#They need a current team name dammit

[mxomo]

caring again (3/3) ♡ ︎kuroo tetsurō

Kuroo comforts you after catching you having a teary moment. c/w: haikyuu, female reader, fluff, comfort. a/n: technically part 3 of care(1)(2), but can be read alone. i hope you like! ♡︎

“.. __?”

You whipped your head round at the call of your name, wiping your eyes furiously as you plastered a cheerful smile on your face. Dammit. You were sure all the boys had gone home, and you’d felt overwhelmed all day, so you’d taken the chance to have a little cry in the store room before you locked up the gym to set off home.

It wasn’t a big deal, you thought, because everybody needed a cry every once in a while and you’d been pretty quiet so you were just getting it out of your system, that’s all. Moving was a big deal and it was only normal to feel slightly wobbly all the time.

Leaving Hyōgo had been hard, but you were quite successful in occupying your time so your sadness was limited to 5 minute slots between other commitments during the day or at bedtime. You thought it was best to keep yourself busy, because it was much better feeling slightly stressed all the time than thinking about Atsumu.

He was an idiot and your heart hurt but you also missed him. He was one of your best friends and you’d walked away from him without so much as a goodbye. You didn’t have time to consider whether it was the right choice - you had new places to see, people to befriend, assignments to catch up on.

A new volleyball team, full of rowdy teenage boys that needed wrangling because they liked to tease you and felt especially comfortable doing so, considering your relation to their setter and therefore acquaintanceship with their captain Tetsurō before you took up the mantle of managing their team. Yamamoto had been beside himself with glee when Tetsu introduced you, eyes sparkling as he cheerfully announced they could finally compete with Karasuno and their angel manager, whatever that meant. You’d developed a comfortable acquaintanceship with Kai and Yaku, both of whom were very kind and appreciative when you would look after them. Yamamoto and Inouka had taken to proposing on a regular basis, much to your chagrin. Lev made fun of you for being small, like it was abnormal to be small next to his gargantuan frame. You spent the most time with Fukunaga - who very much enjoyed how much you cackled at his jokes - and Kozume, your cousin, whom you’d grown far closer to than you ever anticipated after discovering a mutual competitiveness and interest in gaming. Your classes actually felt a little easier, you’d befriended a couple of girls who happened to manage other sports teams for Nekoma, and where you lived was nicer than before, if a little smaller. Life really was great. You had every reason to be happy.

“Can I hug you?” Tetsu said after a moment, his ever analytical gaze quickly clocking onto the red tinge on your eyes and cheeks and the damp patches on your sleeve cuffs.

His question confused you. Your first thought was that nobody had actually physically touched you since Atsumu. The thought of being touched sent an odd unnerving shiver down your spine, a hint of anxiety forming at the thought of your bubble being invaded by an outsider. Secondly, was it usual for somebody to ask for permission before a hug? You were quite picky with whom you shared hugs with, and didn’t always enjoy them, but you had been hugged and jostled around at other people’s leisure for a long time. And finally, did you want a hug? You realised within a moment that actually yes, a hug would be quite nice and probably a great remedy for your current heartbreak; this lead to thinking whether you wanted to hug Tetsurô specifically, and you began considering whether he would give good hugs (more than likely yes), or if you just wanted a comfort hug from literally anyone at this point. Everybody knew that when you’re sad, if someone gives you a hug or asks if you’re okay, that’s the global signal for your emotions to break. Did you want to crumble into a teary mess?

“Nothing weird. I can hear your brain spinning from here,” he clarified, raising his hands to show he meant no harm. “You just look sad, and I thought a hug might help.”

“Yeah, I do feel sad,” you said after a few moments. For some reason, Tetsu’s words set off the waterworks again, and tears streamed silently down your face as you avoided looking the taller boy fully in the eye. Your final concern of holding yourself together in the face of a hug was for nought; it seemed the barest of kindness was enough to coax you into meltdown. It made your next statement much easier to say, because you had nothing to lose anyway. “.. Maybe a hug would help.”

One large stride by him and you found yourself buried in his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around you. Your arms instinctively returned the hug, clinging tightly around his waist as your first sob escaped, and all of your pent up emotions crashed through the mediocre dam you’d built to keep it at bay as Tetsu listened quietly, stroking your hair the whole time.

“If I was a meaner person, I’d tell you to wash this shirt for me,” Tetsu smirked, ruffling your hair as he handed you an Potari Sweat and ice lolly. He took the coins you were offering in your hand, nodding his head in thanks before placing them back into the front pocket of your bag. “My treat.”

“Give it to me then,” you said back, truly feeling bad about leaving mascara and wet patches all over his white t-shirt. You tugged at his shirt to insist on your point. “Thank you for this.”

He rolled his eyes, tapping your forehead gently in admonishment as he sat himself down next to you on the bench outside the store that you’d waited at, just to have a moment to yourself. Both of you dug into your snacks quietly.

It was getting dark. The two of you had eventually locked up the gym and wandered to the closest convenience store to grab a snack; an hour of sobbing was enough to exhaust anyone and Tetsu was insistent that you rehydrate after crying enough to flood the Pacific.

It was surprising. You felt embarrassed, having broken down like that in front of him with absolutely no warning, roping the poor boy into your emotions that, for God’s sake, was mostly about your ex. Yet, for some reason, you didn’t feel bad. You didn’t feel uncomfortable or even dislike it when he teased you, even when you felt so awful, and you didn’t feel the need to fill the silence when you were by his side, even though you could and you knew he would listen. It didn’t matter that your makeup was half gone, that your face was swollen and red and that Tetsu had learned how efficiently your body produced snot through your use of all of his tissues. Even though you didn’t feel good, you did feel lighter. Was that because of Tetsu? He’d listened to you in silence as you recounted between sobs the main bulletpoints of who Atsumu was, why you left the way you did, why it made you so sad. Tetsu had nodded at the right parts. Most importantly, he rubbed soothing circles with his big hands on your back the whole time you’d been in a state - any other time and that would’ve sent you into a state of a different kind. He then topped it all off by feeding you and promising to make sure you got home safely. Kuroo Tetsuro did all the right things, and your heart stuttered as your body relaxed and you closed your eyes. A deep, quiet breath later, you rested your head on his shoulder.

You heard a, “I’m going to put my arm around you,” before you were shifted  slightly so his arm was around you, both leaning back on the bench.

“This Atsumu sounds like an idiot,” Tetsu started after a while. Both of you had taken to looking at the sun slowly creeping down below the buildings, simply enjoying the other’s company. “Once the team has confirmation you’re single, there may very well be a bloodbath. I’m being serious!” He gently pushed you off his shoulder when you rolled your eyes and snorted at him, turning to look you straight in the face as he continued. “What’s so funny? You’re smart, funny, you love volleyball, you smell good, you always look after everyone and you’re stunning on top of it all. Why would there not be a bloodbath?”

“.. I smell good?” Your ears were tingling and you were sure you were blushing harder than you ever had in your life. You couldn’t remember the last time you’d been complimented so directly, let alone with so many nice things, and Tetsu said it in a way that sounded so completely obvious that you found yourself unable to doubt his sincerity.

“Huh?” he snorted. “That’s what you picked up on?”

“Sorry. I don’t know what to say or do.” You, in a contradictory moment of shyness and boldness, hid your face in his shoulder as your cheeks continued to burn. You tried to ignore the stutter in your heartbeat as he squished you tighter against him.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to shoot my shot before everyone else does, so let’s go watch a movie this weekend.”

Oh. What? You were sure that your ears were decieving you, because who in their right mind would ask you out whilst you were in this state? You wanted to question his sanity, opening your mouth to do so, but what came out was very different. “What makes you think I want to watch a movie with you?” Internally, you facepalmed. That wasn’t even remotely close to what you meant, but your instinct to tease him took over whilst craftily buying time to gather your thoughts.

“Well, I don’t want to be too cocky, but I’ve seen the way you look at me when I wear shorts. I don’t think you could resist this booty.” He couldn’t hold back his laugh as you yelped in shock, arm flying out to slap him upside the head. He grabbed your hand in return, planting a kiss on your knuckle in an effort to soothe (but giving you a heart attack instead). You were reminded that stupid boys were stupid as you wished desperately to crawl under a rock, because you knew he wasn’t wrong and that you found his backside positively delicious to admire - not that you would ever, ever admit it.

“Enjoying the merchandise is not the same as having an uncontrollable thirst,” you sniped defensively, crossing your arms as you pouted. “But I’ll watch a movie with you. My place is free this weekend.”

“Perfect.” His smile was beaming as he untangled your arms, taking your hands in his and placing another kiss on your knuckles. “I look forward to the opportunity of wooing milady.”

You wanted to stay grumpy with him. You wanted to pout, because who was he to move your arms about as he pleased? How rude of him, making you so flustered, because he absolutely was doing it on purpose. Your body was betraying you as your heart continued to flutter gently at his attentions. You found yourslef returning a smile as you enjoyed the joy radiating from him at your agreement to spend time with him. Was it worth addressing the seed of doubt you had about everything now, when he was being so kind and understanidng about everything? Would he continue being so comforting and soothing, even if you were voicing your insecurities? You were hesitant to speak as the nasty side of your brain tried to convince you that Tetsu would stop being so lovely if you burdened him with more negativity, considering that you’d presented a front of confidence and calm in front of him until today.

But, when you moved to Tokyo, you resolved to doing new things and starting afresh. Everything he was making you feel felt new, and exciting, and you decided that you would just ask him what was on your mind now, and if he had the wrong reaction then you could simply cut bait.  Your experience was telling you that he wouldn’t want to hear it, but your gut was telling you he would. The rational side of your brain knew there was no reason to not trust him so far, but the instinct to keep things close to the chest ran deep. More importantly, you were scared that, with how you were feeling, that he would eventually resent you whilst you struggle to move forward. You didn’t want to be unfair to him, because as good as he was making you feel now, you hadn’t ever considered a relationship with Tetsu until today, and the thought brought up a lot of feelings.  “Are you sure you want to woo someone you’ve just watched crying about their ex?”

“I’m a patient man,” he responded cheerfully, taking your hand in his as he grinned at you. “Seeing you happy is worth the effort.”

You didn’t have anything to say, choosing to squeeze his hand instead as you turned a flaming shade of tomato red. You stared at the floor, brain churning as you considered the new feeling of warmth blossoming in your chest. With Atsumu, he really had given you butterflies like in the romance novels, and when you’d lost that, you couldn’t help wondering whether that was the start of the end for you both. With Tetsu, you didn’t have butterflies - instead, it felt like you were floating, a soothing calm that filled you to your fingertips as comfort filled you to the core. It felt different.

It felt good, and you felt better.

masterlist - part one • part two • part three

[blazregaliadream]

Entry No. BRD~ASW: Conflicted Identity

... I’ve wanted to talk about this for a while. I talked about a part of it on Twitter a few months back, but I really need to get it all off my chest here, whatever shit I get be damned. In 2013-2014, my freshman year of highschool, I got introuced to Arc System Works through junior/senior pals introducin’ me to BlazBlue, a franchise that didn’t take long to take root in my heart. I would end up usin’ it as part of my online handle, “BlazRegaliaDream”, and I have stuck with it as the name I use when I sign my art. I’m not the biggest fan, but BlazBlue was a hyperfixation for 4 years since I discovered it. After a serious burnout in 2018, I tried movin’ my sights onto other franchises, but the love held on as a tiny ember that I’d occassionally stoke from just playin’ BBTAG and eventually findin’ a couple of close friends to talk about the franchise and keep tabs on it. Also throughout this time, I also would eye Guilty Gear, seen it around between XX and Xrd, and while it didn’t become a hyperfixation, I thought it was pretty cool. (and I still do lol) Fast forward to 2021. StrIVe has been out, haven’t played it yet. Friends are deep into the JP exclusive mobile BlazBlue Alternative: Dark War, which started at the beginnin’ of the same year. I was eyein’ it, but didn’t wanna sink into another mobile since I already had FEH and FGO (with a few others I fell in and out of). October, I revisit my old BB OC project and then on a whim, I decided to try BBDW. Wouldn’t you know it, I fell in love with BlazBlue all over again and even if I was stuck with a mobile game for new content, I was ready for the future of the franchise post-C-series. And then a month in, BBDW was announced to shutdown in January due to morale issues for the team. “Well shit, I mean, maybe there’s still a shot later, right?” 2022, creator of BlazBlue, Mori, leaves ASW for reasons we may never know. ASW insists that they still want to keep BB alive, but later, an interview reveals they’re supposedly lettin’ GG hog the spotlight because they don’t want the two franchises competin’ Between this and the awful, awful disaster that was Bridget’s return to StrIVe, everythin’ begins lookin’ all too dire... I hate the current state of ArcSystemWorks. I’m so conflicted, so angry with this company, and I just don’t know how to articulate it all so smoothly. My favorite franchise may as well be dead, 6 feet buried, as the creator has left and started his own company and who knows if they’d bother to get him for a new entry, and with the shit surroundin’ StrIVe, I don’t think I can trust this company to revive BlazBlue proper. Is Team Blue even still a thing? It feels like after everythin’, I’ve been gut punched and spitted in the face.

... *sigh* Dammit, there's much I wanted to say, but as I'm typin' this, the words have fled.

I'm just lost. Where do I go from here? The company I once admired just fills me with nothin' but fury, and GG ain't even the first franchise I've seen to pull the shit it has and for what!?

I've thought about rebrandin' before, but I'm too attached to the handle even after everythin', yet still... I just wanted people to see how cool BlazBlue is, and the monkey's paw curled...

(I'll be fine, in case anyone's worried. This shit just sucks too much...)

[theladyragnell]

If you're still doing the ficlets I'd love to see the Leverage OT3 with a blanket fort!

(It's Redemption continuity, but all you really need to know is that there's a guy named Harry who's their current Normal Dude and also Parker insists on vent practice for her team.)

“I thought of a great new way to do vent practice!”

Hardison has had a long day, okay. He has had his fingers in the political pies of three world governments today, and also created four IDs when Sophie kept running into new people she had to con and just for good measure taught one of the Leverage Inc hackers how to create her own operating system. He can be forgiven for the heartfelt groan he lets out at that. “Parker, I will do vent practice if I have to do vent practice, but you do get that when you say ‘great’ you usually mean there are horrible tortures involved, right?”

Eliot would probably usually argue with him just because he’s a contrary man, but today he’s nodding, even though Parker, walking backwards as they go into the latest warehouse she’s staying in, is frowning at them. “It’s a part of the job, but I’m not going to have fun.”

“Yes, you are,” says Parker, and opens the warehouse door to reveal pretty much the last thing Hardison expects. “Harry told me about these. They’re like vents but soft so Eliot can’t complain about his knees!”

Laid out across the warehouse, stretching into the distance because Parker believes in big warehouses, is a blanket fort, though that doesn’t really encompass the reality. There’s an entire vent system (Hardison is pretty sure he recognizes the layout from one of Parker’s favorite museums, and yes, he gets the point, he’ll assure her of that for their next date night) built out of quilts and comforters and pillows and what Hardison is pretty sure are the structures for cheap greenhouses because chairs and couches definitely wouldn’t be structurally sound and Parker likes this structurally sound.

“Dammit,” says Eliot under his breath, looking at the nearest sheet. It’s flannel, and it has Winnie the Pooh on it. “Did you buy every department store in the city out of bedding?”

“Not completely, and we’re going to donate them when we’re done, obviously.” Parker beams at them. “Come on, let’s do this! I bet you can’t find your way to the vent system over the secure storage in under ten minutes.”

Hardison looks at Eliot. Eliot looks at Hardison. They both sigh, and then they both go for the laces on their shoes, because no self-respecting person enters a blanket fort with shoes on. “Loser pays for dinner?” Hardison says.

“You’ve got something freaky going on, nobody could know where the secure storage is, it’s just a maze. What do you want to order, Hardison, truffles again? You don’t even like truffles.”

“Nobody will let me soak them in orange soda to see how they taste then,” says Hardison, but he’s already crawling in. It is, he has to admit, a lot cozier than the average vent. “And some of us remember museum layouts for more than ten seconds.”

With that, he takes off, going as fast as he can, though it’s not like Eliot can’t catch right up to him even on his bad knees. All the cussing he’s doing might slow him down, though.

“Don’t worry,” Parker says from somewhere outside the blanket fort. Hardison thinks he hears the familiar noise of her rigging herself to something, probably so she can follow their progress from overhead. “I left a present in the right place!”

It’s a truly ridiculous amount of blankets, but Parker isn’t wrong. It’s a much better way to have vent practice.

[lazysublimeengineer]

Betrothed - Chapter 2

Summary: “Marry me Isagi.” Reo’s calm and collected voice snapped out Isagi’s any wandering thoughts and he faced him harshly.

The impact was much like a ball landed unexpectedly on an enemy’s territory out in the field.

“What the hell are you talking about?” He bit out, demanding answers from him.

Reo remained unperturbed and unruffled by his outburst which made Isagi more irritated with him.

“It’s just like what I said Isagi. Marry me. Or do you have any other options in mind? For sure, your analytical mind can catch up with me, right? Or do I need to spell it out for you?” Reo replied with an arched brow but his mauve orbs held a glint of amusement at the other’s expressions, taking in delight of the multitude of expressions that flitted across the male’s face in just a few seconds.

- Or a Reosagi marriage of convenience AU that no one asked for but I still deliver: Isagi loses on the match and his career is on the line until Reo swoops in with an offer that could still save him and his future.

Characters: Isagi Y. & Reo M.

Link for the 1st chapter: https://at.tumblr.com/lazysublimeengineer/betrothed/ac2wkro2xb8s

Isagi’s mind was still reeling as he listened carefully at Reo’s explanation of this incredulous offer.

He knew that Reo had a tactical mind when it came to soccer. This was fairly evident when they had gone against their team back then in the first selection. Nagi might be a prodigy and genius when it came to soccer but it was Reo who always did the planning on how to make the scores and how to successfully utilize Nagi’s natural talent.

But now…

…Isagi was seeing this skill outside of soccer.

Business and strategy really ran in the Mikage’s bloodline and Reo was not an exception to it at all.

“Mikage Corporation needs a poster model for soccer and you fit the bill Isagi. However, it needs to be more than that. With the streak of losses that you encountered in the peak of your career, one can say that you’re losing the shine in the industry and the string of offers to you are dwindling more than ever. You can say that you won’t be needing much of the money in your career as a soccer superstar but let’s face the facts here. You need it to survive the cutthroat industry you’re in with and maintain the lifestyle that you’re having with your family. So, think about this. A 50 million contract to wed me then get back your career in the span of 6 months as well as boost the name of our corporation and both of our names in the society pages. After that, we’ll get a divorce. So, what do you think?” Reo explained coolly in front of him and leaned back on his seat with that calm smile remaining on his face.

Isagi stayed quiet for a moment.

If a newbie was hearing all of this, their eyes would’ve bugged out of the gigantic offer. But for Isagi who had been in the industry for quite some time now, a 50 million offer to him was not a rare case for him. Didn’t Kaiser get an offer of 300 million before during their Blue Lock days entertainment? Nevertheless, it won’t be a bad offer to him…

All he would probably do was to pose and endorsed whatever Mikage Corporation will give to him and seeing that their company has provided a technology support to the Blue Lock project before it’s a good opportunity for him to probably boost his name again and bury down the losses and defeats that he faced recently. On top of that, he would just pretend to be happy and eager to marry Reo right?

But Isagi was an overthinker dammit.

It’s too good to be true.

On the other hand, what Reo had stated earlier has been correct. His career was on the line and with the way things were going now, it can’t be good. Even his own manager had been stressed in desperately trying to negotiate with some of the businesses to never let go of his current endorsements and upcoming offers for him.

Also, it’s not like he’s the only one who will gain any benefit from this deal.

More likely, if Isagi thought about it deliberately, it will also serve more benefit to Reo and their business’ image in the long run because of what the other had mentioned: he would be also endorsing it.

People would be intrigue and soccer fans would still clamor on anything that had his presence stamped on it despite the obstacles he was facing today with his career.

But he didn’t need to be rash.

He didn’t want to appear oh so desperate in front of Reo Mikage.

Despite everything, he wanted to protect his dignity a little bit.

And of course, it nagged his mind about this small but important detail that he needed to address with Reo.

“Why do you wanna marry me Reo? Your company and its image would greatly benefit that’s all when I endorsed some product from yours. But I don’t see in the equation of you having a benefit with marrying someone like me.” He asked pointedly.

It made Reo’s brows spoke in volumes before a serene smile inched across his lips.

“Well, nothing gets past you, isn’t it? You still possessed that sharp mind after all.” Reo chuckled lightly. “This is because of my parents. They’re pestering me now to settle down when it’s far from my goals yet. Eventually I must marry in the long run. But not with the one with they’re pairing me off with. They’re constantly bugging me to go on these arranged dates with the children of their closest circles. And my personal life is getting out of hand with the media. So, I’d like to hit two birds with one stone: making my family and the media shut up about my personal life. And that is to marry you and for them to back off. Does that satisfy you now Isagi hmm?” Reo added in faux sweetness that belied a sliver of contempt in his eyes.

“And the perfect person for this one is me?” Isagi pointed at himself in half incredulity and confoundedness.

“Of course. Because I won’t fall in love with you so when we break off things with us in the future, it’s easier in the long run without these pesky feelings.” Reo replied with that irritating cheery disposition on his face.

“I wanted to think about it first Reo.” Isagi replied evenly.

“Of course, you can. But you still need to remember that this is still a business deal Isagi. Every minute counts to me. So, better to given me an answer tomorrow. I won’t be waiting for your answer forever y’know. If I haven’t received any response from you tomorrow until the afternoon then that means you’re not interested. But if you send me a message here through this number on my business card, then that means yes and you’re willing to proceed with the marriage.” He placed an elegant looking calling card on the table and stood up.

Isagi looked at the small card he placed on the middle of the table before watching the young Mikage leave until he was out of sight.

A sigh broke out from his lips.

He guessed that the ball was on him now and he needed to make a sound decision on this one before it’s too late.

Next day…

Reo stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and his other hand was holding a smaller but thicker towel and drying out his damp locks fresh from the shower.

Some droplets of water clung to his skin and glistened around his toned body. He was not muscly like Barou nor Kunigami but it was evident that his lean frame was well toned and he possessed the right number of muscles thanks to his intense regimen and soccer training during his Blue Lock days in the past.

He was still thinking of the tasks that he’ll do for today when a faint, buzzing ringing of his phone caught his attention.

He walked towards it and read the screen that displayed a new message on it.

Unlocking his phone, he opened it and finally read it.

His eyes held a certain gleam on them and a wide smile spread across his lips.

“I accept. Send me the contract for review and signature.”

Isagi Y.

[russeliarat]

By the demand of one singular person, I'm gonna show my Splatoon ocs. I currently have four with a possible fifth in the making who is unrelated to the others. I also have a couple other Octo idol ocs (Consortium, I've talked a bit ab them before), but this isn't about them today.

The story centers around Milo, an Octoling who escaped Octo Valley upon hearing Calamari Inkantation, leaving her family behind. Her original goal was to end up in Inkopolis, but somehow ended up in Splatsville in the middle of a Splatfest instead, where she hunkered down in the lobby to sleep and ate solely from the food stand off of totally not stolen food tickets. She was discovered watching Deep Cut's performance by an Inkling called Coral and an Octoling called Blessing, who take her in on a whim. They take Milo to do Turf Wars and Tricolour Battles but she's so shit at it that she made a name for herself by failing so hard. People said it was bad luck for her be on their team. But Milo is actually quite good at Tableturf Battles, in fact she's surprisingly good. She eventually becomes one of the top players. She gains a lot of confidence after discovering this.

A little afterwards, Milo goes missing as she's dragged to Alterna to fight against HR enemy Mr Grizz and is barely able to beat him and Deep Cut by a hair's margin. She struggled to beat DJ Octavio dammit. Her friends were concerned deeply, but were torn because they couldn't prove that she went missing, only that she possibly ditched them. The only proof that she didn't was the stuff left in the lobby guarded by the food stand attendant and the few items she stuffed into Coral and Blessing's lockers. When she finally comes back with Deep Cut in tow, Milo and her two friends celebrate her not being dead and Coral offers for Milo to stay in her apartment. They will the party into a moving in party.

Milo and a few alternative outfits. These are a few months old but still hold up, really. It's technically redesigns of the first iteration of the characters from back in like October or November. Milo eventually becomes interested romantically in Coral but is too shy to put a name to it. They're in the constant crush phase no matter how old they get. Milo's bit timid and very down on herself at first, but she gets a bit of a pick-me-up after a style change, Alterna, and finding something she's good at.

She also works Grizzco shifts, but prefers to stay in Coral's apartment as basically her housewife. She has more time to herself and is able to enjoy the small bits of peace from within the epicentre of Splatsville while Coral is off being an elite in Splatzones and Anarchy as well as getting her own education and work shifts done. Blessing accompanies her often as he's more on the calmer side, and even though he's considered one of the best Rainmaker/Splatzones/Anarchy players, he's barely hanging on by a thread lol. The three contribute to a little indie band that makes narrative focused rock and punk music, though a little on the tamer side for the sake of Milo, whose going half-deaf.

Coral, the bubbly, athletic friend who kinda just schlorped Milo into her tiny friend group. Shes very sweet if a bit pushy, but she means well. Coral obsessed with most of the bands seen in Splatoon, though has more of a focus on thrilling, fast paced music she can train to. Coral balances out both Blessing's calmness and Milo's low confidence twofold and she's needed to keep the energy in the group. Coral is actually an orphan so she rent an apartment every month and eventually pays for a studio near Inkblot Art Academy, which is where she attends school for the arts. She always finds herself injured and has at least two pairs of knee/arm guards on her plus whatever medical equipment she needs to patch herself up.

Blessing is a kind of misunderstood rich kid. His parents own a very popular fashion brand and he wants to follow in their footsteps, so he interns in Man O Wardrobe. To others, it makes him come off as a snobby rich boy who thinks he knows and dresses better than everyone else, but it's quite the contrary. He's a humble man with a very generous attitude, and he refuses to be a nepo baby. He wants to work his way up to the top instead of it being handed to him because it means he's worked hard. He also attends Inkblot Art Academy but for fashion design and textiles. His biggest achievement is winning a major competition for fashion design and having it remade by a popular clothing brand.

Blessing also has a little sister named Shoal who illegally modifies weapons in their basement. She's abrasive and stand-offish but takes after her brother in that she's a sweetheart. Just very passionate about her choice in Deep Cut idols is all.

And this is actually the only page I have for Argol, who is Blessing's boyfriend and eventual husband. A flirty man is Argol and is very smooth with his words, which usually gets him places, including with Blessing. He's Gnarly Eddy's little brother and him and Blessing met as children when his brother babysat the two as he was a family friend of Blessing's. They met again truly when Blessing started his intern work in Gnarly Eddy's shop before he moved on and work with Jel La Fleur. Argol works as a mechanic and engineer, which means he dresses in this sick sleek outfit. But also by means of being brothers, Argol helps out around Naut Cotoure every now and again. He doesn't have arms or legs or feet, just his little tentacle things buched together for mostly style, which doesn't help the fact that he's got chronic pain.

[divineerdrick]

Metawatch Warhammer 40,000: January 2024

Alright! The long awaited Balance Dataslate for the start of 2024 is finally here! I'm glad they waited until after LVO this time. I'm so eager to see what's changing for this new season of 40K!

Currently, 40K balance is in a really nice spot. We have two contenders for the top army in the game with Craftworlds and CSM, both hovering just over the 55% win rate. At the same time, AdMech, Knights, Sisters, and Drukhari are struggling at or below the 45% mark. For Space Marines, Blood Angels and Deathwatch seem to be struggling the most, while Templars and Ultramarines are seeing success. Space Wolves are also doing really good, but they're not usually seen as Champions of Russ.

For mechanics, we're at a point where Indirect Fire weapons are either game changing or useless with no ground in between. Aircraft are near universally staying on shelves. Opinions on Battle-shock vary from player to player and army to army. I personally feel it's hard to argue that it's a very meaningful mechanic when it's basically Tyranids' whole schtick now, and they're one of the weaker armies.

There's also plenty of issues cropping up around internal balance. Now that we have more detachments available for some armies, some of them are clearly more powerful than others. This is particularly felt hard by Space Marine players, who almost universally are sticking with vanilla detachments. Only Templars seem to be regularly seen inside their unique detachment, and the temperature check for the new Dark Angels Codex suggests Deathwing might end up on tables . . . and that's about it.

Speaking of Codexes, we're genuinely not seeing any Codex Creep! GW seems to have legitimately focused on using Codexes to patch some of the problems the Indexes have had and provide players with more options. As I hinted above, this has had mixed results. But I definitely prefer this to the insane levels of creep that ruined 9th Edition.

So! With all that said, should I make any predictions? Well, I can't say anything about Drukhari, as the links call them out by name. But big surprise the current weakest army will be getting some love. I guess I'll predict that they will receive both points and rules changes. I'm predicting we'll see some rollbacks on nerfs to Knights and Custodes. I think we'll see one more focused rules change to Aeldari and probably some points bumps, especially for Night Spinners. I'm also expecting some form of rules nerf to CSM. The most obvious one will be something regarding how marks work and some of the crazy shenanigans that have been used. I'm also expecting a points buff to many of their most used pieces. For everyone else, I'm expecting GW will mostly focus on internal balance. I'm not expecting any rules changes for Detachments this time around, though it would be nice. I think all the other factions will mostly be focused around points.

I also think we need some mission changes. In particular, I think we're going to get changes to scoring Secondary Objectives. But I'm not sure if that will be addressed here, or if we're going to get something like a General's Handbook.

Alright! Enough preamble! Let's start with the article and video!

Video

Hello, Josh from the Design Studio! Apologies, Josh, but I can't help but feel the answer to "who better to do that with . . ." would be Stu. Still, it's nice to see more members of the team. It's also quite likely that Stu is now hard at work on 11th Edition, given GWs tight and frustrating schedule (three years between editions is too short, dammit!) So Josh might very well be the one in charge of 10th Edition balance right now.

We don't really know how GW gets their numbers, but 60+ percent for Aeldari's original win rate is . . . technically true. 70+ would have been more honest though . . . They're calling them at 57% now, which I think most stat keepers agree with.

We're getting a whole new Detachment for Drukhari! Well, now! I knew we were getting rules changes but I was expecting a patch to Realspace Raid. This doesn't mean that isn't happening, but that's still pretty big news!

And there's the rules change for Aeldari. Looks like we're getting another nerf to Phantasm. It very much needs it. Looks like they're making it random now. Wonder if it's going to be flat D6 or something like D6+1.

It sounds like Drukhari are still getting rules changes. So the new Detachment will be on top of this. Yep! They're buffing Realspace Raid! Congratulations Drukhari! And they're mentioning they might do this in the future too!

So they're using Daemons for the internal balance example. I'm still not sure how Daemons mostly stay off my radar, but I do know that Daemons are almost always focused around monster mash with a few units like Flamers and Nurglings thrown in. So it sounds like they're going to try and address this using points. As I suggested, I don't think they're going to use rules changes if they can avoid it. It's one thing to log into the app and see that your army has lost or gained points. It's another to be playing and get an, "Um, actually . . . that rule doesn't work like that anymore."

Yes! We're getting more rules clarifications and commentary! Please give us more FAQs too, I beg you! But it really sounds like they want to use the Commentary for this. It looks like they're finally addressing some of the Transport and Deepstrike questions, with these no longer count as moving for rules interactions.

They also say they're using standard color coding for points changes too. That'll make looking at these points changes so much easier! Balance Dataslate changes will be marked as new too. This sound very similar to how 9th Edition Dataslates worked, just with plus signs instead of colors.

They're covering a bit about LVO too, and in particular how they looked at it. It sounds like we're not going to see anything for Necrons this time around. This is another reason why I'm glad they waited for LVO. They can see a much larger pool of players and lists all interacting at once. I don't know if it caused them to change anything, but it gives them the opportunity at least. They do know to keep an eye on Necrons too.

I also like how they acknowledge that the tournament Aeldari list has really not change for at least three months.

Article

So the first thing in the article is that we're getting a change to the starting number of Fate Dice for Aeldari, in addition to Phantasm. Drukhari are getting changes to Power from Pain, and an all new downloadable Index! Their new detachment is the Skyplinter Assault.

It looks like many Battleline units are getting love, while the aforementioned Indirect Fire units are getting another nerf. They once again go over how they're showing changes in this dataslate.

Finally we're not seeing anything for Dark Angels this time around. Their new points will not be in this Munitorum Field Manual.

Oh, for the love of . . .

Please tell me this isn't what they're deciding balance with. I know they suggested they use other metrics, but this is not good at all.

They've got CSM at 54%! They're closer to 56-57%! They've got Deathwatch at 46%? Where are they possibly getting that number from?

Huh! Actually checking Stat Check, CSM has slipped a bit while Deathwatch is rising . . . Interesting! Looks like I'm the one who needs to pay better attention. Still, I hope they're making sure CSM isn't going to be the reigning champion with the new Aeldari nerfs.

Oh well. I guess I should have realized I would have slipped with how sick I've been lately. Let's dig into these and see what we've got. We'll start with Drukhari.

Index Drukhari

Power from Pain

So the first big change is to what happens to a unit you Empower in the Shooting or Fight phase. Now, melee weapons will get an additional pip of AP. This should help Drukhari melee finally hit the way it's supposed to!

The rule for Realspace Raiders remains unchanged. Maybe they're hoping the melee buff will mean Drukhari players will actually take their characters? Guess we'll have to wait and see. There don't seem to be any changes to the detachment that I can find. Let's look at the new one.

Skysplinter Assault

Oh. Oh nice!

The new detachment ability is Rain of Cruelty. This gives two meaningful buffs to any unit disembarking from a transport. The first is Ignores Cover, which in this edition might as well read "gain an AP." The second is Lance. Combined with the new Power from Pain, this will allow a melee unit Disembarking from a transport to hit really hard.

The catch here is that the unit needs to be able to Charge in order to get the full benefit from this rule. Normally, you can't charge if the Transport moved. So this means that most Transports have to move into position, then the unit has to wait to disembark. Let's take a look at the rest of the rules first, then we'll see if Drukhari have any transports with an Assault Ramp style rule.

Enhancements

Our first enhancement is Phantasmal Smoke. This grants the bearer's unit Cover and Stealth while wholly within 6" of a Transport. Cover is no big deal, but Stealth is a relevant buff. The problem is the "wholly within" part. That's gonna limit how you can use this enhancement. I'm not sure this even gets an, "if you have points left."

Next, we have Sadistic Fulcrum. This seems a lot more fun. If the whole goal is to run a bunch of units in Transports, then you can probably make pretty good use of this. I'm pretty sure at least one Transport has Dark Lances, so this might be auto-include if priced right.

Spiteful Raider provides some additional Pain token generation. It only triggers when you kill an enemy on an objective and only in the fight phase. But since Drukhari wants to do that, this could also be auto-include.

Finally, Nightmare Shroud provides one of the most relevant rules you can have in 10th Edition: preventing Overwatch! It's hard to oversell how clutch this can be. Especially if you're going to try and Disembark from a stationary transport to move and charge, this gives you two places where an opponent might try to gun you down. This might also be auto-include.

While Phantasmal smoke is a pretty big miss, the other three enhancements will probably all see use. This is all around a good start to this Detachment.

Stratagems

Vicious Blades is interesting. This is one of those rules that when you use it you're going to feel really good about it, but you probably won't use it very often. It's an interesting way to represent the Drukhari in a Transport striking and shooting out of it. If you've got 2CP, this combined with Tank Shock could just run over some units.

Wraithlike Retreat is awesome! Free moves are always good, especially during your opponents turn. There's a reason we're seeing a Phantasm nerf. Even if the target isn't a Wych unit, the whole theme of this Detachment is transports. This army wants to ride into combat, wipe out a target, then get back in and do it again. The fact you can make a Fall Back move is what really puts this over the edge. This means you don't even have to finish a unit off. You can cripple it and then move on, or just get your Unit out of potential danger for next turn.

But it's Pounce on the Prey that this Detachment will practically revolve around. If Drukhari doesn't have a transport that has an Assault Ramp rule, this gets around it. This allows you to use your favorite Transports to rush your units up the board and in your opponents face. Turn 1 charges are almost certainly a thing with this.

If charging isn't a good idea, Skyborne Annihilation can significantly up the damage from a shooting unit, especially if you empower them. I don't remember Kabalite Warriors being anything special. But if they see some love in the MFM, this could allow them to punch above their weight. It's also a Battle Tactic.

Again, we have some out of phase movement. Swooping Mockery allows Drukhari players to take some risks with their transports without needing to worry about easy reprisal. Like many of these rules, though, this only works if your opponent wants to come in close.

Finally Night Shield helps keep your Transports safe. Since you may want to have some units move up and not disembark, this will be essential.

Honestly the only problem with these Stratagems is CP generation. I can easily see Drukhari players basically always spending their CP on one of these each turn. They'll be wanting to use Pounce on the Prey or Skyborne Annihilation on their turn, then use Wraithlike Retreat or Swooping Mockery in their opponent's turn. Considering the potential mobility of this army, I'm guessing most players will want to take Tactical Missions.

Transports

The Raider makes for some serious reach and threat with its automatic 6" advance. With a 14" move, plus disembarking within 3", that's a guaranteed charge from 19" away. And its got Deep Strike to boot! It also has a Darklance and Firing Deck 11 to benefit from Sadistic Fulcrum.

Venoms come with that fun ability to split your units and Stealth. They can also swoop by and pick up units without needing to use Wraithlike Retreat.

And, um, that's it. Why did I think Drukhari had more Transports than this? Still, both are Dedicated Transports, which means you can take as many as you want providing you can start them with a Unit embarked. That's still not a lot of units to build an army around.

This is the first real sticking point for this. While it's mostly other units that will benefit from these rules, you'll need to make sure you have enough Raiders and Venoms for this to work. And you'll only be able to use your best tricks on one or two each turn (usually just one.) Making sure you've got the Transports you need while still having the units to punch and score objectives will be a real balancing act.

The Balance Dataslate

Adepta Sororitas

Wow! Sisters players are not going to be happy. They've recently seen an uptick as veteran players have learned to work with their unique rules to get increased performance out of their normally mediocre units. Acts of Faith are key to this. I'm sure the goal is to stop the Triumph from feeling so necessary to all of this, but the faction really didn't need nerfs.

Adeptus Custodes

This was extremely necessary. I'm still not sure what they're going to do to allow Custodes players to play other detachments, which was a huge issue in 9th, but for now they need Aegis to function against Dev Wounds to work. I predicted they might see one of the nerfs undone, but it looks like GW thinks this is all they need.

Aeldari

Six! They're only getting six Fate Dice now, and no re-rolls! Looks like GW has decided it's time for the nuclear option, because this is just the start.

Fates messenger now only affects the bearer, not the unit. Phantasm is D6, so it's not only less reliable but has lost an inch of movement. Night Spinners no longer stop a unit from Advancing. THANK YOU! The Yncarne can now only teleport once in each of the Aeldari player's turns. GET WRECKED! And Wraithguard can now only shoot back at what shot at them.

By the Goddess!

That's a lot of fixes. I'm actually hoping they didn't get much in the way of points increases, because damn! Surprised they didn't address Warp Spider in all of that, though.

Astra Militarum

Interesting! Officers can now issue Orders when they setup on the Battlefield. This will provide Guard players with a lot more flexibility as to when and how they deploy their Officers.

Blood Angels

Red Thirst now adds +2 to Strength, bringing the rule more in line with 10th Edition Toughness characteristics. Not sure this will bring Sons of Sanguinius to the the table, but it's a start.

Chaos Daemons

Honestly not much here. You now must include Battleline Daemons as allies if you take them. Since Nurglings were by far the most allied Daemons, I don't think this actually affects much.

Chaos Space Marines

GW did not ignore CSM. We've got a nerf to Transports, so you're no longer putting your Undivided Chosen in a Nurgle Transport just for Dark Obscuration. And that Stratagem has been nerfed to 18". Profane Zeal now only affects Chaos Undivided and only grants re-roll wounds. That's the better half, but still! Accursed Cultists are OC 1 now and only regenerate on your turn.

Again, it's a grab bag of problem units and stratagems fixed. It's nowhere near what Aeldari suffered, so unless there are more nerfs coming CSM are still in a good spot. But GW is not shying away from changing these rules!

Deathguard

You can now only use Grenade on one Biologus Putrifier per turn. Reasonable nerf.

Drukhari

We already know about Power from Pain, but we missed that Archons can now lead Incubi. They'll definitely welcome the re-roll wounds.

Grey Knights

Wow! We're really getting into it here! GW appears to be more than willing to actually change profiles and Datasheets! Did you think Dreadknights didn't hit hard enough? Well GW agrees with you! Enjoy your new psycannons and Nemesis weapons!

Imperial Knights

Just give them Bondsman back! Oh well. Code Chivalric is getting a buff and is now re-roll one hit roll and one wound roll.

Space Wolves

You can now claim a Saga at the end of any turn. This will make it much more easy to collect them, as you now have twice as many opportunities to do so. It's still the character model that has to perform the Saga, though, so this is still going to be a challenge.

World Eaters

Wow! Round of nerfs to World Eaters! Berzerker Glaive, Favored of Khorne, and Daemon princes were all nerfed! Somebody must be thinking World Eaters are in position to take the top spot with the nerfs to Aeldari and CSM.

That was a lot! GW really is willing to change rules when they need to, and they're willing to dig into the minutia. This was incredibly comprehensive, so with points the game stands to change a lot.

I don't know if the changes to Sons of Sanguinius and Champions of Russ are enough to get them on the board. But they're a start. For the factions themselves, we need to look at the point changes. Really worried for Aeldari here. They got sweeping changes! If the point changes are too severe, they might be where Tyranids were at the start of last year.

Biggest winner is Custodes though. That change is going to help them a lot!

Munitorum Field Manual

Adepta Sororitas

We've got a few nerfs here with increases to Arco-flagellants, Exorcists, and Morvenn Vahl. However, Paragon Warsuits have dropped 30 pts while Vahl went up 20 pts. So overall, that package actually went down 10 pts. But now Warsuits might be worth taking on their own. Other than that, a bunch of Sisters infantry got buffed.

Adeptus Custodes

It's all green! Some pretty substantial buffs to Allarus, Guard, and Wardens. Dawn Eagle Jetbikes have also gotten cheaper, though I don't know if it's enough. The Shield-Captain went down 40 pts though and now costs the same as the Allarus Shield-Captain. Custodes are in a good spot!

Adeptus Mechanicus

AdMech just go their Codex and GW doesn't seem ready to weigh in. While some dedicated players have had success, the general impression is they need some love. Hopefully they don't have to wait 6 months for it.

Aeldari

Almost no changes! GW decided they needed new rules and that's it! Night Spinners went up 30 pts while Wraithguard went up 4 pts a model. Warp Spiders remain untouched. This honestly leaves Aeldari with plenty of play. I don't think they're going to be in trouble, but they definitely won't be the top army anymore.

Of course I have said that before . . .

Astra Militarum

The Manticore has gone up 30 pts. While this won't kill Guard Indirect, it's still a nerf. GW does remember that Guard was at the bottom of it's stats, right?

Black Templars

Crusader Squads are now 15 pts per model and Grimaldus and Helbrecht have both gone up to 120. That's going to impact the Templars quite a bit! Those are substantial character nerfs, which always makes me wonder where GW gets these numbers from.

Chaos Daemons

That is a lot of green! Why do Daemons have that much green while Guard got nothing? And even though they talked about troops, there's a lot of characters grabbing buffs here. Great Unclean One, Kairos, Keeper of Secrets, Rotigus, Skarbrand . . . Nurglings and Blue Scribes got nerfed though.

Chaos Knights

Looks like GW is comfortable enough with Towering to start dishing out the buffs to Knights. Again, we've got a lot of green! Only the Brigand got nerfed, and only by 10 pts.

Chaos Space Marines

All the points nerfs Aeldari dodged hit CSM. If it was a tournament staple, it's been nerfed. Granted, I know there were some things here that people wanted pushed more, but I think this will do a good job of bringing CSM down just enough.

Dark Angels

Wait . . . I thought they weren't doing this here? Oh well, here are some buffs anyway! If these buffs carry through to the next MFM after Codex: Dark Angels is officially released, Deathwing could be in a good spot.

Death Guard

Got a few buffs, got a few nerfs. Deathshroud are now 40 pts per model, Bloat-drones are down 10, and the Lord of Virulence and Typhus are both down 20. But Plague Marines went from 16 pts bargains to more in line with other Space Marine profiles at 18 pts. The Plagueburst Crawler also went up 15 pts.

Deathwatch

Weird things are happening here recently, but I'm still surprised this is unchanged.

Drukhari

Was anyone actually taking a Voidraven Bomber? Other than this little bit of silliness, these buffs are some nice ones to go along with the new detachment. Also the cost for those Skyplinter Enhancements are very reasonable.

Genestealer Cults

GW says you are not bringing enough Genestealers in your Genestealer Cults armies! 16 pts a model is much more reasonable.

Grey Knights

Apparently, GW thinks they've fixed the baby carrier. So they're nerfing Librarians by 10 pts. And that's it!

Imperial Knights

Are you not a Warglaive, Gallant, or Atrapos? You got cheaper! It's all buffs for the chivalrous side of Knights!

Leagues of Votann

Apparently GW is worried the Kin are doing a little too good with their last set of buffs. To be fair, Sagitaurs needed a nerf. But they'd really like it if you ran fewer Thunderkyn and Hearthguard.

Necrons

Our soon to be overlords also escape any nerfs in lieu of their Codex having just dropped. If recent performances are predictive, get ready to serve your living metal masters. I know I said this last time, but that was before Canoptek Court and Hypercrypt Legion were a thing. Hopefully we won't have to deal with full power Necrons for 6 months.

Orks

Since the Boyz are still doing pretty well, it's time for more internal balance. Battlewagons are down 15 pts, but Trukks are up 5. Nobz have gone up to 22 pts a model and Squighog Boyz are up to just under 42 pts a model. But lots of vehicles have gone down, including the Morkanaut. Time to grab the red paint and wake up the Speed Freeks!

Space Marines

Oh boy! This is a lot of internal balance changes! Most stuff wasn't touched. But Aggressors, Devastator Centurions, Inceptors, Redemptors, Scouts, and Whirlwinds all went up. Infernus Marines, Outriders, Guilliman, Sternguard, and every variety of Intercessor went down. GW wants to see more Battle-line, dammit!

T'au Empire

With the new Tau box and book on the horizon, these won't matter for very long. Still it's mostly buffs. The lesser played Commanders, Crisis and Enforcers, went down 10 pts each. Riptides went down 15 pts. And Vespid went down to 13 pts a model. However your Crisis bricks just went up to 400 pts. I think Tau will be fine though.

Tyranids

Could we have waited until we weren't so close to the bottom before seeing the internal balance changes, please? Oh well. Big surprise, Deathleaper, Neurolictors, Pyrovores, and Gargoyles all went up in price. Those units were making nearly ever list, so we knew something had to change. In exchange we got buffs to the Broodlord and Genestealers to mirror GSC, Norns got significant buffs, the Screamer-Killer now has a reasonable cost, the Trygon got a little buff, and the Tyrannofex got a massive one to finally fit the rules nerf it took. Oh and the Toxicrene went down, but nobody cares.

World Eaters

GW must really be worried Khornes chosen were ready to claim Aeldari skulls! The Lord of Skulls and Forgefiends both got a buff, but Eightbound, Kharne, and the Master of Executions all got hit. Eighbound aren't back to the silly costs they had, but they're still at over 48 pts and 53 pts per model respectively.

The Rules Commentary

Wait, woah! Really? That's how they're ruling things? Wow! I just opened this and already we're off to a mind blowing start! You can stack the same buff/nerf on units multiple times! The only exception are for auras or for named effects like suppressed. This is potentially huge! Now I want to go through my book and see if there are any abilities I can do this with!

We get a quick clarification that if you add models to a unit on the battlefield, they must be in coherency. Don't think anyone ever played this differently. How models off the battlefield can ever be or not be in coherency, I don't know, but there's a clarification for that too.

We also get a clarification that says that if you can put a unit from Reserves on the table in Battle Round 1 as if it was Battle Round 2, the same unit doesn't act like it's Battle Round 3 if you do it the following round. Again, makes sense and I'm not sure anyone played it any other way.

We get some Battle-shock clarifications. Being destroyed doesn't end Battle-shock. So you can't bring a Battle-shocked unit back with a Stratagem, for example. I could have sworn they spelled this out before, but if a rule makes you take a Battle-shock test for being below Starting Strength in the Battle-shock step, you don't have to take another one for being Below Half-strength. Finally, destroyed units don't take Battel-shock tests.

They've clearly separated the Charge Bonus from other rules that trigger from charging. So if something kills your Charge Bonus, you still get any other rules. Doesn't looked like they've clarified charges when you can't get into Base-to-Base contact. Though again, I don't think anyone plays it so that you don't charge towards the enemy when you make a successful charge.

We get a slight change to the way Contested works to make sure that it applies at the end of a turn as well as the end of a phase. Again, makes sense.

They also clarify order of operations for scoring. Again, I don't think anyone was trying to score Victory points before checking objectives, but there it is.

Here's the first part of the clarification we were told about for Reserves and Transports. Basically unless you are physically moving your models, you don't get to count as having made any kind of move for any other rules. It just means you haven't Remained Stationary and don't get to move again.

Another one that I thought got clarified, if you have a rule that grants you CP in the Command phase, that is not part of CP gained at the start of the phase. So you can't gain anymore CP that battle round.

I could have sworn I saw this somewhere too, wonder if it was part of an event FAQ or something, but Dmg characteristics that have +1 or something in them are not being modified. That's just part of the characteristic.

Oh! Here's an interesting one and a new limit on rules stacking. You can't use two abilities that give you a flat Advance bonus to movement on the same Unit at the same time. Can't think of any faction that can do this off the top of my head, but again this makes sense.

And there it is! Finally! You can disembark from a Transport that arrives from reserves. Finally we get the clarification on this! This doesn't even affect me, and I'm still glad to finally see this!

Again, we have another common sense clarification. When you buy an Enhancement for a Character unit that has more than one model in it, only one model gets the Enhancement.

Oh! Here's an interesting one! Fight-on-death rules all trigger for the unit at once, you do not fight one at a time with each model by themselves. Additionally, all the models are still destroyed at once, so any abilities that are effected by unit strength apply.

Woah! Looks like we're getting some changes to Hazardous! Let's go through these point by point.

If you declare you're firing a Hazardous weapon, you take the test even if you destroy the target and don't fire the weapon.

You get to chose what models with Hazardous weapons suffer from failed tests. If a character fails a test, you can either destroy another model or have the Character take mortal wounds. It just has to be an eligible model with a hazardous weapon.

Mortals from Hazardous tests spill over to the unit normally.

If you allocate a Hazardous test to a Character, Monster, or Vehicle, you have to keep allocating Hazardous tests to that model until all the failed tests have been allocated or the model is destroyed.

When allocating Mortal wounds that have spilled over from a Character, Monster, or Vehicle in a unit, you have to allocate them first to another model with a Hazardous weapon. Once all models with Hazardous weapons are destroyed, you allocate any remaining failed tests or wounds to unit as normal.

Good good good! We now have some pretty clear steps for how to deal with this. Most of the time it's pretty easy, but again, it's nice to have it spelled out. Also, I don't really care much since Tyranids don't have any Hazardous weapons! Kekekek!

We get a little clarification for Objective Secured style abilities. Basically at the end of any phase, if your opponent has more OC on the objective than you do, they gain control as normal. Again, pretty sure everyone played it this way.

Wow! There's a clarification. Instead of trying to figure out or keep track of One Shot weapons and Firing Deck, you just can't use them! I did hear of people trying to cheese this, especially my GSC kin, and apparently GW decided they needed to stamp this down hard!

Redeploy has a quick clarification that yes, you can redeploy a unit with Infiltrators as Infiltrators. This was already there in the commentary, but apparently there was enough debate they needed to spell it out.

Really important with the new Drukhari detachment, we get some specific rules for splitting units. You can only split a unit once, and that split unit changes its Starting Strength to match.

We get some new exceptions to how Vehicles with bases work. You don't have to with 3" of a vehicles base to embark on it, you just have to be within range of the model itself. The same is also true for disembarking.

Finally, we get the much needed clarifications on Ignoring Modifiers. We get a list of characteristics that can ignore modifiers, which is very nice. Being able to ignore modifiers to rolls means all rolls for that unit. And again, they clarify this is not binary and you get to choose what modifiers you ignore.

New to this version is our first full Errata on the Core Rules. We only have three things here, but they're important. The first is the change to Command Re-Roll which rewords it so that it targets a unit and not a roll. This brings it in line with all other Stratagems.

Next we have a clarification on Rapid Ingress specifying the you can use Deep Strike, despite the fact it's not your Movement phase.

Finally, we have the updated wording for controlling objective markers that specify it occurs at the end of any phase or turn.

And that's it! Whew! That's a lot more than I was expecting all around!

Final Thoughts

This really was a lot! GW is not messing around here. However that doesn't mean there weren't any oversights. For some reason, Astra Militarum really didn't get much of anything. They're arguably worse off then they were before. Considering their competitive win rate is around 43%, this is really not good. But other than that, and what we were told not to expect, this is pretty comprehensive!

I guess with that mention of Guard, I should talk about winners and losers. Guard are one of the losers. They got a meaningful rules change, but nothing good enough to change their fortunes. In the mean time, they got a nerf to the Manticore and no buffs to any of their other units. I actually double checked that I didn't miss anything. This is so baffling!

Obviously Aeldari and CSM are also losers. Aeldari saw sweeping rules changes and CSM got a double tap in rules and points. I don't think it's enough to break either faction, but they're definitely not gonna hold their top spots anymore.

World Eaters also lost pretty big. Again, they got rules and points changes, though nothing like what the top dogs got. Still, they had only started to climb up the ranks last I checked. Again, I don't think this is going to drop them too much, but it's not gonna help them.

Templars also took a bit of gut punch. They only got hit in the points though. Many players will argue they were coasting on cheap Crusader Squads. I think Space Marine players will think twice about running them, but dedicated Templar players will probably be fine.

Finally, we have to acknowledge that the AdMech Codex just didn't give the faction the tools they needed. They've had no event wins since their codex dropped. While some of the higher tier players are having success, the faction as a whole needs love.

By contrast, Necrons are winning big for the same reason. With nothing addressing them in this Dataslate and two powerful new detachments, the Dynasties are ready to rise and claim their spot.

I think Drukhari will like their changes too. Their army can genuinely punch hard now, and their new detachment looks like a lot of fun. With the points changes they got, the faction probably got a bit more expensive to run, but a lot more tools to play with.

Orks are also looking good. They've so far managed to stick pretty close to the low 50s for most of this edition. While they saw some nerfs, I don't think they'll hurt most Ork lists. Now they may be able to take vehicles besides trukks with them. They can definitely benefit from the top dogs taking a krumpin.

I think Custodes will also like their changes. A Feel No Pain against Dev Wounds is going to help a lot. And they might be able to get a few more bodies on the board now too.

Knights are in tough spot. They got a lot of points buffs, but they really needed them. They also got a nice rules buff, though only to one of their Oaths. I think they should have just given them Bondsman back. We'll have to see if these change help reverse their fortunes.

Grey Knights are also probably grinding their teeth. The buff to Dreadknights is nice. This will help what should be their primary punching unit actually hit hard enough to matter. But I'm still not sure it's enough. Still, Grey Knights have a lot of room for skilled players to shine. Maybe that little nudge will help them.

All and all, it's going to be brand new meta starting today. It's a new season with new rules. My guess is we'll see something like a General's Handbook soon, and that might further shake things up. I'm excited to see how things pan out!

[unma]

only reason I have not posted the fic is because I have been grinding GBF for the last day or two and today's the last day of the Tales of Arcanum event. As I speak my phone is currently beside me as I farm the same Arcanum node because dammit I'm getting the astra I need today or so help me god. I am Sissyphus on this fucking mountain because this has to be the third time I've said that and walked away with nothing to my name but I will not, shall not stop as long as Nier's 5 star is in my sights. I need my very insane Yandere waifu in her beautiful black dress, okay? I need to make a team with her proper so I can feel accomplished. My first target was Seox, the pathetic cat boy. And now I need this absolutely deranged sopping mess with attachment issues. Only then will I feel accomplished.

Also I'm like 40 astra away from actually getting Katze, and I could literally farm and get Alanaan now in the span of like an hour, but this isn't about them, okay? Favorite characters come before the meta. Even if some of them happen to be really good.

[silvermuffins]

Pokemon Scarlet Liveblog! Part 4

We left off at "running around in a field"

ftr we are at caught 78, battled 103

they really did bring back headbutting trees tho. i am trying SO HARD to find another Toedcool, mgiht need to give up.

is Saul the waiter....hitting on me? sir im twelve.

anyway, Cowch the Mareanie. This Magikarp knows tackle??? Marrgh. Wow they nerfed Magikarp, dex says it never jumps more than seven feet. Come on, dex, that was all Magikarp had! !!! ACTUAL DOLPHINS??? FINIZEN! Oh I think I see a Mareanie terrorizing a Shellder under the waves in the bg but. DOLPHIN. name of Dip.

Jupe is evolving....they haven't done an evolving Pikaclone in six generations.....also Jupe is just kind of. Mostly underwater? Buddy u ok is this the best place to do this? welp, Pawmo. Oh, found a Crabrawler, you can be Monch. Chomper is evolving! ...Into Grafaiai? Did...did my mouse just turn into a monkey? Swapping her out for Pebbles. Anyway here's slowpoke, you will be Ruffle. I could use more balls... Ooh, Wattrel. Leep. Shellos? Bungee. AAA SANDYGAST. You're Pierrot!

I think Jupe my be my second permanent party member I'm loving this dude.

has a picnic and washes all my pokemon right outside the base....is naptime for the team. Pinkle decided to sleep on my chest, because is about chest height on his feet....when im standing....

dammit im so bad at making sandwiches. but man this one sounds like it'd be interesting but also tasty.... Butter, lettuce, ham, banana, and strawberry.

anyway time to fuck team star up, i have a duck

"self defense" bitch you better get a defense lawyer

feel like we're getting to the stage where more trainers should have multiple pokemon

Fani low key like "hey if i take out the leader of a team star squad then i should be the new leader, and if i consolidate all five under my own leadership, then i could found an empire!"

have just been told they made a game where you can tackle goals in any order but didn't bother scaling the difficulty.....seriously???? what the FUCK. it's like they released a nonlinear game but 100% expect you to play it in a 100% linear way. they want to railroad you so bad.

i am having a pretty good time, my gripes are largely ignorable, but...man I was really hoping I wouldn't have to just accept steamrolling literally everything

anyway we are heading into the base with Daya, Pinkle, and Sotero. that wasn't hard. i will steamroll everything.

hi, mela! prepare to meet your doom!

can't deny she's got style tho like goddamn. i AM rocking to the music and team star is, i will admit it, kind of cool.

SO THE CAR IS A POKEMON

honestly i did expect Mela to be less....subdued.... She seems so apathetic and bored, which is fine, but she was getting built up as an ugly screaming mess and i was SO eager to see that

like "what a hassle" that's???? all????? unless like they're going for a rep built up when she's no longer matching it, we ARE entering a flashback

oh. oh there were bullies...

ohhh dear....but i knew it there's a man behind the big five isn't there

......and we ARE going with her being Tired and no longer being the fiery, furious girl she used to be, aren't we?

stop making me sad

rtdyguik the way she walks though oh my gofd

why does the photo look like that

haha tsun away defeat means friendship

oh no it's about to get feelsy again ain't it

oh no now i'm invested

OKAY current take on things: there is love and charm woven into these characters, pokemon, stories, and the region. i am intrigued by everything. I want to see more. Yes, there are some brokey bits, but so far they seem to me to be structural, rather than foundational. We will keep going, with love in our hearts and sympathy for developers rushed by corporate greed.

tl;dr the game is flawed but this is a place to focus on the things we enjoy, and i see a lot to love here

supply unit??? who the hell are you cassiopeiaaaaAAAAA PENNY IT'S PENNY ALL FEELINGS ARE GOOD

"i'm good with machines and hacking and stuff" *starry eyed* are you cassiopeia?

honestly the vibe i'm getting with team star at this point is "you live long enough to see yourself become the villain"

looking at pokedex, realized Pinkle isn't gonna evolve, think i'll swap out for something else....

raiding the base for items and dialogue after, getting the sense Mela just....disappeared. But her squad really cared about her. And one is saying the other crews will get revenge.... I wonder fi they would? How close were the five leaders, and how close are they now?

i am just gonna copypaste in some nattering from a DM so you can see how absolutely hopeless I am

"i guess i should probably go do early things in western paldea now huh....get at least a LITTLE balance...." .... "also. i meant early things in EASTERN. paldea. i am in western paldea." .... "okay im gonna hit the next pokemon center up the road, then head back to Mesagoza so i can head east" ... "...west?" ... "WAIT NO I AM IN THE EAST I NEED TO GO WEST"

SOMEDAY I WILL FIGURE OUT WHERE ON THE PLANET I FUCKING AM AND THEN YOU'LL ALL BE SORRY

...?

...!

SHINY BUIZEL!!!!!

CRIT CAPTURE?!

AAAAAAAAAAA

Goldilocks

also we are swapping Pinkle for Teeny

oh there's new dialogue at school

oky not as much as i thought

oh hey while I'm in Mesagoza I should maybe accessorize? i'll take a peek

i honestly kind of really like Fani's current look tho....eh, some new shoes, maybe some gloves...ooh, picnic customization stuff....and some new sammich ingredients....picks up new recipes.....

Okay! Westward! Yes, it's westward!

picnic time to set up my new stuff....and make a sweeeeet sammich....best stacked one I've made yet

scoots took a nap on the table and then kicked the ball off a cliff......

Anyway time to explore and catch pokemon!!! Misty the Mareep! PUPPY. Dervish the Maschiff! Coppel the Rockruff! OH fancy scyther with a normal tera... You can be Mozart. Meditite is now Karov. Eckles the Mudbray. Flittle? What's that? You're gonna be Flan now. IF it will stay in the goddamned ball. Riolu! You're gonna be Joot. Once again, if it stays in the goddamn ball. !!! There's Swablu here, get in the ball Bula. Ooh, Phanpy friend, you're Wikae. Toxel is Niv.

I am starting to feel the.....three hours of sleep I got. Anyway, Bramaram the Gastly. Moosley the Starly. Back toward the low level area.... Tyse the Smoliv.

Ten Sights of Paldea, that sounds fun! Got to the Pokemon center and the watchtower, I think I am done for the night. Did I really accomplish only one thing....?

[somegrumpynerd]

Best of I don’t think Matt and Lindsay have a team name but I love them

[yaomomvs]

— BEING INARIZAKI’S TEAM MANAGER AND A SECRET VOLLEYBALL PLAYER

inarizaki x f!manager

this is part of a hcs series, let me now what team you want next <3

okay so actually you ended being the manager because the girls volleyball team had already closed the application time

so you you were really looking forward to it and omg you were so sad about it

after being rejected, you were just peacefully going through the gym and you heard laughter from a bunch of guys

you recognized kosaku since he was in your class and waved at him.

and so, they were talking about getting a manager since this team is pretty much a lot to handle

and so since kosaku knew you were hard working and that the first idea that popped out oh his head was that if you wanted to try out.

kita respectfully introduced himself and asked if you were willingly try out 🥺🥺🥺 like what a man 🥺🥺

and mostly because the twins having fangirls always made this process kind of difficult, so instead kita and aran wanted to make sure it was someone who at least was trusted by one of them

and not to brag but bestie you are gorgeous

so it was a win win

atsumu refused to this because as the jerk he usually is, he said that he didn’t need any help

that son of a bitch

he was being soooo petty mainly after you said “oh don’t worry kita, idiots are not my type”

osamu fell in love with you ❗️

and aran

and suna

and well the team.

and so, looking at the other court where the girl vbc was training you said that it was something.

every! single! practice! is! chaotic!

but somehow you managed them so well

atsumu is still trying to prove that he doesn’t but oh boy he is the first one to requiere your help

you better believe this guys are your simps and are constantly competing over someone who a year ago could never imagine they had

your attention? the best way to prove each other they were superior

in away games, god bless the idiot that wants to even dares to try to do a move on you

they are lowkey intimidating

not but seriously

specially and surprisingly kita and aran

son como esos niños mamones fresas que de cierto modo les tienes miedo

besides

this team? over the moon for you

and tbh, they were so grateful for you, you did a lot for them that they started to feel some kind of embarrassing how before they wouldn’t know how to do basic stuff like cooking for camps, labeling they jerseys correctly, searching for new equipment like they love you

anyways that however was kinda sus to them

it all started when somehow you learned so quickly, and the technical stuff was not hard to understand as to others

surprisingly the first one to notice was suna

you could have said something but tbh

you still look forward to play volleyball like more seriously even as a hobby

BUT

BUT

you’d rather be dead than telling your team that’s what you wanted because

a) they could think you only joined to learn volleyball and not help them

b) you had your pride, you want to be recognized by your own merits rather than “of course, they are inarizaki’s manager if they weren’t they could have never been this good”

so you still played volleyball but hid from them

there was a gym nearby where constant tournaments were held

you were a ghost because knowing damn well your boys could go there at any moment you decided to take some precautions

like nickname and position was everything they knew about you

your teammates loved you, so they respected your private life, and it was kind of cool

but what you were not expecting is that for some reason, omimi had followed you one day bc you forgot something after practice.

being a friday it meant for some weird reason you always rushed out

“sus” suna says everytime

so he catches you going out to the gym and maybe, he thought, you were just going to workout or see someone

BUT THIS GUYS EYEBALLS ALMOST FALL WHEN HE SEES TOY RUSH AND TAKE OFF YOUR SCHOOL UNIFORM SHIRT AND TIE TO FUCKING REVEAL A JERSEY WUTH A #3 on it

bye you broke him

and so he tries to process it normally

key word: tries

and here we are him being interrogated by the team incredulous to his words.

ay first they interrogated him being overprotective by the fact that he was spending more time with you but when he tells them what he saw god dammit

they loose it when they find out.

and so, tsumu says something that everyone agrees with him for the first time

“let’s go and spy”

“i swear to god if y/n finds out...”

“shut up aran, unless you want to make it obvious and reveal our identity dumbass!”

“tsumu, the disguises are awful”

“come on kita not you too!”

“what if”

“akagi shut up all of you agreed with the idea”

“osamu you suck”

and so there they go. trying to find you in the sea of people at the entrance, not having a clear view yet, they only search for the navy blue and white uniform that omimi described to them when he saw you.

and then almost as if it was the gods plan, they started hearing whispers of people around mentioning the arrival of one of the most popular teams out there.

“come on what the big deal-” suna started saying, however your figure appeared and he instantly turned into a babbling mess.

as well as the rest of inarizaki vbc.

osamu had to double check to assure himself that it indeed was you, beautiful as ever, walking alongside your hot and apparently talented team.

minutes later, they were standing in the bleachers as quiet as they could. they spotted you.

“A SETTER” atsumu jumped of his seat and had to be scolded by aran who was also surprised by the position you were going to be playing.

“wasn’t expecting that” ginjima talks saying what everyone was currently thinking.

behind them was a couple of guys, who apparently did not know how lower their comments.

“the setter is kinda cute” “wow look at that” oml please even aran who was the voice of reason had the urge to punch them in the face.

still they decided to just focus on your game who has now been started. and even tho they wanted to not do it, they couldn’t help analyzing you and your moves in the court. it was natural, well because they were players and very good ones it’s inevitable for them to compare and to study the way you played more than anything.

they were not expecting you to be this good. almost everything in your technique was polished, your tema work was remarkable and god bless your ability to read the blockers.

but there was a moment when they just saw the panoramic view of your skills. atsumu could see your tired expression, the sweat on your body, he just knew you were feeling now the adrenaline of the last moments of the set.

still you yelled a “we will take it” and then, with the others team hope hanging on a thread, the ball came to your libero, which perfectly passed the ball to you.

there was greed in your eyes, so scary that kita for a moment feared for the other team.

and it was when you did the setter dump that your whole team stood up in pure shock.

who were you and why were you hiding?

sadly the boys screamed way too loud which lead to you, after you made the last point and give the history to your tema, lifted up your gaze and saw a bunch of idiots wearing hats and everything in between.

suna and tsumu ran the fastest in the team directly to the gate, and the with a bunch of losers behind them,

because after everything you were there arms crossed and a murderous look in your eyes.

“IM TOO YOUNG TO DIE Y/N” “osamu shut up!”

they, once you made sure to pinch each and everyone’s ears, starred bombarding questions on how did you managed to learned that and why you did ikr tell them

“come on guys, in school i’m already looked down at just because it’s you! so could you imagine me being a inarizaki student trying to move without your name?”

kita forced them to shut up and aran felt a a kind of guilt

as week as everyone else

“don’t worry y/n, we know now what it’s like to not being your own author.”

and so, they just told you how proud they were.

“maybe we are jerks but y/n we are your jerks, and over there or respect to you has just grown up”

suna the says “you’ve been there all of the time for a while now, i guess it out time to return the favor”

and so ever since then they alwaaaaays try to be at your games

like pls once the referee said one of your serves was out and from the bleachers he screaaaaaaamed, he claims that it was definitely in

kita always gives you some food after a game or practice

talking about practice

even if you are there for being a manager they always try to, at least half an hour before ending practice, they have a quick game with you playing alongside them or just including you in their repeats etc

and goooood bless once again anyone who tried to look down at you.

because after being constantly on you games ofc people started recognizing them as the inarizaki power house

if they heard someone relying your talent on them pls make sure they five them the coldest look ever

like ‘nah bro i dare you to say that one more time’

*knive eyes*

and

even some girls attend your games trying to flirt with them

you know what they do?

they brush them off and say “sorry, my type is y/n” suna says and the are 😳

pretty much everyone does this

come on even aran

inarizaki best boys 🥺🥺🥺

[randomshyperson]

Left Behind - Chapter 8 - Fine Line

Gif was made by my friend @abimess

Summary: The one where you lived in the apartment under the Maximoff family in Sokovia, or, your journey as a Sokovian civilian to Avenger.

Warnings: (+16) Violence, fighting, cursing, civil war environments, abuse of power, assault, torture, underage kissing, psychological torture, substance use, mention of assault/fighting of children, smut, kissing, teasing, insinuation of sexual and moral harassment, verbal offenses.

Words: 4.183K

A/N> I have no idea. Good reading.

All Works Masterlist || Read on AO3 || Series Masterlist

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Chapter 8 - Fine Line

As soon as the jet landed on the compound, things started to change.

Nick Fury was waiting for the Avengers at the entrance, and you exchanged a look with Natasha as you walked alongside everyone.

"I would like the twins to attend this meeting." Nick asks as soon as Steve leads the team into the office. You sit down next to Bucky on the couch in the common room, and he looks at you, as if wondering if you were going to contradict the other man, but you are looking at the Maximoffs.

Wanda and Pietro nod in understanding, and you try to give a reassuring smile when the girl looks at you, but it doesn't seem to help much as she just looks away and walks inside with her brother.

"What do you think they're talking about?" You ask a few minutes after you and Bucky are left alone. The winter soldier sighs lightly.

"Ultron, of course." He says. "Nick will want to know everything the twins have on him since they were working together. And I think some legal questions about them being here, like we did with you."

"Do you think they will want to become Avengers?" You ask a moment later, twiddling your fingers anxiously. Bucky gives a little smile.

"Depends on how much Tony talks."

You laugh, leaning back against the armchair.

"Maybe that will take a while, wanna eat something?" Bucky asks next, and you glance at the meeting room door before muttering, "Sure."

You and Bucky stand up toward the kitchen counter and he reaches into the cupboards, pulling out some ingredients as you prop your elbow on the counter.

"I'm going to make my secret recipe." He comments with a smile, taking two plates and placing them on the wood. "Grab some cheese for us?"

"Sure." You reply as you walk over to the refrigerator.

For the next few minutes, you watch Bucky prepare what resembles a cheese sandwich, but which he calls the Barnes secret recipe, but which is only different about the tomato and the fact that he heats the bread with oregano.

"Are you sure about that?" You ask as you watch him put on even more oregano. Bucky laughs lightly and then closes the bread, handing you one piece and taking the other.

"Come on, tell me what you think." He asks and you grimace uncertainly still biting into it. It is surprisingly good tasting, but deciding to tease him, you don't smile and the man looks at you wide-eyed.

"Dammit, pal, I don't think that turned out so good." You start and he takes a quick bite of the sandwich, and realizing you were joking, he nudges you lightly as he chews, making you laugh.

"Idiot." He grumbles but ends up laughing too.

You are in the middle of laughing when the meeting ends. Distracted by the interaction, you don't see the Avengers leaving the room, much less notice the way Wanda quickly catches the scene of you and Bucky laughing, and misinterprets it all.

"Barnes' secret recipe? Do you still have any for me?" Steve asks as he approaches, and you look at the Avengers who have entered the kitchen, scanning around for Wanda, but she is looking at the floor.

"I'll make one for you." Bucky says as the captain sits down on one of the stools. "Are you going to tell us what happened in there?"

Steve smiles, propping his elbow on the potty.

"For the current time, you guys are looking at the new two members of the Avengers." He counters and you widen your eyes, looking immediately at the twins. Pietro matches your excitement, but all you get from Wanda is a quick, almost annoyed look.

You leave your unfinished sandwich on your plate, and thank Bucky before walking over to the twins.

"Can we talk?" You ask them half-heartedly.

"Of c-

"Are you sure you're not busy?" Wanda interrupts her brother halfway through, crossing her arms. You frown in confusion, but Natasha approaches you.

"Why don't you show them the compound, Y/N?" She suggests with a smile. "They're going to be your door-mates too."

"Okay." You agree and exchange a look with Pietro before waving the direction where they should follow you.

It takes a few minutes to show them around, but you ensured that if they ever got lost, all they had to do was call out "Jarvis" who was already restored to the compound, plus there were maps in every corridor.

And then you led them to the hallway of rooms, and Pietro was the first door.

"I guess that's you." You say, and Pietro takes out the magnetic key he must have gotten from Fury in the briefing room to open the door.

You let the twins in first, and then follow them with your hands in your pockets, smiling at the impressed hiss Pietro gives.

"I know, it's fancy." You comment and he gives a short laugh, looking around.

"I never thought I'd be under the same roof as Tony Stark." He speaks and you bite the inside of your cheek, looking away to the floor.

"Yeah, me neither."

Have a moment of silence as they look around until Wanda, who is standing with her arms crossed and beside her brother, looks at you.

"Did you talk to him?" She asks. "About... Sokovia?"

You sigh lightly.

"I kind of did." You say. "Tony is... difficult. There' s not much to say about it if you ask me. I learned about how he had no idea that Stark Industries bankrolled the war, because he was busy spending his own fortune."

"Great guy." Pietro mutters and you give a weak little smile.

"Yeah, I know." You continue. "I'm sorry about that. I know you guys always wanted to find him and make him pay, but he didn't even know about the whole thing."

You shift the weight of your feet, and then sigh. "I know that doesn't change anything, but he apologized. And then he made me a suit, and let me stay here."

"You're right, it doesn't change or fix anything." Wanda retorts, but her gaze softens, "But, it's a start."

"And now we promise to help defeat Ultron." Pietro adds and you shake your head.

"What did Nick Fury say to convince you guys?" You ask with mild amusement and Pietro laughs, exchanging a quick glance with his sister.

"Your name." Wanda replies and you stop laughing because you feel your heart race, and your face heat up at the intensity of her gaze. Pietro seems to find the whole interaction amusing.

"W-what?"

"It doesn't matter. Can I see my room now?" Wanda asks quickly, already walking away to leave. You exchange a quick glance with Pietro, who just shrugs and then follows Wanda down the hall.

"Is this the one?" she asks as she stops next door and you shake your head.

"No, I'm in the middle." You clarify. "Yours is next."

She gives a smile as she looks at your door.

"I've never been in a room that was yours."

"That's because I've never had a room of my own before." You comment with a chuckle. "Wanna take a look?"

Wanda glances at you and then nods. You move closer to open the door, and try to ignore the way your heart races and your hands tremble because Wanda doesn't move aside and you have to lean in to open the lock.

She walks in as soon as the door opens, and you follow her in silence, trying not to look so affected.

"I think I just have the stuff the Avengers gave me here." You explain as you watch Wanda look around. "Not that I had anything in Sokovia."

Most of the rooms in the tower had a pattern of furnishings, and colors. As they became more comfortable, the team members would add their own personality to the room. In the short time you stayed with them, the most you had were sweaters with the team logo all over the place, or training shoes. There were also, however, drawings. And Wanda noticed.

"What are these?" She asks as she reaches for the small notebook on the armchair. You ran your hand through your hair shyly.

"A hobbie, I guess." You count with a smile. "It's new, it's...therapeutic, I think that's the word."

Wanda looks at you curiously.

"Since I've been here, I've had some trouble getting relaxed." You explain and Wanda frowns slightly. "So Bucky suggested finding a hobby of some sort."

"Who is Bucky?"

"The guy with the metal arm." You say and continue talking, not noticing the way Wanda squeezes the sketchbook a little too hard. "Since we've been through similar experiences, he figured that what his therapist taught him would probably help me too. He cooks, and I draw."

"Got it." Wanda murmurs, shifting her gaze to the notebook again. She opens it and looks at the pages carefully, smiling at some of the drawings. "When you say, similar experiences, what do you mean?"

You hesitate. Wanda doesn't know all about it. Everything you went through to get there. You wonder if you would like her to know.

"Maybe that's something for another time." You say as you look away and she looks upset.

"You used to tell me everything."

"Maybe there are things you don't need to know."

Wanda stares at you with her jaw locked. You look back, not sure what it is exactly that you're trying to hide.

You give in, with a soft sigh. You have waited so long to see them, only to have this strange nervous tension between you two.

Running a hand through your hair, you gesture to Wanda to return your notebook.

"Let me take you to your room..."

"No need, next door right? I'll be fine." She interrupts angrily, tossing the notebook into your hand.

"Wanda..."

But she's out of the room before you're done. You take a deep breath, staring at the notebook in your hands. Wanda never got to see the drawings you made of her.

Figuring that you should give them time to settle into their rooms, and take a shower after a mission like that, you return the notebook to your desk and decide to do the same.

With luck, you will be able to talk properly to each other in no time.

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Wanda and Pietro joining the team, seemed to have been the essential advantage for the Avengers to be ahead of Ultron.

Once you were back in the common room, Natasha handed you a mug of coffee while making a joke about Tony bragging about deciphering Ultron's entire plan, and you just laughed when she commented that it was easy to decipher when the twins had already shared the key information.

"We're going to Korea early tomorrow morning." She counters. "I think Steve wants to know if you're still going to be a part of it."

"Why wouldn't I?" You ask confused and she raises an eyebrow.

"You found your friends." She retorts and you sigh.

"Oh, yeah." You say. "B-but I can still help. I...I still want to"

"Is this about Ultron manipulating your friends?"

"Maybe."

Natasha laughs lightly.

"Well, the captain is in the conference room organizing everything." She says.

"I think he will be pleased to know that you are not heading off to Sokovia."

"Yet." You retort with a smile making Nat laugh as you take the coffee mug back.

When you arrived at the conference room, Steve was distracted by some paperwork, and you knocked on the door before entering.

"Hey, kiddo." He said as he turned his head to look at you quickly before returning his attention to the papers. "Everything okay?"

"Sure, Steve." You replied approaching, deciding to stay on your feet. "I wanted to let you know that I can still help."

Steve looks at you with a mixture of surprise and amazement.

"I thought..."

"Yeah, I know what I said before."You interrupt with an almost embarrassed smile. "But I want to help. I don't know what Ultron is planning, and I thought this was not my fight. But then..."

"It affected your friends." He concludes and you nod. Steve sighs and leans on the table, crossing his arms as he looks at you. "You know, I think I should give you a speech about how being a hero is about helping everyone, not just the people who matter to you."

You laugh humorlessly, looking away. You were going to contradict, but Steve quickly adds.

"I'm not going to do that." He says. "I won't because you grew up in a war that wasn't yours, with no one to fight for you. So you three were the only heroes you ever knew."

"We weren't heroes, Steve." You retort with a sigh. "We were just orphans trying to survive."

"My point is, I'm in no position to lecture you." He clarifies and you cross your arms, waiting for him to finish. "Your motive for fighting is nobody's business but your own. What matters is that you will be helping."

"Thanks, Cap." You grumble and Steve smiles.

He grabs a clipboard, and starts telling you about them finding out that Ultron had intention to create a better body made of Vibranium, and how they would be going to Korea to stop that and get the scepter back with the stone.

He is in the middle of the sentence about putting you on the support team when you can hear his heartbeat.

The sudden noise startles you and you frown in confusion.

"Everything okay?" He asks as he notices your expression, before you can say anything, your head starts to spin.

It's not just his heartbeat, but all the blood circulating in his veins that can be heard next. You suddenly find it hard to breathe, and just as you notice Steve's full molecular presence, you're able to know Natasha is in the next room, hear Tony chew in the basement, or feel Clint scratch his back.

It is oppressive and overwhelming and you stumble back in despair.

"W-what's happening?" You ask trying to breathe normally.

"Hey kid, breath, are you okay?" Steve asks worried, approaching you with his hands raised.

His heartbeat accelerates because he's scared for you and you gasp, covering your ears because you feel your head is going to explode.

"Please stop it." You ask in desperation, feeling your eyes fill with tears with all that information at once. "It's too much. please..."

"Tell me what's wrong." He asks but you just sit on the floor, burying your heads in your knees, and covering your ears as you try to breathe. "I'll get help."

Even after he leaves, you can feel his presence in the other rooms.

And it gets considerably worse when all the Avengers are around you, worried and asking what's wrong. Their heartbeats feels like it's going to pop your eardrums, and you want to scream.

"Hey Y/N, I need you to focus on my voice." It was Bruce, kneeling in front of you. "It's your powers increasing, remember how we talked about that? Try to focus on me."

"I can't. " You cry. "Please Bruce, it's too much. Tell them to be quiet."

"This will help." He says and you feel a sting in your thigh.

Little by little, the sounds become muffled, until they disappear. You get a taste of iron in your mouth, and you look up to see the whole team looking at you with concern, and Bruce in front of you, giving you a short smile.

"I'm sorry." You mumble awkwardly, feeling exhausted.

"Do not worry kid." Bruce says. "Can you stand?"

"I think so."

Bruce helps you anyway, one hand around your waist while your arm rests around his shoulders.

"I think you'd better lie down for a while." He says and then you are walking. "Guys, let's give her some space, alright?"

Bruce asks the team and they stop following you two. Bruce takes you to his room, and helps you to bed.

"Here we go." He murmurs as soon as you lie down completely. "How do you feel?"

"Exhausted." You respond weakly, feeling your eyes grow heavy. "Thanks for help."

"Any time." He says. "Rest kid, we have a lot to talk about when you wake up."

You want to tell him you'd like to know what's going on now, but you're falling asleep right away.

You don't know Wanda is standing at your door with a pounding heart.

//-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-////-//-//-//

Waking up is surprisingly unpainful.

You expected at least a headache, but your powers do the job right.

"Good Morning." Bruce greets you as soon as he notices you fidgeting with the sheets. You frown.

"Morning? How long was I gone?"

"Thirty-eight hours and twelve minutes." He responds by placing the tablet he was holding on the table beside him. You widen your eyes in surprise, sitting up quickly. "Hey, take it easy."

"B-but the mission..."

"Do not worry about it." He says as he approaches your bed, sitting next to you at knee level. Bruce assesses you quickly and then sighs. "Are you feeling something? Any dizziness?"

"No." You say. "Where are the others?"

"The twins also went to Korea if that's what you want to know." He responds while looking away to fiddle with his jacket. He takes out a small lantern and holds it close to your eyes, examining something in them as he mutters to himself.

"What was wrong with me?" You ask as soon as he puts the object away. He adjusts his glasses.

"Don't talk like that." He asks. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"I was out for two days, doc." You retort with irony and he gives a short laugh.

"Yes, because you were exhausted." He says. "Don't worry about it, it's not a bad sign."

You mutter, crossing your arms. Bruce clears his throat as he reaches for the tablet on the table and then hands it to you.

"I did some analysis while you were sleeping." He says, and you stare at the graphics without understanding much. "They are good news."

"What did you inject in me back there?" You ask then, handing the tablet back to him.

"An alternative to Hydra Serum." He clarifies. "Without the obeying part, just the controlling of your abilities."

"Thanks, I guess." You mumble. Bruce locks the tablet before looking at you again.

"I'll ask Bucky to cook you something to eat, and then we'll go to the lab." He warns you. "We have some things to talk about."

"Whatever you say, doc."

//-//-////-//-////-//-////-//-//

After eating, and thanking Bucky for the favor, you returned to the lab.

Bruce set up a kind of glass room that made you frown.

"I have a cell now?" You joked and he grimaced.

"It's not a cell." He retorted. "It's a training room."

"It looks like a cell."

"It is not."

"But it looks like."

Bruce sighed and you giggled, crossing your arms as you look at the glass in front of you. He walked over to open the door through the holographic lock and you took a closer look.

"Why did I get a training cell?"

"Your training room is special." He says entering the glass box. You follow him, and as soon as he enters, you notice that the glass muffles all outside noise. When the door closes behind you, you can only hear Bruce. "I needed something that could block out everything else when your powers awaken again."

"But I don't have super hearing, Banner." You retort. "I don't understand why an anti-noise room is the best option."

"That's not what it's for."

You tap the glass with your fingers while Bruce fiddles with the tablet. And then the glass gains a new layer of protection, which glows golden before becoming practically invisible.

"Cool." You whisper and then turn to him again. "But what is it for?"

"Well, as I said earlier, I did other tests on your blood." He counts. "By my calculations, and from your little scene two days ago, you're going to be showing an immediate growth in your healing abilities over the next few days."

"Okay..."

"Shield tries to classify the enhanced humans as best as possible, and after working with Maria, we put you in some of those categories." He counts and with a flick of his fingers, a hologram comes out of the tablet into the air in front of him.

It was your file, and lots of texts and some photographs that you thought were images from your time in Hydra. Those were Shield's files on you.

"Of course we'll just have to wait for it to happen, but you're already classified as an enhanced beta level with biotherapeutic skills."

You looked around the files, surprised about the pics of your young self that Shield managed to recover. Even images from your childhood.

"For now, you've only demonstrated cell regeneration and close-range healing manipulation."

He narrates. "And two days ago, you had a small episode."

"I could hear everyone's heartbeats." You clarified still looking at the files. "I felt them in the next room."

"I understand." Bruce grumbles as he writes something down on his tablet. "This is called biomolecular detection. Depending on how you evolve, you might be able to detect injured people meters away."

You frown in surprise. Bruce is thoughtful.

"Not only detecting the injured, but also being able to tell exactly where the wounds are." He says. "It's impressive."

"You forgot the part where I couldn't breathe and I curled up on the floor like a scared child." You mock.

"That's what this room is for." He retorts with a smile. "You need to learn to handle your powers in a controlled environment."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"It's better than putting you in the middle of the fight, I'm sure of that."

You sigh, crossing your arms.

"What else does Shield have on me?"

"You want to look at childhood pictures, don't you?"

You laugh, shrugging.

"Obviously."

After showing your files, Bruce also explained how the room was designed to block, at a molecular level, your ability to sense other people outside the room.

Since the team wasn't in the tower for the next few days until the end of the mission in Korea, Bruce and Bucky would help you practice with your powers.

And as soon as the serum Bruce developed started to wear off, you felt your powers come back with a vengeance.

"I need you to focus on my voice until we get to the lab." Bucky asked worried as he found you on your knees at the living room floor, hands over your ears. You muttered weakly, feeling him help you to your feet as you heard the air rush in and out of his lungs. He started humming a song, and you whimpered, trying to concentrate, but everything was overwhelmingly noisy.

It seemed to take forever, but then everything went quiet next.

You look up to realize that Bucky has left you in the room, and then close the door.

"Thank you, buddy." You say, adjusting your balance by leaning against the glass.

"Don't worry." He says giving you a gentle smile. "Do you feel better?"

"Fuck, yes." You grumble as you quickly wipe your tears. Bucky watches you carefully.

You sit on the floor, closing your eyes. It takes Bruce a few minutes to get to the lab, but when he does, he looks worried.

"Sorry for taking so long, I was all the way downstairs." He clarifies as he approaches the glass. "How do you feel?"

"It happened again." You count. "But as soon as I got in here everything was quiet."

"Well the room works, that's great." He says and you laugh weakly. "I think we can start your training then."

"But who will train her?" Bucky asks confused.

"I thought you could do that." Bruce retorts and Bucky looks at him in surprise.

"What? I thought you were going to do it."

"I don't know how to train anyone, I'm just a doctor." Bruce argues.

"Well I'm a sergeant who was brainwashed for eighty years, I'm not the teacher type."

"But you're a still a sergeant..."

"I was never a drill Sergeant..."

"Jeez." You grunt humorously, clearing your throat to stop the argument. "I have an idea, as clearly none of you are in the mood to train me, I suggest Bruce give me some more of the special serum until Natasha or Steve get back."

"We can do that." Bruce agrees. "I'll get the serum. Hopefully you'll learn to control this soon."

"I hope so, doc."

/-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-///-//-//-//-////-//-//-//-////-//-

Tag list> @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia || @mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @justagaypanicking / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @myperfectlovepoem // @helloalycia // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS // @drpepperobsessed // @sighsam // @olsensnpm // @sxfwap // @table57 // @madamevirgo // @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo // @emptysince18x // @xastrydx || @yuhloversxx || @ymzki-haruki || @wouldirunofftheworldsomeday || @lostandsearching || @lezzzbehonesthere || @musicinourlips || @chaekhan || @diaryoflife

[danny-chase]

Unasked for Batfam Headcanons

Because I have no impulse control.

The dead robin club ended because people kept joining. At first it was Jason and Steph's inside joke and then Damian and Dick died and it took the fun out of it. Also they always felt bad for excluding Cass (as she wasn't a Robin but Shiva has canonically killed her twice) because Cass is a part of the family dammit.

For this reason, groups that formed after the dead robins club also fall a bit flat. Dick once made a joke about him and Bruce being in amnesia club and everyone proceeded to collectively lose their minds because no one wanted to be next.

Now they just hang out and call it a girl's night (literally even when it's just the boys). It started as actual girl's nights led by Barbara that various boys would crash and then they just kept the name when hanging out with literally any family member(s).

Tim: oh sorry Steph, I'm hanging out with Jason and Dick for a girl's night.

Steph: that's okay, I'll be content to have Cass and Damian for our girl's night then.

Girl's eventually becomes code for, we're going to sit in the bathroom and have mental breakdowns together.

Bruce does not understand girl's night reference, but he has painted both Cass's and Steph's nails while ranting about the JLA sooooo

Dick and Tim organize a family bonding camping trip to mirror team bonding they did with the teen titans and young justice

It goes suprisingly well and becomes a yearly family tradition

Alfred gets the weekend for vacation because Bruce is a competent adult when he's in the wilderness - he can cook anywhere but an actual kitchen

Mostly because he takes directions extremely literally (not even going to lie, this is something I did), for example the first time he was asked to microwave a can of soup, he didn't take the soup out of the can. And of course if you nearly blow up the microwave once, no one lets you near it again.

Who ever taught Bruce how to forage for food in the wildlife just showed him how it was done and pointed out the specific visual cues.

Meanwhile an 8 year old Dick just asked him to microwave a can of soup. And Bruce did what he was told.

In other news, they learned after the first year that no one is sharing a tent with anyone.

Sleeping with your siblings is fun and games until someone has a nightmare (which is unfortunately common in the family).

They also learned Duke can make campfires look absolutely wild through manipulating the light.

They literally just stared at a fire for 3 hrs while he messed around.

Duke was then invited to the titans and young justices campouts because Dick and Tim were like omg Wally and Bart need this in their lives.

This does in fact spiral out of control, and random heroes that Duke has never met know him as the fire kid.

Oh and not like earth heroes - they know who Duke is. I'm talking like light years away some random alien hero found out through the grape vine that Starfire's ex-boyfriends adopted but not adopted yet brother can do crazy shit with a bag of twigs and a lighter.

Other club names that got shut down: killed then revived by the same person club, evil family lineage club, mind controlled club, tortured by loa club, Lazarus pit club (fun facts would currently have Jason, Cass, and Kate if you go with everything's canon), killed a person who was later resuscitated club, turned into a tentacle monster club, and many many more cor the short period of time they tried to figure out which traumas they shared with certain members (it was actually very short because no one was willing to share anything about themselves that wasn't common knowledge).

[bubbleteaimagines]

Back To You

Oikawa Tooru Oneshot

Summary: You’ve moved on. You found someone new so why, why do you keep coming back to him?

Paring: Oikawa Tooru x Fem!Reader

Warnings: Smut, Cheating! I do not condone actual cheating but this is fanfiction not real life, Unprotected Sex with mentions of breeding but remember to wrap it kids!

You could feel his stare piercing you even from across the court. White hot, curious with a streak of jealousy.

Of course.

That’s to be expected when you show up to your old boyfriend’s match with your new boyfriend. You tried to ignore his stare as you helped Ragnar – your boyfriend – stretch before the game.

“Babe? Can you pull the other now?” He asks you, smiling sweetly, and it makes you sick that you have to give it all your might to concentrate on him, not the brunette standing just on the other side of the court.

“Of course,” You mentally scold yourself for even letting him cross your mind, pushing down the feeling of your hammering heart and complying with Ragnar. “That hard enough baby?”

“I bet I could give it to you harder,” He smiled suddenly, and you feel yourself become flustered as you realize what he meant.

“Shut up!” You scold him lightly, giggling a little while shaking your head. “You’re such a perv, you know that?”

“Oh come on,” Ragnar whines, his bottom lip jutting out a little in a pout. “You promised that if I won this game then we’d...you know...”

“That was only if you won,” You reminded him, emphasizing only. “Which won’t happen if the star player gets put out for pulling a muscle. So focus.”

“Right, right,” Ragnar finally complied and you ignored the whispers as people slowly began to talk.

“Hey...isn’t that Oikawa’s ex girlfriend?” Someone whispered, causing you to tense up.

“Yeah, I wonder what she’s doing here.”

“Do you think she came to see him?”

“Nah, it looks like she moved on. With a player from the opposing team, no less!”

“Come on,” You gently tugged on Ragnar’s arm as your heart hammered in your chest. “Let’s go set you up, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Ragnar agreed and you tightly gripped his hand as he lead you deeper into his team’s territory. A few people that would be playing greeted you, but you hardly acknowledged them as you sat down on the bench and then heard him talking.

“Big crowd isn’t it?” Oikawa said nonchalantly, but you could hear something lingering in his voice.

“Yeah. Best not get too caught up in it,” You heard someone else respond. Iwaizumi, of course. He had been one of your closest friends when you and Oikawa were still dating, but after you broke up the two of you slowly drifted away.

You felt bad for cutting him off but you knew that he was Oikawa’s friend first and it’d be too awkward trying to share him.

You needed a clean break from Oikawa, so why, why were you straining so hard to hear him talk?

“Let’s go say hello to some of our opponents,” You then heard Oikawa suggest, causing you to freeze. Ragnar had long since walked away, so you were the only one that noticed the seemingly thunderous footsteps of the last two people you wanted to see.

You knew he was coming, you could feel his stare and desperately tried to move. You willed your body to pick itself up, but somehow you remained seated as suddenly his presence washed over you.

“Well, well,” You flinched at his voice, too close for comfort but still as beautiful and smooth as ever. You could tell he was smirking. “You guys seem pretty good from where we’re standing, I can tell this is gonna be a tough game.”

He was lying. You knew Oikawa and you knew that he’d wipe the floor with Ragnar’s team. This was Seijoh after all- they were the favorites for nationals.

“Uh, thanks?” Seeing as your boyfriend was team captain, he was the one that replied. You kept your eyes glued to him, and him only as you watched the interaction.

“No problem,” Oikawa smirked. “You know I’d even go so far to say I’m nervous,” He said, and you wanted to scream from how he was taunting your boyfriend. But you feared it’d be worse if you got involved.

“Well, we’re not called Tigers for no reason,” Ragnar chuckled. His gaze flashed to you and immediately you could see Oikawa scowling.

“Our playing styles seem to be a lot different,” Oikawa started, “So I wish you luck. But I think you’ll find that you and me- we’re not so different after all.”

For the first time since you had broken up with him, you and Oikawa made eye contact. He winked at you as your (E/C) eyes went wide, your mouth going dry. “Isn’t that right, Y/N?”

The way he purred your name should have been illegal. And you kicked yourself as your heart began to flutter, butterflies forming in your stomach.

Dammit! You tore your eyes away and looked anywhere but him.

God, you fucking hated him.

How did he manage to have this effect on you, months after you had seen each other? How he did still make you nervous? How did he still make your thighs clench together by saying your name just right, just like he used to do while he had you underneath him and whimpering from his touch?

You sucked in a breath and shook away the tears that threatened to surface. You felt so disgusting, sitting there with your body gravitating towards him and that bastard knew it.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Ragnar frowned, suddenly becoming defensive as he noticed Oikawa looking straight at you. The brunette chuckled.

“Oh nothing,” He sighed like he hadn’t just called out his girlfriend directly. “Well, we better get going. The game should be starting soon. See you around.”

You averted your gaze as you fixated on Oikawa’s and Iwaizumi’s shoes. Their presence was so off-putting that you flinched again when Oikawa called out your name.

“Oh, and Y/N/N,” You hated the power he still had over you. Because as soon as he addressed you by that name, you looked up.

He smirked. “I’ll be seeing you soon,” He promised, something that he had been retreating over the many texts and DM’s he had sent you.

You gulped.

“Come on, leave her alone,” Iwaizumi gently tugged on Oikawa’s sleeve, dragging him away sending you a look of apology. You nodded in acceptance and then let out a breath when they were finally gone.

“Do you know him?” Ragnar immediately asked, watching Oikawa’s back with hard eyes.

You sighed. “Nope. I’ve never...I’ve never seen him in my life. I was just friends with the guy he was with.”

“Humph,” Ragnar hummed as soon as your phone pinged. Picking it up, you became frozen in shock at the message.

You looked beautiful today, my love. Too bad you were on his arm and not mine.

“Is everything alright?” Ragnar asked carefully, looking at your dejected face. “He didn’t spook you out or anything, did he?”

“N-No, It’s fine,” You stutter, quickly hiding your phone. “I’m fine. Don’t let it get to you- he’s probably just using me to get to you.”

If only he knew. It was much, much more than that.

Oikawa waited for Ragnar to leave and then he smirked when your gaze automatically flickered to his, like he knew it would. Winking, you almost lost it when his lips began to move and he mouthed ‘I love you,’ just when the whistle blew.

–

“YES!”

You grinned in happiness as your boyfriend and his teammates jumped around in victory, having beat Seijou by just a point.

You had to admit, you were on edge the entire game. Regretfully you had spent a good amount of time looking back and forth between your boyfriend and your ex, watching them battle it out.

Ragnar had been amazing out there but Oikawa...Oikawa had been absolutely phenomenal.

It was obvious he had improved in the time you were apart. His spike were still deadly and they were powerful enough to score 15 points. Halfway through the game, you had been sure Seijou would win the game.

But when it really mattered, little mistakes is what got them. So that’s why you were currently celebrating with your team, but didn’t really feel like a win.

Not for you.

“Y/N!” Ragnar snapped you out of your thoughts by pulling you into a sudden kiss, causing you to squeak. “We did it baby- I told you!”

“Yeah!” You were grateful he was too excited to hear your halfhearted reply, and too distracted to see your tight smile. “Congrats, baby. I knew you could do it.”

No you didn’t. Guilt pooled in your stomach as you remembered ranking Oikawa over your own boyfriend. You stomach twisted- how could you do that? How could you sit there that entire game waiting for Ragnar to fail if only you got to see Oikawa win?

You felt sick with yourself.

“Come on,” Ragnar gently tugged on your arm and smiled shyly. “Let’s all get back to the bus, yeah? I believe you have a promise to fufill,” He whispered that last part lowly, causing you to shiver and widen your eyes.

“Right,” You smiled tightly, pretending like your heart wasn’t about to pound out of your chest. “Let me just...let me check to see if we got everything. I’ll do a final sweep and meet you there.”

“Okay,” Ragnar grinned and leaned down to press a kiss on your cheek. Then, with all thirteen of his teammates he exited the building leaving you standing there, hollow.

“What are you doing?” You asked yourself, watching them walk away. “Why am I staying?”

It felt wrong to leave just now. It felt like you had something else to do. Someone else to see.

“Dammit,” You cursed as your feet began to go in the opposite direction, jogging lightly and prayed that they were still there.

It was just your luck that Seijou was on the opposite side of the building, and all of the buses were still there which meant there was a possibility he wouldn’t even be inside.

“Shit!”

You couldn’t believe you were being this stupid. Why were you running towards him, hoping to catch him before he left? Why did you care? Why had you never stopped caring?

“Y/N?” Iwaizumi’s surprised voice was difficult to hear over your heavy breathing, but you managed, raising your head to meet his eyes.

“Iwa-Chan,” You used his old nickname, setting yourself up straight. “I-”

“Why are you here?” He hadn’t meant it to sound rude, he was surprised that’s all. Hell, you were surprised yourself.

“I...” Why were you here?

Your eyes scanned the surroundings behind Iwaizumi. Fourteen players, but there were sixteen on the team. He followed your gaze, and his eyes softened when he noticed you looking.

“In the locker room,” He suddenly said, snapping your attention back to him.

You frowned. “W-What?”

“He’s in the locker room,” Iwaizumi repeated, knowing that’s who you were looking for. You felt your chest tighten.

“I-I wasn’t...”

“Bus leaves in 30 minutes. Don’t make him late, please,” Iwaizumi told you like it was nothing. You suddenly felt embarrassed. He had read you like an open book.

“T-Thank you,” You nodded in appreciation before turning in that direction. “Thank you, Iwaizumi. I-It was good to see you.”

He studied you for moment. It looked like he was about to say something, but then he just shook his head.

“You too, Y/N-Chan. Thank you for this,” Iwaizumi said. “He...he needs you right now.”

You felt like all the air disappeared from your lungs. Your heart pounded uncomfortably, while a tiny voice in your head told you ‘No. Don’t do this.’

“Okay,” You ignored the voice and got moving. Your feet walking in a direction you shouldn’t have been going. Your heart leading the way while your brain screamed profanities.

When you got to the locker room, you could already hear him pacing around. He was cursing, mumbling to himself about things you couldn’t hear until you got closer.

“O-Oikawa?” Your voice was hesitant, but you forced yourself to say something.

Immediately, his brown eyes snapped to you. Surprise- just like Iwaizumi- filled them, but no sooner than it appeared, it was gone.

“Y-Y/N-Chan?” He stuttered your name like he had never uttered it before. It made you even more nervous, but nevertheless your body pulled you in closer. “W-What are you doing here?”

“I-I came to see you,” You forced out, tearing your eyes away. It was too much. His gaze was too intense.

Oikawa scoffed. “After that? Shouldn’t you be with your boyfriend, celebrating?”

You didn’t like the way he said ‘your boyfriend.’ It felt wrong, coming from his lips. Like words that shouldn’t exist. You gulped.

“He’s on the bus,” You explained, still keeping your head down. “He...They’re waiting for me.”

“And what-” You could see his shoes getting closer, “Don’t tell me you came back for me,” He said in disbelief.

You sighed. “I wanted to see if you were okay,” You finally got the courage to look up and meet his eyes, and when you did you nearly melted.

Nothing had changed. He could still captivate you with one look- that damn look he was giving you now.

“Oh,” He sounded genuinely confused.

“Y-Yeah,” You stuttered slightly. “It’s just...I know how much you hate losing,” You mumbled quietly, embarrassed. “Especially if it’s to...”

“If it’s to him?” Oikawa finished, and you nodded, too embarrassed to say anything. “Well, you wouldn’t be wrong.”

You guys were so close now that you could begin to feel his body heat. Oikawa was always so warm, it was one of the things you love about him.

Wait a minute. Love?

“Hey,” He was bold and reached over to take your hand, causing electricity to flow through both of you. “Look at me.”

Even though it was softly spoken, you knew that it was a command. And, unable to resist him, you did.

You looked deep into his eyes and you could see every ounce of love he had for you. You could see the lust, the longing, but also the pain that still lingered months after you had parted ways.

“Tell me something,” Oikawa spoke again, letting out a breath. “Do you still love me?”

The question caught you off guard. You weren’t expecting him to jump right in, to dive head first after only just seeing you again.

But for Tooru- you knew he needed to know. You knew that your words would determine would what happen next, if the tension between you two would boil over or if it would simmer to a stop.

“I never stopped,” You confessed honestly, clenching your fists. “Everyday- everyday I’m not with you is like hell for me. I keep thinking back to it, that day you left. And I-”

Tears began to well in your eyes at the memory. All the screaming, the crying and the petty insults you had thrown at one another all seemed so...irrelevant now. Oikawa was staring at you with pure love, love that had never stopped for you. And now...now you began to wonder why either of you ever walked away.

“I’m sorry,” His fingers brushed the side of your face and you relished in his touch, immediately melting into him. “I’m sorry for everything- for what I said to you. For walking away...” Oikawa trailed off for a moment and then he resumed, his eyes squeezing shut. “...For letting someone else take you before I had the chance...before I could...”

“Hey,” Now it was his turn to melt into your touch. Oikawa leaned into you as you cupped his cheek, sighing almost painfully. He had waited too long to feel your touch again. “It’s okay. We both said a lot of things that day. I’m sorry too.”

“I still love you, you know,” Oikawa blurted out. He sounded embarrassed, but little did he know how much they effected you.

It was wrong, you knew that. To be holding your ex, comforting him while your boyfriend was waiting on you. It was wrong but...god it felt so right.

“I know,” You murmured quietly, pressing yourself into him. You could feel the hard outline of his muscles, a feeling that was familiar to you. Your body immediately flushed, subconsciously yearning for more.

“I broke your heart into two,” He said regretfully, his face contorting into pain.

“I know,” But still, you pressed your forehead to his. “But when it healed...it was still beating for you,” You confessed, Oikawa’s arm gently wrapping around your waist to pull you close.

“Y/N?”

“Hmm?”

“I love you,” He said breathlessly, and then before you could react his lips were on yours.

It was like...taking a deep breath after being underwater for so long. So refreshing, so vital to keep living that you had no choice but to surrender to it.

You were quick to lean into him, kissing back with as much passion and feriocity as you could. In that short amount of time, somehow your hands found his hair and Oikawa’s fingers began to find their way up your shirt.

“Can I...” He pulled away to tug on your shirt, looking at with you with absolute need.

“Yes,” You couldn’t get the word out fast enough, excitement running through your veins as Oikawa all but ripped it off. “God, yes.”

“So beautiful,” He muttered slightly, smiling when he saw you were wearing his favorite bra. “It’s like you were expecting this,” He said, but you only responded by leaning to kiss him again.

You couldn’t get enough, it had been so long, too long since his mouth had been on yours. Your body had been craving him for such a long time and now that you had him, you were eager to be as close as you could.

“Your turn,” You told him, pulling away to now tug on his shirt. “Off.”

“Yes ma’am,” Oikawa smirked at your request and immediately took it off, throwing it in some random corner. “Is this good?”

“Perfect,” You murmured lovingly, running your hands over his beautiful body.

Oikawa shivered underneath your touch, anticipation racing through his as you traced his abs.

“It’s been too long,” He said, you nodding in agreement. “It’s not enough, I need to-”

“I know,” You already knew what he wanted and you were eager to comply, stepping away to wiggle out of your jeans. Then, you snapped the bralette off which left you standing in only your cute pale panties.

“Mine,” Your back was against the lockers before you could even blink, a possessive glint in Oikawa’s eyes as he eyed your almost naked body.

“It’s always been yours,” You reminded him, before pulling him down in another kiss. This was one was messier, your desire for one another evident as your tongues danced with each other. Oikawa was pressing so hard against you that you could feel his hard on through his shorts, smirking when he moaned as you grinded against him.

“I need those off,” You ordered, your core beginning to trob at the anticipation. Oikawa was the same, wanting nothing more than to finally be inside of you again. He pulled down his shorts like it was nothing, and then he yanked at your panties, feeling them to be soaked.

“Someone’s excited,” He chuckled, and you moaned as he stoked over your clothed pussy.

“Off,” You whimpered, not being able to stand it anymore. It was unbearable- he was right there, so why wasn’t he buried inside of you?

“Yes ma’am,” Once again, he gave you what you wanted and then shed his boxers, his erection springing free. Your mouth watered at the sight of his pretty cock, standing all hard because of you.

“I’ve missed this,” You admitted as Oikawa pulled your panties down. “I need-”

“I got you,” He promised, finally sliding off the material and then pressing you against the lockers once more. He bent down to hook his arms underneath your thighs, automatically bringing your pussy to hover right over his tip.

He was beyond eager, something you’d never seen in Oikawa before. Usually, he could tease you for hours but this time was different.

“Do you want me to...you want me to prep you first?” He offered like a true gentleman, but you could tell it was killing him to not be inside of you already.

“N-No,” You declined as his cock rubbed over your wet folds. “Not today- next time-”

“Next time,” Oikawa promised, before capturing you into a kiss and slowly sinking himself in.

The stretch was beautiful, you couldn’t help but whimper as your pussy finally became full after months. And from Oikawa no less, it felt like a perfect fit as he gripped you tightly and buried himself to the hilt.

“Fuck,” His eyes nearly rolled to the back of his head at the sensation, your pussy sucking him in. There was something so gratifying, so beautiful about being inside of you again and being able to feel all of you.

It didn’t matter if you were still taking birth control or not. Oikawa was determined to cum inside of you, he was determined to fill you to the brink.

“Move,” You whimpered in his arms, the feeling of his cock pushing past your tight ring of muscles painful, but also reliving. This is what you wanted, you wanted this feeling of him. And you wanted him faster.

“O-Okay,” Oikawa gave you what you wanted and bucked his hips into you, moaning at how tight you felt. You always squeezed him just right, but it seemed like today your walls were determined to milk him dry. Not that he minded of course, but he had to squeeze his eyes shut and focus so that he wouldn’t fill you up right then and there.

“T-Tooru...” Your broken moans only encouraged him to go faster, lockers behind you shaking as he pounded you good. Thank god he was strong- he had no trouble holding you up as he drilled into you over and over again.

“God you’re so fucking tight,” Oikawa moaned and nuzzled himself into your neck, sucking on your sweet spot.

You knew he was going to mark you up, stake his claim to any man that came near you. That included Ragnar but you no longer cared, the feeling of him abusing your cervix washing out anything else.

“Oh god,” You gasped, snapping your eyes open as Oikawa angled his hips to hit just the right spot. That spot that made you go absolutely wild, crying out his name like a prayer as you held on for dear life.

“Oikawa!”

“That’s right baby,” He pulled away from your neck and grunted, looking straight into your eyes as he abused it over and over again. “Let them know who you’ve always belonged to- let them know that I’m the first and only man that’s ever touched this little pussy!”

“I-” You threw your head back as stars began to cloud your vision, “Y-You’re the only one, baby. It’s always you. It’ll always be you,” You cried out, a tear slipping down your face from sheer pleasure.

“I know,” Oikawa kissed your cheeks and then you could feel his thrusts getting sloppy- he was close.

As both of your orgasms came close he made sure to take one hand from under your thighs and then used his fingers to rub your clit. Once again, you marveled this mans strength because he managed to hold you up with one hand while simultaneously pleasuring you at the same time.

“B-Baby...” You could feel the knot in your stomach about to unravel, and you held onto Oikawa as euphoria washed over you. “I-I’m gonna-”

“Let it go, sweetheart,” Oikawa moaned as his own movement stiffened, and then you feel his warm cum paint your walls.

With one last cry, you clenched around him and let it go, yelling out his name so loud there was no way somebody couldn’t hear you, and Oikawa secretly wished it was Ragnar.

A feeling of smugness mixed in with the pleasure as he emptyed himself inside of you, knowing that nobody else had ever had you like this before.

You were full of him, of his cum, and his cock was the only that’s ever had the pleasure to breed you.

He filled your womb like it was nothing and once you both came down, you were a shaking and crying mess against him.

“I love you, Oikawa Tooru,” You mumbled against his lips as he kissed you messily.

“I love you too, Y/N L/N,” He said honestly, giving one last trust before pulling out of you.

Oikawa let go of your legs but he was there to quickly hold your trembling body, your legs unstable. You looked up at him with eyes filled with pure love and admiration and god, Oikawa thinks you’ve never looked prettier with tear stains on your cheeks and with your pussy leaking with his cum.

“Does this mean-” Ever the bold one, he dared to ask, “Does this mean you’re coming home with me?”

“Y-Yes,” You stuttered out slightly, your chest tightening at the prospect of leaving Ragnar but not because you loved him, but because you felt guilty. “What am I gonna...what am I gonna say?” You wondered, but Oikawa already had that planned.

“Leave that to me,” He promised, bending down to pick up your phone. You watched him hesitantly as he unlocked it, smirking when he realized you didn’t even have his picture on your home screen.

“What are you doing?” You asked slightly panicked as he opened up Snapchat.

“This,” You gasped as Oikawa was suddenly inside of you again, your pussy struggling to take him after what just happened. You didn’t even have to think as you held onto his biceps tightly, Oikawa beginning to thrust again.

“Think twice before you take something that’s mine,” You heard him growl, and then he was sliding out, sending the video straight to Ragnar.

“Did you just-”

“He needed to know his place,” Oikawa said casually, scooping you into his arms again. “He may have beat me today, but he lost the most incredible girl he could have ever had.”

“Did you seriously just do that?” You were still floored, struggling to wrap your brain around it. I mean you knew Oikawa was petty but this-?

“Did you expect anything else, my dove?” He chuckled.

You sighed. “Honestly...no. No I didn’t,” You found yourself grinning at him just as your phone pinged, blowing up with texts and snaps from Ragnar.

“Well, I guess that’s our cue,” Oikawa laughed, opening a snap and sending back a selfie. “Come on- you can delete all of his stuff on the bus.”

“You’re...you’re unbelievable,” You told him with wide-eyes, your phone pinging again.

“I know,” Oikawa smiles, “But I have you back either way.”

[soldrawss]

Sol i need headcanons for the brothers, please im begging you

BRUH I GOT YOU

I’m currently working on some little fics for them BUT I CAN GIVE YOU SOME DETAILS BECAUSE I’M DYING TO SHARE

(Warning, gets a little dark towards the middle, but overall fine. Sorry for the long read. I went for a DEEP dive on the Age Gap Au)

Ace was put into foster care 4 hours after his birth. His father died before he was born and his mother died during childbirth. Ace had nothing to his name but physical traits of the dead (Like his father's sharp eyes and his mother’s freckles) He grew up with a need to prove himself and to gain something that truly belonged to him all on his own.

Sabo was placed in foster care when he was 5 because of an altercation with his abusive and possesive parents, involving him having broken ribs and running away.

Ace and Sabo met in a halfway home for troubled youths when they were 6. (They both had issues with authority and past placements in foster homes, so they quickly bonded over that, and decided to stick together ever since)

Their bond was so strong that ‘honorary’ brothers didn’t really fit them. They were brothers. And they stuck together and stood up for one another like it was them against the world (which sometimes it was)

They would often run away from the halfway home they were at, trying to earn a living on their own on the streets, and often commit petty thefts in order to survive. 

These little runaway trips wouldn’t last long though, because they were always caught by Officer Garp, a police officer that happened to have a knack for catching little runaways.

However tough Garp acted though, he had an incredibly big soft spot for these two little brats that were only trying to make their lives better. These two kids, barely 8 years old, who had so much hatred for the world because of adults in their lives that failed them. Adults that hurt them, giving them scars and bruises on their hearts just as easily as the scars and bruises on the little frames. 

After a particular runaway incident, Ace breaks down and confesses about all the horrible placements he and Sabo had been in before. How social services always judge Ace’s sharp eyes and label in a problem child, how Sabo’s quick wit always get him in trouble with the adults, how they both have scars and bruises from past foster homes they were placed in, and that's why Ace and Sabo runaway. They’re tired of getting placed in bad homes. They’re tired of having adults try to separate them. Ace is all Sabo has and vice versa because that's the only person in the whole world who they trust to not hurt them. And Garp thinks that’s the last fucking straw.

Garp, much to Ace and Sabo’s but nobody else’s surprise, adopts both the boys, and takes them into his own home. Because dammit, if they’re just gonna runaway, they might as well stay with someone who will at least love them enough to always look for them and bring them back to a good home when they do.

And it’s weird at first, because Garp is the rough and loud and nosey officer that used to grab them by the scruffs of their shirts and drag them back to that awful halfway home kicking and screaming. But then it gets better. Because he still yells at them, but it’s with a tempered and fiercely protective love it when he does. He still grabs them, but it’s just to pull them into a rough bear hug that they fervently pretend they don’t like. And every dinner is spent with tears of laughter in their eyes and cheeks warm with delight at the stories he tells them. (They call him old man with affection and he’s their father figure even though they treat him like their grandpa.)

Sabo joins his school’s baseball team! Which is so freaking cool! He’s a really strong batter, can weild a bat like it’s an extension of his own arm, and Ace and Garp are always the loudest cheers on the bleachers every home run hit Sabo makes.

Garp makes Ace take up boxing, because the kid’s got a lot of pent-up rage and aggression, and he figures it’s a good constructive sort of therapy for the rowdy brat.

The two still get up to mischief every now and again, though. Nothing illegal, but Garp is still having to wrangle up his two little idiots before they do something stupid. (They get into a lot of fights with local gangs because they have smart mouths and are still a little reckless)

Garp has a biological son that Ace and Sabo never met due to Garp’s and Dragon’s strained relationship. Garp had always bad-mouthed him whenever his son was brought up, but it was always with words that had no heat behind them, and Sabo and Ace could tell there was a sadness behind his eyes whenever he looked at the picture of his son in his wallet.

The boys were 10 when they got the news of Dragon’s death a week after it happened. Garp had gotten the phone call when he and the boys were watching some late-night trash tv on the weekend, and he had all but strangled the phone in a grip that turned his knuckles white. He didn’t say what had killed his son, (he never did), but he had told the boys he needed to take care of something, told them to pack up some of their things, dropped them off at his friend Newgate’s house, and got the quickest flight out that night.

He came back 3 days later, and when he did, he had a tiny little baby with him.

Ace and Sabo were no strangers to babies. There was always some snot-nosed kid that would get dropped off at the halfway home (and then adopted that week, because everybody loved babies), and they were pretty sure this baby wasn’t gonna be any different. Because babies were loud and gross and never stopped crying, and Ace and Sabo were prepared for the absolute worse.

But then they stood over the baby’s crib to get a good look at him, and the baby looked back.

And smiled the biggest and happiest smile Ace and Sabo had ever seen.

And Garp had said “His name is Luffy,” and Ace and Sabo had been hooked around his little finger ever since. 

Luffy was barely 6 months old, and was a bundle of chubby cheeks and contagious giggles. With big brown chocolate colored eyes that melted all the sharp corners and edges of Ace’s and Sabo’s hearts.

Because Sabo and Ace were the same age, and neither one of them felt like the older or younger brother. They were equals in every way. But it was different with Luffy. Because Luffy was tiny, and soft and could barely wrap all 5 of his little fingers around one of theirs, and it hit Sabo and Ace like a bullet train because oh.

 Oh this is what it was like to be an older brother. This was what it was like to have a little brother. And Sabo and Ace have always looked out for each other, of course. But Luffy was something they had to protect fully and with their entire being. His smile, his laughter, his heart. All of it. Sabo and Ace knew all the horrible things in the world, knew all the hatred and fear and heartbreak the world could throw at you and it was like a silent promise to each other they never verbalized, that Luffy should and would never have to go through the things they went through. He would never feel unloved. He would never feel unwanted. He would never feel like he had to prove his worth or reason for existing. (He was worth more than any price anyone could give anyway)

Sabo and Ace stopped getting into trouble. They got good grades, excelled in their respective clubs, and didn’t give Garp any reason to chase them down in his old cop car and bring them home. (They were always at home anyway, giving Luffy piggyback rides and teaching him how to ride a bike and do one-handed handstands and cartwheels, and basking in the warmth that was Luffy’s endless love) And they lived in peace like that for 5 years.

Then the fire happened.

Garp was a good police officer and an even better Deputy Chief, and for almost 40 years, he served on the Foosha County Police Department. He had put away a lot of bad guys and saved a lot of people in the process and was an honored and highly respected man. However, this also made him a big target and earned him quite a few enemies. He was 3 weeks away from retirement and spending most of those weeks staying at home, playing with Luffy, and ingnoring the last of his paperwork left on his office desk.

When the fire broke out, Ace and Sabo had just turned the corner from the bus stop on their way home from school. They had seen the smoke, but didn’t know where it was coming from till they saw the towering blaze of fire that used to be their 2 story home and the group of neighbors surrounding the outside. 

They managed to push their way to the front, hands shaking and eyes wide and absolutely breathless, because that was their house! That was their house that was one fire and where was gramps?! Where was Luffy?!

The only thing Ace heard Sabo whisper among the roar of the fire and the loud murmur of people around them was “Do you hear that? That... crying?” Before Sabo surged forward.

Ace didn’t have time to reach out and stop him, and by the time he could, Sabo had already disappeared into the open front door, which was covered in flames. He had screamed out, tried to race in and follow his brother into the flames, but the neighbors around him were quicker than he was and pulled him back. 

Edward Newgate, one of their neighbors and close personal friend of Garp’s was in the crowd, and he was holding Ace to his chest with an arm like an iron bar, as he was on the phone with the local fire department. (Newgate was also the Foosha County fire chief, and was shouting at his lieutenants to “get your asses out here now!’) But Ace didn’t hear a word he was saying. All he could do was struggle to get out of the older man’s grip, reach out for his brother and best friend, and scream his lungs out.

What felt like hours went by, and Ace felt like his heart was shattering into a million piece, the glass shards falling around him, as he sobbed into Newgate's chest, thinking he had lost everything. His home. His family. His only purpose and reason for living.

And then some of the neighbors were shouting again, only this time in surprised alarm and Ace looked up with hazy eyes blurred by tears, to see something was coming out of the front door.

And it could only be Sabo. Ace knew it was him before he could even register it, and bolted out of Newgate's grips that had slacked at the surprise and towards his brother.

Ace met Sabo only a few feet from the door, Sabo collapsing into his arms, and Ace had to pull him the extra few feet away because the flames were still too much to bear even at that distance.

And Sabo’s skin was hot and red and covered in smoke and ash alike. There was a giant welting red burn against the side of Sabo’s face that looked like it would leave a scar forever, but Ace was having a hard time focusing on it because he was too bust focusing on the bundle of blankets that Sabo was desperately trying to push into Ace’s arms.

And Ace was already crying before, but he began crying even harder when he removed the fold of blankets to reveal a muffled Luffy, covered in ash but unharmed, crying his eyes out. 

Sabo had a coughing fit that rocked his whole body, and burns that looked like they'd hurt forever, but he was smiling when Ace broke into a sob, clutching both Sabo and Luffy into his chest.

The firefighters and paramedics came a few minutes later, and they had to physically pull Sabo and Luffy from Ace’s arms to check and treat them. Luffy only ended up with a few mild burns and cuts on his arms and legs and some burning of his throat from inhaling so much smoke, but Sabo had to be taken to the hospital immediately for his burns, especially for the one on his face. Ace pleaded to let them all ride in the same ambulence on the way to the hosipital, and held on to Sabo’s shirt sleeve with a grip that would take the end of the world and then some for him to let go.

Sabo had to get some surgery and treatment to save his left eye, but he was all in all ok, and Ace and Luffy were allowed to visit his hospital room for as long as they needed.

When Ace finally confronted Sabo on why he had ran into the house in the first place, it was on the first night of their hospital stay. Sabo had a giant white gauze wrapping half of his head, and he looked at Ace with tired blue eyes that looked a little fuzy, still a little drugged from all the medication he was on to ease the pain. 

And Ace felt bad about it, he really did, because Sabo didn’t derserve to be grilled on the matter. Not after he had sacrificed himself and saved Luffy. Their little brother. Their little brother who they wouldn’t even have anymore if it weren’t for Sabo. 

But Ace had to know. He was so mad and heartbroken and scared out of his mind when Sabo had rushed in without word or warning. Because they had lost Garp. They had almost lost Luffy. And Ace could have almost lost Sabo too.

But Luffy was tucked underneath Sabo’s arm on the hospital bed, and Sabo just smiled at Ace with a patience that only Ace and Luffy could pull out of him, and patted the other side for Ace to join them. Ace climbed onto the bed beside him, and even with the two 15-year-olds and one little 5 year old, the bed didn’t feel too small at all.

Sabo explained that he could hear crying from the door and he just moved. Knowing it was Luffy before his mind could really think about the implications behind that. He confessed how the flames hurt at first. Hurt so bad, and it was so hot, and everything, from the floor to the ceiling, was on fire and he could barely see anything through the smoke. But he could hear Luffy’s little rough and horse scream, coming from one of the back rooms that used to be Garp's office, and suddenly all Sabo could afford to think about was Luffy’s crying.

Sabo would tell a watered-down version of this story to the cops in the morning, because they were Garp's friend and companions, and they only really needed the broad details for their report anyway. 

He’ll tell a heroic version of this story, lacking any horrific graphics, to an older Luffy whenever the eternally curious kid wonders and asks about it.

But he only ever told the whole story right then on that night, one arm tight around his baby brother in a toothed and protective love, while the other one gripped his best friend's hands with shaking and bandaged fingers hard enough to leave bruising.

Garp was long dead when Sabo found him. The smell of his skin burning off is something that will haunt Sabo for the rest of his life. (Sometimes certain smells will set him off. Uncooked bacon is not allowed in the house anymore after one traumatic morning when Luffy is six. Campfires are viewed and enjoyed from a distance.)

He was lying on his stomach, clutching something to his chest. Sabo knew it was Luffy by the cries, bundled up in a few quilts and one of this office rugs, and Sabo knew he had to get them out of there before the smoke killed them off like it had a personal agenda against them.

The heat was unbearable, Sabo had confessed, but it was nothing compared to having to drag Luffy from underneath Garp’s grip. The old man was built like a brick house, sure, but even in death, his grip on Luffy, protecting Luffy, like he was daring the world to take anything away from him, was steadfast and almost unbbreakable. 

It was the hardest thing Sabo had ever had to make himself do.

He didn’t look at Garp’s face. His body was burned black and bloody and raw, and Sabo couldn’t live with himself if his memory of Garp’s face was replaced by anything other than with the one of his scruffy beard and the shit-eating grin that he always wore.

When he pulled Luffy out, he didn’t look back, and raced out of the house as fast as he could. Something along the way fell and smacked him in the face, knocking him down at one point, but Sabo couldn’t pay it much mind. He got back up, and continued towards the door. He could barely see, barely breathe, with all the smoke and the ash, and the pain from the fire was almost numbing against his skin, but he didn’t stop.

All he could think about was Luffy, still struggling and crying against the blankets wrapped tightly around him. Next thing he knew, he was outside, and looking up at Ace’s snot-covered face.

Ace had never seen Sabo cry for the almost 10 years he knew him. He didn’t cry when he was 7, and the Anderson family had called him a freak and had sent him back after a failed foster home placement. He didn’t cry when he was 9, and broke his arm falling out of the tree in their backyard that Garp had told him not to climb, so of course he had to climb it. And he didn’t even cry earlier that day, at 15, when he was off medication and feeling the full extent of his painful burns.

So when tears started pooling out of Sabo’s pale blue eyes, falling down his cheeks and staining the cotton white blanket he was under as he told his story, Ace pretended not to notice, wrapped an arm around Sabo’s shoulders, and held him like it was the only lifeline in the world. 

Garp’s funeral was held the following week. Closed casket. All the police departments in the county, and even some outside of it, showed up to give him a full send-off. Ace cried for both Sabo and himself. Sabo spoke a few words for the both of them. And Luffy stood between them, holding both their hands. They explained the night before that gramps was gone, but they don’t think the notion of death really got through to Luffy. He was crying, but only because Ace was crying, and when he asked ‘can gramps come out of the box to give me a hug before he goes away?’ everyone has to clench their teeth and hold their breaths to stop their hearts from breaking. Sabo kneeled down to wrap Luffy in a tight hug. Ace covered his face with his arm and cried harder

(They never bother asking Luffy about how the fire started, or what happened that day. Luffy doesn’t remember, and they don’t push it further. The truth isn’t as important as Luffy’s mentality is, but Garp’s old squad promises that they won’t rest until they get to the bottom of it. And as much as Ace and Sabo want justice and revenge, they have Luffy to think about, so they leave it up to the police)

Sabo and Ace are almost 16, and they suddenly have no parental figure, no home, no anything, and suddenly they’re faced with the horrible notion that even more can be taken from them when a blast from their past threatens to take Luffy away from them too.

They’re no stranger to the foster care system, so when social services show up at the motel they were renting with Garp’s savings, they feel their hearts drop to their stomach for fear of the very real possibility that Luffy will be placed in immediate foster care, and possibly, so would they. 

Ace and Sabo jump into action then, because no way, no fucking way, were they gonna lose Luffy. They had lost everything else. They almost did lose Luffy. They weren’t gonna risk that chance again.

Ace was only a few weeks older than Sabo. Sabo hadn’t paused a second to jump into the fire, risking life and limb, to protect what little they had. It was Ace’s turn to be the heroic older brother. And on the day he turned 16, Ace petitioned legal guardianship and parental rights for Sabo and Luffy.

And it was hard, because of course the courts felt sorry for him, the grandson of one of the best police chiefs in the county’s history, begging the courts to let him keep what little family he had left together. The courts wanted to give it to him, wanted to help him. But Luffy was a child. And Ace and Sabo were practically still kids themselves. Asking kids to raise themselves was something no one should ask them to do. 

But Ace and Sabo fought for it. Ace was 16, and Sabo would be 16 soon enough. They could get GED’s, no problem. They’d get jobs, get a little apartment near Luffy’s school, attend any parenting and child service meeting required of them. They’d buy all the necessities over again and they’d love Luffy where no other foster family could even compare. They’d do everything, everything and anything, to keep Luffy. To let them stay together.

With a couple of vouchers from Garp’s old police squad, including one from an overly enthusiastic Edward Newgate and one from the boy’s homeroom teacher, Makino, the courts ruled in Ace’s and Sabo’s favor, and Luffy was officially theirs until they proved that Luffy was better off somewhere else.

Ace and Sabo were never gonna let that happen.

They got a little 2 bedroom apartment a couple blocks from Luffy’s elementary. They quit school, and worked extra hard to earn their GED’s within the following months. (With the help of their old teachers and a few of their overly enthusiastic neighbors)

Ace got a job at the local fire department, as a rookie in training under Newgate.

Sabo got a job at the local news station, writing reports on top of his interning duties. 

Ace eventually got a motorcycle that same year, which scared Sabo half to death and delighted Luffy to no end. It was cheaper than a car, and easier to travel to and from work on, and no matter how hard Sabo tried, he couldn’t come up with a valid reason why Ace shouldn’t use it to their advantage. So Sabo made Ace promise to always wear a helmet when riding it, and that Luffy wasn’t allowed to ride it until he was much older. (Which Luffy pouted about to no end)

And it’s hard at times, both of them working overtime just to make enough to support themselves and keep them afloat, but it’s good, and it’s theirs.

Luffy makes a friend on his first day of first grade named Zoro Roronoa, another kid that lives just across the street from them, and when Ace and Sabo know they’re gonna be late in getting home, Luffy goes over there and hangs out until they can pick him up (Which is totally fine with Zoro’s father Koushirou, a kendo teacher and single father of 6-year-old Zoro and 9-year-old Kuina. Zoro has a bit of a personality problem and often has trouble making friends (because the child doesn’t see a need to) so when little bright-eyed and endlessly joyful Luffy pops into their life, Kushirou jumps at the chance to have him over as much as possible, because the two small children seem to bring out the best in each other, and are best friends attached at the hip) Sabo and Ace are eternally grateful to the kind man)

A few years go by, and Luffy is 8. Ace is still working at the fire station and is now legally allowed to join them on calls and emergencies. (Fire used to make Ace nervous, because he almost lost everything to it. Now he has a personal agenda with it, to make sure it doesn’t take anything from anyone else)

Sabo has moved up the ranks now, and when he turns 18, confronts Ace with a rare job opportunity he was offered.

“It’s a year-long internship for this really cool company that reports and delivers high-class diplomatic information around,” Sabo starts, rubbing the back of his head like he doesn’t know what to do with his hands. “I’d be working as like, a cool undercover spy with diplomatic immunity and a messenger bag. It’s not dangerous at all, and pays almost triple my paycheck now, which would really help us out. But it’s overseas, and I’d be gone for a whole year. You’d be raising Luffy all by yourself, birthdays and holidays and skinned knees, with just the two of you, so say the word, and I’ll totally turn this job down on the spot.”

And it’s scary to Ace. Because he hasn’t been alone since he was 6 years old, and he can’t possibly remember a time when Sabo hadn’t been by his side. His best friend and brother. It was always the two of them. Two little runaways that found a home, lost that home, and then built a new home all on their own despite it all. And neither of them had ever been away from Luffy for longer than a weekend, so Ace was sure it would kill Sabo to be away from them for so long.

But he also knew that Sabo was only playing this off like it wasn’t a big deal, when in fact it was the job opportunity of a lifetime for someone like Sabo, a kid who breathed adventure and freedom with every breath. And that when he talked about it, his eyes sparkled with a joy that Ace would hate himself forever for taking it away. 

Sabo was giving Ace the choice, and Ace knew that Sabo would go along with whatever Ace decided without a second thought or complaint. But Ace knew that Sabo would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn't go, so he slugged Sabo in the arm, gave him his best shit-eating, confident grin, (the kind he used to give him right before they were about to steal some food as kids, or about to get into a fight when they were teens) and said, “You let me have a motorcycle. The least I can do is let you go road tripping abroad.”

Because Ace and Luffy would be fine. They’d miss Sabo like crazy, and Ace was pretty sure Sabo was like, 90% of his impulse control, but they’d survive. Sabo had the burn marks to prove how far he was willing to go for their family, and Ace had never thanked him for that. Ace was never gonna live that down, and was going to spend the rest of his life making it up to both Sabo AND Luffy, and prove just how good of an older brother he could be. This was the least he could do for them.

[the-last-kenobi]

If you’re still taking prompts: 22. “When you’re feeling better, I swear, we’ll talk this out.” Qui-Gon& Obi-Wan. You’re writing is so lovely btw!!

Yay, more prompts! And I do love this one. Thank you for choosing it!

CW: this one got rather dark. there are heavy implications of and references to attempted assault of a minor, child death, and other horrors of war.

From this various prompts list.

Requests are currently closed.

_

They were three days out from Coruscant when the fever made a turn for the worse.

The Jinn/Kenobi team had been deployed to Calzec III to investigate the disappearance of an ambassador, an assignment that had led them down very dark paths into the minds and heart of a planetary society.

A mere two days into their investigation, Obi-Wan had vanished — kidnapped, it was quickly discovered, by the party responsible for the disappearance and murder of the ambassador.

Qui-Gon had assumed that the six days between Obi-Wan’s abduction and his recovery would be the worst of it.

That the growing dread inside him that had gnawed away at his concentration and serenity, the likelihood that he would not reach his apprentice in time, his fears that Obi-Wan was being hurt, would be the most difficult things to handle.

Or even the mingled relief and panic when he had finally found his sixteen-year-old Padawan bound and unconscious in a cellar with a floor half-flooded in dirty water — that after that, they had survived the worst.

He was mistaken.

Obi-Wan was ill when he was pulled out of that cellar. There was no one to trust and nowhere to flee except off-planet, and the the distance between Calzec III and the nearest medically advanced planet was no shorter than simply returning to Coruscant.

So he set a course for Coruscant and settled Obi-Wan in his bunk, stripping off the soiled clothing he had been wearing since his kidnapping and replacing them with a clean set of tunics.

The boy was exhausted, unfocused; his skin was clammy to the touch and he had brief periods where he seemed fully awake and mostly functional.

After the first day of hyperspace travel, they had settled into a routine. Qui-Gon kept to the cockpit, while Obi-Wan kept to his bunk and the fresher, trying to rest and to contain his illness. Qui-Gon knocked periodically on his door, reassuring himself that his apprentice was all right.

And that he was there, because working alone on a hostile planet without knowing anything of his Padawan’s wellbeing aside from being sure that he was in danger had been more of a trial than he was willing to admit, even to himself.

And then, on the third day, he knocked lightly on the door and received no reply.

“Obi-Wan?” he called.

He thought he heard an indistinct mumble. Qui-Gon chuckled, imagining the boy emerging from his blankets like an irritated loth-cat, rumpled and annoyed.

Then Obi-Wan screamed.

Qui-Gon’s mind conjured — for a split second — a new version of the image he had pictured in his mind for over a week — his Padawan, attacked in his sleep — drugged — dragged from his bed —

Then he blinked and the image vanished. Qui-Gon inhaled sharply and pressed on the entry pad, opening the door. He stepped inside the cramped cabin and was relieved to see the boy securely in his bed, the room completely absent of any impossible intruders. But Obi-Wan’s face was flushed with fever, and he was struggling beneath his blankets, thrashing as if he were actually being attacked.

“Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon said firmly, shaking his shoulder. “Obi-Wan, wake up.”

The Padawan didn’t seem to register Qui-Gon’s presence at all. He struggled with his bedsheets, small whimpers escaping his lips as he fought.

“Obi-Wan!” Qui-Gon said more sharply. “Wake up now!”

Obi-Wan rolled onto his side and dry heaved, his eyes flying open. His Master dropped to his knees beside the bed, running a hand soothingly up and down the boy’s arm. “It’s all right,” he said. “You were dreaming.”

“C-C—” Obi-Wan choked.

“Shh,” Qui-Gon said again.

“Cerasi—”

Qui-Gon’s heart plummeted. Obi-Wan was not coherent, that was obvious.

The boy had not mentioned that name in over two years.

“Padawan, you must focus,” he said softly. “This is not Melida/Daan. We are on a ship, heading home.”

“Cerasi is…”

…dead…

“…gonna… kill you.” Obi-Wan’s words, and the sheer venom in them, shocked the Jedi Master. Obi-Wan was still struggling, but more slowly now, almost as if he didn’t realize he was doing so. His eyes flickered feverishly to the middle distance, seeing things that weren’t there.

“Padawan…” Qui-Gon said slowly.

“Let them go!” Obi-Wan shrieked suddenly. One arm came loose from the blankets and missed striking his Master by inches. “Let them go, they’re too young! Let them go let them go let them go!”

“Obi-Wan!” Qui-Gon seized his Padawan by the shoulders.

Bloodshot blue eyes suddenly snapped directly onto Qui-Gon’s face, but instead of calming, Obi-Wan’s panic only increased. “Get off me!” He screamed, twisting, kicking, squirming away. “Don’t… don’t you touch me! Stop, stop, stop!” he was wailing now, utter despair twisting his face beyond recognition. “Please don’t!”

Qui-Gon released his Padawan as if burned. He pulled away sharply, horror rising in him, tasting bile.

I wasn’t — I wouldn’t —

It’s a fever dream —

A memory?

Qui-Gon tasted bile. “No,” he heard himself say aloud. “No.”

Obi-Wan had squirmed away, pressing himself flat against the wall the bed rested against, his body curling inwards — the last defense of the helpless, the frightened. The abused.

“I won’t,” he was saying frantically. “I won’t. Get out. Get out. They’re flying in the morning, they’re flying — Nield said — we tried to take the tank but — we lost too many — no. I tried! I did!”

Obi-Wan fell abruptly silent again, staring vaguely, his breaths coming in uneven little puffs. Sweat glistened on his brow, in his hair.

Qui-Gon wanted desperately to reach out and touch his shoulder, wipe his brow, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it, terrified of causing another panicked outburst, of hearing —

I don’t know what happened on Melida/Daan.

“Trevor, Meola, Hanta, Chassi, come with me,” Obi-Wan said, still gazing vacantly. His voice, however, was firm. “We need to clear the streets. Gather up the bodies. Any pieces large enough to carry. Leave anything too small.”

I never asked him. I just assumed. He told me about the end of the war and Cerasi’s murder and I never thought to ask for more.

“Hanta?” Obi-Wan said. He coughed. Kept trying to talk even though he could barely breathe. “Hanta? Dammit… she’s gone. Infection. Infection. We’re out of medicine. We’re out. They can’t. I won’t go. They can’t they can’t. Get out.”

Obi-Wan dissolved into jumbled sentences, his eyes fluttering open and shut and open again, his cheeks blazing with fever.

“Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon whispered.

“Cerasi?”

“Obi-Wan.”

“I can ask,” Obi-Wan said, and he sounded very small, so uncertain, nothing like the slowly-more-confident but quiet Padawan who had accompanied him last week. “I could. But he’s not. He’s not. He left, he doesn’t — he doesn’t want me.”

Another chill swept through Qui-Gon. He held his breath, waiting for more, not wanting to hear it but needing to know.

“He left me, I’m not meant — he said I wasn’t meant to be — I’m not good enough for it, Cerasi,” Obi-Wan murmured. His eyes fell closed again. He almost seemed to be sleeping. “He was right about… right about me. I’m not. Not. I can ask. He might not… come back. For you. For you he might. He’s good. Not me. Not me.”

Qui-Gon dropped his head onto the bedsheets, his breath sharp and painful in his chest.

I never asked.

“Nield. I will ask. I’ll ask the Jedi I will, I will. I’m not one of them. For you. I’ll ask for you.”

We never talked about it.

“The little ones, Cerasi. I can watch them. I’ll watch them today. My fingers. The man, he broke my fingers in the alleyway. I’ll watch the little ones, little ones. It’s story time, Jilo. Shhh.”

I let everything that happened afterwards consume it. Consume me.

“Qui-Gon doesn’t want me,” Obi-Wan said, so, so softly, his tone perfectly reasonable. Calm. “My fault. I’m not. It’s okay. I’ll talk to them. It’s okay. I want to… I want to go home. He doesn’t want me. He doesn’t,” Obi-Wan’s voice cracked. “I want to go home.”

My Padawan.

With utmost care, Qui-Gon rose to his feet, feeling the floor sway beneath him as if he were at sea and not flying through hyperspace.

He went to the fresher and poured a glass of water and dampened a rag, carrying them both back to the beside. He set the glass on a table, and seated himself cautiously on the side of the bed, radiating as much calm as he could, trying to make his presence known through their training bond.

It must have worked, because Obi-Wan did not panic or flinch away from the person sitting beside him. Or perhaps he was simply too tired, delirious to the point of vacancy.

Qui-Gon reached out with one hand and gently pressed the boy back against his pillows, resting the cool cloth against his forehead once he had settled. He kept his hand there for awhile, and gently stroked the sweat-soaked hair with his thumb, watching the boy’s eyelids flicker as he began to doze, to dream.

With his other hand, Qui-Gon gently took one of Obi-Wan’s, holding it gently as if it were fragile, a treasure beyond price.

“Oh, my boy,” he whispered, and was not shocked to taste salt on his lips as he spoke. “Sleep now. When you wake, we will talk, I swear it. We’ll talk about everything. Anything you want.”

Obi-Wan continued to dream.

As he fell deeper into sleep, his fingers curled gently around Qui-Gon’s, and he did not let go.

fin.

[wannabe-fic-writer]

Moment In Time

Summary: Just when you've gotten out, you’re given a reason to come back.

Warnings: None

Chapter 10 - Final Chapter

******

‘S.O.S’. 

Three letters make your heart drop to your stomach. They also make you jump off your couch, practically sprinting up the steps to your room. Throwing the closet door open you go straight to the back and grab your uniform, making quick work of putting it on and grabbing your equipment before you leave. 

Making a call to one of the men in your life who wouldn’t hesitate to look out for you, Nick Fury. He doesn’t waste a second arranging the transportation you need and in little to no time you’re saying a quick thank you to him as you walk onto the jet. 

Before you take off, you send a reply, ‘omw’.

Those three letters bring a smile onto Natasha’s face. She isn’t surprised that it only took half an hour for you to reply, in fact it’s one of the main reasons she messaged you of all people. 

Looking up from the watch on her wrist, she says,“ don’t worry fellas, we’ll be out of here in no time.” 

The two members of her team in the room look over at the redhead. She has a confident smirk on her face and that makes everyone curious. 

Given their current situation of being holed up in this single room in the base of their enemy as said enemy plans whatever it is on the other side of the door, they didn’t see much reason to be confident.

Steve huffs, hands planted firmly on his hips as he continues to pace the room as he tries to form a plan. Sam picks at a thread on his pants, no doubt waiting for a plan to follow. 

But one wasn’t needed. 

It took half an hour for you to reply and another hour before you got there. 

Your presence was first made known to Natasha. Her watch vibrates and she looks down to find a winking emoji on her screen. 

She rolls her eyes, holding back a laugh and stands up, preparing to leave. 

A moment later there’s a knock on the other end of the thick metal door. 

“Please stand clear of the bombay doors.” The voice is deep but she knows it’s you. 

Not saying a word, she steps to the far side of the room. Sam and Steve both frown, but follow suit. 

A faint hissing sound is heard, followed by a small but steady flow of smoke around the door, then it creeks before falling off the hinges. 

It slams against the concrete floor and you step through the dissipating smoke. 

Your eyes flick over the three people in the room and you smile.“ For a bunch of prisoners, you look good.” You tease, eyes lingering on the redhead. 

Steve walks up to you, holding his hand out for you to shake.“ I wasn’t expecting to see you on the other side of the door.” 

“Well I’m nothing if not unexpected.” You pat his shoulder.“ Now, let’s get out of here shall we?” 

The three follow you out of the cell and down the halls, noting the unconscious bodies of the guards they were previously walked past. Sam and Steve are close behind you, Natasha behind them. 

She finds it beyond adorable how your gaze continuously falls back on her. The look in your eyes lets her know you’re checking on her. 

Very reminiscent of the first day you two met, Natasha watches you work your way through this enemy base, taking down the few guards who interrupt your path. 

You stop on the way to get their confiscated weapons back and then you’re out of the building. 

A fire fight quickly approaches. Enemies pour from the building as you escape, each of you returning fire. Not a single bullet on your end is fatal but it definitely debilitates the targets.

One glance back however, reveals a group larger than you expected. It was like watching clowns climb out of their little cars. The facility didn’t look anywhere near big enough for all those people to be inside. 

“New plan. You three move ahead to the jet, I’ll lead them away.” Instant words of protest come from the three teammates at your words and you roll your eyes.“ We can’t keep running and lead them to our getaway. I’ll be fine.” 

With no room to protest, you break away but not before planting small explosives on a few trees ahead of you. You blew the charges, the trees falling and cutting the enemies off from following the three. 

You don’t get a chance to boast about that going just as you planned, because you quickly notice a presence at your side. When you look over you’re tempted to stop running. 

“Natasha what the hell are you doing? You’re supposed to be with Sam and Steve.” 

Shots continue to ring out behind you, the hightech weapons your enemies have burn holes in the trees around you.

“Dammit.” You pull out your communicator, connecting with the jet you flew here and you’re pleased that Steve answers.“ I need you to bring the jet to me-” you pause and look to your side,“ to us.”

He doesn’t hesitate in agreeing. It takes much more running, some retaliation shooting, and a few more mini bombs. In no time you break from the tree line, a small group of enemies still on your trail as the jet lands a few feet away. 

You think you’re in the clear, your shots effectively chipping away at the few enemies who still come. But your foot is barely in the jet when Natasha gets hit. 

It’s like everything slows down. You watch her fall to the metal floor of the jet, her exclamation of pain is loud and clear in your ears, and once it’s over your heart pounds. 

Snapping back in an instant, you pick her up, quickly moving her to lay on the chairs off to the side as you shout for Steve to take off. 

You rush to grab a cloth big enough to cover her wound, then press it against said wound. 

“Hey Romanoff, keep those eyes open.” You pat her cheek, looking into her eyes as they already start to droop.

It’s unclear if she’s losing a lot of blood, the cloth doesn’t seem to be taking much on but she’s quickly drifting off as if she is.

You try your best to remain calm, watching her eyes flutter shut and not open back up despite you calling her name and shaking her. 

“Rogers, pick up the pace!” You don’t mean to shout like you do but your worry skyrockets. 

It doesn’t go away either. While it only takes a short half hour to get back to the compound it feels like forever. The wheels of the jet are barely on the ground before you’re opening the jet doors and carrying Natasha out. 

You rush her to the medbay, Dr. Cho and the rest of her team coming over instantly. She has you set Natasha on a bed and they roll her away. Dr. Cho asks you what happened after you tell her she disappears after Natasha. 

You’re left standing there, heart pounding as you wish more than anything that she’s okay. 

With nothing left to do, you step back into the designated waiting area and you sigh. 

What do you do when the woman you love is injured and rushed to emergency? You worry, and hope, and you stay by her side unless absolutely necessary that you leave.

Since the moment you landed you were right there in the waiting room, pacing back and forth while Natasha was in surgery, hoping with all hope that she’d be okay. Even after her surgery, having been informed that everything went smoothly, you were planted firmly in the chair right beside her bed once again hoping. 

You didn’t move, keeping her hand clutched in yours as you waited for her to wake up. Your worry, that had gone away when she came out of surgery, returned when she didn’t wake up. Dr. Cho said she was fine, minimal blood loss and they were able to use their fancy tech from Ultron to patch up the wound, so why she wasn’t waking up was lost on you.

As the team flows in and out of the room over the course of the passing hours, you know their suspicions regarding you and Natasha were coming to a head. 

They’d been speculating for weeks. Watching as Natasha and you snuck around. The two of you never slipped on the PDA side of things but they’d been around Natasha and you enough to notice something was up and connecting the dots became easier as they saw you at her bedside. 

It’s not until the second day of Natasha still being asleep that you leave. Steve coming in and telling you that you should go get some proper rest, freshen up, and that Peggy was asking for you. To you, the first two reasons aren’t good enough to leave but if Peggy was asking for you, you couldn’t ignore it. 

So reluctantly you do so. Heading home to take a quick nap, showering and changing, before you go to see Peggy. 

During your visit, Natasha wakes up. Wanda and Steve are in the room, chatting away as her eyes slowly open. The first thing she notices when her eyes adjust to the bright lighting is that you aren’t here. 

It’s odd because she swears you were, she could feel the weight of a hand wrapped around hers and if there’s one thing she’d gotten used to over the past ten months, it was the way your skin felt against hers.

“Wh-” she clears her throat and pushes herself up to sit, ignoring the slight tightness she felt at her side.“ Where’s Y/n?” 

Steve’s and Wanda’s gazes snap over to the redhead, their eyes widening as they realize she’s awake. 

“Nat, how’re you feeling?” Steve asks, moving his chair closer to Natasha. 

Wanda does the same on the other side of the bed, her worried gaze flicking over the woman who she’d grown to see as another mentor.

“I’m fine Steven.” She waves his question off like it’s nothing, her eyes moving over to Wanda who she assumes will answer her question.“ Where’s Y/n?” 

The younger woman frowns a little,“ she went home to rest and get clean.”

“Yeah she wasn’t keen on leaving you.” Steve adds, Natasha noting the knowing look he gives her.“ She stayed right there until earlier when I told her Peggy was asking about her.”

“And this is exactly why.”

Every head in the room turned to the door, eyes watching as you walked in with a bouquet of flowers. Nat immediately smiles, heart warming as she sees you. 

“Hey stranger.” You wink at her, finding your previous seat and laying the flowers on the bedside table.“ How are you?” 

She sighs, fingers twitching towards you as she aches to feel you touch now that she’s awake.“ I’m okay. Side is a little tight but it doesn’t hurt too bad.” 

You smile and nod,“ glad to hear it. Thought you were a goner.” You joke making her chuckle. 

Her eyes roll, a quiet laugh falling from her lips. 

The two of you keep your eyes on each other and Steve looks away as if seeing something he shouldn’t. Subtly he nods to Wanda, who has long since been aware of yours and Natasha’s relationship, and the two leave out. 

 Once they’re gone, you scoot closer. Like magnets yours and Natasha’s hands find one another, fingers lacing together and squeezing. 

“Next time I tell you to move ahead, you move ahead.” You say to her, not once breaking eye contact.

After having gone hours without seeing that beautiful green you refuse to look away. 

She shakes her head.“ We were under way too much fire, I was not leaving you alone.”

The corner of your lips quirk up at that, your heart warming at how much she cares for you.“ I could’ve handled Romanoff. What I couldn’t have handled was you being fatally injured.” Your expression shifts to something more serious.“ Not coming home with you, not telling you how I truly feel. And knowing I could’ve changed that outcome. I would’ve been crushed.” 

“That wouldn’t have happened because we had each other’s backs. We always do.” Her hand squeezes yours.“ And I’m right here. So there’s no reason not to tell me how you truly feel.”

It was a deep dive, a free fall even to try and get it out of you. Being in love with each other for ten months and not saying the words didn’t seem to make a difference when it came to you and Natasha. Not when it was shown in every action.

You both know how you feel, despite there being no labels on this or yourselves, it was clear as day that you love each other. But Natasha wanted to hear the words, almost as badly as you wanted to say them.

She watches you, the way your gaze drops for a moment and despite not seeing your eyes she knows you’re debating it. When you look back up she smiles because she sees you’re going to tell her. 

“I think it’s pretty obvious I’d been living in a limbo of sorts, stuck between my past and worrying about the future. But you, every second with you, I never once worried about those things. I’ve never felt a need to dwell in the past or worry about the future when you’re my present.” 

Her eyes roll in an overly dramatic way.“ Say the words Y/ln.”

You frown at her rushing.“ How bout you say them.” A teasing tone is in your voice, mixed with a bit of challenging. 

“Oh I will.” She counters.

“Do it.”

“You do it.”

A snort breaks through your lips and you shake your head.“ Knew you wouldn’t.”

“I love you.”

You smile, brighter than Natasha has ever seen.“ Was that so hard?” 

She drops your hand, more like throws it away and you laugh. A full on laugh, clutching your stomach and dropping your head back. If she weren’t pretending to be annoyed with you she would have smiled. 

“Hey,” you push yourself up off the chair, sitting yourself on the edge of her bed, and raising your hand to cup her cheek.“ I love you so much. And I have for so long.” 

Natasha bites her lip to hold back her grin, instead nuzzling her cheek against your hand. When the blush rises on her cheeks you pull her closer, pressing your lips to hers.

Both of you are startled out of your moment when Tony’s voice loudly proclaims,“ I knew it!”

Frowning, you look behind you to see not just him, but Wanda, Steve, Pietro, and Sam as well. 

“Eavesdropping, classy.” You say sarcastically, making to move away, only for Natasha’s fingers to wrap around your arm. 

“Lay with me.” She says and you raise your eyebrows.

“You sure?” 

Nodding, she scoots over and you don’t argue, sitting beside her and letting her press against you.“ They know now.” She shrugs, laying her head on your shoulder.

Tony nods, standing at the edge of the bed with his arms crossed.“ Yeah we do. And quite frankly I’m disappointed that neither of you told me.” 

With a quiet laugh, you wrap your arms around Natasha, listening as he accuses you both of keeping secrets. That just elicits Sam to do the same, Steve starts off on your side saying you have a right to privacy but eventually switches over as he wonders why you didn’t say anything. Wanda just smirks and laughs while Pietro questions what the big deal is. 

Admittedly it’s all very amusing and funnily enough neither you or Natasha are given the chance to answer since they all keep talking. 

While their chaotically mannered conversation proceeds you can’t help but think that at this moment in time, with the woman you love in your arms and your friends teasing the two of you, you feel happier and more at peace than you ever have.

******

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