#editing this was a nightmare as in i couldn't get a grip

[elderwisp]

[lynnlovesthestars]

Scars.

Pairing: Astarion x reader Genre and warnings: angst, lots of it, hurt barely any comfort, allusions to sexual assault, past trauma, graphic description of torture, kidnapping, blood, violence, set in act 3, mention of death. Notes: not proof read ngl, i wrote it after dreaming it, and i didnt even wanna read it again, i cried like a bitch cause it’s kinda like…. past experience projected? just yeah dont ask if im ok after writing this, the answer is no lmao... also just a side note since it’s the first time im posting on this profile, but english is not my first language so please be mindful about it. Edit 10/06/23: i finally went through it end edited it.. i hope i catched all the errors cause idk if i'll ever be strong enough to give it another read ahah

Getting so close to someone meant so much for Astarion, and the more he cared, the more new fears would swim through his brain. 

Since you arrived in the lower city, and his bed was no longer cold at night, a new nightmare snuck in.

The idea that Cazador would be able to get to you, and weaponize you against him, made his cold blood run even colder. Several nights you woke up to a trembling and sweating Astarion, as he was begging for mercy. He never explained too much about these nightmares to you, just letting you know it was about Cazador again and again, but he left out the haunting possibility of you getting hurt because of him. On the other hand you believed it was because you were getting so close to the Szarr palace, and Cazador knew about it just as much as Astarion did.

It was the middle of the night when the sound of a broken glass stirred you awake. You looked around you, Astarion still deep into his meditating state, while the others were asleep as well, none of them reacted to the sound like you did. Maybe you just had a light sleep, you thought, and someone in the tavern dropped a few glasses or something. It was when hands gripped your wrists that you jolted up, looking behind you. It was too dark to see, and all you could spot were the deep red eyes, like Astarion's, though they lacked the warmth of his.

A shiver ran through your spine as you realized what was happening, but when you tried to call for the others, you realized how deep in shit you actually were: no sound would leave your lips, like you were silenced.

"There's no need to be afraid, Tav." A deep cold voice whispered so close to your ear. "They can't hear you".

The voice chuckled at your failed attempts to call for Astarion, Karlach or anyone, as tears were starting to pool at the edge of your eyes.

Another pair of hands took hold of Astarion, magical shackles fastened around his hands and feet, just as they did to yours, and then they started dragging you both away.

The deep voice spent the whole travel taunting you with stories of Cazador, how cold blooded he was, and just how much he enjoyed torturing his victims. From one point of view you were already accustomed with such stories about him, but from the other, the idea of Cazador getting hold of Astarion again, made your blood freeze again. You were not going to let Cazador hurt him again. You were set on the idea.

When you reached the corridors of Cazador's palace, the silencing spell finally wore off, though Astarion was still not moving. Terror flashed through your eyes as you wondered if they had already…

"What did you do to him?!" You breathed out as you tried so hard to keep your calm in front of the spawns that were dragging and pushing you through the dark hallways.

The spawn scoffed as he pushed through and through.

"Don't worry, he's not dead" You could feel his eyes rolling at the question, like it was some dumb question you should have known the answer to. "..yet" he added at last.

You couldn't stop your mouth from twitching, between the state of rage that was slowly building up, or the terror of them hurting Astarion.

"What's going on? Can i know that at least?" You wanted so bad to cast a spell on him, charming him into freeing you, but without the use of your hands, you were useless.

"Cazador wants to give you a warm welcome into Baldur's gate" He giggled, as the smell of old blood mixed with the sour taste of the bile threatening to spill from your lips, and you couldn't hold it anymore, and your feelings started spilling out.

You couldn't help then to try and get Astarion free at least. You wanted to shake those hands off of you, to wiggle out of the shackles that bound your magic, but no matter how much you tried, you were like set in stone, unable to do anything but move forward, shed tears, and talk. Or more specifically, beg.

Beg them to hurt you, instead of Astarion. 

Beg them to keep you here, and let your star free.

Beg them to turn you if needed, but spare Astarion's life.

Anything, if it meant not hurting the man that stole your heart with a dagger to your throat.

Quickly you were tossed in a cage, adjacent to Astarion's, and locked in.

The shackles that bound your feet dissipated, as the cage started ascending upward.

It halted in front of an altar, you guessed, that directly faced into the chasm you ascended from. Other spawns, around twenty you were able to count, started taking seats around the edges, sitting all in religious silence on their knees.

Astarion was still passed out, cradled on the floor of the cage, both restraints still tightly bound to him.

"Please, please, please" You cried out as the last bit of your strength was going to be dedicated towards trying to get Astarion free, far away from this place. "Let Astarion go, i beg you" You repeated your plea again, as you saw all those spawns stir from their seats, they wanted to turn their heads, to face whoever was foolish enough to beg Cazador for mercy, to trade spots with Astarion.

Everyone in that room knew what was going to happen, he was going to show them what happens when you disobey, when you run away thinking you can escape him. Instead you were so foolish and blinded by love, that you wanted to take Astarion's place, unaware of the extent that Cazador would go to. Yet you didn't stop, you kept begging and begging until a voice, the voice, echoed through the altar's walls.

"Tsk you just gave me a wonderful idea" the man hummed as his scepter started glowing, and Astarion started stirring awake, he looked around him, his tired eyes quickly widening as the reality around him had set in his mind.

"Let her go, you son of a bitch" Astarion growled as he stood up so quick, and gripped at the iron bars separating him from Cazador. 

"Touch her and I swear I'll spill your guts right here" He spit out of the cage, a symbolic spit cause you were too far away to reach him.

"My, my, our dear Astarion has forgotten all the manners" He cooed as his lips smacked together, his voice so honeyed it was bringing you to the verge of vomit.

You wanted to reassure Astarion, let him know that you were going to do your best to free him, that you were both going to be out of there alive soon, but could you? Could you lie so much to the man you loved? Words were stuck on your tongue, making your throat drier and drier.

You guessed you zoned out for a few seconds as your head was flooded with thoughts, missing the hate Astarion was throwing at his master.

"Ah sweet Astarion, your dear Tav has given us a great idea though, it would be a shame to let it go to waste" He hummed, as the staff light up again, the lock on your cage fell down the chasm, as your trembling body was slowly being dragged out of the cage by magic.

"No, no, no, no" Astarion reprated as his eyes locked on you, falling on the long streaks of tears running down your cheeks as you tried to offer him a sad smile, your lips muttering an "it's going to be okay" while his body was about to give in to desperation, loud sobs echoed from him, as your heart broke at his sight: he was barely standing up now, his hand gripped tight as he screamed through the hall to let you go, to not hurt you, to stop. "This is just a nightmare" He fell on his knees as you were slowly dropped on the cold floor, barely keeping your head up as you realized you were still in his shirt, the one he loved on you.

"Oh dear Astarion" Cazador cooed again as he kneeled in front of you, his cold fingers getting ahold of your chin, to tilt your head towards his. "This is not a nightmare, this is real" His words were like cold daggers through your chests, you knew that whatever was going to happen, it was not going to be fun.

Before you could say anything, Cazador's hand slipped to your waist pulling on the shirt as you flinched away, disgusted by the touch of the vampire in front of you.

But he didn't care, he was swift in removing it, leaving you bare in front of dozens of eyes.

You could hear the rattling coming from Astarion's cage as he attempted to break free over and over again while his chest was about to explode.

He didn't have the right to undress you in front of everyone, he didn't have the right to touch you at all, not when he prayed every night to have the chance to see you bare, to hold you. His thoughts were swinging back and forth between desperation and deep seethed rage.

"My, my I can see why our Astarion has fallen for this little creature" Cazador's compliment almost made you retch as you stumbled back a little. "She even puts up a fight" He chuckled as he lunged forward just enough to grip at your wrist and whipping you on your feet.

Every inch of your skin was visible to everyone, from the battle scars you got through the years of adventuring, to the teeth marks on your neck, down to the stretchmarks that lived on your hips.

A shiver ran through your spine as Cazador’s fingers grazed over the two marks on your neck. “Mh, your blood seems to be sweet enough, right Astarion?” His cruel words hit Astarion through the chest. He was one word away from a breakdown as he couldn’t do anything but witness his nightmares coming alive, not his Tav, not when he would be so careful to cradle you and comfort you to his chest whenever he'd drink from you.

Whatever he was screaming was incomprehensible to you, as all you could feel was the way Cazador gripped and pushed you towards a plush chair, where he sat with legs wide open before dragging you on his lap. You felt so nauseous as he bent you towards the arm rest, making you face the cold grey floor.

You wanted to hear the taunting explanation of what he was going to do, but all the sounds were drowned by the thrumming of your chest and the desperation in your own thoughts, repeating over and over that you were going to find a way out, trying to convince your brain to shut off and dissociate as you were there, like you were just in a nightmare, and you’d be awake soon.

All you could gather was few words like “knife”, “mark”, reminder”, and then “Astarion”. He was torturing him through you, and you couldn’t do anything about it. The worst part in this, was that you were the one that gave him the idea, cause you wanted him to free Astarion, and instead he let it all out on you instead than on your Aster, as a punishment for you both. You cause you were so careless to offer yourself though you didn't know the risk, and Astarion for being reckless and disobedient. Right there, as the dagger pierced your spine, you regretted not whispering Astarion how much you loved him, while you were tight against his chest, when the world around you was asleep, and you had a corner of peace. You always knew what you felt for him, from that moment on the beach, at the shipwreck, and yet you just wanted to tell him in the right moment. But what was the right moment? You might never know, as a broken scream broke through your lips, salty tears flowing free, so much that you thought for a moment that you might have died of dehydration, if the knife wasn’t going to do it first.

He carved and carved over your back, intelligible lines and symbols as you finally understood what Astarion meant when he told you how he got his scars. How gut wrenching the pain was as he couldn’t move, and how Cazador didn't allow a break, and retraced the lines that were wobbly if he moved too much.

“You know?” Cazador asked, as everyone’s eyes were on what he thought was a work of art, your carved skin, while Astarion’s plea echoed over and over in the room. “Our sweet Astarion used to whine just like you” He hummed. “Just a pathetic little child” He spit out like venom as you could barely breathe out few words along the lines of “you disgusting monster”, though you were not sure you actually let them out until, Cazador’s laugh filled every corner of the disgraced altar. Your tadpole writhed as another line was cut at the height of your hips, before, Cazador started retracing the lines and pulling away the skin, exposing the deepest layers of your flesh, the pain was so deep your vision blurred, and you were so close to passing out right there.

You don’t know how long you sat there, you slipped between pain and numbness as Cazador slapped you back to consciousness whenever you'd slip away, you had to endure the agonizing scarring and remember every second of it. He decorated with bloody lines almost all over your body.

You didn’t know what was worse between laying on the raw scars of your back, seeing your own skin being peeled away or the cries and sobs coming from the man you loved. You had to find a way, you couldn’t give up, you couldn’t allow this monster to walk the earth again. You had to do it for Astarion.

You were not sure when he dropped you on the floor, your body barely able to hold itself together as finally you could look around you and towards Astarion. Every face around you was stoic, like they were used to witnessing such spectacle, and they knew what was going to happen next.

You wanted to reach for Astarion, to take him away from the revolting scene in front of his eyes, you wanted to take away his pain, give him the last bit of hope you had, but when you were about to link your tadpole to his to do it, you hesitated. Connecting your minds meant he would feel how dirty, wretched and lost you felt, along with the gut wrenching pain ebbing through your body.

You could barely make out the words Cazador said as his nails dig through your skin again, even when he pulled your eyes to his you could barely read his lips as he said words you just wanted to cancel from your brain. A broken sob regurgitated from your throat as he was going to take the last thing you had. You just had to let your brain go, right? To ignore the teeth dipping in your throat and the putrid hands slithering down your skin, taking away enough blood to barely keep you alive as he took you in front of everyone.  It was no longer just physical pain, it was the way you felt your own body being stolen away and used in way no one ever dared before.

Numbness was all that was left of you after a while, of your barely beating heart while more hands crawled their way through places were you never wanted anyone to touch, then, in that moment, you realized you were free of your shackles, because you were so drained and broken that you could barely do anything. You could barely by aware of your surroundings, of how many bodies were preying on you, as you could barely manage to move inches.

Your vision was all but clear, you could make out the outline of Cazador as he was buttoning up his blouse again. Then you could see Astarion, still caged, struggling to stay sane as he wanted just to take you away from the monsters abusing of you, abusing of the fact that you were powerless in front of them. His eyes were a bloodshot, he was so hurt that he resorted to supplicate for mercy, to let you go and just kill him, whatever that could stop the agonizing pain. You didn’t have much strength left, maybe if you put all of yourself, you could muster two spells before passing out again. 

It took all you had to even raise your hand towards the lock that sealed Astarion’s crate, you mustered all your willpower to cast that knock spell, just enough to let the damn lock fall down. Astarion instantly turned to you, to your teary form still being touched by unworthy creatures, noticing how your hand barely held up, as you tried to cast one more spell, just for him, before another broken scream echoed in the room, bouncing from wall to wall till it reached Astarion's core. The kind of scream that should never be drawn by someone, nevertheless by you.

The radiant dagger materialized in his hands, and for a moment he didn’t notice it as he was fixated on the broken look on your face, encouraging him to end his master, although you suffered right there, paces away. “I love you” You mutter barely, you wanted to let him know before you could draw your last breath, then everything blurred.

Everything was muffled, you couldn’t see what was going on around you, you just felt all the presences around you disappear, while Astarion’s voice was crystal clear through the excruciating pain.

"I'll kill you, then I'll bring you back, and kill you again.” He shoved Cazador on the floor, just like he did with you, to remind him how he hurt you, how he used you, how he touched the only person he should have never laid hands on. “I’ll do it over and over again until you have suffered a tenth of what you did to her. Then I'm going to gut you one more time, and paint this shithole with your putrid blood. The halls of this place will reek with your disgusting blood, to let the whole city be aware of your death and from which the hands it came from” His hands were shaky, but he had to do it. For him, but mainly for you. All that was left of him was you, and nothing could ever be enough to vindicate you.

The shiny dagger stabbed over and over again through Cazador’s chest, while Astarion cursed him, every thrust of the dagger through the heart earned a new mocking insult, a new reminder of what he did, while all of Astarion's anger was channeled into annihilating him.

You just laid there, all you could do was listen to the grunts and the hate slipping from your lover’s lips as he dipped that dagger in the gutted body. You didn’t even realized when he dropped the disemboweled body on the marble, you weren’t even sure you could breathe, at that point.

A pair of shaking arms wrapped around your drained body, Astarion’s shirt was used again to cover your skin, as he picked you up, trying to be as delicate as possible. His salty tears fell over your body as he carried away from the nauseating scene, you frail body barely shivering, and your chest barely moving. He was muttering something to you, but everything sounded foreign at your hear.

He had to move quickly, find Shadowheart or Halsin, or anyone to heal you, to keep you alive. It was in this moment that he wished he could beg a deity to keep you alive, but he didn’t trust anyone else to tend you. He needed to rush outside of this place and get you to safety. 

He didn’t expect to see everyone outside the locked ballroom door, as they fumbled to open the door. They were taken by surprise at the sight of Astarion cradling you to his chest, all covered in blood, while his eyes were a pit of pain and tears.

Shadowheart didn’t hesitate to heal you right there before they all guided you towards the tavern you've been resting. They all offered to carry you, to make Astarion breathe a bit while on your way back there, but he refused. “I can’t..” He mumbled. “I don’t want..” His voice was just a whisper, broken. “I need” He wanted to break down again with you in his arms, but he had to lay you down first, to let you rest in a warm bed, he had to bring you to safety again, away from anyone that could pose any harm to you. He needed to see that smile again, cause no power flowing through his veins could have replaced you. He failed you once, he was not going to do it again. You saved him, twice, he had to do it just once for you. He had to thank you, and he had to tell you how much he loved you.

[lvlyghost]

Heyyy 🤗🤗 I just discovered your blog but after binge reading almost all your writings I just have to request something cause I love your writing style so much

How bout a ghost x reader where he has a nightmare about losing the reader could be angst to fluff to smut

Midnight Rain

Pairings: Simon "Ghost" Riley x F!Reader

Summary: Bad dreams were not strange to Simon, but ever since you came into his life there's one thing he feared the most: losing you.

Word Count: 1.0k

Tw: smut! But nothing too explicit. self-doubt, angst, comfort. Poorly edited. you know the drill.

A/N:I'm so sorry this took so long to get out but life happened 🥲 I wish it was longer and far better i hope you like it.💛🩵 also since i got two similar requests decided to make one for both🥰✨

Masterlist✨

He doesn't scream when he jolts awake from his bed. It's always like that. The dreams. The nightmares. Simon was cursed, tragedies seemed to plague his life on a daily basis that's why he was so adamant about letting you in at first.

Slipping off the bed he fights the way his heart is racing nearly beating out of his chest. The clock marks the time.

5:31 A.M

The sky is gray outside the soft morning rain tapping against the window reminds him that he's supposed to be at Price's office by six.

Yet his mind is purely set on you. On that horrific imagery of his nightmare. He knew that the possibilities of it happening were high, and it didn't help to stop his growing anxiety. To think of someone so small and fragile, dead and without possibilities... fucking hell he knew you were capable of many things. He knew about your strength, resilience. Yet he had a strong sense of protection when it came to you. Death was something he couldn't keep you safe from, thought he'd die trying. Simon would happily trade your life for his if it were in his power.

'Just let it be me not her. Never her.'

Needless to say he didn't get any proper rest. He was thankful for the mask and face paint covering his face, otherwise anyone could see the tiredness in his features.

But you knew better.

You always knew better.

Always seeing through him.

You're laughing at something Johnny's saying, he couldn't attend training this morning so he hadn't had the time to talk to you. And then the sight of you getting shot appears in the back of his mind agains, your body falling limply to the ground next to him.

Dead.

On his watch.

He shifts his weight from one foot to another, swallowing down the lump in his throat.

All the bloody morning his head has been spinning. Unable to get a grip on reality, Simon forces himself to turn away.

You watch from the other side, smile faltering. Why hadn't he joined you? You were about to wave at him. Maybe he didn't want Johnny to be there... Simon was a private man and he wanted to keep a low profile regarding your relationship so you decide to follow him, saying a quick good-bye to your teammate and trotting after Simon.

The door to his office is closed, knocking twice then waiting a second and you knock again.

He doesn't respond to you but you open the door nonetheless. You poke your head enough for him to see you.

"Hey..." you greet him with a warm smile. Simon breathes deeply. "Didn't come to say hello today." You point out, closing the door behind you. He looks down where he's signing a stack of papers.

"Didn't want to interrupt." He gruffly answers.

"Come on..." you reply. "It was just Johnny and I... everything alright?" You question him. The grip on his pen is painfully hard to the point his knuckles turn white.

"Jus' busy, that's all."

Something's not right. You take a deep breathe and walk towards him until you're standing next to his chair. Simon doesn't look up nor acknowledges your presence.

"Simon..." you try again.

Suddenly in a swift movement he's standing up, grabbing you by the arm and leading the two of you out of the office and to his room. You don't say anything you just let him guide you. Whatever it was you'd work it out. He locks the door once you're both inside, his big calloused hands grabbing you by your cheeks. His eyes are frantic, bouncing from your lips and back to your orbs. As if trying to remember the sight of you before him, the sight of you in his room.

"Talk to me. Please...." it's a soft plea. You know him, you recognize the sadness in his honeyed eyes. You know despair when you see it.

"I can't lose you." His voice shakes, as does he. His hands are trembling, buzzing with worry.

"You're not gonna lose me, Simon..." your own hands, much smaller than his come to rest above them. "I'm right here." A brief moment of silence passes by, until he releases a shaky breath, he retreats enough to slip the fabric of his mask off. It was getting hard to breathe for him. "Come with me... please."

You drag him to the bed, motioning for him to sit down you help him unlace his boots then you do the same with yours.

He lays back as do you, Simon brings you closer to his body wrapping one arm around you. Hand tracing soft circles on his chest, hearing the rhythmic beat of his heart underneath you.

"You were dead." He begins. "Right in front of me and I couldn't stop it," your motions stop. Brows knitting together. "I...-" he trails off. "I'm nothing if I can't keep you safe."

"Simon don't ever say that again." You scold him. Tears gather in the corner of your eyes. "Don't you dare think such things."

Standing you're quick to straddle his lap, strong arms hold you close to his body. You slam your lips to his, Simon welcomes the warmth of your mouth against him. Your hands caress the back of his head, fingers threading through his blond locks. He hardens under your body and murmur something into your ear. Something that sends you over the edge. Soon, your pants are discarded on the white floor, he lets you ride him, merely looking at your eyes never leaving your face. If he could capture this moment he'd do it. He'll save it for the rest of his life. Treasure it. Wrapping your arms around his shoulder you kiss him hard. You're so close your mind is in a haze, and when he grits his teeth you know he's close too. The pure adoration in his eyes is enough. There'll never be anyone after him.

"You're stuck with me."

His lips curve into a barely-there-smile.

"Yeah..." he gasped. "Jus' keep looking at me, love. And stay with me."

As if you could ever say no to him.

[sorrowsofsilence]

Burning Out • III

Pairing: Noah Sebastian x Fem!Reader

I was lost, but now I'm found Under the lights and in the sounds So let us sing and sing it loud That we're not perfect, but we're proud of who we are.

Noah Sebastian is lost. His crime-filled lifestyle is anything but perfect; but everything changes once he meets you.

Words: 5.4k

General fanfic Warnings: 18+, explicit language, smut, alcohol, drugs, violence, mentions murder/suicide, panic attacks/anxiety, nightmares

Authors note: Chapter Three - One of Us is Broken Glass (EDITED 09-03-24)

new? start from chapter one here

THIS IS A FANFICTION USING REAL PEOPLE IN A FICTIONAL SITUATION! I AM NOT IMPLYING THESE PEOPLE WOULD DO THE THINGS IN THE STORY OR ACT THE WAY THEY DO IN THE STORY, IN REAL LIFE! IT IS SIMPLY FICTION, AND JUST FOR FUN! THINK OF THEM AS ACTORS LOL.

+

“What the fuck are you doing?” I whispered-yelled, furrowing my brows at him in distaste.

“Kiss me,” he pleaded, kneeling in front of me again with an expression filled with fear and distress.

“Excuse me?” I now yelled a bit too loudly as the door below us rattled once more.

“LAPD! Open up!”

“I need you to kiss me, please,” Noah's intense gaze locked onto mine as he begged, “Just this once Y/N.”

I hesitated for a moment but ultimately gave in to Noah's desperate request. His hands gripped the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair as he pulled me towards him. With complete desperation, Noah kissed me intensely.

+++++

NOAH

My earbuds blasted music as I strolled along the sidewalk, glancing at the houses Y/N and I had passed by earlier. A few of them still had lights on despite the late hour, so I kept walking until I reached a cul de sac lined with townhouses. Putting on a ski mask and pulling up the hood of my sweatshirt, I adjusted my backpack straps and began scoping out each house, searching for a potential target. My eyes eventually landed on one with a dimly lit living room and the sound of a cat meowing at the door. Normally, I would avoid houses with lights on, but something about this one drew me in. Was it the cat? I've always been a sucker for felines.

As I approached the front door, I scanned for any security cameras while listening to the cat's cries from inside. When I confirmed that no one was home, and it was just the cat waiting for its owner, I knew I hit the jackpot.

Sighing to myself, I accepted that this was the house I had chosen for tonight's target. Maybe I could take a few minutes to pet the cat before the guilt sets in. Unzipping my backpack, I retrieved my metal tools and got to work on picking the lock. With my phone in hand, I timed myself to see how quickly I could do it; it was the only way to make this mundane task somewhat enjoyable.

Using a tension wrench and pick, I twisted and turned, feeling for the springs and listening for the pins to drop into place. It took some trial and error, but after twenty-eight seconds, the lock clicked open and I stepped inside.

The cat greeted me immediately with loud purring and winding itself between my legs. Kneeling down, I scratched behind its ears as I flipped through its collar with my covered fingers. The cat was large, with an orange-gray coat and white markings that swirled around its

As I stroked the orange cat, I couldn't help but smile at the name - Juice. The cat purred loudly, enjoying the attention. I stood up, knowing I had to get to work quickly. Grabbing my flashlight from my bag, I made my way into the living room. As I went to turn off the lamp to avoid drawing attention, my eyes wandered over the walls adorned with various band posters against the light green paint. My gaze stopped on the sleep token poster above the couch, bringing memories of Y/N's smiling face flooding back into my mind.

Well, I believe Somewhere in the past Something was between You and I, my dear

Shaking the lyrics out of my head, I took it for a coincidence, before looking through various drawers. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

I made my way through the first floor of the house, scanning each room for a bathroom, and searching for valuable medications that I could sell for a profit. The guest bathroom offered no luck, so I decided to head upstairs.

The stairs creaked under my weight as I ascended to the second floor, and once I reached the landing, I spotted another bathroom and eagerly opened its medicine cabinet. My heart raced with excitement as I saw various prescription bottles inside: Diazepam, Adderall, Zolpidem, and even cough syrup containing Dextromethorphan. This was my lucky day, but I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.

Stuffing the bottles into my bag, I moved through the hallway towards the nearest bedroom. Juice followed me, meowing loudly at my every step. I tried to shush him, but he remained persistent in his demands for attention.

Pushing open the bedroom door, I was hit with a familiar scent of perfume. It took me a moment to place where I had smelled it before.

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked around, trying to figure out where to start searching; until my eyes landed on a collection of polaroids taped above the oak wooden bed. I walked closer, and my heart sank at the sight of a woman's smiling face in each photo.

It was her house - Y/N's house.

I couldn't believe it. Out of all the houses I could have broken into, it had to be hers. Whatever sick strings fate was trying to pull, it’s turned the one good thing that’s happened to me, into a twisted game.

Feeling guilty and scared of being caught, I quickly scanned her room for any valuables before turning to leave. But just as I was about to make my escape, I heard someone opening the front door. Panic surged through me as I fought to think of an escape plan, and my hand instinctively covered my mouth, my heart pounding in my chest.

“Juice?”

It was her. Fuck.

Looking around the room frantic, I debated where I was going to hide. Closet? Bathroom? Under the bed?

“Juju baby? Where are you?”

I heard Y/N's footsteps fade towards the kitchen and took this as my cue to make a move. Every step I took across the room was accompanied by a loud creaking sound, and I cursed myself for not being more stealthy. She must have heard me; there's no way I could make it to the bathroom now.

Juice watched me with curious eyes from the corner of the room, but it was too quiet downstairs, and I knew Y/N was listening. Suddenly, Juice's head snapped towards the door at the sound of Y/N's muffled footsteps coming up the stairs. My heart raced as he ran out of the room, leaving me alone and anxious. I quickly slid behind the closet door, peering between the cracks.

The hallway light flickered on and my breath caught in my throat. Y/N screamed before her laughter echoed through the house.

"Jesus Christ, cat! You scared the shit out of me!" she exclaimed.

Oh god, what am I going to do?

Juice came back into the room and landed on the bed, staring at the closet with wide eyes. As soon as Y/N entered, I knew I had to get out of there.

"What? Are you hungry? Your bowl is full," she said, shaking her head as she pulled off her sweater. This was my chance to escape.

I carefully slid out from behind the closet door while her back was turned. But just as I was about to pass by her, she threw her sweater into the hamper and turned around. In a moment of panic, I grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with my hand to stop any screams.

She struggled against me but I held onto her tightly.

Why didn't I just run? Why did I think this was a good idea?

With a racing heart, I turned her around to face the mirror, hoping she would see that I meant no harm.

But tears fell from her eyes as she whimpered, looking back and forth between my masked face and the gun in my waistband.

Of course, she would be afraid.

I was a masked vigilante with a gun.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I said softly, my voice trembling. I knew I had to run as soon as I let go of her. She would never know it was me, and everything would be okay because I could just delete her number and never see her again...right?

Y/N's body trembled in my arms as I held her tightly. Even though I squeezed her for comfort, I knew she was far from being soothed.

"I'm going to leave, and you're going to let me. Got it?" I stated firmly, taking a deep breath before closing my eyes and preparing myself to leave this house forever.

"Please don't make a scene," I added, releasing my grip on her body slightly. As I began to step away, Y/N turned around and kicked me with all the strength she had.

"Fuck!" I cried out, doubling over in pain and protecting myself with my hands. As I tried to recover, Y/N fled the room. I knew I had to follow her; there was no way I could escape without her knowing what happened.

"You fucking creep! You followed me!" Y/N yelled, her voice dripping with anger as she pointed a knife at me when I finally exited the room. ""You're a lowlife piece of shit! Get out of my house or I'll call the cops on your sorry ass…Noah."

I locked eyes with her, feeling a wave of shame wash over me as she spoke my name with complete disdain. How did she know it was me? My clothes were different and none of my tattoos were visible.

My body shook with pain and I hunched over, leaning on her door for support.

"Please, Y/N, don't call the cops," I begged desperately.

"Why shouldn't I call the cops?" she screamed back at me, tears streaming down her face. She reached for her phone and began to dial 9-1-1, causing my stomach to drop even further in fear. I couldn't get caught - I had too much at stake.

I pleaded once more, but Y/N pressed the button and I could hear the faint ringing of the operator on the other end. Panic set in and my hand instinctively reached for the gun tucked into my waistband. Y/N's face went pale as she noticed the weapon, her lips trembling in terror. I had never seen anyone so afraid before - not even the woman from our job weeks ago.

"Hang up," I managed to whisper through dry lips. "Y/N, hang up please."

But it was too late - Y/N had already spiralled into a panic attack, gasping for air. We sat there in silence until we heard loud knocks on the front door.

"This is LAPD!"

"Shit," I muttered under my breath, frantically thinking of a plan. Usually, if you call 9-1-1 and then don't answer their call back, they send someone to check on your location to make sure you're okay. But I didn't expect them to come this quickly.

Y/N looked between me and the door, wiping away smeared lipstick from her face. Do I hide? Do I surrender?

My gaze landed on her lips and the smeared lipstick. If only we had been making out... Wait a minute. If we were passionately kissing and she accidentally called 9-1-1, it would explain everything. I quickly removed my sweater and tank top to make it look like we had been getting intimate.

Please play along Y/N, please.

+++++

Y/N

I pulled away from Noah, trying to catch my breath as I noticed the lipstick smudged on his lips. His request was so outrageous that I couldn't help but scoff at him.

"Come answer the door with me and pretend we were just making out," he pleaded, his doe-like eyes pleading with mine. "I'll tell you everything about myself if you do this for me."

I hesitated for a moment, before nodding quickly and allowing Noah to take my hand and lead me down the stairs. He held onto my belt loop as we approached the door, opening it to reveal a uniformed man standing there.

"Hi officer?" Noah said in a confused tone, panting heavily as if we had just been in the middle of a passionate make-out session.

"Evening," the man replied, his eyes darting between us in concern.

Noah pulled me closer and wrapped his arm around me, while I played along by giving the officer a puzzled look and placing my hand on Noah's chest with false admiration.

"We received a call from this location and wanted to check in to make sure everything is alright," the officer explained, eyeing us both suspiciously. Noah must have sensed it, because he pulled me even closer and I rested my head against his chest, listening to his rapid heartbeat. Despite everything that had happened between us, our bodies seemed to fit together perfectly, an undeniable chemistry between us.

The officer scanned my lips before turning to study Noah's face, analyzing our deception.

"Oh really? That's odd," Noah furrowed his brows and looked down at me. I chimed in, reaching into my pockets for my phone.

"I didn't call anyone," I said,"I must have butt-dialled while you were...pushing me against the wall," I whispered through gritted teeth, loud enough for the officer to hear.

Noah's lips curled into a sly smile and he even winked at the officer. "I was away on a trip for two weeks, you know how it is."

The officer coughed awkwardly and began to look away, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "Alright well, stay safe you two. Have a good night."

"We will," Noah gave him a breathy laugh.

I apologized to the officer as I pulled Noah away from the door and closed it behind us. Noah let out a breath of relief, his tense muscles relaxing.

I took a few steps back, still wary of him.

"Okay, now get your shit and go," I demanded, glaring at him. "I never want to see you again." I wiped my lips, trying to forget the feeling of his hands on me just minutes ago, his mark staining my body.

"Please, let me explain," Noah pleaded, holding out his hands and taking a step closer to me. I could see the genuine concern in his eyes and it made my walls start to crumble. But I couldn't let myself trust him again so easily, so I took another step back.

"Fine," I conceded with a sigh. "You have five minutes. And put your shirt on, it's weird that you're standing here half-naked."

I led the way into the living room and plopped down on the couch, motioning for him to join me when he came back down the stairs.

Noah sat as far away from me as possible, closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. We sat in silence, both feeling a sense of deja vu after our earlier encounter in the park; this time was different though.

"So," Noah began, looking at the carpet.

"So," I echoed, watching him cautiously, "you didn’t strike me as a professional criminal."

"That's what makes me good at it, I suppose." A small laugh escaped Noah's lips before he stifled it. I rolled my eyes at him.

"I know you don't believe me, but I didn't follow you," Noah said, covering his face with his hands. "The odds are astronomical, Y/N. I genuinely have no idea how I ended up at your house instead of any other one in the neighbourhood."

"Then why did you choose this house?" I asked, raising an accusative eyebrow.

Noah shrugged, "I don't know. There's no method to it. I saw your light on and heard your cat, and chose it. That's all."

"Sure," I scoffed, crossing my arms over my chest, "maybe one day you'll admit that you're actually a stalker."

"No," Noah shook his head, "are you even listening to me?"

He sat up straight and leaned over his knees, staring intensely at me. "I swear on anything- God, Satan, whoever you want- that I had no idea this was your house.

“Even over the dead bodies of my parents."

His eyes bore into mine as he spoke and I felt a lump form in my throat. The pain in his expression made my heart ache.

"You have dead parents too?" I asked quietly, the tension in the room dissipated, filling with a sense of knowing.

Noah licked his lips and furrowed his eyebrows. He snapped his gaze away from me and slumped back over his knees, staring at the floor.

"My mom died of cancer," he began, "and my dad couldn't handle it so he killed himself. I was only twelve years old, but luckily my best friends took me in. They're like brothers to me."

My mouth felt dry as I listened to him. It suddenly made sense why he didn't say sorry when I told him about my own parents' death in the park. He knew that apologies wouldn't change anything and sympathy would just feel like pity, especially in this situation.

"So why were you in my house in the first place?"

Noah avoided my gaze, clearly ashamed of his actions. "Stealing, larceny, thievery - whatever you want to call it. It's one of the easiest ways to make money on the streets besides dealing drugs."

"So you're a burglar," I said, nodding and forcing a smile. "You really know how to pick 'em, Y/N," I mumbled under my breath, finding some humour in the situation.

"I wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have to," Noah replied, sinking back into the couch with his tattooed neck on display. "We owe a lot of money to a dangerous man, and this is our only way to keep up with his demands."

"Who?" I asked, my curiosity piqued despite my attempt not to stare at the intricate snake design on his neck.

Noah closed his eyes. "I can't tell you for your safety."

I let out a dry laugh. "My safety was gone as soon as I offered you to sit on my couch."

"Touché," Noah chuckled. "But that's one thing I won't disclose."

"How long have you been...doing this?" I watched him closely as he turned his head.

"Long enough," he answered cryptically.

"How long, Noah? If that's even your real name."

He raised an eyebrow. "It is. Noah Sebastian, if you want to be specific. My friend Jolly always referred to it as "the grand fuck up," and it all started when I was fourteen. Since then, we've been paying off our debt every month.”

"And what exactly is 'the grand fuck up'?" I asked, noticing the letters on Noah's knuckles for the first time as he ran his thumb over them.

"It was my first job, and Jolly said I needed to do it to become a man and join the pact," Noah explained, his eyes fixated on the letters. "I stole an expensive car without knowing it had something valuable in it. The car belonged to a notorious criminal who caught us, giving us two choices: death or working for him. We chose to work off our debt and be free once it's paid off."

"Who is included in 'we'?" I inquired.

"My three friends and me," Noah replied with guilt evident in his voice. "I screwed us all over, and it's been seven years of nothing changing."

Noah closed his eyes, trying to hold back tears and the guilt that consumed him. My heart softened, wanting to comfort him and take away his pain.

"What does your tattoo say?" I asked, shifting the topic.

Noah looked at his fingers again, blinking rapidly. "Bad omens."

"Bad omens?" I repeated.

He moved closer to me and held out his hands for me to see. Without thinking, I took his hands in mine and studied the words etched onto his skin.

"An omen is a sign of things to come," Noah explained, watching my fingers trace over the letters. "But everything that comes our way seems to be bad."

"That's no way to live," I shook my head, turning sideways on the couch to face him.

"I've always lived that way," Noah shrugged, giving a small smile.

My heart ached at his words, reminding me of my former self stuck in a cycle of hopelessness and despair. A year ago, I would have said the same thing if someone had talked to me about possibilities and starting fresh. But I had worked hard to leave that behind and create a new life for myself. It was possible, but Noah was still trapped in his never-ending cycle, unable to see any glimmer of hope or change.

“I don’t even feel real anymore unless I’m in pain,” He confided, the agony evident in his voice catching me off guard. “It's not like I enjoy this cycle of suffering, but it's become my norm. I don't know how to function without it.”

Noah scoffed and looked away, trying to distract from his words. “Sometimes I wish I could just give up. Maybe then I'll see my dad again.”

My chest clenched at his words and I sat up on the couch, pulling my knees to my chest. “What keeps you going?” I prodded, intrigued by this mysterious man.

“My brothers. I have to fix things for them and make up for what I've done.”

“And after that? What then?” I pressed, completely invested in his enigmatic words.

Noah fell silent, his gaze fixed on the ground, lost in his thoughts. I wanted to know what was going through his mind, but we sat in silence once again, the only sound coming from the soft ticking of the living room clock. Juice had emerged from hiding and cautiously made his way into the living room. He let out a small meow and jumped onto the couch next to Noah. After sniffing him, he rubbed his head against Noah's sleeve.

“I don't know,” he finally whispered in a despondent tone, raising his hand to gently pet Juice's fur. The hair on my arms stood up as I watched Juice melt into Noah's touch - immediately accepting him and showing him love.

“You look like you could use a hug,” I surprised myself with the offer, standing up and opening my arms to invite Noah into my personal space.

He looked at me with surprise, asking "Huh?"

"Come here," I motioned for him to stand up, and after a moment of hesitation, he did.

Noah’s lanky figure approached me, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling his body towards mine in a protective embrace. I stood on my tiptoes to place my head in the crook of his neck, squeezing his body against my chest. Noah’s breath hitched in his throat as he held himself stiffly before easing his body into our entwined limbs. His arms held me close, his head resting against my own. As his chest shook through his complacency, I breathed deeply, sighing into our hug. Noah joined me in a deep exhale, listening to our breaths as we held onto each other, exchanging memories through our hold.

I’m sorry you lost your parents. I’m sorry you’re stuck. I’m listening.

“You don’t have to carry it all yourself. Humans aren’t made to be solitary creatures.” Boldly, I held my hand against Noah’s head, capturing him and all of his wounds. As I ran my fingers through his hair, Noah’s shoulders began to shake.

Can one of us be saved?

I can't forgive you, but I can't look away I have to tell myself it's better, better this way It's killing me

Soft sobs left his lips, his body vibrating through his tears.

Don't wait for the light Just fall asleep, embrace the night

The man crumbling before me was not a terrible person. He was merely a lost soul, fastened to routine and never-ending affliction.

Perhaps, I can be another step to helping him find himself. He reminded me so much of my past; I couldn’t leave him.

Even if I got hurt in the process.

+++++

NOAH

Y/N's arms were a haven, comforting me with her gentle embrace. Her fingers ran through my hair, unearthing deep-seated memories as she held onto me.

It was hard to believe that just an hour ago, everything had been a chaotic mess. Yet here I was, crying in this woman's arms. I didn't deserve such kindness, especially after invading her privacy and trust like I did.

I hadn't opened up to anyone in a long time. My only family were Ruffilo, Folio, and Jolly; they were the only ones who saw my pain. But Y/N's touch had broken down all of my walls, causing me to completely shatter. It was baffling how someone I had only met less than 24 hours ago could have such power over me. Yet here I was, vulnerable and exposed in her embrace.

How could she be so kind and selfless? She listened and understood. Her parents were gone too. She knew the feelings of abandonment.

Keep telling myself that I was the victim You were the one that pulled away I've got a cold heart, this is the sad part I don't think I can change

But the difference was that I was corrupt. I was not the good guy; my presence was tainting her.

Can one of us be saved? I feel like I'm better, better in a grave Better in a grave Better in a grave

“What’s the next step from acquaintances?” she tried to lighten the mood, giving me a small laugh.

I pulled away, my body already infected with the remembrance of her touch against my limbs. I wiped my eyes, face reddening at the embarrassment. I can’t believe I just cried on some girl’s shoulder. She was no longer just some girl.

“I mean, I don’t know if we should even be considered friends. I broke into your house.” I scoffed, wiping my nose with my hoodie sleeve as I sniffed.

“What about acquaintance-squared?” Y/N said, “I think now that I know you’re not just Noah, we’ve upgraded.”

I laughed, “Level two friendly strangers?”

Y/N joined me, the sound that left her body angelic. Part of me wanted to listen to her melody forever.

I knew then that I was fucked. Her hooks snagged me this morning, but now they were embedded, scars bound to be permanent. There was no way I could just leave her as a forgotten memory as I had thought earlier.

She knew too much.

“Sit down. I’m going to make you something to eat.” Y/N said, smiling kindly. My phone began buzzing in my pocket; I knew it had to be one of the boys.

I immediately shook my head in protest, “No Y/N, I should go.”

“I don’t mind.”

“I don’t deserve your hospitality.” I pulled my phone out and checked the caller ID. It was Ruffilo. 32 missed texts.

Jolly: You alright?

Jolly: Almost done?

Jolly: It’s been almost two hours since I’ve heard anything.

Jolly: You should’ve been done within the first hour.

Jolly: Your location says you’re still there; where are you?

Jolly: Noah answer your fucking phone.

My anxiety must have been visible on my face when I saw the messages because Y/N noticed and asked, "Where do you live? Can I at least give you a ride home?"

I shook my head, "It's fine, I can walk."

But when Y/N checked the time and saw that it was three in the morning, she insisted, "Noah, it's not safe for you to walk alone at this hour."

I almost scoffed at her concern, but instead placed a hand on her shoulder and reassured her, "Y/N, I'll be okay."

She made a frustrated face and pouted her lips, which for some reason sent my heart racing.

"Noah," she marched towards the front door and grabbed her keys while slipping on cow-shaped slippers. I couldn't help but laugh at the sight.

"Let's go pretty boy."

"I'll walk," I said firmly, putting my phone back in my pocket.

Y/N furrowed her brows again and glared at me, causing butterflies to stir in my stomach. What is happening to me?

"You look cute when you're angry."

Y/N opened the door and pointed outside. "You think I'm cute when I'm angry? Then I'll be fucking gorgeous if you're not in my car in two seconds," she seethed.

I raised my hands in surrender and chuckled, "Okay, okay, I'm coming."

We squeezed into her small silver Chevy Spark and I joked about its size. "Could you have gotten a smaller car?"

She turned up the heat before fiddling with the music, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well, I must say I didn't expect to have an over 6-foot-tall thief in my passenger seat."

I rolled my eyes, knowing she had a valid point. The guilt gnawed at me once again. Y/N pressed play and the song blared through the small speakers. She turned to me and asked for the address.

"If you know where the Marlborough Motel is, that's where we're headed."

Y/N's eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she looked at me. "Wait, you actually live near there?" Her expression crumpled in sympathy when I nodded. But I refused to accept her pity. We lived in that rundown motel, but it was still better than nothing.

She drove out of the driveway and towards our destination while one of us listened to the song blasting through the car speakers, its lyrics piercing my ears.

You played the cards, you know I wanted to see Behind the curtain, always pulling the strings in my head

But now I think it's time to cut the ends I won't make the same mistake again

Once she dropped me off, I would leave her behind forever. I had to, for my sanity, and hers.

“I mean, housekeeping must be a blessing?” Y/N said gently, giving me a quaint smile.

“Yes, I enjoy the smell of cheap laundry detergent and a stranger filtering through my stuff.”

A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I gazed out the car window, taking in the rows of illuminated houses and streetlights as they passed by. Exhaustion weighed down my body, but I couldn't bring myself to close my eyes. Jolly was going to have a fit when I got home - especially now that I had dragged someone else into this mess and failed a job. Just another checkmark on the list of my screw-ups. And to top it off, I had nothing to show for all the trouble I went through.

But then my mind snapped back to reality as I remembered my backpack - the one with the gun inside. The one I had carelessly left behind at Y/N's house. Panic set in as I realized she would find it, along with all her prescription medications neatly stored inside. My heart raced at the thought of her finding those bottles.

My throat felt tight at the realization, but I swallowed the nerves, reminding myself that I’d never see her again after today. I’ll forget about her, and this. I won’t need to see her disappointment.

You got what you deserved And that was me You saw me at my worst You saw the worst in me

We arrived at the motel and I sighed, realizing the light was still on. No doubt the boys were still up waiting for me. Y/N and I sat quietly for a moment before she turned to look at me.

“Well, level two friendly stranger.” Y/N coughed, breaking the awkward silence in the cramped vehicle. I looked at her and forced a smile. She smiled back, but my heart ached with the realization that this would be our goodbye. I studied every inch of her face, trying to imprint her features into my memory. I knew I couldn't face her again after this.

"Thanks for this wild adventure," she chuckled. "It was definitely a confusing situation, but I'm glad you were my first criminal experience."

Unsure of how to respond, I attempted to make a joke. "And thank you for being my favourite victim."

My own words stung as they reminded me of my past felonies, but I supposed she truly was my favourite victim. If it wasn't too messed up to say something like that.

"Will I see you for your usual coffee?" She asked, hope seeping through her eyes. How could she want to see me again?

"Yeah," I replied with a forced laugh, lying through each breath. "See you then."

I stepped out of the car and turned to wave before opening the door to the motel room. My heart ached as Y/N drove away.

Goodbye.

Tell me that I'm wrong Tell me that I'm wrong

Chapter four

Tags:@crimson-calligraphyx @lma1986 @spicywhenspeaking @sammyjoeee @shilohrosechicken

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@veronicaphoenix @er3nslovergirl @cncohshit @scrumptiousfestivalpost @melcchs

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@anything-more-than-human @into-the-grey @amelia-acero @rumoured-whispers @artificialbreezy

[toomuchracket]

angsty part two hmm. well maybe it can have something to do with whatever the heck was going on at electric umbrella studios. maybe girly is there helping out bea (we can pretend maybe she’s doing stuff with jack and not matty for ease of everyone’s heart lmao) then there is that little listening party or whatever where taylor and matty are seen together but maybe girly’s heart couldnt stand to stick around for very long so she leaves early. maybe in this dream matty pulls his head out of his ass and decides he will do anything and be anything that girly wants him to be because this thing with taylor is not doing it for him either

ok! edited the request slightly. and it doesn't have a happy ending because actually i'm a messy bitch who lives for drama. please note: THIS ISN'T ACTUALLY CANON IN THE D WORD UNIVERSE IT'S JUST A COLLECTIVE NIGHTMARE. ok. lol. happy new year. enjoy <3

gone four weeks, part 2 (d word matty x reader angst)

“oh my god, hi! you came! oh, thank you so much!” taylor pulls you into a hug, which you reciprocate warmly; you've no problem with her, after all. “and you look amazing! your hair! those shoes! it's a new look for you. i like it.”

you smile. “thank you, i just fancied a bit of a change. and thank you for inviting me! i was so touched when i got your message.”

“matty said it was your favourite of my albums - i couldn't not have you here.”

what the fuck?

“oh, he did?” you try to keep your face and voice steady. “that was nice of him.”

taylor nods. “it was the first thing he said when i first wondered if anyone would even come to a 1989 listening party - you would, if you were around. thank god margaret ran into you last week and told me you were!”

you murmur a “yeah”, in response, too busy reeling from the sudden emotional pain in your heart to reply properly. blinking a couple of times, you look back towards the front door of the studio to see more people coming in. “taylor, i'll catch up with you later, yeah? let you speak to… oh my god, i'm at the same party as kendrick lamar? fucking hell.”

she laughs, squeezing your arm. “no worries, babe. i'll see you later! matty’s… somewhere, if you want to catch up with him”.

not bloody likely. “cool. see you!”

you smile politely at kendrick, who returns it (!!), before heading off into the busy room. there are people you recognise absolutely everywhere you turn, but nobody you really know, more just celebrities you'd be worried about embarrassing yourself in front of. no sign of jack, or margaret, or even matty - not that you particularly want to see him, to be honest, but a familiar face (one not from your tv screen, that is) would definitely calm you down.

of course, so would a cigarette.

pulling your cigs and lighter from your bag, you nudge the side door open with your hip and step out into the alleyway and still-warm evening air. and then, almost immediately, you wish you hadn't. because, standing with his back to you - although that makes no difference, you'd know those back muscles and that head of hair anywhere - is matty, talking to jack and margaret, all three of them smoking.

fuck. this was an awful idea. but you can't turn back to go inside now, because jack's clocked you; he’s beaming, waving at you, shouting “sprout! get over here and smoke with us!”

despite yourself, you smile, wandering over and allowing yourself to be enveloped in a hug from the man and his fiancée. “wish you'd stop bloody calling me that, jack.”

“never,” jack replies, kissing your head as he releases you into margaret's arms. “you're sprout, and he's cabbage.”

“whatever - hi, mags,” you kiss your friend's cheek as she breaks apart and settles her arm around your waist, before reluctantly meeting your ex's gaze. you're irritated to see that he looks good. like, really good, something-twinging-between-your-legs good. get a grip! “matthew.”

“alright?” matty smiles at you, but it doesn't reach his eyes. “almost didn't recognise you. hair's shorter.”

you shrug. “wanted something different.”

“sounds like you.”

the snide comment slices through you. unlike last time, though, you don't tear up; you fire right back at him. “well, i'm at an age where i can afford to experiment.”

matty frowns, while jack and margaret burst into giggles. the latter kisses the side of your head. “god, you’re funny. i can't believe you were in the city all this time and you didn't tell us! i miss hanging out with you.”

“i was busy,” you place a cigarette between your lips, shaking hands trying and failing to successfully operate the lighter. matty wordlessly steps forward and does it for you - your cheeks burn as much as the cig does. “thank you.”

“don't,” matty waves it off, taking a long drag of his own cig before looking at you again. “so. you haven't been back home?”

“not since the last time you saw me,” you ash the cig, pointedly looking down at the ground. “there hasn't been any work for me to do, so there's nothing keeping me there, really.”

matty scoffs. “typical, you prioritising your job.”

“well, it's what you pay me for. you should be happy i care so much about my career, really, matty,” you smile, saccharine as summer peaches, before turning to jack and margaret. “anyway, how's wedding planning going?”

jack breaks into an excited soliloquy that you can only half focus on, hoping you're timing the oohing and aahing and awwing at his fiancée’s enthusiastic interjections right; most of your attention, you hate to say, is focused on the man opposite you, clearly - to you, at least - upset. the familiar guilt begins to gnaw at your ribcage, and you're thankful when margaret checks her watch and begins to usher you back inside.

matty, though, has other ideas. he touches your elbow, so lightly you barely feel it, and yet your body reacts as if he's punched you. “can i talk to you alone for a minute?”

panicked, you turn towards jack, who nods. “you still have a few minutes. i just need to go in to set up. see you in there!”

shit.

once you're alone with your ex, you move to brace yourself against the wall, folding your arms. “what?”

“why didn't you tell me you were in new york?”

“why would i?”

“well,” matty's voice falters; when he speaks again, it's almost a whisper. “i don't know. maybe we could've, like, gone for a drink. or you could've come down here to hang out.”

“again, why would i?” you tilt your head. “no offence, mate, but hanging out with my ex and his new girlfriend isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. or just hanging out with my ex full stop.”

“thanks for that,” matty grimaces.

you sigh. “look, i know you well enough to be able to read your cryptic fucking subtext. i've been alright, matty, i really have. i've been with friends.”

“you don't have any friends in new york.”

“and how the fuck would you know that? honest to fucking god,” you snap. “i didn't tell you everything about me…”

“i know that well enough.”

“...but, if you must know, one of my friends from home opened an exhibition in tribeca. orla.”

matty nods. “we went to her london opening together before… us, didn't we?”

the memory feels distant, as if from another life, but it hurts all the same. “yeah.”

“i would've liked to have gone to her show here, too. she's good.”

you smile genuinely for the first time, pride for your friend stronger than the fucked up pot of feelings you have towards matty. “it was really something. i helped set it up, actually. was fun.”

“really?” matty laughs; something cracks inside you when he does. “yeah, i can see you being good at that, actually.”

you look at the ground, still smiling, but less now. “been thinking about switching to it full-time. curation and stuff.”

“oh,” matty sounds crestfallen. you peek up at him to find that he looks it, too. “well… if that's what you want to do, i s'pose you should look into it,” he checks the time on his phone, while your heart sinks impossibly deeper. “it's starting soon. i'll head in now, and then if you-”

“wait thirty seconds before i follow you? yeah, i know the drill,” you smile lifelessly. “least you won't have to worry about that if i get a new job, yeah? you'll likely never have to see me again, let alone risk being seen with me.”

“i- anyway,” matty clears his throat, turning quickly away from you. “i should go.”

“okay,” the door closes behind him before you can even get the second syllable out, and there you are, alone again, in the suddenly-cold night air. you shakily exhale your cigarette for the last time, stubbing it out on the wall and stamping the butt with your high heel for good measure; once no trace of the flame remains, you go back inside.

for the rest of the night, part of you wishes you hadn't bothered. while hearing your favourite album is truly, genuinely brilliant, the experience is marred somewhat by your ex sitting in the seat opposite yours with taylor's head on his shoulder: you can't quite lipsync along to this love or clean or you are in love without your lips beginning to tremble, the new song now that we don't talk genuinely makes you nauseous when you figure out the lyrics, and actually hearing matty's voice on a vault track is painful beyond words.

but still, you clap, you fake smiles, you cheer for taylor and jack and the work they've put into the production. it's not easy, though, and you're thankful for the distraction when your phone buzzes with an invitation while you're alone at the drinks table grabbing another champagne.

“now i know you're not about to entertain a man who sent you an i miss you, come over text,” taylor’s voice sounds scandalised from behind you.

you turn, grinning, smile dropping slightly when you see she isn’t alone. “don't worry, i'm taking the piss out of him for it as we speak…”

“good.”

“...but i am gonna go and see him, in a minute,” you finish, looking down at your phone and giggling when you see a reply. “if that's alright, that is.”

matty raises his eyebrows the way he does before he opens his mouth, but taylor beats him to it. “look at you giggling at him! of course! go! but first,” she gently drags you to a nearby sofa and settles onto it, patting the seat beside her; you take it, while matty awkwardly settles himself on a footstool in front of you both. “tell me about him.”

“you really want to know?” you aren't quite sure which of them the question is directed at. taylor nods, and judging by matty's expression he's also curious, so you sigh and keep talking. “well, his name is michael. he's a playwright. we met through friends. he's lived in new york his whole life. he seems slightly obsessed with me, but in a good way - so far, at least. he's very sweet.”

“a playwright? that's cool,” taylor grins. “what does he look like?”

“a bit like andrew garfield, actually,” you laugh, looking down at your phone again. “and he's offering to meet me at a bar, so it's probably time for me to be on my way.”

“sure. have fun, stay safe,” she pulls you into a hug; you see matty wince, out of the corner of your eye. “thank you so much for coming. when do you go back home?”

“not until the end of the month. i don't know if i'm actually going on the festival run, yet,” you shrug. “but i'll go home before it, just in case.”

“it's a lot, isn't it?”

taylor, babe, you don't even know the half of it. “yeah. it won't be easy.”

she hums. “we should hang out before you go. nothing crazy, just dinner or drinks or something. like, something fun, before you have to go back to keeping a record label running,” she nudges matty, who smiles quickly but continues looking at the floor. “i'll call you, okay?”

“that sounds good,” you stretch. “right, i really should go - the bar is a twenty-minute walk from here and i said i'd meet michael in fifteen.”

matty tuts. “he's knowingly letting you walk alone to meet him at half ten at night? no. absolutely not.”

you roll your eyes. “for god's sake, i'll be fine. i'm an adult!”

“yeah, babe, but still,” taylor’s eyes are wide. “take a car! for our peace of mind, at least.”

our. you do your best not to shudder, and smile instead. “if you're sure…”

“she's sure,” matty nods. “get it to take you back to your… whatever it is you're staying in after your drink, too.”

“i mean, i'm going back to his,” you look matty dead in the eye when you say it, and the sadness that fills his is impossible to miss. christ, what is his deal? “but thanks. anyway,” you hug taylor before you stand. “thanks again for tonight. i'll see you soon,” you nod at matty. “and i'll… see you at finsbury, definitely. maybe sooner. i don't know. there'll be an email soon confirming what's happening. bye.”

much to your chagrin, matty stands too. “i'll walk you out. make sure you actually get in the car - i know what you're like.”

for fuck's sake. “alright. bye, taylor!” you wave as you move towards the door.

“bye, babe!”

you walk quickly through the corridors, trying to keep some distance between you and matty. annoyingly, though, he matches your pace, and speaks. “so… michael.”

the vitriol practically drips from his tongue. you scoff. “what about him?”

“tell me more about him. what’s he like?”

“he's my age,” you pointedly don’t look at matty when you say that, but you hear the way his breath catches in his throat. the guilt begins gnawing again; you keep talking to distract yourself from it. “he's ridiculously american, which means he doesn't get my sense of humour sometimes, but as soon as he found out i lived in london he took the piss and started calling me ‘princess’.”

the word leaves your mouth before you can stop it; as soon as it does, you bite the insides of your lips together, guilt spreading to every bone in your body. tentatively, you look round at matty, who's stopped walking in favour of looking at the ground and clasping his hands behind his neck. everything about him radiates hurt, and it only worsens when he quietly speaks. “he calls you what?”

you can't bring yourself to say it again. “you heard me, matty.”

“wish i fucking hadn't,” your ex looks up at you again, and you know he's about to verbally lash out; he looks exactly the same as he did before you split. “you really let him call you that? my name for you?”

“think you lost all rights to that the day you dumped me, to be honest, mate.”

“fucking hate it when you call me that. stop it.”

“well, i'm sure as shit not going to resort to what i used to call you, am i?”

matty laughs mirthlessly. it's the worst sound you've ever heard. “no, you've got michael for that now.”

“no, i haven't,” you're loathe to admit what you're about to say, but you really want him to feel bad. “haven't slept with him yet - or anyone, for that matter, since you broke up with me,” you glance at matty, who looks rightfully sheepish, and decide to just fuck with him even further. “but maybe i will tonight. s'about time i felt good about myself.”

“you know, you've been really fucking snide today. i don't know what i've done to deserve it.”

you stop dead in your tracks, turning to face him in total bewilderment. “well, aside from the whole, y'know, dumping me at the first sign of disagreement, you fucking started it with the arsey comments today, matty. sounds like you? fuck off.”

he shrugs. “but it does. you don't want what i want, so… why bother keeping this going?”

you huff, pushing the door to the staircase open. “i never said i didn't want to get married and have kids, by the way.”

“what? yes you-”

“no, i didn't,” you smile sadly. “all i said was that i was unsure, and because it wasn't me immediately saying yes to something for the first time in our relationship, you took it as a no.”

matty's shaking his head. “no, that-that's not-”

“yes it is, sweetheart,” the tears are beginning to prick at your eyes; matty's too, you can see. “that's what happened.”

“but you freaked out so much…”

“because you sprung it on me, out of the blue! come on, matty,” you can feel your jaw trembling. “you would've done the same, if a partner had asked you that question when you were my age.”

matty sniffles. “please stop bringing up the age gap, darling.”

the pet name enrages you; it's agonising how natural it sounds coming from his lips, and even more painful how automatically your body reacts to it. “well, i can't not, given that it's what fucked us up, in the end,” you take a deep breath, and walk out the side door onto the street. it's fairly quiet, you're relieved to see. “besides - i thought you liked it? that was my appeal, wasn't it? being young, and pretty, and naive, so fucking naive. a meek little toy, something you could play with however you wanted without fear of it rebelling against what you wanted. because that's really all that matters, isn't it, what you want? course it is, because when that was threatened, you stopped wanting me.”

hot tears are hitting your cheeks with increasing speed, but your voice somehow stays strong, unwavering, controlled; the same can't be said for matty, who's crying just as much as you. “no, no, that's not true, not at all, please don't say that.”

“but that's what it feels like,” your voice cracks into a sob. “you didn't even want to talk to me about it. you were just... fine with letting me go. i didn't think you could ever be so cruel to someone you claim to have loved, once, matty. especially not someone who loves you as much as i do,” sniffling, you wipe your eyes and open a car door, quickly telling the driver the address of the bar before turning back to matty. “i appreciate you getting taylor to invite me tonight, but i think it was a mistake; we can't be friends, you and i, we really can't. i'm sorry, it just… hurts,” you check the time. “i need to go. take care.”

it's too warm in the car. you roll the window down slightly. you can hear matty crying from halfway down the street.

[new-tella-us]

I'd love to hear more about the entity that resembles Damien

Hehehehehehehehe! I did not except anyone to ask but it gives me an excuse to ramble!

Okay slight TW- Implied Abuse. If you know, you know.

The entity, Damien edition. Every entity is within an infinite area, "Damien's" being the Dungeon. Mika can only enter these areas through her dreams and once she leaves she forgets all that happens so the actual Damien can't mind read her.

Mika enters the dungeon and it's an endless catacomb of stone cells holding silent shadow people. Eventually, soft sobs could be heard from the distance and as Mika gets closer, the voice becomes recognizable; it's Damien. She races through the halls until she stumbles upon a figure in what looks to be a thick red blanket. The sobbing is coming from this figure; she enters the cell, reaching out for the figure and they turn to face her.

The figure looks and sounds exactly like Damien only showing clear demonic figures, as if his glamor spell had worn off. The only major difference to his appearance is his pitch black eyes. Other differences are, of course, the big red sheet Mika's only seen once before, the tag on his left ear with either the letter O or the number 0, it's hard to tell, and the multitude of scars, bruises and bites on the few parts of his body that are exposed.

"Damien", at first, seems frightened by Mika's presence. Shuffling into the corner of his cell and holding the sheet closer to his body but as he takes a good look at Mika, his fear turns to confusion.

"Laura?"

This entity seems to know Mika's mother, and just as Mika sees them as Damien, they see her as Laura. They don't have much time to contemplate what's going on though as heavy footsteps stomp down the hall, getting closer. They aren't alone. Mika doesn't know who that could be but "Damien" does, and he is terrified. He starts shaking out of fear and hyperventilating, barely mumbling something that Mika can't understand.

As Mika prepares to defend herself and "Damien" from whatever this threat is, "Damien" shoves her under what seemed to be a makeshift bed, slightly suspended above the ground by chains connected to the wall. Then he sits in front of the bed, as if to keep her from seeing the threat.... or to keep the threat from seeing her.

The footsteps approach the cage and the air becomes heavy with ash, Mika couldn't tell if the threat was doing that, or "Damien". From the little she could see from the bed, the threat seems to be wearing a long cape or shall as she could see the cloth as is moves with the legs of the threat.

The threat itself started as another, bigger, shadow but it slowly made a form, the amorphous blob solidified and turned gold. ...James? She dared to peek from beyond the bed, praying to not be seen, and she was correct. This person...this thing. It looked like James, but more threatening and monstrous. He snarled like an animal, yanking at the bars and paced from outside the cage, as if he was trying to get in but couldn't.

She scampered back under the bed as he paced out of her vision only to pace back with a new appearance. Dark gold legs turned to blood red as the threat had taken up Erik's form next. From Erik to Sam to Matthew back to James, this threat changed forms every time he exited Mika's vision. The only consistent part of him was that cape he wore and the constant manic anger.

The last thing Mika would see before this dream ended was the threat gripping the bars of the cell and staring at "Damien". Mika peeked from the bed again only to see nothing but the frightening glare of the monster outside the cell. Mika yelped, flinching and banging her head on the stone base of the bed then..

She shot up awake. Now back in her room with only the faint memory of that horrific glare. She sighed, thankful it was just a nightmare.

[imawreck]

Killer

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier x Original Character

Summary: Ghost joins the team to capture Strucker and take out the enhanced soldiers.

Author’s Note: This chapter isn’t as edited because I was a hurry to get it out! So I apologize for any grammatical errors.

Warnings: lots of death and gore, vengeful female rage, violence

Word Count: 2,380

Snow-

My heart hammered in my rib cage and my mind buzzed with adrenaline. Bodies laid strewn across the pavement and blood was smeared against my mask, rouge blurring half of my vision.

I retrieved my weapons from the lumps of flesh at my feet and trudged forward almost mechanically. My limbs ached, but the mission wasn't over until all of them had fallen. My sword dangled from my hand, scraping against the pavement. I searched for the others and found them soon enough, surrounding each other and battling against what looked like the remaining Super Soldiers. To the right of them, I spotted the Red Witch with her magic swirling around a horde of angry men. They shouted in Russian, roaring with rage. I hadn't yet seen Strucker, but I was certain he was here with us.

I counted the fallen soldiers, seven dead, meaning there were still five left but only three had been fighting with the rest of the avengers. Strucker was surely using the other two as a shield. They were more than likely his best trained.

I picked up the pace, angling myself towards the fight. Hawkeye looked injured and Stark fought on the ground, more than likely due to his metal suit running out of long-distance artillery to use against them as he was fighting back-to-back with the Captain.

I launched myself onto the nearest opponent, blade in hand, and sank it into his neck while he was distracted. Steve's eyes flickered in fear as he caught my own, but I didn't have time to spare as another soldier careened into me, tearing a hole in my side with her blade. I roared in pain, gripping my wound.

Captain muttered something that I didn't catch in the chaos around us. I focused hard on the pain, visualizing my skin lacing back together. I reached up, yanking the mask off my face, and rested my gaze on the woman wielding the bloodied knife. I glared at her, feeling my wound seal shut. Her face was white, and her eyes were trained on mine. I slid a knife from my belt- one of the last few that I had been able to retrieve- and released it towards her. Her arms flew up to block, leaving me with the perfect opening for a swift second attack. I gripped my sword, dipping low and plunging it into her abdomen between two plates of armor. I rose to meet her eyes, watching as she sputtered for words as the light left her eyes and her form dropped.

Stark had made do with his grounded suit and finally beat the last soldier, leaving the team winded but alive. He spoke into the comms, "Thats ten down, anyone seen the missing two?"

Captain returned his question, "No, I saw all twelve in the beginning of the fight, but I couldn't keep an eye on them all when they started to split up."

I leaned down to grip my mask, slowly wiping the blood off the eyes. "Strucker will be using them as bodyguards. They will likely be the most well-trained of the twelve. I can take care of them."

Captain glanced down at my side, "You're wounded, you shouldn't take them on alone."

I eyed him, "It's healing as we speak. I am more than capable of fighting. Those soldiers were hard enough for the three of you to keep off, I’m more suited for handling this situation." I slid the mask back in place, "Help the Witch, she looks like she's about to-"

I was interrupted by a distinct clapping in the distance. Three sets of footsteps. "Ghost! I didn't think you survived the ice. How pleasant it is to see you, Darling!"

My blood ran cold and every muscle in my body tensed like a spring. I whipped around, watching the man of my nightmares waltz towards us. Strucker stood behind two rather large men, obviously the missing soldiers, with a grin plastered on his ugly face. "Have you missed me?" His voice was like shards of glass in my ears.

I couldn't speak, I was frozen as the memories hit me in waves.

The torture, the blood, screams echoing against the stone walls, cold, always dark. He was always there watching.

Steve came to stand beside me, his shield raised. He spoke lowly, "Don't let him get in your head, we have to take him with us. We need you here and now, the team can't complete this mission without you."

Complete the mission. Familiar blue eyes flashed in my mind, and memories followed with them.

His cries, his muddled mind, his scars. All because of the man standing in front of me.

White hot rage began to pool in my stomach. I dropped my weapon, letting it clatter against the cement, and I slipped further into the soldier I had once been.

Complete this mission.

I removed the mask, dropping it at Steve's feet. He watched me with questioning eyes, "Snow?"

I began walking forward, slow at first, picking up the pace as the two soldiers in front of Strucker took a defensive stance and unsheathed their own weapons. My pulse thrummed in my head as Strucker's laugh echoed across the emptiness of the compound, and the roar of the soldiers trapped in the Red Witch's magic quieted instantly. "I was disappointed in the performance of the other soldiers. They were poorly trained to take you on. Obviously, putting you in the chamber hasn't dulled your skills, has it? Of course not, my perfect soldier." He gestured grandly to the two men in front of him, "But these two are my greatest yet. I would say, even better than you, my dear. No flaws, just perfect puppets." The two men turned to him, waiting for his command. His smile was wiry, fueling my anger, and the word left his lips. "Attack."

There wasn't a moments delay. The two moved swiftly and their blows were practiced and effective. They were much stronger than the last ten, and trained far better than the others just like I'd predicted. Ther fists knocked against my arms, occasionally catching my ribs. I took the onslaught, throwing my arms up to cover my head and watching their movement through the gap to try and catch a pattern. My fingers ached as I forced my nails through the skin and focused them into to deadly points, another gift from Hydra, and waited for their movements to repeat.

I swiped out when an opening presented itself, reaching through the tangle of their arms and plunging my nails into the throat of the soldier to my right while kicking hard enough to send the other skidding a few feet from me. My claws pressed deeper into the soldiers' flesh before I removed them with a sickening shluck.

He sputtered with his eyes blown wide, hands flying up to stop the blood from oozing out as I clutched my still healing side he had hammered with his fist.

I swung around to face the second soldier.

I yelled out while keeping my eyes on him, "Do you know why I am the best, Commander?" There was an animalistic tremor, the excitement of the hunt, running through me as I made my way towards him.

The remaining soldier barreled forward, and I darted out of his reach before slipping behind him and ripping a hole in the back of his knee. He dropped down with a scream of pain, swinging out with his arm. I dove for his other knee, making quick work of it. "I am not a puppet," I circled around the man on his knees before me, just out of his grasp.

He growled like a cornered animal as he swiped through the air, his eyes were clouded and grey. Off, somehow. An empty shell of a man. "The things you thought made me weak? They drive me much more than any given command ever could."

Strucker held his arms up defensively although I was too far to strike him. I yanked the knife from the corpse of the first soldier and chucked it through the air to finish off the second one. I took my time crossing the pavement towards his shaking figure, "There is no one left for you to hide behind now. Face me, look at what you've made."

His mouth gaped open and then shut, open and shut, like a fish out of water. He was backpedaling now, though there was no point. He couldn't outrun me, he couldn't hide. When he turned to try, I bent down and yanked out the grappling hook Tony had graciously given me, tucked away in my boot, and fired it off. The claw sank deep into his calf, and he cried out, falling hard against the concrete. I yanked the cord, pulling him towards me, "Surrender."

Strucker scoffed, clawing at his boot through his muffled yowls and pulling out a small revolver. He fired it off. The bullets sailed past me. His arm was too shaky to aim straight. I gripped his wrist, knocking the gun out of his hand and swiftly spinning to pin it against his skull. "I won't say it again."

Fear leaked out of his pores in waves, and it swam in the air just under my nose. Just before the urge to end his life here on this ground grew too strong, there was a firm hand on my shoulder, jolting me from its consumption. "Snow, that's enough." It was the gentle voice of the Captain. "Let's take him and the others in. Clint and Wanda need medical attention and rest, and so do you."

Immediately, my hand fell. I turned away from him, but as I did, Strucker's pitiful voice raked against my eardrums. "You still take orders like a bitch."

I gritted my teeth, whipped around and slammed the butt of the gun into his temple, knocking him unconscious.

I glared at his fallen body and then swiveled my head to face the contained soldiers in the Red Witch's cage. My voice roared over the silence, "You will surrender with your Commander, or you will die here!"

I took one look at a flabbergasted Steve and gripped the front of Strucker's uniform, dragging the useless excuse of a human back to the ship.

_____

Bucky-

The team had been gone far longer than Tony had calculated. Two hours too long actually, and my nerves had started to get to me. I sat in the commons room trying to ease my nerves with some bourbon. Banner and Natasha had turned in for the night due to her exhaustion. He had insisted that he should be staying with her in case she needed anything. I knew it wasn't just that, obviously, but who was I to deny him his comfort? The time seemed to be dragging and my thoughts swam with worry. What could possibly be taking them this long? Had something gone wrong? I always worried about Steve when Tony didn't put us on the same mission, but now there was something else that made my hands sweat and my thoughts muddle with anxiety.

Snow.

Even the small friendship we had conjured up caused my heart to ache more for her. The feelings I had thought were strong before had doubled tenfold throughout her time here. The soldier was still inside of me, I knew that, but it was getting harder for me to discern my feelings for her from his.

Friday's delicate voice rang through the room, "The Quinjet has landed."

I sprang up and launched myself towards the elevator doors, ignoring the subtle pain resonating through my side. Pain could wait. The elevator took its sweet time to level out before the doors slid open to allow me to exit onto the landing floor. I hustled towards the jet, looking around as the medics made their way in too. Clint was carted away on a bed and yelled about his legs working just fine but he didn't make an effort to get off as they rolled him through the doors. Next was Wanda, who was wheeled out much like Clint. She looked exhausted, barely keeping her eyes open as they adjusted her on the bed. Steve followed her out on his own, taking a long look as the group of medics wheeling Wanda the same way they took Clint.

I made my way to him, looking him over for any serious injuries. "Are you alright? You guys are really late."

Steve nodded, moving his hand up to rest it on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm alright Buck. Most of us got out of there without a scratch. We got Strucker, and well..." He glanced back at the jet. "The Super Soldiers are all dead."

My eyes widened, "You killed them all?"

He shook his head, "It was insane out there, Bucky."

I looked over his shoulder, searching for white hair. "Where's Snow and Stark?" When I returned my gaze to my friend his face was contorted in a grimace.

"Her and Tony took Strucker to get stitched up and take him into an interrogation room. Tony called in the feds too. He wants Strucker out of the building and behind bars as soon as possible." Steve nodded towards the med bay, "I think Tony will be leaving Snow in with the medical team to check out her wounds. She was stabbed, but it healed almost on the spot. Tony wanted to get her x-rayed to make sure her insides were healing alright."

I nodded, hesitating for a moment. "Are you sure you're okay? You look a little more shaken up than normal."

Steve met my eyes and held them for a long moment. "She spoke in Russian on the mission. Snow was an entirely different person once that hanger door shut. She took that battle personally. The way she handled them, Bucky..." He couldn't seem to finish his sentence, but I understood. It couldn't have been pretty.

"I should go see her, she’ll need someone after all this."

Steve nodded but he looked far away. I left him in the hangar and headed towards the med bay in hopes to find Snow.

Tags <3

@imdoingathingmom / @cjand10 / @blackbirdwitch22

[bbhyeoliskooks]

❝𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲.❞ — SEVEN.

A story in which Yeonjun is your troublemaker guardian angel.

Introduction. | One. | Two. | Three. | Four. | Five. | Six. | Seven. | Finale

𖥻 Pairing: GuardianAngel!Choi Yeonjun x Reader (Female)

𖥻 Genre: Angst, fluff, guardianangel!au, served with 9.5k+ words

𖥻 Warnings: swearing, getting tipsy, lazily edited

𖥻 Playlist: Akin Ka Na Lang, Je Te Veux, Love Is You, Sweet, The One That Got Away

There were 2 things to grieve. Losing Yeonjun and trying to accept that he lied to you after all that you had been through. Actually at this point, there were three.

Knowing that your future would no longer contain all the plans that you and Yeonjun put together in the time you two were together. There were still many things you wanted to do with Yeonjun, and because he was immortal, there was more relief since it meant that you wouldn't have to worry about anything bad happening to him. However, his immortality wasn't the main issue- it was the fact that he left and lied to your face, knowing that you loved him so much.

It was so hard to get out of bed. Every morning you would wake up relieved, thinking that his departure was just a nightmare until all the memories came back. Each night you slept with a physical ache in your chest, never ceasing even if you tried to distract yourself. The only time you would find peace was falling asleep after crying for hours, but of course the peace wouldn't last long. When the sun's rays disturbed your sleep the next day, you would wake up and have no motivation to do anything. The cycle would repeat with no peace in sight.

And it's typical and cliche to say that no man should ever have this grip on you, but this time it was different. It was Yeonjun. He was in your life for a couple months and you grew dependent on knowing that he would always stay by your side. Where was he now though? Did you have another guardian angel watching you? You couldn't handle it. He was supposed to stay "chained" to your soul, accompanying you to heaven. At this point, you didn't even want to go to heaven! You didn't want to go anywhere or do anything.

Instead you covered your shaking body into the heavy covers. Unable to move to the middle of the bed, you kept reminiscing about Yeonjun as per usual. That side of the bed was his and cruel enough, the pillows still smelled like him. There were traces of him everywhere so even if you ever decided to forget about him, he never completely went away. Sometimes you would find feathers. Sometimes one of his socks would be on the floor. Sometimes when you were hungry and wanted to drown your sorrows by eating ice cream, his mint ice cream bucket would be in the back of the freezer- another harsh reminder that he left before even finishing it. Everything was just too painful.

Too wrapped up in the thought of your angel, you failed to notice that Beomgyu knocked on the door. He hadn't seen you for a while and neither have your friends which became worrying. On your end it was just radio silence though Beomgyu and Aera tried calling you many times. Since you were ignoring Beomgyu- or so he thought, he decided to show up to your house, knowing that you were inside. When you didn't respond to the knock however, he simply grabbed the spare key hidden underneath the door mat. After all, it was his last resort.

"Y/n?"

You swiftly turned your head to the side, peeking from underneath the blankets surrounding you. On the other side was Beomgyu, a worried expression painting his face as he analyzed your face and the mascara stains you didn't bother wiping off.

You sat up immediately, sniffing as you brought your knees to your chest.

"Oh... sorry, Gyu, I didn't hear you."

Now Beomgyu turned the door so it rested against the wall. Frankly, he was so worried about you that he began to get upset with your radio silence. It was kinda shitty that you weren't responding to anyone for 2 weeks or so, but then again he was extremely worried. He could tell that you were a mess as your hair was all over the place along with the crusty dried mascara marks on the pillows and your face.

"Of course you hadn't. Y/N, what's wrong? No one has heard from you for weeks! And where is Yeonjun? It's like you two disappeared!"

You gulped, hearing Yeonjun's name. Though he disappeared from your life without a trace, there were small things that were like nails to the chest. Only now Yeonjun seemed like a distant dream. It was a harsh wake up call knowing that all of this was real- Yeonjun was gone. Your future was gone. Everything was gone.

Beomgyu picked up on how you winced at Yeonjun's name. His face fell, not wanting to hear the bad news but knowing that it was coming.

"Y/N? Hey, what's wrong?"

You burst into tears, not being able to hold in your emotions anymore. You felt so pathetic for letting him see you this way, so down and depressed. He had never seen you like this before and though he encountered your sadness multiple times, it wasn't as intense as this. Beomgyu pursed his lips, taking a seat on the other side of the bed. You felt sick. That was supposed to be Yeonjun's side.

"Yeonjun and I broke up, Gyu. We broke up and I'm so-" you felt your throat tighten up as you tried to suppress a sob, "he's just gone and I don't know what to do with myself."

Beomgyu calmly nodded, sending you a sympathetic look. He didn't expect your relationship to end so quickly, not with the way you two looked at each other with so much love in your eyes. He only sighed as he pulled you into a hug, shushing you as you tried to explain the situation to him. It broke his heart that you were so sad. And of course, he thought you two were a perfect couple so it was extremely unfortunate to see that it didn't work out.

"Hey, you don't have to explain everything unless you don't want to. Just cry it out so you can get some coherent sentences out, okay?" Beomgyu stroked your hair, weaving his fingers in the tangled mess that had been stuck for days. It reminded you of Yeonjun- gosh, when will you ever stop being reminded of him?! You nodded as you hiccuped, shutting your eyes as if that would shield the mental hurt.

As selfish as it was, you pretended that Beomgyu holding you was Yeonjun. Though he was the cause of your pain, he was still the solace that you needed in his absence.

Unsurprisingly, things weren't going well in heaven either. Almost everyday Yeonjun was acting out in heaven, getting into his usual mischief. However, his trouble wasn't like before. It seemed deliberate, as if he was asking for punishment. Everyone could tell that he was a mess and even though the mighty Seraphim board made many complaints, Yeonjun didn't seem to care. His entire soul was haunted by the memory of you and there was nothing that could calm him down. And if he had a physical heart, it wasn't just aching. It was on fire, burning into a crisp because you were no longer there with him.

Taehyun, the head of the Seraphim, took pity on Yeonjun. The Seraphim had many punishments for him, but Taehyun refused to send out any harm to Yeonjun. Truth be told, the Seraphim head felt a lot of pain seeing how Yeonjun was acting. He knew that he loved you so much. He saw the way Yeonjun was holding you so gently, afraid to wake you as you snored into his arms. How could your relationship and love mean that much to Yeonjun? Though he didn't understand that depth of romantic love, he still understood that it was love no matter how much older and confused he was.

Honestly speaking, trying not to send Yeonjun back to Earth was very hard. But he knew that God wouldn't approve since Yeonjun went against him. He couldn't help but wonder, why was he getting into trouble knowing that he had a bunch of punishment on his plate already? Not even from God whose wrath would be worse, but the Seraphim of all? They felt disgraced watching Yeonjun's mischief become more intense as the days passed.

Taehyun knew that he would have to speak up soon, which is why he called the younger angel to see him, in front of the door with all the magical bubbles inside. He was hoping that his plan would work and Yeonjun would stop making a ruckus. Yeonjun only rolled his eyes when he saw him, to which Taehyun dismissed. Silly enough, love was making him act out when it was the reason why he was there in the first place.

"Why do you need me? Are you going to punish me?" Yeonjun deadpanned, no emotion behind his voice.

Taehyun only frowned in response, crossing his arms.

"Yeonjun, I just don't understand. You keep acting out knowing that there's so much punishment for you ahead. Why?"

Yeonjun shook his head, looking at the ground. He didn't want to respond, not to a stupid question like that. Taehyun didn't know anything and he had no right to ask anything after taking him away from you- an ill assumption really, since it was Yeonjun making the bed in the end.

"If this is what we're doing, just send me home. I'm only here for my punishment, not for silly questions," Yeonjun scoffed, refusing to look him in the eye.

Taehyun's stance remained strong, though he wanted to (genuinely) hit Yeonjun for acting like a moody emotional teen. He needed to give him one more shot at no longer pissing the Seraphim off and since he felt enough pity, he was willing to do whatever to make his plan work. Many had grown tired of Yeonjun's antics, especially his friends that had to deal with his moodiness everyday. This plan had to work.

"Yeonjun, please. I know you hate us all right now, but do you want to see Y/n or not?"

Yeonjun's face lit up with a speckle of hope and his whole body tensed up. He didn't know what to expect. This could be a trap, but as far as he's concerned, he just wanted to be with you.

"What... what are you talking about?"

Taehyun just smirked, pleased at Yeonjun's surprised expression. Seems like there was hope for this emotional angel in the end.

The superior angel slowly turned the doorknob behind him, leading Yeonjun into the mesmerizing bubble room where many lives were floating at his hands. Yeonjun, absolutely confused, let his eyes wander everywhere, hoping that he would foolishly find you. He knew it was selfish to even look at you at this point due to all the pain he caused. And yet, he replayed the image of seeing you the last time just to gain some comfort.

Finally, Taehyun grabbed your bubble of life, looking deeply into the scene before him. He cleared his throat before passing the bubble towards the younger angel whose face immediately fell.

Yeonjun gulped, letting his thumb gently stroke the bubble. His eyes immediately watered as he stared at you, tears running down your face. Your pain was too much for him as he barely noticed that you were crying in Beomgyu's embrace which was failing at comfort. He pursed his lips as he watched your friend's fingers delicately run through your hair, truly understanding how fragile you were. His eyebrows furrowed as Beomgyu pressed a soft kiss against the top of your head, seemingly ignoring how wet his shirt was along with your hair. Slowly his chin nuzzled against you which was a stark difference to you whose hands gripped onto the end of his shirt.

Yeonjun sighed, his facial expression softening into regret. This was what he was afraid of, although it very well contradicted what he wanted for you. How could he be jealous at a time like this? Even though he wanted you to be his forever, he knew he couldn't give you what you deserved- a normal human life. One with children and an aging husband. You didn't deserve what Yeonjun could provide and though he could tell he made you happy, he decided that it wasn't going to be enough for you. So although he wanted to be the only one in your life, his burning desire for your success at a fulfilled life was far greater.

Taehyun watched carefully, observing Yeonjun's body completely relax. He seemed weak in the knees as his fluffy wings folded behind him, too sad to stay up. Slowly Yeonjun turned his head, this time being able to look at his superior in the eye. His caramel eyes were already tearing up as he sheepishly asked, "is there any way I can talk to her again? Please? This is killing me."

The superior angel shook his head, letting his bangs cover his eyes. It was hard to see Yeonjun like this.

Yeonjun bit his lip, somehow cradling the bubble closer to himself in an attempt to bring you closer.

"Please, Taehyun. I know I've been getting into trouble, but that's because I only want to see her! I know you know that, but it's just-"

"You get into trouble, Yeonjun. I just don't understand why because you know if you do well here, you might possibly get to see her sooner."

Yeonjun curled deeper into himself, letting the bubble ground itself on his crossed arms. He let himself fall against the clouds below himself, resting his chin against the top of the bubble.

"Because at the same time, I know I don't deserve to see her again. It's pulling me apart- the desire to see her and knowing that I'm not worth any of her time seeing how much I hurt her. And I want punishment for that, which is why I act out. If I hurt myself, then only then do I feel like it's enough to pay my crime."

Taehyun watched Yeonjun's tears fall, silently bouncing off the bubble where you were trapped inside, crying for your angel as well. The only thing to do now was take pity on him. Taehyun groaned, knowing the repercussions of his actions. But seeing Yeonjun on the floor, desperate for you was enough to send him to the edge.

"Fine. I don't like punishing angels, though it may seem like it. I'll let you go to her, but know that there's not a lot of time. I'll give you a day, Yeonjun, but you're going to have to face God since this isn't His plan. Are you willing to take that consequence?"

Yeonjun perked up, his eyes growing wide at Taehyun's generosity. He gently set the bubble beside him, standing slowly and regaining his composure. He had to double check what his superior said, because there's no way that he was offering a day with you.

"W-what? Are you sure? Don't joke around with me, Taehyun."

Taehyun smiled, nodding his head in defeat. How could he be kidding around?

"Just think about it. I'm sure you want to go."

Yeonjun reconsidered the option again, looking back at Taehyun and the bubble. He watched Beomgyu hold you, whispering over and over again that it was okay. The guilt gnawed at his heart as well as the fear of disobeying again. If he went now, then he probably wouldn't be able to witness you growing up. And at the end of the day, that's what he wanted for you. A normal human life.

The mischievous angel's lips formed a line, deciding that it'd be too selfish and wrong for him to go out. Taehyun chuckled, walking towards the door. He knew it was a hard decision for him.

"That's okay. You may stay here for however long you please."

Not responding, Yeonjun sat down again, pulling the bubble into his lap. The door creaked behind him, a high pitch that he didn't pay attention to in the slightest. Darkness ensued, contradicting the luminous glow of every bubble around. Of course, the only thing he could focus on was you. And like you, the only comfort he found in all of the heartbreak was making sure that you were okay.

Somehow, Beomgyu was able to pull you out of your trance by luring you out of bed with food. He decided that delivering the food to your door was better since he could keep an eye on you and at the same time, not let anyone see you as a mess. You were extremely grateful that Beomgyu was by your side this entire time. He was one of the friends where you could seek comfort despite his silly nature. You were grateful that he was the one beside you right now. Of course you had friends like Aera and a super close sister, but you knew you could trust Beomgyu completely.

He watched as you toyed with the utensils, staring back at the food he graciously bought you. It was hard seeing everything on your plate. Thank goodness Beomgyu bought your favorite food. It looked great and delicious as always but your lack of appetite made it hard to enjoy.

Beomgyu broke the silence, letting his spoon clink against the fine plate. "So... do you want to tell me what happened?"

You pushed your food again to the side, opting to play with it so you would no longer focus on your nausea. Feeling rather guilty, you shot Beomgyu a weak smile as you laid your elbows against the table.

"Well, he just got up and left. We had no problems after he came back from visiting his relatives, so I thought everything was okay. I just don't know why he would leave without a word and since then, I've heard nothing from him."

Beomgyu raised an eyebrow, letting himself chew for a moment before responding.

"And there was nothing that made him leave? I mean obviously it's not your fault, but maybe he had a reason."

You sighed, looking up to the sky. Would it be wise to tell Beomgyu that Yeonjun was really out of this world? You weren't sure. He would call you crazy if you told him that your blue-haired troublemaker was actually your guardian angel. Then again, not saying that wouldn't be good either. You knew you could trust him for he would never tell anyone, but you were scared he would label you off as crazy. Keeping the truth was driving you crazy though, since you knew that Beomgyu was there to help you.

Said boy could tell that you were struggling to find the right words, battling the internal struggle that prohibited you from saying the truth. He gave you a look, turning his head to the side as if to egg you on.

You couldn't help but smile at his action a little bit, taking a bite of your food as he watched you, bewildered.

"Promise you won't call me crazy? But in order for you to maybe understand why he left, I think it's only right to tell you."

That seemed to catch Beomgyu's attention as he fixed his posture, straightening up his back.

"Oh no! Don't tell me. Did he give you the "I don't deserve you" spiel?"

You laughed, shaking your head which lightened the vibes. "No, Yeonjun is not like that..." you sighed, again finding it hard to believe that he left you.

"I know that you won't believe me, but I promise I'm not lying."

Beomgyu furrowed his eyebrows, surprised that you thought he would accuse you of being a liar. He had no clue what you were going to say next, but surely it couldn't be that bad.

"Yeonjun is um... my guardian angel."

"WHAT?!"

Beomgyu spat out his food, quickly grabbing a napkin nearby while you giggled at his reaction. He shot you an incredulous look, squinting his eyes. He obviously didn't believe a word you were saying but he also knew you weren't a liar?

"Yeah..." you passed him a glass of water to ease his embarrassment, "please don't think I'm crazy or anything of the sort. I know it's very hard to believe, but just trust me."

You didn't let him get a word in as you explained the rest of the story, noting how strange he was acting when he came back through the window. You told him the insecurity that was practically dripping from Yeonjun's words and how he clung unto you as he cried. It was a hard story to tell as you tried to recall every detail, careful not to sweep anything under the rug because Beomgyu might find a clue. More than anything, you needed hope. Hope was enough to keep you going in such a cruel situation.

Eventually Beomgyu spoke up, covering his mouth with his hand in serious thought.

"I'm sorry to say this, Y/n. I'll start this off by saying that what he did was wrong, but I also understand him- if he is actually an angel. I think his insecurities definitely caused him to leave, and I think it's rather selfless of him in the end to be thinking of the rest of your life with a strange relationship. Leaving you with no explanation wasn't right though, and I'm sorry."

You gulped, eyes darting away from his. Talking about it made you feel better, but it only made the realization of his departure sink deeper into your wounded heart. The deafening silence between you two brought back memories of that very night. How grateful you were to be able to reminisce about Yeonjun yet unlucky because of how much you needed him at that very moment.

"I know, Gyu. I wish he was still here; I wasn't ready to say goodbye yet."

It shouldn't be possible, but the person you hated for leaving was also the person you needed comfort from the most. It was funny to say, but Yeonjun would know what to do and how to make you feel better, even though he was the cause of your heartbreak.

Just like that, a week passed by. The days were slow and you forced yourself to go back to classes and fill your schedule with things that would make you forget your current predicament. It was easier said than done, though. You swore your mind absolutely loved making life hell for you, since it'd say "oh, Yeonjun would love this!" or "the last time you were here, you were still with Yeonjun!" Every minute was torture but you knew you couldn't live like that forever, cooped up in your bed, waiting for your guardian angel to come back.

Even breathing was hard enough, but you were able to push through it. Surely, you could live without him. You experienced life before he was even there. It's not like he was by your side when you weren't aware... but this time, his departure felt final and you knew that you wouldn't be seeing him for a long time.

Aera picked up on how grumpy you were when you worked on assignments together. Beomgyu told her everything about the breakup, leaving out the convenient part that Yeonjun was actually an angel. You didn't mind; you couldn't bear to repeat the story again, enforcing reality as a result. On the other hand, you weren't sure if you could tell Aera and yes you two were close, but your friendship with Beomgyu was different. You knew she wouldn't judge you but honestly she probably wouldn't give the best advice. She was the type of friend to give solutions rather than listen- which was great of course, but wasn't what you needed right now, as selfish as it sounded.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Aera tapped on your shoulder. You dropped your pencil, startled. You kind of forgot that she was there and you sent her a weak, guilty smile.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't hear anything. I'm still just shaken up after what happened with Yeonjun."

Aera sighed, defeated, resting her head against your shoulder. You only looked at your half-assed work on the library's wooden table, feeling like a terrible friend for not really wanting to talk. But then again, who could blame you? It was extremely cliche, but Yeonjun truly was your everything and now he was gone.

"I really liked Yeonjun. It's messed up. I knew he loved you and you loved him- I shipped you guys so hard! I just don't understand."

"Me too," you agreed after a moment of silence. The knot in your throat stopped you from saying anything more- not that you had much to say anyway. It was still hard to admit, even weeks later. Yeonjun leaving was alien-like to you; it didn't seem like he ever would leave your side, not with all his promises.

For a couple of moments you two just sat there, working comfortably even if there was a bit of tension in the air. It wasn't anything between you two; it was the topic of Yeonjun being brought up. The sounds of the pencil scribbling made it easier to focus on your assignment as you tried not to let the thought of the blue-haired angel distract you once again.

Aera hummed, making you look at her. It was out of the blue which meant that she was cooking up a thought, a habit that you picked up on ever since you two had become friends. Knowing that you were looking, she smirked, all of a sudden acting smug. You tilted your head to the side, confused and slightly insecure that something was wrong with your face or your outfit.

"What?"

Her smirk turned into a smile as she slowly pulled out her phone from her pocket.

"You want to know how you can move on from Yeonjun?"

You could basically guess what she was going to say and you quickly shook your head, mistakenly hoping that she wouldn't suggest-

"You should go on a date!"

Aera shoved the phone in your face, waving it around. There was a picture of one of her friends that you had forgotten about but met before. It seems that she was planning to suggest this a while ago and your study hang out was the perfect time to catch you while you were halfway occupied. She had pulled up his instagram page in the time while you were studying, choosing the cutest picture so that you would have to agree. You wanted to throw up, unreasonably feeling like you were cheating on your guardian angel- the love of your life. It was incredibly foolish.

Wanting to forget Yeonjun, you took a step into the unknown. It may have been a decision you would regret in the future, but it was better than moping around for a boy that may never return. In addition, your friends would probably appreciate you trying to move on instead of hearing about heartbreak all day. You wanted to please Aera despite how broken you felt on the inside. The benefits outweighed the odds at this point, so why not?

You groaned, shutting your eyes before whispering a hesitant yes. In response, Aera squealed, wrapping her arms around you as you plastered on an obviously fake smile. She was so happy... unlike you sitting there beside her, thinking about how Yeonjun would be unhappy knowing about the date.

Even though you were unsure if he was watching from wherever he was, you still felt sick to your stomach. Your heart would forever be loyal to Yeonjun no matter what. Your thoughts were also solely focused on him, tied to the thought of the most handsome boy you've ever seen. On the bright side though, maybe the future date would help you move on. Maybe just a little bit- enough for you to forget about him for a night.

Above Earth there was a disheveled Yeonjun, still gently rubbing the bubble as he watched you converse with Aera. For the past few days and nights, he's been watching your every move, making sure that you get home safe and eat well. Unfortunately, the second option wasn't going well for you which made him worry even more. He wasn't sure how long it had been since it was dark in that room with the exception of the iridescent bubbles around him, but he knew it was too many days away from you.

He would lie and tell Taehyun that he was only watching you because you didn't have a guardian angel, making you susceptible to dangerous situations. Taehyun allowed it simply because he couldn't have a human unprotected- he knew it was wrong. So although Yeonjun gritted his teeth, lying (they both knew he was), it was the best option with you in mind.

This time he was eagerly listening to your conversation with Aera. As always his heart sank whenever you spoke about him with a sad tone, but alas, he knew was the cause. If anything, he should have and was expecting it, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt any less.

Mindlessly listening as he thought of your memories, it wasn't until Aera mentioned setting you on a date that he perked up. He raised his eyebrows watching your hesitancy turn into a small glimmer of hope. There's no way you were considering it, were you? Well, it had only been a couple weeks since he left, so it was genuinely too soon to embark on another lover.

Realizing that he was rather hypocritical, he forced himself to listen even if his heart was breaking into pieces.

"So you'll go on a date with him?" Aera questioned, shoving you playfully as you rolled your eyes.

You shook your head in defeat. Albeit, there was a small grin on your face as you quietly whispered an uncertain...

"... Yes."

Yeonjun frowned, battling in his mind whether he should leave. Taehyun gave him the opportunity, but fear was holding him back, along with his insecurity and pain. He gulped, pinching the skin between his eyes as he sighed. It would be so incredibly wrong of him to come back in your life. Yet, he pondered, looking deeply into the bubble where you were. You were too beautiful- how could he ever let you go, even if it was wrong of him?

In the end, that was the whole point of your relationship! Yeonjun was your guardian angel and he was supposed to protect you in the first place! But he ended up falling in love with you and you with him, no matter how unethical it was. You two experienced an unforgettable love together, one that didn't transpire from fate and time itself. Leaving you was a mistake Not trying to get you back yet again would be a bigger mistake he knew he would regret for the rest of his years. Spending forever in pain because he never felt the pressure of your kiss again was excruciating.

All of this thinking led Yeonjun to softly ground your bubble into the clouds below him. He didn't hesitate at the door, flinging it open as he ran to where Juno and Taehyun were. Not giving them a second, he yelled that he was going to find you no matter the consequences. Taehyun watched proudly as Yeonjun opened his feathery white wings and took a dive to Earth with nothing holding him back now. It was the most mature thing that Taehyun had ever seen him do.

Aera sent you the details soon after, telling you that her friend was dying to take you out. For context, this guy had liked you for so long, but you never once noticed him like that. You guessed that that was another reason to give him a chance, out of pity perhaps.

So here you were, on a misty Saturday evening, rolling the mascara spoolie over your eyelashes countless times. You wanted to be perfect for tonight. (Yeonjun would still think you're beautiful anyway, even if you were in a shirt of his and messed up hair). It was evident in your outfit as well since you decided to go in something that made you look all the more irresistible, in the male gaze probably. (It was Yeonjun's favorite outfit on you if you two ever decided to go out somewhere nice). Lastly, you spritzed some sweet vanilla perfume over the sensitive spots of your body, hoping that it would last the night. (Yeonjun would bury his face on the crook of your neck every time you wore it, not getting enough of you).

The date was going to be held at a fancy restaurant, one that you and Yeonjun had been at before. You sighed, tiredly putting your head on the vanity's desk. Fuck- this wasn't his night; you had to snap out of his haze and put in all your attention towards the new guy and how pretty you had to look. You weren't going to allow him to ruin tonight. He can have any other night with your heart in his hand, but not this night at least.

But it seemed that your mind wasn't listening to you as you were looking at yourself in the mirror. Physically you were as beautiful as you could be, but the inside... all it was was a remnant of who you used to be, not full of life because your life fled that particular night. Never did you think you could be so caught up in a boy but there it was, rearing its ugly head every time you took a breath.

You glanced down at all your makeup, surprised that it caught dust. You hadn't been wearing it a lot ever since Yeonjun loved you; you never felt insecure with him. It was one of the things you cherished about him, how he made you feel like you were the most gorgeous girl in the world. He never had a funny way of showing it, cupping your cheeks as he whispered sweet nothings and telling you that you were the most stunning thing he had ever seen in his millennia of being alive.

You huffed, clutching your bag as you stood up with shaky legs. You would clean up this mess later in the silence of the night, when your feelings would inevitably suffocate you. Just not right now, not when there were too many memories in your forsaken house.

Everything was a blur, meeting your date who picked you up to go to the restaurant. He was extremely sweet, acting like a gentleman who opened the door for you all the time and handing you his jacket when you got cold. You were pleasantly surprised at his behavior. Perhaps if you met him first, things would be different. He was actually pretty cute and you were unsure as to why you hadn't noticed him before.

Your throat went dry at your thoughts no matter how much wine you had. The date was going well, but you knew that he knew something was off. He didn't budge though, simply bringing up new conversations every time that one got stale or wasn't something you were interested in. He was oh so nice, too perfect that it made you feel extremely guilty for not being completely open to dating at that moment.

Yet, you could still laugh at his silly jokes or the exuberant stories he told. He did most of the talking, letting you eat one of your favorite meals although you didn't get much in your stomach due to lack of appetite. But that was okay! You were still having fun. All through the night you could only admire his energy and his warmth, causing you to smile the most you have this week.

He sent you a sugary sweet smile, laying the side of his head on top of his knuckled hand.

"You know, Y/N, I've been enjoying this date and talking to you. I know it's only the first date, but I really like you and I'm hoping that we could do this again?"

You sipped on your wine, feeling light from his words. Tonight was going perfectly, so why didn't you feel perfect? The answer was obvious but some part of you was hoping that you would come to your senses and at least gain some feelings for this man. However, if you had to stay true to yourself, you felt nothing. Yes, you liked your date and the way he was treating you, but it just wasn't right. That only made you feel all the more guilty, which meant that you had to be honest with him.

"Oh, um..."

Your eyes latched onto the entrance of the restaurant where you saw a... fluff of blue hair? Your heart dropped as much as your jaw and you perked up, your bottom hovering against the chair. No one else had that specific shade of blue- that was Yeonjun's blue! Seeing that blue was only momentarily, just a couple of seconds. You were left shocked and confused, a speckle of hope flashing in your heart. Did you just see him? Maybe you were hallucinating.

"Hey, is everything okay?" He turned his head around, following your gaze to the entrance of the door where you thought you saw him. He raised an eyebrow at your expression, wondering what you saw to have that reaction.

You shuddered, rubbing the corner of your eyes but careful enough not to smudge your makeup. There's no way he would be here, so your eyes were definitely playing tricks on you.

"Yeah, um... look," you cleared your throat, lacing your hands together nervously, "I've had a lot of fun tonight and you were awesome! It's just..." you couldn't find the right words to convey what you were feeling, knowing that it was wrong and harsh.

He seemed to understand perfectly, drawing his mouth into a straight line.

"You're still hung up over Yeonjun, huh."

You meekly nodded your head, feeling just as embarrassed as he probably felt. There was a moment of silence between the two of you as both struggled to say something- anything that would make the atmosphere less awkward. Fortunately your date was mature and nice enough to get it, gently laying his hand over yours from across the table.

"Hey, it's alright. I kind of got the memo and I know it hasn't been long since you guys broke up. But just so you know," he smiled, flashing a toothed smile to make you comfortable, "I'll be here if you decide differently. In the meantime, we can be friends."

Feeling incredibly grateful at his mature and cheeky words you smiled back, nodding once again.

"Yeah, I'd like that. Thanks so much for being really understanding about the whole situation."

Both of you knew that you wouldn't call him up again. It was a silent agreement practically, though you two enjoyed the rest of the solemn night. Soon after, he suggested that it's time to go home, ending the evening with a slightly bad note since things had grown awkward. But that was your fault, you supposed.

On the way home through the rugged roads knitted aside the grass, you gazed into the cloudy night sky, wondering if he could see you from above. The mere thought was enough to push you to tears, making your heart squeezing in your chest uncontrollably. The date backfired. It only helped you realize that you missed Yeonjun even more.

Not caring to throw off your pretty clothes, you curled up in bed again with no end to your tears. It was rather pathetic and you wished you could forget everything. The date was a success in hindsight, but not your goal- to forget Yeonjun for just one night.

How could you? Everything reminded you of him, even if you tried not to let it sway you. You couldn't handle the amount of despair you felt, not forever.

Once again you clasped your hands together, shutting your eyes with all your might. The only thing that could bring you comfort at the moment was praying, as silly as it sounded. You put your whole heart and soul into prayer, wishing that Yeonjun would just come back. Just one more time.

Unknowingly to you, Yeonjun had been in the house prior to your arrival. He stayed in the other room, knowing that you wouldn't come in. He was still on the fence of making himself known, battling between the thoughts of interfering or letting you live. He wanted to leave you alone, but he physically couldn't, which is why he pulled up at the restaurant. He made sure that you didn't see him, doing the same even now when you were at home.

But your cries and hopeless wishing words caused his whole body to twist in pain as he listened on the other side, pressing his ear against the white wall. Enough was enough for him and maybe a peek would calm him down before he did anything that he would regret. Quietly he stayed in the doorway, peering his head through the crack you made since you didn't close the door completely.

Your perfume still lingered in the air, but now your makeup wiped off from the water dripping off your cheeks. Yeonjun's heart ached at the sight of you and he couldn't help himself but throw the door open, startling you with wide eyes.

His muscles acted way before he was thinking and he threw his arms around your shaking body, now in shock that your prayer came true. He whispered, rubbing his thumbs against your wet cheeks, trying to wipe away each black tear that stained your face.

"Angel, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, please don't cry; I can't handle it." There were tears in his eyes as he said this, looking at how weak and vulnerable you were- one thing he promised not to let happen again and another thing that he broke.

You remained silent, too stunned to do anything. When you realized that he was actually here, close enough where you could feel him breathing, you pushed him away with trembling hands. Though you were incredibly weak as your muscles were failing you, Yeonjun got the hint and jumped away, somehow shocked that you were pushing him away.

"Yeonjun? What the fuck are you doing here?! After disappearing for so long?! You have no right to be hugging me after what you did!" You shrieked, backing away from him from your side of the bed.

He gulped, becoming embarrassed as he looked down at the floor.

"I-I know. I'm sorry. I just did it without thinking, but-"

You glared at him, crossing your arms. Ironic enough, you couldn't stand being near him despite wishing for his appearance. You're not going to take any of this bullshit, knowing that he could leave you again like you were nothing. You had to protect your heart and build walls around it while you still had the chance, something you failed to do when he came back the first time.

"Get out, Yeonjun. I don't want to see your face. It hurts."

His heart managed to break again at your harsh words that he knew were very well deserved. But he knew he had to fight for you- fight for something he didn't know could ever be saved after what he did. It was at least worth trying.

"Please, angel. I know I messed up, and I'm sorry for how much pain I caused you. I can explain everything, if you let me, please."

"No, I can't. You have a lot of nerve coming back here when you know you're just going to leave again. I never want to see you again, Yeonjun."

You shook your head aggressively, trying to find the right words to say. In a fit of anger and irrationality, you yelled many things- hurtful things that affected Yeonjun. Nevertheless he kept begging to explain, too despondent to do anything else but plead.

"Please, Y/N. I know you hate me," he paused for a moment as his words started to sink in, "but please let me explain."

"I do hate you, so just get out!"

He accidentally reached out to you- a habit he frequently did whenever you were upset, and you stood up, pushing him away. Against your shoves, he anchored himself to the ground, begging you to let him stay as you forcefully and physically tried to get him to leave. You failed to realize that it was his footsteps leading himself out rather than your shoves, and that hurt much more to him.

"Leave. Just leave, Yeonjun." With one last push, you sent him out the door and into the hallway. He gazed at you with a somber, desperate expression, and you knew that he knew he couldn't get you back. he looked down at the floor, more hurt than anything, as he nervously toyed with his fingers.

"I'm sorry, angel. I'm sorry."

You shut the door in his face, running back to the only comfort you could get- your bed. You harshly pulled the covers over your trembling body, trying to hide your sobs. Even though Yeonjun was the cause and definitely deserved to see what he did to you, you didn't want to hurt him anymore. You grabbed the pillow and hid your face into it, letting your hurt drown out. It didn't work and you knew he could hear everything.

As Yeonjun stayed on the other side, he felt weaker every time he heard you cry. It didn't seem like enough punishment for him; he wanted to take your pain whilst also ripping his body from limb to limb for each cry. He couldn't do that, thanks to him being an angel. For now, the only thing he could do was wait behind the closed door, sitting against it to make sure that you would get some sleep after all that happened. He would fight to close his eyes until hours later even after you let out your last sob.

When you awoke, your whole body was aching. You wiped your eyes, looking around the room in confusion. The morning rays were pouring in your room, falling onto the pretty clothes you wore last night. Rubbing the temple on the side of your head, you groaned. Drinking some wine probably got you tipsy. You couldn't really remember what happened during the date but when you got home... Many memories came flooding in your head, ones where you were yelling at Yeonjun who came out of the blue and pleaded with his whole heart to explain everything.

You jumped out of bed, grabbing onto what you were wearing, which was coincidentally Yeonjun's shirt. It was a bit big on you, slightly passing the middle of your thigh. You didn't even remember putting it on so maybe in your drunk haze you grabbed it. Yeonjun would have a field day seeing you in his shirt, but that doesn't even matter. He had no right to even talk to you, not after what he did.

Yeonjun probably left after his dramatic entrance. There's no way he would still be waiting for you since you made it clear that you didn't want him there. Even then, you weren't sure if that was the complete truth. However, you knew you had to put walls up because you weren't willing to get hurt the same way again.

Slowly opening the door, you looked around the hallway, somewhat hoping that he did stay. The door creaked quietly when you pulled it open, but there was another sound that caught your attention instead. When you followed the sound, there you saw Yeonjun peacefully snoring as if nothing happened. His back was against the wall which wasn't completely comfortable for his wings.

He grumbled in his sleep, muttering something as he tried to get comfortable. Your heart started to think rather than your head, taking pity that he spent the whole night against the wall. Noticing his dark circles, your eyes then followed to what was beside him, a simple plate of eggs and blueberry pancakes- a meal he would always have trouble with but always try to make you whenever he woke up earlier.

He probably made it an hour ago since it still seemed fresh before he decided to sleep. You leaned against the door panel, fixating against the ceiling. You couldn't look at him. He knew everything about you: the time you'd wake up, your favorite breakfast foods, and even making them when he knew he hadn't mastered cooking. Unfortunately you felt your heart softening the more you thought about how sweet he was being.

Interrupted by more of his muttering, you squatted down to meet his level on the ground. His eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head to the other side, whispering something like "please, there isn't time."

You rolled your eyes, choosing to wake him up so he could explain. Both of you knew that you deserved an explanation after his sudden disappearance, and it's a good thing that you were willing to let him in spite of recent events. Aggressively you grabbed Yeonjun's shoulders, shaking him until he woke up with fluttering eyes.

He gulped, sitting up from his uncomfortable position on the floor. His hands flew to his back, but it wasn't the agonizing pain that shocked him the most. Incredulous to see you in front of him, sitting down with a confused expression on your face, Yeonjun's mouth flew agape. He started stuttering, a mix of sleepiness and stun that prohibited him from finding the right words. You decided to take pity on him, instead letting yourself start the long awaited and awkward conversation.

"Yeonjun, what were you grumbling about in your sleep? Something about no time left?"

He nodded his head frantically, grabbing the plate beside him and shyly offering it to you. He raised it up to your face but you pretended to ignore it with a blank expression on your face. He sighed, placing it down beside him gently.

"There won't be any time left. I just need you to come with me, Y/N. I know you hate me, but it's necessary."

Great. There were more vague sentences rather than answering your questions. Frankly, you were tired of it. He had a chance to explain everything and instead you would be the one asking questions in the end.

"Yeonjun, I can't. I don't know what you want to do with me, and I'm sure as hell not going with you after what you did."

He looked down at the floor, embarrassed of what he asked. He knew he was out of line and there wasn't anything that could help his case. "I know. But I can promise you that I won't hurt you-"

You scoffed, shaking your head. "You won't hurt me? I'm sorry to break it to you, Yeonjun, but you hurt me so much when you left. So you can't say that."

"I know! I get it. I'm really sorry, Y/N, but you really need to trust me!" He cried exasperatedly, reaching out to grab your hands. His touch was like acid, and you pushed it away as if it burned. Your unwillingness to not be near him and your coldness hurt him more than anything, even though he knew that it was well deserved.

"I can't go with you, Yeonjun. I was just starting to live fine without you, and you just had to show up and ruin everything!"

He pushed himself from the wall, coming to you with his hands on the ground to support him. "Is that so?" He inched closer to you, crawling so near that you could feel his breath fanning against your mouth. The close proximity between your lips and his made you burn, as well as the suddenly sultry look on his face. He was looking down at you with a smirk on his face.

"We both know that's a lie," Yeonjun simply stated as he grabbed a fistful of your- well, his shirt. "You're wearing my shirt right now, no?"

Your eyes widened and you scooted away to which he chuckled at. He knew you were wrapped around his finger, but you were not going to give him satisfaction with an embarrassing reaction.

"Shut up! I don't even remember putting it on- and you can't do that!"

Yeonjun just laughed a little bit while your heart fluttered. Even now he could make your heart beat faster, despite everything that happened. The way you two continued to act the way before you had made you tear up; the way things were before were perfect, so why did he have to go and ruin everything?

You sniffed, tearing up as you watched his eyes crinkle. He was always perfect, your blue-haired boy angel that you loved so much. He was right there, smiling at you, even though you thought you would never see him again. Your overflowing care for him continued to make you weak and there was no point in building up walls when you knew that you still needed him the most. That part of you would never change.

"Why, Yeonjun?" Your voice faltered, almost failing you as it came out like a whisper. "I thought you loved me. Why did you choose to leave?"

His laugh faded and he frowned, this time becoming serious. "I'm sorry, angel. I had to, or else there were bigger consequences."

You felt the familiar knot in the back of your throat and you let your tears run freely this time. It was getting harder to breathe, and you just needed the truth.

"Didn't you love me, Yeonjun? You told me you did before you fell asleep, and then you just left."

Yeonjun reached forward, delicately swiping a fallen tear from your eye. His action had you swooning on the inside, although your mind was screaming at your heart to stop. The tip of his smile was gently raised, but you could tell that he was sad by his somber gaze.

"I did love you," he caught himself quickly, "I still do, angel, which is why you deserve an explanation. When I first left, I made a complaint to the Seraphim asking for them to move me. I figured that I was being stupid because I didn't want to admit that I had feelings for you, so I came back. It didn't help that I missed you so much."

He was gentle with his words before tensing up. "The Seraphim wanted to see why I complained, so the head visited me that very night. He told me that I would have to come back to heaven, and if I did well, then I would get to see you again after 10 years- from afar, of course."

You couldn't stop yourself from crying now, feeling extremely bad that he had to deal with all of that. And knowing that Yeonjun wanted things to be normal before he inevitably left hurt even more. Although you understood his reasoning for not saying anything, things still weren't okay. It didn't make things right, the way he lied to you.

"I'm only here because they saw how much of a mess I was. Only now, we have to stand before God and make our case. I'm not sure what will happen to me," he swallowed, letting the silence coat the atmosphere before continuing, "after all, I went against His word. But I just... I had to see you. At least one more time."

Your heart shattered at his words. He risked everything to see you and would eventually face a bigger punishment. Both of you knew what he was hinting at. His existence would be erased, and he would die at the hands of God. Him coming back was basically asking for death.

Knowing what you were thinking, Yeonjun opened his arms wide open, "come here."

Not even thinking you jumped in his arms, soon creating a wet patch against his black shirt. His fingers met the strands of your hair, gently combing while you sniffled against his shoulder. He cooed, holding you close as he kissed the side of your head.

"I'm sorry for everything that I caused, angel. I missed you so much and I wish we could stay this way forever, but now we are going to have to face God together."

You gripped onto the back of his shirt, not feeling close enough despite your hug. His embrace and cologne were comforting though what lay ahead was a dangerous road. The good thing was that he was in your arms finally, kissing and holding you so gently and lovingly.

Your angel, Yeonjun was back. And though you weren't sure what your fates held in store, you knew the two of you would face it together, together at last.

Released: June 17, 2024, 1:06am (CT)

Thoughts: YAY I released the next part for eternity! I can't believe there's only two parts left to which I PROMISE I will finish soon! I have loved writing this series and it'll definitely be super bittersweet when I finally finish it. I'm already starting to miss it but yeah, come back for a great ending! I wonder what will happen <3

Tags:

[lowkeyerror]

Scary Movies

Natasha Romanoff x Reader

Word Count: 971

Warnings: None

Summary: Y/n loves Halloween, but is absolutely terrified of Horror films. Natasha gets her to watch one with the Avengers and it goes just about as well as you think.

An: Fluffy, like the comedian

Halloween Masterlist | Marvel Masterlist

There were a few different types of people when it came to Halloween. There were the horror buffs, the Christians, the children, and the spooky, but not scary skeletons.

Y/n was definitely a spooky, but not scary skeleton. She adored Halloween, but not the scary parts. She loved decorations, candy, jack-o-lanterns, and even Halloween themed movies. Just not Horror.

The woman was easily scared. Which is why she refused to join her teammates during their scary movie marathon. While the rest of her friends were camping out in the den, she was alone in her room.

It was better this way. She couldn't have nightmares about dying a horrific death, if she avoided the material entirely.

She was in her bed, scrolling through her phone, when her bedroom door opened. She peeked over the screen to see her girlfriend in the doorway.

Natasha walked across the room and plopped herself in the bed. Her arms wrapped securely around Y/n's waist. She placed a gentle kiss on the woman's collarbone.

" What happened to the fright fest in the living room?"

Natasha caught her eyes," I'd rather be in here with you."

Y/n put her phone down," I sense ulterior motives."

Natasha's eyes darted away, "No, just wanted to be with my incredible girlfriend…"

Y/n squints her eyes," For a world renowned spy, you've never been good at lying to me."

She sighed, her hand found Y/n's, interlocking their fingers," Come watch a movie with us, just one."

Y/n shook her head," Natasha, you know I don't like horror movies. I don't get what's so fun about being terrified. "

" I'll protect you from the monsters," Natasha squeezes the other woman's hand.

Usually Y/n wouldn't have caved in so easily, but the mixture of her girlfriend begging and boredom was a formidable force.

" And the demons?"

" The demons, the witches, and murderers," Natasha kisses the back of Y/n's hand.

" Fine, one movie."

Y/n lets Natasha pull her out of bed and lead her to the den. Nat plops down in her seat next to Wanda and Y/n falls onto her lap.

" You guys have my venmo right?" Wanda speaks to the men of the team.

" Y/n, you hate scary movies," Clint complains.

" And you're so stubborn," Tony adds.

Steve shrugs," I told you guys not to bet against Wanda."

Y/n cuddles further into Natasha," Glad someone can profit off of my misery."

" Fear not Y/n, everything on the screen is fictional," Thor tries to comfort the girl.

" She knows that," Sam told him.

Bucky interjects," Well, unless it's based on a true story."

" Can we just put the movie on, before I change my mind," Y/n stops the chatter.

" We're watching SAW, just to warn you," Bruce's words cause Y/n to try to get up and leave.

Natasha's grip on the girl tightens," I promised to protect you, didn't I?"

" Saw is legitimately torture. We couldn't have done like Scream or Nightmare on Elm Street. Or any movie with bad editing and graphics that looks fake and unrealistic," Y/n begins to ramble.

" We watched those earlier," Tony shrugs at the girl.

The movie started and Natasha could feel Y/n's body stiffen. She peppered some light kisses behind the girl's ear. " I'll tell you when to close your eyes, ok? I've got you."

Y/n nodded then whispered," I trust you."

True to her word, Natasha signaled Y/n to close her eyes throughout the movie. There were times when Y/n wanted to close them, but Natasha promised her it wasn't bad. While Y/n still witnessed an abundance of the psychological torture, she missed most of the gore.

Hearing the sounds alone put the girl on edge. She was not having a good time at all. Y/n wished she'd stayed in her room. SAW was definitely a level 8 horror movie, and she could at most do a level 4.

Towards the middle of the movie, she was trembling in Natasha's arms. She kept muttering to herself every time something scary happened," I hate this. I hate this. I hate this."

Natasha felt bad seeing Y/n like that. Maybe it was a mistake forcing her to sit through the movie. Natasha had seen the movie plenty of times, she could miss the second half. Y/n needed her.

" Let's go baby," Natasha stood and Y/n clung to the spy like a koala.

The others were too enthralled with the gore to comment.

When they got back to the room, Y/n didn't let go of Natasha.

" Y/n, baby?"

The girl just buried her head deeper into Natasha's neck.

" I'm sorry, no more horror movies. I promise."

The girl still didn't respond. Natasha walked over to the bed and flopped on the bed with Y/n in her arms. That caused the scared girl to laugh a bit.

" Can we cuddle and watch Scary Godmother?"

" The cartoon?"

Y/n nodded rapidly," After so much psychological torture and murder, I need a cartoon."

" Anything you want, baby," Natasha made herself comfortable in bed.

"And um… no games for awhile," Y/n added as she started the PG-rated movie.

Natasha furrowed her eyebrows," Like any games? Or just-"

" All games," Y/n answered swiftly.

Natasha swung her arm around the woman," Got it, no games."

The two got comfortable watching the childish film. The scary thoughts that had swarmed Y/n's mind during the horror film were slowly making their way out. With the warmth radiating off of Natasha and the silly movie on the screen, she felt safe.

She was still not a big horror fan, but maybe it wasn't so bad if she ended up watching a childish movie in her girlfriend's arms.

[fluentmoviequoter]

The Freak and The Princess (IV)

Summary: Eddie lets you walk by during his rant in the cafeteria, stumped by your quietness and manners toward the town freak. He then decides to be the perfect gentleman. [Part 4/5] 1.2k+ Words

Warnings: nightmare (about death), stress about the future (angst?), meddling best friends Steve and Robin, Jason Carver returns. I think that's all!

A/N: This part is written from a different perspective to give a glimpse into Eddie's life and thoughts! I edited this and proofread it, but please point out any errors or things you like! My requests are open! Hope you enjoy! :)

Part I. Part II. Part III. Part IV. Part V.

The Freak and the Princess

Part Four: The Freak

“No, no! You cannot die on me!” Eddie pleaded with tears streaming down his cheeks. “I just got you; I can’t lose you!” He watched as her eyes closed and her hand lost its grip on his. “No. I love you, princess.”

Eddie woke with a jolt, sheets all over the place, a thin sheen of sweat covering his skin, and tears rolling down his face. It felt so real; he thought she was gone. Eddie kicked the sheets off the bed, stepped over the pile, and walked around the trailer, trying to find anything to get his mind off the image of his princess dead in his arms. He struggled to go back to sleep, fighting the temptation to call her and ensure she was alright. When he finally fell asleep again, his mind drifted to his princess and the life they could have.

“Princess? You ready?” Eddie asked as he knocked on her door.

The door was pulled open a second later, revealing his princess holding her bag and extending a muffin to him.

“Yes, sorry I’m late. Here, I made blueberry muffins.”

Eddie happily bit into the treat, groaning in delight as he tasted it. “Of course, you can bake. What can’t you do?”

“Legally drive.” She smiled as she accepted his hand to climb into the passenger seat of his van.

“True, but that works out for my benefit too, so win-win?” he asked, popping the last bite of the muffin into his mouth and shifting his van into reverse. He looked over to see her nodding and smiling.

"How ya doin', princess?"

“I’m fine. Tired.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I just stayed up a little too late stress baking.”

“What are you stressed about?” Eddie was concerned, his thoughts drifting to his dream before he had a chance to stop them.

“Nothing specific, I guess. Finals, graduation, college, all that stuff." Her eyes were on her lap as she answered.

“You’ll ace your exams, princess.” He truly believed she’d do well but did not want her to move away to college in the fall.

The conversation shifted to D&D and music before they walked into school and went their separate ways. Eddie’s mind drifted to his princess, and he had to consciously fight to pay attention in class; he wanted – needed - to graduate with her this year. When lunch finally rolled around, he collapsed at the Hellfire lunch table with a sigh, drawing the attention of everyone present.

“What’s up, Eddie?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing,” Eddie lied.

“Is it your princess? I saw her going into the headmaster’s office earlier,” Lucas asked, shoving a piece of candy in his mouth.

“What? When?” Eddie lifted his head, suddenly concerned.

“Before last period.”

Eddie went to his locker after lunch, opened it, and found a note:

‘I left early, but I’ll be back for Hellfire. -Princess’

His mind started racing, and questions ran through his mind. Did something happen? Why did she leave, and where did she go? He pushed the thoughts back and went to his least favorite class, Mrs. O’Donnell’s English. After his last class, he went straight to the club meeting room but couldn't focus on the game. The boys started filing inside a few minutes early, talking about their characters and what they were doing over the weekend.

“Eds?” Eddie heard a quiet voice say from the doorway. 

He looked up and saw his princess point over her shoulder, asking him to come with her. He stood up and followed her into the hallway, trying to ignore the fluttering in his heart at the new nickname.

“Is everything ok? I’ve been worried about you all afternoon,” he explained, a hand landing on her bicep.

“Yeah. The headmaster had some stuff to talk to me about. We went over some of my college applications and I left to go to the library for essay research,” she answered.

“Oh. Well, I have no doubt the schools will be fighting over you.”

“I don’t know, Eddie. I’ve been so stressed about finals and college, but I don’t even know what I’d be good at or if I can get into any schools,” his princess countered quickly, her shyness present in her insecurities. “Honestly, I don’t know if I even want to go to college, because I don’t want to leave you.”

“Hey,” Eddie interrupted, pulling her closer. “You will get in, trust me. And if you decide to leave Hawkins, I’m right beside you. If it comes down to me or your dreams, choose your dreams.”

“I’m not going-“ his princess began.

“Eddie! It’s time to start!” Dustin yelled from inside.

Eddie and his princess returned, sitting in their usual seats and playing as if they hadn’t just been discussing a future with one another. When the game ended and the boys left, Eddie hugged his princess, holding her as closely as possible and burying his face in her neck.

“Eddie, are you alright?” She returned the hug as she spoke.

“I…” Eddie cleared the tightness from his throat before continuing, “dreamed you died in my arms. And then you disappeared today and it just- it scared me.”

“I am so sorry,” she said, squeezing him tighter.

“It’s not your fault; I’ll be ok. Wanna go to Family Video and get a movie? I don’t think either of us should be alone tonight.”

She nodded against his chest, not wanting to let go yet. He squeezed again, head on her shoulder. His hand found hers as they exited the school and headed to Family Video. As soon as they walked in, Steve and Robin looked up at them as if they knew something no one else did.

“Munson, a word?” Steve asked.

“You’re with me,” Robin added, pointing to Eddie’s princess.

They reluctantly separated, Eddie and Steve moving toward the front window as Robin and the princess went to the back room.

“Munson, you have to tell her. You’re not helping anything by keeping it bottled up,” Steve started.

“What are you getting at here, Harrington?”

“You’re in love with her. Tell her before you lose your chance.”

“She’s going to college; she’s leaving soon, and I am holding her back.”

“What if not telling her is holding her back? What if she wants to know how you feel?”

“Why would she want to know that I’m in love with her?”

“Because she feels the same, idiot!”

“Whoa, easy with the names. Honestly, I want nothing more than to believe you, I want to be with her, but she can do amazing things and I just-“

“Eddie,” Steve interrupted, “telling her isn’t going to stop her from doing great things. I’m willing to bet she already told you she doesn’t want to leave.”

“She did.”

“Everyone she loves is here, she doesn’t have anyone else. She deserves to know. Don’t you think?”

Eddie groaned. “I hate that you’re right.”

“So, you will tell her?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“I’ll wait ‘til she isn’t so stressed.”

Steve heard the phone ring once, silencing as he watched Robin answer it. She handed the receiver to Eddie’s princess, who faced the wall as she listened with tense shoulders. After a few moments of silence, she hung up the phone and took a shaky breath, tears building as she looked at Eddie.

“That was Jason Carver.”

Taglist: @loonalockley @paleidiot @kimmi-kat

[zukosasukelovebot]

OK @zukkaart said something that stuck with me and I have to write a little something for it

"Katara cries rhe day she turns the age her mother died" so I'm going on a whim on her mother's age . If anyone knows her true Age I'll edit it.

I decided not to put an age

Katara woke up screaming. A horrible, stomach clenching scream. Her hands rushed to her ears to block out the noise. Where was it coming from? It had to STOP.

There was a pounding in her chest, loud like the ceremonial drums they used. But there was also a tightness, making it hard to breathe.

All of a sudden warmth engulfed her, a soft gentle voice coaxing her out of this maddening state. Slowly all that was left of evidence that something was wrong was the thundering of her heard in her ears.

"Are you with me now?" Aang asked softly, stroking her hair.

She gripped onto his sleep shirt and leaned into his touch. Comfort was there, in Aang.

It took a long time to feel comfortable opening her eyes.

"Im sorry..." she said quietly.

Aang shook his head. "Never say sorry. Do... do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"I don't know... I just... it felt like I was in a nightmare and all I knew how to get out of it was to scream."

Aang frowned. "We'll... thags one way to start you birthday."

Katara stopped in her tracks. Her birthday.

She scrambled out of Aang's hold to grab their calandar. 6th. She collapsed on the floor, her whole body shaking. She couldn't believe it. The day had come.

Aang was confused. "Kat?"

She started as if she didn't know he was there. "I uhm...," she began, swallowing hard. "This is the age my Anaana died."

Aang froze, his eyes wide. "Oh."

Katara laughed , the sound hollow. "A body never forgets truama. It just holds it for another time. I.. I didn't know I'd react like this."

"Thats OK. Its fine. We can work through this together," Aang said with a smile.

Katara looked at him. "Together."

[bisquicklite]

For the quick fluff snippets: Waking Up Together/Nightmares

Thank you for the ask and I'm sorry it took me a while to answer! :3 Have some cute, lightly edited Haurchefant Lives au! Yay!

Panic and confusion gripped him before he could properly come to awareness. The nightmare lingered and refused to loosen its grip on Haurchefant’s mind and heart.

A clear sky that rained death, aimed at his beloved, his heart and-

He had been too slow-

And his lover was run through with a spear of searing light-

And Haurchefant felt the pain as if his own-

And she died in his arms, with blood on her lips- 

And the light left her eyes, 

And in that moment he awoke, though the bone deep heartache refused to abate. It felt like a knife was stuck in his breast, running through his entire being with white hot pain.

“Qiggy, go fetch the chirurgeon,” Osha’s voice cut through the fog of sleep and nightmare, “Love, Haurch, please wake up. Are you in pain?”

He blinked at the question, and blinked again to try and make his eyesight unblur through the tears and pain. Her shape was unmistakable, the dark hair and furred ears and tail, and her eyes, so green they put emeralds to shame, that looked at him with such concern. She was at his bedside, fussing over something and talking quietly.

“What am I talking about, stupid question. Of course you are,” Osha muttered to herself before turning back to him. 

With a careful touch she was helping to hold his head up enough to press a drink to his lips. It was slick and bitterly herbal, and left his lips tingling. The particular taste of exceptionally potent healing potion, the kind used in only the most severe cases. Haurchefant knew it by smell, if nothing else. 

It was only after a long moment, when the potion and Osha's own healing magics had dulled the pain enough that he could think a degree more clearly that he took in his surroundings. Haurchefant himself was laid up in what looked like an infirmary. His torso was wrapped thickly in bandages, his shield arm cut short below the elbow and similarly wrapped.

Right. He had almost died, he thought, as blurred memories surfaced in his mind’s eye. How they had given chase to the Archbishop and the Heavens Ward knights and he had been fast enough. He hadn't fail. His shield may not have held but he hadn't failed.

The thought nearly made Haurchefant cry with relief.

But his lover was there, holding his face and pressing tender kisses to his brow. Osha was hale and whole and alive and warm and her eyes still sparkled with life. She smelt of battle- of ash and blood and the air after a storm. 

“You're unharmed?” His words accompanied by a choked sob of relief. He reached for her with his remaining hand, desperate to physically hold onto her as tight as he could- which was not very. Haurchefant found himself growing increasingly tired. The potion was catching up and making his already weary body grow heavy.

“I am, I'm okay,” Osha was quick to reassure, her smile was tight, almost sad. She looked raggedly tired, with shadows under her eyes and ash or dirt smeared on her skin. She had caught his hand and pressed it to her cheek.

“I had such a terrible dream,” Haurchefant, interrupted by a deep breath that threatened to turn into a yawn. With a sigh the potion unraveled the tension in his body had been holding since awaking from such a dreadful nightmare. For another moment he simply looked at her, his thoughts feeling sluggish and dumb, and when he spoke he sounded drunk, “I couldn't save you.”

“That was just a dream, love,” she assured, firmly, “We’re alright. You just get some rest, and let the nice healers tend to you, yeah?”

Haurchefant hummed his agreement, willing to submit to anything she asked of him. Even the care of the stern faced chirurgeon that entered the room, trailed by the spriggan Qiggy. A smile came easily to his lips when he allowed himself to relax back into bed. The ache was easier to bear, now that his greatest fear had been allayed.

[dystopianhellscape]

Let Me In, Pt 2.

(Stranger Things x Reader)

The edit was quick so please forgive any spelling errors or grammar mistakes. I'm in the process of moving so I figured I would post this now. It's quite a bit longer than the last few but I'm trying to build relationships between characters. It's also kind of cute and fluffy but I thought it would be a good one to end on until I can get the next part posted. Enjoy! Feedback is welcome.

Warnings ⚠️: swearing, touching, inappropriate gestures, tobacco use, flirting...just some real fluff with Steve Harrington.

Reading Time: ~15 mins.

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The screen lit up the room as it showed a panicked Nancy Thompson thrashing around on a hospital bed in the middle of a sleep study. Her mother ran in to her rescue, waking her up. You watched as she began running her fingers through the brand new slice of silver hair placed conveniently along the side of Nancy's head, confused and worried. It almost made you laugh as the scene played out on the TV until you wondered how terrified she would have to be in real life for her hair to change color like that on it's own. This was a movie, of course. You knew how your recent nightmares made you feel but your hair remained the same shade it's always been. You weren't sure if it was even physically possible to be so traumatized that your hair color could damn near erase itself but you realized that if fear was able to alter your appearance the way it had so far, then you couldn't rule it out.

'Poor Nancy.' You empathized with her, feeling as though you shared similar burdens. No. You didn't want to think about that right now. Squinting ever so slightly, you forced your mind to wander away from that topic, a new thought popping into it's place. 'Nancy. Wait...isn't that Wheeler's first name? Shit...'

You mentally slapped your palm to your forehead at the realization, feeling like a failure as a friend. You tried to sneak a peek at Steve out of the corner of your eye, your way of checking in without revealing what you had just discovered. Even though it was something you should have already known with as much as you had heard about her. Guilt tugged at your chest. Steve and Robin had provided you comfort almost every time you've ever needed it. Whether you asked or not. You hoped if it came down to it, you could finally return the favor. But his face gave nothing away.

You heard Nancy's name called out again a few lines later and your eyes flicked back to Steve to watch for a reaction. His face stayed stoic but as you glanced down at his hand placed over the bicep closest to you, you noticed his grip tighten until his knuckles turned white. Your heart ached a little for him.

As you leaned into him to speak, attempting to serve as a distraction, the two of you looked down almost perfectly in sync with one another as you felt the blanket slide across your legs. Both pairs of eyes followed the blanket being pulled in Robin's direction and you realized at the same time that she had fallen asleep. Turning her back toward you with eyes glued shut, she yanked the blanket over her shoulder and tucked her hands up under her cheek like a makeshift pillow. She then unconsciously allowed herself to get comfortable, sinking down into the arm rest. A few more seconds passed and she let out a soft snore.

You turned to Steve and his eyes were already meeting yours. You were sure that you were both thinking the same thing. Robin always fell asleep in the middle of movie nights, sometimes toward the end of the first movie, other times toward the middle of the second. It was rare she ever made it longer than that. You decided to take advantage of this moment, desperately needing a smoke break.

With slow, steady movements, you grabbed the sliver of blanket still covering half of your lap and tucked it closer to Robin. After staring at her a while longer to make sure you didn't wake her, you turned back to Steve when she didn't move a muscle. Not even risking a whisper, you mouthed the words "smoke break" and brought two fingers to your lips before pulling them away, pretending to exhale. You were hoping if Steve couldn't tell what you were trying to say, he would at least put two and two together from the gesture that accompanied it. He wrinkled his nose in response and you snorted quietly, knowing then that he understood. Placing your palms together, you held your hands up as if in prayer, shooting him a pout. He mouthed back 'NOT FAIR' as a smirk appeared on his face. The pout always worked.

He pretended to think on it for a moment before letting out a barely audible sigh and nodding, giving in to your silent pleading. You answered with the slowest fist pump he'd ever seen, celebrating your small and kind of pointless victory. In response, Steve rubbed his face, trying to stifle the laugh that wanted to make itself known. Once he managed to wrestle it back, he placed a finger to his lips, reminding you to be as quiet as possible and eventually lifted himself off the couch with ease. You nodded back at him in understanding as he reached for your shoes under the table and handed them to you. Chancing a final glance back at Robin, you leaned down slowly to slip your shoes on. Once you had confirmed she had passed out, you pushed yourself up to a gradual stand the way he had a few moments ago and gave yourself an imaginary pat on the back for actually pulling it off.

Almost as if to prove otherwise, Robin stirred and your eyes darted back in her direction. You didn't have to look back at Steve to know he was holding his breath too and the pair of you stayed frozen in place until she had relaxed back into her previous position. The sound of a gentle snore filled the room, somehow loud enough to be heard over the shrieks coming from the TV. You could feel an uncontrollable urge to burst into laughter.

Noticing your extremely obvious attempt to choke down your giggle, Steve quickly yet gently placed his hand over your mouth, pulling you backwards into the kitchen before you could explode into a fit of laughter. You failed to keep a couple of loose giggles from spilling out. Thankfully, they were muffled and could hardly be heard over the noises continuing to sound off from the living room. Steve shushed you and you could feel the sudden warmth from his breath on your cheek as he leaned in close to your ear. "You're gonna wake her up!"

Without removing his hand from your mouth, he scooped your bag up off the counter with ease and continued to guide you through the house, swiftly but delicately, minding his steps. He led you out the back door. As he dragged you outside, he shut the door behind you and beamed at the fact that you both made it out successfully and without injury.

'All that sneaking into Wheeler's bedroom must have paid off, I guess!' You knew better than to state this out loud for him to hear but you couldn't deny that you were a little impressed. He finally let go of your mouth and you could smell his cologne clinging to your uniform. You only caught the scent because the wind picked up as it had been doing all night but it made it noticeable from that point on. It was a pleasant one. A comfortable one.

A broken laugh pushed it's way out as you gasped for air dramatically, still working to keep your voice at a reasonable level. Steve flashed his usual award-winning smile at you with his eyebrows raised. His hands found their way to his hips as he lectured, a playful, half-whispered yell. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME, Y/L/N? YOU ALMOST WOKE THE BEAST! That's the quietest she's been all day! What were you thinking?!"

Your giggle lingered as you pulled the pack out of your bag and grabbed out a cigarette and the lighter. Steve wrinkled his nose again at the sight of it as you placed it between your fingers and trapped it in your lips to light up.

"I'M SORRY! I couldn't help it!" Your words came out in a mumble but your tone matched his. He watched your lips as you inhaled and his eyes flicked up to meet yours once again. Even in the dark, you could notice his ears growing red. The flush started creeping toward his cheeks and you wondered if he noticed it too or if it was just the result of the cold. "She does need the sleep though."

He nodded in agreement as you turned your head slightly away from him and exhaled. He added to your statement, "Yeah, I don't think she's been getting much lately either."

'Either? ' You weren't sure if he was referring to himself or trying to let you know that he noticed you were lacking sleep too. Trying to change the subject with subtlety, you held the cigarette out to him, offering it up just to be polite. You already knew his answer though. He held a palm up and shook his head. "Ugh. No. Thanks anyway." You laughed as you shrugged off his distaste and brought it back to your mouth to take another puff. He let out a harsh sigh.

"I know it's not my place to tell you what to do but..." He shook his head again, almost as disapproving as the last and continued, "....as a friend....you know. Someone that's concerned about your health and safety? You really should look into quitting." Your gaze was fixed on the smoke you just exhaled, watching it curl up as it hung in the air before quickly disappearing.

"I appreciate your concern, Harrington. As always." Your face softened as you realized his words were genuine and not just some sad attempt to flirt like it may have been back when he was more commonly referred to as King Steve. He was a completely different person back then. You snapped yourself out of old memories before the silence could become too awkward and finished your thought. "Really. I do. But I'm just not ready to quit yet." You could tell it wasn't the answer he was looking for but he nodded, respecting your decision and backing down from his argument.

Taking in another drag, you looked up at the sky. Pitch black. 'Thank god.' Your mouth all of a sudden felt dry and the corners of your lips twitched into a frown, berating yourself over your poor choice of the word 'god'. It resounded in your mind just as it had in your horrific episode earlier. 'God? Your 'God' is not here.'

Trying to distract yourself from the invading thought, you shook it off and forced yourself to inspect the sky further, noticing only a few stars sprinkled throughout the darkness. Your shoulders dropped and you let a breath out through your nose, hoping your limbs would stay numb to the cold. The smoke you inhaled came out with it.

Steve continued to watch you carefully without saying a word as you admired the sky and he admired you. The way your hair blew lightly with the breeze, your chill-kissed cheeks a stunning shade of pink and those eyes...even though they seemed heavy due to lack of sleep with the dark circles surrounding them as proof, they were still beautiful to him. Before he could get completely lost in you, he noticed as a subtle change in your expression broke through. He had always been kind of jealous of (and sometimes irritated by) your ability to keep your face from giving away everything you were feeling. But not in that moment. In that moment, you looked vulnerable...almost frightened. His instinct to comfort you was stronger than ever and he tossed the idea around in his head. But almost as quickly as it appeared, the distressed look left your face along with the sigh and the smoke you had let escape your lungs just now. He noticed your body relax after and internally thanked himself over and over again for not making the situation awkward by attempting to comfort you like he wanted to. When you finally broke the silence, he let out a sigh of his own. A sound of relief that went unnoticed by you.

"Horrible movie choices, by the way. I can't believe you let Robin pick!" He couldn't help but laugh at your snarky comment and threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I had to! I told you earlier, those were the stakes of the bet and I lost." He paused as you shot him a sideways look. Curiosity, this time. And it was only obvious because you wanted it to be. He swayed nervously before adding another statement to avoid an interrogation. "I may be a sore loser, but I know when to admit defeat..." No, he didn't. "....for the most part." He corrected himself and followed it up with a smile as he ran his hand through his perfect hair to help soften the humility. It didn't work. "You're right though. Horrible movie choices."

Steve thought he managed to escape an explanation but you crushed that hope after inhaling another puff. "So what were the terms of the bet?" His mouth fell open slightly and his eyes searched every square inch of the back yard for an answer. Any answer that sounded better than the ACTUAL answer.

"Steve?" It was the way you said his name that ripped him from his thoughts. The tone was mostly curious, like before. But he detected a hint of nervousness, as if you might suspect it would be something you wouldn't want to hear. He realized he was silent for too long by now to play it off as something that didn't actually matter. Right as he mustered up the courage to say anything at all, you raised your palm up to him weakly and laughed it off. "Alright, alright. You don't have to tell me."

Taking in the last of the cigarette, your eyes wandered to a spot across the yard that opened up into a wooded area. The woods usually didn't bother you much during the day but at night, especially tonight, it seemed much more ominous. Plucking up a little bit of courage yourself, you headed in that direction, hoping that the way you were trudging over would be enough to intimidate whatever....or whoever could possibly be lurking in the shadows. You knew it was unlikely anyone would be out there but you kept your walk confident for good measure. Confusion flooded Steve's face and he called after you, forgetting all about trying to keep his voice down. "HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

He couldn't wait long enough for you to answer. His feet carried him forward to follow behind you before he could stop himself. Hearing his hurried steps a few feet behind you, you turned your head and called back to him over your shoulder, not breaking stride. "Relax, Harrington. I'm just trying to be a polite house guest and dispose of my cigarette butt somewhere other than your backyard."

At this, he slowed down but continued to follow you until you reached the edge of the perfectly manicured lawn. You bent down to make sure the cigarette was completely out, snubbing the end in the damp grass before taking it between your thumb and middle finger and flicking it into the woods. You hadn't noticed it so much before but it was quiet out there. Almost too quiet. It was deafening. You turned back to Steve, desperate to hear anything at all to rid yourself of the shiver that ran down your spine. It wasn't from the cold this time.

You nearly bumped into him a second time as he stood directly in front of you now, looking down at you with gentle eyes. He didn't know you knew but every now and again, you'd catch him doing this - trying to study your expressions in an attempt to piece together how you were feeling or what you were thinking. You also noticed he'd get flustered if he couldn't figure it out. The corners of your mouth turned up slightly and you raised a brow with a challenge.

"You know.....I COULD just ask Robin." His eyes got wider and he crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head a little quicker than he probably intended. "Robin? Wh-what do you mean ask Robin? Ask Robin what?" You let your head fall to the side and let out a soft chuckle. If it wasn't clear before, it was clear now. Steve was nervous. Poking your index finger into his chest lightly, you took a step toward him without breaking eye contact. "You know EXACTLY what I'm talking about."

You noticed he swallowed hard and took a step back as you took your step closer. But his eyes never left yours. You let your finger drop from his chest and it looked as though he frowned a little. 'Maybe I should stop messing with him...did I hurt his feelings somehow?' You ran through the last few minutes of conversation in your head but couldn't pin point what may have caused a sudden change in his behavior. The playful look on your face turned into a suspicious one.

"Harrington, I'm talking about the bet.....what did you think I was talking about?" Your brows furrowed without you even realizing. His eyes fell to his feet and his hands returned to his hips as he shifted his weight. One foot to the other. Trying to lighten the mood, you brought the back of your hand up to his forehead as if checking for a fever. "Are you sure you're ok?"

Before your hand could make contact with his forehead, he grabbed it and pulled it away from his face, bringing it casually back down to your side. But he didn't let go of it. The confusion spread across your features now and you realized something really was wrong. You stayed quiet to give him the opportunity to speak and when he finally did, his gaze stayed fixed on his feet.

"It's about the bet." His words were short. He lifted his head to look across the yard and ran his free hand over his face in an anxious manner. It bothered you that just a second ago, he had no problem making eye contact with you but now he was doing everything he could to avoid it. Your voice came out a little more hushed than you intended, but it had a bite to it now. "What about it, Steve?" He rolled his head back and blew out a heavy breath before finally bringing his eyes back down to look at you again.

"During the last shift I worked with Robin, we were discussing my uh....my love life...." You smirked and narrowed your eyes. Why was he so nervous about that? You guys always discussed his love life at work. Still unsure of why this was so hard for him to tell you, you stayed silent and nodded at him reassuringly to keep going. He nodded back and gulped before opening his mouth again to speak.

"Long story short, Buckley tried to say I get too flustered when I talk to women now and I argued that wasn't the case...." He bit his bottom lip and pulled his hand through his hair again, realizing that even in this very moment, he was proving Robin right. He groaned internally at the thought of having to admit it later, already irritated over it. The irritation showed as his empty hand flew up before slapping back down to his thigh.

"Well. She basically told me to show up or shut up and bet that I wouldn't ask you out on a date. In her words," Both of his hands came up this time, abandoning yours at your side and he wiggled two fingers from each to signify air quotations, "it 'should be easier with her since you guys are already good friends.'" He dropped them to cross his arms up in defense as he continued. "She said she thought it might be harder to ask a stranger since I've been striking out left and right at Scoops."

You whispered with a breathy laugh and crossed your arms, unintentionally mirroring him. "Classic Robin." It turned into a giggle as you and Steve shared a knowing look. With a sudden realization, the confusion reappeared on your face and you pointed a finger at him again.

"Wait. You DID score a date though! Tomorrow night, right? I picked up your closing shift so you could go out with....." you winced as you struggled to remember the right name. It spilled from your lips slowly so he could correct you at any point if you got it wrong. "Mmmmiiiiinnndy?" He confirmed by saying her name at the same time you did, but his version was shorter and more precise. "Mindy, yeah. I uh....I made her up."

You slowly moved your hand up to your mouth to hide another giggle, your eyes wider now. "You made her up?! Why?!" The amusement in your voice was becoming harder to hide. He rubbed the back of his neck and the blush that covered his ears and cheeks earlier found it's place again, more intense this time.

"You know how Robin is! Relentless. I knew if I didn't make the attempt to follow through in some way, I'd never hear the end of it. So I told her I actually already had a date scheduled with 'Mindy'. That way, I wouldn't have to ask you out and she wouldn't bother me about it anymore." You lowered your gaze and nodded as he shared his explanation.

"But if Robin knows about your 'date' with 'Mindy', why did you lose the bet?" He shrugged as he cracked a small smile. "Because Robin specified it had to be you." His eyes roamed your face again, trying desperately to read your thoughts but failing. He added to his last statement in a hurry as a last ditch effort to save face.

"I tried to argue my point that a date is a date but...well...." his laugh sounded forced but you did him a hidden favor and laughed with him, agreeing. "It's Robin. No, I totally get it."

You let the news process for a moment in silence before you reached out and gently punched his arm. "You DID mention you knew when to take a loss. So tell me, Harrington. Was it worth it?" Your eyebrows shot up and you flashed him a lopsided grin to match the teasing tone in your voice. He stuck out his thumb and gestured back toward the house. "With THOSE movie picks? No, absolutely not. Not at all."

His anxiety melted away as you laughed again at his sarcasm and he stepped a little closer to you, feeling brave. You let out a soft gasp at the sudden closeness but Steve was too preoccupied with making sure his next words came out as perfect as he could manage to notice. "Look...I just want to say...."

'Do it, Harrington. Do it now. You might not get another chance like this...' The bravery was short-lived but his eyes stayed locked on yours. "...I just want to say that -"

His voice was cut off by another in the distance. A loud one, proceeded by the sound of a door slamming shut. Steve flinched without turning to look and you glanced over his shoulder at it's source.

"I CANT BELIEVE YOU GUYS LEFT ME IN THERE BY MYSELF! HELLO?! HAVE YOU NOT SEEN NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET? OR ANY OTHER HORROR MOVIE FOR THAT MATTER? I KNOW YOU HAVE BECAUSE WE WATCH THEM TOGETHER! YOU KNOW...TOGETHER...AS IN ALL OF US IN THE SAME ROOM...."

You both laughed and shook your heads as Robin continued to scream at you from across the yard. You couldn't see her too well from this far away, but her eyes still held evidence of a heavy sleep and she had the blanket wrapped around her like a cloak, shielding her from the cold you had all but forgotten was there until now.

"ARE YOU GUYS EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!"

With this, Steve turned himself slightly to yell back. "KEEP IT DOWN, BUCKLEY, I HAVE NEIGHBORS!" Robin forced a hand through the blanket and threw up her middle finger in response before stomping back in the house. As the door slammed shut again and the coast seemed to be clear, he turned back to you and pointed toward the spot Robin had just disappeared from. "Why is she like this?"

The smile stayed planted on your face. "I don't know....but I guess that's our cue to get back inside." You pulled at his sleeve as a non-verbal gesture to follow you and you both started your walk back to the house. As you reached the door you placed your hand on the knob and turned back to Steve before opening it. Curiosity struck again.

"I'm sorry....you just wanted to sayyyyyy...." you dragged the last word out as if waiting for him to finish the sentence Robin had interrupted moments before. "...you know....before Robin so rudely interrupted..."

Steve's eyebrows flew up in surprise at the question before settling on an answer. Not THE answer. But an answer. He could feel his face warm up this time and tried to cut it off by making his response quick. "Oh, uh, I just wanted to say you don't have to work my shift tomorrow night. You know. Since Mindy won't be making it." You both chuckled.

"You mean since Mindy doesn't exist. I'll remember this, Harrington." You ruffled his hair lightly with your free hand. "Also, dont worry about it. I can still cover. I need the money anyway so just keep the night off." Before he could protest, you twisted the knob and pushed the door open. You braced yourself for the mouthful of silly insults and questions Robin was about to bombard you both with, as if she was actually angry. And just as you suspected, you couldn't even get through the door before she grabbed your arm and yanked you back to the couch, pulling you down next to her as she started in with the interrogation.

Steve stepped in right behind you, watching as Robin hauled you off to the living room. Making sure he was truly alone for the moment, he let out a dejected sigh and closed the door behind him. He stayed planted in front of the door and monitored your conversation from afar. Robin waved her arms wildly at you in mock annoyance. He could barely make out what was being said, finding himself just out of earshot, but he had a few ideas.

In his opinion, you seemed to be handling Robin's interrogation gracefully. That was until Robin's eyes finally landed on him and she jabbed a finger in his direction. "AND YOU! I HAVE A BONE TO PICK WITH YOU TOO!" He snickered and shoved his hands in his pockets, sauntering over to join the two of you on the couch to accept his verbal punishment. There was never a dull moment, which could get overwhelming at times. But he knew he wouldn't trade these moments for anything. He couldn't help the smile spreading over his face as he attempted to comfort himself. 'Maybe next time, Harrington.'

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[quellmythirst]

When you need me- 3

Summary: you spend another quiet morning with Billy, before you finally turn your phone back on.

Pairing: ExMilitary!Reader x Billy Russo

Words: 3.4k

Warnings: Slow burn, swearing, pining, awkwardness, set ups, flashbacks, unworthiness, flirting.

AN: So.. This is getting long now honeys. I had to split this chapter up because it was getting to long and taking way to long to edit. Hopefully I'll be able to get four up sometime next week.

2

Xxx

Peeking out from behind your bedroom door, you hear Billy's loud snoring. You can barely believe you managed to wake before him. Tugging your sweater down past your panties, just in case, you pad out towards the kitchen to make yourself a coffee. While the kettle is boiling you lean back onto the counter, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest, his lips parting softly as he exhales.

The kettle begins to boil and you notice his demeanor begin to change, his legs start kicking out, his arms flailing wildly, his breath speeding up so fast you nearly miss the sweat dripping from his forehead.

You abandon the coffee, running fast to his side, grabbing his arms, halting their erratic movements and pinning them to his chest. "Billy, you're safe," you say in a calm voice, "I am here," his legs continue to thrash underneath you as you climb over him, "you're safe with me," you repeat, pressing your head into his chest so that he can feel your presence. Slowly his legs begin to still, the weight of your thighs pressing them down into the couch securely.

You keep your breathing even, repeating reassurances to him in a soft voice. Taking note of how his jostling slows, his breathing begins to even with every one of your words. He's nearly still now, seeming to drift back into a calm slumber, but you stay. Pressing your weight on top of him like a comforting blanket, a reminder that he is not alone. Your own troubles lost in the need to help him. 

He is completely still for a few minutes. You release his wrists from yours, trying your best to move off him without waking him. Surely he wasn't comfortable with a whole woman laying on him. When you shift your leg to move you realise his sleepy state has other ideas. Wrapping strong arms around your middle and holding you close to his chest. He whispers something that sounds like your name before he lets out a contented sigh and snuggles into you. 

There was no way you were getting free of his grip, so you lay there. Wondering why he would say your name in his dreams, inhaling his musky cologne, feeling the press of his body underneath you. You wait, laying very still trying not to wake him, not meaning to fall asleep.

Billy woke with a start, dreams of the war fueling his nightmares like they usually did. He hadn't realised what was different until he pried his eyes open and saw your pretty head laying on his shoulder, his hands gently caressing your lower back. So it had been you who had stopped him from waking up in a cold sweat, he’d never woken up from a nightmare feeling like this. Fuck he wanted to wake up like this every moring. He didn't want to move, couldn't even comprend the thought of disturbing your dreams when you look this peaceful. So, he shut his eyes, feigning sleep until you inevitably woke, his hands not daring to drift from the soft curve of your back.

He feels you let out a big sigh and one of your arms stretch out over him, leaning you a little far to the left. Quickly he grabs your waist pulling you back atop him, your head only missing the floor by seconds, "You alright there sleepy head? Nearly fell off," he whispers, hoping that you had just tried to turn in your sleep and weren't about to wake up and run away.

"Hmm," you sigh, nuzzling back into him. Content to stay like this a second longer, knowing that you should probably get up and move, but unable to find the desire to do so, "oh shit. I'm sorry," you whisper, and Billy watches as you tug on the hem of your sweater, turning to cover yourself up. Truthfully he hadn't even noticed how little you were wearing, so enraptured by having you on top of him, "I didn't mean to-" you say your voice sleepy as you peer up at him. Carefully he sits up, taking your hand, guiding you down. Greedily you keep yourself on his lap "-you were having a nightmare and I-" your chest starts to thump, you realise exactly what you're doing when you rest your head into the crook of his neck.

"It's ok," he kisses your forehead, "it helped actually," you look up at him with those sleepy doe eyes and he feels his heart start to turn into a puddle, wanting nothing more to grip your chin and he stops himself, you seem so much more content than you had in days, he didn’t want to push his luck"- with the nightmares"

"I'm glad it helped," you say, your eyes darting around the room, not really sure where to look as those deep brown eyes stare into you, looking for something. You're not sure what. If you just leant forward, your hand only a second from gripping his hair and dragging his mouth forward. You blink at him, your eyes boring into his and you think maybe you could- 

The sound of Billy's phone ringing snaps you out of the trance, as he reaches toward it. Picking you up and putting you beside him, annoyance written all over his face. You swear to yourself, grateful that whomever was calling had stopped you from making a terrible mistake. Standing up, you give Billy some privacy as he answers the call. Padding your way into the kitchen to think over what just happened, or nearly happened. Fuck, you’re an idiot what were you even thinking? Maybe it was just the sleep in his eyes, but you could’ve sworn you've seen that look in his eyes before.

Billy’s brain is on autopilot while his eyes watch the lines of your beautiful legs carry you to the kitchen. The hem of his sweater nipping at your ass and when you reach up to grab a mug, he can see the pink line of your panties. He feels a blush run up his chest, turning from this perfect picture, while Alenko's name flashes on his phone. Fucking Alenko, if he hadn't interrupted, maybe.. He could’ve sworn.. No, he- it wasn’t.

"Alenko, why you calling me so early?" He snips annoyed at he had been interrupted, that fucking Alenko had forced him to take you off his lap.

"Dude, it's 11am"

"Oh," Billy says, drawing back his phone and checking that yes. it was indeed the middle of the day, how did you sleep for so long?

"I just wanted to double check if you were cool for tonight?"

"Yeh, tonight," he says absent-mindedly, watching as you bend down to get the milk from the fridge, your ass sticking out behind you, begging to be slapped. He bit down on his bottom lip, trying very hard to focus on Alenkos’ words and failing miserably.

"Bill," Alenko says, trying to get his attention.

"Yeh, what time do you need me?" He asks and you peer your head back, like you don't want him to know your listening. He rests his head in his hands, peeking at you from the corner of his eye. Cheeky, surely you knew he would see you.

"Club opens at 7 tonight,"

"I'll see ya at 6" he trails off, only half hearing what he was saying. His eyes meet yours when you turn to face him, two cups of coffee in your hands.

“You finally going to introduce me to the hot Sargent?” Alenko asks and Billy hates the insinuation. 

“Watch your mouth,” he snarls in a coarse tone, hanging up the call and slamming his phone face down on the coffee table. A genuine smile spreads across his face when he glances up from the table and accepts the coffee you offer him.

“You going to work tonight?” you ask, sitting down next to him. Your bare thigh brushing against Billy’s sweats as you blow on your mug. You knew he had to leave at some point, you could manage, you couldn’t use him as a crouch forever.

“Yeah, one of the guys' kids is sick. Needs me to cover,”

“Ok,” you stare out the window, not wanting him to see your face. You weren’t crying exactly, but you could feel them coming on and the last thing you want to do is get between him and his job. You are feeling better, but you know you'll feel his absence after having him so close for so many days.

“You should come down to the club,” Billy suggests and you don't know if it’s because he doesn't want to leave you alone or if he actually wants you to go.

“I'll think about it,” not moving your eyes as you continue to stare out the window, trying to focus your eyes on not tearing.

“I'd really like you too, maybe after we can grab some dinner?”

“You mean a 3 am kebab?”

“Yeah, you did always like those.”

“Maybe,” 

“Thank you for this,” he says, drinking the rest of his coffee and putting it down on the counter, “I probably need to get going though,” he sees the way your face falls and the smile you plaster on. He hates that smile, swears it’s one of the worst things he’s seen because he knows you’re only wearing it so you don't worry him.

“Ok,” you slip back into your mask, sipping your coffee with indifference.

“You should call Frank back, he's been worried sick about you,” he suggests, hoping that Castle would be able to keep you human while he was gone.

“I think I will,” you say, staring dead ahead, your bleary eyes fixing forward. Knowing that if you saw him leave, maybe he wouldn’t come back. But he had invited you to the club, maybe he’d meant it? He’d never lied to you before, why would he start now? You really did need to get out, you ponder all this while staring off into space. Not noticing Billy collecting his things and heading towards the door.

“I'll see you tonight,” he says crossing his fingers and praying to whoever would listen, that you'd take up his offer. He misses seeing you enjoy yourself and hopes that maybe a night of loud music and free drinks will open you up a bit more.

“Billy,” you say, stopping him in his tracks, “say I decide to come, what kinda dress code we looking at?” you look at him for the first time in what feels like hours, he didn’t know what was going on in your head seconds ago. He could feel something inside him though, a tiny prick of hope. 

“Don't stress, it's just a club, wear whatever you want,” he turns towards the door “I know you'll be beautiful,” he whispers to himself as he heads home to prepare for his shift.

Xx

Reluctantly after finishing your coffee you turn your phone back on, the incessant noise inundating you with messages from work and about a million missed calls from Frank. 

Your conversation with Frank is short, you tell him about what happened and he laughs like he already knew. He asks a lot about Billy, about what you guys have been up to and why you hadn't called him back in a week. You explain everything to him. He keeps quiet, seeming to understand and not wanting to push you. You made the obvious mistake of telling him about Billy inviting you to the club. Apparently he hadn't invited anyone since he started and Frank saw this as his way in, inviting himself and his new found friend along for the ride. Promising that he'd be at your house to pick you up at 7 whether you wanted to go or not.

You spend the rest of the day fielding work calls and explaining to your boss that you had some kind of hideous infection that had left you unable to speak for a few days but were feeling better and that you hoped to return to the office on Monday.

By 4 pm you were exhausted, but knew that Frank would be here with his friend soon. You needed to start getting ready. You take a long shower, lathering yourself in shimmering lotion before heading into your bedroom to look for something to wear. Deciding on the little black dress that was gathering dust in the back of your closet. You match your make-up to your hair, even managing to find your favourite pair of heels in a box. You looked nice, fine. Not that you were trying to look nice, no. Billy probably wouldn’t even notice the difference between the sweats you’d been living in and this. No, you totally weren’t hoping he would see you in this and swoon at the sight of you. It was just a nice dress, the high scooped neckline covering your scars, while your stockings cover the marks on your legs. Your skin shimmering underneath the outfit, your eyes glittering when you were finally ready.

“I earned this,” you say to yourself sitting down at the counter and pouring yourself a glass of wine. You ponder the morning, how right it had felt being in Billy's arms. The ease at which he had caught you when you turned and how terrified he looked in his dream state. You knew the men had nightmares, shit you had them to, you knew what yours were about though. The same thing, every single time.

Your heart races, the sand in your googles and the wind in your ears, “No, you're not going,” you shout, but your voice is carried away in the wind. Instead you place a hand on his chest,

“I can do it Sarg, I'll get them out,” he yells into your ear, readying his gun as he stood.

“No. Stand down. We need to wait for reinforcements.” He didn't listen though, he never fucking listened. But you let him go, readying your own rifle to go in after the bloodthirsty moron.

“Castle, stay here,” You direct your lieutenant, and he nods, finally someone with a brain, “if we're not back in 15 leave. Take the kids with you,” you say nodding towards the fresh blood.

“He'll be right Sarg, just stay here,” Castle says, trying to hold you back.

“Like fuck he will, the intel only said 3 assailants, I counted atleast 10 on the wall.”

“Let me go then,”  

“No. That's an order lieutenant, stay here. Keep them safe,” you command, standing up and sneaking through the sandstorm after Billy.

The building is alight with gunfire when you enter and you feel the adrenaline start to swirl through your veins. Your heart races a million miles a minute as you take down one after the other, but they just keep coming. It could've taken 20 minutes or 2 but you finally see Billy, he's hunched over. His hand desperately clinging to his shoulder while his head lolls about. Fuck he's losing a lot of blood, you try your best to calm yourself as panic settles in your stomach. 

You kill two more men on your way to him, noticing the hostages already full of holes on the ground. You were right, it was a trap. Squatting down you see his blood everywhere, covering most of his uniform. His face pale and his eyes hazey when you hoist him on to your back, “keep pressure on that ok,” you try to tell him, pressing his hand into the wound but he's out of it. His blood seeping down your back as you carry him out of there. 

When you emerge into the storm Castle races out to meet you and you can feel the tears streaming down your face and you don't know if they're because you might lose him or if you're just exhausted. 

“Let me,” Castle says, taking him from you and carrying him easily while you press your hands into his wounds. 

“We can't lose him Frankie,” you sob, knowing that the moment the kids come into view you'll need to be The Sarg again, “tell me he'll be ok,”

“You saved him, he's a tough kid. He'll bounce back. Now wipe ya face,” he reassures you, knowing the kind of front you needed to put on. You do, not realizing that you were smearing Billy’s blood across your cheek until the tang of iron floods your mouth. It makes you want to hurl, instead you press down harder, hoping like hell to keep the blood he had left in his body.

When you reach the truck you nearly pass out, the pain in your stomach growing with every breath as the adrenaline wears off. You peer down to see that you're bleeding.

You hear a knock at your door, wiping the stray tears away and checking that you hadn’t smudged your mascara, “comin!'” you shout, stuffing your phone and cards into your clutch.

“You right there?” Frank says, when you open the door, “look like ya been crying again,”

“It's fine,” you brush it off, taking a coat from the rack, “where's your friend?” You ask peering behind him and only finding an empty corridor.

“Waiting downstairs, didn't want to spook you with too many faces all at once,” He leans into whisper like it's a secret, “I hear he's terrified of elevators,”

“You're a dork,” you say, shoving Frank to the side and locking the door behind you. 

“Sure am, proud of it,” he smirks, nudging you playfully in the shoulder. You’d made the right call, well Frank had made it. But it was still good, good to see a friendly face that didn’t make you want to blush. Who you didn’t have to guard your feelings around, he knew the moment he saw the determined way you had dragged Billy from the fire. Telling you as much when he got you alone, but he never pushed, never spilled your secret. He was always there to listen, which was probably why he was determined to make you go out tonight.

“Wanna tell me how you become friends with a lawyer?” You ask, as you make your way down the building.

“Got into a bit of trouble, he helped me out,” he offers vaguely and you know better than to pry.

“You? Mr Frank Castle? Finding trouble? No way,” you joke.

“I know it's hard to believe, but he's a good guy. You'll like him.”

“Wait-” you stare up at him “-is this a set up?”

“Might be,” he winks at you, “how long has it been since you got laid?”

“None of your fuckin business,” you smack him in the shoudler.

“So a long time then?” he laughs with his full chest.

“Fuck you, you can't talk to a lady like that.”

“Who's a lady? I’ve seen you cut down men twice your size. You ain't no lady, you're a badass,” you say nothing, instead rolling your eyes at him. You step into the foyer, your eyes glancing over all the random people in the place and you start to feel uneasy. It had been too long since you left your apartment.

“Yo Red!” Frank calls out and you see a man in a dark crimson suit turn around, dark black sunglasses sitting on his very handsome face. He was- fuck he was hot. But he wasn't quite tall enough, he was thick, probably jacked under the black shirt that lay just under his suit jacket. But he wasn't- no that wasn’t. Maybe Frank was right and this would help distract you. But your nerves started to grow as you walked into the street and the bustle of people filled your ears.

“I'm Matt by the way,” he says, reaching out for you to shake his hand.

“Nice to meet you, I'm-”

“Frank told me all about you,” he says smooth as honey, kissing you gently on the back of your hand.

“Cars waiting,” Frank calls from the taxi, and you find yourself following Matt out of the building, the click of his cane on the marble giving your ears something to focus on. With these two handsome men around you think you might actually enjoy the club. Especially with Billy waiting there for you. No, you couldn’t think about that, you had a date- kind of, you start to focus on that and not on the pipe dream you had with Billy.

4

Taglist:

@profoundme444 @nycophiliia @imagine-a-fictional-boyfriend

[randomshyperson]

The Scarlet Witch Prophecy - Chapter 13 - The Sixth Year (Part Three)

My dear friend @abimess, I keep stealing your gifs and making updates without telling you. I hope you never get tired of it.

Summary: As the youngest daughter of Howard Stark, you have ordinary expectations for your years at Hogwarts. Little do you know what adventures await you when your destiny is intertwined with the legendary Scarlet Witch.

Warnings: +16. Adaptation of the Harry Potter Saga, Magical Thematic, Prophecies, Mentions of Violence, Torture and dark magic, Language (swearing and minor/major offenses), manipulation of will, Underage kissing, insinuation of smut with minors, Smut (overage), descriptions of death, aggression, obscurity, angst, fluffy, soulmates analogies. || Chapter Warnings: Magical torture with minors, cursing, angst, ptsd, derogatory thoughts and behavior, dark magic.

Chapter Words: 8.486 K

A/N> Yes, I've gone for a month without warning anyone, and yes that might go on, but at least i'm near ending this (I'm already writing chapter 21). Once I'm finished, I'll just programe tumblr to upload them all for me because i'm lazy. I hope anyone like this yet, i don't even know what i'm doing anymore. Good reading!

Series Masterlist ||  Read on AO3 || All Works Masterlist

Chapter 13 - Part XIII - The Sixth Year (Part Three)

Gossip really starts to irritate you when you go to lunch after potions.

"You want to say something to me, girl?" You charge impatiently when you hear the giggles behind you again, coming from a group of students sitting at Ravenclaw's table.

The group turns around with wry smiles on their faces, and you notice the editions of the Daily Prophet in the hand of one of the boys. It is Hope Summers, your classmate, who speaks first:

"We're just sharing some theories, Stark." She says in a provocative tone. "Some of us find it an interesting coincidence that just now that Mephisto is back, you and Maximoff are losing control of magic."

You frown.

"What are you talking about?" you ask in surprise, referring to Wanda, but Hope thinks you want her to keep mocking you.

"It's just suspicious that no one knows what happened to you in that dungeon, or at the ministry of magic." Hope counters. "And now you two are blowing things up, and we have a dark wizard on the loose."

"Fuck you, Summmers." You curse as you stand up, leaving the girl in shock at your aggressiveness.

The same auror from the first day stands in front of you as you try to approach Slytherin's table.

"Students must respect..."

But you interrupted his speech with a loud shove that sent him staggering backwards, and drew the immediate attention of several people.

You were seeing red by now, the man's wry smile only making you more irritated.

He drew his wand, but so did you. And the room held its breath.

"Put your wand away, Miss Stark." Warned the auror angrily, but you didn't.

Wanda stood up as she noticed the confusion, rushing to reach you, but the auror put his arm in her way.

"Now, miss." He warned again, and you grunted in irritation.

"Get your hands off her." You retorted, feeling your body fever with hatred.

"Stark." The man said, his arm reaching down to push Wanda back, and you exploded.

You didn't even finish thinking about the spell, the magic exploding out of your wand.

The auror masterfully blocked it, and you dropped your wand to jump on top of him.

It was a confusion of shoving, other bigger students pulling you away from the man and he away from you.

" Never fucking touch her again!" You warned snorting in anger, Thor Odinson stopping you from jumping on the man's neck.

"I just pushed her away from the line of fire, you crazy bitch!" The auror retorted indignantly and angrily. "Go to the headmaster's office now!"

"Fuck you!"

Thor pulled you out of the hall as the crowd of students whistled in celebration, excited about the whole fight. The auror was too busy dissipating everyone to follow you.

"Hey, hothead, calm down." The blonde warned as he released the grip of you by the courtyard. You grunted angrily, wishing you could break something.

"Fuck this school, fuck that asshole." You complained aloud, as Thor looked at you curiously.

"You have quite a rage, Stark." He comments, and you grumble in irritation.

But Wanda catches up with you the next moment, and she looks even angrier than you.

"What the hell was that?" she asks and you roll your eyes, running your hands through your hair.

"I think you are going to be fine for now on." Thor comments, smiling at the thank you Wanda says to him before leaving you two alone.

"So?" Wanda insists, arms crossed. You bite the inside of your cheek as you look at her.

"What do you want me to say?" You retort angrily.

"You just started a fight for no reason! Again!" She accuses. "Only this time it was with a wizard who could kill you. I want to know what's going on!"

"I don't know, Wanda!" You exclaim angrily. "Why does everyone expect me to have answers? I don't know! Do you understand that? It feels like I'm going to explode in frustration any second, neither you or Gamora seem to get it. I don't understand what's happening to me!"

"Because you won't talk to us!" She shouts back, just as annoyed as you are. "You're pushing everyone away! Even me! We can't help you if you don't talk to us!"

You grunt impatiently, turning around. There was a strange throbbing in the back of your head, a strange whisper. Like a voice telling you that no one was telling you the truth, that your friends expected too much of you, that Wanda didn't care...

This last thought made you sob. Wanda softened her expression immediately, taking a step toward you and touching your shoulder, but you pulled away from her touch as if burned, wiping your tears away quickly.

"Leave me alone, Wanda." You mutter between teeth. She hesitates, raising her hand toward you again.

"Please."

"I need some time from you." You insist, pushing her hand away, and walking away.

A part of your brain is begging you to go back and make things right, but there is a cloud of anger and irritation that keeps you walking.

//-//-//-//-//

You roll over in bed in discomfort.

Nightmares. Again.

It has only been five days since you had your fight with Wanda, and you are getting worse every day.

With Summers' teasing, you end up noticing other things too.

How the school really found the theory that you and Wanda were somehow related to Mephisto, because the minister had covered up what happened in the dungeons and in the ministry, and everybody thought it was strange that two students were showing an increase in magical potential with the return of a dark wizard.

Unlike you, who were failing considerably in any simple execution of spells, Wanda was demonstrating exceptional abilities. Kaecilius was more than willing to make her the face of progress at Hogwarts, you heard the gossip about bringing in reporters to share the news of the new direction.

You know that the only reason Wanda hasn't come after you yet was because you're running away from her like the plague.

And you couldn't even explain why.

You were also blocking out your real health condition from her. Just like you two practiced during the summer.

Besides hiding this from Wanda, you have kept your friends away too, isolating yourself from everyone else in search of a little rest, only succeeding in taking a nap when you are running away between classes.

And the detentions with Kaecilius keep increasing as you skip classes.

You begin to consider learning to write with a different hand, just so the bruise has time to heal, but at this point you don't even care about the scar anymore.

"You really must like pain." Loki teases wryly as you sit in an empty room, waiting for the aurors' shift change again after your detention.

You don't ask him what he's doing on that floor again, and he doesn't ask why you haven't spoken to your friends in two weeks.

"Sure, that must be it." You joke back, massaging your injured hand.

He assumes a pensive expression for a second.

"Are you sure you haven't been cursed by someone?" He asks, causing you to frown in shock and confusion.

"Excuse me?"

He gives a little chuckle, settling himself better against the wall.

"Everyone's been talking about you being sick." He says. "I heard some of the Ravenclaw people theorize that you became a werewolf over the summer."

You laugh helplessly, massaging your temples lightly.

"I guarantee that's not it." You say making Loki smile.

"If you are sick for no reason, it could be a curse." He says. "I wouldn't be surprised, the way things are."

"But how do I find out if I've been cursed?"

Loki takes a thoughtful stance.

"I don't know." He says. "But I'm sure you can learn that in the no longer reserved session of the library."

You laugh at the joke, but soon you both return to silence. When that hallway's shift ends, Loki sighs, getting up and helping you to stand.

"Still can't perform spells?" He asks, already drawing his wand.

"Only if I want to blow things up." You scoff making him laugh.

"Fine, I'll enchant you." He says. When you are transparent, he looks at you with an amused expression. "See you next Saturday, troublemaker?

"Don't worry, I plan on skipping DADA, maybe I'll be here tomorrow." You retort in the same tone before turning to leave.

//-////-//-//-//-//

It takes three more days for Wanda to finally corner you.

You are skipping class in an empty room on the seventh floor, trying to doze off, and almost fall out of your chair with fright when the door opens and Wanda comes in, looking annoyed.

You grunt impatiently, without lifting your face from the desk.

"I told you I needed time." You complain, but tense up when you notice the tears in her eyes as she moves closer to sit at the table next to yours.

" You want to break up with me?" She asks in a whisper and you raise your head immediately, feeling your chest tighten.

"What? What are you talking about?"

Wanda gives a humorless laugh at your expression. "Why are you acting like this is an absurd idea? You've disappeared. You've been avoiding me, not even talking to me anymore."

You shake your head quickly, feeling the urge to cry.

"I don't want to break up with you." You say. "I..I would never want to be away from you."

"You just said you need time away from me." Wanda retorts with annoyance, and you feel your stomach clench as she sighs. "I don't know what's going on with us. And I miss you, but you won't let me near you."

You are exhausted. So you cry.

You rest your head on your arms, and let your sobs fill the silence, hoping that the tears will take this bad feeling away.

It's Wanda's gentle touch on your back that helps.

"Babe, tell me what's wrong." She whispers to you, her tone concerned.

It takes many minutes for you to calm down. But when you do, Wanda holds your hand, kneeling on the floor beside the chair you are in.

"I can't do magic." You breathlessly tell her from crying, "And I can't sleep. I've been sick for weeks, and I'm angry all the time. Healer Cho doesn't know what's wrong with me, but everyone at school seems to have a theory about it. I think I'm going to suffocate, Wanda. I'm messing everything up. Between us, between my family, and at school." You sob as you finish and Wanda shakes her head, her hand coming up to your cheek.

"Don't say that." She urges. "You didn't ruin anything. Hey, look at me. I love you. Your sisters love you, your friends love you. We'll figure out what's going on."

Wanda hugs you tight, and you sob, shaking.

You want to believe her words, so you push the intrusive thoughts away, and believe it.

//-//-//-//

Wanda takes you to a door in that same floor you two were before, but you have never seen that door until that moment.

And you are very surprised to realize that it is a bedroom.

"How...?" You ask confused as she closes the it.

"Welcome to the Room of Requirement." She says with a smile, pulling you by the hand around. "We hold our Avengers meetings here." She counters and you frown.

"In a bedroom? Interesting choice." You comment and she giggles.

"No, my love." She says. "That's how this room works. It is charmed to meet your needs. That's why I asked you to come in first."

"Oh, that's pretty cool." You say looking around. Wanda smiles at you, and then you both reach the bed. "The room thinks I have to sleep?"

"I do too." Wanda retorts, pushing your shoulders gently for you to sit on the bed. "Go on, nice dreams."

You hesitate. "You gonna leave me here alone?"

Wanda denies with her head, pointing to the chair that probably just magically appeared next to the bed. You frown.

"Can't you sleep in the bed with me?"

She giggles. "We don't have much time for you to sleep. If I lie down, you'll want to kiss me. So I'll be sitting in that armchair, studying as I should." She explains seriously, and you pout.

"Stupid rules." You grumble moving your hands up to her waist. "Lie down with me."

"Babe..."

"Please."

Wanda sighs, then nods. You smile, quickly removing your shoes as she does the same. You quickly adjust yourself on the bed, opening your arms for her to lie on top of you, and she gives a little giggle before doing so.

"Are you cozy, sweetheart?" You murmur against her hair, and Wanda squeezes her arms around you.

"Yeah, your boobs are good pillows." She teases, making you laugh with reddened cheeks.

Your eyes begin to heavy quickly, fatigue catching up with your body relaxed by the comfort of the moment.

"Go to sleep, babe." Wanda whispers. "I'll be here when you wake up."

You smile with your eyes closed, surrendering.

It's the best sleep you've had in weeks.

The problem is that as soon as you start to wake up again, you are feeling sick.

You touch the emptiness in the bed, mumbling softly. When you open your eyes you find Wanda sitting in the armchair, the darkhold in her lap.

"Damn it, Wanda, this book again." You complain in a hoarse voice, but she just sighs.

"Why the attitude?"

"I hate that book." You grumble sitting up in bed, massaging your face lightly. "Why do you keep reading it anyway?"

"It's interesting." She says, closing the item to look at you. "Agatha really told me a lot, but there are also things I didn't know."

"For example?"

Wanda bites her lips, appraising you.

"Scarlet witches are forged, for instance." She says and you frown in confusion. Wanda sighs. "Many powerful witches, born scarlet witches, never got to fulfill their destiny because the forging didn't happen."

You straighten your clothes uncomfortably, pensively.

"What exactly does that mean?"

"What the headmistress did last year was my forging." She clarifies and you swallow dryly, feeling your stomach turn. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" you ask confused.

"Everything." She says upset. "I know we've talked about this, but it seems like all I do is cause you problems. With the bond, and with the forge. If Agatha didn't want my powers, she wouldn't have taken you to the dungeon and you wouldn't have suffered."

You poke at the knot of your tie, feeling yourself suffocate slightly. Wanda is speaking, you blink to focus on her words.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again?" You ask out of breath, sweating. You blink to find Wanda's concerned gaze on you.

"Babe, what's wrong?" She asks worriedly, her hands around your face.

You feel your head spin, and everything goes dark before you can answer.

//-//-//-//

You smell the scent of grass when you wake up.

Then you blink in confusion, getting used to your surroundings to realize that you are in what looks like a ward bed.

"Hey, all right, take it easy getting up, Miss Stark." Asked Professor Strange with one hand on her shoulder. In the other he held a potion that you imagined he had given you.

"W-what happened?" you mumbled confusedly, sitting up in bed. Only now did you notice Professor Munroe and Wanda standing in front of the bed, both with worried expressions.

"You passed out, but you're better now I imagine." Stephen explained gently, but you were still feeling very weak.

"Professor, she simply blacked out." Wanda commented in a tearful voice. " Don't you have any idea what's wrong?"

Stephen sighed, and then pointed at the chair, the darkhold.

"Where did you get that book?" He asked, and Wanda frowned, taking a step toward the chair in a defensive posture.

"What does that have to do with my question?" she retorted dryly, and Stephen looked at you one last time before standing up.

"There's a reason it's called the Book of the Damned, Miss Maximoff." He says."It damns its readers."

"That's ridiculous." Wanda retorted, crossing her arms. "I've been reading it for weeks and nothing has happened."

"Not with you."

Wanda hesitates, widening her eyes. And then she takes a step back, swallowing her cry as she reaches out to grab the book and hand it to Stephen.

She turns her gaze back to you, and lets the tears fall.

"I am truly sorry." She says with a mixture of guilt and shame before turning to leave the room.

You call out to her about three times, but she leaves and you don't have the strength to go after her.

"Damn, couldn't I have said that in a different way?" You complain angrily to Stephen, who just sighs, exchanging a look with Professor Munroe. "How come you two are here anyway?"

"It was Wanda." Professor Ororo replies. "She asked the room for someone trustworthy to help her with you. Then there was a door opening in the potions room. Stephen was there with me, and we both came."

"Great." You mutter annoyed, thinking about how you are going to talk to Wanda and convince her that you were not angry with her. "Would either of you happen to know how to make me better now?"

"Sure." Stephen comments by raising the book in the air, and with a wave of his hand, the item dissolves into several pieces until it is gone. "I didn't destroy it, if that's what you're thinking. I just put it away, to prevent something like that from happening again."

"Congratulations." You grumble wryly as you straighten up in bed, the same migraine from before is now weaker, but it's still there.

"You know, you had a better attitude when you didn't have a magical doom on your spirit." Stephen complains, causing you to frown, but Professor Ororo gives a chuckle.

"Thanks professor." You comment wryly, making him laugh. He sits back down beside your bed, and pulls out of the cover a small notebook.

"Now that Miss Maximoff has stopped reading the book, I suppose you will get better." Stephen says, making you sigh.

"You suppose? That's encouraging." You say moving to stand up.

"Where are you going, Miss Stark? You need to rest." Warn the professor, but you ignore him, and ignore the weakness in your body as well.

"What I need, Strange, is for people to stop lying to me."

"No one is lying, Miss Stark." Professor Ororo states next. "We really don't know the extent of the magic the darkhold carries."

"And why is that I imagine?" You sneer. "Because someone omitted the truth from you, and it's been passed down for generations, isn't it? Well, that's over now. Because we've finally studied everything in this place, including a book that condemns anyone who reads it." You exclaim impatiently, stooping down to put on your shoes. "If you two will excuse me, I'll figure out how to get better on my own. But first I'm going to explain to my girlfriend that none of this is her fault."

Ororo and Stephen are silent, but you wouldn't have been paying attention to anything they said anyway.

Soon you are up and out of the requirement room looking for Wanda.

//-//-//-//

She seems to have disappeared from the castle, so you must concentrate to use your instincts.

The hardest part is dodging the aurors, but you finally reach the astronomy tower.

You're a little out of breath from the run, but it's the image of Wanda standing on the edge, the sunlight in her hair that leaves you breathless.

"Hi." You say in a low tone, your hands in your pockets as you approach. She startles slightly, wiping away tears as she keeps her gaze forward.

"What do you want here?" she asks in a husky voice. You sigh.

"That you stop hating yourself and listen to me." You say and she lets out a short laugh.

"And what do you think you can say?" She questions turning her body toward you. "All I do is hurt you."

You shake your head, but Wanda lets out a tearful laugh.

"No you don't understand." She says. "Since I met you, you have only brought me good things. Affection, happiness, hope. You've been that kind warm feeling that I need on my worst days. Hell, you're even the memory for me to cast a patronus." She confesses with emotion, her face wet with tears. "But me? All I bring you is pain and suffering. And now I even bring sickness. This is wrong, I hurt you. You need to see this, and understand that we can no longer happen."

"Don't say that." You ask, reaching up to touch her face, wipe away her tears. "That's not true, Wanda. I love you, you make me..."

"Stop it." She interrupts with a sob. "Don't make it any harder than it already is."

"Please, Wanda, listen to me." You plead, resting your forehead on hers, your hands on her cheeks. "You make me happy, you are the only thing that makes me happy, I love you, please..."

Wanda kisses you hard, and you respond with the same intensity, both of you gasping into each other's mouths.

But then she is pulling away, thrusting you farther apart.

"I'm sorry." She cries, taking a step back. "We're over."

And she's running away again, and this time you don't go after her.

//-//-//-//-//

Without Darkhold's being consumed, you really start to improve in terms of physical health.

The only problem is the emotional ditch you find yourself in.

Gamora, Nebula and Mantis find you, again in the Room of Requirement, skipping class.

"My god this is worse than last time." Gamora remarks as she looks around at the mess of junk food and pillows. The room had been transformed into a "comfortable place", which basically had the appearance of a living room, with several soft armchairs, and lots of unhealthy food. "Why did you guys break up this time?"

"Please don't talk to me." You grumbled, your voice coming out muffled because you were lying on two soft puffs, your face buried in the pillow, your hand inside a bag of muggles snacks.

"I bet you five bucks they'll be back together before the end of the month." Nebula commented and you sniffled against your pillow, hearing a noise that sounded like Gamora hitting her sister.

"We talked to Wanda." Mantis said. "And with Professor Stephen, too. We're sorry about everything, but have you decided you're not going to study anymore?"

"I don't care about school." You grumble against the pillow. "Leave me alone, I want to cry."

Nebula gives a short laugh, and Gamora elbows her.

"Stop hitting me, you crazy." Nebula complains loudly, moving away from her sister to approach you, taking the bag of snacks you have, and making you complain softly. "And you stop being such a drama queen. Aren't you two like soul mates or some shit? It's just a fight, you'll work it out. You're acting like you've never broken up before."

"Your sensitivity is admirable." Gamora scoffs, pushing her sister away to sit next to you, stroking your back until you look up at her. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

You feel the urge to cry arise again. "Wanda thinks she is bad for me." You say. "And she doesn't want to be with me anymore, and I want to die."

You start crying again, stuffing your face into the pillow as Gamora strokes your hair.

"How did this happen anyway?" Nebula asks, confused, chewing on salty snacks."You barely slept at home over the summer to be with her, and now you guys are breaking up. It's hard to keep up with this relationship."

"Merlin, Nebula shut up." Gamora asks impatiently, and her sister raises her hands in surrender with an ironic expression. You want to scream against your pillow, but all you do is try to control your crying.

"You can't keep disappearing, sweetheart." Gamora says as she runs her hands through your hair, trying to calm you down. "Kaecilius has already noticed. He's trying to figure out where you're going, and eventually he'll figure it out since you can't stay here forever."

"Maybe I can." You mumble making Gamora laugh softly.

"Come on, I'm sure you miss a decent meal." She says. "Why don't you join us for lunch?"

"I can't sit at your table."

"Who said anything about a table?"

This is how you end up on the edge of the great lake, at a picnic.

Mantis gets several dishes from the house elves, and since lunch is a free social hour, nobody seems to mind that you are eating outside.

Your sisters are not the only students who, over time, have learned ways around school rules.

You grumble slightly as you feel the sun on your face, but lie back on the grass, closing your eyes.

Your mind wanders back to last summer immediately, the memories of Wanda, and you feel horrible. You just want her back. And then you swallow the urge to cry again to accept the juice Mantis offers you.

"We wanted to tell you that we've found a way to help you, too." Gamora says after a moment, causing you to raise your eyebrow. "About the darkhold, and the eternal damnation thing."

"Light topic." You sneer, throwing your arm over your face. The day is hot. "I appreciate the help, of course."

Gamora giggles. "Merlin, I had forgotten how grumpy you get when you're upset."

"I'm not upset, Gamora." You retort angrily. "I'm frustrated."

"Sexually." Nebula sneers, making you grunt in anger, but Mantis holds back a laugh.

"What's your problem with my feelings lately?" You accuse the girl with irritation.

"Not everything is about you, you know." She retorts and you sit up quickly, looking at her with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Nebula laughs, rolling her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, there's a war going on." She says. "We're all stressed and scared. And the three of us have been in the same classes as you, having to watch the same things. But you only have time for Wanda. And now you've broken up, again, because there's some mortal danger, again, that she's caused for you. So, I don't know, but maybe she is right to break up. Ever since you guys started dating everything has been about her, and the trouble she causes!"

"Fuck you, Nebula!" You exclaim angrily, advancing against the girl in front of you. Gamora and Mantis quickly separate you.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" Gamora shoves you. "Were you really going to hit her?"

"Fuck this." You curse angrily, taking a step away. "I didn't ask any of you to come after me. I don't need you. I just need Wanda. Fucking leave me alone."

You turn back to the castle, cursing the wild on your way.

//-//-//-//

Loki is the only friend you have now.

You wouldn't call him a friend exactly.

Kaecilius has put you in detention for three days a week, including Saturday, but mostly you just clean the castle. But when he takes you to the seventh floor, and makes you scrape sentences against your own skin, you don't worry about being alone anymore, because Loki is always on that floor.

It takes a week for you to tell him about the requirement room.

" You could have mentioned it earlier, we would have stuck around here." He comments without sounding upset.

Soon it doesn't take long for you two to start seeing each other even when you're not in detention.

You are not surprised that Loki also skips classes, he has always been quite mischievous, but the reason is different from yours.

He knew dark magic. Much more than you or your classmates. And he has no interest in practicing it in class.

"It's stupid." He comments as you are sitting in the armchairs. "Most people will never have the courage or willpower to cast a death curse. It's useless to learn."

"Is that the only reason you don't agree with the teaching at Hogwarts now?" You ask in surprise, setting up the chessboard for yourself as Loki shrugs his shoulders.

"I feel like you're judging me, Hufflepuff." He sneers but you smile, rolling your eyes.

"Honestly, I don't give a damn."

And you really didn't care.

Wanda was avoiding you in the halls, and you were doing the same with your friends and family.

When Iron delivered the mail to the Slytherin table, including Nebula's birthday presents, you wanted to throw up, but all you did was walk away from the Hufflepuff table toward the requirement room.

Without the darkhold, you didn't feel sick, but the anger didn't go away.

Your magic hadn't stabilized, and you were failing at everything, but you couldn't bring yourself to worry about it.

Erik wrote to you, commenting on the importance of you and Wanda practicing magical balancing together, and you burned the letter while crying on the carpet.

And at this rate, time went by.

It was almost the middle of the school year when things started to take a turn for the worse at Hogwarts, and in the wizarding war as well.

Mephisto is getting stronger, and the order is losing. And Kaecillius must be under some pressure from the ministry, maybe for answers from organizations like the Avengers, which are forbidden, because his detentions get too horrible.

It is Saturday again, and you drag yourself to the room where you are supposed to fulfill your detention, but unlike the other days, Kaecillius locks the door.

You only notice because he seems tense and distracted, and there is no feather or book.

"Professor, what will my punishment be today?" You ask confused, and he is nodding to the center of the room as he stands in front of the desk, a few feet from you.

"Miss Stark, today I want to ask some questions and I expect honesty." He declines as he turns to you.

You hiss softly, putting your hands in your pockets.

"Shoot."

Kaecillius doesn't even mind your lack of formality, looking at you with an impassive face.

"What is Mephisto's location?"

You choke in surprise and disbelief. "Excuse me? Why do you think I know that?"

"The ministry has reason enough to suspect that the Order of the Avengers is nothing more than a cover for the death walkers.Your brother, whom I had suspected of being part of that order of delinquents, is no longer at Hogwarts, but you will have to serve." He speaks and with each word you become more outraged. "Now answer me, where is Mephisto?"

" Did you just fucking call my brother a delinquent?" You mutter incredulously. "I have no idea where Mephisto is, what's your problem?"

But you widen your eyes when the professor draws his wand, and you barely have time to swallow dry before the spell hits you in the chest.

It's the cruciatus curse. You know the second it hits you. The sharp pain fills every cell in your body and you scream, not having the strength to stand or with your eyes open, hugging yourself.

"We must not tell lies, Miss Stark." Kaecillius says as soon as he stops enchanting you, the pain disappears in the same instant, but you continue to tremble.

In complete shock and fear, you sob.

"I will ask you again, where is Mephisto?"

You let the tears flow, and shake your head. "I don't know, professor."

Kaecillius lets out a sigh of disappointment. "Some cases are more difficult than others." He comments somberly, taking a step toward her. "Did you know that the record for enduring the Cruciatus curse before madness is six hours? Incredible, isn't it? It happened during the first war, with a muggleborn. You're a half-blood, maybe you can take longer"

He has a devilish grin as he finishes, and you clench your jaw at the threat.

"I don't know where Mephisto is." You repeat, but the professor points his wand at you again.

"My bet is seven hours."

And then the pain returns.

You don't know how long you stay in that room.

But it is long enough for your consciousness to begin to fade. The pain gets so severe that it gradually fades away. You begin to gasp breathlessly, not even able to scream anymore.

Someone help me. Please, help me. Help me. Wanda.

Between the tears you see the floor of the room, and between a twinge of pain, a red light. And everything is dark again.

//-//-//

“Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Warcraft and Wizard is arrested in flagrant by aurors from the ministry of magic this week, full coverage on page..."

You blink confusedly, your eyes getting used to the clarity, while the headline of the Daily Prophet was the first thing your vision caught.

And then you shifted in bed, realizing that you were in a hospital room , and whoever was reading next to you put the paper down when they heard you, and you could behold the curious look on your brother's face.

"Tony?" you whispered confused, and he smiled as he stood up quickly, the newspaper forgotten on the armchair.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked as his hand reached for the loose strands of hair on your face and put them back. "You scared the hell out of me."

"What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember?"

You thought, and then sighed, closing your eyes for a moment.

"Kaecilius."

Tony bit his lip nervously before speaking.

"I'm sorry." He said, lowering his hand to his own. "I came here as soon as I got the howler from Professor Strange, but honestly, I didn't even need it, because all the newspapers are talking about it."

"What...?" You started in confusion, but Tony hurried to explain.

"Wanda found you, Y/N." He told. "She, well, wasn't exactly happy about the whole thing. I think she lost control. Kaecilius is lucky to be alive if you ask me. She almost destroyed the seventh floor, it was a huge mess. And then the aurors interfered, and soon there were reporters everywhere. I guess now everyone knows she's a scarlet witch."

You widened your eyes, straightening to sit up and grumbling a little in pain. Tony looked at you with concern, asking you to take it easy, but you were already asking about Wanda.

"She's at the ministry of magic." He clarified. "Kaecilius is going on trial for torturing a student, and she will answer for putting everyone in danger."

" What?" you ask incredulously, and Tony sighs.

"Yeah I know it's unfair." He says. "But the minister of magic seems to be looking everywhere for people to blame for his lack of control. The problem is how much of that information will get to Mephisto. The whole ministry seems to be full of walkers."

You ran your hand across your face, frustrated.

"I'm so tired, Tony." You confess in a whisper. "It feels like everything is falling apart around me, and things are only getting worse."

Tony squeezes your hand. "I'm sorry, I really am. This whole situation sucks, and I wanted to help you. I'm trying, sister. I haven't been talking to you as much as I should, but I didn't want you to think you're alone. I'm working on breaking the bond. To free you and Wanda from the prophecy, and the wizarding world from dangers like Mephisto. I'm sorry I haven't been by your side."

You swallow your cry, and nod, trying to smile at Tony. He reaches up to hug you, and you gasp softly, taking a few seconds to relax and let the tears flow.

When you calm down, Tony tells you that he is going to get a Mediwizards to check your situation.

You lie down again, sighing softly. The memories come back with full force, and you choke softly, feeling your body tremble.

It's as if you can feel the curse again, sense the pain on your skin. Opening your eyes and shaking the memories away, you swallow dryly and reach for the glass of water on the nightstand.

You just want Wanda by your side telling you that everything is going to be okay.

//-//-//-//-//

You stay under observation for two days.

Doctor Hank makes a joke about you enjoying St.Mungus more than you should since you keep coming back, but Tony doesn't laugh.

Then you' re going back to Hogwarts by train, because the doctor thinks you shouldn't use magical means of transportation for a few days, and it's weird to take the empty express, but as soon as you arrive at the station, Gamora and Nebula are waiting for you with boxes of candy bought in Hogsmeade, and tight hugs.

You are not surprised by the stares you receive from the other students, but you ignore them as your sisters escort you around the castle to the Hufflepuff communal hall.

"Did you get to talk to Wanda?" Gamora asks as soon as you sit down on your bed, sighing with exhaustion from the train ride. The mention of the other sorceress' name doesn't help.

"Not yet." You say. "And I wouldn't be surprised to hear that she's ignoring me."

Nebula exchanges a look with her sister before sitting down on Mantis' bed, who is hugging her knees and looking at you.

"Honestly, I just want to finish this year without any more problems." You confess as you take off your jacket. And there is a moment of silence before you swallow dryly. "I also wanted to apologize to you guys."

Gamora frowns slightly, but says nothing. You take a deep breath.

"I know I was under the influence of an evil book, but that was still no excuse for treating you guys like that." You begin. "Tony told me about how things are in the wizarding world. Everyone is going through something, and it was selfish of me to think that only my problems matter. I'm sorry."

"Really, Y/N, it's okay." Nebula says, surprising you a bit. "We were all stressed, and well, I think an evil book is a pretty fair excuse." She jokes, making you smile. "Maybe things will get a little better now that Strange is the director."

"Oh, that's right" You comment just then remembering the things Tony updated you on while you were at St.Mungus. Like Kaecillius' resignation, and the position being passed on to Professor Stephen. "But honestly, I won't be at peace until I hear from Wanda."

"The trial isn't until Friday. And the way things are going, we won't get any news until it's over." Gamora warned as she sat down on the bed next to you. "I think the Maximoffs are probably too busy to write."

"What do you think will happen to Wanda?" You ask as you tug at the loose strands of the comforter. Mantis sighs lightly.

"I don't have a good feeling about things, Y/N." She confesses and you frown in concern. "And the stars never lie."

"Thank you, Mantis." You mock softly, and Gamora runs her hands through her hair.

"Let's not be pessimistic, okay?" she says. "Maybe the predictions are about, I don't know, the school finals? It doesn't mean something bad is really going to happen."

You grumble unhappily, grabbing a pillow and sinking your face into it. Gamora strokes your back.

"I'm sure things will work out, Y/N." She says. "Wanda will write as soon as she can."

"Do you guys think Kaecilius will be sent to Azkaban?" Nebula asks next, making you raise your head curiously.

"I wouldn't be so sure." You grumble. "I was actually surprised that he was put on trial at all."

"Well, with the whole mess that happened, it was bound to happen." Gamora said. "More than half the school became aware that he used the cruciatus curse on you, and then the daily prophet. And I didn't even know they were in the castle."

"It was because of Wanda really, wasn't it?" Mantis added. "Kaecillius caused his own ruin. He called the journalists to show what he called progress and decided to torture a student while they were in the castle. Then Wanda destroyed the entire floor and the next morning his arrest was all over the pages."

"I'm just really outraged to know that if no one had seen it, he would probably still be at Hogwarts." Gamora says angrily, and you sigh, agreeing as well as the others.

"Well, you must be hungry, shall we go to the great hall? It's almost dinner time." Gamora comments next, pulling you by the hand. You grumble softly, but agree, and soon you are leaving the communal hall to join the rest of the students.

//-//-//-//-//

You are tapping your fingers gently against the desk as you wait for the History of Magic class to begin.

It is Friday, finally.

You have barely slept because of anxiety about news of Wanda's trial.

Things at Hogwarts have changed a lot this week, all because of Strange's administration.

He restored the old classes, banned the teaching of dark magic, the scandal at the Daily Prophet being enough of an argument that the Minister of Magic no longer had a defense over this kind of teaching at Hogwarts. The restricted session of the library was also put back, and the seventh floor was off-limits because of the destruction Wanda caused, and you unfortunately lost access to the Requirement room.

Mantis was writing what looked like a lunar calendar for the divination class while Professor Okoye didn't arrive, and you started whistling distractedly.

And then Thor Odinson was poking you in the back to get your attention, and you turned around in your chair.

"Hi, Stark, what's up?"

"Fine." You grumbled suspiciously. "Can I help you with something?"

Thor looked almost unsure. "I was just wondering if you know of anything going on with Loki."

You frowned. "Excuse me?"

"I mean if you know if he's sick or something." He explains. "We had a fight, and well, he's not talking to me. And I've noticed that you guys have been kind of close lately, and I was curious if you knew anything and..."

"No, Thor, I'm sorry." You interrupt with a sigh. "Maybe you should ask him that."

Thor assumes a sad expression. "I would, but he's ignoring me. I think it might be about our mother."

You make a confused expression, and Thor looks surprised.

"Our mother, she...died earlier this year, Y/N." Thor counters, and you widen your eyes. "Our family is a name of reference against Mephisto. With the war, the walkers came to our home. She was there while we were here, and Dad was at the ministry."

"I'm so sorry, Thor." You whisper to him, still shocked by the information. He shrugged.

"I thought Loki told you."

"We don't talk about things like that, I guess." You say. "Sorry, I wish I knew how to help you."

"No, it's okay." Thor says with a sad smile. "You being his friend this year is more than enough. I don't like seeing him all alone out here."

You nod lightly, settling into your chair as you notice the teacher entering the room.

Mantis exchanges a look of understanding with you, having overheard the conversation even if accidentally, but she says nothing, and soon you are hearing about the witch hunt in the United States, and you try to focus on that rather than curiosity about how Wanda's trial is going or Loki's current emotional state.

//-//-/-//-//-//

As soon as lunchtime begins, you join the Slytherin table, where some of the students have placed a radio on the table, equally with other students from the other houses, to listen to the trial.

You are not surprised that a student's trial is such an interesting topic for everyone, but after the school started talking about Wanda being a scarlet witch, and the theories circulating around the halls, it was to be expected.

So you sit back while biting your fingertips and listening.

"And now directly from the Ministry of Magic, the trial of seventeen-year-old witch Wanda Maximoff, daughter of legendary witch Erik L-"

Your attention is slightly diverted from the narrative when loud laughter catches your ears.

They are Gryffindor and Slytherin students, exchanging coins. You don't need to hear the conversation to know they are gambling about the trial, the mean laughter and glances in the direction of you and your sisters are enough.

And as if she could feel your growing fury, Gamora touches your shoulder gently.

"Just ignore them, Y/N." She urges and you clench your jaw. " Everything is going to be okay with Wanda."

"I hope you're right, Gamora." You grumble, turning your attention back to the radio.

The narration of the newspaper is generic, and you discover that the audience has been closed off to the reporters.

You take a deep breath, concentrating.

No strange feeling, so Wanda is safe.

You wonder if Erik and Pietro are by her side during the whole thing.

It is only at the end of lunchtime that you have the result.

"It's amazing how things unfold in the ministry this afternoon." Counted the reporter with almost excitement. "After a unanimous vote, the witch Wanda Maximoff was found guilty of endangering her fellow students by not registering as a scarlet witch to the ministry of magic, after it was proven that her father, the sorcerer Erik Lehnsherr knew of her condition, as well as the affiliation with the criminal, Agatha Harkness was also mentioned. The ministry finally decided on Wanda Maximoff's expulsion from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizarding"

You felt your stomach plummet.

And everything became a little muffled around you, a soft whistle in your ear. You think Gamora and Nebula were calling for you, but you were getting up, feeling the room getting too small.

Stumbling out, you loosened the knot of your tie, finally stopping in the courtyard as you leaned your body against a pillar.

Wanda had been expelled from Hogwarts, publicly exposed as a Scarlet Witch, and tried as a criminal. You wondered if they would break her wand. Banned wizards led horrible lives.

Your sisters and friends caught up with you quickly, and you let them hug you.

In a few minutes Director Strange is catching up with you as well, and you release Gamora's grip to talk to him.

"Professor, I need to..."

"You cannot leave Hogwarts, Miss Stark." He interrupts with a wave of his hands and you frown in confusion, ready to protest but he is already speaking. "Tony sent a patronus as soon as the results came out, he already figured you'd want to see Miss Maximoff. The ministry is a mess, and Wanda will be staying with her father there for the minister's final decisions. You should stay here, where you are safe."

"That's not fair!" You squawk angrily. "Wanda needs me, I must-"

"She needs you to be safe." He interrupts again seriously, and then lowers his tone slightly as he notices the curious looks of the surrounding students. "Be rational, Miss Stark. Now that the Wizarding community knows the nature of Wanda's powers, how long before Mephisto has enough information and discovers your identity as protector."

You swallow dryly, clenching your fists begrudgingly. Stephen is right. You look away, and he sighs, placing his hand on your shoulder.

"Wanda will be fine, even without her NEWTS, she is an extraordinary witch." He says. "And the year is coming to an end, soon you will be able to see her again."

"She needs me now." You grumble annoyed, turning away from the professor's touch. He looks at you for a moment and then clears his throat.

"I'll see what I can do, Miss Stark." He says."In the meantime, focus on your studies, and be careful."

You frown at Stephen's words, but he is already turning and leaving before you can ask.

As you turn to your friends, Gamora has a worried look on her face.

"Are you okay?" She asks, and you sigh, agreeing to hug her again as you mumble no.

"I can feel how upset she is, Gamora." You grumble against your sister's shirt, wishing you could hug Wanda now. Gamora squeezes you against her arms, and you thank her for her intention even if it isn't enough.

The next few days are like a blur for you.

Many letters arrive, as do many editions of the Daily Prophet.

When the picture of the day Wanda's wand was broken comes out on the front page and you see her tired face, you have to run out of the common room to keep from crying in front of your colleagues.

Everyone writes to you, even Carol, everyone but the Maximoffs.

It is frustrating, and honestly, it breaks your heart in many ways.

The news of a Scarlet Witch after a century is almost as bombastic as Mephisto's return, and you're not surprised that many of your colleagues would start to comment on the possibility of Wanda working with him or against him.

It's overwhelming how everyone talks about her, but all you can feel is how much you miss her around the castle, around you.

You couldn't even remember that your magic is stable, and with everything that has happened, you haven't had time to figure out how to fix things.

Stephen tried to help, but he didn't know what was going on. At least the theoretical part of magic you were able to master, and you hoped to get at least an acceptable score in some subjects.

Only almost a week and a half after the trial, Professor Strange interrupts the potions class to talk to you.

Ignoring the curious stares and whispers of your classmates, you ask Professor Munroe to excuse you, and leave the room.

"What is wrong, professor?" You ask curiously as you close the door, watching Stephen with his hands in his pockets.The dungeons feel emptier without the ministry aurors around the castle.

"Saturday, in the Astronomy tower, nine-thirteen at night." He says as he hands you a small gold key, causing you to frown in confusion. "You will have exactly one hour, Miss Stark. Not a second more."

You stare at the object in your hand, and understand. A portal key. To Wanda.

"Thank you, Professor." You say, and Stephen nods before leaving.

You turn back to potions, the object in your pocket. You could barely contain your anxiety.

//-//-//-//-//-//-//

Tag list> @imapotatao / @aimezvousbrahms/ @ensorcellme/ @helloalycia || @mionemymind / @abimess / @stephanieromanoff / @yourtaletotell / @tomy5girls / @justagaypanicking / @thegayw1tch / @idek-5 // @myperfectlovepoem // @helloalycia // @ENSORCELLME // @AIMEZVOUSBRAHMS // @drpepperobsessed // @sighsam // @olsensnpm // @sxfwap // @table57 // @madamevirgo // @causeitswhatjesuswouldfreakingdo // @emptysince18x // @xastrydx || @yuhloversxx || @ymzki-haruki || @wouldirunofftheworldsomeday || @lostandsearching || @lezzzbehonesthere || @musicinourlips || @chaekhan || @diaryoflife || @nervoustrack || @aquamarinescarlet || @cristin-rjd || @idamaemann || @fortunatelynerdylight || @iliketozoneout || @blackwow34 // @tiny--freak || @spongebobtentacles || @cyberbonesworld ||

A/F/N> Place your bets for my next comeback (a week, a month or tomorrow?). If I delete the blog, and you're in love with this story for some reason I don't know about because there are so many better things to read, know that I'll post everything on AO3 if I ever do.

[rosestar722]

I can’t help loving you [Jeff the Killer x reader] Part 2

Hello everyone! If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, I suggest you go read it first, because it is based on that a bit and might be a bit confusing without it.

Chapters: Part 1 [To be edited]

Topic: Jeff the Killer x reader

Warnings: Blood, swearing, violence

Notes: This might be a bit confusing, but if you have any questions I'll be there to answer them!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your scream had alerted most of the Creepypastas, besides Ben and Sally, who didn’t know what was happening.

EJ was the first one to be by your side, followed by Jeff, Masky, Hoodie, Jane, Clockwork, Toby and finally, no other than Slenderman himself.

“What happened, my child?” You hear Slenderman’s staticky voice boom until he saw you.

“I walked in to check on her and I saw this.” You gulped, looking at the scene around you.

EJ(who has somehow been pushed to the back) pushed his way to the front of the “crowd” that had gathered at the door of his lab and helped you out of the situation that you had landed in.

You regained your footing when EJ decided to take a look at the girl.

He cautiously made his way through the blood.

When he arrived right next to the girl, he immediately noticed something.

Her eyes were open.

They were open but lifeless and empty.

They were pink and glowing, fully glowing to their extent.

He started to get some things out, seeing if they could help her state.

As soon as he took out his thread and needle the girl gasped as if she just woke up from a terrible nightmare.

She took a look around her surroundings, before coming to her senses and knocking over one of the tables, she backed herself into a corner.

"W-Who are you?" She whispered, looking at the floor. "W-Who are all of you?"

Nobody said anything.

"ANSWER ME!" She screamed, suddenly very sociable.

You quickly noticed something.

Instead of the shining pink glow that had once been emitted from her eyes, they were replaced with empty sockets with small concentrated orbs made of pink light residing in them.

You assumed they were her eyes.

"Who are you?" You asked her back, deciding to break the silence.

"Melinoe." She whispered, never taking her eyes off us.

"We are the Creepypastas." Slenderman's staticky voice seemingly echoes throughout the room.

"Where is Ani," EJ asked calmly, even though he was gripping his scalpel tightly.

As if the name had triggered some sort of switch, Melinoe suddenly paused her movements.

In a flash of pink light, she had tackled Jack onto the floor and held a dagger against his neck, its tip gleaming manically.

"How do you know about her." She growled, anger oozing from her voice.

"Wait, what do you mean?" The feminine-masked man piped up, clearly not understanding the situation. "Ani was our ally."

Confused, Melinoe released Jack, who quickly got up.

"She was with me the entire time I have ever lived." She said, clearly confused.

"That's because your parents took her." Hoodie pointed out.

"How do you know about my parents? How do you even know anything about me?" She asked, full of questions.

"We said it. She was an ally of ours, b*tch." Jeff scoffed. "We outnumber you, so you'd better f*cking listen to us."

"As if I'm scared, motherf*cker." She spat, anger evident in her eyes.

"Oh yeah? You will be when we f*cking kill you."

"Is that the only threat you've got, d*ckhead?"

"Enough." Slenderman said, clearly annoyed by their little squabble. "You will rest, and we will talk about this tomorrow."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, almost everyone was talking about her, enraging you even more.

Sure, she was fast and obviously skilled, but what made her so special?

The monster inside of you growled menacingly.

You sighed.

Walking past Slenderman's office, you couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"I now give you an offer. You can stay, be a part of us and we will provide shelter, food, weaponry and training. In return, you will work for me and be trained to be one of us."

"And the other choice?"

"You either accept this choice or be killed on the spot."

You could almost hear her thinking.

"I'll take it." She said firmly.

"Good. I will have one of my children lead you to the room where you will be staying in."

"Y/N. Please come to my office and escort Melinoe to her room." You heard Slenderman's voice boom inside your head, speaking to you through telepathy.

You sighed and entered the office, not wanting to deal with her sh*t for another second longer.

"Yes sir?" You asked innocently, acting as if you weren't eavesdropping on their conversation a mere second ago.

"Please escort our newest member to their room, and if you have time, please show her around the mansion." Slenderman orders.

"Yes sir." You said, gesturing for Melinoe to go.

"Thank you." She said to Slenderman before walking to the door.

He didn't reply and you closed the door behind you silently.

"What's your name?" She asked out of the blue.

"Y/N L/N. Or Y/CP/N(Your creepypasta name) if you want to be professional." You replied.

"It suits you." She commented, and it was only until that moment you noticed that she was a bit shorter than you, maybe an inch or two.

"What about yours? Professionally, I mean." You asked her, wanting. to fill the to-be-empty silence.

"Ghost." She said.

You chuckled.

"Suits you the best."

She smiled a bit but never looked down from the floor.

"I'm sorry about last night. I was nervous and wasn't thinking straight." She apologised.

"Why?" You asked, curious.

"Because there were too many unknown people around me at the same moment, and it was too much for my head to take."

"No, I meant why did you apologise to me? You didn't do anything. To me, at least. Can't say the same for EJ." You joked, only to notice her scared expression.

"Are you okay?" You asked, suddenly concerned.

"I-I'm fine. It was just I felt that you two had a friendship with each other, and I didn't know what you were going to do." She laughed nervously.

"What do you mean that you felt us?" You asked again.

Boy, you were full of questions today.

"I can sense emotions 400 times stronger than of a normal human, demon or enhanced alike."

"That's awesome! So technically you are an empath!" You gasped, not realising that you had somehow hurt the young girl's feelings.

She shied away from you, looking at the other side.

"Well, sometimes strong emotions, especially negative ones can actually hurt my mind. This is why I prefer to be alone, where nobody can accidentally hurt me.

"I can manipulate emotions, resurface memories and cause rapid emotional spikes in the brain, where it can affect the heart, mind and mental state.

"I tend to overreact over small things, so I like to be alone. Most people think I'm weird and all that, so it's really hard to make friends." She confessed, rambling nervously.

"Then you'll fit right in." You smiled. "We're all outcasts. Demons, monsters, psychopaths, but we are all the same. You'll never be excluded when you are with us."

You could literally feel the happiness and gratefulness radiating off her.

"Here's your room. Clothing, books and stuff the normal rooms have are already in the drawers. Enjoy." You said when you two reached her room.

It was a simple wooden door with a golden plate on it, along with the name Melinoe the Wight carved into it.

She opened the door and was met with a simple room with a bed, bathroom and a few drawers.

She turned around to look at you.

"Thank you." She whispered and smiled, before silently closing the door.

You heard a snort.

"Oh, seriously Masky." You grumble, turning around to meet the masked killer.

"Why not?" He asks innocently. "Besides, it's not like you two are the only ones in the house."

"You were following us the entire time?!"

He shrugged.

"You're a motherf*cker, you know?" You groan.

"Why of course." He grinned. "Sally was waiting for you."

"Why?"

"Her 'tea party' that she invited *cough-forced-cough* us to attend."

"Really?"

He laughed.

"You should see Toby in the pink tutu and the rabbit ears."

"I'm expecting Jane or either Clocky to take a photo."

"They already did. It's hung up in the living room."

"What happened to yours then?"

"Uhh- Sally only had enough for three, and she put it on Toby, Jeff and Ben."

"About time he got off his a**."

"You kiss your mother with that mouth?" He asked mockingly.

"This pretty mouth of mines can kill you in your sleep, silly."

"Y/N! Y/N!" you could hear the squeals of the little girl in the distance.

"Yes, Sally?"

"Play with me!" She squealed happily with a huge grin plastered on her face.

"Okay, Sally." You laughed, scooping the young girl into your arms.

"Come on Masky!" The little girl smiled.

He laughed nervously.

"I think I'll pass on this one." He said, scratching his head.

You could literally feel the glare that Sally sent him.

"You know what I've changed my mind. I'm coming." He chuckled at the young girl's antics.

"That's my girl." You said proudly to the girl in your arms.

She grinned in victory.

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It was a bit longer than expected, but oh well. I didn't get more than ten likes on the last chapter, and I didn't know what was wrong with my story or am I banned or something like that.

Thank you all for spending time to read this!

Word count(only for story): 1524 words