#THE CHIN GRAB THOUGH... “Who hurt you?” / :( AUGH

[rosiehunterwolf]

wait

(storm section inspired by @ambrosial-tea)

Prompts: Home and Memories

Word Count: 5,901 (hey i think i'm actually starting to get these back to a more reasonable number XD)

Characters: Lloyd and Garmadon

Timeline: Between episodes 13 (Day of the Great Devourer) and 18 (Child’s Play) with some flashback scenes

Trigger Warnings: Abandonment

Summary: Lloyd’s not so great at being patient. It’s not his fault though- maybe he would be better at it if waiting didn’t always end up being so disappointing- if people actually kept their promises. But this time’s going to be different, he knows it. His father will come back for him. And Lloyd’s going to wait.

As long as it takes.

Since I already got two bingos on the sparks board, I decided to switch it up and change to the warm board!

Read on FFN.net

Read on Ao3

Tumblr work under the cut

In the aftermath of the battle, Lloyd only had one thought on his mind.

Cheers and whoops from the citizens of Ninjago City- and the ninja themselves- rang through the air as the realization that the Great Devourer was dead hit them. Lloyd hardly noticed, though. Gripping the handrail at the edge of the building, he peered out over the city. He was around here somewhere. He had to be.

“We did it!” Kai cried, grabbing Lloyd’s hand and raising it high in the air. “We saved the city! The Great Devourer is dead!” We? Lloyd glared at him, although the fire ninja didn’t even seem to notice. My dad was the one who seemed to do all the saving.

“Ultra!” Cole cried as the dragon landed on the street near the foot of the building. Racing towards the fire escape, the ninja hurried down the stairs and over to the dragon. Cole threw his arms around Rocky’s snout, the others not far behind. “You’re safe, bud!”

As the ninja and Nya laughed and caressed the dragon, Lloyd hung back, feeling lost. This wasn’t right. They couldn’t go on celebrating when someone was still missing.

“Where’s my dad?” he burst out, his voice sounding a lot shakier than what he had hoped for. “I don’t see him anywhere.”

The others exchanged glances. Lloyd hated the way they looked at each other, trying to decide what to tell him, because he obviously wasn’t good enough to know what they were really thinking.

Nya walked over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and bending over slightly to put herself more at his level. Her eyes sparkled with regret. “Lloyd-”

“Sensei Wu?”

Jaws dropped at Cole’s exclamation, and they jerked their gazes towards where he was pointing. Sure enough, Uncle Wu was sitting in the middle of the street, in a pile of green Devourer goo, looking lost as he pushed himself to his feet. Lloyd closed his eyes, letting his breath out slowly. So at least one of his mistakes had been fixed.

“He’s alive?” Jay gaped. “He’s alive!”

Kai grabbed Lloyd by the wrist, half-dragging him over towards their sensei as the ninja tackled him into a hug. Lloyd reached out to put a hand on his uncle’s back, but paused. He had no place here. Don’t get me wrong, I love the ninja, but… I was never supposed to be part of this. I’m only here because my uncle is their sensei, because I’m their beloved green ninja.

Wu pulled back from his students, grinning- only for his smile to falter as his dark eyes met Lloyd’s red ones. He tilted his head in that odd, knowing way of his. Lloyd wanted to break the contact, but couldn’t.

“Your father is gone, isn’t he.” Not a question, but a statement.

Lloyd let his gaze drop to the ground, remaining silent. His uncle reached a hand out for his shoulder but stopped short when Lloyd flinched away.

“Yeah, and with him, our golden weapons,” Kai growled. Nya elbowed him, hard, and he yelped, rubbing his side and scowling at her.

“Weapons or not, we will see him again,” Wu told him, “of that I am certain.”

“Yeah, only because your dumb prophecy says so.”

Wu flinched. “Lloyd-”

“Do I really have to fight my father someday, Uncle Wu?”

He sighed. “One day, nephew, that time will come. But I can hope that it is not for many, many years to come, when you are much older and stronger and wiser. Until then, we must not linger on the future. You ninja have done well today. You should be proud of yourselves, celebrate your victory for a little while.”

“Don’t worry, bigshot.” Kai ruffled his hair. “You’re the chosen one. And we’re the best teachers there are! You’ll be more than ready by the time the final battle rolls around.”

Lloyd clenched his teeth. Why couldn’t any of them see? He didn’t want to fight his father. He couldn’t. His father had come back for him when the Serpentine had trapped him, even when everyone else had lost hope. His father had been the one to comfort him about their futures, the one to protect him, the one to fix his mistakes with the Serpentine. So what if he had taken the golden weapons? If it weren’t for him, they’d all be inside the stomach of a giant snake right now. Were the ninja really so quick to forget that?

They didn’t know him like Lloyd did. Even his uncle had never seen the side of him Lloyd had seen. His father was a good man who had made bad choices. Couldn’t the same be said for Lloyd? If he had changed, why couldn’t his father?

Don’t worry, dad, he vowed silently. I won’t fight you. I’ll find a way to fix this. To make this right.

You see if I don’t.

---

Lightning illuminated the small room, dazzling Garmadon’s tired face as he carried the blanket over to the couch. Sitting down, he gazed out the window, the pattering sound of rain against the glass both comforting and incredibly lonely at the same time.

He sighed, turning towards the hallway. “I know you’re there, Lloyd.”

A small boy slipped into view, a stuffed dragon hugged tightly against his chest and his wispy, whitish-blond hair a mess as he blinked shyly up at him. “I’m scared of the storm, Daddy.”

Garmadon shook his head, scooting over on the couch and patting the space beside him. Lloyd needed no further encouragement, running up to him and hauling himself up to sit beside him. Lloyd burrowed himself against Garmadon’s side, and he made sure to pull the edge of his blanket a little tighter around his son.

Thunder rumbled loudly, and Lloyd whimpered, gripping tighter onto Garmadon. He waited a moment for the boy to relax before speaking.

“So. Mind telling me what it is you find so scary about storms?” Lloyd fidgeted. “They’re so loud! And the lightning- I don’t want it to get me, Daddy.”

Garmadon chuckled. “So you’re scared of a little noise and lights, eh? Somehow, I didn’t quite expect that from you.”

Lloyd yelped as another rumble echoed through the air, this one seeming to shake the house with its ferocity. Lloyd’s dragon slipped out of his grip and he quickly snatched it back up.

“It’s just a process of nature, son. There’s no need to fear it. We are safe here.”

Lloyd glanced up at him with wide eyes, and Garmadon sighed.

“It’s like a dragon, Lloyd. The storm is a big, restless dragon who’s bored and wants to play. The thunder is his roar, and the lightning is his fire breath.”

Lloyd’s eyes glowed, and he shuffled anxiously against Garmadon’s side. “Well, maybe it’s not that scary anymore…”

Garmadon huffed a laugh. “Dragons. That’s all it ever takes with you, isn’t it?”

Lloyd murmured something inaudible, nestling his head in Garmadon’s lap. They sat there together in the silence of the room, and long after Garmadon had thought his son had fallen asleep, he suddenly spoke.

“Daddy?”

“Hm?”

“Why did you and Mommy fight?”

Garmadon breathed out slowly. “Lloyd, you know it’s not nice to listen to people when they don’t know you’re there.”

“Sorry.”

“Look, son. There are some things in this world that are more complicated than you will ever know.” Seeing the confused look on the boy’s face, he elaborated. “Sometimes, people say things they don’t mean. Sometimes, mommies and daddies need to take a little break from each other.”

“Is that why you’re sleeping on the couch?”

“I suppose so. But it’s only for one night, Lloyd. We’ll sort things out tomorrow.”

“Oh.”

Garmadon gazed out the window again, running a hand through his thick hair. He tried not to think about the dark roots he had spotted there earlier, staining his deep chestnut hair the color of darkest night.

That was something no one needed to know about yet. The red eyes had already been hard enough on Misako, especially when their son had inherited them. He tried not to think about what that meant, either. The venom wasn’t hereditary, was it? Lloyd showed no signs of the snappishness he had felt as a youth. On the contrary, the child was pure of heart and bright of soul, one of the sweetest people he had ever met. Garmadon couldn’t understand how he had gotten so lucky.

“Did I do something to make you and Mommy fight?”

“What?” Garmadon started suddenly. “Heavens, child, no.” Taking Lloyd’s chin in his hand, he titled it towards him so that they were looking each other in the eye. “Honey, none of this is your fault. This is Daddy’s mistake, not yours. We both love you very much, you know that, right?”

Lloyd nodded, sniffling as he wrapped his arms tighter around him. “Can I stay with you tonight?”

Garmadon rested a hand on his head. “Whatever you need, my son. I will always be here for you.”

---

“Lloyd Montgomery Garmadon, what were you thinking?” Kai ripped the sword off of his back, sending it to the ground with a clatter. “We told you to stay on the bus, and what did you do? Go after a bunch of pirates?”

“Yeah, kid.” Cole crossed his arms over his chest. “You could’ve been seriously hurt.”

Lloyd glared at them. “I was only trying to help! You never let me do anything!” “Because you’re not ready!” Kai put his hands in his hair, yanking on it in frustration. “Augh, can’t you see? We’re only trying to protect you! What good is all this training if you don’t even make it to the final battle?”

“Lloyd,” Zane said more gently. “You need to take things one step at a time. One day, you will be ready to fight beside us. One day, but not today.”

Lloyd looked away, pushing down the bubbling anger inside of him. This didn’t matter. None of this mattered. If the ninja wanted to treat him like a baby, fine. It didn’t matter what they thought.

All he cared about was his father. He needed to impress him. Make him proud.

“Lloyd? Do you understand?”

“Yes, Zane,” he muttered, avoiding the nindroid’s gaze and instead choosing to kick at a rock. The ninja exchanged hesitant glances, but they didn’t press him further.

Nya sighed. “It’s been a long day. What do you say we get back to the Bounty, and-”

“Sorry! You snooze, you lose!”

The group whipped around towards the Bounty, where the thrusters were powering up as several Serpentine peered at them over the guardrails- as well as a familiar dark figure.

“Dad,” Lloyd breathed, lunging forward- only to be stopped by Nya’s strong arms. He squirmed against her, but she wouldn’t relent.

“Lord Garmadon!” Kai cried. “He stole our ship! I can’t believe he stole our ship!”

“Come on,” Jay groaned. “We just got it back! Can’t it go five minutes without being taken?”

“The Bounty belongs to us,” Cole warned. “We fought for it, fair and square. Give it back, Garmadon.”

The Dark Lord gave a dry laugh. “Like I’d give anything to you.”

Lord Garmadon’s head turned- freezing as he made eye contact with Lloyd. The same eerie red of his own eyes reflected back at him. He longed to say something, anything- but his mouth was dry and words refused to come. He hoped his father could tell what he was thinking, anyway.

Please don’t leave. Stay here. We can work something out. We’ll fix everything between us.

Please don’t leave me again.

For a moment, something that looked like doubt flashed in his father’s eyes, and Lloyd felt hope soar in his chest. My dad might actually- he could-

“You’re getting stronger, son,” Garmadon said, “but never strong enough to defeat me. Give up and turn back now, before it is too late.”

No. Lloyd felt himself fumble as the Bounty rose into the air and flew away, taking his father further and further from him. No, he couldn’t be leaving him again, this had been his one chance to get his father back, to earn his love, but Lloyd had blown it.

I’m sorry, dad. I wasn’t good enough. I let you down.

It won’t happen again. Next time, I’ll try harder.

Next time, I’ll make you proud.

---

Their apartment was quiet that night. As Kai and Nya washed dishes in the kitchen- it was their night for clean-up duty- the others crowded around the TV in their tiny living room, playing video games with the volume low. Their usual yelling was diminished to nothing more than hushed whispers.

Behind them, Lloyd was curled up on the couch, already out like a light even though it was only seven pm. The boy was undoubtedly exhausted from the fight with the pirates earlier in the day, Kai thought crossly.

It took him a moment to realize Nya was staring at Lloyd, too. “Kai,” she asked slowly, working her jaw. “Is Lloyd okay?”

“Why,” he asked quickly. “Is he hurt? Did something happen? Man, I told him not to-”

“No. I mean… do you think he’s been acting a little… odd, lately?”

Kai frowned, turning to look at the boy. His brow furrowed as he slept, the corners of his mouth twitching downward slightly. “I guess. He’s probably just tired from all the training. We’ve been working him pretty hard, as of late.”

“Yeah,” Nya nodded, although she didn’t look like the answer truly satisfied her.

If Kai was being honest, it didn’t feel right to him, either.

---

Misako stormed into the room, dropping Lloyd into his lap with a huff. “That’s it, he’s your problem now.”

Garmadon looked up at her questioningly. “What happened?”

“What do you think happened? He bit me again! So, get him to stop.”

“What makes you think I would be able to make him stop?”

“I don’t know, but the fangs come from your side of the family, so it’s your responsibility now.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know, you’re a smart man, you’ll figure it out! I’m going to go make some tea. Good luck.”

Garmadon stared after her but was pulled out of his thoughts as something sharp chomped down on his hand. He glanced down at Lloyd. “Oh, mister. What are we going to do with you?”

---

When Garmadon returned home the next day, there was a plump green dragon plush stuffed beneath his arm. He handed it to Lloyd, who was sitting on the floor, playing with his wooden blocks as he sucked on his pacifier. “Here. Next time you feel the impulse to bite someone, bite this instead.”

Lloyd eyed the plush with interest, reaching out for it with grabby hands and clutching it around its middle, pulling it close. Spitting out his pacifier, he began to babble to the dragon, blocks forgotten. Garmadon picked up the pacifier, eyeing it closely and sighing as he caught sight of the puncture holes.

When he glanced at Lloyd, the boy was chomping down on the wing of the dragon. Garmadon rolled his eyes, crouching down next to him. “Hey, what is it with you and biting things you like? C’mon, bud.” He gently pried the wing out of his mouth. “You’re going to hurt him- uh, it- hey, don’t you think your little dragon friend needs a name?”

Lloyd stared thoughtfully at the stuffed animal. “Buhbuh.”

“No, no, no, he needs a noble, dragon-ly name! Like Blaze, or Windracer, or-”

“Buhbuh,” Lloyd said firmly.

“..Buffy?”

“Buhbuh.”

Garmadon sighed. “The fierce and mighty Buhbuh? That’s what you want?”

Lloyd cheered, hugging the plush tight. “Buhbuh!”

The name wasn’t the only thing that stuck. Over the following weeks, Lloyd fell in love with that dragon. Everywhere the toddler went, Buhbuh wasn’t far behind. In his playroom, in the crib, in the car, at meals, even in the bathroom. Misako had spent twenty minutes one night trying to wrestle the toy away from him before he took his bath.

It had solved the biting issue, at least, although Misako often muttered that he had just traded one problem out for another. He dismissed her worries, telling her that Lloyd would grow out of his dragon phase eventually.

Although, that certainly wasn’t happening anytime soon. As Lloyd got older, he only got more and more intrigued by the creatures. Suddenly, everything had to have dragons- his pajamas, the shows on TV, his pull-ups, and his many, many toys. While his biting habits faded, as soon as he learned to walk, he was tottering around the house, roaring and flapping his arms like wings. Even as his collection of dragon toys and figurines grew, however, Buhbuh was always his favorite.

Garmadon should’ve known better than to think the carefree times would last forever, though. Ever since Lloyd had been born, he had been so much happier- and he was certain that the presence of his son was slowing the spread of the venom. But it wasn’t gone. It was a curse that the damned snake had forced him to bear forever.

He wanted to put it off as long as possible, though. He was happier here than he had ever been in his life, and he didn’t want to lose all this.

He knew if anyone could help him, it was his brother. Wu understood how much he loved his wife and child. He knew how badly he wanted this. He would do whatever he could to help. His teas and meditations had always been helpful in the past, and he hoped this time wouldn’t be any different.

“Do you have everything, dear?” Misako asked, helping him slip on his coat.

He lifted the duffel bag in his hand. “All in here. I’m ready.”

A sharp tug on his pant leg distracted him. He glanced down to see Lloyd, sniffing miserably. “Daddy, why do you have to go?”

Garmadon crouched down next to him. “It’s only for a few days, pumpkin. I’ll be back before you know it.”

“Why?”

Garmadon sighed. “Daddy’s been feeling…” he glanced at Misako, at a loss, but she only shrugged. “… A bit under the weather lately. I’m going to pay a visit to your Uncle Wu so he can help me with my… impulse control.”

Lloyd blinked at him, and Garmadon smirked, realizing that every word he had just said had gone straight over his son’s head. He ruffled his hair, standing again. “Don��t worry about it too much. You’ll be fine. Your mother will take good care of you.”

As he turned towards the door, he stopped at the sound of sniffling. Turning back to Lloyd, he wiped the tears from his eyes with his sleeve. “Hey. It’ll be alright, okay? Daddy will be back soon. You can even call me tonight.” Glancing around, he spotted Buhbuh sitting on the end table and grabbed him, pressing him into Lloyd’s arms. “Buhbuh will take care of you when I’m gone, okay?”

Lloyd hugged Buhbuh tighter. “Okay.”

“Don’t worry, Lloyd. Buhbuh is the best protector there is. And remember, I’m the one who bought him for you. Whenever you see him, you’ll know that I’ll always come back.”

---

“Lloyd, steady!” Jay cried. “We’re wobbling too much!”

Kai yelped, gripping onto Cole’s leg, where he was struggling to balance on Zane’s shoulder. On the nindriod’s other side was Jay, and on top of Cole, Sensei Wu balanced, unfazed. Below them all, Lloyd stood, trembling under all their weight.

“Uh, guys, are you sure this is a good idea-”

“Ahhh! Watch out, we’re going to fall!”

The ninja screamed as they fell to the ground, landing in a tangled pile of limbs. Lloyd quickly wriggled his way out from underneath them, and the others extracted themselves more slowly, groaning.

“You gotta find your balance, Lloyd,” Cole said, rubbing his shoulder where Kai had landed on it. “You have the strength to lift us, but you’re not focusing enough.”

“Well, maybe I’m trying!” Lloyd snapped. “I don’t see you down here lifting all that weight!”

Kai frowned. “Lloyd, Cole is only trying to help.”

“Well, maybe I don’t need help. You’re putting too much pressure on me! I could do way better on my own!”

Sensei Wu put a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “Perhaps it is time for a break. Let’s get you a drink of water and rest for a bit, then we can try again.”

Lloyd begrudgingly shuffled after his uncle, grumbling under his breath. Kai watched him go with a furrowed brow.

“What’s got the kid acting so irritable lately?”

Jay shook his head. “I don’t know. But he’s starting to get on my nerves. It feels like he’s just being stubborn for the sake of it.”

Zane frowned. “Maybe he’s right. Maybe we are putting too much pressure on him. Supporting the weight of all of us is probably asking too much for a nine-year-old boy, green ninja or not.”

Cole shook his head. “This is the same kid who put a crack through Dareth’s floor. If he can do that, he can lift us. I know he can do it. But he just seems… distant.”

“We’ll keep an eye on it.” Kai waved his hand, turning back towards the training space. “But we don’t have time for his moodiness now. Lord Garmadon is out there somewhere, and he’s not going to wait around for us to sort out our issues.”

---

“Uh, come on boy, we gotta catch up with the ninja, I’m not gonna fall behind again- woah!”

Ultra let out a mighty roar, careening forward with a mighty flap of his wings and sending the reins shooting out of Lloyd’s hands. He only just managed to snag them before they hurtled over Ultra’s heads.

“Easy boy, easy! Look,” he sighed, letting a hand rest gently on the dragon’s off-white scales. “We’re never gonna win this race and save the dojo if you and me don’t learn to work together. Besides, I’m the green ninja. I’m meant to ride you, anyway. Imagine how impressed the others will be if we come back and I’m riding you like a pro! We can rub it in their faces what a natural I am with dragons, heh. What do you say?”

Flame’s head snorted, letting out a puff of smoke, which wasn’t the most reassuring answer.

“Hey, wait a minute.” Lloyd squinted, staring at the vehicles racing through the canyon below them. There was the familiar shape of the Ultra Sonic Raider, but above it-

The ship appeared to have undergone some design changes, but there was still no mistaking the vast, furling sails or the dragon figurehead. The Bounty was in the race.

His father was here.

Lloyd’s heart skipped a beat. His father was here- he could see the black figure now, helping some of the Serpentine to point a cannon at the Ultra Sonic Raider.

Ultra tensed beneath him, but Lloyd hesitated, holding the mighty dragon back.

His dad was trying to hurt his friends. Lloyd didn’t want to get in his father’s way, but…

He couldn’t let him do this.

Lloyd gritted his teeth, digging his hands into the reins. “Okay, Ultra. Let’s put a stop to this.”

Ultra roared, diving towards the Bounty so sharply that Lloyd had to grip onto the saddle for dear life to keep himself from flying off. “Get out of the way!” he yelled at his father. Garmadon lurched back from the cannon, eyes widening, but it was too late. Ultra was already slamming into the ship, sending both himself and the Bounty spiraling.

Snapping up the reins, Lloyd pulled back, steering Ultra up, narrowly avoiding crashing into the ground.

“Woooo! Nice going, Lloyd!”

Kai’s cry sent a flare of warmth through his chest, but it quickly dissipated as his gaze fell on his father, who was barking at the Serpentine as they hurried to get the ship going straight again. He had made the right choice- the only choice- but at his father’s expense.

A wave of panic suddenly hit him. He couldn’t mess this up. He had been given another chance to make his father proud of him, and he couldn’t let this one slip between his fingers.

“C’mon, Ultra, let’s show ‘em what we got!” With a jerk of the reins, the dragon was shooting through the air like a bullet. Lloyd steered him up, and Ultra did a graceful loop through the air, followed by a swift corkscrew.

Lloyd blinked, surprised at how easily his dragon was listening to him. Usually, Ultra was as stubborn as possible, but apparently he enjoyed putting on a show as much as Lloyd did.

“Quit fooling around, Lloyd!” Cole cried from the Raider. “We gotta win this race, and we need your help!”

Lloyd glanced back at the Bounty, but his father wasn’t even looking at him, just waving the Mega Weapon around as he yelled at the Serpentine. Lloyd sighed, guiding Ultra towards the guys. This obviously wasn’t working.

As the Raider sped over the rocky ground below them, it slowly shifted into a softer, lusher landscape- and then came the snow. Lloyd stuck his tongue out, letting a flake land on his tongue.

“Birchwood Forest!” Kai cried. “Oh, we’ll never get through all these trees to catch up!”

There was a roaring of an engine behind him, and Lloyd glanced back to see his father coming in the Bounty, not too far off. I still have a chance! I can still impress him!

“Let me find a shortcut,” he called to the ninja. “Ultra! Up, boy!”

Scanning the woods below, he quickly eyed out a path, then swooped down with Ultra, racing through the trees. “Follow me!”

The turns were sharp, and Lloyd barely avoided crashing into the trees on more than a couple of occasions. But he didn’t, Ultra’s movements swift and precise below him. Lloyd let out a whoop of exhilaration. He was finally getting the hang of this! Ultra was listening to him! Taming a dragon was no easy feat, his father would have to be proud of him now-

Suddenly, Ultra let out a pained cry, and before Lloyd could process anything, the dragon was being yanked backward and plummeting towards the ground. Lloyd screamed, clutching onto the saddle, and Ultra threw his wings around him, sheltering him as they hit the ground with an almighty crash.

---

Lloyd groaned, blinking stars from his eyes as something bumped against his cheek. When it finally came into focus, he saw Wisp’s head staring at him, grunting in concern.

“I- I’m fine, boy,” Lloyd huffed, grabbing at the dragon’s muzzle for support as he pushed himself to his feet. “What in Ninjago just happened? We were doing so well, now we’re going to lose the race!”

Ultra groaned, raising his left foot and shaking it, where chains clanked loudly.

“No, no, no-” Lloyd raced over, examining the cuff and finding long, curved bones secured tightly around Ultra’s ankle. “The Skulkin! They sabotaged us! Those scheming, no good boneheads!” Lloyd yanked desperately at the chains, trying to get them to budge. “Augh, now we’re never going to win the race, and my father will never-” Lloyd cried out as his hand scraped against the sharp edge of the bone. Immediately, Flame’s head was at his side, nosing him away from the cuff and whining softly as he gently licked Lloyd’s scratched hand.

“I… I just wanted to make him proud,” Lloyd sniffed, burying his face against Flame’s scales. The fire dragon felt comfortingly warm in the cold of the snowdrift.

Rocky’s head butted him softly, before carefully taking the edge of the cuff between his teeth and crunching down on it, shattering it into a dozen pieces. Lloyd sucked in his breath, giving Rocky’s muzzle a quick hug before clambering back onto Ultra’s back.

“If we hurry, we can still catch them now! C’mon, boy, we have a lot of ground to make up for!”

---

Lloyd didn’t win the race, but by the time the finish line came into view, he could see the ninja crowding around the golden winner’s cup, cheering. In front of them, Garmadon was yelling at the referee, insisting that he had won and that the ref had made a faulty call.

Lloyd’s breath caught in his throat. His father was right here. Closer than he had been since the defeat of the Great Devourer. Part of Lloyd wanted to run up and hug him, but he knew he couldn’t. That wouldn’t last. He needed something more permanent.

His eyes strayed to the Bounty, resting a little way behind the Dark Lord. With his father out yelling at the ninja and the race staff and all the Serpentine left behind in the Glacier Barrens, the ship was empty.

If Lloyd took it back- his father wouldn’t be able to fly away again. He’d have to stay. They could talk, work things out. As soon as he could get his father to stop running and just listen, he knew he could get through to him.

Lloyd eyed his father warily, but Garmadon was too distracted to notice the giant dragon behind him, as were the ninja. Quietly, Lloyd instructed Ultra forward, and the dragon padded across the ground, climbing up onto the deck of the Bounty.

“That’s not even street legal!” Garmadon was yelling. “My ship was clearly-”

“Your ship?”

His father whipped around, and Lloyd froze as they stared at each other for a long moment.

Please. Please, please, please. Lloyd reached a hand out. “Dad-”

Police sirens sounded behind them, and suddenly two officers hopped out of the car. “Alright, Garmadon, you’re coming with us.”

“Wait!” Lloyd cried, slipping off of Ultra and landing on the ground mere feet from his father. “Dad, it doesn’t have to be like this. You can-”

A screeching of tires, and suddenly Skales was pulling up in his bus. “Look who needs who now!”

Garmadon scowled, turning to go. Lloyd’s brain screamed at him. This was his one chance to stop him. If he did nothing, who knew how long it would be until he got to see him again?

Lloyd lunged forward, grabbing Garmadon’s wrist. The man looked back in surprise. “What are you-”

“Dad. Please. Don’t go.”

Garmadon fell silent, staring at him for a moment. Time seemed to stand still.

Then Garmadon was yanking away, shaking his head. “I’m sorry, son. We both know I can’t do that.” In two steps, he was aboard the Serpentine bus and speeding away.

No. Lloyd felt tears well in his eyes. There were others here, and Lloyd hadn’t cried in front of anyone in a long time, but he couldn’t bring himself to care anymore. His father had been right here. He had touched him.

“Way to go, bud!” Kai whooped, running over to him, the other ninja close behind. “You got the Bounty back- hey, woah, what’s wrong?”

Lloyd quickly tried to cover his eyes, but Kai was already crouched down next to him, pulling his arms away and gently wiping at his tears with the sleeve of his gi.

Jay put a hand on his back. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

Lloyd shook his head, sniffling. “I just… I thought… my father, I thought he would… I thought if I could make him proud, he would stop leaving…” Lloyd choked on a sob, burying his face in Kai’s gi. “Why does he keep leaving? Why does everyone leave? What did I do wrong?”

“Oh, bud,” Kai whispered, running hands through Lloyd’s hair gently. “This is what’s been upsetting you, hasn’t it?”

Lloyd whimpered miserably, and Kai hugged him tighter- his grip so firm, so protective, that it made Lloyd think maybe everything could be okay again, eventually.

“You look at me,” Kai demanded, tilting his chin up. “None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. All the people that left you were jerks who didn’t appreciate how amazing you were. They don’t deserve you. We don’t deserve you. But you’re our true family, Lloyd. We will never, ever do what they did.”

“You hear that?” Cole punched him lightly in the chest, his voice sounding suspiciously choked up. “You’re one of us, now, green bean. You can’t escape us, whether you like it or not.”

“Your father will never understand this, Lloyd.” Jay gestured at the group with his hands. “I wish it didn’t have to be this way. You deserve a father who will be there for you, one whose love is not clouded by dreams of vengeance. But that’s how things are. So you’re stuck with us, instead.”

“I’m sorry he couldn’t be here, Lloyd,” Zane murmured. “But we are. And we love you. So if there’s ever something bothering you, talk to us about it. We want to do everything we can to make you feel wanted.”

Nya crouched down next to Kai. “You and me against the world, bud. Remember that? We’re not giving up on you. Ever. So your father can stuff it-”

Zane elbowed her, and she grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. Now’s not the best time for that. But you get my point. I’ll fight stupid destiny for you, Lloyd Garmadon. We all will.”

Lloyd’s eyes welled up again, but this time the tears were happy as he collapsed against them. Five pairs of arms hugged him back, warm and strong and safe.

His father had left again. But that wasn’t what was important right now. His true home was here, with the ninja.

And he had hope it always would be.

---

Garmadon gazed down at the bundle in his arms. His posture was stiff and unnatural, his rough hands as gentle as possible as they supported the weight.

This was easily the most precious thing he had ever carried.

Lloyd stared up at him with wide, curious eyes. Every curve and inch of him was perfect- and he was his. Garmadon could see himself in the curve of his son’s nose or the outline of his jaw, Misako in the shape of his eyes or the hue of his skin.

He still couldn’t believe it.

It had taken Misako hours to convince him he wasn’t going to hurt Lloyd, and now, here he was, carrying his son for the first time.

His son. He loved the way that sounded.

Garmadon shifted his grip slightly, and suddenly Lloyd began to fuss. Garmadon glanced to Misako for help, but she simply shook her head, smiling.

At a loss, Garmadon cradled Lloyd closer to his chest. “Shh, shh, Lloyd, it’s okay. Daddy’s got you.”

Lloyd stopped almost immediately at the sound of his voice, cooing in wonder as he reached a chubby little hand out. Garmadon bowed his head, closing his eyes and letting Lloyd trace his fingers gently across his face.

Garmadon felt the tension ease from his shoulders. This was a person. A living, breathing being, and he and Misako had created him.

Nothing in the world could’ve ever prepared him for the wonderful gift of fatherhood. This was one thing in his life he vowed not to mess up.

“You’re safe, little one,” he murmured. “I will always be here for you.”

[pointy-hat-witch]

I needed to write some fluff and I got a bit rusty but I really like this story so pls give it a read if you want to!!

Title: Discount Fandom: Haikyuu Word count: 4484 words Summary:  Suga is a coffee shop owner/disaster gay and Daichi is a police officer. that’s it.

You can also read it on AO3! :)

When Suga unlocked the front door to his coffee shop, the first customers were already waiting eagerly and he thought this day wouldn’t be any different than always. The first ten or so customer were all in a hurry to get to work and just wanted some coffee to go, an easy fix Suga and Asahi could easily handle themselves. The next half an hour the customers had a little more time on their hands and wanted some sandwiches to their beverages. Again, nothing out of the ordinary.

When it was around nine, the first wave was out of the shop and just here and there some customers came trickling in. The second wave would start around ten, eleven when both lunch break started for office workers and students started with their classes. For that Suga scheduled a few more coworkers, because it was literally hell.

Not that he minded, but it was still stressful as fuck.

For now, though, he waited the counter alone while Asahi took care of some cleaning jobs in the back. Suga was still convinced Asahi only started to work for him to help him out and not because he actually wanted to. The gentle giant wasn’t made for customer service, especially where customers would tear you apart on a regular basis.

Suga shook his head with a sigh. Asahi would deny it whenever Suga started on that topic, mentioning that he could find someone else to help out, for example, to the point that Asahi accused him of wanting to fire him.

Lost in thought, Suga only absentmindedly greeted the new customer as the bell over the door chimed.

“Good morning.”

Now that was already such a rarity that Suga froze for a second, before his customer service smile was back on his lips. There were a few people who greeted him with a simple “hello” but actually sounding genuine? Nah, those were some real gems. And hell needed to freeze over before Suga would let one of them go. His eyes finally focused on the person in front of him who was polite enough to greet him.

“Good mor-” Suga choked on some air that left his lungs as he stared at the very handsome police officer. “I’m sorry,” he swallowed, trying to smooth over his embarrassment and fighting down his blush, “good morning!” He started again, a wide smile that hurt his burning cheeks. “What can I get for you?”

The officer smiled at him patiently as he stumbled on, taking off his hat in the process. “A coffee, black. Please. And”, he stuck his hat under his arm, his eyes scanning the assortment of sandwiches, bagels, and various other baked goods on display, while he run a hand through his short black hair.

“I would recommend the blueberry muffin,” Suga blurted out to his surprise. Giving recommendations was kind of his job, so he didn’t know why he felt embarrassed, again.

“And a blueberry muffin. Thank you,” his new favorite customer grinned at him. “How much will that be?”

Suga had turned around to turn on the coffee machine and to calm his somersaulting heart down.

“That will be 650 Yen, please.” He turned back around, not needing to type anything in at the register since he knew all the prices by heart.

While the customer searched through his pockets for his wallet, Suga got one of the blueberries and finished up the coffee. “To go?” he asked over his should and got an affirmative “Yes, please.”

He was handed a 1000 Yen bill as he put down the cup and the small bag. “Be careful, it’s still hot. And”, Suga opened the register with one hand to take out the change and pointing with his other hand to his right, “there are sugar and cream. If you want any.”

“Thank you. But I think I have enough sweetness to go with it.” He held up the small bag to indicate what he meant, and after putting on his hat again, grabbed his coffee cup. “Goodbye, Suga-san.”

After he left the store, Suga professionally smiled until he walked out of the door, needed to crouch down behind the counter. Burying his burning hot face into his hands to cool them down, as well.

Asahi’s small voice came from the backdoor, “Suga, did you-“

“Don’t say it!” Suga whined, muffled through his hands. Yes. Yes, he did. Suga thought the officer meant sweetness as for him as in a dorky way to flirt. So, what of it?!

“So what?! Huh?!” Suga glared over his shoulder at Asahi who smiled nervously, scratching his cheek.

“N-nothing. Just, uh, I was wondering why you did him a discount? Is there a special today I didn’t know of?”

Oh. “Oh”, Suga cleared his throat as he stood up again, “No, it’s not. I, uh, just felt like it. He said ‘good morning’ and ‘please’. Yeah.” Suga nodded to himself. He didn’t even convince himself.

“Ah, got it.” Asahi smiled, but Suga could see the spark in his eyes.

“Shut up!” Suga wasn’t convincing Asahi, either.

__

Most of the time Suga liked his name tag. Customer calling him by name felt personal and made a connection which he enjoyed very much. But sometimes, he dreaded giving his name so easily.

“Oh, Suga-kuuun!” Oikawa singsong through the whole store as he entered. His steps were feather light as he danced over to the counter, where Suga waited with a plastered smile on his face. It was still his store and other customers were around.

“Hello, what can I get for you?”

“Ehhhh, you wound me! You know my order by heart!” Oikawa dramatically slammed his hands down on the counter. “Aren’t I your favorite customer?” He tacked on a wink which took Suga every ounce of self-control not to gag at.

“Excuse me, but I can’t play favorites. I’m a professional.”

Behind him fixing a drink for another customer, Asahi snorted. Suga kicked him against his ankle.

“Augh-“, Asahi yelped, holding on to his cup.

“Ah, Asahi, please be careful when you’re handling hot drinks.” Suga turned around, shooting Asahi one of his ice-chilling smiles.

“S-sure! S-sorry!” He stammered, hurrying over to the other end of the counter.

“I’m sorry,” Suga turned back to a pouting Oikawa, smile customer pleasant as before, “you were saying what you want?”

“I was sayi-“

“Oi, Shittykawa, what’s taking you so long? We don’t have all day.” Iwaizumi leaned in through the door, glaring at Oikawa. For a second his face went neutral as he nodded at Suga, well-knowing what he is going through.

“You are both so mean!” Oikawa stomped on of his feet on the ground like a child. “Two coffees, one black, one with sugar and cream. And two milk breads.” Crossing his arms, Oikawa pressed out his order and when Iwaizumi cleared his throat very loudly behind him, he added, “Please.”

“Of course!” Suga nodded and fixed both coffees and the milk breads up in no time. That he added some extra sugar and cream for Oikawa, nobody had to know. He was no monster.

“Here you go!” Suga smiled and before Oikawa could say something else, he already turned toward the next customer.

“Meeeaaan!” Oikawa whined, both at Suga and at Iwaizumi, who pulled him out of the store to Suga’s relief.

Secretly, Suga had hoped for a certain someone to come by again this morning, but he didn’t and Suga tried really hard not to be disappointed. Asahi hadn’t said anything whenever Suga’s whipped around as the bell chimed, for his own good.

So, when the bell chimed at around 6 p.m. and Suga turned around to greet the new customer, his heart almost stopped mid-beat when he came through the door.

“Good evening!” Suga greeted him, hoping desperately that the tremble in his voice wasn’t audible.

“Good evening,” he nodded with a small smile. Suga noted that he looked a little worn out, probably a stressful day.

“What can I get you?”

“I shouldn’t get a coffee this late,” he mumbled more to himself as he put down his hat again, scanning the board at wall behind the counter.

“I can make it decaf”, Suga responded without thinking and blushed as the officer blinked at him. “Uh, I mean. The coffee, you can still drink coffee in the evening. Just, without caffeine.”

“That would be great, thank you.” They both smiled at each other.

Suga turned around to change the filter in the machine. “Anything else?” He asked as he turned on the machine. Late in the evening people changed to tea more often, so it wasn’t used that much.

“Let me see”, he took a couple steps to the side to look at the pastry display again. He hummed with one hand at his chin, which Suga found utterly adorable, slowly narrowing his eyes. “Any recommendations?” His eyes looked at him through his thick eyelashes, making Suga’s face all hot again.

“If you want something sweet again, I- uh, we tried out a new crumbled apple pie which is absolutely to die for”, Suga said proudly, pursing his lips, “and if you want something savory, I would take the tuna salad sandwich. I really like our homemade mayonnaise.”

“I’ll take both.”

“Huh?” Suga blinked. “I mean, sure. Yeah.” Suga put them both in a bag while the officer smiled, nodding to himself, obviously pleased with his decision.

“How much is that?” He asked as Suga took the coffee to go cup out from the machine.

“900 Yen, please.” Suga smiled, putting everything on the counter in front of him in hope, his fast-beating heart wasn’t obvious.

“Mhmm”, the officer hummed as he pulled the bill out of his wallet. “I was thinking that already yesterday, but your shop is pretty affordable, isn’t it? No wonder it’s always so packed with people.”

Suga chuckled, a little mortified. “Haha, yeah, we try.”

“Thank you again. And I hope you have a good evening, Suga-san.” He put his hat back on and grabbed his bag and coffee.

“Thank you. And you, t- wait!” Suga stumbled over his own words. “What’s your name?”

The officer blinked at him, a questioning look on the face.

“I, uh”, Suga scratched his cheek, a nervous tick a copied from Asahi, “I just feel awkward if you call me by name but I’m not.”

“Oh, yeah, makes sense”, he chuckled. “Daichi. Sawamura Daichi. But Daichi is totally fine. Everybody calls me that.”

“Ah, okay. Well, then”, Suga’s lips stretched into a wild smile, crinkling the skin around his eyes, “have a nice evening, Officer Daichi.”

 “Thank you.” Daichi said, his voice soft around the edges. “See you.”

The bell chimed again as the door closed, leaving Suga and a few other customers who sat at their tables behind.

“So”, Asahi’s head peeked out of the back door, “when do I get a raise to put up with you two?”

“THAT’S what you ask a raise for?!”

__

After about a week, Suga figured out (because asking would be too direct) that though Daichi has different shifts, he preferred to come in the morning but if it was too crowded, he will come in the evening when there are less people. Probably because he wanted to be polite but Suga liked to pretend Daichi did it to have some more time with him. You know, as a small daydreaming fantasy.

So, when Suga thought he finally figured it out, Daichi didn’t come. Neither in the morning nor in the evening. And it had such an impact on him he didn’t expect. His mood soured by the hour and talking to costumer’s became such a chore that Asahi himself suggested to switch, so he could work the front and Suga could make the new batches for the next day ready.

Once Suga was in the back, his smile dropped completely and he had to ball his fists, shaking violently. What the fuck?! What is going on?! Okay, so someone who he thought was cute and knew nothing more than his name and very-possible occupation doesn’t come in to get a hugely discounted recommendation? For the store that was actually pretty good. For Suga’s mental well-being? Not so much.

He took a deep breath, willing the sting in his eyes down. There is no need to cry about such a thing.

Still, his heart betrayed him that whenever he heard the bell chime and Asahi greeting the newcomer, he hoped to hear Daichi asking for him. No matter how much he tried to concentrate on making the dough extra fluffy.

Asahi helped him close the shop but he send him home when only some smaller things were to to be done. Nothing he didn’t do alone a hundred times. Asahi made sure he was absolutely certain that he didn’t need anymore help and to be honest, Suga just wanted to be alone.

It took him a little longer than expected because he kept getting distracted and only locked the doors at around 9.30 p.m., way later than usual. But it was what it was.

He huffed in the now chilly evening air. It was late summer, the sun was still warm in the days but as soon as it went down it cooled down significantly. Suga pulled his light jacket a little tighter around himself.

The streets were already deserted, with it being a Sunday especially. There were some cars to hear in the distance but overall it was pleasantly quiet.

But because of that, Suga almost immediately heard the second pair of footsteps behind him. Nothing unusual, so he walked a little more to the side, making enough room for the other person to overtake him since he didn’t walk that fast anyway.

But the footsteps didn’t accelerate, instead they kept pace. Huh, strange. Suga pulled up his collar and buried his face down to the nose in it. He hated it when his nose got cold.

When the footsteps turned in the same direction at the next intersection, Suga wasn’t especially worried but it was kind of nerve-wracking. He wasn’t paranoid or anything, but feeling like he was being followed wasn’t exactly pleasant.

So, at the next intersection, instead of turning left, he turned right again. It meant a detour to his apartment, but something inside of him told him it was the right choice. And just when he thought the person behind him would turn in another direction, their footsteps were back behind him.

Suga pursed his lips and as inconspicuous as possible peeked over his shoulder. It was dark and the few lampposts didn’t really help to make out more than a silhouette of, well, a person.

Suga then decided to walk a littler faster only to hear the footsteps keeping up the pace. That’s when Suga got the feeling, that he actually was being followed. He forced his breath out of his mouth in a huff to keep his heart from beating too fast. Everything’s alright.

On the next turn, he took another right, almost walking a full circle around his store and when the person took the same turn, he was certain he was being followed. Nobody would take this route to get somewhere. And even for an evening stroll, their behavior was too strange.

Suga’s thoughts started to speed up. He didn’t saw himself as especially weak, but confronting an unknown person in the dark with a potential weapon wasn’t something he needed to try out. He considered calling someone, maybe that would make his pursuer doubtful to keep up.

When Suga pulled out his phone, he got another idea. Opening up his phone's map app, he zoomed in to where he was, moving the map around just a little and found what he was looking for almost immediately. Well, they do come in handy.

He made a sharp turn to his left, still walking at a fast pace, his pursuer not slowing down as well.  But when he finally saw the small police box at the end of the street, he couldn’t stop himself from starting to sprint. The footsteps behind him sped up as well, making Suga’s heart beat unbelievable fast. Will he make it? Should he shout for them?

And then he reached the small house, without being caught up. Right in the entrance a police officer was standing, looking at him with a bewildered look, almost mean, Suga would say.

But he didn’t care. Out of breath, Suga leaned down on his knees, looking over his shoulder, but nobody was there.

“Haaa…” He sighed in relief.

“Can I, uh, help you, sir?” The police officer said awkwardly, trying to stand a little straighter.

“Ah, no. Sorry, I just thought…”, Suga trailed off, shaking his head. “No, thank you. Everything’s fine.” He smiled, catching his breath.

“Suga?” Out from the police box, a second officer walked around his colleague. Even without seeing him, Suga recognized Daichi’s voice. And he wasn’t sure if Daichi was the one or the least person he wanted to see right now.

“What’s going on?” Daichi narrowed his eyes as he saw Suga a little disheveled from the sprint.

“Daichi! What a surprise.” Suga held up his hands, waving up. “Nothing, nothing. I was just on my way home an-“ his voice trembled and to the surprise to all three of them, tears spilled out of his eyes.

Daichi was right in front of him in one big step, taking one of his hands and squeezed it. “Take a deep breath for me, will you?” His voice was calm as ever, betraying the furious look in his eyes.

Suga nodded and took a deep breath.

“Tanaka, take out the blanket from the back!”

“Yes, Si- Daich- right away!” Tanaka finally sprung into action after just staring dumbfounded.

“Come inside, Suga. Just to warm up a little.”

“O-okay.” Suga nodded, thankful for the still tightly grip of Daichi’s hand. It was reassuring that he was safe.

Daichi pulled up a chair with his other hand and guided Suga to sit down on it. Tanaka had a blanket in his hands, seemingly unsure what to with it, so Daichi took it from him and put it around Suga’s shoulders.

“Can you tell me what happened?” Daichi asked Suga again, crouching before him. Suga blinked a few times to get rid of the last few tears.

“Sorry, wow, that is so embarrassing.” He chuckled weakly, mostly to calm himself down.

“Nothing embarrassing about that.” Daichi shook his head.

“I, uh”, Suga cleared his throat and thankfully took one of the handkerchiefs Tanaka handed him. He blew his noise, before starting to talk again.

“I had just closed up my shop and was on my way home. And I, uh, thought I was being followed? You know,” he shook his head, not really believing what he was saying, “they kept pace, took the same strange turns I took and then ran after me when I ran, you know? And I thought maybe I should just call someone and talk on the phone? Like, I don’t know, I think I heard someone say that or I read that somewhere. But then I remembered that there should be a police box around here somewhere and I just took off. And I wasn’t sure if I’ll make it in time or if they are faster-“

Suga knew he was rambling but his hands just wouldn’t stop shaking and he didn’t know what to do about it. But then Daichi took one of his hands again and out of reflex, Suga squeezed it instantly.

“I believe you, alright?” Daichi said firmly, looking Suga right in the eyes.

“O-okay.”

Tanaka had already stepped outside, looking around even though they all knew he wouldn’t find anybody. But he had to make sure, if not only for protocol.

“Are you hurt in some way?” Daichi’s voice grew a little softer and when Tanaka came back in and shook his head, Daichi relaxed visibly.

“No. I’m just a little shaken up. Nothing to worry about.” Suga exhaled. His breath and heartbeat were back to normal and his hands weren’t shaking as much as before.

“I think I can go home now. Thanks for letting me stay for a few minutes.”

“Where do you live?” Daichi raised his eyebrows as he stood up and took his hat from the table.

“Uh, just a couple more streets from here.”

“I’ll walk you.” Daichi nodded toward Tanaka. “You stay alert, I’ll be back in about half an hour or so.”

“Yes, sir!” Tanaka made an half-assed salute, earning him a glare from Daichi. “I- I’ll keep my eyes extra wide open! Don’t worry!”

“Bu-“, Suga raised his hands again, “You really don’t need to! I don’t want you to stop doing your work!”

“Suga”, Daichi chuckled slightly, “this is my work. Getting civilians home safely and making sure that my perimeter is free from anyone who tries to harm someone.”

“I- I guess?” Suga surrendered. To be honest, he could use someone to stay close until he was home. But he didn’t need to admit to it, did he now?

Suga took the lead when they stepped out of the police box, walking back the way he came. It wasn’t that far from there to his home but he felt a lot better having someone walk him home. Though, he still was pretty embarrassed by what happened. And he even cried!

“Do you always work this late?” Daichi asked, looking around as he spoke.

“No, not usually. It just took me some time to finish up everything. Lost track of time.”

Daichi hummed. “Anyone come to mind that would follow you? Had something like that before?”

“Never”, Suga pulled up his shoulders to shield himself form the cold.

“If you’re ‘lucky’”, Daichi made some air quotation marks, “it was just some rando, just wanting to scare you. And it won’t happen again. But if,” Daichi now looked straight at Suga, “anything like that happens again, tell me. Or better, call me.”

Daichi fished out his phone, pushing some buttons and handed him his phone. “Give me your number and I’ll call you to give you mine.”

Suga blinked at Daichi who had stopped to hand him the phone. He looked up and down from the phone to Daichi’s face.

“Huh, didn’t expect you to be so forward with it.”

“Wha-“ Daichi’s mouth hang open, a blush slowly blooming on his cheeks. “Suga! That’s not … how … why would you?!”

“And calling me by my name so casually.” Suga shook his head as he took Daichi’s phone. He didn’t miss the blush growing deeper.

Oh. Oh.

“Oh.” Suga blinked.

“What?” Daichi grumbled. “I just want your number for emergen-“

“I think I’m falling for you.”

Suga threw his hand over his mouth as he stared up to Daichi who in return stared back. They both were a blushing mess.

“Fuck, I didn’t mean … I just … oh, god damn it.”  Suga crouched down, face buried in his hands. Could tonight get any more embarrassing?

Daichi cleared his throat. “How about I’ll walk you home first, okay?”

“Yeah.” Suga answered meekly before typing in his number and handing Daichi back his phone. He didn’t have it in him to look Daichi in the face.

The rest of the walk home was silent. Suga was now thankful for the cold evening air which helped his face to cool off, but his heart was still beating so unbearable fast. He just hoped Daichi would just say something to make it less awkward.

But then their walk home was already over as Suga stopped in front of an apartment complex.

“Well, this is me. Uh, thanks.” Suga bowed down to Daichi, keeping his eyes on the ground even as he came up again. “See you.”

“Wait!” Daichi reached for one of his hands as he turned around. They both froze when their hands touched and Daichi let got just as fast. “Uh, sorry. Just wait. Please.”

Suga pursed his lips but stayed put.

“I just … agh!” Daichi rubbed his face, leaning back. “You always take me by surprise. You need to slow down.” Daichi took his hands off his face, staring at Suga with an angry look, though his eyes were still soft. It confused the hell out of Suga.

“Wha- I’m... okay, listen. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to just blur that out. I didn’t mean to-“

“But did you mean it?” Daichi interrupted Suga. His eyes looked for Suga’s and stared at him intently.

“I-“, Suga swallowed. Well, he embarrassed himself already a few times today, a rejection wasn’t too bad to top it all off, right?

“Yeah. I thought it was only a crush on the handsome police officer but I really, really like you.” Suga said firmly, trying to not let his voice tremble. He was prepared.

“Thank god.”

Okay, not for that.

“What?”

“I”, Daichi put his hands on his hips, exhaling, “I was really worried I was just imagining things. Because come on, I can read prices. You giving me some kind of discount every day were really obvious, you know?”

Suga blinked. Well, Daichi wasn’t wrong. But what the fuck?!

“What the fuck, Daichi?!” Suga cried out, frustrated and happy. He didn’t know what to feel or think. But when did he ever? He is someone who acts on impulse. And that’s what he’s best at.

He rushed forward, grabbing Daichi by his collar and pulling him down to him. Their lips crashed together harder than he anticipated but he refused to back up. And apparently Daichi didn’t plan to, either. Instead he put his hands on Suga’s cheeks, angling his head to the side.

Their lips slotted together, warm and soft. Suga hummed contently, leaning against Daichi’s warm body. Daichi slowly caressed Suga’s cheeks with his thumbs, pushing some of his loose strands of hair behind his ear.

The kiss wasn’t long, not long enough by a long shot but Suga didn’t stop Daichi from pulling back.

“Didn’t I tell you to slow down?” Daichi chuckled lowly.

“Never said I would.” Suga smiled mischievously. “Wanna come up for a coffee?”

“Wow.” Daichi deadpanned, but his mouth twitched into a small smile. “That was really bad, you know that?”

“Mhm”, Suga hummed, “I think it was pretty good since you didn’t stop by for a coffee today. Have to make up for that.”

“You’re a riot, has anybody told you that before?”

“Everyone.”

“And they were all right.” Daichi chuckled. “I’m still on the clock, you know?”

“And you’re just making sure a civilian is safe.”

“Suga…”, Daichi leaned his forehead against Suga’s, “let me take you out for dinner first, will you?”

“Haaa”, Suga sighed, “okay. Because it’s you.”

“Aren’t I lucky?”

“You sure are.”

[smol-and-grumpy]

Something Just Like This - CH08

Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader

Summary: Dean Winchester, mobster boss. He��s a little cocky, a lot ruthless and more often than not, short tempered. But he’s also, Dean Winchester, a war veteran and hero who suffers under a shit ton of PTS. He met her in a bar and thinks it’s fate that brought her to him. Little does he know why she’s really here.

WC: 3939

A/N: I have stopped with the warnings because y’ll know that this is slow burn. Here, have a little fluff.

SERIES MASTERLIST

Dean’s currently holding her hair out of her face as she retches and empties her stomach into the toilet bowl.

If someone would have told Dean that the girl he takes home would end up on her knees, he would have said nice. If they would have told him that she’ll be on her knees in front of a toilet with her hands around it instead of on his thighs, and that he’ll be holding the hair for the girl so she can puke after Sam’s big night, he’d have laughed and thought that they’d be joking. 

Guess the joke’s on him, huh?

He thinks that he’s an idiot too, because let’s be real here. Maybe, he should have said no to her when she wanted to knock down the last shot of tequila which Bobby brought them at the end of the night. Dean didn’t object because he thought that it would be it. One shot and it’s done, but she held her glass out to get a refill and Bobby was just too damn happy to oblige. Dean didn’t want to seem like he’s a destroyer of fun so he let her. 

In hindsight, it was a fucking bad idea. 

Dean ended up taking her home to his place. Not because he had anything in mind, well, maybe he did, but this certainly, wasn’t what he had in mind at all. 

No, he had actually wanted to drive her back to her apartment, make sure she got home alright, but she fell asleep right after he sat her into his car. He didn’t know where she lived so he thought that it would be okay if he took her with him. It’s not like he wanted to part with her in the first place anyway, so it was kind of a win-win, really. Win for him, because she can keep him company for a while longer. Win for her, because… Well, yeah because who else would have helped her holding her hair out of her face right about now? 

Dean rubs along her back, trying not to breathe through his nose as the stench of vomit fills the bathroom. He’s used to it, though, it’s not the first time that he helps someone. Mostly the other person he helps is Sam. For example, after the first time he allowed Sam to drink. There were also other times, when Sam was sick with stomach flu or when Sam thought smoking weed was cool. And then there was the time when Sam thought he could outdrink Dean, that ended up real messy.

To his surprise, Dean doesn’t mind all of this. Doesn’t mind it one bit. He’s always been a caregiver. Always took care of Sam. Always made sure that the people close to him had everything they needed. It fills him with some kind of pride to know that he can take care of her and it might sound weird, but Dean needs that too. Needs to feel that he’s useful for at least something. And especially, he needs her to know that he’d be here for all the bad things too, because that’s life. It’s not always sunshine, cupcakes and fucking rainbows, he of all people knows about the darker side to life.

In hindsight, though, feeding her so much food was probably a damn bad idea either.

Y/N’s gotten sick half way here and they had to stop twice, and now that he finally got her into his apartment, she hangs onto the bowl for dear life while Dean takes off her shoes for her and tosses them somewhere out of the way.

She brushes the remains of her puke around her mouth with the palm of her hand and rubs it on her dress in order to get her hands clean again. Dean cringes but he’s been there, so it’s technically not really his place to judge. Slumping over the bowl, she rests her head on her arm, which is still hugging the seat. Dean thinks it’s over. Hopes, it is, as he reaches above her and flushes the toilet. She doesn’t even stir at the sound it makes.

He leaves her there and gets up, rinsing a fresh washcloth underneath the warm water before he returns to her and let her rest her back against the wall. Dean begins to clean up her face as good as he can. There’s still mascara traces but he’s afraid to rub too hard, not really wanting to hurt her and he’s sure that he doesn’t have any make up remover in his apartment; thinks that maybe he should get some, just in case. But that would be wishful thinking and he can’t allow himself to go there yet. Not that he doesn’t want to, though.

She opens her eyes only to close them again, and there’s a frown on her face as she weakly bats his hand away, “‘M fiiiine,”

“Of course you are,” Dean’s lips curve into a grin. 

He is actually thankful that she speaks, even though her speech is still slurred. He can feel his grin going wider, feels the deepening of the crinkles around his eyes. 

Seeing her like this, he can’t believe that he still thinks that she’s the cutest thing. Ash had once said that he’s whipped, and yeah, that might be really true. It’s a feeling that should scare him, and it does, he can’t lie about that. 

He quickly finishes cleaning up her face before he gets up and walks to the sink. Opening up the cabinet below the sink, he takes out and breaks open a new package of toothbrush. Dean squirts some toothpaste onto the brush, walks back to her and crouches down to be on the same level.

“Open up for me real wide, will ya?” His fingers rests on her cheek, this thumb pushes below her chin, holding her steady. He chuckles to himself, can’t believe that he’s saying this without any intention of having his cock sucked. 

“Augh fiugh,” Y/N says again while he brushes her teeth. Dean guesses that she is still trying to say that she’s fine.

“I didn’t say you weren’t, sweetheart. Obviously, you’re just peachy!” Dean’s holding back a laugh, “Can you hold the brush yourself, yeah? Brush your own teeth?”

“‘Course,” She scoffs, taking the brush from Dean’s grip and starts brushing with her eyes still closed.

He can’t help but watch her for a while, before he realizes that he needs to get things moving, “I gotta change you, Y/N, hold on, alright? I’ll be right back.” 

There was no answer. Not that he expected any.

Dean doesn’t know if he’s going too far with changing her but he can still smell the vomit on her dress and thinks that she could do with sleeping in something more comfortable — actually wants to rinse out the puke from it so that she can wear it again when she wakes up, but in order to do that, yeah, he needs to get her out of it. Somehow, he guesses, undressing her will hurt him more than it’ll hurt her.

He comes back with a fresh shirt, had contemplated as he stood before his dresser whether he should get her bottoms too, but he thinks that his sweats would slide right down and he has the feeling that his boxers would do just the same. 

He hurries back towards the bathroom and the sight that greeted him when he saw her was a sight to behold. She’s fallen asleep with the back of her head resting against the wall. The toothbrush sticking out of the corner of her lips. She’s drooling a little too. 

Dean thinks about taking out his phone and snapping a picture, just to have a memory, something he can look at and smile, since that doesn’t happen a lot lately, but he decides against it. She’d make him delete for sure, before getting mad. But he thinks about doing it even more now, in spite of her getting mad, because it would mean that he would get a chance to see that pout again. 

Carefully, he takes the toothbrush out of her mouth and tosses it into the sink. He’s going to take care of the mess in the bathroom later. 

First things first.

“Come on, sweetheart,” He whispers as he kneels down next to her. His fingers are working on the zipper on the back of her dress. 

Dean swallows hard as he sees her bra and he’s fucking annoyed that he’s half hard by the time he pulls the dress down over her breasts.

“Dean,” Y/N mumbles and for a moment, Dean stills.

He waits and wonders if she’ll say something else, but instead, she just nudges her face against his chest, smearing the little make-up she still has on her face onto his white dress shirt. He can’t find it in his heart to even care if he’ll ever get it off the shirt again or not. “Dean,” 

“Shh..we’re going to get up, alright? I need to get this dress off you,” His voice is low, steady, soothing. His hand now grabs her arms and pulls her up with him, “Just hold on to me,” 

Y/N leans against him, her face still buried his chest, her hands fist in his shirt as he makes her step out of the dress.

Dean tries not to look at her, tries not to notice the lace lingerie that is so see-through and so fucking thin that it really, truly, might as well not be there. He’s wondering though, if she wore it for him. His dick stirs uncomfortably in his pants and he hopes she’s too far gone to notice.

“I like you, you know,” She mumbles softly against his chest and his heart is beating weirdly fast again. 

“Thanks?” He stammers, wriggling her in his arms so that he can get one hand free to reach over to the counter.

“Do you like me back?” She looks up to him, but soon her eyes shut close. 

Dean’s frozen still for a moment, not really sure if she really wants an answer to the question. Not even sure if it was a real question because yeah, why else would he put up with all this if he doesn’t like her at least a little bit?

“Yeah..uh.. Yeah, I do,” Even if he doesn’t know if she’s being serious or if she’s even going to hear it, he answers her anyway, and nods with a chuckle. 

He could see her pulling the corner of her lips up into a shy smile and he starts to sweat and blush. Dean can’t really explain it, but around her, his body does things on its own and he’s not entirely happy about that.

“Good,” She moves her arms up and sneaks them around his neck before getting on her tip toe, her eyes are still closed as she rubs her face against the crook of his neck. 

He lets her. Actually enjoys the closeness, enjoys the feeling of her skin on his. 

“Why don’t you kiss me if you like me?” She looks up to him now, her eyes shiny and a little red and Dean wonders if it was from him rubbing at it with the washcloth.

Dean swallows drily and quickly grabs at the shirt that he has placed on the counter before, pulls it over her head swiftly so there would not be any chance for him to look at her body no more. Dean’s trying to behave and be fucking good, and he’s afraid that he’s gonna fail if he keeps on staring. Also her asking about a kiss doesn’t help at all. 

She’s pouting by the time her head sticks out of the simple t-shirt and Dean tries to ignore the pout that makes him fucking weak. Instead of answering her, he kisses the top of her head. 

Y/N giggles at that, “That’s not a kiss,” 

“You’re very drunk,” He can’t stop his hands from sneaking around her waist. He’s telling himself that it’s to help her hold herself up on her own two feet, knows that it’s for his own benefit too, “You’re saying things you don’t really mean and I really don’t want to take advantage of that, sweetheart,” Dean smiles weakly. It’s weird because in his past, he always took advantage of that, “Come on, let me get you to bed.” 

Again, a sentence he never knew he’d say to a girl without the intention of getting his dick wet.

“Dean?”

“Yeah?” He looks down to see her smile, wonders too, what she thinks.

“I need to pee,”

He laughs, “Then go pee,”. He turns her around, and even walks her over to the toilet. 

“Uh..”

“What?” Dean raises one single eyebrow.

“Alone?”

“Oh, sure, sorry,” He feels the heat creeping up his cheeks. “I’ll be right outside,”

“‘Kay,” She nods and waits until he closes the door behind him. 

Dean paces around the room, walks out to grab a water bottle from the fridge just to have something to do. He doesn’t like leaving her in there alone. She could fall asleep again, or worse, trip and fall and what would he do then? He tries to push the thought of a bloody Y/N out of his mind as good as he can.

He sits on his bed, waits to hear the flush of the toilet and then there’s the tap running. He’s at the door again as soon as she opens it. 

She looks at him and frowns but he ignores her, takes out the bottle of Tylenol from the cabinet, takes two of them out and holds them up for her. “Take them, you’ll thank me tomorrow,”

Reluctantly, she takes the two pills and puts them into her mouth while Dean unscrews the bottle and hands it out to her to wash the pills down with. 

Taking a couple of sips, she hands him the bottle back, but Dean tells her to empty it. There’s no fight left in her and he thinks it’s almost too easy because a sober Y/N would probably argue for him not to tell her what to do. 

“Right, now bed,” Dean’s tone of voice is full of authority and when she stumbles, he grabs around her waist to steady her. 

As soon as her head hits the pillow, she closes her eyes, and Dean hears her mumbling softly. Something that sounds awfully like thank you. 

Dean doesn’t say anything though, instead he walks back to the bathroom, cleans the mess and rinses her dress, uses a fuck ton of soap to make it stink less so she’d be able to wear it again when she wakes up. 

He also makes himself ready for sleep, brushes his teeth, and takes some Tylenol himself. He wanted to take a shower, but he also doesn’t want to make too much of a sound, so he just abandons the idea of a shower that would ease the tense in his body. His dick is still on half mast and he’s truly ashamed of himself for even thinking about it, about doing it with her, when she’s lying unconscious in his bed. 

After he switches off the light to the bathroom, he lets his eyes adjust to the darkness of his bedroom before he walks over to his dresser and begins to loosen his tie and unbutton his shirt.

“You’re not coming to bed?” She whispers, her voice low and groggy. 

To be honest, Dean hasn’t really thought about how, or rather, where he’s going to be sleeping. Hasn’t thought this whole thing through, was too distracted by a vomiting girl and now he thinks that maybe he will go crash on the uncomfortable couch again. Or maybe sleep in the easy chair next to the bed just so he can be close when she needs anything. 

“I will, now you sleep, okay?” His hands working swiftly on the shirt, throws it into the hamper before he unbuckles his belt. The clinking of metal is loud in the silent room.

Y/N shuffles, moves over to the other side of the bed, the side that’s usually his, “Made room for you,” 

“O-okay,” Dean swallows as he gets out of his pants, grabs at the nearest t-shirt he can find and pulls it over his head. His hands shake nervously and Dean thinks that his hands are sweating, too. Not something that happens often.

He takes off his socks, misses the seam of one of them a couple of times and he could swear that his heartbeat can be heard in the silence of the room. He walks the couple of steps over to the bed, his hands grabbing the covers, lifting it up and getting in quickly. The warmth of her radiates onto him quickly.

And now Dean’s lying here, all weird and stiff, and he doesn’t really know what to do. It doesn’t happen often that he, of all people, doesn't know what to do and he doesn’t know what’s happening with him. It’s not like he never was in bed with a girl before. It’s a first that a girl is in his bed though. He usually never takes them home, always opts for hotels so he can escape the awkwardness of the mornings after. Instead of doing anything really, Dean lays still. That is, until she turns towards him and snuggles closer. 

Dean lifts his arm on pure instinct, and she comes in willingly, placing her head on his chest. He hopes that she’s already too far gone to hear the drumming of his heartbeat. Hopes that she can’t feel how hard his chest is vibrating.

“Thanks,” She sighs and Dean doesn’t answer, doesn’t need to because he can feel her body go lax in his arms, can feel her breathing even out, and he swears, he’s out as soon as he closes his own eyes.

 Y/N wakes to bright light in the room. She blinks a couple of times and looks around before she lets her brain catch up. 

Rubbing over her eyes with the heel of her palm, she blinks again, and lets her eyes adjust to the brightness of the room. Her head’s drumming to the same beat as her heart.

“Fuck,” She mutters and thinks that she’ll never drink again.

Never ever. 

She remembers bits and pieces of last night. Not in vivid details but at least there’s something, so that’s good, isn’t it? 

She definitely doesn’t remember this room, though.

Her eyes widen as she starts to panic. Y/N lifts up the covers, looks down on herself, all the while muttering a prayer and hoping that she didn’t do anything stupid.

There’s relief when she realizes that she’s wearing clothes. Although she sees that the shirt is a couple of sizes too big, a little washed out too. Led Zeppelin is written on it and 1977 just below it. She lifts the neckline to look underneath and grins when she sees that she’s still wearing her underwear. 

Y/N falls back into the bed, letting the warmth of the sheet embrace her again and buries her head into the white fluff of the pillows. She breathes in the smell of fresh laundry and there’s some other smell too… cologne? The spicy, yet warm smell lingers in her nose and she frowns, wondering where she smelled the scent before. 

She closes her eyes, wills herself to remember when she hears a sound of something.

Water.

Definitely water.

A shower. 

Someone’s taking a shower.

Fuck, it’s Dean, isn’t it?

She smelled the cologne on Dean before, already thought back then that it’s a soothing, warm and spicy smell, a smell she wants to wrap herself in, if that’s even possible.

Well, she maybe kind of hopes that it’s him and not someone else. She doesn’t know a lot of men and honestly, waking up to Dean showering is the best case scenario that her mind can come up with. 

She tries to remember last night. Knows that they’ve been to a burger place. Knows that she ate a lot but also that she senses that she probably drank even more. 

Fuck, she squeezes her eyes shut.

Y/N doesn’t remember much after, the car ride to wherever they are? Him taking off her dress? 

Oh my god, he took off her dress. 

He saw her in her lingerie, which lets be honest, is almost invisible.

No, no, no, no.

She didn’t wear it with the intention to show. At least sober her didn’t.

Ugh. 

She is definitely never going to drink ever again. 

  Dean closes his eyes as he stands under the stream of water. 

It was weird waking up to a warm body next to him this morning. He’s not used to it. Not used to waking up to someone in his own fucking bed.

He slept well, though. Hadn’t slept like this for what seemed like forever. For the first time in years, he didn’t have a nightmare. The banging in his head, the exploding bombs and shells, they were gone. He had a dreamless sleep and even though it was only a couple of hours, he feels more rested than he ever did since he came back from the war.

Dean closes his eyes as the water cascades around him and thinks back. Thinks back to him opening up his eyes to see her snuggled up next to him, her breathing warm against his arm, and he couldn’t help that his cock twitched at the closeness of them, at the intimacy. Because that is what it was, isn’t it? Intimate. He’s always been scared of intimacy. Not the one night stand kind of intimacy but the more meaningful one. And strangely, waking up like he did this morning, he finds himself wanting and craving more of it.

He doesn’t know if it’s the warmth of a body, the lingering perfume in her hair, the alcohol in his bloodstream or if it’s just her very existence. Dean thinks it’s the girl. 

Definitely the girl. 

Especially this girl.

The water rains down over his body. Cold, because he needs to get his mind off. He washes down the rest of the cum that spilled out of him a couple of minutes before. Feels a little ashamed that he rubbed one off and thought of her (but how could he not when he wakes up next to a half dressed girl next to him, wakes up to this half dressed girl). 

And he still does, thinks about her, that is. 

Thinks about her laugh when he told her a joke that wasn’t funny. Thinks about how he carried her over his shoulder as they arrived at his place.

He thinks about how she rubbed herself against him like a cat as he got the dress off her. Thinks about how she saw the bar next to the couch and actually wanted to go for it, despite throwing up twice on the way here. Thinks about the pout when he told her that she’s not allowed to drink anymore. 

And then, she started to pout. 

The damn pout, Dean thinks. He hates it as much as he loves it. 

Dean wonders how much she’ll remember when she wakes up. Will she remember him manhandling her out of her dress and into a clean shirt? Will she remember her rubbing against his body? Will she remember the things she said?

CH09

[of-wrens-and-whirlwinds-blog]

Hike

Commission for the grand @auspiciousagape !!! So sorry this took so long, love! I hope you like it!

Commission info is in my about page!

~

Jayson adjusted the basket slung over his shoulder restlessly. Why had he agreed to this again?

Because Marcus hadn’t been allowed to visit in a few weeks and Jayson really wanted to see him. To feel that two-tone warmth when they stood close together.

Jayson rubbed the back of his neck and bit his lip. He really had to get these feelings under control.  What if he let them slip while they were out? No, they would not slip out. He would not let them.

“Nervous?” Rosalia asked slyly, making Jayson jump. She moved to stand beside him and grinned as he glared at her. “Oh, don’t act so annoyed. He’ll be here.”

“I know he will,” Jayson replied, still scowling a little. “He always is.”

Rosalia shot him another sly look, but said nothing.

Soon after that, Jayson’s ears pricked as he caught the sound of boots thumping up the drive. He looked and grinned, heart lifting, when he saw Marcus running towards them. Rosalia patted Jayson’s arm and said sweetly, “I need to get back to work. Have fun, Jayson.”

“Uh-huh,” he said absently. “Thanks, Rosa.”

She snickered and went back inside of the House.

Jayson took three steps forward and then Marcus slammed into him, hugging tightly. Jayson laughed and hugged back, basking in the warmth that shivered through his empathy whenever Marcus was near. “You’re not late, no need to run,” Jayson told him, still grinning.

“I wanted to be early,” Marcus replied, muffled in Jayson’s shoulder, before releasing Jayson from his fierce embrace. He grinned too, and Jayson almost told him that he looked adorable with his hair all mussed and his eyes bright and his cheeks flushed. “The Seneschal was being dramatic again, though, so I had to run.”

Jayson shook his head and tweaked Marcus’s nose. “You’re not stern enough,” he teased. “Practice a foreboding frown and a tone of disapproval.”

Marcus rolled his eyes, but he was smiling still. “Whatever. When are we going?”

“Right now, if you want,” Jayson replied, picking up the second basket and holding it out to Marcus. “It won’t take long to get there, but we have a lot of work to do.”

~

Normally, Jayson would have asked one of the other Healers to come with him. Kurreb was always easier with a companion, and it helped build connection. But all of his friends and the other Healers were doing other things, and so Rosalia had decided to pester Jayson into asking Marcus to come.

The joke was on her, Jayson thought grimly, as he and Marcus approached Mirus Forest. Nothing would make him confess to Marcus. Nothing short of truth serum, and that was illegal, anyway. And so, they were safe.

That is, they were until Jayson made the mistake of looking at Marcus when they entered the cool shade of Mirus and the fairy-lamp mushrooms lit up in alarm. Marcus gasped, his face lighting up, ears pricked, tail high. “They’re beautiful,” he whispered.

Jayson swallowed hard as warmth built in his chest. “Yes,” he replied, his gaze on Marcus’s face, “They are.”

The first ten minutes were spent showing Marcus the herbs and plants that needed to be picked in large quantities, and also the copycats that should be avoided completely. Then they set off down the path that had not been used recently, and started gathering.

Most herbs had been tamed into patches along the myriad paths, as were bushes, vines, mosses, flowers, and slender trees whose leaves were a very effective headache cure when made into tea, though they tasted horrible. But there were some that were too delicate to move into easier reach, and these were the ones Jayson looked out for. He knew roughly where they all were, he’d been on Kurreb plenty of times; but plants, being what they are, don’t follow people rules. The patches shifted, or shrunk, or grew, or split up. Jayson left the path often to try and find the shy little herbs he needed.

Marcus filled a third of his basket quickly, tying each bundle together neatly with string and stacking them in a grid pattern. He also hummed, or imitated birds, and Jayson had to smile. Marcus’s eyes were wide, his expression delighted and awed as he took in the wonders of Mirus; flowers that shifted through the rainbow every time their petals were ruffled, ponds of strange colors with vibrant algae and cranky blue frogs, stones that vibrated gently and gave off heat. Every time he heard an interesting bird call, he did his best to replicate it. He looked so happy, in his jeans and t-shirt, with dirt and sap all over his hands and knees.

Jayson wanted to help him stay happy. He wanted Marcus to never lose this day of beauty and freedom. Brown-toned love shivered through him.

When they reached the river that flowed through the forest, around the middle of the morning, Jayson kicked off his shoes, rolled up his pant legs, and told Marcus, “The water here isn’t magic, really, but it is nice on the feet after walking. Come on!”

Marcus immediately took off his own shoes and socks and rolled up his pants, and they both leapt into the river, yelping at the cold. Fish scattered and a grumpy turtle swam to the other shore.

Jayson sat on a large rock near the bank and hummed happily, closing his eyes and tilting his head up to feel the sunshine on his face. Was there anything more peaceful than sitting in the sun by flowing water? Well, other than stargazing in the hammock with Marcus.

That sunshine-yellow love touched his empathy, and then the brown love, the color of perfectly-brewed honey cough syrup, rose too. He smiled and opened his eyes, and when he looked at Marcus again, his friend was bent over, peering intently at the rocks in the riverbed. He was blushing faintly.

“Hey, what are those little crab things?” Marcus asked, pointing.

“Crab things?” Jayson stood, walked over, and also bent to look. “Oh! Those are hermit--AUGH!”

Marcus laughed far too gleefully as Jayson fell into the water and came up spluttering. “You are way too easy to trick!” Marcus exclaimed, grinning as Jayson growled and rubbed water out of his eyes. “It’s been years and you still fall for ‘what’s this’!”

Jayson reached up, grabbed Marcus’s shirt hem, and yanked hard.

Marcus shrieked as he plunged into the water with Jayson, but when he sat up he still laughed. Jayson had to smile back, and slicked the water out of Marcus’s silky hair.

“You’re an ass,” Jayson chuckled, then stood and helped Marcus up. “Alright, we’re both soaked. Let’s get back to work.”

Marcus sighed dramatically but followed him out of the river.

Their dunkings seemed to wash away any leftover quietness. Marcus complained about the courtiers and the military between bird calls; Jayson grumbled about the newest trainees, a pair of twelve-year-old twins who thought they knew more than the master Healers because their parents were the court Healers in another country. Marcus taught Jayson to whistle like a robin; Jayson taught Marcus how to properly ask the fireberry vines for a harvest. They ate the spicy delicacies as they walked.

At noon, they sat beneath a huge oak tree covered in sweetheart ivy, and ate the sandwiches Jayson had brought.

“I just don’t understand,” Marcus muttered, nibbling a piece of ham. “My uncle says that we need to strengthen the army, but it’s already as strong as we need. He acts like we’re going to war at any minute. The delegates and ambassadors are nervous around him, now, and he doesn’t seem to notice.”

Jayson shrugged as he swallowed a bite of sandwich. “Maybe he wants attention,” he offered. “I’ve known a few people like that.”

Marcus snorted, but sighed and leaned on Jayson lightly. Jayson’s heart turned over. “Maybe. Jay?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I come with you next time you do this?”

Jayson smiled and resisted the urge to kiss Marcus’s ear. “Yes, of course.”

~

Late afternoon sun was slanting through the trees, touching everything with gold and yellow. The forest was alive with birds, squirrels, ground mammals, chiming bluebells--and the laughter of two teenagers in the river.

“No, no, that isn’t a waltz!” Marcus cried, apparently unable to stop giggling, as Jayson deliberately messed up the figures. “You’re doing that on purpose!”

“Not at all, sire,” Jayson replied primly, trying to ignore the shivers of excitement in his chest from the touch of Marcus’s hands and the closeness of him, as Marcus attempted to teach Jayson to dance. “I am simply following my heart. Hup!” He lifted Marcus by the waist and spun them both around, cackling as Marcus whooped and water flew off of them both in a glittering whirl.

They had finished harvesting earlier than Jayson had expected, and were now just being silly and wasting time because they didn’t want to go home. It was nice. Jayson didn’t feel like he had to be a miniature adult out here, with just Marcus and time slow and sweet as honey. He felt more like himself.

Marcus buried his face in Jayson’s shoulder when he was set down and continued giggling for a few moments. Jayson stood still, his hands still on Marcus’s waist, breathing a little harder with exertion, and had the thought that, if he put his hand under Marcus’s chin and tipped his face upwards, he was at just the right distance for a kiss. He was not ashamed or alarmed by that thought; he simply held it, and wondered idly what Marcus would taste like. Sweet water from the river; the mint that Jayson had found that they had both promptly rolled in; the fireberries from earlier. He smiled to himself, thinking of how nice it would feel to kiss Marcus.

Marcus had stopped giggling, and was now just standing quietly, pressed against Jayson. The water rushing around their legs felt just as good as the sun on their necks and arms and faces. Jayson’s empathy picked up several emotions that he sensed were coming from Marcus: pink contentment, silver happiness, blue calm. It was lovely to just exist, in a place where no one would judge, hurt, or accuse them. 

Jayson closed his eyes and breathed deeply. Marcus still smelled like warm earth and honey.

“Should we head back?” Marcus asked, very softly.

“We don’t have to,” Jayson murmured. “We can stay for a little longer.”

Marcus sighed and slid his arms around Jayson’s neck. “That would be nice,” he said.

[commorsicoclub]

The Commorisco Club (3)

If you were waiting for the real vore to begin, here it is people. 

Soft, unwilling, male pred, male prey, belly bulges, teasing, fear play and brief mentioning of peanut allergies. 

Chapter three: The Waiting Game

Archeon left them to contemplate their new roles with a promise that food would soon be delivered to them to aid in their recovery. Just before closing the door shut, he paused and peered at them through the crack, his red eyes glimmering with want. “Rest well, morsels.”

Once the teal door had shut closed and they were sealed inside, the velvet drapes fell again and they were left alone.  

“If we don’t eat then we won’t get our strength back,” Michael said in a hushed whisper. “And then they won’t eat us.”

“You think that’s really gonna stop them?” James asked, irritated and angry. “That the big-fucking-giant-demon-monster things won’t just get pissed and eat us anyway?”

“We have to eat eventually,” Erin added despondently. She pressed the back of her head against the velvet covered wall. “And what’s the point in playing hunger strike chicken with those things? James is right. They’d just wolf us down anyway.”  

“What are we going to do?” Valarie said, her voice trembling. “I-I don’t want to be eaten again...”

“Yeah, fuck that!” Michael said, disregarding his previous volume. “Neither do I!”

“No one does,” James said as he tried to crawl on his hands and knees back to one of the cushions and having a difficult time doing it. “If the plan is escape, we can’t when were all like this...”

“But by the time we’re better, they’re gonna be ready for suppertime!” Michael whined. “What are we supposed to do?”

Erin copied James and began to make the slow crawl back to her cushion. She was so tired and her head hurt and all she wanted was to sleep. By the time she made it to her velvet covered bed, she was crying. She heard the others still talking and their voices were raising and it sounded like James and Michael were arguing. She curled up, wishing she had the covers from her bed back in her dorm room. The room was not cold, but she missed the feeling of the soft cotton against her skin.  

I have a math exam I need to study for, she thought inanely. It did not matter now, she supposed. Anything. There was nothing for them to do but wait. Wait for the demons to return, for them to grab them all up, and swallow them down again. She could almost feel the slime covered walls of the thing’s belly and she shuddered at the memory and forcibly shutting it down.

Eventually everyone became silent and she could hear their measured breathing as they all slept. But she remained awake. Despite the bone deep fatigue and the absolute desire to sleep...she couldn’t. Insomnia was not a new experience for her, but it was never this bad. If she had trouble sleeping she would normally go to the college’s 24 hour gym and run a mile or two so she could wear herself and her brain out enough to sleep. But now…she couldn’t even stand.

There was no concept of time in the room and it did not seem long at all after everyone had fallen asleep that the sound of the curtains pulling away could be heard. She sat up abruptly, her heart in her throat and every muscle tensed as she watched the door, waiting for it to swing open. Instead, a secondary and much smaller door set into the wood opened up – almost like a doggy door – and a squat and fat toad like demon waddled inside. It didn’t seem to have a neck, just a wide flat head that immediately attached to a rotund wide body all supported on stick thin legs and long flat feet. It had large yellow eyes draped with bumpy eyelids and stared ahead almost listlessly. It looked nothing like the other demons, there was nothing humanoid about him aside from being bipedal.

“Need to be opennin’ yur peepers, Meat,” it said in a low craggy voice, making its way closer to the cloister of humans with ambling steps. His wide flat feet making slapping sounds on the ground. “Master says I bring ya’s food so’s ya ready fer th’ eatin’. So’s foods I got.”

It’s lip-less mouth stretched alarmingly wide and it tilted it’s head back, revealing rows and rows of serrated teeth and a dark throat. Erin screamed and jolted the others awake and upon seeing the mud colored demon with its mouth agape and it’s hideous teeth, they too began to scream. The drama student who had passed out during Archeon’s vist sat bolt upright with a panicked cry and then looked around confused. Upon seeing the toad demon, his screams of panic joined the others.

The ugly toad hunkered down and with a disgusting squelching sound, regurgitated a metal box that shot up into the air and landed in between the cushions that James and Valarie were occupying.

“Oh my god, that is disgusting!” Valarie shrieked, inching away from slime covered thing.  

“What the ever loving fuck is that?” Michael demanded. Whether he was referring to the toad demon or the box was unknown, but both seemed to upset him in equal measure.

The demon closed it’s mouth, sealing away its many teeth. “Likes I says: Master says I bring ya’s food so’s ya ready fer th’ eatin’.”    

“Get the fuck away from us!” James yelled before falling off the back edge of his cushion and floundering to right himself.

“If you even think about trying to eat me,” Michael wailed. “I will kick you in your fucking demon nads!”

The toad demon did not seem to care how the humans around him were reacting and his yellow eyes did not seem to be focusing on anything in particular and seemed quite board. “Meat is all a hoolerin’ an’ a hollerin’ fer nothin’. Master says I ain’t supose t’ gobble ya’s ‘cause ya’s special no eatin’ meats. Says he’d be gobblin’ me if I’s be gobblin’ any of ya’s.”

“You mean Archeon?” Erin asked warily, eyeing the box. “Is...is he your master?”

“No’s!” said the toad in the first showing any real emotion. It looked almost insulted. “Archeon no master a’ nothin’. Master Rolland be master a’ Gobbler.”

“...G-Gobbler?” the drama student asked. He was pale and shivering.

“Gobbler is be me,” the toad grumbled as it turned back towards the door and began to waddle away, mumbling in displeasure. “Stupid meats not know nothin’. Archeon no master ‘a Gobbler...”

The smaller door shut with a bang and the draped fell back to their places.

“What...what the hell is going on?” the drama student asked. “Where’s the other guy? D-did….di I get eaten again?”

“No, you just kind of fainted,” James said. “And that...thing apparently was Gobbler. Archeon left a while ago.”

“...A-Archeon?”

“Big guy with horns,” Erin said. “You kind of missed introductions.”

Michael was crawling towards the regurgitated box, his face a mixture of disgust and curiosity. It was a munitions box with faded Chinese writing on the side. He reached out to try and flip the latch open, but pulled his hand back in revulsion as a thick cord of Gobbler spit draped from his hand back to the box. Michael began to fervently wipe his hand against James’s cushion.

“Augh! Gross, man!” James whined.

Michael ignored him and tried once more, using the tips of his fingers to finally flip the latch. It popped open easily and out spilled an impressive amount of prepackaged sandwiches. Despite the saliva and goo covered crate, the packages inside were untouched.  

“Did that guy just swallow everything at a 7-11 or something?” James asked, reaching out to grab one of the sandwiches. He tiled the black plastic to read the label and then dropped it. “Ew, tuna.”

Erin slowly stood up, her legs only feeling slightly wobbly, and walked over to examine the pile herself. The others were doing something similar. She picked one up, a ham and cheese on wheat, and looked at the label. “They’re not even expired.”

“Seriously,” the drama student was saying. “We’re dead right? This...this is all bonkers.”

“I don’t know anything anymore,” Valarie said, pealing the plastic apart and tucking into a roast beef. She took a large bite and chewed methodically, tears starting to drip off her chin. “I’m so fucking scared and I’m tired and my head hurts and I’m so hungry...”

The drama student was picking idly through the offerings. “Anyone see any that says allergen free?”

“Why? You allergic to gluten or something?” Michael asked mockingly with his mouth full.

“No, just peanuts. I mean, so long as I don’t eat one I’m fine, but I don’t have my inhaler so if I have a bad reaction I’ll just die.”

Michael had the decency to look shame faced.

“Here,” James said, tossing a green plastic package over to the drama student. “It says allergen free on it.”

The drama student looked down at the label and shrugged tiredly. “Oh well. I guess beggars can’t be choosers...”

Michael was unwrapping a second sandwich, looking around their prison in idle fascination. “You know what?” he asked. “This room kinda looks like a stomach...”

Everyone froze mid-chew to take a moment to look about. After swallowing, they all looked at the remains of their sandwiches, appetites suddenly lost.

“Hey, blue hoodie kid,” James asked. “What’s your name?”

The drama student raised his eyes brows. “Huh? Oh, I’m Danny.”

“I’m James.”

“Michael.”

“Valarie.”

“Erin.”

“Just warning you Danny,” Michael added, his appetite abruptly revived as he took another bite. “Since we didn’t know your name at the time, Archeon said he was just gonna call you Snack.”

Danny scowled and averted his eyes and took a few moments to pick at the wilted lettuce in his sandwich. They ate in silence. Erin felt like she had a good idea of where their minds were at. She could already tell her energy was returning and now that they had food...well It was almost a matter of time now, she supposed. Feeling as though a great big clock hung over all their heads, counting down, they spent the next half hour eating their fill and waiting.

Waiting for the demons to come have their lunch...

…………………………………..

Only Erin and Danny were still awake. The others were quietly snoozing with Michael every so often making a loud snort and rolling over.

“Can’t sleep?” Danny asked her.

She shook her head. “Insomnia.”

“Pre-existing condition or newly acquired?”

Erin felt her face crack into a sardonic smile. “I’ve had it for a few years.”

Danny nodded, staring off into space. “How long do you think it’ll take? For them to come back.”

“Don’t know,” she replied with a sigh. “Archeon said they won’t come to feed on us until we’ve got all our strength back. I wonder how they can tell.”

“Maybe the can smell it,” Danny offered. A thunderous snore from Michael drew his attention and he added, “All I smell is bologna and Michael’s feet.”

Erin cracked another smile. She was beginning to really like Danny. Away from Archeon, he was witty and sweet. Not a whimpering mess that fainted when a giant demon flashed his teeth at him. Though she was sure she was no better. Like her, he was petite for their age, hitting their last real growth spurt before their metabolism could adjust. His blue hoodie was two sizes too big and he had his arms and legs tucked inside.

“If they just suck our energy,” he wondered aloud. “Why do they have to swallow us to do it?”

“Archeon said that’s how it’s done,” she replied, his words echoing in her head. In order for us to ingest your energy, we need to ingest you. She felt a shiver down her spine and the two sandwiches she had eaten sat heavily in her stomach.

“Archeon,” Danny said, the word seemed to quiver on his lips. “He...he’s the guy that ate me, right? So what about the others?”

“He never told us their names,” she replied. “But Gobbler said Rolland was his master. I suppose he’s one of them.”

“Gee, I wonder which of us is the luck meal,” he said sarcastically and then winced. “Ah, ignore me. The weird part of my brain’s kicking in. When I’m nervous I start saying stupid shit.”

“It’s alright,” she said and offered him a grateful smile. “I appreciate the attempt to lighten the mood.”

“So, what major are you?” he asked.  

“Biology,” Erin replied and seeing the expression on Danny’s face, added, “It’s OK to laugh.”

“No,” he mumbled, biting his lips in an attempt to quell his amused grin. “I’m good.”

She shook her head. “You’re in the drama department right? Are you a theater major?”

“Nah,” he answered, pulling his arms and legs from his hoodie and standing up to stretch. “Music major. I’m in the orchestra that does all the theater department shows.”

She blinked in surprise and found herself smiling. “Oh really? What do you play?”

“I’m first chair guitar,” he said. “But I play a bunch of other stringed instruments.”

“Too bad you don’t have one with you here,” she said. “Some music sounds really nice right now.”

“When Valarie wakes up we might convince her to sing,” Danny said. “I’m pretty sure she’s a music major too. Vocals. I’m bad with faces since I spend most of the shows in the pit, but I think I remember her playing Fatine in last semester’s Les Miz production.”

She nodded and sighed.

“Man, I miss my ipod,” Erin lamented. “And my bed and blanket.”

“I miss not having to wait for a monster to come and eat me,” Danny said flatly. “It’s like all your worse nightmares from when you were a kid. Except real.”

Erin froze as the velvet drapes began to rustle and pull away. The teal door was already opening and in the blackness of the beyond, peered two glowing red eyes. Her mouth fell open and she flapped her hand at Danny in warning, unable to form words. He looked at her bizarrely and then understanding hit. He whirled around just as Archeon stepped into the room, his eyes glowing with hunger and teeth bared from behind grinning lips. His long coat was gone and he was rolling up the sleeves of his shirt, jeweled fingers catching the light of the orb above them and sending small flecks of diffused light bounces around the walls. “Snack time, boy.”

“Fuck!” Danny said, scrambling to try and make a run to the covering of the metal shelf, but he floundered and slipped on the plush cushion.  Archeon easily stepped over the other sleeping humans to reach down and sweep a many ringed hand under to catch Danny around his middle just as he was about to face plant onto the floor. He was lifted up easily and he began to struggle and yell. The commotion had alerted the others and bleary eyes snapped open and they started scrambling back away from the demon, crying out in alarm. Archeon ignored them all, devoting his attention to his squirming prey as he dangled Danny above his face. The demon licked his lips idly and hummed in anticipation.

“I’ve had you on my mind all day, Snack,” he purred, lowering his hand just enough to flick his tongue out to give Danny’s feet a quick sampling. Danny pulled his feet away as best he could, but there was no where to go where the demon’s seeking tongue could not easily reach him. “The taste of you. The feel of you wiggling on my tongue. The delicious squirms as you settle in my belly...”

To emphasis this, he patted his stomach.

“Fuck!” Danny whined, trying again to keep his feet out of Archeon’s mouth. “Let go of me, man!”

“Heh heh. No,” Archeon replied with a grin and turned back towards the teal door. “You’re mine for the next few hours, Snack.”

From her spot under the overhang, Erin could see Danny still struggling in the large demon’s grip and could only watch and cry out for her friend as Archeon prepared to devour him for a second time. With a dark chuckled, the demon pulled the human closer. “In you go...”

Great jaws parted and threads of saliva hung from sharp teeth as Danny was thrust into the open maw.

“NO! Don’t do it! Don’t – mmph!” His cries were cut off as Archeon practically stuffed the boy inside, his hand pulling away as his lips pressed around Danny’s middle to leave his legs to kick and flail freely. His great horned head titled back and he opened his jaws again, Danny’s frightened cries becoming more audible for all of one moment before the Demon used his tongue to lift and pull more of his meal into his mouth. Just as the teal door closed, Erin heard the throaty chuckle and then a gulp. The door closed, the velvet drapes fell back, and Danny was gone. They were left alone with one of their number gone, on his way down to Archeon’s belly.  

………………………………………

The next demon came only a few minutes after Archeon left. No one had moved or said anything as they waited, huddled close under the metal shelf. It was no real protection, but it felt safer than being out in the open. When the drapes pulled back again, everyone tensed up, sucking in shuddering breaths, and trembling.

The door opened and a new demon entered. Her skin was a shade of blushing pink and long white hair fell down around her shoulders and two bone white opalescent horns poked out from atop her head and curled around like a ram’s. He eyes were a brilliant deep blue and like Archeon before her, they glowed with clear predatory hunger. A large blood red jewel was set into a choker around her neck and she wore a short white blouse that exposed her flat belly and form fitting black pants that showed of her elegant curves.

“Hello,” she said, her voice sultry and disarming. “Poor little humans, you look so frightened.”

She knelt down and crawled on her hands and knees towards them, her head swaying back and forth like a snake, but her eyes never left the form of one particular human. Michael looked ready to bolt at any moment, suddenly finding himself face to face with the demon who had swallowed him once before.  

“Don’t worry, though,” she said to Michael, shoulders hunching to make her breasts push out and she stared at him in a coy and flirtatious manner. “I don’t bite.”

“It’s not your bite that I’m worried about!” Michael squeaked.  

Her eyes seemed to sparkle with amusement. “No? Oh you don’t mean that you don’t want me to eat you, little man?”

“Yes! Yes, that very much, please!”

“Oh, but I’m not so bad,” she said, pressing closer still and using her hands to cut Michael off from escape. Her fingers traced along his chest in teasing circles. “I’ll be much gentler this time. And I’m oh so soft inside, I think you’ll find my tummy to be very cozy.”

“FAT CHANCE OF THAT LADY!” Michael was wild with hysteria and as he tried to run, her fingers wrapped around him. “Oh sweet Jesus!”

“But you look so yummy,” she purred, pulling him closer to her face where she nuzzled him. “You smell good too. I was so happy when we met the other night. You made me feel so good. Fuller than any of those lower ghouls ever did. I want that feeling again. Of you inside me, wiggling. I want to taste you...” her tongue slipped out and drew a slimy line down the side of Michael’s face. “Mmmm…oh you’re as delicious as I remember.”

Michael was incoherent in his panicked ramblings and could do no more than fruitlessly struggle. He was not a small guy and the Demoness seemed to have no trouble at all keeping a firm handle on him.

“Be good for me, darling,” she whispered to him. “I’ll make this quick.”

Her mouth opened wide and in Michael went, her saliva coated tongue peeking out the sides of her mouth as she tasted him with open relish. She kept a firm grip on Michael’s legs and made her first swallow. He sank into her gullet and before he could react, she swallowed again. It only took her four swallows to down all of the broad shouldered athlete and the captive and horrified audience watched as her smooth flat middle sank with her meal’s weight. It began to jiggle and sway as Michael made his protests known. She pressed a hand to her belly and sighed in delight, eyes closing as she concentrated on the delicious feeling of live, wiggling prey. “There we are, my little human. Nice and cozy, like I promised.”  

She carefully stood up, one hand cradling her stomach and she licked the fingers of her other hand. “It’s no wonder you humans are so prized. Your flavor is divine.”

“You’re monsters,” Valarie sobbed, covering her face.

The Demoness tuned her head to look at the girl and she smiled sweetly, licking her lips. “And you’re yummy.”

With an energetic sway of her hips, the Demoness sauntered back to the teal door. She stopped and turned back to the remaining humans.

“Oh! And I’m Lyra by the way. Forgot to introduce myself. Forgive me, I can never recall my manners when I’m famished,” she said, both hands leisurely petting her bulging belly, seeming to relish each kick or jerk of her meal. “Egan should be paying you all a visit shortly. Ta-ta!”

The door closed, the velvet drapes fell, and then they were three.

[aziraphaleisagender]

AUGH please read this bullshit I wrote in one sitting, I’m thinking of expanding it after Titular Hero is finished.

~

Aziraphale walked quietly as Gabriel escorted him to the Shaft. There was no point fighting.

His hands clenched into fists, and anger grew, hot and molten, in his gut.

They had reached the final stretch. The stench of sulphur was nearly overwhelming. And in a single fractured second, Aziraphale decided.

He grabbed Gabriel’s wings at the join, and threw them both off the edge.

Gabriel screamed and thrashed, but Aziraphale held on grimly, his own wings tight to his back. Gabriel finally got one wing free, but he couldn’t fly, not with Aziraphale gripping him as a deadweight. The archangel snarled and tried to claw Aziraphale’s face; Aziraphale grinned, wrapped both arms around Gabriel’s wing, and put his entire strength into bending it. It broke with a sick crack, the bone puncturing the skin. Gabriel screamed again, and redoubled his efforts to escape. Aziraphale punched him in the throat and his cries choked off. They fell for an eternity, grappling; Gabriel had stronger arms, but Aziraphale had already won by breaking him. The smell of holy blood made Aziraphale’s anger laugh. He grabbed Gabriel’s halo, dragging the archangel’s head back, and flipped them so they were falling flat, Aziraphale kneeling on Gabriel’s back. The halo was burning his hand, but he hung on. Gabriel kept flailing, and Aziraphale found himself laughing at the absurdity of this situation.

They hit rock hard, Gabriel landing on his stomach, Aziraphale rocking forward but managing to remain kneeling on Gabriel.

That didn’t last, as Gabriel snarled and rolled. Now that they weren’t falling, blows hurt more. Aziraphale grimaced as his folded wings crunched, but he wrapped his arms around Gabriel’s throat and choked him until he was weak, then shoved him off.

They both stood, Aziraphale faster than Gabriel. They circled, Gabriel with his arms awkwardly held, Aziraphale with his fists up. When he judged the time right, Aziraphale darted forward and slammed his fist into Gabriel’s gut. Gabriel tried to hit back, clumsily; he wasn’t trained for combat, or if he had been, he’d lost his edge. Aziraphale tossed Gabriel over his shoulder, grinned as he heard a shriek of pain. Grabbing a convenient rock from the ground, Aziraphale spun and took a precious second to choose his angle. Gabriel was floundering on his back, and his halo was bright. Too bright. Something would have to be done about that. Aziraphale didn’t even think about his own.

He walked forward, stomped on Gabriel’s face, breaking his nose with his heel, then stooped, grabbed the halo, and slammed the rock against it.

“NO!” Gabriel screamed, scrabbling at Aziraphale’s arms. Aziraphale bashed him on the forehead with the stone, which made him falter. Aziraphale continued to bash the halo, grinning as it dimmed with every subsequent hit.

Finally, despite Gabriel’s fighting, the halo broke, a large chunk snapping off. Aziraphale chuckled, and Gabriel moaned in fear and despair. As the holy light faded, Aziraphale realized there was still light above his own head. He reached up, surprised, and encountered his own halo. It was bent and dented and flickering, but it held.

No. He’d fallen. He didn’t need this.

So he dragged it from air above his head, stood, and threw it as hard as he could on the ground. It bounced and returned to bob over his head. He frowned, then shrugged. It wasn’t very holy anymore. If it broke, so what?

Gabriel was still crying on the floor. Aziraphale watched coldly for a moment, then shrugged, stretched his bruised wings twice before folding them neatly again, and looked around.

There were eyes in the dark, wide and silent. They seemed most concentrated around a dark opening through which air moved. Aziraphale walked around Gabriel’s limp frame, still holding his rock, and walked towards the opening. The eyes—the creatures—scurried out of his way. He couldn’t see much in the faint flicker of his halo, but he caught glimpses of contorted bodies and featherless wings. Demons, then. A strange peace gripped him. He didn’t care about the demons. He wanted to know where he was.

One pair of eyes, snake-like and warm, did not step aside. Aziraphale recognized Crawly as he got closer, and smiled. “Hello,” he said, his voice echoing. “So this is Hell?”

“This is the receiving hall, yes,” Crawly replied, watching him warily. “So which one is that?” He pointed behind Aziraphale.

“Gabriel,” Aziraphale answered. A thousand hateful hisses went up around him. “Really, for an angel who claims to be strongest, his fighting form is extremely weak.”

Crawly grinned, wide and fierce. “Oh, yes, Himself will be glad to have that bastard here. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Lord Beezlebub. They enforce the rules down here.”

Aziraphale nodded, and fell in step beside Crawly. He wondered briefly what would happen to Gabriel… then he decided he didn’t care.

“Do I need a new name?” he asked Crawly curiously.

“Nah,” Crawly replied, “But you can change your name if you want. Most of us did.”

“Az.”

“Just Az? Not the whole thing?”

“Yes.” Aziraphale pointed to his flickering halo. “Might as well hold on as long as this thing does.”

Crawly shrugged, though he eyed the halo thoughtfully. “Mm. Understandable. Beez might demand it be destroyed.”

“Then I’ll break it myself,” Aziraphale replied. “Damn thing’s useless down here.”

Crawly laughed in surprised delight, and Aziraphale actually felt quite smug that he had managed that.

After more tunnel, they reached an iron door. Two nebulous demons stood guard. They shrank back from Aziraphale. He paid no mind. Crawly opened the door, and they passed through.

It was a throne room. There was a huge, ornate throne of gold and bone against the back wall; a smaller one of iron sat a few yards in front of it. As Aziraphale and Crawly approached, a small demon entered the room from a door beside the huge throne and strode briskly to the iron throne. They sat and waited. When Crawly stopped and bowed, Aziraphale did too. The demon frowned at Aziraphale.

“Why do you still have a halo?” they asked harshly.

“No idea,” Aziraphale replied. “I broke Gabriel’s though.”

The demon’s face split into a horrifying grin. “Really? How delicious. Alright, what’s your name?”

“Aziraphale. I’d like to change it, though.”

“Yes, fine. Himself will want to interview you. Crawly, show…” The little demon raised their eyebrow at Aziraphale.

“Az,” Az replied firmly.

“Show Az around. Get him set up in one of the Sins. Maybe Pride.” The grin widened mockingly.

“With all due respect, your lordship, I’m not arrogant enough,” Az replied. “Can I be in Wrath?”

“Hmm.” The demon rubbed their chin, still grinning. “You angry, Az?”

“Well, that was why I dragged Gabriel with me,” Az answered with false modesty.

“Fair enough. Wrath could do with filling out. Go.”

Crawly and Az bowed again and left the throne room through a different door. Crawly actually seemed to be struggling not to skip.

“Why are YOU so happy?” Az asked, smiling.

“I’m in Wrath too,” Crawly replied with an answering grin. “Causing it, mostly. I’m in aimless anger division. You might be put in violence division, but we’ll still both be Wrath.”

“Fine by me.” Az bumped into Crawly gently, and Crawly laughed.

[yrpspiritsintheshadows]

Old Wounds

Old Wounds

Dear Mr. Miyamoto,

It is with great fear I am reaching out to you. I don't know what to do. You're my last hope here with this. My name is Charlotte and I'm 18 years old, but I still live at home. I go to Geistville Community College.

I have this doll, it was given to me by a relative, whom I am not close with. I've enclosed a picture of the doll at the bottom. Ever since getting her, weird things have been happening. My name's been called when I'm the only one home, I've had nightmares where I can't breath and woke up with these weird bruises around my neck.

I brushed it off at first because my family thought I was nuts. It wasn't until the doll started moving off of its stand at night that I realized I'm NOT crazy and this is in fact happening.

First, it'd be on the floor. No big deal, I have a cat, Pearl, she knocks things off my shelves sometimes but this is a porcelain doll and Pearl sleeps in the living room in her cat cave. If Pearl knocked it over, it should've broken. Nope. Still intact.

Then, I swear I saw its eyes follow me when I was getting ready for school.

Last night, I had the nightmare about not being able to breathe and when I woke up, the doll was on top of me.

Please… Please help me. I'm scared it's going to kill me…

Eiji sighed heavily, reading over the letter for what felt like the hundredth time. It had been concerning when he received it initially.

Now, reading it over again, there was dread building up. He pulled up the photograph included.

The doll, to anyone else, looked normal. Snow white porcelain, dark, almost black brown eyes, she had a purple chiffon dress on, covered in ruffles and frills, her pale blonde hair in ringlets around her head.

If the doll wasn't involved in a haunting and didn't look so… otherworldly, Eiji would've called it "cute" and moved on.

He had to take it with a grain of salt, however… and he wasn't sure if this was something his team should handle.

The last time I dealt with a haunted doll case…

He looked at the picture he kept by the computer of when Ken was a newborn, the day they finally got to bring him home from the hospital.

I made one of the worst mistakes of my life.

Goddess, why did I bring that thing into the house?

Old guilt bubbled in his chest as he bit the nail of his index finger. Normally, he never hesitated… but this had an old wound attached.

"Eiji, I don't want that thing in my house."

"I know, I promise I'm burning it in the morning. It'll be destroyed and not be able to bug anyone again. I got the key. Just focus on resting. Don't want you or the baby getting stressed."

I'm gonna need to talk it over with Carmen. One thing is for sure, I am NEVER bringing that thing into the house.

Not where it could terrorize Ken or Hideki or Hikaru. Not…

He growled.

Not where it can touch Carmen.

Never again.

His heart went out to the girl. He knew what it was like to be terrorized by something you thought was innocent.

Something, that you thought would never get a chance to harm you.

Just hope her house doesn't have stairs.

I need to talk to Carmen… and maybe call Naomi. Because I don't know if I can take this case. I'd have to sell her on it and even then.

He gripped the arm of his chair tighter, eyes trailing from the doll's face to the photograph. Carmen, in the picture, looked exhausted but relieved, holding the tiny bundle that was their son. Safe and sound, home at last.

What am I gonna do? Eiji sighed heavily, getting up. He had to get out of the room for a bit.

He didn't want to have this conversation.

Deep down though, he knew in truth he wanted to help this girl. Free her of whatever was inside the doll.

I'm just scared that it'll bite me again. I usually forward this crap to Naomi.

He headed upstairs, going to Carmen's office. The pool room was nearby, the door was open a crack so she could listen if any of their kids were in the pool.

As it stood, no one was. The boys were in the family room, watching a movie of some sort. It was just them.

He peered inside, Carmen was sketching on her screen tablet, her eyes narrowed in focus.

Eiji swallowed hard, knocking on the doorway. Her eyes never left the tablet but her hand did pause in its movements.

"If this is a bad time, I can come back in an hour." He offered when she did look up.

Carmen narrowed her eyes, looking her husband over… In particular his eyes. He was nervous, shifting in place, hands tucked into his jean pockets.

"What's on your mind, Mi Amor?"

Eiji bit his lip. He really didn't want to have this discussion.

I could just make something up and run upstairs.

But that's lying.

I could say I turned it down and go upstairs and call Naomi.

But that's half lying.

I could…

Augh, I'm gonna have to do this, aren't I?

Eiji let out a long sigh, his shoulders slumping. Normally, they could talk about everything and anything.

Just. Say it.

"Carmen, I got a letter today from a client about a new case." He frowned, unease blooming within. "I… This is something I really need to talk to you about."

"What's going on?" She frowned, concern washing over her. "Is it involving something like what happened to Hideki and Hikaru?"

"No, no! We're not taking in more kids." He held up his hands. "It's not like that… but it does involve something that we both hate. See, she has this doll and-" Eiji cut himself off, at the stricken look Carmen had. "C-Carmen?"

Carmen narrowed her eyes, shaking her head.

"No. You know the rule." She got up, grabbing a water bottle out of the small fridge she kept in her office. "I don't want any creepy haunted objects in my house!"

"I wasn't going to bring it home." He explained, a pleading look coming to his eyes. "I swear, what happened back then won't happen EVER again."

Carmen stared at him, frustration coming to her eyes.

"I don't… Eiji, if something attaches itself to anything and comes after the kids or me, you'll never forgive yourself. You're STILL upset about what happened." She went up to him, cupping his cheek. He pressed it into her hand, closing his eyes. His shoulders were shaking a little.

"It was my fault." He murmured, his voice cracking a little. "Carmen, I thought…. I thought…"

"Shh… I know." She stroked his arm. "Mi Corazon, I think I know better than anyone… I was scared too."

"He was so tiny… and you were in so much pain… Carmen, I… I'm torn." He ran a hand through his hair, a haunted look in his eyes. "I want to help. I want to help this girl really badly but I don't want to risk you guys either… Especially you." He frowned, bringing his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. "Please…"

Carmen brought her arms around him, stroking his back. She didn't want to say anything, except dig her heels in and say no. In a perfect world, if she said "no" once, he would've never spoken of it again… But the idea of her Eiji even doing that unsettled her.

It still hurt.

While Ken, it seemed had no health issues after his rather unceremonious arrival, they had been terrified.

C-section, having a hard time getting out of bed to go to the NICU, Eiji being there every single moment, trying his best.

We went through heck back then because of a stupid doll…

And now there's another stupid doll out there.

She tightened her arms around him, burrowing her face into his chest.

"I love you." She leaned up, giving him a serious look. "I'm not gonna lie, I don't want you to do this. Not even in the slightest. I want you to give it up."

Eiji nodded, lowering his head a little.

"But… I'm not going to ask you to do that because I don't want someone else getting pushed down the stairs or killed because of some stupid little doll." Carmen tilted his chin up. "But I don't want it in my house. Not even for a night. Okay?"

"It won't go anywhere but a fire pit in some campground off the highway. I promise." Eiji vowed. "I'll cleanse myself before coming in the house too."

Carmen played with his necklace, kissing his chin. He kissed her, holding it for a moment.

She pulled back after a moment, touching her forehead to his.

"I love you." He breathed, relief washing over him like a wave. "I love you so much."

"I love you too." She nuzzled him. "You big darn, hero."

"Just an investigator."

"Yeah, who if he brings that doll home, can kiss back rubs goodbye for six years."

"Sounds fair. More than fair." He kissed her forehead. "Thank you."

"Welcome." She wagged her finger at him. "Remember, I better not see it in my house."

"You won't." He grinned.

"Good."

oooooo

He didn't need to hold an entire meeting about this one. Just one message:

"It's a doll. After the investigation, we're burning it. No chance of it going after anyone. Got it?"

They all knew. They had investigated the first doll case and had been part of deflecting others until now.

"Eiji, are you sure about this?" Chase asked as he helped pack up the van, hefting another duffle bag into it. He also packed a gas can full of fuel for a fire. "We can reschedule."

"No."

"Eiji-"

"Chase. I promise, I'm gonna be fine." Eiji smiled a little, trying to hide the dread he was feeling. "I'm scared but I'm fine."

"You could stay home. We could drive down to Monstruo and grab Naomi-"

"Nope. She has kids too." Eiji walked past him. "Gonna go say goodnight to the kids."

Soon as he was gone, the team huddled together.

"Alright, we know this is gonna mess with him." Skyler spoke up, crossing her arms. "So, we have to put as much space between the doll and Eiji as possible."

"I'll be bait." Chase held up a hand.

"Of course you're bait." Lucian smirked, before it faded. "Eiji needs to handle nerve center. He'll be on monitor duty all night. No investigations outside of it."

"He's not gonna be okay with that."

"He will. Something tells me he will and if not." Lucian smirked. "That's what texting Carmen will do."

"... Lucian, you seriously scare me sometimes."

He shrugged.

"Either way. Eiji is not getting set off tonight. We're not letting him get near the darn thing unless it's attaching cameras to it."

"We got all of the spell tags in a box too. We'll stick 'em all around the nerve center."

The team nodded to one another.

No mistakes tonight.

Let's do this for our little ghost family.

oooooo

Charlotte's home was a modest three bedroom house. With white paint and a grey roof, it looked like your typical house.

"My parents are out of the house for the weekend and if I have to leave for the night I will too."

Eiji knocked on the door, leaning a bit to the side.

It wasn't long before a young woman opened it. She was pale, her blond hair hanging in ringlets around her face, the rest pulled into a short ponytail at the back of her head. She wore a bright red scarf around her neck as well.

"Hey there. Charlotte Monroe?"

"Y-Yes? And you're Eiji?"

He smiled reassuringly, offering her a hand as she shook it.

"I promise we're gonna get to the bottom of what's happening to you."

Charlotte relaxed a little, ushering them inside.

"I had my parents take the cat with them. Pearl won't be interfering with anything."

"That's good to know-" Eiji's words died on his lips as he saw what was sitting on the coffee table.

Unease washed over him like a tidal wave as his eyes met its soulless glass orbs.

"I… see we're getting right into it then? This is the doll?"

"Y-Yes." Charlotte shuddered. "I didn't want her in my room tonight. I'm sorry. Will that be a problem?"

"No, not at all."

Chase whistled as he looked it over.

"So, does her hair grow too or-"

"Chase!" Eiji hissed.

Charlotte blinked, confusion in her eyes.

"Hair growing? I… I don't think so. Is that a sign?"

"No, no." Eiji reassured, waving it off. "Just an old legend about another supposedly haunted doll." He gave Chase an annoyed look.

"Oh. Okay. Can I get you guys anything? Tea, soda, coffee?"

"Nah. We're fine, honestly. Shall we?"

She nodded, leading them to the dining room of the home.

"Sorry, I just… feel really uncomfortable talking in front of her."

Eiji gave her a reassuring look, taking out his notepad.

"No worries. Let's hear it."

Charlotte nodded, fumbling with her fingers.

"Okay, for one… I don't have a name for her. I just call her "that thing" since I've honestly always hated dolls. My favorite toys were stuffed animals. I hated it whenever anyone gave me a doll but for some reason I can't seem to get rid of it."

Eiji narrowed his eyes.

"How so?"

Charlotte closed her eyes tightly, exhaling sharply.

"I tried throwing it away when I messaged you. It came back."

"And you're parents wouldn't have brought it back in?"

"Never."

She glared down into the garbage can. She looked at the doll in her other hand, giving it a sneer.

"Meet your new resting place." She chucked it in hard enough that she heard a crack, the doll's neck broken in an awkward angle. She smiled, putting the lid on and heading back inside.

"Alright, time for some Leonideas-" She stopped short as she entered her room.

The doll was lying on her bed, perfectly repaired.

"I was out of the house for less than two minutes." She shivered.

Eiji finished jotting the information down. Internally, he was horrified at what he was hearing, but he was giving an outward appearance of calm. Just trying to do his best to be reassuring.

"I see… and do you still have bruises?" Eiji gave her a gentle look. "My colleague here, he's also a paramedic. It just helps to see for documentation."

Charlotte fidgeted before nodding, undoing the scarf.

As it fell away, the team gasped.

Her neck was covered in bruises, almost all in the same pattern, traveling entirely up her neck. Two on each side.

"Good gracious…" Lucian walked over to her. "Is it alright if I…?"

"You can." She murmured.

Lucian was gentle, tilting her head to the side as he examined the bruises. There was a distinct pattern. One he unfortunately was very familiar with.

"Yeah, these are finger prints." He concluded, stepping back. "They're miniature but these are distinctly human finger prints."

Charlotte replaced her scarf around her neck.

"So… she was choking me for sure?"

"It's possible. Which is why I think it would be in your best interest if you didn't stay the night while we're here." Eiji gave her a gentle look. "Is it possible for you to join your parents? We'll be gone by day break."

"I can go to my boyfriend's house. He lives down the street." She smiled a little. "Bill wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

"Then give him a call and pack up. We'll make sure the doll doesn't bug ya."

"Thank you."

It wasn't long before Charlotte left the house, hurrying down the street on her bike. Eiji closed the door behind her, sighing heavily.

"Alright, since the most activity happens when the doll is in her room, I'll go move it there and get the ghost box setup-"

"Nope." Lucian clamped a hand on his shoulder. "I'm doing that."

"Eh?" Eiji furrowed his brow. "Luce, I can handle this."

Lucian smiled, shoving him along.

"I know. But you've been active in our last two investigations while I had to babysit the cameras. You take a darn turn."

"Wait." Eiji turned around, giving him a suspicious look. "You're… volunteering. As ghost bait. You're actually volunteering!?"

"Yes. Problem?"

Eiji sighed heavily, a bit guilty for being relieved he didn't have to spend too much time in the same room as the doll.

"No."

Lucian grinned wickedly.

"Good. Now, get in the freakin nerve center."

Alright…

Let the night begin.

[kpopisthereasonihavenolife]

Enrollment

BTS

Park Jimin/Reader [F]

Genre: Demon AU, Drabble

Words: 1.6k

Angst - 12: “Who did this? Who hurt you?” Fluff - 13: “God, you’re so beautiful.” 

You’ve been told for as long as you can remember if you hang a foot off the bed at night, or keep your closet door open, a demon would appear and take you away.  Where to was an answer you were never given. Though, no one prepared you for the demon who fell through a portal in your ceiling into your bed at 3 AM.  

You were still up, binge-watching the latest hit show until balls-ass o’clock against better judgment.  With class in the morning and the clock just hitting 2:57 AM, you starred at the bright numbers in your dark room.  You were one of the lucky students who managed a single dorm without having to bunk with someone else. On the 4th floor of the 7-floor building, all the way at the end of the hall by the stairwell was your small dorm. 

It was like magic.  Maybe it was magic.  At the exact moment the clock flicked to 3 AM, it went haywire.  Blaring its alarm that wasn’t suppose to go off until 7, you shrieked.  Slapping the snooze or flipping off the alarm did work to silence it.  Soon, you jolted out of your bed, abandoning your tablet with your show to unplug it.  Finally, it was silent, but not for long.  

Soon, a flash of what was lightning circled your ceiling before something fell and hit your bed.  Scared out of your wits by now, you ran and scrambled for your light switch.  The lightning disappeared as quickly as it appeared as you flipped on the light.  There was a man on your bed. 

“What the fuck?!”  You shrilled as the man lay unmoving on his back on your bed.  You stuck your head out a bit.  His face wasn’t visible from where his head was on your pillows. “Hello?”  You spoke with a crack in your voice.  The sound of your show drowned in the background as you slowly stepped around your bed to look at the man. 

He was gorgeous.  Dark hair with light highlights scattered along his fringe.  Skin a golden tan, shining and smooth like the finest paint.  Dressed in a torn, holey white shirt and dark pants, his feet were bare as his toes past the end of your bed. His jawline was sharp and his small body seemed toned even fully clothed.  You looked him over when his eyes suddenly shot open.  

“Augh whAT THE FUCK!”  You screamed as you flew back onto your ass on the floor as he threw himself upwards looking around. He looked around, a brow quirked down in confusion before he saw you, a human on the floor.  Then he screamed. 

“What the hell?!”  He shot up to stand on your bed, banging his head on the low ceiling.  He winced as he rubbed his head then looked back to you.  A human, young looking, dressed in shorts and flannel that hug off your shoulder.  “A human?  Where the hell am I?”  He questioned.  

Instead of giving him an answer, you gasped as you stood up, yanked a pillow off your bed and swung it at him.  “Get your nasty feet off my bed!”  You shrieked as you wailed on him, somehow hitting his head and flinging him sideways off the bed to tumble to the floor.  You gasped as you dropped the pillow and panicked as you grabbed your head.  “Oh god, I just knocked something into the wall!  What if I just killed a man?!” 

As you panicked to yourself, scrambled around the room, you soon hopped over him and opened your bedroom door, running into the hall to grab a first aid kit from the bathroom, only to come back to the guy sat up and rubbing his jaw.  You sighed in relief as you dropped to your knees next to him. 

“That was rude, even for a human,” he hissed at you.  

“Oh god, did I give you head trauma? You’re acting like your not human.”  

“I’m not a human,” you blinked at him and his dead serious expression.  His hand dropped from his jaw as his eyes blacked out and small fangs pushed at his lips and horns pushed out his forehead.  His fingernails sharpened into claws as he cocked his head.  “I’m a demon.” 

That demon, named Jimin, decided that night that as compensation he would be rooming with you until he decided otherwise.  With a fit from you and a steel will from him, he ended up winning.  It’s been 4 months now since he dropped into your life.  He was apparently kicked out of his demon homeland which he swore up and down wasn’t Hell.  

It was odd having a demon around, to say the least.  When you talked about your sudden roommate your friends, of course, wanted to meet them.  When they met Jimin with his white smile and happy personality, people called him an angle.  You offered an eyeroll with each compliment. Though, it was all true. 

Jimin was a sweetheart.  At first, he was cold, strict even.  But one day, he just changed.  It was like he saw you weren’t a bad person or something, but he started smiling and helping you around the dorm.  

On the weekends when you weren’t engulfed in college, he would drag you out of making sure you stayed in the living room with him instead of your room.  He had been booking it on the pull out sofa, as he denied your offers of getting him a real bed.  

It was a Friday afternoon, and he sat jittery in the living room waiting for you.  Normally you would be home by 3 if you didn’t have any evening lectures.  As far as he knew, you didn’t. So, why weren’t you back when it was half past 5?  It was a quarter til when you opened the dorm door with a sign.  A sign that Jimin heard with his spiked hearing and had him jumping up to greet you at the door while you heeled off your shoes. 

He gasped when he watched your pull off your jacket and saw a bruise on your arm and shoulder.  It wasn’t hard to see how when Jimin came around and word of how you were rooming with a hot guy word got out and girls got a wee bit jealous.  

Unnecessarily so.  

“Y/n?” He questioned as you looked at him and smiled.  

“Hey, sorry I’m late.  I got food though.  It’s cold, but we can heat it up.”  You brushed by him, ignoring the elephant in the room that is your bruises he so noticeably took a negative interest in. He trotted after you as you soon pushed the food into the microwave. 

Jimin stepped up behind you, throwing his arms over your shoulders to hang his hands in front of your chest. He didn’t deny the fact that he warmed up to you and started to care for you.  He wanted to take care of you and keep you safe, so the bruise on your shoulder he pushed his lips on worried and angered him. 

“Who did this to you?  Who hurt you?  Was it a group of girls again?” You sighed, obviously not wanting to talk about it.  “Please tell me.  Just once, you’ve never talked to me about this before.  I just want to know.”  That was a bit of a lie.  He wanted to know so maybe he could put a stop to it.  

“Jimin, it’s fine.  Don’t worry about it.”  You tried brushing off the issue once again. He sighed as he rested his chin on your shoulder as the microwave beeped, timer running out. 

It was a week later when Jimin walked into our room when you were sleeping.  You still hadn’t cracked to his questions, so he took the initiative. Kneeling at your bedside, he put his hand on your shoulder and started peering into your memories.  Seeing a group of 3 girls push you around and throwing books at you, he got angry.  Watching the scene from the past as he took his hand off you, seeing enough.  He leaned over your bed and kissed your forehead.  

“Let’s fix this.” The next morning, Jimin wasn’t in the dorm.  Thining he stepped out, you shrugged as you got ready and left for classes.  It was lunch when your friend Lisa ran to your side.  

“Y/n! Why didn’t you tell us!”  She whined as you looked at her confused, chopstick hanging out of your mouth. 

“Tell you what?” 

“That Jimin enrolled, duh!”  You gasped, just as shocked as her.  

“I didn’t know! What?!” You jumped when someone slung their arms over your shoulder and move to slid beside you on the bench you sat on.  “Jimin?!”  He laughed at your shock as you nearly dropped your chopstick completely. 

“Why the shock? I can go to school too.”  He smirked.  You leaned in closer to him. 

“But you’re a demon!”  You whispered at him.  He rolled his eyes, kissing your cheek.  

“Demon’s need education too.  Don’t be so simple-minded.” The rest of the day, he was basically your shadow.  You were standing at your locker, swapping books when out of the corner of his eyes down the hall he saw the group of girls who turned you into a victim a week ago. He scowled as you noticed and looked down the hall following his eyes. 

You gasped, hiding in your locker as they got closer.  Jimin looked around, the hall was scarce, not many students.  He grabbed your shoulder, pulling you out of your locker, slamming it shut and pinning you against them.  You gasped as he leaned closer to you, nose brushing yours.  The girls halted, watching the scene from afar with open mouths and whispers voices.

“Jimin?” 

“God, you’re so beautiful,” he breathed before he kissed you. 

[concussed-to-pieces]

The Audacity

Fandom: WWE

Pairing: Incubus!Jeff Hardy/Female Reader

Rating: Holy shit M.

AN: Thirsty Crew, happy Valentine's Day! Tagging the broskis @toxiicpop,  @oraclegazes and @hardcorewwetrash as is my custom! This was written for @helplessly-nonstop 's Winter Writing Challenge, utilizing prompt number thirty two: “May God bang us all.” “Well, he may not bang us, but I will definitely bang you.” Enjoy!

[!TRIGGER WARNING!: Contains mentions of typical incubus behavior, vague and absolutely inaccurate summoning rituals, blood in general and a hint of sacrilege. Stay safe!]

Catchphrases were sort of your thing. Witty quips and one-liners were all but your bread and butter. They had served you well in your life. That is, until now.

You stared at the...whatever it was in your apartment, the thing that seemed to be slowly solidifying into a vaguely masculine form. Your finger was still stinging from nicking it with that steak knife, but you pushed it away for the moment.

Your creative brain was having a real bear of a time parsing what it was seeing, and your words failed you as the...well, probably-male figure shook his head and stretched his arms out with an obnoxiously loud yawn.

“‘Bout fuckin’ time.” He groaned. You were abruptly pinned to the floor, a set of curious green eyes boring into your own. “You summoned me, yeah? Well, whatcha’ want?”

“I uh. Pardon?” You asked weakly.

Those eyes narrowed. “Playin’ coy, huh? Nice try.”

“How...How did you get in here?”

His right eye twitched and he settled back on his haunches, making an irritated noise while he gathered the long, dark hair out of his face. “You've gotta’ be shittin' me. I'm askin’ for a circle redesign, this is the third fuckin’ prank call in a hundred years!” He griped, hands working behind his head to tie his hair back. “Finally have the chance to work all my kinks out and it's just some slack-jaw sittin’ in their livin’ room!”

“Hey!” You yelped. “Excuse the hell out of me, buddy! If someone decided to magically appear in the middle of your living room, I'm sure you'd be pretty slack-jawed yourself!”

“I'd get a shovel, if we're bein’ hypothetical,” the man(?) replied, prowling around you on all fours. His baggy pants dragged on the floor. They looked strikingly similar to something you would have worn during an emo phase (which you may or may not have had in your younger years). “I'm not exactly big on hospitality.” His right shoulder blade and arm were covered with a tattoo that looked eerily like a network of large, hole-riddled veins. Your overactive imagination swore up and down that it was glowing faintly purple and shifting more than could be explained away by his motion.

A discordant jangle caught your attention and you glanced down, noticing for the first time that he was wearing a collar with a long length of chain attached. Try as you might, you couldn't seem to locate the other end of the chain. You hurriedly got to your feet and sidestepped out of the loop he was making around your ankles. “Listen, I don't know who you are or how you got in here, but if you leave now I won't call the police.” You gave him what you hoped was a stern look.

“You summoned me, y’ dumb--look at the damn floor.” He retorted, gesturing at the area he had appeared. Specifically, the area of thick rug where you had been absently dragging your fingers through the luxurious pile of fibers and enjoying a lonely steak dinner.

You had cut yourself accidentally while trying to slice off another piece from the steak, the serrated blade of the steak knife easily parting your skin. Blood had started to dribble quickly, splattering onto the plate and the rug when you bolted to your feet to grab a paper towel. And when you had returned…

“That,” The man stressed, pointing at the messy circle and lines you had drawn into the velour of the rug, “is my circle. You gave a human blood offerin’ after drawin' the circle, kinda’ old school but whatever. So I'm here now. Here to fulfill your needs.” He spoke slowly, obviously mocking you. “You get all that?”

“Well no, not really. I...h-hey, let go!” You exclaimed when he snagged your wounded hand.

He proceeded to ignore you and smear the tiny amount of blood left on your finger with the end of his nose, looking back up at you after several moments of silence. His pupils had shrunk to pinpoints in the green-blue of his irises. “You have no idea what you've done, do you.” It was sort of a question. Maybe. You shook your head. “Augh. What the fuck.”

“Get fucked Sunshine, your shitty attitude and vague explanations aren't helping whatever situation I'm in right now!” You snapped, entirely through with his griping.

“You brought me here, okay? I only show up for one thing.” He said after a long pause where he seemed to be trying to formulate a sentence. “I don't look like this normally. I look like this because that's what you wanted. I’m here only because you asked...or, demanded. Bein’ summoned can get to be a gray area after a while. Do you at least know what I'm here for?”

“I don't understand any of this so, no.”

He put his face in his hands, yowling down into his palms in what was clearly frustration. “Alright butterbean, no sense beatin’ around the bush. Since you're a damn dumbass. I'm here to fuck you.” He snarled finally. “I'm summoned to fuck. You specifically. You designed my body. That's how this shit works. It's made to be appealin’ to you.”

I'm here to fuck you.

You were entirely at a loss, staring at him in disbelief.

You designed my body.

You inhaled sharply, trying to keep your eyes from wandering. He still seemed to notice, if his little smirk was any indicator. “You like what you made? It's all yours to play with. Every inch.” He undulated his body, hands laced behind his head in a smug pose. “You're lookin’ hungry. Why not let me satiate that appetite of yours?”

“I...I am just so confused right now.” You said weakly.

“Don’t think. You're alone on Valentine's Day and I am the answer to your heart’s call.” He murmured.

“I mean that's great and all but...hey, how do you know I'm alone?!” You exclaimed, folding your arms across your chest.

He raised an eyebrow at you, then glanced pointedly down at the solitary plate on the carpet. “Really?”

“Good God you're rude. Supernatural entity my ass, I've met sixth graders with more maturity.”

Those green eyes flashed dangerously. “Your God's got nothin’ to do with me an’ that's just how I like it.”

“Well well! The personalized fuck machine has daddy issues. Who could have guessed?” You shot back, confused when a grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Mm, I like this. Sharp little knife of a thing, ain't you?” He advanced, forcing you to step backwards or risk being within reach. “Who made you that way? Doubt you came out the womb spittin' venom.”

“I trained in the mountains. Sat under waterfalls and wrestled bears.”

“Aha, you're so quick. It's been ages since anyone's given me this level of sass.” Your back hit the wall and his hands pressed to the space over your shoulders, loosely caging you in. “I can’t hurt you. I'm only here for one thing. Sure I like playin' with my food, but I won't do anythin' you don't consent to, my little blade.”

The term should have been insulting, and yet, it seemed almost...endearing when he said it. Affectionate. As though he believed you were dangerous and actually respected you for it.

“So what do you want me to do? What's your heart's desire in the bedroom? Your softest wish, the one you ain't told nobody?” He whispered the words, his voice low. “Whatever you want, my beautiful, sharp-edged summoner, it's yours.”

“Whew, you say some wild shit.” You managed to reply after a moment of mentally fanning yourself. He was so close, his chest nearly touching your own every time he took a breath. You felt warm and a little giddy, dizzy from the attention he was lavishing upon you.

“I say what I need to.” His fingers brushed your cheek. “An' I wait for the go-ahead on everythin’ else.” He grimaced suddenly, hand flying to the collar around his neck. “Fuck you, that's how it's always been. No need t' strangle me old man.” He snarled under his breath.

“Who are you talking to?” You asked in bewilderment.

“The oh-so-merciful one holdin’ the other end of the chain.” He coughed out the words, air wheezing in his throat. You could see that the chain was pulled as tight as it could go. “He gets wound up about nasty things like me. Wants me to be ugly about this an’ I--”

His voice abruptly cut off and he clawed at the collar, seemingly unable to undo the simple buckle you could plainly see.

You reached out your hand to him without thinking and strangely, he took it and pressed it to his cheek. ‘Thank you’, he mouthed. His luminous eyes were pained when he released you.

Your fingers snatched at the buckle beneath his chin, the sharp metal punching into the skin of his throat. His eyes widened as your other hand came up and started to feed the free end of the collar through the buckle. It was harder than you thought it would be; jagged spikes laced the inside of the leather like shark's teeth, digging in and refusing to let go. “Hang on, okay?” You muttered, wriggling the strap with all your might.

“What are you-?” His breathing hitched and he fumbled to grab your wrist. “Y’ can't, wai--” He pleaded, shaking his head.

You glared at him, your eyes narrowed. “Listen, if what I'm doing is wrong, is an affront to the big man or whoever it is that's choking you out right now, well…” You paused, finally loosening the buckle enough to pull the strap free. Those spikes tore out of his neck and you flung the collar across the room with all your might. “Then I guess...may God bang me for my insolence, or whatever. May God bang us all.” You finished proudly, dusting off your hands in a self-satisfied manner.

“Well,” The man in front of you drawled as he straightened up, his teeth flashing in a lazy grin, “He may not bang us, but I will definitely bang you.” The wounds on his neck had started bleeding lightly, like they were nothing but scrapes instead of the deep punctures you knew them to be. Hands slammed into the wall over your shoulders and he leaned in close. “The name's Jeff, little blade, an’ it seems I owe you a debt of gratitude.” Those vibrant green eyes fell to your mouth. “I could never remove the collar myself, and no one has ever been particularly interested in releasin’ me from it.” Jeff's breath ghosted across your lips. “I assume you'll accept payment up front?” He whispered.

When had your hands landed on his shoulders? Your palms pressed down on the flesh beneath them, fingers fumbling at Jeff's skin. What an ordinary name.

Seeming to sense your hesitation, Jeff dropped to one knee in front of you. Firm hands grabbed your hips and he began pressing kisses to your stomach right above where your skirt began. “Let me please you?” He murmured against your shirt, a growl rumbling in his throat. “It's the least I can do, y'know.”

…

Their fingers were smearing the blood that had started to pool in the divots of his shoulders and collarbone. Jeff bit the satisfied snarl down into a safe little growl, his neck tendons snapping taut beneath this unfamiliar skin. This precious little dagger of a human had no idea what they were doing to him; a concealed blade that slid its way between his ribs to prick his long-cold heart.

He inhaled sharply through his teeth when their hands moved up into his hair, tugging it gently at the roots. They still reeked of sadness and frustration, tastes bitter on his tongue. “Why the hell not,” They mumbled. “Go on ahead.”

Jeff was an incubus. For as long as he could remember, as long as he had been collared, he had been driven forward by a bone-deep desire to conquer, claim, intimidate. With the leash gone though, it was as if everything became smooth. He could see past the tunnel vision of what he was made for and venture tentatively into the new realm of what he could actually do.

And this human had made it possible.

Jeff jerked the metal snap on their jeans off with one twist of his fingers, sending it flying outside the halo of light from the lone lamp. They gasped, their hands grabbing his own.

Jeff could have pulled away. Easily. Overpowered them easily. Taken them easily. Something stopped him, the knife point piercing him just a bit more. Their eyes were startled, knuckles whitened with the effort of stilling his hands.

“Be gentle, okay?” They said, “Don't hurt me.”

Jeff was seized with a strange sensation. He didn't want to hurt them, that was the odd part. But hurting so often seemed to go hand in hand with acts like this, leaving him at a loss. He let them cup his face and he sucked their wounded finger into his mouth, making them inhale as he laved the sensitive skin with his rough tongue.

“Show me.” He muttered, quickly returning their finger to his mouth after he spoke. He felt them press down on his tongue, a light pressure that turned into a stroking motion. They seemed to be marveling at the texture more than anything, which was amusing. “I imagine you’d like this tongue in at least one other place, yeah?” He prompted, grinning at the way he could feel their pulse start to race. “Lay down, little blade. Show me what you like.”

They obliged after a little more coaxing, their shyness nearly too endearing for Jeff to handle. He wanted to fuck it out of them, but at the same time he loved it so much he never wanted them to stop. The way they curled up, the way their body trembled and heated under his touch...it was intoxicating.

When they finally, finally helped him peel their jeans off, Jeff was certain that he was dreaming. Their thighs fell open for him without another protest, his sweet little blade unfurling the most delicate petals he had ever encountered. Awed, almost dazed, Jeff slid his fingers over them, collecting the slick that had gathered. They whimpered, the noise rippling down his spine in a shudder of want.

Jeff covered the insides of their thighs with kisses and nips, tormenting himself with the knowledge that they were right there but they needed him like this. Needed these lip-presses and bites far more than anything else at the moment. They had laid down on the very edge of the circle of light cast by the lamp, their face and upper body illuminated by the soft glow. He watched them bite down on their own knuckles, eyes closed and head tipped back.

He couldn't refrain any longer.

Jeff buried his face in the apex of their thighs. They cried out at the first stroke of his rough tongue, their free hand raking through his hair. Jeff growled against them and made no effort to hide the noises of his satisfaction, of their own wetness. He alternated between lashing their clit and soothing it with the smooth back of his tongue, the differing textures more than enough to make them knead at his scalp and mewl like a helpless kitten.

“Tell me how much y’ like it, my darlin’ summoner.” He whispered, looking up at them and then slowly, slowly easing his tongue into them. The textured surface rubbed against their inner walls, urging forth a half-choked noise of desperation when he withdrew it. “Tell me whether I'm bein’ too rough, okay?” Jeff continued, thrusting his tongue back home to punctuate his request.

He set a pace that made his body ache, trying his hardest to be gentle while fucking them with his tongue. As deeply as he could reach, as slow as he could force himself to go, the flat of his tongue pressing upwards towards their pubic mound while his hand rubbed circles on their belly. Jeff closed his lips around their clit every time he fully sheathed his tongue in them, enfolding the sensitive nerves in the heat of his mouth.

He wasn't sure how many times they came. They kept twitching and begging for more, their cracking voice a melody sweeter than any pleasure he had ever experienced. Hands in his hair, thighs gripping the sides of his head like they would die if he moved from between their legs...Jeff was certain this beautiful little blade had been rammed home into his heart.

He continued his breathless assault, his cock stiff and rubbing fruitlessly against the fabric of his baggy pants. Jeff took a selfish moment to grind his pelvis against their wet heat, his legs quivering with the desire to bury his cock in them and claim them until the sky pinked with dawn. But he shook it off, returning to working them over with his fingers and tongue. “One more for me? Can y’ maybe give me one more?” He murmured, chuckling at the whine of breath they let out. “It’s jus’ one more, little blade, I know you got it in ya’.”

They propped themselves up on shaking arms, their ability to still move surprising Jeff. He was even more surprised when they beckoned him up, up their body to their mouth. The kiss they gifted him was hungry, sweet, breaths panting into his mouth as they licked timidly over his tongue. There was nothing timid about the way they ground their hips against his own, though.

Jeff choked on his breath, grunting while they rocked their heat against the rigid line of his stiff cock. Their slick soaked through his pants and he let them push him onto his back, let them grind against the obviously display of his need. This was new. He had never abstained from penetration.

They continued to shift their hips back and forth over his clothed cock, the press and slide of them absolutely maddening. It was a tease of a fuck, a pantomime that threatened to kill him with every hypnotic motion. Jeff’s hands fell to their hips, fingers digging in as he bucked up against them. He indulged in the newness of this fuck-tease for what felt like a lifetime, his pants saturated through with a mixture of their slick and his own. It eased the friction, urging him on more and more to hold their hips and force them down. He could feel the head of his cock prod their entrance every now and then through the fabric, that taunting little hitch that made them gasp and croon.

Jeff had never thought that not penetrating someone could be this exhilarating, the muscles in his thighs straining against the desire to come. His body teetered halfway between frustration and completion for a short eternity, their fingers covering his own on their hips all the catalyst he apparently needed.

Jeff's head fell back, his breath caught in his throat and when they bent down to kiss him, he moaned into their mouth while coming all over the inside of his pants. They just kept kissing him, their own body shuddering at the sensory overload of his previous ministrations. Jeff silently wrapped his arms around their shoulders and pinned them to his chest, their ear pressed to where his heart would be thundering.

But something like him had lost its heart a long time ago.

…

When you woke up, you kept your eyes shut against the sunlight. You felt…

Strange.

It was a mixture of headache and low level buzz under your skin. Your whole body was tender, half-numb but too sensitive all at once. The sheets twisted in your fingers as you pulled them up over your head, blocking out a little more of the light pouring in through the window.

What a night, you mused. Bits and pieces of it played back, making you blush and bury your face in your pillow. Hell of a way to spend a lonely Valentine's Day, wet-dreaming yourself into a coma!

When you opened your eyes though, you were met with the hysterical proof that last night had not, in fact, been a dream. You yelped in dismay as you stared down at the dark red marks on the insides of your thighs, headache forgotten while you floundered to get out of your bed. Struggling into your bathrobe, you rushed to the living room as fast as you could.

A sheet of paper laid in the middle of the very obviously disturbed rug. You cringed as you took in all the lines that looked suspiciously like they had been clawed by fingers, all the areas that were pushed in a different direction than the rest of the carpet. That was what you got for splurging on a such a plush velour rug, you supposed.

You crept to the piece of paper (which appeared to be a note) and after hesitating for another moment, you knelt and picked it up gingerly.

My beautiful little knife,

Leaving before the reality sets in is pretty much my forte, I'll apologize for that. Normally I'm thrown out as a fantasy until the poor soul's belly starts to swell with the fruits of my labor. Now that you freed me, well…I'm not really sure what trouble I can get into, but I am sure you're going to see me again. Promise I'm not going to spend my free time ravishing morons in their living rooms. Unless it's your living room, of course. You're too sharp for me to be able to stay away for very long.

Happy Valentine’s and all that crap,

Jeff

“Oh.” You breathed, your fingers tracing over the messy circular pattern he had drawn in the lower left corner of the paper. “Damn. Alright then. Thank you, overly-expensive fuzzy rug.” You continued aloud, petting the fibers beneath your knees as a grin slowly snuck it's way onto your face. “Happy Valentine's Day to me in-fucking-deed. May God bang us one and all.”

[theravencawsatmidnight]

Catnapped

Chapter 2

Shinso wandered to the restroom with heavy .. tired eyes. He undressed and got into the shower. Once he was done he was greeted by Koda, his cat. He smiled down at the cat once he was out of the shower. He was hungry , spoiled cat . Quickly Shinso dressed and pet Kyra on the head making her mew a bit and shuffle , he smiled watching for a minute before going to the kitchen.

Koda was meowing loud until his bowl was put down in front of him. Shinso smiled and flipped on the tv. A woman was talking about a rise in villany since the League of Villains was making themselves known. Shinso was not to worried , this city was full of pro heroes like him. He made his way to the couch from the kitchen and sat down sighing, he laid his head on the couch looking at the ceiling.

Kyra was slowly waking up, she shivered slightly reaching out her paws to not feel a body . Her eyes opened to see the empty space. She mewed looking at her paws. She made her claws slowly inch out as she stretched . Kyra sat up in bed looking around, a simple room it was. A cat bed for Koda, a desk with some books on it about heroes .

She slowly got out of bed stretching again, the smell of coffee tickling her nose. Kyra went to the restroom and showered after peaking in on Shinso who was watching the tv , but he was leaning forward . He usually laid back staring off into space.

The woman on tv urged everyone to take precautions if they were not at home , even in towns with a high pro hero count. Shinso looked down when he felt warmth on his legs , Koda was nuzzling him. He smiled and reached down to pet him.

In a run down building not to far off from the couple a meeting was taking place. The TV was on and it was the same woman talking about villains. A skinny hand reached out to the tv turning it off .

“ I wonder what she would look like cut up!!!” Smiled a happy girl.

The skinny hand was raised into the air . “ well aren't we popular!!! Kurogiri our plan is working!”

Kurogiri looked at the skinny blue haired man who had a smile on his face. “ i agree Tomura Shigarashi..”

“So what do we now?!? Can I cut someone up?!” Asked the girl excited.

“ not quite yet Toga. We have to complete the next level first…” Shigaraki added. “Dabi… why don't you be the adventurer and.. go find someone . “

The man looked up from his hand and over to the group, he had heavy eyes and an intimidating appearance . Well.. everyone in the room did.

Shigaraki had black clothes , and a hand over his face. Kurogiri was.. a warp sort of. Bright yellow eyes. Black and purple smoke like face. Toga… was blond with a sweater and skirt . She always had a knife with her. Dabi was tall, black hair and.. burns under his eyes and on his arms and neck along with stitches.

He closed his eyes for a second and opened them, before he could talk Kurogiri spoke up.

“ I thought we wanted the mind control boy, “ he asked

Shigaraki smiled . “ yes.. yes.. but we need a special item.. a hostage.. a ransom… then he will come and we give him to the master…Dabi.. find someone he .. cares for.”

Dabi got up from the bar and made his way to the door, he could hear Toga saying goodbye to him, he lifted his arm to say ‘ goodbye’ and shut the door behind him.

Shinso and Kyra were out on patrol, it was an easy shift for them. Mostly stopping robberies and helping out other pro heroes. Shinsos costume was similar to Aizawas , he had his capture tape around his neck along with a black voice changer and simple dark purple clothes. Kyra was wearing a skirt with special shorts underneath to help with easy climbing and running , her shirt was long , down to her stomach . She had special gripped gloves on that exposed her claws and protectors on her fangs and chest .

Nothing was really going on in the city right now and the two were relieved to say the least. It took a very long time for the people to accept Kyra as a hero as well.

They turned a corner onto the street they were assigned to and saw Bakugou making his way towards them .

Shinso raised his hand to say ‘ hello’

“ hey anything on your end?” Shinso asked.

“No” he said walking past them, bumping Kyra with his gauntlet. Kyra shrugged looking back at the angry hero , he just kept walking.

“ he still hates me…”

Shinso was quiet until he looked down to see Kyra shaking his arm , she whined but Shinso just rubbed her ear smiling.

“ don't worry about it Kitten” he stopped in front of her and kissed her forehead. Kyra growled and Shinso giggled smiling, Kyra smiled giggling to and hugging him.

They had no idea they were being watched from above, Dabi had been tailing them from the rooftops , he crouched watching the interaction with Bakugou and how Shinso grabbed Kyras arm in a protective way when she mentioned the blond. Now that he thought about it he remembered seeing her in the Sports Festival . He got a devilish grin on his face , Dabi took his cell phone out sending a quick message.

A warp appeared next to him and Kurogiri looked through . “Who am I looking for ?” He asked

Dabi was still smiling ,he pointed.

“Her. The girlfriend.”

Kurogiri watched the couple for a minute until he agreed, the warp fading. Dabi stood up and flicked some blue fire in their direction, hitting a parked car exploding it.

The two jumped rushing to the scene to see people in a panic , Kyra rushed off to grab civilians and pull them away from the fire. Shinso grouped with the other pro heroes looking for the culprit , Bakugou had shown up too .

Kyra was biting through a fallen sign to help a man get free , she pulled him to the side and looked around. She heard sirens so the fire should be contained soon..

Dabi noticed Shinso was making his way to Kyra , Bakugou was closer though , he shoved Kyra .

“ WAKE UP HAIRBALL!!!” He yelled

Kyra mewed jumping and falling to the ground , another shot of fire landed on her left onto another car . Kyra screamed getting up moving away and Bakugou grabbed her shirt shaking her once.

“ wake the hell up!!! Your so useless ! You can't just freeze up on the front lines !!!” He yelled grinding his teeth.

Another fire shot down at the two and Shinso had run up behind Kyra pushing her out of the way to safety . Bakugou managed to dodge the fire and traced its direction back to a nearby building . He saw Dabi standing there. Blue fire flowing from his hands.

Bakugou yelled allearting the other pros but it was too late . The warp was starting to come into view behind Kyra . Shinso was coughing and brushing the flames off himself when he heard Kyra scream. Both boys looked to see her being held by the neck by Dabi.

Shinso wanted to yell .. but maybe he could get this villain with his quirk. Or at least buy time … he looked at Bakugou but he was fixated on Dabi.

“ hey Ashtray!!! Ive been wanting to fight you! Come on !!! “ he taunted and Dabi just smiled , gripping the girls neck harder, Kyras neck started to feel hot when he did this …

“ AUGH.. !!!!IT HURTS ITS HOT!!” She cried out and Bakugou taunted more , his fingers shaking. “Dumbass!!! She's a useless cat!!! Fight me!!”

“Dabi what could you want with Saber?” Asked Shinso.

Answer … please answer.. Shinso thought to himself.

Just one word..

Kyra tried her best to fight Dabi’s grip on her but the more she struggled the hotter her neck got. She could see Shinso was in a panic. He felt useless , she knew it. ..

Dabi tilted his head raising his free arm and saying ‘goodbye’ with two fingers as they slipped into the warp.

“SHINSO!!!!! SHINSO!!!!!!” She yelled helplessly, her struggle resulting in nothing.

“KYRA !!!!” He sent his capture tape out quickly but he was a second too late , her paw had just missed it and they were gone.

Shinso was trying to process the empty scene in front of him till he was pushed on the ground hard by Bakugou.

“ you dumbass!!! What the HELL WERE YOU DOING! Did you really think that shitty plan would work?!?”

Shinso rubbed his chin looking up at the angry blond.

“ I bet it's you they want! Dumbass..” Bakugou threatened. He kicked dirt at Shinso and walked away.

[hasbrobear]

How Jaune met Neo(my version, its a bit long though)

Ren:Why are we here again?

Jaune:Because today the shops having a 20 percent discount on Neapolitan ice cream.

Ren:We already have Strawberry, chocolate and vanilla at beacon.

Jaune:But this is Neapolitan. Now stay here I bet there's one more inside.

Jaune walked in and went to the ice cream section and saw his prize. A small Tub of Neapolitan ice cream. Sure it was for one person but ice cream is filling. As he grabbed it another hand came in contact with his. It was a small black gloved hand.

Jaune:Hello. Do you mind?

Neo:...

Jaune didn't like this. Someone wanted to take his ice cream! Only Ruby can do that. He got a better look at the person and it was a short girl. Like really short possibly shorter than Nora. And she had the same colors as the ice cream he wanted. With pink and Brown pupils. Getting tired of the no answers he took the ice cream and walked to the cash register.

Jaune:Huh. Weird.

He kept walking until a hook went around his ankle and tripped him. He let go of the ice cream as it was taken by Neo who had her parasol out.

Jaune:Hey that's mine!

She stuck her tongue at him and walked towards the register. Only for him to grab her by the waist and throw her to the other side of the aisle. She recovered quickly and glared at him.

Jaune:Alright. Just let me get the ice cream and no one gets hurt.

As he said that an old man walked on the other side and slipped over some water.

Old man:Ow my back!

Jaune:Except him.

She took the challenge and held the ice cream under her arm and motioned him to come at her. He did and ran until she gracefully maneuvered around him making him run into the cheese table. He got up and spat the string cheese out of his mouth and ran at her again. She jumped over him again but her small ankle was grabbed as he threw her into the meat aisle. She landed on a turkey and the ice cream went flying above her. He made for it only to get a foot the the chin as it fell on his head as the ice cream fell to Neo. But before she could grab it he moved his arms and got the ice cream. She kicked his side and got on his shoulders like a Jockey and scratched at his eyes which were protected by his aura.

Jaune:Agh! GET OFF ME!

He moved the ice cream out of her arms reach as she kept punching and scratching his face.

Having enough Jaune slammed his head into a glass door breaking it as she went in and let go. She kicked his ass making him fall face first into the floor letting there ice cream slide on the floor. Jaune crawled towards it only to be stepped on by her. She got the ice cream but was tackled into the milk aisle. Thinking fast Neo grabbed a milk jug and slammed it into Jaune’s face. It broke and exploded the milk into his face. Blinded momentarily Neo kicked his stomach but he grabbed her wrist and spun her into the sea food section. Cleaning The milk out of his eyes Jaune got the ice cream and grabbed the tail of a lobster. He wasn't going to use real weapons. Neo saw this and grabbed a handful of live shrimp and threw them at him. He smacked them away and threw the lobster at her but she opens her parasol and it bounced off. She ran towards him and jumped over his head grabbing the Ice cream then planted a crab into his pants.

As the crab nipped at his butt cheeks and thigh but he let out a long and Girlish scream as it used its claws on his Privates.

Jaune:Ow! Ow! Ouch! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!

He quickly ripped it out and threw it at the back of Neos head which knocked her to the floor. He then jumped onto her and grabbed the ice cream but she got the upper hand and flipped him over with her legs on his sides and kept pulling on the ice cream. Behind them a customer walked in and saw this but his perspective thought the wrong thing and started recording it.

Jaune:Cmon! Give it to me you small multi colored girl!

Neo glared and head butted him only to regret it cause his aura was stronger. He smirked and took the Tub and slide it across the floor and Neo placed both hands on the side of his head as she went for another headbutt but but Jaune grabbed her face. She opened her mouth and bit onto his thumb making him yell loudly.

Jaune:AUGH DAMNIT!

She then crossed her legs around his hip and started squeezing hard. And guy would get the wrong idea if they saw them from behind. Like the one with the scroll on record. Jaune the let go of her and went for his own headbutt and as the heads collided they both fell. Jaunes head fell back as Neos was on the crook of his neck. He groaned as his head started to hurt. The guy kept recording as Jaune threw her off of him gently and crawled towards the ice cream. She did the same and it was like a race between turtles as they kept going. Once there they both put a hand on it. They looked at each other and exchanged death glares. Until they both fainted. The guy laughed hard as he uploaded the video on Dustube.

30 minutes later

Jaune woke up and saw the ice cream on the ground. He got it and slowly got up and wobbled towards the cash register where a young cashier waited there. He smiled and kept walking until Neo got on his back and put her legs around his stomach and squeezed.

He went to the cashier gagging and placed the tub on the register and threw a black Lein card. The cashier was scared and did the exchange and gave him his change back. He took it and let out a small groan as he walked outside and fell on his back into the pavement. Neo was still on his back and got crushed. After a couple minutes Jaune weezed out a couple words.

Jaune:Why don’t we share it?

She nodded as they both sat against the wall looking like hobos since their clothes were extremely messed up and dirty. He opened it as she took out a spoon as he did. They both blinked and chuckled. Well Neo looked like she chuckled and as Jaune removed the Top they were both met with a liquidy mix of the 3 flavors. It was a sloshed up light Brown mix. They stood silent for a moment until Jaune sighed and took a spoonful into his mouth. She looked at him as he let the taste sink in. He gulps it and looked at her.

Jaune:Not bad.

She greedily takes a spoonful and another.

Jaune:Hey! Don’t eat it too fast!

He then went and ate some more. It was a nice exchange between Freinemies.

At beacon

Ren went into his dorm sighing. His leader took so long that he just left. He saw Nora and Pyrrha laughing at Nora’s scroll as they watched a video. Ren went and saw, his eyes widened as he saw Jaune and another girl on top of him with her legs around his hips from a back Perspective. He then heard Jaune yell from far away.

Jaune:OH NO!

Ren laughed also once he saw the name of the video.

PASSION AT THE STORE

In RWBYs dorm Yang laughed at the video while Weiss chuckled lightly and Blake was writing it down in a book. Ruby stood still promising to chew Jaune out for this. It got more intense once the couple in the video both did the headbutt and fell unconscious.

Back at the store

Jaune finished the ice cream with his new frienemey as they sat against the wall like a homeless couple. A random man walked past and dropped a few Lein into the Empty bowl. Neo sent him the bird and stood up with Jaune offering his hand.

Jaune:Nothing like eating some ice cream.

She nodded and got a piece of paper then a pencil and wrote on it. She then gave it to him and smiled sinisterly. He took it and saw the name NEAPOLITAN

Jaune:So that's your name. Suits you. I'll call you Neo.

He looked at the back and saw an address and her number and blushed at the message.

WOULDN'T MIND GETTING A LITTLE ROUGH IN BED BLONDE~?

He placed the paper in his pants and saw that she was gone. He sighed and walked to beacon humming to himself not knowing his fate at the hands of a pissed Rose.

[sladedick]

@renowo​ happy birthday u slut this is all your fault!! it’s not actually for the bingo but. u Know. still good.

underage/noncon/abuse/watersports/gas station bathrooms/im gross and this is gross and we’re all complicit/im going to hell i know i say that every time BUT THIS TIME FOR REAL

The scenery outside goes by in a blur, Robin gazing blankly out the window. Vibrations from the engine and from the road beneath them resonate up through him, relaxing. His lashes drift lower with the sun. It's strange how long trips exhaust him, even though Slade seems as alert as ever - despite driving since dawn. His fingers tap, almost impatient on the steering wheel. The gesture of frustration sends shockwaves shivering down Robin's spine.

He hugs himself with his arms, taking in the small scenery outside - fast food chains, a gas station, the rolling hills of endless highways. America is much larger than Europe, it seems, but that's simply because there's less hassle when moving from place to place. Easier to drive through, traveling endless miles, almost like -

a circus.

Robin's hands fist in his sweatpants, part of an almost-convincing disguise as an American teenager. The sunglasses from the outfit perch on top of his head, hair misshapen. He crosses his legs, uncrosses them, tries not to fidget. Something in him aches, but something in him always aches.

It takes a second to pinpoint this as a real ache - and more than that, not a bruise. A pressure in his gut.

Robin eyes the gas station with some desperation. He glances towards Slade, eye and patch covered by his own shades. No, Robin doesn't dare ask. He knows better than to expect agency in his fate.

He still leans forward, regret for the water bottle he'd drank so quickly curdling in his gut. Robin's fingers press white on the dash. He flinches as the car starts to move again, Slade pulling against the wheel like it's the neck of someone who's foolish enough to stand in his way. Robin rocks, gritting his teeth.

This is what he gets for ignoring what his body is trying to tell him, the pain and all. Robin twitches in his seat.

"Something bothering you?"

Slade's voice is casual. Robin didn't even know he was looking.

Robin's shaking his head before he knows what's happening. "No. No, master." He stares down at the sneakers on his feet, trying not to twitch. He hurts.

The car jolts again. Robin looks up - the gas station is there, right in front of him. The beaten up van that Slade drives comes to a halt. Robin lets a small sigh of relief pass his lips as he pushes the door open, following his master into the place.

It's not a brand he recognizes, which mean they must be somewhere they haven't been. Slade doesn't tell him much, and Robin doesn't ask.

It wouldn't matter if he knew, anyways.

Robin eyes the candy and snacks on the shelves. He eyes Slade just as much. When was the last time they ate?

Standing up and walking makes his bladder ache even more, sending pain up through his gut from the work he puts into clenching it. Robin shifts from foot to foot, staring desperately at Slade.

He has to have noticed.

He can't not.

But he doesn't seem to care, passing the snacks and going right for the cheap electronics that sit near the counter. A bored salesperson looks back at the two of them, Robin shivering next to Slade. He seems to take forever, that singular eye twitching over the lighters and the cords and the earbuds. Needy breath passes Robin's lips.

Slade pays with a slow, awful pace, pulling the money from his wallet. Robin is shivering the whole time, biting his lip to stop himself from embarrassing himself in public. Slowly, agonizingly, his sunglasses turn back to Robin. Sluggishly, he walks towards him, past him. Robin turns, shuddering on his feet to see Slade heading towards the bathroom.

The relief in him is so great he has to stop himself from running after him, instead walking quickly. It's easier to hold now that he has the promise of release, looking hopefully at Slade.

The door swings open into the small, dingy place. There are only two stalls, toilet paper dropped on the floor of one of them. The stench fills Robin's lungs, but he doesn't care. He's halfway to one of the stalls -

Slade's fingers close mercilessly on his collar and Robin chokes, almost slipping. He falls back, aching.

Something in him wants to cry, but it's small and far away.

"Did I say you could go, Robin?"

Robin shakes his head, fingers trying to pry breathing space out of his tight collar. "P - augh - please - " Slade loosens his grip and Robin bends over, gasping, pressing his legs close together. "Please, master, may I - "

"No." The grip tightens again and Robin is pushed inches away, spun until his back is pressed against the slick marble wall. It makes him shudder. Slade's hands press into his shoudlers, holding him there like a pinned animal. Robin lets out a whine, but he doesn't fight it.

His gut aches. His toes curl, trying to focus on anything else, even the smell in his nose. He doesn't need to see Slade's eye to know the expression on it, a hand creeping up the back of his neck and grabbing into his hair.

What Slade wants comes first. It always does.

Hands force Robin's body down. He drops to his knees.

It smells worse near the floor, Robin on his knees next to the row of urinals. Something wet is against his knee. He tries to ignore it. Is he really going to - "Master, we're -" in public. Anyone could -

"Suck."

Slade's hand on the back of his head guides him up, face to face with Slade's crotch. Robin hisses through his teeth at the pressure in his bladder, trying not to let his face turn red. Slade flicks the zipper down, shoving his cock roughly in Robin's face. It's soft, the length just as intimidating as the first time Robin had seen it, but now he knows how much it aches, the stars that burst behind his eyes when Slade chokes him. The head brushes against Robin's hot cheek, teasing him with the humiliation of it.

Anyone could walk in and see them - see Robin -

He opens his lips anyways, lets Slade's member hit his tongue, the back of his throat. Too much, stretching the confines of him. Robin whines around it. His gut aches.

Please get it over with, please get it over with, please get it over with. Slade grabs the back of Robin's head roughly, carelessly, and begins. Tears trickle down Robin's cheeks at the abuse of his throat. Every thrust puts pressure on him, too much, aching in his gut. Robin's body rocks back against the wall, head almost hitting it. Slade is hard so easily, filling him up to the brim and spilling over, hips snapping at some horrible, unseen rhythm. Robin closes his eyes.

Tries to endure it. He can hear Slade's pleasured grunts as he gets himself off with Robin's mouth, taste the pang of precum on the back of his tongue.

Please finish, please finish -

Something is rough against Robin's crotch. His eyes open wide, trying not to stare at the skin in front of him. The tip of Slade's perfectly polished boots shoves at Robin's cock. Robin keens, Slade grunting at the vibrations. Slade's boot steps down, Robin aching with pain, the tip of it - oh, god, the tip of it is pressing into his bladder and Robin has to clench his fists to keep himself in check. The only sound is the slickness of Robin's saliva on Slade, the slap of skin.

It goes faster. Robin aches. He doesn't know what sounds move in his throat, can only feel the head of Slade's cock. Slade steps down harder.

Presses in harder.

Robin - he can't. Not that. Not embarrass himself like that, not in front of Slade, not here not now not like this -

he tries to press himself away from Slade's thighs, fingers spreading on them desperately, helpless in the wake of his force. Nowhere to go but against the wall. Slade quickens. He presses in further, crueler.

Robin sobs.

Slade thrusts once, twice, and then he's slamming his balls up against Robin's throat and cum is shot down his throat in strings, hot in Robin's body. Slade makes a satisfied noise. His boot presses down harder, too hard, oh god, no, no -

Robin doesn't realize he's let go at first, only reveling in the sheer relief that shudders through ever part of him.

Slade's cock slips out with a schlick sound, trailing cum behind it that drips off of Robin's chin.

Heat is between Robin's thighs, growing, and nonono but it feels good. No more pressure, just release, trickling down his legs and through the layers on his clothes. He pants slightly, face reddening. It wouldn't mean anything to try to stop wetting himself now, the pool that spreads under his legs and soaks the tread of Slade's boots, the wet spots on his pants. Robin can smell it, feel the lukewarmth, shivering.

He sobs slightly, shutting his eyes, as if he can keep it all in. It comes to a stop, finishing on the floor and messing everything in its radius, Robin most of all. Slade makes a tsking sound. Robin sobs again. He doesn't even bother to rub at his eyes, whimpering on the floor of the dirty bathroom.

"I-I'm-I'm sorry - " he whispers.

"You're a filthy thing, aren't you?" Slade teases. "No  self control at all." Robin holds his arms. The heat cools between his legs, filthy. Disgusting. Right where anyone could walk in and see his shame at Slade's feet.

"I didn't mean to," he sobs slightly. "I couldn't - couldn't help it - "

"Of course not," Slade purrs. His piss-soaked boot nudges Robin's crotch. "And I'm sure you'd like to make things better, wouldn't you, pet?"

Robin looks up, shivering, pleading with his eyes. Slade's cock is still in front of him, sticky with Robin's fluids.

"M-master, please. How?"

He needs something to rescue himself, redeem himself from the filth of his own making he sits in.

"I don't care to move to do my business. Open your mouth."

Robin pales.

Slade didn't come here just to fuck him, pinned him up against the wall near the urinals.

Just Robin's height, knelt at Slade's feet.

Another sob, helpless and worthless and useless. No. He feels sick at the thought, sicker than he's ever felt before. Filthier than he's ever felt before.

"You did this to yourself, hm? You just showed me what you're good for. Show some gratitude that I'm using you for what you're meant for."

Robin sobs helplessly. "P - please - no - don't - "

"I said show some gratitude, you worthless animal."

Robin burns, the puddle around him sticky, every part of him tainted. He's nothing at all before Slade's will, like a child or a pet or something filthy and helpless and utterly humiliated.

"Th-th- thank you."

"For?"

"For using me," Robin says, voice tiny.

Fingers spread his lips as Slade slips inside. It lays on his tongue, Robin's hands shuddering. Tears drip down his chin. The length, the weight of it is familiar, but it doesn't harden. Instead, Slade pulls his head closer, making him take more -

It's almost worse that Robin knows what's coming, the bitterness spilling over his tongue and choking him as Slade pisses in his mouth. He's forced to swallow desperately, the warmth trickling down his throat in bitter, heavy tastes, filthy and disgusting. Every part of it is horrible, Robin sobbing as his knees shudder in his own puddle. He gags to avoid choking, the stream of it falling down his throat as he tries to keep up with it. Sick, sick, sick -

It seems to go on forever, Slade taking his time, absently rubbing his fingers behind Robin's ear. The stream pours down Robin's throat, making him sick. Using him like he's nothing, worse than anything else he's endured, for Slade's convenience. Because he can't be bothered to move a few inches. Because he wants Robin humiliated and worthless at his feet.

Robin chokes down the last of it, feeling that part of Slade roiling in his gut. The last of it slips on his tongue as Slade leaves, piss trailing down Robin's chin and splashing in his own on the bottom.

He shudders there, sobbing silently. Used, worthless, nothing at all. For Slade's desire. Slade fixes himself idly, turning to wash his hands, the water running uselessly. As if nothing had happened, as if he hadn't just - made Robin just . . . Something roils in Robin's gut, sick.

"Get up." Slade throws the towel in the trash can. Robin shivers to his feet, bracing himself against the wall. Piss trickles down his legs, dribbling to the floor. He's weak, helpless. His throat burns, from Slade's abuse or his own tears he can't tell.

Slade grins, leaning over him. "Don't look so sad, Robin, I guarantee you're at least as good as any of the other urinals in this bathroom."

And with that, Robin is grabbed by his collar and pulled back into the gas station, the spot on his pants which betrays him and all.

[zophora]

Halo

Pairing: Tom Holland x Neutral reader

Word Count: 2.1k

A/N: Kat killed me with that moodboard of lazy mornings with Tom so this fic is sort of based off it. Her blog is @loserparker and this is also not really based off the song “Halo” by Beyonce (Tom is Bold)

Warning: Mentioning a bit of that scene (you know what I’m talking about) from Infinity War. So be careful if you haven’t seen it! Also, just a bit of sadness at the end.

The formatting is fucking up :)

Masterlist

~Hit me like a ray of sun, Burning through my darkest night, You're the only one that I want, Think I'm addicted to your light~

Slowly opening your eyes, you glanced around the room. Bright yellow light was streaming in through the cracks of the blinds. The bed was a mess of blankets and pillows thrown everywhere. To your right laid Tom.

His body was wrapped tightly in the comforter with his head on the pillow. You could hear his shallow breathing as he slept peacefully. And in this moment, you swear you could see your whole life flash before your eyes. And you knew, yes, it sounded cliche, but you couldn’t help it.

You saw Tom proposing, knowing him it would probably be something extra, somehow more extra than he usually is. You laughed quietly to yourself. You saw yourself walking down the aisle, your family and friends standing and smiling at you and Tom, standing at the altar with the biggest smile on his face you had ever seen him have and tears in his eyes. You saw your kids running around the house that you two had bought together with Tom chasing after them pretending he was Spider-Man chasing his little villains. You saw your children all grown up and you and Tom growing old together, reminiscing about the years you spent with each other falling in love over and over again.

“I can feel you staring at me,” Tom said snapping you out of your thoughts. He opened his eyes and smiled at you.

“Caught red-handed. But can you really blame me? I’m staring at art,” you said jokingly, smiling back at him.

“Really? Well, come give this piece of art a kiss,” he said with a smirk.

“Augh, you’re so annoying” but you leaned in and gave him a kiss anyways.

“So, what are we doing today? I don’t have work and you don’t have filming today….”

You took one look at each other and said in unison “lazy day”

See, this is why we are so perfect together. We both love doing nothing and I couldn’t ask for a better person to do nothing with.

“We have to make our ‘special lazy day lunch’ first,” Tom said.

You laughed and said “of course”

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

This isn’t the first time you and Tom have had a chance to do nothing all day. This happened whenever the two of you were actually home at the same time, which didn’t happen that often, but when it did, you two would have the most amazing day.

Now, your definition of ‘lazy day’ was just a bit different. Instead of laying in the bed all day sleeping and waking up, bored out of your mind, or just staring at your phone, you and Tom made it fun.

On those days, you usually woke up whenever your body decided to wake you up. Sometimes you woke up first and sometimes Tom woke up first. When Tom woke up first, he would go to the kitchen and fix breakfast for the both of you if it was still morning. The only reason you woke up was because you didn’t feel the warmth of his body next to yours. Wandering into the kitchen, you would always find a mess and Tom trying to frantically make pancakes or waffles before you woke up. Unfortunately, you always woke up before he could make it back to bed.

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

“Tommy, can you take out the Belgian waffle maker and the bacon?”

It was a little past 12 and Tom wanted lunch, but you wanted breakfast, so you two decided on brunch. You came to a resolution of Belgian waffles, bacon, mini sandwiches, fruit, and croissants (of course). It took about a half hour to make everything and after getting all your food together, you headed back to bed.

You took out a blanket from the linen closet and laid it out on the floor. Tom put out all the plates of food and your drinks and grabbed some pillows from the bed. It was a cute little indoor picnic.

“So how was your sleep?” You asked Tom as you two sat on the blanket and started eating.

“Pretty good until you woke me up with your staring,” he said with a sly grin.

“Hey! My staring definitely did not wake you up!”

“I’m just kidding, love. My sleep was great. I was having the most amazing dream where we had an amazing weekend getaway to Italy.”

“That sounds romantic, we should definitely do that sometime. Talk about the perfect place to go with the love of my life,” you said staring at him with only love in your eyes.

“It doesn’t matter where we go to me, as long as I’m there with you.”

You and Tom had a long conversation of the perfect trip to Italy, finished your food, and cleaned up the picnic, moving onto the next “lazy day” activity.

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

“Alright, so I’m thinking that I want a rematch from last week…..”

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Y/N,” he said blinking his eyes knowing full well what you were talking about.

“Don’t play stupid with me, Stanley. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

Tom looked at you intently and then opened his eyes wide, pretending to finally realize what you are talking about, “Ohhhhh you mean that dance battle we had??”

“Yes Tom, and as I recall, there was one part where you cheated which caused you to win the whole thing and I want a rematch.”

“You can have your rematch, but for the record, I definitely did not cheat, I’m just a really good dancer”

“Sure Thomas”

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

Last week, you and Tom had come home from a premiere and were still pretty energized considering the buzz of flashing cameras and the fun you had at the after party. So to try to get rid of some of that energy, you guys decided to have a dance off playing Just Dance 2014.

As you went through the different songs, you would win some and Tom would win some. When you got to your last song, which was Jason Derulo’s “The Other Side,” Tom managed to somehow cheat. You two were tied for wins and this song would have determined the champion of Just Dance 2014.

Well, right before you guys danced, Tom went into the other room and got on the phone with someone. You didn’t think it was important at the time, but looking back you realized what he did.

Sometime near the end of the song, you and Tom were neck and neck when someone suddenly burst through the front door and started calling out, “HELLO HELLO ANYONE HOOOMEEE?!?”

You, of course, got distracted and your moves started getting sloppy until you got so far behind in points that you just decided to give up.

The person who came in the room was obviously HARRISON.

“TOM YOU FREAKING CHEATED”

“I have no idea what you are talking about!”

“YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! WHY IS HARRISON HERE?”

Harrison looked dumbfounded and said, “Whatever could you mean?” Placing his hand over his heart, “Honestly, I was just stopping by to say hello and see what you guys were up to. Apparently, I stepped in the middle of something…..”

“Oh don’t play dumb with me Haz. I know that you are in cahoots with Mr. Cheater over there trying hard not to laugh.”

“Y/N I swear, I won fair and square,” Tom said trying to suppress a smile.

“Yeah whatever man. I’m tired, but I definitely want a rematch.”

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

You made sure all the doors were locked and that Harrison was nowhere near where you and Tom lived. Luckily, he was out of town with some friends. Tom set up Just Dance 2014 and picked the Jason Derulo song.

“You sure you want this rematch? Are you ready to lose again?”

“Are you ready to take this hit to your ego, Stanley?”

You danced your heart out and Tom did too. In the end, with no distractions, you came out victorious.

“HA I KNEW IT!! DON’T TRY TO TELL ME ANYTHING”

You felt slightly bad because Tom did look seriously surprised. Like he knew that you were a pretty decent dancer, but considering ‘The Other Side’ was one of the hardest songs in the game, he thought he had a fighting chance. Boy, was he wrong.

“Alright, I’ll admit when I’m wrong. You are the rightful champion of Just Dance 2014. Do you want a scepter with that crown?”

“Actually, yeah. I would freaking love that. Now you can treat me like royalty for the rest of the day”

Tom just smiled and bowed.

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

“As I was saying, I just think that you know, Marvel didn’t have to hurt us like that. And especially you! What the hell was that???”

You and Tom had been going back and forth about Avengers Infinity War. It was now dark outside and after you had won your little competition, Tom ordered a pizza. You were now laying in bed staring at the ceiling with a pizza box between the two of you.

“Well, I don’t really know. Those lines just kinda came to me. It was completely improve. I mean, I just repeated the same thing, not really a big deal,” he said with a little shrug of his shoulders.

You gasped and hit him, “What do you mean not a big deal?? That scene made Marvel fans around the world freaking cry.”

“Yeah I guess. I don’t know. There was so much going on, that I was like, I’ll do something and just hope people think it’s good enough.”

Your body shot up, sitting straight in the bed staring at Tom. The moonlight was coming in through the cracks of your blinds and the light was lighting up Tom’s face. You could see the subtle movements in his eyes as they darted back in forth between your face and the wall, like he was afraid of something. His eyes looked as though they desperately wanted to let out tears. The smile that he had a couple of minutes ago, now faded, with no trace of it ever being there.

“Tom? What’s wrong?” He didn’t respond, but sat up and stared out the window instead.

You wrapped your arms around him from behind and put your chin on his shoulder.

“Baby, you can tell me anything. Don’t ever feel like you have to hide something from me….”

“I just… I have so much to live up to. I’m constantly surrounded by people that have made a name for themselves in this crazy town. And I have to somehow prove to all of them, my parents, my siblings, my friends, those people that bullied me when I was younger, and everyone else that I’m good enough. And on top of that, I have to keep up this image of myself. I mean, It’s not like I’m faking anything in front of the cameras, but to act a certain way all the time is just draining.”

As you looked at Tom, you saw a few tears fall from his eyes. You stood up off the bed in crouched down in front of him, took his hands in your hands and looked up at him.

“Tommy, look at me.” It took him a minute to meet your eyes.

“Okay well, first of all, you do not have to prove yourself to anyone. Everyone knows just how hard you are working. You’re working so hard that sometimes, I barely get to see you because you are off filming or promoting a movie.”

Tom interrupted you and said, “And I completely forgot about that. I’m not even around the person I’m dating. How could I be so selfish?”

“Tom. You. Are. Not. Selfish. It is one hundred percent okay because I love you and I know that you are trying to build your career. That just means that the moments that we have together are very important because of the little time we have. It means that when you are around, I cherish that time even more because when you aren’t here, I think back on those moments and you know what? I don’t cry, I smile. I smile because I love you too much to ever get in the way of what you love to do because I know that we will always have these moments and I always have something to look forward to in my life, you coming back home to me.”

“How did I ever get someone as amazing as you?”

“You were patient enough to wait for someone that was perfect for you. Now it’s my turn to do the same. I’ll wait for as long as you need me to. As long as one day you put a ring on my finger,” you said cracking a smile.

Tom let out a little laugh and said, “you can definitely count on that, love”

\\Tags: @hollandbaby @dearcindymoon @sarsmusings @patron-saintof-sluts @pickachurose @tomhoellandb @bangtanscope @heroholland @wtfholland @onewrogue @purepeterparker @stephie-senpai @beautifullydisconnected @babykaykay2000 @tomsfireheart

[prompt-master]

SQUIP Strikes Again

Anon asked: Would you be up for writing a fic where Jeremy’s squip issues start acting up badly when he’s in a very public place, and Michael has to get him out of the situation?

No offense but I love this and I wish there were more fics of it??

“Dude have you even seen the new Space Invaders game in this place? It’s a sick contender to the retro aesthetic. I got a bunch of one dollar bills for us to waste away, just me and my player two!”

Jeremy let out a breathy laugh, a smile tugging at his lips as Michael led him through the mall. As he talked he moved like an animated character, but a poor budget one. His hands spasmed in random directions, trying hard to express his excitement for the big Space Invaders game recently set up. Apparently Michael had stayed till closing yesterday to get top on the list of highscores. Now that it was Saturday Michael had decided that Jeremy must also see this marvelous peice of art. At 9 O'clock, which was way too early for Jeremy’s sleep deprived teenage mind.

‘Jeremy, this game is a waste of time and even worse, in a public space. You’ll be seen making an embarrassment of yourself as per usual’

Jeremy rolled his eyes at the obnoxious voice of Keanu Reeves. Their voice was a touch more faded since the play, but recently it has been getting stronger. Jeremy quickly looked down at the sprite in his hand, wondering if other sodas could affect the squip. If it did, they didn’t decide to let Jeremy know. Jeremy took a deep breath and focused on Michael instead, who was smirking down at a bunch of one’s in his wallet.

’ You say you’re going to ignore me, Jeremiah, but you can’t, I know you’re thinking about me, I’m inside your mind.’

'Shut up. Don’t call me that.’

'Stop slouching’

'I don’t have to do anything’

Out of spite Jeremy arched his back even further, not caring about the chiropractor he was going to need in the future. Michael hopped up the stairs, knowing fully well Jeremy felt uncomfortable in the confined space of an elevator. At the top of the stairs Michael quickly scanned Jeremy with his eyes before his smile grew, showing off crooked teeth.

“Glad to see you relaxing, Heere!’”

Jeremy laughed, “Yeah man, I’ve been looking forward to hanging with you all week.”

Michael smirked, grabbing onto Jeremy’s hand. They walked past Newbury comics, Hot Topic, and the food court. Michael didn’t stop once, determined to get to thus game.

“Well, I am your favwioute pewrson, so I get that!”

“Ugh shut up man”

’ Jeremy, stop slouching.’

'Can I install a mute button on you?’

'I’m being serious Jeremy.’

Something about the SQUIP’s tone made Jeremy falter in his steps, Michael’s grip on him the only reason he kept walking. He shouldn’t have anything to worry about. The SQUIP can’t control him, and they can’t hurt him anymore. All they can do is act like an annoying 3 year old who’s been told they can’t have candy.

Michael, bless him, took his mind off his worries once again.

“Here she is!” He yelled, throwing up his hands in front of a tall thin display, in front of it two seats with gun launchers to take aim at those damn Space Invaders. It really..did look awesome, Michael was right.

“Woah.”

“Dude I know! It’s so much fun, I never thought a retro game could be remade well!” God, Michael’s smile is so contagious. Michael stood up on his toes to be able to point to the top of the leaderboard “and here is moi!”

Jeremy raised an eyebrow at the first place holder, leaning back against one of the seats “RAD?”

Michael frowned “RAD? What no it’s- oh come on!” Michael had been brought down to second place, with his initials MOM, “I left not even 5 minutes before closing! Damn you RAD, whoever you are. Come on Jereny let’s kick their ass.”

“I’m with you man”

Jeremy took the right seat with Michael in the left, they gave each other an all knowing 'game mode’, ready to fully immerse themselves to beat this score. Michael dropped in 2 dollar bills, game on.

It was a blissful, yet intense experience. They really gave it there everything. Usually Jeremy would feel embarassed being out in the open, gaming so that any pair of eyes can watch him, but now he was having so much fun he didn’t care at all. Even as more and more people piled into the mall, and even as the SQUIP continued to harass his mind.

“Oh come on!” Michael swore, slamming back against the chair in frustration “we were so close!”

“RAD has a pretty good score.”

“We can do better, come on Jeremy put yourself out there yourself out there!”

“S-sorry man”

The truth was he had impulsively listened to the SQUIP on how to win, thus ending with him losing his last life.

'It would have worked if you could do anything right. Don’t blame me for your incompetence.’

Michael’s thigh brushed against his, “ready to go again?”

'Stop playing this game, Jeremy. This goal is a waste of time, I’m warning you.’

Jeremy took a deep breath, his eyes watching people casually walk between stores. He was glad there was no one waiting to play the game, just so he could spite the SQUIP some more. He met Michael’s eyes and nodded with a determined smile.

Michael placed two more dollars in, “last bucks Jer, let’s throw RAD’s ass to the floor!”

But when Jeremy placed his hands on the red gun a sharp bolt in his bones had him pulling back “ow!”

“Jeremy?! Dude don’t leave me hanging we just started!”

“Sorry sorry!” Jeremy tried to put his hands back on the gun, only to have another wave of pain jolt from the base of his neck down to his wrists, “what the hell?!”

'I told you to stop playing jeremy.’

'Dude knock it off!’ He yelled out at as another wave electricity ran through him, getting a bit stronger.

He opened his eyes to find the game over screen. Shit he ruined Michael’s day again. When he turned to apologize Michael was staring at him, eyes filled with pure concern. He threw the game the instant he realized Jeremy had cried out in pain.

“Jeremy..? Dude what’s going on?”

“Nothing I-” another zap, Jeremy could feel his skin tingling strangely afterwards, he curled in on himself, “fuck, stop it!”

“Stop what? Jeremy, buddy, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“I- Michael I’m sorry it’s the- AUGH!” Rather than the usual quick shocks Jeremy was used to, this time he was hit with one continuous rush of pins and needles. Jeremy curled up, his arms twitching at his sides as he tugged his hair.

'Do not tell Michael Mell about this.’

Michael watched his friend with wide eyes, his heart pounding loud enough to take up every single sense. What was going on? He put a hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, flinching at the static shock he got. He bit his lip at the attention they were starting to attract, every eye in the mall on them. All he cared about though was the fact that his best friend had his head between his knees, making pained noises and twitching every now and then. It was obvious he was trying not to scream.

Jeremy took advantage of a break in the shocking to look up at Michael, he hated that scared on-the-verge-of-panic-attack look he had. He swallowed down the pooling spit in his mouth, ignoring the echoes of the SQUIP telling him to sit tall.

“Jeremy…? Is…is it the-”

“Excuse me?” Michael looked up at a young female who had ran over, Jeremy continued to stare off. “Hi, I’m first-aid certified. Is your friend ok?”

“I-”

“Does he need an ambulance?” Another person asked.

“Wait I don’t-”

“Young man” another said, this time to Jeremy, “can you hear us?”

Michael couldn’t help but wince when Jeremy failed to contain another yell of pain, this time louder. All the people now gathered around them clearly wasn’t helping his situation, Jeremy curled further into himself which resulted in more shocks from an unhappy SQUIP. Michael gave off the best glare he could over his panicked emotions, protectivly hovering over Jeremy “give him space dammit!”

People backed off a little at that, slight murmers still coming off the crowd. Michael gently brought his hands down to Jeremy’s chin, lifting the boy up. His face was contorted in pain, and his lip was now split and bleeding under the tooth that was biting it.

“Jeremy…?”

“…nngh…S-SQUIP. it’s the- fuck!”

Michael then stood up, grabbing Jeremy’s shoulders and lifting the boy up, supporting his weight. “Alright that’s it, we’re leaving”

“Son you really should leave him there and call an ambula-”

Michael shoved past the crowd, too caught up in his worries to focus on being polite, “I said we’re leaving”

The way down to Michael’s car was painful to sit through. Jeremy grunted through grit teeth, his nails digging feverishly into Michael’s sleeve for any sort of help to ease the pain. Michael felt every twitch and jump Jeremy’s body made, and it was clear Jeremy wasn’t able to support even the slightest bit of his own weight, he was basically carrying him. He opened the pasaanger door to the car, not liking the pale look on his face or the small gasps for air he took in.

Michael swirled around to his trunk, grabbing out a bottle of Mountain Dew Red, then hopped back to the drivers seat. Jeremy was laying there in a cold sweat, his eyes blinking slowly as he began to heavily zone out.

“Hey- hey no Jeremy” Michael gave a light pat to his face, causing him to groan and look over, “stay awake ok? Here drink this”

Michael didn’t wait for a response, tilting the drink into Jeremy’s mouth. He screwed the cap on, hands shaking from adrenaline.

“Sweet mother fucking Jesus, Jeremy you scared the shit out of me!”

Michael leaned his head against the steering wheel, taking a few ground deep breaths. He looked over at Jeremy, “are you ok?”

Jeremy nodded shortly, looking and feeling so exhausted and drained. His body aching as he heard the SQUIP’s voice distort away, they’d be gone for another week or so.

“My…” his voice cracked, dry from all the yelling. He shut his eyes, “My head just hurts.”

Michael placed a hand on Jeremy’s thigh, “let’s head to my place, ok? We have some ibuprofen. And then you’re gonna tell me more about what the fuck the SQUIP did”

Jeremy once again shortly nodded, not having much energy for anything else. His body felt drained, skin numb and crawling. His head pounded in pain that left Jeremy against the door of the car. He took a deep breath in as the roaring of the car left vibrations down his back. He fell backwards into the fading energy and call for sleep, his last thought being about how they never kicked RAD’s ass.

[hisashi-monogatari]

Flower Gazing (story fragment)

A story idea I brainstormed and wrote up in March 2020. I never finished it, and the ellipses within parentheses signify missing, never-written chunks of the narrative I would later fill in. This scene would take place during Act III of the storyline as a whole, during which Daniel and Hisashi take a trip to China to try to uncover the mystery of Hisashi’s past and origin, and spend the night at an inn for spirits. The writing is old, so it’s stilted and overwrought, and not very good, but I’ll post it anyway.

The man in question turned around then, at the sound of his name, and Daniel took a step back in reflex. The man must have been near 200 centimeters in height, and was obviously heavily muscled underneath the simple loose clothing he wore. He had a shaggy mop of hair that hung low over his eyes and which grew long in the back, which was gathered into an uneven ponytail near his nape. Daniel couldn’t decide if his hair was dark-blond or brown; the shade somehow simultaneously seemed both golden and caramel-like. His skin was light brown, a shade or two darker than his hair, and his eyes were dark, and he had some scruff on his chin. A pair of small horns poked out from his forehead past his bangs. His eyes were dark, nearly black, but ringed with gold at the edge of the iris. He shifted an arm forward, and brought a hand up in front of him. Daniel blinked at it a moment, then took and shook it. The man squeezed hard then, and Daniel winced in reflex, though it hurt less than was uncomfortable. Daniel tried to pull away, but the man held him there for a moment longer, before finally releasing his grip. Daniel immediately took a step back, and looked up at the man’s face. The other stared back impassively at him, expression unreadable to Daniel. Apprehension and a sense of fear welled up inside him. Daniel immediately disliked the man, heartily. he looked away, and swallowed. […]

[Scene break]

Daniel awoke to a cacophony of noise somewhere outside the room. He instantly felt his blood pressure rise. If whatever is going on doesn’t stop, God help me, he thought. There were loud voices and banging going on, though he couldn’t place where. He shut his eyelids tight, and tried to ignore it. The commotion continued. It sounded like it was coming from next door, to the right of their room. Shut up, shut up, Daniel hissed under his breath. The noises did not shut up. No, they seemed to be coming from the left. Daniel shrunk deeper under his covers, and curled his fingers around the edge of the bottom-most sheet. he clenched his fists tight around the hem of it, and tried his best to drown it out. The noises seemed to get louder. They were coming from below him, in fact. People were talking in a crowd excitedly, with voices loud yet too indistinct to make out any words. It sounded like a party or a moving team. Shut up, Daniel demanded. Shut up, he begged. Shut up. Shut up, or so help me God— Something enormous dropped with a metallic tang and an impact that sent shockwaves up the support pillars of the lower level and through the floor to rattle him in his bed. Daniel bolted upright with a scream, flinging the covers off him. He whipped around in a mad frenzy, lusting for blood, and hoped desperately to spot someone, anyone to suck dry in revenge. In the blur of his surroundings he spotted Hisashi sitting upright on his own bed, arms crossed tightly against his chest. In surprise, he stilled, and looked him over worriedly. Hisashi was leaning against the wall, his head tilted back against it, his eyes shut as if in meditation. After a moment, he sucked in a slow, rattling breath through his nose, then straightened up, unfurled his arms, and opened his eyes. Daniel didn’t move, and kept looking at him. “You’re awake,” Hisashi observed. “Yeah,” Daniel replied. he cringed internally at his own curtness, unmeant. He stopped himself, and took a deep breath to calm his nerves. “You too?” “Yeah.” No elaboration from Hisashi. “Why didn’t you go down?” “I was going to let you sleep if you could. I don’t mind it, myself.” Hisashi, for his part, had a look of stone-cold fury, and a vein in his forehead was bulging, looking ready to burst. Daniel scrunched up his face in reaction, nonplussed at such an obvious lie. What does he have to gain from hiding it? he wondered helplessly. They remained where they were in the dark, not moving for a minute. Hisashi finally heaved a sigh. “Well, shall we go down and see what all the noise is about?”

[Scene break]

Daniel crept down the stairs, Hisashi behind him. “Hisashi!” [girl 1] called out, spotting him. She grinned, and quickly pulled him close by the hand. “What’s going on here?” Hisashi asked her, looking faintly amused at the commotion around them. “We’re going flower-gazing!” she said. “In the moonlight!” Daniel’s eyes widened and he whipped around to look at her, wondering if he’d heard right. “Flower-gazing?” Hisashi asked incredulously. The front door to the inn was ajar beyond the bustle, and past the heads the night looked dark and uninviting. “There will be fires, and lanterns lit,” [woman 1] said smoothly, gliding up to them with a calm gait. “And wine!” [man 2] shouted. “Rice wine, of course, and some grape wine from Turpan, and—” “You said flower gazing?” Daniel asked [girl 1]. He felt excitement slowly rising in him. “Yeah!” she said, looking back at him with big eyes. “You have done that before, right?” Daniel paused to reach back into his memory, and felt a grin tugging at his lips. He found vague recollections of watching the cherry blossoms one spring or two with his parents, before they’d divorced. “Not since I was a kid,” he said, grin widening. […] “Come,” said [man 1, host], with a benevolent smile, “let’s head outside, and set up the blankets.” […] “Here!” [undecided] cried, thrusting a cup in front of him. “Drink!” Daniel felt his breath catch in his throat, and he stared at the cup in front of his face with a rising pang of panic. He glanced over at Hisashi beside him, who smiled, and nodded reassuringly at him. “Go ahead,” Hisashi encouraged. Daniel turned back to the cup, and after a moment, he took it, ignoring the trembling in his hand. Another cup was offered Daniel’s way, and he took it after a split-second’s pausing. The smile on Hisashi’s face faltered, and as Daniel grasped the cup with both hands, leaned in close, and rasped in his ear “Don’t rush.” Daniel flinched, and turned quickly to look at him, confused and unnerved. Why had he done that? But Hisashi was already leaning back, straightening up. Daniel turned back to the cup before him, and found himself drawn in to the brown surface as it rippled and glistened in the sliver of moonlight. How pretty, he thought, distantly. Then he gulped it down. […] “You wanna get married, and take me to see the human world?” Daniel choked on his drink and started coughing. Hisashi handed him a napkin as he sputtered, and he tried to think of what he could possibly reply with. Before he had a chance to speak, however, [woman 1] chimed in. “You’d have to turn into a woman if you want to marry him,” she said evenly. Ox blew from his mouth derisively as he poured himself a cup. “What the hell for?” “The human world doesn’t allow marriage between men.” “What?!” The bottle slipped from his fingers in shock. “Since when?!” “Hey, you spilled on me!” [male 2] exclaimed. “Uh, since forever!” [girl 1] said, an impish grin plastered on. [Male 2] grabbed a napkin and started dabbing at the quickly-widening puddle on his tunic. “It’s been that way for centuries,” [woman 1] said. “A millennium, at least,” Hisashi threw in. […] “Augh! I hate trying to fit myself into female disguises, they’re so cramped.” Ox turned to Daniel, and pointed a finger accusingly at him. “Your women are too small!” “That’s because they like their women petite,” [woman 2] chimed in. “It’s not inborn—they like them to be pretty, dainty things, so they half-feed them, half-starve them as they grow up.” She turned to Daniel, and fixed him with a lazy, benevolent smile. “Isn’t that right?” “Daniel sputtered. “What?” he asked “I—” [girl 1] turned to look at him. “Is that true?” she asked, sounding dismayed. “Do you humans really do that?” “I—I don’t—” Hisashi, his cheeks pink, stared with unrestrained delight. “Go on!” he goaded, “answer the question.” “I don’t know!” Daniel shouted.

[mackinmacki]

Dreams are Meant for Chasing

Rating: K

Word Count: 2375

Pairings: HonoKoto (unrequited)

Summary: When Kotori gets an opportunity to study fashion, it leaves her - and Honoka - with a hard choice.

Link: (FFN) | (AO3)

"So you're sure about this?" Umi hadn't had a serious conversation with Honoka since they'd committed to being idols. She was used to her friend being a goofball, so this change to a more serious topic caught her off guard. It was understandable, though. This was a very important subject for both of them, since it involved Kotori.

"Ahaha, I... I'm not sure." The three of them had been inseparable since they were little, but now that bond was about to be tested. Kotori had confided in them, with excitement and trepidation, the news that she had been accepted to a very prestigious fashion school. It was going to split the three friends up for the first time, as she would be at a different school for their senior year.

"If anyone can change her mind, you can." They both expressed cautious excitement for her, though she admitted that she hadn't made a decision yet. That decision needed to be made by the end of the week, though. Probably even before then, since the rest of Muse deserved to know what was going on as well. However, there was one more secret that nobody else knew. Only Umi was privy to the truth: that Honoka was in love with Kotori.

"I don't know, Umi... It's her dream, after all." She had never been able to pinpoint the moment where she fell in love with Kotori. It may have just been that way for too long of a time, and she hadn't been able to understand her true feelings until recently. She hadn't confessed, though, because she'd been scared. It had seemed like she'd have all the time in the world to summon up her courage, but that time had been slipping away without her knowledge. Now it was almost too late.

"What about your dream, though? She's your dream." The fact that Honoka was in love with Kotori didn't surprise Umi. She had a firsthand look at the way they acted around each other. They were obviously closer than mere friends. The surprise was that Honoka was scared of something. They'd always joked about Honoka's one true fear being homework, but that'd always been playful banter between the three of them. Umi had never truly believed there would be something that scared Honoka. Not until now.

"I can't be selfish like that, though! This is what she's wanted for so long... How can I stop her from doing what she loves?" It sucked that this had to happen, but it felt selfish to even think like that. After all, it didn't suck for Kotori. Well, it would hurt to be separated from her friends, but this was an opportunity she had been dreaming about. Honoka could fondly remember when they were in middle school and Kotori would have her model the very first designs she had ever made. Umi had always been too embarrassed to do it, but Honoka was more than happy to show off in whatever outfit Kotori created. The passion she put into every stitch... It would be cruel to deny the world of such talent just because she had fallen in love.

"You say that, but you're stopping yourself from having what you love." Umi placed a sympathetic hand on Honoka's shoulder, squeezing it. She knew how hard this must be for Honoka. Hell, it was hard for her too. Both Honoka and Kotori were her best friends, and it hurt to imagine one of them not being there. In her own mind, she was having the same debates that Honoka was having. She knew that she could only offer advice, though. Honoka was the one who could make Kotori stay... or let her leave. "Sometimes you have to be a little bit selfish to get your own happiness."

"Ehehe, I've never heard you say that I should be selfish." They both laughed at that. It was true, though. Umi was the one who was a stickler for the rules. Honoka was the free spirit who just followed wherever her heart took her. For the first time, though, she was resisting the path her heart wanted her to take. This was going to affect someone she cared deeply for. It wasn't something she could just dive into headfirst like she usually did. For once, she found herself holding back, walking the cautious route. "I don't want her to regret missing this opportunity, though. What if she hates me for depriving her of it?"

"Kotori would never hate you, Honoka." There was no doubt in her mind that this was true. Of all the things one could attribute to Kotori, hate was not one of them. The girl didn't have a spiteful bone in her body. Thinking that she could hate her best friend was preposterous. "She would want you to tell her the truth. It will mean more coming from you."

"I know..." After that, they lapsed into a tense silence, both weighed down by the thought of losing their friend. Eventually, Honoka stood up, mumbling that she needed to get home before it got dark. That was how serious it was: Honoka was actually caring about a curfew.

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I'll... think about it." Then Honoka left, and Umi didn't try to stop her. She laid down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling, sighing quietly. This was going to be a long night.

That night, Honoka had a hard time sleeping. With the covers pulled up to her chin, she stared up at the ceiling and thought about Kotori. This wasn't a new sensation, as she thought about her crush lots of times. This was different, though. Kotori was making a decision that could potentially uproot her from the only place she'd ever lived, and Honoka had to decide whether or not she was going to try and stop her.

Umi was right: she was the only person who could dissuade her, if she so chose. Was it the right decision, though? She didn't want Kotori to leave, because she didn't want to imagine graduating without her. Having their seniors graduating was bad enough, but losing Kotori as well? It'd make things even worse. She so badly wanted to run over to Kotori's house and beg her to stay.

On the other hand, she knew that wasn't fair. This was Kotori's dream, after all. To take that away from her just because she feared losing her childhood friend... How selfish could one get? These competing emotions battled it out for dominance inside her head, but neither of them could gain an edge on the other. It just left her tense and frustrated.

"Augh!" Why did this have to be so difficult? In frustration, she grabbed her pillow and pressed it against her face, groaning loudly into it. She didn't know what to do. If only she could follow her heart, but now it was telling her two conflicting things. It would've been so much easier if she wasn't crushing on Kotori, but she was. There was no way around that now. What was the best course of action?

Eventually her frustration tired her out, and she laid the pillow back down so she could go to sleep. It didn't come easy, but eventually she drifted off into an uneasy sleep. Dreams of birds flying away and herself falling from a great height plagued her night, and when she woke up she was tired and still undecided. She didn't even want to get up, but she needed to. Kotori deserved to hear from her before it was too late.

The question was: what was she going to say?

In the afternoon, Honoka trudged over towards Kotori's house. She hadn't told anyone she was going, not even Kotori. Maybe if she wasn't home, than Honoka wouldn't have to truly make a decision. That was a coward's way out, though. She needed to let Kotori know.

Still, she hesitated when she reached the door, not wanting to ring the doorbell. She wished that someone was there to give her a pep talk, like Umi or Rin. This was something she had to do alone, though. Sighing, she made herself press the doorbell, waiting with an increasing tangle of nerves inside her.

It was Mrs. Minami who answered the door, a knowing smile on her face when she saw Honoka there. "Ah, Honoka. Kotori's in her room." With a nod of thanks, Honoka came in and took off her shoes, worry lacing every step as she got to Kotori's room. She knocked on the door, standing out there until she heard 'Come in!'

When she came in, Kotori was surprised. She had thought it would be her mother. "Honoka? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you about your fashion school."

"Oh." She had a feeling that was what it was going to be about. A pit of dread formed in Kotori's stomach as she sat down on her bed, and Honoka joined her. "Wh-What about it?" Truth be told, she still hadn't decided what to do. This was a dream come true, but she really didn't want to leave her friends behind.

"Well, I've been thinking about it, and..." Honoka wrung her hands nervously, unable to look at Kotori. "I think this is a great opportunity for you." Kotori's eyes widened, having not expected to hear that. It was true, but she had felt like Honoka was going to ask her to stay. "You've loved fashion for so long, and I want you to pursue your dreams."

"Honoka..."

"Think about how great it'll be to go to school where there's fashion all over the place!" It was tough for her to look at Kotori, since she was sure it would make her cry. She had to, though, so she looked up and tried to smile. When she saw Kotori staring back at her, the tears immediately began prickling at her eyes. "It'll help you get into the fashion world, like you've always wanted!"

"I know, but..." It was all true, but the thought of leaving Honoka and Umi behind made her feel like it wasn't the right decision. She'd been going back and forth about what to do ever since she got the letter, but secretly she'd been waiting for Honoka to talk to her. It felt like Honoka was the right person to help her decide what to do. She was just surprised that there wasn't a single plea for her to stay there.

"And you're gonna come back, right?" It was the only shred of hope that Honoka could hold onto, now that she had made her decision. "Once you're done with your fashion training, you'll come back to us, and you can show us everything you learned! Right?" There was a hint of desperation in her eyes, a needy hope that she could tell Kotori to go pursue her dreams, but that she'd come back to them.

"O-Of course, Honoka. I'd never leave forever." That was true enough. No matter what, she'd come back. It just seemed too long to go without her friends. This was quite the opportunity though, and if her best friend was so supportive, how could she turn it down? "I'll always come back to see you, and Umi too."

Honoka smiled brightly, wiping away the tears from the corner of her eyes. It still hurt: it really did. She didn't want Kotori to be gone for an entire year, but she knew this was the right thing to do. This was Kotori's future, and it was more important than a silly crush. Their friendship would still last: she'd make sure of it. This was what was best.

They shared a hug, and then Honoka stayed to help Kotori pack. For awhile, they could ignore the inevitable and talk about anything but the impeding school year. They could talk about their soon to be former idol days, and the new summer blockbusters that were coming out. It was a very needed distraction, but when Honoka finally had to go, the weight of what had happened crashed down on her. She knew it was the right thing to do, but she couldn't help but feel crushed by the thought of Kotori leaving for a whole year... of Kotori finding someone new.

She allowed herself to cry the entire way home.

"So, you let her go." Honoka and Umi were standing by the airport window, watching Kotori's plane take off. Watching it become smaller and smaller as it flew away tore Honoka's heart into tiny pieces, and she swallowed thickly as she nodded. It was the right thing to do. That was what she had been telling herself all week, but it didn't make it any easier.

"Yeah. It was... It was for the best." She didn't want to start crying in the airport, but the tears were already starting to form in her eyes. Then she found herself being pulled into an embrace, and Umi was holding her tightly. She rested her head on Umi's shoulder and let the tears fall. "I didn't want it to hurt like this..."

"Neither of us did." Umi was crying as well, though she was holding it together better than Honoka was. She was going to miss Kotori too, and she wished there was someone to hold her. That wasn't important now, though. What was important was her being there and being strong for Honoka.

"At least she'll come back... She won't be gone forever." That was the new future that she clung to. Without assurances that Kotori would return, she might've truly gone insane. At least Umi was still there. Hopefully she wasn't going to a new school either. "Don't leave me either, Umi... Please don't leave me..."

"I won't, Honoka. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." They still had each other, at least. While Kotori was pursuing her dream, they'd be back home waiting for her. They were in this together. After all, what were friends for? So the two of them stayed in that embrace, until they had run out of tears. Then they left the airport, heading home to wait for word that Kotori had landed safely.