#glaring at nothing upside down while another human being is shouting at him

[boltlightning]

s2 of smash is such a mess BUT derek wills has achieved his full form of sprawling over every set like a misbehaved house cat making snide little comments and viciously mauling any enemy who comes near. nothing more. he is a man who only has emotions in weird puppy-eyed daydream sequences and that's how it should be. the show has finally realized i'm a simple woman and im only here to see jack davenport be hot and evil and inevitably ruin everything

[stariwrites]

Please

Pairing: Sukuna x GN! Reader (The reader is AFAB)

Warnings: Dubious Consent, Oral (Reader! Receiving), Mind break, edging, denied orgasm, monsterfucking, corruption kink, dirty talk, mean dom to soft dom Sukuna, use of little one and little sorcerer as well as pet (only twice though), forced submission just to be safe 

A/N: I had so much fun writing this and this is for @seita “Corrupt a Virgin Collab!” Thank you so much for letting me participate! All characters are 18+  and as always Minors DNI and if you do or if you’re a nameless blog I will block you instantly. 

Word Count: 2.6K

Summary: Megumi, Itadori, Nobara, Gojo, Nanami...I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to keep my promise and protect all of you. 

Debris settled over the city. You coughed, cringing at the blood that spilled from your lips at the hit you had taken. You looked around you, watching as more buildings collapsed, people screamed causing it to echo. You couldn’t find anybody no matter where you looked. Your heart raced inside your chest. 

How much longer would you be able to pull this off? Ever since Sukuna and Itadori had been separated he caused nothing but destruction. 

You watched the curse you were currently fighting rush towards you. It’s green spindles shot out only for you to dodge it in the nick of time. The wall where you had been standing in front of was nothing but a hole. You cringed. That could’ve been you.

Before you had time to recover it focused it’s sights on you again, the eight purple eyes stared directly into yours. You tried to get up again only to be met by an explosion of pain. You glanced down at your hand nursing the wound on your stomach only to see crimson seep through your fingers. Shit. 

It let out a wicked shriek, leaving your ears ringing. It charged at you again. You closed your eyes. 

Megumi, Itadori, Nobara, Gojo, Nanami...I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to keep my promise and protect all of you. 

“Protect me?” Gojo’s voice was incredulous as he tossed his head back and laughed. It had been a busy day filled with killing curses and saving people, but at the end of it all of you were able to spend time together and watch the fireworks. “I’m the strongest there is, if anything it would be me protecting you.” 

Nanami huffed at his response, proceeding to whack him upside the head. He whined, turning to Nanami no doubt to start playfully fighting him which would end in Nanami sighing in disappointment.

You could only shake your head at the two of them while Nobara scoffed, nudging your arm with a grin. “Yeah, and besides we’re all going to get stronger so we don’t need to be protected.”

Megumi nodded with a small smile which caused you to huff.

“It’s not like that!” You clenched your fists beside you, before lowering your voice. “It’s just that all of you are precious to me and I’ll do whatever it takes to not see you hurt.”

They were all speechless at your response until Itadori’s face lit up into a bright smile. “Let's do it!” He cheered, jumping into the air. “We’ll be the best group of sorcerers out there you’ll see! Let’s all protect each other.”

The six of you looked at each other with matching soft expressions, a silent agreement that you’d all make it to the very end when the first explosion fired off. Itadori shrieked at the unexpected boom that echoed in the sky causing your laughter to break the silence between each firework. 

You smiled looking back on the memory. It was fun. The people you met, the friends you gained, you wouldn’t have traded it for the world. As you anticipated the final blow one last thought flashed through your mind. You had no regrets.

An explosion of light flooded from behind your eyelids, you braced for impact but none came. Slowly, you cracked an eye open only to have your breathing hitch. Standing where the cursed spirit used to be was-

“Sukuna,” your own voice surprised you. The demon turned to you with an unamused expression.

“Think you can just die like that?” He sneered approaching you. “You fool.” 

You tried to get up, all your senses screaming to fight but you only managed to straighten your posture before wincing in pain. Broken ribs, you assumed, if not worse. “What do you want?” You managed to croak out. 

Standing above you, his eyes were filled with venom. You swallowed silently wishing the destroyed cursed spirit had taken you out. You refused to break away from his gaze while his hand moved to cup your cheek. You flinched from his touch expecting him to rip your skin away with the swipe of his talons, but instead he clicked his tongue at the action.

“Make no mistake little one, If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.” His voice sent shivers down your spine, but your body relaxed at the words. You wanted to shake your head. How could that even be remotely comforting?

You couldn’t dwell on it for long because the next thing you knew you could breathe properly again. You took a deep breath in, almost choking on it. You removed your hand from your stomach only to gape in shock. 

“You,” you looked up at the demon with wide eyes. “You healed me?”

He rolled his eyes. He couldn’t stand the way humans interacted nor did he want to. He craved the chaos he created and only wanted to see more of it, but one sorcerer managed to get under his skin, you. 

You were an enigma, your cursed energy was strong, that was for certain and as obsessed as he was with Megumi there was something about you that drew him to you. Maybe it was the way he could tell you were a virgin. You had so much experience but none with another person’s touch. He thought many times about you being tied up and at his mercy while he edged you for hours causing you to cry out pleas along with his name. 

Unfortunately there was no time to act on what he wanted with him still being inside the brat, but now, now was the perfect time. 

“Why?” The question left your mouth before you could stop it. He wanted to laugh at your perplexed expression paying close attention to your lips. You didn’t realize it, but you backed yourself into a corner. 

“Oh Little Sorcerer,” he crooned mockingly. A sinister smile stretched across his face reminding you just who you were dealing with. 

Squatting down to your level, he let his eyes rove over your body, paying close attention to where your uniform was torn and wrinkled. Instinctively, you covered yourself to the best of your ability which only made him lick his lips.

“You didn’t think I did that without a price,” his voice dropped an octave, “did you?”

Your heart stuttered in your chest while you gasped. There was no way, but noticing the hunger in those eyes that held a predatory gleam you understood what he meant. You couldn’t-

“Get away from them!” Megumi shouted. His footsteps raced towards where you were. Itadori and Nobara were fast at his heels shouting for you. A ghost of a smile fell onto your face. They were okay. From what you saw the only wounds were some scratches and bruises. They would be okay. The relief quickly faded when a talon turned your chin to make you look at him once more.

His teeth were on full display. “Let’s make a contract, shall we? I won’t hurt your friends as long as you do what I want in my domain.”

You raised an eyebrow skeptically. “And what would that be?”

“I get to ruin you.”

You knew you could stall, could buy time until they could help you, but the more you waited the more people screamed.

“So little one, what will it be?” Sukuna’s voice rang heavy in your ears. You could either go with him or more people would be hurt. You purse your lips, you had two choices: either allow Sukuna to take you and buy your friends some time or wait for them and risk more people dying. 

With a deep breath you faced the demon. “If I go with you, you promise that no person, that includes jujutsu sorcerers and civilians will be harmed?”

“Of course.”

Part of you didn’t trust him, but you mulled over the deal, searching for any loopholes. Megumi, Itadori and Nobara were getting closer. 

“Time’s running out, have you made a decision?”

You looked at your friends one last time as they screamed in horror running faster. With a final breath you focused back on the king of curses. 

“I accept.”

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

“Such a pretty little thing aren’t you?”

Obscene sounds echoed throughout the domain as you grinded against Sukuna’s tongue that resided on his abdomen. Small whimpers and broken moans spilled from your lips. Tears slid down your face while the appendage was lapping at your folds, flicking at your clit every now and again. Each grind down had your toes curling. You tossed your head back.

“Shut, ah, shut up!” You tried to shout, but it held no mirth to it. 

Sukuna smirked at your reaction. Still so fiery even after he edged you, you were a fun one that was for certain. 

He’d envisioned this moment many times before, but nothing beat the real thing. He kept your arms stretched above you with one of his hands while the other he used to cup your cheek. He lived for your expression, the way your eyelashes were grouped together with tears as you were forced to keep taking what he was giving you, completely at his mercy.

“What’s wrong little sorcerer,” he snarled. “Can’t take my tongue?” He couldn’t help but grow addicted to the breathy pants you let out as you clamped down at his words. His eyes widened, peering at you with an expression that almost looked impressed. 

“Who knew you could be such a slutty pet. Nobody’s ever touched you like this before and you’re already so fucked out, I wonder what will happen when you cum, hm?”

“Fu-fuck you,” you managed to get out between moans. You refused to give into him, wishing you had more strength in you to glare. You needed to put up a fight. 

He raised an eyebrow with a laugh. “Brat,” he dug his nails into your hips, there would be indents there for days, but he didn’t care. “You try to put up such a front, wouldn’t it feel better to give in rather than fight me? You’re so wet and you’ve been so good, so pliant for me are you sure you don’t want a reward?

The familiar coil in your stomach was about to break causing you to thrash your head back and forth. The burn was becoming painful, you didn’t know how much longer you’d last if he kept denying you. Sukuna noticed, forcing your hips to grind faster. 

“Oh? Is the little sorcerer close? Tell me, do you want to know what it’s like to cum from somebody other than you, hm?” He hummed keeping the brutal pace, watching as you heaved for breath, your eyes glossy and almost rolling back. A twisted grin morphed onto his face at the sight. 

“Don’t tell me I’ve fucked you dumb already,” he bit his lip to keep from groaning out into the domain. The reflection of the water only made you look more wrecked. “Tell me, is this what you’re going to look like when you're stretched out on my cock?”

The image alone had your toes curling. You couldn’t fight it anymore. You needed release. “M’close. M’so close. M’gonna cum. Gonna ngh gonna cum Sukuna. Sukuna,” you babbled, slurring your words.

You were almost there all you needed was one more extra push. 

Before you had time to process what was happening your hips stilled. A loud sob ripped it’s way from your throat. You couldn’t handle being denied anymore. All you could do was struggle in his hold and curse the king in front of you for torturing you like this. That’s when it registered, he was going to kill you like this. That must’ve been his plan all along.

You were about to speak, to tell him to just kill you already when he leaned closer towards you. His lips ghosted against yours. Without thinking you leaned in, desperate to feel his lips against yours, but before you could he pulled away and gazed at you.

You could see your reflection in his eyes, the way you were drooling for him, you were a mess, your eyes glossy from crying, you didn’t recognize the person staring back at you. You couldn’t remember how many times he edged you, but it was unbearable. 

“Beg me.”

Your breath caught in your throat even though you’d been expecting that. Part of you, the desperate want that curled itself into your skin and set your heart aflame wanted to cave in. Wanted so badly to finally get the release you’ve been craving all this time, but rationally you looked at the demon and whispered, “I, I can’t.”

As soon as the words were out you wanted to take them back, disappointment swam within you. You wanted to know what it was like, but the sorcerer in you couldn’t yield. You reminded yourself that you were doing this for them, but that would’ve been a lie.

 You expected Sukuna to tear you to shreds or leave you like this but instead he shushed you.

Your eyes snapped open, not even remembering when you closed them. He only rubbed your back with one of the hands that was on your hip while the other hand holding your arms set them down.

“Such a brave sorcerer, aren’t you? Even when you’re so desperate you still hold so much strength, but don’t you want to be ruined? Don’t you wish you would just be able to let go and have somebody else take the reins?” His voice was uncharacteristically soft like he was talking to something fragile, something that could break. 

“I-”

You couldn’t deny that it sounded nice, to be out of control for once, to just let yourself be ruined by Sukuna. You craved release so bad it hurt. You shuddered against him at the thought of finally being able to lose yourself in pleasure while the cool air of the domain caught up to you.

Without hesitation, Sukuna embraced you in his arms, bringing you close to his chest. You imagined that if he was human, you’d be able to hear his heart beat pressed against him like this. He caressed any inch of your body his hands could reach as he placed a chaste kiss to your temple. You settled in the warmth.

“Shh, just let me take care of you little one,” he squeezed you close before placing two set of his hands on your shoulders to pull you back. It took everything in him not to smile. He had you, he knew he had you judging by the way your face was going from conflicted to completely lax. 

“I’ll ruin you for anybody else,” the hands on your shoulders dropped down to barely touch your waist, tickling you. He began to kiss down your jaw, moving to your neck. “You could rule by my side and stay with me in this space forever, you wouldn’t have to worry about curses,” he sucked a mark causing you to whimper. “Or saving people,” his other hands moved to play with your nipples. “Or those pesky sorcerers.” 

Your mind was reeling, unable to concentrate on any coherent thought. The difference from being so rough to being soft was messing with your head. You were losing yourself, but still tried so desperately to hang on, to not give in. You had friends you needed to protect, but all of that was fading away. 

Sukuna noticed and as he sucked on your earlobe, he used the hands tickling you to meet your hips, positioning you over his cock. “All you have to say is-”

“Please.”

[redux-iterum]

A Kindling: Chapter One

(AO3 counterpart here.)

Rusty jerked awake and banged his head on the bottom of the armchair he lay under.

His immediate reaction was to hiss and duck down again, silently bemoaning each residual wave of pain between his ears. The armchair, just tall enough to allow him space to crawl underneath, shifted above him. The top of his human’s head appeared upside-down to peer at him curiously, mane dragging on the floor. He blinked at them and they chuffed, eyes crinkled, before the head disappeared again.

Rusty waited for the last achy throb to fade away before he crawled out from underneath the armchair, stopping to stretch between his human’s feet and shake his fur out to the irritating dinging of the bell on his collar. He felt fingers gently scratch at his neck and between his shoulders, to which he responded with an obligatory purr. The fingers lifted away as the human trilled something in a high pitch. Rusty’s pelt brushed against one of their legs as he turned and headed for the next room.

His food was still there, in its bowl. Rusty ignored it completely, even as his stomach gave a hint of a growl. The stuff tasted terrible and never seemed to make him full. Not for the first time, he reminisced about his last home, where he had been given something soft and much more delicious.

His mind started wandering on the topic of new and old sensations, as it always did, and he distantly felt his feet carrying him through the overly-warm kitchen and to the flap in the door he’d learned to use on his first few days in this house. He barely paid attention to where he was going; he was in the throes of his dream, before he had been startled into the waking world.

It was always the same: he would be prowling through a place he had never been, yet felt right at home in. The place changed every time he dreamed. Sometimes the grass was tall enough that he had to rear up to see ahead, sometimes it was unending stone formations that curved oddly smoothly and arched above his path. Usually…

Rusty pushed through the flap into the night, walked across the yard with cut grass that irritated his pawpads, and leaped onto chairs and pots until he was at the top of the fence that separated him from the outside world.

Usually, it was what he saw ahead of him—a thick forest, so dense with trees and ferns and bushes that it was impossible to track any potential trails to follow, and rich with the scents of the wild. Even from this distance, through the dark and the petrichor from the rain, those scents seemed to find him at all times of the day and night.

Rusty breathed deep, enjoying the freshness of the damp earth and the many, many smells he could not identify from the forest. It was close. Very close—

“There you are!”

Rusty blinked in surprise and turned his head to see another kitten in the next yard, who did a much less graceful job of getting up onto his fence, scrabbling and puffing for air every time he had to heft his considerable weight to meet with his friend.

“I didn’t think you’d be out this late, Smudge,” Rusty said once he had finally sat down on the rail and was catching his breath.  

“Well, I was looking for you all day,” Smudge said, letting out one final huff before sitting up straight. “Were you inside the entire time? What were you doing?”

“Ehm…” Rusty cocked his head sideways a little in thought. “Sleeping, I guess. I was having a lot of nice dreams. I suppose I didn’t want to wake up.”

“Very unlike you, bud.” Smudge gave him an amused look. “Even the old homebody down the way asked where you were today. He said you weren’t around to scare his prey off.”

Rusty snorted. “He’s never caught a thing in his life and we all know it.”

“Well, neither have we,” Smudge said. “Just a matter of time with you, though, I suppose.”

Rusty frowned. “You could catch something one day, too—”

Smudge blinked slowly, unimpressed, and motioned with a paw to his own chest and belly. He was quite different from Rusty—black-and-white and much softer and rounder. He looked like how he lived, never moving far from his bed and food bowl if he could help it.

Rusty, ginger and much wirier, persisted. “Still, you never know.”

“S’pose we don’t.” Smudge glanced out at the forest before them. “Though I wouldn’t dare try, myself. Not over there, anyway, since you keep looking that way.”

“There aren’t really any other places to hunt, though,” Rusty said. “Unless we wanted to go—”

“’We’,” Smudge muttered.

“’We’.” Rusty nodded. “Unless we wanted to go further into the neighborhood and try that park.”

“Eh.” Smudge rolled a shoulder like the very idea of walking that far pained his limbs. “There’re probably ferals out there too.”

Rusty did not respond to this. He was looking back into the forest, thinking. He’d heard stories of feral cats living in those woods—wild giants that lined their borders with the fur of trespassers and ate the bones of helpless kittens and house cats. He’d been warned many times by the adults in his neighborhood to stay away from them, and to run as soon as he saw a hint of their eyes or caught the scent of strange plants and cut wood (whatever that smelled like, he wasn’t sure). Apparently there were even more feral colonies far away, but he knew nothing about them. What everyone was concerned about was the group in the forest.

“Mind a nibble on your thoughts?” Smudge said, jerking Rusty back to the present.

“Just—” Rusty looked between his friend and the woods. “Just wondering what’s in there.”

“Probably nothing good.” Smudge wrinkled his nose distastefully. “A bunch of mud and bullies, I’ll bet.”

“Really?” Rusty looked at Smudge sideways, head tilted a little. “I’ll bet there’s a lot of prey and adventures waiting past those trees.”

“Ohhh,” Smudge said with a grand sarcasm. “Lots of good times in there?”

“All of the good times,” Rusty returned. “And if there are cats, I’ll bet they’re not as bad as everyone says.”

Smudge huffed an amused breath. “Tell you what, you bring one back for me to see myself, one that’s real nice and friendly, and I’ll personally take you to the park tomorrow.”

A spark of something lit up Rusty’s mind. “You know, I might take you up on that.”

All of Smudge’s snarky demeanor vanished in an instant. “Rusty, I was joking.”

“Well, I’m not.” Rusty bunched up and looked over the fence, eyeing the best place to land.

“Don’t—” Smudge puffed up out of the corner of his eye and his volume rose. “Rusty, don’t.”

“No, no, we have a bet.” Rusty jumped and landed with, he proudly noted, barely a stumble. “I’ve got to go find you a feral.”

“They’ll eat you alive!” Smudge protested, looking genuinely anxious. “Come back here! I wasn’t even serious!”

“See you in a while, Smudge!” Rusty called over his shoulder, and started off at a trot through the soft, uncut grass.

“Rusty!” Smudge shouted, but Rusty didn’t look back. He simply padded along, ignoring his friend’s yells, only pausing for an instant as he hit the treeline before pushing his way past a fern. The forest swallowed him and Smudge’s voice faded away.

Rusty stopped a few steps in, eyes wide. The trees, he knew, were always taller than the houses, but up close they seemed to scratch the sky—he wasn’t sure he was even able to see their peaks from here. Some smaller forms of them, much more delicate and thin, fought their way out of the brush that covered almost every bit of ground. The ferns, soft and broad and fringed, took up what the brush didn’t, and patches of incredibly soft grass soaked up what little moonlight they could catch. Everything was vibrant, fresh, alive.

More than that, though, were the scents, so numerous and strong that they threatened to knock Rusty off his feet. Even the trees clouded his nose, and he understood instantly what smells the adults were talking about. The ferns and grass were almost delicious, and the packed soil under his paws smelled not only of rain, but of something that made Rusty’s stomach growl. Something like what he had eaten in his old home.

He wanted to find it.

Without quite understanding what he was doing, Rusty lowered his body into a half-crouch and he tried to pinpoint the scent past all the others. Experimentally, he opened his mouth, and the air brought him a taste that seemed to be coming from his right. He sniffed, turning slowly, ears swiveling.

Something rustled in the ferns, and something else lit up in his head.

Very slowly, very carefully, Rusty moved forward, trying to track the scent as he went. His shoulders brushed against the fronds, but luckily, they made no sound (“Luckily?” What was he trying to sneak up on?). He cursed in his head when his feet shifted the soil and the rustling stopped. He paused, and the rustling eventually continued, as did he.

He closed in on this unknown target, until he ducked below a fern that was blocking his view. In a little clear patch of ground, he could see something tiny and brown scuttling back and forth, digging at the earth or chewing on grass. It had a long, naked tail and wide ears, and Rusty had a vague idea of what it was supposed to be, based on a toy he had at home that looked about the same, save being much more brightly colored.

Again, not having a clue why, Rusty crouched further, eyes focused on the animal. He kept as still as possible, waiting for an opportunity to… do something. The animal was entirely unaware of him. He lifted one paw and took a step, pulling himself closer.

The bush ahead of him violently shook and the animal darted into the undergrowth.

Rusty straightened up, greatly annoyed. He glared at the bush, now catching a scent of something else. Something that was also familiar, but still as new as the rest of this forest. And, going by the continued shaking, something quite large.

Rusty had a faint idea that he should probably run.

[theclockworkmonk]

Out of the Mouths of Babes — Ch 6

AO3 | FFN

Previous chapter on Tumblr

Written for Hinny Ficfest 2021

Prompt: “Uncle Ron said something about Harry knocking Ginny up, but I don’t know what he means,” Teddy said.

Special thanks to @deadwoodpecker for beta reading this chapter

********

It was Molly’s turn to catch Arthur as he swayed on his feet and nearly fainted into her lap.

Hermione’s trembling hands were clapped firmly over her mouth, her eyes bulging to the size of saucers and darting around the room, unsure of who to start questioning, lecturing, or comforting first.

Ron was standing comfortably looking very pleased with himself, taking his turn to give Hermione his best “I told you so” look.

Fleur was silently beaming.

George’s face was turning red and his lips were pressed together so tightly they were turning white, he was trying so hard to keep his flippant comments to himself.

Percy had an intense, focused look on his face like he was trying to solve a maths problem or get a joke.

Bill and Charlie were glaring at Harry with a renewed quiet venom that was more intimidating than the unrestrained threats of a few minutes earlier.

But Harry wasn’t even close to caring, because his brain was too busy with listing to him all of the reasons why he was a terrible person and how he had ruined Ginny’s life and how he had no business being responsible for a tiny helpless human. With the deathly silence of the kitchen, he could perfectly hear his pulse pounding in his ears.

Ginny was still just staring at the blue potion with a completely blank expression. Finally, she was the one who broke the silence.

“...Huh.”

That sound was like a dam breaking, and the entire family erupted into a new flood of noise, all shouting over each other.

“Okay, okay, nobody panic!” Hermione shrieked, flapping her hands and clearly panicking, “We can handle this, I’ll help Ginny make a plan! I’ll start a baby binder!”

Molly darted across the kitchen and tackled her still-stunned daughter into a crushing hug.

“Remember Ginny dear, this is a good thing and we’re all happy for you, even though I’m so sorry I failed you as a mother,” she cried.

“By that she means you both are always accepted by this family and we’ll help any way we can,” said Arthur seriously.

“Yes, feel free to floo over if you ever start feeling sick, dear,” wept Molly, clasping onto Ginny’s hands for dear life, “and I know you starve yourself for your team, but you need to eat whatever you have a craving for as soon as you crave it, even if those trainers don’t like it. I’ll be happy to cook it for you. In fact, I’ll just start coming over every day to make sure you have everything.”

Behind her, Fleur was silently fist-pumping in victory at the new target for Molly Weasley’s doting.

“Not that anybody cares,” said Ron pointedly, staring up at the ceiling with his arms crossed, ��But I’m still waiting for my apology.”

That was enough to shake Ginny out of her trance and she actually chuckled. “Ronald, it’s going to take a lot more than the immediate vindication of the wanker things you say for that to happen.”

Bill and Charlie’s faces had turned a shade of purple that reminded Harry entirely too much of Uncle Vernon.

“The rising star junior Auror can’t handle rudimentary contraception magic?” Charlie growled through clenched teeth.

Harry gulped loudly enough to be heard over the cacophony. “No! This potion batch is just a dud, we’re always safe!”

Ginny gasped and grabbed Harry by the sleeve. She pulled him close and whispered, as if there were a chance everyone wouldn’t hear. “Wait, Harry, you did remember to do the Charm...erm….that time, right?” She glanced sideways at Ron and Hermione. “That time...you know...at that thing? That thing three weeks ago?”

Harry’s insides felt like they had been frozen. Apparently the look on his face betrayed him, because Ginny looked to be going through the same revelation as him.

“I….I thought you had,” he mumbled weakly.

Ginny winced and closed her eyes. “Noooooooo,” she moaned, “Harry, we established this, the one who initiates it needs to do the Charm!”

“Exactly!” said Harry, “You were the one who grabbed me and dragged me to the bathroom!”

“Only because you hadn’t taken your hand off my thigh the entire bloody dinner!” said Ginny frantically, “What was I supposed to do, just keep eating cake?”

“Wait!” said Ron loudly, and Harry and Ginny froze like trapped rabbits.

Ron glared back and forth between the two of them, the gears in his head working. “Dinner? Cake? Three weeks?”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Hermione seethed dangerously. “Seriously? At our engagement party!?”

Harry shrank away from her like a child caught in the sweets jar. “Er….would you believe that we got caught up in the romance of the moment? You know, because you two are so in love, it’s inspiring?”

“Exactly!” said Ginny, “Really, you should take this as a compliment.”

Ron had his hands over his ears and his eyes clenched shut. “Welp. I can never use that bathroom again. We have to move flats. Better yet, let’s just burn down the building.”

“So what is the Harpies’ maternity plan?” Percy asked studiously, as if this were simply a bureaucratic issue, “how soon do you plan on going on leave? Assuming, of course, you...you know….intend to go through with it”

Tense silence fell, as the misunderstanding that caused all this chaos was suddenly relevant again. Every face was looking toward Harry and Ginny with baited breath.

Ginny swallowed and cleared her throat.

“That,” she said forcefully, crossing her arms, “is none of your business. None of this is any of your business. So if you’ll excuse us, the only people whose opinions matter right now will discuss this alone.”

Without waiting for a retort, Ginny grabbed Harry by the hand and led him up the stairs. After they entered Ginny’s old bedroom and Harry closed the door behind him, she paced back and forth several times before turning to face him.

“Did you put a ward on the door?” she asked.

“And several more on our way up the stairs,” answered Harry. “We should have a while before an Extendable Ear sneaks in here.”

“Good. Very good. Cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcool.”

An uncomfortable silence fell over them, both hesitant to look the other in the eye. Harry wanted to hug her and start reassuring her, but he also didn’t want this conversation to start, because he wasn’t sure if he was strong enough to hear what he suspected Ginny would say.

Even though he was completely panicking and sure he would find a way to spectacularly mess up raising a child, there was no doubt in his mind about at least trying his best at it. But he knew how dedicated Ginny was to her career, and how difficult this could be for her. He was sure what she was going to say, but he wasn’t sure he could withstand hearing it.

Ginny was chewing her lip, but finally broke the silence. “Look, Harry….this is a lot to take in. Neither of us planned on this happening so soon, obviously. I understand if you want to focus on your job—”

“What?” Harry couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re a professional athlete who has another human growing inside you, and it’s my job we need to worry about?”

Ginny shrugged. “Well, I could keep playing for the next few months. The team healers put a ward around your abdomen for bludgers. I would have to take a break eventually, but I’m on contract now, so I’m secured in my roster spot while on maternity leave, and they always give players a chance to earn their starting spot back.”

“Oh,” said Harry, surprised. “Well that’s….that’s good. I thought it would be more cutthroat.”

“Well, the Harpies’ whole brand is having the very best female players in Britain,” said Ginny proudly, “and having a reputation for the best maternity plan in the league makes them pretty attractive to all their prospects. It’s hard to build a core team if you permanently lose a player every time someone gets pregnant.

“So…” she said assertively, looking him in the eye. “I feel like...we can do this. I want to keep this baby. But ultimately I feel like it’s both of our decisions. I’ll understand no matter how you feel. So….what are you thinking?”

Harry felt like he was in a tug of war, between exploding from happiness or imploding from terrifying nerves. Dementors, dragons, Death Eaters, nothing was as scary as this, but he also didn’t have to think about his answer, even for a second.

His hand drifted into his pocket and he toyed with what was inside. This wasn’t how he imagined doing this, but she asked him what he was thinking, and this night had already flipped all their plans upside-down, what was a bit more?

Harry focused on Ginny’s brown eyes, still earnestly waiting for his answer, and he found the courage he always found there.

“Here’s what I’m thinking,” he said bracingly.

He dropped down to one knee.

Ginny made a high-pitched squeak and her eyes widened in shock. Harry smiled at himself, pleased that he could still catch her completely off-guard.

“I wasn’t planning on doing this soon. I was afraid you would think I was being pushy. Was going to wait a few years. Or maybe a few months. Okay, I was probably close to cracking already. And in the meantime, it still felt good to have this on me, as a good luck charm I suppose.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black box he had bought weeks earlier.

“Harry….” Ginny whispered, her eyes welling with tears.

“Ginny,” Harry answered. He opened the box to reveal the ring. “Will you mar—guh!”

He was cut off by a crazed redhead tackling him to the ground, grabbing his face and kissing him hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Harry’s head was spinning, but he reluctantly pushed her back.

“Gin — Gin!” he grunted between kisses. Finally, Ginny pulled back, frowning at him.

“There’s kind of a part you forgot?” Harry said pointedly, raising his eyebrows.

Ginny looked lost for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah. Yes. Obviously yes, you idiot.”

She kissed him again, and he lost track of time. Eventually, his back started to get sore on the wood floor, and he pushed himself up and pulled them both to their feet.

“We can finish our own celebration later,” said Harry, smiling so wide his face was sore, “but we should probably put your family’s worries to rest. And I can’t wait to show the world your hand with this on it.” He slid the ring onto her finger, and Ginny bounced on her feet like she was eleven years old again, practicing signing the name “Ginny Potter” in a diary.

Then, her smile slipped and she groaned loudly. “Ugh, this will make my mum even more of a nightmare now. I thought she was bad in the lead-up to Bill’s wedding, she’ll be even worse since she has to be the mother to both of us.”

“Well, Bill’s wedding was nice, wasn’t it?” said Harry diplomatically.

“I mean, I guess,” Ginny shrugged, “but not nearly nice enough to be worth all the hassle. The months of my mother stressing over everything and making sure I know my part. And I was just a bridesmaid! Being the center of attention of a hundred people while wearing a cumbersome dress might be Fleur’s dream, but it sounds like the worst day of my life.”

She wrapped her arms around Harry’s waist and pulled him close. “I just care if I’m the center of your attention.”

Harry smiled even wider. “Well don’t worry, you could be wearing a burlap sack and I still won’t be able to take my eyes off you.”

“So you don’t mind backing me up when Mum breaks out the bridal magazines?” Ginny asked pleadingly. “I was never one of those girls that fantasize about an extravagant wedding; in fact, the smaller the better. We’ve never really talked about it, but I know you, so I assume you would be okay with that?”

Harry laughed loudly. “Are you kidding? Yes, absolutely. You know I’m not exactly a social butterfly. As far as I’m concerned, we could jusy floo over to the Ministry and take care of it right now.”

They both erupted into a fresh round of laughter, holding each other and clutching their sides at how funny and ridiculous the idea was.

Then, their eyes met, and their laughter faltered, growing more and more quiet until tense silence descended on the room. Their smiles dropped, and their suddenly serious eyes held a wordless conversation.

Finally, both their mouths crept back up into wide smiles, this time being full of mischief.

[taichoh]

old friend

pairing: hitsukarin word count: 5298 (oopsies) warnings: none note: this is my self-indulgent fix-it fic because i can. technically post-canon, there's a hint of ichiruki but this is about my babies, who aren't babies anymore. :') ao3 link

Upon entering her adult years, Karin was coming to terms with her growing list of responsibilities, wishing she was just a kid again when the list was much smaller. Everyone can relate to missing things from their childhood, kicking a soccer ball around on a summer day, only having to stress about a simple book assignment instead of the plethora of things you’d worry about now, coming home to a full house even if it was chaos sometimes.. Most of the time. The house wasn’t quiet now, but it wasn’t as chaotic either. Karin missed it.

Ever since Ichigo decided to live the rest of his life in the Soul Society, things calmed down a bit. She was happy for him, he’d gotten a semblance of his life back after the Winter War, but it only took a couple years for him to crave a different life. She saw how morose her brother had gotten going day by day without a certain short black haired, newly appointed captain, and it only took him this long to realize some things everyone else could plainly see.

The Human World was boring anyway. She wouldn’t tell anyone yet, but she planned to follow in her brother’s footsteps. Karin wanted to wait much longer of course, for a multitude of reasons, one being she was stubborn and wanted to do what she set out to, fully prepared to hurdle any obstacles, and there were plenty.

But now she’s here, having finished school and now fully runs the family clinic with her sister. For a while their dad was with them, but after a very heartfelt conversation and a boatload of tissues, they all agreed that his time in this world was up as well. It was funny, how instead of his daughters, he was leaving the nest and going back home where he was welcomed, especially after the war. They missed him but Karin and Yuzu didn’t miss how much easier it was for their dad to smile whenever he visited. Still, with their brother and dad in a different world, reaching out wasn’t as easy as a phone call away, though Karin figured it wouldn’t be long before Urahara remedied that with yet another invention.

She still hangs out with old and new friends, but feigning disregard to Yuzu’s nagging about finding someone to settle down with was getting old. And so was she. Well not really, but she felt old. She was only in her 20s but she considered herself old when she found a gray hair in her hairbrush. It was most likely stress but regardless, the next thing would be wrinkles or joint pains and the stress from that is just gonna cause more grays to show up so really there’s no upside. She missed the days before puberty, and how much she didn’t care about her appearance. She doesn’t much these days either, but even Karin, with her confidence, had a list of insecurities that piled up over the years. It was part of being human she supposed. She missed when all she worried about was beating the stupid juniors at soccer, getting a scrape on her knee, grass stains, etc.. But she was skirting around the elephant in her room. She couldn’t ignore it any longer. She missed him. A lot. A huff escaped her as she stood at the sink in the bathroom connected to the clinic. She was watching the last of the suds from the soap disappear down the drain when she thought of him for what felt like the first time in ages. But it hadn’t been ages, she thought of him just a couple of days ago, when Yuzu mentioned yet again that she noticed how lonely Karin seemed. It was a bit harsh but Yuzu was right, and Karin knew she was just worried for her sister. “Have you talked to Hitsugaya recently?” The question caught her off guard and made her stop halfway from spooning more soup into her mouth. The answer was no. They hadn’t talked in quite a long time. She half expected to see him amidst the aftermath of the war, but she assumed he had a lot on his plate, so the idea was dismissed. “We barely talk to Ichigo or dad Yuzu, they’re all busy over there.” She knew it was bullshit the second it left her mouth. Acting nonchalant was getting harder and harder around Yuzu, because even though Karin is skilled at it, her sister was one of a handful of people that could break down those walls with a single push. The others are her brother and a boy with snow white hair and eyes you want to swim in, as much as she hates to admit it.

“But I remember you guys being pretty close, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you reaching out... I know you miss him.” It was so embarrassing being read so easily, and it was making her lose her appetite. “Yuzu he’s a captain, he’s got plenty on his plate as it is.” I’m sure I’m the last thing on his mind. “So is Rukia and she along with the rest of the gang visits us ! And from what we’ve heard from Ichigo and Dad, things have been going pretty smoothly.” Yuzu had a point. The last time they saw their family including Rukia was maybe a month ago. Karin was just getting in her head. She knew Toshiro probably wasn’t that busy but she also knew that he wasn’t the type to sit and do nothing. He was a busybody. When he wasn’t eating, sleeping, or visiting her, he was working. And when the time between his last visit continued to stretch, she figured he must have been as busy as can be. Or, maybe he forgot about me. “Toshiro would never forget you!” Yuzu shouted across from the table, making Karin jump and her cheeks flush. Did she say that last part out loud? “I can’t believe you would even entertain the idea! No one could forget you !” Even in an accusatory insulting tone, Karin knew Yuzu was being pragmatic. She always was. Karin groaned and hung her head over her dinner, not wanting to look at Yuzu’s disappointed glare. “I know,” she said dejectedly. “It’s just... A lot has changed. There was a war, we’ve graduated, Ichigo and Dad moved out. It’s been a while.” Karin couldn’t even remember the last time she saw him. It’s been years. Karin was a full fledged adult in her 20s. She wondered if he’d grown an inch or two by now. She missed whenever he’d roll his eyes at her height jokes. “Well I think it’s been long enough.” It seemed Yuzu was going to take matters into her own hands. Getting up from her seat, Yuzu started gathering their empty plates and explained her plan,“Ichigo, Rukia, and Dad are coming to dinner soon, so when they go back you are going with them.” This made Karin open her mouth to object but was immediately cut off, “And don’t use that excuse about leaving me alone. I can take care of myself, and I can call Jinta if I need to.” Karin sunk into her seat as she watched her sister clean up their dinner. Yuzu’s mind was made up, and Karin knew better than to argue with her. Every Kurosaki had the potential to be increasingly scary when they wanted to and that included Yuzu. Karin shivered at being at the mercy of her sister’s wrath hidden under that bubbly exterior.

So, it was happening. She was going to the Soul Society. To see Toshiro. After years of no contact. That’s fine. The more she thought about it the more her thoughts turned intrusive, and it was taking everything in her to not punch her reflection. That would end up with bloody knuckles and a broken mirror, so all Karin could do was take another breath, and leave the bathroom. Yuzu’s plan was panning out, as days from their conversation, their little family reconvened over dinner and it was time for them to go back home. Karin excused herself to go to the bathroom and grab her bag of necessities that Yuzu forced her to pack because apparently her trip was extended to a couple of days and not hours as Karin presumed. When it was announced, Yuzu simply explained she had some extra work to do so she would join next time, which everyone accepted much too easily. “You ready?” Ichigo asked as Karin rejoined them all on the main floor. Karin nodded and gave Yuzu a small smile which she mirrored and nodded as if to say ‘good luck’. The four of them filed onto the empty street and before she knew it they were walking through the Senkaimon. Isshin and Ichigo walked a couple steps behind Karin and Rukia as they walked the dark path that was the Dangai. Karin had only done this a handful of times, to visit her family but it still gave her chills everytime she made the trip. “So, you got anything planned?” Rukia’s voice broke her out of her reverie. She glanced over to see Rukia smirking, looking a little too proud for Karin’s liking. What she could be insinuating?

“Uh, not really.” Karin tried her best to seem nonchalant, but Rukia was getting better at reading Kurosaki’s much to Karin’s chagrin. Her only plan was to see Toshiro, but she’d probably visit some others. A simple little reunion. Part of her wanted to confide in Rukia, but she had a feeling Rukia would absolutely make sure this reunion happened. She gulped willing her anxieties to shut the hell up. “Ooh, I see, so Captain Hitsugaya has no idea you’re coming.” “How did you-” “Oh please, I’m not as dense as your brother,” Karin suddenly appreciated the distance between them and the two idiots behind them, who looked to be having their own conversation after she took a glance over her shoulder. “Plus Yuzu might have filled me in.” Her smug grin made Karin’s blush deepen but there was no hiding it.

“You can’t say anything!” Karin kept her voice low but still full of urgency, which Rukia took in earnest. “Of course Karin! I would never! Unless you wanted me to, and I won’t say anything if you feel the need to deck the Captain in the face, though I have a feeling you won’t want to-” “Why would I want to punch Toshiro?” Has he done something? What did he do? Does he have a girlfriend? What happened? Her mind was racing at Rukia’s admission and the urge to turn around and go back home popped into her head.

Rukia only sighed at Karin’s confusion, “Well according to Yuzu, it’s been a long time for you two. And he never reached out. When me and Ichigo parted ways when he lost his powers, I couldn’t reach out to him as much as I wanted to. And I wanted to. So badly,” Rukia’s voice turned solemn and Karin relaxed, suddenly thinking about how much she envied their relationship. They were so good together, and they’ve been through so much, yet they managed to traverse all those obstacles and found each other again.

Karin vaguely wondered if she’d ever have that kind of connection with someone. Suddenly Toshiro’s name was written all over her mind, but she was getting ahead of herself. Just because she’s had a crush on him for years and years doesn’t mean he feels the same. He could already be with someone for all she knew. Rukia was right, Karin might want to punch Toshiro after all.

“Anyway, he’s had all this time and he hasn’t visited! I’ll have you know things have been just fine in the Seireitei, so really there’s no excuse.” Rukia sounded like Yuzu, and they both had a point, but- “That could go both ways though.” Karin admitted, frowning and going to scratch the back of her neck. “Well I suppose, but I still think the Captain should’ve done something. He always visited you didn’t he?” “Yeah, but I’ve been to the Soul Society before, and I chose not to go see him or anything.” “Why not? That doesn’t seem like you.” Rukia was so right. It was not like Karin at all. If she was her younger self she’d kick down his door and demand him to abandon all paperwork for a game of soccer. But that was younger Karin, who barely considered her crush on the Captain of the Tenth. This was older Karin, now an adult who had to deal with her feelings. Ugh. “I know. I guess I didn’t want to bother him. He is a Captain and all. And now that I’m older I kind of understand that it’s a lot of responsibility.” Once again, she was spouting absolute bullshit and Rukia was prone to picking up on it after dealing with this family for so long. “I’m disappointed in you Karin,” She said with a hint of mockery, not meaning it wholeheartedly, but still being genuine, “It might not be my place to say, but I know I’m not the only one that noticed how much happier Captain Hitsugaya was in your company. Don’t forget I’m a Captain myself, does that mean you think my relationship with your brother hinders me in being one?” “Of course not! I never meant to-” Karin exclaimed, immediately sorry for her backwards thinking, but instead Rukia chuckled. “I know, I’m just saying. You’re right in that we have a lot of responsibilities as Captains, but you know Hitsugaya, he’ll take on more than he needs to, and you were always good at reminding him there was more to life than paperwork.” A couple moments passed as Rukia’s words sunk in. Karin considered herself an adult but she still had so much to learn. She was so grateful she had someone like Rukia to show a different perspective. Karin had to admit, she had definitely mastered the art of handling a Kurosaki. They’re family was so crazy and complicated and Rukia had no problem at all. In the back of her mind Karin reminded herself to kick her brother’s teeth in if he didn’t propose soon. There was a difference though. Ichigo and Rukia lived in the same world. Karin and Toshiro did not have that luxury. But that thought was for another time. Just focus on one thing at a time. Soon Karin was squinting when a bright light washed over the group as they entered the Soul Society. The sky above them was blue with only a couple of clouds hanging, a gentle breeze wrapped itself around Karin, and she felt oddly relaxed. She regrets not visiting more often, this could easily become her second home.

“Well it’s about time!” Karin noticed the voice immediately and watched the beautiful woman with strawberry blonde hair walk up to them. “Lieutenant Matsumoto! What brings you here? We weren’t expecting a welcome party.” Rukia chimed in for Karin, who smiled at Rangiku. Just like it had been a while since she’d seen Toshiro, it had been a while for everyone else too. Rangiku and Karin managed to strike up a friendship when Karin was confronted by Toshiro’s second during one of their visits to the human world. Karin got that ‘don’t hurt him, or I

I’ll hurt you’ talk, which Karin quickly concurred and vowed to be a good friend to him. It shocked Karin to see her jaunty personality freeze over to solemnity, and immediately melt again after the serious words were said. She knew Rangiku wasn’t an idiot, she wasn’t a Lieutenant for nothing. Above all she was glad Toshiro had her. “I heard Karin was coming to visit so I wanted to come say hi!” And when she meant ‘hi’, that meant suffocating Karin in her bosom, and not for the first time. Though after learning first hand about Rangiku’s affectionate nature, she could understand how someone like Toshiro found it a tad aggravating. Karin smiled up at her as she pulled back from the hug, “It’s nice to see you again Rangiku.” “Likewise,” Rangiku smiled gently and stepped back, “So what does Karin Kurosaki have planned for this visit?” She seemed much too hopeful for some reason, and Karin had a feeling she knew what it entailed. Again, Rangiku wasn’t an idiot. But lying wasn’t Karin’s forte so she might as well be honest. “I was gonna visit Toshiro, if he isn’t busy.” She gulped. Rangiku’s eyes lit up like it was Christmas morning, squealing and giving Karin another hug that once again suffocated her. Seems like that was exactly what she wanted to hear. “Oh wonderful! He’s not busy at all, and he’ll be overjoyed to see you! You really grew up didn’t you?” Rangiku’s narrowed gaze and lilted voice made Karin blush. Her tone was definitely suggestive but she wasn’t wrong. Karin had a small growth spurt amidst puberty, her hair got longer, still in a ponytail. “Who knew you’d grow up into such a beautiful woman?” She didn’t know how but her cheeks flushed even more. “Wait until the Captain sees you-” “Rangiku!” Karin exclaimed, throwing her hands up to cover her face, suddenly feeling self conscious. Not only at Rangiku’s boldness but the fact that Rangiku, who was one of the most beautiful women she’d met, just complimented her like that. Rangiku only laughed, brushing a lock of hair behind her shoulder. “Come on let’s go!” Suddenly Karin was being dragged away to the 10th barracks no doubt, left to look over her shoulder to watch Rukia smirk and give a wave before turning to leave the gate as well. Rangiku let Karin catch her breath, and they walked in silence, until Karin had a thought, “I can’t help but wonder if Toshiro’s grown at all, like an inch maybe? He told me you guys aged differently here.” “Oh yes, we do! I haven’t done much aging in a looong time. Kind of a perk dontcha think? I’ve looked like this for ages,” Rangiku smiled brightly while flaunting and she had every right to, she knew she was beautiful. Karin would be lying to herself if she said she wasn’t envious. As a human you have so little time compared to the time you have as a shinigami. Though the profession is dangerous, so there’s that to consider. Karin remembers when Toshiro explained the way of reincarnation and the way things worked for souls. A weight she didn’t realize she had was lifted from her shoulders that day. “And Toshiro?” Rangiku’s smile turned mischievous again but Karin was too busy looking ahead at the continuing street. “The Captain’s grown a tad, nothing too drastic.” “Oh.” Karin chuckled, that meant she’s probably still taller than him. “So I can still make height jokes.” She smiled smugly, looking forward to his disgruntled face, it was so cute when he got embarrassed. “Oh I’m sure,” was the last thing Rangiku said before they rounded the corner and they arrived at their destination. Karin’s stomach started doing somersaults, and while it had to do with the fact that she was incredibly nervous, she was also very excited. But the reality of their time apart is hitting her once again and she didn’t know how to feel about it. “Don’t be nervous.” Rangiku’s voice was suddenly softer, warmer, almost motherly. And once again, Karin was being read like a book by another shinigami. Damn, she needed to work on her poker face. All Karin could do was give her a small smile before she realized they were right outside of his office. All that stood between them was  a sliding door, and suddenly her hands were clammy.

One last gulp, “Okay,” was all Karin could say.

And Rangiku being Rangiku, gave Karin no time to think before she promptly shouted, “Oh Captaaain!” and slid the door open with gusto causing Karin to jump and for the captain seated at the desk to snap his head up in alarm. But it was not Toshiro. No, Toshiro was cute and albeit attractive according to Karin, and this man was not cute. He was downright gorgeous. He was devastatingly handsome. Nope, not Toshiro. This was an imposter.

But, amidst her gaping, Karin noticed his hair was white, like Toshiro’s, and his eyes were that cerulean color that made her weak in the knees, like Toshiro’s. He was sitting in Toshiro’s seat, wearing a white haori like Toshiro did, and they were definitely in the Squad 10 offices. So, it has be- “Toshiro?” Karin croaked. Her eyes blown wide, her feet still planted at the doorway, while Rangiku buzzed next to her watching the whole exchange.

“Karin?” Oh god, even his voice was an octave lower. His eyes mirrored hers in that they were wide with shock. He couldn’t believe she was here, in the Seireitei, in his office. He also couldn’t believe that was Karin. But the more he looked at her the more he saw the familiar features he made sure to memorize, along with some noticeable new ones.. She was beautiful, and he thought he had the term defined already with a picture of her. It was still her, but he needed to update his memory it seemed. Her hair was still jet black and in a ponytail, only it was longer and a lock laid over her shoulder, her eyes were still as captivating as always, a grey abyss he’d gladly succumb to if asked. And her body, she was definitely an adult. She definitely grew up, but, so did he. What must she think of his new look? He was too starstruck to notice her eyes darken and her brows drop down in anger. “I can’t believe you!” Her fury replaced her nerves and she was suddenly marching across the threshold, fists tight at her sides, “You are such,” She grabbed the nearest object to her which was a pillow from the couch in the middle of the room and lobbed it at his head which Toshiro barely dodged, “an asshole!” Another pillow, only this time he caught it with both hands, using it as a shield for the third pillow. Toshiro wasn’t unfamiliar with Karin’s wrath, however, that didn’t mean he was happy with being at the end of it. Speaking of, her aim has dramatically improved. Anyway- “Karin-” “It’s been years Toshiro-” “I’m sorry-” “You could’ve visited-” “I know I-” “And you went and grew up! Looking like a fucking model all of a sudden and not even telling me!” A model? “Let me explain-” “No you are going to listen to me!” Karin was panting, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she stood in the middle of the room staring him down. Toshiro fought against his instinct to shout back and promptly shut his mouth, his brows creased in regret. She was shaking with rage and she was on the precipice of breaking something, preferably his face, but- shit Rukia was right. Again. “You don’t get to sit there on your ass when you never bothered to visit after years Toshiro. Years! When Ichigo got back from the war I had to hear that you were okay from him because of course I worried. I thought we were friends, I thought we-” “We are friends!” Toshiro couldn’t take that disappointed look anymore, but she was wrong. They were friends. Friends. “I thought we were closer than that.” Karin finished her thought, her energy depleting, shoulders starting to sag. He didn’t know which was worse. Karin angry, or sad. He just didn’t like it when she was upset. And he was the cause of it. Seeing her hang her head made his heart ache, and not in the way it usually did when he looked at her.

Toshiro had all the words he wanted to say on the tip of his tongue, but he was speechless. Part of him knew this day was bound to come around, he just wished he could’ve been prepared. But then again, expect the unexpected, especially with Karin. He couldn’t hate himself more than he did at this moment.

“I’m so sorry Karin,” His voice lifted her head and they locked eyes, his full of regret and hers, disappointment. “I-” This was harder than he thought, his chest hurt, his hands were stiff, and all he wanted was to see Karin happy, but he didn’t know how to make it happen, but she deserved an explanation. “I should’ve visited you. I wanted to. So badly. Even after things settled, I was so caught up in everything, I didn’t realize how long it’d been. I lost track of time. I’m sorry Karin. I was- I am an idiot. The last thing I wanted was to make you feel neglected and I went and did it anyway.”

Taking a hasty breath, he pushed himself to stand, rounding his desk and standing in front of her , only the usual roles were reversed and he was now looking down on her. No, it didn’t feel right. He towered over her and yet he felt as small as can be. Karin was still silent, ignoring his height for the moment, though she wasn’t entirely surprised given his changes. Changes she wished she could’ve witnessed sooner. Her eyes were glassy, tears on the brink of falling down her cheeks, but she willed them to stay. Until she watched Toshiro drop to his knees and bow before her, resting his head at her feet. She almost didn’t hear the tiny gasp that came from behind her, she’d completely forgot Rangiku was here, witnessing this all. “I don’t deserve your forgiveness Karin, but still, I’m so so sorry.” Karin was.. astonished to say the least. She expected an apology, but she didn’t expect this. Toshiro did many things, overwork himself, scowl, eat unhealthy amounts of amanatto, but he never did anything half-assed. Here was Toshiro Hitsugaya, a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads, bowing with his head at the feet of a simple human. Maybe not simple, but human nonetheless. Any bystander would argue that this was completely preposterous, but they wouldn’t know that Toshiro viewed Karin in the highest regard. He knew how much he royally fucked up, and he’ll spend the rest of his life trying to make up for it. “Look at me.” The closeness of her words startled Toshiro and he slowly lifted his head to see her knelt in front of him. Now it was his turn to be astonished. It wasn’t unlike Karin to be gentle when she wanted but Toshiro couldn’t understand why she would want to, he neglected their friendship for years and now she was smiling at him. Expect the unexpected. Toshiro held his breath. Karin huffed and her smile widened, “Don’t be so dramatic,” she didn’t stop herself from using her finger to brush his hair from his face. The gentlest touch, from hands that could do plenty of damage. She should’ve socked him, he knew he deserved it, he would’ve taken it. But instead, she was caressing his face. Not that he was complaining, it was just oddly uncharacteristic of her. She really had changed after all this time. They both did. Toshiro kicked himself for not witnessing it. “I forgive you, but don’t do it again.” She smacked his head, not enough to actually hurt, but enough to get the point across. He spoke too soon. This was definitely Karin though. Rubbing his head, he slowly sat up and back on his haunches, even while hunching, he was still looking down at her. It was so odd to him. But he’d have to get used to it it seems. At least there wouldn’t be any more height jokes. “Thank you, I don’t deserve it.” He said, watching Karin get to her feet and offer her hand to help him up. “Yes you do. You said sorry. That’s all I wanted. We’re adults now.” “You threw pillows at me.” “You deserved that. ” “...Yeah.” Toshiro sighed. A moment of silence passed until Karin spoke again. “I mean it, don’t do this again. I won’t be so forgiving.” “It won’t happen again. I promise.” Toshiro gave a gentle squeeze to her hand which he never let go. The simple action made her blush, looking down to their entwined hands and up his arm, which were much longer, and then to his broad shoulders, and finally back up to his face, much higher than she was used to. “And don’t grow anymore. You’re like a giant now. It’s gonna be annoying having to look up at you.” And as easy as that they were back to bickering, the tension filtered out of the room as easily as a simple breeze, and they were both thankful. “For what it’s worth, I’m not a fan either.” Toshiro noted, scowling at his new height and features which he still hasn’t gotten used to. All these years he complained about his height and now he realizes he should’ve been more careful with what he wished for. And on top of that, he was getting an increasing amount of attention which Rangiku pointed out was thanks to his sharpened features. Not his cup of tea. “I never said I wasn’t a fan.”

Karin’s words made blood rush to Toshiro’s face, did she just- Maybe it’s his cup of tea after all, if it’s Karin’s attention. That being said, he’d never wanted anyone’s attention more than hers, and now that he has it, he’s just a little alarmed. But in a good way, he thinks. And it made it easier to smile at her, even with a face redder than ever. But it was quickly replaced with a frown when he realized his Lieutenant just witnessed this entire scene with Karin, where she yelled, he bowed, she smiled, and he blushed. Her squeal made both Karin and him wince, looking over to see her jumping up and down with glee, then running over to pull them down into an uncomfortable hug. “I’m so happy for you too!” Rangiku was sniffling, squeezing the life out of them, and when she let them go they gave each other a confused glance before Toshiro spoke. “Why are you crying Matsumoto?” He asked, slightly worried and as well as confused. Karin looked softly at Rangiku, but still confused by her tears. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me. You guys are just too cute together!”

Karin almost interjected to say that they weren’t together but what stopped her was another squeeze of her hand from Toshiro. A slow shake of his head told her to just let it go, and with further thought she realized convincing Matsumoto of anything was a difficult feat.

Later, after Toshiro escorted her to her family for dinner, dropping her off with the promise of seeing each other the next day, Karin thought about how even when walking through the Seireitei, they continued to hold hands. Toshiro paid it no mind it seemed, and while Karin wasn’t complaining, it still puzzled her.

Correcting his Lieutenant from time to time was normal for him, especially when it came to bold claims like this, but this time he refused. Did Toshiro reciprocate Karin’s feelings? Something about his behavior made her feel elated as well as nervous, they’d have to talk about it eventually. It would take some time for her to completely forgive him, but if what happened today was any consolation, everything would be okay.

They both can definitely sleep better tonight, and there was always tomorrow.

[ghostly-cabbage]

Frigid (Chapter 6)

Genre: Horror, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers  

Chapter Rating: T (Language)

Word Count: 6,435

AO3  FFN

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And here Danny thought he was done with getting punishment for the day. He hit the gym floor: hard. 

It made his vision go black for a second. Fucking ow. If he got another concussion he was going to be pissed. At this point he was giving the football players a run for their money.  

His awareness came back to him in spots at first, dancing across his vision, then all at once. Lucky for him—it was just in time to see Skulker firing another volley of ecto-missiles at him. 

Shit.

He curled up and summoned a dome shield. The projectiles exploded on contact one after the other. It deafened the sound for the most part, but he still felt like a fish whose glass bowl was being tapped on. The explosions ceased, green tinted smoke obscuring his sight.

Danny didn’t wait for the dust to settle. He dropped his shield and launched himself straight up at the place he’d last seen Skulker, fist coming into contact with the bottom of Skulker’s chin. The ghost grunted, sailing upward and punching a second hole through the roof of the gym. 

Danny cringed as glass, broken light fixtures, and wood fell down. At least it was the weekend. There’d probably be enough time to patch it up. What was a little more property damage on his record, right? 

Ugh.

“For once you had great timing,” Danny said to the empty room. His legs melded together into his tail and he listened carefully to his surroundings. “If I didn’t know any better, Skulker, I’d almost think you’re stalking me.” There was a beat, before the sound of a net launching from a gun broke the silence. Danny twisted on instinct, narrowly dodging the net. It whooshed past and stuck to the wall behind him.

Skulker returned to visibility. He floated across from Danny, scowling. 

He growled. “Silence, whelp. It’s easier to lure you out when you’re not busy being a prisoner in this human infested place.” 

Well, that was half of it at least.

“Aw, so you do care about my schedule. I’m touched.” Danny pressed the palm of his hand over his core. His tail flicked and he crossed his arms. “But you know that shit you just pulled isn’t going to fly.” 

“Please, Ghost Child,” Skulker sneered. “I was merely toying with those puny humans. I wasn’t going to harm them.” 

“Ever heard of psychological trauma?” Danny dead-panned. He didn’t wait for an answer and fired an ecto-blast straight at Skulker’s chest. It connected with a hollow crack and Skulker let out a shout. He dropped ten feet before catching himself. Danny rushed forward, aiming a kick to the side of his face. 

Skulker held up his arm, blocking the blow with the back of his forearm. The force of the kick resounded against the metal with a clang. 

Danny pulled back out of close range, noting the sizable dent in Skulker’s arm. 

Skulker roared and held up his arm to fire a wrist-ray. Danny strafed to the side, expecting the hot fizzle of an ecto-ray. But nothing happened. 

They both paused, Skulker's eyes narrowing. He inspected his dented arm. 

“Now look what you’ve done, brat.” 

Danny lifted his arms in an exaggerated shrug. 

Skulker held his arm out, attempting to fire the ray again. Nothing. The ghost made a frustrated sound. 

“Here, maybe this’ll help.” Danny’s breath went icy as he shot a jagged spike of ice at Skulker's arm. He watched with giddy satisfaction as the ice punctured and tore a hole through the metal. 

Skulkers arm exploded. 

Danny squinted against the flash of green, going intangible to avoid the metal shrapnel. He blinked the inverted spot from his vision. Skulker’s arm was completely gone, leaving nothing but a jagged hole with wires that stuck out, arcing thin forks of electricity. Danny bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing. He floated on his stomach, steepling his hands underneath his chin.

“Sucks, man. You never wanna overload a jammed ecto-weapon.” He clicked his tongue three times in a row, shaking his head. “You’d think such a great hunter would know that.” 

“Of course I knew that!” he snapped. “You’ll pay for this, Ghost Child.”  

“Oh no, I’m so terrified,” he said, grin plastered across his face. Man, two days of R&R really did a ghost some good.  

“Insolent whelp,” Skulker said. A mechanical arm extended from his back, unleashing a football-length green rocket that headed straight for Danny. It looked like a homing missile. 

Danny shot upwards out through the bigger of the two holes. He put on the brakes, and skirted to the side just as the missile zipped up past him. He let energy build in his palm. 

The thing about homing missiles was most of them weren’t great with tight turns. The rocket spluttered as it twisted to come straight back down. It made it an easy target. 

He fired an ecto-blast. It exploded on contact in a brilliant sphere of green. Danny phased back down through the roof. The explosion shook the lights, making them flicker more, but it’d been far enough up it didn’t cause any other damage. 

Danny twisted in mid-air and flew at Skulker. His eyes widened and he turned his defenseless side away from Danny, back-peddling. 

He fired an ecto-ray at Skulkers undamaged shoulder. He didn’t pack as much power into it as he could have. He banked, cutting an elliptical circle while holding the ray on target.

“You know, as much as I appreciate the practice, we’ve gotta stop having these here at school.” He didn’t let up on the beam until he’d flanked Skulker. He zipped in while the ghost was still recovering. 

He went with the same roundhouse that Skulker had blocked before. His foot slammed into the side of Skulker’s head, sending the hunter spinning sideways. Danny charged a blast in his palm. He lifted up his left hand and squinted his right eye closed, using his thumb to line up his shot. Who said he was only a show off when people were watching? 

At the moment Skulker stopped tumbling and righted himself, Danny unleashed his blast. It hissed through the air and Skulker had no hope of dodging it. It slammed into the shoulder joint of Skulker's good arm which, already weakened by Danny’s ray, popped off like the limb of a cheap action figure. 

Skulker let out a wordless scream of frustration. 

A smug grin worked its way onto Danny’s face. He was getting too damn good at this, if you asked him. 

Danny closed the gap between them. He grabbed the holes where Skulker's shoulders should have been and somersaulted forward, flipping the ghost over his head. Danny threw him down, directly into a basketball hoop. 

Skulker, of course, being much larger than a basketball, didn’t make it through. Instead, his head wedged into the hoop, his legs churning helplessly in the air. 

Danny spluttered. “Oh my God.” He burst into laughter, wrapping his arms around his stomach. 

“Oh my God, I wish I had my phone. That worked even better than I thought it would, holy shit.” He dropped a few feet in the air involuntarily.

“Laugh while you can, Ghost Child,” Skulker grunted. He could easily phase out, but he seemed to know when he was defeated.  

Danny leaned back, rotating upside down in the air as he laughed. “Of all times that Sam and Tuck aren't here.” He wiped a tear from under his eye. “Hey— Hey, Skulker.” He flew up to Skulker. 

He glared at Danny through the net. 

“This is what we kids today call getting fucking dunked on.” Danny snorted and descended into more laughter. 

“You’re enjoying this far too much, whelp.” 

Danny held his sides until the hilarity of the visual started to die down. His breathing evened out and the tickle in his chest faded.

“Hey, the amount of times you’ve trapped me in something awful, I think I deserve this.” He sighed, content, his shoulders sagging as a last chuckle left him. “This is exactly what I needed after detention today.” Danny reached for the thermos on his belt. 

“Anyway—” he uncapped the thermos “—same time next week, then?” He pressed the button and the thermos kicked on. He pointed the beam at Skulker, watching as it dragged his warping form into its confines. 

The thermos dimmed and Danny twirled it in his palm, blowing the wisps of smoke from its end. He really needed to empty it when he got home today. 

“What is that? How’d it do that?” 

“Holy F—” Danny jumped. The thermos slipped from his grasp and he fumbled it a few times before he caught it and pulled it back against his chest. He turned towards the voice, shocked to see a familiar face. 

Wesley-fucking-Weston.

He was peeking in through a gap of a gym door.

What the fuck? 

“Uh... How long have you been standing there?”

And how the hell had Danny let a human sneak up on him? Let alone some gangly asshole who didn’t seem to have an ounce of self-preservation in his whole body? 

Wesley hesitated, scanning the gymnasium again. He stepped the rest of the way into the gym. 

“Uhm, for a bit?” 

“Right… and where’s your friends?” Danny slowly floated backwards. 

Why was this dude determined to be up in his business? As afraid as Wesley looked the first day of school, Danny thought he wouldn’t willingly get within a mile of another ghost. Guess he was wrong.

“I ditched them and snuck back into the building,” he said, like it was obvious. “People here at school say you’re a ‘good’ ghost,” he added. Danny’s eyes drifted around the room as he contemplated turning invisible and flying through the roof. 

Was he going somewhere with this or…? 

“Are you?” 

His eyes snapped back down to Wesley. 

He cleared his throat.“Uh. I try to be?” Danny was no stranger to students at Casper approaching him after a fight to try and talk or even flirt with him. He shuddered at the amount of times Paulina or even Dash had asked him to hangout or go get something to eat. 

But this wasn't like those times. Danny hated to admit he was genuinely intrigued, and even impressed by Wesley’s audacity. 

“If you’re unsure enough to be asking, why would you come alone?” He hadn’t meant it to be threatening, but Wesley took half a step back towards the door. He licked his lips. 

“Because I have questions about ghosts.” 

 Danny’s face twisted. He hooked the thermos back on his waist and ran a gloved hand through his hair. “Why ask me? Listen— there’s plenty of people in Amity that know about ghosts. You don’t need to ask a real one.” 

Wesley lifted a hand and rubbed at his temple. “Yeah, but all they ever talk about is you. Either how great you are or how you’re secretly a menace to society.” 

Huh, he must have talked to Valerie. 

“Then what question is important enough you decided to approach a ‘dangerous’ ghost… by yourself?” 

“I just—I want to know why ghosts here are so different, and who better to ask than an actual ghost? I guess I figured with how much people drool over you that you were the least likely to kill me. I mean you could’ve on the first day if you’d wanted to… There’s obviously some truth to what people say about you.”  

Danny blinked. Okay, that made some sense. But then… 

“Why do you want to know that specifically?” 

Wesley turned his head. “It’s personal.” 

...Alright, sure. 

He let out a long suffering sigh.

“Listen, I hate to disappoint, Person-I’ve-Never-Met-Before, but I haven’t really been outside of Amity Park much…” He knew the answer, of course he did, but he didn’t exactly go around as Phantom spouting off his ghost knowledge. There were things about ecto-biology he knew that only a Fenton would know... and some things only a half-ghost would know.

Wesley looked stricken. It was a weird look on him.

“But you’re still a ghost, can’t you just—” he flexed his hands in front of him like he was trying to grasp something— “make an informed guess?” 

Ugh, God.

Danny dragged a hand down over his face. 

Fine. 

“If I tell you what I think, will you actually get the hell outta dodge the next time there’s a fight?” When people tried to stick around, they were more likely to get caught in the cross-fire. While Danny wasn’t exactly fond of the dude, that didn’t mean he wanted Wesley hurt. The thought of him or anyone getting hurt because of him made him twitch; he ignored the spike of nervous energy that thrashed in his core. 

Wesley looked up at him, blinking green eyes. 

“Wait, that’s it?” 

“I’m dead, dude. What else could I want?” He’d love for Wesley to leave him, Fenton him, alone entirely. But he’d take what he could get.

Wesley faltered. “I dunno.” He muttered something else under his breath, something a normal human would have missed: “doesn’t make sense why you’d want that either though.” 

Danny shook his head and floated down a bit. “If I had to guess, it’d be because of the portal.” 

“Portal?” 

“Yeah, the Fenton Ghost Portal?” That at least was common knowledge around Amity now.

Wesley squinted his eyes. 

“You haven't heard of it?” Danny asked, exasperated.

“I don’t know! I’m new here!”

“Clearly.” 

Wesley made a face like he was about to say something stupid. “Okay, sure, there’s a portal. What’s it have to do with ghosts?”

Holy hell. 

Why was he doing this again?

“It’s’a portal directly into the Ghost Zone, dude,” he said incredulously. “Ya’know, The Infinite Realms? Land of the Dead?”

Wesley paled. 

“Wait that’s… How’s that possible?” 

“How should I know? Do I look like a scientist to you?” 

“I mean… Kinda?” He gestured vaguely to Danny’s person. 

He looked down. Oh yeah, hazmat suit. Right. 

Danny wiggled in place. “Not the point, alright? Are you going to keep interrupting me?”

Wesley made a face. “You’re the one asking me questions!” 

Danny waved a hand, flustered. “Okay, okay, shut up.” God, Wesley was so annoying. “Portals open up naturally all over the world, ‘kay? Well, here in Amity there’s a stable portal that stays open, meaning a constant influx of Ectoplasm. Ectoplasm is an energy source.” 

“Which means...?” 

“I’m getting there.” He twitched his tail. A motion which seemed to confuse Wesley, if his expression was anything to go by.  

“Ghosts are made of ectoplasm, and use it for energy blah, blah.” Danny twirled a hand. “What I’m saying is that here, ghosts have almost constant access to the Ghost Zone and Ectoplasm. It means unlimited energy. Ghosts without access to ecto-energy have to try and build up energy from other ambient sources like electronics, peoples emotions, weather, you name it. It takes forever to build up enough to materialize or interact with humans or solid objects. So ghosts in other places are probably less solid, making sightings and interactions fewer and far between.” Danny blew out a breath. “That answer your question?”  

Wesley was silent for a second, face wrinkled in thought.

“I guess… That makes sense—but—” 

“Cool, glad to help. Well, this has been—something. But I’ve gotta—” Danny started, only to get interrupted when someone burst through the gym door. Wesley jumped, letting out a less than manly yelp. 

It was a basketball player with tan skin and broad shoulders. One of the Seniors if Danny remembered right.

“Jesus Christ, dude, there you are! Do you have a death wish or—” the dude stopped short as his eyes landed on Danny. “Holy shit,” he breathed. “P—Phantom!” He had that deer-in-the-headlights look that people gave him. 

“Hi.” He held up a hand in greeting. “Anyway, I got the ghost, so…” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “I’m just gonna...” 

He went invisible and headed in the direction of the nearest supply closet. He still had to get his stuff before he went home. 

“Imma big fan!” the basketball player called after him into the empty air. He smiled and shook his head as he phased through the wall of the gym. 

- 

Danny was half-way down the hall from the entrance, human once again with his bag heavy on his shoulder, when the doors flung open and two familiar silhouettes filled the entryway. 

Oh no. 

“Everyone outta the way! That ghost won’t know what hit it once we—” His dad’s booming voice stopped when he saw him. 

“Danny?” his mom called. She pushed past his dad and lowered her ecto-weapon. “Sweetie, what are you doing? Are you okay?” She hurried up to him. The surface of her goggles made it impossible for him to see anything but his own reflection. Her voice was tight and gentle as she grabbed him by the chin, turning his face this-way-and-that to suss out any injury. 

Danny silently thanked whatever higher-power might be listening that he didn’t have any bruises on his face. His back was probably another story. He hadn’t stayed in ghost-form long enough to heal it. His backpack hurt everywhere it was in contact with him. 

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said, leaning away and trying to wave her off. Her hand dropped and she gripped him by his shoulder. 

“One of your teachers called and said there was a ghost and the alarm wasn’t working.”

“Oh, that’s crazy. Why didn’t it go off?” 

Dad came up to stand next to his mom, Fenton Bazooka hefted on his shoulder. 

“Don’t know Dann-o, but we intend to find out!” 

“Uhm, I heard stuff coming from the gym a bit ago actually.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Sufferin’ spooks! Come on, Mads, before we miss it!” His dad said and took off down the hall. 

His mom took a few steps to leave before she turned to him. “We’re going to be having a talk about your detention today, so no going to Sam or Tucker’s, alright?” 

He sighed and shoved his left hand in his hoodie pocket. Of course Mrs. Merriweather had called his parents. 

“Fine,” he huffed. 

“Love you, hun!” And then she was off. 

Detention during the first week. His parents must be so proud. He ran his fingers through his hair, digging his fingertips in and messaging his scalp, mussing his hair.

He’d said he’d try harder this year, and he’d meant it. Even though it didn’t feel like it there had been a steady downtick of ghost attacks. Had been since after Pariah Dark and that whole mess. Hell, even the thing with Skulker was more like a game nowadays than it was serious. 

But that didn’t mean all ghosts felt the same way. Especially the ones that popped up now and again to “test their skills on the one who’d bested Pariah Dark in combat”. Those were the worst.   

Danny pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the group chat. 

Dead “Allegedly”: Hey Tuck did u disable the school ghost alarm? 

He wasn’t even at the bottom of the Casper steps when a reply chimed in. 

Hacker (Derogatory): Nah, man. I wish tho 

Emo’s Not Dead: Why? 

Dead “Allegedly”: Just wondering, Skulker showed up and the alarm didn’t work or smth

Hacker (Derogatory): huh, maybe he disabled them? 

Dead “Allegedly”: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

…

My parents know I got detention so I can’t hangout tonight. Didn’t say anything about games tho, Doomed later? 

Emo’s Not Dead: Hell yeah, hope you guys are ready to get owned lmao 

Hacker (Derogatory): Bro, do you even have to ask? I’ve been working on a new loadout and not to brag but it’s pretty sick 

Danny rolled his eyes and put his phone back in his pocket. The Ghost Assault Vehicle was parked up over the curb and onto the grass in front of the school. Dad must’ve drove. He didn’t really want to walk, he needed to make sure he had enough time to sneak into the lab and flush the thermos. 

He walked up to the back of the GAV and pulled the handle. The door unlatched and swung open. Another thing that proved Dad drove. He never remembered to lock the GAV or the Speeder. 

Danny hopped in and tugged the door closed behind him. He reached for his core and the icy transformation washed over him. It eased the ache in his back and he breathed out a sigh of relief. He turned invisible and slipped up through the roof. He turned towards home and started flying. 

The sun hadn’t set yet, and wouldn't for another hour or so, but the shadows were still long. He could feel the sun’s dull warmth through the material of his jumpsuit. The nights were already getting longer and colder. The wind whisked past him with the type of fall chill that cut straight through sweaters and coats. The streets and cars blurred underneath him and a thought bubbled up from the back of his mind. 

He couldn’t remember what it was like to feel cold. 

Not in the human way, the “coming in from outside and sinking into soft blankets with a cup of hot cocoa” kind of way. The negative temperatures of the Far Frozen, of space, hadn’t fazed him since his cryo-core settled.

Like a stone settling in his stomach, he wondered what else he’d start to forget about being fully alive as the years went by. He tried to push the thought into the back of his mind.

The amalgamous shape of the Ops Center glinted in the evening light ahead of him. Danny flew around the side of the building and phased through the wall directly into his bedroom. He tossed his bag towards his desk.

He turned human again a few feet above his bed. He let gravity take hold of him, falling onto the mattress. He bounced a bit before sinking into its surface. His back felt better already. He sighed, wondering if he could get away with a nap before dinner. 

Maybe. Provided a ghost didn’t show up. 

He peeled himself up off the bed and crouched by his bag. He snatched the thermos and headed downstairs. 

The portal hummed, the only noise in the otherwise silent lab. His soft-soled sneakers patted quietly over the metal panel floor. Danny uncapped the thermos and flushed its occupants back into the Ghost Zone. He puffed some hair out of his eyes and closed the now empty thermos. 

Right. Nap. Suffer through the “you need to try harder young man” talk. Then Doomed. It was their second “weekend” this week. He wanted to try and have some fun. After the shitty start to the week he deserved it.  He’d worry about his homework later.  

***

Saturday night brought dark roiling storm clouds that blotted out the stars. The wind howled, stripping orange and red leaves off their branches. The air tasted of rain and stray drops peppered the grey pavement beneath him.

Danny flipped up the hood of his hoodie as he skirted the edge of Amity’s Central Park. Just because he was immune to the cold didn’t mean he liked being rained on. He could stay intangible if he wanted but he was way too lazy for that. 

He flew a languid loop in the air as he changed directions to head towards the mall. It’d been a quiet patrol, nothing out of the ordinary. 

Which, on a night like this, made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. There was a lightning storm building up high in the clouds—which meant more ambient energy. He could feel it the same way he could feel heavy concentrations of ecto-energy. The buzz on his skin, soupy and dense. It tore him in two directions, amped on the energy and nauseous at the feeling of electricity. 

Why couldn’t it have been a snow storm? 

He tucked his gloved hands into the pocket of his hoodie and meandered over the parking lot, careful to fly below the power lines and telephone poles. 

A shiver prickled down his spine and he hiccupped over a cloud of mist. Yep, right on time. He heard distant screams coming from the mall.

He perked up, shooting towards it, the roof of the mall a grey streak. As he got closer he could tell what part of the mall he was headed towards. 

Best Buy. Great. 

Danny heard glass shatter and a stream of floating electronics burst out through the sides and ceiling windows of the mall, a maniacal cackling laugh from above him. 

“Technus,” Danny acknowledged, eyes narrowing. The levitating electronics whisked past him and circled Technus. 

“Oh, yes! It is indeed I, Technus!” he cried. His voice grated on Danny’s ears and he pushed his hood back down with a hand. 

“What’s up? Mad I wiped the floor with your boyfriend on Friday?” Danny grinned, floating up to be eye level with Technus. 

The ghost choked, swallowing his laugh.

“What— I— No! How dare you, Child,” he snapped. The wind whipped past them. “I’m here for my own gain! How dare you insinuate that Skulker and I are anything more than—” 

“Huh, I never mentioned Skulker specifically,” Danny said dumbly, tapping a finger against his chin. 

“Why you—” Technus lifted a hand and a clump of electronics flew at Danny. He dodged with a laugh. 

“Everyone knows, it’s okay,” Danny called. He forced energy into his hand, flinging a few blasts at Technus. 

The other ghost ducked under one, blocking the other with a wall of technology. He glared at Danny and pulled the machines towards himself. Like pieces to a puzzle, the tech slotted onto his skin, creating a makeshift canon. 

“You know, Child, the capabilities of modern technology grow faster and more powerful by the year.” The cannon whirred, the inside going from black to a glowing green. “Can you guess who that benefits most?” Technus said over the wind. It fired and Danny scrambled to bring up a shield in time. 

 “You’re fast as ever, child, but we’ll see how well you can stand up to a few more!” He fired, this time the ecto-blast hit harder. Hairline cracks appeared in Danny’s shield. 

Uh-oh. 

With a whine the cannon shot again. Danny dove straight for the ground just as it shattered his shield. Technus laughed. 

Okay, so he needed to avoid getting hit by that, holy shit. Danny glared up at Technus. His mind churred, trying to come up with a way to get an opening to use the thermos. If he could just—

A flash of pink streaked through the sky. It struck Technus in the center of his back and he dropped with a scream onto the roof of the mall. The technology, no longer being controlled, started to rain down. 

A red flash and the sound of a jet sled drew Danny’s attention. 

Valerie.

She twisted mid-air, the nose of her board pivoting as she drifted to a stop. 

“Hey, Red!” he called out to her. She turned her head towards him, the eye panel of her mask reflecting his cold glow. 

“Phantom,” she said. It didn’t hold as much of its usual contempt. She must be in a good mood. She also wasn’t shooting at him. He smiled and decided he’d try his luck. 

“How about a truce?” He flew towards her. 

“Why would I do that when you haven’t told me anything about that new ghost?” 

Danny’s shoulders sagged. “I told you already that I don’t know anythinnnnnggg.”

“And I already said I don’t believe you.” 

Danny let his legs fade into his tail and he flew an anxious figure-eight. 

“Come on, Red! It’s Technus!” He stuck his arms out to gesture down to the ghost. “We hate Technus!”

“Hey! I resent that, Ghost Child!” Technus yelled from where he was picking himself up and dusting himself off. 

Danny gestured more insistently. 

Valerie crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot on her sled. “Oh yeah, he brings back such great memories.” 

Oh. Wait. He shouldn’t have— 

“Like that time you almost killed me!” She snapped. 

“Red, I’ve told you before that I knew—”

“‘—knew it wasn’t me’ blah blah blah.” She opened and closed her hand in a talking motion. “So you say, Ghost.” 

“We can hash it out again later! But can we take care of Technus now please? Because he’s sort of escaping.” 

Valerie looked down to see that Technus was, in fact, fleeing, electronics clumping into a massive platform beneath him as he flew away. She sighed. 

“Fine, Ghost Boy. Truce.” 

“Yes!” Danny peeled off in a blur, Valerie right behind him. Val was a great ally when he could convince her to team up. He hoped she secretly thought the same of him. 

Valerie was stubborn and could clearly hold a grudge like no other. But over the years, it felt more like she chased him out of obligation. Like she couldn’t admit she might be wrong about him. So she just did what they’d always done. 

Danny didn’t blame her. There was real anger and frustration behind her words when she talked to him, but he’d be stupid not to notice she missed her shots on purpose these days. 

Technus turned and fired his arm cannon at them as they caught up. Danny skirted to the left, rolling into a loose corkscrew, flying underneath Technus’s floating pile of technology and popping up on the ghost’s right. He unleashed a ghost-ray at Technus with so much force it carried him off the makeshift platform. 

The ghost caught himself in flight with a triumphant cackle. It died in his throat as he looked up.

Valerie was right on top of him. A pink blast of ecto-energy hissed through the raging air and into Technus’ arm cannon. The tech burst into pieces, falling in a black heap to the ground. 

“You think that would slow me down, you stupid girl?!” Technus sneered, flying backwards. He sent a ghostly clump of appliances careening into her path. She pulled up at the last second. 

“You children just don’t know when to stop meddling in other people's business, do you?” 

“Nope,” Danny called as he flew by, firing a barrage of ecto-blasts. Technus brought up a shield that deflected them. “Maybe don’t steal shit and trash the mall every two months and I’ll think about it.” 

Valerie came in from the other side, rapid firing with her hand held blaster. Danny flanked him, an ice-ray at the ready. A few shots found their target before Technus moved his shield. He screeched over the wind. 

Technus held out a hand and a crackling ball of electricity built up. It snapped and flickered yellowish green. The sky above them heaved.

Technus held out his hand towards Danny and they locked eyes. 

Danny came to a dead stop in the air. His core stuttered in his chest. Fear, raw and paralyzing, crashed through him like a freight train. For a second he thought he might black out, fall like a stone from the air. They stared at each other. 

He wouldn’t.

Technus knew better. 

He couldn’t.  

With a stunned blink, Technus moved his hand and released the electrical charge far from Danny. It went wide and collided with the mall sign. The sign exploded like it’d been struck by lightning. Plastic and glass flew through the air, and with a terrible creak the pole swayed before falling into the parking lot like a felled tree. It narrowly missed a car.

Danny let out a shaky breath, trying to still the tremble in his hands. It was raining harder now, pinpricks of cold slicking down his hair.

“Phantom, what’re you doing just floating there? Move!” Valerie said, slowing down just enough to talk before speeding off again. 

Right. He needed to snap out of it.

He shook his head and started flying. Technus was still trying to get away with all his stolen tech. 

Danny let out a slow breath, trying to hold it steady. He reached for the cold and tried to get a lead on Technus. His hand glowed blue as he shot an ice-ray into the clump of electronics. He let out a yelp and wobbled in the air. 

Danny tilted and flew closer to Val.

“Red, keep him distracted, I’ll try and get him in the thermos,” he said, unhooking it from his belt. 

“Don’t tell me what to do, ghost,” she growled. “...but fine. You better get him though. I have my own shit to do.” 

“Would it kill you to use my name once in a while?”

She pointed her blaster at him. 

“Okay! Okay! I get it, sheesh.” He held up a hand and dropped back, letting Valerie move ahead. She went after Technus with no mercy, throwing ghost grenades and raining ecto-blasts down on him. 

 Technus reassembled his cannon, trying to hold his own. He fired at Valerie but she was nimble, avoiding each one. 

“Would you hold still!” Technus snapped, bracing himself against the kick of his ecto-gun. 

Danny grinned and went invisible. Having someone to draw the fire was always useful. He circled Technus, sneaking up behind him, uncapping the thermos as he got close. 

“Hey, tell Skulker I said hi.” Technus whirled around just in time to see the barrel of the thermos illuminate. His eyes stretched wide and an angry noise was all that escaped him as the thermos pulled him in. 

All the technology that Technus had been controlling broke apart and pelted towards the ground. 

Shit. 

He reached out with his powers, catching as much as he could. He winced at the mental strain. He didn’t use his telekinesis for this magnitude of stuff very often. He needed to practice it more, it was still relatively new after all.

 Most, if not all of the technology, was busted, but that didn’t mean he wanted to let it destroy more stuff. He guessed that a refrigerator landing on a car wouldn’t buff out easily. 

He maneuvered the electronics towards the curb in front of the Best Buy, setting it all down as gently as he could. He breathed a sigh of relief and wiped rain from his face with a sleeve. 

“Nice, thanks for the help, Red.” He shot her a smile. 

She holstered her weapon. “You better put that ghost back where it belongs.” 

“I always do,” Danny said. “See ya next time?”

Valerie hummed. “We’ll see.” Danny expected her to jet off, but she lingered. “You mean what you said about that new ghost?” 

Danny folded his legs underneath him and sat in mid-air. 

“Cross my heart hope to die,” he said with a grin.

She groaned. 

“But, yeah. I don’t know what her deal is. She didn’t seem very interested in throwing hands with me, that’s for sure.” 

Valerie held her chin. “Weird... The last few new ghosts have destroyed half the town trying to get to you.” The last bit of her sentence took on a suspicious tone. 

He held up his hands. “Hey, I don’t know either. It’s not like I like getting pounded flat every few months, Red.” 

“Why do they want to fight you specifically?” 

“I don’t know,” he lied with a shrug. He looked up at the clouds, blinking through the rain. “Could be the whole ‘Protector of Amity Park Thing’.”

Val scoffed. “Oh, please.” Danny could imagine that she was rolling her eyes. “So... what? They want to get you out of here to claim Amity for themselves?” 

“Who knows. Probably.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to say how glad I am that we have you instead of one of them?” Her voice was testy, a tone Danny knew well. 

“Your words not mine.” He gave her a lopsided smile, forcing down the discomfort worming through his gut. He should leave before she got too worked up. He had one too many scars from when she’d decided a truce was over.  

“Well, it’s been nice. But we should get out of this rain. We’ll catch our death out here. Hah!” He pointed finger guns at Valerie. 

“Phantom… I’m gonna give you a ten second head start—” 

Danny turned tail and flew, a genuine laugh working it’s way up from his chest.

[drabbles-blurbs-words]

Birthday (Bakugou x fem!reader)

Happy (early) Birthday to @lady-bakuhoe, you sweet sweet smutty queen! 

Have some super cheesy Bakugou romance and fluff, I couldn’t help myself but make him a disaster romantic boy. 

Hope you enjoy!!!

———————————————————————————————————–

Bakugou watched stealthily as you made your way into the common room. A small skip in your step as you approached the table full of girls. Excited squeals left Uraraka’s and Mina’s lips as they all jumped you and began to sing you praises. He could hear them congratulating you on your birthday, they gingerly sat you down in front of a fresh plate of pancakes while they chattered annoyingly about whatever. Stupid extras and their stupid birthdays, he thought as he watched your face flush pink when Mina gave your cheek a kiss. A scowl pulled at his lips, but he tried to shake it off as best as he could.

 Bakugou Katsuki was nothing to you. He wasn’t your training buddy, he wasn’t you friend, and he definitely wasn’t your boyfriend. So, why the hell did he want to make this day special for you?

 Oh,

right…

 Ever since he saw you in the sports festival, he had been enchanted by you. Your strength and smarts amazed him. The camp incident only strengthened those feelings, he watched helplessly as you fought tooth and nail to protect everyone around you. As if that wasn’t enough, you chased after him. Trying to save him from the villains. You didn’t even talk to each other, for fuck’s sake! And there you were, covered in blood and dirt. Ready to take on the world for him. Your strong fearless actions were a juxtaposition to your very kind and soft soul. He found amazing how you could kick villain ass and then turn around to give the most comforting smile to anyone in need.

 Bakugou snarled at himself at his thoughts, how the hell was he even supposed to get you something when you didn’t even talk. He hated that he was constantly pining for you like an idiot. What he didn’t know was that he had also been in your thoughts. And that maybe, just maybe you wished he would come and say happy birthday to you. Your heart had always had a special place for him. Understanding that his anger came from deep insecurities and fear. You knew he meant well, and you also knew that he was slowly growing and changing for the best. You saw it in the little ways he took care of others or how he would be softer with you. Picking up the things you left behind. Lightly scolding you as you overworked yourself or put others before you.

 You observed the boy scowl in your direction and you shrunk in your seat. The other girls noticed, and some glared at him a bit. But you couldn’t bring yourself to feel upset. You didn’t know what you had done to earn his distaste but it left you feeling empty. Why must the object of your affection be such a grump? But then again, he wouldn’t be him if he wasn’t grumpy. You gave him a small smile and a wave. You watched as he turned his face away and trudged out of the room. A small sigh left your lips.

 “That stupid jerk.” Toru snarked at the retreating boy, “I don’t get why he’s always glaring at you.”

“I mean, she is competing with him for the top…” Uraraka mused.

“And she bested him in training last week.” Yaomomo took a sip of her tea as she eyed Jirou carefully.

Jirou shook her head at the tall girl but didn’t expect the words to fall from Mina’s mouth.

“Maybe it’s not what you think- OW!” she cried as Jirou smacked her shoulder.

“Wait, what?” you looked at both girls, eyes shining bright.

“Nothing.” Jirou glared at the other girls.

Your shoulders fell a bit, she didn’t elaborate but you felt a bit of hope grow in your chest.

 Of course, as soon as the hope bloomed it was crushed by the shouts of the angry blonde in the hallway.

“FUCK OFF! IT’S JUST A BIRTHDAY!!!!”

Kirishima walked back in with the blonde, their bags slung around their shoulders as he tried to appease the ferocious boy. The red head met Mina’s eyes and shrugged but then grimaced when he saw the look in your eye. It was unmistakable, so unmistakable that even the dense Todoroki had noticed how you deflated. Bakugou pretended he didn’t just see the hurt in your gaze and marched out to class. Kirishima followed quietly. Guilt eating him up at what he had indirectly caused. Bakugou’s heart ached but fuck. He didn’t have the time for this… but he didn’t want to hurt you either.

 Training had been a bitch that day, you found yourself lying on your back and staring at the beautiful clear sky. You relished the warmth the sun gave you until a long dark shadow was cast over you. You met the heated scowl of the infamous King Explosion Murder. You sat up only to feel something cold bump onto your forehead. You grabbed the bottle he offered but before you could say anything, he was already walking back to Kirishima. A puzzled look came over your features, but you shrugged it off. He sometimes made sure you had some water lately. He usually snarked at you too, though.

 Another bizarre thing occurred when after training you found some cute looking pens and a small notepad grace your desk. They were all elephant themed, your favorite animal. They were strong and caring creatures. You checked to see if there was a note or anything but there wasn’t. You looked around and met Bakugou’s gaze. You watched as he quickly looked away and grumbled something under his breath. You felt the embers of hope sparking up again. Your heart beating quickly as you blushed fiercely. Bakugou smirked as he sneaked a look at you and saw your flushed cheeks. Yeah, you were worth it. He would just have to bide his time. He was patient… sometimes… he could wait until tonight… he hoped.

 The day had thankfully flown by and nighttime was upon you. Your class had made a cozy dinner for your birthday; everyone had sung and cheered in celebration. You were the mom of their little class, so they tried to make you feel as loved as you made them feel. They knew you always took care of them before yourself and wanted to make sure you knew how much they appreciated that. Small gifts had been received from them and very warm hugs had been given to all except one.

 Bakugou had hung in the back of the room. Quietly observing as you tenderly thanked and loved on everyone. He watched as you embraced Deku and gave Iida a big kiss on the cheek. He watched as the girls huddled around you and began to dance with you to the stupidest song ever. He felt jealous when you pulled Kirishima and Aoyama back to the table and made sure they ate properly. He almost blew up when he saw you gently pat Todoroki’s shoulder and whisper something in his ear. What he didn’t know was that he was being watched and a small plan slowly began spinning into action.

 Todoroki gently smiled at the soft way you always spoke to him. You were one of the few who took care of not overstimulating him with loud and brash actions. So, he decided to give you an extra birthday gift. He carefully watched Bakugou glare at him as your hand squeezed his shoulder. He slowly stood and gave you a very big hug. He relished in the warmth but not before meeting the explosive boy’s gaze and sending him an obnoxious smirk. He saw the moment the boy snapped; a loud growl ripped through his throat and into the world. He marched through the common room loudly, silence engulfing everyone as Todoroki let go of you.

“What in the world…?” you spoke under your breath.

“He’ll be back.” He smiled. “Make sure you’re ready though.”

You blinked owlishly at the boy as everyone began chatting and enjoying the music again. You sat in Uraraka’s lap as Iida and Deku told a funny story, unaware of the surprise you were about to receive.

 Bakugou’s gaze locked on you as he stomped back into the small party. A grocery bag was in his hand, and he suddenly felt very inadequate. He had been buying you things for special events for a while now… but he always chickened out. Today was the day, though. He would grow a pair and finally give you everything he had ever seen that reminded him of you. He pushed through his anxious thoughts, eyes burning in fury as he watched you enjoying whatever Deku was saying. He watched as Uraraka held you loosely in her lap and felt jealousy combust his heart. He stomped over to you and before anyone could react lifted you out of Uraraka’s lap and over his shoulder. You let out a yelp as you felt yourself become a human sack of potatoes. Your friends began to protest but Kirishima and, surprisingly, Todoroki calmed them down. You heard Mina let out a loud finally before Jirou had covered her mouth with her hands.  Todoroki met your gaze and gave you a small thumbs up. He watched as your face turned even more bewildered and he chuckled. Now who was dense?

  The world was upside down as Bakugou carried you to who knows where. You tried to lift yourself but each time you tried, Bakugou would jostle you until you hung upside down again. So, you just gave up and permitted whatever this was, to happen. You let his sweet aroma calm you and enjoyed the cool summer breeze. It wasn’t until you heard some running water that you felt him slow down. Carefully he placed you on your feet, his eyes studied every line of your face. You felt yourself ignite under his stare; heart thumping so hard you thought he could hear it. Wordlessly he grabbed your hand and led you to the small fountain. You warmed at the feel of his rough hand in yours. His skin was hardened from all his training and explosions, but you didn’t mind. Those hands meant work, and dedication. They meant passion and maybe even love. 

Bakugou sat you both on a small bench nearby and shoved the grocery bag into your lap.

“What-“

“Dammit! Just open it… please.” He grumbled, his cheeks dusting pink.

You nodded hesitantly but proceeded to pull the stuff out. Your heart began beating a mile a minute as you began taking out your favorite snacks and candies from the bag. There was also very cute elephant stationary, but the icing on the cake were the plushies inside. There was a plushie for one of each of your favorite heroes. You looked at the stuffed toys in amazement. Easily recognizing Miruko, Eraserhead, and Thirteen. You hugged the plushies to you tightly as you looked at the boy.

 “Bakugou, this is too much. I don’t deser-“

“Yes, you do.” He snapped, “You deserve all that and more.”

“But I… I don’t get it.”

He turned towards you; his eyes full of unspoken emotions he was just dying to get out of his system. He grabbed the plushies in your arms, careful not to get his sweat on them, and began bagging all of your gifts.

“Of course, you don’t, dumbass.” He snarked, “You’re always making sure everyone’s happy, that everyone’s okay.”

“Yes but I don’t do it for-“

“Let me finish, dammit!” he froze at his own tone of voice but relaxed when he felt your hand on his. Gently coaxing his words out of him. The warmth that radiated from you was comforting and reassuring. His hands tightened around the bag he held as he let out a strangled breath.

“Who’s going to take care of you?” he asked softly. “Who’s going to make sure you are happy and safe and… I just… I want to… uh… I want to be the one…” He trailed off as he met your eyes uncertainly, his cheeks turned pink as he watched you slowly realize what his words meant.

 You took the bag from his hands gently and replaced it with your hands. He suspiciously watched as you scooched closer to him. He could almost smell the sweet scent of vanilla that always seemed to follow you. He had to shake his head to be able to focus on you and not that appealing aroma.

“I was hoping someone special would do that…” you kept your gaze steady on the boy. “Someone strong, loyal, brave,” his chest puffed up but then deflated at your next words, “sweet, caring, and kind.” He let go of your hands slowly, but you stared at him, clearly puzzled.

He wouldn’t look at you, he hunched over as he looked anywhere but you.

“You’re right… you do deserve someone like that. Dammit! I don’t know why I thought…” your heart broke as you watched his confidence crumble, “it could be me.” He whispered.

He cursed himself for letting his hopes soar, but you were right. You deserved someone gentle, not a brash hot head like him. Someone who could actually make you happy. Someone who couldn’t blow you up by holding your hand. Who wouldn’t mind sappy romantic dates and long stupid walks on the beach. He didn’t dare look at you, shame burning through him. Why the hell did he ever think he was good enough?

You studied the boy and began to feel something stir in you. Something hot, fiery, and very dangerous. You felt your hands ball up into fists as the idiot in front of you misunderstood you completely. You felt yourself explode as you witnessed him become so small in front of you. You couldn’t let him feel this way, you hated how doubt filled the boy who had slowly grown his way into your heart. So, like everything you did in life, you followed your gut and you moved before you could think.

 Bakugou blinked hard as your hands grabbed his cheeks and pulled his face towards yourself. Fury burned in your gaze and the poor boy couldn’t understand why. Didn’t you just reject him? What did you want now?

“Listen to me well, Bakugou Katsuki.” You frowned. “I was trying to be romantic and describe you, you idiot.”

“But I’m not…”

“Yes, you are.” You cut him off firmly. “You may be a little rough around the edges and grumpy and hot headed.” He looked away and grumbled, making you smile a bit. “But, under all that gruff and snarky exterior there is an amazing hero. There is kindness, there is tenderness, and there is definitely someone I have grown to care for and like and maybe even-“

 You felt his hard body slam against your chest, his arms wrapped around you tightly. He almost knocked you off the little bench, but you had managed to catch both of you. You did your best to right yourself and felt him slump against you. You tried to catch your breath but his hold on you was almost suffocating… or was that just you drowning in this moment? Your hands rubbed up and down his back soothingly as he carefully let go. You watched in amazement as he settled so close to you, you could feel his minty breath fanning over your face. He rested his forehead on yours and let out a deep sigh. It was as if he was letting himself enjoy your presence fully for the first time. As if all his tensions and worries had been erased with one embrace. You felt him lean closer, but he hesitated. A warm rough hand caressed the skin of your cheek and you nuzzled into his touch.

“Can…I…” He pulled back; cheeks red as he eyed your lips yearningly.

 You touched your lips to his, in answer. It was short and sweet. He seemed dazed by it at first, but then a large feral grin covered his face. Before you could take a breath, he was reuniting with your lips. His hands still on your cheeks as your hands tangled into his hair and grabbed his shirt. It was sloppy and explosive and even a bit wild, but it was all him. And you found yourself sinking deeper into him; you met each other’s lips again and again. Hands tangling in hair, arms pulling each other impossibly closer. Both warming and loosing yourselves to hormones and each other’s touches and kisses. You felt him finally take a breath and separate from you. You felt yourself gasp for air; his eyes never left you nor your bruised lips. You hadn’t even noticed that you were also lightly panting. Your head was spinning from the kisses, you were lost in crimson. You felt like you were burning under his touch and gaze. His eyes shone with desire and tenderness as he brushed your hair back.

“I’ve been dying to do that.” he murmured, as you struggled to catch your breath.

You felt your cheeks heat up as he gently leaned forward and kissed your cheek lovingly. His thumb ran over where his lips had just graced, and he smiled.

 “Happy birthday…” he whispered, before he caught your lips again in a kiss.

[philicheesecake]

(U. L.) An Impossible Defeat

Synopsis: After he survived witnessing the giant’s Banding, Warren seems to be the target of a vengeful giant. It seems just quitting the Unseen Legion was not enough to protect him.

Warnings: PARTIAL HARD VORE, GRAPHIC SEVERE INJURIES, PARTIAL DIGESTION, NEAR DEATH, F/M halfsize unwilling nonfatal vore, fatal mention,

((Phili’s note: 

Me: takes 4 months to write one U.L. story  Also me: Writes this story the next day in under 24 hours OHhhh yeah babyee we movin’ along! And yeah I got pretty violent for this one, so if you’re squeamish, I would be cautioned. Also if ye like this story, go ahead and reblog! It helps spread my work and it means a lot! ^w^ ))

“Well I came a long way to be here today

And I left you so long on this avenue

And here I stand In the strangest land

Not knowing what to say or do”

The windows of the old silver Civic were rolled down and the speakers blared the upbeat tunes of Electric Light Orchestra. Warren had his elbow propped out the window, some aviator sunglasses, and his hair blowing back in the mountain breeze that gushed through the windows. He was belting out the lyrics of the tune, stumbling over some of the lyrics, but he didn’t care. His voice was high and steady despite his stumbling over the words. 

“As I gaze around at these strangers in town

I guess the only stranger is me”

Unknown to the ex-hunter, something with glistening eyes followed from within the treeline. Its speed rivaling a racehorse, though quieter than a cat. Its figure was too fast to be seen beyond a subtle blur past the treeline as a hulking silhouetted shape masked by the glare of the setting sun.

“And I wonder, Oh I wonder

Is this the way life’s meant to be?”

He was having a great time with the free air. No more U. L. missions. No more giants or near-death experiences. Just him and his friends about to meet up at a concert out of town to have a fun evening. The sun was beginning to descend over the road, casting its golden glare over the windshield. In his mind, he might’ve been a Lone Ranger riding into the sunset. He had seen some things no one else would believe. That alone could power a Western film. 

Though he was beginning to associate dusk with death, he was safe in his car. Nothing could get him here. He’d be with his friends when he got into town. Safety in numbers, right?

“Although it's only a day since I was taken away

And left standing here looking in wonder”

The figure in the tree line burst out. Warren didn’t notice it immediately with the sound of blaring music, but one glimpse at the rearview mirror showed what was going on. “OH SHIT--!”

A giant. Seriously? What sort of gods decided to toy with Warren’s luck at this point? This was just ridiculous at this point. He thought he could recognize the figure. Long white dreadlocks, dark skin, flashing silver eyes. She was even taller than Eli by a good two feet. She had a weird name, but Warren couldn’t remember exactly what Eli had called her back then. Not that he cared. His first thought was getting the hell out of here.

“Oh, the ground at my feet, maybe it's just the old street

But everything that I know lies under”

The melodic voice continued on, despite the alarm in the situation. The sheer contrast only seemed to add to the stress of the situation. 

He stepped on the gas, speeding faster. The giant was in hot pursuit, soon practically on the car’s bumper. Her claws dug into the asphalt, powering her unbelievable speed. 60 mph. She was still not lagging behind. 

Her claws lashed out and she lunged forward, digging her claws into the back of the car and pulled herself half-onto it while her feet dug into the ground to gain traction. The car screeched, lurching to a halt. Warren was thrown over the steering wheel and the impact jammed into his ribs causing a painful crack. 

He wheezed, blinking through the adrenaline to realize the car was at a complete halt, and the silver-haired giant was approaching the driver’s door. 

“And when I see what they’ve done to this place that was home,

Shame is all that I feel”

He gasped, almost immediately coughing from the pain of the shifting of his lungs disturbing a freshly cracked rib. He hastily unbuckled, trying to scoot away from the driver’s seat as the large figure stooped over the window. Her slit silver eyes peered in. An expression of complete indifference played on her face. No response to the intense fear he was feeling. It almost scared him more than any taunts. There was no connection of emotion. Just complete apathy.

“And I wonder, yes I wonder,

Is this the way life’s meant to be?”

The door was ripped from its hinges. Her clawed hand reached for him, trying to grab through the narrow space to get ahold of him. He scooted backwards. His breaths rattled in his chest. His heart pounded in his ears. Tears pricked the corners of his wide eyes as the claws barely skimmed him as they fought to gain purchase. He ducked beneath the console of the passenger’s seat, digging out his phone and his shaky fingers struggled to operate the device to send a hasty message. 

A crushing grip closed around his leg. He screamed.

“Too late, too late to cry, the people say

Too late for you, too late for me”

He was dragged out of the car, clawing for purchase. Trying to grab onto one of the seats or the steering wheel. His cracked ribs bumped painfully against the seats. She pulled him out of the car, hoisting him onto the air by his ankle.

“You've come so far, now you know everything, my friend

Look and see the wonders--”

Her ears twitched and she stomped her foot over the front of the car, smashing the radio. She didn’t seem to enjoy it. Without another word, she rose to her full height again, leaving the ground far below Warren as she began to walk back into the treeline. The ex-hunter whimpered, struggling to try to reach the hand that held his ankle. It was scary and disorienting to be held this high above the ground upside-down. A fall like this could break his neck, but not escaping would lead to certain death. He had encountered giants plenty enough times to get a pretty good idea about where this was going.

“P-please-- R-- Riki-- uh-- Riri--?” Warren struggled to remember her name, but honestly he couldn’t think at this point. 

To his surprise, she let out a cold laugh. “If that Arawn knew you called me that, he would have finished what he started last time.”

Warren shuddered, recalling how they had parted last time. She was climbing up a cliff and Eli had eaten him to protect him from the other giants. He had been certain he was going to die. 

“I--” “I should have known he had gone soft like his sister. I suppose I will soon deliver him the same fate as she has received. This human, however,” She lifted him higher so that they were practically face-to-face, just inches apart. He took in a shuddering gasp which stung his lungs. 

“It’s lived too long to see too much… Things that no human should have seen. Not that it makes any distinction from the rest of the humans.” She sighed and opened her mouth beneath him. His eyes widened and he flailed, trying to jerk away from her open mouth. He quickly reached up to dig into his pocket. His fingers nearly slipped to drop the object, but he caught it, unfolding a pocket knife. She gave him an unimpressed look, and her other hand reached up to grab it just as he managed to slash it across her face. “GAHH-!”

A growl sounded through her throat. Her hand crushed around his leg, snapping his bones like twigs and he screamed in pain. Her other arm reached up and gripped him roughly around the torso. Her teeth snapped over the knife-wielding hand and spat out the weapon onto the forest floor. Blood poured down from a slash across her face, dripping down from her chin. 

“I think that you’ll learn that fighting will only worsen things for you, human.” Her voice drawled. Warren cried, barely able to focus on her in the blinding pain. She shifted her grip to let go of his leg and reinforce her grip around his waist, beginning to lower him into her mouth backwards. Warren sucked in a terrified breath as his feet met the back of her tongue and she began to gulp them into her tight throat. Things were happening so fast. His shattered ankle screamed in protest as it was engulfed into the passage of rippling muscle. 

“No! Nono— wait—“ 

The giant swallowed again and he suppressed a shout of pain. Her legs were now fully encased in the throat and his lower torso was entering her maw. Fangs jabbed painfully around him. She clearly didn’t bother being careful about how rough she was in the process. The giant’s tongue slathered his torso in gross saliva as she gulped more of him down. The ex-hunter whimpered and grabbed for the edge of her jaws in a poor attempt to stop his descent. This only made things worse when she met the blockage. 

Her jaws widened for a second before crushing down over his chest, not enough to snap him in half, but enough to draw blood and hurt like hell. There was a distant scream of pain. He was getting lightheaded. He was losing blood, and was faintly aware of the feeling of blood dripping from his limp fingertips, and pooling our from her jaws. There was a hungry growl that sounded around the throat from the taste of his blood. The tongue cupped under him and she began to tilt her head back. He had lost the strength to struggle, in a state of shock and agony that made it too hard for him to think. 

Another swallow sounded around him, bringing his head into the mouth. His chest was squeezed into the too-tight throat which crushed his already cracked ribs. He was barely able to choke another breath through the pain. It was a frightening sight to see the jaws wide around him, the saliva dripping over his line of sight. The marks of his own blood trailing down from the fangs. He didn’t have the strength to struggle in his state of stupor and pain. 

One last gulp dragged him completely into the darkness, and his arms soon followed. He distantly felt pain shoot up his ankle as his feet began to press through the esophageal sphincter and the rest of him began to follow into the tight organ, forced to curl up in the claustrophobic space. As soon as his head and arms finally joined him, he coughed and gagged for air, finding it difficult to breathe with how much each breath hurt. The air was scalding and humid and burned his already aching lungs. The jagged movements of his rapid breaths only hurt his cracked rib further. He hugged his knees and cried. 

“R— Rikki— R— Rhyka— please— please don’t do this.” He barely managed to recall the giant’s name.

Rhyka ignored him. She couldn’t care less. The giant was so tall and broad that her stature nearly perfectly concealed the small imprint he made, and the only mark of his existence was subtle. It made it all too easy for him to be ignored. 

“L-listen, I’m…” he hissed in an anxious breath through his teeth, trying not to fully break down now. The heat was exhausting, and the main thing keeping him conscious was the intense pain. He just wanted it all to end, but at the same time, he didn’t want to die. Not like this. His sisters needed him, and he tried his best to not abandon them, only for his luck to turn for the worst once again. He could recall Olivia’s lessons on giants and hoped to god something might work here to give him a slim chance of survival. “R-Rhyka… I’m sorry humans drove giants into hiding. I— I wish things were— were different between our kinds… but— but killing people won’t fix that.”

To his surprise, the giant let out a laugh. “You truly believe that having a, ah, ‘heart-to-heart’ will spare your life here? Your kind is an inferior race. Weak. Pathetic. Even if your kind had not done what they did, it does not change the fact that we are the predators, and you are the prey.” 

Warren shuddered, biting back a sob of fear. “B— wait—“

“You could save your meager breaths now. I have heard all the same arguments. None sway me. Do yourself a favor and accept your fate.” 

Warren could feel the movement from her walking seem to settle. There was a dropping sensation and his environment seemed to tilt sideways. She must have laid down or something. He squirmed in place, biting back a hiss of pain as he had to reorient himself with his vulnerable broken shin and ribs. The puddle of fluids he was sitting in splashed over his face, making him sputter and cough weakly. He noticed a faint stinging and his heart rate picked up in alarm. Acids—? Giants only digest when they’re asleep… which meant Rhyka must be heading there now. 

“Wait— no—no— please— I— you can’t—“

He froze as he could hear the giant’s breaths slow to a more relaxed rate. She didn’t respond. His eyes widened in the darkness and he took in shaky breaths. An ominous growl sounded nearby from the organ. The puddle of fluids was half-filling the space now, and still having trouble to reorient himself, he had to sputter and squirm to avoid breathing in the stinging fluids. 

“Nononono— G-God— p-please…” he cried. He didn’t want to believe this. He didn’t want to die like this. He had dodged death before, he had to do it again. But Eli has told him time and time again he was weak, and he was right. 

The stomach groaned and clenched tightly around him, causing the level of fluids to rise briefly before the walls relaxed. He took in a sharp gasp of pain, bracing his shattered leg that just felt like pulp now. He could swear he felt something crack from the way his leg bent just then, feeling the limb was beyond repair. It was probably just held together by shredded muscle and tissue at this point. 

He was too tired and in too much pain to really fight back the oppressive stomach folds that began to clench around him more rhythmically. 

“I guess you’ll die then” Olivia’s voice echoed in his mind, recalling her lecture from before. 

Warren took in shaky breaths in the heat. Olivia had a point. She gave him lessons, and if he gave up, he would be dead. Not every giant would be generous enough to let him live. Rhyka wasn’t one of them. He had to think.

Olivia had mentioned a pressure point against the spine that could do… something? His brain felt foggy, but some part of him could recall that it might save his life. He hadn’t succeeded last time he tried. 

He grimaced as the stomach gurgled loudly again and its walls crushed in closer. The acids were beginning to sting worse. Burning at the bare skin of his hands and face. He held out his elbows on either side to hold the slimy walls off of his face, letting out a rasping breath through his teeth. He felt around in the darkness, trying to orient himself to figure out what was where. Doing some calculations based on how he had been swallowed, and the new position of the sleeping giant, he made a blind guess of an idea. He was facing the wrong way. Being swallowed feet-first and backwards, he was likely facing the outer wall of the stomach, instead of the vertebrae where his target lay. 

He grunted, twisting around in position and using his one good leg to try to reorient himself to face the spine. He had no idea if he was right about this, and every inch of the tight organ was identical. It was especially difficult to figure out if he had turned a 180 or just a few inches because of how disorienting the rippling muscles were, making his laborious movements either too small or too big to calculate. He settled at where he ended up, however, taking a moment to gather his breath. The heat was really making him feel like he was about to pass out, and he just wanted a break from the pain of his mangled leg and ribs. He couldn’t rest though. He had to at least try.

He leaned back as far as he could, using his hands to press himself backwards in the stomach as his one good leg kicked at the spine. There was no response, and he tried kicking everywhere along the opposing wall. Everything felt the same, so it was impossible to know how close he even was from it. The walls around him crushed in more tightly. He could barely breathe now. The fluids were rising higher. He was on the verge of passing out. The heat. His mind was numb and far away. His only thought was his sisters. He had to focus on them. He could barely even recall their faces. So tired...

Kick.

The tightening walls suddenly went limp, freeing the small pocket of air. Warren gasped for air, feeling lightheaded from all the effort. He didn’t know what happened. He didn’t even know if he had succeeded. Everything was too foggy to focus on. His mind slowly drifted from consciousness.

***

“Rrrg. Wha... what did you do… to me…?”

Warren was slowly brought to his senses by a rough jab that met his injured rib which prompted a scream of pain. He gasped, foggily beginning to regain his senses. Everything hurt. The first thing he noted was the voice… so loud and rumbling around him. There was a numbness around him. He could barely feel his limbs, but at the same time, he was faintly aware of a burning sensation covering everywhere. He was soaked to the bone by a deep pool of slimy fluids. It was hard to know how much of him was left, and if most of him already been melted away. The walls weren’t as active or crushing as they had been before. The place felt oddly dormant aside from an occasional groan or squelch from the environment, the sound of the giant’s breaths, and the thumping of her heart nearby. How long had he been in here?

“Wh…” Warren’s tongue felt like it wouldn’t cooperate enough to speak. “Whd’yamean…” He slurred. He couldn’t think. He was too tired. He just wanted this hell to end, whatever this hell was. 

“Don’t play stupid with me, human... You… you shouldn’t still be alive! What have you done to me?” Her voice almost sounded pained in a way, though his brain was too tired to pick up the tone. The jab once again met his side, though thankfully hit his shoulder this time. He weakly tried to raise his arm to push back. 

“D’nno… wha you… mean. Wh...what time’sssit…?”

The pressure increased by his side and he could hear a gurgle nearby. “I am finished with your games… Hunter. You will be dead soon enough… what… whatever tricks you are using will… wear off.”

“I.. I dunno wha-- what…” he took in deep breaths, on the verge of passing out again. He was faintly aware of a shifting from outside and the pressure lightened to be circular rubs. Any other moment he’d be indignant to the action, but right now, he was too tired to really think about it. There was definitely something off about her voice. She sounded… fatigued. He didn’t think into it.

“Please… j-just… just make it s-stop…” the ex-hunter groaned weakly. He was regaining awareness of the burning sensation around his skin. The pain from his broken leg and ribs. 

The giant didn’t respond aside from an annoyed growl that rumbled to her core as she rubbed the form in her stomach as if to help him digest faster. Her breaths began to calm again. He could hear another gurgle from the stomach and the dormant walls began to pick up their act again, rubbing against his skin and distributing the numb, stinging fluids over his skin. He didn’t bother squirming. He was too weak to think. Rebeka. Liss.

What were those names anymore? He could barely recall their faces. Just concepts at this point. But more than anything, he wanted to see them again. 

Had the kick done something before? 

A clench tightened around him, bringing up the acid level higher, briefly submerging his head under the caustic fluids. He choked and struggled weakly for breath just as the walls loosened up again just enough to give him a chance to take shallow gasps for air. He tried to focus, lifting up his good leg briefly to jab into the opposite wall again. It took every fiber of strength for the action. He kicked a few times. The walls tightened again and he was submerged. His heart pounded. He could hear the giant’s heart thump more slowly. The distant gurgling sounds of the stomach around him. His lungs burned for air. He kicked out his leg again, trying anywhere for that pressure point. His foot slipped, then dug into the opposite wall. It just barely managed to hit the right place. The walls loosened up again and Warren coughed weakly, gasping for air. The whole stomach seemed to grow limp again. His body followed suit. He didn’t have the strength to keep this up. Even if he was alive for now, he was prolonging the inevitable. He wasn’t going to make it out of here alive.

He was too tired to cry, but there was a pang of emotion in his chest nonetheless. His body grey limp again. His ears began to sink beneath the stinging fluids. His mind fell to dormancy again. 

***

Olivia had been sound asleep through the whole night, unknowing of her phone buzz with Warren’s text. Her face was planted on the alchemy table and her glasses were falling off of her nose. In the late morning, she rose again to get some coffee and sat down with her entire carafe of coffee with her alchemy equipment, ready to put this frustratingly difficult concoction in the past. She worked for a while at her project before she saw her phone buzz. It was another hunter wanting some more potions for lycanthropy. She had been getting too many requests from that same hunter, it was beginning to get rather tiring. Wait a moment… There was another message from Warren. 

Her tired eyes scanned it with her bulbous spectacles before sighing tiredly and picked up her pastel pink bag of alchemy equipment and got in her car to drive away.

***

The white dump truck hummed down the winding road into the forest. Olivia was dead tired and really didn’t want to be doing this. She would much rather finish that lycanthrope-enthusiast’s order, or sleep instead. The road was not a popular route, one of the back roads. It didn’t look like anyone was within miles of the stretch of asphalt. Though something laid ahead in the road. A smashed silver car was sprawled out over the asphalt in shredded bits of smashed metal. Her brow raised slightly and she parked her truck on the shoulder of the road, giving the wreckage a good once-over before she sighed and pressed through the treeline. 

She took out a small vial of blue liquid from her alchemy bag and opened up the bottle, placing a small drop on her finger and dabbed it beneath her nose. She sniffed in the odd scent of the concoction and the effect was instant. A faint blue mist seemed to appear in the forest. A scent trail that led further ahead. Wordlessly, she followed it. 

There was a dip in the forest path that led into a steep ravine which was difficult to travel into, though she managed. At the bottom of the ravine in a dip in the rock, the scent trail led to an end. 

A white-haired giant laid asleep on her side. There was a slight bulge in her middle. Her clawed hand rested over it. It didn’t take much imagination to deduct what had happened. The alchemist sighed, taking a small yellow orb of ice out of her bag and put her teeth together, making a high-pitched whistle barely audible to human ears. The response was instant. The giant’s eyes opened, though she remained on the ground. She tiredly turned to her side, scowling as she spotted the alchemist. 

“I take it you’ve eaten William, then,” Olivia’s tired voice drawled.

Rhyka’s eyes narrowed and she sat up, glaring at the ice that the alchemist wielded, knowing exactly what it was meant for. 

“He is dead. Your point?” Her voice was groggy, almost coming out in a slur. 

Olivia sighed. “Well I guess I have no restraint from using this, then.” She raised the ice and approached the giant with an unphased expression.

The giant held up a hand hastily. “Stop… It… I will release the human if you throw that into the woods. I lied. He might be alive. I can’t know for certain at this point, though it’s the only chance you have.”

Olivia shrugged and tossed the ice aside indifferently. “Alright. Let him go.”

Rhyka looked like she hadn’t expected this, but groaned. Her eyes were exhausted. She looked like she had been through hell with some sort of terrible indigestion. She pressed a hand to her stomach. Heaving sounds came, then the bulge in her middle reformed in her throat, slowly traveling upwards. She lowered her head and gagged. The form of the bedraggled, slimy hunter spilled out onto the ground in a pool of reeking fluids. 

Olivia barely seemed phased at all by Warren’s appearance. He looked like he had been thrown in a meat grinder. His left leg was crushed to pulp beneath the knee. He was covered in acids and his own blood. Past the dripping slime, patchy red burns littered his skin. 

The alchemist didn’t waste a moment before reaching into her bag again and threw another yellow orb of ice at the giant, hitting her clean in the face. Rhyka let out an infuriated shout as the enchanted ice seemed to melt into her skin. There were cracking and shifting sounds and she began to decrease in height. The giant roared, lunging forward to slash her claws at Olivia, only to shrink further and bat harmlessly with declawed otherwise human fingertips. She collapsed onto the ground, hissing in pain. She eventually shrank down to a complete human size, though she was still a good foot taller than the short alchemist. 

Olivia pursed her lips, ignoring the giant as she stepped toward Warren. He wasn’t moving. Neither was the giant. Whatever vigor she had before was short-lived. She seemed too wiped out to fight. 

“Wilhelm, listen to me,” She sat down on the earthy floor, taking his slimy hand. His hand remained limp in hers. She shot a look at the now shrunken giant. “You killed him.” She spoke levelly. She sighed and withdrew a black orb from her bag and pressed it into his hand. “Wake up,” She muttered.

The black orb melted into his hand, seeming to grow warm before disappearing. For a moment, there was no response, before she glanced over at him to see Warren’s chest slowly rose and fall. He was breathing. Weakly, but steadily.

***

Two were dragged into the truck by the tired alchemist. Rhyka’s hands were tied together, and Warren was seated next to her, unconscious, and wetting the seating with the gross slime that dripped from him. 

They drove back to the alchemist shop in silence. Rhyka still seemed ill from whatever had happened, not in much of a talking mood. 

Once they arrived back at the shop, Olivia put out a blanket on the floor for Warren and tied up the camouflaged Rhyka in a chair. Olivia did her best to clean Warren’s wounds and treat the burns, but for his broken leg, not much could be done.

***

Warren groggily returned to consciousness. A day had passed. He was lying on his back, staring up at the blank ceiling of Olivia’s basement. The light was dull, which was a good thing, to not be overwhelmed by too much light with his senses returning. He was in pain, though the worst thing of all was his leg. He could feel a crushing, burning sensation coming from it, though part of it was foggy and dampened. He must have been given medications while he was asleep to numb the pain.

What just happened. 

The last thing he remembered was… He grunted as he rolled to his side and his blood froze. Rhyka was sitting tied up in a chair before him. His heart picked up rapidly. 

“Look who awakened,” she smiled coldly. 

“You… How... what..?” Warren mumbled. How was he here? How was he even alive?

footsteps sounded from the floor above. Olivia appeared on the staircase, looking over Warren tiredly. “Ah, Winston. Good to see you are alive.” She spoke in an expressionless drawl. “I suppose the pressure point techniques work after all.”

Warren hugged his arms, leaning back on the hard blanket. He just tried to level his breaths instead of thinking too much into it. He might have been in a state of shock. 

“And my apologies about your leg. It seems not all of you was intact enough to be saved.”

Warren blinked, then glanced down at his legs. His breath caught in his throat and he felt like he had been punched in the gut. “Ho-holy shit.”

His left leg was gone. Amputated beneath the knee. He stared for a moment in shock. Olivia sat down next to him on the floor, taking a swig of her coffee from the glass carafe. “Yeah, you’ll get used to it. Just take it easy for now.”

He shuddered, biting his lip. “I… No… no… this can’t… I quit the U. L.. I-- I was supposed to be safe. W-why… Isn’t fair.”

Olivia sighed, glancing toward Rhyka. “The giant who ate you seemed to have a grudge from when you witnessed their Banding ritual. Apparently it’s no thing that any human should live to see. She had been hunting you down ever since.”

“B--but it’s not my fault! The giants brought me there! I-- I didn’t want anything to do with that!” 

Rhyka rolled her eyes, staring at Warren in a deadpanned sort of way. “Ah, excuses. None of that will change anything, you are aware?”

Warren covered his face, shaking. “You… you cruel person… you wanted to kill me. I didn’t want to get involved with the giants ever again and-- and y-you went and…”

The alchemist’s hand tapped his shoulder and she let out a tired groan. “Rachel is right. None of the things that happened will change. However,” She rose to her feet, walking over to her alchemist desk and withdrew a shimmering grey knife. She turned to look at Warren. “I do not kill monsters unless I have to. If you wish to kill Roxanne, then that is up to you.”

Warren tried to stand, leaning against the wall and lifted the stump of his leg above the ground. He stumbled over toward Rhyka, using the wall as support. “Give me the knife.”

Rhyka’s eyes narrowed. Olivia sighed and went over to Warren, placing the knife in his hands. He gripped the blade, trying to keep a straight face through the pain in his leg and glared at Rhyka, holding it to her neck. 

“How does it feel having the tables turned, huh Rhyka?” Warren grit his teeth. “You… You don’t care about humans. What did you say we were? W-weak? Inferior? ‘Lesser beings?’”

Her cold glare remained unwavering, locking eyes with Warren’s. She remained silent.

“Look at me now. You tried to kill me but failed.” The knife pressed more firmly against her throat, threatening to draw blood. “You-- you have no idea w-what you put me through. No one. No one should ever have to go through that. Killing you will avenge god-knows-how-many people you’ve murdered like that. I don’t wish death on many people but… You…”

His jaw tensed and his eyes narrowed. His grip tightened over the knife until his knuckles were white. He didn’t act for a solid few seconds. Rhyka held her breath. 

The knife dropped to his side and clattered to the floor. 

Rhyka let out a cold chuckle. “Coward,”

“I’m not like you, Rhyka.” Warren backed to the wall again, sliding down to be seated. He put a hand on his injured leg, hissing through his teeth and looked to the side, trying not to focus on the pain. He was defeated, even if he had survived. He had just lost his leg, though it felt like he had lost so much more.

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

Rest of the series can be found here.

[zuffer-weird-girl]

witch angel in love with prince Kai... 👀

Caws echoed on the forest you were walking on. A hood over your head and the overcoat you wore crawled on the dirt of the path you walked.

Another caw echoed and you huffed a laugh when you felt the crow land on your shoulder.

"Ah, so there is a castle nearby huh?" The crow cawed again as you giggle, giving him a little scratch under his beak which he accepted gladly.

"With a bad prince you say?" You cooed as the crown opened his wings and started to fly away "Showing me the way already huh? Alright." You closed your eyes and said out loud a few words.

Your body slowly began to vanish and transform into little fireflies, just when they were about to reach your eyes you opened them.

"Let's see where this prince lives then."

Just like that, the fire flies separated and flew in a messy way to follow your crown. After a few moments, the fireflies passed above the guards head as well as your crow, whose land on one of the gigantic trees ocasionally stealing some fruits from there.

The fireflies got together and soon your body come back again as you sighed, screching your arms out in a hum.

"Oh my, what a glorious castle we have here." You said with a smile before pouting and putting a finger on your lips as you looked over your shoulder "But the people whose leave on the village dont get to enjoy the same luxury... what a mean little prince." You giggled sadistically, already a plan on your mind as you knocked sweetly on the door, snapping your fingers to change your face and body to a very old and sick lady.

"Who in hells tend to-" a dark haired brow man with beautiful clothing and a mask covering half of his face. Golden orbs squinting at sieng hour presence as you smiled at him.

Such a shame this man held so much ugly and disgusting feelings. He was kinda cute and a handsome prince after all.

"Good for nothing guards." He went to call them but you giggled.

"Oh sweety there's no reason for it. After all they didn't even saw me enter or my little friend there!" You pointed at the craw on the tree whose cawed at you both "Hello Chester!"

"For crying out loud a lunatic..." he hissed in disgust and went to close the door before you grabbed his wrist and looking him directly on the eye.

"You wouldn't want to do that handsome ... Trust me."

"You have the courage of touching me you disgusting hag?" He hissed, looking down at you with hateful and that disgusting glare. "Go back to the hellhole you come from witch."

"Witch huh?" You mumbled as he closed the door. His childhood friend called from the upstairs and just when he was about to answer the door was crashed, the brute force of the wind and the remainings of the wood making him fall on his back.

"MASTER!" Nemoto shouted but soon you extended your hand and a bunch of leaves and woods of the trees on the yard, caging him on the wall.

A bunch of crows entered the castle as you smirked, walking towards the grunting prince.

The man widened his eyes when you wiggled your fingers to manipulate the fire around you... the old sickly lady dissapeared as your true self appeared with a smirk to the prince. Golden orbs widening at sieng the crows landing on the mobile and in everywhere they could.

You pulled your hood down as you sighed, looking around with a whistle.

"A beautiful place you got for yourself majesty." You looked at him with a sick smile, giggling at how he caustiously got up, reminding you of a baby deer even.

Cute.

"I command you to get out of this place before you are ordered to be hanged by your neck." He almost sluttered. The arrogant and fearful prince sluttered.

"Owww Afraid of a lil witch pretty thing? Fuhuhuhu!" You giggled before taking a few more steps towards him, cashing the guards onto woods and even the ground when they threatened to get on your way.

"Hm..?" You poked your bottom lip "You sure are beautiful outside... Chisaki Kai." He flinched when you spoke his name while looking directly at his eyes.

"Such a shame that you are such a disgusting, spoiled, arrogant... tyrant little beast." You mumbled before flipping your fingers with a "Ha!"

"If it is money what you want then take it for heaven's sake!" He shouted before you snatched your hand on his neck.

"I want to see if you at least have the courage to say one more insult towards me your majesty." Your eyes transformed into flames as his skin started to form hives and get stich... not only that but it burned.

He shouted as your magic started to penetrate his skin, his hands crawling at your arm and leaving bruises but you remained stuck.

"Until you learn how to be a decent human bean. You will be remained as the ugly and disgusted monster you truly are Overhaul." His skin started to shed and transform into a black goo and dirty fur. His legs actually broke and made him shout in pain as the whole castle could hear as his knees turned upside down.

His mouth started to bleed and gold and vermillion beak metalic thing crawled and grew out of his mouth transforming into a beak.

You let go of him as he feel on the ground.

"Now you know how it is to feel like this dont you?"

He let out another shout, but this one came animalistic and he covered his own beak and even got scared at the appearance of his monstrous hand that had fucking claws.

"Heheh..." you giggled "Despite being scared to death you still remain that arrogant persona and thoughts huh? Adorable." You looked at his lackeys and waves your hand at all of them.

They dissapeared and Chisaki widened his eyes at the sign.

"They now are free to enjoy some time with ones who they care and love... And you? Oh yeah. Due to your own business and actions... you have nobody. And the king isn't coming back on your kingdoom soon after that poor discussion you both had, isn't that right?"

He coughed and cawed, glaring at you through tears and gritted the now many teeths he had.

You tilted your head and furrowed your eyebrows at him, feeling a bit of pity but soon vanished away.

"I will stay in here until your mind finally comes to good senses.. Yet I hope you get to change Chisaki. After all, no boy deserves what you had been through on your childhood." You spoke and his glare dissapeared and wide eyes locked into yours.

You passed through him and the caws flew away from his empty castle as he was left alone on the now gigantisc room of the palace.

Sobs were stuck on his throat as he embraced his now monstrous self and hitted his forehead on the floor, not caring anymore about if or not wasn't dirty.

He shouted until his heart was content...

[shingekicornwrites]

Agricultural Werewolves, pt 1

Fandom/Tags: Hero Academia, alternate universe/werewolves, mentions of past bullying, Counseling, Bakugou Katsuki Faces Consequences, modern fantasy, unreliable narrator, Katsuki is kind of an asshole please don’t take his commentary as my opinion or truth

Pairings: Bakugou Katsuki/Anger Management Counseling, future Bakugou Katsuki/Kirishima Eijirou, future Midoriya Izuku/Todoroki Shouto

A/N: This is just a fun au full of wholesome farming, but also boys dealing with issues and a whole lot of unhealthy coping mechanisms and attempts to heal. Please enjoy

Not all farmers are werewolves, but many werewolves are farmers. For some reason this fact makes no sense to people who don’t know werewolves. For everyone else it makes perfect sense.

Werewolves have to eat a lot.

As in: the number one drain of money in werewolf houses is filling the cabinets enough to keep all members of the family healthy. Creatures who change shape with regularity, who shift their bodies and have immense strength that burns calories faster than they can blink, have to maintain an intake that allows them to function without their bodies resorting to eating itself. Even werewolves who don’t change all that often, either out of preference or a lack of opportunity, have to eat more than their human peers or suffer symptoms of starvation.  

Hence: werewolves are farmers.

It is infinitely easier to exist outside of poverty when werewolves, congregated into their own communities, make the food themselves instead of buying it all at the nearest grocer. They raise and cut the meats themselves. They grow the appropriate fruits and vegetables that balance their diets. They sell the portions according to their needs as opposed to human needs. It only makes sense that they do things this way.

They control the food market. They have space to run to their hearts content without worrying about bothering human neighbors. They make the rules for their communities with the standards they need, instead of standards written by people who don’t understand how they function. Government approved wolf reserves more often become farmland than anything else.

Werewolves are farmers, and statistically they’re more likely to be happy that way.  

This statistic does not account for Bakugou Katsuki.

At the moment, he is the furthest thing from happy.

“This place smells like shit.”

Normally he’d be cuffed upside the head for that. Instead his mom just looks at him, with that fucking pity in her eyes that hasn’t left in days, and frowns. Katsuki pointedly doesn’t look back and continues staring out the window at the trees and dust being kicked up by the tires.

“That’s the chicken houses. It is pretty rancid,” she says. Acting like she’s not on her way to get rid of her mess and wash her hands of it. “Ah, there’s the gates. Kind of nostalgic.”

The gate marking the Kiyashi Wolf Reserve is flanked by stone wolves howling at the sky in unison. Their car passes them by with no fanfare and Katsuki growls at the town beyond.

It’s as unimpressive as he thought it’d be. A town in the middle of Fuckoff Nowhere, with nothing to its name and a bunch of people who will die there the same nobodies they were born as. All it has to show are a bunch of old ass buildings for tourists and a stupid shrine.  Their car slows down once they pass the gates and Katsuki gets a good, long look at the shitty little storefronts lining the main street. His mom makes some weird noise when she sees them and starts yammering again.

“Oh, I’ve missed this.” She eases up on the gas as the traffic increases, slowing down to turn her head and look at a restaurant that’s filling the car with some kind of greasy meat smell. “That place over there makes the best dango. And there’s this cartilage karaage that’s so delicious—they pile the plate high, too. I forgot how much I missed getting the big portions. City eating just doesn’t give you enough.”

Katsuki huffs, glaring at a group of bumpkin kids who stare at their car as they walk past. “S’at why you left? Got cankles?”

Once again, no cuffing comes. Not even a growl. His mom just frowns with that fucking look again and doesn’t do anything.

“Better business in the bigger towns. Oh my, that store is still there? God, I used to go there every week to blow my paychecks. It looks even nicer than when I left it.”

They pass the shitty little boutique and she smiles at it, taking a left when the main road ends and humming at all the ancient scenery. There’s more old as shit buildings, more little shops and restaurants—more kids staring at their nice car and whispering to each other, which is just fucking great. There’s signs for the local shrine next to fox statues lining the side of the road and Katsuki makes a face at each one as they pass. This whole town looks like it hasn’t had a pulse in decades.

“Do you remember the Midoriyas, hon?” his mom asks as she takes another turn. “They left when you were small, around first grade.”

He thinks back and the memories come to the surface easily. Kindergarten had been spent running around followed by lackeys, catching bugs, making a mess of the local playground, and...huh, right. A face pops back into his mind. Freckles and curls, big green eyes, crying all the goddamn time because he had no spine and didn’t get that he wasn’t wanted around.

“Deku?” the name pops up before he can think too hard about it. Deku. The little snot who yelled too much and probably still wet the bed when he moved away. Useless little Deku.

“That’s not his name,” the hag nags him, jogging him out of the trip through memory lane.

Katsuki scoffs. “It’s what he was.”

“Katsuki,” she starts, finally seeming a little more like herself before she sighs and buries it deep. “Izuku and his mother moved here when they left. Inko’s offered to take you in while you’re here.”

So he’s gonna be under the care of the family with the worlds biggest crybaby? “Great.”

“It is great. You know her, a little. You and Izuku could catch up. Plus, Inko has a little business now. This old ryokan got turned into the local youth hostel, and it’s all under her name now since the old owner retired. It sounds very relaxing. Isn’t that nice?” His mom smiles, like this is actually good news, and it’s disgusting.

“I’m gonna die of boredom,” Katsuki mutters. He looks back out the window and there’s old people with baskets of vegetables just walking next to the road like they want to be hit by a car. Christ this place sucks.

“Don’t say that. This town has a ton of stuff to keep you occupied. You can run around to your hearts content and nothing’ll stop you.”

He lets his head rest against the glass and hopes the vibrations from the shitty road will concuss him. “Wheeee.”

“You’ll like it,” His mom promises. She’d also promised he’d be a winner, and here she is ripping him away from his top school of choice. So he thinks she can take that promise and fucking shove it.

The road gets tinier and the car slows down, with his mom squinting at each building as they pass and muttering under her breath. There are more old people with vegetables and stupid hick kids running around. The car slows to a stop at a break in whatever pathetic excuse for a sidewalk this town has lining its roads, shutting off as the hag smiles at the old ass building next to them.

“There it is,” she breathes.

It looks as shitty as he thought it would. Old, traditional, with weathered wood one good termite away from crumbling and an ancient sign trying to pass for new with a fresh coat of paint slapped on. Small for a ryokan, too, which is probably why it got sold off. There are planters surrounding the front entrance filled with flowers, where a pudgy little figure is hunched over and pulling weeds.

The hag doesn’t hesitate to unbuckle and climb out, shouting over the top of the car. “Inko!”

The pudgy woman turns around and drops the clippers in her hand. Katsuki doesn’t move to get out. He remembers her face. He remembers her taller, presenting snacks and endless bandages for her crybaby son. He remembers seeing her less and less before she was gone altogether. The short, heavy woman he’s looking at how doesn’t resemble her at all. She’s in dirty jeans and flannel, with a handkerchief tied around her head to keep her hair back and rubber boots caked in mud tracking mess all over the walkway.

Damn, Auntie let herself go.

“Mitsuki?” Inko asks, before throwing herself forward to give his mom a running hug. “Oh my—I thought you weren’t due until later!”

“Traffic was a lot lighter than I thought it’d be.” His mom laughs, as if it’s just a stupid social visit and not her dumping her goddamn kid to cover up a mess. “Look at you! You’re radiant! Kiyashi must be treating you well.”

Katsuki resists the urge to double take. His mother is a shit liar.

Inko just smiles. “It’s all the hiking. I had no idea how much fresh air makes you feel better.”

“Oh, I know. I felt like I couldn’t breathe after I left, city air is disgusting.” His mom makes a face. “How are you and the kids doing?”

“Wonderful. Izuku’s out working right now.”

“No foolin? Feels like yesterday he was learning to walk.”

“They grow up so fast.” Inko finally looks over and spots Katsuki slouched in his seat. “Is that Katsuki?”

He growls. She doesn’t even look phased.

“Yep,” his mother nods, then for the first time since this trip started she raises her voice. “Oi! Get out of the car and be sociable!”

He bares his teeth—fuck her, fuck this trip, fuck this stupid hick town—but opens the door. He makes sure to slam it shut. Just because he can. And he wants everyone to know he thinks this whole thing is a pile of shit. Especially the hag, who just glares at him but refuses to yell, even though he knows she wants to.

She always wants to. She always does. This stupid fucking pity game is going to drive him insane, why the hell does she think shutting up is gonna work?

“You’ve gotten so big,” Inko fawns, looking up at him with a big smile. “I bet you barely remember me, huh?”

“He does,” his mother deadpans. There’s a silent threat while Inko isn’t looking to at least greet her, but he responds to that with a sneer that just makes her shake her head. Instead of yelling, once again, she turns her focus to Inko. “Thank you again for this.”

“Oh, it’s no issue at all. The hostel doesn’t just exist for tourism,” Inko deflects. Katsuki looks at the hostel with another critical eye and snorts. Of course it isn’t for tourism. The whole place looks like shit. Tourists who pay for this must be idiots. “Katsuki, dear, I have a room set up for you. It has your name on it so you can go ahead and start loading your things in if you want.”

Finally, an excuse to get out of this. He yanks the car door open and grabs for his first few bags, eager to get away from sight for a few minutes. The women just keep blabbering on about nothing like he’s not even there.

“How’s the boarder?” his mom asks as Katsuki hauls his duffel bag out.

“Oh, he’s doing well. He’s at the shrine now.”

“That’s two working boys, then—“

It’s nothing to load two bags over his shoulders and get away. Leave the biddies to their gossip, he thinks. It’s the only thing they’re good for.

The inside of the hostel is...less shitty. Huh. Maybe that’s how it stayed in business. Katsuki kicks off his shoes and puts on the slippers set out with a scowl, surveying what’s visible past the entryway. The floors are polished wood, the insides done up so that everything looks bright and new. There’s a lounge right next to the entrance that’s been done up to be more teen friendly—a gaming console and a TV, a little fridge with a clear door filled with drinks, and a few bean bag chairs—he bypasses it with a huff and makes his way toward the rooms.

There’s a courtyard. The doors are open, letting him get a good look at the tree and flowers planted to look all pretty. He doesn’t see any people, though.

He passes rooms with no name on them. Empty, empty, empty—how the hell does Auntie keep this place in business? At first it’s nothing. Then it starts getting annoying.

Empty, empty, empty.

Empty.

Empty.

Motherfucker.

He circles the place twice and can’t find anything. No sign. No name. Just empty rooms in a shitty hostel in a shitty hick town and his own shitty breathing because why the hell has he had to carry the bags for this long?

The next time he finds his way back to the lounge he yells in frustration, kicking a chair. He’s about to ditch the bags and run through the place when he turns just a little too quickly and his duffel bag hits someone in the shoulder.

Katsuki bares his teeth before he can think about it. “Oi! Watch it!”

The stranger stumbles back. It’s some hick kid, in a dirty t-shirt and ratty baseball hat. His arms—thicker than expected for someone shorter than Katsuki is, with a fucked up hand that looks like it’s made of scar tissue—are carrying a wooden box filled to the brim with vegetables and paper wrapped packages that smell like blood and raw meat.

“Sorry about that—“ the stranger steadies himself, hefting the box up and stepping back. He’s too busy making sure nothing from the box is falling to even look at the guy he’s apologizing too, the asshole. “Are you lost?”

“No!” Katsuki barks.

“Well, it’s alright if you are, I just—“ the stranger meets Katsuki’s eyes and his own widen. “...wait.”

Katsuki bristles. Then something starts to churn, in his head. The stranger has big green eyes.

Big green eyes, and freckles. Familiar patterns speckled all over his face. Wild curls are attempting to escape out from under the hat, pasted to his forehead from sweat. If the hat wasn’t on it would be the same wild mass of uncontrollable coils that he remembers.

The last time he saw that face was years ago, out the back of a car as it drove away.

“Kacchan?” Deku asks, bigger and thicker and smelling like wolf in a way he definitely didn’t in first grade.

What the fuck?

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Chaos in Coccham

Genre: Fan Fiction (The Last Kingdom) Pairing: Finan/Reader Warnings: N/A Rating: G Length: Drabble Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: My entry for @geekandbooknerd​ 1K CELEBRATION! - Whoo! Congrats! My prompt was  “I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.” 

thank you @gearhead66​ for the header 

The Last Kingdom Master List

Chaos.

Absolute and pure chaos!

The house was upside down and barely hanging on. Toys scattered all over the living room, a sock in the dishwasher, and was that a bucket of sand in the fridge? Uhtred had been gone for the weekend, Friday to Sunday.

Looking at the clock, you rub your hands over your face and sigh. Uhtred would be home before dinner, surely. When he'd left he had made it clear –  behave!

Perhaps that had been a warning to the babysitter. Finan loved his surrogate nephews and niece, in return they loved him. What child wouldn't? Uncle Finan was a giant, bearded, kid himself. Your last straw was finding the sticky note on the fridge, claiming that one of the children had thrown up. Finan had insisted he cleaned the kid, the mess, and thanked his time in college for the help.

Had he been drunk?

Through the window in the kitchen, you hear the commotion. Yelling, laughter, and what sounds like something being hit. A brief glance from the window gives you a view of Finan, surrounded by children. A ball of some sort in his hand, he is gearing up to throw it at Osbert, the youngest of Uhtred's children.

Swinging with all his might, the boy closes his eyes, and the others cheer when the make shift ball hits the bat. A loud splat sends bits of obliterated apple soaring through the air. Apple lands everywhere. On the side of the house, the ground, even Osbert. Who, despite the mess he is in, cheers loudly and does a victory lap around the others.

“I told you.” Finan shouts with glee. “I told you that you could do it. See!”

A chorus of “great job!” and “Way to go Os!” follows Finan.

“Alright, little man, are you ready?” Finan shouts and points at a forth child.

Before any more apples can be thrown, you step through the screen door. Everybody wrapped up in their game, nobody took the time to notice you looming.

“Finan.” Your voice rings through the yard.

Heads snap and Osbert even gasps. As if they had saw a ghost or another sort of daunting monster, the gang freezes.

“My love, my heart. What a lovely surprise.” Finan is grinning like a mad man. A bushel of rotting apples by his feet. His beard covered in bits of apple, his shirt muddy, and his jeans grass stained. He looks as rough as the children around him.

Shaking your head, you roll your eyes. “You're in trouble, Mister.”

“Oohh!” the children mocked, giggling and laughing at their babysitter.

“My love, my heart. Trouble? We're only having a bit of fun.” He tries his best to woo you with his cheeky grin and those big brown eyes.

Ignoring him, you set your sights on his accomplices. “Kids, you all know better than to let Finan run wild.”

“Run wild? I did no such thing.” The Irishman defends his actions.

Ignoring his plight the best you can, you try your best to steady your mood. This was a disaster. Finan meant well, he adored the kids, but sometimes he got a little out of hand. Taking the drunk favourite uncle to a whole new level. When Uhtred had asked his best friend to watch his children, he knew what he was getting into.

“Athelstan, what are you doing here?” Your gaze falls upon the dark haired boy, mud and apple all over him.

“I wanted to come play.”

“Do his parents know he's here?” You look at Finan, hoping he had at least mentioned taking the boy to somebody in his family.

“No clue, but his grandmother knows. She brought him over.” Finan's smile is wide, as he ruffles his little shadow's hair.

“Do you want to play?” Uhtred, the younger version, asks holding out the bat.

Scowling at the teenager, you huff. “No, I don't want to play. What I want is everybody inside and cleaning. Your father is going to be murderous, when he comes home to this.”

Sulking and grumbling, Finan's miniature terror brigade slowly move to your will. Had you made it a game, like Finan, they would have gladly got on board doing whatever you asked. Unfortunate for them, this was business that needed dealt with. If you'd left it to Finan, it would never be completed and Uhtred would never speak to either of you again.

Inside the mood was somber, children filing in, and Finan following you like a lost puppy. He would have gotten around to cleaning, eventually. In his defense, Uhtred had lived in worse. Most of their college years were spent living in absolute chaos and disarray. To think of it, Finan couldn't remember either of them ever cleaning. Perhaps that was the reason Sihtric had always kept his door locked and refused to grant them entrance to his room.

“Uhtred is going to kill you,” Hands on your hips, shaking your head at the destruction. At home, Finan would never allow this to happen. If he did you would be gone and he would be left to pick up more than a mess.

“We'll have it all cleaned up before then.” Finan winks and plants a kiss on your cheek. “Come on gang, time to get dirty.”

“But we were having fun,” Stiorra whines pouting and using her best attempt at puppy dog eyes. It was her no fail, fool proof way of getting whatever she wanted.

“Oh, well, I suppose...” Finan smiled softly at his favourite – not that he would tell the others.

“Finan.” You gently cuff the back of his head. “No wonder this place it a wreck. Did you let them play you like that all weekend?”

Finan gently rubbed the back of his head, frowning. “Not all weekend.”

Unbelievable!

Finan was useless when it came to authority with children.

He was kind with a good heart, fun, and trusting. However he had no control over the younger beings, when they wanted something, he was easily played and every kid who met him somehow sensed that. Fun Uncle Finan was his claim and he adored the title, it meant more to him than anything else. Yes, he could allow the children to get unruly. Yes, he could do better with being the boss. He could even feed them a vegetable or two now and then, but what did any of that matter?

At the end of the day they were alive. Happy. Fed. And couldn't wait to start all over again in the morning. These were the things that made memories. Memories of a happy home and childhood were the things that dictated success. Providing a happy childhood, with their favourite drunk uncle, was worth more than gold to Finan.

House somewhat cleaner than when you'd arrived, dinner on the table, and kids cleaned all in three hours – it was something short of a miracle. Finan finished sweeping up the living room, while you wrangled children to the table. This time there wasn't a piece of pizza, chip, or candy insight. No complaints, either, which greatly amused Finan.

If he'd tried to feed them salad, they would have revolted. Staged a coup and hung him by his underwear.

“Well done my love, my heart.” Finan praises, stashing the broom and dust pan.

“See what being a mindful leader gets you,” You wink and turn to give him a well deserved kiss on the cheek. “You can take control, the kids will still love you.”

“Tell me about it, I love you every day. Despite having my bal-” Wisely he shuts his mouth, when he receives your glare. “I will do better, next time.”

“When this is done, I am taking Athelstan home. Finan, please do the dishes and get the kids in bed before it's too late.”

Armed with your instructions, Finan salutes. “Yes ma'am.”

Dinner finished, it's up to the kids to load the dishwasher and get cleaned up. Allowing Finan to flex his authority skills. Gathering the grubby Athelstan, you listen to Finan as he tries to be demanding. The Irishman really doesn't have it in him to be tough, not with three of his favourite young humans at least.

He'll learn. In time.

You had been telling yourself that for a few years. It was never going to happen. Those children had him right where they wanted him, the only other person they could overpower and outwit that easily was Osferth and he was growing wise to their wicked ways.

Shouting goodbye, you usher Athelstan out the front door. His parents likely have no clue he is missing, his grandmother would have told Finan to let her know when he needed to come home, which would have been forgotten in the chaos and fun.

Chaos and Fun were only two of Finan's greatest qualities. Despite how they drove you mad.

“What do we have here?” Uhtred's voice startles you, the car door shutting with a thud. Taking a look over the messy child, he folds his arms and waits.

“Uhtred,” You greet him with a faint smile, speaking loudly in hopes Finan and the children will hear you through the window.

“How bad is it?” Uhtred sighs. He had no illusions about how big of a mess Finan and his children would make. Seeing you was the indication that there was some hope.

“Not as bad as it was.” You shrug, instructing Athelstan to get in the backseat of your car. “They're just finishing dinner.”

“Alright, well, I should go in and see them. Are you going to wait for Finan?”

“Actually, that is a great idea. Tell him to hurry, I won't wait long.”

Waiting for Finan, you smile at Athelstan in the back seat. He looks like he's been lost in the woods for a week, wandering through mud and muck, as if he'd never met a bath before. Thankful that you were the one who didn't have to clean him.

Looking through the windshield, you frown at the sight of Finan dragging himself from the house. Overnight bag in hand, he had a pout and his eyes are downcast as he walks. His upbeat, eager demeanor is dampened. No doubt Uhtred had given him a quick once over about the responsible adult – again.

“What's wrong?” Your immediate instinct is to ask when he opened the car door.

Finan's brow is creased and his eyes sad.

“I wasn't ready to say goodbye.” Finan let the door shut behind him, sighing heavily. “But that is fine, Uhtred asked if I can come over Wednesday, when he works late.”

@ceridwenofwales​​​​ @pokeasleepingsmaug​​​​ @tiyetiye​​​​ @whenimaunicorn​​​​ @sifshoney​​​​ @goldentailedmermaids​​​​ @joyofbebbanburg​​​​ @laketaj24​​​ @kawennote09​​​ @medievalfangirl​​​ @tephi101​​​  @fandomfic-galore​​​ @therealcalicali​​​ @carlya65​​​ @inforapound​​​ @flowers-in-your-hayr​​​ @captstefanbrandt​​​ @naaladareia​​​ @nxrdist​​​ @wilddrabble​​​ @equalstrashflavoredtrash​​ @ivarlothbroks​ @thewildbeauty​ @ivarinleatherpants​

*If you wish to be added on to/taken off of The Last Kingdom tags, please let me know*

[yeenybeanies]

how indeed!!

mortal kombat | erron black & unnamed borrower

1,119 words

strong language warnings

reblogs > likes!! feel free to leave comments in the tags!! thanks!!

The cylinder flips back into place with a click, and another smack sends it spinning––a sound all too familiar to the gunslinger. The weight too is familiar. Nothing pleases him quite like the feeling of a loaded weapon in his hand or holster.

On the table before him, a plethora of other firearms lie, freshly dismantled, cleaned, and reassembled. All of them are loaded too, of course. Erron Black doesn’t keep empty guns around. Who knows when he might need to put a bullet between the eyes of some punk that’s trying to kill him? The revolver and its twin counterpart are shoved back into their holsters on his belt, and Erron is about to start stowing the rest of his collection, but a faint noise makes him pause. He stands still, straining his ears to listen better. It sounds like . . . scrabbling up in the cupboards, where he keeps some dry foods. Scrabbling usually means rats, which is never a good thing to have around.

Rather than waste a bullet, the gunslinger forgoes his many firearms for a hunting knife. He stands and creeps towards the cabinet, footsteps silent. The hinge squeaks just a little as he opens it, but the rustling and scrabbling doesn’t stop. It’s coming from a box of crackers. He grimaces. He was saving those for when he got his hands on some good cheese, dammit! With an irritated huff, he stabs his knife through the thin cardboard box, and hears a startled squeak, followed by more frantic rustling. Erron yanks the knife from the box, taking note of the lack of blood, and huffs. Quick little bastard. But he’s quicker. Not wanting to give it a chance to escape, he pulls the box from the cupboard and tips it out onto the counter. As soon as the foreign body tumbles out, he lashes again with his knife, digging it into the counter with a crunch.

“ Fucking stop! ”

What the hell?

Just a hair’s length to the right of the blade lies not a rat, but a . . . a small human-looking critter. They have their arms up to try and shield their head, but they are looking right back up at Erron, meeting his confused stare with one of vitriol. For a moment, Erron is stuck, not sure what to do. That’s a moment the little thing takes to jump up and make a run for it. The movement snaps him out of his stupor, however, and he dives forward, fingers catching one of the creature’s legs. Before they can fall, he snatches them up, dangles them upside down from their captured leg.

“ Ow––stop! What the hell is wrong with you?! Put me down and stop trying to kill me, you overgrown pile of shit! ”  Clearly, they’re not happy. They back up their berating with squirming, and kicking at his fingers with their free leg.

Erron is still a little shocked. They . . . sure do look like a human being, save for being only a couple of inches tall, no taller than his middle finger. He brings them closer to his face to get a better look. Apparently, though, that’s too close; they pull something from one of their pockets and swipe at Erron’s nose, leaving a shallow cut that has him reeling back. It surprises him more than anything, though it does sting a good bit. He curses, gingerly touching the cut and checking for blood.

“ Alright, you little bastard. ” Erron swings the creature and catches them right side up, trapping their arms against their sides in his fist. They shout and spit at him, maintaining that searing glare of theirs. Erron’s actually impressed; they’re like a mouse caught in the paw of a tiger right now, and yet they’re more defiant than most of the people he’s paid to hunt.

“ I said down! ” Through his glove, he feels a sting––likely the same instrument the being used to slash his nose. Erron grimaces, but his grip tightens, despite the pain. He reckons he can handle a needle prick while he squeezes the being into submission.

Damn, though. They don’t submit too easily. If he squeezes much harder, he’s bound to crush something. They’re red in the face, but still they’re fighting him.

“ You’re quite the spitfire, ain’t’cha? ”  His grip eases just a little. They double over and gasp for air. It’s a momentary relief from that glare.  “ Quit squirmin’. I’m not gonna kill you. Don’t even know what you are. ”

“ I’m a––– ” They wheeze, still catching their breath,  “ I’m a borrower, you dickhead! ”  

“ The hell’s a borrower? ”  

“ You’re looking at one. ”  There’s that glare again, burning holes right through Erron’s skull. This  ‘ borrower ’ is a little spitfire, hunh? If he weren’t so confused, the gunslinger would find this amusing.  “ Hell, you almost stabbed one. Twice! ”  

“ Thought you were a rat. Not sure if this is better or worse. ”  He assumes borrower is smarter than a rat. Who knows what kind of trouble they can cause. They still have their tool digging into his hand. A sharp twist to it makes Erron grunt.  “ I didn’t stab you, though, so if you wouldn’t mind not stabbin’ me, hunh? ”

“ You missed. ” They twist again. Erron’s hold loosens enough for them to slip down, back onto the counter. Before they can make a run for it, though, he clamps his hand down over them, making sure to pin that weapon against the counter. He examines the stab they left in his palm, and the little stream of blood dripping down his glove.

The weapon, from the looks of it, seems to be a tooth or a bone of some sort, sharpened and fashioned with a handle. This fella’s a survivor. That much was obvious, though, what with them being bold enough to take him on.

“ You got a name, li’l fella? ”  

“ Wouldn’t you like to know, asshole? ”  Their voice is a little strained under the pressure from his hand, but nothing can mask that venom.

“ You got some mouth, you know that? I’ve killed people for talkin’ to me like that. ”

“ What’s stopping you now? ”

Oh yeah, he likes this little bastard. The confusion’s cleared enough now that he can chuckle and shake his head.  “ Not quite sure. I’m gonna let you go, though. I think you’ve earned a few crackers for tonight. ”

As soon as he lifts his hand, the borrower bolts, but not before they swipe a few warning slashes at his retreating fingers. Once they have a couple of crackers tucked under an arm, they dash for a split in the wall––one that Erron hadn’t even known was there.

“ See ya ‘round, little fella, ”  he says with another chuckle.

“ Get fucked, ”  comes the voice from the walls.

[captainillogical]

Distant Lands Ch.7

Stranded on a planet with toxic conditions and nothing but the clothes on your back, your only means of survival lies within the gem that got you here in the first place.

Spinel/Reader

collab with my lovely wife @firstofficertightpants​

“Uhhh..” You hear yourself echo out into what feels like empty space. “Is there a lightsource nearby?” 

“There should be, hold on.” You turn to Spinel, to see her gemstone glowing slightly on her chest. Huh. “Give me a second, and I should be able to find the control nearby.”

You watch the glow of her gem move off to the side, and you take a couple steps forward to get your bearings. It smells.. dusty in here. You can’t feel anything around you, so you assume you’re in an open space. Nearly a minute passes in the dark, and you hear Spinel shuffling around a good twenty feet away from you.

“You find anything yet?” Your words continue to bounce off the walls. There must be a high ceiling, too.

“Could ‘ya be a little patient? I don’t see you helping.” You hear her reply.

“I can’t see in the dark, what do you expect me to do? It’s not like I have a gem to light the way for me.” You scoff, taking a few more steps forward.

“I think I found it.” You hear another small click, and all of a sudden the room lights up around you.

You’re about two feet away from something, and when you look up, you realize it’s a statue a good thirty feet tall. The face is strikingly stern, with the chin jutting out in a fierce display of authority.

“Is that Yellow Diamond?” Spinel says off to the side.

“Yeah.” You stare at it a bit more. “Funny. She looks the exact same now.”

“You’ve met Yellow Diamond?” She asks, perplexed. She’s walking back over to you now.

“Yeah, a couple times, all under very weird circumstances. At least she eventually stopped trying to kill Steven, though." You chuckle, looking at the room around you. 

The walls are long and high, and there’s a couple of really old Diamond murals along it. You see a staircase in the back, leading up to the second floor, and a couple of generic statues off to the side that looked like they were just placed there randomly. In the middle and along one side of the wall there is a bunch of outdated gem technology, with a giant screen taking up a large portion of it.

“She tried killing Steven?”

“Yup. Dunno why you sound surprised, you also tried killing him.” You reply, tired and sarcastic.

“That’s different! I had my.. reasons.”

“Your reasons are basically the same. It all ties back to Pink Diamond.”

“I..” She crosses her arms, and purposefully looks at the gem tech in front of her. “I doubt that.”

You stare at her for a moment. “Well, maybe if you told me why, I’d be able to tell you that you were wrong to your face, and we can finally settle this.”

“Settle what, exactly?” She uncrosses her arms, and wipes the console in front of her. There is so much dust caked onto the controls and screen that her glove comes back with a thick, dark layer of dust. She makes a disgusted face.

“Your problems. You clearly have issues with something that happened, and you’re letting them control nearly every aspect of you. I can tell.” You nearly cough at the slight dust cloud around you, and you have to bring your hand up to your face to wave it away.

“That’s none of your business.” She snaps back with, and presses several buttons in front of her. The console beeps, and the screen lights up in front of you two.

“It isn’t, no. But it’s not like you have anyone else to talk to.” You shrug, watching the screen boot up. You don’t really care anymore, not really. Not since she promised to not harm Steven. 

“You’re kind of a hypocrite.”

“Really?” You scoff. “What makes you say that?”

“You also have problems. I can rarely talk to you without you snapping at me.” She wipes more of the computer down, and attempts to shake the dust off her glove, to no avail.

You glare at her, unable to form your words for a moment.

“Listen, I-”

You’re cut off by the console chiming, and you hear a voice say “Welcome”. Both you and Spinel look at each other.

“You think communications are still up?” You ask, argument momentarily forgotten.

“They should be. Gems built tech to last for thousands of years.” You watch her navigate the menu, display language in something you cannot read. 

Several messages pop up on the screen, and Spinel huffs out her nose in frustration while exiting out of all of them.

"What's wrong?"

"It's giving me connection issues."

"Are you serious.." You want to scream. “Why does everything need to be difficult!? I just want to go home.”

"I'll get it fixed, sheesh. Give me a minute to figure out what it's talking about." She grits her teeth, tongue poking out slightly. You watch her offhandedly, as you really can’t do much else other than wait. 

She’s changed a little since you’ve met her. Not so much appearance wise, other than her pigtails looking a little more frayed, a bit looser. Like she’s let the wild of the jungle get to her. You’ve always found the markings on her face a bit strange, but you’ve grown used to them. The thing that bothers you the most honestly, is that her heart shaped gem (that you now can guess is heart shaped because she’s a friendship gem.. the irony) is upside down? It makes no sense. You won’t ask her why she looks the way she does, though. 

The last couple of days you’ve felt a bit different about her. You don’t really hate her anymore, not really. She’s kind of tolerable, sometimes.

Spinel makes a couple tutting noises which draw you out of your inner monologue. You watch her eyes flicker rapidly across the screen.

“So, good and bad news.” She finally says after several minutes.

“Bad news first.” You reply.

“Okay, all network signals are completely down and I can’t seem to get them back up.”

“And the good news?”

“I attached an SOS signal to a nearby satellite. It should be able to bounce off something from there and get to someone, but who knows at this point.”

Of course.

“That ain’t great but.. it’s something.” You shrug. You’re disappointed, but there isn’t really anything you can do to change this. She narrows her eyes at you.

“I was expecting you to be a lot more.. angry about this. Not gonna lie.”

“Well, it’s kind of on brand at this point for this planet to give me unpleasant news.” You roll your eyes at her. “I’m not fussy all the time.”

“Coulda fooled me.” She snaps back instantly, and you give her a pissy look. Whatever. You’re tired.

A bit done with the whole situation, you disengage yourself from the console while you walk around, looking at everything. It's dusty as fuck in here, clearly from disuse. Off to the side, you see a pile of something and instantly get excited.

"Ohhh fuck yes." You hear your voice echo across the room.

"What are you going on about over there?" Spinel pipes up from her position on the other side, but she doesn't move.

"I found a cloth tarp! A big one!" You shout back, picking up a corner of the fabric, feeling it on your fingers. It's a bit rough, but after sleeping on fucking leaves for the last two weeks, this feels like a luxury.

"..and why are you excited about that?" 

"Because this will make sleeping so much better, and it's the closest thing to a blanket, okay! Anything is better than leaves at this point."

"Humans are so weird." She replies with, staring at you for a brief moment before going back to looking at the screen. You find yourself not really caring.

"Anyway, I'm gonna shake this out and pass out soon. Today has exhausted me." You cough from all the dust you're kicking up. 

"Do what you want." She says, “I’m gonna see if I can somehow restore the corrupted data logs I found on here.”

You will do what you want, you think to yourself. She can do whatever.

You go to grab a bunch of the cloth tarps and move them into a giant pile in the corner of the room, after shaking each one out further away from your chosen spot. It takes you awhile, and when you’re done, Spinel is still at the console, eyebrows furrowed at the screen.

You lay down, and face the wall.

By the time you're half asleep she finally lays down next to you, and you hear her sigh to herself while adjusting the cloth over herself. Sleep comes to you easy.

-

You wake up several hours later due to Spinel getting up from her position beside you and walking away from your bed pile. In your half sleep state, you hear the doors to the Spire open and close. Did she just.. leave? You lay there very groggily for several minutes, wondering if you should go check on her to see what she’s doing. She’s never left in the middle of the night before like this. A few more minutes pass and before you can convince yourself to brave the cold outside, you hear the doors opening again with a swoosh, and the sound of footsteps walking back towards you.

Spinel lifts the drop cloth and gets back under it right next to you, and you try your best to not seem like you’re awake right now. You let your breathing even out, with no further sound or movement coming from Spinel behind you. 

Honestly, this is the most comfortable you’ve been since being on Earth, even if it is just laying on a pile of musty tarps. Minutes pass, and you’re starting to feel your eyes droop again with sleep. You feel your body relax, and then.. something touches the small of your back. It’s just enough of a touch to feel it, and it jostles you out of your sleep again. Is she asleep? You listen closely to hear her breathing, and you’re a 100% positive she’s awake. You move slightly, and she quickly pulls her hand away in response. ...okay. Why was she touching you?

You roll over immediately to see what’s up with her, and she’s staring at you with a strange expression.

“Why’d you leave?” You ask, voice rough with sleep. Her eyes flicker between yours, considering you for a moment before opening her mouth.

“..I had a nightmare.” She says, plainly. Her facial expression is kind of.. vulnerable. 

“Okay, but why’d you leave the Spire?” You’re too tired and not really in the mood to make fun of her for this, and besides, the air around you right now is.. different. It’s hard to describe.

“I needed to get some fresh air to clear my head.” She sighs, and wipes some loose pink hair away from her face.

“Nightmare was that bad?” 

“..yeah.” She replies reluctantly. 

“Wanna talk about it?” You pry, not really caring if she does or not. 

“Not really.” She says, kind of stubbornly.

Ugh, okay. That’s the most you’re going to extend out to her. You’re tired and not really feeling up to this anyway.

“Alright, suit yourself.” You roll back over, and rest your head on your arm for a makeshift pillow. For some reason your tarp pile feels a lot more lumpy now, and it’s making it really hard to find a decent comfortable spot. You adjust yourself multiple times before finally settling, and pulling your drop cloth back up to your chin. Man.. this thing decently keeps in body heat. You almost feel snug under here.

You feel yourself falling asleep again, when Spinel moves slightly behind you.

“...um.” She clears her throat.

“Yeah?” You reply curtly. Can she let you fucking sleep?

“It was about Pink Diamond.” You open your eyes again, and you can just feel how tired your facial muscles are. Of course she wants to share with the class now.

“Was it the same nightmare as last time?” You hear yourself asking.

“...yeah, actually.” 

“That uh. That sucks.” You reply, kind of awkwardly. You don’t really know how to deal with this kind of thing. “Having the same nightmare twice, I mean.”

“I’ve had this happen every night we’ve been here.” She says bluntly, and you roll back over to face her.

“Every night? You’ve had the same exact nightmare every night?”

“Yes.” She narrows her eyes at you. “Is that not normal?”

You stare at her for a bit. You’re almost concerned. You know, if you actually cared about her.

“No, that’s not.. er. What are they about? Are you like, trying to give a serious report to the other gems or something, and when you look down you realize you’re in your underwear? And Pink Diamond is there, laughing at you?”

“No.” She replies, giving you a tired look. “It’s always about her abandoning me in the garden.”

“Pfft, abandoning you? I mean that’s shitty, but I was expecting, I don’t know, something like murder? What kind of nightmare is that?” “A realistic one.” She says, and takes in a long breath of air.

“Realistic.” You stop, open your mouth, and stop again. “Could you explain?”

She looks down at her hands momentarily, contemplating something. When she looks back up to meet your gaze, you feel as if her expression changed a little.

“So. Long story short.. we were best friends, and then she left me.”

You stare at her, waiting for her to continue. Several seconds pass in silence.

“You gonna elaborate on that?”

“This is hard for me.” She presses her face further into the tarps, almost as if she’d prefer to sink into them. “It’s kind of a fresh wound, still.”

“Well, I have time.” You say, neutrally. This seemed to be the right thing to say, because it looks like she just visibly relaxed her hunched up shoulders.

“You know how I said I was a companion gem?” She asks you, and you nod at her. “Well, I was made specifically for Pink Diamond.”

“Why?” You question out loud.

“The other Diamonds deemed her lonely, and also wanted her out of their hair. So they gave her.. me. It was great, being with her. We had our own garden to play in, just the two of us. We’d have hours of fun there.”

“If it was so great, why’d she leave you then?” You say, not quite understanding what she’s getting at here.

“She wanted a colony so bad like the other Diamonds. Pink begged them for so long, and threw so many tantrums that eventually they gave in.”

“And then she just left? You didn’t go with her?” 

“Yeah, and no.”

“What did you do?” “I waited for her.” “You WAITED for her?”

“She told me to. You know, like we were playing a game. And I’m good at games, the best even, but..”

“But?”

“She never came back.”

You stare at her. You feel like something maybe just clicked. You know the rest of Pink Diamond’s story. And.. with Spinel here just telling you hers, and never having met her prior to two weeks ago..

“Spinel?” You meet her gaze, and she’s looking at you nervously. You feel wide awake now.

“Hm?”

“How long did you wait for Pink Diamond to come back?” She tears her gaze from yours immediately. This terrible feeling of nausea and dread bubble up in your stomach, making you nearly instantaneously feel like shit.

She mumbles something so quiet that you can’t make out anything she just said.

“Wanna repeat that?”

“Six thousand years, give or take a little.”

You feel your eyes widen in surprise, and nearly choke on your own saliva.

“You.. six thousand years.”

“Yep.”

“You questioned nothing?” “I thought about it, but if she came back and I wasn’t there..”

“What made you finally leave? Considering you must know by now that-”

“It was Steven’s broadcast. I figured it out after that.”

You both stare at each other for several long moments while you attempt to sort this information out in your head.

Wow. It all makes sense now. There’s a lot to unpack here. God, you.. You feel like shit. She must have warped directly to you guys as soon as she saw that message. She wasn’t exactly kidding when she was talking about a fresh wound.

Sure, it doesn’t excuse her trying to murder Steven, but now you just feel terrible that you’ve kinda been an asshole to her this entire time and she just.. yikes. She clearly needed someone to talk to. She doesn’t even seem like the same gem that used you for a human meat shield two weeks ago. How in the world did she not go insane from being isolated for so long? Er, aside from.. You know. When you first met. How has she gone from thousands of years of silence, thousands of years with no touch, or talking to anyone, all by herself.. to.. to this. Stuck on a shitty planet, and with you. It is her fault, but..

You don’t even know how to proceed from here. You seriously feel like you need to go outside to clear your head to just.. absorb all of this. 

“Why aren't you saying anything?" She interrupts your thoughts, sounding quietly concerned. 

"I'm a bit at a loss of words here. You're gonna have to give me a second." You inhale and exhale, gathering your thoughts. "So.. wow. Wasn't expecting that from Pink Diamond, but knowing so much about her? I'm honestly not surprised at all."

“Yeah I’ve.. had a lot of time to think about it.”

“No kidding.” You say, still in a bit of shock at this. “And look, she’s even plaguing your dreams subconsciously.” “Is there a way I can get them to stop?” She asks you, fumbling with the edge of the cloth between her fingers.

“I’m gonna be real with you here.” You sigh, pushing your hair a bit out of your face. “I only ever got my really bad nightmares to kind of go away by confronting the issue at hand.”

“Which was?”

“I needed to face everything I was scared and insecure about.” You say, and Spinel’s eyes meet yours.

“I.. uh. I don’t know how to do that.” She says, very quietly. The silence of the room envelops around you, and you watch her eyes flicker between yours. 

You feel like whatever you say next might cause your relationship with her to change a little, somehow.

“Would you like to talk about it?”

Her eyes open slightly wider, mouth hanging in surprise. “You want me to talk?” 

“Do you have any other choice to talk to anyone else here?” You have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

“No..”

“Anyway, I’m your only option, so.”

“I don’t even know what to say.” She says, fingers gripping around the fabric, clenching them tightly.

“Honestly,” You start, “I didn’t approach anyone with my shit. Steven actually forced me to sit down and talk to him about it, because he could tell I was miserable and losing sleep over it.”

“He sounds like a good person.” “He is. I don’t know what I’d do without him.” You pause, and she looks slightly guilty at what you just said. “But he made me realize I was putting too much on me, and blaming myself for everything when no one is perfect. So..” You take another breath. “What exactly are you feeling here, in these nightmares?”

“Anger. Hurt. And this intense hollow feeling in my chest.” She flicks her gaze away from you kind of.. nervously.

“Makes sense, all things considered. Is there something that you can’t stop thinking about, no matter how hard you try?” You watch her bite her lip in between her teeth, eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah.” She says, softly. “The indescribable feeling of standing there waiting for her, wondering how long it’s been since I last saw her, wondering if something really bad had happened. Then watching Steven’s broadcast about peace and prosperity, finally realizing she literally left me and made new friends, and doesn’t even exist anymore.”

Silence fills the room for several seconds. You feel your chest tightening; her sad, defeated tone striking a chord inside you.

“What an asshole.” You accidentally say out loud, and slap your hand over your mouth. “Sorry, I know that isn’t helpful.” Her face twitches in an almost smile, and that causes some kind of feeling to bubble inside you that you squash down to not analyze later.

“No, you’re right. I just wish I could say something to her.” She sighs.

“And what exactly would you say to her?” You ask, and she meets your eyes briefly before purposefully staring at her hands instead.

“I’d tell her that she’s a half-rate diamond who sucks at playing hide-and-seek.” She pauses for a second, like she’s mulling over something before saying it. “And then I’d ask her..” She trails off, mumbling slightly, and you can’t hear a word of it. She’s very purposefully not meeting your eyes now.

“Could you repeat that last part?”

“I.. I’d also maybe ask her if there was anything I had done to make her leave me there.” She says very quietly, and you barely manage to hear it.

You.. you stare at her. You can see a small amount of tears welling up in her eyes, and your heart breaks for her, just a little.

“Spinel.” You say, and she looks to you, lips trembling like she’s about to cry. “There was nothing you could have done to make her abandon you like that.”

“Look, I clearly deserved that,” She says, voice filled with raw emotion. A tear spills down her face, and she wipes it away quickly. “Because why else would she have done that?”

“No one deserves that. Period.” You state factly, and you want no room for argument about it. “And I don’t know, because prior to this.. no one had mentioned your existence at all. She didn’t tell anyone about you.”

“Hearing that out loud makes it hurt so much worse.” She laughs, and chokes back a quiet sob, wiping more tears away from her face. You feel like your stomach just dropped, and something grips your chest cavity tightly.

“I didn’t mean it like..”

“It’s fine. It’s all her fault, anyway. I’ll get over it eventually.”

“Spinel..” You trail off, unable to form the right words. You don’t really know how to make this any better. You feel awkward and miserable, and you’re rethinking every interaction you’ve had with Spinel up to now with the new information. 

She.. she basically clung onto you at first because she absolutely did not know how to deal with her own abandonment issues and isolation. You’re trying to not blame yourself for your own self preservation, but you feel extremely guilty that you didn’t try to understand her sooner. Because technically, you’ve been a complete dick to her for the last week unnecessarily. Even when she was nice to you.

“I’m sorry.”

She looks up at you, wiping another tear away. She looks miserable, and with her shoulders trembling like that, she seems so small. Small and unthreatening, unlike when you first met her.

“Why? What do you have to be sorry about?”

“I haven’t exactly been super nice to you, like, at all.” You answer bluntly.

“So? It’s not like I gave you a reason to like me. I trapped you here with me, I don’t deserve any kindness.”

“Yeah, well. I’m still sorry.” You shrug, watching her avoid your eyes again. “And.. I think everyone deserves a bit of kindness.” She makes a face like she’s about to protest, so you speak up before she tries anything. “Don’t argue with me about this.”

She opens and shuts her mouth, and continues to avoid your eyes.

“Okay.” She says, and the room fills with silence again. 

A minute or so passes while you lay there, the sound of your own breathing the only thing you can hear. Eventually her eyes trail over to yours, and you make eye contact. You both look at each other for several long moments, neither of you breaking the quiet. You can see her gem peeking out of the tarp she’s covered with, chest moving slightly with every intake of breath. Her eyes look.. so tired. 

“Um..” She shifts her body slightly under the tarp, pressing her face further onto the pile. “I think maybe I should sleep.” “It would be a decent idea, yeah.” You reply. Neither of you move.

“Y/N?” She asks.

“Hm?”

“Thanks.”

“For?” 

“Listening.” She blinks slowly, and you can visibly see her shoulders deflate.

“Don’t mention it.” You say, and give her a half smile.

You pull the cloth up to your face, the smell of dust hitting your nostrils. You don’t really mind. She does the same and you make eye contact with her again, feeling the air between you two change slightly. You don’t really know how to describe it, but.. it’s different.

You find yourself falling asleep facing her this time. 

It doesn’t bother you.

[bazzybelle]

Love is Blind (As A Bat)

Ok... so I wasn’t intending on writing a fic for today but then I saw THIS amazing piece by the talented @parijpg and I HAD to write a little something. 

So many apologies for this fic. I wanna say it’s a late CRACK submission for the Countdown, but I don’t know. 

Also, sorry if there are typos or any other nonsense. I wrote this quickly, while at work and didn’t have time to have it beta-read properly. 

Enjoy... I guess... xD

________________________________________________________________

SIMON

He’s late. He’s never late.

He was supposed to be back at around supper time, but I have yet to hear anything from him. I check my mobile, in case I missed a text or call, but find nothing waiting for me. I type up a quick message, just to see where Baz is and if he’s alright. 

“Done at your parents’ place? Been missing you all day.”

I toss my mobile onto the table and glance at my watch: 9:30 PM. He really should have been back home by now. He was only supposed to go to his parents’ estate for an afternoon visit. I don’t want to worry, Baz knows how to handle himself (ever since I’ve been teaching him how to properly defend himself). Still, the back of my mind tends to worry that something is wrong, or that something happened to him. I chalk it up to old anxieties making a brief return and pull out a comic that I’ve been reading. 

I don’t know how much time has passed when I hear a very soft thump thump sound coming from the balcony window. I get up from the sofa and head towards the sound. A quick look outside doesn’t raise any flags for me. It looks like a typical London night; dark skies, clouds and light pollution making it impossible to see any stars. I turn away from the window and head back to the sofa. 

I check my mobile again; 10:30 PM and still no message from Baz. I can feel my heart sinking and my stomach beginning to twist. Something is wrong. I shove my mobile in my pocket as I rush to Penny’s room and begin banging on her door. 

“Penny! Come out! Something’s wrong!”

Her door whips opened and Penny stands in front of me, hands at her hips with a very cross look on her face. I see her laptop opened with Skype running in the background, so I assume she’s been talking to Shepard before I interrupted her. “This better be important Simon! I was-”

“Baz is missing.” I interrupt her.

“Are you sure? When was he supposed to arrive back home?” Penny is frowning at me. I know she doesn’t like to be interrupted, but this is serious. 

“Almost 3 hours ago…” I begin to pick at my cuticles and look to the floor. My foot begins to tap nervously and my heart just won’t calm down. 

“He’s not hunting?”

“He would have texted me Penny! Something’s wrong!” I growl at her. I hate to be this impatient with Penny, but I know my boyfriend and all the signs point to him being missing or worse. We are wasting precious moments arguing about nothing. 

“Alright, alright…” Penny heads to her computer and types up a quick goodbye message to Shepard. She returns from her bedroom, holding several crystals, and spellbooks. She dumps them onto the kitchen table and sighs heavily. 

“You know, for someone as strong, and powerful a magician as Baz is, he does tend to go missing often.” Penny states as she begins to thumb through a book about spells to call upon a loved one.

“This is not funny Penny! I’m fucking worried about him!” I run my fingers through my hair and start to think of the million and one possible things that could have happened to Baz. I then start to run through the million and one different ways that I could have better protected him; or the million and one different moves he could have used to protect himself. I run the risk of spiraling out of control, when I hear another soft thump thump coming from the balcony window again. Penny’s head whips up from the book she’s reading. 

“What was that?” Penny starts to get up from her seat, but I hold my arm out, blocking her path.

“Probably the wind. I heard it earlier before. There’s nothing out there! Can we focus on finding Baz?” Penny starts to sit back down when:

Thump thump!

That blasted sound again. Penny jumps from her seat and marches towards the door. I try to stop her again, but she pushes my arm aside. “Simon, just let me see for myself that nothing is outside.” I let her go, while I continue to pour over the books. Penny shrugs and starts to head back, but we hear the sound again. 

Thump thump! Thumpthumpthumpthumpthump THUMP!

“OH BLOODY HELL!” Penny opens the window with vigor. She is about to step onto the balcony, when something small and black flies into the flat. Penny screams and ducks her head. 

I bolt from the table and grab the first thing I see -- in this case, a dish towel, hanging off a chair -- and start whipping it towards the… bird? No… not a bird… a BAT! How did a bloody bat make it all the way here!?

The bat dives straight towards me as I keep whipping the towel to deter it. I stumble into the kitchen and pull out a spatula. It isn’t ideal, but I don’t want to hurt the thing, just get it out of my flat. The bat keeps trying to reach me, but I’m waving the spatula at it. I’m hoping to move towards the window again and push it outside, when Penny shouts. 

“Simon! It’s got something in its claws!

As if on cue, the bat drops the item it’s been holding the whole time. I pick up the item and inspect it; An ivory wand with a leather grip. Baz’s wand.The little bat lands on the bookshelf and perches upside down. Penny sees the wand and looks to the bat. She figures it out before I do and begins to laugh. 

“Oh… BASIL! How did this happen?!” The little bat -- BAZ -- chirps angrily at Penny and dives towards her. She screams again and dives under the table. “Keep that up, Basil, and we’ll see if I bother helping you!” Bat-Baz flies towards me. I open my hands and he lands in them. I gently close them and hold him softly. I lift him up to my face and take a good look at him. He certainly looks like a bat, but I can see the few elements that are true to Baz and Baz only. Such as the angry little scowl on his face. I softly run my thumb over his little head, something that human-Baz likes, in an effort to calm him down. 

“Baz? Oh… Baz…” Bat-Baz nuzzles my hand and hides his face between his wings. My heart softens for him, because he’s probably mortified that I’m having to see him like this. Penny steps up behind me and studies my little bat-boyfriend. She lowers her glasses and gets a good look at him, small smirk appearing on her lips. 

“You know, I almost prefer Baz like this. How sad is that?”

Bat-Baz hisses at Penny and begins to flap his tiny little wings at her. I turn away from Penny giving her a dirty look. “Penny! Stop! Don’t upset him. He’s already embarrassed!” I start to gently rub his little head again and scratch his little bat wings. It’s something Baz does for me when I’m upset and I like it. It seems to calm him down.

Penny has walked back to the table and sat down. She rests her chin on her hand and starts to think. I place Bat-Baz on my shoulder and walk to join her. He hops up on top of my head and nestles in my curls. “So, how do we fix this?”

Penny shrugs, “I don’t know. There aren’t spells available for this type of transformation. You both know how spells work. The language has to be specific.” 

Bat-Baz flies from my head and lands on the comic book that I’ve been reading. I follow him and pick it up (Batman: Year One). Of course! Batman is incredibly popular, especially the campy TV show from the 60’s (I’ve watched a lot of those reruns. They are more than a little absurd).

“BATMAN!” Penny shouts enthusiastically. Bat-Baz flies back to my hands and lands inside. Penny points her (brand new) ring at him and shouts in a loud, clear voice:

“NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA NA BAT-MAN!” The jewel on her ring glows a very bright purple over Bat-Baz’s tiny body. But nothing happens. I start to look him over, and he gives me an exasperated look almost as if to say “What are you expecting to find, Snow?”

“Nothing happened… Penny… he’s still a bat…” I sigh. Penny raises her hands up in the air and shrugs. 

“Well, I’m trying Simon! But this is all new to me!” Bat-Baz flies up to my face and nudges my lips with his little head, before returning to my opened hands. Penny suppresses a laugh as she understands what needs to happen.

“Simon… You may have to kiss him…” I stare in disbelief at Penny, and back at Bat-Baz. It sounds absolutely nutters, but if it’ll change Baz back into himself, then I’ll do it. 

I raise him up to my face again: “I know you wanted to try something new, Baz.. but this is really something, yeah?” Bat-Baz raises a tiny eyebrow and sticks his tongue out at me, mockingly. I laugh at him and bring him closer to my mouth. I whisper softly in his ear: “Don’t get any ideas in that disturbed little head of yours.” Bat-Baz looks away from me, and I swear I see the slightest bit of pink underneath his black fur. I bring his tiny face close to me and plant a small kiss on his bat lips. 

Bat-Baz immediately starts glowing a violently bright purple colour. I bolt towards our bedroom, shouting a thanks to Penny. It may be rude, but I get the feeling Baz will come back completely stark-naked and I don’t need him to be further embarrassed. 

I place Bat-Baz on the bed and watch as the transformation takes over... and... I was right. He ends up being magnificently naked. Human-Baz stretches his arms and back and sighs heavily. 

I want to do so many things to him right now, but I figure it’s best to let him get reacquainted with his body. I pull out some clothes and hand them to him. I give him a small peck on his cheek and run my fingers through his black hair.

“You alright?”

“I am going to kill my step-sister.” He grumbles as he pulls on a pair of trousers. I cannot help but laugh at him. Baz shoots a glare at me and I shut up. I pull my mobile from my pocket and hand it to him. I imagine he’s going to want to call his parents to tell them he’s alright. 

Baz dials a number, while I hold onto his hand. I lean my head on his shoulder, thankful that he’s alright and that today’s disaster left us both with minimal damage. Baz’s back straightens up as he begins to yell into the phone.

“I swear to Merlin, Mordelia, if you use a Potter spell again, I will snap your wand myself! How many times do I have to tell you, Rowling’s spells are dodgy at best!?”

I place my hand on his shoulder and begin to rub it, in an effort to calm him down. Baz is back to normal… Thank Crowley for that.

Though I think he’s gotten a mad idea in his head… 

Git…

[ren-c-leyn]

To Avenge the Sun

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a fusion story, so, here we go. This one is done using this prompt by @clean-prompts, this prompt by @oopsprompts, these 1,2 prompts by @scandy-prompts, this prompt by @givethispromptatry, this prompt by @inspiring-prompts, and this prompt by @promptsforthestrugglingauthor.

 It’s a comedic fantasy adventure about slaying a vampire... when you aren’t really a competent hunter. That being said, there is a death, some injuries mentioned, one of the heroes gets captured, but there’s nothing really gory or detailed.

~

 I still remember that day. I was sitting on the porch, relaxing after our latest adventure. The clouds drifted lazily past, forming shapes as they went. And then... it happened.

 Without warning, the sun broke- shattered into a hundred pieces. And all I could do was watch in horror, as the pieces drift over the horizon. The light dimmed instantly, and faded away as the little pieces vanished. I was left sitting in the dark, trying to piece together what had happened when the echoes of footsteps came up beside me.

 “Well, it looks like I’m killing a vampire today.”

 I nearly choked on my coffee.

 “What do you mean, kill a vampire today?! And how would you kill a vampire anyways?”

 “Never heard of a knife?”

 I just stared at where I figured my partner’s face was. Though, I quickly realized it was pointless. In this darkness, they couldn’t see my shocked and disappointed expression.

 “The sun just exploded... and you want to kill a vampire?”

 “To avenge the sun, duh.”

 “What makes you think a vampire destroyed the sun?”

 “Who else would have means and motive?” 

 I sighed.

 “I don’t know... maybe a dark wizard who hated mornings or something.”

 “Well... sure, maybe. But I’m betting it’s that vamp we heard about, Lord... whatshisface.”

 “I sincerely doubt that’s his name.”

 “Whatever, point still remains. He was into weird magic, killing worshippers of the sun goddess, and generally bad stuff. So, even if he isn’t the guy who killed the sun, it’s probably a good idea to deal with him before he deals with us.”

 That... was a point I couldn’t argue with.

 “I suppose you have a point... but we’re not equipped to deal with vampires.”

 “Don’t be so negative! We’re equipped for battle, we’ve handled tough monsters.”

 “Ones that we more brute force and less magic and weirdness!”

 I heard them shrug.

 “Things could always get worse.”

 “Which is why we’re going to do something very stupid....”

 “Better to die a fool than a coward! Now let’s get started. Where do you keep the torches?”

 We fumbled around for a while, gathering supplies and gearing up. I had a bad feeling about this, taking a vampire in eternal darkness, but I couldn’t let my friend go alone, either. The story of how I became an adventurer....

 We stopped by the local temple, picked up holy water, and made our way into the twisted forest where the vampire lord... whatever his name was, was supposed to live. It felt kind of rude, barging into someone else’s house to kill them. But then again, destroying the sun was pretty rude too, if my companion was correct about who did it.

 We wandered through the forest for what felt like forever. My torch was beginning to burn low and they had finally lit their own.

 “Are we lost?”

 “No! I know exactly where we are… I think.”

 “So we are lost. Wonderful.”

 “Hey, if navigating without the sun is so easy, why don’t you come up here and lead the way!”

 “Navigating without the sun isn’t easy, which is why I wanted to stay home and leave vampire hunting to an expert.”

 “Yeah, but....”

 A flapping sound silenced our argument. We both stopped and held our breathes, listening. Whatever was flying around us was big. Really big. Every once in a while I could catch some glimpse of movement, but never could focus on the creature.

 “Get ready, it’s coming,” they whispered.

 I nodded and readied my spear. My muscles tensed as I held the torch higher and sunk into a battle stance, preparing to lash out at whatever beast came forth. The flapping sound filled our ears, making it hard to tell where the creature was. I swallowed and swept my gaze around our small circle of light, searching for it.

 But none of it mattered in the end.

 The claws sunk in from behind me. Something between a yelp and a scream escaped me as the impact sent my torch hurdling towards the ground. Dead shrubs and leafless trees fed the hungry flames, casting horrifying shadows across my friend’s face as they shouted.

 “You let go of my adventuring buddy right now, you stupid bat!”

 Bat?

 I looked up, but all I could see was a deep darkness above me. Occasionally a patch of dark fur would gain an orange sheen from the fire. Using those patches to guide me, I thrust up with the spear. I knew it punctured something, I felt it, but the creature didn’t so much as flinch. It just picked up speed. Before I could blink, the growing fire was a mere speck behind us.

 Desperate, I ripped the spear back out and stabbed it again. And again. And again. Nothing happened. There wasn’t even blood. Just those sickening sounds. The fifth, or maybe sixth, time I stabbed, it gave me an annoyed sigh. 

 When I began to pull the spear out, there was a set of glowing red eyes staring at me. The upside down bat face was ugly, and creepy, and maybe a little scary.... It squinted, or maybe glared at me. I glared back. Out of defiance, or maybe annoyance at the way this entire day was going, I pulled on the spear more. It glared harder, but I finished pulling the spear out. There was a moment where I was sure it was basically saying ‘don’t you dare,’ but my friend’s rebellious nature had rubbed off on me. I stabbed up again.

 But this time, it went terribly.... The bat began spinning, doing barrel rolls, flying up really steeply before dropping down towards the earth. I would have been screaming loud enough for the entire forest to bear witness to my terror, except I couldn’t force the air out of my lungs. Before long, I felt terribly sick. Dizzy, disoriented, if I could see anything it probably would have been spinning. My spear was long since abandoned, probably sitting somewhere in a dead tree. And eventually, I just passed out.

 When I came to, I was in a strange, candle-lit room. I still felt off. Tired, still kind of sick, mostly dizzy. And there was a weird, pale, greyish, dead-looking guy sitting in a fancy chair, staring at me with red eyes. He grinned, showing his fangs.

 “Have fun on your flight over the forest?”

 “No, but I bet you had a good time watching it, Lord... Whateveryournameis.”

 He gave me that same glare that the ugly bat did.

 “My name is Silvan.”

 “Sil, then.”

 “Silvan.”

 “Yes, Sil for short.”

 He groaned.

 “Humans are impossible, adventuring ones more so.”

 “Can’t argue with that,” I replied. “So, what’s the deal, Sil? Why’d you blow up the sun?”

 “Because mornings are annoying.”

 It was my turn to frown. I hated it when they were right... but he did do it because he hated mornings, so I was partly right to.

 “Just when I’m finally waking up, or finally have everything in place for my plans, morning comes and ruins it all. All of that color and sunlight. Bleh, night is better. Night is superior, and yet we must suffer through daylight.”

 I couldn’t help it. The giggles had started before I could stop them.

 “Is this a joke to you?”

 “I am laughing, aren’t I?”

 He frowned at me.

 “You can’t possibly be one of them....”

 “Them who?”

 He paused, leaning forward in the purple chair as his eyes went wide. In a hoarse whisper, he said two words.

 “Morning people.”

 I stared at him for a second and then laughed so hard I thought I was going to pass out again.

 “You are!” he shouted as he jumped to his feet. “No, no! I can’t have a morning person as a minion! You’ll be awake at those holy hours, singing and banging things around!”

 It went on passed that, but my laughter drowned most of it out. I wished he’d stop talking so I could catch my breath, but the longer he complained the harder I wheezed.

 “I will end you, sun lover!” he finished, drawing a sword from the back of his chair.

 My laughter stopped and I jumped to my feet, searching for a way out. But he was right in front of me before I could find one. The sword raised above his head but he paused and coughed up some blackished goop.

 “Ew!” I shoved him back. “Don’t cough that gunk up on me. Use the stupid sword if you’re going to kill me!”

 “I told you a knife would work!”

 The vampire turned on the new voice coming from the doorway.

 “You will pay for that!”

 Another knife knocked the sword out of the vampire’s hand, but didn’t stop Sil from punching my friend in the face. I heard a sickening crack as I searched for a weapon. Seeing only one, I grabbed the sword and rushed forward as fast as I could. My friend was stabbing the vampire with about as much luck as I had stabbing the bat, but I drove the sword through where I thought a heart should be and there was a horrible hacking sound before he turned to dust.

 Without the vampire there, I realized I was just pointing a sword at my friend... who was covered in black gunk. I tossed the sword aside and looked back at them.

 “Are you ok?”

 “Yeah, I’m fine.”

 “You’re bleeding though!”

 “You think my nose has never been broken before? I’m fine. Besides, we need to figure out how he broke the sun so we can get some mage to fix it.”

 “Fine, but at least let me set it... it’s really crooked.”

 They yelped as I set it straight before grinning.

 “I guess we’re vampire hunters now!”

 “No, we’re just lucky idiots.”

 “Fair,” they replied before heading off to find out what Silv... whatever his name was, did to the sun.

~

Taglist, feel free to ask to be added or removed:

@silvertalonwriteblr, @inspiring-prompts, @greenwood-writes, @wemitodd, @elkatheinkstained, @n1ghtcrwler, @writingiswilde, @say-no-to-negativity,  @wordshavings, @nemowritesstuff, @likelyfantasywriterspsychic, @dawnoftheagez, @orphicodysseywrites, @hannahs-creations, @writer-candy, @kaylewiswrites, @ravenpuffwriter, @tenacious-scripturient​, @ofinkblotsandscript, @mischiefiswritten,  @kespada, @asterannie

[fairfaxleasee]

For DADW

Special request for @xqueen0fhellx for @dadrunkwriting - She wanted something with her Mahariel and my Mahariel being grumpy arrow-happy idiots together (cause they individually don’t cause enough trouble apparently...)

(Aria and Damien belong to her, Theron and Quiss are my boys)

CW: AU (University); Seriously kids, don’t try this at home

“Hey!  You - Dalish with the ponytail!”  Oghren didn’t bother to turn away from Theron Mahariel’s face as he expelled a long belch.  “You know that sister of yours has been hanging around a twig-boy, right?”

Theron raised one hand in apathetic frustration, “And you’re telling me that because...”

“Because,” Oghren poked Theron as close to his chest as the dwarf could reach, “she’s your baby sister.  All I know is I wouldn’t let my baby sister run around with some twig-boy!  You can’t trust ‘em!”

Theron rolled his eyes, “Right.  I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.  But it’s not my job to keep track of what or who my little sister’s doing.”

“The fuck did you just say, Theron?”  Aria tore across the common room towards the pair of them.

“What?  I just said I don’t care who you’re dating!  What about that has your panties in a bunch?”

“What kind of panties-”

“SHUT UP, OGHREN!” The Mahariel twins stopped glaring at each other for a moment to focus their ire at the dwarf.  It only took a couple seconds under their combined glares for him to decide he’d rather be anywhere but were they were.

Assured that the stupidest person in the Wardens dorm would stay out of things at least for a bit, Theron turned back to his sister.  Her hands were on her hips and she was shaking her head at him.  “What is it this time, Aria?”

“You know what it is!”

“You’re failing another class and want to copy off my homework?”

“You fail more than I do, Theron!”

“I do not!”

“You do too!  And you know that I’m the older one!”

“You are not!”

Theron and Aria had been having this same argument their entire lives (of which Theron’s was longer).  Their parents stubbornly refused to tell them which of them was older (they had gotten the idea that whichever of them were older would just lord it over the other one incessantly - Theron had no plans to lord being older over Aria incessantly but he did intend to use it to remind her that he was the older one) so whenever they ran out of anything else to argue about, they returned to that.

“I am too!”

“Yeah, right.”

Aria threw a right hook at Theron’s face.  He leaned away slightly to dodge as he yawned.  “Seriously, Aria?  You know you’re a shit boxer.”

“So are you!”

“Yeah, but you don’t see me trying to fight that way!”

“You know what?  Fine.  Let’s settle this like Dalish!”

“Settle you being a shitty boxer like Dalish?”

“No you impossible lunk!  Settle who’s older like Dalish!  Archery contest!  Now!”

Theron considered.  He hadn’t had an archery contest with his sister in years (just because during the last one when they were in high school the contest eventually involved making a trick shot while leaping off their roof and Theron had broken an ankle and Aria a wrist in the landing - and worse they’d both missed the bullseye by the same so nothing had been settled).  He had no idea just how much Aria might have improved in the time, but he was positive he’d never lose to his little sister.  “Fine.  Meet me on the field in twenty.  Hopefully Tamlin will be free so you can go crying to him when you lose.”  He dodged another poorly-aimed punch and his sister stalked off towards her room.

The contest started out like they normally did - regular targets at increasing distances.  When that didn’t solve anything they started making things more interesting - shooting at leaves, strafing, that sort of thing.  Unfortunately, that didn’t solve anything either.  Fortunately Aria saw one of her Warden friends (Theron wasn’t quite sure how Aria managed to know Wardens he didn’t but wasn’t going to argue it as this particular Warden seemed like a bigger idiot than Oghren) and ‘talked’ him into helping out.

“So... I just hold it like this?”  Damien Amell grinned at the apple he was holding out.

“Hey!  Don’t move, idiot!” Aria shouted.

“Right!  Sorry!”

Aria was lining up her shot when a new voice rang out, “You’re not supposed to be doing that...”  A pale man with short slicked-back black hair and faintly glowing yellow eyes was leaning against a tree grinning at them.

Theron glared, “What’s it to you?”

The man shrugged, “Well, to me personally not a lot, but I’m supposed to be representing the university and I think they care greatly about students potentially perforating each other.”

Aria dropped her bow slightly, “What are you, like a Dean or something?”

The man winked, “Or something.  I’m Quiss.  Now why don’t you just tell me what this is all about and we can see if I can help with it.  I’m fairly certain I can - I give the best advice.”

Theron and Aria looked at each other.  

Damien shouted, “Hey!  Don’t you need me anymore?”

“No, you’re done,” Quiss glared at him.  “Can’t risk having collateral damage, go ‘help’ that cousin of yours.”

“Oh!  Right!  My project!”  Damien scurried off.

Quiss turned back to them, “Now, I’m going to go out on a limb and say you two are having some sort of archery contest.”

“...yeah,” Theron and Aria said in unison.

“And the stakes are high?”

“He’s wrong!” Aria threw a finger at Theron.

“She’s wrong!” Theron throw his own finger at his stupidly stubborn sister at the same time.

The man grinned, “Oh, I see... That’s just delightful.  Now, if you’ll just allow me to make some little suggestions about how to go about this...”

Theron had to admit, the man could think of some pretty challenging shots - he and Aria would never have been able to come up with the one from the top of a pile of chairs or upside-down being held out a window.

Unfortunately, they weren’t any closer to settling anything.  Quiss didn’t seem to mind though, but it was getting dark and they weren’t going to be able to keep going much longer.  Theron wasn’t sure why, but Quiss had led them back to the archery field.

“I have just the shot to finish this!” Quiss wrapped an arm around each of them  “Now, what if you two aim for each other’s arrows?”

“I must say, that sounds a bit dangerous.”  Theron was surprised by the new human with tawny skin and the most striking blue eyes ambling towards him.  Judging by the bow he was holding, he’d been practicing on the field.

“I - uh...”  Theron couldn’t seem to think about anything other than those blue eyes.

“So what?  This doesn’t concern you, shem!”  Aria glanced at Theron quickly, “But if my younger brother wants to bow out now and agree I won this contest, that’s fine with me!”

“What my younger sister means is that we’ve got to settle this somehow!  And we’re not leaving until we figure out who’s the best archer.”

“Ah, I see.  Well, I’m something of an archer myself.  Perhaps you’d be so kind as to let me join you.”

Quiss huffed and crossed his arms, “You are no fun, you know that?  Well, I guess you do make things kinda fun, but you, yourself, Sebastian Vael, are no fun.  In any timeline!”

Sebastian ignored Quiss’ strange comment.  He put a fresh target up.  “Now, what I suggest is that the three of us each take one shot at the apple from over there,” he pointed at a spot about 50 yards off.  “And we’ll mark our arrows so we can see which of us gets closest to the target.”

“Fine.”  Theron and Aria agreed.  It wasn’t like Sebastian was going to beat either one of them.

“You cheated shem!”  Aria shouted when they were close enough to examine the target.  Theron and Aria’s arrows were both about an inch from the center of the bullseye - and Sebastian’s arrow.

“Well now how can I have done that?  You were watching me the whole time.”

“I... I don’t know, but I do know you cheated!”

“Well, if you have no proof...” Sebastian smiled placidly at Aria.  She stomped once before stalking off.  “This doesn’t settle anything, Theron!”

Theron agreed, but his ongoing debate with his sister wasn’t his priority anymore.

“And what about you?”  Sebastian turned his blue eyes towards Theron.  “Do you think I cheated?”

“I...”  Theron crossed his arms and scowled.  He should think Sebastian had cheated, no shemlen should be able to beat a Dalish at archery, but... “No.  But one of these days, I’m going to beat you.”

“Well, as long as you promise not to take it to the extreme you go to with your sister I’d be happy to give you some pointers.”

“I’d... like that.”