#and come up with answers to stuff obey me never really questions since its supposed to be lighthearted

[gifti3]

Can demons experience the horrors?

[julie-thefatones]

Ghost of You || Luke X Reader || Part 1

Hello everyone!! welcome to my first Fanfic pretty much.... im really nervous about posting it, and really hope you guys like it! Im going to warn you that there are some punctuation mistakes, and probably some misspelled words, and run on sentences... but nobodies perfect eh? lol anyways Enjoy! please let me know what you think, I am already writing part 2 so if this goes well ill post that soon :)

A/N: Your best friends with Julie, since the stamp was removed from the boys they are able to be seen by lifers at choice and can touch lifers at choice, but are still ghosts. You and Luke grow closer and closer starting to go from friends to more than that and everyone starts to notice, it just takes a little longer for you two to figure it out.

Word Count: 2,352

First day of school is always hard, especially senior year.... big deal or its supposed to be. You have always had a hard time with school because it was just hard for you to focus, you were always thinking about what you would rather be doing like painting, singing, taking a walk, and most recently learning guitar which Luke had been more than happy to help you with. Luke, Luke Patterson he was a member of your best friend Julies ghost band, Julie and The Phantoms, which included members Luke, Reggie, Alex, and of course Julie. You always knew they existed but it wasn't until recently that you were really able to get to know them your self because until recently only Julie could see them. Ever since they had that curse of a stamp removed from them, they pretty much can choose whenever they want to be seen or touch anything. It has been nice, because now you can really be apart of your best friends new world, you also got to make 3 new really fun and funny friends, they were just as chaotic as you and Julie. You and Luke really clicked from the moment you and him were able to actually see each other, well he has always been able to see you, but this way was much better. Since you and Luke hung out all the time, you found your self spending hours with him a day. In fact thats where you were before school, was with Luke, you guys had this little place by a lake you loved to hang out at, which caused you to be late for your first day.

So deep in your thoughts you didn't even realize you made it to your locker until you heard the all so familiar tone of your best friend calling out your name as she approached your locker "y/n!!! I didn't even see you pull in" Julie said as she now rested against the lockers next to you "Hey Jules! sorry I over slept and was late" Julie rolled her eyes "On your first day! man you really setting the bar high this year" she said laughing at you, You laugh too at the obvious sarcastic tone in her voice "alright, alright!! ms setting the bar high, we better get to class" you say punching Julie playfully in the arm before heading down the hallway to class.

As you sat in class, you started to feel really bad about lying to Julie about the real reason you were late to school today, you just didn't know how to explain how much you and Luke have been hanging out with out her asking a million questions, but its not like it was a big deal. Trying to get out of your head you try to focus on Mr. Berty who was describing the different factors of algebra which you never understood anyway, so you just write notes in hopes that when you study it later you'll understand it.... which never happens either. As you're writing notes you notice something in the window, in the corner of your eye, not really thinking anything of it until you notice that the thing is jumping up and down and no one else is noticing which could only mean one thing. You look to the side and you see Luke in his orange beanie and Rush tank top jumping up and down waving his arms in order to get your attention with the biggest smile on his face, you laugh to your self, and then realizing he must want something, looking at the clock you realized you still had 40 mins left in this class *Oh my gosh! for real its only been 20 minutes!* you thought to yourself; quickly looking from the clock to the window where Luke was still jumping, you raise your hand "Yes ms. Y/L/N" you bring your hand down faster than you want to, slightly hurting it on the desk "May I use the restroom please?" you ask hesitantly, eager to know what Luke wants, Mr. Berty sighed with annoyance "If you really need to, I suppose, but make it fast ms. Y/L/N" you stand up a little to excited "Thank you mr. Berty" you said as you scurried out the door.

When you made it outside Luke stopped jumping, but his smile remained. You loved his smile, it was contagious, you noticed you were smiling too "Luke! what are you doing here" you said punching his arm playfully, he laughed and grabbed his arm pretending that the punch hurt him "Wow the abuse Y/N" with a smirk he continued "Someone help!!! im being abused someone help!!!" you roll your eyes and smack your hand over his mouth "Not that anyone can hear you, but shut up! that did not hurt" you say with a small laugh, as he is laughing underneath your hand "What are you doing here Luke?" you say with your hand still on his mouth, you feel his smile grow bigger underneath your hand "Well, Y/N, Im here because I got something for you!! but you have to come with me to get it" he said with pure excitement, still with your hand on his mouth, then he licked your hand to get it off, you pull away in knee jerk reaction, he smiled "Sorry! as much as I love your hand on my mouth we need to go!" he said eagerly, you laughed and rolled your eyes "Luke, you do realize im at school right?" he grabbed your hand pulling you across the school field "Yeah! but if you really cared about that, you wouldn't have come outside would you" he said, still with the biggest smile on his face, you rolled your eyes even more and gave in knowing he was right "Alright! but where are you taking me" you exclaimed, speeding up to be side by side with him instead of him dragging you, he looked at you, and bit his lip still excited "aha! you'll just have to wait and see" he said and you both smiled. As you kept walking you realized never Luke never let go of your hand from when he was dragging you..... not that it meant anything, it felt nice though.

It took about 15 mins to walk to you and Lukes usual spot by the lake, still holding hands you approached the tree you guys likes to sit by, or sit in depending on if you wanted to climb, which about 90% of the time Luke did.. also doesn't help he can just teleport up there if he wants to, where as you had to do it the hard way while he just laugh at you trying to climb up. This time Luke wasn't going up the tree, he let go of your hand, which kind of made you sad, but then you saw the look on Lukes face, which was pure excitement "Stay right here Y/N!" he said firmly grasping your shoulders to make sure you stayed in place, as he hopped over to the tree "CLOSE YOUR EYES!" he yelled from behind the tree grabbing something, but you obeyed closing your eyes and before you knew it he was in front of you, you could feel it "Alright, you can open" he said softly, you opened your eyes, and there Luke was with the same smile, holding an acoustic guitar, you could tell it was a nice one, just from the shine on it and how pretty the strings looked, you didn't even realize your mouth was wide open until Luke laughed "Ya like it?" he exclaimed, and you just looked at it "Is that for me?" you asked shocked and excited, Luke laughed "Is that for me?" Luke mocked you "Yeah its for you! ya dork" he continued as he hopped over around you, to get behind you so he could place the guitar in front of you for you to hold, you could feel his arms brush against you... which you like as much as the hand holding but, a little more ... again it didn't mean anything, he was just a friend... and Julies band mate. Luke continued talking taking you out of your trance "Ya never answered me though, do you like it" He said still behind you, but now you were holding the guitar, you just looked at it in awe "Where did you get this Luke? How did you get this?" you asked still in shock, Luke just laughed "Don't worry about that!" he said with a mischievous tone, and then you got worried "Luke you didn't ?!... you didn't steal this right!" you asked with actual concern, you wouldn't put it past him, he just laughed and in a teasing tone said "Ouch! you think I would do that Y/N.... Im not that bad!" and then he continued but more serious this time "No! I didn't steal it, Since I have this new found power of choosing when to be seen and stuff, I picked up a small job at the music store downtown, thought why not earn some money.... and then when you asked me to teach you how to play guitar, I wanted to get you your own.... sooooo I have been saving up ever since" he said in a soft tone and then you felt him come closer to you from behind, but now he was putting his hands on the guitar softly playing a melody, while pretty much holding you, as he played the melody you could feel his breath on your neck.... you guys have never been this physically close before, right before you got to lost into your thought Luke continued talking "You! still haven't answered the question though!!! do you like it??" he exclaimed with a teasing tone once again, which caused you to laugh, and you turned around in his arms making the current position pretty much a hug but Lukes holding a guitar "Of course I like it you dork!!" you said excited and continued "This is the nicest thing anyone has done for me...." you looked into his eyes and with a soft tone said "Thank you" he smiled, a soft smile, and his whole face became soft as he relaxed the guitar down by both your sides and looked deeper into your eyes "Of course...." he said softly, both of you just looking deeper into each others eyes, you felt some kind of connection, and you felt like you both were getting closer and closer to each other and then a voice came from behind both of you, causing both of you to shake out of the trance you both shared "Hey! Y/N! Luke! what are you guys doing out here?

You and Luke both jump, moving away from each other as you see Reggie come out of the trees eating a meatball sub. You and Luke look at each other confused as crap as to why Reggie was there and how he knew about it "Hey Reg!" Luke said a little nervous putting his hand behind his head messing with this beanie, you looked flustered flashing your eyes from Luke to Reggie and back to Luke who continued talking "the real question is what are you doing out here buddy?" and Reggie just chuckled a little, while taking another bite off his sandwich "Well, I went to the school to see Kayla like I always do, we like to eat lunch together, then I saw you two run off and thought I would follow" Reggie said with a full mouth, you and Luke shared a look "So you have been here the whole time?" you asked, wondering how you guys didn't notice Reggie was behind you guys the whole time, Reggie smiled a meatball smile since his mouth was still full and he answered "Yeah!! but I wanted to eat my sandwich so I decided to sit down in those trees and eat it" Luke looked at Reggie with a confused look "But Reg, isn't that your sandwich?" Luke asked still confused, and Reggie looked at him, again with a meatball smile "No! this was supposed to be Kaylas sandwich but since I didn't see her, because I followed you guys... I decided to eat it!" You and Luke laughed and Luke stepped forward patting Reggie on the shoulder "Kayla is one lucky girl Reg!" Luke said teasing Reggie, you laughed in response, and then Reggie went back to his initial question "So what are you guys doing out here?" he asked taking yet another bite of the sandwich, in which Luke got nervous again and answered Reggie with a slightly nervous tone "Hey! shouldn't you be getting back to the school, Kayla is gonna be wondering where your at bud" Reggie stopped chewing and his eyes grew big and he looked at Luke "Youre right! awww man, im gonna have to go get another sandwich" Reggie answered in a high pitched nervous tone "Ill see ya guys later!" Reggie said while running away nearly tripping over his own feet. You and Luke sighed and looked at each other, Luke smiled "Well should we get you back to school as well?" Luke asked you with a soft tone added with a light chuckle at the end, you nodded "Yeah, Lunch is gonna be starting soon and Julie is gonna be wondering where I went" you responded, and then looked at your guitar and looked back at Luke "I love my guitar Luke, I really love it!" you said as you wrapped your arms around his neck and gave him a tight hug, he responded by wrapping his arms around your wait pulling you in tighter, when you guys released from the hug you shared another look, quickly shaking it off with Luke responding "I cant wait to teach you some more chords on it!" he said back to his excited state from when you first got there, skipping forward grabbing your hand again as you guys walked back to school together.

[vivithefolle]

Not sure if you already talked about this. (I’m pretty sure you have) but someone seemed to notice that when the trio get into fights, Hermione’s always in the right. Even when she’s supposed to be wrong she always seems to be half right. That kind of bothers me. Especially since it’s evident in the whole Scabbers situation.

I have indeed, on Quora, so let’s move yet another answer of mine to Tumblr!

Hermione is seldom wrong in the Harry Potter books. Sometimes she makes mistakes but those mistakes are either completely swept under the rug or downright ignored.

It’s partly due to lazy writing and partly due to Rowling’s own growing bias in favour of her Author Avatar that was fuelled by Steve Kloves, the primary advocate of the Hermione Granger Is The Perfect Girl Ever line of thinking (an utterly ridiculous line of thinking mind you).

Lizo: Steve, Hermione is a character that you have said is one of your favorites. Has that made her easier to write?

Steve: Yeah, I mean, I like writing all three, but I've always loved writing Hermione. Because, I just, one, she's a tremendous character for a lot of reasons for a writer, which also is she can carry exposition in a wonderful way because you just assume she read it in a book. If I need to tell the audience something...

JKR: Absolutely right, I find that all the time in the book, if you need to tell your readers something just put it in her. There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue. One is Hermione, the other is Dumbledore. In both cases you accept, it's plausible that they have, well Dumbledore knows pretty much everything anyway, but that Hermione has read it somewhere. So, she's handy.

Now this, right here, is the exact core of the problem.

Rowling herself admits it: if she wants the readers to have information, she puts Hermione in the scene. Hermione is our primary means of exposition because, like *grits teeth* Sssssteve puts it, it’s easy to assume that she’s read about it somewhere and it makes sense.

That’s all well and good but at first, if you notice, Ron also gave us exposition about the wizarding world, mostly about its culture. He was able to recall the exact year of the Wizarding Confederation that outlawed dragon breeding in Philosopher’s Stone! He explained what were respectively a “Mudblood”, a “Squib”, and Parseltongue, Hermione doing a little exposition about the history of that last one! He was also able to identify Sirius, after being dragged into the Whomping Willow, as an Animagi!

But then Goblet of Fire happens and you can notice the first change that will exponentially grow through the books: instead of Ron, pureblood Ron, born-before-the-end-of-the-war Ron, lived-through-the-aftermath-of-the-war Ron, identifying the Dark Mark, it’s instead Hermione, muggleborn Hermione, lived-as-a-Muggle-for-most-of-her-life Hermione, has-no-idea-about-the-emotional-impact-of-the-Mark Hermione who looks terrified as the Dark Mark shoots into the sky!

And it only will get worse, by the end of the series, Hermione pretty much knows about everything the plot needs her to know, instead of having to work with things she knows but can’t always apply to the situation:

Suddenly has a deep knowledge of Magical Law (in the will of Dumbledore’s chapter, while we had Rufus Scrimgeour who could have provided it to us, or to a lesser extent, Ron could have explained how a wizarding will basically worked)

Is suddenly an expert at finding edible plants and mushrooms. Apparently books are always the goddamn answer in JKR’s world, you can literally learn anything from them

She can decipher all the Tales of Beedle the Bard (may I remind you that they were written in Runes, okay Hermione may have a few years of Ancient Runes education BUT I once tried to translate a 3k+ story I had written for fun, from French to English, which means I knew what the subtleties and intentions were, I knew which turns of phrase I had to preserve so it would make sense in the end, and it still took me two gruelling weeks to get a satisfying result!)

Has suddenly grown a sense of quick-thinking (escaping Xenophilius’ house, using the jinx to make Harry’s face weird-looking) despite it being the only remaining flaw she had at the time (remember when she turned her back on her enemy while he was still conscious just to compliment Harry, and almost died as a result, even though she had been training in the DA to learn how to fight Death Eaters?) Quick-thinking under pressure can be learned, but it takes time and a lot of work to force your brain to override its instinct - and it’s fine because we’re all human and different. But no suddenly Hermione is the Greatest Strategist Evah™ and those silly boys (who actually were the original quick-thinking ones, and one of them was established as the strategist early on) better be grateful for this literal goddess because she protects them from all harm with her superhuman brain.

Somehow knows about Quidditch stuff - she knows about a Snitch’s “memory-touch”. Why should she give all the answers? Why can’t Ron give us this particular tidbit of information?

And then when we come to something Ron actually knows, the damn narration itself goes “woah a book that Ron has read but Hermione hasn’t??? shocking!! incredible!! Ron is not dumb, somebody call the news channel”. But… is that really so surprising? We’ve never seen Hermione read wizarding fiction or even Muggle fiction. We’ve never seen Hermione with anything other than schoolbooks in her hands. Of course Ron has read books she hasn’t read since she doesn’t seem to read fiction at all!

Sorry, bit of a tangent over here.

There are only two characters that you can put it convincingly into their dialogue.

So, that’s one part of the problem: the fact that Rowling, after making Ron our insight into magical culture and Hermione our provider of knowledge, ended up saying “eh whatever I guess Hermione can tell us everything we gotta know because it’s more convenient for me”. Which is a decision that was not based on Hermione’s character, but simply lazy writing. Long story short, it probably went: “Could Ron explain this bit of trivia? Meh, better make Hermione say it cause she’ll have read it in a book. It’s convenient and I won’t need to bother myself with exploring Ron’s characterisation.”

(And thus completely forgetting that Ron could maybe ask his big brothers via owl and provide us with a good heap of extra advanced knowledge - Bill is supposed to have aced his NEWTs after all.)

The other part of the problem is quite simply that Hermione is more often than not, either painted as a victim by the narrative (which makes more people take her side, classic manipulation tactic), or made to be right anytime it’s about a plot point.

Hermione’s mistakes are never explicitly stated, corrected, or even pointed out as being unethical.

Hermione only gets one mistake expressedly pointed out as being a mistake: her misadventure in Polyjuice Potion. The rest of them? Even her crush on Lockhart can’t be counted as a mistake - people get crushes all the time, based solely on physical appearance, it’s not something awful or terrible (Except when it’s Ron who crushes on someone. Ron crushing on someone is absolutely forbidden, and he must be punished with much ridicule and humiliation if he thinks he can get away with not worshipping Hermione like the goddess she is. The nerve of him, really.).

Throughout the books Hermione eventually morphs into Rowling’s Powerful Angel of Vengeance, that punishes the people who dared to do something she disliked - Rita is silenced but at a very ethically dubious price; Marietta gets scarred for life because she was more loyal to her mother than to a bunch of people her friend insisted she hang out with; Umbridge is led to a very, very alarming fate that is never made clear but some people have ideas and they’re not all very kid-friendly; Ron first is “helped” without knowing it because Hermione can’t be bothered to have faith in his capabilities, then when he fails to dutifully reward her for “helping” him, she causes him bodily harm before actively bullying him for not mind-reading her interest in him; causes even more bodily harm to Ron because that’s how feminism works; etc.

Hermione’s mistakes are always justified through the plot itself (which is lazy writing).

Turning into a cat? Only affects her.

The Firebolt? Scabbers? Well, in the end, it was really sent by Sirius Black and Crookshanks really wasn’t the culprit. Therefore all the feelings that were hurt and all the trust lost are irrelevant because Hermione was right all along.

Trying to free the house-elves? Well, it’s the intent that counts, right? And we’re never told enough about house-elf lore to know whether they’re poor brainwashed victims or powerful Penate-like symbiotes who need to serve a wizard to survive?

Kidnapping Rita Skeeter, trapping her and blackmailing her? Rita may be one foul little beetle, but that’s going a bit far, isn’t it? Harry approves? Oh, well, I guess it’s okay then…? A main character can’t have a dubious morality, right?

Manipulating Harry into forming Dumbledore’s Army and forcing him to relive a traumatic event with the same woman she’s kidnapped and blackmail and that she knows he hates? In the end, it all works out for the best and Harry’s hurt feelings don’t matter since it’s all about the greater good.

Using the centaurs to get rid of Umbridge (which poses the highly distressing question of what did the centaurs do to her?), realizing that the centaurs aren’t nice little horsies that are going to gently obey her every orders like good Disney princess’ companions, my goodness could this be an opportunity for character growth - nevermind, here comes Grawp the Giant Ex Machina, saving her arse and protecting Hermione from all that scary possibility of introspection. Thanks, Grawp Ex Machina.

Trying to dissuade a highly stressed-out and irrational Harry from rescuing Sirius by telling him exactly what he needed not to hear, a.k.a. “you have a saving people-thing” which causes Harry to completely go bonkers and go save his godfather without thinking twice? Well she was right after all, it was a trap! Nevermind how mind-boggingly insenstive and inadept at dealing with someone else’s feelings she was being, she was right! That means it wasn’t Hermione’s mistake!… probably. (Geez, I’m sensing a pattern here…)

Endangering Cormac’s life (Confunding him WHILE HE’S ON HIS BROOM) to promote Ron’s success? Oh but that’s so romantic! (Yeaaaah, how romantic to display exactly how much faith you lack in your crush. Top it off with a broken neck and that’s a picture perfect first date!)

Assaulting Ron with magic and causing him even more scars than he already had? But he was being cold with her first, right? And he totally should have known she was asking him out! It’s not like her invitation was even worse than his attempt to ask her out two years earlier! Plus she’s just a teenage girl expressing her emotions, anyone who tries to find fault in this is a disgusting abusive misogynist pig! Ha!

Getting all jealous that Harry is better than her at Potions, then pretending she’s not jealous by claiming that TEH BOOK IS EVIL, HARRY, and giving him the cold shoulder too? But no, she’s right, look, Harry used Sectumsempra and he almost killed Draco, nevermind that he’s very horrified about it! Hermione was right, like she always is!

Hermione Obliviating her parents, which pulls her from the “ethically dubious” zone into the “wow okay I’m pretty sure that this counts as a violation of basic human rights” zone, makes her one of those quirky wizardfolk who have the privilege to control those simple-minded Muggles because it’s for the greater good? But nooo she’s crying about it so it’s obviously very sad and angsty and it shows her devotion to the cause!

Splinching Ron while fleeing from the Ministry? Eeeh, but he’s fine, they’ve got Dittany, he’s good as new!… blood loss? Anaemia? What’s that?

Hermione was wrong about the Deathly Hallows not existing? Um, um, that doesn’t matter, LOOK DOBBY IS DEAD AND HARRY IS BACK TO LOOKING FOR THE HORCRUXES!! Therefore Hermione was right, the Hallows weren’t important for their quest, therefore the Hallows might as well not exist, HERMIONE WAS RIGHT NO REALLY I’VE GOT RECEIPTS -

The books never forget to remind Harry and Ron of their own shortcomings and moments of weakness.

Harry’s wrath and recklessness cost Sirius his life. This is the lesson he has to learn from his entitled behaviour in OotP: actions have consequences, and the greater your responsibility, the greater the cost will be.

Ron’s envy and insecurity lead him astray; they’re used to humiliate, ridicule and torture him throughout the books. They’re supposed to teach him that he’s worth something - but how is he supposed to believe that, when nobody ever tells him he’s worth anything? When nobody ever apologizes to him? When his feelings are taken for granted over and over? When his two friends seem to discard him whenever he does one thing wrong?

Hermione is never punished. Hermione is never said to be wrong, never shown to be wrong, never called out on her behaviour. From Prisoner of Azkaban to mid-Deathly Hallows, she stays exactly the same character. She doesn’t grow up. She doesn’t learn. She doesn’t change. She has virtually no character arc.

The only time, THE ONLY TIME IN SEVEN BOOKS, the only time we have something remotely resembling a call-out of Hermione’s horrible behaviour is with this sole quote in HBP:

Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.

Note how it’s about “girls” and not Hermione in particular, which implies that any girl would do what Hermione does to Ron. Thanks for the generalization, JKR, but I like to believe I’m actually a decent sort of person that doesn’t resort to petty cruelty and exploits my friends’ insecurities whenever I’m angry with them.

Hermione NEVER has to apologize. Hermione NEVER has to learn from her mistakes because she’s always presented as a victim when she really isn’t. Hermione NEVER develops into something more - she’s emotionally stuck at fourteen years old. Even less than that when you consider that her reaction to Ron’s return in Deathly Hallows is to trash him with her fists - and she was going to get her wand!! The utter psychopathic b- wanted TO THROW BIRDS AT HIM AGAIN!!! - and this reaction is an appropriate one for a four-years old girl, but certainly not for a supposedly “mature” seventeen-years old.

(Yes, because what separates a child from an adult is the ability to reign in your emotions and not succumb to your impulses. Exactly what Ron did when he left the tent (notice that he had drawn his wand, then he left before he could start hexing Harry), he left to calm himself down. Exactly what Hermione fails to do when Ron returns (she has the impulse to strike him and immediately succumbs to it, which proves to us that The Brightest Witch Of Her Age has all the maturity of a very small child).)

All of that, on top of the awful portrayal in the movies which removes all of Ron’s characteristics to stuff them into Hermione and turns her into some impossible epitome of perfection, eventually contributed to the portrayal of Hermione as the one who is always right and knows everything.

Add to it JKR’s own ridiculous bias (“Ron was quite emotionally immature compared to the other two”, yeah right I don’t see him trying to force freedom onto unwilling creatures or making Harry fly into an irrational rage with mere words but you do you, Jo) and the sexist misconception that “girls are innately more mature than boys”, and you get yourself this apparent behemoth of righteousness that was literally the sole reason why those two silly boys survived everything, and don’t you dare criticize this angel of perfection OR ELSE.

[chibinekochan]

72 Investigations - The mystery of the missing Ruri-Chan part 2

part 1

An au where the reader is a private eye/detective with their own Detective agency.

Roles will be played by the demon brothers and other beloved obey me characters.

Y/N (Your Name) will be used for the reader's name.

Gender-neutral reader insert.

In our first case, you get hired by the wealthy hair Levi to find a mysteriously missing item.

You head outside, there is a car waiting.

"That's my car right there. I have a driver of course." Levi points to the expensive-looking car.

He really is a rich heir after all.

"It will be very cramped." Satan sighs.

"Nobody told you to come along." You huff at him.

"I'm sitting next to Y/N." Asmo seems rather cheerful.

"No, you aren't." You shake your head and head towards the car, you need the money from this job.

His driver seems rather impatient. "Can we start driving? I've got better things to do."

"Mammon, I said it before, and I'm going to say it again until your debt has been paid off you are my driver." Levi huffs and sits down next to you.

In the end, Asmo is forced to sit in the front, next to Mammon.

Mammon huffs and mumbles about unfair treatment.

Satan is busy looking out of the window, likely looking for cats.

Asmo tries to flirt with Mammon but quickly loses interest.

Finally, you arrive at Levi's home. It's a very lavish-looking mansion. Somehow it is exactly what you have been expecting.

You get out of the car and stretch a little after being cramped into the car for such a long time.

"This was one annoying car ride." Satan complaints.

"Just go home then, nobody invited you." You glare at Satan.

"I don't know what you want. I had a great time. Now look at that mansion, you should invite me to your next party." Asmo winks towards Levi.

"Umm… I don't do parties." Levi shifts uncomfortably around.

"Too bad." Asmo shrugs.

"You need to behave. Don't screw up my chance to earn some money." You hiss at Asmo, who just smiles at you.

"You should say that to him." Asmo points towards Satan, who somehow found a cat.

You sigh and start your investigation. "Where is the room in question?"

"It's the room with metal bars." Levi points to a room on the first floor.

You carefully go closer, looking for footprints or anything else that is suspicious. Sadly the ground is dry and there is nothing to find.

"Let's go inside next." You head back to Levi. "That was like some real detective work right there." He seems impressed.

"I couldn't find anything yet though." You feel a bit embarrassed by his compliment.

"I'll now show you the scene of the crime. Sadly I had to close the window, to protect the rest of my collection." Levi has obviously seen some crime dramas.

"It's alright. Please stay out of the room."

You get some tools out, your camera and dusting set, and then carefully walk over to the stand for the stature.

It's dead center in the room. The glass from the former case is shattered across the floor. Most of it is lying on the opposite side of the window.

Next, you go towards the window while looking for footprints. You only see a bit of dirt under the window. It looks like something or someone came from this window and went in the direction of the class case.

"How often do you open the window?" You ask Levi.

"Two times a day. Once in the morning and once in the evening." Levi answers promptly.

You look at the mechanism that closes the window. It looks pretty standard. You open the window and find the metal bars are all intact and way too small for any person to fit through. Then you see a small amount of white hair. You put it in a small plastic bag.

Then you look at one of the still intact glass cases. "Do these have some sort of alert when you lift or touch them?" You ask Levi.

"Yeah, but I tend to forget to turn them on and off. I know it's a bad habit." Levi sighs.

You nod, and then you see a black card in front of one of the other class cases.

"Oho, a calling card of the sunrise thief." Satan notices the symbol right away. This doesn't surprise you since it contains a cat and a sun symbol.

"It looks like one, but he is known for leaving messages on the cards. I can't think of him stealing something of such little value either. It might be a fake one." You still bag it as part of the evidence.

"Yeah, he probably would be more interested in this huge gem here." Asmo looks in awe at a huge green gem in the corner of the room.

"That gem is a prop from a show. I had the real gem but sold it after I found the one they used. It's so much cooler, to be honest." Levi seems pretty proud of his collection.

"That is an interesting fact, but I don't think the sunrise thief has anything to do with Ruri-chan." You shake your head.

"You closed the door last night, is that right?" Moving on to your next question.

"I do that every evening, but it's never locked," Levi adds another interesting fact.

You nod. "I need to close the door for a moment." You do just that and dust the door handle but nothing.

Well, this would've been too easy.

You open the door again. "Were all the entrance doors locked last night?"

"Yes, the front door is always locked unless I have guests and the same goes for the back door. The front door was definitely locked this morning as well." Levi seems to recall this fact.

"Okay, can you lead me to the back door?" You have a feeling about what happened at this point, but there are still some open questions.

"You mean us." Satan chimes in.

You only shake your head at him.

"Here is the backdoor. What the hell happened here?" Levi hasn't been in the room yet and is very surprised.

There is stuff scattered everywhere. It looks like something ran right towards the window and knocked everything in its path.

You carefully walk over to the window that is still a bit open and look outside. You can see a few plants outside have also been knocked over. You try opening the window, but it doesn't budge. No human could squeeze through here.

"Could you unlock the door?" You turn to Levi. He nods and opens the door.

You look under the window. There is a small indent on the floor that looks pretty suspicious.

Now almost everything seems to add up. "But if I'm right then where is the stature?" You say this mostly to yourself.

"You are definitely missing a suspect." Satan grins at you, this kind of smile really irks you. He has clearly solved the case completely.

"The person with debt big enough to be forced to work for Levi?" You know right away who he is talking about.

Satan nods. "Time to face the thief."

"Well from my point of view you already faced the thief earlier, and I'd say you were pretty friendly with them." You sigh and eye Satan. He just shrugs. "I'd say the human is the true criminal here."

Levi looks at you two in confusion.

"Just kiss already and tell us who did it. I have an important appointment." Asmo sighs loudly.

You glare at Asmo. "Fine, let's move to the front of the building. With a bit of luck, Ruri-chan is there."

Levi's face lights up with the sheer mention of this name. "Do you think so?"

"I hope so at least." You try not to get his hopes too high.

In the front of the building, you can Mammon, fidgeting with something.

Levi sees the Object and practically runs over to Mammon. "My Ruri-chan!" He takes his precious statue from Mammon. "You filthy thief! How could you do this to my poor Ruri-chan?" Levi carefully pets his stature.

"He didn't take Ruri-chan. He just found her behind the building." I intend to clear Mammon from the accusation.

"What? How do you know that?" Levi seems surprised.

"It would have been impossible for him to fit through the metal bars to get into the house. Furthermore, all doors were locked, and none of them looked like they were tampered with." You start to explain to Levi.

"What about the kitchen window? That was somewhat open." Levi doesn't seem to believe it.

"The window is stuck in a way that no human could fit through it. You can try opening it, but it will not move." You continue with your explanation.

"I suppose that's true but who kidnapped my Ruri-chan?" Levi holds his statue closely.

"I don't think the thief intended to steal anything. Since the culprit was the cat." You point at the cat that is peacefully sleeping in Satan's arm.

"Hey, hey don't you go accuse cats of stealing. She just wanted to play." Satan huffs.

"Regardless, it was the cat. The first hint is the small gap between the iron bars in front of the window. Only a cat would fit in between them. Then I found a bit of cat hair between the bars. The lack of finger or footprints supports the theory. I'm not quite sure what led to the cat pushing the glass case down, but I suspect she just got very startled by the sound and took Ruri-chan and ran off with her. Then she escaped through the kitchen window, where she dropped Ruri-chan. In the end, Mammon found it there and took it." You finish by explaining the whole rundown of events.

Satan nods along." The poor cat."

Levi seems surprised by the rundown but seems to accept it. "I need to leave the window closed from now on and I will get to fix that window. Regardless, I'm very glad you found my Ruri-chan. Thank you very much Y/N." Levi seems to be moved to tears.

"I'm glad that everything is well. I hope Ruri-chan wasn't damaged, I mean hurt too much." You couldn't take a closer look at the statue.

"She seems fine, but I will give her a good cleaning and check of injuries just in case. I will tell everyone you did a great job." Levi carefully holds his stature and then reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a big stack of cash. He then proceeds to hand it to you.

You look at the number of big bills. "This is way too much." It's more than enough money for a good half-year of rent.

"You have earned it for bringing Ruri-chan home. Thank you again." Levi is pretty insistent about it and holds out the money.

You reluctantly take it. "Thank you for the payment."

"No problem. I will now take care of Ruri-chan. Take them all home Mammon." Levi glares slightly at Mammon, who shrugs and gets the car ready.

"Isn't that lucky you should invite me out sometime but for now I have to go. My nails aren't going to paint themselves. Bye, bye." Asmo casually waves and walks off.

You can't see Satan anywhere and frankly don't care enough to look for him.

You go to the car and get inside.

"Are the others not coming?" Mammon doesn't sound like he cares much but asks anyway.

"Yeah, it's just us now." You shrug.

"OK, where do you want to be dropped off?" Mammon starts the car.

"Just drop me back where you picked us up." You give him a small smile.

"Alright." Mammon then drives you back home.

"We are here but here... take my card." Mammon awkwardly hands you a business card with his number. "Since you helped me I'll give you a discount." This seems to be his way of thanking you.

"Thanks, Mammon I will definitely use this sometime. Have a nice day." You give him a pleasant smile, which seems to surprise Mammon.

"Thanks, same to you. See ya." Mammon blushes a bit.

"Goodbye." You get out of the car and go straight to the café.

With a big smile, you open the door.

Only Beel is there right now. "Welcome, you solved the case I guess?" He smiles at you.

"Yeah, and I got a big payment. Now I won't have to worry about rent for a while." You show off the bundle of cash to Beel.

"Great. I will give the rent to Belphie later." Beel nods with approval.

"Is he taking a nap?" You shake your head and look at the cake options.

"Yeah, he worked hard today." Then Beel’s stomach starts to rumble.

"Sounds like you need a break too. Want me to take over for a bit?" You know Beel doesn't get to take a break that often.

"I only need to eat, and you paid rent, so you don't need to work now." Beel is reluctant.

"Don't be silly, we are friends. You helped me out so much by letting me work here. It's only for a bit anyway. You can pay me with some cake today." You glance at the delicious selection.

"It's a deal then. I'll be in the back if you need me." Beel instantly agrees and you take over for him.

This case was a pretty big success. Pretty pleased with yourself you take care of the café until Beel comes back.

[erekiosuncreativeideas]

Is All Hope Lost ? (Rayman oneshot)

Summary :

"Now, the former hero of the Glade could do nothing, nothing but wait, for an opportunity… For anything, really, at this point. Was hope really lost? Was it all over?

Weak and unable to move too much, he was lying there in his freezing cell. Without much energy left in him, he could barely make any effort without feeling like he could faint, and it was the same for keeping his body warm enough to survive. It was clear that the new Master of the Glade wanted him to suffer without any interruption… An endless pain, fuelled by the dread of not even knowing what had happened after he got captured."

Also available on AO3 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/32011609

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Hello people !

Okay so this one shot is based off an idea I had a few years back. I finally got the motivation to write something about it, so... Here you go.

This is pretty angsty, there are references to torture and all that joyful stuff (no actual description of it though), so be careful when reading this. Hopefully you'll all like it.

There's an audio file for this chapter, which is a dub of the dialogues ! I commissioned it from my friend @puyo-proto, who is an amazing voice actor ! Go check out his work, he's awesome !

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Rayman’s cell was cold and damp- it had always been, and that would never change, he knew that much. Just like the rest of the castle of the new Master of the Glade, it was stone and iron all around. No nature, no trace of the environment the defeated hero had used to know all his life… No, it was different, oh so different.

How many days, months, years had it been? This was the question he was always wondering, never getting an answer. There were no windows in his cell, nothing that would allow him to know what was happening outside after he had won. Were there some of his people still fighting? Was this possible at all? Only Polokus knew how long it had been since he had last seen Globox and his family, Murphy, or even any teensie. And then… Then, there were Ly and Betilla, as well as all the other fairies. For all he knew, no one had managed to escape the invasion. Fighting Mister Dark was one thing, and it went the same for Razorbeard, André, or even the Magician…

Fighting an alliance made by all of them was another.

Sure, Rayman had been through a lot, saving the Glade since his creation- his main purpose after all! But all this time, he had only been fighting only one enemy at a time. Now, things were different, oh, very different… After the Heart of the World got corrupted, so was magic- and thus, all the magical beings, such as the teensies, the fairies, or even Rayman himself. Once that was done, there wasn’t much to do to capture everyone at this point… With a major part of the Glade using magic as life a source or even energy, enemies with mechanical weapons like the pirates or the hoodlums were much stronger. The fact that they were much abundant certainly didn’t help and, soon enough, the Glade was enslaved.

Now, the former hero of the Glade could do nothing, nothing but wait, for an opportunity… For anything, really, at this point. Was hope really lost? Was it all over?

Weak and unable to move too much, he was lying there in his freezing cell. Without much energy left in him, he could barely make any effort without feeling like he could faint, and it was the same for keeping his body warm enough to survive. It was clear that the new Master of the Glade wanted him to suffer without any interruption… An endless pain, fuelled by the dread of not even knowing what had happened after he got captured. However, the war against the pirates was enough for him to guess: if this was anything like it, or even worse, the whole Glade probably looked nothing like it used to be. And for its inhabitants, well… He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know.

He closed his eyes, not knowing if he’d even fall asleep despite how exhausted he was feeling at the moment. It was only when he heard footsteps echoing in the nearby hallway that he reopened his eyes, confused for a moment. Wait, there wasn’t anyone else besides- Oh.

It had to be him. Instantly, Rayman’s expression drastically changed, going from perplexity to pure hatred. The footsteps were slow, and the hero just knew the other wanted to drag the suspense out- but as if there was any to begin with. Eventually, a familiar silhouette appeared behind the bars of his cell, one that the limbless hero had come to hate with a passion he had never felt before.

The leader of this whole invasion- Mister Dark himself.

How long had it been since Rayman had seen him at all? He couldn’t tell, but he sure knew he didn’t want to be in his presence again.

-“Well, well, well,” said his lifelong enemy, his tone mocking and sadistic: “If this isn���t our dear and powerful hero. Or, well, not so much, is it?”

The latter remained silent, gritting his teeth as he glared at his opponent, biting any type of retort- the other had taught him a long time ago this wasn’t a good idea. Countless of times before, Rayman had had to witness his friends being tortured in front of him for something he himself did or said. For a being created to protect his people, there wasn’t any greater punishment than actually being the source of their pain. And so…

The hero knew he couldn’t do anything but keep his mouth shut. After all the time he had spent here, his enemy had learnt what made him react, what made him crack. The more Rayman fell for his traps, the more that monster learnt from he and his friends, which just made their whole situation more terrible than it already was.

Instead of being bored of the hero’s obvious lack of reaction, the cloaked being just chuckled darkly, giving Rayman a look of great interest which… In itself wasn’t really reassuring.

-“Aw, not even trying to fight back anymore? Is this really all that’s left of the one that oh so bravely stood up to me once?” he insisted, tilting his invisible head to the side, the small orbs of his hat jingling around as he did so: “An empty shell? Some body without any fight in it? A poor, pathetic being?”

The temptation to snap back was strong, and Rayman had to bite his tongue not to do so. He knew this was all the other was waiting for, and there was no way he’d give him that pleasure. If he had to fight him, this wasn’t through words, this would be through actions… Once the right opportunity would present itself to him, that was. For the moment, however… There was nothing he could do but endure it. And while he knew that… That didn’t make it less harder to hold himself back.

His lack of answer still seemed to please Mister Dark. He supposed breaking him had been the other’s goal all along, and he had to admit he most likely was nothing with the hero he once used to be. Still, there was still… Some spark inside of him. A small one, yes, but it was there.

Just waiting for the right moment.

-“Perhaps it is time for you to know what happened to your dear world, Rayman,” eventually murmured his enemy, cruelty visible in his eyes. Nonetheless, the words still caught the limbless hero off-guard- wait, what? His surprise must have seen clear as crystal for his opponent, as the latter chuckled again:

-“Oh, maybe there’s still something to break inside of you,” he then extended one of his limbless hands to the lock of the cell, unlocking it with his dark magic: “But this is fine- we have all the time for that, after all.”

The hero frowned, his heartbeat quickening as the door of his cell opened, for the first time in… He couldn’t even tell. There was no notion of time in that hellish place. And while he was not tied up in any way… He knew it was all the same- without his powers, Rayman was just an harmless being among all the others. This was exactly why Mister Dark entered the room without any fear. Since the Heart of the World got corrupted, he had become much more powerful and… In comparison, well, Rayman was merely an insect. It was clear that his enemy could kill him very easily if he wanted to, but… That was the thing.

He didn’t want to. He just wanted his arch-nemesis to suffer eternally or, the latter hoped, until boredom stopped him first. In any case, when Mister Dark caught his hoodie and lifted him up in the air… There wasn’t much he could do. His hands and feet were dangling next to his body and, when the other forced him to stand up… Rayman wasn’t sure if he were able to. Without energy, any effort was making him dizzy, but who knew what his enemy would do if he didn’t obey.

The hero didn’t want to see anyone getting hurt because of him again. And so, despite how exhausted he felt, despite the bags under his eyes, he shakily stood up after Mister Dark let go of him. Yeah… There was no way he would be able to throw his fist in his state and, even if he could, it wouldn’t do anything without his magic back.

-“Follow me,” was all the other said, his tone back to seriousness. He didn’t even have to warn Rayman about trying to escape anymore- the latter was very aware of the consequences by now. And, then again, if standing up was a challenge on its on, then… So would be walking or even running. Despite that, the limbless hero did his best to follow his enemy. His eyes scanned the hallways, trying to memorize them in case he ever managed to leave his cell on his own… But the place was just a labyrinth and, with how tired he was, he soon was unable to focus very long. No, instead, his mind was trying really hard to keep him awake enough to keep walking. His vision became blurry after a while and his body started lose its balance- until he actually fell down on the cold floor made out of stones. He was dizzy, his head barely able to keep up with what was going on around him- until he heard a disappointed sigh.

It wasn’t long until he felt a hand grabbing his hair, pulling on it painfully. The hero let out a pitiful whine of pain but wasn’t able to move much in response. His nose hurt as he was dragged on the floor, his skin hurting as it was scrapped against the uneven stones.

-“Oh, if only your friends could see you right now…” mused the dark being, not slowing down as he kept talking: “Their only hope, the one being they trust so much to end their suffering… And look at you: you’re not even able to walk on your own anymore. How devastated they would feel, just looking at pathetic you have become.”

Rayman didn’t answer, but the words upset him more than he would have thought. When his only purpose was to protect the Glade, then… What was he supposed to be, if he couldn’t even save himself? With how weak he was, it was clear he wouldn’t be able to save a single being…

After what seemed like hours to him, he finally felt the other let go of him. His head fell down, hitting the floor painfully and making him wince in pain. He clenched his jaw not to make a sound- no, he would not give his enemy that satisfaction!

But then again, it was quite ironic to think that way, given how he looked right now.

When he reopened his eyes, he squinted. There was a lot more light than what he had grown used to- and this was because he had been put in front of a large window, one that was giving him a full view of a landscape he no longer recognized.

The Glade of Dreams- or rather, what was left of it.

What used to be islands full of trees were now barren soil. The grass had disappeared, the blue sky had been replaced by a perpetual black one, filled with smoke and toxic gas. The seas had lost their transparency, poisoned with chemicals and detritus. The Sun… Wasn’t even visible anymore, and most of the light seemed to come from large towers and buildings spread across the land. The mountains had lost their green hue and fires could be seen all around the place. Architecture the limbless hero could recognize very well had sprout, replacing the natives’ one. One island was filled with buildings that just woke up memories from the war against the robot pirates, another one was filled with tents reminding him of the hoodlums… And the island they were on was filled with metallic buildings, something he had seen somewhere-

When he had entered the Magician’s secret base.

The sight alone horrified him and his eyes widened in absolute disbelief. It was one thing to imagine what had happened to the Glade after his capture… It was another to be forced to see it. This was… So much worse than when his world had been invaded before. During earlier wars, the vegetation had still remained, making the landscapes recognizable despite everything- but here?

Here, Rayman couldn’t see anything that reminded him of the world he used to live in. It was like… He was on another planet- no, in another, entirely different universe.

This couldn’t be real, this had to be fake, this had to be an illusion…!

-“Ah, I see you like the changes we made to the Glade,” Mister Dark’s voice rose again, bringing Rayman back to reality: “I must admit I am quite impressed. I didn’t think those idiots would be able to do more than fighting under my orders but, here we are.”

The “idiots”, Rayman knew, were actually Razorbeard and André. The two of them couldn’t stand one another, and the same could be said about their armies. And while it was true they weren’t very clever on their own… Under someone like Mister Dark, their power could be used for the most terrible things- and now, Rayman had to face the product of it all.

There was nothing left of the Glade of Dreams he used to know. Nothing. He gritted his teeth, and tried to look away. He didn’t want to see this- it was unbearable, knowing what was happening now and yet being unable to do anything to fight back or help anyone. But of course, the monster next to him wouldn’t give him the ability to ignore it. Soon enough, the hand came back to grab his hair again, forcing him to watch the landscape in front of him:

-“Oh, no, no, no,” he cooed cruelly, dragging the limbless being closer to the window, before his tone got lower and threatening: “Keep looking- I want you to see what I did to your everything. Isn’t it painful? To realize how useless you have become? To see what happened to your precious land?”

Rayman wanted to close his eyes, he really did, but he knew he would get punished for doing so. And by that… He knew that someone else would get punished. So, he kept his eyes open, glancing back at his enemy. Pure hatred was radiating from him as he glared at the other.

-“You’re underestimating us all,” he spat, his voice full of contained anger.

-“Is that what you think?” the cloaked being retorted with an evil laugh: “And where’s your army? Where are your friends?”

The hero looked away, gritting his teeth more. Yeah, that hurt. Before he was able to retort anything, his opponent continued, sadism clearly audible:

-“I’ll tell you where they are: in cages, in working camps, in mines… What is left of your people is either kept on the ships or used on land. There is no one out of here, out of my grasp. You are all alone. No one is ever coming to save you.”

Mister Dark leaned towards him and forced his head up at the same time:

-“And you, hero, are not going to save anyone,” he whispered cruelly, pronouncing each words slowly enough for it to register in Rayman’s stubborn mind: “You are nothing.”

Those words just hurt the limbless being further, only reminding him of how useless he had become. But hadn’t it been the same, back when he had been captured by the pirates? Didn’t he feel the exact same way, thinking their world was doomed? Sure, it hadn’t been to the point it was now, but… He just couldn’t believe that this was over, that there was… Nothing else to do anymore.

He didn’t want to believe it.

His glare intensified and he narrowed his eyes, his fists clenching as much as his body could allow it:

-“I will take you down,” he promised, both to the cloaked being and to himself, his voice filled with determination: “No matter how long it’s going to take me, I’ll find a way to free everyone. You haven’t won yet- not as long as I’m alive.”

The other seemed surprised in his change of attitude…And rather pleased too. Probably because it meant his plaything could still be broken for a while. But Rayman didn’t care: he had meant every single word.

-“Is that so,” mused the other with amusement: “Well, I suppose only time will tell, won’t it?”

An evil laugh left him and it was obvious the latter didn’t believe him in the slightest. Nonetheless, that just made Rayman’s determination even stronger.

He was going to save the Glade of Dreams, again, like all the times before… And absolutely nothing would stop him.

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Hoped you all liked it. If you do, make sure to let me know, as I might work on an actual fanfic, depending on if this goes well. Have a nice day and thanks for reading my one shot !

Don't forget to check the audio file !

[bbnibini]

PSISLY: An Obey Me!CYOA – forty-four🔖

{ OPEN STATUS : YES

> approved > displaying capture targets

Mammon : 100♡/100♡ Satan: 85♡/100♡ Barbatos: 0♡/100♡ Lucifer: 5♡/100♡

CLOSE STATUS : YES >approved }

You wondered where it all went wrong.

Everything had been perfect since you discovered the identity of your secret admirer. Uncovering sides of Mammon that perhaps he wasn't even aware of himself, you spent a lot of time getting to know each other, marveling at every new thing you discovered about him. You kept his love-filled words close to your heart, lingering there at times when you felt lost and perhaps even unloved. His penned words were beautiful yet poignant, hopeful yet deep which, you have eventually discovered reflected so much of Mammon himself. He often rebuffed your praises, perhaps shy of your careful observations. There would always be a blush there dusting his cheeks, colouring itself in deeper shades at every sneaky kiss. You always liked those nights when you talk about anything that pops out of your minds, and you thought he liked them too. But now, you were starting to feel doubt.

"Mammon, I didn't mean to--"

He turned away from you and covered his face with both of his hands. "This ai-- this won't…" he hesitated. "It will never work between us."

How did it come to this?

💌💌💌

Flashback to this morning when it all started.

"Mammon?" you couldn't help but reach out to him, your hand touching his cheek. ' Didn't the spell work?' you thought to yourself as you heard him stutter a 'Yes', kissing your inner palms.

"Is something amiss, my love? You look like you've seen a ghost."

So it didn't work?

You shook your head and let your hand rest on his cheek. "No…I was just wondering if you wanted to sleep some more."

Why is he still acting like this?

"If I sleep now, then it would ruin yesterday's efforts." he fiddled with something in his DDD--his email app; showing two booked tickets to Devil's Coast. Signs of the old Mammon showed in his boyish grin. "And all it took was covering for an acquaintance's shift."

"Is that why you're there yesterday?"

Mammon smiled shyly. "Yes…I wanted to surprise you. Is it too early to celebrate the conclusion of our final exams?"

You couldn't help but smile back. You planted a kiss on his lips which he happily received. "Very early. But this is a nice change of pace before Armageddon."

"Ain't that the--" he cleared his throat and quickly corrected himself. "Very true. Once this weekend is over, we are back to our old, monotonous routines."

You weren't imagining it. Something about his graceful movements really did seem off. "I'm looking forward to it!" Then again, you supposed there was a reason behind this. You decided to humour him and pretend you haven't noticed anything. "Let me wash up first and we can grab something to eat?"

"That sounds lovely."

Hoping your feigned smile wouldn't betray you, you shut the bathroom door and quickly opened your DDD to text Satan.

You looked at your own reflection in the mirror and nodded to yourself. Turtleneck it is. You learned your lesson the last time. A mixture of Mammon's toiletries and yours were in the bathroom, making you remember how he was trying his best to hide his excitement from invading half of your space the first time you talked about sharing a room. Not like his room was safe from your own stuff too--it just so happens that he likes hanging around your room lately because of how busy you were. He usually finishes his council duties early and tries (read: tried) to help you with yours, until both of you immediately realise that his bystanding was the best help he could offer. Any pouting from his side was placated with hugs and kisses, words of love he was too shy to say back and a loving gaze he couldn't help but give you when he thought you wouldn't notice. He still isn't the most honest demon when it comes to expressing his feelings, but you can see that he was trying. You just hoped that his recent gentlemanly behaviour is also a part of his trials and he isn't involved in anything dangerous.

Letting go of your nostalgia and embracing the present back in your thoughts, you wondered about the sound of shattering glass from outside. There you saw a flustered Mammon picking up the shards of what looked like Lucifer's china with his bare hands--his gentlemanly facade was nowhere to be seen.

"Mammon, no! Put that down. You'll injure yourself!" you cried, responding on instinct to take his hands into yours, throwing the shards back to the floor in the process. You snuck a look at Mammon and saw his troubled expression, bitten lips you usually noticed when he wasn't having the best kind of thoughts---or you simply dubbed as sad Mammon upon discovering it one drunken, wild and passionate night. You couldn't smell any alcohol on him this time though so you wondered what caused him to look this way.

"I'm fine…" Gentlemammon was back, albeit with a shaky voice. "Please don't worry, I still have to clean this up."

"Let me help you."

"It will heal quickly even if I get injured. There is nothing to worry about." he assured you, keeping your warning in mind, only to take it back once he saw your worried look. "I will wear gloves this time," he said as he hastily placed each pair on, a small smile forming his lips as he did so. "There, you see? I will be fine. So please step back now and I'll do it myself."

"What were you doing anyway?"

Mammon avoided eye contact. "I wanted to serve you breakfast in bed."

"That's very sweet but, you shouldn't push yourself too hard."

Silence. He continued picking up the shards, disposing of it in a trash bag nearby. "I want to push myself." You heard him sigh. "However, I suppose it's my mistake to assume I can carry this out without failure. Can I try again though?"

You didn't have the heart to reject him especially if he looked like a kicked puppy right now. "Of course! But I want to eat with you."

A compromise that he was willing to adhere to. The pancakes he made were slightly charred and oddly spicy. The Melancholy Coffee™ you praised him for making the other day tasted even worse---unpleasantly bitter that if you didn't attribute its strong, bitter taste to Mammon's love for you would have caused a gagging reflex. A feigned smile was painted on your face for the rest of breakfast, making mental notes to take stomach medicine once he is out of sight. You comforted yourself with the fact that you had a date with him today. The bitterness subsided a bit with your early morning daydreams.

Satan had been a wonderful accomplice. With his intervention, Mammon avoided bumping into anyone, thus making his situation a lot  less complicated. The avatr of wrath gave you a conspiratory smile and a wink, mouthing you well wishes for your day by your lover's side to go smoothly. You nodded and mouthed back at him a  thanks in reply. Your back and forth didn't escape notice however. You avoided Mammon's sensible questioning with a clueless smile.

"I haven't seen even Beelzebub at the dining area today. Is everyone but Satan asleep?"

Smile.

"I was going to pay back Leviathan for the money I owed him this morning. I wonder why he isn't around today…"

He will pay back?! Smile

"I wonder how my dear eldest brother Lucifer is doing--"

S-smile…

"As I thought, perhaps expecting change from me is unsightly. I'm sorry if I'm wasting your weekend by asking you out out of the blue…"

Smi--

"Wait, no!" you held him by his face and vehemently denied his claims. "I love you, Mammon! I'm looking forward to today as you are!"

Blush.

Your faces resembled tomatoes. Satan had to clear his throat to remind both of you of his presence.

"If you flirt any longer, you'll miss your bus."

"R-right…" you looked away.

"Certainly." Mammon stuttered. You felt a hand reaching out for yours, turning to Mammon who had a bashful smile. You smiled back and interlocked your fingers together.

The ride to the amusement park was awkward yet pleasant. You saw cracks in his facade a couple of times, familiar with the reluctance on his movements unlike his odd and almost unsettling finesse at the cafe. You still weren't sure if he really is still under a curse or not, or if he is and it was weakening every moment, but you decided to wait for him to address it on his own. You have recently learned that Mammon gets really flustered if you pay attention to him (bordering almost on timidity) and loses his will/drive if you let him know that you are aware of him. A few pillow talks ago, he admitted it was because he only wanted to show you his cool sides, to which you answered (with much confusion), "But you're always cool though?" and he responded with his usual remarks, ranging from "idiot" to his classic "weirdo"™. Today, much like yesterday however, there was none of that. Instead, he called you several affectionate pet names, and even bashfully shared some snacks with you that he usually considered as "indirect kiss territory", which is Mammon Code for "I ain't doin' this cos I like it, kay?" which totally meant that he was doing it because he liked the heck out of it.

"Hey Mammon," you looked at his reflection from your window seat as you spoke. "Why did you write me a letter?"

You saw him blush an adorable shade of red from the window. "What's with the sudden question?"

"I was just curious," you answered. "I didn't know you could write so well."

"I-is that so…"

"I really appreciate it, although you might be tired of hearing it already."

"...."

"I'm so glad you sent it to me. To be honest, I was beginning to wonder if anyone will ever remember me once I go back to the human world." you remembered your first interaction with him and laughed. "We didn't have the best first impression of each other, didn't we?"

"...I should have treated you better."

You leaned your head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek, looking up to meet his eyes. "You're doing it now and that's what matters."

You sensed sadness in his eyes for a fraction of a second before the conductor announced your stop. You must have imagined it.

💌💌💌

"Wahhh! Mammon, look! Look! Is that Red Devil?! Kyaaaa he's so cuuuute!!"

"O-oi, don't pull-- I mean…Cease! Cease!"

You couldn't help it! There was so much to see everywhere! The crowded theme park was filled with all kinds of attractions at every direction that any child or child-at-heart would definitely enjoy. Taking a photo with the park's mascot, Red Devil is one of the first activities you have done from your many planned ones on your date. Your contagious enthusiasm had infected him that by the time he realised he was grinning at every picture, it was too late. He looked oddly disturbed but you only laughed it off and reassured him that the shots were great!

"It isn't...after all, I'm--"

"Mammon?"

"It's nothing." You were beginning to feel bad for dragging him along.

"Is everything okay?" he suddenly turned pale and you asked him to sit down. "Do you want to take a break?"

He declined your offer and shook his head. "I'm fine. Let's continue our date, shall we?"

Eh?

That pose…

"The Devilish Duke?"

It was definitely the Devilish Duke from the manga adaptation of Emison Beckstein's timeless classic, The Emerald-Eyed Earl. The Devilish Duke was the protagonist's fiancé and was a minor villain in the story. He became hugely popular because of the success of the manga adaptation as well as the artist's interpretation of his design. You couldn't help but mention it right now because Mammon was currently mimicking the Duke's infamous "courtship pose", which many otakus credit for being the very first ever "kabedon".

Mammon's eyes widened once you mentioned his name and quickly pulled away. He dragged you gently to the next attraction before you could say a word.

His odd behaviour only persisted as your date went on-- a kiss on your hand near the fountains, like what Senpai-San did to Shujinko-chan in Heartbeat Memorial: My First Love, Please Notice Me Or I Will Spontaneously Combust! ; a reiteration of an infamous line from a popular otome game, Mystery Message Delivery in the ferris wheel, as well as a kiss at its top, just like Mary Sue and Gary Stu from the popular Devildom Drama, I'm a Powerful Demon But I Fell in Love with a Human?. If you weren't familiar with the references, your heart must have already given out the first time he attempted those moves at you, but since you were aware of where they're from, you couldn't help but think it was cute instead. He must have done his own research to make you happy, but it was a failure on his part to not realise that you would have been happy even if he didn't go out of his way. Then again, it was pretty unfair to complain because anything Mammon did in your own biased eyes was precious and adorable.

"I love you, Mammon." you muttered loud enough for him to hear while you were in line for the Devil's Teacups . He must have heard it because he squeezed your hand tighter as you waited.

There were still times when he persisted on keeping his Gentlemammon™ facade, much like when he declined going to the horror house with you, only for you to find out he wanted to turn you down in the first  because he wasn't very good with ghosts (You had to wait for him to defrost after turning into a literal ice sculpture when one of the ghosts grabbed him by the ankle). He also swore not to let you ride "rigorous rides", but finally let his hair down and rode all of your favourite thrill rides with his usual energy and cheer. By the time he realised this, both of you were lining up for the March of Death for the third time. You learned your lesson already and didn't make a fuss about his tiny revelation. Instead, you held him by the arm and smiled at him. "It's fun, isn't it?" Mammon looked shocked at first, but as he sighed and finally replied, you noticed he was back to his usual self.  "It certainly is." Your heart immediately deflated at his answer, but more than anything, you couldn't help but be disappointed in yourself.

He had his guard up for the rest of your date and you didn't know why. It seemed like he was forcing himself. The sun was starting to set, and the bus home had been terribly late so you had a lot of time to contemplate while waiting for it to come. Mammon had been silent, looking up at the sky as if searching for something far away. You didn't want him to wander too far so you pulled him back.

"Why have you been acting weird since yesterday. What's wrong?" you couldn't help it. You have finally ran out of patience and you're starting to take his unusual behaviour personally, which you know deep down was unfair especially with how he went out of his way today.

Mammon looked taken aback, frowning once he processed your words. "What do you mean?"

"That. Why…why are you doing that?"

"..."

When he didn't answer, you finally aired out the thoughts weighing you down. "I didn't want to ask you because I wanted you to say it first, I'm sorry. Was it because of what I said last night?"

He called your name, sounding hurt. "Do you not like it?"

You shook your head. "I meant it when I said I don't like it, you know. And I mean it in the best way!" You held him by the hand and placed it close to your chest, hoping your beating heart was already telling. "I prefer the real you."

"Do you really mean that?"

You nodded again. "I even consulted Satan yesterday to undo your curse. You...you were cursed, weren't you?"

"So it was you."

What?

"Mammon,what's going on?" What did he mean by that? You started to worry.

However, despite your repetitions, Mammon didn't answer. Instead, he only looked at you guiltily. At some point, he held your hand back with his trembling ones. He needs time, you thought to yourself and kissed his knuckles, not saying a word. Eventually, your patience was rewarded.

"...I asked the witches to curse me."

You quietly urged him to continue speaking. "I just wanted this date to be perfect, y'know? Don't wanna screw it up. I always do.

.

.

.

.

.

Now don't look at me like that. It's unfair. Ya say one thing but mean another. Even you are sick and tired of me, yeah?"

What…

.

.

.

.

.

When did you ever say that?!

It hurt. It hurts to think that Mammon ever thought you'd think of him that way. You thought you had been a wonderful lover to him, always showering him with affection and treasuring every moment you shared together. You thought he knew how much he mattered to you, but it turns out you weren't expressing yourself enough and he assumed you were lying to yourself.

"I…I never…"

Crap. Now, you can't even see him clearly. Stupid tears. You felt him wiping your eyes at every tear shed, muttering apologies as he gently held you in his arms. "Shit! I didn't mean to make ya cry. Fuck, this is why I'm such a screw up! If I coulda stayed cursed for a while longer, you'd never cry like this!"

"Mammon…I love you." you repeated those words again and again until you were satisfied. "Didn't I tell you? I love you for who you are and what you are that I have eventually found out on my own."

He didn't speak after what you said, instead he pulled you away from the hug. Despite feeling disheartened, you continued to speak. "Mammon, I don't care how long it takes for you to accept that you are all of the things I tell you. If I can lend you my eyes so you can see what kind of wonderful demon I'm seeing whenever I look at you, I'd do so in a heartbeat. I love you."

You thought this would placate him, but instead, he sneered. "Which part of me do you actually love?"

"Everything!" you answered. "I love that there is so much more to you than meets the eye---I feel thankful every day that I have been privy to see that sweet and sincere side of you, especially in your letter. True, I did not feel that way at first, but the letter, oh Mammon. I fell in love with you upon reading its first passages! No one had ever said such precious words to me in my life, so I wanted to do the same for you."

"In the end, it's always that stupid letter."

"Excuse me?"

"IT'S ALWAYS THAT STUPID FUCKING LETTER!" he shouted, immediately regretting his outburst once he saw the hurt look on your face. However hurt you looked as the truth was spoken to you, he pressed on and twisted the knife even further. If a sweet memory is a calm before your inevitable storm (read: breakup), it was better to at least tell you the truth.

"I can't see it. I can't see that wonderful demon you're always talking about---the one who wrote that letter to you." The sunset dyed his silver hair orange. "I tried seeing him. Maybe it's me who's the problem, y'know? You kept on telling me I'm all these amazin' things, but I just couldn't. All I see is...me."

"Mammon."

"You said I was sincere, but I don't remember bein' sincere at all when I was writin' that stupid thing, so I tried to be even if I was bad at it. You said I was thoughtful so I tried to be, but look at where that thoughtfulness went---tears on your fucking face." he laughed bitterly. "I'm an absolute saint, aren't I?"

"...I really meant it you know?"

" 'Course you do. That's fer sure. But lovin' a scum means he's still scum. You deserve better, and I can't give that to ya."

"But Mammon…I only want you."

Mammon's bitter smile never left his face. "Do ya really? Or do you want the Mammon who wrote you the letter?"

!!!

"See? I gotcha, didn't I?"

You don't understand. What did he get that you didn't? You love Mammon, that was the truth. You did not love him, and weren't even aware of him at first, but the letter he sent to your locker changed that. It was a catalyst for finally seeing him in a completely different light. What was the difference between the Mammon who wrote the letter to the Mammon in front of you in the first place? Aren't they one and the same? Was he joking right now? Because you certainly weren't laughing.

However many thoughts were racing in your mind right now, only three words seem to come out of you.

"I love you," and every utterance only brought more tears in your eyes, afraid of the possibility that Mammon must have been feeling the same way right now.

You were tired. Tired of explaining it to him, tired of reassuring him that he was fine the way he is. Every 'I love you' was like a dagger to your heart, growing conscious of the fact that both of you may feel the same way, but both of your feelings weren't reaching each other at all.

In your exasperation, you couldn't help but finally say,

"I don't want this anymore."

You wondered where it all went wrong.

Everything had been perfect since you discovered the identity of your secret admirer. Uncovering sides of Mammon that perhaps he wasn't even aware of himself, you spent a lot of time getting to know each other, marveling at every new thing you discovered about him. You kept his love-filled words close to your heart, lingering there at times when you felt lost and perhaps even unloved. His penned words were beautiful yet poignant, hopeful yet deep which, you have eventually discovered reflected so much of Mammon himself. He often rebuffed your praises, perhaps shy of your careful observations. There would always be a blush there dusting his cheeks, colouring itself in deeper shades at every sneaky kiss. You always liked those nights when you talk about anything that pops out of your minds, and you thought he liked them too. But now, you were starting to feel doubt.

"Mammon, I didn't mean to--"

He turned away from you and covered his face with both of his hands. "This ai-- this won't…" he hesitated. "It will never work between us."

*beep!*

"Get on first. I'll catch up with ya."

"...okay."

How did it come to this?

💌💌💌

You didn't know how you were able to get home that night. You couldn't even remember the people you spoke to before you went back to your room. The side of your bed was empty of Mammon as well as your heart.

You didn't realise that you hurt him. You might have meant well and were even truthful of your affections for him, but the truth still laid there, mocking you in the face--you were idealising him. You thought you knew him by a few reads of the scented passages of his letter, that you refused to see him for who he really is. Oh, what a hypocrite you are.

His question continued to linger in your mind as you retrieved the said letter from your drawer. You didn't have the heart to read what it says anymore.

Why does it matter? It's all over.

Thinking in that vein, you sighted the gas lamp near your table and started entertaining darker thoughts.

Why not just forget about everything?

[ What will you do? ]

💌Burn the letter

💌Hesitate

💌masterlist

[spookyceph]

Good Graces Pt. 2

Finally got the second half of this fic together. Find it on Ao3 or the first part here on Tumblr. 

Nothing explicit takes place, however, the non-canon talk is of a sexual nature. Also, Dabi is a masochist and likes being ordered around. But we knew this already, didn’t we?

Words: 2,789

Rating: M for language and sexual themes

The wait ended two days later in the same spot. Dabi was in the process of pouring himself his second drink of the night when a misty-edged hole opened in reality behind the bar. From it stepped the tall, elegant form of Kurogiri. Dabi had never really considered what a demon might look like, but the League’s second-in-command/butler/voice of reason provided plenty of inspiration. Impeccable suit. Ability to show up anywhere. Form too immaterial to hurt, but still capable of making someone pay for trying. As always, Dabi gave him a polite nod and fought back memories of how it had felt to unexpectedly be elbow-deep in that shifting darkness.

“Ah, Dabi. Just the person I was hoping to see.” Deep. Smooth as high-end nihonshu. The kind of voice that could talk somebody into trading away their firstborn. Or into joining a half-assed villain ensemble.

Dabi paused with his glass to his lips. He made a sound he hoped came across as Yes, I’m listening rather than Help, I’ve swallowed my own tongue in mortal terror.

“Shigaraki Tomura wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience.”

This was it. This was not a drill. Dabi put down the glass without taking a sip. “Where?”

“He is in his room at the moment. I will open the way, if you wish to go now.”

He’d just slid off the stool when the words registered. The air behind him changed. It was like the faint static charge living things gave off and a feeling of being watched all at once. Except Dabi knew if he turned he’d see only a hazy oval of black floating there, the perfect width and length to swallow him completely.

He didn’t want to use the warp gate. No fucking way. Problem was he’d already gotten up—couldn’t sit back down without looking like a coward or a dumbass or both. And he sure as hell wasn’t about to admit he already knew where Shigaraki’s room was to the person who amounted to the closest thing the guy had to a father.

So, Dabi grabbed his glass again. Knocked back the contents. Pretended it was just like jumping into a cold pool on a summer day as he turned and plunged into the waiting darkness.

Nothing existed anymore. Not time. Not space. Not self. Then something—maybe Kurogiri’s will or just simple momentum—carried him back into being. He returned to reality with a gasp. Catching his balance, he blinked and took stock of his new surroundings.

Shigaraki sat on his heels not a meter away, staring up through the stiff fingers of his favorite fashion statement. Large sheets of paper littered the floorboards in front of him. Maps, Dabi realized, noting the grid lines and coordinate markings. Somewhere way out in the sticks, if all the green and brown were any clue. Turning his head, he saw shelves lining the walls. Books? No, too many the same size and too thin. Cases for games—hundreds of them. More than one person could finish without giving up on everything else in life. Then again, what did he know? He’d never been allowed to have any as a kid. Never been allowed to have anything that might distract him from the glorious future planned out for him since day one. And just look at how well that had gone.

At any rate, the room didn’t seem to have the right ambiance to banish or murder someone in. Dabi let his hopes peek out from the bunker of suspicion.

“What’s this stuff for?” he asked, nodding to the maps on the ground.

Nothing from Shigaraki for an adrenaline-spiking second. Then, he crooked the fingers of one hand. “Sit.”

Dabi obeyed, pacing himself. Step in closer. Let one leg fold under him. Just bend the other so the sole of his boot lay flat on the floor. Rest same side elbow on knee. Prop the whole casual façade up with the other hand behind him.

“You got something you wanna say?” Cool nonchalance despite all the spit having vanished from inside his mouth.

Closing those intense eyes, his boss-and-possibly-more drew a long inhale. Didn’t even gag on the musty museum specimen smell of the taxidermy clutching his face. Then it was Dabi’s turn to suck in a breath as Shigaraki pulled off the gray hand with fumbling fingers, setting it aside.

“I want you to lead the others on their first job,” he said, complete with direct eye contact.

Any pretense of self-assurance abandoned Dabi. His stomach clenched as if braced for a punch. He pumped his brain for something droll, snappy, cocky in response. The well had run dry. He settled for practical.

“What do you want us to do?”

Shigaraki’s shoulders relaxed a fraction, though his stoic expression never wavered. “I was given some interesting information about UA’s precious fledgling heroes. Seems they’re headed to a remote training camp in the mountains for the summer. No one will be looking after them except two of their teachers and four pros who specialize in wilderness rescue missions. I want you to ruin their little retreat.”

Dabi’s spine went stiff and straight as an exclamation point. “I didn’t sign up to kill kids—even baby heroes.”

But Shigaraki was already shaking his head halfway through. “Killing them isn’t the point. That would generate too much outrage, hypocritical or no. The police might actually pry their heads from their asses and make a united effort to hunt us down with that much public pressure on them. Not to mention every third-rate pro in the country would crawl out of the woodwork, looking to make headlines. We’d be finished before we ever got started.

“No, what I have in mind is some training of our own.”

Attention swapped places with apprehension. “Oh?”

“None of us have worked together. Most of us haven’t worked on a team at all. This is an opportunity to test how well your quirks and styles compliment or clash with one another.”

“So, what? We crash their field trip and start fucking shit up? Flee the scene when the fighting gets too heated?”

“I came up with a level objective for you to focus on.” From on top of the maps, Shigaraki scooped up a thick manila folder and handed it to him.

Taking it, Dabi flipped to the first set of pages inside. His expression stayed set in stone while his stomach took a cliff dive.

A pretty girl with skin the color of bubblegum and squiggly little horns peeking out of her cotton candy hair smiled out at him from the photo in the top corner.

Name: Ashido Mina

Age: 15

Quirk: Acid

“You got hold of the students’ profiles? Impressive.” And a potential fucking disaster waiting to happen.

Shigaraki shrugged modestly, lightly scratching a new crop of scabs that had popped up in jagged furrows on both sides of his neck. Scabs that hadn’t been there a few days ago. “It’s just their teachers’ assessments of their quirks and performance during class assignments. Personal information like relatives and home addresses were better protected.”

The vice slowly closing its jaws around Dabi’s thumping heart released. Regardless, he made sure not to linger on any one student as he leafed through several of the profiles. Just focused on breathing normally and pretending to read for what seemed like a reasonable amount of time before moving to the next. He’d wait until he didn’t have an audience to allow himself to register anything.

“What’s this objective supposed to be?” he inquired.

“Capture one of the stronger, more notable students and ask him to join us.”

A muscle in his cheek jumped when Shigaraki reached over and flipped to a report in the middle of the folder. Dabi forced himself not only to look but see.

The boy scowling out of the picture was blonde. Broad-shouldered. Red-eyed, though not as beautifully as the one sitting across the way. Dabi’s pulse evened out.

“Bakugou Katsuki,” he read. “Isn’t this the kid they had to bind and gag at UA’s Sports Festival—even though he won the damn thing?”

“The same.”

“The hell do we want him for? I thought we were full capacity on lunatics already.”

A sigh. “To spook the school’s supporters and society at large, for one. It’s not enough to kill heroes. More will just take their place. We have to convince people to withdraw their support of them. Turn against them, though that won’t come until later.”

Dabi snorted. “This little asshole will never agree to sign on with us. He’s obsessed with proving he’s above everyone else. I know the type.”

A twitch of interest crossed Shigaraki’s face. Instead of pressing, though, he filed the slip away in that mysterious brain of his. “I don’t give half a shit if he agrees. All that matters is he blabs to anyone who’ll listen that we targeted and tried to corrupt him once we let him ‘escape’.”

Tapping his fingers on the stack of papers, Dabi let the big picture come into focus. “Instead of outright attacking the school, we’re undermining their image. Making all the mommies and daddies wonder if a career as a pro is as great as they thought it would be for their precious snot-nosed bastards. Getting donors to think twice before reaching for those wallets. We’re playing the long game. Smart.” A thin smile tugged at one end of Dabi’s mouth. “Which leaves just one question. Why have me lead instead of yourself? People might accuse me of sleeping my way to the top.”

A lovely shade of pink, like the inner coating of a seashell, livened up Shigaraki’s cheeks. “We never—!” He huffed and turned away, pink deepening to rose and spreading to the tops of his ears when he noticed Dabi’s smile had widened to a grin. “You’re fucking with me, aren’t you?”

“Guilty. Well, on the last part anyway.”

Shigaraki continued to fume, hopes of an answer dwindling with each second of silence. Then, just when an apology was in the works, “Because I’m a shitty leader.”

Dabi exchanged his smile for arched eyebrows. “”And you think I’d make a better one?”

“You take initiative when you need to, and show restraint when you should. You’re able to read people without giving away much of anything about yourself. The others respect you. They like you. Anyway, from a purely tactical standpoint, since your quirk is long range you can attack and give orders without getting swept up in the melee. And…” Blood-soaked irises looked at him through a tangled curtain of white hair for a moment before flitting back to the safety of the maps. “I trust you.”

Every response Dabi had lined up crumbled. With them gone, he couldn’t pretend not to notice what they’d been hiding. Exposed to proper light and air, it bloomed, bright and bold despite the ruin it grew from.

“I won’t fail.” The words were hoarse, but came out easily enough for a promise he’d swore to make to no one except himself ever again.

“I know you won’t. Because this isn’t about winning or losing. I want you and the others to test yourselves as individuals and as a team. Do your best. Find what works. What doesn’t. We’ll figure out where to go from there. Together.”

He’d joined the League of Villains looking for a means to exact revenge. Being told what he’d always wanted to hear made for a hell of a bonus prize.

Dabi pounced. His mouth mashed into Shigaraki’s, muffling an astonished yelp. Cold hands latched onto the front of his shirt. Not Decaying. Not shoving. Clinging. Insisting. He obliged, wrapping his arms around the other man’s waist and shoulders, then letting his weight carry them both to the floor. They rolled across the maps, scattering stolen papers as they went. Lips and teeth and tongue combined in different ways between every panting break for air.

Winding up sprawled on top, Dabi relocated his kisses to Shigaraki’s neck. The whimper that came out of him when just a bit of suction was applied under the corner of his jaw went directly to Dabi’s dick. Shigaraki writhed, supple and strong, yet unsure and overwhelmed. His fingers—three on each hand—clutched hard enough to hurt through a carapace of scar tissue. The scabs crosshatching his neck scraped the tongue and tasted of rust.

He surpassed any fantasy conjured up in the past few weeks. Because he was real. Unpredictable. And, in that slice of time at least, he was Dabi’s.

Shigaraki gasped and arched at the feel of a hand slipping up under his shirt. Dabi became so absorbed in the smooth, cool texture of the skin beneath his fingertips he didn’t think anything of the arm that snaked around his own, or the heel hooked behind his knee until, with a sharp twist of hip, he was rolled. The air rushed out of him in a huff as he hit the floor. Shigaraki didn’t look it, but he was solid, planting himself on Dabi’s chest and pinning both his wrists above his head.

“No,” he said, decisive if out of breath. “We do this my way.”

Dabi kept perfectly still. One wriggle, one shift, and he would’ve cum in his pants right then and there. So, he relaxed one muscle group at a time. Controlled his breathing. Showed his boss what a good boy he could be.

“What did you have in mind?” he asked, already positive he’d like the answer.

Despite his command of the situation, Shigaraki’s gaze wandered off to the side. Unsure. Shy. God, it was going to be fun fucking both descriptions right out of him.

“I don’t have…experience…with this, ah, subject.”

Dabi had to keep his teeth clamped together to keep from laughing. Good. He had to be good or he wouldn’t get any treats.

“So, I thought…maybe we could each make a list. Of things we like—or might like. And of stuff we don’t, or aren’t interested in. Then…pick and agree on an option. Until…until someone gets bored or just doesn’t want to anymore or…whatever.”

The habit of exceeding expectations was quickly becoming one of Dabi’s favorite things about his new boss. “Is that what you’ve been up to these past three days? Thinking about what you want to do to me?”

Shigaraki shifted his weight forward a bit, breathing definitely speeding up a notch. “Not the entire three days,” he muttered.

Dabi rested his hands on slim hips, keeping them still before they sent him over the edge. “When did you want this list?”

He considered, worrying his already cracked bottom lip with his teeth and then catching the trickle of blood with the point of his tongue in a way that made Dabi’s toes curl in his boots. “We’ll need to start meeting regularly to work on the plan anyway, so…tomorrow, at this time.”

Meaning he had already made a list and wanted to see what Dabi came up with. “Done.”

“Well.” Shigaraki cleared his throat lightly. “It’s settled then.” Carefully, he started to slide his leg over. Froze when a soft hiss escaped Dabi. A finger stroked one of the staples in his cheek before pulling back, remembering permission to do so hadn’t been agreed on yet.

“Did I hurt you? When we rolled over?”

Absolutely precious. Dabi smiled. “Not as much as I want you to.”

Red eyes blinked rapidly, wide and startled. “I’m…sorry?”

“Don’t be. Now go on. Let me up.”

Still looking a bit lost, Shigaraki did, sitting with his arms wrapped around his legs. Dabi sat upright on a long exhale. Paused to collect himself. Got to his feet when he was reasonably sure he wouldn’t ruin his last clean pair of pants doing so.

“You’re leaving?”

The note of disappointment in Shigaraki’s tone almost toppled his resolve. He looked over through lowered lashes. “I have something pressing to take care of at the moment. Unless you don’t want to wait for a list to find out what it is.”

One glance below Dabi’s belt transformed confusion into open-mouthed understanding. “Oh.” Shigaraki buried his face in his knees. “Sorry?”

“I already told you. Don’t be.” And before his willpower evaporated completely, “See you tomorrow.”

He’d made it to the door when a final thought sprung on him. Pausing with his fingers on the handle, he peered back over his shoulder. “You didn’t come up with this whole training camp plan just to score some alone time with me, did you?”

The choked sound that came from Shigaraki was answer enough. Dabi finally allowed himself to laugh as he let himself out.

[richieisabastardman]

Hold Me Now - Part 4 - Richie Tozier x Reader

Summary:  You had forgotten about everything that happened in Derry until Mike called you up. Now, sitting in the restaurant surrounded by your friends, you remembered everything. More importantly, you remember Richie. (Fluff/Angst)

Warnings: Nothing really. 

Word count: 3181

Notes: Thank you again for all of the lovely messages and comments! I love hearing what you guys think of the fic so far <3

Here are the links to previous parts: part one, part two, part three >>> part five

“Where the huh-huh-hell is he?” Bill remarked, running a hand through his hair. He paced around the bar room, a slight glisten materialising upon his brow.

You stood within the same room beside Eddie, with Beverly and Ben sitting down on lounges not far from the two of you.

“Maybe he lost track of time. Maybe he got distracted…” Eddie trailed off, looking towards you. His face did not reveal his insinuation to any of the other members of the gang, but you knew what he was implying. You looked at him with a stern expression, a silent cue for him to shut the fuck up before I kick your ass Kaspbrack. He took the hint, quickly shifting his gaze from you to the clock which sat upon the wall just in front of the two of you. It was now ten past ten, almost fifteen minutes since you had made your way down to the others and at least twenty since Bill had called you down. What the hell was he-

“Sorry, sorry. I’m here” Richie announced, making his way down the stairs. He was still zipping up the fly of his jeans. His dishevelled appearance, including messy hair and a shirt that was half tucked in, made it seem as though he was just caught in the act. Well, that was almost true you supposed.

“Yeah well its not like we’re in a ru-ru-rush or any-thu-thu-thing” Bill remarked.

“Alright well I was taking a crap okay? You happy now? Let me just adjust my bowel movements to killer clown fighting times. Does nine A.M work for you, Bill?”

Beverly and Ben groaned at Richie’s crudeness. Eddie gave you a quick smirk and you nudged him with your shoulder, an action that you had used as a child to shut the boy up.

“Alright Rich, just sit down” Ben said and for once, Richie obeyed his order, sitting beside Beverly in a free chair. You and Eddie remained standing.  

“Nuh-Now that everyone’s here” Bill said, taking a moment to give a stern look to Richie. Richie looked around before lifting his palms in a surrender and muttering come on man to himself. You felt bad for the man, considering it was partly your fault. “Mike wants us to muh-meet him. Suh-Says he has something he wants to show uh-us”.

“So I guess Beverly you could come with me…” Ben started, however the doubt seeping through his words made it sound more like a question. Beverly nodded her head and Ben suddenly perked up, smiling and almost forgetting he was in the middle of a statement. “Uh, Eddie can go with Bill and Y/N with Rich?”.

Richie opened his mouth but before he could say anything Eddie spoke. “Sounds good. We better get a move on; Mike has probably been waiting for ages” He said and looked towards Richie, almost mimicking Bill.

“Oh my god, just crucify me already for the sin of taking my morning dump. You know if I had remembered how anal you guys are about everything, I never would have come back here!” Richie yelled out towards the gang, who were already almost out of the front door of the motel.  You stared at the man who was still sitting down within the bar chair, raising an eyebrow at his outburst. He finally looked towards you, before standing up and gesturing you to go before him; towards the front door. “We better go” he said, and you nodded your head, making your way towards the exit.

~

Richie had driven the two of you in silence for what felt like hours, but had probably only been about ten minutes. The only sound between the two of you was the radio, which had begun to play an old country song before Richie let out a sound of disgust and turned the radio off - the silence between the two of you even more deafening now. You had considered, multiple times, beginning a conversation about what had happened this morning. However, every time you had meant to start talking, a thick lump formed in your throat and you choked on your words, never releasing a sound.

“I’m sorry about this morning” Richie said suddenly, his eyes still on the road. “I was all… worked up and then I saw Eddie standing there and I freaked out. I didn’t mean to just leave you there-“

“It’s fine” you said and allowed the silence to once again fill the vehicle in which you sat. Richie allowed it for a moment also before shaking his head.

“It’s not fine though. I mean, you’re upset. And like, rightfully so. I just-“ he began before you interrupted him.

“It’s just this hot and cold shit, Richie. This is just like what it was between us as kids. One minute, your asking me to come live with you and the next you’re running away. One minute you’re all over me, the next you wont even let me touch you. This is just like-“ you started and stopped yourself.

Richie’s gaze finally moved from the road to your face, a stern expression (which Richie rarely wore) sat upon his own. “Like what?” he asked quietly. A harsh quiet. “Like what?”.

“Like the night before I left for New York. I mean… I wanted you to tell me not to go”

“Did I not!? Did I not repeatedly tell you to not go!?” he almost yelled, his grip tightening significantly on the car’s steering wheel.

“I don’t mean like that I mean… you know… ‘More Than Words’” you said.

“Do not quote shitty nineties songs at me right now” he said, his grip on the steering wheel was still tight, however his voice was calmer now and his gaze remained on the road. “Do you know how much I regret not telling you how I felt that night? It was all I could think about. Twenty years of fucking replaying that shit in my head”.

“Richie” you said softly, barely realising his name had left your mouth. His confession revealed to you a rare vulnerability that you knew he tried not to show often. The amount of times he had deflected serious talks with jokes and jabs was countless. However, every time he told you how he really felt, your heart melted.

You placed your hand on his thigh, the rough material of his jeans beneath your fingers. His body tensed to your touch and you cursed yourself for the way you had spoken to him before. He was scared. You were both scared. You had barely thought of the man until a day ago when all your feelings for him had struck you in the chest- almost quite literally - as the resurfacing of your memories had caused such a feeling inside you. It had caused a sick feeling within you, yes, which had resulted in you throwing up on a main road out of a taxi. However, it had also caused a squeezing in your chest, a longing that had not quite dispersed out of your body until your eyes had fixed onto Richie in that Chinese restaurant yesterday.

“Why are we fighting like we’re teenagers again” you asked softly, not necessarily to Richie. He answered you anyway.

“Its this fucking town, Y/N. You step into it and suddenly you’re sixteen again and getting random boners all the time or whatever” Richie stated.

You turned your head slowly towards him and opened your mouth to respond before shutting it again. “I think that’s a you problem, Richie. I don’t blame Derry for that” you finally replied.

Richie hummed for a moment, in thought perhaps, and you smiled - staring out of the windows at the passing trees which had become more numerous. Wherever Mike was taking you was away from the main town strip. Despite this, you felt a bubble of excitement within you at whatever was waiting there. You weren’t particularly sure why.

“I think its Pennywise’s fault” you said suddenly, and Richie looked from the road to you, his eyebrow slightly raised.

“You think Pennywise is causing my random boners?” Richie asked and you rolled your eyes, shaking your head at his response.

“No the feeling of like… becoming a teenager again. We left here and essentially forgot about this place right? So maybe… I don’t know… now these memories are coming back and making us remember who we were then” you tried to explain, your hands moving around violently to emphasise your poorly worded points. Richie watched you, his eyes off the road, and he smiled. You turned to meet his gaze once you had noticed it and smiled sheepishly, shifting your gaze away in embarrassment.

“What?” you asked, shifting slightly in your seat.

“Nothing” he said quickly, his eyes moving to the road but a smile still upon his lips. “I mean, yeah uh, yeah you’re probably right. That fucking clown is probably the cause of most of the shit that goes down in this town”.

You nod your head, agreeing with Richie’s reply to your theory. Richie’s GPS indicated that you had arrived at the location Mike told you to meet. You watched Richie’s face as it changed, his jaw tightening as he pulled the car over to the side of the road, parking it. The sound of the engine turning off reached your ears only seconds later, however both you and Richie remained in the car. Richie continued to stare out of the front window, eyebrows furrowed in a harsh stare.

“We should probably get going… Mike will be waiting for us-“ you started but were interrupted by Richie’s exasperated voice.

“What if I don’t want to remember?” he said, his eyes shut tight as he shook his head. You sat within the silence following his statement, waiting for him to continue. “I mean Mike said he’s taking us out here, to the fucking middle of the woods, to help us remember stuff, right? What if I don’t wanna remember. What if I’ve already remembered enough stuff to realise I don’t wanna remember any more”.

Richie finally opened his eyes, turning his head and allowing you to gaze at him. His eyes were pleading a silent plea that you had seen before, but you couldn’t remember where or when.

His eyes said that he wanted you to tell him it was alright for the both of you to leave. He wanted you to tell him that he wasn’t a coward, he was a genius and this wasn’t his responsibility at all. He wanted you to say “You know what Rich? You’re right! Start this car right now and take me back to your house. Fuck Derry! Oh, by the way, I broke up with my Fiancé last night, so we can go and get eloped right now in Vegas if you’d like? But before we do that, why don’t we stop off at a hotel, preferably one outside of Derry, and finally screw each other!”. He wanted you to realise that both of you surviving past the next week wasn’t just an option, it was something he needed. He needed it because he hadn’t begun fearing death again (not since he was eighteen) until he had met your gaze in that restaurant yesterday. He wanted you both out of here. Out of Derry. Out of reach of It.

He also wanted you to do none of those things, because you knew it wasn’t what he really wanted. He knew it wasn’t what you wanted either. You couldn’t abandon your friends; he knew you would never do that. He didn’t want to do it either.  The thought of anything happening to Eddie…or Bill or Mike or Bev or Ben scared him to death. And he knew that you knew that.

As you stared back at Richie, and into those eyes screaming his silent pleas, you remembered where you had seen those eyes before.

~

“New York is shit anyway; I don’t know why you even wanna go there” Richie said. Despite being the young age of eighteen, his tone resembled that of an old businessman who had travelled often for work. The kind of man who preferred a vacation in Florida. The kind of man whose talents were sales, golf and tax evasion.

The two of you were laying in your childhood bed. You had your head resting gently upon his chest, as he held you tightly around the shoulder with one of his arms. His other hand lay behind his head as he stared up at your white ceiling. Your bedroom door was shut, which your parents had only started allowing since you had turned eighteen. Your father still didn’t agree with it. Despite this, there was always the chance one of your parents could burst into the room unannounced, so both you kept vigilant. The cuddling was innocent, of course, but they would not see it that way.

“What? Do you prefer LA or something?” You asked, almost rhetorically.

“Yeah I think I might” he said looking down towards you, laying upon his chest. You looked up at him, his hand behind his head and yours on his chest and around his waist, and you smiled.

“Since when have you been a West Coast guy?” you asked.

“Since forever! There’s still a lot you don’t know about me, doll” he said, his voice mirroring that of Elvis Presley as he spoke the pet name. You groaned and rolled your eyes but smiled at the boy. You had always loved his stupid voices.  His smile turned downwards ever so slightly and you frowned. “That’s why you shouldn’t leave”.

“Don’t ruin the mood again Richie” you replied, sighing.

“You’ll leave and become this big successful director and you’ll forget about me. But I won’t forget about you. And one day you’ll see me on the street in New York as you’re walking into your building and I’ll call your name and you’ll say ‘sorry I’m in a rush, no autographs’! Or worse, you’ll chuck some change at me!” he ranted and you shushed him, worried your parents would burst through your bedroom door and kick Richie out for trying to seduce you or something.

“I’m not going to forget you, okay Trashmouth? How could I forget someone as annoying as you?” you teased and he frowned, grabbing your cheek between his finger and thumb and squeezing it lightly with the hand that was once behind his head.

“I’m gonna miss your squishy cheeks” he said softly. You almost melted at the out of character sweetness of his actions. “All four of them” he finished.

And there it was.

You swatted his hand away as he laughed at his own joke. He continued to reach for your cheeks, and you continued to fight his hands away, trying to grab at his wrists. Frustrated by his persistence, you lifted yourself up to sit above him, straddling his lap between your thighs and pinning his wrists with your hands beside his head. You stared down at him, smiling triumphantly at your victory. Your smile began to drop as you noticed the serious expression he wore upon his face. His breathing was heavy and his cheeks were dusted with a faint pink you had rarely seen before. You both stared at each other, the only movement between the two of you being the rapid blinking of both of your eyelids. Finally, you released your grip on Richie’s wrists, beginning to sit up before he followed you, placing his hands behind your head and pulling you back down into his lips. He kissed you deeply, tilting his head and moaning at the feeling of your lips upon his. Finally. You kissed him back just as deeply, your hands going straight to his hair and losing yourself within it, tugging and pulling.

You both pulled back when you no longer had enough air and once again stared at each other. His eyes, they called out to you with a plea. You know what he wanted to say.

‘Stay. Don’t leave. I want you to stay with me here, please.’

And you would. If he said it, you would do it. You just needed him to say it.

“Y/N I…” he started.

Suddenly, your bedroom door flew open.

 ~

“Tell me what you wanted to tell me before I left for New York” you said and Richie began blinking nervously, shaking his head slightly.

“What? Why?” he asked.

“Because I need to hear you say it” you replied and he sighed, running his hand down his face.

“Uh, okay well… what I was planning to say was that I love you. I don’t know if an eighteen-year-old can really know what love is but to be fair I’m much older now and still don’t know. But I know that when I’m around you, I feel like I could do anything. Like, I feel as though I could do a stadium comedy tour with my own material if I knew you were waiting for me backstage. And I want to go do stupid shit with you like… go shopping at Ikea for a bookshelf or something. Stuff that middle-aged people do. I want to go to Amsterdam with you and get high and walk around the streets holding onto each other and thinking we’ve had a stroke because everyone around us is speaking weird English which is actually just Dutch” he continued to speak, a smile across his face until he looked at you, a stern expression growing upon his face slowly. “And I want to kill this stupid clown and I want us to do it together so that when all this shit is over, we can move on with our lives. Together”.

You stared at the man in disbelief. That wave of memories that had hit you so strongly at the restaurant yesterday, the wave that had literally swept you off your feet, was all Richie. It was as though being within his proximity flipped a switch within your brain, causing all these memories and emotions to flow freely. You had been consumed by the thought of his love when you were a child, you had been consumed by it yesterday and today, once again, it had almost swallowed you up whole. You continued to stare at him, mouth slightly agape.

“Please say something” Richie said, tapping his knee with his hand nervously.

You reached over to Richie and his nervousness seemed to fade. He moved his head towards you also, meeting you halfway in a soft kiss. Your hand rested upon his jaw and his upon yours. He cradled your head as you kissed, the softness of his lips leaving tingles throughout your body. You moved away from his lips ever so slightly, your noses still touching and your thumb still rubbing the stubble on his cheek lovingly.

“Once we’re done with Mike’s thing here, I’m calling my Fiancé, okay?” you said and Richie smiled widely, rubbing his nose gently on yours.

“Okay” he replied.

Tag list: @felicityofbakerstreet @emiliesnowflake @itsfuckinemily @adritozier @the-almond-dinger @brenna-xoxox @fionnthebandersnacc @simplymaddii18 @pinkdiamonddoingthings @frog-face-wolfhard @hair-dye-or-nawh @jutte-m @whosaskinguniverse @imagine-whatever @smokyscreen @sloppybitchardtozier @marlopoe @meaganjm @thexmancometh @letmereid @twitchmoosen @jojo-buttercup @gamingaquarius @sweetotismilburn (I hope this worked for everyone!)

[themilky-way]

Different Colors {p.p}

gif credit: mentioned above!

pairing: peter parker x stark!reader

summary: you and peter develop a friendship as you help each other cope with the aftermath of Endgame. 

warnings: some angst?? and there are some minor hints of depression and I am not trying to romanticize it so please, if you notice some errors and mistakes w how I wrote it, let me know so I can fix! and this contains some endgame spoilers so if you haven't seen it, I recommend you don’t read this and skip it! this doesn’t contain ffh spoilers so no need to worry!

author’s note: this is more platonic than romantic so I wanted to try out something new! also I'm in my peter parker feels bc this hoe watched far from home so request some peter stuff folks. additionally, does the “keep reading” thing work for ya’ll? its being a b to me on my laptop but it works on my phone so lemme know

----------

 life after the final war was difficult. smiling and pushing forward was hard enough on its own. you felt numb and weak, despite putting on a mask of strength for your family and everyone around you. your father, one of the most important figures in your life and in the entire universe, had left. bright images adorned every street you walked through, framed family portraits roamed every corridor in your home, your supposed safe haven. 

you tried your very best to keep going, to put in your mind the fact that tony stark died heroically and to save the universe. at the start of every new day, you told yourself these exact words so you would move on. but, nonetheless, you simply couldn’t. it was at these points in your life where you envied your sister’s youth. morgan was too young to fully comprehend the death of her father and, thus, didn’t grieve as deeply as the others did. 

you eventually started disappearing to the rest of the avenger’s, who were now dispersed mentally amongst themselves, but still lived at the headquarters. your visits would be less frequent and when you did go, it was only to deliver some personal drawings morgan would make of them in school. sometimes, if the group was lucky, you would actually come inside for a quick chat.

back home wasn't any different either. pepper would notice the full plates of food in the fridge you refused to eat, using the lame excuse of “I’m just not hungry tonight.” your bedroom lights were now always off and replaced with a candle you lit 24/7 next to a picture of tony. the house was quiet. everything that had to do with your persona was now excruciatingly quiet. 

worried for her daughter’s wellbeing, pepper found herself dialing a number she never would have called. her shaking, skinny fingers pressed each digit on the phone screen and finally hit the call button. she pressed it against her ear and prayed, on everything that has ever been sacred, that the child on the other end would pick up. and when they finally did, their voice audibly breaking as yours now always did, things began to change.

you, the daughter of a famous billionaire and hero to the universe, met peter parker a month after tony’s funeral. you opened the door to your dim-lighted room to come face to face with your mom, a young boy who looked about your age, and your sister, morgan.

pepper’s eyes looked red from crying and so did the boy’s, whilst morgan’s were confused and worrisome. your eyes, however, were tired and dark circles now adorned your once soft features. you were scared that something had happened, senses toppling with one another as you tried to register any other dangers to your family. 

“mom, what’s going on? are you alright, did anything happen? mo, are you sick?” your voice was hoarse and came out in strangled vowels as your eyes questioned everyone there. 

“we’re doing alright, bub, no need to worry. is it alright if we come in to talk to you?” pepper asked. you agreed, and stepped aside so everyone could pass through. 

as everyone made their way into your room, you sat down crisscross on one side as pepper and morgan sat in front of you. the boy, unlike your mother and sister, stood awkwardly at the end of your bed. 

“(y/n), this is peter parker, the one with the stark internship. peter, you can come closer if you’d like,” pepper said as she motioned to peter. the boy obliged, inching a few steps forward with his hands in the pockets of his black jeans. 

“um, hey peter, I guess?” your hands fiddled with each other in your lap as you said so, but you managed to look up at peter, who in turn looked away in a shy manner. flicking your eyes back to pepper’s, before asking her what this was all about. 

“well, honey, ever since your father passed away, you’ve been distant and I understand we’re all still coping with it. but I-we-have noticed that you’re isolating yourself and have completely lost communication with us.” your mom’s hands reached over to cover yours, which were nervously shaking. “(y/n), we all miss him. we all loved him. but if we don’t let the pain from our past go, we can’t heal.”

amidst your mom’s speech, you couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment where you had let your emotions get the best of you. you felt the salty taste of your tears run down your lips and neck as you made no effort in wiping them away. you needed to get it out. 

that’s when peter and morgan handed you a tissue and you looked up to see their outstretched hands holding the thin material towards you. you took the tissue from both of them, using one to wipe your eyes and the other to blow your nose. peter, who was still in an awkward position, stepped in. 

“it’s y/n), right?” he paused as you gave him a nod. “I know we don’t know each other at all but your mom asked me to come check on you. I agreed because I figured we both lost a father, and we could help each other as best we could.”

“my dad talked about you a lot. after the snap, he would always dedicate his evenings to finding out a solution. he really did love you as a son. morgan and I just never got a chance to meet you,” you recited. peter was listening intently as you spoke with his arms crossed over his chest, eyes beginning to fill with tears at your words. 

pepper was quiet amongst your first interaction with peter. this is what she wanted. she wanted to know what and how you felt, your thoughts that have been running through your head since her husband’s sacrifice. and she knew she didn't make a mistake when you began to open up. 

pepper motioned to morgan to give you and peter some time to talk and morgan happily obeyed her mom. they both got up from the bed which caused you to face them with a confused expression. 

your mother acknowledged your confusion and spoke with a calm and quiet tone, “we’re gonna let you guys talk for a while, is that okay, honey? peter?”

“I-uh-um yeah that's fine, mom,” you said. you shifted to face peter to find an answer and for a few seconds his gaze switched between you and pepper. “yeah that's totally fine. there’s things that I need to get out of my chest, too.”

your mom smiled lightly and took Morgan’s tiny hand in her own as she walked out of the room. before closing the door completely, morgan’s free hand raised to give you a small wave and you returned it, a genuine smile crossing your features for the first time in a while. the door shut, the light that was once in your room leaving alongside the two people you loved. 

you leaned over to turn the lamp on your nightstand on, the light momentarily blinding you because you had become used to a darker ambient. both you and peter had a chance to appropriately greet each other and offered him the chair from your desk.

afterwards, you both sat across from each other and simply talked. it was a conversation that neither of you expected to be comforting, but it was. feelings and emotions escaped out of you and you swore that you felt your heart began to stitch itself back together. 

and that’s how it was from that point on. you and peter began to hang out a couple times per week; helping him out with a spider-man problem or even as simple as solving a physics equation was enough to bring you both back to the joy of being in the real world. he, in turn, organized days where you, peter, and morgan would play UNO card sessions while pepper and aunt may chatted. 

with your mom, you began to tell her how you felt and everything that had been locked up within you was shared. because of that, you and pepper grew closer as a mother and daughter.

it was a genuine friendship that was formed by the most devastating circumstances. the avengers, you and your family, and peter were finally able to see the world in different colors. 

[justlookatthosesausages]

Prompt: Anna makes hot chocolate for Elsa, since her big sister has a cold

Elsa couldn’t hold another sneeze, and its noise echoed in the room. Without even looking at them, Anna caught the five appearing snowgies in mid air, and let them roll down to the floor along her arm, so they would go out of the room and not bother them. 

“Thank you”, muttered Elsa.

“Here, drink this”, smiled Anna, who had come back with a mug filled with hot chocolate.

“You made it for me?” 

“No, I made it for Sir Jorgenbjorgen.”

There was a blank. 

“Of course I made it for you, you silly”, laughed Anna with a shake of her head.

Elsa took the mug with both hands as Anna was sitting down. “Thank you so much. The mini marshmallows are going to be perfect.”

The Queen needed it, and gulped a great sip. She winced right away. It was impossibly sugary. She knew that they received great quantities of sugar at the castle every week, but she was pretty sure that Anna had put a full kilogram of sugar in the cooking pot. 

She masked a cough and a smile behind the back of her hand, elegantly hiding it in a royal manner. However, that gesture made Elsa sneeze again, and she had just the time to turn her hand to put it on her nose. Anna giggled as another batch of snowgies bounced down her accustomed arms, and Elsa groaned at her current state. She groaned even more when she saw that in her shiver, she had splashed some hot chocolate on her thigh. 

“Damnit”, she muttered.

“Ah-ah, cursing isn’t very queeny.”

Elsa smirked at her. “I’m on a day off.”

“That you can tell. There’s no way you’re working today.” Laughed Anna. “Wait, let me hold it for you” She added, taking the mug as Elsa was waving her hand and magically changing the ice part of her dress that had been covered with chocolate.

The younger, who had the mug in her hand, noticed how hot it was, and got surprised by how it didn’t burn Elsa.

“Did you ever get a burn?” Wondered Anna.

“Pardon?”

“I mean, with heat. And fire. I know you feel heat, you told me that when we talked after the Great Thaw. But did you ever get burned?”

“The magic fabric of my dress is too thick for heat to pass through.” Answered Elsa, with a drowsy voice and a sniff.

Anna bent her head with amusement. “You’re not answering the question.”

Elsa whined with tiredness, in a way that was supposed to be dissuasive but that Anna found really cute. “Now is not the time for confessions, Annaaaa…”

She had reached for the mug to get her hot chocolate back, and Anna maliciously held it away from her. 

“Uh-uh, confession first.”

“Please, Anna…” Groaned Elsa.

Anna smiled and had a sip of hot chocolate, and the blonde rolled her eyes. “You’re going to regret that. Also, you’re taking my germs there.”

The younger scoffed. “I’m not that dumb. I know the reason why you’re sick in summer is because of allergies. Or stress. Or because of magical stuff. I’m still figuring it out. Whatever, I don’t risk anything.”

Elsa frowned and there was a silence. Anna indicated her sister with her gaze to start telling her. 

“There’s not much to say”, sighed Elsa. “I’ve never made any fire in my bedroom’s fireplace. And even if it’s rarely, you know how careful I am when I cook. So I never got burned in my whole life.”

There was a heavy silence afterwards. Anna just stared at her in a way Elsa couldn’t quite describe. 

“Did a marshmallow go the wrong way?” Asked the elder.

Anna blinked. “No, it’s not… How can you not react to your own words? That’s awful!!”

She gave her mug back to Elsa, in an unconscious care gesture above all. 

“You were so used to the cold in your room all those years at all seasons that you never have used your fireplace?”

“Well, Mama did make fires for me when I was young, but…”

Elsa gulped, staring down at her mug. Anna immediately wanted to chase those bad memories out of her mind - and the evocation of their mother also squeezed her own heart - so she stood and went to the fireplace in the room. 

“We have to change that. Lucky you, Kristoff told me how to make the best fires. Let me just pick some logs…”

“Anna…”

“We need a match. Where the heck are the matches?”

“Anna, this is no weather for a indoor fire, there’s no need-”

“Shut up and drink your hot chocolate.”

“Alright”, obeyed Elsa, always surprised when Anna used authority on her. 

She drank in silence, observing Anna’s hurried movements in front of her, and smiled at how dedicated and loving the redhead was. She felt immensely lucky and touched to have her forever by her side.

[strwbrryeos]

Close Quarters 04 (M)

SUMMARY; You are a translator for Bangtan, the only translator, actually, because of your fluency is so many languages. You work closely and directly with the group when they’re abroad, helping to tutor and prepare them for the interactions they’re bound to face. Being the only translator, you don’t get a lot of free time. BigHit makes up for it by paying you wonderfully, but BTS has other ideas on how to make it up to you.

Genre : Smut, fluff, au, fiction, fanfiction, series

Pairing : Reader x OT7⎥Reader x Park Jimin

Contains : sub!Jimin, dom!Reader, biting, dirty talk, praise kink, cum, cumplay, overstimulation, anal play, orgasm denial, blowjob, unprotected sex, creampie

MASTER LIST⎥PREVIOUS⎥NEXT (links aren’t working so please visit my master list)

In a surprising turn of events, you’ve found yourself at the complete mercy of four far too attractive men, and you know it’s only a matter of time before it’s all seven. 

You enjoy yourself nonetheless—their attention gives you something to do when you’re on the road all the time. Namjoon and Hoseok worked Taehyung and Jungkook into their schedule fairly seamlessly. You’re not sure how it worked, but it was always a surprise. 

One day might have you snuggling up with Hoseok—no sex involved, just movies and laughs. The very next night might have you being fucked face first into the mattress by Taehyung while Namjoon watches, or maybe you’re riding Jungkook so hard the both of you are losing your minds. 

Either way, you never know what’s happening, and so in an even newer turn of events, when you were expecting Namjoon since you’d been with Hoseok and Jungkook last night, Jimin walks into your room. 

“U-Uh, fuck,” you stutter as you quickly throw on a shirt (you’d simply been wearing Hoseok’s favorite bra). “What are you doing?”

“Well, uh, I was talking to Hobi-hyung and Jungkookie and they-they told me to come in here.”

“Why?” A stupid question, really. You knew why. Hoseok wasn’t content to keeping you to just him and Namjoon. He really preferred to pass you along. He liked the way you so easily succumbed. 

“We just got to... talking and Taehyung and Jungkook were telling me some stuff.”

“What kind of stuff?”

“Yah, Y/N, are you really going to make me say it out loud.”

“No,” you giggle. “Sorry. Come here.” He does, but he awkwardly sits at the foot of your bed instead. His eyes are trained downward and there’s a very obvious blush on his cheeks. “Jiminie,” you whine, “please look at me.”

His blush deepens at the nickname, but hey obeys and looks at you slowly. “This is all just, um, kinda...”

“I know. I wasn’t really expecting to see you either.”

“Yeah...” he trails off, and the tension in the air thickens. The both of you know what you want, but Jimin doesn’t look like he’s going to take it for himself. 

Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands.

You shuffle from your position on the bed and move towards Jimin. He watches you nervously, but he doesn’t jump away. Your legs drape themselves over his and you prop yourself up on his shoulder so that you’re mere inches away from his face. “Why’d you come in here, Jimin?”

“Why’d I...”

“Yeah, why?”

“I, uh—” he pauses to look away embarrassedly, “I got kinda jealous.”

“Jealous?” you laugh. “Of what?”

“O-Of Taehyung and Jungkook. I mean, they both got to have you, and Hoseok didn’t even consider asking me.”

“Well, didn’t he?”

“What?” “Well, I mean, that’s why you’re here now, right? I know Hobi sent you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. He saw how jealous I was getting just talking about it and sent me over here.”

“You were, jealous, baby?” you coo, rubbing his shoulders. “Why? You know you could have me at any time.”

His blush still hasn’t gone away, and you’re really doing nothing to help him. 

“I don’t—”

“It’s okay, baby,” you whisper sweetly as you lean in to place a soft peck on his cheek. “Just tell me what you want...”

“I want... you. To myself.”

“I’m sorry, baby,” you giggle. “I think you have to share. There’s one of me and seven of you!”

You carefully maneuver yourself to straddle his lap and begin peppering his face with kisses. His nose scrunches cutely, and the both of you are smiling brightly before you drop your lips to meet his. The two of you embrace in a slow but passionate, heated kiss. Your tongue probes at him, asking for entrance, and he complies, granting you permission to his mouth. The kiss turns from slow to quick and desperate, the sexual tension hitting a breaking point. 

“Y-Y/N,” he whines. You grin devilishly and push him on his back, taking your time to remove his shirt. Your head falls back towards his face, but rather than kiss him again, you move to work on his neck. Before long, two dark marks have been sucked onto his skin, and you know the stylists are going to hate you for it. 

“You’re being so quiet, Jimin,” you say to him, “Talk to me. I can’t make you feel good if you don’t tell me what you want.”

“I want you to suck me off, please.” 

“Good boy,” you praise. 

You begin working your way down his body, leaving light kisses on his abs that have him squirming under you. When you reach his belt, his hand shoots out to grab you, and he squeezes you desperately. 

“I know, baby,” you laugh. “Be patient.”

His pants and boxers come off in one swift motion to reveal his already painfully erect cock. You stroke it once, twice, and then your lips are on him. He bucks involuntarily against you, eager to feel more. You push him back down as you take more of him, and you love the way he whimpers under you, desperate to cum.

You can tell he's getting close by the way he grabs at your hair and whines your name. “Y/N... fuck...”

“Don’t, Jimin,” you say.

“W-What?”

“Don’t cum.”

“B-But! Fuck!” He lurches towards you, but you’re faster, squeezing his dick so that he’s shaking with the sensation of a dry orgasm. He groans, falling back in the pain of the denied pleasure, and you steady yourself on top of him. You’d slipped your panties off long ago, but you were far too impatient to do anything else, so you centered yourself over him while still in your bra and t-shirt. 

Jimin pulled at the fabric, but he was too fucked out to actually do anything about it. You slowly lower yourself onto him, and Jimin practically yells. You moan as you feel him inside you, dragging deliciously against your walls. You stroke his face sweetly as tears prick his eyes. “How are you doing, baby?” you ask. 

“G-Good. Fuck! You feel so good, shit, your pussy is so warm, oh my god. Please move. Please, please, please,” he begs.

What are you going to do, say no?

You pick up your pace gently at first, but it’s not long until you’re riding him frantically, eager to get yourself off on him. You’re not really surprised that he doesn’t last too long, and he sits up, biting down on your shoulder as he cums hard. 

You slow down to let him ride it out, but you still haven’t cum and now you’re just as desperate as he is, so you lift yourself up and continue fucking him roughly. “Y/N!” he screams. 

“It’s okay, baby, fuck you feel so good!” you praise. He falls back, unable to keep himself up as you overstimulate him. Feeling somewhat merciful, you give him a break, climbing off of him and turning him onto his stomach. He sinks onto the bed, grateful, but turned on again and rutting ever so softly against the mattress. 

You rub soothing circles on his back before picking him back up, propping him up. “How do you feel?”

“I-I’m good, fuck, I just—I want to make you feel good, too.”

“You are, baby. Don’t worry. Come here.”

He backs up closer you so that his back touches his chest, and you wrap an arm around him to play with his nipple. He jerks under your touch as if he wants to get away, but then he leans back into it, wanting more. You guide his hand back to your awaiting pussy, and his touch sends shocks throughout your body. 

“T-That feels good,” you say. Without responding, he prods blindly at you some more until he finds your clit, and he pinches it harshly. “Fuck! Jimin!”

You buckle over, but you restrain from cumming. Instead, the hand on your nipple moves down to his cock while the other moves to his ass. You stroke his overstimulated member, and he’s whining frantically under you. The hand at his ass decides to experimentally poke at his entrance, and the positive reaction you get has you eager to do more. 

Using the precum from his cock (and scooping up some of the cum that’s dripped out of you), you gently insert two fingers into him and Jimin is losing it. He rubs at you harder, desperate to get you off before him. “Cum for me, Y/N. Please, please cum for me.”

“K-Keep going and I will,” you reply as you pick up the pace on his ass and cock. Jimin’s thrashing wildly under your touch, only managing to stay close to you because of the urge to see you cum. 

You can feel the rush of pleasure centering at your pussy as you get closer to your high, and with the way Jimin is clenching around your fingers, you can tell that he’s getting close, too. “Y/N!” he cries loudly as he cums messily on your hand and the bed. The sensations max out for you too, and you cum right after him, bucking onto the mattress. 

Jimin collapses on the bed, not even caring that he’s in a pool of his own cum. You scoop it up in two fingers and bring it to him where he obediently swallows until you decide you’ve seen enough. “You’re such a good boy for me,” you whisper at him as he eyes flutter shut. 

“T-Thank you, Y/N.”

“Let me clean you up, okay, baby? You did so well.”

Jimin nods but doesn’t answer, content to leave you to move him around as you needed to clean him and the bed. You slip his boxers back on before climbing into bed beside him. He immediately snuggles into you; he hugs you as if he’s afraid you’ll get up again. 

You giggle and settle into bed, your own exhaustion taking its place in your body. 

“So,” Jimin murmurs, “when are you gonna get together with Yoongi and Jin-hyung?”

You chuckle softly at him. “Not sure. I suppose when Hoseok decides so.”

[magnolopsida]

I don’t want your heart (part 2)

Info :

Conner (RK 900) x reader

words : 2,2 k

Summary :

RK900 is way more different than his previous self, totally decided to get what he wants : you. He likes to claim that you’re his, and you find yourself unable to make him understand the opposite. 

Notes : okay it took me a lot of time to finish this, its my birthday, im sick and tired as hell someone help, I don’t have the time to correct this ahah enjoy this garbage I love y’all (also there will be more than 2 parts finally ;)) 

Part 1

Part 2

"I'm done with all the evidences, I'm going home now." you said to Hank, still at his desk.

"No problem, see ya tomorrow."

You waved your hand at the detective, tossed your jacket over your shoulders and you grabbed your belongings before leaving the office. It was really late, probably more than midnight, and most of the streets were no longer lit. With a frown, you decided to speed up to go to your apartment. You needed to sleep and forget about Conner and what had happened in the secure room some minutes before.

"You should be more careful at such an hour." a voice suddenly whispered, way too close to you.

Suppressing a scream, you turned and looked at the RK900, right in front of you. He was half in the shadows, and the only thing you could see about him was the white of his jacket, his LED and two piercing blue eyes, like sharp pieces of ice, cold and...studying you.

"Holy shit, Conner ! What the hell is wrong with you ?! We don't scare people like that in the middle of the night, dammit !"

You ran a hand over your face and you froze when he exclaimed :

"It's not a good idea to go alone in those streets, especially since the revolution. I'm coming with you."

You opened your mouth without knowing what to say. You thought you could be finally alone for the rest of the night, to go home and get some sleep and especially forget about the android until the next day, but apparently it was asking too much.

"I'm perfectly able to go home by myself, but thank you for the offer, I guess."

You were going to turn around and continue your way when he added with a cold tone :

"It wasn't a question, actually. I'm coming with you. After all, I like to take care of what belongs to me."

You froze again and swallowed, happy that it was too dark to see the blush on your cheeks. You wanted him to understand that there was no chance for him to have you, like you were some sort of an object, but the words were stuck in your throat and you just looked back at him for a moment.

"Follow me if you want," you started. "But if I die anyway because an asshole wanted to rape me and you couldn't stop him, I will come back from the dead to haunt you."

"As if a human could kill me." Conner snorted condescendingly.

Your shook your head, unable to hide your smirk at the corner of your mouth and you decided to finally go home, trying to forget about the constant presence of the android by your side. You had to admit that it was reassuring to know he was here.

Fifteen minutes later, you were finally at your front door with keys in hand. You glanced at the android, ready to thank him before going inside, but he spoke first :

"You should hurry, you need as much sleep as you can get."

"Uuuuh yeah... thank you for taking me home."

The android raised a brow at you.

"When I said that I was coming with you, it wasn't just at your door, (Y/n).”

"I assure you, I'll be fine. Nothing will happen to me at home."

Conner didn't say anything but he was studying you again, and you swallowed again. You were honestly way too tired to argue with him about this at this hour. In any case, you were only going to sleep, there was no chance he would disturb you. With a sigh, you unlocked your door and let the RK900 in. Leaving your jacket and other stuff in a corner of your kitchen, you decided to ignore Conner to grab your nightwear and headed to the bathroom.

Some minutes later, you were back in the kitchen, decided to drink some of your favorite soda before going to sleep.

"You should not drink that before sleeping. It is not good for your health and there is way too much sugar in it."

You glared at the android, standing in the middle of the room, and snorted.

"You give me too many orders. I don't like that."

With a smirk, you grabbed the bottle to drink but a strong hand catched your wrist, preventing you from carrying the bottle to your lips. You raised your head to Conner - suddenly noticing how tall he was compared to you - and growled :

" 'The fuck you think you're doing ?"

"I said no. Is it so difficult to understand ?"

"Oh, I get it. I just do what I want."

Your eyes widened when you noticed the smirk at the corner of his mouth. His other hand grabbed your chin, forcing you to look at him in the eyes and you were unable to move, you wrist still caught in his strong grip.

"You should obey, (Y/n). You don't want me to punish you, right ?"

His words caught you off guard and you blushed, your breath escaping from your mouth. You were suddenly aware of his touch, burning your skin.

"No, I don't..." you finally mumbled after a moment of silence.

The android released you  and stepped back. A little sigh of relief escaped you and you put the bottle back in your fridge, trying to ignore the smirk of satisfaction of Conner.

"I'm going to sleep, now."

"Good night, (Y/n)." the RK900 greeted you.

Hoping he wasn't going to go through all your belongings or do weird things during your sleep, you buried yourself in your blankets with a lazy smile - you could finally get some rest.

______________

The sound of the alarm clock pulled you from your sleep and you growled. Some hours were definitely not enough for you. With a sigh, you managed to push your blanket and froze when you noticed Conner, leaning against the doorframe. You didn't know how to react to that, the way he acted, like he owned the place, like he owned you.

"You know, it's creepy as fuck to watch people when they sleep."

He just smirked at this and you couldn't help but watch him - maybe he was an asshole, but he was gorgeous and it was the problem. He wasn't supposed to be here in the first place and you were unable to make him leave, too weak everytime his gaze was on you.

Standing up, you started to find some clothes who could fit together. When you finally took your head out of the closet you noticed that Conner was no longer there and you decided to take a quick shower.  

"Do I smell coffee ?" you asked when entering your kitchen some minutes later.

On the table, a breakfast was waiting for you and Conner was sitting on one of the chairs. It was... strangely nice of him and you smiled awkwardly at the android, sitting next to him.

"Thank you for the breakfast." you mumbled with pancakes in your mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full." Conner only retorted with a frown. "I am not satisfied with what you eat daily, we will have to change this soon."

It was your time to frown at him and you put your mug back on the table. You studied him, regretting not being an android to understand him and his cold - yet caring - gaze.

"I don't understand. What- what do you want from me?"

He rolled his eyes like the question was stupid and it was the most human thing he has ever done in front of you - well, if you forgot about this possessive kiss from last night, and it as absolutely not the moment to think about it.

"I already told you about it. I want everything."

He got this little smile at the corner of his mouth at this words and a shiver ran down your spine while you frowned again. Finally, you decided to grab again your mug of coffee to finish your breakfast and go to the station. You got a lot of cases to work on and you wanted to do as much as you could manage today.

Lost in your thoughts, you noticed too late the hand of the android on your neck, leaning against a vein. You held your breath as he stroked it with his thumb, a fascinated look on his features.

"You are so small between my hands... it could be so easy to break you." he almost purred, putting the rest of his fingers in the hollow of your neck.

"Conner..." you managed to say.

"Don't worry, I'm not going  to hurt you." the android whispered when he noticed the mix of arousal and fear on your face. "Unless you want me to."

He added those last words with a smirk and the possibility of what he implied made you blush worst than before.

"No !" you replied.

"Good. Now finish your breakfast, we have a job to do."

He got up to leave the kitchen and his hand caressed your neck lightly, leaving you alone and totally lost, almost worried about what he was going to do next. Closing your eyes for a moment, you took a deep breath and you finished your coffee - you needed to go to the police station.

____________________

You weren't in a good mood when both of you finally showed up at the station, just because you weren't able to fight against Conner's words and gestures. You decided to go to Hank, who was apparently here in time again.

"Hey." you smiled at the lieutenant, putting a cup of coffee in front of him, with a box of colorful donuts.

He grabbed both with a raised eyebrow.

"What did I do to deserve this ?"

"I can be nice, sometimes. Enjoy, it doesn't happen often."

He smiled again at this and you decided to take a new cup of coffee in the lunch room when you noticed the horrible amount of paperwork on your desk, forgetting the disapproving look from the RK900. You were like him and his blue blood, you needed fuel to work correctly.

You headed to the room when someone decided to be on your way for coffee.

"(Y/n)." Gavin greeted you.

"Hmm, hey." you answered awkwardly.

You never knew how to act with him - sometimes he wanted to get in your pants, and the rest of the time he tried to make fun of you. You wondered for a moment what was his mood for today.

"I heard you work with a new tin can now. That's awful. Eh, maybe you could come with me to drink something tonight and forget about this-"

"No, thank you. I don't even have the time you know, too much work..."

Hank told you before that you were way too gentle with Reed and you should kick his ass but it wasn't really your style and you always brushed him off gently instead. Like always, he tried to grab your arm.

"Detective, you should leave (Y/n) alone. We have a lot of work to do, and you take our precious time."

You turned your head to see Conner and raised a brow. Why did he always have to follow you everywhere like that ? It wasn't like you were going to suddenly disappear.

"Fuck off, asshole. I'm not talking to you, actually."

You widened your eyes at Reed's words and glanced at the android. He wasn't like Connor at all, and you already knew that talking to him like that wasn't a good idea at all.

"You should be careful, Gavin." you said in a low voice.

The detective started to laugh and you looked at the RK900. His cold gaze was studying the human in front of him with a disgusted frown.

"Of what ? Him ? It's just some plastic-"

"I think detective Reed is just jealous." Conner cut him.

Your brows furrowed for a moment. What was jealousy doing in there, seriously ?

"Yes. Because he is still alone, when I am the one who managed to get you, pet." he purred in your ear, just loud enough for Gavin to understand him with an horrified look.

The nickname left you speechless for a moment and you wanted to protest against this idea of belonging to him, but the face of the detective was priceless and you just smiled at him, satisfied.

"Can I go to my coffee, now ?" you asked him with a smirk.

For the first time, you were more than happy to see Gavin like this, and he was probably not going to ask for a drink anymore.

_______________

Yep Conner is way too possessive and the poor boy don’t know how to show affection someone help him ahah

anyway idk when the next part will be done (probably when I will get better urgh)

Tags (tell me if you want me to add you) :

@imchrisevanshoe @ash-laufey @darkraaven @roseval221 @lunar-r-bryce @wont-you @misskuuderechan @acupofhotlatte @kirliashiny-281 @funkybunny101 @sageypie17 @pandaworldkawaii @sdavid09 @alicia5833 @nightie-chan-blog @alondra-gaytan @itsfeliciatime @rubysnowdrop @tmblrmobilesucks @racrneko @dragoste-lunes @kayleenjinnie @myurlisunoriginal @melissalovesmusicyay @ericasabe @cyjannabethsilver @curiosity-loves-the-kitten @vanam0 @ageathas @just-a-new-start @dropthepizza346 @aniofcourage @treitike @moonstonefox12 @rosecollarbones @moonstruck-traveller @potenzel @loserunitetonight

[bucketoweasley]

Just Smile (George Weasley x reader

IMPORTANT EDIT PLEASE READ!: told y'all I would one day return to this mess..... Anyway you can find an updated and waaaaaaaaay better version here: @the-writers-reader

Requested by: @aboutpotter

Prompts: #18: Don’t just stand there looking at me

and

#31: You’re probably wondering how I got here

They requested a little Angst and fluff. I myself have never really wrote using either of those (at least I don’t think I have… *goes back to review everything I’ve ever written*) but as I go along I feel like I will get better… I also feel that when I come back and look at this story like a year from now I’m going to be in the next room a cringing mess. But now that all that’s out the way, I hope you enjoy!

(S/n)= sister's name

Warnings: Angst (?), fluff (?), *swearing*, and a bit o violence

If George could describe her in one word he would choose sullen. But in truth, it was just one out of many. Intelligent, conscientious, logical, anxious, beautiful, but sullen was is one of the top. The reason why: he had NEVER seen her smile. He had seen almost everyone at Hogwarts smile at least once. Even Snape. But never her. And he wondered why.  So he went to someone that would know the answer- (S/n). But all she did was sigh and say that things happen.

Thats when he decided to make it his personal mission to make (Y/n) smile. But not matter how many pranks he pulled on her, or jokes, dirty or corny, he told they wouldn’t even grin. Since (S/n) wouldn’t tell him he decided to ask her directly. But the only response he got was the cold shoulder which hurt… A LOT.

As she walked away he yelled, “I  SWEAR TO YOU, BY TIME I”M OUT OF HERE YOU WILL SMILE!”

And what reason did she have to smile in the first place. She could give you a long list of reasons no to smile. Being a muggleborn in SLYTHERIN why her sister was chillin with the twins in Gryffindor was not an easy task. What makes it worse is that they have no one.

George takes his seat at the Gryffindor table across from Fred and (S/n). Groaning, he lays his head down on the table with a ‘thud’. “What’s wrong with you, George?” (S/n) asked writing something down with Fred watching her paper intensely.

He sets his chin on the table so he could look at her. “Your sister. How can someone go that long without smiling?”

“She’s had it rough.”

“So you have said. What exactly do you mean by that?”

(S/n) sighs and sets down her quill. Neatly she folds her hands on the table like she was getting ready to spill some dark shit. “Her friends stabbed her in the back.”

George was shocked but it was Fred that let it be known. “What! Why?”

“It’s not possible to be friends with a muggleborn and date someone in the same house as you.” The twins looked confused. (S/n) rolled her eyes. “Her friends ditched her so they could get dates.”

The twins nodded their head understanding. Fred and (S/n) went back to eating (and in (S/n)s case- eating and writing) but George just stared at the table thinking. Suddenly, he stood up and started walking off. “Where are you going?” (S/n) asked.

“I’ll be right back. I have to go do something.” Fred and (S/n) were sure he was leaving the Great Hall but he had other plans. The hall went silent as he approached the Slytherin table. There wasn’t even any chatter coming from the professors as they watched with great interest. George could feel several eyes on him but he could care less.

(Y/n) looked up from her book to see why the hall had gone silent and was suddenly alarmed when she saw George walking towards her. All attention was on the two of them now.

“What are you doing, Weasley?” she whisper-yelled.

“Weasley? And to think we were friends.” That was enough to get a few people going. Whispers started to be exchanged throughout the Great Hall.

(Y/n) scoffs, “I don’t need or want friends.” A series of “oooo”s traveled around the hall.

“Fine, but you need you family. Your sister needs you.” He lied.

That caught the Slytherins attention. She loved her sister more than anything and would do anything for her. “Did she say why?”

George smirked. He knew he had her now. “She said it was important.”

Sighing, she gathered up their stuff and followed George. The Hall went silent again to the poing where you could hear a pen drop. She sat down next to George due to that being the only available seat. “You have something important to tell me?” (Y/n) asked. George suddenly grabbed her arm. She looked at him suspiciously but didn’t question it.

“Um,” she set her cup down and folder her hands. That was her thing- folding her hands before she spoke, “no, but I assume that’s what George told you to get you over here.”

(Y/n)’s jaw tightened in anger. She tried not to let it show but (S/n) noticed. “It is.”

“Oh, come on, (Y/n). Stop being such a grouch.”

“Oh, so I’m a grouch now, eh?” (Y/n) said slightly offended.

(S/n)s face softens. “No. It’s just- I haven’t seen a smile since the incident last year.”

(Y/n) sighs. “Trust me, (S/n), I have no reason to smile.” She stands up and slings her bag over her shoulder. Silently (pronoun) leaves not looking back though George prayed she would.

She never did.

George felt like this was all his fault. “Guys, I think I’m going to call it a night.”

“This early?” (S/n) asked. She may have been the most clueless person at this table but Fred knew that face anywhere. He was going to follow (Y/n).

“Yeah, I actually have a big test tomorrow so I better get an early night.”

(S/n)s eyes went wide. “WE HAVE A TEST TOMORROW??!?!?!? BDJIBUDHIHYSFTDRTDFGH-” Fred motioned to George to leave and that he would take care of it.

What a nerd. But they loved her for it. (I love how when I wrote that part I got a message from my school about a Biology Exam that I knew nothing about and I freak but it ended up not applying to me)

George stopped to listen to what he was sure was voices. They were coming around the corner. When he peeked around he saw what he was looking for. He also saw someone that wasn’t supposed to be there. Graham Montague.

“Get the hell off me, Montague!” (Y/n) shouted trying to shove him away only for him to pin her roughly against the wall(FREEZE PERVERTS CAUSE THIS AINT WHAT YOU THINK).

“So you think its ok to just shove me out of the way you little, mudblood? Show some damn respect to those that are above you. Now, I think it’s best if you apologize for what you did to my friend.”

Now downright furious the girl makes a split second decision. Or should I say spit-second decision. Graham backs off a bit and wipes the spit off his cheek. Snarling, he backhands her causing her to drop her bag and fall to the ground.

“HEY!” George yelled gaining the attention of Graham and his gang.

“Oh, great, just what we need a Weasle-” Before he could finish George socked him in the jaw causing him to stumble.

“Never touch her again.” George growled daring one of them to try to make a move.

Graham scoffed and turned his snake like eyes towards (Y/n). “This isn’t over, mudblood.” He declared as he turned to stomp off with his gang hot on his heels.

George turned to (Y/n) to ask if she was alright but before he could ask he noticed the tears welling in her eyes. Alarmed, George walks over and starts inspecting her only for (Y/n) to push him away. “DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU’VE DONE?” she scoffs, “no you don’t. You’ve just made my life hell is what you’ve done. What they did just now was considered nice compared to what they’ve done to other people.”

“(Y/n), I was just trying to-”

“Oh save it! We can’t all be heros. Just… just leave.” She turns her head away waiting for him to leave. But he doesn’t. “Well? What are you waiting for? Don’t just stand there looking at me! Leave!” But George doesn’t budge.

“Why are you still here?!” George doesn’t know. Why is he still here? Instead of leaving he engulfs her in a hug. (Y/n) struggles a bit for the contact and wanting to get out of there but George was stronger and not to mention taller.

“Please don’t fight me.” His voice cracks. (Y/n) pauses.

“Then let me go.” she hisses. George obeys this time with a sigh. With a sad expression and a broken heart, he watched her walk away.

-------

“I thought you were calling it a night.” (S/n) says with a confused face. Her face goes to confusion to one of pure spite as George tells them exactly what happened.

“Well, I say we bloody push him back.” Fred said once George was done with his story.

“I doubt that would make it any better, Freddie.” (S/n) replied.

“Well, obviously, (S/n), that’s why I have a very well thought out plan.”

“Plan?”

“Yep! You see, and and Georgie here found something last week and we looked at each other and thought ‘this could come in handy’ and it seems it will.”

She looked between the twins confused. “But to do this we need you help.” George said in a pleading way.

“My help?”

“Yes! You see we have noticed that Graham Montauge has taken a special liking to you.” Fred said matter of factly.

“Huh?”

“He fancies you.” George concluded.

“What? You’re joking right?” She asks, her cheeks heating up. The twins grin. She looks between them again. “Ya know what, I don’t even want to know details, just tell me what I need to do.”

------

Tears ran down (Y/n)s face as she thought about what happened. She couldn’t help but thing that if she wouldn’t have left the table then she wouldn’t have ran into Graham and then none of this would have happened. She was so caught up in her thought that she didn’t pay much attention when the other side of her bed dipped down and someone snaked their hands around her torso. But she could care less. It was actually a bit comforting to know that at least some imaginary person at least cared. “Why can’t he understand that it would be easier for both of us if he just left me alone?” She asked the person as she stared down at her feet.

“Well it’s probably you don’t try to make him understand.” (Y/n) jumps up. She didn’t expect anyone to answer back. She turned around to find a tall figure with blazing red hair. And… in the girls dormitory? She couldn’t make out which twin it was through her blurry vision but assumed it was Fred. George wouldn’t even consider sneaking up here after the way she had treated him.

“You’re probably wondering how I got here.”

She let out a shaky laugh. “A little bit, yes.”

He stared at her wordlessly. So that was what her smile was like. Sure it wasn’t much but it was beautiful even in the state it was in.

“Fred? You good there?”

He snaps out of it. “Oh! Yeah!” Wait Fred? Oh! I guess she can’t see because she was crying. “Uh, George told us about what Graham did so we cracked a plan.”

“You mean you PRANKED him?!?!?” She asked now alarmed. As far as she knew she could kiss her sister goodbye and say hello to her new home: her grave.

“Of sorts. Last week me and George found a cabinet that makes things disappear, and ya see, Graham has a thing for that sister of yours. So,naturally, we got her involved. She lured Graham into the closet where we were waiting. Then, we forced him to give up the password to the Slytherin common room, which he wouldn’t do unless we put him in the cabinet. Of course, he wasn’t at all intimidated but then we demonstrated what it did which broke him. We originally promised to to throw him in but things happen and people change their minds.”

“Soooooooooo… where is he now?”

He shrugs, “Who knows. He could be anywhere in the school.”

“That still doesn’t explain how you got up here without anyone seeing or helping you.”

“I guess I have that Weasley charm.” He winked with a flip of his nonexistant long locks. “Sure, the girls were confused and very angry when I walked in but I buttered them up just enough so they smuggled me up here so there you have it.”

It took a moment but everything processed. “But, to be honest, you’re the last person I expected up here. Why didn’t George or (S/n) come instead?”

He looked absolutely offended but brushed it off. “Not important. Why were you crying just a minuet ago? I don’t thing George would be very happy seeing you like this.” Which was true, it broke George’s heart to see her like this but he couldn’t tell why. Deep down he knew he always liked her a but but he always denied and pushed it away. It was like this time he couldn’t.

“Your brother, actually… Swear to me you won’t tell anyone what you hear.”

George crossed his heart and opened his ears so he wouldn’t miss a word.

“Alright, don’t tell him I said this but he makes my life a living hell… and I can’t help but love him for it.”

“Love him?”

She lets out another shaky laugh and bites her bottom lip. ‘There it was again.’ George thought. “Yeah. I fancy him I suppose and he makes it so damn hard no to.” She pauses. “Why am I telling this to you again?”

He laughs a bit and stands up, towering over her. “I don’t know but you should smile more.”

Her eyebrows knit together. “Why should I-”

“Because it makes it hard to fancy you too.” Her vision was totally clear now and only then did she realize who she had just spilled out her deepest darkest secret to. “G-George! I-” she tried to say something but ended up a studdering mess. What was she supposed to even say?

He cut her off with a peck on the lips. It was short, sweet and just enough to leave her in a state of shock. He smirked seeing what he had done to her. “ I told you I would make you smile, beautiful.” He winked before calmly leaving (Y/n) standing there like a idiot.

OH THANK GOD IM FINALLY DONE. I started writing this on monday in class and the very same time that I started the teacher assigned us a project to write a childrens book (ages 8-10) on a topic we were assigned. I got cellular respiration… i couldn’t even explain to my mom what that was. That and someone that I was very close to died the same day i decided to finish this so if it like going everywhere and whatnot THATS WHY. I actually have one that I wrote awhile back that I’ll think I will probably post sometime this week so be looking for that. Peace!

[patricianandclerk]

Time & Duty

My Ask | My Ko-Fi | My Ao3 | Requests always welcome!

They were camping some ways out from the capital, and it was late into the night – in fact, it was nearly three o’clock in the morning, and Ignis had long-since given up on falling asleep. The young Prompto had joined them on their little expedition, and whilst he was a little shy and uncertain, as yet, of Gladiolus and Ignis both, sometimes falling over himself in his attempts to impress… He was intelligent, to be certain, and he had obeyed orders in the field, asking questions about each of their weapons, about their tactics.

He was asleep now, sprawled under the stars with one arm wrapped loosely around his knapsack. Beside him, Noctis was asleep too, their legs loosely tangled together, but Noctis was sitting up, leaning back against one of the Chocobos from the palace stables, its wing over his chest, coaxing his highness’ head to rest on the bird’s neck. It was a good sign, too, that the Chocobo was so comfortable with Prompto. They were good judges of character, and Prompto and Noctis were comfortable with one another, too, even in sleep.

Noctis needed friends his own age.

Not for the first time, Ignis felt a small twinge of uncertainty, and he turned his head away from his charge, resting his chin against his own folded arms, settled upon his knees. It wasn’t a cold night, but the breeze had the slightest chill in it, and he was glad of his jacket as he looked out over the hills, over the sandy scapes that led out toward the tombs.

“Can’t sleep?”

Ignis looked up to Gladiolus, who had made his way over on surprisingly fleet and silent feet, standing a Ignis’ shoulder, and Ignis pushed his glasses up his nose.

“We aren’t all so adept at slumbering in the dirt as you are, Gladio,” Ignis murmured, and Gladiolus took a step forward, dropping hard onto his arse in the earth beside Ignis, his legs dangling from the edge of the small cliff. Ignis immediately felt the warmth of the other young man beside him – Gladiolus, easily twice Ignis’ size, broke the gentle draught of the breeze, and radiated a heat all of his own. “You can’t sleep either, I take it?”

“I woke up, and you weren’t there,” Gladio said, shrugging his shoulders. The muscles at his shoulder blades rippled thick and strong, and Ignis set his jaw, hyperaware of the weight of his tongue in his mouth, pressed against the back of his teeth, against his own palate. “Figured you’d answered the call of nature, but then I saw you sat out here, moping.”

“Moping,” Ignis repeated, mildly amused. “Is that what you think?”

“Why else would you be curled up in the foetal position?”

“Because it’s rather chilly, that’s all,” Ignis said, and Gladio laughed quietly, leaning in and dragging one ridiculously muscular arm about Ignis’ shoulder, dragging him close. “Oh, you aren’t chilly at all.”

“That’s ‘cause I’ve got meat on my bones,” Gladiolus rumbled, and Ignis chuckled, leaning into his chest and feeling the heated weight of Gladio’s arm on his shoulder, his fingers brushing against the side of Ignis’ neck before he drew his arm back. He didn’t put his hand back in his lap: instead, it settled flat in the dust behind Ignis’ lower back, so that Gladio’s wrist, his forearm, still brushed Ignis’ body, and Ignis exhaled silently. “What kind of chef is skinny, huh? Can’t trust that.”

“You weren’t saying that when you were eating the meal I cooked this evening,” Ignis pointed out.

“Well,” Gladio replied, “I was hungry then.”

Ignis’ lips twitched, and he looked out over the dark horizons once more.

“You thinking about the future?” Gladio asked. “This could be how it goes down, you know, when we take him off to get hitched.”

“He’s only sixteen,” Ignis said, not turning to look at Gladiolus’ expression, not sure what he’d see in the other man’s face. It all felt so entirely nebulous, and he hated how far in the future it was – negotiations were still in their planning stages, and all was so slow to develop, so unpredictable. And yet… With every day that went past, the future loomed yet higher overhead, threatening to drop in one fell swoop upon their heads. “He shall hardly be married to the Oracle tomorrow.”

“But he will be, one day,” Gladio said. His tone was gentle. “And that’s just the wedding – there’ll be other stuff, too, escorting him all around. When he’s king—”

“Do forgive me for asking,” Ignis whispered, “but from where precisely is this lecture coming from?”

There was a moment’s pause, and Ignis looked at Gladio’s face, at his expression. He was starting to grow in a beard, and it suited him, Ignis thought, wasn’t at all so patchy as Ignis’ would be, if he tried to grow one himself – Gods forbid. Gladio looked stricken, his lips parted, his eyes dark.

“Sorry,” he said finally. “Didn’t mean to lecture, I was just… I don’t know, Iggy. Guess I was thinking out loud more than anything else.”

“Oh,” Ignis said. “My apologies.” He floundered, grasping at the mental straws. “You were thinking about the future yourself, then?”

“A girl asked me if I’d ever think about asking her to marry me,” Gladio said, and Ignis felt himself stun, feeling his eyes widen. He stared at Gladio – they were each too young for that, weren’t they? But no: Ignis was only nineteen; Gladio was soon to turn to twenty-one. That was old enough to marry.

“I was just thinking,” Ignis said, “how much it feels like the future is hurtling toward us too fast. A marriage would rather speed that up, wouldn’t it? But Marjella, isn’t it, that’s the girl? You’ve been with her seven months now, Gladio, I—”

“I said no,” Gladio said, and Ignis felt his lips stop their movements, his tongue quietening in its bed. “She’s a nice girl. I like her. But… I don’t know. I guess I don’t think I could juggle being a husband and being devoted to Noct, I gotta… I’d need him to be stable first, I think. When he’s married, and once he’s king—”

“Gladio, that could be a decade hence,” Ignis said. “Two decades, even – his majesty is ailing, but he’s hardly in the clutches of complete frailty. He’s not on death’s door.”

“Duty comes first,” Gladiolus said. “Maybe later, I’ll find myself a lady, but not now, not soon. The throne comes first – Noctis, he comes first.” He said it like he was practising saying the words out loud, and Ignis watched him for a long moment before he touched Gladiolus’ wrist. The heat radiated from him, against Ignis’ palm, and Ignis squeezed gently before he withdrew his hand, settling it into his lap. “I hope I didn’t make you feel bad,” Gladiolus said, “if you were with a girl…”

“What?” Ignis asked, his body feeling abruptly like it had been doused in ice water, and he shook his head. “No, no, I wasn’t… I wasn’t worried about that. Not at all.”

Gladiolus raised his eyebrows. “What, none of them catching your eye?”

“Marriage has never been one of my priorities,” Ignis murmured. “Like you, I would prefer to put duty first.”

“You can still be with girls, though,” Gladio said.

Ignis’ throat felt full and thick, his tongue clumsy, his head spinning. He suppressed a shiver as his stomach gave an abrupt and twisting lurch, making the ghost of a gag threaten to come up from the base of his throat. His fingers gripped slightly tighter at his own knees, dimpling the flesh through the fabric of his trousers.

“I don’t have time for that sort of thing,” Ignis said, his voice sounding slightly hoarse to his own ears.

“Right,” Gladio said, slowly. “I mean… If you ever wanted advice, I could give you some.”

“Advice,” Ignis repeated, not looking at Gladio. He thought about trying to lend voice to exactly what it was he wanted to say. It wasn’t that it was unheard of. Certainly, men were… But not in his majesty’s service: not in amongst the palace staff. There was still the implication of the sordid in it, still something inappropriate in it.

“Yeah,” Gladio said. “You know, about uh, catching somebody’s eye. Going in for the kiss. Going home together after a successful date.”

“You think I need such in-depth schooling for a subject matter I have no interest in?”

“Seems like the subject matter might have interest in you,” Gladiolus said. “You didn’t see Randal staring at your ass earlier?”

“The stable boy?” Ignis asked, feeling his heart skip a beat at the thought of it, of Randal’s skin-tight vest when he was working with the Chocobos, his arms so tightly coiled with strength when he drew on their reins… And then he realised precisely what Gladio had said. He coughed, running a hand through his hair, aware of the hot flush in his cheeks. “Oh. Well. No, no, as I said, I haven’t time—”

“Haven’t got time, or too scared?”

“What is it I have to be scared of?”

“I don’t know,” Gladio said. “You tell me.”

Ignis turned his head, and then he inhaled sharply, because Gladio was leaning in toward him, so close that Ignis’ nose almost brushed against his, their mouths so close together that Ignis had to stop himself from licking his lips – there’d be too much of a chance that his tongue would brush Gladio’s mouth as well as his own.

Gladiolus’ eyes were dark and shining in the dim light, lit by the orange glow from the fire veins below where they were sitting, and they were beautiful. Beautiful…

“Don’t have time?” Gladio asked.

“I could have a look at my schedule, I suppose,” Ignis said, trying to sound controlled, wry, and not breathless, not as if he was about to fall to pieces at any moment. Gladio laughed, soft and low, and when he leaned back, Ignis felt himself leaning to follow him, feeling the loss of Gladio’s body beside him, of his heat.

“We can talk this through tomorrow,” Gladio said. “Iggy… You need to sleep.”

“Indeed,” Ignis said, standing slowly to his feet. “Gladio—”

“In the morning,” Gladio said, smiling at him. It was a kind smile – a handsome smile.

“Was he really staring at my arse?”

“For the whole time we were there,” Gladio said. “I was amazed you didn’t notice. He wasn’t subtle.”

“Fascinating…”

“C’mon. Let’s hit the hay.”

Groggy, Ignis followed Gladio to where they’d set out their sleeping bags, and laid down beside him, his head against the plump pillow he’d brought out to support his neck in the field. Gladio’s sleeping bag was perhaps just a little closer to Ignis’ than it needed to be, and yet when one of his legs brushed against Ignis’, Ignis curled a little bit closer rather than drawing away.

It was easy to fall asleep this time, somehow.

Something to do with the rhythm of Gladio’s breathing beside him.

[not-all-that-chic]

A Purple Haze

parts  ⟨  prologue  |  yugyeom  |  youngjae  |  jinyoung  |  bambam  |  mark  |  jackson  |  jaebum  |  epilogue  ⟩

wordcount | 5.3k

warnings | master/slave, masochism, thigh-riding, squirting, bondage

rec. track |  ♫ ♩

After I get appropriately dressed with clean undergarments, I sit in the chair in front of his desk. I flip the book to its first page. Already, it's so intriguing. True to his character, the notes written are barely legible, ideas flowing from one section of the page of the other. Scratching my head, I try to decipher everything.

The Land of Wonder started off as nature until the Watchmaker came and created his tower. No one knows how exactly this happened. Then the ruins appeared. Who knows what came first: the Clocktower or the ruins. After the King of Hearts started to rule the north was under his control, but the Watchmaker never join-

I shut the journal, knowing it's useless to continue reading. There is some semblance of coherency, then it becomes lost in the jumbled thoughts. He writes just like he thinks: from one idea to the next. With a sigh, I put the journal back into his drawer, but then my eyes catch sight of something interesting.

It nearly slips out of my hands when I pick it up— from all the dust. I blow on it and then wipe the cover.

Tales of Wonder. Written by the Watchmaker.

This Watchmaker person... he must be important if he is mentioned by the White Rabbit so many times.

"Hopefully I can understand this one," I mumble as I flip it open.

Hello. If you are reading this, you are most likely a Wanderer, sucked through the portal of this land.

My eyes widen; clearly, this person knows a lot. The Watchmaker. Who is he? And then I wonder, am I not the first "wanderer" to come through here?

I go on.

I am the Watchmaker, the first resident of this land. I must inform you that this place is extremely dangerous. Once you have collected three keys, the risk only increases. The sequence of key collection is always the same. You must be cautious; none have collected the seventh key, as the (future) King of Hearts is cruel and evil.

I turn pale. The King of Hearts is the last Guardian.

Since the Duke of White created his kingdom, we have been in a sea of endless turmoil. To add to the fire, the Mad Hatter also included himself in the firefight. You see, for decades now, the northern and southern kingdoms have been fighting for control. Along with the Mad Hatter, we have been split and forced to choose sides, an impending war upon us.

I swallow. How did I remain oblivious of this all this time?

The northern Heart Court, the center Hatter Mansion, and the southern White Court. You must be able to traverse through this land, obtain the seven keys and leave. However, most who arrive here never are able to leave-

I slam the book shut. A cold sweat forms on my back.

"Why did you stop?" Jumping so hard, I fall out of my chair. Jackson is leaning against the desk, finger rubbing down the spine of the book.

"Jackson!" He grins when he hears me.

"Happy to see me? Hm?" His eyes glow an ominous color. This cat, so full of mystery.

"Yes."

"I appreciate your honesty," he purrs, sitting on top of the desk. For a long moment, he stares at me. "What are you waiting for? Come sit, Pet."

"I don't know if I want to read any more of that..." Jackson shakes his head after I sit down. My hands are in my lap as I shift my gaze back to the book.

"As much as it scares you, you must finish it."

"Why can't you explain to me instead?" His tail swings back and forth.

"My explanations are not as clear as Namjoon's."

"Wh-"

"The Watchmaker," he answers me. He points his finger at the book. "Come. Read it."

Nodding, I go back to where I left off.

With conflict like this brewing, there must be a weapon of mass destruction or breaking point. I am unaware of what the kingdoms are planning, but it does not bode well. There is nothing within your power that can stop this. Wanderer. All I can hope is that you can survive to leave this place. That you will not be here for the inevitable demise of the Land of Wonder.

A hand brushes my cheek. I turn to the Cheshire, who is somber.

"Tears do nothing."

"Jackson... Aren't you scared?" He places a hand on my head.

"Of course. However, no one can do anything. The Watchmaker and I can only watch as this place slowly crumbles." My gaze drops to my hands in my lap.

Why must something so terrible happen in a place so beautiful and unique? I thought it would be perfect here. Somewhere for me to have fun and go on.

"Is there nothing that can be done?"

"No. Unless the lost princess returns."

Now that is interesting. As of yet, I haven't seen or heard of any women aside from the Queen of Hearts.

"Who is that?" I tilt my head.

Strangely, the grandfather clock downstairs chimes loudly. Three times it rings.

He seems to mull over telling me until a wicked grin appears on his face again. His eyes still sparkle with sadness, but the ever Cheshire smile remains on his lips.

He hops off the desk and motions for me to get up.

"Perhaps I can tell you another time." Jackson pushes me out of the room and down the stairs until we reach the front door.

"J-Jackson! Hey!"

"Now now. Don't strain your voice yelling at me. I must be going now."

"Where? Where do you go? Why don't you stay?" I nearly stumble down the hill. Jackson only clicks his tongue and shakes his head.

Once again, I'm in the forest.

"I cannot answer that. What's a Cheshire without his secrets?" Just as turn around to give him a good tongue lashing, he's disappeared.

"What in the world! You-you!" I sigh.

Wonderful. I am alone again. And lost again. Well, I suppose being lost is a normalcy in this place. To think I have only collected two keys.

I know that the King of Hearts is the last Guardian. And that makes me chilled to the bone. I have heard only bad things about him. Is he as horrible as everyone says? Even the Watchmaker, who is so wise, believes he is evil.

How can someone villainous be a Guardian?

And a sudden— but enlightening —thought hits me.

Jackson said earlier that he and the Watchmaker must watch as the world crumbles. What does that make Jackson? Where do they stand? How can I possibly go on and enjoy this journey knowing this ever-present danger is looming over me?

The more I learn, the more questions I have. So far, none have been answered. This place is more than the peaceful, fantasy world I originally envisioned.

You will come to learn, nothing is ever perfect, Pet.

The first thing I hear is the melodious voices of who knows what. Everything seems to sparkle after the storm, the water on leaves looking like diamonds. This area of the forest is especially beautiful. Rich, green plants, and tall pines.

This is definitely different from the other forests, which were thick and full of trees. It exudes a welcoming and beautiful aura— if an aura could be described as beautiful, that is.

"And I could finally fly~"

I stop in my tracks. Quietly, I hide behind a tree. A few in front of me, there is a man surrounded by beautiful flowers. Flowers abnormally large, but I'm sure that's nothing out of the ordinary here.

"The rain can't touch us now~"

"Now~"

"Dee Dee deeeee~"

Blinking rapidly, it dawns on me that he isn't the only one singing; the flowers are as well!

I come a bit closer, enraptured by the music and his beauty. He notices me, standing straight up and giving me a most angelic smile.

His hair is a soft, bubblegum pink and he is perhaps one of the most attractive men I have ever seen. His attire is regal: an all-white ensemble with golden accents and golden lapels. Do angels exist in the Land of Wonder?

He bows— and I'm terribly caught off guard, so I stand there like a gaping fish —and I follow with a curtsy.

"Oh. You have manners. Those are difficult to find here. It's a pleasure to meet you. I am called Rose."

After I introduce myself, ever curious, I ask, "Is that your real name?"

"My personal name is Seokjin, but I would appreciate you refer to me as Rose, after all, you are no friend of mine."

Although it is true, it hurts to hear. Everyone thus far has been so friendly, so this is a shock.

"Do not be hurt," he chirps. Smiling again, he grabs my hand and places me on a rock. His arm flairs behind him and the flowers all sparkle to life.

My eyes glimmer with awe, hands clasped together.

"Would you like to hear my newest piece?"

"Yes. That would be nice." Just like that, he turns serious, adjusting his cravat. His hand sparkles and a stick appears within it.

"Huh-hum-" he clears his throat.

"Do not waste time." Another voice appears. When I turn my head, I spot another extremely handsome and regal man. Rose looks at him with contempt.

"Vile creature. You know I dislike your presence."

"Likewise," the man addresses him coldly. He looks to me, eyes regarding me with interest. Who is this man?

"You've anything to say? Or will you stare at my guest?" The newcomer waves him off and comes forward.

I rise from my seat naturally, his simple presence making me want to obey. He looks me up and down, then his eyes spot something hanging from my waist: my keys. His eyes change.

"Follow me." As simple as that, he stuffs his hands into his pockets and moves in the direction from which he came. Looking at Rose, I silently ask if I should. I'm unsure if I should trust him, but what really do I know? Neither of these men seems particularly kind.

Although he is disgusted by the man, he crosses his arms and says, "The parasite never shows interest in anyone. I suggest you do as he asks."

Nodding, I thank him and pick up my dress to follow the other man. He is silent and very slow as he leads me through the tall blades of grass. For a place where everyone is dressed rather antiquated, his all-black suit stands out. The only thing I find odd is his coattails which are so long they drag on the ground.

He suddenly stops and raises his arm high into the air. I begin to wonder why, but he shushes me. A purple orb appears in his hand, bathing the area in a lavender light. And amazing to behold, the grass before us parts. His long legs guide him through as I confusedly stumble after him.

When we enter the secluded area, I have to stop, the sight so breathtaking. We are in a cave of sorts, vines hanging from the ceiling. The sunlight that peaks through is filtered through a purple tarp— that he likely set up —that bathes the area in a rich, violet glow. In the middle, there is a mushroom with a purple satin sheet where he promptly sits.

A pipe of sorts appears in his hand, attached to a long cord and a bong. I've never seen anything like it in my life. And he smokes it, sighing as he does so. I feel confused by it, but say nothing about it.

"Who are you?" He takes a long drag, different colored smoke leaving his lips.

"My name is-"

"Who are you?" I'm taken aback.

"That's what I was about to-" his ears grow red as he leans forward, in my face.

"No. Who. Are. You?" The smoke comes out of his lips and on my face. I cough and ball up my fists. Why did he drag me here? To question me and not let me answer?

"Listen up...you!"

"My name is not you. It is Jinyoung. Learn to respect others."

"Respect! You say respect?!" I come up in his face and he leans forward with just as much fervor. Intimidated, I move back.

"The Caterpillar."

"Caterpillar?"

"I know why you are here." Furrowing my brows, I am now rapt with attention. How is that he doesn't know who I am but knows why I am here?

Then he pulls a key out of his pocket. My eyes widen as I look back up at him. He is suddenly removing his jacket. I blush furiously.

"Let's get on with it, shall we?"

"W-what?" He looks unamused as he stares at me.

"Have you not done this twice already? You should come to expect it. Now," he says as he unbuckles his belt. "Bend over so I can end this quickly."

I somehow feel like a nuisance. All I want to do is leave this place and finish Jackson's game, but I want to do it enjoyably. Is that not what it means to play a game? However, I hike my dress up. Jinyoung's tongue clicks.

"Do you not want to go home?" He voices my thoughts.

"Well, yes, but this is a bit..."

"Detached? Would you like more than just simple coitus?" When he puts it that way, it makes me feel desperate. I feel worthless. My legs shake.

"I don't know..."

"I would like to offer some advice." Jinyoung waits for me to nod. "Your heart is too kind. Do not let yourself be manipulated by the people of this land. Not everyone will be forthcoming with their intentions as I have been." I blink, his statement oddly comforting and wise.

"I will take that to heart. Thank you very much, Jinyoung." The sound of his disrobing stops. I wonder why, so I turn around, but his lips capture mine as soon as I do.

Soft, silky. My mind is invaded by a fog. They feel so plush and warm. My heart speeds up. This is much different from his attitude only seconds before. His arm wraps around my waist, hiking my dress up and placing a hand on my ass. He gives it a light squeeze and I moan into his mouth.

We separate, a thin string of saliva between our lips. Jinyoung's eyes are penetrating mine, looking at me with hunger.

"You are a beautiful girl. I would have loved to have been your first." A long, thin finger trails around my panties, playing with the hem. I gulp. He grabs my hair and pulls my head back before his lips meet my throat. His lips kiss up the column and I shiver, closing my eyes from the pleasure.

He knows what he is doing.

Jinyoung then places a hand over my heat. He does nothing, simply sits it there. The mere insinuation makes my imagination run wild. I moan, begging wordlessly for him to do something. When I begin grinding against his hand, he gets rid of it. Despite my whining, he doesn't relent.

"Strip," he commands. I feel shaken and stirred by his voice, rushing to do exactly as he asked. Once I'm naked, he looks me up and down. It's a bit humiliating to be stared at like an object, but it gives me a thrill I can't place. An all-knowing smirk forms on his perfect lips. His finger motions for me to come closer.

I eagerly place myself on his thigh. My eyes meet his, waiting for whatever he has in store for me next. I'm putty in his hands.

"You're so horny. Well, work for it." He leans back.

"W-what?" The Caterpillar rolls his eyes before he grabs my hips. He pushes me against his thigh, my clit rubbing against the rough fabric of his pants.

"A-ah!" The feeling hurts, but it's so deliciously painful that it becomes pleasure. This direct stimulus on my clit has me shaking.

I quickly understand exactly what he wants. Leaning against him, my fingers clench around his shirt as I press myself on his pants. A weak whine comes from my lips. This isn't enough.

My pace quickens as I grind harder and harder against his pants, but this can only do so much for me. I press onward, searching for my high. More. I need more.

He sighs and rolls his eyes, bored. "So useless. This can't get me hard."

He realizes that I need something else and clenches his thigh muscle. The feeling of his hard muscle on my wet pussy drives me crazy. There's nothing inside me and yet I feel so full. I rut against his thigh faster as he clenches and unclenches his muscle.

My clit is raw from my rubbing, but I can feel myself building, ready to burst. A little pain is nothing for the pleasure bound to come.

"Look how you make a mess."

"Oh, Jinyoung," I drag out his name as I watch the wet spot on his pants grow. It makes me feel like a mess, knowing I’m messing up his nice pants.

He suddenly grabs my hips, stopping me as he glares at me.

"What did I say about respect?" I try grinding again, unsatisfied by him ruining the moment. He keeps a hard— certain to bruise —grip on my hips.

"Call me Master and I'll let you go."

A bright red blush forms on my cheeks. The idea of calling someone that is so embarrassing, but I want to. I really don't understand this commanding effect he has on me. It makes me feel inferior, but I'm somehow turned on further, my pussy sopping wet and eager for him. I bite my lip hard enough to draw blood.

"Master... May I please keep grinding on your leg?" It takes a lot to say that, but I'm rewarded by his gentle smile and a peck to the lips.

"Such a good slave. So polite. Go ahead." I shiver. He releases his grip and my clit throbs once I return to my grinding. How do I look, so desperately grinding against his thigh like a bitch in heat while he remains so unaffected? Jinyoung grabs my chin and grazes my bottom lip with his thumb.

Then he slides at in as I moan and lick it. He smirks at this. That face is so damn hot that I feel it in my whole body. The idea of him sticking his cock inside of my mouth instead of his finger fills my head. My clit pulsates and I practically am sliding on his thigh from how wet it has gotten.

"Wouldn't you like to cum all over my pants? Get them dirty with your juices." Moaning so loud, his words egg me on further. If possible, I grind harder. My chest heaves with the labor he's putting me through.

"Oh god!" I feel like I'm about to cum. He knows it. Stars flicker in my vision as a knot forms in my belly. It's painfully close.

"I have something fun planned for you. If you hurry and cum, Master will make you feel even better." That’s my breaking point. With one last grind, my body trembles with the aftershocks of my orgasm. Something strange washes over me as Jinyoung rubs my back. 

I feel whole.

"Did I do well, Master?" I lean against him, breathing hard.

"You did well, Slave. Why don't you go sit down on the mushroom?" Nodding, I obediently go to sit, my legs numb from the powerful orgasm. I nearly topple over.

When I glance over at him, there is a huge bulge in his pants. Well, I'm not the only one that was turned on. I managed to get him hard and it makes me proud.

He stands in front of me and commands, "Take off my clothes. Be a useful slave." Smiling, I reach over and unbutton his shirt easily. His body amazes me.

"Can I touch, Master?"

"Go ahead." My eyes sparkle as I run my hands over his built chest and abs. He's so handsome I feel breathless. I glance down at his pants and lick my lips. That's what makes me most excited. Although his beauty is a bonus.

"Master, can I suck your cock?" Jinyoung is taken aback by this, my expression so seemingly pure, the question sounding so innocent, but the intent nothing but filthy.

For the first time, he groans. It makes me so happy to have pleased him.

"What I would do to shove my cock down your throat."

"Why don't you?" He chuckles.

"Perhaps another time. I promised to make you feel good." My face erupts in a pink blush. I can say with certainty that I have never met someone so selfless. Yes, I realize it is sex, but he is so focused on my wants and needs that he has forgotten his own needs.

He acted so cold at first, but through sex, he has shown a softer side. Fuzziness bubbles in my chest.

"Thank you, Master."

"Turn around." Once I do so, I feel satin wrap around my wrists. It makes me a little nervous, but I'm sure he will treat me well enough. I can't help feeling such innate trust with him.

Jinyoung gently picks me up and places me back toward him.

"Have you done something like this?"

"Never."

"If you say 'Caterpillar', I will stop." I smile again and he returns it.

He lies me down on the mushroom and now I am at his mercy. His soft lips brush against mine. They're wet and mine are already bruised from biting them earlier. Jinyoung's tongue peeks out to rub against the small cut. I moan at the slight burn.

Everything has been an amazing mix of pain and pleasure, push and pull. It's satisfying to all my senses. Jinyoung pulls back and starts a trail of kisses down my chest before he latches onto my nipple. My hands are immobilized, under my body. I so badly want to shove my hands in his hair and bring him closer.

This teasing is making me horny again.

He circles my nipple with his tongue, sucking on it occasionally and releasing it with a pop. Jinyoung presses a kiss to the nipple and moves the other, giving it the same attention. His teeth come out and take the nub between them. It hurts a little, but in the best way.

This man knows exactly what to touch to make me feel good. I could probably cum now if he keeps this up.

His mouth migrates down to my belly. To my shock, he licks my belly button. That strange tickle has me arching into his mouth. He chuckles and god does that make me want him even more. I feel so desperate to touch him and make him feel good, too.

"You're moaning so loud. You're enjoying this a little too much." I hadn't even noticed I was moaning. All I can focus on is Jinyoung and his amazing tongue.

"Oh, Master please touch my pussy!" I can't stop the words from slipping, but as lewd as it is, I can't find a reason to care. We're in our own world and I just want him to make me feel good.

He removes himself from me and I watch as he removes his pants and underwear in one fast swipe. His cock is impressive and I wiggle, already imagining it inside me.

Jinyoung raises his hand and a purple object appears in his hand. It dawns on me as he grabs one in each hand.

My pussy has never been so wet. All these strange things, new feelings. None of these...kinks have ever occurred to me before, but now the idea of them is the only thing I can think of, so excited to try everything he has in mind.

He comes forward and gently attaches the nipple clamps to each of my nipples. It hurts, but I love it and I moan and buck upward, so desperate to get fucked now I probably seem insane.

"Oh, please Master! Please fuck me so hard I can't walk!" Jinyoung smirks and shakes his head.

"As pretty as you are when you talk, I'll need to do something about that."

Before I can ask, his hand materializes a gag. He comes behind me and sits me up, tying the ball gag around my mouth. I moan and lean against his chest, my ass brushing against his hard cock.

His hand reaches forward as his finger barely grazes my pussy lips.

Absolute electricity runs up my spine. My head lands on his shoulder.

"Look at my little slave. That pussy is so wet I could shove my finger in it and it would swallow it up," he whispers in my ear, his breath warm. I clench around nothing and moan, nodding. Saliva gathers around the gag, the image forming in my head getting me hot.

"I'm going to put a blindfold on you. Be good for me."

He gingerly sets it on my eyes and once he ties it around my head, I realize that I'm placing my full trust in him. It makes me nervous but also turns me on. I'm completely at his mercy, ready for him to do what he pleases with my body.

Jinyoung maneuvers me onto my back again. Then he spreads my legs. I feel myself trembling with anticipation. His weight moves around and then I feel something warm against my clit. What is that? His finger? His tongue?

"You smell lovely," he admits as he blows cold air onto my abused clit. It's soothing. I feel his hands reach up, running up and down my inner thighs.

I can practically smell my desire in the air. The feeling of his hands on my thighs is such a banality, but with Jinyoung, everything is more exciting and sexy and turns me on— I can't explain how good it feels.

His hands part my pussy lips open, but he does nothing.

"I can't wait to stick my dick inside." I practically sob, wanting no more than to tell him, "Do it!"

I hear something plastic opening and Jinyoung shuffles above me. A condom. Safety is extremely important and how very Jinyoung of him to have that foresight.

Instead of making me wait, the head of his cock rubs against my entrance and feel myself sag with relief of finally getting what I have been waiting for.

"Nod if you are okay." I do so and he gently shoves his large dick inside. My body arches off the sheets and he chuckles. He waits a few moments for me to adjust until I wiggle, motioning for him to go.

And Jinyoung starts off extremely slow, his thrust deep, but almost teasing. I have an odd feeling he won't be so gentle once we start.

He presses his fingers onto the nipple clamps, the pain shooting through me and I moan so loud it is bordering on a scream. Jinyoung laps at my neck and bites some spots hard enough to leave a mark. An especially deep thrust hits my g-spot— my eyes roll.

I throw my head back, not knowing what to do with all the sensations.

"Look at you. I wish you could see yourself, Slave. You look like so needy. I make you like this, hm?" His cocky tone shoots to abused pussy and he starts picking up his pace, pumping inside me at a merciless pace.

He grunts and I moan and pant along with him, his sounds bringing me closer and closer. With a hand, he sticks two fingers inside me, as if his cock wasn't enough. My heart is beating so fast I feel like it will escape my ribcage. His fingers curl and hit my g spot every time, building my pleasure beyond reason.

I want to use my hands and eyes, see him and feel him, but the uselessness of my situation is, in fact, more exhilarating. Jinyoung makes use of my gag and pushes the ball against my tongue, making me gag on my own saliva.

The same, white-hot feeling creeps up. And I feel it everywhere. From my numb arms to my chest to my legs to my pussy.

Jinyoung leans forward, pressing his chest against mine and groans, his thrusting wild now and I can tell that after all that teasing, he's near his end, too. His fingers move faster inside me, his thumb rubbing my clit as well as his other hand tweaks my nipple while he also sucks hickeys on my neck.

His goal is to destroy me.

And with a few more pumps, I scream from behind my gag and convulse, thrusting upward. The feeling is overwhelming and I feel like I'm nearly passing out from the intense pleasure. Something strange spurts out of my pussy, almost like pee. Jinyoung— after such a show cums with deep, guttural sigh.

He instantly peels the gag and blindfold off me, smiling down at me with pride. His arms keep him upright as he lets his cock go limp inside me. Jinyoung presses a peck on my lips. I sigh.

That was such a journey, not just sexually, but mentally.

"You squirted," he chuckles. Blushing, I close my eyes and look away. He then sits me up to untie my hands.

Jinyoung makes a blanket materialize in his hands as he wraps it around us. It makes me happy, to be treated so well.

"I would like to offer more advice before I give you my key. Once I give it to you, I must send you on your way." He rubs my back as I cuddle deeper into the blanket.

"Hm?"

"The next Guardian you will meet is the Mad Hatter."

Mad Hatter. I have heard that name. He is fighting against the Heart and White Court. But he isn't a king. Not in the traditional sense.

"From this point forward, everyone you meet has an important role in the endless tick of the Land of Wonder. We in the Deep Woods do not play a part in the war."

I gulp and nod. War. Again.

"Thank you, Jinyoung. This is the most help I've gotten." He sighs and shakes his head.

"Typical. Should you have any doubts, it would be a great pleasure to help. You are the first wanderer to be...different."

Then, the moment I have been anticipating: his key. There is a large bow on the key, almost taking up the whole key. The key itself is small, a simple rod with no teeth. From the violet bow, there is a golden chain hanging. At the top, the hole has a triangle shape with three holes.

He gingerly places it on top of my dress.

"You can stay as long as you please. I need to have a long rest."

"Jinyoung, can I ask one more thing?" He hums to show he is listening.

"Can you tell me about the Mad Hatter?"

"The Mad Hatter will be kind to you, but his kindness is for the sake of his pride."

He smiles and using some magic, makes the cave a bit darker. "Now, I suggest you rest before you continue. The Hatter mansion is far from here."

[yodawgiherd]

Back to the Roots

Rating: T

>>>Read on AO3<<<

After a very long pause, I think it's high time to see what Annie is up to.

Enjoy!

Cold wind whipping at her coat, it somehow managed to find a way in to her skin even with her buttoning it all the way up to the neck. Shivering and stomping her feet to warm up a bit, she took a deep breath, casting an inspecting eye over the street around her. It was weird. Annie was back home, in Europe, in the city she grew up in, but somehow she felt more out of place than she ever did in America. Bowing against the wind, she started walking, looking for that one building she knew so intimately. And it wasn’t her home.

The gym was exactly where it was when her dad told her about the big move, rocking her whole world. Small and grey, it squatted at the end of a block, frowning at her as she came close. Its gray walls looked in quite a good shape, all things considered, the graffiti cleaned for once, and Annie allowed herself to smile before she opened the door, slipping in.

She wasn’t surprised to find the gym empty, as the hour was still quite early, but she still heard the muffled conversation and laughter of exactly the people she came here to see. Rounding a corner, she was greeted by a sound of leather creaking, as the bigger of the pair was giving it a proper do-over right now. Not sure how to draw attention to herself, she cleaned her throat, rather loudly, which seemed to alert both of them, their heads turning in her direction.

“Annie!”, shouted the blond, jumping over the ropes with a speed the defied his massive build, closing the distance in two steps and enveloping the girl in a bone-crushing hug.

“Bert, it’s the Lioness!”, he said to his companion, who just approached, grinning from ear to ear. “She’s back.”

“I can see that.”, the dark-haired man nodded, “Maybe you shouldn’t crush her the second she appears though, how about that.”

“Oh right.”, releasing Annie, who was just remembering that oxygen Is necessary for the function of the human brain, and the hug wasn’t letting any in. She took a step back, breathing in, putting her hands on her hips to stabilize herself as she looked the pair over.

“Reiner,”, she smiled at the blond, “Bertold,”, to the dark-haired one, “it’s good to see you two.”

They looked exactly as she remembered them. Reiner had a head full of bright blond hair, sharp features, and tall, broad shouldered body. He was wearing a tank top for his workout, so Annie could see the way his muscles bulged underneath the skin. Reiner was always a big guy, and the months she hasn’t seen him didn’t change that fact at all. Well, maybe he was even a bit broader, now that she thought about it. Bertold was even taller than Reiner, but where his friend was thick, he was thin, towering over everyone like a giant skeleton. All right, she was overplaying it a bit, he wasn’t that bony, but compared to Reiner his stature really did stand out.

“I have so many questions!”, Reiner blurted out, not able to hold his excitement in anymore, hands half-reaching out as if he wanted to hug her again, but than he thought better of it and pulled back.

“I’d like to talk too, is the roof still available?”

They both grinned at the same time.

“Totally.”

Annie didn’t remember when the tradition of their conversations up on the gym’s roof started, but it lasted for as long as she could recall. Here, with a cup of hot coffee in her hand, she was finally starting to feel welcome again, so much different and better than the cold anonymity of the streets.

“So,”, Reiner began, “how’s America?”

“Fine. Although I miss it here from time to time.”

“How about your father, leg still bothering him?”, Berthold interjected.

“Eh, you know him, he’s sitting back in the states. Soldering on day by day.”

The mere thought of her father left a bitter taste in her mouth, as it brought back the reason why she was even here in the first place.

“All right, out with it.”, Reiner took back the word, frowning at his taller friend, “What about the girl? The one your father was so obsessed with beating. Erm, what was she called, something exotic…?”

“Mikasa.”

Memories of blood, the rain. The sound her hand made when the bone snapped, the sickening crunch. The dark silhouette that loomed over her, Annie’s vision swimming with pain, looking ready to beat the shit out of her before surprisingly pulling back. She shivered. Not very pleasant.

“I trained with her for a time, but we had a falling out. She’s good, great partner.”

Reiner nodded, exchanging a quick look with Berthold, the silence returning. Annie took another sip of her coffee, looking over the roofs, very aware of the topic that was coming up, the elephant in the room. Well, she couldn’t avoid it for long anyways.

“Annie, you can guess what we both want to know now.” Berthold started, slowly, “You appear here, out of nowhere, without your dad, looking a bit haunted if you forgive me the word.”, a hand appeared on her shoulder, as the tall man was apparently showing his support, “What happened?”

She didn’t answer right away, sorting stuff in her head, not sure how to begin. Back on the plane, she thought about it, a lot, tried to figure out the right order of words, but there really was no way to prepare herself for the big reveal. Deciding that it was now or never, she dropped the big question, the one that was burning a hole into her mind ever since she walked away alive from the park Annie was sure she was going to lose her life in.

“Was I always this stupid?”

“I… Uhm…”, Reiner exchanged a look with Bertold, both unsure of what to say, “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean? Isn’t it obvious? No? Let me rephrase then. Did I always let my father walk all over me, with those stupid talks about his dream, did I always let him dictate everything in my life, not stopping once to ask myself if that’s what I really want?”

“Annie,”, Bert was the one talking, always the calmer and more level-headed of the two, “Your father loves you, he wants only the best for you.”

She shook her head.

“Answer the question.”

“He always had rather strong influence on your life, if that’s what you mean. I’d say… I’d say that you were more than willing to follow his orders.”

“Jesus…”, she hung her head in shame, “So I was always just his little puppet.”

“No, Annie, listen,”, Reiner spoke, “we were there, remember? You did what your dad said, but those were not bad things! He took care of you, especially after your mom left, and Bert is right.”, he nodded at his friend, “Your father wanted the best for you, he always did.”

“Sometimes what’s best for me isn’t what I want.”, she said to no one in particular, under her breath.

“There was this guy,”, she began, really just wanting to dump it all on her friends, let them know everything, make them understand, “we met back in states, after my first fight with Mikasa. We went out a couple of times and things just… happened. I got shot protecting his friend, who in the same time is Mikasa’s fiancé…”

“Wait what?”, Reiner jumped to his feet, eyes wide, “You got shot?”

“Yes, but I recovered. As I was saying…”

“Annie, you can’t just say that you got shot and continue talking! Who shot you? Why? What…”

“Reiner!”, she fixed him with a stern look, “It’s not important, I can tell you later. Now will you let me finish?”

“I…”, seeing that she won’t back down, he sighed, sitting back down, “Fine, whatever. Sorry for interrupting.”

One of your closest friends just announces that she got seriously wounded and he was supposed to just smile and nod at it. Great.

“Things were amazing,”, Annie continued, “but then I took him to meet my father and…”, her expression soured, “that was the start of the downhill slope. Dad strongly suggested that I should break up with him, because he adds no value to my training, that he distracts me, and stupid as I am, I obeyed.”, her fists clenched around the coffee cup, “Like a sheep, I followed his orders, ending up the great relationship I had, just because he said so. It opened my eyes, finally, and I saw just how easily I let him manipulate me, use me to his own ends. After that, stuff just fell apart, and here I am.”, she looked up, offering a weak smile. “That’s it, that’s the story.”

Bertold was the one to break the silence, standing up and gathering all the cups with a few swipes of his long hands.

“We are going to need a lot more coffee to talk this through.”

Annie couldn’t agree more.

From the way Hitch was watching him, it wasn’t hard to see that her psychiatric mind was full at work.

“What am I supposed to do then?”, Jean felt as if her gaze was piercing right into his mind, watching the embarrassing event unfold, over and over again, “I don’t want to act like a five-year-old anytime I’m alone with her. I don’t want to fuck everything up by blurting out some stupid shit, one that will be completely inappropriate, just because I can’t think straight around her.”

“Mikasa is really your kryptonite, isn’t she?”

Apparently in no rush, Hitch took another bite, rolling it around in her mouth. Damn, the taco was good.

“How about you suggest something then, instead of sitting there and stuffing your face.”, he growled at her, his patience wearing thin, but Hitch didn’t even seem to take notice. She was more than being used to people swearing at her, it was a part of her job. “Just a few weeks back, you told me that you don’t even want to be with her anymore, that you understand, and now this. Intriguing.”

“Yea well, tell that to my dick.”, Jean thought that it was accurate to say, because he always seemed to think with that part of his body instead of his brain anytime Mikasa was involved. He shook his head in desperation, “I don’t think I want to be with her, I just want… her. Understand?”

“Perfectly.”, she nodded, completely calm, while Jean was feeling like a total asshole. Here he was, sitting with an amazing and beautiful woman that he felt genuinely good around, but all he could talk about was that there was someone else, someone who he couldn’t stop thinking about no matter how hard he tried.

“What do I do doc.”

“Easy. You get to know her.”

Now it was Jean’s turn to be surprised.

“Huh?”

“Tell me, how many times did you talk to Mikasa, one on one, for a longer period of time?”

“Ehm, once? I think?”

Hitch looked downright smug.

“That’s exactly my point. I don’t think you are obsessed with her, you are obsessed with a mental image of her that you made. A perfect woman you dreamt up, and slapped her face right on top.”, she leaned forward, “Talk to her. Get to know her. Discover what she really is like, and then we can move from there. If your fascination will persist, we will solve it, but I have the feeling that it won’t.”

“That… That sounds surprisingly logical actually.”

“I know right?”, she flashed him a smile, standing up. “Now I would love to stay and chat, but I have a patient coming up, so I gotta run.”

Hitch pressed a quick kiss to Jean’s cheek, giving him a small wave before disappearing, leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Sitting in the tub was relaxing, and Eren allowed himself to just lay down and do nothing for a minute, closing his eyes. Work was as exhausting as usual, with the stream of patients not dwindling, opposite really, which meant that his shifts were getting progressively longer to deal with them. The stunt that Mikasa pulled, the maid thing, was just plain amazing, and it kept him going for far longer than he even dared to hope, but even that energy was coming to an end. All he could hope for today was a few hours of shut eye, and then it’s back to work, where he has twelve hours and…..

The bathroom door opened, making Eren sit up, allowing Mikasa to stroll in, wearing a black bikini. She crossed the distance to the tub, sitting on the edge, and put one leg up, showing Eren that she had heels on for some reason. And sunglasses, he realized, when she pushed them back, revealing a pair of grey eyes, watching him from her perch with an amused expression.

“I see you don’t have a lifeguard here at your beach.”, she said, making him wonder if work really didn’t make him go insane.

“I’m not at the beach this is a bathtub.”, Eren shot back, but Mikasa’s smirk didn’t disappear. Gracefully as always, she slid in, straddling his waist in the water.

“Still, I better keep an eye out. You don’t want to drown do you?”

Shaking his head, Eren had to agree that taking a bath did seem like more fun when she was involved. And it was good having her here for security too, right?

After all, there could be sharks hiding beneath the foam.