#even though they were super background characters and we barely knew anything about them

[nhasablogg]

I just want you to know who I am

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Characters: Spencer Reid, The BAU

Anonymous said: Spencer cracks the identity of a "serial tickler" and has to come to terms with his own hidden love of tickling.

A/N: This was fun! It was fun writing about a case like this again but from Spencer’s POV this time. I hope you like it!

Warnings: An UnSub who breaks into people’s homes and ties them up to non-consensually tickle them, but this one’s super ungraphic and mostly just fluff tbh.

Words: 7.4k

(Read it on ao3)

Spencer was squinting at the board, which was poorly illuminated now due to the descending sun. He probably should have turned on a light, but he’d been standing there for the past twenty minutes and refused to move. If he moved he might lose it, the little hint of something at the back of his mind. The board contained pictures of bodies, only this time they were all alive, tied up but alive. That was unusual, to have every single victim to interview. They weren’t even really hurt, only a little traumatized, but they all knew that talking to traumatized victims was almost harder than talking to mere witnesses who’d simply seen something out of the ordinary. Hell, even talking to family members was easier than to scratch open wounds that had barely had time to start healing.

He rubbed at his temple and sighed. This was hopeless.

“I can’t seem to find a connection between them at all,” he said when Gideon entered. “They’re all of different ages. Different socioeconomic backgrounds. Different skin colors, different body types, different types of people entirely. The only thing they seem to have in common is the fact that they live here in Quantico.”

“Take a break,” Gideon told him. “Let’s recoup in fifteen, okay?”

Spencer deflated. “Fine.”

“That’s not a punishment, Reid,” he replied with a laugh. “Have some coffee. Hotch and Morgan will be back soon.”

“Okay.”

Gideon tilted his head. “After you.”

“You’re no fun, you know that?”

“And you must be entirely engrossed if you’re saying no to coffee.”

“I feel like I have something,” he said, exiting the room with Gideon right behind him. “I just can’t figure out what.”

“And that’s why I told you to take a break.”

“Reid, needing a break?” Morgan said, suddenly appearing. “Well, I’ve seen everything.”

Spencer turned toward him. “You got anything?”

He sighed. “Not really. The victim’s don’t know why they’d been chosen to get tickled. We tried to be tactful in case they have, like, a thing for it or something and met the UnSub through that, but they won’t talk.”

“Probably embarrassed.”

“Well, I can’t really blame them. Imagine having the FBI asking you these types of questions.”

Spencer hummed. “I don’t think they would all lie about it though, seeing as that wouldn’t help us solve it.”

“So you don’t think they met the UnSub on some sort of forum or something?”

Something clicked in Spencer’s head. “Forum. Oh my god, that’s it.”

Morgan frowned. “But you just said they probably wouldn’t lie.”

“Not them.” Spencer was already running toward Garcia’s office. “But someone living on their addresses.”

*

“Reid, victimology.”

“The UnSub has purposefully chosen family members - or in some cases roommates - that live with the person who most likely got in contact with the UnSub through a tickle forum. Garcia’s trying to narrow down which one. Turns out there are a lot of them. As for the people he picked, he avoided minors and elderly people, keeping the age range between 20 and 55 with no other obvious preferences. The reason none of them admitted to being interested in it is because they’re not the ones who browsed the forums, so we need to go back and talk to the other people living there.”

“They’ve not said anything about their connection to it,” Prentiss said.

“They’re probably freaked out and embarrassed. Guilty because they wonder if they’re somehow responsible for it. My guess is the UnSub traced their IP addresses and found out where they live. He probably lives here and picked victims close by so that he could be in and out as quickly as possible. Mr Rodriguez said he’d been tickled for an hour, right?”

Hotch nodded. “And Miss Bardot for twenty minutes.”

“And Mrs Smith for three hours. I think the UnSub knows how long they’ll be home alone and plans his attacks after how much time he has. Mrs Smith was intricately tied up, which could tell us more about the UnSub’s preferences, since he obviously does research, but also that he had more time. Miss Bardot was simply handcuffed to her bed, which is the quickest way to restrain her without making a fuss.”

“So this guy talks to people on a tickle forum and then decides to attack their family members instead?” Morgan shook his head. “It makes no sense. Why not simply meet up with the people he was talking to?”

“He likes the non-consensual nature of this,” Gideon said. “He gets a fix from talking on the forum, and then he gets a different type of fix when he attacks. He’s simply killing two birds with one stone by picking addresses from the forum. It narrows them down. He probably also enjoys the idea that the people he talked to are freaking out about it.”

“So say we find the forum. How are we supposed to figure out who did it?” Morgan asked.

Hotch said, “We need to talk to the family members. See which one of them has visited a site like this, and if anyone in particular stuck out.”

Spencer crossed his arms. “Maybe we need to go undercover in the forum too. Draw him out.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Let’s go talk to the victims and their families first. Morgan and Prentiss go talk to the Smiths first. Reid and I will take Mr Rodriguez.”

*

Mr Rodriguez lived in a calm suburban area in a house that looked clean on the outside, but was overcrowded on the inside. Things and people everywhere, ranging from kids to cousins who seemed to be staying with Mr and Mrs Rodriguez for longer periods of time, whether it meant they actually were living there or simply visiting Spencer wasn’t sure.

“Oh hello,” Gideon said when the door opened to a little girl peeking out. “Is your dad home?”

She blinked up at him with big brown eyes, which went from curious to squinting in an instant as she slammed the door shut in their faces.

“Was that a no?” Spencer said with a laugh when the door opened again.

“I’m so sorry,” Mr Rodriguez said, holding the little girl in his arms. “We told her not to open the doors to strangers and, well-”

“She’s never met us,” Gideon filled in. “She did very good.”

“Except for the fact that she opened the door to begin with,” Mrs Rodriguez said, appearing at Mr Rodriguez’s side. “Let me take her.”

He handed the girl over to her mother and stepped aside. “Please come in.”

The house seemed less crowded this time around, but they found people in each room they passed. Spencer kind of liked it in theory, but knew he’d probably go crazy himself if he couldn’t be left alone. If each moment could potentially bring someone else into the room, needing him, needing company, needing reassurance. Finding just one hour where the father would be entirely alone in the house must’ve been difficult, and yet the UnSub had managed it. Whomever he’d been talking to they probably had been talking for a while.

They settled in the living room, a child instantly climbing into Spencer’s lap. Another girl, identical to the one who had opened the door. Twins, he realized as he semi-awkwardly placed his arms around her as she leaned back against his chest and looked up at him. “Hi.”

She didn’t reply, but smiled so brightly he had to smile back.

“How many children do you have, Mr Rodriguez?” Gideon asked, sitting on the other couch across the room, giving them both opportunities to see different things.

“Biologically we only have five. Elena and Julieta are the youngest. They’re four. Then we have Emiliano, who’s seven, Amelia who’s nine and lastly Felipe who’s eleven.”

Spencer and Gideon exchanged a look. All too young to really be on a forum.

“But we did foster my older brother’s children,” Mr Rodriguez continued. “That’s why there are so many of us,” he added with a laugh. He seemed calmer that day. He wouldn’t fully meet their eyes still, but he wasn’t shaking anymore.

“That’s compassionate of you,” Gideon said, straightening.

He waved a hand. “He would’ve done the same for me. He got deported, you see.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We’re trying to get him back, but…” He trailed off. “Anyway. He has four children, but they’re all a little older. The oldest one, Lucía, is away at college and Samuel’s moved out, although I swear he’s here more than at home. We only have Ari and Camila here.”

“And how old are they?”

“Ari’s 18. He’ll be going off to college next year he said, but he’s taking a gap year. Camila’s eleven, like Felipe.”

They exchanged another look. “Could we possibly talk to Ari?”

Mr Rodriguez frowned. “Ari’s a good boy,” he said.

Gideon held up his hand. “I’m sure he is, Mr Rodriguez.”

“He works to help us out. Never got in trouble. Straight A student. The only reason he took a gap year is because his scholarship didn’t go through.”

“He’s not in trouble, sir, we’d just like to talk to him.”

Ari cracked his door open when they knocked. “Yes?”

“Hi, Ari,” Gideon said, showing his badge. “Agent Gideon and Doctor Reid. You remember us?”

“Sure,” he said, opening the door wider. “You were here after we found my uncle.”

“We have a few questions for you if that’s okay.”

He visibly stiffened. “I was at work when it happened.”

“Oh, we know. We got everyone’s alibis, don’t worry.”

He shifted from foot to foot, glancing behind them at the empty hallway. “Come in.”

Ari sat on his desk chair while Gideon and Spencer took the bed. “This might be an uncomfortable conversation,” Gideon warned him. “But we need you to be honest with us.”

Ari fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. “Okay.”

“You know how your uncle got tickled by his attacker?”

“Yes.”

“Well, we have a theory that he got the address to your house from a specific forum. That he spoke to someone on this address and traced it here to pick a victim.”

Ari’s face fell. “You think?”

“Do you happen to know if someone in this household has visited a tickle forum in the past and possibly talked to someone?”

“They’re all children,” Ari said. “And I don’t think my aunt would. Maybe my uncle?”

“No. He would admit to it in a heartbeat since it would mean his attacker would get caught.” Gideon smiled sympathetically. “That leaves you.”

Ari avarted his eyes. “Me? You think I’ve been on this… t-tickle forum?”

“It’s just a theory, but it’s currently the only one we have.” He leaned forward. “I’m sorry that this is embarrassing. We only really need to know if that’s the case and what site. Maybe if we could borrow your computer too.”

Ari ran a hand over his face. “Oh my god, I can’t believe this is happening.” He looked up at them. “It’s my fault?”

Gideon hummed. “So you have been on a forum.”

“Yes, okay? Yes. I’m just. Curious.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to us, it’s okay.”

“Oh my god, please don’t tell my uncle. Or anyone.”

“We won’t, don’t worry.”

He stood up suddenly, pacing the room. “I wondered if it was my fault,” he said quietly. “I just didn’t expect the answer to be yes.”

“Ari.” Spencer spoke for the first time, tilting his head at the teenager. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”

*

“I’ve not been tickled in years,” Spencer found himself saying later that day.

Morgan grinned at him. “I bet you’re real ticklish, though,” he said. “Probably a giggler.”

“I didn’t say that.” But he started blushing, which was unusual even to him. Spencer was awkward, yes, but not shy. “Besides, being ticklish is natural. A defense mechanism of some sort. Back in ancient Japan it was used as punishment if you wanted to ensure no one would be able to find any proof of actual injury.”

“Changing the subject, I see.”

“Not at all,” he insisted. “It’s still within the same topic.”

“But it’s been redirected away from your own sensitivity.” Morgan leaned forward, which didn’t necessarily cause any alarm since there was a whole table between them. “Tell me, pretty boy. Where’s your spot? The spot that makes you scream if touched.”

Spencer raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I have one?”

“No? Nowhere?”

“No?”

“But you are ticklish?”

“Of course he is,” Garcia said, suddenly walking into the room.

“Oh?” Morgan leaned back. “And how exactly do you know that, baby girl?”

She rolled her eyes. “Don’t get jealous, my love. I accidentally poked him when I first started working here.”

“Is that so?” Morgan’s smirk was actually scary enough that Spencer suddenly felt as if he was in danger. “And where exactly was that spot?”

“I don’t kiss and tell I’m afraid, mon chéri.”

“Oh, that’s unfair, Garcia.”

“Try him yourself,” she said, pointing at Spencer. “He’s right there.”

Spencer stood. “Let’s not.”

“There you go,” Morgan said, standing as well. “Panic. I like that. It probably means you’re really bad.”

“Morgan, come on.” He started walking when Morgan did, the two of them rounding the table over and over again without breaking the distance between them. “This is childish!”

“Well, you are a kid after all.”

“I’m literally 25- no, wait!” Morgan had suddenly picked up his speed and Spencer rushed to do the same, nearly crashing into Hotch in the process. “Hotch, oh my god, save me.”

“What’s going on?” he asked, blinking at them in confusion.

“Derek’s trying to find out where Spencer’s ticklish,” Garcia said.

“Pretty boy thinks he can run away from me,” Morgan said, grabbing Spencer’s arms. Hotch was standing just in the way of him being able to flee. “Not gonna work, Doctor Reid.”

Spencer didn’t know which was worse; the fact that Morgan grabbed onto his sides and wouldn’t let go or that he was still facing in Hotch’s direction and got to see him witness the very first peals of hysterical laughter they’d probably ever heard come out of his mouth. “No!”

“Aw, I knew you were a giggler,” Morgan was cooing behind him. “Isn’t he cute, Hotch?”

Spencer caught Hotch’s ghost of a smile through his plight. “Oh, very. But we have work to do. Leave Reid alone.”

“You’re no fun, Hotch,” Morgan said, letting him go. “I’ll get you later, pretty boy.”

As Spencer straightened he found Gideon standing behind Hotch, meaning he’d probably heard if not seen the whole thing.

He felt himself flushing. He was gonna kill Morgan.

“Had fun?” he asked as he entered the room, his smile fond.

“Oh, the time of my life, truly,” he muttered as Morgan laughed. “I can’t wait to do this again.”

“Don’t you worry, Reid,” Morgan purred. “I’ll make sure that happens.”

Spencer shook his head and willed his blush to calm down as they all settled down around the table, all eyes on Hotch and Gideon. “As you all know we’ve talked to all the victims and their families again,” Gideon started. “Some of them refused to admit to it, but for the most part we found someone in the household - older teens, roommates, spouses - who’s visited the site iTickle, a forum where you can talk to like-minded people.”

“Garcia did some digging,” Hotch continued. “Turns out the site is completely text-based, so you can’t send any pictures or videos, which means you also can’t view any type of content on there. It’s strictly to talk to others.”

“Which gives us the impression that the UnSub uses that site on purpose. It’s like he wants just enough to get going so that he can go out and act out all his desires. Reid?”

Spencer cleared his throat and stood. “We’ve been given access to one of the computers that was used to visit the forum. It’s one of those portable laptops, so we were able to take it with us. The kid who used it said there was one user who was acting a little too sketchy that stuck out to him. Garcia will be tracing the IP address, and after that we’ll figure out a course of action.”

“Great job, everyone,” Gideon said, clapping his hands. “And now we wait.”

*

Spencer was swirling his chair around when Morgan grabbed his shoulder, stilling him. “You’re being super distracting,” he said, but there was no menace in his voice.

Spencer straightened. “Sorry. I’m bored.”

“This case not entertaining enough for you, huh?”

“Well, we’ve practically cracked it. We just gotta find the UnSub.”

“The easiest part,” Morgan said with a laugh.

“Maybe not,” Spencer said sheepishly. Morgan’s hand was still on his shoulder and he could feel it each time a finger moved even just an inch. Despite himself, Spencer had spent the past two days waiting for Morgan to tickle him again and finding he was disappointed each time the opportunity was missed. He wasn’t entirely willing to have that conversation with himself yet.

“Since there’s no DNA on the crime scene it’ll be difficult to actually track him down,” Morgan continued.

Spencer shrugged. “I told you. One of us should go undercover. Set up shop in an apartment somewhere. Pretend two or three of us live there for a few days and have him come to us.”

“Pretty boy, that isn’t actually too bad of an idea.”

“You don’t have to sound so surprised about it,” Spencer said, rolling his eyes.

Morgan barked out a laugh and curled his fingers over the sides of his neck. “Smartass. Don’t forget I know that you’re ticklish now.”

Spencer retracted, a sound that was almost a squeal leaving his lips at the sudden unbearable sensation. No matter how low he tried to slide down the chair Morgan simply followed, and while it only really lasted for a moment the whole office could probably hear him giggling and begging for him to cut it out.

“Mor-gan!” he choked out, managing to grab his wrist, which to be fair did very little to make him stop.

“Ye-es?” Morgan teased, index fingers working their way to the area beneath his chin. “I told you I’d get you again.”

“Stop being mean- wait!”

“Oohh, your neck’s a real bad spot, huh? Maybe this is the spot that makes you scream? Or are you worse somewhere?”

“Morgan, stop messing with him,” Hotch said. “Come on, both of you. Garcia found something.”

Morgan let him go, muttering the whole time. “I’ll get you properly one of these days.”

Spencer exhaled, rubbing at the skin where his hands had just been. “You’re terrible.”

“Mm, I could be worse.” Morgan helped him up and slapped his back. “Let’s go tell them about your idea.”

“I didn’t know you were ticklish, Spence,” JJ said when they entered the room, smiling gently if not playfully at him.

He groaned. “Did everyone see?”

“Pretty much,” Prentiss replied. “I mean, you weren’t necessarily being quiet.”

“So you all saw him torturing me and did nothing?” He shook his head in mock betrayal. “Traitors, all of you.”

“Aw, he’s blushing,” Morgan said, pinching his cheek. “So cute.”

“As endearing as you’re both being,” Garcia said, standing in the front of the room. “I have been lured out of the comfort of my own room to hold a presentation and I’d rather get it done quickly.”

Morgan chuckled. “All right, mama, whatchu got?”

Garcia took a breath. “So I think I’ve narrowed down the user. He calls himself ‘TheFeatherFrontier’, which at first I thought was a reference to Star Trek, but- anyway, not the point. I did some digging and it turns out he’s been in contact with someone in all of the households we’ve found victims at. Looking back at their conversations, it starts innocently enough but becomes real strange after a while.”

“Strange how?”

“Well, this guy has practically zero boundaries. Zilch. It goes from ‘hi how are you’ to things I’m way too uncomfortable to say aloud. And it’s weird since this site is all about creating connections through text. Why be crass and drive people away?”

“It’s not really about them,” Gideon said. “They’re simply shortcuts to people he’d rather tickle.”

Spencer squirmed in his chair, trying his best to not look away from Garcia. He wasn’t sure why the word suddenly flustered him, but it did. Maybe because Morgan had just tickled him in front of everyone. Maybe because-

No. Not now. Not yet.

“Reid had an idea,” Morgan suddenly said, directing all focus on him. “Tell them, kid.”

“Oh, uh, well, I kind of told you about it earlier, but- well, one of us should go undercover. Set up shop in an apartment somewhere. Pretend two or three of us live there for a few days and have him come to us,” he quoted himself verbatim. “And hopefully he decides to take the bait.”

“Reid, that’s a really good idea.”

Spencer turned to catch Prentiss’ eye. “Yeah?”

“And probably the only way to actually catch him,” Hotch said. “Great thinking, Reid.”

Morgan reached over to ruffle his hair. “Our ticklish little genius.”

“Oh my god, stop.” Spencer shoved him off of him. “I’ll never live that down, will I?”

Morgan laughed. “Not as long as I’m around. But hey, you should totally be the bait.”

“Why me?”

“We need someone super ticklish to make it more believable.”

“Morgan, he won’t even tickle me-”

“Still. And you look like you could be hanging out in there. All in favor of Reid chatting him up?”

“We’ll probably all be involved,” Gideon said. “Although we can’t consult each other after each message. It’ll take too long, and he’d probably be messaging at night.” He looked at Reid. “You up for a night shift or two?”

Spencer sighed. “Fine. But I’m not coming in on time tomorrow.”

*

Their fake apartment was small to have three bedrooms, but it did, and so they decided that Reid, Morgan and Prentiss would be staying there for the next few days, starting immediately in case the UnSub decided to stake the place out after the first conversation.

“Will you guys be okay if he catches one of you?” JJ asked, and both Morgan and Prentiss made a big show out of waving the concerns off, claiming to not be ticklish.

“It’s Reid we should be worried about,” Morgan said and Spencer sighed, having accepted his fate to get teased until his death.

“I’ve got you all set up,” Garcia said, motioning to the monitor on the desk of Spencer’s temporary bedroom. “Derek came up with your username.”

“PrettyShyBoy,” Spencer read, flushing. “Oh, come on.”

Morgan peeked into the room. “Did I lie?”

“I’m not shy.”

“Oh, with how much you’ve been blushing recently he won’t know the difference.”

“Shut up-”

“I need you to come up with a bio,” Garcia said, interrupting him. “It’s better that you do it.”

Spencer sighed and took her place when she got up. “Do you all have to watch?”

“Oh, flustered, are we?”

“Morgan, leave him alone,” Hotch said for the hundredth time that week. “Let’s give him some space. We can look through the bio once you’re done just to make sure it works, but I trust that you know what you’re doing, Reid.”

“Thank you.” Spencer straightened as they left the room. “A bio. Right. Uh.” He tapped his fingertips on the desk. “Guys, do I look like a college student?” he called out, getting a collective yes back. “Right. Thanks.”

20. Shy college student looking for like-minded people.

Hmm, maybe a bit generic, but he was supposed to be a regular shy guy, after all.

Inexperienced lee just wanting to talk.

He’d done his research on tickling as a kink and found a rather fascinating community. He could imagine who he’d be in it. Shy and inexperienced and wanting to be on the receiving end.

Hypothetically, of course.

He erased what he’d written and rewrote it. Shy, inexperienced 20-year-old lee looking to chat to like-minded people. Better. More concise and less repeating.

“It’s not much,” he said when the others returned. “But I think it’s better to keep it short, no?”

“It’s great,” Hotch said, reading it over. “Straight to the point. Appealing enough. It’s good that you added an age and inexperienced. The UnSub’s probably looking for control and it will be easy controlling someone of this background.”

“I didn’t add it, but I named myself Oli. It seems regular enough for a shy college guy.”

“It’s perfect. I think we’re ready to start.”

Everyone but Spencer, Morgan and Prentiss left and Spencer set to work, connecting to TheFeatherFrontier immediately. The connections were random, but Garcia had worked her magic for them.

‘Hi,’ The FeatherFrontier wrote instantly. He was online.

Spencer took a breath. ‘Hi..’

TheFeatherFrontier: Are you new here?

PrettyShyBoy: Yes. Are you?

TheFeatherFrontier: Not really. Been around a while.

PrettyShyBoy: I see..

Spencer shook his head, unable to decide if Oli would be so shy he would be this short, or if he would be trying desperately. He should’ve profiled this fake persona before using him. It might cause him problems.

PrettyShyBoy: Do you like it? This forum I mean.

TheFeatherFrontier: Oh yes. It’s very nice. It’s fun talking to like-minded people.

PrettyShyBoy: Oh that’s great! I was a bit nervous joining.

TheFeatherFrontier: Haha

TheFeatherFrontier: You have nothing to be nervous about :) 

“Ew.”

“What?” Morgan and Prentiss peeked their heads into the room, having obviously been lurking just outside.

“Nothing. He just gives me bad vibes.”

“Let me read.”

“It’s really nothing yet,” Spencer said, but turned the computer toward them anyway. “I think it might also just be me knowing what he’s doing.”

“He- oh, he wrote again.” Prentiss turned the computer back toward him.

TheFeatherFrontier: Sorry. Did I scare you off?

“He’s impatient,” Spencer said. “Better not keep him waiting until we’ve got his attention.”

PrettyShyBoy: No no! Don’t worry :)

PrettyShyBoy: I’m just. Well.

PrettyShyBoy: Shy.

PrettyShyBoy: Heh.

“Nice,” Prentiss said. “Have Oli ramble to showcase it.”

TheFeatherFrontier: Oh, you are, huh?

TheFeatherFrontier: I bet you’re really ticklish.

Spencer, even though it made no sense, blushed. “Oh my god. You guys gotta leave now.”

Morgan peeked at the screen and laughed. “All right, all right, call for us if you need help.”

PrettyShyBoy: Maybe a little…

TheFeatherFrontier: Oh, I’m sure it’s more than just a little, right pretty boy?

Spencer frowned. He didn’t like that the UnSub stole Morgan’s nickname for him, even though it was technically in his username.

PrettyShyBoy: I’ve never really gotten properly tickled… but I think so heh.

TheFeatherFrontier: What’s your worst spot?

Spencer hummed. He really was making no effort in being conversational.

PrettyShyBoy: Maybe my belly…

TheFeatherFrontier: Mmm I’d love to tickle you there. Tie you up, stretch you out real good and go to town on your defenseless belly.

TheFeatherFrontier: Make you scream with no one to hear.

Spencer nearly exited the chat. How the hell had this guy not gotten caught yet with how blatantly obvious he was being?

PrettyShyBoy: That sounds a bit intense…

TheFeatherFrontier: Oh, but I’d stop once you asked me to of course.

PrettyShyBoy: Oh right :) 

PrettyShyBoy: Well, then I guess I should tell you about my feet…

He’d tickled all his victims’ feet for a long time, so they’d pieced it together that it was probably his favorite spot to torture.

TheFeatherFrontier: Mmm what about them, pretty boy?

PrettyShyBoy: I can barely stand having them touched…

PrettyShyBoy: Let alone tickled…

TheFeatherFrontier: We’d definitely need a safe word for those, huh?

PrettyShyBoy: Definitely heh.

Spencer rubbed the bridge of his nose. He wasn’t entirely sure when to stop, but it seemed too early still.

PrettyShyBoy: How else would you tickle me…?

TheFeatherFrontier: I’m glad you asked.

TheFeatherFrontier: First I’d make sure you were securely tied. Maybe even blindfolded to keep an element of surprise.

Spencer twitched. All his victims had been blindfolded.

TheFeatherFrontier: Would you like that?

PrettyShyBoy: Yes…

Spencer spent half an hour reading about how this stranger would tickle him to half death, feeling a conflicting disgusted and strangely intrigued. Not that he actually wanted this man to do this to him, but…

Well, that was a morning Spencer problem, he decided, feeling confused by his own thoughts.

He logged off only once Morgan and Prentiss had read through the chat and TheFeatherFrontier had become semi-aggressive.

*

“I’m so tired,” Prentiss whined for the tenth time that day, her complaints being echoed by Morgan and Spencer. “I deserve a raise.”

Morgan snorted. “Reid deserves the raise I would say.”

Spencer groaned into the table where he was currently resting his head. “I know right,” he mumbled.

“You’ve all done great,” Hotch said semi-distractedly, glancing over the chat which had been saved to Garcia’s computer. “I think his interest has been piqued.”

“Mmm. I especially enjoyed the part where Reid was forced to ask him how he’d tickle his-”

“Okay!” Spencer exclaimed. “Hotch can read that for himself.”

Morgan laughed. “All right, testy.”

“It makes me feel ticklish just thinking about it,” Garcia muttered from where she was standing behind Hotch.

Morgan gasped. “Baby girl,” he sang. “Don’t tell me you’re ticklish too?”

Garcia huffed. “Oh, come on, sugar shack, as if I don’t know about your-”

“Hey, hey!”

Spencer raised his head to grin at him. “What is this I’m hearing, Morgan?”

“You shut up, nerd, I know you’re worse than all of us combined.”

“This is a strange week,” JJ said, appearing with a pile of papers. “Copies of the chat, just in case,” she explained.

“Good thinking,” Gideon said, taking them from her. “God, I hate cases where we have to wait for the UnSub to come to us.”

“At least we can tickle Reid in the meantime, huh?”

Spencer jerked away when Morgan made a move to squeeze his knee. “Stop.”

“Never. Too fun. Now stay still.”

“Hotch, he’s doing it again- no!”

Only this time Hotch merely glanced back at them and said, “I don’t have anything for you to do right now anyway, so you’re free to play.”

Spencer gasped. “Traitor- Derek!”

“Oh, first name basis,” Prentiss teased, but Spencer’s own panicked giggling overpowered her as Morgan grabbed for his knees again, this time managing to latch onto them for long enough to squeeze just above the knee cap.

Spencer tried to kick him off. “No, come on, I’m tired, please don’t-”

“I’m just waking you up. You should be thanking me, really.”

“JJ, help!”

“Oh, no. Not getting involved in this one, sorry, Spence.”

Morgan moved upward, poking and prodding at his torso, and Spencer found he was very much trapped against his chair. “I’m dying.”

“Drama queen.”

“Emily, help!”

Prentiss, unlike the rest of the room, didn’t seem to mind getting involved at all, and Spencer’s laughter was soon joined in by Morgan’s indignant, “Hey, no!”

“I knew you were ticklish,” Prentiss cheered, and despite Morgan’s sudden laughter it took him a moment to stop torturing Spencer anyway, so by the time Spencer was able to compose himself Morgan had fled with Prentiss at his heels.

“Aw, man, I missed it,” he pouted, sitting up. “Where did she get him? Guys? Hello?”

Hotch sighed. “This is gonna be a long case.”

*

“Sorry, Spence, you’ll have to find that out for yourself.”

Spencer huffed. “You know he’ll just tickle me before I can even try.”

“He is sitting right here, you know,” Morgan said, kicking him lightly under the table.

Prentiss let out a laugh and took a bite of her pizza. They’d left the office early, making a show out of entering the apartment together so that it would be obvious that Morgan would be staying behind for an hour or so on his own. They didn’t expect the UnSub to show up that day, and so they would do the same thing the next. Hopefully he would act quickly so that they could close this mess of a case soon.

“Statistically most men are ticklish under their arms, upper ribs and feet, and seeing as you probably didn’t get his feet while he was standing and in shoes, my best guess is his underarms since he had his arms extended while he was tickling me.”

“So why so curious if you have a theory?”

“Well, theories have to be proven right too,” he muttered, throwing a piece of pizza crust at Morgan who promptly threw it back. “Come on, let me try.”

“That’s not how that works, genius.”

“Just once. You’ve already tickled me like three times today and I don’t know if I can handle another.”

“I’ll make it four if you don’t stop pestering me.”

“Emily.” Spencer turned toward her. “I will tickle you unless you tell me.”

Prentiss raised her eyebrows. “Oho, making threats now?”

“I technically don’t know if you’re even ticklish, but most people are.”

“Do I look like most people to you?”

“Reid, it’s a trap, don’t answer that.”

She grabbed the crust off Spencer’s plate and threw it at Morgan. “Behave or I’ll tell him.”

“Hey, hey, I’m always nice, aren’t I?”

“No,” Spencer and Prentiss said in unison.

Morgan frowned. “You’re asking for round four now, pretty boy. Better be careful or I’ll be looming over you during your whole chat with Mr Feather.”

“TheFeatherFrontier,” Spencer corrected him unnecessarily.

“Yeah, yeah. Oh.” Morgan’s phone started ringing. “It’s Hotch. Hey, you’re on speaker.”

“Have you guys finished eating?”

“Just about.”

“Good. I’ve enrolled Reid and Prentiss in a yoga class. That way you have a specific place to go in case he would happen to keep track of you and actually is thorough enough to look up your fake names in the system. You obviously don’t have to attend, but I’ve enrolled you for the next three days. That way he has a time limit to act during. The studio is located next to a library, which you can enter from inside the building as well. I figured you might not actually want to attend the class.”

“Good thinking.”

“I was kind of excited to,” Spencer said.

Morgan snorted. “I’d like to see you do a downward facing dog.”

“Look at you coming through with the yoga terms.” Prentiss patted his arm. “I’m almost impressed.”

“Oh yeah? I can do better than that. Chaturanga.”

Prentiss shivered. “Stop, I’m not used to feeling impressed.”

“Focus, guys,” Hotch said dejectedly. “The class starts in 30 minutes, so I suggest you get going. It’s one hour long.” And then, as an afterthought, “Good luck and thank you.” He hung up.

Prentiss turned to Spencer. “Looks like we’ll be hanging in the library this afternoon.”

Spencer stood. “I’ll bring a book.”

*

“I’m gonna use the computer.”

“I thought you said you brought a book?”

“Just for a bit. I want to look something up and I’m not sure they have books on it.”

“Are you gonna talk to TheFeatherFrontier?”

“Oh no. Not here. Besides, if our theories are correct he won’t be online anyway. And for us to connect twice would be suspicious.”

“Okay, well.” Prentiss pointed to the part of the library where you could find couches lining the walls. “I’ll be over there napping.”

Spencer picked the computer which was located in the far back of the library, hidden behind shelves of topics so obscure Spencer could only imagine one single person to be walking them (and that was himself). He felt silly. It wasn’t like he’d not done research on it both at home and at work, but that had been for the sake of the case. This was personal, even though he’d been pretending it wasn’t.

Taking a deep breath he typed in tickling and hit search.

And boy the things he found.

*

He had to admit it was nicer to be staying at this apartment when he wasn’t forced to sit in front of a chat room for half the night. Gideon, Hotch, Garcia and JJ had come over for a couple of drinks, even though they all had work the next day, but so far neither of them seemed to be regretting it.

“Baby girl, truth or dare.”

“Mmm, dare.”

“Read us your latest sent text.”

“Oh my, hot stuff, that could be dangerous.” She took out her phone, grinning devilishly at the screen. “My latest text says ‘Perfect, sounds good’.”

Morgan clicked his tongue. “Boring. Who did you send it to?”

“Nuh uh. Not your turn. But I’ll bite. Sugar, truth or dare.”

“Dare, duh.”

“I dare you to show us your last sent text.”

“Now that’s vengeful behavior, Garcia.”

“We’re waiting, Morgan,” Prentiss said, tapping her imaginary watch on her wrist.

“Fine. Okay.” He grabbed his phone, his face forming into a frown when he looked at it. “Oh, no, that’s too much even for me. I’ll take my punishment,” he said over everyone booing. “Pour me my shot.”

“Weak, weak!” Garcia said, but poured him his shot anyway. “Bottoms up.”

Morgan grimaced as he swallowed. “Gross. Okay. Pretty boy,” he purred, grinning. “Truth or dare.”

Spencer thought for a moment before saying, “Truth.”

“Do you have any fetishes?”

“Oh my god, Morgan.”

“What?” Morgan turned to Prentiss, holding out his hands. “We’re off the clock technically.”

Spencer, flushing the entire time, said, “I don’t know.”

“That’s not a good answer.”

“It’s good enough for the way you phrased your question.”

“Oh, we need to get you laid, Spence.”

Spencer rolled his eyes. “All right, my turn. Emily. Truth or dare.”

“Hmm, truth.”

“Where did you tickle Morgan?”

“You’re still going on about that?” Morgan asked incredulously.

Spencer shrugged. “I don’t like being excluded.”

Prentiss was busy doubling over with laughter, so Morgan had time to reach over and squeeze Spencer’s thigh a couple of times. “I’m starting to think you’re ticklish everywhere, kid,” he said as Spencer did a lovely imitation of Emily.

“You’re gonna have him scared of being around you soon,” he heard Gideon say, something amused in his voice which made Spencer blush all the more.

“Good. I like it when he’s squirmy.”

“That doesn’t sound right,” JJ said with a laugh.

“Not my fault you guys have dirty minds.”

Spencer managed to grab Morgan’s hand. “Em, answer the question.”

“His ribs.”

“Ah, so I was right.”

“Didn’t you guess armpits?”

“I said either ribs or armpits.”

“I don’t remember that.”

“Either way-” Spencer threw himself over Morgan, knowing that was his only way of actually getting even an ounce of revenge. “-payback’s a bitch.”

“Did you just swear- woah, woah, no, you don’t!”

Morgan tried, he really did, but Spencer had managed to latch onto his rib cage with both hands and was wiggling his fingers over it. Combine that with the booze in Morgan’s system and he was laughing within seconds. It was quite refreshing to be on the other side of it for once, Spencer realized, although he wouldn’t say he minded being the victim either.

Anyway.

“Emily, you traitor!”

“It’s truth or dare, Derek, I can’t be blamed.”

“Oh my god, Morgan, watch the coffee table!”

“Garcia, help!”

“This is an interesting turn of events.”

“Hotch, help!”

“I’m sure you can handle this by yourself.”

*

“Hey.”

Spencer swung around, coming face to face with Morgan. “Please no revenge,” he begged.

Morgan laughed. “Nah, it’s late so you’re good. But maybe Gideon’s right. I seem to be making you nothing but jumpy. Sorry about that.”

Spencer shrugged. “It’s okay.” I don’t mind.

“It’s just.” Morgan shifted from foot to foot, a rare display of nervousness. “You don’t really, you know. Let loose much. It’s fun seeing you let go, even if I have to force it out of you,” he added with a grin.

“Oh.” Spencer wasn’t entirely sure how to react. “Well.”

“I can scale down my attacks,” Morgan said. “I won’t fully stop, though.”

“I don’t want you to.”

“What?”

“Stop. I don’t want you to stop.” Spencer averted his gaze, finding the wall of their fake apartment incredibly interesting all of a sudden. “It’s… fun.”

“Oh, Reid,” Morgan said with a sigh. “Look at me.”

“Do I have to?”

Morgan let out a laugh. “I guess not. But hey. It’s fine if you like it, okay?”

“I don’t know if I like it like they like it.” He didn’t mention the people browsing the forum by name, but knew Morgan understood. “But I, uh. This case has kind of… made me realize things. I guess.” He scratched the back of his neck. “I don’t know. I might act upset whenever you do it, but-”

“You actually enjoy it,” Morgan finished for him. “That’s really fucking cute, Reid.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“No, no, I’m not making fun! Come here.” Morgan reached for him, putting his arm around his shoulders when Spencer moved closer. “I like that you like it. It’s fun messing with you, you know? And if you’re also having fun at the same time, all the better.”

“It’s not. I don’t know. Weird?”

“Nah. Tickling’s all about bonding and having fun, after all.” He grinned. “The word flusters you a little, huh?”

Spencer looked away. “Oh my god, shut up.” But he was laughing.

Morgan ruffled his hair. “Come on. Bed time. Quickly before I get your neck. It’s literally right there.”

*

Spencer and Prentiss were at the library when Gideon called them. “We got him.” They raced to the apartment, finding a middle-aged man who wouldn’t take his eyes off of Spencer.

“You’re not that pretty up close,” he muttered and Spencer wasn’t sure whether laughing hysterically when catching an UnSub was acceptable behavior.

“He totally lied,” Prentiss said, placing a hand on his shoulder blade. “You’re, like, really pretty.”

“Morgan overpowered him before he managed to tie him up,” Hotch explained to them. “We got it all on tape too.”

Spencer exhaled. “It’s done.”

“Well, almost. Interviews.”

“He’s guilty,” Morgan said. “At the very least for breaking and entering.”

The next few days were a whirl of interviews and paperwork, and Spencer found he’d not been tickled since the day before they caught him and he was having withdrawals.

Weird.

“You seem deep in thought.”

Spencer turned to look at Gideon. “I am.”

He smiled, gentle, patient. “Anything you want to share?”

Spencer shook his head. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Well, now you’re making me curious.” He approached him, arms crossed. “I won’t push,” he added. “But I’m here if you want to talk.”

“I know.” Spencer smiled briefly at him, wondering if it would be weird to share what he’d already shared with Morgan with someone he considered a mentor and not simply a friend. Was that overstepping? Was this weird to even be talking about? “This case,” he started, rubbing his neck. “It, uh. Well, it- I’m sure you’ve noticed Morgan torturing me.”

Gideon chuckled. “It’s been hard to miss, yes.”

Spencer felt the now all too familiar blush spread over his cheeks. “Right. It, uh. It’s made me realize that I-”

Gideon tilted his head. “Enjoy it?”

“Oh my god, is it obvious?”

“Not necessarily.”

“But we’re profilers?”

“No, it’s not that. You just seem.” Gideon shrugged. “Happier.”

Spencer blinked. “Happier.”

“Yes. Jumpier, yes, but I’ve enjoyed seeing this side of you. Of all of you. Everyone’s much more playful and I think it’s needed, especially now.” Gideon patted his arm. “I’ve not necessarily been suspecting anything-”

“It’s not a fetish!” Spencer found himself blurting out.

Gideon held up his hands. “I didn’t think it was.”

“Not that there’s anything wrong with it.”

“Of course not.”

“I just. It’s fun.”

“I can tell.” Spencer averted his eyes. “Don’t be embarrassed. I like seeing you happy, you know. All of you.”

“Is everyone else also happy?”

“Oh, very. Even the ones who aren’t joining in. It’s making things seem easier.”

“Okay.”

“I sense there’s something else you want to say.”

Spencer flushed even more, finding it hard to remember a time where he wasn’t blushing this frequently. “It’s nothing.”

“Reid.”

“Really, it’s silly.”

“Reid,” Gideon said again, this time with a laugh. “I won’t judge, and you clearly have something on your mind.”

“Well, it’s just that. We’ve not had fun in a few days. Oh god, that sounds ridiculous. I’m leaving.”

“No, no, I understand what you’re saying. Wait here.” Gideon left the room, reappearing a moment later with a grinning Morgan in tow.

“I heard you’ve missed my hands on you, pretty boy.”

Spencer decided to be embarrassed about it all afterward.

[symbolsought]

 All  right,  so  here  is  the  Toshinori  /  All  Might  headcanon  /  info  drop  for  now.  Since  he's  a  new  to  me  and  I've  literally  never  had  a  Sunshine  Boy  Tm  for  a  muse  before, some  things  maaaybe  subject  to  change  as  I  think  more  about  them  and  as  I  get  more  of  a  handle  on  him  /  my  portrayal  of  him.  

From  what  I  know  and  what  I  can  find  we've  been  given  NEXT  TO  NO  INFO  on  Toshinori  as  a  character  outside  of  the  bare  basics  which  is  wild  to  me  so  I've  gone  a  little  insane  over  it,  don't  mind  me.  

First  things  first,  I've  decided  Toshinori  is  part  American,  probably  on  his  father's  side.  Which,  I  think  kind  of  explains  a  lot  of  his  aesthetic.  Out  of  universe,  he's  suppose  to  be  heavily  inspired  by  American  comic  book  heroes,  which  is  why  he  looks  and  acts  the  way  he  does  but  I  don't  really  think  Toshinori  is  just  a  Japanese  dude  who  was  fetishized  America  or  anything.  He  has  a  reason  to  be  so  interested  in  the  country and culture,  imo.  So  yeah,  in  universe,  I'm  gonna  be  saying  Toshinori  is  biracial,  American  on  his  father's  side  and  Japanese  on  his  mother's  side,  and  that's  also  why  he  chose  America  as  the  place  to  move to  when  he  graduated  from  UA  high.  (  Pretty  sure  there  was  no  in  universe  explanations  for  why  America  beyond  The  Aesthetic  )  

I  haven't  decided  exactly  what  happened  to  Toshinori's  parents.  I'll probably go with the idea that they  were  never  married,  however,  and  Toshinori  was  born  and  raised  in  Japan  up  until  graduation.  Whatever  the  case  may  be,  I  feel  he  never  really  knew  his  father  to  begin  with  and  probably  lost  his  mother  quite  young  in  some  type  of  tragedy.   I'm  probably  also  gonna  say  Nana  reminded  him  of  his  real  mother  and  Nana  probably  stumbled  on  Toshinori  pretty  young,  so  ultimately  they  filled  voids  in  each  other,  with  Nana  having to  "cut  ties"  with  her  biological  son  and  family  to  protect  them  and  again, Toshinori  probably  having  lost  his  mother  to  some  crime/villain  related  tragedy  hence  possibly being  part  of  the  drive  in  him  to  become  a  "symbol  of  peace" and protect people.  We  know  Toshinori  claimed  he  thought  of  Nana  as  if  she  were  his  actual  mother,  and  I  think  she  shared  the  same  sentiments  for  him  given  everything.  

Anyways,  I  don't  have  super  extensive  details  for  Toshi's  pre-All  Might  background  beyond  that,  mainly  cos  I  am  kinda  hoping  we  eventually  get  something  /  more  from  canon.  So  for  now  those  are  the  concepts  I'm  working  with because I still gotta have something to draw off.

Now  as  for  Toshinori's  "personal  life"  I'm  about  to  speculate  something  brave  here  and  say  my  boy  might  be  gay.  I  say  this  for  no  other  reason  than  it  feels  fitting  given  what  I've  been  observing  of  him  so  far. I  mean,  we  know  Toshinori  has  no  children  or  wife  or  love  interests  to  speak  of  despite  his  status,  which  is  a  little  unusual  to  say  the  least ( That being said we also know the insane situation with AFO so that does factor as well, IMO )  But, we've  seen  he's  insanely  popular  with  women,  yet  on  top  of  this  he  never  seems  to  return  their  interest  in  any  way  we've  seen  beyond  being  polite  to  them and posing for them in his All Might persona.  Once  again,  even  though  we  know  Toshinori  is  a  humble  and  well  mannered  guy  his  apparent  disinterest  in  women  romantically/sexually,  and  the  complete  lack  of  any  female  love  interests  and  his  insanely  private  /  hidden  /  mysterious  personal  life  feels  to  support  this  idea. ( ONCE AGAIN, I know AFO's existence def factors in, I've done the math, so to speak. )   Moreover, though,  we  do  know  Toshinori  has  had  an  extremely  close  relationship  with  his  "best  friend"  David  Shield  and  tbfh,  the  homosexual  activity  radar  spikes  when  they're  around  each  other,  I  know  gay  subtext-nearly-text  when  I  see  it.   Toshinori  may  say  he's  a  hugger,  but  I'm  not  sure  we've  seen  him  back  that  up  until  David, or at least, not on the same level because  it  wasn't  even  just  a  hug  it  was  a  barrels  over  to  him  at  full  speed, lifts him up and swings him around in the air like the shit was pretty much romantic. They were genuinely acting like reunited lovers.  Then  we  have  the  fact  David  calls  him  "Toshi"  affectionately  and  Toshinori  calls  David  "Dave"  in  return  (  as  if  thats  not  the  cutest  thing,  actually.  ) It  was  also  implied  David's  marriage  may  not  have  lasted,  given  all  we  know  is  he  was  married apparently ( Seemingly  at  some  point  after  Toshinori  moved  back  to  Japan ? )  and  the  marriage  produced  a  daughter,  but  the  wife  is  pretty  much  a  complete  unknown,  and  tbh  imagine  being  David's  wife  and  your  husband's  phone  background/lock  screen  is  a  picture  of  his  "best  friend"  and  not  even  an  official  promotional  All  Might  fan  type  picture,  its  a  canid  of  him  from  back  when  were  in  college,  like,  please,  it  would  make  a  whole  lot  of  sense  of  things.  Not  to  mention  the  fact  David  ALSO  knows  about  Toshinori's  true  form,  his  injuries,  etc,  and  they've  been  in  near constant long distance  contact  with  each  other  no  matter  what.  ( He's also still the man who designs Toshi's suits as far as we know )

They're  actually  adorable,  ok,  but  this  is  just  an  interesting  observation  here.  I'm not saying its intentionally canon or anything bc I'm gay and I Know Better than to think a popular Japanese Shonen type anime is likely to depict a main and influential character like All Might as a gay man but -All Might Voice- Thats why I Am Here. I would be REALLY shocked if this isn't a ship in the fandom because fr. So,  moving  on  and  back  to  "All  Might".  All  Might  really  isn't  just  Toshinori's  superhero  code-name,  it  really  is  an  entire  persona  /  identity  of  its  own.  Much  about  it,  aside  from  Toshinori's  spirit,  is  false, its mostly an act,  from  the  way  "All  Might"  talks  and  looks,  to  some  of  the  way  he  behaves  as  well,  and  I  don't  think  the  reason  for  that  is  hard  to  understand.   Not  only  is  All  Might  sort  of  "created"  by  Toshinori  to  be  the  most  "ideal"  hero  but  he  also  serves  to  protect  a  lot  of  Toshinori's  identity  given  the  entire  thing  with  One  for  All  and  All  for  One  which  again is  another  reason  for  the  fact  that  Toshinori  seems  to  lack  of  much  of  a  personal  life,  especially  inside  of  Japan  where  AFO  could  and  would  do  anyone  too  close  to  All  Might  extreme  harm.  David  being  largely  spared  from  this   problem DUE  to  remaining  in  America.   Needless  to  say,  Nana's  murder  in  front  of  him  left  Toshinori  deeply  scared  and  he  was  pretty  much  ordered  by  Sorahiko  to  hide,  even  going  as  far  as  telling  him  to  leave  the  country.   So,  as  he  was  preparing  to  move  to  America,  Troshinori  "reinvented"  his  All  Might  persona  in  every  way  and  cultivated  it  into  the  All  Might  we  know  now,  before  returning  to  Japan  after  many  years  to  continue  making  a  name  for  himself  and  eventually  facing  off  against  AFO.  I  also  consider  Toshi  to  have  been  a  fan  of  American  comic  books  and  the  campy,  larger  than  life  heroes  found  within  them,  due  to  the  joy  and  laugher  they  tended  to  bring,  so  whats  true  for  his  out-of-universe  inspo  is  also  true  for  his  in  universe  inspo  in  creating  his  "All  Might  persona".   But  of  course,  the  constant  smile  was  largely  Nana's  idea.  Because  of  Nana's  words  Toshinori  explained  that  he  smiles  even  when  (  or  perhaps  especially  when  )  he's  anxious  or  scared  which  means  even  All  Might's  iconic  smile  is  "false"  in  many  ways.  Just not in spirit. Everything about All Might was suppose to be comforting, protective and reassuring to everyone, but its also comforting, reassuring and protective to Toshinori himself. Anyway,  I'm  pretty  sure  we've  still  never  got  to  see  the  original  battle  between  All  Might  and  AFO,  but  god  I'd  like  to.  I  wonder  if  AFO  instantly  realized  that  All  Might  was  that  kid  who's  mother/mentor  he  murdered  in  front  of  him  all  those  years  ago  or  if  it  took  him  a  sec  given  the  difference  in  All  Might  back  then  vs  All  Might  when  they  eventually  came  head  to  head  again  years  later.  I  hope  we  get  to  see  their  original  battle  at  some  point,  it'd  be  so  metal  its  unreal.  

[anonymouspng]

Crush Story * . °•★

"Oh my gosh, he's your first love!"

I don't know if I'd call it love exactly. It's definitely different though. We'd been in the same class for 6 years and for at least 5, I never really looked his way. If I'm really being honest, he was more of a background character in my life. I knew he was pretty smart, good at sports and a semi-quiet person. I'd known multiple girls who'd likes him throughout high school, some being my friends. I'd always have the same response:

"I can see why you'd like him(???)...but personally no."

That was until September 1st of 2023 came. It was the first day of Spring and we'd gone on a school trip. To cut a long story short, I noticed him for the first time. He just seemed like a genuinely nice person to everyone and that's not a trait I usually see on guys. Added brownie points was when he listened me ramble about One Piece. I asked him if he watched the live action (which came out the night before) and it spiralled into me confessing my a tldr of my 6-year long obsession and emotional connection to Luffy and his adventures. Full eye contact, laughing and smiling along, listening to what I had to say as if it had value. I know that that's literally the bare basics of human decency but that kinda tugged something in my heart. It wouldn't be until a few weeks later where I'd reallyyy fallen head over heels. Meanwhile, he carried on with his life without a clue.

When it came to crushes, I'd rarely ever tell multiple people about it. The only time I did was before this guy and even then, only one friend knew. However, this time I decided to tell a handful of friends. I didn't do this just to have more people to gush to. I'm not exactly someone who feels comfortable fishing about a person out loud. I just find it embarrassing and feel super pathetic about it. I told them because I wanted to get comfortable with vulnerability and had really been thinking about future relationships, both romantic and platonic.

At the time, my crush on this guy had calmed down from the usual obsessive, heartbreak type to just a slow, quiet type of crush. This was the first time I'd experience something like this and I've gotta say, it's really nice. I didn't feel the need to pressure myself to make moves or play mind games trying to get him to like me. Rather I enjoyed when we had short conversations about literally nothing every now and then. It would really make my day.

When I told them, I was scared of getting completely obliterated in the lighthearted way that friends make fun. There was no reason to feel scared about it but it still freaked me out. They surprisingly were really receptive and supportive though which made me feel happy. This is also where the word 'love' first enters the picture.

Now. Do I really believe it to be love? Absolutely not. I barely know the guy to be frank. Is it a nice idea to ruminate on? Yeah, it is. I'd like to think that after so long, having had crushes filled with anxiety, insecurity and regret, I'd finally found 'the one'. But that's just not really realistic and I hate building my hopes up just to have them torn down once more. I've been and am still in this cycle of 'he loves me, he loves me not, he loves me' jargon. I'm sick of being hurt by my own feelings at this point.

But maybe there's a shot? I'd like to think there is. Regardless of where anything happens or not, I'm doing my best to leave it up to God. This crush has been such a new experience for me. I'd never considered or seen myself in a relationship. Especially since I come from a background where marriage has developed to become a scary decision. Yet with him, I have actually considered a future. And, unlike past crushes, I've really prayed about this. Not to make it work but I've prayed to God to open my eyes and give me wisdom and clarity. This is a season of life and there's something to learn here. It's easy to get swept in my emotions and obsessions but it's ultimately about the lesson rather than the outcome. And so far I've learnt a couple of things:

1. Feelings are a beautiful thing. It's hard to see crushes and attraction as a positive thing, especially when you've had bad experiences, but Ive realised it's one of the many emotions God has blessed us with. And to think that this feeling of attraction is a very small reflection of how God feels towards us makes it all the more better.

2. I've learnt the types of values and traits I want in a partner.

Like I mentioned, marriage has been a pretty scary idea yet one I desire. I want to have a partner to love and care for, as well as to be loved and cared for myself. Before, I'd never really thought about what exactly I'm looking for. But after this crush, I definitely have a better picture. Even more so, I now know that there are better people out there than the ones Ive encountered. People who are genuine and self-motivated. It feels like God's giving me hope that He has better things in store than what I think I'm going to end up with.

One last thing I want to touch on is the idea of feeling inspired by others. I'm almost 99% sure that it'll never work out and I bet future me will cringe when looking at this but I do feel inspired just by thinking about him. Some usually say that the people that really matter to you inspire you. For whatever reason, despite how distant we are in actuality, he inspires me to be a better person. Not really to appeal to him, but more so for myself. I not only want to feel more accomplished within my own life, but when I have a husband, I want to be able to take care of him. I want to be a better person for my husband. The person that God has ordained for him. His missing rib.

We'll see where it goes though. I'm doing my best to trust that God's got this. Im super grateful for this season though. I've done a lot of maturing and growing up so far and this will only continue. Another reason to keep moving forward and have hope ❤️

I'll leave you with the verses Jeremiah 29:11 and Ecclesiastes 3:11 cause these really fit with the idea of hope for the future and patience in God's timing for things.

[lilyharvord]

Loved your response to the Julian and Sara wedding ask. Your vision of their wedding is so perfect for them and sweet. Now, what do you think Ptolemus and Wren's wedding was like? Thank you for taking the time to answer ❤

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED!!!!

Alright, so listen to me... its a... uh... how do I put this?....It's a *cocks shotgun* wedding. For people who don't understand this reference... it's a "shotgun" wedding, aka getting married very quickly cause the girl is pregnant kind of thing.

It's a little bigger than Sara and Julian's wedding. Cal is at that one, but Mare is not for obvious reasons. It's very subtle and sweet. They get married in the People's Assembly Hall (cause they ask for one of the assembly members to do it so the wedding can be lawful). Wren wears a very simple slip dress. Plain, white crushed silk. She looks heavenly in it. No veil, just her natural hair haloing her face. She glows. (Pregnancy glow does wonders for her complexion). Eve and Elane act as witnesses, Cal is there because Ptolemus asks him quietly to be there a few days before and sort of sheepishly and awkwardly. They were "friends" before, but after everything he isn't sure where they stand. Cal is more than happy to come, clapping him on the shoulder when he asks, congratulating him and agreeing whole heartedly to be there. A couple other people come, mostly people Wren works with in the little health center where she has taken up work. Ptolemus wears a super simple military suit. Montfort green of course. Evangeline looks at it and tries not to grimace because it makes his complexion look pale or sickly. But Wren sees him in it and runs her hands up the arms and smiles up at him, telling him in her quiet voice how much she loves the color on him, how well it complements his hair, yak yak yak. Eve walks away actually grimacing cause public displaces of affection like that are disgusting.

The ceremony is very simple, rings, vows (ptolemus pricks his finger with a blade and Wren cups his hand like it's a wounded bird and heals it-> kinda like when Iris and Maven canceled each others abilities out in their own wedding), a very short, sweet kiss. And its done, they're married.

They all go to a little dinner afterward, just the close friends (aka Cal, Eve, Elane, Ptolemus, and Wren). They sit and talk about the past a little bit, about how strange all of this is and how they never could have foreseen it happening. It gets quiet at one point because they all get sort of... reminiscent about the past, about the people they were kind of thing. Then Eve brings up something Ptolemus did when he was younger that was stupid, and it quickly becomes a game of "remember when?" And they end up staying up and a laughing for hours. Then Ptolemus and Wren leave to go home, and he sweeps her off her feet and carries her across the threshold cause it's cute and they're really cute.

[thewhovianknows]

Ok I just finished the wilds season 2

Obviously some spoilers ahead

I liked it. I did. But it wasn’t as well done as the first season. It didn’t feel as smart as the first season did. And I think a lot of that falls to the boys and the splitting of time. In the first season, we spent every minute with the girls. Every character, even the ones who already knew each other, got a detailed and specific background that we saw. As such, we came to know and understand them incredibly well. We KNOW the girls. We get them. We understand their nuances. And that’s something we just don’t get with the boys. The flashback episodes have multiple people’s stories combined, so we never learn even close to as much as we did about the girls, if anything. We know next to nothing about Kieran, or Seth’s step brother, whose name I can’t remember, which was also an issue. It took ages for me to remember the boys’ names, with the exception of Raf, because we barely spent enough time with them to know them. Like Leah in season one, he was our eyes in, but unlike Leah, he wasn’t solving the mystery that we the viewers wanted the answer to.

Which leads me to the ACTUAL biggest problem with season 2, and with the boys in general: they don’t motivate the greater overarching plot forward. In all of season 1, and season 2, the girls are actively getting closer to figuring out what’s going on. Even when this is surrounded by other activities and crisees, there is a driving force behind their actions and their time on screen. The boys are not doing that. They are not solving the mystery, and we, the audience, already know they impoded, if not exactly why. And so as the episodes move forward through season 2, every second spent with the girls feels vitally important, both because they’re characters we know and love AND because the plot is actually moving. Which is why (as many other people have also said), every minute with the boys feels like time wasted. Time we could be using to be figuring out what is actually going on, time that could be spent furthering the season one plot, which is only ever moving forward when we’re with the girls. In all honesty, we could’ve learned about the boys’ story and what happened on their island in 2 sentences of expository dialogue and the plot would remain exactly as is in the season 2 finale. And that’s how you know they weren’t used effectively. In every episode, I found myself just desperately waiting for the girls to come back so we could actually get going. The boys story just….wasn’t important, and you could feel it. It dragged. It was extraneous. They needed to either be given the same care and attention as the girls, and actively be working towards something that drove the plot forward, or they needed to have just been on screen way less, and made space for the actual plot and the girls. We also spent little to no time with the scientists or behind the scenes in this season at the cost of more time on the beach with the boys. And all of that combined is where I think the general resentment of the boys is coming from. And I don’t think it’s necessarily unwarranted given the way the season was written.

The girls were still great, and felt true to their season 1 characters, though to be fair I haven’t seen season 1 in a while. But really, every time we saw them, it felt a little like they were making cameos. They weren’t on screen long enough for me to determine if they’d developed much from when we last saw them. Even so, they were still more nuanced than the boys. We spent so much time with the boys and somehow still didn’t ever really know them at all. Or at least not even close to as well as we know the girls. I don’t know how they’ll handle them mixed up together in season 3 (assuming it happens). I don’t think anyone will be super thrilled with the inevitable unbalancing that it could create. I guess we’ll see.

Go Leah and Fatin tho, they fricking KILLED it this season, heck yea. All the girls seriously DELIVORED. (The boys kind of felt like they were reciting play monologues all the time for some reason. Anyone else feel that?)

Despite all of this, I’m still invested in the actual story. So I’ll still be tuning in to season 3 in like a year or whenever if it happens. Ok rant over.

[rebeccccccaaa]

ᴘʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴄᴇ ᴍᴀᴋᴇs ᴘᴇʀғᴇᴄᴛ

_______________________________

ᴘᴇᴛᴇʀ ᴘᴀʀᴋᴇʀ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ (𝟷𝟾+)

ʀᴇǫᴜᴇsᴛᴇᴅ: (ANON) Soft romantic Valentine’s Day sex with Peter, bonus points if it’s their first time.. or maybe their first Valentine’s Day being married 🥺🥺🥺🥺 (since it’s way past v-day, i did like a tony’s gala/charity party thing hope that’s ok)

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs: smut 18+, super fluffy and silly smut, virginsssss

Tw: harassment/sexual assault

ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ’s ɴᴏᴛᴇs: hey bug I’m still trying to get used to the whole writer thing it’s still a pretty new concept but thank you for being so patient with me! I tried to make this a realistic when it comes to first time sex as possible, it pretty awkward and goofy, a little sudden, but i think it’s pretty cute

________________________________

Peter couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You moved so gracefully between the bodies of rich chatty folk. Now that you both were adults it was mandatory according to Tony that you guys had to attend these things. Peter wished he could go back to when you two would watch Star Wars and play video games up in your room during these boring parties.

“Dude, you gotta just grow a pair and ask her on a date,” Sam interrupted.

“Come on man. It’s not that easy,” he argued.

“Yeah it is; you just go up to her and say, ‘Hey I think you’re hot, I’m in love with you, Let’s fuck’,” Sam joked.

“Hey, no. They’re virgins. They don’t ‘fuck’,” Nat said amusingly. 

“What! No- I- uh,” Peter stammered over his words heavily as Nat, Sam, Bucky and Steve laughed around him; not at him of course, well maybe Sam. 

“Hey man it’s ok,” Steve reassured.

“Yeah, Steve is still a virgin,” Bucky joked, making Steve push him unamused.

“Seriously though, it’s ok having not done anything. Virginity and purity culture is gross and weird and way too fetishized nowadays. You do it when you feel comfortable and with someone you completely trust; and remember just like everything else, practice makes perfect,” Nat winked at Peter, making him blush. 

Peter thought about it and honestly he trusted you the most with his life. It wasn’t a secret that Peter really liked you; well apparently it was a secret to you. He was so in love with you but he was positive you didn’t feel the same way. You were so beautiful there was no way in your right mind that you’d even look in his direction.

You were talking with some douche at the bar. Peter hated how close he was standing to you. He didn’t think he deserved someone as special as you but he certainly knew that someone like that guy didn’t deserve even your attention let alone a conversation. Although looking at it, it seems like you’re just listening and he’s yapping away.

“You’re like one of the hottest bitches I’ve ever met,” the guy slurred.

You’ve been stuck with this guy for the past twenty minutes. Every time you think you could slip away he tugged your arm and pulled you back in. this guy was drunk off his ass and every slurred word went through one ear and out the other. 

“I need to use the restroom, excuse me,” you tried to leave.

“That’s not gonna work on me princess, come here,” he grabbed your waist and you moved your hands between your bodies.

“Hey, what the hell?” Peter said, noticing the commotion between you and that guy.

The guys looked over and saw that you were clearly uncomfortable and none of them were having it. Peter especially was fuming. This guy's hands were all over you and he knows you didn’t let him. His face buried uncomfortably in your neck and your face held a fearful look. Peter stomped through the crowd to help you.

“Hey man, get your hands off of her,” Peter said sternly. 

“Oh, ho, ho. Cute,” the guy mocked.

“Lay off kid. Help a brother out,” he slurred.

“Peter,” you whispered desperately.

“She doesn’t seem interested, so back off,” Peter pushed him. 

“I’m not gonna tell you again, kid. Leave us alone, sometimes women might not say what they want but they always want it,” he growled disgustingly. Peter looked at you and saw nothing but terror and fright; there was no way in hell he was leaving you.

“Hey, man. We’re gonna give you ten seconds to get the fuck out here,” Nat said intimidatingly; but with a man’s misogynistic ego that big he surprisingly didn’t back down.

“Now,” Steve’s voice boomed loudly towering over him.

“What are you gonna about it?” he mocked.

Bucky wasn’t having it either and grabbed his collared-shirt with his metal and dragged him towards the exit. 

“If I ever see your ugly ass face again, I’ll kill you,” Bucky’s voice shook the man and he scurried away.

You looked at Peter and hugged him tightly softly crying into his shoulder. He held you tightly and whispered softly in your ear soothing you. You couldn’t get rid of him and you didn’t want to think about what could’ve happened if Peter and the rest of the guys didn’t help you.

“Sorry, for the ruckus,” you whispered, noticing the people watching confusedly at you guys.

“Don’t be, guy was a total piece of shit. Are you ok?”

“Can we just leave?” you asked him.

“Of course,” Peter held your hand tightly and led towards the elevator.

“Hey kids, you guys ok? Steve told me what happened,” Tony asked you two.

“We’re gonna go upstairs now,” Peter told him quietly.

“Of course,” Tony said remorsefully.

“Kid?” Tony whispered to Peter, “Use protection.”

“Seriously, Mr. Stark?”

“Hey, I’m kidding. I’m kidding; take care of her will ya?”

“Your room or mine?” Peter asked you.

“Yours.”

“Can we watch a movie or something?”

“Yeah.”

Peter gave you his clothes for you to change comfortably in and you went to the bathroom to change. In the meantime Peter too changed into a tight black shirt and sweats. Suddenly he heard the door open slightly and you peeked your head out worriedly.

“Uh Pete,” you called him.

“Is everything alright?”

“The uh, the pants you gave me? They don’t fit,” you whispered shyly.

“Oh no, uh ok hold on,” Peter scurried to find another pair.

You opened the door wider tugging his shirt in holes it might cover your modesty; this was the most undressed you’ve ever been in front of a boy. Peter looked back at you frantically but definitely did a double take seeing your bare legs so exposed. 

“Sorry, I can’t seem to find anything,” he stuttered a bit.

“It’s ok, the shirt’s pretty long,” you tiptoed to the bed covering yourself with the blanket.

“Sorry about you know,” he sat with you.

“It’s ok. I just kinda wish I was more like Nat. You know then maybe I wouldn’t have been in that situation, I’d be able to kick his butt,” you chuckled. But Peter didn’t.

“Hey, you weren’t in that situation because you weren’t physically strong, it was because that guy was the scum of the earth.”

“Thanks, Pete,” you placed your hand on top of his; Peter’s stomach flipped when you did. 

“Peter?” you asked him.

“What?”

“You’re staring,” you smiled.

“Sorry,” he looked away shyly. 

You and Peter sat on the bed as a movie played. It was one of your favorites and you couldn’t help marvel at the best scenes; your laugh was infectious. Peter couldn’t help but ogle at you. He thought you were so beautiful and funny. He wonders why you’ve never had a boyfriend. Any guy would be so lucky to be yours; expect that fucker who put his hands on you

“Y/n?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yeah?”

“Why don’t you have a boyfriend? If you don’t want to answer it’s ok, I realize that probably sounds invasive, and-”

“It’s ok. I uh- I don’t know. I guess guys don’t like me like that? What about you, you haven’t dated since MJ.”

“I- uh, ok uh- Ok you got me there,” he laughed. 

“It’s just I asked because you’re uh, well, it’s no secret you’re very pretty, Y/n. Any guy would be so lucky to be your boyfriend,” Peter blushed.

“Thanks, Peter. I don’t know, guys are just too,” you couldn’t necessarily find the words.

“Obnoxious, irritating, rude, aggressive,” he finished making you laugh. 

“No, well, yes, but I guess the word would be… overbearing. Guys are so pretentious, you know. And not to mention they want everything but the kitchen sink in a girl. And I don’t have that. Guys don’t look at me and think, ‘Wow, she's the most beautiful girl ever. I want to date her’,” you explained with a faint chuckle. 

“I think that,” Peter blurted out.

“Well, then I wish more guys were like you, Peter,” you said smoothly. 

You and Peter both hadn’t realized the space between you two closing in. Your faces were mere inches apart and you both felt hot and flushed, yet neither one of your wanted to pull away. The sound of the movie playing in the background was drowned out for a second but now it was almost as if it was the loudest thing bursting your eardrums. 

You quickly snapped your head back to the TV breathing out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You could see the disappointment on Peter’s face when you did out of the corner of your eye but you didn’t think it was appropriate right now. Besides, the last thing you wanted to do was kiss a boy after what happened downstairs. 

You crawled back and tucked the rest of your body under the sheets and Peter did too. You felt like your heart was going to burst out of your chest; terrified that with his heightened senses he could hear your heartbeat. 

He could; and that made his beat faster too.

You two watched the movie in silence after getting yourselves comfortable. Peter’s lights were off and a small lamp along with the bright TV was the only thing illuminating the room. It felt small but you managed. 

You felt like you couldn’t focus on the movie with Peter laying so close to you. You could practically feel his body heat radiating off of him and you wished so badly that you had the courage to tell him how much you liked him. 

You didn’t think he liked you back but after what he said about wanting to date you, you weren’t so doubtful that he felt that way too now. You finally started focusing on the movie again trying your best to not think about Peter but that didn’t help at all considering the two characters … kissing, if that’s what you want to call it.

Your eyes slightly widen seeing the man’s hand crawl up the woman’s shirt. Her gasps and moans seemed louder than you remembered. You could see Peter shifted beside you as the things on the screen became more and more heated. 

“I forgot about this scene,” you cringed at yourself.

“It’s ok, you uh, do you want to watch a different movie?”

“Sure,” you squeaked.

Peter put a new movie on but neither of you could get the images out of your heads. Without the other knowing, you both wondered what it would be like, feel like if Peter’s hands roamed your body that way. Bringing goosebumps to your skin. The way your soft gasps and moans would sound against the shell of Peter’s ear. 

You couldn’t help the wetness pooling between your thighs wondering what Peter would do first. You wondered if he’d ever been with another girl and if he did, well that didn’t sit right with you. You swallowed and unbeknownst to you Peter could sense everything. 

He knew how much your breathing quickened after. He could feel the rapid beating of your heartbeat after watching only seconds of that scene. He could smell the sweet arousal coming out of you as you softly clenched your thighs in a desperate attempt to stop the feeling. 

He shifted beside you embarrassed that he was thinking about these things with you. You would hate him if you found out. But you would really?

“Peter?”

“Yeah?”

“Can I ask you something? Promise you won’t get mad?” Oh no. You were really doing this?

“I could never get mad at you,” he said sincerely.

“Have you ever, you know, done it?” you asked shyly.

“Oh, uh no actually. MJ and I never really talked about that and we broke up before really anything happened.”

“Oh, cool.” 

There was awkward silence between you two not really knowing what was to come next. You wanted him, bad. You just got this urge suddenly to feel him, know what he sounded like. You felt a bit embarrassed and thought there was no way he was gonna want to do anything like that with you.

“Do you wanna…?” Or maybe so.

“Only if you want to.”

“Is that bad that I kinda do? Look,” Peter faced you more comfortably and closer, “I really like you. Like a lot. I know I probably shouldn’t and it’s like super inappropriate right now but I can’t help it. You’re like the most beautiful and most perfect girl I’ve ever met. And I really want to show you but I’d never do anything to hurt you or make you uncomfortable.”

“Peter, I really like you too. There’s no one I trust more than you, seriously,” you sat on your knees facing him too. You smiled at each other warmly and you started to feel warmer than before.

“Can I kiss you?” Peter whispered.

“Please.”

Peter inches closer to you and gently cupped your jaw pulling you in to kiss you. Your eyes fluttered close and butterflies erupted in your stomach. You moved your knee to move closer to him unfortunately directly on top of the remote. 

The volume turned up and startled you both, the laughter and music from the cartoon on the TV echoing in the room. You pulled back sharply, accidentally biting Peter’s lip but he didn’t seem to care all that much as he grabbed the remote and turned the TV off. 

“I’m so sorry! I think I bit your lip,” you panicked and cringed.

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” he laughed; his laugh was so charming and contagious you could help but giggle too. 

“I’m sorry,” you repeated.

“Don’t be, it was an accident,” he chuckled.

“Now where were we,” he smirked and leaned in to kiss you again. 

Your hands went through his hair and you sighed contently as his lips moved perfectly against. You kissed people before but they’ve never felt this amazing. Peter’s tongue pushed past your lips and you gladly let him in. You melted against him and he placed his hand on your back and pushed back slowly to lay your back against the bed. 

That didn’t work out because you weren’t really in a good position to lay down without moving so you tumbled to the floor making Peter gasp.

“Are you ok?” he laughed.

You head shot up from the ground with a big dopey smile on your face. You crawled back up to bed laughing.

“I’m ok, just took me by surprise,” you giggled.

“Sorry, the mood’s totally ruined now I guess,” he smiled sadly.

“Well, I still wouldn’t mind if we tried one more time,” you said timidly.

“Yeah?” you nodded.

“Ok, uh can I uh, is this ok?” Peter had you straddling his lap and your stomach fluttered with anticipation and arousal.  

“More than.”

Peter leaned up and kissed you again, his fingertips sneaking up your shirt and grazing the soft skin of your belly. Your body shudders but you wanted more. You wanted him to make you squirm and wiggle. 

Peter tugged on the hem of the shirt silently asking if he could remove it. You hesitated but eventually lifted your arms up to let him undress you. Your skin was bare in front of him and this was the first you’d ever been shirtless in front of anyone.

Your arms instinctively covered your chest in modesty but Peter grabbed your hands and smiled softly letting you know that there was nothing to hide. You swallowed hard. Nervous about the current situation. You weren’t scared, you were far from it, but it seemed no matter how many times you imagined this, how many times you went over in your head what you would do, you still felt unprepared and clueless about what to do.

“Do you want to stop?” Peter whispered.

“No, I just don’t know what to do,” you giggled.

“I uh, I can kiss you again,” he suggested, making you nod your head.

Peter captured your lips in a kiss once again, he felt like he could stay like this in your arms and you in his forever. He lifted his own shirt and you were taken by surprise considering you’ve never actually since completely shirtless. There were times when his shirt would rise with his hoodie being taken off but never fully off and it’s all of its muscle glory. 

“Peter,” you breathed out.

“Yeah?” he smirked.

You rubbed your gentle hands faintly across his torso and chest marveling at his physique. 

“I didn’t realize how uh, fit, you are,” you gasped.

“It kinda came with the bite, and training of course,” he grinned. 

“I mean look at you; you are even more beautiful than I imagined,” he said.

He leaned forward and kissed along your chest, his hands roaming over your skin. Your breathing became heavy and your hands rested awkwardly on Peter’s shoulders. 

“Relax, princess. I got you. I promise I’m gonna take really good care of you,” he laid you down again, sideways his time so you wouldn’t fall off the bed again. 

He kissed you again before trailing his lips down your throat. You bit your lip smiling basking in the feeling of Peter’s lips against your burning skin. 

“Peter, please. I need more,” you whined. 

“Like…?” he trailed.

“I’m ready. For you,” you whispered against his lips.

Peter groaned and crawled over you eagerly and opened the drawer grabbing a condom. His torso was directly over your head and you took that opportunity to treat him the same way pressing kisses to his torso. 

“Baby,” he snickered.

“What, you don’t like my kisses?” you smiled.

“I love your kisses,” he smirked.

You watched him stand up and slowly pulled his sweats and boxers down. He kept his eyes trained on you making sure he wasn’t gonna scare you or anything. He saw your face fill with fear, confusion, shock; it didn’t matter so he pulled his pants quickly back up. 

“Wait,” you shouted.

“What happened?” you were confused. You thought things were going well, you were excited and aroused when Peter pulled his pants down. The sight of his impressive member surprising you and making you wetter.

“I thought you were uncomfortable,” Peter panicked.

“No! Please Peter! I want to have sex with you so bad!” you shouted dramatically making him laugh.

“Please take your pants off again,” you crawled up to him and grabbed his neck pulling him close. 

“As you wish, baby,” he kissed you and quickly wiggled out of his pants. You took the condom in your hand and carefully tore the foil. You pulled the ring of latex out unsure of what to do next. Peter gently tilted your head up and kissed you softly before taking the condom from your hands.

“I got this, you just get ready and sit pretty for me,” his words made you shudder. You quickly sat back and practically tore off your panties, tossing them across the room. You could see the light in Peter’s eyes started to fade and you could tell he was getting nervous. 

“Hey, having second thoughts?” you asked softly.

“No, it’s just, I don't really know what I’m doing either,” he stammered.

“Well, I don’t really have anyone to compare, so,” you reassured him.

“I just don’t wanna ruin anything. What if I'm not good?” he said.

“Well, practice makes perfect. So let’s start practicing!” you cheered. 

Peter bit his lip and pumped his aching cock a few times. You settled back and opened your legs a bit and Peter settled himself in. His hands trembled as he grabbed his dick and lined it up to your entrance and your breathing quickened. 

He slid past your folds quite rapidly and you grunted. Peter noticed the discomfort and his hips pulled back too far causing his member to slip out. You giggled but Peter grunted. 

“It’s ok, it’s ok,” you pulled him close and kissed his nose. 

“Don’t freak out, baby,” you nuzzled your nose against his.

Peter kissed you softly, “You’re too good to me.”

Peter tried again and slowly passed your slicks folds. You moaned softly feeling his girth and Peter’s eyes screwed shut. He dipped his head in the crook of your neck and nibbled on the skin of your ear. You wrapped your legs around his hips pulling closer and Peter grunted.

“Fuck, Y/n. You feel so good,” he moaned.

“Peter,” you moaned.

Peter hips snapped into you rapidly and your moans got louder. His hand reached for yours and intertwined his fingers with yours. He kissed you again before his body trembled over yours. His hips suddenly stopped and he fell forward.

“Pete?” you whispered.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to. You felt so good I couldn’t hold back,” Peter whined.

“It’s ok,” you giggled.

“No it’s not,” he grumbled. 

“It’s fine Pete, it was our first time. Don’t sweat it,” you smiled.

“No, sit back, princess. I promised I was gonna take care of you and I fully. Intend. On keeping that promise,” he kissed you in between words. 

You fell back and Peter trailed kisses down your front. His hands rubbed your thighs softly pressing faint kisses to the inside of them. Peter looked admirably between your thighs. He licked his lips and looked up at you almost innocently making your stomach flip at the sight.

“Fuck,” Peter whispered before licking up your slit.

“Peter,” you gasped.

He flicked his tongue over your clit and your hips jolted forward. You wiggled and moved under him gasping and whimpering his name. Peter used his strength and pressed your hips down hard as he continued to eat you out. 

Your hands flew to his hair tugging and pulling his fluffy curly hair. Your chest moved up and down hastily and sweat lined your forehead. You sat on your elbows and looked down to Peter who’s eyes were closed and his face immensely flushed, cheeks redden. 

His eyes opened and stared directly into your eyes. He came up for a second and smiled cheekily before dipping his tongue passed your entrance once again. The pressure in the pit of your stomach built up and up and up, until finally it snapped and your body arched in pleasure. 

You moaned and shrieked Peter’s name feeling ecstatic, overwhelmed with absolute pleasure. 

“Feeling good?” Peter got up wiping your cum off his chin. 

“Oh my goodness, Pete. You gotta do that again!” he laughed before kissing you.

“How was that?”

“Better than I imagined,” you cupped his face.

“I lo-” Peter stopped himself.

“I love you,” you whispered, finishing his sentence. 

“Good, because I love you too, so much,” he kissed you. Peter tucked you in his bed and crawled beside you holding you close.

“Pete?”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” you kissed his jaw.

“For what?”

“For the best night ever,” you ggiled.

“Anytime. Like you said, practice makes perfect.”

“Oh, yeah. I cannot wait until we practice again.”

===============

ᴛᴀɢʟɪsᴛ: (For all my work)

@mathletemadison​

@buckybarnes101​

[arvandus]

Icarus (Overhaul x F!Reader)

Ah yes, once again so late on this. This one gave me grief because the characters kept deviating from what I had originally planned. >.< But I worked through it, and here we are.

This is for the BNHarem's “On The Job” Collab for May, which you can find here.

Also, don’t judge my super simple title headings for my fics 😂 I always do these late at night when I should be asleep, so generic background with fancy text is the best I got to offer.

Trigger Warnings: 18+ ONLY!  1 instance of aggression/abuse (hair grabbing/pulling - nonsexual), unprotected sex (fun in fiction, dumb IRL), mutual masturbation, overstimulation, bondage via quirk abuse, degradation...

I think that about covers it.  Once again, I’m terrible at TWs so let me know if I missed anything or if anything is inaccurate. 😬 I just kinda write what I want and don’t really think about the labels when I’m doing it.

Pairing: Overhaul x F!Reader

Word Count: 8281

You hadn’t meant to get caught.  Really, you weren’t even sure what had possessed you to do it in the first place. Desperation? Horniness? Stupidity?

 All of the above?

 All you knew was that it was a poor decision brought forth by the gradual culmination of a single annoying, unavoidable fact: you were disgustingly, shamefully, sinfully attracted to Kai Chisaki.

You weren’t exactly sure how or when it started. There was no “aha” moment, no “big bang” of desire.  Instead, it was subtle, gradually coating your unsuspecting mind like layers of sediment. A shiver down your spine when he spoke your name.  The quickening of your pulse at the briefest of eye contact. And the ever-growing presence of intrusive, curious thoughts.

 Like his hands.  You always noticed them, the white of his gloves drawing your attention like a beacon whenever he was within eyesight.  They were dangerous hands, deadly weapons that you’d seen in action firsthand.  They were a thing to be feared and avoided.  But some strange part of you couldn’t help but wonder... what did they feel like?  You imagined they’d be soft and perfectly manicured, oddly delicate for such a violent man; gentle hands packed with destructive power.

 Or his lips.  They were always covered by his mask.  You never, ever saw him without it.  You imagined what your name would look like on them as he spoke, how they’d feel on your skin.  Would his lips also be soft? How about his kisses? Would they be cautious and controlled, or rough and hungry?

 It didn’t help that he was, in his own way, very attractive.  Just like how his dangerous hands were hidden within innocent white gloves, he was the devil hidden behind a pretty face. A sharp, beautiful jawline. Smooth porcelain skin. A crown of auburn red hair, closely cropped, but still long enough to run fingers through.

 You bet that part of him was soft too.

 The one part of him that wasn’t soft were his eyes.  They were beautiful, certainly… as gold as Heaven’s gates and framed in long, perfect lashes.  But they lacked the warmth of Heaven.  Instead, they spoke of cold arrogance. And if you stared into them long enough, you could see a barely contained disgust lurking beneath their haughty exterior.

 The disgust didn’t bother you, not anymore.  Everyone disgusted Chisaki, and everyone in the Shie Hassaikai knew it. He even made his closest confidants, some he’d known since childhood, wear masks so he wouldn’t share the same air with them.  

 He had you wear a mask too, of course. Simple and white, it covered only your lower face, much like his own.  That much you were grateful for, considering some of the masks you’d seen others wearing.  Your only explanation for the slightly less coverage was that your secretarial position made you a frequent point of contact for those outside of the organization.  You handled incoming calls, visitors, and scheduled meetings between Chisaki and his affiliates.  No doubt he wanted to ensure you were making a good impression while still operating within his mysophobic requirements.

 First impressions were everything to Kai.  Even more so since he took the Boss’s place under dubious circumstances. Still, his long-held reputation for extremist thinking and violence preceded him, and not everyone was in support of his unexpected promotion.  As a result, many people within the organization parted ways following Chisaki’s rise to power... and soon after they mysteriously went missing, never to be heard from or located again.  You had no doubt that it was Chisaki tying up loose ends by sealing loose lips.  After all, they say the mouth is the source of disaster.  And Chisaki valued confidentiality above all else.

 The message he sent was clear: adapt or die.  When given such colorful options, the choice on whether to go or stay became a simple one.

 So, you adapted.  As long as you followed orders, kept your eyes down and your mouth shut, you were safe. After all, it was better to be the right hand of the devil than to be in his path.  The only person you really had to fear was Chisaki himself, and you knew him well enough by now to know how to stay on his good side.

 And all in all, it really wasn’t all that bad.  Sure, you had to orchestrate the occasional clean-up when he disposed of someone who displeased him.  But that wasn’t much different than what you’d dealt with when you worked for the Boss, either.  Sure, the aftermath was messier and it happened far more often.  But violence was violence, and when you worked with the Yakuza long enough, you got used to it.  And despite the odd working conditions and ever-present undertone of danger, you remained good at your job. As such, Chisaki brooked no complaint. He tolerated you, and you tolerated him. Interactions were brief, words exchanged were polite and respectful even though they lacked warmth.  But it was just a job, right?  You didn’t need warmth.

 So why did you feel so dissatisfied?  Why did you constantly feel that something was missing, a longing you couldn’t entirely describe?

 The need only ever waned when Chisaki was in your presence, whether it was to discuss upcoming meetings or simply passing by your desk to get to his office. The dissatisfaction would melt away into a warmth that extended deep into your fingertips whenever the cold-hearted man bothered to look you in the eyes. And when he wasn’t looking at you? It was like being thrown into a winter blizzard, the aching cold returning to pull the corners of your mouth down into a silent frown.

 You craved his attention.  It was shameful and pathetic and you could only imagine the scorn he’d give you if he knew, but you didn’t care.  To be graced with the attention of a man who cared for no one brought a different kind of satisfaction.  The rare treats of attention Chisaki did grant you, whether intended or not, scratched an itch that only he could scratch.

 As time passed, the intrusive thoughts became more frequent, evolving from odd curiosities to shameless lust.  They began to occupy your dreams, forcing you awake with a hot ache between your legs. That was when you really began to realize how in deep you were.  It wasn’t just a simple “attraction.”  You wanted him.  At first you tried to deny and ignore, suppress and excuse.  After all, this was Overhaul.  Wanting him was like wanting the sun in your hand, and just as dangerous. Apparently though, it made little difference to your hormone-addled brain.  It didn’t help that the secretive, forbidden thoughts brought their own special addictive flavor of the taboo.  

 You began to act different in front of him.  Nothing too obvious, of course.  After all, you knew Chisaki wasn’t the type to indulge in desperate women. To be honest, you weren’t even sure Chisaki indulged in women at all.  All you did know was that whenever women tried to gain his favor through flirtation, Chisaki quickly and harshly shut it down.

 So, it was little things... the extra second to release a paper from your grip after he’d grabbed it, the lingering of a glance.  You didn’t so much change the style of your attire – skirts and blouses were already the norm for your position – but you changed the colors. A blouse that matched the purple feathery softness of his jacket, golden jewelry that matched his eyes.  Little messages waiting in secret to be picked up, yet subtle enough that they could be excused as nothing more than coincidence. It was risky, but the thrill of the game gave you an outlet for your roiling feelings.  In the end though, it made no difference.  There was nothing about you that seemed important enough to turn Chisaki’s head more than was professionally necessary.

 Which is where the state of things were when you found yourself alone in his office one evening. You had thought he was still working at the time. You’d stepped away to shred some incriminating documents and burn the scraps in the kiln outside.  It was your last task for the day, so you’d entered Chisaki’s office to announce your departure for the evening.  Except when you entered, the space was empty, with all traces of him gone.  No papers remained on his desk.  His gloves and plague mask were gone.  With an annoyed huff you had stood there, bothered that you’d missed him.

 Quietly, you walked to his desk, and gently caressed the mahogany wood.  It was immaculate of course, free of dirt and fingerprints.  You knew it would be because he cleaned his space every evening before he left, and you cleaned it every morning before he arrived.

 You sighed as you retrieved the paper towels and cleaning solution.  No harm in giving it a second scrub to save yourself some time tomorrow morning. It wasn’t like anyone would be foolish enough to enter this space without Chisaki present anyway.

 You should have just left it at that.  But as you walked around his desk to wipe the surface with the damp towel, your bare legs just below your skirt bumped his chair. Soft leather, still warm from where he had sat, greeted your exposed skin.

 That should have been your first clue.

 But your mental alarms never sounded.  Instead, you figured you had just missed him.

 You should have just left, but you didn’t. The warmth on the chair was enticing you. He was gone, right?  Left for the evening.  What harm could it do to indulge just a little bit?  With your heart pounding with excitement, you carefully sat down in the warm leather. Immediately the scent of Chisaki’s body wash and clean clothes cradled you.

 That should have been your second clue.

 But you were already too wrapped up in your enjoyment.  You relished in the sensations, leaning back as you closed your eyes.  It was the closest you’d ever felt to him, as if his very presence was there with you. Your desire purred deep in your gut at receiving its first nibble of satisfaction.  If you closed your eyes, you could pretend he was there, holding you.

 Your kept your eyes closed as your imagination began to take root like weeds in your mind, making your skin feel hot.  Your fingers grazed the inside of your thigh, dipping beneath your skirt while your heart pounded.  What if those were his fingers?  The vision combined with the sensations of touch and smell were delicious, and you wanted more.  You dragged the pads of your fingertips up even higher, your arm starting to push your skirt up with it.  Your legs parted easily, as you let out a shaky breath.

 You shouldn’t be doing this.  Not here of all places.  But there was something so sinfully satisfying about it, the danger only heightening the sensations.  After all, the reward was only as great as the risk it took to earn it.  And this was the highest risk you could take, short of literally throwing yourself at him.  Besides, it wasn’t like your fantasies were ever going to come true. Maybe satisfying yourself - right here, right now – would be enough to finally give you the peace of mind you needed.

 And dear God, did you need it.  You could already feel the heat growing in your loins, the moisture dampening your panties.  Your fingers finally brushed against the warm cotton fabric covering your sex and you let out a soft gasp.

 What Chisaki didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.  He was gone, right?  And you were going to clean up any traces of your little visit before you left.  He’d be none the wiser.

 Your fingers slipped beneath your underwear to meet the hot, slick flesh of your folds, your clit already plump and ready with arousal. You knew it wouldn’t take you long to cum, but you wanted to enjoy this, to savor it as the only opportunity you’d get.  You certainly weren’t going to do this again.

 So, you teased yourself, fingertips softly dragging slow circles around your entrance before dipping in.  A shaky moan left your lips, the quickening of your breaths matching the racing of your heart.  In and out you dragged your fingers, relishing in your sleek, sensitive walls, occasionally breaking your rhythm to spread your juices over your swollen labia. You revisited your clit and stifled your moan with a bite of your lip as you began to slowly massage it with practiced skill.  It felt so fucking good.  The scent of yourself mingled with the scent of Chisaki, and you spread your legs wider, leaning back farther into the seat.  You could feel the surge beginning to swell, and you knew it would be soon. Vivid fantasies danced on the inside of your eyelids, and you were fully enthralled, fingers skimming fast circles over your swollen bud as your other hand began to massage your breast through your blouse.

 “Fuuuuuckk....Kai....” You moaned.

 “What do you think you’re doing?”

 The familiar voice made you jump so hard, you nearly fell out of the chair as your eyes flew wide open.

 There was Kai Chisaki, staring down at you from across the desk – his desk. And there were you, sitting in his chair, spread eagle.

 Your breath was knocked out of you and you felt light-headed with panic.  You caught sight of the shoji screen behind him, wide open to the evening air.

 FUCK. Of course.  You forgot to check outside.  He must have stepped out for some fresh air before returning to his office.

 Shit. Shit, shit, shit.  You hadn’t heard him enter.  How long had he been standing there??

 “I asked you a question.” The man seethed through his plague mask.  His gloved hands were clenched into angry fists, and his eyes... eyes that you’d always craved to see you... well, they saw you now, and you were terrified.

 Immediately, you closed your legs and stood up from his chair. Your mouth babbled soundlessly before your voice finally came, tight and small.

 “I’m sorry.  I’m so so sorry.”

 “I didn’t ask for an apology.” He hissed.

 “I know, I’m sorry.” You blubbered.

 “Come. Here.” Chisaki demanded.

 You obeyed, struggling to adjust your skirt as you approached him from around his desk.

 “I didn’t tell you to touch your clothes.” His tone was quiet and constrained yet sharp as a razor’s edge, each word uttered with meticulous precision.

 You stared at him in shock as you slowly removed your hands from your rumpled clothing.  His eyes raked over you, top to bottom, and left you feeling... exposed.

 “Look at you...” he grumbled.  “Disgusting.”

 His mask was unnerving, blocking the lower half of his face and keeping you from being able to fully read his facial expression.  His gold eyes were threatening – predatory like a wolf.

 He was going to kill you.  You knew it was coming. He’d killed others for far less.  But you weren’t ready for it.  You didn’t want to die.

 You dropped to your knees and bowed low in front of him, shrinking yourself to fit beneath his harsh glare.  “Please, Mr. Chisaki-“

 “Overhaul.”

 “Overhaul!” you corrected, as you bowed your head lower to the ground. “Please forgive me.  I meant no disrespect.”

 “No disrespect?” he sneered.  “You debase yourself in my seat, my place of business, and claim no disrespect??”

 His left hand reached forward at lightning speed and grabbed you by your hair, forcing your head back until you were looking him straight up at him.  You winced against his harsh hold on you, yet clenched your teeth in an effort to keep your silence.  He glared down at you as his next words came out through what you could clearly hear as clenched teeth.  

 “Clean it up.”

 With that, he shoved you away from him. On shaking, clumsy legs you pushed yourself to your feet and made your way back to his desk, your skin hot with shame and your ears ringing.  

 You did as he commanded, grabbing the cleaning solution and spraying his seat before carefully, meticulously, wiping every inch of the rich leather.  Minutes passed in silence as you made sure that no spot went unnoticed, even ensuring that the table was once again cleaned as well. By the time you had finished, Kai’s temper seemed to have dwindled to a simmering flame.  His hands were no longer clenched in fists at his sides. Instead, they were tucked deep into his pockets as he supervised you.  It did little to comfort you though... you knew that Chisaki’s reflexes were faster than you could dodge.  He’d catch you before you even reached the door.

 Not that you’d try to.  You knew better.

 When the chair was finally pristine, you disposed of the last of the soiled paper towels in the wastebin and returned the cleaning solution to its home. The task was done, but you didn’t stop. You picked up the trash can with the intent of disposing of its contents; you knew Chisaki wouldn’t want it sitting in his office.  

 It was all to buy you time. Time to figure out what to say or what do to convince Chisaki to spare your life.  But you didn’t even make it to the door before Chisaki’s voice halted your retreat.

 “Where do you think you’re going?”

 “I... I was just...” you stammered.

 “I didn’t give you permission to leave.”

 You swallowed and set down the trashcan.  He approached you slowly, until he was a mere few inches from you. He was so close that you could smell his cleanliness and see the pupils of his eyes dilate as he stared at you.  Slowly, he grabbed the mask that was covering your mouth and nose and removed it from your head.  You stopped breathing.

 There was something... electric in the air.  You could feel it on your skin, making your hairs stand on end and your flesh tighten with goosebumps.  His eyes peered at you intently, taking in every subtlety of your face.  Your lips, your eyes, your skin... and beneath the weight of his stare, you could feel the fear start to transform, replaced by something else entirely.  Something familiar that’d been plaguing you for months, lighting your veins with fire and threatening to incinerate you if it wasn’t released.  After all, part of his allure was the danger. And he hadn’t killed you yet, which meant... something.

 Chisaki’s gaze began to wander beyond just your face, taking in your still rumpled clothes.  The top couple buttons of your blouse were undone, exposing the skin of your neck and the edges of your bra.  Your skirt was still askew, and although he couldn’t see it, you became acutely aware of your still-damp underwear trapped between your folds from when you had hastily closed your legs earlier.  You stared back at him, waiting for him to do something, say something.

 And that’s when you noticed it... a faint flush across his pale cheeks, peaking out from beneath his mask. His chest was rising and falling with each breath, and it was as if he were contemplating something, silently weighing a decision in his closed-off mind.

 A strange bubbling sensation began to build within your chest, foreign and oddly out of place.

 Hope.

 Finally, Chisaki spoke, his voice unusually calm considering the trouble you were in.  “Follow me.”

 Not one to disobey him, you did as he requested as he made his way over to his desk and sat down in his chair.  Then, with an open hand, he gestured at his desk.

 “Sit.”

 Confusion.

 “W-What??” you stuttered.

 “I said sit.” He replied.

 You did as Chisaki commanded, fitting yourself between his legs and his desk before hopping up slightly onto the surface you’d just cleaned. You were right in front of him now, your hands in your lap and your ankles crossed as you realized just how perfect this arrangement was for him to see directly up your skirt.  You worried your lip between your teeth as you watched him assess you.  His elbow was resting on the armrest of his chair, his fingers supporting his face along the jawline as he stared at you with his head cocked at an angle. If it were any other situation, you’d say he looked almost bored... but the glint in his eyes spoke of something else entirely.

 “Continue.” He stated.

 “What? What do you mean?” you asked.

 His eyes stared at you knowingly.  “You didn’t get to cum, did you?”  You shook your head, stunned at his words.  “Continue.” He repeated.

 “Right here?”

 “Where else?  It was good enough for you earlier.”  His tone dropped slightly as his eyes narrowed.  “Continue.”

 Your heart pounded in your ears as you uncrossed your ankles, and with shaky hands began to trace your fingers up your thighs just as you had done before. Except this time, the experience was entirely different. Instead of closing your eyes like before, you kept them open to stare at your observer, watching for his reaction.  So many times you’d fantasized about this... about his eyes being on you and only you... and you weren’t going to miss a moment of it.

 With your eyes locked on each other, you inched your way up to the space between your thighs, your legs parting to grant you access.  Chisaki didn’t look down.  Not right away, at least.  Instead, he continued to watch your face, his body still and silent.  With the heat of his gaze on you, you finally reached your center where your warmth greeted you.  It was still slick from earlier, your fingers sliding easily along your labia as you began to tease yourself for the second time that evening.  You let out slow, shaky breaths as your fingers rubbed slow, lazy circles over your glossy lips.  

 Chisaki still didn’t break his gaze from your eyes, and a part of you wanted him to.  You wanted him to acknowledge what you were offering him and know that he liked it. A small, devious smirk found itself on your lips as you pulled your fingers away from your pussy to show him the evidence of your arousal stretched across your fingers.  It caught his attention just briefly, eyes flicking to your display, before he watched you lick the glistening strands from your fingertips, the soft sounds of your sucking filling the empty, quiet room.

 Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, and the smirk on your face widened.  Soon your fingers were back between your legs, massaging your clit again as your skin began to feel flush with heat.  Round and round the pads of your fingers went, with painstaking slowness that you drew out just for him.  You wanted to show him how good his presence made you feel.  You wanted him to see how badly you wanted him.  Your lips became more swollen, your clit more sensitive. Already you could start to feel the tension build.  It was almost too easy, your body ready to surrender at the drop of a hat.  But you weren’t going to let it happen, not yet at least.  You wanted to draw this out, to savor it in case it never happened again.

 With half-lidded eyes you stared at him as you parted you folds for him, fully exposing yourself. For the first time, his eyes drifted from your face to stare directly at your desire for him – your tight hole open and waiting, every inch of your swollen cunt drenched in glistening arousal.  Chisaki was captivated and you felt your blood surge.  You needed more. With your fingers still spreading yourself open, you dipped your middle digit into your tight heat.   Pleasure bloomed within you and a soft groan vibrated from the back of your throat. With each draw of your fingers, your breaths quickened, your back arching as the tension began to build.

 You struggled to keep your eyes open, to watch Chisaki as you brought yourself closer to orgasm, but it became increasingly difficult. You were single-focused now, chasing your much-needed release with each plunge of your finger into your soft depths.  Your body accommodated it welcomingly, and so you added a second, once again relishing in the renewed stretch that caressed your inner walls. The faster you pumped your fingers, the better it felt until your nerves were singing that familiar hum.  You flowed seamlessly into the final phase, your wet fingers leaving your entrance in favor of rubbing hard, fast circles over your clit.  The finish line was in sight now as your body sprinted with tense, aching muscles and breathy moans.

 You came with a gasp, back arching and thighs twitching as you rode out your orgasm. As you neared the end of it, you dipped your fingers in one last time as your walls gave one last final spasm of pleasure.  Gradually the wave of your euphoria calmed, returning to the gentle, lapping waters of desire that still moved within you to the rhythm of your heartbeat.

 You opened your eyes to see Chisaki still staring at you silently, his eyes once again locked onto yours. The flush across his cheeks was very much apparent now, yet his posture remained unmoved. Still, out of curiosity, you dared a quick glance down to his lap to see his hand strategically placed over the bulge in his pants.  Was he trying to hide it?  Because he was failing.  Or was he stroking himself through his clothes when you weren’t looking?

 “Again.” He ordered.

 Your eyes bulged.  “Again?”

 He didn’t bother to answer, instead waiting silently.  You were a bird trapped in the golden cage of his eyes as your mind struggled to recover enough from the hazy aftereffects of your orgasm to think straight.  He wanted you to do it again?

 At first you were hesitant. You knew your body was still sensitive from what had just transpired.  But then again… your eyes stared at Chisaki’s crotch again as he waited for you.  No doubt he saw you staring, yet he did nothing, said nothing.  It almost felt like an invitation… or a dare.  Do it again and see what happens.

 Fuck. You’d already gotten under his skin... might as well see how deep you could go.

 Between your orgasm only moments before and the juices still coating your pussy, the sensations of your touch at first felt almost... numb.  Except for your clit.  That part was still sensitive, making your muscles twitch and your breath hitch in your throat as you moved your fingers over it experimentally. You kept your touch gentle at first, careful to give your body time to respond as you reawakened the lust that still lurked in your core.  With dark eyes you began to stroke yourself for him again, pulling soft pleasurable moans from your gently parted lips.  It was definitely more intense this time, and you could already tell that this next orgasm would surpass the one before it.  Still, you drew it out as you watched Chisaki.  Or, more specifically, watched his free hand.

 It didn’t take long... you watched his fingers grip around his hard-on through his pants, his hand slowly moving up and down his restricted length.  You bit your lip at the sight and immediately felt a generous wave of hot arousal bloom between your legs, your nipples hardening achingly.  It wasn’t enough to capsize you into ecstasy, but it certainly pulled a needy whimper from your lips.  

 You dipped your fingers into yourself, feeling your walls flutter as you imagined what it would feel like to have Chisaki inside of you.  With each curl of your fingers the heat grew, like the sun reaching its zenith.  You wanted it.  You wanted to cum so badly.  But you wanted to see him even more.  So, you neglected your puffy clit in favor of unbuttoning your blouse just enough to grant you access to your sensitive breasts.  You pushed aside the cup of your bra to free the plump flesh, the bud at its center tightly puckered.  With deft fingers you massaged the soft skin before rolling the nipple slowly between your fingers, pulling more soft gasps and gentle hums from your lips.  The more you groaned and teased yourself, the more Chisaki stroked himself as he watched you, his eyes glowing with hunger.

 It wasn’t until you began to lose yourself, your eyes beginning to drift closed as you moaned and whined to the ebb and flow of your pleasure, that your patience was finally rewarded.

 You could hear it over the sounds of your lewdity – the ‘click click click’ of a zipper being pulled down.  You opened your eyes, not even attempting to hide your eagerness, as Chisaki freed his cock from his pants.

 It was beautiful just like the rest of him; long with a slight curve, its tip red and shining with precum.  Veins stood out in relief, trailing his length like vines, thick and beautiful. You swallowed at the sight of it, desperately wanting to know what it would feel like to have that in you.

 You hadn’t realized your own movements had frozen until Chisaki’s smooth voice cut through your thoughts.

 “I didn’t tell you to stop.” He said, as cool and professional as ever as if he didn’t currently sit before you with his dick in his hand.  

 He was gloating, you knew it... your stunned silence at the sight of his cock stroked his ego just as much as you touching yourself for him did. And you knew that, above all else, Chisaki loved to have his ego stroked.

 “Y-yes Mr. Chisaki...” you whispered, before your fingers began moving again.

 You continued to stroke and play, penetrate and rub as you watched him take his long cock in his hand and begin long, steady strokes.  Even now, he still kept his gloves on, and somehow that made his every move even hotter.  He was no longer propping his face up with his other hand.  Now, he was sitting up straight, eyes on your needy cunt as you put on your show for him.  You could see it, the tension in his temple that came and went, hear the ragged, quick draws of his breaths through his mask.  Your own arousal grew in response, egged on by him searching for his own sweet relief at the lewd sight of you.  It blossomed like a watered seed as you drank in the man in front of you – his hand pumping, precum dripping.

 It was the push your sensitive body needed.  You came surprisingly fast, your orgasm crashing over your body with greater intensity than the first.  Moans and gasps ripped from your throat as your body spasmed, and you made no effort to quell your cries, too consumed by your own pleasure.  With eyes squeezed shut, your hips rocked as you grinded yourself against your hand, your entire body singing in unbridled bliss.

 You were given no respite.  As soon as the pleasure eased just enough for your hips to still, Chisaki spoke.

 “Again.”

 Your eyes, still closed, flew open to look at him with incredulity.  You weren’t even recovered yet, your cunt still twitching with the aftershocks of pleasure. You knew that touching yourself without some sort of break was going to lead you down a jagged, torturous road of overstimulation.  It made your legs start to close up instinctually in denial.

 Your mouth moved silently before you pushed the words out.  “B-But... I can’t....”

 Chisaki’s eyes narrowed, his brows lowering... and along the edge of his mask, you could see his cheeks lift slightly.  He was smirking at you. Cruelly.  

 “You can, and you will.” He said.  A wave of his fingers told you to reopen your legs for him, and you did, slowly, as if you were a puppet on strings.  “Again.” He repeated.

 Chisaki took a moment to remove the glove from his stroking hand before giving his cock a couple more languid strokes.  You stared at the exposed skin in awe.  It was everything you imagined it’d be... pale, smooth, nails clean and perfectly trimmed.  Between his hard cock and his ungloved hand, you stared in shameless longing as an excited chill coursed down your spine.  Maybe… maybe if you were good…

 You swallowed the dryness in your throat and returned your fingers to your core, flinching as you brushed against your sore, overstimulated clit.  Chisaki returned to pleasuring himself as you performed for him, his hand pumping steadily.  Watching him masturbate to you was delicious.  He didn’t rush, instead opting to taking his time, his hand moving smoothly from base to tip, occasionally pausing to run his precum over the head, the shine glinting in the light.  You subconsciously licked your lips, wondering what it would taste like. Would you lick it from his tip? Or his finger?  Maybe both?

 You matched your pace with his, letting his own strokes guide your hand.  The synchrony made your pussy ache more than ever, even as your body screamed for freedom – a break from the constant wave of stimulation that you were subjecting yourself to.  It made you feel closer to him, more connected - as if he were a part of your pleasure without actually touching you.

 But dear God, you desperately you wanted him to touch you.

 He continued his strokes, slow and easy.  Whether it was for him or for you, you weren’t sure... you weren’t even sure if he was aware that you were pacing yourself with him.  His speed gradually quickened, the muscles of his forearms tensed and twitching as he pumped his hard cock with growing fervor. It was the hottest thing you’d ever seen, his eyes starting to roll back in his head as he began to lose himself to the pleasure, legs twitching slightly as he came close... Your heart pounded with excited anticipation as you dipped your fingers into your core, feeling your walls flutter with need.  It was happening... he was going to cum...

 But he never did.  Instead, his pace began to slow as his eyes refocused on you. That was when you realized….

 Chisaki wasn’t trying to cum yet… he was edging himself.

 Maybe he was waiting for you.  Or maybe he had his own agenda.  But either way, it was clear to you that he was delaying his orgasm.

 The hypocrite.

 Still, you wanted to please him. You wanted to give him want he wanted, because then maybe he could give you what you really wanted.  But no matter how hard you tried, no matter how fucking hot the entire situation was, your own orgasm evaded you.  

 It was more than just the repeated orgasms and overstimulation.  The real issue was that your fingers no longer satisfied. Not after seeing what he had to offer, and certainly not after seeing how horny you made him.  You wanted him to touch you, to put his hands on you, to feel his cock in you... A frustrated whine escaped your lips as you felt your resolve break.

 “Please, Mr. Chisaki...” you begged.  Chisaki’s eyes left your open pussy to lock with yours.  Their golden depths burned holes into you, and you licked your lips under the heat of his stare. “Please touch me...”

 Chisaki froze mid-stroke.  “Touch you?” He said it as if the idea repulsed him, yet his eyes betrayed him as he looked back down between your open legs.

 “Please,” You begged.  “Don’t you want to?”

 His brow was deeply furrowed, and you knew he was having his internal debate, just as he’d had before.  After all, what you were asking was no small order.  You knew how he felt about touch.  No doubt he would have already been balls deep in you had it not been an issue for him.

 But that was why you begged. And pleaded.  And groveled.  Anything to make him set aside his golden rule, even if just for one night.

 “Please...” you whined one last time.  “I’ll do anything.  I need you, Kai...”

 Something about you using his given name did something.  His eyes widened slightly, his flush reaching down to his exposed neck.  Then his eyes narrowed, as he stood from his seat.  You watched with a mix of excitement and trepidation as he carefully removed his jacket and loosened his white tie.  He towered over you, his stare pinning you somewhere between his contempt and his hunger as he undid the cuffs of his black shirt and rolled up his sleeves to the elbows. It made your pussy throb and your heart pound as you stared back at him, completely vulnerable.  He stepped forward slightly, filling the space between your legs with his presence.  Even just the graze of his pants against the inside of your knee was enough to set off fireworks on your skin, causing your breath to hitch in your throat.  His cock was still out and hard, mere inches from your tight, needy cunt, and it took every ounce of willpower not to scoot down and close the gap between you.

 You waited.

 “Touch you...” he muttered through his mask, his voice low.

 Chisaki’s eyes raked over you, taking in every inch of you.  Your trembling, parted lips and large pupils; your exposed breast with its perky, hard nipple; your swollen and glossy cunt framed in ruined underwear that was carelessly shoved aside; the sweat from your thighs coating his desk.

 “So fucking filthy.” He breathed.  The profanity sounded strange on his lips, almost more like a prayer than an insult.

 He stared at one of your thighs as he slowly placed a warm, gloved hand on it. You reacted immediately, gasping at his touch, and his eyes darted to yours.

 “...And needy.” He added.

 From your peripheral you could see his other hand grip his cock and begin to pump it. You tried to watch... you wanted to watch.  But the heat of his hand on your thigh made nearly everything else fade away until it was all you cared about.  Your breaths began to come in hot pants as your body trembled beneath him.

 “I didn’t realize that you were so desperate for me.” He said calmly as he continued to stroke himself.  His gloved hand squeezed your soft flesh until you were moaning from the mixture of pleasure and pain. “Pathetic.”

 You were pathetic.  But you didn’t care.  You’d say anything, do anything, just to have him keep touching you.  And if he wanted you to beg?  To cry? To humiliate yourself to earn his cock?  You’d do that too.

 His hand slowly eased its grip as it began to move up, up, up until his thumb nestled in the crook of your thigh, just shy of your sensitive, swollen folds. Your hand immediately made way for his as you laid down completely onto his desk, your world spinning.  A warmth fell over you like a blanket, every fiber of your being pulsing at a low hum; you were a glass vibrating at a frequency just shy of shattering.

 Chisaki’s voice floated through your haze like a faraway song carried on the wind. “You were so eager at first.  So willing to shame yourself – shame me – to get what you wanted.”  He scoffed. “Now you can’t even do as I say.”

 You could feel his thigh twitch against yours as he began to pump himself faster. His cock was so close to your pussy that it was torturous.  It made you want to cry.  You could feel the warmth of fresh juices begin to flow from you, coating your entrance in invitation, as you prayed to all the gods above and below for him to enter you without mercy.

 But it never came.  And his hand never ventured further.  Slowly, your thoughts trickled back ever so slightly, and you realized he was waiting for you to speak.  Slowly, around a heavy tongue, you made clumsy words.  “I... I’m sorry...I’m trying... is hard...”

 Chisaki tsked.  “You’re afraid.  Afraid of pushing past your limits. So now I’m going to help you.”

 His gloved thumb crossed the threshold to your swollen bud, and your world exploded into color as a sharp zing of pleasure erupted from between your legs. You cried out, your body spasming, hips writhing to escape his touch. It was too much...

 “Where do you think you’re going?” he demanded.

 Then he did something you didn’t expect – his bare hand released his cock and slammed down onto the desk.  The surface rippled beneath you, transforming until smooth arches of dark mahogany wrapped themselves over your arms, effectively pinning you down.

 Your heart pounded wildly in your chest, your breaths coming out in quick, panicked gasps.

 “Kai!” you protested.

 He bent over you and grabbed your jaw in his gloved hand, his plague doctor mask inches from your face. “You wanted me to touch you,” he whispered.  “Now you’re going to get what you asked for.”

 The look in his eyes wasn’t as controlled as before.  Sure, the disgust and hunger were still there.  But there were more emotions now, peaking through the cracks of his practiced façade.  Anger, contempt, fear, desire, longing... and something else; something wild and unhinged.

 Something within him was on the verge of breaking, of being set free, and you were the one responsible.

 He straightened himself up and returned his gloved hand to your sopping core, his cock once again in his bare hand.  His thumb found its home again, nestled firmly against your engorged clit.

 He wasn’t gentle, he wasn’t slow.  Instead, his thumb ran swift, relentless circles, the digit igniting every frayed nerve. Each swipe had you crying out as wave after wave of sharp, jagged pleasure assaulted you, without so much as a second of recovery in between.  And as Chisaki raced you towards that inevitable cliff, his own hand pumped himself hard and fast.  His strokes began to become erratic, his composure slowly slipping as you began to unravel before him, your whines and cries luring him to follow you to the point of no return.  You could feel his own legs began to spasm against your inner thighs, his hips beginning to jut forward with each drag of his palm along his hard shaft.  The gap between your two bodies began to close, until you could feel the tip of him brush against your core. In that instant, you came undone beneath him with his name spilling from your drooling lips.

 The temptation was too much.  He entered you as you came, his cock burying itself within your clenching walls with a single thrust.  Your legs wrapped around him instantly as your body exploded into a mess of tears, shrieks, and trembles.  With one hand on your hip and one working your clit, he fucked you through your orgasm as you cried and panted, his own grunts joining your one-person symphony as you felt every fiber of your being shatter with white hot pleasure. It was all-consuming, disorienting.  You weren’t even sure you were a person anymore.  You could feel nothing else, see nothing else except the man inside of you, hovering over you, filling your existence.

 It didn’t stop. Even after you were a blubbering mess, tears streaming down your cheeks, your thighs and cunt sore, Chisaki kept going, his cock reaching new depths as it dragged against your spasming, sensitive walls.  His breaths were heavy, each pant labored until he ripped his mask off his face.  It was like a switch had been flipped, changing Chisaki from a man in control to nearly animalistic.  Teeth bared, sweat beading across his forehead, golden eyes absolutely feral. His thrusts took you past your orgasm, unrelenting, and you cried and babbled for him to stop, it was too much, your body couldn’t take anymore.  But even as your string of incoherent words begged for the end, your body spoke of a different kind of freedom, your legs tightening around Chisaki’s waist in an effort to pull him impossibly deeper into you.

 Chisaki snarled, releasing his hand from your cunt as he continued to fuck you, and removed his remaining glove with his teeth.  Suddenly, the white fabric was being shoved into your mouth, gagging your broken words behind its white cotton that smelled and tasted of you.

 “Shut up.” He growled.

 You could see the hives breaking out across his damp, flushed skin now at the contact, but it no longer seemed to matter to him.  And it didn’t matter to you either.  You were wrapped up delirium, your eyes glossing over and rolling into your head with each drive of Chisaki’s hips. Your hips couldn’t even keep up with his thrusts anymore; his movements were too rough, too fast.  All you could do was lay there and receive him as he pounded you without restraint.  That familiar knot was forming again, a dark beast built from the broken pieces of the last. It was a terrifying thing, a formidable presence that you felt building within yourself that would surely decimate you.

 “This is what you really wanted, isn’t it?” Chisaki grunted through clenched teeth. “You wanted me to fuck you senseless, to ruin this tight pussy of yours like the greedy, selfish bitch you are.”

 His words washed over you and you gave the faintest of nods, your mouth still gagged.

 “So, you’re going to take what I give you. You’re going to cum when I say, as often as I say.”  His cock hit deep as his thumb gave a final press against your clit. “Now.”

 You screamed around the cotton in your mouth, back arching and arms straining against the wood trapping you as the tension finally erupted.  It tore through your veins, making your fluids gush and your pussy clench like a vice around Chisaki’s pumping cock.  Not a moment later, you heard him groan followed by the hot sensation of his cum coating your walls.  It only enhanced the waves of pleasure still wrecking you and your pussy milked him greedily as he emptied himself in you.

 The comedown felt like it would never arrive. Your nerves still sang too loudly, the aches echoed too deep.  But finally, Chisaki’s hips stuttered to a stop and your own body lay limp beneath him. It felt like you were submerged under water, every sense dulled or muted, as you stared hazily at the ceiling.  Chisaki was still in you, his dick twitching sensitively each time your body gave a weak aftershock. You had thought he would pull out, leave you there like the ruined mess you were to go clean himself up.  Now doubt he’d return to his senses any moment and be repulsed by what transpired.

 But he never did.  Instead, he braced himself over you, his heavy, hot breaths coating your exposed skin as he settled through his own comedown while you warmed his cock.  You felt the desk ripple beneath you and suddenly your arms were freed from their restraints, the wooden surface back to its original state.  A moment later, he filled your view as he leaned over you, and you had a brief moment of panic, wondering if you were next. Was he going to overhaul you now? After all, he got what he wanted...

 But he never did that either.  Instead, he removed the glove from your mouth as his eyes traced over your face, marking every feature, every nuance.  Your parted, chapped lips... your glossy, sweat-stained skin... the exhaustion in your eyes...  His thumb came up to wipe away at the tears drying along your cheekbones before running the smooth pad over your lower lip.

 Then he did something you didn’t anticipate, something that surprised you above all else. He bent down and captured your mouth with his, his wet tongue gliding into your stunned, open mouth.  It was strangely slow, uncharacteristically tender, and entirely unexpected.  The fog you’d been swimming in a moment before lifted slightly, and you began to kiss him back, your arm wrapping up around his shoulders before tangling your fingers into his damp, auburn locks at the base of his neck.

 Whatever it was, it was short-lived.  He brought a hand up to grasp the hand you had around his neck, his fingers twining with yours as he placed your hand back down on the desk, pinning you within his hold. He pulled away from the kiss and stared down at you with a dark smirk tugging the corners of his wet lips.  And his eyes... his eyes burned gold like the sun. Not a beautiful, gentle gold that kissed open delicate flowers and melted winter snow.  No, this was a force of unrelenting destruction, the kind that burned deserts, scorched forests... and melted wax wings.

 You were Icarus, fueled by foolishness and arrogance. You’d flown too close, fueled by a false sense of confidence that you could handle whatever it was that lurked within him, that your lust was enough to match his.  But you were quickly learning you couldn’t.  His fire burned too hot, his hunger too deep. He was going to devour you until there was nothing left.  And really, what did you expect from a man who denied himself every human urge in his quest for perfection?  

 The sun could never be controlled.

 And Pandora’s box can never be closed.

 Slowly, he lowered his face next to yours until you could feel his lips brush against the shell of your ear.

 “Again.”

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 297: We’re Bustin’ Outta This Joint

Previously on BnHA: Horikoshi did his best to undo all of the good vibes from the Girl Power arc by killing off Midnight. It sucks and I still don’t like it, but it is what it is. Unfortunately, Not Killing Off Your One Female Teacher Character With Any Character Development was worth 30% of his grade for the semester, so it brought his average down all the way to a C-, and so he and his report card will just have to live with that. Meanwhile Ochako did some rescuing, and the other U.A. kids lay around unconscious and/or traumatized. The chapter ended with an abrupt cut to Tartarus, where AFO is apparently just chilling and waiting for the Nearly High Ends to come bust him free. What kind of a cliffhanger is that to leave your fans hanging on for three whole weeks. Who’s suffering more here, the characters or the readers.

Today on BnHA: Horikoshi is all “okay I know you all want to know what happens to Deku and Shouto and the rest, but have you considered finding out what happens to Overhaul and Muscular and Moonfish and New Girl Character instead?” Fandom is all, “you had us at New Girl Character.” Seiji’s dad is all, “I’m just going to say a bunch of stuff to help make sure none of the readers feel conflicted about cheering on a bunch of mass murderers escaping from prison.” Tomura is all, “dammit AFO why are you still here.” AFO is all, “shhh, Tomura, go back to sleep.” Tomura is all, “wtf but you’re literally hijacking my body and continuing to shred it to bits while we break into BnHA Alcatraz to recruit your own personal Suicide Squad.” AFO is all, “:).” Real!AFO is all, “HERE I AM, EVERYONE, SORRY TO KEEP YOU WAITING.” And then the chapter ends. Geez.

oh shit lol it’s a whole big fucking page all about Tartarus

my very first thought was “that’s a long-ass fucking bridge”, and then I went to go google “longest bridges”, and Wikipedia was all “son there are literally a hundred and fifty bridges in the real world longer than 5km, and the longest one is actually 165km”, and I was all “oh shit I really don’t know jack shit about bridges.” then I looked at the list for a few more minutes and realized that the super-long bridges were all built over land, and that the longest bridge over water is only 38km. which is way more reasonable, but also still really fucking long though?? ngl I would freak the fuck out on that bridge. what does any of this have to do with Tartarus you ask?? absolutely nothing, I literally forgot I was reading a chapter for a sec lol uh

anyway, my parting thought on the bridge is that it kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a giant island fortress prison, but whatever. moving on

and the six levels thing is straight out of One Piece lol. something tells me BnHA’s prison break arc isn’t going to be quite as fun. hmm

so now we’re cutting to “the Bronze Gate”, which is the main entrance off of the bridge, and some goat-looking motherfucker is out here trying to become my new favorite character. bro

SON OF A BITCH WHAT’S WITH THE BULLETS FLYING IN THE BACKGROUND. DON’T TELL ME THEY’RE SHOOTING AT GYGES. THEY CAN’T KILL OFF MY FRESHEST HOMIE GYGES. SURELY THEY WOULDN’T

ooh and now, giant robots!

giant robots with machine guns. “I’m very sorry I killed off Midnight, makeste” you know what, fuck you Horikoshi. thinking you can buy my affections back so easily

does Gyges have six arms??? look how fucking calm he is announcing the code red security lockdown, holy shit. GYGES

NOOOO

NO NOT BRIAREUS. THIS DAY EXACTS A HEAVY TOLL

YO, WHAT

he came there himself?? so much for making the Noumus do his dirty work. and based on the speech bubble shape and font, this is still AFO talking

uh oh what’s happening

is he using Decay or is his arm just sort of crumbling to pieces because he hasn’t had time to heal up yet? if it’s the former this prison break is going to set a record for shortest arc yet isn’t it

now we’re cutting to B10 which is apparently the lowest level. but do they mean lowest as in the least security, or lowest as in the deepest underground, a.k.a. the most security? idk it’s confusing and I think they should be more specific. is it B like in basement?? are there six levels or ten?? stupid Tartarus

anyway so the guards are talking about how Gigantomachia is scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. heh. will there even be a Tartarus tomorrow morning

(ETA: WELL, UH.)

wow they’re talking about just killing him outright. damn

I kinda feel like “prison guard” is one of those jobs that just sort of naturally attracts shitty people. anyways yeah, Seiji your dad is a real piece of work

and he’s even doubling down on it after the other guy repeatedly keeps trying to hush him up. dude we get it, you’re an asshole

ooh and now we’re getting an interesting look at the various prisoners, some of whom look suspiciously familiar!

for starters, that’s definitely Moonfish in the upper left corner, I’m like 99% sure. not quite clear who that is across from him in the upper right, but it’s been a hot minute since we saw Muscular, so maybe?

and could that be Overhaul in the panel beneath him?? they’re not showing his face so I assume it’s someone we’d recognize, and he’s the only currently-incarcerated villain with that haircut as far as I can recall. though it seems weird that he’s not restrained more given his quirk. I thought Horikoshi mentioned in Ultra Analysis that he’d gotten it back somehow. eh well we will wait for answers

I don’t recognize the person to his left either (though she has an oddly familiar look to her?). but the person on the bottom right, next to Kurogiri... is it Stain?? the hair and body language are sure giving off Stain vibes. if someone had told the me from two years ago that I’d actually be excited to see Stain again I would have said you were full of shit. and yet here we are. these sure are interesting times

anyway so now the Code Red intruder alarm is blaring. and I gotta say, that one scene sure was effective at killing any sympathy I might have been inclined to feel for these guards lol. bring on the imminent massacre

“what horrible timing” lol yes. it’s almost as if they planned it that way

uh oh

is he omae wa shindeiruing. watch your six, Mr. Prison Guard

oh shit

WHAT DID I SAY. WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY. but nooo, you all were all, “but a bridge is more convenient!” VERY WELL THEN, LIE IN THE BED THAT YOU HAVE MADE

anyway so it’s the High Ends lol. I mean we already knew it was them. let’s just get on with it

omfg Tomura ARE YOU RIDING ONE

WHAT ARE YOU, A NAZGUL. WHY IS THIS MY FAVORITE THING

and it looks like it actually is Tomura again, too (as opposed to AFOmura)

-- is he using Decay on himself?? is that what it is?? or no wait, is this just more of the weird side effect shit that’s been happening since he Awakened. actually yeah never mind that’s clearly what it is

y’all this man is out here having a full blown argument with himself

so this is equal parts compelling and hilarious to me right now lol. like I feel so bad for Tomura, but I also lowkey want to see how far this escalates. like do you think he’d go as far as to punch himself in the face. where will this journey lead us

fucking look at this shit

other people have already mentioned this, but with this scene especially it makes me really curious how they’re going to show this in the anime. will it be AFO’s voice coming out of Tomura’s mouth? or Tomura’s voice using AFO’s speech patterns? more importantly, will it be cool and dramatic, or will it actually wind up being hilarious? or both?? never count out both

also he’s looking pretty good there in that bottom panel with his one eye just barely visible. that doesn’t have anything to do with anything, but here I am, pointing it out

also also, lol at Tomura being all, “the fuck do you mean, ‘rest’, you’re the one that dragged my body out here to raid a fucking prison,” and AFO being all, “oh yeah, lol, true true, but I meant rest after that.” yes, this man clearly has nothing but the purest intentions, Tomura. trustworthy af

this fucking guy. Tomura is your bullshit radar finally operational yet?? can you see yet that it was always his intention to use you right from the very start?? oh man I am starting to get fidgety now listening to this

so Tomura’s saying he doesn’t just want to be used as a chess piece. and AFO is all, “well okay but what if it’s a VERY NICE AND IMPORTANT chess piece.” bro DID HE STUTTER

-- AHH BUT NEVER MIND THAT, HERE IT IS, THIS IS WHERE THE FUN STARTS OMG

GO ON AND ACQUIRE THEM THEN! omg. why am I so fucking excited. it seriously makes no sense. like seriously, ‘hooray, our old buddies, Overhaul and Stain!!’ -- come again now?? who is this person that I have become

meanwhile AFO is making all this fuss and I really don’t understand it though

why would you need to plow directly through the building. why can’t you just use doors like a normal person. it’s not like they can lock you out, like hello, you can literally turn anything you touch into dust, what’s with all the melodrama

anyway so he’s apparently hitting the prison with some sort of EMP attack now and shutting down all their systems

omg the suspense is killing me. this is going to be so badass once it’s animated, but right now all I keep thinking is “YES, GREAT, CAN WE PLEASE JUST MOVE IT ALONG”

the doors are opening ahhhhhhh come on come on come on let’s go let’s get to the excitement already

now the guards are running over to try and regain control. but, like

yeah that’s pretty much how I’m expecting the rest of this to go basically

so now they’re shooting at the dust cloud lol. well if there’s one thing movies have taught me, it’s that bad guys who wait inside clouds of dust while panicked cops blindly rain bullets at them until they run out of ammo are basically invincible lol. soooooo

OHHHHH SHIT

AHAHAHAHAHAHA. THEY ARE SO FUCKED LOL, SHIT

YEP, AND HERE’S ANOTHER ONE

is this the first time we’ve seen Moonfish’s face? I feel like we might have caught a glimpse of it before on an omake page or something. either way, it wasn’t anything I actually needed to see again. thanks...?? I guess??

okay but seriously, are we supposed to actually know who this badass lady is?? like I don’t know her but I feel like I know her, you feel?

(ETA: lol there are already like 60 different theories about how she’s related to every single character in the series. will be interesting to see if anything comes of this. although we did just get three “this villain was secretly related to [insert character(s) here] all along” reveals just in the last arc, so idk, it might be better if we pass on it this time lol.)

girl who are you. please stick around. for the love of god don’t let this man kill you off too

????

wait so is this Overhaul? boy sure has seen better days huh. but the floppy sleeves... yeah, it’s gotta be him

anyway so then the only ones missing are Stain and Kurogiri, yes?? omg. and one page left to go

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NO ONE WILL BE ABLE TO CONVINCE ME HE COULDN’T HAVE DONE THIS SHIT RIGHT FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. FUCKING TIME-BIDING DRAMA QUEEN

AND HE’S JUST FLOATING HIS LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEM ALONG BEHIND HIM SOB. THIS FUCKING GUY

AND IS HE JUST ABSENTMINDEDLY DRAGGING SOME POOR SCHLUB’S CORPSE ALONG BESIDE HIM LIKE A SLEEPY TODDLER CARRYING THEIR TEDDY BEAR. I FUCKING CAN’T. REST IN PEACE, FRIEND. GIVE MY REGARDS TO GOOD OLD BRIAREUS

so that’s it! and we still don’t have any idea what AFO is actually planning to do now, after all of that. are they going to merge bodies?? or is he going to try to switch with him?? either way Tomura’s body has to be part of the plan somehow since he keeps making so much of a fuss over it. flkhglkhlk. dammit I need answers lol

[tomboyneedshercoffee]

Lovedust Epilogue || Peter Parker x Stark Reader

Epilogue: The end to a new beginning

Word Count: 1.3k

Author’s Note: PLEASE READ!!! And just like that, that concludes this series. I want to thank you all for supporting me and my writing, I couldn’t ask for sweeter followers to have along the way and because of you guys, this story has grown into something that has stuck with me through my everyday life. Every comment, every like, every reblog means the world to me and it is thanks to YOU that I felt comfortable enough to continue to share this story. I love these characters so much and I’m sad to see them leave but I can rest happy knowing that things ended the way they should and with that, I have my peace with them. Also peep the last few lines that are the same as the first few lines of the series ouch. Sorry to get so gushy but wow, after over 30k words, 8 parts, and many tears/laughter, lovedust is officially over. 

Warnings: Fluff because you all deserve it

part one || part two || part three || part four || part five || part six || part seven || part eight || epilogue 

[five months later]

‘Some things never change’ you thought to yourself as Peter’s music slipped its way through your bedroom walls. You had asked for a lazy Sunday morning and the promise of being woken up to sweet but inevitably burnt pancakes. 

The music wasn’t dreadful; you didn’t recognize the melody but it was eerily similar to something you would hear Steve play in his room from time to time whenever he wanted to feel nostalgic. Go figure, you and Peter had always teased Steve to ‘drop the oldies but goodies’ playlist so you couldn’t complain now that Peter got his hands on it. 

You slipped on your robe over the pajamas you had no intention of taking off for the remainder of the day before exiting your room. Once you had made it to Peter’s room, you didn’t bother to knock and instead, opened the door to find your boyfriend scrolling through his phone to change the song. 

“ I was promised breakfast in bed so unless you’re looking up how to make the pancake batter, you better make your way into the kitchen Parker,” You teased lightly, causing Peter to throw his phone to the side of his bed. 

“ I didn’t think you’d be awake so early,” Peter stretched his hands out to you and just like second nature, you stepped into his arms and leaned against his chest,” you never wake up before twelve on the weekend.”

“ Well I was working on my paper but someone had to play their music so loud,” You looked up at Peter who only gave back a sleepily, sympathetic smile. 

Peter hummed a soft apology as he moved his hands down to your waist to pull your frame closer to his. He could smell your shampoo- no- he was sure you had used his shampoo yet again but decided to spare you from another lecture of stealing because of how relaxed you felt in his embrace. 

With the music playing in the background, he started to sleepily sway side to side which only made you laugh again.

“ Are we dancing right now? What about my pancakes?” 

“ In a second, I just want to hold you for a little bit longer.” 

“ These better be some pretty bomb ass pancakes then.”

“ Just be quiet and let me dance with you.”

You huffed but didn’t resist, instead, you melted into his embrace even more and closed your eyes. 

With your summer drawing to an end, you could only hope to savor these precious moments with Peter, especially since you had no idea what the following fall would have in store for the two of you.

You knew he would always be around but things wouldn’t be the exact same. You two had taken advantage of living only a few feet away from each other but it seemed like life was moving too fast for your liking now that you had college right around the corner. 

The past couple of months had been nothing short of a blessing. It was a lot to handle at first as the two of you sorted through whatever insecurities or mistakes that occurred before the relationship but slowly, you two managed and tied up any loose ends that were still poking out. 

You weren’t afraid to say it outloud, of course you loved him. But there was something even stronger that helped you two through it all and that was forgiveness. There was no point in holding anything over each other’s head because the end goal was as clear as day and you were relieved knowing that the past was the past. 

Although you would catch yourself thinking back to the terrible memories you had of tormenting each other, it almost felt like you were looking back at ancient tapes filmed through a different lens. You both grew from it so now, when you looked back, all you could see was growth and effort.  

Your heart sunk for a moment as you swayed in his arms. You held him tighter at the thought of change and how different things would be in the future. Who��s to say that you two would even be together forever, of course, you wanted to be with him forever but this life wasn’t guaranteed. 

You could hear his voice right now, telling you to stop thinking of your morbid hypotheticals and so you did. You wanted to enjoy this moment right here and now, you just wanted it to last a bit longer. 

You hardly flinched as you felt Peter’s bare foot step onto your toes, only smiling at the apology that slipped out of his mouth. He could tell he had snapped you out of your daze and Peter, being the ever so curious one, asked you what you were thinking about. 

“ We’ve come a long way huh?” You said as you felt Peter nod above you,” I’m going to miss you.”

“ Hey, hey, don’t be sad. You know I’m always going to be around baby,” Peter pulled away to study your sad expression, his thumb coming up to wipe underneath your eye to make sure you weren’t crying. 

“ I know I know. It’s just...this is the end of a chapter and I don’t know if I’m ready to say goodbye to it just yet. What happens after all of this?” You asked as Peter pressed a soft kiss on your temple to ease your mind. 

“ Like you said babe, breakfast in bed,” He teased, knowing that it would make you laugh. 

He felt his heart skip a beat when his attempt had done the trick, even if the laugh was short, it was still a tally in his book. 

“ Things will change and that’s okay,” Peter said after a moment as you stayed quiet,” we’ve changed a lot and look where we are now. Did you ever think months ago that you and I would ever be this close without killing one another?”

“ Definitely not.” 

“ Exactly, but you know what won’t change?” You looked up at your boyfriend as he smiled back at you,” I’ll always love you, no matter what.”

Your heart swelled at the profession. It was almost like a talent of his to find the right words to say to make your anxieties seemingly evaporate off of you. 

Even though it came out as a whisper, you meant it with your whole chest, those three words you couldn’t find yourself ever getting tired of saying. It slipped so easily out of your mouth, almost as if someone was asking you something as simple as your name. 

“ I love you too-”

Peter barely professed all of it before you pressed your lips against his, his shoulders instantly relaxing at your action. He has kissed you over a hundred times within the last couple of months but each time, he still felt over the moon when given the chance to be intimate with you. 

It was always when you pulled away that suddenly, he was grounded but in a way that still made his heart feel feverish with pure adoration. 

You always smiled after pulling away from his lips because just like the first time you two ever shared a kiss, he always wore the same loving but goofy grin on his face as if he was a schoolgirl. And you loved it. 

Peter couldn’t help himself to kiss you again and for the next few minutes, you found yourself either swaying with your boyfriend to the soft sound of the instrumental love ballad or stopping for a moment to press your lips against his. 

The moment was fleeting after your dad had barged in a minute later, grumbling about how the door needed to be opened at least five feet but even so, you knew the feeling would stay in your memory for life. 

So as you came out to the kitchen to watch your ‘super-family’ attempt to make an edible breakfast, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself. 

You weren’t sure how much room was left in your heart but you knew a person who you would always have space for. Peter Parker.

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[secndlife]

[10:23am]

Seungcheol liked driving. You liked to watch Seungcheol drive. That was enough to make him think you were a perfect match. It was more than that, though. Within the years he spent by your side, he found in other small and simple happenings the confirmation he needed to know you were it for him. There was no one like you and there would never be. 

There was a random song playing in the background. You had made a playlist especially for this small road trip and Seungcheol found your selection very fitting. Much like he did whenever his hand was on yours. Or when your head was resting against his chest. Or when your lips were tasting his.

You thought Seungcheol looked golden under the morning sun. It reflected against his soft, dark, long hair and he was the prettiest like that. He seemed happy, the small smile never leaving his lips. Whenever you laid your eyes on him, you rediscovered all the breathtaking, incredible feelings he gave you. You rediscovered what it was like to be in love at every kiss and every touch. It was not like you had forgotten. But it was like that thrill of something new and amazing starting would never go away. 

You stared at the road ahead of you. It was clean, straight. You couldn’t wait to get to Daegu. You liked to be around his family. You liked to see who he was with them. Seungcheol was a man of many faces. He was someone in Seoul and a different person in Daegu. Life shaped him like that, you guessed. Whenever he was in the big city, he was the strong, hard-hearted leader he learned how to be with time. Assertive. Whenever he was home, he was nothing but a child at heart. Spoiled.

He could whine and get whatever he wanted. He could get rid of the responsibilities, even if just temporarily. He could rest and feel at home. His family felt like home to him and he felt like home to you. There was something about him that would always feel comforting, no matter where he was or which facet he had on. 

You suddenly felt his eyes on you. “Shouldn't you be looking at the road?” You said, with a laugh. You gently placed your fingers by his jawline and made him face forward. His dimple showed and you felt your heart getting warm. 

He giggled, “Just wanted to double-check how beautiful you are.” Seungcheol had always been this cheesy. His left hand kept its place in the steering wheel while the right one reached out to you. He laced your fingers together and brought them up to his lips. He gave the back of your hand a peck and then rested it by his thigh. 

You shook your head, an easy chuckle escaping. “You’re so silly.” You loved it. 

“For you, yes.” He shot another dimple smile your way and you figured you had never been this in love. “Can’t I look at my girlfriend?” He inquired, voice full of taunt.  

You guided his head once again. “Not when you're driving, you can't.” 

He huffed in annoyance, “Fine.” Seungcheol seemed to be in his Daegu persona already, the spoiled younger child showing its features. 

Not long after, he looked at you again. “Choi Seungcheol.”

“But I want to tell you I love you!” He protested. “I can't tell you I love you without looking at you.” The pout across his lips was almost as big as his heart. 

You rolled your eyes. “I already know you love me. Now’s not the time.” He quickly checked the mirror and started signaling and switching lanes. Before you noticed, he had pulled over. “Are you serious?” You laughed in disbelief. 

He turned his body to you slightly, the seat belt limiting his movements. “I love you.” He had a sheepish smile on his face and he looked way too proud of himself for something so stupid. Love made him like that. 

“I can't believe you,” you said. Seungcheol was crazy. After all this time, the way he still made sure to show you how much he loved you made your head spin. You'd never get used to it.

You thought this type of love was saved for movies and books. For human perception and not actual feeling. Well, it seemed like he had turned you into a character. 

He said nothing. It was like he was waiting for something you knew very well what it was. You shook your head again. You tried to be serious, to act better on the fake annoyance. The grins were too powerful to be contained, though. 

“I love you too.” He nodded as if he was approving your words. Unbelievable. When you were back on the road, you spoke again. “You're crazy.”

Seungcheol smiled bright, “In love with you? Yes.”

a/n: hiiiiiiiii @woozisnoots​!!!! heheheh guess what? i was your secret santa!!! sorry if this is short :/ i barely had time to write anything during holiday season, but i really really really wanted to do something for you so here we are hehe i know you were super busy during this event and that you were also resting for some of it, like you deserve. so i hope this is refreshing and heartwarming enough. you’re amazing and i’m so happy i met you on cwc!!!! enjoy!!!!!!!

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 12/?

Word Count: 4.4k

Author’s Note: Y/N - Your Name, A/N - Any Name (Your Best friend’s name)

God idk what i’m doing with this but i’m liking it lmao

next one might honestly be smut idk

Warnings: Violence, Swearing, Description of Blood, Gets heated, hints at trauma, no beta bitch we die like Jason Todd

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20)

Y/N walked through the streets of Gotham, which were once bustling with people, but now were quiet with the occasional hooker, she had caught the city as an unlively hour, where it seemed to sleep the night away while the vigilantes of the area watched it like their lives depended on it. In some ways it did, the stories they would tell when being interviewed were horrific sometimes, but Y/N figured a decent amount of it was for dramatization, to keep the people of Gotham off of the streets to protect them all from it.

The question was always protect them from what, and they never answered. So, it never kept the people of Gotham at bay from the streets at night, and had Y/N’s car not been towed, she would have been driving home in the safe, secluded area of her car, not the vast wilderness of the streets of Gotham.

She looked up at the sky to see one of the virgate boys using a grappling hook to fly to the other building, which was such a sight to behold for someone who never witnessed a superhero beyond Superman at home. She wished and longed to know more about the vigilante, but didn’t dwell or dote on that man, because she didn’t need to.

Something told her that he was watching though, tracing every step she made to make sure she got home in one piece. She thought she was crazy, her life didnt matter more than anyone else in Gotham. He’s not following me, why would he? she thought, Even though I’m dating Jason Todd, they probably don’t know Jason, so my life doesn’t mean much more to them than any one of the hookers along this street. I’m overthinking it.

The walk home took two hours, she left Jason’s at 4am just to find herself back home at 6am, bright and early as the sun rose, ready to greet the day and all it had in store for everyone. But the things it had in store for Y/N was a class and if she was lucky, cuddling with Jason. Nothing more, nothing less.

She would open her front door, unscathed from the journey home, except maybe for a few callouses on her feet, it was the last time she wouldn't pay for more than a day of parking, that’s for sure. Heels were not the shoes you wanted for a two-hour walk home in the Autumn cold, but they were what she had.

She thought about what she was going to do next, and the first thought she had was to shower. Not because she needed to, but because she wanted to nurse the terrible headache she had and to think some things through. What she normally did in the shower.

She wanted so much more from so much of her life. the main offender of seemingly not being enough for her was Jason. Not because she didn’t want more, but because she craved more from him. He was injured, so she wouldn’t get much more rom him for the time being, and it stung a little for her. She just wanted him, maybe sexually, maybe in a more romantic setting or maybe just on her couch on a Thursday afternoon. It was all three of those options and she knew it.

She pulled out of the shower and looked at the time, 6:50am. Okay, she thought, little more time than I wanted to spend in the shower, but I guess the universe had different plans for me today. What else do you have for me, universe? And how much of you plan involves Jason?

She would open her phone after quickly getting dressed. While she still cared for her appearance, she didn’t want to dress like she owned a law firm every day, so she didn’t. Just black jeans and a black top and she felt like a million bucks. 

Just some quick outfit inspo. I like doing these a lot. I think fashion is funky :))

Artemis had sent her a message asking where she was at around 4am, she wondered why the time, but she then remembered that Artemis’ boyfriend worked with Dick Grayson, who was Jason’s brother, who worked most nights until radical hours of the night. The chances that he saw her on her two-hour walk home was high, but the chances that that had also made it back to Jason was higher. She knew she was in for it.

Hey sorry, I was at Jason’s. Fell asleep in his arms the whole shebang. And yeah, that was me who screamed the yo momma joke at the press. It was super childish, I know, but I don’t care. Those fucks are sucking my life force out of me and harassing my boyfriend, even your boyfriend.

She would then look at the articles calling her a gold digger and worth-nothing childish insulter of the press. She laughed. If the press wanted a fight from her, she was more than willing to oblige and load the canons. 

She didn’t know how to fight back that well, since it was a mainly verbal fight, and she barely even knew how to  fight physically, hence all the running and non-confrontational arguments she had had to the press.

And like fucking clockwork, Jason texted her.

Did you walk home alone or are my brothers lying bastards?

I walked. I knew someone saw me, fuck.

Why did you walk home? I thought you drove here?

I did, but we spent more than 12 hours together Jason. I didn’t buy enough hours, suddenly my car was being towed.

You could have asked for a ride home from Alfred! He would have in a heartbeat.

I was going to! But  I got distracted and it all became a blur and suddenly I was part of the way home in the dark by myself!

What if you had gotten hurt?

Well, I saw one of the vigilantes of the city on the rooftops, I’m sure if I screamed they would have seen me. They always do see that stuff.

So, your car got towed huh?

Yeah, I don’t know when I’ll be able to pay it off. It’s not exactly like money my parents give me should go to my car getting towed because I got fucked over by seeing my boyfriend. 

You’ll figure it out. Sorry about the car, that’s got to suck fucking ass.

You think? I’m stuck taking the fuckin’ subway till I get my car back. I hate the subway, too many people. Far too many people. Too many eyes. It gets stressful really quickly. Might just walk every where honestly, I can’t deal with the eyes of strangers.

But you’re a C-list celebrity.

Internet is different. I can just block the bad eyes and move on with my life, you should see my block list now that some people are connecting my name to the girl who flipped off the press, thank god Twitter has a fuckin block feature.

You should really just meet my family so you don’t have to run away before they get home, would probably cause you a lot less financial stress, Y/N.

I’ll think about it.

You should think a little harder about it. I don’t want you to get your car impounded ‘cause you’re seeing me, why did you even park in pay-to-park?

Did you not see the massive mob trying to get to you? It was impossible for me to even try to pull into the driveway. Hence why I’m being insulted, you know, ‘cause I yelled at the press to get them to leave me alone. I fucking hate the press, you’re stabbed, severely injured last time they got information, and they’re harassing me, asking me what I like to do on the weekends.

Fucking vultures. Yeah, I’ve seen that. I’ve read the articles. But that’s the press for you, absolute trash and spitting bullshit in everyway.

Fucking hate the press, that’s for damn sure. Despise them. I won’t ever change that, even if, knock on wood, we break up.

Praying we don’t break up so I can see you lose your shit at the press when you’re bored.

She would get up to go make some coffee, since it was closer to 7:20am and if her roommate woke up, she could just tell her to get up anyway.

The press can suck my dick. she said.

You have a dick?

Oh yeah. Massive. 20ft long. It probably won’t even fit all the vultures.

Oh my god, that’s not as big as mine.

lmfao is it now?

Oh yeah.

Nice.

Anyway, my brothers are staying home from school today,  I think they’re making me play Resident Evil 8 with them? You know that game?

Of course. Everyone in that game is infinitely hot.

Are you bi? 

I don’t know. Haven't thought that far ahead to actually label myself. I just like people. Sometimes it’s men, sometimes it’s women. But you have to agree when you see them all. That game came out when I was still in  high school, so I’ve played the entire thing. My phone background is actually one of the characters.

Which one?

I’ll show you if I come over tonight.

My brothers might be in my room, though.

Okay, but, RE8 is an amazing game. So, worth it.

You won’t meet them normally but I pull out a game you love and you’re down?

I’m very easy to convince.

You still have notes to write when you come over though.

Oh yeah, I was probably going to have to come over both ways, just because I need those notes and you do too.

Do you not own a printer?

I barely even own a laptop, I’m waiting for my old one to come in the mail. 

How do you even manage?

With a whole lot of will and spite, anything is possible.

And that’s when her discord group chat @’ed her. She was on Do Not Disturb because she was Jason, and apparently they missed her.

Y/N! C’mere. One said.

Yes? Whatduhya want nerds?

We’ve decided to hold a fake internet wedding between you and Christopher. Another said.

A what.

We’re getting married!

Sometimes I wish I never left Metropolis and then I remember you fucks live there. Why are we doing this? You do know I have a boyfriend right? She asked them.

I don’t know, we’re bored and we miss you. We can have a bachelorette party in Gotham, if you want.

I’m this close to going back on DND.

The group chat was made way back when they had all first met in grade 9 and had been active ever since. They all had stayed in the city when they graduated though, but since Y/N received a scholarship, fully paid for, she took the opportunity and jumped.

They were some of her closest friends, even if they lived in a different city to her now, even if they were all busy with school, even if she was busy with school and a boyfriend, A lot of her life wouldn’t be complete without her crack friends in her hometown.

They had all ben partying like crazy while she was gone, and if she wasn’t so hung up in her own life, she’d probably be down there with them. 

Before you do, can you please explain why you’re screaming at the press, lmao.

Because fuck the press, dude. Why else? 

What did they do to you?

Have you seen the recent articles?

That’s true.

She laughed and finished her coffee. Jason had not responded yet, she assumed his brothers were either checking on him or they had started the game. It was around 8am when A/N finally left her room.

“I thought you were staying with Jason?”

“I was, but then I remembered he has like 9 siblings and I’m not about to meet them all. Then I walked home.”

“You walked?”

“Car got towed.”

“Fuck, can you afford the bill? I can’t.”

“Nope.”

“Guess we’re going to take the subway for a while, huh.”

She sighed and put her cup in the sink, “At least you don’t have school to go to and your lover comes to meet you, I have shit to do and places to be,” she frowned, “Inconvenient.”

“Could you borrow money from Jason’s dad?”

“I don’t borrow money from family, it’s hard enough for me to accept the money my parents send me.”

“I know it is, when’s your class?”

“3pm, I’ll be leaving at 12pm though, because the subway is unreliable.”

“This is going to be a hard hit for us.”

“Well, it’s not like it’s fucking your credit. Mine’s tanking.”

“You’ll pull through it.”

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

She got onto the subway at 12:30pm. She really hated the way it was running. The people, the faces, the staring eyes of unwanted attention. People knew who she was and she hated it. She didn’t like the attention, she just liked the fucking with people. She wanted to get off the subway the minute she got on.

She eventually couldn’t take it and got off a few stops away, there was still a substantial walk towards the college, but she knew it would be. She even brought a leather jacket with her so that she could walk if she couldn’t take it anymore.

And there she was, in the busy streets of Gotham, walking to her college. Barely aware of the people who did stare at her, because she just kept walking, lost in her thought but aware of the people in her trail, the cross walks and the lights she was waiting for occasionally. She just kept walking until Artemis met up with her,

“Hey! I didn’t know you were walking to school today,” Artemis said.

“Oh! I didn’t want to, my car got towed though.”

“Your car got towed? That sucks so much. Well, we’re going the same way, so I’ve decided I’m going to walk with you, you get no say.”

“Of course. I was going to ask if you wanted to,” she laughed, “It’s more fun with a friend anyway, Art.”

“So, how are things with you and Jason, I’m legally obliged to ask as one of his friends.”

“Well, we made it official if that’s the kind of thing you want to hear,” she laughed again, “I’m sure it’s the answer Dick will eat up.”

“You’re right about that one. Dick’s a sucker for a romantic story, you should write one, since you write. He’d probably read it all.”

“Well, that would be fun, but I still don’t have my laptop.”

“You could use Jason’s?” Artemis suggested..

“Nah. It’ll be fine,” she said, “I’ll manage.”

“Aren’t you collecting notes for him for your psychology class?”

“I am, it’s not like he can go anywhere. I actually told him he’d need to walk eventually so that it’s not a learning curve when he’s healed.”

“That’s what all of us are telling him too, he’s a stubborn man, good luck with that one,” Artemis laughed, “He’s always been the stubborn friend. Worse than Will, actually, and Will is really bad with being stubborn.”

“It’s fine,” she laughed, “If you asked any of my Metropolis friends they’d say the same about me.”

“I bet you were quite the wild child in your heyday back in your city,” Artemis laughed, “I hate Metropolis.”

“Who doesn’t? It’s so crowded.”

“Uh, Clark doesn’t. He thrives there, no idea why, he grew up in Smallville. If anyone should be uncomfortable with Metropolis it should be the small-city country boy, but I guess it’s his thing.”

“I forget you know everyone.”

“We know a lot of people, are you’re slowly being let into our massive circle of very well-known people. Welcome to the group, I guess,” she laughed, “You'll either hate or love the fame that comes from this.”

“Well, if its paparazzi and press, I think I’ll hate it.”

“I can promise you right now that it’s not all paparazzi and press, we haven’t been bothered today, probably because we are on the move.”

“You shouldn’t say that, you’ll jinx it.”

“I know a lot about not jinxing it, but that’s a story for another time,” Y/N noticed that when Artemis said this her eyes glazed over and she looked upset.

“You don’t ever have to talk to me about something you’re not ready to talk about,” Y/N reassured her.

“Hey, the trauma makes me funny.”

“Two can play that game.”

They would ramble on for the rest of the walk to their college. Nothing really of substance, just getting to know each other further. She was glad she found a friend in Artemis, it would have sucked if the two of them didn’t get along, but with each word they exchanged, they had so much fun.

She even told Artemis about that time she played Katherine Howard in her school’s budget play of Six - The Musical. She was proud of the riffs she was able to do, but she didn’t talk about it often. She was never the type of brag about her achievements, no matter how amazing they were.

But Artemis and Y/N parted ways and Y/N went to her class and wrote the same, boring, scribbly and barely legible notes. She figured eventually she’d need nicer handwriting, but did she want to work on it? No.

When she finished, she saw Artemis and who she could only assume to be Wally, at Artemis’ class doors. She waved to Artemis, before Artemis called her over.

“Y/N! Hey, I would ask how class is, but this is Wally,” she gestured to the red-head boy beside her, and Y/N held out her hand to shake Wally’s.

“Hi, Wally.”

“Y/N. It’s nice to meet you since Jason can’t shut up about you and my girlfriend likes you a lot.”

“Well that's sweet of you Artemis. You’re just so in love with me,” Y/N joked.

“Girl. You know it,” Artemis joked back.

“You two already have a close bond? That’s impressive,” Wally said, “Never seen anyone win over any of my friends this quickly,” he muttered.

They joked for a little while longer, just getting to know Wally before she had to go, she had to get to Jason’s.

The walk was a while away, so she went and sat on a park bench for a minute to check her phone, Jason had texted her.

Hey baby, are you coming over?

I am, yes. I actually just met Wally.

You met Wally and I wasn’t there to see it? C’mon.

Artemis introduced us! Go yell at her.

Oh. Never mind. I won’t do that.

Ha! Scared of her?

Maybe a little, she can be scary, okay?

You can’t tell but I’m laughing at you.

Dhmu.

That’s fine, I’ll just go hang out with Alfred and not you. He seems like he would be spiteful like me.

That’s unfair.

I thought you said don’t hit me up?

Fuck.

Checkmate.

I am upset.

No you’re not.

No I’m not.

She would walk down the street further, maybe within a couple steps to reach the Manor, when a man dragged her into an alleyway. She yelped.

“Uh, hello? Can I help you?” she asked, pretending she wasn’t terrified.

“How much would Bruce give me for you?” the attacker mumbled before he tried to knock her to the ground, but she had another plan.

He grabbed her, put his face close to hers, and she head-butted him, he would stumble back, and she started running to the Manor.

“Come here you fucking bitch!” he screamed. She could feel her nose bleeding as she ran and ran, the security saw her and pulled her into the gateway before drawing their guns and urging her to run to the steps of the Manor.

And she ran. The security at the door saw her and let her in, and yelled for Alfred.

“What is this nonsense, oh,” Alfred paused when he saw the blood running out of Y/N’s nose, “Miss Y/N, what happened to you?” he asked before grabbing her hand and pulling her into the entry-way bathroom and opening a first-aid kit.

“Okay so, what happened was I was walking to the Manor because my car got towed right? And this fucking bastard dude pops out from an alleyway and pulls me into it, asks some bullshit about how much Bruce would pay for me, when he grabbed me and tried to knock me down, when I head-butted him and started running,” she said, completely unphased.

Alfred didn’t respond to her and started to stop the bleeding when Bruce called for him, “In the entry-way bathroom, Master Wayne!” he answered.

Bruce came around the corner and saw Alfred was already tending to Y/N, “Well, this is the event where I meet my son’s girlfriend, when she is bleeding and running from a strange man in an alleyway.”

“Heh, sorry,” she said and outstretched her hand to shake his, “It’s nice to finally meet you, Bruce.”

“I can tell you’re going to be quite the addition to this household,” he said as he took her hand and shook it, “As long as you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.”

“That’s good. I guess you can’t get mad at Jase for being a reckless man now.”

“I really can’t.”

“Alright, you should be good, Miss Y/N.”

“Thank you, Alfred. But you really didn’t have to.”

“I’ve been taking care of 5 boys and 3 girls since most of them were little, Miss Y/N. A little blood is really no big deal for me to handle.”

“That’s obvious.”

“You can go see the boys now, they’re going to ask you though,” Bruce said.

“I know.”

She walked to Jason’s room, hoping that he wouldn’t have all of his siblings in the room, he did though.

“Hey, Y/N- what the fuck happened to you?” Jason exclaimed when she opened the door.

“Oh great, all your siblings are here. Anyway, I guess,” she paused, taking in a big breath so she could run through the events quickly, “So I was walking here ‘cause my car got towed, right? When some fucking bastard man grabs me and yanks me into an alleyway and starts going off about how much Bruce will pay him to get me back or something,” she paused again, “And when he tried to knock me down by getting really close and personal to my face, like an idiot I should add, I head-butted him.”

“You did what?’

“I’m not done yet, met your dad when I actually had blood running out of my nose because that's just my fucking luck. Okay, now you can be disappointed in me,” she joked.

“I will say again, you did what?”

“Something stupid?” she said.

“You could say that again, my god, what went through your head?”

“Uh, nothing. Just survival. Fight or flight but I head-butted a man, and hi, everyone.”

“Hi, Y/N, I’m Dick,” Dick said, “You clearly are meant for Jason,” he joked, “That's something he would do.”

“Don’t encourage her, Dick!”

Stephanie got up and greeted her, “You know, Y/N, I always wanted a crazy sister,” she joked, “I’m Stephanie, the black-haired girl is Cass, and the red-head is Barbara.”

“Me too,” Cass hopped onto the joke.

“It’s something else when you meet the girl your brother is dating after she head-butted a man, apparently,” Y/N laughed, “I know it’s far-fetched-”

“Not really,” Tim cut her off, “You know Jason protected Will when they were attacked?”

“That’s Tim, by the way,” Dick said.

“So you can’t yell at me for head-butting a man!” Y/N joked at Jason while going to sit beside him, he slinged an arm around her shoulder and leant his head into her head.

“Well, you seem like a nice enough girl,” Barbara said, “Take away the reckless behavior, and you are lovely.”

“That is valid, to be honest. Not exactly the way you want to meet your brother’s girlfriend.”

“You think?” Jason asked, sarcastically.

“Ha ha.”

“See, she thinks I’m funny, why can’t you fucks?”

Y/N laughed and then asked Dick, who was playing RE8 at the time, staring at the photo of Donna Bentiveno, “She’s cute, isn’t she, Dick?”

“Have I been staring?”

“Let’s just say Angie is probably very pissed at you.”

“Oh! Whoops. There’s a point to this, I forgot.”

“I don’t blame you, I remember forgetting there was a point and the little bitch devil doll would attack you.”

“Language.”

“Oh no, you’re lame. Gross.”

“Excuse me?” Dick asked as the rest of the room erupted in laughter.

“Do you guys see why I like her now?” Jason asked.

“Uh no, she’s mean,” Dick said.

“You’re going to die if you don’t start paying attention, Dick,” Y/N said.

“Oh!” and he died.

“And that kids, is why we listen to the person who’s 100%’ed the game.”

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

Y/N and Jason would spend hours with his brothers and sisters until the sun started to set and they all scattered to their own rooms to  do their own things. you can’t keep a lot of kids in one room for so long.

Once everyone left, Y/N placed her hands on Jason and kissed him, she was actually able to be laid on his pillow, he was able to pin her to the bed. And they did just that. He was on top of her, using his one arm to prop himself up and using his other hand to touch her face.

Her hands found their way into his hair like they always did, she found a lot of joy in playing with his hair. Their tongues danced together, they never fought or anything, they just enjoyed each other when Jason let out a small moan and she let out a small laugh.

“Keep it in your pants, Tiger,” she joked, “You’re not fully healed.”

“You literally smashed your face into another man but I can’t moan when I kiss you?”

“Because I know you want more.”

“Hell yeah I do,” he said as he went back for more, actually using his strength to keep her to the bed, but she didn’t protest this time.

[that-crazy-five-foot-two-chick]

Rating: G cuz I got nothin.

Word count: 873

Summary: Winry wheedled Ed into trying out for the musical with her. He agreed, assuming he could back out after auditions. And then he got the lead. OR Putting the drama in drama class, ft. pettiness, stage kissing, and applying stage makeup for friends that are totally just friends

Winry ran up to Edward, gasping for breath and grinning. "Ed! Did you see the cast list yet?"

Ed frowned. "Cast list? I thought I'd be able to back out after the stupid audition."

Winry groaned and rolled her eyes. "Back out? No, dummy, if you audition, you're asking to be considered for a role, and you take what you get. Now are you going to look or do I have to give you the news myself?"

"What do I care? It's not like I got anything special. I wasn't even trying that hard."

She put her hands on her hips. "So you're telling me that you weren't even trying at the audition and somehow got the lead?"

"I what?!"

"You got the lead, Ed! You're Curly!"

"No! This is all a big mistake! I don't know how to act! And who wants to play a guy with a stupid name like Curly, anyway?"

"Like, every guy that tried out," Winry said bluntly.

"Ugh, this is gonna be a nightmare. What about you, gearhead? You're the one who actually wanted to try out. Did you make it in?"

"Oh, I'm just one of the extras, but I'm not complaining too much. I've got so much homework from my A.P. classes, I hardly even know left from right anymore. Having that many lines to memorize probably wouldn't be good for my health," she said with a laugh.

"But you were actually trying out seriously! And I've heard you sing. If I had any say in it, you'd get the lead role, not me," Ed huffed.

"I'm not that good, Ed. Besides, it's way harder to get any kind of lead as a girl."

"Why?"

Winry sighed. "You know nothing about theatre, do you? Barely any guys ever try out, but there are always a ton of girls."

"Their loss, then. You're going to be an amazing whatever-you-are."

"Well, I think you're going to blow everyone away as Curly. At least, as long as you actually try to do a good job," she said, raising an eyebrow.

*****

"I still can't believe Brother is actually in the musical. I didn't think he'd touch the theatre department with a ten-foot pole," Alphonse remarked. "Have you gotten the scripts yet?"

"Yeah, we just got them yesterday," Winry said. "I take it he hasn't even looked at the script yet?"

"If he has, he hasn't told me," Al sighed. "So...I don't know about the stage version, but I know in the movie for Oklahoma!, they kiss. Are we gonna tell him or just let him find out when he reads the script himself?"

"They WHAT?!" Ed screeched as he whipped open the door. "Nope, I'm not doing it. I don't care what Ms. Catalina says. I'm not kissing some random girl!"

Winry dragged a hand over her face. "Ed, can you not be stubborn for once, if that's all it is? Ms. Catalina's got enough on her plate as it is without you making the rehearsals more complicated. It's not like this is the only class she teaches. I know it's not ideal, but it's just a quick peck. Unless...are you nervous because it's your first kiss or something?"

"No! It's not my first—ugh, fine, I'll do it. But it doesn't mean I'm not gonna wanna vomit afterwards." Ed averted his eyes as the color on his cheeks betrayed his feelings.

"As long as you stay in character, no one's going to complain." Winry shrugged, then fully processed what he had said. "Wait a second, what do you mean it won't be your first? Who else did you kiss?"

"Don't—dont worry about it. I said I'd do it. Anyways, I've got a lot of calc homework. I'll be in my room," Ed stuttered out.

If Winry didn't remember, Ed sure wasn't going to tell her. It's not like it counted for much, anyway. They were only seven, after all. At seven, no one can turn down a double dog dare, and Russell laughed at Ed right after he did it. But even so, Ed couldn't help but kiss her softly.

He vaguely remembered Russell sneering in the background, "Oooooh, I knew you had a crush on Winry! Wait till I tell Fletcher!" Ed would have chased him down and tackled him, too, if Winry's face hadn't made him pause.

Even ten years later, Ed couldn't forget how her little mouth formed into an 'o' as her eyes opened wide and her cheeks that were still a little chubby turned pink. Of course, he'd been a coward and run away right after that, but he remembered it all the same.

Did he want to kiss her now that he was in high school? Of course not—probably. Well, it'd at least be better to know what he was dealing with. Known factors and all that. What if the girl who played Laurey was a super slobbery kisser? Yuck. Even worse, what if he was the bad kisser? Maybe he should research how to be a good kisser… So that he would be good at his role, of course. Yeah. It was going to make for an awkward browsing history, though. Maybe he should go incognito…

A/N: It was supposed to be short. And then I finished this part and stopped and said "this is almost scratching 1k and I've barely even started it yet. This is just gonna be a multichapter now." Might only be two chapters, but we'll see...

[procrastinatingfeminist]

Hot take on McGonagall

McGonagall knew where Harry was going to spend the years before Hogwarts. She was there, in Privet Drive, in her cat form when Dumbledore arrived to drop Harry off, which means that she spent some time observing the Dursleys and likely knew of their connection to Harry - because why a random muggle family otherwise? I don't remember what exactly she said in the first book, but it certainly wasn't a ringing endorsement of them.

Furthermore, she had a connection to James and Lily, first as their teacher and the Head of their House, responsible for their protection, and later as a fellow member of the Order of the Phoenix. Teachers do form bonds with their students, though the longer they work as teachers, the more students the deal with, the less defined those become, but there always is one or two who stand out and stick in their memories years after graduating - but there weren't all that many members in their super secret vigilante group, so her relationship to both certainly went beyond the superficiality of former teacher-student relationship. The fact that she cared enough for them to be at the Dursleys for Harry's send-off confirms it.

Knowing all this, it does come off as incredibly strange that she never even once visited Harry in the ten years he spent at the Dursleys, not even check up under polyjuice or other various disguises on his wellbeing in summer. Once a year would have been minimum effort for an experienced witch like her, especially considering her uneasy feelings about the muggle family. Dumbledore didn't either, for that matter, but my opinion on Dumbledore is already formed. I don't know whether Arabella Figg - also a member of OotP - didn't give two fucks about the Potters or was playing up her importance as a spy to hide the fact that she didn't know jackshit about Harry's circumstances or if Dumbledore simply ignored whatever missives she sent - whatever the reason, it doesn't say very good things about them both. But McGonagall didn't have to be constrained by Figg's presence. She still could have spent a day strolling through the neighborhood as a cat and not aroused any suspicions while gaining relevant information.

We also know that Harry's location was as secret as the revelation of the blood wards in later books make it seem, because it was established pretty much in the beginning that Harry had several encounters with funny-dressed people who tearfully tried to thank him for something pre-Hogwarts who he only later had pegged as wizards and witches. He was extremly lucky that none of those people were Death Eaters or shared his location with others like any celebrity sightings nowadays are prone to happen. I have absolutely no idea what those damned blood wards were supposed to ward off, because they neither kept Harry safe from the abuse nor did they keep him hidden from the wizards and witches. They were pretty much useless.

Then, we skip to Harry's eleventh year and the introduction to Hogwarts and the Wizarding World. Harry is firmly ensconced under McGonagall's protection as the Head of his House, just like his parents before. McGonagall had already seen one generation of her peers and her students grow up to be Death Eaters and god only knows how much of the blood rhetoric she had witnessed even before, because the pureblood families didn't become the way they were with Voldemorts ascent to power, it was the other way around - he weaponized their alredy existing beliefs and superiority complex for his own gains; and the Wizarding World already went through the whole song and dance with Grindelwald. Also, at that point she already had been a teacher for at least two decades. I can cut her some slack because Harry didn't confide in her about his familial circumstances, but any teacher worth their salt with this much teaching experience under her belt should have seen the signs of abuse and neglect off him like an open book - his clothes, his small, underfed stature, his behavior, his complete ignorance of anything magical when his family supposedly knows about magic all scream about it. Only willful ignorance would explain her ignoring all these red flags. (Not that Hogwarts really cares about the wellbeing of their students as we have seen with Snape - and the requirements for a teaching position at the school certainly don't make any kind of background check, mental health check or at least a teaching degree with a course in ethical requirements for the job mandatory, so it's not actually surprising).

McGonagall tends to get better part of the deal in fic because she genuinely is one of the few positive characters in the books simply by virtue of being straightforward and not manipulating Harry (much), but that is less an endorsement of her character and more an indictment of the rest of the people around Harry. In my opinion, the way she went out of her way time and time and fucking time again to look the other way when it came to the abuse and neglect and bullying Harry suffered makes her just as culpable as Dumbledore. She might not give off the outright villainous and sinister vibes as Dumbledore does, but only barely. She is not a good person.

[lovelivingmydreams]

A story by heroes and villains

Book 2: secrets revealed Virgil Anker: trust and caution

Masterlist book 1

It's not easy to know who to trust and who to be wary off. But Virgil better learn soon.

When Virgil got back to the new house, he took a shower and sat himself on the couch in his pj’s. He was listening to his ‘winding down’ playlist. He was grinning to himself. Someone else was wearing his design. Sure he’d made Janus a shirt way back in freshmen year, but he barely wore it outside the house. This would be seen by tons of people. And it looked so good! He couldn’t wait till Monday. He could imagine Roman’s reaction. Would there be pictures in the papers? On the news? He just might buy a paper so he could keep a clipping to look back on later. Thinking about gushing over the costume with Roman at school made him think about seeing Janus again. J had skipped school after what happened in the hallway, leading to him having detention all of last week. He hadn’t even so much as looked at Virgil since. Not in a, “I am mad and ignoring you way,”. He looked ashamed. Scared. That was what made it so hard for Virgil to stick to his plan. Janus looked so hurt and lost and ashamed. And during lunch, he was nowhere to be found. Virgil needed to talk to Picani about this tomorrow. It would be a busy session. He contemplated where things had gone wrong for the millionth time for a while until he heard the door and looked up to see his fathers enter the room. “You’re back!” he greeted as he sat up. “So I gotta know, who’s your fourth guy?” he wondered casually. His dad just looked at him confused. “What do you mean?” “For your poker nights,” he clarified with a chuckle. Imagining Patton or uncle Thomas playing poker was kind of funny. It seemed so out of character for them. Still he couldn’t imagine what else would take all three of them getting together like this. Thomas had taught musical theatre classes, back when he was still a professor, and now he was the dean. Then again, Virgil wasn’t certain his uncle was always present. Tonight might just have been one time he happened to be there. But Patton definitely had been part of this project as much as Logan was. The past six months at the very least, but most likely from the start. “No cardgames I’m afraid kiddo. We’ll tell you about the project once it’s finished. It’s all confidential for now I’m afraid,” Patton told him gently. Virgil looked long and hard at Patton. He wasn’t lying. And confidential stuff made a lot of sense. He shrugged, letting it go. Even if his first guess was right after all and his dad was doing some kind of superhero stuff as BrainStorm, if Patton was there to help him Virgil felt assured that they’d be safe. Though he wouldn’t know how Patton, or Thomas, got wrapped up with anything involving a former super villain. “Okay, keep your secrets,” he sighed as he stretched. “Night Pat, night Lo,” he bid before heading upstairs. “Goodnight Virgil, I love you.” Virgil looked back at his dad when he heard that. “Love you to dad,” he replied with a smile. “Love you three kiddo!” Patton added, making Virgil laugh. “Love ya Pat.” And with that he went upstairs to his room. His new room was bigger than the one in his old house. But he didn’t care much about that. His old room had memories. He missed it honestly. He started to worry that he’d been too quick to say that he wanted to move out. No matter how nice the new house was, and how conveniently it was positioned, it would never quite be like the one he’d known most of his life. He let himself drop on his bed. It was pointless to think about that now. At this point, another family had probably moved into their old home. They’d brought their own furniture. Probably painted over the walls. Erasing the little doodles he’d made when he was little and bored. Before his mind could go any farther down that path, he heard a buzzing. Roman sent him a text. “Greetings! I just got back. Sorry for not checking in earlier. Could not be helped. Did you get home alright?” Virgil chuckled and texted back. “LOL. You worry too much. Hope you had a fun night.” Virgil certainly did. Just thinking about it made him impatient. Oh why not? Before he could second guess himself, he pressed call. “Virgil?” Roman sounded surprised, but Virgil was already way to giddy about his news. “I had to tell you now. I saw him!” he whispered. “Who? And why are we whispering?” Roman asked, mimicking his volume. “I’m supposed to be asleep,” he admitted, earning himself a chuckle. “Ok… Who did you see?” Roman asked. “Dream Prince!” expecting the logical next question he edited his story a little. “I went for a walk and I guess he was doing patrol in my neighborhood, I caught a glimpse of him,” well, that was an understatement. But he couldn’t tell Roman everything. Not yet. He’d lectured Prince about being cautious just today. He trusted Roman. But anyone could overhear them at any time. “He was wearing my costume! You were right! I can’t wait to get a good look at it in action!” Again. “You think someone got a picture? I didn’t have a chance. God I should’ve taken a picture so I could show you!” Though he wasn’t sure if he could’ve managed to get a believable citizens picture of him. He doubted Prince could be photographed if he didn’t want to be. “I’m sure I’ll see your work plastered around the front pages Monday. Pretty sure you missed out on the Saturday edition. But the news stations might talk about it.” Virgil’s cheeks hurt from smiling. “You sure you don’t want your name attached to it?” Virgil considered that for a moment. It would be kind of cool, he supposed. But he was trying not to draw any attention to his civilian self so long as he did the vigilante gig. Asides from that, he didn’t want anyone to be able to claim any of his future successes were due to his connection to a superhero, or have expectations based on this one work. “Yeah… I just… I know I should want the credit. But, just in case he becomes like this big time hero,” which seemed very likely to Virgil. His powers were pretty amazing and he had the personality to make it big. “I don’t want my possible career to be defined before it starts, you know what I mean?” He hoped he did, because he was starting to get confused by his own phrasing. “Maybe I’ll come forth with the original sketch when I’m like, 30, to prove it was me if it still matters by then,” he concluded. “Sounds like a smart plan. I’m going to let you go. I do need my beauty sleep after all.” Oh, he made it too easy. “You said it, not me,” he chuckled. “Night Princey.” “Buenas noches. Mi querido amigo,” Roman replied dramatically. Virgil rolled his eyes. Though he smiled as he realized Roman just called him ‘dear friend’. Trying to hide the way that warmed his chest he let out a groan. “Bon nuit,” he huffed in retaliation before hanging up. Janus had taught him a bit of French over the years. And just like that his thoughts returned to his old friend. Janus had been well behaved the past week. He hadn’t gotten in a single fight. Maybe he should try and show that he noticed. Just saying ‘hi’ wouldn’t be that bad right? Show that he meant it when he said he wanted to get back to being friends, real friends, at some point. With thoughts of a happy ending for everyone, Virgil fell asleep. The next morning he woke up early. He made sure to be quiet as he got ready for the day. Once downstairs he turned on the tv. And sure enough, the local station was talking about Dream Prince. A professional picture of him leaping across the street from one rooftop to another serving as background. The anchors were talking about his heroic deeds of last night, ranging from walking a girl home to taking down those criminals ‘single handedly’. “No one can deny it. This young hero finds no feat too great or too small, and he does it with style. Looks like he’s settled on a look.” They thought his costume had style! Virgil was vibrating with excitement. He couldn’t sit still. He had to do something with all this energy. He started on breakfast. Bacon, eggs… It had been a while since he’d felt up to making a big breakfast and been the first to wake up. Patton was as much of an early riser as he and Logan. Which meant he hadn’t had Virgil’s secret omelet recipe yet. He was bouncing on his feet as the two anchors were analyzing the costume in as much detail as they could. They found the heels a bold choice and the mask an elegant way to incorporate a crown. When Virgil heard his dads move about upstairs he turned the news off and set the table. Patton really liked the eggs. That or he really wanted Virgil to think so. Three servings made him think that it wasn’t pretend though. After breakfast, uncle Thomas picked him up for their trip to the zoo. Virgil had been looking forward to it. It felt forever ago since he last spent some one on one time with his honorary uncle. “That’s a nice one. You really got the eyes down well,” he complemented as Virgil finished a sketch of a koala. “Thanks,” Virgil said, pretty happy with the result as well. “You are really talented. Guess it runs in the family. I remember your dad scribbling away in his poetry notebook all the time.” Virgil looked at his uncle with wide eyes. “You knew my father?” he asked perplexed. Thomas frowned down at him for a moment before his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, no. I never personally met your birthfather. I meant Logan,” he clarified. Virgil was a little disappointed. For a second he’d hoped to learn a little more about his birthparents. But if Thomas had been talking about Logan… “My dad wrote poetry?” Thomas chuckled. “Yeah. He was pretty good. Though he’d disagree. He felt more comfortable using his sharp tongue on the debate team. He won us some prizes,” he recalled. Virgil took this in. He had wondered what his dad was like at his age before. Now was a good time to ask more. “So poetry and debate team… Guess that is why you two became friends, huh?” he asked. Thomas shook his head a little awkwardly. “Not exactly. With my social anxiety I probably wouldn’t have approached him if my mom hadn’t told me about his mom losing custody…” “What!?” Virgil gasped. He never knew that. Thomas cringed realizing he had maybe said to much. He looked down at Virgil. “Your grandparents weren’t parents of the year. Not abusive, but… neglectful I suppose. Logan never talked about it, so I don’t know the details. Just what little ” “He was in the system?” Virgil asked with a shiver. He’d heard about the system. He was glad he never had to experience it. “No, like for you there was someone ready to take him in right away,” Thomas told him. Virgil wanted to ask who had adopted his dad. But he had an idea… And he kind of didn’t want to hear he was wrong. He wanted it to be his parents. It would explain why Logan had such a hard time talking about them, but had so much love and respect for them when he did. “What was it like rooming with him? Was he secretly a slob in college?” he asked hopefully. Thomas relaxed and started talking about a few college stories, though he quickly veered into high school and early parenthood stories. At the end of the day Virgil had a good handful of animal sketches, an idea for his art project for the semester and Thomas dropped him off at Picani’s office. “Hello Virgil. How are you today? I heard you had a good scare earlier this week.” Virgil let out a deep sigh, sat down and started his story. Leaving Picani’s office a little bit later than planned, he felt a lot better. Or, well ‘better’ never had been the right word. He’d realized that sometime during the camp. After talking about Picani about what bothered him, he was still bothered by it. But he understood things more clearly. He felt less confused and had an idea of what to do about it. Picani never told him everything would be okay. He helped him understand what was wrong and how to either steer it in a better direction, or learn to live with it. He now felt less uncertain about wanting to give Janus a sign that there was still hope for them, even after what happened last week. He felt less guilty over indulging the people asking him out even though Roman was still very much on his mind. He even felt better about getting more information than he should’ve from uncle Thomas. It had been a relief talking about his theory that his dad had been in his parent’s custody for at least four years and that that was, maybe, the reason why he took him in when they passed. And the fact that he had at least one set of grandparents that might be still alive. He wasn’t going to ask about them though. If they held bad memories for his dad, he didn’t think he wanted to know them. It was very low on his list of priorities. The fact that his dad never mentioned them told him enough. The whole scare with the ceiling lamp was discussed and Picani left it alone when Virgil said that he didn’t want to waste too much time on it. “I’m home!” he announced as he came through the door. He heard Patton call a greeting from the kitchen and saw his dad come from the living room to meet him in the doorway. “Dad!” he called out eagerly as he gave his father a hug. “Virgil? Not that I do not appreciate you seem excited to see me. But is there a particular reason?” There were a few honestly. Knowing a bit more about how he ended up being raised by the smartest, most patient man he’d ever met had him excited. On top of that knowing what his dad was like at his age made him feel closer to him. He decided to focus on the latter. He’d turn sixteen soon. If Logan hadn’t initiated the conversation by then, he would. He could be patient for another month. “Uncle Thomas told me about your teen years. I didn’t know you were on the debate team!” he told him. He could imagine his dad thriving in that environment though. Maybe they should check out the debate team this year in between Roman’s play and Virgil’s art exhibit. Logan gave Virgil a small smile, a bit of pride in his eyes. It was rare for Virgil to see his dad proud of himself. He liked it. “Well, yes. It was a bit of a hobby of mine, as well as an attempt to get better at socializing,” Logan said modestly. Virgil picked up on the operative word in that sentence. ‘Attempt’. “You were a socially awkward nerd,” he concluded with a chuckle. He was so used to being nothing like his dad. Finding flaws and similarities to himself in the man he’d idolized as long as he could remember, it was strangely exhilarating. Logan, however seemed to misunderstand what had Virgil so thrilled. “Hey, that’s a complement! I’m a socially awkward artsy kid. Sounds like I’m your son after all!” he clarified. That reminded him though. “Speaking off. Uncle Thomas told me you wrote poetry back in the day.” “Really!?” Patton exclaimed from the kitchen. Logan was blushing. Scrambling for a way out of the conversation it seemed. “I… Experimenting with different forms of self-expression is a natural part of discovering one’s identity as a teenager. It was a phase. I would like to forget about it.” Virgil was about to argue against it, but Patton beat him to it. “Aw, but poetry is so romantic,” he pouted. And Virgil could see the way that affected his dad. Well, their date nights were about to get ten times more sappy. Hopefully going for the heart, and his ego, would work out just as well for Virgil. “That’s too bad. I thought I could make a project around your old work for art class,” he sighed disappointedly. And just like that his dad’s firm posture melted away. “I’ll see if I can find some of my old notebooks. Just ask my consent before you pick one.” Virgil couldn’t resist hugging him again. “Thanks dad. You won’t regret it. I promise.” He felt his father put his arms around him gently. A wordless “you’re welcome”. Virgil was feeling very chatty during dinner and so told his parents all about his day. They had to go to the university again tonight. Since Virgil was planning on meeting up with Prince and not sure if he’d be out all night or just long enough to talk to the guy, he bid them both a good night now. Just in case he’d be too tired to wait for them to get home once he got back. As soon as they were out the door Virgil dug in his closet for his face mask, something he wore when he was feeling sick and didn’t want to infect others. And his shades. He was going to take a chance on Prince today. He made sure he had his evidence at the ready. He’d updated it earlier that week and last night he hadn’t learned anything new. He decided to go with the same look as yesterday so Prince would recognize him more easily. He made his way to the street and vanished in the alleys. After a few minutes he found the rooftop they’d used as their rendezvous point last night. Hopefully Prince wouldn’t make him wait too long. He lowered the intensity of his cloak to be more easily spotted should someone be looking for him. Suddenly he heard a sound behind him. “Good evening my shadowy friend,” the grand voice of Dream Prince drifted through the air. Virgil turned around, his coat flaring out with the movement. “Hey there highness,” he greeted as he tossed him the evidence bag. Clear of any fingerprints or DNA as far as he could manage it, as usual. Prince studied it for a moment. “Is this…?” he sounded surprised. “A show of good will. I thought about it…” not enough. Maybe he was biased because he reminded him of Roman. Or because he’d seen him during his training wheel days. Maybe he didn’t want to be alone anymore. “You seem alright. I’ll… I’ll have your back. If you have mine.” They could help each other. Grow stronger together. Weren’t heroes always at their strongest once they learned to work together? “You do know that if I hand this in, they’ll know I made contact?” This guy. Virgil chuckled, finding this strangely endearing. “You mean you haven’t told them yet?” Prince’s posture straightened almost defiantly. “You didn’t say you were alright with that!” Was he actually insulted by the idea of reporting back to his people without Virgil’s permission? Guess he’d read him right. Good to know. “Okay. Well, consider this my permission. If I don’t want to be found, I’ll disappear Prince.” He’d find a way to avoid Prince if it was necessary. “Tell the chief all communication with me goes through you. If you don’t mind.” Because Virgil didn’t trust the chief enough to go anywhere near her. Prince nodded as he reached for his ear. “I am currently debriefing Phantom. I’ll let you know when I’m done here. Tell chief I’ll stop by with a package. Radio silence until further notice.” Virgil couldn’t stop himself from letting out a chuckle. This guy. He really needed to be more careful. “You ever thought I might be a bad guy? You shouldn’t cut off your back up like that in front of me.” Had they taught him nothing at the GTH? “You’ve had plenty chances to take me out,” Prince pointed out, much to Virgil’s surprise. “You could have let those goons get me the first time you saw me. You could have attacked me while I was busy with those guys yesterday. And who knows how many times over the summer. And on top of that. Who says my communicator is my only way of contacting back up?” Okay, so maybe Prince knew what he was doing after all. “Fair enough. So what now?” He had no idea what would come after this. He just knew that Prince reached out, and he’d accepted. The ball was back in Prince’s court. “Now… I warn you about the collector.” That sounded very serious. He almost wanted to get out before he could get involved, but a gut feeling told him that this was important. He eyed the edge of the roof. Well might as well get comfortable. “I feel like this is a sitting down kind of conversation.” Once they both sat down, Virgil put on his sunglasses and dropped his cloak completely. It was symbolic or whatever. Letting his guard down in a visible way. He turned to the prince expectantly, a little annoyed at how the dark glasses limited his vision. Prince took in a deep breath and started his story. “The collector is an old enemy of Manifestor. He recruits Gifted, and those he thinks deserve to be gifted for some kind of revolution. You and I are probably his kind of people. Young, full of potential. All that stuff creeps like that love to go on about.” Virgil’s eyes widened. That did sound bad. He was suddenly very glad he had not confided in anyone about his powers so far. Who knew if the Chief was on the Collector’s payroll? Or maybe Picani was being spied on. “So we should be careful, you and I. I want to help you out,” Prince told him as he offered him two small objects. A stone and lip balm? “These can help you hide your identity without having to use your… Do you have a name for it?” Prince wondered. Virgil wasn’t sure if he could disguise his voice. But if he did, he was not going to risk Prince being someone from school who might recognize his voice. “Cloak,” he replied before dropping his guard again. “Cloak… Cool,” Prince nodded as he showed the black stone. “So this, is a voice modulator. I adjusted it to fit your tempest voice as best as I could.” Virgil couldn’t help laughing. Tempest voice? That sounded so cool honestly. But man was it dramatic. “You clearly have not heard it,” Prince pointed out and he had a point. He sounded normal to himself. “What’s with the lipstick?” he asked. “This will paint your hair black faster than any hair dye. It’s also a very good hair gel and it washes out right away,” Virgil bit his lip as Prince offered him the items. He was not used to being helped. Not as ‘Phantom’ at least. He still struggled with it as Virgil. Letting Roman help him with his English assignment yesterday had been hard. But he had to let people help him. He had to take a leap of faith here. So he took the items and got up to try them out. “No peeking!” he warned, though he would keep his cloak up. It was more to test if Prince would be tempted to go against his wishes. He didn’t. Virgil placed the modulator on his throat where Prince had his red stone and applied the balm to his hair. He spread it out and took a moment to decide on the style he wanted to go with. He tried for windblown, though he wasn’t sure if he did it right without a mirror. “Okay, let’s try this,” he said testing out his new voice. Wow, if that was what he really sounded like then Tempest voice might just have been the most accurate description. He looked back at Prince who was getting up and waling over to him. “Okay. So… what’s the plan?” he asked, curious what Prince was expecting out of this collaboration. “Well… We could try and meet up here regularly. We might not always patrol at the same time, and you might be busy. But I could… If you are okay with it… I could help you coordinate with the cops. Like you kinda suggested earlier. Or we could like, do some patrolling together? Keep each other company…” Oh, that was cute. Prince could be insecure. Virgil was starting to think he was unshakable. “It might be nice talking someone who gets it you know? You’re my age right?” he wondered. Nice try. Very subtle. “I mean… I guess, but I’m not sure how old you are exactly,” he shrugged casually. He wasn’t going to give anything away that easily. “Fair point.” Or maybe there hadn’t been an ulterior motive. He was getting paranoid. “Anyway… What do you want?” Virgil thought about that for a moment. He hadn’t expected to be asked for his opinion. “I mean… Debriefings sound cool,” he said casually. “I’d like to patrol with you, but my parkour is no match to that walking on air trick you got…” He was kind of jealous of that one if he was honest. “I was thinking of hanging around the clubbing district at the end of the night and making sure some party goers get home safe. I’ll see you around there when you’re done?” This talk was fun and all, but Prince should probably check in with his team soon. And Virgil needed to think about things for a minute. “That sounds like a good idea,” Prince agreed as he gave him a bow. “Until then. Know that the GTA’s resources are now at your disposal through me. So if you want to get a proper suit or other fun toys, you need only ask.” And with that Virgil’s new ally sprinted of into the night. A real suit huh? Virgil shook his head. He’d have to think on that some more. For now, he had work to do.

Hero au

@cirishere @hestianerd1 @moonlightshow00​ @naturallyunstablegamer @alias290 @meowthefluffy @frida0043​ @angelic-cali​ @selenechris​ @theblackveilinreverse

[that-crow-kid]

to define a way of being

by @galactic-cam (galactic_cam on ao3) for @slothbeans (slothbeans on ao3) in the @friendly-neighborhood-exchange

the story is here on ao3

Rating: General Audiences

Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark

Characters: Peter Parker, Tony Stark, background May Parker

Summary: Peter Parker had ADHD. He’d never gotten an official diagnosis, and it’d never been on his medical records. All he had was the vague memory of a doctor at his four-year-old check up recommending he get tested - and then his parents dying before the appointment could be made. He's done his research - there's nothing else it could be. But he'd adjusted, and he was good at school, so it hadn't really mattered all that much.

And then, because the spider bite put its greasy little fingers on everything else, it had to grab that, too.

It had been a rough few days. Well, no, scratch that, a rough few months. 

Peter Parker had ADHD. He’d never gotten an official diagnosis, and it’d never been on his medical records. When he was super little, like, before his parents died little, his pediatrician had told them that he should probably get tested. But then they’d died, less than a week later, and Peter was left with no official diagnosis, just the remnants of a memory of the doctors appointment. He’d reinforced this idea all throughout his life with his own research, but he had never told Ben or May. He figured they had enough to worry about, what with their four-year-old nephew suddenly coming to live with them after Ben’s sister-in-law and brother tragically died in a plane crash and all. 

So he’d just kept quiet. He was incredibly smart, and nobody ever accommodated for him, so he learned to adapt. Maybe not super well, but his grades were stellar despite the ADHD, so nobody ever really cared enough to diagnose or medicate him. 

And then he’d been bitten by the spider and it had gotten worse.

He’d always identified with Percy Jackson’s view of ADHD: You can’t streamline your thoughts because you get much more input. It made sense, and it was kind of how he felt. But then he developed superpowers, and it made more sense than ever before. 

He was getting 15 times the input he’d been getting before, between the super hearing and the super sight. It was pretty useful when he was fighting - if he was ‘focusing’ on one guy, he was also aware of the other guy pulling out a knife from a hidden pocket, and could adjust accordingly. It was not so great for school. It was already hard when you were acutely aware of the people whispering across the room - it was worse when you could actually hear what they were saying, and what the kids in the classrooms next to, across the hall from, above, and below you were all talking about. 

When his grades took a dip, he wasn’t shocked. He was mad at himself, of course, that he was letting his ADHD get in the way when he’d always been able to manage it, and since Peter Parker was good at stuff, there was a massive hit to his ego. He quit most of his after school activities to compensate - he needed to be doing stuff he was good at - and not at school where he was doing sub-par - and the thing he was suddenly good at was fighting crime.

And then Tony Stark had shown up at his door and whisked him away to Germany to steal Captain America’s shield, and his Homecoming had happened, and suddenly he was going to Mr. Stark’s lab in the newly rebought tower twice a week and staying over at the compound once a month.

Mr. Stark’s labs were actually a safe haven. They were sound proof, and Mr. Stark always had loud music playing, and most of the time there was nothing in there that messed with his senses. Mr. Stark worked strangely, jumping around from project to project unless he found one that really grabbed his attention. That style of working really clicked with Peter - he’d always just sat down and tried to do whatever it was he needed to - which had never really worked that well - but working in the lab, bouncing from thing to thing? That was perfect.

Today was different.

Peter had gotten his report card last week, and since it was now Tuesday, that meant he got to be scolded by Mr. Stark now, on top of the disappointment he’d gotten all weekend from May.

See, his grades were bad. Like, really bad.

Well, to a lot of kids, his grades were average, even pretty good. But for Peter Parker, top of the class in one of the country’s best schools, every teacher’s favorite Peter Parker, anything below a 90 was an extreme rarity. Anything below an 80? Where several of his grades were? Gods save the earth, because it was going to implode.

May had mostly been confused, with that constant disappointment rushing through her words. Why had he gotten Cs? He was supposed to be Peter Parker, perfect student, perfect kid. 

And now, Mr. Stark was going to take away his suit. His spider-manning was entirely reliant on his grades staying up, Mr. Stark had been clear on that. And how could he be Tony Stark’s protege if he got Cs? Mr Stark was halfway through his PhD by Peter’s age. 

Today was probably going to be the last time he saw Tony.

That was upsetting -  lab time was the only thing (other than spider-manning) that he looked forward to anymore. He was good at lab time, and Peter Parker was good at stuff. 

Of course, his brain gave a little “not anymore, you’re not.” Which, not cool, his brain was supposed to be on his side.

When he walked into the lab, Mr. Stark wasn’t working on anything, which was unusual, to say the least. He was seated, facing the door, a look of such disappointment on his face. 

Peter’s eyes focused on the floor. Wow, Mr. Stark sure had some nice tile under the epoxy that covered his lab floor. How could Peter have never noticed before?

“Peter.”

Tony’s voice startled him a bit, even though he knew that was why he’d been looking at the floor in the first place.

“Hey, Mr. Stark! How are you today? I’m really great. What are we working on today?” His sentences all came out in a rush, barely leaving any space between the words.

When he glanced up, Mr. Stark was looking at him, a smirk of amusement was tilting his lips, even though the rest of his face was still etched with disappointment. 

“What happened

Peter shrugged, eyes going back to looking at the floor.

“C’mon Kid, I need an actual answer. I know you’ve been doing all your work, and I know you’ve been home by curfew, unless you’ve hacked your suit again and convinced Karen to lie to me about it. So why’re your grades so low?”

“I- I don’t know.”

“Peter, you are the worst liar in the world.”

Peter sighed. “I know.”

“So? What happened?”

Peter glanced up. He looked at his mentor’s face, expecting disappointment, but instead he found… worry? And maybe curiosity?

“I have ADHD.”

“What? That’s not in your medical files -”

“I know, it’s not an official diagnosis. I was going to get one when I was little but… my appointment was after the plane crash, and…”

“You never did.”

“I never did. And I adjusted, kept my grades high, and nobody ever thought I could possibly have ADHD.”

“So what happened here?”

“The spider bite. It was always hard having ADHD because I noticed so much, but there’s a difference between being aware that the kids in the back of the room are talking and being able to hear what the class on the other side of the school is discussing with perfect clarity.”

Tony nodded. “I can only imagine.”

“But so my focus and participation went down, as did the quality of any work I did anywhere but in here.”

“Peter, why didn’t you tell me this before?”

Peter shrugged, but he knew the answer. He didn’t want Mr. Stark to think badly of him. How could he, Tony Stark’s protege, have ADHD?

Tony sighed. “Kid, did you know I have ADHD?” Now that caught Peter’s attention. He abruptly looked up. “What?”

Tony chuckled. “Yeah, kid. Dear old dad paid a lot to cover that up. And I wasn’t nearly as good at hiding it as you. I was all the way hyperactive, and Dad refused to medicate me. Told me to get over it, or that he wasn’t going to fuel a drug addiction in his son. His excuse changed.”

“But - But you were so good at school!”

“Dad paid off MIT to keep them quiet, but I assure you kid, I failed… several classes..”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, oh.”

There was a quick beat.

“So, kid, what do you want to do about it?”

Peter, who’s eyes had refound their way to the floor, snapped back up to Tony. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you want to get a professional diagnosis? See a therapist? I’ve been meaning to rope you into therapy for a while now, this might just be the perfect way to start.”

“No - No, Mr. Stark! I don’t need therapy!”

“You might not need it yet - which I doubt, considering you fight crime in New York and I’ve seen you have several panic attacks - but all of the avengers go, and you’re an avenger-in-training. Gotta get you ahead of the game, kid.”

Peter sighed. “Fine. Okay, Mr. Stark.”

Tony pulled him into a brief hug, then slapped his back. “Brilliant, I’ll get on that for you later. For now, though, you wanna do something fun?”

Peter smiled. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds -”

“Fun?” Tony broke in, a smile dancing across his face.

“Fun.”

[an-absolute-travesty]

Let me go

~Writing strike is over!~ 

*confetti*

Hopefully that taught the general public to appreciate writers a bit more

There was no prompt for this, I just wanted to write it :)

Massive tw for: major character death, grieving, blood, panic...this one is rough, friends

Word count: 1,701

About: kam angst

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed):@you-are-the-vacker-legacy @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlykeefitz @percabetn @vibing-in-the-void @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42 @rainbowtay-11 @littlemisscupcake 

Tam was making lunch for his boyfriend when he got the hail. Keefe himself sat in his art studio, working on a project that Tam apparently wasn’t allowed to see yet. Their anniversary was coming up though, five years of success. Tam suspected it was some present to do with that. Maybe a nice landscape, they needed something to sit over their mantel. 

“Hello?”

Dex’s voice came from the other end. “Tam, we just got word of a possible Neverseen attack in Atlantis. We think it might just be a few crazy extremists, no leaders spotted yet. but since you and Keefe are closest we need you two to check it out. No interactions required, just a scope out.”

“Got it, be there in five.”

~*~

It...wasn’t just a few extremists. If that wasn’t obvious enough. 

“Shit,” Tam said in a harsh whisper, pulling Keefe far behind a wall as he crept around the corner. 

“What? Who is it?”

“A certain mommy dearest.” 

Then, someone appeared behind him. Tam couldn’t remember who. Couldn’t remember how. All he knew was that he was shoved from his safe spot into the open. 

“Hey boss, we got a visitor. Remember the little shade boy?”

He quickly moved to a place of defense, shadows prepared. 

“Oh yes, I remember him. Shame, he wasn’t the goal. Ruy?”

The man turned. 

“Be rid of him.” 

Everything went to slow motion. A throwing knife was hurtling towards him. He braced for impact, there was no way to dodge it. Aimed right for the heart.

Only then he saw the flash of movement. Keefe fell back into Tam, the wound in his chest just starting to bleed. 

“No!” Did it come from him or Gisela? Tam couldn’t tell, his eyes trained on Keefe’s face as he gently lowered him to the ground. 

“Oh you fucking idiot.” Tam didn’t know if he was talking to himself or Keefe. Maybe both. He went to remove the knife from where it sat lodged in Keefe’s heart.

“No,” He said weakly. “Leave it, less bleeding.” Somewhere in the background the Neverseen had gotten away, Tam never found out what their goal was that day. He was sure they didn’t get it, though.

Keefe held Tam’s face in one hand, staining him with blood. 

“You have beautiful eyes you know. I’ve always loved your eyes. I hope I get to see them again.”

“Keefe, don’t talk like that, you’ll be fine, we’ll get Elwin in here and-”

“No.” He took a break to cough, it left blood rolling down his chin. “No, Elwin can’t do anything for me. You can hail him, I’d rather go in the infirmary than the street.”

“Keefe-”

“Go, call him. It’ll make you feel better, love”

So he did.

Elwin was there fast, 10 minutes at most. 

It took entirely too long.

~*~

Keefe passed out on the way to he infirmary. He still laid asleep as Elwin frantically rushed to grab something that might heal him. The contrast was awful, half to death and Keefe looked calm in the chaotic room all while being soaked with his own blood. 

Bullhorn was laid beside him. Having Sophie around, it wasn’t a too uncommon sight, but everything felt more grim when the typically white sheets had gone red. 

Finally, Elwin stepped back. Tears shined in the physician’s eyes. 

“I’ve done what I can. It was a deep wound. Now we-” He got choked up. “Now we can only hope.”

Tam creeped towards the bed. Bullhorn laid scarily still next to Keefe, silent and unmoving. 

He touched his forehead to Keefe’s as tears streamed down his face. 

“Please stay,” He whispered. “Please wake up, please. You- you can’t just leave me, please, I love you.” 

A hand moved up to cradle Tam’s face.

“Hey...Bangs Boy.” His voice was weak, but there.

Tam couldn’t tell who was crying anymore, him or Keefe. Maybe both. 

Tam held his face, almost not believing he was real. 

“Keefe! Please stay here, stay awake, stay with me please, love.”

A sad smile came across his face. “I wish I had that option, but...if I don’t, then please don’t look at what’s in the studio, okay? Please promise me you won’t look at it, Tam.”

“I promise.” Tam said without a second thought. 

More friends rushed into the room then, hoarding around his bedside. All the best friends, they hadn’t talked all together in months.

How gruesome that this was the only thing that brought them all together. 

The spent the next hour together, talking about old stories, laughing even. The room was still somber. Tears were exchanged with sad and nostalgic smiles, remembering the years they spent together. Suddenly, Keefe interrupted after being quiet for some time.  

“Guys…” He said in labored breaths. “Please leave the room. I don’t want you all to have to see this. I love you all, and...and I better see you at my wanderling planting.” Everyone paused, before solemnly lining up and mumbling their last goodbyes. Sobs were heard throughout the room and eventually they all filed out into the hall, their wails could be heard from inside the infirmary.

Tam didn’t move from his spot. 

“You always were stubborn, Bangs Boy. That’s why I love you.” His tone was raspy and harsh. 

“I love you, too.” Tam said, voice cracking, as he wrapped his arms around Keefe. “Why couldn’t you just let me take the knife?”

He didn’t answer at first, just pulled Tam’s face up to look at him. He smiled fondly but there was an obvious sadness to it. 

“You have so much to live for. Linh needs you.”

“Linh can live on her own, she’s stong.”

Keefe shook his head. “Let me go, Bangs Boy.”

 “I can’t, I’ll never let you go, you’ll be fine-”

“Tam…” He trailed off, the sentence left unfinished as he winced in pain. Keefe’s typically tan face had gone ghostly pale, his perfectly mused hair now sat in limp strings on his forehead. 

“Hey,” He managed, holding the unhealable wound on his chest. “I think I’m...I think I’m heading out. I can’t really feel my toes. Tell everyone that my last words were ‘Cassius is a little piss baby,’ I can’t let him think I forgave him in my last moments.”

Tam smiled, Keefe could always make him smile, even in moments like this. 

Keefe simply held Tam’s face, a thousand words left unspoken. 

His last were simple.

“I love you,” 

Before Tam could reply, he was gone. 

~*~

There were a lot of people at the wanderling planting, too many. All the random people from Foxfire that Tam barely knew, random citizens, every councillor. 

Too many. 

Everything moved far too fast to keep pace with Tam’s mind that felt as if it dragged across the floor. Mourners would only pay their respects for a few moments, unless they were a close friend. 

Too many. Too fast. 

The ceremony was confusing. Tam didn’t understand it, it was just too much for him to handle. He hadn’t been to one before and was now meant to lead it while still in mourning. 

Too many. Too fast. Too much. 

Before long he couldn’t stand it anymore, he ran off into the forest. Not paying attention to direction. He heard yells calling him name.

Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. 

Too bright, why did they have to wear green? 

Too lonely, it was just him and Linh again. 

Too sad, he couldn’t do this.

Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too many. Too fast. Too much. Too loud. Too bright. Too lonely. Too sad. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much.

He found himself sitting at the base of a tree, he didn’t know who’s. He couldn’t handle it. He had to go...somewhere. He didn’t know where. He had to get away from this place. The ceremony could go on without him. 

He took out his home crystal, ignoring the voices still searching for him in the labyrinth of trees. 

~*~

Tam stumbled into his previously shared home, face finally dried, but still red and puffy. 

Pictures on the walls shook as he slammed the door, a plate fell from its place in the cabinet but he payed it no mind. 

Somehow he ended up in the art studio...well Keefe’s art studio. Though, he guessed he wasn’t so much now. 

Tam sat down in front of the large, tarped piece that Keefe had been hiding from him for weeks. 

It was probably just a landscape. Tam kept telling himself that. Just a landscape, that was what they talked about. 

And yet...he couldn’t help the curiosity. 

Keefe’s last wish was to not look at it. How could he disrespect that? But if it was just a landscape...why would that be his last wish?

Tam slowly unveiled the painting. 

It was a portrait.

Of him. 

In the painting he was smiling, his whole face was lit up, the bags now present under his eyes were missing. 

Why would he hide this? 

Tam flipped over the canvas, a piece was folded paper was stuffed in between the wood. It looked like a preparation for a speech, the ideas he decided not to use, crossed out.

“Tam would you-

Tam you know what would be really super cool-

But, consider if you just-

Ugh this is harder than I thought it would be 

Hey uh..you are cooler than like...a whole pan of mallowmellt 

UGH

Tam...I love you more than life. I want to be with you for the rest of it. Would you please give me the honor of marrying you?

HAH I DID IT!!! Now I just have to...actually do it.”

Tam slid to the ground, a sob escaped his body and tears slicked his face. 

~*~

Their anniversary was coming up. 

Five years of success. 

On the day, Tam took the note to his tree. 

“Let me go, bangs boy”

He couldn’t, he wouldn’t. 

“I love you, too”