#but it was broken apart before he could really allow himself to actually let go of his mask

[kanmom51]

I actually have a crazy theory...

I have already sent this ask as the response to someone else’s thoughts, but then I thought about it and I REALLY wanted to know your opinion about this.

I think Jikook by the beginning of last year didn't know they were enlisting together.

I think they obviously knew about buddy system but didn't actually think they would need to use it. Because it's not really done by idols, and also they both could've gone to safer and easier stations, where they could have more freedom.

BUT THEN Jimin started working intensely on his album and JK started acting out (like having drunken lives), and it became VERY CLEAR that they would not be able to do 18 months apart.

I mean do you remember, that at this time JK said himself that he was not working on anything. And I think the plan was for Jimin to go first (just like a lot of us thought he would) and for JK to have more time for promo alone, when others are gone (I’m pretty sure that HYBE definitely wanted for JK to have big solo debut apart from other members).

But then like I said the drunken lives happened and realization hit, that they have to apply for buddy system, that 18 months apart would be BAD for both of them.

And that's when HYBE (or whoever) made specific demands from JK. Like if he wanted to leave by the end of the year (and he had to for buddy system to work) he HAS TO do the album, and because there was no time to write it from scratch they got all the English songs. Also his schedule was extremely packed and difficult.

So I think that the travel show was something Jikook specifically done for themselves because JK's schedule was so insane that if not for that excuse they would not be able to hang out freely before the enlistment. (By the way am I the only one who thinks that we are getting the travel show only next year? And waiting for it now is kinda crazy?)

But again it's just my theory, mostly because HYBE doesn't feel (to me) like the company who would just let their artists do whatever they want. To me they are waaay more pragmatic than that, and if they decided to allow their stars to enlist together (something that isn't really done in idol culture), than they would make sure to get something in return. They worked JK very hard, and I think he took it because he had a specific goal (more like a person) in mind that he was willing to work for.

So, although we might be on the same wave with some of your thoughts, I don't fully agree with you.

I agree that they didn't know they would be enlisting together way back at the start of 2023.

I think that way back then they were still struggling with the realization that they will have to be enlisting. All the way back to the end of 2022, basically up to around the Busan concert, which was October 2022, they still held hope that some kind of arrangement could and would be found to allow for them not to enlist or to serve a shorter term. It was quite a conundrum for them, something I think most of them struggled with (and I say most because I do think that at least one of them did genuinely want to enlist) - on the one hand this is a life changing pretty scary thing (terrifying even - we saw how sad, and I will even say broken, JM was having to shave off his hair, and that was only a small part of it) they would have to do (joining the army is not a walk in the park, no pun intended), not to mention being in their prime, in the height of their success, having to part with the life they are accustomed to (professionally and personally), not being something they would necessarily want to do. And on the other hand you have that sense of commitment to the country and to their fellow Koreans, that have to face that same compulsory enlistment, adding the knowledge that not taking that path of enlistment could also come at a price. Like us, they knew that there were those that indeed believed they should be given an exemption, but at the same time many Koreans would have frowned upon it, and it's them that have to live among their people. Also, enlisting like any other SK young man would allow them more freedom in the future when it comes to voicing their opinions, as they had, like all others who had served their country fulfilling their duties. Criticisms of anything within a society you live in is easier to swallow when the person voicing said opinion is part of that society and enjoys not only the rights bestowed on those who live there, but has also fulfilled all required duties as well.

Long story short, end of 2022 the decision to enlist became a reality and Jin enlisting hit them all VERY hard. At that point I don't think they had a plan of enlistment just yet, although we do know from RM, for instance, that he was supposed to enlist with Hobi but ended up pushing back as he was busy working on his album and preferred not to lose the momentum.

And btw, hearing this from RM also teaches us that JM was never going to enlist so early on. And here I think our ways part when it comes to the continuation of your theory, because I do believe that JM's plan had ALWAYS been to stick around for JK's solo debut, whenever that would be. And I'll get back to it in a few...

JK was struggling start of 2023. What we got to see, starting with his lives in Feb 2023, him deleting his IG, was him pulling himself out of the pit he was in. Taking initiative and deleting his IG (which I will once again say was a big old F U to the company) and reaching out to us with his lives was JK becoming more active in getting better.

*Side note: I'm using the term getting better meaning pulling yourself out of a bad place you are in mentally (one that effects you physically as well).

Idk if starting the lives was a conscious decision on his part towards getting better, but I do believe that starting them was a key part in it.

Talking to us, sharing things with us, setting (at least trying to set) boundaries with his fans what is and is not acceptable on his part as an idol when it comes to fan behavior and interactions with him, doing it all in the most JK way, intelligently and respectfully.

JM was busy all the way from end of July 2023 through to the release of Face and until the end of his promotions. It's not that they weren't seeing each other or spending time together during this time. It's not that JM wasn't there for JK, as much as he could in the moment. It's very important to state this. But JK was struggling with everything. It's the hiatus, Jin's enlistment, their looming enlistment (the unknown of what will be with the two of them - separation for such a long time is something that both of them would find extremely hard to handle for so many reasons), the lack of direction, the lack of a structured timetable (JK is neuro divergent - there is zero doubt in my mind - if it's asd or adhd or a combination of the two, which in my mind is the most likely of them all). He was kind of lost and his anchor, JM, was not available in the way that he needed. Not JM's fault. Not JK's fault. It just was what it was, and JK was a little lost. It's natural for something like this to happen. I spoke about it quite a bit in my posts about his lives at the time. We saw RM was kind of lost for a while there too. The trick is to pick yourself up and pull yourself out of it (with help of others if necessary), and JK did, and JM was ecstatic to see him doing it. Those comments of his during JK's lives (we are talking about the lives during Feb-Mar 2023) were testimony to that.

Once again I can't seem to reign myself in and keep on point, lol.

So, where was I? Oh yes, they didn't know what will happen, but at the same time JM was not planning on enlisting earlier that year. Understand this: JM enlisting earlier would, to them, mean them being apart for not 18 months, but for 18 months plus. Plus the time between JM's enlistment and JK's enlistment. And plus the time from JM's discharge to JK's discharge. Even without JK's situation this was not something that they would want or agree on. Not to mention JK not only wanting JM around for his solo debut, but NEEDING him around for it. And it's not about being by his side 24/7, which he wasn't and he couldn't be. It's about being accessible. Being there to support him if he needed. Whenever he needed it. Being able to be with him for his first solo performance (this brings me close to another ask I received and am working on regarding JK's FIRST big solo performance). All this has to be within the limits of their glass closet (glass getting a little murky for their own liking since the end of 2021 all the way to the end of 2023), and the limits set by the powers of be (some of which JK very defiantly crossed). So yeah, JM was going to wait for JK's solo debut before enlisting.

As for enlisting together. That was something that was being assessed and in the works for several months. Something obviously kept quiet for good reason.

Was there a give and take with the company when it came to JK and the album? 100%. There were things he wanted, there were things they wanted, there were frogs that it being a first solo album he knew he would have to swallow.

Were some of these concessions given to allow the two more freedom, like allowing the 'travel show'? I do believe they were. Perhaps also prices paid (with Golden) for demands agreed upon in their new contracts. I can definitely see that happening.

The push for a full length album could be one of those, for example. JK was talking about a mini album even as late as mid July, and then it turned into a full length album. Could it have been the company pressuring him into it? Yes it could, as in the company wanting this. But JK is not one to cave in just because the company wants. So very possibly we had a bit of give and take going on here, and some of it most definitley would have had to do with allowances made for the two of them.

But at the same time I don't think it had anything to do with the joint enlistment. Not only don't I think that the company would have a say in it, legally or morally, but this wouldn't be something that either of them would stand for. So, in case I didn't make myself clear here, I will say it again - the company didn't use the possibility of joint enlistment as a tool to get something extra out of JK.

You talk about Hybe not being a company that will allow their artists to do as they wish. BTS belong to Big Hit, which is a subsidiary of Hybe. But Hybe would not have existed if not for BTS. BTS made BH what it is today and Hybe was built on their coat tails. And BTS, the members, they have enjoyed many freedoms within their company over the years. Not full freedom though. And Jikook, well they were allowed to be (while in other companies this was not allowed, couples forced apart or forced out). And not only were they allowed to be, but towards the end of 2020 there was movement towards normalizing their relationship, ear suck, hickey and all.

But then came Hybe and Hybe going public, and I knew the day that was announced that even though the members will get a huge payout this move will cost them freedoms they already had, because now there were shareholders and share prices to worry about, and when your band is the main bread winner for that company, well, as I mentioned, there is a price to pay. And they have been paying that price. The two of them for the 2 years prior to their enlistment. As long as they were under their old contracts they were bound by them. Which is why I feel like there will be changes coming when they are done with their MS and well into their new contracts. This will be freedom regarding their art (I think we can already see part of that with RM's new album) but also regarding their personal lives, in a sense of what they can or cannot show if they choose to. JK telling us he's human, telling us he loves us but he deserves to be happy, or even more needs to be happy to be able to create and perform and make us happy (you need to be especially dense if you don't understand that this also includes being in a relationship with another person, who may or may not be a member of his own band). This includes setting boundaries with their fans - yes they love them and feel indebted to them, but at the same time they need to stay in their own lane (I do think JK has been too nice at times setting these boundaries, while others like RM, Yoongi and Tae - a couple of times - were way blunter).

Once again, Hybe wouldn't have the right to 'allow' or 'disallow' them to enlist together. This would have been their decision and theirs alone. Hybe could talk about timing and what they would like to happen before or after, but not if it can or will happen. Hybe could like or dislike it, support it or not, but they would have no power over it. The military alone would have a say if to allow it or not, and at the end of the day we know how that one ended.

I also want to touch on another point.

Again.

Their choice to enlist together.

I've seen talk about Jikookers using the term NEED when it comes to the two of them - needing to be with one another to get through their military service, and I wanted to put in my two cents on this.

The way I think of it is that when people use the term need in that case it's not about saying that if they weren't allowed to enlist together they wouldn't have survived it. No. That isn't it. Not in my opinion, in any case.

These two young men are strong physically and mentally, and they would get through whatever was thrown their way (wouldn't be easy, I tell you that, but they would get through it). Chances are that if they wouldn't have gone down the path of enlisting together they could have landed a cushier placement, band perhaps, like NJ, who knows. But definitley the choice to do this together had a price tag to it, and their letters from Festa tell us as much as well (even though they obviously sugar coat it for us, but the sentiments are clear - it's hard).

So, they chose this. They knew this was going to be hard. A harder, more difficult, placement if they were to go down this path. And yet this was their choice!!

Why?

And here comes that NEED into play.

Yes, I do think that they needed this. They needed each other. They needed to not be separated for 18 months not knowing if and how often they could get to see each other or be together (maybe, if allowed, once in 3 months, and only if their units allowed the time off at the same time). They needed that person that they trusted and KNEW that would stand by their side, that would support them, be their rock, catch them when they fall, be by their side in their time of need, just like they always have been.

They are each other's PERSON. The one that would ALWAYS be there through good and bad.

They both put it down in words:

JM

And JK

Shock, awe... I must be one of those delusional Jikookers that believe JK's lyrics were not describing his relationship with us, the fans. Another song written for the one person they love, yet given as a gift to Army.

And in his very subtle but intelligent way, he told us that himself:

"Even when I was working on the song, I really wanted to release it as a fan song".

Just like JM did, eh?

Would it be too hard to just say : "I wrote this song for my fans"? He chose not to, didn't he? Once again we have choices here.

I digress.

You could replace NEED with WANT, if you will. Same same in this case, imo. Seeing how hard they fought to find their way to this exact point.

The first, the only idols to ever do this!!

Bottom line:

To me, using the term NEED in this context is not about them not being able to make it otherwise, but more about a choice made to have that person they feel closest to, the person that has since forever been their emotional anchor, the person that lifted them up when they fell, the person that stood by them, cared for them, supported them when they were struggling. The person that KNEW them to the core and would be there by their side to get through this together with.

Each other.

[omgrachwrites]

The Night We Met (Chapter Two)

Pairing: Mattheo Riddle x Potter!Reader

Summary: Over the summer you connected with the boy who is quite literally your twin's mortal enemy. Things start to fall apart in the darkness of the autumn.

Warnings: fluff, swearing, angst, everyone lives au, takes place in 6th year, James being the best dad ever

A/N: I am so sorry this took so long to come out! But thank you all so much for the support for this fic, I love you all! xxx

Chapter Two

The guilt you felt in your stomach was so unbearable that you ended up leaving the pub early, making excuses to your friends and ignoring Harry’s suspicious looks. It wasn’t until much later in the evening that your dad knocked on your door and when you let him in he sat himself on the edge of your bed.

“Y/N, what’s wrong darling?”

You looked at James with tears in your eyes, “dad,” you sniffled, “Mattheo is hurt and it’s all my fault.”

James sighed as he wrapped his arms around you, “it’s not your fault sweetheart. I know that he was here last night, you know, he could have stayed.”

You shook your head as tears fell down your cheeks, “I didn’t want to put him or anyone in any danger, I need to see if he’s okay.”

“I’ll take you.”

You scoffed at your dad’s words and took one look at his face and you realised that he was being deadly serious, he wasn’t joking, “are you insane?! What if he’s there?”

James shrugged, like the notion of his enemy wanting to kill him didn’t phase him at all, “then we’ll be careful, but I am not letting you go alone, not there.”

You let out a watery laugh as you swiped your hand over your eyes, “I love you, dad.”

“I love you too sweetie.”

You were driving through the lower part of the village when James spoke up, “wait, isn’t that him?”

Your eyes followed where your dad was pointing and you felt a jolt, your heart dropped and it wasn’t at the sight of Mattheo’s beautiful broken face, it was the sight of Pansy Parkinson’s hands all over him. You saw her smile as her fingers threaded through his hair and your heart was at the bottom of your stomach when you watched him smile back.

James made to get out of the car but you stopped him with a hand on his wrist, “dad, please don’t.”

James sighed as he glanced back at your face and pressed a kiss against your forehead, “should we just get some ice cream and go home?”

You shook your head, “I’d rather just go home actually, I’m sorry that I made you drive all the way out here for nothing, dad.”

James shook his head, “you didn’t make me do anything, sweetheart. I was happy to do it,” he glanced at Mattheo once more before biting his lip ad starting up the car again, “you know that he’s not good enough for you right?”

You smiled at your dad as he pulled the car away and you took one last look at Mattheo from the window.

When you were upset, James wanted to spend as much time with you as possible but you really just wanted to be alone. It took some convincing but James finally allowed you to take a walk by yourself to clear your head. You knew why he was so protective but it irritated you sometimes, of course you would never tell him that.

You blinked tears out of your eyes as you stared at the little stream that rushed through the clearing in the woods. A twig snapping made you jump and you instinctively clutched at your wand and drew it, ready to defend yourself if it came to that. You relaxed when he came into view, running a hand through his hair.

“Y/N,” Mattheo sighed as he came to sit next to you on the cool grass, “what are you doing here? It’s so late.”

You looked up at the brown eyes that regarded you with so much warmth, he certainly didn’t have his father’s eyes, that was for sure. They were so different to the cold eyes that beheld you at the start of summer.

“I’m so sorry,” you finally whispered, allowing your tears to fall.

Mattheo sighed as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders and kissed the top of your head, you could smell cigarette smoke as you clutched at his shirt, “maybe it’s for the best, Y/N.”

You sniffled and pulled back to look at his handsome face, “what do you mean?”

Mattheo scoffed as he took his arm from your shoulders and turned away from you, “don’t play coy with me, it’s insulting. I know whatever is going on between us has an expiry date. I mean it’s obvious, you and your brother are the golden children of Hogwarts, the heroes, there can never be a place for me and you to be truly together. We need to face the facts, Y/N we’re no good. You’re destined to have a great long life and I’m destined for the Dark Arts.”

It hurt you to hear him speak like this, so blatant and cruel, “it doesn’t have to be that way between us.”

“Y/N,” he wiped your tears away with his thumbs, “it was always supposed to be this way, it was fun and it provided us with a good distraction. This was doomed from the start, Y/N.”

Your resolve crumbled as you stared into his eyes and you realised there was no point in fighting for him if he wasn’t going to fight for you, “maybe we shouldn’t have even started this Theo,” you sniffled and pulled away from him.

“Let me walk you back?” he offered.

“No,” you whispered, “no, I actually just want to be left alone.”

As soon as you walked through the front door, James was waiting for you, “it’s over,” you wiped your eyes with the back of your hand, “I’m sorry for putting everyone in danger.”

James shook his head and pulled you into a hug, “you’ve got nothing to apologise for, I just want you to be happy.”

You forced a smile at your dad and kissed his cheek, “night, dad.”

“Goodnight, Y/N.”

The last few days of summer went by in a blur and soon you were saying goodbye to your parents as you left for school. You knew that Harry was nervous about going back to Hogwarts after what had happened at the Ministry. You knew he would get through it though, he always did.

“Are you going to be trying out for the Quidditch team this year, Y/N?” Hermione grinned as she looked up at you from the book that she was reading.

You laughed and mockingly glanced over at your brother who was in deep conversation with Ron, “as long as my brother does the right thing and puts me on the team,” you laughed before shaking your head “I would never expect him to just put me on the team, I’m not too sure this year, I was thinking about trying out but maybe I’ll leave it,” you shrugged.

Hermione nodded with a smile before she regarded you with warm brown eyes, “have you been okay? It’s just recently, you’ve seemed a little sad and distracted.”

You bit your lip, Hermione was your best friend but you just couldn’t bring yourself to tell her the full story, not yet anyway, you shrugged and gave her the cliff notes version, “I was seeing someone and it didn’t work out, we were just too different I guess.”

Hermione nodded and didn’t press further, instead she looked over at Harry who was beginning to rise from his seat, “Harry? Where are you going?”

“Um,” he mumbled as he looked at you with wide eyes and you had to hold a laugh in, it looked like he hadn’t bet on getting caught, “I’ve just got to check something,” he quickly stuffed something into his pocket and you narrowed your eyes. He left the compartment before anyone could question him further.

“What’s going on?” you asked Ron, “what is he hiding?”

Ron frowned as he looked over at you, “it’s nothing, you know that he’d never keep anything important from you.”

Did you know that? It seemed as though you weren’t the only one keeping secrets over the summer. By the time the train was pulling into Hogsmeade Station, Harry still wasn’t back and your friends had somehow convinced you to meet up with him back at the castle.

As you were walking up to the carriages that pulled themselves, you heard a voice call out to you, “oi, Potter! Where’s your loony brother?”

You whirled around and found yourself face to face with Mattheo, there was a sly sneer on his face and his eyes were hard and cold, “fuck you, Riddle.” He was going to play this game? Fine. “What the fuck is your problem?” you snarled beneath your breath so the others wouldn’t hear you.

“I- “his eyes darkened and his face hardened. He shook his head and stormed past you, knocking his shoulder against yours as he did so.

“Merlin, he’s a creep,” Ron muttered as he and Hermione caught up with you, “are you okay?”

You smiled up at the tall boy, “yeah Ron, I’m fine. Thank you.” What the hell did you even see in Mattheo?

The sorting ceremony was over and you were enjoying the glorious feast when the doors flew open. Snape stormed in, his cloak billowing behind him, Harry came in after him and your heart jolted as Hermione gasped and Ron muttered something beneath his breath. Your twin’s face was swollen and bloody, you had an idea who had done this to him. You glanced over your shoulder to glare over at the Slytherin table. Malfoy had a sneer on his face as his eyes followed Harry and Mattheo grinned as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice.

“What happened to your face?” Hermione whispered.

Harry shook his head, aware of all the nosy students staring at him, “not now, later,” he tried to smile, presumably trying not to split his lip open again before he looked at you, “does my face look normal?”

“Hmm,” you squinted at him and tilted your head, “yeah, apart from your massive nose.”

Harry laughed before wincing in pain, “you’re a prick, Y/N.”

You laughed as you drained the rest of your pumpkin juice, you couldn’t wait to get to bed so you were very thankful when Dumbledore dismissed everyone. You couldn’t help but notice Pansy walk off with Malfoy, not even giving Mattheo a backwards glance.

“Scared her off already have you?” you remarked, sidling up to Mattheo.

He frowned at you as he walked up the stairs, “I don’t even know what you’re talking about,” he hissed shaking his head, “I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to your brother by the way,” he nodded as Harry walked past with his eyes fixed on the marauders map.

You sighed as you folded your arms, glancing up at Mattheo’s fading bruises, “I’m sorry that he hurt you, I didn’t think he actually would.”

Mattheo scoffed, “you knew what would happen, you just didn’t care.”

“Of course I cared.”

Mattheo shook his head, “I honestly can’t be arsed talking about this let’s just treat each other like we usually would, like this summer never happened.”

“What, like we hate each other?”

“No,” he replied, “like we don’t even know each other. Because we don’t, not really, you were just some pretty girl that I enjoyed kissing over the summer, that’s all.”

Your mouth opened but no sound came out as you watched him walk in the direction of the dungeons.

“What was that about?” Hermione asked, making you jump and look at her guiltily.

“Oh you know, just same old shit,” you laughed and Hermione nodded but she didn’t look terribly convinced. You would have to be careful or you would be giving yourself away.

------------

Taglist; @primscat @thelifeofsecretpenguins @ehwhatever26 @siriuslycaptainofthedawntreader @nevillescomslut @hannahnikohl @5-seconds-of-animals @sanjanapm @abbiesxox @kaverichauhan @cat-loves-music @elijahslover @torresbarnes @ikyourwonderingwhyinameditthis @scream4melove @

[voltronisanobsession]

Oh boy, oh boy, do I have something for you. I really hope this is as good as the other requests I’ve given you, but can you imagine a Percy x Zagreus!reader?

The Reader is the child of Zagreus himself, who doesn’t have a good relationship with the Olympian queen. This means Hera is against his child as well and, despite being a goddess of marriage, tries to keep them away from their father as much as possible. But the Reader doesn’t care, they’ll fight their way to the Underworld no matter how long it might take.

So… how do you think Percy would react with this one? Think he’ll fall head over heels for their determined attitude? Join them in their runs? Patch them up while also scolding them if they come back terribly injured? You gotta tell me what you think.

Hope this is good, hope your day is going well, and have a good morning! Or afternoon…? Maybe even night?

And no, no, I did not draw inspiration from the Hades game, slowly falling in love with it, and trying to find as much gameplays as I can. Nope, don’t know what you’re talking about (😉)

Percy with a Child of Zagreus Reader

OOOOO😻😻 I can smell the bitterness of this reader coming from a mile away💀

I didn’t even know there was a game called Hades, Imma have to look a little into. I kinda mostly focused on reader for this one if I’m being honest

Not proofread💔

EDIT: After playing the game I realized I mischaracterized Zagreus and Hera BUT WE WON'T TALK ABOUT

Being a child of Zagreus, Hera has put reader through HELL growing up

Like gods aren’t normally supposed to interfere with demigods and whatnot but since she has a bone to pick with the underworld god, you would never be on good terms with Hera

Zagreus would’ve wanted to raise you himself lowkey, probably if your mother died unexpectedly, and mostly to protect you from the wrath of the goddess

But this is Hera we’re talking about, she’s a very bitter and unfair goddess, so she’s willing to tear you both apart if it means seeing Zagreus continuously suffering

Reader is forced to grow up alone, running away from danger that seems to follow them at every corner and turn

The only thing you would have of your father is a pendant of his, and the distant memory of his face

Maybe he even gave you a blessing of protection and perseverance, something that would help you before you were taken away from him

I think Hera would have some curse placed on you and your father, something that keeps y’all from each other

Him trapped in the underworld and you forced to walk the world of the living, cursed to never find an entrance to the world below

Yeah you grow up very untrusting towards others because of Hera’s constant tricks

Most people you’ve met had always broken your trust and betrayed you in some way

So it’s no real shocker when you keep your distance when you first meet Percy

Percy had probably saved you from being eaten by a monster or even helped you run away from some situation that escalated badly

Whatever happened, he’s eager to talk to a new demigod!

It’s not everyday he meets a new halfblood outside of camp

And as nice and silly as he is, you can’t let yourself get close to him, after all this could just be another façade sent to distract you

So it surprises him when you walk past him without introducing yourself or thanking him

You kinda just look at him and move on with your life💀

And that’s what makes you so interesting to Percy! With the way you walk like you’re on a mission, since he has nothing better to do, he decides to join you!

And that’s how his journey with you begins

He fills the empty silence left by you with loud talking and ramblings, and somewhere along your journey, you actually begin to enjoy his company

One worded responses turn to small comments to actual conversations

You can’t help it honestly, you’ve been alone for so long that you crave the presence of another person

It’s a weakness that has led to so much heartbreak and betrayal in your past

But you allow yourself to indulge in Percy, allow yourself to believe he won’t turn against like the others had

Percy definitely notices how you don’t reveal much about yourself

You’re so closed off to a point where he basically only knows your name

And yet he can’t stop his heart from beating faster when you let a smile slip when he says something stupid

I think it would be during the dead of night where you finally reveal why you’ve been wandering around

Like y’all have been traveling together for a while and you ACTUALLY trust him

Percy is so sincere and doesn’t make false promises or comments

He’s an open book basically😭 you can tell he’s a genuine person, and from what you’ve heard about the demigod, he’s a good person

You dare say you might have even grown to like him😦

He honestly admires your perseverance and bravery, like you’ve been on your own for YEARS

Your determination to see your father again captivated him

He feels sorry for you too, you’ve been separated from the only family you know and with no way to get to him

He’s also lowkey scared of your lack of respect towards the powerful goddess

He’s learned to never make a god angry, but he guesses that doesn’t apply to your situation since the goddess had been after you the second you were born

Percy would totally mention how his friend, Annabeth, claims that Hera has a vendetta against her too

If this is after the first war with Kronos, I think you might even reveal how you fought along side him

Percy is shocked to hear that but not really surprised since you never had a good relationship with the Olympian

Kronos promised you that you would be able to see your father again, so you willingly joined his army

Like having this convo with you, it really makes Percy see how anyone can be influenced by the experiences they go through in their life

Percy really wants to help you so I think he might introduce you to Nico

“Nico might actually be able to help you get to the underworld! He’s the son of Hades, by the way.”

“Wait, are you serious? Hades has a son? Why didn’t you say anything sooner?!”

It takes time trying to contact the younger boy, but you still jump on Percy and hug him cuz AHH

You might actually be able to see your father!!!

And Percy is just as happy to see you smiling brightly as the younger boy makes his appearance

Hell you might even give him a small peck on the cheek as a thank you teehee (this dudes face would be REEEDDDD)

But danger finally strikes you all when Nico leads you to an entrance to the underworld

Monster quite literally spawn out of NOWHERE, mostly attacking you and keeping you away from the one place where people would stray far away from

You dodge any swipes and attacks aimed at you, inching closer to the entrance until you’re launched back

Battered and bruised, you get up only to be pulled away by Percy

He would try to explain that it was too dangerous to continue, that you all needed to fall back and come up with a plan!

“Percy let go of me! I’m so close, you can’t do this to me!”

“We need to get back now! Please! We won’t be able to beat them! They’ll kill you!”

It’s a complete surprise to him and Nico when you pull out a sword against him, it being half celestial bronze and steel

Nah cuz this would be a major breaking point for both of y’all, having such a dangerous weapon would cause Percy to question your morals😭💔

You would slowly back away from him, realizing that he didn’t betray your trust, but you betrayed his

You would separate from him as you fight your way to the underworld entrance, looking back once to him, heart breaking at the sight of his hurt expression

Your alone in the underworld now, and Percy can’t help but feel hurt that you would be so reckless and driven to this state

He would totally go in after you though despite Nico’s warnings

If Percy can find you before you run into any more trouble, then maybe your fate won’t end in tragedy

Zagreus!Reader is actually pretty reckless when it comes to being reunited with their father. It’s something that Percy admires and hates about them, since most of the time it leads them to getting hurt in the end

He just wants to help you in anyway he can, you just gotta let him help. Your untrusting nature might be the cause of your downfall if you don’t learn to trust others💔

(I love this reader tbh, so much potential when it comes to the underworld hehe)

[chrollosbm]

Sunflowers Fields: a Choso Love Story Chapter Nine

art cr: einruji__ on x

You're broken from a past relationship, thinking you only deserve the worst. Choso comes along, making you realize you deserve the world and more. Will your ex-boyfriend let you go without a fight? (Choso x black!reader, yandere Choso)

Previous Chapters

pls support me on ao3, it would mean the world to me

“Choso, you can’t keep me locked in here! I’m a grown woman, I can handle myself.” You said to the man who was towering over you, with your arms crossed and a fiery look in your eyes, trying to seem as intimidating as possible, but seemingly failing. 

“Do you really think I’m going to let you go back to your apartment alone after hearing about your psycho ex-boyfriend’s obsession with you? ”His rebuttal came out with a firmness in his words, a commanding aura surrounding them. ”What kind of man would I be if I let you go back right now, knowing how terrified you are?” His eyes were in slits, obviously frustrated with your defiance. 

You sighed in frustration and kept his stare, although it was getting harder by the second. “I know you’re trying to protect me but keeping me here alone at your place while you’re working isn’t any better either!” Your voice was cracking, still raw from the crying session you just had in the bathtub with Choso. “He could just come here, you know?” 

He ran his large hands through his damp hair, one still on the white towel that was riding dangerously low on his hips, almost exposing himself. “Baby, he has no idea where I live, plus you won’t be home alone for long. I’ll make sure to get off earlier in the day to be with you.” He was looking down at you with pleading eyes now, a twinge of pain in them and you felt it transfer to yours, knowing he felt genuine concern for you.

Another sigh of frustration came from you and you wrapped your towel around your body tightly before turning to leave the bathroom. You didn’t get far before Choso grabbed your shoulder gently and turned you to face him once again.

You were looking up at him again, tears in your eyes for the third time that night as he wrapped his arms around your waist, attempting to pull you closer, which you allowed, almost too easily. You couldn’t be angry with him, he was just trying to help, but you couldn’t help but feel irritated with yourself. You felt like your confession to Choso earlier was so overdramatic. You blamed your raging hormones coursing through you at that moment, causing an overreaction to the situation at hand. Yes, you were actually terrified, but why couldn’t you keep it together?

In all honesty, you felt embarrassed. You hated showing vulnerability, it just revealed your weaknesses. Your heart knew you could trust Choso, but your mind was telling you to put up those walls again, terrified your soul would be crushed again, like Suguru had done too many times. 

Choso’s words interrupted your thoughts, cutting you like knives as he said them. “Is being here with me for a few days that bad? Just until I figure out what to do?” His eyes read hurt and confusion and your heart dropped, as you felt your eyes let a couple tears spill once again, causing a groan to leave your throat at the fact that you kept fucking crying. 

You still managed to speak, despite how guilty you suddenly felt. “That’s not it at all. I want to be here, I just-” You paused and took a deep breath as he wiped the tears from your face, sadness reading his. “I feel bad is all. I was being dramatic and now I worried you to the point where it’s a burden to you. I’m sorr-”

You were cut off before you could continue speaking as he pulled you into a tight hug, pressing himself against you completely now. “You could never be a burden to me, Sunflower.” He was kissing the top of your head now, making sure to avoid the bundle of curls resting on it and landing close to your forehead. “I want to help you. Let me.” His words came out soft and sweet, making it impossible for you to say no.”

“Fine.” You started softly. “But what about your brother? He’ll be back before you get off tomorrow and I don’t think he’ll be too happy about a stranger staying in his home.” You said, making a good point. You didn’t want the kid to be uncomfortable with you being there, you would rather go stay with Andrea and Kento at that point. That sounded like a better idea since Choso was refusing to let you go back to your apartment, anyway.

“Don’t worry about that. Yuji is staying at his friend’s again anyway, he already let me know he was going to be there for a few days.” He let out, before pulling away to look at your cloudy eyes again, his reading relief now, probably from your compliance.

You nodded again as your stress was subsiding slowly, with his gaze on yours, making you feel safe again. “You’re just lucky I’m working from home this week, otherwise your little plan to keep me locked up wouldn’t have worked.” You joked, trying to make yourself feel better, and a soft smile played at his lips, seemingly coming alive, as well. 

One of his hands holding you went down to give your ass a playful slap, creating an echo in the large bathroom, a joyful glint in his dark orbs, giving you another laugh, before he spoke again. “Maybe I’ll have to find a way to keep you working from home for a while so you can stay locked up in my tower, little princess.” 

Those were the events that led you to being in Choso’s kitchen, dressed in one of his oversized t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants he claimed to outgrow. He was probably right, being that they fit you well when you tied them a bit, shaping you perfectly. You were currently making him and yourself a late lunch and drinking your second latte of the day. The man had a very expensive espresso machine that you took upon yourself to figure out how to use, thanks to Youtube. You had done a pretty good job experimenting with making caramel lattes to the point where it rivaled your favorite cafe’s (the place you were now too embarrassed to show your face, so it seemed to work out after all.) 

The smell of grilled cheese was filling the air when you heard the front door open. Your chest filled with excitement as you were still flipping his sandwich when you heard footsteps enter the kitchen. 

“Hey, Cho’! I made grilled cheese again since you liked it so much yesterday.” You spoke as you turned the stove off and turned to face someone who was not Choso at all. You let out a small scream, jumping in the process at the boy before you.

There stood a tall teenage boy with pink hair and a school uniform on, a shocked look on his features. You stood there in fear, before realization quickly flooded your body. The child looked just like Choso, facial features, body type and all, except he had shorter hair that was dyed pink, and was missing that special birthmark. It was Yuji, his little brother.

“I’m all for a pretty girl in my kitchen cooking lunch, but who the hell are you?” He suddenly spoke, confusion laced in his voice and on his face, features scrunched up just like his eldest brother. 

You stood there, just as perplexed. He wasn’t supposed to be home until later that night, according to Choso. You were supposed to meet him during dinner time, when he returned from a study session with his friends. If you had known he’d be there so early, you would’ve put on actual clothes and been a little more mentally prepared for this.

You cleared your throat before you introduced yourself with a small smile. This was an awkward situation to be in, you dressed in his older brother’s clothes, in his house, using his kitchen, all alone. It was awkward and embarrassing. As soon as your name left your lips, the pink-haired boy’s facial features lit up, a huge, blinding smile appeared on his face, one able to light up the entire night sky, replacing the previous scowl.“I know all about you!” His voice came out excitedly. 

You gave him an eyebrow raise, prompting him to continue, which he seemed to do with no problem. “You’re all my brother talks about. It’s like he’s obsessed with you or something.” He laughed. Your face still sported a raised eyebrow as he continued and looked behind you, suddenly distracted, noticing the food on the stove. “If that’s for my big bro, can I steal it? I’m starving!” He pleaded, his lip in a pout and you couldn’t possibly say no to feeding the very hyper child. 

You gave him a smile that attempted to battle his and nodded. “Of course you can! You snooze, you lose, right?” You joked as you moved to the side so he could grab the grilled cheese, bare handed from the stove, and you almost gasped, alarm reaching your facial features, before he shoved part of the sandwich in his mouth, obviously not bothered by the heat. 

He groaned blissfully as he chewed his food, before speaking as soon as he swallowed, quickly at that. “This is fucking amazing!” He exclaimed, a surprised look in his eye. “Big bro hit the jackpot with you, pretty and can cook!” He finished as he continued to devour his food before you laughed at his animated personality, going to grab a plate for the other serving that remained in the pan for yourself. 

“It’s just grilled cheese. Who can’t make that?” You started, laughter still in your voice as you took a bite as well, still standing in the middle of the kitchen with the teen. It was pretty damn good, but who couldn’t make a dish as simple as this? It was just cheese and bread. “I’m not that great of a cook. I just know the basics.” You shrugged and continued to dig in, observing he was already finished eating.

He shook his head at you before going to the fridge to grab an apple, obviously still hungry. “Nah,” He started as he shut the fridge door. “My brother can’t cook anything but pasta. He almost burned this place down trying to bake a cake for my birthday one year. It was definitely a day to remember.” He said nonchalantly, before taking a huge bite into the fruit.

You let out a soft laugh at that, imagining Choso a disaster in the kitchen, that adorable face of panic on his features. You couldn’t have him burning the house down, so you would gladly practice your cooking skills and help him with his. You had wondered why there was a lack of food in the house, with the refrigerator only consisting of select fruits, milk, cheese, butter, eggs, and bread. What the hell was he eating? He couldn’t be eating out every day, could he? 

Your thoughts were cut off by the shut of the front door again, and Yuji’s face turned into a small smirk, a glimmer of mischief in his eyes before he yelled out to his brother. “Big bro, welcome home!” He basically ran out to the living room, with you trailing behind him like a puppy, ecstatic to see Choso finally make an appearance. “Why didn’t you tell me your girlfriend was so nice and pretty?” 

You stepped out to watch a surprised Choso at the front door, removing his shoes. He was wearing a mustard yellow button down and black slacks, his hair down, and an arm-bag presumably carrying his work materials. You felt your core twitch with desire, now realizing you most likely had a kink for a man in business attire. His face was scrunched in confusion at the boy’s obvious early arrival. 

“What happened to your study session?” Choso asked immediately, ignoring his brother’s inquisition. His eyes darted to you, concern reading them, in which you mouthed an ‘I’m okay.’ at him.

“Megumi and I moved it to tonight. I was hungry so I came home to eat and take a nap before I went back.” He responded with a shrug then turned back to look at you, a smile still on his face. “I didn’t have to come up with a random concoction of food like I always do, thanks to your girl!” 

Your cheeks heated every time Yuji called you Choso’s “girlfriend,” or “his girl,” knowing you and Choso hadn’t had the conversation about labels, yet. You were more than okay with being his girlfriend, in fact that’s what you really wanted. He’d already proven that he would take care of you, protect you, and do whatever it took to keep you happy. 

You didn’t seem to be the only one having these thoughts, with Choso’s cheeks red as soon as he heard his younger sibling refer to you as his “girlfriend” more than he was using your actual name. He seemed to quickly recover though, as he rolled his eyes at Yuji’s claims of there barely being food in the house, and walked towards you.

“Yuji, all you eat is fast food to begin with. Even if there was food in the house, it would all go bad.” He was looking at you now, a look of adoration and a small smile on his face. He leaned down to place a small kiss on your cheek, before continuing his playful banter with his brother, eyes never leaving yours. “Does that mean you won’t be joining us for dinner like originally planned, then?” 

Yuji looked at the back of his brother’s head dumbfounded. “In all honesty, I forgot big bro. Sorry.” You giggled at his face that was reading true confusion at the back of Choso’s head. “Anyway, I’m gonna take a nap before I head back out. It was nice meeting you!” He turned his attention back to you and you waved at him politely. 

“Good luck with studying!” You yelled out, as he rushed up the stairs. 

You turned your attention back to the man whose hands were on your waist, giving you a smirk. “Did you let that brat eat my grilled cheese?” He said playfully and you rolled your eyes, giving him a playful smack on his hard chest. 

“Like I said to Yuji: you snooze, you lose.” He rolled his eyes back and groaned, feigning annoyance. 

His hand reached down to give you a slap on the ass, his favorite thing to do to “discipline you,” it seemed like. If this was discipline, you wanted to know what would happen if you really pissed him off. “Fine. I was going to order in anyway, I want Thai food.” He responded, which prompted you to give an eye roll.

“This is where he gets it from!” You exclaimed at the man who gave a small laugh in return. “You scold him for eating out but he must’ve gotten it from someone.” You emphasized the last word and gave him a pointed look, causing him to shrug with a smile still on his face, before he unwrapped his arms from your body, leaving you suddenly cold and missing his touch already.

He grabbed his phone from his pocket, opening a food delivery app. “Yeah, sure.” He said sarcastically. “What would you like to eat, baby?” 

Your spirits lifted immediately, suddenly starving as well.

Choso’s arm was around your midsection, with your back to his chest as the two were laid on the couch, watching scary movies. Well, you weren’t watching really, he was actually listening to you come up with theories of how you would survive horror movie scenarios, with Choso either agreeing or disagreeing, depending on if your theories made sense.

“Baby, there’s no way you’re outrunning a man with a chainsaw, you freeze up every time I accidentally startle you. You’d be toast the minute you heard him coming.” Choso teased you, laughing at his own joke. 

You held back your giggles, knowing he was right in his deduction. “That’s because you’re like a damn ninja!” You sucked your teeth before you continued. “I can never hear you coming, you walk like you don’t want anyone to know you’re there.” 

He simply laughed in response, before he turned your body to face him, gently. You were turned, noses almost touching, with your hand on his chest. He locked one of his long legs around you, as if you were going to escape, warming your body entirely.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, at the sudden position change, furrowing your eyebrows. 

He simply shook his head in response, furrowing his brows to mock you, which prompted you to flick his nose, playfully, making him scrunch his nose in pain, that beautiful birthmark moving with him. 

“So, when are you going to let me out of this castle? My prince charming might come looking for me if you don’t let me out soon.” You asked playfully, tilting your head, causing Choso to narrow his eyes at you and squeeze one of your hips roughly.

“I’m going to ignore that smart ass mouth of yours just this once.” He started, eyes still in slits and you smirked at him, loving how easily you could rile him up. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, why don’t you drive your car? It’s just sitting in your driveway, and I’ve noticed you walk everywhere, including work.” He finished and your brows raised again.

It was a random question, completely out of left field, plus you didn’t think he noticed, in all honesty. “It’s a piece of shit that’s why.” You shrugged, answering simply. You hadn’t driven your car in almost a year now, with it having so many problems. You were sure it wouldn’t even start up if you tried. “It’s just a hassle at this point, plus my job is walking distance. I don't mind the walk.”

He let out a small affirmative, “Hm.” before continuing, “I don’t want you walking anymore, it’s too dangerous.” He then said simply, that bossy tone coming out again and you gave him a perplexed look.

“Well, there’s nothing I can really do about that at the moment. Until I can afford to get it fixed, I’ll continue walking.” You answered back, a little too snippy. The situation with your car used to bother you greatly, until you realized you had to adapt without it. You didn’t mind your strolls to work the coffee shop, it felt good to get fresh air every morning.

He seemed to ignore your sudden attitude about the situation before continuing. “I’ll take care of it.” His sincere eyes were gazing into yours as your face read pure shock.

“No way!” You let out, annoyed this was even a point of discussion. “I can’t ask you to do something like that for me, Choso.” You weren't going to put that on his shoulders, you didn’t know much about cars, but the last time you took it in for repairs, the bill was too high for your liking.

“You aren’t asking, I’m offering.” His tone remained the same, bossy and firm, with his eyes never leaving yours, trying to force you into submission like he had done previous times before. It wasn’t going to work this time, though. You could handle Choso bossing you around in bed, and he had forced you into staying at his place earlier in the week, but your car is where you drew the line, it was too much.

“Choso, I said no.” Your voice was solid, slightly rising in volume and your eyes were piercing through his, seemingly having a staring contest with the man who clearly wasn’t going to back down either. Thank God Yuji left to go study hours ago, or else he would be hearing the spat the two of you were currently having. “My car is off limits.”

He sighed, frustrated at your words, mind obviously reeling by the way his jaw was clenched. “Why do you always fight me when I’m trying to help you?” His voice came out strained, remaining at the same volume, unlike yours. “Just accept the help. That’s the only way I’m letting you out of here. You won’t be roaming the streets, in the cold at that, while your stalker ex is hot on your trail.” 

You sat up from the couch quickly, borderline furious at his statement. “You won’t let me?” You let out, astonished that he would even utter that sentence to you in the first place. “Choso Kamo, I am a grown woman. You don’t tell me where I can or cannot go. I’m staying here because I want to, not because you said so.” He then shot up from the couch at the speed of light, mimicking your previous movement just as you finished speaking.

“No, I won’t let you, damn it. Stop being so fucking stubborn!” His face was getting red as his volume was rising now too, not quite yelling, leaving you shocked at his sudden mood change. “Do you not remember how afraid you were crying in my arms just a few days ago? I’m not letting you leave until I feel you’re safe enough to do so, and if that means ridding you of car troubles, then that’s what’s going to happen.” His tone was fierce and intimidating, making you feel a pinch of desire. A pinch, you were mostly feeling irritation at the man before you. You were pissed at yourself for feeling horny at this moment, wanting to be angry with him, not lustful .

“You’re calling me stubborn?” You scoffed and folded your arms, a scowl on your face. “All I’m asking is for you to not touch my fucking car and you’re throwing a fit, trying to keep me locked up like a child!” You were full blown yelling now, not being able to control yourself, your old habits coming back full force. It was hard to keep your anger in check when you had never learned to control it. 

Choso said nothing, his eyes piercing into yours as you stared back, that pit of desire never leaving as heat began to rise to your face and your core. You physically felt your anger turn into sexual desire, staring at the man, breath heavy and mouth dry. He was breathing heavily in front of you as well, face now centimeters from yours, you smelling the familiar scent of mint coming from his breath. His eyes were dark, but you saw that familiar glint of lust in them, matching yours.

Fuck it.

Like a dog in heat, unable to control yourself, you latched yourself onto Choso, lips quickly attaching to his, in which he gripped your hips forcefully, roughly, his lips imitating that same strength. The kiss was messy, wet, and rough, with your tongues finding each others, attempting to swallow each other whole. The desire inside you felt like it was far too much, his anger and yours combined creating a burning hot atmosphere in the air that couldn’t be cooled down. You never knew you could be so turned on and so pissed off at the same time, it was like the two were fueling each other, with the fire never going out.

In an instant, he was up and carrying you down the hall to his bedroom, his arms tucked underneath your thighs, wet lips still attached to yours. He kicked his cracked bedroom door open with force, obviously still enraged with your previous conversation. Your lips were so rough against his you were afraid they would bruise, so filled with desire and need to the point where it was burning through you, needing to be released. You praised the higher beings for making your periods so short, as it just ended the day before.

You barely noticed when he placed you on the bed, let alone realized when the pants you were wearing were taken off, with him still kissing you at that same pace, pulling away briefly to bite your bottom lip hard enough to hurt, but not make you bleed, causing a small sound to leave your lips. Your arms were around his neck, not wanting to let go of him, as if you were afraid he would disintegrate in your hold.

As if he could read your mind, he pulled his lips from yours, earning a moan of disappointment from you. His eyes read nothing but lust and the remaining amount of rage he was feeling was seemingly swimming in those almost black eyes. His hand snaked down to your lower half, before immediately plunging two fingers into you, with no warning. You gasped in pleasure and surprise, as sloppy noises erupted from your pussy, being that you were already wet from the almost screaming match the two of you were having mere minutes before. 

His digits were curving in you, hitting your plush g-spot artistically, knowing your body and its reactions all too well. The goosebumps on your body were harsh, causing a chill to wash through your figure. He knew exactly how to drive you wild, you fucking hated and loved it at the same time. Your head was leaning back, moans echoing through the bedroom, before Choso used his free hand to roughly grab your chin, forcing you to look him in his pools of darkness. Yours saw nothing but sinister in his, and while it should've petrified you, your cunt seemed to love this dark side of him, with its pulsating mimicking the beat of your intense heart. “Your eyes need to be on me the entire time.” He spoke firmly, a tone that gave no room for argument. You didn’t respond, partially to spite him, partially because speaking was a hard task at the moment, with his fingers bringing you closer and closer-

Choso dipped his fingers from you, causing you to whine again at the action, a pout now resting on your features. Your pussy was left empty, coldness now replacing the once full feeling from the man above yours long and slick fingers. “Answer me.” He said, lowly, face stern, his orbs reading nothing but seriousness, burning holes into yours, his breath heavy at the sight of you.

You wanted to roll your eyes but decided against it, as you knew he would find a way to punish you if you pressed his buttons too much. You were so close and you didn’t want to ruin it, but you were also still angry with him, so you settled with a “yes, I fucking understand," making sure your tone matched his, half-angry, half- just trying to piss him off because he was so fucking sexy when he was enraged. His eyebrows raised in surprise and he gave you a wicked smile, one that could’ve stricken fear in you if you didn’t have full trust in him.

He said nothing though, not until he was knuckle-deep inside your slopping cunt once again, curving his fingers and hitting that spot with a purpose, making you whimper and shake against him, while you kept your promise to him. “Choose a safe word,” He barked, with those digits sliding out of your hole and making their way to your bundle of nerves, causing a gasp to leave your already quivering lips. You were approaching your orgasm again, your stomach feeling gooey as your legs began trembling and the arms around his neck were mimicking cooked noodles.

“What?” You answered, dazed out of your mind, only seeing a blurred version of the pale man in front of you. His fingers were slick with your pussy juice, rubbing quickly on your clit as that white hot feeling approached, and you were ready to see those bright fireworks.

“A safe word. Now.” He said it slower this time, making sure you heard him loud and clear, slowing his fingers at the same time, a sound of sloshing echoing through the room. No, this was the last thing you wanted, not when you were so close to letting a waterfall release on his veiny hand.

“Green!” The first word that came to mind left your lips breathlessly, your eyes rolling to the back of your head, quickly snapping open again as his digits sped up again, causing you to hold him by his neck for dear life, afraid you would pass out from the feeling of extreme euphoria. Tears were quickly falling, too fast for you to notice until they fell onto your thighs, the wetness not comparing to the inside of your legs, with your juices creating a squelching noise throughout the room. 

“Fuck.” His low, dazed eyes were on yours, lips parted, breathing heavily at the sight of you. “You’re so fucking wet, do you hear yourself?” His voice was low and you were whimpering at his words and your approaching orgasm. You were frozen in place, an icy hot feeling in your veins, thanks to his fingers never slowing and his dark eyes never leaving yours, that threatening gaze upon you. He was so fucking sexy. Maybe you should misbehave more often.

Your breath sped up just as your body stiffened against his and he seemed to notice, suddenly speaking for you. “You gonna cum, baby?” He spoke, voice as deep as he was fucking his fingers inside your walls, seemingly reaching heaven. You responded by nodding vigorously at him through your blurred vision, mouth hanging halfway open, but physically incapable of speaking at the moment. The minute you felt yourself about to release, his hand was removed from your lower half, causing a sob to escape your throat as your ticket to the sun was cancelled.

“Choso, please. I was so fucking close!” You sobbed, tears spilling as he pulled away from you and stood up from the bed, unbuckling his pants, keeping that same ill-omened expression on his feautures. 

“Apologize.” He said simply, orbs locked on yours, as he continued removing his trousers, causing a loud and sarcastic scoff to leave your mouth. 

“For what?” Disbelief filled your words as his shirt was removed next, leaving him only in a pair of boxers, that chiseled, tattooed, body in perfect view now. Your mouth watered at the sight, making you afraid actual drool would start forming. 

The fuck did you have to apologize for? He must’ve been saying this to make you more angry and it was working. You had been distracted as his magic fingers were fucking you, but it all started to come back to you in full force as he spoke.

“For having a smart ass mouth.” He responded again, his words having more of a cutthroat tone to them, as he removed your t-shirt forcefully, messing your curls up in the process. You were left bare, nipples hard as the air touched them, along with the fact that you were undeniably turned on and pissed at this situation as he stood above you, waiting for an apology he was never going to get. You would be lying if you said the way he was speaking to you wasn’t making your arousal drip onto his sheets.

“I’m not going to apologize for something you deserved.” You stood firmly on your words, as you looked up at his domineering stature, knowing he was going to take out his frustration on you somehow, a menacing smirk formed on his lips.

“Turn around.” His eyes pierced through yours, and this time you didn’t argue, you simply obeyed, anticipation filling your body. He’d never fucked you in this position and you were excited for the new experience. Your legs shook in suspense as you arched your back, with your ass high in the air.

You heard his boxers drop and that familiar slap of his hard cock hitting his equally as hard abs. The tip of his dick was on your dripping, wet folds now, that cool piercing probably flood with your juices. 

You were getting impatient, about to make a snide comment when he suddenly slammed into you without warning, causing you to see stars almost immediately, earning a loud groan from the both of you. 

“Fuck!” you practically screamed, loud enough to wake up the neighbors in the next house over. You were praising the heavens that his brother was absent, once again. This felt better than you imagined, with his dick so deep inside you you could feel it in the pit of your stomach, your cervix being tickled slightly. 

“You don’t apologize, you don’t fucking cum.” Choso said harshly, voice authoritative and you could barely register anything you heard before his hips were slamming into you at an unforgiving pace, making you lose all recollection of what you were trying to figure out anyway.

His cock was hitting your g-spot effortlessly, ramming into you to the point where you could barely breathe, let alone make a sound. The feel of his member inside you was making you so full, your breath hitching with each thrust, and the only sounds filling the room were the clap of your ass and the strong exhale of his breath. Your mouth dropped in awe at the feeling, your eyes brimming with tears and you were glad he couldn’t see your face from this angle, for it was probably comical. Your hands were gripping his silk sheets so hard you were sure they were going to come off the corner of the bed at this point. 

With each thrust of his hips, and each brush of his cock hitting your g-spot, you were seeing stars, the corners of your vision going black. The hairs on your body were standing up straight as he continued thrusting into your wet walls unforgivingly, his indignation showing with each snap of his hips. You wanted to moan so badly, especially with his smart remarks being thrown at you, but you physically couldn’t, it was like your body stopped functioning and your was brain short circuiting from how artistically he was fucking your brains out.

“What’s wrong? What happened to all that shit you were talking? Can’t fucking speak now, huh?” He let out, breath heavy, not slowing his pace and you finally called out, trying to form words, trying to find something to say in response, but failing miserably. He let out a cruel laugh at your incessant babbling as his grip on your hips tightened, changing his pace to a slow and rough one. 

You were pretty much incoherent at this point, the feeling of carnal pleasure overwhelming you and pushing you to the edge, knowing you weren’t going to last much longer. What was that he said about not cumming?

“You ready to apologize?” His cruel tone still remained as he continued to push into you, slower this time, longer strokes and you were breathing heavily, your pussy twitching with him inside of you, pulsating with each push of him going further inside, not knowing anyone could ever get this deep. Your pulsating cunt seemed to be too much for him as well, as he sucked in a breath, waiting for your answer.

He took your lack of response as a negative and pulled out of you quickly, a groan leaving his lips as he did so, seemingly pissed as he wanted to continue ramming into you. His removal caused you to whine once again, before he gave your ass a rough slap, moving to sit on the bed, his legs sprawled out now, waiting like he was on a throne chair.

“Come here.” His deep voice pierced through you, causing you to give in immediately and crawl over to him, hypnotized and still breathing heavily, that pool in your stomach burning now. You needed to cum right fucking now, it was becoming unbearable. 

He was sitting on the bed, breathing heavily as well, back against the headboard, looking absolutely delectable with his hair a mess, sweat beading on his forehead, eyes low and hungry, and parted pink lips. His beautiful erect cock was red at the tip, with clear precum dripping from the tip, causing a glimmer on that shinning jewelry of his.

Your body shook with desire, almost cumming at the sight of the beautiful man in front of you, all in his glory and waiting for you, face red with desire.

You were moving too slow for his liking it seemed, because he suddenly grabbed your arms and pulled you on top of him with a force, placing your legs on either side of his thighs, your hot core right above his swollen tip. His hands replaced themselves on your hips and placed you onto him without warning again, a theme for the night it seemed like. 

The minute your hips connected with his, he was completely inside of you, and your eyes welled with tears again at the mind-hazing feeling. He was buried inside you, deeper than ever before, deeper than anyone had ever been before, causing a high pitched moan to come from your shaky vocal cords. You watched as Choso’s face scrunched in pleasure, his lips still parted and you took that as an invitation to place your lips on his before you began moving your body.

The two of you were panting into each other’s mouths, not able to form a kiss as you bounced on his swollen cock, making sure to go from tip to shift, dropping down roughly each time, so those stars never disappeared from your vision. The slickness of your pussy was creating an easy glide for the two of you, the rhythm never slowing or changing pace with his hips ramming up to meet you halfway to heaven.

You couldn’t attempt to kiss him anymore, the feeling of euphoria becoming too much. Your mind was cloudy again, unable to think as that white hot feeling was approaching again and you were barely able to continue moving, with legs stuttering and shaking with each time you fell onto his hard cock. Your softs walls were tight around his length and he noticed, putting a halt to your movements.

You let out an audible groan this time, knowing your eyes read nothing but rage, but were soon replaced with need as Choso’s wet thumb went south, immediately attaching to your sensitive clit, rubbing and gradually speeding up with each second.

You were a moaning mess on top of him, your head resting on his shoulder as he continued, feeling his dick pulse inside of you, wanting him to let you move again so badly. “You ready to cum, baby?” Goosebumps rose on your body from both his words and the feeling of tightness and heat spreading across your entire body. You didn’t think you could take anymore of this, you needed to release, it was driving you fucking ballistic. He had been edging you for too long and you felt like you were going to combust unless you let go right now. 

You lifted your heavy head to look at him, wanting to see him as you came. “Yes, Cho’, please let me cum.” You were sobbing, begging, with nothing but pleas in your blurred eyes. 

“Apologize.” He said, firmly, not backing down as his thumb was still on your pink button, rubbing slow, teasing, circles. You could tell he was beginning to lose it too, the feral look on his face saying he was ready to finally release his hot seed inside of you and you were more than ready to let him do so.

You couldn’t fucking take it anymore, they’re just words. Say it so you can be put out of your misery  “Okay, fuck! I’m sorry.” You sobbed out, voice cracking as tears spilled from your eyes, finally submitting and making Choso smirk at you, his usual look of adoration returning, as if the sinister man he was ten seconds ago didn't exist.

“Good girl.” He responded to you, and began rubbing quicker circles on your bundle of nerves, those unforgiving rams from below returning and that’s all it took for you to break. Your orgasm was long and drawn out, taking you to fucking Mars as your body stiffened and your head was thrown back, suddenly too heavy for your neck. Hot fire was spread through your flesh and bones, leaving you fidgeting towards the end of your high. You weren't even sure if your eyes were open or closed as you were taken to another dimension, but that didn’t matter as Choso’s orgasm was right behind yours, with his hips stuttering and loud groans falling from his lips. His orgasm filled you up, his being just as drawn out as yours, and you couldn’t bring yourself to worry about the potential consequences of him spilling into you, as your mind felt numb.

You were so fucked out and exhausted that you didn’t even notice when Choso lifted you from his body and placed you on his silk sheets gently. You barely noticed when he grabbed a warm rag to clean you, and you barely noticed when he slipped into bed next to you, placing a kiss to your forehead in the process. 

You did notice and chose not to respond when he let out a “Now, let me take care of you,” as you drifted to sleep.

Chapter Ten is Posted

[oliversrarebooks]

The Rare Bookseller Part 31: Fitz's Showtime

Masterlist

June 1905

TW: mind control, captivity, hypnotic induction

Fitz wasn't one for making plans, normally trusting in his ability to wing his way through any situation life threw at him. That approach had worked well enough until it had ended up with him imprisoned in a vampires' auction house.

Over the past few days, he'd already suffered what was practically a fate worse than death: being left with nothing to do but stew in his own mind. His treacherous brain had helpfully supplied an exhaustive list of every mistake he'd made along the way to end up here, and all of the ways he could have avoided this fate now that it was too late.

But with his cell neighbors unresponsive -- and he didn't want to think too hard about how that might have come about -- there wasn't anything at all to occupy him apart from meals and sleep. The meals were surprisingly generous and varied, and Fitz supposed that if they really were vampires, they must be fattening him up the way you would a prized pig. Sleep was less generous, as the pitch blackness, complete silence, stiff cot, and vampire guards all conspired to make him uneasy.

So he had plenty of time to think of how he would approach it when Lily came for his mind. Now, he'd ended up in a plush, too-comfortable chair, facing down the vampire who'd captured him.

He wasn't even tied down. He'd been nothing but ingratiating towards the vampires the whole time he'd been here. Lily had made it beyond obvious that he wasn't going to escape through strength or speed, and on his first night, he personally witnessed an angry, cursing, struggling man being dragged away and coming back a hollow shell.

No, that sort of struggle was pointless. He could instead bide his time. Be friendly and charming. Hope that someone would let their guard down or give him a special privilege. He'd have an easier time of it and more opportunities to free himself. At least, that was the theory.

Of course, all of that was for naught if he were actually put deep under whatever mesmeric spell they were using to keep the other captives still and silent.

He knew very well now that Lily was capable of it. He also knew that simply resisting would not do -- little chance they would give up and let him go instead of trying over and over again until he was broken. No, the only thing to do would be to play along, pretend to be under her spell, and hope he could keep the spell from touching him in truth. The longest of long shots, but he didn't have a better idea.

"So I hear you've been on your best behavior," said Lily with a smug smile. "Joking around with the blood grader and everything."

Fitz lounged in the chair as though his existence weren't on the line. "I wouldn't dream of being rude to a man who calls my blood special grade A fancy."

"And here I worried you might be trouble. But it seems you do know your place, better than you think," said Lily. "That's why I have a proposition for you."

"If it's another five dollar bet, I'm going to have to respectfully pass on that."

"Oh, no, nothing like that," she said, amused. "As I told you before, I'd like to sell you to a friend with deep pockets and a soft heart. I think he will appreciate you. The less you resist the conditioning, the more I can allow you to keep that wit of yours. That works out for both of us, doesn't it?"

"Oh, yes, just peachy," he said. She couldn't possibly think he was daft enough to trust her a second time, not when she held all the cards.

"I know you don't believe me, but it's actually a great deal for you. You'd live in a mansion and have an easy life, all in exchange for just a bit of blood." Her words were honeyed, and Fitz could practically feel them worming their way into his mind. "You won't have to be Fitzwilliam de Hastings, disgraceful and useless third son of the de Hastings shipping conglomerate. You won't have to be Phantom Fitz, scraping and clawing for fame with your little magic tricks. You can just be Fitz. Loved. Wanted. Cherished."

If only any of that were true. If only it weren't just a trick to soften his mind and get him to accept a vampiric master, one who would "love" and "cherish" him the same way he might "cherish" a fine bottle of wine.

"As intriguing as all of that is, and as flattered as I am by those lovely descriptions of me, I'm going to have to decline your offer," he said with a tight smile.

Her own smile turned predatory. "You haven't really given me a chance to persuade you."

"I think I've heard --"

"Have you, though? Or have you been half paying attention while focused all on yourself?" she said, leaning in closer. "Here I am, my entire focus centered on you, and you aren't repaying the favor. Why don't you focus, Fitz? Why don't you relax?"

There was no doubt she was exerting her power this time. Fitz could feel the magnetic pull of it. This was it, this was showtime -- the moment he had to somehow convince her that he was being enthralled, without actually falling. He couldn't make it seem too sudden or she wouldn't buy it. What should he do? Should he be visibly affected by what she just did? But he'd hesitated and --

"You think too much," she said. "I'm going to need to stop that first. Slow and soothe your mind, make it so hard to think that you just give in and listen. Look where all your thinking and scheming has gotten you. Won't it feel so much nicer not to do that?"

He nodded, with a bit of hesitation, widening his eyes, playacting that her mesmerism was taking him down once more. Lily was good at luring a mark, but so was he. 

"Yes, isn't that easy?" she said, amused. "Just let my words soothe you so you can listen. It'll feel so good when those racing thoughts slow down. We both know it's inevitable, so why keep searching for an escape that won't come? Why not take the easy and pleasant path?"

"Because, as I told you before, I don't care to be a vampire's convenient lunch box," he said, making sure to slow his voice and lace it with doubt. The more she thought he was falling, the more careless she would be.

"It's so cute to watch your thoughts turn in your head. I can practically see them, dear. I can see that machinery working those threads of thought, weaving them together into plans and fears and witty little comments. I can see all the weaknesses in those gears, all the places where they can easily be slowed. Can you see it?"

"Hm?" he said, caught off guard, not sure how he should respond to that one. Did she suspect what he was up to? Of course she might, she might've mesmerized hundreds of people for all he knew, and he surely wasn't the first to think of pretending.

But that didn't mean she was always successful. Of course she claimed that she was. That was an important part of the confidence game; he would've done the same in her shoes. But for all he knew, her actual success rate was poor. Surely he wouldn't be the first to fool her. After all...

After all, he was...

Fitz blinked, trying to remember the end to that thought.

"...you don't even need to listen as your mind slowly drains of its cares and worries... so relaxed... so comfortable..."

He shook himself in mild alarm. She'd been talking this whole time and he'd zoned out thinking and hadn't kept up his act. He arranged his face into what he hoped was a convincingly dazed expression.

"How are you feeling, Fitz?" she asked.

"...Good," he said, an answer that seemed safe, as he wasn't quite sure how she expected him to feel. 

"Good," she repeated. "Isn't this nice? Having someone's full attention on you without having to fight to earn it? Isn't it nice to be so wanted?"

His brow furrowed. "Well..."

"That's how it's going to be from now on. No more fight for attention, no more fight for approval, no more fight for survival. You'll have your needs taken care of and overflowing praise to boot. Just like you crave, deep down."

Oh, she was good. Good enough to make his chest ache with the thought of what she was offering. If only...

"You're going to be the best thrall, Fitz. I've never seen anyone as delectable, handsome, and charming, with such an intoxicating scent. You'll have your vampire eating out of the palm of your hand -- literally, perhaps."

Fitz blinked slowly, wondering how he should react to keep up the game, trying to ignore the warm sensations he got from the praise, no matter how manipulative and insincere "Do you think that cheap flattery will work on --"

"Look at me," she said, hooking a finger under his chin and gazing straight into his eyes. "You can see it, can't you? A future of being cherished and loved?"

"I --"

"Imagine a vampire who wants you, one who wants so badly to drink deep of your blood that he practically worships the ground you walk on. He'll want you always by his side, his beloved prize, protected and treasured."

It wasn't hard to imagine. It wasn't as if he hadn't thought about things like this on lonely, difficult nights. Something beyond sex and courtship. Intimacy. Comfort.

The kind of things that he hardly dared to think about for long, lest he feel their absence too keenly. The kind of things that were meant for those who had grown up wanted, who knew how to trust and let themselves fall in love. These delights weren't meant for the kind of person who wore a mask wherever he went and conned everyone he met.

"Just relax." She ran her fingers through his hair. "No more pain, no more struggle. No more struggle, now. No more struggle."

If any of this were true, it really wouldn't be so bad.

"No more struggle, no more fighting, no more resisting."

"I'm..." he mumbled. "I'm not..." He had to pretend that he was falling. He let his eyes blink so slowly.

"Oh, my dear, my Fitz, I know you aren't. You're doing such a good job right now."

His eyelids fluttered. "I am?"

"Yes, yes you are. You're doing such a good job. I told you, you're a natural. You're perfect."

He couldn't help but smile. That was good. She believed it was working.

"That's a good boy now. All you really want is approval, isn't it? For someone to see you and decide they're exactly what they need."

"Yeah..."

"You're going to have that, and all the praise and approval you could ever want," she said. "I promise."

He couldn't trust her, he remembered. This was all fake, just like every other time he'd been promised something. But he had to pretend that he believed. He was good at pretending. 

"That's right, you're good at pretending. You're doing such a good job pretending to go under for me, Fitz."

Fitz felt the relief wash over him. Thank goodness for that. He'd been so nervous about this the past few nights, trying to convince himself that he'd be just fine outsmarting a vampire and saving himself. 

Wait --

"It's okay!" Lily laughed. "It's okay, really. I know what you're up to. I expected that from you, of course. And I know what you fear. You fear being made mindless and docile like most of your cell-mates."

Fitz crushed down his panic. His plan wasn't working, his mind already felt hazy and sluggish from Lily's mesmerism, and now his worst nightmare might be about to come true. He'd spent so long escaping from a family where every little word and move was regimented, scrutinized, criticized, judged and punished. At least in those days he could escape into his head. Now, he'd be brought back to that place, with no recourse.

"...Yes, obviously, I fear that," he said, hating how vulnerable he sounded but not knowing what else to say. "Who wouldn't?"

"Who wouldn't?" she echoed. "But it doesn't matter, ultimately, because I've already given you a powerful hypnotic trigger the first time I had you in my thrall, and told you to forget it."

Adrenaline surged through him. "No, there's no way you --"

"Showtime, Fitz."

He only had one more brief moment to panic before his mind shut down entirely.

---

"...two, one, and wake. Come back to the land of the living now, Fitz."

He opened his eyes, feeling like he'd just awoken from a really refreshing nap. It took him a second to realize where he was and what had just happened to him, and all relaxation was immediately wiped out by his fear. Miss Lily had given him a hypnotic trigger, she must have erased his mind, he'd be nothing more than --

Except... he clearly wasn't.

"Confused?"

"You..." He wasn't really sure how to approach this. "You didn't wipe my mind, sir."

"Did you want me to?" she asked with a grin.

"No! Absolutely not, sir," he said. "But you had me -- you knocked me out --" He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to make sense the overwhelming swirl of thoughts in his mind. Grateful that he still had an overwhelming swirl of thoughts in his mind. "What did you do, sir?"

"I made you obedient to vampires. I removed your ability to escape. And I made you crave our feedings. Nothing more, nothing less."

Fitz stared. It couldn't be that simple. Not that he was thrilled about the changes, but he had expected much more and much worse. 

But he didn't feel different. He was still capable of thought. He was still nervous. He could still remember who he was.

"If that's all you were going to do, sir... why did you bother with all of your setup? Why not just mesmerize me the moment I walked in?"

"Because mesmerism is a performance, dear Fitz. I thought that you of all humans would understand that," she said. 

Fitz could feel his eyebrow twitch.

"There's magic involved, of course, or it wouldn't take so strongly, but magic alone doesn't make me so effective at molding perfect thralls. Cold reading, misdirection, distraction -- all of these are critical to what I do. I needed your original plan to fail before I truly conditioned you, and I needed to plant the seeds that a vampire might cherish and accept you. The results speak for themselves, don't you think?"

"I'm not even sure I can tell what the results are, sir."

"Precisely."

Fitz scowled. Was he really that obedient now? Did she actually make him "crave their feedings"? So he would just accept some bloodsucker gently tilting his head to expose his vulnerable neck... a wicked grin as sharp fangs grew closer... his mind growing hazy with pleasure...

"Oh, goddamn it, sir."

Miss Lily laughed. "Now do you see?"

It was a relief, in a way, that he could feel the results of the thrall now. That meant he could get a bead on what she'd done to him. "Yes, I'm afraid I do, sir -- hold on, you also made me call you 'sir', didn't you?"

"Any vampire. Yes. But you're allowed to say it as sarcastically as you want."

"Thank you for that most gracious allowance, sir."

"Oh, you're very welcome."

Part 30.5 >> Masterlist >> Part 32

Extras: Emily's Crayons Fitz in the Snow

Fitz's Volunteer Part One

Thank you for reading about Fitz.

@d-cs @latenightcupsofcoffee @thecyrulik @dismemberment-on-a-tuesday-night @wanderinggoblin @whumpyourdamnpears @only-shadows-dwell-where-we-are @pressedpenn @pigeonwhumps @amusedmuralist @xx-adam-xx @ivycloak @irregular-book @whumpsoda @mj-or-say10 @pokemaniacgemini @whumpshaped @whumpsday @morning-star-whump @shinyotachi @silly-scroimblo-skrunkl @steh-lar-uh-nuhs @pirefyrelight @theauthorintraining-blog @whump-me-all-night-long @anonfromcanada @typewrittenfangs @tessellated-sunl1ght @cleverinsidejoke @abirbable @ichorousambrosia @a-formless-entity

[tgmsunmontue]

Team Player 3/7

Hangster. Jake's cousin plays for the Sydney Roosters and gifts him with merchandise regularly. Bradley has an unexpected realization.

PART ONE PART TWO

THREE

                “Where am I going to take him?”

                “You really need to calm down.”

                “Nat, I asked him out and he said yes.”

                “Mmm. A complete surprise. Shocking. Truly.”

                “What?”

                “I’m sorry, he’s sort of the type that thinks poking fun of someone is a way of letting them know he likes them… most boys outgrow it before they leave high school.”

                “What?”

                “He likes you. Has liked you for years. Just… you never seemed to like him back. And now… you do.”

                “I want to fuck him, I think liking him back might be stretching it a little.”

                “You want to do more than just fuck him. You’re lying to yourself and it isn’t making you look good. You only wanted to fuck him when you saw him plastered with your call sign. You want him to be yours. Like, locked down and married type shit.”

                “What?”

                “I know, I know. You’re going on your first date, but just let me call dibs on being your best man when you get married.”

                “What?”

                “Are you broken? You seem broken. You’re saying what a lot.”

                “I’m not broken. You’re talking about me and Hangman getting married.”

                “Just calling it like I see it. Feel free to try and prove me wrong, although I think you’ll be happier if you just go with my prediction.”

                “Can we focus please! Where should I take him?”

                “Dinner? Movies?”

                “Wow, really original…”

                “I can leave.”

                “No! Sorry. I’m just…”

                “Nervous. I get it. You like him.”

                “I do. Fuck. What’s wrong with me?”

                “Well, did you want a list or a pie chart?”

                “Nat!”

                “Sorry. You’re allowed to like him. Apart from his justifiable large ego, he’s actually a decent guy.”

                “Okay, yeah. I know. Okay. I think I might take him to Belmont.”

                “I thought you said before that you didn’t want anything competitive?”

                “We can just do the rides.”

                “You both fly fighter jets for a living and you’re going to go thrill seeking at Belmont? Huh. That’s actually not a bad idea.”

                “Yeah? You think he’ll like it?”

                “Seriously, you could suggest watching infomercials and getting pizza delivered and he’d do it, and like it…”

                Bradley pulls a face, because he fucking doubts it, but he feels like Belmont Park will be okay. Fun. He lets Natasha leave, insists he doesn’t need her help anymore. He’s decided, even if he’s a little jittery thinking about the fact that he didn’t leave himself more time between asking Hangman out and them deciding the next day was a good day and time. He showers and dresses, pulling on his darkest jeans and oh fuck… maybe he should have kept Natasha here after all. He picks up his phone, opens it up to send her a message and there it is. A message telling him what to wear and he laughs. God she knows him so well. Not a Hawaiian shirt, he can manage that.

                He blasts his rev me up playlist on the way to pick up Hangman, hoping it might fill him with some confidence, and it all slips away anyway as Hangman walks down the steps toward him. He looks relaxed, also wearing jeans though his are lighter colored, and he’s wearing a hoodie, something he doesn’t think he’s ever seen Hangman wear.

                “Am I dressed okay? You’re wearing a proper shirt…”

                “Uh, you’re fine. Thought we could go to Belmont.”

                “Oh cool, I haven’t been to Belmont in years.”

                “Yeah, I thought we could do some rides, eat overpriced food, maybe do some games. I didn’t want to pick anything solely competitive…”

                “Afraid of losing to me?”

                Bradley rolls his eyes, but Natasha’s words from earlier and running through his head, that this is Hangman’s way of flirting.

                “Already got a date with you, pretty sure that’s all the winning I need.”

                Jake blushes. Fucking blushes and Bradley looks away and grins, realizing he can throw Jake off with sincerity. He can do that, especially because Jake is even more gorgeous when he looks a little flustered. He reverses back onto the road and heads out, wonders if it’s going to be awkward but Hangman is filling the silence, asking questions about what he’d done with his day off today and talking about what he’s done. The twenty-minute drive goes by quickly, easily, and it makes him feel better about the date ahead. He parks the car and gets out, locking it and then looks up, Hangman has his back to him, is staring up at something, he can’t look because his eyes are fixed on the back of Jake’s back, the word Roosters stretched between his shoulder blades.

                He is so fucked.

PART FOUR

[loversj0y]

this is me trying

coming back to london and being away from wilbur was hard. fighting your own coping methods and trying is harder.

pairing: wilbur soot x gn! reader

angst, hurt/comfort

TRIGGER WARNINGS: fighting, yelling, broken bottles, lots of tears, and alcoholism, plus the briefest (one line) insinuation of suicidal thoughts.

note: this is part of the 'tis the damn season universe, but doesn't particularly have to be read alongside it (though you'd probably be very confused if you didnt read it). this part is pretty heavy. not even going to lie, i had to stop writing a few times to keep myself from getting too stressed, really heed the warnings. at least im getting better at writing fights? ao3 version

word count: 5.7k

You and Wilbur hadn’t seen each other in months. It was May, and the warm air was making the days feel a bit more pleasant if it weren’t for the glaring guilt in your chest. 

The last time you and Wilbur had seen each other was Valentine’s Day, when he’d taken a train up to London to visit you and surprise you with some takeout and roof access to your apartment — you didn’t actually know you could get up there. He wasn’t able to spend too much time with you, mostly due to your own time constraints, but it was a nice trip nonetheless. When he left, you’d promised you’d come down to Brighton to visit him soon.

That didn’t quite work out. You were going to visit for a full week at the end of the second term, however, once you’d met with your advisor, you learned just how behind you were on your final dissertation. It was incredulous because you had thought you were on track with it, but regardless you had to spend break trapped in the library, trying desperately to catch up on writing your paper on Lord Byron’s work. Then, you were supposed to visit during the Easter weekend, but you were given a paper, due in a week, that blocked any opportunities for travel. 

But you were determined this time. You had to do this. You devised a plan, and you found a perfect weekend where you would be completely free of assignments if you hustled. You even got Tommy in on it. 

“Hey, Tommy, sorry to call you like this, do you have a moment to chat?” 

You heard a laugh through the phone, “Yeah, hold on,” he mumbled something off the phone, and you could make out the sounds of him walking to another room. 

“What’s up?”

“I want to surprise Wilbur, and I need your help.” You smiled as you started launching into the details of your plan, each piece meticulously planned out for a wonderful weekend. 

He grinned, “Aw, he would love that. Why d’ya need my help though?” 

“Well,” you faltered a bit, “there’s a flaw in my plan, and it’s that I don’t know where Wilbur’s apartment is, and I especially don’t know how to get there from the station. So, I was wondering if you’d be able to pick me up and take me to Will’s?” 

“Oh, yeah, no problem, plus it’ll allow me to annoy him a bit as well, so yeah, sounds good.”

You cheered a bit, “Thank you so much, Tommy, you’re the best. I’ll text you all the other details, yeah?”

“Aw, I am the best, thank you. And yeah, that works.”

“Perfect, bye, Tommy!”

He responded with a quick bye in return, and you felt yourself grin. You had been trying so hard to find time to be able to go see him, and this was it!

You got a call a few minutes later from Wilbur himself, and you worried immediately that Tommy may have spilled something accidentally. You didn’t even have a chance to speak before he questioned you.

“Why did you call Tommy with something he will only describe as being ‘important’ and ‘for cool people only’?”

You snorted out a laugh, rolling your eyes a bit, “Well, hello, to you, too, Wilbur.”

“Hi, darling, I hope your classes went well today,” he rushed out, “Now answer my question.”

“I just had a question for him, Will.”

“One that you couldn’t ask me?” You could hear the pout in his voice.

“Nope. As he mentioned, it's for cool people only.”

He let out a gasp, indignation clear in his voice, “Darling, how could you? I am much cooler than Tommyinnit.”

You could faintly make out the sound of Tommy yelling at Wilbur in the background. 

“Don’t worry, alright?” You laughed, “It was just something only he could really answer.”

“Are there questions that exist that only that gremlin child can answer?”

“Believe it or not, yes.”

Wilbur whined on the other side of the phone, “Love, you know he’s going to hold this over me for months, right?”

“Oh, I’m aware.”

“So, why?”

“Well, if I’m going to ask a Minecraft-related question,” you lied cooly, “it’s better to ask a professional, isn’t it?”

He was silent for a long moment. “...I am a professional.”

“Will, we’ve played Minecraft together for years. You’re good, but even I could beat you at PVP.”

He groaned, “Is this some ploy? Are you messing with me?”

“Is it wrong for me to try and get closer to your best friend by asking him questions about his interests?” Okay, truthfully, that was a low blow. But the surprise would make it worth it.

“I guess not.” He chuckled, “Sorry, I’m just annoyed about how smug he’s going to be about this.”

“Don’t apologize. You know I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to chat with you, anyway.”

“I wouldn’t either, love,” you could hear the smile in his voice, and the vague sound of Tommy speaking to someone. From over the phone, the room sounded louder than before. 

“Is… something going on over there?” You chuckled, trying to hide the nervousness in your tone. You didn’t even know why you were nervous. Something was just gnawing at the back of your brain, and for some reason, you just felt… tense now.

“Oh, uh,” he paused, and you could hear more people talking now, “sort of. It’s nothing big or anything just, uh, Tommy’s having some friends over is all. He and I have been hanging out for a bit today, but we’re just at his now, so he invited a few people over and stuff.”

You nodded quietly. You couldn’t help the sadness you felt fill your chest. You were trying to be there, but it was still hard to hear about all the things you were missing out on, all the times you missed him, and stories and inside jokes you would never truly understand. 

“Right, okay. Well, I-I’ve got to get back to studying, anyway, so.”

“Darling, it’s nothing, really-” “No, it’s not an excuse or anything,” It was,  “I-I just… ‘m busy, is all, so I’ll let you hang out.”

You were both silent. He knew you were lying, and you could tell. But he wouldn’t call you on it. Not now. Not when you hadn’t seen each other in months and every slight felt like a balancing act, trying to keep the other from pulling away. You were so excited a moment ago, and you didn’t mean for the sadness to overtake your entire conversation. You just couldn’t help sometimes how every conversation, every time you heard him talk about the things he was doing, cut you open more and more. He didn’t mean to, and you would never hold it against it but almost every conversation opened the wound a bit further. 

He spoke up after a minute, “Okay, well… good luck studying, and text me when you’re done,” he paused, voice softer, “I love you.”

You bit your lip, unable to hide the guilt bubbling in your chest at his solemn tone, “I will. I love you too.”

You hung up quickly, setting your phone down on your desk. You placed your head in your hands, taking a shaky breath and fighting off the tears in your eyes. It would be easier, soon. You’d see him in a week. You tried to console yourself.

 You wouldn’t admit it out loud to Wilbur, no matter how much he asked, but you weren’t entirely adjusting well to being back here, without him. The first week, you could only fall asleep if he was on the phone with you. Then, there was one night where he fell asleep before you could call. You ended up turning to an older sleep method, knowing that you needed to get to bed in order to be able to make it to classes. Before you knew it, your room became littered with empty bottles you barely had the energy to clean up. It was an interesting dichotomy, the clear vodka bottles piling on your nightstand and the white Panadol bottles piling on your sink and in your backpack. You were mostly lucky the weekend he came for Valentine’s Day, because you had forced yourself to clean up your room a few days before, meaning there was only one half-empty bottle of vodka on your shelf, and a single bottle of Panadol left on your sink (though there were numerous more inside your school bag). 

You weren’t completely lucky, though. Your weekend with Wilbur was almost entirely perfect. Until the end. Every time you thought back to the end, you watched the memory as if it wasn’t you, as if you were a watcher, not the one actually there.

You’d walked back in with Wilbur, around midnight. The apartment was mostly quiet, except for one of your roommates who was standing in the kitchen,  fixing themselves a drink. When they heard you enter, they turned, perking up a bit.

“Y/N, hey, could I borrow some vodka? I ran out.”

You’d nodded, “Yeah, I’ll grab it, hold on.”

While you’d gone to grab the bottle, Wilbur took his coat off, your roommate lightly chatting with Wilbur while you walked to your room and back. You’d only caught the ending of their brief conversation, listening in as you walked slowly from the hallway back to the kitchen, trying to not wake up your other roommates. 

“-mean, seriously, Wilbur, they can even drink me under the table. Every week, they come in with a new bottle.”

“Wait, every week?”

“Yeah!” Your roommate was laughing, and it hadn’t even crossed your mind yet that they were talking about you, “I mean, seriously, once a week, they walk in and one hand has a bag with vodka from Tesco, and the other hand has a bag from the chemist’s.” 

You walked back over by the time your roommate finished speaking, placing the bottle in front of them. Wilbur gave you a strange look as you did, going uncharacteristically quiet as you said a quick goodnight to your roommate, bringing Wilbur, and the bottle, back to your room. 

You placed the bottle back on the shelf while Wilbur closed the door. With your back turned, he spoke up finally. 

“Darling…” he seemed to struggle to find the words, “Are you… okay?”

You’d chuckled, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

“You tell me,” he spoke, and you turned to face him. He had a sad look on his face, almost pitiful, and in the moment, it made you feel sick. “You’ve apparently been going through a bottle a week.”

Your entire body had gone rigid, eyes had gone fearful for a moment before you’d defaulted to being defensive. “That doesn’t mean anything is wrong, Wilbur. It just helps me relax, and you know that I can handle my alcohol.”

“Love, you can’t seriously expect me to just accept that answer,” he scoffed, and he almost looked mad. Looking back, you knew he wasn’t mad at you, more just concerned that you were trying to hide this from him. Even so, in the moment, you thought he was mad. While you couldn’t really place why he would’ve been mad, you knew that it made your own blood heat up. 

“Well, it’s- the fucking truth, okay? So just- leave it.”

“How many bottles?”

“Wilbur, what-”

“How. Many.” He looked tense, walking to your bathroom and grabbing the bottle of Panadol, “How many weeks has this been going on? How many bottles have you gotten? If you’re struggling, you should–”

“I’m not fucking struggling, you’re reading into this!”

“Oh, am I? Really?”

“Yes, Wilbur! I am fine, better than fine, in fact, and don’t act like you haven’t been drinking too. You always text me when you do!”

“I’m not against you drinking, but you know how insane going through a fifth a week is. I know that’s not normal for you.”

“How the fuck do you know that? Hm?” You’d practically yelled out before you spoke out again, each word spitting venom at him, “You haven’t been here, Wilbur, you don’t know anything about the way I am when I’m here! Please stop fucking acting like you know everything about me.” You’d gestured with your hands while you spoke, eyebrows raising as you looked at him incredulously, “Yes, okay, fine, you win! I have been drinking more! Basically every night, but that doesn’t mean that something is wrong with me, Wilbur. I am trying my hardest just to fucking exist enough to finish the school year, I am allowed to have vices without it being some big, stupid conversion. Now, let’s just drop it, we’re both exhausted. It’s not going to help to just stand here and argue, okay?”

You’d panted softly as you’d finished. You watched as waves of hurt appeared on Wilbur’s face, and now that the moment had passed, you’d felt just complete, immediate regret as you watched his face fall, staring down at the floorboards. 

“Yeah. Fine.” He spoke out flatly.

You two went to bed that night next to each other, still sharing a kiss and exchanging “I love you”s, but feeling tenser than ever before. 

In the morning, you two had been able to patch things up, but not before Wilbur made you agree to just call him anytime you needed to relax instead of immediately turning to alcohol. You agreed, and you’d been doing a pretty good job of it, even if you still drink sometimes. But ever since the fight, there’d been this tense air in your relationship, lingering in each conversation, both too scared to overstep and lose the other all over again.

You stared at the bottle on your desk as if it was taunting you. You couldn’t call him, so it was that or sleeplessness. You sat up, shaking your head slightly and wiping the tears from your face, taking a deep breath. You couldn’t. Wilbur would call before bed, he always did now. Instead, you distracted yourself, pulling up your laptop and writing out your list of due dates for this week and the next two weeks, albeit the tears in your eyes made it a bit harder than usual. You wrote the list on a sticky note, placing it on your laptop. Some of these things were easier to knock out than others, for sure. Three big assignments and three small ones, plus whatever reading you had to do in between. Thankfully, only two of the big assignments were due this week, the last one could be left for after you came back from visiting him. 

You got started, working on a poem analysis for your Romantic Poetry class and letting your own thoughts fade in the noise of Wordsworth and Keats. 

You’d started working on your second small assignment when he’d called later that night. You set your phone up against your laptop, accepting the video call with a gentle smile on your face. 

“Hi, darling,” he grinned, and with a quick listen to his voice, you could tell he wasn’t entirely sober. You didn’t bring it up.

“Hi, Will. Did you have fun at Tommy’s?”

He nodded quickly, turning to get comfortable in his bed, “Kid’s a menace, for sure, but yes,” he frowned, getting a better look at you, “Babe, are you still studying?”

You sighed, “Yes, Will, I am.” “It’s been like three hours, how dare they? How could they possibly assign you so much?”

“God, I wish I knew. It’s like they all just decided that everything would be due this week. I might not be able to do our video chat dinner this Friday. I have a huge project due on the 21st.” In reality, you would be taking an hour train to his place and having real-life dinner, but he didn’t need to know that yet. 

“That’s not for so long though,” he whined out, pouting.

You chuckled, rolling your eyes a bit, “Yes, but it’s Professor Brian. He makes us all come to his office hours, so he can make sure we’re on the right track, and I need to go in early before the other students can take up all the timeslots. I need to make sure I have everything prepared for that.”

He sighed, relinquishing, “Okay. I know how important all this is, anyways. Plus, graduation isn’t too far now, so you need to finish strong.” He smiled, nothing but supportive towards your academic goals. 

“Graduation will be here before we know it. Still gonna host me that party?”

You both laughed, and he nodded, “Oh, absolutely. We’ll have two parties, a moving party and a graduation party all in one.”

You smiled fondly at him, nodding, “Yeah. That sounds really nice.”

He gave you a look, eyes full of love and adoration, “I miss you so much, love.”

You sighed wistfully, “I miss you too. We’ll see each other soon enough, I’m sure. We’ve waited years, we can do months.” 

He grinned, repeating your words, “We can do months.”

The rest of the conversation was standard, asking “How’s your day”s and sharing loving words. He tried to convince you to sleep once more, but you told him how important your work was, and he eventually gave up the topic. You wished each other a goodnight, saying “I love you”, before he eventually headed to bed fully. After you hung up, you looked back up at the bottle. The urge to drink was gone now. And if you weren’t going to get any sleep, you may as well continue working.

The rest of the week went by smoothly. The stress and weight of assignments and your plans for Friday kept you from sleeping properly, which at least gave you more time to work on your assignments. 

Friday approached quickly, and you couldn’t sit still in a single class the entire day, let alone Professor Brian’s class. He taught your Victorian Literature class, and he was a genuinely caring professor, despite being a bit intimidating. You could barely focus throughout class, far too excited. When it was time for class to be dismissed, you stood eagerly, but Professor Brian stood in the way for you to leave.

“Do you mind staying a few minutes?” He asked, a kind smile on his face.

As much as you didn’t want to, you really liked this professor, and his opinion of you meant a lot to you. So you nodded, following him to pull a chair up to the other side of his desk. 

He sat down, giving you a gentle smile, “I wanted to ask how your paper is going. You haven’t come in for office hours yet.”

Wow, and you thought you were the early prepper. “Well, I was planning to come in on Wednesday since it would give me a week until the project was actually due.”

He frowned, “What day is the paper due?”

You gave him a confused look, responding simply, “The 21st.”

His head tilted back, and he nodded slowly, “Right, I’ve found the problem then. The paper is due the 12th, not the 21st.”

You felt your heart stop. You pulled out your laptop, looking at the sticky note you had taped to it. You had certainly written the 21st. Fuck, you thought, realizing quickly that it must’ve been a consequence of your own mental state since you’d been crying when you wrote the list. 

“Oh. Oh, god, I’m-” You struggled to continue your sentence, too distraught. The paper was due in three days, not twelve like you’d thought.

“Hey, don’t fret,” he pulled out his calendar, humming for a moment, “It’s an honest mistake, and you’ve always been on top of your classwork. I can’t offer a major extension, but I can give you until Wednesday the 14th, but that’s only if you come to office hours first thing on Monday. I can help out with some more of the editing work for the paper, but only on that day, and you’ll need to have at least most of it worked out. I trust in your abilities to create a well-thought-out thesis, especially given your passion in previous classes when we’ve discussed Wilde. Does that work?”

You nodded quickly, fighting tears as your entire plan crumbled around you. “Yeah, yes. I-I can do that.”

“Alright.” He offered you another kind smile, though it did nothing to stop the feeling of the world-shattering around you, “And are you alright? You don’t have to tell me anything if you don’t wish to, but you were much more quiet in class today than usual.”

“Yeah. It’s nothing now, anyway.” You sighed, biting your lip to keep it from quivering too much. You stood, pulling your bag on while he nodded slowly.

“Keep your head up, alright? You’re a brilliant student. I don’t like to see you falling behind.” 

You knew he meant no harm with his words, but it added to the pit of self-hatred that you were slowly sinking into. 

You just nodded, turning and heading towards the door, “Thank you, Professor.”

“Have a good rest of your day.”

“You too,” you spoke, trying to put more enthusiasm into your words than you actually felt. 

You practically ran out of the hallway, the air feeling like it was choking you. You walked to a random bench outside, on the edge of campus, unable to stop yourself from completely breaking down. You’d been planning this for weeks, how could you have fucked up this bad? You sobbed, head in your hands. 

The tears didn’t stop. The sun was starting to set, and all of a sudden it felt like there were too many eyes on you, so you stood and ran. You ran all the way to the water, panting heavily as you stared out at the river, standing on the old bridge that was always abandoned this time of night. You stared at the water as you sobbed, chest heaving as you struggled to breathe. 

Fuck.

Fuck.

You had to call Tommy. You already felt like enough of a fuck-up, you could at least prevent him from wasting his time picking you up.

With shaky hands, you took out your phone, dialing Tommy.

It rang once before he picked up, your sobs immediately carrying over the phone.

“Y/N?” He asked, panicked, “Are you crying, did something happen?”

You heard some arguing over the phone, but you could barely hear it over the sounds of your own crying as you began to speak, “Tommy, don’t- I-” your voice quivered, biting your lip hard enough to bleed. 

There was still some arguing happening on his side, but you paid it no mind.

He tried to say something, but you cut him off before he could as the words broke through your sobs. 

“Don’t- don’t bother p-picking me up,” you sobbed out, “I f-fucked it. I fucked it all up.”

“Y/N, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

“It’s- it’s stupid, I- I’m sorry. I can’t- I can’t come anymore. I fucked up,” there was sarcastic laughter behind your words as you continued speaking, tears streaming down your face, “I can’t, fuck, I- I fucking ruined everything, I- I was trying, I am trying, but I-” you gasped for breath, one hand clutching your chest weakly as you sat at the edge of the bridge. 

“Take a deep breath, come on. What are you talking about?” It almost sounded like he was pleading. 

“I just-” you sobbed, trying to muffle your cries to get your words out, “Tell Wilbur I’m sorry.” You pulled your phone away from your ear, ending the call despite hearing his panicked voice through the phone. You shoved your phone in your bag, curling up into a tight ball as you sobbed until you could barely think.

Unfortunately for you, you could still think. Your sobbing had been reduced to slow tears and the occasional hitch in your breath. As the sunset faded into the night sky, you became so acutely aware of how you’d fucked up your relationship. The one you’d spent years pining for, that you wanted to work so hard for. You let all of it fall apart. Even when trying so hard, your trying just wasn’t enough. You stood up, walking to the railing and staring down at the water. 

The rushing water felt like it stared back at you. 

You gripped the railing tightly, and you suddenly felt like you couldn’t breathe all over again. You slowly backed away, letting go of the railing and trying to collect yourself. 

Once you were calm enough, you turned, walking the slow trek back to your apartment. Your eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, and it’d be impossible to hide that you’d been crying even if you tried. You realized off-handedly that you had no clue how long you’d been there sobbing. The sky was your only reminder that time had even passed. 

You walked to the apartment slowly, body feeling drained. When you opened the door, you were met with all three of your roommates in the living room, staring at you with concern. One of your roommates, Jayden, sighed softly, speaking into the phone and looking away. 

“What’s going on?” You asked softly, voice cracking. You didn’t have the heart to be embarrassed. 

“Wilbur called,” your other roommate, Quinn, spoke up softly. 

You didn’t bother responding, just nodding and walking to your room. They didn’t fight it, watching you quietly. 

You grabbed the bottle, laying down in your bed, and staring at it. There was barely anything left, probably about a shot’s worth. Your hands shook as you stared, mentally waging a war over whether or not you’d take that final sip. A sob wracked your body, and instead of drinking it, you threw the bottle against the opposite wall, watching it shatter and spill over the floor. You couldn’t be bothered, turning away from the door and curling up into a tight ball. You heard movement outside your door, but you didn’t move, and eventually, the footsteps departed. You closed your eyes, lying drained on your bed and letting yourself drift in and out of restless sleep.

When you came to at one point, you could make out the sound of someone picking up the pieces of glass you’d shattered. You wanted to turn, to mumble a thank you to whichever roommate had cleaned it for you, but you felt frozen in your own sadness. You listened, though, keeping your eyes closed. The sounds of each shard falling into a bag, the sound of a towel wiping at the wet spot left by the vodka. Then, there was a pause before you heard the gentle sound of footsteps moving toward your bed. You felt the bed dip, and you couldn’t fight the confusion that creased into your brow. An arm slowly wrapped around you, and you let your eyes open, taking a moment to process. You thought you must be dreaming.

Your voice sounded weaker than you’d hoped it would as you spoke. 

“Wilbur?” You turned, looking up and seeing the face of your lover staring back at you. He looked as exhausted as you felt, and it looked like he’d been crying as well.

You sat up slowly, and he did the same, brushing back some of your hair. 

“Hi,” He sighed softly, sitting across from you, “You scared the shit out of me.”

Tears welled in your eyes, and your hands reached for him as if to make sure he was actually, really there in front of you. He held onto your arms gently as well. 

“What- what are you doing here?” “You were on speaker when you called Tommy.” He sighed softly, “We could only come for tonight, but we really need to talk. We could wait til the morning if you’d prefer.”

As much as you’d like to have one last good night in his arms, you’d rather rip the bandaid off now.

“No, let’s talk now.” You sighed.

He nodded, watching you quietly, “Can you tell me what happened, then?”

You took a shaky breath, nodding softly. “I was going to come down this weekend. I spent weeks planning it, making sure I could get everything done in perfect timing. But that night I called Tommy, after you called me, I started crying, and I wrote down one of my due dates wrong,” you sniffled, chuckling sardonically at yourself. “God, it’s so stupid. But my professor stopped me after class, and he extended the due date, but he could only extend it by two days. So, I couldn’t come to surprise you anymore, and,” you sobbed, biting your lip and trying to hold yourself together, “I called Tommy and let him know that he didn’t- he didn’t have to pick me up anymore.” 

Wilbur nodded as he listened to you explain. He knew you better than you ever wanted to admit. “On the phone, you said… you ruined everything. You weren’t just talking about the plans, were you?”

You shook your head, moving your hands to hide your face behind them, “No.”

“Did you… think that I would stop talking to you because of this?”

You took a shaky breath. It felt like your last chance to be honest while you still could. So, you let the words spill from your mouth in endless streams.

“I just- I haven’t been doing well, Wilbur, ever since I got back here. I was drinking every night, really heavily, and I know it wasn’t good. And I’m sorry for how I talked to you that night, I was just scared and defensive, and,” you took a shaky breath, “every time we’ve talked after that fight, everything would feel different, and I was just getting terrified that my time was running out, that you were going to finally decide that you’ve had enough of the fucking mess that I am. Every time you would tell me about the cool things you were doing, I just couldn’t help but feel like it was cutting me open, no matter how happy I was for you, and now, I just I feel like I’m an open wound that can’t close no matter how much I try. And I am trying. You have to believe me, really, I am trying. I didn’t,” You cried softly, head still in your hands, “I didn’t drink it. The rest of the bottle, I-I didn’t drink it. I am trying.” You felt like you were pleading for him to believe you.

“Hey, hey” he spoke softly, gently holding onto your forearms, “Let me see your face. Please.”

You let your hands fall, looking up at him. You never felt smaller than in that brief moment where you could feel him seeing you in your entirety. 

He gently moved a hand to your cheek, wiping at your eyes softly. 

“I know you’re trying. I’m proud of you for not drinking it. Really, I’m insanely proud of you. I can see that you’re trying. I’m not going to leave you or stop talking to you because you’re struggling. That doesn’t mean what happened is okay, but darling, you need to communicate with me. Neither of us are going to be perfect about anything, and I know I’m not perfect with it either, but when you start having these thoughts and ideas that I’m going to leave you? That’s when you need to come to me and talk to me. I know it’s hard, and I’m not expecting it to be an easy or quick fix, but I need to know that you know that you can come to me. That I’m someone you truly trust. Because if not, it will just hurt us both.”

You nodded quickly, leaning into his touch, “I’m sorry. I’m going to try, I just- I get so in my head sometimes, I just-” You took a shaky breath, and he carefully moved forward, pulling you into a tight hug. You hugged him back just as tightly, burying your face into his chest.

“I do trust you,” you whispered, “I’m just scared you’re going to see me the way I see me.”

He took a shaky breath, kissing the top of your head. “And I’m just trying to get you to see yourself the way I see you.”

You sobbed softly, clinging onto him tightly. He held you just as desperately, rubbing your back.

“I love you,” you spoke softly once you’d calmed down enough, “so much.” “I love you so much too.” He pulled away, only to pull you in for a kiss. You kissed him back, your arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders. The kiss felt like breathing, a strong sense of relief in the physical confirmation that despite everything, you didn’t lose him.

When you pulled away, you rested your forehead against his, and you both sat like that quietly for a few minutes.

“I missed you,” You spoke softly, looking up at him. “You said you’re only here for tonight?” 

“I missed you too. Even if it didn’t go as planned, at least we still got to see each other this weekend,” he lightly joked before nodding, “We are only here for tonight.”

“Wilbur, I can’t go to Brighton anymore, I have to write my paper,” you sighed.

“Oh, no, I know. I wasn’t talking about you.” “What?” “Tommy insisted on coming with. He was really worried too. He’s currently sleeping on your couch.” 

You chuckled, your chuckle soon turning into full laughter as you imagined Tommy’s lanky limbs leaning off your cheap couch. Wilbur started laughing as well, arms still wrapped around you, slowly rubbing up and down your back.

Once you stopped laughing, you leaned into him, relaxing against his chest. He moved both of you into laying down. 

“I’ll talk to him in the morning. Today’s been exhausting. Can we just sleep?” Wilbur nodded, kissing the top of your head once more. “I would love nothing more than to sleep with you right now.” 

You groaned, lightly hitting his chest, but you couldn’t deny the laughter that bubbled up in your chest. 

“Goodnight, love.” He grinned.

“Goodnight, Wilbur.”

taglist: @shubblelive / @superioritycomplexes / @your-shifting-gurl (send an ask/dm me if you want to be added)

[klbwriting]

Broken Prism

Chapter 11

Fandom: Red Hood

Pairing: Jason Toddxfemale!Reader

Warnings: none for once, this is just fluff, I needed fluff

Summary: Jason decides to go see YN

Jason paced the alley next to YN’s apartment. He had parked his bike, picked up his duffle bag full of gear and no couldn’t decide if he actually wanted to go up or not. Should he go to her window like she said? All dressed for a fight? Or should he knock on her door like a normal guy going on a date? Wait, no, this wasn’t a date, they were going to be…friends. That word sounded ridiculous in context. She literally brought color to his life how could he just be friends with someone who did something like that? He sighed and hiked the duffle bag up on his shoulder and went to the door. He could do this, hang out for an evening with his friend. He was insane. He was a zombie walking the streets thinking he could date, what in the hell? He laughed at himself a little but then the Joker’s laugh burst through his ears so clearly, he thought it was real. He frantically looked around the hallway before realizing he had imagined the whole thing. He closed his eyes tight, trying to will the sound away. He considered turning back but pressed on, now wanting to see if she could make it go away again. He knocked on her door, the laugh seeming to get louder, taunting him, then the door opened, and he saw YN and the laugh vanished, his mind felt clear for a moment. She looked surprised before smiling at him.

“Wow, dear Lord that armor hides a lot,” she said, looking slowly over him in his combat pants and fitted long sleeve athletic shirt. He felt a blush on his cheeks, not remembering the last time someone had flirted with him. Being dead and then an assassin didn’t really allow for flirtation. If you had needs you could find someone to satisfy them, but there was nothing behind it, lest someone be told to kill you in the morning. This, flirting, was new and he actually found it pleasant.

“I thought I’d dress for going out, just in case,” he said, holding up his bag. She nodded, understanding and opened the door. He noticed she had dressed casually, leggings and an oversized long sleeve t-shirt, she looked adorable honestly. He looked around her place slowly, running the checklist in his head of exits, vulnerabilities, weapons he could use in case someone attacked. YN locked the door and stood near the kitchen counter, watching him. He realized he hadn’t said anything, lost in his thoughts. “Sorry, uh, do you have somewhere I can put this?” She reached out to take the bag and he pulled back. He didn’t trust her that much yet.

“Come on, we’ll hang out in my room, if my roommates come back and see you they will ask questions that I’m not ready to answer, like who is he and what does he do for a living?” she said, turning and moving through the connected living room. She opened her door, and he walked in, stowing his bag right by the window in case he needed a quick getaway. She locked the door, turning and looking at him. He knew he looked strange; fists clenched as he assessed this room now. He couldn’t relax, always thinking about the next move. He vaguely heard her voice and startled.

“What?” he asked. She sat down on her bed and patted next to her.

“Come on, let’s play a game, you like 500 Rummy?” she asked, pulling out a deck of cards from her nightstand drawer. He almost laughed at them being Batman cards.

“Really?” he asked as she dealt. “And why would I want to play with these?”

“Because you can lose twice with Batman around,” she shot back. He stared at her for a moment before she started laughing and Jason found himself laughing. It was strange, something he hadn’t done in years, not like this. God, he was enjoying himself too much. She was going to be in such danger if he didn’t pull back. He frowned then, looking back at the window, thinking about leaving again. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” he asked, turning back and seeing her watching him closely.

“Don’t go, don’t…don’t sit there and think that just because you know me, that we spend time together and I’ll be in danger,” she said. Jason shook his head.

“You will, constantly, if anyone figures out who I am, who you are, what we are. You will never be safe,” he said. She shook her head. “What if you were killed? I don’t know what I’d do…”

“I do,” she said. “You’d survive. Like I had to.” Jason’s next words died in his throat. He had never thought of that. She was the one with the knowledge that he had died. She knew faster than Bruce did. Her world had gone dark when his did and yet here she was, she had survived.

“What happened, when I died?” he asked softly, setting his cards aside. She looked down but he reached out and touched her chin, guiding it to look at him again, almost to remind her that her memories were not real now, he was here again.

“It was hard, I mean, I was watching a nature documentary, they were just starting the ocean. I loved the part about the ocean, its so beautiful, but then everything went gray, I stupidly thought I could blink and it would be back to colorful, but it wasn’t. And I’m not going to say it was easy. I was so upset, about your death yes but even more so because I never got to know you. I mean, I didn’t even know your name. I wanted to know who I was missing, because I missed you so much,” she said softly. “But, if you were to go off and die, again, I know you now, a little bit at least and I would probably feel better because now I at least have memories of you to think about when I miss you.” Jason looked down and wondered if he would have been this strong had the roles been reversed. He honestly wasn’t sure, but the way she talked he knew he agreed, he wanted memories of her if anything happened. He wanted to know her.

“Do you know what my final thoughts were before I died?” he asked. She shook her head. “Your eyes. All my regrets about not talking to you, not finding you, and then your eyes. And honestly, those eyes haunted me when I came back. I saw them in my dreams, and they calmed my nightmares. Then I am in this alley, trying to get information on what Batman is doing and you run into, look at me and those eyes again.”

“Is that why you just vanished on me?” she laughed. He nodded, somehow feeling even more embarrassed about the event now. Jason moved a little, leaning to the side on her pillows, trying to get comfortable. It was strange, how he was feeling. He normally didn’t talk so much, didn’t try so much to stay around someone. “Jason, take your boots off and you wouldn’t feel so awkward probably.” He looked down at the shoes he was trying to keep off her blankets and sighed again. He was a mess. He turned, undoing the laces and looking out the window. He saw a shadow across it and stood up, walking over and looking outside. He could see across the street to the fire escapes where Dick was sitting as Nightwing. He waved to his little brother and Jason flipped him off.

“O, Bruce out there? Or Dick?” YN asked, peeking around Jason’s shoulder. He grunted and went back to taking his shoes off. YN saw Dick and also flipped him off before closing her black out curtains. “Better.”

“They probably want to make sure you don’t tell everyone who Batman is,” he grumbled, finally sitting back on her bed and leaning to the pillows. He looked at the nightstand beside him and picked up the book, The Outsiders. “I never got to finish this one.”

“O, I’ve read it a few times, I kind of keep it as a default book,” she said. “You can borrow it if you want, any of my books.” She motioned to a small bookshelf and he stood, going to peruse it, not noticing her pulling a rather large suitcase from under bed. “Or these.” She opened it and there were dozens more inside. Jason stared at them. There was everything, classics, YA, horror, mystery, romance.

“You read a lot,” he said, stooping down to look over these, picking out a couple copies of things. She nodded.

“Sometimes I have to wait for information, or targets if I’m following someone, always good to have something to appear like you’re not paying attention,” she said. “You can take them.” He looked at her.

“Can we read together?” he asked, actually blushing again. If he spent any more time with YN he was going to become a lobster. She smiled wide and nodded eagerly. She turned to her shelf and grabbed another book, Six of Crows and then laid down, leaning against her pillows. Jason grabbed The Outsiders and laid next to her, starting the book over. He listened as he read, his mind divided, alert to everything around him so he wouldn’t get taken by surprise. He found himself listening to her, turning pages, letting out a laugh or a gasp at parts of her book. He was aware of when the book came to rest on her chest, her head sliding down to his shoulder as she fell asleep. He didn’t move for another hour, reading and enjoying the feeling of his soulmate against him, her soft breath tickling his neck a little. It was the most amazing feeling he’d ever had. Finally, he closed the book, leaving it on her bedside table. He put her book away, spread a blanket over her and wrote her a note on a post it, attaching it to The Outsiders, asking her to keep his place for when he came back. Jason grabbed his duffle, took one last look at YN, sleeping peacefully and climbed out the window into the night, feeling lighter than he had since he emerged from the pit.

[ellieellieoxenfree]

god, i'm just over here having EMOTIONS about ai di when we see him fresh out of prison and how so much of how we see him before and after that is all about this aposematic presentation in all of his bright colors and vicious temper and unbridled threats. and when we take all of that away, he's just...a kid. a kid who grew up too fast and who never knew kindness and just tried to bury his loneliness under layers and layers of violence and anger.

look at him!! look at him!!!! every time we see him in the context of prison scenes, he looks like hell. he's pale and tiny and he can't maintain his bravado. when he's on the phone with chen yi, his eyes are all swollen and the dark circles underneath them are like bruises. there's no heart or bite to his rejection; he's just going through the motions like a shadow of himself. and here, he's trying to be so fucking neutral, so cold and apathetic and like they both don't know he's spent four years trying to rip his own heart out of his body to forget the only person he's ever truly loved and who could (does!) love him in return.

and a moment i always miss is that when chen yi brings him back to the shop and ai di gets out of the car, xiao jie is beaming brightly to welcome him home, and ai di cannot meet his eyes. he sort of flicks his gaze around the other gang members and focuses on a spot beyond them, and he glances at xiao jie, but he can't sustain eye contact -- almost like he's ashamed. the only person he can actually look at is chen yi, and he has this wistful look for half a second before his mouth twists in that determined, dissatisfied way he always gets. (he does it when he's checking chen yi's injuries in episode 12, too -- a sort of bitter resignation about doing what needs to be done.)

they're greeting him like he's still ai di, but he doesn't feel like ai di, because prison stripped him of all his defenses and he's trying to shield himself with the insufficient tatters of his dignity. he's been humbled and broken and now chen yi's brought him to be displayed in front of everybody without letting him re-collect himself in the way he needs to present himself. he doesn't want to be perceived as what he is -- a scared, lonely, miserable kid who just went through something truly horrific.

really, it's one of chen yi's worst mistakes. he does deserve answers, and he does know that ai di will run from honesty. it makes sense that he'd take the approach of cornering him first. but there's cornering him, and there's cornering him when he's in such a raw, vulnerable state, and it just compounded so many existing problems. ai di doesn't want to be faced with his own vulnerability, let alone have someone else see it, let alone have that paraded in front of half of yiyun meng.

it hurts, man. they're talking at each other, past each other, around each other -- but never to. years and years of unhealed hurts and misinterpreted conversations and just a fundamental terror of being true to themselves and their own needs and wants. and there's something so agonizingly poetic about chen yi seeing him honestly and clearly, in the light of day, at the prison gates, because he has seen ai di build up his armor over years and watched the same kid who was so close to him when they were young drift apart. he's still there, but inaccessible. and he's still inaccessible at the prison, too -- in too much pain to allow himself the risk of taking on more -- but this is the closest thing to the ai di he knew. no bullshit, no smoke and mirrors, no flashy tricks to warn off enemies. he is just a person, fragile and human and fallible, and for all the gimmicks he keeps trying to employ to shove chen yi away, he is at the most honest point he could possibly be.

[mickeym4ndy]

Tee, your tags on the Yev post are so correct! I absolutely think Mickey would have had a bigger storyline with Yev (and Svetlana) if he'd been in s6, alongside him and Ian being awkward exes who get back together eventually. I wanna do something with that in the s6 au I'm planning to write at some point, because it's so important for Mickey to be able to make a concerted effort to be a better man and dad than his own father was. And we know he's so much better than Terry, but Mickey ofc is so afraid of becoming his dad. And loving Yev and being there for him as a father is a way for him to heal from that generational trauma and not let himself be that person <3

Yes exactly!! I really think that this scene:

Was setting up a storyline for the next season where Mickey builds a relationship with Yevgeny. Like to me, this looks like as much as he is struggling, he does love his son (and this is the first time he’s realizing that).

I made a post about this before and @atthedugouts mentioned in the tags that so much of Shameless is about whether a child will repeat the sins of their parents or make different choices and break the cycle, and there was sooooo much to explore about that with Mickey & Yevgeny.

Which would’ve been such an interesting storyline. Not that Mickey would ever be as bad as Terry, but I think it’s something he’d struggle with within himself. I could actually talk about Mickey in season 6 & 7 for hours lol, I have soooo many ideas. And Mickey & Yevgeny is my favourite unexplored storyline.

I’ve said before I think it would’ve ultimately changed Gallavich’s dynamic a bit, not at the beginning, but eventually (things change when you become a parent, your kid needs to come before your partner sometimes, and Mickey for the last few years had put Ian first for everything) and that’s something I think they’d need to work out while they’re in the midst of the re getting to know each other/ getting back together stage.

But even outside of his relationship w Ian, in general it would have been so fascinating to see how Mickey grapples with trying not to be like his dad while loving Yevgeny but also struggling with how he was conceived and how traumatizing it was for him.

I think maybe he’d overcompensate a bit - be soo hard on himself if Yev ever simply fell over and hurt himself a bit while Mickey was watching him. Or if Mickey was ever struggling not to lose it while Yev’s crying (because it would be so overstimulating for him). Even though it wouldn’t be his fault I think he’d still struggle and blame himself and fall back into the “oh god I can’t do this I’m just like my dad” sometimes.

And he’d then try so hard to be better and be there as much as he can almost to a fault. And you’re so right it would’ve been such an opportunity for him to heal and to break the cycle. I think it also would’ve put his own childhood into perspective - he wants to protect Yev from anyone that would hurt him, so it’s so jarring for him to realize how much he was hurt and allowed to be hurt when he was a kid.

I’m also in general not a huge fan of the throuple storyline. So I would’ve LOVED to have seen Mickey & Svet be a coparenting/accidental bestie duo throughout the season (it wouldn’t have been like that straight away but eventually) and all the hijinks they could get up to - scams, funny stuff with Yevgeny, maybe going out to find real jobs together, if Mandy called Mickey about the dead guy and he brought Svetlana along (I need post murder sibling bonding pls). Just in general being a little unconventional family, because we know family is super important to Svet.

Also at this point most of Mickey’s family is gone and Ian’s broken up with him. Svet & Yev would be all he has left. It makes sense that he’d end up relying on & cling to them. (This is another reason why I think Gallavich would be different when getting back together after being apart for the better part of a year, both of their priorities would have shifted a bit).

Sorry this got so long, this is just one of my favorite topics I could genuinely talk about it for hours😂 I can’t wait to read your season 6 au fic!! Already know it’ll be so good!

[ssa-atlas-alvez]

Hi!! You're really cool :D I was wondering if maybe (if you're comfortable) you could write a Penelope Garcia x Ftm! Reader? Maybe the reader is very strong and "macho" and he is maybe a suspect in a case? None of the team knows it, but when Reader's alibi is his girlfriend (or best friend if that works) Penelope Garcia, the team is like what- Idk just a silly idea I had. Feel free to ignore this <3

Hi! Thanks aha! Also this is a super cute idea! :)

Warnings: needles, injections, testosterone shots, sheriff’s an ass, mentions of past arrests, mentions an attack, hate crime, mentions of broken bones, mentions of being attacked because of gender identity

Word Count: 2342

Penelope’s heart sank when your name popped up your screen. She forced it aside. There were plenty of other names on the list. Just because your name was on it, didn’t make you the killer. But she kept refining the list and your name sat, unmoving at the top. Eventually, she ran out of filters to put through the mass spec, and so, she had to turn the list over to Mr Bossman. She wasn’t even allowed to warn you. She huffed as she hit send on the email. Hotch immediately replied, asking for a deep-dive into your history. Guilt swarmed through Garcia’s stomach. She couldn’t not do it. And so, reluctantly, she began to gather the information. Twenty minutes later she received a message from Morgan that they had arrested the suspect. Garcia needed a coffee. 

You were confused to say the least when they arrested you. It made no sense, you hadn’t done anything, you had no clue who ‘Andrew Macey’ was. You were just working out at your gym when they strolled in and arrested you! You didn’t even get to finish your session - or change clothes! 

You gave a small huff, shifting in your chair. They could have at least given you a comfy chair. You knew their tactics, you weren’t an idiot, you noticed the drop in temperature, that they were leaving you on your own to make you feel nervous, intimidated. It wasn’t working, if anything, you were just bored out of your skull. You looked at the two-way mirror, standing up, and walked towards it. Breathing lightly onto it, you drew a smiley face in the condensation and gave them a grin.

Morgan huffed a laugh, “Is he for real?”

“He seems too relaxed,” Spencer noted, Aaron found himself agreeing.

“Let’s go talk to him,”

“I thought we were leaving him to stew?” The Sheriff asked.

“There’s no point,” Rossi said, “He’s relaxed, that tactic’s not going to work with him,”

You sat back down, resorting to counting the tiles on the wall opposite you. 

The door opened and closed, revealing a tall man in a suit (who introduced himself as Agent Hotchner) and the Sheriff (who’s name you couldn’t be bothered to remember).

“Where were you Thursday night?” Agent Hotchner’s voice stern. You stared at him.

“I was at my girlfriend’s apartment,” You answered. 

“Somehow I doubt that,” The Sheriff snorted.

“I was! You can ask her!” You argued, folding your arms. This was ridiculous!

“What’s her name?”

“Penelope Garcia,” You really didn’t have time for this. You looked at the time, it was 7pm, nearly time for your testosterone shot. If you missed it, it would screw up the whole routine. You shut your eyes as you sighed.

“I’m sorry, have you got other places to be?”

“Yeah, I do actually,” You snapped at the Sheriff. This man was simply an idiot, you decided. “So if we could just speed this along-”

You watched as Agent Hotchner looked at the mirror and sighed, before exiting the room, to watch from behind the glass. The Sheriff hung back, “You’re not fooling anybody. I know you did it,” He snarled, “I’ll get you for it,”

“Respectfully, I did absolutely nothing,” You stated. 

“You’ve been arrested on multiple occasions,” 

You rolled your eyes, “If you look closely you’ll see that those occasions were self defence,”

“And what exactly would you be defending yourself from?” 

“Other people? What sort of question is that?” 

Aaron turned to Morgan, “Call Garcia,” He said, “I want her on the next plane here,” Derek gave a nod, rushing out of the room. 

“I know these men,” The Sheriff said, looking the file over, “They are good people. I do not believe for a second that they would attack someone without good reason,”

“I’m sure they thought it was a good reason, doesn’t mean it was though,” You answered with a shrug, “Besides, why are you so caught up on that arrest? It was declared self-defence and I ended up in the hospital after that with multiple fractures. If you’re going on past arrests, you should really be speaking to the men that started it,”

“He does have a point,” Rossi stated. 

“And what, exactly, was the reason for attacking you?”

“They recognised me from school,” You said, vaguely. “Only I looked a lot different back then,”

“And what does this have to do with anything?”

You don’t answer immediately, weighing up whether you think the information is important enough to disclose. For whatever reason, they didn’t know you were trans. “I’m transgender. They disagreed with ‘how I live my life’ or whatever. Really, they just had a crush on me when we were teens and they got insecure that it made them gay,” The Sheriff scoffed in disbelief. “Scoff all you want, it doesn’t change what happened,”

Seeing the anger in the Sheriff’s eyes, Aaron joined you both back in the room. “Am I free to go, yet?”

“Not just yet, we’re confirming your alibi,” He said and you gave him a nod. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“I, er, need my testosterone,” You said, “It’s in the bathroom cabinet,” 

“Alright, I’ll have someone pick that up for you,”

“Thank you,” 

The team (and Sheriff) gathered on the other side of the glass. “He’s dating Garcia?” Morgan found himself asking.

“Apparently,” JJ said, “That’s not who I thought her boyfriend was,”

“Me neither,” Emily chimed.

“You knew she had a boyfriend?” Spencer asked. 

“Yeah, came up at girls' night,” JJ shrugged.

“I just didn’t imagine him being so… Macho,”

Hotch shook his head slightly, "While we're waiting for Garcia, we should continue to go over evidence with the basis that (Y/N)'s innocent," He said, "How far out is she?"

"She boarded the plane, so should be here within the hour," Morgan said, Hotch nodded. 

“Okay, Morgan, Rossi, revisit the crime scenes, see if we missed anything,” Hotch said, “JJ, Emily, retrace the victims’ footsteps, Spencer, work more on the geographical profile, Sheriff - maybe take a break, you’ve been going non-stop for days. I’m going to head to the airport and pick Garcia up.” The team nodded and split up.  

Garcia knew she was in deep shit when she saw Hotch at the terminal to pick her up. “Sir,” She said, Hotch nodded and they silently began their journey to the car. They got in and buckled up, still silent. “I know I should have told you but-”

“Yes, you should have,” Hotch said, looking at Garcia briefly before turning back to the road. 

“But then I would have been taken off the case,” Garcia finished, “And I knew that (Y/N) didn’t do it so I thought there wasn’t any harm in me not saying anything.”

“You left out that he was transgender,”

“It’s not my place to out it,”

“Except it’s your job,”

“Well, yes, but-”

“I understand why you did it,” Hotch said, “I do, just… Don’t do it again,” Penelope nodded.

“You got it, you’re the boss,” She replied.

“We need to go to (Y/N)’s apartment,” Hotch said, “He needs his testosterone,” 

Penelope’s eyes widened, “I completely forgot it was Monday!” She exclaimed, face palming, “He takes it at nine. I will also be grabbing him some clothes,”

Hotch nodded, not questioning it - he knew Penelope would have her reasons. “How is the team taking it?” She asked as Aaron pulled into a parking spot.

“Good, just shocked,”

“Shocked? Why shocked?”

“He’s very… The word Emily used was ‘macho’,” Hotch said, Garcia gave a laugh as she nodded.

“He is, isn’t he?” She smiled. “He’s sweet though,”

“And treating you well?” When Garcia nodded, Hotch smiled, “Good.”

Fishing the key out of her purse, Penelope unlocked the door, walking in - Hotch following her. “I’ll let you grab whatever he needs,” Hotch said.

“Won’t be two ticks,” Penelope said as she began to faff about, gathering bits and pieces you would need. Ten minutes, she approached Hotch again. She had grabbed a spare change of clothes (jogging bottoms, t-shirt, and a large hoodie), a tight fitting sports bra and a binder (she knew that you didn’t bind whilst working out, but that you might want to later), she also grabbed some TransTape just in case you didn’t want to wear the binder but still wanted to bind. She had also grabbed your hormones and a small plush turtle about the size of her hand. “Alright, I am good to go,”

On the drive back, Hotch had asked Penelope what she had been doing on Thursday. “I was with (Y/N),” 

“Until what time?” When Penelope glared at him, he huffed slightly, “Just to eliminate him as a suspect,”

“Until ten that night, then he had to catch a flight back,” Hotch nodded. They would have to check with the airport and then they would be able to release him. Unfortunately, he would have to ask someone else to check now that they knew Penelope was dating the suspect. Which would take at least an hour. 

You blew out a puff of air. This was dull as fuck. You turned your head, looking at the mirror, “Anyone there?”

“Yes?” A timid voice asked. 

“Huh, I was just expecting to be speaking to myself,” You said with a laugh, “What are you up to?”

“A geographical profile,”

“Cool,” You said, “How does that work?”

“I mark down each crime on the map in hopes of narrowing down where the unsub lives,” Spencer explained.

“That’s cool,” There was a small pause, “Please don’t tell me I live in that narrowed down area - that’s the last thing I need,” Spencer gave a chuckle.

“No comment,”

The door squeaked open, you turned towards it, half expecting to see the Sheriff. Your face lit up when Penelope walked in, you felt like your brain cells were dying off one by one whilst stuck in this room. “There she is,” You cheered, causing Penelope to roll her eyes, cheeks blushing a light pink. “I would have gotten you flowers if I knew I was going to see you today,” You joked, Penelope rolled her eyes yet again. 

“They’re just checking flight records and you should be good to go,” She said, placing a bag in front of you. “I brought reinforcements,”

“Should I be scared?” You teased.

“You’re such a tease,” Penelope laughed, “I brought clothes, meds - except Bossman has that incase you are the killer, which we all know you aren’t, and try and stab me with the needle or something-” You opened your mouth to argue how ridiculous that was but Penelope continued, “and Gregory,”

You grinned, previous statements forgotten, “You brought Gregory?!” 

“Who’s Gregory?” Morgan whispered on the other side of the mirror, Spencer, JJ, and Emily all gave a shrug.

Penelope reached into the bag, pulling out the plush toy, “Oh yeah,” Penelope said, “I couldn’t not bring Gregory,”

“Ayy, Gregory!” You cheered. Penelope set him down on the table as the door opened, the Sheriff, Hotch and Rossi walking in.

“Er, Garcia, why’s there a turtle on the table?” Rossi asked.

“It’s Gregory,” You answered.

“It’s the Turtle of Testosterone,” Garcia responded. 

“Speaking of which,” Hotch said, placing another bag on the table, “Testosterone,”

“Thank you,” You looked at the time, “I should probably get started on that. Do you guys have a sink?” 

“You can’t do it yourself,” The Sheriff said. “You’re a suspect - our main suspect - until the records come back. Someone else will have to do it for you.”

Your jaw dropped, “Is he for real?” You asked Penelope, who turned to Hotch (who gave a subtle nod).

“Yep,” Penelope sighed, “It’s alright, I’ll do it, right sir?”

“Yes,” Hotch answered, turning to the Sheriff when he began to protest, “Garcia’s a valuable member of the team, despite dating the Mr (L/N), she still gave us the information needed. She’s more than trustworthy enough to do this.”

“How do we know she’s not in on it? That it’s not their plan?”

You snorted loudly, “Oh yeah, I became trans, faked it for years, so that if I committed a murder it would be the perfect escape,” You said sarcastically. “You’re honestly ridiculous,”

“We will be here while she administers the hormone,” Hotch said. 

“Fine,” The Sheriff muttered before leaving the room.

“He’s a real charmer,” Penelope muttered.

“Do I have competition?” You laughed. 

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” 

Garcia was motioned out of the room by Hotch to wash her hands and find a pair of gloves, leaving you and Rossi alone.

“You holding up okay, Kid?”

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” You asked, furrowing your eyebrows.

Rossi shrugged, “Sheriff’s a bit of a jerk,”

“Oh, yeah,” You answered, “Met a lot of people like him, he’s not that bad,”  

Penelope and Hotch returned moments later, Penelope putting on a pair of gloves. “Bit lucky I’m wearing shorts, huh?” 

Penelope chuckled, “Come on, get your thighs out,”

You gasped, “Right here in public?”

“Oh shut up,” She grinned as she sat down opposite you, wiping an alcohol pad over the (now exposed) area. You stared at her as she concentrated, a small smile painted on your face. She filled the syringe with the dose, making sure there were no bubbles before positioning the needle. 

“I love you,” Penelope grinned, looking up at you. 

“I love you too- Ow!” You hissed, “Sorry, sorry, I’m fine, caught me off guard,”

Penelope chuckled, “That’s the whole idea.” She paused, “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah,” You replied, “Yesterday was leg day,”

“Oh get over it,” Penelope poked, handing you Gregory.

“Ay, Greg, my man!” You laughed. 

Spencer poked his head through the door, “Flight records came back, he’s clear,”

“You’re free to go,” Hotch stated. 

You smirked, turning to the Sheriff, “Ha,”

Penelope sighed deeply, “My sweet Muffin, you’re not supposed to antagonise the Sheriff,”

“Ugh, fine,” You said, standing up with a groan. Penelope looked at you with an exasperated look, “It was a hard leg day!”

[diazheartsbuckley]

Pressing their foreheads together for buddie if it will inspire you 💙

Hi Diana, thank you for this one 💙 It actually inspired several ideas but I'm gonna go with this one

Trigger warning: mention of blood (not much)

It had never really hurt when Buck had either been broken up with or broken up with someone but hearing Eddie utter those words, had made his entire world turn upside down. He wasn't even sure what day it was anymore and he had been staring out of the window, expecting to find the answer in the clear skies. The tears had long dried up and his heart felt like it had been hollowed out, ripped apart, and thrown into a burning building. Sometimes it felt like he stopped breathing, taking short, heaving breaths as Eddie's words echoed in his head. I can't do this, Buck. We have to end this. It's for the better. In what world is losing the person that you love for the better? In what world is not having the person that you trust with your life and your heart for the better? There is nothing better than being with Eddie. It's easy. It's carefree. It's pure. It's healing. It makes Buck's heart soar. And now... Now it's no more. Buck is no longer sad. He's furious and he's hurt and he can't accept that something so good has to end as it did. The rage is making his whole body feel like it's burning from the inside out and the coffee cup in his hands feels like a block of concrete right before he lifts his hand, throwing it at the kitchen wall. It shatters - of course, it does - just like his heart and his hands begin to tremble as he slowly picks up the pieces. If only he could do the same for himself. He doesn't even notice the small cuts that he gets on top of his hands as tears form in his eyes again, threatening to fall, blurring the world around him "Baby?" The unmistakable sound of Eddie's voice comes from the doorway but Buck can't hear him. Or rather, he doesn't want to, picking up another shard of porcelain, and this time, it cuts the palm of his hand, drops of blood trailing down the side and onto his wrist. Eddie can see the scene unfolding in front of him, Buck ignoring him and the cut on his hand. He understands it. The anger. The pain. The hurt. And he hates himself for it. For even allowing himself to let someone like Buck go. Someone who loves him so unconditionally. "Put it down, Buck. Just put it down" He grabs Buck's wrist, smearing out the blood with his thumb, making it look even worse than it is. The shard falls into Buck's lap along with even more tears and he looks at Eddie, tired blue eyes meeting Eddie's deep brown. He shakes his head and stammers something unintelligible while Eddie grabs a dish towel from the rack, wrapping it around Buck's hand. And Buck is finally able to form an understandable sentence. "You left me. Everybody always leaves me. Why-... I don't, did I do something wrong?" Glassy blue eyes are looking back at Eddie, years of emotional scarring shining through, every word laced with so much pain that Eddie would rather have been shot again. That would have hurt less than seeing Buck like this. And knowing that he's the reason why. Fuck. "No, Buck. You didn't do anything wrong, I just-... I was scared, you know? Scared to lose you, scared to see you die in front of me. Again. And I-I-I ran. I didn't wanna leave you" Eddie sniffles as he puts his hands on the back of Buck's warm neck, pressing their foreheads together, feeling his breathing steading at his touch. "Just talk to me, please. I want you in my life, Eds. I'm- I'm so in love with you" Buck's words allow a quick smile to form on Eddie's lips and he nods a little, gasping slightly as he feels the weight of his actions on his shoulders. "I know, I'm so sorry, Buck. I'm right here. I'm not leaving" Eddie pulls the taller man into his embrace, fingers almost digging into his sides, not wanting to let him go. Not now. Not ever.

[tetsunabouquet]

Not A Prank - Eren Yeager X F!Reader

You waited at the entrance of the amusement park and you couldn't help but feel like you were being pranked. Because why would Eren Yeager ask you to meet him at the entrance for a date? I mean, you did understand the logistics, his car had broken down last week so you knew he couldn't pick you up just like you knew Eren and Mikasa had broken up last month- the girls at college wouldn't let anyone forget Eren was single. However, why he asked you out was beyond you. You were friends, sort of. Being Sasha's cousin, you've been dragging her and Connie out of trouble since you were kids, generally being the only braincell of the trio. You often were invited to group outings with their friends, but having gone to a different high school it wasn't until college that you actually became part of the group. Eren was a nice guy, even though he could be quite the hothead. Speaking of hot, Eren certainly qualified. As he approached you, his hair was pulled up in the man-bun only the seldom individual could pull off and look hot, his shirt having a v-neck and showing glimpses of the chest that had all the girls drooling, wearing the leather jacket you knew Connie had given him his previous birthday. He smiled to you, "I hope I didn't make you wait too long." "Not at all," you lied. Honestly you didn't knew if you were waiting for a minute or an hour- the anticipation had been agony. He guided you into the park with a grin, children's laughter and the screams of teenagers and adults filling the air. "I really am sorry my car broke down. The line at the Roc Bird's probably hours long at this point," Eren groaned softly and you looked at him, a small smile lingering on your lips. "Ah well, the Formule X never has that long of a line. How about we go there before we buy something for lunch?" Eren grinned from ear to ear, looking at you with such delight that you were surprised. It was such a happy, fond look that all of your musings how Eren couldn't be serious about liking you were discarded. As the two of you walked to the red rollercoaster, Eren nudged you. "You're studying my face like it's exam time. What's up?" "Ah well, I am just surprised." You said, embarrassed, "I didn't expect you to have a thing for me, really." Eren's green eyes softened and your heart skipped a beat. "Well, we haven't been that vocal about it, but Mikasa and I have been growing apart since graduation. Before we knew it our hearts were already moving on. " He scratched his neck, trying to find more words to properly confess his feelings. How in the attempts to ignore Mikasa and Jean's ever growing closeness he started distracting himself with his friends, allowing him to get to know you better. How he'd always noticed you were pretty, but had never noticed you had common ground in things like your shared love for amusement parks or a similar untamable spirit. "Well, suppose I'm a lucky gal then, huh?" You teased lightly, nudging him back. "About as lucky as this guy over here," he said and you smiled broadly at Eren who gave you a moony eyed grin that made you dizzy. "I hope you'll still like me if I end up with my spit flying at the speed." Eren chuckled at your slightly flustered but playful demeanor, "Of course I will. I'd love to see it captured on photo." You looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Are you seriously going to look at how the ride's pictures come out?" "Yes, and I will be buying our photo. Our first shared humilation, is there a better way to start a relationship?" You laughed at the thought, knowing photos taking during the ride were the worst kind of photos- even worse then the stiff faces you had to pull for your ID pictures. "It certainly would be a bonding experience, like wearing matching onesies. Even better if we wore them to class." "Now you really sound like you grew up with Sasha and Connie." You giggled but you couldn't deny they were responsible for part of your brain being fried. "You better get used to it if we're going to date," you told him. Eren tugged a lock of your hair behind your ear. "I think I will.".

[obsessedtomone]

Unravel Yourself Before Me ⛓️ Chapter 9 - Playing Chess▸Shigaraki x femReader

Chapter Summary:

◤ Seeing you like this feels fucking intimate, and it probably is, but he can’t keep himself from wanting to pry more into your life. To carve himself into it. To force himself in—and he really fucking wants to—despite knowing how much suffering he’d caused you. Despite knowing you’ll try to push him away again.

The floorboard creaks loudly, when he steps towards the frame of your bed, causing your body to jerk softly in your sleep. 

He stills, waiting, watching.

Would you be mad if you saw him like this?

Probably. ◢

Setting: University AU - No quirks (unless degenerate personalities count) Tags: Slow burn, Eventual Smut, Unhealthy/Toxic Relationships, Humiliation, Mentally Ill Reader, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to ??? Warning: Dead Dove – Do Not Eat | Mind the tags TW: Implied Su/Self H, Dubcon, Reader has a super shitty past like actually, Shigaraki Tomura is his own warning.

AO3 Crosspost | Chain Divider by firefly-graphics

Chapters: One • Two • Three • Four • Five • Six • Seven • Eight • Nine • Ten(ko) •

Chapter 9 - Playing Chess A waft of old, aged concrete washes over Tomura, making his nose scrunch in displeasure when he opens the door to your building. He walks ahead, crinkling sounds of plastic coming from the dangling grocery bag he holds in his hand. It’s filling the otherwise quiet trip up the stairwell, rustling every time he takes a step and climbs his way up the stairs, on his way to the floor where your apartment is located.

He can’t help but muse at the fact that he had—and only by coincidence this time—found exactly where you live.

Not in the literal sense, of course—he’s already had his hands all over quite a lot of your information, all of it sitting pretty in his documents and all ready to be used against you like he’d prepared for back then, before he had to change his plans—but in the sense that he got to finally see it in person, without having to scope the area first (something he would’ve done eventually) or… walk you home, as he’d put it.

No, no, no. Instead, you’d opened your door for him willingly. You admitted earlier that you weren’t even ‘on friendly terms’ as you’d put it, but he was still allowed to enter your living space, standing right next to your friend that he’d convinced to accompany.

His feet stop right in front of your apartment and his eyes scan your door, noting how easily it could be broken into by someone with even a modicum of experience. With how old-school the lock system was, it probably wouldn’t take him more than five minutes to crack it open and give himself access to your world, whenever the fuck he so pleased.

But that’s cheating, he thought as he ran his thumb along the chipping paint of the wood, pressing the nail in ever so slightly.

Tomura decided earlier today that he’s not going to slip up again. He also knows he has to work you a bit longer until he fully gains some of your trust again, face splitting into a grin at that.

Yeah, he can definitely do that. The best rewards lie behind the biggest challenges, after all. 

His knuckles knock on the door as he’s surveying the hallway outside of your apartment, the same fingers reaching his neck only to scratch against it softly.

When the door opens, the first thing he sees is your friend, looking all too smugly at him. It takes him by surprise and his face contorts into a frown, red eyes narrowing.

Tomura scoffs. What the fuck is wrong with them? 

They’re a pretty shit friend for forcing you to let him in, even he could recognize as much. It didn’t even take him long to persuade them when he wanted to get your new number. The day you’d missed your third CS class in a row and he realized you wouldn’t come back on your own to finish your… talk with him, Tomura went and found your friend.

Instead of fuckin’ defending you, of clawing his eyes out or putting him in his grave for what he’s done to their ‘supposed’ best friend—for what he’s still going to do—they let him in. They let him in because he’d promised he’d wanted to make good with you, that he was worried about you or whatever bullshit he’d said that served him at the time. 

Were they that fucking gullible? Or were they that afraid of him? The latter would be the most logical take because fucking everyone is afraid of him—save for maybe your stupid ass. But he senses that there might be something more to it than just that. Something he couldn’t read between the lines. 

Something annoying.

In the end, it doesn’t really fucking matter to him. Tomura suspects Taylor is the ticket and  the conduit for him to get back into your good graces, so he didn’t have the luxury of time to question their motives. He already decided he’ll use whatever means he can to get you, and if your friend was this fucking stupid to let it happen, well—

“You didn’t fuck off after all, huh?” your bitch of a friend asks him, keeping up the smugness of their smile.

“Get lost,” he replies, walking past them and placing the plastic bag on the counter, as they for some reason start giggling like a fucking moron.

Despite him only being gone for a total of maybe twenty minutes, your friend had admittedly done a neat job at making your apartment look less than the shithole it was before. Most of the garbage you had laying around is now packed into trash  bags and propped against the side of the wall.

Not that Tomura could complain, when the person cleaning his own fucking room isn’t even himself.

“Where is she?” he mumbles, red eyes scanning for you but you weren’t in the room anymore.

“Asleep, I think. We’ll wake her up when I’m done with the food. You better have brought something decent, or I swear to god,” Taylor nags, their back turned at him, but Tomura isn’t listening. They peer over their shoulder. “Where are you going?” 

Tomura signals them to be quiet, opening the door to your room very carefully. 

True to their word, you really are curled up in your sheets and sleeping. He has to bite back a snort when he sees you, your usual rigid bitchiness toned down by forty percent, making you look more like an angry sleeping stray than the girl who fucked him over. 

Curiously, your expression is holding a frown even while unconscious.

He steps inside, spreading his presence across the safety of your room, noting how barren it is. White walls, a wardrobe, open or folded cardboard boxes and an old desk and a chair. Barely anything sitting in this room defines it as yours, making it look like you’ve either just moved in, or you’re about to move out at any point in time. 

Heaps of disorganized study notes are cluttering your desk among empty forgotten energy drink cans and an ancient looking laptop, the one you always have with you in class. He quickly notes the way you keep your studies and hobbies separate, taking into account how your designated gaming PC is set up in the other room. 

Tomura would like to go through it sometime. To see what kind of games you spent your time playing or what kind of channels you were watching. Were you the type to watch streams? He had a thing or two to say about that, but he wouldn’t mind doing it with you. At least occasionally.

Seeing you like this feels fucking intimate, and it probably is, but he can’t keep himself from wanting to pry more into your life. To carve himself into it. To force himself in—and he really fucking wants to—despite knowing how much suffering he’d caused you. Despite knowing you’ll try to push him away again.

The floorboard creaks loudly, when he steps towards the frame of your bed, causing your body to jerk softly in your sleep. 

He stills, waiting, watching.

Would you be mad if you saw him like this?

Probably.

Yet he dares to walk closer, squatting next to your sleeping form and observing you further. 

Scanning over your face, he wonders what it is about you that pulled him in. There is nothing special about the way you dressed or looked, in fact you’re extremely plain and seemingly unremarkable. Not to mention your god awful personality and the way you never fail to get on his fucking nerves. Yeah, there really was nothing special about you.

But he always found the look in your eyes oddly captivating. When your eyes aren’t filled with doubt or distrust—at him, at the world—they’re determined, angry. You hated the world, hated him and probably also hated yourself.

Not only that, but he’s well aware now that you didn’t get where you are by any stroke of luck. 

No, you’re clever. So fucking clever, holding your own, fighting against all odds at the weirdest fucking times. You never back down from him, not at the start, before you knew who he was, not now, after he’s fucked you over. You never take his shit, no matter how many times he’s tried to scare you off. You’re never truly afraid to talk back to him. You played his games. You smelled so good. You felt good against his cock and against his lips and fuck, how he longs he could press himself against you once more, anytime or any place you’d fucking let him.

Tomura wants you, desperately. He wants to crawl inside your body and for him to never fucking leave you again. Like a parasite you’d never be able to get rid of, no matter how hard you try. 

You really fucked up crossing his path.

Fucked up by talking to him. Fucked up by being so fucking challenging to him, that he couldn’t help but want to break you. Ruin you. Build you up and make you his. Only his.

His vision re-focuses on your sleeping form, only to realize that you aren’t sleeping anymore. You’re staring back at him, all the while his pale digits are caressing your face. Your eyes look tired as he pulls his hand away, his expression unreadable.

Time stands still for a moment, both of you staring into each other’s eyes. You wonder if this is what a cold war felt like. Two enemies at a stillstand, predicting the other person’s move.

Neither of you could have predicted this next move however, when you subconsciously lean in on your elbow, bed creaking as you reached out with your own hand to feel his snowy white hair. 

Is it going to be as soft as it looks? 

Shigaraki flinches once your fingertips connect with his head, but he doesn't pull back. You begin sliding the pads against dry creases of his forehead, the ones right under his messy bangs, earning you a frown of insecurity from him. You don’t let it deter you. No, you keep going, keep raking your fingers into the roots of his hair and brushing it backwards. They get caught into a tangled knot, but even that doesn’t convince him to move, letting you work quietly and detangle it.

He closes his own exhausted eyes and actually leans into your touch, letting out a shaky breath he didn’t know he was holding back. It fucking looked like no one has ever bothered to show him affection before, or maybe it’s just been a long time since. Like how you were, before you met Taylor.

Tomura waits for you to realize your mistake, to properly wake up from whatever spell is cast over your eyes, to pull back from him like you always do but… that moment never comes. 

He shudders when you start petting his head in earnest, unable to help the small groan that escapes his lips.

Why the fuck are you so gentle with him?

His brows knit together and when he opens his eyes again, to glare at you for making him feel this way, his displeasure immediately dissolves into curiosity. 

Look at you. 

Your cheeks are visibly reddened, pupils slightly dilated and your lip fucking quivers. 

You look flustered. Why?

And you’d told yourself he couldn’t possibly read minds, when you couldn’t help but be reminded of the incident before your breakdown, the one in the hallway. Where he laid under you, so vulnerable and pliable to your touch.

He surely couldn’t read minds, yet Shigaraki smirks at you in a way it tells you he just might. 

Because he wasn’t only reminded of it, but actually couldn’t get it out of his head ever since it happened. He was ready to fail over and over again, but you’re already giving so much of yourself. Maybe you’ll finally realize that you belong to— 

“Aww! Are the two lovebirds done making up? We’ve got a stupid baby to feed,” Taylor teases and Shigaraki is caught off-guard, stumbling backwards with a curse. 

You roll your eyes and try to sit up, but dizziness is still weighing you down.

“Help me up.” You reach out to him, but he just stares blankly at your hand and then at you. Taylor clicks their tongue impatiently, grabbing your hand instead and helping you properly sit up.

“Prince charming here brought you food, by the way. Your favorite too,” your friend says, eyeing him and grinning slyly at the way he narrows his eyes at them before continuing, “I warmed it up for you babe, but don’t get up. I’ll bring it to you.”

They turn on their heel and walk away, leaving you alone with him once again. You glance at the boy who didn’t move a fucking inch from the spot he fell against. 

“Comfy down there?” you ask with a hint of amusement and that seems to wake him up from his half-lidded trance.

“Huh? Oh.” He quickly gets on his feet. “I… I should leave.”

Your almost-smile falls at that and a deep frown replaces it. 

His eyes widen. 

Are you disappointed that… he’s leaving?

“Yeah, you really should,” you say, looking away enough that he’s out of your view.

Alright. Not disappointed, then.

“Yeah.” He stares through you for a moment, before turning around and exiting the room as if he was never there. You pick up Taylor shouting a ‘thanks again’ and a ‘bye’ after him, but you couldn’t hear anything in return.

Moments later, your friend comes back to you with a bowl of what smells like your comfort food.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t tell him what to buy,” they answer your unasked question with a snort. “You were right though. If he didn’t pull the whole revenge porn bit on you, I might have actually said he’s not that bad as the rumors say. I might almost ship it.”

Your jaw fucking drops seconds before taking your first spoonful and you look at them with pure disbelief.

“I said almost! Eat your fucking meal, bitch.”

You scoff, about to get into another fight, but the food smells too good not to take a bite. Or two. Or to wolf down the whole portion, feeling the warmth flowing through your body and into your stomach for the first time in days.

─────────

It’s Tuesday today.

Slowly but surely, the air is getting colder outside, making you shiver slightly despite the extra layer of clothes you had underneath.

It’s been another week since your little… intervention happened.

You finally decided to get out of your comfort cave and stop missing on important study material that you actually couldn’t afford to miss, spending most of your time catching up with important assignments.

Taylor is still dropping by occasionally to check-up on you and you’ve had to promise to face-time them at least once every 24-hours. You’re hoping they’d drop the worried parent surveillance bit soon, but it seems unlikely after the reckless stunt you’d pulled earlier. 

Call it the consequences of your fucking carelessness.

It’s odd, you think, walking down the halls of your university and not catching a single soul glancing your way anymore, or hearing them snicker behind your back. 

Quiet. Like you went back in time.

Your first lecture of the day is discrete mathematics.

There’s an idle game playing in the background of your laptop and you can’t help but roll your eyes and yawn. You’re waiting for the professor to finally finish recommending everyone a four hundred dollar textbook, written by himself, one that you’ll totally fucking need in order to pass his stupid class. Fucking asshole.

But it’s not just that.

You’re pretty irritated today, because you still couldn’t figure out why everyone suddenly had a change of heart and decided to move on from treating you like a whore, pushing you around or catcalling you every time you turned a corner. 

Was three weeks all it took for everyone to fucking forget? Or was Shigaraki not updating the thread and ultimately removing it from the platform enough for everyone to stop giving a fuck about you? 

It’s not like you or Taylor could even check to see if the post was still up. You obviously should, but neither of you can bring yourself to do it, and something told you Shigaraki wasn’t lying to you anyway.

Nevertheless, the air is still weirdly tense. As if something is still going on. 

If only you weren’t a fucking social recluse, then at least you could ask some idiot to give you information.

Whatever. You’ll learn to deal with it as it comes.

Time is moving slowly today, so you take a look at your online schedule on your phone to prepare for your next class, when suddenly you… notice something strange. 

Your final class of the day has been replaced with a different block. One you dread to see.

Urgent Student Assembly — Gym 3

You raise a brow and pray to the fucking sun that there’s been a murder or the dean had died of a cardiac arrest, and the topic of the assembly will not be about whatever happened between you and Shigaraki. The faculty better not try making an example out of you after they’ve been keeping quiet regarding your situation, letting you deal with everything on your own. 

At least their ‘requests’ for you to advertise their programs slowed down, given you’d probably only damage their reputation instead of helping at this point. Maybe they’d let you off the hook completely and you could finish your degree in peace.

You take a screenshot of the block and you text it to Taylor.

You — ^^^ wtf is this?? did you hear anything? It’s not about me is it??? [Sent Now]

They respond pretty fast.

Taytay — Uhhh, no clue babe. I don’t have classes today [Sent Now]

Taytay — I’ll ask around and let you know if I hear anything. Did you finally leave your mancave??? [Sent Now]

You roll your eyes at the stupid texts, but still reply with a smile on your face.

Then, your phone vibrates again.

Psycho — hey [Sent Now]

What the fuck? You feel a lump get stuck in your throat. 

What if this is… his doing? Is he gonna pull some shit again? Is he upset you told him to fuck off last time? But why would he go out of his way to help you last week, if that was the case?

You bite your nails and hope your anxiety is as groundless as it usually is. You really hope it is.

You — ? [Sent Now]

If you thought Taylor is quick with their messages, you’re comically wrong.

Psycho — uhh [Sent Now]

You — what?? [Sent Now]

Psycho — didn’t expect you to reply this fast… or at all [Sent Now]

Psycho — u in class? [Sent Now]

Psycho — wait [Sent Now]

Psycho — are u?? [Sent Now]

Your face scrunches at his rapid fire spam.

Psycho — i need 2 know, answer [Sent Now]

You — why? I mean i wouldn’t put stalking beyond you, but still lol [Sent Now]

Psycho — no, wtf relax. its 4 smt else [Sent Now]

You — riiight [Sent Now]

Psycho — omfg stop being annoying and replyyyyy to my question, only askin u 1 fkin question. its not that hard idiot [Sent Now]

The thought of him getting annoyed and impatient over your teasing makes you snort, bringing another smile to your face. And it goes as quickly as it comes, when you realize just who you’re texting with. You’re an idiot. 

Three angry dots type and disappear. This repeats two more times before you finally lose your patience and reply to him first.

You — yea i am, why? this related to the ‘urgent study assembly’ by any astronomical chance? :)  [Sent Now]

You — part two of the hit job? And making sure i’m there to watch?? I’ll let you sit next to me if you ask nicely, y’know? [Sent Now]

Yeah okay, you’re obviously still really mad at him and are desperately trying to get under his skin, but to be fair to yourself, the two of you haven’t even talked properly yet (would that even be possible?). You still don’t know just what changed his mind about his plan to make you grovel at his feet.

If anything, you’re scared to find out.

Psycho — yes [Sent Now]

Your eyes widen. Of fucking course. What were you expecting? 

Motherfucker must’ve gotten all sour again after you’d kicked him out of your house. How fucking stupid of you to believe he’d feel any sort of human empathy—

Psycho — wait fk [Sent Now] 

Psycho — no [Sent Now]

Psycho — that won’t happen to u again. i won’t let it happen again [Sent Now]

Psycho — so relax. ur fine [Sent Now]

You raise your brow.

You — okaaay? Then what the fuck is it? get to the point [Sent Now]

Psycho — k, so… can u skip assembly? [Sent Now]

You — why [Sent Now]

Psycho — just skip it [Sent Now]

A loud groan escapes your throat and you only now remember you aren’t alone, catching a few idiots glaring at you and scoffing.

You — you’re like /this/ close to getting blocked, asshole. Tell me what you want right now or im checking the fuck out [Sent Now]

Tomura looks down at his phone and sighs. 

Why couldn’t you make it easy for him just one fucking time? Nothing ever comes easy with you.

Except for him, when you were grinding your hips against his in the hallway. Or you, trapped between his arms against the wall, back when he caught those mouthbreathers daring to get close to what’s his. 

He almost fucked your brains out that time, with the broken way you were staring back at him. Shaking. Scared. Cute.

Tomura curses under his breath. His pants are starting to get tight again and he slips one hand to adjust himself. 

He wonders if this will end up working out in his favor. He’s worked really hard the past few weeks, after all. 

Psycho — ok so i mightve done something,, [Sent Now]

Psycho — but dont freak its not abt u… well kinda. I tried to uhh, fix things ok? [Sent Now]

Psycho — but dont freak its not abt u… well kinda. I tried to uhh, fix things ok? [Sent Now]

Psycho — shit did it send twicE?? fk  [Sent Now]

Psycho — anyway dont go to assembly [Sent Now]

You — I’m going. [Sent Now]

Psycho — ugh fuck fine [Sent Now]

A notification from Taylor pops up and you swipe it away.

Psycho — i warned u so dont block me after idiot [Sent Now]

You huff at his final(?) message. 

This cryptic behaviour of his is getting on your fucking nerves, so you open your friend’s chat instead.

Taytay — Ok so… don’t freak out. [Sent Now]

Good start and not you too, you think simultaneously.

The bell rings and your class finally ends. While you were texting with Shigaraki, you’d already packed your things, so you just get up and leave, eyes glued to your phone as you wait for your friend to fucking end your suffering.

Taytay — I found out what the meeting is about ;/ [Sent Now]

You — taylor if you also edge me about this istg [Sent Now]

Taytay — ?? What? [Sent Now]

Taytay — Whatevs anyway. So I don’t mean to trigger you, but can you like… login with my account onto that platform again? 😩 You gotta see this. It’s… not bad…. For you at least. So don’t worry about that, kay? Just log in please. [Sent Now]

Taytay — I think I blocked like 10 mfs from my contacts after what I saw ughhhhhhhhhhhhh 💀 💀 never sleeping with jocks ever again I swear [Sent Now]

Honestly, you think you’ll punch the very next person that you come across today square in the face, but you do as your friend says and you log in.

It’s like the Second Coming of Jesus Christ had arrived early. 

You could’ve probably never predicted what you were going to see when you logged in and looked through the front page.

At first, you were admittedly plain confused. But as you kept scrolling down the feed, your brain slowly caught on. 

The bell rings again, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move from your spot, so you’re currently standing frozen in place, a deep chill running down your spine.

What seems to be everyone’s dirty fucking laundry, has been readily aired on this stupid platform. Students, professors and members of the faculty, no one was spared from hell, as countless of incriminating posts were spread all across the feed, together with people losing their fucking shit over it.

From simple inappropriate screenshot of student-teacher messages, to blatant sexual harassment, physical altercations, leaked porn accounts, illegal fucking fetishes, literal footage of assault and people committing various crimes at parties or otherwise and all posts seemingly coming from the account owners themselves. All in the same format of your hit thread (minus maybe the creepy threatening puzzle messages, making you that special, you guess) and all individuals related to your university. 

The “NexTech Doxxpocalypse” is what people dubbed it.

What an incredible sight.

How the fuck did he pull this off? No wonder it felt like a fucking funeral when you entered the building today. Everyone’s been fucked over. All the stupid motherfuckers that looked at you as if you were beneath them, will now have to face their own disgusting pasts or be anxious they’ll get exposed next.

No one will have time to think about your existence again. Not when they’ve got their own copies of your misery to deal with.

God, it’s fucking genius. Literal four dimensional chess. Shigaraki’s plan is absolutely brilliant.

Your face splits into a grin and you burst out laughing like an unhinged idiot in the empty hallways. What an absolute fucking psychopath! 

Unable to hold back from the feelings that overwhelmed you, you pull out your phone and text him.

You — good one [Sent Now]

Psycho — ?? [Sent Now]

Does he live on his fucking phone? How is he so quick to answer?

You — i mean it’s super fucked up, but it works. So thanks I guess? weirdo. [Sent Now]

Psycho — did you fkin hit ur head?? [Sent Now]

You — fuck off, im being thankful. Prolly the first time you ever deserved it too, asshole. They wont catch you for this, right? [Sent Now]

You bite at your nail bed for a second. 

They shouldn’t be able to catch him. You doubt he’d engage with this type of criminal activity if there was a chance he’d get in trouble for it, but you did tell the dean about it, back when you felt cornered and alone.

Unfortunately you don’t get the chance to ask for details, because all he sends you is an:

Psycho — oh [Sent Now]

After which he stopped replying.

─────────

The ‘emergency’ assembly went about as well as you expected it to, after the complete shit show you saw. The majority of the students were completely mortified over the massive privacy data breach, and the faculty was trying to damage control, promising to shut it down and find the culprit—genuinely good luck with that, by the way—after which everyone left feeling probably thirty percent more depressed than when they joined.

All in all, a pretty good fucking day for you. Things… might actually go back to normal now.

You — you get to live another day in my friends list asshole [Sent Now]

But he wouldn’t write anything back.

[lily-drake]

The Bird’s Baby Bug

Chapter 2

Ch. 1

Tim: 19 Mari: 10

Three in the morning, it was three in the f*ing morning and Jason was not having it.  But unfortunately for him, whoever was calling wouldn’t stop!  Fine, Jason would answer the phone, but he wouldn’t sound happy doing it!

“What the f* do you want?”  He growled, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.  Tonight was supposed to be his night of d*it.  

“Jason, Jason thank G*.”  Tim gasped in relief, it honestly shocked him.  He and the replacement were definitely not on the best of terms, so why would he sound so relieved that he answered his phone.  “Before you hang up,” he rambled quickly, “I could really use your help.  This isn’t about me, it's about a kid that The League of Assassins kidnapped.”

Jason froze at that, what the f* was the replacement doing in The League of F*ing Assassins.  “I’m sorry, but what now?”

Tim sighed through the phone, like he had any right to be exasperated like he hasn’t been radio silent for over six g*d*ng months and called him –the guy that has tried to murder him on multiple occasions–for help .  “Look, it's a long story, but I need to get her out before Ra’s comes back, I’ll explain everything then.  Sending my coordinates now.”  Jason was about to respond, before he could the quick beep, beep, beep that singled the end of the call echoed in his ears.  Son of a b*!  

Jason glared at the phone, like he could will Tim to magically appear out of it so he could strangle him, but nothing happened.  With one last sigh, Jason got out of bed and began to get ready to return to one of the many places that haunted his nightmares.  Making a few calls to his lieutenants, telling them to make sure everyone stayed in line and demanding updates every night, he grabbed his emergency duffle bag and headed out.

_______ Tim didn’t want to admit how attached he became to the small girl over the span of a few hours.  She was so small, and despite the horrors she had been forced to endure she was one of the sweetest people he’s ever met.  Having learned that she had (unsurprisingly) not been allowed any form of education in her captivity, he had taken it upon himself to become her tutor while they waited for Jason. They drew, he helped her with numbers, helped her with her English and French, and when she was asleep in his bed, he would continue his investigation into Bruce’s whereabouts.  

He had been tracking Jason’s progress through a code that he had activated on Jason’s phone when the man had picked up.  It had taken him nearly three days to get here, and if everything went according to plan, he should be here within the next three hours.   On the third day Tim began to explain in heavy detail to Marinette how he was going to free her from this Hell Hole and how she would go with his brother until he finished his mission here.  

“So you’re leaving me?”  Marinette whispered in broken English, her voice breaking slightly, though no tears welled in her eyes.  Tim felt awful, but if he wanted to find Bruce, destroy the Pits, and avoid Ra’s; then this was his best course of action.

“It won’t be for very long,” he whispered, gently tucking a strand of her long dark hair behind one of her small ears.  “I’ll be back before you know it, and Jason will take great care of you.  He’s very protective of kids.  Don’t tell him I said this,” he whispered into her ear, a mischievous smirk on his lips, “Jason may seem like a baddy, but he’s really just an oversized teddy bear.”  (A teddy bear that would actually tear anyone and anything apart if he so felt like it.) 

His heart melted when Marinette giggled, and goodness he didn’t want to let this small bean go.  He quickly pulled the small child against his chest, giving her a tight embrace, relieved when she quickly returned it rather than shrinking away like she had a few times before.  “You’re so brave Marinette.  Never forget that.”  He whispered.

The two stayed like that for only a few moments longer before he slowly pulled away with an affectionate hair ruffle.  The moment was curtly interrupted when his door was forced open, and Tim knew who it was before he even turned around.  There were only two people that existed on this base that would dare come into his room unannounced.

“Detective.”  Ra’s greeted stoically.  Tim cursed under his breath, Ra’s should have been gone for at least another day.  Tim turned around, keeping Marinette tucked behind him.  “I see you’ve met my little pet project.” He stated, never taking his cold gaze off Tim.  Tim glared back at the man; his resolve to save the small child growing stronger the longer Marinette held onto the back of his shirt, tightening her trembling grip like it was her only lifeline.  “I would ask you please return it to me, it is a very important asset that I would like to keep close.”

The sound of Marinette’s whimper made Tim feel almost animalistic with the need to protect.  It was as exhilarating as it was horrifying.  “No,” he snarled, “I don’t think I will.  I’m sure that you have enough of her blood to fill each and every one of your Lazarus Pits to the brim.”  He growled out, reaching for the bo staff at his side. 

“Don’t be ridiculous Detective”, Ra’s sighed sounding almost exasperated, though he didn’t come any closer…yet.  “Surely you know the reason we must keep her close, despite her blood’s usefulness.”  Unfortunately Tim did understand what Ra’s was getting at.  He had been reading through any and all files that pertained to “Subject E131”.  Ra’s intended to use Marinette as a weapon; training and enhancing her powers so that she could use her control of plant life–and maybe even animal life–to use against his enemies—in other words, a better “model” of Poison Ivy.  He wouldn’t let that be her fate, she would not be another pawn in Ra’s sick games.

“Yes, but I’m afraid that I can’t let that happen.”  Snap .  His staff snapped open, ready for whatever Ra’s had planned.  Ra’s simply smirked, a twinkle in his eyes that sent a shiver down Tim’s spine.

“Very well Detective, have it your way.”   Ra’s was fast, faster than Tim was expecting, but not fast enough.  Tim shot his staff into the air, blocking the blow before using the momentum to push Ra’s sword away from him.

“Is this child really worth the risk of not being able to see your father again, Detective?  Without my help, he’ll be lost forever.”

Tim ground his teeth, he wouldn’t let this manipulative ba* invade his mind.  If he was as great of a detective as Ra’s claimed him to be, then he didn’t need Ra’s.  He would find Bruce on his own, and show everyone that he wasn’t crazy.  He would protect this child, because she deserved to feel safe.  

He looked around for an opening while gently bushing the small child away from, but still behind, him.  He couldn’t risk her safety more than he already is.  Jason was out there, he would be here soon.  He just needed to stall Ra’s and make it to the drop off point.  

Ra’s attacked once more, this time trying to move around him, switching their positions so that Marinette would be right behind Ra’s.  Tim wouldn’t let that happen though.  He kept his feet solidly on the ground pushing against Ra’s momentum.  The sound of Ra’s blade against his staff was a sharp clash as each fighter swung and danced around the other.  “It is such a shame, Detective.  I truly thought that you would join me as my right hand.”

Tim felt a vicious smirk fall onto his lips—the same smirk he used to strike fear into Gotham’s criminal underbelly—, “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t murder those who stand against me.”

“Maybe now, but you could learn.  You could come to see how efficient it is when you are trying to truly bring order to the world.”

“Yes, because torturing kids is definitely the “best way” of creating “order”.”  He growled, ducking under Ra’s sword before throwing a right slam towards Ra’s abdomen.  

Beep Beep 

Jason was 30 minutes out.  He must have been pushing his bike for all it’s worth if he got here that fast, Tim thought while using a downward thrust.  Ra’s jumped back, surveying the room.  He watched with glee as the cruel, condescending smile on Ra’s face fell away into a frustrated sneer.

“Where is she?”  He demanded coldly.  

Tim’s smile grew.  “What, you thought I didn’t have a plan for if you came back early?”  Tim had discovered a trap door under the bed that led to a small cave right at the edge of the base.  Exactly where he told Jason to meet them.  Ra’s must have forgotten about it with how big the base was, or simply did not believe that Tim would have found the small passage.

“I see I’ve underestimated you, Detective.”  Ra’s sneered.  

Tim simply chirped, “Your mistake.”  Before he launched into a series of strikes, no longer afraid that he’d accidentally hurt Marinette.  Ra’s blocked his strikes, only allowing him to get two or three before Ra’s countered him blow for blow.  Tim allowed himself to be spun by Ra’s attack, following the movement so his back was to the door, just as he planned.  Before Ra’s could strike down his next blow Tim was moving, running out of the room and through the seemingly deserted corridors.  

He needed to distract the others, keep them far away from Mari and the drop off point, so he was strangely relieved when swarms of ninjas began to attack him.  Though when he noticed Ra’s was not in the midst, he could feel a panic course through his muscles.  What if he had found the passage?  What if he had gotten there before Jason and had taken Mari?  He would never be able to forgive himself.

Tim ducked past the blades and throwing stars; cursing when one of them grazed his unarmored forearm.  The long gash stretched down his arm allowing warm blood to trickle down onto the stone floor.  It didn’t matter though, because he had to keep fighting.  Had to protect Marinette so that she could live her own life.

So he kept running, kept defending, kept ducking, and he kept fighting back.  

“Red Hood to Red Robin.  Red Hood to Red Robin, the package has been picked up.”

Tim nearly collapsed in relief, but considering he was still in the midst of battle, he decided that doing so would be a terrible idea.  

Suddenly, the sound of gunshots hung heavy through the halls.  Ra’s didn’t allow the use of guns, especially on base, and Tim only knew one person that could sneak in here without a problem while using that kind of weapon.  The brief moment of his distraction cost him as the back of a hilt was smashed against his head.  Tim collapsed, his body feeling heavy and sluggish.  

“Tim!”  Someone shouted, and suddenly, the pounding in his head cleared.  A warmth surrounded him, just like when he had first met Marinette, except there wasn’t any excruciating pain like something was growing in him.  Wait, oh sh*.

“Jason!”  Tim screamed, jumping back onto his feet with renewed strength and pushing back the other ninja, as he moved toward the echoing sounds of gunshots rather than away.  Before he could even round the corner he saw Marinette staring at him with haunted, watery eyes.

“They were going to take you next!  You promised they wouldn’t take you away like that!”  She sobbed, hugging herself.  Tim felt his heart shatter into a million pieces.  He extended his arms out, fully expecting her to shrink away.  But she didn’t, she ran into his arms and let him pick her up, wrapping her legs around his chest when he moved her so she was situated against his left hip.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie.  It won’t happen again now that I’ve got my little lucky charm back.”  Marinette giggled lightly through her tears.  But in all seriousness, Tim was absolutely terrified.  She shouldn’t be here, she should be on her way back to Gotham right now with Jason!  He was going to kill Jason.  Tim touched the small device in his ear, turning his mic on.  “Hood, I thought I told you to get her out of here.  You said you picked her up!”

He could hear the reverberations of round after round leaving the chamber while Jason replied, “the Little Pixie said she wouldn’t leave without you.  Screamed when I tried to touch her.  Figured as long as she stayed with me she’d be fine while we rescued your sorry a*.”

“Well she didn’t stay by your side, you arrogant jerk.”

“Oh don’t even Mr. I’m-going-to-work-with-The-League-of-Assassins-with-no-bad-consequences-directed-towards-me.  Seriously, what were you thinking ?”

Tim felt his jaw clench, shoulders tensing, as the memories of everyone telling him how he was crazy, how grief made him insane, how he simply wasn’t in his “right mind”.  No one would listen, no one trusted him, but he was right !  He knows that he’s right!  He didn’t respond.

“No excuse?  What, did you want a taste of what it’s like on the other side?  See what it’s like to-“

“ Shut up , Jason.  The only reason I called you is because you know this place better than the others and I trusted you to have this child’s best interest in mind.”

It was silent over the line, well except for the resounding bullets, but it didn’t last long.  “Let’s just get the h* out of here.”  And that was that. 

 A few minutes later, he found Jason surrounded by bodies of ninjas, surprisingly not bleeding out.  “Rubber bullets.”  Jason informed, “Kid doesn’t need to see that.”  Tim bites his lip before he can say: she’s already seen far worse .  Tim gave Jason a sharp nod, and they were moving out.  Tim followed closely behind Jason to wherever he had parked their getaway vehicle, hugging Marinette tighter to him as they ran.  He was honestly surprised to see one of the Batplanes carefully concealed behind the large jungle canopy.  He was honestly expecting to see one of Hood’s bikes.  He was even more so when he saw Babs waiving towards them in her wheelchair.

“You have a lot of explaining to do, Boy Wonder .”  She shouted, her voice filled with so much unadulterated rage that Tim actually feared for his life for the first time that day.  He didn’t have time to hesitate though, who knew what or who was hiding in the jungle or coming after them.  Adjusting his grip slightly on Mari he ran the rest of the way to the plane only letting himself relax his grip when they were in the air and flying far away.  When he looked out the window, all he could see was Ra’s standing right where the plane had just taken off, sword raised in a challenge. If they had been even a few moments later, they might not have escaped.

“T-Tim?”  Marinette whispered into his ear, startling him slightly.  “Can I be put down now?”

“Yes, of course.”  Tim said, quickly setting her down before he kneeled in front of her so that he could check her over for any injury.  “Coming back for me was risky and irresponsible.  You could’ve gotten taken again. I don’t think I’d ever be able to live with myself if that happened.”  He stated as he patted her down, if one of those ninja hurt even a hair on her head he was going to-

“Ahem.”  Tim’s face shot up at the sound, forcing him to meet Barbara’s cold and curious eyes.  “Would you like to introduce us, and maaaybe explain why you’ve been radio silent for the past six months .  Tim glared at Babs, but she held his gaze.  

Sighing he turned away from her and looked at the small child, silent tears falling down her face.  Tim felt his shoulders fall.  He opened his arms and prayed that she wouldn’t flinch away from him like she had many other times before.  When Marinette flung herself into his arms, filling the cold void with her warmth while her tears soaked his robes, he couldn’t have felt more relieved.  

“I’m sorry for getting mad, Honey.  You scared me, and I just want you to be safe.  I-I never want you to go through what you went through there ever again.”  He whispered to her in French.

“You know what they did?”  She gasped back in her native tongue, her voice still so  broken and raspy.  “You took me away.”

Tears of his own fell down his cheeks as he lifted her off the ground.  “It’s okay baby, you’re safe now.”  He turned to look at Babs and Jason, who were looking away silently, giving them as much privacy as they could while still keeping an eye on the two.  “Hey, there’s some snacks in the back, do you want to grab some?”

She sniffled, wiping at her eyes before giving him a small nod.  Once her feet hit the floor, she moved to the back of the small plane where the small snack drawer sat.

“She was one of Ra’s experiments.”  Tim stated before either of the two could say anything, trying to discreetly wipe at his eyes while still watching the small girl.  “She’s a meta who has the ability of creation, very powerful.  Ra’s put her under hundreds of different experiments and documented the results, taking and using her blood to reverse the Lazarus Pit side effects before turning her into a human weapon..”

Tim took in a shaky breath, his heart melting when he saw Marinette’s wide eyes when she pulled a bag of pretzels.  She looked like she had just found lost treasure from an old chest.  “She was 7 when they took her, she was trapped there for 3 years.  Killed her parents and showed her the recording of their death to get the reaction they needed. I downloaded her entire file.  It should finish downloading onto your computer in the clock tower in the next half hour.”

Marinette raced over to him holding a small pack of chocolate covered pretzels while hugging a second one close to her chest.  Tim gently took it from her with a small, ruffling her hair in the process.  “Thanks Mari.  Why don’t you go sit down.  You never know when there will be turbulence.”  

Marinette hesitated, looking at him expectantly.  “I’ll join you soon.  I don’t plan to let you stay by yourself for very long.”  With one more silent nod she moved to the front of the plane where there were four seats available.

“Tim, you do realize you’re 19, right?”  Jason said, helmet and mask fully removed.  

“Yes?”

“Okay, so then what’s your plan here?  B’s not here to take her in,”  Tim flinched at that.  Bruce would be back, he would bring Bruce back!  “I don’t think Dickie will take her either what with the Demon Brat, I-“

“I’m not entrusting you with her.”  Jason shot him a sharp glare.

“Alright you dick, well what’s your plan then?”

“Well, I’m about as rich as Bruce, I am currently CEO of his company, and The Nest would only need to be restocked and a room redecorated…”  Tim started mumbling, mind starting to wonder as he thought of everything he would need to do to make The Nest more… child friendly.

Snap snap.   Startling back into the moment Tim glared at Babs for destroying his train of thought.  “Focus Tim.  So what I’m hearing is, you want to adopt her?”  She asked incredulously.

“Yes, as soon as I bring Bruce back.”  Tim agreed matter of factly causing both Jason and Barbara to flinch.

“Tim…” Babs began, her tone tired sounding.

“Don’t”, Tim growled startling all occupants on the plane, except Mari, she fell asleep.  Tim had changed a lot in the last six months, and he knew exactly what was needed of him.  

He was so close to finding Bruce.  He just needed to find one last piece of evidence and he’d be able to bring Bruce back.  Tim had found out that the man was stuck in a timestream and that he had been leaving clues that only Tim could find.  He was going to bring the closest thing he had to a father home, and nobody was going to stop him.

“I know he’s still alive, and I can prove it.  I have the files and physical proof to do so.  I’m not crazy!”  His breath was coming out in short puffs, his eyes were narrowed, and he could feel his clenched fist shaking at his side.  

“Okay, Tim.  We believe you.  Just calm down.”  Barbara began.  She was talking in her victim’s voice and while Tim hated that it was directed towards him, he couldn’t help but take a little comfort in the smoothness of her words.  Slowly he let himself relax, taking longer breaths as he calmed down.

“I’m fine.  Just drop me off in Uganda and make sure Marinette’s safe.  I’d prefer that you look after her,” he stated as he made eye contact with Babs, “keep her away from the Demon Brat and all.  But I understand if you truly, 100% without a doubt , believe that Dick would be able to care for her better until I return.”

“What about me?  I could watch the little pixie.”  Jason grumbled as he stared at the limp form of the small girl.

“I trust you about as much as I can throw you Jason.”  

“At least I know how to actually cook.”

“Boys.”

“I can learn!”  Tim replied indignantly.

“BoYs.”

“Not without burning down your entire kitchen you couldn-“

“BOYS!”

Both snapped their necks to look at Babs.  Letting out a long agitated sigh, “First of all, I’m not going to just drop you off in Uganda just for you to go off the radar again.”  Tim was about to protest but she held her hand up, silencing him.  “Before anything else is decided on I’m going to look through all of your evidence, then once we see that we can come to a decision on what happens next.  Does that sound fair?”

Tim wanted to argue more, force them to relent until they just did what he asked because he was so close .  But he held his tongue and gave a curt nod.  “Fine, but I’m going to go whether or not you believe me.”  Without another word he stalked over until he was sitting next to Marinette.  

He watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, her face soothed over in sleep, and her head was tilted so that it was leaning against her shoulder at an uncomfortable angle.  Gently, Tim guided her head until it rested against his chest.  He felt her stir slightly, but instantly relaxed when he began to run his fingers up and down her back.  Her hair was far too tangled and would definitely need a professional stylist to fix it before he felt comfortable enough running his fingers through it without causing any pain or discomfort.

When he looked up Babs and Jason were gone, the door to the cockpit left slightly ajar.  Tim squeezed his eyes shut as he let out a long sigh that rattled his bones.  With his free hand he rummaged through his leftmost bandolier and pulled out a small red button.  Opening his eyes he stared at the small device, a devious smirk forming on his lips as he pushed the button.

Long live The League of Assassins, and long may it burn.

All he needed to do now was free Bruce.  With that finished Tim closed his eyes, letting the gentle weight of Marinette comfort him as he let sleep finally take him over.  

END Taglist:

@aespades @adrestar @astrynyx @doll246 @queenz-z @toodaloo-kangaroo @crazylittlemunchkin @seraphichana @miraculous-ninja @dorkus-minimus @mysticsoulgirl @ritacrow-blog @snow-leopard-777 @fidget-eep @sometandomstuff333 @lady-phoenix-of-tardis @shreeing @achaoticmess1 @liquid-luck-00 @buginetye @stainedglassm @prettylittlebutterflie @laurcad123 @iloontjeboontje @heartsong18 @raeuberprinzessin @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @jennifer-rose123 @moon5608 @corporeal-terrestrial @skitarii-alpha-c6-555 @saltysugarysembei @phantom120 @kking13 @depressed-bitchy-demon @a-slytherinish-gryffindor @iamablinkmarvelarmy @fleursroses @buginetye @ev-cupcake @blackroserelina @rainbowbunny0159 @the-ace-reader @humanoid606 @taewinterbear95 @blueberrygeniejam @alex-rebecca-pearce @neulosfantacyworld

[herofics]

Hello, I was wondering if I can have some Headcannons for Aizawa, Present Mic and Hawks if they saw their s/o (gender neutral) fighting a powerful villain on the news, their S/O is all beat up and bloody, but keep on fighting and finally defeat the villain?

Here you go. I hope you like them :D

~Hawks/Takami Keigo~

•Hawks doesn’t really have time to watch the news usually, but you were working on his day off, so he was bored

•So he opened the TV and the news happened to be on

•There was a villain attack going on, not actually even that far from him

•The news crew was zooming in on one of the heroes fighting the villain, and Hawks audibly gasped when he realized it was you

•You seemed to be hurt, but you were still fighting

•”It’s gonna be fine” he kept repeating to himself, but he still found himself jumping up from the couch and rushing out of the apartment

•He knew was sure you could handle it, but he couldn’t help himself

•Hawks is very protective in general, and even though he has full faith in your abilities he just wants to make sure you’re going to be fine

•By the time he gets to the scene, you’ve defeated the villain and even though you’re all bloody and beat up, you’re standing victorious and when you notice him, you just flash him a smile

•You stumble down from on top of the pile of debris you were standing on and Hawks caught you, before you hit your head or something

•”You did good” Hawks says and kisses you on the forehead, while helping you stay up

•You feel like you’re going to pass out, but now that Hawks is there, you would feel safe even if that happened

•You’re loaded into an ambulance despite your protests and Hawks flies to the hospital after you

•You get checked out at the hospital and while you have cuts and bruises all over, and a couple of cracked ribs, no bones are actually broken and you don’t have concussion or anything

•So they stitch you up and send you home with your worried boyfriend

•Hawks is in caretaker mode for the next few days, because he kinda told the safety commission he was going to take care of you and they would just have to deal with it

•You could just lay in bed and he would bring you everything you need but you don’t feel like doing that, so it’s a lot of Hawks telling you to take it easy and “don’t do that, let me help”

•The two of you end up laying on the couch with your head in his lap and him just playing with your hair while you watch TV

~Aizawa Shouta~

•Aizawa was teaching a class when his phone pinged

•He had a news alert set up with your hero name so he would know if something happened to you while he was at the school

•Some of the students commented on how they weren’t allowed to use their phone during class so why was he

•Aizawa told them to shut it and he checked the article with the video attached

•You had just defeated the villain, so you hadn’t had a moment to call him yet and the paramedics insisted you go to the hospital with them

•So when your phone rang and you saw it was Shouta, you knew he was super worried and probably annoyed because you hadn’t contacted him

•You were sitting in the back of the ambulance when you answered the phone

•”Are you okay?” was all that came over the line

•You told him you were going to the hospital but that it was nothing major

•”On the news, it looked like you were in bad shape” he continued

•You reassured him you were fine and that you would see him at home later

•Aizawa is a bit anxious the rest of the day, because he just had a feeling you weren’t telling him everything

•When he got home after school ended, you were already there

•You were covered in bandages and your wrist was in a splint

•”Nothing major, huh?” Aizawa sighed as he stepped into the kitchen where you were making yourself a sandwich

•”Yes Shouta, nothing major. My wrist is gonna be fine in a few months” you said and turned to him

•He just hugged you and told you he was happy you were okay

•Then he insisted you let him make your sandwich, because it seemed kind of difficult to do on one hand

~Present Mic/Yamada Hizashi~

•It’s the weekend, and it’s your last day of work before a week of vacation time and Mic wants to make you dinner

•You’re on day shift so you’re coming home at around six, or at least you were supposed to

•So when you don’t show up, Mic is getting worried, but surely it’s nothing, right?

•He turns on the TV, and the news happened to be on

•It’s running a story from about two hours ago, about you defeating a villain and then getting taken to a hospital

•Mic throws on a jacket and hurries to the hospital, leaving the food on the table and the TV on

•He can’t get the pictures of you all bloody and beat up out of his head

•He gets to the hospital and gets your room number from the nurses

•You’re awake and just sitting on the hospital bed in the examination room

•Mic hugs you tightly and frantically asks if you’re okay

•You assure him you’re fine, but Mic knows you have a habit of downplaying things when you get hurt so he asks the doctor what injuries you have

•You’ve got a concussion, a couple of bruised ribs, a broken hand and you’re covered in cuts and bruises

•Mic gets instructions from the doctor on how to help you and what to do if you get worse

•He would carry you home if you would let him, but he gets a cab and takes you home

•He takes care of you and you’re on sick leave for over a month afterwards

•Of course Mic has to work, but he’s with you as much as he can, his over worrying can even get a bit annoying at some points but he means well