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hacked-by-jake · 4 years

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Was that Jake there 2

Part 1

Pairing: JakexMc

Words: 4,2k

A/N: So, a few days ago I got an absolutely sweet comment from @captainwanderlust78❤️

Really, you made my last week. And then unfortunately the news came from Everbyte that EP 7 will come later. And actually, there wasn’t a second part planned for this story, but since you wanted one so much, here we are. This is my second attempt, because I wrote a part that I didn’t like. I tried to keep the story a little more quiet this time. Anyway, I hope you like it and apologize for possible mistakes. Oh and Merry Christmas. 🌲❤️

"Ready little ones?" Dan asks you and pokes you with his elbow.

"Yes, I’m ready," you answer and look at the big clock in the motel lobby.

Point 12 at midday.

"I’ll be gone," you say goodbye to the others.

"Take care of yourself and call me if you need anything," Richy informs you.

"Yeah, or if he attacks you," hiss Dan.

"Dan" hisses Jessy and steps on his foot.

"Ouch" growls Dan and looks at her accusingly.

Jessy is just ignoring this and calls after you, "See you later".

Slowly but with firm steps you make your way to the elevator.

Immediately the doors open and you get in and press the button for floor three.

The place the place where you meet is going to be a motel room that can’t be used because of renovation.

This is the perfect place to meet Jake.

He will come over the fire escape behind the motel to the third floor and there you meet in the room.

Deciding how and when the meeting will take place was quite awkward.

Yesterday after you guys finished partying at the club, you and Jessy called a cab as planned to take you home to Jessy. Fortunately, everything worked out, until the taxi driver drove to the roadside in the middle of the drive and simply switched off the engine.

Immediately all the alarms were on in your head, and you were ready to get out of the car if necessary.

He turned to you in the back and silently held a note to you.

The paper was folded very small, you opened it and saw many ones and zeros.

0100100001100101011011000110110001101111 010011010110001100001010

Grinning, you rolled your eyes.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Jessy wonders.

"This is a binary code," you explain to her and pull your phone out of your pocket.

"Ah now I know what that is, of course," she grumbles ironically.

"This is computer language"

You search the Internet for a code translator.

You took a picture of the notes, the translator took the numbers and translated them directly.

"Hello Mc" you read, "Is this serious?".

The driver silently held out a note to you.

You also open this note and moan desperately.

"Can’t he just write normal letters?" you mumble and take a deep breath.

"He’s a computer nerd, they’re all weird," answers the man who was supposed to be just a taxi driver.

01010100 01101111 01101101 01101111 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110111

00001010 01000100 01101111 01101111 01110010 01100010 01100101 01101100 01101100 00001010 01010000 01101100 01100001 01101110

01100110 01101111 01110010

01100111 01110101 01111001

00001010

"Tomorrow morning, doorbell, plan for guy" is the translation.

"Huh?" makes Jessy next to you.

"I’ve got another one," the guy calls again.

"One more? Why not write everything on a piece of paper?"

"Clay said it was too confusing"

"Clay?"

"Oh, Jake, excuse me" he grins and holds out the third note.

01001101 01100101 01100101 01110100 00001010 00110001 00110010

"Meet

12 o'clock

"Midday"

"Okay, so, there’s a man ringing in the morning and he wants me to tell him the plan but the meeting has to be at 12:00," you put it all together.

"Right" the man agrees with you and starts the car again.

"Wait, You knew what that meant?"

"Yes, but we should talk as little as possible, that’s why the notes" he explains to you.

"But I said it out loud"

"Yes, right"

After that, he didn’t speak, but at least you didn’t have to pay.

Well, and then 20 minutes later, you and Jessy took the next taxi back to Roger’s garage, and there you all met again to work out the plan.

Lilly told Mrs Walter she didn’t have to work today. Lilly would take her shift and the owner should have a nice day with Alfie.

After a little persuasion it worked and Lilly is the only one who has to work.

There are only 13 rooms occupied in the entire motel, and only two of them are on the third floor, so the room with the renovation fits best.

This morning at 7 o'clock, a flower messenger rang at Jessy’s house, and you stared at the roses and then at the man.

"Gohstbusters" he said and you understood what to do.

You gave him a note stating the plan for the meeting.

However, written in hieroglyphs.

But there is also a translator on the Internet.

The elevator doors open and you look around.

No one is to be seen so you make yourself on the way to the room which is at the very end of the corridor.

With the key card you got from Lilly, you can open the door, hold the card against the sensor and the door cracks quietly. You press the door inwards and notice that there’s light on.

However, of course you did not expect that a man sitting in the room on the desk chair.

"Oh, God," you jump back a step.

The man looks up and immediately looks worried.

"Oh my God," you murmur as you realizes it’s just Jake.

Completely out of breath, you lean with your hands on your knees and breathe deeply.

"Oh shit, MC, I didn’t mean to." He murmurs and comes up to you.

You laugh in agony and grin forced.

"Ha uhm already okay, all right, I was not scared".

A small but quiet laugh comes from Jake’s mouth.

He’s going to the side so you can come in. He locks the door behind you.

"How did you get in here?" You ask and try to calm your heart that feels like it’s jumping out of your chest.

"The doors are not safe for hackers," he explains, sitting back on the chair.

"You hacked a motel door?" you ask amused.

"Yes, you weren’t there yet, but I couldn’t stay in front of the door. That would have been more than conspicuous," he argues.

You just shake your head and let yourself fall on the bed. For a moment it is quiet, only the ticking of the clock can be heard.

"Thank you for coming," you speak in silence.

"Hm yes" is the answer.

"You’re still against it, aren’t you?" you ask unsure.

"MC, please don’t think I wouldn’t want to see you too, but I won’t be reassured until you’re safe again," he explains.

"How are you?" you change the subject.

"I am fine, and you?"

You roll your eyes, "Don’t tell me everything at once," you say ironically.

A smile appears on his face.

"Honestly not so good" he admits.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, it’s okay" he declines. You pull up an eyebrow and you look at him in a challenging way, "Okay, then in a different way. Tell me what’s going on," you challenge him and leave no room for a negative answer.

You point to the bed next to you and signal him to sit next to you.

He thinks briefly but then does what you want

"Well, it’s all pretty stressful right now," he starts.

"Okay good, and keep going" attentively you look at him.

He finally surrenders and begins to report.

"There were some problems that we didn’t expect, they almost caught us. We could only cross a border with a lot of luck and help, but that took us quite some time. And then I made a stupid mistake, the pursuers were able to intercept our signal. As a result, I had to burn my laptop and cell phone so that nothing could be found.

That took us some time too. The agents are much better than I thought, they are much too fast and much too good and that makes it really hard for me. And for the others, too. And what’s even harder is, that I can’t write to you anymore. I dont know how far along you are, or if you have new clues, new key results, how far along you are with Hannah, but even worse, I don’t know how you’re doing. How you feel or if you have problems, and that makes my head full all day with questions that revolve around you. Sometimes we manage to access the Internet for a short time through public computers in libraries or cafes. But contacting you would be too dangerous. I can delete a lot of data from the system but as I said, the agents are better than I thought and unfortunately we do not know exactly how well and how much they can get back. I would have to take every computer with me and burn it down, but that would be even worse if computers were suddenly missing everywhere. It’s shitty MC, I’m honest, I hate this situation, but it’s my own fault"

exhausted, he rubs his face.

Wow okay, that was very honest.

Worried you look at him.

You could say things like "everything’s gonna be okay" or "it’s not your fault." But let’s face it, it’s not helping anyone. So the only logical way is to just hug him tight, and that’s exactly what you’re doing.

You slide a little closer to him and wrap your arms around his upper body and lean your head against his shoulder. Unlike yesterday, he does not tense himself but also gently lays his arms around your body. Immediately, its smell rises in your nose and tingles through your body. You notice how relief spreads in your body. Relief that he’s doing reasonably well, that he’s still free, that he’s here with you, that he’s hugging you, too. But above all, relief because it feels like every pressure is dropping from you, all the pressure of the last few weeks. The pressure because of Hannah, the pressure because of the man without a face, and of course the pressure that something might have happened to Jake. At least for a brief moment, everything is fine, and that makes you happy. And if you think about he’s gonna have to leave soon, you’re gonna get sick. But you don’t want to think about the negative things now, you just want to enjoy the moment, just a brief moment of rest.

You have closed your eyes and hear Jake’s heart beat rhythmically, which also calms you down. You remove an arm from his body and place your hand on his left chest. You can feel his heart just coming out of rhythm and then beating a little faster than before. This also makes your heart beat a little faster.

"You Jake?" you whisper softly.

"Mhh?" he makes a questioning sound.

"Who are the others?"

"They’re familiar to me. The three were also involved in the government project and now they are also in danger," he says briefly.

"Okay?" your voice sounds questioning.

"We know each other from different chat portals for hackers"

Thus, all your questions were answered. For this moment.

Slowly you break away from each other, even if you don’t want to, but it’s no use.

"I still have to thank Lilly and you" he addresses your #IamJake action.

"You don’t have to thank either of us, Lilly owed it to both of us, and I do it because I want," you assure him.

"But still, it’s not understandable, I hope it will help us. The idea was really good. The others were quite fascinated when they saw this, "he praises you and his half-sister.

"You deserve it, too, Jake," you reaffirm your action even more.

Ironically he laughs, "with what?"

"In which you are, and also do everything to find Hannah, even if she doesn’t know you’re her half-brother. And Lilly also understood that we both just wanted to help."

"That might have been a little selfish of me. I just wanted you guys to make up because I don’t know where this is going with the two of us. And I wanted to take the opportunity early" he confesses.

"I can live with that" a little smile is on your face.

He doesn’t know where this is going with us, and he wanted you and his half-sister to make up.

"I’m sorry, MC but -" he starts.

You sigh, "but we still have something to discuss," you finish his sentence.

"I’m sorry, but we only charged three hours at the most, then I have to go "he looks at you apologetically.

"It’s okay, let’s not talk about it now".

You really don’t want to talk about it right now. The conversation will come soon enough. Jake gets his backpack on the desk and takes out his laptop.

Then he sits down next to you again and asks you to give him your phone.

Quickly, a connection is established and the screen of your phone is displayed on the laptop.

And so you begin to discuss everything that’s happened since he was gone.

By now you had arrived at Lilly’s and your chat.

"You really called her Duskwood’s worst legend?" Jake asks a little overwhelmed if he can laugh about it.

"Um, I was a little mad," you smile innocently at him.

"Remind me not to argue with you" he looks at you briefly from the side and grins crooked.

"I like to argue sometimes" challenging, you look at him.

"Yes, I noticed that, so we prefer not to"

Quietly, he continues to read the chat while you wait to see if he has any questions.

From the side you see his eyes suddenly get a little bigger and he swallows.

"Everything okay?" you ask him immediately.

"So we’re in love?" he asks teasingly.

It takes a short time to remember the message, immediately you get warm and your cheeks turn red.

Then you laugh a little hysterical.

"Um, haha that- that, uhm yes..." you stutter.

Jake raises an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah, I can explain that," nervously you start playing with your hands and scratching your neck in turns.

"Uhm, so - on that point I didn’t know, uhm, what relationship you and Lilly have. So this - I didn’t know you both were siblings, and then I kind of wanted to piss them off. Well, I- I thought it might upset Lilly or something".

You don’t even know if that’s true, you just said it without thinking. Maybe it’s true, but he doesn’t want anyone know it, or it‘s just going too fast for him.

You wish for nothing more than for the floor to swallow you.

"I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have written that. I hope I didn’t make you feel stupid or anything, that’s the last thing I want, can we just forget about it?" you murmur in shame.

You look at the tips of your shoes so you don’t have to look at Jake.

"Lilly was right," Jake murmurs into the unpleasant silence.

"I didn’t like that they voted against you in the vote. They treated you unfairly, I didn’t like that at all," he admits, "I felt the need to at least scare the others. Which was not quite okay, but I couldn’t watch them treat you like this".

You’re looking at him.

"It was for Hannah, because you will be the key, but I could have just written a message, but that was not enough for me".

You can’t hold back a slight grin.

"Thank you" is all you can say.

"Is it true?" he harks curiously.

"Huh? What?" you act like you didn’t understand his question

"Well, what you wrote to Lilly"

"You know I like you," you confirm.

In response, you get just another big smile from Jake as he just keeps looking at the screen.

However, he omits the end of the chat, at the point where you got the video.

He knows probably after that it’s about his family.

"I’m very proud of you MC" he starts to talk, "you two worked really well together and I’m amazed how well you were able to solve the puzzles".

A little shy about his praise, you just thanked him.

Exhausted, you fall back on the bed.

Jake closes his laptop, puts it back in his pocket and then slowly lies down next to you.

"I haven’t asked you how you are actually doing" he notes a little depressed.

"At least better than in the last few weeks. It’s all very exhausting, but I can do it" you mumble and turn your head to the left so you can look at him.

His page profile is really beautiful.

"We met at a very strange time," Jake mutters, and he also turns his head in your direction.

For a moment, you look at each other silently.

"You are so wonderful and especially MC, do you know that?" he breathes.

"I don’t know, is that me?" you ask quietly.

"So wonderful that I don’t understand why you’re lying here with me"

"Maybe because you’re special, too, Jake. And even more wonderful than all the people I’ve met so far" you reciprocate his sweet compliment and mean every word seriously.

"Are you sure about this?"

"To 100 percent"

"You deserve someone better than me," he sighs.

"Stop lying," you grinned.

Now you both look at each other silently again, only the second hand and the birds from outside can be heard.

Slowly Jake raises a hand and wipes a strand of hair from your face.

You take his hand in yours and you cross your fingers with each other.

Jake looks thoughtfully at your hands.

"It’s dangerous what we’re doing here," he mutters.

"You can take that little break, Jake. That's okay," you calm him down.

"Maybe, but it’s dangerous to be here with you. You get such big problems if the persecutors find out you know me," he easily squeezes your hand.

"Jake, don’t worry about it. I know who I’m dealing with and I know it can end badly. But that’s why I don’t care, if we don’t risk it now, it may be too late. And then we’ll never know if it would’ve worked.

At the moment everything is going crazy, so why not at least do what you want for a short time?"

"You should become a motivational trainer" he suggests for fun.

"Do you think? Did my speech help?"

"I agree with your words, but I have so much more to lose. My freedom and looking for Hannah, but those are just the little things. The biggest problem is that I could never live with myself if you got problems just because I was selfish. Against these problems the man without face is nothing, MC. If you go to jail because of me, I could never forgive myself, you understand. And that’s my problem, I don’t know if I can risk it, I don’t want to ruin your whole life.

You made new friends here, when Hannah gets back, you’ll be completely happy, but then there’s me. The guy who runs from the government, that’s not what you deserve", he tries desperately to explain.

"That’s also why I don’t tell you what exactly I did, why I tell you as little as possible. You can’t say anything if you know nothing no matter what they do, you don’t know it. If the agents find you, they definitely do a lie-detector test with you, and hopefully, they won’t do any more than that. But if you don’t know anything, you’re not in danger either."

"I understand your point, I understand your worries and your fear, but, Jake, I’m aware of all of this. I know what happens if you and I can be connected, but I accept it for you and for Hannah."

"But that’s the thing, you shouldn’t put yourself in danger for this, not even for Hannah. And you being in Duskwood is dangerous enough, which is why I’m here with you, because it’s too dangerous."

You pull up an eyebrow and look skeptical.

"You don’t have to take care of me.What should happen to me? I won’t be alone.One of the others will always be with me. The man without a face can’t do anything to me, "you calm him down.

"I know, I know, but I’m still worried about you"

"But there’s nothing you can do about it, Jake. And the rest of the time we have left, we shouldn’t discuss things we can’t influence. None of us can change the situation"

"I don’t like that you’re right again" he grumbles what makes you smile.

"Do you know I’m happy right now?" you tell him softly, "because of you."

"Why?"

"Because I know you’re doing reasonably well, and because you’re here with me.

And you’re risking your freedom right now because I wished for this meeting. Then how could I not trust you, Jake? You deserve me to be here with you. And that’s also one reason why I don’t care if they get me, you confided in me even though you’re in a difficult time. You trusted me and that’s why I trust you" to support your words, you put his hand on your lips and breathe a short kiss on the back of his hand.

Like he’s petrified, he’s watching you.

"I think I’m really in love," he whispers.

"And I think I’m in love with you too" you giggle softly.

Minimally you slide closer to him and lean slightly with your elbow on the bed to push you a bit upwards.

As if he were considering whether this is a good idea, he eventually slips closer to you, but a lot more than you.

He also leans on the bed to be back on your height, your hands remain united all the time.

His thumb gently caresses the back of your hand.

Not ten centimeters separates your faces from each other.

Jake takes the initiative and leans even further up so that your faces almost touches. You feel his breath on your skin and your body is flooded with excitement. It’s like they just touched by accident.

Slowly, your faces move towards each other until your lips gently touch. But it’s enough to light a fire in you and get Jake to press his lips on yours.

Immediately you close your eyes and return the kiss with as much feeling as he did. You can’t control yourself and grin into the kiss, which also makes Jake smile.

Jake pulls you up to you and pushes you slightly on the bed so you can use your hands more.

But just as quickly the kiss becomes passionate again. A thousand different feelings are buzzing in your head. Despair, fear, happiness, contentment. And that is reflected in your kiss.

Now your two hands separate from each other and Jake wraps both arms around your upper body. You feel a little dizzy and feel like everything is spinning even if you have your eyes closed. Your body tries to cope with all the feelings of happiness and seems to be overwhelmed. Actually, it’s no wonder. You’ve never longed so much for closeness but with Jake now, it’s very different. The kiss last night,

it was beautiful. But that was a very different situation than it is now.you were overwhelmed and a little drunk. First the warm air in the club, then Phil, then suddenly Jake, a kiss, a deal, and then a weird cab driver. All quite a lot at once, but now you can enjoy the kiss, and it’s a very different one from yesterday. This is a relief for both of you, and the beginning of something greater, but also the beginning of an even more stressful time than before. 'Cause how you’re supposed to let Jake go right now, you absolutely don’t know.

You feel like your eyes are filling with tears because of the emotional overload that is currently running through your body. And unfortunately, you two seem to be really starting to have trouble breathing, so you’re must breaking up with each other with a heavy heart. Absolutely out of breath, Jake leans his forehead against yours.

"If the persecutors find me, beat me, okay?" he breathes hard. "Okay, but why?" you giggle.

"Because then I screwed up to be able to kiss you all the time."

In response, you laugh and give him another kiss. You could lie there forever like right now, but Jake’s phone suddenly starts ringing. Annoyed, he rolls his eyes but then stands up from the bed.He gets his cell phone out of his pocket and accepts the call. Instantly you assume the worst. The others are calling to tell him they have to leave. You don’t know how to react and your hands start to shake. His answers leave no room to speculate about what it’s all about, and his facial expressions and posture remain neutral. Shortly after he finishes the phone call, he blows out air and turns to you. You’re already struggling with the tears in your eyes as Jake starts smiling." Well, I think we need to rent a room at the motel."

Confused you look at him, "W-what do you mean?"

"We’ll be safe for the next few days, someone pretending to be me tried to hack the CIA. They think they’ve arrested me"

------

extra material:

"That’s her," he says in a much too high tone. "It’s an honor to finally meet you, I feel like I know you better than Jake knows you. Can you actually scan my personality? Jake always tells me that you are really good at seeing through people and assess" he babbles.

"Oh, is he telling you this?" you ask and grin at Jake.

"Oh yes, if you knew, When he can’t sleep, he tells a lot about you. He doesn’t usually talk that much in a year," giggles Jake’s buddy.

"Max" hisses Jake and looks at him hard.

"And he’s always telling you how impressive you are, and that he’s amazed you don’t have a problem with him being a hacker. And how sweet you are."

"Okay, that’s enough" growls Jake and pushes him. The pushed one begins to laugh and raises his hands up defensively.

"Do you tell such things?" you look amused at him. "Forget that, please," he grumbles. "Oh, I’ll never be able to forget that, but to be fair, I’m thrilled with you, too. And you don’t look bad either." You grin cheekily at him.

Masterlist🌹🎭

#duskwood #duskwood game #everbyte #duskwood jake #duskwood jake x mc #duskwood fanfiction #jake x mc

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grailfinders · 3 years

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Fate and Phantasms #193

Today on Fate and Phantasms we’re building the new guy everyone knows and loves, Prince Nezha! They’re an Ascendant Dragon Monk for their fire wheels and spear skills, as well as a Strength Cleric to pick up all those sacred treasures they get while still being the stabby stabby bot we all adore.

(I’ll be perfectly upfront right now; we did not have the time to read through Investiture of the Gods and Journey to the West to make one character, so they’ll be getting all the sacred treasures that we found while binging OSP’s videos on the latter. Also, lots of anti-demon stuff. You don’t need first-hand knowledge of a series to know that the “Demon-Hacking Blade” probably has some anti-demon features in it.)

Anyways, check out their build breakdown below the cut, or their character sheet over here!

Next up: The Mysterious Miss Moolah!

Race and background

Nezha’s more clay than metal, but they’re still hanging out in an artificial body, that’s a Warforged. They get +2 Constitution and +1 to any stat, so +1 Wisdom, as well as Constructed Resilience, so you don’t have to eat, drink, breathe, or sleep, don’t get sick, and have advantage and resistance to poison effects. Instead of sleeping, you take a Sentry’s Rest, spending 6 hours awake but not moving. You also get Integrated Protection for +1 AC. There’s more to it, but you’re a monk, you don’t use armor anyway. Finally, your Specialized Design gives you proficiency in one skill, I picked Animal Handling for the same reason I grabbed it for Nero. If you can “handle” the king of the monkeys, the rest should fall in line.

I meant beating him up, don’t be gross.

You respect your coworkers, which means to mortals you’d probably be an Acolyte, which gives you proficiency with Insight and Religion.

Ability Scores

Wisdom comes from making mistakes, and dear god have you made some doozies, so make that number one. Second highest should be Dexterity, you can fly, but only by balancing on wheels. That’s a high-stakes highwire act. Your Strength is next- going toe-to-toe with the monkey king requires a lot of it. Your Constitution is also above average, the zhenren sages don’t skimp on their designs. This means your Intelligence will be a bit low since we don’t need it for the build, but we’re dumping Charisma. There’s a bit of a disconnect between you and others, and also you have a lot of self-loathing issues to work through, which just makes hanging out a bit awkward.

Class Levels

Monk 1: Starting off as a monk gives you plenty of goodies, like proficiency in Strength and Dexterity saves, Acrobatics for balance, and History. I cannot emphasize enough about how all these servant builds should probably just get free history proficiency. You also get Unarmored Defense, which adds to your Integrated Protection for a total AC of 11+ your dex mod + your wisdom modifier. That brings your current AC up to 16 for a start, not bad. You also get Martial Arts so your monk attacks deal at least 1d4 (which grows as you level up), can use your dexterity instead of strength, and if you make one of those attacks as your action you can make another attack as a bonus action. Spears are simple weapons and versatile, not two-handed, so you’re in the clear.

Cleric 1: We’re gonna bounce over to cleric right away to become a worshiper of Strength. When you become an Acolyte of Strength, you learn one Druid cantrip, and gain proficiency with another skill- in this case, Athletics. For your free cantrip, grab Shillelagh. I know it says club or quarterstaff, but just hold the spear backwards. If gives you a d8 for damage, turns the weapon magical, and you can use Wisdom to attack with it instead of dexterity or strength. While we’re on the topic, you also get Spells now that use your Wisdom to cast and prepare. That means you don’t have a hard and fast spell list, but you can switch things up each long rest. For cantrips, Spare the Dying gives you beans of immortality that you can pop into a creature’s mouth as an action to stabilize them. You also get Sacred Flame for sacred flames, and Thaumaturgy to show off your celestial origins. As a strength cleric you’ll always have Divine Favor and Shield of Faith on tap, but you can also use Detect Evil and Good and Protection from Evil and Good for demon fighting.

Monk 2: We’re not going to focus on cleric too much though, we have martial arts to learn. At second level, you get Ki points equal to your monk level each short rest, letting you attack twice, dodge, disengage, or dash as a bonus action. You also get Unarmored Movement, adding to your speed as you level up.

Monk 3: At third level you can finally set down the Way of the Ascendant Dragon, making your fists a lot more fiery. You’re now a Draconic Disciple as well as a cleric, so when you hit a creature with your fists or feet you can deal bludgeoning damage as normal, or acid, cold, fire, lightning, or poison. Obviously fire is the most in character, but there’s probably a baobei that works for the other elements if you really want them. You can also spend your reaction to re-roll a failed intimidation or persuasion check, succeeding once per long rest. I guess Nezha can be kind of scary when they want to be. You can also use the Breath of the Dragon, replacing one of your normal attacks with a cone or line of acid, cold, fire, lighting, or poison damage, forcing a dexterity save against your ki save (DC 8 + proficiency + wisdom modifier), taking 2 rolls of your martial arts die on a failure, or half as much on a success. If that monkey king’s modern iteration can get beam weapons so can you. You get Proficiency free uses per long rest, but you can use it more by spending 1 ki point per use. Finally, you can react to someone shooting you with an arrow to Deflect Missiles, reducing the damage, If it’s reduced to 0, you can spend a ki point to launch it back at them.

Cleric 2: Back into cleric for a hot second. Second level clerics can Channel Divinity in one of two ways per short rest. Turn Undead makes nearby undead run if they fail a wisdom save, but you can also use a Feat of Strength to add +10 to an attack roll or strength check/save. The Zhenren really don’t mess around.

Monk 4: Fourth level monks get their first Ability Score Improvement, so improve that Wisdom for a higher AC, better shillelagh attacks, and stronger fire powers. You also learn how to Slow Fall as a reaction so falling off your wheels isn’t quite as big an issue.

Monk 5: Fifth level monks get an Extra Attack per attack action, bringing your total in a turn up to two with just an action, three with your martial arts bonus action, or four with flurry of blows. You can also turn those attacks into Stunning Strikes by spending ki. This forces a constitution save on the creature you just hit, stunning them if they fail until the end of your next turn.

Monk 6: Sixth level monks get Ki-Empowered Strikes for magical unarmed attacks. If you’re fighting a triply immortal monkey it’s best to prep as much as possible. You also get the reason we’re here in the first place, Wings Unfurled. Now when you use your ki points to dash as a bonus action you get dragon wings for a turn, giving you a flying speed equal to your walking speed until the end of your turn. If you’re in the air, you will fall, but to be fair Nezha mostly uses this to go like, 20 feet up and divebomb someone, so it’s not a huge restriction. You can fly Proficiency times per long rest, or by spending a ki point each extra time you use it.

Monk 7: Our final level of monk gets you Evasion for better dexterity saves. You probably know the drill by now- failures are now as good as most people’s successes, and successes negate all damage. You also get a Stillness of Mind, letting you end a charming or frightening effect as a bonus action. Just hit ctrl alt delete on BeScared.exe, not hard.

Cleric 3: Now that your training is complete, it’s time to quest for all those sacred treasures. Starting off strong at third level, you get second level cleric spells, including the freebies Enhance Ability and Protection from Poison. You can also make a Spiritual Weapon to summon whatever demon-slaying tool you might need, creating a floating weapon as a bonus action that’ll move around and deal force damage if you use it each bonus action for up to 1 minute. Alternatively, you can use Hold Person to summon the Diamond Snare/Wukong’s headband/The five Golden Rings (there’s a lot of sacred treasures that focus on immobilization) to force a wisdom save on one humanoid. If they fail, they’re paralyzed for a while, or until they succeed on a save. Paralysis is nasty too, it gives attacks advantage to hit plus guaranteed crits when they do.

Cleric 4: Use this ASI to bump up your Dexterity for better unarmed strikes and a better AC. You also get the Light cantrip to use your fire constructively.

Cleric 5: Fifth level clerics get a boost to Turn Undead, “turn”ing it into Destroy Undead instead. If a creature of CR 1/2 or lower gets caught in it, it’s just gone. You also get third level spells like Haste and Protection From Energy. Either get out of the way of the beam weapons, or shield yourself from them. Alternatively, grab spells like Spirit Shroud for a more heavenly aura, or Speak with Dead. You can literally just go to the afterlife to talk to them, what like it’s hard?

Cleric 6: You can now Channel Divinity twice per short rest, and you can also use that divinity to give out Rhonas’ Blessing! It’s like feat of strength, but it has a range of 30′ instead of self. You’re not the kind of person to hang out with weaklings.

Cleric 7: Seventh level clerics get fourth level spells. Dominate Beast is Wukong’s headband but for all sorts of creatures, and Stoneskin... yeah. You can also use Death Ward for an actual immortality bean that prevents one case of koing, Guardian of Faith to call in a favor from another celestial, or Banishment to make Lao Tzu take his goddamn pets back. If the target isn’t from another plane, they’re just gone for about a minute.

Cleric 8: Eighth level clerics get another ASI to max out your Wisdom for the best attacks, good defense, and stronger spells. Destroy Undead bumps up to CR 1, and you get a Divine Strike once per turn, adding 1d8 of an existing damage type to your weapon attack. They don’t call you “lancer” for nothing. Actually they do, you should be called “spear-er”, I guess.

Cleric 9: You get fifth level spells! Your freebies are Destructive Wave and Insect Plague, which aren’t super in character, but they do sound like something a sacred treasure could do. You can also call down a Flame Strike for some real fire power, turn your spear into a Holy Weapon for even more damage, Dispel Evil and Good to roll protection from E&G and a faster banishment into a single spell, or you can Summon Celestial to call down a coworker to help out. You get either an Avenger or a Defender, the former dealing more damage and the latter giving allies temporary HP.

Cleric 10: At tenth level you finally get a direct line back home, letting you call them up for some Divine Intervention. It’s a percent chance based on your cleric level, but if you succeed it’s basically up to the DM how much help you get. You can do this once per day, or after a week when it works. You also get the Resistance cantrip. You’re tough, it tracks.

Cleric 11: Destroy Undead hits CR 2, and you get sixth level spells. Planar Ally summons a celestial coworker for as long as you can pay them, but be prepared, it can be steep. You can also use Sunbeam for more fire.

Cleric 12: Use your last ASI to bump up Dexterity again. You know the drill, more AC, better unarmed attacks, the works.

Cleric 13: Your final level gets you seventh level spells, letting you Conjure Celestial for a much cheaper celestial companion that’ll stick with you for up to 1 hour. You can also Plane Shift to visit the heavens for yourself.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

Flight is always good to have, event if it’s a limited trial version like yours. Hop over to where you should be, and keep out of range of anyone you don’t feel like fighting.

Strength Clerics are basically war clerics but better, and Feat of Strength will make it really easy for you to grapple, lift, push, or just be the powerhouse of the team.

Clerics are really versatile casters, getting healing, buffs, utility, and damaging spells, so your spell list will always be handy. On top of that, your dragon fists let you pick your element when you hit people, so you won’t be completely hosed by fire resistant enemies.

Cons:

You have limited resources for your best abilities, with only 7 ki points and 2 channel divinities per short rest. Wings Unfurled might let you instant transmission, but you won’t be able to spam it like they do on Dragon Ball Z, sorry.

For a strength-focused subclass, your strength score is pretty underwhelming. Sure, you can use Feat of Strength to power yourself up, but odds are there’s someone else who could put Rhonas’ Blessing to better use. Learn to share, it’ll help.

You also have a really low charisma, so don’t be surprised if you get into fights more often than you’d think. Also, it’s a good thing you got plane shift at level 20, because you might get banished a lot.

#fate grand order #fgo #D&D #DND 5e #Nezha #Monk #Cleric

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streetlight11 · 4 years

Text

Streetlight

Summary: Changbin wants to be the person that those around him can rely on when they’re having a hard time. But he doesn’t realize that his mistake was to keep his own problems to himself, only to burst one day due to the pent up emotions he’s been holding onto.

Genre: slight angst, fluff

Warnings: mild swearing, prior to the current pandemic situation

WC: 2.8k

Pairing: Seo Changbin x Reader

Growing up, you always knew Changbin was the kind to put everyone else’s problems above his own. He wants to be everyone’s pillar of strengths. Mostly the people that he loves and cares for. Back when you were in high school with him, he was always there for you. Be it when you got bullied, when you had a rough day, when you got one mark lesser than your expected score, anything.

Even though Changbin tends to lash out when his problems have been pent up for too long and was taking a toll on him, saying harsh things to you, never once did you take it to heart.

Simply because you understood why he was acting that way. You even offered him a listening ear for his problems but he chose to keep them to himself. Only after endless prying and persuasion, that he finally opened up to you and it still wasn’t everything.

But at that very moment, you were thankful that he did. At least a small chunk of his problems were out of his mind and chest, you could almost see the slight heavy weight being lifted off his shoulders.

However, he was never not there for you to the point where he would often hang out at your family home almost every day. Your parents loved him. They adored this little boy who was more selfless than anything, who puts up a strong front for others to rely on.

Even after he successfully debuted as an idol, he was still the same boy you knew during your childhood.

You watched as he grew with his members, his character never once changed as he still lends his shoulder to his members for them to cry on, giving them something to rely on during tough times.

Changbin still kept in contact with you after all these years as he told his members about you as though you were a prized possession.

And to be very honest, to him, you really were his prized possession.

Today was no different as he texted you after lunch. You were just sitting in your office desk, reading through the email you got from your Head of Department regarding the project you were going to be a part of when your phone dinged on your right side.

Binie✨ [3:06pm] : Noona

Binie✨ [3:06pm] : What time do you finish work today?

You [3:08pm] : 830

Binie✨ [3:09pm] : Will you be too tired if I asked you to stop by the company building after work? 🥺

You [3:10pm] : Nope! It’s fine!

You [3:11pm] : I can stop by

You [3:11pm] : Just tell me which room you guys will be in okay?

Binie✨ [3:13pm] : Okay noona 🥺👉🏼👈🏼

Hours later, you were just waiting outside your office building for a cab when your phone started ringing, only to see his caller ID flashed on your screen.

“Hello?”

“Oh noona, where are you?”

“Waiting for a cab. Why?”

“Do you want my manager hyung to fetch you? I can get him to do it.”

“No, Binie it’s fine. I’ll text you once I’m there okay?”

“Okay. Text me once you’re 5 minutes away. I’ll come down.”

“Alright Binie. See you.”

You hung up the call and soon, entered a cab that you managed to hail. The drive to JYP building took about 45 minutes so when you were around the corner, you texted him. He immediately rushed downstairs to fetch you from the entrance.

The driver came to a stop, only for you to pay him by card and he soon wished you good night.

You did the same as you left the vehicle before heading straight into the building. The minute you walked through the revolving door, you jumped at the voice that called your name. His voice echoing the entire lobby.

“Y/N Noona!!” Changbin said as he skipped over to you only to wrap his arms around your frame, earning a soft clear of a throat from someone behind him.

“Safe distancing please.” The lady at the front desk said with a little smile on her face before Changbin and you apologized in unison.

A soft chuckle escaped his lips as you went over to register your name and soon used the hand sanitizer followed by getting your temperature checked by the machine before you could enter the building further after Changbin told the lady that you were with him.

In the lift however, Changbin couldn’t keep his hands to himself as he wrapped his arms around your waist, nuzzling his nose against your neck. You giggled at the tickling feeling as you squeezed his shoulders lightly.

He brought you to the practice room where his members were in, and the minute you both entered, the boys got excited as Jisung ran up to you. You brought your hands out to brace yourself for the impact. Instead, Jisung bent down only to put you over his shoulders with your backside in the air. He carried you to the middle of the room as you found yourself laughing.

“Yah, Jisungie put her down!” Chan scolded with a laugh as the rest of them chuckled as well. Jisung soon placed you back down, only for you to hit his chest playfully.

The boys asked you how you were doing and some of them even whined to you saying they haven’t seen you in so long and that they missed you. You giggled as you told them you were too caught up with important work recently, only for them to understand.

After a few more minutes of chatting, Chan beckons them over to continue with practice, only for you to situate yourself in the corner where the couch was at.

A few hours passed and they were all visibly exhausted but they still persisted on like the hardworking, talented young men they were. You didn’t realize what was going on in the practice room until you heard bickering.

You looked up from your phone, only to see Changbin squaring up to Jeongin. That’s when you saw Chan and Minho separating the two with Chan forcefully holding Changbin back.

Uh oh.

“You know I’m supposed to be there! Why didn’t you let me move?!” Changbin’s voice low as he growled at the younger tauntingly.

“Guys, can we all calm down? It’s getting late and everyone’s tired but we need to work together.” Chan said as the rest of them began to keep a distance between Changbin and themselves. You knew something wasn’t right so you got up to hold Changbin’s arm.

At that moment, you could feel it. He was burning from anger.

“Bin ah, you’re just stressed. Calm down.”

“Calm down?! Did you not see him?! He was a mess! They’re all a fucking mess!” Changbin yelled but you didn’t even flinch meanwhile everyone else did.

“Seo Changbin. Watch your words.” You scolded him firmly.

At this point, everyone could sense the strong tension lingering in the air as it was too thick to be cut with scissors. The boys watched silently as they knew that if there was one person who could talk some sense into Changbin, it was you. They knew that only you could understand him like an open book. And right at that moment, Changbin was mad.

He was letting his feelings control his mind and you weren’t gonna let him continue with it. He took steps closer until he was less than an arm lengths away from you.

“Don’t fucking tell me what to do. You’re not even a damn idol. You have no idea what it’s like.”

The boys gasped in shock, not expecting him to say that. They thought you would break down or even leave the room upset but you didn’t. They knew there was a deeper connection between you two so they just chose to watch silently while Chan and Hyunjin comforted Jeongin.

“You’re right. I’m not an idol. But that doesn’t mean you can lash out on your members just because you’re mad at something else.”

“What bullshit are you talking about!”

“Your bullshit Bin! You can lie to everyone else that you’re okay, but you can’t lie to me. You put up a strong front for people but you refuse to break down your own walls for the sake of your own well being.”

You paused for a while to see his reaction but when all you got was his sad, confused eyes, you took that as a sign to continue.

“Being selfless is a good thing but you have to know your limits. They want to be there for you when you’re having a rough day. I want to be there for you. But you’re making it so difficult for them. For me.”

The room fell silent as Changbin closed his eyes tightly before taking a deep breath. He took off his cap and soon threw it harshly towards the wall behind you but never once did you flinch. He soon left without saying a word as the door slammed behind him. You let out a heavy sigh as you walked back to the guys, only to hold Chan’s arm.

“I’m sorry about him guys… Changbin can be a little… tough if he’s having a bad day. Please don’t get upset with him. I promise you he doesn't ever mean those words he said. He’s just doing it out of anger.” You said, only for them to sigh.

Just then, you walked up to Jeongin who had a small tear roll down his cheek, making you smile apologetically to him before you pulled him into a hug.

You caressed the back of his head soothingly as he buried his face in your shoulder.

“Don’t take it to heart okay?” You said, only for him to nod.

You pulled away from him as you turned to them and told them to continue where they left off as you quickly left the room to find for your childhood best friend. You searched through all the rooms down the empty hall as you jogged past the lift lobby only to hear soft sobs coming from the staircase.

You carefully walked over to the door, only to peek through the glass panel on the door. That’s when you saw his back, seated on the steps as he buried his head in his arms, resting on his knees.

You smiled softly as you opened the door, not a single movement from him.

You carefully closed the door and walked over to him as you took a seat beside him. You let your legs brush against his as you turned to look at him with a small little smile on your face.

Just then, you reached up to gently caress his hair as you heard his sobs slowly reduce.

A few minutes later, Changbin’s head lifted as he stared into the empty space ahead. His mind clearly somewhere else.

“Noona…”

“Mmm?”

“Am I a bad person?”

“You can be annoying, a little hard to please, hard headed sometimes… but you’re not a bad person, Bin ah.” You smiled as he finally turned to you, his eyes glossy as his cheeks wet from his fresh tears.

“Then why do I always hurt the people that I love?” He asked, his voice faltering as you couldn’t help but cup his soft cheek and gently caress it.

“Because you rely too much on yourself.” Your words seemed to break him as you pulled him into a hug, letting him wrap his arms around your waist while he buried his face in your chest. He cried as his grip around your waist tightened.

“What am I doing wrong noona?” He whispered as you let out a soft sigh.

“You want people to rely on you. You want them to feel strong when they’re with you. You want people to feel safe and share all their problems with you so that you can ease their burden but you don’t realize that there are people who are willing to do the same for you.”

Your words came to a pause as you played with his hair before you continued.

“You don’t have to keep all your problems to yourself just because you don’t want to seem like a burden to others. You have no idea how many people are willing to be your pillar of strength on your rainy days. And I know for a fact that your members are one of those many people. You might never realize this too, but I am willing to do the same for you.”

With that, Changbin pulled away from you, only for him to wipe his tears with his sweater sleeves.

“Why are you still here? I’ve hurt you so many times before with my words. Why are you still holding on to me?” He asked.

“Because I know that of all the things you’ve said to me, you don’t mean any of them.”

“How would you know that?”

“Because I trust that this cute little boy would never do such a thing to anyone he loves and cares for.” You said as you cupped his face in both your hands, making him chuckle.

Just then, he glanced down at your lips.

“That means you know that I love you right?” His eyes met yours again only for you to smile.

“Of course I know.”

Changbin found himself grinning as he looked back at your lips only to lean in until he pressed his soft wet lips on yours.

You could taste the salt from his tears as you smiled against his lips. You slid your arms around his shoulders as you pulled him closer to you, leaning your back against the wall for support as he had one hand pressed against the wall beside your waist while the other wraps itself around your body.

Changbin’s heart pounded against his chest as he felt so safe and secure in your arms. Something he has always felt ever since the day he met you.

You pulled away when you felt him bite your bottom lip teasingly, making you giggle.

“Come on. I think your members deserve an apology.” With that, Changbin pouted as he whined at you softly.

“Can we stay like this for a moment? You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.”

With that, you giggled as you kissed his nose and whispered.

“We can do this any time, love.”

With that, Changbin sighed as a smile replaced his pout. Both of them re-entered the building as they walked back to the practice room, hand in hand. The moment they entered, Changbin’s voice echoed around the room as the boys were just taking a short break.

“Guys, can we talk?” Changbin started as the boys turned to both you and Changbin, only for Chan to smile.

“Sure.”

With that, Changbin turned to you as you gently squeezed his hand before you gave him a soft nod. You let go of his hand as he soon walked up to them.

“I’m sorry for what I said earlier. Sorry if I made you upset. Especially you Jeonginie. Hyung’s really sorry.” Changbin said as he approached their maknae, only for Jeongin to flash him a smile as he immediately wrapped his arms around Changbin’s shoulders.

“It’s okay hyung! Please don’t ever feel like you burden us! If you have problems, tell us or tell noona okay? We love you so much.” Jeongin said as Changbin smiled against the younger’s shoulder.

The boys soon gave them a group hug as they all encouraged Changbin to not always pent up his problem to himself and that he can rely on them and you too.

You smiled as you took careful steps towards the corner where the couch was. Ignoring the soft whispers they were exchanging, only for Changbin’s voice to speak up.

“Noona?”

You turned around as he walked up to you. Once he was right in front of you, he gently took your hands in his, only to caress the back of your hands with his thumbs.

“Thank you for making me realize my mistakes.”

“Hey, what are best friends for right?”

“Except, I don’t want you to be my best friend anymore.”

He paused as you frowned in confusion, not catching up with what he was saying. Just then, Changbin softly reached up to caress your cheek as he leaned in to let his lips brush against yours softly before he spoke up.

“I want you to be my girlfriend…”

With that, your eyes widened as you heard happy cheers from the boys behind him.

“I’d love to.” You said as he smiled, finally capturing your lips in a kiss again for the second time that night. You smiled against his lips as he held you securely in his arms. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he called you over that night.

#skz changbin #changbin scenarios #seo changbin #stray kids scenarios #stray kids #changbin fluff #stray kids changbin #skz scenarios

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babeyvenus · 3 years

Text

The Wolf Among us

Bigby x OC

Summary: Sonya Blaze, A.K.A. Hell Rider, is a half fable, half mundy girl who comes to Fabletown to learn more about her side of the folktales. She works alongside Sheriff Bigby Wolf's as his newest partner and together they strive to find out who's behind the unexpected murders in Fabletown.

TW: Mentions of death, gore/blood, alcohol, smoking, drugs, sex implications, suicide, guns and ofc language.

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Chapter 15: The Confrontation

Once the cab stopped, finally arriving at their destination, Bigby woke up and gently shook Sonya awake.

She mumbles and rubs the sleep out of her eyes as he opens the door and climbs out of the cab with her following behind. Bigby stops to light a cigarette, and Sonya looks at it with an eyebrow raised. She never understood why he needed one every 5 minutes.

They enter the empty looking shop, curiously looking around. Bigby huffed out a puff of smoke when he noticed a sign that said No smoking. He rolled his eyes, taking another drag before squashing it under his foot. The front of the shop was pretty small. A machine that held drinks was almost practically empty.

There was also the cooling unit that displays the different types of meat but each slab of meat was practically covered in ice. Bigby walks up to the counter door and was about to open it, until the door that leads to the back of the shop opens, revealing a balding man.

His expression faltered into a look of fear once he saw Bigby. “Bigby Wolf?”, he asked and glanced over at Sonya. “You must be the new deputy. What happened to you two?”, he asked, scanning their disheveled state.

“We’re looking for a piece of the Magic Mirror.”, Bigby said, walking to the counter towards the butcher. “Um… wh–what?”, the butcher stuttered. “The Magic Mirror’s missing shard! Where is it?!”, Bigby growled out.

“Bloody Mary brought it here, didn’t she?”, Sonya asked, looking behind him. "What? B-Bloody Mary? Magic Mirror shard? Wh–what kind of place do you two think this is?”, Johann asked, chuckling nervously. “Don’t give us that bullshit.”, Bigby sneered.

“I’m not. What you’re looking for, I-I think you two’d be better off looking at, uh….the Lucky Pawn. Yeah, or some place like that.”, Johann nodded.

"Listen to me and listen fucking carefully. We know Bloody Mary hangs around here. So you need to start fucking cooperating right now!”, Bigby yelled.

“I-I am.”, Johann said.

“We already went to visit Jersey. He wasn't all that cooperative until we had to get a little...persuasive.”, Sonya told him.

“I’m cooperating. I swear.”, Johann cries. “Anyway, if I’d known you two already looked at the Lucky Pawn, I-I wouldn’t have pointed you there. I-I just figured anything worth a damn in Fabletown goes through Jersey’s hands at some point. You guys know that. Believe me, I don’t wanna waste your time. And I certainly don’t mean to offend. I don’t know how else to help."

"Yeah, well Jersey had those dirty hands wrapped around my neck not too long ago.”, Bigby explained. “Oh….sorry.”, Johann said.

“He was an asshole so I'd suggest you don't follow him.”, Bigby said, crossing his arms. Johann frowned. “Listen. Crane had the mirror. Mary had Crane. And she comes around here, right?”, Sonya asked.

Johann stays quiet. “If you’re covering for her, we’re gonna have a problem with you. So you better think real hard about what you say next.”, Bigby threatened.

“I….Sheriff…Deputy, I–”, Johann stuttered nervously, rubbing his hands together, He looked behind him for a moment. “Did you hear that?”, he says, tapping the counter. Bigby and Sonya looked at each other.

Johann goes to the back door. “Oh, I’m real sorry. Hold on, I-I just gotta go check on that. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.”, Johann said as he inched closer to the door.

“Butcher…”, Bigby starts to warn.

“I just have to go see…”, Johann walked into the door, leaving Sonya and Bigby confused. Bigby lifts up the counter door and Sonya follows behind him, her eyes catching a red button. "That fucker...", Bigby growled.

They walk through and Sonya looks at Bigby, putting a finger to her lips. They move silently through the freezer full of hanging pig carcasses on hooks.

“I got it covered back here, guys. I’ll be right out.”, Johann called out, his voice echoing, his voice echoing through the room. Sonya tapped Bigby’s arm, pushing a finger to her lips, reminding him. Bigby nodded and led her further.

They moved quietly, pushing the carcasses out the way. “Just wait out front, I’ll be right there.”, Johann tells them.

They don’t say anything, pushing through the freezer. “I’m sorry, Sheriff and Deputy, but you two are not supposed to be back here. For, uh….safety purposes.” Johann said, nervously.

Sonya rolled her eyes and Bigby shook his head as they pushed through. When they got closer, they could hear Johann whimpering to himself. “Oh, you gotta be kidding me. They’re gonna kill me….oh god, she is gonna fucking kill me….” They finally see Johann moving boxes around.

“They're gonna get me killed….the things I do…”, Johann softly whines. Bigby holds a hand out to stop Sonya, walks up to Johann and taps his shoulder, making him jump in fright. “B-Bigby! Please-”

“Bigby!? What happened to Sheriff!?”, Bigby shouts, storming up to the cowering man. “P-Please, guys. Please don’t. I don’t wanna die. Please….please don’t kill me.”, Johann whimpered, backing away. Bigby walks up and slams Johann up against the door. “Shut the fuck up.”, he growled lowly, squeezing Johann’s face.

“Bigby!”, Sonya exclaimed. He growled at her voice. “Bigby, he’s not a threat. Put him down.”, she says, walking up to him. He turns his head to look at her. She could see a glimmer of yellow in his eyes and she frowned softly. “Relax.”

Bigby looks away from her, dropping Johann. Johann gasps for air and looks up at Sonya, heavily breathing. “Thank you."

"We’re not done here, Johann.”, Sonya says. “I’m not part of their crew!”, Johann blurted. His face changes into an expression of realization and he lowers his head. “Fuck….” He sighs. “The Crooked Man’s people. Jersey Devil….Dee and Dum…and that mental case Bloody Mary. You wanna talk about the real butcher? It’s her, not me. This is her place.”

Bigby glances at his wrapped arm, annoyed at the mention of her name.

“I’m telling you, they muscled in on me. Took over my storage and delivery a long time ago. All ‘cause of that heatwave. That summer was even hotter than this one. I let Mary and those porters stay cool in the meat locker one day. Playing cards, having a great time. I guess they were sizing the place up. Shows what I get for being nice. I’m just a victim in this…I don’t know what they do back there. I swear.”, Johann explained.

“You lied to us in the front. Why the fuck should we believe you now?”, Bigby asked. “Because it’s the truth.”, Johann shouted. Bigby pushes Johann out of the way and squats down to pull the door open.

Once he pulled the door open, their eyes widened at the sight of some kind of lab going on. Test tubes, shelves full of ingredients and a boiler caught their attention as they walked inside.

The table in the middle of the room had stools that were chained to cuffs. In the far part of the room was a large chalkboard that looked like it was frantically and messily erased.

“What is this place?”, Bigby asked Johann.

“I told you, I don’t know. They muscled me out! I swear, I don’t know anything more. I haven’t been back here when it was like this.” Johann said.

Sonya frowned seeing a red light was on with a sticky note that said RUN! “Sonuva...”, she growled, turning to Johann.

“This business….it’s all I’ve ever had. I guess that’s why I stuck around when they took it…”, Johan said looking around.

“Damnit, you can’t act like you’re forced into this, and then turn around and help them. They’d still be here if you hadn’t flipped that switch out there!”, Sonya fussed, making Bigby glare at him.

“I had to! You two come in here, making trouble for me….but you two only give a shit now 'cause the Crooked Man stepped on your toes or something. Where were you when they took this place from me?”, Johann exclaimed. “It hasn’t been easy for me…. y-you think I wanna live with this at my back?”, Johann asked.

“Alright, Johann, do me a favor, just shut the fuck up and stay out of the way. Can you manage that?”, Bigby asked.

Sonya shook her head and walked over to the table and picked up a box, dumping the stuff out. Her eyes widened at the sight of glamour tubes. “So this is what Beast was delivering.”, she murmured.

She picked one up and showed it to Bigby. “Could be dangerous stuff.” Bigby said.

“Maybe just don’t touch anything back here? Please?”, Johann begged. “Didn’t I tell you to sit down and shut up?”, Bigby growled. Johann looked away in fear.

Bigby looked down at the shackles, frowning deeply. “These chains….who’s getting chained up here?”, he asked Johann.

“You can’t think I’m the only one the Crooked Man has under his yoke?”, Johann asked, shaking his head. “Is this what those loans get you? That crooked piece of shit! Ribbons. Chains. It’s all the fucking same!”, Bigby shouted in anger.

“What are they even making here?”, Sonya asked, frowning sadly at the thought of the ribbons. "I’m just a butcher. You wanna talk t-bones? That I can do. This stuff is way outta my league.”, Johann told her.

“There are a lot of nasty spells you could make with the right equipment….”, Sonya muttered, looking around.

Bigby goes over to the table and sees packages with the same symbols he saw at the Tweedles' office and Greenleaf’s. “That symbol. It’s on all the packages. What is it?”

“That’s the Crooked Man’s….brand. It’s on everything that goes in and out of here.”, Johann explained.

“So you do know something, huh?”, Bigby said, rolling his eyes. Sonya leaned in to examine it closely.

“Is it a wheel or..?”, she asked Johann.

“It’s from back in the Homelands….a torture device.", he said, making her eyes widen. "It came over here with the rest of our stories. Not that Mundies need any help coming up with that kind of thing…it makes people crooked….by breaking their bones and– do I really need to explain this?”, Johann asked, exasperated.

She shook her head. "I don't blame you for not wanting to explain more. People who are really into the dark arts of entertainment are not all there with decency."

Bigby goes over to the board, scanning it from top to bottom. “Too bad they had time to erase it all. This could have been useful.” He raised an eyebrow at the sight of a familiar coat.

He bends down and picks it up. “I know this isn’t your coat.” Bigby said, showing Johann. “What’s it doing here?”, Bigby asked.

“It’s a coat, what’s the big deal about some dirty-”, Johann said but gets cut off by Sonya. "What if that's Crane’s coat?”, she asked, making Bigby intrigued.

“It’s seen some abuse.”, Bigby said, looking at the coat. He pointed at the blood and Sonya rolled her eyes. “I’m sure he handled it just fine.”, she said, making Bigby smirk. He opens up the coat and sees three pockets inside of it.

He digs in the bottom pocket and pulls out a wad of cash. “Hello, Benjamin.", Sonya says, grinning and looked for more clues by the table.

"No time for travelers checks, huh?”, Bigby mutters, placing the money in his pocket. He digs in another pocket and pulls out a torn picture of her from Lily’s glamour tube.

“That sick piece of….”, Bigby growled. “What?”, she asked, walking back over to him and he shows her the picture. Her face grows sour. "Great…", she says, sarcastically.

He frowns in concern and she shakes her head. Bigby digs in the last pocket and pulls out a shard of glass. “It’s the shard!”, Sonya squealed in delight. “Thank God.”, Bigby said, relieved.

“Hey! Hold on!”, Johann shouts, catching their attention. “What the hell am I supposed to do now? I’m gonna have to spend the rest of my short life looking over my shoulder for Bloody Mary. They won’t care that I held up my end. There’s no way to get out of this.”

Sonya smiles at Johann. "Now that we've got the shard, we're gonna get this done. That crooked bastard won't touch you."

“Thank you.”, Johann smiled in relief as Sonya and Bigby walked out of the freezer and walked to the front of the store. Before they left, Sonya flips the sign from open to closed and finally leaves.

Bigby waves down a cab, sighing out softly. "We're getting so close. I can feel it." Sonya smiles at him. "I'm pretty proud of us.", she says, holding her hand up. He looks at her hand with an amused expression and gives her a high five.

Once the cab pulls up to them, they climb in and look at the shard. "The mirror will finally be put together..."

He nodded before his eyes widened to the sound of soft rumbling. He looked over at Sonya as she wore a shy expression. "Was that-"

"Yeah…haven't had much to eat since we've been working.", she said. He frowned. "Why didn't you say anything?", he says, only to hear his stomach rumbling louder than hers.

He grumbles as she snickered. "I can go get us something to eat while you go and get the shard in the office.", she offered.

"You sure you'll be okay by yourself?", he asked, feeling wary of her being alone at this time. She nodded. "I don't think they'd attack me in a food place.", she says, smiling and tells the driver to send her to a sandwich shop.

She climbs out and hears the window roll down before turning to the cab. "If you feel like you're in trouble, call the office. I'll be right by the phone."

She rolled her eyes in amusement and mockingly saluted. "Yes sir."

The Woodland Building

Evening

Bigby walks in the office, frowning at the sight of Bluebeard, Toad yelling and arguing with Snow.

“I don’t care who killed the prostitutes, if Crane was helping himself to the community coffers, it means his hands were in my pocket. And you just let him go!”, Bluebeard shouted at the secretary.

“I don’t know what you heard, but it did not happen like that.”, Snow corrected. “Are you denying the facts?” Bluebeard asked, challenging her.

“She’s denying me the chance to get a word in. Now, Miss White, I–” Toad started to say but Bufkin shouts. “Sheriff Bigby has returned.”

They turned toward him. "The ole wrecking ball, himself!”, he hears.

“Where have you been? Where's Sonya?”, Snow asked, walking over to him. “I’m not finished here Miss White–”, Bluebeard shouts. Snow turns to him. “You will have to wait! Just one moment, please.”

She turns to face Bigby. “Look what we found.”, he says, proudly pulling out the shard. He smiled at the sight of Snow’s shocked face. “Seems your dog wants a biscuit.”, Bluebeard remarked. Bigby glared at him.

“Bufkin! Get this piece in the mirror, right away!”, Snow orders. Bufkin swoops down, taking the shard. “With pleasure, Miss Snow.”

“Finally. Things are swinging back in the right direction. Good work, Bigby.”, Snow said, making him smile. “You two have been gone all day. What did you uncover?”, Snow asked.

“We had to get real persuasive with the Jersey Devil, down at the Lucky Pawn, but he told us that the Crooked Man’s door moves. It’s some kind of magic door.”, he explained.

“Do you think the mirror will be able to find the door…once it’s fixed?”, Snow asked.

“That’s how Crane did it. And that’s how we’re gonna do it.”, Bigby replied, nodded.

“Excellent work. Really.”, Snow smiled. “Sheriff, I could use your assistance. Would you join me at the mirror?”, Bufkin calls. Bigby shrugs at her and heads over to the mirror.

“Don’t go far, Sheriff. I’d like to have a few words of my own with you.”, Bluebeard declared. “How about you fuck off until I’m good and ready.”, Bigby snapped as he walked over to the mirror.

“I don’t understand….this piece just doesn’t want to join the rest. Do you have any idea why?”, Bufkin asked Bigby. “You got me.”, Bigby said, shrugging. “Well, where did you find it? What has it gone through since being separated from the rest?”, Bufkin asked.

“I found it in Crane’s coat. Last person I saw with Crane, or his coat, was that psycho Bloody Mary. Maybe she had some–”

“Ah, yes. Miss White was asking about here. That explains it! You-know-who and the Mirror have a very…unhappy history with each other. How would you like it if she tried to use you as a doorway?”, Bufkin asks. “I think I already know the feeling…”, Bigby says.

“Well, I think I know how to proceed, now. It will just take a little extra….coaxing. That’s all. Thank you for your help. It could be awhile, Sheriff. I’ll find you when it’s ready. Besides which….he might not want to come out with you watching.”, Bufkin said.

Bigby raised an eyebrow at this info. “Oh, he doesn’t like being spied on?”, Bigby asked, intrigued and crossed his arms.

Bufkin shrugs and smiles at him. Bigby turns around to walk back towards the other three and Snow walks up to him. “Is it fixed? Did you ask about the Crooked Man?”, she asked him. “Bufkin’s still working on it. He said it might be awhile.”, Bigby informed Snow.

She sighs and looks at Bluebeard and Toad, who were arguing with each other. “I can’t take those two right now. We’re to catch a murderer, and they’re….they’re over there bickering about bureaucracy. We’re….at war! Don’t they realize that?”, Snow asked, frustrated.

Bigby raised an eyebrow. “Do you need help over there?"

"Yeah, thanks.”, Snow said, smiling. “Go talk to Toad…but just so you know….we can’t pay him. He really needs to go to the Farm, you know. So, just break the news and be done with it, okay?”

Bigby sighed and goes to lean on the edge of a table. Snow goes to sit in Crane’s old desk and begins to talk to Bluebeard. “Toad! C'mere!”, Bigby calls out.

Toad turns to face him and rolls his eyes. “I see how it is. Passed off to an underling, eh? Why am I not surprised?”, Toad said as he waddled over to him. “Well you two did cause what damage brings me in here, so maybe it’s for the best. Just need a little bit more dosh to cover it. I tried talking to her about it, but it’s like chatting up a brick wall, it is. Now I’m sure you’ve got your own agenda, Sheriff. But I’ve taken a real wallop because of you two. And you can’t deny that.”

“I’m starting to think you don’t take me seriously, Toad. How many times have we told you to get glamoured up?”, Bigby asked as he stood up, putting his hands on his hips. “You know that when you’re out of glamour, we gotta send you to the Farm.”

Toad narrows his eyes at the bigger male. “Well….How about your friend, the pig, hm? Isn’t he going to the Farm, too? Yeah, you thought we didn’t know about him, huh? The worst kept secret in Fabletown. For a friend, the rules’ll bend.”

“Colin stays in my apartment. It’s a lot different than a three-foot-tall frog walking the streets.” Bigby replied. “What?! If the pig doesn’t have to go, I shouldn’t either!”, Toad disagreed, angered. Bigby returned the gesture with a glare.

“Okay, okay. If you give me one more chance and hear me out. I’ll see a way for me and me boy to stay. I’m not gonna ask for any more than I need. I just want to stay. So whaddya say you just give me enough to cover me glamours and…we’ll call the rest a wash. Please, Sheriff, don’t take TJ away from the only home he knows. This whole glamour rule is….oppressive. I’ve done nothing wrong but look different. You know it’s not right….burdening the weakest of us like this.” Toad said, giving him sad eyes.

Bigby sighed heavily and remembered picking a wad of cash out of Crane's pocket. He grimaced thinking that he should've given it to Sonya just in case she didn't have enough to buy for food but gave it to Toad anyways.

"Here. This was Crane’s money but I don’t think he'll need this anymore.", he says, pulling the wad out. Before he gave it to Toad, he gave him a fixed look. "This is for your glamours only. If you buy unnecessary shit, you will go to the Farm. Am I clear?"

Toad nodded excitedly and skipped away, whistling. Snow noticed this and looked at Bigby in confusion.

“Bluebeard! You wanna talk? Now’s your chance.”, Bigby yelled. “I’ve just made my donation funding this office, so direct your questions to Miss White.”, Bluebeard says and leaves the office. Bigby's eye twitches in annoyance as he rubbed his temples to get rid of the oncoming headache.

“Well, at least he’s not trying to get rid of me….”, he hears Snow say. “He’s not?”, Bigby asked. “For now….did you two take care of Toad? I mean….I saw the way he left…I know it may not seem that important right now. But glamours are the law for a very good reason.”, Snow said, her hands on her hips.

“I took care of it. Let's not worry about that.”, he said.

“Fine. We’ll deal with it later.” , she said, sighing. “I know I should be asking how it got like this….but I just keep wondering why it happened….to Faith and Lily. You two have seen his world. Do you guys have any idea why he’d want them dead?”, Snow asked, pacing around.

“If there’s one thing we’ve figured out, it’s that the Crooked Man is all about control. It’s what he does with the loans at the Pawn Shop, the magic he peddles…chains…ribbons. Maybe Faith and Lily weren’t doing what they were told. Or….maybe they just tried to leave.”, Bigby said.

“Sheriff! Miss White! I believe the mirror is repaired!”, Bufkin announces. They look at each other before walking to the mirror.

“I have to say, I have been better…but thanks for putting me back together.”, the Mirror rhymes. Snow sighs and steps up. “Mirror, mirror….we’re glad you weren’t slain. Now please show us….that sick creep Crane.”

The mirror then shows Crane and Bloody Mary talking. “You will get on that plane to Paris and you will wait for the day the Crooked Man needs you. Until then, not a peep. Otherwise, I get to deal with you my way. So please….please disobey.”, Mary said to Crane, threateningly.

Suddenly, Mary looks around as if she were searching for something. “Wait a minute….someone’s watching….” Then, she looks dead at Snow and Bigby, grinning wildly raised her hand.

The mirror started to shake and turn red and the face of the mirror came back into view. “What ....just happened?”, the mirror asked, disoriented. “We pointed you in the wrong direction….and looked at Bloody Mary’s reflection.”, Bufkin explained.

“Oh….her. That explains the sting. I’d rather not have to feel the pain she brings. So….let’s not do that again, okay?”, Mirror said.

“Looks like we’ll have to track him down later.”, Bigby said. “You’re right. We need to focus on the immediate threat. And that’s the Crooked Man.”, Snow said.

Bigby sighs and hums. “Uh, Mirror, Mirror…no time to pout….so where does the Crooked Man hang out?”

The mirror showed a door with the Crooked Man’s symbol on it. “I don’t recognize the door, but…that’s the Crooked Man’s symbol on it.”

“Hold on…”, the mirror said as a different door appeared with the symbol on it. “The door…it moves…”, Snow said, shocked. “Told you.”, Bigby said, smiling at her. “Wait a minute, I know that door….that’s Central Park.”, Snow said.

“I don’t know when it’s gonna move again, but we gotta get there before it does.”, Bigby said. “Bigby, wait!”, Snow shouted, making him pause and turn to her. “When you get the Crooked Man…make sure you bring him back alive. He has to stand trial. We can’t just dispense street justice.”

"Yeah, yeah, we'll bring him back here. Alive. Then we can clean him and cook him together.”, Bigby says, rolling his eyes.

“Good. I have enough to worry about here while I prepare the case against him. So, I’m going to trust you two to handle this properly.", she says and turns to hear the phone ring.

Bigby rushes to answer it, "Hello?" He hears Beast's rushed voice. "Bigby? Something bad happened!"

Beast was calling for him?? This couldn't be good. Bigby's eyebrows furrowed. "What happened??"

"I was on my way to Johann's, I know I shouldn't have gone over there but I saw Sonya being kidnapped and beaten! I think it was the Tweedles.", Beast rushed to explain.

Bigby's eyes widened at the info. His teeth gritted and bared as he tried to keep himself together. "I'll get her.", he says, hanging up.

Snow's eyes widened. "What happened?"

Bigby looked at her. "The Tweedles got Sonya. They must know we already have the shard." He storms to the door. "I'm gonna end this.", he says and leaves.

The Gothic Bridge

Central Park, 94th Street

Night

Bigby made it to the door with the symbol on it, just in time. He steps in, a bright light blinding him for a moment before he realized he's been teleported to a different area.

It seemed like a castle hall of some sort. He heard footsteps and hid behind a wall, getting ready to pounce on whoever was here. Instead of an actual threat, there was a young man with a crutch and a leg brace on his left leg.

“Tim? What the hell are you doing here?”, Bigby asked, shocked.

“Good evening, Sheriff.”, Tim said and held his left hand out towards him. “I’m here to take you guys to the boss. Thanks, by the way…for leaving off Tiny. Tiny Tim. You’d think I’d have outgrown that centuries ago."

Bigby looks at Tim’s hand and shakes it. Tim smiles at his gesture and lets go. "I have to admit, when they asked me to watch the door….I wasn’t sure what to expect when you came through that portal. I know you aren’t here on a social call.”, Tim said.

“Hold on, you’ve just been waiting for me to show up?”, Bigby asked him. “You knew I was coming?”

“That’s what they told me.”, Tim replied. “I dunno, they said you two made it pretty clear. I’m supposed to bring you right on in, so….If you will come this way….”, he said, beginning to lead him away. “Look, this is the one thing I have to do. Please, don’t make this hard on me… I don’t want to get in trouble. So…if you can follow me.”

“Fine. Lead on.”, Bigby said. Tim smiles at him and turns, starting to walk down the hall with Bigby following behind.

“Thanks for understanding. This is all I’m here to do, and…I don’t want to mess it up. I know I’m probably the last person you’d expect to be a…guard. Or an escort for that matter. I was a little surprised, myself, when they asked me to do it. I thought it was a joke, actually.”, Tim explained.

“You shouldn’t be here, Tim. This place is dangerous. Especially for someone…like you.”, Bigby says, looking at the man's leg.

“It’s…not like that. Whatever you may think of him….he doesn’t treat me like some….broken little kid. I think he gets what it’s like.”, Tim said as he pats his left leg. “He gave me a job. And I’m lucky to have it. This is the only option I’ve got. Just….keep that in mind, maybe? ‘Cause if you and the boss go up against each other….the rest of Fabletown is gonna get caught in the middle.”

“I understand the position you’re in, but you don’t have to do this. There are other things you could do.”, Bigby says. “So it’s just that easy?” Tim asked, frowning.

“Maybe not, but you don’t want to be a part of this.”, Bigby says, and begins to walk ahead of Tim.

“A lot of us depend on him. Some of us never get to the front of the line at the Business Office. But he’s there. We need you….but we need him too. What we don’t need is a war.”, Tim said to him.

“Hey, Sheriff, hold up….I gotta go in with you. Hold on!”, Tim shouts. Bigby stops and waits for Tim to catch up. “Thanks.”, Tim said, smiling as he walked past him and led him to a large door.

Bigby frowned at the laughing and loud voices and looked over at Tim. “Go ahead. You got a job to do.”, he says, nodding his head. Tim's smile gets bigger as he opens the door. “Sheriff Wolf, sir.”, Tim said as Bigby walks in.

The room gets quiet as he's met with glares and shocked expressions.

He saw the Tweedles, Georgie, Vivian and Jersey were sitting there looking at him. Jersey started to charge towards him, but he noticed a shadowed figure on the couch, reaching his hand out to Jersey.

Jersey stops. “Thank you, Tim.”, the figure says and leans out of the darkness to reveal himself as The Crooked Man. A tall lanky man with a half droopy face and a mustache.

“I know the Sheriff isn't the….accommodating sort. But you handled it. You did well. You can go now.”, Crooked Man said to Tim who nodded and shut the door.

“You see? Everyone in Fabletown has a role to fill. You just have to pay attention to what they need to help them find it.”, Crooked Man said as he slammed the end of his cane on the floor.

“Why don’t you have a seat, Sheriff? We have a great deal to discuss.”, Crooked Man said as he offered a chair for him. Bigby takes a few steps forward, pulls out his cigarette pack, pulls one out and lights his cigarette.

“You’ve come a long way. You must be tired.” Crooked Man said. Bigby continues to smoke his cigarette, nearly biting through it. He notices Jersey reaching for his gun and almost snorted in amusement.

“And if my envoys are correct….you two haven’t had a lot of rest recently. Please, relax for a moment, will you? Do you want a drink? Something to eat? Vivian makes a very nice, very…. it’s elegant, really. Her carpaccio. It’s lobster….sirloin….”, he continued to offer.

He pulled his cigarette out, blowing out a large puff of smoke. "Speaking of my partner... where the hell is she?", he glared at the man. The Crooked Man nodded. "Ah...Ms. Sonya. She's here...just resting for a moment."

He looked up at Vivian. "Dear, will you go fetch her, please?" Vivian nodded and brought out an unconscious Sonya, cuffed and laid limp in Vivian's arms.

Bigby's jaw clenched at the sight as Vivian hands her to him. He cradled her, now getting a good look at her face as he felt himself getting angrier. Her face, nearly swollen and bloodied. A split lip, her eyes blackening and a good cut across her cheek.

He held her close and glared at the Tweedles. "What the fuck did you two do." They tried keeping a smug expression on their faces but nearly cowered back at his calm, angered voice.

"They were simply protecting me.", The Crooked Man explained. Bigby snapped his attention over to the lanky man. "Protecting??? She went to go get food. How were you in any danger?"

"I'll admit, they did go a little overboard but they mean well.", he replied, making Bigby's hold tighten on Sonya.

She groaned softly and he looked down at her as she looked up at him with a sad expression. "I'm sorry...I didn't even make it to the shop...", she whispered, hoarsely.

He frowned. "Don't worry about that.", he says, and stands her up. “We’re here for one reason. And it’s not to eat your fuckin’ food.”, Bigby said to the Crook Man.

“Really.” Crooked Man said.

“Yeah.”, Bigby says and throws his cigarette down on the floor. He stomps it out, holding her up.

He looked at her hands and looked at the Tweedles. "Where's the key?"

Dee shrugged, giving him a smile. "Must've dropped it."

Bigby growled. "That's fine...", Sonya says, wobbling to stand a bit before jumping and putting her legs through her arms, now having her arms out in front of her. She held her hands up, heating them up enough to melt the metal off of her wrists.

Jersey gets up, pointing his gun at Sonya's head as she rubs her free, sore wrists. Bigby growled loudly in warning while she just looked at Jersey, unimpressed. “What do you think you’re doing?”, he fussed at Jersey.

“They’re gonna–” Jersey started to say to the Crooked Man but Crooked Man interrupted him. “Mr. Wolf and Miss Blaze are our guests. And I have every intention of cooperating. So don’t waste the silver.”

Jersey still had the gun aiming at her. “Sit down, Jersey.” Crooked Man orders, making Jersey finally lower the gun and sits down.

"I thought you didn't need the bullets.", Sonya scoffs, wiping her mouth tiredly. "What a bitch..." Bigby frowned at her wobbling state and stayed near her just in case she fell over.

“Well, Sheriff, Deputy…for the sake of transparency, why don’t you two tell us why you’re here? It would help settle everyone’s nerves, I think.”, Crooked Man says.

“You’re destroying this town. Apparently you've been doing it for ages.”, Sonya replied. “Destroying this town? What on Earth do you mean?”, Crooked Man asked, playing confused.

“What the hell do you think I mean? Slavery, kidnapping, extortion, murder. Something you would call the wholesale corruption of Fabletown.”, she said, getting frustrated.

“I would call it the baseless accusation of a desperate Sheriff and Deputy.”, Crooked Man replied. “How are you certain this isn’t some…conspiracy against me? I’m a well-connected man….well moneyed. People do like to take their shots at me.”

“Who would try to pull that on you?”, Bigby asked him.

“Oh, I don’t know. Fables with a grudge, people who want a stake in my shops and services….but I can understand the confusion. And I am, truly, sorry about….the trouble all of this has caused you two. And I hope you believe me when I say that I sincerely mean to make it up to you two.”, Crooked Man replied.

“The recent murders have gotten such attention as of late….I don’t relish telling you that they were perpetrated by an employee of mine. It’s a very unfortunate bit of business, but….I promise you that the matter will be dealt with. Internally. I just want to settle the issue for you two. And to assure you that it’s over with. You two really don’t need to worry yourself further.”, he said.

Bigby starts to walk closer to him. “You really shouldn’t worry yourself. As I said, I’ve got this under control.”, the Crooked Man says.

“I already know who did it.”, Bigby said, making Sonya glance at him. “Forgive me, Sheriff, for doubting your acumen, but….who do you think committed these crimes?”, Crooked Man asked him.

“Don’t give us this employee bullshit. I know it was you.”, Bigby replied. Georgie laughed at his accusation, making Sonya glare at him.

“What must I say to convince you that I’m innocent, dear? It wasn’t me. And I have complete respect for you two and your jobs, I really do, but I’m sorry, I simply can’t divulge the transgressor.”, Crooked Man said.

“No. We’re dealing with this. Right now.”, Sonya said firmly.

“Yeah, right.”, Jersey sneered. “What do you think this is? Some kind of negotiation?”, Dee asked as Bigby walked up to him. “The man said he’d take care of it. So why don’t you two take the hint and get out.”

“Sonya and I are the law, not you. Now tell us who did it!”, Bigby demanded angrily, at Dee. “You think I’m scared of you?”, Dee asked as he looked over at Dum. He looked back at Bigby and laughed. “Haha! You’re nothin’ more than a–”

"I already know who did it.", Sonya says, catching everyone's attention. She glanced at Georgie with a harsh glare.

"Why didn't you say anything?", Bigby asked. "You never gave me the chance before you said anything.", she says, looking at him tiredly.

She shook her head. "It was Georgie. I remember waking up and passing out to hear him talk about it with the Tweedles. They were laughing about it.", she says, glaring at the three men.

“Georgie.” Bigby growled as he walked up to him.

"Amazing deduction, Deputy. Seems you're smarter than the sheriff.", the Crooked Man smiles. She glared at him too. "You're not exactly out of the woods either."

“As I said….I’ll be handling the matter if you don’t mind.”, Crooked Man said.

“You got what you wanted, so just–” Jersey started to say as he stood up but Crooked Man stopped him. “Sit. Down. Now.”

Jersey sits down as Georgie looks up at Bigby. “Yeah, I killed ‘em. So what?” He asked.

“Why’d you do it? Why kill them?”, Sonya asked, angrily. “Does it matter?”, Georgie asked. She looked at him as if he'd grown another head. "Uh, yeah. You broke a law. You murdered two fables. What do you think!?"

“What’s there to work out?! I’m protected, aren’t I?!”, Georgie asked the Crooked Man. “Your protection has limits….and I think you’ve far exceeded yours. That you could murder someone in cold blood like that….”, Crooked Man says, shaking his head.

“Look, the fact is….Georgie here misinterpreted one of my instructions….”, Crooked Man explained. “Misinterpreted?!”, Georgie exclaims getting up.

“And I want to make things right. So….let’s work something out.”, Crooked Man said, ignoring him.

“You fuckin’ asked me to do this! You told me to kill them!”, Georgie exclaimed, making Sonya and Bigby turn to the Crooked Man.

“And then attempt to blame me for it! You will be silent….while we discuss what to do with you.”, Crooked Man ordered Georgie.

“This is right bollocks, this!”, Georgie fussed then looked back at everyone. “You just gonna let him do this?”

“What the hell?!”, Vivian exclaimed.

The goons looked away from him, not saying anything. “So what do you two say? Can we discuss terms? You two can have Georgie. Consider it a gift….ensuring our continued cooperation.", The Crooked Man offered.

"Take this fucker! Take all of 'em! I didn’t fuckin’ start this!”, Georgie shouts, pointing at Crooked Man and everyone in the room.

“Don’t make any trouble, Georgie.”, Jersey warned.

“Are you seriously throwin’ me under the fuckin’ carriage?”, Georgie asked Crooked Man.

“No deals. It’s over, so get up.”, Bigby told Crooked Man.

“I’d advise against that approach, Bigby.”, Crooked Man said, warningly.

“You can’t just hand me over! What the fuck is this shit! You said you’d cover for us!”, Georgie fussed. For minor infractions, not murder.”, Crooked Man corrected.

“Just go with them, Georgie! You’re gonna sink us all!”, Jersey shouts.

“What’s wrong with you people! You’re really gonna sell him out just like that?!”, Vivian asked in disbelief.

“You think I give a fuck if I’m the one who–who the shit do you think you fuckers are?”, Georgie asked the others.

“Just surrender!”

“Get the fuck out of here!”

“Things are about to get unpleasant, and I would rather you two weren’t here to watch.”, Crooked Man continued.

“I do apologize, Sheriff….but I think it’s best if you and your partner leave now.”, Crooked Man said to Bigby. “There’s no way I’m goin’ with them! Are you kidding me!?”, Georgie shouts.

“You can go join that whore at the bottom of the lake for all I give a shit! But they’re not takin’ me anywhere! I’ll roll over on the lot of you before I let that shit happen!”, Georgie shouts at everyone.

“What are you saying?” Jersey asked.

“Yeah. What the fuck? You’re gonna make sure we all go down the shutter with you?”, Dee asked Georgie, angrily.

“We’re not going anywhere!”, Sonya yelled at everyone. The room gets quiet and Bigby looks behind her, growling lowly in warning.

She turns behind her to see their reflection and someone familiar as well. She gave them a grin and stepped out of the mirror in amusement.

Crooked Man places his hand over his face. “This could have gone so well…” then he looks up at Bigby and Sonya in anger. “To speak the truth, I’ve never been a very good mediator….why negotiate when you can just decide.”

“Did I miss anything good?”, Bloody Mary asked. Sonya mustered up enough strength to change into her first form and Bigby glared at her, his eyes glimmering with yellow.

Mary looks over at them. “Well, look at you… all fixed up.” Sonya lights her hand on fire but gets punched by Georgie, making her fall back.

Jersey attacks her and she puts her hands out, burning him before he could land a hand on her. Dum threw Dee a gun and he pointed the gun at Bigby.

Bigby knocked the gun away right when Dee pulled the trigger. The bullet hits a window in the back room to reveal the portal.

Bigby turns to it but Mary kicks him across the face, knocking him back. The goons walk over to the two, making Bigby change into his first form. Jersey turns into his skeletal form and charges at you.

“You two have done enough.”, Georgie said as he picked up a knife, swinging it at them. Sonya sees Mary lead the Crooked Man through the portal and tries to chase after them but gets stopped by Jersey.

She shot a blast of fire at Jersey, making him scream out. Dee restrained Bigby from behind, struggling with him. Georgie walks towards him with his knife. “I’d like to say it was nice knowin’ you…”, he said.

"Bigby!“, Sonya yells, running over but Dum punches her in the face. She growled at him, holding her jaw. "But I’ll be glad to see your insides turned out.”, Georgie continued as he thrust the knife towards Bigby.

Bigby dodges, making Georgie stab Dee in the side. Dee falls over and Dum runs over to help his brother.

Georgie continues to attack Bigby but Bigby grabs Georgie’s wrist, pulls the knife out of his hand and shoves the knife into Georgie’s stomach.

Georgie gasped and pulled the knife out as he backed away. “Oh God!”, Vivian cries as she runs over to Georgie.

Bigby rushes to Sonya, checking her. "You okay?", he asks. She nodded and saw Vivian and Georgie disappear through the portal and left. Sonya and Bigby looked at each and disappeared into the portal.

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hetalia-has-a-secretary · 3 years

Note

i loved the sick!child headcanons! may I ask you to explain further the situation, where the child (in first time!) decides to fake their illness to skip the studies and stay at home all alone (to play games or smth, cuz school is boring)

maybe they secretly tried to trick a thermometer and warm it up in hot water, but they had no clue how to do it right, so it became pretty obvious for parent that the child is indeed faking (like it showed more than 44 °C or 111.2 °F, which is certainly death)

how would (single) dad!allies&axis react?

Heheheheh I was hoping someone would ask this! I'm also going to do do this a bit different because I feel like the different kids are gonna try different ways to fake being sick lol

Single Dad Allies and Axis Children Fake Being Sick!

England is a bit more strict with his child. Especially because his kid tried to use a spell book to fake being sick. Accept now everything the kid eats seems to not want to stay down. And it also tastes like vinegar. In other words the kid freaked out and ran to England to apologize. England himself was more concerned about his kid thinking it was okay to use his spell book! After his kid was cured of his illness, he gave his child a rather harsh lecture about using his stuff. But when his kid started to cry he immediately softened, and he asked why they did it. When they tell him he is more than willing to forgive them, but sadly it didn't save them from having their TV privileges taken away. So long it's not something like bulling a little tough love was needed. And even though there was a punishment, england made sure his child had plenty to do. It quickly became a father child bonding time. Now if it was because of too much stress or bullying, he's taking matters in his own hand. Because no one is allowed to push around his kid and get away with it. Curses may or may not have been involved.

Allies:

America's kid is 100% gonna be trying some classic stuff. The kid took chalk, and rubbed it on his face, and then left his thermometer under hot running water. The only issue is when America came around to check his temperature, he felt the kids forehead first. Needless to say, when the chalk rubbed off on America's hand, things got dramatic real quick. At first he was mad at the kid, but took this opportunity to prank his child. So he screeched about his kids skin is crumbling, and pretended to pass out. After the kid seemed to start actually panic, America felt bad and opted for just talking about why they faked being sick. If it was to just skip school, American might get worried, and might consider actually grounding his child. But if it's because the kids nervous for whatever reason, American is going to do his best to support his child, and get them back on their feet again.

France is a gentle and patient man. So when he catches his child using his make up to give themselves a fake red nose and cheeks he was a bit concerned. He first thought it was because he spoils his child, but when he learns it was due to stress or being picked on he becomes extremely protective. He won't go as far as cursing or fighting but he's gonna be pretty verbally persuasive. However he's going to question his parenting skills if his kid seems to just be lazy. If the kids just being lazy, he will call out for help. He has a really hard time disciplining his kid. He's not use to having to be that harsh. Things only seem to turn around if the child realizes how stressed france gets.

China is 100% the type of parent to immediately pull the "have I not taught you better" card to make their child guilty. Not something he likes to do, but he didn't really consider that his child might be struggling. I mean, it really started to hit him when his kid starts to distance themselves like Japan did. That's when he started to ask how his kids been feeling at school. By the way, china's kid didn't really bother fake being sick, because they were already sick of whatever was going on at school. They did consider faking a high temp but even the kid knows that wasn't going to fool his dad. So he just sat in his room as silent as possible, playing video games. China went to check why his kids door was closed when it usually wasn't, and he just wanted to make sure everything was ok. But the world better be prepared of his kid is getting bullied. China will have that shut down so quickly it's not even funny. Even if it meant switching schools. He's really do anything for his kid, and he's trying his best.

Russia is a bit of a hit or miss. His relationship with his kid is pretty interesting. His kid is his pride and joy so when he watches his child shoving his face in the snow like a maniac, he becomes really concerned. When he figures out they're trying to avoid school by making themselves sick, he gets even more concerned. He really dislikes it when people don't get along (or disagree with him) and he takes it personally. Russia will try to do things the legal way, but if he doesn't get where he wants to be as quick as he wants, his kid might be the one pulling Russia away by his scarf. But if his kid just wants a day off from school he's the coolest about it. But will scold his kid for trying to make themselves sick. He'll also take no pity if his child actually gets sick from whitewashing themselves (whitewashing as in shoving one's face in snow, not the other thing).

Canada is a really good dad, so it kind of hurt when his child pretends to not want pancakes, and complains about a stomachache. The kid immediately regrets it though, and the both of them talk it out. Canada is also pretty okay if the kid just wants a day off, but they're not allowed to watch TV or play games. Especially after the stunt they just pulled. But if it's because of bullies, this will be the first time the kid sees their dad actually mad. Canada can understand not being seen, but bullies are another story. He might be unable to defend himself against America, but he's not gonna let his kid deal with something like that! Though his ego deflates when the school office doesn't recognize him. Next best thing is martial art classes and hopes his kid doesn't get into any fights (unless it was in "self defense").

Germany is another strict dad. But his lecture is straight to the point, then he asks them why. Especially now that there's a thermometer stuck in a hot potato. Which Germany had to try his hardest not to laugh at, because silly antics like that tickle his side,as they say. Germany will have zero tolerance for being lazy, but if it's stress or bully related he may or may not have suggested that his kid stands up for themselves. After all one should only be pushed to go so far, and if some idiot is pushing around a german kid (adopted or not) then that bully has a death wish. So yeah. Needless to say after the child's first brawl (and a week of detention) no one is gonna bother them unwarranted.

Japan is such a cool level headed dad, but also kind of knows better then to let his child shrug of his duties. The thing is, Japan's kid has never been sick before, so they thought sucking on a lollipop to make their tongue blue counted as being sick. Nice try though. Japan shrugged it off and they both had a calming talk over some tea. Kid just wanted to stay home and play games? Okay! But you're restricted to only an hour of play time. Bullies? Japan isn't as good on the subject and will let the school handle it. But if that doesn't work he's gonna go out of his comfort zone and meet up with the bullies parents himself. And if that doesn't work cops may or may not get involved.

Italy might not notice at first that his kid wasn't supposed to be home... Not until Germany came over to pick Italy up and he asked. Then Italy tried his little best to seem like a mature adult. But then he saw his kid laughing and having fun. He had to ask Germany for help in other words. Once he got done talking with his kid about why they weren't at school he was honestly at a loss. Especially if they were being bullied. Italy was so use to giving the white flag he never considered how it would affect his child. Italy got pretty depressed over it since he doesn't want his kid to be pushed around their whole life. So it very quickly became a two person goal. Now both italy and his child are practicing to stand up for themselves (possibly making Germany shed a tear or two). However if the kid is being lazy and just doesn't want to go, Germany is going to have to intervene and talk to them both about the importance of school.

#hetalia american #hetalia england #hetalia france #hetalia china #hetalia russia #hetalia germany #hetalia japan #hetalia italy #hetalia aph #Headcannons #such much texting lmao #someone please help italy #he doesn't know what hes doing at this point #big oof

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madsdefencesquad · 4 years

Note

It's frustrating that the majority of this is us fans online now think Madison is selfish, unreasonable and asking Kevin to give up his acting career. Like did we watch the same episode? And is it obvious that this reaction to Madison was not the writers' intention at all. Even producer K.J. Steinberg had to defend Madison to an interviewer about being selfish. Because they seemed to have turned alot of the online audience against Madison, it seems like they will have to put in a lot of work to

I cannot even BEGIN to tell you how much I erupted at the general audience absolutely ripping Mads for this episode when she did not show a single shred of selfishness in this episode. Like not one! Of course, one can argue that there are some things that can be re-worded or whatever but the overall message is still very apparent. * SIGHS * In saying that though, I do have some thoughts on Kevin which we’ll discuss below (warning: it’s gonna get looooong LOL)

Kevin gets a call that shooting has changed locations to Vancouver and he refuses to go because of his commitment to Madison and their kids despite it obviously destroying him.

Like, look at how devastated he is. And then he turns around and tries to hide his devastation but Madison sees through it and she calls him out by asking him what the hell has happened and he explains why, and what does Madison do?!!

She PUSHES him to go despite knowing that she has entered her last trimester, the most crucial part in a pregnancy because hellooooooo she can give birth any time now (!!!!). Like, Madison knows Kevin so well that if he doesn’t finish the movie that means so much to him and that he’s worked so hard for, then he’ll just be miserable, and Madison doesn’t want that for him because she cares about him. LIKE SO MUCH SO THAT SHE SACRIFICES HAVING HIM THERE WHEN SHE NEEDS HIM THE MOST aspodihsfjkl

Like this is her after she lets him go. Madison literally only had to give him a quick kiss and a “Go on and pack” and Kevin, for his part, didn’t even hesitate nor try to fight her that he should stay because he knows that he should. He just went!! And look, I’m not trying to gripe on Kevin here but he could have at least shown even just a tad resistance despite Madison’s logical argument, but let’s not get into that now...

BUT what I will go over is THE POINTS MADE by Randall when it came to Kevin and taking care of people and being committed to them.

Let me point out this particular gem in Season 4, episode 16 between Randall and Kevin when it came to taking care of Rebecca and knowing what was best for her. Randall says,

“And how’s that Kev? Because of all the times you’ve been spending with her for the past few weeks? Because you took her to one doctor’s appointment? I’ve been taking care of mom for twenty years... We both know at any minute, you can take off for Morrocco and do a movie...”

Now look, we can rationalise either one of the brother’s sides in this confrontation, but we cannot take away the truth from Randall’s words here. If we replaced it with Madison’s situation, then this is what we’ll have:

Quarantining together, Kevin’s been taking care of Madison for a few months, about 4-6 give or take, and has been there for her during some appointments (I say “some” because COVID has changed things), and he obviously has been of great help to her mentally, emotionally and physically. However, Kevin has not known Madison for longer than two years and even now, they’re still getting to know each other. But Madison obviously has known herself all her life. And because of COVID, we know that Kevin hasn’t exactly been working, but now that he is, ooop Randall’s words about Kevin having to go and jet off at any minute actually occurs... Kevin has to go to Vancouver in just hours notice.

Even though Kevin thrives at taking care of other people and he’s really good at it, Kevin still hasn’t grasped what it means to truly devote themselves to someone sacrificially. And I mean, putting someone else’s needs before his.

Let’s go to the very controversial argument in the s4 finale where Randall says:

“How dare you pretend that you give a rat’s ass about what anyone else wants other than you? You want mom to spend more time with the family because you want mom to decide with you. You, you, you.”

Now, this line is really crucial in Kevin and Madison’s “argument” in the bedroom. Of course, Randall’s words are much harsher but there’s a truth there: when Kevin proposes his jet-setting family idea to Madison, his persuasion technique is to glam it up (”what about private jet-setting all over the world”) to almost entice Madison to decide with him with what he wants/pictures. AND when Madison reminds him of his commitment to her and the kids, Kevin goes for the offense of “I didn’t realise that where we live was as important as being a family.”

Of course, one can argue that yes Kev, home is where the heart is blah blah, but the point here is Kevin wasn’t taking into consideration what the other person wants, and in this case what Madison wants/pictures, exactly what Randall was saying before.

And then Randall goes:

“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Kevin. You have no idea what it means to actually take care of people... I stayed and took care of our family... you’ll never know what it’s like to devote yourself to anyone other than yourself.”

Now, the meaty bit. Yes, over the seasons we’ve seen Kevin grow and mature and develop. Yes, we’ve seen him devote himself to the betterment of Nicky. BUT, we have not actually seen him show the kind of sacrificial devotion/commitment that Randall was talking about when it comes to taking care of a family, and in this case their own family.

Randall sacrificed his dreams of going to a college that he wanted so badly to go to because he knew that his mother needed him. That he couldn’t leave her alone. That her needs came first... at least for then. But because he was so devoted and committed to taking care of his mother, Randall not only graduated and became successful afterwards, he also got the best of them all: Beth.

Now, with Kevin. Madison is Kevin’s opportunity to DO WHAT RANDALL DID (”What would Randall do?” right, Kev?) for his own family.

Madison wasn’t selfishly asking him to quit acting for her or for the kids, she was asking him to think through his commitment, his all in, and what that actually truly means for him in the context of the above (my girl @thesocietalmisfit made a more eloquent post here).

The writers are telling us to focus on Kevin, to not take our eyes off him because he’s in a pivotal moment now: will he change and finally make decisions for other people apart from himself or will he not and stay the same and lose those whom he cares for and loves?

Anywayy, I’m sorry this took such a long turn, I just really needed to get that out of my chest. But as far as the audience is concerned and how the writers need to do a lot more work to turn people around into going for Madison I have two thoughts:

1. Hating on Madison in this episode for the number of ridiculous reasons all stemming from a form of misogyny yeah I went there, shows that the general TIU demographic are the kinds of people, who needs to be spoon fed information/nuance/implication and sometimes even just what’s right in front of them that they still somehow miss. And I’m sorry, but if you fall in this category, then you’re not going to enjoy not just the development of Kevison’s journey but the others’ also. Remember how much flack Kate was getting for being “awful” at Toby but this one ep of her going full queen of empowerment and everyone’s suddenly Team Kate? Yeah, the audience is fickle. And look, there will always be haters, and haters gonna hate for no reason (or the most absurd), so the writers can’t do much about that.

2. There’s a reason why they’re showing us Kevison already at this very important cross-roads in as early as episode 3 and now 5 and that’s because they’ve got all the loved-up, full romantic Kevison (that they know is the greatest appeal to the audience) coming. I really don’t doubt it. So many people turned into Kevison fans literally after watching them be all adorbs in the premiere and in ep 3 when they were all vulnerable. IMAGINE when they’re actually showing them fully in love with each other + being dedicated parents? THE. SERVE.

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valeriethepussycats · 3 years

Text

Inside Out

Chapter 3

Pairing- Loki x Reader

Warning- cursing and characte dying.

Your thoughts and other characters are in italics. Flashbacks are in bold.

Jane enters Darcy's car parked outside the restaurant. “And I hate you.”

“What?! I thought he was cute.” Darcy proclaimed.

“Just shut up and drive.” Jane replied.

Darcy pulls out and drive off, as they are driving through London suddenly Jane's is shocked to see a guy sat in the back seat. “Who's he?”

“He's my intern.” Darcy stated.

“You have an intern?” Jane questioned.

“Oh, yeah.”

“Hello, Dr. Foster. It's uh...it's a great honor to be working with you.” Ian Boothby stated.

“Right. I have to call Erik.” Jane remarked

Ian checks the navigator then looks at Darcy. “Oh, uh...take a right.”

Darcy quickly makes a sharp turn.

“Left!.” she then turns quickly left. “I have totally mastered driving in London.”

Jane calls Erik and leaves a message. “Hi, Erik, it's me again. Where are you? I came here because you said you were onto something and then vanished.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

A news report is then shown where Selvig is naked and running around Stonehenge while the police try to catch him.

“I'm here at Stonehenge, for what has been an interesting unfolding of events today. The police reported the scene shortly after 11 a.m. this morning, after a seemingly harmless rambler approached the area then started to strip naked and effectively terrorize tourists there with scientific equipment while shouting that he was trying to save them. The man later identified as noted Astrophysicist Dr. Erik Selvig has been called in for questioning by police.”

Darcy pulls up outside an old abandoned factory and they all get out of the car. “Come on, this is exciting! Look, the intern is excited.”

“Ian.” He Corrected.

“Do you want the phase meter?” Darcy asked Jane.

“No.” Jane answered.

Darcy looks over at Ian “Bring the phase meter.” she throws the car keys at Ian and starts walking off. “The toaster looking thing.”

“I know what the phase meter is.” Ian said under his breath.

As Jane walks towards the factory Darcy calls her on her cell phone which starts playing an annoying music tone. “How do I change the ring tone on this thing?”

“An Astrophysicist with three degrees should be able to change her own ring tone.” Darcy exposed.

Jane turns to look at Darcy. “Why are you calling me?”

Darcy Lewis: “I didn't want to shout.” Darcy told Jane. Then looks at Ian, who's following behind her. “Intern, the entrance is this way.”

“Ian. My name's Ian.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Loki is walking around his cell when his reality starts to change. A memory starts to

form, the now dungeon cell was replaced by warm morning sun. Loki sees Y/n sleeping happily in her bed. then she wake up to the sound of House of Pain - "Jump Around" with a big smile on her face she gets out of bed and rushes to the bathroom and brushes her teeth dancing and mumbling the lyrics to the song when she finish in the bathroom she heads downstairs to see that Gambit is in the kitchen making her favorite breakfast.

“So what are we doing today?” Y/n askedas she sit at the table.

“Today we’re gonna go to Mardi Gras.” Gambit said flipping a waffle.

“I thought I was not enough to go to Mardi Gras?” Y/n said picking up ‘her’ Game Boy.

“Who said...I was about your age maybe younger.” Gambit disclosed.

Gambit looks over at Y/n sees she playing with a game. “Where’d you get that?”

“I stole it from one of the boys from school.” Y/n answered. “He was bullying one of my friends and I didn’t use all my powers.

Gambit gives her disapproval look.

“It’s was the only way to find out what he really loves.” Y/n explained. “That’s what we do steal from the mean and rich.”

Gambit gives her a smile that reaches the eyes he then grabs a plate and place Y/n’s waffles on it and hand it to her. “Eat a up Petit we have a big day today.”

Y/n starts to scarf down her food.

Loki looks at their dynamic and can see this Gambit person is a very important person to Y/n, and that she was a thief. She looks happy and content with her life.

Could I make her that happy?

Would she love living on Asgard?

Loki shakes those thoughts out his head, Odin has already made him question if is he worthy of Y/n’s love he doesn’t need the those thought. The memory beings to fade out and Loki reappears on the streets of New Orleans and see Gambit and Y/n. They’re walking the streets of the infinite Paris in laughter of people of all shapes and sizes.

“Mardi Gras. You smell that Petit.” Gambit said with a broad smile.

Y/n laughs as she looks up at Gambit she can tell that he’s very passionate about his city. “Can you tell me more about Mardi Gras.”

“What do you wanna know, Petit?” Gambit wondered.

“Anything.” Y/n with a smiles.

“Well the King Cake is only eaten during Mardi Gras.” Gambit said as he picked Y/n up and put her on his neck so she can see everything.

“What’s the King Cake?” Y/n said looking down at Gambit with her brows together pulling together in a frown.

“It made with brioche dough Braided and laced with cinnamon, the dough is then glazed with purple, green and gold sugar or covered in icing in those same Mardi Gras colors.”

While Gambit is talking all of a sudden Y/n starts hearing voices.

“I haven’t hear from him in a weeks no one at shield can contract him.”

“How can I tell her that someone she knows since she was five could be dead.”

“What....” Y/n said sad grimace.

Then all sudden a loud bang of a gun goes off and her and Gambit falls to the ground. She crawls from underneath Gambit’s head,and see his bleeding.

“Gambit tell me what to do.” Y/n urged.

“Y/n are you ok?” Gambit questioned.

“I’m fine, tell me what do I do.” Y/n stressed.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Gambit answered.

Loki rushes to young Y/n side and tried to to help but his hands go straight though her.

“No...no...tell me what to do...please.” Y/n wept. “You’re all I have....your my family.”

“Your gonna be fine your father with find you.”

“My father is dying and I need to save him.” Y/n proclaimed.

“I love you, Y/n.” Gambit drawled.

“No don’t say that please don’t say that Gambit.” Y/n sobbed.

Gambit’s chest laid still, no flickers of life or his usual burning red eyes. Y/n’s heart stops. When she realized that she can’t hear a single thought. She starts to get a pain in her stomach, like when you get butterflies but make it painful.

“I can not.....I can’t do nothing.......I do not wish to see this.” Loki said with moist eyes. He’s having a hard time looking at what’s happening in front of him. But he knows he needs to see this to understand her more.

Y/n’ s chin trembling, eyebrows elevated, snot running down her upper lip. She spoke in a cracking voice. “Gambit...Gambit..”

The street begins to shake Loki looks around and all the cars in the area gets crushed under a pressure like gravity. All the windows of the houses shatter, all the street lights pop making it dark, but little did Y/n know it was a dream.

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Back on Asgard, Thor,Y/n, and Gambit are walking the hallways for Thor’s home. He’s telling them all the stories of his childhood and all the things they accomplish by keep Nine Realms safe. He’s telling them about all their custom and what they do and what they believe in. They end up back at the celebration because of Y/n’s amazing persuasion skills. Thor and Y/n are sitting at a table while Gambit is sitting with a group of women soaking up all the attention.

“What’s why you can’t stay in one place to long.” Y/n started. “The warriors on Asgard protest Nine Realms.”

“Exactly.”

“That’s amazing. The way you protect people...”

“I do love being a warrior but I can no longer do that.”

“Because you’re next in line for the Throne.”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to make Jane your queen?”

Thor looks at Y/n shocked trying to find the words to say. “I forgot how blunt you are.” Thor said with a smile.

Y/n shrugs shoulder. “I know when you become king it’s gonna become harder to see Jane.” Y/n specified. “And after New York she called me wanted to know if you’re coming back.”

Thor looks over at Y/n withm unfocused gaze.

“I didn’t give her answers because I didn’t know.” Y/n told Thor. “I can tell you miss

her a lot.....And she misses you.”

Y/n looks at Thor and can tell he’s far away and he’s becoming even more so. “Go.”

Thor looks over at Y/n knowing she can feel and understand what’s he’s going through. “I still have more to show you.” Thor said in his best convincing voice. He hasn’t seen his best friend in a long time his mind shouldn’t be on Jane it’s should be on how his friend is.

“Go. I’ll be here.” Y/n said with a encouraging smile.

“Thank you.” Thor said returning her smile. “I will return.”

“I know, now go.” Y/n said with a quiet and empathetic voice.

With one last look, Thor walks away.

After being free from his distractions Gambit walks over to Y/n. “Where did Thor go?”

“He went to go see a friend?” Y/n said then looking over at Gambit with a smirk. “Now let’s go get some drinks.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

As they enter the old factory they hear a noise. “I am not getting stabbed in the name of science.”

She holds up her hands and shouts. “It's okay, we're Americans!”

“Is that supposed to make them like us?”Jane replied.

Suddenly the hear some kids voices. “Make it go away..”

“Ssh!”

Three kids come out of their hiding place.

“Oh, they're kids.” Jane said with a sigh of relief.

“Are you the police?” Maddie asked.

“No, we're scientists. Well, I am.” Jane specified.

“Thanks.” Darcy said dryly.

“We just found it.” Said one boy.

“Can you show us?” Jane asked.

The three kids lead Jane, Darcy and Ian to a truck, one of the boys touches the truck and pushes it up with two fingers, they watch in amazement as the truck floats in mid-air.

“That doesn't seem rigged.” Darcy disclosed.

The kids then take them to a stairwell in the factory, one of them drops a bottle down and they watch as the bottle disappears into thin air.

“Where did it go?”

The girl points her finger up, they look up to see the bottle reappear above them and continuously fall and disappear in the same spots in the air.

“That's...that's incredible.”

Jane picks up an empty can and drops it down and it does the same thing, it disappears into thin air, but when they look up to watch it reappear nothing happens.

“What happened?” Darcy asked Maddie.

“Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't.” She answered.

“I want to throw something. Jane, give me your shoe.” Darcy proclaimed.

Jane ignores Darcy and picks up her gadget to look at the readings. “I haven't seen readings like this since...”

“New Mexico? Only if Y/n was here she would be able to tell us.” Darcy commented. (But she just miss hanging out with Y/n.)

Jane give Darcy a meaningful look before rushing off. ““Don't touch anything!”

Darcy Looks over at Ian. “Give me your shoe.”

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Jane walks away from the others and watches them on the stairwell dropping objects down and watching them disappear and reappear, she sees looks at her gadget and sees the anomaly is nearby and starts walking off; back on the stairwell, Ian drops the car keys down and they watch it disappear but when they look up it doesn't reappear.

“Where those the car keys?”

Jane follows the readings on her gadget which takes her to another part of the factory, as the readings get stronger a gust of wind pushes her forward and she finds herself teleported in another realm.

“Darcy!” Jane shouted.

She looks around and finds the column holding the Aether, she reaches her hand out and suddenly the Aether enters her body and she passes out; at the same time we see Malekith being awakened in his ship, knowing that the Aether has been found.

“The Aether awakens us. The Convergence returns.” Malekith divulged.

#loki x black!reader #loki x black reader #loki x reader #loki x y/n #thor x reader #thor x jane

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plus-size-reader · 4 years

Text

Flyers

Clay Miller x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2247 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Going out with Clay to help look for Whitney and bonding with him in a way that you never have before

——————————————————————————————————

You had known the Miller family all your life and you would do anything for them. That meant that when Whitney went missing, you were the first person to volunteer to help find her.

...And Clay wasn’t going to argue.

If nothing else, he would be glad to have the company, especially after he just lost his mother too. The entire family was falling apart but you wanted Clay to know that he wasn’t alone.

You were going to find Whit if it was the last thing you did-and you could promise him that.

Now all that was left to do was actually head out and hope that someone had seen her. So far everyone within miles of the campsite told Clay that they didn’t know anything but you’d always been rather persuasive.

You were confident that if anyone could track her down, it was you.

The wind brushed past your face aggressively from your place on the back of Clay’s bike but you didn’t mind. You hadn't felt this free in what felt like forever.

In fact, you hadn’t felt this good since the last time you went for a ride with Clay during spring break senior year. That had been such a good time and you only wished you weren’t doing it again under such terrible circumstances.

However, as much as it sucked, you were confident that Whitney was out there. She had probably just gotten lost in the woods, like so many others often did.

She never would have missed her mother’s funeral unless she had a good reason. Clay knew it, and so did you so it didn’t matter if the cops wanted to help or not-you would find her yourselves.

“Let’s stop here for a sec” he suggested, yelling back to you over the sounds of the road. You only nodded, having no problem at all with that.

You had a saddlebag full of flyers with her face printed on them and you needed to put them someone where. A gas station may be the perfect place to start-seeing as it would bring in more traffic than just townsfolk.

Far more people would see it then, besides you weren’t going to say no to a chance to stretch your legs.

The little bell above the door chimed to life when Clay shoved it open, your own frame hidden behind his own as you entered the small business.

With any luck, you could plaster Whitney’s pretty face all over this joint and be on your way.

“I’m gonna grab some waters while you talk to him, ‘kay?” you hummed, gently brushing your hand over his arm to alert him before making your way down the closest isle. Who knows how long you’ll be on the road before you find somewhere else to stop?

Clay only nodded, approaching the counter with only one thing in mind. He was glad to have your company, or else he probably would have gone insane by now.

No one in this town had any idea where his sister went and they weren’t exactly being the most accommodating when it came to finding her. It was like everyone knew something that they just weren’t going to share.

However, before he could really get into the thick of what he was meant to be asking the clerk, some douchebag made it his personal business to run his mouth.

Which meant that when you came back from the cooler section, you were greeted by an obviously pissed Clay and some strangers, likely the cause of the tension.

“I was gone for two minutes” you whispered to Clay, doing your best to read his expression. You had no idea what had happened but it couldn’t have been good.

...It was tense.

“Well apparently I’m an asshole” he shrugged, keeping his eyes on the blonde, who had taken his place in line by this point. It was almost hard to believe the nerve of some people.

All you could do was roll your eyes, before you took the flyer from his grip and made your way over to the door. “Screw them, let’s just go” you decided, holding the door open for the tall male to pass before following.

You had a mission to complete and you didn’t have to care about some random prick. However, before you moved on completely, you stuck one of the flyers to the back of their car.

If they were going to scare away one of your options, they would just have to provide some free publicity for your cause.

“Don’t worry about them, we’ll find her Clay” You assured, joining him on the motorcycle, holding tightly to his muscular middle. It was meant to make him feel better but more than anything, it was for you.

You knew that it would destroy Clay if you didn’t find Whitney, and you weren’t prepared for how hard it would be to pick up the pieces.

...As much as you loved him.

Doing everything you could to support him in finding her was different than helping him mourn. It had been bad enough when his mom died, but this would kill him.

Clay and Whit had been inseparable since they were kids, but he’d always regretted leaving home. He was seventeen, and you couldn’t blame him but he hadn’t gotten over it.

After all, he felt guilty enough when his mom died but this would be even worse.

“Thanks” he shrugged, turning as best he could from where he was sitting to look you in the eyes. You had no idea what he was thanking you for but all you did was nod.

This whole thing had been hard for both of you but it meant a lot to him that you would put your life on hold to be there with him.

...It was more than anyone else was doing.

“Don’t mention it, now what do you say we start checking out houses by the lake?” you suggested, hoping that people closer to where Whit and the others had gone camping.

It was as good a place as any to start.

Crystal Lake was about as exciting as any other lake in any other small town as far as you were concerned. There was nothing distinctive about it, nothing that you couldn’t decipher as unique.

Still, you didn’t really know much about forests or lakes in the first place.

“It’s really pretty out here, huh?” you allowed, the leaves and sticks crunching under your feet as you walked. Clay thought it best if you took the trail by foot, but you were regretting his decision right now.

At least on the motorcycle, you didn’t have to work up a sweat just to get where you were going.

“Yeah, it’s nice” the tall man agreed, walking alongside you with much less trouble. It was hard for him to process given the circumstances but he was doing his best to keep his head up.

You had a point.

Getting down in the dumps wasn’t going to help either of you find Whitney. Besides, it was a pretty nice view. It had been a long time since you two had been able to spend time together like this and it was nice, even with the underlying upset.

At least you were here with him.

It’s too bad we don’t have time for a swim” you commented absentmindedly, looking down into the clear water. It was inviting enough as it was but with the heat, it seemed to look that much better.

Though, before you could really consider jumping into the lake and not looking back, you heard loud laughter coming from behind the trees.

...A lake house.

It was pretty close to where Whit and the others had been camping, so maybe they had seen something. You just had to hope that was the case, at least for now.

You and Clay seemed to have had the same idea too because when you spun around to catch his eye, he was already looking at you.

It was as good a place as any to check in on.

Although maybe that idea would have followed through better if the person on the other side of the door hadn’t been that girl from the gas station. If she was here, that meant that asshole was likely around here too.

“Can I help you guys?” she asked, smiling brightly at Clay, though she hardly looked at you. You were used to it. Traveling with someone as good looking as he was, you couldn’t blame her especially not in comparison to what you looked like.

Besides, it was hard to focus on that with the cloud of jealousy that surrounded you as she spoke. It was odd but you couldn’t help it.

Still, you knew that you had to keep a level head about you. This was for Whitney, and you had to keep that in mind. If this girl could help you find her, then you’d just have to put up with her ogling your best friend.

“We were down at the rest stop when your friend interrupted. We’re actually trying to find my friend. This is Clay, I’m Y/N. Have you seen her? This is Whitney” you started, showing her the poster you had been holding.

It was important that she really thought this through.

“She’s my sister” Clay interjected, earning a small smile from her as she looked at the piece of paper you passed her.

In truth, Jenna had no idea who she was, or what could have happened to her but she felt bad about what had happened with Trent and the fact that you two were clearly desperate, she didn’t want to just send you away.

So, she did the only thing she knew to do.

She invited you in.

“Come on in. I’ll see if anybody knows anything” she suggested, knowing that they wouldn’t but it would get you out of the heat for a while and maybe you’d like something to drink or something. She just didn’t want you to leave empty handed.

Now, you weren’t super sure about abandoning your mission for some girl but then again, it had been three days already and if Whitney was out there, a few minutes wouldn’t make a difference. So, after checking with Clay for conformation, you nodded.

“She and her friends were on a camping trip and the cops aren’t being much help in finding her” you commented, following the much smaller girl into the house. It was pretty nice but you weren’t surprised. To have a lake house around here, you had to have a good chunk of cash.

Jenna only nodded, gesturing to the fridge as soon as she’d closed the door behind both you and your much larger friend. “Can I get you guys anything? Beer, Water? We have whatever you need” she assured, knowing you must have been out there for a while.

“They’re okay”

A fourth voice interjected, resulting in all of you turning to find the source of the sound, Trent. He gave his girlfriend a single look of disapproval before turning toward you and Clay. “Did you follow us here?” he wondered, venom dripping from his lips.

You almost scoffed at what he was suggesting but kept it to yourself. Why would you need to follow him? He couldn’t have been less helpful at the rest stop so you were sure that he would be no more helpful right now.

...And he was quick to prove you right.

“Look, we’re just looking for somebody and then we’ll get out of your hair. Can you help us or not?” you interjected, knowing that if you let Clay answer his question, it would escalate quicker than necessary.

Though, you were sure that it was going to escalate either way, because this guy was just an asshole all around. He smirked slightly as you spoke, turning his attention to you without missing a beat. Almost immediately, his expression changed.

“You’re gonna find them yourself? Just the two of you?” he laughed, looking between both you and Clay with an amused look branded on his face. It might have been funny to him, but to you, it was a matter of life and death.

The cops weren’t doing anything to help her but that didn’t mean she wasn’t still out there. It just meant that you and Clay had to work that much harder to find her.

“They clearly don’t know where she is. Let’s just go” you pleaded, your voice leaving your throat in a huffy sort of manner. You had already wasted enough time here and it was obvious that no one was going to help you find Whitney.

At least, not here.

Clay looked between you and the stranger before making up his mind, taking the door in his hand and your spare one in the other. You had a point, and if you were going to find Whit as soon as possible, you couldn’t afford to waste time here.

“Come on, we should be able to make it back to the bike before the sun goes down” he shrugged, swinging your hand with his own and smiling at you as best he could to calm your quickened pulse. You were angry, having been treated so trashy by those people.

Of all the things you needed that didn’t even make the list, and Clay knew it just as well as you did.

#horror #horror x ps reader #horror x plus size reader #horror x reader #horror imagine #friday the 13th #friday the 13th imagine #friday the 13th x ps reader #friday the 13th x plus size reader #friday the 13th x reader #clay miller #clay miller x ps reader #clay miller x plus size reader #clay miller x reader #clay miller imagine #friday the 13th 2009

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kjack89 · 4 years

Text

Personal Gain (Chapter 5/6)

Yeah, it’s definitely gonna be six chapters.

Happy Halloween! Hope you are all having a fun, safe celebration!

Modern magic AU, developing E/R and Courferre. Read Chapter 1 here, Chapter 2 here, Chapter 3 here and Chapter 4 here (or catch up on AO3).

The key to most physical magic with inanimate objects was understanding that at least one of the components was once alive. Sure, it was several million years back in some cases, but as the quote went, ‘we are all stardust’ blah blah blah.

Courfeyrac didn’t remember the exact quote, but the sentiment was what mattered. And the sentiment was what was going to allow him to break into Enjolras’s apartment.

All it took was a little persuasion to remind the metal in the lock that it had once lived in the earth before it was dug up and smelted, and it was easy enough after that to politely request that it unlock for him. Combeferre had tried to figure the process out once and almost had a nervous breakdown; he’d had an easier time understanding one of Joly’s stranger theories of magnetism.

But the important thing was that it worked, and Courfeyrac slipped into Enjolras’s apartment, a handful of already-spelled, nondescript crystals ready to cast and maintain the spell that would finally force Enjolras and Grantaire to admit to each other what they thus far had refused to.

Courfeyrac grinned triumphantly as he glanced around. He already knew Enjolras was out, having sent Combeferre to meet up with him for coffee, and Grantaire and Bahorel had a standing boxing match to keep him occupied, which left Courfeyrac with about forty-five minutes to get the crystals placed and ensure the spell was cast.

He doubted it would take him even a fraction of that time.

Four crystals were carefully placed in the cardinal sides of the apartment: along the north wall, tucked on a bookshelf behind a few first year law textbooks that Courfeyrac doubted Enjolras had opened in close to a decade; as far east as the apartment went, dropped into the tank of the toilet in the bathroom (Courfeyrac couldn’t help but giggle as he did so); in the south of the apartment, placed behind the alarm clock in Enjolras’s bedroom; and the west, in the kitchen pantry behind a stack of expired ramen.

“Disgusting,” Courfeyrac said, wrinkling his nose as he shifted the ramen packets back into place. “Hopefully Grantaire actually feeds you real food when you two finally get together.”

The fifth and final crystal went in as central a location as Courfeyrac could manage, hidden in the pot of some houseplant, almost certainly a gift from Jehan at some point, that Enjolras had not yet managed to kill. After Courfeyrac pressed the crystal into the soil, and ran his fingers over the leaves, frowning at how dry they were. “Perk up,” he ordered, passing some vitality into the plant, the leaves almost instantly perking up and greening.

Satisfied, Courfeyrac straightened, glancing around the apartment. There was something odd about it, something Courfeyrac couldn’t quite put his finger on, and he frowned slightly, trying to place what felt like it was missing. Then his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he dug it out, reading the text from Combeferre. Enjolras ended coffee early. He’s on his way back. Get out of there.

Courfeyrac slid his phone back in his pocket and glanced around one more time. “Alright, one last test,” he said aloud. He paused, trying to think of what to say. “I hate—” The words seemed heavy in his mouth, and he couldn’t seem to get out what he was trying to say.

Meaning the honesty spell was working.

He nodded officiously and headed out, closing the door after him with a satisfied snap. He placed his hand on the door, the wood grain warm underneath his palm. “Thank you,” he whispered, grinning as he heard the lock slide back into the place.

His job there was done. Now all he had to do was wait.

----------

If he was being honest, Courfeyrac expected for Enjolras and Grantaire to walk into the next Les Amis meeting holding hands and blushing as they told their friends that they were dating.

“You’re an idiot,” Combeferre told him as he glanced expectantly at the doorway, almost vibrating with excitement.

“Better an idiot than a cynic,” Courfeyrac shot back.

Combeferre gasped with mock-outrage. “You take that back, he said, and Courfeyrac grinned, thought he straightened when he saw Enjolras.

Who came in alone.

Scrolling through his phone.

And looking like absolutely nothing was different.

“Told you so,” Combeferre muttered, and Courfeyrac elbowed him.

“Hey Enj,” he said brightly as Enjolras approached. “How are you doing?”

Enjolras just grunted as he sat down, not looking up from his phone. “Did you see this about the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals and vote by mail ballots in Minnesota?” he demanded, gesturing at his phone as if Combeferre and Courfeyrac could read whatever was on his screen.

“Uh, no,” Courfeyrac said, glancing over at Combeferre, whose expression was resigned. “Have you seen Grantaire recently?”

“Huh?” Enjolras said distractedly. “No, uh, I actually have seen him in a few days.”

Now Combeferre and Courfeyrac exchanged startled looks. “Really?” Combeferre asked doubtfully. “Did you two have a fight?”

“The only fight that I have is with the courts and their asinine rulings,” Enjolras said with a scowl, still looking down at his phone as he furiously typed something.

Combeferre cleared his throat and stood, gesturing for Courfeyrac to join him. “Care to explain?” he asked when they were out of Enjolras’s earshot.

Courfeyrac shrugged. “I don’t know, maybe Grantaire’s been busy?” he suggested. “It just seems like they haven’t spent a lot of time together recently, and this plan relies on them being together.”

“It sure does,” Combeferre said, with something like disapproval. “And, uh, did you consider what would happen if they didn’t spend any time together?”

Courfeyrac stared at him. “Look, even if they’ve fought recently or something like that, Grantaire will wander back into Enjolras’s apartment eventually.” Combeferre didn’t look convinced and Courfeyrac nudged him. “C’mon. Trust me. It’s only been a few days. It’ll be fine.”

Combeferre opened his mouth to say something but at that moment, Joly, Grantaire and Bossuet spilled into the room, all seeming in their usual good spirits, and Courfeyrac glanced over at Combeferre, smirking slightly. “See? He’s just been busy.”

“If you say so,” Combeferre said, following him back to their seats.

----------

Two weeks later, Courfeyrac was beginning to think that Combeferre was right, and he hated when Combeferre was right.

Enjolras was just as distracted as ever, barely spending any time at Les Amis meetings before disappearing, assumedly to his apartment, and Grantaire seemed to be spending most of his time with his other friends, his mood getting darker and darker as the days went on.

Whatever fight they’d had, clearly it was enough for Grantaire to be avoiding Enjolras’s apartment, thus casting doubt that Courfeyrac’s plan was going to work.

“How long is this going to go on for?” Combeferre asked Courfeyrac in an undertone as Enjolras discussed something about Poland’s abortion ban with Feuilly while Grantaire watched them, nursing a beer, his expression dark.

Courfeyrac sighed, stirring his drink with his straw. “Well, the spell only lasts for about two more weeks before I’d need to renew it,” he said with another sigh. “But I don’t want either of them to spend two more weeks like this.” He scowled as Grantaire drained his beer. “I don’t know why this is happening. This plan was supposed to be foolproof!”

“In fairness, you didn’t plan for Enjolras and Grantaire having some kind of fight that’s kept Grantaire from going to Enjolras’s apartment,” Combeferre said reasonably. “Maybe you can talk to Grantaire, see if you can find out what happened and, you know, fix it?”

“What, use my magic on whatever they’re fighting about?” Courfeyrac asked skeptically.

Combeferre gave him a look. “I meant talking to him and getting him to make up with Enjolras. All magic aside, you’re generally pretty good at that.”

Courfeyrac considered it. “Well, it can’t hurt,” he agreed, tossing back his drink and going to join Grantaire. “You look like you need a refill,” he said by way of greeting, and Grantaire looked up at him, smiling slightly.

“You read my mind,” he said, standing up and grabbing his empty beer bottle before following Courfeyrac to the bar. “Though I think I actually need a stronger drink rather than a refill.”

“Yeah, you looked like you had something on your mind,” Courfeyrac said, leaning against the bar. “Something happen with you and Enjolras?”

For a moment, Grantaire’s expression seemed frozen, then he snorted, picking at the label of his empty beer bottle. “You, uh, you noticed that, huh?” he asked gruffly.

“Pretty hard not to,” Courfeyrac said evenly. “But this seems worse than your usual fights.”

Grantaire sighed. “Honestly, I’m not even sure that we’re having a fight. I don’t know what this is, or what I did, or...anything, really.”

Courfeyrac frowned. “What’s going on?”

Grantaire shook his head slowly. “I don’t know,” he said honestly. “Everything was going fine – great, even – and then all of sudden…” He trailed off as the bartender brought him a shot and a fresh beer, flashing her a tired smile before picking up the shot. “Sláinte,” he said, toasting Courfeyrac with the shot before downing it. “All of a sudden, it’s like Enjolras didn’t even want to be in the same room as me. Like he didn’t want anything to do with me.”

Courfeyrac’s insides ran cold. “But didn’t he…” He trailed off, trying to figure out a better way to ask the question that didn’t reveal too much. “I thought he was spending a lot of time at his place?”

“All his time!” Grantaire burst, looking miserable, and Courfeyrac blinked in confusion.

“But—” he started, but Grantaire cut him off.

“And I thought I was doing the nice thing, letting him keep his place, y’know? Because I know my schedule can get weird, and so can his, and even though living with him is all it feels like I’ve ever wanted, I also want him to have his space when he needs it, but if I had known he was going to spend all his time there—”

Courfeyrac opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Thankfully, Grantaire didn’t seem to notice, well caught-up in a rant now, his anger and sadness and fear mingling in his expression. “He has not slept in bed with me for over two weeks. He barely looks at me – I don’t even remember the last time we kissed.” He broke off, swallowing hard, and Courfeyrac was horrified to see tears in his eyes. “I swear to God, Courf, he is the love of my life but I don’t think I’m his. Not anymore.”

Courfeyrac’s stomach was somewhere around his knees, and he clutched the edge of the bar to keep himself upright. Grantaire was looking at him as if expecting him to say something, and Courfeyrac cleared his throat before asking weakly, “Uh...when?”

He had meant it to be more elegant, and for a moment, when Grantaire just stared at him blankly, he thought desperately of ways he could clarify his question, but it was too late. “He didn’t even tell you?” Grantaire asked quietly, and Courfeyrac winced.

“He- well, that is- see, the thing about Enjolras—”

“He didn’t even tell you?”

Grantaire no longer looked sad – he looked pissed. “We start dating six months ago, move in together over a month ago, and he doesn’t even tell one of his best friends?”

Courfeyrac hesitated. “I, uh, I don’t think Combeferre knows either.”

Grantaire eyes flashed. “Son of a—”

“But I’m sure Enjolras was planning on telling us!” Courfeyrac added hastily. “At some point. Probably.”

But Grantaine just shook his head, his expression stony. “He wasn’t,” he said. “I should have realized it was too easy. When Enjolras said he wanted to try this thing for real, I didn’t believe him at first, but I thought, what the hell? What’s the worst that could happen? And then after a few months when he told me that he loved me, that he wanted to take this to the next level and move in together, it was everything I ever wanted, so I didn’t question it, but I...I should’ve realized…” He trailed off. “Well, I should’ve realized it was too good to be true.”

He grabbed his beer and turned to leave, but Courfeyrac reached out and grabbed his arm. “He loves you,” he blurted, and Grantaire just shook his head, not looking back at him.

“He couldn’t even be bothered to tell you, one of his best friends, that we were dating. That we were living together.” He shook his head again. “I don’t know what that is, but it’s not love.”

“He didn’t tell us about you because he loves you.”

Now Grantaire turned to stare at him. “What are you talking about?”

For one brief, desperate moment, Courfeyrac thought about using his magic to get himself out of this – a quick illusion spell, or a temporary forgetfulness, something without too lasting of effects so he could get out of there and figure out what the hell he was going to do.

But he had already caused this, with his spell that was meant to get them together and instead had driven them apart.

And he owed Grantaire to tell him, if not the truth, then at least something that might help. And his magic wasn’t going to help him with that.

“Enjolras loves you,” he said, as honestly as he could. “You two are perfect for each other, and everyone knows it. Probably before you both did. He loves you, and he doesn’t know what to do with that, because he’s him, and you’re you. That’s why he didn’t tell me and Combeferre, because if he tells us and it all falls apart with you— He wouldn’t know what to do with that either.”

Grantaire shook his head slightly but didn’t try to interrupt, and Courfeyrac barrelled forward. “He loves spending time with you. Why do you think you two have spent so many late nights together at the Musain, or his old apartment before you moved in together? How many times have you two got into a knock-down, drag out fight that should’ve ended with him banning you from Les Amis but never has? Because he wants you there, wants you in his life.”

Though Grantaire’s expression had softened, just slightly, he still didn’t look convinced and Courfeyrac took a deep breath before continuing. “Look, I know Enjolras. Almost better than anyone else. And he would not have taken that first step with you, let alone moving in together, if he was not 1000% convinced that this was what he wanted. That you were who he wanted. That you were the first person he wants to see each day and the last person he wants to see at night.”

For some reason, even though Courfeyrac was talking about Enjolras and Grantaire, he kept thinking about Combeferre, of all the time they had spent together in the past several weeks – the past several years, if Courfeyrac was being honest.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on that right now. “I know things between you and Enjolras are weird right now. But I promise, if you hang in there, things will get back on track for you.”

“When?” Grantaire asked, a little desperately.

“About twenty-five minutes, give or take,” Courfeyrac muttered, thinking of how long it would take him to get to Enjolras’s apartment and neutralize the attraction spell.

“What?” Grantaire asked, his brow furrowed, and Courfeyrac shook his head and forced a smile.

“Let me buy you a shot,” he said. “To, uh, help pass the time until things get better.”

Grantaire raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

Courfeyrac nodded. “Yeah,” he said firmly. “How about—” He caught sight of a familiar-looking bottle and couldn’t help but smile, just slightly. “How about a shot of Jäger?”

Grantaire wrinkled his nose. “Pass,” he said dismissively. “I can’t stand Jäger.”

“Really?” Courfeyrac asked. “I didn’t think there was any alcohol you didn’t like.”

Grantaire laughed. “Understandable, but, God no. I hate licorice.”

Courfeyrac opened his mouth to reply but froze, something rising unbidden in the back of his mind. Licorice root – star anise – ginger – ginseng...all flavors in Jäger.

And all components of the love potion he had used on Enjolras.

The love potion Combeferre had watched him make.

“Earth to Courf,” Grantaire said loudly, and Courfeyrac blinked, looking back at him. “You buying me that shot or what?”

“Uh, yeah, here,” he said, opening his wallet and tossing a few bills on the bar without looking. “Sorry, I— there’s something I have to go do.”

Grantaire’s brow furrowed. “Everything ok?” he asked.

“Fine,” Courfeyrac said, digging his cellphone out his pocket. “Or at least, it will be.”

He didn’t wait for a reply from Grantaire, already weaving through the crowd toward the door, typing a text message as he did.

Meet me at Enjolras’s. We need to talk.

>>Read chapter 6 here>>

#exr #courferre #enjolras #grantaire #courfeyrac #combeferre #les miserables #fanfiction #modern au #magic au #developing relationship #chaptered #part 5

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cadence-talle · 4 years

Text

Rain Against A Window (Chapter Four)

Pairing: Fitz Vacker/Dex Dizznee, Eventual Biana Vacker/Sophie Foster

Wordcount: 1,955

Summary: In which Juline Dizznee finds a child, our scam team gets closer to Paris, and the city of Petersburg lights up.

Other notes: This chapter was so much fun to write! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Taglist: @everyonehasthoughts, @clearlykeefitz, @loverofallthingssmart, @a-lonely-tatertot, @enbies-and-felonies, @molly-sencen, @lemontarto, @appalyneinstitute1, @ruewen-and-rising, @silver-snow, @linhamon-roll, @hyperlollypop, @never-ever-too-many-fandoms, @keeper-of-the-lost-queers, @impostertamsong, @vibing-in-the-void, @yeetersofthelostcities, @mistythegirlfluxmess

Read it on ao3 or under the cut!

St Petersburg, Russia. October 13, 1917.

Juline stumbles out of the collapsing stables, letting go of the horse she’s holding. It gallops off through the streets and she groans; it’s never going to come back.

Not that it matters, really. No one’s going to have any need for horses now.

She’s not sure how long it’s been since the first gunshots were fired. Six or seven hours, probably. Juline is just lucky she wasn’t caught in the crossfire and had enough time to get all the horses out.

A small wail echoes across the crumbling land, and Juline’s head snaps up. She knows that sound; she’s been listening to a kid cry for going on five years now.

Sure enough, there’s a girl sitting in the rubble, knees curled up to her chest and cheeks wet with tears. She looks about four or five; just a bit younger than Dex, if Juline is right. Her heart twists and she holds out a hand to the child.

“Hey,” Juline says softly. “What happened to you?”

“I- I don’t know,” the girl says, teal eyes filling with tears again. Juline looks her over and something heavy drops in her gut- this is most definitely Princess Bianca. “I hit my head, and I feel sick, but I don’t know why.” She looks up at Juline. “Why?”

“There was an accident,” Juline says, taking the girl’s tiny hand in hers. “You must have gotten hurt.”

“Oh. Are you my mom?”

Juline blinks. Then blinks again. She’s almost positive that Queen Della is dead; there’s no one still alive to take care of this girl.

Exhaling, she makes a decision.

“No, sweetie. But I’m gonna take care of you, okay?”

“Okay,” the girl says. “That sounds good.”

And so the Dizznees gain another child- Biana, she’s called. Juline worries sometimes that it’s too close to Bianca, but it was a name Bi herself chose and Juline isn’t cruel enough to take it away.

Besides, who would look for the last remaining member of the Vacker family in the poorest parts of St Petersburg? These streets are cesspits, filled with violence and alcohol and…

Sickness.

Juline isn’t dying, not yet. But she will be. She’s seen what this sickness can do, watched her own husband waste to nothing in front of her. And it’s only a matter of time- there’s no way they can afford the medicine.

Still, as she sits in her bed and forces herself to open her eyes again, she’s comforted. Because Biana is still out there, still free, still alive.

And no one can ever know.

-/-

St Petersburg, Russia. February 27, 1927.

“And then he just… let me go.” Fitz finishes. “I don’t know why. I was sure I was going to get arrested or something.”

“Huh.” Biana frowns, tapping the arm of her chair. “That’s weird. They’ve been cracking down on a lot of scam teams lately- throwing them in jail or worse. I’m glad you got out, but that’s weird.”

“What should we do?”

Biana shakes her head. “Nothing. Hiding somewhere else would be useless. We’re almost ready to leave. All Dex needs to do is forge our train passes and we’re good.” She turns behind her, to where Dex is furiously scribbling on a yellowed sheet of paper. “Speaking of which, are you heading down to the printer’s today?”

“Yeah.” Dex says, not looking up. Biana raises an eyebrow.

“Okay then. I’m gonna go to the market, see if there’s any food on sale. Fitz, why don’t you go with Dex?”

“Me? Why would I-” Fitz starts. He’s not sure why he’s so opposed to that idea; Dex hasn’t been so much as rude to him since that very first day. Still, there’s something clenching his gut that makes him want to run.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be alone. Not after yesterday.”

“Right,” Fitz nods. “Of course.”

Dex stands up, folding the letter he was writing into an envelope and putting a stamp in the corner. “Okay, let’s go. I want to mail this on the way there.”

“Have fun!” Biana calls as they step into the late-morning light.

-/-

Dear Mom,

How are you? How are the triplets? I hope it’s not too cold out there; I know Rex was trying to learn how to knit, but knowing him, that won’t go well.

Things are all right over here. Bi and I have food, and we think we found a way to make a lot of money. Maybe even enough to finally get you out of debt so we can all live together again.

Petersburg is… tense, right now. Like everything is holding its breath in anticipation. There’s a rumor that Prince Fitzroy and Princess Bianca survived, so all the officers have been on high alert. We’re okay, though.

And we made a friend! He’s nice- kind of confused, but nice. And he’s super pretty

(Please pretend I didn’t write that.)

I miss you. The city’s not the same without you here to fill up every small hideaway we get with laughter and music. Bi and I are trying, though. We’ll get through this.

See you soon.

Love, Dex.

-/-

“Okay,” Dex says as they exit the printer’s, a stack of paper clutched in one hand. The sky is beginning to darken, rays of pink and orange spreading across like paint on a canvas. Fitz is surprised it took so long; he’d always thought of printing as something fast and easy, but there are all these parts. And the travel passes aren’t even done- Dex still needs to forge the signatures on them. “We should get back. Biana will be-”

He trails off, looking at something over Fitz’s shoulder. Fitz spins around to see three uniformed men moving down the street toward them. He swallows and starts to back away.

“Hey! You!” One of the men calls. “It’s almost curfew! What are you doing out?”

“Uh.” Fitz says. Dex grabs his arm and pulls him into the alley to the side of the building, hurrying them both up a fire escape.

“Go, go, go,” he says through gritted teeth once they’re on the roof, running along the shingles with a grace Fitz is positive he can’t replicate. “What are you waiting for? Come on!”

They leap between houses and swing around water towers as the sun sets, lights in windows popping up like stars. Finally, Dex comes to a stop on top of a building on a particularly large hill.

“I think we lost them,” he says, looking back at Fitz. “What?”

“I’ve never seen it this high up before,” Fitz whispers. From where they stand, the whole city’s spread out underneath them like a glittering map. Each lamp in each home is a shining jewel, calling to him. “It’s beautiful.”

Dex snorts, sitting near the edge of the roof and staring at the lights below. “Trust me, it’s a lot less pretty when you grow up down there.”

“I didn’t say pretty. I said beautiful.”

“Okay, your majesty, what’s the difference, then?”

“Pretty is surface level. It’s looking at someone and thinking ‘oh, they’re attractive.’ Beautiful is… more than that. It’s watching someone live and listening to them talk and seeing all their faults but still loving them. If something’s beautiful, that doesn’t mean it’s perfect- it’s just messed up in a beautiful way.”

“Oh.” Dex is quiet for a moment, the two looking at the city lights. Fitz feels an overwhelming urge to take back his words.

“I don’t actually know the city very well,” he says. “I’ve lived here for a few years, but it’s mostly just… work, sleep, repeat. Nothing like-” he waves a hand at the scene in front of them- “nothing like this.”

Dex sighs, leaning back on his hands. “Petersburg is this odd mix of amazing and dangerous, and most things here walk that line very closely. So when you grow up on the streets…” he pauses, as if trying to find the right words. “It’s hard to make an honest living. And much, much easier to get drawn into things that aren’t exactly sanitary.”

“That’s why you’re so good at forging stuff,” Fitz responds. “Right? And why Biana is so persuasive. You guys do this a lot.”

“Yeah. Yeah, we do.” Dex sighs. “Our mom never wanted us to be scammers. She used to work in the palace stables, but when the tsar was killed…” he mimes an explosion. “That whole line of business kind of blew up. She and Dad did their best, and we managed to stay afloat for a while, but-” he bites his lip. “When Dad died, Bi and I knew we had to do something. We had more siblings by that point- the triplets, they’re thirteen now. And Mom’s few jobs weren’t enough to keep us fed.”

“So you turned to stealing.”

Dex shrugs, kicking his heel against the brick of the building. “Stealing, scamming, anything that could get us food or money. We ran into trouble a few times, but we managed to slip away. The streets of Petersburg aren’t too bad if you have someone by your side.”

“Oh,” Fitz says. The words I’m sorry seem too small for this, too small for someone who’s been through so much hurt. “I guess I can see why you don’t think the city is beautiful, then.”

“No, actually, I think it is.” Dex turns to face Fitz, eyes fixed on the roof beneath them. “You said that beautiful doesn’t mean perfect, and Petersburg isn’t perfect- it’s dirty and messy and terrifying. But I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’m willing to take the bad for the good that I’ve gotten. The city gave me Biana, and I wouldn’t trade her for the world.”

He looks up, straight into Fitz’s eyes. “And that’s love, isn’t it? Seeing all the cracks and loving it anyway. Understanding it anyway.”

Something about the way he’s talking makes it clear that he doesn’t just mean Petersburg. But Fitz doesn’t have time to think about that right now.

“Yeah. That’s love.”

More lights appear in windows below them, glittering into existence. It’s a sign of life, of the people who hide in the shadows and laugh with their families. A sign of home.

Unconsciously, Fitz pulls the music box out of his coat pocket.

“What’s that?” Dex asks. Fitz hands it to him, and Dex wrinkles his nose. “Is this a Vacker relic? Where did you-” he fiddles with something inside, some piece of machinery, and music starts to play. “Whoa.”

Tinkling music drifts over the rooftop, a memory tugging in the back of Fitz’s mind; he should know this. He should know this.

He does know this.

Slowly, quietly, he starts to hum along as a scene takes shape in his mind.

A smiling red-haired woman leaning over him, a tiny girl by his side. The very same music box in his lap, emitting a soft tune that Fitz knows by heart.

“Once upon a December,” he sings quietly as the song ends. Dex gapes at him wordlessly, closing the music box with a silent click.

“Fitz, what-”

Fitz meets his eyes. “We need to get to Paris.”

-/-

Dear Mom,

I’m sorry the letter’s short today- I don’t have much time to write.

We’re leaving the city soon, heading away. I won’t say where, for your safety and ours, but rest assured we’ll be as safe as possible.

If all goes well, I’ll be home soon. We’ll all be together.

I love you.

Dex.

P.S. I said, in my last letter, that my friend was pretty. That’s not true- or, it is, but he’s more than that. He’s beautiful.

#lynn rambles #my writing #kotlc #kotlc fanfiction #dex dizznee #fitz vacker #biana vacker #detz #fedex

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rolllingthunderr · 4 years

Text

UkaTake Unexpected d&d fluff | 1.6K words | SFW

tw: drinking //

“Well, this is unexpected?” Takeda stops in the doorway, smile threatening to take over his face and he puts a hand over his mouth to hide it as Ukai turns and frowns from where he’s sitting behind the DM screen.

Ukai leans back to smile softly at him, like he always did whenever he caught sight of him, something Takeda would never get over, before catching up with what he said and frowns. “Shaddup. Are you playing or what?”

“Yeah, we’re missing a few people.” Makoto smiles from where he’s sitting at the end of their kitchen table, paper and dice spread out before him with Takinoue in much the same arrangement beside him. “We need a healer.”

“Is this what you were sending me links for this morning?” He turns to Ukai, grinning as he watches him pull out a few character sheets and dice sets.

“Yeah. We don’t get many opportunities to play. How long’s this campaign been running Tak?”

“Two years I think?”

“Well i’ll happily join if you give me a few minutes to change. I may be a little rusty though. I haven’t played in years.” Before going to change he leans forward to kiss the top of his partner's head, smiling when Ukai sits up straight to lean his head back so he can kiss him properly.

“Hurry up. I’ll get you a drink. Whadda ya want?”

“That weird beer you got in, give me a few minutes.” He’s quick to change and go back into the kitchen, sitting in the chair that’s closest to Ukai which had apparently already been set up with a character sheet and dice.

“Cleric huh?” He takes a look over it. The class and level had already been set up, as well as prepared spells, but everything else was left blank so he quickly fills it in, using the memories from when he last played a cleric to create his character now as quickly as he can.

“Here Ittetsu.” Ukai comes back, passing him the beer with a kiss to his temple as he sits down, putting the other snacks he bought in towards the middle of the table.

“Thanks Kei.” Absently, he winds their legs together under the table as he sorts himself out while Makoto and Takinoue fill him in on the basics of the campaign.

“So we started out as mercenaries, but we sort of joined a plot to kill the king and that’s our focus on the minute.” Makoto explains. “We’re currently trying to break in the castle so we like, find you in the stables or something.”

“Sounds good.” He smiles as Ukai reaches under the table to grab his legs and pull his feet into his lap. Pushing over a packet of his favourite sweets as he does so, acting nonchalant about it although the tips of his ears are red.

Shifting so he’s comfortable and ignoring the eye rolls from their friends at their domesticity, Takeda settles in properly. “Alright, let’s get this started then.”

It takes all of twenty minutes before the apparent serious mood turns goofy, and Takeda leans into it heavily.

He’d forgotten how much he loved this game, and the customers at work had been particularly mean that day. He wished his teacher's salary stretched so he didn’t have to work through the summer but he did what he had to. It just meant he was all too ready to let off some steam now anyway.

“What do you mean I can’t flirt with the DM to get advantage?” He asks, pouting in the way he knows will get Ukai to flush, which causes Makato and Takinoue to giggle into their drinks.

“That’s not how it works babe.” Ukai sighs, but he’s very obviously trying to hide his grin.

“You’re the dm, you say what goes!”

“Exactly!” Takinoue leans forward, gesturing with his bottle. “We need advantage on that persuasion check c’mon please.”

“Okay if you ask i’m definitely gonna say no.” He growls, pointing right back.

“Shut up Tak.” Makoto hisses and Takeda can’t help but laugh at them. One of the good things about originally getting to know Ukai had been the friends who had followed him into their friendship. He had always been a little too awkward and earnest to make his own friends past being acquaintances. But Ukai hadn’t minded one bit and apparently, neither did his friends. And they were his friends too now.

“Yeah Tak.” He smirks, before turning the smirk to Ukai who averts his eyes.

“That’s not gonna work either.”

“Fine fine. Let me roll.” He gives it up, but he doesn’t miss the way Ukai squeezes his ankle. Maybe an apology, but it’s more likely a ‘hah’ at not giving in to his puppy eyes.

“Okay that’s a ten?” He grimaces given how low it was even with him adding everything to it.

Another squeeze. “Surprisingly, you come up against a particularly stupid guard and he lets you in without question.”

“Then i’m gonna kill him to make sure he doesn’t go anywhere!” Makoto slams the table, feral gleam in his eye that’s mirrored by all of them.

“Then roll for initiative.”

They end the night late and tipsy. And with plans to continue the next week given they had ended the session by being caught and thrown into the castle dungeons.

“Bye!” Takeda calls from under Ukai’s arm as they stand in the doorway. Waving Makoto and Takinoue off as they head home.

Once they’re out of sight they close the door and Ukai lets go, sighing as he looks at the messy table they’d left in their wake.

“Think we can leave it ‘till tomorrow?” He asks and Takeda nods, following to wrap his arms around Ukai’s waist from behind, burying his face in his shoulder blades.

“I mean, i’ve got the day off. I can do it whenever I get up.”

“Fuck I love you.” Ukai grins, turning around. Takeda just smiles back until he squeaks when unexpectedly Ukai reaches down to grab his thighs, hoisting him up. All he can do is wrap his legs around his waist and arms around his neck, laughing.

“What are you doing? I’m heavy c’mon-”

“I carry boxes of stock heavier than you babe.” Takeda can feel himself blushing and he buries his face in the crook of Ukai’s neck, grinning against the skin there before nosing it. Just to hear him sigh happily as he carries him carefully through their apartment.

He was secretly a sap. Or well, it was more a badly kept secret over an actual secret.

“Love you.” He nuzzles in. A little loose from the booze and he wiggles in Ukai’s grip, to feel his hands shift to settle him properly, and then while he’s there cop a feel of his ass which gets him laughing.

“You tryin’ to feel me up?” He pulls back, laughing even harder when Ukai drops him onto the bed, leaning over him as he kneels between his legs before lying heavily down.

It’s a weight Takeda loves, and he wraps his legs a little more firmly around his partner to keep him there as Ukai smirks down at him. He rests his elbows either side of Takeda’s head, leaning heavily down as he kisses him. Slow and open mouthed, completely sloppy.

Gross bastard. He really loved him

“Always babe.” Ukai grins in between kisses, one hand absently going to run through the strands of Takeda’s hair he can reach. Wrist bent a little awkwardly.

He reaches up to take the headband out of Ukai’s hair, chuckling when his hair falls into disarray around his face, strands falling over his face. He throws the hairband aside, hands going to play with it and spike it up before letting it all again, scratching his nails along Ukai’s scalp in the way he knows he likes.

“Hmm, you need to dye your roots again Kei.” He tugs at one of the strands, laughing when Ukai just licks a stripe up his face in indignant response. He goes to say something else, tease ready but the comment leaves his brain when Ukai starts kissing down his neck. He starts at his jaw, closed mouth kisses progressing to licks and then sharp nips the further down his neck he goes. Sucking hickies into the skin below the neckline of his shirt where the only people who could see the marks were them.

“So, what did you think about the game?” Ukai asks when he stops, resting his chin on Takeda’s chest and Takeda can’t help but burst into laughter.

“You’re asking me that now?” He giggles, tucking Ukai’s hair behind his ears. “Nerd.”

“Says you, Mr Teacher.”

“I’m not the one who brings up dnd in the middle of a make out session.”

“Oh shut up we’re not kids, c’mon.” Ukai whines. “At least call it somethin’ sexier.”

“No can do. You like me for my awkward charm.”

“Love you.” Ukai corrects without even thinking about it, and Takeda instantly blushes so hard he has to cover his face.

“Love you too.” He mutters. Unable to move his hands.

Gently, Ukai moves his hands out the way to kiss him and take his glasses off. Reaching over to them on their bedside table, and Takeda whines at the loss of him. He’s too tired and tipsy to really have a filter so he reaches out without thinking. Flushing again and hiding his face when Ukai turns to face him again, smirking down at him before that breaks into a soft grin. Resettling himself in between Takeda’s legs. Shifting comfortably as he rests his arm back where they were.

“Fucking nerd.”

“Shut up.” He leans up to kiss him once again, and settles in for the night.

#takeda ittetsu #ukai keishin #ukatake #ukai x takeda #haikyuu #haikyuu writing #my writing #long post //#takeukai

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imjeralee · 4 years

Text

Wallflower: Chapter 4 - Open Me

Raihan x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Note: This is my first Pokemon fanfic. I hope you enjoy it :) Originally posted on Archive of Our Own.

Summary: You’re an unassuming Pokemon breeder who works at the nursery in the Wild Area and he’s Raihan, the fearsome gym leader of Hammerlocke who has more than a million followers.

You don’t want anything to do with him but he’s…persistent.

Rating: Mature/Explicit

Warnings: Lemon, smut, violence, language

OPEN ME

...

"Some time ago, this woman did this, uh.... this art performance. It was extreme art, using herself. Basically, she stood with this sign saying that she was letting the public do whatever they wanted to do with her - and she was gonna stand for seven hours and do nothing. She laid out some stuff in front of her - amongst random objects, I think there was a pen, a flower, a gun, a knife...So anyway, she stood and at first, people just stared and watched her. Someone went up to her and gave her a hug. Gave her a handshake. Someone gave her the flower to hold. Someone kissed her on the lips. The public chuckled and laughed, watching this woman stand there like a living dummy. They used the pen and drew on her or something. It began to escalate: someone started taking off her clothes. She stood semi-naked until someone covered her up. Someone slapped her. Someone punched her. I think she started crying but they didn't stop. Someone grabbed the knife and cut the side of her neck. Someone took the gun and put it in her hand, pointed it to her own head. When the time was up and the woman started moving again, the people who hurt her ran away immediately, afraid of the repercussions. When I read that article, I knew: human beings are absolutely disgusting to the core."

She lifts up a knife next. A terrified Deerling trembles in the corner of the room whilst Banette grins.

"That being said, I guess I'm no exception. I'm sorry it had to come to this."

....

Detective Looker is hard at work.

He's got a few things going on - not only has he taken over Raihan's social media account for the time being (it took a lot of persuasion but Raihan finally agreed, vexingly... if he might say so himself) and now he has taken it upon himself to personally investigate the hotel, in particular, room 241. It's Raihan's designated room should he ever visit Circhester, Spikemuth or Wyndon, and Looker's interrogated the majority of staff and checked out all CCTV. No-one reported witnessing any unauthorised persons going in and out of the room and the CCTV does not accurately show the hallway, indicating several blindspots. They also tell him a keycard went missing which was not replaced or brought to management's attention. Looker is not surprised. Of course, there's a hiccup...whilst the hotel staff apologise profusely for their blunders, Looker dismisses them. It sounds like they'll improve their security from now on.

Looker heads to the room, opening the door. Everything is evidence and should be treated with utmost care...he unleashes his Growlithe to sniff out anything. He wouldn't be surprised if Raihan and the girl were snorting up berry dust or anything. Who knows what kids these day were up to...who knows.

Upon checking the room, he stands where the camera in the DVD was facing and finds two light switches in the wall that faces the bed directly. Attempting to remove them, he gets Magnemite to ease it off using it's Magnetic Pull ability and it manages to take the cover off, revealing a square slot where any sort of camera could be placed there, perfect for recording. He takes a few snaps of it using his Rotom phone and inspects the area where the dust doesn't settle. The camera was placed here for some time (a long time, perhaps) but it's long gone now.

Someone had set up a camera way before the one night stand and removed it during the night when both were sleeping. Pretty ballsy, if Looker admits; the perp had gone into the room when Raihan and the girl were in it. But from the testimony, the young couple were drunk as fish so it's not surprising they were out cold for the rest of the night and didn’t notice. The next question is - if no-one saw anyone go in or go out, how did the culprit escape? Looker turns to the window, finds that it's easily opened and proceeds to look outside. Anyone could just use pokemon to fly out here. Also, how did the culprit know where the girl worked to be able to deliver the DVD directly to her workplace?

She probably works for Macro Cosmos. It's the perfect setup - she's Raihan's biggest fan and being an employee of Macro Cosmos, she could have access to what hotel he stays in. Macro Cosmos also has their paws stuck in the Pokemon Nurseries; they pretty much run everything in Galar. They may as well be the government, Looker thinks to himself.

He grabs a pokeball and presses the button. "Go, Dustox." And the large moth pokemon abruptly appears and Looker issues his command: "Dust it."

Dustox flutters around, sprinkling some dust over the window pane where it reveals two handprints.

"Good job, boy." Looker says as Dustox lands atop his head and he pulls out some equipment to take prints. They look small - most likely a female's. Next, Rotom buzzes, indicating a new message. "Talk." Looker mutters, as Rotom flies out.

"Zzrt, I've got the report; I've also got the address of the fan who told Raihan to go to Spikemuth!"

"Thanks, Rotom. This is coming along nicely." He mutters to himself. Grabbing Rotom, he checks the rest of the statistics report; looks like the person has also commented on every single photo and video Raihan has uploaded since...ever. It's simple. Real simple. Just a case of blackmail and obsession after all.

...

Looker arrives in Spikemuth and looks up from his Rotom phone. He's standing in front of an apartment block that looks very rundown. Of course, everything in Spikemuth is grizzled and decrepit, but somehow this sad building really takes the cake. Rotom's provided address mentions the third floor so he quietly makes his way up and stops at the front door. This is it.

Letting go of Rotom, he makes a circle with his finger. "Scan it."

"You got it, champ." Rotom says, before he zooms into the air and a dim blue light glows. "There'zzz only one person inzzide. A man."

"Thanks, I'm going in." Looker knocks on the door and waits.

A few seconds later, the door opens and a middle-aged, bald man in a tracksuit opens it. "Whaddya want?" He slurs, clearly drunk.

Looker holds up his badge. "I'm with the police; I'm looking for - "

He doesn't even get to finish his sentence because the man yells over his shoulder, "What are you in trouble for this time?! Now the po-po's here!"

There is no response.

The man sighs, opens the door and grunts at Looker, "C'mon in."

With an eyebrow raised, Looker steps inside. The flat is in a disgusting state and there's a terrible odor. Feces, perhaps. Looker follows the man down the small hallway of the cramped apartment, stepping over heaps of trash and boxes and upturned furniture on the floor and they stop at a random door. The man proceeds to slam his huge fist over it and it rattles in the doorframe

"Hey, are you in there?!" He yells, before he tries again, but there is still no response.

Looker holds out his arm. "Stand back." With a hefty kick, the door opens violently and swings on the hinges.

Inside, it's a fairly normal room, save for the numerous posters of Raihan pasted to the walls and a bunch of magazines on the floor with Raihan's picture on it, along with the mangled carcass of a dead Deerling. The man gags and runs back towards the direction of the living room whilst Looker steps in.

"Rotom?"

"Yezzzir?"

"Let's get a team here."

"Okay-doo."

...

The Wild Area...

"I've got two wonderful arms, I've got two wonderful lips, I'm over twenty one and I'm free…Oh, I've got a hive full o' honey, for the right kind of honeybee…"

In the Rolling Fields, a young man sits in the middle of a patch of tall grass with a jar of honey in hand and a small plastic knife in his other which he's using to spread over his face.

A group of trainers pass him whilst chatting animatedly and giggling, all female - looks like they're heading to Motostoke - and they stop as soon as they spot him, eyes wide. Realising he's being watched, he grins and waves at them. "Ladies! You wanna see my Lickilicky? He's big and pink - "

"Ewww! Weirdo!" They scream loudly before quickly scampering away.

He looks upset. "What's wrong with Lickilicky?" Rummaging a hand through his pockets, he takes out a pokeball and presses the button, releasing a large pink pokemon and he continues spreading honey over his chin. "Wait," He pauses abruptly, frowning. "How does this work again? Was I meant to put honey on myself, or on a pokemon? What do you think, Licky?"

His pokemon turns to him and sticks it's massive pink tongue out in response.

"Eh, fair enough. Okay, here goes nothing. Let's give it a shot." Once he's finished giving himself a honey moustache, he moves to stand up and holds his arms out, dropping the knife to the ground - but then his phone rings and he fishes Rotom out from his pocket. "Yello."

"Um, it's me."

"What's up?"

“I...I think I have a date. Can you help me?”

“Hell yeah, I will!” He shouts down the phone before he hangs up, then - "Frick, why'd I do that? Damn, where we gonna meet?"

He immediately calls her back.

"Yeah?" She sounds exhausted.

"Where we gonna meet and when?"

"Can we meet right now? The date is tomorrow. Are you in Galar? Sorry for the short notice..."

"Nah, s'alright, I wasn't doing anything important anyway," He replies, "And yeah, I'm in the Wild Area. Meet you outside your workplace?"

"Sure."

After he hangs up a second time, there is a loud rustling noise emitting from the right. He gasps and whips his glance over over. "What was that?"

There's another loud rustle to the left which makes him leap frantically in the air.

"Huh? What? Who?"

Another rustle.

"Who goes there?"

Glancing left and right, he can't tell where the noise is coming from but then the grass parts and a dark shadow leaps out. His eyes widen.

…..

You're waiting outside the nursery as agreed, checking your phone for any messages when you see a figure sprinting towards you from the horizon. It's some dude dressed up as a Galarian Ponyta. Oh, wait. You know this dude.

"Help! Help me! Demon cat! Demon cats are chasing me!!" He yells, waving his arms around.

It's Glenn. Finally, he's here. Took him long enough. He's rushing towards the nursery with his Lickilicky waddling after him and there's something chasing him; you notice it's a couple of Purrloin that have all set their eyes on him.

Throwing a glance over his shoulder, he hisses, "Back, I say! All of you, stay back! Oh? You want a battle, do you? Fine!!" He grabs a pokeball from his belt and tosses it without looking and throws his arms in the air, "Go Kricketune! Delelele whooooop!"

You continue to watch as a large, reddish insect pokemon appears in a burst out of light and it stands its ground in front of the rampaging Purrloin - however, it's quickly pushed to the ground and trampled over.

"No!" Glenn yelps, before he spies you and proceeds to hurriedly make his way towards you, hiding behind your back, "Oh good, you're here. Do something!"

"Okay, I got this." You mutter; the Purrloin stop before you, peering up at you inquisitively whilst Glenn quivers in fear. You quickly fish out some spare berries from your bag which you keep handy for these sorts of situations and squat down to hand the fruit to them. They surround you at once and you distribute the food in an orderly fashion. "One for you...one for you.... aaaaaaaand...one for you." You mutter as they line up, single file. Once each pokemon has a berry, they purr and meow appreciatively at you before turning to leave quietly.

From behind your shoulder, you hear: "Are they gone? Are the demon cats gone?"

"Yeah."

"Phew!" Glenn pokes his head out and sighs. "Thanks for taking care of that, sis. These Purrloin walk on their hind legs! That's not normal!" He exclaims as he returns his Kricketune and Lickilicky into their pokeballs.

"It's a Galar thing." You reply, before you squint your eyes at him, "Are you high?"

"Me? High? No, of course not. I've been clean for years, sis. Years."

"Right, okay. Come on then, let's go. It's getting late."

"Sure, sure. I'm so happy you called me." He gushes, as you both begin your trek down the beaten path of the Wild Area that will lead you to Hammerlocke where you will get the train; Glenn quickly falls into the same pace as you, folding his arms behind his head - which he does all the time but suddenly it reminds you of Raihan.

Glenn is your foster brother and a self-proclaimed Pokemaniac, choosing to dress up as random pokemon depending on his mood. A week ago he was a Bidoof, a few days ago he was a Weedle. Today, he is a Galarian Ponyta, a pokemon he's been on the lookout for a long time since he read about them. He still stays in Johto somewhere in Mahogany Town, but he likes to visit you a lot on sporadic occasions and luckily for you when you called him - he was in the Wild Area. You've asked Glenn to help you choose an outfit for your date. He was responsible for picking out the black dress from Goldenrod department store - the one you wore to the club - so overall, he's good with fashion and naturally you called him first because you trust his opinions.

He was also a berry addict. Specifically, the lum. Yes, that one. Out of all the berries he could get addicted to, it had to be that one. He got addicted to lum berries at a young age and spent much of his youth going to shady places, throwing most of his cash to dealers just to snort some lum dust. He’s been clean for years, or he says, but sometimes you’re not sure. There's no telltale sign right now - no red, watery eyes and there's no distinct smell of the lum either. You guess you have to take his word for it.

"Wait, before I forget - " Glenn removes his Ponyta hood, leaving himself in his white sweater and slacks with the pink-blue edges, and he proceeds to take out two pokeballs, handing them to you, "I brought your pokemon."

You grin widely as you take the pokeballs off him. "Thanks!!" You'll let your pokemon out later, and stuff their capsules into the pocket of your bag.

"I guess the only pokemon you're missing from your team would be a Goodra, Dragonite, Kommo-o and a Hydreigon, right?"

"And a Dragapult." You remind him.

"Why do you want one so badly? Is it because they look like they're so done with life and shit?"

"Uh, no, but - hey, what happened to that Dreepy trader?"

"He said he wanted your Metagross in exchange."

You make a face. "NO."

And he snickers, crosses his arms over his chest. "Yep, I called the trade off.”

"Thanks. So, what pokemon were you looking for this time?"

"A Vespiqueen, but no luck." He says with a sigh.

"You should've dressed up as a Combee."

"I wanted to but I couldn't make the costume in time." He sighs again, "Anyway, this isn't about me. This is about you. How's it goin'? How's Galar? You got a date, right?"

You immediately throw your glance to the ground and kick a stone away from your path, cheeks going pink. "...Yeah."

"Who's the lucky dude?"

"Um...it's Raihan."

Glenn's eyes bulges for a split second but then his expression returns to normal. "Oh. Figures. He loves dragon Pokemon and you use some dragon pokemon, so you got something in common." He scratches his chin next, "Raihan, huh. He's a bit of a celebrity around here; didn't know you would like his type."

You blush furiously in response. "I don't know if I should go."

"Huh? But you called me for help, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah."

"Then you should go. Give it a shot. Ahhh, my little sis is going on a date with the hot-blooded dragon tamer. That's adorable." Glenn reaches over and pulls at your cheek affectionately.

You smile awkwardly in response. There's more to it, of course, but you're reluctant to tell Glenn the entire truth. Once you're at Hammerlocke, you take the train to Wyndon - even though you're heading there tomorrow - and upon arrival, you and Glenn head to the boutique. Raihan's asked you out on short notice and you're sure there's nothing in your current wardrobe, so the Wyndon boutique will have to do. Compared to the boutiques in the region, the Wyndon store offers some of the best selection of clothing. Stepping inside, you're greeted with hundreds of clothing racks and your eyes are assaulted with dozens of colourful garb, shoes and handbags.

As you grimace under your breath, Glenn rolls his sleeves up and grins widely. "Right, let's get you sorted!"

...

Wyndon, next day.

Needless to say, you didn't get a very good night's sleep and when you had heard a Corviknight crowing, indicating it was morning, you groaned and sat up in bed, glancing over to the folded clothes on the stool which you had bought yesterday with Glenn's help. It was rather exciting at first and shopping with Glenn is very much fun and games, but now...not so much. The initial excitement is gone now, replaced with an underlying sense of dread. You're afraid. Why are you doing this? What will you say to Raihan when you see him? What will you talk about during your time together? What if it gets awkward? What if he thinks you're boring as hell and that you have nothing in common? You smacked a hand to your forehead as you slipped out of bed, full of regret and feeling sick to the stomach; it's not like you agreed to go on the date either but he's expecting you to turn up now and you're too afraid to message him saying you don't want to go anymore.

Glenn said he could wait with you at the Wyndon pokemon centre for moral support which you didn't think was necessary; it doesn't make you feel any better.

Yet, you're waiting in the Pokemon Centre; Glenn stands at the rounded table, going through photos on his phone whilst you peep outside the double glazed window. Here you are, dressed and dolled up. It took you almost three hours to get ready. You look the same as you did at the nightclub but the makeup's a bit toned down, especially with your eyeliner. There's still ten minutes to go until the date officially starts but your indication of Raihan's arrival is a cacophony of manic female screaming and cheering. People are pointing to a specific direction so you follow where their fingers are pointing to and you see that Raihan has appeared, having just arrived at the large fountain in the town square; he smiles and waves at a few shrieking fans - he's donned in a casual black t-shirt and denims (and looking very much like the way he did at that talkshow) - before he abruptly steps towards the fountain and plops himself down on an empty, dry space, bringing out his Rotom phone. High above and the sky is turning grey, indicating that it will be raining soon.

Your eyes grow wide as your Rotom phone buzzes and he flies out; you have received a photo from Raihan - he just snapped a photo of himself at the fountain and has sent it to you. The caption below says:

Doofus: I'm here :)

You don't know how to reply, your feet suddenly anchored to the spot. "...He's actually here." You croak out. "He's here, Glenn."

Glenn doesn't look up from his phone. “You thought he wasn't serious? That he was playing a cruel joke on you? This isn't prom night or high school or whatever.”

“Y-yeah...”

"Well, now that he’s here and obviously very serious, what are you waiting for? Go to him."

You shake your head furiously, taking a few steps back from the window. "Um...not yet."

"Huh?" He looks up, confused. "You're gonna make him wait?"

"...It's not that. I...I don't think I can do this."

"What do you mean?"

"This is a bad idea."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is."

"You can't keep letting whatever you're scared of stop you from doing things, sis." Glenn says, but you don't leave the safety of the pokemon centre.

As the minutes tick by, you see Raihan occasionally checking his phone, talking to some fans who would go up to him for selfies and autographs. Once that's done, he would look up and around and check his phone again for updates from your end (but obviously there's none because you didn't reply to his message). You hear a loud booming clap of thunder overhead and it occurs to you that the weather's getting worse and soon, the window becomes streaked with droplets.

"Look, it’s raining now." Glenn adds, "And it's pretty bad. Go and get him. Go get your man."

You stare at Raihan, who is still rooted in his seat on the fountain. He hasn't moved at all. Glancing at your phone, you realise you've left Raihan waiting for almost ten minutes. And as Glenn pointed out, it's beginning to rain heavily.

"Shit. You're right. Goddamnit, he's gonna get sick." You utter under your breath, "Glenn, I'm going."

"Whoohoo! Good luck! And most importantly, have fun!”

You pull your umbrella from your bag and open it as you rush out of the pokemon centre, running over to the fountain. Raihan doesn't notice you coming and since he hasn't moved from his spot at all, he's very drenched; once you arrive, you hold the umbrella over his head and he promptly looks up.

"Sorry, I'm late!" You exclaim, "Well, no, I wasn't late, I was - uh, never mind, I-I have kept you waiting and for that I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

He stares at you from head to toe; you're wearing a long-sleeved shirt dress with a belt and black shorts underneath, along with matching black chelsea boots. After he's had a good look at you, he immediately stands up and envelopes you into a tight hug. The umbrella jiggles in your hand and almost threatens to fall but you manage to hold onto it. Despite being completely wet, his body is warm.

"It's okay, I didn't wait for long." He says, as he nuzzles you affectionately. He sounds happy.

What a doofus, he clearly did wait for a long time.

"You came." He adds.

"O-of course I'd come." You utter, and you exhale quietly under your breath as he bundles you up in his arms and gives you a tight squeeze. "...Sorry." You mumble again, throwing your gaze to the side as your chin rests on his broad shoulder. You can't help but apologise again and again.

His arms lower from your waist, large hands resting on the sides of your legs and the contact makes you blush heavily, your fingers clinching the damp fabric of his t-shirt. “Your outfit is too short.” He murmurs as he strokes the sides of your bare thighs before he slips his fingers underneath the material of your shorts - he’s almost at your ass - and he succeeds in sending a few shivers down your spine.

”You don’t like it?”

“No,” He mutters, “But it’s dangerous to wear something like that in front of me.”

Honestly, it’s quite a tacky thing to say but somehow he can get away with it because your face ends up a thousand shades of red before you defiantly turn your head to the side. “S-shut up.” You mumble as he leans over to press his lips over your cheek and you close your eye as he begins to trail little kisses over the side of your face. What were you expecting? Heck, you are deliberately wearing a sexy outfit for this date.

He moves towards your mouth and presses a deep kiss on your lips which kind of takes you off guard but before you can react, he pulls away and says, "What do you want to do first?"

"You're soaked." You squeak out, "I'm sorry."

He plants his hand atop your head, ruffling your head as he grins at you in response.

"Okay, I'm here and you're here. Your obsessed fan could also be here and watching us this very moment. What the hell are we doing, being in the wide open like this? This is bad. We should not be doing this." Glancing around, you see some of the Wyndon locals running for shelter from the rain, disappearing into their homes or nearby restaurants which now look pretty full. You're not too sure if it's a good idea if you should go with Raihan to such a busy place. You ponder to yourself briefly and it hits you. "Never mind; I have an idea."

....

Glimwood Tangle.

"Ahhhh. This is so much better." You sigh, wiping your brow with relief, "It's nice, dark and quiet here. No-one will see us."

The Glimwood Tangle is the perfect place - maybe not so much for a date, but if Raihan insists in spending some time with you, this is a good option. It's not raining here either, thank goodness. Of course, you're just a few paths away from Ballonlea as well, so you guess you could invite Raihan for tea or something nearer the end (and not for sex, nooo... and you hope he would respect that too). You took the Corviknight taxi - which was a bad idea because it was really cramped inside and you were both basically rubbing shoulders - which he didn't object to or anything, in fact he pretty much wanted you to sit in his lap but luckily for you and unlucky for him, there was just enough space.

You found the entire taxi ride darn near claustrophobic and he had his hand planted over your bare leg the entire time so you're relieved to have finally arrived at the woods - even when you exited the taxi, he let you go out first and the damn cramped cubicle meant when you both stood up and turned, your ass basically grinded invitingly against his hips. If it couldn't have been anymore damn obvious, there's tension between you and Raihan and you're not sure what will emerge from this.

In the woods, you look around whilst Raihan tries to get a signal on his phone. There's not many people around at all and as you mentioned, it's dark and quiet. You prefer this more than any other town or city. You take one step forwards and -

SQUELCH.

Throwing your glance down, you see your foot is stuck in thick mud, fast. "Motherfu - “

Raihan’s watching you.

”-Fuh...Furret. These are brand new."

He chuckles as you try to pull and tug your leg free but to no avail. Raihan steps over, invulnerable to the mud (but of course he is) and reaches for you, scooping you up with one hand under the back of your knees and the other around your shoulder and with unimaginable strength, he hoists you out - but now you're stuck in his hold, being carried bridal style which embarrasses you greatly.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving my princess." He replies cheerfully as he carries you through the woods. You blush the entire way; when you're away from the muddy terrain and back onto the path, you both find a large glowing mushroom and decide to sit down and Raihan looks around inquisitively. You get the feeling that he doesn't come here often, and you wonder if he has even come here before at all. He doesn't look used to his surroundings.

"Are you okay?" You ask, as Raihan looks up at the non-existent sky. "Is it too quiet here? Too dark? Some people find the Glimwood Tangle unnerving."

"It’s not so bad here.”

"Yeah, but people are rumoured to disappear or get lost for days. Weeks, even. So, not many people like passing here and as you can see, it's really dark. Like it's almost noon but it looks like it's night-time right now. It can really mess with your biological clock," You muse out loud, "N-not that I chose to stay near here because of those reasons, of course. “

You go silent; it occurs to you that he was observing you as you babbled and now you’re scared to death that you’d put him off with your ramblings. Did it make any sense? Or was it all garbage? Why did you say those things in the first place anyway? You couldn’t help it - it was like verbal diarrhoea. Have you made things awkward now?

As you worry, he asks, “Do you live in Ballonlea or Stow-on-Side?"

"Ballonlea. You can see my cottage over there." You point to the left where between some giant, neon mushrooms, you can see the roof of your cottage in-between the stems.

"Nice." He comments with a grin, before he takes off his orange sweatband which is damp with rain and as he wrings it dry, you get a rare view of Raihan without his headband, revealing the sides of his shaved head and his dreadlocks. You can feel your cheeks heating up as you look at his rugged side profile and angled jaw, the amount of manly appeal he oozes is enough to reduce you to a blushing mess. He's still fairly damp, his black t-shirt clinging to his muscles and you can see the lean outline of his biceps. Looks like he works out a lot...hot damn, you should've paid more attention to the training videos he posts up online. There's a reason they're insanely popular with fans.

You try to focus on the topic at hand here, clearing your throat, "My pokemon like it a lot here, except Espie. She prefers Johto."

"What other pokemon do you have?"

"I have a Drifloon; he's been with me for a long time. And I have a Poliwag. He refuses to evolve though, so we tied an Everstone around his tail. He lives in my bathroom."

Raihan chuckles again. Surprisingly....the conversation's been pretty fluid and he's extremely easy-going. “I got something for you.”

”Huh?”

Delving into his pocket, he takes out a pokeball with a ribbon tied neatly around the middle. Fancy. “This is for you.”

You don’t move. Your gut feels like it’s twisted into a tight knot.

”Go on, it’s yours.”

You nervously accept the pokeball from him and he gestures for you to open it, releasing whatever is inside. You press the button and a red light flashes briefly before the Pokemon appears. Your eyes widen at once. It’s a round purplish-pink blob that blinks it’s little eyes at you before opening its mouth wide. It makes a gurgling noise and your jaw drops.

”A Goomy!!?!” You exclaim, and you can’t help the smile that blossoms on your face; Raihan watches, grinning at your reaction. “But...why? You didn’t have to.”

“He needs a home and I know you’ll take good care of him.”

As the Goomy looks between you and Raihan, you hold your arms out. It slowly slithers over to you and you lift it up and into your arms. Uh, okay.... now your clothes are feeling a little damp. There’s a slime trail over your front and as Goomy gurgles happily, you smile cheerfully at it and rub at one of it’s little horns.

”Oh, so cute...” You can’t wait to raise him into a Goodra that will destroy anything and everything. Oh yeah. Turning to Raihan, you grin, “Thanks. I’ll look after him.”

He grins at you in response as you return your new Goomy into the pokeball. Shit, you didn’t get anything for Raihan. But his gift was totally unexpected! You weren’t expecting any presents!!! What are you going to do?

“What's it like being a Pokemon Breeder?" He asks, snapping you out of your thoughts.

"O-oh, well, I like it very much, I get to see lots of pokemon everyday. I look after a lot of pokemon everyday." You babble again, "I look after the babies, I look after the eggs, and I deliver eggs. For EV training, I only accept up to five pokemon; I take them to places with specific pokemon to battle for stat gain."

He rubs his chin in thought, "Where did you learn how to EV train?"

It's then you throw your glance to the ground and bring your knees to your chest. "....When I was a kid, I brought Beldum to Show and Tell. My classmates laughed at him and said mean things so I wanted to train him up to become stronger. I took him to the mountains and we battled a lot of Trapinch. Along the way, I noticed his attack stats kept increasing as I levelled him up." You mumble, "I never forgot that moment, not once."

"I know." He says nonchalantly, "You told me."

You whip your head to him in confusion as he smiles coolly at you. "When did I ever tell you that?"

"Didn't you watch the rest of the video?"

Your cheeks go red. "Uh........No." You utter, after a pregnant pause, "...No, I...I didn’t."

His expression gradually dissolves into one of disappointment and his face crumbles slightly. Oh shit, now that you think about it... you didn't finish watching it. You scratch your elbow, pondering.

"What's it like being a gym leader?" You ask timidly, and also wanting to change the subject, "And why did you decide to become one?"

"Hah, good question." He replies, "I like battling and training pokemon. Being a gym leader means I constantly get challenged by people from all across the region; there's always something new to look forward to everyday and my pokemon can get stronger. One day, when we're strong enough, we'll beat Leon."

You admire his positivity, you really do. And his energy. You give him a small smile as he grins at you again and a comfortable silence settles between the two of you; inwardly, you’re quite happy that the date seems to be going in a good direction. You muse silently whilst Raihan takes out his phone and attempts to take a selfie of himself with a green mushroom behind him. It's too dark for him to show up properly, however. You're about to say something when you hear a rustle in the grass below you and you turn your head to the source of the noise.

“Did you hear that??" You whisper, leaning over to see who or what is making the ruckus; when a pokemon emerges, your eyes widen and you unconsciously grab his arm. "Raihan, look, it's a Ponyta!"

"Hm?" He peers over the edge of the mushroom beside you.

As you point excitedly to the grass below, the small horse pokemon trots out from the undergrowth and glances around cautiously before it begins to feast on the grass. "Damn, all my pokemon are too strong. They'll just kill it - I mean, make it, er, faint - in one move."

"I'll catch it for you." Raihan says; he stuffs his headband into his pocket, hops off his seat and drops to the ground carefully and quietly before reaching for you with arms outstretched.

You swallow down slightly and gingerly slide off the mushroom, holding onto his shoulders for support; he slips his arms around your waist securely and effortlessly hoists you down and when your feet touch the ground, he's still holding you tightly and your noses are almost touching. You mutter your thanks as he lets go of you slowly before reaching for an ultra ball that's nestled behind his back. Approaching the Ponyta, he tosses the ultra ball and a large pokemon emerges - it's his Sandaconda. The Ponyta, startled, decides to face it head on. You look at it's multicoloured mane that is a beautiful shade of mixed pastel blue and pink. So adorable!!!

"Go, Sandaconda! Use headbutt!" He instructs, and the sand snake pokemon proceeds to ram itself at the pokemon. It didn't get a chance to retaliate at all! The Ponyta drops to the ground, not exactly knocked out but reeling from the impact. Weakened, Raihan grins and then grabs a spare pokeball from his pocket and throws it at the downed pokemon. You're surprised he's helping you catch it, and when the ball clicks shut successfully after wiggling around for three times, you watch numbly as Raihan collects it, returning his pokemon at the same time. With the pokeball in hands, he heads back to your direction and hands you the capsule. "There you go. She's all yours."

He’s surprising you a lot today. And he’s gotten you another Pokemon.

"Thanks, Raihan."

“Whatever Pokemon you want, I’ll get it for you.”

”You don’t have to.”

”I want to.”

Your cheeks flame up immediately.

”What’s next on your list?”

You think about Dragapult and an image of the ghost slash dragon type appears in your mind. Oh, Glenn is right. Dragapult really does look like he is done with life and shit. Now you really want one. “Dreepy....” You mutter, in a slight zombie trance.

”Okay, I’ll get you one.”

”Wha - ?! Raihan, I didn’t mean it, I was just - seriously, don’t. It’s okay.”

As you splutter, clearly flustered by his generosity, he chuckles. You give him a timid smile, throwing your glance to the pokeball in your hands, then back up at him. He hasn't looked away from you at all. It grows silent for a while between the two of you where you're both staring at each other - to your surprise, you’re able to maintain the eye contact without wanting to look or turn away.

Maybe it’s because you’re anticipating him to kiss you and as predicted, Raihan slowly begins to lean in. You freeze on the spot then, watching as his face comes closer and closer and your heart beats harder. It’s that giddy Butterfrees-in-the-stomach feeling again but this time, it’s strangely pleasant. His gaze lands on your lips and when he finally nears you; he pauses and flicks his glance up at you as though he’s waiting for something. Your permission, perhaps? When you don’t move, he closes the gap and gently pecks you on the lips, reaching for your hand and squeezing it. You force yourself not to move and discover you’re able to stand still. The corner of your lip tugs upwards against his mouth which causes him to grin in response as he smooches you again quickly.

When you both pull away, you mutter, "...Shall we head to Ballonlea?"

"Sure."

You place the pokeball with the newly captured Ponyta into your bag beside Goomy’s and once that's done, Raihan begins to guide you out of the woods. Hand in hand, you both walk towards the direction of Ballonlea where he would occasionally nudge you playfully using his shoulder and you would nudge him back. The only source of light comes from the glowing mushrooms but it's really relaxing to be here. You see some other pokemon in your path, including some Shiinotic and Morelull who all hide away from you, disappearing into the darkness. Up ahead and you see some gym challenger being pranked on by Impidimps. Soon, the town comes into view and you lead the way to your house where you see a cardboard box on your doorstep.

Huh, that wasn't there before...and it couldn't be mail, either.

Stopping directly in front of it, you and Raihan stare at the box and then look at each other. It says 'Open Me' and there's an awful stench emitting from inside. That wipes the smile clean off your face; Raihan steers you behind him and you quickly grab his arm. "Wait! No, don't open it. Call Looker."

He eyes the box cautiously, "...Yeah. You're right." Just as Raihan pulls out his phone, his screen flashes, indicating a call from the detective you had just mentioned. "You called at a great time."

"What happened?" You can hear Looker's gravelly voice from the receiver.

"I'm with her. There's a weird box outside her doorstep."

"Okay, I'm heading over. Don't open it."

"What do you think is inside?"

"...A dead pokemon, or parts of one, probably."

There's a brief silence before Raihan hangs up.

"A dead pokemon?!" You exclaim in shock; Raihan returns his phone and turns to you, then encircles his arms around your waist wordlessly and holds you tight against him; he's strong, you can't wriggle free from his embrace. "Raihan, we shouldn't have - this person knows where I live! And now this... this is awful!”

Raihan doesn't say anything except press his lips against your forehead in an effort to calm you down whilst rubbing your arm soothingly.

The wait for Looker is excruciatingly long.

#raihan x reader #Raihan x you #raihan #pokemon #pokemonshield #pokemonsword #pokemonswordandshield #jeralee #fanfic #fic #archiveofmyown #wallflower #kibana

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