#but besides that utter chaos this fight was one of the best they’ve done

[darth-does-stuff]

wh. what the fuck did i just watch.

[ethan-torchio-angelo]

Yesterday

Summary: A moment alone on a balcony and being grateful that today is a new day

Warnings: A few swears, a kiss, not much tbh

Word Count: 1500

A/N: So, I took a break. But I'm back. Life has been hell and the only time I can find myself happy is when I'm writing. As always, likes, reblogs and feedback is always appreciated!

“I love you”

She knows that if she had heard those words yesterday, she would have been thrilled, and would have deemed it the best day ever. She would have been happy and smiling because he finally, finally said them. But today is not yesterday and things have changed.

“I wish you were saying those words because you mean them, and not because you're scared of me leaving.”

She grabs her bag from the chair beside her and makes her way to the door, refusing to turn back and look at him as he yells out her name. She makes it half way down the street before the tears start falling. She’s not necessarily sad at the circumstance, more angry that she let this go on for as long as it did. She’s caught him cheating more times than she can count, been stood up for dates and before today, never heard those three words leave his mouth in the almost year they’ve been together.

But none of that matters now, she’s left him for good and she won’t be going back.

The first thing she does when she gets home is grab everything that belonged to or reminded her of him and throws it into a box. Then, she grabs a bottle of wine and plops herself down on the couch to drink away her sorrows. She pulls out her phone and dials the only number worth remembering. It rings once, then twice, and she’s afraid he won’t answer, but halfway through the third ring the call connects.

She doesn’t leave him anytime to greet her, jumping straight to the point, “I finally fucking did it!”

He chuckles into the phone, “Finally had sex, did you?” He jokes.

“I’ll have you know that I am far past that milestone, Dami. I finally dumped my duche of a boyfriend!”

She hears him let out a string of yells, very enthusiastically telling her how happy he is to finally hear that. He, and even the rest of the band, have been telling her to do it for months now. Not that they didn’t like the guy in the beginning, but after he stood her up on her birthday and she came home to him in bed with someone else, they’d had enough.

“Well, this deserves a celebration. Dinner tonight, Vic will bring wine, Ethan and I can cook, Thomas can pick up a cake!”

She laughs at his enthusiasm, but agrees nonetheless.

After hanging up the phone she heads into her room to get ready. It’s just dinner with her friends, but she’s in the mood to look good tonight, so she grabs out one of her favourite dresses and a pair of flats. She’s ready and out the door in under an hour, stopping to pick up some fresh flowers before making her way to Damiano’s apartment.

It’s a nice evening, not too hot and not too cold, the sun at that perfect spot in the sky. She feels good, not at all like how she thought she’d feel. She loved him, but she’s not sure she was in love with him, and she’s glad that she feels no sorrow for closing that chapter in her life.

She arrives at his apartment, shooting him a text to buzz her in and when she enters she’s immediately wrapped in Victoria's arms. “Ah, amore! So good to see you! Come in, let’s drink!”

She giggles at the greeting, always loving how enthusiastic Victoria is when they see each other. She graciously accepts a glass from Thomas, downing the sweet wine in almost one sip. He chuckles at her actions and refills her glass before she has a chance to put it down. She hears the sound of dishes in the kitchen and makes her way over to the two boys cooking. “Buonasera. It smells wonderful in here.”

She hops up on one of the counters, placing her glass beside her, and is met with a round of protests, “Counters are for glasses, not asses miss!” Ethan yells at her.

She giggles but stays put, pointing to her glass beside her, “Ah, but my glass is on the counter.”

He shoots her a glare, but she can see the laugh he’s trying to hide as he turns to continue cooking. Damiano comes to stand in between her legs, wrapping his arms around her in a comforting hug. “How are you mi amore? You okay?”

His voice has a hint of worry laced in it, but she nods her head. “It was a long time coming. I’d mentally done it, just hadn’t physically done it yet. I’ve felt single for months now, and he’s sure been acting like it for longer.”

Damiano moves so he’s standing beside her, keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulder, “Well, good riddance!”

She lets out a snort and the two boys begin to laugh, drawing the attention of the other two who walk into the kitchen a moment later.

The night flies by in a flurry of wine and laughter. They enjoy a lovely meal of pasta and chicken, the best salad she’s ever had and an array of cheeses and fruits. They catch each other up on all of the things that’s been going on in their personal lives, and a toast to new beginnings. Thomas brings out a lovely cake with the words “fuck romance” inscribed on top and they forgo dishing it out, everyone grabbing a fork and digging in.

It quickly turns into a drunken mess, Victoria tripping over Ethans legs and dropping cake into his hair. He in turn picks up some frosting and wipes it on her face. Thomas laughs and is met with a glob thrown at him. It’s utter chaos. She turns to get away before she can be brought into the food fight, but Damiano is quick to grab her around the waist and pull her back to the group, shoving a handful of the sweet dessert in her face.

Soon, they are all covered in frosting, giggling like mad men. The dining room is a mess and somehow there is pasta sticking to the walls, and when it’s pointed out they all burst into another fit of laughter. Ethan is quick to take on the roll of housekeeper, moving to the kitchen to collect the cleaning supplies. Victoria and Thomas follow him, clearing dishes and whipping down the walls. Damiano lets them be, knowing they’ll return his apartment to its previous state.

She watches for a moment, before disappearing down the hall to steal a quick shower, not wanting to walk home with frosting crusted in her hair. When she immerges, everything is back to the way it was when she arrived, but the rest of the band is missing. Damiano is lounging out on the balcony, a cigarette between his lips and a coffee beside him.

“Hey,” she says quietly.

“Hey. Wondered where you snuck off to.”

She smiles shyly, taking a seat beside him. “Wanted to rinse the cake out of my hair before I walked home.”

He nods at her, returning to taking small drags from his cigarette. He offers it to her and she graciously accepts it, letting the smoke envelope her lungs in a warm hug. She sighs into the night, knowing she should go home but not wanting to leave. He turns to look at her and it’s like he’s seeing her in a new light.

He’s always felt something towards the young girl, ever since they met back in school, but now it feels different. There’s a feeling brewing in his chest, something he can’t quite place. She turns to look at him then, catching him in his staring act. “What’s going on in that head of yours, Dami?”

“Too many things.”

She nods, knowing exactly what he means. Her head is filled with thoughts, too. There’s a cool breeze that floats around them, raising goosebumps on her arms. Damiano notices and moves to wrap his arms around her, rubbing his hands along her bare arms. They stand like that for a moment, his head buried in her neck, arms wrapped around her.

She’s sure he can hear the beating of her heart, a rapid thumping in her chest. She hasn’t been this close to him in a while, not with the freedom she has now. Ever so slowly, she turns around in his arms until she’s face-to-face with him. Their eyes lock and he leans his forehead down to be touching hers.It would only take a breath for her to be kissing him. Before the thought has even fully crossed her mind, he’s leaning in.

A soft brush of lips, a shot of electricity shooting through her at the contact. He pulls away first, one hand tangled in her hair, the other resting on her hip.

“I love you,” He whispers, and she’s never been more thankful that today isn’t yesterday.

[alrightberries]

our sorry little hearts

❈ pairing: levi ackerman x fem!reader

❈ genre: angst. ❈ word count: 1.6k

❈ summary: Levi hasn’t seen your traitorous Eldian face in years.

❈ trigger warnings: profanity. war. mentions of blood, death, and violence.

a/n: you’ve heard of enemies to lovers, now get ready for... lovers to enemies. this takes place during the liberio invasion aka S4 E6. based on a love like war by all time low.

(also don’t tell anyone but this is me lowkey warming up after not writing for so long)

There’s something oddly nostalgic about seeing you again on the battlefield.

Levi recognizes your usual battle stance; feet a shoulder’s width apart and hands tightly clutching the handles of your sheathed blades. You’re wearing the scouting regiment’s outdated white uniform, green cape hiding the leather straps your missing brown jacket usually would. He’s not surprised you’re not wearing your wings of freedom jacket, though; he was, after all, the one who sliced it in half during your escape with Zeke on the Cart Titan’s back. He hasn’t seen it, but he’s positive that a long scar runs down the length of your spine.

“Levi,” he hears you murmur, and he pretends that his heart doesn’t ache after hearing his name slip from your lips for the first time in four years. “I—... Levi,”

He feels his chest tighten. You still look as beautiful as he remembers you to be, and the fact that you still take his breath away is something he hates. It’s been a long while since he last stood on a battlefield with you. Only this time, there were no trees to swing from or titans to kill; no reassuring squeezes on the shoulder or cheeky kisses when no one was looking; no small smiles or stolen glances across the field as your horses galloped through Titan Country. No— this time, you wore different colors and fought on opposing sides.

“Levi, talk to me,” your tone is airy, said in what seemed to be a mixture of built up anticipation and disbelief. But there was something in your voice— something he couldn’t quite place. Was it relief? Longing, perhaps? Maybe even regret. But Levi pushes those thoughts aside in favor of gritting his teeth and giving his traitorous wife a stone cold stare. “Levi, talk to me, please.”

He refuses to reply. His hands are shaking from how hard he was gripping the handles of his blades, and he swears his heart was going to burst out of his untrimmed chest from how loudly it beat at his ribcage. There are about a million and one emotions swirling around his head— betrayal. anger. sadness. melancholy.

And he doesn’t know which one takes over him when he charges at you full speed.

There’s a grunt followed by the sound of metal clashing against metal, and Levi’s not surprised to see that your reflexes are still as sharp as they were before. His own cape whips in the wind when he turns to land another strike. But then he hears sound of your hooks digging into bricks, and he’s quick to take your little fight to the air in pursuit of you.

He knows he has to be at the plaza to save Eren’s ass but he also knows that he had at least seven minutes before he had to go. He’ll make this quick.

“Levi,” he hears you call out. You’ve led him further away from the plaza— maybe intentionally or unintentionally, he doesn’t know— and he’s only now realizing that you both stood on the side of a building, the hooks on your gears the only thing keeping you up. “My love—-”

“—don’t call me that,” his heart twitches and he sneers. It’s the first thing he’s said to you in years and god did you miss his voice, miss him in general. “Don’t you fucking dare call me that,”

“Levi,” you breathe, but the deep growl that escapes his lips is enough for your words to die in your throat.

“Stop,” he says. “You’ve lost the right to speak my name; you’ve lost the right to wear that cape,” his eyes land on the silver chain you wore around your neck, a gold ring hanging in the middle. It matched the one he had back home, the one he secretly held at night and kissed sorrowfully when he felt like breaking down. His voice is quieter, almost pained as he speaks, “you’ve lost the right to wear that ring. You’ve lost the right to even look me in the eye after what you’ve done.”

His words sting and your throat tightens when you once again remember the look of pure and utter betrayal in his eyes when you confessed you were a spy on behalf of the Marleyan government. The way he froze, hoping you were lying; yet the tears running down your cheeks and the apologies that slipped from your lips as you got down on your knees and begged him for forgiveness left no room for contest.

“Levi, we don’t have to fight, please just hear me out. I’m still the wife you loved—-“

“No,” he cuts you off. “My wife is gone. She died in the battle for Shiganshina.” your lip quivers, and he continues to speak. “You? You’re an enemy. You’re as good as dead to me.”

Your words once again die on your tongue when he charges at you, and you just barely manage to leap away. The edge of his blade scrapes against your thigh, and blood paints your trousers red when your feet land on the cobblestone streets.

Every attempt you make after, any attempts at conversation is silenced with a swift swing of Levi’s blades, almost as if he were seeking catharsis through violence.

You grit your teeth. “You’re never going to listen to me, are you?”

His silence and steely glare is all the answer you need, and you sigh. Your stance shifts, and the grip on your blades changes; you were finally taking an offensive stance, Levi notices. Blocking his blows wouldn’t be enough— you couldn’t reason with him no matter how hard you tried, and you couldn’t win with just defense. You had to outsmart him; you had to win. You had to.

“I’m sorry, levi, but losing isn’t an option for me. Not this time,” you murmur.

You didn’t want to fight him, he could see it in your eyes. But you were fighting for something, for someone more important than him. Your eyes— the first things he fell in love with, the ones that were usually fiery and full of life— are soulless, almost solemn when he sees you run at him full speed, and Levi pushes down the hurt he felt at the thought of you loving another as he charges at you too.

A tear silently falls down your cheek. You loved levi, but you loved him more. You were fighting for him, and he was waiting for you back at home.

There’s a grey little building in the Liberio Intermittent Zone, somewhere between the gates and the plaza. The gunshots and explosions just barely reach the drab building, and the smoke rising into the air is the only thing visible to the naked eye of the chaos unfolding at the plaza.

A Marleyan soldier, donned in white and war medals, stands in front of an open window. She’s got binoculars in her hands, and she peeks through the eye piece to watch as two figures fight. Their capes create shadows of black where they flutter, and their silver blades gleam in the moonlight.

She smirks. Your negotiation failed, just like she said it would, and now you had no choice but to fight to the death.

Good, she thinks, that Eldian scum’s doing her end of the bargain.

She leans back and a satisfied hum leaves her lips. She turns to look at the little boy, no more than four years old, sat on the bed. The red Eldian arm band clasped around his arm brings a grimace to the soldier’s face. She can’t believe she got stuck with babysitting some lowlife scum.

“Is mommy doing well?” he asks timidly. He doesn’t even know that you were out there about to murder a man, but the kid was smart; he at least knew your job carried a heavy weight.

“For now,” she replies. The boy’s jet black hair bounces slightly as he nods, and his slanted eyes are downcast, staring at the floor. His silvery grey orbs dare not make contact with hers.

The boy looked almost nothing like you— if anything, she was sure he looked to be the spitting image of his unknown father. Strong genes, the father must’ve had.

She finds amusement in how tense the boy was around her; at least his whore of a mother had the decency to teach the kid his place in the world. He was worse than an Eldian, the lowest of the low— he was half Paradis demon. He should’ve never been born. They should’ve beaten you to death along with your unborn child like she’d suggested when you came back from Paradis knocked up.

“You can kill me, but spare my baby, please.” she remembers you begging. “I didn’t even know i was pregnant. Not even the father knows.”

Still, maybe it was a good choice to keep both you and the demon child alive. As much as she hated to admit it, you were a skilled soldier— one of the best they’ve ever had. Threatening your life meant nothing to you, but threatening your child’s? All they had to do was suggest it, and you’d follow their commands like an obedient dog chasing after a dangling treat.

“When’s mommy going to come home?” the boy suddenly asks.

“Soon,” she replies, eyes once again gazing through her binoculars. “If your mother does her job well, she’ll be back soon.” There’s a telephone beside the soldier, ready to make the call should you ever stop fighting. A sniper awaits her signal.

“If she doesn’t... well,” she laughs. The door to the small room you called home is locked, and the loaded gun hidden in the soldier’s pocket is a weight she’s familiar with. “Do you believe in god?”

“No,” the boy shakes his head. “Who’s that?”

“Tell you what, kid. if your mother fucks this up, i’ll personally see to it that you meet him soon enough.”

alrightberries © 2020. do not modify or repost.

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[lovelyirony]

that rhodeytony piece with the bots........... iconic. do you think we could have more of that sweet sweet mit era?? I just think they’re neat

Look. Rhodey hadn’t meant to build another robot. But Tony was at some business conference for the weekend, and Dum-E was just pitifully sad. If Tony had been there, he would’ve convinced Rhodey that Dum-E is a drama queen and acts like the end of the world is happening at any minor inconvenience. 

But why not give Dum-E a little sibling? This is how U comes to be, and he’s quite the gentleman, far more gentle than his big brother. 

Rhodey enjoys teaching him how to pick up socks and shoes, and how to put the coffee mugs on the counter gently, something that Dum-E is not good at yet, but they’re trying their best. (He has a stuffed coffee mug that they got from the pet store that he’s flung at every single surface so far.) 

-

Tony comes back from his business conference (which ugh) looking for cuddles, dinner, and maybe a movie date night if they can get Dum-E to stop trying to escape the apartment. 

What he isn’t expecting is for his boyfriend to be mediating a fight between two robots. 

Two. 

He stares at his boyfriend for a moment. 

“Rhodey, darling, is Dum-E having a...play-date?” 

Rhodey freezes. 

“Oh!” He says, grinning. “I, um...made him a sibling?” 

“And they’re...fighting?” 

“Well, for now. Dum-E’s mad because he didn’t get to put actual coffee mugs on the counter, and U is mad because Dum-E stole the couch blanket. I think U is really into decoration!” 

“Yeah, that explains everything,” Tony says faintly, sitting. “So...U? Like, the letter?” 

“Yeah, you like it?” 

“And you thought that it made a good name for what?” 

“Well, it was more of a placeholder, honestly. But then he liked it!” 

U looks over at Tony curiously. 

“U, this is Tony. Your other dad. We used part of his code to make you!” 

The arm bumps softly against Tony’s, which is an improvement from Dum-E, who tends to go full-force. (Although they’ve worked on it.) 

“So...” Tony says. “You think with U, we won’t need to look for a babysitter for date night?”

“No, we will. We definitely will. Dum-E hasn’t adjusted to a sibling yet.” 

“Poor baby,” Tony coos, patting Dum-E on the claw. “You thought you were going to be the only attention-seeker for a while, didn’t you?” 

He glowers, wheeling back and acting very high-and-mighty for a robot who just threw the equivalent of a tantrum. 

Rhodey looks at Tony, kissing him on the forehead as he leans over to lay on his legs. 

“How was the business conference, honey?” 

“Utter shit. I didn’t need to go, I was an ego boost for Obie to tote around.” 

“Told you that you shouldn’t have gone.” 

“If I said ‘no’ one more time, we would’ve had to have a phone call about my ‘five year plan’ and ‘legacy’ bullshit. You know that that gives me a migraine. Besides, he gave me a gift certificate to a fancy restaurant, so that means we get to have a good meal one of these weekends when you visit.” 

“Who said I would visit with you?” 

“Because Jarvis adores you and I think Ana wants to adopt you and force you to stay.” 

“You make a compelling argument,” Rhodey says, pretending to think about it. “I’ll...consider it.” 

Tony snorts. 

“And they say I’m the asshole here.” 

-

Two years later, Dum-E and U demand that they get a sibling. The dads are back home together (for now) and Jarvis has grown tired of reason. 

“They want a sibling, Sir.” 

“What, each other isn’t enough?” 

“They have requested many movie nights where there are siblings or groups of friends, and I think they want to, in a sense, replicate the scenarios.” 

“They’ve already done all of it? Wasn’t it them who got onto a plane for DC just because they wanted to see Pops?” 

“Yes, yes it was.” 

“You know, J, I still think that you helped them with that one.” 

“I most certainly did not.” 

(Jarvis totally did. He gets bored, you know? Besides, Colonel Rhodes hadn’t been home for three months, which should have counted for cruel and unusual punishment.) 

“Well, regardless of your guilt in certain situations, we’ll have a family discussion about maybe a new sibling.” 

Rhodey gets a text as he’s grocery shopping. 

hey, need to talk about family stuff. can you also pick up some more colby jack cheese? 

sure. what’s it about? 

your son has decided he wants a sibling. he convinced dum-e....

got it. 

Rhodey laughs to himself as he turns his cart around, going towards the dairy section. Of course U would decide something like that, it makes sense. 

- 

Tony is looking at Rhodey with a disappointed look on his face. 

“This is all your fault.” 

“How is this my fault?” 

“You dote on the boys too much.” 

“Oh, I do that? Who makes them Halloween costumes every year and hosts a party with all of the other appliances we’ve made over the years?” 

“Oh like you hate those, Mr. ‘Here’s-the-hand-made-Halloween-playlist’.” 

“True,” Rhodey says, setting down the bags. “Help me put away all of this stuff, half of it is yours anyway.” 

“We have a shared fridge, Honeybear.” 

“Tell that to your pomegranates taking up about two shelves!” 

“Only for now, and half of those are Pepper’s! They’re not all mine.” 

“Do you think she would want a say in the robot? After all, she does have to deal with U and Dum-E worshiping the ground she walks on.” 

“And she is the reason that Dum-E usually succeeds in his smoothie-making,” Tony admits. “Yeah, sure, invite her over.” 

- 

Whenever Pepper is asked what it’s like having to be a personal assistant to Tony Stark, she always wants to answer with something like “oh, it’s really fulfilling to help a company reach its goal and learn so much from my boss to apply to what comes next” or even “oh, it’s nice.” 

She got invited to dinner, and is now in a conversation about whether or not Dum-E and U, her boss’s children, should get a sibling. 

And the fact that her boss’s children are robots, have two dads, and think that Pepper is the best thing since life itself. 

“Why do they need a sibling?” Pepper asks, chewing on her pasta. 

“Because they’re bored, and we think that maybe we’ll stop getting calls from the fire stations around town that they’re trying to wreak havoc again,” Rhodey says. “They’ll want to teach the new sibling how life works around the house, and we can start on security measures.” 

“Can’t you just put a genetic lock on the door or something?” Pepper asks. 

“They’re surpassed it,” Tony says grumpily. 

“How?” 

“Don’t look at me!” Tony defends. “Look at Jim-dear, who is obsessed with true crime documentaries! They picked up how to gain evidence and use it for proof from him and Forensic Files!” 

Pepper puts her head in her hands. 

“Just once, I wish that we had a dinner to discuss a business proposal or something normal instead of whether or not your two boys need a sibling.” 

“Well, we are thinking about a daughter,” James admits. “And we wanted to talk to you about that.” 

“Why, because I’m the only female either of you know?!” 

“No,” Tony says quickly. “We know plenty of women!” 

“Name seven.” 

“Plead the fifth,” Rhodey jokes. “But you spend time here, and so we wanted to know what you’d want to see in a robot.” 

“How the hell should I know?” 

“You work for the best tech mogul in two hundred years,” Tony says. 

“Tones, you’re entirely too cocky.” 

“Oh shut up babe,” Tony says, no real heat to the sentiment. “Besides, I’ve treated you well, haven’t I?” 

“Other than embarrassing me in front of every single government official every time you interact, sure.” 

“You love it, they hate it, win-win,” Tony says, stirring around his mocktail. “But Pepper, seriously. What do you think about a third robot?” 

“Well, can’t get anymore chaotic,” Pepper sighs. “And I think having a girl around would be...nice. Not as chaotic.” 

“You saying girls don’t bring as much chaos?” 

“No,” Pepper says. “I’m just saying that we know when to bring it.” 

- 

Butterfingers is born, and she is the most perfect definition of a “daddy’s girl” any robot has ever been. She wheels around with grace, although she can’t stop bumping into things and dropping things, being worse than Dum-E. (Which he actually adores.) 

She follows Pepper along in awe, and can be seen usually in her office. 

Curiously enough, the only time she doesn’t live up to her name is in Pepper’s office, where she handles things with grace and Pepper gives her little tasks to do, like delivering cups of pens to employees or papers. 

Rhodey gets her (and the brothers) little souvenirs from his time away, and Tony has an absolute ball of a time making them all costumes and taking a million little pictures that are hung up everywhere in the building. 

But perhaps the crowning achievement are the Christmas photos. 

Usually, Stark Industries will take pictures of their employees, put a newsletter out, and wish everyone a happy holiday and all that. 

But then the employees have an entirely different idea. 

It comes from one of Pepper’s assistants after she’s made CEO, Julia. 

“Why not have the bots be the Christmas picture?” she muses, restacking some of the papers Miss Potts had to sign. “They’re always around the office, and they’re the unofficial mascots of the business. I think it’d be fun to see their Christmas hijinks!” 

Pepper smiles. 

“Julia, remind me to add a little extra to the Christmas bonus.” 

-

Rhodey finds the idea to be the best idea anyone has come up with in years. (Although it just gives him an excuse to take more pictures of the bots during the festivities.) 

Dum-E is only too happy to finally be allowed within two feet of tinsel. (Unfortunate incident in 1998.) U is very excited to show off his understanding of symmetry and how to pick out the perfect tree, and Butterfingers just wants Pepper to tie ribbons around her wheels so that she looks “extra-pretty.” 

Stark Industries’ holiday card involves Dum-E and U at either side of the tree, with U gently readjusting one of the many ornaments they’ve had the bots make over the years, and Dum-E is trying to pull off a ribbon from the top of the tree. Butterfingers is at the center, guarding any attempt to unwrap presents, and presenting her bow-filled-wheels. 

Pepper has the picture framed in her office. 

[imagineseclipse]

Theo Raeken x Reader- Back and Forth

warning:strong language

part 2

You weren’t expecting too many people to be in the library after school, you had rushed there from your last lesson before any of the pack could distract you from doing your work. It’s not that you didn’t want them around, your grades were suffering a whole lot due to the fact that you hadn’t really been paying attention in class. When you actually attended class. Long story short your mind had been elsewhere, mostly concentrating on staying alive amongst all the chaos.

You settled down in a quiet corner of the library, throwing your bag down on the floor beneath your desk as you set up your working station. Gathering all the materials you needed for your revision session.

At least half an hour had passed and you had already written up half of your English essay when the sound of someone clearing their throat in front of you made your typing come to an abrupt halt.

You peered up from your seat, rolling your eyes at the sight of Theo Raeken stood opposite you, a small smirk playing on his lips as he watched your face drop in annoyance.

“Can I bother you for a second?”he asked, pulling out the chair in front of you before you could even answer.

“You always bother me, besides it looks like you’ve made yourself pretty comfortable already”you mumbled, staring back down at your paper not really paying attention to the boy who was sat across the table observing you.

Theo leaned fowards, earning a quick hate filled glare from your direction. What the hell did he want?

“Y’know y/n, I get the feeling that you don’t really like me”he murmured.

You gasped dramatically.

“No way, now what would give you that idea?”you answered back, you’d been hanging around with Stiles a lot lately he could tell from the sarcasm dripping from your voice.

“Why don’t you like me y/n?”Theo queried, his eyebrow raising. Was he really being serious? Had he fallen and bumped his head...although that wouldn’t have been much of an inconvenience.

“You really are just trolling me here aren’t you”you leaned back in your chair, rolling your eyes until they touched the back of your head once again. Theo raised his arms, questioning you.

“Maybe- just maybe I don’t like you because you attempted to kill the alpha of my pack you put my best friend in eichen house , maybe I don’t like you because you tried to rip us all apart quite literally. So I’m sorry if I’m not being as nice as you would like me to be.”you exclaimed angrily grabbing your things, pushing yourself up off the chair.

“When a big bad predator comes into Beacon Hills to really kick your asses you’ll be begging me for help”Theo almost sang out smugly.

“Don’t hold your breath. Actually, go ahead I want to see what happens”you shot back, ready to just go home and throw your pillow at the wall. Your parents would kill you if you smashed anything valuable.

The smirk on his face dropped as his eyes flickered at something just behind you. You narrowed your eyes, snapping your head to the direction he was looking in.

Theo rose from his chair, standing to the side of you as you both stared over towards the entrance of the library. Your eyes widened and you could feel your hands starting to shake.

“W-why are they back here I thought we were done with them?”you shook your head, confused as to why the Dread Doctors had returned, completely baffled as to why they were in your school library.

“You are done with them, but I’m not”Theo informed you regretfully, taking a step backwards. He reached out to grab your arm so that he could take you with him but you shrugged him off sending him a warning glare.

Your patience was running very thin and you were about to snap.

“What do you mean you’re not done with them, If you are working with them again to get to us I will kill you right now with my bare ha-

“No I owe them, they are after me”Theo muttered, trying to scan the library for a nearby exit.

“Well in that case i can’t say it was nice knowing you but I’ll see you around- or i won’t”you shrugged as you began to leave the library. The dread doctors getting closer with every second.

Theo’s hand reached out once again, this time successfully pulling you back towards him using your bag strap.

“Seriously Theo I’m not saving your ass-

“You think they won’t kill you too y/n, they have seen us already, they have seen you with me” Theo exclaimed.

Theo watched as you turned into a full scale dragon in front of his eyes, he swore he could actually see smoke coming out of your ears and nose.

“You have got to be kidding me, so you have gotten yourself into utter shit- karma by the way I have no sympathy for you- but now you’re dragging me down with you”you exploded angrily, moving around the table so that you could distance yourself from the dread doctors after Theo had informed you that you were now on their hitlist.

The two of you moved quietly, creeping down the rows of books so that the dread doctors wouldn’t hear you. The bookcase in front of you serving as protection for now.

“So what’s the plan smart ass”you hissed over to Theo who was peering through the bookcase, looking out for the doctors.

“We run, obviously”He replied sighing.

“Okay well we need to have eyes on the dread doctors so that we can make sure the exit’s are clear”you slowly poked your head out, trying to find any sign of the powerful hunters.

Your heart dropped to your stomach as you turned back to face Theo who was biting his lip nervously.

“How many dread doctors were there in the beginning?”you demanded.

“Three why?”he breathed out.

“I can only see one, I think they’ve split up”you whispered, gulping. Theo jumped up, taking his chance to run towards the fire exit that from what you could see was clear.

You were about to follow suit when a large hand clamped onto your school bag, securing you to the spot, you raced to free yourself from the dread doctors grip dropping your bag from your shoulder.

As you began to sprint towards Theo your vision became blurry, there was a loud ticking noise and you knew that the dread doctors were messing with your head. It had happened before in eichen house you were very familiar with the feeling unfortunately.

Theo watched in horror as you dropped to your knees, clutching your head as you groaned out in pain. He hesitated as the Dread doctors advanced towards you, he could just leave, he literally had basically escaped their clutches.

The old Theo would have run, leaving you there without looking back but something wasn’t sitting right with him as you struggled for breath on the floor. You had fallen unconscious within seconds not being able to handle the frequencies that were frying your brain.

He growled loudly using his werewolf side to amplify his roar, Theo proceeded to throw his school bag down from his back. He flicked his claws out, ready to fight the beings that had been searching for him. He pounced towards them, attempting to fight them as they surrounded you.

-

The musty smell of the drainpipes above you wafted up your nose as you rubbed your sore head, slowly propping yourself up onto your elbows so that you could take in your surroundings.

They had taken you somewhere completely different this time, you couldn’t recognise anything around you and there was light streaming in from a barred window.

“Nice to know they changed up the location just for us”you coughed out, your throat feeling rough and dry.

“Finally, sleeping beauty awakens”Theo yawned from the corner of the cell you were trapped in.

“Theo, I don’t want your voice to be the first thing I hear when I’m waking up in a place like this”You grumbled, rolling your eyes as you slumped back down onto the floor, your head unexpectedly hitting something soft.

Your eyebrows knitted together as you lifted Theo’s hoodie from underneath you. Throwing it in his direction.

“You can’t knock a guy for trying”he shook his head, as he peered down at the dry blood beneath your nose. You hadn’t even noticed.

“Yeah well, try less”you shot back, trying to make yourself comfortable with the few resources you had.

“You should have left me to die”You snarled, blaming Theo entirely for what had occurred in the library.

“But that’s just what you wanted me to do, what sort of enemy would I be then, huh?”he seriously had an answer for everything. And it was starting to get on your nerves.

“I’m in here because of you”you cut your eye at the teenager who sat with his elbows resting on his knees. His hands running through his hair tirelessly.

“I just saved your life y/n, and I’m probably going to have to save it again with me being the only supernatural in here”he tutted.

“And so you should, after you tried to take my life away from me in the first place”you exclaimed.

“Face it y/n you’re stuck with me until we get out of here”

You lifted your head once again, shooting daggers in his direction.

“Please don’t underestimate my willingness to die just to spite you”you spat out before your head started to spin again. You hissed out in pain, fresh blood dripping from your nose.

He hesitated before walking towards you, sitting down next to where you were sitting. Theo reached out to take your pain but you flinched away from him not trusting him for even a split second.

“Where does it hurt?”he asked, trying to be patient with your stubbornness.

“It doesn’t so please go away”you replied through gritted teeth.

“Stop being a bitch for once and just give me your hand I know you’re hurting”Theo wouldn’t let this go.

You mumbled out a few words of profanity before slapping your hand into his, you could feel your body becoming less tense as he took the pain you were feeling away.

At first you tried your hardest not to make eye contact with him but his hands started to feel warm around yours and you found yourself staring into his eyes, and he was staring back.

“You don’t look so good”Theo frowned.

“Jhee thanks Theo, just add fuel to the hatred I feel towards you”you scoffed.

“We need to get out of here, I need to get you out of here before you actually do die on me”he said to himself rather than you.

“If I’m not mistaken that’s your guilty conscience talking, huh funny I didn’t know you had one”you taunted him, if you were going to be stuck in that place then you wanted to have a bit of fun at least.

Theo ignored your comment, his ears pricking up at the door in front of you.

“They’re coming”he stated as he jumped to his feet, setting his hands underneath your arms.

“What are you doi-

“Y/n, please shut up and let me try and save your life”he cut your protests short, lifting you over to the furthest wall. He sat you down gently covering your body with the hoodie he had given you before you had awoken.

For a moment, a very brief moment you wondered if Theo was actually trying to be a good person.

Theo pressed himself up against the bars, facing the dread doctors that were entering the room head on. They stood tall and strong in front of you their shadows causing the room to fall dark.

“Hey look, you’ve got me now you don’t need the girl just let her go I’ll stay you want me not her”Theo pleaded with them. You could never understand what they were saying so you were glad that Theo was doing the talking.

“It turns out we do have use for the girl, we need more test subjects and she seems like the perfect fit”one of the doctors informed Theo. Of course you couldn’t register what it was talking about so you weren’t panicking yet.

“Oh, no no no, I’m not going to let that happen I’m sorry”Theo warned, his eyes flashing yellow. You couldn’t interpret what they were saying but you could hear Theo Raeken loud and clear, and his tone of voice didn’t exactly sound like good news was around the corner.

“Theo, whats wrong what’s going on?”your voice piped up from behind him as he gripped onto the metal poles tightly, his knuckles turning white. The dread doctors said a couple more inaudible words before they filed out of the room one by one, closing it securely behind them.

“They aren’t going to kill you”he said truthfully.

“Well that’s good isn-

“They have chosen to experiment on you instead”he gave you the bad news.

“You might aswell let them take me, because if you save my life and we get out of here I am going to murder you”you shouted, rage surging through your veins.

“So you’ve said”he grunted as he brought out his claws, fumbling around with the lock. He grew angrier, it seemed as though he didn’t have the power, he just simply didn’t have the strength to get through the metal.

“Theo, what if you wait, we need to be patient”you finally spoke out to him, no sarcasm no anger, just normally.

“Wait for what y/n they are gonna come back for you, and for me we don’t have time to wait”he stressed as he slumped down against the wall next to you.

“We wait for the next full moon, that’s when you’ll be at your strongest right?”you confirmed.

“That’s in six days y/n, that’s too far away we won’t survive until then”Theo turned his head to face you.

“We’re gonna have to if we want out of this place”you muttered.

A/N: MY WISDOM TOOTH IS IN FACT MAKING ITS APPEARANCE SO PLEASE SEND ME REQUESTS TO TAKE MY MIND OFF THIS PAIN

also there will be more parts to this pls be patient x

[ariannjs]

KARIN | A SasuSaku FanFic (9/10)

(Karin - Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8)

——–

Hey guys! I know it's been a while. A lot has happened in the past few months in terms of my job and personal life that's why completing this chapter has been quite a struggle. Nonetheless, here it goes! The last chapter of "Karin" before its Epilogue!

——– 

“Are you sure you’re just gonna stay here?”

A subtle nod was the only response that she got from the woman who didn’t even turn to face her.

She inwardly sighed. She could only try as much. But after almost a week of trying, she didn’t know what else to do to approach and console her friend. “Just...just call us if you need us then.”

Only another nod came her way, one that wasn’t even noticeable if not for the slight movement of the other woman’s pink tresses. So with a frown, Karin finally turned towards the door with the conclusion that it was hopeless expecting even a single word from Sakura.

She couldn’t blame her for acting this way though. If she was in her position right now, it would’ve been worse.

Gripping the door knob, Karin gave the room a once-over that caused her to bite her lip too hard. Just the sight of it gave an added weight to her own heart, such that you wouldn’t be able to bear if you’d stay in there much longer. 

For the white walls consumed every color there was. Even the flowers dropped off by a few comrades on the side of the room seemed pale despite their variety. What made her tighten her grasp on the door knob was the fact that even the brightest of all the colors – the mop of pink with a tinge of green – couldn’t even paint the atmosphere with her usual vibrance anymore.

Releasing another sigh, Karin opened the door to once again leave Sakura in front of a motionless body that was sapped with color as well.

She was then met by a pair of purple eyes that gave her an intent gaze, eyes that she thought she wouldn’t be able to stare at anymore if Shizune didn’t succeed in that three-hour surgery almost a week ago. 

Looking down, she shook her head in response to her husband’s unspoken question. “She won’t leave him, Sui. She barely even touched the lunch I’ve left inside earlier. And Sasuke?” She slowly shook her head again. “It’s been six days. I’m...I’m honestly losing hope about it.”

Suigetsu clenched his fists, looking away as Karin’s eyes became glassy. It wasn’t supposed to be this way...

“But Sakura, she wouldn’t budge. She’s the one who knows full well that there’s a thin line between the recovery and the failure of Sasuke’s organs. And the reality is...the chances are very slim. I—” Her voice began to tremble. 

The Hidden Mist ninja couldn’t even move a muscle to comfort his wife while he himself wanted to sob from the inside. It wasn’t...it wasn’t supposed to be this way! His fist landed on the wall behind them as his mind traced to that time he and Sasuke were on the way to Suna for that damned mission entrusted to them.

There was that genuine smile on the Uchiha’s face that he never got to witness since he first met Sasuke. And for once, he got to a conclusion that Sasuke was truly happy and well-content, all because of a certain pink-haired woman that he would return to once they managed to successfully end their mission.

And although he teased him endlessly – which only made the Uchiha smirk without attempting to slice him with his kusanagi – he was also very happy that Sasuke finally found a reason to dwell on joy and not on hatred. 

A reason for him to come home. 

The reason for him to love.

He was there when Tobirama Senju mentioned that no clan could love as much as the Uchiha. That’s why it was noteworthy for Suigetsu to witness love bloom in Sasukes’s life. Yet remembering that only made him feel worse.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way…” he finally uttered out loud through gritted teeth. “It wasn’t...it wasn’t supposed to be him. He shouldn’t have chosen to save me! K-karin...he was just starting to be happy. I couldn’t be at peace if he wouldn’t be able to survive this. They don’t deserve this, Karin. Both of them! It should’ve been—”

“Suigetsu! Get out of the way!” 

On that last split-second, he found himself hitting a tree trunk behind him while hearing a loud explosion from tens of yards away. He blinked and coughed, arm covering his nose as much as he could as his brain tried to make sense of what happened.

He wasn’t in this spot moments ago. And that in itself was an indication as to where his partner ended up in. “What the—Sasuke?! Sasuke!” Whipping his head from side to side, he tried to locate him.

Until minutes later, the entire hideout they’ve accidentally stumbled upon was covered in black flames, dissipating even the smoke with a peculiar smell that came with the explosion a while ago.

And amidst all the chaos came a limping black figure that made him scurry to his feet. He didn’t even feel the pain coming from the injury on his arm because the sight in front of him was much more painful to bear. “Sasuke! Dammit! What have you d—?!”

“Take...me...to Sakura.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Suigetsu!” Karin’s grip on her husband’s shoulders was too firm that the swordsman didn’t realize he has been trembling already. 

“But, Karin! If...if he didn’t switch places with me on that last moment, he wouldn’t end up inhaling much of that poison and...dammit! I should’ve been on his place right now!”

“It should’ve been neither of you, okay? Stop thinking as if you should be the one lying on that death bed because—damn, Suigetsu!—as much as I don’t want Sasuke to...to die...Suika and I can’t lose you too!” Her shaking hands made their way to Suigetsu’s cheeks, wiping the stray tears that he was surely unaware of. “Whatever happens here, what he did only showed how much Sasuke cares for you...for us.”

The trembling of Suigetsu’s body slowly ebbed as he leaned on Karin’s touch. “He has already done so much for us, given so much, too. He shouldn’t have reached that point of having to give even his life for me.”

At this, Karin wasn’t able to fight back her own tears, but her lips formed a small smile. “Sasuke has changed a lot, hasn’t he? I still believe that he’s strong. And Sakura did her best. According to Shizune, that operation could've killed her too as she kept Sasuke alive. If we’re already feeling like this, I couldn’t imagine how much worse it is for Sakura. Yet look at her, she still has faith in Sasuke. For now, let’s just hope and pray that Sasuke’s body recovers before a full week ends.”

Suigetsu clenched his jaw. It’s just either that or...he didn’t even want to imagine anymore. He slowly nodded, sighing as he wrapped his arms around Karin’s waist. “I haven’t said it, but I missed you.”

-

Gone were the days that she felt useless in situations wherein she needed to do something. Gone were the days that she was helpless in front of enemies and amidst missions gone wrong. 

As someone who strove to learn and worked really hard to be the woman that she is now, she knew her capabilities, both as a part of the medical field and the shinobi world. She was confident about who she is and what she can do, secured about her worth as a person and a ninja.

But when it came to Sasuke, she has always felt like she was not enough.

Not beautiful enough to attract him.

Not persuasive enough to make him stay.

Not strong enough to kill him with the thought of ending his misery.

Not worthy enough to join him on his redemptive journey.

Not lovable enough to have her feelings reciprocated after all these years.

It was like no matter how much she tried – how much she poured out every ounce of her being all for his sake – Sakura Haruno would never be enough for Sasuke Uchiha.

It even looked like a trend, that every time things were getting better between her and Sasuke, he would be taken away from her in one way or another. Back in the day, despite her declaration of love and promise of happiness, he still chose to leave everything behind to seek for power. Even with the available comfort of a home, a prosthetic limb, and a woman who still wanted to be with him after everything they’ve been through, he still desired to travel to better understand himself and the world. When he finally returned after that, he appeared as if he was already wedded and expecting a child, which in turn made her believe that she would never really have a chance of a happy ending with him.

And now...now that their bond was starting to bloom in the strongest way possible, he was stuck on that thin line between life and death even after being operated with her bare hands and injected with the concoction she has proudly produced.

She thought her insecurities were long gone. But seeing the man she loves lying in front of her – motionless as a rock with no assurance of waking up – she couldn’t help but entertain the demons in her mind that were born that time she was first bullied about her wide forehead. 

Even Shizune and the other nurses who assisted her in the surgery could attest that she did what she could in order to remove all the toxins in Sasuke's body and repair the damages he received on his organs.

Yet even that seemed to be not good enough to heal and save him.

Sakura was well aware that there would be another waiting game after the surgery for even after some medicines and medical ninjutsu, the patient’s body should be left to heal on its own until it recovers completely.

And so she waited, barely even moving from where she was seated nor leaving Sasuke’s room.

She wanted to be there when he wakes up. She wanted to be the first person he would see. She wanted to make sure that he’d survive such a catastrophe.

But it’s been seven days since the operation, and only a few hours left til its full week mark. 

By this time, Sasuke should’ve woken up or at least had progress with his vital signs, an indication that his organs were slowly becoming normal.

To her dismay, there wasn’t even a tinge of progress at all.

As Sakura monitored the machine beside Sasuke’s bed and checked his vitals, she felt as if the man she loves was now a ticking time bomb. For as much as she wanted to deny the facts that she knew, hitting the full week mark could mean that his internal parts couldn’t recuperate on its own anymore.

And that could only result to one thing.

“Are you tired of fighting, Sasuke-kun?” Her voice came out hoarse. Yet she wished he could hear him so clearly right now. “I’m...I’m still waiting, but...do you want me to still wait for you?”

The last time she cried was right after Sasuke’s operation, breaking down to the point that Shizune had to inject her with a tranquilizer just so she could sleep for the night. Since then, all her pain and thoughts were tucked inside her as if trying to prove the unconscious Sasuke that she wasn't the same weak girl from their genin team anymore.

For days, there were no tears. For hours, there was barely a reaction. But as the clock ticked by, she was also reaching the last straw of her countenance.

Sakura Haruno was no longer weak, but she was getting to the point of becoming ready to let go.

Placing the stethoscope on Sasuke's chest one last time before the “deadline” she was hoping to not reach, her heart constricted due to that fact that this could be the end of it all. 

Tears should be coming out of her tear ducts by now but it felt like she has released them all a week ago and all she could do now was simply stare at this man's beautiful face. She could either witness the machine beside him show a flat line as a loud beep fills the room or she could report everything to Shizune and let her handle the situation from here.

Because after everything she had done, with her love for him and her passion and knowledge in medicine, his death would only invalidate all the growth she has accumulated in the past years. She wouldn’t be able to forgive herself if she saw him breathe his last breath in front of her.

Because of her. 

And so, she chose the latter option.

She held his hand then, like pretty much majority of the time she was there in the room with him. “I’m sorry. I’m..." Her lower lip started to tremble as she gently moved to caress his cheek. "I'm so, so sorry.” 

Leaning closer, she planted a soft kiss on his forehead, lingering for a longer time before pulling away. “It was, and will always be you, Sasuke-kun...in my heart.”

With one last squeeze to his hand, she stood up, heart shattering like never before as she finally decided to leave all the rest to the One who has the only power to give and take away one’s life.

"Always."

As she reached the door, with her limp hand landing on the door knob, there came a sharp gasp of breath from behind her that made her suddenly freeze in place. Her natural reaction should’ve been to turn around and check where the sound came from, but she didn’t want to fool herself. Besides, she hadn’t slept a wink in the past two days and she barely took in some food today.

But when she heard some shuffling of sheets from the bed, her heart raced and her hand trembled as it gripped the door knob tighter. 

Could it be…

Could it be that…

“S-sakura.”

Sakura’s eyes widened in disbelief as she whipped her head towards the hospital bed and saw the proof that she wasn’t hallucinating at all. 

For there was Sasuke, weakly moving to sit upright while staring at her with that softness that she missed seeing after almost three months.

His lips curved upwards, as if finally seeing light after craving for it in the dark. The sight triggered her tears to finally, freely flow down her cheeks. And it felt like all the colors in the room slowly returned while his obsidian and amethyst eyes reunited with her emerald ones.

Time seemed to stop but Sakura’s body moved on its own. She threw her arms around him – a reprise of an all too familiar scene from so many years ago – barely even noticing the way Sasuke’s lone arm draped around her small frame as she remained sobbing for a minute or two. 

His body was cold, yet his familiar warmth eventually returned as he remained in her embrace. 

A proof that he’s alive. 

A proof that he recovered. 

A proof that after letting go of all control and trusting the One who holds it all, her efforts to save him, prayers for his well-being, and the days of waiting were not in vain.

It was only then that another sound filled the room other than the rhythmic beeping of the machine beside Sasuke's bed, but the man didn't seem to mind the broken cries he was hearing. If anything, it calmed his newly awakened senses.

“You’re...you're such an idiot. You’re really such an idiot! If only you brought the potion I made! If only you weren’t too reckless! If only you took care of yourself! You wouldn’t have—damn it, Sasuke-kun!”

Sasuke tightened his hold on her as another smile formed with his dry lips. “I’m sorry.”

“You can’t just do something that could kill you and then apologize afterwards! Please don’t do that again!” Sakura's sobs subsided after a while, until she uttered her greatest fear that awakened her insecurities in the past few days, “Just don’t do that again. I thought I’m...I thought I’m going to lose you once more…” Yet something else clicked in her brain as she slowly pulled back, her eyes averting his. “But then I realized...you’re not even mine to begin with.”

“You’re wrong.”

With a gasp, her eyes widened a bit as she gazed back at him. Taking in his declaration, her mouth parted and closed for a moment, before opening again in an attempt to say anything in response. Yet no words left her throat.

She then realized that Sasuke’s hand was on her waist. And at that moment, with that rare gesture and two simple yet vague words coming from the man she loves, it felt as if every single doubt and insecurity in her body melted away in a heartbeat.

 “Sakur—Sa...Sasuke?! Sasuke! You’re awake!"

They were instantly a few meters apart when a certain redhead entered the room. Much thanks to Karin's surprised state, she didn't even notice how Sakura looked bashful as she turned away to wipe her tears.

“Thank Kami! We almost thought you wouldn’t—wait a minute—my goodness, Sakura! Your chakra is fluctuating and you’ll probably lose it any minute now!” Quickly taking command, Karin extended her arm in front of Sakura’s face. “Come on, bite. It will replenish your chakra until you get home.”

“Home? Karin, I still have to check Sasuke-kun’s vital si—”

“No. I guess it’s best that I take it from here. Sakura, you haven’t gone home since…”

It didn't take long for Sasuke to realize what that pause meant. He shut his eyes and sighed. “She’s right, Sakura.”

“But, Sasuke-kun...you’re—”

“I’ll be fine,” he assured her with a soft voice. “Go.”

There was that familiar worried look on her features yet again. And as much as it flattered him to know that she’s still as concerned to him as ever, he was well aware of the fact that Sakura was giving more than he will ever deserve, even to the point of tiring herself. Probably even to the point of giving her own life to him who would never deserve such grace and love. 

It was only Sakura who could do that. Only her who could make him feel the warmth in his heart right now. 

Karin nodded in agreement, jutting her chin to her arm. It's the only help she could give Sakura before she faints right then and there.

“O-okay, then. I’ll be back soon.” With no apparent energy left to argue, the head medic gently bit Karin’s arm and walked towards the door, glancing one last time at Sasuke while his two words from earlier lingered in her mind.

As the door of his hospital room closed, a smile finally appeared on her face for the first time in seven days.

Sakura had never felt this good being wrong.

“Has she at least tried to sleep and eat well?”

Karin turned to look at Sasuke and then her eyes became glassy. “You—!” She flung her arms around his neck, trying her best to restrain her tears from falling. This was still Sasuke, her former team leader and first love, after all. “You’re the one who’s in pain right now yet you’re still looking after others? Are you out of your mind, Sasuke?!” 

“Karin. Get off me. You’re a married woman, aren’t you?”

She pulled away, avoiding his eyes as she bit her trembling lip. “I am. That’s why I want to thank you. T-thank you for...saving Suigetsu.” 

A tear escaped her eyes when she remembered the possibility of her husband dying on that last mission alongside Sasuke. Then she wiped it with the back of her hand before wagging a finger at the patient beside her. “But you didn’t have to be as impulsive as that, idiot! Now look at you!”

Sasuke rolled his eyes. The first time someone broke down in front of him today, he was completely fine with it. Of course, it was Sakura. But this time with Karin, he was struggling to tolerate how much of an emotional mess she was, until he remembered why he did what he did. “I only did what had to be done. Suigetsu has someone waiting for him here. He has a family.”

“And you don’t?”

He looked up at the redhead.

“Sakura has been waiting for you to come home, unscathed and alive. She was too excited when she learned that there was only a week left before you and Suigetsu would come home. But then…” She immediately shook her head to shun the memory of that unexpected night. “It wasn't easy for her to see you like that in the past few days, even after doing what she could as a doctor. With everything that I've seen her do for you, you cannot tell me that you have no one to return to, Sasuke. And don't you dare forget about Naruto and the Sixth. You, too, have a family here. So you can’t be reckless just like that! Not anymore, you hear me?”

“Hn." Upon glancing at the door where Sakura left, Sasuke realized that this would be the first time that he'd completely agree with his former teammate in Taka.

She had witnessed everything that Sakura did for him while he was away and after he returned with his life on the line. He didn't even need to be informed, but what Karin stated only added to what he already knows – he could always go home to Sakura. That one woman who reminds him of what having a family feels like, in her own ways.

"Thanks, Karin."

At a loss for words, Karin simply stared at Sasuke after hearing his gratitude. And weirdly, another tear rolled down her cheek as she thought of how far they've come since the first time they've met. They didn't have the affinity that Sasuke had with Sakura, Naruto, or Kakashi, but they now finally have something that she could call a friendship.

And she, too, was grateful for that. 

Wiping her tear, she cleared her throat and grabbed Sasuke's clipboard on the bedside table. "Alright, let's have your checkup. I still need to tell my husband the good news."

-

On the next few days, Sasuke had no choice but to be pinned on his hospital bed. As much as it irked him, he couldn't complain to her beautiful doctor who checked on him everyday. He could've sneaked out of the hospital through the window just like so many years before, or even travelled wherever he wanted to escape through his dojutsu, but Sakura was so firm about him staying in the hospital as long as she said so, that even the powerful last Uchiha couldn't disagree. There was nothing and no one that could stop the head medic from making sure that no poison was left in his body and that his organs were all functioning normally.

And with that, he couldn’t help but fall for her even more. With her every visit, Sasuke found himself observing and realizing a lot of things about her just now. Like how her hair had been a little longer, almost as long as that hairstyle she had before he left her with a forehead poke. How the purple mark of her strength complemented with her fair skin in between her parted bangs. How her green, green eyes squinted in concentration whenever she would check his vital signs, administer some tests, or write something on his chart. And how her lips would curve into a relieved smile before announcing to him his health's progress.

This was one of those sides of Sakura that he didn't get to witness and experience first hand because he was away for so long.

Experiencing it now, he felt proud of Sakura for all her success in her field. And he was appreciative of all her hard work especially for his sake; however, there was still one apparent problem – this doctor couldn't even fit in her schedule a time to rest.

As he stared at her while she was taking his blood test, his lips formed a small frown at the sight of the dark circles under her eyes. And no, it wasn't because it made her less beautiful, it was because he was reminded of Karin's words about Sakura not sleeping well while he was unconscious. Just to take care of him, she didn't even go home at all.

He sighed. “Sakura, you need to rest. Go home and do just that.”

“Huh?” Sakura turned to him after writing something on her clipboard, surprised at the sudden command. “I’m supposed to look after you here and conduct other tests, Sasuke-kun. I can’t just go home and leave that.”

“Then rest here.” In an instant, Sasuke stood from the bed and slowly paced towards the small couch in the room, chin gesturing towards his former spot which shocked the head medic.

“Sasuke-kun! Why did you—?”

“You’re the one who told me that I’m supposed to be moving more now, right?”

Her eyes were still so wide despite the sudden heavy feeling from her lids. “That doesn’t mean that you’re gonna stay on the couch!”

Sasuke only shook his head. “Since you were saying that you’re supposed to stay with me for the rest of the afternoon, and going home is not an option, you’re going to take my advice and rest there.” 

Sakura parted her lips but closed it again, unable to form a response to that. He was right though, she badly needed a nap before she does another round of tests and then evaluate them. So when Sasuke sat on the couch and raised an eyebrow at her, she had no choice but to slowly – awkwardly – get on the bed and position herself for a quick nap. “Wake me up in fifteen minutes then.”

“An hour.”

“That’s too long!”

The Uchiha nonchalantly brushed his hand on his hair. “An hour, Sakura.” He then frowned. “That’s nothing compared to the sleepless nights you had when I was unconscious.”

Sakura heaved a sigh in resignation. She couldn’t find the strength to say no to the Uchiha now, to think that she was the doctor here. “Fine. An hour.”

“Or more.”

“Sasuke-kun!”

Then Sasuke chuckled. The Sasuke Uchiha chuckled while Sakura was on the verge of fuming. 

He couldn’t help but be amused with the sight or her narrowed eyes and reddened cheeks while reluctantly seated on the bed he has been enduring for days. “Just sleep, Sakura.”

Huffing, that’s what she eventually did, making Sasuke smile in triumph. Winning over Sakura’s antics suddenly became so much better than defeating Kaguya and his evil ancestor. Moments later, he found himself staring at her affectionately as her breathing became relaxed.

Then Sakura dreamt of feeling a pair of soft lips meeting with her forehead.

-

"You're quite early, Sasuke-kun!"

"Aa."

"Still the early bird, huh?" Sakura giggled out loud. "Please just make yourself comfortable in the living room while I prepare here in the kitchen, okay?" And then she went back to humming an upbeat song just like what she was doing before she heard the opening of her front door.

She was both excited and nervous about today. By dinner time, they would have a simple gathering in her house that she initiated to celebrate the full recovery of both Sasuke and Suigetsu. Karin was giddy with the idea; even Naruto was bouncing off the walls when he learned that Sakura was going to cook for them. Shizune, on the other hand, was thankful that she could leave the hospital early and have friends she could dine with. And Kakashi thought it was worth dedicating some of his time to amidst his busy Hokage life.

Remembering them assured her that her limited invited guests would have fun tonight. But would one of the main casts of the celebration even consider this as something enjoyable?

Apparently, Sasuke has never attended a party even for his own birthday in the past few years. Plus, he wasn't the kind of person who likes a lot of interactions especially if the spotlight is on him. As she turned on the stove, a part of her began to doubt for the nth time if she shouldn't have insisted the idea without even consulting him first.

Because, what if he just gets bored? Or what if he wouldn't like my cooking? What if this would make him so uncomfortable to the point that he'd rather be on his own and leave the vill-?

A hand on the side of her waist made her jerk, effectively stopping her trail of thoughts. And warmth reached her cheeks when she realized that Sasuke's face was just right next to hers as he peeked over her shoulder to see what she was mixing on the saucepan.

Air seemed to have left her lungs as his hand continued to rest on her side. She didn't want to faint right then and there even though he was in the best position to catch her easily, knowing that it would've been so, so embarrassing if it happened now that they're already young adults.

Sakura already had enough of Sasuke seeing her faint because of him before. So a repeat of that now would only ruin her track record as the strongest kunoichi of her generation.

His deep voice then filled her ears. "Do you need any help?"

"Uh...I…" She gulped. You're not 12 anymore. You're not 12 anymore. You're not 12 anymore! Clearing her throat, she mustered the courage to turn around and wag a finger at Sasuke with the hopes that her blush had subsided. "Hey. I appreciate that you want to help but excuse me, Sir, this celebration is for you. So what I need you to do right now is sit back, relax, and enjoy the rest of the night. Okay, Sasuke-kun?" She slightly pushed him on the chest afterwards without meeting his eyes. "Now go back to the living room. Shoo!"

"Tch. Annoying."

"Hey! I heard that!"

Sasuke could only smirk at her over his shoulder as he made his way back to the living room. And the moment he was gone, Sakura let out a loud sigh while leaning on the countertop, heart racing because why in the world would Sasuke – the can't-be-touched-unless-it's-necessary Sasuke – touch her like that? Plus, for the second time around?

It was a very boyfriend thing to do, which also meant it was not a very Sasuke-like gesture. But for him to do that...to me… She bit her lip to restrain a grin and repeatedly patted her cheeks.

Is this finally a sign that her waiting was over?

Things were thankfully not awkward with Sasuke after that. What mattered to Sakura now was seeing how he was smiling every now and then while interacting in his own ways with their guests.

During dinner, she watched as he helped himself with a plateful of various dishes, making her feel proud of her improving cooking skills. And as they gathered in the living room for some tea and desserts brought by the Hozuki family, she couldn't help but adore how he subtly played with Suika while the baby tried to climb onto his lap. 

Everything was a lot better than what she initially thought for seeing such contentment on Sasuke's face warmed her heart like never before. It felt so much like a dream come true, knowing that the man she loves deserves all the happiness in the world after everything he has been through. And for once, in one way or another, she had been a part of what made him glad.

"So what are your plans after this?" Kakashi suddenly decided to unite the divided conversations after winning over Suigetsu on a round of Shoji.

With anmitsu still in his mouth, Naruto tilted his head to one side and questioned, "Plans?"

"That's not in your vocabulary, Dobe."

"Oi!"

Everyone chuckled at the usual bickering of Sasuke and Naruto.

"We know you don't usually have that, but yeah, I'm curious about your plans for the future."

"Sometimes I'm not really sure if you've ever loved me, Kakashi-sensei." He pouted. "But for plans, hmm…" His ears suddenly became tinged with red as he pondered about his answer. "Uhm...Hinata and I...we want to have a baby probably early next year."

"Oh my gosh, Naruto!" Sakura gasped, almost tearing up at the news. "That's...shannaro! I'm so excited for you and Hinata!"

"Wow. It's about time, Naruto. Another Uzumaki aside from you and me." With a beam, Karin shot a glance at her daughter who was busy tugging Sasuke's sleeve. "In the past six months, Sui and I have come to understand that having a child is a wonderful thing. Congrats to you and the Hyuga!"

The jinchuriki's eyes gleamed at that. "I'm looking forward to it, 'ttebayo! Thanks, Sakura-chan, Karin!"

"You're a big boy now, huh?" Sasuke smirked but his eyes held tenderness for his brother-like best friend. Pride welled in his heart at the fact that Naruto's finally going to have something that he never had – a real family.

"One more time and I'll Rasengan you, Teme!" Naruto raised his fist. "At least I had the boldness to ask a girl's hand in marriage! Right, Kakashi-sensei?” He stuck his tongue out, which only earned an eye roll from the Uchiha. “Oh! And by the way, you still owe me for ditching my wedding!" 

"Alright, stop it. Not in my house, you two!"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan! I won't embarrass Teme right in front of you!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Usuratonkachi."

"Ah, I guess it's that time wherein I'm about to be a grandpa." Kakashi had a close-eyed smile as he glanced at his former team, marveling on the fact that they've come a long way since that time he entered their classroom with a chalkboard eraser dropping on his head. After everything that had happened to them, he never imagined that he'd still have the privilege of witnessing his students enter into adulthood at such a peaceful time among the villages. He chuckled to himself, he really used to hate them, but his love for them now was already beyond what a teacher could give. "Oh, well. How about you, Shizune?"

"I can see we're really getting older, Kakashi." Shizune cackled. "My plans? Other than helping in the hospital, I'll probably just be stuck with you."

For a short moment, the other five adults in the room just stared at Shizune and Kakashi while their eyes remained fixed on each other.

Until Shizune's eyes widened in realization. She then added, "I-I mean, stuck with you in assisting you on your tasks, Hokage-sama!" She bowed on her seat, hiding the blush adorning her cheeks as an uncomfortable silence continued to surround them.

At this, Naruto stifled a laugh while glancing mischievously at Sasuke and Sakura who both had smirks on their faces. It reminded them of those days wherein they were too sneaky and curious about their sensei's love life, other than the face behind his mask.

Noticing his former students’ gestures despite not having the Sharingan, Kakashi released a nervous laugh. "No need to be too formal, Shizune. And it's not like I'm giving you tons of tasks, right?” He cleared his throat much louder than necessary, and then shifted his gaze to the other side of the room. "Meanwhile, how about you, Suigetsu and Karin?”

Quite surprised with the sudden attention, the Hidden Mist ninja scratched the back of his head as he contemplated for a moment if he should already share about their family’s plans. "Well, actually, we're planning to finally head back to Kiri in a week or two. Since our baby is already in her best physical condition – much thanks to Sasuke and Sakura here – I think it's about time that we settle in our own place."

"Really?" It was Sakura who once again reacted first, with her lips formed in a slight frown. "I honestly felt like we've been with you for just a short time."

Shizune nodded. "Yeah. We will miss you in the hospital, Karin."

"Thank you, guys. We were really quite torn about it," Karin chimed in, remembering so well everything that she has learned and experienced ever since she stepped inside Konoha right next to Sasuke. "This village surprisingly felt like home to us in the past few months, but the reality is, this is not our home."

"Your family will always be welcome here, though." 

Both Hozukis couldn't help but smile appreciatively at the Hokage's words. It made them feel like they now have an extended family, residing in the place that they almost destroyed so many years ago.

"And Suigetsu, I'm grateful for all your help on the missions with Sasuke. I know they weren't exactly easy, especially that last one that almost costed you your life. That's why I'm really glad that Sakura initiated this small celebration for you and Sasuke. Thank you for what you've done." Kakashi nodded to the two men before turning to the host of the gathering. "Speaking of Sakura, how about you? Thanks for your preparations, by the way!"

Butting in, Suigetsu raised his hand and said, "Yes, Sakura-san! Thank you! I'm so full I feel like I'm all good until tomorrow!"

Sakura chuckled with him. "You're welcome. It's...well, I remember offering to prepare dinner for Sasuke-kun in my place before." She threw a glance at Sasuke and smiled softly before looking away. "I thought it would be nice serving you all as well. Hmm, for the plans? I really haven't thought of anything other than continuing to manage the hospital."

"You've been working so hard, Sakura-chan! You should probably find something else to do! Or maybe have a boyfriend or something!" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows, but surprisingly, to someone else in the room.

Sakura turned beet red. "E-eh? I'm fine, Naruto. I'm enjoying my job. And, I'm...I'm really not in a hurry for anything else."

"But you still need to rest every now and then."

Naruto smirked upon hearing his best friend's deep voice. "See? Even Teme agrees with me!"

"But I'm resting, Sasuke-kun!"

"It's not enough."

Much to Sasuke's amusement, Sakura could only pout in response to that.

"Sasuke's right though, Sakura. Just tell me if you need some days off. I'm sure Shizune has been recommending you the same thing. And Naruto's also right that you need time for other things." 

There was a sudden mischievous glint in Kakashi's eyes as he stared at her. But she couldn't point out what it was for. She appreciated all their concern though, besides, they all have a point, especially Sasuke.

"Yes, dattebayo! Ha! You're the only one left now, Teme! So, any plans?" Naruto grinned like a Cheshire cat, and once again, the Uchiha only rolled his eyes at him.

As Sasuke stared at the now sleeping baby on his chest, he thought about his next steps in life. Although the same question has crossed his mind a few times, he hadn't arrived yet to a specific conclusion for his own plans. He only had two options – to leave or to stay, which were both still vague for him as of now. 

But then, his gaze landed on Sakura. And the moment his eyes found her green ones, the answer to the hanging question presented itself as if it's been hiding there all along. Without looking away, Sasuke then verbalized it for everyone to hear, "I'm going to stay in the village for a while."

"Sakura-chan! Thank you once again for the hospitality and good food! It's too bad Hinata missed this due to some Hyuga business she had to attend to," Naruto said before a yawn escaped from his lips as he stood outside Sakura's front door. "But next time I'll make sure she gets to hang out with us, 'ttebayo!"

Sakura chuckled at the sight of the jinchuriki who helped out in cleaning their mess after the Hozuki family, the Hokage, and his assistant have left. He didn't have to use some chakra, but the man wanted to prove to his best friend that he was an efficient husband, one that could even quicken a task by multiplying himself. The whole while, Sasuke could only scoff at Naruto's attempt in housekeeping, but at least he wasn't the one extremely exhausted now, to think that he was helping with only one arm.

"I'd love that, Naruto! Now go home to your wife and rest, alright? You've used lots of chakra for your training and in cleaning today!"

"Ha! If only Teme helped more, the load would've been easier."

"Idiot. I helped in making sure you've left no bacteria in Sakura's house."

"What the—!"

Sakura groaned. "Can you guys at least end the night without bickering? And you! Sasuke-kun, don't forget that you still have a medicine to drink before you sleep tonight. So go home now, you two!"

She dramatically turned to her house, making Naruto cackle before finally leaving in a puff of smoke. She yawned as she reached her door knob, yet there was still one guest left after such a long night.

"Sakura."

Something about the way Sasuke said her name reminded her of the little sweet encounter they had before dinner.

With her heart racing in anticipation and curiosity, she turned to face him again, only to meet Sasuke's chest as he gently pulled her in a very unexpected embrace.

And then he muttered, "Thank you.”

Frozen in place, it took a little longer before Sakura realized what was happening, until she remembered those two moments wherein Sasuke also thanked her with such genuineness. Both incidents were meaningful for her, but this meant so much more. So much more that she found herself smiling against his chest for this was the very first time that it was him who pulled her close. 

Her arms took up residence around his waist before she replied, "Anything for you, Sasuke-kun."

It was the death of the old Sasuke and Sakura. For although unspoken, both of them were certain that there was a future in store for them – one that they wouldn’t venture alone, but together.

——–

August 2019 | AriannJS

——–

Finally got to upload the most difficult chapter for me to write! WOW. WHAT A JOURNEY. It took me 4 months to work on this chapter and then after this we're off to the Epilogue! * cries in G#m *

Here's a surprise tho - the Epilogue is already finished and is just undergoing its final revisions! See it FIRST on my PATREON by AUGUST 28! ;) My username is also AriannJS there, and I would appreciate it if you become a patron, which would give you an early (and even exclusive) access to my future fics!

I really can't believe that this story is coming to an end! Thank you for taking the time to read it since the beginning! And most especially, thanks to those who intentionally give their detailed comments about their thoughts and feelings on each chapter! Your words give me a boost to continue writing!

Thanks & God bless! - A

[cant-blink]

Stockholm Syndrome, Ch.2 (RODORAH FANFIC)

Chapter Summary  Rodan loses his home and there’s a little bit of Rodorah teasing with some cross-species misunderstanding.

Chapter 2

The rain hasn't stopped, not since Ghidorah arrived. It was rare that his island saw such torrential weather; it was usually hot and dry, just the way he liked it. The downpour was a bit uncomfortable against his magma-filled body, the cold droplets evaporating into steam upon contact with his skin with small hisses, but Rodan paid no mind. That discomfort was pale in comparison to the pain and turmoil whirling around inside him, as violently as the thunder storm raging above. He was sitting atop his volcano nest, trying to recover from his wounds and shattered ego. His feet were perched upon one of the inner ledges and wing claws fastened onto the rim. Below him was a drop-off leading into a cavern where his nest resided. It was usually filled with magma, where he would submerge himself until only his head and upper beak broke the surface to breathe. The eruption that accompanied his awakening also emptied his nest of most of the magma, leaving only a small pool seeping up from beneath the Earth's crust. It would take time before it refilled, time Rodan wasn't sure he had this time around. The warmth of his home, the familiar scent, hearing the sound of the liquid rock bubbling under him did little to comfort. There were still jolts of pain coming from his shoulders and throat, although the magma that once flowed from the injuries had since hardened into volcanic rock, acting as a scab as he healed. He was so tired, and he wanted to fall asleep right here and now. Maybe when he woke up, he'll find this was all just a terrible nightmare and things can go back to what it once was. He can fly over to wherever Godzilla was and throw a rock at his head, like the good ol' days. The fuming expression that grumpy lizard would give him was worth the subsequent Atomic Breath to the face. All in good fun, of course. But he knew that this wasn't a nightmare. It was childish and delusional to think so. He really was the hostage of some alien freak and his hope for things getting better diminished by the second. So much of Rodan's time resting here was spent scanning the water's surface from horizon to horizon just hoping Ghidorah was wrong and Godzilla would come stomping onto the beach to confront the dragon. But the only thing that graced the shores of his island were the washed up bodies of those who died from the suffocating blast. Even then, Godzilla's body wasn't one of them and Rodan was denied any opportunity to pay proper respect to his deceased companion. All because of that damn alien bastard… His eyes lowered down the slope of the volcano towards the remains of the human nest, where the hydra was currently located, and he scowled. He was being allowed rest, sure, but it was little consolation. He knew beyond his island, the world's balance was in chaos, as the dragon's first order was to destroy anything and everything. Rodan knew the other titans would obey them, not that anyone had any choice. This monster was letting off telepathic waves of fear and dread, felt even on the opposite end of the world. It was especially powerful, being so close to them. Almost like a suffocating smog. Rodan tried his best to fight this mental manipulation Ghidorah was holding over him. Every instinct wanted him to get away from them, but he resisted it. He kept having to remind himself that he had nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Besides, even if that wasn't the case, the dragon wasn't allowing him any opportunity to make a break for it. They did not trust him and he knew they wanted to keep him in their sight rather than letting him loose to do his own thing. Hell, they didn't even want him to head down into his nest cavern, instead having him remain in view at the summit of the volcano. He can see the right head glaring up at him almost constantly. Did he make them that nervous, that they thought it was necessary to keep him out of trouble to such an extent? Displaced bravado, Rodan knew himself and he lowered his head with a sigh. He was their prisoner, their hostage, nothing more. They knew that he was friends with Godzilla and subjugating him was a final insult to the previous king's memory. If he ran, they would literally chase him down to the ends of the Earth and even if he could outfly them, he would tire eventually and no doubt be killed for the attempt. The other titans would probably be of no help, and if anything may capture him themselves to earn brownie points from their new king. He couldn't even trust his fellow titans. Well, except Mothra. He wondered what she was doing. Has she fallen under Ghidorah's spell? She was a powerful telepath herself and wouldn't be affected by this artificial fear the dragon was creating... right? Even if she did, she wouldn't kneel to his commands, as she had an exceptionally strong bond with Godzilla as well as a special interest in the well-being of the humans. She wouldn't turn on them and who knows, maybe she was on her way right now to rescue him! He shook his head slightly; to get his hopes up like that is foolishness. Mothra was no more powerful than Rodan was and even if they teamed up, without Godzilla, they still won't stand a chance against this monster. Worse, what if Ghidorah decided to use him as leverage against her? He let out another breath. He just wanted to sleep… Resting his beak against the rim of the volcano, he watched the dragon below do whatever it was they were doing. They were moving among the human nest, whatever structure that remained intact from Rodan's previous flight was examined thoroughly. Ghidorah was looking for something, it seemed, but what could possibly be of any interest to the dragon in a human nest? They didn't seem to take any of the human machinery, so they weren't seeking to acquire their weird technologies. It took a moment for Rodan to realize what the dragon was doing... - This was one of their favorite past-times. Brittle stone structures crumpled to their feet as they moved through the roads and pathways weaving through the alien city. It was a tight fit, as this settlement wasn't made to accommodate a being of their immense size and strength. They mostly kept to the wider paths, but still had to crush several buildings to get around. Each of their ears were alert for the slightest sound beyond the thunder of lightning and their own footfalls. Ichi kept his head low to the ground, his eyes scanning any possible hiding places their victims may try to take refuge in. Ni held his head higher than his lead brother, peering over the rooftops of the structures on the chance one of these tiny aliens would seek higher-ground. But mostly, the right head was keeping watch for any possible ambush and to make sure their little prisoner didn't try to foolishly take off from them. So far, the little fire pest made no attempt to do so, just staying on his precious volcano like a good slave. Shame he was being so well-behaved, Ni was looking forward to sinking his teeth into that defiant little neck again but he knew he would have his opportunity. Even if the bird cooperated for the duration of their stay here, he would be dead when they're done with this mudball of a planet. As they climbed over one building that collapsed under their weight, Ichi took a moment to pause and peer into the windows of one of the larger structures in this desolate city. San paid no attention to the building himself, instead seeking out the nearest alley beside it and squeezing himself through it. This was what he normally did whenever they came to a halt: snake off into a narrower path to explore. For once, his eldest brother did nothing to discourage him. Indeed, this was one of the opportunities where Ichi found great use in his youngest sibling's insatiable curiosity. They've already found a couple of survivors in unlikely hiding places thanks to San's wanderings. The rough texture of the stone scraped harmlessly against San's golden scales, his horns dragging furrows into the walls. His forked tongue flickered out to touch the wet ground, picking up scents and tastes. This was San's favorite thing about visiting new planets; they always held such exotic wonder to his senses. His brothers didn't really get it. After all, what was the point in taking it all in if it was all going to be destroyed? No, they had their own interests that actually fell in line with their main goal. Ni was more keen in partaking in combat with the local fauna and bore many scars and even a broken horn from some of their more worthy opponents. He was always the most observant of their surroundings in the battle field and the most eager to get up close and bloody with their adversaries. He was exceptionally brutal in his methods and mannerisms, not one to be taken lightly. Hell, even their old nemesis, the former king of this world, often made it priority to try to neutralize Ni as a threat. Ichi was a fighter as well, but it was the act of conquest itself that he took special interest in. He derived great pleasure in figuring out the power dynamic of whatever planet they happened to land upon, then tearing it apart and placing himself at the top before moving on to the utter destruction of the world. This was what kept them here for as long as they had, Ichi's desire to dethrone the planet's Apex titan. Rarely did they stay in one spot long enough where learning the native language beyond the very basics was actually useful. Granted, it wasn't as if they were in any particular hurry, but they've been on this backwater planet longer than what was usual. Not that San's complaining. He still had a lot of things to see here. He wasn't as much a fighter as his older brothers; no, it was something he did because he had to, although it was usually worth it when they inevitably win and got to enjoy the spoils of their victories. He especially liked when they focused on the smaller targets, ones that he can torment with little fear of retaliation. Targets like the little alien bugs that infested this planet and built these structures. He came across a crumpled body of one such tiny alien, one of many that littered this city. They didn't know exactly what happened to this alien city before they got here, but as long as they still got to have some fun, it didn't matter. After a moment spent listening to Ichi's slow and deliberate movements, and Ni's constant deep rumble that assured them that the coast was clear and all was well, San flicked out his tongue again and licked up the body. It was always hard for him to tell when he's allowed to lick and eat things; he usually just had to go for it and get bitten or yelled at whenever Ichi deemed it inappropriate. But it was alright this time, right? After all, his brothers got to eat back in that frozen wasteland, so why shouldn't he get a bite too? No sooner did he do that than he heard a very soft sound, just barely above the sound of rainfall. His eyes moved from the ground to further down the alley. He saw a small ground vehicle, turned onto its side against the wall with the slightest bit of movement from within. A small smirk graced his snout, his eyes glinting with predatory interest. Instincts spurred, he slowly moved forward as if stalking the immobile vehicle. It wasn't a silent approach, sure, but he didn't care. Whatever was there was dead either way, might as well PRETEND that it had a chance. The movement inside the vehicle stopped as he moved towards it, as if the creature inside thought he hadn't noticed its previous actions. Reaching the overturned piece of metal, he sniffed it curiously before moving his head over the vehicle, tilting slightly so as to position one of his eyes to peer inside. There it is, a tiny little alien cowering in the back farthest from him. Letting out a soft amused chitter, he poked the vehicle with his nose as gently as he could. He knew how fragile these aliens and their machinery were, but he still felt the metal creak and the glass beginning to give way at his nudging. The screams inside only encouraged him- "Brother San." It was Ichi, regarding him in their native tongue. He didn't need to look up to know his brother was waiting for him, as it was time to move on from this spot. Knowing he would likely want to share in the fun, San carefully tried to maneuver the vehicle away from the wall before he took the vessel into his jaws, his teeth piercing through the metal easily although he was being as delicate as he could. The scream inside got louder and he could feel the sides of the vehicle pushing against his jaws and tongue. The alien was no doubt trying to open it to get out, but it was a fruitless effort. With their new toy secured, he went to back out an- He was stuck... His horns, facing backwards, were hooking into the walls and his attempts to pull himself out only dug them in deeper. Blinking, San began to wriggle, only making things worse for himself. All he had to do was move his neck and head upwards towards the empty space above the rooftops but he wasn't exactly the brightest star in the galaxy. He could almost feel his eldest brother glaring at him disapprovingly and he felt Ichi's snout nudge underneath the base of his neck and push him up. With his guidance, San was free. He shook the dirt and rubble from his scales, raising his head to show gratitude for his sibling's help, only to get a nip on the horns. Yeah, he deserved that. But at least he got a prize! He lifted his snout up pointedly at his brother, showing him what he's found. Ichi looked unimpressed at first, but when San only very slightly bit down on the vehicle, the resulting screams and whimpers had a smirk grow on the eldest dragon's muzzle. San needed no prompting to lower the vehicle towards the ground and he dropped it. He and Ichi proceed to nudge the hunk of metal around, pushing it along the road. The distress calls from within persisted and the alien inside seemed to try to push the doors open. But the damage done seemed to have trapped it inside. Ichi carefully broke the largest of the glass windows, offering the alien a way out. He wanted it to have a shred of hope at escape, and he nipped at San to stop; the vessel had been turned over and the alien inside had gone quiet. The eldest brother peered into the windows, making sure their victim was still alive and capable of moving. It was visibly shaken and bleeding, but it dragged itself to the front of the vehicle away from him and towards the shattered window. Very good, little alien. He and San stay quiet, lying in wait for the alien to emerge from their toy. After a moment, movement from the shattered window caught their attention and the tiny creature crawled out of the wreckage. It was shaking and bloodied and making whimpers of distress that felt wonderful to their ears. It looked up at them, its little eyes filled to the brim with terror. San let out a trilling chuckle and Ichi smirked, sharp fangs flashing to scare the alien into running. But it didn't run, and it didn't even try to scramble up onto its feet. It took Ichi making a false lunge for it to spur into action, snapping the air just short of the alien. It scrambled up and tried to flee, instead falling on its face. Oh, it was too injured to run. Such a shame, although Ichi felt it was getting late anyway so might as well wrap things up from here. It was speaking to them, yelling out unintelligible words the hydra had no understanding of. It was a pleading voice, shaking almost as much as its body was. It only fueled the sense of smug superiority in Ichi, knowing the creature was begging for its life at his feet. There was a satisfaction in knowing whatever bargains it was making for them to spare it was going unheeded. They let it simmer in this fear, a golden glow rising in both their throats as surges of electricity erupt from their chest towards their mouths. After a brief moment, letting the alien creature go quiet as the dreadful realization of its doom settled in, they both unleashed their Gravity Beams upon it. It was reduced to ashes instantly, the vehicle it had previously taken refuge in now went up in flames with a loud explosion. The flames and destruction spread as Ghidorah brought their immense power over the rest of the city and this pathetic little island. - Seeing Ghidorah wreck havoc on his island, their Gravity Beams tearing through the human nest and the surrounding patches of forests, Rodan felt a familiar if not weary sense of agitation. Territorial instincts rose in his chest, knowing his home was being destroyed right in front of him. It was one thing to accidentally blow over the human nest; collateral damage was unavoidable and something Rodan was not bothered by. Any of the small critters that shared his home just had to adapt. But there was no adapting to this, this purposeful unprovoked annihilation. He shouldn't be angry over this, right? Ghidorah is the Alpha, the... king. They could do as they pleased and it was not his place to question it. Yeah, no, screw all that! If it were Godzilla doing this, Rodan would still be standing up to him regardless of the pecking order! This was HIS home, the only home he's known since fledging. This island held so many precious memories; he had his first and only mate here. This was where they were planning to have hatchlings together, a plan cut short by Manda's intervention. To have these memories, HER memories, tarnished by someone he already had such a strong hatred for... The glowing edges of his wings were growing brighter from the building anger. He wanted so badly to swoop in and dive-bomb the shit out of the hydra, like an oversized magpie from hell. But he can't, as he knew full well it wouldn't end in his favor. There was a difference between standing up to Godzilla and standing up to Ghidorah and that difference being that the latter would have no qualms in killing him. But his home was falling into ruin, and he had to do SOMETHING! But what? His inner conflict and agitation must have been obvious, for the ever-observant right head stared at him for an uncomfortably long moment before speaking softly to his brothers. They were too far away for Rodan to hear, although he was certain they were speaking that stupid alien language of theirs anyway. He had yet to hear Ni speak in any other tongue than their own. He maintained eye contact with the lead head as all three looked up towards him. Intense, unfaltering, rage-filled eye contact. Eye contact the middle head still did not break as he spoke something towards his brothers, and at this cue, both left and right head unleashed another wave of Gravity Beams. Rodan flinched on instinct but it wasn't aimed at him. No, it was the destruction of the island that continued, and Rodan felt his rage increase. Ghidorah was still staring him down as they tore apart his home, as if goading him into doing something about it. But there was nothing Rodan could do about it, and the dragon no doubt knew this. They were twisting the knife in deep and after a moment, the pterosaur couldn't watch it anymore. He finally broke the stare-down, turning his head away and trying to block out the sounds of his island falling apart. He didn't know how much time has passed before the carnage around his volcano finally came to a stop and he risked a glance towards the hydra. He focused only on Ghidorah, not the burning wreckage around them. He didn't want to see the state his home was left in. His volcano was the only thing he had now. Without warning, the dragon spread their wings and with a powerful downstroke, lunged towards him. Rodan felt the ever-present fear intensify, but his anger outweighed it. Despite having this hostile creature that was three times his size rushing right for him, he stood his ground and braced himself for the impact, claws digging into the rocky rim of the volcano's mouth. But there was no impact as Ghidorah landed upon the volcano's slope, just short of him. Rodan's beak opened instinctively to hiss, and he had to crane his neck to look up at their faces as they towered over him. His wings twitched open a bit, careful not to flare out fully lest he loses his balance and falls into his nest. What an embarrassing move that would be. Standing upright on their hind legs, Ghidorah rose their wings high and wide, their already immense size seeming to increase with this action. The sound of rattling erupted from their tails, and their necks held their heads up high. All three of them had their horns flared out, their eyes flashing under the lava's glow as they glared down at him. Against the thundering storm clouds in the night sky, the whole thing was the single most terrifying dominance display Rodan has ever seen. Yet he still stood his ground. He did not retreat into the cavern below him. He did not take flight, nor did he scurry down the slope opposite of the hydra. He just glared up at the much larger titan, doing nothing to escalate the situation further but making clear that he was not submitting to them either. They almost seemed surprised by his gall, that he wouldn't cower back despite every advantage they had on him. They could kill him right now if they wanted, and both parties knew this, yet Rodan still doesn't yield. After a moment, the middle head's lips curled back in a smirk but his voice was cold and toneless. "Bravery or idiocy?" Probably both, to be honest. But Rodan didn't speak this thought out loud, instead trying to keep his own voice from faltering as he narrowed his eyes firmly at them. "Get off my volcano." And my island... and my planet while you're at it. This earned a soft snort from Ni, as the middle head continued with a dangerous edge to his words. "Your volcano?" Rodan was almost blown right off the volcano's rim when Ghidorah slammed their wings down, the dragon leaping up into the air and slashing their talons into Rodan's shoulders and chest. Their claws reopened his wounds, left marks on his armor, and the pterosaur gave a startled cry of pain. The force pushed him off from his perch and he fell into the volcano. His wings flared open on reflex, his flight fingers scraping against the walls and unable to flare fully. Even if he had the ample room to do so, he had no time to right himself as the fall into his nest was a short one. Crashing next to the molten pool of rock, shaking the mountain itself, Rodan felt the breath leave his lungs in a violent cough when Ghidorah landed atop of his chest and stomach. He wriggled on instinct, but he already knew from their last confrontation earlier that he wasn't going to get away from this. Still, it would be nice to be able to breathe properly, a luxury the dragon had no real interest in allowing him at the moment as they sneered down at him. "Do you not understand that nothing belongs to you?" the middle head hissed scornfully. "Or were you foolish enough as to think this pathetic little island would be spared while the rest of this world falls?" Of course Rodan knew his island was doomed the moment Ghidorah claimed victory. But it was one thing to KNOW it'll happen and quite another to actually SEE it happen right in front of him. Instincts were instincts, not to be changed, and he felt that his rage at seeing his home get decimated was justified. As was his frustration at knowing he was powerless to stop it. And his despair, knowing that everything he's worked for in his life was for NOTHING. Rodan has stopped wriggling at this point, trying to maintain a glare although he winced when Ghidorah shifted their weight for no other reason than to cause him greater discomfort. He snagged breaths sparsely, whenever he was given the slightest opportunity. It was barely enough. "Just..." he managed to choke out. "Just finish the job already..." Just rip off the band-aid, make the pain of losing everything fast and easier to swallow. That was the best he could hope for. But alas, asking Ghidorah to not torture him in such a fashion was a useless endeavor and he heard a snicker from the left head. "We will," he started, trilling voice not quite as fluent in Earth's language but understandable enough. "But why waste good opportunities?" Rodan glanced over at the left-most head, whom was looking about his nest with a face that made the pterosaur awfully uncomfortable, moreso than usual. It didn't help when the left head chattered something to his brothers and Rodan cursed inwardly, trying to figure out what was being conveyed via context clues. The middle head's face was unreadable, but he didn't seem particularly moved by whatever was being said. There was no sign of objection or disapproval either, just watching the other head talk from the corner of his gaze. When it was all said and done, he gave a soft snort before he narrowed his golden-red eyes at the little bird pinned beneath their body. "Be grateful towards Brother San, slave," he hissed. Rodan REALLY didn't like being referred to as that, no matter how true it may be but he was given no time to object to the term as the dragon continued. "He wishes this volcano to be spared, for now." "Wha...?" Rodan felt a spike of unease catching the word in his throat. He wasn't liking where this was going. He wanted his volcano to remain untouched, yes, but surely Ghidorah wasn't going to let him off the hook so easily, right? They're up to something and he wasn't sure if he wanted to hear just what they were planning. He had an idea as to what it was, but he didn't want to hear it. "We are to rest here for the night." The middle head declared, to the pleasure of the now purring San. Rodan felt his heart drop, his fears confirmed and the plates of armor around his chest rising up a bit as if to emulate ruffled feathers. They were going to sleep in HIS nest?! Taint his home with their presence, their scent?! Volcanoes were incredibly important to his species. Males especially were expected to keep one volcano their entire lives, defend it from usurpers and use it to attract mates. Only the mated pair and their hatchlings were allowed to reside within it. Not even Godzilla was allowed into Rodan's volcano, something his old friend was quite understanding of as long as Rodan gave him the same respect of not intruding his own nest (as if Rodan was interested in swimming around down there). But this creature had NO such respect. To not only trash his island but then invite themselves into his nest was one of the biggest insults they could've done, much worse than just destroying it. Then again, it was no longer HIS volcano, was it? He couldn't defend it if he tried; to do so is a battle already lost. If anything, HE was now the intruder in THEIR nest... It was another bitter blow to his ego. First his best friend was killed, then his dignity stripped from him with humiliating defeats, his freedom ripped away, his island devastated, his nest stolen. Everything important to him was now gone. When Ghidorah finally got off of him, as Rodan caught his breath, he almost didn't want to get up. Even with the dragon's weight now gone from him, he was still feeling a crushing sensation within him. What was the point of getting back up? Can't stay in here, the instinct told him. It was proper etiquette among his kind, to immediately vacate a volcano that no longer belonged to you, and just because Ghidorah wasn't respecting the social norm of his species, doesn't mean he should, -or could-, forget it himself. Rolling back over onto all fours, he did not have the room to take flight from here, which was fine. Instincts told him that his movements are to be slow and deliberate anyway so as not to provoke another attack. He hated this, he hated himself but he tried to remain dignified in his loss. He avoided meeting the dragon's burning gaze as he moved to the opposite side of the chamber; granted, there wasn't much room to work with given Ghidorah's great size. He reached up a wing to grab one of the ledges along the wall and began to pull himself up and out towards the exit. "Where are you going?" he heard Ghidorah snarl and he doesn't even look back over his shoulder at them. "It's your volcano," he spat out like the words themselves were bitter. "You really expect me to stay in here?" "Yes, we do." He heard the response and he froze. His insides froze, his instincts confused about how he should be reacting to that. They couldn't possibly be serious! He was supposed to leave the nest, hang out OUTSIDE the volcano if they still wanted to hold him hostage. But to invite another adult into one's volcano, that- No! One simply did not do that! Not unless you're trying to invite them into... ... Oh... He tried to give it the benefit of the doubt that it was just Ghidorah wanting to ensure he wouldn't try to run off. That was no doubt the case, and the dragon was completely unaware of the implications of insisting he stay in here with them. Still didn't stop Rodan from feeling immensely uncomfortable and horrified though. Instinct did not care about what logical reasoning he had. As far as it's concerned, the monster that killed his best friend, destroyed his island, stole his volcano, and ordered the destruction of the planet... was trying to court him by wanting to share a nest with him! He hated instinct sometimes. He finally looked over at them, the utter disbelief etched into his face. They. Can't. Be. Serious. The stern look on their faces told him they were very serious. Okay. Trying to hide how awkward this was, he had to remind himself repeatedly that Ghidorah is an ALIEN and doesn't know any better and wouldn't care to know any better and that his panic REALLY needed calm down. He let go of the rim above and lowered himself back down to the ground. He would normally sleep in the pool of lava at the center of the nest, but this time he pressed against the opposite wall of the hydra, trying to get as far away from his captor as possible. Feet tucked beneath him, flight fingers held tight to his body, Rodan buried his beak beneath a wing and tried to relax. Forget the awkwardness, forget the panic and rage and despair. Just give in to the sleep that continuously plagued his mind earlier. As if he ever could. - Ghidorah was pleased by the compliance of their hostage and took particular pleasure by the sudden horror on the pterosaur's face. No doubt, he was hoping to make an escape attempt by crawling out of the volcano and his disbelief that they weren't stupid enough to fall for it was quite amusing. His obvious discomfort as he sat there in his little corner trying to avoid looking at them made it even better. Ichi wasn't initially intending on resting here, as he wanted to cave in this inner chamber and move on to the mainland where it felt less cramped. But his youngest brother seemed really excited to spend the night here, pointing out how warm it was. Ichi would be lying if he said the idea wasn't appealing to him. After being trapped in ice for who knows how long, the heat of this volcano was a welcomed change. They moved closer to the lava pool at the center of the nest and settled themselves onto the ground beside it, tails curling around on opposite sides of their body. Their wings were tucked loosely by their sides as they began their nightly routine by grooming themselves. It was a somewhat interesting sight, seeing this genocidal three-headed dragon engaging in such an unremarkable activity. One might think it was an odd thing, but like the dragons of lore, Ghidorah was a vain creature that took pride into maintaining the luster of their skin. Forked tongues and sharp fangs tended delicately to their golden scales and wing membranes. All three heads worked in unison, Ni and San tending to the wings on their respective sides as well as their tails, Ichi allowing them temporary control over their respective limbs to make the process less of a hassle. Ichi himself was focused on the main body, curling around to take care of their back and sitting up slightly to work on their chest, belly, and legs. Each head then tended to their own necks for as much as they can reach. At this point, Ni had settled his muzzle onto the tail that was curled on his side, growling softly when Ichi started to groom his horns and face. But the bluff was ignored completely. He always growled when getting his face cleaned and usually doesn't object beyond that. At least not with Ichi; whenever San tried, it would always result in Ni biting him harshly on the snout. But with his older brother, he learned early on to tolerate the face cleaning lest Ichi asserts dominance with a more forceful, much rougher power-groom instead. Better to just get it over with and he shifted slightly to allow his brother proper access to the underside of his jaws and throat. After his grooming session was over and all the dried blood has been cleaned off, Ni stopped growling and closed his eyes. Ichi moved on to San, who was stretched off to the side examining a particularly glossy black rock. The eldest brother bit into San's neck and gave a firm tug, causing him to cry out but nonetheless he moved towards Ichi for his grooming session. The youngest was much more receptive to the attention than Ni was, letting out soft pleasant purrs and staying still for the most part. His attention would occasionally falter and he would try to wander off back to that rock, but a reprimanding tug on the horn kept him focused. San was still quite dusty from his incident back at the alien city, so Ichi took extra time to make sure his sibling was spotless. When they were done, Ichi lifted his snout higher and at this cue, San returned the favor by grooming him. Unlike his siblings, Ichi made no sound as he was being groomed, focused mostly on ensuring San didn't miss a spot. But the youngest was diligent in his work and stopped only when Ichi pulled away and growled. The eldest still did not allow San to explore after, hissing at him when he tried. "Sleep. Now." he ordered, and San knew better than to object. They had a strict routine: sleep comes after grooming, and no more of his little shenanigans to risk getting dirty all over again. Glancing towards the rock, San let out a breath through his nose and settled his snout upon the tail on his side of the body. An unspoken reason why he wanted to stay here was to explore the inner workings of Earth's volcanoes more closely, but as usual, he was being denied. Well, at least he was the closest to the lava pit, all nice and warm. He savored the heat until he drifted off into sleep. Ichi watched over his younger brothers as they slept, taking the first shift of guard duty for the night. He glanced over at the fire pest, catching their little slave staring at them before hastily closing his eyes and feigning sleep. Foolish creature, probably hoping all three would eventually drift off and allow him an opportunity to escape. His hopes will be crushed then when he realizes that Ghidorah never truly slept.

End of Chapter 2

[reisabrisingr]

Honestly, I was thinking of Romans return and fuck, I couldn’t help but to write this.

Honestly, when Roman returns, I don’t want it on RAW or a random PPV.

I want it at Wrestlemania, I want it to be the main event of Wrestlemania. I don’t want anyone knowing about his return, not even Seth or Dean.

I want Seth and Dean to be in the main event of Wrestlemania. I want them to be versing one another for the vacant universal title. I don’t care who’s heel,who’s face.

I want it to be a triple threat, but whenever someone was qualifying to be the third, Seth and Dean are told to take them out. I want Seth and Dean to act like all they care about is for them to be facing one another, because this isn’t about a third, this is about them. One V One on the biggest stage of them all.

I want The New Day and The Usos hosting wrestlemania. I want them to make it fun, to make everyone laugh in between the matches by how much charisma they have with one another.

When Seth and Dean are in the ring, facing each other down, ready to put on the biggest fight of their lives. I want the new day and usos to come out.

I want the five of them being so confused by what’s going on as they’ve been told to announce there will be a third added into the match.

Jimmy comes out all confused,”well, myself and Uce have no idea what’s going on here.” Jey will lift the mic up and shrug,”I’m just as confused as you are.” Kofi will look between the four of them, trying to puzzle what’s going on,”we’ve just been told that Vince isn’t happy without the triple threat going on.” And for Xavier to lift up his mic and hold franchesca whilst looking at the crowd, “HHH and Vince are currently trying to figure out who’s going to be in the match right now. But who is it going to be?” And for the four of them to start a who chant along with Xavier on franchesca.

Whilst they’re doing it, Dean and Seth are arguing with the ref because it’s not fair. No one else was able to beat them to rightfully gain their place. The only people who deserve the main event spot is them.

And during all the chaos, all of a sudden out of no where the lights go black. The whole crowd is brought into silence, whilst on the titantrom it’s going crazy with letters. For a brief second one sentence stands out,”I can.” Then it scrumbles up the letters again ,”I will.” And then it stops. The whole place goes black again, some of the crowd were able to pick up the messages.

Then there’s a single sentence. “I did.” The whole crowd is confused.

Then all of a sudden, the whole place is lit up and surrounded by the familiar and symbolic guitar sounds. The same ones they used to be annoyed at hearing. Seth and Dean instantly freeze in the spot. Their mouths hanging open whilst they’re staring at the ramp.

Corey Graves is freaking out,”IT CANT BE, SURELY NOT?!” The New Day are shouting questions at Jimmy and Jey and they’re just shouting,”we didn’t know!! We have no idea.”

And then the spotlight is placed at the enterance of gorrila and Roman walks out with a massive smile. His hair is noticeably shorter but it’s slicked back, his logo on his vest is orange. Jimmy and Jey instantly jump on him, along with the new day.

Seth and Dean can’t help it, they know they have to fight one another. But they instantly climb out of the ring and start running up the ramp.

Roman finally gets the five other guys off of him when he spots his brothers almost half way up the ramp.

He has the biggest smile on his face, because fuck, he’s missed them. FaceTime, phone calls and texts just aren’t the same.

He starts jogging down to them, when they get to each other Seth and Dean practically throw themselves onto him.

They’re holding onto one another for dear life because fuck, they were so terrified that they’d never get to do this again.

The camera is catching each of their faces, Seth is crying because he finally has his big brother back. Someone he’s always been able to count on, someone whos never judged him. Dean is shaking, he can’t. He’s still angry as fuck at the world for doing this to his best fucking friend.

And Roman? He has the biggest smile on his face. He’s home. He’s got his boys back, as much as he wants to slap them upside the head right now and let them sort out their problems in a locked room. He’s so fucking happy. He’s missed them, he’s missed this. He’s missed us, the WWE universe.

Roman is pulled out of his thoughts by the “welcome back.” And “Yes” chants. He lets go of Seth and Dean, the camera picks up him saying,”We’ve got work to do.”

Corey is in complete and utter shock,”I can’t believe this. Renee did you know anything about this!” Renee is smiling so hard,”I can honestly say I had no idea, but I’m so happy for Roman Reigns right now.” Corey smiles whilst chuckling,”i can’t believe I can finally say this, welcome home big dog, your yard has missed you.”

When they get into the ring, the three of them lock up and Roman manages to out power Seth and Dean. He laughs and shouts at them,”THAT ALL YOUVE GOT? Come on! Do your worst, I can take it.”

The match is intense, theres broken tables and chairs are lying along the outside of the ring. The crowd have been wild, they’ve chanted so much during the match. From, the typical “let’s go, —— *clap,clap,clap*” to ,”this is awesome.” But the ones that stand out are,”Welcome back.” “You’ve still got it.” And,”Roman.”

Seth and Dean end up back in the ring, they’re leaning on one another for support. Roman is lying on the edge of the ring, trying to regain himself after Seth and Dean had teamed up to take him out.

Once Seth and Dean have locked up, Dean goes to set up for the dirty deeds, but Seth managed to stop him just before he went down.

Just as Seth is standing back up, they both feel the wind being knocked out of their stomachs as Roman had managed to spear the both of them. They land on the mat, lying flat on their backs. Romans puts an arm around both of them, too exahusted to move over and cover one of them fully.

1... 2... 3... DING DING DING.

The crowd arrupt, it’s the loudest they’ve cheered the whole night.

Jojo stands up with the biggest smile on her face,” ladies and gentlemen, the winner of this match and your NEW UNIVERSAL CHAMPION... Roman Reigns. “

The crowd goes wild, Roman pushes himself up in shock,he looks at the ref,”No..” whilst shaking his head. The ref walks back over and hands Roman the title, his title. He looks at the title in his hands, memories flodding back to the night he had last held it. “My real name is joe, and I’ve been living with Leukemia for 11 years.” “Thank you, Roman.” “Because after I’m done whopping Leukemias ass once again, I’m coming back home.” He doesn’t even realise that he’s started crying until he feels someone wrap their arms around him.

He opens his eyes and realises it’s Seth, he let’s go of the title and hugs him back. He feels a light pressure touching his arm and looks over to see Dean, trying to help them both up. “Come on Seth, works done here.”

They both stand up and just as Seth’s about to walk away, Dean grabs onto his wrist, Seth jumps thinking he’s away to be attacked. Dean shakes his head, “don’t worry.” Dean pulls Seth into joining his hug with Roman.

Once they pull away Dean hugs Seth seprately,”I’m so sorry Seth. I just, I couldn’t be with you whilst Roman was gone, you reminded me too much of what we had. I’m so sorry.” And Seth can’t believe his ears, he’s waited over two years for that apology.

Romans music starts again and they separate the walk up the ramp, as they’re walking up the ramp, the McMahon’s and HHH start walking out to the top of the ramp to congratulate Roman followed by the entire RAW and Smackdown locker room and even the refs.

Once they get to the top Roman hugs each one of the McMahons and HHH before turning around, he raises his title and puts out his fist. He doesn’t even need to ask, he feels his boys placing their fists beside his.

Romans smile is massive.

Because my god, does it feel so good to finally be back home. This, this is what his life is all about.

[cara-terra-pace]

Evelyn Gossamer

A popular dancer and singer among teens, she was supposed to be the holder of the Butterfly Miraculous, but because Hawkmoth has it, she is left feeling a part of her is missing. She never ends up getting the miraculous, but she never knew she needed it in the first place, so it’s cool.

Headcanons:

-Imagine Marinette and Alya adoring Evelyn’s soft songs about the flutter of butterfly wings and the positivity you feel when everything is slowed down and you can enjoy the moment.

-Adrien has worked with Evelyn before, since they had a butterfly themed photo shoot for her new album cover.

-Nino can respect the girl. Sure, he isn’t into that sort of music, but she’s pouring her heart out in her songs and she’s apparently very helpful in keeping people positive, and that’s a musician he can get behind.

-Rose ADORES Evelyn Gossamer. She is basically her idol. She writes fan mail, and once, Evelyn responded and Juleka didn’t stop hearing about it for months.

-Juleka and Luka are related to Evelyn. On their father’s side, but they are still related. They’ve met her, and she seems just as sweet and positive as they had heard. Luka showed her his new song, but when he couldn’t figure out the ending chords she suggested something and it actually worked really well. Juleka actually asked for an autograph for Rose and Evelyn’s eyes lit up.

-“Rose? Oh, she sends me lovely fanmail all the time! I recognize her envelopes and always try to save them! Tell her hello from me, and I simply must meet her!”

-Evelyn may be soft and positive, but she also loves dying her hair different pastel colors. She usually keeps it a pale blonde with purple streaks, but once she met Alix, she just had to ask what color dye she used. Alix was flattered and even offered to do some art for her (she did. It was on a huge canvas and there were spray painted butterflies surrounding a girl with longish pink hair)

-Chloé and Sabrina are casual fans. They’ve both met her when she stayed at the hotel and Sabrina was staying over. It was still a cool experience and Chloé brags about it all the time.

-Kim, Max, and Nathaniel... they secretly think her songs are kind of sweet, Nathaniel being more obvious about his opinion than the other two.

-Ivan and Mylene has their first slow dance to Evelyn’s song “Flight” and now they love her songs, especially Mylene.

-Lila claims she’s met Evelyn and is a very good friend of hers. Everyone believes her except for Marinette, Adrien, Chloé, Sabrina, and Juleka (Luka doesn’t hear about it).

-Evelyn has a concert in Paris and she decides to visit their school.

-She heard Chloé, Sabrina, and Adrien were there from Juleka and figured, why not?

-She meets Rose, who very excitedly says that Lila is also there and Evelyn asks who Lila is.

-She walks in to find Lila bragging about knowing her again

-Evelyn taps on her shoulder and Lila has a slight look of horror before letting it drift off.

-Everyone starts to talk all at once, so Evelyn pulls Lila to the side and trys to clarify things.

-Lila gets defensive and since they are around the corner from everybody and no one can see them, she lets out an ear piercing scream.

-Everyone runs to find out what happened and they find Lila being a complete and utter brat crying on the ground saying that Evelyn slapped her for no reason. She had slapped herself really hard so it looked like she had been slapped.

-You would think they would believe the celebrity but some famous people are horrible in real life, and Evelyn was the one to bring Lila to the side so it sounds plausible.

-Evelyn is insisting that she didn’t do anything (she didn’t) and no one believes her.

-Alya is disappointed in her idol and puts on the Ladyblog that no one should listen to her music anymore

-Rose is crying, a lot. Juleka is trying to calm her down but also frantically texting Luka to get down here because she knew it was his free period next.

-Marinette is confused and is trying to lead Evelyn away from all her angry classmates.

-Lila is still fake crying on the ground when Luka rushes in, sweeps up Juleka, Evelyn and Marinette, who are now being yelled at for defending Evelyn and brings them outside.

-Evelyn starts sobbing once they’re outside and she’s inconsolable. She runs away and hides in an alley, and the group isn’t able to find her. They keep looking for her so they can find out what actually happened.

-Hawkmoth takes advantage of the situation and she gets akumatized into Papillon Vérité (Truth Butterfly) and she makes little akuma like butterflies that make people uncontrollably tell the truth. They will say every lie they’ve ever said and once they’re done, their butterfly sucks in all the energy and they turn into statues, leaving Paris with a bunch of statues laying everywhere.

Truth Butterfly

-Truth Butterfly had light purple hair that was tied in a bun on the back of her head. She had butterfly wings that helped her hover slightly off the ground. Her dress was a deep purple with pinkish accents that billowed around her and hit just below her knees. Her eyes were purple and her shoes were gaudy pinkish white shoes with purple stained glasslike features and a purple and white butterfly on the back. Anytime she opened her hands, butterflies would appear and land on people, getting them to tell the truth. They suck our all their energy, leaving them standing there like statues, though they were not actually stone statues.

-She flew from the alley she was crying in to her first targets. She saw Kim and Max talking to Juleka, Marinette and Luka, attempting to convince them to stop looking for her. She opened her hands and two white butterflies flew out, landing on their shoulders without them even noticing.

-All of a sudden they start spewing out truths. Small things like “I broke the vase” “I ate the candy” “I didn’t finish my homework” and then bigger things like “I have a crush on Odine” and “I feel like I don’t have any friends and I feel so lonely all the time” to “I stole Max’s homework for Chloé so she could get a good grade” and “I have a plan for world domination”.

-Every little lie they’ve ever told is corrected and the butterfly glows a darker and darker purple as they speak. All of a sudden, Max stops talking. He freezes in place, unable to move, speak, or think. All of the energy he has been sucked out of him. The same thing happens to Kim a few seconds later. They turn into purple statues.

-The butterflies fly back to Truth Butterfly and she smirks and says “Justice is served”.

-Marinette, Juleka and Luka are all standing there, horrified.

-Truth Butterfly grabs Juleka’s shoulder and Juleka’s hair is tied up in a ponytail and she sprouts wings. Her outfit changes colors to become the same as Truth Butterfly’s.

-“Go, my butterfly. Bring me all the liars, all of the manipulators, all of the people who sit there and watch horrible people do horrible things. Let’s see how they feel when they are forced to admit their wrongdoings!”

-*cue horrible evil laugh which really just sounds kind of adorable but NO SHE INSISTS ITS EVIL*

-Marinette SPRINTS AWAY AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

-She transforms and scoops Luka up and basically yeets throws him in a safe place.

-Truth Butterfly permantely has tears dripping down her face, even when she smiles.

-It’s unnerving.

-Juleka is floating around, putting people in trances and distracting them enough so they can get caught by the butterflies.

-The best people, who don’t tell many lies, get turned into Truth Seekers, which is what Juleka is.

-Truth Butterfly is at the school now and she is REVELING IN THE CHAOS.

-Lila is still sobbing when she comes floating in with fake sympathy woven into her tone.

-Everyone snaps around and Lila gets SO angry.

-SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE AKUMATIZED AND THEN SHE COULD BLAME EVELYN AND MARINETTE.

-SHE COULD SLANDER A BIG STAR!

-WHAT A JUICY LIE!

-Truth Butterfly, being Evelyn Gossamer underneath it all, sang a power ballad.

(I have the lyrics if you want me to actually post them)

-During that power ballad, she flies around, her butterflies attaching themselves to half of the student body while the other half escapes.

-She grabs Lila and flies her to the Eiffel Tower.

-CUE POWER BALLAD REPRISE AS SHE SHOOTS HER HAND INTO THE AIR AND MORE BUTTERFLIES START SOARING OUT AND TAKING OVER THE CITY

-Marinette has to admit, it’s pretty cool. She’s glad she was able to remember the lyrics, Evelyn might want them later.

-LB has Chat and Chloe as the fox with her and she recruits Kagami and Luka as the Bee and the turtle.

-they fight really hard.

-SECOND REPRISE FOR THE POWER BALLAD???

-JEEZ BUTTERFLY YOUR SINGER ROOTS ARE SHOWING.

-Lila has so many butterflies on her, only her eyes are visible.

-Truth starts sobbing as Hawkmoth starts yelling at her to get the miraculous. She sends a butterfly to him and after 15 minutes of fighting, the mask around her eyes flickers out.

-She gets Chloe, who jumps in front of Kagami and Chloe is SOBBING.

-Luka is hit next after using his shield to protect everyone. He sees Juleka and is frozen for a second, staring at his poor little sister. He gets hit, all of it being mumbled before he is turned to a Truth Seeker.

-Chat is turned next, getting close to Truth Butterfly and her not liking it.

-Kagami and LB are the only ones left.

-LB talks to TB.

-“Maybe I can help you!”

-“NOOOOOOOO!”

-She screams it so loud and so high that it shocks them a bit.

-Lila is still telling her lies.

-It’s been a long battle, and Truth Butterfly is so tired but she won’t give up.

-She is so upset and there’s no one to rein her in on Hawkmoth’s end.

-the whole city is either frozen or turned into Truth Seekers besides the two heroes.

-Truth Butterfly lets them leave when she suddenly makes the butterflies from Lila come back to her.

-Lila is angry. She doesn’t actually cry. It’s just her anger at being called at and not actual sadness.

-Truth Butterfly flies her around the city, dropping her then diving down and catching her.

-She screams everytime.

-Ladybug and Kagami are figuring out a plan.

-First, they have to lure Truth Butterfly In.

-Truth is finally back at the Eiffel, and Lila, who had been telling the truths to her lies for over an hour started getting to her last lies. The big ones.

-“I’m working with Hawkmoth”

-“I tried to turn everyone against Marinette so I could feel more powerful”

-“I tried to slander Evelyn Gossamer’s name”

-That is the one she was waiting for.

-Lila stiffens, her anger still apparent in her face as she turns purple and freezes.

-Truth Butterfly is so happy that she flies into the air and does a few tricks.

-It’s over.

-But not yet.

-“EVELYN GOSSAMER HATES PARISIANS!”

-Truth’s head snaps to the source of the sound.

-It’s the stupid Bee.

-She follows her, the butterflies soaring after her and scaring Kagami just a little bit with her angry high notes.

-She gets trapped by Kagami and a complicated trap.

-She reaches Ladybug and the tears that flow down Truth Butterfly’s face start flowing more rapidly.

-“I just want everyone to know the Truth”

-Ladybug softens a bit. She knows this is an akuma. But underneath the transformation is a girl who is scared that the entire world will now hate her.

-“The Truth is good. But not when it’s forced out of someone.”

-She devilizes Truth Butterfly’s akuma and uses her lucky charm to reverse all the damage.

-Sitting on the ground, clearly very upset, is Evelyn Gossamer and none of the heroes are very good at comforting her.

-Ladybug sits next to her to get the story.

-Evelyn tells her exactly what happened, and Ladybug nods.

-Nadja Chamack is filming below them and she gestures for her to come over and Ladybug announces that the rumors about Miss Evelyn Gossamer was just one big misunderstanding. In the chaos, she was accidentally slammed into another girl and people thought she’d done it on purpose.

-The explaination was accepted, but Evelyn was still very upset.

-She walked next to the heroes who brought her back to Juleka who took her cousin in her arms and led her into a cafe.

-after that, the heroes detransformed and handed their borrowed Miraculouses back to LB and Chat left before Ladybug detransformed.

-Luka met up with Evelyn and Juleka and they were able to get the story. Luka was understandably angry, but Evelyn insisted he shouldn’t get so angry.

-She now knew the power of strong emotions.

-she started sketching out a path from the Eiffel Tower to a big square, representing something she couldn’t quite remember.

-They went back to the school and the students all apologized for jumping to conclusions.

-Lila almost got away with it.

-Until Evelyn remembered her phone in her pocket.

-IT HAD BEEN RECORDING SINCE BEFORE SHE WAS AKUMATIZED.

-She had proof of what Lila did and she finally got what she deserved.

-She was expelled and her mother was called to be briefed on the situation.

-Evelyn offers to do a concert for the school.

-The last scene is of Evelyn singing her newest song, her power ballad named “Truth Needs Three” and killing it. Kagami is standing in the audience, bobbing her head along to the beat, and Luka is standing in the front row with his sister and mother, cheering for her louder than anyone else.

-The end card is Evelyn belting out her final note with various people and things faded in, some bolder than others. The butterflies are the boldest thing besides Evelyn, and the order of most bold to least is like this: Luka and Juleka, Kagami and Chloe, Marinette and Adrien, and Lila is the most faded.

(That’s basically what the end card would look like according to my brain, just less scribble and more full out drawing)

That’s it! Wow, this took A REALLY LONG TIME TO FINISH! But now that it is, I’m pretty happy.

Hope you guys liked it!

-Bee 🐝

[writing-frenzy]

Don’t Bottle Up (that’s how Molotov Cocktails come to be)

I thank Discord, @crowsketches , and multiple sad songs for this installment of the Devilishly Employement Au :D Enjoy, I hope you have tissues, cause you might have some issues! (Announcer is still @circateas they just let us peons enjoy them! Au is inspired by @crowsketches can be found here and my tag Devilishly Employed) Warning for Angst, action, and- Shot

Don’t own Cuphead

The day was here; it had finally come at last. An event that everyone in the higher ranks of the Casino hierarchy had been subtly preparing for since a certain little mug came into the Devil’s employment:

Cuphead had finally managed to break through the Casino’s security. And as if to make the already stressful enough event even better, he wasn’t alone in his little invasion, managing to bring in some ‘familiar friends’ to aid him. Amazing, the lengths the young man would go in his quest to free his brother from the Devil’s grip.

Almost made it an utter shame they had to roadblock them every single step of the way.

Almost that was.

“Mic, how are the back entrances, do we still have a blackout there?” King Dice asked, even as he dodged a rather well thrown Balloon dog, one of his handy throwing cards popping it and the one right on it’s tail.

Damn, but wasn’t this reminding him of just why he hated clowns.

“Our men are working on it now, they were a bit busy helping the Tipsy Troop; the bar almost caught on fire.” was the answer the announcer gave, making Dice want to shiver, only stopping from doing that because he had to dodge some rather questionable cakes thrown in his direction, using a card shield to give him some breathing room.

“Have the Security spells at least been put up? We really don’t need more foes to worry about right now.”

“They’re loading up now, but it’s going to be patchwork at best; swiss cheese will have a better time of stopping them then what we got up now.” Mic warned, before rapid cursing could be heard over the line.

“Listen, I need to help coordinate Mango and Wheezy; they’re in a bit of a pinch now. Can you try and get a hold of the Boss?”  

“I will attempt it; good luck Mic.”

“Right back at you, friend.” and with that, the comm went dead, no one else using it as they were all fighting right now, each with their own threat to manage.

Frowning at his own enemies, Dice glared; Bon Bon and Beppi were no joke, even if they came from a place full of them.

Best he let them tire themselves out elsewhere.

Snapping his figures, teeth gritted as he did so, the Manager of the Casino’s eyes glowed green even as two holes appear right below his enemies, making them fall in.

Gasping, the die man leaned against the table for a bit, shaking his head; with no roulette or gamblers table to use, it was that much harder for him to use his abilities like so, especially his warping. While on his own he could do it easier then blinking, doing it for others was rather taxing as it was draining. Still, that should distract those two for a bit at least; wonder if they’ll enjoy the Casino’s Trick Trap Room as much as Chip does?

Taking one more breath, Dice focused, allowing him to center himself as he felt out for a familiar energy, one that should be obvious in all this chaos.It didn’t take him long to find it; within the time it took him to sort his Boss from the rest, he already had his warp at the ready, instantly putting himself right next to The Devil…

…

...Who was, for some reason, hiding in the Chandelier right before his throne room, a thick wall of magic surrounding them.

“... Do I even want to know?” King Dice asked, pinching the bridge of his nose as he did; of all the things his boss could be doing, he chooses to hide up in the ceiling…

Honestly, he’s more surprised the other wasn’t in a convenient bush or something; that would certainly be right up his alley… At least he was doing something productive up here though, the magical blueprint of the casino in front of them as they manipulated it, twisting and changing it here and there to their sadistic whims.

“Shhhh, I ordered Mugman to delay anyone who comes near the door, just until backup arrives to aid them.” the furred demon whispered, their grin nearly seeming to break their face in half with just how big it was, even as he made the grand stair case turn into what looked like an acid slide.

Now that wasn’t foreboding at all.

It only took him a moment to take this information in, consider his boss’s character, and just how determined the little Mug below them was, their Sniper Shot out and clear for all to see as they looked around, for Dice to take in the picture. “... Mugman doesn’t know it’s his brother and friends invading, does he?” Dice asked softly, the green glow in his eyes dimming as he took in Mugman below, who was carefully taking in every little thing he could, though thankfully for now not looking up at them, the wall of magic probably had some effect there though

(Though he still made a note to self; make room for more environmental awareness training in all employees. Such obvious gaps could not be allowed be.)

“Nope; all he knows is that we’re being invaded as we speak, and that people will be on their way to my room to get at me. The mug probably is thinking it’s some of our more gutsy and smarter competition; they’re been getting pretty out of hand as of late after all.” was the answer his boss gave, a chuckle now leaving them as they did, though if that was from his words or the fact that the kitchens were now turned into some sort of torture chamber could be anyone’s guess.

Taking in a breath, Dice looked down at the youth below them once more, his chest feeling slightly tighter as he watched the unaware Mugman patrol a little bit, the targets in his eyes zooming in and out as he did. It would only be a matter of time before things really became red hot… and probably not for the best…

After all, The Devil wouldn’t be watching so intently otherwise if nothing were to happen.

(Even if he had to ensure that it would, his right hand watching just as warily at his side.)

Would you look at that, but he was right; he could already hear the footsteps down the hall, a group of running feet on the go, urgency heard easily in every slap and slam on the ground. Mugman stayed close to the wall, ensuring that those running his way wouldn’t see him, but with all the reflective finishes in the hall, he would be able to have them in his own sights. The young mug got in a crouching position, hands already done in the shape of a gun, readying a no doubt effective ambush as his target filled eyes narrowed and a foreboding red light shown on his finger tip.

From his position on the ceiling, and with a little help from his own magic, King Dice was able to see the group of four coming right before Mugman did, a low curse escaping the die as he did.

Hilda Burg, Matchstick, Blind Spector, and of course Cuphead in the lead, all of them grimly determined, faces hard as they ran forward to the Devil’s lair.

Looks like someone has taught the kid how to think then; absolutely wonderful, just what his nightmares needed. Though speaking of such, King Dice looks over to Mugman just as they realize just who is coming.

The effect it has is instant; the Sniper Shot immediately deactivates, the red rings gone from those now wide dark eyes, their face falling as they do.

Pip, thump, clack, pip, thump, clack.

King Dice doesn’t think he’s ever seen that look on the boy’s face, such a look of hope and fear at war there, their whole body shaking with the conflict of emotion they must be going through him.

Pip, thump, clack, pip, thump, clack.

The young man covers his mouth, a gagging sound escaping them as they release a muffled cry through clenched fingers. King Dice wonders if they’re white with strain under those gloves, what with the grip they have on their mouth, and how their other hand hasn’t unclenched from the fist they’ve made.

Pip, thump, clack, pip, thump, clack.

King Dice won’t lie; he jumped just as the running (well, floating in the spector’s case) group did when they heard a fist slam into the wall, just before they turned the corner.

“Whoevers there, it’s best to just come out and show yourself! We know you’re there!” Cuphead called out, eyes narrowed at the space before them.

Seeing how Mugman closed his eyes at the voice, leaning his head against the wall before them and biting his lip, the strain in their body obvious as the shaking hasn’t stopped; it in fact has gotten worse...

(The casino king didn’t like it.)

“We’ll give you five seconds! If you don’t come out, we will make you come out!” the blimp woman ordered, voice hard as she readied herself, her magic already at her fingertips as a small tornado shown through. The rest followed in her footsteps, with the dragon letting lose a few sparks of flame, the ghost with his eyes, and Cuphead already having his finger gun out, the blue at the tip sparking off.

“... That won’t be necessary.” was the soft, and ever so defeated tones that washed over everyone, making everyone pause as they did.

Right before them all, the slumped, no longer trembling form of Mugman came out from behind the wall, hands in his pockets as he let himself be seen right before the group.

“Hey Cuphead; long time no see.”

“Mugman?!” was nearly half yelled, the brother in red nearly falling over their own feet as they did, only kept from eating marble because of one of his companions assistance.

“The one and only.” the mug in blue said, nervously fiddling with his bowtie as he did, a grimace making it’s way home on their face.

For a bit, no one moved after that, no action was taken besides the chaos elsewhere in the casino, the group above and below all seeming to hold a collective breath… until it was broken.

“... Hilda, cover me if needed.”

“Wha- Cuphead!” the young woman started, reaching out for the boy who was now running to his brother, the boy in blue stiffening, hands coming out of the pocket only too late to-

Clink.

-to stop the hug they were suddenly engulfed in.

“...I-I’m so sorry Muggy, it was my fuck up and you payed the price for it. I didn’t think, I didn’t listen, and like always, I ended up dragging you through the mud.” was the cracking, slightly muffled voice heard, those normally ever so confident tones broken and shattered as the youth they belonged to clung to his brother, face hidden in their shoulder.

“...I was never dragged; I was always walking at your side willingly.” was the soft tones that spoke, even as Mugman returned the hug with just as much force as it was given.

“If only to keep my ass out of the fire.”

“... Point, but you forget about all the good times I enjoyed just as much as you; our pranks wouldn’t have gone off nearly as good if we didn’t both want to work together on them.” the younger brother reminded, getting a crackly laugh in return.

“You should hate me.” Cuphead near whispered, only to be heard easily in these large halls, even as he made to pull away.

Only to be stop midway by familiar hands on his arms.

“Never.” was the hard tone Mugman gave in reply, an actual glare now being directed at his brother, who gave a weak smile in turn.

“You say that now, but-”

“And I will always say it; I will never hate you Cuphead. Get angry at? Hell yes. Disappointed? Plenty of times. Frustrated with? More times then I can ever remember.” Mugman said flatly, each one causing his older brother to cringe.

“But hate? Cuphead, you are still the warm brother I remember threatening to punch anyone who bullied me, checked if there were any monsters under my bed no matter how many times I asked, and made life an adventure no matter how small. Don’t go forgetting that I do love you bro, even if you can be an idiot the size of hell itself sometimes. You can be pretty cool when you try.”

For a beat, no one said anything, something unreadable going between the two staring cups as they had a conversation only the two of them could have, even as the blue mug finally let go.

“... We’re going to have to fight, aren’t we?” Cuphead said quietly, his words making the mug in the suit close their eyes.

“I really rather not.”

“Me too.”

“...But?”

“...But I need to get pass you.”

“I can’t let you do that; I have my orders.”

Again, another unreadable moment passed between the now fully separated brothers, before Cuphead narrowed his eyes.

“I will free your soul.” these words giving Mugman a sad smile.

“You can certainly try.” the youth said, even as the familiar red rings entered his eyes.

And like that, the fight was on.

For such a terribly matched fight, Mugman was holding his own rather well. With the accuracy of Sniper Shot on his side, and his familiarity of fighting inside the casino, the young man could use all the tricks and traps to his advantage here. Not to mention throwing in his own powers into the mix, and it was easy to see just how one of the isle’s heros managed to beat all the debtors and the Devil himself.

And yet, the only reason why they could hold their own so well was there were no shots aimed to kill.

Sure, Mugman could probably handle both Hilda and the Specter easily, but adding in Grim Matchstick? That was problematic on it’s own, the dragon being rather skilling in fighting, even if he couldn’t fly here. But even then, it was still possible for him to pull off a shallow victory.

No, what would guarantee to make this a loss for the blue mug was Cuphead himself. The red youth hadn’t just been twiddling his thumbs and sitting on his bum all this time, what with the way he was fighting. The way he moved, the way he shot, to even how he actually was able to even read the battle to help out one of his allies made it obvious; someone had not only taught the boy to properly fight, but to also strategize.

(... Not to mention the motivator to fight was probably greater than his brother’s ever could be.)

King Dice couldn’t stop the full body shudder going through him at the realization; just the headache he wanted, an actually intelligent red cup to fuck everything up.

Pushing the nightmare fodder away, Dice went back to watching the fight, frowning as something about it seemed… Off. He knew something was, he just couldn’t put his finger on it.

Shots of all different types going everywhere, reds, greens, and blues going wild everywhere-

… all of them going wild? That wasn’t like Mugman at all, especially when he has his Blessing equipped, he was always very much accurate, even in his non-fatal way.

So why? Looking over, green eyes went to take in the moving mug, trying to see why he would mess up like so, only to stop, stilling as he did.

Those red ring eyes were practically dripping, big drops hitting the ground every time the young man they belonged to moved, obscuring his vision, making him stumble, making him shoot wild as well as take on damage he would have otherwise easily dodged.  

Mugman was crying as he fought, the shaking back as his teeth were gritted tight.

That… That was unacceptable.

Before the die even realized it, he has warped right down before the mug, cards up and at the ready, taking the damage all around him, shielding the two from everything easily. With a flick of his hand, the cards shot out all before him, easily taking the four before him off guard as they exploded into them, leaving each of them with a card suit symbol on them.

“I believe that is quite enough; you have all more then worn out your welcome here.” was the grim words King Dice gave them, glowing green eyes narrowed even as he snapped his fingers, the symbols on each of the four enemies glowing in response.

“NO, Mug-” Cuphead tried, only to disappear in a flash before their eyes, along with his companions.

Good riddance; that should get them at least back at the entrance if anything, where they could hopefully be kicked out.

Thump.

Frowning, King Dice turned around, catching the sight of the youth he was protecting on their knees, hand over their mouth, gagging as their other hand helped them keep their balance on the floor. This was when the sobs started, big, wrenching ones with hiccups and coughing in it, tears now fully taking over those eyes, Sniper Shot still active despite this.

Hesitating, King Dice looked back up and over to the chandelier he had been in, only to see the Devil was gone, as if he had never been there at all. Shaking his head, the Manager looked back down on the crying mug, letting out a sigh as he did.

‘Not like this suit could get any worse at this rate honestly.’ was the die’s though as he knelt before Mugman, gently letting his hand rest on the other’s shoulder, causing them to look up at him.

“Hey there.” was all he had to say before he had an armful of sobbing mug in his arms, the force of the other’s grip on him near crushing as tears got soaked up in his shirt. Gently rubbing the other’s back, King Dice let them have it all out.

What a fine mess he was delt.

[childofthelotus]

Headcanon post taken from here. 

What is their name?

Ryuuta, her last name she forgot. She hasn’t seen a need to go and try to remember it or to adopt another last name. 

What model/s of Warframe do they use, mainly?

She’s primarily seen in Ivara Youkai, that’s assuming you actually see her. Though if she isn’t using Ivara, Oberon Prime or Ember Magesty is the other Warframes you would see. her in.

What weapon/weapon type is their favorite?

Bows and crossbows are her favorite ranged weapons. Polearms and staves are her favorite melee weapon. She doesn’t have a preference for sidearms, but they have to be silenced if she even wants to remotely think about using them.

What is your Tenno’s style of fighting? Do they rush in headlong, or prefer to sneak around?

She prefers to put enemies to sleep with Ivara and then to walk past them. She will get slightly irritated if other Tenno set off alarms during Spy missions. 

Which Syndicate, if any, does your Tenno belong to?

She doesn’t really side with any particular Syndicate, opting to remain neutral on that front. However, she will help Steel Meridian whenever they need help.

Which of the five Schools, if any, do they belong to?

She’s studied primarily under Naramon and will identify with Naramon, though she’s spent some time learning the Zenurik way.

Does your Tenno agree with the Lotus? Do they view her as a mother, a tyrant, or somewhere in between?

She sees Lotus as a mother figure and agrees with most of what Lotus suggests. There are times where she would argue that talking things out or something else besides violence might end better. In general, she doesn’t have problems with what Lotus is doing. She also believes that whoever gives Lotus a hard time should cut her some slack. She’s trying her hardest which is all that anyone should ask of her.

How does your Tenno feel about the noncombatant civilians of the system? Are they invested in their protection, or are they vague and unimportant?

She feels like the noncombatant civilians should be allowed to make their own decisions on who they side with. If they feel like siding with the Grineer is the best for them, then she wouldn’t complain about it. It doesn’t matter who they end up siding with, if they need help then she will be fully willing to help them out if they ask for the help and protection.

Where do they stand in the Corpus vs. Grineer war, if anywhere?

Once again she stands neutral in this war. She helps each side equally in an attempt to keep balance within the system. Though she slightly preference for working with the Corpus only because she doesn’t have to deal with Nulllifiers.

What are the top five things your Tenno believes are most important and worth fighting for? These can be abstract concepts or material possessions.

Life, freedom, safety, and balance are the main ones.

How much of their life before being put in stasis can your Tenno remember?

She doesn’t remember much of anything prior to the Void Jump accident. She gets flashes of memories, but she can’t piece them together. She’s tried to remember more about her past before but never got very far.

Do they miss anything about it?

She feels indifferent about it, seeing that she can’t remember what she was doing before the Void Jump. The only thing she would miss was having her parents still with her. Though she tries not to dwell on that too much.

Who was your Tenno during their lifetime as a human, regardless of whether or not they remember?

She was just a child, just about to enter Fourth Grade. So she was focused on school and had some extra curicular activities.

How does your Tenno see their Warframe? As just a tool? As part of their identity?

Ryuuta see’s her Warframe as an extension of herself, and she connects the strongest with her Ivara. She knows that her Warframe is much more than a tool and she would do anything to make sure that her Ivara stays safe.

Is there any symbolism behind their chosen color scheme and energy color? Do they wear the colors of their Syndicate?

She’s got a theme of having white as her primary color on most of her Warframes, but that’s not because of anything. She just enjoys having white as the primary color.

What does your Tenno do during downtime between missions? 

She does a lot of research involving the Somatics so that way she can help her fellow Tenno since she is guessing that some of the other Tenno have lasting wounds from the Orokin. If she’s not doing that then she’s in her Dojo’s obstacle course working on moving around better as both her Warframe and herself.

Does your Tenno try to modify their Warframe cosmetically, and make it unique?

Yup, despite being a primarily spy and infiltration Tenno, she still enjoys having her Ivara stand out. What attachments and Syandana she wears depends solely on what Warframe she’s using. 

How does your Tenno interact with the rest of the inhabitants of the system? Do they treat their allies warmly, or with disdain?

She respects booth her allies and her enemies unless they’ve done something to lose that respect. She only allows herself to relax while she’s among other Tenno.

How do they view themself and their fellow Tenno? Are they monsters barely kept in check by the Lotus’s guidance? Are they the saviors of the system?

She definitely sees the Tenno as sort of peacekeepers, trying to keep the Origin System from falling into complete and utter chaos. She knows that they are different, and some could call them monsters but she doesn’t see them like this. She doesn't consider herself a monster, just different with a chance to help save those who cannot save themselves. The same is true for the rest of the Tenno, regardless of what side of the war they are on.

Does the bloodshed they cause bother your Tenno? Would they put down their weapons, if they could?

If she didn’t have to fight, Ryuuta would put her weapons down in a heartbeat. She values life above most other things, which is seen by her methods of dealing with guards. She doesn’t like all of the killings she has to do, both during the time of the Orokin and now. Though she will do it, knowing that if they work hard enough then maybe there will be a day where they don’t have to fight anymore. The 

Assuming there was no war, what would they want to be doing with their life?

She would still be in school studying, to be a scientist or a teacher most likely. She would definitely take up archery as a hobby to do in her free time.

[funkymeihem-fiction]

Hot Headed, Cold Hearted- Chapter 2 (A Meihem Fanfiction)

She’d been so excited that she had shown up at the launch bay four hours before the ship was supposed to leave the next morning. Everything looked to be ready, she had checked and re-checked all their gear several times over, and probably checked on their food rations every time she had passed by their box, just to be ultra sure. To her relief, they were not the kind that they had sent her off with before, the kind that tasted like they had been at the bottom of some bargain bin for a few centuries too long. Winston’s new stipend had bought them all good food and good supplies, and she made a note to thank him later. He had even provided a book about northern wilderness survival, though she had a feeling that was for the junkers. He also hadn’t even seemed surprised by her wish to include them in her mission, and had made an effort to be polite about the matter when she presented him the paperwork to bring them along…True, he had that little hitch in his voice the entire time he subtly tried to suggest bringing Pharah or McCree or literally anyone else instead of them, but she had been firm. She was going to make this mission work, and improve junker/omnic relations at the same time. Or at the very least, she hoped they’d want to kill each other a little less… She sat on the edge of the launch pad wall, eating a piece of toast and jam and enjoying the morning as Snowball sat beside her, its screen showing a series of dots as it ran a few last-minute diagnostics. The sun rose slowly, dawning cool and clear and bathing the Gibraltar sky with pink and yellow, dotted with fluffy orange clouds. She had even managed to wake up before the local seagulls and there was blissful silence save for the faint crashing of far-off waves against the rocky cliffs, and the crunch of toasted bread between her teeth. Best to enjoy the silence and calm while it lasted, she knew. Even an entire flock of gulls couldn’t compare to the shrill screeching laughter of Junkrat when he got started, and he brought chaos with him wherever he went. The junkers would have to be monitored carefully, all the while trying to also monitor Bastion and its strange behavior, and she had to be prepared to break up any fights and try to smooth things over to begin the healing process... This morning would likely be the only reprieve she would have for the next several days and she needed to enjoy it while she could. The last bite of toast and gooseberry jam left a few crumbs that she brushed from her lap, and there was a soft tweeting trill and a flash of Ganymede’s familiar yellow feathers as the Eichenwalde cardinal fluttered about her in a little circle, landing by her feet and pecking at a few specks of bread before tilting its head up at her. With a few hops, it launched up onto her foot, then her knee, and then onto the wall beside her, tapping its beak curiously at Snowball’s animated screen. The little cryo-drone startled itself awake, emoticon eyes blinking before offering the bird a ^ ^.

Mei smiled, clasping both hands over her chest at the sight. “Aww! Good morning, Ganymede. I guess if you’re here, Bastion isn’t too far behind. Are you both ready to go?” Ganymede offered no reply besides another tilt of its head, ruffling its feathers before fluttering off once more. Sure enough, the loud clanking of the Bastion unit was audible now and steadily moving closer. Rounding the corner, it tucked its gun behind its back and made a rather shy little wave with its hand as its avian companion hopped in circles atop its head. “Doo-da-da.” “Ni hao, Bastion! Good morning to you too. Are you excited for our first trip?” She asked, pulling herself off the stoop to approach the bot. “Wee!” It beeped in the affirmative, then looked past Mei and offered Snowball another wave, mechanical fingers clicking as it wiggled them. Snowball uttered a little warbling noise as it hovered up to join them both, floating just over Mei’s shoulder before it gave the Bastion unit a happy face and a scrolling screen of marquee hearts. Bastion looked a little taken aback, scratching at its chin as its eye turned half red in the middle. Was it…blushing? “Deeeeee-doo-doo-deeeeee.” Mei was just about ready to set off the emergency alarms and summon the entire base over to see this display of nonstop adorableness, but she made herself take a breath, smoothing her hands over the front of her coat before taking Snowball in both arms. “Now Bastion, I did ask you to come a little early because I wanted to just go over a few things with you, is that okay?” She received a nod and continued, “Okay, good. I know you received my message about the junkers joining us and I just wanted to be certain how you felt about things before we leave.” Bastion looked down to the ground, uttering a grinding noise that went down at the end. It didn’t sound very sure at all. “I know that they’re a handful and how they’ve acted towards you and the others. But they’ve been making a lot of progress in other areas, and I think that with a little more work, we might be able to help them see that you and Zenyatta and the rest don’t have anything to do with what happened in Australia and that they can start to let go of those prejudices, right?” With a hopeful nod, she placed a gloved hand on one of the gears of its boxy shoulder. “And you’re the friendliest, cutest bot I’ve ever met. I think in no time at all they’re going to like you too! I’ve made them promise not to do anything mean to you or Ganymede, so we just have to be…um, diplomatic. And I want you to know that if they give you any trouble at all, you should come to me at once. But I know we can do this together, and get our mission done successfully. Speaking of…” She opened her tablet, the holographic display flickering to life over it. Sure enough, Bastion’s interest peaked immediately, stepping forward and searching the map for a moment before bringing its pointer finger towards the little block of northwest Canada. It uttered a questioning chirp, turning towards Mei once more and tapping it twice. “Dee-Bwoo-woo?” “Maybe you can tell me why you’re so interested in this place? You’re my friend, Bastion, and I want you to know that you can tell me anything. What’s in this forest? Why are we going there?” Her brows knitted in concern, biting slightly at her lower lip. The bot paused, then uttered a series of tones that went up and down, staring at the spot on the map and tapping it again before looking at her expectantly. No new information to be had there, but she offered it a little wary smile and adjusted her glasses. “Okay, well…I’m sure we’ll find out once we get there, and then maybe you can tell me? I mean, tell us?” There was a sudden commotion approaching them from the other side of the base, and they all knew at once who it was. “Nan, I’m telling ya! I already got everything, we both do!” Junkrat’s familiar high-pitched whine sounded from the corner. “I’ve got at least fifty pounds of gear for this gig, I don’t need any more. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as ‘long underwear’, did you Roadie? The hell is that all about? Not enough to just constrain this magnificent Australian donger with regular underwear, now I gotta wrap my entire self in it?” Mei sighed, shaking her head. The two junkers entered the docking area, flanked the much smaller figure of Ana, who was fussing over the young man relentlessly, holding a backpack and a sack lunch as she struggled to to reach his head and place a knit snowflake-patterned toboggan atop it. She didn’t seem put off by his crude manners at all, hurrying to keep stride with his limping gait. “And you may be putting up a ruckus now, but you’re going to be glad for all this once you actually get there. My ex-husband is from Canada and I know exactly what the two of you are up against-” Junkrat screeched to a halt, whirling upon her. “Ex-husband?! What’d he do to you, Nan? You want me and Roadie to deal with him while we’re there?” Roadhog rumbled and punched one gigantic spiked fist into his palm menacingly. Ana rolled her remaining eye, shoving the backpack and lunch into Junkrat’s arms. “Jamison, that is Fareeha’s father you are speaking about, you would not be doing anything even if you were anywhere near him. I don’t know why they’re sending you all into a little town like Tentpeg, but it’s going to be cold. Colder than you know. So I packed you a few extra things.” She began rummaging about in yet another bag she pulled from out of her coat. “Extra mittens for if you lose the other two pairs, a scarf or three, some warm socks so you don’t lose that other foot, vitamins, hot cocoa packets, a sweater…Sorry for the tacky sweater, it was the only one I had that might fit you.” Junkrat wrinkled his nose as she pulled out the sweater, giving it an unimpressed look. “The hell is that thing, a cow? Eh, least it looks less bulky than that coat y’got me.” “That’s a moose. And the sweater goes under the coat.” “The fuck it does!?” He blurted out, before his bushy brows lifted suddenly and he clamped both hands over his mouth as Ana began rapidly admonishing him for his language. Mei coughed a little, turning away to stifle her laugh. She had also been wondering how her Australian cohorts were going to handle a Canadian winter. Roadhog, at least, seemed to be handling the concept a bit better. He was already wearing a powder pink knit hat with a pig face and ears, atop his already pig-themed mask. The now double-headed Hog accepted his own winter bag with little more than a low grumble, even when Ana began wrapping at least a mile’s worth of striped scarf around his thick neck. Mei swiftly came to their rescue, bustling over to try and shoo the concerned sniper off them. “Miss Amari, I’m sure they’ll be all right. I have everything checked over, even extra thermal blankets and toothbrushes just in case,” Mei said, before leaning up to the woman’s ear. “And I’ll send you pictures of them all dressed up in the snow, if you want. I plan to take a lot!” Ana offered her a wrinkled grin, her eye creasing with amusement at the thought. “I thought you’d never offer, habibati. Honestly, I’d offer to go with you if I wasn’t busy here. To keep a watch on those two, mainly. But, I suppose they’re even better off with the best cold weather expert we have. But you’re going to have your hands full with two junkers and an omnic, you know.” “I know,” Mei sighed, deflating slightly before straightening up with a little huff. They both turned to eye the men, watching as Junkrat tried to convince his partner to trade hats and was swiftly rebuffed. “But if I can deal with those two out in the desert, I’m sure I can deal with them out in the snow. If they get too hot under the collar, I can send them to chill out! This time they’re going to be on my turf, right?” “That’s the spirit, my tough girl.” Ana clapped her gently on her shoulder and turned to go, before halting abruptly. “Ya lahwy! I almost forgot!” She dug around in the mysterious depths of her coat yet again before withdrawing one more knitted hat, a pale yellow with a pom-pom on top and a buttoned strap, before going to latch it onto Bastion’s boxy head. “I wouldn’t want you to feel left out, hm?” ` The bot touched it reverently, beeping its thanks. “All right, I’ll get out of your hair so you can get on your way. Good luck in Tentpeg, be safe out there! Be good! And warm! Stay warm!” With a last wave, the old sniper rounded the bend and vanished. Junkrat, still wearing his new toboggan despite having no shirt on, lurched up beside Mei and stretched upright, placing his hands on his hips to watch her go. “Best nan I never had, ain’t she? Top ratings. If only she didn’t make the cookies with raisins in ‘em…” Roadhog hefted a crate of their supplies in one arm, lumbering up the ramp to the ship with a low rumble. “Well I know you like the raisin kind, mate, don’t got to rip my head off about it,” Junkrat snapped. “But yeah, you’re right, let’s get moving. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get the hell out. Don’t much fancy the thought of all that snow. You’re real lucky I’m the gallant gent that I am, lovey, braving the ice and gales like I am, all in the name of love! That right there, that’s romance, that is.” “You’re the one who insisted on coming,” she reminded him with a little sly look. “But this is a lot more snow than the places you’ve been sent so far. Romance or not, I don’t want any of you to hesitate to ask for help if you’re having trouble.” “Eh, she’ll be right! Not to worry!” “I mean it, Jamie. I know you’re better at handling the heat than I am, but I lived in Antarctica. It takes a while to get used to the ice and snow. And the cold…Sometimes, the cold can…” Her voice trailed off, expression going slack as her gaze went far away. Mist on her breath…Ice crystals on her eyelashes…the last green dots of a dying battery…a collection of mugs standing like gravestones…nobody even knew they were th- “Oi!” A gravely voice sounded in her ear and then came the familiar nip of sharp teeth against her ear, jolting her from her reverie. “Come on, Mei, come on back.” “Sorry! Sorry, sorry about that, was just thinking again,” she said, shaking her head to clear away the negative thoughts, the little things that always seemed to get caught in the cobwebs in the recesses of her brain. When Junkrat merely squinted at her in some concern, she quickly leaned up to nuzzle her nose against the side of his jaw. “I’m fine, don’t worry. And I’ll be there if you need help with the cold…” She looked around quickly to make sure nobody was in earshot, leaning up again and pretending to adjust his silly toboggan. “I know lots of ways to help keep you warm, I mean?” Steam practically shot out of the man’s ears and she could have sworn his grin widened enough that the edges of his mouth were meeting on the back of his head, barking out a sharp “YEAH!” before lowering his voice back to…well, his usual customary loudness. “Yeah, show me lots of that! Survival techniques! Sexy, sexy survival techniques! Come on, come on, we better get a move on!” He grabbed her hand and started dragging her up the ramp to the ship, eager to get the trip started, ice and snow be damned. ***

Junkrat seemed a little less sure of things a few hours later, with his face pressed to their ship’s window, staring down at the vast landscape of green and white forests below them. He’d begrudgingly put on his moose sweater, though it hung silly and loose on his bony frame, and Mei had even caught him giving a few doubtful glances towards the bulky winter coat sticking out of his pack as the temperature outside continued to drop the further north they went. “Turn the heat up already, will ya? I can feel it in my toes, you want me to lose my foot? You wanna answer to Nan’s wrath when she learns you didn’t keep poor ol’ Junkrat from freezing to death like you promised?” “No, it’s better to get a little acclimated to the cold slowly. And it’s barely even a chill, you’ll be all right.” Mei smacked his hand gently away from the temperature controls, her eyes still on the ship’s onboard map as they neared the tiny dot on the map that represented the town of Tentpeg. The trip had been mercifully quiet and without trouble thus far. Bastion had gone idle almost immediately, and though the junkers had watched it distrustfully at first, eventually they had grown bored and left it to its own devices. For now, Roadhog was snoring softly in his seat in the back, already snug in his winter coat and pig hat, while Bastion sat in a resting posture with its legs drawn up and its boxy body lowered to the ground, only its flickering eyelight hinting that it was alive at all. Mei barely seemed to notice the cold at all, checking the autopilot as she glanced over their schedules again. “We should be arriving in Tentpeg in just a few minutes, everyone. Landing at 5:25 PM. -6 Celsius, so not too bad so far. We can check into our hotel and then erm…have a quick look around the next morning, before we need to head out.” Junkrat’s eyes bulged slightly when she mentioned the temperature, finally relenting and scrambling to grab his parka, awkwardly shoving both arms into it before fumbling with his mittens. “-6 she says, and ‘that’s not bad’? I’ll be a Junksicle in seconds.” He paused, then turned to Mei with an all-too-familiar edge to his grin. “Oi Mei, if I was a Junksicle, would you lick m-” “Ānjìng! Shh!” She tossed a scarf into his face, interrupting him and leaving him to unwind it as she focused on the manual controls. The ship was starting to approach a crude landing area- Really more of a clearing outside of town than an actual landing area- as the snow fell steadily outside, blowing gently against the windshield. The town below was barely that. She had read that Tentpeg had been established for logging, ages ago, and had always been a tiny and rather destitute place. There had been attempts to rebrand it into a tourist destination, but it was further north than tourists really wanted to go. Now the only things left here were a few scattered service buildings and houses, and the hotel they would be staying at while she looked into things. The ship wavered slightly as she set it down, turning around in her seat. “Okay, everyone! We’re here!” The others began stirring. Coats were put on, seatbelts clicked, and bags were gathered, before they all stood at the cargo doors. Mei clicked the button, and with a whir, they slowly opened. The cold creeped in as soon as the seal breached, little flakes of white and blue swirling around their feet. The little climatologist stood at the front, bearing the brunt of it as Snowball hovered beside her. Her companions did not face it quite as bravely. Ganymede fluffed up and retreated underneath Bastion’s hat, squirming under the rim for relative shelter, and even the stalwart Roadhog, larger than ever with his layers of coats and gear, took a half step backward. Junkrat squealed and hid behind his bodyguard as though he would shield him from this like he had shielded him from everything else. But the cold had already swept in, and any warmth left in the ship was smothered and gone within seconds. Mei, already rose-cheeked and smiling comfortingly, gestured them forward. “I know it’s a little chilly at first, but you’ll acclimate. Why don’t we all get to the hotel and get warm and settle in, and we’ll all have dinner and celebrate your first cold weather mission. Go science division…and friends! Hooray, us!” Junkrat, already huddling miserably into his coat and scarf with barely his eyes peeking out in a little strip just above, scrambled forward. “Are you trying to bloody kill us, woman?! Standing around in the cold? This ain’t natural! Which way’s that hotel? Can’t believe I ever agreed to- WAAAUUGH!” He rushed past her, sights set on the buildings up ahead, and stepped off the ramp. His weight hit the top of the smooth white and he immediately sank in up past his knees, toppling forward as he tried to brace himself before falling. He vanished from sight into the snowbank, leaving behind a distinctly Junkrat-shaped impression like some warped version of a snow angel. The rest of them stood watching, Bastion tilting its head as Roadhog snorted a low, “Idiot.” From the safety of the ramp there was a flash, as Mei grinned and took a picture.

[kitkat1003]

Protection

@angerydj more

Krupp doesn’t like to say that he…likes George and Harold.  They’re tolerable now with the distraction of Captain Underpants to keep them off of most pranks.  They still like fooling around, but a part of that is because of their ADHD-Captain got him a book, and he reinstated the arts program, tried to covertly help without making it obvious because he has a reputation-the rest being them being crazy pranksters.  They work hard now though, they try and get good grades and be good students while dealing with the daily hijinks of pranks and supervillains, so if he lets them off a little easy nowadays?  Simply to be fair, considering none of the other students have to deal with such things on top of schoolwork.  Surely he’s justified in cutting them some slack.

There’s absolutely no sense of sympathy when they come to school with bags under their eyes, and there certainly isn’t some sort of oddly prideful feeling in their chest whenever they pull off another silly, harmless prank. That’s a ridiculous thought.

He’s walking through the halls; the day is slow, no important paperwork or meetings or calls to attend to, so he figures he might as well supervise. He passes by the art room, and he turns to see the students create.  It’s certainly the most colorful and joyful classroom, that’s for sure.  There’s a smile on every kids face, and in the middle of the chaos is George and Harold, seemingly finishing up a new Captain Underpants comic.

He always gets to look over every issue these days, because they value his opinion for some reason.  The books are…interesting, and a bit humorous, but he certainly does not look forward to every issue that arrives at his office.

He’s staring intently at the boys, to the point that he doesn’t notice the child drawing in the corner that is seemingly frustrated with his own lack of artistic ability.  He doesn’t see the boy growl and throw his pencil to the ground, doesn’t see the boy glare at the smiles of George and Harold, and he doesn’t notice how the boy gets up and walks deliberately towards the duo with clenched fists.

He does notice, however, when the boy grabs the nearly finished comic out of Harold’s hands, and rips it to shreds.

The world slows down.

He watches Harold’s face contort into something near anguish; hours of art destroyed in a matter of seconds.  He watches George’s face turn to anger, justified and hurt because there was no provocation, and now his best friend is hurting and his writing is for nothing.  He watches the bully sneer, not at all remorseful, instead looking pleased with himself.

He thinks; just a year ago he had done the same thing, torn up one of their comics without a second thought, but now.

Now, his face is burning red, because that kid, that snot-nosed, bitter brat just ruined his kids’ comic, his kids who fight crime and gave him a coffee mug that he uses because it’s a gift-he never gets gifts from anyone- and who make school life interesting and who make him smile when he thought he never could, and he is furious.

“MR.WILLSON!”

The entire art room goes silent, conversations halted, children with arms outstretched to grab something now still with wide eyes, held breaths and frozen stares.  George and Harold’s heads snap to meet his eyes; he notes Harold has tears in his eyes, barely held back, and that just serves to make him even angrier.

He stomps over to the bully, the idiot who thought they could get away with messing with his-Wait, when did he start calling them his kids-kids, and the child shivers, trembles, that smirk gone and replaced with fear, and Mr.Krupp revels in the fact that he still inspires fear in children, especially this child.

“My office.  Now,” He growls out, pointing, and the child walks with his head down out of the classroom.

Krupp stomps after him, already planning ways to make Mr.Willson’s school life miserable.

George and Harold watch, staring at the torn shreds of their comic book once Krupp leaves, left in utter disbelief.

“What just happened?”

“Dude, don’t question it.  We need to buy him another mug or something.”

“We could draw him a comic!”

“Hmm, you got some artist left in you today?”

“You bet!”

The classroom returns to chaos, and George and Harold begin to work.

Captain Underpants likes taking flights around town.  Having superpowers comes with its perks, most especially the perks of wind on your face as you whisk through the sky, or being able to go anywhere with no traffic in your way, save for the occasional flock of birds.

Right now, he’s searching for his amazing sidekicks.  They’ve been working hard lately, Benny has noticed too, and now they have money for ice cream!  Benny was just the sweetest-he’d given Benny so many kisses as thanks-but all this kindness would go to nothing if he couldn’t find George and Harold!  

He swoops down low as he reaches the schoolyard.  The boys hadn’t been at their treehouse, and there’s nowhere else that Captain can imagine them being besides the school.  

“Back off, jerk!”  He freezes in mid air at the sound George’s voice, eyes scanning the black top below him before he spots his sidekicks.

They’re cornered by a large child near a basketball hoop, Harold holding his arm-is that a bruise or a gash?-and George is standing his ground in front of the bully, one arm arced back to protect Harold.  

While Captain prides himself on his level headedness, he can’t help but feel a tad bit angry.  Okay, so angry might be a little bit of an understatement.  He’s actually quite…steamed.  Furious. Feeling as if he wants to take the bully and throw him across the basketball court to show him how people who hurt his sidekicks are treated.

He doesn’t do that though, he grips restraint with a shaking iron fist and settles for zooming down in-between the assailant and George.

“Now, now,” His voice sounds darker than it usually is, but he can’t be perfect when he’s battling the urge to do things unbecoming of a hero.  “What sort of villain picks on the sidekicks of the hero?  Seems like a bad idea,” He stresses the last two words, and the bully balks, turning white as a sheet and running off.

For a moment, Captain ponders running after the boy and giving him…something bad, but he has sidekicks to care for.  “George, Harold, are you boys alright?” He turns to the two boys, and they seem alright, save for Harold’s arm.  Captain holds his hands out to Harold expectantly, and after a moment of trepidation reveals the large scrape on his arm.  George places a hand on Harold’s shoulder, and Captain hisses at the sight of the wound.  

“That looks rough,” He tells them, but gives them a grin, “But nothing ice cream can’t fix!” He shows off the cash, and the two whoop with joy.

They walk instead of flying, because gripping Harold’s arm for flight isn’t possible at the moment.  If the Captain sticks by a little closer, or grasps their hands a little tighter, then they don’t comment.

And if that child, who no one bothers to learn’s name, ends up with months of detention, well, that’s just karma.

There’s a rule at Jerome Horwitz Elementary School.  It’s rather easy to follow.  Every bully hasn’t ingrained into their brain, passed down to any new face who wants to harm the nerds of the school, or the underclassmen. 

Don’t touch George Beard or Harold Hutchins.

No one quite understands why they are so untouchable.  Rumors are whispered through the halls about the boys who walk into class with bruises and scratches and bags underneath their eyes, the boys who do so many pranks but get so little detention time, they boys who both the hero and the principal seem to care for.  They dance between normalcy and fantasy with each step, each odd grin, each shared inside joke that leaves the world hanging.

They are protected, whether they know it or not, by two very powerful people.

That those people care is what confounds people most of all.

The children ask, the teachers question, confused and wondering for truth.

But for that truth?

Well, the two who know it don’t feel like telling anyone anything.

[menphinasbow]

Baelsar’s Wall

Contains spoilers up to the Main Scenario Quest: Louisoix’s Finest Student

Storming into castrums had now become something of a regular occurrence, she realized as she stood in the heart of Castrum Oriens, preparing to face The Griffin. Chaos was ensuing all around her, with the rebels dressed in Grand Company outfits and the Garleans clashing everywhere. She looked around for a way to reach the highest point, where their adversary seemed to be located, based on the intel they’d gathered along the way.

Yvaine and her team marched quickly, consulting the blueprints of the castrum someone had managed to acquire. Or rather, someone else was consulting it and she waited for them to point the way, because as they all knew, she could not read maps. It was while the group was huddled together, discussing the best route to the roof, that her gaze caught something of interest.

A barred cell at the deepest part of one hallway, where desperate eyes looked back at her. She instinctively turned towards it, drawn toward the feeling of someone needing help, and when she moved closer, she saw not just one pair of eyes but several. Some of them moved away in fear as she approached. Some of them simply looked at her blankly, as if nothing in their lives mattered anymore, not even this stranger who had come out of nowhere when all hell broke loose around them.

“Help us,” one of them, a ragged-looking Hyurian man pleaded, suddenly launching himself into the bars with a clang, startling her.

Still others behind him looked at her with various expressions; distrust, curiosity, and vague hope.

“Who are you?” she asked them.

“Political prisoners of the Garleans,” an Elezen woman answered lazily from her sitting position on the dirty floor. “Too important to kill, too dangerous to be let loose. Or, in some cases…” she turned her gaze somewhere behind her, into the darkness. “They just kept alive to prolong our suffering. Because death is too easy. You know how it is with them. Cruel bastards.” She turned back towards Yvaine. “You’re one of the fighters who came to reclaim Ala Mhigo, aren’t you? Are you going to let us out or what?”

But Yvaine’s attention had shifted toward the person in the back, the one the Elezen had glanced at earlier. It was a Miqo’te woman, and she was stepping into the dim light offered by the corridor. Yvaine knew this from the shape of her body, the way she moved, her long, wavy hair the color of the trees in Gridania. Her dainty ears and her curling tail all drooped with defeat.

When Yvaine finally saw the woman’s eyes, her breath caught. A very strange familiar sensation coursed through her, and instantly she knew something was not right. Or maybe it was just right. Either way, there was something about this woman that unsettled her. Looking into her eyes felt like looking into a mirror.

And the woman was looking at her with that same haunted look. She moved as if in a trance, closer to the bars. She reached out one trembling hand, but seemed to remember herself at the last moment and pulled it back suddenly, but she let out a choked sob at the same time as if the gesture physically hurt her.

Yvaine didn’t realize that she, too, had stepped closer, and was reaching toward her as well. When the woman pulled back, the spell broke and she shook herself. “Who are you?” she asked, specifically at this woman this time.

“We already told you,” the Elezen snapped in annoyance. “Are you daft? Oh great, the one person in this so-called rebellion who has bothered to wander this way isn’t even right in the head. There goes our escape ticket.”

“Do not talk to her that way,” the Miqo’te woman suddenly blurted out, her eyes now burning with anger, so filled with life when before there was almost nothing.

The Elezen seemed taken aback. “What has gotten into you? I’ve never even seen you utter a complete sentence before.”

“She’s—” the Miqo’te started, then shook her head and retreated just like before. 

Yvaine.

She thought she heard her name uttered from the woman’s lips, but she couldn’t be sure. And it wouldn’t have been that strange for a person she didn’t know to know her name at this point. After everything she had ever done, she rarely questioned it anymore. But the way this woman said it—if she did really say it and Yvaine hadn’t just been imagining it—was different.

Like she knew her as a person. Like she loved her.

Like she was… family.

It sent chills up her spine.

She opened her mouth to say something when suddenly Khit’li was there beside her, tapping her shoulder. She jumped in surprise as she turned to look at him, almost going for her bow.

“They’ve found the shortest route. I thought I lost you there. Don’t scare me like that. How many times have I told you not to wander off on your own?”

She stared at him, unable to say anything, her mouth still frozen in an unspoken question. She looked back at the prisoners.

“We have to free them,” she managed to say at last. “They’re Garlean prisoners. They’re our people.” She frowned. “I think.”

He looked at them briefly, then nodded. “We will.”

A promise. She knew she could hold his promises.

“But first things first. The Griffin.”

She nodded, even if she wished he wasn’t right. She looked back at the group of prisoners, at their distrustful and disappointed eyes, and then back to the Miqo’te woman.

“I’ll come back for you,” she told them all.

But mostly that woman.

The fight with The Griffin, of course, did not really provide the opportunity to come back. She’d been blasted away by Papalymo and thrown onto the airship, which proceeded to fly away, back to the Rising Stones. She’d asked anyone who was left behind to free the prisoners if they could, but she didn’t know if they managed to do it or not in the ensuing chaos.

That night, when she finally managed to find time to rest, and think about everything that happened, she sat on the bed, finally alone with Khit’li.

She had been thinking about it all night, in the back of her mind, even as the traumatic event of losing Papalymo and facing Yda’s distraught were unfolding and taking center stage. Even as they discussed how best to contain the primal Ilberd had unleashed in a more permanent way. Even as she knew there were worse things happening and to worry about.

She’d been silent as she went through the motions of putting down her bow and arrows, changing into her sleeping clothes, absently brushing back her hair to get rid of all the ash and dust.

It doesn’t matter. You’re probably wrong. It’s just wishful thinking.

Papalymo is gone. That’s what’s very real. That’s what you have to deal with.

She put down the hair brush and looked at the boy who’d always been there with her, in all the most difficult situations and in all her triumphs.

She knew that she had to say it to him, because she needed to tell someone, and it might as well be the one person who knew her better than anyone.

“Khit’li…” she began softly, not looking at him at first. She balled her fists and gathered her courage to give voice to the words, to make them real. She looked into his eyes now, for strength, for hope, for something to ground her even as she spoke the words that she never imagined she would ever say in her life.

“I think I found my mother.”