#This briefly scared me as I for a second thought this was directed towards me lmao

[intersex-culture-is]

Being really uncomfortable with the word "condition" because it has been used in hushed tones to label your uniqueness as something like a disease your whole life.

People can use the word if it's their preference, but I have differences or variations.

.

[hopelesslyromanticshark]

⋆ ˚｡⋆౨ৎ˚ You Take The Man Out Of The City, Not The City Out The Man

content: leo valdez x daughter of poseidon! reader fic warning: looooooooong ass fic yall that's my bed, got carried away, bad google translated spanish actually doing it myself would have been too much work tbh sorry not sorry, minor angst but also overarching feeling of sadness so idk what to tell yall author's note: on my music lyrics as fic titles GRINDDDDDDD

“gods, i’m melting away!” y/n moaned, her face scrunched up and her hand waving near her face in hopes of cooling herself down. leo laughed, looking down at the girl with a rolling of his eyes.

“please, this isn’t even hot! quit whining,” he mused in response, his eyes trained on the town, taking in the new and old buildings.

“i’ll whine as much as i like, valdez. i hate texas,” the girl muttered under her breath.

leo huffed at her jokingly as he shoved his hand into the back pocket of her jean shorts. his eyes then returned to the familiar streets. when the pair had received this quest, leo almost turned it down. the thought of going back to his hometown made him sick. but, y/n was there to calm him down and talk through what he was really scared of. she reasoned with him and promised at the first sign of discomfort they’d leave, failing the quest without a second thought.

“my cousin used to own that shop,” leo mentioned, nodding his head towards the corner bodega. y/n’s eyes shot to it, her eyes lighting up as she turned back to him.

“cold drinks would help with this heat,” she offered, leaving it up to him completely.

“i’ve seen you sit in boiling water, this is not hot to you,” the boy huffed in response but led her towards the store, swinging it’s door open for her. a bell rang above the door, briefly drawing y/n’s eyes.

“you’re right, i’ve definitely felt hotter,” she joked, winking at the boy as she walked past.

leo laughed, following and draping his arm across her waist, muttering things into her ear that should not be repeated. she shoved him off her with a roll of her eyes, reaching up into a freezer and grabbing two jarritos, a lime one for leo and a mandarin one for herself. she pressed the cold glass to her neck, allowing her head to fall back at the feeling. leo shook his head, shooing her towards the counter as he grabbed his wallet and began to pull out some cash. the bell above the door chimed again as leo paid the unfamiliar man, frowning slightly that his cousin wasn’t behind the counter. y/n noticed, her smile slipping slightly too before she reached out to his free hand, tangling her fingers with his. he pressed his lips to her temple before telling the man to keep the change in spanish.

“gracias! que tenga un buen día!” y/n called as they left, the cashier replying similarly with a warm smile. leo reached into one of his cargo pant pockets, producing a bottle opener, opening y/n’s before doing his own. the two continued walking, leo occasionally mentioning a building here and there, but he tended to avoid the topic of his mother. y/n didn’t push, letting him do it in his own time and allowing his fingers to be snugly hooked around her belt loops.

“ah, this is where i completely ate shit and knocked my front tooth loose. me and my friend were racing to see who could get to the end of the block fastest and i forgot about the uneven concrete,” leo told y/n, who giggled at his little anecdote.

“i can see it. a bloody little leo right there,” y/n laughed, holding her fingers out like she was framing a shot. leo shoved her slightly, laughing lightly with her.

“actually, it was more that way-”

“leo?” a voice cut in, warbly and strained.

leo and y/n’s heads instantly turned in the direction of the voice, leo’s hand tightening on y/n’s waist and y/n’s hand gripping leo’s wrist, where she knew a weapon was hidden inside his sleeve. leo’s grip on y/n faltered as his eyes landed on the man, a few years older than the two, maybe in his late 20’s. leo’s body was having a reaction while his brain was trying to play catch up. the man moved closer, struggling to get breath in.

“god, i- we all- oh, leo, you…you’re so big,” the man gasped out, y/n’s eyes trained on her boyfriend. he was pained that he didn’t know this man anymore, the memories lost with the years of abuse from the foster system. y/n squeezed his wrist three times, grounding him slightly before she turned to the man.

“and you are?” she asked, knowing leo wouldn’t, his shame burning brighter than any fire he could produce. the man’s eyes briefly flickered to y/n before returning to leo.

“i’m…i’m mateo. mateo cruz. we- we used to go to school together,” the man, mateo, replied, tears welling in his eyes. y/n turned back to leo, who broke from her and staggered towards the man.

“mateo, h-hey, man. long…long time no see,” leo joked, though it was strained, before pulling mateo into a strong hold, the man replying similarly. y/n watched all this with a small smile, getting what she wanted out of this quest. she could return to camp empty handed and with a smile, knowing leo was healing.

“yeah, no shit,” mateo muttered into leo’s shoulder, both of them laughing. they pulled apart and mateo’s eyes instantly went to y/n, who got distracted by one of the rings on her finger being out of place, surely switched by leo subconsciously.

“right, right. this is y/n, my girlfriend,” leo jumped in, waving the girl over with a huge smile. she presented her hand to mateo, who gave her a pointed look before pulling her into a hug too. y/n chuckled, more than willing to accept.

“tengo que ser honesto, hermano, no pensé que terminarías con una chica tan atractiva,” mateo told leo as he pulled back from y/n. leo’s eyes widened as a blush covered his face, opening his mouth to cut in.

“el tampoco lo creía. pero el amor es algo voluble,” y/n replied, easily, leaving mateo’s jaw dropped. she smirked at the man, who shook his head and pointed at her.

“and here i thought you were just another girl,” he joked and y/n waved him off dismissively.

“he knows how to pick ‘em,” y/n winked, nodding her head towards leo, who wrapped his arms around her and picked her up, the girl squealing and trying to escape his arms. mateo watched this with a warm smile as y/n was returned to the ground, shoving the boy off her and flipping her hair out of her face with a huff.

“how long are you guys in town, leo? i’d love to have lunch or dinner, catch up, ya know,” mateo asked, hopefully, glancing between the pair. leo’s face faltered slightly and y/n was quick to interject with a warm smile.

“we’re here on business, but i can take care of it by myself. leo, go have lunch, make up for lost time,” y/n stated, half-lying. she looked up at leo, who frowned down at her.

“but-”

“i do not need a man to help me with this. i love you, but i can do it without you. it wasn’t an offer, that was an order. i’ll be back in, like, two hours,” y/n cut in, sharing a look with leo that said ‘if i’m not back in two hours, find me.’ leo still wasn’t happy but knew there was no fighting her on this.

“okay, okay. just-…just be safe, y/n. i love you,” leo muttered to her, knowing mateo would be suspicious if he heard too much. y/n smirked up at him, planting a kiss on his lips.

“i’m always safe. eat something good and save me some. it was lovely to meet you, mateo, and when i return i expect baby pictures,” mused y/n as she began walking away, waving at the men before she rounded a corner. leo’s heart clenched as she disappeared from view, a tugging in the pit of his stomach telling him to follow but then mateo gripped his shoulder and pulled leo’s eyes to him.

“c’mon, that really good pizza parlor is still open,” mateo told him, nodding his head towards what leo knew to be the pizza place. leo smiled, quickly falling in step with the man who he used to see more as a brother.

it was only a few blocks away and they made the time fly as they caught up. by the time the pizza was set in front of the guys, leo had learned about mateo’s wife and kids, career, what happened to his parents, and the names of his three cats. leo took a sip from his coke as mateo presented a photo of his kids, his son, edgar, looking like the boy leo used to play in burst open fire hydrants with.

“he’s like your twin,” leo stated and mateo nodded.

“we get that a lot,” he shrugged, returning his wallet to his pocket before moving his eyes back to leo, swallowing thickly, “what about you, leo? i mean- after…everything.”

“well,” leo started, debating on what to say and what not to say. he couldn’t just be like, hey, man, i started the fire that killed my mother because i was my father’s, who is a god by the way, chosen son. oh, and y/n, we met when she saved me and my friends from roman wind demons. one of those friend, by the way, i had fake memories of even being friends with and he was kidnapped and brain wiped. then i built a massive flying ship and sailed through the sky to a place called new rome and got possessed and nearly blew up my girlfriend’s brother. lifes been good. refills still free here or?

“just, uh, a lot of moving from one foster house to another,” leo surmised, shrugging as he lied. mateo frowned slightly, somewhat expecting more.

“is that how you met y/n? is she a foster kid, too?” he questioned and leo hesitated to shake his head. it was an interesting question that he wished she was here to answer.

“uh, no, we met at a summer camp, up in long island,” answered leo, glad the topic moved away from him once more.

“come on, leo. i know when you tell me half-truths. it’s been a long time, but that’s not something you forget,” mateo argued, crossing his arms with a frown. leo hung his head before opening his mouth to reply.

“look, mateo, i want to tell you, i do, but i can’t just-” his words faltered as his brows furrowed and he twisted in his seat, his eyes locking on the door.

“leo, i’m here for you and-” mateo tried only to get cut off.

“shh!”

“excuse me?!” huffed mateo but leo just shooed him again, his eyes still on the doors. then the doors smashed inwards, leo ducking down and glancing at his watch.

“shit,” he muttered, noting that nearly an hour and half had passed and y/n still wasn’t back. he then reached across the table and dragged mateo up and out of the emergency exit of the restaurant, not even looking back to see whatever monster was crashing their quest.

“it- he- lion-” mateo sputtered out, still reeling and the mist was doing little for this situation.

“fuck, you’re joking? a nemean lion over a hair clip?” leo groaned, peeking around a corner before dragging mateo with him as he ran a block away.

“what- what are you even saying?” mateo questioned, shrilly, as he glanced behind them. leo groaned before pulling the man into an alley and grabbing him by his shoulders, forcing the older man to look at him.

“my father is a greek god. it’s why i’ve got adhd; i was built to survive battle, not sit in class. the greek god of fire and mechanics is my dad. that was a nemean lion, which is determined to rip me and y/n into ribbons. y/n’s father is also a greek god, god of the sea. we’re here to collect some stupid hair clip but i just had to let y/n go off on her own and i don’t know even where she is-” leo explained, which quickly dissolved into a rant as his worry for y/n left him radioactive.

“you’re crazy! you’ve gone insane!” mateo shouted, pulling away from leo, who rolled his eyes.

“please, even i’m not creative enough for this.”

“so, i’ve gone insane,” reasoned mateo, gripping his hair in his stress.

“no, mateo-”

“leo! leo! where the hell are you, you lug nut of a boy?!” y/n’s voice called, causing leo’s head to instantly shoot up and look around for y/n. he sprinted out of the alley, leaving mateo with no other choice but to follow, still confused but wanting to be near the boy. he looked up and down the street before catching a glance of y/n, gripping her shoulder and her sword firmly held in her hand. leo’s body tensed and he quickly made his way to her, allowing the girl to sink against his chest. leo pulled her hand back, wincing at the claw marks that easily cut through her tank top and shoulder.

“stupid, stupid girl. i thought i told you to be safe,” leo growled at her, reaching into his pocket, magically producing a water bottle. y/n rolled her eyes at him, her teeth gritted.

“i’d like to see you try and take a nemean lion on by yourself, fire boy,” y/n huffed, her eyes trained on her shoulder as leo poured the water on it. the wound seemed to begin healing itself, not so much as a faint scar left behind.

“i’m asleep. i’m just dreaming. this isn’t real,” mateo muttered as his eyes stayed trained on y/n’s rapidly disappearing wound. y/n’s eyes jolted to him before frowning up at leo.

“why would you-”

“he saw the lion. it was out of my control,” leo justified.

“whatever. i got the hair clip but that lion can’t just be out on the streets,” y/n huffed, pulling the hair clip out of her back pocket and presenting it to leo, who took it with a grimace.

“all this for that measly thing,” he complained and y/n nodded in agreement as she twisted her blade again, pulling it into an up right position.

“don’t let aphrodite hear you say that,” the girl mused, in a sing songy voice and with a tight smile. leo huffed at her, glaring before the lion roared from what could have only been a few streets over.

"you got a plan?" questioned y/n, looking up at leo, who scrunched his face up in thought.

"nah, got nothing, you?" he jokes with a wide smile that told you that he was lying.

"look, i'm not the smart one here. that's your job. where do you want me, cog head?"

"that's a new one," leo mused with a smile before explain his rather lame plan, but a plan none the less. and mateo just stood there, looking between the two like it was an intense tennis match. he wasn’t exactly sure what he was supposed to do while they made this big huge mastermind plan, but leo could sense the worry basically oozing off him.

“mateo, stay with y/n or i and you’ll be fine," leo told him, clapping the older boy on the shoulder with a serious look, "preferably with y/n, she's a better fighter than me."

"plus, i've got motive to keep you alive! you still owe me baby pics," you joke, grabbing hold of mateo's wrist and gently leading him towards the alley you were supposed to hide in.

the plan was relatively simple. leo stood in the street and drew the lions attention until it was close enough for y/n to go in for the kill. easy peasy, lemon squeezy. except for the fact that the lion was a tad bit smarter than they gave it credit for and it instantly sought out y/n, despite leo's best efforts to look like a tastey demigod. though, it wasn't all that terrible as y/n burst open an nearby water tank, dousing the lion and blinding it for a few seconds, giving her time to swing her sword with a groan. it burst into glittering ash, fluttering into the air as y/n swatted it away, refusing to breathe it in.

"all good?" leo called, sopping wet but better that than dead. y/n giggled at his state before holding up a thumbs up, shrinking her sword back into a charm on her bracelet before turning to mateo. he was also soaked but he didn't seem to mind so much as he stared at where the lion had been a few seconds ago.

"...are you alright, mateo?" y/n questioned hesitantly, reaching a hand out and setting it against his shoulder softly.

"i- i'm okay but- what the hell is going on??" he hissed out as he felt his shirt rapidly drying, looking down and watching the water seemingly seep from his shirt into the girl's hand, where she waved it away to spalt against the ground.

"i think leo and i have some explaining to do," the girl reasoned as she did a similar process to leo's shirt.

"obviously," mateo bit out before taking a calming breath and looking at the two teens, who looked rather disappointed in themselves, "alright, alright. here's what were gonna do. you two can come home with me and explain all of this. spend a night or two or however many nights it takes to explain all of this. c'mon, it's this way."

it was a long walk but the trio filled it with plenty of explanation from y/n and leo. mateo promised to hold a open mind and he truly was trying his best, asking logical questions and really trying to understand. by the time they got to mateo's house, he was using 'gods' instead of the singular and making greek jokes like he'd been doing it his whole life. leo couldn't have been more grateful.

"honey, i'm home! with company!" mateo called as he swung his door open, leo and y/n hearing the distinct sound of little footsteps slapping against hardwood.

"daddy!" three voices cheered in near unison, launching themselves into their father's arms, who kneeled to squeeze them tight to his chest. his wife followed, smiling as she took in the sight before looking up and taking a second look at y/n and leo, who waved awkwardly

"oh, goodness! are you- leo?? oh, welcome home, buddy!" she cheered, moving past her kids and pulling leo into a tight hold, pressing a kiss to his scalp. leo wound his arms around the woman, another ghost of the past that he was more then happy to see. mrs. cruz then turned to y/n, pulling her into a tight squeeze as well before letting go and introducing her kids.

the kids took to the pair of teens like a sponge to water. while the cruz couple slaved away over dinner, y/n and leo were running around outside with the kids, playing some version of tag that leo didn't remember the rules to anymore. y/n had the youngest girl held in her arms, swaying her back and forth when she caught leo's eye, beaming a soft smile at him before giggling as the girl laid her hands on her cheeks. and leo's heart clenched, knowing he'd rather burn the whole world than live without the daughter of poseidon. then the two boys managed to tug leo down into the grass, laughing as they clambered onto his chest.

"dinner's ready, kids!" mateo teased from the doorway, drawing all five pairs of eyes to himself. the kids scrambled inside and y/n helped leo off the ground, earning her a kiss to the cheek as he pulled her into the house.

traditional hispanic meals were scattered across the table, leo explain each one to his girl as he went, giving suggestions as he filled his plate. he didn't realize how much he'd missed it until he took the first bite. obviously, it wasn't the same as his mom's, but it came pretty damn close. then the kids bedtime came, leo and y/n helping as they insisted.

mateo and his wife didn't really have a spare bedroom to offer to the pair but they were more than happy to sleep on the couch, knowing they've slept in worst places. but, before turning in for the night, mateo passed a scrap book over to y/n, giving her a warm smile and wink before setting into a seat next to her. for the next hour or so, mateo explained every photo and told every embarrassing story he could, despite leo's many protests. he even pulled a few from the book, gifting them to her, smiling as she clutched them to her chest like it was her prized possession.

"no, no, that's not what happened at all!!" leo insisted following a rather embarrassing story, his blooming blushing giving away the fact that he was now lying.

"believe what you want, leo, but that is what happened," laughed mateo, gently shutting the scrapbook as he yawned. he glanced between the tired pair, watching as you snuggled closer to leo, who leaned down and pressed a sleep kiss to your temple.

"i just- i gotta say, man, having you back home...it's nice, leo. we've missed you so- so much," admitted mateo, coughing down his emotions but leo could read it on his face.

"i'm glad to be back. gods, yeah, i'm happy to be here too," replied leo, nodding his head like he was confirming with himself too before beaming a smile at the older boy.

"well, sleep well, you two. hasta mañana," mused mateo before heading off to his room, faint similar calls coming from the teens.

the girl was aslready half asleep against leo's chest, yawn once more as she resting her hand above his heart and tucked her face into the junction between his neck and throat. leo's hands found her waist like a magnet to metal, slipping under her shirt and simply resting his fingers against her skin. he knew she was sleepy, which is why he said his next words.

"i love you, so so much. thank you for...all of this"

murmurs back of similar words is all he got in return, bring a small smile to his lips. she was all he needed, even when she was sleepy and drooling into his collarbone. he was certain he'd never loved someone like this and never would again.

and in the morning, the pair would decline mateo's offer for breakfast and leave, not without getting their phone number and address, forcing leo to promise to call or send letters within the week. then, y/n would make the offer of getting flowers and visiting his mom's grave. the tightening of leo's chest was back again but this time it didn't hurt so much. it was nearly warm and more of a pounding against his chest. a feeling he, strangely enough, wanted to keep around.

so, the pair of demigods bought flowers and y/n hung back, leaving leo with a comforting smile and allowing him alone time with his mom. and leo took it, sitting criss cross and raving about how much she would have loved y/n. how much he wished they could have met. how much he missed her. how different he felt, back in his hometown but not even sure if he could call it that anymore with how long he's been away. how much he wanted to love this place in the same way he did at seven, but he's forgotten the way. he left without saying goodbye, knowing he'd be back. he found the daughter of poseidon, leaning against a nearby fountain with a tilt of her head. he took her hand into his, offering a smile.

"let's go home, yeah?"

Just trust me, you'll be fine And when I'm back in Chicago, I feel it Another version of me, I was in it I wave goodbye to the end of beginning

[rainsoakedphoenix]

lights, please

pairing: f!reader x matt sturniolo

wc: 702

summary: you and matt watch a horror movie and now you're scared to be in the dark

requested?/notes: no! - i just watched a scary movie with a friend tonight and came up with this, enjoy (this came out a lot longer than i thought it would, wow)

you covered your face with your hoodie-clad hands for what felt like the millionth time tonight. you were watching a horror movie that your boyfriend matt picked out for your weekly date night. most date nights you'll go out to eat, go for a walk in the park and talk while you hold hands, or even take a late night drive while you sing off-key to each other. but tonight was just a simple cozy night in with a few movies. at least, as cozy as it could be with you jumping out of your skin every few minutes.

matt lightly chuckles at you each time, gently taking you by the arms and pulling you into his chest as he murmurs a "are you sure you're fine watching this, baby? i can put on something else."

but you, as much as even the tamest horror movie terrifies you, are determined to finish what you've already started. you curl yourself into his side, cautiously peeking through your fingers which cover your face for most of the movie, and nod your head at him with a "yeah, i'm okay. it's almost over right?" he quickly assures you it is, wrapping his arms around your neck and laying his head over yours as you finish the rest of the movie.

"that monster was ugly as fuck."

matt laughs at your words, smiling down at you as you begin to untangle yourself from him to get off the couch. he gets up after you, turning the tv off and folding up the blanket you used as you walk to the hallway bathroom.

you pause as you reach the beginning of the darkened hallway, an uneasy feeling arising in your stomach. "hey matt?"

"yes love?" he looks up at the sound of his name, having just placed the folded blanket on the back of the couch.

you point in the direction of the bathroom, your other hand playing with the strings of your hoodie in comfort. "can you go turn a light on for me please?"

he smiles in amusement, making his way towards the bathroom to turn the light on for you.

your body moves to face him as he's walking, and just before you begin to step after him, he turns around suddenly with his fingers lightly curled. "boo!"

you let out a short scream, covering your mouth afterwards as you let your body sink to the floor in shock for a few seconds.

"matt, fuck you! i can't believe you would do that to me," you yell, but you couldn't hide the slight amusement on your face. as much as you hated being scared, especially right after watching a scary movie, you had to admit he got you good.

he started to apologize, but you didn't stick around to hear it since you really had to use the bathroom now.

upon walking out you see matt standing up against the kitchen counter, and he immediately puts his phone away and looks up at you when he hears the door open, arms outstretched to hold you as he helps close the gap between you two.

"i'm really sorry angel." he kisses the top of your head before briefly resting his on yours once more.

"yeah that was mean. you should really make it up to me." you lift your head up to look at him, causing him to do the same.

"anything you want, i'll do it."

you purse your lips in thought for a minute, even though you already know what you want. "i wanna watch shrek, and you can play with my hair until i fall asleep."

"how did i know?" he smiles at you, leaning down to press a lingering kiss to your lips.

"you can go first, since you're braver. but if you scare me like that again matt, so help me god i will smite you." you point at him with your finger on his chest in mock anger, causing him to breathe a laugh as he takes your hand off his chest and presses a gentle kiss to your knuckles before interlocking your fingers, staring into your eyes as he does so.

"i won't do it again, i promise."

[joelswritingmistress]

You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 50

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible. 

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader 

Will removed a gun from the back of his pants as he loosened his grip on me. Nonchalantly, he waved the gun in my direction. “Don’t go anywhere.” He smirked and began the short walk toward Dr. Miller.

“What are you doing?” I asked, visibly trembling now. I couldn’t get myself to stop.

“I told you,” Will said, “I want him awake for what happens next.”

“Don’t shoot him.”

He let out a loud laugh that echoed off the walls, “That’s just the back-up plan if Plan A fails.”

Plan A. What exactly did Plan A entail? Fuck! I need to do something but I don’t know what - or how.

Will squatted down beside Dr. Miller, reached into his pocket and stuck something beneath his nose. WIthin just a second or two, he coughed and breathed in a heap of air before letting his eyes flicker open.

“Hello.” Will waved a hand in front of his face, smiling. “Jooooel.” He gave his name an extra syllable and Dr. Miller finally acknowledged him with just his eyes. “There he is.”

“Joel!” I squeaked his first name out and immediately the reality of the situation registered and he attempted to get up, only to fall and stumble back down to the floor.

“He’s still a bit out of it,” WIll informed me, glancing in my direction briefly before returning his attention to Dr. Miller, flashing the gun as he did. “Come on. I’ll help you.” He reached a hand down and used all of his strength to drag Dr. Miller across the ground.

I went to run toward them but Will extended an arm, pointing the barrel of the gun right at me. I froze. Looking at that small, dark hold in the center was paralyzing. One flick of his finger and my life could be over.

“I’d rather this not get messy,” Will explained calmly. He nodded toward the water. “Go sit with your feet in the pool. Don’t take off your shoes.”

I stared back at him, half in shock and then I glanced at Dr. Miller and made eye contact.

“Don’t hurt her,” he managed to choke out quietly.

“I’m not going to hurt her,” Will said with a smile, “She might opt to hurt herself, but it’ll be her choice.” He used his gun to motion toward the water again. “Go sit,” he added politely, like a teacher would a student. “Please.”

I glanced at Dr. Miller again and then let out a loud exhale before tiptoeing toward the edge of the pool. I put just my feet in and glanced over my shoulder as Will relocated Dr. Miller so he was just a few feet away.

“Damn, Joel. You got more muscle on ya than I would’ve thought,” he grunted as he towed him the rest of the way so his head was near the edge. “Now, before I explain what’s going to happen next, I want you to tell her for yourself.” Will nodded toward me, “Tell her the whole story. The one we talked about on our walk down.”

“You already told me the damn story, Will,” I said sternly to him, despite the increase in my shaking.

“I want him to tell you. I want him to explain every,” he grabbed Dr. Miller by the hair, “Single, gruesome detail to you. I want him to look you in the eyes and tell you that he’s a killer.”

Will physically forced him to look in my direction so vigorously I shouted out loud.

“Stop it!”

“Tell her,” Will urged.

Dr. Miller’s eyes never left mine. “I.. killed Ace-”

“I don’t care,” I cut him off. “You killed a rapist..” I hissed the word and looked at Will, “And a murderer.”

“Say it all out loud, Joel,” WIll demanded, pressing the gun to the back of his head, “For the first time.” He raised his voice, “Admit it!”

“I killed him,” Dr. Miller spit out, “I killed him.”

“Say his name.”

“Ace Deerfield.” He swallowed hard and I lunged toward him, making Will point the gun back at me. I froze again and Dr. Miller completed the sentence in full, “I killed Ace Deerfield.”

“You killed Ace Deerfield,” Will went on, “My lifelong friend. The man who saved my life on the battlefield. I am doing this in his name.”

“Killing women in his name?” I shouted, “Do you hear how fucked up that sounds? Killing me and Joel in his name? Killing in someone’s name is not honoring them!”

Will stared at me, almost asking ‘how dare you?’ with his eyes. “I’m not killing to honor him,” he explained, “I was killing to frame the man who took his life. And then I’m going to kill him and I’m going to walk out of here, help his sister mourn her murderous brother, and live my happily ever after, like I said. All in the name of Ace. Joel took his life. I’m not only taking Joel’s life, I’m also taking his legacy. That is in the name of Ace Deerfield.”

“You’re sick,” I spoke quietly, “And there’s no way in hell Carol will believe any of it.”

“Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see, won’t we?” Will smiled and shrugged, “Well, I’ll have to wait and see. You’ll be dead.” Without warning, he grabbed Dr. Miller by the shirt and shoved his body over the edge of the pool and into the water.

“Dr. Miller!” I shrieked and instinctively dove in after him.

“I told you I was helping the drama club,” Will gloated with a laugh. He placed the gun down neatly behind him and sat down on the ground with one foot crossed in front of the other and his hands rested behind him, looking like a little kid watching television. “Now, I’m going to watch these dramatics unfold. Oh, and if you were wondering, watching you struggle to save him.. that‘s Plan A.”

Carol stared down at her phone, glancing at the small, blinking, green circle on the screen. She had only recently set up the tracking feature on her phone several nights earlier before leaving for Vermont. Carol had originally been against it. It was her friend’s suggestion. There was never a reason she’d had to not trust Will, but after a few drinks with the girls and a discussion about what men do at bachelor parties, Carol had set up the location device on Will’s phone as a ‘just in case’ scenario.

She didn’t think he was out cheating, or even at a strip club or something of that nature. That’s what her friends had implanted in her brain; but Carol wanted to be sure if her husband-to-be did decide to get drunk and roam around, or raise a little hell with the groomsmen, that she would be able to find him with one-hundred percent certainty.

I shouldn’t have done this. She still felt guilty. It was something dishonest. It was something a woman in a trusting relationship shouldn’t have done. But, now that the light was blinking green and her parents were on a search for Joel, Carol knew it could discreetly come in handy - and then she would use Will’s inebriated state to disarm the device on the feature and never do it again.

I’m a jerk, she thought to herself, but texted her father as she began the march down the hallway to the elevators. When they took too long, she hurried to the stairs and let her sneakers pepper down them until she got the ground floor where the hotel bar was.

“Hey,” Chas greeted her, waving his phone when she emerged around the corner into the lively establishment. “I just texted you back.”

“I saw,” Carol said with a nod, “Are they here?”

He shook his head, “I can’t find ���em.”

Her eyes scanned the room and she began her trek around the oversized space. Like the night before, people were singing and laughing and gathered with friends. But there was no sign of Will or Joel.

Carol made a beeline for the bar and placed her hands flat down on top of it. She then whipped out her phone and found a picture of WIll. “Have you seen this man tonight?” She asked when the bartender approached.

The man squinted and took a long look. “Nah, I don’t.. I don’t think so.’

She swiped her finger over the screen. “How about this guy?” Carol flashed a picture of Joel.

“Maybe. I don’t know,” he said, “It's not ringing a bell. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t here though. I served a ton of people tonight.”

“They would have been here in the last half hour, forty-five minutes.”

Carol made a face. “Thank you.” She turned to her father, “They aren’t here.” Her eyes looked down at the blinking light on her phone, “We should be right near him. Maybe he left his phone.”

Chas peaked at the screen. “What is that?”

“It’s a tracker of Will’s phone.”

“Well, does it account for different levels?”

“What do you mean?”

“The hotel,” Chas went on, “It has different levels. Maybe Will’s up or down. Does the app thing work like that?”

Carol thought about it for a second, “I.. I actually don’t know. This is my first time using it.”

“Maybe he’s either up or down a level.”

“Up is rooms.” She shook her head.

“What’s down?”

Carol thought for a moment. “The spa.. saunas.. salt caves.. Pool.”

The two of them looked at one another. “Would they do a bachelor thing down there? I mean, it’s 2024. Guys don’t always do strippers and shots these days.”

“What, like you did in the eighties?” She asked with playful accusation.

“We went golfing for my bachelor partt,” Chas said with a shrug, “Got a bit drunk doing it, but just golf.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He crossed over his chest again like he did with Frankie, “Cross my heart.”

“Okay, I know you’re being truthful.” Carol laughed and patted him on the shoulder. “Well, why don’t we check out and see if they’re getting manicures and doing shots.. and then we can call mom and tell her everything’s alright.”

“And you can get your beauty rest,” Chas added.

“I’m already beautiful,” she teased.

He kissed her temple. “That you are.”

Carol linked her arm through her father’s. “Let’s go.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER

@untamedheart81 @suttonspuds @cesspitoflove @michilandcof @grogusmum @morallyinept @akah565 @brittmb115 @magpiepills @poodlebae @gobaaby-blog-blog @mermaidgirl30 @mandojojo @shotgun-shelby @itscatrodriguez-thepearl @macaroni676 @smolbeanzz @sarcasm-theotherwhitemeat @bandluvr97

[jigsawgirlie]

okay to be vulnerable

(fluff!johnny joestar x reader)

(authors note)

spoiler warning if you haven’t gotten at least halfway through sbr; also is the jojo fandom even still alive on here?? there’s a severe lack of johnny fluff and your girl is here to deliver.

Gyro had been asleep for the past hour; not a sound stirred from his dormant tent. You and Johnny sat by the small fire Gyro had started prior to slumping down and snoring like a bear.

You and Johnny were quiet. The silence was not awkward, nor was it deafening, it was merely silence. The mosquitos surrounding you both creating small stirs in the mostly quiet night.

Staring briefly at Johnny you watched as his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, staring at the embers as they burned. The expression on his face was blank, and filled with thoughts. You tilted your head, silently memorizing all of his features. If you live to see the day all of this mess is over with you pray you’ll remember just how ethereal he looks right now.

Idiotically, you must of made your staring too obvious. Shifting his gaze Johnny noticed your staring. “Is something wrong?” He asked, facing towards you. You ignore his question, instead prompting one for him, “What are you thinking about?”

He’s surprised by your question - that much is evident in his body language. He stares for a moment before scratching his forearm and staring into the fire once more.

You sigh, disappointed he didn’t want to further conversate with you. Perhaps it was still too soon for him to have garnered your trust.

Nearly accepting defeat you walk away, stopping at your tent and looking once at Johnny. You stare as he sits uncomfortably, swatting at mosquitos and holding his body close to himself.

An idea pops into your head. Trusting your intuition, you grab a small blanket left near your belongings. Begrudgingly, you walked quietly back towards Johnny, holding the woolen blanket in your arms.

You make your presence known to Johnny, squatting down close to him. His focus is now entirely onto you, and the close proximity between the two of you.

You smile softly, and give him a look with your eyes, one that begs for trust. When his eyes soften, you smile gently. Carefully you place the blanket around his shoulders. He stares at you in disbelief, blue eyes carefully examining your features.

Before turning to leave you gently lean down, whispering in his ear. “Its okay to be vulnerable Johnny.” You give him one more gentle smile before wishing him a goodnight and walking away.

You leave, not looking back. You’re about halfway to your tent when you hear a weak voice call out for you.

Surprised, you turn around. Johnny is facing your direction, his upper body completely turned towards you. His right arm is raised, reaching out to you. “Johnny?” You call, walking back over to him.

You sit down once more, this time closer to him. He doesn’t make eye contact, instead scrunching his face in concentration. He tries desperately to find the words, afraid you’ll leave him if he can’t speak up.

Gently (and hesitantly) you place your hand on top of his. He finally makes eye contact with you; your eyes are soft and you have a slight smile on your face. In that instant Johnny felt more reassured than he had in his entire life.

He takes in a breath, “I don’t mean to be distant. I want to be there for you and Gyro, don’t get me wrong. I’m just scared.” You give him a second to continue speaking if he desires, and when he doesn’t you do. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

He nods. His heart feels like its beating a million times a second, and the lump in his throat is painful. “I never thought I would make something of myself after the accident” He gestures to his legs, “Now I’m here, and I have this ability. I want to be someone again. I want to find the corpse parts and find myself again. I can’t go back to my miserable self.” His voice cracks and his eyes are filled with sadness and fear.

It’s hard to search for the right thing to say. You open your mouth but no words come out, scared to say something wrong. Johnny looks at you; his eyes beg for you to say something. “I like to think once we hit rock bottom, there’s only one way to go - up.” You stop and take a breath before continuing, “You’ve been through hell, we all have. Maybe it’s the meaning of why we’re all here in the first place, I don’t know. What I know for sure is you aren’t who you used to be anymore. You don’t have to live in fear Johnny. Plus you have Gyro and me now.”

Johnny is astonished by what you’ve said. His mouth left slightly agape as he stares at you. You refrain from eye contact, afraid to look at him. You two sit in silence once again for a beat, unsure of who will break the silence first. Johnny folds, “I’ll be strong. I’ll find the corpse parts and stop Funny Valentine with everything that I have. I promise that to you and Gyro. From the bottom of my heart.”

You look back at him this time, your faces nearly touching. His eyes are filled with determination and his expression is stoic. You stare at his lips, then back up to his eyes. Both leaning in, your lips just nearly graze his before you pull away.

“I know you will Johnny. I know.” Is what you say instead. You smile brightly, staring at him with admiration. Johnny is left speechless, wanting to feel your lips pressed against his desperately.

You stand up and leave, heading towards your tent once more, succumbing to your exhaustion. Perhaps another night you’ll get a moment alone with Johnny. Maybe then you’ll have the courage to show him how you feel about him using your lips.

(authors note)

writing this , i mentioned mosquitoes then remembered johnnys fetish he mentioned to gyro. *thousand yard stare*

[starlazergazer]

Trapped

Pairing: Anakin x Reader

Request: The reader is a prisoner of war when Anakin and the other jedi find them and saves them ending up falling in love

Warnings: descriptions of claustrophobia

Word count: 6.5K

A/N: Okay so I may have taken this in a rather different direction following more the spirit of the request than anything else so if anyone wants me to write this again staying more true to the request let me know!! I may do it anyways because I had so many ideas on how to do this and had so much fun writing it lol. But if anyone has any other requests please send them my way I would love to write them!!! Thanks y’all and happy holidays!!

  You had done a lot of stupid stuff in your time here but this had to take the cake.

Stealing food, blankets, clothing? Sure that made sense, people needed basic necessities and the prison guards liked to hoard them.

Sneaking around to scout any possible escape routes? How else are you supposed to stand any chance at breaking out?

But breaking into the commander’s office? That didn’t make any sense whatsoever.

You weren’t even sure what you were looking for, all you knew was something was calling to you here, an invisible string tying you to the locked office and you weren’t sure you could ignore the connection for much longer.

And because of that when the door slid open and you were met with an empty office you had to pause, had to give yourself a second to decide where to start looking, and what to start looking for.

But the pull hadn’t gone away like you had expected it to when you walked in, it got stronger if anything, more precise. The desk.

You followed the pull without question, feet carrying you quickly across the room to the desk on the other side of it, facing the door. And your hand knew what to do, on instinct going to the third drawer at the bottom, softly pulling it open.

And inside sat a glowing cube, something unlike anything you had ever seen before. You hesitated at first, thoughts running briefly through your head wondering if it was dangerous, and yet something seemed to quiet them, to assure you that it wasn’t, that you were meant to have it.

The cube seemed to hum softly as you picked it up, holding it up to the light hoping to discover anything more about it, though there was nothing. Nothing but intricate metal work backlit by light.

Close your eyes.

The words seemed to come into your mind as if they were placed there by someone else. But that didn’t really scare you, instead you listened, closing your eyes, picturing the cube in your mind.

From there it all seemed so natural, a twist of this corner, slide of a panel, unfolding of the figure, the cube seemed to undo itself in your head.

Then you opened your eyes to see the cube in your hands doing the same, now lying flat before you, then a hologram appeared.

You nearly dropped the cube in surprise, jumping back slightly as a man appeared in your hands staring up at you.

Then the door opened.

You froze on the spot, eyes going wide as you stared at the tall man standing in the doorway now, all thoughts of the hologram immediately gone from your mind.

But his expression nearly mirrored yours, eyes wide, mouth hanging open slightly, gaze jumping between you and the cube in your hands.

And almost on queue it snapped shut, jumping slightly in the air before landing back in your hands, perfectly resembling the same cube you had found in the desk just minutes before.

“How did you-?” the man was asking you a question though all you could focus on was the way he got closer, very aware of the wall just behind your back limiting your own range of movement.

Instinctively you pulled the cube back towards you, ushering it behind your back, not missing the way the man’s hands came up in front of him at the sight of it disappearing from his view. So he was here for the same thing you were.

“Look-“ Again he was speaking but you paid little mind to his words, using the corners of your eyes to scan the room, just barely catching a door to your left in your peripheral vision.

The man had slowed his pace towards you as you hid the cube, giving you the perfect opportunity.

With the briefest look into the strangers blue eyes you broke for that door, ignoring the man’s calls to wait as the door to what turned out to be a bedroom shut behind you.

You didn’t give yourself an opportunity to take in the commander’s room as you would have liked, instead you broke for the door across the way, every instinct within you telling you to protect the cube.

You heard the door to the office slide open just as you went through the next one into the hallway, not taking the time to think about where you were going, just picking a direction and sticking to it.

You skidded around corners, bumping into walls as you didn’t take the time to slow down but threw your gaze over your shoulder periodically, catching glimpses of the stranger following you.

You came to another T in the hallway and picked left on a whim, eyes darting down the next hallway as you ran, not expecting the flash of yellow you caught as you did so, feet coming to a halt when you came face to face with an entire battalion of battle droids.

The two of you just stared at each other for a moment, each taking time to fully process the situation before you, you struggling to comprehend just how deep of shit you were in.

“The prisoner is escaping!” You heard a single robotic voice call out. And to your horror you watched as each droid raise its blaster, dozens of barrels pointed directly at you.

And you found that you couldn’t do anything about it, couldn’t do anything but stand there and brace yourself, eyes instinctively going shut.

Then you felt something crash into the side of you, sending you down onto your shoulder just beyond the corner just as a dozen blasters sounded.

Your eyes shot open to see the stranger hovering just above you, nose mere inches from your own as he stared down at you, a hint of a smile on his lips as you heaved, trying to catch his breath from the chase “Oh now you decide to stop running”

“I-uh” You weren’t sure where you were going with the sentence, relieved to see he wasn’t waiting for it either. Pushing himself to his feet he offered his hand out to you, not really giving you time to grab it before he was pulling you up to your feet and further down the hallway.

“You got me lost” he groaned as he took the first turn, never slowing down as he barreled down the hallway with you in tow, his hand still firmly grasped around your own, scared you were going to break away with the cube.

And mentally you were glad your earlier scouting of the facility served you well “go left”

He didn’t question you, didn’t think twice about trusting you before he banked hard, turning left just as you had told him, not bothering to ask for further directions, knowing you would provide them.

“Right” you told him quickly, and again he obeyed, taking the next right, getting not more than a few steps before he screeched to a halt.

You slammed into his back as he did so, your shoulder hitting his hard as you fell forward, the stranger pulling you back to him with your hand, pulling you into his chest briefly to steady you before letting go.

And you were ready to rear on him, demand what was that about, when you heard it, footsteps, dozens of footfalls too well timed to be anything but droids, headed right for you.

You swore under your breath, looking desperately back at the stranger only to see him one step ahead of you, hand out before him pointed at a grate on the wall near the floor.

The grate flew off the wall and towards his hand and he tossed it aside, giving you little time to process what had just happened before he was gesturing you through the new hole in the wall.

Without thinking you took his hand that he held out to you, letting him help you down into the vent, the reality of your situation only hitting you once you were fully inside of the vent, unable to stretch out your arms or legs.

The man filed into the vent after you, pulling the grate back over the hole to hide your exit just in time for the droids to round the corner.

“Ok we just need to wait-“ the man was whispering to you but you couldn’t focus fully on his words, the only thing registering right now was the tightness of the space around you, the feeling of the walls of the duct closing in around you making it hard to breathe, your arms and legs immediately becoming uncomfortably sore for being unable to stretch out.

“Tight spaces” you managed to get out, trying to assure yourself that the space was big enough, that you weren’t stuck.

But still you could hear the echoes of your breath bouncing back at you, each one coming faster and faster as you could feel the nearness of the vent walls on each side.

You heard the man swear softly, a hand coming up to clench yours, another coming to your chin to pull your gaze to him.

“I need you to take a deep breath for me okay?” He asked softly but all you could do was shake your head, breath coming out in short, ragged bursts as you struggled to control it, struggled to feel like your lungs could ever hold enough air.

“I need you to try” he shook his head back, giving your hand a soft squeeze as he dropped the one from your chin “With me okay” And slowly he took a deep breath, in through the nose out through the mouth, waiting patiently for you to join him.

And despite every thought screaming at you to do otherwise you forced a long exhale, syncing your next inhale up with his, waiting until you heard him exhale to do the same.

“Good” he whispered back to you after a few breaths “You’re doing good, you’re going to be okay”

And though you could do no more than nod at the moment, too focused on your own breathing you knew he could feel your appreciation, the shift in your panic, as he turned back to the grate, ducking down slightly to look out of it.

“Looks like we may be clear” he whispered back to you, looking back out of the corner of his eyes though you could see the hint of a smile on his lips “ready to go”

“Please get me out of here” you said it on an exhale, already scooching closer to him, ready to crawl back through the gate.

He laughed softly under his breath, taking care this time to gingerly take the grate off the wall and softly set it down, climbing up to his feet and glancing around before extending his hand to you, helping you up to your own feet.

As soon as you were back in the hallway you took an even deeper breath, giving yourself a brief moment to fully stretch out your limbs, feeling the space around you.

You saw the stranger watching you out the corner of your eye, not in an impatient or pitying way but almost a curious one, his head slightly cocked as he watched you stretch out.

“Sorry” you whispered, starting to move further down the hallway close behind him “I don’t do well in tight spaces”

“don’t worry about it” he brushed it off quickly with the shake of his head “sorry I couldn’t find a better place to hide”

“Believe me you never have to apologize for saving my life” you laughed quietly before calling out your next instruction “left”

Again the man followed with no questions, turning down the next hall before asking you “where are you taking us?”

You couldn’t help but let the hint of a smile crawl up your face, looking at him through the side of your eye “you’ll see”

And despite everything he laughed a little at that, shaking his head slightly but following your directions nonetheless, you leading the both of you through the twisting hallways until you started to be able to hear the rush of water, knowing you were close.

The stranger didn’t say anything as you led him through the last door, darkness creeping over the two of you as nothing but the end of the wide mouthed cave was lit, the two of you taking little time to run to the end of it and look out over the massive waterfall plunging into the ocean 60 ft below.

“That is your plan?” You heard him yell at you over the rushing water just beneath you, his expression not at all perturbed by the height but almost elated, a loud laugh escaping him as he peered down over the edge.

“Yeah” you responded with a small shrug, walking slightly back further into the cave, just barely able to make out the sounds of droids rushing in the hallway just behind you, the prison mere seconds from going red alert “can you swim?”

“Yeah I can-“ and the rest of his sentence died in his throat as he turned to look back at you, his eyes growing wide as he watched you square up.

“No wait!” it was all he could get out before you came sprinting directly at him, crashing your body roughly into his sending both of you over into the abyss.

-

You hadn’t regretted the decision to escape via the ocean until the moment.

Before you were so caught up in the feeling of the air rushing through your hair as you crashed down, the cold shock of water as it enveloped you, the soft sand that stuck to you on the opposite bank. It was feelings that after your 2 years of imprisonment had become ubiquitous with freedom, so far from the harsh cold of stone walls, metal shackles, and confinement.

But now standing in the center of the jedi council chambers, 12 sets of eyes staring down at you as you could hear the water smacking the floor as it dripped from your hair, you wished you had chosen a drier escape route.

“So you were the one who got the holocron from star’s end” you could hear to monotony in the man’s voice as the one in the center addressed you, clearly as confused as to why you were here before them as you were.

“Yes sir” you answered meekly, stealing glances back towards your rescuer, Anakin you had learned his name to be, who just look on with a smug smile, the glowing cube you’d taken from the wardens desk clutched causally in one hand.

“Yes” Ankain echoed you, never breaking eye contact with the man before you, a sort of game occurring between their hard stares sent back and forth you couldn’t quite crack “but that’s not all” and with no warning he tossed the cube to you.

You caught it no problem, the jedi council collectively sitting up in their seats as their gaze anxiously followed the arc of the cubes path through the air, visibly relaxing when it landed safely in your hands.

“Open it”

You raised a brow at his command, eyes never leaving Anakin’s as you silently questioned. You’d only opened it the once, by mistake, you had no idea how you had done it.

“Skywalker what is the meaning of this?” the man in the center asked with a dejected sigh, clearly with as much faith in your abilities to open the cube as you had.

Anakin, however, didn’t respond, his eyes cutting to meet yours, a soft smile and an encouraging nod sent your way before he spoke “just do what you did back in his office”

“I don’t know what I did in his office” you whispered the words back, as if you had any chance of concealing them from the council sitting before you.

“Close your eyes, focus on the cube” Anakin instructed you softly, words spoken only for your benefit “you can do it”

You looked up to see the council eyeing you expectantly before looking down at the cube with doubt. There was no way to tell if it was even you that opened the cube before, but Anakin hardly gave you any way out. So you closed your eyes.

You formed the cube in the mind, feeling its weight anchored in your hand, concentrating on as much detail as you could until you felt the weight of it slowly leave you, hovering in the air just above your hand, because though you couldn’t see it you could feel it do so, could sense it.

A twist of the corner, that was what instinct told you, the cube In your mind obeying obediently before showing you the next move, then the next, the puzzle cube unfolding within your mind until it was nothing but a flat plane.

Then there was a voice, the same voice you’d heard before in that office, greeting you.

You opened your eyes to the same hologram, speaking directly to you from the now flat cube hovering inches above your hand, and you were so caught up in your own awe that the next voice to speak startled you.

“how did you do that?”

You jumped at the sound, the cube tumbling from it’s spot in the air and crashing to the ground, hologram gone, cube now a 3D shape once again, 12 sets of eyes eagerly on you as they sat on the edge of their seats.

“I-I” you stuttered at first, unsure where you were going with the sentence before it came out “I don’t know. I just…felt…it”

The man in the middle shifted back in his seat, hand coming to his chin in thought as he just stared at you at first. “A child this force sensitive could not have gone unnoticed”

Your eyes cut back to Anakin with a raised brow, “Force sensitive? I’m not-“

“You are” Anakin cut you off with an eager nod, eyes darting between yours and the man in the center’s “You have to be, it’s the only way to open the holocron”

Your brows bunched together as you looked down at the cube, almost afraid to touch it again “I can’t- I would’ve- I would’ve known if I was”

“The question is no longer if” the man in the center boomed, drawing your attention back up to him “but how. How did you escape our detection, how do you still have such sensitivity without formal training”

“I want to train her” Anakin piped up at that moment drawing your attention back to him, your head spinning just trying to keep up. “I’m ready to take on my own padawan”

“No” the man’s answer was quick and final, the man giving the idea barely any consideration before answering, “she is too old, it is too dangerous to teach her our ways now”

“It’s too dangerous not to” Anakin countered quickly, clearly already ready for this objection “her abilities clearly aren’t going to fade, our best option is to teach her the path of the light side”

And this seemed to catch the man off guard for a moment, his eyes casting to the other jedi around him as a silent conversation took place before you, too many quick glances for you to ever hope to try and follow along before he was speaking again.

“On that part you are right” it seemed painful for the man to admit this to Anakin though Anakin’s smile grew at the words, “you may train her, however this does not make her a padawan nor you a master, this is nothing more than a side project and you are to do no more than teach her what will keep her from the dark side”

Anakin seemed to deflate slightly at the words, clearly this answer not entirely what he had wanted but the smug smile still remained, he clearly felt he had still won this time.

“Thank you master” At this Anakin bowed to the man and you instinctively did the same, following wordlessly behind Anakin out of the chambers, completely unaware of just how radically your life was about to change.

-

“You can do this” Anakin spoke to you in a soft, encouraging tone “just close your eyes and try again” and a part of you hated him for that tone, for how easy he made it seem, for how easy the task seems, lift the rock from his hand. You had opened a holocron, twice, why was lifting a rock so much harder?

But deep down you knew why it was that way, why it had to be this way.

You’d come to understand the force as an essence, existing all around you, and using it to your advantage was as easy as opening yourself up to it, lifting an invisible barrier that existed between you and it. And little things, small intuitions, sensing presences or people, that required the barrier to lift just a little, but actual telekinesis? That required a lot more, and you didn’t like what came with completely opening that barrier.

Not that Anakin knew that.

But as you looked at him you felt your resolve start to break, large blue puppydog eyes looking at you with complete encouragement and belief in your ability, and you just couldn’t let him down.

So you convinced yourself this time it would be different, it would be better, and with a deep breath you closed your eyes and slowly opened the barrier.

For a brief moment there was nothing but the force, as if invisible strings pulled you to the rock in Anakin’s hand, a simple pull on one of them and the rock was floating. You heard his cheer in the back of your mind and felt your lips turn up at the sound.

Then there was a flash across your vision, an electric whip flying through the air, a woman’s scream, a dark cell, then a small child huddled into the dirty corner of a room. You felt your breath hitch within you as you recognized the room, recognized your cell, and again part of you felt trapped, like you were back there, locked behind bars, little hope of ever escaping, of ever seeing the sun again. Then the child’s eyes snapped to you. All thoughts left your mind immediately as you met her gaze, unsure of how she could see you, unsure of how you could see her.

“You won’t leave us right?”

And you didn’t have an answer to that, because you had already left them, had already gotten out, had already left another person to occupy your empty cell.

“I-“ the words died in your throat before they could escape as you weren’t sure what to say, weren’t sure if you could say anything.

The sound of the door opening snapped her attention from you immediately, a set of armed droids waiting on the other side of it.

The girl was already shaking her head, trying desperately to pull herself further into the corner, tears welling in her eyes as she repeated “no” over and over again.

The droids ignored her cries completely, only stating their orders to her as if she were listening “it is your time for questioning”

The girl screamed, tried to kick back at them as they approached, tried to keep them off of her but she was just a little kid, there was only so much she could do.

You were rooted on the spot, unable to move even as she tried to reach for you, even as she called your name as they dragged her out of the room. You watched her disappear around the corner, given barely any time to wonder where they were taking her before you were slammed back into your body, again on the floor on the jedi training room, desperately gasping for breath, eyes rapidly scanning the room trying to ground yourself.

Then you felt a hand on your shoulder, another on your chin pulling your gaze to meet his, Anakin knelt down in front of you forcing out deep slow breaths, showing you what to do. And you were back in that air vent, not in a bad claustrophobic way but in a comforting one, a grounding one, again Anakin was there when you were drowning teaching you how to breathe.

You forced out the slow breaths in time with his, Anakin’s eyes never breaking from yours as he continued with the unnatural rhythm, waiting till you seemed to calm, waiting until you were ready. Then he carefully brought his legs in front of him to sit down, crossing them so that his knees touched your softly, leaning forward so his elbows rested on his thighs. “What happened?”

Your posture collapsed on the spot, your head going into your hands as you took a second to remember, to process what had just happened, how you had felt so out of your own body and yet still you.

“I-I was back in the prison” you started hesitantly, not daring to meet Anakin’s gaze as you spoke “They were torturing people I think and there was this girl. She could see me, she begged me for help as they dragged her out of her cell for questioning and I just sat there”

It was silent for a moment as your mind reeled, trying desperately to remember if there was any more to it before Anakin spoke in a sad, soft tone “They’re called force visions” he took a deep breath “they’re known for being unreliable”

You shook your head, gaze snapping to his as you straighter slightly “no this felt real, too real to be a vision, it felt like this was happening right now, real time and I couldn’t-“

You let the words hang in the air and Anakin knew what you meant, not stepping in to say anything as you thought, as you spiraled a bit more. “I left them there”

“you got out” Anakin’s rebuttal came quick but you didn’t let it hang in the air for too long.

“I left them there” You repeated, looking up at him with a small shake of your head “I had a jedi on my side and basically run of the place and I was so caught up in my own escape I didn’t even think about helping any of them get out. Who does that?”

“A survivor” Anakin’s answer again came quick but you were already shaking your head, gaze casted across the room as you refused to look at him.

“A coward”

His hand came to your knee immediately, pulling your gaze back to him as he leaned a little more forward, urging you to listen to him. “you are not a coward”

“I left children and elderly people, innocent people, to rot in a cell while I escaped. What right did I have to get out over any of them?”

“There was just two of us” Anakin objected sadly “we couldn’t have gotten them out if we had tried”

And it was like something had clicked within you, your posture straightening back up as your gaze cast back to his, a ghost of a smile playing on your face “so we need to bring backup next time”

Anakin’s eyebrows scrunched as he looked back at you, hesitantly retracting the hand from your knee as he spoke “next time?”

You nodded eagerly, already pushing yourself up to your feet “I need to speak to the jedi council”

-

“I want to free the people of star’s end”

The words didn’t seem to shock the council, you were under the impression that not much did, but still a silence fell over them, each member taking a moment to look at one another, sending silent messages between one another before master windu addressed you.

“You are not a jedi, you can do as you please miss L/N”

And though a part of you felt deflated, the council was playing obtuse on purpose, wanting to force you to ask out loud for their help, you saw Anakin from the corner of your eye, his tall proud stance just behind you, always having your back, and instead tried to mirror him.

“I am asking for jedi assistance with this master Windu”

Again the council shared a look, a silent discussion taking place before your eyes, before slowly each gaze returned to you, each’s expression as stony and serious as before.

“Star’s end is a separatist stronghold far too expansive for the jedi even with the clone army at it’s side to take it without many casualties”

You could see Anakin adjust his stance ever so slightly at his words, physically switching from offensive to defensive, and a part of you got angry at that, angry that you were having to prove to the jedi why the people unjustly locked in cages deserved to be free, angry that Anakin already seemed to feel this was a losing battle.

“Those people in star’s end are republic citizens, loyal to the republic in every way, the very people you all are sworn to serve and you are just going to leave them to die?”

You tried to control the anger in your voice, tried to bite it down knowing yelling at the council would get you nowhere, but couldn’t help yourself as your voice grew louder, your words coming out in rapid succession.

“We cannot serve the people of this republic if our army is dead” you could hear master windu’s own anger in his voice but you knew it wasn’t anger for his supposed forced inaction or anger in the loss of innocent lives, but rather in you, for daring to counterriot him, to argue with him in front of the council “we have a war to win miss L/N, that supersedes all else”

“The people in those cells were prisoners of war” you could hear the desperation in your own voice but in that moment didn’t care “soldiers in your war, they will gladly fight with you again all you need to do is unlock the cells. Give them a chance to help you free them”

“The answer is no”

“What if I went back in undercover”

You could see Anakin’s posture go rigid on the spot, for the first time his head snapping to you, his gaze fully falling on you as you spoke.

But in that moment you couldn’t take a second to focus on anything but master Windu’s face, the way it crinkled ever so slightly in thought, and you knew that was your chance.

“I know the schedule, the layout, how to fit in seamlessly-“

“Wait” Anakin’s voice was barely more than a whisper, his body coming inches closer as he took a step towards you, hand outstretched to grab you by the arm as if to physically stop you, but you just stepped forward, out of his reach, and continued on as if you had heard nothing.

“I still have the uniform, friends on the inside, I even know how to get in without being noticed-“

Anakin quickly gave up on trying to stop you, turning directly to the council this time, taking a step in front of you as if to shield you from them. “Master windu please excuse-“

The master silenced Anakin with a simple look, Anakin’s own words dying in his throat on the spot as he stared up at the council, gaze breaking desperately to his master’s silently begging him to do something.

Obi-wan, however, could do nothing as Master Windu turned to you, giving you a small nod before speaking “what do you propose miss L/N”

And you took a second to step away from Anakin, taking care to not meet his eye contact as you did so, your gaze never breaking from master Windu’s as you continued carefully, continued with a plan you hadn’t even realized you had formulated.

“I sneak in, unlock all the cells and the front gates giving a clone army not only unfettered access to the grounds but an entire army already within the prison” and you could see the hesitation on his face, the hesitation on all of their faces “the clone army needn’t do anything until the gates are open, and if I fail you can simply turn around. No harm no foul”

The council shared another look amongst themselves and you could see Anain’s eyes desperately scanning the room, clinging to every bit of silent conversation he could make out.

“If you are caught-“ Master Windu spoke again and you could see Anakin flinch ever so slightly at the words, his gaze whipping around to you once again as he slowly backed up to the edge of the circle, acknowledging finally he had no say in this decision, on either side. “You cannot disclose the location of this clone army should this be the plan. You cannot give any indication of the jedi’s involvement”

“If I am caught” you repeated back to him, trying your best to keep the triumphant smile off your face “well, master Windu, you said it yourself I’m not a jedi. Just a prisoner trying to escape”

-

You’d been sitting crossed legged on the floor for over an hour at this point, no longer even pretending to try and practice his exercise.

He’d hardly spoken a word to you since the council meeting this morning, no more than leading you to a training room and telling you to sit down and lift the rock in front of you while he paced.

Back and forth in front of you, none of the usual “good job” when you did it or light instruction when you failed to, just pacing.

At first you had prepared yourself for his blow up, waiting for him to yell at you, to lecture you for being irresponsible, for not talking to him before bringing your plan to the council. Instead you got silence, an impending doom hanging relentlessly over your head as you waited for the inevitable.

But a person could only wait so long.

So you had abandoned the rock lifting half an hour ago, doing nothing but sitting on the floor watching him go back and forth. And you weren’t sure if he even noticed. And quite honestly you were sick of waiting.

So one last time you closed your eyes and concentrated, easily using the force to pick up the fist sized rock in front of you, and hurling it directly at Anakin.

Anakin spun on the spot and lifted his hand effortlessly, the rock halting midair in front of him, floating there for just a second as his gaze snapped from the rock to you on the ground before it fell to the floor, hitting the hard stone with a soft thunk.

And it was only then, beneath that glare, did you start to question if that was a good idea.

“Really?” It was more demand than question “After what you pulled this morning you think throwing rocks at me is a good idea?”

You just shrugged, pushing as much nonchalance into your expression as possible “you haven’t talked to me in an hour”

Anakin sighed in complete exasperation, a hand running through his hair before coming up to pinch the bridge of this nose “And what do you want me to do?” he asked, his voice too soft for comfort “yell at you? Tell you how dumb and reckless of a plan this is because you already seem to know that considering you didn’t bother to fill me in before addressing the council”

“I didn’t know I was going to propose that” you were quick to defend yourself, pushing yourself up to your feet, feeling at a slight disadvantage on the ground “I was desperate! I just needed them to work with me so I offered the only think I could think would help”

“Offering yourself up as bait” he crossed his arms over his chest, looking at you completely unimpressed “You went in with a complete plan and points to back up that plan that doesn’t happen on the spot”

“So if I had just filled you in beforehand you’d be okay with it?” you asked him with raised brow, already knowing his answer.

He took a second to just glare at you, knowing what you were doing, that you were baiting him “of course not” he sighed “but we could’ve come up with something better”

“We couldn’t have” you shook your head, noting his softer tone by this point, daring a step forward “this is the only plan the council would have approved”

And he did nothing but shake his head softly for a moment, big eyes staring back at you telling you that he knew you were right, just not ready to admit it right. “I could go with you” he tried

And you had to laugh softly at his expression, taking yet another step closer until you were right in front of him, a hand coming up to cup his cheek softly, Anakin not yet giving in, refusing to drop his arms from in front of his chest “you couldn’t”

He sighed dejectively, finally dropping his arms, one hand coming up to grab the one cupping his cheek, giving it a soft squeeze before pulling it away, never letting it go “you know you don’t have to”

“Ani-“ you started to object before he cut you off

“I mean it” his eyes bounced back and forth between your own “You got out, you don’t have to go back to that place”

“I left them there” you replied softly, retracting your hands from his “I got distracted, didn’t think, just wanted to get out and I left them all there, I have to go back”

And you could see him wanting to object again, to repeat that it wasn’t up to you to save them but you were prepared to stand your ground and you think he saw that too. So all he said as he stared back at you was “are you sure”

And you nodded, a soft smile rising to your lips “I’m sure. I can do this Ani”

And he chuckled softly at you, nodding reluctantly “I know you can. But you get into trouble I don’t care what the council says I will come for you”

“I know you will” you laughed again at him, taking both of his hands in yours, giving them a soft squeeze “you got me out once, I trust you could do it again”

“But nothing is going to go wrong” he persisted though you could see the smile reluctantly growing on his lips as he tried to remain serious “you’re going to release the prisoners and open all the gates”

“then I’ll come find you” you nodded.

“Good” he whispered before pulling on your arms, crashing you into his chest as he wrapped them around you securely “I’ll see you at the gates” he whispered softly into your hair.

“I’ll see you at the gates”

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

Witness Protection

(I’m sorry for not posting anything actually in a while. Headspace has not been very good. So, forgive me for being self-indulgent and traumatizing another self-insert.)

Count: 3544

TW/CW: Brief graphic depiction of a murder, blood, panic attack, fear of dying/death, unintentional fearplay, aaaaand soft, safe M/nb G/t vore

I loved nighttime.

Aside from being time from work for most people, it was a time for people to relax inside and unwind before bed, even on the weekends when more people would stay up.

But, for me, it was a chance to go outside without worrying about other people for the most part. Sure, sometimes there were some joggers that ran the same paths I did, but it was blissfully quiet after midnight. Especially on an average work night like tonight where almost everyone was asleep. No cars, no barking or bustling, just... calm. A nice night to listen to some music from my earbuds and stretch my legs from being cooped up in my apartment.

The only thing I didn't like was the chill that permeated the night air, making me shudder a bit and internally grumble in my sweater and oversized flannel jacket. Some people would suggest gloves, I hated the feeling. I much preferred beanies like the red one I wore for the night. It kept my head warm and also made it so that I didn't have to do anything to my easily unkempt, fluffy hair.

I exhaled through my nose and blinked a bit when my breath fogged in front of my face, blinding me for a second as the cloud clung to my glasses. Rolling my eyes and murmuring "Of course." under my breath, I stopped and pulled them off of my face to clear them.

When I placed my glasses back on my face, I thought I saw something in the reflection of the glass. I looked up curiously and saw nothing around me save for fallen leaves coasting on the breeze.

Wondering if it was a stray cat or raccoon, I carefully walked towards the direction I thought the reflection would have come from. An alleyway that would be a perfect hiding spot for any stray animals. I thought idly that if it was a cat, maybe I could coax it back home for a bath.

Stepping up to the entrance of the alleyway, I strained to see in the darkness.

There was a shifting shape about the height of a dog, but... weird. If I had to try and equate the shape in the darkness, I would have had to guess that it was a dog trying to get into a trash bag? Maybe? I'd never exactly seen anything like it, so it was difficult for me to wrap my head around.

A bit curious and worried, I let out a concerned exhale and kept from vocalizing to avoid scaring off the dog, pulling out my phone. Opening my phone, I turned on the flashlight as something raised in the dark.

I froze.

The weirdly jerky and hunched shape wasn't a dog attempting to dig into a discarded trash bag. It was someone struggling to keep a bound woman beneath them subdued.

A woman whose face was streaked with wet mascara from tears, mouth gagged by a bandana or rag, shirt and leggings dirty with some holes presumably from struggling while her hands and ankles were tied. Who's green eyes flickered briefly towards me as the flashlight clicked on, giving me the horrible sight of the light leaving her eyes as a knife plunged into her throat in a crimson splatter that misted her and the person holding the knife.

I saw steam from hot blood meeting the colder air.

The attacker, who swung down as I turned on my flashlight, quickly looked up from the still warm corpse on instinct. I saw them recoil, the hood of their jacket and a winter mask that covered the lower half of their face preventing me from getting a good look at them. I don’t even think I would have remembered their features anyways, everything feeling like it was blurring as they lifted a hand to try and block my phone light.

The brief seconds of blindness was probably the only thing that saved my life.

My legs moved quicker than my mind, sprinting away from the scene as quick as I could, not daring to look back to see if or when the attacker would choose to give chase. My numb fingers fumbled with my phone, struggling to dial the police as my panicked breathing threatened to make me faint. Too numb and shaky, my fingers couldn’t keep a firm grip on it and I yelped as my phone slipped from my grasp.

I briefly skidded to a halt for the barest of moments with the intent to try and pick it up before quickly deciding it wasn’t worth my life, continuing my mad sprint down the sidewalk. My music jittered and glitched as the source of the musical connection grew further away, quickly cutting out entirely to leave me with the sound of blood rushing in my ears, my panting, and my muffled footsteps.

Heart pounding almost painfully in my chest, my vision tunnel-visioned only on trying to run to the safety of my apartment or something, not seeing the hand that jutted out of the alley I was about to run past until I practically slammed into it. 

I hadn't heard any footsteps because of my earbuds.

I was pulled into the darkness with terrifying ease, too quick to even let out a scream before my mouth was covered by a hand and an arm wrapped around my torso, lifting me enough that my feet left the ground. My legs kicked uselessly as I struggled to somehow pry my captor off of me, near-hyperventilating with the horrible knowledge that they were far larger and stronger than I was.

This is it. I'm about to die because I decided to leave the house once in a blue moon.

My eyes stung from the cold and the slight sheen of tears as they watered a bit, a cold pit forming in my stomach as I expected to be pinned and stabbed like the woman earlier. Any second, the thought of pain and dying would come to fruition.

But, instead, I was clutched to my captors chest while I squirmed to get away with little to no reaction. There wasn't even an indication that they felt anything. I could feel their breathing against my back, unsure if the sound of a racing heart was just from me or if they were silently freaking out about me seeing them kill someone.

I thought that, perhaps, they were waiting for me to exhaust myself in my panic. But, I realized there was the sound of muffled running footsteps outside the alleyway beneath the blood rushing in my ears. A figure ran past, a mental latency telling me that they had a spattering of coloring on their clothes that looked suspiciously like blood and the glint of what may have been a knife.

If that was the killer… who the fuck was holding onto me?

As the confused and still panicked thought crossed my mind I felt my captor let out a relieved sigh against my back, able to see the heated steam from them scatter above me. My body instinctively stiffened, at the sight and sound of their sigh, letting out a muffled yelp as my captor turned almost dizzyingly quick. 

I found myself with my feet back on the ground, but I was trapped against the alley wall by my captor before I could fully process the movement. Back against the wall, one arm blocked off escape towards the alley entrance while the other hand remained against my mouth to keep me quiet. They were… definitely a lot bigger than me, at least six feet tall with a far more muscular build than my own. Their details were difficult to make out in the darkness of the alley but I saw that he was dark-skinned with his hair cut short, dark green eyes glinting in the dim light from the street.

“You alright?” a gruff, masculine voice spoke up. It was a whisper, but it still made me jump, feeling far too loud in the almost silent night even with my earbuds still in. When I didn’t immediately nod or shake my head he sighed and shifted the arm blocking me in, reaching towards me.

“Mmmphf!” I let out a muffled exclamation and flinched away, quickly grabbing his wrist with both of my hands. I was entirely certain that I couldn’t stop him from anything but he stilled his hand anyway.

“I’m not trying to hurt ya, I’m trying to make sure you’re NOT hurt, kid,” the guy huffed, a second or two passing before he added, “Look. I’m going to remove my hand to ask you some questions. You’re not going to scream or anything when I take my hand off, right?”

I wasn’t even sure I would be able to scream if I wanted to, my throat feeling too tight and breathing feeling laborious. Staring at the mostly obscured face of the man, I reluctantly nodded after a few seconds. Another second and he nodded back.

“Alright. Are you hurt?” he asked, glancing down at my body for a second, squinting to try and see if I was injured.

“I-I.. No, no, I-I’m fine,” I forced out, barely able to manage a response as my voice tried to stick in my throat. Still, I couldn’t help but give myself a light pat down, absentmindedly plucking my silent earbuds out of my ears. I could hear the light whistle of a breeze through the alleyway, something about being able to hear better both making me feel relief and a new spike of anxiety to add to my current state. I couldn’t help the wary suspicion as I asked, “Who… Who are you?”

It felt oddly timed that someone else would be out and about in the same area while also somehow getting me out of danger just in time. I especially couldn’t help but wonder what he was doing in an alley, of all fucking places. The other person was certainly a murderer, yes, but that didn’t mean that this man wasn’t also dangerous.

In the harsh contrast of darkness and light from the street I saw the man blink a bit before sighing.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the question,” the man replied, “My name’s Damien. I’m a private investigator that was hired to tail a suspect in a serial murder case, to find evidence or intervene before he killed again.

“I’m judging by your behaviour that I failed in that regard,” His expression turned unreadable for a couple seconds of silence before asking his own question. “What did you see?”

For some reason, despite the question being completely understandable, it caught me off guard. I blinked at him as I struggled to move my tongue, the muscle feeling stiff.

“I-I,” my voice stuck in my throat. The scene began to replay itself nonsensically in my mind’s eye and I felt my heartrate begin to quicken, my breathing turn shallow. My choker suddenly felt too constrictive, feeling too aware of my own pulse beneath the strip of fabric and I reached up absentmindedly to touch my neck.

“Did he see you?”

Damien’s voice brought me back from my stupor, the mild change of subject surprising enough to ground me. I stared at him for a second before swallowing to try and clear my throat to answer, “I-I don’t think so… I think I blinded him with my phone flashlight, b-but I dropped it when I was trying to call the cops while running…”

“Fuck,” Damien growled under his breath, the small sound enough to make me flinch. “If he grabbed it then he might be able to get into it to find out who you are and where you live.”

“Oh.” The thought hadn’t really crossed my mind, more focused on just trying to survive than the prospect of what would happen if I managed to run away from the killer. Now that the possibility of him finding out where I live was presented I was unfortunately picturing a shadowed figure breaking into my home in the middle of the night to kill me. “... It was by Glass Tower.”

“What?” The man looked caught off guard by my statement.

“The murder,” I said numbly, gesturing to the alley entrance. “It happened by Glass Tower, I think.. In an alley. I-I thought it was a dog,.. I-I.. She…”

The almost overwhelming numb feeling of shock cracked slightly as I tried to describe what happened, my breath suddenly hitching in my throat and my eyes stinging as panicked tears began to well up. I let out a shaky breath, trying and failing to not curl in on myself, especially with an almost complete stranger,

Thankfully, Damien’s only comment about it was, “You don’t need to get into it now, kid. We can get a full testimony later.”

“… O-Okay,” I nodded, trying to calm myself down. I felt both cold and hot as my body’s anxiety and adrenaline fought with the below-freezing temperatures. A shiver ran down my spine that made my entire body shudder in its confusion.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have time to take you to a station,” he huffed slightly, looking towards the alley entrance with a contemplative expression. “I need to retrace your steps and find the crime scene before the killer has a chance to come back and clean up. But, I need to get you out of the way and safe first.. And, you’re not gonna like it.”

“H-Huh?” I blinked a bit at his odd wording, staring in confusion as he shifted to reach into the inside of his jacket. My eyes widened as he pulled out a syringe that glinted in the light from the street, quickly moving to dart off to the side as my fear of needles kicked in, still very high-strung and in survival mode. 

“Woah, hey!” The man whisper-yelled in surprise, moving just as quickly.

“L-Let me g-mmph!” I found myself strong armed back against the alley wall with his palm covering my mouth to muffle my cries once more, heart racing as I was pinned with terrifying ease. There was a sharp pain in my neck and the feeling of something unfamiliar being injected. Shivering at the cold feeling, I quickly shied away once he unpinned me from the wall, reaching up to press my hand against whatever puncture wound was there and exclaiming, “What did you just do to me?!”

“Woah, easy, kid, easy,” Damien pocketed the syringe quickly and held up his hands in an effort to placate me. “Just calm down. What I gave you is going to make it easier to protect you and keep you safe.”

“Safe from what?! Ps-Psychopaths with syringes?” I asked, feeling like a cornered animal. I could try to run further into the alley but he was so close that he could probably just stop me and-. “Ouuugh, f-fuck.”

A sudden overwhelming wave of dizziness and nausea overtook me and I stumbled, planting my forearm against the brick alley wall to keep from crumpling to the ground and squeezing my eyes shut against it. I tried to shake off the feeling, hissing when I felt a hand touch my shoulder. At least, I think it was a hand, it encompassed my entire upper arm.

And then, suddenly, I found my entire world shifting dramatically.

I let out a panicked scream as my feet were swept out from beneath me, falling to the side onto what felt like a weirdly firm and warm mattress. I felt my glasses fall off my face and opened my eyes as I tried to push myself up from my prone position, picking my glasses up off the ground. The ground that looked oddly colored and textured as I put them back on, almost reminiscent of skin…

“There we go.”

My eyes widened and I froze at hearing Damien’s voice directly behind me, but far louder and it sounded a bit deeper. I felt a brief breeze from behind my back and yelped when everything moved again, realizing that I was being lifted up into the air as I was pressed into the surface beneath me by the force. When I stopped being raised into the air, I spent a few seconds trying to handle the vertigo that came from being lifted so suddenly, vision blurring slightly in my confused panic at whatever was happening.

I pushed myself back into a sitting position, holding a hand to my head to try and dissipate the dizziness before turning to look behind me. And freezing at seeing dark green eyes larger than my head staring at me.

“What the FUCK?!” I cried out, immediately flipping onto my back and trying to back away. Something blocked me and a glance behind me caused me to pale at realizing that I was in Damien’s palms, his fingers curling up to form a blockade behind me so I couldn’t back up any further.

“I know this is unorthodox, but it’s time to put you away safely,” the man said, giving me a slightly apologetic look. “Sorry, kid.”

“H-Huh, what do you mean ‘sorry’, wh-what do you mean by putting me aw-AY?!” I jolted and pressed as far back against his fingers as I could when he began to open his mouth in front of me. The hands beneath me shifted and tilted, finding myself pitched forward into his open jaws. By the time I registered that I had been shoved onto his tongue, his teeth were already closed behind me.

Stuck in shock, I was frozen, feeling the heat and humidity, the way that saliva clung to my clothes and skin, how the tongue beneath me twitched and how I could sense the roof of his mouth just above me in my prone position.

Damien decided that he wasn’t wasting anytime, finding myself jolted out of my shock by the tongue beneath me shifting. 

“W-Wait,” I shouted, immediately squirming in protest. My voice stuttered when the tongue ran across my face as I was pressed into the roof of his mouth, feeling the bridge of my glasses against my nose. If I wasn’t fighting for my life right now, I’d be impressed that they stayed on.

My protests and struggles went unheeded, slathered in saliva as I was lapped at and shifted around his maw for what felt like eternity but was probably only a couple seconds before I was allowed a reprieve. I panted from exertion, eyes widening as I started being nudged towards his throat, trying to plant my hands against his taste buds to avoid being swallowed headfirst. Unsuccessfully.

“N-No, stop,” I yelped, hands slipping over the precipice. All it took was one gulp and I found myself squashed and forced into his esophagus. Blood immediately started to rush to my head, the sound of my blood rushing overpowered by the swallows surrounding me and his own breathing. His powerful heartbeat joined in and I was surrounded by his bodily cacophony as I traveled further down his throat past his heart and lungs.

It wasn’t long before I slipped into a larger space, what I could only assume was his stomach as I slid to the bottom of the organ. Something nearby groaned and I felt a jolt of panic go through me.

I tried to stand up to avoid touching the stomach walls and ended up falling back over as I slipped on the constantly moving and slick lining. Struggling to try and keep my balance, I shouted up as loud as I could, “LET ME OUT!”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Damien gruffly spoke up, voice trying to be softer. Whether to comfort or just protect my ears, I wasn’t sure. There was a pat against the stomach wall I leaned against that caused me to flinch away. “You’re safe, kid. I know you don’t believe me right now, but that’s the safest place for you to be right now. This guy would literally have to go through me to get to you.”

My shallow breathing and racing heartbeat certainly begged to differ against the whole being safe thing, retorting, “And how am I safe against your body?!”

“Part of the chemicals in the syringe is to make you immune to any acids inside, so you’re perfectly safe. I don’t know how long you’ll be in there while I go investigate the crime scene and get the actual cops on the case,” he replied, unbothered about my screaming or protests this entire time. “I suggest you get some rest.”

“B-Bit of a hard request,” I snapped, looking around the dark space anxiously. I found myself curling up against the furthest section that I could. To my surprise, I was shaking. I tried to calm my shaking, hugging my arms around my abdomen as I took shaky breaths. A bit of shock was setting in again and my adrenaline was fading. Eaten by a PI wasn’t exactly how I expected the night to go, feeling incredibly surreal. Frowning at nothing, I murmured to myself, “M-Maybe this is a dream….”

A really weird and vivid dream, but a dream would be far better than reality. I suppose I’d just have to wait and see.

[bedtimegiraffe]

Aerin Diamond Scene Rewrite Fic

Very glad Kade pushes your character on their trauma from being kidnapped. However, I would love for a LI to comfort your character about the fact that they keep almost dying. (Shoutout to Imtura for briefly comforting MC about the upcoming life-or-death battle, but I want more.) Relationships are a 2-way street! So here’s a little rewrite of the beginning of Aerin’s pre-battle diamond scene. Enjoy!

To accompany this, I recommend the slow and sweet “You Matter to Me” from the musical Waitress. “Come out of hiding, I'm right here beside you. And I'll stay there as long as you'll let me.”

(I don't think there are any warnings to be given other than discussion of possible death.)

It takes some looking, but you eventually find Aerin in a room on one of the ships, pacing with such focus that he doesn’t notice you as you enter. It’s kind of cute how intensely he’s thinking. You speak up, hoping you don’t startle him too badly. “How did you end up here of all places?”

Aerin’s head suddenly turns in your direction, eyes wide. “Oh! I… I wasn’t expecting you.” His surprised expression disappears almost at once, replaced by one of relief. “Imtura offered me this cabin, as a matter of fact.”

“Really?”

“I thought she was going to punch me. But she said that if I was brave enough to come back, I deserved a good place to sleep.” Aerin grins at you sarcastically. “I suppose tripping is a form of affection.”

His brief smile fades as he waves you into the cabin, then resumes his pacing.

You bite the inside of your lip. He looks so nervous. You can hardly blame him for that. “Are you having second thoughts about coming back? Because you… you don’t have to stay.”

Aerin stops moving, turning to give you a searching look. “You would let me leave so easily, then? Even on the eve of battle?”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you again. Happy you’re here to help. But… things have been exceptionally dangerous since you left. I-” You take a shaky breath in. “I almost died. More than once. In those moments, I really wanted to see you again. But at the same time, I was relieved you were somewhere safer. And now that you’re here, I’m worried you’ll…” The thought hurts to even acknowledge.

Aerin’s eyes tighten with concern, though he covers it passably well. “Telling me you’ve been in incredible danger is hardly the way to get me to leave. And I did not come all this way to back out now.”

You suddenly feel desperate as the fear you’ve struggled to keep at bay forces itself to the front of your mind. “…Aren’t you scared?”

Aerin looks at you for a long moment, his gaze soft. “I’m not. Honestly, I expected to be frightened out of my wits. But for the first time, I actually feel prepared for battle. I trained all throughout my youth, but I never had a good cause to put it to. Just…” He frowns, looking toward the floor. “Baldur’s hunting misadventures. And then my misadventures.”

“That doesn’t mean you can’t…” You close your eyes, trying to collect your thoughts. When you open them, Aerin is right in front of you. Close enough to touch. “Nia died last time. The Blade brought her back, but it was an absolute miracle. I don’t know that we’ll get another one of those. I never used to worry about any of us like this, but we keep getting so close to everything just being over and I can’t…” You choke back a sob. As you struggle vainly to hold back a flood of tears, Aerin hesitantly puts his arms around you, slowly pulling you into a warm embrace. You cling to him tightly as you cry, like he’s the only real thing in the world. Your next words come out in a frantic rush. “I can’t lose you again. Any of you. I can’t be all alone again.”

Aerin doesn’t respond for a moment, just cradling your shaky frame and unconsciously running his thumb in a soothing path along your back. “I wish I could tell you what will happen tomorrow. But I don’t know. There is a possibility this will be our last night alive.” It’s a terrible thing to hear, but… a relief for someone else to finally acknowledge it. “But you won’t be alone. All of your incredibly capable and persistent friends will be with you. I will be with you. For as long as you’ll have me.”

It does help to be reminded that you’re not in this alone. None of you are.

You focus on breathing deeply until you’re calm enough to pull back and look at Aerin again. “How are you so relaxed about the fact that we could all die tomorrow?”

His face melts into a smile, fond and affectionate. “Because I’m fighting for our city and our people. For you.” He brings a hand to cup your cheek, forcing you to meet his suddenly serious gaze. “I’m not going anywhere.”

You smile at that, wiping the last of the tears from your eyes. “Thank you. For being honest with me about…” You take a deep breath. “What might happen tomorrow. And for standing by me.”

“Always.” Aerin gazes deeply into your eyes and, for just a moment, you forget that there exists a world outside this room. Then he blinks, a faint blush rising in his cheeks, and he pulls away. He gestures for you to take a seat on the edge of the bed.

Once you’re seated, Aerin sits next to you, close enough that your arms can’t help but brush. “I suppose I still owe you an explanation for running off the way I did…”

[lazywriters-blog]

THE VENGEFUL MAN

YANDERE EREN JEAGER

Warning: May contain triggering content. Slight manhandling. Not proofread. 3 Am shenanigans-

Summary: He scares you, so you avoided him to the bitter end until he returns with vengeful intent. Hoping to see you and trap you with him.

The brightness in the room dulled the sense of dread brewing within her chest, heart racing as though she were running a marathon, her caressing fingers no longer capable of drawing her away from unpleasant notions. Her eyes were glued to the back of her hand, plummeting into an ocean of thoughts.

And she should have been surprised when the door creaked open and stepped in a man with a rifle, directed straight toward her crown. His orbs are demanding and full of dangerous urgency, that she doesn't revolt against and oblige like an obedient rat, settling down when a push shoved her right onto a chair, the same one she sat on that morning to muffle her hunger.

Whoever had decided to invite themselves to her home unannounced and uncalled was a brunette, the only boy who sought freedom on her behalf. And the only person who snatched her away from her parents on that fated day when wall Maria was destroyed.

She doesn't recognise him. Doesn't see the same boy who dragged her out of her hiding and understood her imprisonment when it wasn't needed. She was content with what she had even when denied independence.

His green eyes stared at her and both had a lingering tint of melancholy glowing in their gaze.

She could never forgive him.

"You've changed." She demurely begins, briefly taking notice of the two guards behind her. After she retired from her duties, she had only avoided him. Even to an extreme measure, and as it stands, it didn't fare well in the long run.

"How have you been?" She asked. "I thought you would have forgotten about me by now."

He sits motionless, observing her intently, and she was always the first one to separate their gaze, looking elsewhere, dismissing the fiery motives behind each glance.

"No, I haven't forgotten you." He replied, voice deeper and heavier than she recalls, plodding to a sorrowful yet stern tone, he eyes the guards around him and wordlessly they move outside of her house and block her only chance at escaping.

"I see... That's good." She looked down, "I heard you were leading your own group now, following a common goal."

"That isn't about them. This is about you and me, don't bring up irrelevant topics." He calmly snapped, letting her be aware that her dismissive attitude had consequences, he had found her after all, she had to confront him.

"If this is about our relationship, I assure you there was nothing between us. I loved and cared for you as a comrade, honestly-" she paused for a moment, "I have nightmares about those times you used to force yourself on me. Demanding me of something sustainable."

He carefully heeded her words, lips pursued as he drank in her distressed features hidden thinly behind a humane veil. "If you want me to take you back. I'm so sorry, I have nothing to give you." She said, mildly furrowing her eyebrows and focusing on the slightest shift.

"What's that ring on your finger for?" He abruptly inquired, interest pointed to the pearly sliver with an embedded gem. She tries to downplay it, softly touching it and hiding it.

"Just an accessory I wear nowadays. It's pretty, isn't it?" She lied, smiling at the non-living object fondly to disturb the man.

"Take it off." He demanded all of a sudden, glaring at the item as if it were a poisonous snake meant to be killed. She stared at him, "I don't want to see it on your hand. Take it off." He begins with a firmer accent.

"It's my choice. Don't tell me what I should do and what I shouldn't." She attempted to reason with resentment. Eren didn't seem to take it nicely.

He stands up, pushing the chair back as he moved closer to her, she knew what was coming. She quickly got up and risked the chance to dash towards her room. It didn't take a second for him to pull her back and hoist her onto the table, forcing his leg between hers and encasing her.

"You think you can just up and leave me for another man?!" His voice rings in her ears, looking up at the man who she thought would give her space. But how wrong was she?

She immediately shrank inwards, turning her face away and comprehending her choices. "I know you've been setting yourself up with another man." He growled, his calm demeanour vapourising into thin air. His grip on her wrist grew stronger.

"So you could forget about me." He hatefully muttered near her ear, throwing his glance back to the ring in her hand, he slowly starts to slide the ring, tugging it out and hauling it to the ground.

"You can't ever forget me. Even in death."

[blasphemecel]

Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez — HADŌ 98: Massage

PAIRING: Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez/Reader WORD COUNT: 3k TYPE: Humor, Maybe a little fluff(???) WARNING(S): None I think but there’s a lot of slapstick jokes and like maybe 2 innuendos

Grimmjow is prone to staring down at people and appearing vaguely murderous. Sometimes he glares at you, and sometimes he glares at Urahara and Yoruichi, but you ignore him when he does that. His expressions can border on contemplative, though you doubt there's anything worthwhile running through his head. You imagine his thoughts to be split like this: 60% auto-fellatio, 30% killing people he dislikes or ones who mildly inconvenience him in his mind and 10% a secret, third thing.

Currently, he's giving you a blank look and you can't help but find it funny, the way he's always pushing his jaw out. It must be a tenuous effort, considering he has seduced no one with this move yet, but you opt to ignore him while you scroll through your phone.

You give your friend's video where they're waterboarding someone a like and ignore the post about a ghost named Marmalade Venice haunting you if you don't share her story with thirteen others. Obviously this is all very thrilling and requires your full attention, but Grimmjow breaks the silence.

"Hey." He scratches his head. Briefly, you wonder if Arrancar can get lice. "What's a massage?"

No matter how engaging your tapping was, you disregard it and instead glance at him from the corner of your eye. His general ignorance amuses you since the first time he tried using a blender. He almost hacked his hand off, and you're not sure how he even achieved that. Still, you don't know why he'd be interested in this topic out of the blue. Instead of asking him to elaborate — because you know just how impatient he is, and you take some kind of joy in pissing him off — you merely raise your eyebrows.

"I heard the woman talking about it. What is it?"

"It's a thing," you say unhelpfully before returning your attention to your phone.

You see him reach out towards the object in your grasp; you assume to discard it somewhere and destroy it. Before he can do so, you throw it in the trash can near where you're sitting and kick it away. Grimmjow looks at you in a way which suggests he finds you stupid and perhaps incredulous, and you suppose this is fine since that's what you think about him too.

You crack your knuckles and offer, "Why don't you let me show you if you wanna know so bad?"

"You tryna fight?"

"No, idiot, I'm offering a massage."

Grimmjow frowns at this. When you wiggle your fingers threateningly in his direction, all he asks is, "You ain't expecting me to pay, right?"

You roll your eyes at him. "Trust me Grimmjow, I don't need the dead flies in your pockets."

He bares his teeth at you like that'll scare you and you poke out your tongue at him. For a second you think he's about to grab it and pull it out and probably kill you, but then he seems to remember he wants something from you and restrains himself.

"And how does that work?"

You scratch your chin, wondering how you should go about this, meaning you're already planning how far you'll push it. "First, take off your stupid jacket."

"My jacket is NOT stupid!"

"Is it that serious?"

"Yes," he says, looking at you dead in the eyes. You think he might be trying to intimidate you, but it's not really working.

After you don't scramble to bow down to him and apologize and maybe even cry tears of regret, but simply stare at him like he's only an impudent bug, he huffs and throws the garment on the floor.

"You know, for someone who was really hellbent on defending that jacket, you don't treat it with a lot of care," you point out with a snicker. Maybe you'll step on it later, if you remember.

"It's a fucking jacket, it doesn't need a babysitter."

"Alright, whatever," you dismiss. "It didn't need an attorney either, but here we are."

Grimmjow, most likely unaware of what an attorney is, changes the subject. "Why'd you want me to be naked, anyway? Not that I blame you."

You raise your hand and turn your palm to his face as a telepathic attempt to erase all moronic thoughts from his head. It doesn't work because no one can cure stupidity and Grimmjow's grin drops before he narrows his eyes at you like you're the one being an imbecile.

"You're gonna lie down," you say and point at the futon the two of you usually sleep in when you have to stay overnight at Urahara's place. Grimmjow looks at you strangely and you expect him to oppose you or something, but he surprises you by reluctantly doing what you told him to.

Grimmjow uses his hands as cushions for his head. You can't see what expression he's making like this, but you can only guess he's getting impatient. With minor consideration, you plop your entire weight on top of him, though of course he pretends it's not a big deal and that he was born to power lift or whatever it is he's always yapping about. Almost experimentally, you prod his exposed back with your finger.

It's a little weird like this, but you started it, so you'll act as if it's all normal. The only time you and Grimmjow touch is to slap things out of each other's hands or to wrestle, so the feeling is a little jarring. Though you doubt he has any hangups about it.

"You're a little tense," you say with a twinge of intrigue in your tone.

"I'm not tense. This is the most relaxed I've been in my life," Grimmjow insists.

Your forehead scrunches in annoyance. "Do you have to be so defensive about everything?!"

"I'm not being defensive. You're just delusional."

For a second you're about to give in and entertain this baseless argument — one of many —, but then you decide you'll shut him up for good. You try to press his back, but you find his muscles are... stuck? How fucked up could his back really be? You blink in shock and understand this won't be as easy as you expected.

But it's a challenge, and you don't mind a challenge.

"Are you so shredded 'cause you're always flexing?" you ask, curious how he could be so rigid.

"You like what you see or something?"

"I was taunting you!"

"Oh really? Is that how you make fun of people, by being like 'you're so hot and sexy with big abs'?" he asks sarcastically, going out of his way to glance at you over his shoulder with a shit-eating grin on his face.

"You're doing too much now," you say. "I didn't say all that."

"I hope you ain't embarrassed 'cause you talk a big game."

With a flare of irritation, you use both of your hands to apply pressure. You grimace and back away from him when you hear a loud crunch, but Grimmjow just lets out a sigh of relief. You assume he’s not aware he’s doing this, he’s too prideful for that. It must've been a hard knot.

Either you broke his back, and he liked how it felt or you actually achieved something with this massage, so in your opinion, you did no harm.

You move your hands to his shoulders and knead his muscles there, rubbing tenderly, though if you have to admit it, this is straining you more than you thought it would. You're kind of curious why he's all tight since you see him stretch all the time, though it wouldn't surprise you if you found out he goes way out of his comfort level just to prove himself.

What he's proving, you're not sure, but that's how things stand with Grimmjow.

Something else you find odd is how he's not saying anything useless or otherwise irritating at this moment. You'd expected him to jeer at you and maybe ask you if that's all the strength you have, treat it as a fight and try to provoke you, but all you've drawn out of him so far are sighs and grunts.

Grimmjow, too, predicted he'd dislike the sensation and use it as an excuse to lash out at you. The moment he figured this would involve you touching him in this proximity, he was on alert and ready to dislike it preemptively, but...

He likes it? He feels warm and you're being tender and maybe this is for pussies. However, he'll enjoy it for now. Clearly, this massage shit is something demonic, anyway. You knead his neck and Grimmjow whimpers again, making you try to stifle your laughter at this.

Ooh, he's so pathetic like this! You need to store the occasion in your head as blackmail material.

After you work out his knots, you decide you can find more entertainment and try to think of a way to take advantage of the situation. Then you notice something unpleasant. "Grimmjow you ingrate, are you drooling?!"

"I'm not drooling, stop making shit up," he mumbles like he was on the verge of falling asleep.

"I was gonna put my head on that pillow tonight, you know?"

"Well, too bad. You can sleep in the toilet if you'd like," he tells you with a laugh even though it's not even that funny, if at all.

"I'll spit in your face when you least expect it!"

"Whatever, just keep doing this massage thing."

An idea comes to mind. Instead of massaging him, this time you run your fingers down his back, lightly scraping his skin with your nails, just enough to scratch. Even when he doesn't react, you don't miss the goosebumps breaking out everywhere you touch and the slight shiver which rattles him.

You find yourself somewhat fascinated by this. He's like putty in your hands, so you continue caressing him until it finally occurs to you. "People have only touched you to beat your ass, right? Ha."

"No one beats my ass."

"Yeah, except Ichigo and half the other Espadas, especially Nnoitra-"

Abruptly, Grimmjow sits up and turns around to throw the object nearest to him right in your face, which is an entire table. Then he has the nerve to glare at you even though you already sport an enormous bruise on your forehead from this act of treason.

Instead of seething, you push him away, then wrap your hands around his armpits and pull him upwards into you until you hear his back let out a painful pop. Faintly you can make him out cursing at you and asking you what's wrong with you, but you're too deep into character to care about his complaints. After you may have broken his back a second time, you feel satisfied enough to shove him to the floor.

"It's a knock-out! Officer down," you declare before you stand up in triumph and start chanting happily, "Loser, loser!" Then you strike a pose and take aim at him as you had planned to treat him to your favorite practice you've learned from the chiropractor ASMR human videos: the part where they dig their elbows in the patient's spine.

Briefly, you wonder if you're experiencing what they call a 'concussion'.

___

You're doing something on your phone again when Grimmjow sits down next to you. Then he scoots closer to you — you assume trying to be inconspicuous — but you pay him no mind, too engaged in whatever you're doing.

"Oi," he says.

You swipe on your phone more aggressively.

"I'm talking to you!" he snaps.

If you don't play by his whims, he'll probably break your phone for real this time. You scowl at him like he's the scum of the earth when you turn towards him. "Grimmjow, WHAT could be more pressing than this level of Candy Crush I'm playing?"

"What's Candy Crush?"

"Let me show you since you're clearly uneducated-"

Grimmjow shakes his head, regretting to have asked. "Nevermind this bullshit, I-"

Despite his clear disinterest in Candy Crush, you still shove your screen in his face, almost blinding him. You're babbling some sort of explanation and he leans away from you.

"Why are you still talking?" he asks, irritated. "I said I don't care."

Again, you look at him as if he's a fungus under your toenail, and then you revert to messing around on your game. Grimmjow continues his attempts to communicate in Grimmjow language, which comprises mainly nonsensical body language cues. Within your peripheral vision, you can see him inching closer to you again, and then turning his back on you, and then giving you the Kubrick stare after a while of you not doing anything in response to his antics.

Having had enough of this, you sigh and prompt him. "Words?"

"Nghhh."

"Very helpful," you say sarcastically as you finish your Candy Crush level.

"Can you do that thing again?" he requests while making vague, limp-wristed gestures in the air.

You tilt your head in curiosity as you try to decipher what he means, considering him with an expression that's a tad too thoughtful.

"No, I demand it," he says suddenly before he yanks your wrist and awkwardly places your hand on his back.

You bark out a laugh at his immaturity, though you oblige him, slipping your hand under his sad excuse for a jacket to reach him better. You can tell he's shivering again and this time, you notice him melt into it and smile. Perhaps mentally disturbed, you find it endearing, though you remind yourself you can't think that crap about a man who threw a table at you over a smartass comment. He has the worst temper issues you've ever had the displeasure of observing, even if amusingly. No, he's a bloodthirsty, backstabbing lunatic. You can't find him cute!

(You think you might only find it funny because you don’t take anything seriously, but this is besides the point.)

"You're like a bossy cat," you point out.

"Don't compare me to these stupid beasts! They don't even have swords or anything, they're pussies."

Beasts? Regardless, you explain, "Well, I read in a book that humans in Egypt used to worship them like gods."

"Well, in that case, I'll reconsider what you said," he announces with a smirk.

You're too easy, you scold in your head, though you keep your commentary to yourself just this once. Sitting with Grimmjow in silence is to your liking, mostly because you find everything he says irritating, of course.

As the minutes pass by, you continue your ministrations and he ends up invading your personal space even more. Since he has been tolerable so far, you stroke his neck lightly, and then card your fingers through his hair.

And then you hear something that makes you falter, eyes widening in shock. "Did you just purr...?"

Grimmjow jumps away from you like you have gonorrhea, which you find ironic-slash-hypocritical since he was the one insisting on your touch about a second ago. This time, before he can smack you on the head with a newspaper he produced from somewhere, you notice his face is red as hell. "I didn't do anything like that, you stupid piece of shit!"

If nothing else, those are brave words coming from the mouth of a grown man who's blushing like a schoolgirl.

"You can't just try to gaslight me anytime I say something you don't like," you yell before you grab a vase and hurl it at him.

"Well, watch me."

"That's not the comeback you think it is."

The two of you press your foreheads together and grimace constipated faces at each other and hiss like deranged animals until you grow bored of it and separate as if nothing had happened.

___

Grimmjow is crouching in the corner like a creep while you're reading a book. Again, being used to his... quirks, it isn't enough to disturb you from your activity, even though he seems to observe you with newfound seriousness. For good measure, maybe to convey said newfound seriousness, he throws in a few chin scratches during his thorough examination of you.

You turn to the next page.

Grimmjow stands up, hands in his pockets. He's kind of hunching, which is his usual stance for when he's trying to either be cool or intimidating, but again, you're unsure of what he's trying to achieve in this moment.

He fixates his gaze on you. Memories run through his head, and he's contemplating what to do with them.

"Hey. What's a massage?"

"Why don't you let me show you if you wanna know so bad?"

"What's Candy Crush?"

"Let me show you since you're clearly uneducated-"

Grimmjow pinches his eyebrows together in his best attempt at feigning an air of ignorance. His tone sounds somewhat chagrined, though you haven't even done anything to piss him off today. "[Y/n]."

You don't tear your attention away from the passage you're reading since the drama in this novel is getting engaging. Still, this is kind of new. Usually Grimmjow says 'oi' and expects you to be at his beck and call, screams 'you' like it's an efficient descriptor, or he calls you a stupid piece of shit or a moron and a stupid piece of shit moron when he's feeling verbose. Maybe this is important, if he's calling you by your actual name.

"What?" you ask, finally shifting your eyes in his direction.

You think he's trying to keep it together, but then Grimmjow seems unable to help himself and graces you with his signature killer grin before he raises you his all-encompassing question. "[Y/n], what's sex?"

Without so much as a twitch of your eye or a scrunch of your nose, you swiftly slap the book closed and fling it at his temple. Your toss is successful in toppling Grimmjow over. "You have like, NO game."

[finkinthisfrew]

Anything (Pt.27)

Chapter 27 The sun was shining through the sheer hotel curtains which blew gently in the breeze. The room smelled lovely, the stale cigarette smell now replaced by the warm salty scent of the ocean. I was laying in bed, waiting nervously for Matty to wake up. I watched his bare chest rise and fall with his breath, his skin almost glowing in the morning light. I couldn't shake my anxiety, unsure of what was going to happen when he woke up. I took slow, deep breaths, trying to slow my racing heart.

Matty groaned in his sleep, rolling onto his back, eyes unopened- his first sign of movement since we fell asleep last night. Well, since he fell asleep last night. I, on the other hand, spent most of my night tossing and turning, my body exhausted but too anxious to properly rest.

My head lay in the crook of his shoulder- my spot. I tentatively kissed his collarbone, running my fingertips gently across his chest. He groaned again, this time his brow furrowing in my direction in sleepy confusion. His eyes squinted open and I watched as his face slowly registered my presence. His eyes shot wide open.

"Oh my god," he said in shock.

He rolled back towards me, frantically enveloping me in his arms and holding me tight. My fingers found their way around his waist and I snuggled in deeper against him.

"Oh my god," he said again in disbelief. "Oh, my god," he whispered in my ear, happiness streaking his voice now. He squeezed me tight against him, as if afraid that I might disappear.

"Hi baby," I said quietly, a little smile growing on my lips.

"I thought it was a dream," he breathed, incredulously. "Anna, what the fuck, how did you get here? Oh my god," his hands on my back travelling up and down, making certain I was in fact real and not just a dream.

I looked up at him, placing a hand on his cheek. "I promise I'm real," I said with a smile. "I missed you so much," I said, tears pooling in my eyes.

He looked at me with such love in his eyes, I felt my stomach flip flop. Then, he turned to kiss the palm of my hand, just like he always did. My heart started to glow, relief sweeping through my body. This was Matty. He was finally here. My tears began to pour, unable to hold them back any longer.

"Heyy," Matty said softly, his brow furrowing as I sobbed deeply in his arms. "No need for tears, darling. We're here. We're here together. Everything's fine now." he whispered soothingly, still a bit confused about how I was here, but confident now that we were together.

I hadn't let myself admit it until now that I'd been worried that maybe he'd stopped caring about me, maybe even stopped loving me. His distance had made me so self-conscious. It was such a relief to see him back to normal, his sober actions reassurance that he never stopped.

"Darling," Matty said gently, trying to get my attention. I couldn't stop crying. After another few minutes, he tried again, this time clutching my face lightly with his hand, stroking my cheek with his thumb. I gulped air, attempting to stop the flow of tears, only half successful as I finally looked up into his eyes, which only triggered another wave of fresh tears.

"Anna, what's wrong, my angel?" Matty said, beginning to sound concerned as I buried my face in his chest. He held me, patiently letting me cry however long I needed. I would have felt grateful if I had any room left to feel another emotion, but I was too overwhelmed to fit any more into my heart. I felt everything. I was relieved, sad, scared, happy, exhausted, angry, worried... I had felt so alone in all my feelings and pushed through them all for him, I no longer had the strength to keep pushing.

Matty ran his fingers through my hair over and over as I cried, the repetitive motion comforting. My breath slowed as I focused on his heartbeat.

I finally looked up at him, his face breaking into one of pain when he saw what must have been a pitiful sight. He briefly pulled away, only for a second to grab some Kleenex from the nightstand, then pulled me back in to dab at my tears and running nose as he waited for me to speak first.

"I can't do that again, Matty," I said, my voice shaking, piecing together my overlapping thoughts. "I can't. And what's terrifying is that I will... I will always do it, every time. Every. Single. Time. Because I love you more than... more than anything," I said as I shook my head in frustration, not caring that what I was saying didn't make sense. "I want to tell you I'll be there for you through everything, but I don't know what's more toxic- you self-destructing like that or letting myself love you as much as I do. Because at this point it feels like you could do anything and I'd still love you."

Matty looked at me, trying deeply to understand, but failing. "I'm so sorry darling, I really am. Please help me understand. Is this about my... my drinking last night? Did you... see that?" He was furrowing his brow as he looked down at my shirt, embarrassed, unable to bring up any memory of the night prior.

My heart sank. I knew he wouldn't remember last night, but it upset me anyways. It felt so unfair that I had to be the one with the burden of calling him out on this.

"Last night?" I said, my voice now angry. "Last night? Are you really going to continue this charade and act like you haven't been doing that every night since you left?" He looked heartbroken and ashamed, but I continued. "Matty, I know what you've been doing. You can't treat me as if I'm the love of your life when we're back home and then expect me to not realize what you're doing when you suddenly can't find a single spare minute to text me that you love me once happy hour starts." My body was now shaking, I couldn't stop it.

"Anna," Matty said quietly, his eyes now brimming. "You are the love of my life," he said, his face a look of distraught disbelief.

I shook my head silently, biting both my lips as my heart broke. "No..." I choked. "You can't call me that and then do that shit to yourself. You can't hurt the person I love more than I've ever loved anything before in my life and then tell me you love me..." I shivered as my anger slowly morphed into fear. I placed both my hands on his chest, and between tears, I looked up at him pleadingly. "I can't watch the love of my life break himself apart like that. I'm not strong enough to pick up your pieces." I began to sob again, hiding my face behind my hands.

He pulled me into his chest gently, resting his chin on my head and holding me as I cried.

"Anna," he said sadly, his own voice now shaking. "I can't even being to tell you how sorry I am... Sorry doesn't even begin to explain..." his own big sniff interrupted his sentence. I jumped in, unable to contain my feelings, as if someone had turned on the tap of my heart.

"Matty. I love you more than anything. It's terrifying. It's so terrifying..." I whispered as I looked up at him. He pressed his forehead into mine apologetically as I took his hand into mine, bringing it up to my mouth and pressing a kiss into his knuckles with wet shaking lips. "I'm so scared of losing you. I can't lose you..."

"You won't, Anna. I promise," he said as he interlaced his fingers with mine, bringing my hand to his heart. "I didn't realize how it would affect you. Or I didn't let myself realize it... Because it was easier to numb myself instead... like an idiot... I was selfishly thinking of my own grief." He shook his head angrily at himself, his curls brushing against my eyebrows as he did. "I needed to escape it so badly, but I didn't realize that escaping meant leaving you behind on your own. I was too focused on not feeling anything to consider how you felt," he said between shaky breaths. He clutched my hand against his chest. "I love you so much, Anna. I love you more than anything. I'll never do that to you again, I promise. I'll figure something else out, I'll do it the hard way, I don't care. Whatever it takes. All I care about is you. I love you, Anna," he whispered, pressing his forehead even harder against mine.

"I love you too, Matty. So much," I whispered back, squeezing my eyes shut as my heart burst with love. Things were finally starting to feel better, and it was such a relief.

"Not more than me. Never more than me," he said earnestly, the side of his nose now pressed against mine. "I don't deserve you. I've always known that, but I'll do whatever it takes for you."

"It won't take much," I said with a small smile, as he scoffed sarcastically in response. I ignored him. "You deserve all the love I have to give and more, Matty."

"I'll never agree with you," he said, his tone serious again as I felt his breath on my skin, his lips brushing against mine. "You deserve the world. My angel. I can't believe you're here..."

I kissed him gently, and he met me with soft lips, kissing me back sweetly, over and over. He held the back of my head tenderly, every kiss an apology and a promise. I accepted them all, forgiving one after another. My heart poured out of my chest and into his, as did his to mine, filling me up to the brim.

Our kisses grew longer and deeper, passion seeping into our mouths as our bodies grew hungry for each other. Our tongues swirled as our bodies rolled over on the bed, Matty gently pulling me on top of him as I pressed myself into him.

Suddenly my mind flashed back to last night, Matty's drunken voice echoing in my mind, "Don't hide yourself away, c'mere... I wanna take you home and fuck the shit outta you... I wanna make you feel good..."

My mouth froze as last night's residual panic surged through my body. I pulled my face away, squeezing my eyes shut in an effort to block out the memory as it bulldozed through my mental wall.

"Darling?" Matty said looking up at me, his brow creasing in concern. "What's wrong?"

I climbed off Matty, crawling to the edge of the bed and sitting down. I had forgotten how that happened last night. I placed my elbows on my knees, resting my head in my hands as I took in slow deep breaths. Matty came to my side immediately. His hands hesitated, realizing I had intentionally made space between us, then settled with placing his hand on the bed behind my back. "Did I do something wrong?" he asked, worried.

"Not now... But last night..." I started, trying to stay calm in my triggered state.

"Oh god," Matty said, clasping his hand to his mouth.

I turned to reassure him quickly. "No, it was nothing really. I just got a little triggered last night and I forgot about it until now," I said. "You were... you were in such a bad state when I saw you last night so I showered you and put you to bed naked, but I was getting dressed and you said some stuff while I was naked and I felt too vulnerable and uncomfortable... The whole day had been so stressful and emotionally draining, and you were just being drunk and horny, saying things that basically any boyfriend would say to his girlfriend... I just..." I shook my head in my hands, annoyed with myself for being so fragile and hung up on trauma that felt so irrelevant to my life now.

"Anna," Matty said as he placed his hand gently on my waist and kissed my shoulder tenderly. "Sorry can't even begin..."

I interrupted him right away. "You don't need to apologize. It has nothing to do with you."

"But it does- it has everything to do with me. I know what you've been through, I know to be more delicate with that type of talk, but I put myself in a state where I could hurt you..." he shook his head. "I'll never forgive myself..."

"Really, Matty. You just called me sexy and said you wanted to have sex with me. That's not a crime- I'm your girlfriend. I'm the one who should be apologizing right now. I ruined such a beautiful moment just now..." I started to self-criticize.

"No, I'm sorry, but no, I won't let you go any further. I will not let you put yourself down for having valid emotions surrounding your trauma. I simply won't allow it," Matty said firmly, his face soft and radiating kindness.

"Hey, you're still in the dog house, mister. You're not allowed to tell me I'm wrong," I said, crossing my arms and huffing grumpily, trying to hide my smile. I forgot how seen he made me feel. It felt nice to be so deeply trusted and fought for. I was my own biggest enemy sometimes. It was comforting to have an ally. 

Matty opened his mouth to protest, then shut it. He sighed. "I think we could squabble about this for ages if we wanted to," he said, raising his eyebrows at me with a half-smile.

I couldn't help but smile back at him, "...Like you said, we're just a couple of little messes, you and me."

His smile turned into a full one at that moment, then he pressed his forehead against mine again. "I wouldn't rather be a little mess with anyone else," he said softly as he took his hand into mine.

"Me either," I whispered back as I closed my eyes. We sat there like that for a few minutes, just being with each other.

"Here. I'll be the big mess, you'll be the little one," he said with a smile as we lay back down on the bed together. He spooned me from behind, pulling me in tightly against him.

My heart rate slowed and my fingers stopped shaking as we lay there in silence just breathing together. I relaxed enough to feel like my body wasn't about to combust anymore, but I still needed to ground myself, and I had so many thoughts swirling in my head after our conversation that the room no longer felt big enough for all of them.

"I think I might go for a little walk, if that's okay," I said as I turned around in Matty's arms to face him, looking up into his warm chocolate eyes.

His brow creased. "Is everything okay?" he asked nervously, his thumb rubbing my lower back.

I nodded confidently at him, "Yes. Everything's much more than okay, actually," I smiled. "I just had a really overwhelming last 24 hours and I think I just need some fresh air and a stroll around the pool or something to declutter my mind." Matty's face didn't relax, so I raised my eyebrows with a pout before adding, "Too many thoughts for such a small girl." That made him laugh, and I joined him. It felt so good to laugh together again.

I kissed him on his nose, then on his lips, taking my time. "I promise everything's fine, just a short little walk," I said as I sat up, grabbing a bottle of painkillers that sat prominently on his nightstand and handing them to him. "You can take some of these, drink some water, wash your face and get dressed and by the time you're done I'll be at breakfast- you can meet me there?" I offered, hopefully.

Matty didn't look all that reassured, but he didn't hesitate for a second. "Alright. I'll come meet you at breakfast in a bit," he said as I pulled on a pair of jean shorts to wear with shirt I slept in. I slipped on a pair of crocs before stepping back to the bed where Matty sat upright, watching me. I knelt on the bed, Matty's wide eyes looking up at me with worry. It wasn't my intention to worry him.

"Did I tell you that on my flight here, there was an elderly couple sitting across the aisle from me?" I asked him warmly as I tucked a piece of his hair behind his ear. He shook his head, eyes locked onto mine hopefully as I continued. "They were so sweet to watch. The husband was so kind and caring to the wife, comforting her during takeoff, making her laugh, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as they gazed at each other... I couldn't watch it," I said, Matty's face falling. I lifted his chin to look up at me. "I couldn't watch it because I reminded me of us. He treated her the way you treat me. I felt like I was looking at us in the future- taking a flight somewhere for a romantic getaway, holding hands, wearing wedding bands, still sickeningly, deeply, madly in love," I said, smiling at him with hearts in my eyes. His face melted, his smile growing wide. I leaned down to kiss him and he pulled me in closer. I sunk into his touch, sighing into his mouth as I held his face in my hands.

When we parted, I stood up, adjusting my shorts as he looked up at me. 

"Maybe one day when we're old together, I'll finally stop being such a daft prick," he said hunched over with a self-patronizing sigh. 

I smiled and shook my head as I walked over to the door. "And the day you stop being one is the day I won't be interested anymore- I'm not interested in fluffy, pretty, easy love. I want the real stuff. I want you, Matty. And everything that comes with it."

Matty gave me a sheepish smile and a wave as I pulled the door open. I blew him a kiss, then let the door slowly shut behind me as I headed out the hotel, my mind swimming with the memories of my 24-hour whirlwind of a day. 

[giggly-squiggily]

Heroes Always Save The Day (Blue Lock)

I promise the next few fics I write will be something other than Blue Lock Heyo everyone! Listen...LISTEN; I had moderate self control in not posting this immediately, so yay me! *London Tipton claps* However- that ends NOW! (for like- five minutes). I had a sudden need for Ler!Kunigami and decided to share this with you all! I hope you like it! :D

Summary: Kunigami walks in on Bachira and Isagi bullying Chigiri. What kind of hero would he be if he didn't save such a damsel in distress?

“Nohohoho! Stop ihihihihihiiht!” Kunigami looked up as he walked into the main room, turning towards the unfamiliar sound.

“Aww, is someone a little too ticklish for his own good? Is he? Is he?” Bachira cooed sweetly down at a red faced Chigiri, fingers dancing along his torso. “My my, what a pretty sound for such a pretty princess! Isn’t he just adorable, Isagi?”

“He is! You’re absolutely adorable, princess!” Isagi snickered, pinching gently along the redhead’s hip with one hand while the other wiggled along his leg. “He’s got such a sweet laugh too!”

“Shuhuhuhuhuht the heehhehehell uuhuhuhuhuhp! Aheahhahahha! Geheheheht ohhoohoohohff mehehehehe!” Chigiri squirmed helplessly between them, hiding his face in his hands as he weakly kicked his legs. “Ahehahahhahahaha!”

Kunigami watched fondly, feeling himself start to smile at the sight. So the soft spoken speed demon was ticklish. Quite a bit too, it seemed. It was moments like this Kunigami wished he had a phone to record it. Around them, those who were still in the room pretended to carry on with their own things, barely hiding smiles and laughs at the various squeaks and giggles the redhead let out.

Snickering, he turned towards the showers-

“Kuhuhuhuhuhunigahahahhaami hehehehehehelp!”

The ginger froze, Chigiri’s cry for help freezing him in place. He sounded so much like a damsel in distress in that moment- like a princess calling out to her knight.

Or in this case, her superhero.

“Oo, you think Kunigami’s gonna help?” Bachira shot a grin over his shoulder at the mentioned man, eyes dancing. “He’s too ticklish! We’ll have him down and out in seconds!”

“Yeah yeah! We can take him! He knows it too, so he’s too scared!” Isagi nodded in agreement, sweeping a hand up to Chigiri’s neck and earning a muffled squeak. “Sorry Chigiri- you’re doomed.”

Well, if he was hesitating to help before…

“Oh, so that’s what you think, huh?” Kunigami turned back to the pair, stretching out his arms as he slowly made his approach. “Two little gremlins think they can beat the hero of Blue Lock?”

“Oo, look out, Isagi! Kunigami’s looking rather serious!” Bachira retracted his hands from Chigiri, letting the other breathe. “Looks like we’re gonna have to get serious as well!”

“Definitely!” Isagi nodded, briefly watching Chigiri crawl away to safety as he stood. Cracking his knuckles, he raised his chin with a determined grin. “Come at us, hero! See if you can save the princess!”

“Iihihihm…not a princess.” Chigiri groaned to deaf ears, exhausted in the background as he curled into himself.

“Shame- and here I thought I’d show mercy.” He got into position, fingers wiggling. “Come at me!”

Bachira and Isagi shared a nod before charging, diving two different directions. Kunigami ran through the facts in his head. Bachira was more dangerous- he tended to climb people and he also knew all their tickle spots

Isagi on the other hand was a much easier target. All sense of fight pretty much left the moment someone grabbed his waist. He’s also smaller…

“Here I come Kuni~” Bachira teased, rushing him from behind. The decision has been made. “Gotcha-Whoa!” Bachira yelped when the front of his clothes was grabbed, sending him flying over the taller boy. He landed on a nearby futon flat on his face, slightly dazed.

Isagi bull tackled his front, wrapping his arms around Kunigami’s waist. “Got him! I got him! Get him Bachira-ahehhahahhahaha!”

“Guess gremlin number one is up! Come on, is this all you got?” Kunigami laughed, flipping Isagi over so he had him upside down, hands clawing at his belly. “You’re so light- I could throw you across the soccer field if I wanted too!”

“Ahhehahahahahaha! Kuhuuhhuhunigahhahahahmi, whahahhaht the hehehehehell?” Isagi cried, trying in vain to kick the other away. “Puhuhuhuhut me doohohohown!”

“What? And drop you on your head? Please.” Kunigami grinned, his other hand coming up to squeeze his thigh, making the brunette shriek. “I wouldn’t be much of a hero if I did that!”

“Hang on, Isagi! I’m coming!” Bachira cried, rushing forward to save the other. He went to jump on the ginger’s back, but Kunigami was prepared. Letting Isagi sink to the floor, he twisted just in time and grabbed Bachria.

“No! Nohohohohoho, Kuni wahahahhahahait!” Bachira all but squealed as he was dropped beside the other, Kunigami sitting on his hips. A hand clawed at his back, making him arch and thrash about like a fish. “Doohoohohohohohn’t!”

“Don’t what? Don’t tickle you?” Kunigami teased, clearly delighted. In the corner of his eye, he watched Isagi try to crawl away. “Oh no you don’t! Come here!” He reached out, grabbing the other’s sweatshirt with ease. Isagi was once again plopped down beside his friend, flat on his back with Kunigami’s hand drilling into his belly. “Running away? What a terrible gremlin partner you make!”

“KUuhuhuhuhuhhuuhnigahahahhahamai, plehahhahahahhahase!” Isagi cried, pushing at the hand in vain as he threw his head back in laughter. 

“Stahhahahahap iihihiihihihit! Yohoohohohohu jehehehhehehrk!” Bachira tried fighting back, but Kunigami had found that terrible spot beneath his shoulder blades that zapped his strength. “Nohohohoohohoho nohohohohohot thehehehhehere!”

“Aww, what’s wrong? What happened to being able to take me down? I thought I was gonna be an easy target?” He cooed, going right for Isagi’s lower ribs while his other hand poked along Bachira’s spine. “Hehe, you two are way too cute for your own good.”

“Dohohohoohohhon’t call meheheheheheh thahahhahahhat!” Isagi all but whined, kicking his feet helplessly against the carpeted floor. “Kuhuhuhuuhnigahahahhami lehehhehet me uhuhuhuuhp!”

“Mehehhehehe toohohohohoho! Aheahahahhahhaha!” Bachira begged, cheeks red and eyes misty with mirth.

“Promise to let Chigiri breathe the rest of the night?” Kunigami asked, waiting until they were both nodding frantically to let them up. “Heh, I guess you learned your lesson. Hey, princess? Are you good?” Turning to the redhead, he laughed upon seeing his sleeping form. “Heh, he’s out like a light.”

Looking down, he chuckled upon seeing both Bachira and Isagi out aswell, snoring softly by his feet.

“Man- what is it with you two passing out like children? Just a couple of soccer tots.” Kunigami grinned, walking over their bodies before making his way towards Chigiri. “Heh, guess I’d fall asleep too.” He bent down to grab his pillow- how’d it end up all the way over here? When a hand reached out, capturing his wrist.

“Don’t go…Stick around.” Chigiri looked up at him through long red locks, eyes alert. “What’s the rush, hero?”

“Pfft- should have known you’d fake sleep to escape.” The ginger took a seat, feeling his cheeks flush as Chigiri shuffled up, using his lap as a pillow. “Really living up to the kunoichi nickname, huh?”

“Shush.” Chigiri pinched his thigh, making Kunigami jerk with a laugh. “Sleeping now.”

“Alright, alright.” Kunigami shook his head fondly as Chigiri closed his eyes.. Hesitantly he reached out, running his hand through the silky locks. “Is this okay…?”

The only reply he got was a now relaxed Chigiri snoozing away.

“Heh, guess so. Good night, princess.”

Thanks for reading!

[skeletonsfortea]

At the Bar

Y'all I did something naughty and ended up writing a whole scene instead of working on VBPS...

So, for all my Currant fans, here's something fun...

Song: Devil Knows by Armen Paul

POV: you meet Currant at a bar.

Fluffy Currant! Hope you enjoy ;)

The bar is getting crowded as the night becomes late. It’s hot and stuffy, so you’re preparing to leave- until you spot something that peaks your interest. There’s a skeleton sitting at the bar, alone. He’s got a glass of alcohol in one hand. You start towards him on autopilot. He has on long black pants, a red crop top, and a thick black jacket with fluff around the hood that hangs off his shoulders, spilling into the crooks of his elbows. Sitting down beside him, you smile.

“Hey, what are you drinking tonight?” You ask. He looks up at you with a bit of surprise, but he doesn’t look nervous. He’s used to this kind of scene then. One of his eye sockets is empty, but the other has a red iris that seems to grow and shrink minutely. Only now do you also notice the hole in his skull. He’s seen some shit. He looks you up and down, and only then does his frown split into a smile. You nearly lose your breath at the sight. Somehow, he just seems five times warmer.

“Whiskey. Why, you gonna match me?” Amusement glimmers in his eye, and you shrug, turning briefly away to gesture for the bartender.

“Maybe,” you say, looking back at him. It’s hard to keep your eyes off of him, and you think he knows that. He leans heavily on the counter, turning towards you. There’s no posturing or uncertainty in his demeanor.

“So, what’s someone as cute as you doing in a place like this?” He’s trying to figure out your intentions, but also making sure not to scare you off by being too forward. So he’s got some finesse.

“I don’t know, guess I’m just looking for a fun way to fill the time.” You say honestly, and then tip your head at him, “you wouldn’t happen to know a good option?”

“Depends,” he says, grin stretching wider, “what kind of night are you in for?”

“Something casual,” you answer, “I’m a bit tired.” He hums, nodding a little. He looks contemplative, and you suspect he’s questioning whether or not he’d like to make idle chatter. He must decide it seems interesting enough, because he turns back to you with the same warm smile.

“Well, I’ve had a busy day too. We can keep it to drinks.” He says, and all of the tension dissolves. You hadn’t noticed it before. Was he worried you would ask for action? When he turns to take a sip from his cup, you get the feeling that isn’t the case. He doesn’t move like someone who’s nervous about that kind of thing. But what else could it be..? He glances at you, “you gonna drink that, or keep staring all night?”

You flush slightly, turning to your own drink. “I wouldn’t mind doing that,” you say, taking a sip. His smile turns slightly softer, and he chuckles, shaking his head.

“A real flirt, aren’t you?”

“That would imply I do it to everyone,” you say, setting down your drink again. “It’s not that often I get an interest in a stranger.”

He takes a sip of his drink, “I could say the same.” You notice his eye slightly drift in the direction of the door when a group of people enter. He scans them for a fleeting moment before turning back to you. Anxiety? 

“Hey,” you say, catching his attention, “what do you say we make this a game?”

He tips his head, “I thought you said you were tired.”

You shrug slightly, “no harm in getting a little drunk. I had dinner before this. So, are you up for it?”

“Fuck it.” He says, and gestures for the bartender.

A couple hours later, you’re properly buzzed, and while he doesn’t seem to be, it does seem like he’s more relaxed than before.

“How do you know a girl tastes good?” He asks.

You snicker. “How?”

“You liquor.”

It takes your alcohol addled brain a second to get it, but then you burst out laughing. “Oh man, where do you come up with these?”

His eye expands a little further. “What can I say? I can’t keep ‘em bottled up.”

“Pshh, stop,” you say, shoving him a little.

“Don’t wine, you know you love them,” he says with a smug look. Maybe it’s just your intoxication, but he seems five times more good looking with an expression like that.

“Suree,” you say, and briefly glance down at your watch. “Aww, shit, I gotta go home.”

“Really? It’s barely ten,” he says.

“Yeahh, I got work tomorrow,” you say, “but hey, it was nice, ey?”

He softens, “yeah. You’re pretty great, sweetheart.”

Your face heats up, “heyy, don’t get sappy on me now. All those flirtatious jokes and you’re gonna trip me up on the goodbye?”

He grins wider, “yep.”

You slide out of your chair, “well, we should meet again!” You pull out your phone and a notepad you keep in your backpocket wherever you go to the bar. His brow rises at the sight, and you messily scribble down your number before handing the whole pad to him. “Call me, alright? No need to be skel-alone, ok?”

He chuckles, “okay.”

…

Sans watches you leave with a slightly aching soul. Huh. How weird. He looks down at the notepad in his hand. The numbers are a bit too messy to read.

He hopes he sees you again, one day.

[jjsstars]

lydiaweek2023: Day 6, Lydia & Enemies — Theo —

tags : lydia/theo, set season 6, homeless theo, mentions of the dread doctors/season 5, first kisses/making out

“Better?” Lydia asks as Theo slides himself down into the seat across from her at the dinning table, his hair still dripping from the shower he just took.

“Yeah, thanks.” It’s oh so quiet, hesitant, his eyes ducking away from Lydia as if making eye contact with her would make her remember what he’s done and how she should throw him out of her house.

“Want some tea?” She offers and doesn’t wait for a response before she’s standing to walk over towards the kettle sitting on the stove. Her mug is still steaming and full so she just grabs a new one for Theo, glancing over to him and smiling faintly when his head whips to the other direction to cover the staring he was doing.

“You can come over here if you’d like.” There’s a beat of hesitation before his chair scrapes against the hardwood and he shuffles over.

“Any preference?” Theo shakes his head, Lydia picks out a peppermint tea bag and drops it into the mug. It seems like the most neutral choice out of all the various herbal teas she has.

“You don’t have to be scared of me, I’m not going to make you leave.” Her eyes stay on her own drink as she talks, trying not to spook Theo more. He’s seemed so skittish since they got home, all the big bad boy confidence he had during the fight drained out of him the second Lydia climbed into his truck, and even more so when she told him that he was staying the night not just dropping her off. He looked downright terrified, though Martin will give him credit as he covered it quickly.

“I’m just- I’m sorry. For everything.” His hands cradle the hot mug tightly and Lydia gently moves to put her hand atop his. She’s not a hundred percent sure this is a good idea, any of it: having Theo in her house, having him sleep over, telling him things are fine, initiating physical touch with him, staring into his eyes the intimate way she is right now. It might all backfire horribly.

“I know, and I know it wasn’t all your fault. You were being manipulated and I can’t even imagine what it was like for all those years.” Despite what Stiles still says, Lydia knows Theo isn’t evil. He never really was, he was just hurt and taught to hurt other people. What he did to Lydia still haunts her sometimes, but it’s far from the worst thing she’s been through, and Theo’s the only one that’s ever apologized for hurting her. She can forgive him.

“I’ve never had a cup of tea.” It’s muttered and there’s a small curl of Theo’s lips that borders on being a smile. She hasn’t seen him smile all day.

“What?”

“I’ve never had a cup of tea, that’s why I don’t have a preference. There was no place to heat up a kettle in the sewers and I never really thought to buy one from a coffee stand.” It’s a little heartbreaking to hear, but Theo let’s out a chuckle and Lydia can’t dwell on it too long.

“Well try it and see if you like it.” She prompts and he brings the cup to his lips, eyebrows screwing together momentarily as he sips the drink.

“Not bad. Weird but not bad.” Lydia grins and slips her hand around Theo’s mug to pull it over towards and push her own to him.

“Try mine. It’s raspberry.” The best flavor in her humble opinion.

“With the peppermint aftertaste it isn’t bad. Do you ever mix the flavors?” His head tips to the side slightly with the ask, a puppy dog look on his face that Lydia can’t help but smile at.

“Tea isn’t a drink that you really mix, you can, but most people only do that with iced tea.” The information gets taken in as though it’s something he’ll be tested on later, all the attention in the world focused in on Lydia’s words. She briefly wonders if it’s because he’s never talked about tea before or if it’s because she’s the one telling him.

“You do know what iced tea is right?” A giggle bubbles out of Lydia’s chest when Theo scoffs in fake offense, they both descend into a small fit of laughs that makes the room seem warmer.

“I know what iced tea is.” Theo’s face is close to Lydia’s, she hadn’t realized she had pushed herself so close to him but now they’re only inches apart.

“Good, you should, it’d be a little depressing if you didn’t.” She doesn’t move away from Theo, only letting her eyes fall to his lips that are no longer dirt covered and instead soft pink, his tongue darts out to wet them and Lydia looks up. It’s obvious she was just staring but Theo seems to be staring at hers too.

“You should hate me.” He says lowly and she hums while curling her hand around his jaw, his cold damp hair grazing her fingertips as she does.

“I don’t have to, we don’t have to be enemies.” Their breaths mix as Theo leans in farther til their noses touch.

“I don’t want to be your enemy.”

Lydia breaks the tension and pushes her lips against Theo’s, gasping when his hand grips her back to bring her closer, he’s so desperate in how he moves. It’s like there’s electricity coursing through her body as his lips move to her neck, her sleep shirt falling loosely over her shoulder til he can reach her collarbones. There’s bound to be marks left behind from how greedy Theo’s mouth dances across her skin, she can only wind a hand into his damp hair and beg him not to stop. It’s not a good idea, but when is kissing your supposed enemy ever a good idea.

[joelswritingmistress]

You Scare Me, Professor: Chapter 36

Summary: The reader is taking graduate classes at a local university in the wooded upstate New York. She is drawn to her professor, Dr. Joel Miller, though she is also inherently aware that he has something dark about him that she can't quite put her finger on. As the reader's attraction grows deeper, she has to decide whether to endure the danger or run away as fast as possible. 

Pairing: Professor Joel Miller x f!reader 

I was hesitant to call Dr. Miller on my ride back up the highway. I knew the situation had left him fuming, and I had to say I was still in a bout of awe at how direct he had been with Trevor.

Fuck. How had I dropped my phone?

I glanced in the rearview mirror every so often and I knew Dr. Miller was right behind me. I really hoped that Trevor hadn't gone through my phone any deeper than the Lock Screen.

He would have called me out on it like he did the ski tickets, right? I had to assume so. If Trevor didn't feel shy about asking why the tickets to the Vermont resort were on my phone, why would he feel shy about confronting me about anything else.

He didn't see anything. I kept trying to convince myself of that. Why hasn't Dr. Miller called me?

I glanced in the rearview mirror again and took a deep breath. He was mad. We were going to fight. I just hoped it wouldn't be blown too out of proportion.

This could cost him his job if Trevor found something out.

My mind was spinning with a web of worst case scenarios. I just wanted it to be the weekend already. Being on Woodbridge’s campus had suddenly felt like I was walking into some warped episode of Criminal Minds or something. As much as I adored the university for being the link that introduced me to Dr. Miller, I equally felt creeped out just by hearing the name of the school.

I checked my phone at the last red light in town before it was nonstop back roads to the house. Nothing from Dr. Miller. No texts or calls. He was still trailing me so I knew soon we would have to talk about what had just happened.

Maybe he doesn't want me driving distracted. 

When we were close to home, Dr. Miller passed me on a small stretch of the road that allowed for it. I glanced over and thought of our first time ever I’d tried to see who was behind the wheel of the Mercedes - before I knew for certain it was Dr. Miller. That seemed like so long ago, but it really wasn't. 

His car whizzed by and he made the turn up the secluded driveway to the home we now shared. I knew it was so he could get out and open the gates. When he emerged from the vehicle he didn't look back toward my car. He walked casually up to the gate, hit the code and only glanced up briefly toward my windshield.

I didn't know why I was so worried. I hadn't done anything wrong. I dropped my cell phone. Who hasn't done something like that before? I got it back. There was a misunderstanding and no one got hurt. All’s well that ends well, right?

I crept in through the gates behind Dr. Miller and we parked side by side in front of the garage. I waited a few seconds and then got out of the car when he didn't. A second later, the driver's side door to the Mercedes snapped open and he rose up out of the vehicle.

“You're mad at me,” I concluded out loud once we were side by side.

“I don't want you on campus,” Dr. Miller said right away. “I'll give you whatever grade you want, just stay away from there.”

“What?” I shook my head, “I can’t do that.”

“Well, you can’t seem to keep yourself out of harm’s way, either.” He took the lead toward the front door and I hurried to keep up with him.

“I haven’t been in harm’s way.”

Dr. Miller whipped around as he struggled to find the right key amidst his frustration. “You had no idea Tyler was behind you.”

“Trevor,” I corrected.

“Whatever the hell his name is.” He finally found the key to the door and aggressively shoved it into the lock.

“No one was after me,” I insisted, trailing him in.

“But what if he had been?” Dr. Miller asked, “What if he had a rope.. or a knife and I hadn’t been there. What if he crept up behind you and..” He turned away, exasperated and unable to finish the thought out loud.

“It was just Trevor!” I challenged. “I’m fine. I’m not going to get murdered on campus.”

“How do you know it’s not Trevor?” He put his hands on his hips and shrugged wildly. “Hmm? How do you know that? How do you know he wasn’t about to drag you down in between the buildings with him just before I interrupted him?”

“Because.. I just know.”

“You don’t know.” Dr. Miller shook his head, “He had his hood up, head down and was rushing up behind you.”

“Forgive me, but I’m not used to being treated like glass,” I said, “Like some damsel in distress. You. Trevor. James.” I shook my head, “I haven’t done anything wrong and that’s how I feel. Like I’m doing everything fucking wrong.”

I stormed away from him into the kitchen and struggled to open the liquor cabinet on top of the fridge, the same way Dr. Miller did when he was stressed or upset. My fingers barely managed to sweep the door open but I got it, and then I began struggling to reach for a bottle of Ketel One.

“Fuck.” I whispered to myself and then turned when Dr. Miller reached up and retrieved it for me, placing it down on the countertop. Our eyes met for a brief second and I angrily glanced up at a a pair of cabinets that were at my eye level. I yanked them open, only to be met with dishes and small plates. Like clockwork, Dr. Miller opened one a few cabinets down and slid a cocktail glass across the marble.

I caught it in my hand just before it knocked into the vodka bottle and poured myself a small helping of the liquor. I had never drunk vodka straight, always with a mixer. Especially not warm vodka.

Fuck it, I thought. Just to be stubborn I drank it straight and immediately regretted it. In my mind, I wanted to down the liquid without so much as making a face and then glare at Dr. Miller. It was a whole pissed off, badass Beth Dutton move in my head. That image crashed and burned when I scrunched my entire face in disapproval and struggled to get the entire gulp down without spitting it out.

The burn. The warmth. The taste. There was no hiding my disapproval.

I heard Dr. Miller chuckle and opened my eyes, trying to salvage one ounce of toughness. I popped my lips together and shuddered from the lingering punishment I’d willed upon myself.

“You could’ve asked for some orange juice,” he said, unable to hold back a smile. “Or cranberry.”

I stared back at him and he casually folded his arms across his chest, still grinning.

“It’s not funny,” I said sternly, giving the glass a light slam down onto the countertop.

“It’s a little funny.” Dr. Miller headed to the fridge and retrieved the juice, pouring some in the glass I’d just drank from.

I needed to get the taste out of my mouth so I gave in and drank half of it.

“I can’t have you wandering alone after dark with two unsolved murders,” Dr. Miller said calmly.

“I wasn’t wandering alone in the dark.”

“Then what were you doing?”

“Look for my phone.”

“Alone in the dark.” He shook his head.

“It’s not like I could call someone to come help me,” I argued.

“You could’ve gone to campus police and asked them to help you.”

“And see James?” I raised my eyebrows with my hands on my hips, “I haven’t seen him since that little incident.”

“This is bigger than that,” Dr. Miller argued. “And if not James then ask someone else to help. I can’t be there to watch you every second to make sure you’re okay.”

“And you don’t have to,” I continued to argue.

He let out a deep breath and put his hands on his hips, looking around. “Then I’ll just make sure you get where you need to be every time you’re there. It’s easy with my classes, but when you take your Wednesday night class let me know when you’re leaving and I’ll excuse myself and watch you go.”

“No.” I shook my head.

“At least until the murders are solved.”

“I need to be able to walk to my car on my own, Joel.”

“Call campus police. Please,” he begged, “For me. Don’t go anywhere by yourself. Don’t be alone with Trevor.”

I huffed a sigh and finished the juice before placing the glass in the sink. I turned my back and rinsed it out to give myself a minute to think.

“Fine,” I agreed, “I’ll call James and ask him to come walk me to my car. But I have to go to my classes. I can’t just stay off Woodbridge’s campus forever.”

“Fine,” he echoed, though I could see he wasn’t happy about it.

“I have one more class tomorrow,” I reminded him, “And then we’ll be off to Vermont, away from all this.” I set the glass on the drying rack and then walked past Dr. Miller to leave the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” He asked when I rounded out of the room.

“To bed,” I called back to him.

Deep down I knew he was genuinely concerned about my safety. I knew he wasn’t wrong about not being alone at night. But I hated feeling like a piece of glass that everyone thought could break at any minute. I hated being thought of as fragile - or weak. That wasn’t the intention of Dr. MIller or Trevor or even James. But that’s how the constant protectiveness and advice and everything in between was starting to make me feel.

I wandered up the winding staircase to the next floor and didn’t look back as I went into the bedroom. I stripped out of my clothes and tossed them in the hamper before finding an oversized long-sleeved t-shirt to throw on over my underwear.

I didn’t go through my normal nightly routine. I just wanted to curl up, close my eyes and forget about all the dramatic events that had been brought around by the paranoia of the murders on campus. I tossed the fluffy comforter over myself and when I closed my eyes I sensed Dr. Miller enter the room.

He strolled up to the bedside and squatted down beside where I laid so we were eye-to-eye.

“Don’t be mad,” he said.

“You were the mad one.” I had never challenged him quite to this level before, but I couldn’t help it. I was in a mood and I couldn’t shake it.

“I know I was,” Dr. Miller admitted. “And I understand why you feel the way that you feel. I’m just so obsessed with keeping you safe that I’m willing to put everything else on the backburner. If you’re mad at me, you’re mad at me. But if something ever happened to you, I wouldn’t even know what to do, (Y/N).”

Our eyes were still fixed on one another. I finally accepted his olive branch and gave in just a little. “I’ll call campus security if there’s a time I have to be alone at night.”

“Thank you.” He put a hand on my face and then rose to his feet to remove his tie and strip down into his boxer-briefs.

I remained on my side as he slunk into bed, setting the alarm just before he did so. Dr. MIller wrapped an arm around my midsection and kissed the back of my shoulder. “Don’t be mad,” he whispered in my ear.

“I’m not mad.” I sighed and turned around to face him.

“I don’t you being like this.” He smirked smally and let it fade. “I like when you’re looking at me like I’m the only man in the world.”

I managed a smile. “You are the only man in my world.”

“I don’t know, you’ve got the entire campus chasing you through the dark just to give you roses or return your cell phone to you.”

“Jealous?” I asked, finally feeling just a small dose of playfulness running through me.

“Of course I am,” Dr. MIller said, winking at me.

I accepted a quick kiss on my lips and closed my eyes as he cuddled me against his chest. I took in a few deep breaths and felt the heaviness in my eyes begin to take over.

“Good night,” he whispered as I began to drift off. “I love you.”

Good. We’re not going to bed mad at least. “I love you, too.”

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[mccall-muffin]

Love vs. Hate - Part 12 // Joe Liebgott x OC

Summary: Technical Sergeant Olivia Stark knows the military. Raised in a military family, a graduate of military school and OCS herself, she is transferring from the 82nd Airborne Division to the 101st. Between new friends and what appear to be foes, she becomes a part of Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 506th PIR.

Warnings: Language, Violence, War wounds

A/N: This one is a little shorter, and I'm sorry about that, but yeah - it's needed for the sake of the story...

Here is my Masterlist

Tag List: @brassknucklespeirs

une 13th, 1944 - Outskirts of Carentan, Normandy, France

At a short distance, we walk behind the 1st Platoon. We all have our weapons raised and are on alert. "How much further do you think we'll go?" Don asks me after a while. I look at him for a moment before looking to Buck, who is walking ahead of us. "I don't know," I say with a shrug. Suddenly, fire is opened on us, and we immediately cover in the meadow. "Into that hedgerow up ahead! Go!" I hear Harry shout from far away. "Okay, second platoon, line up behind the first. We'll take turns," Buck calls, and we take cover. Shots continue to be exchanged for a moment, but then it levels off, and we dig in for the night.

As I sit in the foxhole with Don, we hear the Germans chanting. "What the fuck do they have to sing about?" I hear Don grumble and raise an eyebrow. "Another night alive, maybe?" I ask, leaning against him before closing my eyes. Don grumbles something beside me and moves before he, too, goes quiet.

Suddenly we hear a commotion. I tear my eyes open and sit up. "What the fuck is that?" I ask, and Don has woken up as well. "It's coming from over there," Don says, pointing in a direction. I kneel, grab my gun and crawl out of the foxhole. "I'm going to go check it out," I say, looking at Don for a second. "Okay, be careful, will you?" I nod and then head toward the noise.

Suddenly I'm grabbed by the arm and look into the watchful eyes of Lieutenant Speirs. "Holy shit!" I curse. "You scared me, Sir." "I'm sorry, Sergeant. What are you doing out here?" he asks. "I just wanted to check on the noise, Sir." Speirs nods. "What are you doing here, Sir?" "The same thing as you." I briefly look at him, and we walk toward the noise together.

"Holy shit, what happened here?" I ask immediately, kneeling next to Tab, who is bleeding from the chest. I press my hands on the wounds and try to help Liebgott to stop the bleeding. "Smith," Liebgott grumbles, pointing his head behind us. I take a quick look at the Private, sitting slightly frantically in his foxhole, tussling his hair.

I shake my head and then turn back to Tab. "Hang in there Tab," I say, looking at him. "Is it bad?", Tab then asks and I look at his chest. I look briefly at Liebgott and then at my hands, which are already covered in blood. "It's hard to tell, Buddy," Liebgott then says.

"Let me get at it, Liv," Doc says, having just arrived, and I slide away from him to look at Smith again. "George?" I ask, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, Liv. I thought he was a Kraut! He looked like one. I didn't know it was him." Smith stammers, and I look briefly at Tab, whom Doc is doctoring. Speirs is still standing next to us, watching the whole situation. Our gazes meet shortly.

"You're gonna be fine," I hear Doc say and stand up. "That wasn't very smart, Tab," I say, looking at him. "Using the Kraut raincoat to wake up a sleeping soldier." "Really, now, Stark?" Liebgott then snaps at me. "You're kicking a man who's already down." "That's not my intention, Liebgott. But thinking along a little bit isn't too much to ask, is it?" "It's okay, Joe," Tab says with a pained face. "She's right." Liebgott looks back and forth between Tab and me in disbelief. "Jesus Christ," he says, throwing up his hands.

"You have everything under control, Sergeant?" Speirs asks, and I look at him. "Yes, sir." He holds my gaze for a moment before turning on his heel and disappearing into the darkness.

We all look after him. "That man is giving me the creeps," Gene whispers, and I nod. "Uh, guys?" then Tab asks, pointing to himself. "Oh yeah, of course," I say immediately. "Liebgott, help Doc take him away. See you, Tab. Get well, yeah?" I say and wave at him before he is carried away by Liebgott and Gene. "And George," I then turn back to Smith. "Here." I toss him a flask Harry gave me that afternoon. "Calm your nerves first. Someone else can take over your watch." I take a few steps away from him. "Liv?" he calls after me, and I turn to face him again. "Yes?" "Thanks, and... I'm really sorry about Talbert." "Don't worry too much about it, okay? Tab will be fine." With those words, I leave him alone again.

When I have handed over guard duty to Ramirez, I slip back into the foxhole with Don. The latter is startled, and I quickly raise my hands. "Whoa, it's just me." "You don't have to sneak up on me like that. I almost had a heart attack," he says, exhaling in relief.

"So, what happened?" As I'm about to tell him, Winters appears at our foxhole and kneels. "Sergeant Stark?" "Sir?" "What was going on back there? Lieutenant Speirs said you were there?" I nod. "Private Smith got a hold of Sergeant Talbert. Tab was trying to wake him up for guard duty, and he had his Kraut raincoat on, Sir. Smith dozed off, mistook him for a Kraut, and stabbed him with his bayonet." Winters frowns. "What the fuck?" asks Don incredulously. "And Sergeant Talbert?" "He's fine. Smith missed everything important, thank goodness. Doc's taking care of him." Winters nods thoughtfully. "I've turned the watch over to Private Ramirez." "Okay, good. Get some more sleep now. You're going to need to be ready tomorrow." Don and I nod. "Thank you, sir."

Don and I exchange a look as Winters walks away. "Damn, Smith." "Oh, leave him alone. Tab wasn't too smart waking him up in Kraut clothing, either. I think any of us would have reacted that way."

"Whatever," he then says and leans back again. "Winters gave us orders, and I'm happy to follow them," he says, closing his eyes. I grin and try to get a little sleep as well.

The following day I am woken up. "Hey Liv, come on," I hear a voice and open my eyes. In front of me stands Harry, and gestures for me to follow him. "What's wrong?" I ask sleepily, rubbing my eyes. "Come on now," is all he says, and I stand up. I give Don's boot a quick kick to wake him up. "What, what's wrong?" he asks sleepily, looking at me in confusion. "I'll be gone a minute," I say, checking my watch. "We're attacking soon."

I follow Harry to the other sergeants and kneel beside him as he pulls out the map. He explains the plan, and I exchange a look with Bill. "Any idea what we're hitting?" I ask, and Harry looks at me. "No, we don't know what they've got. We may be attacking a weaker force.... possibly more paratroopers," he explains. "And you know how they can be," Hoobs says, and we grin at him briefly. "Fire and maneuver. That's the name of the game, fire and maneuver. Dog and Fox Companies will be on our left flank, moving with us. Any questions?" asks Harry, looking at all of us, but we shake our heads. "Let's make them holler." "It's 9:30 in the evening back home," Frank says, looking at the many watches on his arm. I stand up and am just walking toward Bill when he shoves me aside into the foxhole.

"Mortar!" he shouts, and I somehow try to move back to my knees. I lean over the edge of the foxhole and start shooting. "God damn it," I grumble, and Bill throws himself next to me. He fires his rifle as well. "Keep it up, Bill," I yell to him, and he gives me a quick look.

We keep shooting, and from behind, our Mortar Squads are also shooting at the Germans with their Mortars. Then I stop. Behind the row of hedges, I spot something that makes me falter. "Son of a bitch!" Harry throws himself beside me and follows my gaze before taking out his binoculars. "Where in the hell did they come from?" he shouts, and we exchange glances. Tanks. They drive up to us and then open fire. Shocked, I look to our left. "Holy shit! There goes our left flank!" I shout, and Harry watches it too.

Then he pushes out of the foxhole. "Let's go! McGruth on me!" he shouts, and I look after him in shock. "Harry, damn it! What the fuck are you doing?!" But Harry does not listen to me. He runs towards one of the tanks together with McGruth and a bazooka. They place themselves in front of it but don't shoot. "What the fuck are they waiting for?" I ask, directed at Bill, who also looks at them in surprise. Then the bow of the tank lifts and then Harry gives the signal. And it was exactly right. They hit the bottom of the tank, destroying it before quickly retreating.

"Yes, damn it!" I cheer and then shift my position a little to the left. I throw myself back into a foxhole and keep firing. Harry slides to my left, and I punch him confidently on the shoulder. "You hit a home run, huh?" says the soldier to my right, and I look up. It's Liebgott. I grin at him and then refocus on the fight.

All of a sudden, harder shots ring out from our ranks. I quickly look up. The Germans are being pushed back further and further. "That's right, you sorry asses," I call out, and Liebgott and I grin at each other. Then Harry moves closer to me. "Oh, you beautiful babies, you!" he shouts, and we all cheer. Liebgott, next to me, holds out his smokes for us to take one. We light them, and I exhale in relief. One more battle won.

The first platoon is on patrol that afternoon, so I sit with Don and Buck and wait for them to return. I check my rifle and clean it as the first platoon returns. I see Harry sitting down, exhausted, and taking off his helmet. "Be right back," I say to Don and Buck and get up to go to Harry.

"Hey," I say, sitting down next to him. "So how'd it go?" "Had contact... Blithe got it. He's being taken to England," Harry says curtly, and I press my lips together. "You okay?" I ask and he nods. "And you, kiddo?" I nod as well. "As well as can be expected." Harry smiles and then pulls something out of his backpack. "What do you think?" he asks, and I look at him in surprise. "Your reserve chute?" "This is for Kitty. For the wedding dress. It's silk," he says excitedly, and I have to grin. "That's perfect, Harry. You'd best send it to her as soon as possible." "Yes, as soon as we get back to England." A queasy feeling spreads through me. England. I wonder if we're really going back there.

Then Winters walks up to us. He looks at me first for a moment, then turns to Harry. "They're pulling us off the front line," he says, and Harry looks up in surprise. "Now?"  "To a field camp north of Utah Beach. Hot food. And showers. Then back to England," Dick tells us, and I exhale in relief. I'm not exactly sure I should be listening to this conversation, but if he announces it in front of me, there will be a reason. Harry says nothing and leans back. "Harry," Dick says firmly. "How's the leg?" the latter asks, however. "Stiff. Sore. They want me to take it easy for a few days," Dick says. "Yeah, you should," Harry just replies and closes his eyes. Dick looks at me again and seems to be considering whether or not to keep talking. "Talked to Colonel Sink. Said he appreciated Easy holding the line. Said General Taylor was pleased." Now Harry looks up again. He exchanges a look with me and then looks at Dick again. "That's why I came to France. To please General Taylor," he says, and I can't suppress another smirk.

"Liv? Get your men together. We will brief them shortly," Dick then says. I sigh, put my helmet back on, and then go to find my men together.

First, I find Buck and Don again, sitting with Skip and Penk. "Where were you?" asks Don, looking up. "Just to see Harry for a minute. I learned something interesting, though," I say, and they both look at me. "Let me guess... Something you weren't supposed to know?" asks Buck with a grin. "You can look at it any way you want, Buck. Winters revealed it in front of me, so I guess he thinks I'm allowed to know," I say, grinning at Buck. "Go ahead, spill it," Skip demands.

I sit next to him and take the smoke from his ear before lighting it. "We're moving off the line," I say, and the guys long at me in surprise. "Already?" asks Penk in surprise. I nod. "First to Utah Beach and then back to England."