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adonis-koo · 4 years

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wish you were mine

Summary: in which you may or may not be secretly in love with your hybrid but you refuse to cross that line....except he’s secretly in love with you too

Pairing: Rabbit hybrid!Jungkook/Reader

Genre: hybrid AU!! fluff, smut

Word Count: 3k

Tags: jungkook is a giant flemish hybrid, so he’s ummm big, in more ways then one :’ ), masturbation, hinted subby Jungkook, talk of heats,

Note: y’all actually liked the lil blurb I did yesterday so here you go 😭 this is probably gonna be an ask based AU mainly so pop off in my inbox if y’all are curious on their dynamics after this. unless y’all really want me to commit to this as a series then 😳

~ unedited ~

Most mornings, especially when the colder weather came around, were like this. You’d usually say goodnight to Jungkook before going to your room. But more days then less, you went to bed alone and woke up with the admittedly warm hybrid practically crushing you beneath him. Soft fuzzy ears rubbing into your skin and you could hear his teeth clicking gently in a purr of contentment.

It wasn’t really his fault, hybrids often liked sleeping with their owners, bunny hybrids particularly were high maintenance, constantly craving affection and they were massive PDA lovers, it took the first six months for hybrids to become familiar enough and comfortable to sleep with owners so Jungkook living with you for three years made sense that he’d have no problems curling up against you at night no ask needed.

“Bub, I gotta go.” You groaned as you checked your phone, Jungkook shifted on top of you as you heard a discontented sigh from him, his body curling as if to make himself smaller, sometimes you’d wake up to a little bunny sprawled out on your back, not that you didn’t think it was adorable. But Jungkook preferred being human more than rabbit.

“It’s Saturday!” Jungkook slurred with a whine, nudging against you as his fluffy ears tickled against your skin, “Can’t you skip?” He whined again as he shifted to lay completely on top of you as you huffed. Most bunny hybrids were considerably petit in nature but Jungkook...well not your Jungkook, he was a giant flemish making him...well giant...You could still remember the way he used to loathe his size, making him unsaleable to many and unwanted to venders.

But after being with you his mindset slowly changed, suddenly with your job he was glad he was tall and naturally filled with muscle.

Jungkook was a very proud hybrid now, often going to the gym when you dropped him off, always standing tall and shuffling closer anytime he thought you could be in potential danger. He secretly loved it, loved being able to completely wrap himself around. He whined once more as he felt you shift beneath him, his nose nudging back into your neck, the soft smell of jasmine and fresh rain against his nose, he often associated this smell with home... it was your scent after all.

The only thing that smelt better on you was him. “It’s mandatory Bub,” Your voice amused, no matter how big and bad Jungkook might consider himself he was still your little whiney bunny, “Come on, I need to go shower.”

After a final whine he reluctantly rolled off you and onto his back, his temperature rising quickly as pain shot through his body causing a sharp whimper to escape his lips that caught your attention as you turned to face him as you stood up, “Are you okay bub?” Jungkook debated on lying and saying no if it meant you’d stay with him, putting a hand on his forehead you sighed, “You’re burning up, it’s almost your heat isn’t it?”

You silently berated yourself on how you had forgotten, not all hybrids had monthly heats- most didn’t. But bunny hybrids had a double douse, not only was the original dog DNA the reason for all hybrid heats but also the strong urge of rabbit DNA to procreate, Jungkook had it pretty bad with monthly heats.

Luckily your friend Yoongi has a bunny hybrid as well that served as heat partners to one another. Jungkook however was...stubborn...to say the least about mating with Hyuna. Until his heat hit at least. Jungkook only curled up, grabbing your pillow as he sharply inhaled your scent that always comforted and calmed down his raging hormones. Grumbling he roughly nudged the pillow, letting you know that his shift in hormones would soon pass from whiny and clingy to aggressive and broody. It wasn’t like he could help it, not really, closer to his heat he often got aggressive over you. Aggressive and protective, always brooding and leering over your shoulder and glaring at anything he thought was a potential threat.

Clacking your tongue you made note to call Yoongi later today as you grabbed a change of clothes and walked down the hall to the bathroom to start on your shower.

He would also be aggressive towards you, never in a violent way, but it was so jarring the first time he experienced his heat while living with you, he was nothing like his usual self. But after a short research you quickly found out that it was just his animal instincts coming out, often his aggressiveness was a way of asserting his dominance over you- not that he ever got far into it before you began reprimanding him.

During the week leading up to his heat there were a lot of outlandish displays of aggression, as you had read- it was usually in show of who you belonged too and who owned you. The article nearly made you snort. This was the same man who nearly cried every time you woke up to him rutting into your back until he came himself.

Sighing you ran your hands through your hair as the warm water poured down your back. Jungkook often whined about not wanting a heat partner, ‘Why can’t you just help me?’

Tension always ensued after questions like those before you’d give a string of excuses, work being the big one but also the fact that he was a hybrid and you were a human and technically he was licensed as your pet you didn’t agree by any means with the legal system. Jungkook was living breathing human who just so happened to have two long ears and a fluffy puffball tail, but that didn’t change the fact that...that...wasn’t that technically a form of bestiality?

You mentally cringed as you began to wash your hair. Hybrid human relationships weren’t unheard of, but usually it wasn’t consenting, and if it was it would get drowned in hate and be frowned upon. It wasn’t like you didn’t want too, but that was the part that frightened you, you wanted it. And you got Jungkook didn’t see it the way you did, heat partners were very casual and Jungkook had never not once mentioned Hyuna outside of heats but…

You didn’t even want to go there with him, boundaries were good, they were healthy. And more than anything, you didn’t want to take advantage of Jungkook, who didn’t have anyone to turn to or to go too if things went sour between you both. You would never put him in a compromising situation. It was already bad enough the days you woke up to him rutting against you that you actually entertained him.

You could feel your breath hitch at so many memories of drowsily pulling his throbbing cock from his sweats, it was so thick and heavy, his size was absolutely not close to a regular human, he was 6’4 after all.

And yet despite him being able to double your weight in bench press he’d be so teary eyed and dilated while rutting his cock into your hand, you can still remember how his head was weepy with pearls of precum, the base of his cock was so tender and trying to swell into a knot. His body thrashed and he was whining and crying about wanting to cum. You groaned as you felt slick arousal form between your legs, how did you ever have the self restraint to keep yourself from crossing lines you constantly toed?

Letting your hands run up your body you squeezed your tender breasts, pinching at your nipples as your breath hitched. You’d never forgot the way he’d twist and turn and help, his hips chasing the way your hand would stroke up his cock while you edged him. God you felt sick, the sadistic side of you getting wet at the sight of his tears and his begging, it was making you wet right now and without enough time to properly take care of yourself. Groaning you let your fingers swipe through your lips, glossy arousal coating your fingers as you carefully set your leg on top of the edge of the bathtub, the hot water making your mind fog as you let your fingers circle around your sensitive little bud.

You could remember clearly that morning, the way his thick imprint was snug against your ass, his hips rutting frantically and he moaned whimpers against your neck. You had woken up tired and asking for him to stop only to realize he was asleep. It wasn’t the first and it certainly wouldn’t be the last you turned to face him and sneak your hand inside his sweats.

Your fingers quickly swiped against your clit faster as they have a seeming thrust for something that wasn’t there as you bit your lip in frustration, the memory of his high pitched moan when your hand stroked his throbbing length in his pants, hips becoming more frantic before you pulled down his pants down his hips, his cock was thick and girthy, not massive in length but a good size that complimented his insane width.

No matter how big your bunny was he was so small when you poured a little oil in your palm and stroked him, the way he’d whine and whimper waking up to his hips rutting into your hand as he moaned relentlessly.

Your free hand quickly shot down your body, your fingers frantically rubbing your clit as pleasure throbbed but it wasn’t nearly enough, pushing two fingers inside yourself you squeaked out at the feeling of your walls clenching harshly. You still remember straddling his thighs and telling him how much of a good boy he was. The way he’d curl and strain, his cheeks on fire and tears trickling down his face when you’d deny him before ruthlessly stroking his tender base that was trying to swell so desperately.

Soft moans fell from your lips, your walls clenching around your fingers as you pumped them inside you, your other hand working your clit before finding your sweet spot causing a short yelp to escape you. Just the memory of his fat purple head leaking precum was causing your thighs to shake while you stroked down to his base, gently stroking the little bump on his base as you told your good bunny to cum for you.

The way his hips lifted off the bed in chase of your hand as he sobbed, cum spewing from his little slit as pleasure took over his body in ecstasy

You let out a squeal that was a little too loud as you harshly came, your walls wrapping tight around your fingers as you moaned, slumping against the cold wall as your hips rode your fingers in chase of your pleasure. One orgasm wasn’t even close to enough to satisfy you after vividly remembering the handjob you gave Jungkook last week but you were already gonna be late as it was because of your hormones. Feeling your walls relax around your fingers before clenching you sighed. God you hated yourself.

Little did you know the bunny hybrid who always had sensitive ears could pick up on every little noise you made while shamelessly jerking himself off outside the bathroom door before cum painted against the wall.

-----

“Have you confessed to her yet?”

Jungkook let out a sigh as he buried into his arms, the tickle of the hair from his ears against his skin at Taehyung’s consistent pestering, the dog hybrid’s nose wrinkling a little as he spoke, “What’s the worst that could go wrong?”

Jungkook could’ve went over to see Taehyung, but he had promised you he’d stay home today, always knowing how worried you got when he went out on his own. Hybrid walkways were made to keep them safe for passage but hybrid catchers weren’t uncommon. You’d know better then anyone given that was the cases you were usually working in.

Technology was wonderful though, being able to video call Taehyung who’s owner- Seokjin who just so happened to be your partner was also at this mandatory meeting, “Oh you mean other than ruining my relationship with her as is and how she’d kick me out and tell me I’m disgusting and that she never wants to see me again?”

Jungkook deflated, growling a little as Seokjin popped up in his mind again, grinding his teeth in annoyance, you better not let him scent you or touch you at all. Realizing what he was thinking he swallowed thickly, running a hand through his wet locks from his shower as he sat up in bed. His heat was getting closer, he could tell. It was a struggle every month, Jungkook had a hard enough time as it was keeping himself off you.

It was downright humiliating the way he acted towards you every month and every month you took it graciously but it was still embarrassing for him to cling to you and get pushy and sour. He couldn’t help it, it would be so much easier if you were the one with him during his heats. He wouldn’t be so aggressive if he could just mate with the person he wanted.

“She wouldn’t do that to you!” Taehyung objected in your defense, the german shepherd hybrid loyal to the very end, to be fair Taehyung had known you longer then he had, jealousy oozing in the back of his mind at the notion, “Look, it’s just better to be honest with her about it and you guys can go from there.”

“Easy for you to say.” Jungkook grumbled as he laid back down in bed, sharply inhaling as he felt his cock stirring once again at the moans he didn’t mean to listen to this morning, but he intended on going to the kitchen to make breakfast for you when he passed by and…”She should be home soon. Look, we’ll talk later okay?”

Taehyung frowned before shrugging, “Alright cool, isn’t your heat coming up though? Are you gonna spend it with Hyuna again?

So many fucking questions, Jungkook felt annoyance prick in him the imprint became thicker, the need to ruthlessly jerk himself off raising as he replied, “Only because I don’t have a choice,” He brooded, “But yeah, should start in a few days.”

“Just talk to her man, i’ll see you later.”

Jungkook gladly ended the call as he groaned, hand immediately pushing down beneath his waistband, talk to you about it, what a joke. Leaning over he poured a little oil into his hand as he groaned, pulling his cock from the band of his sweatpants as he gave a tug at his base, thighs stiffening as his jaw clenched.

The sweet smell of jasmine suddenly hitting his nose as he jumped up from your bed, the faint sound of jingling causing him to hurriedly tuck himself back into his pants and pounce into the bathroom to clean up his hands frantically to greet you. Had the meeting get done early.

Excitement lit through his veins and his cock tightening causing a sharp whine to escape him, tugging his loose shirt down to hide the embarrassing sight before quickly walking down the hall.

“Bub I’m home- Oh!” You had your back turned to shut the door when arms suddenly wrapped around you, a cute rounded nose rubbing into your neck as you let out a laugh, “Jungkook stop!” You grabbed the large arms that wrapped around you, the loud purr erupting as his teeth clacked, furry ears rubbing along your skin before a growl escaped him, “Why do you smell like Hoseok.”

He instantly demanded, turning you around as you raised your brows, your neck bending to look up at the tall demanding bunny, “He gave me a coffee when I got to the station…?”

Jungkook was immediately back against your neck as his lips twitched, “You smell like him.” He growled lowly as he roughly rubbed his scent gland along your skin. You gave an exasperated sigh as you paused, knowing any sort of movement would be taken as resistance and would earn you a snappy snarl.

After a minute he paused before pulling a little away from you and giving you a sniff before smiling, “Better,” That earned him an eye roll from you as he gave a semi sheepish smile, feeling a lot better now that your scent was drowned in his musk to ward off any competition, “Can you make some kimbap please.” His soft doughy lips tugged into a pout as if he didn’t just snap for you to be still five seconds prior.

Sighing you offered a weak smile, “Of course bub.” You reached your hand up, not even close to reach his head but Jungkook immediately leaned down a little, a purr of his teeth clicking as you rubbed your fingers into his hair, letting your nails gently dig against the base of his ears.

After making lunch you sat out on the couch, Jungkook immediately collapsed on top of you making you wheeze, grabbing your hand he placed it on his head as he gave a little whine, the way he often did when he wanted attention, “You left me all morning! Please.” He cried out, making you chuckle before giving in, yoru fingers slating through his soft dark locks of hair before stroking against the base of his ears.

His body melted into yours before you heard a thump against the couch, the smile crinkling on your lips as you watch his foot thump, Jungkook oftened hid a lot of his more bunny tendencies outside of home, he despised being treated like the tender stereotype that was often portrayed.

But in the comforts of his home he was relaxed, loved your fingers scratching along the base of his ears, his leg thumping in contentment and a toothy purr from his mouth. He absolutely preened for your attention.

His upcoming heat was only making him more needy than usually, wanting all of your time and affection, but luckily it was the weekend and now that your meeting was over you’d be all his for the next two days. Nudging against your soft breasts Jungkook sighed, closing his eyes as he let out a whine. He didn’t want to be with Hyuna, he wanted to share his heat with you.

Maybe, Taehyung was right, maybe he’d finally have that conversation with you.

#bts #jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader smut #sub jungkook #jungkook x y/n #hybrid jungkook

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strawberrysoup · 4 years

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Pocketful of Posies || Chapter 5

You’d been hiding for years and years now; from your family, from society, from alphas and packs. Suppressants were dangerous but effective and necessary for an omega who refused to be owned—but no suppressants were strong enough to fool the nose of a super soldier, who together with his pack would stop at nothing to bind you to them forever.

pairings: dark!Avengers x reader

word length: 4.7k

chapters: 5/?

warnings: A/B/O dynamics, power imbalances, noncon and dubcon sexual situations, loss of autonomy, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat — this is a dark!fic, read at your own risk. more detailed content warnings are included at the end of the chapter to avoid spoilers, click through the read more, CTRL + F “content warnings”.

Rationality within Carol’s pack was often treated like a talking stick; only one person could have and use it at a time, and stealing it required either brute force or a clever trick—which was why she and Loki fumbled it back and forth so often. Sam seemed to have snatched it for a moment, until their omega’s sharp tongue made him fumble. She was cutting and brutal, as wild as she’d looked the first time Carol saw her: covered in mud and blood, half soaked from the bath and thrashing violently while Thor and Peter tried to gently get her in the tub.

The blonde figured it was time to regain the upper hand over their omega and came to stand at the top of the stairs, eyes locking on Sam from behind. He was turning the corner from patience to frustration, their little omega’s demeaning comments making the muscle in his jaw clench. It was impressive though; any of the other alpha’s in the house (plus herself and maybe minus Peter) would’ve had her nose in the corner by now, bent over to hold her own ankles and struggling for balance so that her forehead didn’t press against the wall lest she earn herself a spanking for being sulky.

“Alright Sammy, tag out,” Carol made sure that there was an undertone of mirth in her voice, hoping to bring the other alpha out of his anger. “You should probably go check on dinner and—Bruce, test results?”

“Oh, you’re right,” the beta nodded, immediately headed for the stairs. “Her hormone analysis should be ready at the least.”

The moment her eyes landed on the little omega on the bed, Carol felt her heart melt just a bit. Despite the vitriol she’d been spitting just moments before, the precious thing looked like an angel sprawled out in their den. All she wore was one of Thor’s t-shirts, the hem brushing the tops of her thighs and perfuming her scentless skin with his musk—she couldn’t wait until the suppressants were out of their omega’s system, Carol desperately wanted to know what she smelled like.

“Sammy?” The blonde prompted when the male alpha didn’t move, leading him to sigh.

“Yeah babe,” he leaned over and pressed a kiss against the omega’s forehead, ignoring how she shrunk back into the pillows behind her. “I’m out. Take care of her, beautiful.”

Sam stopped to press a kiss against Carol’s cheek on his way down the stairs, gesturing for Tony to follow. The genius rolled his eyes and huffed but followed nonetheless, only after tossing a wink at the scowling omega huddled in what would hopefully soon be a nest. Carol waited until they were both down before returning her attention to the younger woman, stomach filling with butterflies.

Carol had wanted an omega since she presented as an alpha at twelve. 90% of the people she interacted with thought she was such a waste—a female alpha? Objectively, a useless combination. Female alphas were weak and passive, certainly not strong enough to lead a pack or produce strong alpha babies. If only she’d been a delta or a beta, she could’ve at least carried children. She’d always been fully aware that society’s perspective was incredibly flawed; she was as dominant as any male, just as potent and just as strong. Stronger even—more recently by unimaginable levels.

But omegas rarely looked negatively upon female alphas. Omegas preened and clamored for the attention female alphas provided, they saw it as more tender and careful. Carol didn’t know if she exactly agreed with that either, but at least an omega would never look at her and consider her a very pretty waste.

Or so the blonde had thought, right up until making eye contact with the sweet-faced omega her pack had managed to stumble upon. She certainly didn’t look pleased, her glare verging on incendiary.

“You sure are feisty,” she felt her lips quirking at the corners, especially when the omega seemed to puff up like an angry kitten. “What you said to Sam wasn’t very nice. You gonna hiss at me too?”

The answer was a resounding yes, the cute, clicking cub growl she made only reinforcing Carol’s gut instinct that the little omega was perfect. She liked that fire, it wasn’t disrespectful—it demanded respect and the blonde could certainly understand that sort of attitude. Considering her omega’s evident disdain for modern presentation centered care, it could even be considered mild.

“Claws away, baby,” she ordered, tone amused and the smile still curling her lips as she toed her shoes off at the edge of the bed. “Be a good girl for me now.”

Carol pressed the omega flat to the bed before she could fight, plastering herself against the half-naked woman and burying her face in the crook of her neck. Scenting deeply made the blonde’s eyes roll back in her head—the faint scent of panicking omega wafted off her skin, only noticeable at such a distance. Thank God the Hulk picked it up, the alpha’s senses so incredibly strong that even while masked by Bruce’s beta he had picked up the faint whiff of omega; if Bruce hadn’t prompted Steve to scent carefully they might not’ve found her. Carol hadn’t been the only one in the pack desperate for an omega.

Thor had been… devastated to learn of the lack of omegas on Earth. With the destruction of Asgard and the remaining population’s relocation, it had been another gut punch to the alpha prime who’s people had already endured so much. He’d spoken at length about how omega Aesir were different than humans’ and the tone of longing and sadness in the prime had radiated through their entire pack.

The deltas, Bucky, Tony and Loki had all realized years ago how sorely their dynamic suffered without an omega. A delta’s overwhelming physiological drive was to provide support and comfort to pack members, their intuition let them see their packmates in a way the other presentation’s couldn’t replicate. Their pack’s deltas were all incredibly intuitive, beyond the norm, and without an omega to properly direct them they got manipulative. It was rarely antagonistic or cruel and if there had only been one delta in the pack, it would’ve slid by without notice—but deltas perceived the deception where others didn’t and it usually led to dissent amongst the three.

And while Steve had never said a word, Carol knew that as a sickly little beta he’d dreamt of being ‘strong enough to deserve an omega’. Bucky had mentioned it briefly—as had Tony, who’d heard it from his father at least biweekly. Steve loved omegas; he loved that they balanced an incredible strength with equal fragility. The very nature of them spoke to his inner artist, ‘his inner romantic,’ Bucky had teased. Now that he was a big ass alpha prime? He could deserve an omega now, he was strong enough now.

Their omega was practically a miracle, considering how few of them there were—so few adults, especially. Some claimed the overall population of omegas was going up despite the overwhelming evidence of the opposite and besides, the number of omegas born every year didn’t matter when you had packmates approaching their mid-forties. Tony, Bruce, and Clint were getting up there, as everyone liked to tease. Finding a reasonably aged omega that was also unclaimed? They’d never even considered the possibility, it was unfathomable.

Carol had consoled herself with the knowledge that her pack loved her deeply, found no fault in her gender or presentation. She knew it would take time, but soon her omega would realize the same. There was nothing wrong with her, she didn’t need to hide or put on a façade; not in their pack, not under their protection. Whatever the omega had gone through in her life must’ve been traumatizing, the blonde could only assume some sort of abuse, and it would be tough to instill confidence in her. They’d need to build her back up from scratch.

“You know, if you’d let Wanda search your mind, we’d have a much easier time understanding what’s going on,” the blonde murmured into the omega’s neck, nose brushing back and forth over her left scent gland. “Will you tell me why you’re so scared? Are you afraid of alphas or of packs? Or deltas?”

“I’m afraid of being trapped forever by a bunch of fucking rapists and kidnappers!” She spat furiously in response, struggling futilely under Carol’s careful grasp. “Get your fucking face out of my neck!”

“Packs it is then,” Carol sighed, lifting her head but keeping the woman pinned beneath her.

“You’re so shifty ‘mega, calm down. There are some horrible people out there, we know that better than anyone, and I’m sorry that you were hurt. I’m sorry you had to go through whatever it was.”

The omega froze, muscles pulling so tightly that she started to shiver. Her lips pursed, jaw clenching and her eyes got dim, lashes fluttering as she looked into the distance over Carol’s shoulder. It was a dead-eyed stare, one the blonde had seen before. Her baby was half trapped in a memory, tightly clenched hands clawing at Carol’s shirt and trying to force her body away.

“I’m sorry baby, I’m sorry, come back—” Carol cooed into the omega’s ear, holding her tighter as she struggled. “You’re with me baby, you’re safe. Breathe with me, come back to me.”

“Would you fucking get off!” The omega choked, sounding both parts desolate and frustrated. “Why don’t you people fucking listen? Am I speaking gibberish?”

“I’m sorry you’re so angry omega,” the blonde’s eyebrows furrowed, sadness permeating her expression as she lowered her head to rest her forehead against the omega’s. “I’m sorry, I can’t get off—you need the pheromones, the alpha contact chemicals. Even if you’re traumatized, once the suppressants you’re on start to wear off you’re going to have to submit. We need to start practicing now so you can get comfortable with it, before it’s critical for your health.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry, you’re not sorry! If you were, you would’ve let me go. You wouldn’t be holding me here! I don’t need or want your help, I don’t want to be in a pack!”

“I hear you, baby, I promise I understand what you’re saying,” Carol carefully pinned one of the flailing omega’s arms down with her knee, reaching up to stroke the woman’s face. “You don’t want to be here, you don’t want to have a pack, I’m sure you don’t want to be bonded to us. But you’re on so many suppressants baby, there are so many mind-altering chemicals in the shit you were taking—”

“If you force me to stop taking them I’ll only be under the ‘mind-altering’ chemicals produced by the other presentations and—and this stupid collar forcing my body to produce addictive chemicals at a rapid rate,” she argued, “you want to argue that I’m out of my mind like I can’t be trusted with my own safety! I’m fully conscious, I’m not stupid, I’m an adult for fuck’s sake. The only thing that’s going to fuck up my personal agency is you!”

“We’ll know for sure when Bruce gets your test results back,” Carol sighed realizing how unlikely it would be for her to get through to the omega. “Tony’s having some equipment dropped by in the morning so he and Bruce can run some more. If your hormone levels aren’t entirely trashed, we’ll revisit this conversation.”

“You have to let me take my suppressants tonight then,” the omega pushed against the blonde again, grunting with effort and irritation when she didn’t move at all. “Otherwise the test results from today won’t match the ones tomorrow, missing a dose will entirely trash my hormone levels! The tests won’t provide an accurate reading!”

Carol was shaking her head before she’d even finished the explanation. “No way, there’s a reason those are illegal, baby. They’re so dangerous—”

“I’ve been taking them for fifteen years and I’m completely fine, come on—”

She watched the omega’s face fall when she sighed, “it’s not gonna happen baby. This one isn’t up for debate.”

“This one?” The omega scoffed bitterly, lips twisting as angry tears collected in her eyes. “Nothing is ‘up for debate’. I’m here, aren’t I? Obviously against my will. I’m not even wearing my own clothes, you won’t let me move! You’re acting like this is the one bit of agency you’re planning to strip from me but you’re either too stupid to realize that or you’re too caught up in the idea of having a house bitch to care!”

“Hey, don’t say that,” Carol frowned, thumb smoothing over the crease between her brows. “We’re not looking to ruin your life, baby. The last thing we want is to make you meek or take away your ability to make your own choices, but we have to take care of you.”

“Y-you don’t though,” she hissed, breath hitching as she fought not to cry in front of the alpha. “I’ve been taking care of-of myself for years. I’ve never had a problem I’ve—I’ve never been attacked or assaulted or—”

Carol shifted until the omega was cradled in her lap, easily blocking the omega’s attempts to escape her grasp, “If that’s true baby girl, I don’t think you understand how rare it is—or how it would mean you were poisoning yourself so thoroughly that no alpha could scent you. There’s too many people out there would hurt you just for being you; the only way for you to be safe is with us, where you don’t have to keep taking the pill equivalent of drinking gasoline and bleach.”

“I should have the choice!”

“The choice to slowly kill yourself?” The blonde looked down into the omega’s face in disbelief. “No one in their right mind would allow another person to suffer like that.”

Their attention was suddenly and brutally drawn to the stairwell, both of their hindbrains reacting to the scent of overwhelmingly aroused alphas accompanied by raised voices and shouting. The omega in her lap went completely and utterly still, instincts locking down all movement as if it could prevent her from being seen. Carol sighed quietly through her nose, nudging her forehead gently against the charming little creature hiding against her chest. She couldn’t really tell what they were yelling about but she figured it had something to do with whatever Bruce found.

“Someone has to—!”

“That doesn’t mean—!”

“It should be—!”

The blonde cracked her neck, arms slipping around the waist of her omega and locking in place like iron bands. The cowering made it easier for Carol to snuggle her tightly against her chest, wiggling them carefully as several pairs of feet began stomping up the stairs, until the omega was entirely engulfed by the alpha from behind. Steve and Thor made it up first, shoulder to shoulder and passive-aggressively nudging each other in the ribs. Sam was next, along with Bucky—both of whom were being decidedly antagonistic to poor Peter who followed behind.

“Would you guys shut the hell up? What’s going on?”

Before anyone else could respond Bruce forced his way between the group of more dominant males, eyes flashing green even as he attempted to shake it off, “the amount of alpha pheromone in her blood is so low it’s amazing she isn’t in shock.”

“What?!” The omega snapped furiously, eyes darting between the people standing around the room nervously. “There’s nothing wrong with me—!”

“Carol, hold her,” Steve ordered, as if the blonde hadn’t locked the omega down the second they heard them coming. “Thor, how are we gonna do this?”

Both primes looked almost pained, their faces painted with grimaces as they exchanged glances. Their struggle was easy to identify; neither wanted to cause any strife between them, damage to their partnership would damage the pack but they wanted to be first. Their hindbrains could barely function beyond the desire to fuck their omega, their pretty, sweet little omega who desperately needed alpha semen because her body would stop functioning without it. Primes always got first take on omegas, but when there were two primes in a pack things got dicey.

“Have one of us do it,” Carol chimed, carefully maintaining an expression that relayed she wasn’t trying to step on toes. “Both of you are massive, you could do damage without proper prep and if it’s that serious we can’t wait on that.”

“I’ll do it!” Peter was quick to step forward. “You all know I’ll the gentlest and she’s already upset—”

“Shut it Spiderboy,” Sam quickly interjected, giving the younger alpha a stern look, “she needs careful handling, not some teenager fumbling with his knot.”

“I’m not a teenager anymore you asshole—!”

“Carol’s cock is the smallest,” Tony stated nonchalantly as he kicked off his shoes in the closet that faced the den, “no offense babe, just logistics.”

“None taken,” the blonde snorted slightly in amusement before turning her attention to the two primes, “I can get her started, at least get her hormones on the right track.”

“Let go of me you psycho!” The omega howled, voice constricted by her collar. “Get away from me, let me go!”

A low, bone-deep rumble suddenly washed over everyone in the attic, the growl emanating from both Steve and Thor. A keening moan escaped the omega, her breath hitching and eyes rolling as viscous slick gushed from her pussy. The scent of it made waves through the rest of the pack, a cacophony of moans and growls echoing off the high ceiling as the responding scent of hot and bothered emanated through the den.

“Thor?” Steve questioned the other prime imploringly, knowing that they needed an immediate answer and follow through.

The taller man grit his teeth, nose flaring for several moments before he let out another low growl that made their omega cry with arousal. “You first—leave my shirt on her, please.”

“Oh God, oh God,” the whimpering omega shifted in Carol’s arms, likely about to try to make a break for it when Steve swept her up into his arms. “Please, wait—!”

“Your pussy is dripping for your primes, isn’t it precious?” The alpha male hummed quietly as he swiftly lowered them both to the bed, hands grasping the backs of her thighs and pressing her knees towards her shoulders. “So much slick for such a little thing.”

The whine that came from Peter sounded wrecked, only minutely more embarrassing than the groans and panting coming from the rest of the pack as they watched. The omega looked to be approaching frantic and Carol sighed, shifting farther away from the prime on the bed—there was no reason to test Steve’s incredible patience. Well, that had been Carol’s opinion anyway.

Evidently Loki believed otherwise, but then again the delta was habitually prone to testing Steve’s last goddamn nerve. The brunet had appeared with a shimmering green light, lying on the bed so close to the omega that the scent from his ridiculously expensive Fendi sweater was transferring to her arm and shoulder. The prime had barely flinched, certainly hadn’t reacted in a manner more noticeable than a slight dilation in his pupil. Thor made a reprimanding noise but didn’t move forward to remove the delta, much to Bucky and Tony’s immediate disdain.

“Why the fuck does he get to—!”

“You better rethink that, Ice Man!”

The combined snarls from both primes quickly brought all three deltas to heel and while Loki didn’t retreat, he did keep his hands to himself. One hand propped up his head, the other tightly fisted and rested on the bed between himself and the omega’s borrowed shirt while eyes burned into him from all sides. The omega’s wide eyes were locked on the man, some flicker of recognition fleetingly passing over her face. Loki was good at surprise entrances and even better at taking advantage of his brother’s status in the pack—not that he necessarily got away with things the others wouldn’t, but none of the others particularly wanted to find out what the prime’s breaking point was either.

“I just want to keep her calm, is that so horrible?” The tone the God used was smooth and Carol remembered the talking stick analogy again. “You can smell the poor thing’s terror, is it really necessary?”

Steve looked conflicted for maybe two seconds when a light went off behind his eyes. “Keep her calm so I don’t have to purr and you can stay.”

The delta’s hand immediately slipped up the front of her shirt, cupping the curve of her rib cage just under her breast. His nose pressed into her neck in the following moments, a small golden glow flowing over the little omega’s skin where he touched her. The odor of fear was quick to recede once the windows were open, replaced with the tangy-sweet scent of her pussy. Carol inhaled sharply and whined, drawing Steve’s attention to her wide, sad eyes.

The prime huffed, running one big hand through his hair while Loki held the omega’s thigh in place. “Hands to yourself, Carol.”

The blonde immediately tucked her nose into the other side of the omega’s neck, hands clenched into fists and tucked tightly against her stomach. She could hear the rest of the pack shuffling around, vying for space and views on the bed. Steve seemed entirely unbothered, his gaze once again locked on the pretty omega’s.

“Is your cunt working your slick hard enough precious?” He murmured directly into her ear, lips brushing the skin gently. “If those muscles aren’t strong enough we might have to put in a bit more effort to stretch you out. Squeeze around my fingers baby.”

Carol’s eyes rolled back when a breathy whine escaped the omega, the only perceivable reaction that might’ve betrayed her fear—otherwise, whatever magic Loki had used made her eyes shine with bliss. Steve had two fingers knuckle deep in her cunt, still pressing forward while his slick coated thumb swept up through her folds to pass over her clit. She shook under the grasp of his packmates, hips shifting without her consent to follow the movement of his hand.

“Come on sweetheart, please?” Steve implored quietly, looking at the loosely pinned omega with soft eyes. “Clench your pussy for me, let me take care of you. Please, I—oh, there you go, that’s a good girl.”

He hummed, working his fingers deeper into her cunt and scissoring them carefully. A smile lit the prime’s face when the cutest hiccupping moan escaped the omega, her legs pressing futilely against his hold. Muscle memory tried to guide her legs closed but Carol easily slipped a hand around her knee, keeping her spread wide while Steve continued to stretch her pussy. Another bass toned growl from Thor reverberated off the walls and she wailed, slick dripping over Steve’s fingers while her pussy contracted in waves as commanded by the prime’s guttural growl.

“I’m gonna take care of you precious,” her low whine prompted a moan from Steve as he added a third finger, carefully pressing the pads of his fingers up against her g-spot. “You’ll feel so much better once we fuck you, I promise.”

Carol watched with heavily lidded eyes as the omega’s attention was sparked by Steve’s use of the collective we. Likely it was only Loki’s magic that kept her from lashing out as viciously as they knew she was capable of. In spite of it, her little teeth showed, sharp incisors flashing in a botched hiss. The prime poised himself over her carefully with a small grin, fingers still fucking into her with vigor while he rested his weight on his elbow next to her head.

“It’s gonna be okay omega, it’s gonna be okay,” he cooed quietly against her ear, removing his hand only to pull his cock from his pants. “Take deep breaths, baby.”

“Don’t—” She didn’t sound distressed, the omega sounded aroused and desperate, “I—”

“Shhhh,” the prime’s lips skimmed over her cheeks, down her nose while his hand guided his dick up and down her slick folds until he was dripping with her arousal. “I’m gonna take care of you, precious. We’re gonna take care of you.”

The sound that escaped the omega’s lips as he slipped into her was goosebump inducing in the best way. She whined as the head popped in, breath hitching with every millimetre that came thereafter—and there were a lot of them. The omega was squirming, her heels scrambling against the blankets and both Loki and Carol found themselves having to focus much harder than expected on keeping her still while Steve bottomed out.

“You’re doing so well, darling,” Loki cooed, his nose brushing the line of her jaw. “I know it’s a lot but you’re taking it beautifully. Stay still love, just relax we’ll hold you.”

“That’s right ‘mega,” Steve groaned as he withdrew, the squelch of her cunt making his teeth clench. “We’ll do all the work precious, you just have to be a good girl and take my cock.”

It was easier said than done and everyone in the room save Thor was fully aware of that. The omega’s sweet little whines and cries were causing a massive feedback loop of arousal in the pack’s consciousness and Carol was pretty sure she could hear the sounds of several people going at it but she couldn’t pull her gaze away from where Steve’s cock was drilling into that pretty cunt. Evidently said feedback loop was also affecting Steve, who very suddenly growled possessively.

“Carol, Loki, off,” The prime snapped barely hesitating before dropping his elbows into the pillows on either side of the omega’s head, narrowly avoiding giving his pack mates concussions. “Now.”

Both the alpha and the delta were yanked off the bed by their ankles—well, Carol was yanked off the bed. Loki was yanked off the bed and then promptly thrown into the wall by said ankles. The reinforced exterior wall meant there was only a small dent where the god had landed, but the ensuing ruckus had a strong potential of causing even more damage. Thor immediately turned to deal with the problem, along with several other packmates.

Several things occurred in the next few seconds and the pack would probably fight about what really happened for the next twenty years, but somehow Bucky was thrown through the window and Tony’s right ring finger was broken.

And Wanda—poor Wanda, Thor pushed her out of the way before Bucky could accidentally take her through the window with him. The beta was sent flying, sailing across the bed until she hit the unyielding form of Steve. He startled in shock, immediately drawing back to assess her condition—only for a heel to slam directly into his nose. The prime’s head snapped back from the force, big body falling backwards while his hands scrambled for purchase on his face.

The omega probably would’ve even gotten down the stairs if Natasha hadn’t been ascending the stairs at that moment, having heard the commotion from where she and Clint had been putting away groceries. The redhead smelled her before seeing her, a somewhat sinister grin pulling Nat’s lips when the omega ran directly into her while attempting escape #2.

“Now where are you going, kitten? With that mess dripping down your thighs,” the beta cooed, head tilting as she scented the air. “Why can I smell Steve on you, but not his cum?”

There was a horrible, long pause while the omega seemed to consider her options before landing on Go For Broke. She attempted to dodge past Natasha but the beta’s strong arm immediately lashed around her waist, her superior strength making it easy to force her up the stairs even as she refused to hold her own weight.

Steve met them just two steps from the top, dick out and covered in blood. The prime’s expression wasn’t so much angry as it was disappointed and Natasha hummed in false sympathy.

“Someone’s been naughty, huh kitten?”

content warnings: nonconsensual sex, voyeurism

#avengers x reader #steve rogers x reader #thor x reader #loki x reader #sam wilson x reader #carol danvers x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #clint barton x reader #natasha romanoff x reader #bruce banner x reader #tony stark x reader #bucky barnes x reader #dark!avengers #omegaverse #abo dynamics #will potentially reblog with tags if i remember no promises

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damn-stark · 4 years

Text

Dreadful summer nights

Chapter 8 of Different Light

A/N- I hope you guys liked it :) I can’t wait to write more!! Let me know what y’all thought?!

Warning- SLOWBURN, fluff

Pairing- Harry Potter x Malfoy!reader, Fred Weasley x Malfoy!reader

(Let me know if you want to be tagged)

————

Summer.

Summer was and has been completely dreadful. There's been nothing to do and nowhere to go beside the corridors of your own home, the garden, and Draco’s bedroom to pester him.

With your father out all day and sometimes all night, and with Narcissa defiant not to leave home without him, you've been stuck at home. Just bored, sitting on a reading chair with your legs on the headrest and your head dangling off the edge of the chairs cushion, throwing a green apple up in the air and catching it before it hits you.

That’s how it’s been all summer long. Well that and beside the letters—

“It’s that Potter boy again, he was attacked by Dementors today.”

You gasp at the sound of your fathers voice echoing from the entrance and instantly stop what you’re doing, forgetting in that quick action about the green apple you had thrown in the air until it fell back down to hit you in the face. “Ow.”

“Did he send them?”

Very quietly you twist your body around to sit up straight—as if that was going to do anything to make you hear better. Regardless you also do it because you didn’t want to be caught sitting improperly.

“No, but perhaps someone else did. But because of the attack he had to use magic in front of a muggle and break the breach of underage sorcery. He should be expelled from Hogwarts, but that’s still to be determined.”

You're quick to your feet after the rest of the news and instantly get drowned in worry for said boy and find the need to check on him the best way you could. You hardly even think to hear more of the news, if there was more, that instant just made your mind race to Harry; and that was your motivation to race to your room, slowing down just as you passed Narcissa and your father to greet him. “Hello, father!”

His head turned to follow you up the stairs and quickly come at you with a response. “Where are you going in such a hurry? You didn’t even have time to greet me properly.”

You sigh out heavily through your nose and stop in your tracks to trail back towards your father, offering him a quick smile before giving him a peck on the cheek. “Hello papa, it’s good that you’re home.”

“Hmm, go along now, but come back for dinner.”

You show him a beaming grin and then spin on your heels to retrace your steps back to your room, double checking the hall before closing your door, so that Draco wasn’t being sneaky and trying to find any dirt on you to go tell father.

Once you’re on your desk chair, you proceed to sit quickly and clumsily get out a small piece of parchment and a quill to write to Harry.

Dear, Harry,

I’ve heard the news of what happened to you, and I couldn’t wait until we returned to school to have to check on you, so I’m sending you another letter this week.

The way I heard the news was in the matter of eavesdropping so I don’t know much, but I think I know enough. I hope you’re doing okay, I’ve never faced Dementors, but I know you have so that’s keeping me from thinking the worst. if you have the chance to write back, do so as soon as you can with news of your well-being, or else I think I won’t sleep with the worry that’ll grow.

And maybe to ease your own worry, I also do have hope you’ll return to school, they can’t expel you for something that wasn’t your fault. So remain hopeful Harry. If you want more updates on what the ministry thinks, remember that you can always ask me and I’ll get whatever information I can from what I can hear.

Lastly to not make this any longer, good job! As unfortunate as it is, today’s attack was your second time defeating them, so I think that deserves some recognition!

With love, your friend, Y/N Malfoy.

Forcing yourself to leave this letter short, you end it before you could write a whole essay, rolling it up as small as you could and walking to your open window to attach it to your eagle-owl Athena. “I know I can always count on you girl, so please take this letter to Harry as fast as you can. And remember, remain undetected.”

Athena voices a soft ‘oohu’ before leaning in so you’d pet the top of her head before she flew off to do as she was asked; disappearing into the darkening, sweet smelling evening. Leaving you to wait, and wait for what seemed hours. Having to distract yourself with going down to dinner, but hardly even being able to concentrate on what was talked about around the table as your mind only worried for that awaited reply.

And before, in days, weeks and the few months that passed this summer, after Harry sent his first letter to you and you sent one back, that cycle started, you waited for a reply after you sent a letter. Yet the anticipation was never so deeply developed as it was today. Before you could wait to hear back from him, after all you didn’t want to raise suspicion, but today was different, this letter contained important matters that couldn’t wait for some other time. You wanted answers. And yet they took forever to arrive. Not until almost midnight as you were falling asleep on your desk chair.

And once the news thankfully did arrive, you ran the fastest you had ever done to meet your owl, almost ripping the letter attached to her leg.

Y/N,

You’re always so kind, so to put you at ease, I’m alright. My cousin Dudley, not so much though.

Regardless, thank you for believing in me, it seems from the past couple letters I’ve received today that no one has.You’re the first one to even congratulate me on winning against dementors in fact, so thank you, I appreciated that.

It seems that's all I have been saying to you all summer though.

But that’s because you’re the only person I’ve really talked to.You’re the only person who ever writes me with more than just a few bleak sentences.You’ve become a true friend to me and again I appreciate it.

And regarding your offer to help inform me with the news about myself, I’d like that. But if at any time it gets too hard just leave it as it is, okay?

I’ll hopefully see you when we return to school.

Harry.

A relieved smile grows on your face and you sit back in your chair and fold the letter back up to tuck it safely with the rest of his and Fred’s letters.

Now with that worry done with, all you had to worry about was what else you could hear. Which at the end of the day wasn’t a lot. The daily prophet seemed to be for once oblivious on news regarding Harry Potter, nothing new was reported, nothing about his attack, or the aftermath of the attack. All the news you received was from your father, but that too wasn’t a lot. You tried to get more news from Harry, but that end was cut off. The three days following the events, you tried to report to him with the little things you heard, but Athena returned with your same letter untouched. You tried the next day, but that too was returned.

It was odd.

All you had to rely on now was your father.

“So, father, what's on the news on Harry Potter's trial?” You ask innocently.

“I hope he gets expelled and has time in Azkaban.” Draco interjects with a smug grin.

You shoot a discreet glare before looking back at your father who remained serious. “Harry Potter, did not get expelled, nor did he get time in Azkaban,”

At the news you express a soft relieved sigh and take a sip of your drink to hide the fact that you were smiling.

“He will continue going to school because his charges were cleared.”

Draco scoffs and grips tightly onto his fork. “But he broke the law, he should be punished.”

“Should’ve. But Dumbledore was at his side.”

Your eyes study them both before you shift your gaze down to your food and add a daring comment before taking a bite of your food. “Well, I don’t think that would be fair, he was attacked, he was simply defending himself. How would you like it if you got put in a cell because you defended yourself, Draco?”

All three pairs of eyes flew to you at the sound of your comment and silence overtook the dining table for a moment. When you looked up you simply shrugged while you swallowed the food in your mouth.

Once Draco fully understood your comment he scoffs again and doesn’t think much of the comment. “Well I think, Potter, just summoned the dementor and then attacked it because he knew everyone would talk about it. He just wanted more popularity.”

Your gaze narrows on your brother and you set your fork down to argue. “You really think that? You think he summoned those horrible monsters just to gain popularity?”

“Yes.” Draco shrugs with his smug smile glued to his face.

Just as you’re about to shoot back, you’re interrupted by your father. “And does it matter if he, or did not summon them himself, y/n? He’s below us and shouldn’t be a topic that has you arguing with your brother.”

You swallow thickly and lower your gaze as you offer him one small nod. “You’re right, I’m sorry.”

“Regardless. Kids how would you both like it if next summer instead of coming home you two went out of the country on a nice vacation?” Narcissa finally gets to interject with her voice sounding a bit shaky.

Both Draco look at her and then meet each other’s gaze for a brief moment, both finding it strange that she would suggest it, Narcissa was always so eager to see you both return from school, especially during the summer since your stay at home lasted longer than two weeks. She hardly liked being apart from either of you, it was at times overbearing, but it was at times also sweet. So her suggesting for the both of you to leave without having the chance to see her was completely off putting. “But—”

“Narcissa, we’ve talked about this,” your father cuts you off, “they’re not little children anymore. They won’t escape the reality of what we’re facing, they’re not cowards.”

“But they’re children, our children. I can’t let them fight for him, Lucius. They’re just children.”

“And we’re also Malfoys, how would it look like if they just ran away? They have to make this family proud.”

Once again, just like many times this summer after the dark lord returned, you’ve found Narcissa and your father arguing more than you’ve ever heard them argue. Usually always about the same topic, Draco and you. Which always leads to the both of you walking away where you couldn’t hear them.

This time is no different, you look to Draco to meet his gaze and point your head to the hall so he’d follow as you both quietly stood from your chairs and slipped away. Walking in silence until nothing was heard but each other’s footsteps inside the corridors of your dimly lit halls.

“They can’t seem to stop arguing.” Draco says in a much less smug voice than what he used moments ago.

You look to your side to see his shoulders were low and his eyes were unfocused. “Yeah, but they’ll stop soon. Once they come to an agreement.”

Draco manages a soft scoff and feigns to be more confident than he currently looked. “Well I can decide for them, I'll work with the dark lord like father, I’m ready.”

This time you scoff and raise your brow at him. “You are?”

“Yes, just like you.”

Your eyes instantly fly to him and you frown. “I’m not ready.” Draco looks at you and his confidence falters. “I don’t want to be a death eater, I agree with our mum.”

Draco’s lips part and he stays quiet for a brief second, he balls his fists and his eyebrows furrow as he glares at the ground before stepping out into the garden. Not daring to look at you as he tried to argue. “You’re scared. Just like her. But we’re not kids anymore.”

“She’s worried.” You correct him. “It’s okay to be scared, Draco, none of it is easy.”

Draco puts his hands in his pants pockets and looks to the hedges ahead that were lit by the lamps above, he tries to hide the fact that he was scared, that the topic of the dark lord scared him, but you were no fool, you could see right through him.

“So what are you going to run?”

“Not without you.”

Draco’s eyes snap to you and his gaze narrows on you, his lips twitch, but he’s quick to hide any sort of indication of a smile by looking away and simply continuing with his stubbornness. His reaction however makes you smile and playfully hit his shoulder with yours before adding one last bit and finishing with that topic already. “If you go, I go. Simple as that. Just because we may fight doesn’t mean I won’t have your back, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Draco rolls his eyes, making you smile wider.

——

It felt exciting being back on the train that went to Hogwarts, it felt exciting being away from home and finally getting to reunite with your friends and Fred; with Harry. You had been counting the hours since you had woken up until you would finally get here. That feeling was so strange since when you would go to Durmstrang you dreaded waking up to head to school.

Now you can't think of anything better. Hogwarts truly felt like a home away from home.

When you had gotten on the train albeit, since Draco had no recollection of all the torment from last year, it was hard convincing him that you were okay sitting somewhere else that wasn’t near him. As tough as he acted, he liked having you around, he liked showing you off like a proud brother. It was admirable, but you've been apart from your friends for too long and stuck inside a house with Draco for longer. Plus he loathed your friends, he didn’t know it was those friends you were saving a compartment for and he didn’t need to know. You’d deal with that headache later.

Now you counted the minutes—

Before you could finish your thought, a sudden loud crack goes off in front of you, making you jump off your seat and look to the spot where the noise originated from, to see two redheads suddenly in front of you with happy, mischievous grins on their face. “Malfoy!”

You hold onto your chest after your yelp and glare at them both, forgetting the greeting you and planned for them. “Well that just answered my question.” You say through gritted teeth.

“What no welcoming hug, or a happy smile for your best friends?” George remarks sarcastically, trying his hardest not to smile at your still frightened state.

You close your book and shake your head. “No, that was thrown out the window the moment you both chose to scare me.”

Fred chuckles and takes a seat beside you, wrapping his arm around you and continuing to tease you. “We saw you through the window while we were walking to the train,”

“And thought we’d show off the fact that we can apparate now.” George finishes as he sits at your other side.

You roll your eyes. “Show offs.”

Both brothers just grin and you continue to look at both, noticing the change in their appearance. You grin brightly and stand to get a better view. “You two got hair-cuts!”

“Yeah,” Fred says, beginning to smugly brush his fingers through his hair.

“We thought you’d never notice.” George continues.

“Well they look great, they suit you both.”

“But who pulls it off the best?” George asks, “be honest. And no pity votes for your boyfriend, now.”

Fred scoffs and shrugs. “It’s not a pity vote if she likes it better on me. Now, darling choose.”

Your eyes drift to both Fred and George for a brief moment before a smirk tugs on your lips and you simply shrug. “Like I said, I like them on the both of you. I won’t choose.”

Fred and George groan and just as they’re going to protest, three others come into the compartment. Your smirk falters and a smile threatens to show as you see Harry walk in after Ron and Hermione.

“Y/N!” Hermione greets excitedly, instantly throwing her arms around you. You return the embrace and her bright smile.

“Hello, Hermione, it’s so good seeing you again.”

“You too,” Hermione breaks away and walks back to sit beside Ron. “I was excited to see you, I hope your summer went well.”

“It went...okay,” you scoff, sitting back down in between the twins and focusing on Harry. “Hi Harry.”

Harry’s distant gaze looks away from the window and lands on you, seeming to take some time to really grasp who he was seeing until several minutes passed. “Y/N, hi.” A blush grows on his cheeks and he shifts in his seat. “I’m sorry I couldn’t write back if you sent me a letter after my last one, but I was well, busy with my trial and all.”

“Oh,” you wave off, “I understand, I imagined so. But didn’t I tell you; I knew you were going to return to school. I should’ve bet on it.” You grin, unknowingly catching everyone off guard with your conversation with Harry. “Are you okay, though?”

Harry hesitates, but he chooses to nod. Not really convincing you, but not leaving you a chance to follow up on his hesitation. “Yeah, I’m okay now. Are you? I mean, I remember you mentioned about your father and Narcissa arguing all the time.”

Your eyes widened at his comment and they briefly flicker to Fred; who you hadn’t mentioned about your father, or Narcissa arguing in your letters during the summer. You didn’t mean to leave it out and leave him in the dark when he would ask if everything was fine, but it just felt easier to talk about that with Harry.

With Fred, well it was all lighthearted and fun, while with Harry...well it could be the same, but it was also more serious. It just wasn’t the same.

“Oh,” you try to brush his comment off smoothly, “yeah, I’m fine.”

You avert your gaze and look to Hermione and then twins. Choosing to leave the letter talk for some other time and focusing instead on her and the twins the rest of the way to Hogwarts.

——

“Good evening children!” Dumbledore greets as he takes his usual spot by the podium, making you take your last bite of food before giving him your wavered attention. “Now we have two changes in staffing this year. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who’ll be taking care of magical creatures while Professor Hagrid is on temporal leave. Now, we also wish to welcome our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Dolores Umbridge. And I’m sure you’ll all join me in wishing the Professor good luck.” He pauses for everyone to clap before continuing, “as usual our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me—”

The sudden sound of a very squeaky clearing of the throat catches your attention, just like it had with the rest of the students. Where there had been some murmurs here and there, now there was total silence at the sound of the new professor in all bubble gum pink suddenly, and surprisingly interrupting Professor Dumbledore. It makes your curiosity heighten and your head raise so you could see her fully standing up from chair and begin to walk to the podium.

“Thank you Headmaster for those kind words of welcome.” She softly says. “And how lovely to see all your bright, happy faces smiling up at me...”

You scoff and pinch your eyebrows at her absurd and daring assumption.

“I’m sure we’re all going to be very good friends.”

Your eyebrows raise and a smirk appears on your lips as you try hard not to laugh, feeling the twins lean back towards you from their spots in their assigned table to both simultaneously add a sarcastic remark that made you snicker. “That’s likely.”

Albeit at the quiet and private comment the twins made, the pink lady looks to the three of you and shoots you a glare, whilst her smile that she carried seemed to have more hatred behind it than her actual glare. “The ministry of magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be a vital importance. Although each headmaster has brought something new to this historic school, process for the sake of process, must be discouraged. Let us preserve what must be preserved, perfect what can be perfected and prune practices that ought to be prohibited.” Professor Umbridge ends her speech with a giggle before walking back to her seat, letting you grin and lean back towards the twins to add one last comment regarding her.

“Well this year ought to be fun.”

The twins lean back and even if you couldn’t see it, they both smirked as they both simultaneously respond, “wickedly fun.”

Tagged- @peter-laufeyson , @swiftlymoniquesblog , @spideyyypeter , @gsvshsjsbs, @accio-prozac , @cherriesanwine , @kokomaesadie , @april-14-blog , @prettypinkpeachh , @pest-ill-ence , @ilovespideyyy , @m3ssytrash , @hogwarts-babe-blog , @yodaboo

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gilmores-glorious-blog · 4 years

Text

julie and the phantoms week day five- favorite fanfic trope (Willex + coffee shop AU)

I’m really obssesed with the idea of a willex coffee shop au (probably because i thought about barista!willie for like one second and fell instantly in love), so here’s my take on it! (Warning for cursing)

@jatp-week

This is all Luke’s fault, Alex thought as he stood in front of the prettiest boy he’d ever seen in his entire goddamn life- the boy he’d just spilled hot coffee all over.

And it was! Kind of. Most of it was Alex’s fault for being a disaster of a human being, but for the sake of convenience, Alex chose to blame it on Luke.

After all, if Luke hadn’t overslept, the job of getting everyone’s pre-rehearsal drinks would have fallen to him, not Alex. But Luke had overslept, probably due to staying up all night writing songs, and Alex had woken up to a frantic text from his best friend asking him to go to the coffee shop for him, since Alex lived much closer to Julie’s studio than Luke did and had plenty of time to get both coffee and to rehearsal on time.

So Alex had found himself entering Hollywood Coffee, a nice place in the middle of Sunset Boulevard that he hadn’t actually been to before (again, getting drinks was usually Luke’s job). He didn’t pay much attention as he walked to the register, and as he waited in the short line, he pulled out his phone and opened his notes app, making sure he had everyone’s order written down properly. Alex had gotten much better with handling his anxiety, but everyday social interactions were still far from his favorite thing.

Alex was just finishing going over the order in his head for what had to be the fifteenth time, because the last thing he wanted was to be on his phone the whole time he was talking to the barista- how rude would that be?!- when he heard the employee in question wish the person in front of Alex a nice day, and Alex stepped up to the counter, still not looking up as he tucked his phone back into his pocket.

“What can I get for you?” A friendly voice asked, and Alex finally looked up at the barista.

Fuck.

Alex wasn’t sure if he was breathing as he stared at the boy in front of him. He had tan skin and long dark hair that was pulled up into a messy bun, wispy strands of hair framing his face perfectly. He was wearing what appeared to be a tye dye crop top under his black apron. The shirt was loose and short-sleeved- which was very unfortunate for Alex, who had made the mistake of looking at the man’s arms and felt himself growing very red as he took in the impressive muscles. He scanned the apron, finding a name tag with ‘Willie’ scrawled across it. The apron also had a pin that read ‘He/They’ and a rainbow pin.

The guy- Willie- made a small sound, something between a cough and a sigh, and Alex suddenly remembered he was supposed to be ordering drinks, not ogling the random cute boy. Alex’s head shot up, and he opened his mouth to speak, but found himself unable to do so as he accidentally made eye contact with Willie.

Alex had heard people been described as having “kind eyes” before, but he’d never understood what they meant by that until he looked at Willie. There really was no other way to describe the boy’s deep brown eyes. The sunlight streaming in the nearby window lit his eyes with a soft golden glow, and Alex could have easily kept staring into them forever, but Willie blinked and Alex was jolted out of his trance.

“Uhh….” Alex started, but was still finding himself unable to talk. “Sorry, I… um… here.” Alex reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, unlocking it quickly and shoving the still-open drink order into Willie’s face.

Well that wasn’t ideal. But hey, at least if Alex didn’t talk, he couldn’t embarrass himself any further.

“Oh! Uh, do you mind if I…” Willie gestured to the phone.

Alex stared at him blankly for a moment before replying, “Yeah! Yeah of course! Here!” Alex dropped the phone into Willie’s outstretched hand and stared down at the floor while Willie carefully read over his order. Alex frantically tapped a rhythm on his legs, trying to calm down the blush that had spread across his whole face.

Willie placed the phone on the counter, and Alex quickly swept it up into his pocket.

“Okay, your drinks will be ready soon!” Willie smiled at Alex and Alex felt himself go weak in the knees at the boy’s crooked grin.

Alex just nodded. He probably should move from the counter, but he didn’t want to leave Coffee Shop Boy forever.

Willie smiled at him again, nodding at his shirt. “Nice shirt.” Alex glanced down quickly to see what he was wearing. It was a really stupid shirt of Reggie’s- plain pink with a hot dog on it, god knows why- that had been left at his place. Why Alex was wearing it, he didn’t know. He had probably been tempted by fate to wear it today for the sole purpose of humiliating himself further in front of the cute barista.

Alex just attempted to smile at Willie and hurried away from the register, hearing a faint “Have a nice day!” from the other boy as he left.

Alex found a seat in the farthest corner of the coffee shop and… well he didn’t want to say that he buried his head in his hands, but also that’s exactly what he did. Why am I such a disaster! This is why I can’t get a boyfriend! He cursed his existence, wishing he was capable of seeing cute boys without obviously staring at them like a creep.

Alex sat there like that for what couldn’t have been more than ten minutes, but felt like much longer. He eventually took his head out of hands and decided that he’d rather get his anxiety out by pacing around the coffee shop as he waited for his drinks to be ready.

Alex stood up, turned around, and promptly crashed into somebody, falling to the floor. He felt hot liquid splash against him and his head was ringing from the force of the collision.

“Oh my god are you okay?” A worried voice asked from above him, and Alex felt hands on his arms as the person who had landed on top of him pulled themselves up.

Alex opened his eyes and found Willie staring back at him.

Shitshitshitshitshitshitshitshit-

Willie stood fully, extending a hand to Alex to help him up. Alex took it on instinct, but immediately regretted doing so. His hands were sweaty and warm and sticky with coffee and oh god he’d really fucked up this time-

“I am so sorry.” Willie said once Alex was standing. “I realized that I didn’t get your name, so I figured I’d just bring your drinks to you, but I didn’t see you moving to get up… anyways, I’m really sorry.”

Alex ran his hand through his hair, blushing madly at Willie talking to him in such a genuine way. “It’s okay. It’s my fault.”

“No, no, it’s not! Here, let me make you new drinks.” Willie turned to go back behind the counter but Alex reached out and grabbed his arm- shocking both Willie and himself.

“Don’t bother.” Alex said, dropping Willie’s arm as quickly as he’d grabbed it. “I have to go,” Willie looked at him curiously. “Band practice.” Alex explained.

“Oh, nice!” Willie responded. “But are you sure you don’t want me to get you something? I can just whip up those drinks again really quick.”

“I’m sure,” Alex answered. “I’m already running late.” It was true, and there was nothing worse than being late to a rehearsal with Julie Molina (if looks could kill…).

“Okay… well, if you’re sure. But I have to find a way to repay you. Like, actually I do, or I’ll get in trouble with my boss. And believe me, being in trouble with my boss would be bad.” Willie shuddered in a way that filled Alex with a surprising amount of anger towards this unnamed boss.

“I can come back after practice? Maybe I’ll buy something then.” Alex suggested. The more he talked to Willie, the less embarrassed he felt and found himself just enjoying being in the company of the other boy.

Willie nodded, seeming to contemplate carefully what he was going to say next. “Let me pay you back in another way though. I’ve got to make up for ruining your shirt.”

Alex was about to point out that it wasn’t actually his shirt, and also that Willie’s clothes were equally soaked, but Willie wasn’t done talking.

“I’ll pay for your drinks. I don’t mind paying out of my own pocket. But let me take you out for coffee- somewhere else, though.” Willie laughed. “I’m kinda sick of the drinks here.”

Holy shit.

Was Willie… asking him out?

Even after he blatantly checked him out, was so awkward that he couldn’t even talk to him, and collided with him and got coffee all over him?

Well, Alex wasn’t going to be the one to complain.

“Yes. Please. I would like that.” Alex hurriedly responded, furiously blushing and hoping his eagerness wasn’t too obvious.

Willie smiled, and goddamn, if Alex thought that first smile was captivating. This one was clearly different from Willie’s customer service smile, wider and much more genuine, and Alex would have fainted from it had he not become completely numb to how hot Willie was from the events of the past twenty minutes.

“Cool. I’ll meet you at Sunset Brew after my shift?” Willie asked, referencing another coffee shop a few blocks down.

Alex just nodded, smiling shyly.

“See ya there, Hotdog.” Willie bumped Alex’s shoulder and began to walk back to the counter.

It took Alex’s brain a few seconds to process the nickname, but then he cried out, “Wait!”

Willie stopped walking and looked expectantly at Alex.

“Uh… I didn’t get your number?” Alex rubbed the back of his neck. Although Willie had told him a place to meet up, Alex still wanted to get the boy’s number. In case any number of things went wrong, he still wanted to be able to talk to him again.

Willie just winked. “Check your phone.”

He disappeared behind the counter, and Alex pulled out his phone, confused. He found it still open to the notes app, and at the bottom of the list of drinks, Alex found text that hadn’t been there before, along with a phone number.

Call me ;)

Alex smiled as he left the coffee shop, trying his hardest to not freak out and scream right there on the street- his freaking out could wait until he was with his friends.

He’d have to thank Luke for oversleeping.

#i love them....#willex #willex fic #julie and the phantoms #jatp #jatp fic #julie and the phantoms fic #jatpweek #jatp week #willie jatp #alex jatp #eli.writes #i wrote this while watching the news so theres probably a lot of errors but whatever ig

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waywardfangirl · 4 years

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Both @captain-aralias and @palimpsessed did really nice posts to share their fics from this year as well as their thoughts on what they wrote, and I enjoyed reading their posts (and their fics!) so much that I thought I would take them up on their open invitation to do one too! I’m a big believer in keeping lists of your accomplishments to look at on days when self-doubt creeps in, so I encourage anyone else who might be interested to do this too! (All the questions are copied from @captain-aralias)

List of Completed Fics this year:

I wrote ten fics this year, as well as starting a ton of WIPs, which is amazing to me, considering I have only written fic once before in my life!

Slow - General, 3k

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore - Teen, 28k

Promises - General, 3k

A Privilege to Love You - Teen, 7k

Early Riser - General, >1k

Write This Down - General, 3k

As You Wish - Teen, 13k

The View from the Veranda - General, 4k

Down By The Sea - General, 2k

Just Want You to Know Who I Am - General, 1k (written in 2020, posted in 2021)

Total: 10 fics, 67k words, 100% Snowbaz

Pretty good for what is truly the first year that I have been an active participant in fandom!

Questions answered below the cut.

Best/worst title?

A Privilege to Love You is my favorite title, because I think the line is just so sweet, and it makes my heart melt.

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is definitely my worst title, because that was just the placeholder name I gave the WIP, but then I got so used to it I forgot to change it to something better before posting. I still cringe a bit at that one.

Best/worst summary?

l am horrifically indecisive, so I have a few summaries that I like. Just Want You To Know Who I Am is short and sweet, and I think it conveys exactly what I want it to:

Baz is fine. He's fine. Everything is fine. (It just isn't.)

~A fic about being loved in all the little ways~

But I also really liked the quotes I pulled for The View from the Veranda, As You Wish, and A Privilege to Love You.

Early Riser also has a summary that I let break my heart:

Baz wakes up early now, even though Simon doesn’t.

I does very little to convey what the fic is about, but after reading the fic it hurts like I wanted it to, sooo.....

I think that Promises has the worst summary though:

Inspired by the song "Promises" from the musical Hadestown.

Simon and Baz have spent the last three years working on themselves and on their relationship. Now it's time for their next step together.

Best/worst first line?

Baz says it best to open The View from the Veranda:

I am not a man accustomed to enduring want.

However, Simon deserves an honorable mention for starting us off right in As You Wish:

Baz is such a prick.

As for worst opening lines, I don’t really think I have any. I have some that stand better as an opening paragraph than an opening line, but I place a lot of importance on the first line of a story, so I like to make sure all mine are strong.

Best/worst last line?

I am not going to spoil any last lines for anyone (I cover up the last page of books when I read to reveal it slowly, word by word, so I take last lines seriously!), but I will say that As You Wish has an adorably predictable last line that I love.

For worst last line, I have to say Slow. I liked the line itself when I wrote it, but then I learned later that people were interpreting it in a more steamy way than what I had intended, and because I feel like Slow is such an innocent fic and really highlights how important it is for Simon to not be rushed into every decision he makes, I don’t like that it sounds like he and Baz rushed into something else. (I just meant that they talked and maybe kissed a bit! That’s it!)

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

On December 31st, 2019, I was pet sitting when I came across a prompt for a Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement Snowbaz AU. I impulsively started to write, even though I had only written one other fic in my life (Check, Please!), and I had never written Snowbaz before. I kind of thought that maybe I would write one fic and that would be all, and that maybe one fic is all I would ever write, but I am so happy to have been wrong about that! I wrote way more than I could have predicted, and I even did NaNoWriMo! (I failed NaNoWriMo too, and I’m okay with that, because I want writing to be something I do for fun, not something that stresses me out.)

As a fun side note, Carry On is a fandom that I have returned to many times in my life, and it seems to have a special place on New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day for me. I was given Fangirl as a Christmas present, and started reading it on New Year’s Eve, only to finish it and realize that the new year had arrived while I was engrossed in the book. I have spent multiple New Year’s Eves since engrossed in a reread of the book, or reading fic, and so it feels really fitting that I got into properly writing fic for Carry On as the year turned over.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

Literally all of this was unexpected, as I never planned on writing any more fic, but I think I am most surprised to have written multiple songfics. I never read many songfics, and didn’t often care for them, but I wrote Promises off of the song from Hadestown, Write This Down off of George Strait’s song, and then Just Want You to Know Who I Am because Caity got the Goo Goo Dolls stuck in my head.

What’s your favourite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

My favorite might actually be my most popular, so I’ll go with my close second favorites (it’s a tie)

A Privilege to Love You is a soulmate au, and those are my favorite things ever. I also received some of the best feedback on this one, and I feel like I did a lot of things that worked really well in this fic.

The View from the Veranda is just so wonderful for me though, it combines my love of history with absolute silliness for a friend (I love you Liz!!!), @krisrix did some INCREDIBLE art for it, and I just had so much fun writing it.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

As You Wish was the most popular, hands down, with more hits, kudos, comments, and bookmarks than any other fic I wrote. It’s also the fic of mine that I reread the most, because it makes me so happy and I love all the silly moments.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

We’re Not in Genovia Anymore is probably the answer here. This isn’t entirely backed up by metrics, since it does have more hits and kudos than some of my other fics, but for how long it is and the work that went into it, I think it only got a portion of the attention I was hoping it would. That’s mostly my fault though! It was the first fic I wrote for this fandom, and so I have definitely grown as a write since! Additionally, while I feel like it has a lot of great moments and fantastic lines, I have some lackluster bits too, and it really suffered from not having a beta (I was too shy to ask anyone back then). It’s also an AU of a movie that isn’t as widely viewed as I previously thought, so that didn’t help either, and as I already said, this fic could have a much better title.

All that aside though, the people who have read and talked to me about this fic have really seemed to like it, so I’m glad that I did right by my fellow Princess Diaries 2 fans! (and all of the wonderful people who read it and commented nice things having never seen the movie, y’all rock!)

Story that could have been better?

Everything I wrote before asking someone to beta. I just talked about what I would improve in We’re Not In Genovia Anymore, but Promises could use some work too. Having a few wonderful friends help me edit my fics has really improved what I post!

Sexiest story?

Oh gosh, I am not someone who writes sexy things.

Having said that, The View from the Veranda was written in the style of a bodice ripper, so I think that makes it the sexiest story by default. Kris’s art also enhances its sex appeal by at least 200% (I laughed out loud when I was making the list at the start of this post, because I had entirely forgotten that fic is rated G - honestly, that tells you everything you need to know about me, my romance novel fic can be read by children haha) (I might give it a T rating at some point, just because I feel like it should have that)

**I just remembered the bonus chapter for As You Wish.... that might be the sexiest thing I’ve written haha 🤣

Saddest story?

Early Riser - I am a big believer in giving everyone who deserves it a happy ending, but this one is just an interlude of sadness and depression without any resolution in sight.

(If you read it though, please know that in my head they do get therapy and things do get better! Snowbaz always has a happy ending in my fics, even if I don’t write it out fully)

Most fun?

As You Wish - this one to me feels like the happy chaos of running and sliding around a big house in stocking feet, and I don’t have a better way to describe it than that. There’s a tiny bit of angst from Baz, and a little bit of panic from Simon, but I was smiling and having so much fun while writing this fic, and I really think it comes across.

Story with single sweetest moment?

A Privilege to Love You - I’ll let you decide which of the many sweet moments is actually the sweetest ❤

Hardest story to write?

Promises, no question about it. I had written two fics by that point, and people had been so nice, and some of you lovely folks had even started tagging me in WIP Wednesday posts and in Six Sentence Sunday posts, but I felt like I had no inspiration left and I kept worrying that I wouldn’t be able to write again. So, I forced myself to write something, and it felt like pulling teeth (and it honestly wasn’t very good), but I gifted it to the person who had been my biggest cheerleader and who had tagged me a million times, and that’s how @foolofabookwyrm and I became friends. Writing the fic sucked, but her friendship is worth it, a million times over 💜💜💜

Easiest/most fun story to write?

The View from the Veranda. I’m a historian, and I work a lot with primary sources and spend time speaking with others in 18th century language, so once I got into my “work mindset” the words just flowed. This was also a silly, happy story for me, because I included a lot of jokes for Liz, and there are a ton of details that are just hilarious if you work at the same place I do (sorry that none of you do, but let me just tell you, the descriptions of Simon are all based off of my most attractive colleague, and at least 15% of this fic is silly quotes from work). I think this was only supposed to be about a thousand words long, and I messaged Kris multiple times while writing just to tell him that it was getting out of control and I couldn’t stop writing 😂

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Writing for Agatha in We’re Not in Genovia Anymore really made realize how much some of her (canon) story resounded with me, and I liked the deeper character study I ended up doing for her. I’m still always going to be the most in love with Baz, but I have a deeper connection to Agatha now too.

Most overdue story?

It’s still overdue. I have so many WIPs, at least seven of which are soulmate AUs, and I just keep starting more. In terms of actual planned release date though? I started writing a The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue AU for NaNoWriMo, with the intention of publishing it in January. It’s already the longest fic I’ve ever written, and I don’t think I’m even a quarter of the way done with it. I wasn’t happy writing for NaNo, because I don’t do well with creativity on a deadline, and I chose to pause work on that fic so I can actually enjoy writing it and end up with something I like once I finally return to it. Apologies to those who are anxiously awaiting the fic, I do hope to finish it this year, and I won’t post until it’s all done, so you’ll get a very rapid update schedule when it does come out!

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I signed up for my first fandom event! I participated in the Secret Snowflake event, and wrote Down By The Sea for the wonderful @fight-surrender (and ended up with ideas for some other new fics too)! Even though I was actively failing NaNoWriMo when I signed up, I did manage to complete my fic on time, and I learned that it wasn’t quite as daunting as I was expecting it to be. (My biggest problem was my laptop breaking and having to do almost everything on my phone - I also learned once again just how amazing Liz is, as she helped me format and post to ao3, since I couldn’t do that properly without a computer)

I struggle with being creative on a deadline, but wanting to write a little over 1k in a month was much more achievable than feeling stressed about writing 50k in a month!

This year’s theme and the story that demonstrates it most:

I like the idea of the inevitability of love. I adore soulmate AUs, because I love the idea of a universe where not only does someone have a perfectly matched other person, but that there is a surefire way to find them. Even though I only published one soulmate AU this year, I feel like every time I write Snowbaz I am writing about a couple where love will, inevitably, win. In my mind they are always going to have a happy ending somewhere down the line where they are just purely in love. Even though love doesn’t magically fix everything, it’s still incredibly powerful, and I only want to create stories where Simon and Baz truly love each other.

Of course, with that as the theme, A Privilege to Love You has to be the fic that best demonstrates the idea of inevitable love - it’s a soulmate AU and a universe where Simon exercises his free will.

What are your fic writing goals for next year this year?

Finish and publish my Gentleman’s Guide AU

Finish and publish more soulmate AUs (I have so many WIPs you guys)

Plan more before writing

Work on improving dynamic scenes and the overall flow of my fics - I sometimes feel like I have too many lulls, and I want to write in a more engaging way

Promote my own work more! I am partially doing this post because there are multiple fics that I never shared on here! I plan to make banners for all of the fics I write this year, and to post them on tumblr at the same time I upload them to ao3.

The last few years have been a time of tremendous personal growth for me, and I really feel like I’m starting to understand who I am as a person, settle into myself, and like who I am. I’m thrilled to discover that fandom is still part of who I am and what I enjoy, and that I have more creative outlets in my life now than I ever expected to. My biggest goal is just to keep building on all of that, to use fic to explore who I am, to reflect what I like, make myself happy with my writing, and to hopefully make at least a few of you happy with my stories too!

#2020 fics #my writing #about me #year in review #fic masterpost #fanfic year in review #my fic #snowbaz #carry on

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chaoticgeminate · 5 years

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Exposed

So I had a plot bunny that ran rampant, after reading the post about it being illegal in France to record/take pictures without consent. It was supposed to be short but apparently I can’t do that? IDK, what started as a 1k word blurb sort of evolved into nearly 7k words in like two hours.

So! Just a heads up for everyone before you click the Read More tag. Contained within this insanity is:

Class salt (moderate) Lila salt (major) Alya salt (moderate bordering major) Ladyblog salt (moderate bordering major) Crush reveal on the wrong side of the mask (MariChat) Supportive Gabriel (shocking, I know, but I had too much salt) Supportive Sabine (again, had a lot of salt, wanted some sweet)

[AO3]

Expelled, again.

Marinette stared at the online course schedule that was now hers to complete, after Lila spread a photo shopped picture that led to bullying and her second expulsion, the only change to this time and the last was that her parents were firmly on her side and didn’t want her going back. Once again there hadn’t been any investigations done, Lila’s mother hadn’t made an appearance in the office, and Principal Damocles hadn’t listened to any arguments of the crime that Marinette was being accused of.

Taking a candle, supposedly, to Lila’s homework packets; but Marinette wasn’t an idiot, she knew exactly what that picture was from and a part of her was pissed at the girl squad. The original photo was from a funeral for her great-grandmother, who had passed away recently, Marinette had been burning joss paper and her mother had taken the photo; the original picture had Marinette in tears with her hair done in a loose bun that her great-grandmother had loved to see her wear.

Lila had photo shopped a picture of Marinette wearing a vicious scowl, no doubt from an argument with Chloe, as well as the school hallway as the background; if you really looked there was obvious distortion around Marinette’s neck and a faint lining around her legs. But the Principal didn’t want to hear that, he declared her a problem and got rid of her, which was now leading to an outraged Tom and Sabine with an emotionally distressed teenager.

Then came the slander against the bakery, the Ladyblog outright posting articles about the supposed incident, with tabloids trying to hop on the trail. Thanks to Nadja Chamack and TVi, after the Ministry of National Education had been contacted with proper proof and documentation, the station had Aurore deliver a stunning counter article about the power abuse and out-of-control nature of the staff at François Dupont with her own private experiences adding to it all.

Chat Noir had been the first hero to make an appearance on the news, on TVi specifically with Aurore sitting across from him, his very public denouncement of the Ladyblog had stunned her to tears when she watched it.

“I’m not allowed to go into detail but I’ve met Marinette Dupain-Cheng, she is a hardworking young woman who fights for her friends and stands up for what she believes in, I can honestly say with one-hundred percent faith that she has never been a bully and that whatever she’s being accused of is just another lie because Lila Rossi feels threatened by her.”

“Another lie, Chat Noir?”

“Yes. I’ve spoken to officer Raincomrpix about this already but during the akuma that was faced named Oni-chan, which was created when Lila lied to get into Adrien Agreste’s manor and then kissed him without his consent before sending the picture to every female on his contact list, Lila Rossi also lied to me directly about being injured to separate me from Ladybug.”

“Wait, so on top of sexual harassment and possible stalking charges she could be possibly accused of aiding a terrorist?”

“Correct, but Ladybug and I agreed not to say anything at first because neither one of us could say for certain if she was trying to separate us or be seen carried by a hero so that she could get fifteen minutes of fame, we didn’t want to make that accusation and be incorrect since it’s a rather big one.”

“Why bring it up now?”

“Seeing as her track record is to lie and make things up, Aurore, I’m certain that photo is false and that she created evidence to frame the girl she sees as a threat in order to get rid of her; I’m angry that the school has mishandled this situation, as this is the second time Marinette has been accused of a supposed crime without investigation where Lila Rossi is concerned.”

“I know of the first, Marinette had told me about it, I cannot believe Principal Damocles and Madam Bustier made the call they did without pulling the CCTV footage from the security desk.”

“Indeed. But I’m here to say that Ladybug and I both publicly denounce the Ladyblog, from here on out, because we don’t endorse tabloids of any kind. Nor do we support or endorse bullying, which Alya Cesaire has been doing to Marinette ever since the accusations against her were made, so any more news on Ladybug and I that is correct will be delivered through TVi or through The Catbug News.”

“Oh, my blog? But I just post memes.”

“Well, Aurore, now you’re going to be our go-to; if you promise to help with submitting akuma locations, tips to avoid being akumatized, and a lot more cat memes.”

While his little stunt with the memes was entirely what she expected, though it was fair for him to ask those to continue because they were hilarious (something she would deny if asked), she had been so touched that she’d suited up and hugged him for a straight ten minutes without a single word before she remembered herself. “For Marinette, she wanted me to talk to you, I was talking with her about everything and she’s a little embarrassed because your faith in her made her cry off her make-up.” He’d gotten a funny shine to his eyes before nodding and purr-omising to stop by too on a night he didn’t have a ton of homework to do, then they patrolled as usual, Ladybug had made an appearance at Aurore’s window and given her own interview.

Talking about the emotional trauma, the fact that Marinette had lured no less than three akuma butterflies, and that she was ashamed that the reporter she once trusted had gone so far as to try and attack a business without proof or evidence. The heroine had gone on to agree with Chat, that The Catbug News would be the go-to source along with TVi for any official news that came from the heroes directly, before she looked right at the camera. “I also want it known that Rena Rouge and Carapace, along with Queen Bee for obvious reasons, have been permanently retired and will no longer be seen.” While she couldn’t have used them again after Hawkmoth learned their identities with Miracle Queen, something she’d planned to talk to them about, she’d purposefully made that public as a definite revenge move.

Hawkmoth had tried but with Ladybug and Chat on city watch, patrolling houses of all former heroes, there hadn’t been any akuma that spouted up because she was purifying them before they could reach a target.

That had all been two days ago, now Marinette was enrolled in classes online as the Ministry did their investigation into both incidents, the teenager stared until the screen blurred after a busy day of talking with agents and her new therapist; everyone was on self-harm watch, afraid she’d resort to cutting or starving herself out of misery. Gentle tapping at her skylight made her look up at the glowing green eyes, it was dark enough that they were the only visible thing in the square panel, Marinette moved up onto her bed and pushed the window open before gesturing the hero to enter.

He hesitated a moment, for good reason since this was Marinette and not Ladybug, they’d only had maybe three or four meetings outside of the suit; but he did take up her offer when the thunder rumbled, his lean form landing on his knees so he kept his boots off her blankets. “Uh, hi Princess, I wanted to check on you; Ladybug pointed out-“ He didn’t get to finish his statement at all as she threw herself at him with a wail, finally able to express her gratitude properly as she clung to him, his stiff posture faded as he wrapped his arms around her gently and rubbed her back.

“Ch-chat why is this happening? What did I- what did I do wrong?” It was a question she wondered for a while now, just what happened that led to the universe throwing all this at her, why was it that she always had to fight and struggle for every little thing? His grip tightened and a low croon vibrated through him, not quite a growl and not quite a comforting hum, something between that was a strange mix of human and cat.

His voice was rough and she felt his tears as he sniffled. “Nothing, Marinette, you have done nothing wrong; I am so sorry that this happened, that I let it get this bad without trying to do something about it sooner.” Like always he was trying to take the punishment and blame, in and out of the suit he was trying to keep all the fault and punishment off her, it was both heartwarming and heartbreaking enough that Marinette’s tears grew and her body broke into heaving sobs against his shoulder.

Calming down took a long time, especially since it led to calming him down too now that he was worked up from her own tears and misery, Marinette stroked his hair gently and made sure to help him dry his own eyes. “It’s not your fault, Chat, you had hero things to do and you have a life outside the suit that I don’t know about; but I can promise you that I don’t blame you, or anyone really, except Lila and now Alya and the other. Except Adrien, he did call me to apologize and promise he’d try and come up with something to help, but he was also the only one who knew that she was a liar aside from me. He was right though, in the beginning at least, because she should have lied herself into a corner by now if the teachers and students had paid attention at all. It wasn’t until the first expulsion incident that it got really bad, she accused me of cheating on a test and then stealing her grandmother’s pendant as well as pushing her down the stairs, Adrien tried to speak up for me but Principal Damocles wouldn’t listen.” Marinette couldn’t stop the soft blush or the warmth in her face, even if he didn’t like her back she was touched that he’d tried to do something.

Chat coughed into his hand and glanced around the room. “You a fan of his, Princess?” He nudged her and Marinette decided that she had to trust her partner with something.

“Well, I’m his friend… I hope. But, uh, I wanted to be more; at least, before he met Kagami and asked me to help him on his date with her. I mean, I like him and would love to hold his hand in a totally non-platonic way, but his happiness is more important and if he likes Kagami then I’m not going to interfere with that either.” Kagami was her friend and they had a long talk with a promise at the end, regardless of who Adrien chose (even if it wasn’t one of them) they would be friends and they would not treat whoever he dated with any negative attitude, Marinette was tired of everything she did being about a boy and all her negatives supposedly being about a boy.

There was a high-pitched sound, not unlike a tea kettle boiling, that made her look at Chat; his face was flushed and his pupils were shot wide, tail jerking and ears twitching. “You- him? For how long? If I might ask, I mean, I’m just- I thought you liked guitar boy.” Marinette tilted her head at the silly cat as she thought of Luka, then of the strange up and down relationship with Adrien that she had, before she smiled fondly.

It was sort of embarrassing but it was nice to talk about. “I, uh, didn’t like him at first; I didn’t even know who he was, I followed his father for fashion but most of my stuff is women’s wear so I wasn’t much for watching the men’s portion of runways. I thought he put gum on my seat and when Chloe and Sabrina giggled about it, well, I really just laid into him and didn’t even let him say anything before I accused him of being a bully. But, well, it was after you and Ladybug saved Ivan and Mylene the second time… I forgot my umbrella and it was raining. Adrien was- I wasn’t going to listen to him, but he went out of his way to admit the truth to me, he could have just gone on his way and not confessed anything at all.” Marinette would never forget that gentle, almost pleading expression, that he’d worn.

The lonely Prince trying to make friends. “He didn’t have to try and clear the air between us, he could have made friends with everyone else and ignored me, but he did try to make things right; then he, well, he offered me his umbrella. Since that afternoon I was lost, I fell for him really hard to the point that I still struggle to even talk around him, I mean… I know I’m not perfect but I want to be for him and I’m terrified that if I confess he’d tell me no and then decide that it was too awkward to even be my friend anymore.” A fear that she knew was sort of silly with how valuable Adrien held his friends, something she probably didn’t need to worry about at all, but it was one she couldn’t ignore.

Chat’s blush hadn’t quite died down but he had lost the shocked look, which was sort of a relief, Marinette looked at him and wondered if maybe he’d seen her with Luka sometime and jumped the gun on who she liked. “I don’t think he’d do that to you from what I’ve seen of him, but I won’t push you to confess or anything because that’s not fair to you.” Hearing him say that just brought another wave of emotions down on her that made a swell of relief flood her, she wasn’t at school and that meant no more set-ups by Alya, she could finally do things at her own pace.

“Thank you, Chat. My best friend-“ The words choked quiet and she drooped. “F-former. My former best friend, Alya, was really pushy when it came to trying to get me to confess to him. It’s a relief to hear you say that because you’re the first one.” His hand settled on her back and Marinette sank into his hold, he laid back and kept his feet off the bed as he pulled her into a cuddle with one hand carding through her now loose hair.

Marinette sighed as the exhaustion from stress finally took over, lids drooping as Chat purred her to sleep.

Working on her Physics, puzzling through the equation she had to do, Marinette completely missed her Maman calling out to her and missed the opening of her door. “Hey Marinette!” Adrien’s voice registered after all of two minutes and she abruptly shrieked as she turned, feet tangling in her blankets as she also tried to stand up, a painful kiss with the floor was inevitable until she was practically snatched out of the fall and pulled into a leaning position against Adrien. “It’s just me, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mouth opening and closing rapidly, her face flushing with color since she was most definitely wearing her Chat Noir onesie that she’d made and never planned for anyone to see, the teen struggled against her blanket snare before shaking her head and clearing her throat.

“You’re fine! I mean, it’s fine- not that you aren’t fine- I mean, uh-“ His hands squeezed her shoulders and Adrien’s fond smile made her brain blank as he chuckled, his finger pressed to her lips and his bangs falling just so as he tilted his head. It was not a look she’d associate with Adrien, since she had only fantasized about his romantic gestures, but it was familiar in a way that she couldn’t quite place.

His cheeks were pink and she felt her own flame in response to his blush. “You’re so cute, Marinette.” Somewhere she thought a record scratched loudly, her heartbeat thundering in her ears at his words as they registered, she wasn’t even sure what color her face was anymore because she was sure that it was purple with how hard it was to breathe all of a sudden. “Uh, wait, I-“ A frantic sort of panic ruined the soft look on his face. “I mean- you are cute but I didn’t want to- I have an idea on how to really end the thing with Lila!” How did that equate to her being cute, she didn’t quite know, but all of a sudden she couldn’t tear her focus from the possible end to it all.

Marinette blinked rapidly and he took that as a sign to continue. “You heard Alix, Alya, and the others; she admitted she took that photo of you to them, they quoted her and Alya had video proof Lila verbally admitted it.” This made her nod warily since she knew that much, it was why the girls had gone on a crusade against her and reported it to the Principal. “It’s illegal in France to take pictures without anyone’s consent, why do you think fans don’t flood my photoshoots and paparazzi are practically non-existent unless they crowd me asking for my allowance?” Everything in her swelled and she couldn’t help but throw herself at him with a squeal of joy because, holy shit, she had everything she needed.

“Adrien Agreste, you genius, I could kiss the hell out of you right now!”

His arms had wrapped around her to hold her steady, as she’d thrown hers around his neck in her jump, so there was no escaping her words as she floundered in a panic and her brain scrambled for something to say. “I wouldn’t stop you, in fact I’d kiss you back if you did.” His voice made her pause, his words registered once her heartbeat muted a little for her poor brain, and then she found herself pulling back to stare up at him as he looked back at her. He slid one hand up to take one of her hands from behind his neck, kissing her knuckles as he wove their hands together and brought it to his mouth, her ears were ringing and she was struggling to even breathe.

A part of her worried that this was all a dream, that she’d wake up and be heartbroken, but when he smiled and leaned down a little she couldn’t find it in her to care. “With your permission?” His request was a whisper and his breath tickled her lips as his forehead pressed to hers, Marinette swallowed as she dipped her head a little.

“Please?”

He sighed into the kiss and she whined softly against his mouth, his lips were warm and soft and perfect, the whine faded to a satisfied hum of delight because she was finally kissing Adrien Agreste. One kiss became two, two became a few more, and soon she found that she quite liked when his hand pressed to her lower back and that he practically purred when she sank her hands into his hair. It was clumsy and wet, their teeth often scraped together as he angled his head to explore her, and she wasn’t quite sure what to do with her tongue but she didn’t care. It was perfectly imperfect for a first kiss.

Loud ringing from his cell made him wince and look at the alarm. “I told the Gorilla I’d be out before we couldn’t use traffic as an excuse, I really have to go, but look into suing her for use of your picture without consent. I’ll call you when I finish eating and we can talk about, well, us.” Marinette nodded and practically swooned as he turned to descend from her room, her face was warm and she was really happy, it was amazing. “Oh, uh-“ He peeked at her over the top of the floor. “I love your onesie, it’s really cute with a soft material.” Then he was gone and she was left staring down at herself, realizing she’d just kissed Adrien Agreste while wearing a Chat Noir onesie with cat ears on the hood and a fluffy belt tail that was very detail specific.

Tikki was shaking her head as she emerged from her hiding place, the string of silk lanterns were a great way to offer Tikki more than one place to hide if someone came in, they were all different colors and some had tealights while others didn’t; the Kwami giggled fondly when Marinette abruptly turned and returned to her schoolwork. Adrien still had to eat lunch and Marinette didn’t even know where to begin with pressing charges against Lila for the picture, whether it was the police she had to talk to or just a lawyer, but she had time to find out. “I’m happy for you, Marinette, even if the circumstances leading to this aren’t ideal. Maybe things will be better now.” A dreamy sigh escaped her and the teen knew that schoolwork was a bust until she and Adrien finally talked, choosing to take a break for lunch.

“Thank you, Tikki, I’m going to head downstairs. I’ll bring up some cookies for you.”

Hearing her Maman in the kitchen, grinning at the plate of bao on the table, the teen walked up and began helping with stuffing the remaining pouches of dough after washing her hands and tugging up her sleeves. “Maman, uh, Adrien kissed me.” It wouldn’t do to try and hide anything from her parents, not now that she had their trust in her again, if she wanted to hide being Ladybug and the Guardian than she’d have to admit about the relationship possibly changing. Her mother’s smile was warm and Marinette giggled as her Maman bumped her hip against her since their hands were now covered in filling.

Marinette heard the soft hum, affectionate and loving, before her Maman finally replied to her confession. “He told us when he dashed out that he liked you and wanted to take you on a date sometime when he was free, if his Father agreed to it, Tom nearly stopped him from leaving in order to ask him what the wedding colors would be.” That made her choke and very nearly fling pork filling into the air, laughter from the elder made her look and glare at the mischief in her expression. “Sorry Marinette, I couldn’t resist at all, but he did tell us about the date request. I’m happy for you, baobei, and if you need to talk to us about anything please don’t think we won’t listen to you first.” Marinette knew exactly what her Maman was talking about, since she told them about Evillustrator and they had been there for the Chat Noir fiasco, the elder woman had pulled her aside and talked about consent and STI’s as well as birth control.

While the topic had been embarrassing to endure, she was only fourteen and just the thought of kissing Adrien was enough to get her light-headed, she knew it came from a place of love and wanting her to be educated. Especially since Marinette knew that Alya and Nino had already done the horizontal tango, because Alya had gone right to the girl squad and told them in vague terms what happened, while her Maman knew because Marinette had asked if fourteen and fifteen were too young for that sort of thing. “I know that and I’m sorry I made you and Papa feel like you did something that made it so I didn’t trust you, I just wanted to try and handle it on my own since that’s what I thought I had to do, thank you for understanding. Oh!” Marinette had almost forgotten about the picture thing. “Adrien suggested I should look into pressing charges against Lila for taking a photo without my consent because it’s illegal in France, we know the photo is fake but the school doesn’t think so, if we press charges then she’ll have to admit it was false.” A considering look grew on her Maman’s face before she leaned down to kiss Marinette’s forehead and smiled.

“That boy is a genius, baobei, I never thought of that. I’ll discuss it with Officer Raincomprix after you return to your studies. Now I know you’re waiting on a phone call, instead of helping me why don’t you wash up and take some of the cooked bao to your room.” Marinette grinned and washed her hands after setting aside the last bun she was working on, taking three cooked bao for herself to munch on, she also snagged a few cookies as well as a small bowl of noodles before dashing upstairs. Tikki took her prizes to the shelf that sat just above the trash can, a small toothbrush had been modified to act as a duster so the Kwami could just brush her crumbs into the trash, Marinette pushed her keyboard aside and started eating as she turned on the demo album Jagged had sent her so she could work on the cover art.

Chiming made her answer the video call, Adrien was flushed and she realized he had the phone angled so she could be seen by the others in the room with him, Gabriel Agreste was seated behind his desk and Marinette nearly choked swallowing a mouthful of food. Adrien flushed in a slightly panic. “Sorry Marinette! I didn’t think to text you first, are you okay?” His concern was sweet and she gave him a thumbs up as she downed some water to regain her ability to talk and breathe.

He didn’t look convinced. “I’m okay Adrien, you just startled me, I wasn’t exactly expecting to be seen by too many people.” The unspoken indication to her pajamas were there and didn’t need to be verbalized.

“You are supposed to be comfortable in your own home, Miss Dupain-Cheng, I shouldn’t have asked Adrien to call you while I am an audience without proper warning. I merely wanted to ask you of your intentions with my son.”

Marinette blinked and then again, realizing Gabriel had sort of asked her a serious question. “Well, sir, I just was hoping to at least try and go on a few dates to see if we’re a compatible couple. I really like Adrien, not just because of his looks but because he was kind and he went out of his way to apologize to me for a rather dumb jump of conclusions on my part when he could have just ignored me for the rest of the year. He’s been nothing but kind, patient, and understanding while I really just fumbled around like a spazz worried about being perfect to make him look my way.” It was something she’d been fighting to admit to herself since her therapy visit a few days back, that she was so scared of disappointing people that it made her lose all will to say no or made her do stupid things to try and impress others, it was something her therapist wanted to work with her on specifically.

“Would you be adverse to attending dinner at our home, with your parents, on Thursday? I would very much like to meet you again, in person, with your parents to work out the boundaries and rules. I’d also like to offer some advice in dealing with the public reaction that will no doubt come when it reaches social media that you two are in a relationship.”

Dinner with Adrien and his Father? It almost made her want to hurl that he was, apparently, approving of their relationship being a thing. “Let me, uh, Maman is downstairs; let me find out if she and Papa have anything planned for Thursday.” Marinette took the phone with her as she hurried down the steps. “Maman? Do we have dinner plans for Thursday at all?” The elder turned around and Marinette turned the phone to show just who was on the call.

“Ah, hello again Adrien. Hello Monsieur Agreste. We do not, baobei, would you be asking for a date evening or is this for us to get acquainted with Adrien’s father?” The ridiculous levels of motherly intuition were still a shock and Marinette was wondering if maybe she wasn’t so slick in hiding her hero life, if she was hiding that from Maman’s apparent psychic abilities then it was where any and all good luck had to be going.

“I’d very much like to meet you and your husband in person, Madam Cheng, as well as discuss any boundaries or rules we’d like in place.”

“I think that’s a lovely idea, Thursday evening is perfectly fine, Tom and I can bring desert. Are there any food allergies we need to worry about?”

“None at all, Madam Cheng, do my chefs need to know anything to avoid?”

“Only that Marinette is extraordinarily picky with her vegetables will not touch brussel sprouts no matter how they’re prepared for her.”

“Maman! You’re embarrassing me.” Marinette’s whine earned a chuckle from the older woman along with a forehead kiss and a one-arm hug since she had one hand with bao filling on it still.

A blush had to be on Marinette’s face because she felt warmer. “Oh baobei, I’m your Maman and it’s my job to be embarrassing, I love you.” That made the teen tug at her hood in a guilty sort of way, she hadn’t meant to imply anything.

“I love you too, Maman.” The mumbled reply earned another chuckle from the elder woman.

“I shall ensure that the menu is acceptable to everyone, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Adrien and I still have a few things to discuss, he will be calling you after his fencing lessons today I’m afraid.”

Marinette nodded and ended the call after exchanging goodbyes. “I’m going to go finish lunch now.” Her Maman’s laughter followed her up the stairs and the teen quickly began to shovel food into her mouth.

School had become a warzone.

Adrien stalked by Kim, Max, and Alix as they murmured in low voices at their lockers; it had been a week since the incident and he was no less angry about how everything had turned out. Juleka and Rose were whispering with wide eyes and visual concern for the state of the tension in the room, Nathaniel was walking with his head ducked and hiding behind Ivan as the taller boy comforted the very flustered Mylene. Alya’s rampage hadn’t quite ended yet after he, in a protective decision that was admittedly very petty the more he thought back about doing it, publicly shamed her blog while in his other alias; the Ladyblog had gone from the number one source of Ladybug information to bottom of the bucket after TVi and the heroes had gotten done with it. The reporter was still stomping around spitting fire at anyone who so much as blinked at her wrong, Nino had backed away from trying to talk her down and instead could be found with his headphones on at his seat, Lila was happily sitting in Marinette’s former seat talking about how she and Ladybug were fighting after what they’d done to poor Alya when the reporter was only doing the right thing and making sure a bully was exposed.

People were wary of Lila, now Alya too, after the TVi return fire; naturally so after the station tore apart the interview that rocketed Alya to fame just the night before and Adrien knew that none of his class had seen it yet with just how they were not shouting or even attracting akuma yet. When they did, though, it would be even uglier. The station had contacted Jagged Stone, Clara Nightingale, Prince Ali’s PR team, and even the Italian Embassy just to prove what happened when a reporter never researched or checked their facts.

“Adrien, you’re still going to help me study today, I cleared my schedule for this afternoon.” Lila had waited for everyone except the teacher to enter the room, to hear the implication that he’d offered to help her before this, usually he would either make an excuse or he’d play along to avoid a scene. But after what she had done and the trouble she caused, hearing the anguished tears and seeing Marinette break down because people she thought were her friends hadn’t even believed her, Adrien was done playing nice.

There was no reasoning with someone who was proving to be a problem in the worst ways. “I never offered to help you study after you lied your way into my home and got my father’s assistant and my bodyguard in trouble because of it, Lila, I deal with enough stalker fans and I’m not going to tolerate my classmates doing the same.” Throwing the word stalker in there was all he needed to do to throw another wave of tension in the room, Chloé and Sabrina both jolted in their seats after they had dealt with a stalker at the hotel during the blank period after the blonde transformed on television, the rest of the class stared as Adrien leveled Lila with a look.

A touch of anger and disgust was blanked before a false confusion and whimper made her look very much like a victim, the fake tears were a decent touch. “I have CCTV footage from the mansion of everything that you said in the hall, when you first told Nathalie that you were there to help me catch up on my work and then when you told me father that Nathalie asked you to tutor me. Along with kissing me without my consent, as well as taking a photo of me without my consent, then sending it to every female on my contact list specifically? Every action of yours has proven that you’ll do and say anything to look good and get what you want, which obviously is me, but I’m no possession and I’m not going to tolerate some fangirl use me as a means to get famous.” He wasn’t shouting at all and his anger was quiet, calmer despite the intensity behind his words, it was very similar to his Father and Adrien could see that Lila was shaking.

But it wasn’t his place to fully expose her, it wasn’t his place to make the class see just yet how badly they’d messed up, he looked right at Ivan in the back row. “Ivan, can we switch seats? I don’t feel safe with Lila hovering behind me.” The taller boy goggled for a moment and then nodded while gathering his things as Adrien did the same, trading places and waiting for the teacher to enter without another word, Alya was staring at Lila who was frantically trying to regain control of the situation until Madam Bustier walked in with a few people.

Showtime was here and it was a lot sooner than he’d thought, which he should have expected after his Father heard the extent of just what Lila had done and caused, the AGRESTE legal team had been launched into action with lawsuit after lawsuit on behalf of the company as well as Adrien personally and the Dupain-Cheng family.

Adrien didn’t hesitate to turn the recorder on his tablet, for Marinette to see later, since it wouldn’t go public. “Lila Justine Rossi you are hereby under arrest for two counts of unlawful photography, one count of verbal harassment, one felony count of truancy, multiple counts of false signatures on legal documentation, and one count of malicious intent to slander an innocent party.” Adrien blinked at just how much they were slamming on her now as her Mother, he could only assume by the quiet stare and droop of her shoulders, watched with a blend of horror and sadness.

Lila didn’t disappoint at all. “I’m the daughter of a diplomat, you can’t arrest me!” The real fear in her voice made it sort of a shriek.

“I suggest you remain quiet, as anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law, your diplomatic immunity was revoked the moment your truancy was revealed and once the French Court is done with you there will be a ban on your VISA as well as your Mothers and you will face justice under the Italian court system per the ruling of the Italian Embassy in accordance with France’s president.” Having her out of Paris was another plus, Adrien would admit, no akuma would pop up in her whole anger and hatred thing and he did cast a suspicious look around the school. But there were no signs of black butterflies, even Hawkmoth seemed to be avoiding this situation.

As she was handcuffed and her things were gathered, tears pooling in her eyes, the girl seemed to finally decide the truth was necessary. “I never took that picture of Marinette, it was photoshopped after Alya sent me a picture of her doing some stupid Chinese ritual thing, she bullied me first and-“ The officer didn’t even allow her to continue speaking.

“We have recorded evidence, from a video posted to the Ladyblog, where you specifically and verbally admitted to taking said picture which led to a vicious slander attempt of a local business. Please keep moving or I will be forced to carry you to the cruiser.” Adrien watched as the officers led them out and Lila finally quieted, he saved the recording to send to Marinette and made sure it went before he deleted it, the room was quiet enough that the buzzing from the fluorescent lights was deafening. Even Madam Bustier was staring outright at the door, sinking into her chair with a very heartbroken expression on her face, but she’d helped lead to this and Adrien wasn’t exactly happy with her either.

Adrien jolted in an instant. “Wait, that psycho photo shopped a picture of my girlfriend at a funeral for her tài lǎo lao?” He noticed the looks and glared at all of them. “Traditional Chinese funerals include burning joss paper.” It really explained the whole reason that Sabine, Marinette, and Tom were so infuriated by everything; Adrien really wanted to go cataclysm her, consequences be damned.

It was Alix who jolted out of her stupor first. “Guys there’s no way Marinette will ever forgive us.” The room burst into frantic murmurs of ‘oh God what have we done’ and ‘how could we have been so stupid’ around him, Alya was shaking in her seat and Nino wasn’t moving, but the worst of all was their teacher who was whiter than paper with tears sliding down her face as she clenched her eyes tightly. There was a light tap at the door before a severe man in a proper suit, along with another severe man in a less formal dress style, gestured to the redhead.

The less formal man entered the room and closed the door behind him. “Good morning students, I am Baxter Kennedy and I’ll be taking over the role as your teacher for the rest of the year, we are aware of what just occurred only minutes ago and as such I have had the Ministry of National Youth and Education send in a psychologist who specializes in youth groups to spend the rest of the day with you. We are quite understanding that nothing will really stick if we try teaching today.” Adrien watched as the severe man returned without Madam Bustier and leaned into his seat.

“I am Doctor Oscar Bennet, I would like you to introduce yourselves before we begin.”

He hadn’t expected a therapy session today but Adrien figured his input wouldn’t be as important. Oh, how wrong he had been though.

Doctor Bennet made it apparent quick quickly that while Adrien’s reasoning for being quiet was sound when dealing with the paparazzi and tabloid spreads, as denying it only made it seem truer, a school bully was an entirely different beast and his request for silence had helped bring things to this point. The model was left exhausted, picked apart mentally, and wondering if he could schedule sessions with Doctor Bennet privately because he’d actually learned a lot about himself and his reactions in his short talk with the man.

Like his relationship with his Father, which was almost nonexistent by this point, was actually a problem that needed to be addressed because Gabriel was prioritizing his grief and his company over his relationship with his own offspring. That his lack of control in things like his attire, his diet, his hobbies, was leading him to being a potential control freak when he did finally gain independence or not being able to exist on his own at all.

Alya had spent ten minutes into lunch screaming at him, blaming Adrien for not speaking up as to why her blog was ruined and she’d lost her best friend, until Doctor Bennet pulled her aside and disappeared into the room set up for him. Alya’s parents arrived not long after and Adrien shook his head, Nino looked a little disappointed but even agreed that he should have trusted Marinette and not blamed everything on her jealousy over Adrien. Nobody else tried talking to him, which was good, or even asked him to talk to Marinette for them.

Things were going to get better, he knew, now that the right steps were in place. Principal Damocles and Madam Bustier, as well as the rest of the staff, were required to take remedial training seminars on bullying; the Principal had been forced to forfeit his position to the man assigned by the National Youth and Education Ministry, Oswald McKinney. Madam Bustier’s teaching license was being revoked until she completed multiple courses on bullying, how to handle claims of plagiarism or theft and even destruction of private property. Chances of her being given to a higher-level class were slim after this, if she even was allowed to teach again, but that wasn’t his concern.

Adrien grinned at the big smile on Marinette’s face as he dipped into the bakery for lunch period and slipped a rose into her hand with a wink, her face flushed and he couldn’t help but press a kiss to her nose, he did squeak when she hauled him down by the collar to leave a searing kiss on his lips before she scampered up into the apartment with a giggle and a reminder that Kagami was waiting for him to join them.

Things weren’t perfect but they were getting there.

#miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #lila rossi #alya cesaire #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #caline bustier salt #lila rossi salt #alya cesair salt #caline bustier class #ml fanfic #chaoticwrites

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green-eyed-whumpster · 4 years

Text

My OC Universe: Rowan 129

Chapter 129 Summary: Rowan gets told off by Peter for apologising and considers what he can do with his life once William is finally gone. (Tags: @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @much-ado-about-whumping, @abitefullofeverything, @whump-me-all-night-long, @sky-or-something-idfk and @tears-and-lilies)

Trigger Warnings: Reference to previous abuse, PTSD whumpee

Rowan clutched the tea in his palms through a blanket, the heat seeping through the cloth welcome on his chilled fingers. Peter had brought in almost everything he used during the day: the books he was slowly reading and the notebooks he would scrawl in, his knitting needles and the length of scarf that was now longer than Rowan was tall, and even the chisels he was working away at the spoon with, he hadn’t done much since his hands were unbandaged from last time, he was very careful not to hurt himself again. Peter would preach how awful hand injuries were, and while Rowan didn’t want to worry him, he mainly didn’t want to have to listen to the lecture anymore.

“Thank you,” He smiled as his eyes followed the graceful movements.

“Don’t worry about it,” Peter replied, resting beside Rowan once everything was lined up on the windowsill. “You shouldn’t be alone in here for long, it would be torture.”

“It definitely wouldn’t be torture,” Rowan almost scoffed, imagining his weeks in the dungeon where his joints were dislocated and his skin was torn and his body ravaged.

“There’s more to torture than just hurting someone,” Peter answered. “If…if he tortured you physically then that was because your mind was already broken. For those who won’t submit, they generally try to break your mind, solitude will fracture it in no time at all.” He paused for a moment before his frown deepened. “And it will only be easier with a head as haunted as yours,”

“How do you know?” Rowan asked. “How would you know what torture is?” As he asked the sentence he heard the accusatory way it left his lips, but Peter only gave him a small, melancholy smile.

“I didn’t just, appear one day in the forest, Rowan, I had a life before you stumbled into my trap,”

“I-I didn’t mean-oh Gods, no, Peter I didn’t mean to –“

“It’s all right, Rowan,” Peter smiled, cupping his cheek gently. “I know that you don’t mean it that way. You remember that battle along the border? You would have barely been fifteen, William’s father was still alive then and since most of his army had been depleted from his most recent dispute with rebels, he called for an emergency conscription.” He explained, lowering his hands and resting them in his lap. “I was a part of the army for three years.” Rowan remembered the war, it was brief, but it was longer than three years. Peter was being generous with his assumption, Rowan was thirteen when it began, he heard it from a beneficiary he had at the time.

“Did they…torture you?” He asked nervously, he didn’t want to hear that someone had subjected Peter to the same agony he had survived.

“Not as bad as some,” Peter admitted. “The closest I got was when I was separated from my legion and a few patrolling enemy soldiers found me. They weren’t interested in prisoners so they, had a bit of fun, as they called it. Roughed me up a bit and left me for dead,” Rowan heard how nonchalant Peter’s voice was and felt a tremor of dread and shock run down his spine.

“They hurt you enough to almost kill you?” He exclaimed, looking at him in shock.

“It’s old pain,” Peter soothed. “And not the point of the story, I learnt of common techniques used by higher ranking officers during interrogations, and saw some of the results of them. But they never treated me that way.”

“Gods, I know nothing about you and you know every little thing about me!” Rowan gasped, covering his mouth as he turned his head down. “Oh, I’m so selfish!”

“That’s ridiculous!” Peter replied. “I don’t like to talk about myself, and you need to talk more than I do, so I’d rather let you speak. I know far more about you than you do about me because I chose to only ask about you. You are far too used to not being allowed to exist in your own right.” Rowan grumbled in dissent and shook his head softly.

“I still feel bad,”

“Rowan, you’re always going to feel bad!” Peter chuckled. “If it starts raining while I’m checking my traps you’d blame yourself!” He lifted Rowan’s head with his thumb and grinned at him. “If you stop apologising for things that aren’t your fault, I’ll tell you more about my life,” He bargained and Rowan nodded eagerly.

“All right! I’ll-I’ll try!” He promised and Peter smiled kindly.

“I know, I know you will.” He said, lowering his hand from Rowan’s chin.

“How are you able to care so much about someone when you’ve also been hurt?” Rowan asked seriously. “How could you risk letting me into your house without being sure I wouldn’t hurt you?”

“Why are you asking me this?” Peter wondered as Rowan dipped his head again.

“Well, I always thought that you were kind to me because you didn’t know. That you hadn’t, felt what it was like to be hurt by your own kind. I would have, if I found someone in my trap, I probably would have just, released them and told them to leave. I don’t know how you can bear spending so much energy to care for someone, who hasn’t done that much for you,” He admitted, his cheeks flushing with shame. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t have assumed, but…”

“I understand,” Peter smiled. “It’s all right. I know what you mean.” He sighed heavily and looked away as he considered how to explain it. “After the war I found it hard to cope,” He admitted. “Everyone was always so worried about me and my wellbeing, granted I looked rather spectacular when I returned, and I didn’t feel that I deserved any of it. I isolated myself, out here, to escape the constant sympathy, when Cordelia came along she,” He paused for a moment and shook his head. “I won’t tell you any details until she gives her permission, but she wasn’t in any state to hurt me, and I liked helping her, it made me feel better about all the misplaced pity that people gave me.” He explained.

“I’m so –“ Rowan stopped himself from finishing his sentence and flushed as Peter began laughing again.

“Good job,” He grinned. “Keep it up and maybe I’ll tell you how I learnt the hard way to properly build a roof,” Rowan began laughing and covered his mouth in a vain attempt to suppress his giggles.

“What?”

“It is an entertaining tale,” Peter promised and patted Rowan’s leg gently. “I’ll come back in a bit, I should check on William.”

Rowan didn’t mind too much, being on his own. William would leave him alone for hours with nothing to do but stare at the wall and count the stitches in the embroidered pillows. Here he could entertain himself, even if he got bored, he could move on to something else. His knitting was almost finished and he realised with regret that he would have to cast-off soon.

Occasionally he would hear sounds from the main room, Peter walking around in the room or William shifting heavily. He wondered how painful it was, sitting in that same position for hours, unable to move. Then when he remembered how he was forced to kneel on his hands and knees until he collapsed onto an uneven stone floor only to be dragged back up after less that ten hours to endure it all again – and he was tortured on top of that. It was surprising to find that he could recall the sensation almost immediately. He decided, after pushing the pain from his mind, that William deserved this, and everything else that happened to him.

“How are you going?” He looked up and saw Peter at the door, he held a plate in one hand and balanced a cup with his other as he slid the door shut.

“Good,” He smiled. “I need more wool, though,” He held up the knitting needles with the foot of yarn that remained dangling beside the rolls of knitted scarf.

“Really?” Peter put down Rowan’s lunch beside him and picked up the length in wonder. “Look at all this! You could wrap yourself down to your ankles and back!” He chuckled softly and looked up at Rowan, who shrugged sheepishly.

“I don’t actually know any patterns or anything, all I can do is knit scarves.” His skill seemed less impressive now that he admitted that he can’t do much with them.

“That’s all right,” Peter said. “I know women in town who can give you patterns, and teach you the stitches,” He began laughing to himself and turned his twinkling eyes to meet Rowan’s. “Some old women meet every week for an afternoon, just to get out and socialise, they do knitting and art and such, I’m sure they’d love to help teach you!” He suggested.

“Really?” Rowan asked nervously. “They wouldn’t mind me being there?”

“Oh, I’m sure they wouldn’t.” Peter answered with certainty. “Many younger generations aren’t as fond of these skills, they’ve tried teaching their children and grandchildren and they just don’t care.”

“Is it really?” Rowan asked, he knew you could make blankets and clothes out of it but it wasn’t as efficient as weaving.

“Absolutely it is,” Peter said. “With the efficiency of weaving, very few people rely on knitting to make clothing. Being able to clothe and keep yourself warm is an invaluable ability, even if you don’t use it frequently.”

“That’s kind of impressive,” Rowan considered quietly. “I’d like to know at least one important skill,”

“You know more than one!” Peter replied indignantly. “You’ve gotten quite good at carving, once I teach you how to finish, you can make almost anything, you have to give yourself more credit, Row,” He sighed softly and smiled. “Many people learn one skill and rely on that for their whole career. You keep picking up new abilities and you’re always trying to learn, you can do so much that others can’t, I can’t knit, for example, I did learn but it’s been years since I last tried.” Rowan smiled slightly and looked down.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rowan looked back up and chuckled slightly.

“What are you giggling about?” Peter asked curiously.

“You look a bit like you have a bird’s nest on your head,” Rowan smiled and flinched away as Peter began laughing.

“Oh, do I?” He asked, reaching up and pulling the leather tie from his hair. “I was trying out a new look, I suppose it didn’t work, then,” Rowan giggled as Peter shook out the supposed ‘bird’s nest’ on his head. “You know, you can be really cruel sometimes, Row,” He grumbled as he worked his fingers through the long tangles.

“I’m sorry!” Rowan grinned and shrugged weakly. “But you told me to stop apologising,” Peter scoffed indignantly and looked at him through a veil of mussed hair.

“What have I created?” He asked regretfully and Rowan smirked.

“A monster!” He said in his attempt at a menacing voice.

“I like who you are now,” Peter smiled, inching closer, Rowan covered his cheeks as he flushed and shrugged gently. “It’s nice that you can joke with me.”

“I like it too,” He admitted. “But it feels weird,”

“You shouldn’t be afraid to be who you want,” Peter said, dragging his fingers along his scalp. “I’m not going to punish or reprimand you,”

“I know, I know in my head, but it…it feels like it’s a part of me, to be wary.” Rowan admitted.

“In a few days William won’t be here anymore,” Peter promised. “And you can finally be free to be yourself.”

“I could go to the river,” Rowan muttered.

“Yeah,”

“I could learn to knit from the old women,” He smiled.

“Yes, you can,”

“I can get to know my brothers and sister!”

“Absolutely!” Peter confirmed. “You haven’t had an easy life, but at least now there can be nothing else to hurt you. You’re safe with me, your captor is going to go back with the Queen and be killed, and no one will ever lay a hand on you again. The rest of your life can be nothing but happy,” Rowan nodded eagerly and pressed his hands to his cheeks.

“I never expected to make it to adulthood,” He murmured, looking at Peter through enormous, wet eyes. “Let alone be with someone who cares for me so much, I’m so grateful that you found me,” He sniffed, inhaling a shuddering breath. “And I wouldn’t risk changing a thing,”

“Row,” Peter breathed, moving close enough to embrace him. “I would do anything to have spared you some of this cruelty but I’m so grateful that I did find you, and that I’m the one who could provide you with a life you deserve. Even though you deserve so much more, I’ll give you everything I have to make you happy.” Rowan wrapped his arms around Peter’s neck and buried his face into the crook of his shoulder.

“I already have everything.”

#whump #medieval whump #my writing #oc #Rowan #William #PTSD whumpee #reference to previous abuse #restrained #fluff #comfort #recovery

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bandaged-writer · 4 years

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gasoline 02 || dazai

➤ Pairing: Mafia! Dazai x Ability User! Reader

➤ Genre: action, fluff, angst, eventual smut, gore, violence

➤ Warnings: nightmare-ish scenes, minor character death, murder, blood/gore, near death experience

➤ Summary: “How the hell am I supposed to trust the words of a mafioso?” At that, Dazai chuckled. “I don’t lie about these things.”

➤ Word count: 6.1k

➤ Note: this is unedited and not proof-read, we die like men. also, feedback is highly appreciated u.u

➤ previous || next

Pure laughter bounced off the sterile tiles that stretched themselves throughout the entirety of the hospital, the light made beating down on the white tiles and making it seem like they glared at anyone who was daring enough to walk down the hallways of this very building. Naked feet padded along the freshly wiped floor, greeting were thrown from left to right by the two children running around. Numbers instead of a name tag were attached to the hospital robe the two wore.

Nurses, doctors and patients swore that this duo brought some vitality into this heavy place, added some sunshine to a dark job which fought for others‘ life and often lost the battle. These children were more than welcome.

“You’ve got to hurry up [Name] or the nurses won’t have any candy left,“ a girl with short, pitch black hair and grey – almost white – eyes pouted as you struggled to keep up with her pace. The number #2692 was attached to her gown, written in bold numbers. You coughed into your elbow and put your palms on your knees, body slightly bent over as you caught your breath. Two weeks ago, your mother had dragged you to the doctor due to fever, heavy coughing and finding it difficult to breathe; the diagnosis was pneumonia and so, your mother had insisted on transferring you to a hospital. “Sorry, Fuyuko,“ a grin was flashed said girl’s way, her own lips twitching upwards. “You know I’m just starting to recover.“ #7843 was attached to your hospital gown which you had grown to dislike. It was a sad, plain white just like everything else in this place.

Luckily, the nurses were kind and developed a soft spot for Fuyuko and you, always sneaking some candy or leftover dessert from the caféteria. Children weren’t allowed to eat sweets. Sugar would make the dosis of antibiotics useless, the doctors said, but it sounded very sketchy to you. After all, dad also ate gummy bears whenever he got sick, so how true was this statement? How much could you trust them? Maybe, you shouldn’t even think about it.

Dressed in a blue uniform, the nurse handed Fyuko a bag of chips and two small packs of gummy bears. “This will remain our secret, though, okay?,“ she spoke in a hushed voice, her eyes attentive to her surroundings in case a doctor was to come around the corner. The two of you nodded in unison, eyes sparkling with gratitude and the innocence only a child had. “Thank you so much!“

After the small excursion to the nurse, you found yourself sitting on the rooftop of the hospital. The smell of green grass and blooming flowers greeted you, birds tweeted among themselves, singing melodies only mother nature would understand like a language. Bees flew through the air, sun rays caressed your cold cheeks and warmed you up from within your core. Spring was a beautiful season and perhaps your favorite one.

After a long, dead winter, Flora and Fauna came back to life.

Ripping open the bag of chips, Fuyuko sat down on the ground with a dull thud reaching your ears and you followed her example. She gave you a handful of the salty treat, the sound of chips crunching filling your skull which made you wonder why the sound of chewing was so much louder than everything around you. You would have to ask dad about it once you were home again; you didn’t like asking mom for she had..what did people call it, again? A hot temper? Yeah, that was it.

“You know, you never told me what you want to be when you grow up,“ Fuyuko said after wiping some salt off her lips and putting her index finger to her chin in thought. Grey orbs observed your curious gaze, trying to figure out what your dream could be, what would suit you. “Hmm..maybe a vet? Or an actress? Wait no!“ The girl was only taking random guesses without putting any effort into it. “A singer!,“ she exclaimed excitedly and clapped her hands together before she invaded your personal bubble, the tip of her nose almost poking yours. You merely snorted at that and put your hands behind your back, leaning your weight back. “That’s ridiculous, Fuyuko. Besides, you never told me what you want to be, either.“

Suddenly, heat rose to the ravenette’s cheek and tinted her pale skin in a light hue of red like fine dust. Eyes fell to the ground in an almost shy manner, Fuyuko’s entire aura almost seemed scared of what you might say to her answer. After all, she was aiming for a big goal. “Well..I want to become the best surgeon in the world. Even better than my dad.“ A grin adorned Fuyuko’s small face as she shared her vision of a hopefully bright and rosy future before her finger poked you right below your collarbone and above your chest, eyes demanding an answer from you now.

Craning your head back, you gazed up at the snow white clouds passing by above you, hoping that they’d write the answer down for you or send you a sign, a clue, no matter how small it was. You couldn’t remember if you ever had a dream job for the future, nothing had ever piqued your interest nor had you ever been exposed to any job. Dad was always at the office from dusk to dawn, making sure that all the bills could get paid while your mother was at home, taking care of you. You had no idea what your mother worked as, you were scared of asking.

“I think it’s my wish to be happy and loved.“

As soon as your wish was spoken, the world got visibly and audibly distorted. Your surroundings were spinning, rain was poured from the clouds above you and somewhere close by, a thunderstorm was making its way towards your current location. Incoherent words bore into your ears and settled down in your brain, making you clutch your ears and curl in on yourself.

“You need to run.“ It was your father’s begging voice.

“Everything is your fault!“ Your mother’s voice, shouting at you as always.

“You were never loved.“ Was this Dr. Ito? Fuyuko’s dad? You couldn’t tell anymore.

“It would’ve been better if you didn’t exist.“ You didn’t recognize this voice.

You woke up in a cold sweat, hairline drenched and several strands of your locks clinging to your skin. Silent tears ran down your cheeks, your shirt stuck to you like a second skin and your heart felt like it was trying to flee from within your ribcage. Slowly but surely, you took in your surroundings one by one and found comfort in reality.

Sunlight began sliding its way into your room, the clock read six am and nothing was out of the ordinary. Pictures still decorated your walls, the desk remained being a mess from past assignments and the curtains were played with by the wind – you had probably forgotten to properly close the window before you had gone to sleep. Finding tranquility within your own four walls, your heart slowly calmed down and you finally took notice of Yukino’s hand on your shoulder, worry being laced into her delicate face.

“Are you okay? I heard you crying in your sleep,“ the familiarity of her voice made you realize that you had been stuck in a nightmare in the form of a ghost of the past. Never had you ever dreamed about your childhood, never had it ever been that haunting, never had any nightmare made you cry. Perhaps, this was a bad omen – the flowers, yesterday’s confrontation and today’s nightmare. All of these events were too odd, too out of place to be considered unfortunate inconveniences; they were the opposite of serendipity - a zemblanity. „Yeah, I’m good,“ you replied, gaze obviously still shaken and maybe even detached as you worked through the possible meaning of the disaster life presented you on a silver platter like a dessert. „It was just a nightmare.“

Flickering lights, faces of people and the rich green of the trees blurred into one unstable image as your body relaxed into the passenger seat of Yukino’s car. The radio song on the radio, Eight by IU, unfortunately became nothing but buzzing noise in your mind as you still dwelled on the nightmare. A shame really, considering you really liked the song and it was the perfect melody to describe the weather: pleasantly warm with a bit of wind.

Why were you so hung up over a mere nightmare? After all, people dreamed about weird things all the time, some dreams were ridiculous and seemingly held no meaning. Dreams were nothing but a brain’s way to process the events in one’s life - may it be their past or the present. There should be no deeper meaning, and yet, you involuntarily got stuck in a vicious cycle of thoughts upon thoughts which desired to twist your day into a negative one.

“Hey, [Name], we’re here,” Yukino snapped her fingers in front of your face and brought you back to reality within a few moments. A cute pout decorated her face, her dark eyes glowing in the light as she seemed to read your mind. You really couldn’t hide anything from her, could you? “Ah, right, the job interview,” checking your appearance in the rearview mirror, you fixed some wild strands of hair and made sure to look as professional as you could. It was an important job interview which would allow you to finally earn proper money and assist Yukino in paying the bills like you had promised just before you had studied abroad.

Yukino took your hands in hers and a smile graced her face as she looked you straight into the eyes. Maybe this was what sincerity looked like: when one’s eyes were clearer than the ocean with no hidden motives buried beneath pitch black pupils. “Look, I know that your nightmare shook you, but you can’t let it hinder you from bagging this job, got it?” It sounded like she was scolding you much like a mother would when her child had one too many cookies and refused dinner as a result. Cute but to be taken seriously. “You’re more than qualified for this job and deserve it more than anyone else. There’s no way you could possibly fail this,” Yukino’s words were soft and full of trust in your own abilities, a kind of trust you unfortunately didn’t have in yourself.

“You really always know what to say, don’t you?,” you chuckled to yourself, got out of Yukino’s car and dusted off your jeans, freeing the material of any pollen that might’ve gotten stuck. Receiving her grin as a reassuring reply, your feet confidently carried you to the marketing agency which wanted to desperately hire you.

The interior of the agency was oddly comfortable. Walls were painted in warm tones varying from beige to dark brown, plants decorated the space and gave the entire surroundings the feeling of a huge living room. White and wooden-colored furniture gifted the surroundings a finishing and modern touch.

“Ah, you must be [Name], right?” The lady was probably in her 30s, black hair tied into a neat ponytail and her face covered in light makeup. Her delicate hand reached out to shake yours in a happy greeting, her reddish lips pulled into a professional yet real smile. One could tell she was a genuine person. “Please, follow me.”

And so, you found herself in her bright office, seated in a comfortable, plush chair while the kind lady looked through your resumé another time, her head nodding one or two times. “Miss, your grades are quite impressive and you majored in business, too, I see. This is very good,” at her praise, a nearly sheepish smile graced your features. Truth be told, you hadn’t often received praise since your mother had disappeared when you were 8 and your father died a few years ago due to a car accident. Yukino was the only source of praise and validation. “Thank you so much, miss,” you bowed your head lightly, still smiling. Your life was finally going right.

“May I ask why you decided to study abroad instead of staying here in Yokohama? There are lots of good universities here,” her tone was in no way intrusive, but rather curious - maybe even on a personal level. “Ah, my dad believed the number 20 came along with a bad omen and advised me to discover something new,” there was no way you could tell her the entire truth about a mafia-ish deal, the flowers and the things you had seen the day before. You doubted she would believe you - such things only ever happened in movies, after all. She laughed at that, a pleasant sound, you noticed. “Elders do tend to hold on to such belfies, don’t they? I understand that very well.” The lady put your resumé aside, kind eyes looking at you with joy sparkling in them. You didn’t expect such a kind person to interview you.

“I’m looking forward to working with you, [Name].”

With one less worry weighing on your shoulders, you thanked the lady for her time, assured her you’d work hard and left her office with a proud grin stretching your lips and a confident, happy swing in your hips.

Funny, what such a little, positive event could trigger within a person. It could turn one’s entire day upside-down for the better or worse, but lady luck seemed to be with you today. What a good feeling it was to feel your heart beat as light as a feather.

Yukino was seated on the hood of her car, her sparkling gaze fixated on the entrance of the agency and anxiously waiting for you to come back. She was probably more excited and more optimistic than you could ever be, but that was why she meant so much to you - compared to you, she was like a mitochondria: an entire power house. “You made it, didn’t you?!” The fair-haired woman came running into your arms and greeted you in a tight hug as if you had been gone for years. Happiness radiated off of her like the sun emitted its rays. “Of course, I did!”

Ushering you into the comfy passenger seat of the car, Yukino suggested a small celebration for your successful interview and that you were finally back home where you belonged.

“After a year, one might think you would’ve overcome your love for chocolate ice-cream,” stuffing a spoonful of vanilla ice-cream into her mouth, Yukino glared at the icy treat in front of you which was decorated with some strawberries and cherries. Delicious for everyone else but the woman sitting opposite of you. “Hah?! And what about your obsession with vanilla ice-cream? You never change, do you?,” accusingly, you pointed your spoon at Yukino who rolled her eyes in surrender and let out a huff of air. Unfair how you knew your roommate better than the back of your own hand. “Tsk, you win this round. But only because I’m letting you,” Yukino teased with a smirk on her lips and giggling as you gave her a thorough are-you-serious-look. “Whatever makes you sleep at night.”

From that point on, the conversation varied widely but still found its focus on your year spent abroad. After all, you had gotten home late the night before and Yukino didn’t want to bombard you with questions when you’d been obviously tired. Questions about the language and food seemed to pique Yukino’s interest the most as well as the educational system which she didn’t really understand. Well, it didn’t matter anyway. Yukino had long since graduated and didn’t have to understand foreign school systems.

“Okay that sounds nice and all, but did you meet anyone special?”

Gulping down a fair amount of your ice-cream, you nonchalantly shook your head at your friend’s question. It was a waste of time, would hinder your career, you had always said, but maybe, the reason why you never brought anyone home went deeper than that, “you know I’m not interested.” A bowl of finished ice-cream stood in front of Yukino, strong arms crossed over her chest. Pleased looked different. “Jeez, you’re so boring. I bet there are lots of people willing to date you if you give them the chance.” Dating had never been a high priority in your life; with the entire anxiety about your dad’s deal going on, you didn’t want anyone to get dragged into the mess which was your family. It was too much for someone ordinary, you reasoned or maybe it was a lame excuse.

“Anyways,” you bit into a juicy strawberry and let the sweet taste flood your strawberries. Whoever invented fruits deserved to be kissed. “What did you do to the flowers last year?,” it was innocent curiosity since you had never received or saw a bouquet of orange lilies for your 20th birthday. By the time that day came around, you were already abroad, studying and looking for a job in Yokohama for the day you’d finally return. “I gave them back to a bandaged man. He was very kind,” Yukino recalled the memory of a male brunette, very handsome and charming. “I think he’d totally be your type!”

There was only one bandaged man walking the earth of Yokohama and his name was Dazai Osamu who possessed the annoying ability to nullify any other gift - no matter how powerful it was. Everyone would be rendered to a mere human being in front of him.

Your lips were pulled into a straight line. “No, thanks.”

“Ahh, you’re really no fun, [Name]!,” Yukino whined and craned her head back in defeat.

The rest of the day was spent strolling throughout Yokohama and catching up with one another, a bit of teasing and bickering as always. It felt so normal to be back that it was akin to never having left in the first place and maybe, in a way, you felt guilty for leaving Yukino on her own. Yes, she was a grown woman who could stand her ground, but you could still remember how happy she was when you moved in with her and how sad she was when you announced your department for the duration of an entire year.

Yukino completed you and you completed Yukino.

“You know, you kind of remind me of my grandma’s wrinkly face with that face mask on,” Yukino snickered with the toothbrush in her mouth and some saliva mixed with toothpaste dribbling down her chin. She swore her relative was like a replica of you; according to Yukino, the two of you shared the same height, same hair color and the habit of Being Done with her. Knocking your hip into Yukino’s to scold her, your eyes narrowed ever so slightly as you spoke the next words with a straight face, “I bet I could beat you with a slipper just as well as your granny can, too.”

She spat the remaining toothpaste into the sink, put the toothbrush aside and flicked your mask-covered forehead which earned Yukino a rare pout of yours. She thought it was cute, though. “Aaand that’s why you’re single.”

Internally, you wondered why Yukino was so adamant about you finding a partner. Her bugging was like a mosquito haunting you at night, pestering you whenever you laid back down and flew right by your ear. She had never been too interested in your love life, but maybe her sudden interest arose from the fact that you’d been away for quite some time. Whatever it was, you were sure it’d disappear like smoke in no time.

“You really need some sleep. Maybe then you’ll stop annoying me,” taking the face mask off and tossing the remains into the trash can next to the sink, you basked in the way your skin glowed underneath the pleasant lighting the lightbulb provided. Maybe you should date yourself, you silently thought to yourself. “Well, you definitely do need your beauty sleep or else your face will always remain that wrinkly.”

Why were you befriended with her? You forgot.

The full moon illuminated the dark hallway and offered Dazai enough light to see his surroundings clearly, although he probably knew his way around the mafia’s headquarters, knowing the layout like the back of his hand. Soles of leathered shoes remained silent with every step the brunette took, his black coat offering him some warmth which this entire place severely lacked.

He had just come back from analyzing anomalies happening throughout Yokohama; despite summer reaching slowly reaching its peak, snow had been spotted. Witnesses talked about the temperature suddenly dropping to the point they had to turn on their heater, but apparently the cold never stayed for long. After a maximum of half an hour, temperatures would rise again to their original 30 degree celsius. This certainly wasn’t a funny trick by the weather nor caused by global warming. Although Dazai didn’t know who it was, he was absolutely sure that this was the doing of an unknown ability user.

Was this the story Mori told him about when he was around eight years old?

Before Dazai could continue his train of thought, he pushed the doors to Mori’s office open and was greeted by the mafia’s boss. “I’m glad you could make it this fast, Dazai,” Mori’s lips were pulled into a smile which Dazai could find no trust in. This entire man should never be trusted for no one knew anything about his true intentions; it even took Dazai quite a time of thinking to figure out one of Mori’s schemes. “I was about to try out a new suicide method, too..,” the brunette trailed off like he was saddened by Mori hindering from dying during this sweet, humid night.

Mori got up from his chair, hands folded behind his back and lilac eyes gazing upon the city which the mafia looked over during nights such as this particular one. Neo signs flickered in the distance, traffic lights were still active while cars roamed the streets, making it seem like this town never slept. “I need you to pick someone up by the pier,” always so vague.

Brown eyes were empty as they took in Mori’s posture and form; it seemed like he was looking forward to something if the slight smile and the shimmer in Mori’s eyes were anything to go by. “And who exactly might that be?” Usually, simple tasks like these were done by lower-ranking people like Dazai’s friend Odasaku. Maybe said person was dangerous? Or posed a threat to the mafia? In the end, one couldn’t refuse the boss’s order. “I’m sure you remember our lovely encounter with [Name]. She’ll need the help.”

“Why though? Just yesterday, you basically let her off the hook. It’s unusual for you to be so interested in someone,” Dazai was still analyzing Mori’s motive, but maybe it was a better decision to wait for the tale to unfold and then piece it together bit by bit. The suicidal brunette was smart, but not all-knowing. “I’m just bringing some things into motion,” Mori smiled at the younger man before his gaze fell back upon the city, his fingertips slightly pressed up against the huge window as his mind was calculating possible outcomes for the scenario he had created. “Besides..only fire can break ice.”

Orders were orders and so, Dazai leaves the office of his superior without another word. One thing was clear: Mori needed you to get rid of the ice ability user who was responsible for the anomalies, but the unknown variable was how Mori would convince you to join sides with the mafia. Knowing the boss for the majority of his life, Dazai knew that it’d be something to break you with.

How cruel the man was. Towards such a charming lady, as well.

It didn’t take long for Dazai to find a spot along the pier, his eyes gazing at the moon which was reflected onto the surface of the water. His body leaned against the wall of an abandoned warehouse and he couldn’t help but wonder if it just got a bit colder.

Naked feet padded along the wooden floor, your throat was dry and eyes heavy with sleep as you dragged your body to the kitchen like a sack of rice. No, this time you didn’t wake up thanks to a nightmare, but because you felt like you were dying of thirst and the usually full bottle of water by your bed was empty. You had no choice but to leave the comfortable, warm sheets and go out into the dark unknown aka your kitchen.

“The hell..?,” you mumbled and rubbed some sleep from your eyes as you stepped into something wet and..sticky. Maybe it was water? Did Yukino spill it? No, water didn’t stick to your feet like glue and definitely didn’t smell so overwhelmingly disgusting. Letting your gaze drop, your eyes suddenly widened in horror and you clasped a hand over your mouth in shock.

You stood in a puddle of blood and it came from Yukino’s room.

Suddenly, you were wide awake. “Yukino?!,” you yelled and burst through her door. What greeted you looked like a bloodbath in the form of your best friend who was gasping for air, her dark eyes shimmering with fear and pleading you for something that you couldn’t read. Your mind was too clouded with panic to figure out anything.

You dropped to your knees and ignored the painful crack that followed the hard impact, gathering Yukino up into your arms. Her throat had been sliced, the cut was too deep to cauterize it with your ability and then call an ambulance. Besides, the loss of blood was already immense, the red fluid being easily soaked up by your clothes and staining your skin. Yukino’s body was freezing cold, your body almost instinctively dropped her but your heart refused to obey.

“[Name], please, run,” her breathing was heavy and her chest rose and fell irregularly as her lungs craved the air. She coughed up blood, vision getting slowly blurry as her eyes found crying ones. “Shut up, it’s not your time to die!,” you raised your voice through the tears, put your hand on Yukino’s sliced throat and attempted to cauterize the wound, but the bleeding was too strong and destroyed the small crust that was created. Gently, Yukino placed her cold hand on your heated one and removed the bloody limp from the wound, her dark eyes holding contact with you. “Listen, this person will get you, too,” it got hard to speak. “So please, run and live, [Name].”

Hot tears dropped on Yukino’s face as you took her words in and held her close to your body as if it could somehow save her. “Don’t leave me, Yukino,” your voice was smaller than a mouse, barely above your whisper and more fragile than the thinnest glass. The only good thing you ever had in your life was being taken away from you, slipped through your fingers like water. “I’m sorry I have to leave so early,” Yukino spoke softly and although it was an obvious struggle for her, she smiled up at you and brought a bloody hand to your face.

“I promised to always be by your side. Now I’ll have to watch you from afar,” this wasn’t a mere promise but an honest vow you knew she would never break. Not even at the brink of death did Yukino think of herself or showed fear. Instead, she seemed to come to terms with her fate.

“Please, smile for me, [Name]. It’d be nice if your smile was the last thing I’d get to see.”

Hastily, you wiped the tears away and smiled as your heart shattered in your chest. Tears kept coming and moistened the collar of your shirt, stuck to your cheeks and some even dried on Yukino’s bloodied cheeks. You could feel your best friend’s heartbeat gradually slow down, her eyes fluttered shut as soon as you granted her the last wish.

Heavy sobs tore through your throat, shaky hands hugged Yukino’s head to your chest, your mind refused the harsh reality. “I’m sorry,” you said, gently rocking your body back and forth and repeating the phrase like a broken record which didn’t know any other words.

You’d been sitting in your friend’s blood for minutes and apologizing over and over again until something icy whizzed past you, cutting through the skin of your cheek and drawing blood. A gasp slipped your mouth and you turned around and spotted a masked, hooded person standing outside, a dagger made of ice and drenched in Yukino’s blood in their hand.

Everything happened way too fast. The unknown person came dashing through the opened window, grabbed you by the throat and tossed your body into a tree, effectively knocking the air out of your lungs and making splinters dig into your back. “Why did you do this?!,” you screamed at the stranger in front of you but it was the same as talking to a wall: you got no reply. The person opened their palm, ice bullets appearing out of nowhere and it dawned on you that Yukino’s words were true. You were this monster’s next target and probably their main objective for a reason you could only hope to figure out. Several of these bullets sped towards you, but you managed to melt them with a controlled wall of fire building up in front of you.

There was no way you could fight this person in this area. Houses filled with families surrounded you and at this rate, the neighborhood would either be frozen or burned down along with the people. In a panic, your mind decided to let you run towards the pier which wasn’t too far away but would certainly let you fight against whoever was behind that mask.

Sticks and stones hurt the soles of your feet or banged against your ankles painfully, the lack of air you could inhale hurt your lungs and not to mention the emotional pain of Yukino’s death. Everything hurt you and all you wanted was to break down and cry, but this wasn’t an option when your own life was on the line.

Somehow, you managed to dodge several attacks and you silently thanked whatever deity was watching over you for letting you reach the pier.

Abruptly you came to a stop, sand squeezing itself between your toes and your skin dyeing the sand in a hue of red. Your eyes scanned the area for a hooded figure lurking within the shadow, but found nothing but ordinary trees, bushes and an owl catching a mouse. Just before you could lull yourself into a false sense of safety, a sharp pain penetrated your abdominal area and cold flooded your veins instantly. “You little..,” the person was faster than you anticipated; the stranger had shown up out of nowhere and only waited for you to make a mistake so they could stab you with a knife made of ice which disappeared into tiny snowflakes.

Silent as always, the unknown person pushed you into the river and left you to drown.

The pain coursing through every fiber of your being was overwhelming, but the wound wasn’t as deep as it might seem, despite the blood loss you experienced. You pressed your hand into the stab wound and let the limb heat up until the heat stopped the bleeding; this was only a temporary solution and would not last very long, however.

The current of the river was strong and pulled you along or even pushed you down several times, making your attempt at getting air seem futile which it was. You were so close to reaching the surface, so close to finally breathe again until your palm hit a thick layer of ice which you couldn’t punch or cut through. It was a truly futile attempt.

Crap, you mentally cursed your luck and the stranger for having thought so far ahead, though it shouldn’t come as a surprise. The predator should always be one step ahead of their prey, after all. Your fist collided with the ice a few times, the lack of air slowly got to you and forcing you inhale nothing but the salty water surrounding you - you had no chance but to hurry up.

It took you several moments to heat up a majority of your body thanks to the much colder water, but soon, the liqiuid began bubbling around you and the layer of ice began cracking. Just a bit more. You pushed your palms flat against the ice and let the limbs catch fire to finally push through the ice which had nearly buried you.

At once, the ice shattered and found its way back into the warm water as snowflakes.

Exhausted and injured, you dragged your body to the nearest shore where you coughed up a curious mix of water and blood, your wound reopened at the force. You pressed both of your hands to your injury, dried lips parting ever so slightly as you began panting out of pain. The sound of rustling clothes drew your attention and you expected that stranger to show up once again, but instead, you caught sight of a black coat being thrown your way and a pair of shoes.

“Looks like someone did quite the number on you,” Dazai had his arms crossed over his chest as he took in your ruined form. Blood drenched you from head to toe, some water was probably still stuck in your lungs and not to mention that you almost drowned underneath that blanket of ice. “Shut up,” you snap at the brunette and immediately paid the price. Blood pooled in the back of your throat and snuck its way out with the help of an ugly cough. The taste made you cringe, pain made you curl in on yourself.

“You know you could get this treated if you joined the mafia,” Dazai spoke matter of factly and caught the menacing glare of yours before your eyes could fully develop it. You didn’t even have the time to protest. “It seems like we’re both looking for the same person now. Unless you really don’t want to and would rather die,” you honestly weighed your options, mind swaying between a tempting offer and the want to escape this very real nightmare. Helplessness and despair quickly grew where your heart shattered, making a perfect ground for anger to grow in - not towards the brunette in front of you, but towards yourself for being so weak.

You reach for the coat in front of you and tightly tie the article of clothing around your waist to slow down the bleeding, letting Dazai help you up to your feet. One bandaged arm was wrapped around your waist to keep you steady, his free hand pulled your arm across his shoulder. Dazai was warm, you noticed and unconsciously leaned into the man.

“I can’t understand how your beauty almost managed to die unlike me!,” the man whined and a pout found home on his lips. Dazai couldn’t understand how he always managed to fail, yet someone who did not wish for death, and was very beautiful, almost gained that sweet kiss of death he’d been chasing for so long. “What are you? A suicidal dumbass?,” you smirked as Dazai feigned overdramatic hurt over your comment. He was almost..comedic. “I can’t believe a lovely lady came for my neck like that! Unbelievable how such tender lips can spit such venom right into my poor heart!”

As the apparently suicidal man continued his rambling, you couldn’t help but notice how incredibly convenient his appearance was. Your mind quickly came to the conclusion that it was his doing. “Why the hell are you exactly here?,” you questioned sharply, your voice left no room for any playfulness or jokes. It didn’t surprise you when Dazai dropped the theatrical facade of his and switched to a more serious persona within the blink of an eye. He was serious, yet his face looked genuine.

“I know you must think that I planned the death of your friend, but I assure you I was only told to show up at a certain place to save a certain, stunning lady.”

Nevermind, he wasn’t serious.

“How the hell am I supposed to trust the words of a mafioso?”

At that, Dazai chuckled.

“I don’t lie about these things.”

You wonder how much you could trust him and decided to be wary, instead.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd #bsd x reader #dazai osamu #dazai osamu x reader #dazai x reader #bungou stray dogs x reader #fic: gasoline

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obviouslyelementary · 4 years

Text

We are family - part 2

Yeah babes after I got the sweetest comment on Ao3 I got the need to write another one!!!!! Two in one day dudes!!!!!!!!

Also send me ideas if you have any!

Warnings: Deaf!Logan; Blind!Janus; no angst in this one just frustration.

Tag list: @yuna-dan (ask me if you wanna be included!)

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Signed, Family

Of course he could still speak.

Just not as easily and fluently as he did before.

Logan hadn't always been deaf, just like Janus hadn't always been 100% blind. It was obvious now that they disabilities became heightened quickly, and now even his hearing aids were beginning to lack any effect whatsoever, but he could still speak, because he remembered what movements to make and how to push his vocal chords to produce sound like he did once, even if he couldn't hear himself. And of course, he practiced every day, specially around Virgil, who didn't seem to mind his blabbering of poems and tongue twisters. He also helped, telling Logan whenever he messed up, and Logan always thanked him, because he wanted to remain being able to speak.

Specially considering well, Janus.

He had taught Janus sign language, but it was still easier to speak to him rather than signing with his hands. And luckily Janus talked slow and always turned towards him so he could read his lips, sometimes using sign to respond, because it was easier that way. But he wasn't the best, due to not being able to see properly how the signs were actually made.

But the had stablished some good communication, and the other sides always tried to help whenever they were around. And for Thomas' sake, he would never want to stop speaking, because Thomas did not know sign and he was still Logic, he had to make himself be heard.

So yes, he trained very hard, he made sure to speak slow and articulate so everyone would understand what he was saying, and he read lips often because some seemed to forget he couldn't listen sometimes. It wasn't their fault, but it could be very annoying, specially when he worked with Roman, who had the tendency to speak as fast as a game narrator and keep turning his head and covering his mouth with his gestures every time he was excited.

Working was not fun.

Remus wasn't fun either, because just like he loved throwing things at Janus for him to catch, he loved to scare Logan whenever he was distracted and without his hearing aids on, coming behind him and touching him only to make him yelp and jump away. Remus meant no harm, usually, but his games weren't very fun.

And sometimes it was just... tiring. Sometimes the hearing aids didn't fit right and Logan's ears hurt all day long, and sometimes his ears decided to work only to let the worst ringing sound into his skull, causing headaches and pains. Somedays he just wanted to take everything off and not listen, he didn't feel like talking, he just wanted to relax and enjoy his time speaking in sign and wondering around the house without the fear of being pranked by Remus or surprised by someone.

Since it was one of those days, he sat up on his bed, rubbed his eyes and grabbed his glasses. After thinking twice about not wearing his aids, he left them at the bedside table and walked to the bathroom, making his morning routine and then dressing up before walking out of his room. He had put on a red tie, the usual sign he wasn't wearing the hearing aids, and made his way down the stairs towards the kitchen, where he saw Patton and Janus working on breakfast.

He could see his lips moving and smiled to himself, walking towards the room and sitting on the desk before opening his phone to check on the news. Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up, seeing Patton smiling and lifting his hands to sign.

[Off day?] he asked, and Logan gave him a nod, placing his phone down to sign back.

[Tired. My ears hurt.]

[OK] Patton signed and looked at Janus, telling him something, probably that Logan wouldn't be listening today. Janus nodded and turned to Logan with Patton's help, smiling at him.

[Morning LO] he signed, and Logan smiled, signing it back to him. Patton translated it with a grin, and went back to working on the pancakes, and so did Janus, looking very happy that particular morning.

As the others made their way down, they noticed Logan's tie and started signing to him while they talked to Patton and Janus. They all said good morning and Logan answered, opening his phone again and checking the news and his favorite sites.

So many things happening in the world... sometimes he felt overwhelmed.

A plate of food made it's way in front of him, together with his 'Logic' mug, and he smiled at Patton, putting his phone down and starting to eat. The others did the same, talking between themselves as Logan watched their lips move without really trying to understand, eventually signing something whenever they had a question or comment directed to him. He only really payed attention to Janus when he spoke with his head facing his general direction, so he could answer without the blind side having to sign to him.

When breakfast was over, he let the others know he would be working on a new project that day and would be back for lunch, and they all agreed, Virgil giving Remus a 'don't bother Logan' look before he waved to his friend. Logan smiled, relieved, and made his way upstairs again, brushing his teeth and sitting at his desk to work on a new video idea for Thomas.

He did have some in mind, but he needed to write them down and polish them before he could send them over to Roman.

Logan worked on ideas until lunch, as predicted, and a bit more after it. By the time Patton came over to call him for their daily movie night, he was done, and followed the moral side downstairs, sitting on his favorite armchair and waiting for the movie to start. When Remus pressed play, he hummed, seeing the opening to 2001 Odyssey and smiling to himself.

That was one of his favorite movies.

He relaxed and watched, reading the subtitles, smiling and commenting on the movie every now and then.

He really liked movies about space.

And he was glad the others didn't mind watching a darker movie every now and then.

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ironmansuuucks · 4 years

Text

Like Father, Like Daughter - Part 3

dewey finn x stark!reader

bonour mon petite croissants! okay so like this part is vvv different to the other parts and the ending is really rushed so my apologies. there’s pretty much no dewey in this one its all reader and tony because context and story lmao but it is vvv angsty!!!. sooo i hope you enjoy! also, i tagged you guys because yous have read and commented on the last parts and i hope yous are still liking it lmao lotsa love xxxx

Part 1

Part 2

words - 1800

warnings - alcohol, mentions on drugs, angst

“JARVIS, you up?” Tony questioned his AI as he walked back into the workshop. “for you sir, always”. It was dark and cold in Stark Tower. Tony had been footering around with mark 34 all day, non-stop. He had no idea where his daughter was. In fact you hadn’t spoken in days. It broke his heart but he knew that he needed to wait until you were ready to talk, and the fact that you were both as stubborn as each other didn’t help. As he checked his watch he couldn’t believe the time, 3:20 AM. “yeah, now flip it.. uh huh and push the revolvers up.. more to the left” Tony spoke to JARVIS with a holographic model of mark 34’s chest cavity moving around in front of him.

Suddenly his phone began to ring. “send it to voicemail” he quipped at JARVIS, still spinning the holograph, but the AI hastily responded “uh sir, it’s y/n’s mobile that’s calling you”. “what? Where is she?” he replied worriedly. Tony had a secret tracker on your phone for years and you had never noticed. JARVIS checked and replied “she’s in Katie’s bar sir”. Tony furrowed his eyebrows, folding his arms, expecting some drunken call from his daughter about how much she hated him, “ok answer it”. The AI answered the call and all Tony could hear was the loud, muffled music of the bar.

“hey sweetie how you getting on?” he answered the phone condescendingly, preparing for her shouting and swearing. But the voice he was met with was not his daughters. “uh, hey Mr Stark, it’s Peter, y/n’s friend?”. Tony furrowed his eyebrows again, concern building. “oh hey Pete, everything ok?”. Peter paused for a second. “well uh.. no, not really.” Tony’s heart was racing, his mind spinning and coining the worse scenarios. “I think you may need to come pick up y/n. She’s super messed up, worse than I’ve ever seen her.. and she uh.. she was about to buy.. uh cocaine from these random guys on the streets before we stopped her” Peter replied hesitantly. Tony was furious. Who the hell did you think you were and what the fuck did you think you were doing. He had been down this route before and it was one that he struggled to get out of. The rich and famous lifestyle was not an easy ride, but he would die before he let you fuck up as much as he did when he was your age.

Tony darted toward the door, not even lifting his jacket “uh huh kid, keep her at Katie’s bar, I’ll be there in five”. He didn’t even wait to here what peter had to say. He almost ran out to the Mercedes and drove at a speed that was lethal to get his daughter back and safe in his arms.

* * * * * * *

“yeah well fuck off” you shouted at the bouncer as your friends dragged you out of the bar, stumbling into the back of them. You pulled out of Peter’s grip and slid down the wall to sit on the ground. Your head was spinning. You had consumed a destructive amount of alcohol. You put your head in your hands. “ugh I haaaate my liiife” you almost shouted as your friends stood in front of you, patiently waiting for Tony. Peter bent down and rubbed your knee “you’re fine, y/n, everything will be okay”. You sobbed slightly “n-no it won’t Pete, im.. I’m fucked up”.

Just then was when the jet black Mercedes stopped outside of the bar, the door flinging open. You looked up at the sudden noise of the car acceleration, Peter standing up and thanking the lord that Tony was here. You squinted your eyes as someone got out the car, and then the realisation hit “you dicks called my dad?!?!?” you shouted drunkenly at your friends, who stood in silence. “right, come on.. up you get” Tony said as he attempted to pull you to your feet. To be honest, you didn’t want to protest too much. In your head you didn’t have to speak to your dad, you could just go to your own cosy bed, so you let him pull you to your feet, stumbling into him as you did so.

Your friends stood silent, feeling bad, and severely worried about you. “what has she had?” Tony questioned Peter as he put her in to the front seat of the car. “ugh, tequila, jack, vodka.. honestly a mix of everything”. Tony sighed, shutting the door and ignoring your protests from the car. “ok so just about everything she could lay her hands on? You’ll be the death of me kid seriously” Tony spoke as he walked round to get in the car. “Thanks guys, I’ll let you know how she gets on” he thanked your friends as he drove off.

The car ride home was filled with silence. Tony was too angry, and you were too drunk. You stumbled trying to get out of the car and fell on your knees, Tony went round and helped you up, putting your arm around his shoulder, almost carrying you up to the penthouse.

When the elevator dinged, and you both walked into the living room, you pulled yourself away from him “I don’t need your help”. “uh huh, sure you don’t miss independent. If it wasn’t for me you wouldn’t be here”. You rolled your eyes “I’m away to b-bed” you drunkenly began to attempt to walk towards your bedroom but you swayed and fell into one of pillars. Tony crossed his arms and watched you as you slid along the pillar and attempted to walk without it but couldn’t.

“please to god tell me what Peter told me wasn’t true y/n” Tony began, sternly. “w-well I don’t know? How th-the fuck am I supposed to know what peter told you” you snapped, head spinning. Your eyes were closed, head resting against the pillar. “you know damn right what I’m on about y/n. Cocaine? Random guys in the street? I’ll be damned if I let you ruin your life like that.” Tony lectured you as he went to put on the coffee machine. “well you kn-know what they say dad.. like father, li-like daughter right?” you slurred.

That hurt. This was the last thing Tony wanted to happen, for his daughter to end up like him. He had tried his best on his own, and he was so proud of you, but he just didn’t understand. Was it his fault? He walked out of the kitchen area and looked at you. His heart was shattered seeing you like this. His eyebrows were furrowed, and the hurt was seeping out of his eyes. Once you had locked eyes with him you looked away. You knew you were hurting him but you didn’t know how to help yourself.

You started to tear up. All of your emotions coming to fruition. You bounced very lightly against the pillar as tears began to stream down your face. You still couldn’t look at him. “dad.. w-why am I such a f-fuck up”.

This broke Tony’s heart. He instantly came over to you and pulled you into his embrace, tightly. “no- listen y/n. You could never be a fuck up. Look at everything you’ve achieved. I’m so so so incredibly proud of you sweetheart”. You sobbed into his shoulder as he rubbed you’re back. “y/n I just want you to realise your worth. You’re so beautiful and smart and you deserve the world. I hate seeing you try to drown your sorrows every night and bring home these random dudes. I just wish you’d talk to me”. He stroked your hair and kissed the top of your head.

“why don’t we make a coffee, if you can stomach it, we’ll go lay on your bed and you can talk to me if you’d like, or I’ll just lie with you until you fall asleep?” he pulled you off of him but kept you in his arms. You nodded, sniffling.

Tony took you to your room and sat you on the bed, you still being too drunk to function properly on your own, then went and made you both coffee. He came back in and sat it on your bedside table “this should help with the head in the morning”. He then went to the other side of the bed and laid down, “here, come rest your bones next to me”, he opened his arms and gestured for you to go and cuddle into him. You instantly shuffled over and let yourself relax into your dads embrace. You began to sob. Tony ran his hand through your hair.

“dad, I just feel like I’m not good enough” you managed through your sobs. “now what in your damn mind would make you think that y/N?”

* * * * *

You and Tony spoke all night. It was the first time you had both spoken like that in a long, long time. It broke his heart to hear why you felt the way you did and he would pay endless amount of money, and do anything in the world to help you, but he couldn’t. Eventually you both fell asleep, you had needed to get up a few times to be sick, and your dad was right there for you. He never left your side that night, and hardly slept a wink for fear you would throw up and choke in your sleep.

In the morning you thanked him, and you both made a plan. You had promised you would stop going out as much, and you both promised to spend more time with one another, which meant Tony had to stay out of the workshop more. And as time gradually went on, your relationship got better and better. You would both have coffee in the morning together, you both went to concerts again, and you were both cheeky smart asses to one another. You were a new person. You became more responsible, looked after yourself, stopped hooking up with random guys. You were unrecognisable.

“did you ever get in contact with that guy?” Tony had asked you one day as you were both working on mark 36 in the workshop, “what guy? There was that many” you joked. Tony laughed lightly, “no the one who uh, liked all the guitars remember? Had the cool ACDC t-shirt on?”. Dewey Finn. Suddenly you were taken back. Where the hell was he now? It must have been 4 months since that one night, but you would never forget it. That was one of the best nights of your life. “uh, no.. I don’t know if he would want to meet up really, given the circumstances. He probably hates me”.

But little did you know..

tags: @large-unit @little-miss-shy-goth @paxenera @heknowshisherbs @thewolfisapartofmysoul

#dewey finn #tony stark #dewey finn x reader #stark daughter #school #marvel #avengers #Alex Brightman #robert downey jr

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beansiewritesstuff · 4 years

Text

Zagreus vs The Mortal Coil

Lmao okay so let me explain! So maybe five or so months ago I got really into the game Hades, and I did that thing I do where I immediately create like five thousand OCs and a new plotline for it because I love it so much. This is an idea that spawned from my thoughts on what shenanigans might find Zagreus once he starts exploring more of the surface in the time he has there. I also wanted to explore how he might interact with mortals, and what he thinks of them considering he’s only got what others tell him to go on. I decided a baby would be an interesting dynamic for him, and an opportunity for him to grow further beyond what the events of the game allow. Still debating whether to write the baby as a reader insert or a character of my own? Also I wanted to test out writing using 1st person so consider this an experiment. Next part will be from Zag’s PoV again, but I think I’ll write from the human’s PoV once I age them up a little more.

So with all that said, I just wanted to go ahead and tag @heckpuppyy because we’ve been talking recently and I like you. This isn’t quite the Aconite piece I have planned for you, but it is Hades so I hoped that you would still enjoy it! Happy reading everybody!

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Suppose this whole situation may be entirely my fault.

It’d been a good while since I last died on an attempt. Long enough that I started to get bored. Making it to the surface had become commonplace for me, and so I began exploring for the brief time I’m able to exist up there. I’d just pick a direction and walk. Which is how I stumbled into this. Perhaps father was right when he said my casual curiosity would get the better of me someday. I always sort of agreed with him; though I never expected something like this. Then again, who but the Fates would?

Mortal behaviour has always been strange, at least to me. Or foreign, I guess. Talking to willing Shades and reading stories of them does little to help expand my understanding. Still, as I think most Gods are, I can’t help but to be intrigued by them. There’s almost a bizarre beauty in their existence, short though it may be. Yet there are also things about them that confuse me to bitterness. Things that strike too close to my father’s behaviour for my liking. Such as, for instance, leaving children out in the mountains to succumb to Demeter’s Winter.

I really hadn’t been walking long before I heard the cries. At first, I thought it might have been an animal in pain. Though I’d heard as many instances of that as I had human infants crying, at the time. It was very odd, this immediate tug in my chest at the noise. Mother later called it “maternal instinct”, though I’m fairly sure that term only applies to mothers. Nevertheless, that feeling was what led me to the clearing in which the squalling creature lay. For a moment, I’ll admit, I was stupefied. Why would a mortal so helpless be so far out here? I thought to myself. And where are its caretakers? Surely it didn’t transport its self all the way up here from the human village. It took a particularly loud hiccupping cry from the child to snap me out of my frozen state, and I found my legs working of their own accord to move the rest of me closer to the small lump of cloth and reddened, tear-stained cheeks. It stared back up at me when I leaned over it, its next wail caught in its throat momentarily at the sight of me. I worry for a moment that I might be scaring it, before my chest tightens in a strange emotion when it whimpers pitifully and reaches out to me. Its chubby little fingers make grabbing motions, and the muscles in my arms flex with the temptation to pick it up. A searching glance around confirmed that no other humans were around, which meant it would be up to me to guide this infant to whatever fate had been written for it.

Perhaps that was too prideful of me? After all, had I thought a bit more thoroughly, I may have reminded myself of my considerable lack of child-rearing experience. This is addition to the predicament of surface dwellers being unable to survive in the Underworld, and me being unable to live on the surface for more than an hour or so.

Alas, thanks to my haste in accepting the self-ascribed responsibility, I gave only just enough thought to this fact to move the child to a small hollow near the doors to father’s realm. It had belonged to an animal at some point, but now laid barren and slightly unkempt. I had just enough time to check it the unpleasant eight-legged surface creatures I’ve heard tell of being poisonous, and to stash my new ward away safely from the elements, before the Styx took me back home. It was only upon emerging from the Pool that it struck me the weight of my decision. A baby. A human baby. One that would have simply died had I not intervened. One that now requires me to fight my way back up to ensure it’s survival. One that will need food and shelter and attention. One that… Now belongs to me.

“Blood and darkness!” Stygius slips slightly from my grip as it catches inside the Wretched Lout I just impaled. I readjust my hold and heave it out of the sickly yellow flesh, waving it slightly to flick some of the congealing black blood from it. I have no time to stop this run. I’ve boxed myself into such a situation I barely had time to check in with everybody before leaving. I neglected to share my secret just yet, both for a loss as to how exactly to do so, as well as the worry that they would try to talk me out of it. Forgetting this whole thing seems the logical thing to do, and part of me wishes I would. And yet there is another part, small but overwhelming, that screams You must hurry. You must return to it. You must protect it! And it would seem to be the part that’s winning.

The sound of a Boon echoes through the small chamber, though when I look to it, it’s one I’ve never seen before. A deeper blue than from Poseidon, with some kind of feather symbol. When I reach out to it, the sound of a baby’s laughter reverberates through my entire body it seems. “In the name of Hades, uhh… Hello?” The glowing orb expands and bursts in a cloud of feathers to reveal the visage of a beautiful woman. She dons the same colour of chiton as her blessing, with rich green and gold patterning. Her green eyes remind me of mother and Demeter. Mother… “Lady Hera. It’s… An honour.” The stoic looking woman extends her hand without speaking, three blue feathers appearing in front of me. These are different from the regular gifts I receive. It weighs on my mind that my decision will factor heavily into my care for the infant. Hera is the Goddess of childbirth and motherhood, now may be my opportunity to get the best advice possible. It does occur to me that she doesn’t seem the most talkative. But I don’t have much choice, I need to get the most out of this encounter, considering how out of my element caring for another being is. “Lady Hera, I apologise for my boldness, but I must beseech your assistance in the matter of- “

“I sense your predicament, young Prince. I ask you not request more of me than I volunteer, though I can say I am here to help. For now, choose a gift to help you with your ward, and be on your way.” Seems that would be our conversation over. I straighten my stance and properly look over the feathers, now adorned with golden etching in the shape of familiar yet foreign words. “Mother’s Intuition” “Fruits of Labor” “Calming Touch” All seem useful, but if Hera is truly planning to stick around to help me, I suppose my decision now doesn’t hold as much weight as my initial assumption. “Calming Touch” seems it would be the most useful to me as of now. As my fingers brush the barbs of the feather, the “eye” blinks at me, and the other two disappear in small clouds of bubbles. More childlike laughter sounds from them as they pop, and that feeling is back in my chest as I clutch the feather to my chest. The illusion of Hera nods her approval before it too dissipates in a bright flash that has me blinking away the spots in my vision as I stumble toward the next door. I fasten the feather to my tunic and continue on.

Tartarus passes in a whirlwind, my haste extending to Stygius, as if the infernal blade can sense the situation. Soon the river Phlegethon bubbles and hisses around me, the sulfur stinging my eyes. I leap over a steaming break in the land and carry the momentum through another Slamdancer. More Bloodless spawn behind me and I can only muster a sigh in response. Seems this repetition is starting to wear on my mind. Or perhaps it’s my impatience. Whatever it is, it continues to plague my mind with chilling images of the little creature I have stashed away, the hovel barely big enough to fit it. The idea of what might happen should I delay spurs me forward, not even paying attention to the Boon I accept. The orange-y glow makes me think Hermes, until a deep, rough voice booms above me. Acting on impulse I flinch back and bring Stygius in front of me. The man peering down at me with one eye under his brow scoffs and folds his arms across his chest. Feeling only a little silly, I clear my throat and lower the blade. “Apologies, Lord. I’m distracted by the heat of this place; I meant no offense.” This seems enough for the God and the jaded look to his eyes falls away to leave a particular type of exhaustion. He nods in understanding and lifts a large hand towards me. I notice something clenched in his scarred grip, and when his fingers uncurl to reveal parchment not unlike the House Contractor’s, with similar projects marked on it, a realization dawns on me. I take the paper, my eyes drawn to the blueprint labelled “Sturdy Cottage”. It seems my fears for the infant’s safety are unnecessary, seeing as I happen to have the four diamonds needed to purchase the construct. “I think this will be of much use, Lord Hephaestus. I greatly appreciate your generous assistance.” The God seems mildly taken aback by my thanks but retrieves the ledger and diamonds with a nod at my decision. Sparks fly as Hephaestus leaves, hopefully straight for the surface to begin building the cottage. It feels as if a deep shadow has been cleared from my mind, and my thoughts of the mortal are considerably lighter than before.

Elysium provides, as always, the most resistance to my journey up. The Exalted are ferocious in their desperation for battle, charging at me with no hesitation upon spawning. I’ve already taken several hits from those blasted Flamewheels by the time I reach the next chamber with something new. At first, I fretfully believe it to be a Trial of the Gods, but upon a closer look, it seems to be a joint blessing of some kind. I recognize the wheat symbol for a Boon of Demeter, but it overlaps a peacock feather. Are the Goddesses aware of this? I hesitantly accept, and the orb expands as any other. In an icy flash filled with children’s laughter, the likenesses two Goddesses stand before me. Demeter smiles down at me, and I might be tempted to call it warm. Whereas Hera stands tall and proud as she did on our first meeting. “Zagreus, I believe you’ve already met my sister. She’s come to me with an interesting proposition; one I believe you should be made privy to.” Demeter summons a true stalk of wheat, golden and shining, and allows me to take it. I twist the stalk between my fingers, watching the little barbs blur together as they spin. “Bury this where you wish. The snow and ice will melt from that place, and your child will be safe from the elements. I know not why you would waste pity on such a creature, but perhaps it will be of future use to you. Good luck, grandson.” I hold the wheat tightly to me as they leave, my heart pounding at the idea of bending the very rules Demeter herself has put in place for this one mortal infant. A very small part of my mind wonders if this is even worth it, but like all my doubts, it gets swept away at the prospect of knowing this creature will be safe. I pin the wheat next to the feather and wonder what my next gift may be as the door clunks shut behind me.

I’ve almost made it. Just need to get past father and I can get to work. He’s not making it easy, though he never does, and it’s especially frustrating this time. I almost lose my footing on the snow as I dodge another swing. Father scoffs and begins powering up for his stupid laser move. I thank the stone stump for the umpteenth time as I crouch behind it. On the bright side, father only needs a few more hits before the Styx overwhelms him. “You seem especially antsy this attempt, boy. What mischief are you plotting? What could possibly be so important up here?”

“Far be it for me to allow you to ruin my fun, father.” I smirk as Stygius makes contact and slices a deep black gash under the Underworld Lord’s second rib. Father grunts and smacks me away with the blunt end of his spear. The throb is dull and adds no more stress to my body. This may be one of our best fights, on my end anyway. “Come now father, surely you have more important paperwork than this?” I pause to charge up another Bloodstone, distantly registering the hiss of the disturbed snow under my feet. “Watch that tongue of yours, boy. You’ll still have to deal with the consequences when you inevitably return to my House!” My cast lands a hit square on his chest as he finishes his threat, and he falls to his knee. “Until then, father.” I’m not sure if he heard me over the rush of the Styx, but my hope that he did is tinged in bitterness. Turning away, I hurry to collect my Bloodstones and cross the threshold into Greece.

The mountain seems to be caught in a storm of some kind. The cruel winds howl and whistle past my ears, the sheets of snow all but completely ELEPHANT my vision. I hurry along the treeline, thankful the entrance hollow is facing the direction the wind is blowing. I wonder if Demeter chose this direction intentionally, or if she may have been attempting to wipe out the infant before I had the chance to truly commit to my task. I decide she isn’t that heartless, not now anyway, and kneel beside the hollow. The crying of the infant is still going strong, so I at least can be sure it’s alive. I adjust my tunic so that I can tuck the child close to my body and reach to scoop it up. As I hold it close, my eye catches on the glint of silver around its neck. A chain, specifically one of a necklace. The charm is familiar, but I can’t quite place its origin. A sphere overlapped at each side by two crescent moon shapes. Whatever it is, I’m fairly sure it has something to do with father. Why else would the infant be left so close to his realm? The mortal whimpers quietly, curling in on itself. I need to get it out of this storm. My fingers wrap around the wheat as I stand. Surely Hephaestus would have built the cottage close by, for his own convenience at the very least. I decide to move back closer to the doors, so I can at least avoid the worst of the storm. I must hurry if I’m to find the cottage before my time is up.

The trees seem to fall away off to the right, as the land dips toward a river that’s frozen over. Perhaps I can at least clear this spot for now with Demeter’s gift. The banks flatten out before rising high at the sides, shielding the small valley from the wind. If I look closely, I can see the water rushing underneath the ice layer. I’m just starting to reach for the wheat when I notice a dark shape looming from the opposite side of the river. The cottage! Well, less of a cottage and more of a large house. Praising Hephaestus, I stumble over the frozen river, eyeing the places where the ice sizzles. The hill proves easy to scale, even with the protesting infant at my breast, and the door to the building gives easily to my push, the wind whooshing through the doorway to paint the inner floor white. It’s considerably harder to fight the wind to get the door closed again, but once it is, I’m free to sit against it and bask in the slightly warmer temperature. Even my infantile ward seems more pleased with the new surroundings, though it still hiccups and whines unhappily at me. “Come now, surely a little gratitude’s been earned here?” The mortal cries in response and I can’t help the exasperated laugh that escapes me. Suppose it’s entitled to its opinion, considering the state it’s in. It spurs me to stand again, scanning the room for a place to rest the mortal until I get back. Hephaestus did quite the good job with the construct. Sturdy walls, a strong roof, and windows sealed shut with thick glass to keep out the chill. The room we’re in now is spacious, with an open doorway leading to what reminds me of the House kitchens, and an arched entrance with a step up to a section that might be a lounge? I can see other closed doors that I’ll have to explore later, but for now I move into the kitchen and readjust the infant’s swaddle so that it can lay comfortably. It watches me in what I think is curiosity, though it’s kind of hard to tell with the tears in its eyes. I need to figure out what it needs next. Food? Let’s go with food. What do humans eat? What do human babies eat? Perhaps Hera will have answers. The pull of the Styx is stronger now, and I know I don’t have much longer. I shouldn’t let it see this. I lean over the cocoon of snot and tears and cheeks. The cries quieten as two big brown eyes stare mournfully up at me. “Abahaa!” It babbles and tries to reach for me. I meet its little hand in-between us with a finger. It’s fingers barely wrap around mine. It’s an overwhelming feeling; how small this creature is. Small and helpless and fragile and mine. I carefully remove the infant’s hand and tuck it back in its wrappings so I can leave. I’m able to securely close the door behind me and take but a few steps forward before the Styx arrives. Crawling out of the river is getting easier with my new motivation.

“Don’t worry, little thing. I’ll be back soon.”

#Beansie Writes #HadesGame #Supergiant Games #Prince Zagreus #Hades #Queen Hera #Hephaestus #yeet first proper piece for this game #whoop whoop #Hera and Hephaestus don't appear in canon and it offends me #I also plan to bring up Hestia and a few others in the future because they're important to me

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thecassadilla · 4 years

Text

Change of Pace - Chapter 4

Pairing: Kristanna

Chapter 4 on AO3

Read from Chapter 1 on AO3

Word Count: 4,779

Summary: With her sister’s blessing, Anna takes a step back from her royal duties and finds herself working for a ski resort nestled in the mountains. A chance encounter with the resort’s maintenance technician leads them down an unexpected path, as they must work together to plan the resort’s annual ball - and maybe fall in love in the process.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone! I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's been reading it so far!!! It really means so, so much to me. Hanukkah is this week, so Happy Hanukkah to those of you that celebrate!!! And once again I apologize for all of the asterisks - tumblr removes posts with “bad language” from the tags. Uncensored version is on AO3! I hope you enjoy this chapter!!!

There was a part of him that felt like a complete a*shole for taking the brunt of his anger out on Anna, watching as she curled into herself and attempted to placate him before he stomped away. The other part of him was too busy seeing red to care - the situation may not have been directly her fault, but it was one that could’ve been avoided altogether. He knew that helping her was a bad idea from the start, but he foolishly did it anyway. Even Andrew was shocked when he initially asked if he could leave for a bit.

“Hey man,” he said. “Do you mind if I step away for a few minutes?”

“What’s going on?” Andrew asked.

“I have to take someone somewhere.”

The other man furrowed his eyebrows. “I’m confused.”

Kristoff sighed. “I have to take the lady from the event office to the abandoned building right off the C Ski Lift. So she could scope it out for her party.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Is that relevant?”

“Go for it, man,” Andrew said, a knowing look plastered across his face.

Frankly, it was a bit humiliating; Andrew wasn’t the type to tease or make a fuss out of things like that. But in hindsight, Kristoff, himself, wasn’t the type to jump in and save the day for a stranger while he was on the clock.

And it had gone really well - at first. Sure, she’d said a few things that had indirectly insulted him and he’d been a little sharp with her, but it was abundantly clear that she meant no harm. Other than that, she was immensely grateful for his help - going as far as calling him a hero and rewarding him with a hug. Truth be told, he was looking forward to getting away from her as quickly as possible. Despite the fact that she was pretty and sweet, she was also the absolute last thing he needed in his life. His life was already pathetic and sad, and there was absolutely no reason to even attempt to get to know her when she’d inevitably leave just like everyone else did.

And then she enthusiastically told Bonnie that he had a hand in finding the new venue and his life changed in the blink of an eye. Not only would he have to step away from the job that he so desperately needed to be present for, but he’d also have to spend forty hours a week with her for months. And he was certain that it wasn’t the type of job where they could just sit around and mind their own business - he’d done a repair in the event office a few years prior and it was nothing but constant chatting the entire time he was there.

By the time he marched back into the ballroom that afternoon, a couple of his other coworkers had made it in and Andrew was giving them a rundown of what had happened and what the game plan was. Upon noticing that he returned, though, Andrew decided to stop what he was doing and inquire about his excursion.

“Hey, how did it go with your event planning girl?”

And at that point, despite the blazing inferno of anger inside of him, he couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. “Horrible. Absolutely horrible.”

Andrew chuckled nervously. “What happened? She turned you down?”

“Nope, I wasn’t even planning on asking her out,” he answered. “But I don’t work here anymore. Starting Monday, I report to the event planning office as her assistant.”

Andrew’s face fell. “Wait, what?”

“She told Bonnie that I helped her find the place and Bonnie decided to reward me for my good deed by shipping me upstairs.”

“Dude, we need you here. Do you see the state of this room?”

Kristoff shrugged. “I tried to tell that to Bonnie, but she didn’t care.”

“I’m going to talk to her,” Andrew insisted. “There’s not a chance in hell that we’re losing you so you could go sit in an office and plan a party.”

“Please,” he practically begged. “I really don’t want to be pulled away from this.”

Andrew nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can.”

But just as he expected, Andrew wasn’t able to get very far with Bonnie. She emphasized that he was needed in the event planning office, and that if the maintenance team needed extra hands, they could hire temporary employees - which was a*s backwards, if you asked him. It was totally illogical to hire several temps, when she only had to hire one assistant event planner, but he chalked it up to the fact that Andrew would be responsible for hiring the temps, not her.

So, he made a decision. He’d go in and begrudgingly do whatever they asked him to in the meantime - but he wasn’t going to make any promises. If another job popped up elsewhere and he was offered the position, he was going to take it without a second thought. Event planning office and Valley Ski Resort, be damned.

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On Monday morning, Anna woke up before her alarm and laid in bed for what felt like an eternity, staring at the ceiling and trying to calm her racing heart. When her alarm finally went off, she crawled out of bed and started her day, meticulously applying her makeup and choosing nice clothes in an effort to create a better second impression. For the first time in two months, she was absolutely dreading going to work - a feeling that she hoped would pass with time, since she actually liked her job.

“Good morning,” she called upon entering the office, relieved to see that only Holly was there and Kristoff had not yet arrived.

“Morning, Anna,” Holly responded.

“How are you?”

“I’m okay. How about you?”

“Could be better.”

“I’m sorry,” Holly frowned. “Is it because of the new guy?”

“Yeah.” Anna closed her eyes and exhaled through her nose. “I’m not looking forward to today. I actually feel a little sick to my stomach.”

“You do look a little green. I have an antacid if you want it.”

She shook her head. “No, it won’t do anything. I’m just anxious because I feel like I ruined someone’s life.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Anna. You can’t blame yourself.”

“Not only am I blaming myself, he’s blaming me too. He said as much.”

“He should be blaming Bonnie.”

“I know,” she sighed. “I feel really bad, though.”

“I know. But you have to remember that you were trying to do the right thing. There’s nothing wrong with that,” Holly assured her.

“Thanks, Holly.”

“And I may have some good news for you.”

Anna raised her eyebrows. “You do?”

“So, I know you said that you weren’t interested, but my husband and I went to dinner with a few of his work friends over the weekend and there’s this one guy who is, like, super single. I started talking about you, of course, and I showed him a picture of you, and he’s very interested in going on a date with you - if you want to, of course.”

“Really?”

Holly nodded. “Oh, yes. His name is Darren. He thinks you’re beautiful and I was telling him how you’re sweet and friendly, but kind of down on your luck right now for reasons I didn’t want to discuss, ahem.”

She smiled. “And?”

“He asked for your number. I didn’t give it to him because I wanted to check in and make sure that you were okay with it first - you know, because you specifically said that you didn’t want to be set up on a blind date - but I can send it to him right now if you want me to.”

“Sure,” Anna agreed with a nervous giggle. “You can give him my number.”

“Yes!” Holly cheered, pumping her fist in the air. “I was beyond convinced that you were going to say ‘no.’”

She shrugged. “It’s not like I have anything to lose.”

“That’s the spirit! You deserve to have a little fun! Don’t let a new job and a rude maintenance man get you down.”

As if on cue, the door to the office opened and both women turned toward it as Kristoff walked in.

“Hi,” Holly said before clearing her throat and standing up. “Kristoff, right?”

“Yup,” he answered shortly.

“I’m Holly Williams. I never had the chance to properly introduce myself last week.” She offered him her hand and he accepted, shaking for a moment. “And I’m sure you remember Anna.”

Anna gulped before squeaking out a simple greeting. “Hi.”

He didn’t bother to answer or even look in her direction.

“You can hang your coat up on the rack over there and then I’ll show you to your desk,” Holly said. They both watched as he shrugged out of his coat and hung it up before Holly led him to the desk at the back of the room that once belonged to Jenny. She pointed to a post-it note that was stuck to the border of the computer screen. “This is the login information for the computer, and I’m going to have an email account set up for you by the end of the day.”

“Thanks.”

“I’m sure you have some questions about what exactly your role is going to be.”

Anna glanced over, trying to gauge his mood and how he was reacting to all of this. Instead of answering Holly, he kept his eyes cast downward.

“So,” Holly started, once she’d come to the realization that he wasn’t going to answer. “You’ll be the assistant event planner. Um, basically you’ll be helping Anna host the rest of the events for the season, since the events have mostly been planned in advance. The primary event you’ll have to focus on is our annual ball -”

“I know about the party,” he said, cutting her off mid-sentence.

“Of course.” Holly clapped her hands together. “I heard that you were an integral part of finding our new venue.”

“Yup.”

“So, Anna is actually working on finalizing the guest list today, and the invitations have to be mailed out later this week. We’re expecting to have around five hundred invitations to send out, and you’ll be responsible for helping her with assembling the envelopes for mailing.”

“Okay.”

“Aside from that, you and Anna are going to have to work together on the rest of the planning. She’ll be able to explain what that entails. Oh, and I ordered new tables and chairs since all of the furniture in the ballroom was destroyed. The first few are going to be delivered this week, so you’ll have to make sure that they arrive at the new venue.”

“Okay.”

“Let me get you one of our event calendars,” Holly said, walking away from his desk and back to hers. “So you have an idea of what’s happening over the course of the next few months.”

Anna’s eyes trailed her silently as she made her way across the room and back. Holly handed him the paper and his eyes scanned the page.

“Do I have to be at all of these events?” Kristoff asked incredulously.

“Typically, yes,” Holly answered. “Unless you have some kind of prior obligation.”

He scoffed, tossing the paper onto the desk and shaking his head in disbelief. The two women exchanged a worried glance.

Holly cleared her throat. “I know this is probably going to be a bit of an adjustment for you, but it’ll only be for the next couple of months. So until April -”

“April?! I’ll be here until April?!”

“According to the email that Bonnie sent me, yes.”

“I thought I was supposed to stick around for the party and then go back to my regular job.”

“Well, Anna will be leaving in April so that’ll give Bonnie a considerable amount of time to fill both positions.”

“And hypothetically, if Bonnie isn’t able to fill those positions - what will happen to me? Will I just be stuck here?”

“I don’t know,” Holly answered with a sigh. “You’ll have to talk to Bonnie about that. But I understand that this has to be an incredibly difficult situation for you.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You could say that again.”

“How about you tell us a little bit about yourself? And then Anna and I will talk about ourselves.”

“I live here, I work here - there isn’t really much to it.”

Holly smiled. “Oh, did you grow up here?”

“Yup.”

“I did too! Did you go to Valley High School?”

“That’s the only high school here,” he muttered.

“When did you graduate? I graduated in oh-eight.”

“Fifteen.”

“Ooh, my husband started working there the year before. But he teaches freshmen, so you wouldn’t have had him.”

He smiled dryly. “Nice.”

“Anna, when did you graduate?” Holly asked, clearly trying to bring her into the conversation.

“Seventeen.”

“You’re the only one who was lucky enough to escape the woes of Valley High School.”

“That’s true,” she nodded. “I was homeschooled.”

“Lucky you,” he scoffed. “Valley sucks.”

Holly clicked her tongue. “It isn’t that bad.”

He rolled his eyes. “Speak for yourself.”

“It’s a small town high school, everyone knows everyone and there’s a lot of gossip,” Holly explained to Anna. “The stuff you go through there kind of follows you through life.”

“That’s unfortunate,” she remarked.

“One of my friends got pregnant junior year - her family literally had to move away because the whole town knew within a week and they wouldn't stop talking about them.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “So why do people stay?”

“Small town charm, friendly neighbors, more relaxed than a big city.”

“Or because they don’t have a choice,” Kristoff chimed in.

“That too,” Holly agreed. “Before the resort expanded, tourists only visited during the skiing season. This town relies on the revenue that tourists bring in order to stay afloat. I think there was a collective sigh of relief when we became a year-round tourist trap.”

Anna nodded sympathetically. “That’s good, at least -”

Holly’s phone rang then, interrupting the conversation. “Excuse me,” she said, strolling over to her desk.

Kristoff sighed. “So what am I supposed to be doing right now?”

“If you want, you can start stuffing the invitations into the envelopes,” Anna offered. “And once I finish the guest list, we can start sticking the addresses on.”

“Fine,” he agreed.

She took the box of invitations out from her desk drawer, walked them over to him and set the box on his desk. “Don’t worry about sealing them. We’ll do that another day.”

By the time she made it back to her desk, he was already looking at the invitations. “You realize that the wrong location is printed on these, right?”

“What?”

“The location is wrong,” he said, holding one up. “It says that the party is in the ballroom, not the new venue.”

“Oh god, I forgot about that,” she blurted, jumping up and grabbing the invitation from his hands. “No, no, no...”

“Now what?”

“I don’t know,” she confessed, biting her lip and glancing over at Holly, who was still on the phone. “It took a few weeks for these to get shipped to us, and I don’t know if we have enough time to order new ones and ship them out with enough time for the guests to respond. I don’t know what to do.”

“Great,” he huffed. “You really run a well-oiled machine around here.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well, you just said you don’t know what you’re doing, didn’t you?”

“You seem to forget that a pipe burst and destroyed the ballroom on your watch on Friday,” she pointed out defensively. “It’s Monday.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Are you blaming me for a burst pipe?”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Only if you’re blaming me for invitations that were printed before the pipe burst.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that if you’d have caught this three days ago, maybe you could’ve ordered new invitations.”

“You do realize that a lot of businesses are closed on weekends? That it probably wouldn’t have made a significant difference? Besides, we may not have the time to order new invitations and we may have to send these as-is. That’s my point.”

“The point is that you still don’t know what you’re doing.”

“And what would’ve happened if the pipe burst the day before the party? Hmm?”

“Why are you acting like I should know the answer to this?” he argued. “This is not my department. I’m only here because you couldn’t keep your mouth shut.”

She felt her jaw tense. “You know that’s not my fault.”

“Woah, what is happening?” Holly interjected loudly.

“The invitations have the wrong location on them and it’s my fault for not immediately catching it and ordering new ones after the pipe burst on Friday,” Anna explained, her blood practically boiling. “Oh, and I don’t know what I’m doing because I’m too busy running my mouth. Not because of the wrench in our plans, but because I talk too much.”

“I didn’t say that,” he hissed.

“Yes you did! When you blamed me, yet again, for something that Bonnie did. I didn’t ask for you to come work with us.”

“You’re the one that told her that I found the venue!”

“You did find it and I was trying to be nice,” she growled. “Something that you seem to be incapable of.”

“Don’t forget that you just blamed me for a burst pipe. What should I have done? Put some duct tape over it?”

“You know, this could’ve gone so differently if you had kept your mouth closed on Friday. You’re the one who told me about the new venue, remember?”

“Okay, enough,” Holly stated firmly. “Kristoff - it is not Anna’s fault that you got transferred here, and the situation with the invitations is not her fault, either. Anna - it’s not Kristoff’s fault that the pipe burst and we’re happy that he found a new venue for us. I already have one baby at home and I’m not interested in coming to work and taking care of two more. This is an office, not a boxing ring or a debate stage.”

The silence that came after Holly spoke was deafening; the only noise in the entire room was the sound of their collective breathing and the heaters running.

When things had cooled off slightly, Holly piped up again. “Now here’s what’s going to happen - we’re going to send out the invitations as-is, but we’re going to stuff the envelopes with information about the location change. On the day of, we’ll put signs out all over the lobby and we’ll have someone wait by the ballroom to direct people to the new venue - I’ll do it myself if I have to.”

“That’s a good idea,” Anna agreed, exhaling with relief.

“The deadline to RSVP is by mid-January, and the invitations take three weeks to order so we can’t order new ones. We wouldn’t be giving the guests enough time to get back to us.”

“Told you,” Anna gloated, smiling smugly in Kristoff’s direction.

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, but didn’t argue back. After a moment of sulking, he sat up and started on the task in front of him.

The rest of the day passed without incident and with minimal noise. Anna and Holly repeatedly exchanged glances with each other and tried to avoid talking like they would’ve on a normal day, though there were a few slips - specifically when Darren texted her to introduce himself.

“Look who texted me,” Anna said, pushing her chair over to Holly’s desk with her feet and holding out her phone.

Holly squinted at the device before squealing. “That’s so exciting! You’d better say ‘yes’ when he asks you out.”

“I’m going to,” she giggled. “Obviously.”

“This is really so great,” Holly smiled. “I’m so happy for you.”

On her way back to her desk, she noticed that Kristoff was looking in her direction through the corners of his eyes but she did her best to pretend like she didn’t see it and went about the rest of her day.

“It’s five,” Kristoff spoke up finally, after literal hours of silence. “Can I go now?”

“Of course,” Holly nodded. “Let me walk you to the elevator.”

He looked less than thrilled at the idea, but nevertheless, grabbed his coat and held the door open for Holly to follow behind him without uttering a goodbye. Anna eagerly awaited Holly’s return, knowing that she’d finally be able to talk freely now that he was gone.

She barely waited for Holly to close the door behind her before asking, “Did you say something to him?”

“I told him that he needs to stop being a d*ck or he’ll be out of a job,” Holly answered matter-of-factly. “We don’t have time for arguments.”

She cringed. “I know, I’m sorry.”

“To be clear, I’m not blaming you for what happened earlier. I told him that we understand that he’s angry, but he’s stuck with us whether he likes it or not. Picking fights with you isn’t going to solve any of that.”

“I don’t want to fight with him,” she confessed. “I don’t want to fight with anyone.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know if I can work with someone who hates me. It was so easy to get along with you and Jenny.”

“Oh, honey, I really don’t think he hates you.”

“Did you forget the part where he ignored me, then got into an argument with me, then didn’t speak for the rest of the day?”

“I think he’s angry and conflicted, but I don’t think he hates you. If he hated you, he wouldn’t have shown up today.”

“He doesn’t have a choice about not showing up - he needs a job.”

“My point is that I don’t think you’re the problem here. Just a few days ago he was willing to help you for no reason. If his first impression of you was that bad, he wouldn’t have done that.”

Anna rolled her eyes. “He didn’t know me then and I practically had to beg him to help me.”

“He still doesn’t know you, technically,” Holly pointed out. “You’ve only spent eight hours together and most of it was in silence.”

“Yeah, but he knows that I ruined his life and that’s a great reason to hate someone.”

“He’ll come around. You’re a very likeable person.”

“I doubt it,” Anna mumbled.

“Keep your chin up,” Holly said. “Everything is going to be fine. We have a new venue, the problem with the invitations was caught with time to spare, and you’re going on a date with Darren. By the end of this week, you may be the happiest girl on the planet.”

She exhaled. “You’re right. Everything is going to be fine.”

“See? You just have to stay positive. Now let’s wrap things up, it’s been a long day,” Holly directed, scribbling down some information on a post-it note. “Oh, and don’t forget that tomorrow’s Tuesday. It’s just going to be you and Kristoff all day.”

And just like that, the tiny bit of hope that had started to brew inside of her popped like a bubble pressed up against a thorn.

Of course, the following morning started off less than smoothly. Her alarm didn’t go off, so she woke up late and got a late start to the day, which meant she’d have to forego looking halfway decent in order to make it in on time - no makeup and a messy bun, it was. She ran around her cabin, gathering her belongings and trying to make sure that she’d have everything she would need for the day before jetting off, hoping that it wasn’t some sort of bad omen.

By the time she actually made it to work, Kristoff was leaning up against the wall outside of the office, his arms crossed over his chest and a pinched expression on his face.

“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting,” she said breathlessly, as she fumbled through her purse for the keys to the office. “I’m usually early.”

“It’s okay.”

He didn’t really seem to care, but she continued to explain herself nonetheless. “Holly doesn’t work on Tuesdays or Thursdays, and this is my first time here without her or Jenny. I’ve never had to use my keys before.”

“Oh.”

She finally managed to find the keys in her mess of a bag, promptly unlocked the door and pushed it open before stepping aside and holding out her arm. “After you.”

“Thanks,” he said skeptically, walking into the dark office.

Anna flipped the lights on before closing the door behind her. “Holly left a note on your desk with your email and temporary password. You can log on and change the password and we’ll cc you in our emails.”

“Okay.”

“I’m going to run downstairs and grab a cup of coffee,” she said, deciding to be nice at the last possible second. “Do you want anything?”

Her offer actually invoked a reaction from him for the first time that day - he definitely seemed a bit startled by it. “Um...no thanks.”

“Alright. I’ll be right back.”

She made a mad dash for the coffee shop on the first floor, grateful that there was no line. The last thing she needed was to look like she was intentionally trying to avoid him or slacking or doing some other negative thing that he could run to Bonnie with in an attempt to get her into trouble. As soon as the cup was in her hands, she returned to the office, where Kristoff seemed to be patiently waiting for further instruction.

She cleared her throat and set the cup down on her desk. “So, you finished stuffing all of the envelopes yesterday, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, Holly had the location cards printed out overnight,” she said, grabbing the large stack of papers from the printer. “You’ll just have to cut them into the appropriate size and then stuff them into the envelopes.”

“I have to cut all of these by hand?” he whined, his face falling.

“We have a g*illotine,” she assured him, trying to remain calm. “It’ll make the process a lot easier.”

“You have a what?”

His reaction made her giggle. “Oh, sorry. Holly and I call it a g*illotine. I don’t know what the actual name of it is, but it’s basically an industrial paper cutter. I’ll get it for you.”

The g*illotine was stored in the closet, so she walked over and retrieved the heavy tool, staying weary of the bl*de. She placed it on his desk with a thud.

“Now I see why you call it a g*illotine.”

“Right?! Okay, so you may have to stand up to do this - I know I do,” she said, picking up a few of the papers. When he stood up, she demonstrated. “So basically, you slide the paper under the little guard and then you line it up with the grid to make sure it’s straight. Then, you just pull the bl*de down and voila, you have a bunch of cut up papers with minimal effort.”

“Seems easy enough.”

“Just make sure that you hold the paper against the grid while you’re cutting or they’ll come out crooked. And be careful - we can always print out more of the location cards, but we can’t replace your fingers so easily.”

He let out an amused snort. “Okay.”

She smiled to herself as she sat down at her desk, grateful that it seemed to be going much better than the previous day; they were getting along for the time being and there was no hostility or tension. They both worked quietly, and though Anna missed the constant chatting like when Holly was around, she had no idea what she could possibly talk to Kristoff about. So, the sound of the bl*de scraping against the side of the g*illotine and her typing were the primary sounds that filled the otherwise silent space.

The day went by at a snail pace, but when five o’clock finally came and they’d managed to survive the day without an argument, she admittedly felt quite triumphant. She looked forward to updating Holly about how the day had gone, especially since Holly had insisted that she stay positive.

“Have a nice day,” she said, as he was pulling on his coat. “See you tomorrow.”

“You too,” he replied, offering her a half-smile.

I can do this, she thought to herself as she watched him leave. If it stays like this for the next five months, I can do this.

#my writing

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kpopisthereasonihavenolife · 6 years

Text

Retracted Claws | 03

BTS

Kim Taehyung/Reader

Genre: Hybrid/Mafia AU, Violence, Angst, Dark Themes, Fluff- Tae is soft for Reader.

Warnings!!!: Implications of past abuse (Mental/Physical/Sexual),

Words: 9.5k

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@tattooedbabymin @lunaxmadel @jiminslye @taelzia @shimiory @sabri-na130

(Make sure to tell me if you’d like to be added to the tag list!)

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Taehyung woke up feeling sore to put it lamely. If he were to describe it, it felt like a dull pain you’d receive after a child hit you in the same exact place over and over again for 4 hours. A dull, annoying pain that honestly made him want to just go back to sleep until he woke up okay. He was warm when he woke up, and even when he knew why he decided to open his eyes anyway.

Slowly sliding his eyelids up, he came to see the sweater of his that he lent you a couple days ago to sleep in as it pressed against his nose. His face buried in your chest as he held you. Legs still entangled as he remembered doing and neither of you seemed to move an inch since early this morning when he came home. Now it wasn’t just the dull pain ringing in his abdomen that him not want to move, it was the position also. Laying with you so peacefully, who’d ever want to move again if they had the chance to hold you like he was?

He, against his better judgment, nuzzled back into your chest and closed his eyes. He wanted to relax a little longer, just a little longer next to you. He was nearly back to sleep when he heard someone knock at his door. When they peeked inside, they were met with Taehyung glaring over his naked shoulder. The intruder covered his laugh with his palm as he quietly shut the door behind him as he stepped inside. Taehyung rolled his eyes, quite frankly ignoring his friend.

“Tae, it’s nearly 4 in the afternoon. Like it or not, you need to get up.” Taehyung still ignored Jimin. Jimin smirked as he sat at the foot of Tae’s bed. He picked at his fingers, clearing the dirt under his nails, seemingly unbothered. “Namjoon is in the living room.” Taehyung immediately opened his eyes and shot up.

“What?!” Momentarily forgetting he was holding you, he yanked you up with him. In the process, unsurprisingly, jerking you awake. He hissed as he felt the tug of pain in his side. He jumped when you touched his chest, trying to settle him down. He felt guilty for prying you from your sleep; especially since you got so little. Looking down his nose to you, he watched you check his back torso where he bled. It was no surprise he just ripped through your lame excuse of a stitch job. “Why is Namjoon here?” He asked Jimin while still looking at you.

“I gave him a call at the office this morning obviously. He brought all of his stuff after I explained the situation to him. So, hurry up, get out of bed and head down.” Taehyung groaned as he plopped his head down on your shoulder. You unconsciously pushed his bangs back, then turned to speak to Jimin.

“Who’s Namjoon?” Jimin smiled as he moved to sit cross-legged in front of you two.

“Namjoon is Taehyung’s personal physician. He treats his injuries directly when they come to the point professional medical treatment is required.” You nodded, though not understanding a lot of what just came out of his mouth. Once again being reminded of your very limited education and knowledge.

“Can.. can I meet him too? I’d like to apologize for my attempt at helping. What if I just made it worse?!” Taehyung smiled and shook his head, still resting on your shoulder.

“You just did what I asked you to. Don’t worry. He’s not a bad man.” You nodded as Jimin hopped off the bed.

“Well,” he started as he clapped. “I’ll go down and tell him you’re on your way with Y/n.” thus, without any further words from either himself or Taehyung, he was bouncing out of the room with a laugh. Sometimes, Taehyung can’t wrap his head around the man and friend that was Park Jimin.

Taehyung felt you slip away from him before he stopped your advances and pulled you back to his hip. That is before he decided to sling your legs over his lap and hold you around your waist. Smiling and resting his face in your neck. You felt heat creep up your neck and your face as your ears swapped between flattening and twitching. Your tail unconsciously wrapping around his mid-section. He chuckled at the way your tail tickled his skin.

“Taehyung, we need to see your- uh... Physician?” You semi-asked as he chuckled.

“He’s my doctor, Y/n.” Your ears perked up now finally understanding.

“Then we need to go downstairs.” Yet, he still didn’t budge. He wrapped his hand around your waist, slipping his hands under your- his- sweater. He smiled at the feeling of your soft skin under his thumbs as he rubbed minuscule circled on your hips. He just pushed his head further under your chin and let his lips ghost at your neck. A habit he’s starting to create and doesn’t plan on quitting.

“Just a few more minutes. It’s their fault for disturbing us.” He teased as you sat on silence with him. All without argument.

XXX

It must have been 10 minutes later that Taehyung’s bare-chested body entered the living room. His arm slung around your shoulder as he limped into sight. Jimin and a man you didn’t recognize sat on the couch. Jimin hissed at his friend’s state while the other man just sighed and cradled his head.

“You know, you could act like your actually concerned,” Taehyung hissed at the stranger.

“My worry is running thin, Taehyung.” The man got up and approached you both. You flinched, he was taller than you expected from when he was slouched on the couch. He shifted his gaze to you and you almost felt small. Well- smaller under his gaze. Taehyung said he wasn’t a bad man and you trusted him, but his stature frightened you.

“Good afternoon, sir,” you practically whimpered, locking your eyes to your bare feet. Taehyung saw you gnaw at your lip and watched your eyes shake as you slightly tried to keep your body from trembling. He nudged you to look back up, show the fear that it doesn’t have to control everything you do. You're still for a moment more before lifting your eyes back up.

The man was smiling at you.

He bent down to your eye level and introduced himself with that same smile, the deep dimples in his cheeks.

“Hello dear. You’re Y/n, right? Jimin told me a lot about you.” You nodded your head at him. “My name is Kim Namjoon. I’m Taehyung’s personal physician. Do you know what ‘physician’ means, Y/n?” You brightened up and nodded. Having just learned so.

“You’re his doctor, right?” Namjoon nodded.

“Correct. Very smart.” Taehyung watched you smile to yourself. Namjoon was good at what he did. He wasn’t just skilled in a profession for helping others with injuries or sickness, he was good at reading people. Judging from a professional standpoint what they may or may not know and how to speak to them accordingly. He was able to make people believe in themselves and raise their spirits with just a smile and a simple question. Sometimes, Taehyung thought he was some sort of psychic, not just a doctor.

The small greeting of you and Namjoon lastest as long as it could before Taehyung winced against and you were quick to get him to the couch, not too far from Jimin. You, as gently as you could, placed him on the cushions as Jimin whistled at the display of your strength.

“Being able to carry him here is impressive. You’re strong for a girl.” You blushed, not use to hearing something like that. You’ve always been scrutinized for your above human strength, so you always tried to manage it. Keeping it to somewhat normal levels for what you’d assume a human girl would possess. Or that’s what you told yourself when you were tied up and unable to move in the dead of night and blindfolded by a stranger.

You were dragged out of your thought when Jimin hissed. Taehyung had kicked him, knocking his shin with his heel. Jimin pulled his leg up and cradled it as Taehyung rolled his eyes before craning his head back.

“You’re not allowed to make her red. Knock it off.” Taehyung stated and Jimin was silent before he laughed at him. What a pathetic display of jealousy. Taehyung had seen your eyes shift, something they do when you start remembering the pain. They go distant, almost like they can’t reflect anymore. Lost. He didn’t like it, he hated it to be honest. So many more words can be used to describe the lost look you get or the nightmares you have because of the past. He resents the humans who touched you. Loathed the looks he was sure they gave you. He fumes vehemently at the thought of you being bound or tied, all while you bit your tongue. Knowing you couldn’t cry for help is the one thing he can’t stand above all else.

Namjoon, who hadn’t seen Taehyung nearly so possessive, let alone compassionate, let his lips lift up. He shook his head as he exhaled through his nose, gaining the injured’s attention with a tick of his brow.

“What’s so funny?” Namjoon just turned his back and open a case he had on the table. A large doctors bag filled with lord knows what.

“Oh, nothing. Just witnessing things that I’d thought I’d never get to. You really do know how to grow up, huh Taehyung?” If he wasn’t older than Taehyung and Taehyung didn’t respect him so much, he would’ve kicked him square in the back. However, he didn’t. “Oh, you’re learning self-control too?” Seems Namjoon expected that same kick he was tempted to still throw.

“I’m happy to deliver if that was a request,” Taehyung seethed. Namjoon only chuckled as he shook his head and dug a few things out of his bag. You sat next to Taehyung, knees together as you leaned on them, more than a little curious as to what Namjoon was going to pull out next. Taehyung watched your curiosity play in your eyes and twitch in your ears. It was endearing.

Soon, Namjoon was asking for your place on the couch. It was the closest possible area to be when his objective was to properly fix Tae up. You nodded, hopping up and standing you moved to stand behind the couch. Taehyung’s eyes followed you until he couldn’t see you anymore. Instead, he felt your presence behind him. He lazily reached his hand behind him and you took it without hesitation.

It was an odd sensation. Taehyung just wasn’t able to calm down unless you were in his sight or at the very least, he was touching you in some way. He almost felt vulnerable. Just what have you been doing to him to make him this addicted to you? He was almost ready to do some soul searching, that is until Namjoon decided that spraying on a little antiseptic spray was necessary.

Taehyung winced and unconsciously went to slap the stupid little spritz bottle away with his free hand. Fuming a little more than necessary. Namjoon was more than ready for the reaction he got and pulled his bottle away in time to pen his arm down with his free on and continue on the disinfecting sprays.

“Honestly,” Namjoon started as he let go of Taehyung’s arm and placed the small plastic cap back on the bottle. “Even children can handle a little antiseptic spray. You can take a gunshot, but not this?” Taehyung rolled his eyes.

“Spare me. I think you very well know that when you get shot shock is one hell of a drug. As opposed to you spraying me with your fucking stinging cleaner in a cup.” Sure, Namjoon could give him that. He was still a little baby though. “I’m not a baby!”

“I didn’t realize I said that out loud.”

“You didn’t. It was written all over your stupid face you fake doctor.”

“I can acknowledge you calling my face stupid out of jealousy, but I’m quite offended you still persist on calling me a fake. You literally stole my medical certificate from me in spite when I graduated.” You gasped.

“Taehyung!” You scolded. Silence fell. Taehyung looked back at you, surprised to hear you raise your voice. Okay, so that’s something else he learned about you. That look in your eye, the one that was unsure and wavering. You didn’t like stealing. That could be problematic, given his line of work.

“Don’t worry, I gave it back,” Taehyung reassured you as he squeezed and waved around your hand a bit.

“Yeah, after Jimin cracked your safe open.” Jimin laughed at the memory. The face of Taehyung’s shock when he saw his best friend break into one of his many safes still tickles his ego from time to time. Jimin still kept some secret skills to himself, just so he can make Taehyung fall flat from time to time. It was always worth the secrecy.

“You both suck,” was Taehyung’s ever-strong retort. What a child.

The room finally fell into silence as the back and forth banter quite. Namjoon had taken a pair of tweezers, plucking out the torn threads from before that still remained in Taehyung’s skin. A bit more cleaning and something to numb the area and he was threading his own stitching needle. Jimin had excused himself for a bit, not specifying why in particular, only saying he wouldn’t be too long.

You stayed put, standing behind the couch and gripping Taehyung’s hand. You stood shocked when Namjoon started pushing the needle into the skin and pulling it back together. Taehyung didn’t even flinch, just stared blankly forward. He looked almost bored.

Taehyung was used to this portion of his life. Having Namjoon put him back together physically. He used to feel like wich each cut or bullet wound, he’d lose part of himself. His humanity flowing away with his escaping blood. With each stitch Namjoon laced into him, he’d lose the chance to ever get that humanity back. Now though, things were different. As he let Namjoon sew him up, he let you make him whole again just by keeping your hand tucked into his.

The process was boring at best. It wasn’t very long before Namjoon was finishing up and wrapping Taehyung’s entire waist in a new, clean bandage. He gave him a bottle of pain medicine, Taehyung being more than little familiar with them. Namjoon stood as he looked at you.

“Y/n, a favor?” You gave him your attention. “Taehyung is good at skipping medical doses. Keep him on it until the bottle empties for me, would you?” You smiled and nodded at him.

“I don’t need to be monitored for the medication you know,” Namjoon rolled his eyes.

“I beg to differ.”

“Then beg.”

“Watch it.”

“No.”

“You’re impossible.” Namjoon shook his head as he hoisted his back up his shoulder. JImin came back into the living room just in time to walk Namjoon out. The two left as you leaned over the couched back slightly.

“Um, so you don’t like medicine?” He blew out of his lips.

“What person like’s medicine?” That’s unfair, you didn’t even know what medicine tastes like. Was it a bother to take it? Did it taste bad?

“What does it taste like? Is it bad or something?” Taehyung looked up behind him to you. You really didn’t know?

“Have you never had to take medicine before? Come to think, when I first brought you home, you fought off the fever all on your own.”

“I don’t get sick easy, so I’ve never taken any.”

You shrugged it off, much like a lot of the twists and shortcuts Taehyung seemed to display over the course of you staying with him. The day continued as it should have. Taehyung hobbled to where he needed to be, you sticking to his side when you knew he was pushing himself and helping him whenever he needed it. Truth be told, it was almost annoying him.

No, it wasn’t you that teetered his patience. It was the sole fact he got hurt enough just walking around and doing what he should be in his own home became a task for two. He wasn’t handicapped, he wasn’t disabled, he wasn’t some helpless child who needed a crutch for every step he took. He was a grown ass man who could carry himself, but you wouldn’t let him. It wasn’t your fault, you didn’t know how to react to someone being hurt and not completely refusing you.

Taehyung, however, didn’t have much practice with patience. Come nightfall, he was already ready to completely be by himself.

He ran the sink as he leaned over the counter in his bathroom. Looking at his bare chest in the mirror as his damp bangs hung over his lidded eyes. He looked at the bandage around his waist, hiding and protecting the wound he suffered. When he really got down to it, that was his first wound in which he took for someone else. He took it for you, in your honor so to speak. He only received it because the people who dealt it showed you harm.

His sweats hung low on his waist as the sink continued to run and drain continuously as he stood in silence. Taehyung heard the sound of his bedroom door open and close faintly as he sighed in annoyance. It was just you who had entered he was sure, but some solitude was all he wanted.

You had entered his room, a small knock before entering as per usual. He wasn't sat on the bed like you left him minutes ago while you went to your own room to change. You had planned on just putting him to bed, but Namjoon stopped you down the hall to ask if he could check up on Taehyung’s condition. It’s only been a day, but he had figured he'd change the bandages and check up on him despite the short time span.

You asked Namjoon to wait down in the foyer for you as you went to tell Taehyung. Hearing the water in the bathroom you walked over and knocked a few times. He didn’t answer, so you knocked again. Perhaps he didn’t hear you? When he didn’t answer for the second time, you knocked louder yet again and spoke up.

“Taehyung?” That resulted in a response, though not one you really wanted. He quickly yanked open the door, starling you in the first place. You quickly rose your arms, you don’t know why exactly, but raising your arms felt like the only thing to do when someone so quick and unexpected happened. From the dark look on his face, your first thought that maybe something happened. Maybe, he had hurt himself or something. “Are you-”

“I’m fine,” he hissed at you. You flinched at his tone. Why.. why was he being so hostile? “Go away,” he demanded as he limped past you into his room to his desk. You were frozen for a moment, his words felt dull.

You turned slowly to see his back lean over his desk, lifting his laptop up to power on the screen. You watched the swirling circle of his loading screen as your eyes seem to follow the rotations. It was like hypnosis, maybe it would you drown out his harsh words. You thickly swallowed as you pawed at your nightshirt that hid the pair of shorts under them.

“Taehyung? Um Nam-” He shut you up as he slammed a book from his shelf down onto the desktop. You squeaked as he looked at you over his shoulder. His hair hiding a portion of his eyes that gazed at you. Only, he wasn’t gazing at you, he was glaring at you. He was shooting direct anger towards you, and you felt your chest constrict. His blonde hair seemed to darken in the room that wasn’t even hardly dark at all. The aura he emitted, it scared you.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” He coldly asked. You opened your mouth to respond, maybe even apologize, but he clearly didn’t want you to speak at all. He whirled around and somehow moved quicker than he had all day to stand at your toes. He gripped your bicep and began to drag you towards the door. You were forced to stumble quick backward, holding his back to keep from falling as he soon pushed you against the wall by the door.

The light switch dug into your back as you winced. His grip still on your arm was painful. Tight and pinching. You acted on complete impulse as you tried to pry his hand off your arm. He didn’t seem to like it very much.

“Get your hands off me!” He damn near screamed as he smacked your hand off his wrist, your claws marking his skin with vibrant red, raised skin. “I’m your owner, so act like the obedient pet you are and leave me be!” His voice, with no surprise, brought company. The door to his room swung open, and while you were safe from it to the side, Taehyung was knocked in the shoulder and shoved backward by the force in which the door was opened without any pretense.

He fell back onto his ass on the carpeted floor of his room as you slumped against the wall, sliding down to sit on the ground. You hugged your arms around yourself, shaking. Taehyung, he never showed you such negativity. The situation of being helpless under a man yet again, it brought back too much too quickly. Your brain was running like an out of control blender that shreds anything placed into it until it breaks. Until you break.

Namjoon was the furious body who stormed inside, curious as to why you were taking so long to get Taehyung ready when he heard his friend's loud voice. When he saw he knocked Taehyung flat, he turned to see what had happened to you, but couldn’t as you were soon scrambling to your feet and out of the room.

“Y/n! Wait!” Namjoon yelled as he ran to the hall to see you run down the stairs and in the distant sound of the foyer below, Taehyung’s front door opened and slammed shut immediately thereafter. “Fuck,” he cursed as he walked over to Taehyung’s body that just lay on the floor.

Taehyung was unresponsive, yet still very much awake. He stared blankly up at the ceiling at his mind was as blank as his stare. His side hurt, he could feel the skin pulsing from the pain as he saw Namjoon stand above him. The older man looked down at him, very much disappointed. Why was he looking at him like that? Had he done something wrong? Namjoon crossed his arms as he lightly pushed the toe of his foot against Taehyung’s side.

Taehyung jolted as the pressure against his wound was anything but gentle. The toe of his boot made Taehyung squirm as he brought his arm over his chest to try and throw Namjoon off him. Then, he saw his wrist. Covered in small scratches and tiny beads of blood dotting them. Like something had scratched him. When did he get those? He looked at his wrist confused before Namjoon slowly started adding more pressure.

“I think you need to relearn how pain feels, Taehyung.” Namjoon seethed as Taehyung was only able to focus on the feeling in his side. The burning pain and the pulsing of his blood around that one area. Yet his mind still reeled and focused on his wrist. What just happened?

XXX

You’re not sure why, but you had done exactly what was practically second nature to you at this point. You had forgotten about this feeling in the pit of your stomach the past week. The time you had spent with Taehyung, it made you feel like you were more human than your genes lead you out to believe. He made you feel human. Now, you were confused.

Here you were running again. Running out of his room, out of that house, out of the gates that separated his property from the rest of the city. Just running as fast and as far as your blurred mind would let you go. You don’t know how far you got, or where you managed to get to, but you only stopped when you turned a corner and turned just too short.

Your shoulder hit the side of the wall that you had planned on curving, and you feel ungracefully to the ground. Your cheek hit the ground as your skin tore and stung at the sensation of you dragging it on the hard, scratchy concrete.

Your bare legs and shirt covered torso was far from enough to keep you warm. It was cold out, the wind made sure to keep an ever constant chill in the air. You had no shoes, your hair was windblown and your face was red as your lay just heaving for breath. You were so tired as you lay on the ground. Then, you felt it, a drop of rain splash against your leg.

You remain motionless on the ground as the rain became and soon was coming down at a constant pace. You lay there and let out a shaky breath. It was just like then.

This was just like you were when Taehyung found you. Helpless and fragile, laying in the rain with nothing but a hopeless, lost look in your eyes. Then, that house came into your mind. That house with all those men who controlled you, all those eyes that tainted you, all those hands that touched. Maybe if you…

“No…!” You whimpered to yourself as you curled in further. Bringing your knees up to your chin as you curled and your tail flattened against your legs and ears hid into your rain-wet hair. You covered your ears as you tried to shut out the thoughts. The temptation. The urge to go back to that house. You shook, in both fear and cold.

The weather seemed to always reflect your emotions. When you went out with Taehyung o the mall only a few days ago, you were so happy. You felt so warm, and the sun shone so brightly that day. No cloud for miles and miles, yet by the time you got home that night, scared and involved in a gunfight, the sky had grown cloudy and grey.

You soon lifted your head and pushed yourself up. Moving to stand on your weak, wobbling legs you managed a semi-straight line of direction. You were so lost, nowhere to go and have no clue where to stay. Your eyes lost any hope of glimmer that had started to regain while in Taehyung’s arms.

“I’m your owner, so act like the obedient pet you are and leave me be!”

“A… pet?” You looked at your hands, your claws. You felt your ears twitch atop your head and felt your tail flick with sorrow. “Yes,” you muttered, “I am a pet. I should do as I’m told. I can’t… go back.” So, you started off, where you had no idea. Just away, away like your Master ordered you to.

You had walked further than you knew when you finally hit a point you needed to stop. You were sopping wet, hair mat and ears completely flattened. Your shirt clung to you as you dripped rain. You stepped under a canopy, looking inside a store. You backed up into the rain again, looking up to read the sign in neon lights. Though, you saw no reason why it would matter, not like you could actually read it.

The word ‘LIQUOR’ was foreign to you. Yet, the smell coming from beneath the front door seemed familiar. You didn’t go inside, you wouldn’t. A group of younger men were inside the store, you saw beyond the glass. They held bottles of something as they joked with the cashier. They must’ve been friends. Then, one of them noticed you.

He pointed at you as the others followed his line of sight and notice the pathetic, soaked hybrid girl standing outside the store’s main window. With a bit more conversation, three men left the checkout, then the store and soon you were lazily looking up to them as they stood in front of you.

“Scram,” the one in front of you said. You tilted your head slightly. “What are you, deaf or nothing?” You looked down.

“No, sir,” you whispered. He moved and violently grabbed a fist full of your hair. He jerked you around.

“Did I tell you to speak to me? Huh, you little hybrid bitch?!” You whimpered as a second men came to your side and looked at the cuff still attached to your ear. You had forgotten about it until he tried to touch it. Your reflexes kicked in as you pulled away from the man who held your hair and swung at the one to your side.

“Don’t touch that!” You weakly screamed as you staggered back away from them into the rain once more. You shivered with the chill that racked your body and refused to leave. You hadn’t felt warm in so long. You breathed heavy and watched as the rain took the fog of breath from you and scattered it into the air. “Don’t… don’t touch my earring.”

Next thing you knew, you were being dragged into the small alley beside the store the men were previously in. A man threw you to the ground as you fell into a puddle as your teeth clenched. You wrapped your arms around your head as you sucked in a handful of water. You choked and coughed as your knee bleed with the impact of the ground and seeped into the water beneath you.

It was so cold. “You raise your voice and hand to a man?! You’re not even human, you shouldn’t raise anything to someone so above you! You may have legal rights, but no one will accept you for who you are you half breed!” One man had thrown his bottle at you, it shattered as it hit your arm and the glass cut into your skin.

You screamed and cried as the onslaught continued. They dug glass into your skin, cutting and carving into you like clay. They kicked at your stomach, hit your head, stomped you into oblivion. It hurts, it hurts so bad! You cried- sobbed- as they continued to beat you. Sentencing you for being different.

After being kicked onto your back and repetitive stomps to your gut, blood dribbled from your lips and down the sides of your face as your squinted upwards. The sky was so high, so cloudy and dark. It was so late by now and the lights from the city made the overcast appear auburn in color.

You reached your cut up arm and shaky hand towards the sky. Your fingers reached towards the clouds, and for what? A prayer, an angle maybe? Maybe if you gave a pleading, begging hand, something would reach out and grab it.

One of the men kicked your wrist, knocking it down above your head where you felt another man hold it there. The restraints, this sensation, it felt familiar. Too familiar it sent a shiver of fear down your spine. Feeling hands creep their way up your ankles to hold you down and a different pair holds your hands above you by your wrists. Finally, the shadow of the third man stood above you. He moved to stand with both feet on either side of your chest, standing straight over you.

He looked down at you, yet you couldn’t make out any details in his face. It was blurry, everything was. He lowered himself, squatting just above your stomach as he rested his elbows on his knees and tilted his head at you. Even as close as he is now, you still couldn’t see his face. Though this was no different than being blindfolded you guessed.

“Enough playing around now, you stupid cat,” he spoke. Your ears were halfway drowned in a puddle of rainwater, and his voice was murky. Dark and disgusting, so much so you wanted to puke. The scent you smelt earlier was so much stronger in his breath and he smelt like smoke and sweat. The pleasant scent of rain did nothing to mask his revolting smell. You coughed slightly and a bubble of blood only came from your lips, splattering on the skin of your neck and dissolving slightly with the rain. You felt stained.

Then, you found yourself screaming.

You felt a sharp pain your shoulder. It stung and almost seemed to sizzle and burn despite the wetness around you. You tried to kick your feet, yet they were held down. Your arms were restrained as you screamed, louder and louder as the pain in your shoulder only got worse and worse. You thrashed your neck around, your hair moving to cover your eyes and face. You were like a bad dream come to life.

Blood gushed from your shoulder from where the assaulter had punctured you with the remnants of the broken glass bottle from earlier. Pulling it out and plunging it back into your skin with twists and turns, your shirt was torn and your skin was visible and so stained with punctures and blood.

“Scream! No one is coming to save you!” He laughed as you did so. All you knew how to do was scream. Tears dripped from your eyes as you tried so hard to thrash, to move, to escape maybe. It hurt and it was so cold. You just screamed and sobbed, weeping into the damp night air.

There you were, assaulted, beaten and trapped by strangers in an ally. Lost and alone without any comfort all while you cried and yelled. You had no more hope left as you let your eyes wonder one last time.

Moving your ears under your hair to look at the window beneath the man who squatted above you, you swore you saw an outline in the front of the ally. You were probably imagining things. Materializing your false hopes, but then the outline spoke.

“What are you doing?!” The three men startled and soon were releasing you immediately to make an escape. The voice was one you hadn’t heard, even muffled by the water in your ears, you didn’t recognize it. You heard them running towards you while the three assaulters ran away with their hypothetical tails between their legs. Yet, while your so-called rescuer came closer, there were two sets of footsteps. Two people were running to your aide.

“Oh my god,” this voice was not the one who was responsible for chasing off your attackers. This was, this voice, was familiar. “Y/n?” It shook with sadness. You moved your frail, tired eyes that still was hidden under your matte, wet hair and a short figure dropped to their knees at your side. You remained still and unmoving as tears still made their way down your face.

The man who dropped to you pushed your hair away, looking at your red stained lips, and cut cheek with your swollen eyes. You heard the man hiccup as if sad for you.

“Jimin, you know this girl?” Your eyes widened at the stranger's voice. This stranger who saved you had just spoken the name of someone you held dear like a friend. You looked at the man at your side as you opened your mouth.

“Jim--in?” Your voice was so hoarse, worn out from screaming and weeping so. It hurt to speak, to swallow, to breathe. Jimin nodded as he reached out and grabbed your hand.

“It's me. I’m here.” He choked. He looked at you. Wet, soaked even, bleeding and hurt. Your eyes looked so dull. “Why are you here?! Y/n, where is Taehyung?!” Your eyes lidded at the mention of the name. Jimin shook his head. “No, it doesn’t matter. We need to get you home.”

“Home?” You questioned as if the word itself was another language. Jimin nodded.

“Yes. Home.” You wished you had more strength, but you didn’t. Your eyes rolled up as you shut them and fell unconscious. “Hey!” Jimin shouted as he looked to the stranger in which he was with. He held an umbrella over his head while Jimin had his hood flipped up. “Come with me. Please help me take her back!” He pleaded to his friend.

“Of course.” He knelt down. “Place her on my back, I’m taller and my shoulders are wider. She’ll stay on my back more and it’s quicker that way. You and lead up back.” Jimin nodded as he gently picked you up. Your shoulder still bled, leaking blood as it stained down the back of your shirt. He placed you on his friend’s back and soon you were hoisted up.

Jimin held you in place on the back of his friend and boss at the Hybrid Rescue Center. The bags under your eyes were deep in darkness as he leads the three of you back to your home. Back to Taehyung’s manor.

XXX

In Taehyung’s room, Namjoon had moved Taehyung into his desk chair long ago. He was lecturing him all while his gaze was focused on his wrist. The haze that clouded his mind was gone and like the rain outside, it cleared his thoughts as the memories of what happened no so long ago played in his brain. It ran non-stop, like a horror movie he wasn’t able to shut off.

Taehyung has done awful things his whole life. It’s what his entire existence revolves around. Illegal actions, violence, murder, and theft. Complete operations that takedown organizations and expose secrets of cults or groups. He was the solid and pure definition of a bad man who does awful things. Yet, the fact that he committed that action he did just a while ago wouldn’t leave his conscience.

He called you a pet. He screamed and scolded you. You wanted to take care of him and make sure he was alright. Yet, he acted like the stone-cold killer he is and he acted on impulse. He grabbed you in a way he swore he wouldn’t, he hurt you and scared you. The look of fear in your eyes was stamped on the back of his eyelid. To the point, he was terrified of blinking, because in the split second of blackness that blinking brings, he saw your terrified expression directed solely at him.

That look you gave him was meant for him. You were scared of him.

Taehyung was angry, so angry at himself. He’s never felt a level of such loath for himself before like he’s feeling now. He tugged at his hair, growling at himself as he listened to Namjoon scold and reprimanded him. He deserved it, all the words that were thrown at him and the angry tone of his older doctor’s. So, despite himself, he sat and listened to Namjoon. He sat and waited until Namjoon finished so he could go and be angry at himself, by himself. However, Namjoon never got the chance to truly finish his lecturing when someone plowed into Taehyung’s room.

“Namjoon, are you in here!” Jimin’s cracked voice broke as he saw the two men at Taehyung’s desk. Jimin was bent out of shape and out of breath. His sleeve seemed to be stained as he walked into the room as the doctor met him halfway. Jimin looked at Taehyung’s slumped over body and whispered into Namjoon’s ear something.

“What?!” He screamed and it got Taehyung to perk his head up. Namjoon looked back at the sulking man and Taehyung twitched. The look he received, it was a mixture of so many emotions and feelings. It made his stomach churn. He turned back to Jimin. “Is she downstairs then?”

“Yes, Jin is with her.” Taehyung’s ears perked up, that’s a name hadn’t heard in a while.

“Jin is here?” Namjoon asked and Jimin nodded.

“Please, hurry. It’s bad. Really, really bad,” Jimin pleaded as Namjoon eased him.

“I’m coming.” Jimin nodded as he ran out of the room leaving the door wide open.

Namjoon turned back to Taehyung. “I’m leaving, someone else needs my attention. You’re not bleeding through your bandages and you're mobile enough to take care of yourself for now. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone and stay put.” He grabbed his bag of medical supplies and left the room, slamming the door shut. Taehyung starred in a daze.

Someone else needed his attention? Namjoon is a private doctor and as such he had little clients so his schedule is open most times when he is needed. Taehyung being his main client for the past 3 years. Who else could be in such dire need that he should leave? Then, the thought of Jimin being here and asking for him registered.

Perhaps it wasn’t someone Namjoon had actually been assigned to, but someone Jimin knew. Jimin did have quite the social life, so maybe one of his friends had gotten hurt and he was desperate for help. If that was the case though, Jimin is a normal civilian to most eyes, he could easily just go to an ER for help.

All the scenarios he ran through his head just weren’t lining up. Jimin brought some girl back to Taehyung’s home for Namoon to help. So what? There were so many holes in everything he thought up. Why was Jin here, Jimin’s boss? Why did Namjoon look so shocked and give Taehyung a look so charged of emotion? Why did Jimin think to bring back his friend to his manor specifically? All among this, the pit of black resting uneasily in his gut grew. Like there was something going on in his house he didn’t know about.

He looked at his door as he stood up and walked to it. He placed his hand on the doorknob. Namjoon told him to stay put, but who’s to say he would listen? He hadn’t listened to Namjoon before, and this is his house. He could do as he damn well pleases. That was the only thought he could muster as he opened his door into the hall and stepped out.

His bare chest and sweatpants graced the halls as all was silent in this rainy night. Though, the closer he got to the stairway the more he could hear a certain commotion downstairs. He managed to limp down the stairs, one by one as he leaned on the railing. Soon he was heavy in painful breaths as he clutched his side. The sound from earlier was louder and easily pointing him in the direction of his living room.

“It’s not stopping!” Jimin. He was speaking loudly and he sounded panicked let earlier when he came for Namjoon.

“Just press it against her shoulder harder,” that was Namjoon as he directed Jimin.

“I need a new rag. This one has too much blood on it,” That was Jin’s voice. It’s been a while since Taehyung had heard it. He’s only had the chance to meet Jimin’s official boss a handful of times. Apparently, they were very close and often hung out after Jimin’s work hours when he wasn’t at Taehyung’s side.

What was happening just beyond a few walls in his home?

“Just hold on!” Jimin seemed so sad in his voice. Was this mystery person so important to him?

“Jimin, you need to go and get her some new clothes. These are too tattered and are getting in the way. We need to strip her and clean her before we can redress her properly.” Jin had taken over the task Jimin once held and was up to his feet and rushing out of the living room. He stopped short when he came to face Taehyung just around the living room entry corner.

Jimin looked panicked as he looked behind him and then back to Taehyung. He pushed his friend's shoulder.

“Taehyung?!” Namjoon heard this and cursed under his breath. He couldn’t go to help Jimin now, he could only keep hoping he could keep Taehyung out. “What are you- no, you need to go back!” He yelled. Taehyung’s brown furrowed.

“This is my house, don’t give me orders!” He looked over Jimin’s shoulder. “Who’s in my living room?” Jimin stiffened. “I want an answer!” He still didn’t get one as he just shoved Jimin aside.

“No! Tae!” He tried to reach him before he rounded himself into the wide open room, but was too late. Taehyung strode into the room and was barely past the threshold when he stopped walking. Jimin appeared behind him, staring at the back of his friend’s head.

Namjoon had looked over his shoulder at the face of Taehyung before returning his attention back to the issue at hand. Jin knelt on the ground, pressing something against the someone whose face was hidden by his large shoulder width. However, Taehyung could clearly see the cut up legs and torn clothes of the person’s lower body and stomach. He held his gut around his wound as he couldn’t tear his eyes off the motionless tail that hung off the couch cushions under the woman they were working on.

“Namjoon,” Taehyung’s voice shook. “Who is that?” Namjoon stopped momentarily before he sighed and touched Jin’s shoulder. Jin quickly got the message and stepped away for a brief moment to get out of the way of Taehyung’s line of sight. Exposing the face of the mystery woman who was staining his couch.

His knees buckled and he found himself crumbling before he could breathe a word out. His eyes grew and he felt his strength leave him in a single instant. Jimin ran and caught his arm from behind as he supported Tae’s weight. He was numb as he kept his gaze on your face. You were unconscious, red, wet, hurt. Your shoulder dripped blood and he felt his stomach twist violently.

Jimin quickly grabbed a trash bin and pushed Taehyung towards it as Taehyung then almost immediately vomited. He hacked as Namjoon went back to work on you. He cut off the top part of your shirt to properly treat your shoulder. He and thrown a towel over your breasts to keep them hidden from the men’s eyes.

Jin focused on cleaning the smaller cuts on your skin and placing band-aids of all sorts on your body. Using fabric stretching ones, to waterproof to even the stupid Hello Kitty ones he kept in his briefcase for ‘emergency papercuts’. He deemed that you needed them more than himself.

Jimin sat with Taehyung as he kept himself weak on the living floor, face hovering over the putrid-smelling trash bin as he felt his eyes sting. He gripped the bin as if he was holding onto his sanity as Jimin rubbing his back. He couldn’t think to begin what was going on threw Taehyung’s mind. Namjoon had explained quickly the scene in which he broke up and lead to Y/n running out.

There was no way to sugar coat that this was Taehyung’s fault. His harsh words lead Y/n to leave and subsequently lead to her current condition. Jimin knew that, Namjoon and Jin knew that and even Taehyung knew that. It was all Taehyung could think about. Nothing seemed to matter at the moment than his own sins he just forced onto the small shoulders of someone he held so precious.

Taehyung wasn’t sure how long he stayed on the floor. When he knew that he was safe from any further puking, he moved to lean against the wall. He watched mindlessly as Namjoon worked and soon he had taken you somewhere with Jimin and Jin. Taehyung felt like a statue, unable to move and have zero free will. He felt frozen in time.

He was fading in and out of unconsciousness when someone touched his shoulder. He lazily looked up and saw Jimin. It was brighter in the room than before? Jimin had a different change of clothes on too.

“You slept here all night, you must be sore.” Taehyung remained silent at his words. Jimin sighed as he picked Tae off the floor and dragged him up the stairs and into his room. He pushed him into the washroom and instructed him to take a shower to clear his head.

The shower did nothing of the sort. He still felt as cloudy as he did beforehand. His mind was like the steam-fogged mirror he stared blankly at. He left his washroom with a towel around his waist and water dripping from his hair. There in his room was Jimin, sitting at his desk. He looked at his friend before he pointed at the pile of clothes on his bed.

“Get dressed,” he instructed. Taehyung felt like a mindless doll as he did as he was told. Putting on jeans with frayed holes in the thighs and a white t-shirt along with a green windbreaker he finished by towel rubbing his head. He wished that scrubbing at his hair would knock some sense into him. Dropping the towel on the ground, Jimin got up. “Taehyung, I want to tell you where I found Y/n.”

“Why?”

“I heard what you said and what you did from Namjoon, and frankly I’m not happy with it all. I know it’s part of you and it’s in your blood, but you need to learn restraint. Don’t forget, I’m responsible for Y/n’s belonging to you. As an agent for the HRC, I have the right to take her away as well.”

Taehyung looked over his shoulder, glaring at Jimin. “That sounds an awful lot like a threat.” He hissed as Jimin faced him with a glare as angry as the one he received.

“It is.” Taehyung clenched his fist as Jimin continued. “She was across the city by the Liquor store down by the HRC building. If I hadn’t stayed late and walked home with Jin, I wouldn’t have found her. If I hadn’t, Namjoon says she would’ve died Taehyung.” Taehyung hated hearing that it made his blood freeze and boil over in his body like he was going into shock. “If she had been found dead, you would’ve been considered an accomplice to her murder. It was your indiscretion that caused this.”

“I know that already. Did you really wait around to tell me something I already figured out?”

“No. I came to ask if you wanted to see her. She’s already awake.” Taehyung spun around.

“She’s okay?!” Jimin felt a wave of relief wash over him when he saw the glossy look in Taehyung’s eyes. It seems that the overwhelming state of anger was gone and he was solely concerned for Y/n well being. He moved to Jimin’s front, grabbing his arms as his side ached with a dull pain. “I want to see her, I need to see her please.” Taehyung bowed his head as he pushed it against Jimin’s chest. “Please, I’m begging you to let me see her.”

Jimin was speechless as he smiled at the top of his friend’s head. “Well, color me impressed. It seems you are capable of asking for something.” He huffed out a breath of positive air. He knew it was going to be okay now. “Very well, let’s go. She’s in her room with Namjoon.” The two left and Jimin soon stood in front of your door and knocked. “It’s me. I have Tae with me.”

“Come in.” Jimin opened the door and Namjoon and you were in sight. Namjoon sat on your bedside with an almost completely unrolled batch of bandages with blood soiled ones at his feet on the floor. You sat up, eyes closed as he rotated your arms. “Sorry, I know it hurts,” he said easily to you.

“It’s okay,” your voice was still not up to 100%. You were handed water by Jimin who pounced to your side. You thanked him and took small sips as Namjoon had instructed you too. Drinking too much too quickly would upset the stomach. You gave the glass back to Jimin as you looked at Taehyung in the doorway. He seemed to flinch at your gaze.

It didn’t understand. The way you were looking at him, it didn’t seem harsh at all. You should be looking at him with anger and hatred for what he’s done. But, your eyes showed only sadness and guilt. He knew you, he knew you were probably blaming yourself for something and it made him feel all the worse.

“Namjoon, Jimin,” Taehyung called. “May we have a moment alone?” The two nodded as they left you both alone, shutting the door behind them. Taehyung moved and walked slowly to stand at your side, looking down at you.

You couldn’t look up into his eyes right now. So, you focused your eyes on your hands that rested on your lap.

“How is your side?” You asked him.

“I need to tell me you hate me,” he told you. He didn’t give you an answer to your question, instead spit that out of his mouth. You moved to look up at him. His face was soft and his eyes glistened as his fists balled at his sides. You looked at him with furrowed and inquisitive brows.

“But, I-”

“I spoke out of line and drove you away. In turn, I’m responsible for all your pain. I’m the direct cause of all of this,” he looked at your shoulder. You must be in such pain. Seeing the small band-aids covering you and all the bruises that you had on display with only a tank top on. “So, please don’t look at me like you still care about me.”

“I do though. I would never stop caring.” He grits his teeth as he fell to his knees at your bedside and placed his palms on your mattress.

“Don’t lie to spare my feelings,” he ducked his head so his face was out of your sight. “I can’t accept that as the reality of things.” Taehyung wasn’t familiar with the action of forgiveness. He felt like he needed to be dammed for what he’s done. Yet, all you did was moved your hand to place it on his head.

“I wouldn’t lie. I promised to be truthful the moment you let me stay here. I’m still your hybrid.” You pet his head as you felt him tense up. “You’re my owner, my Master. I am your hybrid, and that I will stay. I belong to you.” He shook his head. You were your own person, and he wished he could go back and take what he said to you back.

“You belong to no one,” he said. It was quiet for a while as you soothed Taehyung. “Y/n, would you let me hold you again?” You smiled as gave him a small ‘yes’ in reply. He was soon climbing onto your bed and sitting behind you, shifting you forward from the headboard to rest against it instead.

He wrapped his arms around your waist as he pushed his lips against your injured shoulder. His legs were propped up on either side of you under your covers as you leaned against him. It was like you weren't’ scared of him at all, but the look on your face just yesterday told him you were.

You leaned against him as you felt him start to tremble. According to Jimin, Taehyung was actually very vulnerable. If he allows himself to get too attached, then the feelings he projects onto someone are strong. Yet, he’s still unfamiliar with so much. His life was cold and he has been living as nothing more than a cold-blooded mafia killer for so long. Of course, Jimin didn’t justify Taehyung’s actions with that reasoning, but he asked if you could forgive him.

“Your shoulder must hurt a lot.” She spoke softly. You nodded as you closed your eyes. He was so warm.

“Taehyung, would you let me stay here?” Taehyung tightened his grip around you as he kissed your shoulder over and over again along the bandage. He trembled as he tightly held you flush against his chest.

“Please do,” he whispered. The dampness on your bandage you felt leek onto your skin wasn’t from any blood that may be pushing from underneath it. It was the result of the salty tears Taehyung shed. “Please stay. I won't- I won’t ever yell at you again. So please, stay with me.” He took a shaky breath. “I don’t want to be alone again.” You nodded.

“I know. I don’t either.” You smiled as you turned to see the side of his face at your shoulder. His eyes shined with his tears as you gently pushed your lips to his cheek. His eyes widened as you looked at you. You smiled widely at him, feline fangs on display for him as your ears perked up with happiness. “I’ll stay. Don’t worry.”

“Thank you.”

- Pt. 4?-

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