#attacking and biting anyone who came within 10 feet of you

[jjungkookislife]

Quarterly Fic Recs 2021 #2

Hello! I’m back with another rec list! Here are fics I’ve read, loved and thoroughly enjoyed in the second quarter of 2021! They are all very wonderful fics! Each story has its own genre, warnings (and are mostly 18+), so please take that into consideration before reading. If any authors would like me to untag them, please let me know. Enjoy!

Yoongi

before i leave you @hollyhomburg

summary: Yoongi Disappears- leaving behind a shattered pack. 8 months later, Jimin finds Yoongi in an H-mart of all places.

Hoseok

heart-on @junghelioseok

summary: my boss is always telling me how perfect her son would be for me and she promises he’s coming to the next holiday party and don’t worry he’s heard all about me too and ALSO there’s this dude i slept with once a couple of months ago and sometimes he still sends me dick pics when i ask him to at 3 in the morning cause seriously dude’s got a good dick

Jungkook

charmolypi @njssi

summary: Work and pleasure should never be combined — or so the saying goes. But you were never really one to follow the rules in their entirety and neither were the ones around you. Love, lust, interest. Five people. In the workplace. What could go wrong? Everyone just wants to get something, after all.

when you least expect it @johobi

summary: You’re in love with your childhood friend, Taehyung. The problem is, you treasure your friendship with him far too much to ever risk losing it. Oh, and he’s quite the Casanova. At your wits’ end with feelings you can no longer hide as diligently as you once did, you ask him to set you up with someone, anyone, in a last ditch attempt to avoid a heartbreaking conversation.

wherever there is you @jeonstudios

summary: you’ve been drinking, haven’t you?

instant gratification @dovechim

fuckboi@jungkook x cheerleader!reader

haze @yyooni

summary: So you’ve fucked the biggest fuck boy on campus. It’s a one and done. One night stand. A wham bam thank you ma’am. So why does it happen again?

OT7/Multiple Members

because i’m yours @minniepetals

summary: you should have known they’d never let you go after gathering the courage to ask for a kiss

blazed @ironicarmy

summary: Your friends try to cheer you up during Christmastime, but things go south once Hoseok appears with a mysterious brown bag.

Seokjin

one step @cutechim

summary:  attending an ex’s wedding is never easy, but you might just have the perfect remedy—if you can pluck up the courage to take it.

platonic @joheunsaram

summary: Finding a new method for stress relief, you rope in your bestfriend/fwb to try it out with you.

show me yours and i’ll show you mine @ktheist

summary: you’re a horny bunny yet kim seokjin always seems to manage to slide out of your grasps like a fox every time.

Yoongi

before i leave you pt. 7 @/hollyhomburg

summary: Pack omega kim Seokjin knows how to handle things when they go south (or alternatively you get triggered, Yoongi has a panic attack, and it’s a good thing the pack is there to help)

Hoseok

risky business @yoonjinkooked

summary: The person who invented smart glass office walls knew what they were doing. Your secretary fucks you stupid in the office.

snapshot @xjoonchildx

summary: after a day at the beach, hoseok has some surprises in store for his longtime love

keep me warm @ppersonna

summary: camping is always a great time when you’re with your friends, but even better with your boyfriend, hoseok.

it’s you @jinpanman

summary: An accidental confession throws your years-long friendship with Hoseok into disarray.

Namjoon

love bytes @stutterfly

summary: It’s been a year since you first met Kim Namjoon, the passionate, talented English professor at the local campus. He’s always been clumsy and aloof, but he’s on a whole new level in terms of “technologically incapable.” One call to IT was all it took to pull you into his life, and with it a whole string of friendships full of flirtatious banter and undying support.

Your dating situation has been drier than the Sahara for years now, and you’ve wasted too many lonely nights drinking alone, so you try your hand at Tinder. But you’re not getting any bites. When the group finds out, they are more than willing to help–even Namjoon, though he finds it increasingly difficult to deny that he’s hopelessly smitten. You consider their opinions on potential Tinder dates while fighting off feelings you never knew were brewing for the caring soul who becomes the home you never had.

out of my league @/ppersona

summary: Kim Namjoon was never supposed to find out about your years-long hopeless crush on him. And he most definitely was not supposed to find out about it in front of all your coworkers in a company-wide meeting.

so this is love @jinpanman

summary: “So this is the miracle that I’ve been dreaming of. So this is love.”

problem solved @sugasbabiie

summary: Namjoon helps you with more than math problems tonight.

love is @hxseok-honee

summary: they say that love is supposed to transcend time and space and that it knows no limits. but putting an ocean and thousands of miles between two people won’t make things any easier, will it? 

Jimin

potent pink @dntaewithluv

summary: The first time you see Park Jimin you’re instantly entranced by him. And it turns out he lives in the apartment next to the one you’re moving into, so even better he’s your hot neighbor. When the previous tenant confesses to you that he was the best hook up she ever had, you’re that much more intrigued. The first time you meet him, however, you’re deciding immediately that you hate him and want to stay as far away from him as possible. Jimin is determined to be a constant in your life though, and he definitely is that. Both a constant flirt and a constant pain in your ass. Is a ruined second impression enough to prevent you from ever giving him a second chance?

Taehyung

hush, yeah? @kithtaehyung

summary: the innocent accident that started it all

unfinished business @/dntaewithluv

summary: Besides wanting to catch up with some old friends, there’s only one reason you found yourself agreeing to attend your 10 year high school reunion. The boy you were in love with back then is going to be there, and you’re determined to finally make your move. Except, unfortunately, it turns out that Kim Seokjin is very much happily married. Kim Taehyung, however, is very much single and feels like he has something to prove to you after you turned him down all those years ago. One night is all it takes to make you realize you made the biggest mistake of your life.

under the covers @jessikahathaway

spy!au

darling @bloomsuga

summary: “go to sleep, darling.”

as endless as the stars ^

summary: he waited 160 years to meet you again, and now that he has, he’s not letting go. or: “i love you as deep as the ocean and as endless as the stars”

dirty dishes @jaysdimples

summary: when your boyfriend can’t seem to keep his hands to himself so he stirs up a little trouble in the kitchen while everyone else is a few feet away in the next room

devotion @/sweetbunnykook

summary: You and Taehyung were inseparable once. When you come back to your hometown after three years, fate pulls you back to him. And this time, Taehyung won’t ever keep his eyes off of you.

Jungkook

commercial break; twelve @1kook

summary: Anyway, if it was up to Jungkook, Kim Doyeon would not be a member of the Engagement Ring Committee.

tease @adonis-koo

summary:You came with the intentions of your best friend landing a job as a stripper. You never meant to catch the eyes of the king stripper of the establishment- Jeon Jungkook, yourself. With what was supposed to be a harmless way of paying off college debt faster you find yourself falling into a very odd and passionate relationship with your new mentor. Between infidelity, passion and jealousy there’s never a dull moment at Cherry Bomb.

jock!jk @angelguk

summary: going raw with jock jk

evolution of a lover’s heart @jeonstudios

summary: the rules are simple: first one to take the virginity wins.

euphoria @btssavedmylifeblr

summary: At the end of your life, you are given one day to live again with the man you loved. A lifetime’s love story told in a single day.

idealizations concerning real life relations @venusiangguk

summary: jungkook loves to be loved, but he doesn’t love in return.

relax @itsbuffsanta

summary: jk is antsy after the concert, so you help him relax.

employee of the month @/dntaewithluv

summary: Sometimes it truly amazes you how much of an idiot your boyfriend can be. But you also find it impossible to say no to him. Even when it involves letting him fuck you at his work on the same day that he gets awarded employee of the month…

ego 08 @suga-kookiemonster

summary: what’s a girl to do when her sweet, innocent baby lab partner isn’t quite so sweet and innocent? well, he’s a grown-ass man, and you’re about to learn that the hard way.

only you 10 @sweetbunnykook 

summary: Jeon Jungkook, your wedding photographer, helps you escape on your big day upon learning about a secret your groom-to-be kept hidden. You soon fall for this young, passionate photographer. However, you underestimated just how much he was willing to reciprocate that love. Maybe, you think, he’s loving you just a little too much.  

lunchbox lovers @jiminrings

stem major!koo x cold senior!y/n

crunchyroll & rail @/1kook

summary: Never mind the fact you really like Sailor Moon, or that you really want to pay attention to every little detail; the moment becomes Jungkook and his big smile and his red cheeks and the tiny box he produces from within his pocket.

only for you @jikookiekosmos

summary: It’s the night before your wedding and you should be happy…but a fight with your fiancé leaves you second guessing everything. A visit from the blue-haired boy of your dreams is just what you need to make it right.

lillies @dewykth

summary: “… white lines, pretty baby, tattoos, don’t know what they mean, they’re special just for you…”

bluekooberry @kimtaehyunq

summary: Your adoring boyfriend, Jungkook, surprises you with a brand new hairstyle before your trip to visit him for the weekend. He’s excited to see you, feed you, and give you exactly what you want.

bad reputation @noteguk

summary: in which you have to deal with some strange emotions for the first time.

not yet @bratkook

summary: jungkook feels the pang of guilt in his gut when you spot your recent ex out with his new girl, and what better way to make the jerk hurt than to have him believe you were now dating him, the neighbor he had been insecure about your whole relationship

incoming: elite chatboy @kookingtae

summary: welcome to Elite Chatroom, a sex chat company with a wide variety of services such as text messaging, phone call, and video chat. you signed up online for the most basic text service plan not knowing what to expect, but you certainly didn’t think you’d end up actually liking the man behind the screen.

ineffable @euphoria-vmin7

summary: your best friend Jeon Jeongguk has always been amazing and deserved the best, so you’ve hid your love for him. But unbeknowsnt to you, there may be feelings that could change everything between you two…

touch @gardentulips

summary: when you tease and please one another

Multiple Members

friendly fire @kpopfanfictrash

summary: The dynamic: Hoseok; your friend and previous fuck buddy. Jungkook; Hoseok’s roommate and subject of your massive crush. The scene: determined not to drunk-gush about your crush any more (to his face), you decide to seclude yourself from all campus parties. Until, of course, Hoseok guilts you into a favor. Things spiral from there.

the boys are back in town @/dntaewithluv

summary: Getting stood up by your date definitely hadn’t been on your agenda for the evening. Also definitely not on your agenda: bumping into Park Jimin and Jeon Jungkook. Together. On the same exact night. It’s been a while since you’ve seen your two best friends, as well as lovers on multiple occasions, from your high school and college days. A chance meeting, some drinks, and a trip down memory lane is all it takes to reignite the attraction between the three of you. Old habits die hard, but these two? They just might be the death of you.

ruin you @taegularities

summary: “His eyes hold unfathomable darkness that lures you in, captures your very soul, steals any air you are trying to draw. And you know without a doubt that you’re on the path to utter and irrevocable ruination.”

ruin you (once more) ^

summary: Taehyung and Jungkook can’t keep their hands off you. Not even in the elevator.

Seokjin

kairos @luffles424

summary: When your financial aid falls through for your last year of school, you fear you’ll have to drop out and postpone your degree. Until Taehyung gives you a suggestion to make a lot of money, quick. His idea can’t possibly end well, can it?

appetence @luffles424

summary: appetence (n.) - an eager desire, an instinctive inclination; an attraction or a natural bondIt’s time for Seokjin’s rut. Are either of you prepared for this step?

tiny lights, tiny lies @ggukcangetit

summary: you aren’t sure when exactly your best friend’s brother went from being an oddly annoying set of broad shoulders to the shoulders you frequently fell asleep against.

Yoongi

the little things @kimtaehyunq

summary: When the present isn’t exactly enough for you right now, Yoongi is here for you through it all. He makes sure you know you aren’t alone and that it’s ok to feel alone.

cyberslut @kimnjss

summary:  he has no idea who you are… up front, you’re sweet and innocent - but in reality you’re the exact opposite. running your own nsfw account, where your favorite topic is his hands.

yoongi drabble @joonsgalore

life guard au

Hoseok

benefits @cutechim

summary: you and hoseok have taken the ‘friends’ out of friends with benefits, but exclusivity has its own perks.

Namjoon

namjoon drabble @lovetrivia

summary: You’re a hot girl on Twitch and Namjoon is an absolute simp.

Jimin

baby fever @writtenwhalien

summary: Jimin wants another baby, and much to your delight, he’s determined to give you one.

jimin drabble @/1kook

best friend au

small hands jimin drabble @lavishedinjimin

established relationship au

silk and lace @sunshyngal

summary: Min Nara is the newly dumped fiance to the Crown prince of Korea, Park Jimin. She’s not overtly upset , because at least now she can live her life without the pressure of the monarchy hanging over her head. Besides , Nara has a very dirty little secret. While she spends the day as the perfect high society girl with an impeccable pedigree , her nights are filled with lacy lingerie and webcams.  Ignored by the man she’s meant to marry, she revels in the greedy lust of strangers on the internet. It’s her way of saying ‘fuck you’ to a system that sees her as nothing but a toy, molded for the future King. Park Jimin doesn’t know the first thing about his supposed fiancee. And he has no intention of learning either. He knows just what debutante girls are like and he has no patience for the kind. Besides, his girlfriend of three years, the elegant and independent Irene is everything he would ever want in a wife . Or is she?Because in the secrecy of his office , after the day’s work is done , Park Jimin has a very scintillating vice that he likes to indulge in : the beautiful camgirl who calls herself the Temptress. Jimin can’t get enough of the girl’s lush thighs wrapped in silk, the pretty pink of her nipples in see through bralettes and the glittering temptation of the jeweled plugs she likes to stuff herself full with.Jimin thinks she embodies  everything he can never allow himself to have as a Prince : filth, sin and decadence , all wrapped up in Silk and Lace.

Taehyung

nip it in the bud @opaljm

summary: You’re not sure how you ended up here, but maybe a shitty ex and a horrible breakup had a hand in what placed you in front of the tattoo parlor. It was already a nerve-wracking experience, but what you never expected was seeing that the owner and artist giving you nipple piercings was your older brother’s best friend you hadn’t seen in ages. to make things even worse, he got fucking hotter.

taehyung drabble @joonsgalore

sugar daddy au

peanut @jungxk

summary: the making of peanut.

Jungkook

pretty kitty @venusiangguk

summary: you’re jk’s baby, his toy, and now his pretty little pet.

heavy metal @hisunshiine

summary: You come home from a trip to find your fuckbuddy has a… hole-y surprise.

devour @bloomsuga

summary: my sweet angel… i am going to devour you

grain of sand @jungkookiebus

summary: Blind since the age of 18 from a genetic disorder, Jungkook walked through life as if he never lost it, but on one fateful day seven years ago he literally almost runs into you. He fell in love nearly immediately. Fast forward to the present and it’s just another day in your quiet life with him by your side.

under the oak tree @mingoyeob

summary: as the eldest daughter of a duke, it’s your duty to marry at your father’s will. yet you didn’t expect to be marrying jeon jungkook, a knight of low status, especially when he departs for an expedition without another word after your first night. when he comes back three years later, this time as a renowned hero, how will you be able to face him and how will things change between you and your new husband?

jungkook drabble @1kook

dilf!jk

commercial break: thirteen ^

summary: Because for as much shit as you let him get away with, Jungkook is certain you’ll draw the line today.

sh. @wwilloww

summary: How could you say no to a month away in the mountains with your friends after six months of grueling quarantine?

jungkook drabble @lavishedinjimin

daddy!jk

OT7/Multiple Members

the end @jimlingss

summary: It’s been a habit of yours to vent in the form of love letters. There’s six in total. They’re kept secret, hidden in your closet. But on your 30th birthday, what you least expect is for each letter to become reality. All done by the whacky ghost of Christmas future trying to grant your birthday wish.

[miyanom]

DEVILS PARADISE (part three)

SERIES MASTERLIST | JEAN KIRSTEIN X FEM!READER

synopsis: as the plan for trost begins, y/n finds herself questioning everything she was once taught about the island devils.

warnings: nothing I can think of, but lmk if you think otherwise!

word count: 1884

The Titan swiftly brought its hand down, grabbing the boy in its tight grasp. Screams fell from his lips as he looked back to his comrades, his friends, who watched on in horror as he was brought closer and closer to the Titan’s mouth.

Suddenly, the screams were silenced as the Titan’s mouth snapped shut, the boy nearest to it taking off into a sprint, fearing he would be next.

“Marcel!”

Y/N’s eyes shot open as she jumped up in fright, one palm pressed to her chest as she took sharp breaths, her heart pounding loudly within her chest.

As her eyes began to adjust to the light coming through the curtains of the dorm, she noticed Christa sitting at the end of the bed, a concerned look painted across her visage. “-you okay?”

Blinking away the tears in her eyes, Y/N looked around the room, slowly bringing herself back to reality.

“Y/N? Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” she breathed out, glancing back in Christa’s direction. “Yeah. Sorry, what happened?”

“You were having a nightmare,” Mina commented from the other side of the room. Her hands were holding onto her hair, most likely in the middle of tying it before Y/N woke up.

“Oh…”

“Who’s Marcel?” Ymir spoke bluntly, her arms crossed as she stared in Y/N’s direction. “You got a boyfriend you never told us about?”

“Wh- what? How do you-”

Christa, still sitting at the end of Y/N’s bed, frowned with concern. “You were muttering his name in your sleep,” she explained.

Ignoring the gazes still pointed in her direction, Y/N pushed the blanket off her lap, kicking her legs over the side of the bed as she rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“He’s just…” Her eyes met Annie’s, who lingered in the back of the room. Quickly she averted her gaze. “Someone from the past.”

Watching as the girls continued to get ready for the day of training ahead of them, a shaky breath fell from Y/N’s lips.

They cared, they cared but for how long?

No, they didn’t really care. How could they? They didn’t know who she was, what she was.

She wasn’t a soldier, she was a warrior, a monster, and this was her mission. That’s all it was, a mission.

And yet, for some reason, she couldn’t prevent the terrified feeling clawing at her chest at the idea of the people around her finding out what she truly was.

Why did she care so much for these devils?

If there was one thing Y/N didn’t understand about Paradis’s military, it was the ranking system they had.

The harder you trained, the further away from the Titans you could be. It made no sense to Y/N. Wouldn’t they want their strongest on the front lines battling what they thought was humanity’s only predator?

But instead, if you were ranked in the top 10, you were given a chance the other cadets wouldn’t get; the chance to join the Military Police and find sanctum inside Wall Sina.

Ranking at 5th, it gave Y/N the option to join the Military Police, an option she’d quite possibly take if she were from this hell. But the plan was set in motion already, she was to join the scout regiment and ensure the devils didn’t come close to finding out what lies beyond their walls.

With a sigh, Y/N raised her cup to her lips, ignoring Christa’s laughter from the other end of the table as the girl laughed at a joke Sasha had told.

Her eyes scanned the dining hall, falling onto Reiner and Bertholdt’s figures as they headed outside, followed by Annie just a few minutes later.

“Hey, I think- I think I’m gonna head back early,” Y/N spoke up, her eyes flickering back to Christa and Ymir.

“Huh? Okay… we’ll see you when we’re done here,” Christa smiled softly, watching Y/N stand up and grab her plate.

“Right.”

Y/N dreaded the meetings she’d share with the other warriors. Led by Reiner, with Annie constantly reminding them they should’ve just gone back to Marley, they were truly horrible.

“Out of all people, I just had to be ranked lower than her!” Jean’s complaint snapped Y/N out of her thoughts, causing her to come to a stop next to him.

“Jean…” Marco’s eyes flickered between the two as they glared at each other. Of all times for Jean to complain, he just had to have the unfortunate timing of speaking as Y/N walked by.

“What was that, Jean?” Her voice came out softly, though the look in her eyes was anything but.

“You heard me.” Jean stood up to face her. “How the hell did I rank lower than you of all people?! You never even tried in training, always acting weaker than you are. Come on, Y/N!”

Y/N’s glare faltered as a laugh fell from her lips, making the boy in front of her stare in confusion. Though just as suddenly as her laughter started, it stopped again. “You’re just angry that your little ego was bruised cause a girl ranked higher than you.”

Jean’s mouth opened, clearly wanting to object, but the words just didn’t seem to come out as he continued to open his mouth, quite literally looking like a fish out of water.

Not that Y/N could tell him that, obviously.

With his jaw clenched in anger, Jean fell back into his seat. An action that shocked those surrounding him. If his fights with Eren were anything to go by, then this was quite unusual for him.

“Whatever.” Y/N clicked her tongue in frustration, dropping her plate into the tray by the door on her way out.

She was just glad that in a few days time, Jean would be well on his way to the interior and she would never have to see him again.

She pitied the devils, sure, she believed they didn’t truly deserve what was coming. But Jean? He was a whole different story.

Y/N just didn’t understand why it was so easy for him to get under her skin in a way no one else had — not even Reiner.

“The time’s right.” Reiner stated, keeping his head down, avoiding the gazes of his comrades as he explained his plan to attack the gate of trost during their upcoming assignment.

“Five years and now you think the time is right?” Annie scoffed with a roll of her eyes.

Y/N could see their lips moving as they bickered amongst themselves, but the words didn’t reach her ears as she thought back to the day they first arrived inside the walls.

The screams she heard and the faces she saw below as the armoured titan trampled through Shiganshina… they were going to do it again.

Only this time it would be worse for the Eldians.

So many lives would be taken, so many innocent lives. The lives of the family that took her in, that gave her a home before she left for the military.

Was this really necessary?

“Of course it’s necessary.” Y/N’s eyes widened as Reiner spoke, making her realise she must’ve spoken aloud. “You’re not… you’re not hesitating, are you?”

“I just- there has to be another way to get the founding titan,” she said. “Do we really have to break through the gate again? Do we have to kill any-”

“Y/N.” Bertholdt cut her off, meeting her gaze with a softer look than the glare she was receiving from Reiner. “We’re Warriors, remember?”

Biting back the shout that threatened to escape from her throat, Y/N nodded her head, opting to keep silent as she averted her gaze once more.

The conflicted feeling that constantly weighed down on her chest seeming even heavier than ever as the three across from her continued to talk, continued to plot against the Eldians they had been sharing meals with for the past three years.

Her head fell into her hands for a moment, hiding the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.

Had she really stooped so low as to call these people her friends, only to turn around and kill those they held dear?

Was this truly the only way for them to be free?

The next few days went by fast, too fast. The thought of what was to happen in Trost leaving Y/N to question everything she had been taught, everything she once believed.

And as she stood atop the wall, helping the other cadets with the fixed cannons, she couldn’t help but look over toward the edge, wondering when Bertholdt would make his move.

Sasha walked over, the odd bounce in her step managing to snap Y/N out of her thoughts. "Um, everyone... I bought meat from the officers' storehouse," she whispered, opening her jacket slightly so they could see.

Y/N’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. If her time with the family in Trost taught her anything, it was that meat was extremely precious with the land lost to Wall Maria’s fall.

"Sasha, do you want to end up in jail?!" Eren questioned.

"You really are an idiot!" Samuel sighed.

"Idiots are scary..." Connie murmured.

Sasha stared off into the distance dreamily, probably thinking about the taste of the meat she held so delicately. "Let's all split it... We can slice it and make sandwiches!"

Realising she should speak up before anyone thought she was siding with Sasha, Y/N pushed herself up onto her feet. “You can’t be serious, Sasha!”

Mina nodded in agreement. "After all the land we lost, meat is really valuable."

"It's fine!" Sasha brushed it off, carrying it over to a nearby box. "Once we retake the land, we can raise cows and sheep again."

Retake Wall Maria, Y/N repeated to herself. They truly had no idea what was coming if they believed that to be possible…

Samuel took a deep breath. "I'll have some of the meat, too!"

"M-me too!" Connie added. "Get it ready!"

"I also will, of course!" Mina grinned.

Unable to stop herself, Y/N nodded her head slightly, keeping her eyes focused on the cloth in her hands as she refused to look any of them in the eye.

"You guys..."

"Why are you standing there, Eren?" Samuel suddenly asked. "We need to get back to work, or they'll find out."

"It isn't lunch time yet." Mina waved.

Just as Y/N leaned back down to clean the cannon, a familiar strike of lightning hit the ground just in front of the wall, sending a harsh gust of wind in their direction.

With her heart hammering in her chest, Y/N realised this was it. It’s begun… there was no turning back now.

More people were going to lose their lives, and amongst them, were people she had grown to care for during her time pretending to be a soldier.

Slowly lifting her head, she could see the Colossal Titan glaring down at them, her eyes meeting his.

Her heartbeat only seemed to grow louder, drowning out Eren’s order to attack as she continued staring upward.

Was this necessary? She asked herself again.

Was this truly the only way for them to be free?

[giorno-plays-piano]

No Mercy

Pairing: Bakugo Katsuki x thief!Reader

Warnings: non-con, yandere, sex pollen, minor depiction of violence, threats, stalking, allusion to kidnapping, both Bakugo and reader are adults!

Words: 2388.

Summary: Obviously, you have chosen a wrong night to rob that electronics store.

P.S. Yay, this is my first BNHA story! 

By the way, there is absolutely no real science in this fic, please don’t bully me for it ahahahah

_________________________

Oh dear, it was getting worse.

That morning you had a feeling you better stay home tonight, but your rent wasn't going to pay itself, so you still went out to rob that ugly little electronics store you stumbled upon a few days ago. Now you were being chased by one of the most popular pros, Ground Zero, and saints, you really hoped to keep all your limbs attached to your body: the guy was mad.

Really, you weren't such a villain he had probably pictured you to be. Your job in the cafe wasn't paying well, but with no education whatsoever it was hard to find something else, especially since that big makeup store you finally got yourself in went bankrupt after a villain attack. Your dad wasn't the one to help you stay afloat either, so, with that odd Quirk of yours, there was just one thing left to do.

With a loud sound of something exploding to your right, you jumped in the narrow back alley on the left and prayed Bakugo to at least bring you to a police station instead of finishing you off here. Seriously, who he thought you were? Someone from the League of Villains, huh? You were miserable enough trying to evade his punches, and your knees were already trembling as you were reaching your limit.

Shit, now you'd have to use that embarrassing Quirk of yours and hope it will do something decent.

Despite your Quirk manifesting itself when you were 4 just like everybody else, you were so ashamed of it you did all you could to never bring it up or use it. How embarrassing was it to have an ability to produce animal secretion right out of your hands? One time you had literally sprayed skunk defensive secretion in the class, and after that you had been called a Stinky Girl for the rest of your school days. Damn, even remembering it now was making you ashamed of yourself.

Of course, your control over your Quirk was miserable. You struggled to predict which secretion it would produce, hoping it would be something distracting enough for a hero to let you go, but oh boy Ground Zero didn't seem like the type to be scared of skunk's spray.

Staring at the dead end, you were ready to laugh hysterically - that is, if you had any time left, but Bakugo had already grabbed you by the shoulder and yelled something offensive in your ear, ready to put you down to the ground. Well, it was now or never.

Within a second you took off your black glove you'd always worn on your missions and slapped hero's cheek, leaving an angry red mark on his pale skin. The next moment you were on the ground with a very, very mad Bakugo hovering over you with such expression as if he was going to murder you in cold blood right now.

Apparently, your Quirk was useless, after all. Preparing for the worst, you stared at him, wide-eyed and trembling like a leaf, your hands up defensively to prevent him from harming you. In the end, you didn’t even steal anything as Ground Zero stormed off in the store.

But he didn't hit you. Actually, he didn't do anything at all as you stared at him nervously. He just... stood there with a grimace on his face and did nothing at all.

Oh, was it something new? Did you Quirk finally prove itself useful for once? It was a damn miracle.

"What did you do to me, bitch?" He suddenly barked, and you saw his cheeks slowly getting red as if the temperature went up all of a sudden. "What the fuck is this?!"

Shit. Civet oil. Of course, you couldn't even make some decent quantity to make him repulsed, so now all you got was a completely opposite effect.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?"

Hiccupping, you got up just as he seemed to lean closer to you, so you ended up smashing your forehead against his, and both of your groaned. Although you fell back again, in a couple of seconds you were running for your life with Ground Zero being unusually slow somewhere behind you. Oh shit, now he was going to fuck and kill you. What a nice day you were having.

Struggling to keep running - you didn’t even understand at what part of the city you were now - you were getting out of breath, but you no longer heard Bakugo behind your back, and it was certainly calming. Did civet oil make him slow? You weren't sure what exact effects it had except for the most obvious one. Maybe you got lucky, for once. Maybe he'd let you go just this time, and you'd do your absolute best to find a decent job and stop robbing people. Well, you weren't even robbing regular people, just snobby store owners who'd get their money back with an insurance, anyway. You had never hurt anyone physically! Why treating you as if you were some dangerous criminal?

Whatever. Ground Zero was nowhere to be seen, so you simply landed on the ground in one of small filthy backyards in a shady part of the city. Oh boy, what a run. You thought the guy was literally ready to kill you.

The cold wall you leaned on didn't feel pleasant, but it was better than staying on your feet with your knees trembling and heart beating so fast as if you ran a marathon. Yeah, to think of it, you definitely could call it a marathon.

As you finally took off your mask and wiped your face with your palm, you heard a low growl somewhere to your left, "I'm gonna fucking break you, woman."

Shit.

Scrambling to your feet, you tried dodging him but you were no match to a real pro, especially someone as good at combat as Ground Zero: you ended beneath him within a second, painfully slammed to the ground as he cursed at you, pulling your hair. Apparently, this was the end of you. The civet oil only made the hero more enraged instead of distracting him.

"Ah! It hurts!" You whined at the hair pulling and heard a dangerous hiss above you.

"Do you think this doesn't fucking hurt?"

It was impossible not to feel his obvious arousal, his painfully hard cock pressing against your lower back as the hero suddenly sniffed your hair, then making some weird noises while trying to undo his pants. Nononono, you weren't having this, you'd gladly accompany the hero to the police station where they'd cuff you and put you in prison but not let Ground Zero have his way with you.

"Get off! GET OFF!"

Your attempts to throw him off were futile, and soon he was pulling down your own pants, "You did this to me, didn't you?! So be a good girl and maybe I won't fucking kill you."

You bit down on your lower lip, your hands bound together with his belt.

Huh, there was no other way.

______________

You came back home around 3 am completely exhausted, dirty and hurt, but it was still better than being thrown in prison after a long Interrogation in a police station. Ground Zero had finally taken some pity on you after all he'd done - oh it hurt, it hurt so bad in between your thighs because you hadn't been in relationship for long, but the hero was neither patient nor gentle with you. It was a miracle he actually let you go after this miserable incident somewhere in the outskirts of the city. Was he at least a little ashamed at what he did? Did he feel any remorse? Although it certainly didn't seem like, maybe he let you go because of it.

"Or he was just afraid to deliver me to police in such state," you chuckled grimly at yourself, grabbing first-aid kit and trying to do something with all these bruises and bites. You still had to take your 10-hour shift in the cafe today, and you could barely imagine how you were going to survive.

Of course, you only slept for a couple of hours before you had to get up: that morning you put so much makeup your boss would definitely scold you, but it was better than showing up with a face of a zombie. Of course, everyone managed to see how you winced while walking. Thank god you were able to convince them of your fall yesterday's evening: you actually only worked half a day as your boss took pity on you and let you go home.

Shit, it was time to put an end to your night adventures. You'd better find one more job and work a whole night long than live through this one more time, humiliated and hurt.

By the time you got home with a grocery bag in your hand, you felt like all you were going to do today was falling down on your bed and staring into the ceiling for hours. It still hurt. It was still embarrassing to remember what he did to you. You still wanted to slap him real hard and then yell at him at the top of your voice.

Funny enough, you actually had a chance to do all that since you found Ground Zero dressed as civilian sitting on your couch.

For a couple of seconds you froze on your place, unable to believe your eyes. What the hell was he doing here? What, yesterday's wasn't enough for this bastard, was it? Did he come to make you even more miserable?

Despite fear rising in your chest, it was soon replaced by fury mixed with disgust: who did he think he were to just break into your apartment like this? You might be a thief, but even you had the right to be delivered to police and then wait till the court decided upon your punishment. Nobody had given Ground Zero permission to rape you or follow you like some sick stalker!

"You live in some fucking hole." He grumbled as he saw you walking much slower than your usual pace, and you thought it was guilt you saw on his face for a mere second.

"Welcome to a fucking hole, then." You hissed at him in return and put your bag on the floor while taking your shoes off and wincing from pain. "If you came to finally take me to a police station, let me put food in the fridge, at least."

Not that you'd need it after your arrest, but the thought of leaving the grocery bag on the floor and let the food rot made you nauseated. You detested throwing away food with all your heart.

"Food? You call this food, huh?" He was already peeking inside the bag and scrunching his face at the sight of cheep noodles and gyoza.

"Yeah, we call it food here, rich boy." You let out a growl, mad at his attempts to make you feel humiliated even more than you already did.

He clearly didn't expect such treatment from someone whom he had taken advantage of so easily, and for several moment the man had a perplexed expression, unable to believe you were so brave despite the fact your knees were trembling. He probably thought it was a facade, but you didn't care. All this wouldn't end well for you, anyway.

"I'm not rich." He sent you a glare, and you felt like laughing in his face.

"If you don't have to steal to pay your rent, you're rich."

He grimaced but said nothing at all as you went to the kitchen, dragging the bag with you. You wondered if he felt sorry for you, but you didn't want his pity. Not from the one who did this to you. In fact, the only thing you wanted from him was leaving you alone.

Besides, you kept thinking why on Earth wasn't he dressed as a hero if he came explicitly to take you to a police station? Heroes like him loved showing off, you were sure. Why did he come like this? If he thought of repeating yesterday's night, you'd fucking stab him in the groin with a kitchen knife.

"So, how many heroes have you fucked like that?"

You felt a sudden urge to stab him right now and barely kept yourself away from a box where you kept cutlery. "I do three heroes a day and three villains at night," you growled at him, disgusted with his attitude, "what, didn't you feel it when you were raping me?"

Your reply took him aback, but he recovered quickly, "Who was raping you, silly woman? You did it to yourself!"

"Yeah, I've always dreamed of being taken by some sickening, primitive hero in a dirty alley, that's more than any girl could ask for."

Huh, apparently, cat got his tongue: Ground Zero stared at you, unable to believe your words. What, did he really think you loved being treated like this? Did he have any idea what making love was? Anything about normal, adequate relationship between a man and a woman? Maybe you weren't the most law-abiding woman in the city, but you were still a decent person, and the fact that Ground Zero expected you to manipulate him into raping you was repulsive.

"Listen, just hand me over to police already. What are you waiting for, Ground Zero?"

All the food was long put in the fridge and kitchen cabinets. Staring intensely at the man who shouldn't even be here, you crossed your arms over your chest, expecting him to drag you out of the house, but when he stepped closer to you it felt suffocating. Shit, the fear was coming back when you saw his expression darkened, his red pupils dilating when he grabbed your arm above the elbow and pulled you to him. Was he really going to do this to you?

You expected him to snap at you, but when he spoke he sounded strangely cold and collected.

"First, you will call me Bakugo from now on," he voice was dangerously low, "Second, I haven't come all the way here to bring to a fucking police station. You will come with me, do you understand?"

_______________

I didn’t put my regular taglist here since it was only made for Marvel fics, but please let me know if your want to be on my BNHA taglist, too!

[paperanddice]

Scragglemaws appear in dreams often enough that sages who investigate the nature of dreams have a special classification for them. By all rights, they should be manifesting far more often, as people dream of them more often than many of the other common dream manifestations, but something functions differently about these creatures. While many dreams seem to manifest as though looking for an opening to invade another world or escape their own, scragglemaws only seem to follow those who they take a liking to and are much more tenacious than most. Usually dreams cannot bring themselves back without a conduit, but once a scragglemaw chooses a master it can return multiple times of its own volition if destroyed.

Their return is imperfect, with the exact mechanism of it unknown as studying dreams is difficult, but it seems that so long as its chosen master lives and for approximately a year after their death, the scragglemaw has a chance of reappearing. They always track down their master to protect them, or hunt the creatures that killed their master with a terrifying, brutal precision. Escape is near impossible, so anyone who incurs the anger of a loyal scragglemaw must be ready to put the creature down again and again until its manifestation finally fails. Quite a difficult prospect, as they shrug off the attacks of their prey easily.

In a different setting, the scragglemaw could be a monstrosity (though you may want to remove its rejuvenation trait if that feels inappropriate for a monstrosity), or could be a celestial or fiend that maeks the trip back and forth from its home plane if destroyed. In that case, there may be scragglemaw that have no master around the world, lacking access to any of its features that require a master to function.

Originally from the Dreamblade Base Set. This post came out a week ago on my Patreon. If you want to get access to all my monster conversions early, as well as access to my premade adventures and other material I'm working on, consider backing me there!

5th Edition

The scragglemaw is one creature that functionally has two different CR values, depending on whether the players are its target or not. If they are, the given CR is well representative of its abilities, but if they are not it's closer to a CR 9 due to the reduced damage and lack of resistance.

Loyal Scragglemaw Large aberration, unaligned Armor Class 17 (natural armor) Hit Points 195 (17d10 + 102) Speed 40 ft. Str 19 (+4) Dex 13 (+1) Con 22 (+6) Int 5 (-3) Wis 14 (+2) Cha 11 (+0) Saving Throws Con +10 Damage Resistances damage caused by a creature that killed its master Senses passive Perception 12 Languages understands anything its master says Challenge 12 (8400 XP) Charging Pounce. If the scragglemaw moves at least 20 feet straight toward a creature and then hits it with a melee attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 16 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the attack was a bite attack, the target also takes an extra 14 (4d6) slashing damage. Rejuvenation. When the scragglemaw is destroyed while it's master lives or within 1 year of its master's death, it must make a DC 20 Constitution saving throw. On a success, it gains a new body in 2d4 days, with all its hit points. The new body appears within 1 mile of its master, or within 1 mile of a creature that killed its master. Supernatural Tracker. The scragglemaw knows the distance to and direction of it's master, or any creature that killed its master, even if the creature and the scragglemaw are on different planes of existence. If the creature being tracked by the scragglemaw dies, the scragglemaw knows. Actions Multiattack. The scragglemaw makes three attacks; two with its Claws and one with its Bite. Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 15 (2d10+4) piercing damage plus 7 (2d6) slashing damage. If the target is a creature that killed the scragglemaw's master, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) slashing damage. If the target is a creature that killed the scragglemaw's master, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) slashing damage.

13th Age

Loyal Scragglemaw  Large 7th level blocker [aberration]  Initiative: +9 Shredding Claws and Bites +12 vs. AC (3 attacks) - 18 damage Natural Even Hit: The target pops free from the scragglemaw at the end of the scragglemaw’s turn. Intercept for the Master: The scragglemaw can intercept an enemy when engaged with other enemies. When an enemy moves to engage the scragglemaw’s master, it can pop free and intercept that enemy. Perfect Tracker: The scragglemaw always knows the distance and direction to its master or its master’s killer. It is impossible for its master’s killer to hide from the scragglemaw without powerful magic. Rejuvenation: Whenever the scragglemaw is destroyed while its master lives or within a year of its master’s death, it can roll a hard save (16+). On a success, it regenerates after it’s killer’s next full heal up, appearing within a mile of its master or its master’s killer. AC 22 PD 21 MD 17 HP 220

[natromanxoff]

Queen live at Civic Auditorium Arena in Omaha, NE, USA - September 13, 1980

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Fan Stories

“I don't know if anyone has ever been able to appreciate a rock concert as much as I did when I saw Queen at age 7. I knew the order the songs were supposed to be in, the way the stage was supposed to look, and what the band was supposed to do. And everything happened perfectly. Except for that damn mustache. Late summer 1980, I was pestering my mom to take me into town to get candy. She said, "Do you really want to get candy, or would you rather get tickets to see Queen?" I stopped in my tracks and started being the nicest boy you could imagine. I thought maybe she was kidding, but knew she wouldn't kid me about something like that. I guess my dad had already OKd it too. Like Axl Rose once said about Queen: "They meant everything to me." We drove all the way to Omaha to get tickets: they were $9 in advance, or $11 the day of the show if still available (though now I'm not sure how they weren't sold out immediately). I'm still not quite sure why Queen was playing smaller arenas at that point, since I think they had already begun playing stadiums. Finally, September 13 arrived. I was in 2nd grade. Ads had been all over the radio for this concert. One of my baby-sitters and two of her friends rode up with us also, and they went off on their own when we got there. The show was one of those infamous "general admission" things, so our seats depended solely on how early we arrived. I think we got to the arena at about 9 am... almost a full 12 hours before the show actually started (much longer in 7-year-old hours). A single word, "QUEEN", was boldly displayed on the marquee above the many doors where small lines were beginning to form. Excited bands of people were running/gathering everywhere. Queen was one of the biggest five bands in the world at that time: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was on the charts, The Game had just been released, and "Another One Bites the Dust" was soon-to-be released as a single. We picked one of the lines and got ready for what was indeed halfway dangerous: the growing mob of people ready to run in when the doors would open. This was a big issue of the time, as it was the year before that 11 people were crushed to death at the turnstiles of a Who concert. (An episode of the TV show W.K.R.P. in Cincinnati even focused on this.) People were starting to press onto the transparent doors trying to look inside, when suddenly there was the sound of tires screeching from the street: a white limousine honked twice and sped around the corner toward the other side of the arena, and was gone within seconds. The "big kids" screamed and ran after it; I was too small to do this, but we got better places in line! When everyone came back, they said they actually saw Freddie and John get out of it and be scuffled into the building before getting attacked by the mob of people. In the meantime, others around us were starting to talk to my mom. Two of them were a man and a lady who were apparently on date, and they ended up even staying by and sitting by us through the show. Some other people also offered to kind of stay around my mom and I to make sure I'd be safe on the way in. A couple of times, a big fat drunk guy yelled out, "Who's your favorite group?" and of course everyone yelled "Queen!"

Now people were beginning to bang on the doors of the entrance. I think the doors finally opened at around 11 am. When they did, we and other people from several sides of the arena moved in, towards those coming in from other doors on opposite sides: within seconds, everyone had funneled from outside to stopping cold in the lobby, having basically run into each other. This is exactly where everyone stayed for the next two hours. A human shield of several people were intact around my mom and I preventing my being crushed... and all I could see for two hours were a bunch of butts! Once in awhile someone would try and lift me up to see all the people. From the distance, the drunk guy again repeated the "Who's your favorite band?" line a couple of times, realizing that more people could hear him now that he was indoors and echoing, and everyone gave the appropriate response. By the fifth time, only the drunk people were responding to him, and by the tenth time people were laughing and moaning. Every so often, some loud music would come out of the arena like a band was tuning-up, but it wasn't Queen music so everyone figured it was just the opening act. At 1 pm, the turnstiles were finally opened. I was kind of keeping my guard around me as everyone pressed forward, and everything was moving faster the closer we got, but by surveying the area I thought I'd be safe. I had my ticket in my hand. The guy from the couple was going to try and enter first, then me, and then my mom. When I got to the turnstiles, my mom and the guy grabbed my arms on both sides and completely hoisted me over. A surprised old man tore my ticket while I was in mid-air. Suddenly, we were standing relatively calmly inside: the difficult part was over, and we were at least safe from here on out. People were still running everywhere and screaming, but the hallways were pretty big so it wasn't too dangerous as long as we stayed toward the edge. Most people were still outside, since we were somewhat early. An older 12-year-old tore around the corner, then his '70s-style tennis shoes screeched against the floor and he fell down for a second as he decided to which way to go. We knew we were sort of on a mission to walk fast toward a balcony and just get seats instead of wandering around indecisively like others. We went straight up toward the second level balcony, as others ran the opposite way down to the main floor. My mom and I and the people we'd befriended walked right next to the wall, and I pressed against it while just a few feet away scattered groups of people would sometimes run by full-speed. I would have wanted to be on the main floor, but my mom had previously explained to me how, unless we were in the balcony, we would have to actually stand through the whole show (there weren't any chairs on the main floor) and would hardly be able to see anything. Plus, along with the horror stories of people running in at the beginning of a rock concert, I had also heard how people supposedly got crushed to death against the stage... so sitting in the balcony was just fine with me. We got two seats in the front of the second balcony, just by the railing to the balcony below. We were on the right side of the arena, about halfway back, so we couldn't complain. Now, I knew this was the beginning of the biggest wait: sitting in the same spot from 1 in the afternoon to about 9 at night.

The main parts of the stage I liked (from viewing the pictures in my Live Killers album) were intact: the steps were lined with lights under Roger's drums, and middle of the main stage had a small plank stage that stuck out for Freddie to walk on, where the crowd could touch him but not too easily. Most of the instruments, and all of Roger's drum set, were covered in giant sheets of plastic. I'd never seen such big speakers; I had a flashback when I saw the black and white photo to the right because that's what they looked like with the house lights up. Throughout the afternoon, the lights in the arena would go out, then come back on... like we were being teased. Finally when it was about time for the opening band, the lights went off longer than usual and the band took the stage. The opening band was someone we had never heard of, and my mom and I both can't even remember who it was now (two people have e-mailed me saying it was a band called "Dakota"). I don't think they had any hits, and then apparently disappeared soon after. The crowd tolerated the first two or three songs. Then, every song ended with "Just one more song!" much to the audience's vocal dismay. I went on a trip to the bathroom, and they were still playing when I came back. Then they left. Ten minutes later, they came back and said "Just one more song!" and I think they played three. People were yelling, "We want Queen!" People were getting harsh to the point it was just uncomfortable even seeing the band on the stage. Everyone cheered when they left. The lights came back on. Another two hours. Just seeing them walk across the stage would have been enough for me, so at that age I really couldn't comprehend being in their presence for a whole two-hour concert. This wait was easier though because every second we knew the show could start. Seeing Queen still seemed like it was too good to be true, like some act of God would occur just before the show to prevent it. Then, the lights went out. There's no feeling like the wait in total darkness just before a Queen concert. It was 10 minutes of black and the loudest screaming I'd ever heard. I remember it was "scary" and so I think Brian might have also been playing the weeping guitar sound like the beginning of the We Will Rock You concert video. It was a good scary feeling though, like going up the first hill of a roller coaster. After several minutes of intense darkness and the crowd screaming, when I felt like my ears didn't have room for any more sound to enter (though I loved it), the even louder sound of thunder clapped across the arena with an incredibly blinding light. I could see everyone on the main floor have to turn completely around in unison toward the back of the arena because the lights were so bright. I kept trying to glance at the stage to see what was happening, but it was too bright to see anything... plus, in between the flashes, it was too dark to see anything. It was sort of an unnerving state, being totally blinded in that big of a place with that many people, and coming to the realizaton that it would be unthinkable to actually move around and that we were basically helpless. I was holding my mom's hand. Queen had the whole crowd paralyzed in their tracks before the show even began.

I'm not sure if the lights all rose up like in the We Will Rock You video or not (since we couldn't see), or if they were already raised because of the opening band. Eventually the thunder and noise turned to music. Finally, through my wincing, Freddie Mercury was suddenly in front of my own little eyes on the front extended stage in all the smoke. I'd never even seen a celebrity in person before, much less my idol at the time. I didn't think they would open with the fast version of "We Will Rock You" for some reason, since that's at the beginning of the Live Killers album and I thought they would want to do something different, but was surprised that they opened with a non-Queen song: "Jailhouse Rock". The stage looked similar to that in the We Will Rock You concert video, with the smaller panels of lights replacing the single giant panel from previous tours; however, I'm certain there was at least another entire, higher level of moving lights (not only from seeing them at the concert, but also looking at the pictures for years afterwards). The lights in the We Will Rock You video seem extremely cut-back. Instead of one row of panels of lights across the back of the stage, the panels were all over the place and the ones above the band moved straight up and down on poles and tilted back and forth. There were also little men somehow sitting amongst the panels who manually operated at least a dozen spotlights, and more guys doing this from a small section hanging down from the ceiling at the middle of the arena. Since the spotlights were directed from the top of the arena, there wasn't a big bulky spotlight booth in the middle of the main floor taking up space, and the audio booth was placed along the right side of the arena (down not to far from us) so it wasn't in anyone's way. In the darkness between a lot of the songs, flashlights darted around the stage... we couldn't figure out if it was the band or engineers setting things up. Thankfully, no one came out on stage before the show to announce the band (I've always thought this is really cheesy). Freddie had on those red leather pants with the blue knee-pads... and, unfortunately, that ugly mustache! "What do you think about my new mustache?" Freddie asked. (Mixed applause.) "Some people don't like it, but I just say 'fu** 'em.'" (Crowd goes wild.). Freddie drank some water, then tossed the rest out onto the crowd along with his cup. He tossed his tambourine out later, and I couldn't imagine what it would actually be like to touch it. Freddie also had that long silver microphone stand that he always danced around with in the videos. He was running all over the place; one second he was on the plank at our side of the arena, the next at the other side. The three high school girls who rode up with us were excited because when he went to the end of one of the planks he ended up level and close to them in the balcony (but upset because, had one not been on crutches, they would have stayed on the main floor where Freddie tossed his tambourine!). Once or twice I remember looking into the middle of the arena and some kind of explosion occurred in mid-air (apparently launched from the lighting duct at the top of the arena). There weren't that many lighters in the audience, but instead everyone was using those green glow-sticks that come out around Halloween (I think these were new at the time). The audience kept throwing their green glow sticks up on the stage until at times it was covered, and more than once Brian kicked off some back into the audience (and I think he might have been getting upset but I'm not sure!).

There were numerous parts of the show I knew had to be there... and they all were. The first was the "scary" sound effects and section of "Get Down, Make Love", where Queen showed off their lights. (At that age, I thought the erotic sound effects were simply supposed to represent the monster breaking-in on the cover of News of the World). Smoke shrouded the band, as the panels of lights took over and moved around to the audience's ooohs and aaahs. My mom and I were trying to figure out what was on Roger's bass drum, since it didn't look like an album cover; it turned out to be the white "face" design, also in the We Will Rock You video. Back then, concerts didn't have big video screens, so we just had to use the binoculars that we'd brought. Some spotlights were gathering on Freddie and Brian as they went to sit on two stools toward the right of the stage, and my mom got excited because we knew "Love of My Life" was coming. Freddie announced, "This is our first time in Omaha... " as the song started, and got the crowd to sing along like on the Live Killers album. Meanwhile, I had become a source of info for those around who wanted to know what the songs were; every time a new song would start, people would ask me what it was! I really don't know if anyone has ever actually been able to appreciate a concert as much as I did that night: I was only 7, but had every album except the first two, and knew every song they played except maybe two or three. But what's interesting is how fans often wish they could experience how a "classic" band was 20 years prior... and this is strangely how I felt I was experiencing the show, because at my age it seemed like Queen had been around 20 years. There were parts of the show, including the stage design, that were "legendary" to me, but were only 2-3 years old in reality. Now, 20 years later, they're legendary to everyone else. Periodically, the guy next to me changed the tape in his "hidden" tape recorder. We knew the show was close to the end when "Bohemian Rhapsody" began. Everyone clapped to the pre-recorded opera section, and as the Live Killers liner notes say: "The audience and the lights take care of the rest." The crowd went nuts when Roger hit the famous gong at the end.

I think there were two or three more songs, and then everything went black for about 10 minutes. Could it be that they were actually not going to play the standard "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions/God Save the Queen" closing? The house lights may have even come on for awhile, then went back off. A few people were starting to leave, and I kept telling my mom that they had to end the concert that way, because that's the only way a Queen concert ends... but then even I was having doubts. Finally, the yellow lights around the gong all turned on, pointing directly on Roger, who started the drums of "We Will Rock You" and everyone stomped their feet and clapped. Of course "We Are the Champions" was next, and Freddie shook some of the hands flailing in front of the stage while singing it. I remember there was one hand jumping up and down that never got shook! Freddie bent his neck way back when he sang "... of the world!" at the very end like I knew he was supposed to from videos on TV, and we hoped for another song but knew that was probably going to be it. A grand finale of Queen's famous pyrotechnics began shooting everywhere from the stage, the lights were all moving around, and everyone was jumping all over in the aisles. Soon the pre-recorded Night at the Opera version of "God Save the Queen" did begin playing...but, nobody really sang to it since this is America and no one knows the words! At this point, I tried to make sure I was truly fathoming what it was like to actually see the band members in front of me since they'd be gone soon. Freddie was still dancing around and danced out a little door behind the drums, and the rest of the band followed one-by-one, with John being last as he waved to everybody one last time. The lights flickered and moved some more to the rest of the song, slowly going dark along with the rest of the arena, with the final rise of the crowd's applause. Perfect. Except for that damn mustache. We walked down what seemed like endless spiraling stairs on the way out...extremely slowly this time. My ears had that weird "ringing" feeling like everyone said I'd have, but that I'd never experienced before. Spotlights were panning the sky outside. We said goodbye to the couple we'd been with during the show. A guy in his late 20s started talking to us on the long way out; he laughed and told me how he'd also had to argue with his mom who said Queen would never come to Omaha. My mom asked him if he thought I'd even remember the whole thing since I was so little. He looked down at me, saw my grin from ear-to-ear, and said, "He'll never forget this."” - Jim

[thecagedsong]

Forgotten Light: Chapter 7: Preparations

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11

Chapter 7: Preparation

Agad came in over breakfast.

“Agad, welcome to my home,” Seth said, taking a long drink of milk. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, “Have a seat. What have you got on Kendra?”

Agad looked more tired than Seth had ever seen him, and let Seth’s joke go flat. He sat down and the six-armed woman that worked in the kitchen put a plate of oatmeal out for him. “Thank you, Simrin,” Agad said. “I have some news, not much of it good. I was able to track the goblins that stole the barrel, they were hiding in Goblin town.”

“Sounds like a fun place,” Seth said.

“You would probably enjoy it,” Agad said, bowing his head, “Just make sure not to lose your eye, or your tooth. It’s in Nevada, not a proper preserve, no caretaker. But they keep to themselves and have general distractor spells, so everyone leaves it alone. I found Slaggo there.”

“Long trip for a goblin on the run.”

“The Sphinx probably helped him, and a wizard named Vernaz. I thought she was an ally and gave Mendigo’s materials to her to be reconstructed. She was good at laying enchantments, much better than me. Her other talent is teleportation, and could have easily helped Slaggo leave Fablehaven with the barrel. I’m positive the barrel made it to the Sphinx.”

Seth finished his last bite of oatmeal, “Then we’re sure that the Sphinx and Ronodin are working together. That sucks, one of them is bad enough.”

Agad massaged his forehead, “I fear it was a mistake to make the Sphinx an Eternal. It will certainly keep the new demon prison closed from him, but I underestimated how cunning he is, even with his Shadow Charmer powers diminished.”

“What did you do to him?” Seth asked.

Agad shrugged, “Not enough apparently. He can’t hear the undead anymore, but we couldn’t dampen much else without killing him. He can put out fires, undo locks, shadow walk. That’s apparently enough to strike against us.”

“The Sphinx had this huge rant about refusing to be a captive,” Seth said, “We should have paid more attention to it. There was no way he was ever going to live by someone else’s say so. Remember, you gave all of us the call, we’re all to blame.”

“Yes, the long life seemed the greatest weakness to the mortal locks,” Agad replied, “It made sense at the time to have at least one person who would not feel that burden, but you are right. He firmly believed in his own rhetoric, and not acknowledging that was a mistake. Both the Sphinx and Vernaz have slipped away. Vanessa is going to be insufferable, and I am going to deserve every minute.”

Seth gave a joyless laugh, “Plenty of mistakes to go around. If the Sphinx happens to die, will that open the new prison? Asking for a friend.”

“No, the prison will remain closed,” Agad said, finally a little amused, “I do not think you would be able to let him die, and that’s fine. But if he happens to die, there are enough already constructed locks in place that the demons of Zzyzx will remain sealed. If the Sphinx comes under your power, save him because you are good, or do not save him because he has harmed those you love and will continue to do so for his own benefit. Do not worry about Zzyzx.”

“Noted,” Seth said. Agad finished breakfast and Seth led him to the War Room.

“I also examined the barrel here,” Agad explained as they walked, “The other half appears to be deep underwater.”

“Why would they do that?” Seth asked. “Did anyone touch the letter we left?”

“Your letter remains in place. An interesting response, and I see only advantages in it. The letter remains physically here, my only recommendation is to make it waterproof so when they pull the barrel up and remove the letter, it doesn’t get ruined by surrounding water. Which answers your other question. They didn’t destroy the barrel, which means they likely intend to use it again.”

“Can you find it?” Seth hoped. “Even a general location would help narrow down the search.”

Agad was already shaking his head, “It’s too deep, and somewhere protected. I can’t get a read on it aside from the fact that it is deep enough that the pressure would kill a human.”

“Great,” Seth said, running a hand through his hair. They approached the War Room, and Seth sat down with Agad across from him. Grandma and Grandpa were already there, and rushed to greet Agad. They updated him on Tess running around the preserve with the Cloak of innocence. Agad gave them the same information about Kendra.

“Any other leads?” Seth asked when everyone was caught up.

“Not quite,” Agad said, “I was unable to gain contact with the Fairy Queen, so we are waiting to see if her connection to Kendra remains strong. No further leads on Bracken either. The only good news I have is that Warren and Vanessa managed to help the caretaker regain a foothold of the Crescent Lagoon sanctuary.”

“I have Bracken’s horn,” Seth said, blinking. He was glad that his friends had some success, but they were okay, Bracken was not. He pulled it out of his emergency kit, “Kendra gave it to me before she lost her memory, along with the medallion and a bunch of information she was keeping to herself.”

“Bracken did say that he had re-established full connection with his horn,” Agad said, “May I see it?”

Seth nodded and offered it to the wizard. Everyone was silent as Agad’s brow pinched in concentration.

“The connection is weak, it feels as though he is under water. No, underground and under water,” Agad said, snowy eyebrows rising, “I would not have been able to tell had I not recently examined the barrel, but working around the water, earth and darkness, I can sense that he is not currently in pain. He seems…bored. He can’t sense me on this side of the connection. But…I would venture to say, he’s at approximately the same depth as the barrel. Within a couple hundred feet of each other.”

“Good,” Grandma said, “Ronodin is handling everything from a master base. There is a good chance Kendra is near them as well. Can you tell Bracken anything about Kendra being near him?”

Agad concentrated, then shook his head, letting out a shaky breath and lowering the horn. “At most, I might be able to push his subconscious thoughts in a certain direction. But I’m positive thoughts about Kendra already haunt him. His last prison ended with her after all.”

Uggh, of all the times to be a lovesick dummy. “Ronodin wants the horn,” Seth said, “That’s what Kendra told me, and I think he tried to get her to give it to him at the Dragon feast.”

“I shudder to think of why he wants it,” Agad said, then offered it back to Seth. “If he wants it badly enough, he’ll find whoever has it. He will likely be more willing to deal with you, knowing how much you want Kendra back. He will also suspect that you have it if Kendra does not. If he contacts you, use your judgement, rely on your grandparents and allies, contact me, and do not endanger the world.”

Seth took it and nodded, placing it back in his adventure kit, silently thanking Agad for placing the lead back in his hands. He would have thanked him out loud, but didn’t want Agad to rethink the choice.

There was a knock on the door, and Knox opened it, letting Tess fall through. “Seth! Seth! I saw the nice dragon! It was so huge!”

Nice dragon? Oh, she left with Eve and they went to see Dromadus. That’s okay then.

“Tess made it back,” Knox said, following her. Patton Burgess’s stingbulb shut the door behind them.

“We took turns flying the winged mounts and walking along the road, over all a very short trip,” Patton said, taking a seat next to Seth. “We heard about Kendra losing her memory. I’m so sorry.”

Patton offered his arms for a hug, and Seth took it, squeezing tightly.

Patton smiled and patted Seth on the back, returning the hug. “Don’t get too attached, I only have a day left.”

Seth released him, “I know,” Seth said, “But I’m glad you’re here while you are. Kendra was kidnapped by Ronodin and the Sphinx working together, and we’ll take any help you can give.”

“Hey, I deserve a hug too,” Doren protested, and both he and Newel tackled Seth in hug, ruffling his hair, before settling back like nothing had happened.

They went through yet another round of catch-up, as Tess squeezed herself in between Knox and Seth, fairly bouncing while waiting to tell her story.

“Tess, this is serious,” Knox scolded, “Kendra’s in a lot of trouble.”

“I know,” Tess said, holding still, “But the fairies at Fablehaven told me all about Bracken and Kendra. Bracken is like, this super cool fairy prince who likes Kendra and totally saves her all the time. And Kendra has a bunch of wicked cool powers from the Fairy Queen, they’re going to be okay until you and Seth rescue them, if they don’t rescue themselves.”

Not how Seth would describe them, Kendra spent a lot more time saving Bracken than the other way around, far as he knew. He was surprised that the Fablehaven fairies were that nice about Kendra though. He wasn’t the only one.

“The fairies said that?” Grandpa asked.

“Well, they said Bracken pitied her, not that he liked her,” Tess admitted, “but that’s what girls always say when the cool boy likes someone else. And they said that the Fairy Queen gives Kendra powers to do stuff for her, and the Fairy Queen is the most powerful person ever. So everything is going to be okay. Really, we need to worry about us.”

Attention snapped to Tess like a guitar string.

“The Dragons are planning to attack us. Tonight! Dromadus doesn’t know how, but he heard them acting like they already won,” Tess explained. “I was supposed to tell Seth. Oh! And don’t tell anyone who told us about the dragons, that’s a secret.”

“Tess,” Knox said slowly, “That’s the kind of thing you say right away.”

“But it’s rude to interrupt people,” she said, confused.

Seth stood up, and he saw Grandpa raise his eyebrows in surprise. Why was he surprised? This was Seth’s job, after all, for a little while longer anyway.

“Okay Agad, welcome to the next round,” Seth said, “Did you check the magical defenses? How are they holding?”

Agad shared an amused look with Grandpa, who just nodded. “I did. The protections seem more secure than ever, even more than when I was caretaker here.”

“The Dragons are certain of victory, but will be unable to mount a frontal assault,” Grandma mused.

“Is Celebrant being hasty?” Patton asked, “From what I understand, dragons with losing streaks don’t stay king for long.”

“Perhaps Dromadus is toying with us,” Marat offered, “His help is rather unexpected.”

“I don’t think Dromadus would do that,” Seth said, “When Kendra and I met him, he seemed kind of like the Fair Folk. Didn’t want the sanctuary to fall, but not gonna do anything about it. And if he isn’t right, and the dragons don’t attack, there’s nothing to gain. If he lied, we wont trust him in the future.”

Marat tilted his head, acknowledging Seth’s statement.

“Anything is possible,” Agad said, “It could be that Dromadus is working with Celebrant, and they are hoping to find a weakness as we scramble to cover ourselves.”

“We have to treat it like a real threat,” Seth decided. “Whatever we show, it can’t be worse than them coming after us when we are unprepared. Possible weaknesses?”

“We should go over our magical defenses one more time,” Marat suggested, “Review the treaty and see if there is anything we missed. It is possible we have a traitor in our midst that will grant them access.”

Unfortunate, but true. He hoped they had been careful enough, though he hadn’t been around much to make a good guess himself.

“What about the barrel?” Knox asked. “We know where that is now, right? Could that be the weakness?”

Agad frowned, “It feels out of character for Celebrant to brag of a victory achieved by allies on the other side of the barrel, but we should not discount it. It is currently the greatest hole in our defense.”

Something about what Knox said bothered Seth. They know where it is now. They weren’t dealing with the Sphinx, but they kind of were. What had the Sphinx done in the past while they thought they were safe? And what was it about Knox’s statement that bothered him?

There wasn’t the textbook method: create a problem, send a friend to help, friend is a traitor. This was a different tactic. The Sphinx liked to stay one step ahead, control the board from both sides, and make threats to force you into action when you’d really just like to sit on your winning streak. Seth thought about the stories he had shared with Knox. Sometimes he planted a traitor, and sometimes the Sphinx sent invisible assassins after you because he already knew where you were going to be. Sometimes he let demon dragons out of their prisons when you weren’t looking.

“Guys,” Seth said, a sick feeling in his stomach, “Hey,” he stopped Marat and Agad in the middle of their discussion about magical defenses. “Bad thought. Someone was controlling Mendigo way before when the barrel was first stolen, right? Probably Ronodin, since he’s been hanging around the preserve and making deals with the Dragons. We thought the person left with the barrel, but it was in the basement the whole time.”

He waited for someone to deny what he was hinting at.

“Ah,” Grandpa Sorenson said, “I see. Between the time the barrel was lost and found, both sides of the barrel were out of our control, and Mendigo was available on our side to assist a sleeper agent.”

Grandma, Tanu, and Agad all looked like they were about to throw up.

“What are you saying?” Knox asked.

“Seth is suggesting the possibility that someone is already here, but remaining hidden,” Marat clarified, “An insightful observation and deduction.”

“Celebrant could claim credit for successfully distracting us,” Agad admitted, “Not as good as a frontal assault, but enough for him to claim the win. Especially if he can claim the kill. If the enemy is hiding near the Blackwell, it would be nearly impossible to sense them around the aura of the undead.”

“The question is,” Grandma said, “whether the source of the threat is already here, or will it come through the barrel yet. I am loathe to give up our only connection to Kendra.”

“Any way we can make sure we aren’t being listened to, Agad?” Grandpa asked.

“Not that I can create without knowing our spy and what he is using,” Agad said, shaking his head. “We will have to plan even though we may be spied upon.”

“There can’t be a bunch of them,” Seth decided, “I can see through most hiding spells, and I haven’t seen anyone. I can’t get around distractor spells, that was Kendra’s half…” he looked down at Tess, fairy struck, who was sitting still and paying attention like a good girl. Plans were starting to come together “Let’s not talk about everything here. I want everyone to split into groups. Agad, Marat, where’s the best place to examine the magical defenses?”

They shared a look, “The tower where the Roost used to be,” Agad said at last. “The protections still form a small dent there, where a dragon may come closer than other area.”

“Okay, head to Seth Tower, I’ll meet up with you after.” Seth said. It was energizing, being heard and listened to. And to actually be doing something! The brothers nodded.

“Tanu,” Seth said, “I want your potions ready by dinner, whatever happens, you’re going to need to be stocked and ready to go.” Several people caught his emphasis, but didn’t say anything, just like he wanted. Well Tess asked, but Knox shushed her.

“I would appreciate an assistant,” Tanu said.

“I’ll help,” Patton said, standing up, “Unless you have a job for me elsewhere.”

Seth shook his head, “Helping Tanu is perfect.”

He turned to Grandma and Grandpa, “I need you guys to work with the staff. Let them know we’ve been warned of a threat, organize extra lookouts and patrols, organize a watch over the barrel, that kind of stuff. We don’t know what direction the threat coming from, so we cover as many directions as possible.”

Now it was time for Grandma to look amused, and Grandpa to look proud.

“Understood Seth,” she said. “We will retreat to the Winter Study to plan. Henrick will be back soon, and his help will be invaluable with this. We should wait to inform the staff until after he joins us.”

“Great idea, go for it. Er, where’s the Winter Study?” Seth asked, trying to remember from their tour.

“Directly below Kendra’s bedroom,” Agad said. “On the first floor.”

Seth nodded, he’d knock on doors until he found the right one.

Seth turned to his remaining players, “And finally: Doren, Newel, Tess, and Knox. I have a very special job for you. Wait outside the door while I make sure of something with Agad.”

“That’s our cue to leave,” Grandma said, patting a hand on her husband’s leg.

“The abundance of caution while in command suits you,” Grandpa said, standing up. He put his hand on Seth’s shoulder as he passed, “I’m proud of how you’re handling this situation.”

Considering a little over a week ago, he’d gotten a stern lecture about endangering his cousin and the consequences to trying to trick magic, this was quite the change. Grandpa smiled, and walked past him. There was a small lump in his throat. This feeling was why Kendra always did her best to make people proud of her. It was rarely sent his way.

Tanu and Patton also left, then the satyrs and his cousins went just outside the door.

Seth walked close to Agad and lowered his voice, “Tess is Fairy struck, can she see through distractor spells?”

Agad nodded.

Seth smiled and nodded as well. He whispered. “Can you bring the treaty document to the tower?”

Agad shook his head, “It is locked in a box in the Winter Study. The medallion opens the box. I recommend against moving it.”

Seth looked at Marat.

“I agree, with my brother. We have the contents memorized, we should only consult them upon need.”

Seth nodded, then stepped back.

“See you at Seth Tower soon.”

The two of them left, and Seth took a moment to fling himself on the couch and groan. The energy had left when everyone else did. Leading was such hard work! For the millionth time, he wished Kendra had let him turn the key. Sure he’d be kidnapped and being trained into an evil Shadow Charmer right now, but Kendra was so much smarter than him, she would have figured out about the intruder way before.

Probably because she had better judgement than him and didn’t usually trust terrible people right off the bat. And like she said, people usually had enough confidence in her to just trust her with important stuff.

The door creaked open, “Uh, Seth, did you have a job for us?” Newel asked.

Seth got up and went to the door. Remembering from his first day, he used the medallion to unlock a desk drawer in the corner, and pulled out a key ring, slipping it into his adventure pouch.

“Yeah, follow me, I don’t know how much of the keep Tess and Knox got to see,” Seth said, “And it’s a good time to get an updated map of it, in case we come under siege. It’s possible the Dragons are just going to stare us down until we run out of food. Any of you got any talent at drawing maps?”

There was a pause as Seth led on.

“I’ve dealt with a fair amount of treasure maps in my day,” Doren admitted, “And I’m not a shabby hand with a pen. I can draw.”

“Awesome,” Seth said, “Start with the storerooms in the basement storerooms, where the barrel was before, then the dungeons, then the ground floor. If you can get through those floors by lunch, that’d be great, but make sure to do them all. I want you three to go with him, and look for anything that seems suspicious. Look through the dungeons, but if any of you touch the Blackwell, or the chain next to the Blackwell, I’m throwing all of you inside it,” Seth said.

Seth had led them into the library and started pulling out loose sheets of paper, “Doesn’t matter how small. If it seems out of place, make a note of it.”

“Are you sure this is the best use of our time Seth?” Newel asked dubiously.

Seth grinned, “It’s a very good use of your time.”

Seth started writing on various blank papers, while they all watched him. He turned to his younger cousin when he was finished.

“Right. Tess? I want you looking for pictures and weird things on the walls.”

On this sheet of paper, Seth had written:

Every single time you see a person or creature, point at them, say something nice about them, and ask if you can talk to them. Knox will either say that you’re busy, or that the person isn’t there. Nod and keep walking every single time. Don’t let anyone know what’s written here, keep it a secret. Put a clean sheet on top of this one.  

“Here’s a list of the things you should look for. This is an old castle, there might be secret passages that we need to find out about before someone sneaks in,” Seth said, handing her the paper. She immediately started reading.

“Knox, you’re looking up higher, pay attention to cold or warm drafts and the items in the rooms, make note of which ones have weapons, look for places where the intruder could be staying,” Seth said, handing him a piece of paper that read:

Tess is going to ask to speak to everyone she sees. She has magic eyes like Kendra. If you see who she’s pointing to, tell her that you’re too busy to bother them. If you don’t see who she is pointing to, tell her that there’s no one there and you don’t have time for games. Make notes, but don’t engage.

He turned to Newel, “Your job is to make sure no one runs into walls while writing stuff down, and make sure to explore everything. Bring the cool stuff back to me, so that our item troll doesn’t try to keep it for the shelves.” Seth said, spouting nonsense. “Write down where you find it though, in case Agad says we need to return it or unleash another apocalypse.”

“Better to ask forgiveness than permission,” Newel nodded with a salute. Seth handed him a paper that read:

If someone was listening to our meeting, they are going to be following you. Watch for them. Tess and Knox are going to be acting weird, just ignore them. You’re on protector duty.

And Seth handed fully blank sheets to Doren, “And, of course, you’re on the map. Here’s paper, pens, clipboard, and scotch tape. Everyone know their job?”

The four of them looked excited as they nodded. “Good,” Seth said, “Meet back in the War Room after lunch.”

Doren and Newel slung another salute. Tess tried to copy them and slapped herself in the face. Knox just rolled his eyes.

They left, and Seth debated between going to check up on Grandma and Grandpa, or heading straight to Seth Tower.

His grandparents couldn’t set anything in stone without Hendrick, so he’d head to the Tower. He’d be able to see Henrick coming back, and take him to Grandma and Grandpa when the Alcetaur arrived.

Up at the tower room, Marat and Agad were waiting for him.

“So, magic defenses in place?” Seth asked.

Agad nodded, “Perfect, just like I said twenty minutes ago. Mind explaining more of your plan?”

“Sure,” Seth said, “Grandma and Grandpa are doing exactly what I said they were. Running the past week from Blackwell made them the best people for that, until Hendrick gets back to help. Tanu is also doing exactly what I told him too.

“I sent Tess, Knox, and the satyrs looking for people hiding themselves with distractor spells, but they look like they’re creating a fresh map of the lower floors. Tess is pointing out everyone she sees to Knox, Knox is telling her that they’re too busy to talk to anyone and taking note of the people that Tess sees that he doesn’t. Because they’re the group doing the most suspicious work, I’m hoping any spies here are following them, letting the rest of us get things done. Newel is on the look out for someone following them, and thinks that’s what he thinks they’re doing. Doren is actually creating a map.”

Seth was rather proud of that plan, and feeling pretty ingenious for coming up with it in only ten minutes.

“Once again, not bad,” Agad said.

Seth gave a dry smile, “I learned from the best teacher. The Sphinx betraying me and my friends over and over. After this, I’m going to do my own sweep, trying to see through the shadows while shadow walking.”

“Might I recommend also holding your unsheathed sword at the same time?” Marat said. “That is the sword of Tregain, yes?”

Seth glanced down, “Oh that’s right! This sword helps make people look away from me, especially bigger creatures. I’ll definitely do that.”

“A very pro-active plan,” Agad said, “I will admit to not even considering the idea of someone hiding in the Blackwell. The barrel messes with the traditional rule of only allowing visitors a single night of stay, as that magic is activated upon crossing the boundary.”

“I do not believe that is all to our caretaker’s plan,” Marat said, amused, “I believe he feels he will do more for our mission elsewhere, and intends to return the mantle of caretaker to me.”

Agad gaped, then turned, “Is this true, Seth?”

Seth nodded, “Celebrant is no longer co-caretaker. The issue we came here to solve, the weakening barrier, is fixed. There’s no problem with Marat being caretaker, according to Dromadus, so long as he stays in human form. I’d be a lot more useful helping track down Kendra and Bracken.”

“Before you go any farther,” Agad said, holding up a hand, “There are things I wish to disclose to the caretaker of a dragon sanctuary. The remaining lines of defense after the sanctuaries fall. We can continue to discuss your possible resignation afterwards.”

Seth hopped onto a wide window ledge, “Okay, hit me. What else we got before the next apocalypse?”

“These secrets should not be repeated,” Agad warned, “Except to your most trusted ally at the time of greatest need.”

Seth glanced at Marat, who nodded, “I am already aware of the provisions my brother speaks of. Do not worry.”

“The first is why Dragons from fallen sanctuaries have yet to invade the mortal world,” Agad explained, “There is a magic item, perhaps the most magic item in existence —”

“More then the Wizenstone?” Seth asked, eyebrows raised. He was starting to suspect that there wasn’t an actual standard for how ‘magic’ an item is.

Agad paused, and Marat chuckled. Agad continued, “No, I suppose, not greater than the Wizenstone. Possibly it’s equal. I would not like to test either object against the other. The skull of the first dragon that ever lived, Abraxtus, is more heavily ensorcelled, than any other object I have ever come in contact with. It is called The Sovereign Skull. It takes all the disbelief in magic that all mortals generate, and creates a repulsive barrier against dragons. This is our absolute last line of defense, and must be protected at all costs. Only a few wizards know the location, and that information will never be divulged for its own protection.”

Seth nodded, “Can I have the name of a wizard that does know? Just in case.”

Agad looked him straight in the eye. “No.”

Seth nodded, “That’s fair. Sounds like we’re hoping it doesn’t get that far.” As though they had ever had any luck in that department.

“Another line of defense: the Dragon Slayers,” Agad said.

Seth grinned, “The Somber Knight was so cool. A bit of a downer, but a real life-saver. He’s still a bit…messy, after rescuing Kendra from being dinner. You’re talking about the ones at the other six sanctuaries, right?”

Agad nodded, “In addition to the other six at sanctuaries, there are five others that have been living in the world, waiting to be called upon again. It will take a while to wake them up, but Celebrant declaring war was the key.”

Seth nodded, “You did the same thing with the dragon preserves that you did with the demon prisons. How are these guys at handling immortality? We sure they didn’t try to off themselves?”

Agad said, “They all already had experiences with extended lifespans, so hopefully we are rousing them from a pleasurable retirement. And then there is a line of defense you are slightly more familiar with: the three treasures in the secret dragon temples.”

“Right, gauntlets that control dragons. Every dragon in a hundred miles comes by to kill you if you look at them funny,” Seth recited, remembering Thronis’s warning.

Agad nodded, “There are two other items, and two other sacred temples guarding these items at dragon sanctuaries. The harp that can send any dragon to sleep, and the shield that can defend against any dragon’s attack. These items were necessary to winning the war against the dragons the first time, and now that we’re facing war again, we need them back.”

Seth tilted his head, “Did they already get new guardians for the temple here at Wyrmroost? Cause we killed them, and its not like those were your ordinary, everyday dragons, and no one besides Gavin and Thronis knew we went there for the obsidian waste key.”

“It would be foolish to assume they aren’t guarded,” Agad said, considering carefully, “Though it is also strange that Celebrant has never ranted against your party for that affront. The answer is that I do not know.”

There was a moment of silence as everyone thought about the predicament.

“Well,” Seth said, “How buried is the translocator? Me and Kendra have been in the temple treasure room, we, er, I, for the moment, could grab the gloves and come back in a snap.”

Marat spoke up, “Bringing the translocator back into play at this time would be a dangerous move. That item is really too powerful. Dragons in human form could use it to escape the sanctuaries without a fight.”

Agad nodded, “All the artifacts are currently inaccessible. We used the Chronometer to hide the translocator, the sands of sanctity, and the occulous six more years in the future, waiting for us to finish designing the vaults. The Font needed to remain in the present, to support our first immortal, but that is the only artifact accessible. At least, until the Sphinx made off with it during his escape. Good thinking, but unfortunately untenable.”

A horn sounded from the parapet over the gate.

“That means a dragon is coming, right?” Seth asked, turning around in the window. “Raxtus maybe?”

“It means official visitors,” Marat clarified, “It certainly has been seeing its use this week. It also announced the arrival of the carriage from Stormguard.”

“Got it,” Seth said, standing up, “Anything else you need to tell the current caretaker of wyrmroost about the grand scheme of defenses?”

“No, those are our three lines: talismans, dragon slayers, and The Sovereign Skull,” Agad counted.

“Okay, I’ll keep those in mind, and never tell anyone, unless I absolutely have to,” Seth said, drawing a cross over his heart for good measure. “My plan is simple. Celebrant is a great big ego, right? He hates Kendra for insulting him, and it’s embarrassing that he keeps losing to a couple of kids. He’s getting help, he’s getting desperate, no matter what his plan is, right?”

Agad nodded.

“So, I’m going to offer him one last insult as caretaker,” Seth said with a grin, “His little rebellion isn’t even worth my time. After we deal with our guests at the gate, I’m going to do my sweep of everywhere while walking through shadows. Then I’m going to give being caretaker over to Marat, and we’re going to leave, with the barrel. That’s Blackwell’s biggest weakness, and it doesn’t need to be here for us to use it. I’ll leave Marat with a parting note to read to Celebrant, letting him know that we have better things to do.”

Agad started chuckling, moving his hand to cover his mouth when it didn’t stop.

“Boom,” Seth said with relish, “Biggest weakness removed, whoever is in the castle has to figure out how to kill Marat, who’s going to be a lot harder to kill than me, I get to go after Kendra, and we throw one last insult over our shoulder.”

Agad continued to laugh, but the most Marat gave was an amused look.

“And how exactly do you intend to leave?” Marat asked, “The walkway between the typical entrance and the Keep will not be guarded for this trip.”

“We have some pretty cool rides,” Seth said, “Not sure you saw them when Patton came in, but Kendra met up with a fairy godmother and boom, the luvians we were riding all have wings. We’ll need to make it so they can leave the sanctuary with us, but if they can make it through the sky on a festival night, they can probably get us past the barrier. We’ll have to ask them of course, but I think we’ll be in pretty good shape. They strike me as adventurous.”

“I would like to make one suggestion,” Agad said, wiping a tear from his eye, “Leave in peace, no one attacks at all, and leave before night falls. I’m sure they intend to strike in the dark. You leave two hours before sunset, and Celebrant likely wont have time to demand to know what you’re doing. Use Tess’s cloak of innocence to see you safely past the barrier.”

“Oh, that is wicked,” Marat chuckled. “But we have dawdled enough. The horn summons the caretaker to official business.”

Seth took one last look out the window and down the road, and paused. He pulled out his eyeglass from his adventure pouch. “Is that…Henrick leading a bunch dryads?”

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

Scars That Heal || Eddie Kaspbrak x Reader Series

• Ch. 10: Who Needs You •

    “You!”

    The howl of fury from Sonia Kaspbrak brought a whole new sense of fear to the Losers as they stood on the opposing end of her finger. Having fled the gruesome house on Neibolt, the Losers, in a great panic, had managed to haul their injured friend away from Neibolt and back to his own front lawn. Thanks to Mike, who while thinking quickly, had placed Eddie in his bike’s basket, the two were able to escape on their bikes with the rest of their friends. And though the horrid scene was now blocks away, not a single Loser dared lose a notch of speed. Nor did they stop until they had discarded their bikes on Eddie’s front lawn, panting heavily.

    “You did this!” She hissed, immediately separating Eddie from his friends.

    The seven Losers parted hesitantly as she forced him by the nape of the neck across the lawn towards her car.

    “You know how delicate he is.” She huffed, earning a few heavy eye rolls from a select few.

    Bill stepped forward after them, finding his voice, and powering through his stutter.

    “W-We were attacked, M-Mrs. K,”

    She opened the squeaky passenger door, just about shoving Eddie inside, and turned on the seven friends. She stared each of them down, fiery gaze meeting with each pair of eyes.

    “No! Don’t,” she ordered, slamming the door shut, caging a still frightened Eddie. “Don’t try to blame anyone else.”

    Her hands shake with rage, causing her ring of keys to slip from her fingers and land on the pavement. Seeing this, Beverly bends down after them.

    “Let me help-” She offers, only to be cut off and shooed away by the woman.

   "Get back!“ She bellows.

    She steps forward, retrieving her keys, and straightens enough to lean in close to intimidate Beverly.

    "Oh, I’ve heard of you miss Marsh,” Mrs. Kaspbrak sneered. “And I don’t want a dirty girl like you touching my son.”

    “Mrs. Kaspbrak, please, if we could just explain-” Y/n pleas were soon cut short.

    “Enough!” The woman roared, her puffy face turning red.

    She looked Y/n up and down with a snide look in her eye as if the young girl was nothing more than something she had dragged in on her shoe.

    “Don’t think I haven’t heard of you either, you filthy little thing! Following this harlot around town,” she quickly throws Beverly a hostile look. “begging for scraps like some stray. Wouldn’t be surprised if you picked up on her dirty little habits and I certainly won’t have you lurking around my son any longer!”

    Y/n stood unnaturally still, taking the conjectures she had heard almost her entire life with surprising composure. But that wall she had built up, cracked, just ever so at the mention of Eddie and she glanced past the screaming woman and into the car where Eddie’s small stature was barely visible over the windows in the low seat. This was the first time he had allowed himself to look at one of them, and it was at Y/n.

    Their eyes met, her gaze was distant, and she seemed to be disconnecting from reality as if to spare herself from the pain of saying goodbye. As if she knew his mother would finish her lecture, get in the car, and drive away with Eddie and that would be it. She knew that Eddie wouldn’t stand up for her. Get angry for her, or even for himself, and finally stand up to his mother. But she didn’t blame him, he had barely escaped death, and even still, he had a horribly broken arm.

    But that didn’t stop her heart from breaking as she saw his large doe brown eyes staring back at her. They were frightened and docile as his mother continued shouting abuse at her; The girl who was quickly after his heart.

    “You are not to speak to my Eddie, you are not to set foot within five hundred feet, of my Eddie Bear, nor can you even-” she stopped suddenly, roughly turning the girl’s head to look at her, and lowered her voice. “You are not to even look at my Eddie.”

    She leaned forward into the girl’s face and glared spitefully.

    “I don’t want my son catching fleas.” She spits.

    Everyone had stood silently in shock, not expecting such venomous words from the woman. Nor were they expecting a heated comeback from Richie who stepped forward beside Y/n, fists clenched despite his otherwise cool exterior.

    “With all due respect, Mrs. K, Y/n isn’t the problem,” Her wild glare shifted to the boy. “If you’re worried about fleas, Eddie’s more likely to catch ‘em from living up your v-”

    Richie was suddenly cut off by a hand clamping over his mouth, it was Y/n. Who albeit, very much appreciated the gesture - and would certainly laugh about it in the future - still wanted at least a sliver of a chance of both her and Richie getting to see Eddie again.

    The woman took a long deep breath and glared daggers at the boy. Anyone there would know a million things were running through her head at that moment; several things she would have liked to have said to the no-good heathen that her son always clung to, but she knew she could waste no more time. Her eyes said enough.

    “Don’t start with me young man, this is far from over.” She seethed.

    And with that, she whirled around on her heel and wobbled over to the driver’s side.

    “Thanks, Richie,” Y/n croaked, a silent tear streaking her dirtied cheek.

    “Catching fleas,” Richie grumbled. “Honestly! And you guys actually think my mouth’s the one that outta be sewn shut.”

    The remaining seven Losers watched miserably, and helplessly as the '79 Pacer Wagon containing their friend, disappeared around the block. Y/n felt hopelessly deflated, and her gaze fell to her torn and mucked up shoes. She silently noted they were somehow, even filthier now thanks to her trip to Neibolt. Her slight disappointment with her shoes paled in comparison to what she was really troubled with. It felt as though, even when they had each escaped with their lives, this moment did not feel like a victory.

    Bill turned to face them each, a surprising amount of hope in his eyes and it was enough to pull Y/n from her somber thoughts. That is until she heard what he had to say.

    “I saw the well.” He says, drawing several concerned glances his way. “W-w-we know where it is, and-and next time we’ll be better prepared.”

    “No!” Stan cried incredulously. “No next time, Bill! You’re insane!”

    “Why?” Beverly countered. “We all know no one else is going to do anything.”

    Y/n looked at her best friend with a pained look, shocked and brokenhearted at where this conversation would head. Biting her lip, she steps forward, anger flaring up.

    “And what about Eddie?” Y/n asked heatedly, gesturing down the street before pointing at her other bleeding friend. “or Ben? Does the fact that they, among all of us, nearly died, mean anything to you guys?”

    Bill does not fight hard to stop the wounded expression molding onto his face, but it quickly dissolves in his growing impatience. “Y-You too?”

    “Bill,” Mike eases. “Come on, man, think of what you’re asking.”

    “N-No,” he sputters. “Think of w-what you’re asking.”

    Richie gapes at his friend, a look of wild bewilderment in his eyes and his arms thrown to the sides. “You shittin’ me, Bill? Were you not just in that crack den with us? Did you not see what happened? Fucking Christ, we were this close to being chum!”

    Beverly stepped forward, a hand thrown behind her as she gestured protectively to Bill. “But we’re not! We hurt it - Y/n, you hurt it! Don’t you guys see? The moment we came together is the moment It got weaker.”

    “And look where it got us,” Y/n scoffed, looking around at the broken circle of Losers. “Beverly, this isn’t some make-believe bullshit quest we’re talking about. Hell, I don’t know what the fuck that was, but I do know one thing. That we’re just kids, and we don’t stand a chance against that thing.”

    A sour look crosses Beverly’s face at her friend’s words.

    “Well, we can’t pretend It’s gonna go away,” she argued, suddenly turning to the Hanscom boy. “Ben, you said it yourself, It comes back every twenty-seven years.”

    “Fine! I’ll be forty and far away from here.” He snapped, immediately feeling a small pang of guilt and his demeanor softens just ever so. “I thought you said you wanted to get out of this town, too.”

    “Because I wanna run towards something. Not away,”

    Richie’s eyes rolled behind his thick lenses, and he threw his arm up at the girl with great annoyance.

    “I’m sorry, who invited Molly Ringwald into the group?”

    Beverly merely glared and held up her middle finger to the trashmouth.

    “Richie-” Stan argued.

    “No!” Richie looks around once more, anger flaring up as he gestures to Y/n. “Y/n’s right, we need to face facts. Real world.”

    Richie settled his gaze on Bill, a genuine spark of sympathy in his eyes.

    “Georgie is dead.” He says, and he feels as if the weight he’s carried tiptoeing around his friend has lifted and he begins to walk away. “Stop trying to get us killed, too,”

    Bill jumps in front of Richie, instantly blocking his path, and his face goes beet red in anger.

    “Georgie’s not dead!” Bill roars, squaring his shoulders though he did not feel more powerful.

    Richie looks his friend in the eye and notes his hurt, but cannot ignore his own. “You couldn’t save him, but you can still save yourself.”

    “No!” Bill stops Richie in his tracks once more, his stutter flaring up as every ounce of hurt over his brother resurfaces. “T-ta-t-take it b-back! Y-You’re scared,”

    Bill looks around at his circle of friends, all lost and broken.

    “we all are. But take it back!” He shouts, his heartbreak turning to anger in seconds and he shoves Richie back harshly.

    Richie tenses briefly before charging after Bill and shoving him harshly. Bill can no longer hold back. All his anger, hurt, and loss that had been festering over the past several months. It had all boiled to the top and formed a fist that hooked into Richie’s left jaw that sent him stumbling into the concrete.

    “Bill!”

    Stan and Mike scramble to pick Richie up off the ground, and Ben lunges after Bill to keep him from another attempted swing at Richie.

    “You’re just a bunch of losers!” Richie sputters, fighting against his friends to get a punch in himself.

    “Richie, stop, just take a breath,” Y/n eases, placing herself between the boys.

    Blinded by the betrayal, and the painful welt already forming on his jaw, Richie ignores the girls’ pleas and continues shouting over to Bill. “Fuck off! You’re just a bunch of losers who’ll get yourselves killed-”

    Beverly cuts in, her own anger boiling to the top. “Stop!”

    “-trying to kill a fucking clown!”

    “STOP!” Beverly roars, finally gaining everyone’s attention.

    A look of clarity passes over her and she looks around at her friends. “This is what It wants. It wants to divide us. We were all together when we hurt It. That’s why we’re still alive.”

    “Yeah?” Richie pipes, adjusting his lenses having finally broken free. “Well, I plan to keep it that way.”

    His chest puffed out in his mix of pride and anger, he marches past Bill. Not without a swift but harsh shove of the shoulder, knocking him off balance. One by one the rest of Losers follow his lead, the first being Y/n.

    “Y/n-”

    “No, Beverly,” Y/n states, heartbreak evident in her voice. She turns to look at her two friends, her eyes matching her tone. “No way. That’s three times now I’ve barely gotten out alive. I’m not trying for a fourth.”

    Her mouth parted to speak the parting words that sat on her tongue, but even goodbye was too painful. In a way, she feared if she were to say it, she’d be sealing their very fates. That she’d never see them again, so instead, she settles for picking up her bike, casting one last pained look their way before disappearing down the road.

    Bill shifts his attention to Mike, who is already picking up his bike.

    “Mike-?” His voice is aching, pleading for his friend to stay.

    Mike only stops briefly, throwing back an equally broken and pleading voice. He shrugs, defeated.

    “Guys… I can’t do this,” he shakes his head, his grandfather’s voice ringing in his ears and tugging at his gut. “My granddad was right… I’m an outsider. Gotta stay that way.”

    And just as Y/n had moments earlier, he mounts his bike without another word and starts off down the road. Bill and Bev remain, exchanging sullen looks at a loss for words. And a plan.

· · ─── ·𖥸· ─── · ·

    The town of Derry Maine had never been in more danger with the separation of the Losers Club. And the kids themselves had never felt more broken. In the span of just those few short minutes, their world had shattered. The only Losers to remain in one another’s company was Y/n and Richie, who both carried the heavyweight of Eddie’s absence on their shoulders the most. But even they found themselves alone in times where it counted the most.

    In the weeks that followed, a dark cloud hung threateningly above their heads, watching their every move. While this was by definition, the very concept of Derry itself, they knew now exactly what it was. And yet, after all they had faced, all the pain and horror that would follow them for the rest of their lives, there still lingered the pain of their separation.

    Beverly sat at her desk, head hung over her keyboard as she plucks away a familiar tune. It brought her back to the many times Y/n had been over, the two of them both attempting to play half of a song, laughing hysterically in the process as they screwed each other up. It would go on like this with no end in sight, that is until Beverly’s father came to scold them for being too loud. But when he disappeared they’d just snicker to one another, too amused to care. But all Beverly had now to keep her company was her sullen thoughts and the many photos of herself and her friends - mostly Y/n - scattered across her wall.

    Bill’s house was as lonely as ever. Like Beverly - and the rest of their friends - Bill would wander the halls of his house, desperately hoping for a distraction from the loneliness he felt. Not just from the fight with his friends, but the usual lack of Georgie that taunted him. His picture was everywhere which seemed rather odd to Bill given his parents’ blatant denial of Georgie’s death that went so far as to pretend he had never existed at all. As he sat alone in the dining room now, watching the summer rain patter against the window just has it had that day, he felt the inescapable grip of isolation clutch his heart. He hadn’t been greeted by such a silence since before summer break where he’d face the emptiness of his house with not even his mother’s piano to coat the silence that Georgie left. And to this day, nothing had touched the piano but the thick layer of dust that coated it now.

    Stan had not been fairing so well either. While he usually found himself facing a great deal of frustrations with the combined chaos of Richie, Y/n, and Eddie, he now found he missed them greatly. He missed sharing jokes with Beverly that nobody else understood, and he missed sharing gentle, quiet moments with Mike who always showed interest in Stan’s hobbies like birdwatching. Something the others never really took to. The quick remarks thrown back and forth between Bill and himself from the sidelines when the others got into mischief. And Ben, who often tended to be soft-spoken like himself, was better at creating a space for Stan to talk when he didn’t feel quite as heard. Stan missed the Losers deeply, and more than anything, he missed being one.

    Mike went back to work on his grandparents’ farm. Not that he hadn’t ever stopped, but now he had nothing to look forward to. Normally, his days consisted of farm work until five - sometimes four-thirty if he got his work done early - before he promptly met up with his best friends. Now it was just himself, all alone on the farm again. Aside from Mooriuel, his favorite calf who he had named in secret. She was rather happy to be seeing more of him on the farm. Though like her caretaker, she missed the occasional visits from his friends. But they hardly did, except for Y/n who’d often feed the cows snacks, and even made a daisy chain for Mike that he refused to take off. That had made her smile profusely, and he often thought of that day.

    While Mike had thrown his attention into his work on the farm - including taking up the duty of putting down the sheep, which he greatly despised - Ben spent his time deep within the books at the Derry Public Library. He hadn’t learned much, nothing he hadn’t already yet again he found himself closing another dusty old book. He sighs, looking up at the first thing his eyes find. Coincidentally, though deep in his heart it does not feel right to call it a coincidence, his gaze lands on an old painting framed on the wall that loomed over the entire library.

    It was a woman and her newborn child standing alone on a prairie, looking deep into an old familiar-looking well. Ben knew very well that it was a historical art piece of Derry, the Well House no less and as he looks at it now he can feel the thick layer of ice encircling his heart and chilling him to the very bone. What horrors this town was capable of, horrors he had seen with his own eyes, and yet no one else in Derry had even the slightest clue what lived under their very noses. He wondered if they ever would.

    Eddie Kaspbrak perhaps fared the worst among his friends, he hadn’t realized how suffocating his own home truly was when he didn’t have the simple escapes with the Losers. It was a feeling both metaphorical and literal as he struggled to survive under his mother’s thumb, not to mention he had gone through twice his supply of inhalers with the crushing weight of anxieties his mother gave him. He thought of Richie and Y/n the most. He missed Richie’s teasing and crude humor no matter how crass and disgusting it was. And he longed for the times Y/n would bring out a specific blush in his cheeks when she called him 'shrimp’, or the simple sound of her laughter.

    He knew how sappy he sounded, and a part of him hated himself for it, but it was true. He could picture them now, riffing on one another while still managing to rag on him.

    He hoped they were.

+++

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[bitterlikesweets]

Love Bites Special Ch

This is a special chapter of a modern/vampire AU ereri fanfic. It's a bit of an extra, in the form of Levi recapping the entire story so far. You can also read it on Ao3. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Special

Next

~1~

Levi would rather die than admit this to anyone, but the first thing that went through his mind when he met Eren was, Shit, this guy is my type.

No, really. Isabel was collapsed on the floor at Levi's feet, Mikasa was practically frothing at the mouth, and Levi was thinking, Shit, this guy is my type.

Then he saw the vague outline of fangs through Eren's lips, and thoughts about the random guy's attractiveness were no longer on Levi's radar.

He was a new vampire; that much was clear. For his fangs to be so visible, he probably hadn't had blood in a long time. Only new fools were that stubborn.

New vampires were Levi's least favorite kind. Immature. Irresponsible. Always a pain to deal with. And Isabel had already angered Eren and his friend, leaving Levi in charge of damage control. Seriously, would it have been that hard for her to write out the three extra letters that made "no gar" into "no garlic?"

This certainly wasn't how he expected a vampire to taste his blood for the first time, but Levi knew that there were worse ways. Still, that didn't make him particularly pleased about having to use a kitchen knife to poke a hole in his damn wrist. While sullenly bringing the liquid to the vampire in a wine glass—he wasn't sure if the vampire's friends knew, and he preferred to be careful—Levi thought that the shitty vampire better not waste a single drop.

By the end of the night, Levi's last impression of Eren was this:

What kind of dumbass vampire turns down free blood?

~2~

Levi thought Eren running out of Kuchel's Kitchen like his life depended on it would be the last Levi ever saw of him. He seemed less than pleased about Levi giving him a glass of blood, though Levi wasn't sure if that was the shock of being found out or Levi's blood tasting like a pile of dog shit. If it did, that'd answer the questions Levi had about the origins of the rumor of poisonous Ackerman blood. If he had a drink of something that tasted like dog shit, he'd think it was poison too.

So, Isabel walking into their breakroom with Eren in tow was certainly a surprise. But what was most surprising to Levi was when he told Eren to just go and drink some blood like a normal vampire and the response was—

“No! I… Anything but that. Please.”

How long had it been since Levi had met a vampire who didn’t want to drink blood? Someone who didn’t seem like they wanted to be a vampire? Hanji was thrilled about their undead status, and Erwin had lived a long enough life as one to learn to accept it. And these days, only those who wanted a taste of immortality, a taste of that sort of power, got turned. Drinking a bit of blood was part of the deal they agreed to sign up for. Something wasn’t right with this kid. Levi just wasn’t sure what it was.

“If I knew who they were, they’d be fucking dead.”

The dark expression. The anger. Levi had seen that look on only two people’s faces before. One of them was himself. He knew immediately that it was likely a feral attack. But that didn’t make sense either because all ferals were under the King. Their victims either didn’t make it or were recruited for that sick fuck’s cause, and yet somehow Eren was right here…

When Eren started his story by talking about his mom, Levi’s stomach dropped. Eren’s voice was shaking, his body was trembling, and it felt like Levi was staring at himself from all those years ago, except at least Levi was given the mercy of not becoming the creature that took his mother away—

Levi reached out to touch Eren without even thinking. When Eren blinked up at him with those big green eyes, brimming with tears… Fuck, Levi had no idea what had gotten into him. His chest was squeezing like someone’s fist was in his ribcage, trying to choke out his heart. It was unfamiliar, it was strange. He just got this overwhelming urge to do something, to help. It was the feeling he got when he found Furlan left for dead in a basement, when he saw Isabel curled up in the corner of a vampire hideout. He wanted to save, to protect, but this was different because it’s not like the brat was in danger, so Levi had no idea why the urge was so damn strong.

“What are you doing?” Eren asked. He still had tear tracks on his cheeks.

I don’t know, Levi thought.

“Someone has to teach you how to be a vampire,” was what Levi said out loud. “This is step one.”

Eren looked miserable, even as he grabbed hold of Levi’s wrist. There was a piercing ache in Levi’s arm, but it faded at the same moment that Eren’s expression finally relaxed a bit, and Levi let out a quiet sigh of relief. Though whether the relief came from the pain going away or from knowing he had helped Eren, even a little, Levi wasn’t sure.

~3~

Every time Levi touched Eren, he felt like he needed to justify it for himself. He curled his fingers into Eren’s hair because it was a simple way to let him know it was time to stop drinking. That was the only reason.

He tried not to think about how his words also would have done the job just fine.

Levi distracted himself with the littlest things. He watched the little bite marks in his wrist become scars, busying his mind with what would be a miracle for most people. He knew what vampire saliva could do, but he’d never seen it used on himself.

“Alright, kid—”

“Eren.”

“...What?”

“Eren. My name.”

Eren bounced back fast. He fell abruptly in that hole of misery until he was in tears, and he’d already climbed far enough out of it to be a bit snappy with Levi. Levi felt like he should be annoyed, but the only emotion brewing within him was a bit of amusement, so he let it slide.

Eren’s look of panic when Levi tossed a wooden stake at him was pretty amusing too.

They argued for a bit—if it could even be called an argument—over Levi’s status as a vampire hunter and his various weapons concealed around the room. It was almost amazing how different Eren looked with a bit of blood in him. He was no longer that skinny, stressed, starving vampire Levi met a week ago. Without thinking, Levi reached out and tugged on Eren’s cheek, trying to see if he could still see the outline of Eren’s fangs. Even with the skin pulled taut, there wasn’t even a bump. His fangs were back to regular size. Good.

Things were good like that. He could’ve left it that way. But Levi’s curiosity got the better of him, and he asked something he shouldn’t have—insinuated something he shouldn’t have.

“Are you trying to say I killed my mom?”

That wasn't what he meant at all, though he could see how Eren's mind went there.

Perhaps Levi was calmer than he should have been about a vampire tossing a table across the room. But Eren clearly just didn’t know what he was doing or what he was capable of. The urges came back again—help, protect, do something.

And by the time Eren left, the vampire was okay again. Levi didn’t know if he actually helped or if Eren had some magic ability to bounce back from pure panic within minutes. Either way, he was glad it worked out. It was far easier to jokingly threaten the brat with a stake than it was to try and comfort him. Levi wasn’t great at the pep talks and the hugging and all the shit Hanji usually nagged him about for not being able to do.

Though it did seem a bit easier to do for Eren. For some reason.

Well, Eren managed a smile on the way out. That’s what mattered. Flashed his shitty sharp fangs at Levi in the process too. Goofy brat.

~4~

“So, you’re kinda sweet on that Eren guy, aren’t you?”

Levi paused with his soapy hands deep in the sink, aiming a glare at Furlan from across the kitchen. Furlan was putting on his apron as Petra stripped off her kitchen attire, preparing for their change in shifts. Petra’s eyes immediately lit up at the sound of Levi being “sweet on” Eren. Which he wasn’t. What does that really mean anyway?

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Levi asked.

“You know,” Furlan said, “offering to teach him about vampires and stuff.”

Levi rolled his eyes and brought his focus back to the dirty dishes.

“Would you prefer that I let him go feral?”

“Who’s Eren?” Petra asked, sliding over to Levi, who kept his gaze locked on the sink.

“Nobody,” Levi replied.

“A vampire that Levi’s taking in,” Furlan said. “Seems like Levi’s type. You know. Tall, bright eyes…”

Petra’s eyes brightened and she leaned even closer, drumming her fingers on the kitchen counter. Levi just sighed and tried to ignore her.

“It’s rare for you to take in a vampire,” Petra said. “What do you two usually get up to? Is he going to start working here? What’s he like? Oh, are you two going to—”

“Petra.”

“...Yes?”

“I’ve known Eren for two weeks. There’s nothing happening. I’m not ‘sweet’ on anybody or whatever shit Furlan said. Stop asking.”

Petra deflated in disappointment and Levi sighed, scrubbing more furiously at the dirty dishes. Furlan let his hands rest on his hips, still grinning.

“But he is your type, isn’t he?”

"Furlan—"

“What’s this about Levi’s type?” Isabel piped up, only her head poking through the door. She must have just arrived for work. “Are we trying to get him laid? ‘Cause Levi’s special brand of ‘I-don’t-care-about-you-but-we-can-bang’ is usually only endearing when he’s drunk—”

A plate snapped in half beneath Levi's soap-covered hands.

“Get to work before I fire every single one of you.”

As the three employees went running, Levi questioned why he surrounded himself with these fucking idiots.

~5~

Eren was blood drunk. At first, it was kind of amusing, and for a moment the word 'cute' may have crossed Levi's mind. Eren was asking him why Levi was the one that looked more like a vampire out of the two of them, which of course Levi didn't have the answer to. It was funny, endearing, and it helped clear Levi's mind of the somber reasons why he let Eren bite him. He loved and missed his mother, but sometimes thinking of her was… too much. Even now. Even after all this time.

So, Levi was grateful for the little distraction that was blood drunk Eren.

…At least until Eren puked blood into Levi's potted plant.

Everything that happened after that was… blurry. He remembers rushing over to Eren, cradling his unconscious body with one arm as he called Erwin and Hanji with his free hand. This had never happened before. Levi didn't know what to do. Levi really, really disliked not knowing what to do, especially when he had a blacked-out vampire with a bump the size of an apple on his head.

Levi knew so much about vampires. Their habits, their needs, their rules, their history—

And yet now, when he truly needed to know something, some obscure fact about their strange bodies, Levi was at a loss. He didn't know. He didn't know what to do. He didn't have the answers. He felt fucking useless. After his mother died, he wanted to learn everything, to replace every lie with truth. He never wanted to be caught off guard by a vampire again because look what not knowing the truth about their strange aversion to Ackerman blood had led to—

It was blurry. What Levi did while waiting. According to Hanji and Erwin, he'd been "petting Eren like a dog" the whole time. And Eren was lying on the table by the time those two got there, so Levi must have moved him too.

Levi really doesn't remember much. He remembers thinking about his mom, about how he'd failed to protect her. In hindsight, he knows he shouldn't have been so worried about Eren, that it wasn't to that scale. Levi wasn't sure then what made him panic so much. He's still not all that sure now. It was instinct and old memories that pushed him forward. That's all he knows for sure.

Levi was just so, so glad when Eren opened his eyes again.

If those two nosy fucking geezers hadn't been in the room, he might have even let it show on his face.

~6~

Eren's whole face turned red and Levi wasn't sure why. They were just talking about what to do in response to Eren's health issues. Eren said that they needed to meet every day, and Levi tried to make plans according to that. Then suddenly Eren was talking about how he didn't want to be a bother or for Levi to go out of his way for nothing—which was stupid because it was not for nothing. There was a clear reason. He was doing this for Eren.

When Levi told him as much, Eren's whole face turned red. Levi had no idea what it was about his words that caused such a reaction.

And Hanji interrupted before he was able to find out why. Then the conversation strayed to the hunters of old, from Erwin's time, but hunting of that scale was the last thing Levi wanted to think about while surrounded by friendly vampires. That was his family legacy: murder of innocent creatures whose crime was being born—well, turned is the proper word.

It was a good thing he ended it when he did. But then that got Levi thinking about how things ended—

Erwin probably sensed it. He may be as much of a nosy little shit as Hanji, but at least he knows when to leave.

When it was just Eren and Levi again, Levi thought of his mother, of Ackerman blood. He broached the idea to Eren—the idea that this might be his fault. Maybe Ackerman blood wasn't deadly, but that doesn't mean that it was good or safe. It could still be dangerous, harmful.

“...Are we still going to try?”

Ackerman blood could be just like Levi.

“I just told you that my blood might be making you sick.”

But Eren just… didn't seem to care.

“But it’s not like you’re sure. And what’s the worst that can happen? You said I won’t die, so if I end up throwing up again, we’ll figure out something then.”

So worried about bothering Levi, so nonchalant about Levi being a possible bother to him.

“You’re the one who told me you’re not going to back out of our deal. I already gave you an out, and you decided not to take it.”

Eren's grin was so bright. Nearly blinding.

Levi's mouth said annoying, idiot, shitty brat, because that's what he was used to. That's what he knew. But inside his chest, something… different was swirling. It was warm and hazy and made him feel… calm and stressed at the same time. What the fuck was that? Was he getting sick?

Levi just decided to push it to the back of his mind. He didn't like unknowns, but this… for some reason, he felt like for now, he might just be better off not knowing.

He'd be seeing Eren every day soon anyway. He'd have more time to think over this weird sickness then.

~7~

Levi just kept touching Eren without thinking. He didn't know how to stop himself, how to get back to the normal distance he kept with everyone else. His hands in Eren's hair were quickly becoming a habit, and he didn't know what to do about it.

Somehow there were always new things he didn't know with Eren.

“Why don’t you just stay my partner?”

Why?

Levi didn't know.

Why? Because Levi didn't know how long this tenuous friendship would last. Because they had started this with the intention of passing that duty onto Eren's two friends. Because… Because…

Because Levi had never thought about that. Being somebody's partner. Being Eren's partner. Because he felt like the idea of being a permanent blood bag should bother him but somehow it didn't sound so bad. Because he was getting that hazy sickness in his chest again and he didn't know why, and why the fuck would Eren want a vampire hunter to be his partner anyway?

“I doubt you really want that."

That was the best answer Levi could come up with and it wasn't an answer, really. It was a dodge, a way out of his own head.

He needed ways out because, unlike Eren, once Levi fell into that hole, he was very, very bad at bouncing back out.

As evidenced by Levi still being a stiff mess the next day too.

Luckily, the day after that, things were better.

“Have you ever thought about getting turned?”

The answer was no, although when he was a kid he may have considered it because of the strength and the power. But that was before his mother and he hadn't thought about it since. Even if he did, it wasn't like anyone would agree to help him turn.

"It's in everyone's best interest that I die someday."

Levi said it without thinking, really. It was a fact of life, one he'd known for a long time. The hunter line would end with him, and vampires would be much better off for it.

As long as he gets his final job done before he dies.

But Eren just looked so upset by Levi's words. He was staring, forlorn, at the table, brown hair spilling over his shoulders and obscuring some of his face. Green eyes narrowed, brows furrowed, and a barely held back frown—fuck, Eren looked so miserable.

Levi tried to lighten the mood with a little joke. Asked if the brat was going to miss him, just to tease, to get those green eyes to shine again.

“Yeah, maybe I fucking will!"

The hazy sickness came back fast and strong except there was less of the stress and more amusement, more warmth. And Levi's heart throbbed in his chest, violent enough for him to feel it and recognize it. He was getting sicker, getting worse.

...Though, as far as illnesses go, this one didn't feel too bad.

What did feel bad was talking about his mother the next day.

“Is Kuchel your mom’s name?”

It should have been such an innocent question. It should have been something easy for Levi to answer, but instead, he tensed, his mind going dark. It was the anger, the frustration, that flared out first, and he practically shoved the vampire’s head onto his wrist to get Eren to shut up.

But then reason hit, and Levi loosened his grip on Eren’s hair. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. How many years had it been already? Fifteen, sixteen years since that day? He should be able to hear her name—his fucking restaurant is named after her for fuck’s sake. He should—no, he needed to be able to talk about it.

And what better time than now, with this vampire that inexplicably seemed to set him at ease?

But it was hard. It’s still hard. He distracted himself by focusing on Eren’s movements, Eren’s hands still wrapped around his forearm. Eren’s lips on his wrist, even after Levi signaled that he had enough blood for the day. Eren’s soft hair beneath his fingertips.

When it got harder, when Levi felt himself falling into that hole, when he struggled to breathe, Eren caught him—or his hand at least, as it fell away from Eren’s head.

When was the last time he talked about it—about her, about that day? When was the last time he thought about the details, when he mentioned how he felt at that time?

Why was he talking about it now, with Eren?

Levi looked up and met Eren’s eyes, seeing pain and shadows flickering through green eyes. Maybe he just hoped that Eren understood. Maybe, because his experience was so similar, Levi thought Eren could understand.

As it turns out, Eren understood better than Levi ever could have hoped he would.

“Tell me the best way to kill a vampire.”

~8~

Levi took Eren to his house. He learned how to fight in his uncle’s living room. Now he would teach Eren how to fight in his own living room.

It almost made Levi want to laugh, the ways he still followed in that man’s footsteps, despite everything that happened. He supposed he just didn’t know any other way of doing things. And well, and it wasn’t like the old guy was wrong about everything.

It was too bad he happened to be wrong about the important things.

When Levi threw Eren the knife, something clicked. Holding the knife in his own hand too. Something about it was… good. He was alert, his mind clear. It was like he was on a mountaintop, getting his first breath of clean air.

Except he was in a house in the suburbs, sparring with a vampire wielding a wooden knife.

“Try to kill me.”

“...What?”

Levi almost wanted to smile.

“Ten.”

“Levi—”

“Nine.”

Eren was holding his blade like that shitty-ass knife doll from a horror movie Isabel was into. Eren gripped the handle so tightly that his knuckles were white, the blade raised above his head and the would-be sharp end of the wooden knife facing himself.

Stiff. Impulsive. Easy to dodge. Not to mention his clumsy run—so much wasted movement.

Levi probably enjoyed taking Eren down a bit too much. But adrenaline—no, excitement, surged through his veins for even this poor excuse for a fight. He hadn’t had to hunt a single creature in over a year, and he had missed this, missed the movement, the—literal and figurative—stakes, the chance to use his strength.

“Again.”

Eren complained the whole time, but he refused to stop. Levi doubted that they were feeling equal amounts of enjoyment, but he assumed that Eren didn’t hate the whole ordeal, or it would have taken the brat much less than an hour to give up.

Though, it wasn’t as though Eren actually gave up.

The vampire was a blur of brown for a moment. Levi’s body registered what was happening before his mind did, his hands coming up to block as Eren raced towards him, fangs first—

And then Eren stopped, just inches from Levi. Eren covered his mouth with his hands, apologizing behind them and stepping away from Levi when the man tried to meet Eren’s gaze. And Levi didn’t understand why Eren looked so upset. That was a good reminder; Eren wasn’t a human. He had advantages that Levi didn’t, advantages that Eren could use to get the revenge he desired. Levi tried to tell Eren as much, tried to tell him that this was good, that this was how they should practice from now on.

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t—I don’t want to practice like that.”

It happened so fast. Eren was standing, looking shaken but otherwise alright. Then green eyes squeezed shut, and he trembled, dropping into a low crouch on the floor. Levi followed him down, trying to gauge what was wrong, what was happening.

“Eren?”

A muffled whimper slipped from behind Eren’s hands. His eyes squeezed shut tighter, hunching over, curling in on himself. Levi didn’t understand, but concern flooded every ounce of him, and he quickly moved closer, hands held helplessly out in front of himself, at a loss of what to do. He wasn’t—this wasn’t what Levi was meant for. A pat on the head or on the arm was one thing, but it didn’t seem like that would suffice for this, and oh shit there were little drops spilling from Eren’s closed eyes—

“Eren!”

Eren’s eyes opened, glossy, downcast. His hands slowly fell to his sides.

“I don’t—I don’t want to fight like that. Like them.”

“Okay,” Levi said, and his voice came out quiet, gentle, more so than he’d ever heard it. It startled him.

Eren mumbled more worried words. His eyes were looking at Levi, but they were clouded, like he wasn’t truly seeing the man in front of him, and fuck, Levi needed to do something—

And all of a sudden Levi’s arms were around Eren’s back, tugging him closer, pulling him to rest against Levi. Levi felt hands at his waist, fists grabbing at the fabric of his shirt. Levi just held him tighter, pulled him closer, as close as he could.

“Am I a monster?”

Eren—lively, energetic, idiotic Eren—his voice was so quiet.

No, of course not. Fuck no, a million times no.

What Levi managed to actually say out loud was only marginally calmer than that.

Eren sagged against him, and Levi could feel a face nuzzling into his shoulder, the hands at his waist pulling even more of Levi’s shirt into those fists.

“Don’t wanna be like them,” Eren mumbled.

“You won’t be. You won’t be.”

Levi swore to himself right there that he would make sure of it. Whatever that took.

~9~

When Eren pulled away from him, Levi didn’t really want to let him go. He let Eren move back—of course, he did, he had to—but it took all he had not to hang onto Eren’s shoulders and keep him there.

This was… not good.

This… whatever the fuck it was, it was… It was a lot. It was overwhelming. Levi nearly felt like he didn’t have any control over himself, and he didn’t know what was fucking causing it. He had never felt anything like it before.

Levi clenched his hands into fists. Whatever it was, he had to put it away. He needed control, he needed stability, at least for right now. Whatever this fucking feeling was—currently manifesting itself as a wave of relief due to Eren’s now dry eyes—was something Levi would have to worry about later. He had bigger things to worry about than the mess going on in his chest.

Like whether or not Eren still wanted to do this whole revenge thing.

And Eren said that he did still want to. With no vampire abilities. No powers. No advantages. Like a fucking idiot.

Levi didn’t know how they were going to manage this, but he’d just have to make it work.

And then, for some reason, Eren was thanking him.

“You really… I mean… I don’t know how to explain it except to say that you’re basically spoiling me. I haven’t done anything in return. If there’s anything I can do—”

“No,” Levi said immediately. The word came out without his own permission. Levi looked away, trying to get a grip on his own fucking head again.

“No?”

“You don’t need to—” Fuck, what was he even trying to say right now? “I’m not doing this just for you to pay me back later.”

“Then why are you doing it?”

Good fucking question. Levi didn’t really know why he was doing anything these days. All he knew was that he just kept doing things for Eren, thinking about Eren, trying to help Eren without any fucking reason why. And it felt so different from when he was with other people. Levi just didn’t get it. If Levi were anyone else, doing the things he was fucking doing, he’d think the person was nothing better than another lovestruck idiot—

Shit.

Wait.

No.

That wasn’t—

If it was anyone else but Levi. Levi wasn’t—Levi never—Levi didn’t do love. It was not on his radar. Love was the bullshit that had Furlan pulling into his driveway at midnight to complain about some terrible date. It was the stuff that made Petra lean over his shoulder in the kitchen to whisper gossip about her co-workers’ romantic relationships. It was irrational nothingness that Levi never wanted any part of. It was something so lacking in his life that Isabel started slipping articles—which she looked up and printed out, the little shit—about being aromantic into his mailbox. (She pretended it wasn’t her, but Levi’s not an idiot, and the only other extreme meddler in his life—Hanji—would just have told him about the concept face to face).

Love—romantic love—was not something Levi felt. Ever. End of discussion. Levi just related to Eren, saw himself in Eren. Levi wanted to help him the same way he wanted to help everyone who currently worked at Kuchel’s Kitchen. That was it.

When Levi began to explain that, Eren had already switched topics. Typical brat.

“I just remembered that we were doing this once a day thing to make sure I don’t get sick again.”

“And?”

“And,” Eren said, grinning as brightly as always, “I haven’t been sick once this week.”

For a moment, Levi didn’t get it. Then a swell of relief and warmth and that weird hazy feeling in his chest filled him, and he couldn’t even hold back the small smile coming to his lips if he wanted to.

“Well... I guess I’m not bad for you after all.”

Eren’s face was red again. Levi did his best not to read into it.

Before long, their conversation shifted again.

“...You’re sure you don’t mind?”

It felt silly to Levi that Eren was asking Levi if he was alright with Eren's murder plans after Levi spent an entire hour sparring with him in preparation for that exact event. Eren tried to explain how Eren's murder for revenge could possibly be less noble—or whatever the hell it was that Eren was trying to prove—than Levi's murder for pay. Levi was eager to let the subject drop. There was no point in asking if Levi was okay with it. Killing was his life for as long as he could remember.

And remembering only made him bitter. He didn't want to be bitter with Eren.

Well, that thought backfired on him anyway. Minutes later Eren called Levi out on his gossiping habits—it wasn't like he wanted to, those idiots gossiped around him and Levi has fucking ears—and Levi remembered talk about Eren being his type and Furlan's thoughts of Levi being sweet on Eren and—

Levi lost it. Full-on lost it. And when Levi loses it, he gets worse than bitter. He gets mean.

And the fact that he could hear Eren laughing his ass off outside the door didn't make things any better.

~10~

Levi was not Eren. He didn't bounce back from things, not easily. So when Eren arrived at the restaurant, grinning at Levi like a smug little shit and asking if the vampire hunter was still embarrassed, it took all of Levi's self-control not to snap at Eren all over again.

Though telling Eren that Levi would let him starve if he didn't drop it is probably considered snapping at him.

Well, Eren's consistent grin made Levi cool off pretty quickly anyway.

They talked about revenge again, for a bit. To make sure that it was something Eren still wanted to do with his own hands. Levi could do it for him. That had been Levi's original plan anyway. He couldn't just let a couple of ferals get away.

It was cute for a second, the fact that Eren was still worried about Levi's possible distaste for murder—Levi, the person who's been training to kill vampires since before his age had double digits. But only for a second.

“I was seriously worried about that shit! Made me feel more like a monster than I already am.”

Monster. There was that word again. Did Eren really see himself that way? What, because he was considering committing a crime—a crime against two real monsters that not only killed his mother but condemned him to a life of blood-sucking?

Eren was not the monster in the room.

“Being a vampire does not make you a monster.”

Levi didn’t know how to make it any clearer to Eren.

“Yes, it does! I’ve been taking your blood every day for a week straight—”

Taking. Is that how Eren saw it? Like he was taking, stealing, depriving Levi of something. Levi thought of Eren’s words from the day before. Eren was so focused on reasoning. It wasn’t about the number of kills to Eren, it was the motivation—as if killing to protect was more justified than killing for revenge. For Levi, motivation was irrelevant. It was how many, how often, and occasionally who. ‘Why' didn’t matter to Levi. A life is a life. A death is a death.

But if what Eren cared about was intention—

“Taking? No, I give you my blood.”

That was fine. Because Eren had noble enough intentions and a current body count of zero. He was innocent, even according to both of their definitions.

“Then what does make a monster?”

Try being an Ackerman.

“The only people I consider monsters are the pigs who take innocent lives without remorse.”

A life is a life. A death is a death. But being completely innocent isn’t what makes a human a human. Humans are fucked up. They’re cruel. But they have limits.

Monsters don’t. That’s the difference.

When Levi’s words didn’t feel like they were getting through, he moved closer, layering his hands over Eren’s. Maybe he couldn’t convince Eren otherwise within one night. But that wasn’t what Levi was trying to achieve right now. He just wanted to ease Eren, at least for now. He wanted to help the king of bouncing back do what he did best.

“Look, maybe I can’t convince you to not see yourself as a monster. But know that I don’t see you as one, alright brat?”

Who was Levi even kidding at this point? Hazy sickness? Yeah, right. Levi had it fucking bad for Eren, and it was only getting worse every moment they spent together.

All he could do was hold Eren close and hope that this wouldn’t all blow up in his face.

“Why do you do it?” Eren asked. “If stuff like this isn’t what you do often?”

I wish I knew.

“Why do you think?” Levi asked.

Of course, Eren was even more clueless than Levi. But Levi was given hope. Brief, heart-wrenching hope, in the form of his blood tasting sweeter on Eren’s tongue.

All those stories his mom told him in an attempt to get him to see “the good side of vampires” better not have been lies.

~11~

The stories were lies.

Well, not lies exactly. But Levi now had every reason in the world to doubt their truth. He had called Erwin as soon as Eren left, unable to stop himself, and—

“Oh… My friend, I… Well, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but…”

Legends. Fucking fairytales. Soulmate-based fairy tales. Soulmates? That was beyond absurd. Soulmates, but the only way you can find them if one of you happens to become a vampire and then happens to ingest the right person’s blood and happens to notice a change in flavor. What, so only vampires could have soulmates, and the rest of humanity was just fucked? Absolute bullshit, that’s what the story was. Fuck.

When his mom told him that story, it was supposed to be a definite thing. Blood tasting sweet equals love. End of story. It wasn’t like he was mad at her for having the story wrong, but shit, it took a lot just for him to get his hopes up in general. For it to end like this—

Levi decided to block it out. He refused to think about it. If he thought about it, it would just fuck him up. He was not going to dig himself into that hole. He needed to take a page from Eren’s book and learn to not let everything bog him down—

“Must you keep him in the dark about even this?”

If Levi was sixteen again, he would have committed a murder right fucking there. But he was older now. He was capable of reigning himself in. If Levi could just change the subject, everything would be fine.

“Tell me what?”

He just needed to—

“I should think you have plenty of reasons to tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

If Levi could just—

“Vampires are myths too, Levi.”

—Change the fucking subject!

“What the fuck are you guys talking about?” Eren asked.

Levi was not Eren. He did not bounce back. He snapped. And he was getting dangerously close.

Erwin could sense it. He stopped pressing so intensely, and he found a way to make his exit. Levi thanked his lucky stars that he’d gone to Erwin for advice and not Hanji. He knew that Hanji had always wanted to know what it was like to see him lose his cool.

But then Eren was trying to follow Erwin out. Fuck, Eren was going to ask. Levi needed to stop him, to prevent him from going because Levi really couldn’t handle any more than this—

“What? Are you going to tell me what the hell all that was?”

“It doesn’t concern you.”

“Doesn’t concern me?”

Stop. Levi needed to stop this, stop his head, stop his blood from boiling. He didn’t want to snap at Eren. It wasn’t Eren’s fault. It would be stupid to snap at Eren when the whole reason Levi was upset was because of how much he cared—

“If it’s nothing, then tell me about it.”

“No.”

If he could just get Eren to drop it. He’d tell the brat anything, just not this. Anything but this. He needed Eren to drop it. If Eren could just drop it—if Levi could change subjects—if they could talk about something else, anything else—please, Eren, fuck just drop it—

“You’re just going to say no without telling me why?”

Because even feeling what he felt without telling anyone was a new level of vulnerability hell for Levi. He couldn’t let Eren know, he couldn’t—Eren would have so much power over him—in this fucked up state of mind he could be crushed with a single ‘no’ and Levi was not Eren, he could not bounce back—

“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“But why won’t you?”

“I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

Somehow Eren knew just what to say, where to touch, to make things hit the hardest for Levi. Usually, that was good. Usually, that was him doing something that made Levi feel for him, that made Levi smile.

“Did I do something wrong? Do you—” Eren’s voice breaks. “Don’t you trust me?”

Right now it just hurt. And it hurt worse because Levi knew he was being an irrational little shit, because he knew that he was hurting Eren too, and fuck, fuck, fuck—

...Eren apologized first. Levi didn’t want that. He hadn’t wanted them to argue at all. He cradled Eren’s hands in his, raising them to his chest.

“Look, I really didn’t—It’s been a long day. I took it out on you. I’m sorry.”

Levi doesn’t bounce back. He snaps.

“I just… I got upset when you didn’t tell me. It felt like…” Eren trailed off.

“Like I didn’t trust you?”

Levi snaps. But as years have gone by, he’s learned to fix what he breaks.

“Eren. I… I do. I trust you. I trust you more than—”

More than I should. More than I’m probably capable of expressing to you.

“But you’re going to have to wait for me to grow a pair before I can explain to you what Erwin and I talked about, alright?”

It would be far out of Levi's comfort zone, but… If it was for Eren, maybe he could. Just… not yet. Maybe not for a long time.

For now Levi could just try to enjoy the feeling. And there were plenty of things to enjoy, if he chose to focus on them. Eren’s embarrassment every time Levi caught him daydreaming while burying his face into Levi’s neck—which really didn’t bother him as much as it probably should have. Eren’s exaggerated reactions to all of Levi’s teasing. Eren’s blushing, Eren’s smile, Eren’s grouchy little pout.

Eren’s determined gaze when he set his mind towards something. Eren’s spirit. Eren’s strength.

Levi wanted it all, wanted to protect it, to preserve it. And for what they both wanted… Levi would have to risk things if he could even dare to hope to protect Eren. Levi… Levi needed to be able to replace what he was going to risk.

“I need to meet those friends of yours,” Levi said. “The ones you came with the night we met.”

Levi wanted Eren to keep smiling. And, if he planned things right, he could manage it. But… But then Levi wouldn’t…

No. He didn’t need to think about that right now. For now, he could just pretend they’d get through everything unscathed. He would enjoy right now so that he wouldn’t even think about regretting things later.

~12~

It was supposed to be a good day. An easy day. They were just going to spar. He was going to teach Eren how to actually hold his knife and their day would go on like usual.

But Eren recoiled from him. He launched himself away from Levi when the man was just trying to get close, and Levi didn’t know why. Was it his hunting closet? Did the garlic on his coats and cloaks rub off on him? Levi knew that he didn’t have vampire senses, but he thought that he would have noticed if the garlic scent clung to him like that… Still, there was no other immediate concern that came to mind, and Eren was being unusually tight-lipped about it all.

It was… strange. Eren, expressive as he was, was normally someone that Levi could pretty much read like an open book. When he was angry, sad, conflicted, joyful, it all showed on his face, and all Levi had to do was piece together the reasoning behind it. Granted, there were times when Levi didn’t know, but this was… This was extreme. Everything about Eren was just screaming distress, but this was the first time that Levi was at a complete blank as to what the origin was. He felt like when Eren was wearing his emotions this openly, he should be able to know.

But Levi didn’t. They had been talking as usual, teasing each other as usual. Things only changed when Levi got close. And the only thing different about Levi was (possibly) the lingering scent of garlic.

Maybe Eren just didn’t want to say anything about the scent—which was weird, Levi would have thought that Eren would tease him for smelling like shit—and if that was the case, Levi wasn’t going to force the words out of him.

So, Levi decided to just shower.

And then the shitty brat laughed at him. Laughed so hard that he would have fallen on the floor if Levi hadn’t caught him. And while that annoyed Levi, he would have let it slide if Eren hadn't said—

“Thank you for worrying about me, but—” Eren was still laughing, the little shit. “You must really like me, huh?”

You must really like me. The words rattled around in Levi's empty head until his entire body went rigid. How did Eren—Did somebody tell him—no, nobody could’ve, but then—how did he know?

It was worse that it was a joke too. This feeling that Levi had been grappling with for the past couple of weeks, feelings that he didn't know could exist within him, that he didn't want to believe in, and that he only recently learned to accept—all that just played for a fucking laugh?

Did Eren know? Did he think this was just another one of those things he could tease Levi about and everything would be fine?

"I, uh… I was joking."

Of course, he was.

"Oh. Good."

What else was Levi supposed to say?

But then he heard Eren's gasp. He looked at the vampire struggling to push himself off the floor, and he saw trembling, watery eyes, a bottom lip firmly trapped between Eren's teeth, and shit, it all just looked like heartbreak—

“No, fuck, wait—”

This, Levi could read. This, Levi could understand. Eren, the fucking idiot that he is, of course, he would use a joke of all things to try and gauge Levi's feelings. Of course, now he thought the opposite of what was true and fuck, how could Levi fix this—

“Eren.”

“Look, I know we were supposed to be practicing, but I really just want to go home right now.”

“Please, just let me explain—”

“I really need to go home.”

“Eren—”

He needed to figure something out, and he needed to do it now because Eren was leaving, and Levi didn't want him to leave. Not like this. Not without knowing the truth. This wasn't when Levi wanted to do this, but if it would fix things… if it would keep Eren here, for just a moment longer, just long enough for them to clear things up, then—

“Eren, I’m in love with you.”

But… Eren ran. He ran as if those words were the last straw.

Levi… Levi must have read things wrong again. Said the opposite of what Eren wanted to hear.

Got his hopes up again. For nothing.

At least now, he knew for certain. At least now, he…

Who was Levi fucking kidding? He couldn't pull a bright side out of this. He tried to let decisions go, tried not to regret things he couldn't change, but…

Levi couldn't help wishing he'd done something different this time. Just this one time.

~13~

"Levi… Are you okay?"

Levi didn't look up from the sink at the sound of Isabel's voice.

"What makes you ask?"

"Oh, you know… Just the pile of broken plates next to you."

Levi glanced over at what was supposed to be the clean dishes rack. He didn't remember breaking any dishes, but he also didn't remember driving to work or anything else that happened since Eren—

"I'm fine."

Levi slamming a glass so hard into the dish rack that it shattered probably wasn't the most convincing thing he could have done.

"Right…" Isabel said, inching closer to him and gently guiding him away from the sink. "Why don't you take a break for a second? Furlan and I can handle things until you're...calmer. Okay?"

"I told you I'm fine—"

"Levi," Isabel said firmly, "we still need to serve customers tonight. Which means we still need plates. Which means you need to take a break until you cool off. Okay?"

Levi wanted to argue, but he was already feeling exhausted again. He just wanted to be alone.

"...Okay."

Isabel frowned up at him and patted him on the arm once before slipping out of the kitchen and getting back to work.

Levi doesn't remember what he did until Furlan came to get him. He remembers standing over the stove when the kitchen door opened. He remembers his friend saying there was some kind of "incident" happening outside. So Levi walked out of the restaurant in a daze, expecting to break up a fight—

“And then Levi goes up to little Isabel and says…Fear not, small child, for I have arrived to save the day!"

"What kind of fucking nonsense are you spreading now?" Levi snapped.

And then he saw Eren.

He remembers talking with Isabel, shooing her back into the restaurant, but whatever he said came out purely on autopilot. His mind was on Eren, even as he fought with himself to keep his gaze away, to not be swayed, to not get his hopes up again—

“Uh, Levi?”

Levi didn’t want to get his hopes up again.

“Look, I, um… I really… I mean, I’m really, really sorry about… about yesterday.”

“...You’re sorry.”

So Levi thought about all the reasons Eren would be there on a day they had never planned on, just a few hours after Levi sent him messages detailing the ways they could avoid seeing each other as much as possible. What reasons would Eren have to come? What reason would Eren have to apologize after running away?

“Y-yeah. I—especially because I ran—no, um, especially because of how I feel. Because, uh, I—”

Why would he bother attempting to force out words that he clearly wasn’t comfortable saying yet? Why, just because Levi said them? Because he felt bad? Bullshit.

“Levi, the truth is—”

“Don’t say it just because I did. I don’t need that kind of pity.”

Levi didn’t want to hear it. He just wanted the conversation to be over with. He wanted to leave.

“The truth is that I don’t know if I love you!”

It was the most sincere Eren’s voice had sounded so far, so Levi stopped. He stopped and waited for Eren’s truth. Levi didn't really want to hear a rejection, but if it would give things a smoother ending between them then—

“The truth is that I don’t know what I feel about you. Because I feel a lot of things, all kinds of things, all at once.”

...Huh?

“The second we met, I felt something when I looked at you. And honestly, my dumb ass was pretty sure it was fear.”

Fear? Levi didn't even try to—never mind, not important. Eren felt something towards Levi from the moment they met? That was—no, Levi needed Eren to clarify that—

“And I don’t know when I stopped being nervous around you, but I do know that I look for you when I’m nervous now. I reach for you, I try to grab hold of you. I’m not scared anymore, Levi. Being near you gets rid of my fear. I mean, yeah, sometimes I get anxious, but it’s only because I’m so desperate to keep you with me. I don’t want to mess anything up—”

Levi's brain was overloading. All this romantic sappy shit that made Levi's heart squeeze like a water balloon beneath a metal clamp was too much. Levi didn't know how to—Levi had never—No one had ever said anything like this to Levi. No one but Eren. He needed Eren to slow down, for a second at least—

“And you—you’re just—you’re there for me, and you say all these things that drive me crazy, and it’s like I’m always, always thinking of you even when I shouldn’t be. I want to impress you, I want you to think of me just as much as I think of you, and fuck, I haven’t even talked about how hot you are yet.”

All of that—all of that shit—that passionate starry-eyed nonsense that had Eren looking at Levi like the little bitter man was the fucking sun—

How… How was it that they felt almost exactly the same?

“What I’m trying to say is that if all these things I’m feeling about you are love, then I love you, Levi.”

If they really did feel the same…

“Sorry,” Eren said, “you were going to say something?”

Then Levi wasn't going to let Eren run away again.

"You drive me fucking insane."

Insane in a good way. And in a bad way. Because fuck, if Levi was unsure if his feelings before, he was certain of them now. Certain of the way they drew new sides out of him, new feelings, new emotions. Certain of the way they drove him crazy with stupid worries, with regret, with concern. Certain of the way they put his heart through the fucking wringer.

And Levi was certain that he wouldn't give up these feelings for anything, despite all that.

You're stuck with me now, was the unspoken promise Levi sealed against Eren's lips.

~14~

Levi wasn't great at all this romance stuff. The confessions, the purposeful sweet talk. But kissing? Kissing was no longer uncharted waters.

...Well, that's what Levi thought at first anyway.

For Levi, kissing was a chore. A detour from the main event that he had to take almost every time due to his partners' preferences. He knew what to do, and he had gotten good at it, but it never really meant anything or made him feel differently.

And then he kissed Eren.

Levi refuses to say all that cheesy shit about sparks flying or whatever, but… It was different. It was definitely different.

He felt hot. Boiling heat inside his chest, searing through him from the inside out. It propelled every one of his movements, keeping his hand on Eren’s shirt so that the tall brat would stay low enough for their lips to meet. His free arm slipped around Eren's waist and everywhere Levi touched seemed to make Eren gasp and tremble, and fuck, this was playing with Levi’s patience.

Eren’s hands were on his waist, and he could feel the eager vampire pressing himself closer, parting his lips, and Levi certainly wasn’t going to stop him—

Levi briefly registered pain on his bottom lip, faint enough that Levi could honestly equate it to an itch, and then Eren was pulling away. Levi opened his eyes and was met with vivid green panic. Levi just huffed a little sigh as he moved to slide his fingers into Eren’s long hair. Eren’s hands at his waist retreated a little, not letting go, but no longer open palms against his sides.

Levi nearly wanted to laugh, but he could still have a bit more fun with this if he didn’t.

“Eren.”

Eren’s eyes widened again before he dropped his gaze, his entire upper half drooping. Levi could nearly imagine a pair of brown dog ears on Eren’s head, remorsefully pinned back.

...Maybe Erwin was onto something with that whole “puppy” thing.

“I know I told you to bite me if I didn’t want this…”

Levi tilted Eren’s chin up with his fingers before wiping a stray drop of blood from his lip. He hadn’t meant for the action to stir up anything, but they were close enough that he saw Eren’s pupils dilate, and Levi almost had to physically bite back a smile.

Well, well. He’d keep that in mind for later.

“...but something tells me you were just being an overeager little shit.”

Eren was still staring at the bloody smudge on Levi’s lips.

“I… I forgot I had fangs for a second there.”

“Only you would. Dumbass.”

They goofed around for a little while longer until Levi decided they should call somebody to actually work before the restaurant fell apart. Petra arrived soon after that, and then they were back in their usual spots in the breakroom, ready to talk.

Well, Levi was ready until Eren was touching his own lips like he was silently begging for Levi to kiss him again.

And you're supposed to give a puppy a treat when they beg, right?

It was so easy for Levi to just get… absorbed by Eren. The sound of his voice, the feel of his breath and his lips… His skin beneath Levi's fingers… His soft hair brushing against Levi's cheeks...

His goofy-ass grin against Levi's lips.

Kissing Eren was… nice. It was sharing a smile, sharing joy. It was a confession. It was confirmation. It was a reminder. It made something warm settle at the pit of Levi's rib cage with every instance. Something warm and gentle and nice. Something like comfort. Like Levi's favorite blend of tea on a winter evening.

Kissing Eren was nice. So was touching Eren, being near Eren. It was all nicer now, knowing Levi's own feelings, knowing that Eren felt the same.

If Levi thought those words could get through his throat unchanged, he would have said them out loud then, in that quiet moment between the two of them.

“Don’t stare too long."

It took a moment for Levi to register how long they had been sitting there in silence, how long he had been absent-mindedly admiring Eren's face as his mind wandered. His throat swelled for a moment, shame clogging his windpipe and making him struggle to breathe. But Eren was just smiling at him, green eyes brimming with affection that probably matched Levi's.

Levi didn't have to be ashamed. He didn't have to be embarrassed. He didn't need to pretend that he wasn't staring at Eren, not when Eren was also staring at him.

But this was… new. It would definitely take some getting used to.

Especially when Eren's smile was slowly morphing into the grin of a smug little shit.

Levi forced their conversation back to what it was supposed to be: a moment for them to ask each other whatever questions they had. Levi himself had a few questions about Eren's preferred boundaries, but in all honesty, there was only one real question that he desperately wanted the answer to.

But Eren asked to go first, so Levi let him.

"What was that thing you were talking about with Erwin? When I walked in and you didn't want to tell me?"

Levi relived all his shame within a single instant. Of course. Why didn't he expect Eren to ask him about that soulmate fucking bullshit? He felt even stupider about it now, now that he and Eren had come to like each other the normal way. Of course, that was the first thing Eren asked. Of course, that was the start of their whole conversation.

"Wha—What's wrong?! Are some questions off limits? I can change mine—"

Eren’s panic only made Levi feel worse, so he forced the words out of his throat, eager to get the conversation over with and blow through the pain. This was exactly the sort of thing Eren liked to tease Levi over, so Levi waited for Eren to joke and prod and laugh at Levi for getting his hopes up at sky level before subsequently stomping them beneath his feet. Levi was just waiting for it, for that shit-eating grin that he knew would come—

...But it didn’t. It didn’t come.

“Personally, I don’t think we should take being soulmates off the table—”

Levi thought that sentence would be the start of it, the start of the laughs and the bullshit.

“But.” Eren was holding Levi by the hand. “Either way, Levi, I love you. I’m choosing you, myth or no myth. So you don’t have to put your hopes into some old legend. Just leave all those hopes with me.”

Levi… Levi had been waiting for ridicule that never came. He had braced for it, expected it—shit, if the tables were turned, Levi might have laughed at Eren—but it never came.

Eren was still holding his hand, anchoring him. Somehow… Somehow Eren knew that this would have fucked Levi up if he had joked about it. Because Eren usually has no problem messing with Levi until the vampire hunter is glaring daggers at him. But this time Eren chose not to. He chose to listen, to comfort. He chose to support.

Levi… Levi could learn a lesson or two from this insufferable, kind brat. He wanted to, so that could do this for Eren too, when Eren needed it. Levi wanted to be good at this. This whole being in love thing.

Because Eren deserved somebody who could be good at this.

“Eren.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m… new at this.”

Eren smiled in that soft way that made Levi’s heart expand and his chest squeeze at the same time. He had Levi by the hand, gave the appendage a little squeeze. It made Levi realize how tightly he was hanging onto Eren. Eren, the one of them with newly acquired super strength, was the one with the gentler touch, at least right now. Levi tried to loosen his grip, but he kind of just wanted to hang on even tighter.

“That’s okay. Me too—I mean, I’ve never felt this strongly—”

“No,” Levi said. “I’ve never… I’ve never felt anything. Nothing like this has ever…”

Levi has friends—family that are dear to him. He has people he would never want to lose, that he would protect with his life. What he doesn’t understand is how quickly Eren joined those ranks. He doesn’t understand what it is about the vampire that puts him in a separate category from the other people he loves.

And with his family, Levi can be as much of a little fucking gremlin as he wants. He can be a piece of shit, an asshole, a person they maybe only want around out of obligation—

But Levi wants to do more, to be more for Eren. With Eren. He wants—fuck, he just wants Eren to stay.

He could’ve said that. Maybe he should have. Maybe he will someday. But at that moment, Levi just said—

“I’m going to fuck this up sometimes.”

“No, Levi—”

“I’ll fuck it up. So, I…”

Levi really hoped he wasn’t going to regret saying this.

“When I do, I… I hope you’ll choose me again.”

Hope. He’d been feeling that a lot recently, hadn’t he? But with hope… Whenever Levi allowed himself that much it was almost always followed by—

Before Levi could even think the word ‘regret,’ Eren’s arms were around him.

“I will. I definitely will.”

Levi decided that he would believe in those words. At least for now.

It took them a little while to get back on track. When they restarted their question session, it was Levi’s turn. He asked the one thing he was truly desperate to know.

“Why did you run after I told you I loved you?”

He tried to stay neutral while asking, even though it still hurt, even though the wound was still fresh. He didn’t need to be hurt by it; they had already admitted their true feelings. But Levi… Levi was not good at bouncing back and he didn’t want any bad blood to linger. If he could just understand, then maybe that’d be enough for him to let it go—

“I… don’t know.”

Oh.

Levi… Levi didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I’m sorry,” Eren said, and his head lowered. Absentmindedly, Levi imagined the ears again, the drooping puppy tail. “I just—sometimes my head just… It-it gets stuck, and I can’t get out of it.”

Oh.

It happened to Eren too?

“I’m sorry,” Eren said just as the gears in Levi’s brain started turning again. “I-I don’t know what—I… I was just—I thought that you were rejecting me, and I just… I don’t know. I heard you, I know I did, but I just couldn’t—it was like I didn’t actually hear you, or I couldn’t process it because I was already gone, I was already stuck—”

It happened to Eren too.

“It’s like… Like driving a car with no brakes, like I can’t stop—I’m sorry, I don’t—I just—fuck—”

It was probably happening to Eren right now.

But that was okay. Levi’s been there before. He had been in that car with no brakes. While their minds weren’t the same, Levi could understand enough from Eren’s words, from the previous ways he was able to bring Eren out of his head.

What Eren needed was a reminder to take his foot off the gas.

When Eren told Levi about his mother for the first time, it was a touch that brought him out of that memory. So Levi’s hand found his way to the top of Eren’s head, and then he waited for a reaction, considering how there was a time when touch didn’t work, when that caused Eren to throw a table across the room.

Eren gasped but didn’t move away. The table was still in place. Levi added another hand and waited. The only reaction was quiet, trembling breaths. Levi shifted his focus to pulling Eren’s hands away from his head, frowning when he saw blood beneath Eren’s fingernails. If his head didn’t heal quick enough, Levi would let him drink a little extra. Just for today.

“I’m sorry—”

“No,” Levi said. Take your foot off the gas. “You don’t need to do that.”

“But I—”

“You don’t need to apologize.”

Levi continued slowly, methodically. He would try something, another touch, another movement, and then he would wait. If Eren was still okay, he would continue. He would do a little more.

What he wanted was to get Eren to look him in the eye. He wanted Eren to see that Levi wasn’t upset, wasn’t angry. Everything was okay. There was no need to apologize.

He wanted to help the king of bouncing back do just that. And sure enough, by the time Levi had calmed Eren down enough to have a brief conversation—

“Can we—can we still ask questions?”

“Are you sure?”

Eren nodded.

“I… want to know how old you are.”

Levi couldn’t hold back a laugh. The king had returned to his throne.

“I’m twenty-six.”

Levi had helped.

“Favorite color?”

“Black.”

Maybe…

“Favorite animal.”

“Hm… Horses.”

Maybe Levi had a chance at not fucking this up after all.

“Favorite hobby.”

“Do I get to ask you any questions?”

“Mmm… No.”

“Fine. Cleaning.”

Maybe… Maybe Levi could be alright at this would being in love thing.

“Favorite…”

Levi wasn’t sure how long they went on like that. All he knew is that by the time he sent Eren home, Levi was having a hard time biting back his smiles.

That vampire brat had changed him. Is changing him. Will continue to change him. And Levi…

Levi’s looking forward to it.

[anangelicday-mrwolf]

Wolfsbane : Noblesse Fanfic (post-ending)

(previous chapter)

Chapter 54 – The Night of Horror

“Tao, duck!”

Screamed M-21, to which Tao responded by promptly letting an imaginary hand wrench his entire torso towards his feet.

Not a second after, a human body thrust its way through the exact spot where his head used to be.

Wham!

“Krrrgh!”

“Kraah!”

The agent M-21 just wrestle-flung collided with a man in a lab coat, reaping from them grunts close to beastly snarls.

They shared one thing in common – nothing about their appearances suggested they are Homo sapiens, with discolored skin reminiscent of corpses, nails and teeth jutting out in a vicious manner, and eyes seemingly brimming with blood.

And these were not exclusive to the two pseudo-zombies giving Tao and M-21 a challenge like nothing before.

Of course, it would take less than a minute and feel like less than 10 seconds for Tao and M-21 to make sure their opponents will never again disrupt them.

Alas, they could not position themselves appropriately, let alone pull out a weapon or shift into battle forms, because they happened to be facing the staff of KSA.

“Looks like that gas was combined with the technology on... What was it again? Rapid body modification?”

“Yup. Damn, I didn’t think it would be so effective.”

The two men lamented upon witnessing how employees and agents wobbled back to their feet; they could swear they did more than a proper job of hitting their vital points to knock them out.

They even twisted the ankles, solemnly swearing to get upon their knees for forgiveness once the storm is gone; however, their plan was made null by the healing power that naturally comes with body modification.

“...I don’t think we’ll be getting out of this situation, unless we pry out their limbs or a rib or spine or two.”

“...How I hate the fact that I can’t help but agree with you there.”

The outcome was beyond Tao and M-21’s expectation, probably because of Yuhyung’s adjustment.

Nevertheless, they presumed the healing power that surfaced within the victims would be below average.

After all, the project on which their modification was based off was classified as failure and ultimately canceled.

So just like M-21 said, the victims would not be able to recover the loss of a limb or skeletal structure.

Nonetheless, Tao and M-21 could not dare harm them; the only thing they have done wrong, if they have done anything wrong, was staying overnight to fully dedicate themselves to their duties.

It was not the question of post-measurements, already guaranteed by KSA and Frankenstein; it was the question of morals.

M-21’s and Tao’s faces stiffened as the victims dragged their feet towards them, the two men cornered in the room.

Just then, one of the agents bumped shoulders with a researcher closest to him, from which the situation took a precipitous downfall.

Slash!

Chomp!

The agent made a violent lash at the researcher’s face, and the researcher countered by rooting his teeth into the agent’s shoulder with full power.

Which served as a cue for the rest of the victims to tackle and thwack and open their mouths wide at one another.

Tao and M-21 turned pale as they watched how a scene from fratricidal zombie movie was being played live, their minds becoming numb with shock as the floor being slowly freed from gas was now being plastered with victims’ blood.

They threw themselves in the middle to separate the victims from each other, and that was when their communicators finally vibrated with life.

<Tao! M-21! Do you copy?!>

“Takio? Where are you? What in the world is keeping you? And why did you have to wait to...”

<What is going on? What’s wrong with these people?>

Tao and M-21 met each other in the eyes for a moment at how alarmed Takio sounded.

Then their memories rang the bell for them – the corridors of KSA were not the only area under the effect of Yuhyung’s gas.

“Don’t tell me... Are there people whose body went through modification? Shoot, I was hoping it’d take time for the gas to spread!”

<It’s not far from KSA’s HQ, but what on earth is going on? And what do you mean, body modification? I’m sure these people are civilians!>

“We’ll talk about this later! First, get over here! We could really use a hand or two right now!”

Knowing Takio, they anticipated him to fly over on the double, although they ended up acting individually, a rare occasion to begin and to continue.

Notwithstanding, there was a reason why Murphy’s law was ever coined.

<Uh... I’m afraid as of now I’m... Ugh!>

Swoosh!

Pow!

Their ears whirring upon the sonic boom so very tangible despite the distance secured by the communicators, Tao and M-21 gaped each other with their eyes trembling.

“Takio? What’s going on?!”

“Are you also under the civilian attack?”

<No! It’s the Union! I ran into two of them on my way. One of them happens to be that big guy we saw in the footage we pieced back together from the security camera outside the safehouse that was destroyed. And the other one is a woman with...>

“...Orange hair and cerulean eyes?”

<H-how did you know?>

“Takio, that’s the one!”

“That’s the woman Miss Lunark mistook for Kespar! The one who plotted against Frankenstein in joint with the 3rd Elder!”

“Hang in there. We’re coming in...!”

M-21 and Tao stomped their legs in a halt, in the middle of their sprint carrying the violently struggling people, partitioned with their arms and shoulders.

As soon as they turned the last corner connected to the nearest lab, they saw how the tiles were barely visible due to countless people with abnormal builds.

“Impossible! There’s no way such number would be remaining at this hour!”

“Tao, look at them.”

M-21 directed Tao’s eyes towards the side, where three men and women were yanking each other with their mouths like hyenas that fasted for a month.

“Look what they’re wearing. They’re no agents. Or employees.”

“Are they civilians...? Did some of them trespass?!”

Tao bellowed in dismay, which unfastened the door that was keeping the avalanche of trouble from stampeding towards them.

“Grrr...”

“Krr...”

The blood-shot eyes of people who were busy taking a bite or grab out of anyone within their reach darted glances towards M-21 and Tao.

Not long after, the artificially modified humans lunged towards the two RK’s like a pack of rabid dogs that have spotted a target, a phenomenon propagating outside KSA.

“W-what the hell?!”

“Argh! Mommy!”

“H-help me! Somebody please he... Aaaah!!!”

People who have never consented to their monstrous changes spread out from the street housing KSA’s headquarter, to hunt down innocent citizens, paving the streets with blood and gore.

Which Yuhyung was watching through his device, via the cameras attached upon interior and exterior of the KSA building.

His hands gripping the device quaked, and he hurriedly pulled out a communicative device he would keep asleep unless he has to talk to Helga.

<Oh, hey. So how’s the plan go...>

“What the heck is going on?!?!”

Yuhyung shrieked, as if he were forcing his guts out through his throat, as soon as Helga’s pointed-as-always voice hit his eardrums.

And her response successfully blew up his half-powdered mind.

<What’s the yelling for? Is there a problem?>

She sounded so very placid, whereas her voice was toned up and down deliberately, as if she had seen this coming.

“Problem? Problem is an understatement!!! You know what is... I mean, you are seeing and hearing what is going on! You said you’ll make your way to KSA, so you should know very well what’s...”

<Oh, yes. I know. Of course I do. In fact, I’ve known it for quite long.>

“...What...?!”

Yuhyung’s quivering voice listlessly scattered into thin air, like a ball of dirt caught in the wind.

<I’ve never told you, have I? I mean the reason why this project the data I gave you came from was labeled as failure and canceled. Well, you were too excited to get your hands on the data and didn’t even bother to ask.>

Helga did mention that the project has a side effect, but he heeded not much, since the way she spoke of the side effect gave impression that it is no big deal.

Still, like she said, he was so thrilled back then to at last gain the Union data he had been thirsting for.

His thoroughness, a must-have value for anyone affiliated with investigation, was discarded temporarily, as he was too occupied with letting his elation jingle his entire universe, like popping champagne open.

And when he later examined the data, he could not find anything in particular in terms of side effect, so he had forgotten about it, until now.

<That’s right. What you’re seeing as we speak is the side effect of this project. The subjects that experience rapid body modification lose the ability to tell their friends from foes. Whenever they see something living and moving, they will first and foremost react by driving their teeth and nails into flesh. And if they are devoid of lifeform around them, they will slash and masticate and take apart their own bodies.>

Instantly, Yuhyung felt as if the entire world spun right into his chest; the entire world turned into a stone of immeasurable size and unimaginable weight, smashing his heart into pieces and plummeting towards his core.

<Did you honestly think I’ll forfeit a complete, safe technology to someone like you? We’d rather die than to suffer a humiliation of allowing vermin like you walking on par with us!>

Helga snickered, stage-choking herself.

<Anyways, congratulations. You made your wish come true – turning non-modified into modified. And now, you’d get to collect as much data as you’d want, like picking apples under the falling leaves!>

Helga sneered as she smiled in vile entertainment and sinister glee, and Yuhyung could only make out his mind escaping far away from him as he watched her.

And the horror spreading throughout Seoul, delivered to his device in divided screens, did not stop assaulting his calm.

No...

This isn’t what I wanted......

I’ve never asked for something like this......!

<And now excuse me. There’s something that compels me to make myself unavailable for now.>

After peeking at something that was not accessible for sight from Yuhyung’s side, Helga cut off the signal, to restrain Kornel once more.

“I’d thought I told you to be prudent!”

“Oh, come on! Can’t you stop stopping me now?! We’re going to kill him anyways!”

“I would have let you, if it were someone else. But that’s Takio we’re facing – the one Sol told us. Takio of DA-5.”

“What? That’s him?”

“Precisely. We assumed it’d take a miracle for him to stand against Aris, let alone beat her. But he not only deleted her existence but also decided to put himself against us. Do I have to explain what we could achieve if we manage to apply the secret of his growth to us?”

“Okay, okay. I got it. Geez. But you don’t mind me beating him up just enough to leave him battered but breathing, do you?”

“Actually, that’d be more than welcome. There’s no telling what will unfold if we don’t go that far to capture him.”

This was certainly not a pleasant situation for Takio, about to battle two Union agents when immediately surrounding him was a scene from a common disaster movie.

His fingers poised upon the triggers, waiting for his order, were strained with pressure.

(next chapter)

So in summary, there are 3 battles taking place at the same time: (1) Takio (ft. Tao & M-21) vs Helga and Kornel, (2) Rael vs Deneb (with Yuhyung), and (3) Lunark vs Dark Spear. As I am posting this chapter, I finished composing part 1 of this battle. And once I’m done with the remaining parts, I’ll finally move on to the finale of this fic. I already know what I’m going to write, and I can’t wait to reach there lol. I’ll do my best as I take this fic to its ending!

[auroralwriting]

Clue 4/10

Series Summary: There’s a murder in the Avengers Tower. No one came in or out of the building, meaning one thing: it was one of the hero’s. For the safety of others, they are all locked inside until the case is solved and the murderer is put to rest... but who did it?

Warnings: Murder, Mentions of Blood, Angst, Mentions of Hookups, Fluff

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

A/n: ooh chapters be getting longer now aye aye

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

The feeling of warmth surrounded your senses before you even woke up completely. Your hand brushed beside you, feeling the silk of your sheets. Your eyes opened as you looked to see yourself in the bed where Bucky was supposed to be. Looking over to the chair, Bucky was lying there looking rather uncomfortable.

“Bucky?” you called out softly, so you didn’t startle him. He woke up, eyes half open as they looked to you. He hummed in acknowledgement. “Why am I here?”

“You were uncomfortable, tossing and turning in your sleep. Couldn’t let you stay like that, can I?” he asked, voice deep and rough. He sounded like he was almost growling, but he sounded so sleepy and kind. It sent a wave of adoration throughout your body.

Shaking it off, you chuckled. “You can’t, your from the 40s where most men had respect.” you teased at his age as he huffed, sitting up.

“Calling me old?” he chuckled.

“No, calling you a good guy. But since you mentioned it..” you giggled as he gave you a silly glare. “It’s a quarter past ten.” you said. “We should probably try to get food.”

“Won’t other people be out? You know, dangerous?” he asked.

You shrugged. “Friday? Where is everyone right now?”

“Most are in the kitchen besides Clint, Steve, and Rhodey.” Friday replied. “If you’re wondering if it’s safe, then it should be.”

Bucky nodded, standing up and stretching. The end of his shirt lifted up just slightly, enough for you to see an ab or so. Not that you weren’t expecting that, but it was just nice to see.

“M’gonna go get dressed, okay?” Bucky asked as he went to the door.

“Wait!” you cried, grabbing his hand. “You’re leaving?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be back in less than ten minutes. Lock the door behind me and get yourself a shower and dressed, okay? I’ll do a knock at the door to let you know it’s me.” Bucky explained, tapping a pattern on your hand. “It’ll be that.”

You nodded, letting go of his hand. “Less than ten?” you repeated, just to be sure.

“Less than ten.” Bucky confirmed as he unlocked the door. He stuck his head out, looking around. He slipped outside of the door, shutting it behind him. You quickly got up to lock the door.

Ten minutes, that was a relatively short amount of time. Bucky would be back in less than ten, so nothing could go wrong. Quickly, you gathered some clothes and a pair of socks and set them on the counter in the bathroom. You also locked the bathroom door once you got in, just to be on the safe side.

Turning on the hot water, you stripped out of your clothes and stepped in, the warmth of the water soothing your nerves. People always said hot showers solved problems and calmed people down, it looks like they weren’t wrong.

You lathered shampoo in your hair as you tried to take your mind off of the murder. Anything you can think of. A TV show? Music?

Well, another good topic was Bucky. You never realized how kind he really was, maybe it was because you didn’t really know him before, but maybe it was because he trusted you. Around the team, he wasn’t too talkative, but around you that changed.

He just made your heart flutter, those butterflies you’d gotten as a teenager. That’s how Bucky made you feel. So, you liked him? It was too soon to tell, but maybe, just maybe you did.

After you finished up your shower, you did the rest of your normal morning activities - but with a more watchful eye than normal - and slipped on a cozy outfit. You looked at the time, it was almost ten minutes.

So, grabbing a book, you laid on your bed and opened the book to where you last left off. Sighing deeply, you tried to concentrate on the contents of the page, but you weren’t really in the mood to read. You just needed to wait for Bucky to come back to your room.

A few pages in and a light knock vibrated through the door. It was the same pattern Bucky had done, so you put a bookmark in the book and made your way to the door.

Slowly, you opened it up to be greeted with Bucky’s refreshed face.

“Less than ten.” he smiled, clearly proud of himself.

You laughed, nodding in agreement. “Let’s keep a close eye out, yeah?” you asked.

“Definitely, come on,” Bucky’s flesh hand lightly touched the small of your back, just resting there with a feather light touch. You could tell he wanted to keep you near him, and keep his fighting arm out and ready to attack. It almost looked like he’d go full on Winter Solider mode if anyone came within 10 feet of you.

As soon as you walked into the kitchen, you were met with the awkward silence of your teammates all eating in different places of the kitchen.

Sam was eating against the far wall, Wanda and Vision sitting by the stove, Steve and Rhodey were at the table - like civil people - just casually, Nat and Bruce were on the island stools. Those were just a few places. The rest were just scattered around, even Clint was just sitting on the floor, eating what looked to be warm oatmeal.

“Just sit down, I’ll get you something, okay?” Bucky leaned down to your ear, muttering the words. You merely nodded in reply, going to the other side of the island where Natasha and Bruce were seated.

“Hi,” Nat smiled weakly towards you, giving a slight wave.

“Hey,” you replied, giving your own weak smile. “Hi Bruce,”

Bruce nodded. “Hey,” he replied.

After a few more horribly awkward moments of silence, Bucky sat down next to you, handing you some cereal and juice.

“You get some last night, Barnes?” Sam joked, maybe to ease the tension in the room, maybe because he was genuinely curious. You couldn’t tell, but maybe it was both.

Bucky chuckled. “Just being there for a friend s’all.” he replied. “You know, after someone tried to shoot her.” Everyone’s eyes were now on Bucky, some shocked and some scared. “Yeah, anyone know about that? Wonder how that hole in the wall got there?” Bucky pointed to the small bullet hole in the wall.

“You were shot at?” Bruce asked, his glasses almost falling off his face from shock.

“Bucky saved me.” you answered. “If it wasn’t for him, I’d be dead right now.”

“Can someone just admit who’s doing this? It’s ridiculous!” Clint groaned, his head hitting the wall behind him. “And I want to go home to see Laura and the kids.”

Steve hummed in agreement. “It’s seriously not funny. Someone just fess up and we can work something out, yeah?”

Everyone agreed, but no one spoke up. “This is worthless. I’ll be in the lab looking over footage. I’ll check the cams from last night, too. Maybe we’ll see the shooter.” Tony grumbled.

Now that you looked at him, he was a mess. Hair all frizzed up, baggy and red eyes, he was wearing loose and baggy clothing to fit it all. His movements were slow and shaky. You felt terrible for him.

“Buck, can we go back to my room?” you muttered. Bucky’s hand rubbed your arm as he grabbed your food and his drink to take with you both.

As you stood up, Natasha cleared her throat. “Thank you for protecting her, Bucky.” Natasha thanked.

“It’s a pleasure.” he replied as he nodded to you.

Once you got back into your room, you sat on the edge of your bed. “Well, that was weird.”

“You can say that again.” Bucky replied, handing you your cereal as you took a bite. “Everyone looked so scared.”

Chewing, you nodded in agreement. After you swallowed, you wondered if maybe if it was worth investigating. “What do you think about coming up with a plan to find out who did it?”

“A plan?” Bucky raised an eyebrow, curious as to what you meant. “Like that show, uh, Scooby-Doo?”

You nodded your head quickly. “Yeah! We’d solve the crime and stuff. Except there’s no ghosts or anything. And it’s real life unlike the older cartoons.”

“They made a live action a few times.” Bucky pointed out.

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, we’ll have to watch it sometime. We’d be like Fred and Daphne.” Bucky joked.

As innocent as it was, you couldn’t help but think into what he meant. Fred and Daphne were known for their unknowing crushes on each other - Daphne more than Fred - and their constant jealousy over one another. Did that have a meaning behind it, or was it just an innocent joke?

“Totally. Maybe Friday could be our Velma.” you giggled as Bucky eyed your cereal. You offered him the bowl which he took gratefully.

“Agreed, doll,” Bucky chuckled, taking a bite of the cereal.

The two of you planned out your hunt for the murderer. You’d go into the movie room, totally defenseless. You’d wait for a few minutes to see if anyone would try to kill you. If they did, Bucky would be hiding in the dark spot by the screen. It was an almost flawless plan.

So, there you went, strutting your way along into the movie room. You left the lights off, going into the middle of the seats and sitting down, allowing yourself to get comfortable and look vulnerable.

As you waited, you heard footsteps coming to the door. Quickly, you sunk a little lower into your seat.

“Y/n?”

You looked up to see Wanda and Vision, staring confused at you.

“Hey, guys,” you awkwardly greeted, allowing yourself to sit up. “Whacha doing in here?”

“We came to watch a movie?” Wanda claimed, but it came out more like a question. She was definitely wondering why you were alone in a dark room, hunkered down in the middle of it. It really did look suspicious.

Vision looked around for a moment. “Is Mister Barnes hiding by the screen?” he asked.

Your eyes got wide as Bucky stepped out, his knife in hand. Now you both looked suspicious, him more than you.

“What’s going on?” Wanda urged as Vision took a small but noticeable step in front of her.

Locking eyes with Bucky, you silently prayed he would answer. When he didn’t you took it upon yourself to answer. “Hunting the murderer,” you replied in a small voice.

“Well, can we have the movie room?” Wanda asked again, her eyes trained on Bucky’s knife as her fingers noticeably began shining red.

“Yeah, all yours,” Bucky replied as you stood up to walk out of the room. Bucky was out before you, but as you went to leave, Vision grabbed your arm.

“If I were you, I’d be careful of what you say and do around others. Who knows, they might just become suspicious.”

Yanking your arm away, you walked out and to Bucky. He opened his mouth, but you just kept walking to your room, the super soldier right on your heels.

Once you got in, Bucky sat on the edge of your bed, watching as you paced marks into the floor. You were wordless, just pacing around in worry. Now two of the strongest Avengers were suspicious of you which wasn’t good. Especially with the influence Vision had on Tony, as he was once a form of Jarvis.

“Y/n,”

Your eyes shot up to Bucky. He looked at you with worry. “What did he say? The artificial man, what did he say?”

Your feet unintentionally paced again, more worry setting through your body. “He said to watch what we do because people will be suspicious. He thinks we’re the murder, literally the most invincible dude on this team!” you rambled, panic coursing through your veins. “And then so is Wanda, the strongest Avenger we have! At this point we’re so screwed! We might as well just give up--”

“Y/n,” Bucky grabbed your shoulders, forcing you to look at him. “I need you to calm down, alright? Everyone is suspicious of each other. Just because two people saw something a little fishy doesn’t mean that they suspect us fully, m’kay?”

You nod as Bucky pulls you onto the bed. “Now, I promised you a Scooby-Doo movie, didn’t I?”

“I can’t believe the 100 year old man has seen the Scooby-Doo movie before I have.” you muttered, as Bucky nudged you.

“Say it again, I dare you.” he teased as you laughed. “After we can watch some reality TV show. Maybe watching other people’s problems will take our mind off of our own.”

It was your turn to raise an eyebrow. “Which one are you talking about?”

Bucky shrugged. “Dunno, you can pick.”

“Oh, we are so watching the Bachelor.” you giggled. “You’re gonna hate it.”

“Just by the title I think I will.” Bucky agreed as he leaned against the headboard next to you.

His hand was mere inches from your own. You were so temped to just move it over and hold onto it, the cool metal sinking into your skin. But you couldn’t, you had to hold back. After all, it could be a one sided crush.

As you heard Scooby give his infamous little giggle, you relaxed a little more, allowing yourself to relax. But next to you, Bucky was thinking the same thing. Your hand was so close to his, he just wanted to feel the warmth of your hand warm his metal one up. Too afraid to make a move, Bucky just sat there.

You made him feel like his old self again, but he refused to show it. Maybe not refused, maybe just scared. He’d lost so much, he didn’t want to lose anything else important to him, either.

So, he sat there, listening to your quiet remarks on the movie and small chuckles at the scenes that played before you.

One day, he would make his move. He was planning on it.

[dumbkiri]

Buried Secrets

Parts: [1, 2, 3, Here] 

Summary: [Name] is slowly losing her self to the chaos magic. Everyone leaves Connor, Gar, John and [Name] behind. Everything seems so messed up and [Name] gives the boys a mission. To find the Titans. 

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Female! Reader

Genre: Boring Action, Slight Angst

Word Count: 3.5k, 10 pages

Warning(s): none...unless you don’t like blood???

"Hush, little baby…" A woman's voice was singing and her heavenly voice echoed in [Name]'s ears. "Don't say a word…" 

[Name] opened her eyes and saw pitch darkness surround her. The voice disappeared and it was eerily silent. 'This isn't right. Something doesn't feel right,' [Name] thought. 

Her feet carried herself two feet forward before she felt a push on her back. [Name] had blindly stumbled forward and fell onto her knees. She looked behind her and waved her arms around, but she felt nothing. She could have sworn someone pushed her. 

Suddenly she saw flashbacks of herself and Jason. 'That's right,' [Name] remembered, 'Jason was going to jump.' She pushed her hands on the floor and felt small pebbles connect with her sweaty palms. 

 "Papa's going to buy you a mockingbird..."

 [Name] wiped her palms on herself and the pebbles fell off. It should have made a noise although the only thing she could hear was that singing voice. Even Dick's voice was being drowned out as if she was underwater.

 "And if that mockingbird won't sing," [Name]'s head began to ache and a sudden pang made her hands shoot up to hold her head in comfort. She winced and muffled her groans by biting onto her lip.

 "Papa's gonna buy you a diamond ring," 

She wanted that voice to go away. She wanted to gain her eyesight back. She knew Dick and Jason were around her, but she couldn't find them. She also knew that they weren't on the roof anymore. 

"I lied." Dick began. His voice was so far away.  It was just an echo of his existence.

 [Name] looked from her left to her right. She turned around. Walked forwards then backwards. Went left then right. But no matter where she went she couldn't find anyone.

 "And if that diamond ring turns to brass," 

Then something unexpected was happening. [Name] felt a liquid rise up to her knees within seconds. It was like the room she was in was filling up with water. But this liquid was thicker than water. She realized when the liquid was over her head and she opened her mouth to scream...her tastebuds told her it wasn't water. [Name] was drowning in a pool of blood. 

"Papa's gonna buy you a looking glass,"

 Her hand clawed at the space around her. Her legs kicked to rise above the blood. She was running out of time. The darkness was going to take over soon. She needed help! 

"And if that looking glass gets brass," 

‘Someone, help me!’

"[Name]..." Jason snapped his fingers waking up the mother from her mind prison. She looked around and noticed that she was sitting at a table with John sleeping peacefully in her arms. He was starting to drool and that wasn't the only thing she noticed.

 Around her, small objects were covered in a red mist and levitating from their original places. Her power was acting on her emotions which were uncontrollable at the moment. This was the cause of her episode. [Name] needed to play it cool, act as if she did it on purpose because the look she was getting from everyone showed confusion.

 "I'm sorry," she droned, "you can continue, Dick." [Name] flicked her wrist and the objects were back in their places. Her arms held John close to her chest and without being noticed she spat into a tissue. When she saw her bloody spit, [Name] involuntarily shivered. Her mind prison was real. 

The whole team looked at Dick and they waited for more of an explanation to what he lied about. Dick’s brown eyes revealed that he was hesitant, but after what Jason was planning to do. Everything inside of him said tell the truth. Finally let out his demons.“I lied to you guys because I was afraid you'd leave this place. And me. And if that happened, there would be no Titans.” Dick was addressing the new members of the Titans. 

Then he looked at his old team, “And I lied to you, too. I told you that Jericho was dead when I got to the church, but he wasn't. He was alive. He died trying to save me from his father. I'm sorry. You all deserve more.” His words, they were sincere and honest. Most of all, they were painful. Dick held this for too long and he knew that if he let it out sooner, they would leave him.

 Hank stood up from his stool and walked over to Dick. In a quick movement, Hank swung a closed fist at Dick’s face and Dick flinched. Although Hank did not make contact. Instead, his arm was covered in a red mist stopping him from landing a punch and [Name]’s eyes were glowing red.

 “I don’t condone violence especially when my son is present.” She said glaring hard at the taller man. 

Hank cursed at [Name], “He’s a lying sack of shit!” His feet were grounded and [Name] would have him on his knees within seconds, but she didn’t want to scare the kids. She closed her mouth and remained silent keeping her hold on Hank.

 “How many fucking half-truths have you told us?” Donna questioned angrily, most likely refraining from attacking Dick. Although Donna knew better because [Name] wouldn't hesitate to stop her either. 

Rachel looked over at Donna, “At least you got a half-truth.” 

“My brother is dead because of you,”Rose spat out.

 “No” [Name] glared at Rose, “your brother is dead because of your father. And because of us. We let Dick convinced Jericho that he could join us. We all agreed because we wanted to get to Slade, to know his weakness.”

They weren’t convinced. [Name] was going to make them understand. “Donna, the man you loved died because of Deathstroke. Garth sacrificed himself to save you. His death was the only reason we were so enraged. We lost a great friend and for that, we were blinded. So blinded by our rage, we let a kid join us. We didn’t have a problem then. We used a kid only because we would have the chance to get rid of an enemy.”

 “[Name],” Dick called out to her softly. He noticed her eyes getting watery. 

“Jericho was a lovely boy. He had a future and we ruined it for him. You cannot blame Dick alone because it was all of us. Donna, why aren’t you blaming yourself? I could blame you for getting Garth killed.” [Name] spat out. 

Donna’s eyes saddened, but they were set into a glare, “It wasn’t my fault. Garth stepped in front of the bullet.” 

“Then why should we blame Dick for killing Jericho? It was the same situation. Jericho was a lovely boy." [Name] reiterated. "He sacrificed himself the same way Garth did. They both have something in common, a heart made of gold. They were willing to die to protect the ones they cared for. Garth loved you, Donna. Jericho, for once in his life, had friends.” 

[Name] paused and released the hold she had on Hank. He backed away and sat back in his stool where Dawn laid her hand onto his arm to soothe him. “I won’t lie, we’re a dysfunctional team. We have things we need to work on together and by ourselves. Dick wants to tell the truth for once and you guys are repaying him by a punch and blaming him. What good will that do?” 

They stayed quiet.

 “Maybe we all need time to understand what Dick told us. But Deathstroke is still out there. One day, we’re all going to understand that we need each other. Hopefully, when that day comes it isn’t because one of us died. God forbid it, I don’t want to reunite that way. I didn’t expect to tell you guys about John the way it happened. Although I was forced to because Deathstroke came after me. And I found out the horrible truth from him.” 

'This isn't their problem,' [Name] mentally scolded herself, 'This is Dick's time to tell the truth. Not for you to ask for protection.' 

Everybody perked their heads up at her. They wanted to know what could be worse than a kid dying for the sake of self sacrificing. [Name] wiped her tears and looked at John. Here goes nothing. 

“Cadmus is still after me.” 

Dawn furrowed her eyebrows, “I thought they were no longer interested in you? The chaos magic is beyond their control.” 

“Weren’t they only after your DNA to create something like the boy in the recovery room?” Hank asked sincere for once. 

[Name] nodded her head, “Yeah, but it was impossible to pass on my abilities. At least, that’s what I thought until John proved me wrong.”

 “No,” Dick said turning his body to face her, “please, don’t tell me that John inherited the one part that's not...you.” That hurt. Although, Dick was the only one who knew how dangerous chaos magic could be. He realized that someday it would take over the girl he was in love with.

[Name] brushed her fingers through John’s hair, “John did the impossible which is why I cannot let Cadmus find out that I can pass on the ability or let them know that John has it. I don’t want him to be in the hands of monsters.” 

“This is bullshit,” Rose sneered and jumped up from her seat, “my brother is dead and you only care for yourselves. Jericho didn’t deserve to die like that. I’m out.”

 “I’m going with her,” Jason said standing up to follow Rose. His eyes landed on [Name], he didn’t want to leave without her. She was the one that could take his pain away. But he knew [Name] wouldn’t leave Dick.

 “Jason, you-” Dick glared down at Jason. 

“Look, you don’t decide what I do anymore. What anybody does.” Jason didn’t spare a glance at the woman who helped him because he would have stayed put if he saw her sad [e.color] eyes. This was his decision. This was what’s best for him. 

Donna scooted off her chair. “I’m out too.”

 “I’m going with her,” Rachel jumped off the counter and looked at Donna. “If that’s okay with you.”

 “Sure,” Donna shrugged and looked at Dick, but he was too busy watching everyone leave one by one. He thought the speech [Name] gave would change their minds. John cooed as he watched everyone leave his family behind. 

“I don’t understand why they all left,” Gar said sadly and looked at the couple that remained. 

Dick had sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked at John and pressed a light kiss on the boy’s forehead. [Name] gave him a questionable look, “You’re leaving too?”

 “I fucked up, guys.” Dick said. 

[Name]’s heart started pounding against her chest so hard. “After all I just told you and everyone else? Dick, I’m being hunted by Cadmus and you want to leave? I don’t understand why.”

 “I don’t know what you want me to do, [Name]?"

 "How about stay for once? Have you ever thought about that?" [Name] asked with a  daunting attitude. She was tired of seeing him leave. Tired of doing nothing alone when they had everything together.

 "Cadmus doesn’t know where you’re at and they can’t get in here. You and John are safest here. Also you have Gar to keep you company. I need to do something, for me.” Dick walked past her and to his room. Ignoring her.

 [Name] looked down at John and noticed his eyes getting heavier. She sniffled and gave Gar a small smile, “I’m going to put John to sleep and then I’ll make us some food. Anything in particular you would like?”

 Gar nodded his head, “Pizza?” [Name] chuckled and carried John in a way where his head rested on her shoulder, “Pizza sounds amazing.” 

Before she left, Gar ran up to her and placed his hand onto her unoccupied shoulder, “Hey, aren’t you going to tell Dick goodbye?” 

[Name] looked down at her feet, “He already said his goodbyes and I have nothing left to say to him. Let’s hope that they’ll come back soon.” 

……

[Name] played a piano song for John as he played on the brown round carpet in [Name]’s room. His stuffed lion placed by his side watching him carefully. John had been playing with blocks for at least an hour and honestly it surprised [Name]. Maybe the piano music soothed his antics. 

[Name] was so entranced with the music that when Gar barged into the room, she pressed her fingers onto the keys loudly. She also let out a yell of alarm. 

“[Name], he’s awake!” Gar yelled with excitement. 

“Lord have mercy on my soul. Gar, you can’t barge in all of a sudden, I had a near heart attack!” [Name] covered the piano and ruffled John’s hair.

 Gar smiled and walked up to her, “Conner, he’s awake.”

“Yeah and naked,” [Name] covered her eyes and Gar looked behind him to see Conner standing in all his naked glory. 

Gar grabbed a pillow from [Name]’s bed and shoved it to Conner's chest, “Dude, hide your junk! There’s a kid in here!” 

[Name] laughed and Gar laughed as well. Things in the Titans Tower was going well pretty far and for once [Name] felt grateful she wasn’t alone anymore. Gar had helped out with John and [Name] appreciated it. Gar was really the sweetest boy.

 “Oh crap, is this too hot?” Gar frantically asked [Name] giving her John’s bottle of milk. She took it from his hands and let a drop fall onto her wrist. It was actually at a good temperature. 

[Name] looked at the bottle then to John then to Gar. She smiled, “It’s not too hot at all.” She then gave the bottle back to Gar to which his eyebrows furrowed. [Name] said nothing as she guided Gar to the couch and sat him down. She sat beside him and chuckled, “You know John loves it when other people hold him. For some reason, he likes to get to know people.”

 “Really?” Gar asked and nervously looked at John, “you’re not seriously thinking about me feeding him, are you?”

 “Of course!” [Name] laughed and handed John over to Gar. She guided his hands and arms making sure both of them were comfortable. Gar’s green eyes watched in amazement as he held John for the first time. He felt the need to protect this bundle of joy. John cooed and grabbed the bottle. 

“He pretty much feeds himself, but babies’ arms get tired. When you see his arms slacking, hold the bottle for him. Make sure his head is upright, you don’t want him choking. Oh, and if his eyes start closing that means he’s done drinking.” [Name] looked at Gar, her [e.color] eyes connecting with his green ones.

 “I got this, I hope,” Gar chuckled and began feeding John.

 “Oh also I wanted to ask for permission,” Gar’s voice broke [Name] from memory lane. 

 “Is it okay for me to take Conner out into the world? He’s been here for so long, we have to teach him the ropes.”

[Name] shrugged her shoulders, “I’ll make us some food, you boys would be hungry when you come back.”

Gar cheered, “Yes!”

“Just don’t get into too much trouble.”

 …...

What do I do now, Dick Grayson? You left me alone to fix this major problem.

Oh god, [Name] had messed up royally. She just had finished making a salad when the news caught her attention. Her fingers hand stopped mixing the greens and veggies in the salad when she heard the news reporter. That’s when Gar ran into the living room with a phone in his hand.

 “Witnesses say that the young man was immune to police gunfire. San Francisco PD has issued a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.” 

Gar pressed the phone to his ear, “Dick, it’s me again. I-I know I screwed things up real bad, man, and I get why, maybe, you don’t want to talk to me. But please call me back.” 

[Name] walked over to Gar and set her hands on his shoulders, “Gar, calm down. Everything will be fine, take a breather.” She instructed him and began doing breathing exercises with him. Gar followed her and he wrapped his arms around her body. Gar needed the reassurance and he was super glad that [Name] stayed behind.

 “I screwed up badly, [Name]. They want Conner and-”

“Where is Conner and Krypto now?” She asked rubbing his back to calm him down.

 “They’re here. We got out of there as soon as we could unharmed. It took a long time to find Conner and I convinced him to come back.” Gar said and removed himself from the hug. His green eyes looked down at the floor, “I didn’t teach him better.”

 “I’m sorry if I messed things up,” Conner walked into the kitchen with Krypto by his side. “I only wanted to be a hero.”

 [Name] smiled at the boys, “Well we have to lay low for now on. Only going out for groceries. We don’t know who saw the news and-”

“ZONE SIX. UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS.”

Conner looked at [Name], “What’s that?”

[Name] grabbed John’s blanket and wrapped John in it making a makeshift harness where he was latched onto her back. “It’s a security breach on the roof meaning we got intruders.”

Multiple soldiers broke through the glass windows with guns aimed at them. They were yelling at them, ordering them to comply. On instinct, [Name] raised her hands and all the soldiers fell onto their backs with groans. She looked at the boys and instructed them to follow her. Her priority is their safety even if that means staying behind. 

She led them to a window and took a deep breath. [Name] looked at Gar, “Get on Conner's back.” 

“W-what?” Gar said with a shake of his head, “You want us to jump!”

[Name] freaked out, “Do you have a better idea? No? Okay then get on his back now!” John started crying and [Name] tried to calm the baby down, if she didn’t his power would react.

 Gar climbed onto Conner's back and Krypto began barking at the intruders. She was glad that she blocked the door with various furniture. [Name] looked around the walls for a certain button. She hoped she was in the right room or else they were screwed. 

“Bruce had installed an automatic zip-line to the next building in case we needed an easy getaway. This is how we’re going to escape.” She found the button which was near the window. [Name] should have looked there in the first and most obvious place. Her index finger pressed the button and there was a loud pop of a grappling hook shooting out to the next building.

 [Name] then attached the makeshift harness John was in to Gar’s back. “H-hey, what are you doing?” He asked holding onto Conner tightly. His eyes frantically looking at [Name] who focused on tightening the harness. The crying from John was getting louder. 

“I need to make sure that you guys get to the building safely and meanwhile holding back the intruders.” [Name] explained.

 “You are coming with us, aren’t you?” Conner asked looking over his shoulder and at her. He couldn’t leave her behind to fight those guys by herself. 

“I’ll be right behind you,” She promised and gave the boys a trolley which she found in a dresser. She hooked it onto the zip-line and looked at the boys. “No matter what, keep moving forward. Gar and Conner, if something does happen to me I need you to take John far away from here. Find Dick and the rest of the Titans. This is your mission from me.”

 “Why are you saying this? You said you’ll be right behind us.” Gar was getting anxious. The bangs on the blocked door getting louder with each passing second.

 [Name] gave the boys a hug and pressed a kiss onto John’s forehead. “Titans,” She looked at the boys with a determined look, “go.” 

Conner nodded his head and grabbed onto the bars of the trolley and jumped out of the window not looking back. Gar looked in front of him and braced himself for Conner was going to break the glass of the next building. There was a loud crash and Conner slid onto the concrete floor. 

Gar had jumped off of Conner's back and looked at the Titan’s Tower. He watched as [Name] grabbed another trolley and hooked it to the zip-line. Then he heard a helicopter and a light shined onto [Name]. 

She jumped out of the window and suddenly there was a bang. She was halfway when Gar watched as [Name] let her tight grip on the bars release and her eyes slowly close. He then saw someone jump out of the helicopter with a cord attached to them. 

Gar realized that [Name] had been tranquilized and her body was relaxed as she descended. Gar wanted to scream, but the soldier who jumped out of the helicopter successfully caught her. Then the helicopter flew away with the two hanging by the cord. 

Conner laid his hand on Gar’s shoulder, “We have to go.” Krypto whined in response looking up at Gar. He wiped his watery green eyes and nodded his head, “Yeah, we have a mission to complete.” 

......

TAGGED READERS

@eternaleviee​ @x-ximenas​ @gabytodd​ @terralupa​

[keelywolfe]

FIC: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew; part 11

Summary: Rus is coming into his own heat and he is not happy with this development.

Warning: Lemon! Lemony lemon, all the lemons, tasty citrus within!

Tags: heatfic, dubious consent, NSFW, frenemies to lovers, mates, first time, more if I think of them

PLEASE READ THE TAGS: This is a Heat story, so there are going to be issues of consent. I don’t do partner rape, nope, but hey, I want to be straight with y’all. I like heatfics personally, but I understand how they can be troubling for some people. So there it is.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6

Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10

Read Chapter 11 on AO3

or

Read it here!

~~*~~

Heat was a shitty description for the actual feeling of a biological imperative burning its way like a fevered infection through a Monster. The first coals igniting in the soul and working its way out into a forest fire to the ends of the limbs, provoking unbearable need along the way.

Control was foreign concept and even with Edge pliant beneath him, drawing Rus down and willingly spreading his legs, Rus fought the urge to hold him down and keep him there. He wanted more, wanted to taste him, be inside him because he knew, deep in the lurking primal depths within that nothing else was going to stop that awful burning. He wanted, no, he needed it. Wants were no longer able to be obeyed.

Almost.

It took some fucking Herculean effort to pull away from the promise of relief, stumbling over his own feet to land on the floor in a skittering crab-crawl backwards from Edge.

Who sat up on the bed, his crimson eye lights burning through the darkness. A bed? Yeah, that’s right, they were in Edge’s room. Rus barely recalled having the sense to come here, leaving behind the cold safety of Underswap to follow the pull of his soul to his mate.

“Rus—" Edge began, carefully. He pushed up to his feet. He was in his pajamas, of course he was, it was the middle of the fucking night. The bite mark on his sternum was dark and shiny, the trickling marrow black in the dimness, and if Rus put his mouth back on it, his teeth would line up perfectly.

“don’t touch me!” Rus could still taste marrow painting his mouth, salt-bitter and sickening. He curled up against the wall, panting harshly. His fingers dug into the wall, paint gouging out beneath the tips. “keep back, don’t touch me!”

“It’s all right.” Edge probably even meant it. He’d been expecting this. Sure he had, he’d known this was coming for all the fucking good knowing did. He took another step closer and Rus hissed out a warning, one eye light guttering and the other going bright as a strobe.

“i said don’t touch me!!” Edge halted and Rus let go of the burgeoning attack, half-summoned bones sputtering out. It’d been hard to dredge up to begin with, his magic didn’t want to fight, oh, no, not at all, the only violence his soul was begging for was carnal. Rus let his skull fall with a muffled thunk against the carpet as he lay there, trying to breathe. “i know, i get it, we have to fuck until it’s over but just let me—give me a minute. and don’t fucking touch!”

The throb in his soul might think otherwise, but there was enough rationality left in Rus’s brain pan to form one coherent thought. He didn’t want this. Not heat or bonds or any of this shit. He wanted to be home, wanted to follow his own choice so he could be fucking any of the others from Muffet’s, wanted their come in his cunt or running salt-bitter down his throat. Not this, not the mindless burn in his soul deciding for him.

The wall Edge taught him to create around his thoughts was crumbling, falling brick by brick, letting him feel the concern Edge was radiating. All that worry/desire/concern/regret/worry coming at him in a bruising flurry and fuck Edge for wanting any part of this. Rus wasn’t alone in his body or his head, he hated this, hated it.

Behind him, Edge made a choked, hurt sound; must’ve let down his own mental brick wall, ‘cause he’d felt that, and Rus was resentfully glad of it. Let him hurt, this was his fault, his and his brother’s, all of it. If they’d stayed in their own Universe, kept all this heat bullshit to themselves—

“i hate this,” Rus groaned aloud. He tipped his head up to look at the ceiling, tasted repulsively sweet tears as they slid back in his skull to fall thickly on his tongue. He was shaking, bones rattling together as he forced himself to stay here, away from Edge. “i hate you.”

But it wasn’t enough to make this stop. The bitter pulse of emotion didn’t prevent what little desperate control he’d managed to claw up from finally giving way, didn’t keep him from crawling back to Edge as it ebbed. Who was unresisting even when Rus pulled him down to the floor, rolling him onto his knees. He went willingly, didn’t protest when Rus scrabbled at his soft pajama pants, yanking and pulling them down to bunch around his thighs. Any lingering dregs of patience were lost there, wisping away, because Edge’s pussy was already formed in the same rich crimson as his magic, glistening invitingly.

Edge grunted as Rus impulsively slid his thumbs down the slick lips. Wet, already wet, ready for a cock, and his hips gave an unwilling little jerk into Rus’s lingering touch.

That burning in Rus’s soul was spreading, clouding his vision, his mind. He couldn’t wait anymore, couldn’t think of anything past having, taking. Rus jerked down his own pants, palming his aching cock as he shuffled awkwardly forward on his knees, whining at the feel of the first brush of hot, slick pussy against the head of his shaft as he lined up and pushed to the root in one hard thrust.

Edge hissed out a breath between clenched teeth, sharpened fingertips punching through the carpet and into the floor. Probably hurt all at once like that, and Rus didn’t give him a chance to adjust, couldn’t, he couldn’t, not when the clench of his cunt was so tight around him. He starting riding him immediately, pulling out and then back in, jabbing into him, using his hold on Edge’s iliac crests to haul him back into each one.

“you didn’t tell me it was like this,” Rus choked out. Moving helplessly with rising urgency, rocking them together in unrelenting rhythm.

Beneath him, Edge was breathing like he was dying, wasn’t fighting him, not at all, lax and willing, and over the rising sounds of their bodies crashing together, Rus heard him gasp out, “I tried!”

“didn’t tell me enough! fuck!” Rus shuddered, clawing at Edge’s rib cage, trying to hang on anywhere. It was impossible, they were both slippery with sweat, mingled honey-gold and crimson painting Edge’s bones. “you’re so fucking tight, i can’t!”

Edge made a low, guttural sound, flame-flicker of emotion licking over Rus’s soul. It was enough to make Rus slow. He couldn’t stop, couldn’t. But the heat ebbed enough for him to see through narrowed sockets. Taking in the quiver in Edge’s shoulders, his pain-tight expression, half his face buried into his folded arms. His own emotions were leaking through their bond like rainwater from a leaky gutter, but Edge was closed off, empty, giving nothing back, what the hell. Irrational anger flared alongside lust; it was a fucking bond, what was Edge hiding from him, he couldn’t be afraid, was never afraid, what wasn’t he showing?

Possibilities flittered through Rus’s mind, one standing out starkly.

“have you done this before?” Rus demanded. Wouldn’t make a difference, he couldn’t stop, every sentence punctuated with another ragged thrust, but he needed to know. “has anyone else ever fucked you? tell me, tell me!”

“No!” Edge snarled out. There, yes, hell yes, Edge was taking it, yeah, letting himself get fucked like a good boy, but the hot wash of his temper shot an arrow through their bond before it was choked off. His visible eye light was a blazing, crimson hellfire. “Only you!”

Fuck.

He’d never done this before. Rus suspected that from the start, from the first moment he’d braced himself to go into a room with Edge for a long night of mercy sex. Of course he’d been a virgin; Edge was younger that him, as young as Blue was, Red had told him there was no one to trust in this world, and Rus never even asked, not before, not now.

“fuck,” he whined out. He ducked down, his forehead clattering against Edge’s spine, smearing sweat. Hips still moving, driving on because the tight clasp of pussy was sucking him in, the need to come delirious, implacable. “i can’t stop!”

“I know.” Barest prickle of emotion, not anger this time, unnamed and unfamiliar as it soothed over the rawness in his soul, “It’s okay, Rus, I know.”

It wasn’t okay, wasn’t even on the same planet as okay, in the same universe.

“don’t let me hurt you,” Rus pleaded. He managed to work a hand around Edge’s hip, down between his legs. Feeling at the damp folds for the hard nub hidden within. He knew he found it when Edge sucked in a hard breath, shuddering out a cry as Rus circled it with a slippery fingertip, feeling it swell eagerly beneath his touch.

“You aren’t,” Edge moaned, and Rus moaned with him, feeling that vibrating shudder from the inside. “Oh!!”

Fuck, the sounds he was making, deep and urgent, desperately gorgeous, Edge was gorgeous. Gasping out Rus’s name pleadingly as he pistoned into him, short and hard and brutal. Rus wasn’t gonna last much longer, not this time, probably not the next, ecstasy overtaking him.

Rus came hard, feeling the liquid bloom of heat surrounding his cock deep inside, but it wasn’t like any orgasm he’d ever had. The euphoric pleasure engulfed him in a cooling wash over his overheated soul, soothing away a fraction of that burn as he choked out in a relieved sob and slumped to lay heavily across Edge’s back. He grunted disagreeably, but took Rus’s weight, braced against the floor.

With a grunt of his own, Rus pulled out, hissing at the cool air on his wet, overheated pseudoflesh. Edge’s pussy didn’t seem real happy about letting him go, desperate shivers wracking him as he teetered on the ledge of orgasm that Rus didn’t let him fall over. It wouldn’t be good enough, not even close. He’d barely started liking it, Rus wasn’t letting Edge get off with an unsatisfying little throb of a climax.

He kept a hand on Edge, petting his spine warningly. Stay put, that hand meant, and Edge did even though Rus could see his pussy clenching emptily, a thin, obscene trickle of his own come dribbling down the slit.

That burning heat was nowhere near gone, only banked back for the moment, enough for him to get a good look at what he was working with. Last time, Edge was the one in control, everything was what he wanted. This time Rus let his gaze rove over Edge voraciously, taking in the sights.

So many scars, on his femurs, slashed across his ribs, gouged into his skull. Even marring his fingers, his usual gloves were missing and his cracked phalanges clenched into fists. Broken, healed, broken again when Edge came back for more.

Except his pelvis. It was relatively intact, only a couple small scarred cracks. His pelvic cradle glowed crimson with his magic, the transparency clouded within from being filled with Rus’s come. His sacrum was untouched, a smooth plane of bone with delicate holes marching down the length.

A sudden flood of soft fluid filled Rus’s mouth. Yeah, he needed to taste that.

He ducked his head, licking briefly at the delicate nub of his coccyx. Used broad, flat strokes of tongue to work his way higher, riding out the lurch of Edge’s hips as he jerked in surprise. Following the path to that tempting sacrum and forcing the eager tip of his tongue into the first little hole.

Edge squealed out a startled cry, satisfyingly shrill, oh, fuck, yes. Rus wanted to hear that again. The tang of magic was heavy on his tongue, they were both sweat-soaked, and Rus lapped their mingled taste from quaking bones. Edge’s trembling legs gave out, spilling him to the floor and Rus followed him down, giving each hole his full attention, tracing them over and over again with his tongue in teasing little patterns until Edge was quivering, moaning desperately, his hips pushing back against Rus’s mouth in a silent plea for more.

Yeah, more, he could do more. Rus drew away, licking away the smears of spicy sweetness from his teeth as he crawled back on top, lining up and pushing back inside with a shaky groan. This time Edge’s pussy was welcomingly drenched, clenching around him in a tight ripple as Edge choked out a moan and finally came, desperate cries leaking through his clenched teeth.

“yeah, that’s it,” Rus panted, forcing his way deeper through every wild, clenching throb of the passage surrounding him, “gonna do that again for me, gonna do that a lot, baby, fuck, yes.”

Fuck, yes, that was all Rus wanted. Wanted to fuck him, claim him, see his ripe belly swell which makes no fucking sense since Edge couldn’t get pregnant any more than he could. He still wanted it, the idea standing out in his mind’s eye and he barely realized he was pinning Edge down by the wrists, covering him with his own body from shoulder to knees. He wasn’t stronger than Edge, except somehow he was, long bones straining in his grip. Testing him with minute struggles and Rus shuddered, holding on.

“don’t fight me,” Rus growled warningly, and his soul felt like it might burst when Edge laughed, fucking laughed.

“Try and stop me,” Edge said, gaspy with laughter and need, and Rus burned.

Later, he couldn’t have said how they ended up on the bed, sense blurring into desperation. The only thing Rus knew was the frustrating, endless wildfire to have Edge in ways he could hardly fathom. Braced against the headboard, one knee jerked up high to allow Rus deeper inside. Held up against the wall with his slim legs braced on Rus’s hips, bouncing along with every vicious thrust. On his back, his femurs spread wide and Rus was torn between fucking him and burying his face into those swollen, dripping folds, lapping at their combined fluids, pushing his tongue in almost as deep as his cock until Edge was begging, clawing at his skull and leaving behind stinging scratches and the pain was the only way Rus realized he’d actually done it.

Everything was colored with the frenzy of need driving him, until he was weak with exhaustion, aching deep in his bones and magical ligaments strained. The relentless burning in his soul hadn’t let up, still demanding more, and Rus sobbed dryly, bitterly.

“enough,” Rus pleaded. His voice was reducing to a low rasp, words fighting out of his throat. “no more. please.”

He didn’t know if he was begging Edge or his soul. He couldn't move anymore, couldn't fuck, he couldn't, too exhausted, his mouth desert dry, desire blending into agony. He was filthy with sweat and come, they both were, the sheets beneath them dappled with heavy smears of crimson and orange.

The mouth suddenly against his own was tender, soothing, and Rus only sobbed into it, kissing back through the brief sticky flood of his tears dampening his dry mouth, even as Edge pushed him to lay on his back.

“Shhh, I know,” Edge crooned. His weight was more than Rus could fight against, holding him down as Edge straddled him, but the tenderness he exercised was almost worse. “I’m so sorry.” Edge was wobbly as a newborn gyftrot as he sank down and another wet, bubbling sob escaped Rus as Edge winced, riding Rus gingerly, “Not much longer, you can do this.”

“i can’t,” Rus heaved out, even as his hips tried to rise, chasing that slick, soft pussy. The heat around him hurt as much as it pleasured, searing his aching pseudoflesh. “please, i’m so sore, no more.”

Edge only pet his rib cage and didn’t slow, rolling his hips in a careful rhythm, “Let me help you,” Edge whispered, “it's all right, I have you. Let me take care of you this time.”

“i need you.” Low and guttural, all the desperation in his soul bursting out in three words. Rus didn't mean to say it, he didn’t mean for anything of this.

But his soul soared as Edge whispered back, raspy-sweet, "You have me. I'm yours. No one else's, only yours.”

Orgasm was less a pleasure than a relief, a brief, unsatisfying throb coupled with a bare spurt of come and when his soul began to pulse again, Rus let out a bitter, tear-laced groan. It took three more times before he could finally collapse, three more times of Edge crooning to him, petting him with disconcerting tenderness, cajoling and urging coaxingly until Rus could only give in.

The sheets were uncomfortably damp beneath him, but Rus could’ve sooner walked through the shield with a suitcase in one hand and cigarette in the other than he could have moved. Turned out, he didn’t need to. Rus only mumbled out a disagreeable sound as he lifted, the sound gently shushed and soon he was beneath a cooling rush of gorgeous water spraying down on him. Rus lifted his face into it, mouth opened like a baby bird as he drank greedily.

“Easy, you’ll make yourself sick.” Whispered against the side of his skull, fingertips on his chin turning his head away. Disgruntled as he was, Rus obeyed that touch, even as a distant sense of gratifying pride swelled in his soul. His mate was taking care of him, washing him gently, a soapy cloth easing his aching soreness. Soon he was lifted again, wrapped in a fluffy, warm towel and carried back to the bed. He must’ve drowsed off, waking briefly as he was settled onto clean sheets that smelled of nothing more than strong laundry detergent.

“edge?” Rus mumbled, reaching out, searching. His soul cramped in dismay as he found nothing within reach and he struggled to open his sockets, an unhappy whimper escaping him.

“Shhh, I’m here.” The bed creaked with added weight, a bare, slim body settling between the sheets, pulling Rus into his arms. Rus sighed in weary contentment, cuddling up against him as best as he could.

There was a certain warmth glowing in his soul, not heat, no, it was something…something else, Rus wasn’t sure, wasn’t even sure if it was his own. Edge might’ve spoken, crooned more of that soothing his way, Rus couldn’t tell. He was wrapped up in that warmth and Rus let it encompass him like a mental blanket, drawing him with tender implacableness into sleep.

tbc

[littlebitoffanfic]

Happier

Orc x reader Request: an orc x reader (cause I love your orc stuff). I don’t know what tho, but a nice orc who just wants the reader to be happy but shes a messenger or something so only comes to see him now and again. Maybe the readers attacked by another orc and hes scared it might make her never want to see him again. You sat in the small carriage, watching the area around you, your documents on your lap. You were traveling from the council set up in the mainly human dominated city of Revelanty to the orc dominated town of Arganintia. It was about a days travel by horse drawn carriages so in comparison to the rest of the councils connections, it was relatively close. You worked for the council, whos main aim was to keep peace between towns and races. This extended past just Orcs and Humans. There was Dwarfs, Goblins, Elves, Terants and more. For the most part, most species kept to themselves, often having colonies, towns or tribes that they would stay in, excluding Goblins who liked to rotate their ground and moved to different parts with each season depending on their needs. Humans and Orcs had a slightly different relationship. For the most part, there was peace however, both sides had groups that still harboured resentment over a war that finished just over 200 years ago. For this reason, it was very important to the council to maintain a healthy relationship with the leader of Arganintia. Their leader was a fair and wise one whos name was Arigni. You knew they referred to him as a king and you understood why. You met with him and his own council at least twice a week, discussing many things such as trade deals, land, any issues with residents in either town, it just depends on what the needs are. Arigni had a small council of 4 other Orcs (known as the Kings Trust), who you were proud to say you shared a friendship with. Elekin was an older Orc, with the darkest green skin you had ever seen on a Orc. It was so dark, he could easily be lost in the dark. But he was a nice enough Orc, who had seen one to many battles in his life and had the scars to show it. This didn’t stop him from telling you of his adventures, something you found interesting. Azekin took the longest to warm up to you at first. He was a warrior in every sense of the word and wasted no time in showing someone this. Originally, he had been on the kings guard and raised through the ranks to the kings personal guard as well as a Kings trust. He was the tallest in the Trust by a good foot. All Orcs towered over you, with most standing at 9 foot tall. But combining that with his large, muscly body made him very intimidating. One of his tusks was chipped off the top and he had a number of facial piercings as well as s large, dark beard. You had been fearful of him for the longest time, until one time, he protected you from a angry and rather drunk Orc who resented humans. From then on, he was as much your protector as he was the kings. Gaakt was a close friend of the king, and had earned his way onto the Trust through dedication to the king. He was known for having a silver tongue, something you and him shared. He also seemed to be the one who found out things. If there was so much as a small fight, he knew. He had close connections in the town which meant 9 out of 10 times, it was easy to stop something. Krothu was the brains of the Trust. He was by far the most intelligent Orc you had ever met. He had a deep love for the history of most Humans and Orcs as well as for books. Of everyone, you got on with him the best and most. He was very different to most Orcs you knew, more a gentle giant. Other Orcs showed a lot of aggression and anger. It wasn’t a bad thing, it was just the culture. They would resolve things with fists while Krothu used words. He was big, not as tall as Azekin, but just as muscular. Like most Orcs, he had tattoos, the majority of which was up his right arm and were marking you knew were important to the culture. He had a number of piercings in his ear like many but he kept his facial hair to a minimum. The hair on his head was long, falling in dreadlocks to his shoulders, unlike both Gaakt and Azekin who had rather short but spiked hair. He wore a neckless that was a symbol of the Trust, made up of bones and normally wore shirts unlike the working male orcs in the town who would go topless, much to the pleasure of the Orcess’s. The two of you got along so well, you would now stay with him when you visited, rather than in the kings guest rooms. You were their connection to the main Council and they had a lot of trust in you as you had shown them that you work to help them and make sure they are happy just as much as you did the council. Once, there had been a dispute of an Orc living in Revelanty who had been ambushed by a group of men. For obvious reason, the Orc community had been in uproar about one of their own being injured and demanded blood. The Council had refused to hand the men over to the Orcs which had nearly caused another war, one which was only stopped when you stepped in. You addressed the council while Arigini and the Trust were there. You asked the council what they would expect as a reasonable punishment if you had been attacked while on duty in Arganintia. Of course, the council would have wanted a harsher punishment because you worked for them, but it was through your negotiations (mainly on Arignis side) that the men would serve a life sentence held within the prisons of Verni, known for its strict prisoner ways. From that moment on, you were the Orc Kings courtier in all aspects of relations between the two city’s. Today, you were delivering contracts for the trade of animal stock and the King had asked to speak to you about possible issues regarding a Goblin camp near by. however, it was late and it had been a horrible day. The rain had not stopped since the morning and had added 4 to 5 hours to the journey. It was always agreed that if you arrived after sunset, you could go straight to Krothu’s and rest, the business can always wait till morning. you felt the carriage pull to a steady halt and looked out the window, seeing you were now at his home. He lived a little outside the town, preferring the country to the constant noise of the town. His home was similar to a small cottage and was just a lovely. Grabbing your bags you hopped out the door, seeing the two Orcs, Renti and Krih (brothers) who had driven the carriage about to climb out from their small compartment that covered them from rain. They were always the ones to come and escort you to and from the town, so you knew them well. In fact, you often met with their wife’s for lunch on your free days and enjoyed the company of their family’s. “Do not worry. Go home and dry off. I apologies for the dreadful weather you had to endure for me.” You smiled, reaching into your pocket and pulling out 3 coins each to give to them. They were already paid by the king but you wanted to compensate. Both smile at the gift. “Thanks, always ah pleasure.” Krih smiled, nodding his head before setting off in the carriage. you darted to the door, the documents held close to your chest in one hand and your bag hooked on your elbow. Knocking on the door, you didn’t have to wait long before it was flung open. “[y/n], I feared the storm might have taken you.” A deep but comforting voice spoke, filled with fear as you were pulled inside. “Im sorry. The horses got a fright from the lightening earlier, so we had to stop.” You told him, smiling at how much he worried for you. He returned your smile and you reached up, wrapping your arms around him to greet him with a hug. He was the only Orc you knew who you would hug straight away. With the Trust and king, you would always wait to see if they initiated it first. His tusks rubbed against your shoulder as he returned the greeting, making you smile. At first, you found the tusks very intimidating and rather frightening, but as you got used to the orcs and became friends with many, you found they were a massive part of the culture. Some of the younger Orcs pierced their tusks, but you didn’t really like the idea. As far as you’re understand was of the tusks, they were similar to teeth but didn’t have the same sort of sensitivity, more a mixture of bone and tooth. But you could never have a tooth pierced. pulling back, your bag was taken from your arm and Krathu walked through his home, pacing it in the spare bedroom. His door opened straight into his living area, which was filled with books, maps, documents, etc. He had a bookcase on every wall and in the centre of the room was a couple of comfy chairs, a large sofa and a table. In the fireplace was a fire while was very inviting so you walked over to him, kneeling down in front of the flame to warm up. Your long dress was damp, but not fully wet. “Do you have anywhere I can put these documents?” You asked as he came back. He nodded and was quick to take them and took them through to a room you know to be his study. You watched him leave, biting down on your lower lip. Over the years, you had grown extremely fond of him, more than you cared to tell anyone. It wasn’t unheard-of for humans and orcs to be together in a romantic fashion, but not two so high in the ranks as yourself. Signing to yourself, you started to take off your coat. “Is everything okay?” Krathu asked, his voice making you jump since you didn’t realise he had came back. You pulled your coat back on, but you didn’t know why. You were staying the night. “Of course.” You smiled, getting to your feet as he approached you. He walked around you, his large fingers reaching up and hooking under the collar of your coat, pulling it up and off your shoulder. You allowed the clothing to fall, smiling at his gentle nature as he took the coat and hung it up to dry. For the next hour, you settled in. You went and changed your dress and when you returned, there was a lovely smelling coming from the kitchen. Curiously, you followed your nose to see a hot bowl of stew on the kitchen table, a spoon at the side and Krath setting a glass of water down on the table. He looked up at you and you jumped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb your dinner. I shall be in my room.” You nodded and started to back to your room when a loud laugh filled your ears and an arm was wrapped around your waist, lifting you up and carrying you back through to the kitchen. “Its your dinner, not mine.” Kruth laughed as he sat you down in the chair. You couldn’t help but smile as you ate the stew, savouring every mouthful. He was good to you, very good in fact. Better than any man had ever been. And as you ate, you couldn’t help but glance over to him, wondering if his kindness towards you was purly political. Or if he cared for you as deeply as you did for him. ------------------time skip -------------------- It had been another long day. You and Krath had left just after sunrise and been in meeting after meeting. The rest of the council had been happy you had made it safely and securely to the kingdom but also feared for your return to your home. The storm had only gotten worse, so you decided to go and see Krih and his wife, Freha, to see if he’d be okay in delaying your return. Krath had had to finish some work up with the king so stayed and agreed to meet you at his house again later for supper. it was just after dark when you turned the corner, seeing Krih and Frehas home at the end of the street. But before you could smile and head there, large hands grabbed your arms and you were pulled into a back alley. “Disgusting human.” A voice snarled in your ear as you struggled against the darkess holding you. “Freha!” You cried out just as a large hand clamped over your mouth. He manged to hold both your hands behind your back as the free one covered your mouth. “Shut up!” It snarled and you managed to turn your head to a large orc towering over you, his eyes bringing with a fresh hatred for you. You struggled against him as you tried to scream out into the night, hoping that someone might hear you. “Filthy human. In my town.” He grunted, his voice low and rough as he pulled you further into the alley way. His hand let go of your arms just as the hand which covered your mouth darted to your neck and wrapped around it easily, squeezing hard. Your air was cut off and you used your hands to try and pry at his hand. Trying to get him to release you. but as he did this, he lifted you off the ground easily. Your legs were kicking helplessly below you. You saw something come around the side of your head and it glinted in the moon light. A knife. You screamed into his hand, panic finally setting in as you started to move as far away from the knife as possible. You shook your head, your eyes welling with tears as you gasped and gagged for air but nothing came. The knife moved closer to your chest, closer to where your heart was. He moved the knife so the point was pointing at you, then he raised it to the skin of your cheek and started to dig it in. Not by much. Not enough to pierce right through your cheek but enough to draw blood. “Human skins so easy to pierce.” He chuckled evilly in your ear. As you tried to pull the knife away, you slashed the palm of your right hand open but he merely cackled. He moved the knife down about 2 inches before pulling it away, the fresh cut on your cheek pulsing with pain as your tears hit it. He then moved the blade over the skin over your collar bone, which was only just visible from your dress. To left another wound, this time 4 or 5 inches. You closed your eyes for a moment until you felt the knife slash at your left side just below your ribs, cutting your dress and the skin underneath. Once again, not enough to kill or even be a threat, but enough to hurt and make you want to cry out in more pain. Then he brought the knife back to your heart. this was it. He was going to kill you. you scrambled even harder but your movements were becoming limp. The blood from your palm now covered your jaw and his hand as you tried to pry it away and failed. “[y/n]!” A voice from the end of the alley way and you looked up to see Freha standing with her hands covering her mouth. Then there was a loud “Thwack” from behind you and you were dropped to the ground. You gasped for air, rolling onto your back as sobs left your throat from the pain you were in. Your whole body felt like it was numb and you couldn’t do anything but scream as you tried to process what was happeniend. Your side and hand were on fire and you thought you might pass out from everything. “Shhh honey, its okay. You’re safe now.” You heard Freha hush as she appeared above you, falling to her knees and pulling your head onto her lap. Her eyes were filled with tears. You looked to where your attacker had been to see him now lying on the ground, unconscious, Krih behind him with a large club. You managed to sit yourself up a little, scrambling closer to Freha who wrapped her arms around you. “Hey! You okay down there?” “Whats all this noise?” “Whats going on?” A new voice called from the end of the alley at both sides. “Go get Kruth and the rest of the council. [y/n]’s been attacked!” Krih called out, his voice shaking as he dropped the bat to run over to you. “We gotta get her to a medic.” He mumbled, his eyes falling on your cuts and your throat which must have had bruising on it. “No, not yet. The council will need to see her first. And shes been through enough right now. She needs orcs she can trust right now. I’ll take her back to ours. Help me?” Freha knew exactly what you needed and knew you were too weak to stand by yourself. Krih nodded and moved to pick you up like a bride. You managed to catch a look at your body as he did so. You had blood splattered across your light blue dress. A number looked like hand prints from your slashed hand and there was a substantial pool of blood around the cut at the bottom of your ribs. You were starting to feel tiered and were extremely weak so your head just lolled back as you were lifted bridal style. You were carried out the alley and you saw there was a number of orcs had come out their houses and now were watching you, their eyes wide and some even covering their mouth. “Who could have done this to her?” Some male orc mumbled. “Poor wee thing.” A older female orc shook her head and you saw her walk to Freha who followed her husband. The old orc asked if she needed any help and this prompted a lot of the orcs to ask the same thing, but Freha shook her head, explaining what she had said to Krih a second ago. You looked behind you and Krih and saw two orcs hauling your unconscious attacker from the alley way and throwing him ungracefully into the road. “Tie his hands behind his back. Make sure he doesn’t get away!” Krih called over his shoulder as he came to his house. Freha darted in front of you both to open the door to their house. Once inside, he lay you on the table. You tried to sit up but Freha put her hands on your shoulders and gently pushed you back down. “You gotta rest, sweetie. We’ll take care of you. I promise.” She took your hand and squeezed it. “Thank you.” You said in a weak voice as Krih walked back out the house, most likely to deal with your attacker. You closed your eyes, allowing yourself to try and calm down while Freha ran up stairs and grabbed a pillow and cover. You were covered with the thin blanket and she lifted your hair to slip the pillow under your neck. Then she got to work with warm water and cleaned your cuts which stung but you managed to supress your cries. “Im only gonna clean you up just now. Im sorry, honey. But the councils coming. And they’ll have to see how bad it was.” She spoke with an air of guilt but you just shook your head a little and smiled despite the pain. “Thank you. you saved me.” You opened your eyes to look at her. “Of course! You’re like my family.” She sat down at a chair and took your good hand in both of hers, leaning her head against your hand. “You’re my sister.” You mumbled, smiling and squeezing her hand. She really was. You and her had grown very very close over the last few years. “And you are mine.” She smiled softly. For a while, the two of you spoke, mainly so she could make sure you were still awake. There was a crowd gathered outside the house and it sounded like it was getting aggressive. For a while, you thought (dreaded) it was anger at you. but then Krih came in and said the street was angry they weren’t allowed to attack your attacker. it must have only been 10 minutes later when you heard the crowd become quiet and the kings voice sounded frantic. “Where is she?” Someone must have told him where you were because just as Freha stood up the door was swung open. Arigni, Elekin, Azekin, Gaakt and Krath stormed in but once inside, they froze. Their eyes fell on your body, which was still weak and you knew you wouldn’t be able to sit up properly. If you weren’t feeling as weak, you might have felt embarrassed. You had always tried your best to be strong in front of them, show them you were a force to be reckoned with and that you could be relied on. but now, all you could do was close your eyes and turn your head from then, tears starting to burn again. “I’ll kill that orc!” Azekin growled, his voice at a level of anger and rage you had never heard before. “No! He will face justice, that much is certain. But right now, we have to tend to her.” Arigni voice was strong and held the weight to stop one of his greatest warriors from running out the door with an axe. “How bad is it?” “Pretty bad, your highness. We heard her shout and ran out. He’d pulled her down an alley way and was holding her up by her neck like a doll. He’d cut her several times at her side, hand face and he had the knife ready to pierce her heart when I saw them. God, he was strangling her! He knew either way she’d be dead. Didn’t think I’ll ever forget how her body dropped to the floor. Lifeless. Thought she were dead!” Freha breaks down and starts to sob. Your eyes open wide. You had never seen her cry. Like many Orcess, she was strong and tough, but now she was weeping by your side. you reached out and took her hand again which she must have dropped when they came in. squeezing her hand, you smiled at her. “Im not.” You managed to say, your voice horse from being strangled. “Can you sit up, little one?” Elekin appeared beside you, making you jump a little. You didn’t answer but made the effort to try. Letting go of Freha hand, you tried to push yourself up, but there was a sharp pain from the gasp on your stomach, which made you cry out in pain and squeeze your eyes shut. Two set of hands support your back, Freha and Elekin. Slowly, they lowered you back down. “I’ll take her back to mine. She needs to rest.” Kruthus voice was shaking and sounded extremely strained, making you look over at him. “allow me a few minutes to dress the wounds first.” Freha didn’t ask, she told them. During this time, she showed the full extent of your injuries to the king and his council. You moved between having your eyes open and closing them over when pain or embarrassment was too much. But you noticed one thing. Kruthus eyes kept trailing back to your neck. You knew there would be bruising there, and in the shape of a hand. Once you were wrapped up, you started to sit up but were then scooped into large, muscular arms. “Im sure I can walk.” You tried to protest, but you were tiered and weak, so it came out as more of a whimper. “Im sure you can. But I can not allow it.” Kruthu spoke with a gentle kindness in his voice that made you smile and lay you head on his shoulder. He had always smelled to you like home. You could never quite put you finger on what it was, but you didn’t mind. He carried you outside and into a carriage that was directly outside the door. You were too weak to say goodbye but felt Freha quickly take your hand and squeeze it reassuringly. It seemed the council were going to stay and interrogate the orc who had attacked you, so it was only you and Kruthu in the carriage. He never put you down, instead having you on his lap. “Are we going home?” you asked, your eyes falling shut as you tried to fight the sleepy feeling, but you could tell it was winning. “No, I can arrange for you to travel home tomorrow but-“ He started but you let out a small giggle. “No, no, no. I mean your home.” You chuckled to yourself, shaking your head slightly as you looked up at him. A soft smile dawned his handsome features. “Yes, we’re going home.” He smiles down at you. For the brief moment before you nodded off, you weren’t in pain anymore. You couldn’t be, not when he smiled at you like that. ---------------------time skip------------------------ You woke and it was still dark. The door to your bedroom was open and the only light was from the soft fire in the living room. Sitting up, you noticed your side didn’t hurt nearly as much as you had remembered it. You were also in a nightgown and with a new quilt over your bed. It was one you recognised as Frehas one she used. It was a tradition in their house that when one of the children were ill or sick, they go this blanket and it helped them get better. But something drew you out of the bed and towards the door. In the living room was Kruthu. He stood over his dining table which was covered in books. All lying open and overlapping each other. A disgruntled sign left his lips as he leaned over them, searching multiple books for an answered he seemed not to be able to find. “Kruthu?” You called out his name softly, not wanting to startle him but you didn’t have the desired effect. Instead he jumped, a book he had been holding seeming to jump from his grip and land on the floor with a bang. “You’re awake.” He looked at you like you were a ghost before moving quickly across the room to you. “You shouldn’t be up. You need to rest.” but as he drew closer, he stopped himself before he was within a metres distance from you. You repeated his name, stepping closer to him, unsure why he had stopped. When you had fallen ill a few years ago, he had ushered you back to bed with a hand gently on your back. Even when he brought you here, in was in the embrace of his arms. Something you sorely needed right now but couldn’t ask for. Your cheeks suddenly felt like they were on fire and you were unable to hold his gaze. But your reaction seemed to be one he fear. Kruthu backed away from you. “I am deeply sorry.” He said, his voice deep and sounding pained. But your gaze snapped up to him. Looking up, you saw he hung his head, his shoulders hunching over themselves. “Why?” you asked, completely confused by his actions. “I could never hurt you. I just want you to know that.” He speaks to the floor before retreating to his room quickly and closing the door over. “I know.” You said to the empty room, your brows knitted together with confusion. Deciding to investigate, you cross over to the table. All the books that were overflowing the table were books of law. Both human and Orc law. Btu they were all opened ot assault, battery and grievous body harm and the minimum sentencing for these. The worse sentence seemed to be 5 years within a prison. You cheeks flared up with rage. Surly the orc who had attacked you would get longer than that?! Looking at the floor, you picked up the book. Kruthu had marked the page he had been on by folding the corner of it down, so you found it quite quickly. The page read that if a member of the royal council or a significant other was assaulted or feared for their life, then the sentencing could be increased to whatever the party deemed necessary. Technically, you weren’t part of the council so you were confused when you re read the page. Until your eyes fell on one part in particular. Significant other. A partner, wife, husband, lover or engaged to. It didn’t matter. It would give the king the fullest power to punish your attacker and get you justice. But there was a flaw in that idea. Looking down, you noticed a letter under a book. The letter was from Freha. You skimmed over the letter before a passage caught your eye. “she adores you. It could not be a lie if you speak to her and tell her the truth. Shes stronger than you think. You could simply say it was kept a secret because of the positions you both hold in the court. I would testify as a witness and say she had told me in confidence. I can assure you that her feeling towards our race and towards you will not change. Her confidence might be knocked, but she is far too kind for her own good sometimes. Your worries are misplaced. You have said yourself that your love for her has grown. The council can see that, as can the people. No one would think twice if it came out that you and she were courting.” You blinked quickly. There was more to the letter but you could barely read it. You needed to speak to Kruthu. Placing the letter down, you walked over to his bedroom and knocked on the door before walking in. It was more of a warning than a request. This took him by surprise because he had been sitting on his bed, with his head in his hands but once you entered, he sprung up. “I know you would never hurt me.” You smiled, standing directly in front of him as you reach out to cup his cheek. You ran your thumb under his eye which showed he was very tired. his eyes fluttered close at your touch, seemingly reviling in the soft moment. he rose his own hand to cover your hand before moving it to kiss your palm and then back to his cheek. “would you have thought of marrying me? Before all this?” You ask, drawing his eyes open to look up at you. “I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t.” He breathed, as if scared of how you might respond. “And you’d never lie to me.” You smiled, saying it more as a statement than a question. “Never.” Kruthu shook his head a single time, looking up at you. “Good.” You smile, as you slide down so you were perched on his right knee. He instantly wrapped his free arm around your waist to keep your steady. “I’d never lie to you.” “I know.” Kruthu smiled with a sense of pride as he looked at you. “So, the letter? Will you explain it?” you ask, cocking your head to the side as you pull your hand away for his cheek but quickly take his hand that had been covering your and holding it on your lap. “I don’t think an orc as been so hated by its own kind in a while. But theres only so much we can do legally. Since you’re human.” He looks away, seeming embarrassed to have to point this out. “And if I were courting you?” You ask, ducking your head to guide his eyes back to your own. “The full powers of the sentencing could be enforced.” He tells you. “And it would certainly improve relations between orcs and humans. Since word of what happened to me and what the council did would earn great respect from them.” You nod a little. “Theres only one problem.” Kruthu says, making you frown a little. “What?” you ask. “I need to know you would want this, regardless of whats happened. I cannot bare to force you to stay with me. I adore you, [y/n], and I would certainly do everything in my power to be a good husband for you. but I need to know you would want this.” He spoke with a sort of desperate desire as he held you a little tighter than he had before. his eyes begged you for an answer. “I’ll always want you.” You whisper to him, finally voicing a secret you had kept to yourself for a long time. Kruthus breath hitched as he stared at you in awe before leaning forward and pressing his lips to yours in a desperate kiss. You wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders, holding him close and you kissed him back with equal passion and desire. After that day, it was told that Kruthu had been courting you for a while. May vouched for your closeness and how they believed you. You moved to be with Kruthu, as a permanent member of the kings council, in charge of human relations and business deals. And you found a loving and doting husband, who adored you to the moon and back. That orc had tried to take your life, but he had actually given you everything you ever wanted. And you had never been happier.

[peaches-of-1]

Peachtober | Day 10: Hybrid

Naga!BTS x Black!Reader

First chapter! The rest will be written in November, but for now, please enjoy the beginning of forever. Requests for moodboards and reactions open!

Even though I was the one who came to Korea after months of travel trying to find the origin of my family’s necklace, I was so tired of the king. It was clear his actions were ruled by fear. His rules and such were so harsh for the simple reason of fear. He wanted to keep the kind hearted foreigner--aka me--safe.

“Please, do not go near the rivers at night. Stay away from all caves and for goodness sake, do not go to the waterfall unattended.” He said in his outfit which I had learned was a hanbok. Rich in blue tones and emblazoned with gold.

However, I was able to get information from the help around the palace and from my few supervised trips amongst the commoners. I was no different from them other than my pallor was the same as some of the medicinal bark they tried to sell me.

Nearly 34 moons had passed since I arrived in this land. All were spent confirming what I knew. This is where I was supposed to be. The King’s fear came from the scaled beasts which roamed near those areas and were known for kidnapping its youth to eat. There were also rumors of those who bathed near the waterfall becoming impregnated with non-human children.

At least, most would appear human until they hit puberty. Others showed their scales before or after, but most hide if they even suspect they have part of the scaled beast within them. Another option for the half scaled creatures’ offspring was that the parent who birthed them sent them away or killed them before too many people knew about it.

I was going to see what was up. That is why I had gone out under the guise of washing clothing to bond with the maid--although I was treated like a royal guest--and had left the clothes basket behind once I was out of the sight of the king. I went as quickly as I could to where the “cursed” waterfall was, discarding my shoes to make sure I made less noise and could better control where I left my mark.

There was a young man wading in the water. Something was trailing behind him, but I wasn’t at the right angle to see what it was. He opened his arms and spoke the language of their elders. The ground shook but the gateway did not open.

I ducked down behind the rock and made sure the reds and yellows of my skirt weren’t peeking out.

“Human~ I know you’re there~! You are not from here and should go back. I will count to five before I start looking for you…1, 2, 3, 4--”

Suddenly a face was right in front of my own, a very handsome face, “Five. I found~you~” he had a grin on his face and…

His eyes. I couldn’t look away from his eyes. Slitted like a snake, and I wanted to look at his body and yet all my thoughts seemed to seep away

“That’s right, beautiful stranger. Look into my eyes. You came here to find me, did you not? The scaled beast in charge of cursing all the humans in the King’s Village? His pretty little palace?” He chuckled, his low voice hypnotising me as much as his eyes which started to strope in an array of green and blue. “Did you want to get cursed to? I’d be happy to help fertilize the eggs that your beautiful form carries. Give you some beautiful naga children.”

There was a heat on my chest. His movements were puzzling. Why was he wiggling so much? He had the tail of a snake and yet the torso of a human man. Was this what they were so afraid of?

“What are you doing?” I asked and reached out to him.

He pulled back and was confused, “You can speak?”

“I have a voice. What else would I do with it?” I questioned him.

Both of us looked down at the glow of my necklace. It was green and warm and intensified the moment he got closer. His face was serious now, and I felt like I had been awoken from a deep sleep.

“So, you’re the one we’ve been waiting for.” He said.

The man bowed low, his tail coiling behind him, “My name is Kim Taehyung. I am at your service, Princess.”

“Princess?” I asked.

He looked at me, “Yes. You have the necklace...and you look just like the art. How did I not recognize you sooner?”

I held my necklace. It was called the Gorgon’s Eye and had been passed down by my family for generations on end. I was the one chosen by my mother to wear this with the promise that it would protect me. It always had but never in such an important situation. After all these years... The necklace was made up of seven silver intertwining snakes around a green emerald eye.

“Taehyung?” I said his name.

His eyes met mine again, but then he looked at the ground. I followed him to the water’s edge because he moved without a word, and I was not sure what to say just yet. He was completely serious about the whole Princess thing. Yet I could never--could I?

The blue haired man looked back at me, “Please, ride on my tail and hold on tightly if you wish to know more.”

I did as told, holding Taehyung around the neck. My necklace glowed faintly as he slithered through the water, doing his best to keep me dry and above it. He spoke what I thought was Korean when hiding behind the boulder, but now knew it was something more than that. Something older and more familiar than the Asian language.

It reminded me of the song my Grandmother would sing to me, but I only recognized one word, “Home”

The cave to our left began to glow, and he smiled. We went through the entrance and it was an amazing sight.

“We are headed for the castle where I am sure you belong. Our princess has finally returned to us. What a joyous day!” Taehyung seemed in a good mood and full of light unlike a few moment ago where I had been sure he was trying to attack me.

“I assure you I am no princess.” I replied. “I am just a woman wanting to know where my family’s necklace came from.”

“Don’t worry, Princess. You will.”

“Stop calling me that. My name is Y/N!” I pouted.

The blue haired naga smiled, “As you wish, Y/N.”

The two of us soon ended up in front of a palace which seemed to have marble everywhere. The walls were decorated with natural gems. As soon as I stepped off of the blue haired being’s back, there was another young naga wiping the sweat from his face due to the hot sun. I looked at the difference between the two attractive faces.

Well, to start, the young guard had long-ish black hair and greenish yellow eyes compared to Taehyung’s blue tone. Taehyung also had green scales compared to this man’s black iridescent ones.

“Did you really fall for another human?” He asked. “No offense, ma’am. You’re beautiful, but…” Then his eyes went wide and his voice softened in reverence, “Taehyung. Is she…?”

Taehyung nodded, “Yes, Jungkook, this is our princess, but she prefers to be called Y/N.”

Jungkook bowed, “Princess! Oh, Princess Y/N. I thought I would not see you again until my next life!”

“Princess?”

“Our Princess is here?”

“A Princess?”

Soon enough, three other young snake...men showed up and were bowing to my feet. What the hell was going on? Two of them were basically entwined with one another. Dark red hair and vibrant red scales to match such a bright personality wrapped up with brown hair and baby blue scales with a bit of a sheen. They looked at me eagerly and with curiosity. Hope trailing right behind.

“Princess Y/N,” Jungkook began. “This is Hoseok and Jimin.”

He motioned to each. Hoseok was the red scaled one. Alright.

And then there was another who slowly slid out of a tree. White scales that shone rainbow in direct sunlight. His eyes too, were like sunbursts though he kept a pretty even demeanor. He hung around behind the others but was still very much curious to see the face of the one they called their princess.

“She doesn’t look like royalty. You didn’t steal that necklace, did you?” He asked, speaking in sort of a pout.

I was offended and my necklace knew this as it began to burn more brightly against anyone who dare doubt me.

He raised his eyebrows a bit out of surprise, “Ah. I see. I guess you are our Princess.” The mint haired man bowed low. “Welcome. I am Yoongi.”

There was a slight smile on his face as well.

“Where is Namjoon and Jin?” Taehyung asked.

Hoseok spoke up, “Namjoon went for a walk and Jin is…”

A beautiful tenor voice came from up high accompanied by guitar. The men all smiled fondly and then Jungkook climbed up the castle wall after shooting Jimin a devious grin with a suspicious glint in his eye. Though his stature was quite large, he barely made a sound as he slithered up the wall to the rooftop, using every groove and peg he could to keep his body elevated. The next thing I heard was a sour note and a loud voice go.

“YA!!! YOU SCARED THE CRAP OUT OF ME! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me while I’m singing? I will bite you, Jungkook. Try that again, and I swear to--”

A short moment of silence and then two adorable faces peeked over the edge.

“Princess?”

They came down and the pink haired one known as Jin rested his chin in the area between his thumb and pointer finger to size me up.

Then he reached out for my hand, and I gave it to him. He kissed it. He was very VERY handsome. Who knew that snake genes made one so good looking? Would he have been this alluring even without those genes.

“Princess. I cannot tell you how long I have waited to see you in person. I will be your extremely handsome Naga in Waiting. Ask for me whenever you need anything, and I mean anything. Call me Jin, or call me yours. I will answer to either.”

The others rolled their eyes at the charming one with a slender face.

He scolded them, “Excuse me! Don’t roll your eyes like that! Who is the oldest around here?”

“It’s definitely you, grandpa.” Said the adorable one I learned was Jimin.

“I will bite you.”

Jimin giggled and let his tail grab Jin by the waist and pull him closer, “Then do it” and showed his neck.

Jin slithered out of the hold, “I am a naga not a vampire. The neck is gross.” and shivered.

I had to say something, “I have questions. Like. A lot. Is there like a book or something I can read that will get me to know as much as you do? I have no idea what’s going on. If you knew me, I’m not fit to rule over anyone. Least of all, snake people. I’m human. I shouldn’t be ruling over things I am not.” I began to back up. This was all so much.

My back met up with the front of someone. I reached back and tried to see what it was since it was tall like a tree, and also hard. However, I knew snakeskin anywhere. I squeaked and turned around to meet dark purple eyes.

“Jungkook. Did you scare our meal? The meat doesn’t taste good when it’s scared.” His deep voice rumbled.

“She’s not that type of meal, Namjoon-hyung. Look at her.” The guard replied.

He was different from the others. His face was covered with a white mask and he was holding baskets full of vegetables and fish. Did snakes even eat fish? These ones must have.

Namjoon peered closely at me as Jin took the food from his arms, and he gasped, “My princess. You’ve arrived.” He bowed.

“Ok. Enough with the bowing. What the hell is going on?” I asked with frustration being obvious.

“You must have many questions.” He said as he took off his mask. “You must have many questions. Yoongi, Jimin, with me. The rest of you, make everything clean and beautiful. Our princess has returned to us.”

He gave me a gentle smile as the others set off to do what they were told. Both the tired looking naga and the cutesy one approached and we made our way into the building and down a few flights of stairs. They were wide and ancient, the edges chipped and rounded from decades of use. These halls were more Greek inspired than the rest of the buildings I had seen here.

I remembered Greece, when I thought you were so close learning the name of your necklace but not the power. However, I wasn’t as close as I thought. This was close. So close that I could almost taste the answers that this place held. They rested on the top of my tongue yet waited to be spoken by these nagas. Jimin gave me a small smile when I looked up at him his sky colored tail trailing behind him..

Both of these men seemed small compared to Namjoon, then again, nearly everyone did. Yoongi would not meet my eyes, looking away when I noticed him staring at me from the corner of his eye. Water dripped somewhere nearby in several places. Mayhaps this was an old cistern?

“We are here.” Namjoon said and turned to the others. “Will you two do the honors?”

Yoongi drained some of his venom into the elongated basin and then Jimin placed his torch upon it. They stepped back and motioned for me to place my necklace in the designated space. The whole place began to come to life the moment it was in the slot .I was in awe as the fire filled notches below wall paintings and such. 

“Everything we tell you is true whether you believe it or not.” Yoongi said. “However, it will be easier for us if you do. These are your answers if you’re willing to listen.”

I nodded, “I will. I will listen.”

Jimin smiled, “Good. I guess I’ll begin. That necklace you’re wearing. It has been passed down from generation to generation in your family because humans don’t live as long as humans do. It was first created by Medusa, her sisters, Lamia, and Nagas. Lamia kept it safe from humans, but soon fell in love with one. A performer.”

“My family has always been taught the arts. It really is tradition.” I whispered.

The baby blue naga smiled, “Yes. A long one that hopefully keeps going.”

“You see,” Yoongi picked up. “We’ve been dwindling in numbers and very few of the offspring we create survive past the age of 15 due to denying who they are or hiding in fear. This land used to be ours until we were attacked in our sleep and with poison in our water. We came to this spot...where we hid, where we’ve stayed.” He spoke with reverence to the dead.

I looked at him, “You were there. Weren’t you?”

He nodded.

Namjoon picked up where his friend left off, “We’ve survived mostly on hope that, one day, our princess would return to us from extinction. It has been a long time, so we have accepted that she would be mostly human. There is some of Lamia which resides in you still. Our princess that would bring the Naga and Lamia race back with the protection of a Gorgon. All the pieces are here. You’re here.”

The light finally reached the end of the hallway, where a piece of art hung. It was my face created out of snake scales. My eyes looked at all the photos. The war. The necklace. The long wait and ways of trying to create more.

“Create...more? Save you from extinction? You mean I have to…” the thought was not unwanted, just really shocking.

Namjoon replied, forcing himself to look at you although he was embarrassed,, “If you want to. I mean. We will die out sooner or later if more are not born soon, but...yes.”

“We have to mate, yes.” Yoongi said, his cheeks and ears getting increasingly red.

“How come it has to be me? I’ve heard you impregnate most anyone who comes this way.” I folded my arms.

The blonde and tall man replied, “They produce beings that are more human and can’t produce anything but human children. They aren’t you.”

I couldn’t argue with that. If my body really was made to carry half snake children, then I was the only one who could do it. Still…

“Then why mate with them at all if they can’t produce what you need in the long run?”

“Listen. Snakes have times when we can’t stop the need to breed. Not to mention, they come to us. We don’t seek them out.” Jimin nervously brushed his hair back when I turned his eyes on him. “It’s consensual. That’s one of our rules.”

I scoffed, “Then what was that spinny eye thing Taehyung did to me earlier?”

“Oh, he was going to kill you, not mate with you. That just makes sure you don’t fight back.” Yoongi said simply.

Well fuck.

“...I...I have to think this over. I spend my whole life to find out why I was entrusted with this necklace, and I’m just meant to be an incubator for snake children?” This wasn’t what I had in mind when I found the source.

“But you’ll be bringing back an entire race!” Jimin said as if this were an easy choice.

I stalked towards him, “Or I can drink myself silly, forget this ever happened, and have normal children with the King. He’s been courting me since I got here. Hell, I could even just go back home.”

The green light got more intense, and I heard the signature sound of a rattlesnake. Jimin was making it, the anger and bulbous rattle obvious. I stared him down. My glare dared him to attack me and instantly regret it. The glow of my necklace got brighter, turning the orange flames green.

Yoongi got in the middle, “Stop it, you two. She is free to do what she wants.”

“What about us, Yoongi? I want us to survive!” the small one replied. “And she wants to mate with the King? Are you kidding? That’s our enemy! His great-grandfather--”

“I know. I know, but--”

“If she was really our princess, this wouldn’t be a choice!”

That cut deep, and I didn’t understand why. “Listen here, baby blue. This is ALL new to me. I haven’t been adventuring and travelling the EARTH for the past 5 years of my life to become the baby maker to some BEAST.”

I left the room, grabbing my necklace and running back to where we came from. I grabbed the bottom of my red and sun patterened skirt and then dove beneath the waves and swam to where Taehyung had brought me in. The rock wall with a hidden door was the only thing stopping me. I didn’t know the song. I knew where my necklace came from. Now I wanted to go home. I wanted to grab my basket and--

“Work, you stupid thing!” I yelled at the now inanimate jewel hanging around my neck Get me home! At least, get me out!” I didn’t understand anything.

My head swam with thoughts. For once in my life, I didn’t trust myself. I was unsure of what to do and how to do it. I was hungry too. I ate hours ago at the castle before leaving to “wash” the clothing.

Jin zipped to my side, “Princess Y/N. What happened? You don’t seem well.”

How could I voice all that was inside of me? My stomach began to cramp with its emptiness and stress combined. He offered his hand just like before.

“Please. Stay with us for a bit longer? I’ll be making dinner soon.”

I nodded and took his hand. He guided me onto his back using his strong tail where I subsequently passed out on his broad shoulders. It was too hard to keep my eyes and body awake with everything being so overwhelming.

~~~~~

To be continued….

[71tenseventeen]

Take My Hand (Take My Whole Life Too) 24

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23

Warnings for sexual content, male pregnancy, non-hockey Sid. Sid and Taylor’s ages have been altered to fit the story.

Perpetual credit to my betas, @queen-alia and @icosahedonist.

I’m 90% sure that at least 85% of this has made it through my betas. 

Sid runs his fingers nervously over the letters on the back of the jersey before tugging it on.   

Just before Geno left for the arena he’d brought it to Sid, grinning as he tugged it over his head. “Think maybe you wear tonight if you want. For luck.”

It was too big on Sid everywhere and he could see a couple of marks on the sleeve. “Is this…Did you wear this?” He’d asked, wide-eyed, making Geno chuckle.

“Wear in game seven, win the Cup. Best luck.”

“Oh my God! Geno, I can’t wear this!” He started tugging the sleeves off. “What if I spill something on it? What if something happens to it?”

Geno put a hand on each of his arms, pinning him inside the jersey. “Sid, need to breathe. Would not let you wear if I worry about those things. If you spill, we clean. You think I’m not clean after celebration? Was soaked in beer!”

Sid looked down at the Penguin across his chest and back up at Geno again. “Oh. But… This is a really special jersey.”

Geno, “Special game, special jersey,” he’d said before kissing Sid on the nose with another smile. “You wear for me?”

Sid had been helpless to deny him. “Yeah, of course. I’ll be really careful.”

Geno shook his head, smiling fondly and kissed Sid again.

Now Vero’s eyebrows are nearly in her hairline as she stares at Sid ducking into her car. “What?”

“Is that what I think it is?”  

Sid blushes and ducks his head with a smile. “Yeah. He said it’s, um, from game seven.”

Vero stares at him for a moment before breaking into a wide grin and shaking her head. “When’s the wedding?” she teases as she turns the car around.

“Oh come on, it’s not like that.”

“Sid. Marc-Andre and I have been together a long time and he’s never sent me to a game in a jersey he won the Cup in.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. He was just being nice. It was easier than buying me a new one.”

She laughs. “Okay, Sid.”

Sid uses the special identification card Geno got for him to enter with Vero. Everyone very clearly knows her and they also very clearly look curious about Sidney. No one says anything, though, and Sid wonders if and what they were told about him.

Vero, saint that she is, leads the way, fending off anyone who looks like they might want to chat. Sid’s relieved when they make it to their lounge area—for about two seconds.

Looking around, he feels like he may hyperventilate. He knew the seating would be special but this is—

Vero tugs on his arm. “Breathe, Sid. You’ll get used to it,” she says, pushing him on through the very swanky lounge past a huge buffet and some very plush looking seating areas. Down a couple of stairs, they finally reach what look like slightly more normal, though still much nicer, seats. “Sit,” she orders before disappearing only to reappear what seems like moments later with bottles of water. “Drink.”

He does and waits until he doesn’t feel so much like choking before sitting back and says quietly. “I don’t belong here.”

“Yes you do,” she says with an air of finality, tugging on the his jersey sleeve. “He wants you here and you want to be here for him so this is where you belong.”

“But—” he starts but she cuts him off.

“Would you rather there be no one up here for him?”

“No, of course not!”

“Then drink more water, try to relax and be here for him.”

He can’t argue with that. She’s right, Geno deserves to have someone here for him and right now he wants that to be Sid so he settles back into the seat again and tries to relax.

Talking to the other people in the lounge is still outside of his comfort zone, though Vero introduces him to a handful of wags as “a friend of Geno’s.” For the most part, though, he sticks close to her and tries to enjoy what he came here for.

That part isn’t hard.

It’s easy to join the crowd cheering for the team when they come on the ice, a sharp thrill running through Sid when Geno skates out with the cup above his head.

Once the game starts, he’s not thinking about where he’s sitting or who he’s sitting with—all he can think about is Geno tearing up the ice and how well the Pens are playing. The first period is great except for when Williams makes a dirty attack dragging Geno to the ice, a moment that has Sid on his feet cursing. Geno’s back up in a moment looking ready to murder and where he was cursing moments before, now all Sid can do is cheer, elated as Geno goes after Williams.

Near the end of the first Vero leans over and says, “We should get food during intermission. What do you want?”

Sid turns to her with a shrug. “What are my options?”

“Anything you want. I mean they obviously can’t serve everything but honestly, just about anything you want within reason, we just have to tell them.”  

Sid gawks. “But that’s—what if they don’t have what I want? I don’t want to make someone go to trouble to make something for me that’s not already ready to go.”

“Oh Sid, you’re such a sweetheart,” she says with a smile and a shake of her head. “No wonder he’s so smitten with you.”

He feels his cheeks burning. “He’s not… smitten.”

Vero only laughs.

That’s how he finds himself scarfing down a really amazing steak during first intermission while Vero smiles fondly at him.

The rest of the game passes much like that until the Pens beat the Caps. It’s a good game and Sid is surprised at how much fun he’s having. He’d been so nervous at first but now he has a scratchy throat and he can’t wipe the smile off of his face as he chatters away at Vero. He wants to find Geno right away, tell him how amazing he was but that will have to wait.

Vero stops to talk to various people on the way out, always introducing Sid and though he wouldn’t say he’s fully comfortable with it, he’s too happy to worry much. Geno won. Okay the team won but Geno—he was amazing. Sid can’t help but smile when he thinks about the fact that Geno is, well, maybe not his but he’ll be coming home to Sid and maybe he’ll even want to celebrate that win.

Vero snorts laughter at him and pokes him in the side on the way home. “Look at you.”

“What? They won! We’re supposed to be happy.” He says, completely unable to tamp down his smile even a little bit.

“There’s happy for a win and then there’s ready for your man to come home so you can reward him for winning happy.”

Sid’s too giddy to even deny it. Geno’s not his but he can pretend he is, for now at least. Tonight Geno will come home and touch him and hold him and make him feel like nothing else in the world matters. He bites his lip as he laughs bashfully.

He gets a text just as they pull into the driveway.

<So glad you here tonight. You wear jersey?>

Sid replies with a picture Vero had taken of him at the game.

<Told you. You best luck.>

Before Sid can reply, Geno sends another.

<Might be little bit later than thought. Need to go out with team for little while.>

Oh.

He shouldn’t be disappointed. Of course Geno is going out with the team after a win like that.

“Sid?”

He realizes he’s not smiling anymore as he looks up. “Huh?”

“Everything okay?” She nods towards his phone.

“Oh. Oh yeah,I’m fine.” He forces himself to smile at her.

She frowns. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah of course. It was just Geno. They’re, um, they’re going out. I don’t know if Flower goes too or if he told you.” He stuffs the phone into his pocket just as she pulls to a stop by the garage doors.

“Yeah, they always do if they win the opening game.”

He forces himself to smile again. “Yeah, I figured he probably would. Anyhow, thanks for the ride. See you later, Vero.”  He waves without looking back as he heads inside.

He heads straight to the shower once he’s inside, pausing only to strip off the jersey and hang it neatly in Zhenya’s closet, telling himself he has no reason to be upset. It was the home opener and they won. Geno is the captain, of course he needs to be there. That’s nothing to be upset about.

It was silly, he thinks as he ducks his head under the hot spray, to think that Geno would come straight home to him. Of course he wants to celebrate with his teammates. Maybe he hadn’t mentioned it before but he also had never told Sid he’d be home right after the game. It makes sense, when Sid thinks about it. He thinks about Vero and she hadn’t been upset at all and he realizes it really is silly for him to be. Geno will be home later.

He feels better as he towels his hair off and settles into bed, replaying some of Geno’s better plays in his mind. He smiles, maybe not as giddy as earlier but content. It lasts approximately two minutes—until he opens Instagram and the first thing he sees is a picture of Geno standing with some teammates and a very busty, blonde woman whose arms are wrapped firmly around his waist.

It’s just a fan photo, he’s seen tons of them before but—

“Ran into my boys after the game. G is even hotter in person!” He wrinkles his nose at the caption and frowns hard as he reads the comments where she chronicles her intentions with Geno, should she be able to entice him away from the group.

Geno wouldn’t do that, he tells himself feeling secure in that knowledge for a couple of seconds before his brain betrays him.

Why wouldn’t Geno do that? He never said he wouldn’t sleep with other people, just that he’d take care of Sid. Having a baby on the way doesn’t mean he won’t still date other people. After all they’re not exclusive. They’re not even dating. Geno has promised him lots of things but he’s never promised a relationship, he’s never promised fidelity and—

“Sid?”

Sid snaps his head up, surprised to find Geno standing in the doorway grinning at him.

“What—” Sid sits up. “What are you doing here?”

Geno flashes a funny smile. “Live here.”

“I just meant I thought you were out with the team.”

Geno shrugs. “Was but kept wonder what you up to here.”

“Oh.” Sid’s heart is hammering. Geno came home to him.

Geno raises his eyebrows, grinning as he sits on the edge of the bed. “You got big plans? Need for I leave again?”

Sid can’t stop the smile that spreads as he drops his gaze, blushing. “No!” He’s laughing as he looks back up and sucks in a breath as Geno leans in closer and touches his chin.

“What you do since game, all alone, hmm?” He drawls, sending a shiver down Sid’s spine.

Sid licks his lip. “Actually, I was thinking about you.”

Geno leans closer, close enough that Sid can feel warm breath on his lips. “What you think about me?”

Sid shudders. This is—this is just everything he wanted and he’s going to enjoy it. “I was just thinking about the game, how you played tonight.”

“Mmm,” he hums as he settles on the bed next to Sid. With a smile he reaches over and tugs on Sid who lets himself be moved around until he’s straddling Geno. He can feel Geno hot and hard through both of their pants and, god, Sid is starting to feel desperate. He’s like that for me, he thinks with a flush.

”You like? Think I’m play good?”

Sid’s fingers are already working at the buttons on Geno’s shirt, without even really having thought about it. Their eyes are locked as he nods, says breathily, “So good, G. The best.”

Geno grins, lips brushing Sid’s now. “You my good luck.”

There are a lot of things Sid could say to that, a lot of things he wants to say but the tension is killing him and the thing he wants most is to kiss Geno until his lips hurt so that’s exactly what he does.

And then Geno takes him apart little by little, surprising Sid by not being in any sort of rush. He takes his time, like he wants to savor every moment, smiling smugly the more he teases until Sid can’t take it anymore and straddles him again, already wet and messy where Geno’s deft fingers have been stretching him. He wastes no time slicking Geno’s cock up while Geno alternates between grinning and gasping. “So anxious, my Sid? Want so bad, you can’t wait?” And Sid can’t take it anymore, lifting to his knees and sinking down, down, down with a long, low groan.

Even then as much as Sid wants to ride him with abandon, Geno grips his hips, keeps things from going too fast. It’s torture and it’s the best thing Sid’s ever felt. He has to drop his head to Geno’s shoulder as he starts to get overwhelmed. Geno’s breath is hot in his ear, voice low as he tells Sid he thought about him all night, hoped he was seeing every moment, couldn’t wait to come home and get his hands on him. Sid’s barely holding it together, holding tight now as Geno rocks up into him faster and faster.

“Next time, I have you put jersey back on. Fuck you while you wear it. Think you like that, Sid?”

Sid can’t answer as he collapses forward, body shaking and shuddering with his release. And then Geno is moving even faster, harder and he pulls Sid’s hips down hard and comes with a loud, “Fuck!”

Sid expects him to zone out a little bit, he usually does as they work to catch their breath but this time he touches Sid’s face and then he’s kissing him and he doesn’t stop until Sid is breathless again. All Sid can think is that if Geno’s going to be like this after every win, it’s going to be a very, very good season.

Part 25

[mythicamagic]

Swimming in Silk - chapter 19

Training in front of her, engaging her in conversation and now lending her his clothes…Kagome is starting to suspect that Sesshoumaru is trying to gain her attention.

Sesskag - Romance, Humour, Drama, Angst

Rated M - As always you can read this story on Ao3, fanfiction.net or Dokuga

Chapter One - here                Previous Chapter - here    Next Chapter - here

AN: Sorry this chapter is all over the place, I still didn't fit in everything I wanted lolol good news though! After this depressing chapter, the angst won't be so heavy in this fic anymore x

Haunted Hounds~

After wading through the shallows to shore, Kagome peeled her sodden sweater off, sighing as she wrung the waterlogged material. Inuyasha promptly shook himself, soaking her anew.

"Gah!" Kagome sputtered. "Can you not?"

"How else am I supposed to get dry?" He grunted, white hair puffing up under his cap.

She couldn't help but giggle. "You're not, be cold and suffer with the rest of us."

By the time they'd padded up to the huts, Kagome was positively shivering. The ocean was a quiet crash of waves behind them as lights suddenly flared to life in various windows. The covers over doors were thrown back, and various demons rushed out, raising weapons with wild, fearful eyes.

Kagome quickly raised her hands, "we come in peace!" She squeaked, spying a familiar face among them, who lowered his axe. "Kaito!"

The demons paused, frowning and looking at the dark haired man. "General, do you know them?"

"Ah! That's Lord Inuyasha," said one.

Inuyasha acknowledged them with a grunt. "Lower your damn weapons."

"Yes, do so. The Lady of the Western Lands stands with him," Kaito said, eyes gentling slightly. He shifted on his crutch, raising a hand to her and beckoning. "Come, my Lady. Everyone else, go back to sleep," he dismissed. The demons murmured amongst themselves, wandering back into their huts. Kagome padded into the hut Kaito indicated, Inuyasha following.

Inside, Inukimi adjusted her silks, covering bare shoulders. Kagome caught a glimpse of fresh bite-marks and cherry red hickeys before they were hidden, causing her to blush.

"W-we didn't mean to disturb you so late!" She glanced at Kaito, now noticing his rumpled clothes.

"Hush. Time-travel is not known for being considerate," Inukimi gave a soft laugh. With her hair down, she looked simultaneously radiant and decadent in her loose clothing.

"It smells like sex in here," Inuyasha grunted, yelping when Kagome stamped hard on his foot.

"Zip it!"

Inukimi laughed, fixing the futon and smoothing the covers as Kaito sat down beside her with a grunt, resting his crutch down. "Adorable. I'm surprised you're familiar with the smell, Hanyou."

"Shut up!" he barked, cheeks blooming red.

"Lady Inukimi?" Came a gentle, feminine voice. "What was all that just now? Shippo thought he sensed-" the cover over the door was tentatively peeled back and a taller Shippo peered in, along with a girl who Kagome vaguely recognised.

She gaped when it clicked."Shiori?"

"Ah, Kagome!" Shippo darted inside, scooping her up and hugging so tight her bones protested. His head came past her stomach now.

"Wow, lookit you! So tall," she wheezed, giggling and wrapping her arms around him, lifting so that his feet left the floor. At least she could still do that.

"It's lovely to see you again after so long," Shiroi murmured, folding her hands neatly in front of her and bowing. The previously petite child had matured, becoming a young woman perhaps a little younger than Kagome. She still wore a modest white yukata, but her face had lost most of its childish features. Those violet eyes remained as kind and sad as they were before. The miko suddenly remembered her mother, and realised she must have passed, leaving the hanyou alone.

Smiling gently, she blinked when Shippo detached himself from her and immediately hugged Inuyasha, who bristled. He made to say something, before closing his mouth and setting his rough hand on the fox's red hair.

"It's been a while...little brat."

"Hmph, it's not like I missed a big bully like you," Shippo mumbled.

Blue eyes shining bright, her chest warmed. Turning to the others, she voiced the thought that had been with her since surfacing: "Where's Sesshoumaru?"

Their expressions immediately shuttered, some unreadable or awkward. Ice shot into her chest, hitting the bullseye of her heart.

"Don't worry," Shippo immediately soothed, straightening. "He's just uh…sleeping right now."

She blinked, giving a relieved laugh. "Well duh, it's late at night. Heh, you all looked weird for a sec there."

Inuyasha's ears flicked under the cap, heavy brows drawing into a frown. "Spit it out, Shippo." He growled. "You ain't explainin' everything and no doubt it's some crap that'll just worry her later."

Surprisingly, it was Shiori who timidly spoke up.

"Our village is home to many different kinds of demons. The majority of them are survivors from the West's fall that happened 10 years ago. They fled here, and we sheltered them, or some joined us of their own accord like the wolf demon tribe led by Kouga. When they came, Lord Sesshoumaru was among them, so he picked up the mantle to lead again."

"That's not surprising," Kagome tilted her head.

The Hanyou fiddled with her sleeve. "It's just that…concerns have been raised about the amount of sleep our leader gets."

"Yeah, because it's not healthy." Shippo snorted.

Inukimi huffed, lighting her signature pipe and inhaling. "Ridiculous. He's perfectly fine. How do you explain his performance in the fighting pit? Resting isn't a crime. He defeats challengers when required," she uttered darkly, words flowing out with the exhale of curling smoke.

Shippo throws his hands up, bristling. "Lady I don't wanna get into this with you again! Sleeping for 18 hours is not normal!" He burst, flashing small fangs.

Differing energies crackled in the air, raising the hair on Kagome's arms. She'd never seen Shippo argue so boldly with someone collected like Inukimi. "That's…that's enough you two, please calm down," she tried to wrap her head around everything.

"The fuck? 18 hours." Inuyasha grumbled. The strict and disciplined 'Killing Perfection' sleeping so long sounded ludicrous. "Where is he now?"

Kaito spoke up, absentmindedly sharpening his weapon. "In a cave not far away, located within the cliffs. He rarely shows himself, but always makes an appearance at the pits."

"Fighting…pits, right?" Inuyasha's ears twitched.

"Guessing that's exactly what it sounds like," sighing, Kagome tried her best to ignore her mounting worry. "Okay, let's backtrack. You said it's been 10 years since the big battle. How many years ago did Kouga and Sesshoumaru arrive?"

Shippo rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, two?" Seeing the look on her face, he added. "We've tried talking to him but he doesn't want to see anyone. He's…changed so much, we've got no clue how to help."

Sensing her turbulent emotions, Shiroi spoke up. "I'll ask Ayame to take you to him tomorrow."

"Ayame?" Kagome croaked.

"Mhm, he only wakes up during the day if her cubs go to bother him," Shippo offered a weak smile.

Unbidden, Kagome answered it with a small one of her own. You've always been pestering him to do things, huh Riza?

With no alternative but to sleep, Kagome left Inukimi's hut, deciding to rest with Shippo. Glancing behind her as she settled down on a futon, she noticed Inuyasha taking a seat. He'd followed without a word, and now rested his faithful sword against his shoulder, closing tired gold eyes.

Kagome also spied the two white-haired fox sisters curled up together in their true forms. She supposed they must have moved to the village along with Shippo at some point, and wondered what had become of the Fox clan. Shippo curled up with them, and Kagome loosely curled her arms around herself, shivering and closing her eyes.

-------

Sleep proved to be a flirtatious but unobtainable friend. A burst of loud noise, that of high pitched yips and barks, broke her out of her dozing. With her eyes still in the process of opening, Kagome shrieked when tons of bundles of fur landed on her stomach. Countless wet noses and tongues attacked her cheeks, causing her to burst into startled giggles.

"Oi! What did I say?" A familiar gruff, masculine voice barked. "Settle down and get off her already!"

Kagome laughed, setting her hands on the wolf cubs that kept climbing over her, occasionally licking the miko while ignoring their father.

"OI!" He called again, before being nudged aside.

"OFF!" Ayame snapped, voice dark and green eyes blazing.

The countless amount of cubs immediately scrambled off, looking at their parents in the doorway with perked ears and expectant faces.

Picking herself up and wiping the slobber from her cheeks, Kagome noticed Inuyasha and the foxes had already left for the day.

A whine sounded out, "Ayame! I told ya to let me handle it this time. If ya keep butting in, they're never gonna listen to me!"

"You were taking too long," his mate flipped some firey red hair over her shoulder. "Besides, you let them rudely wake up Kagome. You call that handling it?"

Kagome's cheeks hurt, and she touched her mouth, finding she was smiling too wide. But she couldn't help it. Not wasting time, she rushed forward. The two wolves abruptly stopped when she wrapped her arms around them, resting her face against their shoulders.

"K-kagome? What's wrong?" Kouga mumbled, resting a large hand on the small of her back. A strangled, happy sound reached their hearing.

"Nothing, I'm just...really happy. So happy," she breathed, squeezing them. "Seeing you both safe is a big relief."

Pulling back and grinning tearfully, Kagome ignored their perplexed looks. It was one thing to hear they were safe in the Future but was another to actually see, hear and touch them. It made her long for Sango and Miroku.

"Thank you so much for finding Sesshoumaru and helping him. You saved him," she rambled, causing Ayame to laugh gently and nudge her.

"It was no trouble. C'mon, I'm sure you want to see him. You can cry on us some more later," she said, tucking Kagome's hand through her arm.

"Hey! I haven't seen her in ages," Kouga soured, watching as the miko was ushered outside.

Ayame glanced over her shoulder, smiling flippantly. "You've seen her now~ are you saying you're more important right now than her mate?" She asked sweetly.

Kouga's shoulders fell, expression shifting into a grumpy, accepting one. Letting herself be tugged along away from the huts, Kagome held on when the cubs followed, racing through their legs and causing her to trip on the sand.

"Careful!" Ayame growled at the bundles of fluff.

Smiling and carrying on along the shore in the morning light, Kagome walked them play and leave tiny paw-prints in their wake. "It's kind of strange, seeing you guys with kids."

"Heh, it feels strange for us too. Still doesn't feel real even after two years."

They approached a cliff with numerous crags and splits, which had eroded into caves and openings. Nerves erupted into her stomach. "...Shippo said he's been like this since arriving," Kagome murmured.

A snort sounded out close to her ear. "Honey, I've been baby-sitting this Lord for at least five years. He hasn't changed since Kouga first found him all injured. Hasn't shifted out of his true form once from what I've seen."

The words made dread pool in Kagome's stomach, along with a hard lump of sadness in the back of her throat that was difficult to swallow. Jaken had mentioned once, in passing, how true forms often dulled more complicated emotion. Demons merely became creatures of instinct.

Is it...less painful for you this way?

"I remember first seeing him. I'd been told stories about The Killing Perfection ever since I was a cub. A God on the battle-field. But he was just an abandoned, lost puppy. Still is," Ayame lifted a shoulder. "Aside from when he's in the pit, I honestly find it difficult picturing him conquering anything. Don't get me wrong though, our tribe kind of like him after he aided us getting here. I was heavily pregnant at the time and heh, let me tell ya; walking through human territory in that state was not fun! But ole' Ice Prince woke up enough to protect us during the journey. We lost men during the battle of the Western Lands though so, I guess to him it might've been paying his debts."

There came a beat of silence between them, the words left hanging in the air. Eventually, Kagome spoke once more, voice subdued. "I keep trying to get used to everything changing...but the second I get my head around a place it's already shifted."

Ayame smiled. "I might not time travel but it's still changed too fast for me too. At least there's always a place for you, no matter where you drop in, right?"

Kagome blinked, smiling gently and nodding.

They reached the mouth of the cave, Kagome's boots crunching on the pebbles and stone. The spray crashed against the nearby jagged rocks, flicking water up near them. He's really picked a remote spot, she thought, glancing at the distance from the village, which was in view but far off.

The cubs stopped to play, biting on a piece of driftwood while Kagome and Ayame padded inside. The shadows of the cave swamped in. All noise felt drowned out within the large space. The crunch of their shoes echoing too loud. To the side lay remains of animal bones and carcasses, everything beyond the light of the entrance drenched in dark. Yet on the edge of the light, silver fur glinted.

A large body shifted, around the same size as she'd seen him before, that of a large bear. His true form looked much healthier at least. Well fed, unharmed. Yet scars crisscrossed certain areas where the fur was thinner, no doubt more hidden by the lustrous fur that flamed around his shoulder. He slept on despite their presence.

"Oi!" Ayame growled. "You have a visitor. Wake up!"

Sesshoumaru stirred, opening one groggy, ruby eye. He stared at them listlessly for a moment, before closing his eye again, seeming to fall back asleep.

"Hey!" Ayame barked, only to be drowned out as a flood of yips and galloping tiny fluffballs racing around them. Uncaring of their sleeping mountain, the cubs bound atop the Daiyoukai, nudging and sniffing at him.

Sesshoumaru didn't stir, despite their antics. A low sound built in the back of his throat however, the more they tugged at his ears or tail. Unfortunately, they didn't seem deterred by his grumbles.

Cuuute, Kagome couldn't help but think. "They seem to like him."

"You know what kids are like. Don't know to be afraid of something most would faint in fear of." Ayame smiled, before frowning at the dozing Daiyoukai. Growling, she sank to one knee, plunging her fist into the ground. The walls around them trembled with distress, and the cubs yipped with alarm, huddling around Sesshoumaru.

"HEY! This girl time travelled for your ungrateful hide!" She bellowed. "She came here just to see you! The least your sorry ass could do is say hello!"

Sesshoumaru's tail flicked out, sending a cub rolling free from its personal tug of war. He huffed quietly, giving another low noise and shifting so that he was turned away, back facing them.

"If he doesn't want to see me, Ayame...it's okay," Kagome said, watching quietly.

Ayame growled, straightening and putting her hands on her hips. "It's weird, almost like he doesn't believe you're really here or...doesn't want you to be?" She then winced, glancing at the miko. "Uh, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine," Kagome soothed. "I'm going to um, stay here for a little while. Just in case he changes his mind."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded distractedly, watching every inhale and exhale.

"Alright, but I'm only leaving you for an hour. Shippo will come fetch you. It isn't healthy to stay here alone."

"Sesshoumaru's alone."

"By choice!" Ayame tsked. "It's true he was injured, and the battle at the Western Keep probably took a toll. But everyone else has tried to move on. They might still revere him as Leader, but honestly he needs to be defeated soon and replaced if we're gonna progress. Otherwise, we're all sitting around waiting for him to get better."

It occurred to Kagome then that no one else knew. Sesshoumaru probably hadn't told anyone what he'd been through with the monks. They just thought he was pining for his lost house.

Kagome assured her she'd be fine, waiting until she left along with the rambunctious cubs, before turning to Sesshoumaru. Without their presences, the cave was plunged into silence, save for the tumble and crash of waves against rocks outside. Sitting down, she wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her chest, just listening.

Little by little, she inched closer. Carefully, agonisingly gently, she reached out and lay her palm on his side. The jagged bite mark on her arm pricked, and her body tensed, but he didn't stir. Lithe fingers combed through damp fur, untangling it. He felt warm and steady, much better than his previous trembling, but she could sense the undercurrent of something. A great tired weight on his chest that caused every draw of breath to seem like effort.

"I don't know why I wanted to see you while you were still recovering. Maybe it was just me being full of it, thinking I could be the one to heal you. Seriously...I'm an idiot," she chuckled quietly. "But here you are, wounds closed. Healthy. Least that's what everyone thinks, mn?"

She didn't know if he were listening or could feel it, but she stroked her hand through his fur all the same. "I get why you didn't tell them about the monks. Too proud," her lips curved into a wobbly smile. "But Shippo would help if you opened up to him, I'm sure of it."

His lids remained shut. Her fingers lightly slid over his muzzle. You were like this when Rin died too...just trying to sleep it off. So many bad things have happened to you, I bet they've mounted up. Why don't you ever talk to anyone, you beautiful dumbass?

Leaning down, Kagome rested her head against his back. "It's going to...get better, you know?" She murmured. "Not to be patronising, but it will. So for now, if this is what you need, to be comfortable, then that's okay. Just...don't sleep forever," turning her face into the warmth of his side, she trembled.

"I'd miss you too much."

--------

She stayed with him until Shippo came to collect her an hour or so later. Kagome didn't check her watch to know, just let time disappear. Leaving without a word or fuss, Sesshoumaru did not stir without her presence.

"Are you alright?" Shippo immediately checked, padding back with her along the beach.

Unprompted, Kagome smiled gently, causing him to blink. "Yeah. I think since I can't help Sesshoumaru this time, I'll focus on doing what I can around him."

"Meaning?"

She hummed, "well, why were the demons last night showing their markings and claws? On the outside, this place looks like an ordinary village, but I can feel a barrier around it. Wouldn't it make sense to start covering up their demonic features so that everyone can hide in plain sight without wasting energy on that?"

Shippo smiled, tilting his chin up to look at the morning sky. "You don't miss much. That's been a huge thing lately, big mess. No one wants to start posing as humans except the foxes, Shiori, and a few of the wolves."

"Why?"

"They refuse to unless their leader does it first. Set an example. But it's like he's doing the opposite, lounging in his true form all the time."

Slowly, the pieces started to fit into place. Now she understood Ayame's frustration. Shippo continued, sighing. "Sesshoumaru's the strongest, as proven every week in the pits. Hence he's the leader. If someone could just beat him in the fighting pits, someone who gets that we need to change to survive, then we could really pass ourselves off as a human village. We'd be so much safer! Plus that way us foxes wouldn't have to be the ones going to neighbouring villages for supplies. Shiori wouldn't exhaust herself by keeping the barrier up too. We're sitting ducks like this."

Kagome nodded seriously, mind whirling with the new information. "When's the fighting pit next open?"

"Tonight. It's held over there," Shippo pointed to the opposite cliffs and caves, situated nearer to the village and on the right of the shore, where Sesshoumaru's was on the far left. Isolated.

"Great, I'm heading there tonight."

"N-not to fight, right?"

She laughed. "No Shippo. If I beat him and became leader where would that leave you guys when I disappeared? I just want to watch."

Shippo exhaled with relief, smiling up at her. Tentatively, she offered her hand.

Green eyes flickered with surprise, and it occurred to her how much older he'd become. She shouldn't have done it, he wasn't a little kid anymore. He'd survived war and-

Shippo's hand slid into her own.

Emotion welled up inside her and when he gave a squeeze, and she felt that he'd done it more for her sake than anything else. Kagome squeezed back with gratitude as they walked in step back to the village.

--------------

That night, Kagome walked among the crowd through the narrow passages in the caves. They walked with torch in hand, until the rocks bathed in orange hues gave way to a giant opening, fit for the hall of a King.

Kagome followed the demons to the rings that looped around the massive pit in the centre of the floor, almost like they were in a colosseum. The cave seemed to have been carved, paving seats for them, so she took one. Glancing to her left, she found Inuyasha, who had decided to follow. He frowned, ears pressing against his skull.

Sesshoumaru's form became visible after a moment, climbing down into the room via one of the higher openings in the cave and making his way to the pit, jumping in and waiting with a tired sort of expectation. The demons in the crowd glanced around, muttering to themselves.

Finally, a challenger Kagome didn't recognise jumped into the ring, bulls horns protruding from his head. With a blast of yellow youkai, his form melted into a demonic bull, tossing his head and rearing on hind legs.

Everyone watched with bated breath as the fighting started without introduction.

Two forms collided, roughly slamming into each other. Kagome noticed that while they used no real techniques, more throwing weight or striking, they each avoided using their deadly weapons of poison, teeth or horns if they could help it.

Sesshoumaru ended things by moving with a burst of speed, leaping atop the bull, which was struggling to get up. A large paw slammed down into its jugular, bracing his weight and opening large jaws, pining the burly demon down via rows of deadly teeth on ethier side of him. Sesshoumaru held him there despite the kick of frantic hooves beneath him.

Eventually, the bull made a noise, and Sesshoumaru backed off, panting.

"He's...like a stray dog or something," Inuyasha mumbled, ignoring the cheer from the onlookers.

Kagome glanced at him. "What do you mean?"

"When demons communicate, it's like human speech, just different. Gestures and stuff. But even using that, it's like he's completely closed off. He might still fight well, but he's not the taunting asshole I know. The hell happened to him?"

"He got hurt, badly," she murmured, not wanting to say more than that. It felt like a betrayal of trust to explain, for some reason.

"Oh for goodness sake," came a voice behind them.

Kagome turned, looking at one of the higher stands and spotting Inukimi. Her eyes were on the pit, so the miko shifted to look. She then gaped.

Kaito limped into view, facing Sesshoumaru while leaning on his crutch.

"You foolish oaf! What are you doing?" Inukimi stood from her seat with a rustle of silks, glaring.

From within the pit, the General glanced up at his Lady, mouth curving. He lifted a shoulder, giving a sad, rueful smile. "We can't live in the past, my Lady. I should at least try to end this stagnation."

Kagome's eyes widened. Kaito who had been so proud he'd all but rejected her as Lady of the West. Kaito who hated the House lowering itself. It was he who stood before his lord, discarding his crutch.

Blue light coated the dark-haired Generals form. Smoke billowed out, slowly sighing away to reveal a three-legged black inuyoukai. He leaned forward, equal size to Sesshoumaru, who growled softly.

The two leapt, meeting with a clash of hard bodies. Black and white fur met again and again, demons trying to topple the other. A few times their paws swiped out, hackles rising as they snarled, teeth starting to snap and bite. Their forms chased each other around the pit, colliding into the walls and causing the structure to shake.

"Crap, Kaito's really letting him have it," Inuyasha muttered.

Seeing Kagome's questioning look, he scratched his cheek. "Let's just say he's yelling at the Bastard and telling him to wake up and fucking lead already. Sesshoumaru is pissed-"

A hard-hitting sound echoed off the walls as Kaito hit the floor a moment later, his single back leg giving. His jaw smacked hard against the ground as Sesshoumaru remained atop him, pressing him down and snarling quietly.

"What's Sesshoumaru saying now?"

Inyasha tsked. "...For Kaito to find someone strong enough to take over or leave him the hell alone."

When the dust settled, Kagome watched as the silver inuyoukai padded around the pit like a restless tiger. Kaito's black form receded, his more human appearance returning. Taking up his fallen crutch, the General gingerly got to his feet and limped away.

When no other challengers stepped forward, the fighting pit drew to a close.

------

She'd asked around, but apparently, defeating Sesshoumaru was indeed the only way to seize control over the village. Even if she could win, Kagome also asked if she could pass on the mantle immediately after- only to be shut down and told an 'outsider' like herself wouldn't be accepted as a leader in the first place.

Kagome thus spent her week helping Shippo and the other foxes. Kouga and some of his wolves had unfortunately left to run an errand. Despite how busy she kept, she always noticed the lack of Sesshoumaru's presence. Visiting him had only become possible in the evenings she was so tired, helping newer arrivals construct a hut. On one day she walked the road to the neighbouring human village and helped load supplies onto the wagon, discussing trade. Pushing some hair back from her eyes, Kagome sighed.

"It's hard work, mn?" Shiori smiled knowingly, tending to the horses.

"Sure is. How are you able to leave the village and move around if you're...you know," Kagome glanced at the humans walking around. She cupped a hand to her mouth and mouthed: 'using your powers.'

Dark eyes danced, her hanyou features under a glamour. She beckoned, and the miko leaned in, watching as Shiori opened her pocket, revealing a glowing orb.

"Oh, you had something like that last time."

"Yes, but I was being used back then. Now I'm...happy to be of use to the village, even if I wish everyone would be a little braver," Shiroi said gently.

Kagome nodded, brows drawing together. "You feed your power into that and it projects a barrier around them, right? You must be exhausted all the time," she said, eyeing the pallor of Shiori's usually darker skin with thin lips.

"E-excuse me, are you a miko?"

Turning, Kagome faced a nervous looking man.

"Yes, hello?"

"Please," he took her hand. "My wife is giving birth. I-I don't know what to do, please help! Our village priestess is away visiting friends. Please!"

Everything else fell away as Kagome nodded seriously. "Don't worry, I'll come. Shiori, can you-"

"I'll come too."

With a nod, the two women rushed to aid the man and his wife.

------

Kaede's teachings had certainly come in handy. It had felt kind of surreal, holding the newborn. Whenever she'd helped deliver in the past, Kaede had always been the one easing the child out, taking the lead.

Shiori had been a massive help, advising whenever the miko had become uncertain. It was clear the woman had more experience.

Washing her hands for the umpteenth time, Kagome padded back to the village with the hanyou.

The foxes and cart had left hours ago ahead of them, the sky darkening to lush purples.

"Kagome, do you think it's possible for Lord Sesshoumaru to still lead?" Came the quiet question.

Feeling caught between a rock and a hard place, Kagome sighed. "...Not right now," she admitted. "He seems to just be attending the pits out of necessity. If...if you ask me, it looked like he almost wanted to be defeated," she murmured.

Shiori nodded, raising a hand to her head. "I worry that- that soon raiders will come, and our village will be snuffed out just like the Great Houses. If we got attacked, I don't know if my barrier will hold. That's what I'm...afraid of…"

"Shiori?"

Glancing at the Hanyou, Kagome squeaked in alarm, catching the woman before she fell. Feeling her blazing forehead caused clammy sweat to cling to her skin. "Shiori! Hold on, w-we're not far from the village!"

Awkwardly ducking, Kagome lifted her onto her back, supporting Shiori under her thighs. But the days work had significantly weakened the miko and she only managed to make it down a hill before stopping. Panting, she sank down to her knees. I can't just leave Shiori to get help, what am I going to-

"Kagome!"

Lifting her head, gladness filled her heart.

"Inuyasha!"

With the smell of sea-salt clinging to him, Inuyasha leapt down from the trees, racing towards them on the path. "The hell happened?"

"Shiori fainted. I think she's done too much today, or maybe...all week," Kagome murmured, wondering quietly.

Inuyasha removed the weight from her shoulders and hitched the woman onto his back. "Let's hurry then, don't slow me down, idiot," he muttered almost affectionately. Kagome smiled despite the situation and followed, hurrying after him.

As her feet pounded on the path, Kagome watched as he took off in front, bounding ahead. Strange, nostalgic feelings wrapped around her heart and squeezed. She shook her head and raced quicker in the direction of the sea.

------

A fire flickered in the centre of the largest hut. Within, the majority of the village residents lingered, waiting for any sign of change from Shiori. They drifted around, looking a little lost.

Shiori herself lay on a futon, breathing shallow. Kagome had done everything she could think of to bring her temperature down. Nearby at a low table, Inukimi poured over scrolls and paperwork, frowning at the disturbance.

"What happened to her?" Ayame peered down.

"She was overworked!"

A few demons glanced at Inuyasha, vague guilt passing over their faces.

"Cease your yapping." Inukimi sighed. "I dislike children who shout."

"Tch, what? You'd rather I was more like Sesshoumaru, keeping my trap shut?"

"Preferably. He always was quiet, even as a pup. Granted he did cry at first, but ignore them long enough and they learn not to make noise. Obviously, it's a lesson you were never taught."

For some reason, though the comment hadn't been meant as particularly malicious, Kagome thought of Sesshoumaru's scars. Of him. Alone, quiet and drenched in the dark of the cave. Not making a fuss. Hiding his distress. The pain so keen he couldn't bring himself to see anyone lest they think him weak.

She stood, hands balled into fists as a low fire churned in her gut. "All of you are cowards," she muttered lowly.

The demons instantly bristled, but she didn't care. Tip-toeing around them achieved nothing. "Shiori is like this now because you're too afraid of change. She's been managing the force field and helping everyone, keeping up appearances with glamour. Not just her but the foxes and wolves. The rest of you are falling behind, don't you understand that?"

"Shut up! What would a human know of it?" One growled.

"I know you all loved the House of the West!" She burst, brows drawing together. "It's that love...that fuels your protectiveness over your markings and features. Your heritage and species. That's why you don't want to cover them up. It would feel like a betrayal. It's why you won't act on your own despite Sesshoumaru not really leading you."

A low growl sounded out, and Kagome was surprised to find Inukimi's narrowed gaze on her. "You dare call yourself his Mate and then encourage us to go against him?"

"He's not given you any orders!" She snarled, reiki and a skitter of hot, familiar youkai curling out of her bite mark. Sesshoumaru's presence loomed over her aura, lending weight to her words. "He doesn't want this position at the moment. The way I see it, he's fighting out of obligation for tradition. And that's what this all is! You're going to die for your traditions."

"Kagome!" Ayame chided.

"Well, they are! You can't stay isolated forever. You're not on an island. Your human neighbours will get curious, and one day they'll bump into the barrier. If the humans see you like this, don't you think they'll retaliate? The time for...surgiving is now. I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to cover up your marks. All of them are beautiful..." a blue crescent moon on a beloved brow came to mind as she looked around at them, seeing stripes, pointed ears, horns, tails. "All of them. But you have to. It's time you start living for yourselves, not for the past."

Inuyasha's ears flicked, swivelling in her direction as he looked slightly shocked.

"Adapt or die, is it?" Inukimi's words came low and solemn, looking through her. "I recall musing something similar at the burning Western Keep."

Kagome faltered, the energy around her dying down. "I hope your choice isn't the same as it was then..."

"Choice? My fate was decided for me, don't you recall?" She sneered, rising from her low table. "Foolish."

Watching the demoness pass by with a flow of silver, Kagome glanced at the inventory paperwork, feeling her shoulders fall.

------

The night of the fighting pit came around again. Kagome and Inuyasha sat in the same seats as before, her hands tightening into fists, honestly debating jumping in herself. At least it would free Sesshoumaru from responsibility and allow him time to collect himself.

Slowly, she inched from her seat to stand.

"Don't," firm fingers wrapped around her wrist, tugging her back.

Kagome glanced at General Kaito on her right. His back hair fell loose around his shoulders, dark eyes sharp.

"But General I-"

"It is not your fight," he rumbled.

Usually his tone would have riled her enough to disobey, but Kagome found herself weakening. She didn't know what to do. But there had to be something! Otherwise she'd be leaving without having helped at all, and that was the purpose of these jumps, right?

Feeling something brush her side, Kagome raised her head, looking at the blurry image of red and white. Scrubbing her eyes, she blinked up at Inuyasha, who had risen.

Words caught in her throat as Kagome watched him. The hanyou stared down at Sesshoumaru, who paced around the ring, snarling for a challenger. His roars echoed off the walls right into her bones.

Kagome's fingers latched onto his clothes before she'd realised it.

Solid, bold golden eyes slid down to her. Inuyasha's mouth tightened.

"...I gotta go, Kagome."

She stood, babbling immediately. "No you don't. What are you talking about?" She squeaked. "I-If you go and end up winning, you'll have to stay here."

Inuyasha stared back levelly.

Cold fear, sadness, confusion and panic erupted in her chest. "Please don't," she said quietly. "I-I don't know how far away from the Present we are. What if...what if we never see each other again!" Hysteria laced her voice and a few heads in the crowd turned. "I can't take that! You can't disappear from my life like Sango and Miroku! I need you, I-"

"Shut up already!"

Her shoulders were seized in a tight grip, and Inuyasha glared down at her. "That's enough. You don't damn need me!" The shout died in his throat, golden eyes dimming slightly. "C'mon. You haven't needed me for a long, long time."

Kagome trembled in his grip, rendered helpless, like that frightened 15-year old that had stumbled from the well all those years ago.

"Look, I get that you wanted me to stay in your Time. But it's...not where I'm meant to be. Least I don't feel that way. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful," he grumbled, eyes shadowed from his cap. "You and your family made a space for me. They're- you're good people. But I can't exactly fill a role there. I'm just a house guest."

"But you're n-"

"I said shaddap!" He cut her off, growling. His voice soon lowered again, the fight leaving him. "I can't protect them. But I can protect these guys. I was useless in that big battle at the Western Keep and I've felt shitty ever since. Sesshomaru's been leadin' our old man's people for years. They haven't ever accepted me but I can't just ignore em' anymore. And don't start whining. You're the reason I want to protect people in the first place. It's your fault I'm like this now," he grit his teeth, letting go slowly. "So just, remember your own damn goal. That's your future, right there," he said, pointing a clawed finger at Sesshoumaru in the pit. "So keep damn working towards it and quit looking to the past! I gotta...start working towards my own future now."

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched him take a step. Then another. And another, further and further away from her.

His shoulders were broad and strong. Back straight. He walked with purpose.

A harsh sensation, like that of a knee being rammed into her stomach, caused Kagome to bolt forward, burying her face in his thick hair. She clung to that strong back, wrapping her arms around him and trembling and sobbing. Because now she knew.

Even if Inuyasha lost this fight, he'd be staying the Past no matter what. And there was nothing she could do to change his mind. I don't want to lose anyone else. Inuyasha is supposed to be...supposed to be my rock.

A coarse palm, rough from years of scrapping, slid over her hand.

Her breathing hitched. The tears felt hot, thick and ceaseless.

"I would have died with Kikyo if it weren't for ya," he grumbled lowly. "I'd be in the netherworld embracing her. But instead, I've kept my life. So let me do something with it, Kagome." The waver in his voice strengthened until it was all she could hear in her ears.

Finally, finally, Kagome's hands fell.

His form immediately jumped into the pit, discarding Tetsusaiga and his cap. Sesshoumaru fell quiet, tail flicking out as he raised his head.

"I hear ya became pretty useless, bastard." Inuyasha taunted, rolling his shoulder as his ears twitched. "It's been a little while since our last proper fight. I'm in the right mind for it now, so let's go."

His smaller form leapt into the air, and Kagome gasped as Sesshoumaru met him with a crack of blazing with red energy. From within the haze, their bodies came flying out, the Daiyoukais transformed. His clothes looked less pristine than usual, skin ashen, something in his face looking tired, but focused on Inuyasha. He met every punch and kick with one of his own, tossing his brother into the ground. The Hanyou turned mid-air, landing on the balls of his feet and pushing off again to strike.

As they fought, Kagome felt a smaller hand wrap around her own. Frozen, she only sat down beside Shippo when tugged. The entire crowd watched silently, the air hanging heavy.

Harsh snarling and strikes of claws bounced off the walls.

Inuyasha picked himself up and threw himself into the wall that was Sesshoumaru again and again. Catching his fist, the Daiyoukai tugged on it with a deceptively small movement and Inuyasha lurched forward with his whole body, stumbling after the hand Sesshoumaru led him by like a puppet on strings. A classic taunting move.

Subverting this however, Inuyasha planted his foot down, using his free fist and striking. Sesshoumaru's head snapped to the side, gold eyes slightly wide. Inuyasha doesn't wait this time, following one punch with another without hesitation. Fists pummelled. Coarse knuckles split and ran raw as he unleashed the depth of his frustration at his own powerlessness. At change and Time.

For all his efforts, Sesshoumaru swayed on his feet, expression unreadable under the scrapes and bruises. Inuyasha panted, eyes having bled red, lips peeled back. Even feral, a part of him couldn't understand why. Why his formally proud, nightmarishly strong brother took it. Why he didn't answer with blazing anger. Inuyasha kept punching until ribs and bones cracked, Kagome's cry to stop halting his fist inches from Sesshoumaru's bruised and bloodied face.

Sesshoumaru's jaw moved, before he spat. Blood met the floor, soon joined by knees. The daiyoukai sank down, head bowing and limp hair sliding forward.

Inuyasha snarled with bloodlust, taking a few steps forward- until Tetsusaiga was shoved into his palm. Kagome looked at him searchingly, standing between the two as the Hanyou panted, gripping the sheath as his eyes wavered to gold once more.

Kaito and Shippo exhaled with relief.

Howls and shouts broke out into air, the wolves and foxes singing their praises. Even the other demons looked mildly impressed, but most were astonished.

Heartbroken.

Inuyasha panted harshly, looking up at them dazedly.

The roar of the crowd was lost on Kagome as she turned, words on the tip of her tongue, but Sesshoumaru had already picked himself up, leaving. Glancing at Inuyasha again, she bit her lip, wavering.

Inuyasha tsked, before bending down and retrieving his cap. He then placed it on her head and tugging it down so that she couldn't see his expression. "Go after him, ya idiot."

Feeling the pull of elastic in her gut that heralded Time's approach, she nodded mutely and turned on her heel, racing away.

Thank you, Inuyasha.

Hurrying out of the caves, the noises from behind her grew dimmer as she ran into the night air, holding back tears.

"Wait!" She called, breathless.

His figure was a pale spectre on the white sands, distant and padding further and further away. The sands cushioned her boots, feeling like they were pushing her back, but Kagome raced forward determindly, starting when the tide raced in, waves catching her feet.

"Sesshoumaru!"

The demon halted, and she knew he'd heard her this time. Felt her. But the elastic snapped, and Kagome cried out as the waters turned pink. Her body sank under the waves, feeling the current lash at her clothes and hair as water closed over her head.

No!

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kagome struggled and fought. It was the same as all the other jumps. She'd resist and the waters would pull her quicker and harsher away, stealing her breath. Even as she panicked, the miko forced herself to become still.

To try and think. To reject Time without resisting.

Lungs protested, spouting fire into her throat and tearing her mouth open. Salt flooded in, and she choaked, kicking her legs to push herself up.

She broke the surface a moment later, sucking in gulps of air.

Feeling the tide lull her once more, Kagome opened her eyes. The exact same shore awaited her, and hope fluttered in her heart.

The changed position of the sun revealed she had time-travelled, but how far she didn't know. A warm orange sunset bathed everything in a soft glow, catching on fur. Kicking her legs, Kagome swam for the beach, noticing the tell-tale silver.

Wading out of the water and kicking off her boots, she padded wet foot-prints on the sand, feeling it crunch beneath her toes.

Approaching his sleeping form, she sat down beside the Daiyoukai, taking off Inyasha's cap and wringing the droplets from her hair.

"One good thing about short hair; it sure dries quicker," she smiled, panting.

One red eye peeled open. Sesshoumaru's head remained on his paws, unmoving. Kagome felt saddened to see his melancholy hadn't improved much, but at least he was out in the sun. Looking out at the ocean, she exhaled. I can't believe I was able to come back like this. I-I know in the grand scheme of things this jump might not matter but-

A weight settled on her thighs. Sesshoumaru rested his head down, letting out a long sigh. Kagome blinked down, softening and placing her hand on the crescent moon. Slowly, her thumb grazed the mark, dragging over blue fur.

"Time wanted me to go home but I came right back here. I don't know how long it's been since Inuyasha won, but you don't have to force yourself to heal quickly. Just take your time. I'm sorry if I made you feel...inadequate or something, I was just worried. But I...think I need to apologise to your mom too."

Between one moment and the next, fur disappeared under her fingertips, red steam leaking out from around his form. Smooth skin replaced it, and Kagome smiled slightly. Looking at his handsome face, her thumb automatically stroked the bridge of his nose. Her other hand combed through his bangs, a kind of peace settling over them. Soon however, an idea took hold.

"Do you have one of those pipe things your mom has?" Kagome asked randomly. This time a golden eye cracked open.

"Hn," he opened his juban, parting the silks to reach in and bring out a pipe.

After lighting it, Kagome brought it to her lips and took a drag- bursting into a coughing fit. The bitter taste brought tears to her eyes. Placing her hand on her chest, she blinked rapidly, glancing at Sesshoumaru's perplexed expression.

"I'm trying something, leave me alone," she snipped.

Giving it another go, she managed to exhale the smoke somewhat smoothly this time. Reiki hummed over her skin, and she tried her best to put the image she wanted into the smoke merely by thinking it. She sighed when nothing happened.

"You are doing it wrong," Sesshoumaru croaked, as though unused to using his voice. Sitting up and taking the pipe from her, he tapped the ornate carvings. "You are focusing your powers externally, which is defensive." He said, silken tones returning the more he spoke. "But for this, you must push them back down so that they flow internally. That way, the power will come out on your breath when you exhale."

"O-oh, usually I pull the reiki out of me and concentrate it to my hands to lace with my arrows. So, I have to somehow keep it contained inside me? I've never thought of using it that way. Demons are pretty impressive," she smiled.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, watching as she centered herself. Activating her powers, Kagome fought tooth and nail against the impulse to raise the energy to her skin. Taking another drag, she exhaled unsteadily, seeing the faint pink sparks flow out in the smoke.

"It worked!" Kagome grinned at him, sobered by the way he stared at her tiredly. Her heart squeezed, and the smile on her face fell a little. Even depressed and worn down, he still had the patience to teach her. You're kinder than you give yourself credit for.

Doing it again, this time Kagome pictured a face. The smoke flowed out, collecting into an image. It took a few attempts, but soon enough a gentle, masculine face smiled back at them in the smoke.

"...I do not know him," he muttered.

"Mhm, that's my Papa," she smiled gently, passing the pipe back to him. "He died a long time ago."

Sesshoumaru rose a brow at her expectant face, before he glanced away and closed his mouth over the pipe. Tilting his chin up, he exhaled, smoke producing three inuyoukai's that danced and chased one another in the air, before curling into an image.

"Show off," she teased.

His lips curved slightly even as the wraiths of thick air cleared. A demon with a strong jaw and bushy brows stared back at them.

"Your Father?" Kagome guessed, seeing the resemblance.

"Hn."

The pipe was passed back to her, and Kagome felt pleased he seemed to understand her intention without words. Creating another smoke piece, Grandpa smiled back.

For Sesshoumaru's turn, he exhaled Bokuseno, which made her shoulders fall.

Next for her came kindly Kaede.

For him, bossy, proud Jaken.

Sango and Miroku followed.

Demons she didn't know came from his breath but she could tell from their armour they were of his House.

She exhaled Edo, the village as she'd known it.

He, the House of the West.

When he went to pass her the pipe again, Kagome's hand pressed it gently back to him. Tears swam in her eyes, but she squeezed his fingers, waiting.

Sesshoumaru hesitated, gaze dimming. He then haltingly brought the pipe to his lips and exhaled shakily.

Kagome gazed up at the image of Rin, the smoke curling to give her hair playful whisps. The grey wraiths couldn't help but flow into beautiful blooming flowers to adorn her image.

Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, Kagome noticed his head had bowed, form shaking slightly.

"Sesshoumaru…"

Sliding her arms around him and tugging slightly, Kagome braced herself against his sudden weight as the Daiyoukai drooped into her, resting his forehead in the crook of her neck. She smoothed her hands over the plains of his back, murmuring soft comforts.

"It's alright," she soothed. "It's okay."

He didn't make a sound, but something wetted her skin, and Kagome gathered him closer. Sesshoumaru did not mourn loudly, and there was more going on than simple grief. So, when the tremors subsided, Kagome kissed his neck and touched his torso, sliding the material of his clothes back from his shoulders. He wore no armour so it parted easily.

His once almost pristine body held multiple scars now, as she'd suspected. They'd carried over from his True Form no doubt.

Patient hands slid over lean muscle, touching the damaged flesh. Sesshoumaru kept his head on her shoulder for a moment, before lifting it. Those weathered gold eyes shifted over her face, leaning to rest his lips against the side of her head, inhaling her scent.

The ageless tiredness of his body relaxed as she slid her hands over him, stroking, trying to soothe. Kagome touched every scar available and bent to kiss them, until they lapsed into simply laying and holding one another on the beach. Sharp claws combed through her short hair with vague confusion, so she held his face in her hands and kissed him again as assurance, shifting on the sand.

Soon, the tide swept in, waves rising up to claim the lovers in its embrace.

Answering quiet laughter joined the crash of surf on the rocks.