#but like she’s a huge flirt and isn’t above fooling around

[caitlynmeow]

she’s so lesbian i love her

[thealtoduck]

Being from District 1 and being in the 75th Hunger Games with Finnick…

Finnick Odair x Male reader

Warnings: It’s the goddamn hunger games so people dying and lots of violence, talk about two people hooking up.

(A/N: This is based on the movie because i didn’t feel like re-reading the book before writing this)

Growing up in District 1 had it’s advantages because unlike most districts yours has a good relationship with the capital and you are illegally trained for the hunger games so you get an advantage.

…buuuut there is a disadvantage, you are taught the games are just that GAMES and ignore the parts where you might end up traumatised or worse dead.

And that is how you ended up in the games, you volunteered but mostly because you were taught that the games are a good thing and because your parents pressured you into it.

However you ended up winning but not without some mental scars.

You took your winnings and moved into the victors village but without your parents not ever wanting to speak to them again.

You lived peacefully for a while until you didn’t because the capitol decided that for the third quarter quell the tributes would be reaped from the victors of each district.

When you saw that you may or may not have had a nervous brakedown.

Then came the day of the reaping, you told yourself that you were not likely to be picked since District 1 had several other Male victors.

”As for the male tribute… Y/N L/N”

But then you were picked anyway… *cries*

So alongside Cashmere you headed for the Capitol in one of their fancy trains.

You had been allowed to chose your mentors, Cashmere had chosen her brother Gloss. You had picked Augustus Braun, Panem’s favorite son, (he was a character created for promo photos for the movies, the guy who ”plays” him is really hot). He had been your mentor during the year you won so he knew how to work with you and plus he is nice :).

When you arrived at the trainstation there were a huge crowd waiting for you. Augustus advised you to try to appear sad but still wave to the capitol citizens and treat them kindly so they might sympathize with the fact that your back in the games.

You met up with your prep team and they made you strip naked so that they could look you over and make you look presentable.

After they finished they got you into your outfit for the tribute parade.

(A/N: Your outfit is whatever the male version of this would look like)

You were walking towards the chariots for the parade when you heard a catcall whistle and you knew immediately who it was.

You turned around and were met with a almost naked Finnick Odair a familiar sight as you had hooked up the year before while being mentors for the tributes.

”Hello Finnick” you said in a voice implying that you were not in the mood for his flirting.

He caught the hint and the two of you had a normal conversation. You asked how Annie and Mags were doing as you were rather fond of both of them.

He said they were doing fine considering the cicumstances. The two of you talked for a while but eventually Finnick went to try to make Katniss Everdeen uncomfortable for fun.

You climbed in to the chariot and helped Cashmere get up as she was wearing 8 inch stilettos.

After the tribute parade you are escorted to the training center with the rest of your group.

The next day training began, you went directly for the throwing knives which was your preferred weapon.

Then you were approached by Peeta Mellark, last years winner, he asked you to show him how to throw knives. You agreed to show him and you gave him some tips and tricks that you used. He then showed you how to do some simple camouflage.

You liked Peeta he was the kind of person that was hard not to like, unlike his district partner.

You and Cashmere invited Katniss to the place where they showed you how to make hammocks and it was noticable that she was a bit suspicious to be talking to career tributes.

The training days passed by and you did well on your private session but now it was time for the interviews.

When you got out on the stage you threw your arms around Caesar Flickerman as if he was your lover, which in turn got you a ”Awww” from the audience.

You turned on the waterworks, you talked about how much you will miss the capitol citizens for treating you like family and that you regret not reconciling with your parents after a fight you had before you left and not getting to say goodbye to them. It was all lies though but it was enough to fool the audience.

The audience gave you a standing ovation while you joined Cashmere standing in a line above the stage.

The rest of the tributes gave their interviews (Johanna’s was your favorite) and then Peeta during his interview told Caesar that Katniss was pregnant and all hell broke lose.

That evening you were visited by Haymitch and he told you that Peeta had wanted you as an ally and about the rebellion and about their plan to get Katniss out of the arena.

You agreed to the plan.

Before you went in to the arena you said goodbye to your escort, prep team, stylist, Gloss and Augustus.

You also said goodbye Cashmere since you knew you were on different sides in the arena and you said a silent prayer that you wouldn’t have to be the one to kill her.

You were then taken aboard the hovercraft and flown to the arena. You were then escorted to the small elevator thing that takes you the podiums in the arena.

You stood in the elevator waiting anxiously for the game to start. You also realised that you didn’t know who your other allies would be other than Katniss and Peeta.

The podium then started rising until you were inside the arena. Your eyes were blinded by the sunlight and you looked around and saw that the podioum was surrounded by water.

You saw that there were rocky spokes connected to the island where the cornucopia was located.

Then you heard a voice saying ”Let the 75th Hunger Games begin, May the odds be ever in your favor” a voice started counting down from 10 and you prepared yourself to dive in.

A canon went of as the starting signal for the games and you dove right in to the water and swam to one of the rocky spokes and climbed up on it.

You saw someone else had climbed up on it behind you but didn’t care to find out who so you tried to run but they had roughly grabbed a hold of your arm and were trying to drag you back.

You turned around and saw the male tribute from district 9. Without thinking further about it you clenched your fist and punched him in the nose. He let go of you and you started running towards the cornucopia.

You looked around and realised that you were now at a disadvantage from only being held back for a few seconds.

You reached the cornucopia and tried to sneak around it to see who was there but Finnick suddenly appeared around the corner and pointed his trident at you for a second but brought it down as soon as you made eye contact.

”Come on” he said and led you to the weapons. You picked up vest with a bunch of throwing knives attached to it and put it on.

You had put it on just in time as the man from 9 had reached the cornucopia as well. His nose was bleeding from your punch. You got a knife from the vest took aim and threw a knife at his throat, you hit just as intended.

You got an extra leg holster with throwing knives and a regular knife incase needed for close combat.

Finnick told you to stay by the supplies to guard them with Katniss while he looks for Peeta. You nodded at him as he ran off.

Katniss and you stood guard for a while until Finnick returned saying Mags had found him. You and Katniss followed him as he led you out on one of the spokes leading out from the cornucopia.

You saw movement in the water as Peeta was wrestling with a tribute trying to drown him. Finnick dived in to help Peeta, you turned to the cornucopia to check so no one would sneak up behind you.

Soon enough Peeta and Finnick were out of the water and the 5 of you made your way in to the jungle.

You all ran through the difficult jungle terrain except Mags who was carried on Finnick’s back.

After getting far enough from the cornucopia you all kneeled down for a quick rest. You heard more canons going off meaning more people had died.

”I guess were not holding hands anymore” Finnick said with a quick laugh. ”You think that’s funny?” Katniss asked with obvious hostility in her voice. You made quick eye contact with Peeta basically saying ”Fuck, they are going to be fighting”.

”Every time that canon goes of it’s music to my ears, i don’t care about any of them” Finnick answered. ”Good to hear” Katniss said pulling out a machete from her quiver. ”Wanna face the career pack alone? What would Haymitch say?” Finnick asked teasingly.

”Haymitch isn’t here” Katniss stated and there was silence for a moment until Peeta said ”Let’s keep moving” and you all got up and continued moving through the jungle.

Peeta walked in front using the machete to cut plants and vines out of the way, Finnick was behind him carrying Mags, you were behind Finnick and Katniss was behind you.

You noticed Katniss stopping behind you as you turned to see if anything was wrong she yelled ”Peeta! NO!” and right behind you there was a bang and you were knocked to the ground by Peeta flying backwards.

You sat up and saw Katniss crawling over to Peeta repeating his name slowly as he lay motionless on the ground. You then heard her say in a panicy voice ”He’s not breathing”, Finnick ran over to him and started doing mouth to mouth resuscitation. You crawled over to see what was happening.

After a while he woke up again and you all started to move slowly but Katniss was now in the lead, she threw small rocks at the barrier so that you could navigate how close you were to it.

Katniss told the 4 of you to wait while she climbed up a tree to see your location and if she could find fresh water. When she got down she told you that you were on the edge of the arena and that she couldn’t find any water.

Finnick suggested that you should set up camp and sleep, he said he could take first watch to guard the others to which Katniss disagreed which in turn made Finnick upset since he literally saved Peeta.

Honestly you were tired of both of them so you rolled your eyes and walked away to find somewhere decent to sleep.

You found a spot close to Mags where you laid down and shut your eyes but that didn’t last long as you heard the anthem playing and you looked up and saw the faces of the fallen tributes.

When you saw the face of the man from district 9 you felt ashamed. You wondered if he had a lover or children at home who had to watch him bleed to death from a knife to the throat.

You turned around so you lay on your other side and your y/c/e met with Mags kind eyes and she gave you a small smile as if she had read you mind which you returned shyly.

(A/N: I had to stop a second just for some Mags appreciation because she’s one of my favorite characters in the hunger games universe.)

You closed your eyes again trying to sleep but you then heard something hit the ground you sat up and looked to Katniss and Finnick who had gone to inspect the noise.

It turned out to be a sponsor gift, you stood up and walked over to them. Katniss held a small silvery thing. ”What is it?” Finnick asked. ”It’s from Haymitch…… I think it’s a spile” Katniss answered.

”A what?” Both you and Finnick asked as Katniss stood up and found a tree and started banging on the spile with a rock hitting it in to the tree.

You all waited for a moment but soon water started trickling down from the spile. Katniss caught some in her mouth and told the others to get some, first Peeta got some, then Finnick and the you.

You were on you knees infront of the spile, you got a mouthful of water. Finnick walked up beside you with a small smile and said ”As much as i like seeing you on your knees, can you move over a little? I need some more water for Mags”. You laughed a little and moved aside.

”Seems like someone has gotten his wittiness back” you said and Finnick gave a small laugh and started filling a leaf he had shaped like a bowl for Mags.

After that you went to your previous resting place and laid down to sleep again. You were woken up at some point by what sounded like a gong and the sound of lightning but you managed to get back to sleep.

You were woken up by the sound of Katniss screaming, you quickly got up and pulled out your close combat knife. You saw no one but Katniss, she was laying on the ground whimpering and there was a closing in behind her.

”Run! Run! The fog is poisonus” she yelled you helped Mags get up as Finnick crouched down to get her up on his back. When she was safely up you started running following Katniss and Peeta.

You passed Katniss and Peeta as being quick was sort of your specialty.

It was hard to know where to go as almost everywhere you turned the fog seemed to be coming closer. You heard falling behind you and saw that Katniss had fallen over but Peeta had helped her up. Then a little bit after that Peeta fell over and Katniss helped him up, you turned around to come to their aid but you heard Finnick screaming and saw him falling over.

You ran to Finnick to help him get up but by the time you got there he was already up and he had gotten Mags back up on his back. You grabbed him by the arm and helped him away from the fog. You and Finnick saw that Peeta had fallen over once again from exposure to the fog.

You and Finnick ran to him and Katniss. ”I can’t carry him, Peeta please” she said with tear stained eyes. You tried to help carry Peeta but it was no use you weren’t strong enough.

Behind you heard Finnick saying ”Mags? Mags?” You turned around and saw Mags walking right into the fog (like the boss she is).

(R.I.P Queen, both the actress and character)

”MAGS!” Finnick screamed and the came the sound of canon. You grabbed Finnick by the arm and Katniss told him that we need to leave.

Finnick helped pick up Peeta as you picked up Peeta’s machete and started cutting away plants that were in the way. The others staggerd away from the fog, you ran to Katniss side to try help her keep up.

You feel the fog touching you back as immense pain shoot through you whole body and then the 4 of you fell… not because the fog though but because there was a huge drop that you hadn’t noticed.

When you land you just lay on the ground twitching and flinching from the pain.

After a while you hear Katniss saying ”The water, the water helps”. You tried to get up but you body was like on lockdown. You hear them helping Finnick into the water, Finnick tries to let out a scream but gets water in his mouth.

Peeta comes to you and drags you up into a sitting positon saying ”Come on” as if he’s talking to a child but it was strangely comforting. He then pulls you into the pond making you let out a scream from a sudden sharp pain but the pain slowly starts to fade away.

The group takes a little brake now to rest and you can’t help but to whisper a little ”thank you” to Mags.

You then hear Katniss saying to Finnick ”I’m sorry about Mags”. Finnick answered by saying ”She was never gonna make it….so”.

Finnick then turned his attention to something behind Katniss, you turned around and saw some sort of monkey like creature staring at you, whatever they were they didn’t look friendly so you pulled out your combat knife in one hand and a throwing one in the other.

All 4 of you stood in the little pond surrounded by the mutts, you were all waiting for one to attack. ”Get to the beach” Katniss said and turned towards a path that lead towards the cornucopia but the mutts started looking more aggressive.

One tried to jump at Katniss but was cut down by Peeta which made more start to attack.

You weren’t really that well equipped to deal with animals but you tried your best. A mutt tried to jump at you but you kicked it in the face and threw a knife at it.

Another one ran towards you so threw a knife at it’s arm making it shriek in pain and you ran over and stabbed it with the combat knife.

”We need to get to the beach” Peeta said as he and Katniss started moving in the beaches directon, you started following him and Katniss and made sure Finnick was keeping up.

You made you way through the difficult terrain while trying to avoid the mutts. You did your best to hit then with your knives but the didn’t pack enough of a punch to kill them unless they were hit in sensitive areas.

You were tackled by a mutt which made you fall to the ground. It crawled onto you about to maul your face off but you stabbed it in the stomach and twisted the knife.

You threw it’s dead body off of you and got up, you saw Katniss and Peeta carrying someones body to the beach, you turned your head back and saw Finnick fending of the mutts. Your mind raced for a second if Finnick is there and Peeta and Katniss are fine the who’s body was that.

You ran over to Finnick who was slowly making his way to the beach backwards with the mutts following him, only held back by his trident. You stood by his side swinging your blade at any mutt that comes to near you two.

Finnick then whispered to you ”At my signal grab my hand”, you nodded.

”Now” he said and you grabbed his hand and the two of you started sprinting towards the beach while the mutts chased yoy, when you got near enough you and Finnick dove on to the beach sand.

You and Finnick quickly got up and pointed your weapons at the mutts that where now on the edge of the jungle where the beach began. You then heard a canon going off and the mutts then started making their way into the jungle once more.

You put you knife in the holster at your leg and then turned to Finnick. You threw your arms around him in a hug, Finnick put his big arms around and you leaned you head against the older males shoulder.

It was hard putting a label on yours and Finnick’s relationship. You had met during part of your victory tour in district 4, you were attending a dinner in your honor.

You had excused yourself to go to the public bathroom during the dinner. You had no need to actually use the bathroom. You just needed to get away from the people who had celebrated the fact that you had killed people.

You started having a bit of a nervous breakdown in the bathroom, you were crying, splashing water in your face trying to calm down but you felt like you needed to scream.

One of the toilet stalls had opened and Finnick steped out. He went to the sink to wash his hands and while doing so he noticed your red eyes and trembling hands and he asked if you were okay.

And you spilled everything to him and told him how you were feeling, he put an arm around you, he told you he somtimes felt like that as well and told you how he usually copes with it.

He had told you that if you didn’t want to finish the dinner he could go out and tell everyone you weren’t feeling well and have you escorted back to the train.

But you said you wanted to try to get through the dinner as long as he was there to help you. He agreed to be there with you and you managed to get through the whole thing.

After that Finnick was basically your bestie and you guys would come to each other for emotional support.

And last year during the 74th hunger games while you both were in the capitol, you had been hanging out at his apartment the capitol give the victors while they visit for the games.

While hanging out things got a bit steamy between the two of you and you ended up hooking up, the day after the two of you kinda acted like it never happened and things got a bit awkward between you and him.

But being back in to the arena had stirred up feelings for him you had buried. While in the arena most people will latch onto whatever makes them feel safe and Finnick made you feel safe.

You finally let go of Finnick and you noticed a hover craft picking up the body Peeta and Katniss had taken in to the water. Finnick told you he was gonna go try to catch some fish food, you nodded at this and walked over to Katniss and Peeta.

”Who body was it they picked up?” you asked. ”The female morphling” Peeta answered in a saddend voice. You sat down in the sand, the 4 of you had almost died 3 times (+ 1 for Peeta) in less than 24 hours and it was exhausting.

Finnick had managed to catch a fish and found some oysters that you were now eating. Peeta found a pearl and gave it to Katniss.

You then heard a scream coming from the jungle, ”That’s new” Peeta said and you heard a thundering noise.

Out of the jungle came a huge wave of water and you heard a canon going off. The wave was so big it washed up on the beach.

You then saw a hover craft lifting away the body.

After it had flown away you heard Katniss say ”Someone is hear”. You immediately looked in the direction Katniss had been looking and saw another tribute on the beach and two other tributes emerging from the jungle, you backed up slowly.

”Johanna?” Finnick whispered and ran out of hiding towards Johanna shouting her name, ”Finnick!” she yelled back and the two embraced each other. You made your way towards them and waved Johanna.

Johanna told the 4 of you how she, Wiress, Beetee and Blight, her district partner, had been wandering the jungle when it had started raining blood on them to the point where they could barely see and were choking on it. Then blight had hit the forcefield and passed away.

Wiress was stumbling around murmering the words ”Tick-tock” to herself, Wiress tried to get Johanna’s attention but she ignored her.

”What’s wrong with her?” Katniss asked referring to Wiress. ”She’s in shock, dehydration isn’t helping” Beetee answered and the asked ”You have fresh water?”

”We can get some” Katniss answered as Johanna had started getting fed up with Wiress saying ”Tick-Tock” to her. ”Listen stop it!” Johanna said loudly while grabbing a hold of Wiress.

”Hey! Get of her” Katniss yelled as Wiress fell to the ground. Katniss stromed passed you and started fighting with Johanna. ”Hey!, what are you doing” Johanna asked as Katniss got up in her face but before things could escalate Peeta and Finnick had pulled them apart.

You got the spile and hit it in to a tree so that the others could get freshwater. You took a big leaf and shaped it like a bowl and got some water for Beetee who was working with some sort of wire. Katniss and Wiress then came excitedly and said that the arena was a clock with different obstacles every hour.

You all decided to go to the cornucopia to stock up on weapons, you had decided to get something more lethal than just knives just in case something comes up.

Katniss was trying to go through what happens during every hour that we know off. When you arrived at the Cornucopia you refilled your knife supply and picked up a nice sword. The others were drawing up a map of the zones and the drew the threats we knew about tsunami, lightning, blood rain, fog and mutts.

Then came a loud gasp from Wiress who was being stabbed in the back by the male tribute from district 10 (you know since your here instaed of Gloss). Katniss was quick to shoot an arrow hitting him right in the chest killing him almost instantly.

Another figure had appeared it was Cashmere she had a knife in her hand. She was on her way to attack Katniss but Johanna pushed her out of the way and plunged her axe right in Cashmere’s chest.

Right as she hit the ground there came clang of metal against metal and you saw Brutus attacking Finnick and Peeta. Enobaria then suddenly appears and throws a knife at Finnick cutting his arm. You quickly draw a knife throwing at Enobaria cutting her shoulder.

Enobaria and Brutus start running away from the cornucopia. You, Katniss and Johanna run to follow them but as you do the island the cornucopia is located on starts spining and you all fall to the ground.

You take out a knife in one hand and stab it in to the ground to try to keep you from sliding of the island, you manage to get a good grip with your hand as well.

You hear struggling behind you and see Johanna struggling to keep a hold of Katniss’ hand, she lost her grip and Katniss fell into the raging water.

The island then stopped spining and Katniss climbed up on one of the spokes and started coughing up water. Johanna and Peeta checked that she was okay.

She was fine and your group left the island and went back to the beach, you all sat down on the beach to stratergize. Other than the group there was 3 people left in the games Chaff, Brutus and Enobaria.

They were all outnumbred so they probably won’t try to attack us. Johanna suggested that we hunt them down but then you heard a scream ”Ahhh!!! Katniss,Help me!!!” which made Katniss scream in return ”Prim!!! Prim!!!” as she ran into the jungle.

You all ran to follow her Finnick was in front you were right behind him but then you hit something almost like when you run in to a glass door, it was an invisible forcefield. ”Y/n!Are you okay?” You heard Peeta saying as you sat up.

”Yeah” you said as he helped you up. You tried to touch the forcefield, it was as solid as a brick wall. Soon Katniss and Finnick came running back with a bunch of birds following them but they couldn’t get through the forcefield and were stuck on the other side.

You had to wait an hour until the birds flow away and the forcefield disappeared. You ran over to Finnick to check on him. ”Are you okay? You asked putting a hand on his shoulder. ”Yeah, i’m fine” he said weakly.

You the heard Johanna say something about ”Riots in the damn capitol” she then yelled ”Hey! How does that sound Snow! What if we.. What if we set your backyard on fire?! You know you can’t put everybody in here!!!”. You were all looking at Johanna speechless at her open disrespect of President Snow.

”What?… they can’t hurt me, there’s no one left that i love” Johanna said and walked away to get Katniss some water. That left you feeling bad for Johanna, sure she may be a bit rude at times but she’s nowhere near as bad as some people make her out to be.

You helped Finnick stand up and your group made their way back to the beach once more. Finnick went and sat down in the shallow part of the water. You were torn whether you should go to him or not, maybe he wanted to be alone.

But then you remembered how he had been there for you during your victory tour, so you went out into the water and sat down beside him. ”Did you hear her?” You asked referring to Annie.

Finnick gave you a small nod. You didn’t know what more to say, but you didn’t need to cause Finnick started speaking ”I also heard you”. You gave him a questioning look ”Really?”

”Yeah, even though in knew you were there right infront of me, it was still torture to have to hear you screaming my name for help, I had to open my eyes just to check that you were okay” Finnick said turning his attention from the water to you. You grabbed his hand gently and said ”I’m okay, thanks to you”. You and Finnick’s heads were leaning close to eachother but then came a shout ”Finnick!” ”Y/n” it was Johanna she waved for you to come over.

You and Finnick got up and walked over to the others and the group made a plan to use the wire Beetee had gotten to hopefully electrecute the careers.

A few hours went by and the sun started to go down. You were sitting in the wet sand watching Finnick swinging around his trident lightly. Then you heard the noise of something hitting the ground near you, you turned around.

A little bit inside the jungle you saw a silver capsule, you went into the junge and got it. You opened it and knew immediately what it was. You turned to the others and yelled at them to come over. You showed them that you had gotten bread from district 1.

You gave everyone their fair share of the bread, ”District 1 is known for using cinnamon and huckleberries in their bread” you informed them though the only one who actually seemed to care what your district used in their bread was Peeta.

Then it was time to leave to go to the lightning tree and once again you were making your way through the thick jungle terrain.

Then you heard the anthem playing and you looked up in the sky to see the pictures of the fallen tributes. You felt a bit sad when you saw Cashmere up there and realised even if you got out of the arena Gloss would kill you.

But it felt worse seeing Wiress and Mags up there. They had both been very kind people and they shouldn’t have been in here in the first place. You felt something inside you almost as if it was catching fire (A/N:😉) a new hatred for the capitol.

You continued moving until you reached the lightning tree and Beetee started doing his thing and wrapping the tree with the bronze colored wire. He then told you, Katniss and Johanna to go with the spool of wire to the beach, throw it into the water and go to the tree in the 2 o’clock sector.

”I’m gonna go with them as a guard” Peeta said probably not wanting to leave Katniss. ”Nonono, your staying here to protect me… and the tree”. Beetee opposed. ”No i need to go with her” Peeta said stubbornly.

”There are two careers out there, i need two guards” Beetee said. ”Finnick can protect just fine on his own” Peeta said and you and Finnick gave eachother a knowing look. Then Katniss butted in saying ”Yeah, why can’t Finnick, Y/n and Johanna stay with you and Peet and I will take the chord”.

”You all agreed to keep me alive till midnight, correct?” Beetee asked in a annoyed tone. ”It’s his plan we all agreed to it” Johanna said clearly starting to get annoyed as well. ”Is there a problem here?” Finnick asked. ”Excellent question” Beetee said as you were all staring down Peeta and Katniss.

”No, there’s no problem” Katniss said in a defeated manner and walked over to Peeta and gave him a kiss. After they finished you said ”Good idea” and walked over to Finnick and kissed him, you could feel him kiss back and put his arms around your waist.

After you pulled away you said with a weak smile ”You know just incase we never see eachother again”. ”Alright, let’s go” Johanna said. You walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulder saying jokingly ”Incase your feeling left out i can give you a quick kiss too”, Johanna only rolled her eyes but let out a small chuckle.

You, Johanna and Katniss made your way to the beach once more the same way you came. After a while of walking Johanna said ”Come on, i wanna put as much distance between me and this beach as possible, frying is not how i wanna go” but then came another sound from the spool it had stopped putting out wire.

”There’s something…” Katniss said and looked in the direction the wire came from but saw nothing then something pulled the wire and cut it off. Katniss immediately threw aside the spool and pulled out an arrow but Johanna grabbed the spool and hit her over the head with it.

You were kinda lost on what to do but Johanna got you to kneel down beside her and took your combat knife and started cutting up Katniss’ arm open, then it dawned on you the arm with the tracker, the plan to get Katniss out was set into motion.

You grabbed Katniss arm so that she wouldn’t try to fight it, Johanna smeared blood on Katniss’ throat to make her look like she was dying. ”Stay down” she whispered to Katniss and sat up and threw her axe against Brutus and Enobaria who were on their way. ”Come on” Johanna said to you and you followed her as you ran with careers chasing you.

It was hard to keep up with Johanna in this terrain. You then felt a sudden sharp pain in your side and saw that you had gotten a cut that was now bleeding, you guessed that Enobaria must have thrown a knife. You looked up to see where Johanna had gone but she must not have noticed you slowing down because you couldn’t see her.

You turned around and saw that only Enobaria was on your trail now. You drew your sword just in time to deflect another knife coming your way, she drew her sword as well.

The sound of clashing swords came as she made a slash at you which you blocked. You went back and forward with her for a while slashing, stabbing, cutting but neither managed to kill the other.

Enobaria then made stab at your hand cutting it open so that blood started spilling out, you tried to fight with one hand but she easily disarmed you. You turned around and started running since there wasn’t much else you could do.

You managed to put some fair distance between you and her, not enough to get rid of her but enough so you could draw a knife and throw it at the hand she kept her sword in which caused her to drop it but that didn’t stop her as she drew a knife from her vest.

You did the same bracing yourself for her. The two of you pounced at eachother like tigers, colliding in the air and laying on the ground wrestling for dominance, she had gotten on top of you and tried to stab you but you grabbed the hand she kept her knife in and used your other hand to grab her hair.

You pulled it with all your strength and managed to roll over so that you were on top of her, you held her down and punched her across the face. She still managed to grab you and roll you over so she was on top of you again and she the showed you her fang like teeth.

She was starting to lean down probably about to rip your throat out with her bare teeth but something had distracted her, you seized your moment and noticed you were right beside a steep slope. So with all the power in your body you grabbed a hold of her and threw her off of you and down the slope.

You got up quickly and looked at what had distracted her and saw that it was a blue glowing wire pointing right up into the sky or what used to be the sky but was now just a gray dome.

Your brain put some kind of scenario together that this was part of the plan so you started making you way towards the source of the glowing wire but it was hard you were still bleeding and you were exhausted from your fight with Enobaria.

You staggerd towards the lightning tree but your body couldn’t take anymore and you collapsed, you looked up at the gray dome and saw that it was starting to fall apart. That made you smile and you thought to yourself ”Thank you, Mockingjay” and then it faded to black.

(A/N: Don’t worry you didn’t die at the end, but please give this a like or reblog it took like a lot of time write and i really tried my best, there might be some grammatical errors in there but deal with it)

[larksthighs]

drivers license

Word Count: 4.8k

Based off of drivers license by Olivia Rodrigo

I got my driver’s license last week

Just like we always talked about

‘Cause you were so excited for me

To finally drive up to your house

“Stop!”

You slammed on the breaks, turning to glare at Rafe for his sudden exclamation. He has his left hand on the dashboard and the right gripping the handle on the roof above the passenger side door. He looked at you with wide eyes, his gelled hair slightly falling over his forehead and into his eyes.

“What?” You exclaimed, annoyed at his overly dramatic reaction.

“Did you seriously not see the mailbox? You almost took it completely out!”

“You promised you wouldn’t yell at me! I’m trying, okay?” You exclaimed, exasperated. This is the fourth time he’s yelled at you in the past 30 minutes, and while almost hitting a mailbox may permit some yelling, the other times didn’t.

You thought having Rafe teach you to drive would be a good idea, having been friends with him since fourth grade. Your dad is best friends with Ward which led to you and Rafe hanging out together at every family party and business event that you were forced to attend. You and Rafe would always sneak out of the parties in order to escape all of the meaningless conversations that your dads managed to drag you into, claiming that it would help you in the future, and maybe it would, but at nine years old, the future wasn’t exactly on your mind.

This pattern continued on throughout all of middle and high school. You and Rafe were always best friends and were even each other’s first kiss, something that you both agreed would never happen again after the painfully awkward first time. Little did you know that at 17 years old, you would have a huge crush on Rafe, something that 11 year old you would be cringing at.

“I know, I know. Okay, one more time. All you have to do is turn into the driveway and then park between the cones in front of the garage. And remember to swing wide this time so I don’t have to explain to Rose why her mailbox is destroyed,” he says, relaxing back into his seat.

You brush him off with a ‘yeah, yeah’ before checking your rearview mirror so you could back up and attempt the turn into the driveway again. You swing wide in order to avoid the mailbox and start down the driveway, slowing down when you reach the concrete. You carefully start to pull between the ‘cones’ Rafe had set up for you, really just a random basketball and a weight he had found in the garage.

You pull in as straight as you can and then put the car in park, looking over as Rafe gets out of the passenger seat and walks to the back of the car. You watch him nervously, hoping that you were finally able to park straight and without hitting one of the cones. So far, you haven’t had much luck.

Looking in the rearview mirror, you make eye contact with Rafe who has a face completely void of emotion before he breaks into a big smile and gives you a thumbs up. You let out a squeal then unbuckle and hop out of the driver’s side.

“I did it! I finally did it!” you exclaim with joy, finally feeling some relief at the thought of finally being able to pass a mock driver’s test.

“Hell yeah!” Rafe exclaims, catching you as you jump on him in a hug, “Before you know it you’ll be driving up to my house all on your own.”

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Best driving instructor ever!” you exclaim with a smile across your face, pulling back to look him in the eyes.

It felt like time stood still as you stared into his blue eyes. Both of you were breathing slightly heavy due to the excitement you both felt. You still had your arms wrapped around his neck and he slowly slid you back down so your feet were touching the ground again. Your arms slowly slid from his neck until your hands were resting against his chest, still looking into his eyes. It felt like the world stood still as you both stared into each other’s eyes while exchanging soft smiles.

Nothing could ruin this moment.

And you’re probably with that blonde girl

Who always made me doubt

She’s so much older than me

She’s everything I’m insecure about

With Rafe being as attractive as he is, seeing him with girls is inevitable. Girls seem to stick to him like flies everywhere he goes, so it wasn’t a surprise to see him with a senior girl named Aspen at the boneyard.

Aspen was two years older than you and you definitely get a little jealous to see her hanging with Rafe, especially since he had ditched you right when you got here, claiming that he was going to go get a drink. Fifteen minutes later and you’re watching him talk to her while Topper and Kelce are having a conversation about boats or cars or something. Honestly, you stopped listening right when it came up, not finding any interest in the subject.

Now all of your attention was on Rafe and Aspen and her group of friends that were all hanging around in a circle by the keg. Of course, you could walk over there and join the conversation but sometimes your insecurities got in the way.

Aspen was easily one of the nicest girls you had ever met. She never had one mean word to say about anyone and she always welcomed everyone with open arms, whether they were a kook or a pogue, it made no difference to her. She also had a beautiful body with naturally blonde wavy hair that never seemed unruly, even on a windy night at the beach. She was basically your definition of beauty and had a personality to match it, which made it so much harder to be jealous.

It would be so much easier if she was one of the kooks who hated the pogues or who thought she was better than everyone because of her money, but she was the complete opposite. You couldn’t even pretend to not like her because there wasn’t a reason to, which was so frustrating. But honestly, if you can’t have him then you want to make sure that he has someone who will treat him well and take care of him, which is why you want to leave him and Aspen alone. Of course, you’d rather it be you with him, but there’s only so much you can do.

“Hellooo? Are you listening? We asked you a question,” Topper says while waving his hand in front of your face. You slap it away with a scowl on your face before asking him to repeat what he said.

“We asked why you’re so spaced out tonight. You’re usually off mingling with anyone and everyone who will stop to talk to you,” Kelce said while giving you a strange look.

You easily became friends with the boys shortly after Rafe introduced you to them and over the past eight years, you have all gotten to know each other pretty well, which includes being able to pick up on the smallest ticks that let you know when someone isn’t acting like themself. So of course it means that the boys were able to pick up on your lack of attention, but hopefully not on the fact that all of it is directed towards Rafe and Aspen.

“I’m fine,” you said giving them a soft smile, “just tired. It was a long day today and I think the heat just made me sleepy. I actually think I might head home now, I’ll see you guys later.”

You get up and start to walk away, hearing the objections coming from Topper and Kelce but just turning around and giving them a small smile and wave before making your way off the beach and towards the road.

You take one last look at Rafe and notice him laughing while he and Aspen lean into each other in order to be able to hear their conversation over the crowd around them.

To be honest, you’re kind of disappointed that he didn’t notice you leaving because he was too busy talking to a girl. It’s not that he’s talking to a girl, he does that all the time and sometimes you even encourage him despite feeling your heart ache every time you do it. It’s more the fact that he told you he would be right back, but he never came or asked you to come with him.

It also hurts your feelings a bit because you somehow always fool yourself into thinking that Rafe may have feelings for you too. There are always little moments where you make eye contact with him and it feels like the world stops spinning and like it’s only you two in the moment, just for one of you to awkwardly break it and continue on as if nothing happened. There are the little touches and flirting but you can also just chalk that up to regular affection from being so close to Rafe. You always jokingly flirt with Kelce and Topper too and while you obviously didn’t like them, it would make sense if Rafe thought that you were doing the same thing with him.

You finish your walk home and get a shower before laying in bed and checking your phone, noticing that there are texts from Topper and Kelce making sure you got home safe, but not one from Rafe, which was odd considering he was your ride so you figured that he would have noticed you were gone by now, but apparently not.

You decide to send a quick text to Rafe to let him know you made it home so he wouldn’t be searching for you and then put your phone down and went to bed.

Yeah, today I drove through the suburbs

‘Cause how could I ever love someone else?

Waking up the day after the boneyard party you check your phone to see that Rafe hadn’t replied to your message but had read it. You decide to get up and get ready for the day before heading over to the Cameron house, figuring that Rafe was probably hungover and still asleep.

You stop on the way to Rafe’s and grab a coffee for you and him, also picking up a breakfast sandwich for him in case he needed some greasy food in his stomach. It was a habit that you guys had gotten into over the years after a night of partying lead to both of you going to a cafe early the next morning in order to cure your hangovers. You hop back in your car and start the short drive over with the windows down and music blasting. It was a beautiful day out and you were hoping that Rafe would be able to convince Topper to take you guys out on the boat today.

You were driving down the road to Rafe’s house and slowed down when you got to the driveway. You were about to pull into the driveway when you noticed a car that isn’t usually there. A black Jeep Wrangler with stickers on the back window that looked like they were from surf shops and a monogram that looked familiar. You see this Jeep at school all the time and know it belongs to Aspen.

You don’t know why you feel so hurt when you see it, but you do. Obviously seeing another girl at your crush’s house isn’t the best feeling, but you didn’t expect it to hurt this bad.

Well, you know why he didn’t answer your text last night, he must’ve been a little too busy. You decide not to go in the driveway, slowly driving past it before turning around and making your way back to your house. You decide to call Topper on your way back asking what he was doing. When he tells you he isn’t busy, you make your way to his house.

You pull into his driveway and then grab the coffee and sandwich that was originally for Rafe before walking to the front door and ringing the doorbell, waiting for Topper to answer. When he finally does you give him a quick hug before walking to the kitchen table for him to eat his breakfast.

“Not that I don’t enjoy the breakfast and coffee, because I really do, but why did you bring it to me? Isn’t this usually you and Rafe’s thing?” he asks before taking a bite into his sandwich. You make a face at him as he takes a bite that was way too big and starts chewing obnoxiously.

“Yes, it usually is our thing but he had some… company with him this morning. Aspen’s Jeep was there so I figured that I shouldn’t intrude,” you say while giving a soft smile and fiddling with your keys that are sitting on the table in front of you.

“I’m sure they wouldn’t have minded if you brought them breakfast,” Topper says.

“Yeah but hanging out with Rafe and a girl he hooked up with the night before doesn’t exactly fit my description of a perfect morning,” you say sarcastically while rolling your eyes.

Topper raises his eyebrows slightly and his eyes go wide.

“Wait a minute… You’re jealous! You’re jealous of Aspen being over there,” he says with a little laugh. “Don’t worry, I don’t think she’ll take the position of best friend after one night together.”

“That’s not the position I’m worried about her taking,” you mumble under your breath. Topper stops in the middle of bringing his sandwich to his mouth.

“Oh shit. You actually like him don’t you?” he asks, shocked.

“Yeah, honestly I’m surprised it took you this long to figure out, it’s only been like four years,” you reply with a little laugh.

“Yeah well I figured it was just a small crush, I didn’t think it was actually anything serious,” he says with a shrug, “are you gonna tell him?”

“Considering what I saw this morning, no. I think if he liked me back then we would’ve figured it out by now, we have little moments together but they don’t seem to be anything serious. Besides, Aspen is a good match for him, she’s really sweet and she’ll keep his attitude in check, match made in heaven right?”

“I mean, I guess,” he shrugs, “sorry you had to see that, I know it sucks.”

You’re happy you had Topper to talk about this with, you know he can relate after the situation with John B and Sarah happened.

“Yeah but I mean, what can you do? Anyways, enough depressing talk. Do you want to take me on the boat today?” you ask, giving him a big smile that you hoped would convince him to take you. You can tell he’s hesitating and you dramatically try to persuade him, “Please Topper, I need something to distract me from this heartbreak, and I brought you breakfast! Wasn’t that so nice of me?”

“Okay, first off, I was your second choice for breakfast so that argument doesn’t work. Second off, do you really classify this as heartbreak?” he questions, “but yes, I will take you on the boat today.”

“Yes! Thank you! You’ll be my first choice for breakfast and coffee next time, promise.”

You call Kelce and he meets you at Topper’s house where all three of you get on the boat and start heading out to a sandbar where you guys will be able to swim and hangout. You also had Kelce buy Truly Lemonades on the way over so you could drink on your day out.

You and the boys spent the afternoon swimming around and hanging out with some other friends who brought their boats out on the water. Music was blaring and it was a perfect sunny day and the water was just the right temperature and nothing could make it a better boat day. It really was just what you needed in order to take your mind off of the Rafe situation.

As it got later in the day and the sun started to set, everyone started to head in. You were sitting on the front of Topper’s boat enjoying the final hour of sunlight and enjoying the breeze on your sunburnt skin. As you enter the channel and get closer to Topper’s house you go to the back of the boat where the boys' seats are. Since Topper is driving you squeeze yourself into the seat with Kelce and start asking the boys about dinner plans, wondering if they wanted to go to The Wreck with you once you got back in.

“I think we should go, I’ll pay, it'll be the perfect end to a perfect boat day. Plus I want to spend more time with my best friends, I love you guys,” you say sappily while wrapping your arms around Kelce’s neck and leaning your head on his shoulder. You are definitely tipsy from the lemonades that you drank throughout the day. “Also, I need a ride because I can’t drive anywhere in this state.”

“We’ll go out to dinner with you drunkie,” Topper says with a playful eye roll, “and you don’t have to pay for us, we got it.”

You give him a big smile, your head feeling light from the drinks you had. You were laughing at the conversation the boys were having but you stopped when you caught sight of Rafe’s backyard. He and Aspen were in the backyard but you could tell they were wet like they had just gotten out of the pool. She was sitting in a pool chair and he was sitting at the end of it with his hand on her knee. They were both smiling at each other and laughing at whatever was said, looking insanely happy.

By now Topper and Kelce had noticed you looking over at Rafe’s yard. Kelce squeezed you with the arm that was around your waist in order to keep you in the seat and Topper squeezed your knee that was closest to him, both giving you sympathetic smiles. Throughout the day you had managed to update Kelce on the situation and now they both know about your crush and why you were so spaced out at the boneyard last night.

“I’m sorry bud,” Kelce said quietly, “I know it sucks but it’ll get easier. Either that or he’ll get his head out of his ass and realize you’ve been right in front of him the whole time.”

“I appreciate the optimism Kelcey Welcey,” he rolls his eyes at your nickname for him while you smile, enjoying teasing him.

You slowly pull up to Topper’s dock where he and Kelce grab the ropes from the dock and tie them to the cleats before hopping off of the boat. You grab your bag and towel before the three of you head up to Topper’s house, hopping in Kelce’s car to go to The Wreck.

And I know we weren’t perfect

But I’ve never felt this way for no one

What Kelce and Topper don’t know, is that you and Rafe had a fling last summer. It only lasted for about three months, but those three months felt like pure bliss to you. You had decided to end it when school started again because you both were busy and it became a little overwhelming.

The relationship itself was everything you wanted, but there were rough patches. With Rafe being so hardheaded, there were a lot of times when you tried to reason with him but he just couldn’t see where you were coming from.

“I just don’t see what the big deal is! It’s not like I’m addicted, I just use it when I need to relax a little, you know my dad has been on my case recently,” Rafe tries to explain. Recently he’s been making visits to Barry more frequently and it’s starting to worry you.

“But Rafe, it can escalate so quickly, and the more you do it, the harder it’s going to be to quit. You should switch the weed at least, it’s not addictive and there aren’t bad side effects,” you try to convince him. If he feels that he needs a drug to help him then you won’t be able to change that, but you can try to get him to use one that isn’t as hard on his body.

“I’m not gonna get addicted,” Rafe scoffs, “I don’t do it enough to get addicted, so please stop bugging me about it.”

The harsh tone of his voice makes you flinch. You didn’t want to upset him and you hate feeling like you’re stepping on toes, especially knowing about the hard time he’s been having with his dad recently.

“I’m just worried about you babe,” you say softly while reaching for his hand. You’re sitting on his bed and he’s pacing around in front of you. He stops when he hears you say that and walks over to you, grabbing your hand and pulling you up to stand in front of you. He wraps you in his arms and squeezes you tight as you nuzzle your head into his chest.

“I know and I’m sorry, I’ll try to stop,” he said while resting his chin on top of your head. You gently rub your hands up and down his back, letting them drag to the side and resting on his hips as you step back to look at him. You give him a soft smile before bringing your hands up to rest on his cheeks, softly kissing him.

After that conversation, he slowly stopped doing bumps every time Ward got onto him. It was hard on him but you tried to spend as much time with him as possible because Ward was less likely to get angry when you were around.

Throughout the weeks it took him to stop, you got to know Rafe on a deeper level than you had before. Practically living with someone really allows you to see every little detail about them and you start to pick up on the little mannerisms that they have. You didn’t think you could like Rafe more than you did, especially because you know living with someone really shows how they actually act and is usually make or break for most relationships, but during the time you lived with him is when you realized how much you actually liked, maybe even loved, him.

You know your relationship with him wasn’t perfect, but you haven’t felt that way for anyone else and you aren’t sure if you ever will. You know you’re still young but he will always hold a special place in your heart since he was your best friend before your boyfriend. No matter what he will always be your number one.

And I just can’t imagine

How you could be so okay now that I’m gone

It’s been three weeks since the night at the boneyard and the communication between you and Rafe has been pretty low. You guys still text every day but he takes longer to reply and leaves you on read more often than not. He always seems to be busy every time you ask him to hang out with you too. It’s kind of starting to drain you if you’re being honest, it’s getting tiring being the only one who’s trying to keep your friendship alive. It seems that all of your attempts are failing and it’s been affecting you a lot recently. You and Rafe were always texting, whether it was about what you had for lunch or new gossip on the island or new clothes you got and now all you were getting was radio silence from his end.

You know that you need to talk to him soon or else your emotions are going to keep bubbling up until you get to a point where you won’t be able to forgive him. You send him a text around lunchtime.

To Rafe: hey, do you want me to get lunch from the wreck and bring it over? I need to talk to you, it’s important

You wait five minutes before you hear a ping come from your phone, you pick it up and get a heavy feeling in your chest as you read the message.

From Rafe: sorry but I can’t, dad has me meeting a business partner today

To Rafe: that’s fine, are you free tonight?

From Rafe: I don’t know.

You leave him on read after that. It hurts your feelings a little but you decide to ignore it since Ward is probably affecting his mood, he always got really agitated around him.

You decide to head to The Wreck anyway because you’re hungry and you figure that going by yourself will give you time to think and clear your head a little. You ride over there with the windows down and Tom Petty blasting on the radio, breathing in the ocean air. It was a relaxing ride and just what you needed to help calm you down a little.

You pull into the parking lot and put your car in park, rolling up the windows. You unplug your phone from the charger before grabbing your wallet and heading inside the restaurant. When you walk in you see Kie standing behind the counter and walk over to say hi.

“Hey Kie, what’s up?”

“Hey! I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever! You don’t come by as much anymore,” she says while leaning her arms on the counter in front of her, leaning closer to you.

“Yeah well, that’s a long story,” you say with a sarcastic chuckle.

“Well I get off in 10 and then we have all of the time in the world, I can join you for lunch if you want?” she asks.

“Yeah of course! I’ll just wait for you,” you say with a smile, walking over to a table that seats two people. You pull out your chair and get on your phone, waiting for Kie to come sit with you. When she pulls her chair out she sits down with a smile before leaning her elbow on the table with her chin in her hand.

“So, what’s the story?”

You start diving into the story about Rafe and Aspen at the boneyard and all of the other times you saw them together. You also include how he hasn’t been answering your texts and when he does they’re so dry that you can’t respond to them.

As your wrapping up your story with the news about today’s events and how he couldn’t meet you because of the business meeting with his dad, you see Kie pause and her face drop. She takes her chin out of her hand and crosses her arms on the table in front of her.

“I hate to break it to you, but I don’t think he had a business meeting with his dad today,” Kie says, looking at you sympathetically before looking over your shoulder again.

You turn to look over your shoulder, seeing Rafe walk in with Aspen. They were both coming from the dock and were wearing bathing suits while Aspen had wet hair, telling you that they had clearly come here on a boat. He was definitely not on a lunch break from a business meeting.

Rafe looks up and catches your eyes before awkwardly looking away again, directing his attention back to Aspen. You turn back around to Kie, feeling embarrassed. You had just told her how he was at a business meeting only for him to show up with Aspen, you feel kind of humiliated for believing him if your being honest. It felt like a punch in the gut.

At this point, you and Kie had already finished your lunch and you paid for yours before looking up at her with tears in your eyes.

“Can we leave?” you ask, “we can head to the beach or something, I just don’t want to be here anymore.”

She nods sympathetically and then you both stand up and start walking towards the door, looking back one last time before you walk out of the door, only to see that Rafe’s attention isn’t on you at all, it’s all on her.

When you make it to the beach, Kie sits with you in silence for a little while. She knew you needed someone to be with you and it was therapeutic to listen to the waves crashing on the shore and to watch the birds flying by. After a while, you felt a tear run down your face before you look over at Kie and sniffle.

“How is he so okay now that I’m gone? I mean look at me,” you let out a sad laugh before wiping under your eyes. Kie wraps her arm around your shoulder and you lean into her, watching as the waves crash and wondering what you’re going to do without Rafe.

[redhoodieone]

Hate You More Part 2

Hey!!! Here is Part 2! Hope you all like it because there WILL be a Part 3! And I didn’t actually plan that lol.

WARNINGS: Language. Masturbation. Sex Toy.

“Do you think she’ll really like it?”

Who is Jason talking about?

Is he talking about me? Is he actually trying to make up for what happened between us earlier? Is this his way of saying he’s sorry and that he doesn’t really hate me?

I can feel my heart pounding in my chest. The thought of Jason doing something nice for me makes me suddenly nervous.

What if he smiles at me? What if he hugs me? What if there’s a moment between us?

Just the thought of Jason being nice to me and the possibility of “anything” happening between us sends me into a panic state. I find myself running back up the stairs and slamming my bedroom door shut and locking myself in.

What should I do to prepare myself when I see Jason?

Hiding out in my bathroom that’s privately connected to my bedroom, I stare at my reflection in the elegant massive mirror and begin to list what I should do.

Brush my teeth? I’d definitely need my breath freshly mint just in case we talk very close.

I hastily grab my tooth brush and apply a significant amount of toothpaste just to fresh up my mouth. After the appropriate time of scrubbing my mouth clean, I rinse and spit out the excess fluids and stare back into the mirror.

Touch up my makeup? I could apply more black eyeliner and mascara to make my eyes pop.

After retouching my makeup, I decide to put on my favorite tinted lip balm that’ll make my lips kissable yet comfortable.

I realize then that I should change my outfit. I sigh happily after pulling on my red lady thong. Deciding to slip on my favorite black skinny jeans with the tears throughout my thighs and knees, and my “lucky” red and black sexy corset top. The reason why it’s lucky is because any guy who sees me in it always lets me have my way with him. I chuckle to myself as I put on my black high heel boots because I can only imagine what Jason’s face will look like.

I hope he’ll be shocked as hell. Picturing his mouth hanging open like a cartoon’s and seeing the lustful look in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine.

I then make sure my push up bra makes my cleavage look so fucking amazing, I straighten my long hair and leave it down because I definitely have a hair pulling kink and it’s something I take very seriously.

After the spritz of my go-to hookup perfume, Oud Wood by Tom Ford, I realize I’m at my 150% best and make my way down the stairs. The second I make it to the sliding door leading to the backyard, I freeze.

And then suddenly, I’m hit with a wave of shyness; a feeling I’ve never really felt before. But why the fuck would I feel nervous about around Jason? Because come on—I HATE the fucking guy!!!

The little voice in my mind throws it’s head back and laughs in a tormenting manner at me: because you have feelings for him, you jackass!

No. No, I don’t. I’m not stupid enough to believe that. I should just go outside and see if the fool even flirts with me, because if he does, I can just laugh at him and make him feel like shit.

With one deep breath, I open the sliding door and slip silently outside. The backyard is lit up in a blue hue from the pool and jacuzzi. It’s a beautiful setting, I won’t admit that out loud. I look around and realize Jason isn’t where he was before.

Where the fuck is he?

A wolf whistle behind me alerts me fast.

“Fuck...holy shit. Is today my birthday?”

Spinning around, I’m face to face with a smug looking Jason. I may be frozen in place but I can see that he doesn’t hide the fact that he’s checking me out; like a hunter sneaking up on its prey. Jason licks his bottom lip and winks at me.

“So, what brings you down here looking like...that?” Jason teases.

Why the hell is he making me so nervous?! Out of all the other horrible times we’ve had, I’ve never felt so anxious to tell him to fuck off, but here I am! Standing like an idiot who can’t open her mouth and speak like a normal person!

I find myself pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. Fuck my life. “I...I saw your peace offering. I-I figured if you want to try to play nice that maybe I...I could too.”

There. I said it. Now that wasn’t so hard, right?

Jason stares down at me in surprise. His green eyes so wide and maddening that I find it difficult as hell to breathe. Slowly inhaling some air, I smile at him.

“I saw you got pizza. You also set out my favorite drink. You did all that, right?” I ask, pointing back at the mansion.

“I-uh...I did but-”

“Jaybird?”

We both whip around and see Isabel standing behind him. Isabel Ardila, one of Jason’s many one night stands. My eyes trail down from her curly blonde hair down to her skimpy purple dress with her huge tits practically falling out.

She pouts her pink full lips and flirts at him with her pretty blue eyes.

“Isabel...what-what are you doing here?” Jason stammers out. He instantly looks stunned as if he really wasn’t expecting her to come over.

“It’s a slow boring night. I thought we could hit up one of your dad’s nightclubs and have some fun,” Isabel says, and approaches us. She has a few inches above me, and looks down at me with a smirk. “Look at you all dressed up so sexy tonight, and for Jason...”

I frown and look between Jason and her.

“He is your brother, you know?”

Isabel cringes and grabs Jason’s arm tightly. “Please tell me nothing is going on between you and your sister. That is sooo disgusting!”

I look to Jason and plead with him through our eye contact to say something. Say anything to her! I know Isabel’s right, and that Jason is my brother but he’s also my stepbrother. I also want him to admit that I’m not the only one who is flirting between us...if that’s what we’re even calling it.

I can’t be the only one who has feelings right now. Jason must have them, too.

“Are you fucking kidding me? Of course I don’t have feelings for her! Y/N, you’re my fucking sister, and I think it’s gross as fuck that you’re trying to fuck me. I mean, God damn! We’re family!” Jason taunts. He acts repulsed and pretends to puke in front of me.

Isabel giggles and the two of them laugh their asses off at me. Don’t get me wrong. There is a questionable amount of pain in my chest at what Jason said, but my inner bitch is clawing her way out of my head and I may or may not be responsible for whatever happens right now.

“That’s a bit rich coming from you, Jason. As of this morning, you’ve made it perfectly clear that I’m not in your family. So, if we’re not family, then we’re nothing to each other,” I say with a bitchy grin.

Jason and Isabel aren’t laughing anymore. As a matter of fact, they’re completely shocked at me.

“Oh, and for the record Isabel, there’s absolutely NOTHING going on between Jason and me. I know he’s my brother. I’m not even denying that. But as for him,” I say, gesturing over to Jason, who is staring me down hard. “He doesn’t see me a sister. If anything, he might want to fuck me. He’s completely obsessed with making me hear him fuck other girls. His behavior is disgusting because he’s supposed to be my brother! What he’s trying to do to me is borderline illegal!”

Isabel jerks her head over to Jason. “What is she talking about, Jason?!”

“Go on, Jay. Tell her. Tell her how you always stare at me, tease me, and how you’re always talking about sex with me!” I urge him angrily.

Jason’s eyes darken and for a second, I’m kinda scared of him. He clenches his jaw. “I rather get castrated by the Joker, than ever fuck you, princess.”

It’s like everything around me freezes. My smile shifts into a frown and my confidence is taken away fast like a toy from an adult. Isabel scoffs and shakes her head at me. My cheeks burn with humiliation and I just know I won’t hear the end of this from either of them, especially Jason.

I don’t know whether I’m more embarrassed of the fact that Jason claims he rather get castrated from the Joker, the psychotic clown villain in Gotham than have sex me, or if the thought of having sex with me in general is just so...unbearable.

I didn’t think I was so unfuckable until now.

“That’s fine with me. I rather fuck Dick than you, because he’s Bruce’s favorite son and he’s more of a man than you’ll ever be,” I spit out before turning to run back into the mansion.

——————————————————————————

I slam my bedroom door again for the second time today, but I don’t care. Rage is fucking pumping through my blood and I need a fucking release before I lose control.

Ripping off my clothes until I’m down to my lacy bra and thong, I climb up my big bed and reach into my nightstand to get my dildo and lube out. The thick, veiny replica of a man’s penis is what I’ll have to take out my frustrations on.

I throw myself down; my head hitting the pillow and my hair fanned out around me in a sexy manner as if I’m ready to get my brains fucked out. Popping open the lube, I squeeze a good amount in my hand to smooth it over my dildo. Tossing the lube somewhere on my bed, I pull my thong to the side to reveal my bare pussy.

My fingertips rub up and down my folds. I’m so wet that I know I can slip a finger or two in without any resistance.

“I fucking hate him so much,” I mutter under my breath.

Jason is literally the only guy who could piss me off and make me want to fuck him into submission.

Maybe he could even fuck me until I’m down on my knees for him.

Closing my eyes, I start to push my dildo into me. My walls squeeze around the toy tightly as I gasp at how good it feels to be full.

“Fuck...” I choke out in overwhelming pleasure.

“Fuck princess...”

My eyes shoot open and I’m completely horrified to discover Jason Fucking Todd is standing in MY bedroom, with his mouth hanging open in shock and with wide eyes, and his Fucking hand rubbing against his prominent bulge.

“Jason...what are you doing in my room?” I struggle to say, as I continue to push and pull my dildo in and out of my pussy fast. I just can’t stop. I can’t find it in me to stop when Jason is in my room watching me.

He quickly closes my bedroom door with his foot and makes his way towards my bed to stand directly in front of me. I use my other hand to caress my tits that I so badly want to free from my bra.

“I came to tell you I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry, Y/N,” Jason begins but trails off when he watches intently when I pull out the dildo and he can see all my slick coated on the sex toy. He licks his bottom lip and bites it. “You’re right though. I don’t see you as a sister or a part of this family because the way I feel for you isn’t the way a brother should feel. I-I never meant to hurt your feelings. I just...I tried so hard to not to fucking fall for you but I did and I can’t stop.”

I look up and notice Jason’s eyes are wet. Despite his usual cocky behavior and sexual advances, he was standing here before me and he appears to regret everything.

I sit up and lean back on my elbows. I drop the dildo in between my open thighs and I force myself to look up at Jason. I expected to see him staring at my obvious insanely wet pussy but his beautiful emerald green eyes were locked on my eyes.

“I really thought you hated me,” I whisper, afraid to hear what Jason says that might hurt me again.

“Oh sweetheart, I don’t hate you. I could never hate you. The only person I hate is myself, and that is something I’ve been doing for most of my fucking life,” Jason admits. He tries to smile but it falls when he sees I’m not.

Jason crawls onto my bed and stops as soon as he’s in front of my legs. He’s immediately nervous; his shaky hands run up my knees and stops until he reaches my closed thighs. He keeps his eyes on me.

“Listen to me, Y/N. You’re right. I’m a fucking asshole. I’m always a dick to you and that isn’t right. I’m sorry for everything I’ve said and done to you, and I know sorry won’t even make up for all the hurt I’ve caused you. Just...please,” he whispers and reaches for my hands. He holds them tightly. “Please give me a chance to show you how much you really mean to me. One chance. Please?”

I know our fight is both our faults, and if one chance can fix this, I’m game.

“Okay, you get one chance Jay,” I say and with an evil smirk that I can’t help, I open my thighs and I pat my pussy. “You want a chance? Make me cum. With your fingers. With your mouth. If you can make me cum so hard, you can do whatever you want to my body.”

Jason’s eyes darken with lust. He licks his lips and he gives me his usual shit eating grin. “Oh princess, you are aware of my oral fixation for pussies don’t you? I’m going to make you cum so hard that you’ll be begging to be mine!”

[n0wornever]

I Miss You - Julie x Fem!Reader

Julie x fem reader where reader is most definitely a giant f girl- she does weed and crap but she’s like hopelessly in love with julie who wants nothing to do with her.....”

Disclaimer: Not going to lie, I struggled with this one. Substance abuse is a hard topic to write without making the relationship unhealthy (I know weed isn’t that bad, but you know what I mean), so I kind of put a spin on this request.  I hope you still like it :) 

Julie Molina knew one thing: You can’t force anyone to change. 

That’s why she merely sat in the background as she watched her ex-girlfriend make a fool of herself in the middle of this party. 

Y/N and Julie had been friends since elementary school, and dated for a year up til last January. It was that winter that the older girl started hanging out with a less than savory crowd who convinced her to take up habits that Julie just couldn’t approve of. The third time the girl had shown up to her house, in front of her family, reeking like whisky, Julie told her to leave and that she didn’t want to see her again.

The girl took it to heart, and Julie hadn’t heard from her since. However, she had seen the girl spiral from afar. Every party they were both at, Y/N was destined to go home so drunk after flirting with some girl all night in the corner of the room. She normally ended the night blacked out or so high that she could barely formulate a sentence. Although it hurt to watch someone she used to love fall flat on her face, Julie knew it wasn’t worth the risk of taking her problems on, atop of her own when the girl clearly didn't want to stop herself. 

Y/N grabbed the waist of the girl next to her, and Julie watched as the girl who was clearly off-balance to begin with, tried to lean into the other’s ear with a smirk on her face. The two girls went toppling down as Y/N could barely stand. Julie sighed, setting her drink on the table and rushing toward the scene.

Michael, a guy from her 4th period chemistry class, helped the other girl up, pushing Y/N to the side in the process. Julie gave him a pointed glare as she reached for her former girlfriend’s wrist. 

“Come on, Y/N, it’s time to go home.” 

The girl looked up at her with drooping eyelids, swaying softly side to side. Another boy assisted Julie in getting the girl to stand up right, wrapping her arm around his neck. The boy helped usher Y/N to Julie’s passenger side seat. Julie thanked the boy and he waved as he ran back toward the house. 

As she got into the car, she took a look at her passenger. Y/N was knocked out cold, leaning against the frosted window. Julie bit down on her lip as she watched her cheek slide down the glass. The younger girl removed her jacket, leaning over toward the other seat. She lifted Y/N’s head for a moment to place the soft fleece between her and the bitter cold material. 

She put the car in drive and then pushed quickly down the street. As she approached Y/N’s house, she felt her heart rate pick up as she searched up and down the driveway. She saw that both parents cars were gone, a stroke of luck she’d begged for silently on their drive there. She unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to the frigid cold. She rubbed her hands together for warmth as she walked over to the other side carefully, watching for patches of ice.

She softly knocked on the window to jar the girl’s eyes opened. Y/N lifted her head off the window, staring over at Julie with puffy eyes. Julie pursed her lips as she opened the door. Y/N stared at the girl as her breath came out in a cloud of frozen air. 

“Y/N, come on, let’s go.” 

The girl moved her head enough to slightly nod, and took Julie’s hand. It took a moment, but she was able to stabilize herself on the slippery ground as the two walked over to the front door. Julie knew the girl wasn’t coherent enough to find her keys, so the girl reached across, placing her hand in Y/N’s front pocket. 

“Getting a little fresh there, Molina,” She slurred, Julie feeling her hot breath on her neck. 

Julie found the keys, and pulled them out of the jean pocket. When she met the girl’s gaze again, she rolled her eyes at her. 

“You wish, Y/N.” 

Y/N chuckled, leaning onto Julie’s side as she opened the door. They both stepped inside the warmth awaiting inside the front door, and Julie set the keys on the ring above the shoe rack. She shifted Y/N’s grip on her neck and moved toward the stairs. 

The two waddled back and forth up the first flight before Julie stopped to rest. She took a few deep breaths before pushing on and making it through the last seven stairs to get to Y/N’s top-level room. She grabbed the knob and threw the wooden frame open. She moved quickly to get the girl to the bed and set her down carefully on it. 

Julie met her barely open eyes for a moment before leaning down to her legs. She unbuckled the huge black boots the girl wore and threw them to the side. She stood back up and stared down at the girl who was practically sleeping in front of her.

“Y/N, you’re ready for bed,” She tapped on the girl’s thigh to get her attention. “Crawl up into the covers.” 

The girl grunted, moving on her knees toward the headboard. Julie monitored her movements as she found the blankets and curled underneath them. Julie gave the room a once over before waving at Y/N, who was already snoring. She giggled to herself for a moment before turning toward the door. 

The next morning, Julie awoke to a knock on her window. She rubbed her eyes, pushing off her plushy red comforter to crawl off of her mattress. She made her way over to the window and stopped just short of it, staring at the bushy hair and tired eyes of the girl on the other end. She rubbed her eyes again, blinking twice to make sure her vision wasn’t tricking her.

“Y/N,” She whispered to herself, leaning forward to unlatch the window.

As soon as the open air hit her room, the girl came tumbling in. Julie suppressed a laugh as the tall girl fell to the floor with a bang. Y/N stood up quickly, dusting herself off and giving Julie a sheepish look.

“She’s never been graceful,” Julie said, as she crossed her arms at her chest. 

Y/N regained her balance and stood in front of Julie. She rolled her eyes at her smirk and leaned back to shut the window. As she girls met eyes again, the older one rubbed the back of her neck nervously. 

“I just...I wanted to stop by and apologize for last night.”

Julie rose an eyebrow in surprise, “Do you even know what happened last night?” 

“Ruben told me you brought me home, and-” She sighed before saying the last part. “There were videos of....my actions last night all over Snapchat.”

She clasped her hands together, staring at the ground for a moment. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that....again.” 

“It’s fine we’re not even-” 

“Friends, dating, whatever anymore, I know.” 

Julie bit back her next statement as she watched the girl’s nervous gaze meet hers again.

“I still want to apologize.” 

Julie rubbed her forehead in frustration, shaking her head at the girl.  

“I just, for one night I wish you could have fun without getting drunk or something and numbing out the whole night,” Y/N met her eyes and hers widened. “I just... I miss you Y/N, but seeing you like that, I...I can’t even think about even being your friend again.” 

“I know,” the girl said softly, fidgeting with her hands at her waist. “I miss you too. I...I wish I knew why I did the things I do too. My mom was right, you were the best influence on me.” 

“Shirly knows a thing or two,” Julie let a soft smile grace her lips as she watched the other girl’s nervous movements.

“She knew I didn’t deserve you.” 

A silence hung in the air as Julie’s eyes drifted over toward the corner of the room. Their breakup had been dramatic and brutal. There had been yelling and crying for over an hour. 

“You’re trying to control me,” Y/N hissed, pulling away from Julie’s grip.

“I’m trying to stop you from consistently poisoning yourself,” Julie bit back, fists balling at her sides. 

“You sound 85 years old, Jules. I’m just drinking with friends.”

“Every night? Y/N, no 17 year old should black out every Tuesday night for a month. It’s not healthy. You’re being stupidly irresponsible and I refuse to pick up the pieces again.”  

Y/N stared at her as Julie started to shake. Tears fell from the young girl’s eyes as she ran over to her bed and fell to the mattress in a curled ball. Y/N couldn’t stand looking at her so upset. She opened her mouth to say something, but retracted it last minute, walking out of the room. 

Even looking back at that moment sent shivers down Julie’s spine as she stood in front of the girl yet again. This time, Y/N was much calmer, sober and seemingly sincere. She took in her red eyes and her disheveled hair and tried not to walk up and run her fingers through it to fix it for her. Instead, she held her hands at her sides and waited for what the girl would say next.

“Julie, I know there’s nothing that I can say to make this better,” Y/N rubbed her hand against her cheek as she cocked her jaw. “But I want you to be proud of me again.” 

Those words shot through her system in a millasecond. She felt her heart physically pinch in her chest as she tried to take a breath out. She finally found the strength to shake her head.

“You should do this for you first, Y/N. Take care of yourself for you.” She took a step toward the girl, holding her hand out to her. Y/N hesitated, but grabbed it and intertwined their fingers. “It’s clear that you want out of this, or you wouldn’t be here telling me that.” 

Julie squeezed her palm, smiling up at her with wide eyes. 

“You deserve that, I promise.” 

Y/N let a small smile roll across her lips. “My biggest cheerleader, even when she hates my guts.” She brought Julie’s hand up to her lips and kissed the top of it quickly. 

“Thanks Jules.”

The girl let go of her hand and moved back toward the window. She unlatched the lock and pulled the glass open. As she stepped outside, she leaned back over and smiled at the girl who watched her leave. Julie’s curls fell to the left side as she tilted her head. A small grin plastered on her face as she gave Y/N a small wave. She nodded before disappearing out of sight, closing the window behind her. 

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Tag list: @marinettepotterandplagg​​ @lukeys-giggle​​  @xplrreylo​​ @kiss-themoongoodbye​​ @bathtimejish​​  @bookfrog247​​  @dasexydevitt13​​ @musicconversedance​​ @txrii​​ @bestdressedandstressed​​ @daisiesforlacey​​ @epikskool​​  @themaddies-obx​​ @jukeobsessedgirl​​  @writerinlearning​​​ @dani27297 @whatever-happens-imma-stand-tall​

[jiminiessipabo]

He’s A Bad Girl (M)

CHAPTER 1: INFILTRATION

To serve: A detective undercover discovers who the ‘Eternal Godfather’ is. He get’s down and dirty with the mafia of Seoul, South Korea. Stay tuned for a series of drama, angst, fluff and huge amounts of confusing sexual tension. 

Comes with: angst, eventual romance (+smut in later chapters), a hell of a lot swearing, violence (it is a mafia series after all), Jooheon is a dick but you'll love him i promise

1, 2, 3, 4

1 >

Panties were uncomfortable, and the feeling of being tucked was not too pleasant either. But to fool the enemy you have to look the part even if the skirt was too draughty, especially when there was no hair to cover the thighs and legs. The socks were way too high up the leg and never mind the shoes that were so tight that blisters were sure to form later on. Bras were claustrophobic and vests weren’t much better. The wig was the worst, the itchiness and the sweltering hot feeling was not a good mix, especially for someone with a short temper such as Im Changkyun.

He wasn’t in girl clothing for drag, but he sure did respect them for dressing in this getup. He was used to his work pants, his freeing boxers and his not too tight under shirt and work top. The most suffocating thing his uniform required was the bullet proof vest, or maybe the harness around his waist and chest with detachable holsters. You guessed it; Im Changkyun was a police officer. Or, most recently, a detective, newly appointed to a high rep case which was taking down a mafia group called Brotherhood of Seven.

He was working on the case with one other officer, Namjoon, who was his new partner. Namjoon has been a detective for a year already, so Changkyun was now learning under him until he was confident on his own. Brotherhood of Seven was his first big case and he was going above and beyond to close this case as quickly and smoothly as possible hence him wearing the panties.

“You’re going to blow it before you even arrive at the base if you don’t stop scratching at the wig, you’re making it move,” came a deep voice, humour evident in the tone.

Changkyun ignored the sniggering man and continued to itch at the wig hairline. He lifted up from the car seat and untucked his wedgie from the panties. “I can’t take it, I already regret this idea,” grunted Changkyun, sitting back on the car seat properly with a huff.

The man next to him, keeping his eyes on the road, leaned over and patted Changkyun on the thigh. “Oh, you even shaved your legs,” said Namjoon, turning to wink at the older man before looking back at the road.

“I hate you,” said Changkyun, rubbing his hand where Namjoon had touched him. “How long?” Changkyun groaned, scratching at the bra strap on his right shoulder.

Namjoon sighed, shaking his head. “You’re hopeless, but were pulling up now,” he said before coming to a complete stop on the curb. The two fell silent as they looked at the park way to one of the famous Brotherhood of Seven locations. “Remember, keep comms on at all times, if you’re exposed then leg it, I care more about you than this operation,” said Namjoon, handing Changkyun the wireless earpiece.

“Don’t worry, Namjoon. I’m confident that I have this,” said Changkyun, smiling at the detective. “Right, let’s go over the plan again. I walk up to the bodyguard and demand to see the Eternal Godfather. Of course, that won’t happen and instead they will put me-“

“They’ll probably take you into a private room and observe you, truthfully. This isn’t like a spy movie Kyungie, you won’t have a weapon on you, so please remember your hand to hand training,” said Namjoon, slapping Changkyun on the shoulder. “And remember, you’re a girl, flirt your way in if you have to,” he said with a cheeky wink.

Changkyun scoffed and unclicked his seatbelt. “Watch my back,” he said firmly before nodding goodbye and getting out of the car. It was a damn shame he had to put the wig on, he had just got a fresh new haircut.

Changkyun walked over the road, running his hands down the back of his skirt to stop it from lifting up with the wind. He schooled his expression and tugged on his bottom lip, trying to change his face into one of seduction he had seen a couple of girls do his way.

One of the bodyguards saw Changkyun approaching and held his hand up. “Hold, you’re on private property, miss,” he said to Changkyun, a smirk on his face. Changkyun felt disgusted at the way the man was eyeing him.

“I’m here to see the Eternal Godfather,” said Changkyun, his voice higher than his usual, luckily it wasn’t too deep to dissuade the man standing before him. He glanced over at the other bodyguard who was leaning against the wall, his attention on his phone. Obviously he had deemed Changkyun not threatening.

The guard in front of him scoffed. “Don’t know who you mean, move on,” he said, his tone considerably less nice as he crossed his arms. When Changkyun didn’t move the guard cocked his eyebrow. “Who are you?” He asked gruffly.

Changkyun ‘giggled’ and smacked the guy on his arm lightly. “You don’t need to know silly,” he said, his tone light and airy. He hated playing dumb, but if it got the job done.

“Name?” The man ordered.

Changkyun’s smile dropped and he cleared his throat. “My name is Minji, I’m the new assistant for the Eternal Godfather. I believe Yoo Kihyun is expecting me,” said Changkyun, clasping his hands behind his back, trying to stand tall and confident.  “He mentioned the books are open,” he said, trying to not let his nerves choke him.

The guard that was on the phone suddenly snapped to attention. “Can it, Lucas, boss is expecting her,” he said and the guard in front of Changkyun stepped back with a nod. The other guard took his place, looking him up and down. “Follow me,” he ordered gruffly and turned away. Changkyun followed, forcing himself not to look back at Namjoon. “We’re going to search you,” he said, coming up to one of the metal doors at the side of the building.

Changkyun’s eyes widened at the elaborate metal detector. It was similar to one like the airport ones. He took the earpiece from his ear and crushed it, throwing it to the side just before he stepped through it, he was going to hear so much shit from Namjoon about that, those things could deafen you when the frequency gets skewered. He closed his eyes as it scanned him, the bright light almost blinding.

“Clear,” came a female voice and Changkyun glanced to the right and saw her behind a desk. He looked around and noticed he was now in the building. He walked out of the detector and met the guard, nodding for him to continue.

The guard brought him up to a room with another large metal door. Changkyun glanced up and down the hall they were in and noticed this was the only door on the wall, other than the one they came through. The guard pushed the door open. “You will wait in this room until the boss comes to see you, we will be watching you,” he said, pointing to the camera in the top right corner of the room.

Changkyun stepped in, looking at the camera before scanning the room, ignoring the slam and lock of the door behind him. He walked around the square room, with only a table and two chairs, and once again scanned the room. He could tell the mirror was a two way window, the glazing was doubled. He stood in front of the mirror, fiddling with the ends of his wig. He pretended to fix his appearance, rubbing the bit of smudged lipstick from the corner of his mouth before smiling and blowing a kiss. He got that from a movie.

He huffed from boredom and chose to sit at the table on one of the extremely uncomfortable chairs, banging his manicure nails against the metal table top. He had to get his nails done to try and distract people from his manly hands, he actually didn’t mind his nails painted, considering he used to do it a lot when he was younger. He missed his precious rings, his lip piercing and his eyebrow piercing.

The door to his right opened suddenly and in walked three guards, none of them familiar. Then there was a young man behind him, glasses perched on the tip of his nose. He was wearing a grey suit with his hair gelled down but his face was still boyish, laugh lines on the corner of his mouth. He was on his phone, a smirk on his lips. He raised a hand and the three guards dispersed from the room, the last one closing the door behind him.

Changkyun cocked an eyebrow as the young man tucked his phone into his suit pants. He pulled the chair out and sat on his with a heavy sigh. “Hi,” said the young man, his eyes scanning Changkyun’s face, his eyes narrowing. “So you are Lee Minji?” He checked, flicking a piece of stray hair from his eye.

Changkyun nodded mutely and the young man nodded back. “I’m Yoo Kihyun. I’ll be interviewing you and maybe recruiting you. You will be reporting back to me or my two colleagues,” he said, smiling when Changkyun nodded again. “Right, well, we’ve already done a background check on you, and we were quite impressed by your education. And petty theft, not bad,” he said with a relaxed smile.

“Listen, you applied to be a soldier but that probably won’t happen for a while, you’re a pretty girl-“ Changkyun held in his snort. “-and we can use pretty girls like you.” Kihyun flashed a bright, pearly white smile and leaned forwards. “How about we start you out with easy jobs and we can find out where you can fit in this family?” Kihyun suggested with a heavy wink.

Changkyun tittered, acting nervous in front of this supposed flirtatious boy and nodded his head shyly. “Of course,” he said. “Sir,” he added quickly at the cock of Kihyun’s eyebrow.

The young boss grinned and banged on the table happily before standing up, shaking his shoulders out as if relieving the last of any tension. Changkyun knew that was not the case, Kihyun must do this all the time.

“I’ll take you to Cheryl, she will explain everything to you and give you a burner phone to contact us through,” said Kihyun, opening the door. But he placed his arm in front of Changkyun. “We will be watching you,” he said, his tone turning darker before grinning again and walked down the hallway.

Changkyun cleared his throat, glancing at the two bodyguards standing behind him before following the slightly deranged boy to ‘Cheryl’. Changkyun watched as Kihyun talked to the woman, the same one who had shouted clear out him. He stood to attention when Kihyun turned back to him, plastering a fake smile on his face. “Here,” said Kihyun, pushing a phone into Changkyun’s hands. “Don’t lose it, and most importantly do not get caught, or we will break you,” he said, his tone turning menacing before the easy-going smile came back. “Don’t be afraid to call me,” said Kihyun, with a flirty wink before walking past him through another door.

“Come here, Sweetie,” said Cheryl, forcing Changkyun to look away from the door Kihyun had walked through. He walked over to Cheryl, actually feeling nervous for the first time since being here. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first girl to be starstruck by him,” she said with a wink, smacking her lips on some chewing gum.

Changkyun almost scoffed before realising he was now a girl and instead nervously giggled at the woman’s words.

“Ok, Sweetie, your burner phone will link here, it is bugged just warning ya’, your first job will be attaché casing,” said Cheryl, handing Changkyun a file. “You know what that is Sweetie?” Changkyun nodded, he had gone through mafia slang with Namjoon, the very same person who studied the Mafia. “’Kay, you have three days to complete job, you’ll be working with one of our soldiers and an associate, you’ll meet them at The Rep café down the road at 9am sharp, understood?”

Changkyun just nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. The woman just smiled at him. “You’ll fit right in if you keep quiet hun, asking the wrong questions or digging deeper will just get you killed or meet some of the worst people here,” said Cheryl, handing him the sticky note with the place and time for the meeting. “Just head on out Sweetie, I’ll let you out,” she said before her attention was back on the screen.

Changkyun felt like it was a role playing game. It all felt surreal. The metal door opened and Changkyun walked through it, feeling quite timid. His height didn’t help him against most of these guards. He nodded at the two guards he initially met, cringing when the one called Lucas winked at him. He turned his attention to the street and saw Namjoon’s car still parked there and quickly ran over, glad that it was just out of sight of the guards.

Namjoon was startled when Changkyun ripped the door open and climbed into the passenger seat. He ripped his wig off and raked his fingers through his black hair, rubbing the undercuts back down smoothly. “Any fit guys?” Namjoon smirked.

Changkyun bared his teeth. “Just drive, you fool,” he muttered, slumping in his seat.

Namjoon glanced down and noticed the burner phone and file in his hands. “What’s your assignment then?” Namjoon asked pulling away from the curb and starting their journey back to the precinct.

“I have to collect the bribes, I’m meeting up with the people that are going to be bribed I think, and I just basically hold the money,” said Changkyun, playing with the laddered part of his stockings.

Namjoon hummed. “Fairly easy job, do you know who the people are? The ones you’re meeting I mean.” He looked over just in time to see Changkyun shaking his head. “Shame, would be nice to have some info on them beforehand, speaking of, what the hell happened to your earpiece?” Namjoon asked, his tone switching from nice to an annoyed one.

Changkyun snorted. “They had this huge detector, I watched the first guy go through and it picked up on his earpiece. I had to scrap it, soz,” he said, having the decency to look sorry.

Namjoon tutted, “that’s coming out of your pay check, bro,” he joked. It became quiet in the car after that, with Changkyun reminiscing about Kihyun, and Namjoon focusing on driving.

“Yoo Kihyun, he was the one who interviewed me,” murmured Changkyun. Namjoon glanced over at him before nodding. “We knew it would be one of the three, Jooheon and Wonho are very different from Kihyun,” he said to Changkyun. “I only know Brotherhood of Seven to have three Caporegime, there are two advisors, Chae Hyungwon and Lee Minhyuk and then there’s the underboss who is Son Hyunwoo. Apparently he is the brains of the Mafia. The Eternal Godfather or whatever he is called is hardly called in because of how well Hyunwoo is doing. We reckon that Hyunwoo is about to become the next boss. He is basically groomed for it.”

Changkyun sighed. “How do we not know who the Godfather is? It must be obvious. Is he even old? Is he even a guy?” Changkyun stressed, running his hand down his face before grimacing, pulling his hand away to look at the foundation now on his hand.

Namjoon saw what he was looking at and snorted. “And this is where you come in. You need to climb up the hierarchy and found out the answer to your questions.”

Changkyun groaned at the thought and laid his head back against the head rest.

Changkyun’s boss was pleased with the progress he had already made and told him to keep up the good work. Even had the cheek to wolf whistle at him as he walked to his desk. He knew he shouldn’t have walked into the police station dressed as a girl but he only needed to nip in and brief the Chief before going home. He ignored the sniggers from his colleagues and grabbed his jacket before walking back out the station and to the staff parking area.

He was going to go home and enjoy a nice long bath - without feeling his dick up his arse.

08.55AM and Changkyun was nervously waiting in his car outside The Rep café, banging his fingers on the wheel. He checked his makeup once again, shifting his top to show more ‘cleavage’. “If in doubt, flirt,” muttered Changkyun to himself. He looked at his burner phone, paranoid. When he saw it was one minute to 9 o’clock he opened his car door, slowly getting out, just in case they were watching him.

He walked into the café and looked around. There were about three people in, all on different tables. He looked down at the post-it note and saw the table number to sit at. He thought it odd to sit at a table without ordering so he ordered a strong coffee and muffin before sitting at the table.

He flicked around with a Sweetener packet, resisting the urge to glance around once more. He saw the waitress head over to his table and he thanked her softly, taking the coffee and muffin from her tray. He was about to take a bite from his muffin when the seat opposite him dragged backwards, a man sitting on it.

Changkyun watched, with his muffin half raised to his mouth, as the man settled in his seat, placing the briefcase he had been carrying on the table, clicking it open.

“Yo,” said a man, not the one with the briefcase, but another man. This man yanked the last remaining seat back before falling into it, sniffing as he did.

Changkyun made eye contact with him and was surprised to see a boy, the same age as himself staring back. He was covered in leather, leather jacket, leather gloves, the wallet he pulled from his jacket was leather too. He had a black baseball cap on, his black bangs almost hiding his dark eyes. He was sucking on a red lollipop.

Changkyun looked at the other man. He was wearing a dark suit, his shirt buttoned all the way up; nothing looked out of place on him. He had glasses on that perched on the end of his nose, similar to how Yoo Kihyun had them. When the man looked up, Changkyun felt the need to glance back down at his muffin, which was now sat pathetically on the table.

“So, this chick is the new associate?” asked the leather-clad man, clearly speaking to the other man who only seemed to ignore him. He turned to Changkyun instead. “Same question,” he said.

Changkyun nodded, feeling the urge to punch this guy, but instead schooled his expression into one of meekness. “I-I guess,” he forcibly stuttered out. The man nodded his head slowly, biting down on the lollipop until it made a loud crack.

“You ever heard of a place called Enchantress?” He asked Changkyun, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Of course Changkyun had heard of the club, it was one of the most populated clubs in the city, the strippers there were apparently…enchanting. But to keep up appearances, Changkyun mutely shook his head.

“Well, you’re gonna love it. Let’s hope you’re good at dancing,” he said with a snicker.

Changkyun blanched, sitting up straight but before he could get a word in the other man cut him off. “Baekhyun, stop teasing the girl and sit quietly, you’re giving me a headache.” Changkyun looked at the man in the suit. “I’m Bong Joon-ho. You’ll be reporting to me for this assignment, along with Baekhyun, who is also an associate, like you.”

Sheesh, this guy was straight to the point, thought Changkyun.

Joon-ho pushed his glasses further up his nose before continuing. “You won’t be a stripper but you will be posing as a worker at the Enchantress. You’ll just be a waitress,” he began. “You need to hold onto the brief case, that’s your only job. Protect the briefcase, collect the bribes we get and then leave the club.”

Changkyun nodded along, noticing that the obnoxious Baekhyun was also hanging onto every word that was spilling from Joon-ho’s mouth.

“We will plan accordingly now, and then tomorrow we will be collecting the bribes from two known sponsors. They need something done, but were just the collectors, okay?” Joon-ho asked, looking between Changkyun and Baekhyun. He turned to Changkyun. “Baekhyun is the bag man, I’m the big earner. You’re protection, you’re basically expendable.”

Changkyun gulped, realising just how deep he was about to dive in, but nodded anyway.

Joon-ho nodded. “Here, you will meet with a woman who works at Enchantress. She is another known associate who works there. She will be able to get you in and dressed. Go there at that time and wait by the bar until we arrive. When I flag you down to take an order, I will order a Rum Punch. I will need you to bring the briefcase then and then take it away. I don’t want their hands on that briefcase, especially if things go south. Questions?” Joon- ho asked.

Changkyun nodded. “After this is finished, what do you want me to do with the briefcase?”

“Ring the number on the burner phone, they will tell you where to drop it off,” Joon-ho answered. He looked between the girl and boy before nodding. “I shall take my leave,” he said, his briefcase packed up already. “Baekhyun will give you the briefcase now,” he said over his shoulder before leaving without so much as a goodbye.

Changkyun blew out a long and loud sigh before turning to his muffin. He huffed when he felt eyes burning into the side of his head and looked up at the leather boy. “Can I help you?” He asked threw gritted teeth.

Baekhyun leaned forwards onto his elbows, chewing on the stick of the lollipop. “No, go ahead. Eat the muffin,” he said with a goading voice.

Changkyun knew a challenge when he heard one and snorted. “Thanks for the permission,” he muttered under his breath before picking up the sweet dessert. He took no care in how he looked when stuffing the muffin in his mouth. He even turned to Baekhyun who was now watching with disgust instead.

“Come with me, I’ll give you the damn briefcase,” he said, choosing to not look at Changkyun’s full mouth. From his eyes, the ‘girl’ looked revolting with brown chocolate hanging from her mouth. Changkyun simply smiled in response.

Later that night, Changkyun decided to visit the Enchantress as his self. He dressed up in smart trousers, white shirt with sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the first few buttons undone. He had his hair pulled back slightly, showing enough forehead to be comfortable. He had managed to make Namjoon and another colleague, Johnny, tag along with him.

He was meeting them outside the strip club. “Sup, Kyun,” said Johnny upon approaching the shorter man.

Changkyun scowled at the nickname but nodded in reply. “You alright?” He said as greeting, just as Namjoon jogged over to them from the parking lot. “I’m here just for business okay? No funny business please,” Changkyun pleaded, looking between the two smirking men before rolling his eyes.

There wasn’t a queue for the club so they were able to walk straight in whilst flashing ID. Upon entering the club Changkyun got a massive whiff of cheap perfume and beer. He could hear the booming music threw the walls of the corridor they were walking down, drowning out the sound of any moaning he could faintly hear.

“This feels strange, were cops, it feels wrong to be here,” muttered Namjoon from behind Changkyun. He heard Johnny scoff at Namjoon’s words and say, “get over it, like Changkyun said were here for his assignment. It’s not right for him to walk in unprepared.”

Changkyun smiled at the bouncer who opened the door into the main part of the club and walked straight over to where he could see the bar. “I’m just getting a coke, what are you guys having?” He asked, glancing at the two over his shoulder but he saw their attention was on the main stage where there was a brunette grinding against the pole. Changkyun rolled his eyes and turned his attention back onto the bar. Screw them, he thought, at least he asked. He stepped forward when the girl behind the bar beckoned him. “Just a coke please,” he ordered, handing her a note. She took it and poured him his coke before moving on to the next customer.

He turned around and saw that both Namjoon and Johnny were nowhere to be seen and groaned internally. “They are like children,” he hissed to himself. He walked around the club before choosing to sit in one of the empty booths, his eyes scanning his surroundings. He saw a woman standing to the side of the stage near the back of it, trying to remain inconspicuous. He followed her line of sight and saw that she was watching the woman on the stage. He looked back at the other girl and saw there was a small yet fond smile on her face.

He cleared his throat and took a sip of his coke, glancing down at the table, he was swirling the coke around in his glass before looking back up after a few minutes. He jumped when he saw the very same woman now sat at his table, eyeing him up and down with a straight face. “Can I help you?” He asked, shifting in his seat. He looked around the club for any signs of his friends but could not see them.

The woman shrugged a shoulder. “Just saw you looking at me; you’re new here, right?” The woman asked. She had an odd accent. “I grew up in Britain,” she said, as if knowing his line of thought.

Changkyun nodded. “How could you tell I’m new?”

The girl laughed. “You’re acting sketchy. I bet you’re a cop too. I could see your badge in your back pocket. So, what’s a cop doing in Enchantress?” She asked.

Changkyun felt himself panic. “We’re off duty if you’re worried,” he said but she shook her head. “I’m not worried at all. There’s nothing illegal here, not that I know of. But continue,” she said with a wave of her hand.

“I just heard a lot about this place from some colleagues. Cops like watching girl’s dance I guess,” he shrugged. He wasn’t lying, he had heard some of the other lower officers talk about this place.

The girl laughed once again and pointed at him. “You’re funny. We get a lot of cops coming in here, you’re right. They do like to watch pretty girl’s dance, in fact, they like to pay pretty girls to dance on them too,” she joked with a suave wink.

Changkyun nodded slowly, not surprised to be hearing this. “Well, I’m just here to say I’ve been. Now my friends can stop forcing me to come,” he lied, smiling awkwardly at the girl.

She chuckled and nodded, leaning over to pat his arm comfortingly. “It’s okay, pal. You’re welcome here,” she said before standing up. “I’m Y/N, if you need help with anything then don’t hesitate to come to me,” she introduced before walking away, never once asking for his name.

Changkyun watched as she swayed back over to where she was stood before, just in time for the brunette on the stage to climb off it, running into Y/N’s waiting arms. Then someone stood in his way and Changkyun looked up to see Namjoon staring down at him, Johnny loitering behind him.

“Where the hell were you two?” Changkyun snapped, standing from the booth.

Namjoon held his hands up. “Sorry, we got distracted by the babe on stage but then this guy kept calling us police scum, Johnny is still kind of on duty and the guy pulled a knife out on me, so we had to make an arrest and call for a cruiser to come take him away,” he explained. “I think its best we leave,” Namjoon suggested.

Changkyun sighed but complied, downing the rest of the fizzy drink before motioning for them to walk out. He looked over his shoulder at where Y/N was still stood and smiled awkwardly when she waved goodbye at him.

“Who was that girl you were with?” Johnny asked when they got outside. He lit up a cigarette, blowing the smoke away from Changkyun’s direction and coincidentally into Namjoon’s face, who coughed. “Bitch,” he choked out, waving his hand through the smoke to disperse it.

Changkyun shrugged in answer to Johnny’s question. “Y/N, she noticed we were cops as soon as we came in. I think she works there, or owns it or something,” he explained.

Johnny shook his head. “Lee Seungmin owns Enchantress. She must just work there,” he said. “Right, I’m ditching. Namjoon, can I get a lift with you?” Johnny asked.

Namjoon scowled but nodded. “No smoking in the car,” he ordered. He turned to Changkyun who was watching in amusement. “Good look tomorrow night, Kyunnie,” he said, smacking him on his shoulder ‘lovingly’.

“You’ll do great, don’t forget to act girly,” said Johnny with a flirty wink. Changkyun chuckled and nodded. “Bye,” he said with a short wave before walking over the road to where his car was parked.

“You’ll be wearing this, don’t stash the tips, they’re to be shared with all of the girls. We don’t get much pay so this helps the rest of the girls too. And trust me, these guys tip big. Don’t make a mess, don’t cause a scene. You’re to blend in the background whilst the girl’s on stage do their magic, you hear me?”

Changkyun stared wide eyed at the woman in front of him, trying not to stare at the mole on her cheek. He wasn’t one to pick up on others imperfections, having had a few of his own, but it was just so close to him and he did not like the attitude of this woman. She had already spat on him once when talking and it took all of his willpower to not move when she was talking to him.

“Yes, ma’am,” Changkyun said, resisting the urge to salute. He was reminded of his years in the army, his captain was nicer than this woman and he had only known her for ten minutes whilst she showed him around.

“You’re a somewhat pretty girl, the corset will fit well on your small waist. Get dressed then get out there, you’ll be reporting to Jaebum, he is the man behind the bar,” the woman said before storming away. “Candy, you better pull those knee highs up or I’ll pin them up myself,” she screamed at one of the other girls.

Changkyun sighed in relief, glad that he had been left to his own devices. The only problem now was fitting into the corset and mini skirt without showing his true self. He was well in shape, as a guy of course; there wasn’t a feminine part of him at all. He even had fake boobs on.

He closed the cubicle curtains before undressing. He had watched how some of the girls had put his clothes on him so he could do this himself. So he took his skin tight jeans off and the form fitting tank top. He slipped out of the bra, his fake boobs falling onto the bench. “Shit,” he grunted. He slipped the corset on, tucking the breasts back into place before tying the corset up, but he couldn’t reach all the way. “I need help,” he muttered in realisation. “Okay, skirt and knee highs on, then they won’t see my dick and I can ask for help,” he said to himself before following through with his plan. .

When he thought himself to be situated, he stuck his head out of the curtains and saw a girl just outside, tightening her boots up. “Um, excuse me,” Changkyun said, his voice meeker. He was startled when the girl’s head shot up. “Can you help me tie up my corset?”

The girl smiled and nodded. “Sure, hun. What’s your name?” She asked, coming into the cubicle with him. The heels made her considerably taller than him.

Changkyun stuttered. “Oh- um- Sweetie,” he said, remembering Cheryl’s nickname for him.

“Ooh, nice stage name, mine is Candy,” she said, her cool fingers brushing against his back every time she tied a new part of the ribbon. “You have a very broad back, do you work out?” She asked with interest.

Changkyun breathed in when she got to the bottom, the corset getting tighter. “Um, yeah, I like to keep fit and healthy,” he said, his voice a bit breathless. How the hell was he meant to work in this?

Candy giggled. “You’re so cute, all done Sweetie,” she said, turning him around. She fluffed up his fringe and twirled her fingers at the bottom of the wig. “I bet’cha will make money tonight,” she said.

Changkyun laughed awkwardly and nodded. “Bye,” he said and Candy smiled, walking through the curtains. He turned back to the mirror and fixed his breasts, before looking at the shoes he was to wear. “Heels?” He blanched at the idea and looked over at his converse then back to the heels. “Play the part,” he whispered, grabbing the heels. He had only ever worn heels once, and that was his sisters when he was younger. He twisted his ankle.

When he strapped them on he stood up, feeling six inches taller. He wobbled slightly, grabbing onto the wall before leaning down to stuff his phones and wallet into his jeans pocket before hanging them in the corner.

When he walked out he didn’t expect to crash into the very same girl he had met the night before. “Woah, girl,” she said, catching him. She straightened him up and looked him in the eyes. He saw confusion and recognition in her eyes and quickly stepped back from her, forming a meek smile on his face. “I’m so sorry ma’am, I’m new,” he said.

Y/N laughed. “That explains the lack of balance on six inch heels then,” she said. She stepped back from him and looked him up and down. “You’re the new staff for the bar, right? Minji?” She guessed.

Changkyun nodded mutely.

“Your skirt needs to be a bit higher. Usually I wouldn’t ask this of girls, but yours is significantly low. You’re not hiding a gun are you?” She asked with a winking, indicating she was joking before she stepped in his personal space her hands out ready to help him.

Changkyun jumped out of her reach, pushing her hands away. “I’m not into girls,” he blurted out. He winced when she came to a stop, her face now void of any emotion. He felt himself become scared, for real.

Y/N cleared her throat, stepping back. “Fair enough,” she muttered before stalking past him, her shoulder banging into his. Unluckily for him, he lost his balance on his heels once more and fell to the floor. He winced, his bum now sore from the fall before two girls came running over and helping him up.

He huffed, angrily muttering about Y/N under his breath before walking out of the backroom and over to the bar. He waited where the woman told him to until a man behind the bar approached him. “Minji?” The man asked. He carefully lifted the briefcase that Changkyun had given to a woman before coming in. When Changkyun nodded he put it back down behind the bar and nudged a tray of drinks over to him. “Booth 3,” he said and pointed in the direction.

Changkyun carefully lifted the tray, balancing both the drinks and his self on heels. He finally delivered it to a group of girls that were clearly celebrating a birthday when he saw Joon-ho flag him down. He also saw Baekhyun sat next to him and sat opposite them were two men that Changkyun had come to study. These were the men Johnny and his partner were watching, waiting to catch in the move, clearly they hadn’t heard about tonight. These men were big on money laundering.

“What would you like to drink?” Changkyun asked, faking interest. He looked over at the two men, stopping himself from shivering in disgust at the pure hunger on their faces. He hissed when the closest one put his hand on his thigh.

“Rum Punch please,” Joon-Ho requested, and Changkyun eagerly went to retrieve the case and the drink that was already premade. He placed the drink on the tray and grabbed the briefcase from Jaebum and walked back over.

“One rum punch,” Changkyun said, his tone still polite whilst he placed the drink in front of Joon-Ho, sliding the case over to Baekhyun before Joon-Ho nodded for him to move.

For the next hour Changkyun posed as Minji, waiting on other booths as well as Joon-Ho’s, bringing the case back and forth. By the time Joon-Ho and Baekhyun were finished, Changkyun’s feet were killing and he was almost ready to call it quits. Just as he was about to collect the case, there was a loud shout from the man sat opposite Joon-Ho. Changkyun saw the man reach for his waist line and saw a gun in his hand.

Without thinking, Changkyun darted forwards, grabbing the gun that was now aimed at a terrified Joon-Ho and pointed it upwards just as a loud bang echoed throughout the room. The public screamed at the sound but Changkyun was focused on the fist that was flying at his face. He threw his head back, grabbing the wrist and yanking it forward, headbutting the guy that was attached to it. Another man came running at him, clearly a bodyguard, but Changkyun didn’t let him gain the upper hand and instead threw a roundhouse kick his way, the heel cutting across the man’s face.

“Contain your bitch,” spat one of the men who Joon-Ho had been dealing with, two other bodyguards grabbed him, yanking him from the building and away from danger.

Changkyun was breathing heavily, relaxing his fists.

“Wow, girl can throw a punch,” commented Baekhyun, pulling himself from under the table. He didn’t even have the nerve to look guilty. Joon-Ho was still breathing deeply, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Go home, we’ll take the case. You did well,” Joon-Ho finally said, sending a stiff smile his way.

Changkyun was laid in bed; it was 5 o’clock in the morning. He was trying to relax after having a shower. He had never had to put his training to use before; he didn’t know what would come of this evening’s events.  Joon-Ho and Baekhyun had been so amazed by his skills, not expecting a small girl in heels to perform such well-deserved hits.

Changkyun was just about to settle further into bed when his phone began to vibrate on the bedside table. He leaned over to pick his phone only to see it wasn’t that one, it was the one Kihyun had given him. The caller ID was unknown.  

He sat up in bed and flipped the burner phone open, pressing the answer button. “Hello,” he said, making sure his voice was higher.

“Well done at the club today Miss Lee,” Kihyun said. Changkyun scowled at his voice, hating how smug it sounded. “I would like you to come in tomorrow to discuss things. We have the security footage here and I have to say I am impressed with your skill set. You cheeky minx, you should have told me about your fighting,” he said, laughing almost too loudly.

“I apologise sir,” Changkyun said through his gritted teeth. He stared at his fist, wanting nothing more than to show Kihyun first-hand what he can do.

“Anyway,” Kihyun started. “My boss would like to meet you. They saw your footage and between you and me, there isn’t much talent regarding the soldier department of our area,” he said, sniggering to himself whilst Changkyun rolled his eyes. “So, come tomorrow and I’ll take you to boss man,” he ordered before abruptly hanging up.

Changkyun scoffed and flipped the phone closed putting it back on the side. He scooted back down in to bed and threw the cover over his head, willing himself to sleep. God forbid he would need it if he was to meet with Kihyun tomorrow.

[dweetwise]

day 18: panic attacks

prompt from: whumptober pairing: felix x ace notes: fluffy angst, idk if this even qualifies as whump but it’s what i went with <3 warnings: panic attack descriptions word count: 1920

Ace is having a rather good day, all things considered. He finishes his second generator of the trial while Feng is still doing a phenomenal job at being chased by the killer, and he even has time to stop and search a chest in good conscience.

He picks up a broken key with a worn brass token, which isn’t ideal but he’ll add it to his ever growing pile of junk back at camp anyway.

In the time it takes him to find a generator, the Nurse has finally managed to down and hook Feng, but someone saves her right after and the chase beings anew. Ace would guess the rescuer was David and that he used borrowed time to make sure the gamer made it out, since he can’t see Felix being stupid bold enough to unhook in the killer’s face like that.

With the Nurse’s distant screeches providing some pleasant background noise—considering it’s not Ace she’s chasing—he gets to work on a nearly completed generator by one of the exits. If he finishes it before the killer comes to check, it marks their fourth completed objective of the trial, and it looks like they’ll have an easy escape provided she doesn’t have the obnoxious totem perk to ensure an instant down after the gates are powered.

At first, Ace doesn’t question why someone would have abandoned the nearly completed machine, but just before he connects the last two wires, he hesitates. Will this be the last generator on this side of the map? Maybe someone wanted to leave it because it’s by an exit?

He gets up to look around a bit, trying to spot any other nearby generators, but then he hears it.

A sob.

Ace frowns in worry and keeps looking around, not seeing any signs of life. Did he imagine it? Feng is the only one injured, and her moans of pain can be heard from halfway across the map. The girl is a lot of things, but quiet sure as hell isn’t one of them.

He remembers the key in his pocket, a normally useless item with an underwhelming add-on that will allow him to see his nearby teammates for only a couple of seconds. But right now, it’s exactly what he needs, and as he channels the item, he eventually makes out a human form cowering in the corner next to the exit gate.

The key’s power dies out but Ace doesn’t care, carefully approaching his distressed teammate.

He should have guessed who he’s going to find just by basic deduction, as Feng is still keeping the Nurse busy somewhere in the Asylum and David is one to push forward through sheer stubbornness. It still takes him by surprise to notice Felix, normally so calm and collected, huddled in on himself with his knees drawn close to his chest and his head buried in his hands.

Ace suddenly feels very out of place, and he realizes he could just slowly back away and Felix probably wouldn’t even know he was ever there.

But Felix doesn’t seem to be just taking a mental break from the trial, he looks to be struggling. His entire body is trembling and he’s taking sharp, wheezy breaths, bordering on hyperventilating.

And Ace might not be the best at offering comfort, but he sure as hell is going to try.

“Hey,” he offers softly as not to spook Felix, but from the way Felix’s head snaps up in surprise, he’s not successful. Shit, he’s never seen the guy so upset, looking utterly broken with tears and snot running down his face and taking short, shaky breaths. It make’s Ace’s cold, selfish heart clench in sympathy and he slowly kneels down on Felix’s level, far enough away to hopefully not feel like he’s cornering him. “How you holding up?”

That’s probably the dumbest thing he could have asked, but at least it makes Felix react, quickly wiping at his face and averting his eyes.

“F-fine, sorry—” Felix starts, but then his trembling voice breaks on another sob and he hides his face behind his hand in shame as another wave of what Ace assumes to be a panic attack hits.

Ace has never been good at dealing with emotions, his or others’, but he’s learned a lot after being swept up by the Entity and trying to keep everyone in their little group happy and healthy. He knows that Dwight needs to be held when his anxiety surfaces, and although that position is usually reserved for Jake, Ace has been the body for Dwight to cling to on a few occasions when others were unavailable. On the other hand, when something triggers Quentin’s PTSD, the boy wants nothing more than to be left alone, and even the smallest touch will send him spiraling deeper into his own head.

“It’s alright,” Ace says, trying to keep his voice calm and even offering an encouraging smile. “We’ve all been there.”

That seems to calm Felix down some, so Ace optimistically deduces that maybe his presence does help after all.

This is a vastly different situation from Dwight or Quentin, though. Where Ace mostly sees himself as a somewhat shitty parental figure to the boys, he’s been openly flirting with Felix ever since the other got here. And despite Felix sometimes awkwardly flirting back, he fully expected their relationship to stay at the casual friendship level.

But this is huge step, and if Ace manages to comfort him without hiding behind shitty jokes and Felix allows himself to be vulnerable, maybe that’s a sign they could eventually be something more.

“Just say the word and I’ll be on my way,” Ace starts. “But I also have a pretty good shoulder to lean on, if that’s something you think might help.”

Felix glances at him and Ace tries to keep the smile on his face despite his own nerves surfacing and mixing with the worry for Felix already there.

“Are you sure?” Felix asks, voice nowhere near steady but at least being able to form a complete sentence.

“Of course!” Ace reassures without even knowing which option Felix is referring to.

And then Felix looks back at the ground and curls in on himself further and Ace tries not to be disappointed. He’s already moving to get up, an apology ready on his tongue, when Felix shuffles along the exit gate wall to make room for Ace to join him.

The grin that forms on his face might not be the most appropriate considering the circumstances, but Felix doesn’t protest, in fact he immediately buries his face against Ace’s shoulder and clasps his arm in a death grip as soon as he takes a seat next to him.

Felix takes shallow breaths against him and Ace doesn’t care that his shirt is getting stained with wet tears and snot, suddenly hit with how intimate the entire situation is. His own nerves resurface and his free hand hovers awkwardly in the air, not sure if it’s appropriate to touch the distressed man.

But in the end, he’s a gambler, and so he gambles, placing a hesitant hand in Felix’s hair as he remembers the other is usually messing with it when he’s nervous.

When the only reaction he gets is Felix gripping his arm tighter, he carefully starts running his hand through the locks, slightly disheveled from where Felix has no doubt been doing the same.

“It’s okay,” Ace says, trying to keep his voice steady and hoping Felix can’t hear his heart hammering in his chest. “You’re okay.”

“I’m going to get crows,” Felix chokes out through the tears.

“Doesn’t matter,” Ace reassures, discreetly looking up to try to spot the birds that should already be circling above Felix’s head. “Feng and David are keeping her busy. She’s got no reason to come here.”

Ace frowns as he realizes can neither see nor hear the Entity’s spies, despite knowing their captor’s rules clearly state the birds should be giving away their location by now.

The key sits heavy in his pocket and he suddenly realizes maybe the Entity wanted him to find Felix. Regardless of how Ace feels about the otherworldly being, he knows it’s not satisfied unless the trial has been what it considers “fair”. Maybe it’s giving them a time-out until Felix is in shape to continue, and maybe that’s why Feng still hasn’t been caught, despite being injured against one of the strongest killers.

“Seems like the crows are on their lunch break,” Ace voices his observation in hopes of reassuring Felix. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

Not surprisingly, the knowledge that he’s not on a time limit seems to calm Felix down some, and the grip on Ace’s arm loosens as the sharp breaths slowly turn into more deliberate ones.

“That’s it, deep breaths,” Ace murmurs and keeps petting Felix’s hair since it seems to be working, or at least not making the situation worse. “You’re going to be fine.”

He has no idea how long they sit there together, with Felix slowly coming back to himself and Ace offering generic encouraging sentiments he hopes are somewhat helpful, lost in their own little bubble while the trial carries on without them.

When Felix eventually pulls away, Ace feels disappointed, even if he finally gets some much needed blood flow to his arm that has fallen asleep a while ago.

“Fuck,” Felix sighs and leans his head back against the tiled wall with a dull ‘thud’. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

“I’m not,” Ace offers with a small grin. “But I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“I didn’t expect one in the middle of a trial,” Felix says, letting Ace is on the fact that this wasn’t a one-off. “Thank you. You, um, helped. A lot,” Felix says bashfully, and Ace has to resist the urge to pull him back into his arms.

“Don’t mention it,” he says instead, and when Felix just gives him an adorable, tiny smile, can’t resist adding a cheeky “There’s a lot worse ways to spend a trial”.

“I’d say being a liability and making a complete fool of myself isn’t something I’m eager to repeat,” Felix mutters, but he’s still smiling, so Ace hopes he’s not still embarrassed.

“Honestly, I’m surprised I didn’t make the situation worse,” Ace jokes. “Or that my brain didn’t implode on itself from not making jokes or flirting for five minutes.”

“You were perfect,” Felix says so earnestly it takes Ace completely off guard, and he’s not blushing he’s just suddenly really warm okay— “I should get back to my generator,” Felix seems to remember, looking over Ace’s shoulder in the direction of the machine. “I’ve wasted enough of everyone’s time for today.”

“If there’s anything we have plenty of, it’s time,” Ace reassures, pushing himself off of the wall and ready to join the trial.

He offers a hand to help Felix up, and it makes him smile when Felix only hesitates for a split second before accepting the gesture.

“You know, we should do this more often,” Ace says with a grin as he pulls Felix up on his feet. “I mean, preferably without the panicking. I didn’t mind but it didn’t exactly look like you were having the time of your life.”

Felix huffs out a small laugh at the statement, and then he squeezes Ace’s hand that’s still clasped in his.

“I’d like that.”

[zwiezraczek]

Helloo!! Can I please request 1 &11 she/her with Warren? and don’t worry, take your time!💕 :D

Haunting [Blurb]

1." You don’t need nobody else, but me.” 11. “You’re driving me crazy, you know that?”

Warning: violence (very small)

Requests are open!

Note: I was DREAMING about writing something for Warren because I love writing characters like him, playing with the "savage" part it's always so pleasing to not write pure fluff - even if I love fluff but I have to confess angst is like my péché mignon haha - Thank you :D nonnie! 💕

~~~

Once, they tried to cut your tongue. Whoever they were, they had heard about your mutation, they knew about it. Your parents warned you about it, but you refused to hide it, living a careless life as you sang to have whatever you wanted. You were the Siren. Every mutant loved you, because you knew how they wanted you to be. You had everything you ever wanted when you opened your mouth, you had everything... But confidence. The only thing you lacked during your whole life, because you were never you, but the one they wanted you to be, you were the Siren and not y/n anymore. You were whatever they saw in you during that particular moment, you were what you created for them. You had done some things that you couldn't speak. You had lost yourself and never found again. But somehow, you liked it. You got used to it.

And then, they caught you, as you were walking in the streets with one of your friends, a bottle of beer in one hand, one boot on your left foot, and your pure laugh enchanting the ones around you. Enchanting ever single one of them, but him. You felt chills going down your spine, as your body tensed immediately after and you looked up in the sky. You saw these wings, immaculate in the pale moonlight. A majestic flying creature, right there, above your fuzzy head. Your friend stood astonished besides you, almost frozen on their foot, mouth agape, it was the first time you saw them like this – since the time you wanted them to shut up and sang it to them.

The man stood in front of you, his body probably made by the gods themselves, from the same mythology you thought you belonged to. His golden locks fell on his forehead as his piercing pearly green eyes looked right at you. You smiled, as always.

“Pretty white-winged boy,” you cooed, lips round, as he stood in front of you with his arms along his sides.

“You're driving me crazy, you know that,” he replied, folding his wings behind his back. How majestic, you thought as you put a finger on your lower lip.

“I do,” you asked and fluttered your eyelashes.

“You're a pain in the ass to find,” he admitted before he started to walk towards you, “and everybody knows how precious your voice is, and how much it annoys some.” He stood right in front of you now, he was way taller than you, but you didn't seem intimidated by him. A rule of thumb: to be feared despite being small and almost fragile. His breath against your face, you smiled.

“But I'm so nice to everybody, I'm just a little singer, I want no harm,” you playfully said, shifting your balance from one leg to the other as a little girl.

“That's not what they say,” he replied, not wanting to toy with you anymore. Suddenly, he put a towel against your mouth and you wanted to scream, but your voice was muffled but the fabric itself. Nobody reacted. Not even your friend.

You looked into his pearly eyes, as you slowly drifted away, you cursed them. You cursed him. You cursed these green pearls, you cursed your inattentiveness. You cursed.

And when you woke up, in a small dark room, tied up to a metallic chair you knew: you were in big trouble. You tried to remember who wanted your death – probably a lot of people in town – but without any particular success. And as you tried to speak, you felt a fabric in your mouth, only now, your mouth half open and sore. Great, you thought. A noise tickled your ears. Somebody was here, a group of men coming in, one with a knife, the others in black suits and the boss – from what you could notice.

Delicately, they took off what restrained your mouth and as you tried to speak, to yell, to cry, you couldn't make a sound. Fuck. What have they done to your throat...? The man right infront of you smirked, his mischievous eyes gazing at you as he walked next to you, now holding the knife the other man had.

“Well, well, well, isn't it our Siren,” he asked playfully before seizing your chin, “of course it is. Look at this pretty face getting whatever she wants, being so easy to catch even whenshe knew that she made a huge mistake last time.” Being more specific would be appreciated, you thought, knowing how many people wanted you dead or working off for what you messed up. “So today, I decided to end your career, Siren, with this little tool ofmine, a beautiful knife, for a beautiful tongue.” Your eyes widened. Being quiet for the rest of your life, being mute, being powerless. You shook your head vigorously. He caressed your cheeks with the blade and you froze. “But, if you work with me, for me, this little tongue of yours will be safe in your little bitchy mouth. Do we have a deal.”

You nodded.

~~~

You ended up working there, for a longer time than intended. Nobody seemed to be too surprised to see you there – even the ones you fooled a couple of times – you were the Siren after all, and your boss always had what he wanted. And he got the Siren and Archangel. Two mythical creatures. You were unstoppable. At least, you felt that way. Warren, because he preferred being called by his name, was unstoppable – and you remembered it: how easily he got you into his – not elaborated at all – trap. How dumb you felt when the boss had the knife against your cheek, and how ridiculous you were. The Siren, voiceless, begging for forgiveness. You never forgot that moment.

Even when the boss invited all of you to the club, a club he owned, to celebrate his new position in town. You couldn't care less. But free drinks and music were served on a golden plate to you, and, as a Siren, you couldn't refuse. When you entered the changing room to grab your bag and your belongings, you saw Warren. And the boss asked you to ask him to come – apparently, the guy was pretty fun at parties from what the other mutants said: drinking, flirting, dancing, kissing and all that stuff.

“Hey, shitface,” you shouted across to him and he immediately turned back to look at you, angry as usual, “tonight the boss invites us to a party or whatever. Asked me to ask you.”

“To ask me out,” he puffed as he looked in disbelief yet amused.

“If you wanna fuck the boss, you do you,” you replied, “not my thing, but you know I respect your choice. The man's scary with a knife and you're probably into knife play.”

“What makes you say that, filthy fish?”

“You wish I was your fish, bridy,” you teased him with a wink as he groaned, “your torso scars? The fact you used to fight in a cage with people probably throwing knives at you, just like in a circus, you know?”

“No, I don't know,” he replied pushing the door of his locker. You stood there, your back against yours, looking at him.

“Kinky, little, bird,” you said, every word rolling out your tongue to play with him, as he played with you. You couldn't forgive him for that night he drugged you to bring you here. Quickly, you found yourself pushed a little more against the locker, with his strong hand as he looked at you with rage. Exactly what you wanted. And you got it, without singing.

“Don't you fuck with me,” he warned you as you carelessly walked your fingers up from his cheek to his temple.

“And what if I do want to, birdy,” you asked, biting your lower lip. “What should I do then, huh?”

“You should be fucking scared,” he growled, his forehead against yours. “Shit scared.”

“I've seen worse, birdy,” you teased, your index wandering down the bridge of his nose after you pushed him back a little. “A filthy fish isn't afraid of a white-winged birdy.”

“You know what they say about me,” he said, nose up, a smirk on his face as you could see lust on his pretty face.

“Never heard a word,” you replied, your mouth staying slightly open drawing a little smile on your face.

“That you don't need nobody else, but me.” You chuckled, pulling him now, your fierce eyes looking at him, and with a smirk on your lips you said.

“Really? I thought people said this about me.”

“Wanna find out,” he replied, a flirtatious smirk on his pretty face

“Probably...”

[queencecilla]

( adelaide kane, cis female, she/her, 27 ) ** ♔ announcing CECILIA HENRIKSSON,  the QUEEN REGNANT OF SWEDEN ! in a recent portrait they seem to resemble ADELAIDE KANE. it is a miracle that SHE survived the last five years, considering they are CALCULATING, SELF-INDUGENT, and KIND. i hope the plague has not changed them. they are AGAINST working together with the other kingdoms 

hey everyone ! i’m ash, and i’m back with my second character, cecilia ! i also play prince frederik of the netherlands. if you’d like to plot with either of my characters, feel free to message me on here or discord at any time !

stats

name: queen cecilia henriksson of sweden

nicknames: cilia

age: twenty-seven

gender: cis female

pronouns: she / her

occupation: queen regnant of sweden

sexuality: bisexual / biromanctic

loyalty: her country, her family, her brother’s legacy

alignment: true neutral 

history

though she was born the spare, second in line to the thrown after her elder brother ebba, cecilia was never really trained to lead. her parents never placed high expectations on her outside of being a pretty, charming little princess. 

growing up, she often had her nose in a book though, or she was off play fighting with the boys. her brother wasn’t much older than her, and he didn’t mind her tagging along on his adventures once he realized cecilia could hold her own. it seemed the only thing cilia never had much of an interest in was her etiquette lessons. 

but as she grew older, and more was expected of her, cilia learned to grin and bear them. after all, she did like the pretty dresses. and once she came of age, she found she loved attending feasts and parties. dancing the night away with a drink in hand, and finding someone cute to flirt with interested her greatly. 

and while she used to be a huge flirt, she never did anything too bold. she couldn’t risk ruining her reputation too badly. she toed the line, though, and likely engaged in some behavior that would be seen as scandalous. nothing too far, though. 

she was set to be betrothed when the plague broke out and all talk of her marrying ceased. she remained at home, locked away with her family to keep them all safe. and it worked for a long time, although it certainly wasn’t a fun experience. 

not long ago, though, ebba ended up getting the plague. cilia was terrified for her brother - she loved him dearly, and hated watching him go through that. when he died, she felt like her entire world was ripped apart. 

eventually, though, she was expected to rule. it wasn’t something she had ever thought about before, and honestly, cecilia feels incredibly unprepared for it. she’s wise enough though to know that people will want to take advantage of her. after all, she’s an unwed female ruler. she knows that she needs to secure a husband, and quickly, but she’s terrified of making the wrong choice. above all, she wants to make ebba, and her country, proud. 

personality

cilia used to be really fun and charming. i’m sure if they’ve met before, many will remember that side of her. now, she can still be charming, but she’s also quite tense most of the time. she has to appear strong and self-assured so that she isn’t taken advantage of, but she also does miss having fun and partying.

she’s overall a very kind woman. she can be harsh if you betray her, but cecilia will be nice to you if you’re nice to her. 

cecilia is working on being less stubborn and less fiery - she needs to rule with grace and dignity, not start wars over small things. but that can be easier said than done, and she may occasionally still snap if someone underestimates her. 

the only reason she is against working together is because she’s worried about being taken advantage of. she wants to keep her country secure, and only do what’s best for it. if that means being a little bit selfish, then so be it. she would be willing to work together if it benefited sweden, though. 

wanted connections

potential suitors - sweden, and her place in it, is vulnerable without allies. she has to make a strong match when it comes to a husband, but she also has to chose wisely. i would love for her to have some potential suitors that she’s considering when it comes to marriage. 

former fling - back before she was queen, she definitely was a bit of a party girl. i would love for her to have fooled around with someone. maybe they will use that against her for the scandal, or maybe they want to pick back up where they left off. this could be anyone of any gender and any social status !

best friend - a trusted confidant who has cecilia’s back. maybe they’ve been close for years, and they never expected cilia to rule but they’re being supportive. or maybe their friendship is new, and forged because they’re both young rulers in tricky situations. 

someone who wants to manipulate her - anyone with political ambitions, come get this girl !!!! she’s a young, inexperienced queen who may or may not be at risk of being replaced if things don’t go well. now is the time for manipulative characters to hit her up

an advisor - i would love for a more experienced ruler ( king or queen or equivalent ) to see that she’s unsure of things, and actually try to help her. give her a lil mentor relationship where they’re actually trying to be nice. 

if none of these work, please brainstorm stuff with me !!!

[navtastic]

Some rimmer headcanons under the cut Bc I was thinking about writing a fic but have commitment issues when it comes to actually writing

[[MORE]]

1. Rimmer is autistic and you can pry this out of my cold dead hands. Main ways he stims are his salutes and biting his knuckles. Huge parts of why he was bullied and treated poorly by his family come from the fact that he always has had issues sociallizing in the “”””normal”””” way and has related learning issues. Very obsessed with being punctual and following social rules that he doesn’t quite understand, a lot of his self esteem issues come from the fact that he knows he’s doing the right thing per social conventions but he’s doing it wrong?? Why is it wrong when he does his version of it, he’s trying his best?? Projecting onto a fictional character time: is very much the way he is in the show because he was able to repress a lot of the things that made him ‘obvious’ and now just appears to be an incredibly socially awkward/weird person as opposed to someone who just communicates differently. Likes repetitive, involved, logic and planning related type things (war strategy, board games, schedule and list making, engineering related stuff). Zero actual interest in Astronav type stuff but feels obligated to be good at it and has it drilled into his brain that it was the only way he was going to amount to something so he forces himself to try to be good at it, but that’s part of the reason he’s so crap at it. So used to being bullied that he feels like he needs to be above other people to protect himself because he’s so used to abuse of power being pointed at him.

2. Gay. that’s it, just gay. He knows it, he doesn’t deny internally as much as he did as a child. He’s absolutely absorbed so much homophobia from his family that he goes to great lengths to cover it up, but he isn’t unaware of it or so repressed that he’s convinced himself he’s not. All of the talk about women and porn and all that shit is a very elaborate and paranoid cover. He literally owns straight porn so when lister digs through his shit he thinks he’s found rimmers real porn and stops looking. Keeps gay porn stashed in some ridiculous hiding spot. Tells himself he’s verse but he’s really just a kind of dominant/pushy bottom. Did actually have sex with Yvonne because that was a gross and dodgy situation (on both ends but falls on rimmer because he was in control of his faculties) she was not fully aware of the situation but he was not the one who initiated it and essentially went along with it out of a lack of self respect and awareness for what was going to come of it (which makes him shitty because rimmer is still a scummy, miserable person). In his teen years and early twenties he thought maybe he could really ‘cure’ himself of it some way but everything he tried wasn’t worth it in the end and he just decided to never speak of it.

3: what made Ace different. Repeating a grade comes off like a joke when it’s explained that is why Ace is who he is. Really when he repeated that grade he was put into a remedial type class that tended to gather the kids with learning disabilities, bad home lives, trauma, etc (all the things that tend to make it harder for a child to suceed) and he was given new tools that boosted his confidence in being able to learn and socialize, maybe never got a proper diagnoses but just the proof that he could learn and do well if he approaches things in a different way was a huge game changer. Still had a lot of deep seated homophobia from his family and trauma from being treated differently from his brothers but it was easier to cope. Ace is still gay and the whole saving the damsel in distress and riding off into the sunset shit comes from following socializing as set rules instead of something involving nuance, follows the trope of a hero because if he’s going to go around saving worlds he’s going to do it the ‘right’ way, which is part why he has such an over the top ‘action hero’ stereotype vibe. Ace wishes that more of the rimmers he met were willing to listen to him because he just wants to drop a truth bomb and open of their potential. Ace still has a lot of unsorted issues, they just tend to be more internal than immediately obvious.

4: Relationship with Lister: incredibly, ridiculously angry and embarrassed when he realizes lister is attractive. Will never admit it but when Lister is first teaching Kryten how to break his programming he’s sad that no one ever taught him how to break out of his ‘programming’. His want to be friends with Lister is something he struggles with (early seasons especially) because he craves Listers respect but the only way Rimmer knows how to get respect is by outranking someone. Comes out to lister when he’s drunk. Lister has casually mentioned men in ways that he mentions women (but never directly says he’s attracted to men, so it just becomes a paranoid obsession in Rimmers mind, is he into guys or is rimmer just reading into it to much?) and brings up a story that is blatantly about a guy he’s dated (but rimmer still isn’t quite sure because it’s not a 100% straight forward statement) and Rimmer comments on his jealousy of lister being so open minded and nonchalant about men. Lister puts the pieces together from there and makes a point to try to make the environment of the ship more welcoming, still takes rimmer ages to fully come out. (Lister is the biggest bi on the ship and isn’t fully in the closet, he just doesn’t talk about it explicitly, people who know how lister communicates pick up on it, but most people just think he’s a friendly guy)

5. Clothes and presentation. This ones more for fun because I would love to see how rimmer would dress himself if he could get past more of his trauma. Shorts and cropped pants and tailored pants are a big one. If there wasn’t such a stigma on how gay men dress and style themselves he would be less afraid to wear something a little less baggy. Actually loves color (the uniform change from the khakis to the red, blues, and greens he wears later in the show is just absolutely fantastic. Not an accessory person, would rather just have a smooth, sleek look with well fit clothes and a pop of colors on neutrals. I think the cross dressing in the show doesn’t necessarily/purposefully come from a malicious place but is definitely a sign of the times, outdated ideas of humor and a lack of understanding of gender non conforming. Rimmer wouldn’t be opposed (well if he could get past his trauma (which is why we only see this trait in low rimmer or when he has the holo virus)) to dressing up in “””female”””” clothes, especially not the odd accessory or sexy outfit if it were a kink thing but has an overall more masculine sense of style. In a perfect reality where he was nurtured and encouraged I feel like he would identify and present in a more fluid way, but the cannon rimmer isn’t really capable of recognizing and expressing himself like that.

6: Sexual/romantic History. Oh boy. rimmer has been on dates with women, mainly to keep up apperences and make it look like he’s trying to be successful with women. Has no idea what good flirting sounds like because all the times someone has genuinely flirted with him he’s explained it away be convincing himself they’re just overly friendly or are trying to make fun of him (or he just doesn’t pick up on it). When he flirts it’s either completely over the top obvious garbage because he’s trying to get his point across or it’s vague small comments that really aren’t flirting because he’s attempting nuance or feels like he’s being to out in the open. Has had maybe one or two sexual encounters with men, always on shore leave as far from where the ship has docked as possible and always working to cover his tracks the entire time. By the time the stasis leak happens his sexual encounters with men had never reached penatration and really just amounted to some head and fooling around that he felt conflicted (but happy) about afterwards.

I probably have more floating around in my brain but I’ve really only just hit season three of my rewatch so this is all based on early seasons, some fanfic I binged, projection, and what I remember from the other couple of times I’ve watched the series.

[shireness-says]

A Twelve-Legged Matchmaker

Summary: Killian Jones has an undeniable crush on Emma Swan. He just needs a little nudge from man's best friend to act on it. Rated T for language. ~4K. Also on AO3.

~~~~~

A/N: Presenting my entry for the @cspupstravaganza! Huge thanks to @profdanglaisstuff to organizing such a fun event. This was a fun one to write. As always, extra kudos to @snidgetsafan for her phenomenal beta skills.

Tagging the usual suspects: @thisonesatellite, @scientificapricot, @teamhook, @kmomof4, @thejollyroger-writer, @snowbellewells, @winterbaby89, @awkwardnessandbaseball

Enjoy, and let me know what you think!

~~~~~

When Killian Jones decided that he’d like a pet - a dog, specifically - Bonny was not exactly what he’d had in mind.

It wasn't like he had a particular dog in mind when he went to the local shelter; mostly, he’d trusted an acquaintance who worked at the kennel would steer him towards a companion that would suit him best. David had suggested the idea in the first place when Killian had expressed loneliness after Liam had moved to Providence for a job, and had seemed more than happy to help. That's not to say that he didn't have an idea of the type of dog he was looking for; a puppy, something that would grow up to be at least midsize and not shed too much. A man's dog who he could take on runs and hikes and his boat. Maybe a labrador. 

Bonny, however, has different ideas.

Bonny technically shouldn't have been in the side room where all the puppies romped around - she was full grown at three years, after all - but her size hadn't looked too out of place. Long-haired dachshunds didn't get that large after all, unless you were measuring in spine length. He'd been sat on the floor, letting all the wee pups come and check him out and contemplating the pros and cons of a labrador-weimaraner mix when Bonny had sauntered right over to curl up in his lap. One look into those big eyes, especially when coupled with those soft and floppy ears, and Killian had known he'd be going home with a very different dog than he’d expected. So he'd filled out the paperwork and bought all kinds of supplies and explained to a very attentive dog that a man has his limits and referring to his dog as Precious was a line he just wasn't willing to cross, and the little dog had been his. Bonny, after the fierce lady pirate Anne Bonny. A proper sailor's name for a less-than-proper sailor's dog.

(He will say, his good girl had taken to the water like a pro; there's a whole album on his phone after their six months together of Bonny on the Jolly's deck, all decked out in her life jacket. Yes, he's now a man that dresses his dog in a life jacket. No, he doesn't care what you have to say about that.)

Bonny may not have been the dog he expected to adopt, but there's no doubt that she's the right dog for him. She's an affectionate little thing, a true cuddle bug at heart, and even if he has to wrestle half his bed back from her - really, his dog takes up an absurd amount of space for such a small creature - he wouldn't have it any other way. There's just something about the trust that she so obviously has in him and the way her entire back half wiggles with the force of her happiness when he comes home after a long day of work. 

(There’s also the added bonus that she’s already housetrained; the details of that process weren’t at the front of Killian’s mind when he first decided that he wanted a puppy.)

There's other unexpected advantages that come along with pet guardianship as well - namely the ability to get closer to his stunning blonde neighbor.

Before anyone makes any mistaken assumptions, it's not like that. He didn't adopt the dog as a ploy to pick up chicks - though he has to admit, if that was his aim, he couldn't have picked a better dog and a worse target. Emma Swan lives two doors down in a little cottage with her young son - Henry, if he remembers the name correctly. He'd been smitten from the moment the moving truck had pulled up. That's how he'd met David too, actually, his acquaintance at the kennel. He's still a little uncertain about the relationship there, but he knows that David has a tendency towards the overprotective where the lovely blonde is concerned. 

Emma has been wary of his advances, though, not that he can blame her; with Henry involved and the lad's father nowhere in sight, she's got all the more reason to protect her heart. He'd tried his usual flirting techniques when they'd first started crossing paths - the charm, the smirk, the swagger, the little innuendos women usually love - but she'd shut that down with a cold tone and an unamused look in her eyes. After that... well, it had seemed most gentlemanly to let sleeping dogs lie. He'd tried his best, she clearly wasn't interested, and that would have to be that.

Still. He yearns, in a way that isn't at all befitting of anyone above the age of fifteen - let alone a grown man of thirty. She's lovely and strong and he can't help but be absolutely taken with everything about her. 

It's a happy coincidence that the park he likes to take Bonny to for walks just happens to be the same park where Emma takes Henry to the playground. He swears. He didn't even know that was the case until he decided that Bonny could use a little socializing with creatures of her own species, something that she's definitely not getting in their little neighborhood. 

(Yes, he's turned into the most obnoxious dog dad. He is fully aware.)

As he said before, even once he knew that the park and playground were one of the Swan's regular haunts, he wasn't using Bonny as some sort of bait. He'd never dare - both because he'd never disrespect his Very Good Girl like that and because he knows Emma would see right through him immediately. The thing is, Henry's at just that perfect age where he's absolutely fascinated by puppies of all sizes - especially Bonny. As hesitant as Emma obviously is about her son's obvious enthusiasm, it's equally obvious that the little dog adores the toddler right back. Now, three months after Killian first started taking Bonny to the park, the two are thick as thieves; Henry's laugh rings out across the park's grassy green spaces as the two romp and chase each other, Bonny's entire back half wiggling in her excitement. It's also a chance for Killian to get to know Emma a little better. He wouldn't say that they're friends at the end of it, but there's a detente for certain. Maybe on an optimistic day, he'd even say that they were friendly. It's not something they've talked about, per se, but he definitely feels like some of the ice has thawed. 

"Thanks for this," she tells him quietly one day as they watch Henry frolic about the open space and Bonny chase along after him, making a fool of herself practically tripping over her elongated back half in her loving eagerness to play with the small human.

"What for?" Killian asks. It doesn't quite track; he's not doing particularly much, beyond sitting on a bench in varying amounts of silence with his lovely neighbor. What a hardship. 

"For letting Henry play with your dog," she replies, nodding in the direction of the spectacle. "Henry really wants a dog right now, and... well, we just can't afford it, honestly. There are months where it feels like enough of a victory to have kept Henry well-fed. Doesn't mean he's good about understanding that," she laughs. It sounds forced, like she's trying unnecessarily to lighten the mood; Killian doesn't much like it. "So... thank you, I guess, for being so understanding about letting him get his fix. I appreciate it."

"It's no problem, lass," Killian responds with a small smile. "And before you try to protest, it seriously isn't. You are - or rather, Henry is doing me a favor, wearing her out a bit. It means I'll just have a sweet, sleepy cuddle bug when I get home, which will be a nice change than her usual running around the house and trying to figure out if she wants in or out. Sweet thing just can't figure it out," he chuckles.

"Henry's the same way - the sleepiness, not the inside or outside thing," she laughs. It seems real this time, which Killian appreciates. She deserves to have more reasons to smile. "He gets home and practically just collapses - no arguing about naptime or anything, which is a pretty novel concept, let me tell you. Maybe that's what I should be thanking you for - letting your dog wear my kid out. It takes some doing, seriously."

"Ah, well, I'm always happy to help," Killian replies awkwardly with an even more awkward wink. He's not especially good about accepting this type of compliment - or any really. Still, it seems less gentlemanly at this point not to. "Anything for milady."

(In retrospect, he should have asked her to dinner at that point - as a date, as friends, as just two adults and a three-year-old eating lasagna, whatever. He just wants an excuse to see her outside of this park. That was his chance, while they were still in the middle of their rapport, and he blatantly missed it. Stupid, oblivious bastard. Time with only tell if he gets another opportunity.)

There are still things to look forward to, even as the weather turns colder and the leaves turn a multitude of colors. Bonny and Henry seem to be the only ones who aren't bothered by the shift in the weather; temperatures change fairly dramatically, up here in coastal Maine. The weather isn't what makes the appeal of this season, however. This year, that designation belongs to Halloween.

"Henry is so excited," Emma explains as they watch Henry clamber up the playground's structure; for once, Killian's crazy dog is curled at his and Emma's feet instead of chasing after her favorite toddler. Maybe she's actually learned how poorly adapted she is to the playground equipment. "He's going to be a pirate, if he hasn't shouted it in your face yet. What are you guys going to do?"

"Oh, I've got a plan in mind," Killian replies vaguely. It's not true in the least; Killian had rather forgot about the holiday until just now. But there's no way he can disappoint his favorite little swashbuckler either, leaving Killian stuck. At least for the moment. 

Which is how they've ended up here: one grown adult man, a bowl of candy, and his absurdly-shaped dog, now with twelve legs as the eight octopus limbs of her costume comically jangle every time she moves. She's a kraken. He found the knit, tentacled abomination of a sweater on Etsy. Somehow, the get-up makes her look even less threatening, which Killian didn't think was possible. Granted, her little matching hat featuring eyes poking out of her forehead doesn't help the picture. Killian isn't much for costumes himself, but damn if he won't dress his ridiculous little dog.

“Now we’re going to be very good and not run out the door, no matter how long it’s open, right?” he asks Bonny, more seriously than anyone would likely believe. So he talks to his dog; so what? Bonny, for her part, does a very good job of sitting calmly enough at his feet, though her tail wags ferociously.

He’ll take that as an agreement.

“Alright, then, let’s go! Let’s go see all the little kiddies!” he coos, patting at his leg until the little pup springs back to her feet. Not that it takes much prodding; despite her size, Bonny has all the energy of a coiled spring. Eagerly, she follows him to his small entryway, where Killian has set up a camp chair just inside the screen door. Killian knows from past years that the crowds of trick-or-treaters come in waves - fairly steady throughout the night, but with pauses in between where he hopes to maybe catch up on the mystery novel he’d checked out from the library. 

He doesn’t have to wait very long; by 6:30, the trickle of princesses and ninjas and devils begins, all here to pillage his candy (an excellent mix of Reese’s and 3 Musketeers and Milky Ways, with a bag of Twizzlers thrown in for good measure; never let him be accused of being the lame house in his neighborhood). Bonny, of course, is a hit; he can tell that she wants to leap all over their little visitors, begging for scritches and maybe a sample from their candy bags, but she stays put when Killian reminds her to stay inside. Truly, the best girl. 

By the end of the evening, however, he’s anxious; it’s almost eight, the proper trick-or-treaters have trickled off as teenagers in half-assed costumes who just want free candy take their place, and he still hasn’t seen Emma. Not that she and Henry are obligated to come by his house or anything - of course they’re not. Maybe they decided to cut the night short, or maybe (God forbid) Henry came down with something and they couldn’t come out at all. Or maybe they just decided to skip his house. Whatever. It’s fine, absolutely fine. That’s their prerogative. He’d just hope, after all Henry’s talk of his wonderful pirate costume, he’d maybe get to see it in person. 

(That is the reason he put Bonny in a kraken sweater, of all things. It wasn’t exactly a coincidence - rather, a planned coordination.)

Of course, the moment he starts accepting that the Swans just aren’t coming, the dynamic duo themselves begin making their way up his walk. Henry’s costume is everything he’d promised it would be, complete with a bandana and a drawn-on mustache and fake buckles on his light-up sneakers and a hook on his hand. Emma herself isn’t quite as decked out, but even she’s sporting a pair of cat ears and some eyeliner whiskers.

“Sorry we’re so late,” she calls as they approach his porch. “We went over to David’s neighborhood for trick-or-treating. They’ve got the good candy, supposedly.”

“Ah, naturally,” Killian smiles back. “I hope you didn’t cut your fun short, you didn’t have to drop by,” he tries to protest, but Emma waves him off.

“Henry was wearing out anyways. Plus you’re, like, two houses down from ours. It’s not exactly a hardship to make such a long trek.”

"Well I’m happy you did," Killian says, before opening the door wide and stepping aside. "Would you like to come in for a few minutes? The trick-or-treaters have mostly trickled off. I could make us a few cups of hot chocolate."

"That'd be nice. Thanks, Killian," she smiles back, helping Henry up the last few steps.

"Arrrrrr," the little boy growls ferociously. He's certainly committed to the pirate act; he even tries to shake his hook at Killian, but the effect is kind of ruined when the plastic appendage flies off to land at Killian's feet.

"I don't know about pirates, though," Killian teases with a wink at Emma. "Can I really trust such a fearsome pirate captain in my house?"

"That's a good point," Emma replies thoughtfully, playing along. "They are kind of known for pillaging. Will a pirate really be able to behave himself inside?"

"Yeah!" Henry's little voice pipes up from thigh level.

Killian keeps it going. "I've got a nice set of bookends in there; you don't think the captain would try and steal them, do you?"

"You know, I don't know. It might be better if only I came in."

"Now, I'll never say no to time alone with you, Swan," he replies saucily. It's pretty obvious that Emma almost certainly didn't think about her words first, and definitely didn't mean them that way; the sudden pops of pink on her cheeks are proof enough of that. "Come in, then. You know, I'll bet that pirates don't like hot chocolate anyways..."

"I do!" Henry says indignantly. Well, at least as indignantly as a three year old can manage. Which is a lot, all things considered. "It's me, Killy!"

"Me who?"

"Henry!"

Killian makes a show of crouching down and squinting, as if to see beneath the makeup. "Well look at that, it is Henry! You've got such a good costume, I didn't even recognize you with all that on. Do Henrys like hot chocolate, then?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, you can come in too, then," Killian laughs, ruffling his hand along the boy's hair as he stands up.

As the Swans walk into his entryway and he closes the screen door again, Bonny wanders back in from the kitchen, undoubtedly drawn by the noise. Personally, Killian thinks she makes a very adorable sight with all those tentacles bobbing and swaying and dragging as she walks.

Henry, however, seems to disagree, as he catches one sight of Killian's wee beastie and hides back behind Emma, clutching at her leg. It's definitely not the reaction that Killian expected, especially when Henry usually gets along so well with Bonny.

"It's alright, it's just Bonny," Emma tries to tell him, dropping her voice into that soothing tone Killian's come to associate with motherhood and love and a home he's long since lost. 

"It's just a costume," Killian explains, though he does also crouch down to catch Bonny by her collar and keep her from barreling forward like he can already tell she wants to. Quickly, he undoes the velcro on the hat and tugs it off; it probably does look a little alarming to young eyes. "See?"

"She's just playing pretend, kiddo. Just like you are."

Henry still looks a little wary, but Bonny is about ready to wiggle out of Killian's grasp in her excitement to see her favorite little boy, so he quickly scoops her up to bring her to Henry in a more controlled manner. 

Once Bonny's familiar pink tongue flicks out to kiss at Henry's hands and face, he relaxes, thank goodness. "You're silly, Bonny!" he giggles. 

"Well she wanted to dress to match you, lad," Killian smiles, setting the pup down so boy and beast can wrestle and play.

"She really does make a cute sea monster," Emma chuckles as they watch.

“About as well behaved as one too, some days,” Killian grumbles without any heat. It’s hard to really mean it when Bonny is so obviously good with Henry. “Let’s go to the kitchen, I’ll make you that hot chocolate.”

The kitchen is just a few steps from the living room where Henry and Bonny now play and with a clear line of sight into the other room, so he knows they won’t have to worry about the little rascals escaping their supervision. Not that there’s much to get into; the liquor and the matches are in the kitchen, and he’s not aware of anything he’d need to worry about the devious duo breaking. The living room is only filled with shelves and shelves of books. About the worst either one could do is disrupt a stack of coffee table books, and some of those would probably benefit from having pages torn out; the “Mailboxes of the Northeast” book that Belle gifted him is a real head scratcher.

“Sorry about all that,” Killian tells Emma sheepishly, scratching behind his ear in mild embarrassment. “I thought it would be a fun idea to kind of tie Bonny’s costume into Henry’s, since I knew how excited he was, but that obviously backfired. I didn’t mean to scare him, Emma, truly.”

Killian pours all his sincerity into the words, but Emma just waves him off casually. “Killian, it’s fine. He’s three, there’s going to be things that scare him sometimes, and sometimes they’ll be pretty weird. That’s kids. You couldn’t have predicted that, and it’s not your fault. And anyways,” she nods towards her son in the other room with a fond smile, “it doesn’t look like it did any permanent damage, if the way they’re carrying on in your living room is any indication.”

“That’s true,” Killian has to admit. The way Henry and Bonny are alternately chasing one another around doesn’t exactly suggest a traumatized child. “Well, I just wanted to… make sure, I guess, that you knew I didn’t mean to scare him.”

“Don’t worry, I didn’t think that.” They lapse into silence as Killian busies himself with all the necessities of making hot chocolate - collecting milk from the fridge, grabbing a trio of mugs, searching at the back of the cupboard for the tin of good Ghirardelli powder. It’s a special occasion to have the Swans in his kitchen, after all, and they only deserve the best. He’s just finishing measuring out the proper amount of milk into the saucepan - go big or go home, right, and using the microwave is decidedly not going big - when Emma speaks again.

“I actually meant to thank you for being so good with Henry. I know all that back there wasn’t exactly what you expected when you invited us inside, but you did good. Helping to calm him down, I mean. Though even before that, with the playing and teasing about his costume… you’re really good with him.”

“Oh, Swan, you don’t need to thank me for that.” Even as Killian protests, he can feel a flush of pleased embarrassment creeping up his neck. “Thank you, but it’s not necessary. Henry’s a wonderful lad, a real credit to you.”

Emma blows past the compliment, though he does detect the slightest flush on her cheeks. “Maybe you don’t think it’s much, but it means a lot to me. Henry… there’s not really a lot of male role models in his life. Obviously, his dad’s not in the picture, so it’s pretty much just David. A lot of guys… most guys don’t really want to step up like that.”

“It’s my pleasure, Emma,” Killian replies, smiling gently. This almost feels like the beginning of a moment in a way that he hadn’t expected when they’d started this conversation. A part of him wants to seize on that feeling - to step into her space further, to brush that stray lock of hair back behind her ear, to let their hands just barely graze. It’s terrifying to take that step, though, when he knows that could break apart whatever understanding they’ve reached in their weeks at the park.

Killian thinks that Emma must be of the same mind, as he can see her swallow nervously before she continues again. “I actually wanted to ask you —”

He never finds out what Emma wanted to ask him, however, as right at that moment, Henry and Bonny burst into the kitchen, chasing each other around his and Emma’s legs and forcing them closer into each other’s space. It’s like a moment out of some cliche movie, and Killian can barely breathe for the anticipation of it all, his hands somehow braced against Emma’s upper arms as she stares back at him with eyes blown wide. It’s too close, and not close enough, and he really out to step back out of her space now that the little rascals have run back into the living room — 

But then Emma presses up on her toes to drop a gentle kiss on his lips, and all the frantic thoughts running through his head disappear. It’s just a quick little thing - barely a brush of her lips against his - but something about the tentative gesture feels like trust, feels like a different commitment. It feels like hope. 

“That was…” Killian tries to say, not certain of any of his words in truth, no real idea of how that sentence ends. Amazing? Unexpected? Life-changing?

“I was wondering if you’d want to get dinner sometime,” Emma finishes on a rush. Her cheeks are tinted the most charming shade of pink, but she doesn’t seem nervous about the asking - more settled, like she finally knows what she wants and how to get it. Luckily for her, he wants the same.

“I’d love that, Swan.” Like there’s any other answer.

“Well then… good.”

“Good.” As they stand in the kitchen, smiling like fools, Killian can’t help the absolutely silly thought that crosses his mind:

Bonny’s earned herself an awful lot of treats.

(After her clever efforts to push him and Emma together - literally, in this case? She more than deserves it.)

[fraink5-writes]

Blue Ceiling - Tablet I

I’m back--again! This time I present to you an Epic of Gilgamesh/Little Mermaid fusion AU, featuring Gilgamesh (as himself) and Kingu (because he needs love)!

Thanks to @leio13 for editing!

Summary: Expecting to become king of the merpeople as son of Tiamat, Kingu is suddenly forced to give up his tail and to go the surface to restore humanity's disregarded respect for the Goddess of the Sea. However, he severely underestimates the Uruks' willpower, especially that of their stubborn king, Gilgamesh.

This chapter can also be found on Ao3 here. Without further ado, please enjoy!

Small bubbles floated past Kingu’s vision towards the distant, blue ceiling. He didn’t bother to follow them once they left his vision. How foolish, he scoffed. What’s so good up there? Before they would disappear beyond the water’s surface, they would undoubtedly disappear from Kingu’s memory. So insignificant, they weren’t worth even his pity. Of course, Kingu had so much unused pity that he could afford to give them a brief farewell as they left his world.

Kingu hadn’t the slightest idea what would happen to the bubbles when they reached the top. Would they drift along the waves like the boats he had heard about? Would they grow in size, filled with the outside air? Regardless, like all things that went up, they would never come back down.

However, Kingu’s curiosity quickly returned to the expanse of blue which stretched limitlessly in almost every direction. The unreachable haze was the nebula of his imagination, and often he would sit at the outskirts of his city and think about dissolving into the current and leaving behind his boring, everyday life. 

Unlike the surrounding ocean, the city Atargata was completely stagnant. The population had hardly changed since its foundation. Because merpeople could not die of natural causes, most of the civilization’s founders still lived in the city and occupied the same civil positions they had from the beginning. Without fear of extinction, reproduction was completely unnecessary. 

For that reason, the news of the king’s passing by a human hunting incident came as a huge surprise, and the news that Kingu would replace him, an even bigger one. The population did not hesitate to make their discomfort known to Kingu, constantly arguing over who would “actually” become the sovereign. Kingu laughed at this useless activity, for none of those contentious fossils could ever be king. Kingu, on the other hand, was born to be king. He had been created by the mother goddess Tiamat to freshen the stale waters and guide them away from their old-fashioned ways. 

Kingu threw one more glance at his unreachable, endless horizon, sighed, and trudged into the city.

***

Atargata was a grid of searock. Due to the currents, the buildings lay flat at only one story. Instead the city slowly stretched across the sandy floor. Despite its boring foundation, the city was bustling with color and life; every wall was decorated with a coral mosaic, which had grown into an entirely separate community of fish. Far from an invasion, the mercommunity had accepted their right to live there and simply left them be. Kingu admired the way they swam peacefully in their large communities—no fighting, no competition. They were undoubtedly the best inhabitants of the city.

Kingu was thoughtlessly watching the school which passed through the market, blissfully aware of the carnage of fish for sale, when his imagination was interrupted.

“Oh, if it isn't Kingu. How strange seeing you here.” The snooty voice belonged to Atargata’s no. 1 diva, Ishtar. Her lips curled, excited by the storm of insults that brewed between them. “Shouldn't your mommy being doing the groceries?”

“She isn't my ‘mommy,’ and I'm not a kid. In fact—”

“Yeah, yeah, we get it. You're going to be king. You know, a king shouldn't throw a temper tantrum because of a little teasing.” With her hand waiting impatiently on her ruby-scaled hip, Ishtar’s eyes danced; Kingu’s resentment fueled them like oxygen to a flame.

Kingu wanted to smother them. He said nothing.

“Huh? Are you going to ignore me?” Ishtar folded her arms. “I’m giving you good advice, you know. That was like elementary school teasing. If you can’t even take that…”

“Aren’t you too old for child’s play?” Kingu returned his disappointment with his gaze.

“Excuse me! I am not that old.”

“And I’m not a child.” Kingu turned away, hoping to return to his business with the fish.

“Jeez… it's all because of that witch…” A muttered comment, only half-intended for Kingu to hear.

“She's not a witch. She was a mermaid too.”

“She's a traitor, flirting with humans.”

That's not—Kingu didn't know enough to say it wasn't true. But Gorgon, the supposed sea monster, hated humans. She would have never flirted with them, Kingu was certain.

Ishtar sighed. “You may be a brat, but you're still a merman. You should be on our side, not that monster's.”

“It's because you’re irresponsible..” Kingu had been holding that comment back longer than he had even realized. “All of you are too self-centered. Only Gorgon tried to take care of me.”

“Well.” Ishtar's face scrunched with displeasure. “If you're insistent on being on her side in spite of everything, then I assume you're prepared to take responsibility for her, ‘future king?’ What do you plan to do about the human issue?”

Kingu couldn't care less about the humans. As long as they remained on land, they were outside of his little world. Completely irrelevant. “What issue?” he asked, feigning the vaguest interest.

“‘What issue?’ Ugh! Does anything matter to you outside of your moody internal monologue?! It's the lack of respect! The humans have forgotten their origins and parading around like they're kings of the world!”

“Does it matter? The opinions of something so insignificant such as humanity shouldn't mean anything to our civilization. Let them think what they want. They are just fools.”

“Hah, so you're not on the side of humans either.” Ishtar looked surprisingly delighted. “You really are naive. If you want to be treated seriously, you should find out where you want to be.”

***

“You can just ignore her,” Gorgon spat, baring her fangs at an enemy who wasn't there. “Her head's just inflated because of her little cult. Even her fellow council members know she's just an idiot. So, you don't need to worry about her becoming king.”

“Of course I don't.” Kingu hastily dismissed the idea, which had never once crossed his mind. “The only one who will become king is me. It's my destiny.”

“Yes, that too.” Gorgon's sharp, purple eyes stared King up and down then drifted in the direction of the city. She grimaced. “Say, Kingu, why do want to be the king of those people, anyway?”

That should have been such a simple question—it was his duty to lead the people—yet it brought him to a halt. Indeed, he had no desire to rule those people; he hated them. But he had never questioned his own resolve to rule over them, and he wouldn't start then.

“I know what you're thinking, Gorgon. They're stupid and selfish, cruel and jealous. But that's why they need someone like me. I will mercilessly teach them how to behave.”

“That's quite a forgiving offer for such a despicable bunch,” Gorgon muttered, bloodlust seeping from every scale which covered her body.

That bloodlust was Gorgon's greatest flaw, Kingu thought. It'd really do her some good to let some of it go, or at least conceal it better. The rumors about Gorgon which had been circling around town since the previous king's death were not completely implausible, he had to admit. For his part, Kingu was certain that his suffering would be repaid in due time without needless acts of violence. Tiamat was on his side after all.

“Right?” He grinned. “They should try to be more like me!”

***

When Kingu next returned to the city, he had already forgotten about Ishtar and any other annoying face which plagued his usual visits. He ignored even the schools of fish as he swam through them, for his eyes were set on only one thing: the grand temple at the center of Atargata. The temple of Tiamat stood taller and more colorful than anywhere else, and because no person dared enter it, it was a bustling haven for fish. This time, however, Kingu had an invitation, so it could hardly be called intruding.

Inside, the corridors of the temple echoed with a doleful song. Although unfamiliar, the voice filled Kingu with an unplaceable nostalgia and an unfathomable sorrow. Without knowing the cause of her grieving, Kingu vowed to resolve it. 

The still figure of Tiamat was the eye of the storm of fish which, driven by her music, raced around the hall. Yet she was blind to her surroundings. Her song had wrapped her protectively, sheltering her from the saddening world outside. 

“Mother, I’ve come as you requested,” Kingu barely whispered, awed by the scene before him. 

“It is a truly grievous situation.” Tiamat’s eyes stared into a world beyond Kingu’s small one. He could see nothing in their nebulous purple. But her wordless song he clearly understood; it spoke directly to his heart. It ached with loneliness as it pleaded. Who could allow such sorrow? Kingu scorned the apathy of people and fish alike. But Kingu was different from those ungrateful people; he would do his utmost to heal her grieving heart.

“What can I do to help? Please tell me.”

Kingu’s heart stopped with Tiamat’s melody. She spoke with a soft voice. “The humans have forgotten me, their mother. They continue without thinking of the sea, of their roots.”

...The humans? As Tiamat’s singing vacated his mind, confusion seeped in. Of course, the humans are the most ungrateful of them all—above all, completely unaware of their insignificance. If Kingu’s enemy was humans, it would undoubtedly be an easy task. 

“How arrogant—those pathetic humans. They will no doubt rue their pride.”

“You must go up there and amend their ways, teach them reverence for their mother. Their young king, Gilgamesh, is especially insolent; you must correct him.”

The words repeated ad infinitum in Kingu’s head, blurring into meaningless but maddening sounds. He exhaled to clear all the clutter. “How should I do that?” The question floated in his vicinity, afraid to get an answer from Tiamat.

“You must join them. Become human. They won’t listen to anyone else.” 

The words knocked Kingu like a strong current, and he struggled to regain himself. He could not imagine being a human. To become human was to abandon his home, his aspirations, his pride. Kingu was a merman; to discard that was to discard his identity altogether. The possibility of becoming human had never crossed Kingu’s mind, yet suddenly, it was his reality. Even if he still had his emerald tail, Tiamat’s words had stripped him of his mermanhood on the spot. 

“Once you’re human, you must never mention your origins to anyone. You must live completely as a human.”

It was so lonely. He had been alone for most of his life, but never had he felt true loneliness, the kind that caused Tiamat to sing. It filled his heart with solid lead. “And when I’ve finished my mission…?” He choked out.

“I have arranged your meeting with the human king. There will be a storm on the waves; you must meet him then.” Tiamat’s song started again with the swirl of fish, signalling the end of their conversation.

As Kingu left the temple, the sorrowful melody chased after his tail.

***

Kingu held his breath before breaking through the water’s surface. The outside world was just gray. Gloomy, voluminous gases hung in the air as far as he could see, and water poured from the sky. Even the ocean was, from the top, a shifting surface of darkness, wave after wave trying to topple Kingu and throw him back underneath. He had never imagined water could be this unpleasant.

But the air was worse. Each breath was an inhalation of poison, scorching his throat. Yet, he kept inhaling—faster and faster. His lungs heaved, quickly moving the toxin in and out. But something wasn’t enough. Faster and faster. His heart raced to keep up. 

“King Gilgamesh!” The sound of a voice stopped Kingu’s breathing entirely. It came from a medium-sized vessel which swayed drunkenly atop the angry seas. Standing proudly at one of the curved ends was the only color in the depressing scene: a golden human. His short hair shone as golden as his armor. That man could only be the king.

The lustrous man disappeared under the waves along with his vessel. 

Oh. Kingu had to rescue him. As a mere human, the golden man could not breath underwater and would quickly die. How pathetic. Such weak lungs. It was probably more convenient to just let the human die. He was the source of their problems, after all. If the humans lost their insolent leader, maybe they would relearn their respect. What value did this human have which was worth saving?

Despite himself, Kingu dived back below the surface of the waves and sped after the human king. But the sinking human had already lost consciousness by the time Kingu had caught up to him. Hoping he was still alive somehow, Kingu grabbed him and raced to the surface. No response. Kingu needed to find land somehow. In the distance, he made out a faint moving light. Maybe it was the sun. In any case, it meant calmer water, so he pulled the body towards it. 

As the storm began clearing, Kingu realized the light was actually from a peculiar tower on the beach. But his surprise was drowned out by his relief at finding land. He threw the human on the ground and waited for him to wake. 

Maybe it was better if the human didn’t wake up. He was the greatest obstacle to Kingu’s objective. Instilling fear in the other humans would be easier if this one wasn’t around. And, at least, Kingu could say that he tried to save him. But then Kingu’s rescue attempt would have been in vain... 

In any case, it was out of Kingu’s hands. He decided to study the surrounding area to take his mind off the stress of waiting. So this was the land where he was forced to live. The sand, or so he figured, was a grainy substance the color of the human’s hair that stuck grossly to his wet skin. Beyond the beach, far in the distance, there seemed to be a stone wall. 

Before he could get a better look, Kingu’s attention was grabbed by the human next to him, who had begun to cough. Seriously? You’re on land now. If you humans can’t even breathe on land, what good are you? Kingu scoffed at the human as water sputtered from his lips. But if there was water still inside the human, then, Kingu realized, it was up to him to draw it out somehow. Reluctantly, he leaned in for a closer inspection. He had no idea how to deal with humans—much less a drowning person.. If he turned him over, would the water come out?

During his increasingly panicked contemplation, Kingu was startled by two ruby-colored eyes which stared at him. His heart skipped a beat upon realizing he had never been so close to a human before. He couldn’t move; the bright eyes, which had locked their gaze after a final coughing fit, commanded him to be still.

“Who…” The human began. His eyes drifted down from Kingu’s face. “...Are you?”

Kingu felt he had no choice but to follow that stare. There. Long, fleshy, and undeniably human. Legs? Since when? Kingu’s mind went white. 

When Kingu came to his senses, the man, who had slithered out from underneath him, was scowling. Nevertheless, he extended a hand in Kingu’s direction. 

Kingu could only stare blankly at the strangely amical gesture before he was ripped from the ground and placed on his feet. 

It hurt. Kingu’s new feet were brittle; they could break just from the weight of his own body. He immediately toppled over. The human grabbed him with another groan and started to drag him towards the wall. Kingu, unsure of what to do with his new legs, tried to imitate his helper, but it was too painful. One foot in front of the other. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt. 

Water droplets began welling up in the corners of Kingu’s eyes. Was this what it meant to cry? The tears which rolled down Kingu’s cheeks and met his lips were warm and salty. It was a miserable taste.

***

The walk through the city was lost on Kingu, whose consciousness was largely suppressed by the pain. But somehow he and the man he had rescued ended up in front of a decently sized brick building. It was someone’s home, Kingu guessed.

“Shamhat!” The blonde man barked.

After a minute or two of shuffling sounds, a human woman appeared at the doorway. “I’m sorry for the indecency, your majesty. I was with a customer.”

Kingu found nothing indecent about the woman. Wearing a plain, white dress, she had a simple but radiant beauty. Her brown hair shimmered green in the reappearing sunlight.

“Not anymore,” the man quickly dismissed. “I’m leaving this man to you.”

The woman, Shamhat presumably, eyed Kingu up and down then smiled coyly at him before turning back to the human king. “Yes, your majesty.”

“Also, fetch me a fresh pair of clothing before I go.”

“Of course.” Shamhat’s inspection had completely moved to the man’s sopping garments. “... What happened?”

“I’ll explain later. Just hurry up. Take him with you.” 

Having no control in the manner, Kingu was thrown harshly at Shamhat, who caught him surprisingly gently and eased him into the home and onto a bed. She quickly hurried off after that, giving Kingu a few minutes to reflect on what happened. 

He had rescued the human king, Gil… Gil-something and was taken to a mysterious woman’s home. He couldn’t make much sense of anything beyond that. 

He had legs now. Although the bed was a significant relief compared to standing, just the thought of his new legs sent him a painful shock. He never wanted to walk again. How could the humans do it every day, all day? They were undeterred to the point of foolishness. 

Shamhat returned and sat near the head of the bed. “Here you go.” Taking a cloth, she wiped Kingu’s cheeks. Apparently, tears still lingered. How embarrassing. To hide or at least avoid looking at Shamhat, Kingu turned his cheek. This action only made Shamhat giggle, so Kingu gave up and turned to face her. With a small smile, Shamhat seemed to be more than a human. Her unparallelled kindness and beauty could not be attributed to the selfish and arrogant humans.

“How are you feeling?” Shamhat asked. “Do you have a name?”

Shamhat’s gentleness had caused Kingu to drop his guard and he blurted out his name.

“So you can talk!”

Kingu nodded, aware of the irony, but he was too busy planning his next responses to the questions which would inevitably follow. He couldn’t slip up again.

“I’m relieved to know that. So then, Kingu, where are you from?”

“I don’t remember…” Kingu’s voice faded away with feigned shame. 

“You don’t remember?” Shamhat questioned him. “That’s troubling… What do you remember?”

“When I came to, I could only remember my name, Kingu.”

“Oh my!” Shamhat pursed her lips but quickly went back to smiling. “Well, that’s a good place to start!” Then she added, “Are you hungry? What foods do you like?” 

The question troubled Kingu, who hadn’t the slightest knowledge of the human diet. As he racked his brain, Shamhat chimed in again, “How about bread?” With a nod from Kingu (what did he know about bread?), Shamhat disappeared into a different room.

“Anyway.” Shamhat quickly returned with the strange food, apparently called bread. “I heard you can't walk; is this true?”

“Yes.” Kingu's voice was tinged with bitterness leftover from his miserable experience.

Shamhat blinked as though surprised Kingu confirmed her beliefs. “Then, how did you rescue King Gilgamesh?”

Even Kingu couldn't adequately explain that one. “I don't know. By chance?”

Shamhat inspected him. “Well, I'm very grateful, as is all of Uruk, I'm sure.”

“What kind of person is uh Gilguhh…”

“King Gilgamesh? He is an awe-inspiring person. Uruk's greatest king. He is responsible for the city's grandeur, its prosperity, and its safety. We owe our calm and happy everyday lives to him. And to you. If you had not saved him earlier, we would have been in trouble. So thank you. Thank you from every citizen of Uruk."

Kingu was ashamed to admit he understood her reasoning. When Atargata's previous king died unexpectedly, the city was taken over by chaos. They were disturbingly similar to humans in that regard. Kingu scoffed at himself. Why was he saving the human kingdom? He had to hurry back home and fix things in his own city.

[chaoscheebs]

Celdic Crew Group Chat Log

So, um, look, I had the urge to type out a fake chat log for Fie, Elliot, and Machias, because they’re probably pretty tight after what happened post Cold-Steel 1/early-ish Cold Steel II.  No serious spoilers I can think of, it’s just a roller-coaster of stuff.

Tl;dr their group chats are wild.

------

Fie: you see this is why i’m the only one of us who’s touched a boob

Elliot: Didn’t Machias technically touch one too?

Machias: WHAT WHEN?!?!?

Fie: oh yeah, in the windmill.  forgot about that

Machias: WHAT I DID NOT

Fie: you were sleeping.  you called me ‘jusis’ and went in for the squeeze. honestly you were doing a pretty good job, i was almost hesitant to smack you awake

Machias: WHAT

Elliot: Man, I still get why you did that, Fie, but did you have to smack him hard enough to make him elbow ME?????

Machias: THAT WAS WHY YOU DID THAT!?!?!?!?  WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL ME?!?!?!!

Fie: didn’t seem important

Elliot: Honestly, I thought you knew you were Mr. Hands in your sleep already after all the times *I* elbowed you awake too.

Machias: NO I DID NOT YOU SHOULD HAVE TOLD ME!!!!  I WOULD HAVE SLEPT FURTHER FROM YOU IF YOU TOLD ME!!!!!!!

Elliot: And let you freeze instead?  We knew the risks after the first night.  D|

Fie: nah he wouldn’t have frozen, it wasn’t THAT cold.  he’d COMPLAIN a lot in the morning tho

Elliot: Oh, yeah, definitely.  Especially since we didn’t have his terrifying favorite coffee blend available there.

Fie: lol yeah

Machias: MY COFFEE ISN’T TERRIFYING AND ALSO DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT

Elliot: Machias, it has a *caution label* on it to not drink more than two cups of it and you down the whole damned pitcher!  D: D: D:

Fie: it’s honestly kinda impressive, you really are unbreakable lol

Machias: CAN WE GET BACK TO THE POINT ALREADY?!?!?

Elliot: Machias, when do we ever get to the point here?

Machias: . . .  DON’T TRY TO CONFUSE ME WITH LOGIC HERE.  8T

Fie: lol

Elliot: *Anyway*, if we were really upset about it, we would’ve said something, but we knew you really missed your boyfriend, so…

Machias: HE IS NOT—I MEAN HE WAS NOT—ARGH THIS IS STILL HARD TO ADMIT NOW

Fie: that’s the other reason we didn’t say anything, you were EXTRA shouty whenever we mentioned him back then

Elliot: Truth.  You two going from *loudly* hatefucking constantly to actually admitting you *liked* each other was a long, wild ride.  A long, *LOUD* wild ride.  D|

Machias: JUSIS STILL TWITCHES HILARIOUSLY WHENEVER HE HEARS “THE DEVIL WENT DOWN TO CELDIC” THANKS TO YOU TRYING TO MAKE US STOP BEING LOUD, BY THE WAY

Fie: so does alisa, she had some choice words about your angry midnight concertos too

Elliot: Oops.  She did kinda live above me, didn’t she?  I should maybe send her apology flowers someday.

Machias: THAT’D ONLY BE NICE.

Fie: i notice you’re not asking for flowers too

Machias: HONESTLY WE KINDA DESERVED IT.  ALSO IT WAS PRETTY FUNNY.  SERIOUSLY, SOME STREET MUSICIAN WAS PLAYING IT ON OUR LAST, ER, MEETING AND YOU COULD FEEL THE BARELY REPRESSED ANGER COMING OFF OF HIM, LOL.

Fie: lol

Elliot: Lol.

Fie: so did rean ever realize you weren’t playing unsexy violin ditties because you just love music that much?

Elliot: Not on his own, no.  Emma and I ended up talking to him about several things he was, um, overlooking waaaaaaaaaaaaay back before that school festival at the academy.

Machias: OVERLOOKING, MY BUTT, HE HAD TO BE WILLFULLY IGNORANT AT THAT POINT.  I’M PRETTY SURE EVEN MILLIUM HAD IT FIGURED OUT AT A GLANCE, HOW DID EVERYTHING AROUND HIM FLY OVER HIS HEAD THAT MUCH

Fie: lol wow way to burn yourself man

Machias: IN MY DEFENSE I’M ALSO BURNING JUSIS AT THE SAME TIME, WE WERE COMPLETE GARBAGE HIDING ANYTHING AND WE ALL KNOW IT.

Fie: true, lol

Elliot: Also in his defense, I was also talking about all the *other* stuff that flew right over his head.  Like the fact he kept taking me to *date spots* and also apparently witnessed Laura’s love confession to you, Fie, and completely didn’t notice.

Fie: eh, it was laura.  it flew over her head too for a while.  good thing she’s kinda cute when she’s clueless, lol

Elliot: It’s terrifying that Machias and Jusis were the closest to having their stuff together out of all of us back then, by the way.

Fie: absolutely horrifying

Machias: HEY

Elliot: It’s kinda true.  You two were at each other’s throats for a while there, man.

Fie: and not in the kinky way

Elliot: It’s probably in the kinky way now, tho’.  XD

Fie: no doubt lol

Machias: WILL YOU TWO STOP?!?!?  BESIDES DON’T YOU TWO HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN RIP ON ME????????

Elliot: Not really; my schedule’s clear today.

Fie: the better question is don’t YOU have anything better to do than stay here and get dunked on

Machias: . . . NOT REALLY I’M WAITING ON JUSIS’S TRAIN TO COME IN

Elliot: Well, there you go.

Fie: aww, you have plans then?

Machias: NOT ANYTHING MAJOR, HE’S COMING IN ON BUSINESS AND I THOUGHT WE COULD AT LEAST SQUEEZE IN LUNCH TOGETHER BETWEEN THAT

Elliot: “Lunch.”

Fie: ‘lunch’

Machias: OH GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER

Elliot: So you’re not planning on finding a closet to fool around in, then~?  ;)

Machias: . . . . . . . . . SHUT UP

Fie: this is text

Machias: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!!!!!  AND HONESTLY, FOR SOMEONE WHO KEEPS TALKING SHIT ABOUT ME BEING A HORNBALL, YOU’RE THE ONE WHO ALWAYS KEPT FINDING SOME DOROTHEE-LEVEL GAY SMUT, ELLIOT

Fie: it’s always the cute, quiet ones lololol

Elliot: Hey, Dorothee knew where it was at, guys; you’re all just mean.  :(

Machias: IT ALWAYS SURPRISED ME HOW SHE GOT AWAY WITH AS MUCH AS SHE DID WITH THOSE BOOKS

Elliot: Eh, when it sticks to just text, it’s hard to tell at a glance if it’s “clean” or not without reading the whole thing, and teachers don’t have time for that.  Thank Aidios for exploitable loopholes!

Machias: DIDN’T PROTECT ME WHEN YOU GAVE SOME “LITERATURE” TO READ.  8|

Elliot: That’s because it had illustrations; it’s hard *not* to notice when there’s pages like that.  Quality art, tho’.

Machias: . . . IT KINDA WAS

Fie: ok, first what book is this, and second why didn’t you share with me

Elliot: Because it got confiscated way back when.  It’s out of print now too to boot, dammit.  :( :( :(

Machias: RIP IN PIECES, LOVE’S FIRST BITE, PEPPERONY AND CHEASE

Fie: what

Elliot: Machias, get off the orbal net, we’re worried about you.

Machias: ORBAL NET MEMES ARE THE WAY OF THE FUTURE, DAMN IT

Fie: neeeeeeeeeeeeerd

Elliot: Turbo-nerd.

Fie: lord nerdlinger regnitz-albarea of the nerdlinger province

Machias: DAMN IT DON’T START MARRYING ME OFF WE’RE NOT AT THAT POINT YET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Elliot: Too late, we’ve called Gaius, he’s gonna officiate the marriage.

Fie: he said ‘fucking finally, next we have to get rean and elliot to be a thing’

Elliot: FIE!!

Machias: HA

Fie: it’s true tho, you need to go kiss your husband already, elliot

Machias: SERIOUSLY, I NEVER UNDERSTOOD WHY YOU TWO NEVER ENDED UP A THING, YOU TWO WERE SUPER-CLOSE EVEN BACK AT THE ACADEMY

Elliot: Rean’s not interested.  End of story.

Fie: did you ask him?

Elliot: Don’t need to.  If he couldn’t tell I was flirting with him, or notice where exactly he kept taking me, he clearly wasn’t into me like that.  End.  Of.  Story.

Machias: ELLIOT, WE HAVE ESTABLISHED REAN IS A HUGE DUMBASS IN THIS AREA.  ASK HIM.

Elliot: I.  Said.  End.  Of.  Story.

Fie: ouch, we found a sore spot  :c

Elliot: Look, I just… I don’t really want to talk about this, OK?  Rean’s never seemed super-interested in… anyone, really, and I doubt I’m magically going to be the exception, and I accept that.

Machias: . . . . . . . . .

Fie: …………………………………

Machias: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Elliot: … you really want to say something, don’t you.

Fie: not saying a word

Machias: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OK LOOK

Fie: oh boy

Machias: I’D ARGUE YOU’RE THE ONLY PERSON HE’S SHOWN ANY SERIOUS INTEREST IN, ELLIOT.  HE TOOK ***ME*** TO THAT DUMB ROSE GARDEN THING FIRST AND I TOLD HIM IT WAS MORE A COUPLE’S THING AND HE STILL TOOK ***YOU*** THERE TOO.  REAN IS AN AWKWARD ***DUMBASS*** ABOUT THIS STUFF, ***ASK HIM***

Elliot: Machias…

Machias: BE DIRECT AND ASK HIM OUT.  IF HE SAYS NO, HE REALLY ISN’T INTERESTED, OK, FINE, GIVE UP THEN.  BUT DON’T GIVE UP BEFORE YOU REALLY TRY!!!!

Elliot: … ha.  Man, you really can’t stop yourself from talking, huh?

Machias: HEY, I MIGHT BE A DUMBASS ABOUT THIS KINDA THING TOO, BUT I’M A DUMBASS IN A STEADY RELATIONSHIP.  I KNOW THINGS SOMETIMES.

Fie: i can’t believe i’m agreeing with him, but for once, he has a point.  do the thing, go get you your man

Elliot: Fie…  Man, you guys…

Machias: DAMN, I THINK THAT’S JUSIS’S TRAIN.  SEE YOU LATER, GUYS.

Fie: have fun on your ‘lunch date’

Machias: OH DON’T START

Elliot: Yeah, later, Machias.  Um… thanks for caring?

Machias: THANK ME ONCE YOU’VE GOTTEN YOURSELF YOUR BOYFRIEND.  BYE!!

[MACHIAS has left the room]

Elliot: … he really doesn’t understand how severe that sounds at all, does he.

Fie: nope

[bonkers-4-hatter]

Lance X !Fat Reader X Lotor - Race To Your Heart Ch.3

---

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.” 

Lance threw his hands up at Hunk who spoke those words, as the larger paladin put the finishing touches on the cake he was decorating; a look of concern etched on his face.

“Why’s that Hunk,” the blue paladin crossed his arms, an annoyed look coming upon his face. “It’s not like (Y/N) would pick Lotor anyways.” 

Putting the piping tube down, Hunk looked at his friend with a raised brow. “How do you know what (Y/N) wants Lance?” 

“(Y/N) avoids him like he’s a disease, there’s no way she’d go for him!” Hunk scoffed at Lance’s pathetic explanation, only shaking his head at his friend. “She’d go for me in a heartbeat, I guarantee.”

Hunk full out laughed at Lance’s words as he grasped his stomach with the force of his laugh. “Wait,” The yellow paladin finally got his laughing under control and cleared his throat before continuing on. “You mean to tell me that (Y/N) would go for the guy she tries to stay away from every time he flirts with her, dude, have you not seen the looks (Y/N) gives you when you try to make a move on her?”

The confident smile slipped from Lance’s face. “What’re you talkin’ about Hunk?”

“Easy,” A voice piped up from the door, both guys turning to see Pidge walk through the door. “Lance, (Y/N) loathes that you flirt with her the way you do, you honestly get on her nerves a bit.” The green paladin said this with a cheeky smile.  

Lance was slack jawed at the small girls’ comment. Looking between his two friends, he wasn’t really sure what to say; which was actually a relief to the two other paladins in the room.

“But,” Pidge shut the door to the kitchen, gaining the other two’s attention. “Moving on from Lance’s nonexistence love life to something more important like what the hell kind of deal you made about (Y/N).” Hunk just shook his head and pointed to Lance.

“It was all him, he just told me about right before you got here.”

“Wow, way to throw a guy under the bus, Hunk.” Hunk sent a nervous smile over to Lance who was getting stared down by the small paladin.

“Let’s cut to the chase,” Pidge crossed her arms and glared at Lance. “(Y/N) isn’t some damn prize to be won Lance and I thought you had half a mind to know that!” Pidges’ voice rose with each word she spoke and soon she was poking Lance in the chest.

“Listen Pidge, it’s ju-.” Lance was cut off by a sharp poke to the chest. 

“No! Now you have until the end of the week to tell (Y/N) about this yourself or I’ll tell her; got it?” With that said, Pidge left the other two silent and Lance trembling at the small girls’ words. 

“Man, you totally messed up this time Lance.” Hunk went back to piping, shaking his head. 

“Yeah….yeah I did.” 

--

“What should I do?” Your voice echoed lightly through your silent room as you gazed up at the ceiling. Your talk with Pidge did help a bit, but your mind was still frazzled by everything.

Lance and Lotor’s behavior have been really weird, but at the same time, you didn’t want it to stop. One part of you enjoyed the attention they gave you, but the other part made you push them away and act as if their actions disgusted you.

I mean, sometimes they did.

Between Lance’s flirty comments, sometimes borderline harassment and Lotor’s overly nice attitude and constant pestering for your attention; you were stuck between a rock and a hard place that was for damn sure. 

I mean, back on Earth guys never really gave you the time of day unless it was to ask about getting one of your friends’ numbers or just throwing some insults your way. It used to bother you, but now the small insults never really fazed you at this point. 

Closing your eyes, you took a deep breath to calm yourself. 

Well, the only thing you did know was that laying here staring at the ceiling wouldn’t solve anything. Swinging your legs to the side, you sluggishly stood up, stretching your limbs until the satisfying ‘pops’ emitted. Maybe you can go cook with Hunk, yeah that usually helps you unwind.

As your door slid open, a face startled you. Lance’s face to be exact who still had his hand raised up ready to knock. 

“Oh, h-hey (Y/N).” 

“Hey Lance….what’s up?” Your brow raised at how weird, well, weirder he was acting.

“I just wanted to see if…..if you wanted to eat some cake with me?” He looked nervous and on edge like he was hiding something. 

“Ar-“ 

“I mean,” Lance cut you off with a boisterous laugh, clearly showing his nerves. “You like cake, right? Sure ya do, you never skip desert that’s for sure!” Your eyes narrowed at his words, words that he obviously didn’t think about before he spoke them. Crossing your arms, your jaw clenched a bit.

“I….I didn’t mean it like that… you kn-.” 

You cut him off with a sharp look. “Lance, enough.” 

Without waiting for his response, you pushed past him and made your way toward the library where you could hopefully get some peace and not a desert jab or whatever the hell he was trying to say.

Rounding the corner, there was Lotor entering the library with a book in hand. You cursed the higher power above and thought somebody had it out for you. Well, he didn’t notice you, that was good, but now you had a choice. Do you turn around and go back to your room and hope that Lance was gone and being a stuttering fool somewhere else, or go into the library and get a book. One where it can take you far away to another world even though Lotor was occupying the space. 

Heaving a sigh, you continued down the hallway finally deciding that you wanted to get your hands on a book to occupy yourself. 

Opening the door just enough to slip yourself through, you tried shutting the door as quietly as you could, but a loud creaking noise emitted as you shut the door fully. You silently cursed to whoever was trying to get back at you from up above. 

“Hello?” Lotor’s voice filtered through the quite room and you wanted to bang your head against the door in hopes of knocking yourself out so you wouldn’t have to have another conversation with a man, at least not tonight. 

“Ah, (Y/N)…. Are you alright?” Lifting your head up, you turned to Lotors concerned face. 

“Yeah, just been a bad night is all.” You managed to give a tight smile as you moved around the Prince and toward the shelves of books. Your hands grazed the spines of the books, feeling the roughness on your fingertips was nice and calming. 

“Hoping to calm your mind with a nice read then?” Glancing up, you met his gaze through the cracks between the books. Giving a scoff, you nodded. 

“Yeah, something like that.” Your eyes scanned the titles, most of them in another language, the strange markings catching your eye.

“Well, might I suggest a title?” Well, at least this conversation was going better than the one you had with Lance. Turning to the Prince, you leaned against the huge bookcase not worrying about it not holding your weight for once. 

“As long as it’s a book I can actually read,” Lotor smirked at your words, as he took another step toward you as you tried to keep space between you two, but with already being against the bookshelf, there really wasn’t much room.

You could feel the heat radiating off Lotor’s body and you weren’t going to lie, it felt nice. “O-or if they have pictures, otherwise I’ll be completely lost.” You cursed yourself for stuttering like that. Lotor only chuckled at your words as he put his hand on your shoulder.

“Since this book has neither of those, how about I read it to you, that way, you can relax and wander to another world without doing any of the work.” 

Before you could respond, or even comprehend what to say, Lotor guided you toward the reading area of the Library. It was beautiful, it always stole your breath away when you saw it. The reading area was composed of extravagant love seats and chairs with soft pillows, soft handmade rugs surrounded the area and it even had a giant fireplace in marble that had a fire already roaring in it. 

Lotor ushered you to the love seat where you sank down into the softness of the furniture. You closed your eyes for a moment to enjoy the softness overtaking you until something fuzzy was placed over you. Cracking open your eyes, Lotor finished placing a blanket over your form. 

“I didn’t want you to get cold.” You gave him a small smile as he cracked open the book and began reading. You were half listening to the book as your mind wandered, trying to figure out Lotor’s behavior. Yes, he has been trying to interact with you for a while now, but you never gave him the time of day because of how he changed sides, fighting against the Galra now. Your eyes shifted over to Lotor who was still reading the book, a small smile on his face as he did so. 

Snuggling into the blanket and pillows surrounding you, you let his voice soothe you into a calming relaxing mode. Maybe Lotor wasn’t all that bad, maybe you jumped the gun too quickly on him. 

Slowly, your eyes started to close thanks to the Prince’s soothing voice.

[chaniters]

Revealed

Thanks @kissingagrumpygiant for lending me Ana Basri! Your art’s so fking EPIC! 

(It was sooooo hard to find a title for this, all I could think of was Detective Pikachu!!!!)

_______________________________________

You knock on the door and stand back checking your cellphone as you wait. There are no new messages as usual. That's good.

He's the only one who has this number.

The message seemed quite urgent... "Please come by to my place tonight, we need to talk"

You're not sure what this is about, but you're not liking it one bit. Typically it's him pestering you for a little while until you crack and agree to meet.

But this message... he used "please". No flirting, no funny emojis, no bribe or boast.

That's not how he does things, he enjoys the power-play far too much. Something's not right...

The door open, and there he is, with a smile that seems a bit too forced dressed just a bit too casual... He's not trying to impress you.

"Ana... please, come in" He motions you to the living room, before disappearing and bringing drinks

"What's the matter?" You ask as soon as he gets back. This is starting to get on your nerves.

"I'm not sure how to say this but..."

"But what?" you ask impatiently.

"I know, Ana"

"You know What?"

"I mean... I KNOW" he says looking straight into your eyes.

It takes a few seconds for the whole sentence to down into your system.

"I don't know what you're talking about," you say with a fake clueless smile. This isn't happening. It's just a setup... he can't possibly know...

"Ana I just want to help you..."

"I don't need your help Ricardo... and I still don't know what you mean" you cross your arms and look deep into him. Let him show his cards before you draw yours.

"You're not going to admit it to the very end, right?" he asked looking hurt

"There's nothing to admit. And I don't like this game... if this is why you called me..." You stand up and take your coat to leave.

"I followed Eden," he says.

"Should I know that person?" Your answer is almost automatical. Like you were trained to. Keep the flow. He will never catch you stuttering...

"That's how I met you at that bar... I was waiting for him to appear and instead, you did... back from the dead"

That gives you pause. He was spying on Eden before he found out you were alive?

"I know whom he works for... I followed him many times. I know he lives under your own apartment, Ana... "

This can't be happening...

"You're spying on a neighbor?"

He sighs exasperated.

"Drop the act... I know you are Puppet Master"

The words are like a hammer shattering the world you've built around yourself to feel safe.

He walks closer to you. "I can help you... I can..."

He extends a hand...

"NO!" you scream, pushing him back with all your strength. "Stay away from me!"

He stumbles as you take several steps back, trying to remember which way was the door... If only this was his old house!

"I can't help you if you won't let me!"

"I don't need your help!" You say heading for the corridor. THere's the door...

He takes your arm. "I'm sorry... But I can't let you go. Not like this!"

Panic.

Your free hand goes into a fist and connects with his face before you even know what you're doing.

Knuckles connect directly with his nose, but he doesn't let go. You try to hit him again and again, but he manages to get a hold of your wrist.

You scream in frustration showing him your teeth and trying to shake him off, but he pins you down against a wall instead, your arms held above your head.

His nose is bleeding, but he won't let go.

"STOP THAT!" he yells at you.

Of course, you don't do that. You try to struggle as hard as possible. Kick him... but he only draws closer, using his whole body to keep you pinned down.

"Stop it" he speaks a second time a bit more calmly. "Can't we at least try to talk about this?"

Your struggle becomes weaker as it becomes obvious he's not going to move. Without your armor, his mods have easily decided this fight. You're trapped.

"THere's nothing to talk about," you say looking away from him.

"Nothing to... ANA! I'm Telling you, I want to FUCKING HELP YOU!"

"Oh yeah? And how in the hell are you going to do that?" you yell back.

"I... I know they're using you! I know it's all part of their plan... If you help us, we can finish this... and you'll be free. She won’t control you anymore!"

Now, this is turning bizarre.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I know Hollow Ground's forcing you to do this! Making you turn against us...  I just don't understand how..."

You give him a blank stare... he thinks Hollow Ground is...

You can't help it... you burst into laughter... which only makes him more agitated.

"Why are you laughing? Let me fucking help you! I can't let her keep using you! I want to get back my friend..."

"Hahaha.. ha... oh wow.. this... this is rich..."

"Stop mocking me already!"

"I'm not mocking you... it's just... Hollow Ground has nothing to do with it"

"I know she does! Eden always works making contacts at places she owns... that's where he met that scientist... and he lives under you. I know he's there to keep an eye on you and make sure you follow her orders... THat's why I've been spying on him.. befriending him. I’m going to get you free of Hollow Ground!"

So that's why he ended up training with Eden all this time?... You can't help the laughter again... really...

It’s impressive. If he followed him for that long without you knowing, then that means Detective Charge actually gathered a huge pile of evidence, lied to you about it all along not to tip you on his findings... 

...and then drew entirely wrong conclusions out of it all. 

"You're not going to admit it, then?"

"You only got one part of this whole fantasy right amigo...  I AM the Puppet Master. But I am NOT Hollow Ground's bitch. I'm my own person."

“What…?”

“The question is… what are you going to do about it…?” you ask, your voice subtly changing back into puppet master’s tone. Even without the distorter, he knows you well enough to realize it. “Still going to help me?” you ask with a cruel smile. It’s not fair for him… but since when has anything been fair to you?

“Are you trying to protect her? Just tell me what she’s got over you! Is she holding someone hostage? What did she do to you?! Just tell me, please!” there’s desperation in his eyes. He thinks he’s so close to his answers. And he is, just not the answers he expects.

“Always ready to blame Hollow Ground for everything since she killed your second dad, aren't you?” Fuck. Too hurtful… .You wish you hadn’t said that the moment it comes off your mouth.

He gives you an angry stare, before going on “Look, I already know she’s behind this so…”

“SHE’S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING!” you blurt out.

“THEN WHO’S EDEN?! WHAT’S HIS ROLE?”

You could lie… tell him a thousand different things… You’ve been trained for it. Maybe he would even believe some of them

But you can see the end of the road from here. You’re not running from it this time.

“He’s just another puppet, Ricardo. That’s how I see everyone these days”

“A pu… ? Como quieres que te crea eso?” he turns to spanish. Perhaps he thinks you can’t lie in spanish?

“Me vas a soltar en algún momento? Or is this just turning you on?” You smile looking at his hands holding your wrists against the wall, his chest pushing against your own… you’re so close...

“If I do that you’re going to run away! It’s what you always do…”

“I won’t… You have my word, for what it’s worth” you say with a smug smile.

He looks down for a brief moment before releasing your wrists and pulling back “Fuck…ok.. but don’t you DARE run!”

“Told you I wouldn’t”

“Alright if it wasn’t Hollow Ground... then who captured you?! You never spoke about your past!”

“You really have no idea…”

“And why didn't you look for me after you escaped?"

"Oh, so it's my fault for not running into your arms? I don't think so. It was you who abandoned me, remember? You let me there to rot!!!"

“Where? Who took you? Make some fucking sense already!”

“The people you work for… they’re the ones who took me, hero”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You should know better than anyone… Your own father gave you up to them, and they’ve been pulling your strings ever since”

“Leave my family out of this!” He bursts in anger

“THe government owns you Ricardo. Just like they own me. The only difference is I escaped”

“I told you to make sense already? Or do I have to keep guessing? Is it all a game to you?”

“No. No more games…”

He’s just so angry… so confused… you’ve never seen him like this.

“Ana, I…” he looks right into your eyes “I fucking love you! I’d do anything for you! Just tell me what’s wrong! I don’t know what else to do...”

“You ... “ your voice breaks for a brief second... “ You can’t love me. You don’t know what you’re talking about”

“But I do!”

“No… you can’t. And I’ll show you why”. No. No, don’t do this. No no no no…

You start to take off your shirt and the nanomesh underneath… This is madness. Why won’t you stop?

“What are you doing?”

It finally comes off… exposing your skin. Letting him see the ugly truth. The orange lines tracing your skin everywhere. The scars inflicted by your torturers

“What are those?”

“You asked me to tell you what’s wrong. Well… what if I told you just about everything is?”

“You mean you’re...?” He’s having trouble finishing his sentences right now...

You nod. The tears are coming already. You cross your arms protectively over your chest, but that only exposes a new set of tattoos going all over them.

“So you see? You can’t love me. I’m not real Ricardo. I never was”

“You’re one of those…” He stops short of saying it. But you know what he meant. He thinks you’re one of those things.

He goes silent.

He just keeps staring… saying nothing.

You can’t read his mind… You can’t hear his words. Only see his eyes, judging you. You always knew what he thought of regenes.

This was all a mistake… a huge mistake. Now that he knows… What is he going to do? He can’t accept this. You fooled him all along. You pretended to be human and he fell in love with you. And now you’ve ripped all that apart.

He gives a step towards you… he’s about to say something…

NO! You won’t let him judge you. Nor him, nor anyone else. And you’re not going back to the farm ever again…

He extends a hand to your arm and…

THere’s your chance. You send a sudden headbutt into his bloody nose like your training tells you to. He’s caught completely off guard, making him pull back.

You push your way through and rush to the couch, getting your coat again, pulling if over your shirtless self, and you run.

Run to the door…

“Stop!” you hear him cry out, holding his nose. “Please don’t leave me. You gave me your word, remember?

Your fingers go white as they grip the handle with all your strength, turning it… 

...until you let go.

 Running won’t help. It’s all in the open now.

Time to face consequences...

_________________________________________

You lay down on the couch. He sits rights besides you.

Both of you stay there the longest time. Your mind is racing a thousand thoughts per second. You just wish he said something. Anything... the silence is deafening.

“Alright... Alright then” he says in the end. “Where do we go from here?” he asks.

“I don’t know? And you said WE or am I hearing things?”

“Of course I said we” he looks at you. He looks hurt and shocked, and afraid… but there’s no doubt in him. “I mean WE need to find a way to solve this”

“What if it can’t be solved?”

“Then I guess we’re going to have to make a mess out of it?” he smiles weakly.

“I guessed I already started? I messed you up... twice now...” You say apologetically

“Oh this?” he motions at his bloodened face “This is just a regular workday for me, you know it!”

“Let me help you clean those”

“If you feel like it”

You head to the bathroom and then come back carrying a wet towel and some antiseptic. He buys the best brand... just like you.

“I’m sorry,” you say cleaning the blood. 

“Ouch” he lets out flinching as you gently clean the stains over his face.

“Just stay still…”

He takes a hand to your cheek… his fingers clearing some of your tears.

“It’s ok” he speaks softly.

“I keep doing this….” you smile bitterly.

“Doing what?”

“Hurting you.”

“Yes, we really  need to work on that cariño…”

He leans in…

“I haven’t finishe….”

It’s a clumsy kiss. His face’s still in pain…

But he’s kissing you.

He knows.

He knows what you are and he’s still kissing you.

Only one way to go now…

You kiss him back.

“Ooouch!” he lets out as you press your lips against his perhaps a bit too forcefully.

“SORRY!”

_____________________

My Fanfics: https://chaniters.tumblr.com/post/181692759294/my-fanfiction-for-fallen-hero

DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fan fiction using characters and the setting of the Fallen Hero: Rebirth and upcoming Fallen Hero: Retribution games written by Malin Riden. I do not claim ownership of any characters from the Fallen Hero wold. These stories are a work of my imagination, and I do not ascribe them to the official story canon. These works are intended for entertainment outside the official storyline owned by the author. I am not profiting financially from the creation of these stories, and thank the author for her wonderful game/s, without which these works would not exist.

[mcmedianoche]

“La Oscuridad Te Espera” (Chapter 1) - Sombra/McCree

Another demon-hunter... but not just any old demon-hunter. This is Jesse McCree: a legend, a myth, a series of stories in his own right.

Sombra sighs, downing the rest of her drink. This had to happen sometime. “I must be getting sloppy,” she says, her voice as smooth as syrup. “If you’re here for me, I’ve made it easy for you, McCree.”

“Papa Reinhardt, is it true?”

“Is what true, child?”

A tall, freckled girl, no older than 14, bounds up to a nearby table and whispers to the huge, scarred, silver-haired man sat comfortably there. “They say there are demons in this village. Angry spirits. The oni are here. Is that why we’re here? Are you going to fight them?” She looks over at another table, where a short, full-bearded blond man and a tall, voluptuous blonde woman share drinks and a bowl of bread. “Does Papa know?”

The man laughs, rumbling the table but holding his huge stein of beer steady so as not to knock it off the table in his amusement. “Nonsense, Brigitte. Where did you hear that?”

She falters for a moment, smoothing her thick auburn ponytail behind her as she looks around the tavern, then seems to find her resolve as she looks at the locals. “The villagers… It’s all they’ve talked about, all night. Something is destroying the castle at the edge of town. All who go near it are lost. They say…” and here, she lowers her voice, “they say, at night... there are dragons. ”

Reinhardt takes a few sips from his stein and beckons Brigitte to sit down. “We are here for a family vacation, because Hanamura is beautiful this time of year. The oni are just an ancient legend. Only stories.”

Brigitte doesn’t accept this, scooting in closer at the table and staring Reinhardt in the eye. “All stories begin in truth,” she insists. “Do you know this one?”

Sombra grins beneath her hood, shading her glowing, white-gold eyes from view. It’s merely on instinct, as she is currently invisible in the corner of the tavern behind them. She takes a sip of her whiskey, the glass also invisible in her clutches, and waits. The mortals rarely have a clue in these matters. This ought to be good.

“Well, there are as many tales of the oni as we have ghost stories in Germany. Or Sweden. But yes, I have heard this one, specifically.”

Brigitte’s big brown eyes light up. She puts both elbows on the table, rests her face in her palms, and settles in.

“Long ago, these lands were ruled by a powerful family who had two sons. Warrior princes, trained to carry on the family legacy. Both skilled beyond their years, both well equipped to lead, and each powerful in their own right. But they disagreed, profoundly so, when it came time to decide how they would protect their land. The younger brother, sweet of heart and warm in temperament, wanted to keep his people happy, above all else. He said, ‘If we care for our people, they will care for each other in turn. If we can nurture one heart, one land, the rest will come naturally.’”

Sombra snorts into her glass. This is already bullshit.

“The elder brother, iron of will and steady in disposition, wanted to keep his people strong, above all else. He said, ‘With the right foundation, our people will be united towards a common goal. To keep them happy at structure’s expense is a fool’s errand. We must instead keep them in control. ‘The rest,’ as you say, will come because we steered it so.’”

“Head versus heart,” Brigitte whispered. “The worst struggle.”

Reinhardt nods, clapping her on the shoulder. “Yes. As you can see, they were two very important sides of the same coin. In order to rule, both were necessary, but neither could see it. And so, the elder struck down his brother, believing him weak. But this hurt the elder brother beyond measure, warping his already weak heart so badly that he began to transform. The mark of the oni spread across his skin, leaving a demon face, and turning his skin gray and his eyes white. The spirits that roamed this land did not approve of his actions, for he had upset the balance.”

“You can’t have one without the other,” Brigitte said solemnly, her palms now flat on the table.

“No, you can’t. And that is why the spirits went one step further, bringing the younger brother back to life to restore this balance. But he, with his heart too full, was forever wounded by the offense, and returned as… something else. Transformed, much like his brother, with the kindness that once cradled his heart now twisted. But balance has yet to be restored. The oni they say inhabit the old castle...”

“The brothers. They’re still there.”

Reinhardt finishes off his beer. “And still fighting, so they say. But these are just stories, Brigitte. Legends and myths.”

Well. Sombra has to admit: part of the story is actually true. But the people are romantic, and the nature of the demon brothers’ torment has been lost to sentiment. Sombra knows she isn’t tracking some wounded soul with a heart too big for his body. The oni known as Genji is as selfish as any other, and was brought back to life for reasons just as selfish. Dragons’ fiery egos are easily offended.

Either way, what Genji wants does not matter, and neither does his brother. Genji is her bounty. Until the banshee’s price also includes Hanzo’s wretched soul, he is of no consequence to her.

She’s waiting here for proper nightfall. Once the clock strikes midnight, and this tavern closes to the public, she can make her way to Shimada Castle. There is only one hour to go.

Brigitte yawns, despite herself. “If they’re only stories, why are the people so scared?”

“People fear all kinds of things they don't understand. Do not trouble yourself.”

“But--”

“Come now, Brigitte. It is very late and I think we are both getting tired.” Reinhardt calls over to the next table and notifies the blond couple that it is time they all head back to the inn, citing Brigitte’s bedtime over her increasingly drowsy protests.

Sombra watches them leave. They were the last patrons.

She shifts, dropping her invisibility, then approaches the bar, glass in hand. “Thanks for the drink.”

“Thank you, if you pull this off. The oni are scaring my customers away.” The owner of the bar, Ichika, a much older woman with one thick black streak in her long gray hair, rolls her eyes and whips her towel for emphasis. “I remember when they were mortals, you know. It wasn’t that long ago, but you know how these things get once stories start to spread. They were handsome young men, beautiful even, but an idiot and an asshole.”

Sombra laughs. “Ay, I’ve heard Genji used to be a charmer! A charmer can’t be that stupid, can he? Mierda, don’t tell me my intel was wrong. I’ll have to rethink my whole strategy.”

“A charmer, yes! Absolutely. But a slave to his whims. Foolhardy at every turn, and his father only made things worse by coddling him. And Hanzo was no fun at all, but at least he always sprung for the good sake. The two of them kept me in business, and now they’re pushing me out of it!”

The bell above the tavern’s entrance suddenly dings with its jaunty little melody. Sombra, knowing it’s too late to shift into invisibility, chances a lighting-quick glance at the newcomer.

Oh. Oh, this just got interesting.

A ruggedly good-looking man in a wide-brimmed hat steps through the door, his eyes shielded from view. A crossbow hangs on his back, and an ornate revolver rests at his hip. He has one prosthetic arm that seems to be made of silver and fire, and he’s strapped with silver bullets. His getup is actually rather similar to her own, Sombra thinks, considering herself, down to the red scarf hung loosely around his neck.

Another demon-hunter... but not just any old demon-hunter. This is Jesse McCree: a legend, a myth, a series of stories in his own right.

Well, Sombra sighs, downing the rest of her drink. This had to happen sometime. “I must be getting sloppy,” she says, her voice as smooth as syrup. “If you’re here for me, I’ve made it easy for you, McCree.”

McCree lifts his head and looks at her with far more surprise than she expects. He takes a drag from his cigar, then pulls it from his mouth with that unmistakable arm of his. ”Sombra?”

Ichika looks back and forth between them. “You two know each other? Ah, of course you do. Can’t be a big circle, your line of work.”

McCree struts over to the bar with his hands on his belt. “Know of. A gorgeous shadow demon who hunts other demons without remorse? Yeah, there’s only one of her. The rest have this thing about loyalty to their kind, or whatever.”

Sombra lifts an eyebrow and flutters dark eyelashes over her white-gold eyes. “Aww, they say I’m gorgeous?”

McCree meets her cheeky gaze with an amused grin of his own, staring for a long moment as the smirk spreads across Sombra’s face. “Nah, I added that part.”

Ichika swats the bar between them with her towel, startling them both. “Stop flirting long enough to kill the demons, if you would be so kind.”

“No worries, ma’am,” McCree says, tipping his hat. “I don’t flirt with demons, but I do have eyes.”

“And I don’t flirt with people who make those kinds of hairstyle choices, because I, too, have eyes,” Sombra snorts with a glance at his ponytail. McCree splutters in offense, but she laughs and goes on, “So, you’re here to step on my bounty? That’s a much bigger problem than if you were here for me, McCree.” She turns on her bar stool, revealing the hybrid pistol and crossbow resting on her lap.

“If your bounty is the oni Hanzo, then yes, I am. And I’ve slain bigger demons than you before breakfast,” he replies, dropping his hand near his revolver. “If not, then I believe we’re square.”

“NO SHOOTING IN MY TAVERN!” Ichika shrieks, whipping the towel around violently to separate them.

“Ow! Relajate, Ichi--”

“Sorry, ma’am, I’m sorry--”

Ichika stares them both down until they settle in their seats, sneaking heated glances at each other, but saying nothing.

“I don’t know who hired each of you, or how you ended up here on the same night, but don’t you dare screw this up. Sombra catches Genji. McCree catches Hanzo. My customers return. Don’t -- I mean it, DON’T! -- get in each other’s way, and we’ll all be happy.”

She stares at them again, silently, but no less stern, until they’re both glaring at each other in a resigned sort of way.

“Si, Ichika.”

“You got it, ma’am.”

“Good. Now, she’s already had hers, but I bet you stopped in for a drink, so here’s one for the road,” Ichika says, filling a shot glass for McCree. “You both get another round if you come back here alive.”

Their tempers are cooling, now that they know they’re here for different demons, but Sombra’s stuck on Ichika’s words. Judging from the curious look McCree’s giving her over his glass, he’s thinking the same thing.

Who hired him, and how did they both end up here on the same night?

He sets his empty glass on the bar, then stands and gestures towards the door. “After you. I got enough demons without adding another one at my back.”

Sombra laughs, the sound dark and not at all amused when she slides off her bar stool, and shifts, disappearing from sight. She savors the look of alarm on McCree’s face.

Demons can’t do that, and he knows it.

She waits a few moments, moving silently around him, then stands on her toes and speaks at the back of his neck. “Looks like you’re in over your head.”

McCree shivers at the feel of her breath against his ear, the only physical indication of his shock that he will allow. He whips around just in time to see her shift back into view. She turns and saunters towards the exit, resting her gun on her shoulder, then glances back to flash those glowing eyes at him before she opens the door.

“Get a move on, McCree,” she says, beckoning him closer with one claw-gloved finger. “We don’t have all night.”