#and then breathing a sigh of relief of ''oh thank goodness the actual introduction to the bunker isn't this stale and disappointing''

[fullscoreshenanigans]

gonna be so sad the day Netflix US drops TPN but also love how it’s not touching S2 with a ten-foot pole

[jpitha]

Dreams of Hyacinth 37

First / Previous / Next

Sound of the City looked incredulous. Nick caught himself being surprised that he could tell. Up until yesterday he had never met an Aviens, and now he could read their body language?

You're welcome.

Anyway. City crossed her arms. "You want me to find someone who is familiar with the Sol system, and can gather information on your other partner, Selkirk, who currently commands one of Raaden's ships?"

Nick nodded. "You got it. Do you know anyone?"

City's feathers rippled and she sighed. "I'm annoyed that I actually do know someone, I'll have you know. I don't even think you realize how unusual that is?"

Nick was sitting at Melody's desk - his desk now, he supposed - in the Royal Dawn. Apparently, Melody did a lot of work that didn't require the Throne here. Eastern had gone back to the Throne to work on the Gate more, and Nick had decided to sit here. In addition to talking to City, Nick was expecting folks on the Reach to stop by and ask questions. They were, ostensibly, in charge now.

Speaking of. "City, what do the Administrators think of us? I don't want to build resentment by overstepping."

City glanced down at the pad she was carrying and made a quick note. "They have asked me to set up a meeting with you and the Empress as soon as possible. Do you know if she can meet today?"

Hey hon, the Administrators want to talk today. Do you have time?

Tell them right after lunch. I think I can get to a point where the systems can work without my direct intervention then.

"The Empress says we can both meet with the Administrators after lunch today."

City nodded without looking up, making another gesture in her pad. "Excellent. Thank you, Emperor. I will make contact with.. the person I have in mind for your request, and will bring them with me if they accept the offer." City's eyes flicked up to Nick. "You are going to pay them, right?"

"Oh yes, yes. I have a line of funds valid in Sol that I can draw upon to pay this person." Nick once again thanked his partners that they were so much smarter than he was. They had more than enough money to hire just about anyone they could need.

City exhaled in relief. Nick was surprised that aviens - at least City - did that gesture too. “Good. Okay then Emperor, I’ll be off. Elmi will help you with any petitioners that come by today.”

“Elmi?”

“Oh, you haven’t met them yet. Hold on, I’ll do the introductions.” City stepped around a corner and came back with…

Nick could only describe it as a person in a space suit. They were a head taller than Nick and wore a form fitting space suit. City noticed Nick’s expression. “Elmi is a Falmor. Their original planet has a different breathing mixture, they can’t breathe oxygen. Outside of their area on the Reach and their small city on Venus they need to wear these environmental suits.”

Elmi bowed slightly and spoke through the speaker in their helmet. “It is an honor to assist you, Emperor.”

“Thank you Elmi, please let me know how I can help.”

Elmi made a gesture with her hands - equilivant of a smile, according to the Nanites - and said, “That is my job, Emperor. I am here to help you.”

Nick smiled. “Please then, send in the first petitioner.” He looked over at City. “Thank you again City. Please let me know what you find.”

She bowed and left without another word.’

Nick spent the morning working with Elmi and the few people who were brave enough to see him right away. Nick was surprised. He expected more people and said as much to Elmi.

“You are new here Emperor, the people do not trust you as of yet.”

Nick sipped his drink. It wasn’t coffee, he wanted to try the local beverages. Someone from the hotel had given him a tea. He couldn’t place the flavor, it was completely unknown to him, but it was hot and sweet and tasted good. Kind of fruity? “I suppose that makes sense. We did just arrive. Elmi, do you know what the people think of us?”

She made a complex gesture with her hands. Since the Falmor live in suits outside of their sector of the Reach, body language is nearly useless. Over the years they developed a sign language to use with their speech to assist with more subtleties of their language. Nick’s Nanites helped translate. She was indicating a sad dissent. “I apologize Emperor, I don’t interact with the general public of the Reach very much.”

“Well, what about your fellow Falmor? Do they have an opinion?”

Another gesture. Like a shrug. “We all loved Melody. She welcomed us out of our sector and encouraged us to come to the rest of the Reach and help others. We were saddened to hear of the attack and her passing. I think that most people here are open to your and the Empress’ arrival and are just waiting to see what you do.”

“Then, Eastern and I will need to do our best to make a good impression.”

“Emperor.” Before Elmi turned to fetch the next petitioner, she made a quick small gesture. The Nanites told Nick it was like a quick smile.

Nick was able to see a few more petitioners before the middday meal. Eastern had returned, right on schedule, her eyes tired. “Are you all right hon? You look beat.” Nick said.

Eastern nodded and rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, it’s a lot of work being connected to the Throne. More than I thought it would be. I’m nearly done though. Things should be automatic from here on out.”

As they finished their meal, City arrived. “Emperor, Empress. The Administrators have arrived. Would you like to meet them here, or over in the Throne?”

Nick looked at Eastern, who shrugged with her eyes. She stood.“Here is fine, City. Let’s meet them in the office.”

City nodded and turned. Nick and Eastern walked across the hall to the office where Nick spent the morning, and they both sat behind the large desk. Eastern closed her eyes and concentrated for just a moment, and her crown flared slightly. She looked at nick and her eyes flashed to the top of his head. He concentrated as well, and his crown, similar but slightly different than hers flared as well.

City entered with the Administrators. There were 4 of them; an Aviens, a Mariens, a Falmor and a K’laxi. Nick and Eastern did not successfully hide their surprise.

At their surprise, the K’laxi administrator flicked their ears in amusement. “Yes, Emperor, there are K’laxi onboard the Reach. Not as many as our friends the Aviens, Mariens and Falmor, but still, we are here.”

Eastern and Nick stood, and bowed. Surprised, the Administrators returned the bow. “You honor us by seeing us, Holy Ones. We are in your debt.”

Nick blinked. “Pardon me, but; Holy Ones?”

The Aviens Administrators bobbed their head quickly. “Yes yes, in addition to being the Emperor and Empress of your empire you are also the head of your church. Your words and actions are divine and we are here to serve.”

The K’laxi in the delegation rolled their eyes very slightly. Nick caught the gesture but said nothing.

“Additionally Holy Ones-“ Continued the Mariens “-we have learned that you have begun construction of a Gate, something that has not happened here in nearly five hundred of your years. We are most excited that the work has restarted.”

The Mariens were interesting. Nick was fascinated by them. Originally coming from a world almost entirely covered in water, they evolved from the seas. Nearly boneless, they almost were like what an octopus could evolve into, given a few million years.

The Aviens bobbed again. “Oh yes, restarting Gate construction is more than we could have hoped for. Even Empress Melody did not do that. We completely understand of course-“ they added quickly “-Empress Melody came to us in the middle of a situation and had her empire to reclaim, but the fact that you came and immediately started work on a Gate is auspicious. It is good you are here.”

“I am thankful you feel that way Administrator.” Eastern inclined her head as she spoke. “I want to make it clear that we are not here to usurp your rule. Your role as Administrator is important to the Reach, and we will be calling upon you for advice and counsel. We would like to leave the day-to-day operation of the Reach to you, so that we are better able to handle matters… of empire.”

Agreeable noises from the Administrators. “Yes Emperor, Empress. We like this too. Thank you for your trust in us.” This time the Falmor spoke.

“So, where are you from originally?” The K’laxi asks, their tail twitching. Your accent is Parvatian-“ They point at Nick “-but I can’t place yours.” They point at Eastern.

“I’m from Luna originally, but I lived on High Mars Hyacinth for many years.”

The K’laxi nods. “Ah, that must be it. There are so many accents and dialects in Sol, I am not familiar with all of them. More humans gaining the mantle or Empress. I suppose it is inevitable. I can’t think of another species more likely to touch random things just to see what they do.”

The Aviens, Mariens, and Falmor Administrator turn to the K’laxi. The Mariens looks legitimately upset and the Aviens is surprised.

The K’laxi Adminstrator turns towards their colleagues. “Don’t act so surprised. We’ve known the humans longer than any of you. If anyone has an idea about what humans are going to do, it’s us.”

“Y-you speak out of turn!” The Aviens’s feathers are rustling.

The K’laxi holds up a hand. “Peace, sister. They are my Emperor and Empress, but they are also human. We should not come to them and bow and scrape the entire time. They will take advantage.”

Nick turns to see Eastern chuckling. “Now, them I like. Tell me your name please, Administrator.”

The K’laxi bows and Nick detects just a hint of sarcasm in it. “I am Administrator Yem’ari, Empress. I represent the K’laxi contingent on Reach of the Might of Vzzx.”

“And how many K’laxi are here?”

“Only a few thousand, Empress, We are the smallest contingent.”

“And yet, you are an Administrator.”

“My position was granted to me because of our familiarity with humanity. I work to help… translate the things that you do.”

Eastern raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Please, what do you make of ‘Empress’ Raaden and her work in Sol?”

A shadow crossed the K’laxi’s face. “We were not here while Empress Melody was, so we did not experience her first hand, but the fact that Raaden took her title and mantle and never returned to the Reach is… telling.”

“Tell me Yem’ari, are you and your group part of the faction that believes in the divinity of the Empress?” Nick asks.

Yem’ari’s tail flicks and she nods her head. To do both gestures indicates she’s spent a long time among humans. “Yes Emperor, we believe in the divinity of the Emperor and Empress and their voice. That is why we arrived. We were pilgrims, and the residents here were able to make space for us. We hope that more will come when things… calm down.”

“With the civil war you mean?”

Again, they nod and their tail flicks. “Yes, Emperor. With the civil war. We are not current with the news, but the number of K’laxi who have come to the Reach has dwindled, and we do not know if that means we’re winning and there’s no reason to come, or if we’re losing and there is nobody available to make the trip.” Yem’ari stares at Nick and Eastern hard. “If possible, we would like to learn what is happening. Do you think you can get some news for us?”

Eastern nods. “We will certainly try.”

Yem’ari smiles. “Thank you Holy Ones.”

[dragonfirerogue-writes]

Kindred Spirits

Jade West x Reader

You put the final touches to your locker door as students started piling into the halls of Hollywood Arts. Dark surroundings leading to a portal with lush colors spilling out. Certainly a good statement to make, you supposed. You gave the painted door a few flaps of your fan before cautiously opening your locker to get what you needed for your classes. As soon as you shut your locker, you hear a voice behind you.

"Whoa! That's really cool. I like your door."

Turning around, you face a pretty, thin Latina smiling wide as she surveys your locker. The corner of your lips turn up a bit in response.

"Thanks. Just finished it, actually."

"Oh! No wonder I haven't seen it yet." She held out her hand. "I'm Tori. Nice to meet ya."

Her wide smile was infectious as you take her hand and shake. "Name's Y/n. Just transferred from the East Coast." After the moment, you pull out your schedule.

"Hey, can you actually help me find my classes? I haven't had a chance to snoop around." You let out a soft chuckle. Tori looks over to scan the paper in your hand.

"Looks like we share a few classes together. Including Sikowitz. Awesome! Let's go. I can lead you around." You let out a sigh of relief, glad to not have to wander the halls aimlessly.

"'Preciate it."

Before you knew it, lunch arrived and Tori invited you to join her and her friends. However, as soon as the two of you walked up to the table, a voice spoke up.

"Who's your new pet, Vega?"

Your eyebrows furrowed at the question. You just stare confusingly at the pale goth across from you. Tori hurriedly replies "D-don't mind Jade. She's a little... Rough around the edges."

"Unlike my scissors. No rough edges on this baby."

Tori just ignores her and pulls attention from the rest of the group. "This is Y/n. They just transferred, so I'm showing them around."

"Oh miss Sweet Sally Peaches is doing her duty as a goody two-shoes do-gooder!"

"I don't talk like that!" Tori huffed. Jade only smirked, having pushed Tori's buttons. "Anyway! That's Cat, Robbie and Rex, Andre and Beck." Each nodded or waved in greeting as they were introduced. You thought it was fairly odd that the puppet got an introduction as well, but you just figured it was a thing. With a smile, you joined the table, staying quiet as the group made their plans.

"Oh, Tori" exclaimed the redhead known as Cat. "Did you tell Y/n about movie night?" Tori could only get a couple words in before Cat railroaded her.

"We're having a movie night this weekend where we all bring a movie then pick which one to watch at random!" You were amazed that the explanation was all in one breath. You took a moment to process her words.

"I'm pretty sure most of my movies are still packed up," you say, scratching the back of your head in slight embarrassment. "But if you guys are willing, I'd still like to join." Everyone (except Jade) agreed excitedly. Then Andre made a suggestion.

"Hey, how 'bout you choose the movie? We'll bring 'em, you pick 'em! And no pressure. We generally all enjoy whatever movie. Except for Jade." Said girl gave a sarcastic smile in response. You were just happy to be able to get involved with new friends.

"Sure. Sounds like fun."

With a round of yays, the bell rang and everyone made their way to their respective classes. Your first day and you already had friends and plans. You were definitely looking forward to the weekend.

-----+++++-----

It seemed as though the week sped by in no time. Getting used to a new school and settling into your new home kept you incredibly busy. Now, you were ready to hang out with your new friends. In fact, you were on your way to the Vega residence. The passenger seat was filled with snacks and drinks. Since you weren't bringing a movie to choose, you could at least provide treats.

You pulled into the Vega driveway and parked behind several cars. It seems as though some of the others had arrived. You grabbed all of the foodstuffs in your car and made your way to the front door. Determined to only make one trip, your arms were full so you kicked the door in an effort to knock. It took a moment for the door to open, but as soon as it did, you were suddenly relieved of your baggage.

"Oh. Hi guys... Uh thanks."

"Snap! You got, like, everything!" Andre excitedly went through the bags, passing them over to the other boys to rifle through.

"Yeah... I didn't know what everyone liked so I just snagged whatever I could." You watched in awe as the bags were torn apart. Tori walked up next to you, smiling at the boys' antics.

"Toooooori!!!"

You turn only to see a red blur crash into Tori. You side step to avoid the flailing limbs as Tori actually manages to keep both her and Cat up. The Latina wheezes out a small hi before sending the shorter girl towards the snack table. You can tell that it was going to be an exhausting night.

The front door closes, drawing your attention to the last member of the group, Jade.

"Alright. Let's get this over with. The quicker I deal with you lot watching a crappy movie, the better." She grumbles, taking a seat on the nearest sofa.

"Why? Did you bring a crappy movie?" You couldn't help it. Jade had left it open to the comment. But it really surprised you how easy it left your mouth, considering how new you were to the group. Jade raised an eyebrow and everyone froze in anticipation.

The dark-haired beauty slowly stood up and stalked towards you until she was right in your face. With her boots on, she had the height advantage of an inch or so. You stood your ground, but you could feel your heart beat faster. It wasn't clear whether it was out of fear or something else. This was something you decided to deal with another day. You had a scary goth staring at you.

"You get a pass this time. Only until you pick a movie. If you pick a crappy movie, I will destroy you." She leaned closer, forcing you back a bit so you wouldn't be touching noses. "Understood?"

You could only nod, giving her a half smile. Jade narrows her eyes at you and turns away. You missed the near imperceptible impressed smirk.

Eventually, everyone gathers around the coffee table and lays out the movies that were brought. One by one, you take a look, either reading the synopsis of movies you haven't watched, or your opinion on ones you have. One movie remained and as soon as you see what it was, you immediately light up.

"Oh whaaat!? I didn't know 'The Scissoring' had a director's cut!"

Everyone gawked at you as you read the back of the movie box. Soon, everyone's eyes moved to Jade. She was surprised, but had a growing smirk on her face. "Looks like we have a winner." Everyone just lets out a loud groan.

-----+++++-----

The group was split into two groups. Andre, Cat, Beck, Robbie and Tori were on the sofa, huddled under blankets, pillows and snacks. You and Jade, on the other hand, were on the loveseat, engrossed in the horror movie playing on the screen. Jade intermittently whispers commentary and trivia to you as the movies played, keeping quiet during footage you haven't seen. At some point, she nudged your foot to get your attention. Not wanting to look away from the movie, you just lean back towards the girl with a "hm?"

"Wanna scare the weenies?"

For the first time since the movie started, you glance over at Jade. In the dark room, her face was only illuminated by the tv, but her eyes glisten with mischief. You're taken aback slightly at how close she was and you're glad the darkness was hiding your blush. Once you gather your bearings, you glanced at the rest of the gang. Tori, Cat and Robbie were hiding behind various pillows while Andre and Beck were trying to act tough. A grin spreads on your face as you look back at Jade.

"I'll follow your lead."

With darkness as your cover, you manage to sneak your way behind the scared group. The plan was to time the prank with the movie's dialogue. You settle yourself and listen for the cue.

'Why are you doing this?' the pretty girl says. 'W-we never did anything to you.'

The dead girl slides forward unnaturally and grips the pretty girl's neck, her scissors poised to strike.

'Never?' The dead girl slowly stalks forward, spinning a pair of bloody scissors in her hand. 'You don't remember terrorizing me? Leaving me traumatized? Leaving me for dead?'

The larger of the two groups huddled closer as the scene intensifies. Jade shifts ever so slightly to get into position, getting her own scissors ready.

The dead girl slides unnaturally towards the pretty girl and grips her neck, the scissors poised to strike.

'LET ME RETURN THE FAVOR!'

As the girls on the screen let out blood curdling screams, you and Jade strike, letting out your own terrifying screams. Everyone, except for Beck who just stands up and walks out the front door, screams in terror and collapses into a heap on the floor. By the end of it, you were having trouble breathing from how hard you were laughing.

"That wasn't funny!" Tori recovered the quickest. "Seriously! I almost wazzed my pants."

"I think I did wazz my pants...." Robbie piped up from the ground. Everyone took a step back from him.

Jade sat back down with a self-satisfied smirk. "That's something I've been planning for ages. Worth it."

You recover from your laughing fit soon enough and pull Tori into an apologetic hug. "I'm sorry." Tori pouted as she refused to hug you back. "It was too good of an opportunity to pass up." You held onto the Latina until she gave in and hugged back.

Jade clears her throat, causing you two to part and look at her. She was ejecting the movie from the DVD player and putting it back in the case.

"Jade, what are you doing? We haven't finished the movie." You asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, now that I got my excellent scare, I don't wanna spend anymore time with you losers." She gestures with the movie box as she walks towards the door. "So, I'm gonna watch the rest of this movie at home." You frowned, sad that you couldn't finish the rest of the movie.

"Awww dang. Can I borrow it at some time so I can finish it?" Jade just looks at you, eyebrow cocked.

"You're not going to join me?" Everyone whips their head towards Jade. Beck even comes back into the house to gawk in surprise. Jade just looks confused. "What? I actually like this one," she said, pointing to you. "No one else likes what I like. So I'm gonna keep them around."

You grin before grabbing a few bags of snacks and a case of soda. "I'll follow you to your place, yeah?" The goth nods and pushes past Beck to leave. You follow soon after, waving to the rest of the gang. "See you guys at school!"

As the door closes, the group all exchange looks, unsure of what just went on.

"Uh..." Beck starts. "Jade made a friend?"

Andre grimaces. "Are we gonna have two Jades now?"

Tori pipes in. "No. Y/n is really nice. Maybe they'll make Jade a bit nicer?" Everyone thinks for a moment before laughing.

"Jade? Nice? Naaaaahhhh."

| Next

[i-need-entertainment]

The Count of Aoba Johsai: Chapter 7

Ch. 6 - Ch.8

“Are you sure this is the best idea Akira? You do realize that as we speak they have likely already made their way to the treasure, right?” Kindaichi rubbed the back of his neck, shifting his hold on the paper he held in his hand as his weary eyes looked over to Kunimi. 

“I’m sure, in order to lure Yahaba, The Magistrate and Kenjirou into causing their own demise, we have to let the citizens of Paris know that we’ve located the Treasure of Nekoma, and are shipping it through our ports.” Kindaichi sighed, “Yeah, I know that, but wasn’t it risky letting some of the most powerful men in Paris know where the treasure was?!” 

Kunimi looked at Kindaichi, raising an eyebrow he asked “You do know I’m not actually shipping it through here, right?” Kindaichi breathed out a sigh of relief “Oh, good.” 

Kunimi nodded, then paused, “Wait- you didn’t seriously think I would do something so stupid did you..?” Kindaichi looked away, “Uhm...no” Kunimi squinted his eyes, “That’s your lying face, we’re going to have to discuss trust later my friend.” Shaking his head, Kunimi returned his gaze to the side, gray eyes watching as the scenery passed swiftly by as the carriage they were riding in drew closer and closer to the Shirabu estate. 

They were on their way to the Shirabu estate to celebrate Tenya Shirabu’s 15th birthday, which they had been invited to after Kunimi had ‘saved’ the young man’s life. Tonight was the night he’d face his most bitter rivals. The man who betrayed his trust, the man who lied to get his position, and the corrupted official who wrongfully sent him to jail. 

But perhaps the worst one of them all, was her. He’d have to face the woman who he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with, the woman he gave his everything to. Only for her to run off with his best friend the minute he was sent to prison. 

But even then, could he even consider you a bitter rival of his? Could he ever look at you that way? A large part of him is screaming, ‘yes, I absolutely can’ but the other part of him- the kind, naive young man he used to be, is crying ‘no, I don’t think I can, or ever could’. 

“Akira…we’re here.” Kunimi straightened his back, grabbed his cane and his hat and readied himself to face the demons of his past. Kindaichi opened the door to the carriage, and after he had loudly announced the arrival of “The Count of Aoba Johsai”, Kunimi exited the carriage. They walked to the pristine gates of the Shirabu estate, the same pristine gates Kunimi had gone through hundreds of times as a child. 

Kindaichi handed the guard the invitation and the two made their way into the large home. Upon noticing the mysterious elegant looking man, Shirabu stepped away from the conversation he had been previously engaged in, Kunimi almost smirked as he noticed the signs of distress he could see on Shirabu’s face .

Earlier in the afternoon, after he had endangered but also saved the young Tenya, he had made it known to the public that the treasure of Nekoma had been shipped through the local ports. He knew for a fact Yahaba would fall for the bait- and was most likely trying to steal the treasure as of this very moment. Kunimi also had Shirabu’s many, many debts called in. He assumed that’s what had Shirabu looking so nervous; that was likely his accountant he was speaking to before Kunimi entered. 

And the magistrate…well that’s a story for another time, but for now let us just say…he was properly dealt with and will comfortably sit in a cozy cell just off the coast of Marseilles. 

Kunimi smiled, ‘perfect’, things were working out just as he had hoped. “Ah, if it isn’t the Count of Aoba Johsai! Welcome to my home, allow me to introduce you to this city’s finest.” Kunimi nodded, thanked the attendant that took his coat and strided after Shirabu. He kept up his visage during the introductions, standing tall and mighty as a count of his status would. He should stand as proud as he feels- but even this new him, the rich and cunning and shrewd man he was so sure he was, couldn't deny the anxiety he felt creeping through his core as the time for him to face his long lost love grew near. 

He nodded along in conversation, now and then he would give a perfectly timed quip or use it as an opportunity to enhance the image he had crafted. But as engaged as he made himself appear, he barely heard a word these men were saying- after all, his eye had been stuck on the woman herself. 

Her hair was shorter- or maybe it wasn’t, he couldn’t quite tell with the extravagant hair style she was wearing. She had indeed aged but had done so exceedingly well, she looked like she was still in the early years of her twenties, despite being well into her thirties by now. Her eyes…her eyes were the same captivating jewels they had always been. She had always had this peculiar ability to make Kunimi feel as though she could see directly through him..

He shook himself out of his haze, quickly breaking eye contact with the very woman that broke him, and redirected his focus to the elderly man he had been speaking with. He knew she was staring, deep eyes boring holes into his very soul as he sauntered around the hall, nodding along to the business men and politely greeting their wives. 

Admittedly he was the tiniest bit ashamed- after he had faced all of his enemies head on- he had not hesitated to ruin them to the point of no return. But her…there was something about her, or rather, something in him, that prevented him from doing anything to her. So he did what allowed him to carry on his revenge plot- and that was to ignore her.

Shortly after the guests had arrived it came time for the main event- the dinner. The guests flocked over to the long table, taking their seats and quieting their conversations, turning their heads towards the head of the table- where their beloved Shirabu should be. Only he wasn’t there.

Kunimi repressed his smile, knowing full and well he was the reason for Shirabu’s absence, knowing that as they all sat and dined and had a wonderful evening the man who ruined his life was in what was possibly the biggest panic he had ever had.

The table became silent- and not the pleasant kind, while the guests waited for something to happen. Y/n took a breath before she stood. Her posture was that of a woman of status, she moved with practiced grace and elegance- but it didn’t take a genius to know she was stressed. 

“Good evening- as you can see, my husband has been called away on important business matters, and since it is customary for the father to give the toast on his sons special day…I am afraid the one left to attempt it is myse-” “Would be me.” Kunimi watched the shock flash in Y/n’s eyes as he abruptly stood at the table, causing the woman to slowly take a seat, eyes harshly studying his person as he cleared his throat. 

“Count Shirabu…decided to give this fool the honor of making his son’s birthday toast,” He faked a smile at the haughty laughs he received from the city’s finest, “Let this act of selflessness speak to the great character of the count, as it is by his great intuition and humility I stand before you to speak these words to young Tenya-” 

He turned to face the young man, whose face brightened at the acknowledgement of his savior- his newfound idol. 

“Now I’m sure you all have heard by now that young Tenya was attacked this afternoon, by thugs. How he was rescued by a mysterious man, that he’s lucky said man arrived when he did…But as the man who came to this young man’s aid, I can assure you- it is not to his benefit I arrived, but to those bandits.” The table once again went silent, and he waited a moment before he continued.

“When I came to his aid, I heard the robbers mention how they were going to torture him, beat him, strip him of his money and wealth, things any man would be terrified to hear. But, what did this fine, courageous young man say in the face of fear? ‘Do your worst’...there’s not much advice I can offer to you Tenya, as I can see you are already a fine young lad. But if there’s one thing I can say to commemorate this milestone, it’s this: you will face challenges in life, you will be backed into corners and face down amnesty and strife- but you must do as you did today, you must look that trouble in the eye and scream out ‘do your worst…for I will do mine,’...to young Tenya, who has entered this stage of life with strength!”

Cheers erupted from the table, congratulations rang out, and Kunimi sat down and let out a breath desperately trying to return his heart to a normal pace. He had become the count- no he WAS the Count of Aoba Johsai, he was smart and brave and strong and callous and everything he’s made himself to be. He was fearless and unstoppable and fueled by the hate he carried for those that sought to ruin him.

And yet in a moment of weakness, a slip up from the past he had vowed to leave behind- he found himself messing with a lock of hair at the base of his neck, a nervous tick he had developed as a child.

A nervous tick ingrained into the memory of a certain countess, who sat almost directly across from him at this banquet.

For you, my lovely bestie, @i-just-like-goats

[lianahayze]

Shadow and the Midnight Misery Chapter 8

Hi there! We're back on schedule. If you want to check out previous chapters, you can view them all here. Thanks!

Chapter 8: Journalists & Studios

"Shadow, what are we doing here?"

Fake smile on my face, I look up at Dave. A few days ago, I'd texted all of the guys to meet me. I hadn’t given them a reason why, but when Ethan had pointed out that it was the same day as my interview, I'd told them that was fine. At first, they'd expected us to have some grand union, but, now that we've been standing outside of a building for ten minutes now, I can tell they’re beginning to get suspicious.

"I have a surprise," I tell him not giving him more than that.

"You said that already."

I look over at Wyatt. I don't know why, but today I'm most pissed at him. My lips purse and I don't say anything.

"Shadow! Darling, I'm sorry I'm late. Had a bit difficulty finding the place."

I turn. A woman, a few years older than me, is walking towards us. She's wearing a pair of black leggings and a long Aerosmith shirt. Large sunglasses swallow half her face, and her strawberry blonde hair is pulled back. She smiles as she sticks out her hand, saying,

"It's nice to finally meet you in person."

I shake her hand. "You too."

She looks at the guys. "Oh, I didn't know everyone was going to be here."

I nod. "Guys, this is Larissa. She's the one interviewing me."

Their facial expressions quickly change into the ones they save exclusively for journalists: warm, but guarded. Ethan introduces himself first, followed by Wyatt then Dave. When the introductions are out of the way, I say,

"Appreciate you rescheduling."

"Yes. I heard you were sick."

My heart stops. "Sick?"

She nods. "Yeah, I was told you had a nasty flu for a couple of weeks." She pauses. "Is that not what happened?"

I'm so quick to respond that it comes out louder than I anticipate. "No! No, that's what happened. I just, uh, wasn't sure what the label told you." I clear my throat. "Should we go in?"

We go inside and I pull out a key. As we walk down the hall, Larissa asks, "So what are we doing here? I was supposed to meet you at your place; what changed?"

"Well, since I've been sick--" I clear my throat "--and since this was already on the books, I thought I could show you our new studio."

Though I'm not facing them, I can imagine the surprised look on their faces. I turn the key and push open the door. Stepping aside, I let everyone go in first. Wyatt hangs back, giving me a look as he goes in.

Larissa gasps as she gets the first look. "Oh, it's gorgeous!"

'Good,' I think, 'because I've only seen it in pictures.'

Scrambling to get this place on such short notice had been hectic. First, I’d had to find a real estate agent that would work entirely through phone and email. Then, I’d given them a very tight deadline. Finally, in order to keep everything a secret, I’d had to put the lease entirely in my name. And, if that wasn’t enough, I’d had to make sure it could be equipped to actually be a studio—all without ever seeing it.

I step inside and look around. I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize the pictures online actually do the place justice. The actual studio is in a room at the end of the hall, but the room that we first step into is drenched in natural light. The walls are white, and the floor is a light wood. Open and bright, just like I'd wanted.

Larissa looks at me. "Wow, this is amazing." She begins rummaging around in her bag. "Is this where you've been writing and recording the new album?"

I shake my head. "Nope. This is new."

"Very new," mutters Dave.

I force a laugh. "Yeah, even though we recorded the last album out of my dad’s studio, we wanted something that would be totally us." It's an outright lie, but I know the guys won’t dare say contradict me with a reporter present.

She pulls her phone out. "I'm going to start recording. Do you mind?" I shake my head. "Maybe you can give me the grand tour before we officially get started?"

I tell her that I'd love to and turn to walk down the hall. Over my shoulder, I look at the guys. They could come or they could stay, but, either way, I'd broken the news to them. They'll probably complain about it later but, for right now, they're completely silent.

I push open the door to the studio. As Larissa follows me inside, I say, "Our gear isn't here right now. I wanted some new mics, and we needed another soundboard. Just waiting for those to come in."

She nods, looking around.

It actually is a nice space. It's a bit smaller than any of the other studios we've ever used, but it won't need to fit too many people in it at time. The lounge area already has two couches and a table that I plan to use for the soundboard. The acoustic boards on the walls are painted white, giving more light to the room to a traditional recording studio.

I motion for her to have a seat.

"So, what made you want a change of scenery?"

There were a lot of things, none of which I can tell her. "I just thought it was time. One of the things I really pride The Midnight Misery on is being our own band. We haven't relied on other people to get us where we are. My dad has been a great help, but he gets it." I smile. "Let the baby bird out of the nest."

Truth be told, I haven't told even told my dad about the new studio. Even if I did want to, when am I supposed to mention it? Much like when I'd gotten out of Garver, he hadn't tried to get ahold of me. Instead of my mom, suddenly he was the absent parent.

"I know people still like to bring that up," she says.

I roll my eyes. "I'm talented in my own way. Anyone who's ever seen us live or read our linear notes knows that. My dad doesn't help write or produce the music."

"Why do you think it still keeps coming up?"

"Because people still refuse to believe that women can be rockstars. We're so conditioned to think that rock and roll has to sexualize and demonize women that the idea of a woman starting and fronting a band is just mind-blowing."

Larissa smiles. "Amen, sister. So, what's new? What have you been up to?"

I think before answering. I'm used to interviewers acting like they know me personally, but, so far, Larissa seems easy to talk to. So easy to talk to, in fact, that I have to be careful. The last thing I want to do is accidentally mention Garver.

"Yeah, we've been busy. Holed up in the studio, mostly. I took a bit off time off to catch up with some of my friends. I don't get to see them often, but I like to spend as much time with them as when I can."

Larissa has pulled out a notebook and has started writing. "Like Dean?"

I nod. "Like Dean."

"You know, if you go online, there are still a lot of people who think the two of you make a great couple."

Again, I nod. “It's weird how people still ship us, but I try not to pay too much attention to it. "He's very happy with Lynn. We've just stayed good friends because we're both in the industry. Always running into each other, anyway."

"Have you listened to the new She Dreams in Color song?" she asks, referring to Deans band.

"Yeah, it's great. Heavier than their other stuff."

"Is that a direction you see The Midnight Misery going?"

I shake my head. "Nah, I think that works for them. They have the pipes for screamo. I, however, do not." I laugh. "No, we... Our next songs are going to serve as a turning point for the band, but it's not going to be drastically different. The topics and some of the sounds are going to be different, but not enough to scare people off."

I'm completely making everything up as I go. I squirm but cross my legs to keep myself in place. I cross my fingers over my knees.

"What type of topics?"

Shit. It's a good question but one I'm not sure how to answer. It's hard to talk about topics if you don't have lyrics. However, though I only have bits and pieces, I quickly make something up.

"More adult themes. Like, there's been a lot of growing we've all done since the last album. I don't think it's going to be as much about partying and getting laid." Partly because I highly doubt the guys want me to do any partying right now—not that she needs to know that.

When she asks if the regular crew is going to be involved, I ask her what she means. "Your producer, the sound guys."

"Oh. Yeah, it'll probably be mixed by the same people, but a new producer."

Her eyebrows go up. "Any reason for the change?"

"New sound, new producer." It's as much as I want to say.

"It sounds like you have someone in mind, then."

I grin. I do, but I'm not willing to talk about it just yet. There are a couple more logistics I need to finalize. "We're going to make an announcement about it. We're keeping it under wraps for now."

"What are you keeping under wraps?" Standing in the doorway, Dave stares at me.

"It's a surprise," I tell him. "I was just telling Larissa that are fans are going to get some news soon."

If he wants to know more, he doesn’t ask. I exhale as he says, "Okay. I think we're going to head out."

I’m honestly surprised. I assumed they'd stick around until Larissa left to chew me out in private. "Do you have somewhere to go?" The surprise in my voice is evident even to me.

"Not really. We just don't want to interrupt."

"Oh, actually," says Larissa, "before you go, Shadow was telling me about why you guys got this studio. It seems like it's really going to help usher in a new era for the four of you--especially with getting a new producer." I cringe when she mentions the producer. "Would you say that's accurate?"

After glancing at me, he turns back to Larissa. He shrugs. "Yeah. Sure. Talk to you later, Shadow?"

"You bet!" As he closes the door, Dave and I both know I’m lying. It sucks, but at least we're on the same page.

"So I know this had been asked a thousand times over, but how has the band evolved with you only working with guys? Does that ever get hard?"

"Not really. I mean, when we're on the road, they're always fighting over the same girl and I'm straight, so..."

She laughs. "Much to the disappointment of some of your female fans."

For the next forty-five minutes or so, we continue chatting. Unsurprisingly, most of her questions are about the upcoming album, but she does ask me about few other random things, such as how clean we keep the tour bus. As we finish up, she asks for a couple of selfies. We spend about ten minutes or so posing, most of them more serious than they need to be. A lot of celebrities don't like taking selfies with the people who interview them, but I don't mind it, especially if I'm being interviewed by a woman. She's probably going to post them on Instagram, get a boost in her follower count, and leave it at that. Happy to help.

As I walk her out, she begins to talk about next steps.

"So, I'll send you the draft before it goes out. We're still targeting for next month's issue, so you'll be getting it in a few weeks." I nod. This isn't my first rodeo. "One other thing." She reaches into her bag. "This is going to sound so stupid, but I'll be kicking myself later if I don't ask." She pulls out something I was not expecting to fit in her bag: a vinyl pressing of the last The Midnight Misery album.

"Whoa!" I exclaim.

"Would you mind sighing this?" She holds up a marker and I chuckle, obliging.

"You should have asked when the guys were still here."

She shrugs, capping the marker. "That's okay. I'm more interested in you, anyway." She puts everything back into her bag. "Thanks, Shadow. I'll be in contact soon." She waves, turns, and goes on her way.

"That looked like it went well."

Hearing Wyatt's voice, I jump. Seeing him lean again the building, I exclaim, "Jesus. I thought you all had left."

He shakes his head. "Nah, I figured I'd stick around."

"Well, what do you want?" Not wanting to have this conversation on the side of the road, I walk back inside. He follows, saying,

"Just wanted to see how you're doing. When you invited us all here, we thought you wanted to talk."

"Nope. Just wanted to show off the studio."

He huffs. "Shadow, we don't need a new studio."

Just as I expected. "This one's nice, though. Lots of light." I walk over to the window and look out.

"What's wrong with your dad's studio?"

I want to say "everything" but instead say nothing at all. While I’m silent, Wyatt walks over. Leaning against the wall, he shoves his hands into his pockets. He stares at me. "What's up?"

I pretend not to know what he's talking about. "What do you mean?"

"You've been ignoring us."

"I've been busy," I lie. He doesn’t need to know the truth: that I've rarely left my house, choosing to stay under mounds of blankets on my bed.

"You seem to be doing better." Again, I don't respond. "How much is this place costing, by the way?"

I tell him not to worry about it. "It'll pay off when all of the songs are done."

"That might be a while, because we still don't have a producer."

I roll my eyes. "I have it taken care of."

His expression changes, even if it's just slightly. "Wait. You picked a producer?" I nod. "That's good, but you did it without us? Or was I just not involved?"

"I decided. It'll be the best thing for the band."

He shakes his head. "Shadow, you can't go making decisions without us. We're all just as much involved in this as you are. We all need to agree on it."

"You mean how we all agreed that I needed to be committed for three days?" My question shuts him up quick. "Oh, wait. I wasn't involved? Am I remembering that correctly?" I shake my head. "Man, my memory is getting worse and worse by the day. Clearly, I'm not remembering it correctly, because if I were, we wouldn't be having this discussion about everyone on the band making decisions equally, huh?"

His face is blank. "That's different," he says, "and you know it."

"I know that my band betrayed me, and I have every right to make a couple of unsolicited decisions without them for the time being." I turn to look at him fully. "I think that's fair. Don't you?"

It's a challenge, one that I wonder if he'll rise up to. If he wants to talk about right and wrong, fine. But I have just as many cases of them being in the wrong as he does of me being in the wrong. I'm itching for an argument and practically daring him to start one.

Instead, he back down. Shaking his head, he says, "You need help, Shadow."

My eyebrows shoot up. I watch as he starts to walk away from me. He's halfway to the door when I say, "I already got my help. Remember? I was forced."

He stops. Slowly, he turns around. Hands still in his pockets, he stares down at the floor. He's frowning, trying to come up with something to say. "You and I both know three days isn't enough to deal with whatever you've got going on."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Call me when you've got all of this--” he makes a circle with his hands “--figured out." With that, he walks out.

For the longest time, I stare at the door. I'm frozen in fear, my thoughts racing. Does this mean he knows what happened? No, he can't know. That was several years ago, and I’ve kept it quiet, and...

I shake my head.

"No," I tell myself. "No, he just means the drugs."

But I can't convince even myself.

Pulling out my phone, I go to my recent calls. Hitting one of the numbers towards the top, I force myself not to think about it, because, if I think about it, I know I'll chicken out.

One ring.

Two rings.

Three rings.

Just as I'm about to hang up, the ringing ends and someone says, "Hello?"

I don't say anything. My mouth is suddenly dry, my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth.

"Hello?"

I swallow hard. "Yeah, hi," I say. Why is my voice shaking? "This is Shadow Greere. I need to make an appointment. For this week, if possible."

---

Leave your thoughts here, and I'll see you on Tuesday!

[lilysdaydreams]

Praise Bingus (No fucking way)

→  I do not claim to know corpse- therefore please don't think that this is what he would actually act like, or that any details about his life are actually true. this is fiction.

→ Pairing: Corpse Husband X Fem!Reader

→ Genre: Angst and fluff. (FLUFF IS COMING I SWEAR)

→ Words: 3.9k

→ In a world where everyone is born with a mark on their wrist, two souls come together over the power of bingus.

→ (this isnt crack lol)

→ Warnings: Lots of swearing, um self-depreciation? rejection (kinda) and negative thoughts overall. Sorry im new to warnings.

→ Authors Note: this is the first time im doing like angst so please tell me if I did well? Um also, I’ve already started on the part 2 so keep your eyes out for that. If you wanna be tagged for part two please comment and lemme know. Also check out my other fics if you want!

→ Buy me a coffee

Part two  →    

~~~

Soulmates were a phenomenon. They'd been there for ages, drawn into the Egyptian tomb paintings, seen in the cave paintings from millions of years ago, talked about in stories passed down from generation to generation. They could be matching drawings, first words, names; all black before the soulmates met and turning gold the moment they talked to each other. There wasn't a scientist in the world who could explain the phenomenon.

You'd received your mark at birth just like everyone else, a sentence running around your wrist,

"No fucking way."

Your parents weren't that happy when you asked at the age of 4 what "fucking" meant but it wasn't that bad. You were happy that you had something unique, something other than the "Hi," or "Excuse me," that was on every other arm.

When you were 13, a little girl on the train pointed to your wrist and asked her mom what it meant. Ever since then, you'd taken to wearing bracelets over it. This had turned out to be a good idea because a few years later you started making Youtube videos. At the age of 16, you started a Youtube channel where you focused on a variety of things; makeup, fashion, games, art, skits and a whole lot more.

At the age of 20, you had a steady following of a little more than a million subscribers, and you had moved to LA to be closer to all your Youtube friends. You hadn't just grown on Youtube, you'd also started a lot of side projects. You were known for the art that you did on the side, along with the makeup palette you'd come out with a year ago. Soon you were planning to release a merch collection, one that you had been working on for a whole year now.

You hadn't met your soulmate at this point but honestly, you didn't really mind. Balancing Youtube and study (along with all your other side projects) was hard. There was no need to add the struggle of love into it... Or that's what you told yourself anyways.

There were days though, days where you wished you had someone to hug, someone to cuddle in bed with, someone to go on long walks with. You didn't let yourself wallow on it that long though. Crying about it was gonna do absolutely nothing.

It started on a rainy day. The story of you and him. You were editing your soon to be uploaded video, an e-girl outfits lookbook, which had been requested by your followers. Your personal style was all over the place and your previous soft girl and cottage care look books had done well, so you decided to continue the series.

You eyes blurred as you looked at the same point of the video, and you sighed, removing your glasses and rubbing your eyes. Your editor was sick and had let you know that they wouldn't be able to edit it by the deadline so here you were, editing it yourself. You stretched in your chair letting out a yawn. You were contemplating on whether to make coffee or not when your phone pinged.

"Nooooo" you whined when you noticed it was on the coffee table that was just a little out of your reach. Stretching your foot out, you tried to grab it between your toes and then sighed when the phone fell.

"I have zero luck, I swear" you muttered to yourself, bending to pick up the phone.

The text was from Rae, asking you to join a game of Among Us. You and Rae had been friends for a bit now, which all started when she came across your art and decided to order something from you. You had chatted and clicked immediately, immediately becoming fast friends. Ever since the lockdown started, she often asked you to join in on Among us games and your friendship had really grown over these past few months.

You sent a quick "sure!" and then went to your table, waiting for the PC to turn on. Quickly tweeting out that you were streaming, you opened up Youtube and turned on the stream, saying a quick hello and letting them know what you'd be doing.

"Rae just invited me guys, I don't really know who's there," you mumbled, replying to a comment asking you who you were playing with.

You squinted your eyes, joining the voice chat and then opening your phone camera to quickly check that you didn't look horrible. Sure you didn't really care about how you looked but it was always good to check that you didn't have anything stuck between your teeth before you turned on the camera.

There was already a conversation going on, between who you thought was Corpse and Sykkuno, judging by their voices.

"Yeah I could totally do that. Get a cat and name it Bingus. I wonder if th-"

You gasped when you heard what they were talking about and unmuted yourself immediately yelling "PRAISE LORD BINGUS" and effectively shocking everyone in the chat.

A moment of silence and then Rae yelled: "OH MY FUCKING GOD Y/N, YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME."

You giggled as everyone groaned and whined, saying hi as they realised who it was. You had played with Sykkuno and the others a few times before but you'd never met Corpse before. You'd heard his voice though, as he was trending on twitter constantly over the past few weeks. Once they all quietened down, you realised Corpse hadn't said anything. Since you knew everyone else in the lobby, you introduced yourself, wondering if you'd scared him a bit too hard.

"Hey Corpse, I'm Y/N from Y/C/N, its so nice to finally meet you," you said gritting your teeth at you awkward introduction. For a second there was no response and then three words were said that made your jaw drop to the floor.

"No fucking way"

He had whispered it, obviously still in shock, and your eyes widened in surprise as a tingle spread all over your body. So this was what everyone meant by "you'll just know," when you asked them about how you would recognize your soulmate.

"Holy shit" you thought frozen in your seat.

Never had you been more glad that you hadn't turned the camera on yet.

"Uhhhh-" you started, but stopped now knowing what to say.

What the fuck were you supposed to do now.

"Wha- Whats wrong?" Rae asked after a moment passed.

Corpse cleared his throat and started "Its um, shes my -" and you cut him off, heart beating in your chest.

"Nothing. Its nothing." you said talking over him. "Who else are we waiting for Rae?" you asked joining the lobby quickly and choosing red as your colour.

"Uh one more person," she said slowly, still a bit confused.

"Oh awesome!" you said fake enthusiasm prevalent in your voice. "So Sykkuno," you started, wanting to keep the conversation going. "How's Bimbus doing?"

Sykkuno launched into a story of Bimbus and you blew out a sigh of relief, mind still numb over the revelation.

Corpse was your soulmate.

The guy who had literally went viral the past few weeks was your soulmate.

You'd finally found him.

You heard Rae cut Sykkuno off, telling everyone she was starting the game and muttered a "Thank god" when the words "CREWMATE" appeared on your screen. You would not have been able to play imposter at the moment, your mind pretty much stuck on the fact that Corpse was your fucking soulmate.

Heading down to admin, you realised you hadn't said anything yet to the stream so you quickly turned on your cam, saying a quick sorry to the viewers.

"Sorry guys, I forgot to put the camera on," you smiled focusing on card swipe.

"I hope everyone's been okay, I know this was quite sudden, but Rae invited me and I was like why not you know," you said rambling as you moved to comms and did the task there.

Lights were called and you moved to electrical, arriving there just as Leslie fixed them. You moved into the back of electrical doing the three tasks you had there when Sykkuno suddenly came in and went straight to standing on top of the vent.

You giggled already knowing his trick.

"Okay guys," you mumbled watching Sykkuno wiggle on the vent. "do we trust Sykkuno or not?"

"You know what," you said making a split second decision. "Its the first game, we might as well."

Joining him on the vent, you stilled for a second and then breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't automatically kill you.

"See, what did I tell you guys huh?" you question smiling straight at the camera. "I knew Sykkuno could be trusted."

You decided to follow Sykkuno going into reactor with him and starting 'Simon says' and just as you were on the last part, a body was found making you let a whine out.

"Guysss," you whined to the camera as Rae started talking about how she had found Daves body in admin.

"Um, I havent been in admin since the start of the game," you said, "also I can clear Sykkuno, for the last part of the round, he's been with me since lights went out."

Sykkuno confirmed it, "Yup that's right, also I can hard clear Y/N cuz guess what? She stood on the vent with me and none of us died."

Everyone chuckled as he said "Thats good enough for me."

"Uh, I was in navigation mostly." said Lily.

"Poki, can I just ask what you were doing?" said Sean, an undercurrent of mirth present.

"Me?" asked Poki speaking for the first time. "What was I doing?"

"You weren't doing any tasks, you were literally just walking from one side of medbay to the other when I peeked in."

Poki started laughing, trying to get her words out at the same time.

"Okay so-" a giggle. "okay okay- I was just, I was trying to um do the beep test," she said finally breaking down and making everyone else laugh as well.

"What the fuck?" you said, laughing at the image in your mind.

"My chat told me to do it last game so I decided to do it now, I was literally just playing around," she said finally, adding "I swear I'm not imposter" at the end.

"Hmmm," you hummed, bringing a hand up to stroke your chin. "Are you sure it was last game Poki... hm...."

Giggling at Poki indignant "YES it was last game", you quickly skipped voting like everyone else as the timer went into the last ten seconds.

Humming a tune under your breath, you went back to reactor, taking a minute to carefully do Simon says and then moved to the other task counting out one two three as you pressed on the numbers. Humming, you moved out of reactor, only to come face to face with Corpse. You paused for a second, and then moved ahead, refusing to show anything on camera. For some reason he followed you as you went to storage, looking at you while you did the trash.

"Why is he just staring?" you mumbled, biting your lip. God, you really didn't wanna think of him right now. You started walking to shields, him still walking with you when lights were called and not a second later a body was reported.

Suddenly there was screaming your ears as Toast and Rae both started accusing each other.

"Wait- Wait WAIT" yelled Poki trying to get them to stop. "What happened?"

"I'll explain" declared Rae, not letting toast get a word in. "We were in navigation okay, me, Toast and Leslie. Lights went out, and suddenly a report buttons there. It's either Toast or someone came in just as lights went out and killed but that doesn't seem likely because I didn't see anyone anywhere near us at all. Anyways I'm fucking telling the truth guys, its Toast, he's the one who did it."

"Toast, do you have anything to say for yourself?" asked Corpse, his voice making your insides shiver.

"Holy shit, this is my soulmate", you thought for the fiftieth time.

"Uh yeah," replied toast. "I didn't do it."

Everyone laughed as he continued.

"Like seriously, I wouldn't do anything like this because it'd be a stupid move from my own part, and I think Raes smart enough to not do this as well. I think someone else came in just as lights went down and killed immediately, which to be honest, was pretty smart of them."

"Okay so I can clear Corpse," you cut in noticing the timer was close. "he was with me in weapons when it happened, he wouldn't have had time to go all the way up, or even vent there because we were literally walking in."

"Yup that's right," confirmed corpse.

"I'm in cafeteria" said Poki.

"Yeah, I saw her on my way to weapons," said Sykkuno, "and I'm in weapons right now,"

"I'm in lower engine" said Sean, and Lily said she was in reactor.

"I think it's Toast," you mumbled and then rose your voice to talk over everyone. "Look okay fine, maybe he said it was a stupid move and he wouldn't do it but maybe he did it for that exact reason. He thought he could get away with it because no one would expect him to do something like that."

As the timer started going down by 10, you voted for Toast and it turned out 3 had skipped the vote while five had voted for him.

damn.

"Guys you actually voted for him?" you said in a high voice, re-enacting one of Sykkunos most said lines.

You heard a "oh for gods sake" from Rae before everyone went silent and you giggled as you moved back down to weapons to do your tasks.

You finished all your tasks and decided to go to security to check where everyone is. Humming as you moved through the electrical hallway, you narrowed your eyes as Corpse came out of electrical and went towards storage. Quickly ducking in you didn't see a body so you headed back out, going into cams and gasping as you saw the body. Reporting immediately you were shocked to see the four kills that had happened. Now only you, Corpse, Sean and Rae were left.

"Oh my god," you mumbled confused. Either there were still two imposters, and Toast wasn't the imposter or the imposter literally killed and did nothing else. Now either that could mean that its definitely Rae if Toast wasn't the imposter, or that it was Corpse as the only imposter left. That was a bit weird though becuase he could have totally killed you at the start of the game. You didn't suspect Sean at all.

"What the fuck?" mumbled Corpse, and Rae made her animal noises expressing her shock.

"Okay," you said taking charge and relaying the kill and your theory to everyone. "So either it was Toast and there's only one other imposter, who is Corpse. Or Toast wasn't an imposter and there's two of them left. I-" you took a deep breath in at the end, very confused. " I don't know anymore,"

"I think its Corpse as well,"

Corpse who hadn't said anything up till this moment suddenly started stammering out "hey-hey uh let-lets not gang up on me okay. It's not-"

"No, wait, its because Y/N said you came out of electrical right, and I saw you in upper engine literally a bit ago and you went down. I went towards cafeteria so I don't know exactly where you went but its totally possible that you killed."

You voted form him after that, convinced it was Corpse, and the other followed quickly.

"Guys what the fuck, at least give me a chance to explain my self" he whined when his body was thrown off the ship seconds later. You cheered when the "VICTORY" sign was displayed across the screen, bringing up your chat and laughing at Toast as he pretended to be angry at me.

"That was a great round, good work Y/N"

"Thankyou" you mumbled staring at your chat. You were confused when you saw the absolute influx of messages on there, and you were barely able to read them because they were going so fast. You scrolled up, and read through the few of the messages;

"You've made corpse sad."

"Corpse has literally been so quite since you came in, can you leave."

"Omg stop with the hate messages, its not her fault if corpse isn't talking to you"

"are you his ex or something? What was that reaction at the start?"

"what did you do? Corpse literally hasn't said a word since you came in."

"Um..."

Corpse POV

Corpses heart stopped for a minute, his breath catching. The words on his wrist glowed gold, and he stared at the little red character standing there.

This person was the reason that he had "PRAISE BINGUS" stretched across his wrist.

They were the only reason that he had searched "Bingus" on google for all of his life. The only reason Corpse knew about the meme before anyone else was because he was constantly monitoring the word online. Ever since March, he had been waiting with bated breath, anxious that he could meet his soulmate at any moment. and here you were.

For some reason, he had never expected that he would meet you in among us, or while he was on stream. He always thought it'd be someone outside. It was a bit stupid in hindsight as all he did nowadays was play among us.

He heard you introduce yourself to him but the only thing that came out of his mouth was “No fucking way”.

Immediately after he wanted to slap himself.

“Idiot” he thought to himself. “At least try to make a good impression.”

When Rae asked what was wrong, heat sprung to his cheeks as he started revealing that they were soulmates, but Y/N cut him off, saying that it was nothing.

Corpse’s heart sank a little then.

'Maybe she’s just a private person,' he reasoned with himself.

'I shouldn’t have tried to say it on stream either. God, I’m a fucking idiot, if I said it, literally everyone would know and not only would I have hated the attention, she probabaly would have as well.'

Convincing himself that she was right, he reassured himself that it wasn’t because of him. She wasn’t revealing it because she probably didn't want all the attention.

For some reason though, his heart sank even more when Y/N didnt talk to him, instead talking to sykkuno about his dog. Like sure he could understand not wanting to reveal they were soulmates but shouldn’t she at least wanna talk to him? At this point he wouldn’t even mind if she talked about his voice like everyone else.

He groaned when the word "Imposter" came across his screen, his and Toasts character standing together. He was not in the right mindset right now to be able to be a good imposter. Breathing in deeply he continued in the game, with the first round passing by quick. The second round, he saw Y/N and stood with her for a bit wondering if he should kill her. Her red character moved to weapons and he sighed moving the mouse over the kill button. Just as he was thinking of clicking a body was found. Corpse swore as Toast flew off the ship. Deciding he needed to speed it up he killed four people in the round, hissing when the meeting was called. The moment Y/N accused him, he knew it was over. He didn't even bother defending himself much, just hoping the game would end soon.

When they were in the lobby, he quickly told everyone that he was going to leave because his internet was acting up. Turning off the stream after saying a quick thank you to everyone, he leaned back in his seat breathing through his nose.

What the fuck was his life.

Even his soulmate didnt want him. Honestly, he should have expected this. Abandoned at 12 with no one around him, why did his expect his soulmate to even give a fuck about him. Tears pricked his eyes and he blinked trying to get rid of them. He breathed in deeply, grabbing the water on the table and taking a big gulp. He had never hated himself more than he did right now. Why couldnt he have an easier life.

“Why cant I just fucking be NORMAL” he yelled throwing the empty bottle of water at the wall.

Throwing himself into bed, he scrunched up his eyes, hoping that sleep would come today, not noticing as his phone lit up with a single message.

Your POV

You stayed for another game and then ducked out apologizing and making an excuse up.

"Sorry it was such a short stream, everyone," you said pouting at the camera. "It was fun though so hopefully I get to do it again." Waving goodbye, you turned off the camera and leaned your head back staring at the ceiling.

What the actual fuck.

Grabbing your phone, you stared at it for a bit. Everything that you had pushed to the back of your mind in the game, was suddenly in the forefront.

The only thing you knew about Corpse was that he had a really deep voice, he narrated horror movies, and he maybe did music?

'Rae mentioned that once right?' you thought to yourself.

You unlocked the phone and then locked it again, too scared to actually do anything.

Unlocked.

Locked.

Unlocked.

Locked.

"Oh get a grip," you muttered to yourself, opening the phone and sending a text to Rae.

‘Hey Rae, do you have corpses number? Do you mind sending it to me, I need to tell him something.’

A reply came in a minute,

‘umm, why. he's pretty private so idk i don't rlly wanna give his number if he doesn't want someone to have it’

You sighed, and decided you might as well tell her. You knew Rae wouldn't betray your trust.

‘He's my soulmate’

Immediately a ‘AHDJHAKJKAGDAK’ came as a reply and you giggled at the string of emojis after it.

‘Don't tell anyone,’ you sent quickly, trying to calm her down.

‘Okay okay, its XXX - XXX - XXXX, ASHAGDH IM DYING OMG. GO TALK TO HIM.’

Biting your lip you added Corpse into your contacts hesitating before putting a small black heart next to his name.

"Already simping," you mumbled under your breath, hands hovering over the keyboard as you struggled to think of what to write.

You finally decided on 'Hey, its Y/N, can I call?' thinking that something short would be the best way to go. Hand hovering over the send button, you sucked in a breath and pressed it, waiting with bated breath.

A minute passed.

And then five.

And then, without you even you realising, it'd been half an hour of you just looking at your phone.

An hour later, you were slumped on your desk, eyes closed and snoring lightly, the phone still open, the message you sent lighting up the screen.

tbc.

[beann-e]

Haikyuu! Characters reacting to their s/o Fighting for them

Also i’m taking request !! go put something in the box :4

Tendou

he would enjoy it so much like he’d have a full on conversation while your doing it. He’d even start hyping you up In the back because he knows that’s all it takes to fuel your fire.

Only for you to find out the person who was hitting on him wasn’t talking about him but was talking about another guy and tendou only made it seem like they were so he could piss you off because he finds it so hot when your upset

Your eyes went pointed to the scene in front of you when you walked down from the bleachers. Feet heavy on the ground as you tried to contain your anger.

How did this chick get down here faster than you and why the hell was she talking to your boyfriend once again faster than you ?

You steps slowed as you walked up to them hoping to hear a little bit of the conversation “ yeah I thought it was really hot and I just wanted to say wow up close and personal y’know “

Your eyes widened hot ?

what the hell did she think was hot ?

“ I was uh I was up in the stands and I was honestly a little bit intimidated to come down here and talk to anyone actually —in the first place “ she laughed clutching her bag a little tighter when your boyfriend licked his lips before his teeth came down to nibble on his bottom one lightly, eyes feigning innocence as he listened to her “ especially you so this is like a big milestone for me “

you watched as your boyfriend smiled softly “ yeah I get it — really i’d be the exact same way with a crush I wouldn’t know how to act or even how to talk to them i’ve actually been there before so “

good good you thought praising tendou in your head at the fact that he was trying to slowly bring up the fact that he had a s/o. clapping for him in your head for trying to let the girl in front of him down easily

your body darting to hide behind a group of teenagers when you saw your boyfriends eyes lift up from the girl and look around as if he was checking for someone he must have been wondering where you were. breathing out a sigh of relief that he turned to look over your way too slowly only missing you by a second

“ oh really I assumed that— “

“ no no your good i’m not saying it in that way “

your face dropped ‘in what way ? ‘

“ I understand the fear of talking to your crush but trust me “ he nodded his head towards the girl In front him before he took a sip of water and smiled down on her “ you’ve got no reason to be nervous i’m right her—“

“ hi “ you waved steps quick on the floor beneath you and voice loud to show your presence “ yes y— yes you do “ you laughed reaching your hand out to shake the girls own in front of you

“ i’m y/n — the s/o— of 3 years —is there ? is there anything wrong did something happen to where he needed an emergency check up or something ? “

the sarcasm in your voice making your boyfriend smirk to himself at the way you just jumped into the situation all to protect your relationship it made him feel secure, happy even

it made him in a way feel greedy

your head coming up to look at tendou as you snaked an arm around his waist like he’d done to you in similar situations. Your other one moving to place itself on his chest “ babe are you ok ? are you hurt ? how badly to call a stranger over here ? “

“ baby no nothing like that she just wanted to congratulate me“ he locked eyes with you the slight smirk he still wore ignored by you due to anger at the drama unfolding before you and his next statement. His words coming out soft and sweet though they were meant to encourage his evil agenda “ before you “

“i’m sorry I wasn’t down here to congratulate him on his win so he must have looked lonely “

you shook your head in sadness at the girl “ and open but “ you smiled “ no he’s not—I understand the confusion you must be going through right now but its just miscommunication from your classmates—which leads me to wonder—please tell me what’s your name ? i’ve never seen you before and I bet your not aware of who I am either so introductions could help both of us out here “

“ oh uh i’m niccolo” the girl shook her head softly and wearily as you pulled back quickly

“ mm niccolo— niccolo “ you spoke rubbing the same hand youd just shook niccolos with down your shirt causing your boyfriend to smile to himself and his eyebrows to raise at all the knowing looks from his teammates about the shit storm he’d just put into motion as he planted a small innocent kiss to your forehead while winking to his teammates behind you

“ never heard of it you must be a first year ? “ your boyfriends head shook slightly as he looked to the floor thinking about how that might have been a little bit rude considering she was just a young girl maybe 16 at most.

His mind rolling with thoughts of maybe cutting the game he was playing short because of her age only for him to side eye you and take a sip from his water bottle again ‘ nah they’ve got it ‘

“ oh y-yes i’m new here—i’ve taken the phrase first year a bit too literal “ she joked smile seeming to be forced her hands twitching in nervousness

“ mm — I never would’ve thought “ you spoke sarcastically. Almost every first year knew not to talk to tendou after a game not unless you were down there already.

The both of you had established that as soon as the game is over your the only person who gets to say congratulations to him first since he explained that it means more to him to know that you’ll always be there no matter what he does

no matter if he wins or loses he’ll get to walk off that court and the first thing he sees is the person he loves most with their hands out waiting for a hug. he’s told you that in the moment he wants to feel like your the only one watching because it’s a private game played for you because he believes your so lucky to get to see your smoking hot boyfriend do blocks.

“ oh thank you no ones ever told me that I look older before may I ask why you thin— “

“ because your dum— “

“ haha um “ tendou stretched before speaking again “ because your just really pretty for a first year “ your body went rigid you almost felt like you couldn’t feel anything not even the heat that was radiating off your body

“ aw thank you so much that means a lot y/n was it? “ she smiled genuinely before laughing “ tendous so nice i’m really glad I came down here first before y’know all the fangirls came down “

she shook her head “ y’know I actually got scared because I thought you were one — I was like ahhhh here comes one of those scary stalker girls “ she laughed “ tendou was telling me not to be afraid since he knew you but I was telling him to be careful when talking to people like you —- once again I thought you were a fan girl so I mean you can’t blame me right?”

Yeah she was screwed this had went too far he was too late

“ y/n “ his voice was warning but you waved him off listening to the girl in front of you her voice sounding so confident and honest believing in everything she was saying. Voice pouring through and mouth still moving almost as if she had no filter

she looked to her feet “I doubt any of them would even have a chance with tendou though because— “

your body roared as she explained her reasoning.

You were only feeling this angry at her words because not only did she call you a tendou fangirl but she explained that even if you were one you would have no chance with him even though that’s actually how you two started dating.

Then for her to turn around and rub it in your face how she got downstairs before you oh god you were gonna have a field day with this little twerp if you didn’t find a way to put her in her place respectfully

“ hey um tendou do you think me and my fellow fan girl here can have some alone time just a small chat “

“ oh wow i’ve never had one of those before “ she smiled as tendou stood still wondering if he’d done the right thing by encouraging all of this or if he should just drop it or maybe even sit down and enjoy it

looking down at you cautiously a slight smirk on his face thinking about your face when he would get the chance to you the truth of the situation but only for it to drop as the girl across from him stole his attention away from you causing him to perk up a bit honestly surprised that she spoke again

Was she suicidal or ?

“ I think he may not be leaving because he isn’t comfortable with you yet—he told me earlier that we could be best friends so , he may listen to me more “ she smiled “ tendou I wanna talk to um —y/n so could you maybe give us some time alone —“ her smiling wider almost as if happy to call him her friend —before speaking “ I wanted to help you out “

‘ holy shit she’s testing my patience’

tendous loud laugh ripped through the gym as he grabbed goshiki and turned the both of them around to walk off words heavy and holding meaning “ yeah I know em’ —I know em’ real well physically and mentally trust me your going to have a bestie number two soon enough “

you watched as your boyfriend went to sit on the bench talking softly with goshiki as he put his hands in his pants pockets not paying attention to you two anymore

“ so wha— “

“ look “ you smiled “ i’m gonna be real sweet about this so we can tie this up in a neat little bow “ you pointed towards tendou

“ ‘m not a fan anymore he’s my boyfriend — we’ve been dating for 3 years now ever since we were first years. I met him through a fan club because he saw the art I drew for their game posters and enjoyed it. I told him I liked how passionate he was about something and how he had his own thing and did it in his own unique way that worked for him and then boom we ended up getting closer—closer then need be sometimes “

you sighed as you moved to close the conversation out “ look just please — I understand your a first year you may not know and that’s ok but ; me and my boyfriend like for me to be the first one who gives him a congratulations at the end of a match he never talks to anyone except his team until I do it — he says it’s like reassurance tht he’s doing good he’s had some stuff happen in the past that just — he needs praise and reminders that he’s doing good with his sport and I supply that he doesn’t want it from anyone else and I don’t want anyone else to give it “

you looked to the girl with sympathy in your eyes hoping you didn’t hurt her feelings she really was just a young kid “ it’s ok to have a crush I had one we all do at a point in our lives but right now your hitting on someone in a secure relationship ok ? start asking first please just to be safe in your future years “

her eyes went wide as she moved to speak “ mm I guess I was wrong “

you shook your head “ wrong ? excuse me for not understanding but wrong how“

“ I uh I assumed you weren’t one of those fan girls and I was wrong I did not mean to get in between your weird obsession just please do not harm him or anything like you guys tend to do “

your body blazed eyes lit up in a hard stare at everyone who now turned to face you hearing the girls loud words

“ again with the fan shit “

“ that is what you guys are called I will not call you his s/o if he does not know you “

“ HES MY BOYFRIEND YOU ASSHOLE “

“ wh— “

“ I tried to be nice to you but your not accepting it it’s like you want me to scream at you “

“ yeah babe she totally does “ tendous smile spreading slowly across his face at the way your hips moved to work with your mouth in showing off your evident pissed off mood

“ I know “ you screamed “ she just wants to make this harder for me “

“ duh “ his tongue coming out to swipe across his bottom lip eyes falling down to your hands that were clenched so tightly in anger waving around widely your pissed off expression sending heat traveling across his body

“ you have a child’s crush on him and I keep telling you I don’t mind but I explained to you to just be respectful and then you go and disrespect me again“

“ they are very lenient when it comes to crushes on me “

“ thank you baby —I try not to be rude because I myself was once a fan in a club for the team so trust me I understand but everyone is usually respectful I don’t understand how you “

“ she’s just a first year babe you have to explain it to her more “ he smiled thinking up a new way to see how far you would go for him “ like in depth “

“ I DID “

“ no baby you gotta get rough with her “

you turned with your eyebrows furrowed “ like fight “

he smirked at you body shaking at the way you whimpered out the words but moved to put your hair up anyways yet, again putting him first and your cloudy anger ridden mind second

god you were so hot whenever you showed everyone you’d do anything for him “ fuck — yeah baby your doing the right thing —don’t think about it too much “

you shook your head softly as you battled through it in your head tendou always knew how to get a rise out of you and how to make you do what he wanted you to more so for fun.

It didn’t take much for you to listen to him especially when you couldn’t think clearly because he was the only person there who cared for you and anything he did you knew would only be for his own entertainment purposes he’d never have you do anything bad or that put your safety at risk.

when you were angry —and had someone hyping you up and adding fuel onto the fire it was only 10x worse and tendou knew this

“ here y/n baby—let’s take this outside I don’t want you to get hurt by fighting in here come on you can do it out there “

“ tendou you asshole quit encouraging this shit“ semi whispered

“ I do not understand what is going on —i find myself with a loss of knowledge in this situation but I do feel as though tendou is in the wrong it is only a gut feeling “

the girl in front of you trembled at ushijimas voice—before looking to goshiki who held wide eyes as he waved to the girl hesitantly her eyes darting away and back to him eyebrows coming together as she looked around the gym embarrassed “ but he — he didn’t say anything about you—I didn’t know he didnt tell me “

“ wh—what babe — liar I call liar she’s lying baby — pleas— ow “

your head finally clearing up as you listened to his team talk about how much of a prick he was you reaching out and grabbing the top of his ear and bringing it down to your height while he screamed out in pain “ BECAUSE HES AN ASSHOLE “

“ hey baby I’m sorry i’m sorry but that’s — thats “ his hair went down to cover his face as he looked at you “ thats not cool “

“ I — I didn’t know “

“ but I told you twice “

“ and I — I haven’t had the best experienc— “ her bottom lip trembled before she took off crying when she met the young boys eyes behind her.

Goshiki shaking softly eyes lit up in confusion before he shook his head and pulled himself away from the embarrassing situation to run after her your boyfriend moving to wrap his arms around your waist from the back “ your so hot “

“ but I “

“ you were wrong though so I see looks don’t always pair up with smarts “

“ huh “

“ she wasn’t hitting on me “

“ but she “

“ she has a crush on goshiki this is her first time attending a volley’ game and she accidentally came down the wrong way so it landed her down here faster than everyone else”

your body stiffened “ she only ended up talking to me because I was going into the hallway towards the locker rooms when she for some reason was coming down the opposite way crying to me about how she was lost “

“ then you — you two were talking abo— “

“ she’s a bit fragile —- and she was explaining it and I saw how we were the same because she’s had a hard past too so she’s a bit wary around others—and hates confrontation due to drama at ‘er old school and she doesn’t know much of the people here because she’s a first year also she doesn’t talk much which kinda threw me off when she started having full conversations with you and trying her best to connect with you“ he shrugged “ must’ve thought you were cool —wanted to be your friend or some shit”

he smiled proudly at the fact that you could make people other than himself feel that comfortable around you him peppering kisses all around your face “ she was telling me how she thought goshiki was hot and when I brought up that I was his amazingly beautiful senpai she just wanted me to introduce her to him — she said she’s afraid of people and fangirls because she hasn’t had the best experiences with them she explained one time in middle school she got a bento box thrown at her because a guy from the volleyball team said hi to her “

your body immediately dropped “ you knew her whole life story and then some and let me embarrass myself “

“ well honestly you both did you just a bit more than her “

oikawa

he would praise you so much the whole time. He has fangirls and he loves when you show him why your more important than them. he loves for you to stop him and put them in their place while showing him his own.

He knows it’s not right to flirt with other girls but the excitement and pure happiness he gets when he watches you fight for him with such passion similar to his own for volley he loves it

“ oikawa ~~” A small voice called out before tucking a strand of hair behind their ear “ can we maybe get some photos ? “

holy shit it’s like everyday at this point

“ baby can I ? “

“ just go “ his eyes darted to the group before he looked back at you “ really —swear i’ll be right behind you pretty boy “

He smiled before running off to the group grabbing the pen someone held out for him and writing all over the billions of notepads girls waved in front of his face.

You knew it looked wrong for him to have a s/o and still entertain other girls or guys for that matter but, you knew oikawa. You knew exactly how he felt about them it wasn’t that he was interested or liked them it was that he liked their comments

he liked the attention.

He was someone who needed constant praise to feel like he was doing his best. Hearing all the cheers , all of the shouts of his name, seeing the signs and people that would come to games specifically for him only made him feel like he was human like he was real and talented—appreciated

You would never take that away from him you could never, when you two started dating you explained to him you knew how important his fans were to him and as long as he kept a certain line that couldn’t be crossed— that he would always come back to you. Everything would be ok.

You slowly walked up behind him leaving space for people to have a hard time differentiating if you were apart of the crowd or with him but you were still close enough to hear the whispers of how hot he was and honestly he was.

He had the muscles—the beautifully glowing skin that others around you two dreamed of and to put a topping on the cake he was still sporting his ruffled hair from his earlier game. He was your dream man and you were lucky to even be able to stare at him behind closed doors or at least that’s what he told you whenever you walked into his room.

“ oikawa-san “

“hmm “ he spoke staring down on the girl that reached out to grab his arm as he was turning to leave

“ could I talk to you please “

his eyes darted to find yours locking on them when he finally found them. His mouth now moving to mouth a question as you shook your head lightly you’d give him five more minutes he deserved it and you wanted him to feel like he’d done a good job at his game today ,which he really did do, him only going back to the girl in front of you two

“ oh well I really wanna — i’m supposed to —“ he sighed out before he collected himself “ I want to take my s/o home before it gets too late I don’t want them walking alone at night “

“ oh s/o “ her voice dropped as he shook his head up and down “ correct of 2 years “

“ oh my um congratulations— to many more to many more with many more “ she rushed out quickly reaching in her backpack

“ thank you our anniver— “

“ could we get a picture “

he sighed before his smile spread only growing into a fake one lips going tight on his face “ yes of course just one i’d like to get on the ro— “

His breathing stopped as he felt the girl next to him lay her lips on his. The click of the camera making his eyes go wide as he shook. Oikawa to most wasnt one who was as submissive as he was with you. He was a bit more ‘ manly ‘ to other people but around you he always fell into submission especially when he knew he fucked up

His eyes slowly moved to find yours that flaming as you stared down the girl in front of him . You leaning against the wall only making him feel a shiver move down his spine.

Had he fucked up that badly that you weren’t even moving.

He kept looking between you and the girl in front of him eyes trying to convey his thoughts as they screamed

‘ look y/n she’s still talking to me — at this point she’s fucking with me not the other way around ‘

His mind went blank as you walked over your face made up into a stoic one voice coming out monotoned devoid of annoyance or any feeling at all “ your lips must be magnets or some shit“

“ excuse me “

“ oh no it’s just that Insee you’ve put your lips on my boyfriend“ your eyes creased at the girl before looking up and down in curiosity “ so I was just wondering if your big mouth was hiding a magnet or something — anything really to explain why you would put your dirty ass mouth on my rather pristine boyfriend “

Pristine ? his body went upright standing a bit taller ‘ hell yeah i’m pristine keep em coming babe ‘

“ are you not going to apologize ? “

“ I uh “ her eyes went up into sadness and fear as the courage that once swirled through her left upon seeing your emotionless stare. She’d just kissed your boyfriend and you looked like you were walking dogs or doing an everyday house chore “ i’m sor—sorry “

“ oh not to me “ you let out a small head nod over to oikawa “ I meant him “

“ oh oh um yes “ she coughed before she made eye contact with oikawa whos eyes were creasing as he stared down on the frail girl before him

“ i’m sorry “

“ no go on take your time “

“ i apologize that “

“ really I know it’s hard to apologize to someone as pristine as me“ your boyfriend moved to nudge you softly “ isn’t that right y/n“ he spoke as he tried and failed to wink down at you

“ uh yeah babe um “ you shook your head as your eyebrows furrowed before you returned to your earlier self “ wait what oikawa stop playing and fix this shit “

“ oh uh “ he straightened himself up at your words “ what were you suppose to be saying again “

“ oh I just wanted to um “ she turned to make eye contact with you before jumping a bit and turning away squeaking out her words “ i’m sorry for hitting on you knowing that you had a s/o “

“ oh ok that’s it? ” his body sulked as he looked to the floor

“ that’s it ? — you don’t care that she hit on you asshole“ you slapping his arm harshly before he whimpered at the contact

“ what’s wrong baby “ your hand came up to rub his back and arm while he pouted turning away from the both of you

“ I just wanted her to she was sorry “

“ ‘kawa she did we can go home now “

“ no she didn’t say it the way I wanted her to “

your hands fell from him as you let out a huff of air before turning to the girl in front of you and moving to whisper in her ear as she sat confused unmoving In her spot before smiling softly and speaking uncomfortably and regretting her decision to ask the male out

“ oikawa “ she coughed his eyes looking over at her while still holding up his dramatic show “ I just wanted to say i’m sorry for hitting on your s/o’s “

Her eyebrows furrowed before she looked to you who was mouthing the words and shaking her head in an ok motion “ pretty boy —“ he perked up at the words “I will never hit on someone of your elegantly pure , flawlessly clean , stature ever again “

Yes he made her embarrass herself by asking for more kind uplifting words more so to make himself feel better than for you. All the while he enjoyed the praise he received from not only the person he loved but the person he didn’t.

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 16

Chapter 1     Chapter 15

Marinette blinked as the room around her slowly came into focus.  She tried to bring her hand up to rub her head to help alleviate her pulsing headache but her hands weren’t responding.  It felt like there was a weight on them.  Or like they were being held down, bound.  Marinette’s eyes flew open and her heart started pounding as she searched the room for the akuma.  She looked at her hands and silently cursed to herself.  Not only were her arms bound to the arms of a wooden chair, she saw her own naked hands instead of her distinct red suit.  

She groaned and looked around for any clues to where she was being held and what the akuma might be.  If she could figure out their powers, she might be able to figure out how to get out of this.  She stopped when she saw a man in a green suit making his way toward her.  She blinked a few more times taking in his suit and hat.  “Is that… are those question marks?  Are you a question akuma?” she muttered out in French.

The man tilted his head at her.  “You’ll find English is necessary if you want to get out of this one alive, young Wayne.”

Marinette stared at the man a few more seconds, letting his words settle in her head as things started to click in her mind.  She wasn’t in Paris.  This wasn’t an akuma, because there weren’t akumas anymore. She and Adrien had defeated his father. She was in Gotham.  She had been on her way home after a disastrous dinner at the Wayne’s. This was a Gotham villain, not a Parisian one.  This was the Riddler.

Marinette breathed out a sigh of relief before her face scrunched in frustration.  “Are you kidding me?  Are you kidding me right now?  You had to do this right now?”

“Oh, I never kid about riddles.  Now, is not the time to panic, Little Lady,” he taunted.

“Oh, you have no fucking clue.  Now is most definitely NOT the time, but you made it the time,” she hissed at him.  “Do you have ANY idea how bad my week is going?  My night?  Do you? Do you have any idea of the trauma and nightmares I’m going to have to deal with already?  And that was before you forced me to witness your suit in person. And can you comprehend the mental and emotional cataclysm I’m already going to have to endure?  And you’re pulling this shit?  Now?”

“I’m just going to ask a few questions and then it’ll all be over and then you can have your little mental breakdown,” he jeered condescendingly.

She narrowed her eyes at him and tried to lunge at him, but her chest was tied to the chair, holding her back, and she’d never hated rope more than she did in that moment.  She growled and glared at him.  “Oh thank you for the permission.  And for the record, it won’t be little.  It’s going to be a monufuckingmental breakdown.  Thank you very much.  Granted it isn’t everything on Earth is destroyed but me and one other person, who caused it in the first place, level of bad.  But I think I’m justified in needing to take a fucking second to think and process. A second I’m not going to fucking get now am I?  Because of you.”  She turned her head to the side in frustration but her eyes got caught on a small red light.  Her mouth dropped open.  “Are you recording this?” she yelled at him.  That complicated things considerably.  Now she needed to watch her words.  Now she needed to make sure she didn’t expose anything.  Well that just sucked even more.

“Well, it wouldn’t be much of a game show without an audience, now would it,” he purred.

She scowled at him.  “By all means, record this to watch later.  Most people aren’t looking to get bitch slapped as hard as you’re going to get so publicly, but to each their own, I guess.  But, consent is a thing and next time, keep me out of it.”

She strained against the ropes holding her hands to the chair arms.  She glowered at him when they proved too tight for her to move her wrists.  “Also, it’s already not much of a game show.  If you have to knock out people and tie them down just to get them to play, either your show sucks or your host does.  Or in this case, both.”

“Now, now,” he snarled, his smile considerably more strained than it had been before.  “We’re just testing the newest Wayne to see how you’re going to fit in.”

“I could have told you that without all this,” she glowered.  “But you wanted to be a big man and ask a question.  So ask your little question.  Be a big man putting a bound, petite, non-native English speaking woman, in her place.  Although if that’s what it takes to make you feel like a man, that’s one of the most pathetic things I’ve ever heard.”

Riddler seethed at her, attempting to keep his face neutral, but failing spectacularly.  One of the Waynes should be afraid of him.  He had been hoping the new one would finally give him a Wayne that cowered in fear.  Instead, he got yet another feral child.  He gripped his question mark staff tightly, fighting the urge to hit her with it.  It was too early to start.  She’d get her punishment soon enough.  He looked up with a grin.  Very soon.

He looked back at her with a sadistic smirk. “Fine.  I’d hate to keep a lady waiting.  Perhaps first I should start with the stakes.”  He moved closer to smile in her face.  “Think well on your answer young Wayne, because for every question you get wrong,” he pointed up with his staff, “a knife falls.”

Marinette let out a deep, annoyed sigh and looked up to see a series of knives tied to the ceiling right above her seat.  She sighed and gave him a flat look. “Really?  That’s the best you could do?  You realize what I’ve been faced with before, right? Or did you not do your research?”  She narrowed her eyes at him.  “You look like a man who never does his research.”

Riddler sidled up to her in a step, his face a few centimeters from her own.  “We can start by testing out the knives if you’d prefer.”

Marinette leaned her head back.  Even if she couldn’t talk him out of making one drop, it wasn’t going to get her.  They would miraculously get diverted just enough to miss her.  Luck could be a bitch when it was against you and he’d left too much up to chance.  “Already changing the rules of the game?  What were you saying about a good game show?  Guess you really don’t care.”

“Fine!” Riddler screamed.  He walked away a few steps and turned back to her with a malicious glint in his eyes.  “Let’s start slow, shall we?  Starting in 1881, this hall brightened Paris’ nights while darkening its satire.  What is the name of this baby of Salis?”

Marinette stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Her face went slack.

Riddler leered down at her, his face breaking into a creepy grin at her apparent inability to answer his question.  “Oh, how sad.”  He gave her a mock pout.  “Looks like the new Wayne isn’t so smart after all.  What do they see in you anyway?  Can’t even answer a simple, easy question.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”  Marinette finally burst out.

Riddler frowned at her.  Instead of the fear he expected, her voice was incredulous and angry. “That’s the question, if you can’t answer…”

“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?  That’s not a… You’re the Riddler.  That’s not a riddle!  That’s a… are you okay?  Like, seriously.  Are you okay?  Because I think… You know what?”  She took a deep steadying breath.  She opened her eyes to give him a serious look, completely devoid of fear, leaning more towards concerned.  

“I think you need a break.  I think you need to take a bit of time to reassess, refocus, and recenter yourself.  Then you can come back and be the Riddler I know you can be.  Because this,” she tried to motion toward him, “this is not it. That is... that isn't a riddle!  That's trivia!  You inaccurately named, evil Alex Trebek!  This would be a perfect opportunity to say I’m in Jeopardy, clueless asshole. So disappointed right now.”  She shook her head in disappointment, refusing to even look at him.

Riddler seethed at her, his face turning red with anger.  “Look either answer the question or…”

“THAT’S EXACTLY THE PROBLEM!” she screamed at him. “It’s a question, not a riddle.  And you missed a golden opportunity to ask a follow up question and saying it’s Double Jeopardy.  You missed the obvious pun!  This is why I say you need to take a break.  This isn’t you.  You’re better than this, I know you are.  I’m just… I’m worried about your mental health.”  She gave him a concerned look.

“If you can’t answer…” he snapped at her.  He gripped and regripped his question staff menacingly, leaning toward her with a snarl.

Marinette rolled her eyes at the attempt at intimidation. “Of course I can answer.  I’m from Paris and you’re asking about Le Chat Noir? Of course I know the answer.  Let me guess, your next question is about a ladybug,” she chirped, widening her eyes with false excitement.

Her face dropped the false sweetness and turned back into an aggravated frown.  “That’s not the fucking point.  My point is you interrupted my fucking abomination of a night for this bullshit and you’re not even on top of your game.  So I not only get shoved into the spotlight, against my will, by people violating my and my parents’ privacy, forcing Mon… my father to ramp up plans for my introduction.  Making sure my family and I knew we weren’t safe and exposing me to this bullshit along with the other attempts on me since it happened.”

Her frown turned into a disgusted sneer.  “And I was actually afraid for a moment because I thought you were an akuma, but you’re really just an underprepared asshole. It’s insulting frankly.”

Riddler swung his question mark staff at her catching her across her cheek.  He grinned at the blood trickling down her cheek.  Marinette glared up at him but refused to let a grunt of pain pass her lips. “Next question, hopefully this one is more to your liking.”  His eyes took on a malevolent glint.

Marinette’s eyes flicked behind him.  He smirked at her inability to make eye contact any longer. “No,” she interrupted, a smirk forming on her own lips.  “It’s my turn.  I have one for you.  It’s actually in the form of a riddle, if you think you can handle that.”  The Riddler growled at her and moved closer to tower over her threateningly.  “What lights up the day with black against yellow yet lights up the night with yellow against black.  It brings hope to those who see it yet marks your demise.  What is it?”

Riddler narrowed his eyes at her and backed away to get some space while he thought.  He looked down for a second, searching the ground as though it might hold the answer for him.  He suddenly looked up, his eyes bright with realization.  “A signal!” he exclaimed, jumping with excitement.  His face suddenly fell realizing the words that passed his lips.  

He spun around just in time for Signal to punch him in the jaw.  Riddler stumbled back falling backward on his ass.  Signal stalked toward him, eskrima sticks out and ready.  He kept his eyes on Riddler but raised his voice so Marinette could hear him.  “You alright, Ma’am?”

“I’m fine.  Just pissed,” she grunted.  She focused on her bindings, trying to figure out a way to loosen them enough to get out.

Signal smirked and gave a short nod.  “Preying on young women again?  Not a good look for you.”

“Penguin and Scarecrow both tried and couldn’t get to her.  I did,” he said defiantly, his chest puffing out even as he was slumped on the floor. “Penguin got to the museum too early. Scarecrow got to the hotel too late. But me?  I plan better.”

“And got a verbal bitch slap the likes of which Gotham has never seen for your trouble.”  Signal shook his head in mock sympathy and regripped his sticks. “Publicly.”

Riddler sneered at Signal.  “It won’t happen again.”

“You’re damn right it won’t,” Marinette called from her seat.  She pointed at him threateningly with her now miraculously freed right hand.  “Next time I’ll do it physically too.”

Signal grinned proudly and snorted at her comment. Riddler growled before looking back up at Signal with an angry scowl.  “Looks like this show has come to an end.  But we’ll be back after a short break.”  He hit his staff hard on the ground and a gas started emitting from it, obscuring Signal’s view.  Signal backed away and rushed over to Marinette, uncertain if the gas was dangerous.

He pulled out a knife and quickly sliced through the remaining ropes and helped her get free.  “Can you walk?”

Marinette started sprinting toward the exit.  “I can do better than that,” she called over her shoulder.  “You just going to stand there and let the gas get you?”  Signal smirked and followed her out.

She grunted as her shoulder rammed into the doorframe when she miscalculated the distance.  She silently cursed how long it was taking her brain to recover from having been knocked out.  Now out of the room she stopped running and rubbed her head as if willing it to kick back into gear.

“You sure you’re okay?” Signal asked catching up to her.

Marinette couldn’t see his eyes under his mask but the bottom half of his face seemed to be contorted in concern.  She grumbled noncommittally in response and rubbed her shoulder.  She looked around them quickly.  “You sure this is a safe way out?  He has to have had help.  I don’t see him doing his own dirty work.”

Signal nodded.  “He did have help.  But, so do I.”  He nodded behind him.

Marinette craned her neck around him to look behind him. She cringed as she saw Red Hood kneeing someone in the face.  The goon fell limply to the ground, unconscious before he hit.  Red Hood looked up and ran over to them as soon as he spotted her.  “Pi… uh… pretty impressive mouth,” he stuttered.  He looked over her closely as he could without touching her.  His eyes zeroed in on her cheek.

Marinette stared at him for a few seconds missing the incredulous look Signal tried to give him.  “Um… thanks… I think.”  She blinked a few more times before frowning.  “Yeah, can we not talk about my mouth, please?”

Red Hood choked on nothing and shook his head, leaning away, as if trying to get away from the idea.  “I meant your att…” he shook his head again and looked back at her. “Not a problem.  Let’s never talk about it again.  Are you okay?  Did he hurt you anywhere else?”  His eyes scanned her again and stopped at her wrists.

Marinette rubbed her wrists self-consciously. “No…” she started.  “I mean!  No he didn’t hurt me anywhere else.  But I am okay,” she rushed out when she saw him tense up at her words.

“Where is he?” Red Hood growled, still staring at her wrists.

“Got away,” Signal answered.

Red hood rounded on him, his entire body tensed for a fight.  “What do you mean he got away?”

Marinette stepped between them and pushed Red Hood back gently.  “He released some kind of gas.  He got me out of there before we found out what it did.  Seems like a good move considering how he got me in the first place.”

Red Hood looked down at her for a second before looking up to Signal with a nod.  He remembered seeing the gas dissipating when they finally caught up to where she was taken.  It had looked like there was enough to knock out an entire city block.  Definitely overkill, but spoke to Riddler’s desperation to be the first to kidnap her.  “Idea which direction he went?”

Signal sighed a heavy sigh.  “I didn’t see which way he went but it had to be out the west side of the room, but that’s all I got.”

Red Hood nodded and touched his com.  “You got that?”  He paused for a moment listening to whatever was being said over his com.  “Yes, she’s fine.  A few rope burns and a cut on her cheek, but seems okay other than that.”

Signal nodded and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Do you have family we can call?”

Marinette shook her head absentmindedly, the strain of the night starting to hit.  “No, I can call my brother.  He’s probably terrified about me.”

Red Hood seemed to freeze.  “Just… the one brother?  You… aren’t you one of the Waynes?”

Marinette’s eyes widened and her face paled.  She plastered a smile on her face. “Right.  Yes.  Of course. I… I meant my one brother was with me at the time.  Yes. Yeah.  The Waynes are my family.  I’m a… I’m… Yeah, I’m a… Wayne,” she barely managed to get the word out of her mouth.  It felt wrong and foreign on her tongue.  She smiled wider at them.  “But you don’t… you don’t have to bother them.  They’re all busy.”

“Yeah, looking for you,” Red Hood answered back sharply.  “They’re the ones that called us.  They’re terrified right now.”

“I think they’d want to know,” Signal urged gently, his voice heartfelt and slightly pained.

She let out a bitter scoff before she could stop herself.  She squeezed her eyes shut and mentally berated her still drugged mind for letting that slip out.  “I meant,” she started loudly, “I’ll inform someone.  They’d want to… hear it from me,” she finished quietly.

Red Hood took a breath and moved closer to her, gently resting his hands on her shoulders.  “I promise you, they’re worried about you and they would want to know. They’d want to make sure you’re okay. They’d want to make sure you feel safe. They would want to protect you. In fact, I’d expect to see a lot more of them over the next few days.”

Marinette opened her mouth to answer but got interrupted by the police breaking into the room.  Marinette pursed her lips and seemed to let a calm come over her.  Red Hood looked harder at her change as the police led her off to take her statement.  No, it wasn’t calm.  It was a numbness, an absence of any feelings.  His face contorted into a scowl.  Exactly what Adrien had described.  “You get that,” Red Hood snapped into his com.  He waited a few seconds before shaking his head.  

“That’s a fool’s bet,” Signal scoffed.  “Of course she’s not going to.  She might send a text.  And even then I bet it won’t be much.”

Red Hood listened for a few more seconds before he shook his head again.  “I’m not taking that bet either.”  He watched as Adrien just stopped himself from tackling Marinette in his excitement to see her again.  After what looked like a worried conversation, he saw Adrien pull her into a tight hug and Marinette melt into it.  “We need to fix this and quick before B does anything else to completely destroy any chance we have,” Red Hood snarled.  He turned and started grappling away.  “I’m going rogue hunting.”

Chapter 17

Tags:

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[cherrycheridarling]

'someday maybe' | t.h.

tom holland x singer!reader

warnings: one swear? fluff and angst? kisses

summary: you're so close to finishing your second album when your manager pushes the deadline, your ex tom helps you write the final track.

{listen to someday by michael bublè and meghan trainor (if you want)}

wc: 2.1k

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey,"

"Yes, yes. I know. You are not being a very helpful manager right now, Noelle." you spoke to your phone as you paced around the living room, "Okay. I'll get working on it. Bye." you huffed and threw your phone against the couch.

Your album was due to be released in two months and you needed one more song to tie it all together. Your manager, Noelle, was pushing you to finish the song so she could start the promo of the album.

You were incredibly grateful for your career, but the pressure weighed down on you everyday. Never ending.

With a final groan you picked up your acoustic guitar and sat on the couch. Picking at the strings, trying to find a melody. You hit record on your voice memo app before strumming away.

"Someday maybe when we're old and grey, we can be in love once more. 'Till then I won't give my love away. Darling, I'm forever only yours." you sang softly.

You and Tom had a joyous relationship. A love that only ever existed in movies and fairytales. The type of love story that gets told for generations and onwards. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Your breakup was calm, serene and clean. A mutual agreement as if your whole relationship had been a business deal. There were no loose ends or jealous passive aggressive remarks made. Just maturity and respect for one another.

Your pinky still held the promise ring he gave you. A token of appreciation. A reassurance that he'd always be there for you. And he lived up to his word.

Tom walked in and sat across from you, startling you, "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Whatcha writing?"

"Need a final song for the album. Sorry for showing up unannounced. I just get better inspiration here, with all the memories, you know?" you timidly looked back down at the guitar.

Tom nodded, "No need to apologize. We gave you a spare key for a reason."

You couldn't stop yourself from spilling the words from your lips, "That was when we were together."

You could hear the awkward silence start to fill the room before he spoke again, "Still our best friend, Y/L/N."

The pain that crossed your features was instant. Being addressed by your last name felt like a stab to the gut. Especially by Tom.

You nodded before playing again, "Can I help you write it?" Tom asked as he sat next to you.

"Dancer, gymnast, actor and now songwriter. How many hidden talents have you got, Holland?" you teased making him laugh.

He shrugged with a smile, "It's kind of like writing a poem, right?"

You pondered on his analogy before slowly nodding, "Yeah, it kind of is. Give it a go."

You began playing the melody and he listened intently for a few moments before singing, "I love seeing you happy. I miss seeing that smile. It's been such a long time. A– Nope. Nope. Nuh-uh. I can't do it." he shook his head aggressively with a loud laugh as you stopped playing.

"No!" you quickly protested, "That was amazing! Don't leave me hanging, c'mon." you nudged him with your shoulder before strumming again.

"Alright, alright." he ran his hands down his face, "And although I don't have you, I know now that I need to?" he paused and gave you a skeptical look before you nodded again, "Somehow make you mine. Mmm."

"Oh, okay. He's giving ad-libs and all. Get it." you nodded as he laughed.

You were so engrossed on Tom actually writing a song with you that you didn't focus on the lyrics he was singing.

"And I won't lie, it's hard seeing you with him 'cause I know he can't hold you like I can." his mood seemed to drop by a thousand as the words left his lips.

"When can we meet this boyfriend of yours?" Harrison flicked your forehead from across the booth.

You, Harrison, Tom and Tuwaine were all sat in the local pub. Pints of beer in front of each of you as loud music and chatting filled your ears.

You shrugged, "He's picking me up, so possibly tonight."

Tuwaine's eyes lit up, "Fina-fucking-lly. I swear you've kept him hidden for years."

"We've only been together for three months, T." you laughed lightly with the group of boys.

And they met him. It wasn't the smoothest of introductions, but an introduction nonetheless.

"Boys, this is Kai. Kai this is Tom, Harrison and Tuwaine." you gestured to the parties as they all shook hands and gave polite greetings.

"So," Harrison started, "What do you do for a living, Kai?"

Kai cleared his throat, "I'm a Senior Resident at Kingston Hospital. Working towards being Head of Pediatrics."

Tuwaine and Harrison both nodded, impressed by his profession. Tom's face remained expressionless as he stared at Kai with cold eyes.

"Do you have any siblings, Kai? Any psycho ex-girlfriends? Any wacky cousins?" Tuwaine joked making everyone laugh. "'Cause Y/N has a lot of wacky cousins."

"We could be in love once more,"

"Hey!" you gasped with a laugh.

Kai pulled you closer to him as he laughed, "No, no wacky cousins or psycho exes, but I do have an older sister and a younger brother."

This game of ask and answer continued on for a few more minutes. Tom didn't say a word, just sipped his beer and burned holes into Kai with his eyes. If looks could kill, Kai would be six feet under.

Kai was a sweetheart, but you two ended ages ago. His work got too much for him and your job had you touring and travelling every second.

You picked up after him with the chorus before diving into your own verse, "I remember that love song. I sang every word wrong, but you didn't mind, no, no."

"I love the things you do. It's how you do the things you love. Well it's not a love song, not a love song. I love the way you get me, but correct me if I'm wrong. This is not a love song, not a love song!" Tom belted the 'Austin & Ally' song from the top of his lungs.

"Your turn!" he pointed the pretend mic in your direction.

You laughed, not knowing any of the lyrics, but still wanting to participate, "I love that you not a licket! And you own a watch and chicken! We got a car!" you sang with full confidence, making Tom burst with laughter.

"Yes! Sing it, darling!" he cheered you on, "Absolutely butchering the lyrics, but sing it!"

"Being stuck inside a car. If it's not a doe, don't kiss it! I can't hear a missing, when there's a shoe inside the ceiling! If you really need to fart, you can lunch on a pig farm! Love song! Love song!" you couldn't even hear the song in the background, your voice overpowering it.

Tom was hunched over from laughing before he came back up and planted a soft kiss on your lips, "You are one hundred percent ridiculous and I love it."

You brought yourself back to reality and sang again, "And I'll admit that I miss you, but only if you do. 'Cause you know that I'm shy. And I can't lie, it's hard seeing you with her. 'Cause I know she can't love you like I can."

Tom's eyes met yours as the words fell from your gentle lips. His mouth was slightly agape as you continued to strum.

"You are absolute rubbish. Imagine coming in eighth. Embarassing." you laughed as you crushed Harrison in a game of Mario Kart.

He shoved you with his shoulder, "You're such a try ha—"

"—It's always the same, Tom! How can I trust you? You follow gorgeous models on Instagram and expect me to trust you?" Nadia's voice cut Harrison's words off.

You looked at him with wide eyes, his expression matching yours.

"Those women that I follow have been my friends for ages. Who I follow on a stupid app shouldn't effect how much you trust me."

You paused the game, cutting off the theme song, "How long have they been fighting like this?"

Harrison sighed, a long groan following, "A few weeks. I think it started when she saw that he liked your Instagram picture?"

You stammered, "M-my post? She got mad about my post?"

Harrison nodded before opening his mouth to speak, but Nadia cut him off again, "And she practically lives here! How do you think it makes me feel seeing my boyfriend play house with a superstar?!"

"Aw, a superstar? I'm flattered." you joked making Harrison stifle a laugh.

"I've been friends with Y/N since we were in nappies!"

"I can't be with you if you're going to be friends with her."

Your laughter abruptly died at her words. Harrison stiffened beside you.

"Y-you can't be serious. You can't make me choose between you and her."

"Why? Because you're gonna choose her?" you could hear her voice crack.

"I-" Tom couldn't make out a sentence for a few moments, "Yeah. I'm gonna choose her."

Your heart fell from it's place, stopping at your feet. Harrison brought a hand to his mouth, "H-he chose you. He chose you!" he whisper shouted before you shushed him.

"Of course. I don't know why I expected anything different. I think I'll be going now." Nadia's footsteps approached the living room.

You and Harrison scrambled to look as if you weren't eavesdropping on their argument/breakup.

Tom followed close behind her, "I'm sorry. I really am."

She nodded, hand on the doorknob, "I know. Goodbye." she stepped out of the house, slamming the front door shut in the process.

Tom let out a breath of relief before turning to you and Harrison who were staring at the Mario Kart home screen with the infamous tune playing.

"You guys are terrible actors."

"'Till then I won't give my love away,"

"I'm forever only yours." the both of you finished the song in unison.

There was a moment of silence before you reached over and ended the voice recording.

"T-that was really good. You can change what I wrote, I know it isn't as good as anything you would've written, but I tried. And it was actually pretty fun and I never knew how difficult songwriting was un—"

"—Kiss me." you cut Tom's rambling off.

His eyes grew wide, "W-wha—"

"—Kiss me, Holland."

He swallowed, a small smile stretching on his lips, "Thank God."

And with that, he leaned in and pressed his lips to yours. Interlocking like missing puzzle pieces. Moving in sync like waves in the ocean. Soft and sweet, but filled with passion. You could feel his smile against your lips causing you to grin.

His hand came up to pull your face closer into his. Caressing your jaw, fingertips playing with the hairs on the back of your neck. His other hand holding your hip in a tight grip. Pressing the pads of his digits into your flesh, scared that you might slip through his fingers again.

One of your hands was pressed flat against his chest. Steadying yourself, the heat of the kiss threatening to throw you off of your axis. Your other hand tangled itself into Tom's curls. Pulling and tugging lightly causing small groans to fall from Tom's lips. Your fingernails scratching his scalp. Pulling him impossibly closer to you.

"I want my ten pounds." Harrison's voice snapped you and Tom out of your make out session.

Him and Tuwaine stood in the doorway, shit eating grins on their faces.

Tuwaine laughed before placing a ten pound note in Harrison's palm, "You guys couldn't have waited until next month to get back together?"

"You two were betting on us?" Tom laughed at his mates who nodded.

You shook your head with a smile, "Absolute idiots, all of you."

Harrison let out a happy sigh and pocketed the money, "Today was a good day. Had a sick ass shoot. Got ten pounds. And my best friends are finally together again." he waltzed into the kitchen with Tuwaine, leaving you and Tom alone again.

Tom's shy expression met your gleeful one before he spoke, "Someday came a lot sooner than expected, huh?" he chuckled.

You nodded with a laugh, "It certainly did and I am not complaining."

He sent you a wide grin before cupping your face and connecting your lips to his again.

"Darling, I'm forever only yours."

[seiyasabi]

The Scientist

(Hange (Hanji) can rearrange by guts tbh :P Lol, anyways, this is a Yandere Hanji x Female Reader story! It takes place in current time tho (same universe as Yelena). Also, idgaf how tall the creator says Hanji is. In this fic, even the tall girlies get to be shorter than Hanji. 

TW: kidnapping!, !drugging!, unwanted advances, stalking!, etc! 

Please proceed with caution! Also, I’m sorry if you can tell that this was in my drafts for a hot min. I started to write this when I first started this blog, and I just finished/revised it lol. ) 

“Hey, (Nickname!” Hearing the loud shout of a certain brunet, you jump about a foot in the air. As usual, Hanji decides to surprise you whilst you’re in the middle of something. 

Pulling away from the microscope you’re currently looking at, you put on a strained smile, “Yes?” 

Their one eye sparkles in a hopeful fashion from behind their glasses, one of her their fiddling with their eyepatch, “Sooo,” They draw out the o, seemingly trying to disarm you, “Are you free this weekend? There’s this suuuuper cool bar that’s just opening, and me and the others are thinking about going! It’s totally not a date or anything,” They pause to let out a loud laugh, “I think it’ll be fun! What D'ya say?” 

Forcing out a chuckle, you shake your head, “Ah, I’m sorry, Hanji, but I’m busy this weekend. I have a lot of samples I need to process for that upcoming court case,” You chew your bottom lip nervously, “I’m sorry. I hope you and the others have a good time, though!” 

A new voice is heard, butting into your conversation, “I can do those! I’ve been needing more hours, anyways,” Whipping your head in the direction of the voice, you silently curse. Fuck Armin for being so helpful! 

Hanji beams even brighter than before, clapping their hands together happily, “See! Armin can do that for you!” They lean in closer to you, their lab coat brushing against yours, “Come on, (Nickname), I’d be reaaaaally happy if you go!” 

An uneasy feeling pools in your gut, as an anxious sweat begins to bead at your brow, “I-uhm-I suppose I can go for an hour or two.”

“Great!” They grab your hands in theirs, squeezing them in a friendly manner, “The bar is called ‘Titan’s Wrath,’ and we’re meeting at eight on Saturday!” Releasing you, they pat you on the back, “See you later!” They run off, most likely back to the dry lab. 

After a moment of silence, you slowly turn towards the short haired blond man, “Armin, I’m going to kill you.”

He blanches at your blunt tone, flushing a bright red, “Wha-what?” 

You grit your teeth, tears starting to bead your eyes in frustration, “They’re the person I was telling you about! Hanji constantly harasses me, and you practically just tossed me into their arms! Why would you do that?” 

A look of pure terror and remorse appears of his face, “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I-I didn’t realise that they were the person-oh my God, I’m so stupid. I-I really didn’t know! I’m so, so sorry!” You let out a quivering breath, hands clenched into fists to calm you down. 

“It-it’s alright. I never really told you who they were. Just never do that again, okay? If you need more hours, just tell me, and I’ll see what I can do,” The younger man sighs in relief, shoulders deflating. 

“I promise to never do that again!” You nod, blinking away your unshed tears, and smile at him. 

“Okay, then we don’t have any problems,” You laugh lightly, shaking your head, “Who would’ve thought our newest intern was the dry lab’s wing man?” He panics again, making you cackle good-naturedly, “Now, can you please grab the dilluter? I forgot to grab it from the fridge.”

-

Hanji, being the ever cheerful person that they are, set their sights on you the moment you were hired. 

But, if they came out with their feelings immediately, you’d just assume that they wanted to take advantage of you. 

So, they watched you. Writing down your likes and dislikes, your quirks, everything. Through their ‘research,’ they came to realise that you’re very good at your job. The wet-lab should be lucky that they have you… but they never give you the recognition you deserve! 

They bombard you with assignments, become upset when you don’t finish them in seconds (which is so unreasonable!), and hardly give you any time off! 

You don’t seem to mind, being the good girl you are, but Hanji sure does! 

So, they’d seek out the top graduates from the college nearby, and help them become employed at the lab. The newbies really helped get the load off of your shoulders, and once done, they decided to swoop in now that you had a decent amount of free time. 

It started at the vending machine- they’d asked you if you wanted to get coffee with them sometime. You said no, probably because you felt it wasn’t professional. After all, rumours would spread like wildfire if you went out with the lead lab tech of the dry lab! 

So, everytime they knew you had a weekend off, they’d approach you with new places to try. 

Be it a movie, a store, a concert- it didn’t matter. They just desperately wanted to have some time with you! 

But, you reacted the complete opposite of how you were supposed to. 

You’d pick up as many shifts as possible, most times going into over time, just to avoid the flamboyant lead. Whenever you saw them in the hall or by the break room, you’d turn in the complete opposite direction. If wet-lab needed to correspond with the dry-lab, you’d send your most qualified coworker to do so. 

It was saddening, to be honest. They love you so much, yet you refuse to even face them. 

But, thanks to that Armin kid, their plans can finally bloom into fruition. For once, you can’t escape the brunet’s advances! 

Because of that, Hanji made a note to the owner of the lab that Armin would make a good contribution to the lab after he gets all of his qualifications. 

-

Saturday night comes far too soon. 

Dressed in black skinny jeans and a cropped, white long sleeve, you stand in front of ‘Titans Wrath.’ Scoffing at how the bar sounds like a metal band, you make your way inside. 

Grabbing the door handle, you yank it open, immediately hearing loud rock music. Mentally patting yourself on the back for your observation, you step inside of the cool building. 

Looking inside, you see a large, double sided bar in the middle of the room, a stage and standing area just behind it. There are a few pool tables in the front area where you’re standing, along with double doors leading to a hidden kitchen. 

There’s also a lot of people inside. You can’t see Hanji or their friends, but seeing a band setting up on the stage tells you that they’re probably on the other side of the bar. 

Walking over to the steps leading down into the stage area, you try to ignore the leers of a few men around you. Maybe you shouldn’t have worn clothes that accentuate your beautiful figure. Peering around the corner, you see the scientist and their friends, an empty seat in between them and a large blond man, that you vaguely recall being the police chief of your city. 

Strolling towards them halfheartedly, you give yourself a small peptalk inside of your mind. Sure, Hanji has always been touchy-feely with you, sure, they’ve asked you out about one hundred times, sure, you run into them every time you leave the house, sure- 

“(Nickname)! You actually came!” The brunet’s voice is loud, loud enough to cut through the loud music and equally loud chatter. Forcing a smile onto your face, you give a small wave, suddenly uncomfortable with the line of strangers at the bar suddenly looking at you. 

“Yes, hello, Hanji,” When you’re close enough, you’re thrown into a tight embrace, their body practically molding into your own. They’re about a head taller than you, making it so your head is practically forced against their protruding collarbones. Hesitating slightly, you give them a soft pat on the back, trying to escape their suffocating embrace. 

“I’m so glad you came!” They release you just as suddenly as they grabbed you, putting a hand on the small of your back, and practically forcing you in between the blond man and themself, “(Nickname), this is Erwin. Erwin, this is (First Name).”

His blue eyes rake over your appearance, recognition appearing on his face, “It’s nice to see you again, Ms. (Last Name), especially under better circumstances.” 

You nod, thinking back on some high profile cases you met with him for, “Yes, it’s nice to see you again, Mr. Smith.” 

A loud scoff is heard from beside Erwin, the head of a short, dark haired man peeks around the broad chested man, “It’s about time you brought a respectful brat,” You have to stop yourself from flinching at his harsh tone, “I am Levi,” Opening your mouth to introduce yourself, he holds up a hand, halting you, “There’s no need for introductions, Shitty-glasses has gushed about the ‘pretty wet-lab scientist’ for months now.” 

“Oh, alright. It’s nice to meet you,” His lifts his whiskey on rocks in acknowledgement, before downing it with one swig. 

“Likewise,” After that, he turns towards a light brown haired woman, her high pitched voice is heard from where you’re sitting. 

“I’m sorry about that. The detective is very… unsociable.” 

“It’s alright, Mr. Smith. He kind of reminds me of one of my interns, Annie,” You say with a small smile, before your swiveling bar stool is forced around so you’re facing Hanji. 

“Sooo, you like the bar so far?” Their smile is somewhat pleading, and you can’t help but just go along with them. 

“Yes, this place is, um, cool. Very interesting choice,” They clasp their hands together with a pleased expression, as they somehow move closer to you than they already are. At this point, you’re worried that they’ll fall off their stool. 

“Right? Our residential emo boy found it, and we’ve been hooked ever since,” A loud ‘Shut up, Shitty-glasses,’ is heard from behind you, making the brunet laugh, “Let me order you a drink! I think there’s something that you’ll really like!” 

Opening your mouth to reject, it was seemingly too late, because the brunet has already waved over a punk-ed out bartender. You didn’t really hear what the drink is called, but the man sets to work immediately. 

It barely takes a minute for it to be finished, and the purple drink is suddenly in front of your motionless form. Looking up, the purple haired man winks at you, before turning his attention back to a speaking Hanji. 

“Anything she orders, put it on my tab,” He nods, before walking off to service another customer. 

Turning your attention back to Hanji, you try to persuade them to let you pay, “Thanks, Hanji, but it’s alright. I can pay for my own drinks-”

“Don’t worry about it; I asked you out, remember? And it’s the least I can do for harassing you for the past few months,” Startled by their uncharacteristically somber words, you nod in understanding. 

“Alright. Thank you,” They nod, before motioning towards your drink. 

“Try it! I’m sure you’ll like it!” Grabbing the cool glass cup, you bring it up to your lips, and take a small sip. It’s amazing. It tastes like (favourite flavour), and it goes down smooth. 

“You’re right, this is delicious!” They grin brightly, clapping their hands together in glee. 

“Great!” They motion towards the stage with their head, “The show’s about to start! Are you ready for a kickass night?” You laugh at their vigour, and nod. 

“You bet!” 

Maybe tonight won’t be so bad after all. 

-

You spoke too soon. 

It seems like you’ve drank too much, because you’re now feeling dizzy. Throughout the set, you’d ordered about five more drinks, and they seemingly hit you all at once. 

Hanji, who’s been watching you since your fourth drink, feigns shock at your unstable form. That Rohypnol they grabbed from work works quite well! Now they can see why it’s the choice drug for those awful, awful people. 

“Whoa there, (Nickname), it seems you’ve had too much to drink!” Hanji jokes, hands holding you steady on your bar stool. The only person from your group still at the bar is Erwin, but he knows they have it under control. As chief of police, he feels a bit of remorse, but he knows it's for the best. Hanji will take care of you, because, after all, you’re their only true obsession. 

“Wha-huh? Was’ happenin?” Hanji can all but coo at how cute you are. 

“Don’t worry, cutie. I’ll get you home safe,” Helping you to your boot clad feet, they send a knowing look to Erwin, who smiles in return. Wrapping an arm around your waist, they help you stumble out of the bar, and walk towards their car. Once at the passenger side, the brunet unlocks the door, and assists you inside. You flop onto their leather interior, eyes unfocused, and body movements random. Chuckling to themself, they buckle you in, not before pulling on gloves, and taking your phone, keys, and wallet off of you. 

Taking these items, they empty your wallet of its cash, and chuck everything into a nearby bush. Knowing that the cameras outside the building and the buildings surrounding the place are off, they feel at ease. If anything, they feel like your knight in shining armour. If they hadn’t taken you, someone else would’ve-you’re just too cute. 

Closing your door, and rounding the car, they slide into the driver’s side, before starting the car. Buckling themself in, they look at your out-of-it form, and smile. 

[ashes-in-a-jar]

The Purrfect Alternative

Premise: Why would there be a cat in the archives? An archive cat fixit.

2.7K words

Rated G

(Tw: A bit of violence but it's against Jurgen Leitner)

This is a fic dedicated to the @jonsimsandcats event! Hope you enjoy it :)

"Sorry, you haven't seen a cat, have you?"

Jon gaped at the larger man who suddenly barged into the office. 

"I-I'm sorry, a what?"

"Uh, a cat, tabby I think." The man hurriedly explained.

"No. No I haven't. Is it.. Supposed to be here?" Jon knew book shops sometimes kept cats. Perhaps archives did as well. Maybe Gertrude had a soft spot in her after all.

"N-no actually. I, uh, I was feeding it on the way in but when I got up with my things, well, my hands were full you see, so when I managed to open the door it sort of slipped in with me? I'm so sorry, I have to find it before-"

"Okay okay calm down, stop." Jon held up his hand and let out a sigh. First day of the promotion and he's already stressed. But it's fine. He's fine. He can handle a cat. He's good with cats.

"Where do you work? Upstairs? Are you sure it came down here?"

"Yes, I saw it. And I just started working down here today? I'm Martin. Blackwood." He offered a hand. Jon automatically took it. Big and soft. He let go a bit too quickly and coughed. 

"Work here? Are you certain?"

"Yes, I'm supposed to let Jonathan Sims know about becoming an archival assistant. He's the head archivist Elias told me to talk to."

"Well that's one thing to cross off your list." Jon smirked. "I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon, if you please. And Elias did not mention you. Tim and Sasha were supposed to be the only new recruits." Jon frowned to himself. He'll have to have a word with Elias about this. It's fine now that it happened but keeping Jon updated could really help in preventing these kinds of awkward introductions with people he's supposed to work closely with.

"O-oh! Well, here I am now too." Martin chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his jumper.

Jon hummed "So you are I suppose. Well, let's not waste time on trivial matters, there is a cat that needs to be found." Jon got up from his chair.

"O-oh god, you're right. I'm so sorry for this." The other man apologized, remembering why he was there in the first place. It was clear that he now realized that the fact that the person he's asking to help him clear up his mess is his new boss could be very problematic for him. Jon easily sympathized with that kind of familiar pressure.

"It's alright, let's just, get this sorted." Jon was not willing to admit that a part of him was also just looking forward to seeing the cat. It would help distract him from his own stress, as it were.

Ten minutes later the two of them sitting on the floor in the stacks with a chubby tabby cat sprawled on Jon's lap. Jon was petting it affectionately while amicably getting acquainted with his new assistant. The man turned out to be a library veteran with useful cataloging skills that could help with the mess that was left down here. Having calmed down considerably, Martin had stopped fidgeting and was cooing at the cat who was head butting his large palm. Their presence soothed Jon in a way that surprised him. In the tranquil, quiet atmosphere of the stacks, sounds of cat purrs and Martin's low murmurs, he felt almost optimistic that despite his lack of experience and the large task ahead of them, he would be alright. 

-------

Paper meowed loudly behind him as Martin hurried down the tunnel with Jon and Tim at his tail. Martin glanced back as he reached an intersection and noticed they were too far behind, Jon limping on his injured foot. He hesitated, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. Paper came up and rubbed his leg before trotting down the tunnel on the right, tail held high and confident. Martin inhaled deeply to catch his breath, starting to walk again, this time more slowly. They managed to leave most of the fast worms behind and the ones down here were few and sparse enough to easily stomp down individually. Paper was making a game out of it.  He kept leaping onto some that crawled ahead of them, squishing them loudly with his paw. 

Jon and Tim caught up and the three followed Paper down the dark passage. 

"Yeah, get the damn crawlers." Slurred Tim. The CO2 he inhaled was not helping his coherency. 

"You know," gasped Jon, "I actually think they're larvae, given Jane's statement and-" 

"Jon, I'm going to have to ask you to stop now." Martin said, as calmly as he could, his voice a tad too high and loud. 

"... Sorry." Jon said sheepishly. 

They followed Paper down the forking paths, hoping the cat knew where in the seven circles of hell they were. 

Eventually they stopped seeing any worms as the path sloped up, ending in a sudden door. There was daylight filtering in from beneath it. Paper was eagerly pawing at it. 

"Uh, I think we found a secret way out of the institute." Martin could hardly believe their luck. 

"Excellent, now I can ditch work and no one will know I even left." Tim mumbled. 

"Tim, if you wanted to succeed in that endeavor, you should have not said that next to your boss." Jon commented dryly. 

The worm threat no longer being imminent, Martin allowed himself a nervous chuckle. 

They pushed at the door and with a bit of group effort, eventually managed to pry it open into fresh air. They came out into a narrow alleyway which turned out to be not far from the institute. As they walked (limped) down the street to find access to a working phone they heard someone cry out. 

"Jon? Tim? Martin!" They spotted Sasha hurrying towards them, carrying heavy bags of cat food. 

"Sasha! You're okay!" Martin exclaimed. "We were worried you'd get back and be caught in it like Tim had."

"Where have you been?" Jon inquired, straining to stand upright on his own. Martin came closer, gently supporting him by the hip on the opposite side of Tim. 

"We ran out of food for Paper, I figured I'd pop by the store for a moment to get some." Sasha said. "I came back when the building was being evacuated."

"Oh good, at least the alarm worked." Tim said tiredly. 

"What in god's name happened to you three?" She inquired worriedly. 

"Prentiss, we'll fill you in later. We need to make sure the ECDC is informed regarding the CO2 in the fire suppression system that needs to be activated."

"And get you to a hospital." Martin chastised, squeezing Jon's side. 

"Yes yes." Jon waved dismissively but all the while leaning further into Martin's side. He really wasn't discreet, Martin thought smugly. 

Sasha was about to say something else when a loud meow interrupted her. Paper was nosing into the bag, fully aware of its contents and who they were meant for. 

Jon dislodged from Martin and Tim and hobbled towards the cat. 

The cat turned and moved back into Jon's welcoming arms, as the archivist picked him up and stroked him fondly. 

"We are lucky on all accounts that Paper is such a smart cat." He murmured into the soft fur, injury forgotten for the moment. 

Tim chuckled, "cats always ruin evil people's plans, it's a well known fact. Anyway, Sasha, please call an ambulance for us?" He said, and promptly sat on the floor. 

Martin sighed with relief. For now, they are all safe and together. And that's all that matters. 

-------

It was all almost too much to take in. Luckily Paper was held tight in his arms as he listened to Jurgen Leitner ramble on about powers and fears and monsters and Jonah Magnus. He had been chased by a distorted form of his boss, who was apparently replaced by a monster Jon and the crew tried and failed to destroy, thus separating in the ensuing pursuit. In light of these events Jon now needed something soft to ground him in the face of so much new information. 

The discovery of Elias' death was a shock, especially given the fact that apparently it happened when he was trapped in artifact storage during the Prentiss siege a half a year back. 

He (that is, his doppelganger) told them back then that he was trying to reach the suppression system switch when he tripped down the stairs over one of Paper's many scattered toys, alerting Jane in the process and was driven back into the storage area. His account seemed to check out given he was rescued from there by the ECDC after Jane was dealt with. And given the few toys strewn about the stairs leading to artifact storage. Why Paper kept scattering his toys all over the building was beyond Jon but that wasn't the main issue at hand. After trapping the creature in the walls of the tunnels, Jurgen Leitner proceeded to reveal himself. Once Jon dragged him back to his office, and picked the protesting Paper up to calm himself down, he unveiled the truth of Elias', or Jonah's, whole operation. 

Turns out Jonah Magnus decided life was too short to enjoy once and did exactly what eventually happened to him. Talk about karma. Leitner explained that Gertrude's plan was to stop Jonah from... Something he was planning. Perhaps a ritual to end the world in a way the others would fail to do. That bit of information was on a tape of Gertrude which Leitner played for Jon. By the time they reached the part where Leitner said, “they needed to kill Jonah's main body then burn down the archives.” Martin, Tim and Sasha had arrived back at the office as well. 

"Jon? Jon! Are you okay?" Martin rushed forward, hugging Jon tightly, ignoring Paper's loud yowling at being squished in between them. Jon sighed, "Martin, thank god. I-I'm fine." He hugged him back, relieved his boyfriend was safe, as well as his other assistants of course. "It chased after me but he stopped it."

Tim raised his axe, "Jon are you sure he's not... Another one?"

"Yes I'm sure. That" Jon took a deep breath, "is Jurgen Leitner."

After the team's loud exclamations of disbelief he and Leitner updated them on everything they had discussed. As he was being hugged by Martin and holding the fluffy cat he slowly began calming down.

After Leitner was done a long moment of silence ensued.

"So," Sasha said slowly, "Gertrude's dead?"

"Yes, she was shot and then hidden by Jonah in the tunnels. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to allow for a proper burial, so I had to leave her there." He seemed sad admitting it. Jon did not feel sympathy for him. This man deserved none for his past and cowardice.

"And now, we need to, what, somehow find the center of the maze of tunnels to kill Jonah completely and burn the archives?" Sasha asked skeptically. 

"Yes, the whole institute in fact. I have a gas main in the tunnels ready to be ignited once we find the center." Leitner said.

"How do we do that?" Martin frowned.

"Maybe Michael knows?" Tim quipped. "He just helped us out of that situation with his own… corridor labyrinth. Maybe he'll be able to help."

"Okay, okay let's first take a breather and calm down. We'll figure out how to solve this." Jon said, raising his hand to slow them down.

"Yeah, I'll make us some tea." Martin added, "At least now that... Thing won't bother us for a long while."

"Let it burn along with this hell of an institute." Tim said harshly. Knowing how his brother was killed almost the same way, Jon felt strong sympathy for Tim rush over him.

Which was replaced with a different emotion the moment he turned to the man who saved him.

"Thank you for your help, now Martin, I need you to hold Paper for a moment."

Martin, looking baffled, took Paper out of Jon's arms. "Jon wh-"

Jon swiftly approached the older man and proceeded to sock him in the nose with the full force of his fist. The crew gasped in unison. 

"That's for everyone you hurt with your idiocy, you stupid old coward." Jon seethed and punched him again. He heard Martin chuckle and Tim whoop as the man whimpered and attempted to protect his face.

Jon was glad they were spared the horrible plans of a 200 year old evil man and that they had some semblance of a strategy moving forward. He was, however, equally elated for this opportunity to do what he fantasized about since learning of Leitner's existence.

And, he supposes, all of this can be indirectly attributed to Paper, the archive cat.

-------

Jon woke up to the warm snuggle of his lovely fiance and a mouthful of cat fur. 

"Pffff, Paper geerroff," he mumbled, uselessly trying to push the stubborn cat away. The chirping of birds mingled with the sound of highland cows grazing in the field near their cabin. 

After the success of their plan to end Jonah, after the fire had already burned down the horrors of that evil place, it took a while longer for their troubles to be resolved. They had to endure endless questioning and investigations of the police. Jon, who was weakened by the ordeal to the point of needing hospitalization, took a long time to recover and regain his strength. Leitner claimed it was lucky he was cut off from the Eye this early, or the consequences would have been much more serious. The others seemed to have been less affected, but once the archives were completely reduced to ashes they recovered, their jobs burned down along with everything else. 

Sasha found a new job as a researcher in a prestigious institute, nothing supernatural involved. Tim moved on to journalism, utilizing his curiosity and charm to their full potential. Jon and Martin opened a tea & book shop, if only to make Paper a real bookshop cat. They have been slowly setting it up and settling down until... Well, Jon proposed and they took a break. Traveled to Scotland with Paper on an early honeymoon to see the cows and enjoy the quiet. 

And quiet it was. Until Paper shamelessly began purring as loud as a train right in Jon's ear. Jon huffed in fond annoyance and got up, leaning down to give Martin a kiss on the head and then shooing the crime of a cat off to the kitchen. 

"You can't give me a moment of reprieve, can you?" He stretched and followed the cat out the bedroom. 

He filled Paper's bowl and sat on the floor leaning his back on the cabinet, closing his eyes as Paper chewed his food noisily. 

He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by a soft tap on his head. He looked up blearily and smiled. The cat had long since finished eating and found a home in Jon's lap. 

"Morning love." Martin murmured softly, matching his tone to the serene atmosphere. After hesitating a moment, he bent down and sat next to Jon. Jon looked at him adoringly as he absent-mindedly stroked Paper, humming along to his purrs. Martin joined him, petting Paper, their hands occasionally (and very purposefully) brushing against each other. 

After a few minutes of calm silence, Martin spoke up. 

"You know, this reminds me of that first day we met. In the stacks."

Jon smiled at the memory. "Ahh yes, all three of us had a very fateful meeting there, didn't we? God, I was so stressed back then." 

"You handled it pretty well I have to say. Handled my nervousness pretty well too." Martin chuckled. 

"I was lucky you were there. You really helped me calm down." Jon admitted. "Well, you and Paper." Jon added fondly. 

"Paper was a really good archive cat wasn't he?" Martin said, leaning into Jon, pressing a warm, still sleepy kiss on his cheek. Jon closed his eyes, grateful for the events that led up to this moment of pure happiness, with his fiance and his cat. 

"Yes, the best cat in the world."

[nightingaelic]

FNV Companions react to being re-united with the Courier after the Second Battle of Hoover Dam (NCR Best Ending)

TW: Blood, gore

As the screams of men, metal and guns petered out, movement on the Hoover Dam slowed. The sun was low, red as the ground beneath it, and the heat rising from the concrete and hundreds of gun barrels gave the area a faint shimmer. Most of the Legion lay dead or dying, their last gasps covered by the sounds of NCR soldiers calling to each other, looking for friends or officers or just reassurance that what had happened was true.

Victory.

Arcade Gannon: Though plenty of the NCR heavy troopers were popping off their helmets as the battle came to a close, Arcade kept his on out of fear someone would recognize him. The Brotherhood of Steel attendees appeared to be of the same mind, so he did his best to linger between the two groups and hoped both would assume he had arrived with the other.

Someone slapped the side of his metal-encased arm, and he looked down to find the courier beaming up at him, gasping like they had just run a marathon. "Hey, Six," Arcade said, surprised. "I thought General Oliver would've packed you on a flight to Shady Sands by now."

"Not yet. How're you holding up in there?" the courier asked breathlessly. "Looks like it'd be an oven under the sun."

"Oh, it is," Arcade assured them. "But it also stopped a few bullets and a machete or two, so no complaints here."

The courier bent over and put their hands on their knees. "I saw Daisy... saw her chopper off with the others after the fighting stopped. Oliver's confused as all hell, he doesn't know who they are, where they came from or where they went, but he's got bigger problems to deal with right now than chasing them down."

They looked up with a grin. "Thanks. Tell them all I said hi."

Arcade laughed. "Will do. And thank you."

"For what, dragging you and your only surviving family into this?"

"Well, yeah." Arcade looked down sheepishly. "Fortune favors the bold."

The courier nodded. "Fortis fortuna adiuvat."

"You remembered?"

"Of course I did." They gestured at the broken and scattered weapons and men of Caesar's Legion that lay around them. "After today, we're running low on people who know how to speak Latin."

Craig Boone: Though the other NCR snipers around him packed up their gear and headed toward the dam, Boone stayed put with his rifle until the courier made their way up the rocks to his position. They waved when they spotted him, and he put up a hand of greeting as well.

"And it's over," they said, plopping down to take a seat next to him and dangle their legs over the drop-off.

"Yep."

"Was that you who got that shot in and made Lanius drop his sword?"

Boone smiled. "Mm-hmm."

They smiled back. "Thanks."

The two of them sat together in silence, watching the activity below. Boone's smile grew and grew, wider than it had in years.

"Do you want to go down and join in?" the courier asked, when a group of NCR soldiers started putting broken defenses and wooden Legion weapons into a pile to burn.

Boone straightened his sunglasses and looked toward the horizon. "Yeah. I do."

Lily Bowen: "Pumpkin!" Lily bellowed when she spotted the courier across the dam, leaning on the concrete barrier next to the edge. She pushed her way past several surprised NCR troops, who yelped and jumped out of her path. "Pumpkin, are you alright?"

"Lily." The courier was pale, nursing a jagged wound on their arm. "I'm okay, Lily. I just need..."

Lily barred anyone else from approaching them as they rooted around in their pack. Finally, they extracted a stimpak and jabbed it into their arm, hissing as the medicine found its way into their bloodstream.

Lily inspected the cut carefully. Aside from its ragged appearance and the blood surrounding it, the wound was clean. The stimpak was working its magic, and the redness seeping out was already slowing. "Is that better, dearie?" she asked.

"Much." The courier sighed and leaned back against the concrete. "Legate Lanius had a sword. Not as... as big as yours, but big enough to slice me up when I got too close."

"You rest, pumpkin." Lily sat down on the barrier next to them, careful to hold her hat on in the breeze. "The fight is over now. Leo is quiet again."

"Mmmm-hm." The courier nodded sagely, before turning to face the steep drop below to the bottom of the dam. "We did it."

"How do you feel?"

The courier opened their mouth to answer, but instead threw up over the barrier and into the crevasse below. Lily carefully patted them on the back and produced a box of gum drops from her overalls pocket. "Here. For your breath, dearie."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: "Courier!" Raul pushed his sombrero back with the tip of his revolver, scanning the battlefield atop the dam. "Six, dónde estás?"

An injured NCR soldier looked up from the curb he was sitting on. "What's a ghoul doing here? He's not with us, is he?"

"Chinga tu madre," Raul swore, pausing his search. "You see the courier anywhere around here?"

"Raul!"

He turned back to the devastated landscape and there they were, jogging through the mess of bodies, shell casings and busted concrete. Raul laughed and spread his arms in relief, in welcome. The courier dropped their gun and threw themselves into his embrace, ignoring the blood and dust that covered his costume. Truthfully, they were just as covered in the battle's detritus as he was.

"I lost you so quickly," they breathed hard in his ear. "No wonder... no wonder they call you the ghost vaquero."

"Mij@." Raul embraced them tightly, then held them at arm's length to inspect them. "You had me worried. I thought I was the one who was going to have to track down twelve mariachi bands to play at your funeral."

The courier grinned. "Still want your medal?"

"Think the NCR'll give me one?"

They made a face at that. "If they wanna give me one, they'll have to give you one, too. Come on. I want to see the look on General Oliver's face when I tell him that you did just as much work here as me."

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: A lone NCR trooper stood by the nearest flag pole, hoisting a scrap of fabric high above the scene. Cass could make out the two-headed bear emblazoned upon it, and something in her heart rose. She was still standing there, watching the red star whip in the breeze atop the dam, when the courier made their way over to her.

"Cap for your thoughts?" they asked.

For a moment, Cass tried to find the words for that feeling inside her. When she failed, she turned away from the flag. "Nah. Nothing you don't already know. What next, Six?"

The courier scratched their head and looked around. "Clean-up. Round up the Legion boys who are still kicking, grab everything that isn't nailed down before anyone else does, and pull this place back into some kinda shape."

"And then?"

"And then we drink." The courier pulled out their canteen and offered it to Cass. "But here's a little something for right now. Go on, keep it."

Cass drank deeply. Whiskey, just the way she liked it. "The NCR did good today."

Her traveling companion smiled. "We did good today."

"Mmm, not yet." Cass waved them off. "Don't lump me in with the bear before the work's all done. Ask me later, we'll see how I feel."

"Way I see it, if you had any actual qualms about this, you wouldn't have come," the courier replied with a chuckle. "But I'm damn glad you did."

They'd walked off toward the NCR top brass before Cass could answer, but she let the wind take the words anyway, small as they were. "Me too."

Veronica Santangelo: As soon as the courier was finished speaking to General Oliver, Veronica pulled them away and unearthed a handkerchief from inside her robes to wipe away the worst of the gore from their face. "Eugh. Is this... did somebody explode on you?"

"Hard to say." The courier pulled out their own bandanna and began wiping Veronica's face down in return. "How do you feel?"

Veronica laughed and accepted the help. "Honestly? I'm not sure what my parents would think of me fighting for the NCR, but for New Vegas it seemed like this was the best chance at stability. I don't regret it, if that's what you're asking."

The courier gestured at the Brotherhood of Steel Knights and Paladins that were milling about next to and among the NCR soldiers. "Your family doesn't seem to regret it either."

"Yeah." Veronica brightened somewhat. "They actually came. That ought to show both the Elders and the NCR that this, this is possible."

She watched her brothers and sisters from afar, making awkward introductions and conversation with the defenders of the dam and even comparing power armor pieces with the NCR heavy troopers. She smiled faintly.

The courier followed her gaze. "Did you want to join them?"

"No." Veronica looked down at her power glove, flexing the joints as if lost in thought. "No, that's okay."

ED-E: The courier found ED-E stuck beneath a collapsed barricade, where it had been knocked during the fighting by a lucky Legion swipe. They pulled the eyebot out and dusted it off. "You okay, buddy?"

ED-E beeped its reassurance and pulled itself from the courier's grasp, shaking in midair to dislodge any remaining debris. It did one final loop-de-loop to lose a large splinter before blasting its triumphant music at top volume.

Surprised, the courier laughed. "That's right. We did it. We won."

Rex: The chaos around Rex began to fade into the background, overwhelmed by the scent that clung to the courier at his side. A rush of endorphins, dopamine, a whiff of serotonin- Rex didn't know the words, but he knew what they meant when mixed together in that way. Relief. Happy relief.

The cyberdog yawned, signaling his own stress, and looked up at the courier. They noticed his movement and dropped down to his level immediately, running their hands through the ruff of fur around his neck and inspecting his mechanical parts carefully. "Good dog. Good boy. We did good today, you and me."

Under their touch, Rex relaxed. He opened his mouth to pant. It had been a long, hot day.

[fossntwriter]

Don’t Look Down

Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: you’re in the elevator in the Washington monument when it malfunctions

You sighed, checking your phone one last time for a message from Peter that might tell you anything about where he is before putting it in the bucket with all your other belongings. Nothing. You chucked it in the plastic bin with your backpack as it got scanned by the security guards who worked at the Washington Monument.

Under other circumstances, you would be really excited to be doing this tour with your team. But after Peter suddenly left without telling you why or where he was going, you just were worried about him and a little angry.

“You okay (y/n)?” You snapped out of your thoughts of Peter, looking to meet Liz’s concerned face, “You seem a little down today.”

“Oh yeah, I’m fine, I promise.” You offered her a small smile, trying to convince her that you were fine. “Just a little tired is all.”

She nodded, “Well we just won Nationals! Cheer up! This will be fun!” She grabbed your arm, smiling as she guided you with her to the elevator that you and the rest of your team would take to the top of the monument.

You genuinely smiled at how caring Liz was. She always tried to keep everyone happy and you appreciated it.

The elevator closed after your guide stepped in. She introduced herself, starting to explain just a little bit about the Washington Monument. Moments after she finished her introduction, she hit the ‘up arrow’ button on the dashboard of the elevator and you all started moving up.

You and Liz payed close attention to the guide as she explained all about the monument, it’s history, significance and all the fun details about it. The tour actually did start to lift your mood, you were a junkie for history and doing a tour of one of the most significant monuments in all of America with your friends was something that helped take your mind off the fact that Peter mysteriously left.

Climbing to the top of the monument, the elevator jolted and everyone inside stumbled a little, trying to catch their balance after the surprise stop.

“What’s going on?” Your teacher, Mr.Harrington, asked the guide obviously concerned and skeptical.

“Everybody stay calm please,” the guide tried shouting over the panic that consumed you and your teammates, “This sort of thing happens all the time, I can assure you that all will be fine!”

With that, she opened the emergency latch and a panel slid open in the roof of the elevator. She pulled herself out of the metal compartment and onto the top of it.

“There’s a floor we can stay on right here,” she called down, “We will lift everyone out one at a time and we’ll wait here for help.”

Everyone nodded, and rushed towards the hole in the top as they tried to be the first one out of the stopped elevator.

“Me first! Me first!” Flash shouted as he crammed his way to the center of the crowd of students wanting to get out. He held up the trophy from Academic Decathlon, and beckoned the tour guide to take it and help him up after.

You rolled your eyes at the scaredy cat nature of the guy who always talked highly of himself.

You and Liz, being the caring students you were, helped lift everybody else out of the elevator before you became concerned with yourselves. You would rather your friends got out safely, if anything happened to them and not you, you would feel guilty and responsible.

After lots of lifting and teamwork, all who were left in the elevator were you, Liz, and Ned.

“Liz, you next.” You said, wanting your best friend out of the elevator.

She gave you a look that said she wanted you to go next instead of her, but before she could say so, you interrupted, “please.”

Reading the concern in your face, she nodded. Just as you and Ned were getting ready to lift Liz up, the elevator jolted again and this time you were falling. The three of you screamed as the elevator started falling fast.

Seconds later, when you were least expecting it, the elevator stopped abruptly, sending the three of you to the floor hard. After the shock of not dying, you groaned, as did the others, and got up.

Looking through the hole in the top of the elevator, you were surprised to see Spider-Man holding you three and the elevator up with one of his webs. He looked way smaller in person than on TV.

“Yes!” Ned shouted, jumping up and down causing the elevator to creak with the added pressure.

“Woah, woah, woah, woah!” Spider-Man shouted, struggling to hold onto the elevator when Ned jumped, “Hey big guy! Stop jumping.”

Ned immediately stopped, “Sorry, I’m just happy you’re here.”

You nodded in agreement, relief flowing through you at Spider-Man’s appearance. You were so relieved you didn’t even realize how coincidental it was that the New York super hero happened to be in Washington DC at the time your team needed him.

“Okay, there’s an open floor here, I can get you all up here and safe.” He explained.

“Ned, then Liz, and then me.” You instructed the other two in the elevator who hesitantly agreed, just wanting to get out, not risking another near death experience.

Spider-Man used multiple webs to web the elevator to the wall, so it would be supported while he got the three of you out.

He reached down through the hole and grabbed onto Ned, lifting him out of the elevator in minutes. His strength was impressive, making it look effortless to lift Ned out. He wasn’t even out of breath moments later when he showed up again to take the next person.

“Liz, your turn.” You told her motioning for her to take his hand.

She nodded, worried etched into her face for you considering you would still be in the elevator after she was out.

“I’ll be okay.” You reassured her before she took Spider-Man’s hand and he hoisted her out of the metal container and brought her to the next floor, where Ned was waiting.

You only had to wait for a minute until you saw the man clad in the red and blue costume come back down for you.

“Ready?” He asked you, with a voice that sounded a little familiar. However, you didn’t concern yourself with his voice at the moment, more worried about the two of you getting out and not falling to an early death.

You nodded, and just as he was about to take your hand and lift you out, the webs holding the elevator snapped and you were falling again. You shrieked, closing your eyes as you fell at an alarmingly fast rate.

Just as you thought it was over for you, something gross wrapped around your hand and the elevator kept falling while you seemed to be frozen in mid air. You had gone right through the hole in the top. You saw a white web stuck to your hand. Following along the web you saw Spider-Man holding it, and holding onto another web with his other hand that was attached to the floor where Ned and Liz where waiting.

“I got you.” Spider-Man soothed you as your body shook with hard breaths, tears sliding down your face at the stress of the situation. You looked down as the elevator hit the floor of the shaft with an ear-deafening crash. The blood in your veins ran cold at seeing how high you were dangling in the air, being held up by only a single web.

“Hey, hey,” he called your attention back to him. “Look at me okay? Don’t look down.”

You nodded, holding eye contact with his wide masked eyes. He started pulling you up to him. You let him. Even though you didn’t know the man behind the mask, you trusted him with your life. Not that you really had a choice right now, but if it came down to it, you would trust him no matter what.

When he pulled you up to him, you grabbed onto him, wrapping your arms around his neck and he wrapped his arm around your waist.

“A-Are you okay?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I- I think so.” You stuttered out, still afraid of falling, although you knew you were completely safe with him.

“Good,” He breathed out, “I’m going to pull us up now.” You nodded at his plan, holding onto him tightly.

Keeping your face buried in his shoulder and neck, you let him pull the two of you up to the nearest floor where you knew you’d finally be safe for the first time in what? Ten minutes? Twenty?

A couple of minutes later, your feet hit solid ground and you looked up. You were on the same floor as Ned and Liz, but you saw your Decathlon teammates, teacher and tour guide rushing down the stairs from a couple floors above.

You were immediately bombarded with questions, people frantically wondering if you were okay and what it was like to be that close to Spider-Man.

You assured them that you were fine, just a little shaken is all. After a couple minutes of catching your breath and reassuring your friends, you turned to Spider-Man, wanting to thank him.

But he was gone. You looked out the window and saw him webbing from building to building as he gracefully went to wherever he was needed next.

[dracosaurusrex]

Fireworks. (Draco x Reader)

Summary: In which Draco turns to his best friend, Y/N, for help with his first kiss.

Genre: Fluff; Childhood friends-to-lovers

Wordcount: 1.5k

A/N: I wrote this as soon as I finished my assignments. It’s not perfect, it was rushed, but the temptation was real and there’s most likely going to be a second part. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it for what it’s worth XD

Coming into Hogwarts for the first three years was defined by many things: An introduction to different magical subjects, the development of house pride, as well the strong encouragement to focus on passing exams and working hard to get good marks. However, wizarding children are not exempt from the rites of passage that were associated with their teenage years. That’s right. They were not exempt from the natural pull of attraction between two individuals, the resultant blooming crushes, which from there can go many different ways. Fourth year was exceptionally characteristic of that. 

While you couldn’t be bothered--you were very much occupied with your studies--a certain Slytherin prince was.

“I can’t believe this, Y/N! It’s absolutely ridiculous!” The blonde boy furiously proclaims as he steps into your room. The sudden slam of the door jolts your senses as the focus you had on your homework immediately disintegrates. You pinch the bridge of your nose and close your eyes, refraining from letting out a string of foul words.

“What is it now, Draco?” You ask with a hint of annoyance. Your best friend of eleven years flops onto your bed. His arms and legs spread into a starfish shape, while a disturbed expression covers his face. You turn yourself in your chair to face him with an expectant gaze.

“Theodore and Blaise got their first kiss already,” He reveals. You pause for a moment to allow your brain to process what he said. However, a snicker leaves your lips, creating a juxtaposition to his deepening frown.

“You think that’s funny do you? Don’t you see my issue?” You felt bad. He was so obviously conflicted. 

“No, I’m afraid I do not.” He rolls his eyes.

“Don’t you think you’re being a little too...I don’t know...dramatic?” You lifted your hand over your mouth to cover the smile that was threatening to come out.

“Dramatic? Y/N, word spread saying that even Potter got his first. Potter for Merlin sake! Out of all people!” 

“Draco, I know for a fact that that isn’t true. Besides, why does that even matter to you? You never seemed to have a problem with it before.”

“I don’t want to be a lip virgin anymore!” You really didn’t want to laugh. As his best friend, you truly wanted to provide comfort, but his responses have been making it really difficult to do so. The sound of your laugh prompted a groan of frustration from the boy.

“Draco, you’re precious, and I love you so.”

“Yea, well, I can’t say I feel the same way about you right now.” He wriggled in your grasp as you squeezed his arm. 

“Oh come on. I meant no harm, you know that.” Silence overcame you both, allowing you to calm down and settle into the seriousness of his matter.

“Okay, well why don’t we try to make it happen?” His eyebrow quirked at you while you got lost in thought, thinking of a possible plan.

“Do you like anybody?” You finally inquire.

“No.” The firmness in his tone makes you palm your face. The scenario that you’ve come up with shatters into a million pieces in your mind

“Draco, how are we supposed to set this up if you don’t have someone you like?” He shrugged.

“Why does that matter? Can’t I just kiss a random girl I’m attracted to?” You smack his arm.

“Your mother didn’t raise you that way, git.”

“Well I don’t see you kissing anybody! How would you do it?”

“Unlike you, I’m not desperate! Plus, I overhear the girls say that they want their first to be special. It’s supposed to feel like fireworks.” The boy slumps his shoulders, feeling discouraged over your statement. More silence ensues as you take a seat beside him, but his mind is anything but quiet. As your words resound in his thoughts, an idea begins to emerge.

“Hey, Y/N. You say that girls want it to be special, right?” He spoke with a softened tone, which contrasted greatly to the frantic one from earlier on. You nod in response.

“Don’t you think it would be pretty unspecial if the other person sucked at kissing?” 

“I suppose so. I think whether it sucks or not depends on how much either party is attracted to each other.” 

“I want to be good at it.” His straightforwardness makes you choke on your saliva. In turn, he rolls his eyes and pats your back.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, but I highly doubt that anyone is considered ‘good’ for their first kiss.”

“What if I practiced?” You were about to refute his suggestion until realization began to settle in.

“Draco Malfoy, what is going through that idiotic mind of yours?” Suddenly his eyes, which were once glazed with frustration, look into yours with earnest. You knew exactly what he was thinking.

“No, Draco.”

“Come on, Y/N! We’re best friends, and you did say that a first kiss is supposed to feel like fireworks. I bet we won’t even feel fireworks since we’d only be practicing, so surely that doesn’t count as our first kiss, right?” As much as you wanted to refute, the boy had cunningly twisted your words, leaving you at a loss. He was right, though. The both of you had grown up together, and you were so comfortable with one another that something as simple as a kiss shouldn’t be able to destroy you. Right? Additionally, if fireworks was the actual requirement for a proper first kiss, then any ones that occur before that shouldn’t count. How bad could it be really?

You bit your lip for a moment while Draco looked at you expectantly. When you glanced up to meet his familiar silver eyes, you felt your heart thump. This doesn’t mean anything, so it won’t count. You thought.

“Fine.” Relief filled his features as he scooted closer to you. You could feel your heart rate increasing exponentially when his breath softly brushes against your skin. It’s clear to you that in the spur of the moment, there wasn’t much going on in his head except for the fact that this was merely a practice run.

“How do we do this?” The temptation to smack his face was so strong, but you held yourself back. You sighed instead.

“I think I remember them saying that they like it when you do this.” With your voice soft, you grab his hands and plant them on your cheeks. 

“Like this?” He asks. You release a small, ‘mhm’ as you let go of your hold. His grip induces your head to tilt upward, however you do your best to look at anything and everything except his eyes. 

“What next?” 

“Next, you lean in closer.” The boy stiffly lowers his head, and the warmth of his breath is more apparent now.

“You got to lean in much closer than that, Malfoy.” The sight of your lips reduces him into mush, making him realize that this moment meant more to him than what he had initially planned. Nevertheless, he attempts to close the distance even more.

“Can you, uh, close your eyes?” You take heed to his request. When he ensures that they were shut, he proceeds to lower himself to the point that his lips were practically a hair’s width away from yours. The suspense has your pulse beating against your ears. Nothing in your entire life had prepared you for that very moment.

Suddenly, the fireworks that you didn’t expect to feel erupted within your chest the instant that his lips are on yours. He moves slowly, motions are a bit clumsy, but the feeling remains all the same. It was when you recall that the boy kissing you was indeed your best friend that you knew something was about to change. With your eyes closed, and his hands still on your cheeks, you engrained the feel of his lips in your mind, oblivious to the fact that he was doing the same. It was way better than you had expected it to be--than how you wanted it to be--and you weren’t sure it was because it’s your first time also or if it was because it was him who you were sharing the moment with. Whatever it was, the need for more only increased when he parted from you.

You look into his eyes. They convey an expression that you can’t discern.

“Oh shit.” The words mindlessly spill from your mouth, but Draco’s gaze remains the same. Your face was so warm, you were certain that he had felt too.

“I think,” He starts. His eyes trail from your y/e/c orbs to your lips, “I need more practice.” 

The boy starts leaning in once more. This time, he tucks a loose strand of hair behind your ear, and caresses your neck before placing a long, yet single kiss on you. Silence fills you both when you separate. The hand that was rested on your neck is placed on his lap, while yours remain on your sides.

“Was it good?” He asks. You bit your lip, thinking about what effect your next response will have on your friendship.

“I think we need more practice.”

Part 2

A/N: Hi! Thanks for reading! I want to try my best to milk out any ideas despite my tight schedule. Writing is an escape, and creates balance in my life. With that being said, I hope you liked it. Feedback is very much appreciated!

Tagging:

@beiahadid @hahee154hq @mushi98 @stretchyice @dracosathenaeum @dreaming-about-fanfictions @saby06143 @rottenhexrt @littlethie @amithatemo 

If you’d like to be tagged, there’s link to a form on my masterlist :3

[acourtofsnakes]

Kyr’am - Rogue Chapter 5| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f)

Summary: Sick of the countless failures, Moff Gideon decides to call in the big guns. 

Warnings: Not many in this one, but mentions of violence(brief), brief mention of suicide, (literally barely touching on it), does another cliffhanger count as a warning?

AN: Ooooooo, new people 👀

As always, credit to whoever owns the gif. I usually find them on Google or Pinterest, so message me if it’s yours ♥︎

Wordcount: About 2184, a short one this time for introduction purposes

Rogue Taglist: @snipskixandbeskar   @weirdowithnobeardo 

Rogue Masterlist | Introduction| 1: Solus| 2: Arir | 3: Tor | 4: Gaa'tayl | 5: Kyr’am | 

Mando’a translation: Kyr’am - Death 

The atmosphere in the light cruiser was… tense. Beyond tense, actually. The tension as almost a living thing, vibrating throughout the room and threatening to explode into destruction if someone said but one thing wrong. 

Moff Gideon stood at the head of the huge table, staring at the holo-image in the middle of it with a look of distinct distaste. His hands were clasped behind his back as he surveyed the image, a young woman wearing a cloak, fire in her eyes and a ridiculously high bounty above her head. His anger and disappointment were evident, obvious to the men and women seated around the table before him. 

There was a break in the air, and then a young woman, Gideon’s Comms Officer and assistant, decked out in the dark grey green uniform walked in. Her even, regimented steps echoed on the floor and she stopped a little way away, offering a quick salute, “Sir, I have just received the report you requested from our spies in the field.”

The air tightened in the room, the people seated around the table holding their breath, hoping it was good. Hoping it wasn’t what had been rumoured. 

Gideon looked away from the table, seeing what his people were holding out for. He turned to his assistant, nodded for her to continue. 

The woman looked across the table, a glint in her eye and a faint smirk dancing across her lips fleetingly. “They got in touch with the contact who was representing you. Apparently, the hunter succeeded in finding the target.”

The collection of people around the table sagged in relief, one even going so far as to rub his eyes as he let out a sigh. 

The assistant couldn���t hide her smirk this time, allowing it for a few seconds, “And then he went rogue.”

Gideon knew this already, but this is a punishment for the people that promised him he’d get what he wanted “Rogue? What do you mean by that, officer?”

“He found the target and began to bring her back as requested. They got into an altercation at another planet, some witnesses said there was a fight in a back alley and the last they saw was the target dragging the hunter back to his ship.”

The table was still, dread beginning to curl around the room like a snake, twining around feet and legs and flicking out a tongue to taste the danger that lingered on the horizon. 

“And then?”

The assistant’s voice came out clear, almost disinterested, “And the next thing that we have, is the tracker and puck being destroyed. As of half an hour ago, no one knows where they are.”

Gideon dismissed her then turned to the table. He sighed, looking at the man who had recommended the Hunter this time, “’The best there is.’ That is what you told me, captain. ‘He’ll have her within a week and be back here to collect his reward.’ Well, captain, it’s been a week.” He spread his hands, his eyebrows raising in a mock expression of wonder. He looked around the room, then back at the captain, “Where is she? Are you hiding her under your seat?” 

The captain swallowed harshly, a sheen of sweat crawling over his skin. He kept his hands under the table because they were shaking, “N-no, sir.”

Gideon shrugged, that false wonder still in his voice too, “Then where is she? I took a great risk in following your advice. And it hasn’t paid off.”

“Sir, please! I didn’t know this would happen. I thought the bounty on her would be enough to keep him straight. My sources said he was running out of money, that he was exchanging favours instead of credits for the repair of his ship. He couldn’t have turned that money down. I don’t know what happened, maybe she tricked him. Used her power to-“

Gideon’s hands slammed onto the table, echoed only by his snarl, “Enough.”  

The captain cut off, unable to stop the pitiful whimper. No one moved, no one looked at him. They all knew what was inevitably coming. 

Gideon pointed at the pain, “Don’t you dare try to make a fool of me. It’s on your authority that this has gone wrong again.” He straightened up, “Every single one of you is to blame. Each one of you let me down. You will be punished. As it is, I have found other means. Expensive means.”

A lady lifted her hand, trembling. 

Gideon’s eyes slipped to her, his eyebrows raising just slightly. 

The lady swallowed, “Everyone knows she hasn’t used that power since she was a child. As far as we know, it doesn’t even exist in her anymore. I.. what’s the point?” 

Gideon looked at her, his dark eyes simmering but he said nothing. 

Only for a man across from the captain to speak up, “She’s right. They say if one of those types doesn’t use their power, they forget how to wield it. The Child repressed his powers for decades.”

Gideon was impatient now, waved his hand dismissively, “And then used it repeatedly in presence of the Mandalorian. It can come back. I have proof that it has. She used her power to heal him.”

“But, sir, we don’t know that-“

The atmosphere in the room noticeably shifted again. This time, the danger became something so much more. 

It became a truly living thing that pressed against the traitors around the table. It licked down their bones, caressed their minds but it sung a song of death and destruction. 

The door slid open, and then a figure walked into the room. 

He was clad head to toe in black, a black so dark it seemed to suck the light of the room. 

His tall, lithe body was armed with weapons of every variety, everything one could possibly imagine and more that were only rumoured, weapons that had been made just for him. 

He stalked into the room with all the ease of a predator walking into the den of some small, helpless animals. And relished in the sheer power he had without even trying. 

The harsh lighting of the room glinted off the blade sheathed down his back. The scabbard was engraved with symbols, symbols that had long since been used. The hilt was as black as his outfit, and intricately carved. If he had unsheathed it, the blade would have been as deep as obsidian, and so sharp it could have sliced off someone’s hand with a mere whisper. 

He stopped at the opposite end of the table to Gideon, shoulders back, posture tall and at ease, but coiled beneath the surface, waiting to strike. 

A hood covered his face, gold embroidery picked out by the lights and snaking around the edges of the hood. 

No light pierced the shadow that fell over his face, keeping him anonymous.  

Clearly the captain realised he wasn’t getting off this ship, because he suddenly broke the deathly silence by laughing. “Seriously? Is it dress up day or something?” He looked around the room at the horrified expressions looking back at him, “What? Are we supposed to be scared or something?” His arrogance was barred by the sweat pooling into the neckline of his uniform, the frantic pulse at his throat.

The night-clad figure said nothing. Merely rested his gloved hands on the table. A simple act. 

But the air in the room vibrated, a warning. 

Gideon inclined his head toward the figure, “Thank you for coming. You understand that I would have left your services be if these fools hadn’t failed me.”

The cloaked man nodded once, a slow incline of his head that somehow said everything he needed to. That he wouldn’t even have paid attention otherwise. 

Another woman at the table, a general, inquired quietly, “His services, sir? Does this mean-“

“Yes, General. It does. Never in my life have I been so spectacularly let down by a group of people before. You were supposed to the best in your fields, yet you couldn’t give me one tiny little girl.”

The woman swallowed, nodded and looked at the table in submission. 

Again, the Captain added another nail to his coffin, “You’re giving this freak the job? If we couldn’t find her, if even Trandoshans and Troopers and two Mandalorian’s can’t get her, what makes you think he’s qualified?” He stabbed a finger toward the figure, who remained silent, a predator watching their next mean. 

Gideon glared at him, losing his patience with this captain, “Because he is the best there is.” 

A snort from the foolish captain, “Oh? And why would you bring him in just now? Why not before?” 

Gideon’s glare could have cut through metal, his words clipped, “Because he has a very unique skill set that I would rather not be associated with using. However, because of this situation and the necessity of obtaining her, it makes him the most qualified.”

“Skill set? Like what? Is he going to bed the girl and then drag her in? Or does he have a-“

The captain’s words were cut off with a gurgle, and his eyes went wide. His chair pushed back and then he was rising from his seat, as if pulled up by strings. Every limb of his body was frozen, rigid. Like he was no longer in control. 

The figure had finally moved, lifting one of those gloved hands in a gesture that was almost casual. He tilted his head within his cloak, and a voice like silk slipped out, far too soft, far too seductive to belong to anyone good, “Perhaps you’ve been living under a rock and you’ve simply never heard of me.” His voice was crooning, desirable. It belonged to the deepest pits, full of monsters and creatures. It was the very darkness that plagued you, seduced you in a voice like honey – and then devoured you. 

Undiluted terror dawned on the captain’s face. He flinched, twitching, trying to claw at the invisible hold on his throat that was slowly crushing his windpipe. 

The cloaked figure lifted his head, like he was scenting the fear oozing from the captain. 

This man was a dark legend. A rumour that you had to be crazy to whisper, for fear of unleashing his dark wrath upon the speaker. Many, many people had heard the rumours of a hunter so precise, so ruthless that he left no trace. People went missing, and then showed up days later completely unrecognisable, bodies so destroyed that even the most advanced robots couldn’t extract enough DNA to give the victims a name. 

His work wasn’t messy though, that’s what made him so terrifying. 

It wasn’t just clean and efficient. It was beautiful. This was a man that relished in his skillset, lived for the hunt and the kill. Breathed it. It ran through his veins, worked the muscles of his heart. 

The fiercest warriors had dropped to their knees and wept for their lives before him. Mere mortals had died just from the sight of him.

As soon as he got the scent of someone, they may as well have ended their own lives to spare the pain. 

Many had. And it still didn’t stop him from finding the bodies and playing.  

The rumours also whispered that he wasn’t human. That he had sold his soul but even the vilest of monsters hadn’t wanted it. They’d taken one look and given it back. He wasn’t born by the Maker; he was something else entirely. He had no trace of soul in him aside from the Force, which he had twisted and utilised for his formidable beauty and indescribable actions.  

Gideon watched him play with the Captain, “You will receive the payment on her head and more. We know your prices and are grateful for your services, you may have whatever you need to assist you.”

The man flicked a finger and the Captain dropped to the ground, some guards dragging him away, “Just stay out of my way. You can keep the kid and the Mandalorian, but the girl is mine when you’re done with her.” The possession in his voice when said the word, “mine” sent a chill down the spines of everyone in the room. There was no room for disagreement, for challenge. They would finish what they needed to do with you, and then you would be given to him. Probably wrapped in a bow. 

Then he was gone, walking out of the room in a preternatural silence. 

This man… he didn’t just exude fear. He was fear. His were the eyes in the dark that watched you walk home.  He was the voice that whispered when no-one else could hear. His breath was the kiss of ice that licked down your spine when you were alone, making you lock the doors, pull the bed covers up higher. But he was like smoke, he seeped through the cracks, through carefully built defences and invaded, slumbering like a beast within, without his host even realising. 

He was death. 

And he was coming for you. 

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[scarletemeterio-thesecond]

Can you do one where Wing and Y/N share they're first kiss? Also can Y/N be a water bender and possibly related to Korra?

what can i say, i'm a sucker for fluff hehe, and i honestly loved writing for Wing! i hope you like this! (also sorry for taking so long)

•••

First Kiss (Wing Beifong x Reader)

Warnings: none

Genre: Fluff

Fandom: The Legend of Korra

Summary: See request

Word Count: 1145

Reader is gender neutral! (with they/them pronouns)

•••

It was evident now that there were new airbenders, and (Y/N) never hesitated in helping their sister and the rest of her friends. The whole journey to Ba Sing Se was a rollercoaster, but they eventually made it to Zaofu.

During the whole journey, Lin was acting even grumpier than usual, and once they all got there, they realized why.

"I found out why you were so against coming here. Why didn't you ever tell me you had a sister?" Asked Korra once everyone went back to the airship.

''Half-sister,'' Lin corrected her.

Obviously, Lin didn't want to be there, she made that very clear from the very beginning, but Suyin was right: they all went there to meet the new airbender, not to fight, and there was no time to lose.

Su decided to introduce everyone to her kids, making the whole Team Avatar feel welcome.

''Those are my two youngest, Wei and Wing. They're playing a game called power disc. They invented it all on their own, '' said Su.

''That seems fun, '' commented (Y/N) while watching the two boys. They couldn't help but giggle a little bit when one of them scored a goal.

''Ha! Wing goes down.''

(Y/N) saw the boy on the ground and thought that he was really cute.

''Hey, look, they seem to be around your age, '' whispered Bolin to (Y/N) while slightly wiggling his eyebrows, and they blushed a little.

''I'm so proud of those two,'' said Suyin, and they all kept walking.

They reached a place filled with sculptures made of metal. (Y/N) absolutely loved being a waterbender, but they were fascinated with the versatility of metal, they thought it was amazing.

Once introductions were over, everyone made themselves comfortable since they were staying in Zaofu. Bolin and (Y/N) decided to take a little walk around, both mesmerized by the city.

The twins were still playing their game, and (Y/N) couldn't help but look at them. They only realized what they were doing once Bolin asked if they were listening to him. (Y/N) smiled a bit and apologized to the boy.

''Go talk to him,'' he said.

''What? Talk to who?'' They asked nervously.

''I saw you looking at Wing I think it is, just go talk to him.''

''Are you crazy, Bolin? I'm not gonna do that! He doesn't even know my name and just- no, I won't.'' They licked their lips and scratched their neck, still feeling a bit tense. ''Come on, we should get ready for dinner.''

They walked together back to the guesthouse, and shortly after they got back, it was time for dinner.

There was a suffocating tension in the air. Everyone knew how Lin could be, but she was more irritated than usual, and it was evident.

(Y/N) felt a little awkward. They were sitting in front of all their friends around people they weren't familiar with, and if they were already nervous, sitting next to Wing didn't make things better. However, the boy was really nice and actually tried to make conversation with them, and soon (Y/N) stopped feeling so uneasy.

Wing was also feeling a bit nervous, he'd been wanting to talk to the waterbender ever since he saw them but didn't know how. He initially thought that (Y/N) was very good-looking, but he found out that they were really nice and sweet too, and he couldn't help but like them a little more.

Once everyone was done eating, they all went to their rooms, ready to rest. However, (Y/N) decided to go outside for a bit, they wanted to catch some fresh air.

Suddenly, they heard someone walking towards them, and since they didn't know who it was, they got ready to attack, but immediately relaxed when they realized it was Wing.

''Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you,'' they apologized.

''It's okay, and you didn't actually do anything to me anyway,'' he chuckled and walked a little closer to (Y/N). ''What are you doing here?''

''Just getting some fresh air, you?''

''I, well, I saw you were here and thought about coming to talk to you,'' he admitted while slightly blushing.

''What do you mean you saw me?''

''My window is right there,'' he said, pointing at it and (Y/N) nodded. Wing let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. ''So what do you think of Zaofu so far?''

''I think it's amazing, really. I love how everything is made out of metal, kind of reminds me of home,'' they said.

They both sat down on a little bench, face to face so they could comfortably talk to each other.

''You're from the Southern Tribe, aren't you?''

''Yeah, I grew up there and well, then Korra and I moved to Republic City.''

Wing and (Y/N) stayed there and talked for a while, happily getting to know each other a little more. He then walked (Y/N) to their room, not really wanting to get away from them.

''I had a really nice time tonight, thank you,'' they began saying. They chuckled and he did too.

‘’Of course, and I had a nice time too, I hope you stay here for a while,'' he gave them a quick peck on the cheek. ''Goodnight, (Y/N).''

''Goodnight, Wing.''

...

The next morning right after breakfast, Wing asked (Y/N) if they wanted to take a walk with him, to which they said yes.

They walked for a few minutes and talked about pretty much everything. But then, the boy stopped and started playing with his hands.

''Is everything okay, Wing?''

''Yeah, yeah. I'm just a little nervous.'' He took a deep breath, trying to build the courage he needed. ''You know, I wanted to say something last night but I kinda chickened out last minute and I- well, maybe it's a bit too soon to say this since we met yesterday but I... I kinda really like you, and I just wanted to say it.'' He let out a nervous sigh and shyly scratched his neck, waiting for a response.

''Hey, it's okay, Wing. Just calm down a little,'' (Y/N) said while putting a hand on his shoulder. ''I kinda really like you too.''

''Oh, that's a relief, really,'' he said while smiling. ''I just have something to ask you now.''

''What?''

''Can I kiss you?''

(Y/N) was sure they had the biggest smile on their face and since the words just couldn't get out of their mouth, they just nodded.

Wing slowly put a hand on (Y/N)'s face and got closer to them. They shyly wrapped their arms around him and finally, they kissed. Once they pulled apart, they couldn't help but smile.

''Yeah, I definitely like you,'' said the boy before kissing them again.

•••

TAGLIST

@burningcurrently @sorrythatspussynal