#better or for worse that’s a skill you’d need in the field. and shut up you’re still working a job where people die all the time? they’re

[smolbasilboy]

woag it’s sad girl beat yourself up hours over here

[deiliamedlini]

Whumptober 2021- The Darkness I Know

Chapter 2

No. 2 - TALKING IS OVERRATED

garotte | choking | gagged

Fic Summary: After the world as she knew it was destroyed by the corruption of Malice, Zelda allies herself with her saviors from captivity: a disgruntled former governor, an alert paramedic, a cocky pilot, an excessively overt optimist, and a blind strategist. While the corrupted, malice-filled Yiga Clan looks for revenge on them, Zelda has to learn how important it is to find family in others... and how much more dangerous the stakes become if she fails to protect them.

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In the darkness, the memories of her time before finding safety in Mabe Village crept up to haunt her tenfold.

There were days when she’d been out in the world with her group, clinging to a knife in case a possessed monster felt hell-bent on attacking them with no regard for its own life and safety. She remembered all the fog that had taken over the air, alerting everyone to a concentration of Malice nearby. She remembered touching it for the first time, and the painful burn she felt from the simplest of touches.

While on the road, she’d taken to scavenging every piece of equipment she could find. She couldn’t breathe well, but once her coughing fit subsided, she stumbled over to every piece of debris she could find amidst the wreckage on the road until a warm water bottle rolled against her feet.

Never had she consumed anything so fast.

Until now.

It had been nearly a week since she’d been taken from her home, a home she’d made for herself, despite all odds. Now, she was in a long room with tall, vaulted ceilings, watching the red-suited Yiga pass back and forth for hours at a time each day as her only means of entertainment. Dorian hadn’t come by, and there was no one around to hear her when she called out, hoping for an answer before the Yiga could bang the bars of her glorified cage to shut her up.

She was given a small bowl of grey gruel and barely a few sips of water to sustain her each day; barely enough to satisfy her.

But not this day.

Someone set down a giant slab of meat and an incredibly large drink in a golden goblet adorned with rhinestones. Something inside her warned her against unquestioningly eating it, but her survival instincts kicked in, and she needed food and drink. So, she hastily tore into the meal and drank her drink down.

Well, until she threw up.

“Eating too fast, are we?” a smooth voice asked from the shadows cast by the angle of the tall windows.

Zelda coughed as the unfamiliar sensation of her full stomach made her immediately regret every bite. She wiped her mouth with her sleeve before backing away from the bars of her cell, despite the approaching footsteps and her burning curiosity to see who it was.

Her ragged breathing filled the silence that was only shared by the sound of boots against the ground. Heavy boots, from the sound of them; someone larger. It took everything in her not to cough; she didn’t want to seem weak, ill, or fragile, so, she held her breath and waited.

A tall man bent down and peered at her through the bars before reaching his hand inside and taking her scraps away.

Zelda had her arms crossed in an attempt to look defiant, but she merely managed to look like she was concealing her stomachache worse than she was before.

Yellow eyes peered at her from the darkness. It had been days since she saw anyone’s eyes. And the man had red hair, long and flowing down his back, untamed and unruly to a point that it was clear this was a conscious decision not to take better care of it. She could see knots balled up that would be something awful to brush out.

And when he smiled, toothy and wide, Zelda shuddered.

“Dorian has been speaking highly of you. He’s convinced me that you’re worth keeping around. You must be sick of being in here, aren’t you? I can get you a room. One of my people was living in your village and says you’re a valued member of the community, a hard worker, and someone with a skill set we’re in dire need of. Does that sound like something you’d be interested in?”

Food? A bed? Yes. Yes, she was interested. Any catch they had, any thoughts of escape… all of it could wait until she was thinking clearly, so she nodded, her throat still too dry to do her the favor of speaking.

“Come on then,” the man said, opening the cell.

Zelda cautiously made her way to the front, shaking hard as she did. The man was taller than he appeared, with Zelda barely coming to his neck. He was wide and muscular, and a threat if she’d ever seen one.

He placed his hand gently on her shoulder, leading her from the doorway and towards the hall, urging her forward when she just wanted to stop. The rocking of each step unsettled her already precarious stomach, but she became accustomed to walking again after three days of her small cell, and started to feel it less and less.

“Have you heard of us?” the man asked as they walked. “The Yiga Clan?”

She had. Almost everyone had.

The Yiga were known for their ruthless tactics, fighting skills, and stealth. It hardly surprised her to know that someone in her village was a spy for the elite organization.

The fact that it was Dorian surprised her, but not the fact that they were there at all.

They’d been around for years, but when the Malice spread, they all but threw themselves into it, succumbing to the power it held and fighting to harness it, no matter the cost. No member of the Yiga Clan was any longer affected by the substance that still spilled all along Hyrule Field and infested former towns, cities, and villages. The roads were untravellable. Small communities of survivors were mostly relegated to stay in an area they deemed safe. But not the Yiga.

That was her life. The Yiga were free from those constraints.

“Yes,” she croaked out, clearing her throat before trying again. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Zelda shuddered again, both from the sudden cold of their long walk to the eerie tone of his voice. “I’m Zelda,” she said in an attempt at building rapport with this horrifying beast of a human.

He hummed. “I know.”

Dorian. Zelda shook her head and kept her eyes down. Obviously he knew.

And with his silence, she realized he wasn’t about to offer up that same information.

“What do you have in mind for me? I can work on whatever it is you need me to.” Her throat burned, tightening up at the rasp of her words.

“Oh, this and that. You’ll rest before we put you to work. Can you fight?”

“I can survive.”

He grinned up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. “We’ll see.”

Zelda winced at his comment and looked around for danger. All she saw was a man with blue hair in a cell of his own, watching her. He was the only potential threat beside the man with her.

“Is there a test?” she choked out, needing more water.

“Everything is a test, Zelda.”

He stopped them both and moved in front of her, watching her with little more than interest. And then Zelda realized why.

Her throat, burning from its desire for water, wasn’t dry; it was swelling.

And she suddenly couldn’t breathe.

[yoonpobs]

manners maketh women | jjk

pairing: jeon jungkook x oc

genre: kingsman!AU (loosely inspired lol), enemies to enemies basically (some sexual tension)

warnings: mentions of blood, enemies, dismantling the patriarchy

words: 2, 637

summary: kingsman or alternatively you trying to dismantle the patriarchy by pissing off your partner

“You’re a fucking psychopath!” Valentine spits at you with bloodied gums while he lays on the floor with all the will to live beaten out of him.

You’re much better off. Of course you were. You wouldn’t let someone as vile or unimportant as Valentine ruin your pantsuit because while you thought the establishment was exorbitant, it was still costly and made you look like a bad bitch.

“Says the one who planted chips into people’s head only to blow them up.” You roll your eyes, tossing your blazer over your shoulder as Merlin sighs at the scene behind you when you cock your head towards the pitiful soon-to-be prisoner.

“I thought we said no damage.”

You shrug.

“This is no damage. Couldn’t help that my hand slipped.” You return.

Merlin is about to retort but your teammate stomps out of the abandoned church with his eyes narrowed to your figure that retreats to the comfort of your car.

You almost forget that you weren’t on this mission alone until the presence of your partner appears by your side and you’ve worked with him long enough to know that he’s shooting daggers on the side of your forehead.

“We agreed to bring him back in one piece.” Jungkook snarls at you.

You see that he’s way worse off compared to you. But it could have alluded to the fact that he warded off the rest of the guards that ambushed the two of you when you first arrived. The priority was finding Valentine and making sure that he was captured and under your scrutiny, so you agreed to head off first while Jungkook did the dirty work.

“His limbs are still attached to his body, I don’t see how I didn’t uphold to the end of our agreement?” You stop in your tracks, causing Jungkook to skid in his steps as his chest makes contact with your back.

When you turn around, he’s absolutely furious but that only spurs on the wide grin that appears on your face.

“Valentine looks like he’s been through six wars and a botched plastic surgery attempt!” He hisses.

You roll your eyes, folding your arms across your chest as you take in Jungkook’s growing rage. He’s never been the level-headed one between the two of you but you were also the more infuriating one. You were fully aware of that and you were going to use it to your advantage. You didn’t beckon your way through the misogynistic Kingsman system to be bossed around by some stereotypical posh man who didn’t know how to take no for an answer.

“And that’s what he deserved. I did what I had to do, Jeon.” You retort as venomously as he had.

Jungkook literally growls and you know you’ve annoyed him further because he was the typical Kingsman agent that attempted to uphold all the core values and paraded around the base with the manners maketh man phrase that he loved to milk. You, on the other hand, didn’t believe in that shit at all because you were not mannered and neither were you a man. Jungkook walked the ground like he had a stick up his ass half the time and you had no time to deal with his uptightness.

“We are on a mission, Lancelot. I go by Galahad.” He reminds you but you wave him off, turning around to head towards your car.

Jungkook grits his teeth as he sees Merlin drag a detained Valentine—who leaves a trail of blood in his path—to the van where he’d be brought back to the cells. He couldn’t believe that you had the audacity to go against direct orders from your superior like that! But at the same time, you’ve pulled things like this more than once and rubbed Jungkook the wrong way every time you’d brush off any lament that came from him.

He doesn’t think you were incapable of being a Kingsman agent, although it hasn’t always been that way. But he did believe that you should at least uphold the fundamental values that made Kingsman the reputable secret service it was.

“You act like Jeon is the worst of the names I call you.” You snort.

Jungkook wants to remind you that it’s not and he’s aware but he’s highly exhausted after fending off numerous men on his own while you got to catch the largest bait of the day, your pantsuit hardly creasing in the process.

“Would it kill you to follow orders?” Jungkook snaps.

The two of you reach the car and he snatches the keys from your palm before you can step into the driver’s seat. You raise an eyebrow at his gesture and look him up and down before your bored eyes rest upon his still pinched expression.

“If we get pulled over the police are going to think you’re a runaway.”

Jungkook scowls but enters the car anyway. You follow him shortly into the passenger seat as you immediately tug off the band that kept your hair in a ponytail as you ruffle your hair, slipping off the heels off your feet. You found it absurd that the agency demanded you wear heels onto a field mission purely because it was the Kingsman brand. It wasn’t like you couldn’t fight in them but obviously, it made you slightly slower than you’d like.

“You’re going to shut up and not say a single word during the ride back because I’ve had enough of that smart ass mouth of yours.” Jungkook snaps.

“It’s cute that you think I’m going to listen to you, Jeon.” You pat his thigh in consolation and he just curses under his breath.

Jungkook doesn’t have the energy to argue back because, for every remark he makes, he’s sure you have at least ten responses phrased in different ways to respond with.

“If you called me in for a staring contest then I’m afraid we have to reschedule. I’ve got a bottle of wine and some fried chicken waiting for me in my quarters.” You deadpan.

The man who sits in front of you is unnerved and you expect no less from the current Director of Kingsman. It also wasn’t the first time you’ve sat before him with the very same look marring his face. You know what the conversation is going to be about and he knows that you know.

“Agent Lancelot—”

You scoff when you lean forward, narrowing your eyes at your superior before he purses his lips at your gesture.

“How many times did I tell you to ditch the alias? It’s unnecessary especially since we’re in your office which is debatably the most vaulted place in all of the Kingsman quarters. It isn’t like Valentine is going to come crawling through the vents and demand for my birth certificate.”

Namjoon pinches the bridge of his nose because when he hired you after you—impressively—passed the most gruesome and intense interview process with a blink of your eye, he didn’t know what to expect when he took the risk of recruiting the first-ever woman Kingsman.

But now that it’s been years since you’ve made a name for yourself and all other keen women who were looking for the opportunity to train as an agent, he realised that you were not just a skilled agent but a sharp and impenetrable fortress that would never let anyone tell her what to do.

Which was frankly—inconvenient—given the nature of Kingsman work that often relied on partnership and collaboration. But those words weren’t in your dictionary and Namjoon can see the way you look bored before the conversation started as you sit in front of him with a blank expression on your face.

“It’s nice to see you, ______,” Namjoon says dryly, clasping his fists together before leaning forward on his elbows that your faces are closer.

“Are you going to call me out for disobeying orders and bringing back Valentine like butchered meat? If you want an apology then you know you’re not going to get it,” You say blankly before turning in the swivel chair; already halfway off before Namjoon stops you.

“Jungkook has been telling me that you’ve been harder to work with recently.” Namjoon points out.

You scoff.

“Of course he’ll say that. I’m the better agent in the partnership and it bruises his puny masculine ego. Tell him to shove it and deal with it because it’s going to get harder.”

Namjoon shoots you an unimpressed glare before he wills himself to maintain a decent amount of level-headedness as he reasons with you.

“The both of you are talented agents—” Namjoon says slowly and you know he’s only saying that to appease you and not break his neutrality when it came to agents so you roll your eyes at his attempt, “—and because the two of you are always going on the most important missions it’s imperative that you work together.”

“Namjoon.” You blink, “Jeon is the most infuriating individual I have been condemned to meet and I literally have no idea why you won’t just switch me out with—I don’t know—Jin or something. He isn’t as mouthy or pretentious as Jeon.”

Namjoon sighs.

“Firstly, why can’t you ever call him by his first name? And secondly—you know why I can’t do that. Jin is in-charge of international operations and we need you here on domestic land. You and Jungkook are the most qualified agents of the region and it is in my best interest, as well as the nations to have you two work together.”

You wave him off before you push yourself off the chair completely, offering a sloppy salute out to his direction and you see Namjoon’s shoulder deflate at your stubbornness. But before you’re even able to make your way out of the door, you see a face that makes you scowl.

“Talking shit about me behind my back, babe?” Jungkook narrows his eyes at you.

You snort.

“If I wanted to talk shit about you, I’d do it to your face so I can watch your fragile ego shatter in front of my eyes. And—if you don’t want your balls detached from your body and served to you as a door gift then I suggest you never call me babe ever again.”

You’re about to push past him but his hand reaches for your shoulder and stops you with a tight grip as you snap your head to glare at him. You’re about to throw him off you, literally, but Jungkook is also skilled and he sees the telltale signs of your anger for him to defend himself against your attack.

When you pull his arm to lug his body over yours, he manages to lock your grip and bring you into a headlock—chest pressed to your back as he breathes down your hair while you feel the cocky smirk of his spread across his face.

“Let go of me you fucking shithead.” You snarl.

Jungkook snorts and only tightens his grip on you, twisting your chin between his thumb and index finger so you’re glaring directly at his face that is only a mere inches away from yours to give you a taunting grin that you want to slap off his face.

“You’ll never outdo the doer—” He whispers so low that it almost seems like it’s just the two of you, “—baby.”

You take that as a chance to knee him in the stomach and shove him away before you dust your hands on your pants, only to remember that you were still in Namjoon’s office and he likely saw the show that the two of you put on.

“I … I’m going to pretend I didn’t see that,” Namjoon clears his throat before gesturing to the two of you to take a seat as if you weren’t seconds away from walking out that door.

“Look, Namjoon—we—I—don’t need this group therapy session with him, okay? The two of us can work together but that doesn’t mean I’ll listen to what he says. His judgement is clouded by the systemic oppression that Kingsman entrenches to their agents and I won't stand for that.”

Jungkook’s fists tighten at your blatant disrespect to the organisation that employed you, and he remembers every reason why he hates you so much.

“_____,” Namjoon sighs, “I don’t understand why you walked into that interview years ago if you hate everything that Kingsman stands for.”

You clench your fists by your side because of course, he didn’t understand. And of course, Jungkook, Jimin, Jin and even Merlin didn’t understand. They didn’t need the luxury of understanding a system that favoured people like them.

“Then let me spell it out for you both,” You say emphasise each word with a spit.

Jungkook clenches his jaw but remains silent.

“I walked into that interview knowing I was going to ace that shit because I owed that first step to all the women that were used and abused by your Kingsmen. The women that were offered comfort for sex to only be shunned and disposed of by the esteemed agents you call Kingsmen. I am not a Kingsman and I am not Lancelot. I am ______ ______ and I’m a woman who fucking owned every single one of those male agents that day who decided to snicker and laugh at me when they wouldn’t be able to ever walk a mile in my shoes. I’m here because I have a point to prove.”

Namjoon is stunned to silence and you don’t know what triggers your outburst but you suppose its years of repression and having to work alongside a male peer that only sees you as impressive because of your gender and not because of your skills. The comments rubbed you the wrong way and you never looked back since.

“_______ …” Namjoon begins but you glare at him and that’s enough to send him silent.

But you see the way Jungkook’s jaw twitches and you know that sign well enough to know he’s about to say something you won’t like.

“That’s it? All the anger, bitchiness and attitude for you to prove a point?” Jungkook scoffs, “You’re that pathetic?”

“Jungkook—” Namjoon warns.

“You walked into this life and you need to deal with the consequences. I don’t give two shits your intention in Kingsman but you’re here and you’re working for the Kingsman so you better suck all that bitterness up or leave. Don’t you dare disrespect the foundation of what a Kingsman is.” Jungkook hisses.

The expression on your face is thunderous and Jungkook has never seen you like that, ever. Not even when the two of you were arguing head to head and everyone else thought someone was going to end up hurt. No, this is much more … threatening. A look that’s so unfamiliar but familiar enough because it’s the first time he’s seen it directed to him.

“I wonder why you’re so overprotective about the Kingsman name, hm?” You say blankly, “Is it because that your entire identity revolves around it? That you’ve never seen a world with eyes when you weren’t a Kingsman? You’re pathetic, Jeon. You’re nothing without the title but at least I know what I want. You don’t. You’re just hiding behind the suit and weapons to make you feel like a man but you’re just a sorry excuse of a human being that only sees the world through a bigoted lens.”

Jungkook is about to retort but you’re faster, and the action alarms both Namjoon and Jungkook when you—

“I quit.” You smile.

The badge and your key weapon with nothing but a slam to the table.

“______—“ Namjoon stands up but you don’t spare him another glance before you’re out the door.

[fanfic-collection]

Loki x Reader: Apocalypse - Ch 12

Ok! this was the last chapter I wrote so now quality will vary wildly and also hopefully I will write for next week but who knows, also it's whumptober soooo yes. wish me luck

-

You woke. This time you were certain you woke first. Laying on your side, you glanced over your shoulder and though your legs were slightly stretched out, Loki was somehow curled around and into you. At the same time. You really weren’t sure how he managed it. He had both arms wrapped around your waist and his face nuzzled into your neck. As you moved to look at him, there was a soft mewl of protest from his sleeping form.

Wiggling, very slowly, stopping any time his hands tightened around your abdomen just a bit too much, you eventually managed to roll over. Now you were facing him. You bit your lip, at some point Loki had straightened out so he was no longer curled into you and for that you were grateful. However, he was still pressed tightly against you as he kept his arms wrapped around your torso.

You pulled your head back to look at his face, smooth and peaceful. There were only a few moments to appreciate the calmness on his face, the finally healed injuries now that he had his full abilities back, and the lush black curls that had come free of the product that kept it feathered back while he was awake. Then he seemed to miss the absence of your warmth subconsciously, or perhaps just you in general and he pulled himself back towards you, nuzzling his face against your throat. A small smile curled on his face.

You hadn’t expected the god to be so clingy in his sleep and yet, you found you liked it. Freeing an arm, you stroked his back over the soft green cape. If you didn’t know better, you’d say he had purred. Feeling yourself grow tired, you thought about laying back down. What if the two of you stayed here for the day? Just one day of rest? You had walked so far yesterday… And Loki’s strong muscular arms holding you felt so right…

Loki’s eyes opened and he blinked, his hand smoothing over the material of the garment he had given you. He frowned tilting his head.

“Hey.” You broke the silence, your voice squeaky.

“Hey.” Loki replied, his voice low and husky, thick with sleep.

You swallowed hard, Loki’s hands were still wrapped around you, as were your hands on his back. Slowly you continued the soothing circles on his back, searching his face for any signs of discontent.

Loki lowered his head to press his forehead to yours. His hands slid up your back, fingers dragging up the clothes he had given you. Sliding up your neck, and tangling in your hair, he held you close.

You gazed up into his blank red eyes, your breaths mingling as both of you began to breathe faster and faster, hearts pounding in yours and his chest. Nervously, you licked your lips, pressing your teeth down as you stared up at him. Loki slid his nails along your scalp, loosely tugging at your hair, before sliding down along your face and cupping your cheeks. He smoothed his thumbs along your cheekbones, holding your face.

Loki’s hands were slightly calloused. You figured they would be, he was skilled with his daggers, but there was a softness to them, too. You recalled the scholar he had been, the spells he was known to use.

Swallowing hard, you followed his large hands with long slender fingers feeling your face. Delicately and feather light, he traced the pads of his thumbs over your cheeks, up your temples, and then across your forehead.

Your eyes fluttered closed as he smoothed his fingers over your eyelids and back down your cheeks to your lips. Slowly you reopened your eyes as Loki’s thumbs slid over your lips, a smile crossing his face. Separating his thumbs and sliding them to opposite corners of your mouth, he leaned forward and tilted his head. The corners of your mouth turned up and you would have met him halfway but you were content to let him know where you were.

You let your eyes drift shut and his mouth met yours in a soft, needy kiss. Sighing you deepened the kiss, sucking his lower lip and moving your mouths in sync. You pulled your arm from his back, Loki’s hands never leaving your face as the two of you continued to kiss.

Finally you were forced to pull back for breath, “Don’t let go.” You whispered.

Loki raised his eyebrow quizzically but complied.

You rolled over and pushed him onto his back, rolling with him so you straddled his hard muscled stomach. Keeping your face low to him, you smiled down at him, moving one hand up to guide his thumbs to let him know you were smiling.

Loki smiled back at you. He gazed up at you adoringly, even though he saw nothing. You slid your hand over his forehead and smoothed back his curly hair, attempting to tame it for him, while also dragging your fingers along his scalp. As Loki opened his mouth slightly to moan, you captured his mouth in a kiss, your other hand gripping his broad shoulder and pressing your body into him.

Snaking your tongue into his mouth, you tried to curl it around his tongue, delving into his mouth and exploring. For a moment, it seemed you dominated the kiss and you were surprised. It seemed he was humoring you for a dark chuckle ran through his body, vibrating through you and he quickly overwhelmed you. His tongue forced itself into your mouth, tangling around yours and demanding to be wherever he wanted. Part of you squeaked before moaning a deep throaty sound into the kiss.

Once again, you were forced to part. Pulling back gasping, you were pleased to see that Loki was also panting. His hands fell away from your face as he hung them limply at your side, chest heaving. A dazed smile stayed on his face as he gazed up at the ceiling, his lips slightly puffy.

You touched your own swollen lips, unable to stop yourself biting your lower lip nervously as you still sat on his stomach.

“Where’d that come from?” You asked shyly.

“I could ask you the same.” Loki tilted his head up.

“You started it.”

Loki smiled lazily and hummed, “I suppose I did.”

You looked around and took his hand in yours, pressing a soft kiss to the palm as you pressed it to your face. “So do you remember what I look like?”

Loki slowly sat up, all but knocking you off him.

“Oof.” You grunted as you fell off.

Loki glanced in your direction apologetically as he pulled his knees to his chest. “It’s not the same.”

“Hey, Loki.” You reached over and cupped his cheek in your hand, turning him towards you. “I can’t imagine it is, but what you did instead…” You trailed off shaking your head.

Loki waited in silence.

“That,” You swallowed hard, feeling your cheeks heat up as you searched for words.

Loki raised his eyebrow. “Was?” He offered slowly.

“It was really nice.” You whispered, your voice barely above a breath.

You expected a smirk, maybe that shit-eating grin he usually had, but instead, it was just a genuine warm smile. And somehow, for the butterflies in your flipflopping stomach, that was so much worse.

Loki took your hand touching his face and laced his fingers through the back of it, kissing the palm gently. “Good.”

“Should we get going? I know it’s midday so we’ll not get as far as yesterday but I guess when we make camp next we’ll know what to expect.”

“Good idea.” Loki replied straightening up.

You turned away from Loki, readjusting the blanket and your hood, “And maybe, when we camp next, we could have proper sleeping clothes. This armor isn’t exactly comfortable for sleeping in, or practical.” You trailed off, stealing a glance at Loki as you spoke.

Loki was looking in your direction, his cheeks flushed red. “No, I suppose it’s not.” He replied in a strangled voice.

You smiled sweetly, knowing he would hear it in your response. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page.” For the moment you were glad he couldn’t see, couldn’t feel the heat rising on your cheeks.

In moments the two of you were out of the tent, back into the bitter cold, huddled together. All thought of warmth was but a distant memory as you continued your trek through the suburbs of New Jersey and out towards a rural area. Somewhere with a wide expanse of fields where frost giants might have gathered or rested for their camps, somewhere where the target on Loki’s back might become immensely visible.

You would make it there just by nightfall but with threat of frost giants close by… You tried to push that thought away. If they attacked your tent while it was dark and you were forced out into the cold. You swallowed hard.

Risking a glance back at Loki, you wondered if he had the same thought on his mind.

Nothing to do now, you were nearing the gauntlet, the mouth of the beast and danger was getting closer and closer. You steeled your resolved, humanity needed you, Loki needed you.

[illegal-spiegel]

To Love a Jerk

Pairing: Neito Monoma x gn!reader Genre: angst, fluff Warnings: getting shot, mention of blood Summary: you and Monoma have always butted heads but things take a turn when class 1-A is attacked by the League of Villains Word Count: 2.4k words

It wasn’t always like this. 

At one point, you and Monoma were good friends. Then, entrance exams came around and you somehow made it into class 1-A while he was stuck in 1-B. It honestly didn’t make any sense to you. People like Mineta can be in class 1-A while other people with amazing quirks and skills are in lower classes? Maybe Mineta will be better once he acts more courageously.

Either way, the school splitting you up like this wasn’t a problem for you but it was for Monoma. He’s always been prideful and being put in a lower class rather than being with other top students wounded his pride. In return, he pokes and prods at class 1-A. Luckily for you, his teasings directed at you are normally just playful because while he doesn’t like being a ‘lesser’ to you, he still remembers the friendship that you two once shared. 

You actually got into UA under recommendation and passed the entrance exams with flying colors. Because of this, you were in the top three of your class, alongside Bakugo and Todoroki. For some reason though, Mr. Aizawa pushes you harder than the other two. Maybe because he sees your potential and wants to help you improve. Who knows. Either way, you don’t appreciate being worn down like this every day. 

After practicing out in the field with your class, you all make your way back inside. Once inside, he lets you have a restroom and water break before returning to the classroom. You’re currently gulping down water like you just got out of being in the desert for a week when Monoma comes over to you and the others that were waiting for water. 

“Wow, you guys look tired. I can’t believe class 1-A is so weak! You were out there for, what, an hour? How pathetic!” You pull your head away from the fountain, turning to look at him. Once he sees you, he goes quiet for a moment before smirking and walking over to you. “Aww, what’s wrong, (Y/n)? Are you tired? Want me to fetch you a towel for all that sweat and dirt on you?” he coos. 

You sigh and roll your eyes, not really feeling in the mood to be putting up with him right now. “You sure are talking big but we both know that if I wanted to, I could still wipe the floor with you in this state,” you say boldly, staring at him with fierce eyes. His smirk falls and he stares back at you quietly for a couple of seconds. 

“You do realize that I can just copy your quirk and then it would be a pointless fight, right?” he replies, quirking a brow up at you. You aren’t sure why you decided to say this next. Normally, you would never say such things to him, or anyone else for that matter. It’s just that you’re so tired, you hurt all over, and your head is too hot, making it hard to think straight. 

“Yeah, you’re right. It would be pointless because you don’t have your own quirk. You have to steal other’s quirks just to fight. How does that feel? Being so unoriginal, I mean.” As soon as you finish, you want to take the words right back. Everyone stares at you both, looking between you two in complete and utter shock. 

Luckily for him and unluckily for you, Kendo comes over to save the day for Momona before you can apologize. “C’mon, Monoma. Stop tormenting class 1-A,” she says weakly, looking at him with concern. She’s never seen him like this. No one has. 

He’s silent. 

Monoma just stares at you in silence, hurt shining in his eyes. If anyone else insulted him, he would’ve laughed cockily and fired something back. He never thought you would ever say such things to him. He looks over at Kendo and nods before walking outside with the rest of his class since it’s now their turn to go out. 

You sigh and close your eyes, guilt and shame filling you to the brim. Stupid, stupid is what you are. “(Y/n)? We are walking back to class now,” you hear Deku softly call out to you. You turn away from the door that leads outside and turn to look at him, smiling weakly at him as you walk with him back to class. 

After that day, he refused to come and talk, or torment, you. It was eating you alive inside. There was no “Need some help with your homework, (Y/n)? You’ve never really been the sharpest tool in the shed.” or “Hey, (Y/n). I got a ninety-eight on my quiz whereas you got a ninety-seven. How does it feel to be such a sore loser?” He always used his insults as an excuse to talk to you and to even help you with said homework or something else that was ‘embarrassing’ for you.

He still talked to the other 1-A students though, continuing to make fun of them and the like. His insults were actually worse than usual. You decided after the third day of him not talking to you that enough is enough. You were determined to corner him and talk to him after school.

Today, your class was to go to USJ and practice your skills for saving and helping people from natural disasters. You were actually pretty excited to be able to work on these abilities. Well, that is until the League of Villains appeared. They separated you all and caused havoc amongst all the students. 

After fighting through villain after villain after villain, you and some of the others finally reached the source. The villain had hands all over him along with a dressed-up villain with a purple smoke-like substance emitting from him. All Might was fighting tooth and nail to beat some bird looking figure. 

It took a little while for things to start looking up and you started to believe that the good guys will win. You even helped to stop the bad guys and you’ve never felt more proud of yourself. You helped save All Might! 

It all came crashing down though when a villain with gun barrels for fingers fired shots at your group. You were hit and you honestly didn’t feel it at first because of the adrenaline. The villains warped away, letting you collapse to the ground and relax. Once your adrenaline started to subside though, it was the worst pain you’d ever felt in your entire life. You ended up blacking out from all the pain. 

When you woke up, you were in a bare white room, which you figured out was a hospital. You shift your position a bit and then feel it. You turn to see Monoma sitting in a chair with his head on your bed, his eyes closed as he peacefully sleeps. You sigh and gently place your hand on his blond locks, planning on running your fingers through the silky strands. 

That is until he pops up the second you touch him. He stands up with a shout of your name, his chest heaving with each heavy breath that he dragged in. “Are you insane? What were you thinking? What part of ‘top bad guys’ made it seem like a good idea to fight them?” he shouts. 

You stare up at him with a blank expression as he yells before a smile starts to break out on your face. “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” you reply teasingly. He huffs and crosses his arms over his chest, glaring sharply down at you. 

“I know you’re fine, you dope! The nurses who have to keep checking on you because you decided to do something stupid told me as much!” he snidely replies back. You bite your lip, trying to stop smiling. He’s honestly such a dork. Instead of saying he’s worried about you and he’s glad you’re okay, he insults you. 

It goes on like that for a while until a nurse finally comes in and tells him to lower his voice. The nurse, seeing you’re awake now, goes to get the doctor. The doctor explains you were shot and lost a lot of blood, but they got you here in time and were able to save you. You didn’t realize how serious it was until the doctor finished telling you everything. She then tells you that you’ll have to stay at the hospital for a little while to make sure that there are no complications.

“You know, you’re very lucky to have such a kind boyfriend. He made sure you were always wrapped up in a blanket, the window open to give you light and fresh air, and—”

“Okay! Thank you, doctor!” he hisses, a blush spreading across his face. The doctor chuckles as she and the nurse leave, teasing smiles on their face. You turn to look at Monoma with a raised brow and a smirk. Before you can tease him though, he’s standing up again and grumbles out, “Are you hungry? Thirsty? You were out for quite a while. I’ll go get you something since your weak body can’t handle it.” He then walks to the door before quickly leaving, your giggles following him out.

He visits you every day and even stays when your whole class comes to visit you. “Look at that, I didn’t think Monoma liked anyone,” Denki teases. Monoma’s face lights up as dark as Kirishima’s hair. 

“Look at that, I didn’t think you knew so many words,” he hisses back at Denki. 

“Monoma,” you say in warning. He turns to look at you before huffing and leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “He didn’t mean that. He’s just in a pissy mood,” you excuse for Monoma. Denki didn’t seem to mind one bit as he grins, turning to look at Sero and Kirishima before making a whip sound. Monoma opens his mouth to give a snide remark, placing his hand on the bed to help him stand up. You place your hand over his though, successfully stopping him. He instantly shuts his mouth and stares down at your hand. 

You then notice that Deku isn’t there amongst your peers. Once you ask where he is, everyone explains that he, once again, went too far and injured himself. You hum in understanding, knowing how reckless Deku can be. The class catches you up on what you’ve missed out on as they leave their flowers, balloons, cards, and the like all over your room. You thank them for visiting as they leave, your eyes moving to Monoma once they’re gone. 

He remained quiet the entire time and still appeared to have a blush on his face since you kept your hand over his. “We really need to work on that temper of yours,” you tease, giggling as a pout comes to his lips. 

Once you’re finally released from the hospital, he takes you home and makes sure you are 110% fine before finally leaving. When you come back to school, everyone is ecstatic to see you back. Everything goes back to normal after that. 

Well, except for the fact that Monoma follows you around like a lost puppy now. At first, you thought it was cute. I mean, he wasn’t the only one worried about you. After a while though, he was the only one still fretting over everything you do. You didn’t want him treating you like glass anymore, so after school one day, you confronted him. 

He’s walking you home like always, making sure there’s nothing blocking your path as you two walk. “Monoma, why do you treat me like porcelain?” you ask, coming to a stop as he moves a branch out of the way for you. He pauses and turns to look at you, acting like a deer caught in headlights. 

“Well, it’s not my fault that you’re so weak. It was pathetic how you—”

“You need to stop,” you interrupt, crossing your arms over your chest. He stands up straight after moving the branch off to the side. 

“Stop what? Helping you? You always complained that I’m not nice to you and now you’re saying I’m being too nice? Make up your mind,” he says after scoffing. You sigh and walk over to him, coming to stand in front of him. 

“Monoma, please. Talk to me. Why are you acting like this? It’s been weeks since I was shot. Why are you still treating me like this?” He turns to face you, his eyes seeming to shine under the sun. 

“Because I…” he trails off, looking away from you once more and starting to walk away. 

“No, Monoma. We are talking about this,” you command, taking a hold of his arm. He spins around and turns to face you, suddenly in your personal space. 

“Because I care about you, (Y/n)! As soon as I heard what had happened, I felt like someone punched me in the gut. I suddenly couldn’t breathe and I prayed to god for the first time in years. I prayed that you were okay, that you wouldn’t die before I could tell you how I feel,” he says in one go, gasping for air when he finishes. 

Your brows furrow though, this explanation not clearing anything up for you. “How you fe—” He cuts you off with his lips, deciding to show you instead of telling you how he feels. Your eyes go wide at the sudden kiss, your heart trying to jump out of your chest. You close your eyes to return the kiss but before you can, he pulls back and stares into your eyes once you open them again. 

“I love you, okay? Jeez, how stupid are you?” he breathes. You can’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl, tugging him back in for another kiss. He wraps his arms around you with a low hum, a breeze blowing through you both and making his hair tickle your forehead. The kiss is sweet and loving, your lips sharing the words that you two have always had trouble saying. 

“You did it again. Is it that hard for you to say something to me without insulting me?” you ask once you two pull back. He scoffs and tightens his grip on you, his eyes playfully squinting at you. 

“Is it so hard for you to say it back?” he sasses, a smirk coming to his face. You bite your lip and bring one of your hands away from his chest to brush his hair out of his eyes. 

“I love you too, jerk.”

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MASTERLIST

More with MHA

Tag List: @nojammsss03​ ✦ if you would like to be added or removed, comment or send an ask. Also, remember to tell me if you ever change your username so I can continue to tag you :)

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[eunoiaflow3r]

Slow Dance

A/N: based on the song Slow Dance by AJ Mitchell and Ava Max.

Warnings: fluff haha, there will be mistakes. fem!reader.

Requests:

Hi! Could I request Spencer Reid fluff? Spencer and the reader have hidden feelings for each other and his team manages to get him to tell the reader? Thank you :) @hahaboop​

I have a request for Spencer Reid! One where the reader is the youngest member of the BAU (maybe she could be like 22, just graduated from college) and everyone is really protective of her. So, Spencer has a crush on her but doesn’t know how to tell her because all the members in the BAU are too overprotective and the rest of the building flirts with her or something like this. @always394patronus​

Word Count: 2.3k

~~~~

If you stay for this minute, girl I'll never let you down...

The team had just gotten back to the BAU after a long case a few states away, and everyone except you and Spencer was out of the door. You were stressing out because yet again you were being paired with either Morgan or Hotch on every single case you’ve been given the past few months. At first you had hardly noticed, but with every passing case and every, “young one,” comment, you have grown more and more furious.

Spencer understood completely. Having been a twelve year old highschool graduate, he’s gotten his fair share of the “being young,” comments and teases. He could only imagine it was probably considerably worse for you since you were a woman, and women are commonly misconstrued, as the, “weaker gender.”

You were everything but weak though. Over the past few months, after you had joined the team, he and pretty much everyone noticed that you are incredibly smart, head-strong, honest, and ambitious. Perhaps this is why the team felt the need to protect you.

Sure, there have been plenty of new members, and new people and faces and scents, but you were different. In this case, different wasn’t terrible, it was just - unexpected. You were the youngest there, and with you being another woman added to the team, everyone kind of looked at you a little differently. It wasn’t that they doubted your profiling skills, oh no, you were, “damn good,” at your job as Morgan likes to say, and it wasn’t the fact that they thought you couldn’t handle yourself because of your age, but they were trying to make it so that the cases wouldn’t get to you.

Because of your age, they felt that after a while maybe the cases would get to be too much for you, and they wanted to prevent you from a world of confusion and hurt.

That is what hurt you the most though. Why couldn’t you just be treated like everyone else here?

And Spencer listened to anything and everything you had to say. He had become the closest thing to a best friend you could have, but sometimes it just didn’t feel like you were meant to be just friends.

Sometimes he’d catch himself staring at you a bit too long, or wanting to come up with anything he could to talk to you, or maybe even go as far as staring at your lips when you were talking, but he digressed, and tried to suppress anything he might have felt for you.

And you did as well.

All the time you had caught yourself wanting to just pull him into a hug that lasted forever, or hold his hand, and maybe even kiss him, but he was your coworker. Not only that, but on top of all the field limitations, those same limits seemed to be in office as well.

We ain't off the limit, I could hold you after now. No more talking, I don't know what you wanna do with that?

A few bold interns from a couple of floors down had tried to ask you out on a date, and maybe even a few more, but as soon as they had or even had the thought to, Morgan, Hotch, and sometimes even Garcia would give you a disapproving look, glare the guy down, or maybe even go as far as shut the guy down verbally for you.

Afterwards you’d always apologize to the guy, and you always felt bad for having to do it. Well, not really. Of course it made you upset that they never seemed to want you to live your life and actually find love, but the only one you wanted to go on dates with anyway was Spencer.

You knew your jobs, and the fact that you worked together could be a problem, but you couldn’t help but wonder if you could actually be something. Or maybe you misinterpreted the looks he gave you, and he actually doesn’t like you that way at all.

That night, Spencer had gotten home and went straight to sleep. Usually he’d dream of his mom, the cases, or maybe even some of the plain rides, but tonight's dreams seemed to have been filled with you. You were on his couch, in one of his cardigans, reading a book, eating some kind of fruit. He came in, sat next to you and handed you a cup of coffee after placing a quick kiss to your lips.

In the dream after that he had woken up, and you were snuggled in beside him. He had his arm wrapped around him, and your legs were tangled with his. The sun had barely risen, and the comforter was twisted in a weird way between the two of you, but when he actually woke up the next morning, he couldn’t help but noticed it felt so normal, and he wished it had been real.

He ran his fingers through his tangled curls, and scolded himself for those dreams. How was he going to look at you the same in a couple of hours when he almost-knew what it felt like to kiss you, and he almost-knew what it felt like to be so close to you?

_

“What’s wrong, kiddo?” You cringed at the nickname Rossi used towards you, but you answered him anyway.

“Nothing, just tired.”

He shook his head and laughed to himself. You gave him a ‘what?’ look.

“You’re not tired Y/N. You’re distressed.” He nods towards where Reid is sitting. “You haven’t stopped staring at him, care to talk about it?”

“Not really.” You sighed, spinning your chair around so now you were no longer even facing Reid - that way you wouldn’t be caught staring again.

“I say go for it.” You give him that ‘what?’ look again waiting for him to elaborate. “It’s obvious you two like eachother. Take it from me, don’t wait before it’s too late.”

“But the team -” You argue.

“At the end of the day, the team doesn’t matter. Just you and Spencer.”

And with that, Rossi walked away leaving you to think about what he said, and if it was even really possible for you two to be something more than friends.

It feels good, why you even wanna hold it back? We just work and I know there's no coming back.

“Awe, would you look at them!” Garcia gushed, watching you laugh at something Spencer said across the bullpen.

“Look at who?” Morgan asked clearly oblivious to the two of you.

“Spencer and Y/N.” Garcia answered pointing slightly in your direction so that Morgan could see too.

Morgan looked over and saw that you were sitting on your desk, and Spencer was standing in front of you with a cup of coffee in his hands. You were giggling like crazy, and Spencer smiled too although he wasn’t quite sure what the joke was.

“Y/N! Tell me what’s so funny! All I said was cassava!”

This only caused you to laugh even harder. There was this trick in elementary where you would ask someone a series of easy math questions very quickly, and then on the last question you’d ask them to name a vegetable. The trick was that usually the participant would say the basic vegetable, “carrots,” but no, Spencer Reid answered, “cassava.”

Once you stopped laughing, you explained it to him, and he didn’t find it as funny as you did, but nevertheless he started laughing too because your laugh seemed to be infectious. _

“I didn’t know which you liked better, so I brought both.” Spencer said, smiling behind bags of chinese food and two boxes of pizza.

“Oh my God Spencer!” you gushed, grabbing some of the bags and one of the boxes.

He closes the door behind him and puts all the food on the table.

“What are you even doing here?” You ask giving him a quick hug.

“Well, I know you’ve been a little down lately, and I just thought I’d help in any way that I could.”

You almost cried. He was so sweet to you, and you had no idea how to react. You wanted to wrap your arms around him and show him how much you appreciate him with a passionate kiss, but you knew that you probably shouldn’t.

_

Spencer invited you over for a movie marathon, and you’d be there any minute. He had made sure his apartment was flawless, and everything was perfect. Sure, you’ve been to his place before, but lately, things have begun to feel...different.

There was this one time at work where you two had gotten so close that he had just almost kissed you, but he had chickened out, and he had regretted that decision ever since.

When you got there, you both ended up staying up until three in the morning watching your favorite movies.

_

“Do you wanna go catch some lunch?” Terry from downstairs asks you.

“She likes someone else, sorry my man.” Morgan answers for you resting his arm across your shoulders.

Once the guy was gone, you turned to him with a frown.

“Someone as in who?” You ask.

“Uh uh,” he steps away. “Don’t play dumb with me Miss Lady. You know exactly who I’m talking about.” You rolled your eyes and walked over to the elevator.

Once you had entered the bullpen, you noticed Penelope and Spencer in a corner - except she looked to be giving him a pep-talk of some kind. _

“Spencer I’m telling you, you NEED to make a move.” Penelope practically whines. “I am tired of seeing you two pine after one another.”

Spencer shakes his head and sighs. “We don’t know if she even - and the team. The team practically throws the guys who even look at her out of the window.”

“You’re different, you know it’s different with you.”

Spencer wasn’t so sure. He’d hate it if he were to kindle something with you, and the team was unsupportive. _

A couple of days later, Spencer had walked by your desk and noticed a bouqet of roses in your wastebasket.

“Who were those from?” He asks half curiously, half jealousy (although he’s not willing to admit that.)

“Some guy named uh- Dylan, but I uhh, I’m interested in someone else.” You looked everywhere but Spencer’s eyes, trying not to laugh.

“Oh, you do?” he asks wearily, not quite sure where you were going with this. “Do I know him?”

“Oh yeah.” You smile. “You guys are practically like this.” You twisted your middle and pointer finger together to show the closeness.

He smiled down at you catching on. “Don’t tell me it’s Morgan, Y/N.”

“Nah. This guy likes to read. I don’t think Derek’s ever picked up a book in the last five years.”

_

It was late one night and you and Spencer were the only ones left in the office. You walked over to his desk where he was reading the newspaper, but when he noticed you his head immediately picked up. “Remember when I told you that you know the guy that I’m interested in?”

“Mhmm yeah, I think I remember.”

“He’s you. The guy is you.”

“Could have fooled -”

And you leaned in capturing his lips in yours. He tasted of coffee and bubblegum, which isn’t as bad as it might seem. He kissed you back and you forgot everything for a moment - forgot you were at the bullpen, forgot he was your coworker, and forgot the team's reaction actually might have meant something to you.

They meant nothing now when he’s pulling you down to straddle his lap and deepening the kiss. When you felt his tongue along your lips you opened your mouth a little wider so that he could kiss you just a little bit harder.

You both pulled away at the same time but stayed close, as he was running his hands along your sides.

“Me. You could have fooled me.” he finishes. You laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips which he returned before climbing out of his lap and steadying yourself on the ground.

You were going to walk away, until he grabbed your hand and pulled you back.

“Hey,” he practically whispered. “Go to dinner with me tomorrow night.”

_

I wanna slow dance if you’re feeling me now If we don't hold hands you'll be killing me now

Spencer had arrived at your apartment with a bouquet of wildflowers.

He had knocked, and when you opened the door, he was absolutely shocked.

“Wow, you look stunning.” He lets out.

“As do you.”

You grab the flowers from him and place it in a vase before grabbing your jacket, his hand, and heading out of the door.

The night went smoothly, and the dinner was great, and it couldn’t have been more perfect.

“Spence?” You asked, rubbing your thumb across his knuckles. You were holding the hand he wasn’t using to drive.

“Hm?”

“Have you ever seen The Notebook?”

“Actually...no.”

“Okay.”

“Why?” he asks looking over at you. You couldn’t have been more beautiful in his eyes.

“You’ll see.”

When he pulled out in front of your apartment, and you were out of his car, you took his hand and led him to the middle of the street - the only source of light being the street lamp hovering above the two of you.

“Y/N, what are you doing?”

“Slow dance with me.”

“I can’t dance.”

“That’s alright.” You stepped close to him and guided his hands so that they were resting on your backside, and you brought your arms up to wrap around his neck. From there, you led him to step with you to a nonexistent rhythm.

You two weren’t really worried about any cars, this wasn’t a busy street.

“Tell me about The Notebook.” he says, pulling your body closer to his.

“Well Noah actually laid down in the street, not danced and -”

I need a romance, one chance I just wanna know, will you slow dance?

[bakubitch-minusultra]

Not Alone: Chapter Twelve

-> an apocalyptic series with bnha characters but without quirks because im the writer and i can do whatever the fuck i want :P

-> Word Count: 4.2k

-> Warnings: talk abt breeder farms, cooking/killing a bunny lol

-> Taglist: @5sosfckss @laudthingcat @zphilophobiaz

People pass by Y/n, becoming a sea of faces. All she could think was how she would get Mina back too. She would do anything to get Mina back. It seemed that it had become her centennial project. She wondered if she would ever just have the people who had become her new family all together, or would she die still looking for one.

“Where did they take her?” Y/n asked again. The huge boys hug and mess with each other’s hair. She wanted to shout but Bakugo saved her the trouble.

He looked around, “Where’s Mina?”

“Hunters got her two days ago. She went looking for Y/n and I heard her screaming at the edge of the field. I couldn’t run. They took her in a truck.”

“I’m so sorry Kirishima.”

He shook his head, “Y/n you went for food after you went for medicine to save me. None of this is your fault. We’ll get her back.” He looked at Bakugo and smiled. “I can’t believe you’re alive man.”

Bakugo ruffled Kirishima’s hair again, “You too shitty hair. You should have died a long time ago with your survival skills.”

Kirishima laughed, “Mina.”

“We need to get her back shitty hair.”

Kirishima nodded. Y/n couldn’t pretend that everything was warm and fuzzy.

She shoved him, “So how did you end up here? Why didn’t you stay at the farmhouse in the barn bunker?”

“I tried to go after them. I went over the hill and broke the branches like you told me. I knew you’d find me.” He shook his head at Bakugo. “She’s like a fucking terminator.”

Bakugo laughed, “I know.”

Kirishima fixed his hair, “Anyway, I came here yesterday. They all know you Bakugo.”

Bakugo shrugged, “I made friends at camp shitty hair.”

Y/n hated the way he called him shitty hair. She hated Bakugo in a horrid way. She wished he was at the breeder camp instead of Mina. Him and his girlfriend in the shorts. They have their mini reunion. She turned away and walked to the nearest small tent. She looked in the flap. A younger looking guy was asleep inside. Half his face was burnt. She walked from one small tent to the next, until she found one with a man with blond hair holding a pen and looking at a map that was spread across a table.

“Are you Monoma?” He nodded, but looked at Y/n suspiciously. “I need to know where the closest breeder camp is.”

He chuckled, “You aren’t thinking about volunteering are you? The food’s not that bad here.” She doesnt laugh, instead she looked at the map. She didn’t know how to read maps. She added it to the list of things her father should’ve taught her.

“My friend was taken. I need her back.”

He started laughing again, “What do you plan on doing?”

She looked up into his periwinkle blue eyes and stare him down, “I’m going to get her back.”

“Look, I get you’re upset but there is no getting them back. They go in and nine years later they get a nice house in the city. It’s not a baf gig. They get healthy food and a place to sleep. Your life here is harder.” She felt her face change. He put his hands up defensively, “Look we have bigger fish to fry than worry about one girl at a breeder farm.” He turned his back on her and looked at the wall of the tent where other maps were hung. She felt her fingers twitch. She wanted to pull an arrow. She left the tent disheartened and lost.

“Y/n where’d you go?”

She looked up at Bakugo and Kirishima walking toward her. She scrunched up her face and walked away from them both. She didn’t know how to be dramatic. She felt the need burning inside of her, but she didn’t physically know how to get angry without using her hands. She walked to a group of ladies who were standing around a fire.

She smiled sweetly and looked at the one who looked most like her mother did, “Hi.”

“Hi sweetie.” The rebellion people were nice.

“Do you know where the nearest breeder camp is?”

She frowned, “Yeah.” She looked over at a dark strawberry blonde who had a scar along her mouth, “Beth where was that camp that you all saw not far from here?”

“South east, over two small mountains and a ghost town. Used to be a place called Licoln there. Stay on the outskirts of that place.”

“Thanks so much.”

“You aren’t trying to go there, are you?”

Y/n shook her head, “No way. Just wanted to know where my friend went. Her nine years is almost up.”

The lady with the scar laughed bitterly, “Honey she aint coming back out here to shit in a ditch. She’ll get herself a nice place in the city. I hear they even got air conditioning again.”

A lady with a t-shirt with a big tongue on it laughed, “Oh girl, what I would do for air conditioning.” They all laughed and it made Y/n grin. She walked away from them and went back to the small tent. The man looked less than pleased to see that she was there.

“Really, you’re back again. Look I’m not sending a bunch of men to their death over some girl.”

“I’m not asking you for a thing. I just want to see the map.”

He held his arm out at the one on the table, “Have at it.” She looked at the compass on the map.

“Where are we?” He dropped a finger onto the map next to a blue line. She dragged her finger southeast to the place that said Licoln. She looked up at him, “Which way is south east from here?” He pointed to the back of the tent where the other maps were. He was blocking her view of them on purpose. “Thanks.” She started to walk in the direction he had told her.

Her quiver wasn’t very full. Normally she would make arrows once a month but she hadn’t had a chance in the last month. Nothing had been the way it would have been back at the cabin. She thought about the moment she stood at the door as Mina knocked outside of it. She remembered the regret. She saw Kirishima and Bakugo and started to walk faster. She didn’t know what to say, but running away from them seemed like a pretty good idea. Kirishima still has a limp, but they move quickly.

“Y/n wait up,” Kirishima shouted. She wanted to be alone. It figured the only boys she’s ever liked had to be friends. Her mom would have been proud. She too had a thing for friends.

Fingers bit into Y/n’s arm and spun her around.

Bakugo towered over her, “What are you doing?” He looked annoyed.

She pulled her arm away from him, “I’m going to find her.” She looked at Kirishima, “Stay here and get better. That leg isn’t going to heal with you walking around so much.” He looked hurt.

Bakugo grabbed her arm again, “Y/n we aren’t going to let you run off half cocked. We need a plan.” She felt angry, maybe it was because she liked them both or maybe it was because they’re not running after Mina, like she expected they would.

She glared at Kirishima, “When you fell in that holse she did the bravest thing I have ever seen anyone do. She told me that she didn’t care if I shot her but I had to come find you.”

He shook his head, “We need a plan.”

She pointed south, “There’s a three day hike, we can plan on the way.”

Bakugo’s grip on her arm tightened, “We’ll be down a mountain and in the woods alone with no resources when we find her. What plan can you come up with there?”

Y/n shook her head again, “I’ve made it this far without anyone.” She pulled her arm free and took a step back, “I don’t need either of you.” She felt something in her stomach. She should’ve grabbed food. She started her hike. She realized she not only had a plan but that she was starving. She heard their footsteps behind her.

“She’s really stubborn.” Kirishima tried to whisper, but Y/n could hear him.

“I noticed that. How’s the leg?” Y/n made a face but didn’t look back at them.

“Good. She did surgery on it. I don’t think I’ll ever win the Boston Marathon if it comes back in style.” Bakugo snorted, Y/n wanted to laugh, but she was pissed off.

“Mina been a handful?”

Kirishima laughed, “Oh my god. The year she started the road to womanhood was the beginning of the end. Oh my god it was so bad.”

Y/n felt her face flush with heat. She remembered getting her first period and cringed. She had thought she was dying for a few days. She had to read an encyclopedia on health in order to find the answers she had been looking for. She made rags and stayed indoors. She rubbed clary sage oil on her stomach for the cramping and put warm compresses on her stomach. It was the first thing she added to the list of things he should have told her about. Being twelve and alone in the forest was daunting. Bleeding every month for no reason was much worse.

She realized how far ahead of them she was when she came out of her daydream and couldn’t hear them. She looked back. They were laughing and walking like it was a stroll in the park. She glanced up in the trees to see the guard strategically placed. She knew they were still safe from the others but she couldn’t imagine laughing and joking and catching up the way they were.

She walked faster. She missed the silence and uncomplicated days of traveling with Hades. He would hunt and they would touch each other every now and again but neither of them needed to make a sound. She looked back at Kirishima and noticed the way he lumbered through the woods and let out a sigh. The bottom of the mountain led to a valley and she climbed a tree and sat on a sturdy branch.

“What do you see?”

“A highway. There’re cars on it, they’re burned.” It frightened Y/n. Scavengers were always nearest to the old remains. She stayed away from the remains.

“Do you see movement?”

She shook her head but narrowed her eyes to improve her vision. The infected had a way of not moving when you needed them to. The sun was going down and she wanted to scross the highway and be halfway up the next mountain before it’s completely dark. She climbed down the tree and tried not to look at either of the hulking men standing next to her.

She pulled an arrow and crouched low to the ground. She shut her mind off. She tried not to think when she was scared shitless.

She could hear Kirishima walking behind her, no doubt completely upright and picking his teeth with a piece of grass. Y/n decided to shoot him herself if he started to hum. The grass on the side of the highway was long. As she slipped through it the wind played with it, making it whisper. The birds here were not the kind who warn you of prey, they were scavengers. They wanted you to die.

The long grass swayed and played with her hair. Her heart was beating faster when her foot touched the gravel on the side of the highway.

She looked back at Bakugo and he nods. Kirishima’s lips curled into a smile. She couldn’t help but want to smile with him. She saw herself back at the cabin for the briefest of seconds. Images of her and him laying on the couch filled her mind. She smiled remembering the way they tried not to get caught staring at each other.

Her mind snapped back.

She closed her eyes and listened to the wind. There was no sound. She climbed out of the huge ditch and walked quickly and silently up onto the broken asphalt. It had started to crack from the weather and lack of care. Where her foot stepped first it crumbled. Her eyes scanned every inch of the deserted highway. Burned out cars sat staggered along the long straight road. The people caught in the traffic jams when the tidal waves were coming or the bombs were dropping to contain the sick. They fled from their vehicles. They left everything and ran. She remembered running.

She shook her head back to focusing. She slipped between an old burnt SUV and the skeleton of a small car. The hood of the car was lifted and the battery was gone. Not uncommon.

“Which way?” Kirishima asked louder than Y/n would’ve liked.

“Shhhh.”

The gravel on the other side was a welcomed sight. When her feet touched the grass she broke into a run. The bushes hit her in the face when she entered the forest. She ran until shesaw the tree she wanted. She climbed it and sat with her arrow pulled and at the ready. She scanned the highway and the ditch vigorously.

Kirishima was huffing and panting while he rested below the tree.

“Oh man you can run. Holy shit. I thought your leg was hurt. Whoa.”

“Kirishima.” Bakugo was back to being Business Bakugo. There was no fun with him, only survival. She didn’t take her eyes off the road. Nothing moved. She was about to climb down but she waited one more second. She saw the bushes across the move and pulled the arrow tighter. It looked like an animal but she couldn’t see clearly.

“I see something,” she said in a low voice.

“What?”

“Animal. Dog maybe.”

“Shit.” She looked down through the thick branches at Bakugo’s;ook and raised an eyebrow. “Trackers.”

He doesn’t finish the sentence and her eyes scanned across the highway again. The animal was gone. Nothing moved. She climbed down fast and turned to face the dense woods.

“That way.”

Kirishima looked pained, “Seriously? We’re going to run some more?”

She looked at him and nodded, “Think about what it’s like for Mina now. She’s terrified. She thinks the breeder camps are what we all think. She is waiting for her turn no doubt.”

He flinched, “Jesus Y/n. Easy on the visuals. She’s my friend for christ’s sake. I’m not bitching, my leg is just killing me.”

Y/n glared, “Is it bleeding?”

“No but it hurts.”

“Climb the tree and wait for us,” She handed him a water bottle from her belt. But Kirishima shook his head and looked at Bakugo who’s face was stoic

“Bakugo I’m not staying.”

Bakugo licked his lips and thought for a second, “You can’t hold us up.”

Kirishima rolled his eyes and sighed, “Let’s just go.”

Y/n held the water bottle out for one more second but he didn’t take her up on the offer. She turned and started to run. Her leg was sore and her stomach was empty. In her haste she never stocked up. Mina had been hard on her rules.

When the sun had started to set they were where Y/n wanted to be. Kirishima hadn’t complained and Bakugo was starting a small fire. She took her bow and found a nice quiet spot to sit and wait for something to make a sound.

The silence of the woods was alarming. She had never been in the woods here. She was exhausted but she stayed focused.

She heard the crunch of a stick and raised her arrow in the direction she heard it in. A large hare hopped over a branch and sniffed the wind. It’s ears twitched and Y/n knew that it had smelled her. She released the arrow, anticipating the hop it would do. The arrow slices through the neck of the rabbit. It tried to move for a second and then stopped. She gutted the hare where she killed it. She never brought it back with its guts. Leaving guts outside the cabin proved to be a mistake. She skinned it quickly with the skinning knife she kept and left the animal’sremains and carried the carcass to the fire.

She heard the cracking of wood when she got close. Bakugo was standing over the fire and Kirishima was sitting on a log next to him.

“So is there something between you two?” Bakugo asked but didn’t move his face.

Kirishima shrugged, “I don’t know. She’s a tough one to get to know. We kissed but it was a mistake.”

Bakugo looked at him and smiled, “I hear that. You remember the Laura Croft movies where Angelina Jolie was all hot and quiet but would kill anything that moved?”

Kirishima laughed, “Yeah. Exactly. Jesus, give her some pouty lips and bam. Laura Croft.”

Y/n felt her insides trembling. She didn’t remember the movies they were talking about. She couldn’t help but want to cry.

Bakugo laughed and shook his head, “But what a bitch though hey.”

She grabbed a rock from where she was standing and tossed it back a few yards. They couldn’t see her if she crouched.

“She’s back. Manners.” Bakugo spoke low and started poking the fire. She stood and walked from the bushes. She just wanted to throw the stupid hare down and leave them there, but her stomach was growling. She was exhausted. She would stay as long as it would take to eat and then she would be sleeping in a tree. Maybe if she was lucky she would fall in her sleep and wake up in hell.

Bakugo held out a small sack, “I have some potatoes from the camp and tinfoil.”

She nodded, “Okay.” She felt awkward. Kissing both of them was obviously bad, but having them call her a bitch after they kissed her was awful. Having Kirishima say it was a mistake was killing her. She couldn’t look him in the eyes. She walked around him and found a good stick to make a spit with.

She searched the ground around the fire until she found a good branch. She stripped the small branches and leaves from it. She smirked and shoved the stick into the open neck. She was imagining it was one of them.

“You’re a scary little thing.” She frowned at Kirishima who was watching her get the hare on the spit. “It’s a compliment.” She didn’t stop frowning. It didn’t feel like a complement. Even if it was, it wouldn’t stop the pain of the kiss being a mistake.

She built a spit with rocks and branches and twine from her backpack. Bakugo sliced the potatoes and laid them in the tinfoil. He placed them high on a rock with a flat surface in the fires circle of rocks.

Bakugo glanced at her, “So what’s to plan?”

“Get captured and free us both.” He laughed at Y/n. “I can do it.”

He shook his head, “I know you can, it's just funny that’s all. You’re willing to sacrifice yourself to save my friend?”

“She’s the only person I’ve met that I liked. Genuinely.” It was a stab at them both. Fuck them.

He raised his eyebrows, “Fair enough.” He looked hurt. The image of the girl in the short shorts didn’t leave her mind easily.

Kirishima looked hurt, “What am I, chopped liver?” Y/n smiled. She hated that she was smiling. She hated that he made her smile so easily. He grinned at her and she remembered his hands on her. She couldn’t stop staring at his lips. It made her feel sick.

Bakugo cleared his throat, “So how’ll you get captured?”

She shrugged, “Just act lost near the area.” She glanced at Kirishima who was still staring at her. His grin hadn’t left his face. She dug her stick in the dirt and drew a circle. She hit a rock and dirt went flying up at Kirishima’s face on his stump.

She laughed as he wipped his face clean, “Thanks.”

Bakugo laughed, “Stop being a baby.”

Kirishima shook the dirt out of his hair, “You did that on purpose.”

She put her hands up with the stick in them, “I didn’t, I swear.” She wish she had.

“I don’t think you shouldgo there, Y/n.”

She dug with the stick again, “I have to.” She didn’t say that she led them straight to Mina. She doesn’t say that it was all her fault. She didn’t have to. They all knew it was true. Bakugo turned the hare on the spit slowly. The smells were starting to make her stomach make noises she hadn’t heard since before she found the cabin.

Bakugo looked around, “When you get captured you need a way out.” He got up from the fire and muttered, “Kiri turn the hare.” He went to a tree and ripped off a branch. He sat next to Y/n on the log. The warmth of his body was touching her and it was setting her nerves on fire.

He bent down and drew a rectangle. In each of the corners he made small boxes, “There is a section that is for the women who are pregnant or about to be impregnated. This is probably where you'll go. Then this wing is for the younger girl who can't have babies yet. This is for the women with the babies. This is where the little girls are kept. Girls they raise to be breeders." He moved the stick to the other side and made a smaller box, "This is where the men are, if there are any men. Sometimes they don’t have any there." He cleared his throat nervously and drew an X in the middle but off to one side, "This is the fertility lab. This is where the lab coats and doctors and cleaners all stay. This is your only chance. They will have a dump somewhere near the clinic. The garbage goes every few days."

She frowned at him but Kirishima asked the question burning in her mind before she could, “Dude how do you know so much about the breeder farmer?”

Bakugo blushed in the firelight, “I lived there for a time.”

Kirishima raised an eyebrow, “As a cleaner or a doctor?” He laughed like he knew the answer.

Bakugo laughed, “I wish.”

Kirishim shook his head, “Nasty bro. Nasty.”

Y/n felt lost. She looked blankly at them both. Bakugo’s face looked like it was on fire.

“I was forced to um… donate.” Y/n didn’t understand what they were talking about.”

Kirishima started to make an odd motion with his fist, “He had to jerk his chiken for the big men.” She didn’t know what that meant but she nodded before they explained. Bakugo looked at her face and laughed.

Kirishima turned the hare, “So how many little Bakugo’s are running around?” Y/n felt her stomach drop. She understood. She felt judgment burn its way across her face.

“I wasn’t exactly in on the plans.”

Kirishima poked the hare, “How was life there?”

Bakugo snorted, “Thinking about signing up?”

Kirishima looked up, “Hey if there are three square meals a day and I get all the, um, reading material I need to deliver the goods, I’m in.”

The humor fell from Bakugo’s face. He almost twitched when he shook his head, “No. No three meals and material shitty hair. It’s more like milking a cow.”

Kirishima ignored the terror on his friend's face and grinned ear to ear, “Are there milk maids?”

Bakugo nodded, “Not the kind you’re thinking of. Mine was a guy named Dr. Stevie.”

Kirishima gagged, “Oh shit never mind.”

Bakugo looked down at the drawing again and chuckled, but Y/n could tell he was haunted by it.

“There’s no human contact Kirishima. It’s all done by machines, the girls and the boys. Anyway this section here has the surgeon’s clothes and boots. Change and climb into the garbage bin in the morning on a Tuesday or a Thursday or a Saturuday. The garbage comes around lunch and the best chance you have at not being noticed is then. They’ll be looking for you after lunch.”

Y/n felt sick thinking about the plan. She was not as strong as the look on her face suggests she is.

“I think it’s done,” Kirishima poked the hare.

Y/n shook her head, “Always over cook wild animals.”

Bakugo nudged her with his body, almost playfully, “You sure about this?”

She nodded and reached into the flames to turn the potatoes. The fire licked at her skin but she ignored it. It hurt. It was a warning of pain to come if she continued to stick her hands in the fire. Sitting between two men she couldn’t help but feel like it was appropriate.

[you-can-wear-my-face]

Thomas Hewitt/Selectively Mute!Reader

Summary: The Sheriff picks you up after you broke down on the side of the road. You know this can’t end well, but he makes you an offer you can’t refuse; use your nursing skills to heal the giant man he brings you to, and you can go free. Unfortunately for you, he obviously needs more than a nurse. (And how can you be sure he’ll really let you go when ‘Thomas’ is healed?)

C/W: “Meat” mention, graphic description of infected wound, insects mentioned. Female reader.

Note: I don’t really intend to continue this. Because I already have other fics in other fandoms (though my self control is famously bad, so who knows). Eigher way, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Feel free to pick up where I left off or just take the idea and run with it. It’s all good. Tag me so I can see it, and I’ll be happy.

-

The day had started out bad, and it was only getting worse. Breaking up with your shitheel boyfriend? Bad. The flat tire? Worse. The rotten spare? Worse still. The appearance of the local sheriff had seemed fortuitous at first. Until he cuffed you. At first, you thought he’d arrested you, but the building he brought you to definitely wasn’t a sheriff’s station.

“You’re not a sheriff, are you?” you asked, throat tight.

He looked at you in the rearview. “I’m wearing the uniform, ain’t I?” That was not reassuring. Your heart rate kicked up, beating fast and hard. The vehicle rocked as he got out, and you scrambled away from the door when he wrenched it open. “Where d’ya think you’re going, huh?” he asked, catching you by the crook of your elbow and hauling you out of the car.

Your heart lodged in your throat. You wanted to beg, wanted to scream, but you couldn’t find your voice. You made a few fumbling attempts at speech, but whimpers were all that emerged. He shook you vigorously, and you fell silent completely, eyes rolling wide as you searched around you, hoping to find help, an escape, anything. But there was nothing but wheat and corn and broken down cars as far as the eye could see. Only a looming house broke the monotony of empty fields, and he was already leading you up its creaking stairs; you knew that no one inside would help.

A whispered, “Please,” escaped you, but it was completely inaudible, even to your ears.

He pulled the screen door open, and shoved you inside. “Ma!” he shouted, “Got a guest!”

Your eyes were wide and frightened as an older woman started down the stairs. “Charlie—“

“It’s Hoyt!”

She just shook her head, glancing at you. “This is not the time, Charlie. Meat’s gonna go to waste with Thomas laid up. We can’t—“

“She’s a nurse.”

The woman’s eyes went wide. She turned as if seeing you for the first time. “Well? That true, girl?”

You glanced at Hoyt, still not sure what was happening. You took some gasping breaths, trying to find your voice, but you couldn’t make your mouth work, so you just nodded. “Are you any good?” she asked, looking you up and down like she was eyeing a piece of meat at the butcher’s counter.

Before you could try to reply, Hoyt leaned close, “She’s what we’ve got. Thomas ain’t getting any better.” She looked back at the stairs, hands anxiously twisting in her apron. “Fact is, he’s getting worse. Way I figure, we can have the girl look after him for a bit. Soon’s he’s back on his feet, we let her go on her way. How’s that?”

The older woman looked suspicious, but her hands gripped her apron so tight, her knuckles were white. She speared you with a look, then pointed at your sternum and snapped, “Listen, you—take care of my boy. If anything happens to him....” She lifted her chin, throat contracting as she swallowed. “Well. You better be sure it don’t come to that.”

You nodded, still unable to speak, but you took hold of the hope she’d offered. You just had to do your job—and do it well—and they’d let you go. You could do that. You were happy to do that. All they had to do was ask, and you’d have been happy to help. They didn’t need to kidnap you!

(You ignored the insistent voice that reminded you that they would have every reason to kill you after you served your purpose. This was your only hope of escape.)

“Well, then. C’mon, girlie.” The woman led you up the stairs, and Hoyt pushed you in front of him, though you were careful not to struggle. At the top of the stairs, she opened a door, standing off to the side. “Get to it.”

At the doorway, Hoyt stopped to unlock the cuffs. He used his body to bar the door, smirking when you eyed him. As if he was daring you to try getting past him. Swallowing dryly, you turned away from him and stepped further into the room. The woman stood beside the bed, blocking your view of your new patient. She reached out and took his hand—it was definitely a man’s hand, so large it engulfed hers entirely—rubbing the back of it soothingly. “Thomas. We got a guest. She’s gonna help you.” She shot a glare at you, motioning you toward the bed.

You took a deep breath, immediately regretting it when the smell reached you. Your eyes went wide and you hustled forward, recognizing the scent of infection. This was possibly the largest man you’d ever seen, but you only noticed that peripherally. Instead, you focused on the huge gash across his chest. The skin was black at the borders of the cut, and angry red lines were spreading from it. Pockets of pus had formed in the wound. His breathing was unsteady and uneven, and when you pressed a hand to his throat, you found his skin clammy and feverish. Thankfully, his pulse was strong and steady, but he was obviously unconscious, not merely sleeping.

You turned on them, trying to find your voice. You shut your eyes, taking a few steadying breaths before you managed to say, “Hospital. He needs.” Your voice faded out all at once, the rest of your sentence lost in a whisper.

“Can’t risk it,” Hoyt said, glancing at the woman. She looked between him and the prone man, before shutting her eyes and nodding her understanding. She wiped the sweat-damp hair from his face. Only then did you notice his facial deformities. None of those wounds appeared to be open, though, so you disregarded them as irrelevant for the time being. “What can you do for him, girl?”

Nothing. Your heart dropped. You couldn’t help him. He needed a doctor. Medicine. Possibly surgery. The dead flesh would need to be removed, before gangrene set in. You shook your head, and Hoyt slammed his hand against the wall. “Wrong answer!” he snapped, and you jumped. “Lets try this again—what can you do for him?”

You swallowed hard, trying to put your thoughts in order. Maybe.... You opened your mouth, but you couldn’t find your words. Nearly crying in fear and frustration, you mimed writing, sure that they were going to lose their patience with you. Instead, he asked, “You need to write it down?” Relieved, you nodded. “Fine. I’ll be back. Don’t get any ideas.” He shut the door, and you heard him lock it from the other side.

With him gone, you were at least able to breathe again, and you returned your attention to the man. “He’s T-Thomas?” you managed to ask the woman, and she nodded, giving you a weighty look.

“You got trouble with words, girl?”

You nodded, flinching. She just turned back to Thomas. “That’s fine. So long as it don’t affect your nursing.” She pushed more sweat-damp hair from his forehead. “My boy’s got his own troubles with talking. Ain’t no one gonna bother you about it. Not if you can fix my boy.”

You felt calmer. A little more in control. The words came easier. “A doctor. A doctor would be b-better.”

She shook her head, features sad but steady. “No hospitals. No doctors. Hoyt’s right. You’re what we got, so you better do right by my boy.” She speared you with a look. “Don’t be stupid. Don’t be brave. Just do what we say, look after my boy, and you’ll be just fine, got it?”

You nodded, numb. The door clicked open, and Hoyt handed you a pen and paper. With the occasional glance at Thomas, you scribbled down a few necessities. Antibiotics—here you scribbled a question about allergies as well—bandages, a sterile needle and suture material, acetaminophen or another NSAID. You glanced at the dead skin, biting the inside of your cheek. That had to be cut away, but you weren’t a surgeon, and you didn’t want to remove any healthy skin.

An idea struck you. It wasn’t ideal, but none of your options were ideal right now. You took a deep breath and added it to the list. You handed it back to Hoyt, and he skimmed the list, frowning when he got to the last item. “What the hell do you need maggots for?”

[kimberly-spirits13]

Right Hand Man (Loyal to the End) Pt. 2

Pairing: Damian Wayne x reader

Synopsis: You were like Talia’s daughter. The only thing was that you weren’t and instead, you had grown up in the foster care system and at a young age were taken by and personally trained by Talia. Along the way, you meet Damian and the two of you start to work side by side and eventually, after some time become closer and closer. However, when disaster in the league strikes, you face balancing an old, forgotten life as a normal child and the burden of right hand to the demon heir.

Also, I didn’t want to have Damian so young in this so just go with it. I’m thinking maybe early 15 or almost 16 at the most. Idk I just don’t like writing for young Dami.

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2273

Pt. 1

        You walked around the squad that you were assigned to watch over this morning. It was an easy viewing as you picked out each mistake that was made by the fighters. The objective of this time was to make improvements in skills where needed in the time that you were waiting for Damian to arrive for sparing. Now that you were older, the two of you trained outside almost to set an example for the rest of the members in lower ranks. It was almost a shaming method as well. Look at these two teenagers, they are years ahead of you in skill and training.

        A few minutes of this routine had passed. You were getting tired of no action yourself. Damian must have been attending to some private matters since he was never late. Talia made sure of that for one part. Eventually, the mood shifted into something even more serious and focused and you knew that he had entered the training grounds.

        “How kind of you to finally show up.” You said drawing your sword.

        “I had previous arrangements to attend to.” Damian returned taking his own sword in hand.

        “An eventful morning for the demon.”

        “Indeed, it was General.”

        You could tell that there were eyes on you the entire time that the two of you were training. It wasn’t uncommon but for the longest time, it took a while to get used to in the start of this newer training environment. Eventually you did get very accustomed to it and started playing harder. It was important to look like you really had the best training and grasp of what you were doing. Otherwise you were a bigger target. That was something you didn’t want under any circumstances. Damian didn’t mind. Instead, he seemed to like the challenge you presented. It wasn’t often in the field he ever got any sort of action like this. It was pretty typical for take downs to be easy, child’s play really. At least, that’s what he liked to think of it.

        For what started feeling like hours, you and Damian trained along with the rest of the recruits. It was sweltering hot outside. The sun’s heat beat down on everyone there without any sign of stopping. The cloudless sky offered no shelter from the rays either. You finally defeated Damian for the last time. Your fights would go until the other slipped up and then they’d start over until you both new that it was time to leave.

        “You haven’t heard anything about strange happenings or something of concern of late have you?” You asked entering the building.

        “No, I didn’t. Today was a common briefing of training and education. I anticipate you will have a meeting with mother at a later time over the same subjects.” Damian replied as the two of you turned into a different hallway heading to the cafeteria, “Mother was acting strange this morning however. I do not know if it has to do with our shared concerns.”

        You didn’t say anything, instead you just nodded before the two of you entered the giant room that everyone sat and ate in. There were different rooms situated inside for different ranks but mostly everyone sat together. It was difficult to escape the people which was something that was meant to be established but for the top players. They stuck together. That’s another reason why you and Damian were so close.

        “I want you to sit with me today instead of with the other group.” Damian said as the two of you took what you wanted for lunch and walked to where he and his mother always sat and ate. Talia was to be late today because of matters she was handling by herself. You two sat in silence for some time.

        “The recruits seemed ... mostly normal for the decent part of today.” You said, “In other words, there have been no red flags of anything internal. I walked around the entirety of the grounds to check.”

        “Maybe Mother and Grandfather are planning something that will just be sudden.” Damian pondered out loud, “We most likely won’t have to worry about it.”

        “It will probably affect me more than you.” You commented, “I’m pretty certain that you’d be safer when it came to some mass elimination scheme.”

        “You should be confident in your place among the League.”

        “I am, I just know that things can change at the random.” “That’s what makes it exciting around here.” “You know, other than the constant threat of being killed.”

        Damian spared you a smirk at the comment but nothing else. You saw it and knew he understood for some part.

        “Where is your next mission?” He asked.

        “It’s to Italy.” “I should only be gone for two, maybe three days at most.” “It’s basic kill a diplomat here, a politician there kind of mission before you ask.”

        Damian cocked a brow, “How did you know I’d ask?”         “You always do al Ghul.”

        “That is the one part of your training and job that I envy.”

        “And that is?” You asked.

        “You get to go and actually do things outside of the League’s headquarters and fight.” He answered simply.

        “Don’t let your mother hear that.” You chuckled only a bit to yourself.

        It was only in times like these or even just only on the roof tops that you’d ever let yourself crack a smile or make anything close to a joke. It was the only time you’d actually be even a sliver of yourself around someone. That is, whatever of yourself was left from all of these years spent here. You thought that what you did was important. It kept your branch of the League together even. Assigned to watch over Damian and be his right hand, that is what you defined yourself by. It was always position to you. Whether you liked it or not, this wasn’t the place to be friendly or all that different from the rest besides in skill and ruthlessness.

        “We’d better get to our class.” You said breaking the silence that came between you two.

        Damian stood up followed by you and the two of you headed to your tutoring session. It wasn’t long before this was over, in fact today was probably the last you’d see your teacher alive.

_______________________________________________________________________

        The tutor seemed to know just as well as you and Damian that this was their last day probably seeing the light of day. The room that the two of you were seated in was a well- lit room with only a table and large chalk board. You could practically feel the nervous energy that your tutor was radiating today. It got worse and worse every day leading up to it. You almost wanted to feel bad for him but you didn’t. That’s where you sometimes come to question the League. It was always taught in some lessons that it was human nature to be compassionate and not disassociate from others. People were supposed to need and feel for each other. You didn’t though. The League made sure of that very quickly.

        The lesson was quick, you didn’t really care much about what the tutor was saying. It was mainly just an overview of what you and Damian had learned. You two exchanged looks at the end of the session before walking out of the room. Talia was there with another recruit. You knew what the other was there to do when he walked into the room you were just in, you didn’t know however why Talia was there.

        “Y/N, I need to speak with you about your upcoming mission.” She said.

        You nodded goodbye to Damian before leaving with Talia.

        “I trust that your lessons were more than suitable?” She asked.

        “Correct, they were of desirable level.” You replied walking by her side.

        “Good. Now about this mission.” Talia turned a corner and into a room before shutting the door behind you, “This isn’t just another simple mission.” “The diplomats that you’re targeting will have highly trained security teams. You must choose the right moment to strike which I’d like to think you might be able to do from your training. Make sure there is as little of security as possible. After you accomplish stage one, move your squad onto stage two of killing the others and then return as soon as possible.” “Any questions? This should be standard by now.”

        “Understood.” You nodded.

        “In addition, with the success of your past few missions, it has been decided that you will be elevated into a newer status of High General. Still by the same title, you have more tasks and control over your own squads. I do expect that you will handle this well. You start after your mission with the same schedule. However, you will be training more in the middle ranks.”

        “Thank you, I am honored.” You said sincerely before cocking a brow, “However, I must ask since it has been troubling me for the past few days. Is there anything that I should be expecting that will happen? Are there any sweeping of the ranks that I should know about?”

        “I see that you must have picked up on something.” Talia said, “This is confidential information. I am only sharing this with you because of your status and position. There have been concerns raised of an attack from outer forces. We have not figured out which ones yet, you should not concern yourself with that yet. However, the only thing besides your mission and daily tasks you should be concerned with, is the safety of my son, the heir to the League. There is no true telling information on what will happen so keep on your highest guard.”

        “Yes Talia.”

        There was a pause that filled the room. You knew that there was something else.

        “General. That is the position you have been given. That is not however your only job.” Talia started, “Your main, most important job is to be my son’s second hand. If something were to ever happen to myself or The Demon Head, I fully expect you to stay with Damian over everything. Do not make me regret my decision in picking you off the ground of that orphanage.”

        “My loyalties are well placed Talia. I stay with him until death just as I was assigned from the start of this all. As High General, as the Demon’s second, you have my word.”

         Eventually, you left. The rest of the day was ahead of you and tomorrow, you’d be suiting up for Italy. Ready to leave the League even for a mission, you were antsy the rest of the day. Not enough for notice as usual though. Damian knew however. He could tell that your game was a bit off since this morning. He could tell that you were either anticipating more than what you gave off, or you were preparing yourself for this next mission a bit too much.

_______________________________________________________________________

        That night he confronted you as the two of you sat on the rooftop.

        “You were off of your game today Y/N.” Damian said almost catching you off guard.

        “So, I was.”

        “What caused this rarity?”

        “I am just ready to start my mission. I have a brewing feeling that it should go over very well.” You answered, “That is what Talia wanted to discuss with me earlier today.”

        “It was just this and nothing else?” Damian cocked his brow suspiciously.

        “Correct.” You reassured, “There was nothing else besides talk of schooling. She did inform me that I will be taking the High General position which was gratifying.”

        “You have my congratulations Y/N.” He commended.

        “And you have my appreciation Damian.”

        “The only thing that I did pick up from the conversation wasn’t... much. Just keep on your highest guard.”

        You didn’t bother saying anything else. Watching the stars and then the clouds float by every now and again was enough. It was easy to just stay up there and do nothing. There was no schedule besides having to get at least some sleep that night. There were no recruits training out in the heat. And best of all, it was silent and cool outside. This was the best time and always would be a place of your favorite memories from life.

        “So, do you have any plans of changing your squad?” Damian asked.

        “In what way? My squad is perfectly formed. There shouldn’t be any issues within it. Not unless you’re insinuating that you want to join al Ghul.” You smirked.    

        “No, not at all. I’d rather not be taking orders from my right hand.” He shot back.

        “And I’d rather not be giving orders to one of the most stubborn people I know.”

        “Very funny L/N.”

        “Oh, so we’re on last name status. I must have said something to upset the young Demon.” You poked fun at him as you typically did.

        “You’d like to think you could.”

        “Anyways, regarding your question. I will not be adding or eliminating anyone from my squad unless I find someone in the lower ranks more suitable that can and will advance faster. Nevertheless, I am not actively looking for any new blood as some might call it.”

        “I understand.” Damian stood up to leave, “Will I see you before your mission tomorrow?”

        “Most definitely during breakfast. My team and I are leaving for Italy right after that though.” You answered jumping down from the roof top and onto the pavement below before walking inside, and down a hall until you eventually split from Damian to go to your room.

I hope you guys are enjoying this series. I have the series lined up in my schedule to post this time so hopefully it doesn’t just ... die lol. Anyways I hope you’re all having a wonderful day and week and are staying safe and healthy!

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@idkmanicantenglish

[stardusttrashed]

Go With the Flow

Requested by @marli-senpai​ Thank you again for this request, it was hands down my favorite so far

Word Count: 3.7k

Summary: Aizawa volunteers to help you gain control over your water bending quirk

Pairing: Aizawa x fem!reader, Class 1-A x fem!reader (all platonic)

Your leg bounced rapidly as you impatiently watched the clock. Aiziwa’s lecture went in one in and out the other. Not that it was boring or anything, he was one of your favorite teachers in fact. The simple fact was that every second he spent talking to the class was a second longer away from your after school training. 

You could barely get yourself to sleep a wink last night. Every minute of sleep felt like an hour too long for your excited mind. The sun couldn’t come up fast enough. 

“Oi idiot, cut that out! You’re making it hard to focus,” Bakugo’s sharp tone sliced through your thoughts, stopping them in their tracks. You halted your movements like a deer in headlights, your mouth gaping as you tried to think of something witty. 

You were quite literally saved by the bell as the school bells rang, signaling the end of the day. “Guess that solves your problem,” you smiled apologetically. You hurriedly stuffed your books into your bag, ignoring the annoyed click of his tongue. You waited until everyone had cleared the room before you finally stood from your seat. 

There was finally nothing holding you back from beginning your first day of training! And yet you could barely pick up your feet to walk the few steps towards him. “What’re we working on today,” you asked with forced enthusiasm. You hoped Aizawa hadn’t noticed.

He nodded his head towards the door, quietly indicating for you to follow him. Aizawa walked at his own pace- fast enough to feel normal yet slow enough so you could stay a few paces behind. Yeah, he spent all night thinking of ways to help you train, but he still hadn’t the slightest clue of what to do. You had a strong quirk that you refused to use. Perhaps if he found a way to get you to build your trust in yourself…

“Aizawa sensei isn’t the training room back that way?” You glanced over your shoulder at the building that was slowly getting further and further away. Your mind was gradually slipping into panic mode. He did intend to help you, right? You didn’t think of yourself as a lost cause. Your steps faltered, what if he did. What if this was a ruse to get you out of UA? 

“It is,” he answered curtly, derailing your chaotic train of thought. “But we’re going to work our way up to there.” He glanced behind him to catch you nod confusedly. He stopped once the two of you reached an open field. “Make me walk.”

You stared at Aizawa’s back in confusion at his blatant request. Your bag slid off your shoulder before plopping down on the ground by your feet. 

“Well?” He continued to stare at the trees in front of him. 

“But if you can’t see me then you can’t-.” You quickly shut your mouth, realizing this must be the first part of your training. He really did have faith in you. And it wasn’t like he was asking an impossible task. Well, maybe a little. You had never used your quirk on someone, only on your surroundings, but how hard could it be. “Right,” you said more to yourself than anything. 

Though he couldn’t see your movements he could feel you focusing on the task. He knew your nerves would be getting to you, but he hoped by showing you he trusted you enough not to even worry about his quirk they could be settled. 

You stared at him for what felt like ages. No matter what you tried you couldn’t push away the thoughts of what might go wrong. What if you moved him the wrong way and he couldn’t stop you? You balled up your fist in frustration, a small lump forming in your throat. You wanted to be the best, but you couldn’t even get yourself to do this task. How pathetic. “I- I can’t. I’m sorry. I just can’t.” Your shoulders dropped in defeat as you shut your eyes, desperately trying to will the overwhelming feeling to cry away. 

Aizawa quickly turned around, your fragile voice immediately awakening a protective side of him. “Hey, don’t apologize… just do better,” he added the last bit to avoid sounding too mushy. He desperately racked his brain for ideas, your defeated form adding desperation to the matter. “Follow me.” He slowed his pace down this time, allowing you to walk beside him in silence. “I-,” he finally spoke up as the training grounds came into view. “You have a powerful quirk, but a quirk is only as powerful as you let it be. You won’t get the hang of it until you begin to trust yourself and learn your limits.” He chose to avoid explaining the reason he kept his back to you. “Meet me out here in five minutes,” Aizawa quickly added before walking off, leaving you alone with your thoughts. 

You mulled over his words as you changed into your training uniform. Maybe he was right. How could you expect to be number one if you didn’t believe in yourself? You didn’t have to be cocky like Bakugo, but you had to start somewhere. The thought scared you if you were being honest. You knew your confidence was going to be harder to build than your skills with your quirk, but what other choice did you have. “I’ve got to trust myself,” you whispered with determination. 

The door slammed awkwardly loud behind you as you stormed out of the locker room with newfound enthusiasm. It was a lot quieter than you were used to. Normally the room would be filled with Midoriya’s rambling or Bakugo’s sudden outbursts. But all that could be heard was the sound of your footsteps as you strolled over to where Aizawa stood. 

“Stop right there,” he instructed you as he plucked a water balloon out of the bucket by his feet. Hopefully, this would work the way he thought it would otherwise he’d be back to the drawing board again. “I figured we use these until you become comfortable enough with your quirk to use on people.” He carefully tossed the water balloon in the air before catching it again. “For now, I want you to stand in that spot as I throw these your way. All you have to do is stop them before they hit you, got it?” You nodded timidly in response. “If it makes you feel better, I’ll ease up my tosses for now.”

His words from earlier passed through your mind once again. Trust. Your expression hardened with determination, “Let’s do it.”

His first toss was as though he were trying to toss to a baby. You doubted it’d even have enough impact to burst if you failed to stop it. No. You couldn’t think that way. The task was simple. And the worse that could happen would be the balloon pops. You were going to stop every balloon he threw your way. 

You tried to recall some quirk advice Midoriya gave you earlier when you told him you’d be training with Aizawa. All you could remember was something about an egg and a microwave, but the correlation between the two was unclear. 

Taking a deep breath to still yourself, you focused on the balloon. More specifically you focused on the water inside of it as you channeled your quirk. Mid-air the balloon burst, sending water sprinkling everywhere. You smiled sheepishly at Aizawa, who was clearly trying to hold back a smirk, “Technically it stopped.”

“Next time try without bursting it,” he chuckled lowly. 

It took you three days of training by yourself in the mornings and again with Aizawa in the afternoons and two completely soaked outfits before you had figured out how much of your quirk you needed to simply stop the balloon at any time. Then he handed you books on human anatomy and biology to, and you quote, “know the basics of all your enemies.” Sure it was a lot to wrap your brain around considering you still had all of your other homework to do, but the more you learned the more you could feel a shift in your mind. Where it was shifting to you weren’t quite sure, but you could feel it was in a good direction. Before you knew it you were spending your afternoons integrating your fighting style into your water balloon dodging training- which you were thankfully able to move from your spot in now. 

Sure, there were days when you’d walk back to your dorm soaked in a mixture of sweat and water from exploding water balloons. There were even days when you felt yourself slip back into your insecure and worrisome ways. But every time you managed to send a water balloon back to Aizawa using nothing but your quirk you could feel a surge of empowerment. It was only a week and a half that had gone by before he started throwing more challenges your way like having you do it blindfolded. Or inviting someone else to come so they both could throw water balloons at you.

Soon enough you found yourself laughing more than you found yourself indulging in your worries and fears. It was like being gifted freedom after years of denial. Everyday tasks involving water became simple exercises for your abilities. You had even messed with Aizawa a handful of times, altering his movements a barely noticeable amount, though he would always send you his death glare. He couldn’t ever really bring himself to be upset at you though. You were thriving. Your newfound confidence in your quirk overflowed into your everyday confidence. It filled him with a sense of pride, knowing he helped you grow.

“Bakugo and Y/L/N, you’re team captains in today’s capture the flag.” 

You looked at him in surprise. Really? You? Sure, you were getting better but were you really good enough to be a captain of the team? He looked at you expectantly. 

“Hurry up idiot we don’t have all day. I’m ready to kick some ass,” Bakugo barked as he stepped up from the line. 

You tried your best to suppress your anxious thoughts as you followed suit. Your team was comprised of Mina, Tsuyu, Tenya, Ochaco, Midoriya, Kirishima, Todoroki, Hagakure, and Momo. “Feel free to have grape,” you whispered to Bakugo, trying to muster up some cocky confidence. “And no hard feelings when my team wins.”

It was a total free for all once Aizawa released the class into the city training environment. Your team had decided to split into pairs of those whos quirks best complemented each other. Which meant you were unanimously voted to be paired with Todoroki, seeing as his ice quirk related to your water quirk. You chose not to tell your team that when it came down to it your partner didn’t really matter. Your water quirk also meant you could control others, not that they’ve ever seen you do it.

It was a double objective game. Not only were you trying to protect your own flags hooked onto your uniforms, but you were also in charge of capturing the enemy’s flag. All while being on a thirty-minute time limit. Because of this, you decided to assign two teams to the direct attack- you and Todoroki and Tenya and Tsuyu. Meanwhile, Ochaco, Mina, and Momo were left guarding the base flag while the others spread out through the area. 

The first ten minutes passed with seemingly no action, neither team able to find the other in the vacant city. 

“Mina, Yuga, and Rikido are out,” Aizawa’s voice boomed through the intercom, startling you slightly. 

Todoroki nudged your side gently before sending a sheet of ice along the ground, capturing Jiro and Kaminari by the ankles. With a quick nod and a flick of your wrist, you transformed his ice into water, dragging the flags down with a wave. A look of surprise momentarily crossed all three of their expressions, you were actually using your quirk.

“Denki, Kyoka, Tsuyu, Tenya, and Koji are out.”

“Hey,” you whispered, dragging Todoroki out of his state of shock. “We still have the challenge to win.” Without another word you continued to scour the area, your mind focused on one thing- proving to yourself you could do this. 

“We still have the advantage in numbers,” Todoroki spoke up, taking authority. “It’s probably best to trust our other teammates to guard the flag and take out the other team while we go after the flag.” You couldn’t tell if he was looking at you for confirmation or if he was simply trying to see if you understood. Either way, you nodded in response. 

The quietness between you two as you both walked through the streets was intense. In all your time together in class, you’ve never really spoken to each other much. Not on purpose though. He was just quiet and you normally had your own things to work on. 

A shadow along the ground ripped you from your thought. “Shoto!” Without fully thinking you used your quirk to force him out of the way just as Tokoyami’s dark shadow attempted to rip his flag. Going with the flow you transferred your focus to Tokoyami, stopping him in his tracks as you charged towards him. You slid along the ground by his feet, wiping his flag from his hip easily. 

“Fumikage, Mezo, Momo, Toru, Ochaco and Minoru are out.”

You scampered back over to Todoroki who was still trying to process what you did earlier. “Water,” he muttered to himself with a quiet chuckle. 

“Eijiro is out.”

“That means it’s down to us and Midoriya. I’ll go after the flag, Katsuki is most likely there. You go help Midoriya,” Todoroki spouted out. He could see the hesitation in your eyes, but this was the best plan he could think of. He had a better chance in a one on one against Katsuki than you did. 

You chewed on your lip nervously, trying to steal your nerves so your words could find their way past your throat. “You help Midoriya, I’ve got Bakugo. You’ve got distance on your side, he’ll need that.” The nerves began to overcome you as Todoroki stood there staring at you. 

“Okay.” 

It was that easy. You’d be lying if you told yourself you weren’t surprised by his reply. He trusted you with this. You shot him a grateful yet relieved smile before sprinting off to the edge of the city. Your legs burned as you ran with full force towards the unguarded flag. Before you could even see where it was coming from an explosive blast knocked you off your feet. Your jacket barely managed to provide a shield against the rough gravel as you skidded across the street. 

“For someone who was all talk that seemed pretty easy,” Katsuki boasted despite still keeping his guard up. He made no movements towards you to rip your flag as you scrambled back to your feet. 

You regained your footing, squaring off against him. “I’m not done until that flag,” you nodded towards his, “is in my hands.” Your talk was tough, but you couldn’t seem to shake the bubbling fear building inside of you. You had to be smart about every step you took. 

Shaking your head, you rushed at him, preparing an offensive attack. Katsuki scoffed at your movements before sending another blast your way. You rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding getting hit. Behind you, the building groaned from the impact of the blast. 

“Think. He won’t let me close enough for hand to hand. So it’s down to quirks.” You dodged another blast. He was trying to keep you at a distance. Sweat dripped down from your chin.

“Izuku, Mashirao, and Hanta are out.”

That’s it! You gathered the sweat off your body, forming a puddle in your hands. 

Todoroki rushed to the edge of the city, desperate to see what was going on. It was down to you, him and Bakugo. Another blast rang through the now quiet city. Yet neither name had been called yet which meant you were really holding your own.

Using your quirk you allowed your sweat to discreetly form a thin sheet on the ground, similar to how you’ve seen Todoroki use his ice. You pulled Bakugo towards you, using your sheet of sweat to make him practically glide.

Todoroki could barely through the clearing smoke, but he could make out a very clear ‘what the hell’. He watched as Bakugo took staggering steps towards you. It was like he was taking steps he didn’t want to. Todoroki’s mind flashed back to earlier when you had made him move out of the way. 

“Come on blasty,” you mumbled to yourself. Any moment now he’d try to hit you. You glanced at the unstable building he hit earlier. The smell of caramel filled your senses. Now! Unsure of which arm he would use you used you directed both of his arms at the building’s weak point.  

One final groan escaped from the building as it began to tumble down. Ignoring his flag you began to sprint to the unguarded team flag. You ran through the falling debris, pushing Katsuki back into safety. All around you debris rained as the building crumbled to the ground, but you couldn’t care less. You could see the flag straight ahead. Your legs felt weightless. Behind you, the building fell with one final crash that sent dust everywhere. You glanced over your shoulder to see Katsuki fuming, using his blasts to help him fly across the debris. 

Todoroki couldn’t believe what he saw. He knew you were quirk on your feet in a fight, but he never thought you’d do something so bold. So reckless. So crazy. So awe-inspiring. You weren’t the same Y/n that used to be too scared to use her quirk on even a puddle. Before he could think of what he was doing his legs began to move towards the scene. 

“I don’t know what you pulled back there, but I’m not done,” Bakugo barked behind you as he landed in front of the debris. 

“But I am,” you called back, though you were speaking of something else. You stopped his every movement as you took the last few steps towards the flag. You plucked it from its place on the pole, but the room remained quiet. Even as everyone followed Aizawa onto the training center. 

There were no congratulations as you expected. Or team cheering because of the win. There was just silence and stares. All of your previous confidence was slowly disintegrating under their stares. 

“That’s a scary quirk to have,” you heard Mineta whisper to Kaminari. 

“I wonder what else she can control,” Iida thought aloud. 

“Has she been holding back this whole time?” Even Mina joined the whispering among the class. 

“That stunt could’ve seriously harmed her and Bakugo,” Momo spoke with a worried expression. 

“Y/n’s team is the winner,” Aizawa spoke plainly. You noticed a conflicting look in his eyes. Like he was proud yet, well you couldn’t quite place a finger on what it was 

Katsuki scoffed and jammed his hands into his pockets. “I don’t see the big deal,” he addressed everyone aloud. “We both fought.” He shrugged and walked past you. “Just don’t expect it to be as easy next time. You just caught me off guard today that’s all.” He glanced at you, the determination in his eyes setting ablaze a new desire to continue to train. 

You opened your mouth to say something but got drowned out by Kirishima’s exclamation. “That was badass! I volunteer to help you train, I have to see more of your quirk.”

A small blush crept onto your cheeks at the sudden positive attention. You nodded shyly in acknowledgment. 

“Me too,” Midoriya pipped in with just as much enthusiasm. 

“Awesome! I’ve been reading some books Aizawa sensei gave me and I think I could help recovery girl with healing you.” Your eyes sparkled as you rambled off excitedly. You thought growing confident with your quirk was exhilarating, but this was even better. It felt amazing to be able to talk about your quirk freely and you had Aizawa to thank for it. 

Bonus: 

“Aizawa Sensei!” You picked your pace up to a jog until you got ahead of him. “What’d you think,” you asked eagerly as you spun to face him. 

Aizawa shrugged and suppressed a smile. “You went a little overboard if you ask me.”

“I was caught in the moment- Woah!” You lost your footing, sending you tumbling backward. Aizawa caught one of your flailing arms and helped to sturdy you. “I-.” You looked down at your feet shyly. “Thanks,” you spoke as you wrapped your arms around his waist tightly. “Not just for the fall but for helping me be confident too.” Your emotions were becoming overwhelming. Every worry, anxious thoughts, embarrassment, joy, anything you’ve been trying to suppress these past few weeks was beginning to explode out of you. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Aizawa stood frozen in your embrace, unsure of what to do. In all these weeks that have passed, he found himself growing fond of you. You were already one of his favorite students- not that he played favorites- but now he almost thought of you as a daughter. “You could’ve.” That was all he could bring himself to say. Slowly he reciprocated your hug, resting his hand on the back of your head. 

He thought of pulling away in case anyone were to come, but decided against it. Instead, he held you as long as he felt you needed, waiting until he felt your arms slacken before he let go. “I’m proud of you if that’s what you wanted to know,” he chuckled. “And as reckless as it looked… It did have an action movie badass look to it.”

Your eyes glistened with tears and for once you weren’t sure if it was from sadness or joy. “Right?! I felt really cool and the adrenaline-.”

You were cut off by Kirishima’s voice across the lawn, “Hey y/n, you ready yet?” 

“Yeah one sec,” you yelled out. You turned back to Aizawa with an apologetic look, “sorry, Kirishima wanted to see if anyone could beat me at swimming. But, I’ll see you in class and training on Monday. Bye sensei,” you rambled quickly with a small wave before taking off towards Kirishima, Katsuki, Midoriya, and Todoroki. 

Aizawa watched with a small smile playing on his lips knowing you were going to do great things. 

[kieraswriting]

Coffin Chapter Nineteen

Masterpost

Virgil slowly drifted awake. He felt sore, and his mind was fuzzy. He was starving. But that didn’t make sense. He’d eaten recently—- though he couldn’t remember when.

He tried to sit up, and his body exploded with pain. The cry left his mouth before he even knew it was there. His breathing sped up as he tried to remain frozen in place, terrified of awakening the pain any further.

“Shh, Shh, Virgil, I’m here,” said a soft voice, and his hair was stroked back from his forehead.

Virgil choked back a whimper and leaned his head towards the hand. He slowly opened his eyes.

Patton was sitting above him, looking nearly as terrible as Virgil felt. His eyes were bloodshot, with bags forming beneath them, he was paler than normal, making his freckles stand out, and he had dried blood on his face and in his hair. But he was still smiling softly down at Virgil.

“There you go, just lay still, ok? You’ll get better, I promise. Do you need anything?”

Virgil wasn’t sure he dared move enough to speak, but eventually he did. “ ‘m hungry.”

A fire lit up over his cheek, just from that small movement.

“It’s ok, Virgil, you can eat as much as you want,” Patton said, baring his wrist.

And then Virgil remembered. He’d eaten from Patton last, more than once in the last few days. Patton was already pale, there was no way Virgil could take more.

Patton held his wrist just above Virgil’s mouth.

“No,” Virgil said weakly.

“It’s ok,” Patton said gently, running his hand through Virgil’s hair again. “It’ll help you get better.”

“Roman,” Virgil said, trying to move his mouth as little as possible.

“Roman?” Patton looked surprised, and hurt. Virgil hated that. He hated that he’d put that look there on Patton’s face. But he’d hate even more if he hurt Patton by taking too much from him.

“Roman.”

“Ok. Ok, Virgil, I’ll get him. Will that help you feel better?”

Virgil gave the tiniest nod.

Patton left, and Virgil mourned the loss of the hand in his hair. Without that to balance it, the pain seemed so much worse.

Then the door opened, and Roman knelt beside his bed. “Hey, Virgil, you called?” His voice was carefully quiet, which Virgil very much appreciated.

Virgil gave a tiny nod.

“And Patton said you’re hungry?”

Virgil gave another slight nod.

Roman held his wrist against Virgil’s mouth, and Virgil bit down, trying his best to be careful. He had fuzzy memories of hurting Patton, and he didn’t want that to happen again.

Warmth flowed down his throat and filled his stomach. Virgil tensed, knowing that healing the burns would hurt. But why?! It was healing! Why did it have to hurt?

“Shh, just relax, Stormcloud,” Roman said. His voice was deep and resonant, and very convincing. And then he stroked his hand through Virgil’s hair, scratching lightly at his scalp.

Virgil melted against the bed, riding through the waves of heat and pain, anchored by the soft touch and quiet murmurs.

He didn’t expect, not with how much blood was being used to heal him, that he would feel properly full, but he did, and he released Roman’s wrist, pleased to see the punctures healing over as Roman pulled away.

“Thank you,” Virgil said. His voice was hoarse and croaky, but he could use it now without pain.

“Anytime, Virgil.” Roman smiled at him, his energy tempered by a softness Virgil had never expected to be directed at him.

“Patton stayed here all night, didn’t he?”

Roman nodded, with an affirmative hum.

“He-he can’t do that. He has to sleep too. He had blood on him, Roman! What happened to—“ Virgil was cut off with a finger to his lips.

“Shhh, it’s alright. I told him to take a shower and then go to bed. He’ll be fine. He was worried about you, and a bit self-destructive.”

Virgil shook his head as much as he dared. “He can’t, I’m not—“

“Don’t you dare say you aren’t worth it.” Roman said firmly. “I know you enough to know what was going through your head. You did this for us. There’s no way in hell we aren’t going to repay that!”

Virgil broke eye contact with Roman, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m just a vampire…”

“Are you kidding?!” Roman shifted position to come back into Virgil’s field of vision. “You’re most of the reason I learned not to look down on vampires like that, and you’re telling me that you look down on vampires?!”

Virgil turned his head away. “Vampires may be people, but we still all have to steal life away from others. We still hurt people, whether on accident or not. I’ve been around vampires my whole life, Roman. They aren’t good.”

“You can’t say that. Would you tell Dee that? Or Remy?”

“They know it already.”

“No— Virgil, where is all of this coming from? I thought you were just as much for freeing the vampires as we all were!”

Virgil turned back to face Roman. “Of course I am! No one should ever have to go through that!”

“Then what is all of this?”

“I’ve just, I was practically dead once anyway, and since then I’ve— I-I’ve hurt so many people, Roman. If it had to be you or me—“

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” Roman was looking downright angry, and Virgil shrunk back against the bed. “Listen, we’ve both done stupid things. We’ve both hurt people. I’m a vampire hunter, I’ve killed. That’s more than you can say.”

“I—“

Distracted by talking, Virgil had forgotten about not moving, and tried to sit up. His whole body stiffened and he clamped his eyes and mouth shut as pain raced across his skin. His breathing quickened and small sounds, that seemed way more embarrassing with Roman in the room, slipped out between his gritted teeth.

“Hey, hey, loosen up a bit,” Roman said, his voice back to calm and soothing. “If you stiffen up it’ll hurt worse.”

He ran his hand through Virgil’s hair again. “I’m sorry. I made you upset. We can bench that topic until you’re better and Patton can get in on the conversation.”

Virgil gave a slight nod without opening his eyes, still trying to ride out the pain. Roman started humming softly in time with his hand in Virgil’s hair, which helped considerably.

As the pain faded, it was replaced with exhaustion. Virgil slowly slipped away to the soft sound of Roman’s humming.

•^*^••

“You sure you wanna come with?” Remus taunted. “Your Thomas won’t approve.”

Dee bared his teeth. “I’m not letting you go off and do it unsupervised.”

Remus shrugged, but his grin grew a little brighter, a little wilder. “It’s not like I have some good motive for doing this, you know. I’m not saving anybody.”

“Does it really change anything?”

Remus let out a cackling laugh, bouncing up and bounding away. Dee followed, at a much smoother, but equally fast pace.

Remus stopped outside of a prison. It was the middle of the night, so there wasn’t hardly any visible activity, but with his enhanced hearing, Dee could hear the telltale quiet crying. It had been converted, at least partially, into a holding place for vampires.

“I didn’t even know there were this many vampires before this insanity happened,” Dee murmured.

“You didn’t? How long have you lived in a bubble?”

Dee glared, but Remus was already walking up to the gates. He knocked on the door.

“Hey, Dee, you do know how to make thralls, right?”

“What? No.”

Remus’ eyes widened for half a second. But then the door was opening, and he was turning to it with a feral grin. He leapt on the guard, sinking his fangs into their throat, not bothering with any kind of care. He pulled back, and the guard slumped to the ground.

For a second, Dee thought he’d killed them, but then they starting groveling.

Remus crouched in front of them. “A huge group of vampires came, attacking and killing, there were too many, you couldn’t stop them. You only barely escaped with your life.”

The guard started quaking, their eyes wide with fear.

“Run.”

The guard bolted.

Remus turned to Dee with a crazed smile. “Now for the rest of them!”

•^*^••

“Where have you been?!” Thomas yelled. “I’ve been looking for you for hours! I thought you’d been hurt! Or captured! You can’t just do that!”

Remus elbowed Dee. Dee shot him a dirty look. “It was his idea. I just went along to babysit.”

“And you didn’t tell me?! Dee, it would have taken you barely a minute!”

Dee wilted slightly. He’d known Thomas would be upset, but not this much. “I’m sorry.”

But Thomas wasn’t ready to be so easily calmed. “And Remus is covered in blood! What did you even do?!”

“It was a prison break!” Remus said gleefully. Lucky bastard was still riding a high from the adrenaline and excess of blood.

Thomas turned to Dee, his face demanding answers.

“Yeah, it was a prison break. We should probably move out pretty quickly. They won’t be looking for us, but if they find us anyway it could be bad.”

Thomas’s face clouded over, his jaw tightening. When he spoke his voice was strained with the effort to speak calmly. “Then we’ll leave, but while we’re driving you’re going to explain this.”

Dee nodded, letting his head hang. He was not letting Remus drag him anywhere ever again.

•^*^••

Emile sat on the couch, looking out over water, holding a cup of steaming tea in his hands.

Logan settled beside him, also with a hot drink.

“This feels wrong.”

“Oh?”

“It’s too calm. The others are on the run, Virgil is heavily injured, and I’m sitting with a cup of tea watching the sun rise.”

“Your part is just as necessary, Logan.”

“For what?! What purpose am I serving?”

Emile lifted his cup to his lips. “You made the plan, Logan. Tell me, what is your purpose here?”

Logan turned to look at him, anger sparking in his eyes. “I’m here because my presence would hinder the other teams.”

“You are not a hindrance. What is the purpose of this team?”

Logan’s jaw clenched. “To monitor the progress of the hunters and to be an early warning system or backup for either of the other teams.”

Emile nodded. “I believe that monitoring the hunters is something to which you are especially suited. You have a good base of knowledge on the hunters, and the skills to infiltrate their systems to gain more. If we are to be the early warning system, I believe that it is you who will first recognize what they need to be warned about.”

Logan turned his head away, taking an angry swing of his drink. “I don’t like it.”

“I’m not suggesting that you need to like the situation. It’s awful. Our lives are at stake, and we have been maneuvered to a position where we are made almost entirely impotent.”

From behind them, Emile heard Remy snort.

“That’s not very helpful,” Emile admonished, sending Remy an exaggerated frown.

But to his surprise, there was a slight huff of amusement from Logan. “Thank you, Emile. If you need me, I’ll be in my room.”

•^*^••

When Patton woke from his nap he was feeling much better. His scalp was still a bit sore if anything touched his head, but that would probably go away soon. He looked around for a clock, and was surprised to see that he’d been sleeping for nine hours.

“Oh, I hope Roman’s alright,” Patton said quietly, getting up and heading straight for Virgil’s room.

Virgil was awake, but Roman wasn’t, slumped over the edge of the bed, one hand tucked awkwardly underneath him and the other laying on Virgil’s head.

Virgil sent him a smile, which Patton immediately returned, with interest. “Are you feeling better?” He whispered.

Virgil nodded. “Much better.”

“Good!” Patton said. “You’re looking a lot better.”

The welts on his exposed skin weren’t raised anymore, though they were still pretty red.

“I’ll take Roman to bed, and then come back.” Patton said, shaking Roman’s shoulder.

“Wha— Huh?”

“Come on, Ro. Let’s get you to your bed.”

Roman let loose a slurred speech, something about belief and worth.

“Oh, yes, come on, let’s get to bed,” Patton said, slipping under his arm and propping him up.

Roman stumbled along, flopping down in his bed when they reached it. He was still sleep-talking, which Patton could barely understand any of, but agreed with regardless. He pushed Roman the rest of the way into the bed and draped a blanket over him. Roman let out one final burst of words, more slurred than ever, before dropping into a deeper sleep. Patton smiled down fondly at him.

Patton went back to Virgil’s room. “How’re you feeling, Kiddo?”

“Better. Still sore, but I think I could move now.”

“Oh, that’s good! I think I’d rather if you waited until you’re sure you can move, though. I really don’t want you to have to hurt any more.”

Virgil nodded.

“Is there anything I do that would help you feel any better?”

Virgil suddenly looked down, biting his lip. He looked… embarrassed?

“What is it?”

Virgil looked up at Patton, and flushed. That was good! If he had enough blood to blush he would probably be able to be fully healed in a day or two.

“Could you… maybe… play with my hair?” His voice got quieter and quieter as he spoke, embarrassment ringing clearly.

“Of course I will!” Patton said, sitting on the bed near his head and stroking his hand through his hair.

All the tension left his body. His eyes slipped shut and he leaned his head into Patton’s hand. Oh, it was so cute! Patton held his tongue for Virgil’s sake, but inwardly promised himself to pet his hair as often as possible in the future.

A few minutes later, Virgil was asleep. Patton’s eyes filled with tears. He was so precious and soft. How could anyone imagine hurting him? And then the fact that it was his own dad that did it stabbed his heart again. Patton still felt like it was his fault. He could’ve—should’ve done so many things.

But. If he looked on the bright side. At least Virgil was safe now. And Patton would never, never let him anywhere near his dad ever again. He didn’t care how many times his dad apologized, he’d never let Virgil near him. He was going to keep him safe.

[cavanaghcharactersxreaderfics]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Flash (TV 2014) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: HR Wells/Reader, Earth-19 Harrison Wells/You, Earth-19 Harrison Wells/Reader, HR Wells/You Characters: HR Wells, Earth-19 Harrison Wells, Reader, Caitlin Snow (mentioned), Cisco Ramon (mentioned), Barry Allen (mentioned), Harry Wells (mentioned) Additional Tags: Metahuman Reader, Telekinetic Reader, HR needs more love and so do I so guess what folks here have this, earth two reader Summary:

You'd been working with Team Flash for a while now, but since Barry had started training two new speedsters you hadn't been needed in the field until now. Your skills are a little rusty, you make a mistake, and you're left paying for it. HR decides to lend a helping hand and really, who are you to refuse?

With your ears muffled by the headphones that Cisco had designed for you, you couldn’t hear anyone approach. The padding surrounding your ears made it difficult to hear but they served a greater purpose than just shutting out the sound around you. They’d been designed to help muffle your powers. You could control your metahuman telekinetic abilities now that it had been years with your abilities, but sometimes when you didn’t pay attention things still rose around you, floated up off of the ground or phased into it. Your emotions couldn’t get ahead of you and send expensive equipment (or people) across the room.

               You had a smaller pair of the headphones for the field or when you were out in public, less dampening but still effective. A pair of ear buds that had been modified from the anti-Grodd tech that the team had made the year before. They were uncomfortable though, and not meant for long term use. The older pair that you wore now, while a prototype, were more comfortable despite the fact that they were bulky and kept you from hearing things.

              Things like the other occupant of STAR Labs’ basement approaching your room and knocking at the arch of the doorway.

               You only saw HR standing there when you were half stripped out of your hero costume. Thankfully you wore a tank top under the suit so you weren’t caught indecent, but you still gasped and reflectively pulled the leather jacket back over your shoulders.

               “Wait!” HR spoke loud enough for you to hear, which meant he was probably yelling and just maybe the others upstairs could hear him too. “Hold on I’m sorry-“ he turned his back to you, his eyes shutting tight. It was even harder for you to hear him when his voice was pointed the other way, but he kept going. “I came to see if you needed anything after the fight!”

               Cooling off after being thoroughly spooked by his arrival, you puled the headphones carefully from your head. HR was a good man, you knew he hadn’t been peeping on your purposefully. He had been a strange addition after the gruff nature of the Harrison Wells from your earth, but you were glad he was there, even if no one else was. Having someone so gentle on the team was refreshing.

              “It’s okay, HR, I’m decent,” you laughed, pulling the jacket off again. You were covered, at least. You turned to the table that you set your gear out on, taking your gloves off and setting down the jacket now that you could hear better while turned away from him, you added: “What’s up?”

               “I just thought that since you took one heck of an – oh! Y/N!” HR’s gasp caught your attention and you turned to face him, frowning when you saw his pained expression. The panic he set off made you a little nervous, and your gloves rattled on the table behind you, threatening to lift off into the air. You raised an eyebrow at the novelist but he said nothing more, only darting to your side, his fingers fluttering nervously around you.

               “Y/N,” HR said, softer than you had ever heard him speak before. His hands reached out for you, and you managed not to flinch when they danced over your shoulder. “You’re hurt.”

               You frowned again, looking back as best as you could at where his fingers touched your skin. Spanning across your back was a large, purpling blood bruise, bringing back vague memories from a fight not two hours ago when a sign post came flying at you and caught your shoulder just before Barry Allen could zip in and move you out of the way.

               “Oh,” you muttered, the pain catching up to you with the memory of it. You tried to roll your shoulder to assess the damage but had to stop when the ache pulsed across your back and radiated through your entire body. You shivered with the pain and your gloves stopped rattling on the table and you balled your hand into a fist against the pain. “Ow.”

              You could see the worry spread across HR’s face like the pain spread across your back and you tried to smile at him in an effort to dispel it, but he wasn’t having any of it. HR was more of a caretaker than that, and he huffed at you, taking you gently by the arm and guiding you to the edge of your bed. You still wore your suit pants and boots, muddy from the fight in Central City Park and the creak of leather would have been amusing if you hadn’t wanted to get out of it as quickly as possible once you got home. You offered HR a smile, exasperated though it was.

               “I just want to get to bed, HR, it’s really no big deal, I’ve had worse.” That was a lie, and you knew it. HR hadn’t seen you out in the field before. He was new to the team and you hadn’t really been given the opportunity to work alongside the Flash in a while, now that Barry was training Wally (and Jesse) on top of hero work. You normally weren’t so careless. You normally had a shield, a barrier of telekinetic energy surrounding you that kept you from being badly damaged. Your slip up tonight looked like it was costing you your privacy, but with HR?

               You didn’t really mind. He was sweet, much more so than any other Harrison Wells you had met – though your experience was severely limited to the Harrison Wells of Earth-2, who had been pleasant enough to work with but a pain in your ass when it came to personal matters. HR was good, a ray of sunshine that you hadn’t expected you’d get when you stayed on this Earth instead of going back with Harry and his daughter to your own.

               You would have been lying to yourself if you said that you weren’t even at least mildly attracted to him.

              “Y/N, you have to – just – sit there,” He nodded his head, turning back to the door and striding there confidently. You watched him pause in the archway and turn back to you. “Stay.” Before he was off again.

              You would have listened, too, if you weren’t so hasty to get back into comfortable clothes before something else happened to the city. You moved as quick as possible, waiting only a moment after he left to make sure that HR was truly gone before you went about getting your pajamas, struggling out of your boots and suit pants so that you could slip the flannel bottoms on. You would live with the tank top for now. Something told you that you wouldn’t be able to lift your arms out of it and into another shirt. Just changing your pants had hurt enough to leave you gasping, falling back onto the bed just in time for HR to come back in, holding something in his hand that you couldn’t quite see from your angle.

               “Hey!” He gasped, and though he sounded affronted you could see the forgiving smile on his face. “I told you not to move.”

               “I’m sorry,” You managed, laying down on your bed with your face in the pillow. Your body ached with every movement, but laying like that meant you didn’t have to move much further. “I had to get out of those pants.”

               “I get that,” HR nodded, sitting down on the bed beside you and held his hand in your field of vision. He held an ice-pack and a bottle, one that you were familiar with. Arnica gel. Barry didn’t have much use for it because his bruises were gone in minutes, depending on how bad they were. You and Cisco? Neither of you had the same privilege, but normally you at least had a shield and Cisco had his quick reactions and portals. “So I got you this.”

               You smiled, your cheeks flushing just a little bit at the gesture. Being a part of the team, you’d come to expect little gestures like that but this had a personal touch that you hadn’t considered before.

                “Thank you, HR,” you moved to sit up and take the tube from him but HR was faster than your bruised body could ever dream of being. He placed his hand on the small of your back, pressing you down gently into the mattress of the cot, tutting as he did so.

               “I don’t think so, Y/N.” He objected, and you could just barely see him shake his head. “You’re not going to be able to cover the span of the bruise, you can barely move yourself, let alone lift your arms to do it. Come on,” he tugged at the end of your tank top in question and your entire body lit up warm with a flush when you realized what he was asking. “Let me help.”

               Panic passed through you for a moment. You were skipping a number of steps here, jumping straight to taking your shirt off in front of the man that you had harbored a crush for since he stepped through the interdimensional breach. But you knew that your back was in no state for you to be lifting your arms over your head and you were already laying down and the most logical course of action was for HR to take your shirt off for you, and you were positive you knew why your heart started racing at the thought.

               “Yeah,” you whispered, nodding your head in assent. “I do. I, um… I need your help, HR.”

              There was a moment’s pause before he was moving again, wordlessly, his fingers – and you’d always admired Harrison Wells’ fingers, no matter what Earth they came from – dancing along the hem of your shirt once more before he lifted it up, gently and slowly. You shivered when the cold air of the converted storage room hit the heated bruise on your back, distracted by the sensation only when HR’s breath caught in an audible intake.

               “Y/N,” He breathed your name and the frantic beating of your heart stuttered. “Your back…” Those fingers, again, traced a pattern along your skin and from the tingle, the slightly uncomfortable pressure they caused, you could tell he was outlining the bruise that was already formed. From the way it felt, it extended across most of your back and you wondered only briefly what would have happened if Barry hadn’t gotten you out of there when he did. “Don’t worry,” HR continued, reaching up to set the cold pack down on the bed beside you as you pulled the tank top over your head so he’d be able access the whole of the bruise. “I’ll take care of this.”

              “Thank you, HR,” you muttered, your face buried in the pillow to save yourself from the embarrassment that would inevitably occur when he saw how much redder than your bruise your cheeks were. “You don’t have to do this.”

               There was a moment of silence as you felt HR’s fingers across the span of your back again, cool against the warm of the bruise. When he didn’t speak you started to worry, but after his voice finally hit you there was nothing you could do to hide the shiver that passed down your spine.

               “I want to,” he whispered, voice huskier than you could remember hearing it from him, more similar to Harry’s gruff tones than anything else. And when he spoke again he cleared his throat and added the humorous note that you were more familiar with despite the fact that he still sounded breathless. “After all, I can’t leave a pretty lady in pain.”

              You swallowed once, nervous for whatever was happening when HR pulled his hands away. You could hear him pop open the cap to the Arnica ointment and after a much longer period of quiet in which the only available sound was of HR warming the liquid between his hands you felt them press gently against your back. You tensed, your muscles screaming in objection to the sensation of cool ointment against them, and you hissed into the pillow, stilling HR’s movements.

                You felt his hands against your back, warm now through the gel, and couldn’t help the tiny noise of contentment from leaving you immediately after your hiss of pain. Long, expert fingers moved gently across your back after his moment of hesitation. The fingers of a writer, a musician. They weren’t calloused in the same way you knew Harry’s were and they touched you with the softness of… of a lover. You knew it was because HR didn’t want to cause you pain but at the same time, the intimacy of it had you shivering for a completely different reason than the chill. HR traced along the edges of your bruises again, rubbing carefully into the skin. Any discomfort the ministrations caused you was mitigated by the softness of his touch as he traveled further up your back, towards the spot on your shoulder that had you flinching when he made contact. Once more, he stilled, hands hovering just above your skin. Another shiver, only this time you were desperate for the contact to resume.

               “Are you okay?” HR asked, voice back down to that quiet, discerning whisper. “I’m not hurting you, am I?”

              “No,” you replied, afraid to break the quiet intimacy of the moment with anything louder than a whisper. You tried to ignore how breathy you sounded, but it was hard to avoid. “No, please continue.”

              After only a moment more of hesitation HR’s hands were on your back again, kneading gently over the purple bruise. “You know,” he whispered. “You should really talk to Caitlin about this.”

                “She’s got plenty to worry about,” you muttered, burying your face into the pillow and speaking just barely loud enough for him to hear through the fabric. Cait was the last thing that you wanted to talk about while HR’s hands rubbed your back so tenderly. You knew this was just a one-time thing, a strange, unrepeatable moment. Still, you’d rather have it to yourself, unmarred by talk of your coworkers. “Speedsters take more care than I do.”

               HR laughed softly, and you felt his fingers press into the muscles of your back that were tense but not covered in bruise. You couldn’t help the noise of appreciation that bubbles from the back of your throat.

               “I think that’s objectively wrong,” HR replied, fingers faltering a moment before they continued. This was beyond personal care now, and you hummed as he pressed into the unbruised skin of your back. “Speedsters require significantly less care than someone who can’t heal at light speeds.” He was right. But there were three of them now and Cait had her hands full with broken limbs and fractures. She couldn’t be bothered with your bumps and bruises. As he spoke, HR massaged into your muscles, but you could tell he was slowing down.

               You sighed, nuzzling into the pillow. You didn’t want this to be over. Most of the time after a fight like that, everyone was focused on the speedsters. Or Cisco. You didn’t really take offense to it, after all you had protections and well, you weren’t the Flash. And you weren’t the one that could open up interdimensional breaches to travel to and from worlds. You were a team member, and they worried, but you weren’t someone’s kid, either. Barry and Wally were both Joe’s kids, which made them something to lose. Jesse’s dad was a powerhouse of a helicopter parent, and even though Cisco wasn’t… okay with his family, they were still, at least a little bit, a part of his life. You? Your family was on Earth-Two, and even then, most of them were gone. Having HR come to you at all was… a gesture that you weren’t used to receiving. A kindness that you didn’t expect.

               “You okay down there?” HR’s voice was stronger now, up where it normally was. The magic that had been there before had seeped out of it, and you felt his hands still on your back. You allowed him to reach up carefully and pull the tank top back over your skin, managing to only make a face when the fabric hit your sticky, bruised back.

               “Yeah, HR, I’m fine,” you replied, turning your head as much as you could against the pillow to offer him a smile. “Thank you. That was… that was nice.”

              “I aim to please.” He was reaching forward to grab the discarded ice pack. You followed the length of his arm, admiring the muscle that pulled taut just below the sleeve line of his t-shirt. That was another thing you enjoyed about Harrison Wells. On any Earth you had seen him thus far, he was cut. HR just had the additional benefit of always wearing t-shirts. You weren’t able to think about that long, however, before the cold sting of the ice-pack was seeping through your shirt. You hissed at the sensation and HR chuckled. “Relax, Y/N,” he remarked, rolling his eyes. “You’ll only feel better for it later.”

              “Yeah, well it sucks now,” you huffed, looking away from him. You didn’t want to have him think that his efforts were meaningless. You didn’t want him to think that you weren’t grateful for it. The rest of the team did that to him often enough that it left you feeling sick. When you weren’t embarrassed as bad as you had been before you lifted your head up, casting your smile at him, apologetic and grateful. “But thank you again, HR, for all your help.”  

               “Ah, don’t mention it.” HR waved it away like it was a nonissue, but you could see the sparkle in his eyes. There was something different about this. Something different than him getting coffee for everyone or talking the team through some issue they could solve on their own.

              Before you knew what was happening, HR was leaning down again, but this time he didn’t stop just to pick something up. His lips were on your cheek in a display of affection that you were sure he hadn’t used on the team before you. When he pulled away, HR was smirking.

              “After all,” he said, rising from the place he’d taken at the edge of your cot. He winked at you, leaving you breathless, as he moved to the door. “It’s what I’m here for.”

[ladyideal]

An Eye for Yours

Pairing: Leonard McCoy x Reader

Word Count: 2717

Warning: 3 curse words, brief description of injury, lots of cute fluff

Summary: You were once a naive child in believing in soulmates. You are not naive now, but you still keep the hope of finding yours one day. Hurting yourself accidentally down in Engineering lands you in the hot seat under Doctor McCoy’s hazel eyes. Couple days later, Leonard finds himself confronted about his appearance and hurries off to find you.

A/n: So credit to @mythologyandwriting for giving me this Soulmate AU idea. When yours and your soulmate’s eyes meet, one eye changes to one of the other’s eye color. I thought it was a cool concept, so here ya go.

Love. 

A concept so fascinating that there was no encompassing definition of it. A concept that many longed for, but weren’t always received. You knew this your entire life. Your father had explained it many, many times to you when you were still a kid and asked why he had mismatching eye colors. 

He was proud, and in love, was how he had always started the explanation. Soulmates, he continued, when you found your soulmate, you and them take the other’s eye color. In his arms, you would clap happily and wish that you would be able to find the same happiness your parents had found.  

You wanted your own, and who wouldn’t? It was a gift from the universe to find the perfect one, the better half to yours, the second half to complete your soul. 

However, the universe wasn’t always kind. 

As seasons passed, you grew up, steadily breaking out of your former shell as a naive child. There were stories that many gave up on finding their one, and settled with what was second best. Your grandparents were like that, but your parents found true love. So, you were determined. You’d looked high and low, to other countries, and the occasional trips to other Federation planets.  

As the years went by and life went on, the notion of finding your soulmate was tempered into a more moderate view. You needed to be able to succeed in life first, be independent, and not let some foolish idea of something more sway you.

  Middle school, high school, and finally made a last ditch application into Starfleet Academy. You graduated from the academy after four years, and landed yourself on another Federation planet for the first two years as an engineer specializing in improving the warp core and antimatter. 

You caught a break as you transferred out, landing yourself onto the Enterprise. Being out in the void would test your skills, and you enjoyed having that challenge of being kept on your toes. You could take on more projects aboard a ship, and best of all, you could meet new people.

That was two years ago.

You leaned against one of the nearest consoles down in one of the deeper Engineering levels, and wiped your sweat with the back of a dirtied hand. Consoles were nothing, unless they were toyed previously by other Ensigns and made it even worse than before.

You scowled, taking a deep breath. It was a couple minutes into Gamma and your relief was a no show again for the third time in a row in the same damn week. Normally you weren’t one to complain. More work was nice occasionally, it was far better than laying in bed and unable to sleep half the time. 

“Y/N!” Scotty called from up above. 

“Aye, Scotty, what’s up?” You crane your neck upward in an effort to get a better view of him. 

“Onslet not here for ye?” 

“He still didn’t show up,” You rolled your eyes, pushing away from the console. “But I can’t leave you a member short.”

Scotty laughed. “I’ll see where that lad has gone to. Thank ye for staying. Drinks on me tomorrow.”

You shook your head, but turned around and faced the console once again. 

“What the hell did she do to you?” You mumbled to yourself, sliding again once under to continue working on the damn console. New ensigns were almost in constant trouble one way or another. So much so that medical made it a habit to complain every time yet another red shirt went in for burns or scrapes or any work related injuries.

It wasn’t only the nurses that complained, even the doctors did too. Most of the time it was Doctor McCoy that did the grumbling allowed. You couldn’t blame him though. If you were a doctor aboard a starship, you would be grumbling at everyone around you.

 You’d never met the guy, as Doctor M’Benga was the one you were assigned to, early on.The CMO’s reputation preceded him as one of the best doctors, and was regarded highly in the medical field. He was rumored to be easy on the eyes, dark haired, tall, broad shouldered, and prickly like a porcupine but cared deeply for those close to him.

It was a shame that you’ve never met him before. Being on two opposite ends of the work shifts, you’d never gotten a chance to really meet the guy. Oh well. Life could be cruel that way. 

Shaking your head, you focused back on the damned console again. If the wires refused to bend, you would have to start back on square one, forcing you to replicate spare parts again. 

What a pain in the ass.

Couple hours ticked by after that brief conversation with your superior. By the looks of it, you were going to be given Ensign Onslet’s pay for not showing up to work. It was fine, long as you could still get Alpha off to get some shut eye after working another sixteen hour shift. 

“Come on, come on,” You chanted, desperately encouraging the wires to come close enough so you could finally solder them, and finally be done with the damn ensign job. Why you took that work order on was another reason. It was supposed to be easy, and you could help clean the list after-.

“Ouch!” You hissed, dropping the soldering iron beside you when you touched the heated section of it. With barely any lighting under the console, you inspected the injury with a frown. Drops of blood dripped out, and immediately blisters were starting to form on the burned portion of your fingertips. 

“Goddamn,” You mumbled, putting your tools aside and out of harm's way. Tucking the wires safely away, you hand accidentally strayed onto the live wire of the console next to you, earning yourself another nasty electrical burn. To add to your injuries, you bumped your head as you slid out. 

It was starting to look like a long work day. 

“Ye alright there, Y/N? If you’re injured, go to the medbay. I don’t want ye bleeding all over the floors, or Doctor McCoy will have my head,” Scotty called again, scrutinizing at you from the other side of the floor now. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go,” You reluctantly answered. Cradling your injured hand against your body, you stepped into the turbolift and keyed your destination in. Stepping into the medbay, you greeted the nurse as you signed in. 

It was the Gamma shift, and what’s left was a mere skeleton crew. Most of the crew were on Alpha or Beta, and only a handful were required to be on duty during the late night hours. 

“I’ll have a doctor see you,” The nurse led you to a nearby biobed, and went off in search of a doctor. Rather resigned to your fate, you set on the edge of the biobed and faced the entrance of the medbay, swinging your legs restlessly as you waited. When you heard footsteps approaching, you frowned down at your injury. 

“Hey, Doctor M’Benga,” You greeted.

“Guess again, darlin’,” An unfamiliar voice drawled from behind. You jerked your head back up at the sound, and turned to face the stranger.

If you weren’t in the hot seat, you would have taken a photo of how picture perfect the scene was. Your mouth was slightly opened in a small “o”, your eyes widened in surprise, and your eyebrows shot up. 

“I-I-I’m sorry, Doctor McCoy. I see Doctor M’Benga,” You recovered as soon as you could, blood pooling in your cheeks at your obvious embarrassment. 

Doctor McCoy smirked. “Doctor M’Benga was dead on his feet after Beta, so I volunteered to take his shift.” He looked down at your injured hand. “How did this happen?”

Feeling like you were going to die of embarrassment for the rest of the night, you told him how you got your injuries. As you rattled off the events, the doctor gently took your hand to examine it closely for himself. 

“Nothin’ but some time with the dermal regen and some tests won’t solve,” He spoke, grabbing the tools on a nearby tray to start the procedure. “What I don’t understand is why all you engineers enjoy stickin’ your nose into trouble.”

You bristled, now fully understanding where the rumors were coming from. “I’ll have you understand, Doctor McCoy. I don’t get injured very much often. I’m not like the others that blatantly have no regards to their well being.”

The doctor snorted in disappointment. “Then darlin’, what do you call this?”

“An accident,” You replied, huffing your answer out. He glanced up at you, and caught your curious gaze at him. His eyes were pretty. Hazel, but mixed with flecks of gold and green swirling around his irises. You had to admit, it reminded you of your mother’s. Your father had green eyes, and your mother’s hazel also. 

His was way prettier.

“See somethin’ you like, darlin’?” The doctor drawled again, raising that damn eyebrow of his; another source of never ending complaints from your coworkers.

“Sorry,” You mumbled, dropping your gaze. Looking away, you let the doctor work in peace. 

Before long, he set the regen down, and inspected his work for a brief moment. “Good as new again. If it still bothers you in a couple days, come back down and let Doctor M’Benga give you something for the pain. I’ll sign you back on for duty.”

You brightened up at his words, glad that he was done and could return to work. You were about to push yourself off the biobed when a hand on your shoulder stopped you. Following the hand, you looked back up at the doctor expectantly.

“Do me a favor darlin’. Tell Mister Scott to take better care of his engineers,” Leonard spoke, scowling once more. “I swear, another day can’t go by without somethin’ down there happenin’ and injurin’ half the crew again.”

Doing your best to keep a straight face on, you nodded and assured him that you would relay the message to your superior. Looking satisfied with the answer, he bid you goodnight and let you go free back to work. After thanking him for his work, you scurried back down to Engineering.

A chance encounter with the famous doctor, but you didn’t linger much on the thought. 

 A couple days went by, and Leonard found himself catching odd glances at him from his nurses.At first, he’d though nothing about it. He would never admit to anyone that he enjoyed having his nose to the grindstone. Because of that, he was always tired after work and wasn’t 100% on top of his appearances at times. It wasn’t until he had enough of the staring that he finally voiced his displeasure about the unwanted attention.

During a surprisingly slow beta shift, he leaned against the nurse’s station. On the upside, no one was getting hurt, and even the Captain seemed to be keeping himself out of trouble. Looking up from his head nurse’s PADD, he groaned when he caught Christine’s gaze on him.

“You too?” He grumbled.

“No disrespect, Leonard,” Chris started slowly, turning her full attention to the doctor in front of her. “But you look a little different from before.”

“I look fine, Chris. Nothing out of the ordinary,” Leonard huffed, crossing his arms across his chest. 

“No no, not that,” His head nurse leaned in, narrowing her eyes as she examined him better. “I think it’s your eyes. Did you look into a mirror recently?”

The doctor merely shook his head no,

“Your left eye is greener than the right. I didn’t notice it till a few days ago. I thought it was just the lights. Are you sick or did you…?” She trailed off. 

Leonard stared at her, gears turning at her implication. No, he had given up on finding his soulmate when he was younger. It was the reason why he fell in love with Jocelyn. Although his eyes didn’t change, he still gave the relationship a shot. Yet, after the messy divorce when Jocelyn found her soulmate, he refused to believe that there was any hope left for him. 

And now.

“I can’t do this again, Chris,” The doctor breathed out. “I’m old, and they won’t-.”

“So you do know who they are. You’ve just met them, haven’t you?” His head nurse threw his trademark smirk back at him. “It must have been during Gamma shift when you took over for Geoff. If you don’t give it a chance, you will never find out.”

It took a little more convincing, but eventually Leonard nodded in defeat. “I’ll be back.”

“No need. I’m sure Doctor M’Benga and I can handle what’s left of the Beta. I’ll be sure to call you if anything arises.”

With that, Christine shooed him out of his own medbay with a knowing glint in her eyes. 

Instantly, he knew who his soulmate was. The only person that he’d met with green eyes in just a mere few days ago, was only you. You were the only one that held the luscious, vibrant forest green within your eyes. Admittedly, he was drawn to them when you first stepped in those nights ago. When he held your gaze then, he enjoyed the flecks of gold within.

“Mister Scott!” Leonard bellowed when he reached Engineering.

“Aye, Doctor McCoy,” Scotty spoke from above, tethered on a rope with a screwdriver in his hands. 

“Where is Y/N? I would like to have a word,” The doctor scowled up at the chief engineer.

“Y/N, front and center!” Scotty yelled.

“What, Scotty? I’m busy here trying to fix these damn consoles you wanted me to do,” You shouted, grumbling wordlessly from under a console across the deck.

“Doctor McCoy wants to have a talk with ya,” The Chief Engineer continued. 

You frowned. After the brief visit to the medbay, your hand was feeling better, and back to normal. Scotty had ordered you to go to bed right after you got back, saying that he could get the console fixed himself. After that, the days blurred into one another once again. Your routine was hurried. Wake up, shower, eat, work, sleep. As long as you were mostly presentable, you didn’t give your appearance much of a thought. 

“Y/N.” Doctor McCoy’s voice was right next to the consoles you were working on, and you slightly jumped at the sudden voice.

“Ow,” You grumbled, rubbing the spot on your head where you’d lightly banged on it. Sliding out from down under, you glared up at him. “Hi. What can I do for-.”

You trailed off as you recognized your iris color in one of his. Your jaws promptly slacken once you realized that he was your soulmate. 

“So it’s true,” The doctor murmured, crouching down and gently wiping away the dirt on your face. “It is you.”

“Me?” You breathed out, quietly savoring his warm, big hands on your cheek,

“Have you not checked the mirror after that night?” Leonard asked, helping you up into a standing position.

“I-uh no,” You furiously wracked your brain to get an answer out. “I’ve been busy with a couple long shifts, Doctor McCoy.” 

“Call me Leonard, darlin’,” He smirked at your amazement. “You have beautiful eyes, Y/N. My hazel one sure matches up to your green. A little bit of gold and brown in them too.”

You blushed again. “Yes, from my mom’s. The green’s from my dad.”

A look of wonder crossed his face as he lost himself within your eyes. After a moment, he shook his head and cleared his throat.

“Would you like to have dinner with me? I’m sure Mister Scott over there wouldn’t mind me stealin’ you away.”

Scotty made an exaggerated show of gagging at the promise of future PDA. “Go, I’ll have Lieutenant Gails take the rest of yer shift, Y/N.”

Giving Leonard a tentative grin, you nodded. “I would love to get to know you better, Leonard.”

Seeing you grin, he smiled back. “Let’s get outta here, Y/N.” 

You chuckled, but followed him towards the turbolift and into the next chapter of your life with a soulmate.

Star Trek Tags: @mournthewicked (Join the taglist!)

[plus-size-reader]

Beautiful

Hvitserk Ragnarsson x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2305 words

Warnings:Reader gets wounded in battle.

Summary: The boys were all friends with a gorgeous young girl. She gets terribly disfigured in battle and will not be seen by any of them...except for Hvitty. 

———————————————————————————————————

Scars and wounds were common among vikings in general, considering how much battle you actually engaged in as a people. However, there were still certain marks that were seen as unsightly or ugly, especially on a woman. 

And you were lucky enough to have been in a terrible battle that left you with a nasty gash in your face, that nearly took out one of your eyes. Had it been any deeper, you would have been killed and as you sat in bed, a throbbing pain engulfing you, you almost wished it had. 

However, you weren’t daft enough to think that for more than a moment. The gods were watching over you, and clearly they weren’t ready for you in Valhalla yet. 

Not that knowing that made it any easier to actually continue your life on this planet. 

You hated every moment after waking up from sleep, your body having been in shock over the traumatic ordeal you’d taken, after having an axe to your face. 

Though, not everyone was as worried about your looks as you were. 

As soon as they heard the news that you had woken up, each of the sons of Ragnar had attempted to visit you. However, you weren’t going to let any of them see you in this state. 

There was nothing attractive at all about the bloody hole in your face, and if you thought you felt ugly before, there was nothing compared to this. 

You had only seen a bit of your reflection in the pool of the water as you washed the crusted blood from your skin every morning, and even that was too much for you. 

In fact, you doubted if any man would ever look at you again. 

How could you ever make a desirable bride now? It was bad enough that you were a skilled shield-maiden, more talented than any man on the battlefield, now you didn’t even have beauty in your corner. 

You were a monster...and you weren’t exactly desperate to show that off to anyone. 

It had been days since you’d seen anyone, having even sent the slaves away. You didn’t want anyone to know anything about what had happened to you, or what had been left behind. 

In fact, if you had your way, you would have never left that tent ever again. 

However, that was an unrealistic way of living and the outside world wasn’t going to move on without you...at least not certain people’s worlds. 

Hvitserk for one, couldn’t get you out of his mind. 

He swore that his heart had stopped when he saw you across the battlefield. You were so preoccupied with the man in front of you that you didn’t even realize there was a second man approaching. 

As soon as the axe met your flesh, he was sure that you would die. 

No one could survive an injury like that, and knowing that there was nothing he could do to help you made him feel sick. 

The two of you had always been friendly, often sharing a drink at feasts, or sharing stories. Never had you been more than that though, seeing as you wouldn’t let Hvitserk touch you. 

He had quite the reputation, and no matter how much he flirted or tried to charm you, you wouldn’t budge. 

...And that only served to make him want you more. 

However, never did he think he cared that much about you. Women were nothing more to him than something to occupy his company when he was bored or in the mood for sex. 

He didn’t ever actually care for them...until he thought that he could lose you. 

Even then, it was likely too late. As he watched the men carry you from the field, he swallowed the lump in his throat, along with the possibility that he’d never see your smile again, or hear the way you snorted when he really got you laughing. 

Somehow worse than that feeling though was being told that you weren’t seeing anyone after you’d woken up. 

He had just heard that you were alive, and that you were awake. Now, Bjorn was trying to tell him that he needed to leave you alone. 

How did he expect him to do that? 

“I told you brother, she isn’t seeing anyone” he repeated, standing in the smaller man’s way as if that would somehow sway his desire to find you. 

It would have been amusing to his brothers if Hvitserk wasn’t so worried about you. After all, how often did Hvitty actually care about what happened to a girl? Especially a girl he hadn’t slept with. 

It didn’t make any sense. 

“Relax Hvitserk, maybe she’ll spend the night with you now that she’s too ugly to turn you down” Sigurd teased, earning a glare from the second born son of Ragnar. 

How dare he say something like that after what you had been through. 

“Shut your mouth” he spit, turning his attention back to Bjorn, who’s gaze had softened under the obvious torment Hvitserk was dealing with. Of course, that could have been because he knew exactly where he was coming from after what had happened with Porunn. 

Without a word, he stepped to the side, giving Hvitserk space to pass him. He knew that you likely would ignore him, but the least he could do was give his younger brother a chance. 

Perhaps seeing Hvitserk was what you needed to feel better. 

~ 

“Y/N, can I come in?”  the man wondered, knocking on the door as best he could, his arms full of furs and assorted salted meats and bread. He hadn’t seen anyone go in and out with food in a while, and knew you’d likely be hungry. 

Still, there was no answer. 

Hvitserk knew you were in there, so it was clear that you were just ignoring him. 

“It’s Hvitserk” he clarified, hoping that he could convince you to let him in. He easily could have entered, but wanted to respect your desires. The only way he’d join you in the room was if you invited him in. 

He stood there for what seemed like hours, listening for the slightly sound or a word from you, but nothing came. Until finally, he was ready to turn to leave. 

When his boots turned in the snow, you opened the door, shocking him. 

The entire left side of your face was bandaged, and you were standing far enough back in the shadows so he couldn’t make out anything other than your shape. 

Still, he was just glad to see you. 

“I brought you something to eat, I wasn’t sure if you’d be hungry” he explained, gesturing with his head down to his full arms. Had you been in a better mood, perhaps you would have laughed. 

It was kind of him to think about you, but more than anything, you were just shocked that he would come. 

After all, the two of you weren’t anything special and you were sure that he’d moved on to another woman by now. 

“Thank you my prince, I don’t really have much of an appetite” you answered, taking in his face. He looked tired, as if he hadn’t slept in days and worry plagued his face. 

Perhaps something had happened in the time you’d been in here? 

“Is everything okay Hvitserk?” you wondered, watching his face intently as he tried to answer you, though he seemed just as enthralled in your appearance as you were with his. 

Everything was most definitely not alright. However, there was no need to burden you with his foolish worries. Right now, he just wanted to make sure that you were alright. 

“I’m fine Y/N, can I come in?” he asked, the cold biting at his exposed flesh as he stood in the snow. 

As soon as he said something, you panicked. You hadn’t even realized, and here he was, just freezing for no reason. “Of course, I’m sorry” you whispered, pulling the door back to let him in. 

Hvitserk noticed the way you turned your head away from him as he entered but said nothing. It was going to take you a while to get used to it, not to mention the fact that he was the first person to see you so far. 

It was only fair that you’d be timid about it. 

“What have you been doing in here all this time?” he wondered, sitting down at your table, setting the food down there. You had no real way to answer him, seeing as you’d been doing a lot of screaming into your furs and praying to the gods to fix you. 

You couldn’t exactly tell him that, so you did the next best thing, you lied. 

“Sleeping mostly, what have you been up to?” You wondered, sitting across from him, though you were cautious in doing so. You knew that he was going to stare, and you weren’t sure you could handle that. 

Having Hvitserk think you were ugly would be worse than anyone else. At least when the slaves talked about you, they did so out of ear shot. 

It wouldn’t have shocked you if Hvitserk was the kind of man to ridicule you to your face. 

Worrying about you, he wanted to say, though he kept his mouth closed. The way Hvitserk felt for you was new for him, and almost scary. He was currently in uncharted territory, and frankly, he wasn’t sure what to say. 

“Hunting rabbits, and sparing with Ivar mostly, nothing too exciting” he shrugged. It was a foolish answer but it was better than what he was thinking. 

However, it was becoming more and more clear the longer the two of you sat there that there was something you were both hiding from the other. 

“I missed you-” 

You blurted, in time with the man in front of you. The action brought a smile to both of your faces, laughter following suit. 

“I’m glad you came Hvitty” you hummed, busying yourself with a slice of bread, instead of looking in his eyes. 

You really didn’t know that it was possible to miss someone as much as you’d missed him but clearly the distance had affected you both. 

The man nodded, a slight smile on his face as he looked at your face. You were just as stunning now as you were the day you two had met. The only thing that had changed was now he understood that he couldn’t live without you. 

Never in his life had Hvitserk felt that way about someone, and it shocked him to think about that. 

“What is it?” you wondered, not quite liking the way he was looking at you. You had become hyper sensitive to staring since the accident and you worried that he would ridicule you. 

Though somehow, you doubted that he would. 

Right now, Ragnar’s son had a choice. He could tell you the truth, and risk being rejected by you, or he could lie and risk hurting you. There was only one thing he knew for sure, he wasn’t going to hurt your feelings. 

Especially not over this. 

“You’re beautiful” 

It was a cheesy line, and not one that you would easily believe, not now of all times. Maybe if he’d tried to tell you this a few months ago, but not now. 

You were most definitely not beautiful. 

“Don’t say that” you groaned, shocked that he would dare say that to you after everything, however, your order did nothing to stop his admiration. 

Wounded or not, you were stunning, more beautiful than any woman he’d ever bedded in his life. You were perfect. 

“It is the truth, Y/N, you have a beauty that would make Freya envious” he hummed, reaching out to take your hand in his own, though you pulled it away before he could. 

It was bad enough that you had let him see you this way, and now he was trying to tease you. How cruel could he be? 

“There is nothing beautiful about what I look like now” you assured, turning away from him once again. It was your way of hiding from his focused eyes, Hvitserk had a gaze that burned your skin. 

It was as if he was always watching and you didn’t like it. 

“Show me” he suggested, knowing that you would never believe him until he’d seen what you truly looked like under that wrap. 

Right now you were hiding from the world, hiding from what you looked like. You saw your wound as a mark of shame, as if you had failed in some way. What you failed to see was that you had survived. 

If anything, you should have been proud. The gods had you in their favor, they protected you. 

You, on the other hand, would have rather died than dealt with that. You didn’t want anyone to see you, especially not Hvitserk...who you cared about. 

You had no idea how you would take it if he rejected you after seeing what had happened to you. It would ruin you. 

Still, when he reached up to unravel the fabric, you did nothing to stop him. It wasn’t until he got down to the last bit that your hand fell on his wrist, silently begging him to stop. 

...but he didn’t. 

Hvitserk wasn’t afraid of what you looked like. He didn’t think that you would be any less beautiful than before, no matter what was hidden beneath the bandage. 

And when it finally fell to the ground beside you, he found that he was right. In that moment, he knew that you were the woman he’d been waiting for all his life...the most beautiful woman to ever be crafted by Odin’s hand. 

No scar was ever going to change that. 

[casualcatte]

RP Journal: 08/10/2020

Gods, it was good to finally get out and hunt again!  Granted, I was bringing Edgard Beaumont with me that might prove to be a mixed blessing, but I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He /was/ a Knight Dragoon, after all, surely he’s got some fighting skill and ability to track things.  How else does a dragonslayer slay dragons? Surely they don’t just laze around til one flies by them, that would be silly.

(( Courtesy cut for length.  Also, sorry about the lack of screenshots, this was all during maintenance. ))

I had Edgard meet me out in Yanxia at noon and he arrived precisely on time, he even carried some rope and a quarterstaff, instead of his usual spear. We weren’t out to kill these birds, only subdue them for an artist in Kugane. He wants to paint them, then will release them back into the wilds. Live-capture hunts are always a bit more of a challenge, it would make a fine test to see what Edgard was worth in the field. After all, I have no doubt he can fight, he’s fought dragons, for pity’s sake!  But taking a non-violent means to dealing with a problem? I think it would say volumes about who he is both as a person and a fighter.

I outlined my plan and he declared it sound, so we took ourselves out to the Glittering Basin where it was known for these bi-fangs to roam as their territory. Setting up a lookout point, it was just a matter of sighting the birds and seeing where they went to roost. 

I don’t think I’d been this relaxed in a long time. The day was warm, and Edgard -- while still very much Edgard -- was good company. He listened, followed directions, didn’t try to put me behind him for protection, or treat me like I didn’t know what I was doing. He trusted me and I trusted him.

Gods be good, we needed that trust today. No hunt is ever flawless, there are always unexpected things that happen that you have to adjust to or you either lose your quarry or you get hurt. That’s just the nature of the beast. I absolutely wasn’t expecting these bi-fangs to be a mated pair, much less a mated pair with a clutch of eggs. I think I’ll make it a point to mention that to Tetsuyo when I return to the Bounty Call. Most hunters I know have a great respect for nature, granted, we weren’t killing the pair but it was still taking them away from hatchlings that might otherwise die without them and their protection. 

Anyway, the hunt first. Edgard was probably the most serious I’ve seen him since I’ve known him; he was studious and attentive, asking questions about what to do or what to look for. He seemed genuinely interested in learning, so I did all I could to help him. It was here that he said he trusted me and for a moment I had to wonder why. What good will had I garnered with him to be someone he trusted with his life? I doubt it has anything to do with how skillful I am at evading his spurious advances. 

Knowing what I know now, I found it easier to be, well, at ease around him. To even play and flirt with him, give him a taste of his own medicine. It was fun and we laughed; I’m almost convinced I nearly made him blush a couple of times, but that’s neither here nor there.

The hunt!  Once we sighted the bi-fang pair, Edgard used his dragoon ability to jump us up to the cliff where the birds had made their roost. Naturally, I had to climb on Edgard’s back and he had to make a bunch of insinuations about it. Still he got us up to the roost in short order and that’s when we learned that we were facing two very angry parent bi-fang and their clutch of half a dozen chicks.

Thankfully, the chicks weren’t that grown, so they weren’t much of a threat. I used one of the Darkness arrows to blind the Papa Bird while Edgard kept Mama Bird busy until I could use one of my Net arrows. Edgard got scratched once, but didn’t seem any worse for wear for it. I’ll really have to thank that magitechnician for the arrows, they are the most clever thing I’ve seen in a long time. A pity I don’t remember his name, how will I ever have these made again once I run out?  As it stands, I’m out of the Net arrows after this.

I was just about to use my second Net arrow on Papa when he came flailing at me blindly. That’s also when one of the chicks in the nest decided I was a tasty snack and /bit/ me on the ankle. It was enough to startle me that I dropped the arrow and that split-second distraction won me a wing to the face as Papa Bird sent me flying off the cliff.

I won’t lie and say there wasn’t a moment of panic, because there was, but I’d prepared for this eventuality.  You fight aerial opponents, you’d best be prepared to take a long fall. Another of those magitek arrows deployed a light filament line that was stronger than any rope I’ve ever seen. I fired it into the cliffside and swung to safety, albeit the impact into the cliffside will leave me sore tomorrow. Even as I was dealing with my own plight, I saw Edgard get shoved off the cliffside as well by a headbutt from the Papa Bird. I know I didn’t have much time and that, for the moment, the dragoon seemed to have no way to save himself.

I gathered myself and ran back and forth along the cliff face to build momentum, then I swung out to catch him. Thank every God that he wasn’t wearing anything heavier than leather and chainmail. If he’d have been in drachenmail or full plate, we’d have been doomed. Or at least he would have.  I don’t think I could have held him. We only had moments to rest there, however, as Papa Bird began diving toward us, enraged enough to want to eviscerate us. 

This was the biggest moment of trust in this hunt. Edgard told me to let go of the rope and grab onto him. I knew he was about to /dragoon/ us out of there, but it was still a daunting proposition. Still, in for a penny in for a pound. It was either fall or die to the talons of the angry bi-fang. Falling seemed the least fatal of either option. I let go, still clutching to Edgard’s hand from where I’d caught him, I wrapped my other arm around his neck and squeezed my eyes shut. The way dragoon’s jump makes my stomach turn a flip, but it cleared us of the predatory swoop of the bi-fang and sent it sweeping past us. 

Edgard landed us on the ground and looked to me for a new plan as Papa Bird rounded on us to attack again. I was out of Net arrows by this point and none of the other arrows I had would do the trick. So, I opted to go with an alchemical solution. I pulled a sleeping draught from my pouches and waited. I couldn’t afford to miss. And I waited. 

Behind me, I could hear Edgard yelling my name. Was he worried? Frightened?  No, not Edgard. I stood there, letting the bi-fang get closer and closer, I could see the wicked curve of its talons, eager to rip me to shreds. Closer still.  I could feel the waves of … nerves?...emanating from Edgard. Still, I waited.

At the last possible moment, I threw the sleeping draught right in the beast’s face. It only took a matter of moments for it to clumsily land and fall over in a sleepy stupor. Edgard made his way over, unbidden with the rope to tie it up.

Hmph. He’d outshine me. Hunting has been my life for over twenty years, dragoon. You’re not going to outshine me at my own game.

Banter with him came easily now that I knew there was nothing to it. I teased him, I gave him as good as I got. There were moments I rendered him speechless or left him a stammering fool. I enjoyed every minute of it. Turning the tables on Edgard might become my new favorite pass-time. 

While he finished binding the bi-fang, I tended to the wound on his shoulder. It wasn’t much more than a scrape, but it was best not to leave it to fester. He’d done well, all-in-all, so I couldn’t really discredit his efforts as a hunter. With a bit more seasoning, he could probably hold his own. I told him as much, though he only very begrudgingly accepted the compliment. Under any other circumstance, Edgard would preen and claim it as my undying love for him, but on the matter of his skill as a hunter and his contributions, he wouldn’t.

He was in my world now, I couldn’t tell if the thrill of the hunt sat well with him or not. Gods only know I enjoyed every minute of it.  I even told Edgard he could soak in the hot spring with me, I’m sure he was convinced I’d hit my head somewhere along the line. 

This was a really good way to end his time in Kugane. He goes on to Ishgard the day after tomorrow and said he expects to see me there soon. I’ve some things of my own to wrap up before I leave Kugane, but I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t threaten to bypass Ishgard altogether and just go straight to Tailfeather because he /expected/ me in Ishgard. 

I tasked him with sending the Mama Bird back to the client via some magical aetheryte-like crystals we’d been given.  Activate them on the birds and they would appear in cages where the client waited with payment, better than trying to haul them back by hand. Once done with that, Edgard planned to go back to Kugane and I headed to Yanxia to hire some locals to tend to the chicks until Mama and Papa come back.

All-in-all, it was a good night and a fun time. Sure, I have a few bumps and bruises, but I can’t name a hunt I’ve gone on and come out completely unscathed.  I either get scratched up by brush and trees, injured by the beast, or /something/.  It’s just part and parcel of the Hunt. It reminds me I’m /alive./

My friendship with Edgard, at least for my own part of it, feels as if a great weight has been taken off me and I don’t feel the need to be so guarded. He has no further motives than just having a moment’s distraction. Like me, he has issues of his own to deal with before he seriously considers anything with anyone, which I’m honestly glad to hear him say. Primarily that he /plans/ to deal with them. I could care less who he sleeps with.

It was a good day, it really was. I needed it after a week of indolence. It felt /so/ good to get back out there and do what I love. And the best part of it is that it’ll have garnered me enough reputation with the Veteran Centurio to get the information I need. 

One step closer... Mentions @therpperson​ for Edgard Beaumont

[sunriserose1023]

Deep Blue, Painted Golden {1}

WORD COUNT: 1947 WARNINGS: Celebrity Steve, celebrity reader, light angst AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here’s the start of a new series, based off the prompt “Sports,” which I got from @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ for “Star’s Multi-Fandom Follower Celebration.” Steve is the quarterback of a football team, while the reader is loosely based on Taylor Swift’s meteoric star power.

Masterlist

“All I’m saying, how long do you expect to be doing this for? Would it be the worst thing to get a little backup plan going?” “He’s not going to be selling cars like Terry Bradshaw. He could break into movies or—“ “Get real.”

Steve snorted a laugh, shaking his head when the men in the room turned to look at him. 

“Go ahead. Keep talking about me like I’m not here. In fact, let me go ahead and leave you to it.”

The team of lawyers and his agent all started protesting and Steve shook his head, sliding his phone out of his pocket as he left the office. He tapped the screen a few times as he waited for the elevator, stepping inside it and typing out a text. He moved to rest a hip against the railing at the back, staring at his phone when the elevator stopped on the next floor. He listened to the elevator door open and shut, heard a muffled whispering from the people who’d climbed onto the elevator with him. 

“Excuse me, mister?”

God, kids with lisps just melted his heart. He looked up from his phone, seeing the little boy in front of him widen his eyes.

“It is you! You’re Steve Rogers!”

Steve smiled, nodding his head as he crouched down, holding out a hand. 

“Hey, buddy. How are you?”

The little boy grinned, showcasing the space where his front teeth should be, the cause of the lisp. He enthusiastically shook Steve’s hand, then turned that brilliant smile towards the woman before them. 

“Mom! Mom, look! It’s Steve Rogers!” “I see, baby. Did you tell him how you love watching his games?”

The little boy nodded as he looked back to Steve. 

“Me and my dad watch all your games, Mister Rogers. You’re our favorite QB in the whole league.”

Steve smiled. 

“Well, thank you, buddy. I hope you watch this next season.” “Oh, we are. You’re going to take us to the Super Bowl this year, Dad swears.” “I’m going to do my best.” “Hey, Mom?”

Steve stood and watched the boy whisper to his mother, who turned to Steve with an apologetic look on her face. 

“Would you mind if we took a picture?”

Steve shook his head. 

“Not at all. I love getting pictures with future QBs.”

The little boy grinned up at him. 

“I’m not a great thrower, but I can run like hell.”

Steve laughed as the mother admonished the child, turning to Steve and shaking her head. 

“He knows better than to talk like that. His father …”

She rolled her eyes and Steve smiled. 

“We need fast receivers worse than we need QBs. Come here, bud.”

Steve knelt to the kid’s level, both of them giving the camera a thumb’s up. Steve signed the back of a receipt the mom found in her purse for the kid, then another one for his dad, thanking the both of them before they all exited the elevator. Steve could hear the kid chattering away as he went for the parking garage, keeping his head down to try and detract the fans. He found his truck and climbed inside, starting it up and leaning his head back. 

“Incoming call from Bucky Barnes.”

Steve nodded, tapping a button on his steering wheel. 

“Rogers.” “Rogers, this is Barnes. Where the fuck are you?”

Steve smiled, closing his eyes. 

“Leaving Fury’s office. You?” “Ooh, what did you get called to the principal’s office for? Were you fraternizing with a cheerleader again?” “That was one time, and come to think of it, wasn’t that you and not me?”

The line was quiet and Steve snorted. 

“Busted.” “Seriously though. Everything kosher?” “As kosher as it gets with Fury. They’re pushing the retirement angle.” “Again? Fuck that shit. You’ve still got a few good years left in you. That cannon’s not ready to be put down just yet.”

Steve smiled, rolling his shoulder, letting out a sigh. 

“I don’t know, Buck. Maybe they’ve got a point.” “Maybe you need to not go down that road again. I can’t stand you when you wallow.” “Well, I can barely stand you on a good day, so…” “Jackass.”

Steve laughed, shaking his head. 

“I don’t know. I just … maybe I just need to get away for awhile. We don’t start camp for—” “Shit, we’ve got plenty of time before camp. Hey, I’ve got a friend who’s been bugging me to visit the south of France with her. Want to tag along?” “As long as this one doesn’t believe we’re a two-for-one kind of deal.”

Bucky cackled through the speakers and Steve rolled his eyes. 

“Oh, hey. You remember Wanda Maximoff?” “Wasn’t she one of our cheerleaders?” “Yeah, from a few years ago. We kept in touch once she left and she’s in a new play in the West End, says she can get me a couple tickets if I want to come see it.” “The West End? Isn’t that London?” “Right-o, Geography Jack. Want to go visit jolly old England?”

Steve pursed his lips, raising his eyebrows. 

“I haven’t seen London in a while.” “So let’s go, just me and you. We can catch Wanda’s play, catch up with her and have pints in the middle of the afternoon.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but smiled. 

“Let’s do it. Want me to book the flights?” “If you mean do I want Maria to book the flights, then yes. Yes, I do. In the good hotel with the turndown service.” “There was a ‘please’ in there, wasn’t it?” “Not for you. I send Maria flowers for all the crap she does for you.” “For us.” “‘S what I said.”

Steve shook his head, straightening in the seat and pulling his seatbelt on. 

“I’ll call her and get it started. How soon do you want to go?” “You know me, baby. I’m up for anything, anytime. I’m just following you, Captain.” “I’ll text you the details.”

Steve ended the call, putting the truck in reverse and driving out of the parking lot. He couldn’t tell his best friend, but he was dying for a change of scenery. He needed to get away from everyone knowing who he is, having photographers track his every move, seeing his face on the cover of every magazine at the checkout stand. 

He loved his job, and he honestly liked the fame that came with it. He knew what he was getting into when he signed up for the draft. He liked having the models on his arm when he was younger, but now … the older he got, the more aches that set in, the more he was longing for something more. 

He wasn’t sure what that was just yet. Something outside a football field? He didn’t have any skills other than being a quarterback, and a damn good one at that. Five Super Bowl rings, seven Pro Bowl appearances, endorsement deals with Nike and Gatorade, and thousands of adoring fans across the country. It was nice being Steve Rogers; he had a good life and he was grateful for it. 

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing. 

You stirred the eggs in the pan, sprinkling in some cheese and smiling when it melted. You moved the tea kettle off the burner as soon as it began to whistle, grabbing the toast as it popped out of the toaster. You glanced over your shoulder and smiled as your cousin made her way down the hall, eyes widening and blinking. 

“You made breakfast?” “Cheesy eggs, toast, and tea. It’s not exactly a spread, but—“ “It’s more than the protein bar I was going to have. Thank you, darling.”

Peggy sat at the table and you brought her a plate, setting it in front of her and passing her the salt and pepper. You went back and fixed your own plate, then took the seat across from her. Peggy took a bite and sighed, the blissful look on her face bringing a smile to yours. 

“Absolutely delightful.” “Why, thank you.”

Peggy smiled, sipping her tea. 

“Any plans today?”

You shook your head, glancing out the window. 

“Maybe walk around and explore a bit. No one’s supposed to know that I’m here, so maybe I can have a minute to rest.”

Peggy nodded, and the conversation stilted, the silence that settled over the two of you growing suddenly uncomfortable. You sighed, pushing a hand through your hair. 

“I know you want to ask, and I promise I’ll tell you. I just … I need to just breathe for a while.” “I completely understand, darling. Take your time.”

You nodded, and Peggy lifted her teacup. 

“Just …”

You lifted your eyes towards her and she sighed. 

“You’re not in trouble, are you?” “If you mean ‘is the mob going to be coming after me,’ the answer is no. Trouble … is a finicky word.” “But you’re alright?”

You sighed, pushing the eggs around on your plate. 

“I don’t know anymore.” “Is there anything I can do to help?” “Besides give up half your living space to me? Honestly, Peg. You’ve done more than enough.” “I just want you to feel comfortable here. You’re always welcome with me, and I hope you know that.”

Tears filled your eyes and you nodded. Peggy reached across the table and you took her hand, giving a shaky sigh. 

“I’ll be okay. I just need a break.” “Take all the time you need, dear.”

She gave your hand a squeeze, then dabbed her napkin at her lips. 

“I’ve got to hurry or I’ll be late. Can’t afford to get sacked from this job.”

You smiled and she drank the rest of her tea, taking her empty plate to the sink and coming back to kiss your cheek. 

“Take the day and be lazy. I’m not sure you’ve done that since you were fourteen years old.” “I was so busy back then.” “I know, darling.”

Peggy turned and walked away, and you crossed your arms over your chest, looking out at the dreary morning. You took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, smiling back at Peggy when she walked into the room with her purse in her hand and heels on her feet. 

“Don’t turn on the telly if you can help it.” “Why?”

She didn’t answer and you hung your head, putting your elbows on the table and your head in your hands. Peggy walked over and kissed the top of your head, nails gently scritching your back before she made her way out the door. 

You lifted your head and stared out the window, shaking your head and giving a deep sigh. You’d wanted to see this side of London, the small village Peggy called home, but the more you thought about it, the more you let your anxiety get the better of you, and you decided to stay in today. You left the dishes in the kitchen sink and walked back down the hall to the spare bedroom Peggy had set up for you. There was a picture of you on the nightstand from your sixteenth birthday, the first time you played Madison Square Garden. You were standing on the stage in the pale pink dress you loved, a wide smile on your lips, glitter in your hair and around your eyes, tears shining on your cheeks. 

You picked up the picture and ran your fingers over the glass. You shook your head, giving a deep sigh as you set the frame back on the nightstand, dropping your robe and crawling back into bed, pulling the covers over your head.

TAGS: @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan, @bluemindblacksoul, @maraudingmarauder, @queenie4ce, @ivoryhazlewood, @capsiclesdoll, @aspiring-fangirls-world, @stonyiscanon, @shhhs3cret, @beardburnsupersoldiers, @thefanficfaerie, @patzammit, @free2bmee, @buckybarneshairpullingkink, @isaxhorror, @paige-sais-rawr, @theunofficialduke, @mizzzpink​, @sea040561​, @nerdy-bookworm-1998​, @unapologeticallymimi​, @queenoftrash97​, @xxashy999xx​, @ishirogersworld​, @whimsicalatbest​