#Sorry if I left any glaring fault I will edit tomorrow

[haetrack]

UR HYUCK FIC IS SO CUTEEE OMG IM SO EXCITED FOR PT 2

Since ur requests are open would it be okay to request one where the (dom) reader ignores his brattiness until he gives in and starts begging them to ride him 🫣

req 1: dom!reader x sub!haechan

wc: 2.4k (yes i’m aware i yap too much)

content warnings: afab!reader, bratty haechan, unprotected sex, handjob, reader ignores haechan, riding, degradation, food mention, one slap, one use of slut, not really edited don’t yell at me

a/n: thank u for liking spur of the moment!!! hope u enjoyyy bc i certainly enjoyed writing this 🫶

you’ve always loved how attentive and touchy your boyfriend is.

he knows how you’re feeling, knowing when to step in or give you the space you need. you’re sure he’s secretly keeps a list of all the things you like and dislike. he always has a hand somewhere on your body, not a part left untouched. you’ve even seen him listen to your favorite songs, fighting against the stubborn thought that his music is the best.

it’s only on days like this where you realize that he might be just a bit too needy.

you’ve been working on a slideshow for a presentation you have to do for class. it’s been sitting on top of your to-do list, but you just can’t help but procrastinate a little. haechan knows that you’ll be working on it, busy with making and memorizing slides. like the good boyfriend he is, he tells you good luck and presses a small kiss to your cheek.

you can’t say that this is entirely his fault, not when you just let him come over. when he sends you a text letting you know that he coincidentally bought your favorite takeout, you just can’t say no to that. you’ve been working on this stupid project all day, you deserve to see your favorite person and eat your favorite food with him.

you can tell when he walks in, takeout in hand, that the air around him feels a little different. you wrap him in a warm embrace and thank him for the food. he happily reciprocates the hug, but he nuzzles his nose to the crook of your neck, then placing a wet kiss there. you send him a quick glare, and he laughs at how cute you look. “no funny business, haechan, you know what i need to do after this.”

he looks shocked and offended, “i can’t believe you think i want anything! maybe this is just who i am as a person,” he says, grabbing your hand and pressing a kiss to the top of it.

all you can do is huff in his face, “you’re such a weirdo.”

“love it when you’re mean to me, does something crazy to me.”

you almost slam the door in his face.

you both eat together at your apartment's small dining table. he asks you how your project is going and you just sigh, and he looks at you with a sorry face, sharing some of his portion of food with you. you happily accept it, and he asks if he could feed it to you. you quickly deny his offer, and he goes off on a tangent about how he just wants to take care of his baby. you laugh at his antics, and he’s happy that you can feel a little relieved with him around.

once you finish, you both clean up and talk from there. you ask about what he’s going to do (to which he interjects, hopefully you, and you ignore him), if he’s busy tomorrow, and if he has any work to do now. he pulls out his backpack and reaches for his laptop, moving to the coffee table in front of your couch. you join him, and he immediately hugs your side, making happy, high-pitched noises.

you have to forcibly pull him off of you, and before he can whine, you say, “i seriously have to get this done or else i will definitely have to drop out.”

“i know… you just look really good today.”

you let out a small laugh, all you’re wearing is house clothes, having done nothing else. you pat his shoulder and open your laptop back up, your project looking you straight in the eyes. it’s time to lock in.

after only a few minutes of work, you can feel haechan’s attention shift from his work to you. you can feel his eyes trail all over you, and you’re not sure if he’s trying to be subtle or not. with one last look, he bites his lip, shifting in his spot. you ignore him, this project being just a little more important now than haechan trying to get your attention. you hear a small sigh from him, and you type just a little slower.

he goes back to his work, scrolling mundanely through an article. without his distractions, you’re able to get through a few more slides. when you go back to your notes to find a reference, you feel a warm touch on your thigh. you decide to leave it be, you know how he is. the thing is, it squeezes softly before trailing higher up. he let’s his hand sit there, rubbing small circles with his thumb.

if it were any other day, you’d let him continue touching you to see what would happen. but today is different. you reach for his hand and give it a soft squeeze, giving him the attention he happily seeks. he looks up to you with hopeful eyes, and you shake your head at him, returning to your work. you’re sure if you continue like this, he’s surely going to start whining in your ear.

if you knew any better, you would look down to see that he’s getting hard in his sweats. there’s nothing like getting the attention that he wants, but there’s something about you so willing to ignore his actions to do something more important. it sets off a little fire in him, and he will get your attention, no matter what he has to do.

after numerous attempts of haechan trying to get you to look at him and touch him, you’re close to breaking. he sits closer to you, a hand settled by your hip, one hand moving up and groping your chest and tweaking a hard nipple. you swat his hands away and he lets out a little groan of your name like he’d normally do during sex. he tries to shove his fingers into your sweats, and before he can feel how wet you are, you scold him. he only sends a sweet smile your way.

it’s when you’re almost done with the last two slides when he grabs your hand and places it on top of his bulge. he twitches with just the light touch of your hand, and you can feel how hard he is. you slightly scoff, and you squeeze tightly around his length. he moans out and moves to grab your hand again, moving it to below his sweats. you move your hand around his clothed dick once before leaving it there, resuming your work.

he whines out at this and bucks his hips into your hand, encouraging you to touch him again. he can see you scrolling through your notes, realizing that he’s losing to a fucking project. you’re right there, and yet you’re still not looking at him. while he tries to sound serious, his voice comes out whiny and breathless, “fucking move already.”

you smile at your screen, finding some of the last information you need. as a reward, you move to squeeze your fingers around his tip, feeling the small patch of precum making your fingers sticky. he moans out again as his hands move to grip the edge of the table, and you just hum softly in response. your hand moves under his boxers and you squeeze around him again, gaining a satisfactory whimper of your name.

haechan can easily make you touch him, can easily fuck you, but he likes it like this. he feels so small under your touch, so desperate to make you fuck him. and while his inherent brattiness is making this harder for him, the chase of it all makes him much more hornier.

you begin to type with one hand, albeit a little slow, while the other begins to work on haechan. gather his precum to help the slide of your fist. he bucks his hips in your hold, and just for a second, you turn to look at him and let out a small stop, before you continue. he groans out, clearly getting annoyed with your teasing, “i wouldn’t be like this if you would just fuck me already.”

you cock your head at him before you squeeze your fist around him again, “behave, haechan.”

he throbs in your touch, and you can feel the drops of precum spill out of his tip. how badly you want to put your mouth around him, but you still need to finish this. one more slide and only a few more strokes of haechan’s dick before you know he’ll cum. after finding what you need, you focus on him while looking busy. you pump him harder, making whimpers and moans fall from his mouth.

he’s breaking, you think. you can see out of the corner of your eyes that his eyes are tightly shut, tears threatening to slip out of them. he’s like this because of a handjob. when you can feel he’s close, when he calls out your name, you pull away from him, wiping your wet hand onto his thigh to resume your typing. he looks at you, so close to crying, his orgasm being ripped away from him.

you’re feeling quite needy yourself, and you hurry this last slide up, knowing fully well that it’s going to come out bad. there is something more important that you need to attend to, being your boyfriend who’s letting out soft sobs besides you. you can feel how wet you are as you clench around nothing hearing your boyfriend cry out to you.

before you finish up, you hear haechan cry out, “please! i’m sorry! i just- i need you so bad and i c-can’t! please ride me, i want you so bad!”

hearing him, you slam your laptop shut, causing him to jump slightly. you move to quickly sit on his lap and you wipe his tears away, shushing him softly. he looks up at you and you drag your thumb over his lip, and you whisper out to him, “you know how bratty you were being, distracted me from doing my work…”

he nods along to your words, apologies slipping out of his mouth. you can feel his dick twitch under you, and you coo softly at him. he reaches up to kiss you, but you move, causing him to miss and kiss the corner of his mouth. “no baby, you’re gonna get what i give you, i don’t think you deserve such nice rewards.”

he just whimpers, silently begging you to do something. you whisper out a be patient before moving to take off your sweats. he does the same, only pushing his sweats and boxers down to his midthigh. you straddle him again, and he looks up at you with his teary eyes, obedience painted all over his face. you smile sweetly, “if i ride you, will you cum too fast?”

he shakes his head no, but you both know how he is, and seeing him like that gets you off fast. you push your panties to the side, sliding your slick all over his cock. you can feel his tip get caught at your entrance, and his breath hitches, hands moving over to grab onto your ass. you sit yourself up and you position his dick to your entrance properly. in one final act of brattiness, he suddenly pushes you down onto him, causing you both to moan out.

the stretch isn’t bad considering the lack of foreplay on your end, but being sopping wet does help out. you softly moan out, but haechan on the other end can’t stop moaning and whimpering. you take a moment to get used to the stretch, all while haechan is under you, swiveling his hips.

when you begin to move on top of him, his head lolls back onto the couch behind him, eyes shutting, brows furrowed as your pussy sucks his cock in. all you can hear are the high-pitched noises coming out of him and the loud squelch coming from between your thighs. you have to manually grab his hand to move it to your clit, reminding him that it’s not all about him.

his eyes are still shut, fingers making light circles around your clit, and you’re clearly not getting as much out of this as he is. you call out his name, but to no avail. it’s not until you slap his cheek, calling out his name louder that he moans out again and opens his eyes to see you, riding him with an angry look on your face. it feels too much, and he swears he almost cums on the spot.

you can feel him twitching inside of you, his hips beginning to move to help you both out. his thumb lazily begins to move against your clit, and the added stimulation makes it a lot better. “t-too busy focused on yourself, right? you should be thankful i decided to fuck you, you needy slut.”

“yes, thank you! ‘m your needy slut, wanna be yours forever!” he can feel you clench at his words, moaning out to you, begging you to let him cum.

you shake your head, asking him to wait for you to cum first. he bites down on his lip, eyes shutting once more as he tries to fight off his orgasm. this only spurs you on, your hips moving faster, your hands sliding under his shirt and pinching his nipples. his hips jut up into yours, causing a whimper of your name to fall out of his mouth.

haechan hears this, and he feels his dick twitch harshly, a broken moan falling from his mouth, “c-cumming!”

you’re not surprised, quite pleased with the feeling of his cum filling you up. you continue to move on top of him, riding him throughout his orgasm. you don’t stop until he pushes at your hips, crying and trying to force you off of him. you comply, a sly smile on your face as he dazedly watches his cum seep out of your hole. you finally kiss him, and he lets out soft cries of your name between you two.

once he settles down, you move to sit on top of the couch, legs spread open for him. he turns over and seems your cum-filled pussy, his cum spilling out of you. he slowly looks up at you, hearing you say, “are you gonna clean me up, baby?”

he has never moved faster, your attentive boyfriend moving to where you need him most.

taglist hehe: @froggyforyoongi @vqlentinez

[greengargouille]

((Until the end I hesitated on which fic to publish for Mimura’s birthday, and well, that certainly didn’t help being on time. On the other hand, it does raise probabilities for Valentine’s Day.

I did mention once I wanted to write about how group 2 interacts within the KoroQuest verse, but now I’m noticing that I ended up not using a lot of ideas I had as far as bug headcanons, so I guess I will need another one-shot))

Rating: General audiences Characters: Group 2, Mimura’s pov. Mentions of other students from Class E. Relationship: None

From the simple, basic monster nest in a cave to the maze-like caste full of traps, dungeons came in all shapes and sizes, and young students aspiring to be heroes would, during their education, be confronted to various structures.

Still, despite no dungeon being quite like the other (except the northern caves that all looked the same), the one Group 2 was exploring that day was quite unusual for them. It could be summarized, as Chiba had called it as one point, as an “architectural mess”.

Apparently, some decades ago, an alchemist had installed his research tower on top of a abandoned mine, and with the apprentices and family members over the years, multiple additions were made to the building, without consideration for what had already been constructed. Rooms without doors to their own floors that could only be acceded by ascending and descending two different floors, windows opening on another walls and doors opening on emptiness ; and, like any den from a rich alchemist a bit too paranoid about their work, the path to the research rooms was filled traps only the master the of place could deactivate.

This obviously turned out to be a mistake when it turned out the mines used as a base were filled with monsters. When the Big Bad then in place had been defeated, those creatures went dormant, but after ten years and a new monster king, they finally woke up and invaded the building, which became a dungeon ever since. What at its peak might have been a mismatch of different ambiance and decoration styles was slowly eaten by decay and dust and turned into an eerie place.

Though the different floors have been fascinating each in their own way to the group (though extremely frustrating in their attempts to draw a map as part of their exploration homework), nothing was quite as jarring as what they were currently seeing. Giant stairs of black stone, cut meticulously despite their size, illuminated by lamps of colored glass still working after all those years; on one side, not so much a wall than a reminder they were currently descending toward the underground floors, earth and mineral as far as the eye could see, not even properly cut; on the other, no guardrail, nothing to stop what would be a fatal fall. This would probably be scarier if a lone step of the stairs wasn’t large enough for the seven of them to sit at ease without touching, but it did make one wonder what have been the directives during the construction.

The lack of obstacle did make it easier for them to observe the lower floor from a distance, though.

“That’s,” Hayami commented, “a lot of monsters.”

An obvious assessment, but by now the group was used to voice those for the sake of Chiba ; it was best to let the boy rest his eyes when his bug was not needed.

“If we go downstairs, we should probably expect at least multiple battles in a row,” estimated Nakamura. “We’re already low on healing items, that will be tedious.” “Most of them are earth-aligned, through.” Fuwa looked at the monsters through binoculars, trying to deduce their skills from their appearance. “Most of them will be too slow to attack us every turn, and we already have the equipment against elemental spells. It’s doable. -Hmm. What do you say about that, leader?” Nakamura grinned as she said the last word towards Mimura.

Light teasing, he knew, yet he couldn’t help but feel bothered.

 It had started weeks ago, when observing the class representatives doing a report after the whole 3-E had finished exploring a dungeon. ‘It would be nice if we had a leader in our group’, Mimura had said without thinking. He didn’t have an exact definition of what he even meant with ‘leader’. Someone to take care of the documents each group had to fill for the main building, sure, someone to direct them into battle, but there was something more to it, a concept he couldn’t really put into words, nor had he expected to.

But this mere sentence had sparked a discussion among the group. What did it meant, exactly, to be a leader, and would they really be better off with one? Group 3 had Terasaka at its head, and he left all strategy and paperwork to Hazama and Takebayashi, respectively. As for Group 4... The closest thing to a leader they had would probably be Karma, though Mimura would be hard-pressed to explain why his choice would be him out of the six. Was it a question of strength? Of attitude? Charisma? Being able to intimidate people into obeying? Was there some inherent quality to leadership that eluded him? Nobody was really sure, though they could at least say the leader’s job was something to do with ‘giving orders’ and ‘uniting everyone’.

Nakamura had joked she wouldn’t mind having her ‘own group of slaves’ to do her work, before adding quickly it would probably be really tiring and would rather leave the responsibility to someone else. Chiba and Hayami both had seemed unwilling to push all the work on only one person, and though they hadn’t voiced it, unwilling even more for that person to be one of them. (Sugaya had whispered to Mimura it would indeed be a bad idea, given their prior experience to working in groups the precedent years, though he hadn’t told him any detail on this). Okajima might have been enthusiastic at the idea of being a leader, but he barely spoke three words before the girls glared at him, hands on their weapons. This was the moment Fuwa had chosen to blurt out a ‘You know, Mimura was 4th in the Leadership ranking of Volume 16’. He didn’t remember participating in any such ranking, but Fuwa’s most cryptic sentences weren’t to be taken literally most of the time, something to do with a 4th wall and spin-off that only her understood. It was best to leave the details to her and listen to her advice, as she was often spot on.

Which is how, over the weeks, Mimura somehow felt into the position of ‘leader’ for Group 2.

“Let’s go back and try it later.” He finally said after pondering. “For now, we need to find an healing fountain and level up some more.”

The truth was, being a leader changed absolutely nothing, and pretty much everything.

Mimura didn’t make plans for battle ahead, instead deferring this responsibility to Nakamura and Fuwa, who were much better strategists. He already tried to stop fights within the group even before being at its head, used to be the middleman in such situations -and, he had to admit, because if the girls reduced Okajima’s HP any lower after another skirt lifting incident, Mimura would be the only one left on the frontline in fights, which he would much prefer avoid if possible. And maybe, maybe, he felt the others tended to leave the final decision to him, now, but that might just be a bias of observation from his part. He noticed it because he expected it now, but it might not be any different from how it was before, and there must be important decisions in which he had no say that he didn’t notice because nobody asked him about it. Nothing that Mimura did had changed.

And yet, in his mind, it did change. The pressure. It was probably all a joke they all took only half-seriously except for him (and maybe Hayami and Chiba, it was hard to tell with how professional those two acted sometimes), but he couldn’t help but think they were all his responsibility. He had to make sure they were safe, and he avoided uncertain battles he would have previously attempted, or asked of his classmates to take an healing item when he might have felt before it could wait after one more fight or two. And he was getting worried, too, about how they leveled up slower than the other groups, and it took all their efforts for the gap not to grow any more than this. He had always been wary of his own skills ; he was average in most stats, not that suited for swordsmanship and only filling the role because most of the team was made of mages. But it had ceased to be about him as an individual, and had started to be about all of them, what they would all bring to the class against their teacher and the main building. His role was the same but his priorities clearly had switched.

“Ah, now that I think about it. There was that closed hall we met on the way, right? Okajima, you said we might find an emergency switch at proximity, what about the range? Do you think it could be down there? -That might actually be likely. Those kinds of doors are supposed to be opened and closed only from the inside, so the switch can’t be in a convenient place or people would be tempted to use it.”

While overall architecture was Chiba’s speciality, Okajima had an interest in traps and locks. It started from the idea of a giant trap for Korosensei, with dirty magazines as a bait, but recently he also used his knowledge in more varied ways -which might or might have to do with how the girls had started to lock the door behind them whenever they changed into PE clothes- and Mimura had started to rely on him in dungeons.

“And for how the switch might look like? Do you have an idea? -It’s might be more like a lever, actually. If it was a switch a monster would have stepped on it after all this time, and the emergency system for those is pretty basic, you can open but not close. Most of the treasure this deep into the dungeon were still there, so I don’t think another group could have come and closed the doors once again recently. -Right, this seems logical. Then... Chiba, is there enough light for you to see if you can locate a lever down there? If it’s accessible, I would like you or Hayami to try shooting on it, we might be able to activate it from a distance. -It’s a bit dark, but that much isn’t a problem.” The archer replied while getting closer to the edge of the stairs, observing the area below for a moment before declaring: “Ah, there. Behind the Iron Tortoise. -Big enough to hit with an arrow? -Yeah, but I won’t be able to get a good angle from here if the goal is to move it in the opposite direction. Hayami, you might be able to do it, though, if you use the wall next to it, with your bug it would bounce back to the target, right?” Chiba asked, turning his head to the left. “That shouldn’t be a problem,” Hayami replied to his right, taking a moment for locating said lever with binoculars.

Her shooting range wasn’t so high originally that she could have hit such a target, bug or not, but since Chiba didn’t need to buff his bugged skill, any item raising that specific stat was given to her. Given the pair only switched their original weapons to bows recently, one could say they truly were talented.

...It might be a bit inappropriate, but Mimura was envious of them. He wished he could switch to something else, too, a job at the back of the group, without having to get so close to the monsters or shielding his comrades. Maybe guys like Terasaka and his gang could endure a lot of damage, but he didn’t have their HP nor their tolerance to pain. Hell, if he at least had their strength, he might feel a bit more confident going in front, but no, he didn’t have that, didn’t have Maehara’s reflexes sharpened by training against Okano, didn’t have Isogai or Kataoka’s skills in support magic, and he was far, far away from becoming a magic swordsman like Karma. And, needless to say, he wasn’t competent with a bow or firearms either.

...So much for going into heroics.

“Did it work? -Yes, I’m pretty sure I heard something moving.” Nakamura replied. “Well, if we’re not going downstairs anyways it’s no point wondering, let’s go back. -Urg, I’m not looking forward for the climb.” Fuwa sighed before starting her ascension.

Her feeling was shared among the group, but while they all complained about dungeon exploration at some point or another, they were all used to going in circles by now. Mimura was ready to follow, last of the group as he had been head of the line during their descent, but immediately stopped when seeing that one of their member had yet to move. Sugaya looked at him, like he wanted to add something, but was unsure whether this was the right moment.

“...Sorry, you guys,” Mimura asked toward the others, “could you climb without me and Sugaya? We will catch up to you in a moment. -Sure,” Hayami nodded, “we didn’t met any monster on the stairs yet, so it probably won’t be a problem if we divide the group. -Well, don’t take too long,” Nakamura added, “or I will tell Korosensei you two are skipping homework to play lovebirds together, I’m sure he would love the story.”

Mimura only replied with an unimpressed glance, which made her smile before turning her head back to the next step. Trying to refute her attempts at trolling would only make her insist on it.

“So, is everything alright?” He finally asked the mage once he was sure they could speak unbothered.

“Ah, yes, sorry, I’m fine, you didn’t need to tell everyone to leave, it’s just... Well, I guess I could get your opinion on this.” Sugaya opened the item bag hanging out on his side, filled with items. As he was usually the first to get out of MP, he would often be the one to grab potions or antidotal herbs for the others, so naturally he ended up being the one to carry them for everyone. “I asked Okuda if she could create magic ink for me to experiment with boost-giving tattoos, and I did came up with something, but the effect only last a few hours, so I was wondering if it’s best to leave it for before the dungeon boss or if I should draw it while we’re not in a rush. -Good question. When you say ‘a few hours’, did you time it? -Not really. In fact, I’m not sure if it isn’t affected by the number of fights we get into. -True, some items work like that. Well, it’s still impressive if it manages to last that long, though.”

Mimura said that honestly. The idea was great: he had heard already about the strength-boosting ‘Tough guy tattoo’, but this was an adhesive item, which he knew was different from the tattoos Sugaya liked to draw on his arms sometimes. An hour-long boost that didn’t take place in their inventory would be a major advantage, if they could time it properly. Making sure they wouldn’t use it completely before the boss’ room while not wasting it by only putting it on the last moment would take some practice. Maybe they should ask Sugino for tips, with his bug he should have some experience in trying to time his own magic.

“I would be tempted to use it right now, we’re kind of in a tight spot if we don’t find a place to heal. I would feel more secure if we get a bit of help into battles. What stats is it supposed to raise, anyways, it’s not Coolness is it?” It wouldn’t be very helpful for fighting, given the mage had yet to learn any Charm spell. “Are you implying my tattoos aren’t cool by default?” Sugaya pretended to be offended, but when he raised his eyes away from his bag a small ink bottle in hand, he had a smile on his face. “But nah, it gives a 10% bonus to strength. -Strength? That... doesn’t seems very useful for a mage? -What? No, it’s for you.”

Mimura blinked.

“Ah. Thank you? But, shouldn’t you have tried for something more helpful for you first? -Eh, I’m fine like that.” Sugaya shrugged, before correcting himself. “I mean, sure, I wouldn’t mind a boost, but that’s no big deal, and lately you’ve been so... unhappy with yourself? You’ve been complaining more about how you should get stronger or stuff like that. -Was I?” Mimura had enough self-awareness to know he could be quite vocal when he wasn’t satisfied with his situation, but to that extent? “Sorry, I didn’t know I was getting annoying. -That’s not- Look, I just wanted to do something nice for you, there’s no hidden motive or anything.” 

Sugaya unbottled the ink in his hand while talking. A long, thin stalk was stuck to the cap, with hair on the other side. Mimura had not yet see the artist make tattoos with a brush, but he supposed it was more convenient to transport.

“Can I have your arm, please? -My- Oh, right. Wow, Can’t believe I’m getting a tattoo. What would my parents say if they knew. -If they don’t want you to get a tattoo then they should get you money to get more items. -Ha, I wish. It would be easier.”

Mimura expected a joking reply, a comment on how Sugaya’s own parents had restricted his pocket money when they figured out he was spending it all in art supplies instead of equipment, but the boy stayed silent as he painted strange arabesques on Mimura’s skin. The artist wasn’t usually against small talk when working, but maybe the task was demanding more focus than expected. Mimura went quiet. He didn’t want to disturb his friend, and it was interesting to see him work from such an angle.

“...You know, I like the way we do thing as it is.” Sugaya finally said. “Drawing boosts instead of getting them by items? -That too. But. You know. How the whole team acts.” As Mimura looked at him confused, Sugaya added. “Dismantling traps, using our bugs to progress instead of fighting. Maybe we’re getting behind the other groups, and we get into trouble because we don’t have an healer or a tank, but... we’re still finding a way to make it work, even if it’s not very conventional. I like it.” He stopped talking an instant as he finished drawing a rune. “And I like you being our leader, instead of someone like Isogai or Kataoka. I think you fit us better.”

Mimura wasn’t sure how to reply to that. He could understand it was a compliment, but he never have been that good on handling them. As for the group, it was hard to understand liking it. This messy team, where the girls always got in fights with their only proper swordsman, where they constantly had to go back on their tracks because the monsters were too powerful, where they had to count each gold piece they got because another potion could mean life or death for them...

“...Yeah, I think I like it too, leading this group.”

They might all be a team of barely organised brats, but as much as Mimura complained, they were all good friends, and if he was given the chance to change groups he didn’t think he would take it.

“Glad to hear that.” Sugaya sealed his ink bottle and put it away in his bag. “So, how does it feel? -Hmm, I do feel stronger.” A message appeared in Mimura’s mind, informing him of his stat raise. “Guess I only need to try it now. Come on, let’s join back the others, before Nakamura starts inventing another dramatic story. -As you wish, leader.” Sugaya grinned at him, before suddenly remembering something. “Ah, right, by the way, the effects only last a few hours, but the ink itself stay a whole week, so don’t use that as a reference point. -A whole- And you couldn’t have told me that before tattooing me?!”

Maybe Mimura was wrong, after all, he really should consider changing groups.

[sirenascales]

-> double black [part one] 18+

-> Chuuya x 1stPov!F!Reader x Dazai

-> Who knew getting fired from work could lead to this?

-> Content: SMUT, slight angst, violence, murder, swearing

A night out drinking leads to a small misunderstanding with a handsome, yet dangerous man. [Chuuya x 1stPOV!F!Reader]

3,894 words

note: edited this so it could still be read as a reader fic! it's actually a lot of fun writing in first person! hope those who read this enjoy my first bsd fic!

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Final || masterlist

I've experienced a lot of amazing things since I've moved to Japan. A new job in a different country, new co-workers and friends, work parties, themed bars, cafes, and hookups with pretty strangers. There was a long list of great things I've had going on, and a long list of things I've never expected... and being fired from the job I had for a year was not one of them.

"A year of hard work... for nothing," I mumbled bitterly as I sat at the bar with my close friend, and now ex-coworker, Keiko. She was beautiful, with long black hair and brown eyes. She frowned, a sympathetic look on her pretty face as she sighed.

"I'm so sorry," she said softly, giving my shoulder a squeeze. "I'm sure you'll find something else soon! You have an awesome resume, and you're an amazing worker who can speak English, Japanese AND Spanish... there is totally a place for you out there!"

Keiko has always been supportive and enthusiastic, a really bright and friendly girl who made it her mission to befriend me as soon as I started working with her. She was relentless, and soon enough, I found myself spending many hours with the woman.

"Yeah..." I just mumbled again and she laughed softly.

"It's okay to mope... that's why I brought you here!"

"Yeah, about that," I started, sending Keiko a look as I swiveled the stool so my body faced her. "Why did you bring me here?" As soon as the work day was done, Keiko immediately dragged me to what was clearly a mafia bar. That didn't surprise me, since she was actually dating a mafioso.

A mafioso, who was part of the Port Mafia. It wasn't long after I moved to Yokohama that I started to hear stories about the organization, and was also warned not to cross them. Of course, with my luck, I became best friends with someone who dated someone who was in the Port Mafia. How a sweet girl like Keiko ended up with a man like him, I'll never know.

What I do know is that Taichi adored Keiko, gave her everything she could possibly want and need with the money he makes, and that was just being a normal grunt! Even so, it was dangerous, but Keiko didn't seem to mind.

"I come here with Taichi all the time," Keiko answered, sipping her drink. I turned to sip on my own. "You can't tell me it isn't luxurious." It was. My jaw had dropped to the floor when we first stepped into the very luxurious bar. "Don't worry about it, okay? Drink your sadness away! You're safe here. Since I am Taichi's woman, and you're with me, nothing will happen, okay?"

"Where is Taichi anyway?" I asked, glancing over her shoulder when I spotted a group of men walking in through the entrance. I missed the way the light left Keiko's eyes, chewing on her bottom lip anxiously. My eyes were on the men, which in the middle was a man with orange hair, a black hat adorning his head. I felt my breath hitch in my throat, my eyes looking at the very handsome man up and down. I swallowed thickly.

"He had a job tonight and couldn't make it. He'll be home to- hey, what are you looking at?" Annoyed at me ignoring her, she turned in her seat, a shocked look on her face before she smiled tightly.

"Taichi! I thought you had an assignment!"

"Hey, babe! We finished early, which was quite surprising, honestly."

The couple embraced and I barely registered the mushy love between the two as I watched the ginger man lead the rest of the group further into the bar. He walked by me, and before I knew it, dark blue eyes were staring right at me, eyebrows furrowed.

"The hell are you looking at?" he sneered and my face turned red, heart dropping in my chest.

"No one! I'm sorry!" I exclaimed, quickly turning back around and facing the bar.

"Tch. Whatever," the man only responded before walking off.

"You look like a cherry," Taichi said, clearly amused. I sent him a half-hearted glare, Keiko slapping his chest lightly.

"Be nice to her. She got fired today."

"Ohh, that sucks. If you need help-"

"She won't take it," Keiko said with a huff. "Stubborn ass."

I rolled my eyes at her, biting my lip nervously as I fiddled with my glass. "So uh... who was that guy? With the hat?"

Taichi blinked. "Oh, that's Chuuya Nakahara."

"Is he part of the Port Mafia?"

Taichi barked out a laugh, Keiko giggling softly behind her hand.

"Baby... he's an executive. Chuuya works closely with the leader of the Port Mafia."

"And I work under Chuuya," Taichi finished, amused at how wide my eyes have gotten at the answer.

"You mean to tell me... I pissed off... an executive member..." I was dismayed, heart pounding in my chest.

"Hmm, probably. Don't go home alone tonight," Taichi grinned as I balked, clearly having fun torturing me.

"Taichi! Babe, don't listen to him."

I gulped nervously, downing the rest of my drink before signaling to the bartender to get me another one.. "R-right..." Despite my better judgment, I turned my head, looking towards the obvious VIP section of the bar. Chuuya sat with some other grunts, a glass of what seemed to be red wine in his hand. Of course, his eyes found mines yet again and I whipped my head back around. Fuck, I did it again! I quickly downed the newly made drink, unaware of Chuuya's eyes narrowing as he watched me.

"Nooo, do you have to go?" a drunk Keiko whined as she latched onto my arm, a forever amused Taichi watching on. "Don't leave me with hiiiiiiim."

"I want to go home, dammit," I huffed, successfully peeling her off of me and handing her to her boyfriend. "I have to start job hunting tomorrow. Thank you for bringing me here, I do feel better and I love you but... I'm tired."

"Ugh, you are such an old lady!" Keiko whined again and I couldn't help but laugh, turning to start walking towards the exit.

"Goodnight, you too. Please get her home safe, Taichi."

"I wouldn't count on it~"

I rolled my eyes at his teasing, leaving the two behind as I left the bar. I stepped out into the cool night air, shivering a bit as I closed my cardigan tightly around me. I wore a simple but cute outfit; a black dress with burgundy tights underneath, black flats on my feet and my favorite tan cardigan over the entire outfit. It helped me fight off a bit of the cold, but as I started to walk down the block, I grabbed my phone to start searching through my usual rideshare app.

I didn't get far. My phone cluttered to the ground as it fell out my hands, a gasp leaving my mouth as I was slammed against the nearby brickwall of a narrow, dark alleyway.

"Who the fuck are you?" a familiar voice hissed and I'm shocked to find Chuuya Nakahara glaring daggers at me, his strong hands pinning my arms against the wall. He growled when I didn't answer. "Answer me! Who sent you here?!"

"N-No one!" I cried out, shaking like a leaf. Of course, of course I would be confronted by a fucking high level member of one of the most dangerous organizations in Japan. "I swear, I just came here with my friend."

Chuuya growled again and he flipped me around, pressing my front against the wall. "Stay still," he grunted, and my face started to heat up as I felt his gloved hands quickly feel along my body. He was frisking me, and I gulped when he shoved his hand under my dress, producing the knife I had strapped to my thigh.

"I carry that to protect myself," I immediately explained, Chuuya turning me around again to face him. His eyes were still narrowed, staring me down as if trying to figure out what the hell I was up to.

"And the bouncer didn't pat you down?" he questioned and I shook my head quickly.

"No, he didn't pat me or Keiko down."

"Tch, that's Taichi's woman," he said, though he still looked at me with narrow eyes, hesitating a bit before he turned my knife in his hand, handing it back to me hilt first. "You sure know how to make yourself look suspicious."

I cringed a bit as I strapped my knife to my thigh strap again. I missed how Chuuya's eyes lingered, him licking his lips. "That's my fault I... I know I was staring..." I could feel my face heat up again and I couldn't even look Chuuya in his face. "S-sorry if I creeped you out. I don't mean any harm. Keiko brought me here 'cause I got fired and she wanted to help me feel better..."

"Hm," was his only reply, crossing his arms over his chest. "What you do to fuck up?"

My mouth fell and I sputtered as I tried to come up with the words. "What do you mean?! I didn't fuck up!" I protested. "It literally came out of nowhere! I worked my ass off all year, only to get fired 'cause I wasn't what they needed anymore. Fucking bullshit."

Chuuya was amused by my little vent, snickering a bit as he gave me a quick look up and down. "I'm sure it wasn't your winning personality."

I scoffed. "Says the one that shoved a random woman against a wall?! That hurt, you bastard!"

Chuuya raised his eyebrows at me, and I immediately slapped my hands over my mouth.

Oh no. Fuck, I forgot who I was talking to.

Chuuya snickered again, his eyes flashing in amusement. He stepped closer to me, making me press back against the wall again. Chuuya leaned his face close to mine, a smug smirk on his face as he spoke.

"Be careful who you talk to like that," he hummed, and I shivered despite feeling some of his body heat. "Someone might just cut out your tongue for talking back like that. Me? Well, it'd be a waste, especially when I think of all the things I could make you do with it."

I squeaked, the heat never leaving my face as I stared at Chuuya with a puzzled expression on my face. The sudden switch up was giving me whiplash... and lowkey turning me on. "I..." I stuttered, looking away and finally noticing my phone still on the ground. "Crap, I hope it's not broken."

I rushed over to pick my phone up, ignoring Chuuya's hard stare on me. I looked over my phone, sighing in relief when I saw that it had sustained no damages.

Chuuya then stepped up to me, jerking his head back towards the bar before walking off. "Let me take you home. Take that as an apology for being so rough on you."

I blinked. "Um..."

"Hurry up!"

"Okay!" I squeaked and followed after the man quickly, chewing on my lip as I asked myself... what the fuck was I doing? Am I really about to get inside this man's car? He was a stranger! Who frisked me! Let alone, he is clearly a dangerous man.

I must be insane.

"Tell me," Chuuya started and I was dumbfounded as he approached a rather cool looking motorcycle. No way. "What the hell were you being so creepy for?" He turned to me and asked, an all-knowing smirk on his face. I blushed deeply. Of course, he already was able to figure it out once he realized that I wasn't a threat.

"No reason," I huffed out, earning a low laugh as Chuuya grabbed the only helmet I could see. I looked at him confused, gasping when he unceremoniously placed the helmet over my head. "What about you?"

"I don't need it," Chuuya simply answered before he finally mounted his bike. "Come on, you little liar. Hop on."

I couldn't help but stare, my mouth going dry as I took in the image of this handsome bastard with his bike. The engine roared as he turned it on, revving it a bit and making me make a mess in my panties.

"Hey, ya done eyefucking me, dollface?"

I sputtered. "I was NOT eyefucking you!" I stormed over to the bike, glaring at the grinning bastard as I climbed onto the bike behind him.

Chuuya snorted. "Yeah, like you weren't eyefucking me earlier in the bar," he retorted, easily reaching behind him to grab my wrists, pulling me against his back as he wrapped my arms around him. I was stunned silent, from his words, and his actions and the fact that his back felt so solid.... and he smelled so good...

"I was not..." I mumbled, pressing my cheek against his back. "Shut the fuck up."

He laughed darkly, and that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Where do you live?" Chuuya asked and I hesitantly told him my address. "I know where that is. Hold on."

"You do? It's on the other side of the city," I said and Chuuya just chuckled softly, looking over his shoulder and smirking at me.

"And who exactly runs this city?"

I clamped my mouth shut, his eyes staring into mine. I blushed and looked away from him. He turned his head back around with an amused laugh, the engine revving as he took off on his bike.

"Hold tight, dollface!"

He didn't have to tell me twice, my arms tightening around his torso as he sped down the street, weaving in and out of traffic. It was scary, but also so fucking exhilarating. My heart was thudding in my chest, my eyes watering because of the wind. Still, I kept them open, wanting to watch the world blur by us. Chuuya made a sharp, right turn, making me scream while he laughed loudly. 

"Man up!" he yelled at me.

"Stop driving like a crazy person!" I yelled back.

I didn't see the large, almost evil smirk that grew on Chuuya's face. Didn't see him licking his lips excitedly as he eyed a rather tall building coming up ahead.

"Tell me, dollface," he hollered back at me, revving the engine and I gulped as I held him tighter, his bike going faster. A bad feeling started to settle in my stomach, balking when he asked his next question. "Do you want to defy gravity?"

I didn't have time to answer, not when I finally realized that we were heading right towards the side of the building. I couldn't even scream, fear striking me as I suddenly started to see red, body jostling as Chuuya maneuvered the bike to jump in the air.... before landing perfectly on the side of the building and continuing vertically up towards the sky.

"Don't let go!" Chuuya sneered. Like that was ever going to happen.

I didn't dare turn my head to look down, my wide eyes staring up into the night sky as we made it closer to the top of the building. I couldn't even think straight, my body just running on nothing but adrenaline and fear.

"Ch-Chuuya!" I gasped out sharply, the bike finally making it to the roof of the building. Chuuya didn't slow down though, only barreling towards the edge and I started to panic. "Chuuya! What are you doing?!"

Chuuya only snickered, revving the engine once more before sending the bike flying off the edge of the building. I squeak and screw my eyes shut, pressing my face against the middle of his back. I didn't want to watch us plummet to our doom.

"Hey, idiot, open your eyes."

I whimpered and shook my head. "N-No..."

Chuuya sucked his teeth. "Just open your eyes! You'll regret it if you don't."

Biting my lip, I wanted a moment before I lifted my head up and opened my eyes, a small gasp leaving my mouth as I looked around me.

We were still floating in the air, biking moving through the sky. The City of Yokohama was lit up beautifully underneath us. I looked over, seeing the ocean at a distance, the ferris wheel lit up and spinning slowly. My mouth had fallen open, eyes wide in wonder. Chuuya was looking back at me, a triumphant grin on his face.

We made it to my apartment and Chuuya stood over me, an amused smile on his face as he watched me melt on the ground after I got off his bike.

"That was intense..." I mumbled, still feeling the effects of flying through the fucking sky. "I shouldn't even be surprised that you're gifted, with the power that you have already in the Port Mafia."

"Yeah, it was pretty great, huh," Chuuya said smugly, gloved hands stuffed in his coat pockets. I laughed softly, slowly standing up with my shaky legs. He took one look at my frazzled state and he grew even more smug. "That's a cute look on you, though if I really had my way with you, you wouldn't even be able to stand."

My face turned hot, sputtering as I tried to respond, but I had nothing to even say. Because the thought of actually inviting Chuuya inside and--

"Fuck..." I breathed out softly, looking at the man standing before me. His eyes didn't leave mine, the heat in them making a shiver go down my spine. "Do you... want to come inside?"

Chuuya fixed his hat on top of his head. "Lead the way, dollface."

"So... your ability lets you control gravity?" I asked once we made it inside the elevator of my apartment building. We were going fifteen stories up, after Chuuya parked his bike safely, of course.

"To put it simply, yes," Chuuya answered, stepping closer to me. I gasped softly when he grabbed my chin, the leather of his glove pressing against my skin. "But we're not here to talk about that." He pressed himself against me fully, leaning his face in until his lips hovered just above mine. I shivered, looking at him with hooded eyes. "This will be a one time thing, dollface."

I nodded, appreciating his honesty. "Of course," I replied just as the elevator stopped on my floor, doors sliding open. I grinned at him. "So let's make it count."

He liked the sound of that, grabbing my wrist and leading me out the elevator. I rushed to my apartment, grabbing my keys and hurriedly unlocking the door before opening it.

The door slammed shut as Chuuya immediately pressed me against it, his lips on mine in a fervorous kiss. I knocked his hat off his head as I ran my fingers through Chuuya's hair, moaning when his hands started to roam all over my body.

"Fuck..." I moaned softly when Chuuya started to kiss down my neck, squealing when he squeezed on my ass.

"Damn... you won't be able to fucking sit right, either," he growled against my neck as he massaged my ass and thighs. "Let's go."

Groaning when he moved himself away from me, I rushed to lead Chuuya to my bedroom, our clothes coming off in the process and making a trail on the floor.

It didn't take us too long to start really going at it, our lust fueling us to incredible heights. Chuuya held my hips tightly with his leather clad hands, thrusting his hard cock in and out of my soaking pussy.

He was fucking me hard, my body just sprawled on the bed as I moaned and grunted from the pleasure this man was giving me. "Fuck, fuck, Chuuya!" I whined, making the man grin widely as he kept his pace. Sweat covered both of our bodies, moans and deep growls mixing with the sound of skin slapping against skin.

"That's right, dollface, ride me," Chuuya smirked up at me, now on his back as I bounced up and down on his cock. His hands were right on my hips, his eyes going back and forth between  watching my bouncing breasts and watching his cock disappear inside my heat. "Fuck, you're so fucking sexy," he growled, thrusting up particularly hard and making me toss my head back, screaming when I finally fucking cum.

"Oh my God!" I gasped sharply, still squeezing around him as I began to slow down. "Oh fuck... it's so good," I moaned, reaching out and hooking my finger into Chuuya's black choker. I pulled and he pushed himself up, lips meeting mine in a messy kiss.

I moaned against his mouth, still slowly riding him as his hands ran up and down my sides, the leather cool against my skin. Then, Chuuya placed his hands on my hips, and with a mischievous little smirk, he licked his lips. Immediately, my body started to feel a little bit lighter, and Chuuya started to effortlessly bounce me up and down on his cock, 100% controlling my body with his ability.

"Chuuya..." I moaned his name, head lolling back. He continued to maneuver my body, little grunts and moans leaving his own mouth as he worked to reach his own pleasure, and mine.

I came again, tears falling down my face from the intense pleasure, and that was enough for Chuuya to pull me off of him completely, putting me on my knees before him on the bed. His hand grabbed the back of my neck and he pushed my head down, stuffing his cock in my mouth.

"Take it," he growled, his hands in my hair and using it to push my head up and down as he fucked my mouth. I moaned around him, a new wave of pleasure washing over me as I let the mafioso use me as he wanted. Soon enough, he exploded into my mouth, and I made sure I swallowed all of him.

"Fuck, that's hot..." Chuuya breathed out when I opened my mouth to show him that I did so. "You're such a good girl, dollface."

That made me flustered and I looked away shyly, earning a chuckle from him. I looked over when I felt him get up from the bed, thinking that he would leave. Instead, he just gave me a look. "Where is your shower?"

We showered together,  which took longer than needed because Chuuya couldn't keep his hands to himself. I was surprised when he climbed into bed with me afterwards, allowing me to cuddle against him as we slowly fell asleep.

I wasn't surprised though, when I woke up the next morning, sore and alone. I didn't get too upset about it, though. Chuuya laid it out clear and I accepted it and moved on.

I sat on my dining room table, looking through the newspaper as I sipped on my morning coffee. I was looking for a new job and figured looking at the local ads wouldn't hurt.

"Hm... let's see..." I whispered, reaching over and grabbing my knife. I ran the tip of it down the paper, stopping when one particular ad stuck out. "Hm... the Armed Detective Agency, huh? Interesting..." I set my knife down, staring at the ad as I took another careful sip of coffee.

-End

[thatfanficstuff]

Impossible - 18

Pairing: Eric Northman x reader

Warnings: mentions of unwanted touching and assholes thinking of rape (no sexual assault takes place beyond groping)

A/N: This is longish. I'm lazy and didn't edit. If anything is glaring let me know.

***

It was decided that you and Sookie would present as friends looking for a new church. You intended to play quiet and if necessary you would pretend you were the puppet Stan thought you to be until you escaped from your horrible vampire boyfriend. You thought he loved you. Sob. So on and so forth.

Part of you wanted to go with Stan’s idea. Hell, if there was a way to be rid of the Fellowship without it pointing back to the vampires, you’d jump for it in a heartbeat. They were the epitome of everything wrong with so-called religions. Standing behind their gods to justify their hate and prejudices.

You sighed as you pulled into the parking lot. A perky blonde signaled for you to park and you frowned.

“Why does she look familiar?” Sookie asked.

“That’s Sarah Newlin, the reverend’s wife. I’m not happy that it appears we were expected, Sookie. I doubt she greets everyone that pulls in the parking lot.” You clenched your teeth together. Your gut was telling you to just pull right back out of the parking lot, but this was still your best bet to find Godric. “Just be on guard.”

Sookie nodded her head then slipped out of the car with a grin on her face, ready to greet the Mrs. You followed along behind her playing timid.

“Hi,” Sarah exclaimed. “I’m Sarah Newlin. I saw y’all pulling in and thought I’d come out and greet you myself.”

Sookie walked right up to her and shook her hand. “I can’t believe I’m actually getting to meet you. My name is Heidi Merlotte. This is my friend Sylvia North. We’ve recently moved to the area and are looking for a church.”

Sarah shifted that smile to you and held out her hand. You took it gingerly and kept your other arm wrapped around your waist. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sylvia.”

You just nodded in acknowledgement.

“Well, you’re a quiet thing aren’t you?”

Sookie wrapped her arm around you and leaned forward as if sharing a great secret. “We moved to get Sylvia out of a situation, so to speak. She’s still recovering.”

You could almost believe the look of sympathy Sarah directed your way. She turned and motioned for you to follow her. “Well, follow me and we’ll see if Steve’s available. I’m sure he’d just love to meet you.”

“The reverend himself?” Sookie enthused. “That would be amazing.”

The two of you followed Sarah to an office where Steve Newlin sat behind a large desk. “Honey, we’ve got a couple of friends here looking for a church. Heidi Merlotte and Sylvia North.” You shuffled in and took the offered hand, nodding at his greeting before looking around the office. Sarah bent over to whisper something in her husband’s ear that you weren’t meant to hear. “They insinuated they moved to escape some sort of trauma.”

Steve made a sound of agreement before gracing you with that megawatt smile he was so famous for. You settled into your chair, content to let Sookie do all the talking. She always chattered when she was nervous anyway.

“Sylvia and I met in church actually, but we left when we discovered that the pastor was…well he was…” Sookie trailed off dramatically and you managed to resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Homosexual?” Steve suggested.

Ugh, just when you thought you couldn’t hate this guy more than you already did. What an ass. “A sympathizer. He was a sympathizer,” you said before he could say something else that made you want to punch him in the face.

“Now see, that really makes me mad. How can you claim to love God if you love something God hates?” Too late. You wanted to punch him.

“Well, given Sylvia’s history, we know just how horrible vampires are,” Sookie added after a pause and you wondered what she’d heard in the asshole’s head. “No one will ever convince us that they have any sort of control. They are just evil.”

The Newlins’ attention turned to you with her words. You’d curse her, but this was the plan. You unbuttoned the top button on your shirt and pulled it open to show Eric’s marks. Normally you just wore one, but he’d given you a couple of extra the night before to add to your story. Once they’d seen, you buttoned your shirt back up as if you were ashamed.

You cleared your throat. “He was my boss. He was nice enough at first but then he started catching me in the backroom and feeding. He glamoured me into thinking I enjoyed it. That he loved me. I didn’t know until he came to my house one night and Heidi caught him doing it. She told me everything and helped me escape.” You reached over and grabbed Sookie’s hand. “She saved my life. I truly believe that.”

When you finished with your fantasy, you bent your head forward and wiped away a non-existent tear.

“I am sorry that such a horrible thing happened to you. But that’s what we’re here for is to help people like you. None of this was your fault,” Sarah’s voice comes.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.” You kept your head down so you didn’t have to meet their gazes again. Frankly, you were tired of looking at them.

Steve clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s take a little tour, shall we?”

A tremor of unease crawled down your spine. You were pretty sure the Rev. Newlin’s job description didn’t include giving tours to the peons. You looked up at them, attempting to appear upset instead of untrusting. Sookie and you followed the couple out of the office to what you assumed was the door of the sanctuary.

Steve stopped before opening them and turned to face you. “Now, be careful when I open the doors.”

You arched a brow. “Careful?”

He grinned. “Sometimes when we open these doors, so much love comes flowing out it just knocks you right over.”

You were pretty sure that was the flood of bullshit actually.

“We’ll be sure and brace ourselves,” Sookie responds with a chipper smile.

When they opened the doors, you were actually impressed with the sight that greeted you. The large wall of windows at the back of the church allowed sunlight to flood the sanctuary. It was quite a stunning display. “It’s beautiful.”

“Isn’t it? I just love this room. It just seems to glow in the afternoon light,” Sarah said, obviously meaning every word.

“It’s just so inspiring,” Steve added.

Sookie fidgeted beside you and you knew whatever the reverend was thinking, it wasn’t pleasant. You reached over and hooked your arm with hers.

He looked between the two of you. “Say have you two ever been to a lock-in?”

“A l-lock-in?” Sookie stuttered out.

You gave your brightest, fakest smile and channeled your inner Sookie. “Not since I was a kid. Gosh, those were good times.”

“Well, we’d love to have you join us,” Steve offered.

Whatever he was up to, Sarah didn’t like it if her body language was anything to go by.

Sookie tugged at your arm. “We should go home and get our stuff so we can do the lock-down.”

You looked down to cover your smirk. They were definitely behind Godric’s disappearance then. You understood Sookie wanting to get out of here, if she’d confirmed that, but in all honesty you were the best option for getting Godric out of here without causing a scene.

“You have plenty of time. The lock-inisn’t until tomorrow. Besides, we haven’t finished the tour yet,” Steve said.

“You wanted to see me?” a voice interrupted and Sarah only looked more concerned. A large bald man came to stand by the Newlins. He was obviously their muscle.

“Oh good. Heidi, Sylvia, I’d like you to meet Gabe, one of my aides,” Steve introduced.

Gabe shook your hands while running his gaze over both of you. He licked his lips and you wanted to kick him in the nuts. Maybe later. It would give you something to look forward to.

“Gabe will be joining us for the rest of the tour,” Steve said, patting the other man on the back.

The tour continued far longer than necessary. “I’m sorry but we need to be going. I don’t like to be out after dark,” you said.

“Oh there’s just one more thing I want to show you. It’s a very special part of the tour. Most people don’t get to see it. My father’s tomb.” He sounded entirely too happy about that.

“Steve, are you sure?” Sarah asked.

“Absolutely.”

“I just don’t see why we need to go down there.”

“Not to be rude but I really don’t want to see someone’s grave,” you said.

Steve looked at you. “You have to see it. You can really feel his spirit down there. It’s the cornerstone our church is built on.” He opened a door that led down a steep set of stairs. Creepy basement. Check. And probably no windows. Perfect place to keep a vampire.

Sookie grasped your arm. “Sylvia?”

“What’s the matter?” Steve asked.

“She’s a little claustrophobic,” you lied.

“Well, at least take a little looksee so you can say you saw everything and you can make an informed decision,” the reverend argued.

“But we’ve already decided to go here so I don’t think it’s necessary,” Sookie said, her voice shaking. “We should go, Sylvia.”

“No,” Steve said. “Gabe!” Steve dived for Sookie and Gabe came after you. He grabbed you from behind, crossing his arms over the front of you, copping a cheap feel as he did so. Fucker. Irritation and Anger flooded through you and you knew Eric would pick up on it. He wouldn’t give you long before he came in after the two of you.

It wouldn’t take much for you to get free and to free Sookie as well, but you wouldn’t get a better opportunity to explore the basement. You feigned fighting and let the asshole carry you down the stairs with a firm grip on your breast.

You heard Sookie fighting behind you. “A little help, Gabe. I think the fucking banger’s on V,” Steve yelled.

“Quit fighting, Heidi. You’ll only get hurt,” you called and heard the commotion die down. At least she trusted you enough to do what you said.

They carried the two of you into a storage cage and locked you in after taking Sookie’s purse and searching both of you. As soon as they were out of sight and you heard the door shut upstairs, Sookie turned to you. “I sure as hell hope you have a plan because that Gabe guy is a total asshole.”

You hummed in agreement and pulled your lockpicking tools from your hair. They looked like barrettes and bobby pins to the untrained eye. “My plan is to find Godric before Eric gets here to rescue us.”

“You seem sure he’ll come,” she said, sounding surprised.

“I am. And if he doesn’t, I’ll get us out. Don’t worry about it.” You moved over to the gate to see the best way to go about getting the two of you out. The chain link configuration complicated things a bit but you’d figure it out.

“You’re always so sure about things. I wish I was like that.”

“A little bit of uncertainty makes life exciting,” you said with a grin before grabbing the gate and shaking it to see how sturdy it was. Keeping your grip you leaned against it. “Little god, little god, it’s time to go home,” you said in a singsong voice. Godric would hear you if he was anywhere in the basement.

“Little god?”

“Long story,” you assured her and shook the gate again. “Good news, the gate is designed to keep people out, not in. Also good news, I’m not completely human.”

“What’s the bad news?” she asked.

“This will be loud.” Unfortunately, the only top to the cage was the ceiling so there was nothing above you to grab onto. Instead, you grabbed onto the chain link beside the gate and used it to swing your body at an angle so your feet hit right where the lock was. You repeated the action two more times before dropping down so you could check the lock.

“Little god, I’m not leaving without you. I know you like me too much to let me die,” you said distracted as your focus was on the gate. You’d definitely done some damage but you decided to keep your feet on the ground and see what kind of damage side kicks could do.

After the second kick, you heard the door upstairs open. “What’s going on down there?” Gabe. Good.

“Nothing,” you called back even as you kicked again and the lock gave way. You grabbed the gate and pulled it shut as his feet thundered down the stairs.

He glared at the two of you before finally settling on you. You had no idea what Sookie looked like behind you but you were giving your best evil grin. “What are you up to, you little bitch?”

“That’s no way to talk to a lady,” you taunted, waiting for him to get closer.

“You’re not a lady,” he said. “You’re just some vampire’s whore.” He licked his lips and looked you over again as he pulled keys from his pocket. When he caught sight of the lock, he frowned and moved forward, “What the hell?”

Once he was within striking distance, you slammed the gate forward so it cracked him in the head and shoved him back. You didn’t give him time to recover before you attacked with punches and kicks. He got a couple of hits in as he tried to take you down. To regain the upper hand. But you weren’t about to let that happen. Finally, you got in position to put your arm around his neck. You kept the hold up until he dropped to his knees. When you would have continued until he quit breathing, a hand dropped on your shoulder.

“Enough.”

You looked to Godric. He wasn’t your sire. You had no loyalty to him, but he was a friend. You released Gabe and took a step back. Your gaze ran over the little god. Other than being paler than usual, he looked good. The corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. That was all the invitation you needed to wrap your arms around him.

He returned the hug. He moved his nose near your neck and inhaled. “You smell like my child.”

“Mates.”

He held you at arms length and looked at you in surprise. “He’ll come for you then. Not that he wouldn’t have anyway.”

“Oh, yeah. I figure we’re about out of time.” You gestured to the cage. “Godric, meet Sookie. Sookie, Godric.”

Sookie gave him a smile and a little wave. “Nice to meet you.”

His mouth set in a firm line and his gaze settled on you. “You brought a human with you to rescue me?”

“She’s a little something else, if that makes you feel any better.”

“Not particularly, no. Especially considering what this one would have done had you not been who you are,” he gestured at Gabe.

“Speaking of, you should let me kill him. He groped me.” Reminded of the earlier incident you moved over to the prone form and nudged him so he was laying on his back. Then you kicked him in the balls as hard as you could. “Asshole.”

Godric’s lips twitched. “Feel better?”

“Much.” Sounds of a fight came from upstairs. “Eric.”

“Yes. I am here, my child. Down here.”

In a flash Eric was there. He stopped in front of you first, holding your arms as he looked you over. “I’m fine.”

He nodded once before turning to his maker. “Godric,” he said almost reverently before kneeling in front of him.

The moment was interrupted by Sookie’s laughter. The three of you turned your attention to her. She had a hand over her mouth as she tried to quiet herself. She shook her head. “I’m sorry. It’s just Eric is all respectful and kneeling while you hugged him and called him little god. It’s just funny.”

Eric got to his feet and gave you a look. “Of course, you did.”

“What? Godric likes my hugs.”

[solarwonux]

1. “We have to be quiet.”

67.  “You should wear that more often.”

literary agent!jin x f!reader

genre: slice of life, fluff

w.c: 2.3k

warnings: a little suggestive, nudity, lots of fluff

note: writing this made me soft lolol. I love this couple so much, they’re absolutely adorable tbh lolol. Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Enjoy.xx

MASTERLIST || PROMPTS

“Come back to mine.” Seokjin flashes you an award winning smile, sending your heart into a frenzy. It fights against the beat of the pop song quietly playing through his car speakers, while he drives through the empty streets, not a car in sight, your hand gripped tightly in his.  

“But your roommates.” You whisper even though you don’t have to as there was no one around except for you and Seokjin. Yet, every time either of you mentioned your roommates your voices would dial down, fade into a whisper like an unspoken rule. Afraid that saying their names out loud would somehow summon them. 

“It’s almost four in the morning.” Seokjin stops at a red light, bringing your palm up to his lips, lingering there for a few seconds before setting it down to his lap. “They’re likely sleeping as we speak.” He states, flooring the gas once the light turns green. The impact makes your body hit his leather seat with a light ‘thud’. 

You groan, Seokjin laughs before easing up, slowing down. He liked to do that; catch you off guard. He showered himself in your reactions only to tease you until you kissed him to shut him up. 

“Please, I leave for my business trip tomorrow night and I want to spend all the time that I can with you before I leave.” Briefly, he takes his eyes off the road, fluttering his eyelashes, winding them into flight. 

You cave, because you also do and he knew that you would have no matter what. “Fine, but you’re only going to be gone for two days.” You roll your eyes, a pretty, soft smile decorating your face. The smile Seokjin first fell in love with five years ago. It’s amazing the two of you have been sneaking around for three of those five years and never once been caught. It’s stupid but he prides himself in keeping up with appearances. 

“But it’s my first one without you.” Seokjin grimaces, pulling into the parking lot in front of his apartment building, setting his car on park and turning the engine off. The penthouse he shared with three of his friends was dark and you let out a sigh of relief. 

He was right. There wasn’t a soul awake in that house. 

You shake your head, letting go of his hand and unbuckling your seat belt. Cringing when it hits the car window. Seokjin sends you a glare, his poor precious car that he saved up for years would break if he left it in your hands. You mumble a low apology before leaning over the middle console and planting a soft kiss against his plump lips to seal the deal. 

Seokjin beams, kissing you once more, “let’s go, I don’t think I can stay awake any longer.” He says and opens his car door, jogging over to your side. You wait, knowing that if you were to take initiative in opening your own door he would throw a mini tantrum, stating: “babe I know you’re an independent woman and don’t need me but let me feed my ego every once in a while.” So you let him. 

He janks the door open, the impulse threatening to knock him off his feet. His body was tired, so was yours. But neither of you had been able to sleep after knowing that there were barely twenty four hours left until Seokjin left for his first business trip without you.

You were promoted to Chief Editor at the publishing company. No longer a literary agent or sharing an office with your boyfriend as you were now a floor higher. It had really sent the two of you off the rails for a few days. He was light years proud of you, but he missed having you around. 

Seokjin offers his hand, leaning nonchalantly against the car door, his eyes drooping, heavy with sleep. He looked adorable, “thanks Jin.” You take his hand and he lazily pulls you out of the car, his arm circling around your waist. 

“Anything for you, my queen.” He mumbles, leaning in and leaving a chaste kiss against your forehead. “Now let's go, remember we have to be quiet.” He winks, placing his index finger above his lips, his hand traveling around your waist to your hand, lacing his fingers in between the spaces of yours.

You roll your eyes and slam the car door making him jump. A knowing glare sent your way making you laugh.

 “Babe.” He whines. 

 “We’re outside and they’re fourteen stories up, asleep. Even if the car door were to wake them up they have no way of knowing it’s us. Don’t worry.” You pat his chest and walk past him pulling him along. “Plus I can be quiet when I need to.” You look over your shoulder sending him a kiss. He shakes his head, pretending to grab it mid air and then placing it above his heart, with a lovesick look on his face. 

“So cheesy.” You say, a sigh of protest leaving his lips. 

“Only for you.” 

Sneaking into Seokjin’s apartment prompted it to be harder than expected.

For starter’s the second Seokjin and you walked into the dark apartment, he bumped into the coat rack near the front door, knocking it over. It hit the floor with a loud clatter, leaving you frozen, your pulse pounding against your ears. 

Even in the dark you could see Seokjin’s wide eyes. Panic streaked past them replacing the galaxies he kept hidden behind them. The sweat was pooling against your brow when the hallway light turned on. “The kitchen,” Seokjin’s yell is coated in a whisper. His arms signaling to the kitchen in a haste. “They won’t see you if you go into the kitchen.” 

You nod, jumping over the coat rack and running into the kitchen. Squatting down behind the counter for extra precaution. A laugh stifles behind your closed lips, the adrenaline rush waking you up. This is why you and Seokjin still snuck around, not that you needed to. You were more than positive that everyone has known about your relationship for years. The two of you weren’t necessarily careful, but it was still fun. 

“I thought you were sleeping.” Namjoon says. His voice drenched in sleep, arms crossed in front of him looking down at his roommate confused. 

Seokjin stood up, bringing the coat rack with him and leaned against it. “Couldn’t sleep, pre-business trip jitters so I went out for a drive.” He shrugs.

Namjoon raises his eyebrows suspiciously. Surely he was tired as hell and didn’t want to deal with yours and Seokjin’s antics tonight. He knew you were here, your choked laugh had given you away while he made his way into the living room. But for the sake of going back to the bed that was calling out to him. So, he pretended not to know. He’s been pretending for nearly three years. Another night wouldn’t hurt. 

“Alright well good night,” He squints, bringing up his wrist and taps his apple watch, 4:30am, it reads. “Or good morning, do you still need me to drive you to the airport tomorrow night?” He scratches the back of his neck and lets out a tired sigh. 

“Yeah, that would be great, thanks man. And sorry for waking you up. I think your clumsiness is rubbing off on me.” Seokjin drags the coat hanger, the legs screeching against the wooden floor making all three of you cringe at the noise. He sets it against the wall, fixing the coats to buy time. 

Namjoon shakes his head and yawns, stretching his arms above his head. “Whatever.” He says and turns around making his way to the comfort of his room once again. 

Seokjin closes the door to his room quietly. Letting out a sigh of relief thanking all his angel’s that the only one that woke up was Namjoon and not Hoseok. The ladder would’ve made him sit down on the couch and talk about his troubles. Or if he was in one of his moods - not the bad ones - he would’ve given him a run down on how his day went in full detail. 

“So much for being quiet Jin.” You scoff. 

Seokjin turns around and walks to you bringing you in into a tight hug, “It’s not my fault I forgot the stupid coat rack was there.” He mumbles against your hair, running a soothing hand down your back. 

“It’s your place, how do you forget the way things are set up.” You pull back, tilting your head to look up at him. Maybe it was because you were close to letting the sleep take over your body but he looked more radiant underneath the dim light of his room and somehow taller than earlier. It definitely had to be your sleep deprived delusions. There was no way the man before you could’ve grown another two inches in the last three hours.

“I’m too tired to argue with you so yes baby, my beautiful lover you are right.” He nuzzles his head into your neck, tickling your skin in the process. A tiny laugh falls out of your lips. It sounds like music to Seokjin’s ears. “Do you want to change?” He stands up straight, his brows furrowed in concern, while he takes in your stuffy work attire. 

“Yes, I feel I’ve been wearing these slacks for five days straight.” You huff pulling on the legs of your pants, revealing your lavender painted toenails, wiggling them against his carpeted floor.

At around eight Jin had clocked out and snuck his way into your office asking if you wanted him to take you home. A promise to stop at your favorite burger joint failing to finish escaping his mouth when you had cut him off and told him that you had to finish the re-edits of the novel you were assigned too. Your department was heavily understaffed which meant your work was doubled, biding you to stay late after hours to be able to make all your deadlines. It worried Jin to see you so overworked, but as much as it tired you out. You loved it so he never once complained to the company. 

Plus the two of you had appearances to keep up. Can’t have everyone knowing that he was head over heels for you and vice versa. 

But at around one he started to worry after not hearing from you for nearly two hours. He called you and that’s when he found out you were still at the office. Without a form of hesitation he put on his shirt and walked out the front door, keys in hand. Telling you he would be there in fifteen minutes. Which is how the two of you ended up driving around town for the last two hours sharing fries and caramel sundae from the fast food restaurant down the street of the company. Of course a couple make out sessions here and there after he parked the car at an abandoned Toy’s R’s Us. (The ‘r’ unlit so it read Toy’s Us instead, which for some reason sent the two of you in an uncontrollable fit of laughter.) 

Now you were here, in his room, still wearing your work clothes, shoulders dropping as finally the wave of exhaustion that had been plaguing your boyfriend for a good hour hit you. 

Seokjin untangles his limbs from you and walks to his closet. “They look good on you. I had half a mind to walk into your office this morning and get a good feel.”

“A good feel of what?” You cock your head. Nimble fingers moving up to unbutton your blouse. The annoying Chiffon material scraping against your soft skin. 

“Your ass.” He states throwing you the matching shirt of one of his pajamas. “Do you want the pants?” He turns around holding the striped material in his hands, swallowing thickly as he watches you remove your clothes, leaving you naked in the middle of his room. The only thing protecting you from his prying, hunger filled eyes were the flower patterned panties you kept on. 

“No, they're uncomfortable.” You bend down picking up the pajama shirt and unbutton the first few buttons. Oblivious to the way Seokjin was looking at you right now, burning his heated gaze into your body, loving the way it seemed to glow, shimmer, underneath the moonlight casting through his wide bedroom windows. In about two hours it would disappear for the night so he made sure he imprinted the image into the part of his brain that belonged to you. 

“You should wear that more often.” He throws the pants over his shoulders and stalks over to you.

“I’m not really wearing anything.” 

“Exactly.” He smirks. 

You roll your eyes and shrug on his shirt, leaving the first few buttons undone. You walk to the right of the bed - the one nearest to the window and the wall - and pull back his navy blue comforter. “Let’s go to sleep, I’m too tired to do anything.” You lay down.

Seokjin agrees, as much as he would like to just hold you close and make love to you until the sun rises. His eyes were closing in on him and he was sure the second he felt the heat of your body and your warmth wrap around him, he’d fall asleep. 

It’s not like it hasn’t happened before. 

“I agree, there’s always tomorrow...Well I mean today but in eight hours.” He reassures, laying down on his side and bringing the comforter up to his chin. He wraps his arm around your waist, resting his head against your chest, humming as the comfort overtakes him.

You rake your fingers through his hair, placing your cheek against the crown of it. “I love you, Jin, you make me so happy.” You whisper, closing your eyes. 

Seokjin smiles, bringing you closer, kissing the sliver of skin against his shirt. “I love you angel, you make my life worth living.” 

In seconds the silence and stillness of the night takes over. Your bodies relaxing, tangled up in a mess of limbs, finally welcoming sleep.

[spookysweet-heart]

Vacancy

Request: No

Fandom: Battle Egos

Pairings: Battle Egos x Self insert

Warnings: NSFW, blood, cursing, gore, death of character.

A/N: Time to kick off October to a spooky start! Here part one, and two. this is part three of the on going Scream AU with the Battle Boys! hope you guys enjoy this chapter! Collage was made by me!  Edited by @semiproeagle!

       Gale set the air mattress next to Riot’s bed, bringing in fresh blankets and pillows for the both of them. “Alright, remember the door stays open. If you need anything, our room is just down the hall, and the bathroom is right across from it.”

“Thanks, mom. We got it.” Riot closed one of the windows by his bed. “Hey, uh, do you mind if I close the curtains?”

Fluffing up one of the pillows, Kimberly looked over at him, shaking her head. “No, go ahead. I sleep better in the dark anyway. Light just makes me uncomfortable.”

“What are you? A vampire?” Riot giggled at his joke but quickly stopped when he saw his mom glare at him.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to get comfortable.” Gale smiles, walking out of the room, making sure to keep the door open as she walked down the hall.

“Your mom’s nice.” Kimberly sat down on Riot’s bed. Crossing her legs, she watched him make the bed he’d be using.

“Yeah well, you haven’t seen her get angry yet. Just you wait, my mom can be a real bitch when she wants to be.” Riot looked up at her, his eyes landing on her blood-stained shirt. “I feel like you could use a clean shirt to sleep in. I don’t think you wanna sleep in that, do you?”

Looking down at her clothes, Kimberly only shrugged. “Yeah, but I didn’t exactly plan on almost being murdered on my first night here.”

Riot walked over to his dresser and pulled out some of his clothes. He tossed them over to her, giving her a sympathetic smile. “You can use mine. I’ll um- I’m gonna go shower. You can change in here and leave your clothes with my mom. She can wash them for you.”

“You know, you don’t have to do this-”

Riot interrupts her before she can finish. “I want to. I don’t want you to feel like you should push yourself away from us when we can help.”

“Help?” Raising an eyebrow at him, she leaned in a bit. “Help with what exactly?”

“Y-you know, making friends...feeling comfortable with us when everyone’s probably going to be pointing fingers at you tomorrow.” Gathering his things, Riot quickly made his way to the door. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound bad. But it’s just...Lexi and I went through all that in middle school and the beginning of high school. I just don't want it to happen to someone else who’s in our position.”

“I can handle it myself, I always have. But thanks...I’m sorry. I’m just not used to people being...kind? I guess. Not many have been throughout my life.”

“I get it. Well, uh, yeah I’m gonna go shower. If you need anything, you know where my mom is.” Heading to the bathroom, Riot glanced into his mom’s room, seeing she was on the phone, probably talking to his dad. Getting into the bathroom, he locked the door before taking out his phone and sending a text to a group chat with Mare and Bones. ‘Is the camera working?’

Mare was the one to reply first. ‘Up and running.’

Bones replied right after. ‘Guys, why the fuck are you setting up a camera in Riot's room?’

‘Kimberly’s sleeping in there, duh.’

‘Mare is this just so you can see her undress?!?!’

‘Bones, don’t act so shocked, it’s Mare.’

‘And you’re helping him do it Riot, what the fuck!’

‘Hey, he gave me $40 to do this. Besides, it’s harmless. It’s not like he’s getting full nudity.’

‘PG-13 at best, Bones. Just enjoy it.’

‘No thanks, I might not trust her, but I’m not gonna be a perv towards her.’

Riot rolled his eyes and left the chat alone while he got ready to shower.

While carefully taking off her shirt, Kimberly looked at her bandaged-up arm, seeing red spots from underneath where the blood seeped through. Sighing, she looked down at the shirt Riot gave her, but before she could put it on, she looked around the room, feeling uncomfortable. “You’re in a stranger’s room, of course, you're feeling uncomfortable.” Feeling the strap of her bra start to slide down her shoulder, she picked it up quickly with her good arm, not wanting to risk him walking back into the room if he forgot something. After pulling on the shirt as fast as she could, she folded her clothes and took them with her down the hall.

Standing in the doorway, she was about to make her presence known until she saw Gale was on the phone. 

Looking out her window, Gale sighed, feeling exhausted. “Are you sure? Well, what are we going to do? We can’t let her go back there. The girls went through enough already. Yeah no, I know that Dewey. We’ll talk more when you get home. I’m just glad you’re okay. Love you too.” Ending the call, Gale turned around and tossed her phone onto the bed, only to be startled when she realized Kimberly was standing in the doorway. “Jesus fucking Christ how long have you just been standing there?!”

“Um, just now?” Kimberly nervously looked at her clothes before looking up at Gale. “I’m sorry I startled you, but Riot said I could leave my clothes with you to wash.”

“Right, I’ll take them. You go get some rest.” Gale walked over to take the clothes from her hands and noticed her arm. “I’m going to have to wake you up a bit earlier to look at your arm. That okay?”

“Yeah, of course. Thanks again for letting me stay the night.” Handing her the clothes, Kimberly made her way back down the hall to Riot’s room. Sitting back down on the bed, she looked around the room at the movie posters he had on his walls. A lot of them were your standard horror movies like Halloween, Friday The 13th, Night Of The Living Dead, but one stood out from the bunch. A poster from the first Stab movie was hung by one of the windows.

“Why does he have this one?”

“Maybe because I like the movie?” Quickly turning to look in the direction of the door, Kimberly saw Riot walking towards the bed. “Might be fucked up for liking something that happened to my parents, but it was interesting to see.”

“You think that's interesting? I think that's disturbing.”

“So movies based on true events are only interesting to you when they aren’t directly based on something close to home?” 

Kimberly leaned away when Riot leaned in, his hair still wet from the shower. Moving her hand away from him when she felt the drops of water land on the back of her hand, she wiped it off on her shirt. “Yeah, when your brother was the real villain, that tends to do that to you.”

“Oh, c’mon, you can’t tell me you weren’t just a bit curious about him.” Riot sat next to her on the bed, almost shoulder to shoulder despite all the space he had.

“Never, since my dad wouldn’t stop talking about him, comparing me to him nonstop, showing me those articles when I was a kid. That shit changes your perspective.”

“Yeah, but have you ever thought about doing what he and Stu did?”

Shoving a pillow into his face, she made him fall onto the air mattress. “Shut up and go to sleep. You have no fucking right to ask that kind of shit. What’s gotten into you?”

“Hey, I was just kidding. Seriously, that movie is only interesting to me 'cause the acting is so over the top, it’s hilarious. But I did get you going with that act, didn’t I?” Riot had a goofy smile on his face while tossing the pillow back.

Kimberly rolled her eyes at him, getting comfortable in bed as she faced him while laying down on her side. “You’re fucking weird, you know that?”

“I was just trying to be funny.” Riot sat up and stretched a bit. “Lights off?”

“Yeah. Night.” Taking off her glasses, she put them down on the bedside table.

Turning off the light, Riot glanced over in the direction of the hidden camera. Reaching for one of his books, he leaned it against the camera, blocking the view of his bed before getting comfortable.

Back at the Prescott house, Lexi and Sidney were laying in Sidney’s bed. Lexi rested her head against her mom’s chest, just barely being able to keep herself awake any longer. 

“How do you know they won’t come back?”

Sidney gently pats down some of Lexi’s hair, holding her closer as she kissed the top of her head. “I’m not so sure, but it’s something I can handle if they do. I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

Lexi hugged Sidney back, being careful of her arm. “This isn’t your fault, mom. No one could’ve predicted this would happen again."

“I know, but you shouldn’t have to go through this.”

“Well, I’m in it, and there’s nothing we can do about it but fight back, right? I’ll be fine, though. I have the strongest woman in Woodsboro by my side.” Lexi sleepily smiled up at Sidney.

“Alright, kiddo, get some rest. Are you sure you’re up to going to school tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I’m sure. I know things will be fine there, at least.” 

“Alright. Goodnight, sweetheart.”

“Goodnight…” Sidney stretched her free arm out to turn off the bedside lamp before falling asleep, watching the blue and red lights shine into her bedroom from the window near her bed.

~

Sitting at the kitchen table, Riot worked on the last few problems from his math homework while Gale finished rebandaging Kimberly’s arm. 

Dewey walked in, immediately going to fill a mug with coffee. Looking over at Gale and Kimberly, he finished filling up his mug and walked over to the table, setting his mug down. Nervously clearing his throat, he gains everyone's attention.

"Kimberly, there's some news that I have to inform you about."

"What is it?" Checking her arm to make sure the gauze was secure, she looked up at Dewey.

Dewey took a deep breath in before continuing. "It's about your godmother, Nancy. I'm sorry to tell you this after what happened last night, but she's dead. We found her body last night."

Kimberly's eyes grew wide in shock before she shook her head at Dewey. "No, I was just with her yesterday morning!"

"I know this is a lot to take in. Gale and I will be here with you, and you can stay with us-"

"Did that creep do this to her?! Did he kill her?!" Her eyes looked glossy as tears started to well up.

Dewey stuttered for a moment. "I- well- we suspect that might've been the same person because I got a call from them just before discovering the body…"

"I can't fucking believe this!" Slamming her hand against the table made Riot and Gale jump in their seats.

"Honey, it's going to be okay, we'll be here-"

Riot quickly closed his book and shoved it in his backpack. "I think we should leave. I still have to pick up Lexi and Phantom. Let's go, Kimberly." Taking her hand, he led her away from his parents and out of the house before they could say anything else to her.

Getting in the car’s passenger seat, Kimberly hit the dashboard in frustration.

“Hey! I get you’re going through it right now, but don't try to take it out on my car, I just got it.” Riot closed his door when he got into the car. Looking over at her, he started to feel bad seeing her start to cry. 

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Taking a deep breath in and out, she wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. “It’s just...she was all I had left of a family.”

“I’m sorry.” Riot sighs as he starts the car. “Do you want some coffee? Or anything to eat? We can stop by and get something real quick. My treat.”

Shaking her head, she just silently put on her seat belt. “It’s fine, I’m okay. If you wanna get something for yourself, you should.”

“You know what, I’m still getting you something. I don’t care if you say you’re fine. You need a little distraction right now.” Backing out of the driveway, Riot headed to the nearest cafe to get the group some drinks and breakfast before heading to pick them up.

Lexi grabbed her backpack from the couch, checking that she had everything she needed for the day. 

Sidney walked into the living room. Picking up the remote, she turned on the tv, leaving it on the morning news. “Have everything?”

“Yup.” Hearing her phone go off, she checked it and saw a text from Phantom, letting her know he was waiting outside. “Are you going to be okay here alone?”

“I’m not staying home today. I’m meeting Gale and Dewey in a bit. Are you fine having dinner at their place tonight?”

“Yeah, sure. You’re going to be there too, right?” Adjusting her bag, Lexi heard her phone go off again.

“Of course I’ll be there.” Sidney brought Lexi in for a tight hug before letting her go out the door. “Stay safe and call me or Dewey right away if you need us."

“I will. See you later!” Walking out of her house, Lexi saw Phantom standing by the end of the driveway.

Phantom smiled when she made her way to him. Taking a hold of her hand he leaned in, kissing her. 

Lexi smiled into the kiss before pulling away and kissing his cheek. “How’d you sleep last night?”

“On and off, I was too worried about you. How about you?” Phantom rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his thumb.

“I slept, but not much. I was way too anxious last night.”

“No kidding.” Giving her hand a gentle squeeze, Phantom leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll be here for you though, no matter what happens.” Hearing his phone go off, Phantom took it out of his pocket to check the notification. “It’s Riot.”

“What’d he say? Is he close by?” Lexi rested her head against Phantom’s chest.

“He’s asking if we want anything from the cafe.”

Humming in response, Lexi wrapped an arm around Phantom's waist. “A muffin sounds good right now. Can you tell him he can get any kind?”

“Sure thing, babe.” Phantom smiled down at her before replying to Riot with their orders. Before he can put his phone away, he saw another text from him pop up. “Oh...shit.”

Lexi felt his body tense up a bit. “What’s wrong?”

Quickly replying to the message, Phantom put his phone away. “I feel like an even bigger asshole after last night. Riot’s dad told them they found Kimberly’s godmother dead last night, so she’s not doing so well right now.”

“Oh no, and she's going to school? She should’ve stayed home- fuck, she probably didn’t have a choice. What kind of fucked up shit is that. First her dad, and now her godmother.”

“She’s in our group now, and as much as most of us aren’t too excited about that, she’s also a victim till hopefully not proven otherwise. We can look after her, but we still need to be careful.”

“I think you and your brothers have seen too many scary movies. She’s harmless.”

“I hope you’re right…” Gently rubbing her back, Phantom rested his head on hers. “How’s your arm doing?”

“Sore, but better than last night. I can at least bend my wrist without it hurting much anymore.”

“Good. You sure you wanna go to school today?”

“You’re starting to sound like my mom.” Playfully rolling her eyes at him, she pulled away from his hold. “I’m alright. I wanna go. I don’t care what anyone is going to say if they have anything to say.”

Both turn in the direction of a car coming by when they hear it honking at them. “Looks like they’re here.”

Getting into the car, Riot immediately handed them their things after they got settled in. “Here you two go!”

Lexi smiled, taking the bag from him. “Thank you!”

“Thanks.” Phantom took the last coffee in the cup holder and carefully blew away some steam to take a sip. Glancing over at Kimberly, Phantom cleared his throat, putting the cup in one of the cup holders. “Um, Kimberly?”

Looking back at him, she tilted her head. “Yeah?”

“I’m sorry about last night. I didn’t mean what I said. It was uncalled for.”

Kimberly shook her head and looked back out her window. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not, I accused you of attempted murder when you were also attacked.”

“Look, you were scared. I get it. Just forget about it, I forgive you anyway. You were looking out for the person you care about the most. I’d do the same out of fear and protection.”

Lexi and Phantom shared a look before Lexi spoke up. “Um, we heard what happened and we want you to know we’re here if you need us. You know, for anything. We’re in this together.”

Kimberly just stayed silent for a moment. The only thing they heard was a barely audible ‘Thanks’.

~

Rose, Jem, Ebony were standing by Lexi’s locker. The three of them shared a worried look when they searched the hallway for the rest of their group. Bones made his way to them when he walked out of the restroom. 

“Still not here yet?” He leaned against one of the lockers, looking in the direction of the front doors.

Jem shook their head, looking over at Bones. “Where’s Mare? Running late again?”

“Oh yeah, he had to go with Natpai to talk to his teacher. Had to clear up that he was sick and lost his voice, so he's asking them if Natpai could take the tests he missed while he was out.”

Jem nodded and turned their attention back to the front doors when they heard people whispering as they passed by the group.

Spotting their friends, the group made their way to Riot and Lexi, immediately engulfing them in a group hug. 

Rose pulled away first, looking worried. “How are you guys holding up?”

Lexi shrugged while adjusting the strap of her bag. “I’m alright, just a few scratches here and there. Nothing serious.”

“I wasn’t the one who was attacked, so I’m fine.” Riot’s eyes followed Kimberly, watching her walk away from the group, heading to her locker.

The rest of the group heard the crowd whisper again when they passed by, their eyes all landing on Lexi and Riot. 

Sharing a look, they both sighed, already feeling tired with the day. Whispers turned completely silent when a scream echoed through the hall. All eyes were on Kimberly who was sitting on the floor after falling back when something fell from her locker. There in front of her feet was a Ghostface mask and fake knife. 

Looking around the hall, Kimberly’s eyes landed on the group, but before any of them could go up to help her, two sets of screams could be heard from the end of the hall. Looking in that direction, everyone saw two people running down the hall in full costume screaming as they passed by. 

One of them almost got in Lexi’s face, but Phantom quickly grabbed her, holding her against his chest.

Riot took a step back when the other person almost bumped right into him.

“Jesus fucking Christ, what's wrong with these idiots?” Rose watched the two masked pranksters disappear out the double doors

Ebony looked over at Lexi who was shaking a little. “You okay?”

“Y-Yeah just...shaken up is all.” Letting herself relax into Phantom, she took one of his hands. He gently squeezed her hand reassuringly and kissed the top of her head. 

Bones looked over in Kimberly’s direction, noticing Mare helping her up and leading her away from her locker. “Where the fuck are they going?”

Riot and Rose both looked at Bones, catching him talking to himself. Rose was about to ask what he was talking about till she saw Mare turn the corner with his arm around Kimberly’s shoulders.

“When did they get all friendly?” Rose crossed her arms in front of her chest, not happy with what she saw.

“Mare just has a way with women. Not surprising since she hardly knows him.” Ebony leaned back against the wall, looking over at the mask and knife still on the floor.

“She was probably talking to him since she got here. She’s just a slut wanting attention since no one can give it to her now.”

“Hey!” Phantom raised his voice at them, his expression turning serious from the soft look he had just a few seconds ago. “How the fuck can you say something like that? Don’t assume shit or spread rumors around like that. Especially now when people are dying around us. Mare’s just comforting her, that's it.”

“So what, now you’re on her side?! She’s a Loomis, Phantom! She can’t be trusted!” Rose stepped forward, but she was interrupted by the bell ringing.

“We’ll talk during lunch, this isn’t something we should be arguing about.” Phantom took Lexi’s hand, starting to lead her away and walk her to class.

Riot and Ebony looked at Rose before they also started to leave for their classes as well. Riot adjusted his backpack and looked back at Rose as they carefully walked backward. “You know, jealousy is not a good look on you.” Turning around, they caught up with Ebony, leaving Rose standing in the almost empty hallway.

Tag List:

@smolwash​

@huffle-princess​

@missrose-writes-stuff​

@wildspeciallavender​

@justwritingscibbles​

@stuff-from-the-void-matron​

@nekosounds​

@stretch-time​

@lady-bee-fechin​

@twotimesforthewatw​

@r1-0t​

@captainrose35​

[artzychic27]

Reverstrator

‘This is perfect, astoundingly perfect.’, Lila thought to herself, hunched over her computer. For some time, she’s noticed her control over the class was wavering, and it was all because of those two idiots from the stupid art club- Nathaniel Kurtzberg and Marc Anciel. They had some nerve, getting into her minions friends heads and pointing out flaws in her lies. It wasn’t her fault people wanted to hear so many of her stories; she just had trouble keeping up with them sometimes! Lila gave them a chance like she gave Marinette. Either believe her lies and keep their friends, or become social pariahs... They always choose the second option.

So, she went around claiming that Nathaniel stole some of her drawings, Marc plagiarized some of her essays, and she even threw in a couple of lies about Marinette, saying she convinced the two boys to go against her. But what Lila didn’t account for was Alix. She never really believed her lies either. Apparently, the famous skateboarder Lila told her about was dead so that got the pink-haired girl suspicious. Whenever Lila tried to make Marc, Nathaniel, or Marinette look like the bad guys, Alix would step in and act like their self-righteous white knight. Well, she won’t look like the hero tomorrow, her and Adrien. When those idiots in her class turn against those two, Lila will be free to ruin the comic book duo’s reputation as she pleased, she’ll have Adrien all to herself, and Marinette gets to suffer. Win-win-win! ‘Damn it!’, Lila mentally cursed as she glared at her computer screen, ‘Undo... Undo...’

How is photoshop so easy for some people?! And how can they edit these crappy romantic pictures without gagging? Especially this photo she snapped of Marc and Nathaniel a couple of weeks ago while they were on one of their dates. ‘Ugh.’ Lila nearly threw up when she took the photo, and this was taking up way too much of her time. Fixing the lighting, finding the right photos of Adrien and Alix, it was so frustrating! But it’ll all be worth it tomorrow when she finally puts those losers in their place

And hopefully, Marc or Nathaniel will get akumatized. Sure, this would be a stupid reason, but people have gotten Akumatized for less. Hawkmoth was a great guy and the Italian admired his work, but Akumatizing a baby, and a man obsessed with pigeons like thirty times? If she had the Butterfly miraculous, she would at least give the Akuma a gun. Then Ladybug would finally perish and be out of her hideous sausage hair.

‘Focus! You can fantasize about her death later.’

—

“Geez, Nath. I haven’t seen you look this happy in a long time,” Alix said as she poked her redhead friend who had a dreamy look on his face with her pencil “So, what’d you and Marc do last night?” she asked with a smirk, making Nathaniel snap out of his daze and blush madly, “Alix!” He looked around the cafeteria to make sure no one heard that

She snickered, “I’m kidding! Come on, tell me what happened. Your date had to have been amazing if you’re all happy and stuff.”

This is one of the things Nathaniel loved about Alix; she was a great listener. Growing up, no one really paid attention to him. Ever since his dad left, his mom has been busy running the diner, he always blended in with the background so no one at school noticed him either. It sucked until he met his first real friends

His mom took him to the Louvre when she noticed his interest in art and while there, he met a brunette girl running all around the museum while a ten-year-old boy tried to catch her. She was loud, energetic, and immediately took a liking to the young boy. Over time, she was able to pull him out of his comfort zone and he listened to whatever he had to say.

Then he met three other girls when he was ten- One with black hair, one blond, and one bluenette. The four of them met at a fine and performing arts fair and were probably some of the youngest people there to enter each of their work in the fair contests. His painting of the Seine took third, which wasn’t too bad. First and second were high school students. The three girls immediately went to congratulate him and asked all sorts of questions (The black-haired girl didn’t talk as much, though) For once in his life, Nathaniel had friends. Friends who noticed him and listened.

“Well, it wasn’t much,” he answered with a smile, “We just got ice cream from Andre’s, went to this new museum that just opened up, went to the park.”

“Didn’t it rain a little yesterday?”, she asked

“Yeah,” he blushes, “I may have used my blazer to cover us up-”, off Alix’s snicker, he playfully slapped her arm, “Alix, come on!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”, she continued laughing while Nathaniel gave her an annoyed look, “Go on, continue. But if you say anything else like that, don’t expect me to keep a straight face.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, “So I used my blazer as an umbrella,” he rephrased, “and well, we were just so close, and... God, he looked cute in the rain. So, I just leaned in and kissed him.”

Alix sighed dramatically, “Ah, to be gay and in love.”

“Uh, I’m bi,” he corrected with his arms folded

“Yes, and I’m aroace, Rose and Jules are lesbians and Mari’s pan as hell. These are things we know.” she said as she leaned back into her chair and propping her feet up on the lunch table, relaxed before perking up and asking, “Did’ja give him the necklace?!”

Without saying a word, Nathaniel pulled out his phone and pulled up a picture of him and Marc kissing in the rain. Alix zooms in on the silver half-heart necklaces around their necks. She remembered how Nathaniel begged her to help him look for a gift he could give to Marc on their date. She helped him in exchange for a drawing of her performing some skating tricks. It took hours to find a gift; this is one of the reasons why Alix doesn’t date. Finally, they settled for a simple, but sweet silver heart necklace and Alix had never been so relieved to see jewelry before.

Alix couldn’t help but let out an out-of-character squeal at the sight of the picture. Her excitement turned to bitterness when she looked at something else that made her narrow her eyes “Where’s she going?”

Nathaniel follows her gaze and glared at the Italian girl leaving the cafeteria, “Don’t know. Maybe she’s just looking for more people to buy her lunch.”

“Or carry all of her stuff.”

“Or carry her.”

“Or build her a palanquin.”

“How about a monument made out of solid gold?”

At that last one, the two best friends laughed

“Lying skeeze,” she muttered, “I’m glad the others are sorta taking what she says with a grain of salt, but she’s still got them wrapped around her talons. Especially Bustier and Damocles.”

Nathaniel rolled his eyes at the mention of his teacher and principal, “Ugh, don’t get me started on those two. I almost got detention because Lie-la claimed that I stole her ‘masterpiece’. Thanks again for backing me up.”

Alix responded with a nod, “Yeah, but it’s bull that she didn’t even get in trouble. Claimed it was a problem with her long-term memory or some shit, and Bustier ate it up!”, she exclaimed, “God, we’re surrounded by idiots. How long do you think she’s gonna last?”

Nathaniel pondered before answering, “I give her one more week. She’s exposed by an Akuma who’s after her for lying about them or one of their friends.”

Alix nodded, “Three days. Truth akuma who just blasts people at random and she gets hit, so she’s forced to tell the truth. Put that in your comic”

Nathaniel reaches into his messenger bag and pulls out his sketchbook, “Maybe something like... Lady or Lord Justice?” He pulls out a pencil and begins sketching on a blank sheet

“Truth fairy?”

“Lie-on Tamer?”

Alix shook her head, “Now that just sounds like a bad pun.”

“Akumas have dumb names,” Nathaniel said with an eye roll, “If anything, this is better than what Hawkmoth comes up with.”, he gets back to work on the sketch

“... Can’t argue with you there, man.”

—

“Come o-o-o-on, Marc! Tell us everything!”, Aurore urged the shy writer as the group of four made their way to Mme. Mendelieve’s class

“Who made the first move?”, Julian asked, smirking

Marc blushed, “Guys, keep your voices down.”

Mireille squealed, “Sorry, but you can’t just go on a date and not expect people to be all excited and ask what happened! So tell us!”

Marc loved these three to death and loved them like they were his sisters and brother, but sometimes they got just a little too much for him. When he first announced that he and Nathaniel were dating, the three of them wouldn’t leave him alone for weeks and constantly asked questions whenever they went out together

“Well, went out for ice cream, went to a museum we both like, and spent the rest of the day at the park before it rained.” He smiled fondly at the memory, “Nath actually used his blazer to cover us up.”

“Aww!”, Aurore and Julian cooed while Mireille squealed, “So romantic! Please tell me you kissed in the rain!”

When Marc tried to hide the blush forming on his cheeks, that was a good enough answer for his grinning friends

Julian clasped his hands together and crouched a little lower, “Please, please tell me you have photos!”

Marc laughed at his friend and pulled out his phone, “I do.” He shows them the screen and Aurore immediately grabs the phone out of his hand. Mireille and Julien huddle around her, “Oh my God! It’s like a scene from a movie!”, Mireille exclaimed before squinting her eyes, “Wait... Are you wearing the necklace now?!”

“Necklace?”

“He gave you what?”

Marc knows there’s no hiding it from the people who were very invested in his love life now. He slips his hand under the collar of his shirt and pulls out the little half-heart charm connected to a simple white cord. Marc was once again bombarded by questions

“Guys, can we do this after class? We’re gonna be late.”

Aurore let out an exaggerated groan but complied, “You better be prepared for any question we throw at you, Rainbow.” She said his nickname teasingly as the four of them made their way to class, but stopped to look and see Lila walking out of the locker room

“How long is she gonna be here?”, Julien questioned, his tone laced with venom, “I can’t take another minute of, ‘Oh, but all of her stories are real,’ ‘Don’t be so mean,’ ‘Lila’s hurt, don’t put any more pressure on her,’ ugh! Marc, I’ll say it again, your boyfriend and cousin’s class is full of idiots.”

“Well, their hearts are in the right place, they’re just being taken advantage of.”

“It’s been like three months since she, ‘Returned from Achu,’” Aurore said with finger quotes, “How has that lying fox not been exposed yet? Everything she says is full of holes!”

“It’s because whenever someone tries to point out her lies, she’ll play the victim and get sympathy,” Mireille said, disgusted, “It’s honestly just sickening listening to her fake crying.”

“Here, here,” Julian said in agreement, “I cannot wait for a truth Akuma to appear and just make her reveal everything so her classmates and that teacher will finally stop kissing the ground she walks on.”

“That would make for a pretty good Akuma,” Marc commended

“Hell yeah, it would.”

—

‘One for the soulless redhead. And one for that... “boy.”‘, the Italian sneered as she slipped an envelope into the vent of Marc’s locker, ‘Let’s see if they’re still together after this. Once Alix is out of the picture and Adrien only has me to talk to, I’ll ruin those losers’ lives. They should know damn well than to cross Lila Diabla Rossi.’

--

Nathaniel felt like someone was burning holes in the back of his head... Or rather the side. Trying to be as inconspicuous as possible, he moved his bangs to the side, acting as if he was just scratching the side of his face, and saw Lila glaring at him before quickly looking to the front. ‘God, what’s her problem?”, he thought to himself. ‘Probably gonna spout out more bullshit about how I stole her work. Heh. Good luck you vursht-kherd ligner.’

The bell rang, ‘Finally. I get to see my Rainbow.’, Nathaniel thought as he gathered his books in his bag. He was about to grab his sketchbook, only for it to be snatched by Lila. ‘Great, now I have to disinfect it.’

“Oh, Nathaniel! I’m so sorry about what happened!”, she “apologized” in that over-the-top sweet voice. “I just have so many problems with my memory because while I was helping disabled children in America, I fell off of a ladder while trying to get their frisbee off the roof of one of their homes, and I hit my head.”

‘Maybe that isn’t a lie, because that would explain so much.’, “Okay, so can I have my sketchbook back?”, he asked in a bored tone

“And I draw Ladybug all the time because we are besties after all!”, she exclaimed

“Great, so my sketchbook?”, he holds out his hand

“And your little drawings look so much like mine, and I got concerned. I’m sure you understand, right?”

“Can I have my sketchbook back?”, He repeated, now very annoyed, and even more when Lila sent him a smirk she didn’t think he noticed. ‘This bitch is trying to make me lose my temper or something?’ Then she just started talking again

“I know how awful it is for an artist’s work to be stolen! I actually witnessed art-theft first-hand, so you get why I accused you of stealing what I thought was mine. I just didn’t want to believe that you would steal a fellow artist’s work.”

‘God, strike me now.’

“But if you stole it out of jealousy, I would completely understand.”

“... Excuse me?”

‘Got him.’ “Well, let’s face it. Your art style is a little overused and no offense, but, not very original. So, if you were jealous of my drawing style, then there are no hard feelings. You’re still an amazing artist. While I’ve studied and perfected my work over the years, you-”

“Oh meyn got! Zey shtil!”

The students who were packing away their materials and getting ready to head out turned their heads towards the redhead who was shouting furiously in Yiddish

“Ir zent nisht a farshiltn kinstler! An anoying, lignerish hur iz vos ir zent!”

Alix, who actually understood a little of what Nathaniel was saying, tried not to snicker

“Aun gebn mir meyn sketshbook, ir vursht-kherd tokhes!” At that last sentence, Nathaniel snatched the sketchbook out of her hands, then he looked around and saw the shocked or confused looks on his classmates' and teacher’s faces. He ducked his head down, trying to look as small as possible right now

Breaking the silence was Alya, “What did you say?”

“It... It was...” Nathaniel stammered and his face turned as red as his hair.

Max turned to the little robot hovering beside him, “Markov, can you translate what Nathaniel just said?”

“Certainly, Max,” a little pixelated hourglass appeared the screen on the little robot’s face before disappearing with a little ‘PING!’, “Oh my.”

“Oh, what did he say?”, Lila asked as innocently as possible.

“I’m not comfortable repeating the last two, but he did tell you to shut up, and that you have sausage hair.”

“Oh, crap,” Nathaniel muttered

Lila started rubbing her eyes to make it look like she’s crying right now. “Nathaniel, how could you be so rude?! I was only trying to help you!”, Alya and Mylene went over to console her, not noticing the smirk on her face. The classmates that were on Lila’s side sent the redhead glares and disappointed looks

Mme. Bustier frowned, “Nathaniel, go to the principal’s office, now!”, before Nathaniel could respond, Marinette spoke, “You can’t do that. It’s the end of the day, so you can’t tell Nathaniel what to do,” she sent her enabler of a teacher a sneer

“W-well, I-”

“Check the rule book!”, Alix snapped, “Students are out of teachers’ jurisdiction as soon as school hours are over. So, you can’t send him to detention.”

“But he called me horrible things!”, Lila wailed

“Well, it’s not his fault,” Juleka whispered, but everyone heard and turned their heads toward her, “... He has bipolar disorder, and sometimes he just... Yeah.” Rose takes over for her, “And you did take his sketchbook, Lila. I saw you snatch it off the table before he could grab it.”

“W... Well, I just wanted to see it!” She claimed

“Doesn’t give you the right to snatch it,” Nathaniel murmured. Marinette walked over and took his hand, “Let’s go.” The five art club students made their way to the door, but Mme. Bustier called out, “Hold on! Nathaniel still needs to be punished for using such language in class!”

Alix rolled her eyes, “Did anyone in the class, besides Markov, understand what he said?”, all she got in response were head shakes and some muttering, “Did anyone hear any curse words?”, once again, head shakes. She turned to Mme. Bustier and shrugged, “As long as he doesn’t say it in French, I don’t really think you can punish him. He said it in a language none of us knew, so you can’t really punish him for cursing in class.”

Bustier’s face turned red in embarrassment. A student just corrected her in front of her own class. Before she could say more, the five of them were gone.

—

“Nath, that mouth!”, Alix cackled, “That was priceless!”

Marinette smiled, “I wish I knew more Chinese so I can cuss Lila out in class. The only curse word I know is húndàn.”

Nathaniel blushed, “Thanks for helping me out back there, you guys.”

“Of course, Nath!” Rose hugged him, “Lila stole your sketchbook, you had every right to be upset.” Juleka nodded in agreement

Nathaniel smiled before he realized something, “I left my colored pencils in my locker.” He reluctantly pulled away from Rose’s legendary hug and ran to the locker room, “I’ll catch up with you guys later!”

Once Nathaniel walked into the locker room, he made his way down the row of lockers until he got this. Right between Alix and Nino’s lockers. He put in the combination on the purple lock he brought from home since the school has terrible security. After Marinette’s near expulsion, some of the students bought locks for their easy-to-open lockers so no one could frame them for theft. Damocles tried to stop them from doing this but he was severely outnumbered, and the fact that some of the students had lawyers for parents who could sue the school for not protecting their children’s items made him concede

Once his locker door was open, an envelope fell out as he went to reach for his pencil face. Furrowing his brow, Nathaniel picked up the mysterious envelope he didn’t remember being in his locker. ‘Maybe it’s my report card?... But it’s the middle of the quarter.’, he thought, ‘And why would they put it in my locker?’ With a shrug, Nathaniel opened the envelope and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. He unfolded the paper, and his eyes widened in shock. His jaw hung open, his hands were shaking, and his breathing became unsteady

In his hands was a photo of Marc and Adrien, but not just any photo. It looked like someone took a photo from a distance, but you could make out every detail. The two of them were sitting on a bench in the park, hand in hand, bodies pressed together, and kissing. Nathaniel wanted to cry, to punch Adrien, to throw up. He looked over the picture even though his brain told him not to, but he had to look for something. Watermarks, any signs of smeared paint, anything!... Nothing.

“N-no... No... He wouldn’t... H-he...” He crumples the paper and throws it to the floor, then he makes his way over to the door. When he opens the door, he froze at the sight. Adrien and Marc were walking the stairs, talking. Adrien must’ve said something funny because Marc started laughing. “... Oh my God...” A tear streamed down his heartbroken face which contorted into a scowl. Not able to take another second of this, Nathaniel charged out of the lockers room and ran to the doors, bumping into people along the way, but he didn’t care. He just needed to leave.

__

Marc laughed, “Oh my God! He really cursed Lila out in Yiddish?”

“Yeah, it was pretty funny,” Adrien chuckled, “If I knew we could do that, I would’ve cursed Lila out weeks ago. But yeah, if he seems a little off in art club, it’s because of Lila.”

“Thanks again, Adrien,” Marc smiled

“No problem. I’ll see you around Marc.”, and he left

Marc still couldn’t believe his sweet boyfriend cursed someone out. But, it was Lila, so he could understand that. He made his way into the locker room and walked over to his locker. He pulled a silver key out of his pocket and uses it on the lock he bought for his locker. Marc’s always been a little protective of his stuff, but after what happened with Marinette and... Her... He and most of the students took action and bought locks for their lockers.

As he opened his locker, he noticed a crumpled ball of paper on the floor. Before Marc could go to pick it up, out of peripheral vision, he saw an envelope fall out of his locker and land on the floor. Marc picked up the envelope he didn’t remember being in his locker before and looked over it to see if anyone write anything like their name. With a shrug, Marc opened the envelope and found a folded piece of paper. With some hesitation, thinking it might be something bad like a photo of something gory or inappropriate, he pulled it out and slowly unfolded it... It was worse.

His widened green eyes scanned over the photo of Nathaniel and Alix, holding hands as they kissed on a bench in the park. He dropped the photo and sat on one of the benches, looking pale and shaking. Then he brought his gloved hands to his face and started crying. “What did I do wrong?”, he asked himself

__

“Anger, despair. Both caused by an untrustworthy partner, and those who turned out to be false friends. So hard to pick.” Hawkmoth beckoned a butterfly that landed in the palm of his hand. Once covered by his other hand, the butterfly was consumed by dark magic and turned black. Hawkmoth released the Akuma, and it fluttered away, “Fly away my little Akuma, go towards the one who feels the most pain!”

__

The akuma fluttered over to the school and found its target. Sitting on the steps of the school with his head tucked into his knees was Nathaniel. And while he could sense Marc’s sadness, Nathaniel’s feelings of rage and betrayal were too good to pass up. So, it dived down and flew into the half heart necklace turning it black. He looked up, revealing the Akuma symbol over his face

__

Once Hawkmoth felt Nathaniel’s emotions, he smirked, “Welcome back Evillustrator. I can assure you, you’ll have your reven-”, Hawkmoth stopped mid-sentence, a look of confusion on his face, “What’s this?”

__

Marc lifted his head up from his hands, revealing an Akuma symbol over his tear-stained face. And his necklace was now pitch black

Hawkmoth rubbed his temples, obviously overwhelmed by the emotions these two boys were feeling. Anger, sadness, betrayal, disbelief, “Well, there’s no need to choose now. Reverstrator, I am Hawkmoth. With my help, you won’t be separated from the one you love again, no one will come between you. All I ask in return is that you bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous.”

“Yes, Hawkmoth,” they say in unison. Once the Akuma symbols disappear, the purple and black mist bubbled up from their necklaces and surrounded them. The purple mist that covered Nathaniel went towards the front doors of the school, phased through, and made its way through the courtyard, startling a few students, then it went into the locker room and combined with the mist that covered Marc

The mist lifted up revealing a tall akuma, around Kim’s height, who looks like a fusion of Evillustrator and Reverser. The left side of his face is purple while the left is black, and his lipstick, while the same colors are inverted. The left side of his short-sleeved hoodie is white with black slanted stripes, the hood is black, he has black sleeves with white stripes under the hoodie, and he has white fingerless gloves which reveal black fingers. The other side is inverted. On the front of his hoodie is a black and white circle with the primary colors on it, but one is half yellow and half black. His pants are half black and white, he has a black boot on his right foot and red on his left. His hair is similar to Evillustrator’s but is more downward, the purple tips at the end are now black and white, and he has a black beret. Two noticeable traits about this Akuma is that he has two forearms on each upper arm, and he has four eyes, but two are closed at the moment while the top eyes, which are turquoise, are narrowed.

“I’m coming for you, Agreste.” He summoned Evillustrator’s tablet and pen in his hands

__

“Man, why isn’t Nath texting back?”, Alix questioned as she continued texting Nathaniel for the sixth time, “He’s been gone for like five minutes.”

“Yeah, and Marc isn’t here either.”, Marinette said, “You think they got... Sidetracked?”

Rose giggled, “Maybe.”

M. Haberkorn intervened, an amused smile on his face, “Now let’s not assume anything. They’re probably helping each other look for something.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet.”, Juleka said, a hint of playfulness in her monotone voice

Alix shook her head amusedly, “Alright, they get three more minutes, then we gotta go looking for them.” The three other girls nodded in agreement before they heard some screams coming from the courtyard, “Must be another Akuma.”, Alix said. The students and the teacher peaked out of the window and saw the Akuma running rampant around the courtyard

“WHERE IS HE?! WHERE’S ADRIEN AGRESTE?!”

“Who’s that?”, Juleka asked, shocked at the appearance of the enraged Akuma

“Damn, Hawkmoth,” Alix whispered, “you’ve made some weird-looking ones, but this one is just... God.”

“And why does he have Evillustrator’s tablet?”, Marinette piped up when she noticed the familiar Akuma weapon on one of the arms, and in the akuma’s hand was the drawing pen. She took a closer look at the Akuma and noticed a necklace with a heart charm around his neck. The more Marinette took in his appearance, the more she noticed how similar it looked to Evillustrator and Reverser, “Guys, I think that’s Marc and Nathaniel!”

The four looked at her in bewilderment before she urged for them to take a closer look at the Akuma. “It is them!”, Rose exclaimed

“They’re fused like Oblivio,” Juleka said, “How did this happen?”

M. Haberkorn shook his head solemnly, “I don’t know. But the four you need to get out of here before someone gets hurt.” As if proving his point, a loud crash was heard followed by more screaming. “Wait until I say it’s safe.” The four of them nodded. He made his way over to the door and carefully opened it. Peaking his head out, he saw the Akuma was erasing walls to classrooms, trying to find Adrien. His back was turned to the art classroom. “Alright, hurry out,” he whispered

They nodded and quickly ran out of the classroom; M. Haberkorn went to help any of the other students evacuate. Alix, Marinette, Juleka, and Rose ran through the crowd of panicking students, but Marinette stopped suddenly and ran in the direction of the locker rooms while Alix, Juleka, and Rose made it out

She opened her purse, allowing Tikki to fly out, “How do you think this happened?”, Marinette asked the tiny goddess, “I don’t know, but this Akuma is a combination of Reverser and Evillustrator, so you need to be careful. You remember how they were last time.”

Marinette nodded at the memory. Marc and Nathaniel were reckless, hostile, and apathetic as Akumas. Nathaniel almost killed Chloe with a buzz saw, and Marc nearly caused a meteor shower that could’ve destroyed Paris. Fused together, there was no telling what destruction they could cause. Before Marinette could say the phrase and transform, she noticed a crumpled piece of paper on the floor. Curious, she picked it up and opened it, revealing the photo of Marc and Adrien kissing

“What the?”, she whispered. Tikki’s eyes widened, “Well that answers Nathaniel’s akumatization, but what about Marc?” Marinette shrugged, but then noticed a piece of paper by the bench. She picked it up and saw that it was a photo of Nathaniel and Alix kissing. “There’s no way these are real. Marc and Nathaniel would never cheat on each other, Alix is Nathaniel’s best friend, she’s aromantic, and Adrien’s dating Kagami!”, she narrowed her eyes at the fake photos, “Someone must have wanted this to happen, t-to get them to break up, or maybe even deliberately try to get them Akumatized.”

“Well, you can figure this out later!”, Tikki told her chosen

“You’re right.”

TIKKI, SPOTS ON!

__

“He’s obviously not here, you jerk!”, a voice that sounded a lot like Reverser’s exclaimed

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!”, Reverstrator shouted, “Fine. I’ll go look somewhere else.”

“NO! We’re going after Alix first! You let her get away!”

“What’s your deal with her?”, he growled, “She didn’t do anything!”

“Neither did Adrien!”

“Oh, of course, you take his side!”, Reverstrator exclaimed as he drew a boxing glove that punched the front doors open. Before he could walk out, Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around his waist and flung him into a wall, “Oh, great. You’re here.”

Ladybug retracted her yoyo and spun it, preparing to use it as a shield, “The feeling is mutual! Marc, Nathaniel, whatever happened-”

“DON’T SAY HIS NAME! I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT RIGHT NOW!”, he shouted, then drew seven swords, all aimed at Ladybug

From her hiding spot under the stairs, Lila watched the scene unfold with a twisted, unsettling, sadistic grin on her face. “Come on, do it!”, she whispered

Ladybug dodged each sword, quick and easy. They embedded themselves into the courtyard floor and formed small cracks. Lila stomped her foot in frustration and cursed out the Akuma for his failure to kill the spotted heroine, “Stupid akumas can’t do anything right!” Caught up in her ranting, Lila doesn’t notice Aurore standing a few feet away, but still in earshot, recording the battle and her. The blonde weather girl looked appalled.

“HOLD STILL, YOU PEST!”, Reverstrator was becoming angrier and angrier every time Ladybug dodged his drawn weapons. Swords and axes? Avoided and embedded into the ground. Missiles? Uses her yoyo to fling each one into the sky so they don’t destroy Paris. Boxing glove? Jump over it and just let it fly through the holes in the school walls. As she prepared to dodge more attacks, Ladybug noticed Reverstrator holding his head, and it sounded like he was muttering to himself

“God, you suck at this.”

“Well, why don’t you try it if you’re so great at it?”

“Maybe I will!”

“Don’t you dare- AH!”

Reverstrator seemed to go limp above the waist for a moment and stops moving. Ladybug slowly approached him, but stopped when he suddenly straightened up, and she grimaced when a few bones made an audible crack. His turquoise eyes closed and two monochrome eyes below them open up. Evillustrator’s tablet and pen disappear and are replaced with four monochrome paper airplanes sitting in Reverstrator’s hands.

“Let’s try this again! Your powers are useless now! REVERSION!”, Reverstrator hurled the four paper airplanes at Ladybug who acted quickly and shielded herself with her yoyo, blocking each one, “Are you KIDDING ME?!”

“Not so easy, is it?” Evillustrator’s voice snarked

“Shut it!”, Reverstrator yelled to the voice in his head as the glowing Akuma symbol appeared over his face

“Reverstrator, focus!”, Hawkmoth yelled, “I want my Miraculous!”

“Forget this!”

“No!”

Reverstrator’s body convulsed a bit, and as the monochrome eyes closed, the turquoise ones opened, “I’m going after Adrien,” Evillustrator's said, speaking through Reverstrator. His tablet and pen reappeared, which he used to draw a ball and chain around Ladybug’s ankle, preventing her from moving

“Don’t go after the boy!” Hawkmoth commanded, now concerned for Adrien’s safety

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t,” Reverstrator snapped, “You don’t even care who lives or dies when you send out a damn Akuma every week!”

“Your prime objective is to take the Miraculous!”

“Sure. Right after I give that rich boy what he deserves!” He drew a jetpack on his back and took off. Ladybug wrapped the string of her yoyo around the anklet, and it snapped open due to the strength of the magic weapon. Before she could swing away, Ladybug noticed Lila glaring up towards where Reverstrator flew away. ‘Later,’ she thought to herself before swinging off after Reverstrator.

__

Adrien, Nathalie, and the Gorilla sit through some traffic. Nathalie scrolls through her tablet, “You have a piano lesson in two hours, then tomorrow after school, another photoshoot...”

Adrien just zones out as she drones on in her monotonous voice. Plagg pokes his head out of his pocket and gives him a bored look as he munches on a piece of cheese. Adrien feels himself dozing off when suddenly- “ADRIEN AGRESTE!”

Nathalie put a protective hand on Adrien’s shoulder and ushered for him to duck down. She looked out the window, seeing nothing but cars and a few people getting out of there to see what’s going on. It was quiet for a moment when suddenly, an arm penetrates the roof, making Adrien let out a yelp as the hand grabbed his head, two more burst through and grab his face. Nathalie reacts, hits the first arm with her tablet, making it recoil, and grabs the other two arms wrists, “Adrien, run!”

With a nod, Adrien bolted out of the car and ran down the sidewalk, catching a glimpse of the Akuma as he rounded a corner and made his way into an alley. Plagg flew out of his pocket, eyes widened, “Did you see that guy?!”

Adrien nodded, “Hawkmoth is officially twisted.”

PLAGG, CLAWS OUT!

__

Reverstrator finally releases himself from Nathalie’s grip and runs off to find Adrien, “WHERE ARE YOU?!”

“Lookin’ for me?!”, Chat Noir’s boot made contact with his stomach, sending him to the ground and knocking the wind out of him, “I know I’m no Adrien Agreste, but you gotta admit, I’m way better.”, he smirked

Reverstrator got back up, “That, we can agree on. Adrien Agreste is a backstabbing two-timer who steals people in relationships!”

“What are you talking about?!”

Chat Noir furrowed his brown in confusion, and he didn’t have time to react when a fire hose drawn by Reverstrator sprayed him with a powerful blast of water. Chat backed away, grabbed his baton, and spun it around so it acted like a shield, deflecting the blast

“Marc, Nathaniel! Stop!”, Ladybug yelled as she dropped in and wrapped her yoyo around Reverstrator

“Don’t call me that! I’m Reverstrator now!” Suddenly, his torso started rotating around rapidly, unwinding Ladybug’s yoyo. Chat surged towards him with his staff ready. Reverstrator grabbed the staff with one set of hands and used the other set to grab Chat Noir by his waist then fling him into the streets. Ladybug threw her yoyo at him, but he managed to catch it just an inch away from his head. Grabbing the string of his yoyo with all of his hands, Reverstrator kept a tight grip as he spun his torso around and then flung Ladybug right into Chat Noir when he abruptly let go of the yoyo

Reverstrator got out his pen and drew a hole on his tablet, then a second later, one appears beneath the heroes and they fall in, “See? That’s how you get rid of heroes!”

“...”

“Oh, silent treatment, huh?!”

“Reverstrator! Why didn’t you take their Miraculous before sending them into the hole?!”, Hawkmoth asked, enraged

Reverstrator rolled his eyes, “They can’t get out of there. I’ll come back for them later.” He leaped onto a roof and made his way to the Agreste mansion

__

“Oh, I hope Marinette’s okay,” Rose voiced her concern as she, Juleka, and Alix walked back into the school when they saw that Reverstrator was gone

Juleka places a hand on her shoulder, “Maybe she just got separated while we were running. I’m sure she’s okay.”

Alix agreed, “Yeah, she can take care of herself. Maybe she just hid in the locker room.” The three of them walk into the locker room and look around for the pigtailed girl, “Marinette?!” She called out, “Marinette?!”

Juleka knocks on a few lockers, “Marinette? You in here?”

Rose walks out of the bathroom and shakes her head, “I don’t think she’s in here.”

Alix furrowed her brow in confusion, “Okay, maybe she got swept up in a group. Jules, you might be right about her getting separated.” Juleka smiled at that

Rose sighed with relief and then sat down on the bench, “Well, that’s good.” She felt her foot brush up against something and looked down to see the photo face-down on the floor, “Hm?” She picked up the photo, flipped it over, and her eyes widened in shock, “... Alix? Could you take a look at this?” She hands the photo over to Alix. The pink-haired girl gave the photo an incredulous look, “WHAT THE HELL?!” She stomps over to Juleka who’s looking down at something in her hands, “Are you seeing this?! I did not kiss Nathaniel!... Jules?” Juleka shows her and Rose what she’s looking at.

Rose gasped, “That’s why Reverstrator is after Adrien!”

“So if Nathaniel saw this photo, then Marc must’ve seen the other one.” Juleka turns to Alix, “So Reverstrator might be after you next.”

“But I didn’t kiss Nath!” She exclaimed, “And Marc definitely didn’t kiss Adrien!” She takes the photo out of Juleka’s hand and examines both photos, “These had to have been photoshopped, o-or something!”

Rose notices something on one of the photos, “Hey, what’s that?” She points to an orange smudge in the corner of the photo of Alix and Nathaniel kissing, “Looks like nail polish.” Juleka smirks, “Or Nathaniel uses hair dye.”

“Wait.” Alix narrows her eyes at the nail polish stain, “There’s only one person in the whole class who wears orange nail polish.”

“LILA!”, Rose and Juleka said at the same time

Alix nodded, “It makes sense. They know she’s lying too, so of course, she’d pull this shit! We gotta tell them before they go after Adrien!” She’s about to head out of the locker room, but Juleka stops her by placing a hand on her shoulder, “But what about you?” “I’ll be fine. It’s Lila you should be worried about when they find out what she did.” After that, she stormed out of the locker room with Juleka and Rose behind her.

__

Ladybug and Chat Noir were still in the hole. Ladybug tried using her yoyo to get out, but there was nothing for it to wrap around outside the hole. Chat Noir then wrapped his arms around Ladybug and extended his staff so that they rose out of the hole

“Nice thinking, Chat.” Ladybug commended as Chat shortened his staff

Chat smiled, “Thank you, m’lady. Now let’s go!” He and Ladybug vaulted and swung away

__

Reverstrator landed on top of a roof and just stands there, “... Why can’t I move? What are you doing?!”

“We need to talk right now!”, Reverser’s voice shouted

“I don’t want to!”, he yelled back while covering his ears, hoping that will block out his voice

“Well, I’m not letting you go until we talk!... Please?”

Reverstrator sighed, “Fine.” The monochrome eyes slowly opened, and immediately a few tears pour out as Reverstrator has a conversation with himself

Reverser speaks through Reverstrator, “... Why would you do this? W-what did I do wrong? I... I love you and you just...” One of his right hands wipes away the tears. Evillustrator speaks through Reverstrator, “I could ask you the same thing. I-I don’t know why you’re mad, but you really hurt me.”

“How did I hurt you? You kissed Alix!”

“W-what?! I never kissed Alix!... Is this why you’re mad at her? You think we kissed?”

“... Yeah.”

“No! That never happened! And I saw the photo of you kissing Adrien!” The turquoise eyes start crying, “Then I saw you and him laughing. An-and I just-”

“Well, that’s only because he was telling me what you said to Lila in class! I-I would never cheat on you. I love you...”

“I’d never cheat on you either, and Alix would never hurt you like that.” Reverstrator’s right hands wipe away the tears forming in the monochrome eyes

“I’d never do something like that to you... But where did the photo come from?”

The turquoise eyes narrowed when they noticed Alix, Juleka, and Rose walking down the sidewalk, “Let’s find out.”

__

“When I see that girl tomorrow in class, I’m gonna-!”

Reverstrator dropped down right in front of the three girls, startling them and cutting off Alix’s rant, “ALIX!” Upon seeing the menacing glare he was giving their friend, Juleka and Rose shielded Alix from the Akuma

“You better explain why there’s a picture of you kissing Nathaniel!”, Reverser shouted through the Akuma and summoned two paper airplanes in the two left hands

Alix gently nudged Juleka and Rose out of the way and approached the Akuma, but the two girls held onto their friend’s arms for protection, “Nath, Marc...” Hearing Reverstrator let out a low growl, she corrected herself, “Reverstrator, those photos are fake! I never kissed Nathaniel, and Adrien never kissed Marc! We wouldn’t do that!”

Before Reverstrator could say anything, Juleka spoke, “Lila faked those photos. W-we found some of her nail polish smeared on the back of one of them

“That... That...”

“Lignerish shlang!”

Without saying another word, Reverstrator crushed the paper airplanes in his hands and ran off to find the lying Italian who nearly destroyed a beautiful relationship. Alix called out to him, but he was already gone, leaping over the city once again. A second later, Ladybug and Chat Noir land by them. “Are you okay?” Ladybug asked as she checks to see if Reverstrator hurt them in any way

Alix nodded, “Yeah, we’re fine. But it’s Lila that you gotta save.”

Ladybug tried not to show her disgust at the mention of the liar, but Chat Noir wasn’t holding back, “What’d she do now?” he asked bitterly

“’Now?’“ Rose parroted

Chat continued, “Yeah. This wouldn’t be the first time she’s pissed off an Akuma.”

“Chat,” Ladybug hissed, “Not now.” She turned back to Alix, “So what happened?”

“Lila photoshopped a photo so it would look like Marc kissed Adrien, and Nathaniel kissed me,” she explained. Off the heroes’ looks of disgust, she continued, “Yeah, and all because they knew that she was lying!”

Ladybug took a sharp inhale. That liar could ruin her life all she wanted, but rope her friends and cousin into this? There will be hell to pay, “Alright. I guess we have to save her again. The three of you better get to safety.” Then she and Chat swung and vaulted after the Akuma as the three girls just stood there

“We’re gonna see how this goes, aren’t we?” Juleka asked after a few seconds of silence

Alix nodded, “Hell, yeah!” She exclaimed as they began springing in the direction of Reverstrator and the heroes went, “Hey, if we’re lucky, Lila might be exposed in front of everyone.”

__

Lila was walking on air. Marc and Nathaniel were probably beating that pesky bug to a bloody pulp right now. She was a little miffed that they didn’t slice her open with one of those swords or reverse her powers so she’d be useless as always. And hopefully, when she fails, those two f*gs will become public enemy numbers one and two. She could spin a whole sob story about how they were jealous of her relationship with Ladybug and they’ll be banished from Paris. Maybe she could even throw in something about Marinette and those d*kes she hangs out with. They are close; maybe get the idea of them working for Hawkmoth into those idiots’ heads-

“So, what do you think of doing another interview tomorrow?”

‘Ugh. Remember your fanbase, remember your fanbase,’ Lila reminded herself every time she hung out with Alya, “Alya, that’d be wonderful! I’d love to!” She exclaimed, before quickly dropping her expression, “But I just hope I’ll be okay to do it tomorrow. I’m just so worried about my bestie getting hurt!”

Alya nodded, “Yeah, Reverstrator doesn’t seem like the type of Akuma to hold back. But, I’m sure she’ll be fine... Though, I wonder why Marc and Nathaniel got akumatized in the first place.”

Lila internally smirked, ‘Perfect,’ “You don’t think it was because of me, do you?”

Alya immediately went to comfort her, “Girl, I’m sure it was just something else. Maybe stressed out from their comic, or-”

“But we haven’t been on the best terms lately, and-” She choked back a sob, “I can’t help but feel that I’m the reason they were Akumatized... Or... Maybe they were jealous that I’m friends with Ladybug?”

Alya frowned, “Well then, that’s just not right. Once they go back to normal, we’re gonna confront them about this!”

“ROSSI!”

Parisians cleared the way as Reverstrator dropped down from above and landed in the middle of Pont des Arts. “It’s time to reveal every single one of your lies!” Four monochrome paper airplanes materialized in his hands, “REVERSION!”

Lila ducked out of the way as the planes came for her, and they instead hit a few pedestrians who started revealing everything they’ve lied about, “I-I didn’t do anything! Please, whatever happened, I can help you!” She whined while throwing in a few tears for good measure

“ENOUGH!” Evillustrator’s pen materialized in one of his left hands, and the tablet on his right arm. He began drawing, “You won’t try to tear us apart ever again!” A buzz-saw appeared beside him and spun its way towards the two girls. Not taking any chances, Lila grabbed Alya and put her in front of her like a shield

“LILA?!”, Alya screamed as she struggled to get out of her hold, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” The more she struggled, the more Lila’s nails dug into her skin and she let out a pained scream

“Call it off! Erase it!”, “I’m doing it!” The buzz saw was erased from existence, and Alya was safe. Lila pushed Alya to the ground then ran away. Reverstrator was about to run after her, but when he saw the look of betrayal on Alya’s face, he said to her, “I’d start looking for new friends if I were you.” And he ran after Lila, leaving Alya horrified at what just happened

‘How could she do that?’ She thought to herself, ‘She used me as a human shield, I-I could have died. Why would she do this?... I thought we were friends.’

Rousing her from her thoughts was the sound of a notification from her phone. She wiped the tears streaming down her cheeks and checked her phone. She furrowed her brow as she read what was on her screen. Aurore had made a post on her blog, Bug & Cat Chat. She wasn’t a fan of the blonde girl having a blog that rivaled her own and stole most of her viewers, but she kept tabs to see what she posted and how she could make the Ladyblog better. ‘Ladybug’s Supposed Bestie Roots for Akuma?’

__

Lila ran as fast as she could down the streets of Paris, but Reverstrator was faster. She dodged every paper plane, every sword, dagger, and flaming arrow, shoving pedestrians out of her way and almost getting them hit in the process. When the attacks stopped, Lila stopped running and took a few breaths.

“Damn it, Hawkmoth,” she cursed under her breath, “Control your freaks.” This moment of peace was cut short by a scream. Lila looked back and saw a car being tossed into the air and heading right for her. She leaped out of the way as the car hit the ground

“Lie-La~” Reverstrator called out, “It would be easier for everyone here if you just gave yourself up!” He started lifting another car

Lila rubbed her eyes to make it look like she’s crying, “I didn’t do anything! Why are you after me?!” She looked through her hands and saw people in the vicinity giving her wary looks, ‘Why are none of these idiots helping me?! Can’t they see I’m in danger?!’

“Mommy! That’s the girl who put the Ladyblogger in danger!” A little boy shouted

Lila looked again and saw many of the citizens scowling at or backing away from her. Some were even looking down at their phones. When she listened closely, she could clearly make out Alya’s panicked voice coming from their phones

‘Who the hell recorded that?!’

“Aurore got a video of her rooting for the Akuma!”

“She wanted Ladybug dead!”

“I bet she’s working for Hawkmoth!”

Lila scowled, ‘That blonde b*mbo!’ She put her hands behind her back and pinched her wrists to make herself cry, “I-I’d never do that! I’d never put Ladybug in danger!” Another car was thrown her way, she ran with Reverser hot on her tail

“IT’S NO USE RUNNING, LILA! JUST GIVE YOURSELF UP! EVERYONE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE REALLY LIKE!”

Lila was about the round a corner, but Reverstrator grabbed her by the back of her jacket and held her up in the air, “It’s over! Now confess everything you’ve lied about!”

Even when her life was on the line, Lila would not own up to her lies, “I didn’t do anything wrong! I don’t know why you’re after me, but-”

“ENOUGH!” Evillustrator summoned a paper airplane, “You are now forced to tell the truth! Reversion- HEY!” He tried to yank his arm away as Ladybug’s yoyo wrapped around his wrist

“Reverstrator, stop!” Ladybug called out as she and Chat Noir arrived, “Everyone already knows that Lila is dangerous-”

“SHUT UP LADYBUG! NO ONE ASKED YOU SHIT!”, Lila screeched, making everyone gasp. Lila was about to say more, but one of Reverstrator’s other hands wrapped around her neck and she started choking, but then he dropped her to the ground when Ladybug yanked on her yoyo and flung him into the side of a building

Chat narrowed his eyes at Lila who had taken off running a while ago, “Better hurry before she causes more trouble.”

Ladybug nodded then called for her, “LUCKY CHARM!” What dropped in her hands was, “Another yoyo?”

Chat Noir extended his staff, “Better figure out how to use it quick; Reverstrator won’t go down so easy!”

Reverstrator started drawing again, and another buzz saw came spinning for them. Chat Noir jumped in front of Ladybug and yelled out, “CATACLYSM!” The buzz saw crumbled into black dust, and immediately, the heroes were barraged by arrows. And with his free hands, he threw paper airplanes at them. They take cover behind a flipped car. Not wanting to risk getting shot by an arrow or reversed, Ladybug used the mirror in her yoyo to find a way to use her lucky charm

Use your yoyo to deflect his attacks

Wrap both yoyo’s around Reverstrator’s arms

He has super strength, so you won’t be able to hold him down on your own

Tie the ends of the yoyos to the lamp posts; they’re bolted tight to the ground

Break the necklace, catch the Akuma

Ladybug turned to Chat Noir with a determined look, “Hey, Kitty? Ever use a yoyo before?” With a grin, Chat takes the lucky charm yoyo and extends his staff. Ladybug spins her yoyo; the two run out from behind the car and start deflecting Reverstrator’s planes and arrows. Once they got close enough, Ladybug wrapped her yoyo around Reverstrator’s left arms, and Chat wrapped the Lucky Charm yoyo around the right arms. They ran in opposite directions and tied the yoyos around lamp posts so he can’t get free.

“NO!” He growled with tears in his eyes, “You won’t separate us!”

Ladybug walked over, reached into the monochrome hoodie, and pulled out a black heart-shaped necklace. She threw it to the ground, making it shatter into many pieces so the Akuma would fly out. She quickly unwrapped her yoyo, “No more evil-doing for you little Akuma... Time to De-Evilize!” She caught the Akuma, “Gotcha!” Fluttering out from the yoyo was a pure white butterfly, “Bye-bye, little butterfly.”

Chat Noir tossed her the lucky charm yoyo. She tossed it into the air and yelled out, “MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!” The yoyo burst into millions of ladybugs. The swept around the city, fixing the school, getting rid of the weapons drawn by Reverstrator, removing the reversion curse of citizens who were hit by the paper airplanes, and finally, Reverstrator was washed over by a black and purple mist that lifted up and revealed Marc and Nathaniel passed out on the ground

Ladybug and Chat Noir did their signature fist-bump, “Pound it!”

“Ugh,” Nathaniel got up and rubbed his head, “What the hell...?” His eyes widened when he saw Marc on the ground, “Rainbow!” He rushed over to his boyfriend’s side, “Baby, are you okay?” Marc’s eyes fluttered open, and Nathaniel let out a relieved sigh, “Marc, I’m so sorry I thought you cheated on me, I- You’d never do that! I just-” “Nath...” “When I saw that photo, I just panicked!” “Nath!” Nathaniel was cut off by Marc throwing his arms around his neck and pulling him in for a kiss. “... I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions either. Nath, I’m sorry.”

Ladybug and Chat Noir offered their hands and helped the two boys up, “I’m guessing you guys remember what happened.”

Nathaniel furrowed his brow, “I-I just remember seeing that photo of Marc kissing Adrien...” No one noticed the look of shock on Chat’s face, “Then I remember Alix mentioning...” His expression darkened, “...Lila.” Marc held his hand and kissed his cheek, “She’s sort of had out for us ever since we pointed out a few holes in her lies.”

“Well, don’t worry. I’m sure you won’t be seeing much of her anymore.” At the superheroine’s words, the two boys smiled. Suddenly, the distinct beeping of Ladybug and Chat’s miraculous’ were heard

“Well, we best be off,” Chat said as he extended his staff and vaulted away

Ladybug gave the two one last smile, “Bug out.” and she swung away

__

Hawkmoth threw his can to the ground, “NO! How could they have beaten Reverstrator? He should have unstoppable! Ladybug, I swear, I will have your Miraculous!”

__

Lila felt all eyes on her as she walked into Dupont. Normally she would preen at the attention she was receiving, but these looks were hate-filled. They all looked like they wanted her dead. Ignoring the glares, she put on a prideful demeanor as she strutted her way to class...

...Where she was met with even more death glares.

Alix stood from her seat, “You’ve got some fucking nerve coming back here, Rossi.”

She reared back, “Oh, Alix!” tears began to pour, “How could you say something like that?!”, she started sobbing into her hands but no one was buying her fake tears

Nino wrapped his arms protectively around Alya and glared at the Italian, “Just get lost, Lila. Everyone in Paris saw the shit you pulled.”

“I-I don’t know what-”

“YOU PUSHED ALYA IN FRONT OF A BUZZ SAW, YOU BITCH!” Marinette screamed as she stormed over towards the Italian, “You could have killed her!”

Lila backed away from the enraged pigtailed girl, “I-I was trying to push her out of the way, but my carpel tunnel acted up, and-”

“Cut the crap, Rossi!” Nathaniel yelled, “Marc and I almost killed Alya because of you!”

“It wasn’t my fault you two got akumatized!”

“IT WAS!” The entire room went silent when the redhead slammed his fist on the desk, “You photoshopped pictures of us cheating on each other, and that’s what got us akumatized!”

Lila forced tears out of her eyes, “I’d never do something like that!” she whined

Juleka spoke up, “We found your nail polish on one of the photos,” She held up the photo and pointed to the orange nail polish. Before Lila could retort, Marinette held up one of her hands, her nails were still painted the same shade of orange as the nail polish on the photo

“Th-that was just a coincidence! It’s a very popular color!”

Chloe laughed, “Newsflash, Rossi. Raw sienna looks good on no one. Especially not you.”

Adrien stood from his seat, “And I’m sure you can explain why there’s a video of you cheering for the Akuma,” he sent Nathaniel an apologetic look, “then saying Akuma’s can’t do anything right.”

The Italian went silent before, “Ow! My head hurts! See, while I was in Africa, I hit my head and-”

“That explains a lot,” Ivan muttered

“B-but guys, I’d never...” Seeing that no one was buying a single thing she said, she scowled, “Alright, fine! So I pushed her in front of me, so what?! Better her than me!” Marinette and Nino looked ready to strangle her. She points to Nathaniel, “And you and your f*ggot boyfriend should learn your place you k**e!”

The entire room gasped at the slur used against their friend

“Lila Rossi!” Everyone turned to see Mme. Bustier standing at the doorway, “Principal’s office, now!”

“B-but Mme. Bustier!” Lila stammered

“NOW!” She repeated, “I will not have that type of language used in my classroom!”

“But Nathaniel cursed me out yesterday!”

Mme. Bustier nodded, “Yes, but no one could understand him.” She shot the redhead an apologetic smile and he smiled back, “You on the other hand, we understood you loud and clear. I will not tolerate the use of derogatory terms in this class! Now go!” She points to the door. Defeated, Lila trudges out but not before she adds, “And I’ll be giving your mother a call as well.”

Mme. Bustier followed her out and slammed the door behind her, leaving the classroom in silence

“... Okay!” Kim yelled out, “No one’s saying it, so I will.” He approaches Marinette, “Mari, I-I’m sorry that I didn’t believe you. You’re one of the most honest people I know, and I just picked that... Cáo nói dối over my own sister.”

Marinette smiled and embraced Kim, “Thanks, Kimmy.” The athlete wrapped his arms around her, “Anytime, em gái.” The whole room started apologizing to the students who didn’t believe Lila’s stories and gathered for a group hug

Marinette hummed, “Guys, this is nice... But if you ever do this again, I will not hesitate to knock some sense into each and every one of you. And believe me. I will be very violent.”

Mylene chuckled nervously, “Noted.”

__

“Hey, Rainbow.” Marc looked up from his journal and saw Nathaniel standing by the stairs, “Hey.” Nathaniel went under the stairs and sat next to Marc before littering his face with kisses, making the black-haired boy blush

“What’s got you so happy?”

Nathaniel smirked, “Two things. First: Lila’s being arrested for possibly working with Hawkmoth,” off Marc’s incredulous look, he nodded, “Seriously! After that video Aurore posted, the police took her in for questioning.”

Marc tackled Nathaniel into a hug, “That’s amazing! So, what’s the second thing?” He gives Nathaniel a knowing look

“Well,” he takes Marc’s hand and kisses it, “Ever since we were fused together, I just... I’ve never felt closer to you. Even though we were Akumatized, it just felt amazing.”

Marc can’t help but blush, “Yeah. I-I know we were arguing most of the time, but I still loved being that close to you.” His smile dropped a little, “I could feel how upset you were. That also showed how much you really care about me.”

“Of course I do, Rainbow,” Nathaniel said as he caressed his cheek, “You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. I was prepared to murder Adrien because of that photo.”

“And I was going to throttle Alix...”

“... Not our best moment.” “No, not really.”

“But,” Nathaniel pulls his sketchbook out from his messenger bag, “It does give me a few ideas for our next comic.”

Marc shows Nathaniel the page he was working on, “Me too.”

[youwerenevermeanttofeelalone]

A Little Healing | Jason Todd

✦ pairing — Jason Todd x Plus Size Reader

✦ word count — 1.4k

✦ request — can i request one with Jason Todd similar to the bewitched one that you had done for Damian

✦ summary — it takes almost losing you for Jason to admit that he doesn’t hate you.

✦ warnings — mentions of violence and injuries, mentions of heartbreak, little bit of angst, a sexual innuendo, fluff?

✦ a/n — I realized while I was editing that this fic sounds like If The World Was Ending by JP Saxe and Julia Michaels so you can listen to that song while reading if you want, but it’s just a coincidence.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

The world was ending, but he didn’t care. Jason didn’t felt the earthquake. He found out about it because the people around him were panicking. Bruce called immediately, telling him to get to the meeting point as quickly and safely as possible.

He had expected to see you there, annoying him with your presence and your comments on how late he was. Jason grew worried when he realized everyone but you and Donna had arrived already.

The earthquake didn’t scare you. Donna had reacted quickly, however, and her first instinct was helping out whoever needed it.

You hated the fact that your first instinct had been wondering how the person you despised the most was doing.

It could have waited, you knew he would surely be okay — he had to be, he existed to torment you and you had doubted it would change because the world was ending.

That didn’t stop you from imagining his reaction, from almost calling just to make sure he would be there to annoy you once Donna and you made it to the meeting point.

You had been so busy getting distracted that you put several people in danger. You never made it to the meeting point nor to annoy him with your presence which was a shame.

Jason couldn’t take his eyes off you as he took his jacket off. Your busted lip was such a familiar sight that he would’ve dared to smile if it weren’t because of every other bruise on your face and neck.

“Donna said you would need something to eat.” He threw a couple of protein bars onto your lap. “That’s all I found. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow to eat properly.”

You stared down at the bright packets, confused. “Don’t you have people to go and help?”

“No.” He shook his head, placing his helmet on your bedside table. You still kept it empty, funnily enough.

“I don’t need you to babysit me.”

The mockery you were expecting never came. He either forgot how to speak or his brain was getting too slow to come up with one of his unnecessary harsh observations.

You wanted him to try. He had dared to appear on your bedside after a year of hostility, he must have had a good reason to try and rip your heart out again.

You weren’t meant for each other like you had thought. Love turned into hate too quickly, big deal.

“You almost died.”

You had almost died, distracted by thinking about him. In a way, it was poetic, he hated you so much that he almost got you killed even without being there.

“I’ll be fine,” you insisted. The last thing you wanted was his presence to ruin your recovery.

He sat down on your bed, taking one of the packets and opening it for you. “I don’t doubt it.” He thrust the protein bar onto your face. “Eat.”

Clenching your jaw as you tried not to complain, you lifted your farthest arm to take the snack.

Frowning, he carefully shifted. “What’s wrong with your left hand?”

“Nothing,” you gritted, bringing the protein bar to your mouth to take a bite off it.

You hated protein bars, they were always overly sweet or so dense you would’ve rather been eating cardboard.

Too curious regarding your left hand, Jason grabbed it.

You dropped the protein bar, choking on both the dense block and a cry. “FUCK OFF.”

He carefully placed your broken hand down, shifty eyes avoiding your now dampened by tears face. “I’m sorry. I’ll get you a painkiller.”

“I finished them already.”

“The whole bottle?”

“It fucking hurts, Jason!”

He picked the protein bar, getting it near your mouth so you could take another bite. “Is the right one hurt too?”

“My shoulder,” you explained, unintentionally looking into his eyes. Taking a bite off the protein bar, you deviated your eyes to his own bandaged hand.

Jason cleared his throat. “I’ll take you to the hospital in the morning, it’s not safe right now. Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” you snapped. It was too out of character for him to even be nice to you that you would’ve considered that he was poisoning you with the protein bars if you feared for your life.

He had always thought your lack of self-preservation annoying, moronic even. He had saved you many times because of your refusal to be careful — you reminded him of himself when he had just been brought back to life.

You wanted to ask him to help you pass out, but you already knew he would deny you. He always did.

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

“Will you ever tell me what happened between you and Jason?”

You glared at her, making Donna laugh. You should’ve known she wouldn’t be intimidated. “You want the truth?”

“That’s why I asked.”

“He broke my heart so I realized how big of an annoying asshole he is.”

She frowned. “You dated him?”

Snorting, you leaned over so she would help you rearrange the pillow behind you. “Not really, things didn’t work out.”

As she sat back on the couch, you started to do the exercises the doctor had recommended. Stretching your right arm, reaching up as far as you could, you entertained yourself to not give more explanations. It hurt still, but the pain was getting bearable.

“He’s been asking for updates every hour.”

“Tell him I’m dead.”

Donna knew you didn’t mean it, and that was the most frustrating part. “He’s worried.”

You turned to look at her, cheek flush against the pillow. “Why are you telling me this?”

“The world almost ended and he dropped everything to come aid you.”

You didn’t like how your mind wandered around the possibility of him truly caring about you. He hadn’t taken you seriously for months, why would it change after seizing communication?

Donna continued telling you every time Jason asked about you, and every time she would give you that look of disappointed mom when you feigned indifference.

Getting your hopes would be emotional suicide. Jason had been clear when he said it had been a one (two, really) time thing. It only took a taste for you to fall for him.

And he took advantage of it. How could you still not fully hate him?

❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎・・・・・❖︎

Jason didn’t visit you at the hospital, Donna said it wouldn’t be a good idea and although he knew you were exaggerating, he agreed.

However, he visited you as soon as you were home. You didn’t know why he cared so much; it bothered you.

“What do you want?”

He dismissed your tone. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay.”

“Are you sure?”

You hated the lack of sarcasm in his voice. “Come on, Jason,” you chuckled bitterly, “you hate me, why would you care?”

“Don’t say that, I’ve never hated you.”

“No? I dreamt it, then?”

He groaned, taking the seat next to yours. “You haven’t treated me that well either.”

Turning your head to the opposite side from where he was, you said, “I don’t want to talk about this. I’m fine, you’ve seen it for yourself.”

“I love you.”

“How dare you say that, Jason?” Wishing you could talk without looking at him, you gave in and turned to look at him. He always made you give in one way or another. “You said you didn’t want anything serious and a year later you love me? That doesn’t make any fucking sense.”

The anger in your eyes was nothing compared with the way your voice broke. Jason couldn’t take it, he didn’t like it when you were upset. He could deal with an angry you, but a sad you broke his heart.

“I didn’t know what I wanted. I do now.”

You amused him, “And what do you want?”

“You. A proper relationship with you.”

You had wanted to hear him say that for so long. It might have been silly, and preferably you shouldn’t have fallen for him; but if people got to choose how to love life would be too easy.

“It’s not that simple.”

“We can take our time,” he offered. “As much as you need.”

You nodded. “You’ll have to wait until my hand heals.”

“And your face.”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

He laughed softly, “Nothing. It just needs a little healing.”

That it did. You would never tell him it had been your fault; one thing was giving him a chance and other giving him tools to tease you.

“I’ll miss insulting you,” you admitted. “It was like therapy.”

Jason reached for your face, lightly ghosting your cheek with his palm. His touch, featherlike and warm, made you sigh.

“I’ll be offended if you don’t take it out on me in different ways.”

Oh, you would.

[msmarvelwrites]

The Winter Ghost - Part 6

Info: A Devastating car crash causes you to lose your memory and start over. The only thing left in the wreckage was the horrific nightmares which plagued your mind. If you knew what today would entail you would have just stayed in bed. But you didn't and because of that, everything you knew was about to change.

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x reader 

Warnings: Angst, fluff, language. 

W/c: 1.9k ish 

A/n: I’m so sorry for this little baby chapter. I know its short, but I promise its sweet. Well, i mean, I dont really promise but I think it is... Thank you again to @cutie1365​ for editing this mess for me. 

“What the hell happened!?” Bucky’s voice thundered as he stormed into the room. His face was a bright shade of red and his chest was heaving. You couldn't tell if he had just come from a workout or if he was really just that mad.

“How could you let this happen?” He spat at Nat. Obviously it was the latter. Natasha raised her hands in defence.

 “Buck, calm down. No one was hurt and-” 

        “No one was hurt!?” He all but screamed. “Look at her!” He pointed to your crumpled body on the couch. Your face flushed pink as you tried and failed to look less pathetic.

“So I ask again, how the hell could you let this happen?” He finished, almost fuming. You could physically see Natasha shrinking under Bucky's glare. 

         “Stop it!” You tried to make your voice as full as Buckys but it came out flat and small. “It’s my fault. Not Nat’s. And I’m fine,” You tried to steady your voice but a cough escaped your throat which didn't help your case. 

“Please, Bucky. I’m embarrassed enough as it is.” You finished, looking at his defeated face and quickly back to the floor. 

“Embarrassed?” He repeated under his breath, but ultimately dropped it. You were thankful, but watching Bucky’s solemn face made you wish you had kept your mouth shut. You had never seen him like this before. The confident man now looked small and broken. You watched as he shoved his hands in the front pockets of his blue jeans and hung his head. 

        “Anyways, take it from the top Shuri.” Steve cleared his throat and spoke up, cutting the tension like a nuke.

         “Right, so, ah… Y/n would have had contact with Wanda at some point. Do you remember a moment you felt yourself absorb her powers?” She asked you. You were still so preoccupied watching Bucky sulk in the corner; you didn't hear Shuri say your name. She cleared her throat and spoke again, “Y/n?” you tore your eyes off the Super Soldier and turned to the rest of the group. There was a familiar warm blush that crept back into your chest.

        “Sorry, sorry. I’m just a little out of it.” You started shaking your head to clear your thoughts, 

“Yes, um, I felt myself absorb Wanda's powers on our way to the garage. I know we've been practicing control, but I didn't think any of it really. ” You apologised again. You couldnt believe how stupid you had been. Guilt riddled your entire body, you felt terrible. T’Challa had invited you into his home. Shuri had used every resource to help you and this is how you repay them? 

“Why didn't you say something to me?” Wanda spoke up suddenly. Her voice was so little you almost didn't hear her. 

        “I- I don't know. It came on so fast but it left. I thought I had it under control.” You explain, feeling suddenly nauseous again. 

        “But that's exactly it, right? You so obviously don’t have it under control. And that's why Shuri and I think it’s best you stay here until you do.” Steve solded. You nodded your head in understanding. Natasha didn't speak up this time. She only kept her eyes on the floor. 

“I understand. I’m sorry.” You spoke quietly, a tear escaping and running down your cheek. 

“What happened was a terrible accident. But an accident nonetheless. Let's try to focus on what's important in these times of strife. Things can be fixed easily, but people, not so much.” T’Challa’s deep voice spoke, alerting you to his presence in the corner of the room. You weakly smiled and thanked him. 

“There’s been enough sadness today. We have a tradition here, that after days like this we come together. It’s what makes us strong. My friends have prepared a proper Wakandan feast. Tomorrow the problems will still be there but tonight, we eat.” T’Challa announced, smiling at the team. He and Shuri seemed to be the only ones. Hesitantly, Natasha and Wanda followed them out of the room. Steve got up, and almost left before turning back and taking a seat on the couch across from you. Bucky watched his friend carefully from the corner of the room. 

“Y/n, what did you mean when you said you remembered something?’” He asked sceptically. You looked up at him and noticed he seemed concerned rather than angry. Your nerves subsided, only momentarily as you spoke.

“When I woke up, I remembered being in a small cement room. It felt wet, and cold. Maybe underground? I was in so much pain. I don’t think I’ve ever felt pain like that before. I don't usually remember in so much detail, but it didn't feel like a vision. More like a memory. And I remember a name…” You started. Your heart pounded in your chest when you tried to say his name. 

“Zemo.” You finally choked out.

Bucky's head shot up suddenly as you spoke his name. Steve looked at his friend and back to you wide eyed. “Are you sure?” He pushed, looking at you sternly. You nodded your head. You were positive. It echoed through your thoughts ever since you opened your eyes. 

“Do you know him?” You questioned. Steve mirrored your answer and only nodded. 

“This is good, Y/n. You're starting to retain memories.” He began, getting up off the couch and heading towards the door. Before he left, he turned back to you, all sympathy had melted away from his face. 

“T’Challa is a good man. He won't say what needs to be said,” He looked at Bucky who glared at him, but you could tell he wasn't going to stop him from speaking. “What you did today was careless. Someone could have so easily been hurt, or worse.” You nodded your head again and signed. 

“I know. I’m sorry.” You spoke quietly. 

“Good. See you at dinner.” And with that, Steve spun back around and marched out the door leaving you and Bucky alone. You could physically feel how uncomfortable he was, standing in the corner of the room. He balanced back and forth on his feet until he finally spoke. 

“Can we talk?” He mumbled, beginning to cross the room. You patted the couch cushion beside you but he took the seat across from you.

“Are you okay?” He voiced gently. You looked up at him. His eyes were soft and full of sadness. 

        “Yes, I’m okay. Just a little bruised up. I heal fast, though. Thank you very much, Hydra.” You forced a chuckle, but Bucky wasn't smiling. His stormy grey eyes bore into yours causing your face to heat up. You picked at your fingernails, physically nervous. 

       “I was really scared, Y/n. When Steve told me what happened, I swear, I could have killed someone.” He signed as you watched his hands clenched into fists. He took a deep breath and relaxed again.

          “I thought. Oh, God I thought…” He paused, staring at you before he finally got up and crossed the small space between the couches. In one swift movement he took your hand and pulled you up into his strong arms. He held you there for what felt like forever. Your hands rested on his chest, your mind going into overdrive as the smell of his shower gel enveloped you. The crook of Bucky's neck rested on top of your head as he slowly ran his hands through your hair. One of his fingers caught a knot and pulled, causing a improtue moan to escape your mouth. You felt his body stiffen at the sound. 

       Gently he unraveled himself from you, but his hands stayed on either side of your face. You were both so close now you swear he could hear your heart beating. And, of course he could, ‘Thank you very much Hydra.’ He thought to himself, causing a small smile to form on his lips.

        Before you could stop yourself you balanced on your tiptoes as Bucky met you halfway, pulling you in close. In a breath, his lips crashed onto yours. The kiss started soft, but quickly became needy. He tasted like mint and nicotine and something you couldn't place. 

         “God, doll. You're fucking gorgeous.” He moaned, taking a break from your lips and kissing a trail down your neck. You tilted your head back slightly and allowed him more access.  

           In seconds you had melted into him as your hands reached up and wrapped around the back of his neck and tangled in his hair. He brought your lips back to his, dominating you in a way that made you feel like, given the chance, the man could wreck you without a second thought. You gave a handful of his hair a soft tug, pulling him deeper into the kiss. He let out an audible growl causing your heart to jump out of your chest. You could have died right there and been happy. Everything that had happened this morning faded away and all you knew was Bucky. Nothing else mattered in this moment but the way his tongue slowly traced your bottom lip causing you to moan in pure ecstasy. 

       Finally you both came up for air, gasping for breath. His forehead rested against yours as you both attempted to calm yourselves. Your chest heaved as you tried to comprehend what had just happened. Before either of you could speak the sound of someone clearing their throat startled you both apart. You both clumsily tried to unravel yourselves from each other.

       “Okay, wow. Didn't mean to interrupt…” Natasha smiled knowingly, resting on the doorframe. “Just came to letcha’ know dinner was ready - but I’ll tell em’ you're busy…”

        “Uh, sorry, Nat, we're coming. We were just- uh-” Bucky started, running his metal hand nervously through his hair. 

        “Oh I know exactly what you were doing, Sergeant. Please don't explain it to me, you perv.” Natasha grinned, turning on her heel and exiting the room with a perfect hair flip. 

        Bucky looked at you wide eyed. You honestly didn't have enough brain cells after that kiss to fully comprehend what had just happened. One metal finger lifted your chin up to meet his gaze. The intimacy in his eyes sent a shiver down your spine. 

        “I’m really glad you're okay, Y/n.” He spoke softly. His voice was raw and vulnerable and made your heart skip a beat. 

        “Me too.” You finally said. With that, he began towards the door. When he realised you weren't behind him he stopped, resting on the door frame where Nat had been moments ago. He reached out his right arm and gestured for you to follow. 

         “You comin’, Doll?” He asked, the familiar confident Bucky you knew was back. You smiled and nodded, practically dancing out of the room. 

         You were thankful for this little piece of happiness. It had felt like forever since you had felt this way. Despite everything, nothing could ruin this memory. Not even the ones that hid in the back of your mind, not yet strong enough to come to the surface. Or at least, that's what you thought...

.................................

A/n: Thank you so much for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it! Stay tuned for part 7! 

...................................

  @kalesrebellion​      

  @projectcampbell​

[umbry-fic]

The Revenge Plot

Summary: On a lazy afternoon, Lloyd hatches a scheme to prank Raine. Genis gets pulled in against his will. Colette is just happily along for the ride.

Will Raine figure it out? Will the three succeed?

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Colette Brunel, Lloyd Irving, Genis Sage, Raine Sage Relationships: Colette Brunel & Lloyd Irving & Genis Sage, Genis Sage & Raine Sage Rating: G Word Count: 4712 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 01/04/2021

Notes: A fun little gen fic for April Fool's Day featuring the Iselia trio!

~~~

“We would have tricked Professor Raine and gotten our revenge at the same time!” Lloyd finished. His voice, the scratching of a singular pen nib against paper, the occasional flap of pages turning and the creaking of his chair were the only sounds filling the quiet classroom.

The three of them, Lloyd, Genis and Colette, were the only ones still left in the Iselia Schoolhouse. The sun was setting, casting the entire room in different shades of muted reds and oranges. The shadows cast by the trees outside the windows stretched across the desks, resembling gnarly, bent fingers that shifted. Lloyd and Colette were scrambling to finish the homework that was due tomorrow and had agreed to stay back in the classroom after school to finish it. Genis had no reason to stay. He’d finished the next two week’s worth of homework.

Genis had crossed his arms and claimed he wanted to do supplementary exercises. So he would be staying as well!

Much to Genis’ relief, the two of them hadn’t tried to refute this reason. If they had, Genis would have shot back with an excuse of pitying the two of them for not having the tenacity to even finish one page of exercises. That would have been enough to shut them up. Hopefully. That was the plan, at least.

Colette nodded eagerly, gaze fixed on Lloyd and chin nestled on her palm, having long given up on actually doing her math homework. The textbook on her table had been opened to the page of multiplication practices for the last ten minutes. Not a single word had been written on it, her pen instead laying uncapped next to it, having left a trail of ink down its side. The time had instead been spent raptly listening to Lloyd while experiencing a growing sense of awe, eyes widening as he went through his plan. It sounded smart! Who would have thought?

Genis, on the other hand, had his head buried in his textbook and was doing his best to ignore Lloyd’s continuous talking, pen scribbling down equation after equation. But he couldn’t tune it out completely, and it was starting to get very annoying.

Lloyd, who was sitting in his chair backwards so he was facing his friends, arms hugging the backrest and legs swinging in the air, grinned. “So? What do you think, Genis?”

With an annoyed huff, Genis loudly snapped his textbook closed and slammed it upright on the desk, glaring at Lloyd over it. “I’ve only been half-listening to your mindless yammering and even then I can tell your plan is ridiculous. You should be doing your homework, not being a distraction! Do you want to get detention tomorrow?”

Lloyd winced at the thought of spending a beautiful sunny afternoon trapped in here again, writing “I’m sorry” over and over on the blackboard until his fingers were completely smudged white with chalk and so raw he thought they might bleed. It would be great if he never had to go through that again for the rest of his life.

“I couldn’t focus. It’s not my fault all of the math questions are impossible.” Lloyd pouted, starting to rock the chair on its legs. Colette worried, with how far back Lloyd was tipping the chair, that he might just fall over. “So I came up with this instead.”

Genis groaned, resisting the urge to chuck the textbook at Lloyd’s head. He would leave the physical violence to his sister. “If you can come up with such a ridiculous prank, you have the time to finish your homework.”

“I was asking you what you thought of it! You still haven’t answered.”

“I think it’s quite good!” Colette spoke up. “But Lloyd, your -”

“Explain to me exactly how you’re going to clear this classroom of students on a school day?” Genis asked smugly, interrupting Colette’s attempt to warn Lloyd of his dangerous chair rocking behaviour. He could bet Lloyd hadn’t thought of that. This should be enough to stump Lloyd and get him to rethink pulling a prank on Raine. Why was he even trying to do that anyway? Was he asking for death?

“That’s where you come in, Genis,” Lloyd replied, stretching his arm out to point straight at Genis’ face. Genis gaped. What? Himself? How did he even play into this idiotic scheme?

“You get to go around town the night before telling everyone that school’s off the next day. You’re Professor Raine’s brother, so everyone will believe you!”

“I - H - how did you even come up with that?” Genis was at a loss for words. The worst thing was that Lloyd’s idea made sense. What had the world come to for such a miracle to occur?

Did Lloyd have a brain somewhere in that ridiculously thick skull of his?

“Dunno, just thought of it,” Lloyd said nonchalantly, further rendering Genis speechless. Just thought of it??? “So, you in?”

“No!” Genis protested. “Do whatever you want, but I’m not pranking my sister!” He wasn’t insane enough to agree to this. If they pulled this off, what would Raine do in retaliation? Make Lloyd carry four buckets of water instead of two? A week’s worth of detention? Make him sleep in the dark? Just the thought of it was enough to make him want to cower.

The smile on Lloyd’s face wasn’t dropping, however. It was unnerving. Did Lloyd still think he could be convinced? How?

“Then you leave me no choice.” Lloyd tipped the chair towards Genis, leaning closer over the desk. Genis scooted his chair back, attempting to put as much distance between the two of them as possible. “I invoke the sports meet. You remember, don’t you?”

Colette cringed at the increasingly loud creaking sounds coming from the chair, the harsh sound almost deafening to her. Did the other two not notice it? Were they too engrossed in their conversation? Was that a crack running down one of the chair legs?!!

“The sports… meet...” Genis trailed off as realisation hit him like a lightning strike.

Every year, at the insistence of the mayor, the school held a sports meet where the students were divided into two groups and pitted against each other in various activities. It was sweaty, loud, competitive, and Genis hated it with a passion. Every student needed to be assigned at least one activity, and no matter how many times he had pleaded with his sister, she had refused to budge on the matter. School regulations were school regulations, she had said, and what kind of school teacher would she be if she let him off easy just for being her brother?

After three years of embarrassing himself and letting the whole world know of his absolute lack of athletic abilities, he had grown tired of it. At last month’s edition of the annual sports meet, he had brokered a deal with Lloyd - take his spot at the 100-metre sprint, and Lloyd could have one favour, any favour.

Thank the Goddess Raine hadn’t noticed anything amiss. Either that, or she had chosen to stay silent.

“You’re using your favour for this?” Genis spluttered, starting to panic. “I thought you were going to ask me to do your homework for a week or something!”

To be honest, Genis had completely forgotten he’d ever made that promise. He had expected Lloyd to call in his favour within a day, but there had been complete silence from Lloyd’s end over this matter. For it to return now, of all times, to bite him in the back…

“A promise is a promise. Right, Genis?”

Genis remained silent. There was no way to refute that statement. He had, indeed, made that promise. And Raine had always told him, since young, to never renege on them.

Lloyd had, for once, well and truly cornered him. Had he planned this all along?

No, it couldn’t be. Genis refused to believe it. Lloyd wasn’t smart enough to play that long of a game. It was just a lucky coincidence.

Lloyd grinned, leaning back with his arms crossed behind his head, causing the chair’s front two legs to come off the floor. “So I guess that’s settled! It's a great opportunity to get Professor Raine to loosen up a little! We’ll deal with the details some other time. As for the tomatoes, Colette, can you borrow some from your grandmother’s garden?”

Colette nodded, frowning at what she was very certain was a crack on the chair’s leg. “I can ask Grandma; she’d probably give some to me without asking any questions. But Lloyd, you should stop rocking your chair.”

Lloyd blinked at Colette in confusion, cocking his head. “Huh? Why -”

A resounding “crack” echoed throughout the classroom as one of the chair’s legs split in half in an explosion of wood splinters, pitching the chair to the side and throwing Lloyd onto the floor.

“Lloyd!” Colette cried in worry, running over and kneeling next to the groaning boy on the floor. “Are you alright? Does it hurt? Are you bleeding? Do I…"

Genis paid no attention to any of this, sinking down in his seat and putting his head in his hands. He was embroiled in this ridiculous scheme now, definitely for the worst. He could only hope that Lloyd failed in his machinations or came to his senses.

Even if they successfully pulled this off, the only result awaiting them were the graves they would have dug for themselves.

He supposed he had his answer now.

The fact that Lloyd had ever considered trying to prank his sister proved, once and for all, that he was a mindless idiot.

~~~

One Week Later

Genis stuffed his feet into his shoes, staring out the window at the unnaturally dark sky. It was the middle of summer, and on any other day, the sun would have been happily smiling down at the world, even in the early evening.

Just his luck that the day before Lloyd’s… revenge plot (calling it that left a sour taste in his mouth), the sun would be hidden behind a barrage of storm clouds, thunder faintly rumbling as lightning lit up the sky.

He would hate getting caught in the rain while running around Iselia doing Lloyd’s bidding. It’d just be rubbing salt on an already open wound.

Genis sighed. Might as well bite the bullet and get it over and done with. Lloyd had at least promised him that he wouldn’t need to turn up tomorrow for the actual deed. Maybe Raine would never know he was part of this!

...

No. There was absolutely no way Raine wouldn’t figure it out. No matter what, he would be dead by the end of tomorrow.

Speaking of Raine, his sister should be preparing for tomorrow’s lesson right about now. She almost always stuck to her daily routine - eat breakfast (prepared by him), head to the schoolhouse, conduct her lessons, eat her packed lunch (also prepared by him), organise any necessary detention or supplementary sessions, come home, eat dinner (cooked by him, what else did you expect?), prepare tomorrow’s lessons… She carved out some time, especially on weekends, to read up on ruins and, of course, spend some time with him. They could talk about anything: more complicated magic incantations, the most recent book they had read, the insane things Lloyd got up to… Countless topics, skirting around the one thing they wouldn’t bring up unless they had to.

But they were both creatures of routine - perhaps that provided a much-needed sense of security to combat the ever-present fear that their deepest secret would be unearthed, here, in a place where they had finally found peace, much like it had before. History always repeated itself. That was how the saying went.

Maybe Raine did need to loosen up a little.

Well. He would get going. There should be no chance of being caught now and raising Raine’s suspicions -

A hand landed on his shoulder, causing his heart to jump out of his chest as a familiar voice was heard from behind him. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Holding his breath and praying his absolute hardest to the Goddess, Genis turned around slowly, trying to maintain a straight face. Raine stared down at him, unimpressed, one eyebrow raised as she crossed her arms, awaiting his answer. How had she even gotten behind him without making any sound?

Lloyd had laughed at him when he’d said, once, that Raine was a silent predator. But you had to be there to believe it! She had struck terror into his heart ever since he was seven, when she’d caught him stealing from the cookie jar and grounded him for a whole week.

He’d been forced to eat Raine’s cooking for that entire period. He sometimes still had nightmares about the writhing tentacles he’d had to consume.

“I was going over to Lloyd’s to help him with math again. You know how he is with fractions.” He was going to have to congratulate himself later for keeping a stable voice. He had no idea how he was managing it.

“At this time of day?” Raine replied, frowning as she glanced out the window.

Steeling himself to come up with some plausible excuse, Genis opened his mouth -

“I’m worried it’ll rain while you’re out there. At least take a raincoat. I wouldn’t want you catching a cold.”

“Oh, right.” Genis accepted the raincoat his sister had grabbed off the clothes rack and stuffed into his hands, staring down at the grey plastic, a small smile forming on his face. “Thanks. I’ll… get going, then.”

“Take care. And don’t stay out too late, alright?” Raine opened the door, stepping back. “I will punish you if you turn up to school late tomorrow.”

“Can’t you just wake me up and take me with you?” Genis complained, stepping out of the house, still smiling.

“No. My answer is final. I will not accept any dissent over this issue.” Raine leaned against the doorframe, the corner of her mouth curving upwards slightly.

Genis waved goodbye to his sister, setting off down the footpaths of Iselia towards his closest schoolmate’s house. It’s not like he expected Raine to change her tune.

Stubborn, overly strict, prone to violence, but diligent, protective and caring. That was his sister.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

~~~

The Next Day

Raine figured out something was wrong the moment she stepped foot into the schoolyard.

Shutting the book on the Balacruf Mausoleum that her head had been buried in just moments before, she closed her eyes and tried to identify the source for the sense of wrongness that had arisen.

Come on. Concentrate…

Ah. That was it. The complete silence.

Teaching at a schoolhouse that catered to children ranging from the ages of 8 to 16 meant there was always some noise, from somewhere, reaching her ears. Excited chattering, the scraping of desk legs against the floor, the creaking of old wooden boards that supported the weight of children, chasing each other around. One got used to it until it became nothing more than background noise that she didn't actively register. Nonetheless, it was a collection of sounds that brought comfort.

All that sound, carrying the weight of life with it, was gone now, drained from the schoolhouse and leaving it dark and soulless. The children, playing skip rope, catching or hopscotching in the dirt of the schoolyard until she shooed them in for class were absent as well.

There was not a single hint of life. The air was still. Silence dominated.

Was there no one here at all? Hmm.

She had suspected something was off ever since last night. Genis seldom left the house so late, and for Lloyd to do his homework at that time of day? It was unbelievable. Nothing, no force in this mortal world, could make Lloyd Irving finish his homework. It infuriated her to no end, but… It was also slightly endearing; part of what defined one of her beloved students.

So this was what Genis had been up to last night. She’d contemplated asking for the truth or just forbidding him from leaving, but had seen no point in doing it. He was no longer the tiny, vulnerable bundle she had cradled in both love and fear, wondering if they would survive, wondering how she could ever create a happy life for her brother. Genis would be turning 12 next year, growing into himself. Maybe this was part of a rebellious phase. Who knew?

That thought brought with it both a sense of loss and a dizzy, wondrous, beautiful sense of joy.

Not too long ago, she would have never thought they would get this far.

Raine reached the door to the schoolhouse, trying the door handle and finding it coated in some... thick substance. She brought her hand back, red, viscous liquid dripping lazily onto the dirt. Now that she looked properly, there were random puddles of this same liquid scattered haphazardly around the school grounds, almost like it had overflowed from some container being carried across.

The consistency and the earthy smell… There were even still small chunks swimming in the liquid. Tomato paste. Definitely.

That meant Colette had to be involved as well.

Firstly, High Priestess Phaidra had the best garden in Iselia, which, impressively, she somehow maintained on top of all her duties. All the children got their tomatoes from there for their fake Halloween blood.

Secondly, Lloyd would not have survived mashing the number of tomatoes required to produce this amount of paste. Not when, on Halloween night, he had hidden behind Colette every time one of the children, dressed up as vampires with fake tomato blood dripping from their fake fangs, had passed by. It was a ridiculous sight, since Lloyd was taller than Colette, but Colette didn’t seem to mind, smiling and letting out a little giggle whenever Lloyd gripped her shoulder, hissing in her ear about the evils of tomatoes.

Colette deserved to have fun as well before everything came to an end. She was just as much a child, and yet she had to shoulder a heavier burden than even Raine had at that age. The most Raine could do was give Colette the childhood she herself hadn’t had the chance to experience.

Lloyd and Genis were already doing a good job of that. Raine was thankful, but at the same time…

All she could hope for was that they made the best of memories together, memories that wouldn’t fade like those she had of her parents, that remained forever in the most pristine of conditions. In the end, that would be all that remained. Would it be enough? Would it ever be enough to fill the gap left behind by a beloved person, forever gone and never to return?

Walking into the dim building, Raine spotted the trail of red footprints leading straight into one of the classrooms.

This was far too obvious, wasn’t it? What was all the red supposed to represent? Blood?

Were they trying to make her believe the schoolhouse was haunted? She would never fall for that. The “blood” itself was amateur at best; it didn’t have the right texture to masquerade as the real thing.

That was strange. Genis was most likely the one who had boiled the tomatoes. Lloyd couldn’t operate a stove, and Colette might have been able to do it, but not without potentially causing a fire.

Genis should have known the proper technique, but yet…

Might as well indulge them. Children, living the time of their life. She couldn’t begrudge them that. Honestly, it was cute to see their honest attempt at a prank.

Though she would still have to punish them afterwards. She was looking forward to that.

“Lloyd!” She called, placing her book down on one of the dressers lining the corridor and taking a single step into the classroom. “Come out, would you?”

~~~

Earlier that week

“The plan’s simple, really,” Lloyd said from his position at the sink, scrubbing his arms with soap for the third time, the skin starting to turn pink from all the rubbing. Colette and Genis were sat at the dining table with a vat of chunky tomato paste in front of them; Colette staring at Lloyd in concern while Genis stared in disbelief.

All three of them had taken part in the tomato mashing after Genis had boiled the tomatoes, making use of the hammers that Lloyd had… borrowed. Colette had asked if it was okay to use Dirk’s tools on fruits and if it would stain, but Lloyd had shrugged and said that it would be fine and they’d just wash them afterwards. “Dad will never notice” had been Lloyd’s exact words. Genis was starting to doubt that, considering the hammers were now a wonderful shade of red, with stray pieces of tomato pulp hanging on by their dear life.

Surely the tomato paste had been washed off on his first trip to the sink, as it had been for the two of them. Lloyd was making a huge deal out of this. He’d been wincing throughout the entire mashing session and had taken great care to dodge the occasional squirts of liquid.

Lloyd really hated tomatoes that much, huh?

“I know you asked why we’re making the paste so chunky,” Lloyd continued.

Yes, Genis had indeed asked that question. If they were trying to convince Raine of supernatural activity, they were doing a terrible job. That’s what Lloyd had said in the classroom last week, right?

Raine wasn’t even the type to get scared. He was.

“That’s because it doesn’t matter! It doesn’t need to be convincing. In fact, we want Professor Raine to think she’s got it all figured out!”

~~~

Now

Raine felt her foot catch through a loop of something thin and fragile, experiencing resistance as the loop went taut, a loud scraping sound coming from behind her.

Ah. She’d thought it all figured out, and let her guard down as a result. It had been a trap all along, and she’d fallen head-first into it.

Impressive. She’d have to congratulate whoever came up with this later.

Raine barely had enough time to glance up and see the other end of the string now looped around her foot, climbing up the wall and tied to the handle of a washtub resting on a ceiling beam right by the door, before the chain-reaction of tugging string and gravity caused the washtub to tip over and release a veritable waterfall of red liquid.

It all crashed down on her, pelting down on her clothes and face at high pressures. Now, instead of just one of her hands, every centimetre of her was covered with tomato paste. It was heavier than expected, her sleeves weighed down and drooping towards the floor.

Ugh, the earthy smell was nearly overpowering at this intensity, nor was the mushy feeling pleasant. Was this why Lloyd hated tomatoes? She could understand a little now… Though only when there were this many.

Thank the Goddess she hadn’t brought her book in with her. Otherwise, she’d have to murder the three of them.

~~~

“Towel?” Genis offered, crawling out from his hiding place under one of the tables with a folded towel in his hands. Raine was standing absolutely still with her head angled towards the floor and hadn’t moved for a full minute, clothes dripping liquid onto the floor and forming tiny puddles. The washtub was balancing rather precariously on the edge of the ceiling beam. He hoped it wouldn’t fall over and smack Raine on the head.

Lloyd was sitting cross-legged in the corner of the classroom, snickering. Even Colette, sitting with her knees pulled up to her chest next to him, couldn’t keep a smile off her face.

Raine raised her head, and Genis was relieved to see that his sister was, indeed, smiling. He had decided, in the end, to come along of his own volition. He wanted to see the results for himself.

It's been some time since he's seen a smile so wide on his sister's face.

“Thank you.” Raine took the towel, moving away from the shadow of the washtub as she began to towel her hair. The clothes were most likely hopeless. There’d be no cleaning them without a good wash. “Congratulations. You tricked me. Did you come up with this, Genis?”

“No, I did,” Lloyd interjected, waving from his corner. “Did you like it?”

“So you can be intelligent if you apply yourself. Surprising,” Raine muttered, a glint beginning to appear in her eyes. Colette’s smile was beginning to drop, though Lloyd hadn’t yet noticed.

“Ha! Well, now you know how terrible tomatoes are. And this is revenge for all the buckets of water you’ve made me carry!”

Genis took a step back, sweat beginning to form on his brow as he recognised the murderous expression on his sister’s face. Time for the grave, then?

It was inevitable.

“We’re even now, I assume?” Raine towered over Lloyd, smiling sinisterly. “Well, that’s good to know, because I have the most special idea planned for you! All of you!”

Yep. Yep, they were dead. So dead, and there was nothing they could do about it.

As he'd said to Lloyd at the very beginning, this had been a terrible idea.

But... Genis can't quite say, anymore, that he regretted participating in it.

~~~

In the end, Lloyd and Genis were forced to clean the entire schoolhouse from top to bottom. “It has to be sparkly clean,” Raine had warned, or they would really be in for it.

Colette, it turned out, had church duties to attend to that day. Not even Raine, in her position of authority, could touch the Chosen. Colette had apologised profusely to both of them, telling them that she would be back as soon as she was done. After all, she had played her part as well and should accept her due punishment.

So the two of them had slaved over walls, the ceiling, and furniture, armed with an army of rags and a tiny bucket of water that they had to keep refilling. It was toiling work, further slowed down by Lloyd’s staunch refusal to touch the tomato paste. Lloyd was the only one who could reach the ceiling! He needed to stop being so squeamish and just do it!

Admittedly, there were also moments when Genis had thrown the rag into the bucket a little harder than necessary, causing a splash of droplets that hit Lloyd and elicited vicious water-splashing battles. He was trying to express his earlier frustrations at getting dragged into this in the first place (even though he had long changed his mind over the whole thing). At least water would dry on its own.

Colette turned up later in the day with a tray of chocolate muffins that her grandmother had freshly baked, warm to the touch and which melted in the mouth. Genis savoured one happily. He would never pass up Head Priestess Phaidra's baked goodies; they were absolutely amazing and didn't come along that often. Genis watched in amusement as Colette laughed at the messy way Lloyd ate, chastising him in a soft voice and gently wiping the crumbs off the corner of his mouth.

After the wonderful break, it was right back to work. Colette took up a rag herself and began cheerily cleaning, chatting with the both of them and joining in the water fights with an enthusiastic grin until they were all giggling uncontrollably. At this point, Genis could come up with no excuse for his behaviour. But it didn't matter.

Even Raine turned up again, wearing a new change of clothes, and helped clean the floor with a mop. His sister slipped in the occasional berating, which Lloyd enthusiastically retorted as Genis sighed at the usual childish display (ignoring his own behaviour), as Colette covered her mouth and laughed.

The schoolhouse was awash with warm sunlight, laughter alive in each of their chests. Joy fluttered in the air, and the memory of that day was a warm, golden sphere to be cradled and cherished forever.

All in all, Lloyd declared it a success.

Genis was inclined to agree.

[flowerspecial]

Enemy To Lover - High School Edition - Part 2

JB

Obviously your friends would be sick and tired of the constant bickering between you two. Like seriously, you have spent so many years together, why can't you two just be freaking civil? It was one of your mutual friend’s birthdays, and you all decided that the best idea would be to throw an amazing surprise birthday party. You all assigned each other roles and tasks that you needed to do. Unfortunately, neither you nor JB could attend the designation of tasks, so you two ended up stuck together. Neither of you two were happy with this arrangement, and you were not afraid to let your feelings be apparent. But you knew that this wasn't about you, and you needed to suck it up for the sake of your friend. You would pick JB up from his house at the weekend. Annoyingly, you two also had the most difficult job, getting the food and alcohol for the party. Well you two had to walk around a supermarket deciding what food was best. “What about this? Everyone will love this.” “I don't like that.” “What the hell is your problem JB? Seriously, I get that we are different, but bloody hell you don't have to be in a sulk every time that you see me.” You would storm off away from him, leaving him stranded in the supermarket. There is just no need for toxic friendships like this. The next time that you saw JB was at the party. You noticed that he kept looking at you, but honestly you didn't let yourself dwell on it too much. You wanted to enjoy this party just as much as everyone else. However, JB managed to corner you in the kitchen while you were getting a drink. “We need to talk.” “JB, I really can't be bothered to talk to you right now. Let's just leave it okay? I get that we will never be friends, let's move on.” “I want to try and be friends.” “Why? Because you feel sorry for me? Or that you feel guilty that I stormed off the other day?” “Well yes, it might be some of that. But you know what they say, opposites attract.”

Mark

Sitting next to Mark wasn't all that bad, like his reputation told you, he generally preferred to stay to himself. Because you two kinda hated each other, it did mean that he wasn't willing to try and talk to you or anything. He would just have his head on his desk and go to sleep for the hour. “You know, if you actually listened in class, you might do better in the tests.” You would say to him. “Yeah, and if you actually focused on the work, instead of on me, you would also do better in the tests.” “If you two have not quite finished your conversation, you can finish tonight, in detention!” Your teacher would shout at the two of you. You had never had detention before, so you glared at the back of Mark’s head so ferociously, that if looks could kill, he would be a goner. After school finished, you would walk into the detention room to see Mark already sat there. You chose the seat in front of him, praying that you might actually get some of your school work done in the hour. It is not long before the detention supervisor leaves the room. “So why exactly do you hate me?” Mark asks you abruptly. “I don't hate you.” You try to argue back. “Well you could have fooled me, what have I ever done to annoy you?” “You misbehave in class, and you flirt with every person going. You don't care about your education or anyone else’s around you.” “When have I misbehaved in class? I fall asleep, yeah okay I do that. But I have never directly disrupted a class. As for the flirting, all I do is talk to people. It's not my fault that people in this school have spread so many rumours about me that no one actually knows the truth from the myth.” You just looked at him, shocked with his sudden outburst. “I was actually looking forward to sitting with you, I thought that you could help me. But if I bother you that much, I will ask the teacher to move me tomorrow.” With that, Mark walked out of detention.

Jackson

Honestly, prom is meant to be a fun time with your friends, but truly this was your idea of hell. After everyone had been assigned their dates, you all found a day when everyone was free and decided to go prom shopping. All of the couples were keen to take in each other’s opinions about what you should both wear. You and Jackson however, could not care less about what the other person is wearing. Therefore you looked around the shop by yourself and chose a dress that you thought was perfect for you.  “Of course you are going to choose the sparkliest dress in here. God forbid if anyone else gets attention just for a second.” Jackson rolled his eyes as you walked out in your dress. “That's rich coming from you! You know it isn't a contest to see who can wear the most designers?” You sneered back at him. The constant bickering between you two was starting to wear thin on you, and somewhere along this process Jackson’s comments had gotten slightly harsher than ever before. “Just because you can't afford to wear the clothes that I can! Jealous much?” Wow, now that one really struck a nerve in you. “Fuck you Jackson! I don't need to take this kind of abuse from someone who I have no intention of ever speaking once I leave school. If you really don't like the way I dress, or the way I act, then fine. You win” You got dressed as quickly as you could, and left the changing rooms with the sparkly dress still hanging in the room. Jackson was waiting for you outside the changing rooms and he ran after you when you stormed off. “Wait, what do you mean I win?” Jackson grabbed your wrist to turn you towards him. “It means that you win Jackson. I don't want to play this game anymore. I can't spend my days with someone who constantly makes me feel like I’m mud on the sole of someone’s shoe. I’m not going to prom, find someone else to go with you.”

Jinyoung

If anyone asked you, you would not be able to tell them the last time you had been outside or taken a break from studying. These months were crucial for you to be able to get out of this town, and there was nothing that you were not willing to do in order to succeed. If you thought that you were hard on yourself before, boy were you kidding yourself. A mixture between wanting to succeed and immountable stress hung over you so much that you felt guilty when you didn't revise. You knew this was not a healthy way to live, heck you are doing AP Psychology for crying out loud, and your mental health was starting to deteriorate. It was one of those days when you did not have any extra curricular after school, so you decided to spend your evening studying in the library. You always preferred to sit in the corner of a library, as you didn't want to be disturbed by anything or anyone. You have felt on edge for some time, and will the university exams coming up in the next week, you were struggling to hold yourself together. As you attempted to complete a timed exam paper, there was a question that you were stuck on. In the grand scheme of things, that one question should not have bothered you so much. One question not understood in an entire exam paper is something to be proud of. However, your brain was fixated on that one question, and so you pushed out of your chair to try and find a book that could explain the answer. Your heart was fluttering so uncomfortably, and your breathing was ragged. You fell to the ground of the library in a slump and you struggled to focus on something. You felt someone try to position you so your head was between your knees. “Focus on your breathing okay? In through your nose, out through your mouth.” When you calmed down, you looked up to see who the person was that was helping you, and you were surprised to see Jinyoung sitting next to you. “You are the smartest person I know. Don't give yourself such a hard time.”

Youngjae

From the word go, you wanted to set ground rules for Youngjae. “Right, I actually need to do well in this presentation, I need to stabilise my grade. So I couldn't care less if you don't want to work with me, we are going to work together and we are going to do well. Okay?” You said to him as you sat down in your new seating position. “Who said I didn't want to work with you?” Youngjae asked, genuinely confused at your outburst. You look at him incredulously and ignore his question. For the rest of the lesson, you work in near silence, the only time you spoke was to tell Youngjae what tasks you were giving him and how long he had to do them. “I need you to have this done by the day after tomorrow at the latest. Here is my email, just send it to me when you have finished it. If you have any questions, ask someone else.” Before Youngjae could say anything, you gathered your belongings and walked out of the classroom. Not to sound cliche, but you always hated lunch time. Although you chose to be on your own, it was still never nice when it was made so apparent to you. In order to combat the twang of loneliness, you always played music through your headphones and did whatever homework was set. You looked around the lunch hall and someone caught your eyes. Youngjae was at the other side of the hall, with his friends. When he saw you he smiled and waved at you, earning his friends to turn around to see who he was looking at. You didn't think matters could get any worse, but Youngjae had decided to walk over to you and sit down opposite you. “Hey, why are you sitting on your own?” “Because I don't have anyone to sit with.” “Well… it's a good thing that I came then isn't it?” You couldn't work out if Youngjae was actually quite sweet, or so oblivious it was painful. It was clear he didn't notice the stares that he was getting by sitting next to you. Well, until one of the popular people stood behind him. “You don't wanna sit here Youngjae, you might catch something.”

Bambam

You were walking through the dining hall one lunch time, trying to find somewhere to eat. But because you weren't looking where you were going, you crashed into someone, spilling your food on them. “Are you actually kidding me? Do you know how much this shirt costs?” You didn't even need to look up to know who was speaking to you. Bambam was towering over you with steam coming out of his ears. “I am so sorry, I will pay you back! I can get it dry cleaned! Or I can get you a new one? How much is it?” “Oh yeah, like you can afford to get him a new shirt!” One of the girls behind Bambam sneered. “Yeah, aren't you the scholarship kid? You couldn't even afford to get in here, why would you be able to pay for his shirt?” You were fighting so hard to not let the tears fall that were pooling in your eyes. “I am really sorry, please just tell me how much it was and I will pay you back!” “It was $800, can you afford that?” The same girl as before piped up. “Yes, I will get the money!” Bambam had stayed silent throughout the entirety of his conversation, showing you that he clearly wasn't on your side. Before you embarrassed yourself further, you walked away from the group. You were determined to save up enough money to pay Bambam back, and you were not going to stop until you did. School became a living hell, Bambam’s group became your own personal group of tormentors, determined to show you that you don't belong at their school. You made sure to do longer shifts after school and during the weekends, meaning that on average you got about 4 hours of sleep. Life was not ideal for you, but you were determined to make it work. It took around a month for you to gather the money you owed Bambam. You saw him sitting with his friends in the dining hall, and you walked over to and slammed the money onto the table. “Here is the money that I owe you, now please, just leave me alone.”

Yugyeom

“I didn't know that you could play.” Yugyeom states very matter of factly. Seeing him walking towards you was making your heart rate begin to increase. “Oh I can't really, sorry I will get going now.” You gathered all of your belongings from the side of the piano and you tried to stand up from the seat. However, Yugyeom was too quick for you and pushed you back down. “Can you teach me how to do that?” “Why should I teach you?” “Why wouldn't you?” Yugyeom’s blatant disregard for his actions was making your blood boil. “Why should I help someone that has made my life here at school a living hell? Why should I help someone that when I see in the hallway, I will walk outside just to avoid. Why should I help someone who genuinely makes it his personal mission to destroy? “Look, it's not that big of a deal. The stuff that we do, it's just a joke!” “And the fact that you genuinely think that is what makes it worst of all.” This time, you managed to successfully climb out of the seat, and you stormed out of the room. A couple of days had passed, and Yugyeom was nowhere to be seen. You had expected that the tormenting would actually get worse, you practically gave him the green light after shouting at him the other day. But no, you hadn't seen him around school, and neither had any of his friends. You had a free period before lunch, which meant that you were able to spend longer than usual in the music room, which always put a smile on yourself. However, when you arrived, the lights were already on and you could hear someone playing on the piano. You peeped your head around the door to see the MIA boy sitting in the same spot which he was sat in a couple of days ago. You stood at the door for a few minutes, listening to Yugyeom playing the same section over and over again. “You know you have the wrong chord, right?” You asked him, causing Yugyeom to whip his head around to look at you. “I’m trying to do it from memory, I knew it sounded wrong but I didn't know why.”

[winchester90210]

The BH 90210 Rewrite. 1x20: Spring Training.

Rewrite Masterlist

Read the previous chapter here!

Chapter Summary: Alongside Brandon, you take a dive into the world of little league. 

Word count: 2,000

Warnings: Swearing, brief mention of violence. Also... I know nothing about baseball.

A/N: Hi everyone! Hope you enjoy this week’s episode! Took an extra week off to focus on my mental health and am feeling much better with everything now. I hope you guys are as excited as the next chapter as I am! It’s almost time for the spring dance :)

My work is to not be reposted/republished, and/or edited without my expressed written consent. (Reblogging is great and encouraged!!)

Feedback is very appreciated and encouraged!! :)

-

"With my dad laid up, we need all the help we can get. We’re practicing today if either of you want to join in on the festivities," Brandon persuades the two of you as you round the corner of the Peach Pit to sit at your usual booth. The familiar scent of pie crust and burgers fills the air, instantly putting your soul at ease. 

"Thanks… but no thanks, slim," Dylan rejects him, sliding into the seat opposite of you while Brandon follows suit. 

"Dylan, I thought you were a total baseball freak!" You tell him.

"I am, but listening to these parents berate their kids from the sidelines all day long," he shakes his head, cringing, "Brings back a whole slew of bad memories."

"But it shouldn't be about the parents!" Brandon protests, "It should be about being on a team, learning fundamentals, having a good time!" 

"That's very noble, Brandon. But when I was playing? It was about winning at any cost necessary.” Dylan argues. Brandon sighs in defeat, looking to you.

"What about you, Y/N/N?" 

"Not a chance,” you laugh. 

"What? Why not?" 

"Brandon… me and 20 kids, in an extremely competitive state? Did you learn nothing from the summer of '85?" You jest. Brandon chuckles at your extreme rejection, sliding a laminated menu your way. 

"Wait… what happened in '85?" Dylan's eyes flicker cluelessly between the two of you, awaiting an explanation.

"Look, it was no big deal. Things got a little heated during one of Eric's little league games," you shrug dismissively, flipping through the Peach Pit's menu as if you didn't get the same thing every time. 

"She beat up a nine-year-old,” Brandon quips.

“I didn’t beat up a—“ you pause, taking in a breath. “To put it simply I… put a kid back in his rightful place. He was picking on my brother, nothing happened that he didn't deserve." 

“What’d you do, tackle him out on the field?” Dylan lifts his eyebrows, amused smile on his face.

“No, of course not!” You duck your head back into your menu, mumbling, “I went out there and hit him in the groin with his bat.” 

-

The kids run out into the field, taking their positions with their needed equipment in hand. You lean back onto the warm metal fence, slipping a pair of sunglasses over your eyes to get a better look at Nat’s team. Without the glaring sun in your eyes.

“This is pathetic!” A young boy, adorned in a bright yellow Dukes uniform comes hurdling out from behind the fence to join Brandon and Steve. “They’re not even wearing uniforms!” 

“So what?” Brandon shrugs, voice hardened, “It’s a practice game.” Steve leans into Brandon to whisper something to him, but since he lacks the levels of common decency that most people acquire by the age of five, he talks loud enough for the whole team to hear. 

“They don’t look so good, Brandon.” 

“It’s okay. They came to play, that’s the important thing.” Man… sometimes Brandon felt too good to be true. You’re convinced there has to be a catch at this point. Gorgeous, smart, great with kids. What’s next? He opens up an animal sanctuary for underprivileged strays? Buys a soup kitchen? “Listen up, you guys. The way you treat your competition is a direct comment on how you play the game. Good sportsmanship counts big time with me and my old man…” as he continues to ramble on, your thoughts begin to shift elsewhere. Like how good he looks. It’s purely criminal for anyone to look so hot in yellow. It’s an inherently unattractive color. Yet, there he is—coaching children in the blazing heat, instilling them with good sportsmanship, and all you want to do is to get him to yourself. That bastard. You shake it off, chalking it up to teenage hormones, and try to focus on the game.

“Hey doofus! You really eat toads!” The same kid whining about uniforms earlier is now directing all of his pent up privilege and ten-year-old angst towards the poor, sweet, small child from Nat's team, the Pitts, further solidifying your desire to never procreate. 

“You’ll throw it better next time, Manny!” Nat encourages the little boy wholeheartedly, clapping for him as loudly as he can. 

“Hey Corey! Throw it to the doofus, he’s a real toad!” Does this kid only know two insults? The smaller brunette, the less athletically gifted child hangs his head, kicking sand around the base plate in frustration. Brandon takes note of it, immediately bounding out into the middle of the game.

“Time out! Crawford, get in the game for Noah!” His voice is stern, and as he approaches the boy he’s in total coach mode. It’s kinda hot... Well, it’s not your fault baseball’s boring. Gotta keep yourself entertained somehow.

Steve stops Randy Crawford from going out from the fence with the back of his hand, and going after Brandon himself, sand slipping from under his shoes. You can’t hear what they're saying but you know it’s not the happiest conversation. Knowing them, you know exactly how this is playing out. You don’t even need to hear them. You can see Steve furrow his brows from the sidelines, and Brandon’s gesticulating with his hands wildly as they talk but can’t make out any words that are flying from their mouths. Brandon, the moral center of Los Angeles wants Noah out for being a little jerk. Steve, being Steve, would probably rather keep the better player in than save the self esteem of a little boy before it’s too late and it no longer exists. It’s not long until Brandon pats Steve hard on the shoulder, storming off the field in a blur of sand and sweat.

Well, that’s your cue to leave, isn't it? You go to follow Brandon out, but Steve stops you short. 

“That boyfriend of yours is a total Boy Scout,” he spits. 

“Well, someone’s gotta be," You scoff, eyes rolling, ”They’re just kids, Steve! This isn’t Major League Baseball. There’s no trophy, there’s no prize. There’s absolutely nothing at stake here. What they need to be doing is having fun, and while that snot-nosed little jerk is out there on the field, they’re all gonna be miserable.” 

-

You flop down onto Dylan's couch, feet up on the armrest as he grabs a soda from the fridge and parks himself on the ottoman beside you. You exhale, eyes fluttering shut for a moment.

"Rough day out with the little leaguers?" 

"Rough day out with Steve," you snort. “I’m so used to being around Brandon I forget that people like Steve Sanders even exist.” 

“Come on, Steve isn't that bad."

"Dylan, you're talking about the guy that got carjacked by a girl he was trying to hook up with, and still bailed her out of jail--despite the fact she robbed him justminutes before--in the hopes of getting laid, only for her to steal his wallet." Dylan's face screws in a mix of amusement and total disbelief.

"Okay, so he's that bad," Dylan laughs. "Sorry to break it to you, Y/N/N, but not everyone is a part of the illustrious Walsh family."

"Not everyone can be," you tease. He gently tosses you a throw pillow from the chair across the room, and you use it to prop up your head. "It’s a tragedy.”

-

“See, what did I tell you? Isn’t he sweet? Isn’t he great?” Brenda watches as you comb through the stray dog’s long gray fur. He really is cute… wet black nose, shaggy gray hair, big puppy dog eyes. But you can’t keep him. “I think he likes you!” 

“Bren, as much as I’d love to take this puppy home, my parents would kill me!" 

“Just take him for a trial run, and if you like him, keep him!”

“Bren—“ 

“Please?” 

“Bren—“

“Come on!” She pleads.

“Fine! Okay, okay. I’ll see if we can take him in tomorrow night,” you concede, giving the dog one last pat on the head. Brenda squeals happily, a grin on her face as she wraps her arms around you. 

-

“He’s great! You’ll love him!” 

"Fine. See you later... Wally."

The four of you watch silently, perched up at the counter of the Peach Pit as Nat's baseball team chows down on slices of pepperoni pizza. We've got Nat to your far left, wondering how the hell they're going to survive against the team from Beverly Hills, then we've got Dylan to your left debating on whether to finally help Nat and shack up with the struggling team, Brandon to your right who hasn't lifted his hand from your upper thigh this whole time which is seriously distracting, and you, wondering how such little boys could devour so much pizza in so little time. 

"You know the improvement from one week to the next is remarkable." You mumble.

"Oh yeah… the kids are showing a lot of promise." Brandon nods absentmindedly, bringing his cup to his lips. 

"But…" Dylan begins, "you still need a pitcher that can put the ball over the plate." 

"Yeah," Nat sighs, "but win or lose, the most important thing is how good the kids feel about themselves." He's trying to convince you, but the more he talks the more you know he's trying to convince himself. 

"Absolutely." You agree. 

"Totally." Brandon nods. 

"Yeah, I mean, in the long run that's all that counts," Dylan shrugs, his voice coated with scepticism.

"Absolutely." Brandon concurs.

"Totally…” You say. “Y’know, I was talking to Andrea about this and she knows a pretty great player from the valley."

They all turn their heads, slowly, with Nat glancing from you to the phone. You roll your eyes at the boys, making your way over to the payphone. The group watches with bated breath behind you as you slip in the quarters and dial her number, waiting for her to pick up. 

"Hello?"

"Andrea, hi! Listen, uh, do you remember the other day? You told me you knew some kid in the valley who was a major blue-chip little leaguer?"

"Oh, yeah! Avery?"

"Yeah… Avery." You twist your head back, giving them a smile and a thumbs up. 

-

"What's Dylan doing? Bringing in a ringer?" Steve scoffs, twisting the metal bat in his hand as he cleans it. You exchange knowing smirks with Brandon as Dylan helps Avery get ready on the sidelines. She takes off her ball cap, releasing the foot of long brunette pony-tailed hair. Gasps are heard from center field, seemingly originating from Noah. Shocker.

"Oh my god! Dude, it's a girl!" He laughs out, adjusting his cap against the wind.

"Poor Dylan, he's really scraping the bottom of the barrel, huh?" Oh, if only you and that misogynistic head of yours knew, Steve-O. And surprise, surprise—Every pitch she's involved in ends up in a home run for the Pitts.

And little by little, much to your joy, Steve is getting progressively more aggravated— tapping feet, flaring nostrils, bugged-out eyes. You’re beginning to like baseball.

Eventually you make your way over to Brenda, off by the sidelines. You watch as they send Davey from the Dukes out, and Manny, the small, athletically challenged boy from the Pitts, isn’t far behind. Brandon perks up, calling a timeout to give what you can only assume is another one of his infamous Brandon talks to his team. After a moment the team breaks up, moving into their correct positions and as Manny chokes up on his bat ready to pitch. You cringe, hiding your face in your hand.

 But it's nothing short of a miracle as Davey throws the ball. It makes contact with Manny's bat, soaring across the field as he jets off across the bases. The catcher from the Dukes runs for the ball, tripping over his own foot and skidding across the grass. The whole team erupts into ecstatic cheers, rushing out and lifting Manny onto their shoulders. You know that Davey blew the pitch for him, you’ve seen him pitch a hundred times. But seeing the joy on that little boy's face, you knew that it didn't matter. 

"Poor kid," Brenda sighs, looking out to the opposite direction to Randy Crawford, the catcher that landed face-first into the grass. "I mean, he really gave it his best-- Wally!" 

"Wally? Bren, what're you-- oh my god! That is Wally!" Off in the distance, you can see the gray ball of hair hurdling towards the baseball diamond.

"That's not Wally! That's Rupert! It's my dog, he's back!" Randy gasps, watching in amazement as his shaggy mutt runs across the crowds and into his open arms. 

"Hey uh," Brandon comes to greet you, but is looking out into the field as well, "isn't that supposed to be your dog, Y/N/N?" 

"No, Brandon," Brenda shakes her head, light smile lacing her lips. "I guess that's Randy's dog…" You sigh, but seeing the little boy giggle with glee as Wally-- er, Rupert, laps at his cheek, there's no troubling emotions to be found. 

"I'm sorry, Y/N/N," Brandon laces his fingers with yours, grabbing your attention with a soft kiss to your temple. 

"I'm not," you assure him. You smile, the sight of the boy reuniting with his long lost dog something straight out of a movie scene. One last look and you turn away from the boy, eyes meeting your boyfriend’s. “Hey, Brandon... have a date for that dance yet?”

-

-

-

-

-

Taglist: @be-patient-be-good​ @mpmarypoppins​ @bevelyhills90210​ @blueoz​ @princess-ghost-alien​ @hueycat2004​ @l4life​ @keepcalm-and-beyou​ @isthatabutterfly​ @rosy-pugs​ @thewalshess​

[ddaenghoney]

chapter six

masterlist link in blog description.

As a successful songwriter, you want nothing more than the acknowledgment that the chart-topping musical pieces are your own creations. But contracts, relationships, and the difficulty of facing the stakes involved head on, keep your mouth shut until pressure builds too much.

Pairing(s): Park Jimin x Y/N, Min Yoongi x Y/N

disclaimer: any characters depicted do not represent the actual personality of the respected idol in real life.

Series warning(s)/genre(s): Chapter-based written fic, Slow-burn relationship(s), Fake-dating, Unrequited love, Songwriter/producer!oc, idol!Jimin, idol/songwriter/producer!Yoongi, friends with benefits, drama, romance, smut, angst, fluff (updated as needed)

Chapter warning(s): none, just finally able to introduce Hoseok in this chapter lol

Word count: 5299

if you enjoy please, please let me know!

Yoongi’s eyes scan the weekly announcement email, not truly interested, yet still giving himself time to be thoroughly knowledgeable of upcoming events for his newfound colleagues and the company as a whole. Mentions of renovation in the lobby, a new coffee machine to be installed on the production floor along with a request to be more mindful of how this one is used, and the schedule for the practice rooms for the month remains unchanged for the last few weeks of January. Highlighted at the top of the email is the name of a mini album set to be released the first week in February along with parentheses beside it stating who would be releasing it: Park Jimin.

Reclining back in his seat, Yoongi regards the blue font notice in silence, wondering for a passing time of his involvement in the corruption between Jimin and you. He knows it’s not his fault, and knows you do too. Yet, there’s still guilt seeing Jimin’s name or hearing it anywhere. Still guilt felt in grazing his thumb against his index finger as a fidget when on the four dates so far where you’re forced in one way or another to recall Jimin’s existence. Yoongi has not apologized about it since the first date, but it doesn’t change that he feels like he should if only to assure you that the hurt you try and hide each time doesn’t need to be hidden for the atmosphere’s sake.

The foot on the floor pushes his desk seat into a small back and forth sway. He doesn’t think of your mutual problems often, just reminded every time an email requests the two of you go on a date, like the one to come that evening. By this point you’re both amicable at least, even going on the limb of saying something like friends. Maybe. It’s hard not to when you’re both forced into two or more hours of conversation. It’s something like friendship. Maybe closer to friendly coworkers. He doesn’t know. Yoongi sighs, spinning an entire slow revolution in his chair, then stopping promptly with the sound of his phone’s text notification.

Two unread.

Y/N, 4:38pm: Just got asked to go to a last second meeting. Probably will be out closer to 6:30 instead of 6:00, sorry.

Yoongi, 4:39pm: That’s fine no worries.

He exits the message thread to check on the other notification. He stares at Hoseok’s name for a second and the few words he’s able to see before opening the chat. Yoongi inhales, rubbing his jaw, while clicking it open with his free hand.

Hoseok, 3:57pm: I think enough time has passed... I’m going to start going for a new comeback now! You’re required to pre-order whenever the album is done!

Yoongi, 4:42pm: Ah, is that a fact?

Yoongi’s hand falls from his jaw to type quicker,

Yoongi, 4:43pm: I’ll help you make it however you need.

Hoseok, 4:45pm: Thanks, man.

Hoseok, 4:48pm: I’m nervous still haha

The phone rests on the desk, Yoongi’s hand resting beside it while he looks at the screen. He tilts his neck as a stretch, thoughtfully. Uncertain of how this would turn out for Hoseok. Wishing for the best. Trying to be hopeful. The dissention of early last year comes back into Yoongi’s mind. The unfair treatment, and watching his best friend go through the invasive camera lights daily, and the pouring stream of interrogative comments throughout social media. The blame that had no place linking to Hoseok when their old company decided to sell out to SoundWave as Hoseok’s contract was torn to pieces.

Yoongi, 4:56pm: You deserve the new beginning if anyone does. It’ll work out.

Hoseok, 5:00pm: Bro…

Yoongi, 5:00pm: You ruined it.

Hoseok, 5:01pm: Haha, I know……… Thanks Yoongi.

The final two words feel somber in Yoongi’s mouth. Drying. He doesn’t deserve to be thanked for anything, when he was quiet watching what happened. He could’ve done something to stop it all. Maybe Hoseok would have a studio next door to Yoongi’s still if more had been done to help. To disprove the wrong perspectives in the public. But it’s not in his persona to care like that.

He sighs, pressing the lock on his device. Index finger taps on the space below his keyboard, the desktop monitor powering off onto the screensaver. Yoongi feels like he should scoff at himself in judgement. How was he ever appalled by your lie when he’s no different.

---

You contemplate sending Namjoon a text, but acknowledge the busy time of the day for him and refrain. Instead you wallow in the quiet, staring at your notes while listening to the arranger and producers beside you editing your song by means of scribbling pencils. You hope they ask you something greater than questioning an affirmative of their ideas for changing the words on the track. Apparently the theme is appropriate, but the verbiage itself doesn’t fit the fast beat pace the producer intends to make this track into.

Jimin is across from you, equally to himself. He scrolls through his phone, appearing collected. He said hello to you sweetly, politely when he walked in with the producer. You didn’t realize he would be joining the impromptu meeting. It was just the producer that had texted you about it, mentioning the arranger also tagging along. Not Jimin. You knew he was using this song, but you didn’t think he needs to be here.

“Jimin, your choreographer is going to thank me for this one. I already know it.” The producer is happy, and granted you’re not entirely angry at the changes he makes on the paper. They’re minor, the meaning is still there. Your touch deteriorates only slightly, and it’s something that’s involved commonly throughout song conception processes. You don’t care about that, you really don’t. Maybe you’re even spitefully happy about the changes too, because it means less you, less for you to be bothered by in the credential section. Less you in lyrics Jimin sings.

“You’re only doing the touch-ups though.” Jimin voice is light-hearted, his playing smile small, yet meaningful. You keep your eyes towards the producer’s writing hand. Bite your lip when the message is properly conveyed to him by notice of his reply,

“You’re right, Y/N’s work is great, like usual.” He agrees sincerely, giving you a thumbs-up with his left hand. You smile softly, just managing a head nod. “Sorry about the random meeting too, by the way. I would’ve waited until tomorrow if we didn’t have to redo the recording for the album he’s going to be releasing.”

“It’s not a big deal. I was here anyways.” You tell him calmly, catching sight of Jimin when you adjust in your chair. He’s gentle in appearance like usual, watching you only because you were speaking. When the sentence ends you see the twitch of an upward smile that he smothers and instead goes back to his phone.

“You’re here more now that the whole fake dating thing is happening, huh?” The arranger’s comment is absent of ill-intent, you realize as he rubs his neck in a stupor as he goes on, “I can’t imagine how weird that has to be. SUGA’s new to the company too; must feel random to be matched up with him, right?”

“Yeah,” You say vaguely, hands in your lap messing around with one another as you hope for a new topic. “Yoongi’s been nice about it all though.” You blab softly, unable to see Jimin’s thumbs unmoving as he no longer pays attention to his phone screen despite his eyes pointing to it.

“He’s cool, I’ve done a couple of things to help him with his production lately.” The man beside you nods as he speaks, settling the pen beside the papers. “Really particular about his stuff, but because he does practically all of it himself, it makes sense.”

“Can I see the revised version?” You interject calmly, receiving the notes from him as he immediately nods, handing it off. You scan through the tiny adjustments, thinking on your own of what potential ideas they had to change the pace of the song.

“None of it’s too crazy, I don’t think, but if anything’s too much let me know.”

“No, it’s all okay with me.” You don’t mind the scribbles, but have even less desire to combat things lately since the meeting with Yerin.

“Can I take a look?” Jimin’s voice calls out to you, and you face him. Small nod as you reach the small distance to slide the papers towards him, then startle as the producer stands up beside you,

“Crap, I need to get to a session downstairs right now. Just get that to my studio when you’re done, Jimin.” He says and you watch using every muscle to refrain wonder at why the arranger also stood too. You instead mentally curse at him saying he’d tag along since he was done for the day as well. You curse again at the sound of the door, glaring at the sight at that point.

“I’ll give it to him like he asked.” Jimin breaks the silence, eyes trailing still at the page of lyrics. You look towards him, erect in your seat but unwilling to stand yet. You recall leaving before he woke up the last night you were with him, and the incredible drought of communication since then. But is it really this easy for him to be casual. Your eyes wait to meet his when he finally lifts them up from the sheet.

“I liked the pink hair.” You murmur as a comment, trying to fill the void of quiet, give yourself a reason to linger there a little longer and see the state of his thoughts towards you. “Well, the brown is nice too though.” You correct with a tiny shrug, feeling a larger pang in your chest when Jimin doesn’t stop his smile this time.

“I liked it too.” He lays the paper flat, but his fingers remain on its edge. You think of other ways to continue the conversation, and shove the thought of asking him simply how he is to the corner of your mind. You’re already staying back with him for no reason, you don’t want to seem completely tangled with missing him. “You and Yoongi...” Jimin begins, and the mere mention of you two makes you want to groan, hoping against this turning into a conversation about your precarious fake relationship when you wanted to focus on Jimin and you. “You don’t have to do anything too much, right?”

You narrow your eyes in confusion. Jimin reaches for his hair, fiddling as he goes on, concern twinging, “Like, nothing you don’t want to do, lo-”

He stops, nearly biting his tongue to do so. You notice. Your hands grip on your jeans, trying to discern if the slip was just because the term of endearment is something he’s so used to calling you, or if there is something more. You watch his index finger barely scratch at the paper on the table. Nervous.

“The whole relationship is something I don’t want to do.” Your sentence is dry, matched with your dismissive shrug. You know that isn’t what Jimin meant, but you don’t expect his head shaking and body becoming more straightened in posture,

“That’s not what I meant.” Jimin says directly, biting the inside of his cheek as he considers explaining himself further. You free him of doing that, nodding.

“I know.” He noticeably pauses, nearing a flustered expression and you almost want to smile in endearment, but you still feel more sad than anything. Confused. “Sorry,” You finally avert your gaze to the table, collecting your few items. “We’re not being forced into anything else though.” You explain while Jimin watches you move around.

Words clutter in his mouth, wondering what to say to keep you in the room, but knowing he shouldn’t. Can’t. He’s the one who ended it. He didn’t want to, but he did.

“Do you miss us?”

Jimin’s heartbeat increases, while yours secretly does as well. The question blurted from your lips in a moment of impulse that built from the second you saw him that day. Dumb, stupid; you want to take the question back, you don���t need his answer. You want it, but you shouldn’t have it in your thoughts whether it’s a yes or a no.

What difference would it make if he said yes and you returned back to how you were. He was right-- Namjoon was right, you’re own screaming logic is right: a secret untrue relationship wouldn’t last and it would only serve to hurt you in the long run. This situation that you both stand in is exactly because you made up the stupid idea in the first place. You should’ve let the first kiss be the last one. Just because you ended up falling in love, doesn’t mean Jimin did.

Jimin’s made it clear that the answer is no. Why do you want to hear him vocalize the no. Maybe a sick part of your mind wanted the words to be engraved so you can take it as a bridge burned to char. If he said no you could move on. That’s how it could work. Maybe it would actually be enough, in that off-chance-

“Of course.” Jimin’s voice whispers the words like they were heavy to push out of his lips. But you could ignore that, wrapped in the potential- “But I don’t want to get back together like we were.” He’s no longer making eye contact with you, busying his fingers further into his locks. “It hurts us both being hidden like that,” You open your mouth to interject that you could live with it, that it’s not necessarily a long-term state of being, but he speaks on, crushing you, “And I don’t want to be your actual boyfriend.”

The counterargument abandons your psyche entirely. The truth of the situation is apparent. Jimin’s made it apparent. The extent of what you were to him was just lust. His casual demeanor makes sense. Your lingering feelings are the minority, not mutually felt.

“Ah,” Your head nods even though Jimin’s not looking up at you. His statement burns more as you stand in the same room as him. “When you put it like that,” Jimin lifts his head, and you don’t know whether to register his expression as sad or not, because why would he be sad. Conflicted, likely. “It makes sense we’d stop then.” You continue to nod, stepping once towards the door, “Sorry. I got the wrong idea.”

You continue in your exit, ignoring anything he may try and do in response, because you didn’t want to be pitied on top of everything else. You let the sound of chairs clattering behind you drift into the background, and slipped out of the room without another word heard.

Yoongi’s studio is on the same floor, and easy to find in a matter of moments. You usually meet him at the lobby, but you don’t think of that as your phone’s clock reads twenty past six and you knock on the frosted glass door. After three soft pounds do you take note of the tiny doorbell that is likely more effective. The small device’s appearance makes you sigh, thinking of how idiotic you were about not seeing it, how idiotic in general.

“Y/N?” You don’t realize he’s opened the door until Yoongi’s voice disrupts your misguided thoughts. You look up towards him. Yoongi can see the straining expression to appear indifferent, but it fails completely this time just in appearance alone. “Are you okay?”

“Not really, but we have a dumb date to go on.” You huff, reaching both of your hands to rub your face. Yoongi remains quiet, already not fond of the dates when you were both in at least average moods, but seeing you like this makes him hate the idea even more.

“There’s no time schedule.” He says simply, you narrow your eyes towards him in a lack of understanding, then your shoulders relax as he steps back opening the door wider. “Want to hear some of the stuff I’ve been working on and we can go out later when we’re both starving instead?”

You think of his consideration for your temperament and feel a little bad that Yoongi feels the need to accommodate, but you step inside anyways. It isn’t like he enjoys the dating, and putting it off for a while sounds like the best option. Not to mention, dismissing his attempts at kindness wouldn’t be best either.

Besides, you can’t say you weren’t curious at the prospect of listening to what Yoongi’s been working on.

You glance around the studio, noting the organized arrangements overall, yet homely in some aspects as well. The decor is limited to a few wall posters and mostly bare shelving, but his couch area looks like it isn’t new at all. The couch in particular looks a bit worn, and cluttered with a couple of blankets and a pillow. His small coffee table has only a single empty plastic cup on it, but you figure he keeps the place tidy or else there would definitely be more evidence of his caffeine vice than currently appearing.

“If you want to use the couch you can. I have some wireless headphones,” Yoongi tells you as he goes to the highlight of the room: a desk space covering the entirety of the wall. Bright with various electronic equipment and brand names that also inhabit space in your own apartment. But here the space appears validated by its placement in the company walls.

You sit on the edge of the couch, hands resting on his lap as you continue looking around the studio. It’s definitely one of the larger ones. Yoongi hands you the pair of headphones, and you situated them over your ears while he goes on in speech. “Whoa, wait what?” You cut in quickly, causing him to look back at you while he sits in his desk chair. “These things are really noise cancelling, sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Yoongi chuckles, rubbing his hair back from his face. “I was just saying I need to decorate more, but haven’t got around to it.” He slips a pair of headphones on too, leaving one ear free. “This is going to sound really rough, and there’s a gap where I’m waiting on someone to fill with vocals.”

You nod, smiling in anticipation without realizing so. The sight makes Yoongi glance away, biting his lip in sudden worry the track won’t sound as great as you may anticipate. He clicks to start anyways, listening in his own ears and simply keeping his eyes on the screen watching the point on the timeline move along.

Behind him you sit back into the cushion, trying to take in everything in one listen, despite the different levels of the song meshing together perfectly. Yoongi’s voice sounds completed in the song already, like he’s already reached a point of contentment in the sound in your opinion. “Your lyrics are really good.” You say, head swaying with the beat, staring at the empty cup instead of seeing if he’d turn to respond to you.

Yoongi catches the comment, tapping his finger on the desk, lips tightening and forming more pliable peaks on his cheeks from holding back a proud smile. He waits until the fade out, before finally facing you once more. Angles his chair slightly towards you, not all the way, trying to appear more calm than anything despite nerves still simmering quietly in his stomach because you are the first to hear this particular demo.

“Did you hear me about your lyrics?” You ask right away, sliding the headphones to rest atop your shoulders. Yoongi nods softly, mumbling about not wanting to interrupt when you were listening to say thanks. “They really, really are good.” You say again anyways, smile growing wider as Yoongi reaches to fiddle with his hair,

“Thanks again.” His voice is still quiet, something bashful about it as well. Satisfied, you think, but you continue on anyways,

“And your voice is controlled, like usual.” You sigh, leaning back, “I can’t get over it; you’re so great at singing and rapping.” Yoongi just shrugs, but you miss it while you adjust your sleeves off of your hands. “For it being incomplete, I’d still listen to it, even without the other person you’re waiting on.” Yoongi chuckles, shaking his head,

“That’s too high of praise, you’re messing with me now.”

“I’m not.” You interject firmly, sitting upright. Yoongi looks at you silently, but breaks it by rubbing his neck and speaking sincerely,

“Well, thank you. I was kind of nervous about this one actually. It’s pretty different than other songs I’ve made.”

“Yeah, it’s really on the edge of your usual stuff, I think.” You nod in agreement, settling your hand on your chin while you ponder. “But I’m sure it’ll do well. Besides what’s a better time to try new things than now, right?”

“I wanted to make it last year, actually.” Yoongi shifts on his chair, clicking open an email notification. The title reads a clothing brand, and he shuts it as he goes on and for a moment scrolls through other emails in case he’s missed anything important. “It was busy with the merger going on though. But the beat is inspired by a friend of mine’s style.”

You let the information fall into space, interested by the mention of a musical inspiration. You scan any ideas, but ultimately feel like you don’t know enough about Yoongi at all to make any verbal assumptions so you just joke, “Jin?”

“Oh,” You watch Yoongi pause, and turn on his seat, looking at you with widened eyes, “How’d you know?”

“Wait really?” Your eyes grow wide as well as the image of Seokjin passes through your mind as a music producer-

“No.”

“Hey,” Your eyes immediately narrow, paired ironically with reddening embarrassment in your face. Yoongi just scoffs, then all together laughs as you defiantly cross your arms. “Rude,” You mutter as his lips continue releasing his entirely humored melody. “He could’ve; you don’t know.”

“I don’t?” He counters, slumping back into his chair and looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

“He’s performed an entire masterpiece with chopsticks and shot glasses before, so, yeah, you don’t.” You try to refrain from releasing any of your own smiling, maintaining a serious gaze towards Yoongi as he believes none of it and nods once.

“I live to be proven wrong, I guess.” He turns to face his computer once more, rearranging the opened windows as though he intends to continue working like he had before you stopped by. At this realization your arms relax, and you think about what you should do so not to bother him, maybe grab coffee to bide the time, or mindlessly watch YouTube videos on your phone.

Yoongi interrupts the thoughts, “It might not be my place to offer, but if you ever wanted to talk--or vent about,” His head tilts as he decides against specific topics, “Anything… I’d listen.” His hand sits still on the mouse, hoping he doesn’t sound like he’s trying to overstep. Though with all the trouble you seem to have, Yoongi tries to ignore that worry, allowing the innocent concern to lead the offer along.

“I probably look like I’m always down about something, right?” Your voice trickles embarrassment and spite, sighing as you rub your hair and angle your neck towards his coffee table. Frankly, it’s tiring to continue each day dismayed by the amount of circumstances left out of your control. Quietly having to accept so much that no one else seems to have to bother with, especially where songwriting is concerned.

“Not always, no.” Yoongi responds, eyes on the monitor though he’s looking at nothing. Contemplative of phrasing. “But a lot has happened the past month, and not much of it is good for you. I may not be your closest friend, but I think anyone seeing you pretend to be okay this often would wonder if you want to talk.”

You stare at the glossy wood, thinking of the interaction between you and Jimin not long ago. Being the first time you had spoken to him, you hoped it would’ve been better, maybe even telling for what the future could hold, but that was all wishful thinking in the end. He still left. Still keeps an arm’s distance. “I just,” You pause feeling the air in your throat that you hadn’t expected to cloud your sentence. You swallow it down and bite your lip, noticing Yoongi’s movement in your peripherals as he faces you slightly. Likely checking. Your voice probably sounded ridiculous.

“It’s okay to not speak too. Whenever you’re ready.”

The sentiment feels as comforting as the way Yoongi’s voice says the words. Absent of condescension, wholly gentle and patient. Putting his ideas of what he thought of you when you met and he found out about your job aside, to simply focus on your troubles. Understanding when he really didn’t have to be. Even if you both were amicable, and freshly titled friends like he said; it’s not like Yoongi needed to offer a metaphorical shoulder, or a penny for your thoughts without an expiration date. The action gives you a tug forward.

“Jimin was at the meeting and I didn’t think he’d be there.” You finally murmur, trying to avoid eye contact as though the words itching to leave your mouth would hide if you did. “I didn’t want to break up with him--or,” You sigh, rubbing your hair as your head shakes, “We weren’t a couple, I can’t really call it a break up, huh?” You rhetorically question feelings silly for being wrapped up in this relationship when it wasn’t a proper one to begin with. “I just didn’t want it to end.” The words fade, spacing even more as you ponder sadly, “And seeing him doing well-- even though he said he misses us, it just makes me feel like I’m the only one unable to push forward.”

In the very least, Jimin’s more in control of himself than you’re showing to be. Strongly believing this is the best way to handle the problems that existed in the relationship and unmoving about it. If you think about it like that, then maybe it would be better to try and adhere to this idea, even with your feelings for him. If they aren’t reciprocated feelings, there really is no worth in you continuously falling deeper and deeper. It was always bound to hurt, you just wish it could have happened later; like you would whenever the separation inevitably happened.

“Whether it takes you longer than him or not to work through this isn’t a problem. I think you should let yourself take as long as you need.” Yoongi gazes without focus at an empty shelf he plans to display albums of artists he’s collaborated with. Considering the closeness you and Jimin evidently had, it’s completely acceptable that you would be saddened by it all, and for all Yoongi knows the relationship could’ve had knots and twists that he’d never guessed that would garner the need for you to take months to heal. “Also,” He starts, though he considers not saying anything at all in case it may be a statement he doesn’t have the right to speak to, but recalling all of the instances thus far that he’s been unable to help you at all, he lets himself finish, “I don’t think you should shove all of it down either… I bet that feels suffocating.”

You bite your lip, almost embarrassed that he’s noticed how upset you’ve been despite having known you only a couple of months. You thought you have done well so far to at least appear normal, but with Yoongi spending hours of random days solely with you, it’s plausible he has simply caught on. Somehow the fact alone didn’t feel bad. In the same way that you had Namjoon to turn to because he knows everything that’s going on, it feels comforting that Yoongi is there as well. At least in his accepting way, whether it’s deeper than that, you don’t know and lean towards doubt if only because you’re both not on close terms.

“So I should just cry in the middle of our dates?” You try at a joke, but the smile you give him is appreciative of his advice. Yoongi glances to you, chair still angled to the wall. He hears the slightly joking tone and shrugs to it,

“If you do it gives us an excuse to go home.” You giggle at the fact and don’t mention that Yerin would likely end up irritated by you both appearing like a mess in public.

“I’ll cry one week, and you cry the next then.” You tease, scooting further into his couch and realizing that its incredible plushness is why it’s worn and Yoongi’s likely kept it since his last company. He laughs at the idea, nodding his head, relaxing himself now that you seem a little better, or at least, he hopes, less inclined to force yourself to act happy. “Thanks, for letting me talk a little, by the way.” A quieter, sincere tone. Before he’s able to respond you continue, “It means a lot to me that you wanted to help. I know I’m kind of, I guess, distant with my feelings, but it’s nice to feel like I don’t have to hide it all with someone around the company. I won’t bother you with myself though, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about that.” Yoongi discerns the idea you may feel annoying and softly diverts the thought away. “Besides sometimes it’s okay to be selfish and rant anyways. You’re just trying to help yourself.” He glances to his computer as you only respond with a nod, perhaps not entirely believing his words, but that could be a building process. “Hey, actually, while we’re here, and since you’re a producer,” You lift your head up, immediately curious as he mentions the title. “You want to help me play around with this song idea I’ve been messing with for the past week?”

“Wait, really?” You practically beam the words like sunlight, refraining from a flustered smile at the idea, but Yoongi can tell by how you sit up that you’re more than willing.

“Yeah, I’m not really getting anywhere with it, and since I know you’re the one who wrote practically all of the songs I liked from this company, of course I’d want to work with you.” The growing smile on your face almost makes Yoongi feel embarrassed as well that you found the request so appealing. He briefly chuckles as you start to nod, and he smiles brightly asking in bewilderment,

“Is it that exciting? It’s just me who’s offering, anyways.”

“Says the guy who’s made so much music that I love.” Yoongi bites his lip, smile not hiding at the joy. Emulating your sudden upbeat demeanor, simply because it felt infectious, Yoongi gestures to his computer,

“Well then since we both love each other’s stuff, let’s make it the collaboration of the year.” A light-hearted joke, but you and Yoongi mutually think it’s suddenly an exciting idea to work with one another on a song. So you’re up to your feet in seconds, taking the few steps towards his work area as he clicks around the screen,

“Wait, you don’t expect me to stand and help do you?”

“Oh, right, I’ll get a chair.”

if you enjoy please, please let me know! i hope you enjoy the series, i’m working really hard on it! : )

tag list (send an ask to be added): @jaiuneamesolitaiire​​ @tsvkino-usagi​​​

[horistans]

Good Things

Edited to match current cannon. Read on AO3 for intended formatting! Rating: G / Word Count: 1480

Masayuki didn’t mind the endless chatter of the female fans. He didn’t mind their fragrant perfume or their joyful giggles. As long as they weren’t being too loud, he didn’t have a reason to scold them.

However, he did mind it when they were loitering in the middle of club activities and he, being the freaking president, couldn’t get them to listen.

“Girls! I said you could stay to watch, but you need to quiet down!” he exclaimed. The group of girls lowered their tone, but their excited chittering didn’t stop.

The brunette sighed to himself, irritated. Normally he would kick them out (he didn’t like so many non-members sitting in during their rehearsals) but today was an exception. He actually needed their help. He needed their opinion on the next play, and the neverending crowd of fangirls was their intended audience.

Masayuki already had a general idea of what they liked, but someone pitched the idea of polling the students themselves, so they invited them to see some short skits. It was a win-win situation. They could use the information for later, bigger performances, and the actors could get some practice. It was an excellent idea.

But now, as he tried to concentrate on the actors on the stage, the blabbering of the girls kept making him lose focus. Were they even respecting the actors at all? He felt like he was babysitting a bunch of toddlers at a funeral. They didn’t really understand and they didn’t ever shut up .

And then, the main character of the scene appeared, and the audience of (mostly) females started squealing.

“Thank you for coming to see me today, princesses!” the blue-haired girl called, blowing a kiss towards them. She was dressed regally, the handsome prince who shone brighter than anyone else.

“Kashima! Focus!” Masayuki barked. Yuu gave him a small wave and smile to counter his glare before delivering her lines. The aura around her instantly changed.

As soon as she got serious, Masayuki bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from swelling with pride. How did he have such good luck finding her? She had the perfect look, ideal for any leading character, and the skill to match (when she wasn’t goofing off).

This time, when the fan club cheered excitedly, he felt proud. Of course, the annoyance was still there, but he would rather praise his good fate in finding her again.

Soon, the plays were over and the girls excitedly told him their opinions. After their leave, Masayuki talked with the actors, then assisted clean up.

Finally, the brown-eyed boy was alone and the air was still and quiet.

“Well, I guess that’s the last of the performances,” he muttered to himself. He was quickly put away the scripts and looked through the results of his research.

As expected, he thought, adventure tales with a hint of fairytale-like romance is the best choice for future plays. He hummed a soft song to himself and started to look for a script that would fit his image of a perfect play.

But honestly, as long as Yuu was playing the prince, the play would be well on it’s way to being perfect.

“Hori-senpai, what are you smiling to yourself about?”

Masayuki felt his heart jump as he whipped his head to the right. He almost dropped the papers in his hand at the surprise.

“Kashima! What are you still doing here?”

“I left my tie,” the blue-haired girl explained, holding up the red fabric. “What about you? I thought you would’ve left by now too.”

“I’m looking for our next play. I was thinking maybe there were some scripts left around by the alumni that we haven’t used yet,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. “I found a whole bin of them, so it’s gonna take a while...”

“Does that mean we won’t be doing anything for the next few days?” she asked, moving to tie her tie around her neck.

“Oi, don’t you even think of skipping,” the president glared. Yuu avoided eye contact and simply laughed. Masayuki clicked his tongue. She definitely was going to try .

“Can’t you look at those tomorrow though, what’s so important at looking at them now?”

“I’m looking at them now so you’ll have something you’re good at to do.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like,” Masayuki retorted. The green-eyed girl pouted.

“Am I not helpful enough?”

“Are you really asking me that?”

“Then what am I good at?”

The air was quiet for a moment. Yuu had her arms crossed over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at him. Masayuki sighed.

“Not tying ties, that’s for sure,” he chuckled. He put down the scripts and faced her. Stepping closer, he gently grabbed her wrists and put them to her sides before straightening out the accessory himself.

“That isn’t what I asked, Hori-senpai,” she continued to pout.

“Isn’t it obvious already? You’re good at acting. Why else would I make you the lead every time?”

Yuu was silent as he kept his eyes focused on the cloth between his fingers. Successfully, he tightened the material around her neck and placed his hands on his hips in accomplishment.

“There. Now tuck it behind your vest, it still looks messy if you keep it hanging like that,” he ordered, finally meeting her eyes. He was immediately aware of the close distance between them. Masayuki thought of moving, but his legs stayed still as if they were weighed down by bricks.

In reality, it was the expression Yuu was showing him that planted him to the ground.

“Hori-senpai, what are my good traits?” she asked. Her face wasn't sad, but it was upset. It was so uncharacteristically different from her normal cheery personality, he didn’t know what to do. She looked solemn.

Something was bothering her, and for some reason, it hurt that he didn’t know what it was.

“What? What are you asking about now?” he replied- a vain attempt to get her to act like her usual self.

Normally, she would stupidly smile or stupidly pout or stupidly groan at his inability to understand but instead, she just stood there and the only thing stupid in the room was himself.

Again, the room was quiet and Masayuki was still rooted in place.

“Do you hate me?”

The question came like a pin drop. Yuu spoke softly and finally looked away and Masayuki felt like that pin breaking the silence was actually breaking him.

“How did you come to that conclusion, idiot? Why would I hate you?”

The girl crossed her arms again and her eyebrows furrowed. “Then what do you think of me?”

“Of you? Well... You have the perfect looks and draw people’s attention to the club... You have close-to-perfect acting to make them stay...”

Now, the girl groaned, and he felt her slowly returning to her original, loud self.

Still, the tension between them was uncomfortable, and even if she was being loud it still wasn't completely normal.

“You always say that!” she exclaimed. “I just don’t get you. Is that the only thing good about me, Hori-senpai?”

Like an idiot, Masayuki suddenly understood where her frustration was coming from. He sighed, but mostly at himself.

“Okay. Honestly, I think you’re lazy, you always skip club activities, your harassment is infuriating, you’re really good at annoying people,” the brunette listed as Yuu's face eyebrows knitted closer and closer together. Masayuki smirked and continued, “You suck at painting props- not to mention making them- you easily break things in the clubroom, you’re so annoyingly tall-”

“Wait, didn’t you say my looks were a good thing?” she interrupted.

“I’m not saying it’s a bad thing.”

“Yes! you are!”

Ignoring her, the boy continued “Also, you always smell like perfume because of that crowd of fangirls you hang around with-”

“That’s barely even my fault.”

“But you’re also one of the best actresses I know. You’re a fun person to be around. I enjoy being friends with you.”

Yuu’s irritated defense fell, and she froze for a moment before smiling.

Masayuki endearingly patted her head, and lightly laughed at her. I really should be nicer to her more often.

"Kashima, you must be terrible at listening if you ignore every time I've told you I like you. But it's my fault too. Sorry 'bout that. Don't ever think I hate you, okay? I'll do my best too."

"Alright... Thank you, Senpai."

On their way home...

“You know, Hori-senpai, I don’t think you know how to compliment people without bringing acting or looks into it,” she laughed. “Does your whole world rotate around drama?”

“Shut up, dumbass. Of course it doesn’t.”

“Well, I think you’re a good actor too!”

“Ah, well, thanks I guess.”

“Shouldn’t you be happier about it?”

Masayuki smiled at her. “Who says I’m not?”

[ts19009ssims4addiction]

Prologue

"Is there any news of Sybil?" Matthew asked standing at the front of the church with Mary.

"She's still not coming. She insists they can't afford it." Charlotte, who's standing right behind Mary. Matthew sighs but nods in understanding.

"Mr. Travis, can we move forward?" The archbishop asked as the reverend nodded and asked Mary and Matthew to walk down the aisle again. After another half on hour we all took a break to let the reverend and the archbishop discuss.

"Is there really no way we can get Sybil over here?" Mary asked, "it seems rather silly."

"On the contrary, it's a relief Branson is still an object for the county. We'll ask him here when we can prepare the servants and manage it gently." Robert says as Mary and Robert back out together to walk down the aisle again.

" He's making a problem where none exists. No one could  care less were Branson at the wedding or not." Isobel said.

"You must think country life more exciting than it is if you  imagine  people don't care when an earl's daughter runs off with the  chauffeur." Matthew said as Isobel huffed.

"Well, the fact remains she has run off with the chauffeur and they'll have to get used to it" Isobel said as Charlotte smiled. She really liked Tom, and thought he was a good fit for Sybil. They still write to each other,  she try not to tell Robert. He gets so terribly angry whenever anyone mentions Tom or Sybil.

"What is it Papa?" Charlotte asked stepping into the library, to see her father reading a letter. He seemed very conflicted about it.

"Well one of my good friends Anthony Stark just died, left behind a wife and daughter. But his partner Peter Parker is going to be traveling over sea's to come see us for a while. He'll be here before the wedding tomorrow." Roberts said.

"Peter Parker, wasn't he the one who invented the car?" Charlotte asks as Robert nods.

"Yes, and Anthony. He says that the family wants to bury him here. He was English after all." Robert said before handing her the letter.

"How did you meet? Peter's only 18, like me." Charlotte said quickly skimming the letter over. He had such nice penmanship, it was beautiful to look at.

"When I went to America a year or two ago, I went to see Anthony and Peter was his apprentice back then. He's a good kid. I guess when Anthony died Peter inherited his company." Robert said as Charlotte sighed.

"Well, if he's all you chalked up to be, I'm excited to see him tomorrow." Charlotte said leaving the library to find her sister, who was saying one last goodbye to Matthew before the wedding.  "Come on Mary. You'll see him tomorrow." Charlotte said leaning against the door frame of Mary's room where Mary and Matthew was. "Bye Matthew." Charlotte said as Matthew smiled and nodded before leaving for his house.

"I'm so excited." Mary said as Charlotte says, sitting on her bed and waited for Anna to come in. "I can't believe the wedding is tomorrow."

"I know. Make sure Anna hangs up your dress tonight so it doesn't wrinkle." Charlotte says as Anna walks in.

"I heard my name. I hope everything alright?" Anna says hanging up Mary's wedding dress. Charlotte new it was her time leave so she made her way to open the door.

"We we're just discussing about hanging up the dress. So no need anymore," Mary said spotting Charlotte slipping away, "goodnight," she said as Charlotte smiled and closed the door.

The next morning Charlotte was dressed and ready for the big wedding at 7 A.M. She was the first one don for breakfast. In fact breakfast was ready when she entered the dinning room. Surprising Mr. Carson with her early appearance.

"Milady, breakfast isn't ready yet. My deepest apologies." Mr. Carson said as Charlotte chuckled at his professionalism in such a laid back scenario.

"It's alright. I forgot to tell you I was getting up this early. I'll wait." Charlotte said as Mr. Carson nodded and pulled out a chair for her. Luckily she had brought a book because she knew her father wouldn't be down for at least another hour.

About thirty minutes later breakfast was served and tea was brought out. Charlotte was starving and didn't bother waiting for Robert to come down.

"You started without me?" Robert asked walking in too see his youngest daughter eating by herself.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I came down at seven to try and get in some alone time and maybe get ahead of schedule, but none of the food was ready, so when it came I was so hungry I had to have a little something." Charlotte explained as Robert chuckled and pressed a kiss to the top of her forehead.

"Peter Parker will be here at lunch and will be staying with us for a few weeks after. I got a letter this morning." He said plaing the letter in front of her. "He sent it very early this morning."

"Make sure Mrs. Patmore knows Mr. Carson." Charlotte says as Carson nods and disappears for a  few minutes to deliver the news.

"When Peter gets here will you spend some time with him. You're the only one around his age." Robert asks Charlotte with pleading eyes.

"Of course father." Charlotte says as Robert smiled. Just as Robert sat down Edith came strutting in. "What's got you in such a happy mood?"

"I got a telegram from Anthony Strallan. We've been talking for a while." She said sitting down with a plate of food. "He's coming for luncheon. I've already discussed it with mama and told Mrs. Hughes."

"Looks like were having a full house." Charlotte said as Edit furrowed her eyebrows.

"What do you mean?" Edith asked.

"Well Peter Parker is also coming for luncheon, just saying quite a few guests," Charlotte says, "do you like this 'Anthony Strallan'? I've never heard of him before."

"He came for dinner a while a go. We hit it off then I guess, and yes I like him, he's very nice." She says as Charlotte sighs. She knew that Edith wasn't getting any younger, but now she seems a little desperate.

"Edith he's more than twice your age. Don't you want someone to grow old with? With Strallen he's already grow old, it's only a matter of time before he dies." Charlotte says looking at Edith who is practically fuming.

" He isn't old and all the young men I've ever knew is either already married or died in the war. It's not my fault I can't find a younger eligible bachelor during these times.  So I suggest you stay out of my love life Charlotte." Edith spits before silence falls over the whole room.

After Charlotte finishes eating she quickly gathers her things and runs out of the room, trying to avoid Edith's glares. She didn't want anything to dampen the happy mood of Mary getting married.

The rest of the morning was spent decorating the house for the reception. Hanging up banners, assembling the flowers, making sure there where enough glasses, all that fun stuff.

"Excuse me, are you Charlotte Crawley?" A young man around Charlotte's age asked tapping her on the shoulder causing her to quickly turn around.

"Yes, and who may you be?" Charlotte asked.

"Peter Parker at your service."

[lunaschild2016]

Belief - Part 3 (Edit)

Rating: M

Devi is Dauntless. Through blood sweat and tears she made a place for herself three years ago when she left her life in Amity behind. Not once in that three years has Eric Coulter even deigned to look her way. Not until that night. Now she has nothing but his attention. Eric/OC AU [Smut, Language, Romance]

Part 3

 I decided that I'm not going to eat the food Eric pushed on me. After he left I felt furious at how presumptuous he had been and that pushed aside any pleasant feelings I had when I opened the bag to peek inside.

I'm angry at my reaction to him.

I'm still furious at Four for letting Rain go.

My head is killing me and I'm completely exhausted.

I'm just pissed and grumpy in general. I walk out of that room still clutching the bag tightly and fully intend to toss it in the trash then start back to work.

As soon as I get to the waiting room I see that most of it cleared out and that Kari is rushing towards me with wide eyes. They're darting between me, the bag, and then the cameras.

I grumble under my breath, already knowing what's coming. "What did he say to you?"

It's not Kari who answers her but Devon, the other aid on staff. "He said that if you didn't do what he said he would hold the two of us responsible. That he would be more than happy to arrange for an extended visit for one or both of us at the fence."

Kari is pale and shaking, confirming that everything Devon said is true. My fury explodes and I start muttering in a combination of English and Spanish. Mainly curse words.

I refuse to give in! I know there is no way he's going to get away with taking away the staff we need here at the clinic. I push past Devon and go to throw the bag in the trash but he stops me by pulling my arm back and scowling at me.

"Fine! If you're so dead set on seeing one of us being sent to the fence, at least I can see what the mighty Eric brought to you. Better yet, I'll just eat it myself and then I can say I was treated to something by the man that never does anything for anyone other than himself."

He goes to actually grab the bag but this makes me snap and I punch him the gut before clasping the bag, the one I was about to toss just seconds ago, close to my chest. "Culo! No one is touching this!"

He smirked through holding his stomach. "Told you." He said looking back at Kari.

"Told who what?" I snapped.

Kari shakes her head and raises her hands while still shooting glances at the camera. "Seriously though, could you just go eat, Devi? Go to the office and we can handle things while you are gone. You know you get all grouchy when you haven't eaten anyway."

I narrow my eyes but went ahead to the office. Kari isn't wrong and I can become a complete bitch when I haven't eaten. Today it is so much worse because I'm also hungover and tired as hell. I slam the office door and fling myself in the chair after tossing the bag on the desk. It doesn't take me long to give in to the temptation of the smells and the urgings of my growling stomach.

I tear into the bag then lunch eagerly.

It isn't just the sandwich, but also a bag of cheese crisps, a cake brownie, and then one of the whole dill pickles that are shipped in from Amity.

It’s all perfect food to fill me up and soak up the alcohol that I'm sure is still running through my system. For that reason, and that reason alone, I decided not to feel guilty about taking my time eating every bit of lunch.  There is also paperwork and charts that needed to be completed or filed, so I took this time to get that all done since I was already in the office.

In between bites, I worked happily and with the occasional hum of pleasure.

I hate the fact that my mood started to improve as I went along. When I emerged from the office I felt loads better but wasn't about to comment on it. The first time Devon cast a knowing smirk at me I sent him a glare that shut him up very quickly and sent him hustling to get the areas that needed it cleaned up.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with normal things.

Members or dependents that needed to be seen for one thing or another, but couldn't during the week, they always come in during the weekend for appointments. That makes my morning packed with those visits on top of anyone that might come in that hasn’t been scheduled. 

Things calm down eventually, but we still have to push people we didn't get to during the day to be seen tomorrow. Which means another of my days off will be spent in the clinic.

Shauna finally comes in to relieve me for the evening shift but I stay to help clean things up and go over the charts of the unlucky few that have an overnight stay with us ahead of them. She chatters the entire time.

What Tori said about Dauntless and gossip is completely true. The 'head bitch', although she herself would never be considered a bitch, in the gossip food chain is none other than my friend and co-worker. Her information is usually on point and reliable. She can usually call or predict something before it ever becomes official.

Part of that has to be because her fiancé and his brother are both working in Intel or work closely with leadership. Tonight she's going on about what had happened in the faction so far and the big story going on is about the brawl.

Turns out the former champ at Big Shots, Razor, did sort of throw the fight. He was wasted out of his mind and nowhere near the condition to handle the level of fights he was scheduled to face that night. The brawl happened when the refs, manager, and judges all made the decision that the wins were void and the fights would be scheduled for another night.

The people that won big were livid. The ones that were all for the rematches got pissed when the other group started calling them, and the champ, out for cheating in some way. Honestly, it sounded like even if he won there would have been an explosion of some kind. We’re all fighters after all, and it doesn't take much for us to want to get in on the action too.

In the middle of cleaning a room together, Shauna stops and looks over at me with a frown.

"Hey, you really should take off and get some sleep. You had a long night from what I heard and it isn't going to get better for you tomorrow."

I snapped up from making the bed and whip around to look at her. "What the hell does that mean?"

I already have dread running through me, and when she shrugs with a knowing smile, I know. I just know.

"Something I heard but I'm not supposed to talk about. I can tell you that tomorrow will probably be a long day for you."

If Tori and Shauna could be put side by side, at least the Tori from this morning and Shauna right now, their tones and smiles would be a complete imitation of the other.

"You can't say? Why?" I pop my hip out and my hand goes on it.

I might be tiny but I can be fierce if you piss me off enough and I'm right there at the edge with the only thing in my line of sight being Shauna. Friend or not it's tempting. I guess she recognizes this look enough and the smile drops.

"Look, I want to tell. I had every intention of telling you, actually. That's why he ordered me not too when he saw I was listening in to his conversation with Uri at lunch."

I don't even need to ask who gave that order. Her expression matches the one Kari had from earlier.

"Hijo de puta! Esto es un montón de mierda de caballo. Durante tres años, apenas sabe que existo, ¿pero ahora decide que merezco otra mirada?" I fume and stomp my foot in a huff.

I jerk around and finish making the bed.

"Sorry," Shauna says softly from the other side of the room. I wave that off and shake my head.

"Not your fault," I mutter with a sigh.

When the bed is made we make our way out of the room and she looks to me as I am gathering my things from the office.

"I don't think he didn't see you all those years, Devi." She calls to me softly as I was walking out of the room. "I don't know for sure, but sometimes I thought I caught him watching you. It's hard to know with Eric though."

I sigh wearily and smile back at her. "I'll see you in the morning. Thanks for the heads up."

I head home and grab something to eat after I take a much-needed bath. My roommate and friend Sadie apologized profusely for the night before.

It turns out they were there with me all along but when they tried to approach Eric when he was taking me from the pit, he turned his famous glare on them, warning them away. They hadn't dared to try and stop him after that. I would have told her off for not even trying, but it isn't worth my energy. I know all that would have done is get them on Eric's shit list.

By the time I finally crawl into bed I've gone into denial mode and coming up with anything that could be causing Eric's behavior besides what my body is telling me it might be.

This was all just an amusing distraction for him. Sadie told me what happened and how Four also tried to get me away from Eric. This is his way to get back at Four after he tried to keep me from Eric in the Pit. Eric knew it would be a button he could push on Four and had done that.

Come tomorrow he'll be bored of it and move on to some other much more willing victim.

He doesn't really have any interest in me and I refuse to let myself feel any kind of hurt about that realization.

Tomorrow I'll wake up, go to work, and then go out with my girls.

Maybe I'll even take Ash up on that offer to hang out. I could use a pick me up.

I go to sleep feeling more confident and with a smile on my face.

But there is the faint thought that if there is real interest, Eric is about to get another wound to that overinflated ego of his.

             **********************************************************

The morning dawns once again, and way too soon for my liking.

Over my morning coffee, I send off a few texts to make plans for that night.

Sadie, Vera, and AJ are all willing. Even Lynn said she could be counted in for a few drinks and dancing. I also send one to Ash telling him where I would be for the night. If he wants to stop by, have a few drinks and maybe dance he's more than welcome too.

Ash is someone I see from time to time.

He works patrols and has a rotating schedule where he's out of the compound for two weeks before coming back for two.

We've never tried for anything serious between us for various reasons. Some of it’s because of our schedules and dedication to our jobs, but that isn't all of it. We are honestly more just friends with the occasional side of benefits. We don't always hook up when we hang out though.

It's just nice to have someone to cuddle or dance with, without them being a total creep. Just someone to have fun with, be myself, and not worry about either of us wanting more than we are capable of providing.

I don't expect him to be up to reply right away, neither of us expects the other to drop whatever we might be doing just because we call, but he does and he happily agrees to meet me for the night. It will be his last night to out before he goes back on rotation.

There is a pep in my step as I head out to work. I even stop by the combination deli and bakery to pick up some treats for me and the others.

I have to be careful how often I do this, but I've never been one to try and deny myself just because of what someone else thinks will be bad for me.

It's nice to be able to get things like muffins, cake or other baked goods again now that I don't have to worry about them being dosed with peace serum. It took a while for me to be able to eat anything even remotely close to bread once I got to Dauntless. They don't talk about what happens to the people that have been living on that mierda.

On the day of my choosing ceremony, my family made a big breakfast for me. I didn't give it a thought when I was eating my fill of sweetbreads right along with the fruit they had that morning. They were both normal things for our meals, and we had sweetbreads at least a few times a week. Mi Abuela loved to bake and garden. Those had been her pleasures, so there was always something for us to eat from that.

I've always wondered if they knew what would happen to me that first week of being in Dauntless.

I wondered if my family had known, as I loaded up on the bread, that once I left there I would suffer. Did they know I would go through something called withdrawal? Did they think it was only right that I go through hell for betraying them and leaving?

I don't want to believe that they would do that to someone they loved, but I have my doubts about their love because of that suffering. Someone had to know that living for so long on a drug-induced set of false feelings would throw me off so badly. Someone had to know that I would struggle with trying to deal with all of the feelings that I had never been allowed to deal with on my own before.

Initiation would have been hell on anyone but a girl with my physicality coming from Amity made it a certainty. Adding that I had the emotional stability of a pubescent teen and it just amplified that.

It took me almost an entire year before I would even touch something with bread in it at all.

Have I mentioned how much I love bread and sweets?

That by itself was enough to make me completely moody, especially when all around me the Dauntless cake was taunting me. I may have punched someone once when they seemed to take pleasure in teasing me while they slowly ate their cake across from me at dinner once.

Uriah Pedrad still won't eat cake if I'm around.

Keri and Devon fall on the donuts and muffins once I make it into the office. This is where we gather every morning to be debriefed by the night staff on everything that happened during the night and the status of anyone staying.

It's another busy day for me. All the appointments or people that got turned away and told to come back yesterday are expected today. Some of the ones leftover from the mess the brawl created came back during the night, so thankfully most of that mess was taken care of by the night crew. There are a few walk-ins with cuts or broken bones but none of the crap that I was seeing yesterday morning.

Overall, while work does keep me busy, I'm still holding onto the good mood I woke up in. It's looking like I'm going to get out earlier than I expected, and since this is supposed to be my day off anyway, it just improves my mood even more.

So much so that I almost forget about yesterday completely.

I mean, I've only daydreamed about that kiss and Eric a few times today, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

The last appointment of my day is a young dependent. It's just a simple one, being seen for a persistent cough and congestion that turned out to be an ear infection.

We don’t have a doctor on staff from Erudite and while I am qualified for many things, there are some of them that are just beyond me.

Instead of sending a doctor over, we have a computer station that has a scanner along with other various places where we can put in any blood draws or other things of that nature. That allows us to send and receive information to staff over at the Erudite hospital. It’s fairly old and can take an absurdly long time, so it becomes fairly useless in true emergencies. For simple cases like this, it works fairly well. I send over a few cultures, a blood draw and a scan of her chest for the doctor to look at and diagnose.

With a shot of antibiotics and a script for a syrup to help with a cough, I send the little girl and her mom on their way. As I'm doing a clean up of the room they were in Kari comes rushing in with a harried look in her eyes.

"He's here." She says simply and with no need to elaborate who ‘he’ is.

I huff and close my eyes tightly, my good mood going right out of the window. "Any idea what he wants?"

I open my eyes and roll them when I see her horrified expression. Like it was horrifying to her that I even suggested she try and ask him what he wanted. So I shove past her and make my way out into the waiting room, but Eric isn't there.

Devon points the office and then the nerves hit. I was hoping he would stay out in the open here in the waiting room where I wouldn't have to be alone with him. Which is probably exactly why he went into that office.

I groan quietly at this realization before determination sets in and I grit my teeth and give myself a short internal pep talk. I push my shoulders back and walk into the office with as much of a calm and uncaring demeanor as I'm capable of pulling off right now.

Eric is sitting behind the desk and has a file in his hands with a few others laid out in front of him and with his feet propped up on the desk. He looks way too at home in the place I consider my domain, for my liking. That calm demeanor snapped straight out of the window. I slam the door and put a hand on my hip as I glare at him.

"Did something happen to the staples? One pop out of place or something?"

He looks up from the file in his hand and smirks. "Nope. They're still intact." He tilts his head and that infuriating smirk gets wider. "Sorry if that ruins your hope for getting my shirt off again. Although, if you ask nicely enough…."

I sputter and glare at the gall of the man. "Hate to burst your ego but that was the furthest thing from my mind."

Mentira! As soon as he said it, that’s all I wanted.

I walk closer and shove the feet he has propped up on the desk off then go to snatch the file in his hand away. He jerks it back and makes a tutting noise.

"Leaders have full and complete access to any and all data or files." The smirk is gone though his words are full of it.

"What do you want, Eric?" I snap at him.

"I looked at your personnel file," He states simply, putting the file down he was reading and I get a good look at it for the first time.

This one isn't my personnel file but the one I have full of my proposals and requests for the clinic from over the last few years. I frown at that and his statement trying to connect the two and my tangle of thoughts.

"Okay?"

"You haven't taken part of the yearly physical training and assessments yet. In fact, you didn't for last year either."

I sigh tiredly and rub the back of my neck. "Eric, I don't know if you’ve noticed or if you even care, but the clinic is running on a tight budget and limited staff. Most of the people qualified to do the things beyond basic aid are Erudite, and they are only here for eight hours of the day. Those hours are early ones that most of the people in Dauntless aren't even awake for half the time, not to mention they aren’t here on weekends. Patrol medics have to come from somewhere and the weekends that takes them from the small staff we have here. I guess it isn't surprising you don't know this considering any and all requests I’ve made are either rejected out of hand or just ignored.  Perdóname  if I don't make it into maldito training when I'm too busy stitching up or setting bones for everyone else who is able to."

Eric starts tapping his fingers on the table, his jaw clenched and looking around. He stands and grabs the file he was looking at before he turns his cold eyes on me. "Follow me."

I've probably pushed my luck just once too often with him while I was unloading my anger and frustration. In fact, I'm sure of it as he stomps to the door and rips it open, then stalks out. I can hear him barking something to Devon and Kari but not what. I scramble to grab my bag, just in case I need it, and follow after him. Both of the staff are looking at me with worried eyes but they make no moves to say anything or help.

They couldn't help even if they tried to be honest.

I follow after Eric but he stops at some point and waits for me to catch up to him. "You might be short on staff but I can't excuse missing the training. I especially can't excuse missing the assessment. Normally, you would need to do it with one of the qualified staff, and during their hours, but that isn't going to work, obviously." He pauses in speaking even as we are walking and glances over at me. "So, I’m going to take that on myself. We'll be starting with weapons at the firing range today. You won't need to change into workout clothes for now, but I  will  expect you to have some on you for when we next train."

My fists are clenched at my side as I walk beside him. There is a tiny part of me that's thrilled with this development while the majority of me is pissed at being dictated to like this.

I bite my lip and decide to pick my battles.

Eric’s right and the reason for the lapse in training doesn't really matter. Here in Dauntless, it is expected and the standard unspoken rule is you  always  make time for training.

We don't go right to the gun range.

First, we stop by his office where he deposits the file on top of his desk. I immediately know I'm never going to see it again and am thankful I have backups of all the information on my laptop.

His desk seems to be one big pile of paperwork. Organized piles, but still.

The desk has a towering stack of files in a tray with a label indicating they still need to be looked over and a matching stack of ones that have the label indicating they are complete. It would take counting each one to know which one has more as they seem to be at the same level.

I don't know what he intends to do with my file but I have a feeling it's just going to get shoved in with one of those enormous stacks and get lost.

I do feel a tinge of pity that he seems to be swamped with work.

I guess I never really wondered what it's like for any of the leaders. Tori never complains, and that isn't something Four is likely to do either. I just always looked at the power they hold along with the perks that come with holding that position, and never considered what needed to be done behind the scenes. Logically I know there is work, but I never considered they would be as buried under as it appears he is.

"Is that always like that?" I ask as I wave towards his desk. Eric unlocks a cabinet at the back of the room and starts pulling out things.

He glances at me and then to where I'm indicating and shrugs. There is a tiredness that etched itself onto his face for just a second before it's gone just as quickly to be replaced by a slight scowl. "It's usually worse."

I frown as my eyes wander over the file names, reading them quickly and seeing that some of the labels are things I would think would be taken care of someone else. "So why don't you have an assistant or something to help?"

"You aren't the only one that has to deal with budget cuts and short staff, Devi. We have the same issues up here. Everyone thinks it will be such a fucking cakewalk to work in leadership or as one of the assistants. Then they get a face full of reality and we find out they aren't cut out for it and have to find someone else or do without."

I should feel ashamed of my words to him earlier but leadership could at least explain that to their departments. Especially ones that are so vital to the faction.

"I didn't know," I start out saying then narrow my eyes at him when he snorts and is probably about to make some smart ass comment. "That could be solved by someone just telling us all this." I wave again but this time between the desk and him. Making it clear I'm meaning him specifically.

It turns out he had been pulling out his handguns. Now he started to slip those into holsters he had on his hip and thigh after checking them. "Would it have made any difference if we had? Knowing that we have little in the way of budget to work with and even less staff?"

I put my hand on my hip and frown while looking down slightly. "Of course. That would have been much better than thinking I've been ignored for the last three years."

I glance back up briefly but quickly look away and blush when I realize how hurt my tone sounded and I caught the flicker of something in his eyes as he caught it too. Eric came closer until he is standing right in front of me. He reaches out a hand and uses his fingers to gently grip my chin and raise my head until I'm looking him in the eyes once again.

"Devi, you were never ignored." He says softly while he runs his thumb over my lips lightly then drops his hand along the soft expression in his eyes and sighs. "Circumstances have had my hands tied until recently. We're working to make up for everything the previous leaders did to destroy the faction."

I nod when his eyebrow raises, seeming to ask if I understand, but can't find the words to reply. I don't trust my voice to speak because of the fluttering in my stomach. It seems good enough for him and he moves to the door, holding it open for me to pass through first before closing it behind him. He sets a brisk pace but not one I'm unable to keep up with. Soon we are entering into the gun range.

The people in the gun range at the moment look at us curiously as we pass. A few of the guys I know from their frequent visits to the clinic, and they start to wave or smile at me. They stop immediately and turn away quickly after a glare from Eric.

He sets us up about as far away from everyone else as he can get while still being in the same room.

It's clear any and all focus is going to be put on me and he isn’t going to tolerate any kind of distractions or interference. I found out it’s entirely possible to be in a large room full of other people and activity and it still feels like I am completely alone with Eric.

This just ramped up my nerves that were already frazzled.

It's also obvious that my lack of training has clearly affected my aim. Something he's all too quick to point out, rather gleefully, and then insisted on physically correcting me while informing that my performance is so abysmal that he might as well start me out like he would a beginner.

That's about how the next two hours progress, with him acting as if I've never even held a gun. He has been pressed against me, or at least uncomfortably close, almost the entire time. Shoving me this way or that. Pressing his legs between mine to correct my stance or wrapping his entire top half around mine while he stands behind me.

He also won’t shut up!

He keeps assaulting me with question after question. When I said something about it, snapping out that I didn’t realize he had so many words in his vocabulary, he just grinned wickedly and said he’s just testing my ability to maintain my skill through distractions and then continued on.

He spent the next hour or so grilling me about anything from my life in Amity before I transferred all the way up to my life now, my friends and things I do with them.

"You said you were considered the perfect Amity. Why did you transfer if you were happy there?"

"You never wondered how you were able to kill chickens? I mean come on that had to be a red flag right there."

"How often did you find a wild horse beyond the fence?"

"Did you really spend that long out of the fence on those trips?"

"How did you get into healing if you worked with animals?"

"How can working with animals and their recovery be compared to a person?"

"Explain all this massage and herb therapy crap. I don't get why it is such a big deal or help."

“Are you actually friends with your roommate, because I remember her being in our initiation and never saw her talking to you?”

“How did Lynn end up in your circle of friends?”

“So, you aren’t all that close to Number Boy?”

“You dance? Where do you go?”

On and on the interrogation went, and all while he's physically distracting me as well.

Between the verbal and physical invasions going on, I quickly become exhausted. By the end of the two hours, I reach the end of my patience.

It's when the questions start to get slightly more personal and trying to pry into past relationships, that it snaps completely. I start responding in sarcasm and Spanish.

Eric just looks amused while his hands start to do things along my back and hips and I realize that I've only been speaking in Spanish for the last thirty minutes of that time and Eric understood every word, even if he only responded back in English.

"Alright, we're done here for the night." He says, stepping back abruptly after having just been brushing his fingers down my neck while his breath tickled my ear. "Let's go to the mess hall and get dinner."

I watch as he holsters the gun and let out a frustrated puff of air while calling him every kind of bastard I can in my mind. I can't decide if I want to turn around and slap him or push him against the wall and relieve all this frustration he’s built up in me.

The first one I dismiss, because even I am not loca enough to slap a leader, and definitely not  this  one.

There is still the second option.

I snort quietly and shake my head, dismissing that. I’ll just need to find another way to relieve this frustration because there is  no way  it’s happening with Eric.

My plans for the night flash in my mind suddenly. Hair from my ponytail came loose at some point during Eric’s pawing at me and has fallen in my face. I shove some of the hair back from my face and start to grin then look at Eric as he finally faces towards me after cleaning up our area.

I flash a smug smile at him as I shake my head then grab my bag up. “Thanks, but no thanks. I have plans for the night already.”

“Plans?” Up until my statement, he had been wearing his own smug smirk after stepping back and seeing how flushed I was. That smirk drops as soon as I shoot him down. His eyes move over me cooly but then he just gives me a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Cancel them then.”

His tone is so fucking flippant and as if he’s presuming this would be what is obviously going to happen.

I let out a scoffed laugh. “No. I don’t think so. I’m meeting up with my girls for drinks and dancing before Lynn goes back out on patrol rotation.”

“Your girls, huh?” He drawls slowly while narrowing his eyes and looking me over slowly before his eyes meet mine.

We spend the next few seconds in a stare-off and I think he might be waiting for me to back down and just go along with him.

Clearly, he has learned nothing about me.

Then he surprises me by shrugging casually and gives a small nod of acceptance. “Okay. Just remember what I said though and be prepared for me at any time, little one.”

I ignore the flush of warmth at his nickname for me and narrow my eyes.

He’s up to something. I know it. But whatever is going behind those blue eyes of his is a mystery. I just know there is an intensity to him that makes me want to lick my lips and return the action of looking him up and down like he just did me. It’s so strong that it makes me whip around instead and sashay my ass out of there as fast as possible.

“Will do, Sir!” I toss over my shoulder to him with a grin.

His chuckle after seemed to follow me for the entire walk to my apartment. It sounded like more than just a laugh or simple amusement.

It was dark, rich, and raspy. Like it held a promise of something to come.

Something that shouldn’t have my nipples going hard or my knees going weak. But it did and I think I knew then that I am well and truly fucked.

              *****************************************************

 “Damn! You are going all out tonight.” Lynn says as she looks me over and walks further into my bathroom where I’m still getting ready.

I’m already dressed, other than my chosen heels for the night, but I’m putting the final touches on my make up. I smile at her through the mirror and lean over the bathroom sink and counter to get closer to the mirror so I can swipe the mascara on in a way that it won’t clump the eyelashes together.

“Damn straight,” I finally reply to her then quickly finish with the other eye.

I put my makeup down and step back to take a look at myself in the floor-length mirror on the other wall, turning this way and that to get a better look.

I wouldn’t say that I don’t dress up when we go out, but I don’t usually go all out like I am tonight. Most of the time I’m wearing something a bit more relaxed. Like the other night, my dress was just a simple black dress; long-sleeved and with a slightly rounded neckline that went to just above my knees and had a tiny slit on the right side. It was just the right amount of casual and sexy. Something I threw on right after work and used my new shoes to add spice and color to the mix. I didn’t even do anything with my makeup or hair really other than fixing my ponytail and adding a bit of lip gloss.

Something about tonight seemed to call for a bit more….well, everything. Something a bit more...Dauntless...and daring.

I left my hair down tonight and let it fall into my natural waves, but added a little product to smooth the hair and make it slightly shiny. My lipstick is a wicked red color and I lined my eyes so that the chocolate brown looks a bit more sultry. I have the same shade of red on my finger and toenails that I used for my lipstick.

My shorts are a little shorter and my cleavage a little more revealed than I would normally display.

The outfit is almost all black in color. The top is a deep v-neck silk wrap top that I have to tape down to make sure the sides stay in place and I don’t end up flashing everyone since I’m not wearing a bra underneath. I have that tucked into the black silk shorts that provide me full coverage of the assets...my ass...but mold to it nicely.

To add some color, and to break up the black and highlight my waist, I added a wide belt made of silver metal that is thick enough to draw attention to the waist and what I consider my best feature, my butt.

The real feature of the outfit is my shoes.

As always they are high heels, four inches, but the style is a roman sandal with leather straps that go all the way up to the knees. I sit on the toilet to slip those on and secure all the little black leather straps.

Lynn has her arms crossed over her chest and is shaking her head at me with a knowing grin.

She knows this look. This is my going out to get mine, look. When I’m feeling sassy and sexy and want to let loose.

“Well, let's go then. Did you eat something?” She frowns at me worriedly while I pop my lipstick into my clutch purse that already has my keys, phone, and some protection (in case I get lucky) in it.

“Yes, mami. I had a grilled cheese when I got home.”

Lynn rolls her eyes but chuckles and shrugs. “Well, that’s better than nothing. We can just order some bar food when we get there.”

I sigh but admit that’s a good idea. I don’t do well with drinks if I haven’t had anything too substantial to eat.

Lynn has a reputation for being hard, and she definitely can be, but we both have the habit of being the  ‘mothers’  for our group of friends. We’re the ones that usually make sure everyone doesn’t completely overdo it and that they make it home at the end of the night.

So, I would have normally heard something from her about what happened to me, but I guess since she knows I’m now dealing with Eric, she also figures I have enough torture ahead of me.

If she only knew.

Sadie was waiting for the two of us in our living room while our other two friends that said they could make it, Vera and AJ, already headed over to the club to get us a place.

Vera is currently dating the guy that manages the bar we are going to tonight and managed to sweet-talk him into setting aside one of the balcony areas that overlook the dance floor. Those spaces are usually reserved for officers and leaders in the extremely popular club, so it was a surprise when she messaged us earlier saying she managed to get us a spot.

This will be a treat, because normally we grab whatever spots are available on the lower level and pray there is enough seating. There never is.

We head out and talk as we go, catching up on what’s going on with each other along the way. Once we reach the club we spot the section Vera told us we would be at and can just faintly make her out waving at us from there.

I stick close to Lynn who seems to have this ability to make the crowds just kind of move for her with little to no effort, and in no time we’re across the already full dance floor and at the stairs. We quickly pass the guy that serves as a guard that makes sure no one gets up there that isn’t supposed to.

The upper level is amazing and has a very polished look to it while the lower levels seem to go with a raw kind of approach to decorations. There are already other groups gathered in their own little lounges that we pass on the way to where our group is set up at the far end.

I slide onto the seat of one of the sleek black couches and take in our set up. There is a huge lighted table in the shape of a cube that alternates colors sitting in the center of the L shaped sectional and a collection of four armchairs in dark red of the same material of the couch. On the table itself there are a few buckets filled with ice. Two of them have a bottle of a wine of some kind and the other two have juice. I reach forward and deposit my clutch onto the table and reach for a bottle, examining it and raising an eyebrow when I see that it’s a sparkling white wine from Amity. One that is very popular and is usually reserved for trade with any one of the factions that want it. Erudite is very fond of it and is known to be the one to buy it up after each production year.  

I raise my eyebrow at the bottle while looking over at my friend in question. Vera just giggles then shrugs. The pulsing music of the club can still clearly be heard but it’s not so overwhelming up here that we can’t hear each other talking.

“Blaine said they’re for us, so I guess he just wants to make sure we have a good time. It’s one of your favorites right? That wine from Amity?”

I shrug with a smile and start to crack it open but Lynn glares at me and slaps my hand away. “Food for all of us first before we start downing this.” She grabs it from me and shoves it back into the ice bucket.

“Oh good idea!” Sadie coos and then eyes the bar, more specifically the bartender, on this level. “I’ll just go order us some snacks.” She is already up and waggling her fingers at us before I can even tell her what I want.

“Ash is here.” AJ says as she comes up from dancing on the floor with some guy she’s decided is going to be her date for the night. “I told him we’re up here.”

“Thanks.” I reply with a smile and look around.

The club is amazing and has always been my favorite here. That might be because it was the first club I ever went to in Dauntless.

I always loved dancing back in Amity.

They would have days filled with music out on the open fields. Nights where we all just got together and danced with the stars and moon shining down on us.

I would drink and dance my ass off. Then I would go off somewhere with Vicente. We would spend hours more just touching each other or later on as I got older, making love. It’s hard to not be bitter after I realized that all of that was drug-induced.

At the dances where all the young but of age were encouraged to attend, they served drinks laced with shit that I can’t even stomach the name of now. It wasn’t bad enough to be on peace serum all the time but they also gave us other things. I didn’t know that back then. It wasn’t until I got to Dauntless that I was informed about what I was exposed to and what it did to me.

It tainted all of those memories for me. Even the relationship with the man I had hoped to marry. It made me question how much of it was real and how much was the drugs.

After getting through initiation and becoming a member, I resisted going out. Still bitter and upset about so much of my previous life. Doing anything that was remotely similar to my old life was out of the question. I worked and went back to the apartment I shared with Sadie, refusing attempts to be friends or hang out with anyone.

I knew it was fear holding me back. Facing your fears in sims doesn’t make them go away, it just makes you super aware of them.

So I knew that I was afraid to get close to anyone but I was also afraid that I wasn’t able to get close to anyone or love them. Afraid that everything from my life in Amity, who I was, had been fake. Tori brought me out of that and said I wouldn’t know if I didn’t try. Was I Dauntless enough to do that? Of course, I couldn’t back down from her challenge.

So, one night I got dressed up and found myself standing in Club Onyx for the first time.

It’s a literal cave. Stalagmites and stalactites can be found everywhere. The ceiling is high enough up that at places it disappears into the dark. The walls are mostly the natural stone of the cave, but in other places it’s smoothed out to make way for different decorations, furniture or built-in rooms, like the restrooms.

I’m told there are little nooks and crannies all over the place that people like to go and explore. Tori once said there is some type of water in one of them, a grotto she called it. I haven’t explored the big cavern yet so I haven’t discovered if that’s true or not for myself.

The club is a cross between the primal aspect that defines Dauntless and the tech and polished aesthetics from Erudite. That means it has lights, sounds systems, and other little luxuries that make it easier to let go and enjoy.

I enjoyed myself so much that first time. I found my rhythm again and danced long into the morning hours with Tori. Since then, I love to come back here when I can.

Ash finds us just as Sadie comes back with a smirk and a drink. She informs us the food will be here shortly. I pour myself out a glass but at a look from Lynn, I also add some of the juice that was in another bucket being chilled.

I sip my drink and laugh along with the others as we talk over the music. The food is delivered by the bartender, who then joins Sadie. Now we all have partners to dance with. Even Lynn called in one of her girlfriends to be with her tonight.

I can never go right into dancing. I’m not sure why this is, but I always have to have at least a drink before I feel relaxed enough to let go. Tonight it seems to take more for me to be loose enough, and I draw it out by eating and talking with Ash or the others when they make their way back to us.

If he’s picking up on how I’m even more nervous than usual he doesn’t say. We just talk and catch up, comfortable enough with that and each other, that it isn’t awkward at all. Even when he brings up Eric.

“So I hear Eric is breathing down your neck.” Ash says with concern.

I almost choke on the mouthful of wine I had but managed to gulp it down and breathe again.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I had to go to the administration offices to get some paperwork settled for a new patrolman being assigned to my unit and heard some chatter about Eric being after you or something like that.”

Oh, he’s after me alright.

I wave my hand casually and dismiss that thought as well as Ash’s worry.

“I missed the last few assessments and he’s having to handle it. No big deal.” I down the last bit of my drink and plop the glass on the table then reach for his hand. “Let’s dance,” I say even as I start to stand, wobbling only a little, and tug him up with me.

He doesn’t protest and soon we’ve made our way to the dance floor. I enjoy myself, I do, but something about Ash’s hands feel off. I can’t help this uneasy feeling that surges up every once in a while.

Normally, I can lose myself in the music and have no qualms about Ash being close or touching me. Ash even notices and asks me if I’m feeling okay. I just tell him I’m fine but that I need another drink. So we go back up to the lounge and he gets a few drinks from the bar for us. Once I have that downed, I drag him back onto the dance floor.

It seems to work and I dance until my feet can’t stand it anymore. He almost has to carry me back up to the balcony and the couch, where I plop down laughing and into his waiting arms.

I’m drunk and headed to well past drunk, but I really don’t care at this point.

“Wanna get out of here?” Ash asks as he leans in close to my ear brushing some of the hair away from it with his fingertips.

I giggle a little and nod. “Yeah, I just wanna go freshen up first.”

“Okay.” Ash agrees and helps to push me up from my seat, chuckling a little as I groan when my feet throb a little.

He makes a comment about the dangers of wearing such high heels that I ignore after a playful glare over my shoulder at him.

“Be right back,” I say and then weave my way to the bathroom.

The one on the balcony is occupied with a few girls waiting outside for it. I decide to not wait and go down to one of the ones on the main floor that I found a while back that is usually empty.  It has two stalls with a well-lit vanity area that I would think would make this a popular bathroom, but it’s well away from the dance area so maybe that’s why it isn’t packed like the others always are.

I take care of nature’s call first. Grateful that the toilets in places like this are nothing like the ones in the dorm or training room from when I first came to Dauntless. You need a shot just to prevent diseases from being near those.

I finish quickly and wash my hands then can’t resist using the vanity to check my lipstick and makeup. I’m so absorbed in finding my lipstick and reapplying it that I don’t notice the door opening, but I definitely hear it closing. And I definitely hear the lock being flipped.

The first, brief, thought I have is that someone’s decided to use this as a place to be intimate so for a few seconds I don’t get worried. It isn’t until the feeling I’ve had, but denied, all night surges through me with a vengeance. The one that felt like I was being watched. The one that had the hair on the back of my neck standing at attention and my senses buzzing. Only this is much worse and it finally gets my attention enough to turn to look out of the little vanity area that is in its own little nook.

Eric is standing there, leaning against one side of the archway, and the expression on his face makes my legs tremble slightly while I swallow heavily.

Eric Coulter isn’t an expressionless, emotionless robot but at times it certainly seems that way. But there are times when that mask breaks. I’ve always thought that the reputation he earned, even as far back as our initiation, didn’t come from the cold, calculating and the ruthless man he can be, but from these moments when whatever he is feeling is unrestrained and intense, overwhelming even.

The expression he is wearing now isn’t far off from one that I’ve seen before when he lost it on someone but I haven’t seen that since our initiation. His forehead is screwed up in wrinkles while his jaw is gritted and his lips turned into a scowl. He’s breathing hard, chest heaving, and his vein in his neck is pulsing as his fists clench and his muscles bunch up. That too is something I’ve seen before when he unleashed his body and showed just how lethal it can be.

I’ve seen all this before. I’ve just never been the one it’s all directed at.

“Just drinks with the girls, right?” He advances on me, all sinuous menace and the words are a hiss.

Despite the feeling that I just want to melt into the floor, I don’t let myself. He’s a beast. I’ve tamed larger and more powerful than him. I raise my chin and stand my ground.

“What business it of yours what I do with my free time? Yes, I’m having drinks with my girls and having fun. I never said there wouldn’t be others involved.”

Standing my ground means that I also didn’t move and he was on me in seconds. My butt hits the counter of the vanity as he brackets me in with his hands gripping it on the sides of my hips. He leans in so close that I can smell the aftershave he must have used before he got dressed for the night.

Dios ayúdame is the man dressed.

He’s wearing a black skin-tight, short-sleeved shirt with a v neck that clings to his skin so much that I can make out the muscles of his abdomen underneath it. It tapers in so that his waist is clearly defined by the belt showing since it’s tucked into black jeans that might as well be painted on him. They look to be barely containing the things he calls legs.

All of that is definitely drool-worthy but it’s not what has my mouth salivating and going dry at the same time. It’s his arms and those fucking veins that are pulsing. It’s the bunching of the muscles of his forearms up into his biceps. It’s the sound of his hands rubbing against the stone of the countertops as he grips them tighter.

It all made me want to lick my way up his arm, starting from his tattoos, until I reach his neck and then down the other until I reach….well….

If at all possible, his breathing goes even more ragged and his chest rumbles in a growl. “I’m not happy, at all, little Devi. You’re fucking drunk again.” He hisses and moves even closer making me gasp and flush. “And you let him touch you.

His powerful thigh shoves its way between mine, opening my legs. Much like he did at the firing range but this time he’s facing me and it brushes up against my bare thighs, pressing into the silk shorts I’m wearing.

I let out a moan and reach out to grab his shirt, pulling him even closer. He finally lets go of the counter and uses one of his large, rough hands to grip the back of my neck after moving until the curtain of my hair.

“What am I going to do with you, Devi?” He growls out the question.

And it is a question.

Said in a tone that lets me know he’s at a loss for what to do, maybe even at the end of whatever control he is trying to keep right now. That and the drinks make me much braver than I would ever normally feel. It has me feeling smug even, knowing that I’m the one doing this to him. That I have the unshakable mountain of arrogance and confidence feeling unsettled, unsure.

“Take me home with you, Eric,” I demand forcefully.

As the words come out I feel a brief moment of astonishment. But yes. This is what I want. I wanted it all day when I’ve relived the kiss. I wanted it last night when I touched myself thinking of him and what could have happened in that exam room. I wanted him even more as he touched and teased me at the gun range.

Dammit, I want him and I will get what I want!

The grip on the back of my neck tightens even more and the rumble in his chest deepens before he shoves away from me. He steps back, his eyes a little wild, and runs a hand through his hair.

I bite my lip and start to step forward, to press the advantage I feel I have but stop as soon as I see the change in him. He was looking down for a second, just one second, but that was all it took.

The wild out of control Eric is gone. He is back to the cold and calculating one. Wearing a wide smirk and his head raises.

“Okay.” His tone is a strange combination that I can’t even describe. All I know is it sends both anticipation and worry through me.

Then he steps forward again and that heat I felt just yesterday envelops me making me feel nothing but raw hunger and need. He grabs my wrist and starts to lead me out. This time he barely takes into account my height as he sets the pace. It takes us no time to make it from the almost empty area the bathroom was into the overcrowded dance floor and bar set up.

Some rational thinking kicks in and I realize I need to let someone know what’s going on.

“I have to tell my friends…”

“They’ll figure it out.” He interrupts me with a smirk and looks over his shoulder a little.

I crane my neck and look to see that a few of my friends are on the dance floor and looking at us with wide eyes. Ash is one of them.

I send him an apologetic smile and then gasp when Eric jerks me back around. This time he pulls me completely against his side and wraps his arm around my waist. He all but picks me up and carries me the rest of the way out of Club Onyx.

I debate telling him I changed my mind but the drunken loss of inhibitions doesn’t allow me. My drunkenness is mortifyingly confirmed when I almost twist my ankle twice and finally my legs almost buckle while trying to keep up the pace he set.

Eric stops me from falling with a curse and whips me up into his arms, bridal style, without even really breaking stride. A strong moment of deja vu stops me from protesting as a faint and hazy memory emerges.

The memory a night when Eric caught me in his arms and held me close, refusing to let me down. Pleasure and warmth from the memory add the desire.

“You could have taken me home that night. I wouldn’t have minded then. Why didn't you?” I ask as we walk and he’s keeping his eyes on the dark and winding path out of the part where the Club is housed.

“I told you before. You were drunk and I don’t take advantage of drunk girls, no matter how fucking tempting they are.” At this last part, he turns his head towards me. I see his blue blazing with the same hunger I’m feeling.

I can’t speak for what I think is only for a few seconds. It turns out to be much longer because he had long ago looked away and now we’re in front of a door. He glances at me with a frown as he lowers me to my feet. As soon as they touch solid ground he pulls me tight to his side again. Once he has me tucked in like he wants me, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out keys. He almost kicks the door in before he ushers me through and I hear it slam behind as he does kick it closed.

He moves us so fast I barely notice anything about his apartment other than it is definitely an apartment. He rushes me through the living area and into a dark bedroom. He flicks on a light switch and finally releases his hold on me.

“Wait here.” He demands and then disappears back out of it. He’s back again before I have time to get my bearings or even move, holding something black in his hands. He moves past me into another dark room that is revealed to be a bathroom when he flicks on that light.

I frown and take a step when I hear what must be the faucet running and cabinets being opened and slammed shut. He comes back out with a scowl on his face.

“There are pills on the counter. Take those and drink the water. Get a shower and I left a shirt for you to put on to sleep in.”

My jaw drops a little and I shake my head in confusion. “What?”

He advances again and takes my clutch from me. He roots around in it, takes my keys and the phone, then pockets them both before tossing the whole thing to the side on a chair in the room.

He then jerks me against his body and crashes his mouth against mine. Our teeth gnash against each other as we both let loose the hunger we’re feeling. By the time he releases me from the kiss I’m panting and spinning.

Not all of it from the kiss either.

He steadies me and scowls as he holds me close. “It won’t be when your drunk or have even had anything to drink, Devi. I want you, but I won’t have you like this.”

I have to lay my head on his chest due to the spinning, dizziness and burning of tears in my eyes. “So why bring me here dammit.”

“Because the fucking thought of you out there like this is enough to drive me to want to hurt someone. I wouldn’t care if they were a friend of yours or not. I want you in with me in my bed, but I don’t trust myself enough to even allow that right now. This is my spare room. In here, I’ll know you’re safe from me and everything else.”

Something about that touches me and I sigh out his name. I let out a shuddering breath and his arms circle around me. The embrace is comforting and claiming all at the same time. It ends too soon though because he pulls back and lifts my chin once more to look at him. “I said you are different and if you can remember this in the morning, maybe you will see I’m proving that to you.”

He places a small gentle kiss to the tip of my nose and then gently pushes me towards the bathroom. I walk in and look at him over my shoulder as I grab the door to close it. The wild look is back. So is the chest heaving and clenched fists. I hesitate to close it but he shakes his head and backs away.

“Tomorrow, Devi. I’ll be here when you wake up tomorrow.” Then it seems like he melts into the darkness and I hear the door to the room click.

I close the bathroom door and lean against it.

The mirror in front of me shows the reflection of a girl I don’t even know right now. Who is this girl that’s feeling hunger like I have never felt before?

It’s almost like I’m the old me. The one from back in Amity that lived and loved with such wild and passion.

Was it always there and the serum just brought it, and only it, forth? Is that what Eric is to me now? Some kind of drug that brings out a side I thought I might have lost forever.

All the questions and events of the night have my mind spinning.

There isn’t an answer for me right now. The only way I can get one is to move forward and find out.

But, in the light of day will I remember this? In that harsh morning after light am I going to want to find out as much as I do now?

I take the pills, drink the water, step into the shower and then put on the shirt that smells so much like Eric it makes me feel like I wrapped in his arms again. I almost think that I won’t be able to sleep at all but it finds me sooner than I would have liked.