#and she wasn’t even shaken up by it because he felt friendly like it’s literally her grandad (even tho they never met😳) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mywritingonlyfans · 3 years

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Fluffly fic with Thomas (A bit smut at the end)

this short fic is about: you having a crush on Thomas and he matches.

warnings: it’s a bit smut. fingering + female oral. fem!reader x thomas raggi

Thomas kept his jaw set as he talked to his friends, in a way that you find quiet charming. He was the serious type, but in the best of ways. Anyone who didn't know him would think he was bored or indifferent to the conversation going on around him, something that in a short time you became aware that it was just him being himself.

You love how his body seemed tense and at the same time so out of place. His hair was cascading down his shoulders as his hands shook the beer bottle mysteriously. God certainly had his favourites, Thomas was a living proof of that.

“He fancies you too, you should have noticed that by now,” Victoria whispered, getting your attention back to her.

You were in the kitchen of his house with her.

Your back was against the wall, allowing you a perfect view of Thomas on the other room. He had decided to throw a party and as you were new to the group it was obvious that you’d be there with them.

“I don’t know,” you frowned, “I don’t think he does.”

Thomas could have anyone he wanted, anyone in the room, no matter what room he was in.

He indeed used to be touchy when it comes to you. You remember moments when he'd walk close to you, bumping his shoulder with yours, just for the hell of it or when he’d place his arm around your waist to introduce you to some of his friends, making you part of his chitchat. Over time, you realized this was his way of being friendly. Thomas was like that with everyone, you were no exception.

“Well, that’s not what Dami told me. He said he asked several times if you‘d come tonight and all of that,”

“Yeah?” Your voice was low, secretly afraid she might be poking fun at you. It wasn’t her type to do that, but when it comes to Thomas your head doesn’t work coherently.

Your attention wandered from her, back to Thomas across the room. Just for you to notice that his eyes were already on you this time, he smirked, and then waved at you.

Needless to say you became a self-consciousness clutter under his eyes.

You were about to answer him, even if it was with a small nod, but Victoria was quicker and while one of her shoulders nudged you; she signaled asking him to join you.

“That’s so cute, you’re literally weak at the knees,” Victoria took a sip of her beer, holding a sly smile on her face. “You two will be a lovely couple.” She concluded as nervousness took over your soul.

You pressed your hands on your skirt, in a failed attempt to get rid of the sweating.

Victoria was right, you were a bit shaken and you knew that your abrupt change in breathing next to your already hot cheeks could give you away. You had no idea why you were like that, things would be the same as before; he doesn't know how you feel about him.

You sighed heavily, giving Victoria a menacing look as you sat on the metal space of the sink. In your head, leaving Thomas's field of vision as he came to you would give you enough time to proceed what had just been said.

"Ayup girl!" He said happily, holding a toothy smile for you. "How're my favorite girls doin' tonight?" His arm went over to your shoulder and you hugged his waist sideways, in an almost involuntary act. You heard Victoria laugh, and then it hits you how strange it was that it became something normal in such a short time. Maybe it was meant to be, you wondered.

"Ok, excuse me kids," Victoria blinked at you. "I'll be retiring, but don't have so much fun without me."

"Is that even possible?" Thomas asked, playing along with Vic's drunk words.

She was no longer in the kitchen and his hands were still on you, besides now he had turned so he was facing you. He placed a soft kiss on your cheek, getting so close that you couldn't even focus on your breathing anymore.

He offered you his beer, which was half full and you drank it. Your mind wondered if he did this with other girls as well or if it was something exclusive that he only did with you, you wanted to be the only one.

"You seem a bit tense," His fingers enlaced a lock of your hair, putting it behind your ear.

His cheeks were slightly red from the heat, and so were his lips - probably from the pressure of the beer bottle against them -, his button-down shirt was more unbuttoned than usual, making it look like his necklaces was begging for your attention. It was clear that God was in a good mood and Thomas was his chosen one tonight. "Rumours has it -- that I make you nervous,"

There was no need to say it out loud. Dami had told Victoria, and it was logical that Victoria had also told Dami, then Dami told Thomas about you; in the same way Victoria told you about him. Thomas knew it was reciprocal.

“Rumours?” You mumbled. His face getting closer and closer to yours as his hands held the sides of your head; messing your hair a little. His face lit up in a naughty smile. “Is that what Dami said Victoria told him?”

“No matter who said it -- what matters is that I do it to you, right? Don’t I make you nervous?” He insisted as if he didn't know the answer.

At that moment the two of you were already a tangle. Your hand resting on his chest while your knees parted, giving more room to his weight.

You nodded. His eyes scanned your face for a moment and that was enough for your bodies to stick together, you could finally feel his lips on yours. He took his time caressing your nose with the tip of his one, running his fingers over your check. You were sure he could feel your body shiver under his touch as you melted in his tongue.

“Hey, Thomas,” you heard someone calling him.

The person was certainly drunk, which made you wonder whether Thomas was, too. He didn't taste like alcohol, but that could be the cigarette taste that has become prevalent for you.

Could you be his drunk mistake? Would you be a one time thing?

He broke the kiss, biting and pulling at your lower lip. You held a groan while he turned to the caller.

You thought he would forget you there, but his hands went down to your hips and stayed there until his little conversation was over - his attention was still on you, fully on you. He squeezed your sides while you rested your head on his shoulder, watching him speak; specifically watching him because if someone asked you what they were talking about you wouldn’t know the answer to that.

“Do ya wanna go somewhere quieter?” He asked as soon as you were 'alone'. His lips now all over your neck and shoulder.

You wanted to, but the voices in your head screamed to be answered. Whould you really just be a one time thing for Thomas?

“We don't have to go, I don't mind spending my time here with you, bunny.”

You tilted your head to the side, holding his jaw in your hands to look at his face. “Actually, that whouldn’t be a bad thing.”

After your words, it was a matter of seconds before Thomas guided you through the house to his room. His silly smile remained on as he did his best to ignore everyone in his path.

You had never been in his room before but it was just as you imagined, there were some vinyls scattered on the floor along with some of his garments pieces, his guitar was on the bed, almost falling to the groud. His room was just as messy as him.

“If I knew I’d welcome you here, I’d have fix it a bit,” he murmured, placing the guitar in the corner of the room. He tries to arrange the blankets in the best way he could, and then sat on the end of the bed, gestuting for you to join him as well.

“I don't care much about the bed,” You whispered, realizing that it was really happening. You were with Thomas, in his room. You had just exchanged saliva with him a few minutes ago.

“So,” he sighed. “Are you sure about that?”

“About what?” You smirked. It was obvious that you knew what he was talking about.

“About what?” He repeated, throwing his body weight on the bed quite dramatically. “I don’t know, cute girl at a party, calling me to a quieter place,”

“Wait,” you leaned over him, awkwardly getting on top of him. “I didn’t ask you that,”

“Like you need to ask me to know that the answer would be yes.” His hand stopped over the hem of your skirt, making it possible to feel his fingertips on your thigh.

You came closer to him, feeling your breath blend with his warm one. You would be lying if you said you had never fantasized about that moment before. Taking a deep breath, you tickled his cheek with your nose as he pulled all your body into his.

It wouldn't hurt to let that happen and only worry about the other things on your head the next day, right?

“Yeah, I’m sure about that,” You pressed your lips together.

His hands squeezed your waist, turning your body over so your back was now on the mattress.

“Arms up,” he said in between a sigh.

You raised your arms, letting him remove your shirt. He had a comforting look on his features that soothed you.

He stood on the bed before stepping out of it. You laughed through your tension.

“What you’re doing?” You asked, leaning on your elbows.

He knelt on the floor at the end of the bed. You felt your body tense even more, your head full of thoughts per minutes. You did not remember the last time you had shaved, let alone if there were any marks on there too.

“I’m gonna take care of ya, bunny, “ He breathed and you could have sworn to feel him in you already. “Just relax,” his mouth trailed wet kisses down your things. He pulled your skirt up to your waist; in movements that seemed so perfect that could only have been calculated. Maybe he was a bit nervous, not as nervous as you, but a cool type of nervous.

You nodded, looking at the ceiling, feeling as he pulled your knees towards him. You opened your thighs slowly and soon felt his lips on your clit through the cotton. He reached for your hand, intertwining your fingers in his. And God, he felt like heavens.

“Don’t just nod at me. I want to hear you, lil’ bunny,” He rubbed the already wet fabric with his index finger.

You weren't sure what he was referring to, but seeing his face resting on the inside of your thigh, with his messy hair and eyes stuck on you; you know you would be able to do anything he wanted you to do.

“Yeah,” you agreed.

He put the cotton piece aside, diving himself in your nectar and slipping his fingers inside you. You closed your eyes, letting your head fall back at the feeling. He hummed in a smiled that sent you vibrations every once in a while, he clearly knew what he was doing. Soon, he shoved his tongue down your core, licking and sucking, gathering all your juice in his mouth.

“So sweet,” he moaned at your taste, starting to lap his tongue at your clit. Joints deep down your pussy, going faster on you, making your legs quiver around his head as you turned into a whining mess.

“Thommie,” you grunted, tugging hard at his soft curls. “Oh, please.” you gasped through your dry throat.

The combination of his tongue and fingers working on you made the butterflies in your stomach go wild and in between spasms and wriggling toes, you allowed yourself to surrender under his touch.

Your vision blurred and your breathing ability seemed to have left your soul, but he kept with the wet kisses until you calmed down.

Your body was weak; that good weakness where you wished to stay quiet in the same comfy bliss forever.

“Are you good?” His voice made you open your eyes again. His chin was glistening and shirt folded up to the elbows. Such a sight for sore eyes.

“I’m fine, I’m pretty fine,” he laughed, helping you adjust your skirt.

“You’re pretty,” he said at your previous words, lying down and putting you on top of him.

Both of your faces were close - just as it had been all night. You could get used to it. Looking in his eyes, you wanted to ask if he would still think you were beautiful in the morning, when all the enthusiasm that parties bring to people were over; but you decided to go against it when you remembered that you had promised yourself to enjoy the moment.

“Whatcha thinkin’?” His asked, clasping his arms around. You felt nicely snugged.

“You,” it wasn't completely a lie.

His smile got bigger, and it was possible to analyze his cute crooked teeth. His eyes glued to you, sweet and happy, that you wished you could decipher him through it.

“Good, -- I like it like that,” He added.

It would be a matter of days for you to learn that his look was one of fondness and that you would live under it for months, seasons and even years.

#maneskin #thomas raggi #thomas raggi x reader #thomas raggi imagines #thomas raggi fanfic #damiano david x reader #fanfic #fiction #imagines #writing #maneskin x reader #i have a hard time proofreading this one but i hope you guys like it #i'll be writing kinky ones next time bc you guys notice im not that sweet

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shemarmooresfedora · 3 years

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Sugary Sweet Apologies

Summary: You and Reid never really got along but when he saves your life, you decide to be the bigger person and thank him and hopefully start over. Unfortunately, it isn’t that easy.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Content/Warnings: light to mild angst with fluffy ending, swearing, spencer reid being an annoying bitch, brief mentions of case stuff (if you watch cm, you should be fine)

A/N: this is for @willowrose99 ‘s 1 year anniversary on tumblr writing challenge!! congrats! i literally wrote and edited this whole thing in less than one day because i got so excited, anyways i hope you enjoy!

Word Count: 1.8k

“Reid and Y/L/N, go to David Whitney’s house. He was the therapist of two of the three victims. He could have some insight into the victimology and know of any overlap between them. He has no criminal record of past aggressive behavior but we can’t rule him out as a suspect entirely,” Hotch stated.

“Hotch, you stuck me with her yesterday for the geographical profiling. Send Prentiss with her instead,” Spencer whined.

“I don’t mind going with Y/L/N. She is a great partner in the field,” Emily glared at Spencer.

“No. Reid, go with Y/L/N or be taken off this case. I’m a unit chief, not an elementary school teacher. I don’t have time for temper tantrums,” Hotch chided.

“Fine,” Spencer grumbled as you grabbed the keys to an SUV.

You don’t know what it was but ever since you started at the BAU four months ago, Spencer had never liked you which resulted in you disliking him as well. Everyone else on the team was super friendly and welcoming but Reid always was jabbing snarky remarks your way like “I don’t have time to explain it to you” or “This was in the FBI handbook. God, you need more training.”

Luckily, the others were quick to defend you. Once Garcia even heard him snip at you over the phone and as soon as you all got off the elevator after the case, Reid was being dragged by his ear into Garcia’s lair with him going “ow ow ow” behind her. So, you didn’t really pay much mind to him because you could deal with one annoying know-it-all to have such an amazing job with great coworkers minus the one.

“Look, I’m not happy about this either,” you said as you climbed into the driver’s side of the SUV, “But at least I’m not being a whiny bitch about it and being rude to the other person’s face.”

“Oh wow, I’m so sorry that I hurt your feelings,” Spencer mocked.

“Fuck you, Reid,” you shook your head.

David Whitney was on edge the second you arrived and showed him your badges. He was bouncing his leg up and down, he couldn’t sit still, and he kept avoiding eye contact.

He knew way too much about the other victim that wasn’t even one of his clients but you didn’t have anything solid on him. His house seemed very neat so you doubted he kept anything incriminating here. Organized offenders usually have a secondary location. So, you decided to push his buttons a little.

“I mean blitz attacks, leaving the bodies on the side of dirt roads,” you combed through the crime scene photos, “This guy was a real coward.”

Spencer picked up on what you were trying to do and his eyes widened, he was subtly shaking his head and mouthing “no”.

“Excuse me?” David asked.

“Well, I’m just saying a real man wouldn’t cower in the bushes and blindside a woman. He must not be very strong,” you stated, “He probably can’t even get it up.”

Before you even had time to react, David pulled out a switchblade knife from inside the couch cushions and put you in a chokehold, pressing the cool metal up to your throat. You closed your eyes tightly.

“David, you don’t have to do this,” Spencer stood with his gun pointed at you both.

“This bitch insulted me,” he snarled.

“She insults me too. That doesn’t make you any less of a man,” Spencer spoke carefully, “Just put the knife down and I’ll escort you out.”

David sighed, dropping the knife to the floor and releasing you.

Spencer put David in handcuffs and walked him outside as reinforcements came running in.

“Are you okay, Y/L/N?” Hotch asked.

“Yep, a little shaken up but fine. Thank you,” you stood.

“Let’s get you to the medics,” Morgan grabbed your arm to support you as you walked over to the ambulance.

Spencer never checked on you.

You knew your decision in the field was a little rash and you wanted to thank Spencer for essentially saving your life.

However, there was no way in hell you could verbally get out an apology while staring at his smug face, but you could bake. You settled on a note tucked inside a tupperware container of your Grandma’s special recipe of chocolate chip cookies. It was a good peace offering, maybe even a chance to start fresh.

During your lunch break, you took the tupperware from your desk drawer and approached the break room where Reid had entered about 5 minutes ago.

“I’m just saying I could not have been more clear in my message to her that it was too dangerous but of course, Y/L/N didn’t listen cause Y/L/N is going to do whatever she feels like,” Spencer stirred his coffee.

No one had noticed you standing in the doorway yet.

“Reid, you’ve got to be nicer to her. She earned her spot here just like the rest of us,” Emily defended you.

“Did she though? How much do we really know about her? She couldn’t even tell me how many pages the FBI protocol manual was,” Spencer said.

“That’s not a normal thing people know,” Morgan retorted.

“Well, I’m just saying the team was perfectly fine before her and it would probably be better off if she left,” Reid finished.

Garcia looked up from her yogurt to see you standing there, “Oh, Y/N”.

Spencer turned around in his chair as you angrily stormed up to him.

“Here’s your cookies, asshole,” you seethed, grabbing the note from inside and crumpling it up into a little ball and tossing it into the trash.

“Y/N!” Emily called after you but you were already gone.

The whole team glared at Spencer and picked up their lunches, leaving him alone at the table.

Spencer retrieved the balled up paper from the trash, having to fish through Rossi’s week old pasta and Anderson’s half eaten tuna fish sandwich.

Dear Reid,

Thank you for saving my life, I guess. These are my Grandma’s secret recipe for chocolate chip cookies so I hope you enjoy. I think we got off on the wrong foot and I would like to start over. I think cases would be a lot less miserable for everyone if we got along.

Thanks again,

Y/L/N

Spencer, you’re such an idiot, he thought to himself.

You never came back after your lunch break ended and Derek made Spencer go tell Hotch why it’s his fault you were missing the rest of the day.

He tried to call you multiple times but they always rang out before going to voicemail.

Spencer hesitantly knocked on Penelope’s door at the end of the day.

“Is she okay?” he asked softly.

“You don’t get to ask that as the person who hurt her in the first place. Also, she told me to tell you that don’t you dare go to her apartment to ‘check on her’. I’m headed over there myself actually,” Penelope collected her things and shut off her monitors.

“Will you at least tell her I’m really sorry?” Spencer followed her to the elevator.

“Absolutely not. I’m not doing any apologizing on your behalf,” Penelope huffed as the elevators shut.

You came in the next morning, keeping your head down. You grabbed a pen from your cup holder and the first folder on your stack before getting to work.

You were on the second page of the file when your clean, empty tupperware was placed in front of you plus another baking dish with aluminum foil over the top.

You glanced up to see Spencer guiltily looking down at you and you returned your eyes back to the file.

“I-I made you cinnamon rolls,” Spencer broke the silence.

“Are they poisoned?” you asked, not sparing him another glance.

“No, they’re not poisoned,” he assured you.

“I’m just saying how can I trust you as you have made it very apparent you would like me off this team.”

“I didn’t mean that,” Spencer was quick to reply.

“Then why the hell did you say it, Reid?” you slammed your pen down.

You grabbed your empty coffee mug and briskly walked to the break room but unfortunately, Spencer was right behind you.

“I didn’t eat any of your cookies by the way. Not that I didn’t want to but I felt like I didn’t deserve them so I handed them out to everyone else.”

“Oh how kind, taking credit for my work,” you tried to close the door in his face.

“I told them that they were from you,” Spencer insisted.

You rolled your eyes as Spencer grabbed the coffee pot before you could get to it, pouring your mug of coffee for you.

“What do you want from me, Reid?” you asked defeatedly.

“I want you to try a cinnamon roll and let me explain.”

“Fine but only because I didn’t have breakfast yet and I want to critique your baking skills,” you huffed, walking back to your desk.

Spencer gingerly placed one of the sticky frosting-coated rolls on a napkin and pushed it towards you. You tentatively bit into it. Damn it, it was actually delicious.

“It’s okay,” you understated.

You knew Spencer hardly ever used his kitchen let alone be up baking all night. He even chose a recipe that required more time and effort because the yeast dough would have to rise for a few hours.

“That’s good. The first batch didn’t come out as great...or the second,” he smiled softly.

“Well, the floor is all yours, Reid. Please explain to me why you talk shit about me to my co-workers when I’m in the other room,” you leaned back in your chair and crossed your arms.

Spencer muttered something incoherent.

“I have to hear the apology, you know,” you said, enjoying watching him uncomfortable.

“You’re intimidating to me because you’re intelligent, beautiful, and courageous. I think I was a little jealous that my spotlight as the ‘kid’ of the BAU was coming to an end so I said some harsh, completely untrue things and I’m sincerely sorry.”

“Oh my god,” you smirked, “Hotch was right, you are an elementary school kid.”

“In what way?” he curiously asked.

“You like me like like like me. You don’t know how to talk to the girl so you pull her pigtails on the playground,” you giggled.

“I take it back. You’re a horrible profiler,” Spencer was getting up from his seat, completely flustered.

“Awww,” you were laughing at Spencer’s bright red face as he went to go to the break room to fill his coffee mug.

When he got back to his desk, a sticky note was placed front and center.

In typical elementary school fashion…

Will you go get coffee with me?

Check:

Yes

Spencer smiled before picking up his pen and checking one of the boxes, crumpling the sticky note up into a ball and throwing it over to your desk.

“Good choice. See you Saturday at 9 at the cafe down the street,” you grinned.

“It’s a date,” he smiled.

#willsannievent #spencer reid x you #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid angst #spencer reid fluff #spencer x reader #reid x reader #spencer reid #cm fanfic #criminal minds

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sparklysung · 4 years

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✨OPEN CURTAINS PART III – h.r.j.✨

pairing – huang renjun x female!reader

genre – fluff, smut | non-idol!au, neighbours!au, strangers to lovers!au

warnings – blowjob, face fucking, penetration, nipple play, protected sex

word count – 5.346 words

summary – when the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of being with his cute neighbour shows up one day –thanks to his two best friends aka jaemin and jeno–, renjun just couldn’t let it slip. who would have thought the universe would finally side with him and let things happen?

note – the gif isn’t mine, i found it on google, so credits to the owner! it’s way longer than the previous parts but i hope you guys like it!

taglist – @junguwuuu, @prvncejxon, @jenotation, @iwishihadabettername, @whomichelle

part i ; part ii ; part iii

renjun didn’t know what to expect to happen next.

anyway, he started to leave the curtains in his room open, excited to see you again. don’t get him wrong, though, he did like seeing you put on a private show just for him to witness, but he looked forward more to you just being yourself.

he liked observing you, he enjoyed the way you looked so content doing your own thing. sometimes he got to see you while you read a book by your window, earphones plugged in and head bobbing to the rhythm of the song you were listening to. on other occasions, he caught you laughing at your phone while probably talking to your friends –he hoped they were just friends–, a warm feeling washing over his body from your cute reactions.

it was safe to say renjun was whipped for you and it wasn’t even a secret.

his two best friends, jaemin and jeno, knew of his interest in you since the beginning, as renjun had forced them countless times to listen to him talk about –or more like drool over– you.

they were also the first ones to witness renjun suffer hopelessly for the impossibility of an us happening between you.

so it wasn’t a surprise renjun had told them about your dirty secret. at first, they didn’t believe him as it sounded way too much like a sex scene from a bad movie. but they soon concluded it was true one day when a small interaction between the two of you they had never seen before happened.

the three of them had been eating lunch in the school’s cafeteria while talking about random stuff and joking about renjun’s crush on you. coincidentally, almost as if they had summoned you, they saw you walk past their table and towards yours. all three eyes were set in your figure, following your every move as you tilted your head to the side, locking eyes with renjun. you sent him a flirty smile and a wink just to wind him up a bit, and you hit the jackpot when said boy choked on his drink and turned a deep shade of red.

you just walked away after, trying to contain your laugh. neither jaemin nor jeno knew who was more surprised, renjun or them. as soon as you were out of sight they turned their attention to him, mouths agape in shock, to see him coughing uncontrollably.

“did she just…” ignoring his struggling friend, jeno spoke, still shaken. “did she just flirt with you?” jaemin finished, equally shaken. renjun felt like his heart was about to exit his body through his mouth.

you had never acknowledged his existence before outside of your filthy displays of skin and that one confrontation, never even sparing him a glance. and suddenly you were flirting with him in front of the whole school?

renjun’s heart beat fast, almost hurting his ribs from how hard it pounded against them.

what were you doing to him?

“i–i don’t know?”

“dude, she was clearly flirting.” both of his friends threw each other a knowing look before softly patting his shaky friend. “just shoot your shot, she’s obviously into you too.” jaemin pressed.

jaemin was tired of seeing renjun stress over a girl and not do anything about it. he couldn’t just stay still and watch, he had to do something if his best friend wasn’t going to.

so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

and jeno was going to help him, obviously.

~.~.~.~

“okay, so, here’s the plan.”

jaemin and jeno sat cross-legged in front of each other on the latter’s bed. they had arranged an emergency meeting to make up a plan to get you and renjun together.

“we have to convince her to make the first move because, clearly, renjun isn’t going to. and i need you to do it for me.” jaemin looked as serious as ever, taking very seriously his job as renjun’s personal cupid.

“what? why me? why can’t you do it?” jeno questioned, confused, to which jaemin clicked his tongue in annoyance. “because you’re friendly and outgoing, at least more sociable than me, duh.” he furrowed his eyebrows as if he was stating the obvious. “also, no one can say no to that eye smile, literally nobody.”

“and how exactly am i supposed to approach her, what do you want me to tell her?”

“just tell her you’re one of renjun’s friends and ask her if she likes him. if she says yes, tell her renjun is a little shy and if she can, you know, ask him out on a date maybe or just make the first move. i don’t know, just whatever she can to make renjun confess so they can finally get together.” jaemin spoke confidently, feeling like a genius. he could already picture you two walking to school, hands clasped together and looking at each other with lovey-dovey eyes.

“and what if she says no?” jeno was still hesitant, not sure if the plan was going to work out or mess things further.

“she’s not gonna say no. from what i heard from him and witnessed that day at lunch, she likes him. or at least she’s interested in him.”

“ugh, fine, i’ll do it.” jaemin smiled triumphantly, punching his fist in the air. “but you owe me one, you’ll do my homework for a month.” now was jeno’s turn to smirk, jaemin’s smile quickly dropping.

“renjun better fucking take this opportunity and make the most out of it.” jaemin mumbled distastefully.

~.~.~.~

jeno’s eyes wandered around the hallways, back resting against the wall outside of your classroom, waiting for you to come by anytime soon and put the plan into motion.

jeno and you weren’t friends, not even classmates, but he had briefly talked to you a few times before, so he still felt a bit awkward about it.

after a few minutes of waiting, he saw you walk in his direction. before you could open the door to get inside the room, jeno spoke.

“hey! can i steal a few minutes of your time? i need to talk to you.” he smiled, eyes turning into crescent moons.

cute.

you nodded your head, making your way towards a less concurred place.

“sure, what do you need me for?” you quirked an eyebrow, curious to hear what he had to say.

“so… i’m friends with huang renjun, does it ring a bell?” he continued as you nodded for him to keep going, suddenly really interested in the conversation. “you see, i wanted to know if you were interested in him romantically? i mean, if you like him.” jeno bit the inside of his cheek, feeling slightly nervous.

“did he send you to ask me?”

“what? no. i just wanted to know since i was there when he almost died of asphyxia in the cafeteria a couple of days ago.” it was his time to arch his eyebrow in an almost teasing way.

“uhm, i may be,” you shrugged your shoulders, pretending to be unaffected and ready to leave for class.

“great! so, he’s a bit shy. he may or may not be scared to ask you out because he thinks you’ll reject him, so i was wondering if you could make the first move?”

you failed to contain your laugh, so you lightly slapped one of your hands to your lips to shut yourself up. jeno wasn’t sure what were you laughing at, so you, sensing his uneasiness, quickly explained yourself.

“i’m not laughing at him. actually, i think he’s really sweet. it’s just…” your hand dropped again to your side, tugging at the hem of your shirt. jeno noticed your hesitation. “are you sure this is going to work? i mean, i haven’t tried talking to him properly because i’m afraid he’s going to run away from me as soon as i approach him.”

“at least try, i’m begging you. jaemin and i are tired of hearing him cry over you.” the pleading tone in his voice made you feel a bit bad for them.

“fine, i’ll do it.” just as you spoke, the sound of the bell ringing made you both flinch, both turning to make your way to your respective classrooms.

“thanks! see you around.” jeno waved at you with a happy smile on his face before walking out of your sight.

you weren’t surprised, you had actually expected to be the one to take the first step. but what you didn’t really expect was for one of his friends to ask you to. it made you think they were aware of your existence and your complicated relationship with renjun.

it left you wondering how much they knew about it.

whether they were aware of everything or not, this was going to be interesting nonetheless.

~.~.~.~

the day after jeno’s request, you found yourself bored and alone in your house. your parents had once again left you to take care of work-related stuff.

what a surprise.

seeing you had a couple of hours before they came back, you decided to make good use of it and think of how you were going to get close enough to renjun to ask him out, or at least drop him more hints to show him your interest in him.

you looked out of your window, hoping he was home and in his room like usual. and he was. sat down on his desk, a focused renjun was quickly tying in his computer. he looked so comfy in his gray sweatpants that hugged his thighs oh so perfectly and oversized yellow hoodie that you would love to steal some time, so inviting for you to cuddle in his arms. you felt butterflies erupt in your stomach with the thought of it.

after a while, you decided to just ask him if you could come and hang out with him. that would give you an opportunity to talk to him. and by the looks of it, renjun’s parents weren’t home either, so you had plenty of time to think of ways to let him know you liked him without scaring him.

he must have felt you staring because he turned his head to take a glimpse of you, catching you already looking at him. his cheeks burned making your lips turn upwards. he smiled back, but it quickly changed into a look of pure confusion as you got up and exited your room.

soon enough you were outside of his house, waiting for him to let you in. his eyes opened widely when he heard a knock on his door, face contorting in an expression of utter panic. he stood frozen in place for a couple of seconds before coming back to his senses. he quickly threw things inside of his closet and under his bed to clean up a bit before running downstairs.

what were you doing there?

when he opened the door, he was panting heavily from shuffling around his room and running to you.

“hey, were you busy?”

“uh… no!” renjun scratched the back of his head as he realized he had spoken too loudly, “i mean, no, i’m not busy at all.”

you nodded your head in understanding as he stood awkwardly, clueless like a lost puppy. you lifted your face up to look at him and something clicked in his head.

“oh shit, you wanna come in?” quietly cursing he moved to the side to let enough space for you to walk in.

you just giggled, waiting for him to lead the way. he walked towards the stairs in silence with you trailing behind. when you reached the door that led to his room, he opened it and let you walk in first. you sat down on his bed while he retook his place on his desk.

anxiety was eating renjun up from the thoughts crowding his mind, the uncertainty of why you dropped by so suddenly made his stomach churn.

“uhm, so, what brings you here?” he asked, playing with his hands while avoiding eye contact with you.

“i don’t know, i just thought we could hang out, you know? we never really spoke before, apart from that, and we’ve been neighbours for a couple of years.” you looked at him expectantly. you hoped he wouldn’t tell you to leave and let you stay for a bit more.

“ah, yeah, we can hang out… i’d like that,”

“great!”

it was no secret you were eager to spend time with him, you weren’t even discrete about it. even renjun could tell by the way you excitedly looked around his room while lightly bouncing on the mattress.

renjun couldn’t help but notice the way your hips moved as you bounced, completely unaware of his gaze. his mind drifted to the day when you brought that guy home with you, the way you pushed him on the bed and got on top, how you teased him by grinding against him and then rode him, your attention never leaving renjun.

he nibbled on his lip nervously, forcing himself to only focus on your face and not think too much about it. he could already feel blood rushing south as his sweatpants got tighter. he figured that his hoodie, a size or two too big for his body, could work in his favour, so he tugged on it to cover himself.

the boy’s attempt of hiding his growing boner didn’t go unnoticed by you as you abruptly stopped dead on your tracks to eye him meticulously to find the cause of his sudden fidgety behaviour.

“hey, are you alr-,” at first you didn’t see it, too worried thinking that you were making him uncomfortable, thoughts of better leaving him alone filled your head.

and then, you noticed.

he had popped a boner out of nowhere.

“oh.” you stared at him blankly.

realizing you knew what was up with him, renjun shot up from his seat, face pale. “i-it’s not what it looks like, i swear!” the sudden change in the pitch of his voice surprised you. “i’m sorry, i’m really sorry, i didn’t mean to!” he cried out, desperately trying to convince you.

“renjun,” you stood up, taking a few steps forward, “relax.” with a soft push on his shoulders he fell down onto the chair once again.

“w-what?” you used your hands to push his knees open, making space for you to settle in between. “what are yo-,” a moan ripped out of his chest when your hand came up to cup his cock through his clothes.

“tell me to stop and i will.” you waited for him to answer, your other hand stroking his thigh gently.

“please, don’t stop.”

you quickly got your hands to work, palming him, squeezing from time to time. he tried to keep his mouth shut, teeth biting onto his tongue. you wanted to hear him, so you saw it as a challenge.

and you sure were going to win.

you placed open mouthed kisses on his clothed bulge, feeling him twitch against your lips. pushing his hoodie up to expose the skin of his abdomen, you licked a stripe before blowing air to the wet trail of saliva, making him flinch. his hips bucked under your hand as it never stopped stroking his shaft.

renjun was having a really hard time keeping still and quiet.

“can i?” you hooked your finger under the elastic of his sweats, asking for permission to expose his cock. he nodded as soon as you spoke, eager to feel you without the restriction of his clothes.

when you pushed the waistband of his pants below his hips, freeing him, you were stunned. the moment you caught him jerking off to you, you were able to see him and, in total honesty, you couldn’t deny it made you feel things. but up close the experience was completely different. nerves began rising inside renjun as you admired his dick for what felt like forever.

what if you didn’t like what you were seeing? what if you expected him to be bigger, or maybe longer? the blush on his cheeks only turned redder with every thought. he wanted to cover himself, skin burning with embarrassment.

just as renjun began to regret his whole life, you placed feather-light touches to his semi-hard cock. a gasp left his lips when your fingers wrapped themselves around the base, quickly hardening completely against the palm of your hand. you leaned closer, upper arms coming to rest on his thighs, as you opened your mouth, tongue poking out and giving his shaft a kitten lick.

renjun almost jolted his body forward.

he tried to calm down, letting out shaky breaths while his hands gripped the side of his desk. your touch felt better than he had imagined and he found himself enjoying your attention, dick twitching between your fingers with every flick of your tongue. you left a trail of saliva as the tip of your wet muscle traced the vein on the underside of it.

you pumped him a few times before taking the tip of his member inside your mouth, sucking softly. “oh, fuck,” the groan he let out encouraged you to keep going and made you hollow your cheeks harder. It took everything in him not to thrust into your warm mouth, frantic to feel more of you.

you could see his hands twitching, not wanting to force you into him and hurt you. so you took his hands and positioned them in your hair, allowing him to tug on it. renjun sighed in relief, running his fingers through your hair, taking it into a ponytail to guide you. little sighs of pleasure left his lips with every bob of your head. you liked the feeling of his hands tangled in your hair, so you hummed around his sensitive cock, making him buck his hips into your mouth. you gagged when he hit the back of your throat and renjun felt like he was about to cry. he threw his head back in bliss, breaths coming out ragged.

if he thought you felt good in his imagination, he was wrong. you felt godly in real life.

you tried to relax your throat, keeping your head down, the tip of your nose against his neatly trimmed pubic hair. your hands massaged his thighs, sliding up to feel his toned stomach from time to time as you let him set his own pace.

after a while of you sucking him off, or more like him fucking your throat, he couldn’t take it anymore. he was certain that if you continued, he was going to cum and the fun would be over faster than it started.

“please, i need to feel you,” he whined, hands desperately tugging at your arms to bring you closer for a kiss, so you released him with a pop, wiping off the drool from your lips. “i wanna be inside of you.” you completely pulled his pants down so they were pooling around his ankles, before getting up. your knees were sore from kneeling on the hard floor of his room, but you paid no mind. as soon as he stepped out of them, you pulled him by his hand to his bed.

renjun stood in front of it, staring at you with hooded eyes as you sat on the edge. your index finger hooked in the waistband of your shorts and underwear, pulling them down your legs before throwing them on the floor. he let out a curse at the sight of the wet spot in the crotch of your panties. oh god, renjun swore there was nothing else he wanted more than to taste you. he would do anything to see you writhing under him, legs shaking and head thrown back into his pillows while screaming his name, as he ate you out like a starved man.

but that would have to wait until next time.

he sure hoped this wasn’t a one-time thing, he prayed for it to be a next time.

“take it off,” you pouted pulling at the sleeve of his hoodie. he complied, quickly pulling the cloth off of his body as you laid on your back, legs opening wide for renjun to position himself in between.

he swore he was seeing an angel, he almost pinched himself to make sure this was real and not a dirty trick his mind was playing on him. he looked at you with so much adoration, as if you were the most beautiful person in this world, it made your heart beat faster.

you extended your hands out to him and he took them in his, lovingly intertwining your fingers before you pulled him closer. as he settled on top of you, you tangled your legs around his hips to bring him closer, trying to eliminate the space between your bodies. this caught renjun by surprise, not expecting you to do that, so he almost crashed you under him. as his hips hit yours, the tip of his dick rubbed against your aching core, making the both of you moan at the friction.

“fuck, i want you so bad,” you whined, gyrating your hips to grind your dripping cunt up against his cock, “please, renjun, fuck me.” you caught his lower lip between your teeth, pulling on it, and he let out a groan at how hot this all was.

he still couldn’t believe this was actually happening.

you were finally going to be his.

kind of.

his mouth crashed into yours, tongues fighting for dominance and teeth clashing messily. a muffled moan escaped your lips when his hands slid under your shirt to grope your chest. a shocked gasp left him when he realized you weren’t wearing a bra. how didn’t he notice before?

he quickly composed himself and started playing with your breasts, squeezing them and pinching your nipples. your buds hardened in his fingers, back arched against his to get closer. he licked them, sucking and softly biting on them over your shirt. your pretty sounds were like music to his ear, only incentivising him to keep going.

renjun was fascinated by how reactive your body was to his touches. he wanted to explore every part of you to find all your sensitive spots and make you feel so good you wouldn’t be able to think straight.

your pussy clenched around nothing and the empty feeling reminded you of what you wanted before renjun distracted you with his skilled fingers.

“do you have a condom somewhere around here?” breaking away from his lips, you asked. it took him a moment to understand what you were asking him, and when he did, he quickly reached a hand for one of the drawers of his nightstand. “ah… yes, wait a second.” yanking it open, he pulled out a foil wrapper and tore it open. he rolled the condom on his cock and then got back on the bed.

meanwhile, you reached for the hem of your shirt, tugging on it to pull it over your head. the sight of your bare chest made his dick throb. “you’re so pretty,” he mumbled out loud, and by the nervous laugh he let out right after that, he wasn’t intending for you to hear him.

suddenly, you felt shy in front of his eyes. your cheeks felt hot, making you look down as you played with your fingers, a small smile on your lips. it wasn’t the first time a guy had complimented you, but coming from him made you feel different. renjun smiled sweetly at your bashful behaviour, “i mean it.”

he got back on top of you and positioned the head of his cock in your entrance, lightly pressing himself against you. he examined your face in search of a hint of hesitation, but couldn’t find any. you wanted to taste him again, so you pulled him down by the back of his neck, lips catching his in a heated kiss. your hands ran up and down his body, fingers sliding down his back, while one of his gripped your thigh.

after a brief make-out session, he wrapped his free hand around his hard cock, giving it a few pumps to prepare himself for what was coming. the tip had turned into a pretty shade of red that resembled a lollipop, and if you weren’t so desperate for him to fill you up, you would surely be putting it back in your mouth. you let out a moan when he slid it between your fold, gathering your juices and spreading them.

finally, he pushed in without breaking the kiss. as he got deeper into you, his dick stretched you out with a delicious burn at an almost painfully slow pace. he whimpered into your mouth when he had bottomed out, balls resting against your ass. his sounds made you clench around him, and with heavy breaths, renjun dug his nails into your skin.

his head was spinning; he needed a hot second to calm down or he would be shooting his load in no time. your walls hugged him so tightly, he felt like he wouldn’t be able to move inside of you, but he wasn’t planning on going anywhere either way. and you still had to get used to his size; even if just a couple of days ago you hooked up with daehyun, he was nothing compared to renjun. renjun was bigger, and the chemistry the two of you shared was undeniable, which made the intimate moment a lot more intense and meaningful.

once you got used to the intrusion, you ran your hands to the small of his back to push him down into you. “you can move now,” breathy moans left your lips as he pulled out before thrusting back in.

he made you feel so full, cock dragging against your walls while leaving wet kisses along your neck. his lips sucked on the skin, teeth sinking and leaving pretty marks, before soothing the bruises with his tongue.

he fit perfectly inside of you, it felt like he belonged there. renjun quickly found your g-spot, the tip of his cock hitting the right places with every ram of his hips. the knot in your stomach rapidly tightening from the overwhelming pleasure he was giving you.

you let out a loud moan when one of his hands stumbled across your clit, your hips shot upward to meet his thrusts. a shiver ran down your spine making your back arch and push your chest against his, his mouth on your breasts once again.

it felt so good you almost couldn’t handle it. your walls tightened deliciously around him, making his eyes roll back and a whimper fall off his lips.

“shit, please, do that again.” you did as you were told, clenching around him again as his fingers fastly circled around your throbbing clit.

“i’m gonna… i’m gonna cum,” you felt him twitch inside of you, his thrusts becoming sloppy. he was near his end, both of you could feel it, and you weren’t far from it either.

after a particularly hard thrust of his hips, your climax washed over your body making your vision blurry. “oh my god, r-renjun,” your legs trembled as you screamed his name.

renjun’s thrusts didn’t falter, fucking you through your orgasm while chasing his. his fingers never stopped toying with your clit, pinching it and rubbing it quickly as your body squirmed under his.

your nails scratched his back, leaving red marks on it for him to remember you every time he looked in the mirror. your actions triggered his orgasms, seed shooting into the condom with a loud moan, the pounding of his hips slowly coming to a stop.

pants and heavy breaths could be heard all around the room, the strong smell of sex filling your senses and making you feel light-headed. he didn’t pull out immediately, he wanted to savour the feeling of your warm pussy hugging him tightly inside of you.

when he did, he took off the condom, tying it and throwing it in the bin near his desk. taking tissues from his nightstand, he cleaned your thighs and core with delicacy before cleaning himself. as he tossed the dirty tissues to the trash, he pulled his sweatpants back on before looking around the room for his hoodie.

a huge smile formed on renjun’s lips when found you holding it. you slipped his hoodie on as well as your panties before throwing yourself back on his bed next to him. your body laid partially on top of his, your head rested on his bare chest, fingers tracing circles on the soft skin, and legs tangled with his. he hummed happily under you, closing his eyes to enjoy the moment.

he knew he would eventually have to tell you how he felt.

he knew this would be his last chance before things changed and you either decided to leave his side or keep him.

so, mustering all the courage he could find, he concluded it was time to let you know.

he could feel the deafening beating of his heart and he hoped you wouldn’t be able to hear it, taking a deep breath to calm his nerves before finally speaking.

“well i… i’ve a crush on you since you moved in and always tried to talk to you, but it just wouldn’t work out. now that things have changed and we’ve gotten closer, kind of, i-i think i have stronger feelings for you and i figured i should let you know.” as he spoke quietly, nervously waiting for your response.

jaemin, jeno and you had underestimated renjun, none of you believed he would be able to confess without you pushing him into it.

but there he was, blurting out his feelings for you, holding his fragile heart in his hand and waiting for you to take care of it.

“i know things usually happen in a different order, but i was wondering if i…” renjun’s ears turned a dark shade of red as his voice slightly cracked.

“can i… maybe take you out… i mean, as on a date?” his eyes flicked around nervously, looking everywhere but at you.

you giggled, finding his nervous state rather charming. excitement tickled your body from his proposal. you moved your head up to face him, eyes locking and a big smile adorning your face before smashing your lips together in a sweet kiss.

“i thought you’d never ask.” you said against his lips, butterflies blooming in his stomach.

renjun laughed happily as you hugged him, chin resting on top of your head and your face buried in his chest.

after a moment of comfortable silence, you decided to tell him the meaning behind your unexpected visit.

“you know, jeno actually asked me to make the first move and ask you out. he said he and jaemin were tired of hearing you ‘cry over me’… his own words, not mine though!” renjun groaned embarrassed, making you chuckle.

he was going to murder both of them when he saw them.

“because you were too shy and apparently afraid of me rejecting you?” renjun turned his head away from you, his hand coming to cover his face.

did you really give off that vibe?

“did you really think i was going to straight up reject you?” even if you didn’t take it personally when jeno mentioned renjun’s fear of being rejected, hearing it from him made you feel a bit hurt.

“well, yeah?” seeing your pouty lips he quickly tried to explain, “i mean, i didn’t give the best first impression so i thought you thought of me as a creep. i didn’t think you’d even want me to come near you.”

you hummed, understanding his thought process. “but i guess i was wrong?”

“yeah, you were. you should thank both of them, they were the reason why i came here in the first place.”

maybe renjun wouldn’t murder either of them after all.

–lia:)

#nct dream #nct x reader #huang renjun #renjun smut #renjun #renjun scenarios #renjun imagines #nct smut #nct dream smut #nct u #nct #nct renjun

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cat-induced-fever-dream · 3 years

Text

I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.

Pairing: Wanda x Reader

Genre: Angst if you squint really hard. Fluff to make up for Marvel reminding me that Nat is dead.

Description: The falling in love of Wanda Maximoff and you. (If anyone has a better description please hit me up.)

Notes: Was going to be a one-shot and then it didn’t happen so there’s going to be a second part. It’ll probably happen in like a month though since I have a trip. Comments always appreciated. :)

- - -

You’re not sure when it happened. To be fair, neither is Wanda.

You had just started with SHIELD, and were there for the battle with Ultron, and then when Wanda became an Avenger. You remember the admiration you held for her, for her powers, for her determination to do what was right, her grit. Now, it was more of a well-deserved respect. Her strength when everything else in her life seemed to be gone, her brutal honesty regarding matters important to her, and her loyalty to those she cared about.

Maybe that’s when it started. As an exemplary agent, you could handle most things Fury assigned you, but being an Avenger? That was a whole new battleground. One that Wanda had your six on. From simple things, like showing you around the compound, and looking for you when you inevitably got lost (again). Wanda with her no frills attitude and sharp tongue, lashing out at Fury himself when he assigned you your 6th mission in 4 days. Wanda with her soft smiles that made your stomach flip and whispered jokes when she noticed your anxiousness on a mission. It wasn’t easy, keeping up with super soldiers, spies with years of experience on you, actual gods, but Wanda made it simple.

- - -

Wanda sometimes wondered if she could really be a hero. She wasn’t a good person. She had done terrible things. Then you stumbled in, a fresh agent and an even fresher Avenger, but you looked at her with no distrust. A little lost perhaps, but no malice. That confused SHIELD agent? It reminded her of, well, her. It may have been under different circumstances, but in essence, they were the same. Thrust into a world of avenging, knowing no one, knowing nothing. So she threw you a line, offered her support when you looked like you needed it. Wanda expected a bite, but she didn’t expect a tug back. The way you offered to help her practice her powers (a little naively), and then when you realised your mistake, your offer to teach her the hand to hand combat you had learned from SHIELD. The way you always looked back for her on a mission, even when you knew she could protect herself with said powers. You were on her team, a comfort she didn’t have since Pietro died. Okay well the Avengers were also her team, but you were her person, always in her corner.

- - -

It shouldn’t be this easy. Sometimes it felt like you could read each other’s minds. To be fair, Wanda could read your mind, but you knew she wouldn’t do it without your permission. Still, there was something about your unspoken agreements that came so naturally. Where everyone else was on comms, it was like the pair of you were tuned to the same wavelength, communicating in a code not even Natasha could decrypt.

“You just get me, you know?” Wanda says, as the two of you are sprawled on her bed after a mission. “It’s like our brains are, I dunno, smooshed together or something. Not even Vision feels like this, and we’re literally connected by an Infinity Stone in his head.”

“Smooshed together?” you laugh. “What an insightful description. And I can’t believe you just compared me to that toaster. I’m obviously way better than him.”

“You realise he can shoot lasers right?”

“And I can turn on a laser on the sights of my guns. Sit down, you’re not special.”

This earns you a giggle. “But it’s like you’re in my brain.”

“Oh so I’m always on your mind?”

“Shut up Y/N/N.”

“Maybe your powers are rubbing off on me,” you joke, wiggling your fingers in her face.

“I do not look like that,” cries Wanda indignantly. “And if you have my powers, what am I thinking about right now?”

“Stealing Sam’s cupcakes,” you reply with no hesitation.

“I was actually thinking about how I hope Steve never reassigns mission partners,” she says pointedly. “But now that you mention it, I could really do with a cupcake.”

“I was right then?” you tease, tugging her towards the kitchen with a cheeky grin.

Wanda rolls her eyes at you, but she mirrors your grin and your stomach is swooping again.

“For the record, you’re my favourite mission partner too.”

- - -

Wanda didn’t expect to call the compound home. She stayed because she had nowhere else to go. And with her differences with Stark and the friendly but still guarded manner of the other Avengers initially (though she didn’t blame them), she kept to herself. But you were different. She noticed the way you prioritised her, looked out for her, to the best of your ability.

She’s shaken from nightmare and automatically, her feet lead her towards you. It’s late, she knows, but when she knocks on your door, you open with an easy smile and open arms that envelop her gently. When her sobbing subsides, you break away, wiping the tear tracks with your thumb.

“Dick van Dyke?” you ask.

Nodding wordlessly, Wanda lets you lead her your bed and settles in beside you.

That’s when she notices the stacks of files illuminated by your desk light.

“Sorry,” she sniffles, throat raw from crying, “did I interrupt you?”

“Oh those?” you say, waving dismissively at your desk. “Maria’s just been on my back lately to get those done, but it’ll be fine.”

With a stab of guilt, she makes to move of the bed, but you grab her wrist before she can. “Don’t worry about it, those can wait.”

As the TV murmurs softly in the background, you wrap a comforting hand around her, and she begins to drift off, nightmares warded away by your presence.

And she wakes up the next morning with the duvet pulled over her, and you slumped at your desk.

- - -

It was an easy mission. Most missions are when you and Wanda are paired together. Get in, get the data, get out. But then HYDRA agents were swarming the building, and intel definitely didn’t mention this level of security, and the exits were blocked off.

“I’m definitely gonna punch Tony later for this,” you groan, and Wanda shoots you a smile before returning to the approaching soldiers. Silently you whip around, firing rounds at the agents on the other end of the corridor. This was one of the many “plans” you had with Wanda, the endless missions allowing you to familiarise yourself with how your two fighting styles complimented each other. Being the enhanced out of you two, Wanda would push forward, handling the bulk of attacks with a flick of her wrist. You had her back, shooting at the stragglers who came from behind. Spotting something that resembled a server room, you gave a tug on her sleeve and she nodded, reassuring you that she had it handled.

Not wanting to leave Wanda for longer than necessary, you plug in the drive to do its Stark-tech thing and bolted back outside. To find the bodies slumped en masse on both end of the hallway.

“Guess you did have it handled,” you say, waving at the uniformed soldiers.

“Oh my god that isn’t even a good pun,” the witch replies, before continuing with a smirk. “But yes, I am way more powerful than you.”

“Don’t think that was ever in question,” you say, but then alarms were blaring, and the building plunges into a red glow and then oh my god there’s a gun behind Wanda and before you knew what was happening, a shot had fired from your gun and there was a burning pain in your shoulder.

The brunette whirls around just as you collapse into the wall. “Guess you’re not as an amazing shot as I am though,” you mutter, before blacking out.

- - -

To say Wanda was in a state of panic was an understatement. It was more like a whole damn continent. As much as she reassured you before missions, your easygoing, playful attitude was her anchor in these intense situations. Everywhere felt like home, like you two bickering on the couches. Your constant presence was like bringing a piece of the compound with her. And regardless of her experience as an Avenger, as an ex-agent, you were undoubtedly better with running missions. Not everything was a save the world type threat after all.

Eyes darting around, Wanda noted that you had indeed shot the last agent, before skimming across your bleeding out form.

The training doors opened with a bang and Wanda turned to the noise. Then she found herself pinned to the floor.

“Stay focused on the mission,” you scolded, before helping her back up.

The drive. You’d be pissed if she didn’t get it. Sprinting into the server room, she rips it from the port.

“Okay don’t laugh at me, but this is my hierarchy of the 3 Is.”

“Eyes?” Wanda asks.

“No, like the letter I. At the top is innocents, and they’re my priority. Steve says you can’t save everyone, but I can damn sure try. Next is the idiots. That’s the mission. ‘Cause I’d say you’re pretty damn stupid to go up against the Avengers. And finally we have Iron Man, or the heroes. As much as it’s going to hurt, we can’t let the sentiment get in the way. We all knew what we were signing up for, and I’m pretty sure all of us would rather it be us than someone else.”

“Thank you o wise one,” she mocks.

Wanda smiles a little at the memory, but tears pool at her eyes. Then she hears it, the faint footsteps pulling her back from her daze.

“Damn you and your stupid heart of gold,” she whispers, before flying the two of you back to the ship.

- - -

The steady beeping tugs you from slumber.

“Oh you’re up.”

You strain your neck to see Tony walking up with a bowl in his hands.

“You don’t sound very excited to see me Stark.”

“Not when I have to bring meals up here every day for Maximoff,” he says, pointing at the sleeping girl on the chair. “Hasn’t moved for days. Figured I’d hand deliver as an apology.”

“Aw did she punch you for me?”

“Worse,” he chuckled. “Gave me an earful.”

“I’d say you deserve it after that.”

He rubs his neck sheepishly. “Really, I’m sorry though. That was on me.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you smile. “I’ll be fine. And thanks for looking after her.”

Tony nods politely before leaving the meal and you two alone.

“It’s good to have you back kiddo,” he calls, before shutting the door.

Reaching an arm through the railing, you poke Wanda’s elbow.

“Meal delivery for Miss Maximoff?”

The curled up form stirs a little, rubbing her eyes, before freezing in shock.

“You’re back!”

“Apparently so,” you reply with a wry grin.

Wanda leans over the hospital bed, green eyes searching for any injuries.

“I missed you,” she murmurs.

“And you missed one-“

A slap hits you on your injured arm, and you hiss in pain.

“I’m not apologising for that one,” she glares.

Raising your good arm up in surrender, you pout. “Don’t I get a pity pass?”

“Not for worrying me like that.”

“But it wasn’t even my fault!”

She rolls her eyes (she seems to do that a lot at you some reason).

“Wait,” you frown, “we broke our perfect mission streak.”

“Are you kidding me right now?”

Then she’s hugging you, her nose pressed into your neck. Her soft brown hair cascades over your face like a waterfall, tickling your chin. Through your gown, you’re hyper-aware of the cool metal of the rings which adorn her fingers, how nice she smells, how right it feels to be held by her.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she mumbles, her breath warming your neck, and your stomach is doing acrobatics. Even with the meds, you’re aware that this feels familiar, like something.

Pulling away, she studies your face. “Never. Do. That. Again.”

You laugh. “Glad we’re in agreement.”

It must be the meds, it must be.

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda marvel #wanda x reader #wanda maximoff x you #scarlet witch #marvel #mcu

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acourtofsnakes · 3 years

Text

Jetii'kad - Rogue, Chapter 22| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader

GIF by @di-kut

Summary: Your training with Ahsoka moves on to new, exciting levels and a comms call with Din threatens to shatter the peace of the last few weeks.

Warnings: Not too many in this actually. Swearing - I don’t think there is, but I’ll pop it on just in case, injury, falling, me making things up about Jedi training

Word Count: 5k+

A/N: Oh, dear.

Rogue| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f) Taglist: @snipskixandbeskar @weirdowithnobeardo @the-bottom-of-the-abyss @jackgrzs @sarahjkl82-blog @boomtownboy @goldielocks2004 @seninjakitey @what-iwish-you-knew @queenofthefaceless @rosiefridayrogersunday @greeneyedblondie44 @itsnottilly @welcometothepedroverse @xgoldenjenny @mamacitapascal @heyitsjaybird @amyk-37 @greatcircle79

Permanent Taglist: @greeneyedblondie44 @mamacitapascal @mypedrom @undiscovered-misunderstood @kaylee-krystal

Mando’a Translation: Jetii’kad - Lightsaber; Literally: Sword of the Jedi

Another couple of weeks had passed, and things were still going incredibly well.

You were flying through your training, and Ahsoka was continually impressed with you. There were still days where your past threatened to choke you, but Ahsoka was there to help you work it through.

Din had taken to going on small hints that took him away for a few days at a time. He was comfortable and satisfied that the pair of you and the kids were safe here - and happy.

Ahsoka had previously had some trouble with the town, but that had been resolved now and she still chose to reside here on Corvus peacefully whilst looking for things herself.

So, Din had gone off after getting a comms message from Greef about some small bounty missions.

He’d been uncharacteristically like a mother hen the first time he left. You’d had to practically throw him in the Crest and send it into the sky yourself. He’d also checked in every night and morning, making sure everyone was okay and you weren’t pushing yourself too hard.

It didn’t bother you, his worrying or checking in. If anything, it just filled you with a blissfully sweet warmth that wrapped around your heart and soul.

You hadn’t had anyone do such things in… far longer than you could remember.

And maybe because you were equally as worried about him.

Oh, to be in love.

You did miss him when he was gone, there was no denying that.

He had been by your side almost every single day since he picked you up on Sorgan, and to not have him there was a bit of a shock. You found yourself turning around to say something to him... only he wasn’t there. It wasn’t just the conversation either, it was the little things.

Like the brush of his hand over your lower back or hand, his shoulder bumping against yours as you walked, him flanking you like a broad, metallic guard.

Even just the sound of his laughter or the soft clink of beskar as he moved.

It felt like he had taken a limb with him, leaving you unbalanced and off-centre.

Although had you been truly on your own, it would have been a hell of a lot worse. But there were a few things in particular that made it easier. Training, the kids and Ahsoka of course, but mainly... the next thing you had moved onto.

Lightsaber training.

You hadn’t expected to even get near the training sabers - poles of the same size and near weight of lightsabers, used to get acquainted with the momentum and movements - for months. But Ahsoka had informed you a couple days ago that she truly believed you were ready so soon. Like you were born for this.

You were ecstatic, beside yourself with glee when you told Din over your comms call that night that you’d be starting. The man had been so proud of you, complimenting you the whole call until the praise turned his voice to a lower pitch, that honey rasp that heated your blood and your call had turned into a very different kind of praise and reward until the early hours of the morning.

All the stars above, this man would be the death of you one day.

Ahsoka had pretended not to notice the lingering flush on your cheeks the next morning as she set you to work with the poles, explaining the basics of grip and balance.

At first, you were rather clumsy. Your weapons of choice were either a bow, daggers or long knives. At the most, you’d sometimes practised with Din’s beskar spear, but a saber would be a length between your longest knife and Din’s spear.

Hence why you spent the first day with the training pole slipping out of your hands, nearly taking off your foot at one point.

However, you kept going, determined to prove that Ahsoka’s pride and instincts about you hadn’t been wrong.

That your own steadily growing belief in yourself hadn’t been wrong either.

After your nightly calls with Din, you took yourself off to the edge of the clearing, practicing your saber movements.

You worked through the drills Ahsoka gave you in the day, spinning and whirling until you could move across the floor of the clearing silently, whipping the training pole through the air like an extension of your arm.

You knew a real one would take more practice, more care and precision but this was a good start – you were proud of yourself, actually.

There was only one thing bothering you and you hadn’t told Din or Ahsoka.

See, there was this… feeling inside you. A small, swirling darkness that sat in your chest.

It wasn’t the same as the heavy cloud that sometimes lowered over your mood and mind… No, this was a different kind of darkness.

This darkness yearned for… destruction. Devastation.

To bring down pain and fury on all of those that hurt you. To tear apart their lives the way yours had been torn. But not just your life, but the people that had hurt Din and Grogu.

Those who had made Ahsoka choose to banish herself.

And it scared you because, well… you had wanted those things for a long, long time. From back when your powers were once again dormant, and you often hesitated between knocking a hunter out – or killing them. And when that dark cloud had first emerged, it gave you the power to butcher those who dared come after you.

That was the first time your bounty price has risen. Word got out that you were taking down elite members of the Guild, Stormtroopers, high ranking noble fighters from far off planets.

The scared little girl with no family had given way to a deadly assassin who would strike with the speed of a serpent and had the venom of one too.

That same version of yourself often walked in your dreams, and lately, you felt her lingering at the shadows around your peripheral. She had risen from her long slumber, triggered perhaps by the understanding of Haran’s words, back when he had kidnapped you.

This assassin… she would recognise the horrors he had committed, the monster that prowled in his skin but… she would understand. Because the same monster prowled beneath her own skin.

Two kindred spirits who’s lives had been torn apart by monsters who refused to understand.

And last night… last night you’d awoken from a dream-like state, only to find yourself nearly a mile from the camp.

As if you were going for that hunt right away.

You’d been shaken, that lingering craving for destruction still sitting heavy in your chest as you hurried back to camp.

No.

You couldn’t tell the others at all.

“So, are you ready to move onto the next stage of your training today?” Ahsoka faced you across the clearing you often practiced in, the strange, murky haze shifting today to something closely resembling sunlight.

You nodded, trying not to look too eager as you watched her, limbs already loosened up and warmed, ready to go. “Ready.”

Ahsoka smiled a little at your eagerness, her hands clasped behind her back, “Now, this is usually something that Jedi get trained to do near the end of their learning. After they’ve mastered the essentials of the Force, honed them to use in everyday life and in battle, they have to learn the theory and history of this next part. Then extensive training and only after they’ve proved with the practice weapons that they won’t take off someone’s leg or their own arm, then they are simply just considered for this next phase.”

You began to read where she was going with this, and you had to bite your lip to contain the squeal of excitement that threatened to burst forth from your chest.

She knew this, of course.

“But, you’ve risen up through the training quicker than even I thought. And with the life you lead… I don’t see why you aren’t ready.” She moved her arms from behind her, holding out her hand.

She was holding out a tube.

A sleek, silver tube that was ever so slightly curved… it was one of her own.

She was going to let you train with one of her own lightsabers.

Your head snapped up to look at her as your breathing caught in your throat, “Ashoka… This is… I can’t use this. What if I break it?” You gripped your own elbows, forcing your hands not to be all grabby and reach for it like they so desperately yearned to.

Ahsoka chucked softly despite herself, “What did I teach you?” She still held out the saber, the hazy sun glinting off of the metal.

You thought back to all your lessons, but already knew where she was going with this, “Never doubt my Master.”

She raised an eyebrow, wiggling the tube almost teasingly, “And?”

You puffed out a breath through your cheeks, rolling your eyes, “Never doubt myself.” You shot her a look, all playful, friendly bantering… because she was right.

She grinned beautifully, a rare sight, “See. I wouldn’t let you touch this if I didn’t think you were ready. Or trust you.” Her expression softened, “You have nothing to fear from yourself, Padawan.” She used the name affectionately, remembering it from her own times of being young and unsure, eager to prove herself.

You studied her face, reading the confidence there, the understanding, and you thought of the belief in yourself that had been regrowing for a while now. Almost immediately, your shoulders relaxed, and you let go of your arms, instead reaching out for the saber. You hesitated for a brief moment, but then took it, holding it carefully and bringing it back toward your body.

As soon as you touched it, you could have sworn it thrummed with energy, a gentle pulse that sung through your blood and veins and spoke to you. It made you feel immediately… whole. Settled.

This had been what you were missing.

Ahsoka watched you, studying the was your face softened, the light growing in your eyes. Your stance had changed too, more balanced and self-assured. “Activate it.”

You looked up at her, holding your breath for a moment and you lifted the saber, taking a second to think.

All your life… had been leading to this moment, really.

As soon as you activated this saber, you were stepping into the role that had been in your blood, always. Not a Jedi, but something different.

Entirely unique.

Every trauma you had gone through, every wave of pain as you tried to restrain your true self. The stigma and fear, the admiration from those that believed and chose to help you… even if it had ended up in their own demise, despite your best efforts.

This all flashed through your mind quickly, before it cleared. Emptying of everything but the cool, flowing feeling of the Force and so, you shifted your thumb and activated it.

Glowing, white energy burst upward as the crystal was activated, pushing away the murky haze and filling the small area around you with that pure light.

Beautiful, radiant… true.

Ahsoka Tano smiled more, activating her remaining lightsaber with that pulsing hum, “And now we begin.”

The moon shone high in the murky sky, casting everything with a milky glow as you settled into your tree of choice.

It was your nightly call to Din, and you often called him whilst perched in one of the more substantial trees, so as to not disturb Ahsoka with the noise. You knew she fell asleep late and rose early, but you still wanted to be polite.

It was also more to make sure Grogu didn’t wake up – he was a little monster for not going back to sleep again. Din called in the day sometimes, to speak to Grogu but the nights… they were just for the two of you.

You watched the hologram display, which told you the call was patching through.

Your model of the comms watch didn’t allow for video calls, but its sound quality was crystal clear, almost as if you were standing right next to Din.

You almost hadn’t been able to wait for your call tonight, to tell him all about your day learning.

The training had gone… really, really well.

Ahsoka had shown you the basics of handling the saber so you wouldn’t slice through your toes, how to move with the glowing beacon of energy and use it most effectively.

It was different to the training spears, but it was a concept you grasped quickly.

Your past training and skill in combat came in useful, for you were already light and nimble on your feet.

The pair of you had trained over and over, until you were both dancing across the clearing, spinning and leaping around each other, aided by the Force and lighter than the air itself.

It was a spectacular light show for the kids, who were cheering – or meowing – in delight throughout the whole thing.

And, at the end, when you were both panting and a little flushed, Ahsoka had dropped to a knee in front of you, inclining her head in a soft bow, “It’s an honour to fight with you, and teach you.”

Ahsoka Tano… praising you. Feeling honoured by you.

By the Maker and all the stars above, you still couldn’t get over that.

There was more to learn, much more, but Ahsoka had been so impressed, she promised a day off tomorrow where the four of you would explore some of the rare, beautiful spots on the planet.

You had so much to tell Din.

It took Din little longer than usual for him to answer, but you put that down simply to the distance between you, and the storm that Ahsoka said was going to roll in soon.

A few minutes later, the ringing tone pinged, and Din’s voice filled the air, “Hey, sweetheart.”

Those two simple words, the gentle rasp of them that was all honey and roughness just instantly soothed your very soul. It caressed over your body, much like Din’s hands, and you let out a soft sigh, your chest loosening, “Hey, Din… How are you?”

There was a lot of wind his end, rushing through the mic but then it stopped, like he’d turned a different way, “I’m okay, tired. But better hearing your voice.”

Sweet-talker.

You grinned to yourself, tilting back your head, “Oh, yeah? Why’s that?” Your leg swung lazily from the branch, a picture of relaxation now that you were talking to your love.

Din grunted, the wind suddenly roaring through the line again, blocking out whatever he was saying to you.

You frowned, wincing as the gust made the line all staticky, “Din, what are you doing? It sounds like you’re on the back of one of those reptavian from Nevarro.” However, the hairs on the back of your neck stood up, a sense telling you that you weren’t going to like whatever came next.

There were a few moments hesitation, and you could almost hear Din wishing the ground – or maybe air – would swallow him whole, “Um…”

Oh.

You really weren’t going to like this.

Dread coiled with apprehension in your belly, a tight feeling creeping along your skin, “Um? What do you mean, um? Tell me, Din.” There was a sharpness to your tone, one that he knew well.

It was a ‘don’t you dare lie to me’ tone.

A very soft noise over the wind and Din started to speak, but then was cut off by a burst of rapid, loud fire.

Blaster fire.

He was being shot at.

Your heart nearly dropped through your stomach, and you had to grab hold of the tree branch so you didn’t fall out. A light trembling shook your hands, but your voice was still steady, “Din Djarin, was that blaster fire?!”

It sounded like Din seemingly retaliated, because then his voice came back, “Okay… Okay, promise me you won’t get mad.” There was a pleading note to his words, but it seemed like he was cringing, waiting for the blow up.

“Too late.” You hissed those two words through gritted teeth, heart pounding with fear in your chest. “If you keep avoiding my questions, it’s going to get a whole lot worse.”

Din sucked in a breath, and then let it out all in a rush, “I’m at an Imperial base.”

Silence from you.

So quiet, Din would have been able to hear the owls in the trees. Maybe even the fire crackling down below.

The words echoed around in your mind slowly, unfolding and repeating.

He had to be joking. Din wouldn’t be that reckless.

“Sweetheart…?” Din was hesitant, worried by your silence, when he’d been expected fire - and shouting.

You closed your eyes, more to rein in your impending anger, to give you something to focus on, so that your voice remained quiet when you spoke, “And what, might I ask, are you doing at an Imperial base?”

He audibly swallowed, still grunting and seemingly dodging the shots being fired at him from Stormtroopers, “Well, I was on a hunt and I found talk of an Imp base nearby causing trouble in the town. I asked what it was and…” He hesitated for a second before realising that might simultaneously worry you and make you even more mad “And the townspeople told me they were looking for someone. Someone with a huge bounty… a girl.”

It was like someone poured ice water over your body.

There was a whole Imp base… looking for you?

Sure, a few Stormtroopers had come after you before, and then those ones that had ambushed you before Haran showed up but... a whole base…

Don’t think about that though. That’s secondary.

“Okay… And what, they sold you out to the Imps? Told them you were hunting nearby?” Maybe you had jumped to conclusions a little quickly.

Of course Din wouldn’t have gone to a base and ambushed it. If the townspeople wanted to stop the trouble, maybe they thought giving information to the Imps would be a good idea. It would make sense. Plenty of people had sold you out the very same way to save themselves, and you hadn’t been able to blame them.

More blaster fire, but it was a little further away this time. It still didn’t stop you flinching with each shot, waiting for the inevitable grunt of pain from Din.

“Uhm… not exactly. I… asked Cara and a few old friends to help me. We… infiltrated it and tried to find the information they had on you, but they realised who we were.” Din’s voice was halted, stumbling over the word ‘infiltrated’. It was choked somehow, as if was grappling with retelling you the story.

Something had happened in there… And then it occurred to you.

If they infiltrated the base… Din wouldn’t have bene able to waltz in there with his beskar armour on.

He would have to have blended in.

Which meant… he took off the armour.

Before you could mention it, he was talking, his words quieter in that voice that meant trouble, “We managed to get out and…”

The trembling had taken over your entire body, a voice in your head chiming that Din was lying, that he was joking with you because he wouldn’t do this, he wouldn’t do what you knew he was going to say… “And?” A single word, weighted.

You heard Din swallow, and then, “We kind of… blew it up…”

Silence, again.

Laughter then suddenly burst from your mouth, albeit slightly hysterical laughter, but still. One minute you were staring at the moon in utter horror, and the next you were doubled over in fits of giggles.

“Sweetheart…?” Now Din just sounded concerned. He had expected another blow up the moment you realised what was going on, and so far, none of it had happened the way he thought. And now here you were, laughing?

You shook your head even though he couldn’t see you, “I’m sorry, it’s just – for a moment there, I really believed you!” You covered your mouth, trying to stifle the increasing hysteria, “I really believed you had infiltrated an Imperial base with a tiny crew, to find information out on me you could have got from capturing an Imp, and then you make it even better by trying to convince me you blew up a base!” You leant back against the tree, your heart rate picking up unsteadily, sweat pooling in your hands and you felt your power thrum through your blood.

“Darling - ”

“Ooh, you really nearly had me there, Din. And I’m so glad you’re joking, because no way would you yell at me endlessly for getting kidnapped and then plunged into a frozen lake – none of which was my fault – telling me I’m reckless and stupid… and then go off on a little joyride to destroy Imperial strongholds.” The laughter was melting away, your voice getting more frantic and pleading, like you were begging him to tell you he was joking.

The wind rushed through the comm’s call again, the sounds of Din twisting in the air, presumably with the Rising Phoenix to steer clear of the ground forces, “Sweetheart, listen to me.” His voice was steady, soothing, “I’m fine, okay? I’m completely fine. I’m not doing this to be reckless, or stupid, or hypocritical. They have information on you and there are hundreds of them. If they’re gone, they can’t hurt you. They won’t know where to find you.”

His words were doing nothing to soothe you, “Don’t patronise me, Din. You can’t tell me you’re fine and then tell me there are hundreds of Troopers after you. There are only… what, four of you?” Your breathing was coming in sharp pants now, images of Din’s broken body, blood on white armour and dark dungeons flashing through your mind’s eye.

“Five.” Din spoke the word softly, and you nearly didn’t hear it over the rushing wind and sounds of fighting.

Another laugh that sounded more like a sob, “Oh, five? Like that’s so much better!! I don’t doubt your abilities, Din. You know I believe in you more than anything in the world, but this is… I can’t believe you would do this.” The words were a trembled whisper at the end, fear clutching at your heart once more. It was starting to choke you, turn your blood to slush and your bones to ice.

The thought of losing him was something that kept you awake frequently. Sometimes it would hit you out of nowhere in the day, the idea of living the rest of your life without them by your side.

Gone, little more than a gravestone and memories.

The thought made you physically sick, having you have to run to the nearest place to expel that terror in heaving gasps.

You’d hidden that from Ahsoka and Din too.

Distantly, it occurred to you that you should hang up, let him have his full concentration back but… you couldn’t help the horrid thought that if you hung up... you would never speak to him again.

Din knew this, heard it all in the tone of your voice, in the things you couldn’t and didn’t need to say. He knew you weren’t mad at him, not like that. It was the same anger he had felt when he thought he’d lost you. The gut-wrenching fear of not being able to do anything – the anger at the helplessness. “I promise you; everything is okay. I will be fine; my friends will be fine, and no one will get hurt. We’re nearly done already. Breathe, sweetheart. You’re not going to lose me. We promised each other, remember?”

That’s true… you had. You’d promised each other that you would never part this life alone. When one left, the other would follow.

You swallowed, trying to take a deep breath in through your nose and out your mouth, “Okay…. Okay. Just… come home, okay?”

“Of course, darling. I’ll be home just as soon as-”

A piercing pulse shattered his voice, searing through the speaker on your watch with its resounding whistle.

Your breathing exercises halted immediately, “Din? Din?!”

No, no no no -

It means nothing. Just a close call knocking out the signal, that’s all. That’s all it is.

A burst of static shot into the night air, and then you heard broken up, jagged snippets of Din’s voice, undeterminable pieces of speech.

“Din, Din I can’t hear you. You’re breaking up... Are you okay? Tell me you’re okay, please Din.” Your throat closed up again, the dark beast in your chest snarling as it tasted that terror, feeding on it and spreading through you with those horrific images.

The part of you that craved destruction, that shadowy assassin woke up, bringing forth the vengeance, ready to tear them apart piece by piece if Din had been hurt.

More static and wind and then something that you would haunt your waking and sleeping dreams for a very, very long time.

The signal unjammed, and clear as crystal, you heard Din’s broken cry of pain. Of agony.

A harsh noise you had never heard before.

It was stunned, dragged from within him by a wound that must have hit deep and sudden.

The world seemed to go still on its axis, everything slowing down to a halt.

The entwined golden threads of your lives pulled taut, stretching apart from each other.

Your heart tore to pieces.

“DIN!!” His name broke on a sobbing cry, making the surrounding birds take flight from the bare branches, causing Grogu to wake up down below but you didn’t care.

The line had just gone silent, just as one of those threads began to fray.

He was falling.

Down, down, down toward the ground, smoke billowing from his back.

He was an exploding star, a falling planet, hurtling toward the floor with a speed he couldn’t reduce.

Thirty metres.

The speed of his fall and the force of it caused darkness to pull over his vision momentarily, casting everything into shadow and silence before it all came flooding back.

Everything was a blur of colour, whipping past the visor of his helmet in a smudge of brown, grey and green. The wind roared past him, battering the armour that used to be his savour, soon to be his tomb.

Twenty metres.

The impact of the ground on his armour would shatter his bones and spine, cracking his head open and ending him instantly.

Maybe he’d be lucky, and it wouldn’t be painful.

Or he’d pass out before he crashed.

Ten metres.

His family was safe, at least. That eased his mind somewhat. It would be hard getting off the planet, but they’d find a way.

Eight metres.

There’d be nothing left of him to find. An anonymous man in a beskar tomb, body broken beyond recognition. The people who would soon find him may very well be the first to see his face in… years.

Six metres.

And they weren’t the right ones.

They weren’t her.

No, he’d finally reached a place where he felt safe to reveal himself. Only his hands first, but that was enough. He wanted to give more, so very badly but… he just couldn’t, not yet. But that was okay. He knew she’d understand, be more than happy with that reveal of the very pieces of his anatomy that had started all of this.

His hands, running over her skin, tracing the delicate work of her tattoo.

Three metres.

Two meters.

“I love you.” His gasped words were snatched by the air before they even left his lips, and he hoped the wind would carry them to the person they had always belonged to.

One metre.

“Goodbye, cyar'ika.”

“Thank you for showing me a world worth living.”

~~~

“Sir?”

The young woman’s voice was steady and strong, breaking him from his thoughts as she knocked on the door to the war room. She’d been working here for a year now and had swiftly risen up the ranks.

She was essentially his right hand, and he knew she wore that token proudly. There were no official titles given, but she was his best officer.

She had been the one to locate the Mandalorian the first time around – and had also been the one to find the girl.

That was why he had felt confident when she suggested hiring the Shadow-Born hunter to track them both down. And she hadn’t been wrong yet.

“What is it, officer?”

She saluted, then stood tall, shoulders back, chin raised enough to be respectful, but not so much it was defiant. She looked him in the eyes, “We’ve found him, sir. He was responsible for blowing up the Imperial base, along with a group of friends, including another Mandalorian, an ex-Shock Trooper, a wanted assassin and a prisoner from the Karthon Chop Fields. The Hunter shot him out of the sky and has already apprehended him. The accomplices are so far unaccounted for.”

A faint smile passed the man’s lips, hunger and victory setting a dark fire in his eyes. He nodded his head to the young officer, “Never-mind the rabble. Good work, officer. Tell them to bring him here. There will already be a cell prepared for him. You know which one.”

The woman nodded, inclining her head and then she headed off, but not before he saw the small smile she allowed herself.

Good work indeed.

She had done more in the past twelve months than any of his senior officers had. Maybe he should see about naming her his official right hand.

He turned back to the large open window of the cruiser, clasping his hands behind his back, breathing in a deep sigh.

Finally.

When the Hunter had let the girl slip through his fingers, he’d been worried that he was being played for a fool. The hunter was unreliable, working to his own twisted agenda. If the Hunter betrayed him, there was no chance for the success and power that he deserved.

But he needn’t have worried at all.

He now had the one thing that would guarantee the girls cooperation. He had hoped for the Child too, but he could wait for that.

It may have been slow going, and people may have called him deluded for trying to bring back the old ways… but here was the proof that things were finally going the way Moff Gideon had planned it all along.

~~~

If only he knew that his plan had been set in motion by another. The successes were not his to claim.

The King of Shadows and Destruction was sitting at his board of death, moving each piece as the endgame approached, the final checkmate that would put to rest years and years of waiting and scheming.

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#oh dear #whatever will happen next #oooOooooO #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x force sensitive! reader #the mandalorian x you #din djarin x reader #din djarin x force sensitive! reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian #din djarin #pedro pascal #pedro pascal x reader #the force awakens #Rogue

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piratewithvigor · 3 years

Text

Eldritch Horrors Anonymous: A Wrestler Fic

Dr. Shelby's led plenty of support groups before and helped plenty of people in them. But these people aren't exactly people...

(I spent the last two days binging matches and assorted other videos to try and get the characterizations right, so let's see how this goes)

Plenty of bad crack below

When Dr. Shelby had been approached with the idea of running this group, he’d been… unsure. Possibly even apprehensive. He’d led groups for violent individuals before; anger management was the most memorable, but the coordinator nearly begged him to start this one. She’d had some of these individuals in other groups, but none of their problems truly seemed to stem from the focus of the groups they tried. They had a unique problem. A unique struggle that needed support from others just like them.

It was the night of the first meeting and he wasn’t quite sure what the outcome might be. The community center had been advertising it for the last few weeks and he’d heard about some interested parties, but the exact number was a little unsure. He’d been told a ‘handful’, which wasn’t frustrating as an imprecise number until it came time to set up the chairs in the room. Six seemed like a good number. A couple, but not too many. Colder drinks were set out on a table along the edge of the room. Nothing too hot. A lot of those coming had problems with heat. As well as with machinery. Some of them had habits with… well, with making it explode.

God, he hoped nothing exploded during this meeting.

The flyer stapled to the bulletin board said the meeting started at 6 and it was 5:55 when Dr. Shelby sat down in his chair opposite the semi-circle. The noticeably empty semi-circle. A part of him was disheartened that the room was empty, but a much more selfish part was deeply relieved. He’d spent a few days reading articles about these individuals and how best to help them. Unfortunately, not much research had been done besides describing the pain they inflicted in such gruesome detail that Dr. Shelby had felt the need to make himself a cup of tea.

But those were laboratory settings. This was a friendly support group. No one was being forced to be there, or even being paid. They were coming because they wanted to.

By 6:03, he was tempted to just start packing up. Maybe no one was coming. Maybe the group was a bad idea in the first place. He’d been told to wait until 6:05 for people to arrive, but even just two more minutes seemed like too many to just sit there.

He was shaken from his thoughts by the large metal door on the other side of the room creaking open slowly. A hand gloved in black leather wrapped around and Dr. Shelby tensed for a moment until the owner of the hand appeared. A pleasantly-dressed gentleman in a neat sweater, a short beard and his hair pulled back looked around the room before spotting Dr. Shelby and seeming to relax.

“Excuse me, is this Eldritch Horrors Anonymous?” He asked, smiling warmly.

“Uh, it’s supposed to be,” Dr. Shelby nodded. If anyone had shown up, he wanted to add, but bit his tongue back.

The man’s smile widened and he turned back from the room to call over his shoulder. “Found it, guys! We’re supposed to be in here!”

Guys? There were more?

Maybe the night wouldn’t be such a bust after all.

The man stepped inside the room and pulled open the door politely. Dr. Shelby couldn’t see the people until they entered, but it didn’t truly matter; no amount of time could have prepared him for the group joining him.

The first one to nearly skip through the door looked like a child at first glance. Definitely not an eldritch horror. She wasn’t much taller than one and with her long blonde hair pulled into pigtails and a doll clutched to her chest, she looked even more like one. She paused long enough to thank the man holding open the door before taking a seat in the middle chair of the semi-circle, directly across from Dr. Shelby. It wasn’t until she was fully seated that he got a proper look at her face. Her strikingly icy eyes were surrounded by thick black rings and every time the hairs in front of her face moved, Dr. Shelby swore he saw black liquid dripping from her scalp. The chill that went down his spine was either negated or enhanced by her wide, jubilant grin. He wasn’t sure which.

The man who sat beside her also seemed confusingly normal at first glance. A plain black t-shirt and leather jacket. Perhaps a little more… edgy than Dr. Shelby would have preferred to dress, but he seemed like an equally charming young man.

Unfortunately, a pattern of three seemingly normal people did not necessarily mean the group would be.

The next one to enter the room had to quite literally duck to pass through the door. Dr. Shelby guessed him to be seven feet tall, give or take a few inches. He was wearing a black suit that covered most of his body, save for his face, which had its own covering of a deep red mask. He didn’t smile like the others had so far. Not even a polite half-smile of acknowledgment. Just sat down in one of the chairs that looked like it might prove to be a little too small.

Dr. Shelby had been so focused on keeping his expression steady while watching the masked member of the group that he hadn’t noticed one final member sneak in through the door and sit on the other side of the circle. He had an oversized alarm clock clutched in one hand, a paper bag in the other and a steady, intense smile in Dr. Shelby’s direction. Though his face was just as covered in red, he seemed to be the exact opposite of the stoic masked member.

“I think that’s everyone,” the man holding the door declared, taking one last glance down the hall before starting to let it go. He was intercepted by a gloved hand pushing back against the door.

“I’m so sorry I’m late.” A final member slid in, face covered in white and black paint and a long leather coat stretching to his ankles. “All the hallways here look the same.”

“We had that problem too,” the man holding open the door nodded. “Kept walking around in circles trying to find the room. And it didn’t get much easier after the flyer got a hole burnt through it right where the room number was listed.”

“I said I was sorry,” the masked member grumbled.

Oh God, he burnt things unintentionally?

“Don’t worry about it, you’re all on time,” Dr. Shelby interjected, hoping to avoid any conflict between the members before the meeting had even technically started.

The final two men took their seats. Six? Not a bad turnout. Might as well get started.

“Welcome everyone, my name is Dr. Shelby.” A collection of polite nods came his way. “Now, you’re all here because you face the same struggle every day and you wanted to meet people like you. Am I right so far?” Everyone nodded again. “Good. I’ve led a lot of support groups just like these and almost everyone in them has felt major improvements knowing that they have a safe place to share their feelings every week. Why don’t we go around the circle and introduce ourselves and share what brings us here?”

It was always a risky move. Especially with brand-new groups. Some of them were bound to be a little more shy or wouldn’t really want to participate until they felt more comfortable with the other members. Dr. Shelby hoped there would at least be one outgoing one amongst them.

Dr. Shelby knew he wasn’t masking his fear very well. He’d perfected the perpetual smile; it was necessary when leading support groups, but he couldn’t always control his eyes.

The group all looked amongst themselves before the man in the sweater held up his hand.

“I can get the ball rolling,” he smiled, standing up. “My name is Bray and for the last few months, my body gets periodically taken over by my dark half named The Fiend, an entity whose sole objective is to cause as much pain and suffering to those around him as physically possible.”

“Thank you, Bray,” he tried to say with as even a voice as possible. “Who’s next?”

“I’ll go,” the girl smiled, standing up with a flounce. “My name’s Alexa and this is Lilly.” She spun the doll around to reveal the most grotesque face Dr. Shelby had ever seen. He wasn’t certain from across the circle, but it looked like the teeth sewn into the mouth were real. “The Fiend showed me the way into the darkness, and Lilly took it from there.”

This is normal for them. It’s not going to help anyone here if you start looking like you’re scared.

But darn, is that doll ever creepy.

The man with the red face paint stood up next.

“I’m the Boogeyman!” He grinned with wide eyes, looking around at each member of the circle erratically. It was only as he began to move around that Dr. Shelby noticed the paper bag he was clutching seemed to be dripping some kind of dark liquid.

“Thank you for introducing yourself… Boogeyman. If it’s not too personal, do you mind if I ask what’s in your bag there?”

“Worms.”

“Worms?”

Boogeyman unrolled the bag and pulled out a handful of dirt-covered, very much alive earthworms before shoving said handful into his mouth. No one around the circle seemed all that disgusted. Like it was a regular Tuesday evening for them. Except for the man with the white face paint who seemed like he was as pale as a ghost underneath.

“I’ll, uh, that’s fine for this week, Boogeyman, but I’ll please ask you to leave your… worms at home next week. We’re not really supposed to have food in this room to keep it peanut-free,” Dr. Shelby explained, holding back the sick feeling knotting his stomach. “But if anyone is thirsty, I’ve got bottles of water and juice boxes on the back table. Feel free to help yourselves.”

Boogeyman nodded and carefully put his worms back into his bag as he sat down. The man with the white face paint immediately raised his hand.

“Yes, your name is…”

“I think I might be in the wrong place.”

Dr. Shelby looked him over. He didn’t look eerily normal like Bray, and he didn’t seem to have brought a bag of worms as a snack. Looked like he fell somewhere in between.

“You seem like you’re in the right place. This is Eldritch Horrors Anonymous; I don’t know where else you’d be tonight.”

The man’s expression changed from nerves to sheepish understanding. “I thought this was Troubled Goths Anonymous. I couldn’t find the flyer and followed Boogeyman in. My mistake.”

Dr. Shelby nodded understandingly. “Right room, wrong day. Troubled Goths Anonymous is Monday nights.”

The man stood to leave with his hands up apologetically. “It was great to meet you all, but I don’t belong here. Best of luck to you… eldritch horrors.”

“Oh, be careful when you come back on Monday. That’s also when they host Troubled Punks Anonymous. Very similar groups, but people seem to have very strong preferences of one over the other.”

The man nodded and left the room as Dr. Shelby turned back to the remaining members. “Some of you came here from those groups, right?”

“Troubled Punks Anonymous kicked me out a few days ago,” Bray sighed, his perpetual smile dropping for a moment. Everyone murmured their sympathy and Alexa patted him on the knee. “It’s alright, though," he continued. "You all seem like a much better fit so far.”

“That’s the point of this group,” Dr. Shelby smiled. “Now who’s next?”

The man in the leather jacket looked towards the man in the mask before shrugging and standing.

“M’name’s Finn. Sometimes the rage o’ battle brings out the Demon King Bálor from within me ‘n with the openin’ o’ his great eye, enemies are laid to waste a’ his feet,” he explained, about as casually as one would talk about what they did over the weekend.

“Glad to have you here, Finn.” It was getting easier to digest the stories of the people around him as he heard more. Maybe he’d even be able to hear the last one without faking the comfort of his smile. “And last, but certainly not least…” He turned towards the masked man expectedly. There was no smile, polite or otherwise. But he also didn’t seem like he was hesitating because he was shy. Just… grumpy.

“You don’t have to introduce yourself if you don’t feel comfortable, but we’re still a small group and as far as I can tell, all very friendly,” Dr. Shelby pushed a little further. The other members nodded in agreement. Even Boogeyman, who had snuck another worm from his bag into his mouth.

“Fine,” he grumbled, standing up. “I’m Kane. I’m the devil’s favorite demon. I grew up in a basement, suffering severe psychological and emotional scarring when my brother set my parents on fire. From there, I shifted around a series of mental institutions until I was grown, at which point I buried my brother alive... twice. Since then, I’ve set a couple of people on fire and abducted various co-workers. Oh, and I once electrocuted a man’s testicles. Years ago, I had a girlfriend named Katie, but let’s just say that didn’t turn out so well. My real father is a man named Paul Bearer who I recently trapped in a meat locker. I’ve been married, divorced, broke up my ex wife’s wedding and attacked the priest and for reasons never quite explained, I have an unhealthy obsession with torturing Pete Rose.”

Okay, maybe they can get weirder.

“Thank you… Kane.” He paused a moment before remembering back to the list that he’d been given a few days before. “That name sounds familiar; I think I was told to expect you, but they said you might be coming with your brother.”

“Probably won’t happen.”

“Why not? Is he not an eldritch horror?”

“He is. He just won’t come. Has better things to do.”

“Like what?”

“He said ‘watching paint dry’.”

“Maybe when you see him again, you can tell him we’re more fun than watching paint dry,” Alexa suggested, bouncing Lilly on her lap.

“That’s right. And that goes for all of you,” Dr. Shelby mentioned. “If anyone knows someone who might need a support group like this, go ahead and invite them. This isn’t Fight Club; it doesn’t have to be secret.”

The group chuckled a little at his attempt at a joke. Even Kane cracked a small smile.

Dr. Shelby relaxed a little in his seat. These people might dress strangely and have bizarre interests, diets and backstories, but deep down, they were just like anyone else. Maybe he could help them after all.

#WWE #Alexa Bliss #Bray Wyatt #Boogeyman #Finn Balor #Sting #Kane #Writing #This was a fun experiment and if people want more I can be easily convinced

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hoodoo12 · 3 years

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The Ties That Bind (And How to Follow Them) 15/?

@turtlepated @mel-time @werwulfy @bunnys-beetlejuice-blog @monsterlovinghours @infptarius @sweetcat-666 @rainingpaint @fireflower1015 @go-whovian-universe @strange-n-unbluusual @genderless-cryptid @heresathreebee

SFW. Revelations of a bad sort. Plans are made.

What was taking Rigel so long?

Pate knelt in the bushes until her knees were screaming, her heart hammering a rapid staccato in her chest. Had he found Beetlejuice? Was he maybe helping him escape even now? She rather doubted that, Rigel wasn’t exactly the savior type.

Despite his threat of having Dziban babysit her like some demonic guard dog, Pate’s impatience and anxiety were getting the better of her common sense. She should stay put, Rigel could handle himself. But the longer she crouched there the more she began to worry that something had gone wrong.

Unable to stand it anymore she rose to her feet, doing her best not to rustle the brush and peered around the base of the tower to make sure the coast was clear. The cultists seemed to have finished retrieving everything they needed from the vehicles, as no one else had come out of the tower since they carried in the large mirrors of unknown purpose.

Bent almost double, as if it would make her less visible in the open space with nothing to hide behind, Pate made her way quickly towards the unguarded tower door. She was halfway there when she felt hands grip her by the elbows and spin her around with a frightened gasp. Rigel stood there, and if she wasn’t mistaken he looked rather blanched. Pate expected him to ream her for disobeying his order but all he said was, “Time to go,” before crushing her tightly against his chest and stepping forward, dragging her through the ether.

She barely had time to breathe, let alone register what was happening before they were still again, back in her living room. Rigel still held her against him, his arms wrapped around her and his fingers digging into her sides.

Pate wriggled and pushed until he let go enough that she could look up at his inscrutable expression. “What happened? Did you find Beetlejuice? What’s going on?”

Fear redirected into anger, because that was easier to hide behind.

“You were supposed to stay put,” Rigel snapped with pointed teeth bared at Pate in response to her questions, like it was her fault he blitzed back to her side. He took a moment to straighten his jacket’s hem, then focused on its sleeves to continue to cover how shaken he really felt.

She, however, wasn’t cowed. Whether it was just her nature, or having to take a stand while living with his waste of a brother, or her own fear, Pate didn’t back down. In fact, her own expression mirrored his: a lifting of her upper lip and a hardened stare.

“Stop that! Your jacket is fine!” she barked at him, and smacked his hand away from fiddling with the opposite wrist.

Rigel looked at her sharply, his chin lowered, his eyes flashing an amber that was deeper than Beetlejuice’s and much less friendly.

“You dare to touch me--”

Once again, a demonic threat didn’t deter her. She grabbed his lapels and demanded answers.

Although he should throw her off him, strike her down, make her suffer for her insolence, part of him was impressed. She’d voluntarily stepped against him in an aggressive manner and treated him as an equal--or even an inferior. His scowl was slowly replaced with a smile.

He cocked his head so it was closer to her ear than not, and he whispered, “Is this how you like it, Pate? A little rough? A little putting me in my place?”

The disgust that ran off her was almost palatable.

Rigel chuckled, but the laugh and the precarious superior footing he’d just regained he lost when she, literally, shook him. Now the expression on her face was fierce and her shoulders tensed like she was going to do something rash like haul off and punch him.

“Rethink that,” he advised in a hiss, like a snake.

To her credit, she relaxed, but she still looked angry.

“Give me a moment to collect my thoughts, then we’ll discuss what I learned.”

Pate wasn’t sure where this boldness had come from, but she knew Rigel wasn’t telling her something and the longer he stalled the more angry she became.

She began to wonder if maybe he was delaying on purpose, that Beetlejuice had been there in the tower, had maybe needed help, and he had abandoned his ill-favored brother to whatever fate the cultists had in store for him.

Watching him needlessly fiddle with the fit of his clothing incensed her, but she was surprised to notice that she wasn’t afraid of him as perhaps she should be. He was a demon, after all, who had tried to kill her once or twice, but they were on the same side at this moment in time and she felt confident that he wouldn’t harm her until she had paid for his services in full.

“Rigel,” she snapped impatiently, rounding to plant herself directly in his path and in his space, glowering up at his red eyed stare. “Tell me what happened.”

He could lie. He could misdirect. He could downplay the situation, brush it off, step away, and leave her and his brother to their fate. But whether it was Pate herself and whatever spell she managed to weave that made demons soft or whether it was the deep visceral reaction to hearing at what the cult’s ultimate goal was, Rigel had to tell her.

He no longer had the luxury of skipping out, because if the cult succeeded, it would be the end of him too.

Pate’s rage rolled off her in waves. He’d have relished it if he could, but still shaken at his core he simply nodded.

“As hard as it may be for someone willingly shacking up with my brother to believe, Lawrence isn’t the main focus of these people. He’s a pawn. A stepping stone in a series of events to their ultimate goal. No, I don’t know all the details!” he interrupted her interruption, as she tried to ask what other steps they were going to take.

Rigel sighed, and in a gesture that he barely thought about or understood himself, he dragged his fingertips down the outer side of her forearm to her hand. His voice softened too, but that was more as if he was worried he’d be overheard instead of breaking news gently.

“These people mean to usher a Great Old One here. That would be the end of your world, and those who died immediately would be the lucky ones. The ones who remain will be driven insane and suffer at the hands of a being that is outside the constraints of any human sense of time.

“His name is Hastur the Unspeakable, The King in Yellow,” Rigel whispered, glancing into the corners of the room like just saying the name would usher such a being into existence. “He wouldn’t just destroy everything here. He’d destroy the Netherworld too. The waters of Hali would drown everything, and from that black lake he’d raise a new Carcosa, built from the corpses of the living and dead alike.”

Rigel paused, his mind swirling with the images of what a world created by and for such a being would be like. It was too much to truly grasp.

He opened his eyes to Pate again. It was difficult to read the expression on her face, but something he’d said, either the destruction of everything she knew or a primal response to hearing something uttered that shouldn’t be, made tears fill her eyes.

He smiled. If it was comforting, that was good. Mostly it was sharp and calculating, however.

“These cultists may have a plan, but it’s not foolproof,” he said. “My dear brother may be a pawn, but it's not checkmate yet."

Whatever she had thought to expect, Rigel’s briefing made her feel slightly lightheaded. How had they gotten themselves mixed up in something so…. unfathomable?

As he elaborated on what it would mean for the world if the cultists succeeded in their endeavor, a worm of dread in the pit of her stomach grew and grew until she felt tears brimming in her eyes. What could they possibly do against a being of this magnitude? She didn’t even know yet how they were going to save Beetlejuice, let alone the whole world.

But Rigel’s reassurance that there might be a glimmer of hope was enough to help her get a hold of herself. She swallowed the knot in her throat and let out a shaky breath, wiping at her eyes. Pate gasped, surprised by the touch as Rigel’s hand slowly came up to her face, fingertips brushing at the tear trail on her cheek. He didn’t even seem fully aware of what he was doing, gazing down at her through his lashes.

Pinned in place by the look he was giving her, Pate watched his expression as the pad of his thumb grazed her lower lip. At the touch, cold against warm, they seemed to simultaneously jolt back to themselves. Rigel lowered his hands and cleared his throat, and Pate fussed with raking her hair back behind her ears, taking a step back from him to get some much needed distance.

She had no idea what had just happened between them, and no time or wherewithal to ponder over it. They had one objective now: rescuing Beetlejuice before the cultists succeeded in their plans to summon this eldritch horror that would end the world.

“A pawn can also check a king,” she remarked. “We need a plan, and a good one.”

Pate said they’d need a plan, and a good one.

She only seemed to focus on the first part of that statement.

Rigel sat primly on her sofa while she paced, muttering to herself. She put on music because she said it helped her think better. He stayed seated when she scrounged for a piece of paper and tried to find a working pen; part of the paper was nothing but attempts to make them work in increasingly frustrated scribbles. Mildly asking her what she was doing, she told him in exasperation she wanted a drawing of the layout inside the tower.

He took the paper from under her hand at that point and touched it with one finger. What she asked for appeared on the sheet: the chalk circle, the placement of the mirrors, the location of the stairwell, all sans people or his brother. He handed it back to her with an air of smugness.

Pate studied it, but when it offered no immediate solution for her, she eventually left it on her coffee table with the dead pens.

“I still say I get a cultist’s robes and sneak in.”

“They’ll know, Pate. They aren’t going to let their guard down so close to the completion of their rite. And what if for the end of it they strip down to nothing? You’ll have no cloak to hide under and will be literally exposed.” He raised an eyebrow at her. “However, if you would perhaps like to rehearse such a contingency, if you’d like to be prepared to go that far, I’d be a willing--and dare I say, appreciative--audience.”

The look he received for that unsubtle suggestion was pure venom, but she flushed a little too.. He met her gaze easily, with a slight smile on his face. He had no doubt that if she’d held anything it would target his head. Finally his hostess returned to the task at hand, although her ideas took a downward turn, it seemed.

“We could . . . build a giant wooden rabbit and leave it at their door?”

“I honestly cannot tell if you’re being serious.”

“Oh! We can do “get help!” You know, like from Thor Ragnorak?!”

Rigel pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Guns.”

He resisted the urge to cover his face with his hands. “Ah, the American way.”

“Would it work?” she demanded.

“Simply blowing them away?” Rigel shrugged. “Perhaps. But we don’t know how much spilled blood may be needed for the ceremony to be completed. This could be a cult that is willing to slit their own throats, and you shooting them may help their cause if any of the congregation is hesitant to use the blade.

Are you proficient with a firearm?”

She ignored that question, and he had his answer. He did not follow it up by asking how many guns she had access too; his point was already made.

Frustrated, Pate continued pacing. “What if you pretend to be whatever they’re trying to call up?”

Rigel sat silently, and she shook her own head to answer herself.

“Never mind, that’s not going to work either. I remember that you don’t have tentacles--”

He interrupted her. “That may be a seed we can encourage to grow.”

Pate stopped talking and stopped wearing a hole in the carpet. “What?”

There were beasts in pockets of the Netherworld that had no name, Rigel thought, or a name lost to memory. Some were formless, some had too many limbs or not enough. All of them were hard to look upon. They could be called on, for steep prices, but that didn’t mean there weren’t what people called demons closer by and easier to access.

The taller demon stood up to go to her side. “You’re correct that I don’t have the . . . extra appendages Lawrence sports. And me showing up, looking so--” He waved a hand down himself to indicate everything from his neatly knotted tie to his French cuffs to his spit-shined shoes, “--would make them suspicious. However, if we sent another demon in, one they both weren’t expecting and one that looked less human, it may disrupt and confuse them at least momentarily.”

He waited for her to connect the dots. When her brow furrowed, Rigel sighed and lightly took her elbows.

“Dziban,” he supplied in her confusion.

At that word, the previously stalled and uncooperative wheels in Pate’s head began turning. All the half-hearted and admittedly sarcastic suggestions she had made previously were immediately replaced by the inklings of a new plan. Nodding absentmindedly, she turned away from Rigel and returned to the coffee table where the diagram he’d made was still laying. Snatching it up she returned to him and held the paper between them so they could both see it.

“I think I’ve got an idea,” she said. “If you can slip us both into the tower, we can hide somewhere and wait for our chance. The cult members will be focusing on their ceremony, they won’t notice us appear as long as we’re quick and quiet. Then, when the time is right, you call Dziban and it’ll distract them, hopefully long enough for me to get to Beej and set him free.”

She let out a soft exhale through pursed lips, looking up at Rigel with an expectant expression.

“Think it’ll work?” she asked. Rigel arched a brow at her, sighing and surveying the simple map she held. “Well it’s certainly an improvement on your other plans,” he drawled, cutting across her before she could defend herself. “What if the tower is guarded?”

Pate crossed her arms, mimicking his expression back at him. “Well you are a demon,” she pointed out. “You can handle a couple thugs in robes, can’t you?”

Rigel narrowed his eyes at the challenge, but didn’t rise to it. “So we get inside, and then?”

Pate shrugged. “We distract them, disrupt the ceremony somehow. Between you, me and Dziban it should be doable” She pointed to the circle he had drawn. “This is where they’re keeping Beetlejuice, right?” He frowned, looking mildly disdainful as he always did whenever his brother was mentioned, but nodded. “He’s contained in a sealing circle. He can’t break out on his own, but if the circle is broken he’ll be free.”

She swallowed and nodded, still putting pieces of her plan together in her mind. “Okay then. If there’s guards, we deal with them, then we slip inside, Dziban interrupts the ceremony, I get to Beetlejuice and break the circle and we all get the hell out of there. Agreed?”

Pate extended her hand for him to shake, thinking of but not mentioning what would happen after that when Rigel collected his due from her. His crimson eyes traversed from her face to her proffered hand, glowing faintly as he reached out slowly and took her hand, pressing his palm to hers and shaking it once.

“It’s a deal.”

Pate’s lips pulled into a grim smile. “Let’s go save the world.”

“Do you always think you’re in an action movie?” Rigel sighed. “I suppose it’s Lawrence’s influence.”

Her hand in his, he released it but allowed his fingers to draw themselves over her palm.

tbc . . .

#writing #fanfiction #Beetlejuice #Ties that Bind

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girlboss-molina · 3 years

Text

Be Who You Are (No Compromise)

A Julie and the Phantoms Modern Royalty AU

Chapter 8: Rules of Engagement

AO3 Link

Words: 8988

-----

Julie POV

…

Julie remembered the day they’d first announced the marriage. She, Ray, Carlos, and Reggie were visiting Tambor, before Queen Claire and King Xavier had sprung the question on them. Ray had vehemently disagreed, but they’d insisted that he raise it to the council. And when it passed, Julie remembered the exact green glow of the screens reflecting on her dad’s face, and she’d shaken her head, stormed out of the Tamborian royal office with Alex right behind her, angry tears streaming down her face as she’d ran back to her room.

She and Alex were pissed. They were angry, scared, sad, horrified, and betrayed. Alex especially. He’d never come out to his parents, but he’d still explained how horrible he felt, as if his parents were doing it to spite him.

There had been lots of not-so-royal language used that day, and today was no different.

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?” Julie shouted, not caring if her walls weren’t soundproof. She’d stayed silent the whole walk back to her room with Alex and the brief passing of Reggie, who’d gotten the details from Alex. Now it was her time to freak out.

“I’m officially ready to fake my death, Lex,” she decided, fists by her sides. She hated this. Since when did they get to control her life? It was her life, for God’s sake! Princess or not, nobody should have to be in an arranged marriage.

Her voice choked.

“I’m not, really,” she admitted, “but I want to. If it means we get to run our own goddamn lives, I”ll do it.” She tore a hand through her hair and blinked back tears to no avail.

“I’m so sorry,” Julie finally said. “You don’t deserve any of this.”

“Neither do you.” Alex mussed his hair and sat on the end of her bed as she paced. “It’s majorly fucked up.”

“It really is! I didn’t choose to be Princess Julie Molina, Heiress to the throne of Dahlia.” She said her own long title in a faux posh voice, gagging at the sound and bile rising in her throat. She walked into her bathroom, fixing her hair to be natural and down, nothing braided or tied. Angrily scrubbing tears away, Julie stalked to her closet and changed into sweatpants and a big t-shirt, not bothering to pick up her suit off the floor.

“We have to raise major hell for the council members who voted for this,” Alex decided as she walked back out.

“As much as possible,” she agreed.

Worn out, she flopped next to him. He wrapped his arm around her and she squeezed him in a friendly hug, letting his head rest on her shoulder. She felt a tear soak through her shirt, but didn’t care. He needed this.

“Fucking hell,” he said.

“Amen to that.” That elicited a halfhearted laugh, and Julie smiled a bit.

“It’ll be okay,” she finally said.

“No, it won’t. But we’ll survive.”

“Yeah.”

…

“Ow, Mira!” Julie exclaimed, trying not to move as Mira quickly moved the pin by her side as she marked the fabric for the outline of her wedding dress. It was a very tedious process; Julie looked like she was wrapped in giant pieces of fabric and lace… because she pretty much was. Mira and two other tailors were taking exact measurements to make sure the dress fit perfectly, then they would sew it and make adjustments as needed.

Unfortunately, that meant Julie had to stand very, very still and hope she wouldn’t get stabbed by the needles.

She wasn’t having much luck.

If she’d counted correctly, Mira (and the other girls, Soleil and Jenna), had accidentally poked her twelve times, in varying places, but generally around the side, waist, and shoulders.

“Sorry!” Mira said through her teeth. “Just trying to get this fitted properly.”

“It’s okay,” she sighed, doing her best not to slouch. MIra’s hands fell.

“If you want to talk about it…”

“Thanks.” In all honesty, she did not- especially since she didn’t know Soleil or Jenna very well, and didn’t want to spill her guts about hating the wedding when they were around. Plus… talking about it just made it more real.

“Your highness, this dress is going to be stunning on you,” noted Soleil excitedly, further proving her point.

“I bet,” she said with as much faux enthusiasm as she could muster. “You guys are incredible.”

“Aww, thanks!” replied Jenna. Julie gave a smile, but it looked more like a grimace than anything else.

…

After the grueling process of getting legally stabbed by her best friend over and over with tiny blades for the purpose of creating a goddamn wedding dress, Julie changed into more comfortable clothes; a t- shirt and jeans.

There was going to be a storm blowing in tonight, so she figured she may as well go outside before she would end up soaked. But, who would she find sulking in the field but a certain snarky gay?

She stood for a moment, watching him pick at the grass, before finally sighing.

“Why don’t we go work on a song?” she suggested. “I can get Luke and Reggie, plus the rest of the group if you want, and we can work out some stress.” Alex shrugged. Julie waited for a few minutes, hating how depressed he was. She was too, of course, but what kind of friend would she be if she let one of her best friends sit alone and feel sorry for himself? Besides, she was aching to work on song.

“Alright,” he finally replied, and Julie smiled.

“Awesome.” She stuck her hands in her pockets

“Let’s go, drummer boy.”

…

Playing the piano had always been therapeutic for Julie, until her mom passed away. Then she’d hardly been able to listen to any music without being reminded of her. But she was back on her groove, and the keys were familiar in the way you could sink into your best friend’s arms and know you were home.

She played the opening chords and began to sing, closing her eyes and feeling like it was just her and the piano in a universe of music and colors.

When Luke, Reggie, and Alex jumped in at the chorus, she opened her eyes and jumped up with the mic, dancing around as she belted out each note with more conviction than before. She walked around the room as she sang, dancing with Reggie, Alex, and Luke. She wandered over to where the rest of the group was sitting and dancing along, and she gave Willie a high-five as she passed him.

Luke sang the second prechorus with her, and the smile on his face only grew. THey harmonized each note, voices melding together as the music rose and Alex jumped in with the drums as they went into the next chorus, singing an ode to hope and persistence.

During the bridge, Luke held her gaze the entire time, and her heart soared as she belted out the last bridge note, riffing as the others held the background vocals.

When the song ended, her hair was frizzy and heart pounding, but she felt alive and free. She fistbumped Reggie, grinning, and hugging Flynn, who told her over and over that they were incredible, and that she was assigning herself the role of band manager. Carrie had automatically volunteered to be the costume designer, and Mira had taken offense to that, because “I’m literally her lady-in-waiting, Wilson!”

Julie couldn’t help but laugh at her friends.

“Okay,” Flynn finally said, “girl time.” Julie laughed but agreed, waving to the guys as she wrapped her arms around Flynn’s and Mira’s shoulders, Carrie on Flynn’s other side.

They walked out of the studio and wandered all throughout the palace, chattering mindlessly about everything and nothing. Mira insisted that mint chocolate chip ice cream was the superior ice cream, to which Flynn retorted “totally! Like, are you ever eating chocolate and you think ‘hey, you know what would go great with this? Toothpaste!’” Carrie had promptly lost her shit, and Julie was the only one on team rocky road.

“Personally,” Carrie said, “I-”

“We know, you like neapolitan you fucking lesbian,” Flynn said with a grin. Carrie gasped in mock offense.

“Hypocrisy at its finest! You’re just as lesbian as they come.”

“I never claimed to not be a hypocrite,” Flynn defended. Carrie huffed and crossed her arms.

“I’m breaking up with you. We’re broken up now.”

“Fine, but I get custody of Julie!”

“Wait, since when am I your child?”

“Since we’re both older than you,” they told her in unison.

“Uh huh, yeah, by a couple weeks! I’m a legal adult, and neither of you get custody of me.”

“I’m disowning you,” Carrie declared.

“Me too,” agreed Flynn.

“Me three,” Mira chimed in.

“Oh for the love of-”

Their playful bickering continued for at least an hour, wandering the long halls of the palace, weaving in and out of corridors and dragging their hands along railings.

The wedding never crossed Julie’s mind once.

Despite the whole situation, they still managed to be lighthearted and have useless arguments, bicker and love each other all the same. Julie hugged them closer, relishing the warmth of having them close to her. Carrie’s strawberry shampoo was faintly there and she breathed it in, calming immediately. Flynn linked their pinkies together, and Mira kept her hand on Julie’s shoulder. Julie didn’t realize she was crying until Flynn asked if she was okay.

“Yeah,” she said, and it was strangely true. She wiped her eyes. “I’m not even upset right now, but I’m still crying. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“I do,” Carrie informed her.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Absolutely nothing.”

-----

Reggie POV

…

Reggie sat in the studio, suit vest draped over an empty guitar stand as he sat on the piano bench, sleeves rolled to his elbows and hands on the keys, silent but arranging themselves in chords. He hummed to himself quietly, sighing and closing his eyes.

As he played the first chord, soulful and melancholy, he started to sing.

“We’re no strangers to the dark

Every time we find the light

But no matter how much it hurts

Glowsticks have to break before they shine.”

He closed his eyes, letting the chords play only from muscle memory. Normally, he didn’t do much songwriting on his own, but this song, Glowsticks, was one that he’d written for Julie after Rose’s passing. He’d never gotten around to giving it to her, though, because of how much her love for music was affected. For a year, she hadn’t played or sang a note, and he knew that it would’ve been too painful.

Eventually, he’d forgotten about it.

But when he’d seen the heartbroken look on her face the hour before, coming back from the royal office with dry eyes but hollow and chipped, the memory of the page he’d torn out of his journal and stuffed in a drawer came flooding back.

And now here he was, like it was only yesterday he’d written the chords, shaky with tears but determined. This time, his eyes were dry and his hands steady, but his heart ached for Julie, for Alex, for Luke, for Willie.

His voice started out lighter and airy, with a slight rasp as he played the soft melody along with the base, but as he reached the second chorus, his voice sank to his chest, belting out the lyrics and playing the piano strongly, chords echoing in the soundproof room, the acoustics bending his voice to all angles until he was wrapped in a song of tragedy and pain and strength and hope, earthy and rich but airy and light.

“So breathe

Just breathe

You're already shining

You can break

You’ll be okay

I'll keep you safe until you rise.”

His breath shook as he flipped the last word from a powerful chest voice to a soft, airy falsetto, sighing as he played the last, low chord.

Reggie left his eyes closed, slowly taking his hands off the keys, resting his elbows on his knees and turning, finally letting the light pierce his eyes.

…

“Your highness,” called a palace staff member. “If I could steal you for a few minutes, could you give your opinions on possible place settings for the wedding?”

“Yeah sure,” Reggie replied, standing from the large leather couch in the palace living room, doing his best to smile at the young man. He was tall, and muscularly built, but his freckles, wide brown eyes, and messy red hair were proof that he was probably the human embodiment of sunshine.

“We were thinking white with gold accents,” he said, swiping through a few photos on his tablet. Reggie did his best to pay attention; they were, admittedly, beautiful. Soft white tablecloths and napkins lined with plates, each plate with gold paint on the rim, the wine glasses clear cut crystal, the same golden lining as the plates.

“That’s beautiful,” Reggie agreed. “Julie and Alex would love that.”

“I’m glad you think so! My advisor was skeptical, but I think it’s a nice scheme.”

“I do too.” He looked away, hating that he was giving suggestions for his sister’s unwanted wedding.

“Your highness, are you alright?”

“Yeah,” he assured him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thanks.”

“Sure,” he said softly. “Did you have any thoughts for flowers?”

“Dahlias,” Reggie said after a moment. “They were our mom’s favorite, and they’re Julie’s favorite too. I think she’d like purple.”

“Purple dahlias,” the man repeated. He opened an interior design modeling app, dragging tables around the virtual room and adding glass vases with bouquets of dahlias, plus the occasional orchid scattered throughout. Reggie stared in awe; even though it was just a digital rendition of the ballroom, it was gorgeous. The crackled marble floors shone in the light of lanterns and string lights, adorned with pillars and tables arranged in neat rows. He felt like he was in the ballroom, getting a peek at the future.

And yet, his heart sank.

It seemed to do that a lot lately.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Reggie met the man’s eyes. “You seem pretty down.” He sighed.

“I am, but I’ll be okay.”

“Alright. I’m Elliot, by the way.”

“I’m Reggie! Nice to meet you.”

“You too!”

…

“Dad, are you sure there’s no way to stop the wedding?” Reggie had gone to see Ray in the royal office an hour ago, to discuss an assortment of things, but always returning to the wedding.

“I’m sure. I hate it as much as you do, believe me, but I’ve explored every option.” Reggie shook his head.

“There has to be something-”

“Mijo, you can look all you want, but there’s nothing we can safely do. Even though there are multiple ways to stop the wedding, it wouldn’t be safe. There would be tension between Dahlia and Tambor, maybe even Krypto. Best case scenario would be rumors and unrest in our own kingdom, but even with that, Julie and Alex would be the subject of a ton of scandal for the rest of their lives.”

“I just hate it.”

“Believe me, I do too. I’ve done everything in my power, but I can’t endanger millions of people.”

“I know. And Julie wouldn’t want you to, either.”

“Exactly.” Ray pulled him into a hug, and Reggie buried his head in his shoulder. “Mijo, I’m so sorry. You’re a good brother.”

“Thanks,” he whispered. Ray nodded.

Someone knocked on the door. Reggie pulled out of the hug and, when Ray nodded again, he opened the door to see a short woman with pale skin and straight, dark hair reaching her shoulders, and bangs brushing her eyebrows. Her wide eyes were behind round glasses, and she gave a bright smile.

“Ah, Prince Reginald, just who I wanted to see! I’m Esther Pearlridge of the Dahlian Times. Would you mind if I asked you a few questions regarding your sister’s upcoming wedding?” Reggie glanced at his dad, who didn’t object, but gave him a look that seemed to say, it’ll be okay.

“Sure.”

“Your majesty,” Esther said to Ray, “you’re welcome to come along.” He agreed, and Reggie was eternally grateful.

…

“Your highness-”

“Please, call me Reggie,” he told her. Esther smiled.

“Reggie, the news of the wedding’s date being moved up came as a pleasant surprise to everyone across Dahlia, and surely Tamborian citizens as well. What are your thoughts on the matter?”

“Well,” he began, clearing his throat. “It’s definitely a unique situation. And while it is exciting, what a lot of people don’t consider is how stressful it must be for Princess Julie and Prince Alex. I mean, Alex is my age, Julie about a year younger. Arranged marriages are already very fraught situations, but this one especially.”

Ray smiled from his position behind Esther, letting him know he’d played it well.

“Of course,” she replied sympathetically. “That is a perspective that not many people consider.”

“Yeah.”

“How do you feel about Prince Alexander?”

“Oh, Alex is great! He’s quickly become one of my closest friends. Although, his taste in Star Wars characters is questionable. Everyone knows Han Solo is the best, right Esther?”

“Obviously! Though, I was always partial to Leia, myself.”

“Valid,” Reggie agreed.

“Moving on to the next question, what do you think will come of Prince Alexander becoming the Dahlian Prince Consort as your sister, Princess Julie, ascends to the throne?”

“Well, Dahlia is currently doing amazing. Homelessness rates are at an all-time low and still dropping; at this rate, they’re projected to reach zero by next Summer. Wealth equality is stabilizing even more, and our education system is constantly being revised and reviewed by scientists and historians to make sure the content is correct and unbiased, as well as by child psychologists to make them good learning environments for students. And our environmental status is one of the best in the world, second to the Republic of Isala. Greenhouse gases in our region are extremely low, and the CO2 levels are dropping as our reforestation teams plant more and more trees along the grasslands.

“Knowing my sister, and Prince Alex, I have no doubt that they will lead our country further into the future. Especially Julie; she may be a princess, but take it from her brother: she’s stubborn as all hell, but always about the right things. She and Alex will face struggles, as all people do, but I’m positive they’ll do great things.”

“That’s so nice to hear. And from other people, we’ve heard that they expect Princess Julie to be the best, most connected ruler in Dahlian history. Do you think this is true?”

“I would expect it to be, yeah! Julie really tries to connect with people, and tries to see things through others’ points of view. She’s always done that. She doesn’t want to stay secluded in a palace; honestly, I doubt anyone could keep her here if they tried.”

Esther laughed. “If I may ask, how are preparations for the wedding going?” Reggie fought the rising sadness in his chest.

“They’re going great! Although I’m pretty sure Julie’s gotten stabbed a few hundred times by the needles her lady-in-waiting is using to fit her dress.” Esther laughed again.

“Well, that’s all the time we have. Thank you so much, your highness. Always a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Yeah, you too! Thanks.”

As Esther rushed away, laptop under her arm and a pencil over her ear, Ray gave Reggie a warm smile.

“You did perfect,” he told him. “Excellently played.”

“Thanks. I just wish I actually felt as optimistic as I sounded.”

“It’ll be okay. I’m sure of it.”

-----

Willie POV

…

Willie’s phone buzzed with a text from Julie, with a request for their group to meet in her room, and if her tone was any indication, it wasn’t good. He ran to his quarters, doing his best to brush the flour Lilian had thrown at him after a witty remark out of his hair. Changing into a sweater and jeans, he made his way up the curving staircase and down the long hallway before knocking gently at Julie’s door.

“Come in.”

He walked in, heart sinking when he saw the upset look on Alex’s face.

“What happened?” Carrie asked from behind him, walking in with Flynn by her side. They were soon followed by Luke, Reggie, Erik, and MIra.

“They moved up the wedding,” Julie finally said, her fists curled. Willie’s heart dropped all the way to the ground, leaving his veins pumping blood made by nothing more than an organ beating rhythmically, called the heart but only doing what was necessary for physical survival. His actual heart, his emotions and love and memories, all froze, and he shook his head vigorously, forcing it to settle back in the center of his chest, taking a deep breath.

“Why?” he had to ask. Alex snorted.

“My parents gave an ultimatum disguised as helpful advice.” Each word was dripping with venom, but there was sadness behind it. Willie took his hand, feeling him clutch back as if he were the only thing holding him together.

“And there’s nothing you can do to stop it?” Flynn asked. “I mean, you and Jules are the Prince of Tambor and Princess of Dahlia. There has to be something you can do… right?” Julie shook her head.

“Nope. There’s been so much buildup and excitement that there might be riots and tension between our countries if we called it off so abruptly. We can’t risk anyone getting hurt.”

“Okay, but-”

“Mira, treason would definitely get people hurt.”

“Jules,” Mira said, “you have a good heart. It’s super annoying.” Willie cracked a grin at that, as did Alex.

“Even then, though,” Alex cut in, “my parents clearly want this. And they’re super influential. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they threatened trade routes but made it seem like it was for the ‘greater good.’”

“I hate to admit it,” Reggie said, “but he’s right. Sweet words can be even more dangerous than declarations of war. Especially if they twist the blame.”

…

After another hour of scheming, ranting, and trying to lighten the mood, Alex fell asleep near the wall in Julie’s room, curled up against a pillow. Willie watched him softly breathe, looking so much more peaceful in rest.

“We should let him rest,” Julie said. “It’s not like our group hasn’t done slumber parties before.”

“Yeah,” Carrie agreed. “He needs sleep.”

“All of us do,” Erik pointed out. Willie nodded, sitting next to Alex and putting his hand on his shoulder. Everyone found a spot and drifted off, and Willie had a feeling he was the last one awake. But, soon, he was able to curl up against Alex and find himself in a deep, dreamless sleep.

…

Willie had never been so grateful that he hadn’t been asked to bake.

He wasn’t sure if he could handle baking wedding cake samples for this situation. Any other time, sure, but not when the guy he was in love with was being forced to marry their other friend, neither of whom were interested.

He stared at the mirror, eyes blank. He hated the numbness overtaking him. He’d done his best to stay positive, to remember all the tips he’d picked up for focusing and not getting dragged under, and while they’d worked to some extent, he couldn’t deny the fracture in his heart. They were powerless; ironic, considering they were all either royal or close acquaintances of royals.

But, even with all of that supposed power at their fingertips, they couldn’t do the one thing they wanted to.

He wasn’t sure just how long he stared blankly at his reflection, but when his phone buzzed with a text from Julie, telling their group that they were going to practice in the studio, he made himself plaster on a smile and go join them. He hadn’t seen Alex play a full song before; this should be fun.

When Julie started the song, her powerful piano playing moved the whole room, voice strong and bright as she sang the first verse. Then, in the prechorus, she led into the big, adrenaline-pumping beat with a riff and belt,before finally going into the chorus. But all Willie could see wasAlex, whose face was a bit red from playing the drums, hair falling in his eyes,his pink t-shirt rather tight against his biceps. Willie was sure he was blushing, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

As Alex held the beat, Willie tapped his foot and grinned, letting the upbeat song envelop him despite their melancholy circumstances. Julie and Luke belted out the lyrics, harmonizing with such grace that Willie wasn’t convinced that soulmates didn’t exist; if they did, Julie and Luke fit the model. And Alex and Reggie sang the background vocals flawlessly, adding depth to the song with their steady music.

When the song ended, Willie’s heart was pounding. He clapped with the rest of the group, standing up, but unable to speak. God, Alex had such an insane effect on him. Normally he was smooth, able to recover and flip around. He’d thought it impossible to fluster him; but, then again, Alex had a rather annoying habit of making the impossible seem like child’s play.

Then, Alex ran his hand through his hair in an unfairly hot way - the inconsiderate bastard. Willie did his best to settle his blush, but to no avail. He giggled as Alex tried to brush off a compliment but finally accepted it.

He stammered through a compliment, hating how flustered he was. And then, because the universe had it out for him, Alex pulled him in and kissed his temple. If Willie hadn’t already melted, that would’ve been the tipping point.

Somehow, though, he found the ability to breathe again.

…

“Dude, I can’t say this enough,” Willie stressed, “that was amazing! You guys seriously need to go on tour.” Alex’s musical laugh filled the air.

“Flynn has already assigned herself band manager. With her ‘in charge,’ we’ll probably be playing gig after gig- well, you know, when Julie isn’t busy running a country.” WIllie laughed.

“Yeah, fair point. But still! Your guys’s song is going to be stuck in my head forever.”

“Forever?”

“I have ADHD, ‘Lex. Don’t underestimate the song sticking.” It was true; ADHD had its pros and cons, but one aspect that seemed to be both was his brain’s innate ability to have twenty-nine songs stuck all at once, and the strange fact that the How to Train your Dragon main theme, Kahoot music, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Roses by The Band CAMINO, and Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) could all be combined to the same tempo- and the fact that it slapped.

As they walked through the long, windowed corridors, Willie got an idea. He grabbed Alex’s hand.

“Follow me!”

“What? Where are we going?”

“You’ll see!” They raced all the way to the west side of the palace, where Willie led him up a narrow flight of stairs, pushing open a door to reveal-

“Whoa,” Alex gasped in awe. “The roof?”

“The roof,” Willie agreed. “Cooler than you’d expect, huh?”

“Way.” Willie grinned; it was a beautiful view. The river curved and rushed around the bases of snow-capped mountains with forests decorating their slopes, and as he turned, the capital city of Dahlia was nestled between rolling hills, thousands of lights sparkling in houses, apartments, shops, restaurants, and offices. Headlights danced along the highways, and the striking comparison of the bright lights versus the dark, cloudy sky made for a dramatic view.

“Storm’s blowing in,” Willie observed as it began to pour, soaking his hair. Alex cracked up.

“You sure?” he asked. “This is the best weather this side of Constantinople.”

“Ah, but remember, now it’s Istanbul- not Constantinople.”

“Well, why did Constantinople get the works?” Willie giggled.

“That’s nobody’s business but the Turks.”

“You are such a dork,” Alex informed him, pulling him closer.

“I know!” He had to raise his voice over the rain, and Alex’s cheeks were flushed with the cold. Willie felt a calm rush of confidence wash over him with the falling rain, and he stood on his toes, reaching up to hold Alex’s jaw as he kissed him. Alex kissed back immediately, and sparks shot down Willie’s spine.

As he deepened the kiss, thunder rolled across the mountains. The clouds were practically black, but it gave a sort of calmness and confidence with it, like the soothing darkness of night cloaked with clouds of expectancy, waiting and hoping and understanding that love finds comfort in the dark, that there are risks in life, but that they had to be taken, because while the world might not have been made for them, they were made for the world. People, caught up in dreaming about what could be, lost sight of what is; so determined to be right and prove that someone else was wrong that they drive themselves mad.

“I’m gone on you,” Willie finally whispered, eyes closed and forehead against Alex’s. Alex didn’t respond, kissing him again. He sank into it, holding him close and letting the rain wash over them and combing his fingers through Alex’s hair.

The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he heard sizzling.

Without thinking, Willie jumped and tackled Alex, turning so he hit the ground and Alex landed safely on top of him. The rain blurred his eyes, but he heard crackling and felt the heat of the lightning striking the roof a hundred feet away from them.

“Son of a motherfuck what just happened?!” Alex asked. Willie could hear his heart pounding in his ears, but he couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped his lips.

“I think you fell for me,” Willie joked. Alex rolled his eyes. He grinned; Alex was still laying on top of him, and Willie’s back was soaked by the puddle they’d landed in, but they’d avoided being struck by lightning, which was decidedly a good thing.

“That was too close,” Alex decided. “We should probably go inside before anything else happens.”

“Probably.” Neither of them moved for a moment, until Willie leaned up and pecked Alex on the nose, who immediately turned bright red, even visible in the darkness between the rising night and falling clouds.

-----

Alex POV

…

Alex had known his life was never his. If you’re born into royalty, unless you leave the royal family, you’re stuck there, and it influences your life forever.

He knew that.

And yet, until the wedding was moved up, it hadn’t really hit him.

His life wasn’t his, and it never would be.

He would be forced to be in the public eye, forced to marry a girl he wasn’t in love with, forced to live the rest of his life away from the person he was in love with, forced to watch the girl, one of his best friends, pretend to be okay as if she wasn’t also being separated from the person she loved. He would be forced to plaster on a smile, forced to live with this so that chaos wouldn’t erupt in Dahlia and Tambor.

So that he and the people he loved wouldn’t be exiled.

Alex was tired of being strong. He’d always been told by his friends that he was strong for dealing with this, strong for bearing the stresses of being put into politics so young, strong for hiding who he was from his parents because he knew it would only bring more pain, strong, strong strong. He wished he didn’t have to be.

“Hey, Alex?” Julie eventually asked, directing his attention away from his thoughts and his glazed eyes half-scrolling his Instagram. They’d been sitting for over an hour as the sun set outside Julie’s window, not speaking much aside from angry rants when they’d just gotten out of the royal office.

“Yeah?”

“Should we text the group chat to meet here so we can update all of them? Or would you rather not?” Alex sighed.

“We probably should. Not like we can hide from it.”

“Yeah.”

treason buddies

juju: Hey guys, some shit went down. Meet in my room?

flynnigan: oh fuck, do we even want to know?

juju: Probably not, but you should.

speed bump: i’ll be up in a sec, i’m trying to get flour out of my hair alkjdfskjldf

Me: skjlsdfkjlsdf lilian i assume

speed bump: yep, the bastard

rockstar mcsleeveless: i’ll be there in a sec. are you guys ok?

juju: Not really, but we’ll live

care bear: omw

short stack: same

personal stylist: i’ll be there in a minute

Alex clicked off his phone once the typing bubbles had all disappeared, blowing out a tired breath as he flopped backwards, half-hoping the fading sunset would let him dissolve with the growing twilight, let him become another fleck of light in a vast abyss that was somehow both cold and vast yet full of curiosity and glowing stars. What would it be like, floating in nothingness, waiting for someone to find you yet dreading the day your solitude ended?

Maybe he’d be part of a constellation. What one? Would he add to one that already existed, or would he be part of his very own? What would it look like? Maybe he’d be an owl, a drumstick, a wisp of a wish, floating in the air taking no shape at all, a shimmering question piquing the curiosity of anyone stargazing who happened upon his star, a gentle hope carried by a breeze, full of life and loss and wonder and apprehension.

Or maybe he’d be a shooting star, flying across the atmosphere in the blink of an eye, there, then gone in an instant, burning brighter as his fleeting life ended. Technically, they weren’t stars at all, they were tiny meteors the size of a grain of rice, only visible because of their dramatic, fiery demise. But maybe that was fitting. It wasn’t a star, and neither was Alex. He was more visible now than ever because of the marriage, bringing demise to his hopes like a burning scar, beautiful but painful to the individual.

It wasn’t a star, and neither was he. But shooting stars were meaningful, too. People wished on them; children, usually. But what a wonderful feeling it would be to have the hope of a child in your light.

The thought didn’t necessarily comfort him, but he didn’t feel as alone as before, didn’t feel quite as worthless.

…

After enduring the grueling process of venting and explaining the new situation to the rest of the group, trying to hold back one stubborn tear that kept fighting, Alex finally fell asleep. He wasn’t sure how “asleep” he actually was; he heard vague whispers of “we should let him rest,” and “all of us should.” But he couldn’t move, and he didn’t want to, either, so he left his weary eyes closed and slept, barely feeling someone’s hand on his shoulder and faint warmth next to him.

…

“Your highness,” a butler said, rushing up next to him with a tray, with tiny bites of cake arranged neatly across it. “Would you mind tasting these and telling me which three are your favorites?”

“Hm? Yeah, sure.” Ignoring the numbness fighting to grow in his chest, he tried each one, finally deciding on a few, and promising he’d sample the frostings later. Wedding cakes really weren’t something he wanted to be thinking about at the moment. He’d already had to stand still for hours while his suit was fitted, text Julie a million different pictures of flowers, to which she’d replied “just pick whichever one is poisonous so we can fake our deaths and leave it on our plates.”

He felt sick.

He did his best to avoid other people as he made his way out the back door of the palace, tearing a hand through his hair as he made his way to the field where he’d been with Willie, admiring (and despising) how much progress they’d made on the palace reconstruction. It was almost done, which was incredible, but horrible for him, since it meant they were almost done with the giant ballroom in which he would have to marry Julie.

All things considered, though it was beautiful; the creamy white pillars were identical to the ones on the other side of the palace, which had been repainted so it didn’t look patchy. Intricate flower beds were arranged at precise intervals, and the crystal-cut windows reflected sparkling mosaics of light onto the pathways. Lanterns hung on every pillar, unlit during the day but glowing with soft, gentle flames by night.

Alex sat in the middle of the field, picking at a stray blade of grass and relishing the warm sunlight on his neck, even though he was probably getting a crease on his crisp vest from how he was sitting, slouched as he sat on the hill, elbows on his knees.

After he’d sat and sulked for a considerable amount of time, Julie’s voice snapped him out of it.

“Why don’t we go work on a song?” she suggested. “I can get Luke and Reggie, plus the rest of the group if you want, and we can work out some stress.” Alex shrugged. He knew he was being immature, just sitting there and feeling sorry for himself, but it felt good to be immature. He should really do it more often.

But… there was a lump in the dirt that was giving his butt a bruise, and he didn’t feel like getting up just to sit back down, so he supposed he could go to the studio.

“Alright,” he finally said.

“Awesome.” the sadness in Julie’s voice was tangible, but she masked it well as she smiled and stuck her hands in the pockets of her baggy jeans, between the chain, and squared her shoulders.

“Let’s go, drummer boy.”

…

In the few days since he’d drummed, Alex had somehow forgotten just how therapeutic it was to bash a bunch of drums on a steady beat but still adding variety to spice things up. Julie had convinced him to let her invite the whole group- which, of course, included Willie, who was intently watching him play.

He bit his lip, breathing heavily, cheeks flushed as he kept going. A reluctant smile broke out on his face when Julie started singing the chorus and he jumped in with the toms and crash, flipping his hair out of his eyes and keeping the beat going. Reggie’s rhythmic bass playing combined perfectly with Luke’s chords and riffs, and Julie’s angelic voice tied it all together as if their music was a gift with a shiny bow.

When the bridge started, and Julie and Luke did their Thing™ (the whole dramatic, lovestruck staring-into-each-other’s-eyes move), Alex held the beat with a quiet, rhythmic tapping on the hi-hat. He and Reggie shared a look, and he swallowed the rising sadness in his throat, refusing to let some stupid marriage ruin this moment. They were in perfect harmony, bright with life and love. Then, when Julie went into the final belt, he came in strong with the drums, lip between his teeth and a huge smile begging to break free.

When it finally ended, Alex stood up excitedly, setting down his sticks and leaping across the kick drum to fistbump Luke.

“Alex, dude,” Luke said, “you were smoking.”

“Nah,” he deflected. “You guys-” he gestured to him, Reggie, and Julie “-were the ones on fire.”

“Dude.” Reggie lightly punched him on the shoulder. “Could you just own your awesomeness for once?” Alex rolled his eyes, but it was clear he wasn’t backing down.

“Alright, I was killing it.”

“Yeah,” Willie agreed from behind him. Alex whirled around, having forgotten he was there. He was sure his face was bright red, but hopefully he could blame that on the physical exertion that came with playing the drums. Willie, however, was blushing quite a bit, and Alex felt a bit of accomplishment bubbling up inside him.

“I’m glad you liked it,” he said with a grin.

“Are you kidding? I loved it.”

“I’ll say,” Flynn stage-whispered to Carrie, and Alex decided once and for all that Flustered Willie was his favorite. Willie cleared his throat.

“Yeah, I, uh-” he cut himself off, and Alex bit back a laugh, pulling him in and kissing him on the temple.

Alex knew there was a bubble of numbness and depression fighting to take hold of him, but at least for now, it was under control. He was filled with adrenaline and had their song stuck in his head, the feeling of his arm on Willie’s shoulder anchoring him like a ship in a harsh storm, letting him drift but holding him close.

They would make this work. Somehow.

“Should we run through it again? I was a little shaky during the second verse,” Julie said. Alex nodded.

“I’m down.”

“Same!” replied Luke and Reggie, and the rest of the group eagerly sat and watched. Alex grinned, raising his sticks.

“One, two, three, four!”

-----

Luke POV

…

“I’m so sorry,” Luke whispered. They’d moved up the wedding. The wedding that nobody wanted any part of, the wedding forcing the girl he was in love with to marry their friend, neither of whom were interested. They were already hurting so much, but there was nothing they could do anyways, then to add insult to injury, they’d moved up the wedding six weeks sooner. They didn’t even have two months, just a measly two weeks, and Luke could already feel them ticking away, feel his time with Julie ending, feel Alex’s heart breaking with each minute.

He reached up to hastily wipe away a traitorous tear rolling down his cheek, before wrapping Julie in a hug as she stood and walked to him. She buried her head in his chest, and his hand found her hair, combing through her thick curls.

…

At some point through the night, Alex had worn himself out venting and scheming plans to get out of the wedding and eventually fallen asleep. They’d considered waking him, but he was exhausted and really needed the rest. Luke still had his arm around Julie, leaning against the end of her bed sitting on a pile of pillows. Willie curled up next to Alex, and soon it had turned into another slumber party, but much more somber.

Julie’s soft breathing leveled, indicating that she’d fallen asleep as well. Luke smiled sadly; this was peaceful, but under horrible circumstances. But the gentle part of her lips as she breathed and the lack of a crease between her eyebrows made it worth it; she deserved any brief moment of peace she could get.

He traced soft circles on the shoulder of her t-shirt, running his finger over the hem rhythmically, a song playing in his head as he closed his eyes.

Golden specks flew around in the darkness as Luke whirled around, disoriented. A melodic voice in the background that he recognized but couldn’t place taunted his mind, flashes of brown eyes blinking by in an instant, a retreating curl of hair that might not have been there in the first place.

The ground solidified under his feet, metaphysical but firm for him to stand on. It was all black and glittered faintly in the soft light from stars that were somehow so close he could feel their heat, yet so far that they were like flecks of light in the endless black sky.

The packed black sand cracked beneath him with the sound of a woman’s gasp, sending him hurtling through the void, falling faster and faster as the sliver of light from the cracked ground above him faded until it was so small it wasn’t even visible anymore. The darkness was suffocating and hot as fire, yet thin and cool like a light sheet in the air, whispering silent nothings into his mind.

His back hit a new surface, knocking the wind out of him even though he couldn’t breathe at all. It was all black, the ground invisible, but a soft fog rolled across it, apprehensive but inviting and cool.

“You have to fight for what you want,” a voice whispered, and Luke was able to place it as the same voice as his mother when he was nervous for a competition in sixth grade.

“Things don’t always come easily,” another voice reminded him, the familiar sound of his father’s voice sending a shiver down his spine.

What was he supposed to fight for? There was nothing in this vast black expanse but him and these voices, plus a warm tingle to his right side that felt imaginary, but had a weight to it that he couldn’t help but relish.

The voices disappeared, even though they’d been silent, Luke could feel their absence. The smooth, invisible ground under his feet faded, leaving him floating as the fog disappeared, phasing into particles like stars that floated around him like fireflies as the world shifted to a regal, royal purple, swirling like a galaxy, the faint sound of a piano barely registering among the stars.

…

When Luke woke up, the warmth on his side made sense, because there was Julie, her head on his chest. He glanced over, seeing Willie and Alex sitting with their heads resting together, scrolling through their phones and occasionally showing their screens to the other and laughing quietly. Flynn was asleep on a chair, where Carrie was squished next to her reading a book. Reggie was scribbling something in a notebook and tapping his foot, with Mira leaning on his side weaving braids into Erik’s hair. Julie, meanwhile, was still asleep.

He gave half a smile to Alex, who returned it with a quick sign of “you okay?” He nodded, gently taking his hand off of Julie’s shoulder, who didn’t stir.

Yeah, I’m okay. You?

Pretty good, all things considered. Alex glanced up at Willie, who looked confused, and whispered an explanation as to why they were using sign language. Julie, Flynn, and Erik were asleep, and Luke didn’t want to move and get his phone.

What time is it? Luke signed, and Alex checked his phone, signing back that it was 08:12. Luke glanced back down at Julie, who was still fast asleep.

When did I fall asleep? Alex signed back to him with an inquisitive look on his face.

Around eleven. You were exhausted, and for a good reason.

Yeah. I’m still so angry. I just want to… he trailed off, thinking. Luke guessed he was trying to remember a sign word. In the end, he just mimed crushing something very violently. Luke stifled a laugh.

I’m right there with you. Neither of you deserve this. He glanced down to Julie as he said it.

Neither do you, Alex reminded him. Or Willie. His face turned forlorn as he added the last part.

Yeah. It just sucks. Alex rolled his eyes.

You can say that again.

…

Luke tapped his fingers on his knee, anxiety coursing through him, which was very strange. He had no idea how Alex handled it. Anxiety was not something he was used to; what was he supposed to do with the nervous energy rushing around him when he couldn’t do anything but wait?

In hindsight, the brief text he’d sent Julie to meet him in that one hidden corner of the gardens because he needed to talk to her probably wasn’t the best way for him to go about it, especially since now the grey clouds hung over the sky like death hovered in a cemetery.

He’d rehearsed what he was going to say a million times, but it hadn’t ever seemed perfect; not that it would have mattered, because when Julie walked towards him, a smile on her face, hair down with frizzy curls bouncing over her shoulders, all of his thoughts drifted away, never to be seen again.

“Hi,” he said pathetically. She gave a halfhearted laugh.

“Hi. Is… everything okay?” Luke nodded. Then, he shook his head. A stray raindrop hit his face, the storm slowly crying itself out.

“Julie, I…” he sighed. “This probably won’t be half comprehensible, but I just need to get it off my chest.

“I know that we can't be together. I know that life just wasn't on our side, and I hate it. but I love you.” his heart both lightened and sank with the confession. “I love you, and I want you to know that, no matter where either of us end up in life, with you as queen and me as some guard, you will always be in my heart. you will be my heart in its entirety, wholly and truly.

“I tried to come up with the perfect things to say, tried to articulate and rehearse my feelings, but I guess that’s the thing about emotions. They can’t be described in an accurate way; especially love and pain. I’m not even sure there’s a difference between the two; love hurts, but it’s exhilarating; pain burns, but it makes you feel alive. But they both demand to be felt. And they’re so intense, so beautiful and full of fire and fury in their own regard that I’m not sure they can be described at all. Only with comparisons, but it’s never the exact same, because while pain demands to be felt, love demands to be seen. It’s why it hurts so much to hide it; that hurt, that pain, it demands to be felt, like fire demands to burn and the ground demands to quake and the rain demands to fall.

“I don’t want you to have to feel that pain your entire life. I don’t want you to love me and have to hide it. One illusion of false love is hard enough; but having to mask another layer, for me or you, would be impossible. So I think it’s best you forget me.”

“Luke, what are you-”

“Julie, we’re a grenade. People will get caught in the crossfire, and we’ll be burned completely.”

Tears streamed down his face, but it was impossible to tell with the rain now pouring, serenading his misery with its torrential downpour.

“No,” Julie said, shaking her head back and forth. “No. Luke, you’re going out of your mind. I’m not just going to forget you. If you think I can do that, then you don’t know me at all. Besides, acting as if something never happened is just a form of mental editing, purposely erasing things you regret. Well, that’s not how it works. If you want to break up with me… then fine. But don’t expect me to forget you, because that won’t happen.”

“Julie, I don’t want to break up with you.”

“Then don’t.” Luke looked up and pressed his lips together, even though his tears would be indistinguishable with the rain.

“I’m not. But I don’t want to cause you more pain.”

“I don’t care! Sometimes you have to fight for what you love. And as much as I wish we could lay down our arms, we can’t. I won’t. Not if it means I have to lose you.”

You have to fight for what you want.

Things don’t always come easy.

Luke shook his head, shoving his parents’ dream voices out of his head. He’d tried and tried, but now it was too late. He needed to cut losses so people didn’t get caught in the crossfire.

“Julie, I-”

“No! Aren’t you the guy who says you have to ‘smash those stupid rules out of people’s brains?’” Luke looked away.

“This is different.”

“Is it? Because you’re the most stubborn, bone-headed, amazing guy I know. You’ve never given up on anything in your life, so don’t you dare start now. I’m not giving up on you, either. So are you going to keep trying to make me? Or are you going to make it worth it?”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt.”

“Well, news flash, people already have, and will continue to get hurt, because life isn’t all butterflies and glitter. So if you want to minimize the hurt, don’t deny your feelings. Don’t try to make me deny mine.”

“But that’s the point! People have already gotten hurt, and will continue to, because of this. Because of me. If people found out about us, there would be collateral. Probably our friends.”

“Don’t pretend you’re doing this for them,” she snapped. “Don’t try to act all heroic. Luke, you’re amazing and selfless and kind and strong, but you’re only doing this because you’re afraid. I’m afraid too. But this? This isn’t how we need to go about things.” Luke tore a hand through his hair.

“Don’t you get it, Jules? I love you. I love you, and I hate that I’m part of the reason you and Alex are going through all of this pain.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You didn’t suggest the arranged marriage. I know you just want people to be safe, I know you’re trying to protect me, but I don’t need to be protected. I can take care of myself, but I want you by my side.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?”

“I don’t know,” she said, “but we’ll figure it out. I’m not giving up.”

She stepped forward and laced her fingers with his, and his heart softened. He gently cupped her jaw and brushed a raindrop off of her cheekbone, and she leaned up to kiss him.

“Please… stay.”

Luke didn’t want to hurt her. He knew staying would only make things harder, more dangerous.

And yet, he closed his eyes and nodded.

“Okay.”

#blue writes #bwya #bwya tag #be who you are (no compromise)#tuserjules #tracklu #usernell #userzuha #jatp #julie and the phantoms #netflixwewantjatp2

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chubbyreaderchan · 4 years

Text

Technically No | Jacob Black x witch!Reader | Twilight/Buffy the Vampire Slayer Crossover| 2

The weekend passed by quite quickly. Sunday was spent organizing what (Y/n) did buy on that Saturday. That Saturday was truly life changing. Jacob even called her that Sunday to see if she needed any help getting he house put together, which she took. He spent the entire afternoon chatting with her about cars then he went on to learning all about (Y/n). It was nice to have someone outside of Xander actually care about her interests.

The Sunday night, she may have spent too long on a three way phone call with Buffy and Willow telling them all about Jacob. Then finally, Monday came. Bright and early (Y/n) woke up putting on her nicest clothes and make up to her preferred taste. She was finishing up breakfast when a knock came from the door. There stood Jacob as well as two just as tall and just as muscular young men. “Hey” Jacob spoke, looking her over almost speechless. She was just so beautiful but one of the young men playfully pushed Jacob out of his slight trance.

“Oh, sorry. (Y/n)... These are my friends Embry and Quil...” he nodded to them each. They both shook the young witch’s hand.

“Thank you so much for doing this... If it wasn’t my first day on the job I would have stay--” Jacob shook his head with a bright smile still on his face. “It’s fine.” “I know but young guys like you would probably prefer not hanging out at a stranger’s empty house.” She moved to allow them in. At least they weren’t vampires, she couldn’t help but thinking. “You’re welcome to anything that’s in the kitchen... It’s not much but theres like snacks and drinks...” She began walking towards the door once she took note of the time. Jacob followed her out and nodded. “It’s really not a problem... I swear.” He looked her over, eyes wondered for just a second to her neck. A cross and a pentagram nestled together on a chain. He wondered about the for a moment before looking at her face. “Seriously... Though... I was wondering... if you’d want to go to the movies. I mean as a sort of payment...” He closed the door when he heard his two idiot friends shouting at him.

“That’s what you wanted in return?” She laughed slightly. “I mean you don’t have to.” Jacob said quickly. “I’d like that...” She said before he could retract the date. Jacob’s smile jumped right back to his lips, then she leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. “Thanks, again.” She trotted off to her little rental and Jacob went back into her house to wait on the delivery truck.

The first day on the new job went great, only one or two hiccups but nothing to damaging. When she pulled into her drive way at 4:45 the three young men were still there now shirtless as they were helping the moving guys bring in the last few boxes into the house. What caused (Y/n) more concern is she recognized one of her boxes that Jacob was carrying. Not only was it heavier than all hell it was filled with one of her cauldrons. She rarely used because it was heavy. He held it as if it were made of paper. It reminded her of Buffy who was the one who ended up packing it in the first place.

She hopped out of the car and walked up to him with a frown on her face. He had to be magical or something not ‘normal’.

“Isn’t that heavy?” She didn’t know what to say but she was going to have to see if any of her books would tell what he was. Jacob didn’t seem bad, however. His aura was practically made of heavenly light. There was no way he was evil.

His dark eyes widened when she asked. “I uh... work out a lot.” His arm flexed slightly, her eyes wondered to look at how muscular he really was she felt her cheeks burn in embarrassment. “Fine. You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to... but just know you can trust me with secrets.” She walked into the living room now filled with the few boxes and furniture she owned. The two boys were chatting away happily. (Y/n) pulled out her phone as Jacob placed the heavy box down on the floor.

“I’m going to order something in... What do you guys like? My treat!” She smiled at them.

“Awesome!” Quill held a small smile. They told her the best pizza place they knew of in Forks that delivered, despite more or less knowing La Push better. “You’re awesome!” Embry agreed once the food was ordered. Not a moment later, (Y/n) phone rang and she wondered to the kitchen for a bit of privacy when she heard Willow’s voice.

In the other room with the three wolves, they began a conversation about Jacob’s imprint. “She said something weird.” He said in a hushed tone, sitting on the floor with his friends. “She said that she could be trusted with my secret...She caught me carrying something heavy... she’s already suspicious ” “Sam did say that you can tell your imprint.” Quill said relaxing a bit. “I know but I thought I would have more time to like... become her boyfriend first.” He sighed. “But there’s something different about her.” “So tell her sooner.” Embry offered. “Or see what Sam thinks.” Then she walked in again, still on the phone talking to Willow. “I should still have that book” She began looking at all the boxes, looking for a certain one that had three letters. MBK. Magic books for long. It was under another box. “One sec, Will.”

‘Will?’ Jacob frowned for a second. Was she dating someone back home? No, why would she accept his date offer if that was the case. She placed her phone down on a different box to get the other box. With a key she broke the tape and began pulling out what Jacob could only consider some of the oldest looking books he had ever seen. in fact he had no clue what language any of them were in. He glanced at his pack mates who also looked very confused. She found it and continued the conversation almost forgetting the three practical strangers in her living room. She flipped through the pages. “What kind of demon again?” she said softly, looking through the book again. “Thorganath demon. Right. Sorry.” Then she sighed softly. “Yeah, no that’s one of the pages that was ripped when I bought it used.” Silence. “Oh, yeah. How’s Tara? That good, send her my love Willow. Tell Buffy I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help.” She hung up and looked over at the boys still looking quite bewildered.

“Why are you talking about demons?” Jacob spoke. He felt a bit of anxiety radiating off of his imprint. She looked wide eyed at them. “It’s... hard to explain.” “You can trust me with your secrets, (Y/n).” Jacob repeating her words from earlier. “I’ll tell you mine first...” He hated the feeling radiating off of her. This caused them both of the young wolves to look up in surprise. He was just telling them how he didn’t know what to say. Perhaps it was an imprint thing. “We can talk in the kitchen. They can grab the pizza if it gets here before we are done talking.” She simply nods, telling them where the money for it was and following Jacob back to the kitchen.

(Y/n) hopped onto the counter and he leaned against the kitchen island, trying to decide how to explain. “In my tribe we have these stories... “ he began going into the quileute legend of shapeshifts and the cold ones. “They aren’t really stories...” “You’re one.” She finished with a nod, not even remotely shaken. “Yeah, I’m a werewolf basically.” Then she started to laugh. “Oh, not technically no. Real werewolves are much more complicated.” That caused Jacob to take a second look at her. “What?” “My friend Oz is a werewolf. Like an actual light of the full moon werewolf.” Jacob actually looked shocked. Jacob sighed. “There’s another thing about us. When we shift... sometimes... we have what are called imprints.” She was smiling. Like these legends weren’t strange... as if they were comforting. “Basically it’s like soul mates... no... it’s deeper than that... Like... your whole world revolves around that person...and... I... you’re my imprint.” Now it was her turn to look shocked. She supposed soul mates or imprints rather weren’t entirely the weirdest thing. Especially from someone who grew up on top of a literal Hellmouth. In fact, it was cute.

“Well, I suppose you are pretty cute” (Y/n) smiled at him teasingly. Jacob’s grin returned to his face. “Well... now it’s your turn.” “Oh, I’m a witch.” She said simply, going into a few stories about Sunnydale, not going to into detail about each occurrence nor explaining the whole Hellmouth thing. “So, wait... are cold ones...” She paused unsure if he’d call her crazy, especially since a treaty with a vampire nest didn’t sound right. “Are they supposed to be vampires?” His eyes widened. “You’ve dealt with them too?” “Uh, yeah my friend is the slayer.” “The what?” “You know... Vampire slayer. She jabs them in the heart with pointy wooden sticks.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. They are as hard as diamonds, only my pack can-” “That’s not any vampire I’ve ever met... They are pretty soft and burst into dust in sunlight... Or cutting off their head. Honestly, I’ve staked a few myself.”

‘She is so cute’ Jacob caught himself thinking. “Do you want to meet one of the vampires? They live here in town. In fact Bella dates one of them!” “Are they busy?” “We are in Forks. So probably not.” Jacob laughed a bit. “Invite them over.” she paused. “Wait, can he come into a house without being invited in?”

Jacob was very confused now. “Uh... I think so.” His thick eyebrows furrowed together as she shrugged. “Technically not vampires. I’ll call them cold ones though.” Her smile was triumphant. What did she win exactly? Their first argument? Maybe. She moved to Jacob’s side again, pressing a soft kiss on his cheek. “Introduce me to them.” “Maybe later. They aren’t exactly friendly with any other wolves... in fact Edward probably still hates me.” He ran his fingers across his neck. Then he smelled pizza. He lead them back into the living room where they began to eat dinner. “Actually, I’d rather you meet Sam and the rest of pack before you meet vampires.” “They aren’t vampires.”

“So you guys are shapeshifters hm?”

The relationship with (Y/n) and Jacob got stronger even within just a week of living in Forks. Jacob would come over after she got off work and help her unpack, slowly learning about how much darker the monsters were.

It was almost instant when she called scoobies to explain, though she had a feeling she would be in trouble later but how could she keep something so insane from them? The movie date that Saturday turned into going to meet the pack quite quickly, since that seemed to interest (Y/n) more than seeing anything that was playing. Plus Jacob was asked to patrol that night since he had missed the entire week of patrol. He was glad Sam allowed it, though. They currently sat in front of the small house in Jacob’s truck. (Y/n) was ready to go but Jacob stopped her. “Just... don’t stare at Emily. Sam hates that.” “Why would I?” Jacob sighed softly. “You’ll see.”

“So... when am I going to see your wolf form?” She asked as they began walking towards the door. “Tonight. I’ll let you see... When do I get to see magic?” he half joked. Then she frowned a bit. “When there is something dangerous going on... Magic... is dangerous.” She said as she walked into the house with Jacob holding the door open. “Hey, Jacob!” A woman a bit older said with a bright smile and a large scar along her face. “Is this her?” “The witch?” A young man said with a joking voice. “(Y/n)...” He introduced. “This is Emily. That’s Seth.” He looked to still be in high school, doing homework on the table. “Wheres...?” “They are on the way back.” Almost on queue, five very large men and one young woman walk in talking excitedly about how they were hungry. How the patrol was fun and so on. The oldest looking one walked over to Emily and placed a kiss on her lips. “Is this the witchy girl?” one said jokingly. “Yeah, ‘witches’. Probably just a weird goth chick.”

“That’s Jared... and Paul. Sam is over there. Then you know Quil and Embry. That’s Leah.” Jacob nodded to the girl, after introducing the pack. “Ignore Paul. He’s got an attitude problem.” “Can’t be any worse than Spike.”

“Who?” “Oh, vampire. Completely harmless. Has a chip in his head. Can’t hurt people if he wanted” she said casually, with a wave of a hand. “Oh, great. Another vampire lover, Jacob.” Paul huffed out grabbing a muffin that Emily had just placed on the table. “Oh ick no.” She shook her head. “No, he’s just a necessary evil... Unfortunately.” Jacob moved and grabbed a muffin for him self and handed one to his imprint. Paul and Sam seemed to give her both a confused look. “A chip?” Sam asked suddenly. “Oh, it’s nice to meet you.” He corrected the slightly rude behavior. He wanted to make sure he was a good influence on his fairly young pack.

“Yep. Government issued.” She shrugged. That made them all look at her in confusion. “You have to be making this up.” Seth said, seemingly by mistake. She sighed. “Fine. Can I borrow the pencil?” She sat next to him getting annoyed. Why wouldn’t a pack of literal wolves believe her? A little small time magic shouldn’t do too much to corrupt her, right? The spell was learned with Willow in high school. It was no big deal.

Her eyes focused on the pencil she took and laid down. Slowly it floated up and began turning slowly in the air. “All about emotional control” She quoted something that Willow once said to her and Buffy forever ago. It was silent as they watched the simple trick, that was until Seth said “Woah, that’s insane.” This unfortunately caused (Y/n) to jump in surprise and the pencil flew into the wall across the way getting stuck.

“Oh no! I am so sorry, Emily.” She hopped up and rushed to pull the pencil out of the wall. “I can fix that!” Her hand ran over the hole and then it was gone. “Can you do anything useful?” Paul said sarcastically. “I mean when hunting vampires, floating a wooden pointy thing is pretty useful.” “That’s not how you kill a vampire. That’s a book thing.” Paul seemed annoyed. “No, no it’s not. It’s just your cold ones are calling themselves vampires without knowing what a real vampire is.” Sam sat down with Emily both interested in whatever (Y/n) had to say. Everything she spoke of was completely off of what their legends and experiences have showed them. Witches seemed real, that’s entirely possible in Sam’s mind since it was a form of magic that turned the pack into wolves.

“She’s told me some crazy sounding things.” Jacob sat next to his imprint, in a way that he was able to touch her thigh with his own. His hand move to gently touch her’s under the table. “I’ll introduce you guys to the slayer. If the monsters could chill out by the time fall break happens for her of course. The scoobies should be coming out. Then you can meet some real powerful witches.” Her smile was bright as if this was completely normal.

“Slayer?” Sam asked looking her over. “Oh, right. You guys don’t know about that. Okay, so there’s this thing called the slayer. She is born with the power to kill all kinds of dark things but mainly vampires. A new one is activated every time the last one dies.” She explained more on the legend a bit. They were still very skeptical of (Y/n)’s vampire experiences however.

“Have you even met the Cullens yet?” Leah asked confused. “No, but I’d be interested in meeting them.” “It’s dangerous.” Sam said calmly as Emily began serving dinner to the large group. “I mean... I went to high school on top of a literal hellmouth. Can’t be that dangerous...” “What’s that?” Seth asked taking a bit of his food. “It’s like... evil shooting out of hell.”

Then her phone rang. Buffy flashed on the screen. “Sorry, I gotta take this.”

"Do you still have that rare book on ancient artifacts?” “Used in rituals... yeah?” “Can you mail it?”

“Of course I can. Just send it back in one piece. Don’t let Xander speak latin to it. I can send it Monday after work.” “Thanks... so uh... are you still hanging out with that Jacob guy?” “Yeah... kinda am.. right now.”

“Oh, sorry. Thanks. I might have to call you again later.”

Dinner went well, surprisingly. Perhaps it was an ‘imprinted to a wolf in their pack’ thing but it really felt like she belonged in the group of La Push boys. “Don’t worry, (Y/n) I won’t keep him out long. I’ll send him to take you home in a couple hours.” Sam said with a gentle smile as they walked out to see the boys off. “Yeah, it’s fine. I’d like to get to know Emily.” She smiled at Emily who was watching from the door. The boys wondered to the tree line, Jacob had explained it was easier to transform naked than to go through a million shorts a day.

Sam smiled to her again before following the others in. Then a large brown wolf walks out from the tree line. His eyes were large and brown. “So that’s what you look like as a wolf, Jacob.” Jacob couldn’t help but think about how smart she was, getting him a bit of teasing from his pack mates. Jacob slowly walked forward and her hand reached out, gently ran her fingers through the long fur. Then she paused. “It’s kind of weird to pet your head isn’t it? I mean imagine if I walked up to you in your human form and just... patted your head.” A noise came from him. A laugh perhaps? She leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his muzzle. “Stay safe. Let me know if you need any help.” She waved as he ran off to join his pack.

This was going to be fun to explain to the Scoobies.

#reader insert #jacob black x reader #buffy imagines #buffy au #twilight reader insert #twilight

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s-and-n-writes · 4 years

Text

the lie that wasn’t: a lila takedown story

ao3 link

summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng was having a good day. She’d managed to wake up early and get to work on time, she was able to finish the pieces for the show on Monday, and she even found a little ladybug, who she promptly named Tikki.

This was before Lila Rossi decided to intervene. She had found a new lie to tell: the top secret news that she was now dating Adrien Agreste, and was yet again making Marinette's life miserable, like she promised.

There was just one problem. Marinette was dating Adrien. And everyone knew it.

A/N: hey! it's n again, and happy september!

i literally cannot believe that it's september already. it feels like july was just yesterday honestly. summer's practically over, and i'm so sad :( also, i’m psychic! if you want the story just tell me lol

ps: ladybug’s face is a mooood ngl

anyways, enjoy!

______

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was having a good day. She’d managed to wake up early and get to work on time (her mentor and boss, M. Agreste himself managed to look surprised as she popped into his office at 9AM to exchange a quick greeting), she was able to finish the pieces for the show on Monday (her once-cancelled date with Adrien was back on now) and she even found a little ladybug, who she’d named Tikki (after her kwami friend) resting on her sewing machine.

Even now, as she laid on her desk sipping cold coffee and drawing new designs, the petite bug flitted about, never leaving her general space.

The only thing that had been a slight damper on her good mood was the (probably unnecessary, thought Marinette) was the feeling of being broken, or not enough or-

It was hard to explain.

Maybe it was the endless tormenting from Lila, who had decided to make Marinette her enemy.

Maybe it was the pressure from designing and creating at Gabriel.

Maybe it was the sneers that her so-called friends gave her, after hearing Lila’s lies.

Maybe it was… her.

Regardless of the cause, for a long time, Marinette continued to feel as if… she was useless, against everything life threw at her at her each and every day.

But before she got stuck in her dark place, she shrugged off the unwanted thoughts, instead trying to focus on the half-made design on her tablet in front of her.

It was then that, having practically nothing to do and no inspiration for designing, she instead began to think of Adrien Agreste, her boyfriend.

He was one of the only ones who recognized that she felt sad, who helped her and listened to her rants when she needed to clear her head.

She could even say that Adrien was the best part of her life. Even if Monsieur Agreste hadn’t agreed to their relationship (which he had, since his son dating one of the most upcoming designers in the fashion industry garnered good publicity) she would’ve still found a way to make it work, especially after she found out that he was Chat Noir.

It was no secret that they were made for each other.

Marinette was quickly shaken out of her thoughts once Lila Rossi entered the room. Lila’s bold demeanor and threatening look as she strutted into the wide space with eyes set on Marinette could only mean one thing: public embarrassment.

Marinette sighed and continued brainstorming ideas.

Unlucky for her, Lila quickly headed her way, a sickly sweet smile on her lips.

What could she be thinking of now? Marinette thought.

It was like Lila to try and embarrass her, because Marinette had confronted her about her lies a while ago, but lately, it hadn’t been too bad. Even yesterday, Marinette was just telling Adrien about how Lila seemed to be laying off.

It seemed like she jinxed herself.

“Hey Marinette ,” Lila said as she approached her.

“Hey Lie -La,” Marinette responded, barely glancing at her. Lila faked sadness as those around her began noticing the argument between the two. It was no shock, as it often happened, but this one seemed...different.

Little did they know.

“Oh, Marinette! How could you say that?” Lila asked, wiping tears from her eyes. A few other designers around the room frowned and went to comfort Lila.

“Marinette!”

“Why are you always being so mean?”

“Really, we aren’t 12 year olds! Stop harassing Lila all the time!”

“You can be so horrible at times!”

“Yea, can’t you see how sad she is?”

The clear smirk on Lila’s face showed that she was far from sad. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying it.

“I told you I’d make your life miserable,”she whispered, grinning, “and this is just the beginning,”

“It’s ok everyone. We have to treat her with respect. Maybe she can change from her ways?” Lila suggested, pursing her lips into a sympathetic frown as she rubbed the sides of her arms, “And besides, I’m sure that when she pushed me in the bathroom earlier, it was just an accident!”

“She pushed you?” Aurore Beauréal, a model, asked.

Lila nodded. “But it was an accident, really!”

She lifted up her sleeves on both arms to show an array of reddish-purplish bruises lining them.

“That’s not an accident!” Pierre Allaire, another model, said from across the room. “Pushing? I didn’t think you’d stoop so low Marinette!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Marinette cried, unable to keep from shouting. “You’re lying, Lila!”

“I can’t believe you!” cried Felippe Champoux, assistant to Pierre. “Accusing Lila of lying this many times when you’ve been hurting her? How dare you!”

“Are you ok, Lila?” asked Pierre, coming to inspect her arms. Several people crowded around her as they tried to look at her bruises.

Lila quickly rolled her sleeves down and smiled.

“Oh, it’s ok, I’m fine,” she smiled. “There’s only some pain. Not even bad, really!”

Marinette groaned again.

“You should feel horrible for what you’re doing!” Aurore sneered. “In fact, I think Lila should go to court against you!”

Lila’s eyes went wide and Marinette bit her lip to stop from smirking. “Like, with a lawyer?”

Aurore nodded. “With a lawyer!”

Lila laughed nervously. “N-no, that’s not necessary!”

A makeup artist from across the room frowned. “You sure?”

Lila nodded. “Yes! Marinette and I can be friends in the future! If-if we can right our wrongs, and sort this all out, we can be best friends~”

The makeup artist grinned. “You’re amazing Lila! You’re so sweet, so nice!”

Marinette swiveled in her chair and counted to 10 to stop from exploding.

“Aww thank you!” the girl in question smiled. “You’re too kind!”

Finally, Marinette thought, it’s over for today. After a few weeks of pointed looks and many avoiding her, things would eventually return back to normal.

But Lila wasn’t done yet. Like she promised, she was just getting started.

“Well, actually, this isn’t the reason I came here,” Lila smiled, “I wanted to tell you all the news!”

“What news?” asked Felippe. “Have you been able to contact Madame Bourgeois to look at our designs?”

“I did! But unfortunately, she’s busy making a dress for me to wear!” Lila sighed, smiling at the oohs and aahs the crowd sent her way. “Oui, she does that sometimes. She’s like...my honorary aunt! She sends her love though!”

“It’s ok. But you have to tell me about the dress she’s making later!” Aurore squealed.

Lila grinned. “For sure Aurore!”

“Now, I wanted to tell all of you this as soon as I was able to. I had to keep it a secret, but now I can finally tell you! My big news is that...” Lila paused for effect, “Adrien and I are dating!”

But instead of friendly cheers, the crowd around Lila exchanged confused glances. Marinette could barely keep in the smile that was about to overcome her face.

“What?” asked Pierre, “That’s not right. Everyone knows that Adrien Agreste is dating Marinette,”

Another makeup artist leaned against one of the tables. “I don’t know how he can stand her, but they’re dating all right,”

Lila’s face went slack as she twisted over to look at Marinette in a split second, a snarl lining her face.

Sorry Lila, I guess you forgot about karma, Marinette thought, smirking as she looked over at her.

Because what goes around, comes around.

Lila turned her attention to the crowd and fumbled with the (so called) Louis Vuitton bag she held. “A-ah no actually! Adrien was fake dating Marinette, because-”

“Who was fake dating who?” came a voice from the hallway.

In walked Adrien, with a fresh coffee and a croissant from the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

“Adrien!” called Marinette as she jumped into his arms.

“Hey purr-incess,” he smiled, throwing his arms around her.

Marinette could practically see the color drain from Lila’s face. She pressed a kiss to Adrien’s lips and grinned.

“Missed you,” she whispered.

Adrien let out a quiet sigh of joy. “Same here,”

“Now,” he began as Marinette released him from their embrace, “who’s fake dating who?”

“A-Adrien! What a surprise! I didn’t know you were coming!” Lila laughed nervously. “You don’t have to fake it anymor-”

Adrien scoffed. “Lila, for once stop lying will you? You’ve harassed my girlfriend enough and now you want to do it like this?”

“Adrien,” whispered Marinette.

“The past few months I’ve restrained myself from coming in here, because Mari asked me not to, but I’m here now and I have words to say,” Adrien went on.

“Adrien?” asked Marinette.

“Marinette and I are dating, you and I are not, never was, never will be. Just like all of the other lies you’ve told,” Adrien said.

“Adrien,” Marinette called again. “I’m good, ok?”

Adrien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Fine, but if Lila gives you any more trouble, call me, ok?”

Marinette smiled. “Ok,”

“Ok,” Adrien grinned as he left. “See you soon. And Alya and Nino send their love!”

With a final wave, the bluenette sighed. Clutching her coffee and her croissant, Marinette turned around to face her coworkers.

“Marinette, I’m really sorry,”

“Yeah, I didn’t know!”

“I feel horrible,”

“Lila’s the one who’s horrible!”

“Yeah! Why’s she trying to harm our sweet Marinette?”

“You know, I always felt like there was something wrong with her, when she came in for the first time,”

“And I knew Marinette was telling the truth, I did! Unlike Lie-La ,”

“Hey, the name seems appropriate now!”

“Are you ok Mar-”

“Stop guys,” Marinette sighed, “I can’t trust you for a while. A long time. I went through so much, and you didn’t believe me! That hurt!”

She blinked away a stray tear before it could come crashing down as she thought of the past few months and what she had endured.

She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the brunette, who was clenching her fists as she opened her mouth to speak. Before she could though, Marinette interrupted.“Lila, this is your last chance. Stay away from me, otherwise I’ll be forced to take this to Nathalie, who will tell M. Agreste,”

Lila gritted her teeth and snarled. “You’re idiots! All of you!” she stated, and ran from the room.

As the crowd dispersed, Aurore stayed behind to talk to Marinette. “I assume the ‘bruises’ today were makeup?”

Marinette sighed. “Yeah, I can’t believe you didn’t notice,”

Aurore chuckled bitterly. “Me either. I really thought she was getting all of those ‘famous designers’ to look at my work. I was so excited!”

She gripped the fabric in her hands a little harder and let out a sigh.

“But, that doesn’t excuse what I said to you. I’m sorry, Marinette. All of us are,”

Marinette smiled. “I can’t accept your apology right now, but thanks,”

Aurore nodded. “Understood,”

With a final wave, she turned to leave. “See you around, Marinette,”

“See you around Aurore,” Marinette nodded.

As she watched Aurore walk off, she realized for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn’t feel quite so broken anymore.

Marinette smiled as Tikki crawled onto her finger. It was a start.

—Bonus—

Hours later, when Marinette and Adrien were driving home, Marinette leaned to entwine Adrien’s fingers with hers.

“Well,” Adrien sighed, “that’s only one problem down,”

“99 left to go,” Marinette finished, the edges of a smile creeping onto her face.

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eightysixed · 3 years

Text

snapped

It was lunch break when he got the notification, at first going unnoticed because he was sitting outside with Duncan and Krista in their usual spot. The sun beat down on the three of them as they ate the wraps Krista got for them from the 7-Eleven, that and the lemonade. He tuned out of the conversation at hand, some plans Kirsta was making for Bonnaroo or something, to check on his phone.

[ 1! new snapchat ]

As he unlocked his phone, he shielded it in view from the other two. Being a snap from Gaby, he was probably wise to do that. But it was unlike their usual snaps. Sat in the backseat of a car, she was strapped in next to two other girls. The bar caption underneath it: road trip with the bestiesss.

Confusion was the first emotion, wondering if she’d sent it to him by accident. It was set as her story too, once he pulled out of their chat and noticed as much. He contemplated not answering anything at all, but that would be rude. Then again, she had been rude. Torn this way for a couple of seconds, he settled for sending a chat her way instead.

tyson hey gaby🍒 haha hiiii tyson what up gaby🍒 not much u? tyson work lol gaby🍒 oh right haha tyson yeah

It was fucking weird, this. He wanted to say as much. But what else could he really say that hadn’t already been said? There was nothing else. Months ago, she told him to meet at Carousel. It started out friendly with drinks, and then turned ugly. A perfect storm of the worst proportions, him telling her that he was basically seeing someone now and her saying that she wanted more than 3am booty calls and nothing else. She presented her case, how she thought they really could be something, if he only gave them a chance — hell, he was almost convinced for a second. But no more than that second. He stuck to it, she got upset, she stormed out. Now, he just wanted to ask her what the fuck all this was, but how to do that without coming off hostile? A task.

gaby🍒 just saying hiii is all tyson kinda weird but cool lol gaby🍒 what i can’t say i miss u? damn :( tyson kinda weird after how u left yeah but nah it’s cool ig gaby🍒 i was jk chill 😛

Tyson wondered if he read that right. Why were girls like this, he wondered. You could never get anywhere half the time with them because you never knew what the fuck they meant. Life would be so much better if they just said what they thought and meant it, but of course, that’s not how things went in life. It never went like that in life. Playing games, they all liked to play games.

He left Gaby on read and pulled out to the main screen of his snapchat (handle: bonghitter). Unopened items there were plenty, a video, and messages from two other girls. For a brief second, he contemplated deleting the app entirely, before that notion slipped from his mind again with Duncan grabbing his attention. He put his phone away and went back to lunch.

***

Later that night, somewhere in between hallucinating an earthquake in his and Tierney’s living room (he was completely sober, so that wasn’t a factor), and picking up an unidentified number that didn’t answer down the other line, Tyson found his evening going funny. Almost like he’d stepped into an alternate dimension. He wasn’t on any of Sulley’s edibles though, so what was going on? Maybe this was that psychosis that was setting in that Jude had warned him about (though he can’t remember why Jude had told him it would, they hadn’t been sober then). If it wasn’t an earthquake that had shaken the floor just now, what could it be? Did some fatty whale of a person fall directly outside their door, making the ground shake? A possibility. Oasis’ infrastructure wasn’t the strongest.

Then he got a new snapchat notification.

From her. Again.

He braced himself for the worst, opening it, and surely, there it was. A half-clad Gaby in mirror view, the usual ‘hey’ postscripted by that unholy black bar that was strategically covering up places that normally, he’d want uncovered. It was clearly some hotel or motel room, and he could probably guess the next that would follow, if encouraged. But all he felt was a faint wave of disappointment. Nothing else. Old Tyson would’ve sent her a ‘where’s the rest’ message, no questions asked, but not this one. He was angry and not sure how well he downplayed it, maybe not well at all.

tyson ?? gaby🍒 what? haha tyson why u actin like this gaby🍒 like what?

Tyson mumbled an expletive under his breath. He was an argumentative person, sure, he loved to debate, talk until the cows come home about the right subject. But this was his least favourite type of confrontation, and he’d rather be doing anything but this, literally anything.

tyson you were the one who said okay we’re done u stormed out the bar u did that remember? lol gaby🍒 ohhhhh that look i wasn’t in a good place then okay? i’m sorry :(

Tyson said nothing, a sigh escaping his lips. Starting to get angry now and not even sure why. He’d always had it good with this girl, but outside of whatever they did in bed (or on a couch, or in the shower), there was nothing. And he wasn’t exactly interested in anything she had to offer right now. Or anytime in the future. It was borderline ridiculous to think or believe, and Dom would probably ask him if he was okay and not sick, but there it was. He thought of the right thing to respond, but before he even could, she sent through something else. A Bitmoji. Hers hugging his.

tyson okay apology accepted but nothing’s changed with me meant what i said then still stands now gaby🍒 you’re still seeing someone? tyson yea gaby🍒 oh okay just thought something changed my friend saw u tyson where? gaby🍒 at santa monica on the pier u were with some girl tyson jfc that’s my best friend’s babymama she came w/her kid to see him gabriela i’m tired i’m seeing someone rly can’t do this gaby🍒 okay tyson have a good night

The last reply back took the longest time coming through, but when it finally did, there was no more. Relief. Was he off the hook? Was this it? He waited for more to come, but it didn’t. Maybe he was off the hook. Maybe she’d come around again in 3 months. Or 6 months. Or a year, who knows. Maybe she’d find someone and stop snapping him. He hoped she would. As he was thinking these things, maybe five maybe ten minutes having passed, he got a new notification.

gaby🍒 my friends say you suck btw tyson LOL okay

Now this was funny. Though still a little infuriating, he thought as his brows pulled together in both confusion and dismay. Girls, when would they learn that no meant no? He was about to all but toss his phone aside, leave it on the bed to go back into the living room, when one more came in.

gaby🍒 sorry im a lil drunk...

Now that he would leave on read, and hopefully there would be no more, and that would be the end of that. She really wasn’t a bad person, Gabriela, deep down he liked her. As a person. But it ended there. He was about to go through with his toss-the-phone plan and shuffle into the kitchen to see if a bag of takeout had magically materialized on the counter, be done with this chapter for good, when he got a new notification. With dread he glanced to the top of the screen, but a smile picked up on the corners of his lips when he saw who it was from.

Jude: holy shit dude you need to check this out… [ http://absoluteepicpranks.com/monkey-flaming-motorcycle.htm ]

#self para #self para: tyson #this is the dumpsterfire that happens when a plot comes to u half asleep in the dead of night #and u don't write it down and proceed to forget 85% of it #and then attempt to reconstruct it #v: silverlake

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itsuki-minamy · 4 years

Text

“CANDLES IN THE NIGHT”

Translation: Naru-kun Raws: Ridia

She thought halfway if she should die.

On the roof of the building at night, she was leaning against the fence and crying tirelessly, looking down at the ground.

If she flies from here, will he reflect on that for a bit? He'll regret it? Can she hurt yourself enough to hurt?

She had that dream, but after all, it was just a dream.

Take her eyes off the dark asphalt between the buildings and look up at the sky. Then, in the distance, she sees an airship swimming gracefully in the sky.

Also known as the "Sky Whale", it is a mysterious airship that constantly flies over Tokyo. From what she hears, a strange foreign owner is on board, but due to the mystery, it was used as a story for various urban legends.

"There was an urban legend of someone who had a hard time getting up off the ground when asking for help."

Remembering one of the famous urban legends, she took a PDA out of her coat pocket.

In order for the "Sky Whale" to pick her up, she must point the sky with a red light application called "candle".

When she searches, she quickly finds the "candle". Download the app from a simple page with no instructions on how to use it, and launch it. Then, something like a literal candle appeared on the PDA screen, and a red light came on.

This light appears to be visible from a distance. Aim for the "Sky Whale", flying away in the sky.

"Hi. It's a good night."

Suddenly, a man's soft voice came from behind.

She looked back, there was a young man in his twenties with a retro camera.

He has a kind smile on his face, and a warm atmosphere that detracts from his alertness.

With puffy eyes and crying too much, she looks at the man.

"Does it seem like a good night?"

"Ah. What happened?"

"No human being would cry on the roof of a building at night and point the "candle" towards the airship...!"

"That's right."

The young man stood next to her with a friendly smile, even though she was so distressed that she wanted to disguise herself as a strange airship.

"Onee-san, do you want to get on that airship?"

"Whatever. I just wanted to escape. It is much better than jumping from here.”

Speaking in a shy voice, the young man laughed cheerfully, "Yes." Feeling ill, she addressed the young man in a low voice.

“But if you get on that airship, couldn't you go home? Before that, is there anything you want to do on earth?”

Drinking to the rhythm of young people, she finally seriously considered what she wanted to do. She didn't have a very positive wish now. She said...

"I want to drink alcohol."

"So, are we going to have a drink?"

"You're flirting me?"

"What?"

The young man laughed curiously.

She thought it was a good invitation, but when she entered the store with a clear, teary face, the young man said, "Do you want to drink here?"

"Eh?"

"I'll buy it. What do you want to drink?"

"Something with 9% alcohol content, very sweet."

"Oh, I understand."

The young man laughed and went lightly.

While wondering who he was, the young man returned with a bag hanging from a convenience store. He took out some cans of chuhai and many sweets and spread them on the concrete on the roof.

"How many sweets did you buy? It is not an excursion.”

"No, if you choose, it will be fun."

With a sigh, she sat down across from the young man. She was not in the right state to worry about her skirt getting dirty, so she sat on the ground like a child.

She opened the can of chuhai, twisting it hard.

Dissatisfied with the fact that she had consumed alcohol and that the smiling young man was smiling in front of her, she was tilting the can at a rapid pace and breaking what was in her chest.

She has been dating her boyfriend for six years since college and promised to get married, booked a ceremony, sent out invitations, then found out that her boyfriend had an affair.

Simply put, that's the reason why she was even thinking about dying.

"Plus! After a while, he took me to a place I didn't like and started to tell me about the woman he had an affair with.”

"Wow, he's such a shameless guy!"

“In the end, I got hurt and the marriage broke up. What can I tell my parents, my friends that I sent them an invitation or my company...?"

She wiped away the tears that came back, and the young man gave her a handkerchief. She felt free to take it, wipe away her tears, and lie on her back on the concrete. He helped her get drunk, she felt bold.

"Ah! I was so sad that I couldn't talk to my friends yet.”

"Yes. You are tired."

The young man offered her a candy with a calm smile. A strawberry flavored pocky. She hasn't eaten recently, but she remembered that she liked that when she was in high school.

She took one from the box he offered her and bit him, and the nostalgic sweetness spread in her mouth.

"…Delicious."

"It's delicious."

The young man smiled. Looking at his face, she felt something that was a little intriguing. She felt like she knew him from somewhere. But after drinking some cans of chuhai with 9% alcohol content, her head was fluffy and the scratch flowed and disappeared.

The young man listened to her for a long time. He didn't give her any useful advice or connoted words, but when she spoke to that young man in a light environment, her anguish that made her think even of death and the search for an urban legend, didn't seem like much.

The young man took her to the taxi rank after drinking, eating, talking, and becoming drowsy.

"See you. Let's drink again if we meet again.”

The young man who took her to the taxi said that, shook her hand, and laughed.

"That young man, my contact information, I didn't even ask his name.”

As she was shaken by the taxi, she involuntarily murmured that.

She thought he wasn't interested, but managed to deal with it. Who the hell was that young man, she felt a fox pinch her.

Starting tomorrow, she will have to deal with the misery that comes with raping her marriage. First, she will contact her parents' house and inform them of the details of the matter. When she thought about it, she felt like she was coming back to sadness and bloating, but when she saw the box of strawberry pocky she ate in her bag, that young man's smile came to life.

"Well... I can handle it."

She said those words.

++++++++++

Three weeks have passed since the day she cried on the rooftop at night and the strange young man spoke to her.

It was three weeks of anger. Various cancellation works related to weddings and explanation of circumstances to each place.

Compassion and curiosity pierced her mercilessly. She spoke to her ex-boyfriend's father, who beat him up, as a consolation.

Fortunately, she was so busy that she didn't have time to sink into sadness. She didn't even have much time alone, because her friends worried about her so often.

Today is Christmas Eve. She was supposed to spend a miserable day after being abandoned by her boyfriend she dated for six years, but she plans to spend the first time in a few years, the Christmas party with a friend who told her to spend it with him.

Before going to her friend's house, when she was walking in Shizume-cho to get the cake that she had reserved, she saw a tall man with sunglasses from the front.

She thought she had seen him somewhere... She thought for a few seconds, and when he stood in front of her, she suddenly remembered it.

"Ahh! Kusanagi-kun!”

It seemed like the first thing he noticed when they called him, and he looked at her face with a surprised expression.

"Ah... Nattsun."

Note: Nattsun attended the same high school as Kusanagi, appears in Chapter 4 of "Kingdom of Red".

"Oh, yes! Wow, it's been a long time! Kusanagi-kun, I haven't been to alumni meetings that much, how many years have it been?”

Nattsun was her nickname in high school. Kusanagi was her high school classmate, handsome and smart, besides, he seemed to be a bit bad, and he was on good terms with the bad boy named "Wild Beast Mikoto".

When she remembered the sights of those days, something came to her mind.

"Ah..."

"Hm? What happens?"

“Kusanagi-kun, when you were in high school, you got along with a strange middle school student, right? A boy who is bright and looks like a smiling little animal... He was always waiting for you in front of the school gate.”

He had sat on the railing in front of the high school and seemed to be waiting in good spirits for Kusanagi and others, so she called him once.

"You are friends with Kusanagi-kun, right?"

The boy smiled and replied, "Yes."

With a smile that people love, she told him that she was Kusanagi-kun's classmate, also that she believed that Kusanagi-kun would be coming soon, and that is exactly the kind of snack she had to feed small animals. She certainly offered him a strawberry pocky that she liked at the time.

The boy's smile at the time overlaps the smile of the mysterious young man who offered her a strawberry pocky on the roof that night.

"Maybe I meet that boy the other day!"

Then, for some reason, something like a pain ran through Kusanagi-kun's expression for a moment.

"Totsuka, he..."

"Yes, Totsuka-kun! He is not like that little animal, he was a handsome man, but I think he had a very similar warmth.”

"That boy, what were he doing?"

"Than? Well... He had a retro camera, so I wonder if I wanted to shoot something..."

"Hehe." Kusanagi chuckled softly.

"Yes, he was probably Totsuka."

A fateful little encounter warms his heart.

"Kusanagi-kun, Totsuka-kun and ... Are you still close to Suoh-kun?"

"Yes."

"I see."

Nostalgic, she was satisfied that Kusanagi-kun was still connected to his comrades, she smiles inadvertently.

"I went through a lot of things before that... I was tired, but when I spoke to Totsuka-kun about what was happening to me, it made me feel better. So if you see him next time, could you thank him?”

"Yes, I will tell him."

Kusanagi smiled slightly, and lifted the bag of cake in his hand slightly.

"I think it's about time to go. There is a girl waiting for this.”

"Oh, yes! Sorry to interrupt you."

Kusanagi-san raised his hand slightly and greeted her, then walked.

Do you have children? Are you married?

She still had something to ask, but she felt it was enough to know that their friendship continued, so she left in a brilliant mood from that sad day.

#k #k project #k stories #k fan clan #totsuka tatara #kusanagi izumo #homra #nattsun

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artsy-hobbitses · 5 years

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Because my nostalgic ass had been wanting to do this for a SUPER long time, have some Humanized!Mighty Ducks! It’s funny to see how far I’ve kinda come, because I had a strong love for this and most other anthro shows back in the 90s bc they looks excellent but also because I couldn’t draw humans worth a god damn and ended up anthro-ing all the humans, but now I can human the anthros :’B Also because I have no self-control, actual human names and backgrounds below. I might actually have to write this AU at some point.

WILLIAM ‘WILL’ FLETCHER ie. ‘WILDWING’

30yrs

Canadian (Eh)

Half-brother to Nate Fletcher (Same father, different mothers). Despite this, they have a generally good relationship with each other.

It doesn’t mean they don’t have their issues however; Will believes his father chose Nate as the man stayed with Nate and Nate’s mother, while Nate believes Will is the favorite because they never hear their dad stop comparing their accomplishments as a troubled teen to straightlaced Will.

A decorated ice hockey player in his youth, won several state championships.

Formerly a member of the Canadian Armed Forces, did a security stint in Afghanistan from 2009-2014.

Returned to Canada, opened a youth hockey camp to leave behind his old life before the Saurian threat at which point he was called up by his absentee military father to help spearhead a team of saboteurs.

Initially reluctant, however the death of his best friend and former army comrade, Connor Tiberius, during a rescue of captured citizens spurns him to accept on his terms in which he picks the team members.

Responsible, dependable, good-natured, more bookish than his size and stature might suggest, some self-esteem issues and very much a wary but bleeding heart. In his baby brother’s affectionate words, a “Major Dweeb”.

Trilingual; Canadian-French, English (fluent), Pashto (intermediate).

His codename ‘Wildwing’ came from Connor, who affectionately gave it to him as he was the best ‘wingman’ a soldier could ask for on the field and his habit of going from bookish to ballistic when faced with any injustice. His civilian outfit includes a bomber jacket with wings decorated over the back to commemorate his best friend.

Literally the only member of the team to actually be associated with ice hockey. The others picked it up gradually as a way to bond with each other and discuss battle tactics.

NATHAN ‘NATE’ FLETCHER ie. ‘NOSEDIVE’

20yrs

American

Half-brother to Will Fletcher, unofficially the ‘team baby’ which is something he tries hard to break out of.

Seen as a delinquent in his youth and battling with ADHD, his father strongarmed him to enlist with the Air Force when he was 17 to try and ‘shape him up’ and while he absolutely bucked under the chains of command, he proved to be a natural at flying which both amazed and frustrated his officers when he would ace their flying exams but often break out to fly the planes when he wasn’t suppose to.

Due to perceived attitude problems, he was dismissed much to the anger of his father, but was quickly roped into the same role by Will who saw his potential in combating Dragaunus’ forces.

Hotheaded, impulsive and immature but also loyal, gregarious and friendly to a fault.

Will not stand for anyone badmouthing Will. That’s his brother and only he’s allowed to joke about them.

Codename ‘Nosedive’ was chosen because of the stunts he used to pull in the plane and also as a take-that moment to his father who would often complain about how everything good they tried to do for ‘this kid’ would ‘nosedive into shit’.

Oscillates between loving Will as the only family member to have really given a damn about him and see any potential in him at all and resenting Will for in his eyes, being everything he felt he couldn’t be.

Often in charge of flying the team jet.

Bilingual; English (fluent), Canadian-French (beginner. For Will, he’s trying).

MALLORY MACKENZIE

27yrs

Irish-American

A former cop who idolized her Sergeant mother who was killed helping to defend NYC from Dragaunus’ marauding forces.

She knows Will as a good friend through Connor Tiberius who was an old boyfriend prior to his death.

Has been tracking Duke’s movements for some time prior to the invasion, dead-set on bringing the jewel thief to justice. Not particularly enthused about his way of life, but does care for him in her own way as it was during their little chases that she would have conversations she couldn’t have had otherwise with someone she believed would have no role to play in her life outside of prison time.

When he consoled her after the death of her mother and she had to tend to him after he was gravely injured during a rescue, a strained friendship grew as they defended NYC together for a while with her banding together the remaining cops of the Central Park precinct and him putting together a coalition of small-time criminals who turned their tricks to beat off the alien invasion until Will called her up as a member of his new saboteur team.

In a spur of the moment, she asked Duke to come with her, vouching for his set of skills to Will and despite their back-and-forth snarking (mostly snarking from her, mostly teasing from him), they work with each other the best out of the team.

Her hatred for Draganus is strongest out of all the team and of all of them, she’s the most adept at hand-to-hand combat.

Has no use for code names—-the people she loves are dead or on the same team as her so she sees no point to it.

Pugnacious, Black-And-white view of the world and judgmental but also confident, decisive and fiercely determined. If she has her mind set something, she’s Terminator levels of terrifying to see it through.

Speaks only English but understands Arabic and French to an intermediate degree even if she can’t trust her tongue to speak it, if only to understand what Duke is saying at times (as he unwittingly tends to jump between his three ‘fluent’ languages in conversation).

DULQUER LATEEF ie. ‘DUKE L’ORANGE’

35yrs

French-Algerian

A renown jewel thief (simply known as the ‘Duke’) with a knack for stealing blood diamonds from diamond barons to channel their proceeds back to the communities they were pilfered from. Actually thinks the diamond industry is a huge joke, but it’s a joke some morons pay insanely dangerous amounts of money for. Prefers other jewels on a personal basis (fond of rubies and amethysts)

Ran his own gang back in France called the Brotherhood of the Blade, got caught up in the invasion when he decided to work his heists in New York.

His codename came from the inability of people to properly pronounce his name in his youth and so ‘Dulq’ became ‘Duke’ in due time. ‘L’Orange’ was what happened when having to come up with a surname on the spot during a heist in the States, he blurted out the first vaguely-French word he could remember which was ‘L’Orange’ ie. ‘duck a l’orange’ which was what a former target of his ordered and when his gang brethren found out, it amused them so much they talked him into keeping it as a full part of his nom de plume. He keeps it, because it helps his remaining family stay safe that no one knows his real name and he prefers it that way.

He and Mallory had something he likes to describe as a ‘dance’, with her continuously tracking him down and him escaping her clutches at the last moment. He’s absolutely tickled that they’re now on the same team.

Cares for the team the deepest due to having run his own back home and missing the brotherhood and his own family, always aware of everyone’s emotional and physical condition to the point he disregards his own at times.

Seriously, hurt his new family and you die.

The most streetwise of the team and adept with any form of blade-play and stealth/subterfuge.

Lost his eye and gained the scar on his face fending off ‘Wraith’ for as long as he could from a geologist with knowledge of Beryllium crystals.

The cybernetic eye he hides behind his eyepatch was given to him by Mallory who came across it while evacuating scientists (Including Tanya) from a lab under siege. She obtained it as willing ‘payment’ from them and had them help install it on Duke, claiming that he was only as much use to the rebellion as the clarity of his depth of field. (In truth, was well aware of how shaken he was from the loss of his eye). Cybernetic eye has x-ray and heat-seeking capabilities.

Fond of Mallory (who he may or may not be harboring feelings for but is also aware that he’s greying, a criminal and damaged, like who’s he kidding), Tanya (something of a younger sister to him especially since she’s the scientist who helped install his new eye) and Will (who he treats like a little brother he gotta teach the workings of the streets to).

Egoistical, questionable morals and unconcerned with ‘the big picture’ of global invasion but also surprisingly compassionate, open-minded and does his best to see the good in everyone (He’s a thief eh?)

Something of an omniglot due to his background and the different people he ends up having to work with; Fluent in French, English and Arabic, intermediate in Mandarin, Spanish and Italian, beginner in Japanese and Russian.

TANYA VANDERBILT

30yrs

German

A scientist working mostly with cyberkinetics who also made use of Beryllium crystals (the same the Saurians are coveting) in her technology and upon the invasion, her entire lab and research became a target.

She was rescued by Mallory and has since then tagged along with the fiery redhead who sees her as a sister, augmenting her gear and weapons where needed and even providing Duke with his energy sword.

Absolutely not a combatant, has no field experience and is most often found back at the base playing her role as Command central or guarding the ship while the group go on their recon missions.

Sees herself as deadweight sometimes though her comrades will always attest that they’d probably be dead out there if not for her tech and in-depth knowledge.

Meek, easily terrified and a bit of a pushover, but also innovative, multi-talented in diverse sections of science and always eager to help.

Speaks English and German, understands intermediate Japanese due to most of her lab co-workers.

CASSIUS ‘CASH’ HARDING ie. ‘GRIN’

40yrs

African-American

Originally a pro-wrestler working the circuits, he was caught up in the Saurian invasion and captured as a test subject in order for the invaders to figure out the biological weaknesses and breaking point of humans at their prime.

Was the subject of multiple experiments, but strove to keep up the spirits of his fellow prisoners by way of story, meditation and keeping a genial facade.

Was among the prisoners Conrad attempted to free before they died, led the prisoner rebellion and immediately joined up as a member of Will’s team upon finding out that he was Conrad’s best friend—-paying off his dues, as it were.

Unfortunately for the Saurians, their experiments had been in the midst of testing out how much augmented strength a human body could take before breaking, which left him with well, augmented strength to go with an extremely high pain threshold from both his old job and his ordeal. That said, the strength comes with a caveat that prolonged use of it could lead to organ failure due to the strain he has to put on them and thus he’s only able to work with it for short bursts of five to ten minutes depending on the task.

Despite his size, is generally the pacifist of the group more concerned with keeping people safe than facing down Dragaunus’ hordes—he leaves that to the actual soldiers. If you pissed him off in some way, you have fucked up super bad.

Bonds with Will and Nate quickly, rather like a stable older brother or uncle figure who realizes these two worlds-apart siblings have issues and are way over their head with these new responsibilities and tries his best to keep them grounded.

Hesitant, tendency to shy away from confrontation and almost on an emotional lockdown but also amicable, stoic and uncannily perceptive.

Speaks mostly English with a strong smattering/understanding of Jamaican Creole.

The codename ‘Grin’ came from his tendency to ‘grin and bear it’ when it came to punishment or altercations.

#mighty ducks #mdtas #humanized #90s cartoons #art

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bluejaysfeathers · 4 years

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There’s something that has been on my mind for a while and it’s still not letting me sleep so I want to talk about it a little, and that’s the reasons that Twitch Partner X33N decided to ban me from his community. There’s a few things I want to clarify from the beginning. First, he is not obligated to be my friend, because that’s not how friendship works. If he feels that what I said to his moderator was a betrayal then, well, that’s not what I intended, but I quite literally cannot stop him. Second, this is not about what Karacorvus said. X33N has made it very clear that he doesn’t think her words were transphobic, and at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. And finally, this is not me accusing him of being transphobic. I fully believe that he has always had good intentions toward the trans/nb community and he has been very apologetic in the past about his difficulty with they/them pronouns. People can not find things transphobic without being transphobes themselves.

So. Depending on where you want to get into it, this story begins two years ago, or a year and a half ago, or last summer, or a month ago. Frankly, thinking about the good times we had and the advice he gave me about my mental health just hurts right now, so I’ll skip over the details, but suffice it to say that this man knew some extremely personal things about me and I trusted him implicitly. Last summer, given the state of the world with the pandemic as well as his perfectly understandable personal stress, his streams shifted away from the focus on the community and mental health as he, in his own words, began to rely on streaming with others to make up the energy. At the time, I tried to bring it up to him and was essentially told that he wasn’t forcing me to watch, and that the focus was shifting due to his energy levels. Before that I had been a dedicated viewer of every stream I could catch, but after that I started skipping a few of the more obviously non-community-focused streams. Which brings us to the last-summer portion of the beginning of this story. I’m starting here because he seems to include it in his reasoning, and because it seems to have colored his view of everything I did since then, including an incident that involved several friends of mine who were not him. Essentially, after a while of seeing that nothing was changing, I messaged a moderator (whose last message to me before this had been “I never reveal my sources”) something along the lines of ‘do you think X33N would even notice if we all didn’t show up one night bc that’s what’s going to happen if he keeps this up.’ (I’m not going back through long deleted dms to find exact wordings). This moderator took my message to X33N without my knowledge. He messaged me, ostensibly to “check in” which made me happier than I care to remember, because at the time I had been struggling as had everyone, and it was nice to think that someone had noticed and cared enough to check on me. But alas, it turned out to be a secret test as to whether I would tell him what I’d said, and when I didn’t do so he viewed that as a betrayal and dishonest. It took some time and communication for that one as it felt like all the honesty I had given him was being tossed aside, but we did talk it out, and as far as I could tell, went back to a slightly bruised but recovering friendship.

This should lead into the aforementioned situation involving people that were not him, but at least one of them would be genuinely endangered by that situation becoming public so I will summarize it as drama, which a mutual friend mentioned to X33N and then brought his reaction to me. His reaction had seemed upset with me, so I reached out to apologize and X33N reassured me that he hadn’t been upset and just wanted to point out to the mutual friend that he knew what was going on. Cut to the next day (or the day after? My sense of time last year was... well, about where everyone’s was) and X33N was asking other mutual friends whether I was leading a conspiracy to get him to add me back on snap (this conspiracy was news to me but whatever) and accusing me of fomenting drama because... honestly this is one of those times where I don’t care to speculate on his motives, he said a lot of things very fast while I was tilted about the snapchat conspiracy and I don’t think I correctly grasped why he was upset with me, but I distinctly remember him bringing up the previous ‘betrayal.’ This was also when I stopped joining in the community among us games, which seemed fine by everyone involved.

All this apparently came to a head about a month(?) ago, when he, karacorvus, and some others were trying a new game. Kara said to one of the other streamers, a man who had seemed perfectly happy with his character model, would he please change his character to a man, etc. There was some uncomfortable laughter, Kara doubled down on her comments, a friend messaged me to tell me they had been uncomfortable with it as well, and I took the problem to a friend of mine who X33N had modded and who I trusted to handle the situation. This mod told me that I had not been the only one uncomfortable, and, when I said that I had been surprised to hear such comments on X33N’s stream pass unchallenged, replied by pointing out that Kara had a big community. I replied with something along the lines of ‘well... there was a time when that wouldn’t have mattered more than his allyship but I guess a lot has fucking changed with his priorities’ and the discussion moved on, seemingly productively, and ended on a friendly “thanks for bringing this to me/no thank you for taking it seriously,” and I didn’t think much more of it, although I did resolve to ask X33N about the whole well she has a big community comment the next day if he seemed in a decent mood. Maybe if I’d talked to him that night things would’ve gone differently, maybe my fate was sealed as soon as I was given the no-win statement of ‘she has a big community’ and put in the position of arguing with a mod or agreeing that X33N would change his mind on his statements of his community being welcoming to all in pursuit of someone else’s community. I’ll never know, I guess, because as I was saying goodnight to my friend X33N messaged me to tell me he was banning me over my pattern of betraying him behind his back. He kicked me from his server and had me blocked before I had even shaken off my shock and confusion- remember, at the time I had no idea what would trigger this, his last words to me had been ‘we totally good yo’ and my conversation with his moderator had seemingly ended amicably. It’s only now, after some very dear friends didn’t buy in to what he said about me in his discord (that I had been sowing discontent among “community memberS” about him “not making a stink” over “comments bluejay felt were insensitive”) that I am able to know that it was that part of that conversation that he was upset by. According to those who spoke with him, it’s not clear that he even knew I said what I did in reaction to his moderator claiming he would let transphobia slide because karacorvus has a big community, and I’m not sure I’ll ever know because the moderator I spoke to also blocked me. Which means that I lost two friends that night, not even counting the multiple people who believed his side of things from his discord without hearing me out. I can’t say that I blame them, I would’ve struggled to believe it myself.

There’s a part of me that still hopes X33N will realize that what I said was the best I could do in response to the situation I was given and reach out, but I kind of doubt it. I messaged him from an alt account, admittedly rather angrily, to ask that he at the very least correct what he said about me in his discord, and he had my alt banned from the server we’d had in common and seemed very sure of his position. As I said, he doesn’t have to be my friend, but I wish that he hadn’t taken such steps to harm my friendships with others from his community, and the fact that he has no obligation doesn’t stop me from missing the parts of our friendship that were good- I know I haven’t really laid them out here, but I was genuinely thankful for whatever power led me to him, and we did have good times. Both the serious mental health kinds and the playful friendly competition in beatsaber kinds, and many in between. I miss him and I hope he one day sees that his friends can bring up issues from his streams with his mods without it being a personal attack on their friendships. But most of all, I hope that by writing all this down it will stop bouncing around in my head.

#X33N #transphobia mention #ends of friendships #this man mattered to me more than I can express and I am a different person because I knew him #probably forgetting a tag sorry :(

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iristhepladsen · 5 years

Text

Trust is a Two-Way Road Pt. 1

Pairing: The Mandalorian x OC

Read Last Part here, Next part here

Summary:

In which the Mandalorian and Xola learn that trust is not granted, but earned.

Warnings: None

A/N: This is now the exploration of the thing we all find the most difficult in our relations. Whether you have known them three days of three decades, trust does not come easily to the best of us. Especially to those whose literal job is not trusting a soul, and the other betrayed one too many times. I am going to enjoy unfurling this important facet of a relationship, please stay tuned!

It was friendlier than any place that Xola had been in a long, long time. Although there were kind words and soft interactions, the compound lifestyle had not exactly been the easiest of places. Her position as a translator of the Jawa dialect had allowed her the luxury of hot water allowance, vegetables, and the occasional fruit instead of constantly eating freeze-dried rations, but this was different. A hot broth with a sharp yet deliciously spiced drink. A friendly waitress with easy-going chatter surrounding her.

"I...can pay you back." She offered.

"No thank you."

"I don't like to be indebted, Mandalorian." Taking another sip of the thin broth, she rubbed her neck. "Just give me time to think of how I might be able to."

"I understand."

There was not much to interact with. She understood, she did. It was as new to him as it was for her.

From their interactions, it was glaringly obvious that he had not spent much time with people. She was curious if he had friends within his clan. People he had met here and there that he befriended. Were there lovers amongst his acquaintance?

"The broth. How is it?"

Shaken from her thoughts, she nodded.

"It's very nice. I'd offer you some but..." Huffing an uncomfortable laugh, she motioned vaguely in his direction. "I hope that you're finding times to look after yourself, even when I am...here."

"I do." Pausing, she felt a tension rise in the air. "Stay here."

"What?"

Hearing his chair scrape, his shadow had fled.

"Mandalorian?"

Looking amongst the shapes and hues of brown and grey, she could not make out his shape.

He had said stay. But, could she? What if the Mandalorian was leaving her on the planet with no means?

"No...I trust him." Xola whispered.

But, she didn't. She didn't trust him. She didn't trust anyone in particular.

Rising, she made her way to the brightest light source, indicating the presence of an exit. Breath rising and falling, she looked around, ears straining for the sound of the engines of The Crest.

Hearing a warrior's yell, she ran in that direction. What happened?

"No, stop!! Stop!"

Feeling a weapon push into her neck, Xola stepped back.

"What are you doing?" Xola snapped. "Stop!"

"Could ask you two the same." Hearing a woman reply haughtily as Xola's hands raised slowly.

"You don't need to do that," Cara sighed. "I won't hurt you. Or him."

"You want soup?" The Mandalorian offered hesitantly.

"Yeah."

As they walked back, he guided Xola in the right direction with a touch between her shoulder blades.

"Why didn't you stay?"

Because I was afraid you were about to leave me behind, never to return.

"I was worried for you." She lied. "I'm glad you're alright, however. Who is she?"

"A former soldier."

After they resettled down, Xola relieved that her food had not been cleared away yet, Cara put her drink down with a firm clink.

"How'd you get here?"

"Just laying low. Ex-shock trooper, getting into things here and there...look, you're a bounty hunter. Thought you had a fob on me, that's why I fought you."

"I get it." He replied with a nod.

"So...why're you two here?"

"Laying low."

"Unless you want to go another round, you'll have to lay low somewhere else. One of us is going to move on, and I was here first." Finishing her drink, Cara made her exit.

No longer hungry, Xola took a tentative sip of the lukewarm broth before rising.

"Well...planets taken." The Mandalorian replied.

Feeling along the floor with her foot, she made her way to the brightest light in the room. Hearing the Mandalorian walking behind her, she felt disappointment settle in hard.

"Where are we in the galactic system?"

"Sorgan is on the southern outer rim."

Eyes downcast, her hand absentmindedly drifted to where her cloak once rested. This was the only quiet planet in the area. Could they risk traveling to a place with a higher population density?

"We'll leave at dawn, but first, I need to make a repair on the Crest."

"Can I help?"

"Sure."

Switching on the power light, he removed part of the outer grating.

"What does the sky look like right now?" Xola asked, holding out the wrench for him.

"Dark, cloudy."

"The sun must set fast here then." Xola replied, crouching on the ground.

"Another medium bolt?" Freezing, she sat up slowly.

In the distance, was the sound of a machine of some sort.

"They're okay. Don't worry."

***

"And so...we will be going to 'nowhere', to deal with some local bullies."

"Pretty much. Stay, and get some things. Find the first aid, the blanket, and the yellow-no, the heavier rectangle like box that is right next to the hangar door. We're leaving as soon as I get back."

"Okay. And, where are you going?" Xola called out to his disappearing voice.

"To get a friend."

Walking up the hangar, she knelt to the ground, feeling for the rectangle box. There was a lever, a leather-like sack...feeling the cold and metallic box, she picked it up, accidentally hitting her head against the corner of the hangar.

"Damn!" She hissed, rubbing her forehead.

"You alright lady?" One of the men cautiously called out.

"Yeah, yeah. Just...load that, will you?"

After a considerable amount of time, the items were all successfully located and on the cart.

Sitting, she waited for the rest of the company. Once the cart dipped temporarily in weight, she knew it was time to go.

As the cart began its slow and steady space, she stared out into the dingy air.

"...It's nothing an ex-shock trooper can't handle." The Mandalorian was saying.

"Or a Mandalorian. And, what are you?" Cara asked, jerking her head at Xola.

"A...I worked on the warships."

"Which side?"

Should she say? It was hard to know who stood where these days.

"The New Republic."

"...We all end up the same, don't we? Some New Republic this is turning out to be." Cara remarked, bitterness lining her voice.

"We all do the best that we can do," Xola responded.

"And sometimes, our best just isn't good enough." Cara yawned, stretching out.

Tell me about it. Xola silently agreed.

Had I just made it to that escape pod...would I even be in this mess?

Feeling the Mandalorian's eyes sharply on her, she absentmindedly wiped the sweat at the back of her neck with her hand.

"Anything on your mind?" Xola found herself asking him.

"I..." Faltering, he shifted down. "Is your head okay?"

"Hm? Yes, it's fine. Is there a bump?"

"Yeah. But if you're not hurting too much..." Fingers ghosting on her temple, they returned promptly to the Mandalorian's side.

"Better settle in. It's a long ride."

"Mhm." Xola hummed in reply.

Whatever he wanted to say, wasn't going to be vocalized. It seemed that he'd never say what he really thought of anything.

Feeling a tired irritation, Xola leaned into a corner of the cart, grimacing at the splinters pressing into her tailbone.

Closing her eyes, she imagined herself in the compound. The sound of echoing metal, the familiarity of every cough, cry, and snarky Jawa tongue that passed through those corridors. The ease of moving from room to room within the metallic walls. Five years in one place would grant the steady rhythm of a safe lifestyle, albeit a boring one. The coming and going of the refugees, feeling that she was the only permanent resident. Only to be ripped away. Registering a thin blanket of some sort being draped across her legs and stomach, she squirmed further into the cart, trying miserably to ignore the sound of the low murmurs of the men above her.

"You think they can pull it off?"

"It's a Mandalorian and a veteran. If they can't...well...we got no choice, now do we?"

The next thing Xola knew, the Mandalorian was shaking her shoulder.

"Wake up."

Breathing in the warm and humid air and the feeling of the soft morning sun kissing her eyelashes, the sound of children laughing, and the sloshing of water, Xola's feet cautiously sank into the moist earth.

"I brought them!" The villager shouted.

Crowding the three, the chattering grew to a near frenzy as the anxious inhabitants eyed the trio, dubious wonder filling their features.

"You must be exhausted," A woman broke in, hand resting on Xola's shoulder. "Come this way."

Letting herself be led, the woman who introduced herself as Omera showed them to a small barn.

"We don't get many visitors...I'm sorry, but this is all we can offer for you two."

"You're most generous. Thank you." The Mandalorian said, looking around.

"Blankets are over there, and a washbasin at the door."

"Thank you." Xola said, smiling in her direction.

Hearing her footsteps walk away, she picked up the soft and old smelling blankets, folding it out to be a bed.

"It's been a long few days. You should get more rest." The Mandalorian said, forming his bed across the room.

"No...if it's alright, I want to walk around. I feel that I haven't walked around for a long time."

"Your nasal bone is broken, and...you..."

"Trust me. A walk will do me better than a nap ever could."

"There...there are a lot of ponds. You'll fall in."

"Not if someone is there to guide me. Or, if I had a stick of some sort."

"I can't guide you now. But...soon."

"Alright."

After an hour or so, the Mandalorian frowned. Someone was watching. Blaster at the ready, he whirled, producing a panicked cry from a young girl. Seeing the child, his shoulders relaxed, the blaster slowly landing at his side.

"This is my daughter, Winta." Omera warmly interjected, placing her hands on her child's shoulders.

"This nice man is going to get rid of the bad men. We'll be safe." Omera murmured comfortingly to her daughter.

"Nice to meet you." Xola said, the Mandalorian giving her a nod.

Glancing nervously at them, Winta clenched her mother's skirts as her voice began in a soft whisper.

"Sir, I wanted to know if I could show that...I don't know your name, I'm sorry. But I want to show 'her' the village. We'll stay in the village, won't go into the forest, I swear it. Can I show her around?"

"I don't think-"

"It'd be wonderful," Xola interjected. "Please do."

"Um, I-don't think..."

Turning his direction, Xola smiled.

"I'll be fine. I will see you shortly."

Hand raised reluctantly, the Mandalorian craned his neck to catch a glimpse of Xola and the girl scampering out, a nervous yet delighted grin on the child's face.

"She'll be fine. Don't worry." Omera assured him. "We take good care of people here."

***

It felt liberating, in a way, being seperate from the Mandalorian. Some people hated humidity, the way it made their hair puff up, the fabric clenching onto the small of the back, the near suffocating weight of moisture in the air. To Xola, it was as welcome as the first warmth that springtime brings. From the cold and recycled ship air, and the dry emptiness of the compound, the vitality of the humidness was welcome.

Cooking over the fire, Xola was delighted to hear that the fish were, in fact, a cornflower and turquoise color.

From sun up to sundown, the villagers would approach Xola and Winta for an inquisitive glance or remark.

After spending what seemed hours in the village baths, Omera joined the townswomen.

"The time!" She called out.

"Girls, get dried off and go home, I know there were some mothers and fathers looking for you!" Scampering off, the girls all whispered their goodbyes, leaving the women to enjoy the serene stillness in the bath.

"Xola, are you doing alright today?" Omera spoke up.

"Yes." Eyes crinkling, Xola ran her hand across the water's gentle surface. "It's a lovely place. And a shame that it's being seized."

A tension resonated within the house as the recent events remained an open gash in their hearts. When it had been silent for some time, Omera sighed, piling her long hair atop her head.

"Well, it is our home, and beautiful. Anything that is of value in this galaxy must be protected and cherished. And by your 'friends' being here...we are in great debt to you all."

"We will help in any way we can." Xola found herself promising. Frowning, she pulled herself out of the stone tub.

"What time is it?"

"The sunset nearly two hours ago." Someone mentioned, mirth in their voice.

"I had better retire. Thank you all!"

"Oh, do you need someone to help you get back?" Omera asked, beginning to rise.

"No, no! I know the way. Enjoy your time, and thank you!"

Hastily dressing, she squeezed the water out of her hair as she was introduced into the cold and humid air. Shivering, she rubbed her arms as she felt her way along the walls. How did the cold come so quickly?

Knocking cautiously on the barn door, she felt for the glass and threaded beads on the gate, affirming that she had reached the correct residence.

"Mandalorian...?" Cautiously poking her head in, she awaited confirmation.

In the nighttime, shadows, shapes, or any light was impossible. Just the empty and still ebony of night.

"I'm here." Hearing his voice on the opposite side, she walked in his direction. "Enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah. Very much. And you?"

"Yeah."

At the irony in his tone, she raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Work cut out for you?"

"In a matter of speaking."

"Then, you should try and rest, Mandalorian."

Hearing the slight clinking of Beskar, she sensed anxiety over this idea coursing through his spine.

"If you're worried, I will listen for the sounds of an ambush, so you can sleep. You need to. I mean, I am assuming you're human of some sort? But, maybe you can't tell me that."

She assumed he was human, but one could never really tell by appearances, making her least qualified to confirm this.

"Tomorrow, I will be gone for a long time." He said, the sound of footsteps approaching her. Feeling a crude wooden stick being pressed into her palms, she leaned back instinctively. "You'll need this."

"A rod?" She queried, rising.

"Try it out."

Holding it out, she noticed he had shaped the length for her height, even the weight. Locating the wicker chair, the door frame, and even his calf, she felt a relieved sigh escape her. She hadn't realized just how much she had missed this assistance.

"Thank you..."

Xola had known he watched her struggle, even more so with the loss of her rod. But, making her one so she might be free to wander on her own. It was a kind notion.

"Now I can have something sturdy to beat people with, if the need arises," Xola said dryly, giving it a light pat.

Hearing a huff under the modulator, she tilted her head at him.

"Was that a cough or a chuckle?"

"Your guess."

Hearing rustling, she knew he was under the covers.

Finding her way to her bed, she lay the staff on the floor, slipping underneath the soft bedding. Tucking the blanket under her chin, she stared out into the darkness, not even shadows or colors present.

Settling, Xola felt excitement buzz from her toes to her hair as she held the staff feeling the weight of it press down.

"Do you sleep every night with the helmet on?"

"Not usually."

"Isn't it uncomfortable?"

"Yes."

"Then...why don't you take it off?"

"I can't."

"I've heard a bit about Mandalorians. Here and there. But...I don't understand."

"We are one. One face. Anonymity is a crucial aspect of Mandalore. This is the Way."

"I can't see you. At all. All I know is your armor is some sort of brown color."

"It's silver."

"Oh. Well...point taken. I can't see. I am sure it'd be fine."

Hearing him sigh tiredly, Xola chagrined. She was keeping him from blessed rest.

"I'm looking at the wall."

"No. Other way."

Turning she reached out, fingers brushing the old wood walls.

"I'm about to sleep. So after I am...why don't you take it off? You might get an awful crick in your neck if you keep it on even when you're sleeping."

"Goodnight." Was all she got.

"Goodnight."

Pulling the blankets over her head, she felt a gentle breeze brush through the room.

"If you covered the door and that small window in the barn, if you slept like that, it wouldn't be as risky!"

"Xola-" He began, irritation fighting its way into his tone.

"-I know, no more, good luck tomorrow, wishing you the best, goodnight!"

"Goodnight, Xola." He retorted, a slight exasperation in his tone.

"Goodnight."

Fighting the strange urge to chuckle, she felt the weight of sleep press down lightly on her thin eyelids, the gentle rustling of the bed covers across the room lulling her into a dreamless sleep.

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