#fortunately another person i joined was really nice<3 they said someone already was in their world to take mats so i was like alright then

[drysauce]

me, joining someone's world: hi could i take furina leveling materials from your world?

that person: what are you talking about you thief, why are you stealing other people's things

that's literally why i ASKED

[whiteqnn]

Pairing: Corpse Husband x Fem! Reader

Summary: Sean invites one of his good friends - Y/N - to play with him and the group. She has a lot of fun with them, but at the same time is too oblivious, too nice, and too pure to notice that one particular Among Us player has taken a liking to her the moment he heard her voice...

Notes: Hello everyone! This is the very first time I’m publishing something bigger in here, I’m honestly still figuring out how Tumblr works, even though I’ve had this account for quite some time now 😅. That being said, please don’t expect anything super impressive. I tried my best though just so you know. 🥺

A/N- It didn’t turn out as I expected, but I really hope at least some of you find it enjoyable :(

Y/C/N - your channel name

part 2

part 3 

part 4 

part 5 

PURE [1]

“Did you guys find anybody?” Felix asked, as the number of players still showed just 7 of them. They could just start now, but the game would be way more fun with a full lobby. 

“Yeah, Lily’s joining. I just texted her the code, so she should be here at any moment.” Sykkuno replied after receiving a text message from the said girl. “Oh, and Corpse also said he’d be joining soon.” 

“Great. Anyone else?”

 “I think Jack was also bringing someone, right?” Dave asked.

“Huh? Oh yeah, I have one coming, she’ll join us in a few” the asked man replied at the same moment Lily’s character appeared in the lobby. 

“Who you’re bringing Jack?” 

“Y/N” he said, causing Felix to gasp in shock and yell into his mic:

“How the fuck did you manage to convince her? I’ve been bugging her about this game for the past week and she always had some excuse!” 

“What can I say, my charm is irresistible” Jack replied nonchalantly, causing everyone in the lobby to laugh at his fake deep voice.

The number of participants changed to 9, as a little black astronaut with horns on his helmet appeared in the lobby. 

“Corpse, you’re here!” Rae’s character ran up to the man, circling him excitedly. 

“Hey man!”

“What’s up, Corpse?”

“Hello everyone” his deep voice sounded out “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“All good man, we’re still waiting for one person.” Felix reassured him “Sean, why is she not here yet? Are you sure you’ve sent her the right code?”

“Of course I am!” he all but shouted at Felix “And about that, she just texted me to give her a few more minutes and that we should start without her.”

“We can just wait, right?” Lily offered, earning a few hums of approval from the others.

“I think it might take a little longer than a few minutes, she has some problems with her microphone.”

“Who are you guys talking about?” Corpse asked, completely unaware of who Jack was referring to.

“Wait, Jack, you mean Y/N from Y/C/N?” Sykkuno asked suddenly, only then realizing why this name sounded familiar

“Yeah, the one and only” Jack replied, a smile evident in his voice.

“Oh my god, I love her videos!” Rae exclaimed at that “She’s so funny and sweet!”

“Yeah! Her new video is so freaking cute, I wish she’d upload more often.” Poki agreed. 

“Right?” Jack said, clearly very proud of his friend. “But don’t let that sweet demeanor fool you guys cause she’s one of the best players I’ve encountered in this game.”

“That’s true, she’s a secret big brain genius” Toast confirmed, making Pewdiepie gasp once again. 

“wHAT??YOU TWO PLAYED WITH HER?!” Felix’s offended voice boomed through everyone’s headphones “HOW DARE YOU. HOW COULD YOU NOT INVITE ME?!” 

“That’s for not inviting me to your latest Cringe episode!” Jack was quick to respond, making others in the lobby laugh at their mini fight. 

“Oh, so that’s where I recognized her from!” Sykkuno nearly shouted when he finally put two and two together. “I can’t wait to meet her, she seems like a really nice person.”

“She is! When she got impostor for the first time she refused to kill me” Toast explained, earning himself a couple of Aww’s from his friends. “So we just ran around the emergency button until I called the meeting and voted her off.”

“Yeah, only to be her first victim in the next game.” Jack all but giggled, clearly very amused at the memory of Y/N going into a full berserk mode. No one except for him and Toast knew how good she really was at this game... 

“She’s basically the wolf in sheep’s skin” Felix concluded with a chuckle “Very soft wolf, however.”

“She’s like the complete opposite of Corpse, both in voice and personality” Jack suddenly said, making Felix laugh wholeheartedly at something only two of them understood at the moment. 

“I don’t know how should I take that” Corpse admitted with a chuckle. He remained silent for most of the conversation since he didn’t really know who the guys were talking about. But he would lie if he said he wasn’t intrigued by this girl at least in the slightest. Although he heard about her channel, he hasn’t seen any of her videos, so he didn’t really know what to expect. But hearing what gamers like Sean and Felix said about her, he knew he’s not gonna be disappointed once the girl joins them in the game. 

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N talking.” Felix said suddenly with a seemingly very amused voice.

“Imagine Corpse and Y/N both being Impostors” Toast said, which resulted in many of them shouting over each other at how crazy that would be. 

“Alright, now that you mention this I start fearing the moment two of them meet” Jack confessed with loud laughter following the sentence. Corpse chuckled deeply under his breath, at the same time glancing at the questions his audience was asking him in his stream. He could hardly read any, as there were quite a lot of people asking, so all he saw was just a bunch of comments moving at the speed of light in his chat. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was slightly nervous, seeing the growing number of people watching his stream. It was still a rather new thing to him, and he feared he'd say something inappropriate, or just make a complete idiot out of himself. 

"At least no one can see me..." he mumbled under his breath after muting his microphone. 

"Oh! Y/N just texted me! She's joining the call right now!" 

"Fuck yeah!" Felix shouted excitedly "Just so you know Jack, I won't forget that you two played without me."

"Uh-oh. Is that a threat? Are you threatening me now?" 

"It's a warning" Felix replied, receiving a series of gasps from other players. "If I get impostor, you're the first one on my list."

"Okay, everyone heard that! You know who to vote off when I'm dead!" 

"It's so cool to play with someone new, I wonder if she's as good as you guys depict her" Sykkuno spoke up, but before anyone could answer his question, a new character popped up in the lobby.

*** 

"Hi everyone! I’m sorry I left you just like that, but this stream would be completely useless without me being able to answer your questions. Fortunately it wasn’t anything serious, I just had to readjust my mic and go through the settings to find what was wrong. Took some time, but here I am now!” Y/N chirped into her microphone, smiling apologetically at her webcam. At the moments like this, she really appreciated how supportive her audience was. No one was hating on her when she had to get off the stream for a couple of minutes, and everyone was just so understanding that it made her heart melt. Perhaps her audience wasn’t very big, but it felt almost like a second family to her. 

“Anyway, as you already know from my twitter, today I’ll be playing Among Us with my friends and their friends! I can’t wait if I’m being honest, last time I played this game was so much fun, and there was only a few of us.” she admitted with a genuine smile on her face. “Let’s just text Sean now so we can get into the lobby...”

Y/N: Ready to play with you guys ^^

Jackaboy: Great! You got that mic fixed already? 

Y/N: Yes, everything is fine. I’m sorry you had to wait so long.

Jackaboy: It’s all good kiddo, no worries. I’ll call you and send you the code in a sec. 

Y/N: Perfect, thank you Sean :)

Jackaboy: Btw, everyone can’t wait to meet you ;-)Y/N stared at the screen for a moment, only now, seconds before joining the group, realizing how nervous she felt. From Sean’s tweets she saw earlier, she figured that the lobby was right now full of many famous streamers, those she wouldn’t even compare herself to. It’s not that she thought of herself very low, but... being among such youtube celebrities like them made her panic a little bit. She didn’t want to look like a complete fool amongst them. 

Playing or recording with Sean and Felix was something else because she knew those guys for years (and yet still sometimes found herself thinking how lucky she got to be able to call them her friends). She felt good in their company, not worrying about choosing the right words. But amongst the rest of the players, she knew only Toast and talked with Rae maybe once in her life... 

What if the rest won’t like her? 

Y/N cleared her throat, realizing that she was still staring at her phone like hypnotized and her audience was already asking her what’s going on. She quickly typed in the code Sean had texted her and readjusted her headphones, before joining the discord chat.

“THERE SHE IS” screamed Sean, making her grin from ear to ear, hearing how excited he was “Little wonderchild!”

“I think you meant little TRAITOR” Felix corrected him with a scoff. A silence settled in the lobby as everyone was waiting for Y/N to speak up.

“Um... hello everyone..” she said softly, almost inaudibly, a sudden wave of shyness taking over her. “I’m Y/N” 

“Oh, you were right about that Corpse thing!” replied another, also very soft and very sweet voice, and Y/N saw the image of someone named Lily pop up. “It’s like the exact opposite!” 

“See? Told ya. Everyone, meet Y/N/N, the little angel from Y/C/N.” 

“Hey Y/N!”

“Hi there!”

“Hey, what’s up?”

“H-Hi, so great to meet you, Y/N!” a very friendly sounding voice said, and a little lime astronaut with the name Sykkuno above it started running around her. “Can’t wait to play with you!”

“That’s so nice, thank you” she replied with a wide smile on her face, moving around his character as well. “I can’t wait to play with you too, actually with all you guys. It’s so great to be here with you.”

“Jack I swear she’s the cutest little thing I’ve ever heard. Where the hell did you find her?!” Poki all but yelled at the man, making Y/N giggle to herself and in-process loosen up a little bit. They all seemed like someone she’d happily be friends with. 

“Or rather, where do you get one?” someone else commented, making them all burst into laughter, Y/N included. 

“Guys, what did I say about that sweet demeanor...” Jack said after calming down from his fit “Don’t put your guard down just because she sounds like that!”

“Wait- what did you tell them about me?” Y/N asked confused, the tone of her voice making him laugh even more “Jack!”

“Don’t worry, only the good stuff” a very deep, low voice spoke up, leaving her taken aback for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly and she glanced at the name of that person, reading out CORPSE. Now that’s something she didn’t expect... 

“Corpse, mind your manners! You didn’t even introduce yourself!” 

“Oh, shit- yeah, sorry. Um, I’m Corpse, it’s very nice to meet you Y/N” he replied right after, making her lip corners curl up into a smile. 

“Nice to meet you too Corpse, you have a really pleasant voice.” she spoke sweetly, completely unaware of the chaos that was taking place in her stream chat. She didn’t even think of it the way her audience did, she just simply spoke up her mind, and being an incredibly nice person - turned it into a compliment.

“Oh- wow. I mean, thank you so much. I love your voice too, it’s really sweet” he replied, nervously chuckling at the end, before muting his mic. It was, however, enough for Felix and Sean to start teasing him, as the two immediately screamed:

“SIIIMP!!!”

“It’s the voice Felix, I told you he’d fall into her trap!” 

“Wait- he was just being nice, guys! Stop making fun of him” Y/N immediately defended the man, trying to speak up over the hysterical laughter of the other players. 

“Oh my god, but what if they both get impostors and they both pull the voice cards on us?!” Rae managed to yell through all the noise, making Y/N even more confused.

“Wait, what? What do you mean? I don’t understand.” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, that’s how I feel all the time around them.” Sykkuno seemed to be the only one who heard her question, as the rest continued their gabbing without giving her as much as a glance. 

“Alright, let’s start the game maybe. I might have a few old scores to settle” Toast cleared his throat theatrically, his astronaut coming face to face with Y/N’s. 

“Oh, you mean me? I thought I already apologized!” she replied frantically. “You gave me no choice Toast, I didn’t even want to kill you in the first place...”

“BUT YOU DID. IN THE VERY FIRST ROUND” 

“I’m sorry!” 

“Alright, enough! Toast, just don’t kill her right away, okay? Let her run around the map, fearing for her life for a moment.” Y/N gasped upon hearing Jack’s words, clearly sensing the smirk behind his voice. 

“Wha- Jack?! Since when are you against me?!” 

“Don’t worry Y/N, I won’t let them hurt you. You haven’t played with us yet, I’ll protect you.” 

“Oh, thank you so much Sykkuno! I’ll protect you too!” 

“Great. Another one simping...” was Felix’s last words, before the game began. 

Y/N sighed in relief upon seeing the word crewmate forming on her screen, but at the same time feared Toast’s inevitable revenge. She thought they'd already buried the hatchet, but it seemed that he was desperate to make her pay for the last time they played together. 

“Aw, Sykkuno was serious” she mumbled with a smile, when his lime astronaut started circling her white one, so she would follow him. “Okay, let’s do some tasks.”

They both made their way towards the medbay, Sykkuno patiently waiting nearby as she did the scan, then Y/N waiting for him to do the same. The moment his little character stepped towards her, a meeting was called by none other than Felix.

“What happened?” Rae asked.

“I called the meeting because I’m afraid of Jack” he responded, causing everyone to laugh. “Seriously though! Dude’s been following me around the whole time.”

“I was just making sure nobody kills you.”

“Yeah don’t go all Sykkuno on me!” Felix screamed, making the call erupt into even more laughter. 

“Alright, are we skipping?” 

“Yeah.”

“Guys, my life is in danger!” Felix wouldn’t give up. “Come on, show some support! Y/N? You played with him, you know his techniques!” 

“Sorry Felix” Y/N giggled, clicking the skip button. 

When the next round began, Sykkuno was quick to join Y/N on her way towards admin, where they both found Poki doing the upload. They did the card swipe and left her there, when the lights suddenly went off.

“Uh-oh. Let’s head the opposite direction, Sykkuno” the girl murmured, dancing around his character and heading towards Comms instead of going to Electrical. It was the easiest way to die, after all. 

Once they entered the room and waited for someone to fix the lights, Y/N could see another figure appear in the same location. She couldn’t recognize whose character it was, but upon seeing the horns on the helmet she smiled to herself.

“Hey there, Corpse” she said, walking up to the black astronaut, who was standing still in the same place as if he was just watching her and Sykkuno run around Comms instead of doing their tasks. 

They stood like that for a couple of seconds until Corpse turned around and ran away, and that’s when the first body was reported. 

“Oh no, Jack!” 

“Poor guy. He’s gonna haunt us now.”

“Where’s the body?” 

“Navigation” replied Rae, who was the one to find Sean’s green astronauts’ body “Didn’t see anyone around, but I’m pretty sure someone just vented right in front of my eyes...”

“Any suspicions?” Toast asked.

“Um, not really sure, it was the exact same moment the lights went off. I was doing tasks with Jack and then he just died. I only saw the vent close, nothing or no one else.”

“Okay, where are you guys right now?” 

“I’m in admin with Dave, we only passed Poki when we got there.” Lily’s voice sounded out, quickly being joined by Poki’s explanation.

“Yeah, I was finishing the upload when you guys came in, Y/N and Sykkuno saw it”

“Did you see her?” Toast asked, addressing his question towards the white and lime astronauts. 

“Yes, we were doing the card swipe before going to Comms. Corpse joined us for a moment and then left.”

“Yeah, I was on my way to fix the lights when I stumbled upon them in Comms, the body was reported the exact moment I left.”

“Can someone confirm this? I mean, did someone see you besides the two of them?” Toast continued his questioning. 

“I think I only saw Felix in Medbay.”

“Hmm, so no one really knows where you were this whole time. You could easily lure Jack into Navigation and kill him there. Is that what you did, Corpse?”

“Woah, that’s some serious accusation” Corpse replied in his usual, low and calm voice. “Where were you Toast? You seem the only one who still doesn’t have an alibi”

“Neither does Felix.” Y/N spoke innocently, and the mentioned man quickly started his explanation.

“Okay, I was with Jack at the beginning but he clearly can’t confirm this since someone snapped his fucking neck. We’ve split up in O2 after doing our tasks and then he must’ve gone with Rae. I just wandered around the map, escaping from the death.”

“Hmm, so not only were you one of the last people to see him alive, but you also admit to not doing your tasks” Y/N said, trying her best to keep her voice steady and stop herself from laughing. She was sure Sykkuno was doing the same thing, they both refused to do any tasks after the lights went off, after all.

“Yeah, but does that already makes me an Imposter? I’m just scared for my life, that’s all.”

“Y/N has some good logic, but I’m not really sure it’s Pewds. I mean, I saw him in Medbay and he really seemed to be just jogging around.” Corpse said, his voice almost immediately doing its magic, as people more or less willingly agreed to skip this round as well. 

“I think it’s Felix. I mean, I haven’t played with him yet, but I have this feeling that he’s just acting.” Y/N said to her chat after muting herself. She went towards Weapons to do another task, seeing Sykkuno’s little character follow her once again, but the doors were suddenly locked and his lime astronaut remained in Cafeteria. “Oh no, Sykkuno” she sighed with a pout on her face, deciding against waiting for him and risking getting her neck snapped. She finished her task in Weapons and moved towards another location, when suddenly Corpse appeared in front of her, coming right out of nowhere. 

“Oh- Corpse, you scared me to death” Y/N breathed a laugh, watching as his character stood still for a couple of seconds, before circling around her white astronaut. Y/N nodded her head with a smile, even though he couldn’t see her, and followed him in Shields, where they found Poki’s dead body. 

“The body is in Shields” Y/N replied right after reporting the body, only to gasp in shock when she realized more than one person was killed. Red crosses decorated not only Poki’s name but were also visible next to Dave and Lily. 

“What the hell?!” Felix all but yelled into his mic, obviously shocked just like everyone else who was still alive. 

“Now that’s... a lot of bodies” Sykkuno mumbled under his breath. 

“Alright, who’s in Shields? Y/N, you said you found the body there, which one?”

“Poki’s, Corpse was there with me” her reply was followed by his short and low hum. 

“Sykkuno, where are you? I didn’t see you anywhere since the last round.” Felix asked, clearly accusing the lime astronaut of being a murderer. 

“I was... doing the wires in electrical, Toast was there for a moment as well.”

“Yeah but I was only searching for the body, so I saw you maybe for a second” Toast replied, building even more suspicions around Sykkuno.

“But- guys, you know I wouldn’t kill two people in one round, let alone four of them.”

“No one says you did that, I only mentioned that you were nowhere to be seen. You could’ve been sabotaging the map for the other Impostor” Felix said nonchalantly.

“Guys, I-”

“It’s him! It must be him!” Rae shouted through her mic. 

“Sykkuno is 100% innocent, I can vouch for him” Y/N’s voice sounded out in everyone’s headphones “We were together since the start of the game and he didn’t kill me, even though he had quite a number of chances to do so.”

“Weren’t you with Corpse this time?” Felix asked suspiciously.

“I was! But at the beginning, I was with Sykkuno, until someone locked him in Cafeteria. That’s when we split up.”

“And you haven’t seen him ever since?”

“Well, no, but-”

“Then I can assure you it was only a matter of time before he’d stab you in the back” Toast concluded, making Sykkuno gasp in confusion.

“Wha- No, I would never do that! Y/N is our guest, I was just making sure she was okay!”

“Sykkuno, simping won’t save your life right now” 

“Wha- I- Guys!” he tried to stutter out some logical explanation “Y/N, don’t believe them!”

“I don’t, I know you’re innocent! C’mon guys, he wouldn’t do it!” 

“Yeah yeah, let’s kick him out. Corpse, who are you voting?” Toast asked, and Y/N could see the I voted sign next to his character. 

“I kinda feel like Felix tries to shift the blame onto Sykkuno. He didn’t even tell his location, and was already throwing accusations on someone else.” Corpse replied after a moment, making the smile widen on Y/N’s face. Someone was finally on her side! 

“That’s because he can’t even explain himself!” Felix exclaimed, voting as well. 

“Besides, I’m pretty sure if it wasn’t for whoever locked that door, Y/N would be dead as well!” 

“No, I told you I-!”

“Guys, we have ten seconds to vote. Rae?” 

“I think it’s him as well. He was acting suspiciously since we started this round. I vote Sykkuno”

“But..!” 

“No, Sykkuno...” Y/N whispered with a pout on her lips, when she saw the number of people who voted for her lime friend. 

Sykkuno was ejected. 

“Alright, I’m pretty sure it’s Felix. I saw Rae multiple times and she didn’t kill me, Toast also doesn’t act very Impostor like, but maybe that’s just one of his strategies... Corpse is with me again, I don’t think that’s him, I mean, he followed me around last round, but still didn’t do anything, and even vouched for me and Sykkuno when we were both clearly chilling in comms. It can’t be him... right?” 

 Dead body reported.

 “I just saw Corpse kill Toast, then vent!” Rae’s voice blared through Y/N’s headphones, as she looked in shock at the red cross next to Toast’s name. If not him, then..?

“What?” the accused man asked calmly “That’s a self-report, she’s trying to frame me. You guys can’t possibly believe her.”

“I believe her. I saw you enter the Electrical with Toast, then he’s suddenly dead” Felix said. 

“That’s because she vented in there and killed him.”

“No! I swear, Y/N/N you have to believe me!” she directed her words towards the girl who remained silent during their discussion, processing her accusations over and over in her head. “I was fixing the wires, Toast was doing another task, and then boom! I see Corpse snapping his neck!”

“How could you see that if the lights were off?” Y/N suddenly asked, making Rae cut her own sentence off “No one went to fix them, they were off the entire round.”

Silence. 

“It’s Rae, it must be her” Corpse couldn’t help but laugh wholeheartedly at how small was the mistake which completely blew Rae’s cover. “We’re voting Rae, right Y/N?”

“No! Guys, I mean, let me explain, I-!”

Rae was ejected. 

“Now that was something I didn’t expect. I would’ve never thought it was her, I even suspected that Sykkuno might really have been the other Impostor, but now... It’s just me, Corpse, and Felix. I’m clear, clearly, so it must be one of them. And since Corpse protected me for the past few rounds, there’s no other option than...”

Her eyes suddenly widened when the realization hit her, and she quickly turned around to speed towards the emergency button. Fortunately, no one was around to stop her from calling the meeting.

“Felix.” Y/N started, trying to contain her excitement and sound seriously “Where were you when Sean was killed?”

Neither Corpse of Felix said a word, as it was probably the last question they expected her to ask. Felix cleared his throat, however, and finally replied:

“Y/N, that was literally the beginning of a game. How am I supposed to remember what I did then?”

“Well” she said nonchalantly “I, for example, clearly remember the things you said even when we were in the lobby.”

“What are you implying?” 

“Wasn’t it you, who told everyone that Sean was your number one if you get Impostor?” she asked with a wicked smile on her face. Felix was dumbfounded, he obviously didn’t expect her to pull that card on him, hell, he didn’t even know how she knew about it since she wasn’t even in the call at the time. 

“FELIX” Corpse suddenly broke the silence, simultaneously breaking the said man from his train of thoughts. 

“Okay, first of all- YOU WEREN’T EVEN IN THE CALL WHEN I SAID THAT” he yelled through his mic, making both Y/N and Corpse laugh, as it only confirmed their suspicions. 

“See? You only proved my point.” 

“Oh, fuck’s sake- I was just joking okay?!” he tried to defend himself, but hearing how he couldn’t even contain his own laughter anymore, it was clear he already accepted the defeat. “It wasn’t serious, god damn it!” 

“You know what to do, Y/N” Corpse’s voice asked through her headphones, and surely, she knew exactly what to do.

“C’mon Y/N, that’s not fair! At least let me explain myself!” 

“Bye Felix” she said in an overly dramatic tone before Corpse voted as well. 

Soon enough, the sign VICTORY could be seen on her screen, which made her squeak and joy. This game was really fun, even though she was so scared of being killed first. 

“I knew it! I knew you would figure out it’s him! That son of a bitch who murdered me!” Jack basically yelled out, clearly very happy about the result. 

“Y/N, seriously now, how did you know I’ve said that?” Felix asked without even hiding his surprised tone.

“Let’s just say I might’ve stolen some of your viewers, Felix” she admitted, winking at her webcam, a new wave of comments landing on her chat. “Thanks guys!” 

“Okay, that is rude and not fair!” 

“It helped me win, so I’ve got nothing else to say” Y/N grinned from ear to ear, before muting herself for a moment to finally answer some of the questions from her chat, while the rest took a quick break to eat something or go to the bathroom.

She was halfway through telling the story of how she met Sean when she noticed she got a message from a private discord chat. 

CORPSE: That was really impressive :)

Y/N smiled to herself upon seeing his text and quickly typed out the answer. 

Y/N: Thanks!! I wouldn’t have done that without you though, you stood up for me and Sykkuno and all

Y/N: Also, thanks for protecting me from being murdered ^^

CORPSE: No problem, I knew you were innocent right away. 

CORPSE: Anyway, good game, Sean was right saying that you’re one of the best players

She couldn’t help the blush that arose on her cheeks, it was very sweet of him to say that, even though she didn’t actually do much except for exposing Felix. 

Y/N: I wasn’t an Impostor though, so you didn’t really see much :)

She watched the three dots beside his name, that signaled he was still texting. The chat was completely forgotten, but people seemed to quickly notice that small, shy smile on her lips, and the pink tint decoring her cheeks.

CORPSE: Okay, now I’m intrigued... 

Y/N: Maybe we’ll both be Impostors one day ^^

CORPSE: Can’t wait for that to happen.

Soon enough, they returned to the lobby to begin another game. Y/N glanced at her chat for a second, and the moment she returned her eyes to the game, her jaw basically dropped. 

IMPOSTOR was written in bold letters in the middle of the red screen, right above her name.

Corpse’s little character was standing beside her. 

[drarrily-we-row-along]

Day 125.2: Accidental Bonding (Part 2)

(You can read part 1 here but basically all you need to know is that Harry and Draco got accidentally bonded on a case and they are coping with the after effects.)

By the end of the first week Harry very much needed a break from Draco Malfoy.

Robbards assigned them to one another as partners for the remainder of the time they were bonded and that meant that they spent what amounted to every moment of every day together. They worked together, went home together, and slept in the same bed together. And they fought every waking moment about nearly everything.

It hadn't helped that all of the other Aurors were constantly taking the piss and Harry was ready to snap.

On Friday afternoon, while Malfoy was in the loo and Harry had a rare moment of privacy, he sent off a patronus to Ron and Hermione asking them to meet him for dinner at the Leaky. Ron's terrier returned not long after, affirming that they'd be glad to meet him.

For the rest of the day, he kept that at the forefront of his mind, the proverbial carrot dangling in front of him as he fought to make it to the end of the work week.

After they arrived home, Harry changed his clothes and came into the living room where Malfoy was sitting on the sofa, then pressed his hand to Malfoy's shoulder until the bond wasn't humming in the back of his mind. "I'm going out," he informed him as he removed his hand

"I don't want to go out," he replied immediately.

He nodded, "Good because I wasn't inviting you with me anyway."

"But the bond-"

"She said that we'd be okay for two hours. I'm just going to go have dinner with Ron and Hermione and then I'll come back."

Malfoy didn't reply, which Harry might have imagined would be an improvement over the bickering but was actually really fucking annoying.

He took a deep breath and then let it out. It wasn't worth it. "Whatever," he grumbled to himself as he stepped back and apparated to the apparation point near the Leaky.

(Read more below the cut)

Ron and Hermione were already at the table near the fire when he arrived and Harry felt something unwind inside of him at the sight of his friends, it felt like coming home when you'd been away for too long.

"Hi," he said as he approached the table.

Hermione stood up and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Thanks," he murmured, hugging her back.

She nodded, "You looked like you could use it."

A humorless chuckle left his throat, "You could say that," he replied.

"Come on," she said, tugging him over to the table.

"I can only stay for a few hours," Harry said, sitting down across from Ron, "The bond-"

"Then let's just have a few hours that feel normal and have nothing to do with Malfoy," Ron said and Harry nodded gratefully.

---------

Only an hour into their dinner, Harry started to feel the tug of the bond, a low thrumming through his gut that made him feel restless. He tried to ignore it and was doing fairly well by the sheer force of his stubbornness when a woman came up to them.

"You're Harry Potter, right?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him.

"Yeah," he replied, "that's me."

"It's so nice to meet you," she said, reaching over and laying a hand on his forearm, scarlet fingernails trailing lightly over his skin.

Harry immediately felt queasy, every fiber of his being screaming that this was wrong. "Nice to meet you, too," he said as politely as he could manage, pulling his arm out of her reach.

"Could I-"

"Sorry," Ron interrupted, "But he's a bit busy. We're having dinner, in case you didn't notice."

She glanced at Ron, then looked back at Harry, "Maybe when you're done," she said, "You could join me for a drink at the bar."

"Maybe another time," Harry said, giving her his best smile which he feared turned out more like a grimace as his stomach rolled.

Fortunately she seemed to take the hint, "Well, it was nice to meet you," she said before turning.

"You too," Harry called. "I've got to go," he said as soon as she was out of earshot.

"What?" Hermione asked, "Why?"

"I don't know, something happened with the bond," he muttered. "I feel awful."

"Go on then," Ron said, nodding at him. "We'll see you later.

"Stop by the house tomorrow, if you'd like," Hermione offered.

"Alright," he nodded. "Sorry," he added as he stood up and fled the bar, apparating straight into Malfoy's house.

"Malfoy," he shouted, the moment his feet touched the floor.

The other man groaned from where he was laying on the sofa in the living room, "What the actual fuck did you do?" he managed. "I was fine and then all of the sudden it felt like I was hit by a train."

Harry made his way over to the sofa and since Malfoy didn't seem like he was going to move he did the only thing his brain could come up with. He crawled on top of him, pressing their bodies together and moaning with relief. "Someone hit on me," he said.

"Poor you," Malfoy grumbled, even as one of his arms wrapped around Harry and pulled him in tighter.

"No, I mean that's what caused the spike. She flirted with me and touched my arm and the bond went crazy."

Malfoy hummed, "Interesting," he said. "People have touched both of us and it hasn't caused this."

"Maybe the bond recognizes intent?" Harry questioned.

"Maybe it recognizes your intent," Malfoy mused. "Was she attractive?"

Harry shrugged, "Maybe? I didn't really notice."

"Pfft," Malfoy huffed, his breath warm and vaguely pleasant against Harry's ear. "You don't have to lie. I won't be offended."

"I'm serious," Harry protested.

"Look, can we just be honest with each other?" he asked. "It's fine if you thought she was attractive-"

"I'm gay!" Harry blurted, "I'm not lying, she might have been attractive but I genuinely didn't notice."

"You're gay?" he asked.

"Yes," Harry replied, starting to pull away because the bond was still tugging but not unbearable, "Go ahead and start making fun of me, let's just end this horrible wee-"

"I'm not going to make fun of you," Malfoy said.

He looked down at the other man, too surprised to come up with words for a moment. "You're not?"

"Well, it would be pretty hypocritical if I did," he replied.

"You're-?" Harry started.

Malfoy shrugged one shoulder and his fingers trailed mindlessly along Harry's spine, "I'm bi," he said.

"Oh." Harry replied and he settled back against Malfoy, "I didn't know."

"You never asked."

"Well neither did you," he protested.

Malfoy looked at him for a long moment, "I didn't know that I was allowed to."

"Why would I be allowed to ask if you weren't?"

He rolled his eyes, "Because you're Harry Potter and you've always thought that the rules didn't apply to you."

"Come off it," he said. "I live by the same rules everyone else does. If anything, I'm held to a higher standard."

"You're held to a higher standard? Potter, you have no idea what it means to be held to a high standard. I'm an ex-death eater, my every move is scrutinized," Malfoy said. "When I started at the DMLE I was told that if I put 'one toe out of line I'd be put in Azkaban faster than I could say Auror.'"

"Someone said that to you?" Harry asked incredulously.

He huffed a bitter laugh, "Multiple people said that to me. So tell me again about being held to a higher standard, Potter."

"It's different," Harry admitted, "But when I do something wrong I get the lecture about how I'm an example for everyone else. The things that I do are a template for what other people will find acceptable. That sort of...stuff," he finished lamely, trailing off uncomfortably.

"I hadn't thought about that," Malfoy confessed.

"I’m just a person," he said. "And I like to think that I learned to respect boundaries and don't ask overly personal questions-"

"Sorry," Malfoy said, stopping the words coming out of Harry's mouth. "You're right. You aren't sixteen anymore."

His initial instinct was to fight about who'd been worse at sixteen and the words were on the tip of his tongue but he swallowed them back, "You're not sixteen anymore either."

The corner of Malfoy's mouth tipped up and they just looked at each other for a long moment before the other man said, "Alright, that's quite enough soul searching. Get off me, Potter. I want to finish my book before bed."

Harry chuckled and climbed off the couch, "I'm going to shower."

"Yes, thank you for the update," Malfoy drawled. "I'll be sure to alert the press."

"Prat," Harry grumbled but it didn't hold the venom that it normally did. He couldn't help but wonder if his improved mood was because of the time he'd spent with his friends or because of the conversation he'd just had with Malfoy.

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

This is going to be a couple more parts- this keeps sucking me in. I'll try to get at least one more part posted today.

Day 125: Accidental Bonding | Part 3

[majesticarlette]

Could you please write Zoe Lee x Famous Singer Reader where Reader was Zoe’s only friend in New York and then Reader moves to Paris for concerts and to be with Zoe?

my apologies if requests are closed or if you don’t want to write this

Impulse

Zoé Lee x Reader | ONE SHOT 🌷

"I heard that (Y/n) (L/n) is here in Paris."

"No way, the (Y/n) (L/n) who has 2 successful albums?"

"You're stating the obvious, but that's them!" People could be heard fussing about the singer. Well, who wouldn't be excited when a famous person could be a few meters away from you? Your appearance in Paris isn't what you really thought about or even your goal to begin with. You're here because of someone you knew for a long time, and you can't wait to meet her again.

"We're here, let's go. We have a hotel reservation at 3:00 this afternoon, we can't be late." Your manager said while picking up her things. Your bodyguard on the other hand is already holding your bags. "Thank you." You smiled at him and faced your manager. "What time is it, Bellum?" "It's already 1:40." He responded after looking at his watch. You left the airport after double checking your things and head straight to the popular hotel in the city, Le Grand Paris.

You told the hotel staffs that you don't want anyone to know you're staying there. You want to keep your stay lowkey as possible until the days nearing the concert. Well, you went there ahead of time, not following the schedule designed for you. After your team finalized your world tour, according to them: Paris, France would be the last destination. You were ecstatic about the news, and couldn't wait to visit. So, as soon as you finished the recent concert, you flew all the way to Paris.

Once you reached your destination, your manager checked in for you while you stayed in the car. He came to pick you up after and you went to your room. "Finally, a bed." You flopped on the bed and it was so comfortable to the point of falling asleep in a span of minutes. "What's on the schedule today?" You faced your manager. "Wow, that's a first." He fixed his glasses and looked at his tablet. "Fortunately your schedule is not loaded for the day--" "I'm going outside." You quickly responded. "Are you going to meet, Ms. Zoé?" "Duh." He turned around after you started undressing yourself to fit new set of clothes. "That's why you're in a hurry of coming here." "Come on, she's your friend too. Aren't you excited to meet her too?" You started putting on your bottoms and shoes. "I am, it's just that it's not professional to act impulsively about coming here when you have a loaded schedule on your last destination. I had to fake your sickness for you to come here." You tapped his shoulder and he finally turned to you. "And that's why I love you. I'm gonna get going, do not follow me." You're in a disguise and left the room.

While looking around Paris, you stopped at a bakery to try their baked goods. "Hello, would you like to take an order?" A dark haired girl greeted you on the other side of the counter. "Hello, I'm new here. Do you recommend anything?" "All of our baked goods are delicious, but the best selling here are our macarons." "I'll take a box." She prepared your order but when she's about to hand it to you she stopped for a moment she must have noticed something. "That bracelet... Are you (Y/n)?" "Pssh... No, I'm not." You chuckled nervously. "It is you!" "Shh!" You stopped her cheers of excitement by placing your pointer finger on her lips. She's calming her self down but it doesn't seem to be working.

"You should come with me! I'll take you somewhere!" She uttered suddenly which made you step back a bit. She noticed her words and tried to explain. "I-I mean, I'm inviting you to a get together, 'cause my friends will perform their song at Liberty this evening. You'll enjoy it for sure." "Liberty?" You asked, confused by her response at you. You were startled when she face palmed herself hard. "What am I doing?! They have a busy schedule!" She started talking to herself which disturbed you a little bit. "Hey, what's Liberty?" You spoke trying to break her out of her rambling state. "Well, it's a name of a boat my two friends live in. They're into music, so there are music performances on the boat quite often."

Well, there's no harm in joining a get together. But, you're just new here, no one would know what might happen. Also, her invite seems legit, it must be nice to party on a boat while there's live music. Eh, you're still not so sure. What if she'll trick you into coming on a secluded area and take your organs? Now, you finally made up your mind.

"I'm totally going."

"Come on, Bell. I'll only be there for a couple of hours." You begged your manager to let you go. "Nuh uh." "Puh-leaaaase?" "Nope." "I promise, this'll be a one time thing." You gave him a puppy-eyed look while crossing your two fingers at the back. "Okay, I've made up my mind." Your eyes lit up and smiled at him. "No, you can't go." He smiled at you which made your smile drop. You flopped on the bed and sulk. Bellum chuckled at your reaction, "Alright you can go, bring Ollie with you." You got off the bed and prepared your things and left the room.

"(Y/n)!" Marinette called from the ship. Her friends quickly looked at your direction and gasp. "Hi." You entered the ship nervously, you're expecting a lot of touching and autographs but they never came. You were only greeted by smiles and handshakes welcoming you to Paris. But somehow, you could sense they wanted to really bad. "Uhm... Do you want me to sign you autographs?" You offered a bit embarrassed. They all nodded their head, they immediately handed you their owned albums you made. "You know, we really wanted you to sign our albums but it might overwhelm you." The girl named Mylène told you. "Hey, it's okay, I just dislike it when people rush up to me and they'll point their phones close to my face, and pulling of my clothes and limbs. You finished signing their albums and offered to take a group photo.

"(Y/n)?"

You looked at the direction of the voice and saw the person you're looking for, Zoé. "Zoé!" You hugged her and she returned it back. "Who knew the new girl would be friends with an international star?" The girl named Alya commented and they just smiled.

"1, 2, 3!" The drummer counts and Rose sang their debut song. The song was great and catchy, she's really telling everyone she loves unicorns. "So, why are you here in Paris so early? Isn't your concert will be in three days?" Zoé asked you. "Well, I missed you, of course. When you left New York, I began to miss our time together." Zoé chuckled at your response. "That sounds childish." "I'm serious, you were my only friend in New York, Zo." You held her hand and smiled at her. You swear you could see her cheeks tinted in pink.

"(Y/n), sing!" Marinette and her friends asked you to sing your songs but you promised you'll only sing one and keep the others for your concert. Bellum would scold you for sure if he heard that. Everyone cheers at you and admire your voice. "She is real." Juleka uttered "What did you expect? An illusion?" The others laughed at Alya's comment.

You swore that was the best night of your life, thank goodness you agreed to go.

You spent the remaining days before your concert with Zoé touring Paris. You're always in a disguise so not so many people would recognize you. You also left your bracelet at the hotel, you didn't know you could be recognized by that. "I'm glad I could be here with you in Paris." Zoé spoke while leaning on the railings on the top of the Eiffel tower. "Are you not going back to New York?" "I may not be, I found my comfort here in Paris. I met new friends and I could express myself freely." She smiled while gazing at the night view from up there. You could see that she's happy here than when she was in New York.

You smiled sadly, you never saw her this happy. You only have a limited time here in Paris and it's not enough for you. At this moment, you're desiring to be with her and stay by her side. You always knew your feelings for her ever since you became her friend but you didn't want to confess because you're afraid that it might cost your friendship. But you're not that (Y/n) anymore, you've waited for so long of keeping your feelings to yourself. Now that you've met again, it's time for you to tell it.

"Zoé." You spoke breaking the silence. "Yes?" she looked at you, waiting for your response. "I wanna confess something, I've been waiting to say this for a long time and I think it's time. Zoé, I like you. Not just as a friend but more than that. I wanna fulfill our dreams here in Paris, together." You held her hands as she just looked at you. "You mean, you're going to move here?" You nodded at her as an answer. She let go from your hold and just stared at you. "(Y/n), I've known you for a long time. I know you want to fulfill your dream as a successful singer who is known in the whole wide world." She rested her elbows on the railings and gestured the round world. You're just listening to her, confused at what she's saying. "And, you staying here in Paris isn't enough. I came here to be with my family, I had a desire and a goal to win their hearts but it didn't go my way. Instead, I found a new purpose. To be myself, not pretending anymore." She looked at you. "You, you started building your dreams in New York. You're just starting yet, you may say that you're already there, but it's not over yet. My point is, I don't want you to move all the way here just because of me." She pointed out. "I want you to move here because you planned to, you loved to, and you settled to be."

"I really want to, I promise." You replied and she just shook her head. "No, please reconsider. Now is not the right time." She cupped your cheeks. "What about my feelings for you, is that also rejected?" She just chuckled and pinched your cheeks. "I'll wait for you here, so don't pursue another person." She giggled and let go of your cheeks. "I'm kidding, you can date whoever you want, but I'll be here waiting for your return." You pouted from her answer. "I won't do that, you're the only one I'm going to pursue no matter how long it takes." You declared surely of your answer. You took something from your pocket, "This is a necklace my mother gave to me. When I get back here permanently I'll retrieve it from you." She smiled and hug you.

You both went home that time, you walked her to her room and then you finally entered your own room. You flopped on the bed and waited for tomorrow's event. You slept soundly that night, might be the most memorable night that happened here in Paris, and of course in your life.

You could spot Marinette and her friends in the audience while you were performing on stage. They were all shouting and admiring you from their spots. You waved at them which made the crowd shout louder. Of course, you wouldn't forget about your crush. You spotted her along with her family in the VIP seats.

You performed all of your songs and mentioned special people you met here in Paris. You swore you could see the gang's faces proud and happy. The experience as always was fun but never thought you'd meet new friends here. You swore you'll get back here as soon as possible, so have to give your all.

"Thank you all for coming here." You told the whole gang. "No, thank you and your bodyguard for letting us personally bid a celebrity goodbye." Nino responded and you just smiled. "Hug?" You offered and they all accepted. "Wow, I'm really waiting for this, I can't hug you at first because I know you'll get uncomfortable." Rose spoke and get to be the first to hug you and the rest follows. "These camera flashes are literally blinding me." Alya commented while covering her eyes, meanwhile Chloé's posing in front of the cameras. Yep, Chloé's here. "(Y/n), let's go. We don't wanna be late." Bellum suddenly spoke which breaks your conversation with the group. "I'll see you all soon." You waved them goodbye, you noticed Zoé discreetly giving you a flying kiss. You smiled at her and finally entering the terminal area.

"You finally told Zoé, huh?" Bellum spoke to you.

"I'm glad I did." You scrunched your nose at him.

[henqtic]

𝘈𝘳𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘔𝘦 𝘈 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦

pairing: draco malfoy x fem!reader 

word count: 2.3k

summary: Draco Malfoy. His name was registered in your mind as your enemy, plain and simple. A platinum blonde idiot who you’d find much more likable if he’s just shut up everyone in a while. But what would happen if your parents arranged for you both to attend the yule ball together- would some hidden feeling shine their way out? 

warnings: mentions of arranged marriages, mentions of feeling anxious, feelings of self doubt, kissing, angry love confession, crying, a little angst, please contact me if theres more !

a/n: Also this is an au where the yuleball is in seventh year and no Voldemort <3

masterlist.  // gif creds // taglist form.

When Dumbledore announced the yule ball to the school in the middle of the dinner, you were a bit excited. Excited at the idea that you’d have the chance to be asked to the dance by some nice boy and that could potentially lead to a relationship.

But being born into a family like yours, you couldn’t hope for much. Not even a week after they got the news, your mother and father made an arrangement with the Malfoy’s that you would have to attend the ball with their son Draco.

You could've sworn they had been trying to set you both up for some kind of arranged marriage. Maybe them pushing you together was a way to soften a blow when it finally happened? But still, out of any one they just had to choose him.

You had grown up with him, Draco, and if you hadn't already known— he was what you called a... bitch boy. He’d tattle about small things, throw a few temper tantrums, and cry to get his way. This is why even though your families had been so closely connected for years, centuries even— he was your enemy and nothing could change that.

That fact wasn’t hidden from your parents, not in the slightest. They saw the numerous dirty looks you’d throw at each other when you thought no one looking, not to mention the childish pulling of hairs and elbowing with shoulders.

But they also saw the good things about your relationship, how'd you do little things for each other that made a bigger impact than you thought, like it was second nature.

Like whenever another dinner party would come up where there were random families of investors, business owners or, just more snooty rich people— Draco would always make sure you were seated right next to him in the case that both of you had to show up.

It honestly wasn’t that much of a big deal from his view point. Only an idiot couldn’t tell that you found yourself uncomfortable around new people and him saving you a seat was just common decency.

And there was always little moments where they’d find you both curled into each other after one of the tense meetings you had to attend seeing as you’d be graduating soon and still had the responsibility of up keeping your family names once you were adults.

Draco would be there tenderly playing with your hands and venting. Because while he did come off as confident about everything in his life, how he had both the Malfoy and Black fortuned to fall back onto, you could tell he was still scared of the future— of growing up.

That fear is also what led to the very rushed apology he had offered to the golden trio for his past behavior. You did have to physically push him into them and he did choke up on the words of kindness that were supposed to make the apology sincere but he still did it.

They hadn't forgiven him of course, they just sort of stared like some one had cast an unforgivable curse on the boy seconds before, but at least they were now, they were civil towards each other.

And even though you did do those things for him, that didn’t stop you from not wanting to do this and neither did it stop you from impatiently waiting outside of the great hall doors.

Your dress was made out of nothing less of the finest fabrics and silks you could get your hands onto. You knew it wouldn't make a single dent into your families Gringotts account but you felt that the purchase would make some sort of statement.

“You’re five minutes late,” you seethed, watching as a head of white-blonde hair finally round the corner. His hands brushed his jacket in a smug manor, getting rid of the invisible dust particles.

It really wasn’t that much time, many other students could still be found wither waiting for their dates or just standing around to show up ‘fashionably late’.

But you knew Draco had spent those minutes staring at himself in the mirror and fixing his oh so perfect hair.

“Some of us like to look good when showing up to these things,” he sneered before eyeing you in disgust.

“Oh please, this dress cost more than the gel you have piled in your hair.” His eyes narrowed at you along with a scrunch of his nose as he offered you the junction between his folded arm to lead you down the steps.  

The night had gone pretty well so far, both of you somehow never finding the right time to leave the others side as you had planned. It seemed as if your friends had all decided to hide themselves away from you both— like they were planning something. Of course, they were.

Blaise fucking Zabini

That idiot talked Professor Flitwick into playing a slow song, one that every couple had to join in on. And while that did sound good at eye view, you had to sign a paper at the begging saying if you coming as a couple or single. And the only people who had signed single to not face embarrassment were the staff—not counting Filch and Mrs. Norris.

Was this real, you being the living cliche of dancing with your enemy?

“If you step on my shoes one more time, I’ll leave you,” he growled into your, tightening his grip on your waist. Yeah, it was.

“What do you think I’ll do? Cry?” You asked in a mocking tone, sticking out your stuck your bottom lip out in a pout to taunt him even further.

Suddenly your front was pressed up against his back— your attention had been else where. Else where being reaching the goal of getting on his last nerve so when a husky voice whispered in your ear, you were shocked.

“Oh don’t act like I haven’t made you cry before.” He turned you back around swiftly, the only thing indicating what had just happened being the proud smirk on his face.

“Says you. Weren’t you the one who cried over a guy asking me out in fifth year?” You challenged, bringing up the incident that happened two years ago.

He hadn’t cried but he might as well have and you just needed something to tick him off for the moment. Whatever he had just did caused something to happened within you, and you weren’t sure if you liked it or not yet.

It was a situation that the blonde deeply wanted to regret—George Weasley asking you out. You and Draco had been finishing up on your work in the courtyard when he had invited himself to sit in between you and Draco and then proceeded to ask you out on a date.

Draco hadn't given you the chance to answer, a new found jealously fueling him to gather both of your things and drag you away from the scene.

He knew the chances were slim that you would reject the boy, and deep down tucked inside of him, Draco knew that the Weasleys were better than him— in some aspects.

Over the years Draco had found himself growing into a separate person from his parents, a person who had could think on their own and didn’t have to rely solely on his parents' truths.

And through that process, he realized that maybe his ideals were not the best out there. Including the way he treated many of his pears even if he was too proud to say it out loud.

That being said, he always stayed up wondering while you stayed. Why’d you even stick with him in the first place. And that’s what Brough him to find out his second greatest fear, loosing you.

Yes, you were insufferable at times, but you were still you. Someone that he liked having around and talking too. And someone that listened to him even if it was something as stupid as why gingers exist and why they shouldn't.

Yes that was an actual conversation that you had. In conclusion, you were a person he loved. But he never did think to tell you that because, why risk losing you over something that was most likely unrequited.

“I was protecting your future y/n. Would you like for your children to come out as gingers,” he spat as if what he had just made complete sense.

“Draco I was fifteen and he was sixteen at the time and we barely ever talked before that because you were always bad-mouthing his family.”

Now that you think of it, he had always been this way about you and boys. It was an ongoing thing where it didn't matter what blood type, what house, which people they associated themselves with, they were always ‘below you and you could find better’.

“Why do you always meddle in my relationships?” You were irritated. Maybe it was the close proximity of your bodies or maybe it was how oblivious he was.

“Meddle? You’ve never even been in a relationship,” he snorted making your point clearer than day.

“Exactly. Why are you so jealous of me wanting to break out of whatever shell we have enclosed over each other? What if I want to branch out and you know, talk to new people?”

Ouch.

It didn’t hurt that you considered him to be somewhat of an enemy, it was your thing—but you didn’t even consider him to be a friend?

“Alright then when about Pansy? I tried to break out of our ‘shell’ as you call it when I started talking to her.”

“Parkinson was not good for you then and now even more. We both know that.”

You weren’t a person who used the word hate. In most times it was used out of anger and would be regretted later on. But Pansy Parkinson? She was very deserving of the title of someone that you hated.

Commenting on someone else’s hair when she had been walking around with a bowl cut for the last last five years? It didn’t make sense to you how she always found a way to put her input in places where it truly wasn’t needed.

“Yeah alright. Then who is good enough for me y/n?”

“Oh I don’t know me,” you mumbled under your breath not expecting him to hear it— but he did.

That’s how you found yourself once again getting dragged away. But this time it was form the great hall to a more private place where none of the ears of Hogwarts could hear you both.

“What do you mean you’re good enough for me?” He asked with more disgust in his tone than wanted, and it crushed you.

You scoffed before going on, “Well I’ve known you since we were in diapers. Would it be so horrible to consider me good enough for you?” You asked watching as some emotion flickered past his eyes.

“I mean I know so many dumb things about you like how you hate the feeling of those sweaters that your mother always buys you and you turn them inside out. And then when she ask if you're wearing them you aren't lying to her face. Do you know how cute that is, that you don’t even harbor the ability to lie to your mum about something as small as that?”

Cute?

“And don’t get me started on how your favorite food is not that ridiculously priced stake that you try convincing people- even me. I know that it’s that tomato soup that your mum makes when you’re sick because it reminds you of being a kid. And guess what? I don’t even let the house elves make it for you when I say that they do—”

“Then who does y/n?” He asked softly while slowly bringing you to be trapped between his arms by one of the thick walls. He always had the suspicion be never thought you’d actually—

“Well I uh- I do it myself because I want it to have the same feeling of home as it always does and I sort of asked your mum the exact details on how to cook it like she does,” you explained peering up to look into his eyes.

“You hate the smell of tomatoes,” he said with a light laugh, it wasn’t out of amusement but pure adoration. Never did he think that you’d actually do that for him— of course, you were there when he was sick but it was more of making fun of his ‘weak immune system’ and throwing tissues at him.

“Well I love you more and don’t pretend like you don’t slip those house elves thank you letter—” You were once again cut off but instead it was by his hand reaching the side of your jaw to look up at him fully.

“Repeat that,” he whispered with a small smirk.

oh no

Tears started to cloud your vision, the realization hitting that you had may just ruin your relationship with your childhood- enemy- friend- frenemy?

“Don’t cry I’m not- I’m not mad at you. I’m happy, unbelievably so. I just need you to repeat exactly what you just said to me,” he said moving both hands to cup your face giving his thumbs access to wipe the liquid from under your eyes.

“I love you Draco and I’m sorry that I ruined this. We could honestly just forget it if you’d like.”

“I don’t want to forget anything. Would it be a surprise if I told you that I loved you back and that I have for a long time?”

Your eyebrows raised in surprise. Was he serious, or was this some sort of sick joke?

Noticing the worries floating around in your head, he gave you a look, one that wordlessly asked that if the next move he was going to make was the right one and that you would both be fine after.

And it was

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[myluciferiscody]

Class Fight (p.3)

pairing: teen!dandy mott x teen!reader

word count: 3,559

warnings: language, jealous dandy, slightly au!dandy, all characters are 18

part 1 part 2

1.

You led Dandy into your bedroom, gently clicking the door shut as to not alert your mother. She trusted you, but the motherly instincts couldn't be helped when it came to safety with boys. Dandy glanced around your room, having not been up here since you were in elementary school. He noticed you still had the teddy bear he gifted you in fifth grade when you fell and scraped your knee so severely it required stitches.

You wasted no time, turning around as he took a seat on your bed, "I need an explanation from you!" you said, giving him a glare as he smirked at you. "Dandy, why are you causing fights with my friends?"

"You two really are friends, then?" he asked, very pleased with your answer. "I don't see us coming to an agreement with what I have to say."

You crossed your arms, your glare worsening as Dandy just smirked at you. You tried not to be distracted by the fact he was starting to grow into his looks, and you were beginning to notice. "That's not fair."

"Of course it isn't, but neither is life, y/n." he shrugged. "I don't regret what I did. I never liked Jason, we're rivals by default."

You frowned, "What are you talking about?"

Dandy stared at you, wiping his hands on his clean pants. "You don't remember the story? The Deans and the Motts were business partners before we were born. Jason's father stole ideas and were selling them someplace else. Ended up losing the lawsuit after my father found out. Not long after, your grandfather helped grow our business, and eventually yours."

Of course, how could you forget such an essential detail in your family history? It was only ingrained in you since birth. Despite the temporary setback, the Deans found their fortune in cars. Frozen foods weren't their strong suit, it seemed.

"Jason isn't his father," you defended him, coming to take a seat next to Dandy. "That's not fair to him."

"And I'm not my father," Dandy countered. "I go way back with Jason, y/n. Neither of us ever liked each other, and not for reasons due to our parents. He's a stuck up, spoiled brat."

You thought it was funny that Dandy, of all people, could call another person a spoiled brat. You knew he changed plenty since you were kids, but he was always the one kid in the entire grade who had a tantrum once a day in each class.

"It's not fair to me!" you said, springing back up. "I don't pretend to like everybody, Dandy. However, I don't want my relationships to suffer because two of my friends hate each other. If Jason had ulterior motives I have yet to see them!"

Dandy laughed loudly, and you found yourself with the same unamused expression as before. He didn't falter at your glare, instead grinning widely and standing up, easily towering over you.

"y/n, I don't talk to a lot of people. You know that." he approached you, and you stood your ground, feeling your legs become jelly at his close proximity. "And because of it I hear everything that is said in that school. If I wasn't concerned about you, I would have punched the shit out of him just for the shoes he was wearing yesterday."

"What about what I want?" you questioned, causing him to arch an eyebrow. "I never said I was interested in him. If he thinks something is going to come out of this, he's wrong."

Dandy nodded, smiling at you. You felt chills run down your spine as his eyes twinkled with curiosity. "I like your attitude. You always knew how to take care of yourself."

You nodded slowly, swallowing the saliva pooling in your mouth. "I guess you taught me a thing or two growing up."

The silence between you was deafening. You noticed Dandy's jawline was more pronounced than you remembered. Dandy realized your lips were fuller than before.

"y/n, I want you to promise me that you'll come to me if you change your mind." he said, and you could hear the genuine concern in his voice. "I don't trust him, but I trust you."

You nodded; however, any thought of Jason was pushed to the back of your mind.

Dandy smirked at you and took a few steps backward. "I'm afraid I have to go."

You blinked, realizing that he had you where he wanted you. You glared at him as he headed to your door before turning to look at you.

"You're still not going?" he asked, a rather smug look upon his face as he wiggled an eyebrow at you.

Before you could answer, Dandy walked out your door. You heard him descend the staircase, with a farewell to your mother, then the front door shut.

You sat on your bed, hand clutched to your chest as you silently begged for your heart to stop beating so fast. Your mother had appeared in your doorway after a few minutes, and she was grinning ear to ear.

"y/n, you still have time to make the dance." she gave you a knowing look before leaving.

You stared at yourself in the mirror across the room. You did have a few dresses with the tags still on them that would pass nicely as a formal gown.

"He wants me to go," you muttered to yourself. Dandy had been dressed nicely, but he always was. He was also soaking wet.

"But Jason might be upset.. But I'm mad at him too," you groaned, plopping down on your back. "What do I do?"

"You get the hell up and stop moping around!" you screamed, kicking your legs as Winter posed in the doorway, grinning at your reaction.

"Why are you here!?" you stood up, still panting from the scare.

"I started feeling better yesterday. Oh yeah, your mother called me and said you were having a crisis. So here I be!" she walked in the rest of the way, pulling a suitcase behind her.

"What is that?" you asked, your voice stern as she knelt on the floor, unzipping the bag. It was filled with makeup, professional kits like you were about to appear on television.

"Your plans canceled, so you're coming with me. I never got a date and with Zoe having a date, I'm not being the third wheel."

You watched her set up and realized this is why you were friends. Partying was okay on some occasions. You rarely went to school dances, to begin with. This was your Senior year. How often in the future would you get the chance to just let loose for a night?

"Okay." you shrugged, and Winter gave you a knowing smirk.

2.

You were excited until you arrived at the school in Winter's car.

The rain had since stopped, and she dragged you to the entrance of the school as couple upon couple poured into the double doors. You were nervous now, knowing that both Dandy and Jason were probably already inside. You weren't supposed to come tonight.

"y/n! It's fine, babe," Winter said, holding your hand as you finally kept pace with her brisk walking. "We'll have a good time."

"It's not really us I'm worried about," you replied, and Winter had a look on her face that told you she already knew what happened. Your mother.

"If it helps Jason is supposed to have a date tonight. Which means he's not your problem right now."

"It's so embarrassing.. Everyone knows about the fight, and people won't stop staring!" you said, glaring at a group of Junior girls who were watching you from a corner. They quickly diverted their eyes, and Winter scoffed as she pulled you into the gymnasium.

It was decorated nicely, a live band already taking stage as kids piled in and found empty seats, many running over to the food to get first dibs. Kyle and Zoe have yet to arrive.

You found a table, sitting down and taking a quick glance around. Your heart stopped when you saw Jason arrive with his arm looped with Madison Montgomery, the most popular girl in your grade.. and the entire school. They fit together almost too well.

"You weren't kidding," you commented to Winter, who shrugged.

"I know my gossip, y/n," she said.

It wasn't long before Kyle and Zoe joined you. Zoe was ecstatic at the sight of you, pulling you into a hug and whispering that she was happy you decided to come. It made you feel good.

You had sat back down, pulling a ballot from the small pile on the table. You completely forgot about Homecoming King and Queen nominations.

Boys:

Jason Dean

Kyle Spencer

Matthew Nylund

Dandy Mott

You paused, glancing across the room to see Jason staring directly at you. You immediately looked away, reading the girls' list.

Girls:

Madison Montgomery

Zoe Benson

Natascha Langdon

Violet Harmon

You pushed the ballot aside, already knowing who you were voting for. You were relieved your name wasn't on the list. It was funny; Dandy and Jason always seemed to be selected for nomination. As far as you knew, Jason won once.

Winter nudged your arm, and you looked at her with an arched brow. She nodded towards the dance floor where Zoe and Kyle were dancing and asked if you wanted to join her.

"In a bit," you replied. Winter smiled, nodding in understanding before standing up and pushing her chair in.

You avoided making eye contact with Jason, who was also dancing with Madison. Everyone already seemed to be having a good time. You were just observing, debating on if you truly wanted to be here or not. It seemed like a good idea at first, but now you remembered why you always felt so out of place.

You jumped when someone pulled out Winter's chair, and you breathed a sigh when Dandy sat down, already smirking as you glared at him.

"You did decide to show up," he commented, a rather accomplished look on his face.

"I wouldn't look too excited. Winter came over and convinced me to go." you said, only lying a tiny bit. Dandy picked up your forgotten ballot, his eyes reading over the names before setting it down. His eyes were sparkling, but you were positive it wasn't from seeing his own name.

"Who are you voting for?" he asked casually, also looking around the packed gymnasium, also looking very out of place. There was just something about the Mott family genes that stood out from everyone else.

"I think Zoe and Kyle deserve to win together," you shrugged, and you saw Dandy's lips twitching. "You voting for yourself?"

Dandy shrugged, a smile now touching his lips. "I haven't decided yet. I've never asked to be Homecoming King."

You chuckled, seeing Winter talking to a boy you didn't recognize. Zoe and Kyle were getting something to drink as the band started to play a slow song.

Dandy watched you quietly, his eyes flickering from Jason Dean to your face. He stood up, watching you look at him with interest and almost longing for him not to leave your side.

"Would you dance with me?" Dandy asked, holding his hand out to you.

You didn't hesitate to take it, almost embarrassingly so. Dandy didn't smirk or make a sarcastic comment. Instead, you walked hand-and-hand to the floor, turning to face each other as Dandy placed a hand on your waist. It brought back memories of you being children, both of your mothers having enrolled you in dancing lessons. You were never paired with Dandy, which he would have appreciated a lot more. He was forced to dance with the girls who could never get it right, causing him to throw a fit and claim he was the best dancer in the whole world.

The thought made you smile, shaking your head as Dandy watched you, wondering what was on your mind. You looked as beautiful as he had ever seen you, and you've always been attractive.

You were unaware that the kids were staring at you, some of them whispering the latest gossip, while others were either jealous or unwilling to admit they thought you two looked cute together. Zoe and Winter were giggling, sucking down their fruit punch with Kyle.

Jason had taken a seat next to Matthew while Madison went to the bathroom for a touch-up. Matthew was smirking, eating a plate full of cookies, while Jason did his best not to stare at you.

"I thought she wasn't coming?" Matthew teased him, sticking an entire cookie in his mouth.

"She wasn't," Jason responded sourly, crossing his arms.

"It sounds to me you've been rejected," Matthew grinned.

"y/n wouldn't lie," Jason said defensively, "Her plans were probably just canceled. It's fine, I'm thinking of asking Madison out."

Matthew rolled his eyes, knowing perfectly well he was jealous as fuck.

Dandy enjoyed having you in his arms, and you felt the same. You laid your head on his chest, and you completely forgot all the dancing couples and people around you. There was a safety that came with being around him that you couldn't exactly pinpoint why that was.

The song had ended, and you unwillingly pulled away from Dandy's warming embrace. The band immediately jumped into a fast-paced song. He wasn't pleased about this, but he was quick to pull you out of the way when a mob of screaming girls nearly stormed the stage.

"Y/N!" You gasped when Winter ran and gave you a hug, giggling wildly in your ear. "Watch out, someone spiked the punch- BYE!"

You stumbled over your feet as the boy with a rather interesting mustache whisked her away, both giggling hysterically as Dandy helped you keep your balance.

"Your friend is interesting." Dandy commented, a slight smile on his lips. He'd tolerate anyone you truly cared about.

"Yes she is," you sighed, finding yourself intertwining your fingers with Dandy. He kept his cool, wanting to give Jason Dean a middle finger to the face.

You had both eaten and got some punch, talking and ultimately enjoying yourself. You were thrilled you decided to come now, feeling like you weren't going to be alone the rest of the night. You danced with Zoe, while Kyle sat awkwardly at the table with Dandy for a break. Zoe whispered in your ear that Winter will be gone for the rest of the night before you both giggled.

In the middle of Jailhouse Rock, Principal Harmon grabbed the microphone, causing the boy band to lose their rhythm and many kids to boo.

"Alright, alright, its time to collect the ballots for King and Queen! Five minutes to get to your tables, complete the ballots, and then the Senior Student Committee will come around to collect them."

You followed Zoe back to the table, taking your seat as Dandy was folding his ballot. He handed you the pencil, and you almost hesitated as you filled it out. A part of you did want to vote for Dandy, but who would you pair him with? Madison Montgomery has tried digging her nails into him many times. Zoe would be a good fit, but she deserved to win with Kyle. Natascha openly despised him, and Violet probably hated that she was even nominated. Her disposition wasn't exactly sunny.

You ended up voting for Zoe and Kyle like you originally intended. Dandy peeked over your shoulder and seemed pleased with your nomination.

The ballots were quickly collected, and it took another fifteen minutes to accurately count them. The band hadn't returned to the stage. There was a lot of chattering about who voted for who.

You hadn't been paying attention to the table directly behind you. The girls who had been staring at you when you had arrived had been talking about you and Dandy. Dandy was listening, his hands clenching at the awful things they were saying about you. He was doing his best to not cause a scene on your behalf. It was bad enough he and Jason both had bruising that was a constant reminder to the students what already happened.

All the nominees had to go stand on the stage. Zoe looked uncomfortable, but you gave her a reassuring smile, which seemed to ease her mind. Winter sat next to you, and you gave her a questioning look. She only grinned and waved you off. Dandy stood next to Jason, both boys beat up but as handsome as ever.

Principal Harmon announced Madison as the Queen. She gushed while he placed the crown on her head, and the elderly receptionist placed a bouquet of roses in her arms. She beamed at the crowd, waving as if she were pure royalty. You and Winter clapped unenthusiastically, but you knew deep down Zoe wouldn't take it too hard.

"And for the King," Mr. Harmon said, opening the envelope. The silence was awkward, and you could feel the tension in the air. "Oh no-"

Mr. Harmon glanced around, his eyes settling on the student committee kids who only shrugged, nodding their approval.

"Well it seems we have a tie," he continued, scratching his head. "Dandy Mott and Jason Dean."

There was a ripple of laughter and disbelief as students yelled for a recount. Dandy was smirking, but Jason didn't look the least bit amused. Madison was pouting.

".. This has never happened in my twenty years of being principal," he said awkwardly into the mic. "Where do we go from here?"

"I back out," Dandy announced proudly.

"Oh! That was easy!" said Mr. Harmon, "In that case, I present to you, King Jason Dean!"

The crowd roared as he placed the crown on Jason's head. He smiled sheepishly, briefly meeting your eyes as Dandy and the others walked off the stage. Zoe and Kyle hugged, both smiling in good humor. Dandy sat beside you as Jason and Madison started their dance to Frankie Valli.

"That was kind of you," you whispered to Dandy.

"It's nothing, I could care less about winning."

Dandy put his arm around the back of your chair until their dance was over. They took a few pictures before the band returned back to the stage, promising a few more slow dances to all the couples before the night was over.

Winter gasped when Jason approached your table; Madison running to her friends and fawning over her flowers and tiara. He ignored Dandy entirely, focusing only on you.

"Could I have a word?" he asked kindly, offering his hand to you.

You nodded, feeling Dandy tense by your side. You placed your hand on his leg under the table in reassurance before taking Jason's hand, following him to the dance floor. You realized at that moment that you knew where your heart belonged.

"I was surprised to see you tonight," Jason said, bringing you in close.

"My plans didn't work out. Winter talked me into coming." you laughed nervously, and he smiled at you.

"I'm happy you came, we don't have many of these left, you know," he chuckled.

"I'm happy I came too," you replied before looking at him. "I'm sorry about everything."

Jason frowned, raising his eyebrows as he spun you around. "Why are you sorry?"

You shrugged, "I've known Dandy my entire life. He's very protective of me and I wish you two never got into that fight." You made your point by glancing around at the few people trying to catch glimpses of you.

"It's not your fault, y/n," Jason said in disapproval, "It was a misunderstanding, Matthew isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and doesn't think things through when he speaks. Mott just heard the worst of his ignorance."

"Well, I think it's safe to say it won't be happening again," you said, watching as Madison came back from the hallway, pouting at the sight of you. "I think Madison really likes you."

Jason glanced back, a smile on his face. "Is it too much to admit now I really like you too?"

You smiled shyly, "That's very sweet of you."

Jason nodded, "I think it's clear who you really like, and he's very lucky," he said, now watching as Dandy stared at the pair of you.

"Yeah.." you agreed, almost liking the jealous looks being thrown your way. "I hope we could still be friends."

Jason was pleased to hear that, and he promised to call you sometime after the song ended. You watched as he walked to Madison, whose eyes lit up at the sight of him. You quickly walked back to your table, pulling up Dandy, who was surprised by your urgency.

"Did he say something?" his nostrils flared, looking as if he was about to murder someone.

"Nope," you said before cupping his cheeks and pulling him down to meet your height. You kissed him deeply, and you heard Winter say, "Holy shit!" while Zoe squealed with her mouth full of cake.

Dandy pulled away, his hands on your waist as he blinked in surprise. You grinned, pulling him towards the doors as the group of girls watched you with their mouths hanging open.

"Sorry for your loss!" you chirped at them, smiling sweetly as Dandy followed you in a daze.

School drama just does not change.

taglist: @daisychainsinknots​

[zer0-is-me]

Chapter 2 - Izuku and Katsuki

Chapter 1, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

A/N:

Hi there! This is chapter two of... I need a name for this. Uhm, nevermind, if this gets more attention we'll figure it out then. That's a job for future me. Anywho, this is literally for those few people who liked my work and that one person who commented (tysm that made my day <3). Um, here goes writing the next chapter :D hope you enjoy!

Previously:

Eraserhead took a step towards him, and Izuku started to accept that maybe he just wasn't made for vigilantism, when a small something fell between them, clanging loudly in the quiet night.

After a beat, Izuku cocked his head and began, " What the hell-"

And it exploded.

Let it never be said that Katsuki knew what he was doing.

He never claimed that.

Sure, it had been a conscious decision when he started his... nighttime activities, but that didn't mean he had anything actually planned or thought out. At first, the nights were just him wandering around, saving a few people, and going back home at, what, 12AM? 1AM? At first he thought it was late; he should have gone to bed at 8:30PM. But then he thought that maybe it was worth it. Honestly, he wasn't so sure about the whole being-a-hero idea anymore, after... the incident, so why should it matter so much?

But then heroes started to actually pay attention to him. People started to pay attention to him. And his name began to be the one people called out at night when they needed help. This also meant that heroes went after him, too (he found that extremely annoying).

Katsuki wasn't sure why he was doing it.

(Maybe it was for a bit of personal atonement.

For the harm he had done in the past.)

Either way, when he had wandered into another neighbourhood for the night, searching for a lead on a case he had caught wind about, he hadn't been expecting to find another vigilante.

Vigilantes like him were rare; vigilantes who did proper good and did well in the job too, not killing, bitter ones (*cough* Stain, *cough cough*).

He wasn't completely sure why he did it. Sure, he was softer and kinder at night, for some reason, but he still wouldn't help someone who was being targeted by heroes. Let alone a hero he, himself, had been targeted by before as well.

He had been scaling a building with one of his support items, when he realised that someone was already up there - correction; two were. He was about to scale back down, unnoticed, when he overheard a familiar voice.

Huh. He didn't think the hobo's patrolling routes crossed over to this neighbourhood.

" Look, just come peacefully, and you might have a shorter sentence in jail," he heard Eraserhead say. " I honestly think you're doing good, but it's still against the law."

Oh, so there's another vigilante here. Well, if they were gonna get captured by a hero, they probably weren't good enough to be a vigilante anyway. Although, if Eraserhead himself had said they were doing good...

A robotical, glitchy voice answered. Either a quirk or a voice changer, like him.

" Awww, I'm so happy the one and only Eraserhead appreciates my efforts!" Katsuki heard them coo.

They seem nice enough, for a vigilante, so far, he had thought. No killing yet, anyway. Though, he also knew that looks could deceive. He decided not to intervene until he deemed it necessary.

Eraserhead's voice came again, " Yeah, well, I've been on your case for a while now, so I know firsthand how helpful you can be."

The smile was evident in the vigilante's warped voice. The tone was softer, too. " Then don't turn me in. You and I both know crime rates have dropped since I've appeared."

It was silent for a moment, and Katsuki wondered if something had happened. He was about to climb up and check when Eraserhead finally spoke.

" I'm sorry, I can't do that and you know it. It's my job," Eraserhead genuinely sounded sorry. Katsuki heard a quiet slap on concrete, and his mind provided that the hero had taken a step forward.

Internally, Katsuki was having an argument with himself.

He should help them escape. They're doing good, it would be wrong to take a real hero off of these streets.

But, on the other hand, he didn't know this vigilante. He wouldn't save a random lawbreaker! What if he'd misinterpreted the situation? What if this was a villain, and not a vigilante?

Another quiet noise of a foot hitting floor made him groan quietly at how weak-willed he was against himself.

Fuck it.

He grabbed one of his home made smoke bombs from his belt and lobbed it over the top of the roof. It made a loud clang in the quiet night.

After a moment, he vaguely heard the glitching voice of the presumed vigilante say, " What the hell-"

But he was already scaling the last meter of the wall quickly and didn't pay it much attention. With the trigger for the smoke bomb in hand, he pressed the button and heard the bang of it going off.

He leaped onto the roof top and grabbed the vigilante's arm, pulling him away from the smoke and where Eraserhead was trying to wave it away.

When at first the vigilante resisted, he growled quietly, " Do you want to get away, or not?!"

" ... Fine," the vigilante muttered, letting Katsuki lead them away and towards the edge of the roof, behind the hero.

Not waiting for the other to catch up, he let go of their arm and leaped onto the next building, blunting the force with a roll. He began running to the side quickly.

If the other vigilante couldn't catch up, that was their problem.

And yet not a second later, he heard a soft thud and the shuffle of clothes behind him, then the thump of feet joining his.

He jumped onto another building roof and looked behind him, still running. The other vigilante jumped down behind him, their head down, hood covering their hair and eyes.

Behind them, Eraserhead was only just recovering from the smoke and had realised they were gone. He only looked out after them and didn't make a move to follow, however. He must've known they were already too far away. Katsuki looked forwards again and leaped onto the next building.

When he deemed them far enough, he slowed down on one of the taller roofs and dangled his feet off of the edge. When the other vigilante saw this, they slowed down, almost confused. Katsuki felt their calculating gaze on him.

When it had been a few seconds, Katsuki thought that they'd just leave him there in peace. But then-

They sat next to him, feet also dangling off of the edge.

Well, not close to him, fortunately for Katsuki. They sat a few meters away, out of reach if either decided to try something.

A few minutes of silence passed, save for their quiet breathing and the occasional car driving past. Katsuki knew he should get up and carry on the reason he was here; to find clues on the case, but he couldn't bring himself to.

It- it was peaceful, for once. No villains trying to kill him. No suffocating adults or peers praising him not for he, himself, but his quirk. No yells or punches from someone he should trust and be loved by. No chaotic thoughts ripping through his mind, making him doubt and panic.

It was peaceful.

Well, for a while, at least.

" Why did you do that?"

The vigilante had finally spoken up, and Katsuki nearly missed it.

" Hah?" He sideglanced the other vigilante, looking at him properly for the first time.

His eyes were hidden by a dark visor and the shadows of his hood, the rest of his face covered by a black surgical mask. His hood was black with toxic green accents on the rim, and it attached to a black, obviously oversized hoodie. He had a belt which held small pouches and items, and what looked like a bow staff attached to his back. He wore black sweatpants and black trainers. He also wore tight-fitting combat gloves, like Katsuki himself.

" Why did you do it?" the vigilante repeated. " You don't know me, I don't know you. I could be a villain, for all you know. Wait, are you a villain?!"

" I'm not a fucking villain, dumb fuck," Katsuki grumbled, eyes sliding back to the floor all the way down. " And I don't know why I did it. I just fuckin' did."

The other hummed. " ... Well, thanks. I owe you one."

" Damn right you do," he replied.

" Are you always this rude?"

Katsuki turned his head and raised his eyebrows. " Are you always this annoying?"

They huffed a chuckle and crossed their arms. " ... So... What are you?"

Katsuki's expression pinched, as if saying, ' Wtf?'.

" What the hell is that question? What, am I supposed to say a motherfucking fairy?"

The other waved his hands about. " No, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, are you a vigilante? A villain? A hero?"

Katsuki gave him another unimpressed stare, then sighed. " You're fucking hopeless." ("Hey!")

" Let's see, I threw a smoke bomb at a hero and made sure the idiot who was about to get caught by him wasn't caught. I'm pretty sure I'm not a hero," he deadpanned. " And I literally just said I'm not a villain."

" Well, I mean, you could be lying," the other shrugged.

" If I was a fucking villain," Katsuki said, his patience wearing thin, " Then I definitely wouldn't have saved your hopeless ass. I'd say killing you would be a better course of action if I were a villain. I'm considering it now, actually."

The hooded figure ignored the last comment.

" A bit mean, but I get the point, I guess," they said. " So you're a vigilante. Cool, I haven't seen a decent one like me in ages. But, I haven't seen you around here before? Are you new?"

Katsuki scoffed. " Fuck, no. I've been in this for, what, two, three years? I'm from the neighbourhood nearby. Don't ask. What about you? Never heard of you before."

" You don't know my name, how can you be sure you've never heard of me before?" they deadpanned.

" Because I don't care."

The vigilante snorted. " I'm really feeling the love and kindness coming off of you in waves."

" Shut the fuck up," the blonde rolled his eyes. " Fine, what's your name, then, dumbass?"

" It's definitely not 'dumbass'," the other muttered (" Again, I couldn't give less shits."), before offering his hand and saying, " Kibo, the vigilante of hope! Pleased to meet you!"

Katsuki stared at the newly named, 'Kibo's, hand, before ignoring it completely. He stood up, stretching, and turned to leave.

He paused right before he was about to jump to the floor, and sighed.

" Name's Valour. If we're doing your cringe-y ass shit, the vigilante of courage and bravery."

As an afterthought, he added, " And, no, I'm not using your name, dumb fuck."

And then, he was gone.

A/N:

I have decided.

I'm keeping the second A/Ns, and you cant stop me. u dont fuckin control me.

anywayyyyy, this went on longer than I was expecting. Sorry bout that lol. Betcha didn't see Kacchan coming in all his explosive glory, tho.

Ugh i couldn't find a nickname for izu from baku without using his appearance (which, obviously, I couldn't do, even if i wanted to call him 'broccoli reject') so i just stuck with 'dumb fuck' :D It might change, it might not, who knows?

Remember to comment or do that heart thing-y-ma-jigy! Like it? Hate it? Tell me about it! I want to hear your opinions.

Alright bye byeee, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and remember that you deserve the world! Tell yourself that everyday, otherwise here's me saying it and hoping you'll remember it everyday. Because it's true :) Have a great day!! <3

Oh, and @mymanbakugou :D (if anyone wants to be tagged for future chapters, just say so! <3)

[arvandus]

Touch (pt 4)

Pairing: Dabi x Fem!Reader

WARNINGS: 18+ only please!  Drug abuse/withdrawal, adult language/themes, heavy angst, past trauma/abuse, anxiety/panic attacks, PTSD, fluff, pining, slow burn, eventual emotional SMUT. *please pay attention to the chapter tags as these warnings will apply at different times*

Synopsis: When you first joined the LOV to lend your healing quirk, Dabi  terrified you.  Not interested in attachments, he wanted to keep it  that way.  That is, until he needs your help. (Slow burn, soft Dabi).

Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in future chapters.

Recommended Chapter Song:

Bloodstream by Stateless

Part 1  Part 3

Artwork credit to @hellowon31​ on Twitter (https://twitter.com/hellowon31)

Part 4 - Wounded

Later that day, while Dabi sat in his room nursing his migraine and checking his phone for a response from Giran, he heard a quiet knock at his door and the sound of footsteps fading away. He opened the door and found a white takeout bag.

Curiously, he picked up the item and looked inside to see tonkatsu ramen and a pair of chopsticks with some napkins, along with another bottle of water for good measure.  He scoffed.

You brought him ramen.

Not one to turn away free food, Dabi brought the item into the solitude of his room and removed the lid. The smell hit his nose and he inhaled deeply.  He hadn’t eaten anything all day, locking himself in his room to avoid the others while his persistent nausea made all foods sound unappealing.  He drank water from the tap when he felt like he needed it, ironically hearing your scolding in his head each time he did so.  His head and body aches were definitely reduced, but his mind felt off, different.  He was grateful Shigaraki hadn’t given him any assignments today.  He’d probably just incinerate anyone he came across, starting with Crusty Hands himself.

As Dabi ate, he mulled over his situation.  Having to request your help for his burn was bad enough.  But letting you see him like this?  Broken by the weight of his addiction?  It left a sour taste in his mouth, hampering his enjoyment of his noodles.

He didn’t have much choice – he knew he needed your medical care, so turning you away wasn’t really an option.  Risking infection would only make a bad situation worse, and it was impeding his ability to get back to work.  He hated being stuck in here, alone with his thoughts.  So, when he let you in earlier, he had hoped you’d patch him up and leave, his hostile mood and harsh words a muzzle for any questions you may have felt tempted to ask. 

Dabi should have known better.  Now you were involved in supplying and managing his medication – something he would have never asked for. Against his better judgment, you managed to entwine yourself deeper into his life, even if it was for just a short time.  How was it that he kept losing control of the situation?

It was your fault.  It had to be.  You had managed to navigate him like charted waters even though he never gave you a map.  In hindsight, Dabi was honestly impressed; he knew he wasn’t an easy person to get along with, especially when he was in such a dark place. 

Then again, maybe he did withhold some of his cruelty, despite how horrible he was feeling earlier. He knew he could get downright nasty when he really wanted to, his words honed to kill.  If he truly hadn’t wanted you here, then things would have gone very differently.  That thought was even more disconcerting – that for some reason, he felt the need to behave himself around you in some unspoken desire to keep you around.

It must have been the desperation.  That was it. Maybe he was hoping that if he stayed in your good graces, that you’d use your quirk on him and free him from his misery.  Even now Dabi wanted to feel your hands on him again, to feel your power seep like a mist into all of the dark parts of him.  The more you touched him, the harder it was for him to get the sensation of you off his skin and out of his head.  Maybe he really was becoming addicted to you.  Why else would he have even let you in? Why else would he have let you stay?

He recalled you reaching out your hand at one point as if to touch him and it had made his pulse race with anticipation as he pretended not to notice.  But you had changed your mind and Dabi was left with heavy disappointment, as he tried to understand why.  Did you have fears of your own? Of getting too close to him?  If you were smart, you would trust those instincts.

Maybe he should reach out to his villain connections to find someone with a healing quirk.  It’d expedite his recovery and reduce his exposure to you.  It wasn’t cheap, though… healing quirks cost a pretty penny in the underground.  They were rare enough to come by in hero society and even more so in the villain network.  Not many healers followed a life of crime – they naturally lacked a propensity for violence that the lifestyle required.  Even if a healer could be found, could he afford it? Probably not. 

Plus, there was the fact that he wasn’t much loved, even by the dredges of society. He had built a reputation for himself, long before he crossed paths with Shigaraki.  He had no patience for stupid people with nothing but shortsightedness and lustful violence to offer, which turned out to be nearly everyone.  His list of those willing to work with him was unsurprisingly short.

Dabi downed the warm, salty broth and set the container down to stare at the last bits of seasoning stuck to the inside, trying to read his future like tea leaves.  They provided no answers, of course.

“Fuck.” He muttered.

Dabi’s troubled thoughts were interrupted by a ‘ding’ on his phone.  His hand betrayed his composure, snatching the technology up swiftly.

It was a text message from Giran.  Fucking finally.  Maybe the universe wasn’t so fucked up after all.

Dabi’s eyes glossed over the words quickly, his mouth setting into a thin line.  Giran had a seller he could hook him up with, but it would cost him, of course.  And the worst part was that Dabi would have to wait.  Giran was out of town and wouldn’t be back for at least a week.

Until then, Dabi was at your mercy.  Luckily for him, mercy was something you had in ample supply.  If only it wasn’t wrapped nicely in a pretty face and an addictive touch.

It looked like the universe wasn’t done fucking with him.

By the time evening rolled around, the pills you had given him were already beginning to wear off. Dabi expected as much.  So, when you knocked on his door to change his bandages and check on him, he couldn’t help but breathe a small, secret sigh of relief.  If he was stuck with you for the next couple of weeks, then he might as well take whatever help he could to make himself a functioning human being.  He could hold out until then.

When he opened the door for you, you greeted him with a smile that immediately made him question his resolve. Were you happy to see him? Fucking why?

You watched him closely, trying to look for a healthy color on his cheeks, and happily noted the empty food container still sitting on his desk.  It was an impromptu decision on your part – you were out getting food for yourself, and his words had echoed back in your head.  It had sounded good at the time and buying for two was just as easy as buying for one.  Plus, you had a feeling he hadn’t left his room all day, and you didn’t recall seeing a mini fridge in it.

Dabi noticed your happy glow and followed your gaze to see what you were looking at.  He rolled his eyes when he realized.  He probably should have said thank you once he noticed. That was what normal people did, at least.  But he didn’t want to draw attention to it.

You began your typical round of questions.  “How are you feeling?” you asked.

“I’m gonna need more of those pills.” Dabi replied as he removed his shirt for you.  The one light in his room was already too bright for him. Behind him, he could hear the drip drip of his bathroom faucet, each ping on the porcelain like a hammer behind his eyes.  At least it was evening now, which meant he could open his window to the cold night air to counter his elevated body heat.

You had begun unpacking the supplies you needed to treat him but paused to turn and look at him with wide eyes. “Really??” you asked in disbelief. “I just gave you some this morning.”

“What can I say, doll. They took the edge off for a bit, but that’s about it.” He replied with a shrug.

You pursed your lips in thought as you eyed the man in front of you.  He didn’t seem as bad as this morning, thankfully.  But you could tell he still wasn’t his usual self.  You doubted that any amount of pills you gave him would fix him entirely, though.  No doubt his body was feeling the effects of switching to something different after what was probably years of use.  Most importantly, the pills you had on hand simply weren’t as strong as what he normally took. 

You had considered this, of course.  In fact, much of your day was spent trying to figure out your next course of action for Dabi. He was a League member after all, so if he couldn’t function for some reason or another then he technically fell under your responsibility.  He needed to get back onto what he was taking before.  Fortunately for him, your own connection was incredibly reliable and had better access to medical supplies than most.  It just so happened they would be able to get the same medications he was taking.  The downside was that it would take a little bit of time – there was a lot of fake paperwork to create in order to get access, since it was a high-class opioid. Until then, you had to keep him above water.

“Fine,” you said begrudgingly.  “I’ll give you a few more.” You took the bottle out of your bag and handed him three pills, hoping they would get him through the night at least.  He took them from your hand, the heat of his fingers against your palm lingering like the kiss of sunlight on a leaf.  You froze for a moment at the sensation, before realizing that you were standing there with your empty hand out.  You took your hand away, embarrassed.  You probably looked like an idiot…

You pushed on, ignoring your overly critical brain.  “Please try to wait it out as much as you can before you take-”

Your words were cut short as you watched Dabi down the pills dry, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed.  He caught your eyes in his own with a challenging, mischievous glow swimming in their cerulean depths.

You frowned at him. “You’re ridiculous.” You huffed.  “You might want to try stretching those out a bit more.  If I run out, you’ll be up shit creek.”

Dabi grinned.  “Don’t worry, doll.  I got a hold of my middleman earlier.  He’ll be hooking me up in a week, then I can pay you back.”

You were stunned by his offer to reimburse you.  You felt strangely… appreciated?

But damn it – he was too efficient for his own good. You hadn’t expected him to find a replacement so fast.  Suddenly, you began to second guess your actions.  Maybe you should have checked with him first…

Anxiety crept in like a fog. Would he be mad that you took matters into your own hands?  Half-truths fell from your mouth while your mind struggled to reach a decision.

“Oh, um… it’s okay.   I already put a request in for more of these since I figured I’d be treating you for a bit.  I know they’re not as good as yours, but they’re better than nothing.  They’ll be available for pick-up in a few days.”

Now it was Dabi’s turn to be surprised.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He said as he looked away from you.  It was the first time he’d ever broken his gaze with you first.

“Well, I didn’t know how long you’d need my help with this, and I didn’t want you to suffer.” You said. You noticed his sudden avoidance and guilt filled you.  Did he feel ashamed?  Humiliated? Did you wound his pride somehow?  You didn’t even tell him all the facts, yet…

You bit your lip nervously, and an awkward silence begin to make its way through the room.  Dabi picked up on it immediately, of course.

He looked back at you, his eyes narrowing suspiciously.  “What?”

“Um, well… I didn’t just get more of these pills.” You explained.  “I talked to my supplier and was able to put in a request for the ones you were taking too.  But they’re harder to get, so it might take longer before they’re available.”

“What?” Dabi repeated, his surprise deepening.  His blue eyes widened slightly.  This was so much more than he had ever expected from you and he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.  Annoyed? Flattered?  Embarrassed?  Dabi never felt embarrassed.  Then again, he’d never had someone look out for him the way you did these past couple of days.  There had to be a catch.  Did you want something from him?  What could he possibly offer you?

“Why would you do that?” he asked, his words laced with mistrust.

You fidgeted with your fingers, drawing your thumb nail along underneath your index finger.   His presence seemed to fill the room.  Something about the tension in his body and the wariness of his tone reminded you of a wounded animal, ready to bite.  You wanted to choose your words carefully, to put the man in front of you at ease. 

Instead, the words fell out of your mouth in a rambling mess.

“Well, I knew these weren’t really going to be sufficient for you.”  You looked up at him.  “And I told you I wanted to make sure you were getting your medication from somewhere reliable.  Besides, this way it’s covered by the League instead of you paying out of your own pocket.”

You shifted your weight slightly, unsure if you should say anything else while he continued to pierce your soul with his sharp gaze, trapping you like a spider in a web.  Oh shit, was he mad?  He seemed mad.  Maybe? Why the hell was he staring at you like that?  Why wasn’t he saying anything??

Maybe you made a mistake.

Finally, you couldn’t handle the tension anymore and worked out an apology through your clumsy lips. “I-I’m sorry, I should have checked with you first.  It’s just, I had to get in my medical order today, and I didn’t want to bother you earlier.”

Dabi broke his hold on you with a blink.  “Wait. So Crusty Hands is paying for my drugs?”

“Yeah, I guess.” You replied with a shrug.  “He has Kurogiri give me an allowance and I decide how I want to spend it.”

A chuckle escaped Dabi’s lips. “That’s fucking great.  I bet he’d lose his shit if he found out.”

You secretly released the breath you were holding as your tension left your shoulders.  “Well, he shouldn’t find out. Your pills are expensive.”

“Oh, he’s definitely gonna find out.” Dabi grinned.  “I can’t not rub it in his face.”

You scoffed and crossed your arms.  “Are you trying to get me dusted?”

Dabi’s grin froze for a moment as he stared at you, mirth in his eyes.  “He won’t dust you, doll.  You’re too valuable.”

You stared back at him, skepticism written all over your face.  “Yeah, well that nice budget he gives me helps me stay valuable. So, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your smart mouth shut.”

“It’s cute that you think you can boss me around.  If you’re gonna make me keep secrets, then you better make it worth my while.” Dabi leered.

“Worth your while?” you echoed, confusion in your eyes.  All your mind could conjure in that moment were impure ways to silence that attractive mouth of his and you were pretty sure that wasn’t what he meant.  Your mind got increasingly distracted as you wondered what kissing him would feel like, with his different textured lips and the rings on the corners of his mouth.

Goddamn it.

Dabi’s deep voice pulled you back to the present.

“Don’t act coy with me, doll.” Dabi replied casually.  “You think you know me so well, you’re making all my choices for me now. What do you think I want?”

A moment ago, he seemed low energy due to his withdrawal, barely holding onto his sanity out of courtesy of your presence.  Now, all of a sudden, he was dripping with what you could only describe as sex appeal. He’d completely pulled the rug out from under you with his sinuous words wrapped nicely in a heavy drawl.  His body leaned into your personal space just enough to make you lean away slightly, even though your body wanted you to go in the opposite direction, to meet him move for move, like a puppet on strings. If only his hands could caress you the way his voice did, then maybe you wouldn’t feel so tense...  Rational thought abandoned you as you struggled to pick up the broken pieces of your façade while your imagination ran with the freedom of a wild horse.

Dabi watched your blank expression in amusement, enjoying having the upper hand.  You looked downright terrified.  What was going on in that pretty little head of yours?  If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought you were going down a naughty rabbit hole.  But Dabi scratched that theory – he wasn’t the type of guy girls fantasized about… right?

He watched as you faltered between your secret thoughts and your defensive words.  “Don’t hurt yourself, sweetheart.” He teased.  “I thought you were the expert? You’re always so smart with all the answers.”

“Wha-” you stammered. “Shut up, Dabi.”

“Just give me a few more of those pills for later and I’ll be silent as the grave.”

“Is that what this is about?” You pushed your hands against his bare chest, and he let you, backing out of your personal space just enough to let you breathe. “You’re ridiculous.”

“What did you think I meant?” Dabi grinned.

“Nothing.” You huffed. “Stop trying to get under my skin.”

“Stop letting me.” he countered.  “I thought you were a professional?  Do you get this flustered with everyone? Or maybe we got somethin’ special, doll.” Dabi knew he was pushing it, but the moment was too fun not to, your flustered reactions spurring him on.  The more you gave, the more he wanted to take. Normally, gals didn’t let him get this far…

“Why are you like this.” You grumbled in annoyance.

“‘cause you seem to like it.”  Dabi stared down at you.  Were you gradually getting closer to him or was it his imagination?

“You wish,” you replied, denial thickening your tone into barbs. You tilted your chin up defiantly. “Maybe you’re the one who likes it.”

Dabi laughed.  If you wanted to play with fangs out, then he’d play along.

“Don’t think too highly of yourself, doll.  You’re not my type.” He mocked.

You stared at him, dumbfounded, his words cutting you before you could even understand why.  Perhaps it was the attack on your self-esteem, or his blatant declaration that he had no interest in you.  Just like that, the heat of the moment turned to ice, your eyes betraying your hurt before you could mask it behind detached anger. 

Dabi faltered in his assault; he hadn’t expected the words to have such an effect on you.  If anything, he expected you to provide a sarcastic agreement about him not being your type either, or you not wanting to be his type, or something along those lines.  He expected you to be annoyed, yes.  Mildly insulted, sure.

He did not expect you to see you so wounded.

Your lips pressed firm together as you took a steady breath through your nose to keep your eyes from suddenly watering by the slap of emotion that threatened to drown you. 

“Yeah, well you’re not exactly a catch yourself.” You replied coldly.  Whether or not your words mattered to him, you had no idea.  His face was an emotionless mask as he straightened his back and retreated from what was left of your personal space.

If he was going to say anything in response, you didn’t give him a chance.  You lowered your eyes to the level of his bare chest which now seemed impossibly far from you even though you had touched its warmth only moments before.

“Turn around so I can finish.  I have to go check on Magne after this.” You said emotionlessly.  It was the first time he’d ever truly heard you speak like that, and he quickly decided that he didn’t like it.

You finished hastily without any further conversation and left with a curt “goodnight,” before Dabi could finish putting his shirt back on over his head.

After you had gone, Dabi stared at the door for a moment, before he sat on the edge of his bed and ran his long fingers through his black hair.  He wanted to ignore it and forget it; it wasn’t supposed to matter.  But, alone in his solitude, his mind replayed the moment over and over for him, unrelentingly, until understanding slowly came.  The stubborn seed of realization forced its way through his deeply rooted denial, his conviction not enough to refute what he plainly saw.  Your small gestures of kindness, your excessive commitment to care for him, the way you smiled at him when you saw him… your wounded expression at his callous words.

Did you like him?

“Fuck.” He muttered. ___________________________________________________________

 Part 5

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[tiifalockhart]

A Fateful Meeting

Anonymous asked: How Noctis acts whrn he falls in love with a female fighter that he caught fishing at night by herself. I love your writing!

Pairing: Noctis x Reader

Warnings: Second-hand embarrassment 

Word Count: 1.6k

A/N: hellooo thank you so much for your request!! I didn’t quite understand it at first, so I hope I did it justice. I appreciate it so much!! Feedback is always appreciated <3

Ao3 || Masterlist

The entirety of today was exhausting. Fighting daemons at sunrise, fighting off imperial MTs all day long, dreadful side quests of catching... frogs. At this point, Noctis was done with fighting, with people, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep.

He thanked the gods when he and the others settled down at a Haven, it was about dusk by the time they reached it. After eating and hanging out for a while, Noctis decided to sleep early that night.

…Unfortunately, it didn't work out that well.

He tossed and turned, earning disgruntled groans from Gladio who felt each of them. He couldn't sleep longer than ten minutes at a time, it was infuriating.

Eventually, he gave up and snuck out of the tent, heading off on his own to explore nearby the haven. He came up upon a small dock heading out onto the river, which gave him some relief. If he couldn't sleep, then maybe fishing will clear his mind.

He walked up to the end of the dock and summoned his fishing rod, looking around the calm river curiously. He tossed the bait into the water and waited, sighing in relief. It felt like forever since he last fished.

He spent a couple of hours there, reeling in fish occasionally and tossing them back (since Ignis wasn't there to nag him about keeping them for food). Nighttime was beginning to settle, and all that there was to illuminate his surroundings was a giant pole near the edge of the water. He didn't mind the darkness, as long as the daemons stayed away.

He was by himself most of the time until he heard some rustling behind him. He pushed away his paranoia, a daemon wouldn't get this close to lights or water. Fortunately, all that emerged from the pathway was you. He noticed you when you walked past him, causing him to raise his brows in surprise.

You seemed to be in the same predicament as him: exhausted, but not tired enough to sleep. You also had a similar hobby, and were pretty decent at fishing, not to mention you were brave enough to travel at night just to do it.

Noctis found himself distracted and somewhat enamored by you. It wasn't until he felt a tug from his line when he finally ripped his gaze from you. Feeling slightly panicked to "impress" you, he quickly pulled on his reel a little too hard, completely snapping his line. He heard a soft snicker from beside him, causing his cheeks to heat up barely. The prince glanced at you and sighed, quickly looking away, embarrassment flooding his features. What made it worse was that he was out of line.

You let out a soft laugh at his disgruntled features. “Here, I brought some extra, don’t worry.” You said, digging in your tackle box. Once you pulled out a line, you passed it to him. “I don’t see many fishers around these parts anymore, especially at night time.” You commented, tilting your head to the side.

Noctis raised a brow as he kind of avoided your gaze. “Right... I’m not from around here.” He pointed out, fixing up his fishing rod. “What are you doing out here so late?” The prince asked, raising a brow at you. 

“Ohh, you know, my friends got on my nerves all day long, I needed a break.” You explained, casting your line once again. “What about you?” 

“Same here.” He answered simply. You nodded quietly, returning to the somewhat awkward silence. “Are you from here?” He asked, attempting to make conversation. 

“Unfortunately, I am not. I live in Lestallum.” You answered, smiling over at him. Noctis would never admit it, but his heart did flutter a little at your smile. 

“I see, Lestallum is pretty far, isn’t it?” He asked, casting his line. This small talk was somewhat dreadful, but he wasn’t ready for you to leave yet. 

“It is... Sometimes I drive out here just to fish.” You explained, patiently waiting for your line to catch something. “It’s worth it. Lestallum gives me a headache with all the work and my roommates make it even worse some times.” A sigh left your lips as if you were already dreading going back. “What about you? You don’t seem like you’re from around here either.” You commented, discreetly looking him up and down. 

“Oh... Uh, yeah. My friends and I are traveling around a bit.” Noctis responded, avoiding the truth. “It’s uh... A hobby.” He added, rubbing the back of his neck. You laughed softly.

“It’s quite an expensive hobby, isn’t it?” You asked, your voice in a teasing tone. He let out a light chuckle, nodding. 

The two of you carried on with this banter for a while, until the sun began to rise again. Noctis groaned at the sight as he sent away his fishing rod. “It’s daytime again.” He sighed, looking over at you.

“So it is...” You hummed, reeling your line back in. “Do you want to get breakfast together? I know a place not far from here.” You asked, looking over at him and smiling warmly. His heart fluttered again as a very slight blush formed on his cheeks. The guys wouldn’t miss him too much, right? 

“Yeah, sure.” He answered without missing a beat. The others will be fine, he’ll be gone for another hour or so. Noctis waited as you packed up your things, offering to carry your tackle box back to your car. 

After driving in comfortable silence for a while, the two of you stopped by a nearby diner. "It's small, but it's a lot better than Kenny Crow in my opinion. Don't tell anyone I said that." You joked, guiding him inside and taking a seat near the window.

A small grin formed on Noctis' face as he nodded, taking a seat across from you. "It looks... Nice. How did you find a place like this?" He asked curiously, picking up the menu.

"Do you want the honest answer or the answer I told my friends?" You asked, raising a brow. "Honest answer would be that I was depressed and wanted a milkshake, but Kenny Crow doesn't make milkshakes anymore. The answer I tell my friends is that I was on the run and had to hide. I'm not sure why I lie about it, but they seemed to believe it so..." Your voice trailed as a laugh left his lips.

"That's fair enough." He responded, looking over the menu at you for a moment. He took his time admiring you in clear lighting. Everything about you was... Cute, he enjoyed your time and personality, he also enjoyed your stories about your friends. Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio would love to meet you. He was almost tempted to ask you to join him on his adventure. He saw your weapons in the back of the car, so that meant you could fight, right? But at the same time, he was on his way to marry Lunafreya... He couldn't be catching feelings for someone he met randomly at night. But your smile and your laugh would make his heart flutter, his cheeks would heat up and pull out a laugh from him as well. He liked you, more than he should probably admit.

"-tis. Hey, Noctis?" You called out to him, smiling. "It's your turn to order." You stated, discreetly nodding to the waitress standing over them.

"Oh- uh, I just want this." He pointed to something random on the menu. After the waitress walked away, he felt embarrassment flood his veins. "Sorry about that."

You snickered and waved it off. "No worries. You seem... Conflicted, is everything okay?" You asked, tilting your head to the side.

He nodded quietly, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. He's only known you for a couple of hours, was it wrong to feel this way? That didn't stop him regardless. He knew he liked you. "Yeah, I'm good. Tell me what it's like living in Lestallum. My friend has a sister who lives there." He explained, offering a weak smile.

As you began to talk, he felt himself go back to his thoughts. Noctis was aware that he was overthinking it all, and that after today, the two of you would probably never see each other again. But was that what he really wanted?

After your meal, the ride back to the camp was tough. Noctis yearned to ask you to stay, to spend more time with him, but he knew he couldn't. He was going to be married soon, it was wrong.

He couldn't help it, with the little amount of time you've spent together, you made him feel things he never felt. All of that was being ripped away from him as he stepped out of your car. "It was nice meeting you, make sure to stop by whenever you're in Lestallum." You said with a smile.

He returned it reluctantly, nodding. "I'll consider it. I'll see you around." Noctis murmured, looking away from you. You tilted your head to the side, before grinning.

"Hey, there's something else I forgot to say. Come here." You waved him back in the car, watching as he got back in.

"Yeah?" He asked, looking over. Without a single moment of hesitation, you pressed your lips to his, planting a quick and chaste kiss to his lips. While it was merely a couple of seconds to you, it was an entire eternity for him.

His shocked expression made you giggle once you pulled away. "I look forward to seeing you again." You whispered. He held a bewildered look on his face as his eyes moved from your eyes to your smiling lips.

"I... I'll keep that in mind." He tried playing off his flustered state, keeping his voice cool and calm while a red blush raged on his cheeks. "Thanks." He muttered, offering an awkward smile as he got out of the car again.

After that, he watched you drive off, a quiet sigh leaving his lips. With that little time you two spent together, he swore he would never forget it.

[dimitribelikov]

The Belikov Chronicles: The Tasha Conundrum Pt.3

✶ The conclusion of my Tasha Conundrum series ! This one features the lovely balcony moment they shared, all from Dimitri’s POV. ✶ notes : All dialogue is straight from Frostbite, chapter 17. The rest is mine, based on characters written by Richelle Mead. ✶ warnings : some language ✶ ships : romitri ✶ Part 1  |  Part 2  |  more Dimitri one shots

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    After the strange discovery of Rose in Adrian’s room, and the conversation that followed with her, I couldn’t seem to get the young dhampir off my mind. Most of the day was spent with other guardians, working over logistics and plans for possibly pursing the Strigoi. Or at the very least, keeping the resort as well protected as possible. It quickly became obvious that the biggest threat to the Moroi under the Idaho’s ski resort’s roof was actually themselves. Their squabbles over the politics that surrounded the attacks, and how best to deal with them, turned into full blown arguments at every turn. Some even resorted to physical fights. It was a mess, and certainly enough to occupy my mind.

Except my thoughts continually returned to her.

The revelation that I was actually jealous of Adrian nearly knocked me off balance. Jealousy wasn’t something I felt often and it gnawed at me constantly, making my insides ache. Fortunately, guardian training came with emotional temperament and I was able to hide all such traces of emotions.

Though Tasha’s hopes of rescuing me away to play pool that afternoon were dashed, she was able to get me away for lunch. It was nice being with her, pretending that the rest of our problems didn’t exist. She could speak so passionately about her views on the world, which always captured my full attention. As she spoke over her half eaten cobb salad, I began to imagine a future with her. What would life be like if I accepted her offer? Surely it was a once in a life time opportunity. I may be young, but the idea of the freedom to be a father and even a husband was thrilling. Maybe because it was something that I had written off so long ago, knowing it would never be in the cards for me. Yet here that future was, presented on a silver platter. All I had to do was accept.

The problem was, when I envisioned myself happy at someone’s side, it wasn’t Tasha. I tried to convince myself that my imagination only inserted Rose because I had already grown accustomed to the idea of working with her in the future. Yeah, even I knew that was a load of bullshit, though. The memory of our heated kiss in the gym, only a few days before the trip, still burned on my lips.

“I should get back,” I said abruptly. From the surprised look on Tasha’s face, I had a feeling that I had interrupted something she was saying. Thankfully, my job and the current climate of affairs made my anxious demeanor make sense. We parted ways and it was back to work with me, doing everything in my power not to think of dark, wavy hair that felt like silk between my fingers . . .

Later in the evening, I was assigned duty at Priscilla Voda’s party. I blended into the background just as I was trained to do. It was dull and uneventful, save for the pompous touting of rich ass wipes that had no clue what they were talking about. Adrian was of course there, drinking and talking to a few royals. We made eye contact at one point, and though I kept any emotion from my face, I was sure he detected my icy warning glare. The jerk actually had the audacity to smirk back as though amused by it.

Then Rose and Lissa showed up. The dress Rose wore should have been illegal. I couldn’t be distracted while working, but the way it clung to her every curve was certainly putting my focus to the test. My fingers felt warm, recalling the feeling of pulling another dress off of her months before. We’d been under a compulsion spell, but I wasn’t naive enough to think that the desire I felt was any less real.

I tried to look anywhere else, look at nothing while seeing everything as the guardians do, but when I glanced back, she was talking to Adrian. Now my fingers burned with a whole different reason. They wanted to punch the jerk-off and his wandering eyes. But before I could dwell, Janine entered . . . And actually dragged Rose away. It was stealthily done, and I don’t think anyone aside from Adrian noticed. Except me, of course, because I could keep my eyes off of her. What a hypocrite! And there I was, chastising the Moroi’s wandering eyes.

Although part of me cheered for her breaking up Rose and Adrian, the rest of me knew better. My heart sunk. I knew that Rose’s relationship with her mother was rocky at best. Janine was as badass a guardian as they come, and though I assumed it would be a great honor to have her as a mother, I was beginning to understand Rose’s resentment.

Knowing that the princess was safe, I left after a couple of minutes later in search of Rose. Our earlier awkwardness ( and even coldness ) was in the past. If I knew her, she’d be alone, keeping her pain to herself, but deeply in need of a shoulder to lean on. I couldn’t explain why I needed to be that shoulder, but instinct drove me straight to her.

When I found her, I could have laughed at how correct my assumption was. Except there was nothing funny about the sight. Rose was still wearing only the tight dress, and it wasn’t nearly enough to shield her skin from the frigid air. She turned to me, and I could see the sadness in her dark eyes. The sunrise illuminated her face in a way that took my breath away. How could I have ever imagined a future with someone else when this goddess existed?

She turned away wordlessly and I figured since no sarcastic and scathing remark about Tasha came, that I was welcomed to join her. I took off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, hoping it would help, then took a seat beside her. “You must be freezing,” was my lame attempt to explain my actions.

“The sun’s out,” she replied, just as lamely. What an awkward pair we make, I thought.

Rather than point that out, I looked up at the sky, taking in the warm rays and the look of the light as it washed over the picturesque scenery. I loved the outdoors and the sunshine, and often lamented its loss while being on a vampiric schedule. Something about the outdoors always brought forth a rush of adrenaline in me. Maybe it was how it reminded me of the Siberian countrysides that I’d grown accustomed to as a kid. Rose could joke all she wanted about it being a frozen tundra, but in the spring and summer, it was like heaven. “It is,” I agreed. “But we’re still on a mountain in the middle of winter.”

She didn’t bother to correct me or defend herself with another sarcastic quip. In fact, the most wonderful thing followed. Nothing. We sat in silence, though there was nothing awkward about it. We were content in enjoying the sun together and simply being in each other’s presence. This was something that Tasha could never give me. For all her promises of a future that was out of reach for most guardians, there was never silence between us. Sure, I loved her impassioned speeches and the stories she told. We could laugh together for hours.

But what I had with Rose was something I’d never felt before. It was an understanding that ran so deep that we didn’t need words to understand one another. Maybe that’s when I knew that I couldn’t accept Tasha’s offer. Obviously life with Rose would always be complicated and far from easy, but it was better than a life without her. Even after the few, short months with her, that was something I simply couldn’t abide.

It was Rose that spoke up first, as though the words broke through of their own accord. “My life is a disaster.”

“It’s not a disaster,” I told her automatically. There was beauty in her life, and I wanted her to see that. I wanted her see how that beauty effected those around her, including me.

“Did you follow me from the party?”

Busted. “Yes.”

“I didn’t even know you were there,” Rose admitted. “So you saw the illustrious Janine cause a commotion by dragging me out.”

I could hear how embarrassed she was by the whole ordeal, and in a way, I could understand. I could guess Janine’s reasoning, but I personally didn’t agree with the action. “It wasn’t a commotion. Hardly anyone noticed,” I assured her, trying to make it sound like it wasn’t that big of a deal. But then my lips kept moving and traitorously said a bit too much. “I saw because I was watching you.” Did that sound creepy? I’m pretty sure that sounded creepy.

Mercifully, Rose ignored the comment. Although part of me had hoped for some sort of inkling as to how she felt about it. Maybe she really was too into Adrian to notice me now . . .

“That’s not what she said. I might as well have been working a corner as far as she was concerned.”

Janine was a very different sort of mother than mine was, but she was still someone I respected and looked up to. I honestly didn’t think that she had such a dark view of her own daughter, but that she had a hard time expressing her honest emotions in a normal way. Honestly, a lot of guardians struggle with that, especially the older ones that had more time to harden. “She’s just worried about you,” I tried to reason. I hated seeing Rose hurt like that, and though I felt completely out of my element, I wanted to help.

“She overreacted,” was the immediate response.

Well, I couldn’t really argue with that. Instead, I said, “Sometimes mother’s are overprotective.”

The look Rose gave me broke my heart. She was a brilliant, passionate, and amazing young woman who only wanted a shred of love, but continually got pushed aside. I felt spoiled suddenly, knowing that even though I hadn’t seen my family in years, that they would always welcome me with a warm hug and happy faces. “Yeah, but this is my mother. And she didn’t seem that protective, really. I think she was more worried I’d embarrass her or something. And all that becoming-a-mother-too-young stuff was stupid. I’m not going to do anything like that.”

Ah. So there’s the problem. “Maybe she wasn’t talking about you.” I must have dropped a hardcore truth bomb, because Rose looked stunned. At a loss for words. And Rose Hathaway was never at a loss for words.

Another silence passed and I knew she was re-evaluating things in her mind. I was happy to sit with her, giving her the time she needed and whatever support I could provide. When she spoke again, it was a statement that seemed out of left field, but couldn’t help but amuse me. “We aren’t fighting right now.”

I glanced at her, arching an eyebrow at the observation. “Do you want to fight?” I asked, enjoying the little playful mood that we had turned towards.

“No. I hate fighting with you.” That made two of us. “Verbally, I mean. I don’t mind in the gym.”

That actually did bring a small smile to my face. “I don’t like fighting with you either.” It seemed an obvious statement, but as the words left me, I knew how important it was that she know that. I hated when I had to be the “adult in charge”. Rose was my equal in so many ways and I reveled in the way we could be so at ease around one another.

We shared an honest, quiet, and warm moment as we locked eyes. That was why her next statement completely took me off guard.

“You should take it.”

At first, I had no idea what “it” was. “What?”

“Tasha’s offer. You should take her up on it. It’s a really great chance.”

Now it was my turn to be stunned. At first I was frustrated that she’d assume that’s what I even wanted, especially with the way I had currently been looking at her. But quickly, I realized what a huge step this was. She was growing up and able to put her own hang ups aside if it meant someone else’s happiness. That was the Rose I knew and the Rose that I was quickly falling in love with. Yet she still took me by surprise with it. “I never expected to hear you say anything like that. Especially after–”

“What a bitch I’ve been? Yeah,” Rose said, cutting me off. I wouldn’t have called her a “bitch” exactly, but things were definitely strained between us. “Well. Like I said, I don’t want to fight anymore. I don’t want us to hate each other. And . . . well . . .” She paused and I could tell this was hard for her say. I was patient, though, silently watching her. “No matter how I feel about us . . . I want you to be happy.”

I could see the pain in her eyes, but all I felt was an overwhelming warmth and admiration. Rose could be petty, sure, but deep down, she was the most amazing person I had met who put everyone else’s needs above her own. And apparently she still had feelings about “us”. I should be discouraging that since there was no way that we could be together, but with the morning sunlight around on us on that private balcony, it felt as though the rest of the world and its problems didn’t exist. It was only Rose, who I learned didn’t care about Adrian more than me. Rose, who had unwittingly found her way into my heart. I knew there was no going back now.

Unable to help myself, I put my arm around her. “Roza.” I didn’t know what else to say as I pulled her to me, getting to be her shoulder to lean on. And honestly, with her, I knew I didn’t have to say anything else. We sat like that for a while, breaking every rule and crossing every line I had set, but it didn’t matter. There was nothing sexual about the way I held her. This ran deeper than that.

It felt like far too soon when Rose was standing up and handing me my jacket. “Where are you going?” I asked, knowing full well that I should also return to my post. Leaving our little snow covered sanctuary was the last thing I wanted to do, though.

“To break someone’s heart,” Rose replied. I didn’t really understand what she meant ( although my gut told me that Mason was about to have a bad night ), but the resolute look on her face wasn’t something I was going to take away by asking for details. She left, leaving me alone in the freezing morning air with much to think about. How was it possible that in just a few days Rose had managed to evoke so many conflicting emotions within me? Pride, lust, aggravation, jealousy, and now adoration.

I turned back to the sunlit landscape, knowing one thing was certain. I had made my decision. I was going to have to break someone’s heart, too. Tasha would survive, but Rose? I knew I couldn’t live in a future without her.

[hiddles-evans-hallucinations]

Picnic as OUR start

Request: “Can I request a Chris with a younger actress(22)and they worked on a movie together and so they do a buzzfeed quiz interview and one of the questions is like "whats your ideal date" and she picked a picnic date bc shes never been on one & so on her bday Chris decides to surprise her with one even though they're just friends(for now) & she gets shy and kisses his cheek as a thank you which surprises him cause shes not usually affectionate or shy with him... just a small idea can u add more to it.” - By Anon

Pairing: Chris Evans x Famous Reader

Genre: Fluff 

Warnings: None

Note: Inbox me for another request! <3 

Taglists: @patzammit​ @joannaliceevans-fanficblog​

*gif are not mine*

After the movie is out, you and Chris are busy doing press interviews and going to premiere here and there. Chris was paired with you romantically in the movie, the two of you became close throughout the process, you become good friends and the chemistry on and off set completes your relationship with each other. 

“Hi, I’m (Y/N/L/N).” 

Chris added, “Chris Evans here and we’re doing the Buzzfeed Quiz.” You grin goofily at the camera. 

“Do you want to read the question together or do you want to take turns? When I was doing this with Mark, we read the question together so..” You shook your head no at him because you know that he reads fast and loud and you’d end up losing it. 

“What is your character flaw? Caring too much, too loyal, easy to persuade, hard to commit?” 

“I think I’m too loyal, right, Chris?” You joked, bumping your elbow with his. “If you haven’t seen the movie, you should, and you’ll know.” you said to the camera winking as Chris turns his head to you with his mouth open. 

“Not cool, I’m loyal!” 

You roll your eyes at him. “Uh....” you respond making fun of him as everyone laugh. 

“I think you’re hard to commit.” You whisper to him but making sure everyone in the room heard it too as they laugh again. Chris scoffs, shaking his head as he clicks the answer caring too much. You burst out in laughter as you bury your head on his shoulder. 

Chris has been really comfortable around (Y/N), since the first time he lays his eyes on her, he likes having her around and he was fortunate enough to work with her and spending a lot of time together on and off set. She’s outgoing but she’s not over the top, she can be if she wants to. She’s so nice, Chris always thinks that he’s kind of a nice person, but (Y/N) is like the friendliest person anyone could ever want to meet, the fame doesn’t get her over her head like people her age, but she’s kind, and she’s funny and her personality makes everyone loves her more. 

You’ve been close with Chris as friends, you have the same sense of humor, same desire when it comes to a party and your chemistry off set comes naturally, nobody is pushing the two of you to do anything, when the trailer was out and there was a scene of you two kissing, the media went crazy talking about the age gap between you two. You didn’t care, you never feel like age is something that can hold someone’s back from doing something, like having a profession to stay in. Chris, on the other hand grew concern when he was asked in an interview how it feels to make out with someone half his age. But, you back him up. “It’s not like he shoved his tongue to a 12-year old girl, gosh.. what is it with you guys and age difference?” 

Chris saw your maturity there, you weren’t snapping at the interview with raging anger, you were annoyed because you don’t want anyone to think that your co-star is less than who he is. You always think that he’s more, because out of everyone you worked with, he’s different, he’s very easy going and you don’t feel like you have a title of someone who’s fortunate enough to be famous or anything like that. 

Chris feels the same way, he feels secure when you’re around and somehow he wants to make you feel the same way as he does; secure.

“Okay, last one.” 

“What is your ideal date? Walk in the park, dinner date, picnic date, movie date and just turning it up.” You read as you laugh at the last sentence. “What does that mean turning it up? Like getting turnt?” You playfully dance with both of your hands up in the air as Chris joined you dancing and making everyone in the room laugh. 

“I would choose a picnic date, cause I’ve never been.” 

Chris raises his brow at you. “You’ve never been?” 

You shook your head no. 

Chris says “whoa” under his breath and you frown at him. “No, no, no it’s not like that.” he said with a chuckle and lean back to the chair to see what he’s going to answer. 

“I love a movie date at home so, that’s my choice.” 

You nodded your head at him as both of you wrap up the interview and leave the room. “I heard it’s your birthday tomorrow,” he said as you both walk back to the room Buzzfeed provided for you two to wait, eat, did your makeup and change clothes and so on. 

“Yeah, what are you gonna get me?” 

Chris laughed. “A snake.” 

Your eyes widens. “Well, might as well throw spiders at you.” 

He made a disgusting face and shivers making you laugh. “Oh no.” 

“What’s your plan this year?” he asks. 

“Just staying at home, I’ve been to tired so I’m gonna stay in.” 

He nodded his head. “Alright, I’m gonna go home and sleep.” You said to him as you wrap your arms around him hugging him tight. 

“See ya, (Y/N).” 

. . . . 

You were lounging around your house in LA, you bought it about a year ago, it wasn’t that big not like a mansion but when you live alone it’s big enough. You were wearing your navy silk pajamas with its shorts, sitting on your living room after talking with your family over Facetime. You were watching Brooklyn 99 when someone rings your bell. You check your phone but there’s no one telling you that they’re coming over. 

You walk to your door and find someone standing there with a sunflower bouquet over his face. You waited until he reveals his face and it’s Chris. 

A smile appears on your face just immediately after he poke his head over the bouquet. 

“Happy birthday.” 

You feel your cheeks blushed as you shyly walk over to him and hug him. “Thank you, but what are you doing here?” you ask but before you invite him in, he lifts up a picnic basket causing you to look at him with your mouth slightly open. 

“Chris..” 

“We’re going on a picnic date cause you’ve never been before.” 

Chris looks at you nervously, he was bargaining with himself if this is a good idea or not because you already told him that you wanted to stay in for your birthday. 

“Chris, that’s so thoughtful.” You lean forward to plant a kiss on his cheek which took him by surprise, you’re not as affectionate as this before.”Thank you, again.” you said. You’re known to not be an affectionate person to anyone, yes, you’d hug them, but on a daily basis, you just think that it has to be done with the right person or people, cause one of your fear is when you’re too affectionate with someone, you’d end up hurting when they turn against you. 

Chris stood there, surprised. Trying to calm himself down of what you just did. “Are you ready?” he jokes. 

You look down to what you’re wearing and frown. 

“No, but come in, give me 5-minutes to change.” 

You put on your dress, you didn’t bother to put on a makeup, you just spray some perfume on you and walk out to find Chris smiling at you. 

“Do you wanna go to the beach?” He looks over outside of your backyard and shook his head as he smiles. 

“Nah, out there is fine.” Chris said holding out his hand to you. 

He sets the mat as you hold the basket and watch him sit and invite you to join him. Chris took out the polaroid camera out of the basket and say, “I have to make this as memorable as possible.” You laugh as you tuck a hair behind your ear shyly. 

You can picture your cheeks as red as a tomato. Chris noticed that you’re so red as he took out all of the fruits, he even brings pizza and PBJ. “Champagne?” 

“Yes, please.” 

You leave your phone inside so you can enjoy the picnic with him. Chris holds his polaroid to you and say, “Smile.” you smile shyly at him as the it rolls out the picture. 

You take it from him and tell him to smile. 

You never realize how beautiful he is, you know he is, but you never spend time alone just the two of you. 

As you eat your food, you talk about what you’re going to do, what’s your plans, he asks if you have any other dreams that you haven’t achieved. 

“Probably just thinking about myself.” 

He arches his brow. “I always think about others, and I couldn’t seem to get myself close to someone. I’m afraid about losing a lot of things.”

Chris managed to place his hand on your cheeks. You shut your eyes as you let out a sigh. 

“Comere.” he said as you bit your lower lip and he leans lower to you and press his lips to yours.

Once Chris pulls away, he said, “Well, let’s make this picnic a start of us, and you will never have to be scared of losing me, or anything, cause, I will do everything to keep you with me.” 

You smiled and kiss him again, more passionate and deeply this time. 

“Don’t make me take you down here.” 

You arches your brow at him. “I don’t mind, do you?” 

The rest is history. But for now, you’re glad that his idea on taking you on your first picnic date turns into something that you’d never imagine of. 

[kissmyassloves]

The Selected Enola Holmes: Chapter Three (3)

Fair warning! This fic is not mine. It belongs to my frined ‘multifandomkingdom’ on AO3. I asked her to write it and thankfully she said yes Heres the link if you want to read it there. Enjoy! https://archiveofourown.org/works/27004441/chapters/65919898

Enola observed. It was one of the things she did best, after all. And right now, the recipient of her observation was Prince Reese's mother, Queen Athena. She had just joined her and the rest of the selected in the great room, and for what? Enola had yet to figure out. To be fair, she had just gotten there. But this was all Enola knew of her.

 The Queen was generally beloved by the people. Warm but reserved. She was the epitome of grace, composure, and regality. She said plenty with few words. And she was a traditionalist who was sometimes willing to bend for modernity's (her son's) sake. Enola had seen her for the first time today, and she politely greeted the selected as she sat down with a book. She had looked slightly guarded, but that was a mystery Enola would try to refrain from cracking.

  The girls around her had been practically gawking and attempting to make themselves presentable to who may become their future mother-in-law. And the thought made her realize something. She had read somewhere that Queen Athena had had trouble conceiving in the past. And that Reese was nothing short of a miracle baby. So Enola was beginning to understand why she looked so guarded. The daughter she never had may have been in this room, and she didn't want to be disappointed or show favoritism in case the one she would have wanted wasn't her son's choice. And so, in such little time, Enola had started to view her with new eyes. Because another thing Enola can now add to her personal knowledge of her majesty was the fact that she was also a tender, wise soul. And she hadn't even said a word to her yet. So much for that refrain earlier.

  The near-silence didn't last long as one of the girls, January, decided that she wanted to spark a conversation with the Queen. January was the type that naturally loved to hear herself speak. An ambitious girl, of course, but one who was so self-interested that she was oblivious to how negatively she was perceived. She was beautiful, so at least there was that. But so was just about every other selected girl that surrounded Enola. And Enola was willing to bet that January would be one of the first to go. Queen Athena was really an expert on exercising patience and maintaining a pleasant face because she listened to January with little to no input other than a polite response here and there. However, Enola could acknowledge that though January was many things, she also sort of got the conversation ball rolling. The others were starting to formulate ways to involve themselves in the growing talk, and not long after, they gathered on the floor in a semi-circle at the foot of the Queen's chair.

  Enola kept a small distance, but even she was invested in what the Queen had to say. And she had to admit, it was nice to just be a girl and listen to advise that by her standards was shocking when it came from someone like a Queen. But then she had to remind herself that Queen Athena came from relative poverty until she had won the selection and married the then Prince Dixon. She wasn't a stranger to the experience of being underprivileged and so her advice mirrored that of a person who has seen the world in a multitude of ways. Enola could admire that. 

  After a period of comfortable discussion (and more reading on Enola's part), she had heard an audible chorus of gasps and felt a shift in the air. Excitement spiked it now. She looked up to see the girls facing someone, and following their vision, she spotted a well-dressed Reese by the massive frame doors. He greeted the selected and kissed his grinning mother on the cheek with a pleasant and urbane smile.

  "So sorry to interrupt, but I just wanted to stop by and say hello to you lovely ladies before you all begin to get ready for the interviews that will introduce you to the rest of the country and subsequently the world. No pressure, by the way,"

 He was met with light giggling in response. He surveyed the room subtly with a small smile and momentarily locked eyes with a smirking Enola. She could've sworn she saw his smile stretch just a little as he looked at her. And he continued,

 "Well, that was just about all I have time to do for now. Forgive me for being so brief."

January had other plans, though, and with a flirtatious simper, she retorted

 "So soon? We've only just gotten to see you. Stay with us a little longer; what's the harm?" 

 See? Ambitious.

 And January had inadvertently reminded Enola that she had a point.  This  was actually the first time that the rest of the selected had gotten to meet the prince. Enola had to remember that though she and Reese were already acquainted, that wasn't the same for everyone else. Reese glanced at his amused mother and then at Enola briefly and took January's slight eagerness in stride. Looking into her eyes and making his way towards her, he sweetly responded

 "No harm at all, in fact, it would be my pleasure. But unfortunately, we have a very tight schedule to keep. I can promise you that we shall meet again and soon." He sealed his promise with a delicate kiss on her hand.

 Huh . So Reese  could  flirt. And well too, apparently  (what? Enola could give credit where it was due).

 And she could see that the rest of the girls were now covertly staring daggers behind their books and fans at January, who was too intoxicated by her good fortune to care. Enola found it all rather amusing, to be honest. 

 And if she had been paying less attention, she may have missed the slight but subtle tug Reese gave his ear as he smiled and glanced at her before making his exit.

[zrtranscripts]

Season 9, Mission 5: Sandstorm

Summer Holiday

~

[ship horn honks, waves crash on shore]

PETER LYNNE: Listen, all I'm saying is he could have dropped us off a little bit nearer.

JANINE DE LUCA: Our captain was clear from the outset, Peter. Our information on Tunisia is limited. He did not wish to deliver us to a port which might present unknown dangers. Or docking fees. Hence the empty stretch of coast we've landed on.

SAM YAO: Oh, it's nice though, isn't it? The sandy cliffs, the crystal blue sea, the rocky beach. Way better than that tiny ship's hold. Not that I didn't enjoy helping Janine tick “win 1,000 consecutive games of chess” off her bucket list. Oh, oh hey, careful how you carry the briefcase, Five. Remember, it's got Veronica inside. [shouts] You okay in there, Veronica?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Sam, for the last time, this case contains hardware running a full copy of my personality connected to a full suite of sensor systems, including auditory. You do not need to shout. Janine, Amelia gave me a message to play upon our arrival in Tunisia. Stand by.

AMELIA SPENS: Hello, Tunisia team. Let's make this super clear: you are not over there sightseeing. You're infiltrating a secret base codenamed Red Scorpion at the behest of General Bakari. He's directed you to a city near Red Scorpion called New Agadir. Until you reach New Agadir, where you must impersonate the mercenary group Death's Hand, you should pretend to be independent UK traders.

This is a covert mission, so if things go badly, I can't help you. Remember, the red fungus endangers the whole world. If it's in Red Scorpion, we need to know. Don't mess this up. Amelia out.

PETER LYNNE: Right, right, right. So just-just to make sure I've got this right, we're in another country with no support and we left our only doctor on the boat. Fantastic!

VERONICA MCSHELL: It's fortunate Maxine was present to identify the measles outbreak on the ship. If we hadn't left her to take care of it, it might have become a pandemic, Maintaining herd immunity via vaccination has proven almost impossible since the apocalypse.

JANINE DE LUCA: I see a road atop the hill heading west. Miss Spens’ preliminary scouting identified settlements on the Tunisian coast. That road leads to an outpost called Kalaat El-Amal. From there, we can arrange transport south towards New Agadir. Miss Spens also provided me details of a contact she's established in New Agadir who can assist us, a man by the name of Mohammed Boujettif. We must find him there.

Aside from anything else, we may need him to take Dr. Myers’s place in Death's Hand, although if he has no medical experience, that could prove difficult. The alias of the team member Dr. Myers was to impersonate is Doctor Death.

International subterfuge... it has been some time. Remember people, we do not know how the apocalypse landed here or what dangers await. Watch out for each other and keep your wits. Up the hill to the road, run!

~

SAM YAO: Oh, I thought the going would get easier once we reached the top of the hill, but now the road's covered in sand!

PETER LYNNE: Well, there's not much to stop it blowing in from the desert. As far as local scenery goes, you've got potholed roads and sand dunes and that's basically all you're going to get.

SAM YAO: So I get that we're pretending to be traders for now, then when we reach New Agadir we'll be impersonating Death's Hand, but what do we do if the actual Death’s Hand show up? I mean, my briefing said my cover is someone called Sven “Psycho” Mountback, who I don't exactly want to meet.

PETER LYNNE: Well, Amelia is recruiting the mercenaries now for a job in the UK. That's a trap that'll keep them out of our way. And they mostly work in the shadows, so their faces aren't well-known. So in theory at least, we should be able to pass for them. And Bakari swears he can get them - by which I mean us - onto the base.

JANINE DE LUCA: Gamma 1 insertion protocols, as Tom would have said.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: (in the distance) Guys, it's me!

SAM YAO: Does anyone hear that? Look, behind us. There's someone coming up the road dressed like a deckhand from the ship, waving.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guys, it's Frances!

PETER LYNNE: Oh, you've got to be kidding me!

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, what are you doing here?

FRANCES DEMPSEY: I, uh, stowed away on the ship. Hid in a storage crate, swam to shore when I'd heard you'd landed. Bribed a sailor to tell me when you did. A bit wet from the swim. I know you didn't want me to come, but I swear I'll be useful.

JANINE DE LUCA: Miss Dempsey, this is unacceptable! You were expressly forbidden...

SAM YAO: Uh, Janine? Usually you don't drift off when you're berating people.

JANINE DE LUCA: The sky, it's turned white. Winds are rising. If my memories of Algeria hold true, this indicates an incoming dust storm. We must get to cover quickly.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Does that mean I can come?

JANINE DE LUCA: It means, Miss Dempsey, that since there is no way to get you back to the UK, you are unfortunately in danger with the rest of us. There, gleaming structures on the horizon. Kalaat El-Amal. All of you, in that direction. Run!

~

[wind blows]

SAM YAO: The outpost is ahead. Yeah, I think I see an outer wall. It's hard to make out in this sand. [spits] It really gets in your teeth, doesn't it, Five?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Changing global weather patterns, likely brought on by a large increase in methane emissions from decaying flesh, have left this region more prone to dust storms. My sensors should have alerted us to the stormfront. And I failed to predict Frances's arrival.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Um, quick question. Why is the suitcase talking?

PETER LYNNE: That's our... computer expert, Veronica. She's our expert... who is also a computer.

SAM YAO: Guys, look behind you. There's-there's like a solid wall of sand looping towards us.

JANINE DE LUCA: We're on the storm's periphery, but the eye is approaching fast and the dust already feels cutting in these winds. Everybody switch to comms, cover your mouths. You should have desert goggles and masks in your packs. Miss Dempsey, take mine. I will use my shirt.

PETER LYNNE: Wait, wait, wait. Janine, that's ridiculous. She can have my mask.

JANINE DE LUCA: It is done, Peter, there is no time to argue. I see no rocks large enough for shelter. Our only hope is reaching Kalaat El-Amal before we're subsumed. Run!

~

[wind whistles]

FRANCES DEMSPEY: God, it's like being in a blender full of dust! Getting hard to balance in the wind. Five, grab my arm so we don't get separated.

JANINE DE LUCA: I do not see the road! Does anyone have a visual?

VERONICA MCSHELL: Janine, I have run estimates on the wind speed and density of the storm. There is less than a 3% chance of our surviving.

PETER LYNNE: Oh, fantastic! Thank you, Veronica. Helpful as always.

VERONICA MCSHELL: If I'd warned you of the storm sooner, you might have been able to shelter near the cliffs. I'm sorry.

PETER LYNNE: Janine, not to seem overprotective, but obviously you should take my mask. I'm literally indestructible!

JANINE DE LUCA: You have an anti-P-type bomb in your body, Peter. Inhaling sand might damage it. We cannot risk that. I appreciate you're afraid of losing me after the Hebrides. I let you join this mission because I trust you, but I'm as worried for you as you are for me. Do not disobey my orders!

[zombie shrieks]

SAM YAO: What was that?

PETER LYNNE: Look, those are human shapes being whirled about in the wall of sand behind us. Some are missing limbs or torn in half. They're all thrashing about. Yep, they're zombies.

JANINE DE LUCA: We cannot let them catch us. We have no idea if the zombie virus has variants here. Even if we survive the storm with our cure stocks intact, they might not be effective. Likewise Mr. Yao's immunity. We can't let them catch us. Go!

~

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: Five! Five, is that you? If you can see me, I'm waving.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Sam, we see you! Five and I are to your left. Keep moving through the dust.

SAM YAO: Oh, thank God. I can barely make out your outlines. I was worried you were zoms. Have you seen the others? We were trying to keep hold of each other, but the winds kept knocking us down. Storm's interfering with comms beyond point blank range.

FRANCES DEMSPEY: Everyone's been scattered, visibility's practically zero.

VERONICA MCSHELL: I'm trying to calculate everyone's probable vectors, but there are too many variables. At home, I would have more processing power, but this portable me can only handle so much.

During our voyage, I heard Peter talk about Frances's desire to join the mission, but my limited resources did not allow me to model her probable behavior. I was also unable to perceive the worsening weather because my capacity was devoted to reviewing mission files. My limitations have undermined my usefulness.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Not as much as this sand will if any of it gets in your circuits. We've got to get you inside, Veronica. Janine shouldn't have given me her mask. What if she chokes? She's the most important person to the mission.

SAM YAO: Don't think like that, Frances. We just got here. We're not losing people already, not like the Hebrides. I promised Sara we'd come home safe, that we'd bring her fun travel stories.

JANINE DE LUCA: [static] Repeat. [garbled audio] Repeat.

SAM YAO: Janine!

VERONICA MCSHELL: I am detecting faint electromagnetic activity. It may be the outpost.

[zombie growls]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Sam, behind you!

SAM YAO: Oh God, that whirling wall of zoms is almost on us. Five, speed up! They're just gristle and bone, the flesh is torn right off them. The wind’s tossing zoms straight at us. Run, everyone! Head south... gah! That way, I think. Just run!

~

[wind whistles]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, keep holding my hand. I've got Frances, we're in a chain.

[zombies growl]

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Everybody duck! Oh God, did you see that? A flayed zombie torso, ripped to shreds by the sand. It flew right over our heads in the wind. I'm sorry, Sam, I shouldn't have come.

SAM YAO: Frances, it's okay.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Peter warned me it was dangerous. I just, I really thought I could help. But I know you're all scared of losing people after the Hebrides, but you're all at risk here and I'm making it worse.

JANINE DE LUCA: Mr. Yao, Runner Five, this is Colonel De Luca. Mr. Lynne and I have made it into Kalaat El-Amal. Can you hear? They have equipment monitoring your approach. They're boosting our comms. They're sealing the entrance against the weather and activating a signal beacon on the outer wall.

SAM YAO: There! Hard to tell in this suit, but those look like... yes, flashing yellow lights ahead.

JANINE DE LUCA: The gate is in front of you, but it is closing fast. If you don't hurry, you'll be trapped outside. Sensors indicate torn zombie flesh has made that swirling storm wall infectious. You cannot risk being engulfed. You must get inside. Run!

~

[alarm blares, gate creaks and slams shut]

SAM YAO: That's it, Five, we're in. Made it through that gate by inches. Don't see anyone around, just a big metal room with big metal doors. Gate must be automatic. First bit of wider world we've seen since Z-Day, Five, give or take Finland. I wonder how people here are doing.

FRANCES DEMPSEY: Guess we're about to find out. We're okay, everyone's okay. We all made it.

VERONICA MCSHELL: And my estimations of Kalaat El-Amal's location were accurate. It will take me time to get used to operating at this capacity, but I will persevere. I am confident I can keep the team safe. After analyzing the Hebrides files, I know how much difficulty you all have without me.

[door rattles open]

SAM YAO: Janine, Peter!

JANINE DE LUCA: It's good to see you all intact, including you, Miss Dempsey. It seems you've left me no choice now but to consider you one of the team. The locals were rather shocked to see us approaching through the storm.

SAM YAO: But they let you in, so they're friendly, right?

PETER LYNNE: Oh, they are very friendly, and very worried. You see, apparently the last few foreign traders to visit Kalaat El-Amal carried serious diseases. Measles, flu, multiple poxes. So they're putting us under quarantine until we're vetted, for a period of no less than three months. That means if we can't find another way out of here, the whole mission is over.

~

[peterstanslizzie]

Reacting To: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts (Season 3 Episode 2)

Episode Title: Code Word Milkshake

Spoiler Warning: Kindly proceed if you’ve already seen the episode or are able to handle spoilers 

1. OMG! A K-pop song? That’s so cool! It sounds like BTS lol. And the song is pretty catchy too 🎵; “Dive into my ocean of love”. It’s such a bop! We see the mutes (even the Mod Frogs) fangirling HARD. But what animals are these guys supposed to be? Are they dolphins? But why do they have horns? And apparently abs as well: 

2. Aww but the leader of the group, Hyun Soo (as revealed in the subtitles) soon gets paralyzed by a dart and is kidnapped after signing fan autographs. And of course, it’s the doing of Dr. Emilia as she’s seen testing a serum sample on Hyun Soo. Again, I’m impressed with her ability to be so stealthy. However, she’s finding it difficult in getting the right formula for the genetic serum since none of the samples she’s used so far has worked on the kidnapped mutes. BTW, Jamack talking to Hyun Soo is hilarious. 

3. In Timbercat Village, Kipo is planning with HMUFA a mission to find Emilia, rescue their friends and retrieve Song’s research journal. Oh, did Asher get a haircut? If so, they look really nice.

4. Our boy, Benson wants Troy to come along because he feels safer when he’s around. How precious! I’m  happy he gets to go on a mission with Kipo for the first time too. It’s nice to mix groups up sometimes. And it looks like it’s just gonna be a human/hybrid-only mission because the mutes won’t be able to handle Emilia’s sonic emitter. Dave is upset that he won’t be able to tag along with them. I think it’s a good thing to sit this one out because he does have a tendency to die during their missions lol.

5. They manage to hitch a ride on a couple of dragonfly mutes due to Kipo coming up with the codeword, “Milkshake” to keep situations calm.  Random but okay. As they’re flying over the sea, they spot a ship, which definitely belongs to Emilia since we hear Zane asking Greta to turn on the sonic emitter as some mysterious sea creature was circling around them. Because the dragonflies are not immune to the sound, this causes them all to fall into the water

6. The group tries to climb over the ship to get a peek of the situation aboard and they can see the burrow humans enjoying their time there, splish-splashing in a giant pool paired with a crazy slide and everything. 

7. Dave lets Lio and Roberto know that he wants to have a boys night out (BNO) with them. But it’s clear that he’s doing this because he still feels salty about not being included in the stealth mission. Roberto looks like he doesn’t want to go out but Lio is down to hangout with Dave-o lol. 

8. Back on the Dr. Emilia’s ship, Kipo and gang try to find her lab but they almost got spotted by a blonde human girl, who apparently is able to hear Hyun Soo  sing through the cafeteria vents and thus, wants him to sing for her. Kipo and Troy actually recognize her from their old burrow. She’s actually Hoag’s daugther, Doag! I can’t believe he named his daughter that lol. Anyways, they were all actually friendly with one another, so we shall see if she’s willing to help them or not. Doag really likes dancing and we see her dancing around to Hyun Soo’s singing. She then does a split and spots them. Well, she doesn’t look alarmed actually. 

9. Meanwhile, Dave and Lio are playing cards but afterward, they went to check out the so-called “community bonding” session between Timbercats and the Umlaut snakes. At first, it seems like they are having a huge argument but they’re actually just writing a song and having a couple of debates. It’s song-break time. This time, the song is called ‘Friendship Alliance’. How fitting. After the performance, Lio says he wants to go to bed but Dave isn’t done yet and wants him to check out his secret stash of explosion berry cola.

10. Doag explains to the group that Dr. Emilia has been treating them nicely so far but they want her to know the truth about Emilia who has been trying to kill Kipo since she was a baby. Plus, according to Troy (and Benson from earlier on), she didn’t eat his Benson’s pancakes. Troy is way more upset about the part about the pancakes, which of course he has to be since it’s his boo’s pancakes. But my goodness, Doag’s voice is like nails on the chalkboard. Don’t you agree? 

11. I think it’s hard for them to convince her that Dr. Emilia is a bad person, especially since they don’t have any real evidence to show. Emilia is like a savior to these humans. Fortunately, Doag wants to help them rescue Boom-Boom, Jamack, Camille and Hyun Soo regardless. 

12. She takes them to Dr. Emilia’s lab, which isn’t very hidden like they said lol. The door’s locked but Troy, the skilled magician was able to pick the lock no problem. Benson is impressed and he actually addressed him as his boyfriend! Cute!

13. They enter the lab and we see all the kidnapped mutes trapped in their individual mute-proof cells. Aww the way Jamack called Kipo, Burrow Girl was so sweet. He has come a really long way with her since Season 1 huh? I don’t know what’s up with Boom-Boom but she(?) doesn’t look too good, almost unhinged. So, Hyun Soo is known as a Dolphicon! I guess that’s short for Dolphin and Unicorn. That’s explains the horn. I actually like the name “Wall Siren” for him as well. Despite only speaking in Korean, Hyun Soo does seem to understand English when Doag asks him “who are you?”. I feel like the introduction of Hyun Soo is like paying homage to Kipo’s animation studio, Studio Mir, which is in fact South Korean. 

14. Kipo proceeds to then break them out of their cells. Doag declares she’s going to help them escape. I actually hope there’s a chance that she would be part of Kipo’s group officially. She seems cool, mostly lol. Wolf also finds Song’s research journal but before they could make their escape, the traumatized Boom-Boom looks at the needles Dr. Emilia has been using on her, freaks out and drops her nectar bombs on them, which causes the whole lab to explode.  Boom-Boom needs therapy for sure. Ughh…Wolf also accidentally drops the journal and leaves it behind the lab. That book is probably destroyed. 

15. Back at Timbercat village, I assume Lio had already drank the cola before he is super hyped. Yumyan also joins in on their shenanigans and he gives them the idea to steal Molly’s axe and put it in an axe bush (is that what Yumyan said?). Also, is this supposed to be a pun or something?

16. Doag puts Hyun Soo in their getaway boat but it’s weird since he’s a dolphin and can just swim in the water instead lol. They’re supposed to leave now but Kipo wants to face Emilia now. I say she’s making a bad decision here. Dr. Emilia then arrive with Greta and Zane but Wolf takes out the latter two easily. The rest of the humans come out to the deck to see what the ruckus is all about and Emilia tries to play coy and innocent with them. 

17. Hoag notices that his daughter isn’t around. Our heroes try to explain to the humans that Dr. Emilia is the bad guy; They told about how Song is the Mega Monkey and how she got her to attack and destroy their home back in Season 1. And they explain that she mind-controlled Song to kill her own daughter. 

Even grandma can deliver a beatdown on someone lol

18.The humans are reluctant to believe them because it does sound very farfetched. But c’mon…they should know by know that Las Vistas is a messed up place; Anything can happen. Also, don’t they remember the Mega Monkey saving them from getting gilded in Season 2. Suddenly, Hoag makes an attempt to paralyze Kipo with one of the darts but she quickly reacts and knocks him out. The humans see this and they get mad at her. Eventually, Kipo and the others make their escape. Finally. 

19. Back to Lio and Dave. We find out towards the end that Molly actually killed Dave 5 times for the stunt he pulled on her lol. Anyways, the both of them are glad to have this bonding session with one another since Kipo isn’t around. 

20. Our heroes reach land but Doag wants to go back because she knows her dad is worried sick about her. And so, Hyun Soo and I guess the rest of his groupmates are bringing her back there. Aww, she should’ve stayed but I understand why she wants to go back to the ship. But to be honest, somebody should’ve thought to give her a communicator or a walkie-talkie or something because at least they can know what Dr. Emilia’s next move is. Perhaps they don’t really have to think too much into it since the journals has been decimated and all…or is it?

21. Wolf, I hope you’re happy you dropped the journal lol. Dr. Emilia figures out that Kipo is X. Wait, I’m trying to remember if there any mention of X in the previous episodes. Anyways, I wonder what she’s going to do with the fur Kipo left during their last confrontation. I guess since Kipo is a human who also has the DNA of apex predators, Emilia is going to play with her recombinant DNA and figure out a way to reverse the effects of the mute DNA so that only the normal DNA will be present? I dunno….

22. Last note/tiny bit of criticism: Is it just me or do you guys sometimes think that some of the character designs look a little wonky in this episode? Sometimes, I felt like Kipo, Benson and even Troy look a little off in some frames. Anyways, that’s the end of my review of episode 2. Stay tuned tomorrow for my review of episode 3. Thanks for reading everybody!

[hockeytrashgoblin]

Ice Cold ~Part 3

A/N: Hi all! An update tonight and expect one tomorrow too! I’ve been writing like crazy and I really hope you guys are enjoying so far and will in the future too! It gets a little angsty in a few parts. I’m sorry for making Auston a bad guy again. It’s just a character though, I really do like him quite a bit. He’s just the easiest one to make mean. I think it’s how serious he always seems to be. I dunno. I promise to write a cute one of Auston after this is all done and that Max Domi one will also be finished soon I hope! I lost all inspo on that one but I’m getting back into it! Anywho I hope you enjoy this part!

"Hey (y/n)! Wait up!"

"Oh for fuck sake.." I mumbled to myself before turning around. "Hi Peter."

"How have you been? I haven't talked to you in a couple weeks."

"Yeah good, I've been good. Super busy, what with unpacking and getting settled into a new area and all. Work stuff."

"That does sound busy."

"It is."

"Too busy to answer a text?"

"Peter cut it out."

"Alright, alright sorry." He said putting his hands up in surrender. He still had a smirk on his face and it creeped me out. Not the smirk I wanted. I kept walking towards the entrance of the building and he just kept following.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked with an edge in my voice.

"So Nylander huh?"

"What about him?"

"Kind of a pretty boy, isn't he?"

"I guess. What does it matter?"

"I keep having to write articles about you two."

"Okay..sorry?" I had seen the articles. They were disgusting, objectifying me at every turn and insulting William. There had been 3 in the last two weeks following times we had gone on dates.

"Don't be sorry I just want to know are you guys a thing? Are you dating? Fucking? What's the story?"

"What's the story? That's all I am to you right now is your inside scoop of a fucking juicy rumor filled story?"

"What no! That didn't come out right!"

"You know what? You can just go fuck yourself Peter." I opened the door to leave but he grabbed my arm.

"(Y/n) wait-"

"Don't talk to me right now and absolutely do not touch me. Ever." I said ripping my arm from his grip and storming away through the snow to union station. The whole subway ride I just stewed in my anger. Who did Peter think he was? Asking me who I'm fucking or if I'm fucking to write in an article for the world to read. As if it was anyone's business in the first place. It was dark by the time I got off and started my 15 minute walk home. I felt really uneasy though so I took out my phone to make a call.

"Hi sweetheart, on your way home?" William answered on the first ring. I felt more comfortable immediately.

"Hi, yeah I just got off the subway. I felt really uncomfortable though for some reason so I called you to talk while I walk. I hope that's okay?"

"Of course that's okay! I like that I make you comfortable enough that you'd call me."

"You make me feel very comfortable. What's the sound?"

"Come on- wanna say hi!- just let me-"

"It's just, ow fuck, Kasperi."

"Oh tell him hi for me."

"Hi (y/n)! Come visit me!"

"Kas shut up!" I heard a loud thud and then it was quiet. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay. I like him, he's funny."

"He's a fan of you too. He likes that you make me happy."

"You're so sweet. I'm glad I make you happy because you make me happy too."

"That makes me so pleased. Your happiness is most important to me."

"Well you make me happy so just keep doing what you're doing." I said opening my door and locking it behind me.

"You're home now?"

"Yes."

"Did you lock the door?"

"Yes I always do. I don't feel safe without it."

"Good."

"What do you mean good?" It was quiet except for rustling. "William?"

"Sorry love I'm just worried about you. You had a bad feeling and I just want you to feel okay. Feel safe."

"You make me feel safe. That's why I'm talking to you. I'll probably be fine, I just need to calm down." I said as there was a crash outside my place.

"What was that?"

"You heard that too?"

"Yes what was it?"

"I don't know..something outside. I don't wanna check."

"Good don't. Stay locked in your house. I don't trust this at all."

"William I just heard it again.."

"Would you be okay with me coming over?"

"Yes."

"I'd feel better if you weren't alone."

"Me too."

"I'll be there in a few minutes."

"How?"

"I'm already on my way actually. I'll explain when I get there."

"William there's something at my window." I said, panic rising in my voice.

"I'm coming sweetheart. This is me I'm knocking on the door right now let me in."

"Okay." I looked through the peephole and opened the door for him, quickly locking it behind him. "Hi."

"Hi cutie. Nice pajamas." He said smirking at me.

"Shut up I was getting ready for bed."

"No they're cute, I quite like them."

"Thank you." I said falling into his arms for a hug. "Thank you for coming."

"Of course. I wouldn't just leave you alone like that."

"I was scared.."

"I know (y/n), its okay. I'm here now, nothing will harm you. If anything I will harm someone else."

"So why were you already on your way?"

"You didn't forget about that huh?"

"Nope." I said laughing with him.

"Morgan told me I should. That it would be a smart idea."

"Why?"

"He's..special." William said slowly. 

"Don't suppose you'll elaborate on that?"

"He's what I guess you'd call a psychic almost? Maybe like a fortune teller?"

"So he can see the future is what you're saying?"

"Yes."

"That is pretty special. Is he any good?"

"The best, honestly. I've never met someone who is right about so many future predictions."

"How does it work?"

"I don't really think it's my place to tell you everything about it."

"Just one more question?"

"Depends. Go ahead."

"Is it just broad? Like the whole world."

"He gets stuff like that and also he can focus on a smaller scale and get stuff for a single person."

"Did he see something bad for me?"

"Not necessarily. He saw something bad but knew that I was going to come over and fix it."

"I'm glad you came to fix it." I said hugging him again. "Sorry I'm being so touchy..I'm just relieved and I kinda always do that."

"Don't be sorry my sweet girl." He said holding the sides of my face giving me a kiss on the forehead. "You're tired. Do you want to lay down?"

"Will you come too?"

"That might not be the best idea."

"Please? I won't try anything, I swear. I just want you close by.."

"Hey that's okay. I didn't think you would make advances and even if you did they wouldn't altogether be unwanted. I just didn't want you to feel any pressure. I'll be as close as you want me."

"Come on then." I pulled him by his hand towards my room. I flipped the comforter up and gestured for him to join me in my bed. He laughed and got it with me. I cuddled up into his side. "Is this okay?"

"This is so nice. I love this."

"Okay good."

"How was work today?"

"It was pretty good until the end."

"What happened?"

"Peter stopped me after work."

"I don't like him." William mumbled playing with my hair.

"Uh yeah fucking me neither."

"What did he want?"

"He's been writing articles about us and wanted me to give him the exclusive details so he could publish them first."

"That's gross. I don't like his articles. I don't like the way he talks about you."

"Me neither. It doesn't feel good."

"What we do has nothing to do with him. Our relationship is ours alone."

"Is that what this is? A relationship?"

"Oh I'm sorry I didn't mean to say that out loud."

"It's okay if that's not what you want.." I said quietly.

"No silly girl, that is exactly what I want. I want to be with you. I just wanted to bring it up differently."

"Be with me like a boyfriend kind of thing?"

"I wish you wouldn't be so insecure (y/n). You have no reason to be like that with me. Yes I want to be your boyfriend. I would be so lucky."

"So are we officially together then?"

"Yes, lovely."

"Okay good." I said smiling, giving him a small kiss that he returned eagerly. When we broke apart I was out of breath. "Wow."

"Yeah.." he said giggling, making me laugh too. "Of all the things my hands have held, the best by far is you."

"Aww William! That is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me."

"I'm going to say nice things to you forever." He smiled and gave me another smaller kiss.

"Oh yeah about the relationship only being our business, Amy knows most of the business. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. The boys are very aware of everything too. Probably more so."

"You guys are pretty close huh?"

"They're my brothers. Auston, Morgan, Kas, and Mitch. We have a bond like no one else's I promise you that. I love those guys."

"I'm glad that you've got such great friends. It's sweet how you talk about them."

"They're great people. I know you think Auston is awful but he really isn't."

"I don't think he's awful William. I think he hates me. It's different."

"It's silly. I'll admit he's not too fond of this situation but it has nothing to do with you. He wouldn't like me to be with anyone."

"He'd rather you be alone?"

"Yes."

"That doesn't seem very nice."

"Auston thinks I'm too trusting. He doesn't trust anyone. Mitch is with someone and it's a complicated situation. Morgan has someone and it's slightly less complicated. Me, Kappy, and Auston are usually alone. It's easier that way."

"How come?"

"There's just a lot of secrets that's all. Things we can't share that make it hard to be with us."

"Well I don't like secrets much."

"I don't think I'll be keeping many from you, if any. Morgan said-" he stopped himself and shook his head. "Sorry. I know it sounds weird to go off what Morgan says."

"Not at all. I'm never gonna judge anyone on what they think or believe. If Morgan is right all the time it makes sense that you'd put that kind of faith in him."

"You're so incredible." He murmured with his warm eyes looking at me. He leaned in and kissed me. I broke it to yawn though and he laughed. "Let's sleep, yeah?"

"I don't wanna though."

"Why not? You're tired."

"I want to spend more time with you. Talking to you. I don't want to sleep."

"We have all the time in the world (y/n). Just go to bed so you're not tired tomorrow."

"Will you be here when I wake up?" I asked softly.

"You think I'd just leave in the middle of the night?"

"I hope not but I don't know."

"I won't leave unless you specifically ask me to."

"Well I'm not going to ask that."

"Then I will be right here when you wake up. Get up and I'll turn off the lights." I groaned making him laugh as he got up. He turned the light off and crawled back into bed behind me, spooning me, pulling my back close to his chest.

"Goodnight William."

"Goodnight lovely." He kissed my neck and settled to go to bed. I fell asleep so fast.

[todisturbtheuniverse]

FIC: Set All Trappings Aside [8/9]

Rating: T Fandom: Dragon Age: Inquisition Pairing: f!Adaar/Josephine Montilyet Tags: Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, Class Differences Word Count: 5000 (this chapter) Summary: After months of flirtation, a contract on Josephine’s life brings Adaar’s feelings for her closer to the surface than ever. It highlights, too, all of their differences, all of the reasons a relationship between them would not last. But Adaar is a hopeful woman at heart; if Josephine can set all trappings aside, then so can she. Also on AO3. Notes: While the context for this story is the Of Somewhat Fallen Fortune questline, some of the conversations within it didn’t quite fit for this Inquisitor. The resulting fic is a twist on the canon romance. This Adaar and Josephine have featured in other fics, so you may miss a little context if you haven’t read Promising or Truth-Telling, which both come before this one. Chapter-specific note:  All of the remaining chapters are up on AO3; they’ll be posted more slowly here on tumblr so as not to clog your dashboards.

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

"She's late," Bull said.

Dorian rolled his eyes. "You don't say."

Cassandra, ignoring them both, continued to look toward the village through her spyglass. Josephine watched her, hands clammy. They were all awfully comfortable with the idea that something had already gone wrong. Perhaps from long practice. 

Josephine, unfortunately, wasn't practiced at all.

Cassandra lowered the spyglass. "That's the last of them."

"Really," Bull said, doubtfully. "All of 'em in the tavern?"

"Or standing around outside it." She tucked the spyglass into her belt. "Ten, all told. A few in older gear, but otherwise well-equipped."

"I'd've left some men out in the field. They have enough to spare for that. Catch us off-guard when we're in the middle of cracking heads."

"I believe they hope that if they are all in one place, you can be prevented from doing that," Dorian said dryly.

"We'll see how that works out for them."

"No change to the plan, then," Josephine broke in.

They all looked to her, as if they'd forgotten she was there. Fair enough. She wasn't usually here when they did this kind of thing. And after this experience, she hoped she never would be again.

"If she wasn't fast enough to observe without being made, none of us are," Bull said. "So either she's injured or worse, and we need to ride to the rescue sooner rather than later—"

"Bull," Dorian said, not exasperated now, but sharp. Maybe Josephine's face had given away something of how she felt about this hypothetical scenario.

"—or she's just tied up, and we might as well get on with it," Bull went on, perfectly even. "We're not going to figure out more about these people by standing out here with our thumbs up our asses."

Dorian glared at Bull. "If they've gone to the trouble of luring her here, she's probably the picture of—"

"She'd rather know the score than listen to me lie," Bull interrupted.

"We don't gain anything by waiting," Cassandra said, taking over. "She is very good with those daggers, but not good enough to handle a dozen opponents at once."

"She lacks the reach," Bull agreed.

Josephine looked to Cassandra again, who looked back at her, frowning. "They're not Red Templars," she said, not reassuring—that was not Cassandra's forte—but simply conveying facts. "I'm certain of that much. Well-outfitted, but no identifying regalia."

"Professionals, then," Bull said. "Not hungry folk."

"I just imagined I would know more about them than that when I walked into this negotiation," Josephine said.

"We always knew that we would have limited information," Cassandra pointed out. "Besides, you have worked miracles before. I have watched you change the mood at many a meeting in a single blink."

"To you, it may certainly seem that way. There is a lot of groundwork before we reach that point." Josephine took a deep breath. "And the stakes here are higher."

"Nah," Bull said. "Just think—usually we have to do this part without you."

Dorian looked torn between outrage and amusement. "You are creating more and more problems for future Adaar, you know."

"She can handle it," Bull said easily, and winked at Josephine. Well, maybe he just blinked. It was hard to tell.

"Very well," Josephine said, ignoring all of this regardless. "Let's waste no more time."

They took the wagon-rutted road on foot, leaving the horses tied at the turnstile that marked the highway. Josephine took the opportunity, as they walked, to unwind the chain of office that had been packed carefully away in her saddlebags and don it again.

"If they are as well-researched as they seem," she said, to Cassandra's questioning look, "then best they know who they're dealing with from the outset."

Cassandra's mouth twitched toward a smile. "They may be so distracted by the idea of all the money they don't know that we don't have that it will all be over before opening remarks."

"You would like that," Josephine said mildly. "Given your distaste for wasting time."

"Mmm," Cassandra said, noncommittal, but still she smiled. She hadn't drawn her sword, but her hand rested on the pommel; she watched the fields, eyes seeking any sign of movement.

Josephine spoke more quietly this time. "Do you think she really could be injured?"

Cassandra's gaze flicked to her, just for a moment. She hesitated before answering. "Yes. Anything is possible. If this is a hopeful grab for money, though, they would be stupid to seriously wound her." She let out a barely-audible sigh. "As long as she keeps her mouth shut. But if these people know her...if they wish to harm her because of some personal vendetta...well, she is resilient. She will recover."

Adaar had once told Josephine a story too terrible to be false. Now she had a hard time forgetting it, the images it had evoked: the close cellar, the tortured sawing of blade against horn, the just-in-time arrival of the Valo-kas.

She'd promised Adaar that no one would do that to her, ever again. She hoped that she was not too late. 

"And if it's worse?" Josephine asked, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"She would fight," Cassandra said easily. "To her dying breath. We would already have heard the ruckus." She paused, considering. "And if she got the opportunity, she would run."

Josephine held onto that through the long walk down into the valley, where the light from the Dancing Star still gleamed, brighter and brighter, resolving clearly now into firelight, not a star at all. The others didn't talk much, either, all preparing in their own way: Cassandra, steadily alert; Bull, whistling a low tune; Dorian, fingers tapping out a rhythm on his staff; and Josephine, combing over the possibilities, trying to think of what she'd missed, trying to guess at every angle this adversary might arrive from.

Five mercenaries stood just outside the tavern building, bright with nervous energy. They perked up when they saw the group. "Nice of you to finally join us," one of them—a lean woman with her hair braided tightly out of the way—called out. "No funny business means no mages." She pointed at Dorian. "Give up your staff."

"Of course, good woman." Without any apparent hesitation, Dorian threw the stick at her, maybe a touch harder than necessary. She fumbled the catch a little.

"Boss wants to talk to someone agreeable," she said. She leaned the staff against the wall behind her. "Amenable, like. Just one."

Some might call the diplomats, merchants, and nobles Josephine dealt with mercenary, but she had rarely dealt with actual mercenaries. Still, they were just people, in the end. People she wanted something from, who wanted something from her.

So she had gotten through many moments like this. She had just not been bargaining for her heart, then.

But her head took over. Like Adaar's long years of practice with a blade, Josephine had honed her craft until it was muscle memory, until it was second nature. She did not hesitate.

"Lady Josephine Montilyet," she said, stepping forward. She did not curtsy. "Chief Diplomat of the Inquisition. I believe that I will serve." Before they could get halfway through their uneasy looks to one another—maybe they hadn't bargained on quite so high an officer—she pressed ruthlessly on. "I must insist, however, that I bring some protection to the table. Cassandra will accompany me."

This was important; they would have a hard time inside, at the crucial moment, if only Adaar and Josephine were on hand to deal with the number Cassandra had marked going into the tavern—or, worse, if Adaar wasn't in there at all.

The woman said, "Boss said just one."

Josephine smiled, unthreatening, polite. "Two is not so different than one. We come in good faith; our mage has already surrendered his weapon; this is the nature of compromise."

With a scowl, the woman flung open the door to the tavern. Josephine heard the murmur of conversation through the thin walls. She listened with half an ear in case the words became discernible while she observed the others.

One of the men, standing a few feet to the right of the tavern door, had paled. His eyes flicked from Josephine's chain of office to the tall, tall points of Bull's horns. His armor was older than the rest, not as well-fitted or well-maintained. The mercenary standing beside him wore a similar outfit, but his jaw was set. He did not look at their group at all.

The woman reappeared, a sour twist to her mouth. "You two, go in." She gestured to Josephine and Cassandra. "You two, stay put." She pointed at Bull and Dorian. Bull made a display of scratching his belly and yawning.

"Thank you," Josephine said pleasantly, and led the way into the tavern.

It had been mostly cleared. There were a handful of small tables in front of the hearth, where three of the mercenaries stood; one of them broke off, following Josephine and Cassandra to the table that stood apart from the rest, where one man sat.

Adaar was on the ground behind him.

She still catalogued the rest of the room, took in all the information she could: a third mercenary near the hearth with lopsided leather armor; the old man behind the bar on the wall opposite, shoulders hunched, watching the room from beneath a furrowed brow; the man at the table, tossing one of Adaar's daggers idly as he watched them approach.

But she spared a heartbeat for Adaar, to feel the relief that she was alive, even if she couldn't allow it to show on her face.

Adaar knelt on the tavern floor, a mercenary to either side of her, their weapons already drawn, guarding. The neutral expression on her face spoke to how deeply annoyed she really was; Josephine had seen it now and then, when a visitor to Skyhold got too pushy with their demands. But her dark eyes met Josephine's, and they were steady, unafraid. There was a suspicious red shininess around one of her eyes, but she appeared otherwise unharmed.

They'd bound her hands behind her back, a problem she was likely already working on, especially now that the mercenaries were distracted by newcomers. Josephine would need to buy her time.

"Ah," Adaar said, breaking the silence. "The cavalry."

"Shut up," the man at the table said, eyeing Cassandra. "Moiraine failed to mention that your bodyguard is the bloody Hero of Orlais."

"I assure you," Cassandra said, in a tone that no one would have believed, "tales of my exploits have been greatly exaggerated."

It would be best to remove attention from her, immediately. "I don't think it's unreasonable to enlist such a chaperone," Josephine said, "considering the number of soldiers you have in this room."

Six, by her count. Just one more than Cassandra had marked. Bull and Dorian would have their hands full outside once it all began, and in these quarters, she would have a hard time keeping out of the way. It was several feet to the bar counter; she wondered if she would be fast enough to dive behind it before the mercenary standing behind her could act.

She sat. The man at the table still held one of Adaar's daggers, though he'd stopped tossing it. The other lay on the table in front of him like a trophy. She heard the mercenary behind her settle into position—no weapon drawn, and within reach of Cassandra, but the casual threat was clear.

"I assume your lieutenant already introduced me," she said. The man across from her glanced at her chain of office, as if in acknowledgment. "Who do I have the pleasure of dealing with?"

He sneered. "Ellis Koster," he replied. "Of Koster's Carvers."

The company name didn't give Josephine much confidence, but she pressed on. "I wish we'd made this acquaintance under more pleasant circumstances, but we must make the best of what we have." She folded her hands on the table in front of her. "So, to business: what do you want?"

He pulled a folded slip of paper from his breastplate, placed it on the table, and slid it across to Josephine under the point of his forefinger. There was a smug look about his face, every movement slow and exaggerated, as if he'd always dreamed of doing it—holding all the power, dictating to others.

She had been afraid, waiting for Adaar's return, realizing she wasn't coming. But now—now, seeing this foul man put a price on the head of the woman she loved, seeing him crush it beneath his insignificant finger, she was angry. She was furious.

She took the paper, unfolded it, and read the sum with a carefully schooled expression. Even had she been seriously considering the ransom, it was a preposterous amount. No one could be under any illusions that the Inquisition had such deep coffers.

She adjusted her understanding of his intelligence.

"What offense has the Inquisitor made against you to make such an amount appropriate?" she asked, looking up again.

A little surprise tugged at his features. "Against me, personally? None."

"Then I find it hard to believe that you demand this payment seriously," Josephine said, setting the folded paper delicately on the table.

"This ain't a court, Ambassador. I've got something you want; you've got something I want. I baited a trap, and this is the tax you pay to get out of it."

"I see," Josephine said. "Well, then I think you know that this is far too much to demand for one person."

A little of the lurid anticipation fell from his face. "That so."

She did not elaborate; she simply waited, keeping all eyes on her. She had learned early in her career that silence was a powerful weapon. Even now, she saw it doing its insidious work: sowing doubt, planting second thoughts—not just in Koster, but in his thugs.

One, in particular. The woman by the hearth with the ill-fitting armor. The rest of them showed discomfort in other ways, in a hardening of the brow, a shifting of weight, but this one had panic in the twist of her mouth, in the nervous flex of her fingers.

The barkeep, by contrast, had stilled. He glared—not at Koster, Josephine, or Adaar, but at the nervous woman across the room.

Interesting.

"Because it seems to me," Koster said, breaking the silence, "that there's not much of an Inquisition without an Inquisitor."

Josephine felt the flush of a minor victory. He hadn't been able to outlast her, and now, whether he understood it or not, she had reclaimed some of the power he had tried to hold over her.

"The Rift is closed," Josephine said, choosing her tone carefully. Bored, relaying outdated facts. Her attention already turned to other, more serious things. "The days of paying off common thugs so that we can retain the Inquisitor's services are past. There is the matter of Corypheus, certainly, but we will be able to make do, I believe. After all," she gestured to Cassandra, "we are among esteemed company."

She sat back, physically signalling her disengagement, ignoring the discomfort of putting herself any nearer to the thug behind her. Adaar was no longer looking at her, she saw; she was instead focused on the mercenary by the hearth, the woman the barkeep was glaring at. She avoided Adaar's eyes. Her hands had curled into fists.

The barkeep knew this woman, Josephine realized. And so did Adaar.

"That's too bad," Koster said, drawing her attention back to him. "Too bad for you, I mean."

Josephine tilted her head to the side, as if vaguely curious. "Oh? How so?"

He put the dagger down on the table and leaned forward. "You can't imagine I'll let you leave, Ambassador, if you don't give me what I want. The next person to sit in that chair might be more interested in playing ball if we have half your war table in our cellars."

Josephine allowed a beat of silence, and then she brought a hand to her mouth to cover an amused laugh.

"By all means, Messere," she said, twisting the honorific into a taunt. "Show us to our accommodations. We will see who decides to negotiate with you next. For your sake, I do hope Nightingale does not take an interest."

Finally, he betrayed a twitch of unease. She'd guessed correctly; his mercenaries had recognized her, and he had recognized Cassandra. Not a small leap to imagine he'd heard of Leliana—and some of her less savory methods of doing business.

Sometimes it was good to have questionable friends.

"Perhaps it's time for us to move on, then," Koster said, staring Josephine down. "We'll take what we need from these fine people and make ourselves scarce." He had an ugly, unkind grin. "Wouldn't do to leave anyone to tattle on us, though, would it?"

"You said no one would get hurt!" a new, shaking voice broke in.

Josephine judged it acceptable to look toward the woman. She'd taken a step forward from the hearth; the other mercenary, a few feet away from her, put his hand on the pommel of his sword, frowning.

"Vilya," Adaar said, her voice low, "don't—"

"I told you to shut up," Koster snapped over his shoulder. He pointed at Vilya. "And you—"

The situation was rapidly escalating out of her control, but Josephine had bought enough time. Adaar's gaze swept the room, cataloguing and assessing, muscles tensed on the verge of movement. She was ready.

Josephine caught Cassandra's eye and gave the tiniest of nods, one that Koster, distracted by a room of unraveling threads, wouldn't notice. Cassandra's sword made a magnificent, ominous sound as she pulled it from the sheath. All eyes went to her.

In that moment, Adaar was meant to act. Josephine was meant to dive for cover. 

But Josephine wanted more than to cower in a corner while others took care of this creature. He had made it necessary to say untrue things, words that had left such a sour taste in her mouth. She would play a small part more in his demise.

She snatched up Adaar's daggers.

"Catch!" she called, and threw the blades to Adaar.

Adaar was already moving. She had one foot planted on the floor beneath her; her hands, trailing snapped rope, reached up to pluck the clumsily-thrown daggers from midair. Her rise was graceful, effortless, and as she straightened to a height taller than either mercenary flanking her, she left a dagger in each of their chests. She never took her eyes from Josephine.

"Duck," she replied.

The room erupted. Josephine scrambled under the negotiation table. She heard the whistle of a near miss above her; the mercenary standing guard over her had acted, but too late. Only a second later, his body thudded to the ground behind her. Cassandra's sword had found an opening.

Three down, she thought, pulling her knees tight to her chest, so as to present the smallest possible target.

From her vantage point, she couldn't see much. She saw Koster's boots and Adaar's bare feet, moving, in and out, back and forth; she heard the snarls of his rage and Adaar's eerie silence. When she dared glance over to her right, she saw Cassandra's greaves, the occasional flash as the firelight reflected off her sword—and her opponent's. She kept him crowded near the hearth, blocking his path to his commander.

Vilya's was the only face Josephine could see. She'd backed into the far corner, huddled on the ground behind the tables and chairs.

Josephine returned her attention to the fight in front of her. She stared at the light way Adaar's feet moved across the dirty floorboards. Her footing was so sure, so graceful. Koster lunged and hacked, and Adaar, without the benefit of armor or boots, moved fluidly out of his way—and yet, at the same time, closer. Trying to get inside the reach of his weapon. There was a yelp—she'd made contact—and then an angry bellow; her points made, Adaar slipped out of reach.

But Koster was not ready to give up. Josephine had hoped that the blood now dotting the floor would slow him down; instead, he stopped swinging so wildly, waited, focused. She heard him give a mean, breathless laugh, and her blood ran cold.

"I've heard tales of your skill," he said. "Glad you measured up to the challenge. But someone got the better of you once. Maybe I'll take the other horn, as a trophy."

Adaar didn't rise to the bait. Josephine had seen her temper, secret, boiling. But she directed it as she liked; it did not direct her.

Josephine could hear the smile in her voice. "I've been saying for years that I'm just not symmetrical anymore."

The battle rejoined. Their feet moved faster now, the movements so quick they left Josephine breathless. She clenched her fists and watched, not daring to blink.

Now and then, she saw the length of Koster's sword, just barely sweeping into view. It was after one such upswing that she heard a dull, sickening thud.

Adaar had frozen in place, her stance unbalanced, wobbling. Koster gave another nasty laugh. Josephine tossed a panicked look toward Cassandra, but she was still occupied with the other mercenary.

She cast around frantically for a weapon, found her guard's fallen sword, and snatched it up. Then she crawled toward the fight, the scene coming into view as she peered out from beneath the table.

Koster's sword was stuck in Adaar's horn. Josephine's heart seized, but Adaar was smirking, and after a second's panic, Josephine understood why: the sword was truly stuck, about a third of the blade's width trapped in the horn. Koster pulled and pulled at it, the look on his face transforming from triumph to concern, and Adaar only turned her head in a way that made pulling it free harder.

"Sorry, is the angle bad?" Adaar asked, all innocence.

The next time he pulled, she pulled too, away from his sword. The sudden release of the blade threw him off-balance; he caught himself on the backfoot, but not fast enough. Adaar had used the moment to move in, lightning-quick, daggers extended. She crashed into him, toppling them both to the floor.

For a long, terrifying moment, they both lay still. Josephine could not move, could not breathe— 

Then Adaar, with a hard exhale, rolled off Koster's body. The hilts of her two daggers stuck up from his torso. One had left his breastplate askew, no longer protecting his ribs; Adaar must have cut the leather fasteners that held front to back, at his sides, on an earlier pass.

The other, she'd left in his neck. Blood was still pumping from that wound, though sluggishly. Josephine's stomach turned, but she ignored it. She scrambled out from beneath the table, around Koster's body, and to Adaar, who still lay on her back, breathing heavily, mouth twisted in a grimace of pain.

Closer now, without a sword in the way, Josephine saw why. Koster's sword had clipped the pointed tip of Adaar's ear in its doomed arc toward her horn; the wound was still bleeding.

"I don't think he understood symmetry," Adaar said, fumbling to feel at her ear. She smiled at Josephine. "Were you going to duel him?"

Josephine stared at her, uncomprehending, then remembered the sword in her hand; with a noise of disgust, she tossed it away with a clatter. She caught Adaar's hand instead, pulling it away from the wound.

Footsteps approached from behind, and Josephine tensed, but then Cassandra asked, "Are you well?"

"Fine," Adaar said. "Thanks for the rescue."

Cassandra snorted. "What will we do with this one?"

Josephine turned. Cassandra held Vilya by the shoulder. The woman stared at the ground. The other mercenary lay dead on the floor beside the hearth.

"Herah," a reedy voice said—the barkeep, shuffling toward them with the aid of a walking stick. "I mean, Your Worship—"

"Don't start with the holiness stuff, Hammond." Adaar sat up with a grunt, holding fast to Josephine's hand. "Please."

"Well." Hammond cleared his throat. "You're not going to hurt her, are you? She's been awfully stupid, but...she didn't fight."

Adaar looked at Vilya and sighed. "I don't want to. But I do want to know what's going on. What happened, Vilya?"

For a moment, Josephine was sure that Vilya would keep quiet—but then she spoke, low and fast, not looking up from the ground. "Trade's been bad. Crops didn't do well this year. Everybody says the war's coming this way, if we don't starve to death first, and when Koster came along, he said he could help us. Get the Inquisition to protect us."

"You knew he was going to lure me here," Adaar said.

"He made it sound so easy! Made it sound like you'd just pay up and be on your way. He said you wouldn't miss it. And the Inquisition wouldn't leave us vulnerable again, after that." Her voice was thick with tears. Josephine felt a pang of sympathy. Here were their desperate folk, driven to desperate things.

"Who else?" Adaar asked.

"Just Cossus and Herbert. I swear."

"They came in one night with those Carvers," Hammond said, "leading the way. No one in town's spoken to them since. They've been sleeping here." He shot a look at Vilya. "Not by my choice."

Adaar rubbed her unbloodied hand over her forehead. "Well, Vilya," she said, "you—and Cossus and Herbert, assuming they were smart enough to surrender—have two options, the way I see it. You can beg your families' forgiveness, work off your guilt here. Or, if you really want the protection of the Inquisition, you can work for it."

Vilya finally looked up. She swiped at her eyes with a fist. "Can we...can we think about it?"

"Think fast. I'm not staying long." Adaar nodded to Cassandra. "See if Bull and Dorian need help. And keep an eye on her and her friends until someone else can."

"Come," Cassandra said to Vilya, pushing at her shoulder.

"Herah," Vilya said, still tearful. Now that she'd looked up, her eyes were fixed on the blood streaking down Adaar's cheek, down her neck. "I'm—"

Adaar waved her off. "Don't say it til you mean it."

Cassandra prodded Vilya along to the door. When it opened, noise poured in: Bull in the midst of a lecture on company ethics; fire crackling beneath the occasional yelp. The door swung shut again, muffling the sound.

Adaar let out another deep, bone-weary sigh. "Sorry about the mess, Hammond."

The barkeep scoffed. "We'll set Vilya and her friends to scrubbing. The blood'll be out in no time, or we'll have them laying a new floor. I'll get you a rag for that bleeding."

"My bag—"

"They took it downstairs. I'll fetch that, too."

Hammond shuffled off behind the bar. Josephine waited until his footsteps had faded, and then she asked, quietly, "Are you all right?"

"Could have been better," Adaar said. "Could have been worse."

"That does not answer my question."

Adaar met her gaze. "I don't think I can leave this place unguarded. There are other Kosters out there." She shook her head. "And other Vilyas. I'm sorry. I know we're stretched thin."

Josephine brought her other hand to cover Adaar's and squeezed. "We will make do."

Adaar's lips quirked up on one side in a tiny, crooked smile. "You know, when you say that, no matter how impossible the task seems, I believe you. Especially after that display." Her eyes danced. "It's a pleasure to watch you work."

"Oh, that man was insufferable," Josephine said darkly. "I could have carried on for another quarter-hour and still found more ego to chip away at!"

Adaar laughed. The sound, bright and joyful, was infectious; Josephine found herself laughing, too, on the verge of hysteria, all her relief pouring out in a flood.

"That business with the little piece of paper," Adaar choked out, between gasps, "can you believe…"

"You didn't see his face," Josephine said, wiping at her eyes. "He was so sure—"

"You showed him."

"No, my dear, I think you showed him, in the end."

Adaar pulled her hand free from Josephine's grasp, but only to reach out, to sweep Josephine fully against her as their laughter died down to chuckles and hiccups. Josephine wound her arms around Adaar in return, pressing close to her welcome, living warmth, savoring it.

"You shouldn't have grabbed the daggers," Adaar admonished. 

"You shouldn't have gotten caught!"

Adaar let out another chuckle. The sound rumbled pleasantly beneath Josephine's cheek. "Fine. We're even."

Adaar pulled back, just enough to look down at her. She tucked an errant strand of hair behind Josephine's ear.

"Thank you," she said softly.

Josephine's heart leapt. Gone were her old doubts; she recognized the intent in that look, the affection, and leaned a little closer— 

"We can put you all up in some of the rooms, Herah," Hammond said, and they both jumped. He hoisted Adaar's pack up onto the bar counter and brandished a wet rag. "You'd better get that wound seen to."

"Right," Adaar said, and with a rueful smile at Josephine, she gently pulled away and got to her feet. She offered a hand to help Josephine up. "Getting blood everywhere."

"You ought to stay," Hammond continued. "For a few days, at least. People'll be happy to see you. You take your sweet time between visits."

"Yes, I was a little preoccupied with the giant hole in the sky for a while—"

"You been Inquisitor for ten years?" Hammond interrupted.

Adaar stared for a moment, then shook her head. "No, messere," she said, much more meekly.

"I thought not. Now, you get yourself cleaned up, and we'll have a proper homecoming." He made for the front door of the tavern. As the door swung shut, Josephine heard him barking names.

"You hear that old codger?" Adaar asked wonderingly. "I lose a piece of my ear, and he wants to have a party."

Josephine tried very hard not to burst out laughing again. She almost succeeded.