#and once i'm done i'll probably put it all up on ao3

[dandylovesturtles]

And here it is, part 4 of the Room Fic! ...or well. part of part 4.

see, Part 4 is going to be pretty long and take me awhile, so I decided to release it on tumblr as I go, in parts. and since we're already in a numbered list, I'll go by letters now. So this is Part 4 Part A!

it's fine, it makes sense!

I'm going to release it here on tumblr in parts, and then when it's all done I'll put it on AO3, and probably do some proper editing and may add/fix some things up once the whole thing is written. So consider this a semi-WIP. but I doubt it will change much because I usually don't change things too much after I finish writing them haha

anyway, hope you enjoy!

content warnings: discussions of food issues, anxiety, aftermath of torture

also, if you're confused, start here!

-----

Raph spots the change in Leo’s train car on the way to breakfast. He stops and tries to make sense of it for a minute, before making his way to the kitchen.

Mikey is already there, as is Splinter, making some tea. “Morning!” Mikey trills, scraping some scrambled eggs into a big platter.

“Mornin’,” Raph echoes back. He meant to sound neutral at worst, but his tone still earns a worried look from Mikey.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothin’s wrong,” Raph says quickly. “I just… noticed Leo did some redecorating.”

“Oh, yeah…” Mikey chews on his lip. “What’s up with that?”

“I dunno, but it makes Raph uneasy.”

“What is it?” asks Splinter, looking at them each in turn. 

“Leo covered up all his windows,” Mikey tells him.

“Ah, I see.” Splinter sets cups in front of them, followed by the tea pot. “I will go check on him.”

Splinter leaves Mikey and Raph looking at each other uncertainly.

“Why would he need the windows covered?” asks Mikey. “What does he need to hide from here?”

“I dunno, Mike.” Raph sighs. “I guess he doesn’t feel safe yet.”

“But he’s home,” Mikey insists. “He’s with us.”

“Yeah,” says Raph, because he doesn’t know what else to say.

“I told him to talk to us if anything’s bothering him.” Mikey taps the spatula against the empty skillet. “He said he would, but…”

Raph doesn’t know if he should feel surprised or not. “He hasn’t talked to you about anything?”

Mikey scowls. “Nothing important,” he says.

Raph chuckles. “Well, you are his little brother-“

“I’m not that little!” Mikey snaps, throwing the spatula down and rounding on Raph. 

Raph’s a little surprised by the sudden anger. Sure, Mikey has been insisting on his independence more and more, but this is more aggressive than usual.

“Raph didn’t mean anything by it,” he says, but Mikey doesn’t stop glaring. Raph is saved by Splinter’s return.

“He is sleeping quite soundly,” their dad announces, hopping up onto a stool and grabbing for the platter of eggs. “He was even drooling a bit.” Splinter chuckles.

“Okay, but you’re going to ask about it when he wakes up, right?” asks Mikey.

“No.” Splinter scoops the eggs onto his plate. “If he wants to explain, he will.”

“You don’t think it’s… I dunno. Concerning?” Raph asks.

“It is not hurting anyone. And it has helped your brother sleep. There’s nothing wrong with it,” says Splinter, and it has an air of finality.

Mikey looks unsatisfied with that outcome, but he doesn’t say anything. He fixes a plate for Leo and puts it into the microwave for safekeeping.

Raph isn’t sure where he lands. All he knows is that he sure as heck isn’t going to be the one to ask about it.

-----

Leo comes in about twenty minutes later, after they’ve already finished eating. He’s still wearing his pajamas, one of his thinner throw blankets, with the Jupiter Jim logo, pulled around his shoulders like a shawl. If you focus on his torso, he almost looks like a healthy teenager, thanks to his shell.

But his hands are still drawn and thin where they grip the fabric, his wrists bony where they peek out of his sleeves. His cheeks are still sunken in and his skin hasn’t regained its usual vibrancy. And there’s a subtle shake to his movements, like the effort it took to walk from his room to the kitchen was immense.

Oh, and there’s the absolutely devastated look on his face when he sees the empty plates.

Raph remembers, again, when Leo had practically begged them not to let him sleep through breakfast in the motel, and he feels a sick twist of his stomach.

“Geez, you guys didn’t leave any for me?” he asks, and his voice sounds light and joking and completely at odds with the expression on his face. Raph is pretty sure Leo doesn’t even know he looks like that; their self-appointed face man, who usually has so much control over his appearance, not even aware of how far his heart has slipped onto his sleeve.

“We have you a plate right here,” says Mikey, scrambling to open the microwave. “Want me to warm it up any?”

“No,” says Leo a little too quickly. His eyes stay locked on the plate even as he pulls on a smile that is so carefree it’s in obvious opposition with the rest of him. “I’m sure it’s fine - thanks, Angelo.”

Mikey tries to smile as he hands the lukewarm plate of eggs and toast to Leo. Leo takes it and grabs his fork with urgency he tries not to show. His bites are so steady and evenly paced that Raph bets he could clap the beat out if he wanted to - Leo doing all he can not to look like he’s scarfing.

Okay, so Leo clearly isn’t better yet; it doesn’t take a genius to figure that out. Any conversations Raph wants to have about what happened in that room will have to wait. That’s okay - he can be patient.

To keep from watching too obviously, he takes out his phone. April texted the group chat twenty minutes ago, saying she had some homework to catch up on but she’ll be coming over later today. Raph’s glad, because having her around keeps them all in better spirits. He spends way longer than necessary trying to find the exact gif to use as a reaction to the news.

“Can I have another piece of toast?” Leo asks, pulling Raph’s attention from his phone. He’s already eaten the ones Mikey gave him, and about half his eggs. He taps his fork against the empty half of his plate at a quick pace.

Is this the first time Leo has actually asked for something outright? Raph isn’t sure.

Mikey grimaces and checks his phone. “Barry said to give you that much… Oh, but if you’re still hungry, you can have yogurt!”

He opens the fridge to retrieve it. Leo scowls, scooping up a bite of eggs with more force than before, the scrape of metal on porcelain.

“Barry said,” he grumbles. “How long do we gotta listen to that guy?”

“He’s doing a lot of work to help you, Leo,” says Raph. “He seems to know what he’s talkin’ about.”

“Aw, come on. It’s one piece of toast!” Leo leans toward Mikey. “It’s not gonna hurt me!”

His voice is light, almost joking, but he’s doing it again: that sad, pitiful look. Raph is sure he doesn’t know he’s doing it.

It feels impossible to deny that face. Raph looks at Mikey, who looks back at him, both of them equally unsure.

“Well…” says Mikey weakly, glancing back toward the toaster. He’s going to give in, and Raph can’t blame him. Splinter doesn’t step in to help, either. “Barry said…”

Leo smiles. It looks almost manic. “What Draxum doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” he says in a singsong.

“What won’t I know?”

Raph jumps. Everyone jumps - some family of ninja they are.

Draxum stands at the foot of the escalator into their makeshift kitchen, arms folded. Raph has to hold back a sigh of relief, and he sees Mikey’s shoulders sag in turn. Leo scowls, whirling to glare at Draxum.

“Oh, come on!” he snaps. “Don’t you have other teenagers to torture today?”

“It’s Saturday,” says Draxum, crossing the room to sit at a chair. “So you have the benefit of my full attention.”

“Auuugh,” Leo groans, slumping dramatically at the table, and ignoring the effect his casual use of the word torture has had on everyone else in the room. Raph feels ill. Mikey looks it.

“Can Blue have another piece of toast?” Splinter asks, cutting through the awkward silence that follows this. He sounds almost annoyed as Leo, but as far as Raph can tell he’s letting Draxum take the lead on this one. Raph wonders if they’ve talked about it without him or his brothers around.

“Hmmm…” Draxum looks at Leo’s plate, considering. “Finish your eggs and yogurt first. If you’re still hungry, you may have another piece. But only if you’re hungry.” His expression turns even more stern, leveled directly at Leo. “Do not eat if your stomach is full. You’ll make yourself sick.”

“I’m not gonna make myself sick,” Leo argues.

“Hmph,” says Draxum, the short noise coated thick in disbelief. He doesn’t say anything more. Leo goes back to his rhythmic eating.

Raph grabs the empty plates from Mikey and Splinter and takes them to wash. Anything to keep himself from staring at Leo. And it’s his lucky day: there’s a whole stack of a distraction waiting for him in the sink. He runs the hot water and gets to work.

“Morning, family,” comes Donnie’s sleepy voice a few minutes later. Raph doesn’t look, and he doesn’t have to, because Donnie characteristically beelines straight for the coffee pot on the counter. Raph knew he went to his room after their talk in the lab the day before, but he’s not sure how much sleep Donnie actually got.

He leans sluggishly against the counter and checks his phone while the coffee brews. Raph keeps his focus on the dishes. Leo finishes his eggs and Draxum agrees to half a piece of toast - Mikey scrapes his stool against the floor as he jumps up to make it.

Donnie fills his mug and immediately takes a drink with no fear of scalding his mouth. Then he turns around and says, “Why’d you cover all the windows in your train car, Leo?”

Raph fumbles and drops the dish he had just pulled from the soapy water - thankfully it doesn’t break on the way down. Next to him, Mikey freezes. The toaster dings into the silence.

“Oh, that,” says Leo, nonchalant. Raph doesn’t turn around, so he has no idea if his face matches his tone this time. “I was just trying to envision how the room would look with curtains.”

“Using towels?”

“What can I say, I’m a visual guy.”

“Hmm…” Donnie pushes off the counter and disappears from Raph’s view. “Well, did you decide you want curtains?”

“Uh, yeah… I think it would really up the feng shui in the joint! And our old rooms didn’t have any windows, so too much light gets into the train car when I’m trying to sleep, anyway.”

The argument rolls so naturally off Leo’s tongue that Raph is impressed.

“Okay,” says Donnie simply. “I can install curtain rods in your room later. I actually have some leftover scrap metal that I’ve been trying to find a purpose for, and I think it will work well for this.”

“Really? You’ll do it today?”

“Yes. I don’t have anything else on my to-do list… that can’t wait until tomorrow.”

Leo chuckles, but he sounds genuinely happy when he says, “Thanks, Dee.”

“And I have some leftover fabric I can sew into curtains,” Splinter adds. “You can use them until you’re well enough to find some you prefer.”

“Yeah? You don’t mind?”

“Of course not, Blue! It will be a nice little project to keep my old hands busy.”

“Thanks, Dad,” says Leo sincerely. There’s some shifting around like he’s getting an ever-coveted Splinter Hug. It lasts a beat longer than those hugs normally do. Raph can’t blame his dad - if he could, he’d pick Leo up and never let him go again.

He hears a clink next to him and turns his head. Mikey has buttered Leo’s toast, but now he’s standing still, a pensive frown on his face, the butter knife clenched in his fist.

“Hey, Leo,” he says, turning around, and Raph senses danger. He turns around, too, watching as Mikey approaches the table. “Is that the only reason you want curtains?”

Leo looks between the toast and Mikey’s face. He tenses up, the empty yogurt cup crinkling in his grip. “Yeah, that’s all,” he says.

“Are you sure?” Mikey asks. He still has the half slice of toast in his hands. Leo’s eyes keep catching on it.

“What’s there to be sure about, Miguel?” he asks. “It’s just curtains. Lots of people have ‘em.”

“It’s just that you never said anything about it before. And now suddenly you need curtains today?” Mikey’s hands wave and take the toast with them - Leo’s eyes track the movement. “You told me, if anything is-“

“Michelangelo,” says Splinter sternly, making everyone jump for the second time this morning. “That is your brother’s toast - give it to him.”

Mikey seems to remember the food in his hands at that exact moment. He grimaces, quickly depositing the toast onto Leo’s plate. Leo’s face has that sad, desperate quality to it again as he grabs the toast in his fingers, like he has to make sure no one else will take it.

Mikey backs away from the table, crestfallen. The silence that ensues is uncomfortable again.

“Uh… well I think the curtains will look great!” says Raph. “Snazzy!”

Snazzy? Oh Pizza Supreme in the Sky help him.

“…Thanks, Raph,” says Leo, and takes a bite of toast. It doesn’t have the same warmth from before, and the awkwardness is thick now.

Raph dries the dish he has in his hands and sets it on the counter, pops the drain plug, and quicksteps for the doorway.

“I’m going to do my morning training!” he calls, to convince everyone, especially himself, that he isn’t running away.

-----

Leo sits alone in his dad’s recliner, staring very hard at the opposite wall and willing himself not to barf.

The piddling amount of eggs and toast he ate at breakfast would not have been enough to fill him up even three weeks ago, but now it’s stuffed his shrunken stomach. The truth is, he’d been full when he bargained with Draxum for another piece of toast, but he hadn’t been willing to let the fight go.

Besides, he doesn’t know when he’ll get food next. And better to be overfull than hungry.

He’s being dramatic, of course. He’ll get food at lunch… probably. No, definitely, because he’s home and his family would never deny him food.

Except, the way Mikey had held his toast and demanded answers about the curtains…

Leo really thought he had gotten away with it, too. No one said anything until Donnie did, and Donnie had seemed completely convinced by Leo’s casual responses! But of course Mikey saw through him. Mikey’s as keen when it comes to people as Leo himself is, but where Leo uses that insight to manipulate and obfuscate, Mikey uses it to tear open, to expose.

Leo will have to watch out, next time. He can’t let half-thought through excuses stand between him and food.

Not that they’d actually keep food from him. Because they love him and they’re his family. He’s just being weird again.

Still…

His stomach gurgles uncomfortably, and Leo grips the arms of the chair. He really doesn’t want to throw up. Besides the mess he’ll make of the recliner, and the unpleasantness of the sensation, he doesn’t want to lose everything he ate earlier. He still doesn’t know when he’s going to eat again. If he loses it here, he’ll truly have nothing.

“Blue? Are you alright?”

He turns his head. Splinter is standing by the chair, looking up at him. It occurs to Leo he didn’t actually ask if he could sit here, and he starts to push himself up.

“I can get in a beanbag-”

“No no, it’s alright,” says his dad, hopping up onto the chair to join Leo. He does it so lightly the recliner barely jostles. “You’re alright, Blue. Just breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.”

Leo does as he’s told, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. He wonders how his dad seems to know the problem without having to be told - from raising four children alone, most likely. After a moment, he feels the chair move, the back reclining and the footrest coming up under his legs. Then furry hands gently tug his blanket from around his shoulders and spread it out over his whole body.

“There we go,” says Splinter after that’s done. “Are you comfy, Blue?”

All Leo can do is give a tiny nod of his head; anything more aggravates the nausea. It seems Splinter understands, though, as he hums approvingly and hops off the chair.

“What’s wrong?” asks a new voice, and Leo grits his teeth. He doesn’t move from his spot, though.

“Blue just needs some rest,” says Splinter.

“He ate too much, didn’t he?” Draxum asks, tone irritated. “I told him not to have more unless he was actually hungry-”

“Stop,” Splinter commands, in that firm tone that can’t be argued with. “We will talk about this later.”

Leo wonders if he’s included in the we. But Draxum grumbles something under his breath and retreats, leaving Leo and his dad alone again.

“Don’t worry about him,” says Splinter, moving to turn on the projector. “I’ll deal with it. You just get some rest, Blue.”

He turns on one of his stories on low volume, then climbs back into the chair and settles in beside Leo. The soft whir of the projector, the quiet voices of the actors, and his dad’s breathing lull him into a doze. The nausea, eventually, passes.

-----

After his workout, Raph goes to check on everyone again. It’s becoming a routine.

Splinter’s loud snores lead Raph to him and Leo, both sound asleep in the recliner in the TV room. Raph would wonder how Leo can sleep through that, but he remembers that their dad’s snores used to be piped directly into his room in their old lair. If anything, this is probably nostalgic for him.

Draxum’s in the kitchen. Apparently they’re stuck with him for the weekend. Raph decides not to say anything to him and slips away before he’s noticed.

Now to find his other little brothers. He heads straight for the lab first, already knowing it’s where Donnie would be at this time of day, even if he hadn’t promised to make curtain rods for Leo.

He has to go through the same song and dance as the day before with the voice lock, but the door slides open soon enough, and Raph walks in on an argument. At least he won’t have to go searching for Mikey.

“-don’t understand why you’re so worked up about it,” Donnie is saying. He’s bent over his workbench, goggles pulled down, soldering iron in hand but not on. “It’s just curtains.”

“Because everyone’s acting like it’s not weird!” Mikey argues. He spins on his heel, looking at Raph beseechingly. “Raph, you agree with me, right!?”

“Raph just got here,” Raph says, folding his arms. “Mind filling me in on what we’re arguing about?” Even though he already has a good guess.

“We aren’t arguing,” says Donnie, at the same time Mikey snaps, “Leo, duh!” Donnie sighs, raising his goggles and turning around.

“Mikey is upset that I’m making Leo the curtain rods he asked for.”

“I’m not upset about the curtain rods! But you’re all acting like this is totally normal!”

“Curtains are normal!”

“Leo asking for the curtains is not normal,” Mikey presses. “What does he even need them for!? We live underground!”

“He complained about the light coming through the windows.”

“And he never thought to mention it once over the months we’ve been living here? Come on, Donald, use your brain!”

“Excuse you, I am always using my brain-”

“Leo’s got insomnia, Mikey,” Raph interjects. “Maybe a totally dark room helps him sleep better.”

“He had insomnia in the old lair, too,” Mikey retorts. “And he’s so tired right now all he does is sleep! He was sleeping in the TV room when I came in here!”

Raph doesn’t have a response for that. And the thing is, he thinks he has an idea why Leo wants to block out his windows, and it has nothing to do with his insomnia. But he doesn’t know how much to tell Mikey now. Not without bringing up the security footage.

Maybe Donnie has the same thought, because when Raph glances his way their eyes lock. 

Of course, Mikey notices. Because Mikey is just as observant as Leo, when it comes to people.

“You guys know something,” he says, looking between them.

“No,” says Donnie, too fast.

Mikey pouts at him. “Donald.”

“Leo hasn’t told us any more than he’s told anyone else,” says Raph.

“But you know something. How could you…” His eyes go wide. “The security footage. Donnie copied it all.”

“Well, I did,” Donnie agrees, “but-”

“You guys watched it, didn’t you?” Mikey asks, but it’s more like an accusation.

“No,” says Raph, and now he’s the one who says it too quickly.

Mikey squints at him, then looks back at Donnie, weak link that he is. “Donnie, did you watch that security tape?”

“I did…n’t,” he says, characteristically unconvincingly. Raph groans.

“I knew it!” Mikey lunges for Donnie’s computer, and it’s only Donnie’s battleshell arms that stop him from getting to the keyboard. “Let me see it too!”

“Mikey, stop!” says Raph, coming and putting a hand on his little brother’s shoulder. He winces when it’s shrugged off. “We’re not gonna watch the video.”

“Why not!?” Mikey demands, ripping himself out of Donnie’s metal arms and jumping back from both of them. “Why can’t I see it!? You both got to!” He looks between them with wild eyes, and then his face falls. “It’s because I’m the youngest, isn’t it?”

“No,” says Raph. “It’s because we both decided not to watch any more for Leo’s privacy.”

“For Leo’s privacy?” Mikey doesn’t look convinced. “Raph, he’s hurting! What if what’s on those videos can help?”

“What if watching them hurts him more?” Donnie defends. “He’ll find out we watched them, and then what?”

“He’d understand!”

“Would he?” Donnie sounds doubtful, and Raph can’t help but doubt it, too.

Even Mikey falters. He’s quiet a moment, wrapping his arms tight around his middle.

“...I don’t want him to suffer,” he says finally. “I want to help him.”

“We all wanna help him,” says Raph.

Mikey turns his eyes on Raph, and they’re full of fear and doubt and uncertainty. “You won’t even talk to him,” he says. It’s damning and cold and worst of all, true.

Raph takes a shaky breath, trying not to show his broken heart. “Listen. All Raph’s saying is, it’s barely been three days since we got Leo back home. Let’s give him time. Hopefully he’ll open up about all this stuff on his own.”

“...Fine. I won’t watch the video,” says Mikey. But he steels his expression, defiant. “But I’m going to keep trying to help him.”

“Just don’t push him, Mikey-”

“I won’t! I know what I’m doing.” He gives them a smile, but it’s weak compared to his usual. “Trust me, guys. I’ve got Dr. Feelings on my side!”

He turns and leaves the lab, the door sliding shut with a reverberating shunk behind him. 

Donnie slumps in his chair. “At least it’s not Dr. Delicate Touch.”

Raph laughs at that. It’s about all he can do.

-----

They feed Leo lunch. Of course they do. He doesn’t know why he keeps thinking they might not.

Of course, Draxum is still there, looking over his shoulder like a warden to make sure Leo doesn’t eat so much as a bite more than he’s meant to. It makes the whole experience stressful, and Leo is ready to crash again as soon as it’s over.

(Is this all his life is now? Long periods bogged down in exhaustion, only broken by the reminder that food is always controlled by someone else.)

He hasn’t been dozing for long this time when a shout echoes through the lair, grabbing his attention.

“Hey guys!”

“April!” yells Mikey, springing up from the beanbag he was sitting in. He’d been there for a while now, looking intently at his phone, but Leo never asked. Probably a new game or something. “Come on in!”

She enters the living room, a bag with a familiar comic store logo hung over her arm. She gives Mikey a one-armed hug before making her way around the chair to hold the bag out to Leo.

“Here you go!” she trills. “I picked it up as soon as I got done with my homework.”

Leo takes it, baffled. He reaches into the bag, gripping something rather large and hard-covered; pulling it out reveals…

“…The Jupiter Jim Sixtieth Anniversary Comic Special!?” Leo cries out loud. He lays it in his lap, reverently brushing the cover with his fingers. “It came out!?”

“Uh, yeah, today.” April laughs. “Don’t you remember? You made me set, like, three different reminders.”

Leo stares at the comic book, feeling a strange sort of disconnect. He can remember when he thought about this comic coming out once a day, at least - he’d been counting down the days from the preorder. But… he actually hasn’t thought about it once since…

At some point, he stopped looking forward to the comic. Because he didn’t think he would be here to read it.

But he is here. He’s alive. Time is still moving forward, and the proof is his long-awaited comic book, finally in his hands.

(Maybe his life still has a few good things to look forward to.)

Leo may be tired of crying, but crying isn’t tired of him - the tears come on hot and fast as he processes all of it at once. The grief at what was almost lost and the impossible relief that it wasn’t.

He rubs furiously at his eyes and sniffs aggressively. Then he looks up at April with the best smile he can manage and holds out his arms.

“Thanks, April.”

“Of course!” She beams, not commenting on the tears, and gives him a hug that is tight and warm and everything he wants. “Now you don’t have to keep texting me about it.”

Leo laughs as he lets go. It’s still a little watery, but she doesn’t comment. “Well what are we waiting for? Wanna read it together?”

“Uh, duh!” April shoves him to the side without any force and settles in next to him on the chair. “I heard they brought back all the old comics characters for this!”

Leo nods excitedly, eyes rising to meet Mikey’s. “How about you, Mikester? We can do the voices!”

Even though he knows his voice won’t hold out for more than a few pages.

“Oh yeah!” says Mikey. “Just let me-”

He looks down at his phone, and Leo catches it as his expression changes - something on the screen taking his attention and causing him to furrow his brow.

“Aaactually,” he says, looking back up with a forced smile. “I have… something I have to do. Somewhere else! But you guys have fun!”

And then he disappears down the escalator toward their train cars.

Leo watches him go, then turns back to look at April. She’s craned her neck to watch, too, a worried pinch to her eyebrows behind her glasses.

It clears up when she catches Leo looking. “Welp. Guess it’s just you and me, then!”

Leo rubs his fingers over the cover again. His desire to read it disappeared with Mikey. Donnie’s busy, Raph’s avoiding him, and now Mikey has more important things to do.

At least April is here. He worms himself a little more solidly against her warmth and hopes he doesn’t drive her away, too.

“Let’s do something else for now,” he says. “Save this bad boy for when we can all read it together.”

April’s eyes go wide. “You sure? I don’t think the guys would mind…”

“Uh, no, Donnie would definitely kill me if I read anything with Atomic Lass before him.” Leo gently sets the comic aside. “Besides, how are we gonna do the voices with just two of us?”

“What, you’re saying I can’t handle it?” April asks, a challenge in her voice. “I bet I could do a one-woman show.”

“Oh, I’d love to see that!” Leo laughs, and it’s only because April is here that it’s genuine and not forced. “But I don’t think I could stay awake for the whole thing, anyway.”

“Well… fine.” April relents. “Anything you wanna do instead?”

“Mmm…” He hands her the remote. “It’s been awhile since we judged people on Say Yes to the Dress.”

“Ooo, you are so right!” April flips on the projector and starts loading up the episodes. “Hold on, let me find where we left off.”

Soon, the sounds of over-dramatic reality TV fill the room. Leo shifts until his head is tucked under April’s chin, and she scratches her fingernails over his shell as they watch. They give their opinions on the dresses and jeer the catty friends and family members.

It feels so normal. The most normal Leo’s felt since he woke up in a room that was nothing but white.

It proves to him that things can be normal.

(But still, in the back of his mind, he wonders when his next meal will be.)

-----

Raph isn’t sure how many more tense dinners his family can survive.

They’re eating beef stew, partly so Leo doesn’t feel like the odd one out with his soup. Except he’s still the odd one out, because they have big chunks of beef and veggies while he has mostly broth with easy to swallow carrots, and some more egg for protein.

Raph hates eating in front of him. It feels like rubbing it in. But would taking their food and leaving him to eat alone be any better?

Probably not, because Draxum would still be watching him. And that’s the biggest source of tension.

Draxum is sitting at the table like the rest of them, but he might as well be looming over Leo’s shoulder. Leo himself stays hunched over his bowl of soup like he thinks it’s going to be snatched away at any moment, eating with quick, furtive movements, his eyes darting to Draxum each time.

It’s the exact opposite of his measured eating from this morning, and even more unsettling.

April is here, thank the Pizza Supreme, and she’s trying to keep the conversation going so they don’t all dwell on the bad vibes from Leo’s direction. Only Splinter is biting, though. Raph tries, of course, but…

He’d take fighting a villain a million times over this.

“Oh yeah, Donnie, Leo said you and Splints are making him curtains for his train car,” says April, grabbing Raph’s attention. “How’s that going?”

Across the table, Mikey’s expression turns conflicted. He focuses his eyes on his food and doesn’t catch Raph watching.

“Oh, it’s going well,” says Donnie, “but I didn’t have enough spare metal to finish. I’ll go to the scrapyard tomorrow and see what I can scrounge up.”

“Hmm… I do not like the idea of you going alone,” says Splinter hesitantly. “We do not know if those people will come back.”

No one has to ask what people he’s referring to. Still, Donnie looks irritated.

“Papa, it’s just the scrapyard,” he argues. “I’ll be back before it’s dark.”

“Still…”

“I’ll go with him!” says Mikey suddenly, raising his hand to volunteer. “Then he won’t be alone. Buddy system!” He slaps his raised hand down on Donnie’s shoulder. 

“Ow,” says Donnie in a flat tone, reaching up and shoving him off. “Despite the unnecessary assault on my person, I’m amenable to Micheal accompanying me.”

“What’s “amenable”?” Leo asks in a stage whisper. 

(It’s the most like himself he’s sounded all day.)

“I think it’s what you say at the end of a prayer,” Mikey stage whispers back.

(Raph can help his smile. He hides it behind his napkin.)

“It means I’m fine with it,” Donnie snaps. “None of you read my Word of the Day texts, do you?”

“Only ‘cause it’s words no one uses,” Leo scoffs. “Seriously, who even uses words like “sanctimonious”?”

“Lots of people!”

“Lots of nerds?”

Donnie glares at him. “You are so lucky we’re having a nice dinner right now, Nardo.”

Leo snorts and refocuses on his soup. He has a big, cocky grin on his face, and it’s all so normal that Raph feels something unknot in his chest. Maybe, Leo really is starting to get better. 

And then Splinter says, “I also need to go out tomorrow… It’s been so long since we got groceries, I couldn’t even eat my usual microwave burrito for lunch!”

And just like that, the normalcy is ripped away again.

Leo’s eyes snap up, locking on their dad, unblinking. His knobbly fingers press tighter around his bowl, pulling it closer to him like he’s scared someone will snatch it away.

“We’re running out of food?”

He sounds so scared that Raph can’t stop himself before he’s reaching over. Just to put his hand on Leo’s shoulder, to give him a hug, if he wants. Anything he needs to calm down, to not look so terrified.

But Leo must misread the action, because he jerks away, gripping the bowl impossibly tighter, eyes blown out wide and a just noticeable tremble in his shoulders. Like he’s scared of Raph.

Raph pulls his hand back without making contact and hunches in his chair, as far away as he can get from Leo without leaving the table. Or maybe he should just get up and leave. How can he be around his little brother when he’s scared of him like this?

“Ah, no,” says Splinter, and this has finally broken his easy-going tone. “There is still plenty of food, Blue, don’t worry.”

“…Hah. Right. Of course there is,” says Leo.

His voice is high and reedy, his face twitching like it’s trying to force itself back into the big smile from earlier but just doesn’t know how to move its muscles. “Why wouldn’t there be?”

Splinter reaches out hesitantly and gives Leo a pat on the arm. Leo flinches, his grip on his bowl still tight, and Splinter retreats again.

“Hey, Pops,” says Raph, drawing attention off Leo. “I can go with you tomorrow.” 

They can get more food with more hands.

“Oh, thank you, Red,” says Splinter, relieved. “That will make things much easier to carry.”

“Sure,” says Raph. Then he upends the rest of his stew into his mouth and swallows it all as fast as he can before standing up.

“Welp, I’m done with dinner so I’m going to get a workout in before bed night everyone!”

And then he’s out of there. Running away from the haunted shell of Leo.

He doesn’t know what to do with a little brother who ducks away from his hands. He doesn’t know what to do with a little brother who covers windows and hides from his eyes. He doesn’t know what to do with a little brother who looks up at him and says, “That’s not what a hero would do.”

Raph is a big guy and he’s never been good with fragile things. So maybe the best thing he can do for now is stay back and let those with deft hands take the lead.

Even if it’s not what he wants.

What he really wants to do is go back to that facility. Find the men that did this to Leo. And then…

Raph lines up his punching bag and swings. Over and over and over, until his fingers sting.

-----

They’re leaving him here. They’re leaving him alone.

Alone with Draxum. 

Leo wants to protest. He wants to beg them to stay. He wants them to not want to leave him to begin with.

But Splinter said they haven’t gotten groceries in awhile. And even if he claims they aren’t running out of food, Leo is terrified of what happens if they do.

So he doesn’t ask his dad to stay. He keeps his mouth shut, focus on his bowl of soup, depressingly empty next to everyone else’s.

But Donnie… Donnie doesn’t have to go to the scrapyard tomorrow, right?

Yeah… Leo can survive the lack of curtains for another day. He slept just fine with his makeshift window blockers last night, after all. He appreciates that Donnie wants to get it done quickly, but there’s no need.

“Hey, Dee,” he says, looking up, and realizing too late that he just interrupted something April was saying. Everyone goes quiet, anyway, and he feels the suffocating weight of everyone’s eyes on him.

His mouth goes dry.

“Yes, Leo?” Donnie prompts when he doesn’t say anything. He looks confused, and concerned. They all do. Because it’s super weird for Leo to say something and then fall silent. Just like it would be weird for him to beg Donnie to stay because he’s afraid of being alone with Draxum.

“Just, uh… excited to see the curtain rods,” he says, pivoting to a neutral topic. Maybe no one noticed. Maybe he was quick enough.

Donnie’s face lights up the way it does when anyone wants to see his handiwork, which is good. Leo likes making his brothers happy. Pizza Supreme knows he hasn’t been good at it lately.

“Of course!” he says, practically bouncing in his seat. “I’ll show you after dinner!”

“Can’t wait.”

Conversation moves on. Leo finishes his soup.

“Are you still hungry?” Draxum asks, making him jump. “Do not lie to me, this time.”

“Draxum,” says Splinter in a warning tone. But that’s all he does. He doesn’t offer Leo more food. He doesn’t argue that Leo wouldn’t lie.

They haven’t been grocery shopping in awhile.

“…No,” Leo says, twisting his napkin in his hand. “I’m full.”

-----

“I focused on the windows directly around your bed to begin,” Donnie says as he leads Leo into his train car, a bounce in his step as he pushes past the curtain. “To help you get a good night’s sleep. And Dad already hung what curtains he had finished, so you can even see the final result!”

Leo steps into the middle of the room and looks around. The curtain rods are simpler than he expected, simple things fastened to the wall, able to be unlatched so the rods can be removed and the curtains swapped out. Every windows’ brackets are slightly different, a testament to the scraps Donnie used to make them, but Leo likes that - this hodge-podge, improvised way of home decor has always been their style. It has a charm you can’t get in a normal house.

Donnie has also painted the rods a gunmetal blue, and some of the brackets have Ls etched into the metal. It’s little details like that that leave Leo touched.

The curtains themselves are just black fabric, sewn so they can loop over the rods and be pulled aside when desired. It’s simple and quick, but they represent hours his dad spent today at a sewing machine, just to help him sleep.

Leo feels himself getting a little teary again, and he quickly blinks it back. He doesn’t feel like crying today.

“It’s so cool, Dee,” he says, and his voice is genuine; he catches Donnie flap his hands in a pleased way out of the corner of his eye. “Thanks. This will really help a lot.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you like them!” Donnie is all smiles, and it makes Leo smile, too. “I wanted to make them more elaborate, but I thought time was of the essence. I would have been done today, if I hadn’t run out of materials.”

“No way, man, you got a lot more done today than I thought you would.” Then again, Donnie always has been quick, even more so since he got his powers, so Leo shouldn’t be so surprised. “What else could you even do to them? Add AI?”

“Oho, don’t tempt me.” Donnie reaches up and taps one of the brackets with a nail, making a soft ping. “Then you could open or close all the curtains with voice command!”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good using my hands.” He spins to take the room in one more time, then claps his arm around Donnie’s shoulders.

(The pang when his arm hits the metal shell is more jarring than it used to be.)

“Seriously, hermano. Thanks.”

Donnie doesn’t pull away quite as quickly as he used to. “Well. Save any more thanks until I finish with the project. Which should be soon, after my scrapyard run tomorrow!”

Right. The scrapyard. This is when Leo should bring it up. This is the perfect time.

He can just ask Donnie to stay. To put it off one more day, work on something else. Here, in his room, just the two of them, he doesn’t think Donnie would refuse him. He doesn’t think Donnie would make fun of him. He doesn’t think Donnie would call him weird.

“Actually, uh…”

He remembers Donnie taking his cracker and eating it.

“Hm?” Donnie turns out of his arm and looks at Leo, confused. “What’s wrong?”

He remembers Donnie’s reaction to the chewed up bottle cap.

“Leo?”

“Nothing,” he says quickly, rubbing the back of his head. “Just… be careful, okay? We don’t know if those EPF guys have come back.”

Donnie’s face drops into a more serious expression. “Right. Don’t worry - I’ve taken precautions.”

“What precautions?”

“I’ve updated the software on all our trackers. If they leave the city limits, or if a third party attempts to interfere with the signal, they’ll immediately send an alert to everyone’s phones.”

“You don’t think that’s a little… excessive?”

Donnie folds his arms over his chest. “Not if it keeps everyone safe.”

Leo doesn’t know how to argue with that.

“I am working on a way that we can each override it, though,” Donnie adds. “We wouldn’t want to scare each other if we leave the area on purpose. And I have plans for even more enhancements that can-”

“Eugh boy.” Leo motions Donnie toward the door. “I’m way too tired for speech mode, Dee. Maybe later?”

Donnie scowls. “Exasperated sigh. There is never a “later” with you.”

Leo laughs. “You got me!”

“You could really stand to pay attention and learn something… But, alright.” Donnie steps toward the curtain. “I will let you get away with it this time, only because you’re still recovering.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Yes.” But Donnie gives him a grin on the way out. “Goodnight, Nardo.”

“Night, nerd!”

As soon as Donnie’s gone, Leo sinks onto his bed and puts his head in his hands.

He couldn’t ask Donnie to stay. He couldn’t, because it would be weird and strange and bad. And now he’s going to be left alone with Draxum.

Will Draxum even let him eat? What if he decides Leo’s had enough…?

It’s a stupid thought. Of course Draxum will let him eat. Otherwise, Leo’s family would… do something!

Right?

He thinks about Donnie taking the cracker again. His pulse quickens.

He can’t go without food again. He can’t. He doesn’t think he would be able to take it.

But if no one else is going to give him food, then… then…

Leo takes a deep breath and steels his resolve. He knows what he needs to do.

He grabs the curtain on the nearest window and pulls it over, just a crack - just enough to see the lights outside, to see when they dim as the rest of his family goes to bed for the night.

And he waits.

-----

By the time Raph finally leaves the dojo, it’s dark in the lair, with only some safety lighting and a few neon signs still on. He can hear his dad snoring from the TV room, the projection flickering on the end card of a show, and as he passes their extra train car he sees Draxum inside, working on something under a desk lamp. Mikey and Leo are both in their rooms, from what he can tell, and Donnie must be in his lab.

He’ll go on his rounds in a bit; first, he beelines for the kitchen for water and a nighttime snack.

He’s quiet as he walks up the escalator, knowing exactly which steps creak and squeal and carefully avoiding them. He doesn’t want a conversation right now; not with his wrapped knuckles and sweat-soaked mask dangling from his fingers.

The kitchen’s dark when he arrives, and he fumbles around for the switch, missing it a few times. It’s so different from the layout of the old lair, and he’s not usually the first one in the kitchen in the morning.

He finally flips on the light, and finds he isn’t the first one in the kitchen tonight, either.

Leo stands frozen by the counter, eyes wide and panicked when they meet Raph’s. In his hands he’s clutching a half-full bag of chips, sour cream and onion, the plastic crinkling and snapping where he grips it tight. He looks like a terrified, wild animal, drowning in one of his own hoodies and stancing up like he’s ready to bolt. Like he’s doing something wrong, getting a snack in his own house.

Except… he kind of is doing something wrong. And that’s what breaks Raph’s heart.

But what is Raph supposed to do here? Tell Leo he can’t eat that, the same as his captors did? Try to explain to him why he can’t have it, when Raph barely understands the reasons himself? Rip the bag from his weak hands, and prove to Leo once and for all that his family can’t be trusted?

Raph is supposed to be the biggest brother. The one who always knows exactly what to do, exactly how to help, who protects his three little knuckleheads from a world that wants to hurt them.

But he doesn’t know what to do about this. It’s just not in his playbook.

He’s never been good with fragile things.

Raph reaches over and flips off the kitchen light. He goes back to the escalator, and dodges the squeaky steps. He goes to his train car, and pulls the curtain over the doorway.

He pretends he didn’t see.

-----

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 Part A (here) | Part 4 Part B (not out yet)

[eyelessfaces]

tousled, stubbled, tired

miguel o'hara x reader

well basically I've been obsessed with the concept art for miguel so it is heavily inspired by those (x). not my fault he looks so boyfriend

summary: miguel is on the edge of a burn out, and he's the only one not seeing it.

warnings: none too important I think, just miguel being really tired because he works a lot. swearing, one small (and cringe) innuendo.

tags: gn!reader, established relationship, angst, fluff, domestic fluff, hurt/comfort?, nerdy miguel<3

word count: 2.1k

masterlist | taglist | ao3

Miguel hadn’t slept at home in days; you had been fairly accustomed to him leaving in the middle of the night for safety matters in Nueva York and coming back early in the morning, but now that the threat was multiversal and now that he was the leader of the spider society, he didn’t even bother getting to bed in the first place.

He in fact barely even left the spider society; the rare times he did were for missions, and when he came back he didn’t even take the time to catch a break; he always had something to fix, something to build, a new suit to work on, a machine to program, meetings, briefings, then more missions.

You wondered how he still had all that energy and where it came from, and you wondered how he hadn’t burnt out yet. 

Even the small naps he took from time to time – against his will, you had found him passed out on his desk one day, head resting over folded arms, mouth slightly opened, soft snores escaping – couldn't possibly make up for his lack of sleep, and even though his mutation may grant him more stamina and allow him to stay awake longer than the average human being, the dark circles under his eyes were the visual proof of his fatigue, and it was all you needed to try to drag his ass back home so he could get some rest.

You watched from a distance as Miguel was sitting on the floor, a monkey wrench in hand and a screw sitting between his lips. He looked focused, a small crease forming between his eyebrows as he tried to fix his machine – you had no idea what it was for, but you figured it must be important considering the significant amount of time he had already taken trying to fix it. 

Miguel gasped in surprise at your contact, slightly jumping at the sudden feeling of your hands over his shoulders, your unexpected and unannounced presence tearing him out of his developing state of drowsiness.

“Shit you scared me” he grunted softly, grabbing the screw at his mouth before turning to look back at you.

"Sorry" you apologized, bending to leave a kiss at the top of his head, your thumbs rubbing where his suit was peeking out under the baggy clothes he had been wearing for probably way too long. His shoulders muscles were stiff and you felt them tense even more when he turned back to his machine with a small sigh.

You joined him and pushed the hammer and nails out of the way before sitting down next to him. 

"When was the last time you went to the cafeteria for something other than the coffee?" you asked accusingly as you looked down at the empty mug beside him on the floor, your hand resting at the back of his neck, playing with the hair there.

He shrugged, still looking at the open hatch of the machine in front of him. 

“A bagel won’t keep me awake” he muttered, his voice slightly muffled by the object in his mouth as he tightened a bolt, putting his tool back on the floor with a clinking before grabbing another.

“You still need to eat, you won’t get to finish fixing this machine if you die first” you scolded him as your hand left him, looking at him sternly.

He turned to you and let go of his screw before putting a hand at your arm, his tired eyes boring into yours.

“I'll eat, I promise, but I'll do that once I'm done. I’m really close to getting it, I almost have it solved.” he declared, tilting his head towards the machine as his grip around your arm lightly tightened.

You closed your eyes and nodded once before you opened your mouth to talk again, but Miguel had already turned back to work at his machine. You let out a small sigh and grabbed the screw he previously had at his mouth to fiddle with it.

"When was the last time you had a real night of sleep? Because I don't recall seeing you in our bed in what– almost a week at least?"

"Are we playing 21 questions?" he asked sarcastically as he turned to you again, clearly beginning to lose patience. 

You paused and looked away from him, a small sigh leaving your mouth before you looked back in his direction.

"We're playing 'I'm worried about my boyfriend', it's a game where said boyfriend barely takes care of himself and drowns in work and in which everyone around him witnesses his vital needs getting neglected." you said as you didn’t even try to make it sound like a joke, just blatantly showing him how upset you were.

He pinched his lips before his gaze dropped to his lap.

“Miguel” you called. “Take a break. Please. This is a request for now but if you keep on being stubborn this is gonna become an order” you said as you shifted closer to him. 

"I don't wanna fight with you. I really don't" you nodded as you put a hand to his shoulder. 

"And you would lose, because you don't have enough energy to outbid, and it's gonna hurt your ego so it's best for the both of us if you just listen to me" you explained, a smile appearing over your face when he softly chuckled and shook his head. "Okay?" you asked raising your eyebrows, awaiting his response.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Okay" he nodded, his half lidded, tired and bloodshot eyes looking up at you. 

"Good" you pinched your lips in a smile as you brushed away the shorter strands of his tousled hair falling over his forehead, before leaving a kiss there.

He tiredly smiled at you when you pulled away, leaning into your touch when your fingers ghosted over the light stubble on his cheeks that had grown over the past few days.

You shrugged. “I like it” 

“I don’t.”

You chuckled at his harsh response, your hand fully resting at his cheek. “Come back home with me and we’ll shave it.” you shrugged. “After a well needed shower” you continued, teasing him as you pinched your nose and faked a wince, making him nudge your side as he huffed out a laugh.

“I know it’s getting critical, I just haven’t had the time for it” he said grunting as he got up from the floor. “Lyla even said 'I don’t have olfactory sensors but I know that you stink'” he mocked as he took a higher voice and imitated the sassy attitude of his AI, making quotation marks with his hands.

You laughed at the a-bit-too-accurate imitation and got up too when he offered you his hand to help you up.

"Come on, let's get you something to eat and go back home"

—

You were already sitting on your bathroom counter, razor in hand when Miguel came out of the shower, towel loosely hanging around his hips. 

“Sure you don’t wanna keep it?” you asked teasingly, pointing at your own face to refer to his five o’clock shadow as he walked up to you.

“No. I don’t wanna look like Peter B” he grumbled as he joined you. You huffed out a laugh and caged him with your legs, bringing him closer to you.

He let his forehead rest against your shoulder, planting his hands at either side of the counter while you brushed his wet and dripping hair back, almost shuddering as you felt the gentle scruff of his stubble against your skin when his face shifted to your neck.

“Alright” 

He tilted his head back up at you, the worn out expression over his face paining you. 

You took a hold of his face and shaved him in silence, and you didn’t blame him for the lack of conversation and clever things to say. He probably had been dealing with a lot of stuff this week, trying his best so things wouldn’t turn out to be catastrophic so he probably wanted it all to be quiet now.  

Following along his sharp and defined jawline, you shaved to the shape of his face, razor gently and thoroughly following each line, careful not to go too fast and slip and cut him. 

“I'm so tired. Working twenty-four seven didn’t give me time to realize it but now it's crushing me” he mumbled, his voice barely louder than a whisper so his movements wouldn't be too harsh and wouldn't make you slip.

“I know. It all comes crashing down one moment or another” you said with an empathetic smile, rubbing your thumb over his left cheek once you were done with that area. He responded with a small hum.

It didn't take too long for you to be over with your task, and you put the razor down by the sink before grabbing the aftershave bottle, squeezing the lotion onto your hands and gently lathering it over his face, appreciating the smell you never realized you were that used to.

"Done. All clean shaven" you declared as he put his hands at either side of your neck, smiling tiredly before slotting his lips against yours.

"Thank you" he softly smiled.

"Come on, let's get you dressed and let's get you to bed" you called as you jumped down from the counter, exiting the bathroom as he followed you to the bedroom.

—

“You know, at this point you could build us quarters at the spider society” you chuckled, rummaging into the closet looking for the same kind of comfortable clothes he had been wearing lately.

“Don’t tempt me, I could make that happen” he declared as he shifted from his sitting position to lay down onto the bed with a grunt. “That’s actually not a bad idea”

You hummed in reflexion. “I could look after you, make sure you’re not doing too much” you shrugged as you turned to him to throw him a pair of clean boxers.

“Forget about what I said. ‘Don’t need you to try to babysit me all the time, I already have Lyla for that” he chuckled as he let the towel down to put on the clothes you were progressively throwing at him.

“Where was she to babysit you these past few days?” you asked as you joined him and crawled onto the bed.

“Had to turn her off. You, I can’t” he teased with a small smirk plastered over his face before putting his shirt on, grunting as you pushed him back down onto the bed.

“Asshole” you playfully hit his chest, leaning down next to him. "Right, you could only turn me on." You stared at the ceiling as you waited for any type of response, a chuckle, a small laugh, a nudge, but nothing came, nothing happened. 

Your look darted to his direction, and you giggled as you watched him trying to hold back a laugh.

"That's a bad joke, for my defense I'm exhausted so it doesn't count" he shook his head, covering his eyes with his hand, desperately grunting.

"Yeah, right" you huffed out a laugh as you let your head rest over his chest. 

The tension quickly diffused, the atmosphere getting calmer and the room getting quieter as you absentmindedly let the tip of your fingers trace patterns over his chest slowly rising and falling.

"Thank you" he softly muttered, breaking the silence, tearing you out of your thoughts.

"What?" you asked, confused, your fingers stopping in their trail. 

"Thank you for dragging me out of there, out of this hole"

You paused and shifted so you could look back at him, propping your elbow next to his face, holding your chin in the palm of your hand.

"Miguel, you know I'll always have your back, right?" you rhetorically asked, your fingertips now tracing his face, all soft from the aftershave.

He nodded as his eyes darted to your face.

"Yeah. I know" he pinched his lips in a soft smile as he looked at you, fighting so his eyes could remain open. 

You mirrored his smile, leaning over so you could leave a kiss at his lips, running your fingers over the side of his face one last time.

“You can rest now. I got you”

He softly hummed before his eyes closed under the weight of the responsibilities weighing on him, a small sigh of relief leaving him as your fingers raked through his hair. 

It didn't take long for you to register he was asleep, his breath slowing down, the steady heaving of his chest and a peaceful expression over his face.

You couldn't bring yourself to move, couldn't bring yourself to leave him.

—

please give me feedback if you liked this, I appreciate every single comment and they motivate me to keep going!!

masterlist | taglist | ao3

spiderman 2099 taglist: @bubuslutty @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @mintgreen24 @dameronshandholder @spider-starry @jakecockley @midnight-the-shadow-wolf @cocodiem @pedropascalsidechick @spxctorsslxt @roxannarichie @vicolangelo @amb3rrz @inluvvwithme @friedwings @chaotic-neon-sign @foxglove-grove @ilovemiguelohara @pandq707 @gobblegluckgluckgod @weasleybuns @I-like-eating-leaves @doudou00125 @luxisluxurious @himesuedi @daisydark @koyukiki @tyranicalsaurusrex @violet-19999 @melaisnthere

[acapelladitty]

something lost, something gained

Summary: After being snatched by human traffickers while exploring an abandoned schoolhouse, Lucy fights to survive as she waits for Cooper to find her. (3.9k words)

(warnings for: attempted sexual assault, biting, blood, face slapping, groping, violence, murder, aftercare, hurt/comfort, cooper trying his best in a bad situation)

Fic Masterlist

Link to AO3

Awaking with a languid groan, Lucy's eyes flittered open for only a moment before slamming shut again as a dull pain to her temple made her wince and gasp. Raising her right hand to press at the skin, she was surprised to find her left hand moving in tandem and her eyes snapped open as she realised that her hands were bound together.

Gazing down at the coarse rope which encircled her wrists, panic arose in Lucy's chest as she glanced around the small, cell-shaped room and immediately understood that she was not anywhere recognisable. It didn't even look like the same building she last remembered walking into.

"Cooper?" Calling out with a dry, uncomfortable voice, a sense of irritation laced the anxiety which rolled through her. "What the fudge? Why am I in here?"

The door to the cell creaked open and Lucy glanced up from her slumped position to see a man she did not recognise fill the doorway. He was very tall, head almost brushing the top of the door frame, with a mop of raggedy blonde hair hanging limply across his shoulders and something in the way he looked at her made her skin crawl with unspoken danger. An instinctive disgust which made her mouth tighten.

"Finally awake." The man spoke, his voice sharp, light and slightly pitched. "We were worried we'd done some real damage to your head there."

At his words, Lucy finished her earlier assessment as her fingers once again grazed the hard lump which had formed on her temple - the skin feeling raw and wounded under her fingertips. Dragging her fingertips away, she found them flecked with her own blood.

"Who are you?" She asked, wide eyes darting across the limited space. "Did Cooper put you up to this? Or my father?"

"Don't know who any of those people are but we saw you going into that old schoolhouse with a ghoul so we snuck in, waited for you to split, and gently smuggled you out."

Gently smuggled.

The wound on her head suggested otherwise.

"Why?" A reflex question, one Lucy didn't think she wanted the answer to as the blonde man took a small step in her direction to stare down at her with a lecherous smirk.

"Cause you're in our territory and you're ours now. Me and my buddies have a little side business going on and you're our latest catch." His gaze roving across her white tank top and blue pants, one of his hands settled on the visible bulge of his groin as he winked at her. "We take them, break them, and pass them on to be sold. 50/50 share. And, baby, let me tell you, you're gonna fetch us a pretty price."

The panic in her chest now clawing at her heart as she scrambled her back against the cool stone of the wall, Lucy felt sweat break out across her body as she took in his candid admission with open-mouthed horror.

"No. You can't-"

"Yeah. I can smell the vault on you so I know you probably aren't rolling with the same diseases as all the other cunts we pick up."

Flinching at the term, Lucy fell back into what she knew best as old defense mechanisms kicked in to protect her as best they could.

"Let me go and I'll get you whatever you need. Caps, meds, weapons. I know people who could hel-"

"You?" Laughing openly at her offer, the man steadied himself against the doorframe. "Maybe that bulky ghoul we saw you with could have worked some muscle for us but you haven't got shit we need. Well, aside from-"

His hand still groping sleazily against his bulge, the man stepped fully within the cell and kicked the door shut before him. An action which made Lucy jump as her body shuddered and tensed to the point of discomfort, sensing the danger and violence to come.

"You see, cunt. I'm much nicer than my two friends out there and I'm willing to cut you some slack. Wrap your lips around my cock and suck it like your life depended on it, and I'll tell the boys that you're willing to be a good girl for us. They'll even leave their nasty 'breaking in' toys at the door if they think you're gonna be a good girl."

As he spoke, his body inched closer towards Lucy and her fingers shook terribly as she struggled against the rope holding her wrists, vision quick to blur as genuine fear rocked through her body.

He's going to rape me. Repeated in her head like a cruel, merciless mantra. The elders had told them what rape was, explained that they needed consent to ensure that everyone in the vault was happy and able to share their bodies without problem. They knew, in the vault, they all knew what was okay and what wasn't.

"Cooper!" She hollered out, voice breaking on the second syllable as she attempted to back up against the wall enough to scramble to her feet. "Please, fudge, someone help!"

A memory rose, unbidden in her mind as Lucy rolled her back against the wall. Not long after her body had started to change, one of the elders, a slender old guy named Ernest, had caught her in the gardens. He had asked her questions about her changing body, questions that made her heart feel heavy in her chest as a sense of how wrong he made her feel forced her to back away from him.

He had moved to grab her, his hand wrenching her arm away from her chest when her father had appeared from nowhere. He had been causal in his greeting but even as a child, she had noticed how tight her dad's smile was and how quickly he ushered her back to her room so he could have a quick chat with him.

Ernest died soon after. One of the first to be lost to the latest famine as the crops failed due to an unknown blight. She hadn't questioned it then, too many good people had been lost, but now, in this moment where that same childish fear weighed heavily at her limbs, she wondered if her father had killed him for what he had tried to do.

Kicking out with her feet as the man dropped to his knees before her, his fingers were quick to lock around her ankles - pulling her free of the wall and stealing the breath from her lungs as her head collided with the floor.

"Please, no. Don't do this! No!"

"First times always the worst."

Flashing rotted teeth at her as he straddled her waist, his hands pinned her own roped palms to her stomach as he burrowed down into her space. His breath was awful, smelling foul and rancid, and it sparked a retch in Lucy's throat as she twisted her head to the side. His tongue trailed across her cheek, tasting the grime on her skin as he growled in her ear.

"Just gotta remember to be a good girl and-ARGH!" Breaking off into a pained scream, the man reared back as blood poured from his mouth to drip down on her tank top.

Spitting out the large portion of tongue she had ripped free with her teeth, Lucy used her attackers moment of stunned pain to knock him free of her body. Crawling on her knees, she almost made it to the door when a rough hand wrapped around her hair.

"Stupid cunt!" The words lisping due to his injury, the man's hand was like fire in her hair as he snatched at her scalp viciously. "Gonna break your fucking nose for that."

Yelling as her hands locked around a small shard of metal that lay by the closed door, the man's foot having accidentally knocked it within the cell as he entered, Lucy gripped it tight as she spun on her knees, digging the shard deep into the closest foot she could reach before pulling it free with a vicious twist.

A fresh cry of pain broke free of her attacker as he crashed to the ground, his hands tight around his foot while he snarled obscenities at her.

Fuelled by adrenaline, fear and rage, Lucy pounced on him like a cat, knocking his back flat to the floor as she stabbed the metal as roughly into his throat as she could. Memories of her fraudulent husband flashed before her eyes and she hollered a vicious snarl as she dragged the metal through his skin until the blood flowed and the gurgling of his throat ceased.

Breathing heavily, she stayed in that position until his glassy-eyed stare repulsed her, the scent of fresh blood making her heave anew. Body shaking and mind rattling, it was only when a new voice broke the silence that she jumped as though an electric bolt had fired across her spine.

"Fuck, Petey. She's killed Owen."

Rolling off the corpse, Lucy was quick to take her earlier position - her stained fingers clutching the metal shard as her back pressed against the wall once more.

"Owen was always a dipshit. We'll be better off without him." The taller of the two newcomers added.

Looking just as filthy as the first guy, Lucy's eyes were wild as she pointed the metal at each of them in turn.

"L-let me go. I'll do the same to you." She stuttered, a sinking feeling of despair making her skin feel cold and clammy. "I've killed people before and you'll be next."

Glancing between themselves, both men burst out into a cruel laughter and their movements were quick as they descended on her. Fingers already trembling, it was easy for them to wrestle the metal from her hands and pin her to the floor; their much larger bodies easily holding her knees apart as they pressed them to the floor with their own legs.

Rough hands fished inside her tank top and Lucy found herself unable to do much but bare her teeth and fight off a sob as her chest was pulled free of her bra; breasts spilling over the fabric as matching grunts of approval escaped her attackers.

"They'll do nicely. Fuck, might not even sell this one, what do you think?" The one named Petey asked, his free hand gripping at her chin painfully as he tilted her head to the side in a crude inspection.

Cupping her left breast as though weighing it in his hand, the other man flashed a yellow smile at her.

"Could play with her for a few weeks without going to the others. Would you like that? A few weeks with us and then a ten minute walk up north to meet the rest of the boys?"

Refusing to answer as a fat tear rolled free of her eye, Lucy chose to remain quiet and not give them anything as she struggled in vain.

"You owe us for you did to Owen." The second man continued, his face an open leer as he released her jaw. "So I'm gonna fuck you and then Petey is gonna fuck you and then we're both gonna fuck you. Then you're gonna open those pretty lips wide for-"

"No."

A sharp hand collided with the side of Lucy's face, the blow catching her across the mouth and bursting her lip open in an instant as the taste of copper flooded her mouth.

"Not asking, cunt."

Their hands were all over her, one set fondling her breasts while the other pulled at the hem of her tank top to expose her stomach. They were everywhere and the feeling of them, hot and heavy atop her body, made her feel sick - her throat constricting and panicking as her breaths came short and fast.

The vague sound of the door slamming open touched at her senses but it felt so far off that she didn't think much of it until all hell broke loose.

A fresh splatter of blood sprayed across her face, the sensation matching by a booming gunshot which made her ears ring in the small space as the taller of the two, Petey, collapsed dead atop her - a hole leaking blood and brains from the front of his forehead to her exposed chest.

In shock, both Lucy and the remaining man stared at the corpse for a second before Lucy felt half the weight on her body disappear as the final attacker was pulled free. Her eyes unfocused and blurred with tears, she saw the flash of familiar, tattered leather which hurled her would-be attacker against the wall.

Sounds of exertion were quickly followed by a fresh death gurgle as Cooper's knife flashed in his hand for only a second before being drawn across her attackers throat; the arterial spray swiftly coating Cooper's clothed chest as he let go of his prey and allowed the fresh body to drop to the floor.

Not trusting her eyes, Lucy tilted her head back and cast her gaze to the dingy ceiling as her thoughs spiralled into a messy haze.

After a moment, Cooper's face swam in her vision and the close sight of him sparked a myriad of emotions within her; shock giving way to genuine relief before settling on fear as she took in the genuine fury which blazed in his stark white eyes as they darted across her battered face and disjointed clothing.

He wasn't angry with her, she knew that, but the sheer rage which rolled from his coiled frame made her want to curl into a ball and hide away from it. He smelled of leather and blood, the scent of fresh violence making her nose twitch as the corpses of her attackers lay motionless, crowding the floor of her cell.

"S'alright, I got you, sweetie." Cooper's hands were firm but gentle as he wrapped them around her shoulders, hoisting her enough that she were able to lean against the wall in a sitting position.

Despite everything, his voice was like a balm and she relaxed into his touch as her trembling fingers were gripped within his own - his knife glinting once more as he quickly severed her bindings and let the rope fall to the floor. In an instant, her knees snapped to her chest as her arms looped around them, her body curling in on itself as a wave of nausea made her throat feel tight.

Still on his haunches before her, Cooper studied her for a solid moment before matching her position as he leaned against the opposite wall, his legs outstretched and his back straight against the cool stone.

"Fix yourself, darlin'. I'd offer but I don't think you want another monsters hands on you before the day's out."

Keeping her knees tight, Lucy brought trembling fingers to her chest - her relief at being saved having made her forget about her state of undress - and she tucked her breasts away back into the off-white bra with a lifeless motion, the skin feeling sensitive and sore due to their abuse. Made decent, her arms were quick to loop around her knees once more, her chin sitting atop her knees as a gloomy, far-off expression graced her features.

"Did they-" A half question which Cooper quickly thought better of as he abandoned ship and adjusted it on the fly. "You okay?" It was a quiet ask, the words so low that Lucy knew she could ignore them if she wanted to.

"No," she stuttered, feeling weary despite the adrenaline which still pulsed in her veins, "but I have to be because what else is there. So I have to be."

Making a small noise of agreement in his chest, Cooper's gaze rose to the ceiling as he plucked his hat from his head and dropped it to the floor by his open lap.

"That you do, darlin'. Nothing else for it."

They sat in silence for a bit, the only slightly pained sounds coming from Lucy's throat as she adjusted to the various aches which afflicted her body. Her face was the worst as her temple throbbed like a bitch and her burst lip felt huge and ugly against her mouth. The bodies forever doomed to lay in messy piles, Lucy's eyes ghosted over them and settled on the growing patches of blood which each steadily leaked to the cell floor.

"You killed them all?" She said, already knowing the answer and unsure why she even asked.

"Not all of them. One of them was already dead when I got here and I'd recognise the teeth marks in that hunk of ripped tongue anywhere." Despite the guarded nature of his tone, there was a spark of warmth as he flashed his, well, her, finger at her, and Lucy swore she heard the slightest hint of pride leaking through. "You did good, sweetheart. You fought like a hellcat and you didn't let them win."

"Didn't win." Lucy mumbled miserly. "You did."

"Oh, I have no doubt you would have gotten them both in the end. They might have taken a few strips from you, but that fire in your belly would have scorched them dry."

Mouth upturning at the praise as she fought off the urge to cry, Lucy swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands as her breathing quickly grew erratic.

"All these bullshit lessons you've put me through and it still wasnt enough." She blurted out with a desperate gasp. "They're evil. I hate it here. I hate their cruelty. I hate their hurting. I hate-"

Finally unable to hold back the swell of emotion which threatened her, Lucy broke off on the final word as a heaving sob replaced any chance she had of cohesive speech. It was something raw and unfiltered, mourning the loss of some part of herself that would never be returned as she was forced to mold herself into a creature of violence and hate just to survive in their world.

Cooper, to his credit, let her cry without any false sympathies or interference. His face lacked any judgement, the hole in his face flexing slightly as he inhaled and exhaled steadily, eyes never shifting from Lucy's sobbing frame. Something difficult to pin down flashed through his gaze as though a multitude of possible outcomes were pushing at his thoughts.

After some internal debate, a grunt slipped free of Cooper's lips as he leaned across the short space and pulled at Lucy's shoulder.

So lost in her own misery, Lucy didn't fight the pressure of his strong hand as he pulled her to the side, dropping her to the floor in such a way that her head pressed against the upper part of his legs as she faced away from him. It did nothing to stop her tears, but it did give her something to lean on as he immediately retracted his hand to fold his arms fully across his chest.

Cooper's thighs were like unyielding steel beneath her head, giving Lucy something solid to pin her senses on as she fought to quell the quiver of her lip and the shudders which continued to wrack her body. Their journey had been hard and the hunt for her father was a disaster of interference and dead trails of information.

This was just the latest set-back in a long list of utter shit.

Offering her no other physical support, unsure if it would cause her to act out or break down further, Cooper waited until her breathing was a little more even before speaking again.

"Be sad." He paused, allowing the rare piece of advice to sit heavily in the air between them. "Be angry. Feel that fire in your gut burn so hot that you get the fear it's gonna burst free and raze everything around you to the ground. Hell, curse the day your momma brought you into the world if that's how you feel. But don't break."

Stopping once again, Cooper felt a rare moment of genuine pity for the woman as he glanced down at her. Lucy Maclean, who foolishly tried to choose peace in a peaceless world, still had a lot of learning to do when it came to the way that same world worked.

He could only show her so much, some lessons had to be learned the hard way, and if she could take them, then he would do his part to keep her whole.

"Whatever they do to you, survive it. Skulk off, lick your wounds, come back stronger. Get that revenge your blood sings for." Speaking as much to himself as her, Cooper allowed her a peek into his own thoughts, an insight he knew she wouldn't fully understand quite yet. "Never let them break you. Better off dead than broken in this world."

Gathering herself enough to shakily speak, Lucy gripped Cooper's knee with clawing fingers as she clung to him like a lifeline.

"There's more of them. Ten minutes up north. That's who they were- who they were going to sell me to."

"More side-tracking bullshit." Cooper sighed but his voice grew more contemplative as his gravelled tones mused on her words. "That said, been a while since I hunted down some proper vermin. No bounty. No rules. Might be fun to let loose for once."

He let the idea hang in the air, curious if she was hinting at what he suspected she was.

"You coming with me?"

"Yeah."

Unseen by the shaking Lucy, a pleased smile split Cooper's lips as he glanced down at her steady answer.

It wasn't often he took on a companion, far less one that he'd actually indulge, but the odd woman intrigued him with the hypocrisy of her very existence. A vaultie with a edge, naive blood screaming out for wrongs to be righted just like his own as she fought alongside him like a harpy.

It did help that they both wanted her dear old daddy strung up like the traitor he were.

But revenge would see her right.

She was owed a debt by those who had tried to take her, a debt of honor, and he would see that she avenged it in a glorious explosion of violence that would help keep her nightmares at bay as they would leave no doubt that the beasts responsible were well put down and unable to haunt her.

By gun or by knife, she would get at least that.

He had seen the broken ones. The ones used and abused by so many across the wastelands that they gave up everything and became husks even more devoid of humanity than the ghouls who lost the battle and went feral. It was a fate worse than the many deaths he'd experienced in his time.

No one deserved that.

Especially not Lucy Maclean.

His hand ghosting over her head, fingers only an inch away from her fine head of mousy hair, Cooper tilted his head to the side as he took her exhausted frame in.

"Sleep for now, vaultie. Time for this little killer to save her strength. So take it for what it is and when you wake, we'll see about righting some of the wrongs that happened here."

Feeling more safe with the violent ghoul who had shown her the new reality of her world than any other of the awful creatures she had met since leaving her vault, Lucy's eyes fluttered close as his voice washed over her and exhaustion claimed her before she could do anything to muse on that odd feeling of safety.

Links to the rest of the series:

Part 1

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

[laylajeffany]

Intentions are Everything  |  Chaos Universe OneShot for @fridayd13th

Summary: Wednesday and Enid (age 22) reconnect on a rainy night after routine and the season of life they are in keep them apart. WC: 4k exactly (welcome to layla's <5k challenge) Rated: T (I’m at work it would absolutely end best in sex but a Clifford the Big Red Dog stuffie is looking at me in my supply closet and I feel judged.)

Note: As I’m experimenting with some new writing rules for myself to set myself to different standards and expectations for future projects (not even fanfiction); I’m weaponizing my competence and refusing to use my available contract hours assisting others who do not have withitness and follow-through. When I’m at work and not with the children on a break per required of my union contract, I’m locking myself in my supply closet to write! I'm too efficient! Everything is done through April! However, it’s simply not the correct setting to be working on my multi-chapter work; I need at least two hours at a time for that. These one-shots have to be prompted by someone else (I can’t have stewing on the content), under 5K, and I’m not allowed to work on them at home. I'll probably upload these to AO3 once I have a few of them complete.

The prompt "Wenclair/Domestic/Chaos Universe/Rainy Day" was from @fridayd13th - thank you so much for everything you’ve done to support my writing over the last year, and all the other fanfic authors you have impacted by your sharing, comments, and kindness. Thank you! & a Black Menagerie update is in the editing phase and will be up tomorrow sometime!

X

It wasn’t supposed to rain.

And not just because she already had outdoor plans, but there hadn’t been a drop forecasted (Wednesday had been checking obsessively). If there was a way to light the sky on fire, she surely would have…only to have that flame extinguished, immediately – like her carefully structured night out.

That was dramatic. (Wasn’t she always? And to think, Enid was the one at the theater that evening.) With a silent pivot, Wednesday adjusted course without hesitating, not wanting to waste a moment, even if it included one of the heaviest sighs she’d ever released. She couldn’t be taken down by reanimated corpses of bigots, genocidal maniacs, werewolf councils, Hydes, or the weather.

Life had gotten between herself and her fiancée over the last few months, and as she managed to be surprised by a late April rain, it showed. Between her endless lectures, bookwork, and mock trials, Network meetings and Enid’s grueling six-day-a-week performance schedule that only had her off on Mondays (Wednesday’s latest day at law school, naturally), their time together that didn’t involve one of them working on something was rare and precious. After a heated argument the week before, ended by the redhead who lived in the basement unit of their townhouse, Wednesday had stormed off to New Jersey. A train ride and taxi to her family’s home had her barreling into her mother’s study wet (it had been raining then too), upset, and in the foulest of moods.

It had taken Morticia quite some time to put together the fractured pieces of information her daughter was revealing and advise the same thing that the other wise woman in her life already had; Enid and Wednesday just needed to spend meaningful time together. When all of their hours in one another’s space were domestic routines and transitional time trying to catch each other up on the latest without being part of it, they were bound to spat.

Enid had been more than a little bit upset that Wednesday’s solution to their problem was running away and had hotly asked for the night apart when Morticia said that she thought it would be more practical for Lurch to drop her off than deal with the train again. At the notion of spending the night alone in her parents’ house settled in, Wednesday had a meltdown the likes of which they hadn’t seen from her in years. Morticia had slept with her when she finally convinced her to at least lay down, likely in fear that she was going to slip into a meditation and wind up in the wrong side of the ether because of her twisted energy.

The next morning, she’d had a long and overdue chat about romance with both her parents. They spoke from the heart – it was mushy and disgusting. Their own experiences made her want to bury her head in the sand. Yet - Wednesday had desperately needed to hear it. She and Enid were a far cry from the two of them. Though she might’ve possessed some Gomez-like traits every now and again, Wednesday was her own, unique breed and would love her own way, too. But, to her chagrin, hearing their perspective did help – and it put her plan into motion.

Enid wasn’t home when Wednesday arrived – she had a matinee that afternoon and then an evening show as well. With all her focus, Wednesday tidied up their apartment not only in proper order, but also made sure she’d put Enid’s favorite sheets on the bed, started the incense she liked the best, and ordered all her prized snacks for the week when she had groceries delivered. After a long talk with the couple downstairs, about recovering from a blow-out (they were more than familiar with that topic), Wednesday also committed herself to certain actions for the week ahead.

Unfortunately – the experimental medication she was on, after the sleepless night before, forced her to fall asleep when she laid in bed, trying to write a formal apology to her fiancée – afraid of forgetting something if she just tried to speak it all. It would still be from the heart, but scripted so she made sure to make every point.

That was how Enid woke her up with sweet, gentle kisses when she’d gotten home from her show, close to eleven. She had a fresh release of tears, and Wednesday’s notebook in her hand, stroking her cheeks and promising – she was forgiven, and that she was also sorry, for how she’d responded and reacted to everything.

In her grogginess, Wednesday made a promise – that she was going to give Enid a real date; she was going to honor her with something special, not routine, not a drive-by conversation. She wanted to give her a night that Enid could treasure.

And so, with two hours until her show released that Friday, Wednesday cooked, baked, transformed the attic space and prepared the environment with all the heart and ambiance-creating ability she had.

Locating her umbrella and stepping into black Wellies, she took the pink ones by the door into her hands and a jacket when she realized the temperature dipped as well. With a black and white striped snake over her shoulders tucked into her collar to stay dry, she made the familiar trek out of their Upper West Side apartment to Midtown – a journey she used to take when she was committed to making it to Enid’s show at least once a week.

How quickly things changed when novelty wore off. She hadn’t been to the theater in at last four months, she realized – vowing to change that, too.

One metro ride and a few blocks walked in the rain later, she stood outside the theater door, grateful the rain would keep most of the obsessive, obnoxious out-of-towners from lining up for autographs. Her snake poked his head out curiously when the door opened a few times, hoping for Enid, but it was always orchestra first, Wednesday reminded Augustus softly.

Thankfully, she didn’t have to wait long. Only three other cast members groaned at the rain before heading out themselves before Enid let out a full whine upon opening the door, then a completely delighted gasp. “Wednesday! Ohemgee, you did not have to come all the way here!”

“I didn’t want you caught in this beautiful weather without proper gear,” She said, passing Enid’s rainboots to her. She let out an excited squeak of appreciation, dipping back in and swapping her shoes, then accepting the rain jacket before positioning herself under Wednesday’s umbrella, wrapping an arm around her waist. Holding the handle and depositing a kiss to her lips, ignoring how she still had on her stage makeup and dreadful, bright red lipstick that probably transferred, Wednesday clarified, “There is an obvious change in plans from our rooftop dining experience in Brooklyn. But our evening is not ruined, simply altered.”

“Awe, well – that’s so sweet. I didn’t even know it had started to rain! I’m glad I don’t have to be super bummed out, either. Thanks for taking care of everything! Hey – how was the exam?”

“Grueling. Torture. It took me every available moment to finish. Naturally, I scored a hundred four,” Wednesday said with a little smirk as the sky emptied itself onto the city, hard raindrops rattling the waterproof covering above them as they moved to the subway station. “And the show?”

“The usual,” Enid shrugged. “Friday night crowds are notoriously off – though this one wasn’t so bad. I don’t know. It’s been almost seven months now – there’s rumblings about auditions the Crazy for You revival moving to the US, I’d for sure be auditioning for that – this role has me feeling a little...locked in. I’m not, like, over it – but I’d be up for something different.”

“Insert here a cheesy line about being crazy for you in any show you’re billed in. I also recognized on my way here – I haven’t come out to watch in so long. I’m genuinely sorry for the pacing of our time together and the inadequacies I’ve brought, Enid.”

“Oh, you do not need to apologize for that, Wednesday! This is my job, as much as it’s art. It’s not like I’m going to catch you in the courtroom on any kind of regular basis – that’d probably be sups inappropriate. Well – we know in the future that I’ll see you in the Supreme Court – but that’s like, you coming to opening night of me as a leading lady. It’s different. I don’t expect my partner at a weekly curtain call.”

“Still,” She said as they waited on the platform after taking the slippery stairs down, keeping her umbrella folded low to drip onto the already sopping tile, “I do like watching you perform. Even if this isn’t my favorite show – I’d like to see you soon. I’ll leave father and Em behind, though.”

Enid giggled. “I don’t mind their…enthusiastic reception to my stage presence,” Enid found careful words as the train arrived – packed, of course, for a Friday night on the 1 in Midtown. Finding a place to stand where they wouldn’t be absorbing too much liquid from others who’d been caught in the rainstorm unprepared, they took the short ride back uptown, making it home just as another couple was about to enter their shared foyer.

Emiliana and Josie were soaked to the bone, obviously caught in the storm, and in Emiliana’s case – thrilled about it. Josie looked a little less than enthusiastic and both Wednesday and Enid backed away when her wife tried to embrace them. “It’s their date night, too – leave them alone,” Josie warned, tugging her back by the shoulders with a sigh.

“Well, I do not think they are going to be dining on roofs, bien-aimée!” Emiliana argued, about to go in again when Josie popped the lock on the lower-level unit with a groan, wishing the girls a good night – whatever they ended up doing, before ushering Emiliana downstairs while she spoke rapidly in French about which movie she wanted to watch and why would she need a shower, she was already wet?

Unable to hide her smirk, Wednesday took off her boots, setting them on a rug while Enid popped the umbrella open to dry off (chancing her luck) and shrugged out of her coat, hanging both damp garments on a hook before locking the main door, then opening their own when they entered the kitchen.

Enid’s enhanced smell must’ve picked up right away what Wednesday had baked for her. She looked at her with a little gasp, a near twinkle in her eye. “You didn’t? You did! Oh, Wednesday!”

“Snickerdoodles are upstairs already,” She said quietly – hating the way that ridiculous word rolled off her tongue; but if they were Enid’s favorite, easy-to-prepare desert – of course. “As is everything else that I could prepare in advance, there are a few things I need to finish now. Everything you need for your favorite bath is out and ready for you.”

“Awe, not possible,” Enid said with a little pout. Wednesday crossed her arms, suspicious about that – Enid’s preferences had hardly changed since she was seventeen and they first started their innocent soaks together. “You won’t be in it!”

Almost snorting, she rolled her eyes and kissed Enid’s cheek. “I cannot be two places at once. Yet. I’m still working on that spell. Go on – I’ll meet you upstairs in thirty minutes.”

“Alright. Thank you, Wednesday.” She returned the sweet little kiss before shaking her head and planting a long one on her lips, despite the lipstick. Wednesday refused to cringe, merely returned it before Enid pulled away with a laugh, wiping the red off her with her thumb. “I frickin’ love you.” With that she winked and headed up the stairs of the narrow unit.

Putting the rest of her plan into motion, Wednesday poured her attention into finishing the meal that she’d started, heading up to the attic to light the candles with a wave of her hand to complete the ambiance she’d started to set up.

Bringing up the last of the food on a butler’s tray she’d stolen from home ages before, Wednesday glanced at the time, hearing the sound of a drain circling. Taking her place up near the small, circular window that was pattered in rain. She lifted the bow of her cello, starting to play a melody of their favorite songs.

Enid took a familiar place on the bench in front of the window, watching Wednesday with a look of love she could see out of the corner of her eye. Her snake traveled from Wednesday’s neck to Enid’s pink, loungewear covered shoulders, licking her cheek, making her smile.

Finally finishing, she stood up, taking Enid’s hands, kissing her fingers before tucking her at the low table of the attic in front of the futon. Plating her a favorite rare beef dish, Wednesday started the small record player on an entertainment unit before taking a seat beside her.

They ate with comfortable conversation flowing – Enid brought up the show she was interested in again, Wednesday asked her to describe the plot – and stared at her with hearts in her eyes as she animatedly detailed the storyline and the roles she’d want to play within it. As she stacked the dirty dishes, moving the tray to the stairs, Wednesday put the cookies on the table, then flushed a little as she began to remove materials out of a basket. Giving a shrug, she hoped that she was matching the energy the moment called for as she explained, “We were going to go to that gallery…but – I…maybe you want to make something to add to ours up here?”

She gestured to the various crafts that Enid had hung up above the futon – a few embroidery pieces she’d experimented with, paintings, collages…

Enid nodded brightly. “I’d love to make something with you.”

The next forty minutes were spent painting on a canvas, the two working together to come up with an inspired design – an interpretation of their snake in the springtime – Augustus looking at it and offering his feedback, requesting more pale pink cherry blossom petals all around him.

As they finished, Wednesday took the dirty brushes and palette along with the dishes, hurrying them down to the sink before returning with a bottle of wine and two glasses. Enid had moved to the cushions, her expression of dopy desire a bit contagious as Wednesday poured her a glass and took a seat. She indicated her own intentions by sitting as close to fiancée as possible, a stacking her legs on top of Enid’s thighs as she twisted into the corner of the couch – just a touch obnoxiously. Enid giggled before taking a sip, drawing an arm just above her knees. She pressed a kiss to Wednesday’s lips, letting out a sigh. “You probably feel like the need to reconcile was largely on you, given how you ran…but it wasn’t, Wednesday. I’ve been just as distracted, and every bit as much to blame for us not spending the time we need together, too.”

Augustus appeared from her collar again and Wednesday smiled at the snake with the gentle sort of parent-like love she’d had for him since the start. “Hey, buddy…do you think you could take yourself to your enclosure for a little while? There’ll be a pinky for you in the morning.”

He let out a small hiss and twisted down her arm, leaving the two in full privacy. Wednesday had another long drink of wine and made a hopeful suggestion. “I have two more exams next week, but then the summer term doesn’t begin until mid-May. Is there any time over the next few weeks that you’d be able to get away from the show for a few days?”

Enid laughed. “I haven’t used an understudy yet! Our swings would be thrilled – I’m sure I could take some time, for us.”

The way she said it made Wednesday chug the rest of the wine in her glass before taking Enid’s from her, sweetly, and placing both on the table. She adjusted her position, sitting fully on her lap. Enid’s arms fell around her waist, pulling her close for a kiss. Wednesday sighed into it, lazily dropping her arms around her shoulders, drawing herself closer, chests touching – even if they were just in comfortable sweatshirts – she loved the feeling. Enid let out a little sound of contentment as her tongue dipped into her mouth, pushing them even closer.

Enid pulled away with a sudden gasp – their teeth almost colliding as a bolt of lightning and crackle of thunder turned the nighttime rain shower into a thunderstorm. She giggled and groaned, sighing into Wednesday’s shoulder as Wednesday felt her heartrate skyrocket and decrease. Tangling her fingers into Enid’s hair, Wednesday just held her close, there, resting her head just on top of hers. “I love you,” She muttered quietly. “I’m really glad we spent tonight together, not just in routine, even if it wasn’t what we planned.”

“Me too,” Enid squeezed her middle, looking up with a sweet gaze. “I love you. I can’t believe how we let time get away from us. Hey – let me send a quick text to let my manager know I’m going to be out of the show – then I’m getting my laptop and my planner – we are so booking a trip for after your exams!”

Letting her go – even if she might’ve rather extended that time together physically, Wednesday figured she could get her fiancée all worked up and excited about time off together and then spend the time together in bed. Enid returned just moments later, her fingers flying across her keyboard as she gave herself a week off without asking – but expecting. Loving that for her self-confidence, Wednesday stretched out on the futon while she started to ramble excitedly, opening a glittery pink date book, actually blathering about what to fill in it. Her excited ramble went on for almost two straight minutes before she paused, mid-sentence, blushing as she glanced back at Wednesday. As she opened her mouth, Wednesday reminded her, “If you dare apologize for looking forward to spending time together…” She snapped her lips together and Wednesday smirked, putting her chin on Enid’s shoulder as she leaned over her. “There’s a full moon next week, too. We could maybe go somewhere that has a forest nearby if you’d like to wolf out. It’s been months, Enid. The Solstice was the last time…it just happened to be on a Monday, otherwise you probably would’ve taken your potion then, too.”

“You really want to spend time off chasing me through the trees?” Enid asked skeptically.

Dropping into a sit beside her, Wednesday took her hand into her own, letting her thumb rub a circle over the ring on her left. “I want to spend my time off with you. That’s all, Enid. I don’t care, particularly, what we do. I would like you to make sure you’re not disconnecting with the wolf part of you…we know the consequences of that. But if you don’t think you need to wolf out to stay connected, that’s fine, too.”

“Hm,” Enid laced the fingers that were playing with hers between them and kissed Wednesday’s cheek. “You know – we could really disconnect from the world, and only connect to each other – which always helps. Go to the Zypher property, be surrounded by mountains? We haven’t been in…what, two and a half years now?”

Liking the sound of that, Wednesday nuzzled her neck, also liking that it wouldn’t involve her traveling by plane, but the thought of being without running water and electricity for an entire week wasn’t quite what she wanted to deal with. Who would’ve thought – Wednesday Addams, a woman of the modern world?

“Or – we go to the Addams house in Jericho? We’d be able to bathe far more conveniently – but still have the woods.”

Enid chuckled into her lips with a kiss. “Fair, fair,” She spoke, pulling back. “Promise me you won’t get tangled up in a Network conspiracy while we’re there?”

With a single nod, Wednesday leaned in for another kiss. “I won’t even tell them we’re in town.”

“Well, that’s not nice. Aunt Larissa would ream you if we bumped into her at the store picking up stuff for dinner and hadn’t told her we were coming.”

“Grocery delivery,” Wednesday refuted.  Enid shot her a look. “We can have one dinner with them. One. I’m very serious. This is going to be our time, Enid. We…we need it. It’s going to be a long summer – I’m so close to done, and the last two semesters are going to be grueling. Remember, I will be hospitalized at some point because I’m going to be so in over my head and taking horrible care of myself and refusing to let you do it for me,” She sighed – wishing she’d never had that vision, years ago. “But until then – we have this time together. I want it to be meaningful – just us.” Thunder made the entire place rumble and Enid nodded, then let out a little sound of sympathy as a slithering snake hurried himself up the steps and into Wednesday’s lap, trembling. “It’s okay, buddy,” She whispered, kissing his cheek as she held him close, letting him circle back around her neck. “Well, just us and the boy.”

Enid acknowledged what she’d said before, “Meaningful. It sucks to think that a lot of the time we do have together isn’t meaningful – and I guess I didn’t really understand that until this all blew up,” She sighed. “It’s hard to think that just because you spend every night sleeping next to the love of your life, it can get routine, so fast. I hate that. I don’t want that for us.” She thumbed her planner. “Do you think – we could pen in some more date nights? This was really nice. Not just dinner because we both happen to be home…which; has been rare for us – but intentional dates. I think we need to make sure we have at least one a month? Once a week would be better – but until you’re finished with school, I think we should be a little more realistic -”

Wednesday tilted her head in a bit of good news. “Actually, we can. Every Monday. My evening course was moved to Tuesdays and Thursdays for the summer class.”

Letting out a little gasp, Enid tossed her arms around her fiancée. “That’s amazing! OhEmGee, this is perfect! Hey – how about we put our first Monday after vacation at that Brooklynn rooftop and gallery, hm? I mean, truthfully – I think I preferred this, just us doing our own thing up here -”

“Then, let’s plan to do our own thing up here,” Wednesday argued gently. “Why go out and force ourselves to do something that neither of us really want to do? Just because it’s what is expected of a couple on a date? You know I would always rather be in with you. We can make it special, so long as we intend to.” She sighed, shaking her head. “Of course. I’ve long ago learned, intentions are everything, didn’t I? I suppose I just never applied it to our long-term romance.”

Enid kissed each cheek, then the tip of her nose. “I do believe I have some intentions for how I’d like to close out this night.”

Wednesday dropped her hands to her hips. “Hm. Funny, so did I. What if our intentions don’t align?”

She gave a playful growl, then nipped her lip playfully, making Wednesday close her eyes and give a little groan. “Yeah,” Enid pulled away, “I’m pretty sure – we both want the same thing. Come on. GusGus, bedtime, buddy. This date night continues for another hour!”

“Oh, that’s all?” Wednesday teased, earning a playful push as she smirked, fully intending on making meaning out of every moment of the rest of their night together.

[deadnymph8]

AEGON II TARGARYEN X READER

content warnings⚠️ loss of virginity (for you), small age gap (3 years), slightly older women/younger man, p in v sex, aegon being a pervy loser, we love it though, small use of Y/N, chubby aegon, always drunk aegon, small bit of public groping, no protection

Notes: Posted originally to ao3 but I took it down and fixed it up a bit. Still this was like my first fanfiction in 7 years so be nice or I'll cry (also haven't used this app in like 8 years forgive me)

In you're teenage years you were the next door neighbor to one of the richest family's in westeros. You weren't necessarily born rich you only lived next door because you're mom ended up re marrying some rich CEO millionaire and swiftly moved in with him.

You're step dad was pretty close with the owner of the house next door Viserys targaryen and due to that you had become accustom to all his children.

You were older then all of them closest in age being the eldest boy aegon, he was three years younger than you but you were close enough in age to get along and become somewhat friends.

You assumed that was why alicent the mother of the children and Viserys's wife came to you and asked you to babysit her kids for a weekend. You were a trusted friend and while yes they could hire a nanny you were told the last one ended up quiting after only a month. newly turned 13 year old aegon broke into the wine cabinet and got plastered.

You didn't get details on the rest but you knew it must have been a bad night since they were struggling to find a new nanny who could stay longer than a month.

Alicents last resort was to ask someone she thought could connect better with the kids, mainly aegon since he was the biggest problem. She needed a strong role model and someone aegon was familiar with. after seeing how aegon behaved in you're presence she thought you to be the perfect candidate for the job and so you accepted.

"I don't need a babysitter I'm 13 for fucks sake!" Aegon argued to his mother as you stood behind her.

"You aren't responsible enough to be trusted alone and that's the last of it!" His mother yelled back. Looking clearly frustrated and exhausted as if she had done this a million times.

You stood to the side of alicent now already feeling uncomfortable. You'd probably be upset aswell if you were in aegon's shoes but alicent insisted she needed a good influence like you.

Aegon stormed off slamming the door of his room. "I'm sorry dear, he won't bother you I've made sure all alcohol is put away...all you need to do is keep him in the house" alicent spoke giving you the rundown on you're job. You took in everything she said, she told you that you wouldn't be completely alone.

They still had a housekeeper that would come in mornings and clean up and you didn't need to worry that much.

That night actually went pretty smooth. Aegon was grumpy and hid in his room most the night while you played with the younger kids on their xbox. Things actually went so well that alicent asked you to come back again.

It actually felt nice getting some of you're own money aswell and to be independent for once

Babysitting had become a regular occurrence for you for awhile. Alicent always praised you for just how well you did with aegon.

Eventually though you turned 18 and you got into college, not the one you wanted but it was only a few hours away and finally gave you a chance to escape you're house and live on you're own.

And how did aegon feel about this? He should feel happy, You were nothing more than a neighbor his mother hired to hover around him and keep him out of trouble. He resented you for that, he hated how pretty you were, how sweet you were to him.

He should be cheering knowing he would have some freedom but with you gone the only thing he felt was this overwhelming feeling of emptiness and loneliness.

He always found himself searching for you're praise. He'd actually get himself to do homework just so he could hear you talk about how proud you were of him.But now with you gone he didn't have a reason to try anymore and almost immediately he fell back into bad habits. Drinking, partying, drugs and sex. He did it all and no matter how much he did over the next three years he could never get rid of that aching empty feeling deep down.

When aegon turned 18 his mother began demanded he go to college. Demanded he make something of himself. He didn't bother trying with any of the big colleges he just found the closest one and decided that was good enough for him to keep his mom off his back. Even if he didn't get in with his grades he'd get in easy being as rich as he was. His father could just drop a generous donation and he'd get in with no problem at all. So when he arrived of course aegon joined the biggest frat on campus. The partys, the girls and the drugs. It all came so easy to him now.

When his frat decided to put on yet another rager he didn't think much of it. After three months here it was becoming his normal. He walked passed the group of drunk college kids, a drink in his hand as he wondered through the halls of the frat house probably long faded by now. originally his mind was set on getting wasted and maybe he'd bang a cheerleader if he was still able to stand.

He turned to the kitchen wanting to refill his cup when his eyes wondered on the back of a girl grabbing a soda off the counter. Something about her was so familiar but he couldn't see her face to find out why.

Mabey one of his many one night stands? or an old classmate oh his? She wasn't dressed like the other girls around. She was dressed casual, Wearing some jeans and a baggy sweatshirt. She definitely looked out of place compared to the small crop tops and short dresses most girls chose to wear.

He began taking a few steps closer. He didn't know why but he felt drawn in to her and when she finally turned around nothing could have fully prepared him for what he saw. You.

It was you. an uncomfortable and nearly sad look on you're face as you opened up your coke and took a drink, eyes wondering around the room full of dancing college kids until they fell on him. For a moment you both just stared at each other, neither really knowing what to say.

"Egg? What are you doing here?" You finally asked breaking the small awkward silence that fell between you both.

That stupid little nickname. Hearing it after so long made his heart race a bit. He always hated when you used to call him that but now hearing it again after so long he'd grown to miss it. Crave it even. Aegon didn't know why but a part of him almost felt embarrassed. Shame even. Her seeing him absolutely wasted after three years of not speaking.

"I'm uh- I'm in the frat" he responded and snapped himself back into reality. "and why are you here? I mean clearly you don't want to be" aegon swiftly added leaning against the kitchen counter in an attempt to go back to his normal self.

"was it really that obvious" you thought to yourself self. "My friend dragged me here...said I should let lose or whatever" you sighed. "And are you? Letting lose?" Aegon couldn't help but smirk at the idea.

He always had a weird fascination with you. All those times you slept over and he'd sneak into your bag of packed clothes and steal you're little white lace panties.

All those times he'd jerk himself off into them imagining himself buried deep inside of you're soaked cunt. All those times he'd spy on you changing through the crack in the bathroom door.

All those dirty dirty memories rushing back to him all at once.

"Absolutely not" The truth was you never cared for partys, you stuck to you're studys and kept to yourself. If it wasn't for you're best friend Tina you'd never consider coming to a place like this on a sunday night before class. You haven't even dated anyone before. You went on a couple dates but ultimately you decided love had no place for you right now.

You needed to focus on you're studys not a relationship

"So...why haven't you left? If you hate it here why not just go home and watch those hot vampire movies you love so much" Aegon always did love teasing you on you're intrests.

It used to annoy you to no ends. "My friend is my ride and she's...busy" you sighed again remembering how you're friend Tina decide to completely ditch you to go off with some guy Leaving you to try and waste time as you waited for her to get done with her boy toy and take you back to you're dorm were you could sleep off the day and this party.

"Why not walk? The dorms aren't far from here?" He asked making you laugh slightly "Walking alone as a woman at night isn't the safest idea eggs" you had pepper spray yes but you really didn't want to risk any trouble especially with a bunch of drunk frat boys all over.

"Why don't I walk you? I need some fresh air anyway" aegon knew he wanted to talk to you, he knew he couldn't let you walk away so easily and now he finally had his excuse. He had spent the past three years missing you're presence and he wouldn't waste the opportunity to get it back.

You took a second to agree but as you looked around at the room of drunk people dancing and making you you knew what you're awnser would be

"Sounds good to me get me out of here" you smiled at him. Gods how he missed that smile. You followed him out of the frat house feeling a sense of relief to be away from the crowd and the loud music blasting in you're ears.

"Soo how's college been?" Aegon hummed walking side by side with you. He looked so smug he always did but what did you really expect from a rich kid who got everything handed to him.

You almost hated how attractive it was. Before you never thought of him of like that but seeing him now, grown. It was like something just broke inside you. It couldn't be attraction? Right?

"It's been fine I guess just a bunch of the same for me, studying and learning and more studying" you rolled you're eyes already feeling exhausted just thinking about it.

"So no boyfriend I'm assuming?" Aegon's smile grew wider. You couldn't tell if he was teasing you or mocking you but either way you rolled you're eyes and refused to give him a response.

He laughed seeing you go quiet "I knew it" he crossed his arms acrossed his chest making frown in annoyance.

"You don't need to rub it in eggs" you sighed as the two of you approached campus and walked up to the dormitories.

"I'm not rubbing in I'm actually glad you're single makes things easier for me" he hummed almost immediately his words made you tense up.

"Excuse me?" you tried to act calm seeing as you couldn't tell if he was being serious or if it was just another one of his many games.

You remembered aegon was always a bit of a flirt even a creep at times with the few times you had caught his eyes wondering to you're chest or hips.

You told yourself he was just a horny teenager and it didn't mean anything.

"Come on Y/N I know you heard me" he said back as you both walked down the hall of the dorms stopping as you reached you're door.

"What are you trying to do here" You finally asked but in response aegon only smirked at you

"you're a smart girl Y/N don't act clueless with me" Before you could speak aegon stepped closer and backed you into you're door frame making a small gasp slip from you're lips.

You told yourself it was the alcohol or whatever drug he could be on that was making him this bold but the way he looked at you let you knew just how serious he really was.

"Do you even know how much I've missed you these past three years how much I have yearned for you" aegon whispered his hands now wondering to you're waist while his head moved to you're neck planting small kisses on you're skin.

"Aegon-" you whined, hands resting on his chest as if you were about to push him away but you couldn't get yourself to do it.

"Ive probably jerked myself off thinking of you more times than i can count" Aegon's hands began wondering up you're sweatshirt to you're than waist to you're breasts, groping you right in the middle of the hallway.

"We shouldn't do this" You gulped before reaching you're hand to the handle of you're door and twisting it open "Not here" Aegon kept his grip on you while you pulled him into you're dorm hoping it was late enough and no one you knew would have seen what just happened.

Now that you were all alone aegon didn't hesitate to pull you close and slam his lips against yours. It didn't take long for both of you to fall ontop of you're bed while he climbed on top of you, hands wondering up you're hoodie to grope you once again.

You took it upon yourself to pull away from the kiss and yank you're hoodie off you're head.

"You're fucking stunning always have been" he whispered before his hands moved to try unclip the straps of you're bra and pull it off you revealing you're bare breasts to him.

He stared almost in a trance, he wasn't going to lie. he had definitely seen your boobs before during the many times he'd spy on you change but having them up close was something completely different.

His hands moved to play with your nipples making a small moan slip from your lips, he smiled in response pleased with himself.

"I knew you'd be sensitive" before you could say anything he latched onto one of your breasts and began to softly nibble at your soft flesh making you squirm underneath him.

"I uh- I should tell you something" you quickly cut him off making him look up and turn his head up at you.

"I've never done anything like this before" You finally spat it out making his smile only grow more.

Not only was he getting to sleep with the girl of his dreams but he got the pleasure of being her very first. "You're still a virgin?" He questioned and you simply nodding back shyly.

"That's ok don't worry I'll make it good for you" he leaned in and kissed your cheek before discarding his own shirt to the side.

Aegon wasn't the most well built, he didn't have abs in fact he actually had a small bit of a tummy on him. You didn't mind of course, you found every inch of him to be perfect.

You moved your hands to the buttons of your jeans and began pulling them down a delighted look on Aegon's face as he did the same to himself. Before long you were both in your underwear, aegon kissing down your neck leaving small marks as he went along. "People will see those" you whined. 

"That's the plan doll" his hands wondering up you're thighs to the waistband of your panties tugging at them before he slipped a finger inside and began running his finger along you're slit.

"You're so wet" aegon whispered in your ear before slipping a finger inside of you.

You whimpered a bit as he began slowly moving his finger in and out of you and once he felt you were ready he added in a second, thrusting his fingers deep inside you're tight wet cunt.

"Aegon please" you moaned his name Sounding like a angel to him, an angel he could not wait to corrupt.

You arched your back feeling his fingers hit a sensitive spot inside you. "Gonna cum for me baby? You can do it be a good girl and spill yourself on my hand"

You nodded in response the feeling of your peak rising quicker and quicker. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders hiding your head in his chest as you came moaning out against him.

You panted softly coming down from your high as he pulled his fingers back and yanked off your panties finally. Next he pulled down his own boxers revealing his leaking throbbing cock.

"I don't think I've ever been this hard" he gasped as he began slightly stroking himself spreading his precum to lube up his cock. you were a bit worried seeing his size, he definitely was bigger than you expected.

Aegon grabbed your legs opening them up before lining himself up with your slit.

"Be gentle please" you asked making him plant a soft kiss on your lips. "Tell me if it hurts" he replied before he began pushing the tip of his cock inside earning a small gasp from you.

He pushed inside inch by inch until he was fully inside, bottoming out on top you as small moans of his own slipped out. "So good baby- so tight so perfect" he panted a bit feeling you squeeze tight around him.

"So big" you whined as aegon kissed down your neck again, in an attempt to Soothe you're discomfort.

He couldn't remember a time he'd ever been so caring and affectionate with a girl, no that was just you. You did something to him. Something that he just couldn't understand. An overwhelming need to protect you and keep you close

He made sure to wait a minute before beginning to thrust himself, moving his hand to play with your clit in another attempt to help take away your pain. You clung onto him as he picked pace, getting faster and faster.

He knew he said he'd be gentle but you were so damn irresistible he couldn't stop his instincts to just ravage you like a dog in heat. Soon the pain left little by little and it was replaced with pleasure.

The mixed sounds of both of your whimpers and moans filling your dorm room. "So beautiful baby" aegon whispered between his small pants and moans in you're ear "Everything I've always dreamed of- fuck- I need you I need you" his hands grabbed your hips slamming you further down onto him.

"I want you so bad- be mine please baby say you'll be mine" he was a mess he knew he was but so were you. "I'm yours aegon im all yours-" you quickly choked out. The Small tears in you're eyes driving him crazy.

Those words alone were all aegon needed to finally reach his peak, being so caught up in the moment he hadn't even bothered to ask if you were on the pill before spilling every drop of his seed deep inside of you. He continued to hold you a part of him worried if he let go you'd leave again.

"All mine" he kissed your cheek softly still attempting to catch his breath "all yours" you smiled at him, That same smile that he had loved for years now, the same smile he promised he'd never let go of again

[a-killer-obsession]

🔞 Minors DNI 🔞

A search for a rumored Vegapunk weapon leads the Kid Pirates to an unexpected new crewmate, with a bloodlust that rivals their own and an incredible power.

CW: Please check AO3 for all current warnings, but general warning for smut, slow burn, serious gore, and really dark themes. AFAB reader, she/her pronouns.

Masterlist || AO3 || Chapter 1

Chapter 36 - Breaking Point, Side A

Tensions flare in the aftermath of a traumatic night.

Word Count: ~3.5k

Taglist: @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @iggy5055 @eyes-ofhell

Dawn's crying woke you both up only a few hours later, Heat quick to urge you to rest and collecting her from the crib. You sat up, knowing full well she was probably hungry. You didn't know how old she was but you guessed only a few months, she probably wanted to feed every four or so hours. Your breasts were aching for release anyway, now that they had been drained once it felt like your body was kicking into overdrive, your breasts noticeably heavier and firmer than they had been the last few days. Maybe this is what the books meant when they talked about your milk coming in. Either way, you were just as eager to feed her as she was to eat, her cries making your breasts leak and wet your shirt. You held your hands out for her and Heat lowered her to you carefully, as her little arms escaped from the swaddle and refused to let go of his finger.

She was quick to latch again, and you could see now in the daylight that her eyes were a sparkling blue. It hurt, with the blonde puff of hair and blue eyes she looked the way you imagined your own baby might have. Come to think of it, you hadn't even named him. You couldn't afford to dwell on it now, there was a very much alive orphaned little girl currently on your breast who needed you to keep your head. So young and yet she'd already been through so much. Heat watched with fascination as she made small squeaking sounds and kept his finger in a surprisingly strong grasp, forcing him to cuddle up against you, not that either of you minded. You let yourself rest against him, his free hand squirming its way behind you to wrap around your waist, giving in to the fantasy that this was your little family. That nothing traumatic had led to this strange situation, this was entirely normal and comforting, before the stress of reality reared its ugly head.

“What are we gonna do Heat?” You sighed.

“I'm gonna go out and grab a bunch of stuff as soon as you're okay with me heading out,” he replied, “whatever you need, I'll get it”

“My mask,” you pouted, “it's back on the ship”

“I'll get it,” he clenched his teeth, “you just stay here and rest, just focus on yourself and Dawn, I'm gonna take care of both of you don't worry about anything. The doctors said you need to be on bedrest for at least a week, after last night I'm enforcing that. You're not lifting a finger till you're recovered”

Together you made a list of everything you thought you needed, and against his desires he left to fetch them, putting a very milk drunk Dawn back in the crib before heading out, leaving you to get a little more much needed sleep. He decided to do the hardest part first, heading back to the Victoria to grab your mask. He hoped everyone would be asleep as it was still very early morning. He sauntered up the gangplank as quietly as he could and head underdeck to the infirmary where he'd last seen your mask, after Mohawk removed it during your operation. Thankfully it was still sitting in place on the back counter, a little blood on it still but otherwise unharmed.

“You wanna explain where the fuck you were going with my girlfriend and packed bags last night?” An aggressive baritone came from behind him. He turned to the masked first mate, a scowl on his face as he used his height to feign confidence over the shorter blond.

“She's not your girlfriend, or did Kid not pass on the message?” Heat spat back at him, “she said, and I quote, ‘he and I are over, we're done’. You pushed her too far Killer, she's done with you hurting her”

“Me? Hurting her?” He let out a laugh, a genuine unhindered one that threw Heat back in surprise. “She killed my fucking baby, she should have fucking listened when I told her it was too dangerous”

“A marine killed your baby Killer,” Heat yelled, surprise quickly overruled by anger, “her baby, that she grew and nurtured and could feel inside her. A baby you didn't even plan on having! You're not the only one grieving, you're just the only selfish prick acting like it's all about you. Hasn't she fucking been through enough? She delivered her own fucking dead baby in the middle of a battle and you won't even look at her. She needed you and you fucking abandoned her, just like you always do! It took her so long to let you back in after your last fuck up and in the blink of an eye you managed to fuck it all up again”

Killer punched Heat hard, his jaw making an audible click as his face was forced sideways. If he was anyone else he might have been sent flying, but he was just as strong as the blond, bodying the hit like it was nothing. He turned his head back to Killer and grabbed a fist full of his shirt, raising him off the ground like he weighed nothing.

“You want a baby so fucking bad? Go knock some whore up,” Heat spat, “because apparently that's all she was to you. Just a fucking broodmare. She'll never carry another child again, so you better go get to work finding a new incubator cos she can't do it anymore. Did you ever even love her or was she just convenient? Just a quick way to get what you wanted?”

“Of course I loved her!” Killer shouted as he forced his way out of Heat's grasp, “love her” he corrected himself.

“Then fucking act like it,” Heat shoved him hard, Killer's back connecting with a infirmary cot. “She spent the last three days waiting for you to man up and go to her, and instead you just sat around here twirling your hair and acting like the whole world is against you. Pull your fucking head out of your ass Killer. She just went through something traumatic and you're too busy grieving the dead to see the living. You know where Wire found her last night? On the edge of a fucking cliff. Getting ready to fucking jump. You did that, you drove her to think shes worth so little that she'd be better off dead, her death would have been blood on your hands Killer”

“She… I didn't know,” he said quietly, mask tilted away, unable to look at Heat for the shame he felt.

“Of course you didn't, because you haven't fucking talked to her,” Heat growled, “if you had then you'd know how fucking torn up she is, how much she's blaming herself. She thinks you only loved her because of the baby. You know what she said to me when she woke up in the infirmary, after your stroppy ass stormed out without even looking at her? She said tell him I'll make him another one, you should have seen the heartbreak on her face when I told her she couldn't, because she thinks the only reason you want her is to make babies. She'd just lost her baby, fought for her life after almost bleeding to death, and found out she'd never carry another child, and all she was thinking about was you, how disappointed you'd be with her. It's fucked Killer, you're fucked for putting those thoughts in her head. All you had to do was fucking be there for her, but you were too fucking selfish to do the bare fucking minimum”

Killer slumped down against the cot and put his head between his knees. A harsh sob came from him, but Heat didn't have it in him to comfort him, he didn't deserve comfort, not after the hurt he'd inflicted on the woman Heat loves. The firebreather gave him a tsk and started rummaging in the cabinets for pain medication for you, knowing you were still physically hurting immensely even if you didn't say it when you made the list.

“I'll… I'll do better,” Killer cried.

“That's what you told her last time,” Heat scorned.

“I didn't mean to shut her out, I just… I needed someone to blame,” he said sadly.

“Then blame the fucking marines! Don't go blaming her! She didn't do shit!” Heat yelled, “and for the fucking record, it could have happened outside of battle anyway, its not uncommon. Would you still have blamed her then, or would you finally have some fucking sympathy? How much does she have to suffer before you decide she's worthy of your comfort?”

“Where is she?” Killer asked.

“None of your fucking business,” Heat growled. “You and Kid have three days to apologise and grovel before the log pose resets, otherwise you're sailing away without the three of us. You wanna talk, you talk to me, I have my mini den-den, you're not getting near her till I say you can”

“Three?” Killer asked.

“They didn't tell you shit did they?” Heat half laughed, “she went to that cliff to kill herself, but instead some lady with the same idea handed her a baby and jumped”

“I… I saw it last night… I thought it was a ghost,” Killer's eyes were wide with surprise under the mask. He'd seen the small bundle, asleep in your arms, but it hadn't made any sense so he'd chalked it up to a mania induced hallucination.

“Yeah well, she's keeping it, but not on this ship, not after what Kid said,” Heat scorned.

“What did Kid say?”

“He called her a worthless whore and a life ruiner,” Heat tutted as he gathered some shit in a plastic bag, “real nice stuff to someone who just lost her baby and was forcibly sterilised, like we hadn't just found her trying to kill herself”

“I wanna talk to her,” Killer grabbed Heat's pants as he walked past. Heat kicked his hand away and kept moving.

“Too fucking bad, she's busy and she's tired and she doesn't want shit to do with you,” Heat replied coldly.

Killer watched Heat move as a realisation dawned on him. Heat had never spoken to him or Kid like this, the man was usually obedient and loyal, more akin to a puppy than the territorial wolf he was being right now. “You love her, don't you?”

“So what if I do?” Heat replied, “even if she never loves me back, I would never hurt her the way you have. She deserves better.”

“Oh, and you're better?” He scoffed.

“Well Killer, I didn't fucking leave her to mourn on her own after she lost her baby,” Heat spat, “in fact, I was the one there for her, every second I could be. I'm the one who was with her every minute I could be for the last three days, when all she wanted was her so-called loving boyfriend. So yeah, I'd say I can do better. I am doing better. I'm picking up your fucking mess but I'll do it happily because she means the fucking world to me.”

“So what, you're just gonna go play house with her and some stranger's baby?” Killer laughed.

“If that's what she wants, yeah,” Heat replied, “and if she doesn't, I'll support that too, because she's a fucking human being with her own thoughts and feelings that deserve to be recognised, not just a hole for you to breed. Maybe it's for the best, this way she gets to have a baby and she isn't stuck tied to your pathetic excuse of a man. You're a fucking coward Killer, you talk big game but when it comes down to it you're just a scared little boy who thinks he can just ignore his problems till they go away. The worst thing is that people still care about you, but you ignore them too. Hell she probably still cares about you. But you act like the whole fucking world is against you. Really it's just you, hiding away in your room and tearing shit up, refusing to take your meds just so everyone will treat you like the victim, when you could have been out there comforting her when she needed you. She never would have gone to that cliff if you'd just fucking let her in, if you'd let her mourn with you. You're fucking lucky some random woman decided to hand her a baby and off herself or Yin would be dead right now. Even if she ever forgives you, I might not, because what you did was selfish and cruel, and you almost took her from me because of it, from all the people who care about her. So much for the dangerous Massacre Soldier Killer, you're just a pathetic little man who can't even comfort a woman when she so desperately needed you. You should've stuck to whores, emotions are clearly too advanced for you.”

“Are you done?” Killer growled, standing now with his arms crossed in front of Heat as the taller man cussed him out.

“Far fucking from it,” he growled, “but she needs me, and unlike you my head isn't too far up my own ass to see, so I'll be going now. Have a nice life, Massacre Soldier”

Manic laughter followed Heat out into the hall, all the way until he reached the gangplank and fled far enough for the sound to no longer travel.

Dawn was back on your breast when Heat returned, making you jump at first before his wild mop of blue hair appeared, using his ass to open the door because his hands were too full. Comically, he was wearing your mask on his head to save hand space, but it was clearly far too small for him, sitting on a mound of hair instead of his actual head. You snorted as he entered the room, putting down the large armfulls of bags with a heavy sigh of relief. He pulled the mask from his head and set it on a dresser before collapsing on the bed next to you, his hands over his chest and his eyes closed.

“She sure eats a lot huh?” Heat noted, turning his head to the side to watch Dawn. Her little arms were wiggling around like she was searching for something, so he turned to his side and offered her his hand. Her fingers wound around one of his and he couldn't help but blush. Given his big, somewhat scary appearance he wasn't used to small vulnerable things being so fearless with him. “Small but strong too”

“I don't know how old she is, but she seems to want to eat every three or four hours,” you replied with a yawn, “God I'm so tired. And hungry”

“I got you some food from the bakery down the street but you'll have to wait till little miss here releases me so I can grab it,” he laughed, trying to reclaim his finger but her grip was iron tight.

“You're the fucking best Heat,” you smiled, half lidded in your exhaustion. He didn't envy you, he hadn't exactly had much sleep either between when the nurses kicked him out of the hospital and when Kid had called them all for an emergency meeting about Killer, but then he wasn't putting all his energy into feeding another living being while recovering from a traumatic birth and major surgery. By the time Dawn was thoroughly milk drunk and nodding off again, you were nearly asleep, leaning against his chest with his arms around you to keep you upright, now that the small one had released her insane grip on his finger. He took Dawn carefully from your hold and put her back in the crib, admiring her for a moment before returning his attention to looking after you.

He rummaged in the bags and brought over the baked goods and a bottle of water, and you could barely open your eyes as you accepted them and sleepily nibbled. He had to take the remnants from your hand as you started to slouch over, a fond smile on his face at how cute you were in such a sleepy state, your lips turned upwards just the tiniest bit at the corners.

“Heat, do you love me?” You mumbled against his chest as you both got settled under the covers, your warm breath tickling the bare parts of his chest through the lacing of his corset. His breath hitched at the question, taken entirely by surprise and feeling like a deer in headlights. “Sorry,” you apologised, feeling the way he tensed, “I just… last time we slept together, it felt like more than just two friends fucking. I thought maybe you loved me. It's okay, I'm not mad if you don't, I just… thought”

“I do love you,” he breathed, his whole body still tense. He thought he might puke from the anxiety, worried the next words out of your mouth would be disgust or rejection. Nobody had ever loved him like that before, not in a romantic way. He was used to meaningless hookups during short stays at islands with people he'd never see again. The way you made him feel was entirely foreign, which is probably why it'd taken him so long to name the feeling.

“I know I said once that I didn't think I could fall in love with you,” you said softly, intertwining your fingers with his, making him relax a little, “but I think maybe that was a lie. You give me butterflies, Heat. And you make me feel so safe, you always have.”

He let out a shaky breath and a tear rolled down his cheek, he didn't realise just how stressed he was till you noticed the glistening trail and wiped it with your thumb. Your eyes bore into his, suddenly more alert now as you inspected his perpetually sad face before pressing a soft kiss on his mouth. You pulled away with a sigh, your forehead resting on his.

“I didn't notice you falling for me, I should have noticed,” you whispered,”I'm so sorry Heat. I'm… I'm going through a lot right now, but just knowing you're here, that at least one person in this godforsaken world wants me is enough to make me want to live”

“I thought you were dead,” his tears flowed freely now, his hands shaking as he finally processed the last three days. He'd been trying so hard to keep it together, to stay strong for you, because he knew you needed him, but those walls were crumbling so fast under your warm touch. “After the hospital said you left, we followed your vivre to where we knew the cliffs were, and it was burning. I knew physically you were fine, but for your resolve to be so set that your vivre burned… I… I thought I'd lost you. I only just realised how much I loved you after Quincy hurt you but I thought you were going to die last night thinking nobody loved you and I just… I never would have been able to live with myself. I should have told you sooner but I was so scared you'd hate me for it or that it'd ruin our friendship”

“Oh Heat,” your own tears started to meld with his as you pressed your cheeks together, your arms tight around his shoulders as he started to sob against you, the dam collapsing under the immense pressure of his emotions. “I'm so sorry, I'm so fucking sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, I was just so fucked up and I just couldn't take it anymore. I should have seen you there, I should have known you were there for me like you've always been, I've been such a ghost lately that I didn't see” You held his head gently in your hands, his dark eyes glassy with tears as he sniffed and looked at you, “I'm not ready right now, but I have no intention of leading you on. I'm gonna find the strength to say those three words Heat, because I know I feel them, I just can't bring myself to say them right now. Please don't stop loving me, you're all I have”

His lips crashed against yours, pain and fear and love and overflowing intangible emotions bursting at the seams as his tongue fought against yours and his hands held you close against him. You could feel his growing erection against your thigh so you slid your hand down his front, threading it under the waistband of his baggy pants, desperately needing to make him feel good, to alleviate your guilt after the hurt you'd put him through. He let out an almost pained whine as you started to pump him, his kisses messy and half focused as you serviced him, till he couldn't focus on anything else anymore and all he could do was pant against your shoulder. It didn't take him long to cum, so wound up from the overbearing stress that the release you gave him had him letting out a stuttered groan as he came, his seed spilling over your hand and lubricating his cock as you worked him through it.

“Shh, I've got you,” you cooed as you made your final slow strokes, his breath hot on your shoulder as he gripped you tight like he was afraid you would disappear forever if he let go. It was almost painful, given your sore breasts and surgery site. “Heaaaat, loosen your grip baby, I'm not going anywhere, I promise”

He let go a little but refused to entirely remove his hold on you, but you were more than fine with that now that the pressure wasn't painful. You held his head close to your heart and stroked his hair, and your steady heartbeat and tender caresses in the afterglow of his orgasm finally lulled him to sleep. You breathed a sigh of relief that he was finally relaxed, and you soon followed suit to take advantage of what rest you could get before Dawn inevitably woke you up again.

[NEXT CHAPTER]

[changedmyminditsnicehere]

I was honestly so overwhelmed by the response to my last fic post. The Sandman fandom has been so welcoming, I wanted to write something again - I've never been this inspired! This is still a little rough I fear, but I hope however it finds enjoys it!

AO3 link here for people who prefer to read it there!

---

When Dream had slammed his way into the bathroom at minute 46 - approximately - of Hob's shower, and minute negative 14 since Dream was supposed to have left - definitely - he had done so with the one clear and cogent goal in mind. What that goal had been, he was slowly being forced to admit, he had no idea.

"Morpheus? That you? It better be you mate, I am not dealing with a home invasion in the scud." Hob sounded impressively cheery for someone considering facing criminals in the nude. Morpheus was trying not to consider not to consider what it would be like to be tackled by a naked Hob. Morpheus was, despite the incredibly see-through shower curtain, trying not to consider what Hob looked like naked.

One could argue that, as he was barging in on his flatmate's post-rugby shower, he should have expected said flatmate to be somewhat naked. It wouldn’t even be the first time Hob had been somewhat naked in front of Morpheus. They had shared accommodation, university and onwards, for five years now and Hob was hardly shy. He had a habit of stripping on his way to the shower after particularly enthusiastic rugby matches. Morpheus would perish before being seen, as Hob was apparently so willing to be, dripping with sweat, flushed with exertion and panting heavily as he maniacally pulled his muddy clothes off. The first time this vision graced him, Morpheus had thought he might perish anyway. Morpheus had hoped that by regular exposure to this post-match divestment, he might have built up a tolerance that would allow him this brief escapade. A foolish hope it seemed.

“Morpheus?” "Mn." Hob let out a whistling breath. "Good good. I'm not up for naked tackling today." "...hmn" "You okay out there?" "I am just getting my pomade." "God yeah sorry, dinner with your sister right? Didn't mean to take so long, sorry mate. I'll be right out." There were many things Morpheus needed right now, including a cold shower and maybe a furious wank. He did not need the image of Hob stepping out of the shower, droplets of water on his chest just asking for Morpheus to put his lips to Hob’s beautiful chest hair and lick them up. His sister was going to mock him mercilessly. The first time Morpheus had witnessed Hob’s approach to personal modesty post-rugby, she hadn’t even waited for him to sit down before laughing in his face and flagging a waiter down to request two glasses of their cheapest prosecco. They were, she had told him, going to celebrate her darling little brother finally catching on.

"It is okay. I will leave now." "No no, it's fine, we're all adults here." The shower curtain was already pulling back. Morpheus considered fleeing. He could move in with his sister, probably. She would let him sleep on her couch and only mock him slightly mercilessly while he planned his move to the remotest desert spit he could find.

And then there was Hob. All of Hob. In all his evenings waiting for and fearing the advent of Hob's Sweaty Striptease, Morpheus had never once dared to imagine what it would look like going in the other direction. If Hob were moving towards him, rather than up the stairs.

He might not be breathing. He wondered if passing out might be the least embarrassing way out of his current predicament. Probably not, unfortunately. Hob was… so much. Hair slicked back, broad chest, his chest hair swirled into patterns Morpheus tried to focus on, make sense of, so as not to let his gaze descend any further.

“Morpheus? You in there?” Morpheus looked up carefully. He was trying so hard not to glance down. Hob was looking at him, significantly more amusement in his eyes’ than Morpheus thought he might have for someone leching at his chest hair. “You okay? You’re looking a bit red, is the steam getting to you?” Hob seemed utterly unaware of his inner turmoil. He reached out, as if to measure his temperature with the back of his hand.

Morpheus could not explain why he did it, except to say that he did not think he could withstand Hob’s hand on his face while he stood there, naked. Why he thought grabbing Hob’s hand and simply holding it would be better than whatever mortification he would no doubt commit should Hob touch him, he did not know. But now they stood, hands clasped at chest height. “... I do not know why I did that.” Hob’s smile was changing. Gone was the cheerful blandness and in its place was not the censorious disapproval Morpheus feared, but something slower, warmer. Hob looked, Morpheus would almost say, pleased with himself.

“Don’t you? You seem to be concentrating pretty hard.” He grinned. “See something you like? Don’t like?” Morpheus frowned in denial before he could consider how incriminating it might be. “Oh, definitely like.” Hob sounded incredibly smug. “You know, when your sister suggested stepping it up a notch, I didn’t actually plan for full frontal nudity. That seems like a second date sort of event really.” “A … second date event?” “Unless, that’s not what this is?” Hob’s grin dimmed and Morpheus couldn’t let that happen. “Only, you seemed pretty interested but you never actually did anything, I kind of hoped that meant it might be more than just, just,” Hob rushed. “You would like a second date… with me?” Morpheus interrupted. “Well, I’d like a first date ideally, but if I can guarantee a second one off the bat, that would make me very happy. What about you? Would you be happy with that?” Hob’s hand was clasping Morpheus’ back now. “I would be… very happy with that.” “Oh, oh good. Thank god. I was worried I’d made myself look like a right knob and I would have to move out and fake my own death. How does tonight sound? Dinner? After you see your sister? Too soon? I can do whenever. God, I do sound like a knob don’t I?” “Lunch.” “Lunch? We can do lunch. When works for you, tomorrow? No, that’s a school day - you want to wait til next weekend? I can wait.” He did not sound like he could wait. “No, lunch today. Now. I will tell my sister I am indisposed.”

Hob’s laugh was beautiful.

[unnoticed-poison]

ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ! ᴅᴀʀᴋ! ᴍᴀɴʜᴡᴀ/ᴍᴀɴʜᴜᴀ ᴠᴀʀɪᴏᴜꜱ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ 【 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝟏 】

【 𝕿𝖗𝖆𝖎𝖑𝖊𝖗 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕 】

【 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝟏 】

【 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝟐 】

Chapter 3 to 10 are posted on AO3, Wattpad and Quotev :3

Read the trailer chapter before reading this one if you haven't (it's a mix between the story summary and a chap so you need to read it before this one)

You just stared at the blue screen with a look of pure confusion and horror, not quite understanding the words the screen just said. "What?" you asked once again, still not fully comprehending the situation." run that by me again?"

You questioned while rubbing your temples as if to help you wake up from some crazy dream.

The system, whose name is Jin Xian, looked at you nervously before explaining once more.

You took a deep breath and tried not to lose it."So what you're saying is, there's a bug that's currently hiding in all the manhwas and novels I read for the last few years now and it's probably aiming to kill them all for some unknown reason?"

It hesitates before nodding slowly, "Yeah.. I guess you could put it that way"

"...And you want me to take care of it right?"

"...Y...Yes." It said awkwardly.

"And can I ask why you or whoever you work for haven't done anything about it until now?"

"We tried.." the system answered sadly, "But we just couldn't detect its exact location or even track down where it originally came from. There wasn't anything to pinpoint exactly. But then the people in charge decided that the best course of action was to let us deal with the situation ourselves while they search for another solution, so they decided to send the best world-hoppers to those worlds to try and stop it from spreading, those people are considered the best of the best, all their worlds missions were successful so far with a SSS ranking, of course only the higher ranking systems get those hosts while we low ranking ones have to look for temporary hosts with zero experience." it paused for a moment, before continuing, "So here we are"

It pouted as it said that sentence."Why do I always get stuck with the lowest rank?"

You raised an eyebrow at it." Because you're an idiot, you couldn't even get the right person to be your host, a simple task that should have been easy enough for systems of all rankings and you still failed, no wonder your rank is so low." you snapped in annoyance.

"...That... might be a tad harsh, miss..." it admitted sheepishly. it's been called a lot worse, especially recently, but it still hurt. it might be a robot but it has feelings ok?!

"So now that everything is clear, we need to start moving now! The more time we waste, the faster the bug will spread."

It was silent for a moment before you gave the cheerful Xian a small smile.

"No."

You stated with finality.

"...what?" the system replied in confusion." What do you mean no?"

"Look, as much as I want to meet the characters and go through the quests to get to the bug's location I can't, I have a life here and I'm guessing this mission of yours is gonna be pretty dangerous right?" you gave it a stern stare."So I'm sorry, but I like being alive and I'm not gonna risk it for some fantasy."

"But... but mis-" it attempted to explain, desperate to convince you, "You can't just-"it tried to speak, only to be cut off.

"This mission needs someone intelligent and dedicated, and I assure you I'm neither of these things." You continued to reason, ignoring the obvious pleading tone of your companion. You chuckled, giving the poor thing a comforting smile before continuing."tell you what, I'll pretend that all that happened today was a terrific fever dream and you'll go and look for an actual host that suits you, how about that?"

"But-!"

"Goodbye~! Have a good hunt!" you said as you grabbed it and throw it out the window and closed it shut."I wish you luck!" the room fell into silence again, only the whirring sound of the air conditioning filling the room.

You sighed in relief." Finally." you said, ready to forget the shit that just happened.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, my dear host." a cold voice sounded from behind you as a chill run down your spine.

'Fuck.'

Didn't expect to actually write a chapter after the trailer one but oh well hope you like it 🌻

I posted this on Wattpad too and might post it on AO3 as well.

[dinoace2]

Ring Around the Rosie

Little piece vaguely inspired by @camilleflyingrotten , a drawing I found on their Insta.

The Bubonic Plague is literally one of my favorite periods in history (to learn about), I'm shocked at myself that I haven't already done something with it. I know aziraphale would do his best to help where he could, in a time and place of such suffering. I'll say they're probably in a tiny village in rural Italy during this time.

(This is a part 1)

1500 words of angst and sad angel snuggles :3

Or read on Ao3

~~~

Crowley hated the fourteenth century.

One of the nice things about Time, Crowley always said, was that it was steadily taking him further away from the fourteenth century.

He enjoyed Torment and Sorrow as much as the next demon, but this...this seemed a bit much.

He walked out of the latest house of victims, pulling the beaked mask from his face. Needed a breath of fresh air after that, the stench of Death was becoming far too overwhelming.

Speaking of, Crowley didn't think he'd ever seen the man so happy.

Death and Pestilence worked hand in hand, now more than ever. Somehow they concocted a disease so deadly, so volatile, so malignant and grotesque, that, once afflicted, the human body could succumb to failure within half a day of exposure to it.

A condition so severe its name was simply Death.

After a few clear breaths (not that he needed to, but old habits, you know), he replaced the mask over his face, once again inhaling the gentle scent of lavender and sharp mint. Apparently someone, somewhere, determined those particular plants good for keeping sickness at bay.

He walked to the small village's church, little more than a rectangular building with a few rows of pews and a small pulpit. Nowadays it served as a different sort of sanctuary, the benches pushed aside in favor of cots and bedrolls, a sort of infirmary for those who hadn't yet been holed up in their homes. Once he arrived, he just stood silently outside the door. Anyone who questioned why was simply told there wasn't enough space for him to enter without causing trouble.

The doors opened, and a few beaked people in cloaks walked out, all practically indistinguishable from one another. Crowley made a 'psst!' noise to attract the attention of the last doctor in the crowd. When they didn't answer, he cleared his throat. "Doctor Fell."

The beaked figure stopped at that, turning around to stare with empty, dark, round eyes. "...yes?"

Crowley walked over, gently putting a hand on the other's shoulder. Though it was impossible to see, the touch said it all. He was trembling.

Just as I thought.

"Come with me a moment...I think we could use a break." He studied Aziraphale, trying to gauge his reaction, but the masks proved such a task impossible. He was more relieved than he'd like to admit when the other beak bobbed up and down in a nod.

Crowley took his hand and gently led him down the silent, empty streets, all the way to a now-abandoned vineyard at the edge of town. He sat down in a shaded spot amongst the vines, and pulled down the mask and hood. His auburn hair fell behind him in a loose ponytail, and he tossed the beaked face aside.

Aziraphale was silent, but eventually sat down next to him. He carefully took the mask off, then pulled his knees to his chest.

They sat in somber silence for a while, and eventually Crowley pulled a cluster of grapes from a nearby vine. While on the plant they looked a bit underripe, and far too sour, but by the time they were in front of him they were plump and purple. He plucked one and tossed it in his mouth, then held it out to Aziraphale. The angel hesitated, and he sighed. "Th' field's been abandoned...the owner already died...'s'not theft if it was gonn' go bad anyway." Aziraphale seemed satisfied with that argument, and held his gloved hand out to take them.

The silence stretched until crickets and frogs chirped in gentle harmonies, and the sun sank over the horizon. The first few stars dared to peek over the sky's veil. Each of the pair had a few bunches of grapes while they sat, simply basking in the other's company.

Just before the moon made her entrance, Crowley let out a long sigh and turned to Aziraphale. "....'s'not your fault, Angel."

Aziraphale flinched at the words, and he opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Tears stung his eyes, and all he felt he could do was lean to one side, laying his head on the demon's shoulder. Crowley nodded, putting an arm around him in a gentle embrace.

"What have they done to deserve this?" He finally whispered, his voice breaking. "How could they have possibly angered Her this much, that they all have to die?" He was shaking more now, and Crowley just held him tighter.

"...im afraid that's just how it'll be sometimes, Angel. 'S'outside our control, unfortunately." Crowley did his best to keep his tone gentle. If he wasn't careful, this was going to end in an angry rant to the Heavens. No one wanted that.

Aziraphale shook his head. "I've been healing as many as I can...but they deteriorate so quickly...its been impossible to remain on top of it all..."

They had shifted by now, the angel cradled carefully in Crowley's arms. "I know."

"It seems that every time I try to help, I'm always just barely too late."

"I know."

"They're innocent, they don't deserve something like this."

"I know, Angel."

Aziraphale finally choked out a sob, and Crowley was certain he'd never heard anything so devastating before. His heart ached in a way he couldn't quite place.

"The last one I tended to....it was a little girl. A child, Crowley." He sounded so desperate, so shaken by what he had seen. "The sores had already taken her beyond my ability to help...and- and she just...she kept asking me when it would stop hurting..." his voice was little more than a whisper. "...I told her the truth. 'Soon,' I had said, much as I didn't want to. I wished to tell her it would be alright, that it would be better...but...you know how I feel about lying..." he shook his head. "So I did a smaller Miracle...told her to close her eyes...and dream of whatever she liked best." Fresh tears spilled over his cheeks. "I've never killed anything before, Crowley....but what else was I meant to do...?"

Crowley sighed. "...y'didn't. Not really. You gave her peace. She was heading there anyway...letting her sleep through it was the best thing you could've done, I think..."

"It- it felt so...wrong, though...letting her fall away....and practically doing nothing for it." His fingers curled into fists, the leather of the gloves creaking under the pressure. "....I felt her grow cold in my hands...and could do nothing but watch, only praying that the pain faded." He shook his head.

"...you did your best, Angel...thats what matters," Crowley said softly, wrapping his arms tighter around him.

He felt shaky arms around his back eventually, Aziraphale clinging to his slender form and sobbing quietly into his shoulder. The angel's cries echoed across the vineyard, fading into the skies and meshing with the chirps of the crickets in a grieving song.

Crowley held on to him tightly, looking up at the sky. He felt...angry. Angry with the World, for being so awful...Angry with Death and Pestilence, for being the cause of such severe suffering...Angry with God, for letting this all happen...and Angry at Himself, for not knowing how to fix things. For not being able to help. For feeling so...useless.

He wasn't quite sure who to be upset with for making the angel cry.

Aziraphale wiped his eyes, sniffling and sitting up. "...i....I should be okay, now..."

Crowley sighed. "...you've been under a lot lately. You need rest."

"I don't sleep..."

"I didn't say sleep. I said rest. You're exhausted. I don't think ive ever seen you this tired before...not to mention this miserable. You need a break." Crowley frowned, gently taking hold of Aziraphale's hands.

The angel frowned, sorrow returning to his expression. "But...those people...they still need help..."

"And so do you, it seems." He shook his head. "Youve already helped the humans way more than your assignment requires. Besides, at this rate you're going to work yourself to discorporation. Im-" his voice caught in his throat. "Im...worried. Ab- about you." He tried to ignore the sudden flush of heat in his cheeks, and looked away.

Aziraphale sighed. "And...I suppose there's no talking you out of this?"

The slight pull of a smile tugged at the demon's lips. "Angel, in all the time you've known me, have I ever been anything other than a stubborn bastard?"

His companion responded with a weak smile of his own. "...no, I suppose not."

Crowley grinned. "Lets go, then. I think I know just the place." He grabbed his mask and gloves and stood up.

Aziraphale nodded, following suit. As he stood, his stance swayed slightly, and Crowley reached out. "...you alright, Angel?"

"Hm? Oh...yes, I'm alright, Crowley...just...a touch dizzy, all of a sudden...give me a moment."

Crowley frowned. "...youre absolutely pallid, are you sure you're feeling okay?"

Aziraphale smiled. "Yes, of course, my dear boy...I just...perhaps I should...sit down..."

He took a step, then stumbled, falling forward against Crowley. He looked ghostly, his skin flushed and pale and hot to the touch. The demon caught him, a colorful string of curses falling from his lips.

"Angel? Angel, talk to me! Shit! Angel, say something! Wake up! Aziraphale!"

~~~~

Thanks for reading! :]

I'll get a part 2 out when I can, stay tuned 💜

[things-arent-what-they-seem66]

Megamind Au @fanofstuff02

I'll post the full thing on Ao3 when it's done. For now you get the beginning of their vacation!!

Also I'm not including everything, that would take forever lol

Contact Warning: Swearing, Sexual Themes, and Kidnapping.

It was Thursday, like clock work the supervillain The Devil had kidnapped local news reporter Adam Kadmon to hold hostage for his evil plans.

Where he would fight the hero, The General so he could take over the city.

Only problem was said hero was late. Six hours late.

Lucifer paced his lab, this was ridiculous and rude. "Where the fuck is he?"

Adam, tied to his chair blew his bangs out of his face. "What's the date today?" He asked, summer time was prime time for vacations and being friends with the city hero he knew he had one planned.

Lucifer stopped to look at him with an inquisitive stare. "The 29th why?"

Adam sucked air between his teeth, shit of all the times. "Oh yeah, he's not coming he's on vacation."

Lucifer blinked. "What why?"

"Stress? He puts up with your ass all the time man deserves a break. Honestly I should take one too." Adam sassed.

"So he's not coming?" Well this was a fucking waste of a Thursday.

"Probably not."

Lucifer smirked, an idea forming in his mind. Maybe not a waste after all. "So that means I get to keep you til he gets back."

Adam felt dread fill him. "No, it means I get to go the fuck home."

Lucifer leaned in closer to Adam's face. "Sorry, you’ll have to wait for your dumb boyfriend to return for that."

Adam glared, you make one off handed comment about someone being your boyfriend, which The General was not he only said that to piss The Devil off, and his Thursdays are forever ruined. "I should’ve went with him."

Lucifer raised a brow, ignoring the jealousy bubbling inside him. "Would he even take you?"

"Oh he would." Adam figited in his seat, it was well past uncomfotable at this point. "This is bullshit you can't just keep me here."

Lucifer merely shrugged. "Sure I can, that's the point of being kidnapped."

Adam tilted his head back beyond annoyed. "Ugh..... This is highly unfair. You realize you have to feed me right?"

"Lucky for you Charlie is a great cook."

Adam groaned. "Oh lucky me."

Charlie skipped over happily her hands clasped together. "I can make ribs for you Adam! And-"

"How am I going to sleep?" Adam interrupted, it just occurred to him that he had no where to sleep.

Lucifer gave him a small smirk. "In the chair?"

Adam balked at the idea, he's already been here for hours! Now he had to fucking sleep there? "The chair?! Are you fucking serious?"

"Yup! You're a prisoner, you're not on vacation." Lucifer walked away, feeling victorious.

Adam mumbled under his breath. "Asshole."

-

Two in the morning rolled around, Lucifer got up to use the bathroom when the light from the lab caught his attention. He sighed. "I should probably check on him."

Adam fell asleep in the chair, his head to the side and was even drooling slightly.

He looks so cute. Lucifer thought, he couldn't deny the attraction he had for the news reporter. Lucifer sighed. "Fucker."

He scooped Adam up and carried him to his room. They didn't have a guest room because, well, they never have guests.

He tucked Adam into his bed, handcuffed him to the bed just in case and went to the other side of the bed to sleep.

Adam woke up the next morning, he groaned as the lights hit his eyes. He’s more awake once he realizes he’s in an actual bed instead of the chair. And the bed he’s sleeping also contains that short fucker.

What the- Am I..... No I'm handcuffed fuck!! Both hands no less ...... He doesn't look that bad when he's asleep. Less annoying, Adam thought as he looked at The Devil's sleeping form.

Adam groaned again and tried his best to roll over to keep the light out. It didn't work it hurt his wrists too much so he turned back.

Lucifer mumbled still half asleep. "Quit moving."

Adam actually jumped cause he thought he was asleep.

Lucifer opened an eye to see Adam with his normally well groomed hair messed up, dried drool on his chin and face, eyes still sleepy. Even just waking up he's fucking cute, that's not fair! "Go back to sleep."

And for once Adam did as he was told, too tired to fight it. Plus the bed was comfy.

Lucifer hugged him when the reporter drifted off to sleep. He didn’t have anything to say when he woke up again.

Luckily for The Devil he woke up before Adam. And he straight up and out of bed and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Adam woke up alone. He tried to break free but those chains were too strong so he gave up. He thought of calling out for the two villains but decided not to. They would probably ignore him anyway.

Adam was waiting in the bed he didn't know how long, let his mind wonder. God why did The General had to go on a week vacation. Being stuck with these freaks for hours is bad enough.

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts.

Adam blinked. "Uh.. Come in?"

Charlie stepped in she was still in her pajamas, hair messed up from sleep she smiled sleepily at Adam. "Good morning Adam!" She greeted cheerily, god even first thing in the morning she's upbeat.

"Eh. Good morning."

"Dad says breakfast is ready and I have to bring you to the table." Charlie came over and uncuffed Adam from the bed only to cuff him to a chair.

"Oh goodie." Adam deadpanned, Charlie carried him to the table, and cuffed him to the table making it easier for him to eat. "Pancakes?"

"Yes! I made them myself." Lucifer boasted as he handed his daughter her plate.

Adam took a bite and was surprised by how delicious they were. "These are..... Surprisingly good."

Lucifer narrowed his eyes. "Why surprising?"

"You always make her cook i just thought you couldn't." Unlike me, Adam thought, he couldn't cook very well he mostly ordered takeout. "Also, what the hell am I supposed to do all day? I still have to wo-"

Lucifer cut him off. "No you don’t. You’re free for two weeks."

Adam raised a brow. "And how exactly you know that?"

Lucifer lifts an eyebrow of his own, answer enough.

Adam slumped. "Fine. I am."

Charlie jumped up all excited. "Oh Adam we're going to have so much fun!"

Adam rolled his eyes. "Oh I'm so sure."

Lucifer shook his head as he drank his coffee. *First thing in the morning and you're already sassy. Come along."

They handcuffed him to a chair with wheels so they didn't have to keep carrying him. Charlie turned on the tv to some random reality show.

Adam stared blankly. "This is boring."

"I can kind of agree." Charlie agreed from her spot on the floor.

"I mean, let me tell you what is going to happen. She’s going to learn her husband cheated on her and she will try to kill him and the woman but instead she’ll die herself and find some assassin's to kill the other woman in Hell, but she’ll end up in Hell too and then they’ll start to fuck eachother." Adam ranted and the room fell silent.

Lucifer turned to look at him. "The hell are you watching in your free time?"

Adam looked at him, didn't he know good tv when it was on? "What? Hell Bound is a good yet predictable show."

"Sounds stupid."

"Well it has 19 seasons so someone loves it."

Charlie picked up the remote and changed the channel. "What about the news?"

Adam's fellow reporter friend Peter was on in Adams place, they were declaring Adam a missing person and to call if they had any information on where he might be. "Right here Peter." Adam said in a monotone voice.

Charlie looked at him. "I don't think he can hear you."

Adam sighed, dear lord. "Yeah I know."

He clicked his tongue. A small smirk came to his face when he remembered something from the last time he was kidnapped. "Hey Charlie?"

"Yes?"

"Do you still have the monopoly?" Adam asked in a cheeky tone, he could kick anyones ass at that game.

Lucifer felt his eye twitch, he knew where this was going. "No."

"Are you sure, dad? I thought-"

"It got ruined."

Adam snorted. "Wow, you had a fit and destroyed monopoly. What about Janga?"

Charlie lit up at the prospect of a game day. "I'll go look!" She ran off down the hall.

Lucifer glared at Adam. "I did not throw a fit." 

"Oh like how you're on the verge now? Sure....... Baby."

The supervillain could feel his blood boiling but wouldn't give Adam the satisfaction. "LOOK-" He took a deep calming breath. "Well, jokes on you, I’m an expert on Jenga."

Adam didn't look that amused or believed him one bit, this guy lost at everything he did in life and games were no exception. "Whatever you say."

Charlie came running back in with the Janga game grinning from ear to ear. "Here!"

-

Adam fumed with rage, how the fuck was he losing!?. "You can’t take that one!" He seethed.

Lucifer smirked, not the least bit sorry. "I can! What, ‘ruined your plans’?" He was a master at Janga never to be beaten.

"No!" It actually did and Adam was pissed about it, he knew he likely had two moves left before it fell over and he lost.

Lucifer just looked at him smuggly, pretending to pick his nails. "So take one."

"Give me a fucking minute!" Adam pulled a piece, the tower wiggled but did not fall over. "Phew." In his next turn however, Adam bumped the table and it fell over. "NO!"

Lucifer jumped for joy at his easy win.  "HAHA! VICTORY IS MINE!"

Adam pouted and looked away. "Whatever, Janga is stupid. And that's the only time you'll ever say that anyway."

Lucifer raised an eyebrow with a smirk. "Oh ho is that so?"

"Yes it is!"

Lucifer plucked off some imaginary lint from his vest. "Loser cleans the mess."

Adam scowled as he started cleaning up, being kidnapped and forced to do manual labor, what could be fucking worse? "I fucking hate you."

Lucifer ignored him, he said that so much it was starting to lose it's bite. "You know we do have two other games. If you two wanna play."

Charlie smiled and rasied her hand. "I do!"

Adam shrugged, not like he had much of a choice. "Sure, what else is entertaining here."

The Devil cracked his knuckles. "Twister and Uno."

Adam thought for a moment. "Let’s-"

"And since I’m the winner, I get to choose. Twister." 

"Fucker." At least they had to uncuff him for that one. Though, after a while and the position Adam got himself he should have stayed in his chair.

Charlie was calling out the colors and moves. "Right foot green Adam!"

Adam sighed. "Fine." He moved his leg, it was now under Lucifer, Adam tried to ignore the suggestive pose this put him in but it was very difficult.

"Right hand yellow dad!"

Lucifer placed his hand by Adams head, he smiled as he looked down at the news reporter that was now under him. "Hello.~"

"Damn you."

This.... Shouldn't be this hot. Lucifer thought, not that he cared. 

Adams mind was racing. Why. Just why. Oh dear god he's between my legs!

"Left hand red Adam!"

Lucifer’s hand was on the nearest red and there was no way he was placing his hand on the villains. "Uhh…" Adam tried to place it on a different red, but realized he can’t and just put it as far as possible. Unfortunately he lost balance because of this and fell down.

Lucifer laughed at his loss."HAHA! HOW DOES LOSING TWICE FEEL?!"

Charlie wasn't amused. "Can we play Uno now?"

"Sure! Adam?"

Adam glared up at him. "You’re going down on that one."

-

Adam placed his winning card down. "SUCK IT MOTHERFUCKER! HAHA!"

Lucifer frowned. "Can you stand one minute without swearing? Geez."

"No, it's called a sentence enhancer. Besides, you want to hear me not swear? Watch me on the fucking news."

Charlie set her cards down, this was the last of the games they had in the evil lair. "We're running out of games to play. Oh we could just talk!"

Adam wrinkled his nose. "Why, we have nothing in common?"

Charlie smiled politely. "It passes the time! So, Adam how's your day going?"

Adam looked at her, was she serious? "....... You're joking right?"

Lucifer leaned back in his chair. "Go on answer the question."

With as much sarcasm as Adam could muster. "Oh I'm just having the time of my fucking life."

Lucifer glared, eyes flashing. "Can you stop that for a minute?" Why did he have to swear so much?

Adam sighed. "Fine, honesty? I didn’t hate this day but I didn’t like it either. My favorite moments were when you lose."

"Which was once!"

"One good moment."

"See! Fun! Oh I'll go make lunch!" Charlie got up and left to make the trio lunch.

Adam looked at the supervillain. "Are you seriously gonna keep me here for two weeks?" He didn't want to spend two weeks in this shit hole.

"Yeah why not. Have your own vacation." That hero asshole went on vacation why couldn't they?

"Umm, no. My idea of a vacation involves a sandy beach, not a smelly lab." All Adam could smell was the scent of oil and metal. It almost sickened him.

Lucifer scoffed at him. "It's not smelly!" He sniffed the air and winced, he pulled out the air freshener and sprayed some. "Maybe a little."

"Glad you agree."

"Anyway. Who said I can’t take you to a beach?" Lucifer tried to will away the picture in his mind of Adam in a swim suit the moment he said that.

"Oh and society will be perfectly fine with this? Bitch please." Adam wasn't in the mood to be toyed with.

Lucifer pulled out his phone and started looking for places to go where they could have a lot of privacy. "We just have to find somewhere calm!"

"Oh I would be so fucking glad to go with the two of you then."

"So sassy. Oh look I found one!" This place was perfect, two cabins, one for Charlie and one for them. Adam was still their captive so he couldn't be trusted to have his own and well, Lucifer kinda wanted to share with him so they would have to spend more time together.

Adam was surprised, they were really going on vacation? "Wait really?"

Lucifer stood up. "Yup! Charlie pack your things we're going to the beach in Italy!"

Charlie squealed with joy. "Oh goodie!"

Adam couldn't believe what was happening, he was getting a free trip to Italy from the guy who kidnapped him. Should I be.. Happy about this or.. God who am I kidding. I-

"Are you okay?" Lucifers voice broke him from his thoughts.

Adam blinked owlishly at him. "Huh? Oh yeah."

Lucifer stood there a little awkwardly shifting on his feet, hands in the pockets of his dress pants. "Do I uh.. Need to get your stuff or anything?"

"I- What?"

"You know… If you want… I can."

Was he serious..? Whatever.

Adam shifted in his seat absentmindedly, this would be interesting. "Well… I do want my guitar and it’s stuff, my DVD’s and other stuff. Should I make a-"

"No no, we can go together and you can pick them." Lucifer uncuffed him and took Adam by the arm leading him down to where the car was.

Adam didn't fight him, there was no point. "Are you-"

Lucifer placed him in the front seat. "I’ll be there so it’s fine."

-

"So this is where you live?" Lucifer had been in Adams place before, not that the brunette knew that little bit of information, so he played dumb.

Adam grabbed a travel bag. "Yup. It's all I need being just me." Okay clothes, tooth brush, I don't know if I'll go swimming but I'll bring swim trunks, and my guitar. He played a message on his answering machine, it was his sister Emily: Hi Addie it's me! Please call me when you get this message so I know you're okay I'm worried about you.

Lucifer laughed. "Pffft, Addie?" How cute.

Adam's face was warm, damn it Em! "Shut up! Only my sister can call me that."

"Okay time to go. Addie.~"

"Fuck off."

-

They loaded up their air craft and when they got there after hours of flying, it was a private beach house with white sand and a view of the ocean. There are only one bed for Adam and Lucifer to share.

Lucifer placed a ankle monitor on Adam so he didn't get any ideas about leaving. Not that he would, he was in a foreign country illegally where he didn't know the language, and had no other way home. "Why is there one be-!" Adam exclaimed, bad enough he was fucking kidnapped now he had to spend two weeks sharing a bed with the guy that did it!?

"That was all they had." Lucifer lied, he totally could have gotten a two bedroom cabin.

"But-!"

Lucifer, smirked knowing he won this. "Go sleep on the couch if you want. I don’t care."

Adam looked away, he didn't want to sleep on the fucking couch when there was a perfectly good bed right there. "Oh fuck me."

I mean if you want me to. Lucifers mind supplied, trying and failing to not check out Adam as he had his back turned.

Adam crawled into the bed, too tired to argue with this asshole. "Just stay to your side of the bed."

Lucifer got in on the other side. "If that's what Addie wants.~"

Adam stuffed his face in the pillow. "Ugh, will you stop?" He said voice muffled.

"Nope! Say, why does she call you Addie?" He was having way too much fun with that nickname.

Adam lifted his head and glared. "If I tell you will you stop?"

"Maybe."

Adam sighed. "........ She calls me Addie because she couldn't say Adam when she was little. And she still does to this day." God why did that feel so embarrassing?

Lucifer blinked, wasn't his sister a full grown woman now? "…She can’t say Ada-?"

"Of course she can dumbass. She just kept the nickname." Adam growled.

"Oh right. Sorry." Well now Lucifer just felt dumb.

Adam turned over. "Whatever. Good night."

Lucifer smiled at him. "Good niight~" When he was sure that Adam was asleep, his breathing even and a small snore leaving his mouth, Lucifer hugged Adam from behind and kissed his head.

Lucifer woke up first, the sun shining in. Some time in the night they found their way to each other and were holding onto one another, Adams head tucked under Lucifer's chin.

Adam sighed softly and snuggled closer to Lucifer's chest. The smell of his shampoo faintly could still be smelt. Vanilla and cinnamon.

Lucifer was very aware of the situation in his pants. This is a bad time to have morning wood. I need to get to the shower, either to take a cold one or......

He slowly got free and replaced himself with a pillow. Adam held it tight smiling in his sleep.

Cute....

Lucifer takes a shower, not a cold one. He got himself off to the thought of the hot brunette in his bed, how good it would feel to have him under him, make him needy with pleasure that only Lucifer could provide. "Ahh, fuck.~" Adam drove him crazy in more ways than one and Lucifer was going to make it his mission to have him one day.

When he came back into the room, Adam was still asleep holding the pillow. Smiling softly Adam mumbled something in his sleep and kissed the pillow.

THAT COULD HAVE BEEN ME-?!....... Wow was he really jealous of a pillow?

Lucifer tried to clear his mind and went to make them a small breakfast.

Adam woke up some time later, still sleepy, hair messy, came to the kitchen yawning. "Good Morning…"

Lucifer turned to him with a bright smile. "Morning sleepy head. Have a good sleep?"

Adam yawned again, stretching as he sat down at the table. "Yeeeah. You?"

"Oh yeah, bacon and eggs?"

"Sure." Adam rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Lucifer placed down their food. "Have any dreams?" He asked.

Adam's face turned red. Oh boy.  "I-I-I don't remember." 

Don't remember or won't tell?

[antebunny]

pick a character study

After finishing my Barbara-centric fic in March I want to write a one-shot for a Batfam character focusing on something I've not yet seen a fic about. I'm definitely doing Cass (once I think of a plot 😭) so the question now is: Jason or Dick? Here are my ideas:

Dick - acrobatics and language. Okay so I am a lifelong fan of acrobatic sports. I've done, for a range of several years competitively to one single class: gymnastics, springboard diving (1 & 3 meter, plus a few lineups on 5, 7 & 10 meter), flying trapeze, wall tramp/circus trampoline, and aerial silks. Given its relevance I'll specify that I've done one month of flying trapeze, so about 40 hours in the air.

Every single time I see "quadruple somersault" show up in a fic I start to shiver in fear. Almost every single time I end up crying tears of blood. I don't have a concrete plan for the fic yet, but I dream of making y'all so literate in acrobatic sports you'll never look at the word somersault the same.

As for languages, I often see the fanon(?) that Dick rolled up to Gotham at 9 years old not quite fluent in English and half-speaking a dozen languages. I have not searched that hard but I've never seen anyone attempt to write the frustrations of trying to communicate in a language you don't really speak. English is my native language, but I do have experience with that.

Jason - America's epidemic of gun violence. I'm not police. I don't know anyone who is. But I'm an American who did active shooter drills in school. I don't think I've seen anyone–Jason lover or hater–try to write about what Jason using guns looks like in the context of America's relationship with guns. Given that I believe the majority of Jason fans on Ao3 are liberal Americans who would probably agree with the statement "it should be harder to buy a gun in this country," that surprises me. I imagine it's because he feels safe? Yes, he's a big guy with a ton of guns who thinks he has the right to kill people, but we know he's a big softie who loves Jane Austen and cooking.

And police brutality: Jason fucking hates the police. But here's a fun (well, depressing) fact about real life American police: an alarming number of them are fans of the Marvel vigilante the Punisher. Who also hates cops. Here's an article about it. I think it would be fun (well, "fun") to put Jason in that position. He hates them, but they idolize what he represents.

Also song choice for this hypothetical fic: Gold Guns Girls by Metric. Has a ton of banger lines. All the gold and the guns in the world (couldn't get you off).

[joeyalohadream]

For the Get to know your fic writer! 20, 41 and 45 😁 

20. Have you noticed any patterns in your fics? Words/expressions that appear a lot, themes, common settings, etc?

41. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?

45. Do you want to break your readers‘ heart or make them laugh?

Hi! Thanks for sending these! 💕

(answers below)

20. Oh, absolutely. Not sure if it would be a 'pattern' or just a preference but almost all of my stories are Buck x Bucky in an established relationship. I really enjoy exploring the things they go through in war with them already being together, as opposed to having their feelings for each other as another form of angst to explore. I wanted to have their relationship as a source of comfort and peace amidst the horrors of war instead of as another thing fueling the tension.

Also, I tend to write an extreme amount of soft gestures between the boys, ie brushing each others hair back, cradling of the face, forehead kisses, etc. Happens in ALL of my fics. Tenderness is probably the most common 'theme' in my writing.

And while 'doll' has become the fandom favorite petname for Gale from John, I have yet to use it (love it though). In my eyes, he's 'sweetheart' and 'baby' to John. And John is 'darlin'' to Gale.

41. I am definitely a re-reader! If I find a fic that really moves me, or one that has elements that I love, I'll re-read it all the time. I once got a comment that was along the lines of, "this story is exactly what I would write if I COULD write.' and it always stuck with me. It's why I open up my ask box for fic requests every now and then, because I know I've searched through AO3 fandom tags and not found exactly what I'm looking for, so I like to give back and provide the followers with what they want sometimes. I write what I want to read.

Some fics that I re-read in the MoTa fandom though:

Reverie - by @avonne-writes (I have probably read this story 20 times, if not more. I'll often read a chapter as a bedtime story when I'm having a rough night. It's one of my absolute favorite fics ever written).

a good dream - by @switchgrassdevil (another common bedtime story from a VERY talented writer. It's the hurt/comfort I crave and I love this story).

Obligate Mutualism - by bowhuntress (more angsty, but so beautifully written).

45. Lol. Both? Neither? Um, I've been straying into angst a little more than is usual for me, but it's not really ever my intent to 'break a heart'. I won't ever write a story that doesn't have a happy ending because it just doesn't appeal to me. I honestly won't read stories that don't have happy endings either. I respect them and some really talented writers I admire have written them, but they're just not for me.

Even in my angstiest fics, I always infuse them with tenderness and love and softness. So while I have received comments about making people cry/'breaking their hearts', I hope I put them back together quickly with a little fluffy bandage.

And I don't really write 'humor' per say, but it's always nice to throw in a line or two (usually through dialogue) that I hope will bring a chuckle or a smile.

[beyourownanchor6]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks for the tags beloveds @wikiangela @spotsandsocks @bi-buckrights @hippolotamus 🩵

How many works do you have on ao3?

—246

What's your total ao3 word count?

—1,469,436

What fandoms do you write for?

— 911, teen wolf, animal kingdom (not actively but still counting it)

Top five fics by kudos:

if i lay here, would you lie with me (forget the world)

nobody can do everything

i want to love you (but i don't know how)

five + 1 (idk who allowed me to name a fic this 💀)

someone to stay

Do you respond to comments?

—always! even if it takes me a few weeks, i always respond to them. i'm so so appreciative of anyone who takes the time to leave them 🥹

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

—come back home (version 2) i just had to get it out of my system, sorry 🥲

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

mmm, idk besides the one listed above and one other, they're all really sappy and fluffy endings 😅 it'll probably end up being whatever sappy ass ending i write for the chris doesn't come back au after everything i've put them through 😂

Do you get hate on fics?

—not really, more like just annoying people nitpicking stupid things

Do you write smut?

—i do indeed 😏 can't say if it's good, but i've got lots of it posted 😂

Craziest crossover:

—umm i write tons of au's but idk if this refers to that or doing an actual crossover with another fandom?? i wish not to talk about the one that still haunts me, but i did use characters from the step up movie for my au: let me lose myself

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

—not that i know of...

Have you ever had a fic translated?

—somebody asked once but idk what ever happened with that

Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

i have! 3 different times with my wife @loserdiaz 🫶🏻

—no body, no crime

—this is my idea of fun (playing video games)

—i don't want to keep secrets just to keep you

All time favourite ship?

—buddie! the brainrot for them has been unmatched jsiodj

What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

—uhhh probably my divergent au...i've had the placeholder for insurgent with like 3 sentences sitting in my wip folder for forever 😬

What are your writing strengths?

—i'll just list the things people have told me because i have no idea sjwioe. i always get compliments on my characterization, descriptions, and metaphors <3

What are your writing weaknesses?

—shutting the fuck up and writing anything short 🫠

Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

—i've done it in the past but not really anymore

First fandom you wrote in?

—teen wolf

Favorite fic you've written?

—that's like asking me to pick between my nonexistent children 😭

i'm picking 3 idc

coastlines

if i lay here, would you lie with me (forget the world)

the ducking of evan buckley

tagging: @redlightsandicedtea @monsterrae1 @honestlydarkprincess @onward--upward @daffi-990 @wildlife4life @underwaterninja13 @bigfootsmom @thewolvesof1998 @eddiebabygirldiaz @elvensorceress @zainclaw @watchyourbuck @ronordmann @queerbuckleys @spaceprincessem @jacksadventuresinwriting

[mimisempai]

You no longer need to hide who you really are

Summary

Through a small bowl for keys, Aziraphale once again realizes Crowley's kindness and how he always tries to hide it. It's his turn to show the demon all the good in him.

Notes

I know I've touched on this theme before... but it's true, Crowley is kind 

On Ao3

Rating G -  1684 words

"Aziraphale? What's with the bowl and the keys in it?"

Aziraphale, who was reading a book at his desk and having no idea what Muriel was talking about, got up and walked over to them. 

They were standing in front of the small table where the horse stood and where Crowley used to put his glasses every time he entered the shop.

He approached and saw the bowl that had caught their attention.

It was a small white porcelain bowl, the handles of which were two delicate angel wings, and the keys Muriel had mentioned were the keys to the bookshop.

The angel murmured fondly, "Crowley..."

Muriel looked at him in confusion and asked, "How do you know it's him, and why would he do such a thing?

"Where the heck are those keys?"

Crowley watched in amusement as Aziraphale rummaged through the pockets of his pants, then his jacket, before moving to the chair where his vest lay and searching its pockets as well.

Aziraphale ran a hand through his hair in annoyance.

"Angel."

The angel replied a little exasperated, "What?!"

Crowley pointed to his desk with his finger and said gently, "On the foot of the desk lamp."

Aziraphale breathed a sigh of relief and walked over to his desk, grabbing the keys before saying in a calmer tone, "Thank you, my dear."

Crowley said kindly, "One of these days you're going to have to find a place to put your keys, it's always the same, see, I don't have to look for my glasses anymore, they're always on the horse."

Aziraphale shrugged, "Yeah, yeah, you can lecture me some other day."

Then he was gone, to the sound of the demon's slight chuckle.

"Crowley must have done it for that reason," Aziraphale said in an emotional tone.

Muriel said softly, "He's really nice Mr. Grumpy, isn't he?"

Aziraphale nodded and Muriel continued, "But why does he always do this kind of thing in secret or as if it were nothing?"

Aziraphale replied quietly, "He's always done it that way. Probably because as a demon he risked a lot to do good, so he learned to hide the best part of himself. But I'll tell you a secret, Muriel. Crowley is the kindest person I know."

Muriel replied, "I know, I've always found him kind, even though he teased me a little at first, and even more so when we were in heaven. I wondered how a demon could be kind."

Aziraphale looked at them indulgently and replied, "I think by now you've been able to see that not everything is black and white, that goodness and kindness don't necessarily have to do with our nature as angels or demons, right?"

Muriel nodded and said with a small smile on their lips, "I live next to an angel and a demon, so yes..."

They threw a glance at the window and added, "Speaking of demons, here he comes. Are you going to thank him for that?"

Aziraphale smiled softly, "Oh yes, I'm going to thank him properly."

Muriel was still a long way from understanding everything about relationships, but they'd learned when it was time for them to retire so, they said softly, "As for me, I'm going to go have a hot chocolate at Nina's before I go home."

Aziraphale smiled gently at them, "Good evening, Muriel."

They gave him a quick salute before striding off, and just as they came through the door, Crowley entered.

Aziraphale barely gave the demon time to get through the door before he was beside him, wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly as he whispered, "Thank you."

Crowley laughed softly and replied, "Not that I'm complaining about a welcome like that, but why thank you?"

Aziraphale stepped back a little and showed him the bowl with the keys saying, "Thank you for this."

Crowley shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "Well, it's not much."

Aziraphale replied gently, "It may not mean much to you, but it does to me. Crowley, you took the time to do this for me because you saw that I was always looking for my keys. You did this for me. Why do you always deny the good things you do?"

The angel took the demon's hand in his own and continued, "You can slam me against the wall, I won't change my mind. You're kind and good, Crowley. That's your nature, regardless of the fact that you're a demon."

He brought the demon's hand to his lips and, eyes locked with Crowley's, kissed the palm gently before saying, "You're kind."

He watched the demon swallow and his cheeks color slightly before he breathed, "Angel...no, I..."

Aziraphale cupped his cheek and asked, "Crowley, my dear, would you allow me in return to show you how kind and good I think you are, as you have shown me how beautiful you find everything in me?"

Crowley had the urge to flee, but he also felt something new, the urge to stay and be praised by his angel.

Aziraphale said softly, "As it was with me, it's up to you, and if you accept, you can say stop at any moment and everything will stop without any consequences.

At that moment, seeing the angel's clear gaze and gentle smile, Crowley decided to let go. 

He said softly, "Okay..."

Aziraphale pecked him lightly on the lips and led him up the stairs to the bedroom.

Once in the room, he made Crowley sit on the edge of the bed and asked quietly, "Still good?"

Crowley nodded and replied somewhat defiantly, "Go ahead, Angel."

Knowing his demon, and knowing that this defiance was a way of hiding his embarrassment, he leaned down and kissed him gently on the forehead before placing his hands on the flaps of his jacket, removing it and placing it on a chair. He then undid his tie and placed it next to his vest, continuing to undress the demon until he was down to his underwear.

The angel took off his own jacket, bow tie, and cufflinks, which he also placed on the chair before rolling up his sleeves to his elbows.

"Will you lie down, my dear?"

Crowley obeyed and slid to the top of the bed before lying down. Aziraphale came to sit on the edge of the bed and, taking one of Crowley's hands, gently kissed the inside of his wrist before saying softly, "You deserve the world, for it is what you give to the people you show kindness to."

He let go of the demon's hand and took the other, kissing the wrist in the same way and saying softly, "You're kind when you're willing to look like a villain to save a family's children and goats." 

Aziraphale climbed onto the bed, then straddled the demon, leaned down and pressed a kiss to its chest before saying, "You are kind when you take under your wing an angel who is terrified at the thought of having thwarted God's will."

He slid down the demon's legs and gently took one of the feet in his hands.

"Angel, no..."

"Does that mean stop?" Aziraphale asked softly.

He looked up to see Crowley covering his face with his arm as he replied, "No..."

Aziraphale gently kissed the ankle, then said softly, "You're kind when you come to save an idiot angel who got himself into a bad situation because of his sweet tooth."

This made the demon laugh slightly, so Aziraphale put his foot down and took the other in turn, kissing the other ankle and saying softly, "You're kind when you rescue a few books from the rubble because an angel is desperate to have lost them."

The angel continued to dot the demon's body with tender kisses, enumerating all of Crowley's acts of kindness.

Getting close to the demon's face, he pulled his arm away and, placing his hands on the flushed cheeks, said softly, "Crowley, you're kind, even when you did your demon work, you always gave people free will to choose whether to do evil or not. You've given people a chance to do the right thing regardless. You always tried to be as kind as you could, as best you could under the circumstances. Knowing that it could have terrible consequences for you. I know this because I've been the object of your kindness countless times. You are kind. You don't have to hide it anymore, at least not from me."

Crowley shook his head slightly and, placing his hands on the angel's, said, "Do you know, Angel, how hard it is to deny for thousands of years what you are deep inside, to forbid yourself to be who you really are, knowing it will cost you dearly? To weigh all your actions and words because the slightest revelation, the slightest weakness will have terrible consequences? Then there was you, to whom I could show that kindness while denying it. Because there were no consequences. Because you accepted it. You insisted on seeing it in me when I wouldn't and couldn't show it. So be patient, because it's probably going to take me some time to openly acknowledge it." 

Aziraphale pressed a light kiss to his lips, "I am not asking you to change, just to accept that those who love you as I do see your kindness and good heart. Even in something as simple as a little bowl for the keys of an airhead angel."

Crowley chuckled slightly, and Aziraphale pressed his lips to the demon's again, kissing his laughter.

Then he slid onto his side, resting his head on the demon's chest, who wrapped his arms around him.

Crowley murmured quietly, "Thank you, Angel. For allowing me to be who I really am, at least with you, all these years."

Aziraphale replied softly, "Happy to have been able to provide you with this little safe space."

He lifted his head and grabbed the demon's neck to bring his face closer, then pressed his lips to his to express better than words how much he loved his kind demon.

_________

Still not beta'd

Still not my native language

Still hoping you'll enjoy this story  🥰

Still thanking you for bearing with me 😝

Ineffable Growing Love series : here (After season 2)

Ineffable Husbands masterlist : here (Before season 2)

[walkingstackofbooks]

Trying to decide what I want to work on right now and so to procrastinate I thought it'd be fun to share my current WIPs with you all (omg how did I get so manyyyyy)

Feel free to shout encouragement at me if there's any that particularly pique your interest! :P

Anyway, in order of how recently I've worked on them:

1. Prompt - what if Kukulaka got broken and Garak repaired him?

Coming soon? 80% it'll be done in the next week: I'm hoping to just bash it out at some point, but even though it's short and self-contained, it's hardddd...

2. Unexpected Chapter 2 of Imprisoned. Absolute Sloanshir rot: Sloan provides Julian with more "help", Julian gets increasingly confused/grateful/flustered/fucked

Coming soon? Almost 100% you're gonna see it next week - I am hype and should should should get to the end once I have an evening to myself ;)

3. Prompt - "I don't trust myself to be good to myself right now, but I need someone to be good to me." Conversations between Miles and Julian at various points in the series when they've hit rock bottom and need pulling out.

Coming soon? No... I've written one post-DBIP scene but I'd at least want the post-Argrathi scene and the rest of the DBIP stuff to be done before I put anything up, if not the whole thing... It's definitely a long fic I'll be returning to in fits and bursts. (sorry, prompter...)

4. Prompt - Garak and Julian's first conversation post-IPS/BIL.

Coming soon? It's a strong contender for next week - I was super hype for it when I started but then work interceded and I just haven't got back to it yet. It is a priority, though!

5. Pre-DBIP: a few moments where Julian's unspoken issues with his parents cause friction for him but go unnoticed by his friends. Post-DBIP a similar moment happens and is recognised for what it is. Featuring Julian + beets.

Coming soon? I really don't know. I've got a strong vision for it and scene one (of four) is done, but it's kind of stuttered since then.

6. Julian starts to neglect his self-care, leading to him passing out in the infirmary. Sisko would like to know what the hell happened.

Coming soon? It's already on tumblr in a rough and ready form, so editing to put on AO3 might well happen in the next week - and I'd say a 50% chance of something extra with that?

7. Chapter 2 of At Their Mercy. Alpha!Garak takes over with Omega!Julian where Kira left off... 😉😉😉

Coming soon? Gahhh, I have written this several times over in my brain, but getting the start of this chapter has been proving difficult. Definitely not until after the Imprisoned chapter is done.

8. Why Leeta Kept Kukulaka And How Julian Did Try To Ask For Him Back. Just cute, fluffy gap-filling; I love both of them.

Coming soon? Probably not. Only the outline has been written tbh and this hasn't caught my fancy in a while.

9. "Acts of God": A runabout crashes on a planet where medical intervention is outlawed. Unable to help his injured friends and forbidden from alleviating the suffering he sees around him, Julian has a very bad time...

Coming soon? No, I think this is probably going to be an after-VIsion-Awry project rather than a can-i-get-it-done-first one.

10. "Sloan's planet": Sloan is Julian's s31 handler, sending him out on all sorts of missions... but the missions are fake, Sloan using the holosuite to manipulate Julian pretty much any way he wants...

Coming soon? Possibly. This has more of a series vibe maybe with a few distinct one-shots, so if I get a short idea I might bash it out 🤷‍♀️ Sloanshir's often just so easy to fall into.. 🤣

11. Keiko + Molly + Julian + drawing post-DBIP. Julian's not very good at it, and it's a bit feels but a lot of fluff.

Coming soon? Well I haven't touched it since April but I do smile whenever I remember it exists (and looking at the file, more was written than I remember!)

Welp - and that's not even counting the myriad other ideas floating around my tumblr/ in my head! Or the fact that I have probably another 15-20k of Vision Awry to go... Well, here's looking forward to my August of writing!

(Which I'll definitely have... if I stop procrastinating! :P)

[otterlyfoolish]

No Smoking Indoors

(Shiba Togo x GN!Reader)

Warnings: Mentions of war, Possibly OOC, not edited

Tags: Small Age Gap, unrequited crush, its like really subtle though

Word Count: 3k

Summary:

Cafe Haru Haru has all sorts of people. Typically, you'd usually find people that's skilled in combat visiting the most for work. So it really shouldn't surprise Shiba to see a fellow war veteran there.

If you like Ao3 for reading fics more, here!

-----

Café Haru Haru is a café. Obvious, right?

You can buy coffee, you can get tea, you can get some sweet treats if the owner remembered to restock it for that day, otherwise you can settle for some sort of fruit juice she has in a little fridge under the counter. (Which is most of the time, since she tends to snack on her own products.)

From the decoration, you might think that its kind of like a bar, but there's no alcohol being served there - the wine glasses on the shelves are mostly for decoration. You can tell by the dust on the shelves - it might have been used to serve drinks once, but now it sits there solely to reflect the warm lighting and any sunlight it catches. It's probably for the best considering the main purpose of the business though.

It's not just a café, because if it was, it would be out of business extraordinarily fast. The main function is that it connects sorcerers to paying clients, and collects a fee. Typically it's yakuza looking for a little more firepower (sometimes literally,) or some blood thirsty fool that doesn't know any other way of life.

With a ring of the bell from the front of the store, it lets the owner know that someone's come in, whether it's a client looking for some protection, or a violent guard dog, she welcomes them in with a idle smile, hoping that its something more exciting this time.

"Excuse us!" The man yells out, already treating the place like a second home as he saunters in, the younger man next to him following closely as he gives him a blank stare.

"Ah, Shiba." She dejects with something of a scowl, leaning on the counter with a slump in her shoulders. "I'm busy right now, sit down and I'll get to you." She waves at him dismissively then shoots Chihiro a warmer greeting: "Hey, you look cool today as well, Chihiro!" To which she get a slow nod of confusion in response. Shiba glances between the two of them, the preferential treatment clear as day.

The two of them sit down at the stools, staying quiet as they glance over to Hinao explaining the details of a job to another customer - this was uncommon, they've never really been around seeing her handle her customers.

The customer has been served a cup of coffee (something Shiba and Chihiro had to always make themselves), and sat silently at the counter, reading over information Hinao had handed them. With a small thank you from them, Hinao nodded and then walked away, greeting Shiba now.

"So! What do you need?" She asks, leaving her customer to their own devices as she slides over to her regulars, hands flat on the table. "Need another job, Shiba? I got a couple, you might like." She says, "or just checking up on intel?"

"Just dropping by Tokyo." He answers simply, "but while I'm here, thought I'd also just ask you, how's it going on that front?"

"Bad." She sighs, looking out the window with a shoulders slumped. "I got nothing. Nada."

"Ah." He mouths back, while Chihiro lowers his gaze towards the counter, his face remaining as stoic as ever. Shiba had a feeling that the teen was pretty disappointed at the news though. "Well, let me see the job listings then. I'll check it out if it sounds promising."

"Sure, just wait 'till they're done." Hinao nods back at him, putting her hands into her coat pocket, using her head to motion towards the only other person in the room. "They've got the nice juicy ones right now. 'course, I've other ones if you're looking for something easier for a old man like you."

Shiba ignores that last jab. "Huh, really?" He utters back in response with a eyebrow raised - usually Hinao tried to pair up the difficulty to the person so her customers wouldn't be disappointed. If they've got the 'juicy' ones, that meant that they've got the high-risk, high-reward offers.

She nods back at Shiba, about to say something more before her other customer placed the papers down on the counter, waiting patiently for Hinao to speak to them again with their hands folded on the counter. Shiba glanced over again towards them as Hinao walked back over, discussing the details with the sorcerer.

"I'd like to take this one, please." They say holding one in particular. Their voice made Shiba's ears perk up.

"Okay, I'll give them a call, and we can arrange a meeting sometime." Hinao says, marking it down in a little notepad under the counter before grabbing the pile of job offers, sliding it over to Shiba. He didn't catch it, seemingly frozen as he looked across the room, leaving Chihiro to stop the pile of paper before it hit the floor.

"Thank you." They nodded back in response to Hinao who walked over to the rotary phone, humming absentmindedly as she rung the customer, one hand in her coat pocket.

"Mr Shiba," Chihiro starts out, trying to get his attention as Shiba still seemed to be frozen in his seat.

"Huh? Yeah, what's up, Chihiro?" He snapped out of it, glancing back at him as Chihiro fixed the pile of paper.

"The job listings you asked for." Chihiro answered simply, putting them in front of Shiba in a neat pile.

"Ah, thanks." He nodded, then turned his face back to the other side, looking at the only other customer again. Chihiro joined in, blinking at the two of them with a blank expression, but it was obvious he was wondering why Shiba seemed so interested in this other person. Slowly, he moved his hand to rest on the hilt of Enten, his eyes narrowing in anticipation, glancing over to Hinao, and made some mental calculations in his mind.

There didn't seem to be anything unusual about them - they seemed to be a pretty normal person overall, so Chihiro isn't sure what Shiba is picking up on. He's just trying to follow Shiba's lead. Then, there was finally movement.

The person from across the room pulled out a pack of cigarettes, pulling one out as they waited for Hinao to finish the deal for them. At the sight of them taking out the little box, she narrowed her them and shooed them out of her store, motioning towards the 'NO SMOKING' sign.

They nodded, then slowly made their way out. They seemed to have expected to be ushered out of the room. Choosing to wait outside as Hinao stayed on the phone, still discussing the details with her client.

Shiba's eyes followed them as they walked past him and Chihiro, still not even bothering to give either of them a single glance as they pulled the door open and walked out, standing outside for their smoke.

Chihiro blinked in confusion, then moved his hands back to his sides.

Shiba was quick to move after this. "Chihiro, you stay here and look through the pile, I'm going to have a smoke." He says, getting up from the stool, readjusting his shirt to look messier as he walked out.

"Mr Shiba, you ran out of cigarettes." Chihiro answers back, watching him walk out the door without another word from him. Chihiro blinked at the sight of him walking up to the stranger before turning to the pile of paper on the counter and reading through it carefully like he was told to.

-----

"There's a first for everything, huh?" A masculine voice calls out to you as you light your cigarette. You already knew who it was, so you didn't bother looking up as you took a deep breath as you let him continue speaking. "Never seen you in trouble before."

He looked at you as you slid the lighter back into your pockets, your eyes lazily turning to him as you began smoking, leaning against the cold walls of Cafe Haru Haru. You've aged, he could tell, but at the same time you looked younger - it's probably because of the fact the dark eye bags he's used to seeing on your skin wasn't so prominent anymore, unlike the past. You don't look so tired - maybe you've finally been getting some peace at night.

"Mr Shiba," you rolled his name off your tongue as you finally lifted your head up, blowing out a cloud of smoke as you spoke. You don't sound too different. "You still follow strangers into dark alleyways. Break that nasty habit, why don't you?"

He scoffed slightly at your answer, "we're not strangers, don't address me so formally."

"Apologies," you nodded back at him as you stood a little to the side, letting him stand next to you in the narrow space. He took you up on your unspoken offer, standing opposite you, back against the other wall of another building. "Oi. You brat," you verbally slap him as you let him settle near you.

"You're not old enough to start calling me a brat either!" He retorted back, but you could tell that he doesn't really care about the way you address him. He's playing around. "We're not in war times anymore either, so you're not my superior."

Shiba doesn't get angry easily, the both of you know that there's worse things to get riled up over compared to this. You somewhat miss the days where he would show you something that's a little more of a normal reaction.

"I wasn't done speaking," you say, pulling the cigarette out your mouth to speak again. He stayed quiet after that, listening to you. "You were worrying the young man by staring at me like that," you murmured out, gazing up at him with furrowed eyebrows. Your eyes seemed to catch something, as you briefly looked down. "Oh for goodness...! Fix your clothes." You grumbled, putting your cigarette back into your mouth to free up your hands. They smoothed out his collared shirt, and you pulled his suspenders back into place. "Why don't you notice these things, Shiba?"

Damn you and the eyes on the back of your head. But your observant nature was also what he was betting on. "Sorry."

He had noticed, but he knew that nothing would happen, so he didn't bother giving Chihiro any form of commutation regarding you. Though, he should have really at least gave him a wave or something. "I was just making sure that it really was you."

"Hm." You flicked your eyes up at him, not really buying his answer but chose not to linger long on it. "He looks like a young Rokuhira. But with less peach fuzz."

"...Yeah." Shiba nodded at your words, his shoulders slumping slightly at your words. His tone changed as he spoke, you noticed but couldn't place what he was feeling in response to your statement. "He's grown up a lot."

Your eyes flick over to the street and then back over to him. "Nice swords he's got." You state, taking another deep breath of your cigarette. Nonchalantly as ever, Shiba thinks, as you don't bother seeing if you're crossing boundaries you shouldn't be. "I take it that one of them is..." You say, not finishing on purpose, and Shiba is forced to mentally retrack his last statement.

"Yep." He nodded firmly at your unfinished question. If this was anyone else, he might have to reconsider sharing this bit of information, but he knew that you wouldn't do anything with it - it would just betray everything he knew about you.

You blinked at him slowly, already understanding any implications about that statement. "...I see."

A small moment of silence fell between the two of you - he rested his back against the cold walls of the building behind him as he gave you more space to stand with him. You stared at him, watching him watch you, the two of you aware of how close you were but didn't want to move further apart either.

"I saw the little poster about the Hishaku Ms Hinao put up." You stated, looking at him in the eyes, already knowing that he was the one that requested for the information. You've never asked Hinao about who put it up, but judging by what you know right now and the time frame that poster went up on the corkboard, you took a small leap of faith. He stared back into yours, occasionally glancing down to the cigarette in between your lips. "I'll let you know if I hear anything about them."

"...Thanks. That would help." He says, now looking off to the side before slowly guiding his eyes back to you, tracing your features as he tries to read your expression. He wouldn't be surprised if you were disappointed in him - he had a feeling that Kunishige would be.

You stare back at him, not caring about the way his eyes never really left your face. "Be careful," You say to him, locking back onto his pupils as you breath out another small puff of smoke. He stays silent, no random interjections. "I know you probably don't want to, but guiding or helping teenagers to commit violence doesn't settle nicely on your soul." As you spoke, your voice grew quieter. "Don't put more on your conscience if you can help it. The both of you."

...Huh. Shiba thought for sure you'd scold him for letting Chihiro do this. There was a part of him that followed you out of Cafe Haru Haru because he needed to consult to someone with a stronger moral compass. Kunishige wasn't there anymore, Azami could only assist him so much as part of the Kamunabi, you were the only one left.

"...Speaking from experience?" He asks you, though he really doesn't need to. He was there, from the start to the very end.

"I mean, that's all I have." You say back with a light voice that's meant to clear the tension, but he doesn't latch onto it. You take another inhale, shifting your eyes away, unable to bring yourself to look at what expression he had. "Sorry. I shouldn't lecture you."

"It's fine." Shiba says, but doesn't touch on it again as he shifts to another topic as you seem like you want to leave the conversation already. "How you've been doing recently?" He asks and the simple question already makes you want to let out a small groan.

"Eh." You start off, trying to think of a way to summarise your current everyday life in a way that won't concern him, but is enough to be honest at the same time. "Good enough. I'm currently teaching sorcery though."

"Huh?" He lets his mouth hang open at your words, blinking at you repeatedly. "Like, to a class? Or are you back in the Kamunabi?"

"Don't be ridiculous." You scoffed out at his guessing. "Just this kid that ran away from home." With a chuckle, you go on. "He's got potential, but he has a tendency to stick his nose into things he shouldn't be. He's like you when you were younger."

"I didn't cause that much trouble." He says, straight up denying your words.

"Only because you got away with it." You say, "The three of you would scuttle away to pull some shit off, and I would be forced to clean up any mess you made because I was in charge of your damn group." You let out a verbal exhale, thinking back on it. "If it wasn't for the fact it was war times, I wouldn't even be put in charge of you guys, y'know...? I'm not that much older than you."

He opens his mouth to say something in response to you, but when he receives a sharp glare in response, he closes it again, noticing something in the background. You turned around, looking at whatever he was looking at.

At the sound of a bell ringing behind you, you faced Hinao who had just exited from her store, holding a little bit of paper. The two of you instantly stop talking in anticipation of her speaking to either of you.

"Yo, you still- ah, there you are!" She said, walking up to you and extending the object in her hand to you, not caring that the two of you were just standing in the alleyway. "Here, they wanna meet up with you before working, but it seems like they're willing to hire you."

"Thank you, Ms Hinao." You said, taking it from her - you could tell from the lines that it was just torn out of her notepad. As you folded it neatly, you continued speaking, "I'll give you a cut of the pay if I get it, is that okay?"

"Eh?" She glanced over to Shiba who had forced a completely blank look on his face, not daring to show anything on his face to Hinao. He tried to look serious, but she thought that he just looked like a frog. "...Yeah, I mean, you always remember to pay up so I'm not too bothered." She agreed rather easily, before walking back into the café, realising that Shiba was talking to you, and there was just some sort of weird vibe coming from him. "See you."

The two of you watch Hinao go back into the café, a pensive thought on your face while Shiba continued to try to stay stoic. It doesn't really suit him, in your opinion.

"...Hm." You mumbled, sensing that she didn't want to hang around outside for too long for whatever reason, but once again, you don't care enough and just slip the paper into your pocket. "Well, I guess I should be going now."

His eyes darted over to you, "already?"

"Yeah?" You said, raising an eyebrow back at him. "I mean, I don't have a reason to stick around."

"You could talk to me." He said, "let's smoke together a little longer."

"Quit slacking," you shot down with a light laugh, rolling your eyes at him. "You haven't even been smoking while talking to me anyways."

He let out a small huff of annoyance, but you knew that he wasn't actually offended. "...Here, let's stay in contact." He says, pulling out his flip phone and handing it over to you.

"...Yeah, sure." You agree, putting your cigarette back in your mouth as you typed with both hands. When you handed his phone back over to you, he stuck his hand out, looking at you expectantly. You stared down at his palm, trying to think of what on Earth he wanted before taking the cigarette out of your mouth and putting it in between his fingers without another word.

He gave you a incredulous look, his pupils going back and forth from the object in his hands to your dumbfounded expression. "What?"

"...Huh?" You uttered back at him.

"I'm asking for your phone," he states, giving each word time to sink in, "so I can, you know, put my number in your contacts."

"...But I'm not going to contact you." You state, crossing your arms. He narrows his eyes at you, about to say more, but you chuckle at the expression on his face. "Goodbye, Shiba. Please give the young Rokuhira my sincerest condolences." you say back to him as you begin to walk away, joining the crowd. He watched your figure slowly disappear into the flock of people.

Shiba looked down at the object in his hands, it was still burning at the cherry. His eye flicked upwards again.

He pressed the cigarette to his lips, taking one last inhale of it as he looked at the crowd of people, trying to find you once more, before snuffing it out, walking back into Cafe Haru Haru.