dianamon shook her head, May had never told anyone but she was not May right now.

Black ink shot out in the form of a large hand grabbing her body and began to squeeze before she could even move, her armor crushing uncomfortably into her body as the entity pulled itself up out the ink and took on a painfully familiar form, it copied the face and body of, someone May once cared deeply for, another crush from the hand engulfing her body and Dianamon faded. Lopmon fell to the ground with a weak groan as May remained crushed in the grip.

"Lopmon run!" May attempted to struggle as the tired rookie pushed itself to stand stumbling before the ink wrapped around its body dragging the bunny-like digimon by its ankles to the twisted form of May's old crush. They tried to attack, opening their mouth weakly to summon energy before the pale humanoid grabbed its mouth shut harshly with a snarl.

"Behave little one, would be a shame to destroy something that could be of use to me. Besides, i'll kill your human if you're a brat."

Lopmon whimpered but couldn't fight, too injured and tired from being Dianamon, and May was weakening too. It looked over at her and slowly the large hand pulled down into the earth releasing and leaving her standing though with difficulty she swayed and gave a weak glare as it scoffed at her before it was right in front of her with astonishing speeds it's pale hands grabbing her face, Lopmon tossed aside, as it arched over her threateningly, grinning with too many teeth at the wonderful fear from her.

"You've always intrigued me, such fight such love and for what?"

It's grip tightened threateningly on her face as she tried to pull away and shake her head sinking in claws to draw blood making her still as Lopmon was restrained in dark inky tendrils, the surroundings barren now save for his corrupting black ink.

"Don't make me pop out your eyeballs~"

It's tone faked sweetness as his thumbs pressed under her eyes threateningly.

"It's a shame he gave you up the way he did, choosing another woman while you were kept apart by distance, it's like everything you went through meant nothing to him, like he didn't care about the bantering you shared, the stories the company, do you think he thought of you as much as you him? It must hurt knowing you don't matter so much to someone, that they can replace you just like that."

A finger snapped for emphasis on another arm before it disappeared, his tone was quieter than usual it was almost sympathetic comforting as her eyes began to water against her control, tears rolling down her cheeks as she struggled to breathe, all the repressed feelings all the times she made herself be strong crashing down on her so now she was weak, bubbling pathetically under her worst enemies watching gaze as she cried against her control. She was unloved and despised, she wasn't enough for the people she cared deeply about and she couldn't stop him she couldn't protect them she couldn't save the world from his plans to destroy it and now he was going to kill her, and the worst part was she was alone. The people she loved weren't coming to save her. Her breathing choked as her knees felt weak. She wanted to rip his hands from her face to just collapse and cry to pull her eyes away but he held her firm and her eyes were locked to his.

"Sweet little thing, all alone and unloved. You tried so hard to be the best you could be and to be good enough, you sacrificed so much of yourself, didn't you?"

She choked a breath, her head nodding against her control as her knees gave out and desperately grabbing at his arms fearing that she would fall and he would simply pull and rip her head from her body, but the tug never came, his hands didn't move as she gripped to him weakly her body slightly limp as his thumbs wiped against her cheeks in a way that was almost soothing if she wasn't so terrified for why he was acting this way, she was so so tired, every moment her energy seemed to be sapped. Was this his plan? Cradle her till she expired, taking her life energy? Maybe he was going to take her body upon her last breath turning her into a puppet to get to the real world. She could only fear more at every passing second.

She could feel the ink starting to crawl up her body, oh god he was going to turn her into a flesh puppet for his data. She didn't even have the energy to struggle.

"You're so tired aren't you? So tired of not being enough for some people, tired of hurting in silence, tired of thinking, tired of existing, tired of hurting because of other people. You just want to stop thinking don't you? Stop worrying, stop hurting. I can make all that go away, empty your mind of all that aching all that anguish, I wouldn't hurt you like he would. "

As she stared up at him his face began to slowly slide off and melt almost before his face fell and splattered black flesh and liquid right onto her face, she gasped in horror choking on the foul ink as it slid down her throat and up her nose and crawled into her eyes, she tries to struggle but her body couldn't move wanting to cough up the black corruption but only choking further as he threw his body backwards to howl in laughter removing his hands from her face as she collapsed from choking and the blackness already wrapped around her legs. He watched her spluttering on the floor on her back, black liquid bubbling up out her mouth as she choked and her eyes turned black, the corruption engulfed her pulling her down into itself with only a few bubbles as the last of her breath was taken. The creature grinned as its form became twisted once more, despising the humanoid guise it needed to use.

He hadn't been lying, he had always been intrigued by that one, she was just so corruptible, pushed to the edge of darkness by those around her every day, they really did all the hard work for him. Once he was through with her well he could have his fun before disposing of the last of the filth known as humanity, but until then he now held a very powerful ace, a Kelpymon and a digidestine corrupt to his whim. It glanced over to a patch of pixelated space, knowing the human world could see him and could only grin as the fear, they were right to be afraid of him. He slashed his claw through it ending the connection, laughing to himself, he shouldn't have been surprised by the lack of help really, May was the link that strengthened the chain, with her gone well all that was left was the coward and the clown, as for his human guise well he had his own better life now, why would he risk it. What a blight on this world. Selfish creatures. Horrid creatures. Oh well. They'll all get what they deserve.

[mackenzielovee]

burnout: part three - rafe cameron

a/n: hi hello welcome!! so excited for this part. as usual, please let me know what you think! enjoy xoxo

warnings: swearing, underage drinking, mentions of abuse

italics represent the future!

wc: 5.3k

series masterlist

my writing

By the time Jenna shoves herself into her Midsummers dress, she's ready for the entire night to be over. She can't imagine how the hell anyone in the world might enjoy events like this, how they can all stand the white noise and shallow discussions over a few vodka tonics and champagne.

The Tuckers arrive at the Island Club together, Jenna giving everyone her best bitch face so that nobody tries to speak to her. A few family friends stop them and and gush over how good they all look, but Jenna's too busy glancing around the Club. Two boys she's trying to avoid means fighting through every minute of this frustrating event and keep her head down.

Josh starts to step away from the family to find his friends, but Jenna grabs his arm before he can get far.

"Where are you going?" she asks him, her voice quiet to avoid her parents overhearing.

"Find my friends," he shrugs.

"Friends?" she clarifies with a raise of her eyebrow.

Josh groans, "Dylan and Alex."

"Good," she smiles, reaching up and straightening Josh's tie, "Have fun."

Jenna adjusts her dress, then turns and looks around. The sea of people, the sea of Figure Eight adults who have been stressing and preparing for this event for months. And she can't help but think about how much none of this matters.

She shifts in her stance and, with one last glance to her right, she finds JJ, holding a tray full of empty glasses and taking an order from an older man. He nods and starts to move away, his eyes meet hers. She smiles, letting his words from earlier exit her mind.

"Hey," she greets him.

"Wow, um, I mean, shit - hey," he stutters, almost dropping his tray, "Hi, Jenna."

She lets out an involuntary laugh, "Hi, JJ."

"You look, like, really good," he says, eyes raking over every inch of her body.

Her light blue dress hugs her body just perfectly, as it should. Her mom had made sure she got it altered just right, just to be sure it would fit the way it does.

"Thank you."

"Um, do you - can I get you something to drink?"

She nods, giving him her best friendly smile, "I'd like that. Vodka tonic?"

"Coming right up," he nods, and is gone just as quickly as she'd found him in the crowd.

Jenna walks over to the bar to wait on JJ, heels clicking against the floor with every step. Thankfully, she doesn't see Rafe anywhere. Rafe, however, certainly sees her. He's standing with Topper and Kelce, drink in hand.

"She's such a brat," Rafe grunts, "Yelling me me for crashing my own goddamn boat, like I'm not already upset enough about it-"

"Don't call her a brat, man, come on," Kelce sighs. Rafe lets out a loud, incredulous laugh.

"No offense, Kelce, But Jenna Tucker doesn't strike me as the type of girl who wants her boyfriend to be a pussy, all right? Man up, grow a pair."

Truth is, he'd seen Jenna come in with her family. He pretended not to notice that her dress matches his suit almost perfectly, or how good it looks on her. He had downed three drinks since then, only relaxing when the ground beneath his dress shoes start to spin.

"Shut up and drink, Rafe. I'm going to talk to her."

Kelce walks away, ignoring the shove on his shoulder from Rafe. Jenna's staring around, observing the flower arrangements Rafe had brought in earlier and how beautiful they are.

"Hey, Jenna," he says gently. Jenna smiles tightly as he sets his glass down on the bar, leaning on it and staring up at her.

She'd been attempting to keep her distance from everyone that had been on the boat that night, all of them playing some role in the irresponsible behavior that led to endangering her brother.

"Hey, Kelce."

"Can I get you a drink?"

Before she can bother thinking up a reply, JJ sneaks up behind her, setting hand hand politely on her shoulder so as not to scare her. She stands up straight, turning her back on Kelce to face JJ.

"Vodka tonic," JJ grins.

"Thank you," she smiles back.

"You got it," he replies, glancing quickly at Kelce.

"Can I get you anything, Mr. Smith?" JJ asks.

Kelce opens his mouth to answer, but a drunken voice ringing through the air from several yards away makes Jenna shut her eyes.

"Hey, JJ," Rafe raises his voice, waiving the boy over, "Just because me and my girl are in a fight doesn't mean you can flirt with her. Need another drink, brother."

"That's the last thing Rafe needs," Jenna mutters, watching Kelce bite back a laugh.

JJ's head snaps over to Jenna, who opens her eyes and shakes her head at him to deny the 'my girl' comment. He just shakes his head, then looks back up to Rafe and nos.

"Yes, sir, Mr. Cameron," JJ calls back, holding in his attitude, "Mr. Smith?"

"I'm fine, JJ, thanks," Kelce smiles kindly.

JJ nods, removing his hand from Jenna's back and hurrying off to collect Rafe's drink.

"The place looks nice," Kelce starts off, eyes scanning across the Club and observing all of the decor.

"Yeah, it does," Jenna agrees.

She starts thinking about how she can escape this conversation, if she can text Josh and have him pull her away. His inability to take a hint for when she's not in the mood to talk has graduated from annoying to full on irritating, enough for her to want to leave him. She continues glancing around, finally seeing Sarah and catching her glance. Jenna widens her eyes slightly, giving Sarah the slightest hint that she wants away from this. Sarah, inebriated by the wine being fed to her secretly, just shrugs.

"So, there's a party at Topper's later," he informs her, "I was thinking, like, if you're there, and I'm there, maybe we could have a drink or something."

Jenna smiles at his attempt, placing her hand gently around her glass. She considers his proposal for only a minute before ultimately shaking her head.

"I don't think so. Doubt Topper wants me to attend," she says, bringing her glass up to her lips.

"Come on, Jenna. It will be fun. He won't even see you, probably," he attempt again, which makes her frown, "Just come with me to the party. If you're not having fun, I'll take you straight home. Promise."

"Is that what you said to Josh? You know, to get him on the boat?" she asks, then picks up her glass with the intent of walking away.

"I had no idea your brother was even coming with us until he got on the boat, seriously," Kelce says, stepping in front of her to prevent her from leaving.

"You didn't invite him?"

"No. Of course not, Jenna. I know you'd never let him get on a boat with us like that, and I'm sorry for the part I played in it. Believe that."

She takes a deep breath and sets her glass down again, ignoring Kelce's victory glance as she does so. She watches as he desperately stares into her eyes, and she softens in her stance.

"I believe you," she nods, voice barely above a whisper.

"Good. So, how about that party?"

"I'll think about it," she replies, giving him a little smile as her way of telling him she's got no hard feelings any further.

She picks up her glass once more, taking a step away from him. When she looks forward, she finds Rafe, glass full and devilish smirk all over his face.

"Damn," he mutters as she passes him.

She stops and turns, "Excuse me?"

Rafe chuckles, patting Kelce on the back before turning to Jenna, "I said, damn. As in, damn, you look beautiful, sweetheart. Look even better on my arm, though."

Jenna feels her blood boil in her veins, flowing throughout her body. Every negative word she's ever thought about him flows through her mind in that moment.

"Way out of your league, Cameron," she says with a smirk, then turns her back on both boys.

"Don't I know it," he calls after her. She can practically hear the smirk on his face as she walks away.

Jenna watches from afar as Josh runs around Midsummers with his friends, and can't help but wonder about the party Kelce had offered. She knows she should have fun, do something for herself, but she's just not sure about him yet.

Just as she swallows the last of her second vodka tonic, she hears a shout a few yards away. Rafe had fallen on the steps from the deck to the grass, taking a waiter down with him. Topper tries to discreetly stand him up, which proves to be harder than necessary given the amount of drinks Rafe has had.

She watches as Topper leads Rafe over to the bar, shoving him in one of the chairs there and barking out an order for a water. He points at Kelce and then to Rafe, then runs a stressed hand through his hair. When Kelce catches Jenna's eye, he walks over to her, ignoring Topper's gesture to care for their drunk friend.

Silently, he takes a seat beside her, setting his hands firmly on the table in front of him. Her patience with him has returned, it had done so when he'd assured her he had nothing to do with Josh being on the boat. He seemed genuine, like he really understood the mistake. Choosing to look past the slight annoyance she gets with his pushiness, she speaks.

"Surprised he doesn't have alcohol poisoning by now. Or, at least doesn't break more bones than he does."

"He's a lucky motherfucker," Kelce agrees with a nod of his head, "I, on the other hand, am not."

"What makes you say that?"

He moves his gaze over to her, then down to her empty glass.

"Want another?" he asks.

"No, I don't think you need to be taking care of two drunk people," she jokes.

Kelce grins, "I would only have a problem with one of them."

Jenna glances back over to the bar, where Topper is singlehandedly dragging Rafe out of the Club.

"So, when's the party?" she asks him, turning back to look at him.

"You're in?" he questions.

She nods, "Yeah. I'm in."

The grin on his face makes her smile. Despite his ability to annoy the living shit out of her sometimes, she certainly doesn't mind looking at him. She's not sure if it's the alcohol coursing through her veins or the quiet voice in her head demanding that she check on Rafe, but her agreement to go is out of her mouth before she can even fully think about it.

"I'm heading out now, actually," he says.

Jenna smiles and stands up, then promises to meet Kelce out front in ten minutes. She tells her parents she's going out with some friends, then finds Josh and threatens him if she finds him anywhere near Topper's. Thankfully, she'd brought along a change of clothes, just in case, and grabs them from her dad's golf locker before she rushes out front.

When she walks out of the Club, she has to suppress her smile when she finds Kelce leaning up against his car, aimlessly flicking his keys around his finger.

"Ready?" he asks, holding the passenger door open for her.

"Ready," she agrees, climbing inside before she can think too hard about this.

The ride to Topper's is short, the ride anywhere on Figure Eight is short when you ride with Kelce. Jenna tells him to slow down four times on the ride over. He just laughs, not bothering to listen.

"I've never been to Topper's before," she admits as Kelce leads her inside.

"Nothing special," he assures her.

When they walk in, there's not a ton of people there yet. Kelce shows Jenna the bathroom so she can change, then promises to meet her in the kitchen in five minutes. When she emerges, she finds Rafe and Topper in the kitchen, but no Kelce.

"Brat, where's your dress?" Rafe frowns, eyes trailing down her body and savoring the image of her legs in those shorts.

"Is there any beer?" she asks, ignoring Rafe altogether.

"Check the cooler," Topper remarks, pointing to it on the floor.

She rolls her eyes and steps over to it, pulling the beer out and twisting off the top, downing as much as she could in one gulp.

"Oh, she's pissed at me, Top. Like, extremely pissed," Rafe informs him.

"Your fault probably," Topper glares at him, tonight's events annoying him due to the fact he has to babysit Rafe, "Unless you harmlessly asked her to Midsummers."

He glares at Jenna after his last comment, making her shake her head. The beer bottle presses to her lips once more.

"It is," Rafe agrees, "It really fucking is my fault, bro. But, what the hell else would anyone expect? I'm a Cameron, remember?"

He looks to Jenna when he says his last sentence, the hurt evident in his eyes. She frowns and bites her bottom lip, not sure what to say. She had no idea Rafe had taken that remark to heart, even if she was pissed beyond belief when she said it.

"How about a water, Rafe?" Topper breaks the silence.

He shakes his head, "Tequila. Tequila will fix it."

He's slurring his words as he crosses the kitchen, grabbing the tequila bottle and then stumbling out of the room. Jenna swallows as she stares at the doorway he exited through, debating only for a moment about going after him. She doesn't even notice Kelce slip into the kitchen until he presses his front against her back under the pretense of reaching over her to grab a beer.

"Good?" he asks, voice a little too close for her liking.

Uncomfortably, she slips from her spot, leaving Kelce to press himself up against the counter, instead. His touch, while seemingly harmless, feels all wrong on her skin.

"Fine," she replies.

Kelce coughs awkwardly and then nods, "Good."

"Wow," Topper laughs, eyes shifting between the two, "Intense."

Kelce shoots him a glare, "Shut up."

Topper just smirks, then reaches for the Svedka bottle beside him. Jenna doesn't hardly notice until he lays out three plastic shot glasses and pours into them.

"What?" Topper asks her when he catches her eye, "If you're gonna be walking around here all night, I need to be drunk."

She just shrugs, accepting the first shot. They take it without a cheers or anything, because the three of them together is weird to every single individual. Jenna lets the alcohol burn her throat, hoping it will make her forget all of her stress.

Before she can object, Topper pours another for them. She accepts it without complaint.

After two shots with the boys and getting tired of Kelce attempting to be too close to her, Jenna excuses herself by telling them she has to use the restroom. Kelce makes her promise to come back, but doesn't notice when she turns, rolls her eyes, and grabs her beer bottle off the counter. She's starting to feel the alcohol, the way it makes her mind feel a little fuzzy, and considers fresh air her best option.

She has no idea how wrong about that she is. When she steps outside, it turns into the Rafe Cameron Show. He's holding that same bottle of tequila he'd taken from the kitchen, only slightly emptier now. That doesn't seem to bother her as much as the blonde girl he has pressed up against him on his lap, drunkenly mumbling in her ear and putting his free hand on every square inch of her body.

A few other people linger outside, so Jenna takes a seat on a chair resting on the other side of the patio. She's hoping he'll be too drunk to notice her, and she can slip back inside in five minutes and try to scrub this image from her brain forever.

Of course, Rafe Cameron seems to have a good radar for her, even when he's drunk off his ass.

"Jen," he calls over the blonde girl's shoulder, "Hey, Jen."

She finally looks up at him, stern glare plastered on her features. He grins, as if he's so familiar with that look that it actually makes him feel as if he's doing something right.

"Don't call me that."

"Why? Suits you."

"That's because it's my name."

"Yeah," Rafe nods, very sloppy and slow, "S'cute."

Jenna rolls her eyes, ignoring the fire that lights in her stomach. It's just the alcohol, she tells herself, cursing that she shouldn't have taken a second shot.

She takes another sip of her beer, doing her best to ignore the boy. The fresh air feels good in her lungs, makes her feel less suffocated.

"Jen," Rafe repeats, "Why're you out here?"

"I'm not," she replies, standing from her chair. He's too drunk for her to want to put up with this.

"Get up," Rafe orders to the girl on his lap, who shifts against him but doesn't listen, "Up, now."

"Rafe," she moves her head, looking up at him, "Kiss me."

"No. Get up."

Jenna laughs and starts toward the door, and just as she reaches the handle, she feels a hand on her arm. Her stomach tightens at the sensation, and she pretends to ignore how he slowly moves his fingertips down her arm, trailing to her hand.

"Jen," he says once more, "Tell me why you're out here."

She turns, yanking her hand from him in the process, "Your best friend won't leave me alone."

"Want me to take care of it?" he asks, swaying slightly in his stance.

"You couldn't even take care of yourself right now, Rafe," she retorts.

"Yeah. Can. Watch."

She sighs, watching as he slowly takes a step, then another, then sets the tequila bottle down on the nearest table.

He turns back to her, holding his hands out to his sides as if he's proven something. When she raises an eyebrow, he smiles.

"See? No more drinking!"

She rolls her eyes at him, her staple response, then turns. She can hear Rafe shuffle forward quickly, and before she knows it, he has her pressed against the wall beside the back door, arms resting against it on either side of her head.

"Jenna," he looks at her, eyes serious now. She can tell how drunk he is by the way his lips are parted and he can't seem to get a steady breath in.

"What?" she practically whispers, unable to find her voice in such close proximity to him.

"I'm sorry."

She'd heard him say those words, sober, the night of the accident. They'd meant nothing to her then. But now, they seem to carry a different meaning. She stares into his eyes, knowing immediately that he means that more than anything he's ever said to her.

"You could've killed my brother," she pushes, voice still coming out weak. He sighs and leans in even closer, the tequila on his breath evident.

"Could've. Didn't. Forgive me?"

"No," she whispers.

Rafe laughs, which seems to ease some of the tension, "Figured. Y'always make me crazy."

"Not trying to," Jenna counters, and when he furrows his eyebrows, she adds, "Not now, anyway. I just don't know if I can forgive you."

He sighs, the overwhelming scent of tequila sitting in the air between them, "Yeah. Should've said something, should've told Kelce to take him back home-"

"Kelce?" Jenna questions with the raise of a brow.

Rafe, who doesn't catch on to her tone, just nods, "Yeah. When they pulled up together. Should've told Josh to beat it. M'sorry."

"Wait," Jenna shakes her head. Her mind feels fuzzy, foggy, as she tries to recall her conversation with Kelce earlier, "Josh showed up at the marina with Kelce?"

"He brought him," Rafe confirms, "I'm sorry, Jen, I-"

"Okay," Jenna nods, "Believe you. Relax."

"I'm sorry," he repeats, only guiding his body closer to hers. His scent fills her nose, and it makes her heart stop momentarily in her chest. She never thought she'd feel so good having Rafe Cameron so close. The voice in her head takes over after a moment, screaming at her that this is a bad idea.

"Rafe," she says quietly, "You're drunk. Put some space between us, okay?"

"But," he stops to hiccup, then looks at her again, "Like being this close. Wanted to be this close tonight. At the thing."

"Midsummers?" she questions, setting an innocent hand on his chest to try and push him back a little. He looks down at it and smiles, but doesn't move.

"Yeah, Mid.. whatever. Saw the dress you were wearing. Matched me."

"That wasn't intentional," she informs him, as if he's unaware.

"Wish it had been."

She swallows at his confession, but runs her hand down his chest just the same. He can feel her warmth through the fabric of his shirt, and it makes him feel like a king. He just hopes she doesn't feel how fast his heart is beating.

"You're drunk," she repeats.

"So? M'always drunk."

"That's not healthy, Rafe."

"Know that."

She nods, then pushes on him slightly with her hand. He groans and stands up straight, giving her only about five inches worth of space. He keeps his hands on the wall beside her, fearing that if he moves them, she'll leave him.

"I'm gonna go back inside," she tells him, watching his face fall.

"Back to Kelce," he grunts.

"No," she says quickly, not sure why she cares about what he thinks about her and Kelce when he'd had some random girl in his lap five minutes ago, "I'm gonna go home, I think."

"Did you drink?" he asks her, moving in once again.

"Yes."

"Can't drive."

She sighs, "Kelce brought me."

Rafe laughs sarcastically, then clenches his jaw, "He's not taking you home. Won't let him."

"He's been drinking, too," she reminds him, "I'm just gonna walk. It's not that far."

Rafe shakes his head, "Can't walk alone in the dark. I'll go with you."

"Rafe, you can barely stand up on your own. I'll be fine."

"No, Jenna," he argues, inching even closer, "Never forgive myself if..."

He trails off, and Jenna never knew she'd be so desperate to hear the end of a sentence. Her expression softens as she watches him, his brain working hard to find a way to get Jenna home safely. He takes one hand off the wall and snaps his fingers together when he figures it out.

"Sarah!" he exclaims.

"What about Sarah?"

"She'll come. Wait here."

"Rafe," Jenna groans, "Don't bother your sister."

"Not a bother. She's just with her boyfriend."

Rafe calls Sarah, and after a five minute argument about what he owes her in exchange for this favor, he tells Jenna she'll be there in ten minutes.

"Are you coming, too?"she asks him, watching as he collapses on the outdoor couch.

"No," he shakes his head slightly, "Crash here. You'll be safe with Sarah, though."

Jenna crosses her arms over her chest and takes a step toward him, making no attempt to sit down. He stares up at her, shamelessly, not bothering to look away when she looks back.

"Why's that so important to you? Me getting home safe?"

Rafe considers this question for almost a whole minute, then exhales, "My best friend likes you."

"Really?" Jenna raises her eyebrow, not buying that for a second.

"Well, yeah. Talks about you enough. Should've seen him at fuckin' Midsummers tonight. Going on and on about how good you look like I'm fucking blind."

Both of Jenna's eyebrows shoot up this time as she takes in his comment.

"Oh," is all she thinks to say, not wanting to push the conversation further by any means.

"Yeah. Oh."

She can feel herself sobering up and wonders if Rafe is feeling the same. She doubts it, considering how much he's consumed tonight.

"You, um," she hesitates, finally taking a seat beside Rafe on the couch, "You didn't look too bad yourself."

"You looked at me once," he shoots back, but grins just the same.

"Yes, and you looked very nice," she smiles back.

Rafe shakes his head at her, taking their cheerful exchange as an opportunity to scoot closer to her. Their legs brush against each other, and Jenna pretends not to notice when he wraps his arm around the back of the couch.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me, y'know."

"Probably is," she agrees. Rafe's heart rate speeds up when she leans in, ever so slightly, eyes scanning over his side profile. She lowers her voice, barely above a whisper, "Where's your friend?"

He turns to her, furrowing his eyebrows, "What?"

"Your girl. The blonde."

"She's not my girl, Jenna. Trust me," he promises, licking his lips as he stares down at her.

"Mhm."

"You don't believe me," he phrases it as a statement on purpose, already knowing the answer.

"I heard her over there, you know," Jenna says, smirking as she mocks the girl, "Kiss me, Rafe. I just love sitting on your lap."

Rafe chuckles, shaking his head as he speaks, "God, I wish you were being real. Not fair."

"Sorry," she laughs, gently setting her hand on his knee.

He looks down at her hand on his skin and swallows, then turns his attention back to her. His blue eyes flicker down to her lips, which look as though they have remnants of her beer still resting there.

"I need you to get home safe because," he pauses, moving his eyes from her lips to her eyes, "Nobody's ever given a shit about me before."

"And you think I do?" she jokes, nudging him with her shoulder.

He keeps his voice and expression serious, "You asked me about my dad. Nobody else's ever done that before."

"Is that why you're crashing here tonight? Because of your dad?"

Rafe nods, "He's going to kill me for my stunt at Midsummers. Our family friends saw my drunk ass eat shit on the stairs. Comin' home like this would make it worse."

"Rafe," Jenna sighs, leaning in closer, "I'm sorry. He shouldn't-"

"I know," he nods. He sets his hand on her arm, stroking up and down her soft skin. His phone vibrates beside him and he glances down only for a moment to read the message before he speaks again, "Sarah's here. I'll walk y'out."

"You don't have to," Jenna murmurs, not moving from her spot or taking her hand off of him.

"Yeah. I do. C'mon."

He stands up, holding his hand out for hers. She licks her lips, hesitant on accepting it. The way she'd felt about him when she came out here is entirely different from the way she feels now. She finally accepts his hand, letting him pull her up off the couch.

He doesn't let go of her hand when she's vertical; instead, he knots his fingers in hers and tugs her toward the house. He leads her through the living room, past Kelce, who goes wide-eyed, and stops only for Jenna to grab her bag. Jenna shoots Kelce a glare, the truth about the night of the accident looming in the air above them.

Sarah stands in front of her Volkswagen when the two emerge from the house, raising an eyebrow at their tangled hands.

"Fun night?" she asks, directing her question to Jenna.

"Shut up, Sarah," Rafe grunts.

"Thanks for coming," Jenna smiles to her.

Sarah nods and smiles in return, peeling herself off her car and walking around to the driver's side. Rafe opens up the passenger door and holds it, watching as Jenna climbs inside the car. The window is rolled down, so when he closes her door, he leans his head inside.

"Drive carefully," he glares at his sister, then looks down at Jenna, "Seat belt."

"I got it," she rolls her eyes.

Sarah stares at her brother for a minute, waiting for him to back away from the car. When he doesn't, she sighs.

"Get in or get out, Rafe."

"All right, I'm out," he says, ducking out of the window, "G'night, Jenna."

"Good night, Rafe," she says, and gives him a wide smile.

He smiles back and pats the side of the car twice, watching as Sarah pulls away. Jenna exhales, finally feeling herself start to completely relax. She turns her head and looks at Sarah, who's got a shit-eating grin on her face.

"What's that look for?" Jenna asks, watching as Sarah's expression turns to a full on grin.

"Seat belt," she mocks, "He's quite literally never cared about anyone's seat belt before."

"He's drunk."

"Yeah," Sarah agrees.

Jenna just shakes her head, residing to leaning her head on the window and watching as they pass all the large houses.

"Hey, Sarah?" Jenna says after a few minutes of silence.

"Hmm?"

"Your dad see Rafe fall at the Club?"

Sarah scoffs, "Um, yeah. Course he did. Came home screaming about it Rose."

Jenna groans and sighs, closing her eyes and trying not to imagine what's going to happen to Rafe when he has to go home.

"Please, don't let Ward hurt him," Jenna whispers.

Sarah shoots her head over to her, only for a moment, before she looks forward again.

"He told you?"

"Not exactly."

Sarah pulls into Jenna's driveway, shutting off her headlights so as not to disturb her family. Jenna removes her seatbelt but doesn't make any effort to get out of the car.

"There's nothing I can really do, Jenna. But, if it makes you feel better, he knows people will ask questions if he goes overboard. Rafe can handle himself."

Jenna gives Sarah a sad smile, then reaches for the door handle, "That doesn't mean he should have to."

Sarah opens her mouth to respond, but Jenna climbs out and closes the door before she can speak. Brushing through her hair and trying her best to put on a completely sober smile, she unlocks the front door and steps inside. Thankfully, the house is dark. She heads upstairs, finally in sight of her bedroom, when Josh's voice makes her jump.

"So, you can party with Rafe Cameron, but I can't?"

Jenna spins around, meeting her brother's eyes. His hair is totally messed up from how he had it at Midsummers, and he's shirtless with athletic shorts. He clenches his jaw, as if he's trying to prevent himself from saying anything else.

"I wasn't partying with Rafe," she lies.

"Topper, then. I'm not stupid, Jenna. It was Kelce's party. And I know Sarah wasn't there, so don't even try to tell me you were with her. I ran into her and John B at The Wreck. She got a really interesting phone call from her brother while I was talking to 'em."

"Josh-"

"Don't. I get that you're pissed about the boat thing, or whatever, but I've had enough of the overprotective bullshit. If I want to hang out with Rafe and Topper and Kelce, I will. Stay out of my life."

"Oh, my God, Josh-" she starts, but gets cut off when he slams his bedroom door shut.

With a groan, Jenna forces open her own bedroom door, slamming it shut the same way her brother had. Deep down, she knows Josh is right. She knows she was too hard on Rafe in the beginning, and she should've had a more open mind. She wonders if she made the wrong decision by telling Josh to stay away from those boys.

However, she'd never tell Josh that.

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[roselen-mylady]

the game | part two

Part One

Steve hated to admit it but he had always been a jealous person. As a child he was jealous of the way so many other kids had dads that tucked them in at night. As a teen he was jealous of how easily Bucky made women swoon. As an adult he was jealous of Stark when he attempted to woo Peggy. And now he was jealous because it seemed everyone but himself was able to easily talk and even kiss Y/n.

Oh how badly he had wanted to.

And he almost did during that game of spin the bottle. Yet he'd lost his nerve. And lost his chance.

Thor's laughter had drawn his full attention toward the pair. Not that his eye had ever left Y/n but now the man before him was blatantly being ignored as Steve's entire focus was on Y/n and Thor. He strained to hear whatever was being said by her but he could hardly pay attention as Thor lifted her into the air and spun her around like a princess.

He could've done that.

His blood nearly boiled as he watched Thor kiss her. It was innocent, he knew that, but he just couldn't help it. He was angry at the world and Thor but mostly himself.

Before Thanos he thought he'd have all the time he needed to work up to confessing his feelings for her while she stayed in Wakanda watching after his best friend. But when she was snapped away he realized he had made a horrible mistake. A mistake he regretted every minute of every day during those long five years.

But now he had a chance to fix it.

Yet he hadn't been able to talk to her since she returned. The friendship they'd had before then was bashful but strong yet during her absence he had distanced himself from the idea of her in order to cope.

When she returned all the emotions he felt came rushing back in waves. And he was still blowing it.

•••

"I'm so tired of watching these two pine after one another." Wanda spoke suddenly, making Bucky turn toward her, dragging his gaze away from the pair.

"What do you mean?" Bucky asked, looking back at them as Wanda came to stand at his side, watching them with him.

"You mean you haven't noticed? Y/n's in love with Steve. Steve's in love with Y/n. It's agonizing to watch, really." She sighed, rather vexed with the entire situation. It was her after all who had watched them through the years. They'd known each other ever since before the accords and all that time they'd had an awkward friendship in which feelings were obvious on both ends yet neither had the courage to act.

She hated to imagine how Y/n's death might've affected him but yet it still hadn't given him the will of the courage to act. It pained her to watch the two fall back into their old ways.

"Y/n loves Steve?" Bucky mumbled, disbelief evident in his features. Wanda nodded, her eyes trailing Y/n as she made her way to Peter, who was standing haphazardly close to Steve.

"More than life itself, though she'll never admit it. I saw it when I had to enter her thoughts years ago during a mission we had in Germany." Wanda explained. She remembered the overwhelming feeling of Y/n's emotions. They crashed into her stronger than any wave could and even after all these years they were just as strong.

"Then why haven't they done anything?" Bucky asked. He looked down at her finding the same lost expression on her face that was more than likely on his.

"I don't know. Y/n told me last week the same thing she told me all those years ago. Things are too complicated and she can't risk losing him if he doesn't feel the same." Wanda quoted Y/n, her annoyance seeping through her words.

Bucky scoffed, recognizing the excuse as something very similar to Steve's and he shook his head, feeling the same defeat Wanda did. "Just like them to be too stupid to be happy." He groaned, looking up at them.

"Yeah. But hopefully when he kisses her one of them will do something." Wanda hoped her statement might encourage their boldness.

"Unless it's a repeat of spin the bottle." Bucky said, dreading the chance that it might happen. Wanda cringed, shaking her head.

"Y/n won't allow it. She takes the game too seriously." She replied, more to convince herself than Bucky. It was true. Y/n would get Steve to kiss her whether it was for the win or her own motives. That is if her nerves didn't take over.

"Let's hope."

•••

"Well, if it isn't Spiderman." Y/n called out, grabbing Peter's attention. He smiled brightly, finally being called by his preferred name and not Spiderboy.

"Ms. Y/n! What-what are you doing here?" Peter's sore attempt at small talk made him wince but thankfully Y/n didn't seem to mind, looking down at his glass.

"Just mingling. Whatcha drinking?" She asked curiously, wondering if Tony had allowed the poor boy a drink while dealing with all the people who no doubt asked him millions of questions regarding his presence and age.

"Sprite. Mr. Stark said he can't allow me to 'drink and swing'." Peter adjusted his glass, using his fingers as quotations before letting out a short giggle at the phrase.

Y/n laughed as well, trying to appear relaxed as she felt a certain pair of eyes on her. Steve was standing just a few feet away with Tony, not within earshot but close enough to send butterflies to her stomach. With each kiss she collected she felt more and more anxious knowing eventually she'd reach Steve. Was she ready for that?

"Well, that simply won't do. It's a party, Peter, and I can't allow you to not drink. When I was your age Tony was slipping me drinks left and right, it's only fair I pass on the tradition." She explained, leaning forward carefully as her hand brushed his.

He blushed, his eyes widening like saucers as she skillfully slipped his glass out of his hand, replacing it with her own. Glancing at Tony as if expecting to be caught, he was relieved to find his father figure blissfully unaware of their treachery.

"Ms. Y/n, I really shouldn't-"

"Don't worry, I'll drive you home if you're that worried. I got you bro." Y/n promised, nudging his arm with a kind smile. "Now tell me you've at least tried champagne. You've been to like three of these parties now." She laughed her smile growing as he joined in.

"Yeah, well, I mean a little bit from my Aunt May's glass." Y/n shook her head, putting her hand on his shoulder, a dramatic look of sorrow on her face.

"My poor boy. I have many things to share with you. Speaking of which, Shuri is asking if you're coming with me to Wakanda next week." Y/n sipped the soda watching as Peter's fingers danced happily against his own glass.

"Really?! I mean, of course! If you want me to. I've never been, what's it like?" Peter rambled, his face lit up in excitement, making Y/n chuckle at how thrilled the boy was.

"You'll see soon enough. I'll come get you next Friday and bring your suit, I'm sure Shuri would love to tinker with it." Y/n advised. Peter nodded wildly, psyched for such a trip.

"Thank you, Ms. Y/n." Peter grinned. Y/n wrapped an arm around his shoulders turning him in the direction of where Tony was standing.

"Peter, Y/n is fine. Trust me, I'm one of the few people in this world who know what it's like to have Tony as a father figure and anyone who can handle that is okay in my book." Y/n laughed, pointing at the man in question.

As if sensing their shit talking, Tony turned around, catching sight of them. A suspicious glare was sent their way but Y/n could hardly notice it as another figure stepped into view, following Tony's gaze.

It was then that they were forced to look at one another head on. Not at a glance or a sneaky peek. They might as well have been standing in front of one another as they both froze.

If Y/n's heart decided to stop in that instant, she wouldn't blame it. The pure intensity of Steve's gaze was enough to make her shudder and she fought her every molecule to stare back. There was a warmth in his eyes, one that sent a flutter of giddiness through her.

A small smile crept onto his face and Y/n gasped, forcing herself to return the gesture and not just gawk at him. She was at a loss for words. It was the first time since Thanos that he had given her any sort of acknowledgement. While it hurt that their friendship had seemed to diminish while she'd been gone, she knew that rekindling it was a two way street. But now he was smiling at her. And she was smiling back.

She hadn't realized she'd been holding her breath until Peter stepped in front of her, his hands resting on her shoulders and his brows furrowed in concern. "Y/n? Are you okay?" His voice was soothing and it helped her recover her loss of breath from her moment with Steve.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. I'm fine. Just...uh, thinking." She mumbled, her eyes drifting back to Steve once more. His smile had faltered slightly, his face beginning to match Peter's concern but with a small curve of her lips, she assured him that his worry was senseless.

"About the game?"

"Hmm?" Y/n questioned, directing her attention to the boy once more. Peter eyed his glass carefully before taking a cautious sip.

"The game you play with Ms. Natasha and Ms. Wanda. You're playing, right? I saw you earlier with Thor." He explained. Y/n's face flushed, a little embarrassed that her moment with Thor had been witnessed by someone she knew. What if Steve saw? Would he be jealous?

Y/n nearly shook her head, convincing herself that she wasn't worth being jealous over. Especially to Steve.

"Oh, yeah. We are. That reminds me, you like Star Wars right?" She smirked, looking at him as she sipped his soda, the pink on his cheeks making her giggle.

"Well, yeah, I mean lots of people do. I'm not the only one-that would be weird. Unless you like it, not that you liking it would make it less weird. Not that you're not weird! Weird-"

"Peter!" Y/n laughed, putting her hand on his as she lightly brought the drink down. "Whew boy, maybe alcohol isn't your thing. Then again you've always been a rambler." She gently took the drink back from him, watching as a wave of relief washed over him.

"Have you eaten yet? I think there's hors d'oeuvres around here somewhere." She muttered, glancing around for any servers. Peter shook his head accepting his soda back before looking back up at her.

"No I'm okay, really." He told her, his heart warming at how much she seemed to care. It was nice and he enjoyed his relationship with Y/n. She allowed him to do things with her like travel, patrol, even hang out in the lab and she quickly became another idol of his.

"Are you thinking of watching Star Wars?" He asked her, referring to her previous question. She smiled, shaking her head.

"No, I've already seen it, I'm just thinking of a pick up line for the game. Tonight's rules are if you like my line I get a kiss and I fully intend on winning tonight." Peter nearly choked on air as his eyes widened yet again.

"A kiss? From me?" Y/n giggled, tapping her finger to her cheek.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Parker. A kiss on the cheek will do." She teased, making his face impossibly redder. He shook his head frantically trying to display as best he could that it wasn't his intention.

"I'm kidding. Now are you ready to hear my cheesy pick up line or will I just have to forfeit?" Peter's head didn't seem to stop shaking as he urged her to continue. "Alright here goes."

"Hey, sweetheart. Do you like Star Wars cause Yoda only one for me." With a wink she smiled, enjoying the scrunch of Peter's nose as he cringed at the line. 

"Not doing it for ya?" She laughed. Peter scoffed, trying to hide the smile that threatened to show.

"I hate to admit it, but it was kinda funny." He sighed, ashamed to have enjoyed such a horrible line. Y/n's grin grew, pointing to her cheek once more.

"Then pay up. I've got two more kisses to collect." Peter smiled, leaning forward and pecking the space her finger had been. "Thank you. Now find someone to mess with. I won't be the only one reeking havoc tonight." She poked a stern finger into his chest. With some convincing he eventually promised to at least pull a prank on Sam and Bucky.

With that she began to make her way to Tony. A knot formed in her stomach as she paced in his direction yet it wasn't Tony who made her nervous. No, only Steve Rogers could make her feel so squeamish and turn her legs to jelly. And she was making her way straight toward him.

Y/n could barely hear the click of her heels and the chatter of those around her over the pep talk she was giving herself in her head. She refused to embarrass herself in front of him. This was going to be her second chance and she wouldn't allow her nerves to ruin it again.

"As I live and breathe! Do I stand before Iron Man and Captain America? I do hope this isn't a dream." Steve's soft chuckle seemed to go straight to her core and she feared her heart might beat right out of her chest.

"Don't encourage her, Cap." Tony grumbled, turning his gaze to Y/n. "Well, if it isn't my favorite niece."

"Your only niece." Y/n corrected, a short glare focused on him as he smirked.

"Let me guess you're here to win the game. Let's hear it so poor Cap here can get a turn. I don't think he's kissed a woman since the 40s." Tony leaned down, whispering the last part and making Y/n giggle.

"Hey!" Steve objected in vain. But what Y/n said next sent any duty to protect his pride out the window.

"That's a crying shame. The ladies must not know what they're missing." Y/n froze as the words left her mouth. What was she thinking? Her face burned and she hid behind her glass trying to muffle her embarrassed groan with her champagne.

"Jeez, get a room." Steve and Y/n both glared at Tony but he didn't seem to care, instead shrugging innocently.

"Alright, here's your line you impatient ass." Y/n scoffed, deciding to use a particularly bad line for the annoying man she dared call her father figure.

"Was that it?" He smirked.

"Shut up, I gotta turn around and approach this again or else it won't work." She hissed, earning a heartfelt laugh from Steve. Twice. She'd made him laugh twice. Her heart was practically singing at the thought. Maybe she'd actually get to kiss him?

With more determination than before, she turned around, taking a few steps away before dramatically turning back to them. Using theatrics she no doubt learned from Tony Stark himself, she put on a smile before holding her arms out in a grand gesture.

"Well I'm here, what's your next two wishes?"

"That was horrendous." Tony said almost immediately while Steve tried to contain his laughter behind them.

"Well, I couldn't very well waste my best lines on you now could I?" Y/n jested, taking the glass in his hand and pouring what remained of his drink into her now empty glass.

Tony's teasing expression fell as he painfully watched Y/n sip her glass. "I can't believe you're related to me." Y/n smiled back at him proudly.

"Only by marriage." She shrugged. Tony sighed, leaning down and pressing a fatherly kiss to her forehead just along her hairline.

"Thank god." He ignored Y/n's squinted stare, turning to Steve. "I think I'm going to go get another drink, since mine was so blatantly stolen." Tony glanced at Y/n who shamelessly smirked.

"But first I wanna hear your pick up line for Cap. Please be something patriotic. Maybe sing him the national anthem." He suggested, nudging Steve forward to where he stood before Y/n.

Not expecting Tony's push, Steve stumbled nearly crashing into Y/n but thankfully he caught himself, only having a redder face than before.

"I'm not sure the national anthem is a pick up line, Tony." Y/n replied, focusing on anything but Steve. At this distance she could smell the familiar cologne and feel the heat radiating from him. It reminded her all too much of the days before the snap. When he'd hold her whenever she was hurt or when he'd pick her up to launch her toward an enemy. Reminded her of the few hugs they'd managed to share.

Reminded her of their last before she dusted in his arms.

"I don't know. He's really horny for America, it might work." Tony refuted, earning a threatening gaze from both Steve and his niece.

"Fine, y'know what? Have privacy or whatever in the middle of this crowded party. See if I care." Tony said, a little butt hurt that he wouldn't be able to witness the awkward exchange first hand.

He was no idiot when it came to his niece's attraction to the super soldier. While at first he disapproved, even more so when it led to her being on the opposite side that day in Berlin, years had led to forgiveness. He couldn't really stay mad at her even if he tried. Only sorry he hadn't apologized before the snap.

"Thank you, Tony." Y/n spoke quietly, sending him a grateful look. Whatever was about to happen already made her nervous, she didn't think doing it with Tony there would be possible.

"Yeah, yeah." He waved a dismissive hand, beginning to walk away.

It wasn't until he had Morgan that he realized he was already a father. Y/n had been his first and no matter his guilt, she would always forgive him. Always need him.

"Don't get carried away." He threatened suddenly, pointing to his eyes before twisting his hand back to them with a menacing squint.

Y/n rolled her eyes, looking back to Steve as Tony finally left.

"He's protective." Y/n explained, trying to be annoyed. It was actually kinda touching the way he cared despite his usual selfish smartass exterior.

"For good reason." Steve agreed, making Y/n's head tilt confused.

"You think I can't take care of myself?" She questioned defensively, ready to prove her worth no matter who he was.

"No, of course you can. Just-..." He trailed off, a sorrowful expression taking hold of his features against his will. "We've both failed you before. Numerous times." Steve confessed, his eyes falling downcast as Y/n realized what he'd meant.

She’d never truly thought about how her absence might have affected him. Before the snap he never gave any hint that he wanted to be more than a friend to her. But now she studied that look in his eye, that one she hadn’t recognized before. Heartbreak. 

"Steve, you didn't fail me." She insisted. Her hand had come to his own, grasping lightly at his loose fingers and ignoring the buzz in her skin and the rapid pace of her heart.

"No, I did. I turned you against your family. I got you arrested. I dragged you back into the fight and...you got snapped away." His voice broke at the end, years of depression and misery washing over him all over again.

"It wasn't your fault. We all lost that day." Y/n argued but her words didn't seem to stick.

"I'll never forgive myself." Steve's words were barely above a whisper, each syllable falling further into him unable to escape.

The sight alone made her heart ache but it was the way he'd spoken that truly shook her. They were the words of a broken man, a man that had lost it all. Had she done that to him? Did he care about her like that? Maybe he was scared too.

“Well, it's a good thing I already did.” Y/n smiled hoping to bring back the smile that she'd been able to give him moments before. Her hand stayed planted to his own more terrified to release it than she was to keep holding it. Would she ever work up the courage to do it again?

Steve looked back up at her, a tender glimmer in his eye as he moved his hand to hold her own. “I missed you.”

The statement alone wasn't nearly enough to convey how much he'd longed for her in those five years, left without any hope of ever getting her back. Didn’t show her the sleepless nights or the endless tears. Didn’t show her first few years he spent, alone and secluded. Didn’t show her how many times he prayed to any god that would listen for them to bring her back. 

But her eyes seemed to tell him that she understood. Y/n knew exactly how he felt even if she'd been relieved of it for five years. She remembered when she was arrested, screaming at the guards that they'd never find Steve. Remembered the sobs that racked through her when he came to free her, relieved he’d made it out of the war safely. Remembered their time on the run, unable to tell him how she felt. Remembered volunteering to stay with Bucky when Steve's worry became too much. Remembered him coming back and bring a war with him. Remembered him catching her before she dusted, too fast for her to tell him her greatest truth. 

She loved him.

“I missed you too.” She said softly, her face burning under his gentle gaze. They’d become so unbearably close at that point, making her breath ragged and her heart race. 

Clearing her throat, she looked away, trying not to reveal how flustered he made her. “So do you wanna hear my pick up line or not?” She once again changed the subject, making Steve smile at her lovingly. 

“Definitely.” He replied. 

“Alright. On a scale of 1 to America, how free are you tonight?” She gave him the first one that came to find, silently groaning when she realized she'd done exactly what Tony suggested. Curse their horribly similar minds. 

"That's terrible." Steve chuckled, staring at her with adoration unlike he'd ever done before. She was absolutely perfect in his eyes and he refused to waste anymore time being scared. 

"You didn't like that? I have more." Y/n rambled, oblivious toward Steve's affectionate gaze. "Can I tie your shoes? I don't want you falling for anyone else." 

Steve laughed, shaking his head as he stepping forward and shifting his hand to her waist as he pulled her closer. 

The action on flustered her further, dragging another pick up line out of her. "Or I like your last name, can we share it?" 

Steve's smile grew, his heart swelling with each word. He loved listening to her lines even if they were cheesy. But he was determined now and he wouldn't let either of their nerves stop them anymore. 

"I lost my number, can I have-"

Suddenly he leaned forward, cutting her sentence short as his lips latched onto her own. 

The kiss was so tender she practically melted in his arms, her hand coming to his chest while the other shifted to behind his neck, her fingers filtering through the lower part of his hair. His grip around her waist tightened as his heart pounded under her palms, the aftermath of anticipation rushing through his chest. 

It was effortless the way they molded together and it left him breathless. He couldn't believe he'd never just kissed her before and after believing all these years he'd never get the chance to, he was so grateful to have her now. 

"I've waited too long for that. I think I'm gonna need interest." Y/n gasped as they pulled away her eyes half lidded as she tried to process what had happened. 

"Was that another pick up line?" Steve's brows furrowed, his lips a beautiful shade of darker pink. 

Y/n smiled up at him, pulling him close once more. "Shut up." 

••• 

"Who's gonna tell her she didn't win?" Wanda questioned suddenly, glancing over at Nat. 

Sam raised his hands in surrender, passing off the duty as soon as possible to avoid any type of rage the woman might've wreaked on him. 

"I don't think she'll really care at this point." Nat spoke, pointing a finger toward the couple across the room. 

They didn't seem to care that they were in a room full of people, instead remaining engrossed in each other as they stared at each other lovingly. It was touching really but what Nat assumed to be their confessions had lost Y/n the game. 

"Wait does this mean the games with stop?" Sam questioned suddenly. 

"No, it'll just make them more interesting." Nat smirked.

[cordonian-literature]

Forever Mine

chapter six

❦ summary — The time for Princess Riley to step into her role as queen fast approaches and finding the future king is Cordonia’s top priority. Commander Liam is aware of that, and has plans to make sure the princess ends up with someone suitable.

➺ chapter warnings: smut, manipulation, slight degrading (??)

❦ catch up here!

➺ word count: (+/-) 2120

*all characters belong to Pixelberry, except those unique to my story*

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Walking to the Commander's office alone was a bad idea. Even worse considering that it was past midnight. But Riley couldn't help it; nor could she hear the voice in her head telling her to stop over the thundering in her ears.

Maybe she should have gone to Drake instead, or even Maxwell. Even Olivia would have helped.

She wears slippers and a gown, one that wasn't appropriate in case someone saw her. The lights of the guest bedrooms she passed were on, she could hear some maids and guards in the distance; there were too many chances of her getting caught, yet her feet still led her down the cold hallway.

Leo had sent her a text an hour ago, telling her that he finally came back from his day's activities and that their father was upset. She could walk to her father's office and say what she needed to tell Liam. Or she could even walk to Leo's room, her older brother wouldn't push her away, would he?

But her feet kept moving. She had put on the wrong shoes before leaving her room: she hadn't worn these in more than a year, and they were a size too small. The cold floor stung the heals of her foot every time she took a step. Riley longed for the warmth of the library fireplace, the softness of Liam's fingers, his gentle embrace.

But that wasn't what she was going to him for. Yes, she was lonely, and yes, she wanted some company, along with some validation that she had done a good job today, but she was going towards the Commander's office to complain about one of her suitors. Riley knew that out of all the people she'd tell about her grievance, Liam was the one who would take action.

She doubted that Leo wanted to help her with anything that had to do with the season, and she knew that her father would tell her to bear it and stop complaining. Drake and Olivia's intimidation tactics wouldn't work to drive away someone she didn't want around, and Maxwell's family was slowly losing significance, so he couldn't help either.

But Liam, Liam could. Riley knew. Out of all the people in her circle, he had the most power. He wasn't self-absorbed like her father, he didn't avoid responsibility like her brother, he isn't afraid of the spotlight like her. He'd be the one to take action.

Since before the season began, she had dreamed up hypothetical situations in which she, in a flurry of emotion, didn't wish to marry any of the men who presented themselves to her, and she would run to Liam to tell them to go away.

It would be perfect for both of them, wouldn't it? There wouldn't be another power-hungry man near Constantine trying to take Liam's position away from him, and there would be no one controlling Riley. It would be perfect for both of them.

The belief that Riley was doing the right thing, not only for herself but for Liam, too, gave her the confidence to open the door to his study.

Her eyes land on unruly hair that had been perfectly styled this morning, hunched over stacks of papers, pen in hand with ink staining his long fingers.

She didn't move from the entryway, forgetting that there was an open door behind her, listening to the pen scribbling away on paper. The Commander had missed the day's festivities and was still working? Riley couldn't imagine the stress he carried on his shoulders, visibly weighing him down.

"Commander?" she calls as quietly as she can.

He looks up at her, but she cannot make out his eyes from such a distance. She walks up to him slowly, remembering why she came. Tears form in her eyes from the frustration, though her voice is steady when she says, "I wish to talk to you about—"

"Princess, please," he soothes, standing up to brush tears from her eyes. He leans closer to her, and Riley shivers when she feels his breath on her cheek. "I'm busy right now, darling." Another shiver shakes her spine. "I'll meet you in the library in twenty minutes."

He sits back down and she is left staring at the top of his head again. Riley only moves when she hears footsteps from outside the room, prompting her to dash towards the library.

When she reaches the library, Riley makes sure that it is empty. She checks her phone and finds messages from her brother and Drake asking where she is. Her heart thunders in her chest, running wild with excitement that Liam will join her shortly. She doesn't want anyone interrupting them, so she tells Leo and Drake that she's reading a book in the library, and warns them not to bother her.

She takes a seat on a desk near the fireplace, thinking of how to introduce her complaint to Liam. How would he react to her words? Would he call her childish, think she overexaggerated or misunderstood? Would he laugh at her? She loved making Liam laugh but knew that if he ever laughed directly at her, she would cry in front of him.

And even though she doesn't want to show Liam any tears tonight, a dull sense of dread rises in Riley's chest and stops her breath. How much longer did she have to endure this? Why did she have to suffer through unsolicited comments, not only by the men and nobility who participated in the season but all the reporters who spoke to the world?

She wanted it to stop, it was too much. She felt disgusted with herself that she prefered to go back to the life where she didn't have to worry about anything; other people would do that for her. She wanted to go back to the sweet noble life.

The library door opens and she spins around. Liam's hair is still out of place, and his military coat unbuttoned. She can see the shirt that usually stretched under his muscles, now hanging untucked and lose from his slouch.

She doesn't want him to see her tear-stained face, so she wraps her arms around him and buries her face in his chest, pleasantly surprised by the smell of lime and jasmine.

His calloused fingers come to rest at her hips, and she can feel the depth of his voice in his chest as he says, "Tell me what happened."

"Lord Michael..."

She only manages to utter his name before he speaks up again, "Say no more, I'll get rid of him."

"Please don't do something rash."

"I won't, darling. I'll make sure he's gone by morning."

She feels his attempt to move away from her, but Riley wraps her arms tighter around him. "I missed you today," she states, without realizing the weight of her words.

Liam doesn't respond. He looks down at her, the scent of lavender shampoo filling his nostrils. His fingers tighten their grip. Riley gives a soft whimper but doesn't protest.

Should he let go? Leave and return to his office? Stay and comfort her? What type of comfort did she need? He was stressed enough as it is, but he didn't want to leave his darling alone.

"Come here," he says into her locks, leading her towards a reading chair. There was only one chair, and when he sits down she continues to stand, looking around for another seat.

Liam, lacing his fingers through her's, gives Riley's hand a gentle pull, motioning her to sit on his lap. He expected her to pull away, every voice in his head told her that she better do the proper thing and move away, go grab another chair.

But after a moment of hesitation, Riley sits between his knees, taking the time to wrap her legs and arms around Liam's back. She tucks her head into his neck and takes a deep breath, while Liam's breathing quickens.

"You had all those men around you," he reminds her, feeling her breath catch in her throat, "and you still missed me?"

He hears a soft hum in his ear and continues, "Cordonia's greedy little princess."

Riley's face heats up from those words, but she doesn't move. Nor does she stop the Commander from moving his hands below her gown or grinding his hips against hers.

Through all that, the princess slowly lifts her head to let her eyes meet Liam's. Their breaths getting faster as they stared into each other, trying to find an answer or queue.

Liam wanted her to pull away, while Riley, unsure of herself, wanted him to continue. She had no idea what she was doing, but her heart had never moved this fast or felt this warm, she never before had wanted a man to tell her that he loved her. So she let him continue.

With his hands on the underside of her thighs, Liam stands and walks her over to a desk, lifting her gown off of her as he places her down. Riley doesn't want the Commander to look at her body, so she gently pushes her lips against his.

Liam instantly regrets his decision, but she doesn't pull away so he continues.

Riley's insides burn with shame, but he doesn't scold her, so she moves to help him undress.

Pain and pleasure break through her as Liam tells her to lie on her back and greedily thrusts into her. She holds her hands against her mouth, forbidding any sounds to escape. Meanwhile, Liam's filthy words feed the pleasure and shame inside Riley.

He grabs her wrists and holds them over her head. She struggles to hold in moans and tears, wanting to scream from the way he was pushing into her with the intensity of a man who had long been deprived of sexual gratification.

Panic and fear build in her chest after a knock at the library door. Liam doesn't turn his head or slow his pace.

"Princess?" a voice comes from outside the door. Riley hopes that they cannot hear what's happening. "The royal secretary has been searching for you." Riley recognizes the voice, it was her handmaid, Maria.

"Princess Riley," the royal secretary speaks out. "Your father is requesting your presence. He understands that it is late, but the issue is urgent. Prince Leo told me you would be here."

Frantically, Riley turns to Liam and squirms, wanting to release her hands from his grip and push him off of her, but his fingers tighten around her wrists.

"Go on, princess," the hulking man prompted in a hushed, sultry tone. "Answer them."

"I... I'm okay!" she manages to belt out, just before his thrusts increased tenfold.

Riley felt blood on her tongue from how hard she bites down on it. She tries desperately not to release the hot flurry of moans that wanted to spill from her lips. The metallic taste flusters her more.

The pleasure Liam causes is enough to make her head spin. The way he curves toward her cervix, hitting a spot just near it with every pound, made her see stars. Riley fears that she may soon give away her and the Commander's compromising position if he didn't stop.

"Please," she sobs quietly, to which he responds with a dark chuckle in her ear.

Liam had been waiting so long for this. Why would he stop now, when he had her exactly where he wanted her since they had first met? She was enjoying him. She was accepting him.

"Does my little girl want to cum?" he taunts. "After teasing me like a little whore for years?"

It was what she needed that moment, but she was more concerned about the people outside the door entering and seeing her like this. She wanted the release. She wanted this. She wanted Liam, or at least in this moment, she believes she does.

Nevertheless, she didn't want anyone to witness her in such a vulnerable state beneath him. She didn't know what would happen. Worst of all, she didn't know what Liam's fate would be, once her father discovered his treachery.

"Ah... ah, the... d-door."

"Do it before they decide to check on you, because I won't stop.

And she believes him, because this isn't the sweet, caring man she knew. This is someone who wanted nothing more than to dominate her. This was someone who had been wanting to do this.

All those fleeting glances and touches, had they been precursors to this? But the thought was lost as he brought her to climax around him, and only then did Liam begin to worry about who was still at the door.

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a/n: okay y'all i've never written smut before and i know this is really bad so please don't judge. I told myself i would never write smut. but i had to do it for the plot🤌🏻 anyways i hope y'all enjoyed this lol

@twinkleallnight @gkittylove99 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @kingliam2019 @queenrileyrose @royalromancer @princess-geek @mom2000aggie @claireloutoo @tessa-liam @21-wishes @yourmajesty09

[ask-mirror-and-prime-simon]

The Mirror Car II

Summary: A familiar face implores Simon to confront his feelings

A/N: None

Chapter: 3/?

Word Count: 1.9k

Warning: Implied suicidal thoughts/Self hatred

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

"Hey...are you okay?"

His eyes burned as he forced them open,face still warm and bright red. "What do you think?"

"Simon...I'm sorry..."

"Stop it"

The other looked to him with confusion. "Huh?"

"Stop it" Simon repeated. "Stop apologizing,its annoying"

"But I made you upset,even if I did get mad I shouldn't have taken it out on you"

"You're so patronizing,you know that?" The boy said. "Stop acting like you're better than me"

"I'm not trying to" He attempted to explain. "I'm just saying sorry"

"Then stop saying it in my voice!" His prime snapped. "I can take dealing with nulls that want to fight back but I'm not letting you mock me"

"I'm not mocking you!" The other insisted. "I can't help sounding like you or looking like you,I was just born like this"

"Then I'll make you!" He lunged towards the other,right hand ready to grab him by the hair while the left reached for the glass shard. His knuckles were first to hit the reflective surface,the boy letting out a pained hiss before shooting him a glare. "Get out of there and fight me!"

"I don't want to fight you!" The reflection shouted. "Just please talk to me! I can help fix everything,just-"

Simon swung his leg forth,kicking the cube by his side with as much force as he could muster. His foot ached from the harsh slam against the chrome but he dare not stop. He continued to swing and kick with frustrated grunts,hoping that eventually he would knock that sorrowful look off the douple-gangers face. Yet each time he pulled away all he saw was himself,arms shielding his face with a look of fear in his eyes. The sight was enough to make his blood boil.

"Stop it!" The other begged with a cracked voice,scared that the barrier could somehow break. "Just listen to me! I want to fix everything too!"

Simon froze,foot hovering over where the other's face would be. "What?"

"I want to find Grace," He said. "I want to find her so we can start over but be better"

"Why would I want to get better if I was never wrong to begin with?" Simon asked. "You're just as brainwashed as she was"

"You know you were wrong" His reflection said. "If...If you really did think you were right you wouldn't be here"

The passenger grew a sneer,hands curled into a fist. "I'm here to find Grace and take her home. She's been in that projection thing long enough to be back to normal"

"But you don't want to leave her there" His reflection began. "And I know this has been eating you up since then. I felt everything you did when it happened and I know you felt something"

He slammed his fist into the wall,looking to the other with rage. "You don't know anything!"

The other flinched,Simon leaning in closer. "You don't know what we've been through together,you don't know how much it hurt knowing she picked that null over someone she knew for ten years,YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURTS KNOWING EVERYTHING WAS A LIE!"

Tears welled in the corner of his Prime's eyes,the mirror boy slowly reaching out for him. "Simon..."

His face grew red,the corners of his sneer twitching as he struggled to keep from sobbing. "We've been together for ten years...the Apex wasn't just some after school group we made. Leading it by her side...I just...I felt like I had a purpose. I actually meant something here"

"You are here for a reason" His reflection reminded him softly. "You're here to get better and heal"

"From what?" The boy questioned. "Coming here was the best thing to ever happen to me and you want me to give everything up just because some old woman said I had to?"

"Well,Grace tried to"

"And look where she is now"

There was a moment of silence,the passenger wiping the tears from his eyes. The chrome boy laid back against the barrier,listening to his sniffling. "I just thought...I thought you'd get better after hearing everything."

"Hear what? That I'm the worst,most worthless person alive and I should rot away?" The boy let out a weak chuckle. "Yeah,I really needed to hear that"

"I never said that" His reflection quickly responded. "What I'm saying is..." He took a deep breath,leaning against the barrier separating their worlds. "You messed up,but you can still fix it"

"How?" Simon asked,defeat in his tone. "I can't just go back and pretend nothing happened. What if...what if she hates me?"

"I mean..." He hesitated a moment before looking away. "I wouldn't blame her,we deserve it"

“Stop acting like you did anything '' Simon half heartedly demanded.

"But I'm a part of you and you-"

"You are NOT a part of me" He quickly said. "You're just - just a stupid,stupid null that's making me say dumb shit"

"I'm..." He hesitated,brushing aside the idea of correcting him. "But you said all of this to me,maybe you can say it to her"

"As if she'd let me," The Prime said bitterly.

"Well...maybe I can do it"

Simon raised an eyebrow,looking to him. "What?"

"You said I didn't do anything right?" He asked. "I know you're scared to say this to her,so what if I tell her for you?"

"Why would she listen to you?" He shot back. "You're just a null"

"She listened to Hazel," The other reminded him. "I know I don't mean as much as you did to anyone,but maybe she'll listen to me"

"And how are you going to talk to her huh?" Simon folded his arms,an annoyed look in his eye. "You can't even get out to fight me"

"I know how but...but we'll have to switch places. Only one of us can go,” he explained nervously.

The other held back a laugh,a twisted grin peaking through in its place. As if he'd let a null trick him into another sort of trap. Just as he thought,they could never be trusted. What a waste of time. "Wow,I can't believe I almost let you trick me"

"I'm not trying to trick you!" His reflection said in a panic. Damn it,he was so close to actually letting him acknowledge the long list of screw ups. "I'm trying to help you,I promise"

"Nice try null" His smile quickly fell,the boy pressing his hand against the chrome. "Tell anyone about anything I said and I'll kill both of us"

He began to stand,heading back towards the door. The reflection stood with terrified tears in his wide eyes. No,he could still change! He believed him,if only he'd just listen! "WAIT!"

He reached for his Prime,their palms finally touching save for the thin chrome barrier. His feet were slowly lifted off the ground,the world spinning with him as he let out a scream. Just as fast as the spinning had started it stopped,the boy left shakily standing.

The reflection nervously looked around,trying to make sense of what had just happened. The air felt different somehow,more fresh and cold on his metal skin. A sudden feeling burst in his chest,a shaky hand placing a hand over the area.

A heartbeat

His eyes grew wide at the sudden revelation. He was out,finally free. Tears welled in his eyes,falling like rain drops as he looked at his own reflection in his palms. "I...I'm real"

"HEY!"

His happiness was short lived,the boy looking below him to find the other banging on the chrome floors. He hurled profanities at him,fighting to return to the other side.

"Simon!" He immediately fell to his knees,eyes full of worry. "Are you okay?"

"YOU TRICKED ME!"

The once reflection flinched,a wince on his face. "I-I didn't mean to-"

"YOU LIAR!" The other yelled. "I SHOULDN'T HAVE TRUSTED YOU! YOU NULLS ARE ALL THE SAME! YOU'RE ALL JUST THE WORST!"

The boy's face grew warm,another brand new feeling,finally shouting. "You wouldn't be in there if you just listened!"

"I DON'T NEED TO LISTEN TO ANYONE!"

"You should've listened to Grace!"

Simon tensed,sneer frozen on his face.

"This never would've happened if you just listened!"

The other opened his mouth to find any sort of retort,words sharp as a blade to destroy the person who dared make him spill such raw emotions. No,he's a liar just like everyone else,how could he lie to himself and say he felt sorry about doing the right thing? All he'd have to do was wake Grace up and go back home and pretend nothing ever happened.

But...could he even do that now?

"What if...what if she hates me?"

He grit his teeth,body trembling as his eyes grew watery. All he could imagine was the girl he loved so much waking from her torturous nightmare and staring at him. Her usually kind eyes would hold nothing but malice,betrayal even as she looked at him with unfiltered disgust.

"I hate you" She would shout between sobs. "I'd rather die than have anything to do with you!"

Warm tears rolled down his cheeks,lowering his head so the other couldn't see the pain only his dearest friend had ever witnessed. His entire body shook,breathing heavy as he held back a sob.

"Simon..."

"Just get out," He choked. "Get out and leave me to die"

The other remained silent,anger melting back into concern. He debated on whether or not to switch back,a part of him knowing exactly where he would walk straight to first,flesh torn in the train wheels.

"I'll come back for you" He said softly. "I'll fix everything and come back,I promise"

"Go away..."

Reluctantly he sat up,feeling something sharp under his palm. He lifted his hand,finding the glass shard lovingly handed to him by the young Lucy. By the looks of it,it was probably best to keep anything sharp as far away from his Prime as possible.

He quickly tucked it in his sock,glass pressing against his ankle. With that he stood,giving the boy one last glance before opening the dark wood door.

The air was fresh,whipping his metal hair back. With a deep breath he stepped outside,fully expecting to be pulled right back in.

Nothing.

For the first time he stood with both feet out the door,entire body free from the shackles of the mirror world. He watched the world around him,the train even bigger than he could ever imagine. So many cars,so many new worlds full of life that he could only dream of seeing before.

He stepped forward,flinching once he caught sight of the spinning wheels. No - it's fine - Simon’s in the chrome car and Grace wouldn’t hurt any denizen after the brief moment of happiness she had with Hazel. It's...It's fine. Everything’s fine.

In the wheel he caught a glimpse of himself. That face...the longer he looked the more his stomach churned.

Careful hands undid the small ponytail,blond hair falling to his shoulders. He reached for the hem of his sweater,pulling the article up and over until it was off and crumpled into a hasty clump of fabric and twine. Shaky arms held the ball of old belongings over the railing,eyes shut tight. No more wheeling,not after this.

The boy let the elastic fall,band snapping as the fabric ripped under the wheels into scraps and thread. He hesitantly opened an eye,looking to his reflection once more. It was a start at least.

He turned back to the bridge,continuing the long walk onwards. What lay ahead,even he wasn’t entirely sure. What he did know was one thing,he was going to fix whatever mess was left behind by his Prime. It didn’t matter how long it would take,just so long as no one else had to suffer anymore.

[black-streak]

Saturday night's alright for fighting (but Sundays are meant for rest) - Curious New Hobbies

Part 11!

My god this took a while to write! Special thanks to @st0rmy-w1th1n and @mysnis (hope this is your correct Tumblr) for bouncing ideas with me and @kceedraws for giving permission to use her breakdancing au as inspiration for this!

Tagsss: @persephonebutkore @emjrabbitwolf @mystery-5-5 @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @fandomkitty8 @dast218 @silvergold-swirl @shizukiryuu . @my-name-is-michell @kurogaya913 @elspethshadow @thecatnipmademedoit @shamefullove @ladylucina28 @crazylittlemunchkin @rayray384 @cassiejaydee @yuulxd @ladysblackcat @naclychilli @caffeinetheory

~---~

They had meant to go the arcade for their date tonight. In fact, they'd even walked in and started scoping out games to play, but alas it wasn't to be.

Within moments of arriving, who else but Damian would single Mari out and immediately tell them to leave.

And of course she protested. In response, Damian only pointed at Jon over at the pacman machine (how dare he, that's the game Marinette was searching for!) and mentioned his lack of ability to keep secrets and suddenly she turned and dragged Tim right back out the door.

Walking down the sidewalk, he side eyed her, considering the best way to start his interrogation.

"So. You trying to keep me secret then?"

"No! Of course not. Just might've forgotten to mention something like… over a month ago."

"And it involves not letting Jon know we were there?"

"Only because he's a nark who would've ruined the fun. And heaven knows Damian and I wouldn't be satisfied with a void bet."

"You made a bet about our relationship with Damian?"

"About your family," she partially corrected.

"Do I even want to know."

"Was supposed to tell you a bit ago so you wouldn't ruin the stakes, so probably not, but im telling you anyways."

Sighing with false exasperation, he gestured for her to continue.

"We have an ongoing bet over how long it'll take everyone to figure out that you and I are together and not Dami and me."

With that, she relayed all the details of their bet and his part in it, manic grin spread across her face as her gait gained a small skip to it. Tim couldn't help but shake his head at her antics, amused despite an itch in the back of his mind saying this wouldn't end well.

"Alright, I'll play along. Honestly, I think you'll both lose. Your predictions are too specific. Too many potential outlying factors."

"True, but we did give set time frames. So at least one part of the bet will absolutely be clear on who won. Plus, I find victory in the fact that Damian didn't think of that possibility. That we'd both be wrong."

"On another note, we need to find a plan b. Anything in mind?" He asked, reaching out and snagging her hand to draw her closer. 

Shrugging, she looked about them, seeing if anything caught the eye. Suddenly Tim stopped, accidentally yanking her back when she kept walking. She let out a sound of protest only to see his eyes locked on the building across the way with a considering look. 

The building was gray brick with no windows, however a neon purple sign to the right of the black wood door declared it "The Underground", a well known club amongst Gotham dancers and while neither were necessarily that, word had gotten around enough for both to have heard of the place before from word of mouth.

"How do you feel about checking it out?" Tim asked, a curious look about his eyes, studying her.

"I'm not opposed to the idea. Little surprised you're interested though," she commented, letting him lead the way inside.

A quick ID check and they were in, the room dark with neon tube lights flashing across different surfaces and strategic spotlights placed to bring attention to the various raised platforms. It was strange actually. The wall directly to the left of the hall they entered from held the bar on a raised level only to slide into a ground level dance floor which was normal enough, however in the opposite corner was a raised platform where different people would hop up to take advantage of the spacing to show off both freestyle and blatantly choreographed moves. Another few spotlight platforms raised up randomly in the floor, but the main focus was a rather large circular one in the center of the place, raised just enough to make it easy to see from anywhere in the place, but not so high as to block the view across the way. These places were the most lit up, allowing the anonymity to the dancers below while allotting the attention to those who choose to step up. Beyond that, there were many crevices and alcoves holding tables into the walls and a small hallway across the way presumably heading to the bathrooms. An upper balcony held only the DJ.

While Mari took in her surroundings, she felt Tim lead her out into the crowds, before turning back to her with a questioning look. Leaning in she spoke into his ear, a spark gleaning her eyes, "You've been before, haven't you?"

"A few times. It's the perfect place to destress without the nonsense of keeping an image. As long as you stay in the crowd, no one cares who you are," he replied, spinning her around before stepping in so her back pressed to his chest.  His hands ghosted down her sides to grasp her hips, starting to guide her into the beat.

For a while, they stayed like that, separating slightly and coming back together to follow different dances as the music flowed and changed around them. Turns out Tim was a surprisingly good dancer. 

Cheers broke out as a new song turned over, the first beats of Bum Bum Tam Tam coming over the speakers drawing attention towards the main platform as a pair jumped up, starting to get into the beat, working around each other only to burst into perfectly synced choreography at the first breakdown, resulting in more cheers. The two dancers would break away after that into a more freestyle, only to flow back into more rehearsed moves once more.

"Wait is that," she trailed off to a groan pressed to her shoulder.

"Yeah. That's them. Didn't know they came here."

As the song came to an end and the two on the platform jumped down, they could only stare as none other than Dick and Kori unknowingly made their way towards them. Tim pulled back from Mari subconsciously, not quite comfortable being so fully on display in front of people who actually knew them. Which made exactly zero sense when considering how much they cuddled in the manor. 

Finally the two spotted them, their grins widening and a new energy emerging as they rushed over. 

"Timothy! Starshine! You guys are here!" Came Kori's exuberant greeting, grabbing them both up in a hug.

"Hey, Mar, Damian not like dancing enough? Had to drag Timmy out?" Dick teased.

"Dami's at the arcade with Jon. And actually, coming here was Tim's idea," she answered amicably, conforming to the rules of the bet and not correcting Dick's obvious assumptions. "That was amazing by the way. You two looked great up there!"

Tim smirked down at her, seeing through her antics, especially now that she'd let him in on the rules of her game. Doesn't mean he couldn't play into it himself, he thought as he wrapped an arm around her waist and placed his chin atop her head.

"She's a great dance partner," Tim mentioned after both Kori and Dick had thanked and waved off Mari's compliments. "Considering learning something more structured with her, myself. Maybe give you two a run for your money."

"You definitely should! I can help with figuring out a style for you two if you'd like!" Kori offered immediately as Marinette turned to look at him in excitement.

"She has to agree first. Who knows, maybe this was a fluke and Mari will never dance with me again," he sighed in defeat.

Marinette turned, practically bouncing in anticipation, "Are you kidding? I'd love to! I want to come here again too."

"Even if you don't take my help with the dancing, I can record you two so you can look back and see for any needed improvements? That's what Richard and I do," Kori further offered up, Dick jumping back in right after.

"Oh yeah, it helps immensely. Especially if you were wanting to perform it on the platforms here."

Tim and Mari met eyes, before coming to an agreement, "Yeah, we'd appreciate that actually."

"Great! We'll set up some time here soon. In the meantime, I could definitely use a drink," Dick stated, looking back towards where he'd originally been headed. Kori grabbed onto Marinette instead, leading her back into the fray of dancers.

"We should invite Stephanie next. She would make a most interesting dance partner," Kori rattled on, suggesting a girls night that Mari agreed to immediately before getting back into the music with her new dance partner of the moment, Tim and Dick rejoining them shortly after. 

The night continued on this way, the four trading off between them, two not aware that it'd become a double date by this point. Eventually parting ways from the two, Tim and Mari made their way back towards his apartment, breathless and happy despite the unexpected interruptions to their night.

"How come we never end up at your place?" He asked suddenly.

"Because my apartment has become workzone number 2. Seriously, the place has essentially become a studio for my work that just so happens to have a kitchen and bedroom. Among other secrets not meant to be divulged… yet."

"Is that pertaining to the mystery of your magic."

"Perhaps."

"Mmm, whenever you're ready, I'll be happy to keep them for you. Though I can't imagine anything bigger than holding two technical gods in your pockets at all times."

"Shhh, don't let them hear you say that!"

He only chuckled, leading her into the complex and up to his penthouse. Silence overtaking them until the door had clicked shut.

"You staying the night, sweetheart?" Tim asked, toeing off his shoes and walking towards his room to get changed.

"Mm, think I might," she replied, following him in and stealing a shirt before wandering into the bathroom to get first dibs on a shower. She still found it lucky that while he might be the shortest of his brothers, she was still small enough to be buried in his clothes. Made it easier for night like these.

Finishing up, she plopped herself on his bad as he went to shower as well. 

Eventually, the door reopened, Tim entering in only pajama bottoms, hair still damp and in his face. She hummed her appreciation, enjoying the view and reaching out to tug him closer.

"Is it weird how comfortable we've become in so little time?" 

"Only if you're uncomfortable with it."

"I'm not."

"Good."

With the affirmation, he picked her up only to lay her out further up the bed. Stretching out at her side, he pressed kisses to her cheek and down her neck, hand trailing against exposed skin, clearly enjoying having her in his home, in his bed, in his shirt.

'Hmm, what were two raging insomniacs to do with the rest of their night?'

… 

Bonus:

Not a week later, after a long discussion with Damian to ensure that Kori was not included in the bet and swearing the alien to secrecy, they asked her to film something for them. A dance they had come with that was just for them. Not anything that could be performed in a club or for anyone to see. Maybe one day they'd post it somewhere or show Dick, but for now, it was theirs alone.

[cherry-selfship]

About Forever

Still dunno how to do cuts oof, angst with a happy ending, this time, with Johnny and V.

It was chaos. Getting into Arasaka Tower, getting to Mikoshi, getting Alt to cram Johnny back into the bio chip, getting him out of her head so she could give him his second chance.

The drive to Viktor was something strange to V. She'd gotten so used to having her tapeworm telling her everything would be alright, she would make it out of this, but here she was. She felt like she'd been hit by an AV. Her entire body hurt, her head was spinning and she felt sick. The chip had been killing her, and she was feeling it’s effects now more than ever.

And for the first time in a while, her mind was quiet.

She didn't let off the gas until she reached her final destination. Some abandoned warehouse where Viktor was able to set up what he needed to bring Johnny's body out of cryo.

"Is he ready?" She spat, stumbling through the door to see Viktor leaning back in a chair, staring at the door.

"Just waiting for you, V. You got it?"

She reached up to the side of her neck and pulled the chip. "Alt was a big help, crammed him back in there." V hurriedly pushed the chip into Viktor's hands. "He'll be okay, right?"

She felt her hold on consciousness slipping, and she mentally cursed the fact that she was losing it.

"Might take a bit for him to grab back on in there, but he'll come back."

"Good. Good."

Johnny was going to be okay. He got his second chance, that's what I wanted, right? Johnny is gonna get his life back, in his own body, not mine.

With the knowledge that her mission was over, Johnny would be okay, her mind finally lost it's grip. Everything she'd been through took it's hold, and she blacked out.

One thing V had never understood was why people talked to coma patients. She never believed they'd hear the talking, but now here she was. She was trapped in her own head, and she could hear Johnny. And Viktor.

"Is she okay?"

"Don't know, to be honest. She seems stable enough, but she passed out just after she got here. Been out ever since."

"Is she gonna wake up?"

"Dunno that either, she's been out almost a week. Having you in her head did a number on her brain. Don't know if she will."

She wanted to open her eyes, jump up and scream. I'm here! I'm here, Johnny. I'm alright! But she couldn't. She was trapped in her own head. But she was stubborn. She wasn't dead, she was just... kinda stuck.

She almost swore she could feel Johnny's hand on her arm, running his hands over the tattoo. The tattoo he'd gotten when he'd taken over her body and went on a goddamn bender, part of their little 'last wishes' agreement.

Johnny + V

Johnny and V. At first, she'd hated it. But then, she'd become rather fond of it. Fond of it, fond of Johnny. Before she'd gone into Mikoshi, she'd told him the truth that she'd been so afraid of, despite it being obvious with their interactions.

In case I don't make it out of this to see you live your life, I love you Johnny.

They'd spent the rest of the night, until V got word that it was time to go, planning what they were gonna do after they won.

"Alright, you listen to me and you listen close." Johnny. "I know you can hear me in there because you're still breathin'." He paused, and V could only imagine what was going on. He'd be sitting next to her, staring at her, his glare daring her to give up on him.

"You stubborn asshat, we've come too far for you to fucking quit on me now!"

When there's no reaction, his voice gets softer. "V... please. C'mon, don't do this to me."

A pause, his hand in hers, a tight squeeze. "Don't let me go through this again."

Let me out of here. After everything i've been through in my life, let me have this. Let me have this little bit of happiness.

A deep breath, a bright light, and the first thing that came to her mind spilling past her lips. "Did you just call me an asshat, you dick?"

The feelings around her start to come back. V can feel the couch that Viktor had laid her out on, the grimy clothes she's probably been in since she left Arasaka, and Johnny's hand in hers. She did the one things she could think to do. She squeezed his hand.

"Yeah, I did." He chuckles. "You gonna do something about it?"

"Yeah, I am." Her hand leaves his and slides up his chest, where she grabs the front of his shirt, pulling him down to her level, and smirking before she finally takes what she'd wanted. A kiss. A real kiss, not the fake shit in her mind that only she knew.

A real kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and smiled once she finally pulled away, her need to breathe only marginally outweighing her need for Johnny. He was real, and that's all she'd wanted for a while now.

"Now, Silverhand. About forever."