#god the fucking RELIEF i felt when it was just a two headed mutant

[free-pool-trash]

dancing with our hands tied - peter maximoff

here it is you guys... the ✨very spicy✨ sequel to delicate which can be read here <3 (had to keep the rep song title theme going here)

please for the love of god let me know how this is I’ve never written smut before so please go crazy with the asks/comments/reblogs on this one I’d really appreciate it😩😓

word count: 4k 😳 (it’s not all smut dont get too excited)

warnings: +18 content, sexy times, unprotected wrap it before you tap it, swearing, i tried to keep vulgarity on a low level but i decided to just commit towards the end lmao, insinuation to sex from the beginning , some fluff and a tiny bit of angst sprinkled in there too, wandavision spoilers

You can definitely read this as a stand alone but it’ll make more sense if you read delicate first !! enjoy <3

masterlist

The days you spent in WestView had been tiring. Wanda seemed to be losing her composure with each day that passed, you watched how she became more and more skeptical of Peter and found yourself growing all the more anxious with the situation you’d run head first into. But, you were with Peter, your mind and his mind were free of Wanda’s influence and she’d been kind enough to appoint the pair of you your own house in the neighbourhood, a few doors down from her own, so, you couldn’t complain too much.

Today was a relatively quiet day, but you had a feeling that just meant you were in the calm before the storm. Tonight was, apparently, Halloween. Despite the fact that it was nowhere near October, you were more than happy to play along with Wanda’s over the top festivities.

Peter and Tommy had just zoomed into your and Peter’s bedroom, sporting matching outfits and excited expressions as they looked at you expectantly, “Well? What’d ya think?” Peter asked, motioning between himself and Tommy. The littlest speedster awaited your answer with wide, hopeful eyes, wanting validation from his cool uncle’s even cooler ‘friend’.

Yeah, you’d made out on Wanda’s couch but you still hadn’t addressed the question of where exactly your relationship stood. It felt as though the pair of you were both actively avoiding the awkward conversation, opting instead to simply fall into bed together every single night and completely disregard the boundaries of friendship in favour of hearing each other moaning until the early hours of the morning.

With a smile you let out a low whistle, “Looking good boys. I gotta say, Tommy, I think you’re outshining your uncle right now.”

You had to laugh when Tommy smirked triumphantly at Peter, “I told you she liked me more than you.” He boasted proudly and your laughs grew louder when Peter huffed angrily. He crossed his arms over his chest and jutted his bottom lip out childishly.

“Y/n, tell him you like me more.” Peter demanded, again, childishly.

You only grinned, “No comment.” You told him airily, making your way to your closet and hesitantly pulling out the latex costume Wanda created for you off of the rail, holding it by the hanger skeptically.

It was Peter’s turn to let out a whistle when his eyes scanned the skimpy looking leotard suspended by the hanger. The fabric mimicked the design of Peter and Tommy’s outfits although it seemed Wanda had gone out of her way to make yours ever so slightly sexier. The leotard was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and a silver lightning bolt ran through the light blue material. The only saving grace was the silver tights that hung from the hanger as well, at least you’d have some kind coverage. With one last peek into the closet, your eyes landed on a pair of white, knee high gogo boots.

“Christ…” You muttered, eyebrows furrowing at the thought of wearing the ensemble out in public, if it was cold tonight Wanda would be in for an aggressive telling off. With a deep sigh you turned to the two speedsters who were both staring at you, waiting for you to say something. “I guess we’re all gonna be matching tonight.”

“Sweet!” Tommy exclaimed while Peter only smirked. Peter, with a lot of effort, moved his attention from your costume to his nephew.

“Why don’t you go hang out with your brother for a while? I gotta talk to Y/n for a sec.” Tommy welcomed the suggestion, only nodding his head before he had sped out of your house and back to his own.

A gust of wind hit your face as Peter sped himself in front of you, the man didn’t hide his intentions as he gripped your hips and pulled you flush against him. Swaying his body against yours and bringing his lips to the exposed skin of your neck. He trailed his lips up your neck, sucking and nipping, smirking when you let out small noises of approval. When his lips reached the spot behind your ear, he gave a final, harsh suck which had your breath hitching and whining when he pulled away.

To be honest, you’d love to be able to call him your boyfriend and be certain that he thought of you as his girlfriend, but at the moment you were perfectly happy with whatever the fuck the two of you had going on if it meant you could keep feeling him against you like this.

“I cannot wait to see you wearing that.” He all but groaned against your ear, his voice deep and gravelly. The butterflies in your stomach went feral at his words and you had to pull your bottom lip between your teeth to keep from letting out a moan from his tone of voice alone, not to mention the fact that his crotch was pressed up against yours, he was excited to say the least.

Your hands slid up his chest and settled on either side of Peter’s neck, you gently pulled his head out from the crook of your nape and teasingly raised an eyebrow at him, “Maybe later I’ll let you help me get out of it.”

A wicked grin spread across his lips, he squeezed your hips in response, tugging you into him even further for some kind of relief then pressed his lips to yours briefly, murmuring against them, “That’s definitely a plan I can get behind.”

Giving him one last kiss, you pried his hands from your hips and pushed him away, “Alright, get lost I need to get ready.”

“Meet me at Wanda’s?” You nodded at his question, letting out a deep sigh you hadn’t noticed you’d been holding when he finally sped out of the room.

After a second of cooling down, you pulled on the outfit and you’d be the first to admit; Wanda knew what she was doing with this one. You looked incredible, albeit a little stupid in the costume, but still incredible.

When you made your way over to Wanda’s to meet up with the others, you let out a laugh seeing as Wanda was essentially wearing the same outfit as you, only with the added extras of a cape and gloves.

“Hey! Why are you dressed the same as Uncle P and Tommy?” Billy asked you curiously, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he glanced between you and Peter for answers. The speedster in question was smirking proudly, his arm finding a spot wrapped around your shoulder.

“Because she’s totally obsessed with me.” He lied with an over dramatic sigh, causing Tommy to laugh.

You rolled your eyes, elbowing him in the ribs playfully before focusing your attention onto Wanda, “I think it’s safe to say that Wanda and I will be winning best couples costume.” Wanda gave you a knowing grin and a not at all subtle wink in response to your statement.

“Only the best for the best.” She replied, walking forward and linking her arm with yours, stealing you away from Peter who whined in protest, “Oh hush, you can have her back later.”

Telepathy definitely had its perks, one of those perks being you could tell there was more to Wanda than just being an evil puppeteer. The two of you got along extremely well, you were actually growing to see her as a friend. It helped that you knew her story, though. You sympathised with her, knowing full well that if you lost the love of your life you’d probably create a false reality to be with him too. You’d already followed him into a fake reality so you supposed it wasn’t really too much of a stretch to imagine yourself in Wanda’s position.

As the night went on, yourself, Wanda and Peter were sitting around in town square, the twins having run off somewhere. Tensions were high between the interreality siblings at the minute, Peter seemed to be having the time of his life getting on Wanda’s last nerve, poking and prodding at her lifestyle choices.

“Lay off, Pete.” You warned quietly, your stare serious as you felt Wanda becoming impatient with the mutant. Your breathing stopped for a moment and you let put a horrified gasp, your hand clapped over your mouth as you stared at the image in front of you.

Peter’s skin was grey, his eyes were milky and he was littered in what you could only assume to be bullet holes- he was dead- no, you realised as you caught Wanda’s pained expression, he was Pietro.

Wanda regained her composure after a few seconds but the sight of Peter dead was enough to shake you to your very core and you found yourself shaking where you stood.

You didn’t even have a chance to regain your composure before shit had hit the fan. It had happened in a blur, Billy and Tommy were frantic and worried about Vision being in trouble and next thing you knew Wanda was sending Peter flying with a ball of energy after he made a smartass comment about Vision not dying twice.

Quickly, you ran to Peter’s side, he was groaning in pain and looking up at you through squinted eyes, “What the hell was that all about?” He grumbled, hiding his head in your lap when you got down on your knees beside him.

With a sigh you let your body fold against his, wrapping your arms around him and letting your head rest against his shoulder, the image of him bleeding out still too fresh and real in your mind. You could berate him for his brash behaviour another time, for now though; you just needed him close.

“Come on, dumbass. Let’s get you home before you decide to cause more trouble.” You mumbled, pulling him up with you. Ignoring his whining while you led him home, your arm remained firmly around his waist the whole way despite the fact he’d recovered from the blast Wanda dealt him after only a few minutes.

When you got back to the house that Wanda had deemed yours upon your arrival, you finally allowed yourself to breathe. Peter was staring at you with a guilty expression as you released a heavy breath through your nose and shuffled into the kitchen, the heels of your boots scraping on the hardwood as you walked.

Like a lost puppy, Peter followed you. Once he reached you lent against the sink he wrapped his arms around you from behind. He knew you weren’t angry at him by the way your arms immediately moved to grip his and tug them tighter around you.

“You know, her real twin- Pietro… he died,” Peter’s face contorted in confusion when you began to speak, he listened with concern as he could already hear your voice beginning to shake, absentmindedly he caught himself tucking you closer against his chest. “For a second… you must have said something that hit a nerve but for a few seconds…” Your voice hitched and you shook your head in an attempt to knock the image out of your mind, though you had a feeling it would haunt you for as long as you lived. When Peter noticed you’d started chewing at your bottom lip, as you always did when something was causing you anxiety, he gently turned you around in his arms so that he could look at you, his arms remaining firmly around you, yours finding a place resting against his chest.

“What happened, sweetheart?” He cooed, his eyes very much alive and staring into yours.

Swallowing thickly you answered, “You looked like him. You were dead.” You told him quietly and he was sure the look of grief on your face, brought on by the thought of him dying, would haunt him for a lifetime.

Your eyes watered as you took in his face. Scanning every part of it, his brown eyes that made you melt, the dimples that could still be faintly seen even when he wasn’t smiling, the lips that took up the vast majority of your thoughts and that tiny furrow between his brows as he looked down at you with worry.

You loved him.

Of course, you’d known this for years. But you needed him to know, and even though you were already well aware the overwhelming feeling is mutual, you needed to hear him say it.

His thumb running under your eye pulled you from your thoughts, “I’m not going anywhere, baby.” He whispered softly, his hand cupping your cheek as his thumb ran back and forth over your cheek bone. Your stomach flipped at the pet name and you nuzzled against his touch.

“Good. I don’t want to lose you ever again.” You confessed, looking up at him through your lashes fondly as his lips formed an almost sad smile.

Gently, he brought his lips down to meet yours, pouring his heart into the kiss, hoping it would make up for the turmoil he felt responsible for causing you. Too soon, he pulled away.

“Believe me, I’m never leaving your side. I mean come on, I’m without you for like three days and I end up being mind controlled by my sister who isn’t even my sister.” He chuckled out, a grin growing on his face as you began to smile too. He let his eyes close blissfully when you brushed your nose against his, a toothy smile on your face.

“You, Peter Maximoff, are completely hopeless.” You whispered through your smile as he opened his eyes to look at you. His own face sporting an adoring smile.

Your heart skipped a beat the second his next words passed through his smiling lips, “Without you, Y/n L/n, yes I am.” Within a second your arms were around his shoulders and your lips were moving frantically against his. Peter’s hands wasted no time in sliding down to your thighs, gripping them and propping you up onto the kitchen counter.

Your legs automatically wrapped around his waist and your hands got lost in his hair, keeping him as close as humanly possible while his lips migrated to your jaw.

An appreciative hum left your throat as he lapped at the underside of your jaw, leaving a mark before trailing his lips back to your mouth. His tongue licked at your bottom lip as he kissed you, moving it into your mouth the first chance he got. Peter moaned into your mouth when you gave his tongue a light suck.

You grinned at the sound and leaned your weight forward so you were primarily resting against his body, your arms and legs wrapped tightly around his body, your ass barely resting on the counter by that point. Welcoming your movements, Peter’s hands glided up from your thighs to grip your ass and pull you from the counter completely.

He carried you clumsily through the halls of the house, bumping into furniture and pausing to press your body against walls, his eyes closed and lips never separating from yours. You were about a foot away from the stairs when you felt your back make contact with the plaster behind you, your chest heaving when Peter abandoned your lips in favour of littering wet kisses across your chest, no doubt leaving a trail of hickeys in his wake.

You let your head fall back against the wall, enjoying the sensation of Peter nipping and licking at your skin, the man diving back to your neck as soon as he realised that your head thrown back made it entirely exposed to him. You released a breathy moan when his lips ghosted over a sensitive patch of skin, he moved his tongue frantically and you shuddered at the feeling of his hot breath hitting your bruised skin.

“Peter…” You whined when he pushed his crotch up against yours, pressing you further into the wall smirking against your neck when you called his name.

“Yes?” He asked teasingly, rutting his hips against yours once more, deliberately attempting to pull another moan from you, he obviously succeeded. His smirk broadened when you let out a huff and tugged his hair so he’d look at you.

Peter swore he was in heaven when his eyes met yours again, your face was red and your eyes were half-lidded, pupils blown wide with lust as your chest heaved. He could’ve exploded on the spot when you tugged your bottom lip between your teeth and looked at him innocently, all the while grinding your hips slowly and firmly against his. Peter clenched his jaw and let his eyes fall shut, his hands gripping your hips so tightly that you were pretty certain the area would have bruises come tomorrow. You were struggling to care about that though, focusing your energy on the man who had you pinned against the wall.

You brought your lips to Peter’s neck, repaying the favour, not detaching until you left a dark, albeit small, purple bruise on the underside of his jaw. Deciding to prolong the teasing for a little while longer you moved your lips up and let them hover by his ear and you began to let out soft little moans in response to his grinding, the action caused Peter’s movements to become more frantic and your lips to form in a smirk as you felt him hardening against you.

His breath was laboured when he murmured, “Let’s take this upstairs, yeah?” Before you could even answer he had sped the pair of you to the bedroom and you let your feet return to the floor.

As he stood in front of you, you took him in, swollen lips and Halloween hair completely tossed, not to mention the tent in his trousers that was very visible despite the layers of his costume. When your bodies collided again, it was a frenzy of hands, the both of you practically tearing the fabric off the other until you were in nothing but your underwear, kissing sloppily and stumbling towards the bed.

Peter’s lips attached to your chest again the second your back hit the mattress. He groped at your right breast while his tongue sucked on the other, swapping over before you pulled him back up to you.

The way he slotted between your legs and how his forehead rested on yours felt so perfect, you couldn’t help but grin.

“You’re gorgeous, sweetheart.” He muttered between kisses against your lips, his hands kneading your breasts as he did.

You were practically dripping by the time his hand slid down your stomach and under the band of your underwear. For someone with super speed he was moving agonisingly slow at the moment, his hand rubbing languidly over your wet core while he swallowed your moans.

“Fuck- God, Peter please.” You whined, your hips bucking into his hand, desperate for more friction than he was giving you.

The sound of your voice, so needy for him, was all he needed before he was pulling your underwear off, tossing the thin material over his shoulder haphazardly and shimmying out of his own boxers, clumsily kicking them away from his ankles, earning a giggle from you.

When he kneeled on the bed between your bent and separated knees you sat yourself up, sliding one hand up his bare chest and resting it against his shoulder while the other slid downward, only stopping once it was wrapped around his shaft. Peter sucked in a harsh breath when your began pumping him softly, the man completely losing it when your thumb swiped over his tip collecting the precum that had gathered and using it to wet the length of his dick as you continued to fuck him with your hand.

As much as Peter was loving the image and feeling of you jacking him off, he knew if you carried on he wouldn’t be able to last much longer. Still, he didn’t have the heart to pull your hand away when you were making him feel so good. His head found it’s favourite spot in the crook of your neck and he groaned out against the skin that was littered with little purple and red marks from his earlier work, which he’d be sure to admire later, “Shit, Y/n-“ He croaked through a moan, hands gripping your hips as he fought the urge he had to thrust into your hand, “M’not gonna last much longer if you keep doing that.” He groaned out, almost reluctantly, not truly wanting you to stop while simultaneously craving more.

You stopped your motions at his statement, giggling when he let out a strangled noise of disappointment at the sudden lack of pleasure. Doing the honours, you lined him up with your entrance, letting him take over when his lips connected with yours.

Peter gently pushed you back until your head was resting against your pillow and your back was flush with the mattress. His lips continued to mesh with yours as he pushed into you inch by inch until he bottomed out. The deep groan he released was music to your ears and your hands gripped his biceps when he began to thrust in and out.

A symphony of moans filled the room as Peter had managed to set a steady pace, trying his best not to let his mutation get the best of him, as much as he wanted to just go to town he was determined to make you feel as good as you made him feel and judging by the way your head was thrown back and his name fell from your lips like a prayer; he guessed he was doing an okay job.

In only a few minutes Peter had you gasping and clutching onto him like your life depended on it as he picked up speed, one of his hands reaching down between your bodies to rub your clit, his hips snapping against yours. Soon enough, you felt the pressure in your stomach release, your walls clenching around Peter’s dick as your back arched and you released around him. After only a few more staggered strokes, Peter moaned your name against your lips, finishing inside of you and thrusting lazily, riding out his high and subsequently helping you ride out yours.

You let out a blissful sigh when Peter pulled out and rolled over to lay on his back beside you, his chest heavy and his blonde hair sticking slightly against his forehead.

“That- that was awesome.” He mumbled, intertwining his fingers with yours, holding your hand by his side.

Over the last couple of nights you and Peter had, admittedly, ended up in a similar position but neither of you intended for it to happen. It’d usually start off innocently enough, with cuddling or just talking and then one of you would move in just that little bit closer and things would escalate. But there was something about this time that felt a lot more emotional than the few times before. “It was.” You agreed with an airy giggle, squeezing his hand affectionately.

A gust of air shook you from your haze. Peter had taken it upon himself to clean up the mess the pair of you had left between your legs, a pair of his boxers and one of his t-shirts now adorned your body matching him as he wore the same.

He was on his side facing you, his arms holding you against his chest securely the same way they had the night you’d shown up in WestView and urged him to kiss you. When he took you in, he kicked himself for missing out on so much of you for so long.

He was certain, one of these days he’d actually speak the three words that followed him around whenever he thought about you, but as he watched your eyes flutter closed, he decided the words would be best spoken some other time. He was well aware you already knew, just as he was well aware that you loved him, it needed to be said. Eventually, but not quite yet.

[autumnsart22]

You Promised pt. 4

Here’s part 4 everyone!! A lot of angst, one cute fluff scene at the end hehe. Let me know if you’re enjoying this so far :) 

This fucking picture dude.... SO HOT OHSOAHGOHGDOIDG

Art @kuroamme on twitter!! 

Shigaraki POV:

Things had happened too fast for me to keep up with. 

I had been standing for over an hour watching pathetic Midoriya wander around, fangirling over the All Might merchandise in one store, and almost making me throw up in my mouth. 

He had just returned to the bench to play on his phone when I heard Y/n scream. Scream for me. It was just enough warning for me to jump to the side, avoiding the crushing fist of a low class mutant villain. 

You fucking idiot! I wanted to scream at the villain, but I was already turning to try and find Y/n amongst the crowd. 

When I spotted her, I felt a level of terror I had never experienced before. Behind her, a man was ripping and expanding into a massive beast, ready to kill everything in its path. Y/n had been too focused on warning me that she hadn’t realized the danger right next to her. 

Something in my chest broke as the monster’s fist slammed into her, sending her flying into a pillar, and I heard an audible crack. 

“No!” I roared, lunging at the monster who smashed stores and civilians a few yards away. As my hand connected with his shoulder, he let out a high pitched shriek and crumpled to dust. 

I sprinted across the mall, aiming for the second monster, shoving screaming civilians out of the way. I would kill it, kill him for touching her. 

When I got close enough, I jumped as high as I could, aiming for his head. He was faster than his friend, spinning to avoid me, but I had been training with highly skilled fighters for months, and I easily twisted in the air to land on his shoulders. 

My hands closed around his face from behind, crushing him as he screamed. The people around me were all running for the exit or helping their injured, so no one noticed me or my quirk. 

The monster wasn’t even fully disintegrated before I lunged for Y/n. She hadn’t moved from her spot on the floor, her limbs bent awkwardly and eyes closed. Blood--so much blood--had pooled out around her, and her skin was sickly pale. 

“No, no, no…” I hissed, scrambled towards her, hands slipping in her blood. 

I reached for her, needing to stop the bleeding, get her to safety, save her somehow--but my hands…

“I can’t--I can’t touch her!!!” I screamed desperately looking for help. I didn’t care if I was arrested by a hero, I just needed them to save her. 

I pressed the button that hung for my waist band furiously, signalling to Kurogiri that we needed an escape portal, and I bent over Y/n to check her pulse. My hands shook violently, but I pressed down on her neck with two fingers, needing to feel something. 

Please, please, please. 

There was a weak, slow pulse beneath my fingers, almost nothing. She was still alive. Relief hit me like a train, but I knew that it wouldn't last long. She was holding onto the last thread of life, but she had lost way too much blood. 

I heard heavy footsteps behind me, and whirled to see Toga and Dabi sprinting towards us. 

“Y/n! Oh god, no no nono…” Dabi slid on his knees, immediately reaching for her and scooping her limp body into his arms. “How did this happen?” He snarled at me. 

I could barely see past Y/n’s pale face, which rested against Dabi’s shoulder. I wanted to pull her away from him, hold her close to me instead. But I ran the risk of accidentally disintegrating her. 

“Two fucking villains,” I snapped, clutching my hair. 

“We’re villains !” Dabi yelled. 

At that moment, a shadow portal opened, leading to the bar. No one hesitated to run through, Dabi still carrying Y/n’s limp body in his arms. 

She wasn’t going to die. I wouldn’t let her. 

~~~~~~

The first night was the worst twelve hours of my life. I paced up and down Y/n’s room, unable to do anything but clutch my hair and scratch my neck until my skin bled. She was so unbelievably pale. 

Twice and Spinner had kidnapped a healer from a local hospital, and we forced her at literal gunpoint to do anything in her power to save Y/n. 

The entire League stayed up into the night waiting for news. Toga sobbed for hours, Dabi sat motionless, head buried in his hands, and I just couldn’t stop pacing. I felt like a wild animal, needing to kill something. 

By the time the sun started rising into the sky, the healer was half dead from exhaustion and the strain of using her quirk for so long. Y/n was still unconscious, barely breathing, and I just couldn’t focus. 

The healer turned to me, eyes wide and desperate. “I need rest, food, water, a break if I’m going to keep healing her. Please!” 

I felt my hands begin to shake, glaring at her in fury. “Will she live?”

“I don’t--”

“Will she live?”

“Five of her ribs were crushed, a lung was punctured, a small piece of her spine fractured, and her skull was cracked. That’s not even including the damage done to her muscles, skin, and nerves. The damage is extremely extensive, and I’ve done my best, but I need fuel if I’m going to save her!” 

My whole body was shaking now, and I slammed the woman against the wall by her throat, careful not to put down all five fingers. “You will eat, and then sleep for an hour. If she dies, I will kill you slowly.” 

The woman choked, face paling as she blubbered out a reply. 

I released her, calling for Kurogiri to get everything and watch over her to make sure she didn’t escape. 

When the room emptied except for Toga, Dabi, and I, Dabi finally lifted his head. 

“This is your fault,” he growled. Even though I knew he hated me, I was shocked at the venom in his voice. “If she dies, I--” His fingers curled in his hair, glaring a desperate hole in the floor. 

I knew it was my fault. I was supposed to be watching her back, protecting her, and she had been the one protecting me. What would I do if she died? I hadn’t let my mind consider it. 

I would continue like always to kill All Might, I told myself, but somehow I knew it wasn’t true. How could I continue on as if she hadn’t existed?

~~~~~~

Dabi POV:

It took three days for Y/n to open her eyes. Three days of utter hell, when I could barely sleep or eat. The rest of the League was restless, unsettled without the familiar sound of her music echoing through the halls, or her sarcastic insults following them. 

I couldn’t believe how much I missed her. I had known her for a single month of my life, and yet I missed teasing her, watching the way her mouth flattened in annoyance, or how her cheeks would redden even as she rolled her eyes at my compliments. I always spoke sarcastically when flirting with her, too afraid of her rejection to actually be serious. But now...I wished I had told her how her smile quite literally took my breath away, or how I looked forward to our practice fights just to be able to be close to her. 

I sighed, leaning back in my chair as I clicked through my phone. It was almost 5pm, and the rest of the League were busy with dinner. I could hear their muted voices echoing through the walls of the building, unusually sober like they had been for the past three days. 

Toga was asleep in the room over, exhausted from staying up all night watching over Y/n and the healer. I had finally forced her to rest after noticing her swaying on her feet, eyes drooping. Like everyone else, she looked like she was falling apart. 

My eyes moved across the room to the only other person who might have slept less than me. Shigaraki’s shoulders were hunched, his blue hair veiling his face as his head hung low. He looked thinner, but the energy radiating off him warned everyone to stay the fuck away unless they wanted to be turned to dust. He had barely left Y/n’s bedside. 

I wondered if he loved her, and I wondered why it bothered me so fucking much. 

“You should eat,” I grunted, glaring at him. 

Shigaraki’s head shifted slightly, his dead gaze meeting mine. Dark circles under his eyes made him look like a skeleton. 

I tried again. “When she wakes up, she won’t want you to look like you’re about to drop dead yourself.” 

Shigaraki made a low noise of anger in his throat, telling me to go fuck myself without actually speaking. 

I stood up. “If you don’t fucking go get something to eat right now, I swear to god I’ll burn this whole place to the ground.” I felt the familiar rush of power blazing to my fingertips, and blue fire sparked in my palm. 

I watched the blue haired villain’s eyes blaze dangerously with fury, and his fists clenched. At least he was showing some emotion. It was better than blank deadness. 

“You wouldn’t hurt her,” he growled, eyes flickering to Y/n’s pale face. Her skin had regained some color over the course of a few days, with the help of the healer’s constant support. Her most serious injuries had been fully healed, as well as some of the nerve damage, but apparently her body had reflexively entered a coma to try and save strength. Whether or not she ever woke up was out of our control. 

When Shigaraki had heard that, I thought he was going to tear the building to bits. He had almost killed the healer on the spot, but I managed to stop him before he ruined our only source of information. Not that she was much use anymore. The constant use of her quirk, the exhaustion, lack of food and water, and the threat of a dozen villains ready to tear her apart had worn on her mind, and had reduced her to a blubbering mess. She sat dazedly in a chair in the corner now, her wrist chained to the leg. 

I crossed my arms as I answered Shigaraki. “Wanna risk it?”

He slowly uncurled his fists, clearly trying to stop himself from leaping at me. “Fine,” He snarled. “Watch her, I’ll be right back.” 

I rolled my eyes. As if I would leave her alone. “Take a shower while you’re at it!” I shouted after him. 

The door slammed shut behind him, and I sighed. My eyes found Y/n’s face, and I gently brushed a bit of hair away from her forehead. “Please wake up soon. I can’t handle him acting like this anymore.” 

I felt every muscle in my body clench as her eyelids fluttered slightly. Was it possible...

“Y/n...Y/n--” I said desperately, clutching her arm. Please be awake. 

Her eyelids fluttered again, and she let out a soft breath. “Wha…” Her voice was so weak, I could barely hear it. But--

“Holy fuck,” I covered my mouth with my hand to stop a sob of relief. She was awake. 

“Dabi?” Her eyes opened slowly, and she blinked wearily at me. “What…” “This is going to take a bit of explaining, gorgeous, but you’ve been asleep for 3 days.” I murmured, my eyes scanning her face. I would give it to her straight; there was no point honeying my words. 

“I what?” Y/n lurched up, eyes wide. Before I could tell her to lay the fuck back down, she clutched her stomach and her face turned slightly green. “Oh god…” 

I lunged for the trashcan, barely managing to get it to her before she puked the feeble contents of her stomach up. She hadn’t eaten in three days, so the vomit was a strange, semi hard mix. I gagged at the sight of it. 

Y/n wiped her mouth on the back of her hand. “What the hell happened? Where is everyone? How did we get back here?”

“Take a deep breath,” I ordered, shoving the trash can into a corner. “You were attacked in the mall, and got some pretty critical injuries. We managed to get you back here in time, but…”

Y/n crossed her arms, awake for two minutes and already looking annoyed. “Just spit it out.”

I paused. “You were minutes away from death. We got a healer to work on you for the last three days, but you’ve been in a coma this whole time. We weren’t sure you were going to wake up.” 

Y/n let out a breath, leaning back on the pillows. “Well damn.” 

I gaped at her. “That’s all you have to say?” 

“I’m alive, aren’t I? What more is there to say?”

I ran a hand through my hair. She had no idea how hard it had been watching her edge the line of death, being unable to do anything about it. Before she could stop me, I jolted forward and crushed her into my chest, hugging her tightly. 

She patted my back gently, looking a bit confused when I pulled away. “I’m happy you’re awake,” I murmured, and she blinked. 

Before she could respond, I got to my feet. “You’re probably starving. I’m going to go get you food and water--stay put, ok?”

She laughed a little at my serious expression, but nodded. “I won’t go wandering off.” 

I practically ran down the hall, bursting into the bar where a few of the League sat. “She’s awake!” I yelled.

Mustard and Muscular jumped up, eyes wide, while Mr. Compress gasped. “Can we see her?”

I paused at that. Shigaraki wasn’t in the room like I had expected, and I was pretty sure he’d want to see her first. “You can see her in like an hour. I want her to recover a bit before everyone swamps her.” 

The villains looked disappointed but sat back down. 

“Do you have any extra food?” I asked. 

Mustard nodded, quickly getting up and scooping some chili Magne had made into a bowl. I filled up a pitcher of water and balanced everything in my arms before striding back down the hall.

When I reached the door to her room, I paused, hearing voices from within. The door was cracked a bit, and I leaned closer to see who was already there. My stomach dropped slightly as I recognized Shigaraki’s blue hair. 

The villain clutched Y/n’s face in a gentle grip, his fingers wrapped so he didn’t hurt her as he spoke in a low voice. Her eyes were intent on his face, one of her hands wrapped around his as she listened to him. As I watched, he circled his arms around her and clutched her tightly, burying his face in her neck as if she was the only thing that mattered. Her skin flushed red, but she hugged him back tightly, hands curling in his shirt. 

My fingers tightened around the bowl I held, but I slowly backed away. I had seen enough to know when I wasn’t wanted.

Y/n POV: 

I felt like Toga hadn’t let go of my hand since I had woken up, and that had been two days ago. She held it tightly as if afraid I was going to disappear, no matter the number of times I told her I wasn’t going anywhere. Even now, at our meeting, her fingers were clamped tightly around mine under the table. 

I sighed. I felt enormously better from when I first woke up, after I ate and drank. My body felt sore, aching, but I didn’t have any major issues. My injuries had been almost fully repaired by the healer. Unfortunately for her, the woman had seen too much and Shigaraki didn’t hesitate to dissolve her now that I was awake. 

Shigaraki stood up and faced the League.  “Our plan to attack the Quirk Training Camp is still in motion. Does everyone still feel ready to do it?”

We all nodded, but Shigaraki’s eyes fell on me. “You’re not going,” he said flatly. 

I blinked in shock, jaw clenching. “What do you mean? Of course I am.” 

“You almost died two days ago. There’s no way I’m letting you go on that mission.” I gaped at him, eyes wide. “You’re kidding right? I’m alive and I won’t be the only one left behind here. What’s the point of me staying here when I can help?” 

Shigaraki’s fists clenched. “Why do you always want to throw yourself into danger?”

“I can take care of myself. And I’m not going to be in any more danger than everyone else! We’re all risking it for the League. That’s our job!”

He glared at me, not speaking because he couldn’t argue. 

He turned, looking at Dabi. “If she goes, you protect her, got it?” 

Dabi nodded, eyes more serious than I had seen. “Yeah, I will.” 

I opened my mouth, wanting to punch both of these overbearing villains in their stupid faces, but I felt Toga’s hand tighten on mine. 

“Don’t argue, Y/n. We all just want you to be safe,” she murmured in my ear, and I felt some of the anger drain out of me. I wasn’t used to people caring. 

I nodded slowly, and Shigaraki sat back down. “Ok then.” 

        ~~~~~~

The next week and a half passed faster than I could have imagined. I worked on regaining my strength, training every day for at least two hours with whoever was available. I didn’t go on any more outside missions, leaving that to the other villains. I didn’t want to push Shigaraki any more than I already was. 

The blue haired villain seemed to be avoiding me. The first few days after I had woken up he had been almost unbearably sweet, staring at me all the time as if he couldn’t get enough. 

But ever since I had convinced him to let me help invade the training camp, he had barely spoken or looked at me at all. Was he upset that I was going? What else could it be? 

I found him sitting cross legged in the living room, the only light coming from the large television that he stared at. I was expecting to see the white fuzzy screen and hear the cold voice of his Master, but instead, it was a basic video game. He wiggled the controller expertly in his hands, making his avatar within the screen jump off a large building and shoot someone in the air. 

“What are you playing?” 

Shigaraki almost jumped out of his skin. “Jesus fuck!”

“Oh sorry.” I covered my mouth with my hand. 

“Ugh, you made me lose my kill streak,” he said, not looking at me. I narrowed my eyes. I knew directly confronting him about what was going on wouldn’t lead to anything; he’d just shut down and refuse to speak. 

Instead, I sat myself next to him on the floor, gazing at the screen. “What game is this?”

Shigaraki was more into video games than anyone else I had ever met, playing them constantly in his free time when he wasn’t busy planning the downfall of the heroes. I had watched him spend hundreds of dollars on different power ups, skins, weapons, and gear within his games using League money, not caring when we all complained that we were going to starve without it. 

He gritted his teeth, clearly fighting with himself on whether or not he should keep ignoring me. I pressed my lips together to contain a triumphant whoop as he told me the title of the game and started going in depth about the lore and the good and bad things about it, as if he couldn’t help himself. I listened happily, glad to have him talking again. 

He paused during a particularly tense moment when three different gunmen came at him at once, and I gasped as I watched his avatar duck and roll, shooting them one after the other in quick succession before sprinting towards the nearest building to get out of view of any snipers. 

“Can I try?!” I cried, excited after the intense display. 

Shigaraki glanced at me, his eyebrows raised. “Hm...let me finish this round.” 

He ended up winning with almost three thousand points, which made my jaw drop when he told me the average score. 

“Ok, give it to me,” I said, and Shigaraki handed over the controller a bit reluctantly. He showed me what each of the buttons meant, but as the game started, I continuously slammed into a wall, unable to get my avatar to move around it. “What the fuck!!! No no, AHHH--” A shooter came up from behind me and shot me in the head. 

Game Over: 0 points. 

“WHAT,” I practically yelled, outraged. Shigaraki was shaking with silent laughter, and I glared at him. “It was my first try, ok?” 

I ended up playing three more rounds, all of them ending in under five minutes. The most points I got was 120, but I still bragged about it endlessly, dancing around the room in excitement. 

“A literal child could have done better than you,” he snapped, but his lips were twitching. 

“No one asked your opinion.” I stuck out my tongue. 

“Do you want me to show you how it’s done?” He stuck out his hand for the controller, and I took the perfect opportunity. 

“Yes actually,” I smirked, marching over and plopping myself directly in his lap. I heard him make a noise of surprise and shock, and I looked over my shoulder up at him. “Can you show me how?”

I grinned in satisfaction as I saw his face flushed red, his eyes wide, but after a long moment, he relaxed as his long arms slid around my waist. His hands (which were wrapped in my shirt) were gigantic compared to mine, and easily enveloped my fingers as he held the controller with me. I leaned back against his chest, and I felt him shudder slightly. 

“Um. You just--” he cleared his throat, and I tried not to laugh. 

We ended up winning with significantly less points than his first round, but it was still ten times the amount I had gotten on my own. 

“I think I’m getting the hang of it,” I grinned, leaning my face back to find him only an inch away. 

“Yeah you—you’re improving.” His eyes flickered to my lips, and I felt my heart stutter.

Before I could catch my breath, he jolted to his feet, making me flinch back. 

“I-I have to go…” he muttered, practically stumbling away, out of the room. I stared after him, mouth open. What was that?

Chapter 5

Chapter 3

[sweetpxxches]

Behind closed doors. [Deimos x Gender Neutral Reader]

Contains: Smut

The reader is AFAB but goes by gender neutral pronouns.

COME GET Y’ALL JUICE DEIMOS FUCKERS

This fic is a little short but that’s okay it’s the thought that counts

There were sounds of gunshots filling in this large warehouse, you and Deimos were trying to make way out of the area before bigger enemies showed up. But because of the amount of grunts filling in, it wasn’t easy to try and take over. With a lack of Sanford and Hank, things were getting overwhelming. You threw out an empty gun and immediately grabbing a new one off a dead man’s arms, shooting down as much as you could, your head turning to Deimos. “What the hell do we do now?!” You shouted, taking cover behind a crate. Deimos was aiming with his sniper, shooting down the enemies from above the rails. “We have no other choice to break for it, sweet cheeks! Follow me!” He ordered, you nodded as you rolled over to his side as he throws a smoke bomb out to the area, blinding the grunts. Deimos grabbed your hand as he made a break for it, you dropping your weapon along the way. “Do you really think that’s going to keep them busy?” You asked. “Hey, if the shoe fits...” Deimos took a stop at the door, opening it and dragging you in. “There’s a key lock pad, you think you can hack it and lock them out while we get our shit together?” You looked around the area, seeing a few windows. “There’s escape routes right here in case they bring out their large mutants to break it down.”

Deimos was already on it, nodding at your response. “Yeah, yeah. This is some easy peasy shit to do.” As he typed in the key pad and resetting it’s password, he sighed in relief. You looked over to a desk, seeing files upon files about the workers in this building. “Whatcha got there?” Deimos asked as he walked over to you, nudging you. “Oh, nothing important really.” You shrugged, slumping at the office chair nearby. “Man, what a wreck. Who knew they were cooking up cloning nonsense in this warehouse? Where are they even keeping that?” Deimos settled on the desk, slumping back as he started to light a cigarette. “There has to be some kind of lab down here below the warehouse. With it being this big, you know there’s trouble. Should we send out a message to Sanford?” You opened up your phone, looking down to start a message to Sanford. “Yeah, give him the location and maybe we’ll have time to get back up. If not, we’ll tell them we need to come back here as soon as we can to clean up the rest of this mess and trash the cloning labs.” He puffed out smoke as he watched you. You can tell his eyes were focusing on you. “... Hey, while those two attempt to come over, you think we can keep ourselves busy?” Deimos asked.

“Busy with what, exactly?” You eyed up at him after sending the message, raising a brow. “Oh come on, baby, you know what I mean. No one’s here to watch. Unless it’s those cameras up there, they’ll just get jealous.” Deimos sat down on the desk before you, spreading out his legs with a smug look on his face. Your cheeks flared up from the sight, and looked back down at your phone immediately. “Ugh, you’re such a perv, Deimos! No way in hell am I going to do that.” It was a moment of silence between you two, and you heard his pants zipping. “So, yes?” 

“God I hate you so much, Deimos.” 

You didn’t really want to deny it, just by the looks of him you couldn’t. With his fingers curling in your hair as he tugged you closer to his crotch, you held your mouth open for him to get busy. He placed his shaft on your tongue, his hips already jolting at the feeling. “Just take it all in, sweetheart.” Deimos smiled down at you as you began to move your head down his length. A bit of a normal girth, but his length was the shocking part. You tried to take each inch slowly, but knowing Deimos, he wants it when he demands for it. You shut your eyes tight, holding into his thighs as he got needy by the grip of your hair tightening. Holding his head back, he enjoyed the way your tongue rubs against his cock, breathing heavily from the friction. There was something adorable about how he gets his moment of bliss, his head held back and his tongue holding out as his grip only gets tighter when he reaches for his release. The glimpse of him right now was pure amusement to you, but you then focused back down when you felt his other hand held your chin, now thrusting down your throat. 

“Sorry babe, but you’re fucking great at this! I’m almost done, I swear!” Deimos moaned, your hands twitched and tried to grab his own wrists but his thrusts were so reckless that you just had to sit there and let him do all the nasty work on you. You felt tears forming in your eyes, the tension building up as you couldn’t handle it anymore with the feeling of his dick hitting the back of your throat. Why did he have to be so big?! But it wasn’t long until he finally reached his limit, cramming you against his groin as he began to release his thick cum down your throat, not even giving you the time to hold your head back. He muttered a ‘Fuck yeah’ as he held you down, slowly moving back until a satisfying pop was heard when his cock went completely out. You gasped for air, coughing out the excess cum as you tried to regain consciousness. Deimos looked down at you, his smile still there as well as his chest was heaving from the aftermath. “Not bad, Mercenary. We should do that more often.” You held your head low, taking a moment until you punched his thigh, making him jump. “Hey!” 

“At least let me breathe next time, asshole!” You yelled, but you then wheezed right after. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself...” Deimos rubbed the back of his neck, sighing. The two of you cleaned yourself up, only to hear loud banging at the door. “Ah, shit. They found us.” Deimos zipped up his pants, grumbling. “Well, we always have the escape plan. Let’s get out of here and tell Hank and Sanford we need back up!” You turned to Deimos, and he nodded off as he rushed to one of the nearby windows.

“Way ahead of you, get on my shoulders, I’ll jump you out through the window.”

[mairalynnwrites]

The 5 Times Johanna Mason Thought She Met Her Soulmate and the 1 Time She Was Sure Of It

The first time Johanna Mason met her soulmate, she was being sent to her death. It was a glance as she walked to her place in line for interviews. A glance at an older mentor, a handsome man whom she recognized from the gossip she had heard about him from the moment she got on the train. Finnick Odair, walking sex on legs, according to the capital. She groaned a little in the back of her throat. Of course she would meet her damn soulmate just before she died. And of course he had to be the prostitute of the capital. What was odd was that she did not see the flashing colors her childhood friends had described to her, merely shades of brown. That meant that this could be some sort of mistake, right?

  Their eyes locked, and she noticed that she still couldn’t make out the color of his eyes. Odair’s back turned to her, saying a few words to his tributes before marching straight past her and out the door. Asshole. The second time Johanna Mason met her soulmate was after she had won her games, covered in the blood of more people than she wished to count. When she came back to after being healed in the hovercraft, he was sitting in the corner of the room.

“How’re you feeling?” He asked, standing and put his hands in his pockets and rocking back on his heels.

“You’re not my mentor”

“Duly noted,” He smiled a wry grin before continuing. “I pulled a few strings with your mentor, she’s waiting for you on the ground, no worries.”

“Oh, so you slept with her?” Johanna raised her eyebrows, her lips pulling into a smirk.

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business” He noted, making sure the door was closed. Her hackles rose, and she stiffened on the bed she was sitting in, survival instincts more present than ever. He put his hands up as if to placate her, saying “There’s no lock, if you want to leave, you will have no difficulties from me, I just thought you might prefer to have this discussion in private.”

“What, you think that since I’m your soulmate, I’m just going to jump your bones?” Her eyes searched the tables near her, looking for anything that could be used as a weapon by or against her. He said that he meant no harm, but so had a lot of people in her life, and that sentence never ended up being true.

Odair chuckled under his breath, moving to sit on the end of her bed, his hands still raised to the sides of his head. “No. As my soulmate, there’s some things you should know, before you accidentally say anything in front of the people.” He moved even closer to her, and motioned to a scalpel that had been accidentally left on the table beside her by the people who healed her. “Grab it. It will make you feel safe and we need to be as close and quiet as possible in order to not be overheard on cameras” He whispered, moving his upper body closer to her as she hurriedly grabbed the scalpel next to her, holding it against his throat in silent saying of ‘don’t get any closer’.

  He took a long breath, looking out the partially obscured window. “You can’t say anything about us being soulmates. You have to know, I’m not a capital prostitute by choice. You know better than anyone else that the capital is willing to do everything in their power to keep people controlled.”

She did know. She had just killed children, of course she knew. But there was something glinting in his eyes as he watched warily out the window, a bead of blood rising on his neck from where the scalpel was pressed to it. Oh. They had threatened him in some way. That’s what he meant. Then why did he say that- “You don’t mean that he’s going to want me to fuck half the Capitol.” She whispered to him, her eyes widening.

“You can’t tell anyone or they’ll kill us both. He sees the same thing in you he saw in me. Please.” His eyes looked back at hers, his voice dipping on the last word, ending in a silent plea.

“I just won these damn games and now you’re telling me I have no choice but to become a prostitute?” She glared at him, careful not to raise her voice as much as she wanted to.

“He’ll give you an ultimatum. Your life or your family’s. It’s just an illusion of a choice. But I’m not here to tell you what to do. I’m here to tell you that you need to say that you need to say that you can’t see any color. You’ve never met your soulmate. I came here to talk to you about what is expected from you as a victor if anyone asks.”

“God, this is such bullshit” She whispered, a small tear slipping down her cheek. He reached up and wiped it with his thumb, the scalpel still against his throat. Though she had no intention of using it, it felt good to have a defense against the older man.

“I know. I’m sorry.” He put his forehead against hers, and for once in her life, she felt still.

The third time Johanna Mason met her soulmate, she was once again being sent to her death, but with a plan this time. Although technically her and Finnick had talked briefly over the years, they had never discussed their situation, never discussed the feeling in their chests the longer they were apart from each other. Johanna’s family was dead, and she wasn’t willing to let the Capitol kill her soulmate too. The first night at the tribute building was haunting. She took to the roof, the cold air waking her. For a moment she entertained the thought of jumping, but she knew the Capitol would never let a tribute kill themselves. Where was the entertainment in that?

She didn’t even hear the boots walk up behind her. Damn it, she was so distracted by her thoughts she completely missed Odair walking up beside her. “Before my games I almost tried to kill myself by jumping off this building.” He said, a lilt in his voice. “I suppose it’s good I didn’t in a way, I did get to meet my soulmate after all.” He said with a smile evident in his voice, nudging his shoulder against hers, sending shocks from where he touched her.

“Damn, Odair, I didn’t know we were that close” She snarked, but with a smile on her face. Somehow, even with the possibility that she could die in the next few days, it was hard to be upset around Finnick.

  “I’ve got a question for you, Mason.” He teased, leaning against the railing, facing her. “Did you really strip in the elevator in front of Haymitch, of all people?”

  “Did you see my dress? It was hideous. I simply couldn’t stand to be in it anymore.” Her eyebrows raised, a small chuckle easing past her lips. “I’m surprised that you didn’t do the same, that net sure didn’t look comfortable.”

Finnick groaned, “Don’t remind me.” She laughed, the first time in a long time that she actually meant it. “Wow, if I knew that my misery caused you to laugh like that, I should have made myself miserable earlier.”

“Are there cameras on the roof, Mr. Secrets?” Johanna asked, taking a step closer to him.

  “No. We aren’t supposed to be up here.” He replied, glancing around to make sure of his statement.

“Good.”

  Her lips were on his. She didn’t care that she could die in a few days. Didn’t care that she was risking her life for a whiny District 12 girl. She only felt.

The fourth time Johanna Mason met her soulmate, she had barely made it onto the hovercraft in time to be rescued. Finnick was waiting in the main room, and without even thinking about it, she started running. She had just seen him minutes ago, but she was so full of relief that he had made it, that he wasn’t dead or captured, that she kissed him. Right there in the middle of the hovercraft, not even caring that Plutarch and Katniss’ other boy toy were trying to have a conversation. She placed a hand on his cheek, smoothing her thumb over the scabbed up cut on his face. 

“We’re okay.” She whispered, for once allowing herself to be vulnerable.

“For now.” He whispered back, his own hands coming up to cradle her face.

“We can do this. She can do this.” Johanna whispered, saying what they both knew to be true.

The fifth time Johanna Mason met her soulmate was when they were gathering to leave for the capitol. She reached her hand out to his, grasping two of her fingers in her own. “If we both make it out of there in one piece, I’ll marry your sorry ass.” She said, trying to use sarcasm to cover her fear. It didn’t work.

“When we make it out of there, we will have the biggest wedding the world has ever seen.” He said, emphasizing the first word.

“I’ll make Annie my bridesmaid, I think.” She could barely say the words now. Her fear overtook her.

“She’d like that. You think Betee would mind being my groomsman?” He questioned, a smile in his voice.

She laughed sharply. “We really do love the crazies, don’t we?”

“Crazy attracts crazy, love.” He told her, taking her hands in his, noticing that they were both slightly shaking. “I love you. When we make it out of there, I promise I’ll never let anything get in our way again. We waited so long to have our share of happiness. We deserve a lifetime of peace.”

“Peace sounds nice.” She sniffed, trying and failing to stop her tears from falling. “And I love you too, I have for a while now.

“I know.”

The one time Johanna Mason was sure she had met her soulmate was in the capitol sewers, watching as her soulmate was being eaten alive by mutant beasts. “Katniss, you know what you need to do” She said, not being able to take her eyes off of Finnick's body. She listened to the quiet whispers of Nightlock and watched as her soulmate was granted a quick death, instead of a torturous death. 

Her colors faded.

The world was black and white again.

[re-diesirae]

18. Claire

She was restless, but she couldn't explain the reason behind it. It was an odd sensation in her guts, called instinct or survival paranoia, but she just kept having that uncomfortable feeling of being followed. The corridors were well lit, and that sort of soothed her fears. As long as there was light, she could breathe a little easier. Maybe it was only her nerves playing a trick on her, but she could swear she had heard something over her head.

The research center was well provided. It was even better than the one they had at Terra Save NA, so finding it in such a state of chaos was a pity. The researchers must have distrusted the security of their online data since they kept physical records, too, in other words, paper. While Chris's men worked on the central computer extracting the data, she paced around the shelves peeking at random folders. She had been so focused on deciphering the coding that the researchers used that she didn't notice Leon arrived by her side.

"Found something interesting?"

"You could say so," she replied as she picked up another folder. What she found inside made her frown.

The familiar lines of letters greeted her cerulean eyes as she read the file.

1 atgccggcag aaaacaagaa agttagattc gaaaatacta cttcagacaa agggaaaatt 61 cctagtaaag ttattaagag ctactacgga accatggaca ttaagaaaat aaatgaagga 121 ttattggaca gcaaaatatt aagtgctttc aacacagtaa tagcattgct tggatctatc 181 gtgatcatag tgatgaatat aatgatcatc caaaattaca caagatcaac agacaatcag 241 gccgtgatca aagatgcgtt gcagggtatc caacagcaga tcaaagggct tgctgacaaa 301 atcggcacag agatagggcc caaagtatca ctgattgaca catccagtac cattactatc 361 ccagctaaca ttgggctgtt aggttcaaag atcagccagt cgactgcaag tataaatgag 421 aatgtgaatg aaaaatgcaa attcacactg cctcccttga aaatccacga atgtaacatt 481 tcttgtccta acccactccc ttttagagag tataggccac agacagaagg ggtgagcaat ...

Claire wasn't a prodigy student, but she was capable enough to recognize what she was reading, and her doubts were confirmed when she saw the notes written under the sequences. Those were genomes and, judging by the coding, viral genomes. She flipped through the folders and realized that no all of the genomes were viral. There were some bacterial genomes and parasite sequences listed, as well.

God...what kind of Frankenstein were they trying to create?

"It seems like they were trying to make a new virus-based on multiple pathogens. These are viral genomes, but these are bacterial genes..."

"Why doesn't it sound new to me?"

"Yeah, I guess you must be sick of hearing it, right?"

Claire spent much of her free time diving through this sort of thing. She could even cite sequences of some viral genes, but to Leon, a senior agent of the secret service, the class of biology would most likely be boring. She kept flipping through the folders until a small mark caught her attention. The researchers had marked some of the genomes with two different colored codes: PJMorpheus and PJLyssa.

She was about to show it to Leon when she heard a sizzling over her head, and her eyes turned immediately to the ceiling.

"Did you...hear that?"

"Hear what…?"Leon replied, and she saw the confusion on his face.

Just great. Not only do I hear voices in my head. Now, I can hear noises, too.

She tried to focus her hearing, to see if she caught on the noise again, but then one of Chris's soldiers said he had finished copying the data. A wave of relief fell over her. However, as soon as it had arrived, the same feeling turned into anxiety. Something about the facility of the mission made Claire uneasy. Where were the monsters?

With the information safely copied into the drive, they were one step closer to leaving that place, and that was good news, but for some reason, the restlessness was still there. It was like a needle that kept pricking Claire's gut as she walked through the corridor. When they turned the last corner, she saw the doors of the elevator, and a sense of relief filled her. Unfortunately, the relief was short-lived.

" STAND BY. STAND BY. SYSTEM MAINFRAME VIOLATED. FACILITY REBOOT IN TWO MINUTES MAINTENANCE PERIOD. "

"What the...?" Hunter snapped.

"Shit...Maybe our hacking triggered the security system."

"Just great, well done, Cement. Now what?"

"Calm down. It is just a system reboot. Probably the generator needs to restart. It's a security mode when it gets overheated. It'll cut the energy for some minutes, not a big deal." Clement said.

The rest of the group seemed relieved that there wouldn't be a self-destruction protocol on its way, but Claire began to panic. There was something horrible about the idea of walking around the place in the darkness, and she wasn't sure why, but she had a bad feeling about it. Claire quickened her pace, trying to match with the team's but then…

SWISH

The redhead stopped in her tracks and looked back. The lights from the corridor were starting to shut down one by one. Like an old horror movie, she saw the darkness was coming closer with each fading bulb. If it had only been darkness, Claire wouldn't have felt so panicked. The problem was, the shadows didn't come alone.

Claire heard a soft whistle in her ear, and she realized that there was something else lurking inside the blackness.

"Run," Claire said out of sudden, startling the group.

They all looked at her quizzically.

"What?" Barry asked.

"Is something wrong, Claire?" Chris asked.

Through the shadows, they come. Demons with a thirst for blood.

Two long claws emerged from the darkness impaling the body of the soldier called Hunter. He'd been the one assigned to watch over the rear and, by default, the one closer to the shadows as it approached. Muller and Bailey began shooting, trying to help their fallen comrade, but the disgusting crunch was enough to make Claire know the man was long gone.

The body fell to the ground in an awkward and humanly impossible position, making a sickening crunch. Panic ensued as the soldiers began shooting in all directions, trying to hit the "invisible" attacker. The thing was, it was not invisible. Claire could see it in the blackness: thin, elongated, pale.

"Don't waste ammo!" Claire cried, recognizing the beast, " The bullets won't harm it. That thing moves in the darkness. If we lose the light, we are dead."

"Ok, what do you suggest?" Chris asked.

"Yeah, run!"

They began running as fast as they could. The wave of chasing darkness was right at the group's heels. Claire managed to catch a better glimpse of the creature that hunted them as it moved closer. Unlike the one Leon and she had seen outside, this one was smaller and, by the looks of it, female. She could see the pale skin that covered the curves of the naked body. It could have been taken by as a regular person if it hadn't been for the abnormally long fingers that ended in black sharpy nails and the twisted faceless head. The lack of facial features seemed to be a common trait in the new strain: none of the specimens they had encountered so far had facial features except a largemouth.

The monster scratched the walls with the tip of her nails, making a creepy screech. She could hear her as she moved closer under the black veil of darkness. Their run was interrupted by another scream; this time, Muller had been the victim; the sound of tearing flesh and cracking bones made her feel sick.

"What the hell is that?" Chris cursed and visibly upset about losing to men in a matter of minutes.

"Is one of the new mutants." Leon said, "These bastards are tough ones, Chris..."

"Was it hiding all this time?" Jill said, reloading her gun.

"No, it's photosensitive! The fluorescent lights must have kept them away, but with the system reboot and the energy out, it took the chance of the lights going off to attack us. We need to stay a secured light if we want to stay out of reach." Claire replied, " or at least stay safe until the energy is back!"

You know the odds are against you.

The annoying voice was back. Claire tried to ignore it, but the voice suddenly seemed to be a lot louder than usual.

They are all going to die here, and it'd be your fault.

Claire kept trying to ignore it. The voice not only annoyed her, but it seemed to make her clumsier. Suddenly, she felt a great pain rip her right shoulder, and she flew against a wall. One of the monster's claws had, painfully, impaled her shoulder, pinning her against the metallic wall. She could see her white blouse start to go black as the blood began to spread through the fabric.

Then she felt an acrid warmth in her face, and she saw the monstrous face in front of hers. The monster did not attack, and instead, it seemed to... sniff her?

"CLAIRE!" she heard many voices shout.

The screams echoed through the corridor, followed by the blast of gunfire.

Claire could not describe the pain she was feeling. It was a mix of a burning sensation and pulsating pain. She couldn't move, and her breathing was becoming difficult.

"You son of a..." she heard Chris shout, followed by a wave of bullets.

But the creature barely reacted to the attack. The creature's "face" had gotten close to hers, and Claire could feel the uneven breathing on her. Maybe it was the fast blood loss or the sudden headache that pierced her skull, but her surroundings were beginning to blur. She could barely make out the screams and shouts her friends and brother were doing.

SYSTEM RESTART IN THREE MINUTES.

The electronic voice echoed. Three minutes? If she could manage to stay alive for three minutes, then maybe she had a chance to make it out.

BIOHAZARD DETECTED. STERILIZATION PROTOCOL INITIATED. FACILITY WILL BE PURGED IN TWO MINUTES. PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING.

Fuck. Claire thought; if they didn't do something, they would all die here. She caught a glimpse of Chris and the remaining team shooting at the monster, the flashes of the fire barely lighting their expressions of frustration and worry.

You know what you should do.

She couldn't let them die here.

Are you brave enough to do it, though?

She heard Leon shout something.

This was supposed to be something you faced alone.

Jill screamed something to Chris, but she didn't understand it.

Two are dead already. How many more will you kill?

One, she thought.

"Chris!" she shouted as loud as the pain let her, "Chris, get the hell out here. Forget about me."

"Don't even think about it. I am not leaving without you, Claire."

"You have to. This place...is gonna blow up. You...need to...get...out with that...data."

"Don't you dare say it, Claire? NO, simply no..." Chris growled stubbornly.

"For god's sake, Chris...I can...distract it long enough for you all to leave. JUST DO THE RIGHT THING. The data is more...important….than my life and you know it. What's one life...in exchange for millions that...could be saved?"

Chris did not reply. Claire knew her brother was painfully aware that her words were the right; she trusted that he'd do the right thing.

Chris...

"I am not leaving you! You can't expect me to just leave, damn it!"

Claire could feel the pain in her brother's voice. She knew abandoning her was hard on him. It'd been hard for her, too, if it had been the other way around. The creature put pressure on her shoulder, and she had to bite her lip to avoid screaming. Her cries of pain would only make it harder for Chris.

"Christopher Redfield!" she screamed with the little energy she was feeling, "GET YOUR ASS OUT OF HERE ...AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO HONOR YOUR WORD AND MAKE ME PROUD...TAKE THAT...DATA AND DESTROY THE ...BASTARDS WHO...DID THIS!"

Her words finally seemed to reach him. Chris clenched his gun so hard that it almost seemed as if he was trying to bend it. His face showed his hesitation and pain. It broke Claire's heart.

FACILITY WILL BE PURGED IN ONE MINUTE. PLEASE EVACUATE THE BUILDING.

The light of the elevator came through the opening doors, and she saw how the soldiers were fighting to pull Chris in; Jill and Barry grabbed Leon, who, like Chris, did not seem delighted about the idea of sacrificing her. Claire saw them enter the small space in slow motion, she felt sad, but at the same time, she knew she had made the right decision.

She could feel the creature's nails tearing apart the muscles of her shoulder. She would die in here, but not as mutant food. She heard the countdown start like a distant voice; when the counter ran to zero, Claire lost the sense of everything as the fire and heat surrounded her.

-END OF PART I-

NOTE: if you guys want to come and chat about the fic, or just about CLEON in general. Feel free to drop by the discord and say hi! JOIN SERVER

[terracottaalchemist]

Merry Christmas @hexalianrebel-blackfeathers !!

I'm a little rusty with my writing but I hope you like it! Happy Squealing Santa

Special thanks to @ticklygiggles for organizing everything❤️

🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄🎁🎄

The Grand Highblood was a name that churned every sane troll's stomach. Ruthless, unpredictable, purple blood twisted inside him, cold, fueling a strength only rivaled by the Royal seadwellers. Signless could deal with the cruelty of the Empress, handle the attacks from his voilet oppressors, but not this. Nothing could have prepared him for this.

Signless tugged once again at the sharp, iron cuffs on his hands, thick and noisy in the silent cell. He had always known that one day his luck would run out, that he would finally be captured, but there was gratitude in his heart that the subjugglers left his friends and followers alone. So long as he kept quiet, he would be executed with the knowledge of where Dolarosa, Deciple, and Psiioniic were going safely tucked in his soul.

His feet were bound in frigid chains, sharp on the bones of his ankles. A small light shone overhead, enough to glint off the rusted bars, but not the concrete floor. He could see every exhale curl through the air in white smoke. So cold.

At the very least, Signless could hear every time the guard came within 20 meters of his cell from the sheer weight of his leather footsteps. His stomach gurgled for more of the grub paste he'd been given yesterday, but his tongue prickled preemptively with the phantom taste of bitter acid and bile. The guard stepped into view behind the row of bars, but there was no grub paste. Just keys as they jangled around the lock on the door, which opened with a piercing whine. The guard grunted, motioning with his hand to come closer, clutching a familiar black cloth.

Two guards, ahead and behind him, led Signless through the halls on two chain leashes. The blindfold was tied tightly to his face, forcing his focus to the tiles under his bare soles, the rough material of the unwashed trousers he was given, and the chains. As they climbed an oak staircase, the temperate rose to a more comfortable chill. Signless sighed, but chokes on a sudden, harsh tug backwards. They stopped. A hard knock rang against wood close to his head, but he couldn't move away if he tried. The door opened with a dull click and Signless was lead inside.

Living all his life as a renegade, Signless considered his senses to be rather sharp. But he was preoccupied with the chains on his wrists being pulled over his head so harshly that his heels barely brushed the floor. Far too preoccupied to hear the even more massive boots against the floor until they were far too close.

"That's enough, motherfucker."

That voice. Everyone knew that voice. Signless shifted his weight back, but the chain holding him up was taut and heavy. He hung there, swaying, like an oink beast carcass.

The blindfold was yanked down to his neck, colours and lights striking his mutated eyes. Signless blinked into focus, and took in the sheer sight that was The Grand Highblood. Doubling Signless' height, his wild hair framed his shoulders and wavy horns, adding even more height. Blood-curling, white paint stuck to his face, applied with careful detail to resemble the teeth of a deep-sea horror. With a sway in his step, The Grand Highblood began circling around his prized prisoner.

"You're real fuckin' short, aren't you?"

Signless turned to look at him, but kept his mouth shut. There is only one reason to keep a troll like himself alive, after all, even if it's only for the time being. He would not crack. He couldn't. A sharp slap cut across his cheek, the mark flushing an offensive red. Signless hadn't even see him move.

"Let's make one thing motherfucking clear," Grand Highblood spat. "When I ask you a question, you best give me an answer. Understand?"

Signless licked his lips, his jaw pulsing from the single, half-hazard strike. "Yes."

"Good." He pulled the blindfold back up with a single claw, this time allowing more light to seep through. There was a snap of fingers, a grunt of acknowledgment, and the rough scraping of wood on stone as some sort of furniture was dragged closer, just out of Signless' kicking range.

"Now then, let's not waste any more motherfucking god damn time." The three seconds of silence stretch between them, tensing like a rubber band until it snaps around the Grand Highblood's words. "Where are your apostles?"

Signless gripped back his displays of relief. His friends had not been found, nor will they be without his help. He was the only one on Alternia that knew where they were, and he swore to keep it that way, regardless of the cost.

"Maybe you didn't hear me." He circled again, but much slower, coming to a stop directly behind Signless. "Shit, I'm feeling downright merciful today, so I'll repeat myself one more motherfucking time. Where are your fucking apostles, mutant?"

Signless forced down a shiver, tugging gently at his wrists one more time. Not a chance.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Now I get to have me some motherfucking entertainment!"

Sharp, unkept nails skittered up his defenceless sides, forcing a surprised giggle from the preacher's lips. What on Alternia?

"Honk! Look how sensitive you are! Your skin is even weaker than that of a Rustie, already turning red. What a motherfucking miracle! It must be my hatching day all up in this bitch!"

Signless squirmed, feeling 1000 times more exposed than he did before. Every memory of being tickled absolutely senseless flashed through his eyes, each filled with more tears than the last. Psi had been his most common assaulter. On the bright side, no bodily harm would come to him this way. He just had to bear it until he finds a way to escape, and said escape won't be hindered by serious inquiries. A slight grin tugged at his lips as he clenched his jaw. A little tickling never killed anyone.

Without warning, two pairs of knuckles slotted themselves between his grub scars and dug furiously. Lightning shot through his nerves straight to his spine, his sense of touch heightened by the loss of vision. A guffaw tore out of Signless' throat before he could clamp his mouth shut, as he kicked off the floor to escape the sensations. It tickled so bad, so so bad. But he wouldn't dare laugh.

"Oho, a fighter! You can try that shit for now, but once you're all burnt out, you'll break easy. You're helpless."

Signless bit his lip harder, calves and shoulders quickly protesting all his movement. The knuckles dropped to his bottom ribs, continuing their ministrations. Finally, laughter broke free like water to a dam, harsh and powerful with the pressure. Shame burned his cheeks. Signless spun sideways to throw off the attacker's hands, but Grand Highblood quickly dragged him back into place. The millisecond of relief only allowed him to regret thinking this form of torture would be easy.

"Ha! You think you can escape, bitch? You're weak. I don't even know your worst spots yet."

"Hahahahahaha, oh fuhuhuck!" Nuckles turned to claws as they traveled up and down his sides, spidering quickly. Down to his hips, up, down, up, down, and up further to his lower ribs, still buzzing and flushed. Suddenly, each trip down was a promise to explore higher and higher, until both hands slid way too high to attack his armpits.

"AHAHA! No, nohoho fuck ohofff!" Signless squealed, thrashing as best he could but failing to lower his arms at all. He curled one knee up as high as he could, but it only threw him off balance as pain stabbed at his shoulders. He was truly, utterly, trapped.

The Grand Highblood chuckled darkly behind him. "Is it too much already? How motherfucking pathetic."

His fingers skittered across his torso and sides for what felt like hours and hours, until Signless' laughs became gasps and chokes, eyes falling in and out of focus. Whenever he got even slightly used to the sensation, Grand Highblood would just switch spots.

"HAHA....ahaAA.. p.. ehehaha .pleheheease!"

"You know how to make it stop, motherfucker. Where did they run off to?"

The temptation was there, as much as it pained him. The tickling was too much, he was going crazy. "I-ahaha! C-c-ahan't!"

A rough growl cut through the air, and the tickling stopped. The hands held his ribs roughly, but he finally caught his breathe in progressively deeper inhales. The relief was short lived, however, as two more footspets got closer. Probably more guards, but he still couldn't see for himself.

Seconds later, the tickling resumed threefold. Thirty fingers danced across his skin, in his armpits, ribs, and the rest were fluttering across his belly and squeezing his hips. He heard a girl chuckling at him, and a small "oh" from a young man.

Kids, 8 sweeps at most. With renewed energy, Signless' bucked hard, shaking his head side to side as he began kicking at whoever was in front of him. The first missed, but the second came into contact with a clothes torso. Instead of launching his assaulter back, his ankle was yanked forwards and caught between their body and arm. Stupid highblood strength!

Sharp nails teased his arch skillfully and he shrieked.

"Ooh, boss! Looks like I found a good one!" She said with more giggling.

"Good work, bitch. Keep it up," The Grandhighblood repied.

With one foot in the air, Signless' struggling turned into pathetic twitches and jolts. He scrunched his toes as hard as he could, but the girl simply pried them back and continued. When she reached under his toes, tears started forming in his eyes.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA- AAAAA NOHOHOHO!! nOT THEEEHEHERE!"

"Not where? Here? Are your toes reeeally bad? Is that a really /ticklish/ spot for you?" She teased.

Heat dripped down his neck in embarrassment, even his back began flushing.

"Oh, do you not like that word? Tickle? But you're so ticklish! Tickle tickle tickle, I bet it feels sooo baaaddd~"

"Aha, hahaha! Dohhohoon't!" He pleaded.

"Don't what?"

"Mock meehehe!"

He could feel the venom dripping from her voice. "Mock you? If you wish!"

"Enough, child." The Grand Highblood interrupted. "He needs to focus."

She didn't respond but she dropped his leg. His hypersensitive toes barely brushed the floor before she yanked his other from underneath him, raking her nails over his entire sole hard and fast.

At the same time, the quiet boy shifted his hands down to squeeze at Signless' defenceless thigh.

"NOOOOOHOHOHOA! HAHAHAHA!"

Grand highblood continued to switch from spiders to digs and jabs at his armpits, while the other two scratched and squeezed his shaking legs and feet. After only a few minutes, white flickers of light bloomed under Signless' eyelids, head spinning as it forced his every breath out in raw, desperate laughter. His lungs began to burn.

"no- hahahhaha, nnhaha..noho more..no mohohoore!"

"You can make this all go away, motherfucker. Just tell is where they are and we'll stop."

"haha....n..no.."

"We won't stop until you're fucking dead. But it's gonna be a looking time till this gets you. Weeks, maybe even months"

Signless shuddered, body limp from exhaustion as all three of them tickled both his sensitive sides without care for his pleading.

"Or, you could spare yourself all the trouble now...and we'll make sure your end is swift and painless. You're finished anyways, and we'll find your followers with or without your help. So why suffer?"

His eyes rolled around in his skull, head pointing with blood lacking oxygen. His laugher fell quiet ages ago, but as it became silent his senses began to fail.

"Where are those motherfuckers hiding?"

Body numb and buzzing all at once, Signless forced one last breath through his aching throat, before the sweep lull of unconsciousness took him.

"..if that's what it takes, I will be their sufferer."

[jaxl-road]

The League of Extraordinary Rockstars, ch.7

Summary: LA is a hub for music and mutants, making it the perfect place for Motley Crue, Guns N’ Roses, and countless other mutant musicians to call home. But it’s not all easy, especially when it comes to finding a decent place to live. So what better solution than moving in together in the mansion of an immortal? Love, drama, and super powers. If nothing else, it’ll be interesting.

Chapter Warnings: Language, genderswap!Steven

AN: This is a collaboration between myself and @the–blackdahlia! It combines elements from her fic “It’s So Easy (And Other Lies)” (specifically her genderswapped!Steven) and my super powered GnR series. It is completely AU and ignores timelines like Woah, but hopefully you’ll have as much fun reading it as we’re having writing it! Let us know what you think!

~~~~~~~

Stevie could only watch as Izzy rushed out, ignoring her call, Axl darting after him determinedly. Her heart ached at having caused the guitarist pain. She had spent so long assuming her feelings for both boys were unrequited that she felt a tinge of disbelief that he could be so distraught over her.

“That went well,” Slash muttered, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

“I’m going to my room,” Stevie whispered, running off. Duff groaned.

“Stevie, wait!” He called out to her, chasing after her. “Stevie!”

“He was so upset,” Stevie told Duff as they made their way into her room. “God…” She sat down on her bed and grabbed Mr. Cuddles, holding him close to her chest. “Duff, this screws everything up…”

“Not necessarily,” Duff wrapped an arm around her shoulders, trying to be soothing, “He’s upset because he thinks you don’t like him. You can explain and it’ll fix everything!”

Internally, Duff knew it was a bit more complicated than that. After all, Izzy liked Stevie, not him, and there was no guarantee that he would be open to the type of relationship they had discussed, and if she was forced to choose between the two of them Duff felt a stab of certainty that he’d be the one let down gently…. But he just couldn’t stand to see her upset. So he shoved the insecurities down and smiled comfortingly as he rubbed her back.

“I don’t know if he’ll even listen to me,” She rested her head on Duff, “I mean, I wouldn’t listen to me if I was in his position.”

“Well, that’s just because you’re a stubborn little shit,” Duff teased.

“Are you calling me short you damn giant?” Stevie glared at Duff. Duff started laughing loudly.

“Of course not, Sunshine,” he snickered, “I’m calling you hardheaded.”

Stevie huffed in offense, shoving a still laughing Duff lightly. Their joking was cut short as they heard the sound of a door slamming on the floor above them. They exchanged worried looks, and a few moments later they heard heavy footsteps and then another door slamming down the hall. Axl’s and Baz’s door.

Sighing, the sad, conflicted look returned to Stevie’s face. Duff hugged her close, “It’ll be alright. Let’s just… let him cool down a little, and then you can talk to him and clear everything up, okay?”

"Yeah…" she nodded. "Maybe we could get the three of us food and that will make him think we're sincere?"

"Brilliant idea babe." Duff kissed her.

~~~~~

Vince grinned widely as he slid across the countertop in the kitchen, seating himself next to where Kelly was reading the instructions on the back of a box of frozen pizza. “A pretty face and you cook? You really are a catch,” the blonde drawled.

“Damn straight I am,” Kelly smirked back, “although you seem to be implying I’m gonna share, which I am definitely not.”

“Aw, don't be that way, Nickels!” Vince pouted, “Come on, you know what they say about the way to a man’s heart.”

“Through the third and fourth ribs.” He snickered as Vince gasped in offense.

"Did you hear that?" Kelly asked suddenly, looking around.

"All I'm hearing is this tension between you, me, and that pizza." Vince smirked.

"No, it sounds like scratching," Kelly told Vince.

"Probably that so-called raccoon Tommy's been chasing," Mick grumbled as he walked into the kitchen. "Your dad is probably under the house."

"Which dad?" Vince asked.

"Neither of them are my dad," Kelly sighed.

“Don’t tell them that,” Mick replied.

"I hate all of you," Kelly rolled his eyes.

"Even me?" They heard a voice. Freezing, they all looked around in confusion.

Vince and Kelly had only a moment to notice Mick close his eyes and sigh heavily before they nearly jumped out of their skins as the door beneath the sink burst open. Vince screamed, high pitched and shrill while Kelly tripped over his own feet as he scrambled away from the petite figure crawling out of the cabinet.

“CC what the actual FUCK!” Kelly was clutching his chest as CC Deville stood and grinned at him, “How fucking long have you been here??”

Beside them, Mick calmly snagged a bottle of vodka from the counter before turning and walking away without a word.

“Awwwww,” CC pouted as he watched the guitarist leave.

“Focus, CC!” Vince snapped, “What the hell are you doing here??”

"Well I was sleeping until someone started slamming doors," CC leaned against the counter before turning to smirk at the bassit, "Hey Kelly. Looking good as always." Kelly sputtered and turned to go put the pizza in the oven while Vince glared.

Before they could say anything else, Stevie wandered in, jerking to a stop when she saw the blonde guitarist waving at her, “What the fuck?”

“That’s the mood for the night,” Kelly sighed.

“Why is-”

“Don’t,” Vince interrupted, “Just ignore him and maybe he’ll go away.”

“Wow, someone’s in a bitchy mood,” CC grinned.

"I was just fine until you interrupted the moment…" Vince spat.

"From what I could tell, the only moment was you being shot down," CC teased.

"Okay, I'm just gonna go now," Stevie backed out of the kitchen.

"Stevie, don't leave me!" Kelly begged, “Please! I’ll share my pizza with you!”

“Hey!” Vince’s voice was indignant.

“I just wanted to use the phone,” Stevie groaned, “I’m ordering food tonight.”

“Ooooh, what are you getting?” CC questioned with far too much enthusiasm.

Narrowing her eyes, the drummer huffed, “It’s not for you guys. It’s for… it’s for Duff and me,” she decided to just leave it at that.

Pouting, Vince leaned dramatically against Kelly’s side, “Why is no one is sharing tonight? You’re all so mean!”

“You guys give me a migraine,” Stevie sighed.

“You love us,” CC smirked.

“I don’t even know why you’re here!” Stevie exclaimed.

CC shrugged, “I was taking a nap. Sue me.” Stevie groaned, grabbed the cordless phone, and marched into the living room.

“I’m moving out,” Kelly sighed. “Y'all can keep the house.”

Vince started pouting, “Aw, don’t say that,” he leaned against the counter beside Kelly, “We’re not all, bad, right?” he winked.

Before Kelly could respond, CC was snickering, “He’s just grumpy cause he needs to get laid,” he announced as he casually slapped Kelly’s ass.

“CC, shut up!” Vince hissed. Before he could respond, Mick made his way back in, grabbing CC’s arm and dragging him away.

“Can’t even hear myself think in this damn place,” Mick grumbled. “I’ll deal with him.”

Laughing, CC waved his fingers, “See you guys later! Good luck Kelly babe!”

Huffing, Vince turned back to the bassist, relieved that at least that was over with. “This place is crazy,” he grumbled, “Although, to be fair,” he grinned slyly, “I wouldn’t mind getting laid soon.”

“Well,” Kelly smiled. “If you want, we…”

“Hey guys!” Slash greeted as he came into the kitchen. “What’s up?” Vince groaned.

“Are you kidding me?”

“What?” Slash frowned, “What did I do?”

Kelly looked between the two of them, “Y’know, I was actually wondering-”

Suddenly there was the sound of crashing and loud swearing from what sounded like Nikki and Tommy as CC, apparently having escaped from Mick, ran through the kitchen again, diving back under the sink. “I was never here!!” He shouts as he slams the door shut to hide.

Nikki came sliding in, “What the fuck?? Where is he?!”

Vince dropped his head onto the counter, Slash stared at the cabinet wide eyed and confused, and Kelly realized forlornly that his pizza was burning.

“I’m moving,” he said to no one. “Stevie!" he shouted into the next room, "Will you order me food?”

“Why should I?” Stevie called back.

“I’ll take you to your favorite store at the mall!”

“Deal!”

Kelly turned off the oven, ignoring the smoke escaping from it, “I’ll deal with that later,” He muttered before walking out.

“Okay, what did you do to my son?” Nikki asked, “And where the fuck is CC?”

“Also, why the fuck is CC here?” Slash chimed in.

“Your son is fine and who knows why CC is anywhere,” Vince snapped.

“Wow, you’re bitchy,” Nikki gave him a smirk. “CC cockblock you too?”

“YES!” Vince threw his arms in the air, turning and stomping out of the room before anyone could question him further.

“He was trying to get with Kelly, wasn't he?” Nikki asked.

“He better not be,” Slash growled. Stevie finished hanging up with the restaurant just as Kelly stormed by.

“You okay Nickels?” She asked.

“No, but give me a half hour and I will be,” He headed up to his room.

Shaking her head fondly, Stevie looked back down at the phone in her hand. They had said the food would arrive in roughly 45 minutes. That was plenty of time to steel herself and plan what she wanted to say when she talked to Izzy.

Unfortunately, it was also plenty of time for her to freak the fuck out. Duff tried his best to keep her calm, but she couldn’t stop pacing back and forth in her room, flickering like a strobe light as she mumbled different ways to phrase her argument to herself.

“Okay, Sunshine, seriously,” Duff sighed as he stood, putting his hands on her shoulders to still her, “I understand you’re nervous. I’m nervous too. But you have got to get a grip,” he grinned teasingly, feeling a small spark of relief when she huffed and smacked his shoulder playfully.

“I just don’t want to mess this up,” She told him. The doorbell rang and she went running to the door before people could steal her food.

“Back off!” Stevie growled when Tommy reached for the bags, “This is mine!”

“But, don’t you want to share?” He asked, pouting.

“This bag is Kelly’s. Maybe your son will share with…”

Vince snagged the bag, “I’ll take it to him!” He called out, heading towards Kelly’s room.

“Goddammit!” Stevie and Tommy jumped, Slash appearing next to the door. Grumbling to himself, the guitarist stomped after Vince.

Groaning, Stevie clutched the bags of food to her chest, “I don’t have time for this,” she mumbled, turning to head back to her room where Duff was standing waiting in the doorway. Holding up the bags, she grinned weakly, “Well, we have our offering now. All that’s left is the actual conversation part.”

Duff tried to look reassuring, but he couldn’t hide that he was anxious too. “Right,” he shuffled on his feet, “So… should we…?” he trailed off, gesturing vaguely.

“Yeah...yeah…” She sighed. “Will you take the food? I’ll get the Izzy.” She handed Duff the food as she headed towards Izzy’s room. Take a deep breath, she knocked on the door.

“Go away Axl,” She heard Izzy growl.

“Not Axl,” She replied, “Duff and I got food and we wanted to talk to you. Please?”

Behind the door, Izzy dropped his head with a soft ‘thud’ against the wall. He turned to glance at the half empty bottle of whiskey on his side table, snatching it to take a quick swig, “Look,” he ran a hand over his face in frustration, “I’m sorry I made practice weird, you don’t need to tell me off or whatever. I’ll have my shit together tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to tell you off,” She told him softly, trying to fight back tears. She wasn’t going to cry. “I just want to talk to you Iz…”

“Well, there’s nothing I want to talk about!” he snapped. He knew Stevie had a big heart, and she probably felt bad about breaking his. But he really didn’t want to stand there while she tried to let him down gently or whatever, “It’s fine, I’m fine, just go back to your boyfriend, okay?” That’s when he heard something on the other side of the door. Crying.

“S-sorry,” Stevie whispered, tears streaming down her face. Izzy’s heart hurt, hearing her soft sobs.

He didn’t want to see her. But he didn’t want her to cry even more. Rolling over, he slid through the wall next to his bed, gracefully landing on his feet to stand in the hallway outside, just a few feet away from where Stevie was standing in front of his door.

“Izzy…”

“Fine, we can talk,” He sighed. “Just please stop crying.”

“Okay,” She wiped her eyes. “I got Mexican. I ordered your favorite. Duff’s waiting for us.” Izzy sighed but followed her to her room, where Duff had cleared off the table Stevie used to “customize” her t-shirts (and by customize, she meant butcher the hell out of them) and set the food up on it. He sat it at the foot of her bed, so the bed could be a seat, and got two chairs for the other two dinner guests.

Izzy nearly winced when he saw the set-up. This seemed very… formal for what he assumed was a pity party for him. But he really didn’t want Stevie to cry, so he figured the least he could do was grit his teeth and bare it. At least he was getting free food out of it.

He sat tensely in one of the chairs, looking around the room in order to avoid looking at either blonde, “So… what’s all this about?” he finally asked.

“Well, you see,” Stevie started as she opened her shrimp meal. “We, uh, wanted to discuss something with you.”

“And you can say no,” Duff added.

“But, I was talking to Kelly the other day…” Stevie started.

“Oh god, that’s never a good idea,” Izzy scoffed.

“Anyway,” Stevie shot a glance at him. “We were wanting to...we would like it if...you would join us.”

Izzy felt his brain short circuit, immediately dropping the taco he had hesitantly picked up, “Join you?” he repeated slowly. He was sure there was a more elegant way to phrase his thoughts, but he found himself blurting out, “I didn’t know you guys were into that.”

“We didn’t either until we started talking,” Duff admitted. “Because we both might kinda like you, and it really hurt to see you upset.”

“And of course, you can have time to think it over,” Stevie added. “Don’t think you have to rush. The offer isn’t going anywhere, no matter how much Kelly begs to take your spot.”

For a long moment, all Izzy could do was stare at his two bandmates and friends. Of all the ways he thought this conversation would go, this hadn’t even crossed his mind. It seemed too good to be true. So he figured it probably was.

Duff and Stevie were both too kind-hearted for their own good, Izzy knew that. As he took in their bright eyes and soft smiles, he realized that he had probably been too open with his heartbreak, had probably made the two of them feel guilty for their relationship and now they were just trying to offer him something to make him feel better. No matter how much he liked Stevie, and Duff, it didn’t change the fact that they probably just felt sorry for him and figured they could put up with a threesome once in awhile for his sake. That was all. Was he really so desperate and lovesick that he’d take the scraps they were offering him now?

"Yeah," He nodded, "Okay."

Yes. Yes he was.

[borderlandsthirst]

Song of Sisterhood

Tiora isn’t like almost everyone else, it’s said that awakening your siren powers is traumatic, or causes trauma. For Tiora, it was both. When she acquired Steele’s powers, it was in the middle of the night in her bunk, she felt a burning sensation crawling up her left arm and spreading over her chest and back. Her gasp of pain awoke a few of her bunkmates, there was nothing they could do, they couldn’t identify the cause of her agony. But when they saw tattoos etching they’re way across her skin it was too late, the devasting pain erupted from her body in a furious blast of energy, disintegrating everyone in the bunk.  

The explosion woke the rest of the camp, in the mist of the debris stood Tiora, left arm covered in siren marks and unscathed, there was no way for her to explain what happened or how. Not like she was given a chance, as soon as their eyes landed on her arm they were shooting, Tiora had no choice but to flee the place she called home for years, that night left her mentally and emotionally scared.

Years of fighting in the military already left her wounded in more ways than one, but being chased out of Tediore, the only thing she’s known for years, broke her more.  

But there is something new for her to hang onto, the song of the sisterhood, what it is she can’t say, but it pulls her without her even knowing it. The sisterhood is where all sirens belong, it is a safe place, it is a place not only of belonging, but love. If she can find the sisterhood she won’t be as miserable anymore.

There are two reasons Tiora goes to Pandora, to find her brother, and to find the sisterhood, she isn’t aware of the second reason, not yet anyway. Meeting Lilith and Maya changed her life, she had a new family, even after losing Roland, she still had the sisterhood and the other Crimson Raiders. She wasn’t alone, and Roland was watching over her from somewhere.  

The years passed and Tiora started to feel whole again, even though her new family was very odd, she loved them like blood, she was still heartbroken about Angel, but as long as she, Maya, and Lilith stuck together, they would be fine.

But Hector had to come and attack Sanctuary, she doesn’t even know how the hell they got up there but they  started turning the civilians into plant mutants and that’s when shit really hit the fan.  

The journey to get back to Sanctuary was a long one, but it was all in vain, Hector refused to die so Lilith teleported everyone away, the only option for defeating Hector was blowing him up, and the city along with him. She thought she lost Lilith but she PhasedWalked back to them, relief was all she could feel.

After that the Crimson Raiders split off into groups to look for the Vault key and for other vaults on different planets. Tiora stayed on Pandora to help find Pandora’s vault key/map and strengthen their forces, training isn’t easy when you have only the slack-jaw, disease-ridden inhabitance of a dry up, crusty planet. She does her best to stay patient and positive, it doesn’t always work though.

As time went on Tiora form her own group of soldiers to seek out the vault map for Lilith, training and growing her powers as she fended off the sudden appearance of the COV, but to be honest. She felt a little bad for all these people, the longer she stayed on Pandora the more she learned about the bandits and their life before the madness. Just normal people who worked for corporations that didn’t give a damn about them, just cannon fodder to be tossed aside once they’re no longer useful, just human trash.

But Tiora fought on, if they attacked her, she killed them, there was no other option. But they were growing in numbers, no matter how many she killed they just kept coming, they even started building camps across the borderlands, and statues of two E-thots she didn’t know. It didn’t matter, if she sees them, she’ll kill them and move along.

But the COV grew every day in strength, and one by one her crew was picked off until was the only one left. She never stayed hidden though, she just kept fucking everyone up left and right so everyone would fear her. But they apparently feared the wrath of someone name Tyreen Calypso more.

It wasn’t until months into this battle that Tiora caught her first glimpse of a Livescream, both Troy and Tyreen Calypso stood on a deck as they watched their followers tear civilians and themselves apart for these fake Gods amusement. As soon as she saw them the song of the Sisterhood rang throughout her head, they were both sirens, Troy song was weaker, but he was still one, nonetheless.

But these two were twisted, disgusting little masochist who needed to be stopped. She didn’t want to kill them, just “dethrone” them. But there was no way she could do that alone. She’d need her family, luckily Lilith needed her too, although it took a while to get to her, Tiora rejoined the CR and set about her journey from Pandora to Promethea.

There’s actually way more to this but I had to get something out before I left, since I’m a slow writer it might take me til tomorrow to finish this. So here you go, Happy early New Year since it’s still a few hours left for me.

[marvxlousqueen]

Warren Worthington- Share My Bed

word count: 2.7K ish 

warnings: small mentions of sex, a little cussing, FLUFF

summary: reader is always getting kicked out of her room and becomes friends with peter (maximoff) and meets warren, his roommate-- also i wrote peter as like a huge ping pong fanatic whoops sorry not sorry 

i’m such a slut for soft warren so :)) enjoy this please

One of the perks of being a student at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters was the opportunity to learn to control your special abilities to better protect yourself and others. One of the cons that (Y/n) had most recently discovered, was having roommates. Since the whole Apocalypse incident, a lot more mutants had enrolled in the school, either they heard about it from the news broadcastings and decided to find it for themselves or their parents enrolled them, fearing that they could get hurt if not trained properly (which is 100% true). (Y/n) thankfully didn’t have to room with any of the newbies, but she did have to move into Jean’s room. It could’ve been worse, at least she was close to Jean, having been friends with her since even before the thing with Apocalypse.

One bad thing about rooming with Jean was the fact that Jean and Scott like to spend time together. A lot of time together. Doing things. Meaning, almost every day (Y/n) was asked (not so politely) to leave the room for an hour or two. She often voiced her opinion on this. “Why can’t you guys go fuck in Scott’s room? It’s not fair! I have homework to do and I need to be in here with all my books and my desk, okay? I don’t care how horny you guys are, just suck it up!” 

(Y/n)’s opinions never seemed to have any impact on Jean or Scott. Scott would always say the same, short apology about how he didn’t want to risk scarring Kurt, Scott’s new roommate, for life (since Kurt was one of the more innocent students of Xavier’s school). Jean would always give her puppy dog eyes and whisper in (Y/n)’s mind, “I would do it for you and you know that.” 

(Y/n) knew Jean was right, she would do it for her, but luckily for Jean (and unluckily for (Y/n)) no boy seemed remotely interested in her. Ever since Jean and Scott had started up their after school fucking sessions, she had started to seek refuge in Peter’s room. Peter Maximoff was... interesting to say the least. He was quick on his feet and even quicker to make sarcastic remarks so she quite enjoyed his company. (Y/n) had first met him last school year when he single-handedly saved the entire student body and staff from being blown up. They had become quite the pair of friends since then, sharing music taste and enjoying a good game of ping pong (even if (Y/n) wasn’t able to keep up). 

Even Peter, one of the older students/trainees, had been affected by the roommate situation, which effectively put a damper on their hang out time. About a week after they started to hang out, Hank had stopped by to announce that Peter would be getting a roommate. Hank briefly described the boy as one of Apocalypse’s minions who was now in need of a new home so that he hopefully wouldn’t wander into dark forces again. 

Peter had not been pleased, at all. Professor Xavier had made him move his ping pong table into the ‘game room’ (which also included Peter’s old Pac-Man game and a crappy pool table) to make room for another bed. 

Two days later Peter’s roommate had showed up while (Y/n) was kicked out of her room. He was absolutely terrifying. (Y/n) immediately recognized him, even though he looked significantly different than he had during the battle. She recalled him having metal wings, which she had seen rip many of her fellow classmates to shreds. They were gone, replaced by feathered white ones. His face was the same, shaved sides of his head and threatening face tattoos, serving as a constant reminder of the things he did. (Y/n) wanted to ask how he had changed his wings so quickly, but was too scared to do so. Lucky for her, Hank had taken the opportunity to explain after Peter had asked a similar question. 

“We were able to remove the metal pieces and he grew his original wings back just fine. He will be on bed rest for the next few days though, still recovering.” He didn’t mention if they attempted to remove the face tattoos, but (Y/n) was too stunned to ask Hank about them. He grew back his wings? Holy shit that must hurt, she thought. 

The boy, Warren (which she had learned from Peter), had stepped out to get a bite from the cafeteria. “So, did Hank really say he’d be on bed rest for a few days? I don’t like that.” Peter had looked up at her, slightly confused, “It’s no big deal. He doesn’t seem to talk much. We can still do our thing.”

(Y/n) shook her head, “He scares me. Sorry, Pete. I’ll find somewhere else to hang for today and the next few days till he’s out and about.”

Peter wasn’t going to take this. First, he lost his ping pong table, then he had to get a roommate, and now he was losing precious pong time with a friend? Nope. Not happening. “Come on, (Y/n)! You aren’t leaving me like this! We have table tennis to play, and he’s not scary so come on!” She shook her head before standing up to leave. 

Peter rushed in front of her, using his super speed. “Nope, nuh uh. Please stay, I’ll get so bored!” (Y/n) rolled her eyes at this. “Peter, you get bored at everything!” 

“Exactly! Come on, I’ll get us pizza and milkshakes as a thank you.” After rolling her eyes once more, (Y/n) finally nodded. Peter quickly slipped on his goggles and gave her arm a quick squeeze. “Stay here, okay? I’ll be back, two minutes-tops.” Peter left before she could get another word in. (Y/n) moved to sit down on Peter’s bed, waiting.

Not even thirty seconds later the door opened (causing (Y/n) to stand up) and in walked- that’s not Peter, she thought. Peter’s roommate, Warren, shuffled through the door, hands full, struggling to fit with his half opened wings. “Do.. do you need a hand?” (Y/n) was hesitant in asking this, worried that she might actually have to hold a conversation with him. She was sure she wouldn’t be able to speak with his cold eyes staring her down. To her surprise he nodded, handing her a plate he was holding. “You know, most people eat in the cafeteria. We’re not really supposed to bring food back into our rooms... attracts roaches.” That sounded condescending, didn’t it? And why would I mention roaches, ew!

(Y/n) waited for a response, but none came. She moved to place his dish of pasta down on the desk that had been assigned as his. 

“I know.” His voice made (Y/n)’s head snap up, “huh?”

“I know I’m supposed to eat in the cafeteria. I was going to sit down, but there were no empty tables. I can’t just sit with people.” 

(Y/n)’s eyebrows furrowed at his statement. “Why-um, why can’t you sit with people?” His eyes finally met hers, moving up from where they were on the floor. (Y/n) had thought she would’ve found nothing but coldness in his eyes, but instead she found a certain warmth that she hadn’t seen in anyone before. 

“No one wants to sit with me. They’re scared of me, everyone is.” His head dropped again and he took a seat on his bed, remembering how Hank told him to keep his movements to a minimum. She felt awful that she was ever scared of him. He just wanted to be liked, get a fresh start. Right as (Y/n) was about to respond, Peter ran into the room, covered in some sort of pink substance, but still holding two boxes of pizza and two shakes, as promised.  

“Hey! Sorry I’m late, spilled a strawberry milkshake while I was trying to get out of there fast.” Peter placed the items on his desk, acknowledging Warren with a small nod. “Why were you trying to get out fast, Peter?” (Y/n) had heard enough about him from Professor Xavier and Hank to know he was quite the kleptomaniac. “I was, you know-just wanted the pizza to stay hot..?”

“Oh god Peter, you stole them!” 

“No! I mean-technically yes, but they were freshly made and the place was going to close without selling them. They would’ve been thrown away! And... stolen pizza tastes so much better.” (Y/n) rolled her eyes. She knew she shouldn’t expect anything less than criminal activity from Peter, but god he was just so damn cheap sometimes. “You have a problem, Peter. Like a serious problem.” 

“Oh shut up and eat your stolen pizza.” 

The rest of the afternoon was pizza and ping pong (on the table that Peter had snuck back in, which took up about the only open space that was left in the room) until Jean spoke to (Y/n) in her head. “You can come back. Scott is gone.” 

(Y/n) bid her goodbye to Peter and gave Warren a quick smile before leaving, tired and not wanting to be awake any longer. 

After (Y/n) closed the door Warren sat back up, trying to appear more friendly before speaking to Peter. “So-uhm. What’s her name? The, the girl..” Warren’s face felt a little hot, still shy talking to Peter. “(Y/n). She’s been a student here for a couple years now. She fought with us last year too, you might remember that.” Peter didn’t mean to bring up last year’s battle, but it just slipped out. 

“Yes, I remember.. I remember all of that. Regret it too.” In a sudden flash of silver, Peter was seated next to Warren, patting his shoulder. “It’s alright bro, no one blames you. I totally would’ve done anything a blue-god-mutant-dude-thingy told me to, especially if he was offering me rewards. I get it.” 

Warren felt his chest lighten, relief flooding him. He liked the idea of no one blaming him. Maybe this place will work out after all, he thought.

The next day after classes, (Y/n) was expecting to have to head to Peter’s room, but was surprised to not find Scott in Jean’s bed. “Where’s Scotty at?” 

Jean looked up from her books, “Special training with Professor Xavier. He’s coming over tonight though.” (Y/n)’s eyes widened comically, “Tonight? As in night time? What-what, just-no!”

“Come on, (Y/n). We’ve been dating for almost a year and haven’t slept in the same bed, it’s weird.” (Y/n) shook her head, still in shock at what Jean was trying to explain to her. “No! No no no! I don’t care how long you’ve been dating, I will not be kicked out of my room at night time! Where am I supposed sleep?” 

“I would do it for you, (Y/n). You know that.” (Y/n) groaned, knowing Jean would do it for her if she ever had a boyfriend over. “Fine... I need to go find somewhere to sleep tonight.” Jean nodded, returning to her homework. 

(Y/n) wandered down the hall to Peter’s room, knocking quickly. He opened the door before jumping back onto his bed. “Hey! Jean and Scott at it already? Seems early.” She shook her head, pushing his legs over so she can sit. “No they’re not. Scott is training and Jean decided it would be a genius idea to have him over tonight, like to spend the night. Can I sleep in here? Please..” 

Warren’s head flicked up at her words. He wasn’t sure how he felt about (Y/n) staying with them. He probably wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing she was there. What if I snored? Or sleep talked about her? What if I woke up with a boner and she saw? He wasn’t sure why his heart was racing so much. He had only known her for a day, but she seemed so.. so nice and carefree. He wanted that in his life, wanted her in his life. 

Peter nodded, “Jean and Scott are kind of assholes, you know, for doing that to you, but yeah sure. We can squeeze you in, right Warren? You okay with that?”

Warren nodded, eyes meeting hers. “Oh thank you so much! Let me go grab some pillows and blankets to make my bed on the floor.” She rushed out and headed back down the hallway to her and Jean’s room. She opened the door, seeing Scott already sitting on Jean’s bed. “You’re here early. Does that mean I can sleep in my own bed tonight?” Scott just looked over to Jean, hoping she would know the correct answer. “He’s still staying the night.” (Y/n) groaned, “Great... I need to grab some stuff.” 

“Oh lighten up (Y/n). It’s a Friday night, it’s not like we have classes in the morning.”

“Shut it, Summers.” She grabbed her pillow before slamming the door shut, already making her way back to Peter and Warren’s room. Their door was still open so she walked straight in and began constructing her bed.. until she realized she had only brought a pillow. She left again, headed down the hall to grab her comforter. As she reached Jean’s door she saw the sock on the handle, which meant they were already at it. Those two are like rabbits, I swear.

She slowly walked back into Peter’s room, feet dragging. “Hey Pete, I can’t make a bed. I don’t have any blankets so can I borrow some?” (Y/n) looked at Peter’s bed, hoping to see extra blankets she could use, but her eyes were met with just a single sheet stretched out. Right, Peter doesn’t use blankets.

Peter generates so much heat at night, he can’t sleep with more than a sheet on him. He shook his head, “I don’t have any, sorry. But you can just share my bed. It’s roomy and I don’t take up a lot of space.”

Warren’s eyes opened, he did not like the idea of (Y/n) sleeping in Peter’s bed. He wanted to offer her his blanket, but with his wings still recovering, Hank told him he needed to keep his body temperature up at all times. 

“Oh.. okay I guess, but if you try to make any moves, Maximoff, you’re dead.” He nodded, slight smirk on his face, “Can’t make any promises.” 

They spent the next few hours in the shitty game room playing pac man before playing an intense game of ping pong. At 10 o’clock, Warren was headed to sleep, body exhausted from regrowing his wings. He knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, too busy thinking about (Y/n) being curled up in Peter’s bed, but he might as well try seeing as how he had nothing better to do. 

Since Warren and Peter are roommates, if Warren was going to bed that meant Peter was also going to bed. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, (Y/n) soon followed. Their bodies had a good couple inches between them, but she could still feel Peter’s movements. (Y/n) was woken up at 11 o’clock to Peter kicking her. She sat up and saw Peter moving rapidly. He looked like he was running in his sleep, continuously kicking her. (Y/n) scooted closer to the edge of his bed to avoid his legs, but after another few kicks, Peter kicked her off the bed. 

“Ow, fuck..” She whispered her words, trying not to wake up Warren (but of course he had been awake the whole night and heard her body hit the ground).

His raspy voice spoke out into the darkness, “Y-you okay?”

“No, Peter is a bitch to share a bed with. He literally kicked me off.”

Warren reached up to turn on his bedside lamp, seeing her laying on the floor, shivering. His mouth opened before he could stop himself. “You can share my bed.”

(Y/n) looked up so fast she could’ve sworn she got whiplash, “What?” In the dim lighting she was still able to see the blush form on Warren’s face. “I-I just meant... you know, since the floor is cold and I have a.. bed.”

“Okay.” Warren was surprised, seeing her jump up and climb into his bed. “O-okay. And s-sorry if my wings get in the way. Also they’re kind of hot so if you need to move the blanket we can.”

She shook her head, pulling the blanket over her. Warren saw that she was still shivering so he wrapped his wings around her, not giving it a second thought, holding her between the warm feathers. He felt her hand grab his arm, wrapping it around her waist. Warren’s face burned, but he loved having her so close to him, all his previous worries flying out the window.  

“Good night, Warren.”

“Night, (Y/n). Sweet dreams.” 

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

Bishop’s Angel

 Part One

Reader and the turtles

 Pain, that was the first thing that invaded your senses, brisling bright and sharp. Before your vision returned or even movement in your limbs, a blinding pain that felt like a million knives imbedded deep in the back of your skull screamed for the relief in the form of a swift death. Your mouth was dry as the Sahara and you felt like you needed to vomit and the throbbing behind your eyes was not helping in the slightest. This wasn’t going to be a good day, you could tell already. Next you willed your eyes to open and they thankfully obliged, but you promptly regretted the decision when a white searing light assaulted your vision. How long had you been out for light to be this excruciating? You needed to rub away the ache but found your limbs unwilling to comply or more accurate, couldn’t.

 “Fuck.” You mumbled taking another pull hoping your arms and legs were just entangled in your sheets after a restless night of sleep. Nope, no such luck, no movement yet again. Slowly this time, you opened your eyes allowing the light to slowly penetrate easing the light to dilate your pupils gradually. Your vision still slightly blurry your surroundings came into view. White, lots and lots of white and machines and metal instruments. Like a heavy weight, dread filling your stomach, you were not fully aware of your surroundings yet, but you knew a lab when you saw one.

 A heavy sigh escaped you as you tried to remember how you got in this position, the last thing you remembered was getting onto your ship and getting into hyper sleep for the long arduous journey to the outer rim of the Milky way for your next assignment. Then another hot stabbing pain rolled through your skull making you groan at the unpleasant sensation. And something inside snapped and a flood of images came rushing back making the urge to purge the contents of your stomach intensify.

 Memories came surging back, and you suddenly remembered what had happened. Midflight a stray meteor hit your ship damaging the navigation system and thrusters. That set off a domino effect of errors which woke you from your slumber. By the time you got back to the bridge you were already too close to the planet and had been caught in its gravitational pull. There was nothing you could do but try to ease the landing and prepare for impact. Thankfully your heat shields protected you from the rough entry into the primitive planet’s atmosphere, but the landing had been jostling. Somehow you managed not to break any bones or your other precious appendages, but you were cut pretty bad from flying debris.

 Earth is where you had landed unfortunately. The planet itself was pleasant, with fresh water, lush green foliage and a wide variety of amazing animals. But its higher life forms were less then pleasant. Humans were cruel and stupid, taking all that they had for granted. They were ruining their magnificent planet at an alarming rate and if they kept destroying it at their current pace they would kill it in less than 100 years. They were foolish and selfish, killing each other over stupid reasons like religion and who they were allowed loved. Wars and bloodshed was this planets calling card which is why they were kept out of the Intergalactic Peace Corp and why no intelligent life visited.

 After you had freed yourself from your harness and put out the fires on deck one and two you needed to open the bay doors to remove the smoke that clogged the ventilation systems but when the ramp lowered you found yourself no longer alone. Your ship was surrounded by a swarm of humans dressed in black with their guns drawn pointed at you.

 When they first caught glimpse of you their eyes widened in shock and each took a step back. Easily startled little pricks scared of anything different than them, fucking humans. Granted in most ways you looked like them, you had supple tan flesh, and being a female, you had the same reproductive organs as theirs with two breasts and a cunt. You had two legs, two arms with ten toes and fingers with nails and cuticles. You were just a little taller than their average height with a long light brown hair. Even your eyes were the same, but the violet of your eyes were not represented on this planet which only added to your exotic look. But the two appendages protruding from your back were the most shocking features about you and you pumped the two large white wings behind you just to give the humans a show.

 It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do in hindsight because the next thing you knew you were pumped full of some sort of tranquilizer and now were strapped down to a metal table in an unknown location with your wings pinned painfully under you.

 This was your third visit to the planet, granted this one wasn’t planned but a visit non the less and it reiterated why this was by far your least favorite planet in this system. Such a jumpy species, fucking humans.

 Back in the present you concentrated at the task at hand, you quickly assessed your current situation, your arms and legs were restrained with simple leather straps which will be easily broken with just your strength alone. The sound of a door opening halted your escape attempt and you observed as a man dressed in a black suit and tie with a pair of sunglasses over his eyes strolled up next to you. His index finger drug lazily up your leg to your midsection pressing down ever so slightly testing your skins resilience.

 Thankfully they had left you clothed, or someone was about to die. The smirk on his face indicated he thought he had you trapped at his mercy, but little did this smug asshole know leather straps wouldn’t keep you bound to this table for much longer. You just needed to bide your time waiting for the right moment.

 After a few moments the man spoke lifting the dark glasses up to the top of his head to reveal his icy grey iris’, “And I thought today was going to be uneventful. I love getting new toys to play with.” His voice was scratchy and dull, lacking any kind of compassion and filled with contempt which gave you a bit of apprehension. Just one sentence from the man and you knew already he wasn’t one to be trifled with.

 His hands lifted to your cheek stroking the warm skin almost lovingly, but you knew even the small touch had a purpose. He was studying you with just his fingers gauging your reactions, waiting to see what you would do. Next his fingers traced the edges of your soft wings gathering a feather between his fingers examining the texture.

 “Interesting.” He cooed sharply yanking the white feather from its root with a brutal tug.

 Not prepared for such an abrasive act and sharp sting you let out a shriek of pain when the quill left the sinew of your wing. “Fuck! You indignant asshole! That hurt!”

 “You speak English, how fascinating. You look like us besides the gorgeous wings and you speak our tongue. You, my dear, are not only stunning for an alien but also just as vexing. What are you doing on earth?”

 Refusing to answer the man’s questions you returned with your own, “Where is my ship?”  

 “Nah ahh ahh don’t be rude, I ask the questions here. You came into our atmosphere unidentified and uninvited making a colossal mess for me to clean up. The least you could do is answer a few questions.” If the tone if his voice was any sweeter, sugar would have been dripping from his lips. He leaned down bringing his nose close to your neck taking a long pull of your scent. “You smell unique as well, like nutmeg or some other sweet spice. I think you’ll be my new favorite. I wonder what your insides look like.”

 “Is this how you treat guests on this planet? Capture and threaten them with dissection?”

 Suddenly the door to your room burst open and a frantic man wearing a long white lab coat came rushing to your host’s side. Taking a few moments to catch his breath the subordinate finally calmed down enough to address the man no doubt in charge.

 “Bishop, those mutants are coming too, the big one nearly broke free!”

 The calm and collected facade slipped from the man they called Bishop and his fists clenched in tight angry fists. “Then drug them again! Do you have any idea how long I planned and waited to capture those god damn turtles?! Almost two years you fucking moron and 5 million of the government’s money, I cannot lose them. They are too important to my work for them to disappear again! Contain the beasts!”

 The cowering man nodded quickly and slinked away to take care of his problem leaving you and Bishop alone yet again. He straightened his tie and coughed regaining his lost restraint. His cold eyes found yours again and he smiled ever so sweetly caressing your cheek once again.

 “You my dear will have to wait, I have four prior engagements I need to attend too. We shall continue this play date a little later. I look forward to learning every inch of you inside and out…..Rachel!”

 Again the door swung open and a woman with long red hair and a white lab coat appeared fully engrossed with the man addressing her.  “Yes Agent Bishop?”

 “Rachel please give this wonderful new specimen of mine a delicious cocktail to let her rest until I have time to attend to her. I have a shell to peel from one of those turtles backs. But first dinner!” And with that Bishop slipped from the room heading towards his meal.

 The woman ignored you and turned to the table to her left and started to fiddle with something.

 “Please.” You tried to plead with the woman. “Please help me.”

 Slowly the woman turned around holding a syringe up pressing the stopper to expel the excess air from the needle. She looked down and shook her head allowing the red curls of her hair to shake around her shoulders. “I’m sorry dearie but Mr. Bishop always gets what he wants and you’re the first alien he’s gotten his hands on. You’re not going anywhere.”  

 You figured her answer would be ‘no’ so you were poised and ready, your muscles flexing under the taught band of leather. “On the contrary Rachel, I’m not an alien. Only this primitive planet uses that word.” A pop and a gasp from your nurse the leather gave way freeing your hands and feet from their constraints. Your hand shot out dislodging the syringe from her hands and you quickly grabbed it plunging the needle deep in her neck pressing the cocktail into her system.

 Her eyes widened in pain still processing your lightening fast movements. She tried to scream reaching out to steady her failing legs but crumbled to the floor in a huddled mess at your feet.

 “Rest well Rachel.” Getting to your feet you surveyed the room and fortunately found all your blades at the far back corner of the room. “Idiots.” Shoving them back into their sheaths you headed for the door pressing your ear to the cold surface listening for any sign of life on the other side. You waited patiently for two sets of footsteps to pass and fade into the distance before you pushed open the door peering out into the equally blinding white corridor. Did they hear of colors?

 Slipping out silently you made your way cautiously as you could down the hallways being aware or your surroundings moving forward to find some sort of exit. Then voices came from behind and you entered into the next unlocked room praying it was empty and closed the door just as four guards entered into the hallway. You had to wait for them to pass by but back luck was apparently in abundance today so they stopped almost at the door you hide behind to stop and chat. You were stuck, at least for the moment.

 The room you had entered was dark and machines hummed quietly in the back. Hopefully dark meant uninhabited but metal shifting behind you told you otherwise. Your hand gripped the hilt of your blade at your side and slowly turned around ready to defend yourself. Your eyes were already starting to adjust to the darkness and you could see four large tables containing four large masses. With no one standing before you to try and capture you again your fingers sought the light switch and drenched the room in white light.

 There before you lay four large humanoid turtles strapped to the same metal tables you had just occupied. The difference was they were restrained with thick metal cuffs secured to the solid heavy tables that were bolted to the ground. They weren’t going anywhere, not without assistance. Where these the four mutants turtles Bishop was talking about deshelling? How were these four massive creatures on this planet? They were not human that was for sure.

 You saw all four had masks on, each a different color. One was huge, bulky like a raging bull adorned with red. That had to be the ‘big one’ the sniveling man told Bishop had almost escaped. You could see why they were terrified, he was impressive. Next to him was the smallest of the four but still equally muscled with orange around his skull, then a tall lanky one, not as bulky as the rest of them but still well defined, he had purple. Then at the end was one just a bit smaller then the large red brute, his scalp wrapped in blue. They were blindfolded and gagged as well shifting weakly on the tables. Bishop had said they were hard to capture, maybe you could help each other. You just hoped they weren’t hostile.

 Silent as the night, you made your way to the blue turtle, your fingers hovering over his blindfold still making up your mind if you wanted to help them. His head turned to you somehow knowing you were there. They were awake and he tried to talk through the offending rubber gag. You watched his nostrils flare struggling to take in air. Damn your bleeding heart.

 Reaching down you ripped the blindfold free along with the gag. His eyes were a mystifying blue swirling with confusion and resolve but when they met yours they blew wide. His mouth worked his jaw loose and his tongue darted out to moisten his dry lips but stilled as his eyes followed up your wings span bobbing gently behind you.

 “Holy Shell.”

@blossom-skies

[aka-willow]

Darkness Goes

gif mine

Words: 1661

Characters: Willow Wren, Pingu, General Thaddeus Ross

Prompt/Tag: “There’s blood on your hands.” “So much for not getting involved.”

Summary: Willow and Pingu escape from the bank in D.C. and accidentally flex their powers to the public

Timeline: July 2015

Song: Paint It Black - Ciara

A/N: and i oop

—————————————————————————–

Pingu and I run back out of the vault and stopped right before the lobby while I carefully listened for our visitors. My heart was still pounding from our encounter with the Blue Lab reset machine and I was having a tough time holding on to myself. Everything around me seemed… separated… like I wasn’t really there. And the gallons of rootbeer and iced coffee I drank earlier in the day definitely wasn’t helping.

“What are you hearing?” Pingu asked.

“Cops,” I whispered, noting the walkie-talkie chatter. Red and blue lights bounced off the walls of the bank lobby. “Outside, actually. Lots of them.”

“Think this place was under surveillance?”

“Definitely.”

“What’s the plan?”

I peeked out from our hiding spot and try to get a better look outside. I couldn’t tell if we were surrounded, and even if I could fly, Pingu couldn’t. The worst part was, we were in D.C. Anything we pulled here would be 10x worse than, say, Utah. I tried to listen to the voices outside, get a handle on who exactly we were facing. No one was inside the bank yet.

“Okay, let’s—let’s just sit for a sec,” I said, trying to get a grip. “Think. They’re not inside yet.”

“If we use our powers here…” Pingu started. “…I don’t know. It wouldn’t be good.”

“We don’t have a lot of options,” I said.

The minutes crept by and my face became sticky with sweat. I turned and looked up at the upper corner of the lobby, where I saw a blinking red light. “Hey, Pingu,” I whispered. “I think they can see us. There’s a camera up there.”

“Can they hear us?”

“I don’t know.”

I opened my backpack, turning my face away from the camera and pulled out the face paint I always carried since my first fight, but this time, instead of the sunglasses, I had darker paint for the space around my eyes. Was it a raccoon look? Yes. Does it help? Absolutely. The white face paint was smeared on my cheeks and around my nose, aimed to throw off facial recognition technology. Pingu followed my lead and she tied a shirt around her face as a mask, leaving just enough space for her eyes. We made eye contact and her eyes smiled at me, even though now we were both in full panic mode.

“How many minutes has it been?” Pingu asked.

I checked my phone. “Fifteen. And they still haven’t done anything. Why?”

A loud voice suddenly cut through the chatter of the police outside, amplified by a speaker. “This is General Thaddeus Ross of the United States Military. Come out through the front door unarmed and with your palms out and hands above your head. We have artillery trained on this building and would advise against engaging.”

“Fuuuuuck,” Pingu said at full volume, and something clicked inside my head.

“That’s him,” I said. “Fanisimo told me. He was one of the people involved in the project when we were kids. Before HYDRA.” There was a new type of anger surging inside me and combined with my extreme fear, I wasn’t feeling so great. “Fuck this,” I said, standing up from our hiding spot.

“Heckergal—” Pingu said. “Don’t—”

“We need to get out of here,” I said. “Any means possible. I’m serious, Pingu. That’s—that’s the guy who ruined our lives. Fuck this, him trying to stop us from actually knowing our own pasts, it’s—”

Pingu shook her head, and her hands glowed red. “I want to go home.”

Already, the air in the bank started swirling around me, as I gathered wind from the drafts in the windows, from my own breath. “Let’s go, then.”

I felt out of my own body as we stepped through the bank doors, hands held above our heads, but the glow consuming our fingers, down to our wrists and up into our arms. I took another look at Pingu, and her irises burned red. When I looked back at the crowd outside, the police and military gathered in the street, all I could see was the General.

Outside, I gathered the wind between my fingers, pulling it into a shield around me and Pingu’s hands began to burn in a bright blaze.

“This is your last warning!” the voice called again, and we ignored it.

I stepped down from the bank steps and started walking towards the intersection, only focused on clearing a path so that Pingu and I could get away. I screamed and balled my hands into fists as windows shattered and a shockwave tore through the intersection. At this point, the police had started firing from behind their cars, and Pingu hurled streams of flame at the vehicles as I tossed them aside with a sharp gust of wind. More and more air surged around me, gathering around my body like a shield, and I opened up my wings to protect Pingu and I. When I looked down, my body was surrounded in a blue glow, a mass of wind and air swirling around me.

And the bullets. The bullets should have been hitting me, but they weren’t, instead just stopping at the air barrier. I stood with my arms out at let the police continue to fire—they couldn’t hurt me right now. For the first time in my life, I felt completely powerful, completely in control and in my own element, even as my mind seemed to take the backseat in this fight as if it was another Willow fighting for me.

Pingu and I stood back to back, each taking on a side of the intersection, pushing through the blockade. Even through our efforts, the military was closing in and Pingu and I were forced into close-quarters combat, trying to compensate for our low body mass with all the power we had behind it. Thaddeus Ross had stepped out of his SUV, yelling commands into a comm, and I got an idea.

“The SUVs,” I yelled at Pingu. “Are there any that we haven’t destroyed yet?”

“Just the one that guy was in,” she yelled back.

At the same time, we threw out one more burst of fire and wind and sprinted for the leftover car, the police and military in close pursuit. The General moved to block us from the SUV, but with one more powered punch, he was on the ground and Pingu had hopped into the driver’s seat, with me jumping into the back.

“Drive, drive, drive,” I screamed.

“I don’t know how!” Pingu exclaimed.

“Just step on the gas!”

The car lurched forward and within seconds, we were swerving through the streets of Washington D.C., mutants on the run and with a vengeance. I heard a helicopter in the distance.

“We have to leave the car,” I said. “As soon as we’re out of sight, escape on foot. That’s our only chance of getting out of this.”

“God, we’re so fucked,” Pingu said again, jerking the car left and causing the tires to squeal. “Is anyone behind us?”

“Not yet,” I said. “I think we need to go now.”

Pingu turned into a parking garage and we climbed out as I searched the area for cameras. None. Pingu pulled her mask down and we ran back to the entrance, smack into a crowd gathered on the sidewalk.

“What the…” Pingu started and just then, someone yelled at us.

“Come on, let’s go! Time to get on the bus, folks.”

I looked at the bus parked next to the curb and saw other teens getting on, some in partial costumes and stage make up. A tired-looking teacher stood at the door, ushering people on. I looked at the building behind us and saw that we were standing in front of the backstage theater door. Theater kids.

Wordlessly, Pingu and I climbed onto the bus and walked to the back, keeping our heads down until we sat. The bus filled and pulled away from the curb. “Where are we going?” Pingu whispered.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Just play along.”

We drove for a few miles, the other teenagers on the bus screaming about the production they had just finished. Among everyone else in costume, Pingu and I fit right in.

Finally, I saw a Denny’s up ahead, and everyone cheered as the bus turned into the parking lot. Well, this is a turn of events. When we get off, Pingu and I went straight for the bathroom before anyone could really get a good look at us.

Under the bathroom sink, Pingu and I hurriedly washed off the face paint and ash from our faces before stripping out of the clothes we had been wearing, stuffing them into our backpacks, and changing into clean clothes.

“There’s blood on your hands,” Pingu said quietly as we changed.

“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I’m sure I’ll see it on the news tomorrow.”

“No, I mean literally,” said Pingu. “Make sure you wash that off.”

We spot-checked in the bathroom mirror and when we were sure we looked like any other disheveled teenagers, we stepped back out. The others hardly noticed us as we sat down at a booth and the table next to us hyped up their friend to sing a song from the show.

From inside the restaurant, we saw police cars zip on by and the helicopter continued to circle. Finally, the door opened, and two policemen walked into the Denny’s, saw the kids doing a reenactment of Time Warp in the middle of the restaurant, and immediately walked back out, merely glancing over us.

I breathed a sigh of relief and shook my head. “So much for not getting involved.” I leaned back into the booth, completely exhausted and on the verge of falling asleep.  I had never used my powers like that before, and I didn’t realize how draining it would be. “Yeah, I’m ready to go home now.”

[bannerswife]

Monster - Bruce Banner

Title: Monster

Pairing: Avengers x Bruce

Word Count: 2995

Warnings: Swearing, angst and abuse (not descriptive)

Requested by Anon

“May I request a Bruce x Avengers fic? Maybe where Bruce is having a mini epsiode of 'oh god I'm a monster. My father was right' kind of deal so he secludes himself from the rest of the team. So the Avengers see he's stuggling and remind him that they're his family? Just some good old family bonding moments...”

Authors Note: okay so I hope this is what you asked for, i’m not too proud of it though eek. I feel as though the characters r a bit ooc oops. but a big shoutout to my girlfriend who was my beta reader and helped make it that lil bit better aha. anyway enjoy! xox

It’s funny how the simple things can rip open old wounds and cause so much destruction. But that’s just what Bruce’s life was, a matter of revisiting things that were buried deep in his conscious for a reason. A good reason for that matter.

This mission that the Avengers (minus Thor, he was still in Asgard) were called to take care of was supposed to be no different from when they take down HYDRA thugs. Fury had briefed them on the mission, and it seemed easy enough to handle.

Allegedly, a scientist had been experimenting on young children, more specifically young mutants. For whatever reason, it was unknown but all that was needed to know was that they were being held captive there. Much to Bruce’s relief there was no need for the Hulk, instead Fury wanted the good Doctors help in assisting the children out. Of course, Bruce couldn't be happier to finally feel somewhat useful without being The Hulk.

In under 30 minutes flat, the whole team was out of the tower, suited up and on their way to the coordinates Fury had sent on where the supposed warehouse was. When they arrived, the building clearly wasn't anything special. The whole place looked as though it’d collapse any second.

“Barton, Romanoff, Banner, you take care of the kids. Stark, you’re with me, let’s try and get this done quickly and efficiently. I don't want any kid hurt-”

“You talk as though I’m gonna kill a kid,” Tony snarled at Steve, always wanting a rise out of the soldier.

“Just listen for once in your life, c’mon” He sighed, picking up his shield and running out of the Quinjet towards the building.

As Tony soared into the skies and Cap ran into the dark and eerie building ahead, the two assassins and physicist went on their own way in trying to find the young prisoners. Bruce couldn't help but feel himself get angry. This man had captured young children and god knows did what to them. Ripping them apart, trying to figure out how they work. Bruce could feel his pulse quicken, never a good sign for him, and willed his emotions to calm down.

“You good Doc? Your eyes-” Natasha’s warm voice pulled him out of his mind and quickly grounded him before he got too far.

“What? Oh - uh, yeah, no I’m fine. Just uh,” He squeezed his eyes shut, building the walls between him and his monster even higher.

“Kinda hitting close to home. The quicker we do this, the better.” He clenched his jaw, and willed a fleeting smile to his team mate.

Yep, the quicker the better before we have a big green problem.

Finally, after running around for some time they heard the cries of the children locked up in a small cell. There had to be about 20 of them, all squished into the one. Quickly, Clint shot the lock right off the gate and set them free. Bruce knew that the assassins had done missions like this, saving kids, but Bruce — not like this anyway. He helped the sick, not the abused. He couldn't. And seeing the bruises that so many of them carried made Bruce angry.

“Please, we have to get out of here quickly before he comes back - if he comes back, he’ll hurt us. Please,” A young girl begged — she had beautiful snake-like eyes — and had gripped onto Bruce’s shaking hand like stone; as if he was her lifeline.

“Please, he’ll experiment on us — rip us apart you have to help us,”

Lab tables. White coats. Ross. Syringes. Tearing him apart. Screams. His screams.

“You’re a monster, you filthy piece of shit-”

“Tear him apart, rip him apart, I don't care, but I want him to feel the pain.”

“The blood on your hands Banner my god - you are bathing in it. Reeks of nothing but death. Do you realise what you have done to so many people in this world? The families you have ruined? The lives you have taken away?”

“Banner, c’mon we gotta go. Cap and Stark have him, he’ll get what he deserves. Now let's get these kids to safety-” Barton called out to him.

Bruce whipped his head to look at him, his eyes wide and filled with so much emotion. Too many emotions, you could barely read.

“No, no, no… I can’t-” Bruce exasperated, and the assassin’s eyes widened. They knew that seeing these abused children would strike a chord, but then again, they thought maybe the doctor could handle it. Perhaps not.

“Fuck, everyone out quick c’mon!” Barton was quick to get the kids to safety as soon as possible, Natasha following suit.

And Bruce’s carefully constructed wall crumbled in his mind. And everything went green. Rage completely consuming him.

Bruce awoke to the soft hum of the Quinjet and the whispers of the children. Oh my god the children. Bruce jolted up, with wide eyes looking amongst the jet. Everyone seemed okay and he wasn't in the mitts of Ross or SHIELD. So that was at least one positive so far.

“Oh my god — What — What did I do? Did I hurt anyone?” He exclaimed, his voice husky. Obviously, the Other Guy had been quite vocal today.

“Everyone’s fine, Big Guy. Don’t worry about it,” Now Tony Stark of course was one of the best liars all around, but not when it came to his best friend. Bruce could see straight past it and his stomach dropped.

“Tony, who was it? Was it a - a kid?” He slowly said, his voice quivering.

“Of course not! Do you really think that little of yourself? C’mon! It was that fucking scientist, he had it coming. He was lucky I didn't kill him.” He called from where he was flying the jet, his back to Bruce.

Bruce swallowed harshly, a vivid flash of the Other Guy crushing the man’s head in his hands. Quickly the physicist went to the bathroom on board of the jet, and vomited up nothing but bile.

This was going to be one long ride.

When the team finally got to New York the children were checked over and soon picked up by the X-Men to be returned to where they were stolen from.

Tony wasn't too surprised to find Bruce in his cage, and not his bed. Still in barely any clothing, just the remainders of his shredded pants, shivering on the cold floor. Tony made sure whenever to approach Bruce to make it obvious (without sounding threatening at the same time) to not scare the man.

“Figured I’d find you here.” Tony reached the cage, his science bro’s back towards him, frantically shaking.

“You haven't used this since-” the engineer blew out a breath with a whistle. God, when was the last time he had used this? It was forever. Maybe when the Avengers had just gotten together, and Bruce didn't trust himself to rest up after transforming in his own bed.

“Since the band first got together. I was actually gonna get rid of this room, maybe build you this mediation room — for you to come and chill out in. Where no one — not even me, can come in. Cos’ you don't need this,”

What did Tony know about what he needed? That angered Bruce, he had no idea whatsoever what it was like. What he had to live with, the fear of his every thought, move and emotion. This was one of the only things that could successfully contain his alter ego, and yet Tony wanted to throw it all away. As if it didn't matter, as if he trusted Bruce.

“And with the kids… back at that warehouse. I get it, totally get it- why you lost control. The abuse they had endured. Yeah, I mean I definitely got my fair share of hits from dear old dad. It makes you sick, how someone can just do that,”

The room remained silent, so Tony did all that he really was good at. And that was rambling.

“But you’re not a monster, Bruce. So just come on out, I'll take you to your room-”

Bruce felt as though he hardly had himself under control at the moment, he was still rebuilding those walls after they had shattered. So, in this moment, Bruce was extremely vulnerable to emotions after his transformation. That's why he’d always seclude himself from everyone.

Bruce jumped up (his pants thankfully just hanging onto his waist- barely) and yelled until he was red in the face. Though, not a glimpse of green ever appeared.

“I’m a monster, Tony! Why can’t you just see that?!” Tony didn't flinch.

“Because you’re a fucking hero! You saved-”

“Oh please, give me a break! A hero… are you hearing yourself right now?!” Bruce scoffed rolling his eyes, placing his hands upon his hips.

He seriously wanted to be left on his own to stew in his own misery and self-hatred. Was that too much to ask?

But Tony had started this, so Bruce was going to play along. And of course, Bruce’s famous temper got the best of him.

“You know it’s kinda ironic how everything came to be in the end, my dad used to always call me a monster. And look at where we are now, the biggest monster on this earth. He should've killed me alongside my mother.”

“Don’t you fucking say that, Banner. Don’t you fucking dare-”

Bruce could barely hold himself up anymore and slumped to the ground, the exhaustion of the transformation taking its toll on his body.

“I’m not fighting with you on this, Tony. I’ll be gone in the morning if that makes you feel any better,” His voice was slowly depleting as his energy left him. He just wanted to sleep, even if that meant facing the terrors of his dream. Filled with none other but Ross and Brian.

“Yeah... the famous Bruce Banner, nothing but a coward. Always the one to run away from his problems. You know one time you need to fight it head on-”

“When you turn into an 8-foot-tall green rage monster with a short temper and a personality disorder, then you can come talk to me about that. Until then…”

Just when Bruce thought he was done he had that little more to get off his chest.

“You know what your problem is Tony, you think you can solve and fix everything, but you know what? You can’t! I’m not some broken machine that can easily be fixed and be perfectly good again!”

“It’s like talking to a fucking brick wall, I swear to god. Get some sleep Banner, you’re too tired for this shit. And quite frankly, so am I.” And with that, Tony stormed out. Fumes practically coming out of his ears.

Well, that was fun. Way to go, Banner.

As Tony reached the main living room of the Tower he went straight to pouring himself a cup of liquor. I mean, that was really the only way he knew how to handle his own emotions.

After a few glasses he told J.A.R.V.I.S to get everyone around in the living room immediately.  They had some shit to discuss about their fellow team mate.

It wasn't like Bruce ended up getting any sleep, his mind was working at a constant rate so there was no way. All he was currently doing was beating himself up on the conversation he had with Tony. Tony was his friend — his best friend, one of the only friends he’s had in so long. Finally, someone who wasn't afraid of him. Who made him feel at home, make him feel like he was part of a family. And he had treated him like shit, practically throwing everything Tony had ever done for him in his face. Bruce didn't have a home, never really did, and here Tony was; with open arms, letting him into his house. Yet, Bruce was horrible to him.

God, I really am a monster. I bet you’re fucking flipping in your grave, Dad.

Suddenly Bruce's thoughts were interrupted by J.A.R.V.I.S’ smooth voice.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you, Doctor Banner, but Sir wanted you to see this,”

And then a video played in his cage.

“Hey Bruce, so I uh... know that our conversation didn’t really go too well, but I meant everything I said. Well apart from the whole ‘you’re a coward’ because that was wrong. I was wrong. I have no idea, at all, what it’s like to be you and I never will. But maybe you can help me — help us all — to try and understand. You can't just keep locking yourself up man,” Tony’s voice played, his voice carrying nothing but love and kindness for his science bro. And alongside him was the team.

“We’re your friends, but most importantly, we’re your family, Doctor Banner. And we don’t leave anyone behind, so we need to work through what you’re dealing with together. You can't do this alone, Bruce. You’re a strong man, stronger than all of us. And I know you can get through this with the help of all of us.” Steve had then begun to talk, and man was it weird to hear him call him by his first name. But that wasn’t the weirdest thing to Bruce, it was the fact that he called this team, his friends, and dare he say it, his family. They believed that Bruce belonged to this group of people, that he was apart of it alongside them all.

He always felt expendable, as though they were all using him for the Hulk. And maybe- just maybe, they wanted him because he was more than that. He was more than just the raging beast. There is a man behind the muscle, and they all saw that, they saw past it all. Even after everything they had been through with him. Whenever he’d lose control, they were always there to reel him back to his senses. To talk him down and be there to catch Bruce when he came back to himself.

The more that Bruce thought about it the clearer everything became. Maybe these guys were his family, and he was blind about it all this whole time.

“I know what it’s like Doc, to be afraid of your mind. To feel as though your thoughts aren’t yours. Trust me, Loki really did a number on me that time. And you know who was always there for me to help me through it all? Yeah that’s right; you were. You were there for me and understood me in a way nobody else could. And so, I’m always going to be here for you man, always. We all are.” It was now Clint’s turn to speak, and Bruce couldn’t help but feel as though maybe he could finally talk to his friends about everything. Maybe that’s what was needed.

He never had spoken to anyone about his feelings. Too afraid of what it may entail. His emotions were way too scary for him to visit, so of course he’d bottle them all up. Only until it’d blow up in his face, and he’d end up seeing green.

Maybe that was his problem. He never spoke to anyone about anything. God, he could be so blind. And it hurt to say, that maybe these guys were right. About everything.

“You’re not some animal to be locked up and abused. You’re a human being, no matter if you see it or not. All we see is an amazing, kind and intelligent man and the Other Guy, well he’s just as amazing. Even if again, you can't see it. You both have saved countless lives. I know what’s it like to have so much blood on your hands Bruce, trust me I’ve most likely killed a lot more than you have — Stark here, he probably has as well. Please just let us help you, like you have helped us so many times.” and finally, Natasha spoke up.

“Just think about it, Big Guy. But always know we’re here for you. If you wanna leave, go ahead, we won't stop you. I mean I will, and I’ll search the whole world to find you and then kick-” That earned an elbow to the stomach from Romanoff, as Tony rambled.

“Ouch! Yep, not the point, but totally not lying about it. Anyway, point is you’re not a monster and you can talk to us about anything. I hope this got through that thick skull of yours and maybe you’ll join us cos’ we’re gonna be watching Lord of the Rings tonight,”

“My suggestion, just saying!” Clint interrupted, with a wide grin.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever Bird Brain. But we’ll hopefully see you later, Bruce.”

And with a wave from everyone in the video, it clicked off. Leaving the physicist once again alone, to think about everything he had just watched.

“You think he’s gonna come around?” Clint asked, as he settled on the couch next to Natasha, popcorn in hands.

“Maybe, I don't know. As much as he is predictable, he can be completely unpredictable too.” Tony responded, rubbing his calloused hands across his face.

He really hoped that the video got through to him. He honestly doesn't know what else he could do. And he doesn't know how he’d handle it if Bruce did end up leaving. Bruce was his other half and the only person who could quite easily keep up with his erratic mind. Everything would collapse without him. And he’d only ever be one half of a person.

“Sir, Doctor Banner has left the cage and appears to be heading to your current floor.” And that was all Tony needed to hear to know that everything from here on out might well and truly be, okay.

[olliewritesthethings]

We Were Doomed from the Start || Erik & Colee

She stared at the blank walls and felt the urge to scream welling up inside of her. It was like an animal was clawing its way up her throat until she felt it at the back of her tongue and kept her mouth so tightly shut. Worried of what may happen if the staff or the guards heard her screaming in a manic episode at the ceiling of her room. 

A room, more like a prison cell. 

Colee felt the familiar burn in her fingertips and the burn spreading up her arms but there was no flames. There was nothing to express her burning rage at being locked up in the facility due to the field around it. Her abilities were useless and she felt empty without them. She needed them, more than she ever thought she needed them. 

She forced herself to fight the almost crippling anxiety and frustration and stand, walking to the door and tossing it open forcefully only for her to walk with no real direction. She was locked up, restricted, freedom taken away at the tender age of nineteen and she felt as though her whole body was going to burst into flames till she was reduced to ashes.

She clenched her hands around her stomach as a pain sliced through her body, collapsing onto her knees in the middle of the stark white hallway with an agonizing moan ripping out of her. Suddenly there was sweat dripping from her forehead and her whole body shaking. 

The fire inside of her deciding to burn from the inside out. 

Her whole body felt as though she was melting and more groans of agony were leaving her as the fire grew more and more intense till her vision started to blur and breathing shallow due to the burn as she tried to gulp down air. She curled up in a ball on the floor and shuddered as the floor only seemed to provide some relief to the burning of her body. 

She heard a voice call to her, unfamiliar, a stranger, but comforting enough. She couldn’t reply, couldn’t even see the stranger she just felt rough cool hands on her face and the soothing coolness had her closing her eyes only to feel the sudden and comforting pull of cool darkness spread across her. 

When she’d finally came to she was in her room again, eyes open wide and looking around her confused for a moment as she felt the continuous cold on her. Colee sat up and hissed, her hand reaching up to grip her throbbing head and gasp at the pain that lingered there. She heard a voice and soon her eyes searched for the owner of it, staring at blue, almost gray, eyes and dirty blonde hair had her freeze.

“Who are you..?” she asked, eyebrows knitting together. “What happened?” she inquired as she squeezed her eyes shut, black spots still lingering in her vision. “Fuck...why does my head feel like it’s splitting in two?” she asked as she let herself lay back on the bed and continued to grip at her head as she spoke to the stranger. 

“Who let you into my room anyway?” she asked, not trying to be rude to the young man but her guard was up. She was locked up in an anti-mutant facility to become a guinea pig and suddenly there was a strange boy in her room. One she’d never seen before, but then again she hadn’t made it a habit to leave her room in the first place.

Erik was vigilant about being aware of who was inside of the facility. He’d been here more than long enough to know what the usual emotions were when a mutant realized they were stuck here in a veritable cage without any escape. He could still remember when it happened to him, but that was a thought he pushed away immediately when it came. It wasn’t enough, though. He felt nausea rip through his body and he started to gag but held himself together as he watched a small group being paraded through the halls.

They always kept the doors locked when fresh meat came. The keepers. They were more afraid of them than the mutants were of the keepers. Of course, saying that out loud would risk “therapy” and Erik also knew what that meant, so he kept his breathing even and his heartbeat normal by counting the tiles on the ceiling for the thousandth time. After a while, the loud beeping of the locks being opened came and went and Erik ventured out of his room and into the sterile white of the hallway.

The first newbie was curled up in their room, cries coming from their mouth. He tried to speak to them but was met with profanities, so he moved on. Anger was normal. Sadness was normal. But what wasn’t normal was what he saw when he slipped down the hall and looked into the next room. It was a girl, completely normal in appearance in every way. She was pretty with dark hair and a nice build. Someone he would have flirted with on the outside. But this wasn’t the outside and girl was clearly not alright.

“Hey!” he said, watching as fire lit up in front of him and consumed the girl he’d been watching. “Don’t do that,” he wailed, trying to get to her before more alarms would sound and god knows what would happen next. She curled up in the floor, like the one he’d stopped at before her, but she didn’t scream at him to leave so he didn’t. He stood and watched for a moment but something was very wrong. The girl hit the floor and collapsed, which spurred Erik into action.

“Wake up,” he said, startled, as he made his way to the corner of her room and crouched down next to her. “Fuck, are you okay?” he asked, but there was no response. He lifted his hand and put it to her neck, gauging her pulse. It was thready and he was concerned, but at least it was there. “We’ll figure it out,” he continued, mostly to himself as he looked into the hallway, praying they were alone.

As quickly as she collapsed, she awoke and Erik was staring down at her, a look of concern on his rough features. “Hey,” he said again, shocked into near speechlessness, but this time she spoke back. She wanted to know who he was. He could have laughed at the question, but for some reason, it wasn’t funny. None of this was funny and it hadn’t been in a long time.

“I’m Erik,” he said quietly, dropping to sit next to the girl. “You’re going to be okay. Maybe not right now, but soon. I promise,” he finished, although he wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing making promises to anyone. He was locked up in a fucking room just like she was. He hesitated and then reached over to take her hand in his own, to show her he wasn’t scared of her and what she was. That he was a mutant too. “What’s your name?” he asked. He wanted to ask a million other things about the world outside, but it could wait for now. “Take your time. We have…we have time.”

[urwarriorangel]

old friend (klaus mikaelson au)

plot: you and klaus used to be best friends. and then, of course, you fell for him but he fell for caroline and left to new orleans to worry about his hybrid army. after a particularly concerning dream, you decide to see what he’s up to now.

pairing: klaus mikaelson x reader

warnings: language, slight angst (!!!no gifs r mine!!!)

a/n: here is another segment in my dream series! thank you all for being here still even though i don’t deserve you. i really hope you guys enjoy this short klaus piece. there’s a bit of marcel and elijah thrown in for good measure. if you guys want to read any other dream fics, please click anywhere in this sentence to access them <3 please let me know what you think

Klaus has been in New Orleans for five years now, and he’s made no effort to contact you in that time. The two of you were best of friends and for a brief moment, you thought you could be more. But it’s like Klaus sensed your hope and shattered it right before he left town. He hooked up with Caroline and paraded the fact in front of you, leaving Mystic Falls the next day without telling you a thing.

Since then, you’ve heard nothing from him, getting only second hand accounts from friends who’ve run into him at odd times.

You still thought of him, of course you did. But he couldn’t be bothered with you and you’d understood that quickly. You made no effort to contact him, to travel and see him, to hurt him. You just left everything alone, but you don’t think you can do that anymore.

A couple nights ago, you had a terrible nightmare: Klaus was in chains, a dagger in his chest as he screamed out in pain. He screamed your name, as though he was calling out to you. He was crying out your name repeatedly, apologizing, it felt too real to be a dream. When he reached a hand out to grab you, you physically felt it and that’s what woke you up.

Since then, he clouds your every waking thought and you go to sleep hoping to see him again. And when two nights pass with no other sign of Klaus, you grow oddly fearful. Is he okay? Was that actually him trying to reach out to you? Are you thinking too much into this?

Probably. But it’s too late. It’s too late to turn back now. You’re already in New Orleans. You’re not quite sure how to find him, but you figure if you spend a day in the quarter you should run into him or one of his siblings.

And sure enough, you run into Elijah about ten minutes after being in the Quarter. You don’t see him at first. You’re facing the counter of a souvenir shop, laughing at all the crocodile paraphernalia.

“Y/N,” you hear a familiar voice behind you and shivers run down your spine, half in fear and half in relief.

“Lijah,” you turn around to face him, a tentative smile on your face. “It’s been a while.”

“That’s an understatement,” his worries all melt away and a smile makes its way onto his face as soon as you look at him. “Come here.”

You smile and tuck yourself into his arms, sighing softly as you think back to the last time you hugged him: a much more apologetic version of this man, constantly apologizing for his brother’s mistakes.

“How have you been, sunshine?” He pulls away after a moment and tucks your hair behind your ear, waiting to hear about your life the past few years.

“I’ve been okay, Elijah. Still alive. Still human as ever. How are you?”

“How are we? Don’t you mean how is he?” He raises a brow at you and you shake your head.

“Tell me about yourself. We can talk about Klaus some other time.” He looks at you skeptically but gives a slight nod and holds an arm out to lead you out of the shop.

Once you’re out, he tells you about life in New Orleans. He tells you about Marcel, talks about how much Hope has grown, about Kol coming back and dying and coming back, about Rebecca finding comfort in a new body, about his newfound sister, about Aunt Dahlia and his mom, about Davina and Vincent, about Cami. He caught you up on everything and by the time he was done, you were standing in front of a massive mansion.

“What’s this?” You whisper and one look at Elijah’s face had you regretting ever stepping out with him. “Lijah, no. No.”

“Y/N, yes. It’s been too long and you’re here for a reason,” he places his hands on your shoulders in an attempt to calm you. “Klaus could use an old friend right now, you--”

“Get your hand off of me,” you pull your arm out of his and take a step back, angry tears that you’ve been holding back for five years jumping in your eyes.begging to find a way down your cheeks. “You know who else could have used an old friend? Me. I could have used a friend when Klaus paraded Caroline in front of me, when he left Mystic Falls without telling me, when he didn’t bother to call me once: not on my birthday, not after I almost died, not when the heretics tortured me. And I had no one. I was alone, Elijah. So don’t feed me crap about how Klaus needs someone. Klaus always had someone: he always had me. Not anymore. I just needed to know he was alive. Now that I do, I’m going to head back home.”

Elijah opens his mouth to speak, but you shake your head and stop him. You wipe your tears and back away, slowly finding your way back to the Quarter. How could you be so foolish as to think Elijah would be on your side?

So here you are at some bar named Rousseau’s with a couple drinks already in you and a couple more on their way. You’re holding off on getting completely black out drunk because there’s a guy standing in the doorway who won’t take his eyes off you.

He’s been staring at you since you walked in and you wish you could say it was the way you wanted him to. He’s beautiful: a full 6 feet of glorious brown skin chiseled by the gods themselves. Based on what Elijah’s filled you in on and the stories Klaus told you some odd years ago, you assume the man is Marcel. And while every fiber in you is screaming, telling you that you should be scared of this man, you ignore them. Maybe getting hurt by a man this beautiful was exactly what you needed. So you get your slightly tipsy ass up and walk over to the man, whose expression remains the same.

“I’m assuming you’re Marcel?” You stop a foot in front of him and he raises a brow at you. “Klaus and Elijah have both managed to fill me in on your… history. Something about you being Klaus’s protege and now his nemesis?”

“Well, sweetheart, nemesis isn’t exactly the right word,” he smirks and this time you raise your brows at him.

“No? Then what is? I’ve heard you’ve caused quite a ruckus down here with the way you rule, witch hangings of some sort or the other?” You whisper the last part and he narrows his eyes at you, causing you to smirk in return. “Hey, I’ve also heard those things are in the past. Now you’re just the most powerful being in New Orleans.”

“Oh, so you’re pretty up to date then, huh?” You shrug in response and he chuckles softly. “You’re Y/N. I’ve heard a lot about you, you used to be Klaus’s little play thing didn’t you?”

“I was never his little play thing, never managed to capture his attention,” you give Marcel a pointed look. “If you’re gonna go low, baby, know I can go lower. I’m not scared of you.”

“No? Then why are you shaking?”

“It’s really fucking cold in here,” you shiver and Marcel can’t help but laugh at you. “You folks have no understanding of moderation, it’s either way too hot or way too cold, I mean--” Marcel’s laughing gets louder and you smack his arm, shaking your head. “I’m serious!”

“I know,” his laughing slowly dies down, but the smile remains on his face. “That’s what makes it funny.”

“Yeah, yeah, keep laughing you mutant,” you playfully glare at him and he returns the gesture.

Just as Marcel opens his mouth to speak, another voice speaks instead, sending chills down your spine for an altogether different reason.

“Getting chummy, I see,” the low voice brings out an anger in you, a fire you were sure could burn down the whole city.

You roll your eyes in response, earning a smile from Marcel.

“Just being as gracious a host as I can be, Klaus,” Marcel raises a brow at his mentor, who in turn growls at him.

“Down boys,” you stand between them, rolling your eyes at their childish behavior. “I’m leaving. You two have fun here.”

You walk out the bar, no longer tipsy. You’re angry again and you hope to avoid Klaus for as long as you can. Of course, seeing as he is a fucking hybrid, that’s not possible for more than three seconds.

“Y/N,” Klaus runs in front of you, grasping your arm to keep you in place.

“Touch me again and I’ll rip that arm off, Klaus,” you glare at him and although he knows he’s stronger than you, a very real fear runs down his spine.

He lets go of you and you keep walking away from him. He physically feels you slipping away and while he knows he should give you some space, a much larger part of him knows that if he lets you go now then he’s never getting you back.

“Y/N, please,” Klaus calls out to you and you falter at the desperation in his voice. “Please just let me talk.”

You stop, steadying your breath before you face him. You know you have to hear him out, you can’t say no to him. You don’t want to say no to him.

“Klaus,” you turn around, whispering softly. “You have five minutes. I owe it to myself to hear you out.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N. I shouldn’t have left. I shouldn’t have paraded Caroline in front of your face, knowing that you wanted something more. I shouldn’t have--”

“I’m sorry what?!” Fists form at your side and you glare daggers at Klaus, a newfound anger under your look. “You fucking KNEW that I was into you and you boasted about Caroline every chance you got?”

His eyes go wide and as he opens his mouth to try to explain himself, you reach a hand up and slap him right across the face.

“Don’t ever fucking try to talk to me again,” you grit your teeth and furiously wipe at your cheeks at the angry tears that are running down your face. “I came all the way to New Orleans to see if you were okay. I had a dream, you know, a bad dream where you fucking called out to me and you know what my dumb ass did? I woke up and came here, in real time, to see if you were okay. And not only are you okay, you also haven’t changed for the better. You’re the same selfish prick you were years ago.”

You turn around and walk away, ignoring Klaus’s pleads. What a very alive, very well piece of shit.

[re-diesirae]

15. Chris

The sense of relief he felt when Leon confirmed Claire's well-being was something that Chris could not explain with words. His baby sister was safe and sound, and in Chris's eyes, that was all that mattered. Sadly, the good news got overshadowed by the report of a potential new type of B.O.W.

"Long story short, there's a high chance of a new virus development in this place. The new B.O.W.s are tough and very violent, but their movement seems restricted to nighttime. I'll explain in more detail when you get here. Claire believes there might be important information in this facility. However, that information seems to be in the underground research center, which, in my experience, must be filled with more B.O.W.s. I don't think Claire and I can handle them on our own."

"Of course, you don't! Don't you even dare to go down there until we arrive, understood? If those things are as bad as you say, make sure to stay in a safe place."

"I know, don't worry. "

"We'll talk soon, then. I gotta go."

"All right. Do you want me to hug Claire for you?"

"Don't you dare, Kennedy. Keep those charms off from my sister..."

"I'll try..."

"You..."He couldn't finish since Leon had cut off the call.

Lie a hand on her, Kennedy, and I'll make you suffer.

Chris put away the radio with annoyance and turned to the rest of his team. He saw Jill's relieved expression as she exchanged some words with the soldiers before getting to the cockpit.

"Told you that girl was a tough cookie," Barry said, patting his back, "So it seems our mission turned from rescue to something else."

" If there's a B.O.W involved, then we need to do it. I expected Neo-Umbrella to die with the events in China, but it seems we were wrong. Those bastards..."

"Tch, those leeches are hard to kill. You know that."

A soft beeping sound made Chris pull out his PDA, and he let out a soft chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"Seems like Claire and Leon decided to send us a little present," he replied, showing him the blueprints and information he had just received.

"Well, now. Look at that," Barry laughed, "Very kind of them."

"Judging by the looks, we've got a bunch of nasties awaiting us."

"Heh, when has it been different? We only need to blow them off as we always do."

"Now that's a positive way to see it," Jill smiled, walking back to them, "I just contacted HQ, and we got the green light to take on that laboratory. Our new objective is recovering the bioweapon data."

"Count on Jill to be efficient, "Barry commented, shaking his head.

"Someone has to keep things in order. There's something I am concerned about, though, those new B.O.W.s that Leon mentioned. They only come out at night?"

"Well, that's what they said, but who knows. It might not be the case. That's another thing we will need to look into to be sure. How much more before we get there?"

"Doug says that we need another three hours."

"Means we'll get there just for breakfast…" Barry said, checking his watch. "Hope those kids are getting a good night of rest 'cause this is gonna be one hell of a mission."

"Jill, did you find any clues of why would they target Claire?"

"Sadly, no. TerraSave was helpful, though. I guess they want Claire back as much as we do."

"Hell, if they do. From what Moira tells me, Claire is pretty much TerraSave's goddess by now. They must be panicking now that she's not around. Hey, that could be a reason to kidnap her."

"Yeah, but why would the terrorist group want to sabotage TerraSave?" Jil replied, crossing her arms, "They are only rescuers, so...it wouldn't make sense."

"Unless…" Chris whispered, "Claire told me some time ago that TerraSave had been helping B.S.A.A with the viral studies. That was primarily the reason for which she decided to take on virology."

"Do you think TerraSave could have found something important about the viruses?" Jill asked, "I mean, they didn't mention anything about the institution researching their own accord."

"It was a secret because they wanted to avoid this type of situation. I only knew about it because Claire told me the reason she wanted to study virology, but even then, she didn't tell me much. It was a classified matter, and I respected that. God knows how many things I've kept from her."

"Someone in B.S.A.A should know about it." Barry suggested.

"Right, we can ask that later, when Claire is back with us. Damn, I wished this plane would fly faster."

"Patience is a virtue, Chris."

"Try being patient when your little sister is sleeping somewhere surrounded by those fucking mutants."

"But at least she's not alone this time. She's got someone watching her back, and you can be sure Leon is not someone who would betray her," Barry reasoned.

"Yeah, right. A playboy with charms..."

"Hah, he may be a pretty boy, but he's got his guts. "

Chris did not reply. He knew Leon cared about Claire, but he couldn't help but doubt the man's loyalty sometimes. The agent had a soft spot for a certain Asian spy, and what was stopping him from going after her and leaving Claire behind? And because he knew his sister, was that Claire wouldn't try to stop him at all. She'd probably encourage him to go after her, which was even worse.

"Changing to a lighter topic… It's nice to see Claire's red locks are back in place." Barry said casually, and Chris knew that the man was trying to ease the mood " Can't say I wasn't surprised when she showed up to save my ass two years ago with her hair chopped off. She didn't look bad, though."

"I heard about that…" Jill said with a smile, "Those rookies from B.S.A.A were all over it, but I didn't get the chance to see her..."

"Badass, I tell you, but I like Claire with her ponytail. She's more our Claire, right Chris?" the older man snorted, elbowing the younger one.

"She won't stop being my Claire if she cuts her hair, Barry."

"Nah, I know that, but you must admit you like her with that ponytail. More like the little Claire you love, right?"

Chris wouldn't admit it out loud, but Barry was right. There was some symbolism in his sister's hairstyle. As long as she kept her casual ponytail, it felt as if things had never changed, and his sister was still that sweet little woman always following around and calling him to make sure he'd had a decent dinner. When Claire cut off her hair, Chris knew something had changed. She was a Redfield, and like him, Claire had her ways to cope with pain.

In his case, it had been the drink, not that he was that proud of it, and he had needed a hard shake off to snap out of it. In Claire's case, she had cut off her hair as a symbol of her abandoning her old self. Not many would have noticed, Claire was good at keeping things from others, but he was her brother, for god sake, he could see through her like an open book, and he had seen what the experience from two years ago had done to her.

She still smiled. She was sweet and caring like she always was, but she had lost the confident and trusting glow in her eyes.

What has all this crap done to us?

Chris would have done anything in the world to spare his sister from the horrible calamities that bioterrorism brought to the world.

"I used to have short hair too…" Jill commented.

"Yeah, I remember those times. Wow, it feels like centuries ago, when S.T.A.R.S was alive and kicking…" Barry sighed, "and when all this crap began."

"No use thinking about that now." Chris said absently, "Let's focus on our current situation, shall we?"

"As you say, captain." Barry laughed.

Chris checked his weapons and gear. There was still a long way ahead, and he needed to keep himself preoccupied.

NOTE: if you guys want to come and chat about the fic, or just about CLEON in general. Feel free to drop by the discord and say hi! JOIN SERVER

[antiquechampagne]

Antique Champagne - Chapter 33 - The Hook

Hancock was half way through telling Payne and Fahrenheit about the time he dared his 10-year-old brother to ride a wild brahmin for a bottle of Nuka Cola when he noticed one of the Vertibirds circling a bit too close for his liking. With a slight nod, he caught Fahr’s attention and directed it to the encroaching aircraft. Unexpectedly, the vehicle dipped down close to the horizon. In the dark, it was hard to see beyond the sandbanks, but Hancock was fairly certain he saw some hulking silhouettes jump from its open sides before it returned to its circling pattern.

“These Brotherhood guys aren’t exactly subtle, are they?” He popped a Mentat in his mouth, downing it with a few swallows from the bottle in his hands.

As Fahr readied her weapon, Hancock shook his head.

“We gotta play this cool.”

Scowling, Fahr put it back down, keeping it within easy reach. Payne moved to sit next to him just as four people crested the hill. Three were in power armor. They stopped at the edge of the ring of firelight. The fourth, a woman in a drab and orange bodysuit, stepped forward. All held laser rifles in their hands.

"We are clearing this area of non-Brotherhood personnel. You need to move along," ordered the woman, addressing Fahrenheit directly. Fahr just scowled.

"It's such a nice night, why don't you join us and have something to eat." He motioned jovially to the roasted meat remaining in their unconventional cooking pot, a carefully crafted smile spread across his face. He was calculating the odds of them taking on such a heavily armored group, hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"Soldiers do not fraternize with Commonwealth... citizens." Hancock had the feeling if she could have set him on fire with her eyes, she would have. She turned back to Fahr. "Your camp is too close to the airport. Leave or you will be removed."

"Come on, there is no need for all that. We'll be gone in the morn... HEY NOW!" Hancock protested as a steel clad boot swiftly kicked over the pot, dousing the fire with leftover mirelurk meat and juice. Everyone rose to their feet, the air tense. Payne and Fahr looked to him for direction. These guys were acting like they were itching for a fight. Hancock wasn't about to indulge them.

"We're not going to ask again."

"Fine. Fine. We're going." He started to pack up the few things that were laying around. Payne and Fahr followed suit, keeping their eyes glued to the soldiers. "The Commonwealth isn't exactly a cakewalk at night, ya know."

"Not my problem, zombie."

Hancock could see Payne clench her jaw, but keep whatever she was thinking to herself.

They trudged back up the sandbars in the dark. It wasn't hard to spot the Vertibird that tailed them. When they reached the edge of the city, it turned back in the direction of the airport.

"That wasn't exactly what I had planned." Hancock shook his head. Good to know the Commonwealth found another bully in their midst. Fahr laid a hand on his shoulder briefly before passing him to take point.

"There's a group of buildings up there. There might be a decent place to hole up for the night," she suggested.

They found a clump of old shops along the wide crumbling road. As they walked, Hancock found himself looking back at Payne. The pale moonlight outlined her features in a particularly pleasing way; a bit softer than the harsh electric lights in Goodneighbor. He found himself liking being out and about with her again.

Two of the buildings looked promising enough to attempt a closer look. Payne took up watch as he tried the door on the first building. It looked like it might have been a bar, with small boarded up windows. The door only budged a few inches as he pushed. It took both him and Fahr to force it open; the boxes that barricaded it shut scraped noisily against the tile floor inside.

Payne looked back to them. “Anything inside?”

Fahr stuck her head in, peering around the door. “Nah, just a skeleton. We should sweep for ferals, just in case.”

Payne nodded and turned to enter when an echoing howl broke the still night around them. Turning on their heels, a snarling mutant hound bounded across the street towards them.

“Shit!” spat Payne, opening fire with her rifle and missing.

Fahr managed to sink a bullet into its flank, but it continued its deadly charge. As Hancock took aim and fired into the beasts head, a super mutant popped their head around the corner of the opposite building.

“Die puny human!” it screamed as it lobbed a grenade into the air.

“TAKE COVER!” Hancock shouted.

The trio scrambled for cover. Fahrenheit dove head first into the building while Payne and Hancock ducked behind debris on opposite side of the door.

Bits of stone and metal fragments bounced off the overturned vending machine protecting Hancock. His ears rang as he lined up and shot at the aggravated mutant. It look him a moment to notice Payne frantically waving her arm for him to get down, her yelling muted by the recent explosion. After glancing over his shoulder, he dropped back down on his knees behind his cover. Behind him, charging down the road at full tilt was a super mutant, a mini nuke in the crook of its left arm. He couldn’t hear the telltale beep of its deadly payload over his temporary tinnitus. Payne unloaded half a clip into the mutant’s head, the body skidding to a stop a few feet from Hancock, the nuke thankfully still intact.

Hancock turned to give Payne a quick thanks, just in time to see the super mutant who had been hiding behind the building sprint to her side. It wrapped a huge meaty hand around her throat, lifting her off her feet. Her feet kicked wildly as the mutant began to squeeze, her mouth gasping to breathe.

Shoving a pair of shells into his shotgun, Hancock tried to unload them into the mutant’s face. He only succeeded in grazing their shoulder. It turned to face him, snarling in rage.

The snarl quickly turned to scream of pain, the mutant’s new target was quickly forgotten. Payne grabbed two of its branch-like fingers and pulled; the sickening snap of bones forcing the creature’s hand to open. Hancock was about to let out a sigh of relief as Payne dropped to the ground, but he saw face splattered with super mutant blood from his shotgun blast. Her eyes, bloodshot to the point of being little more than red orbs, were wild and crazed. His stomach dropped as she hungrily licked the mutant blood from around her mouth.

He felt he was moving in slow motion as Payne turned and crawled up the green giant’s body. She locked herself around the monster’s head, fingers dug knuckle deep into the flesh under its massive jaw. Blood poured down the beast’s massive chest as it danced wildly; beating its thick muscled fists on her back in an attempt to break the deadly lock. She barely register the blows. Payne heaved and pulled, struggling to rip the skull free from the shoulders she sat on.

Her mouth twisted into a startling grimace as she screamed in rage. Hancock watched her veins pop in grotesque patterns over her straining muscles. With a sickening crack, the mutant fell to the ground, Payne rolling with it, landing on her feet. Her eyes locked with his, just for a moment. Suddenly another mutant hound appeared, snarling with rage as it ran towards them. Payne immediately snarled back and ran to meet it.

A bewildered Fahr ducked out of the way as Hancock dove into building.

“Close the door!” he ordered.

“What?”

“DO IT!”

They both pressed themselves against the warped wooden door. The rusty metal hinges screamed in protest before giving up and swinging closed.

Hunkered down below a boarded up window, Fahr asked frustratedly, “What the fuck is going on?”

“Stay down.” Hancock snuck a peek outside through the spaces in the boards. He didn’t have time to explain right now.

More mutants had circled around, taking aim at Payne as she caught the hounds jaws mid-lunge. With one yank, she ripped off its lower jaw. Leaving it mortally wounded in the street, she rushed the remaining mutants. Hancock saw several bullets hit, but Payne didn’t even flinch as she ran directly for the group. They quickly retreated back around the corner with Payne in hot pursuit.

Hancock tried to formulate a quick answer to satisfy Fahr. The sound of screaming and gunfire was making it hard to concentrate. “Super mutant blood is like Psycho for her… really concentrated Psycho.” He winced as another explosion ripped through the air.

“And you were going to tell me this when?”

All Hancock could do was shrug weakly. If looks could kill, Hancock would have been dead on the spot. After a few minutes under Fahr’s gaze, he realized gravely that the gunfire and yelling had stopped. They held their breath as they waited in the dusty dark for any signs of life.

The seconds ticked by. Hancock couldn’t stand it any longer. He turned to head out the door. As his hand reached for the door handle, Fahrenheit grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back.

“Where the hell do you think you're going?” She was furious.

“I have to see if Payne is alright. You stay here.”

“Like hell I am!”

Hancock didn’t know how Payne would react to Fahr, especially if she was still neck deep in her mutant-blood filled trip or if she perceived her as a threat. Not that he was too sure how Payne would react to him, but he had to know. “No, you have to stay here. Cover me.” Fahr started to argue. He cut her off. “Cover me.”

Before he could get through the doorway, he saw movement across the road. Payne slowly walked along the side of the building, dragging herself along the brick wall. She left a shoulder high bloody streak. Her tired body covered in grime and gore, she looked around, panicked and bewildered.

“John?” she called weakly. “Fahr?”

Hancock stepped forward. “Payne?”

When her eyes drifted up to see him, her shoulders slumped as she let out a sigh. “Oh, thank god…” She gripped the wall in an attempt to mover herself along quicker. Hancock began to run to her side, but she collapsed face-first as she stumbled into the street.

“Payne!” Hancock quickly helped her up.

“John… Fahr? Is she…” she struggled to get the words out.

“She’s fine. She’s inside.” Under his fingers, he could feel her frame shaking. He pulled her arm over his shoulders, helping her to her feet. She tried to support herself, but her muscles were failing. “Let’s get you out of the open.” Payne took a few more steps before her head rolled forward and she collapsing again. Hancock stumbled.

“Fahr! I need some help.” he called desperately.

Fahr emerged from the doorway. She studied Payne before hesitantly grabbing her other arm. Quickly they drug her unconscious body into the relative safety of the building. As they lowered her to the floor, Payne perked up. She seemed to not know where she was, looking around frantically again.

“John? Fahr?”

“It’s okay, we’re fine,” Hancock tried to soothe and reassure her again. He took out a small lantern from his pack and started to look over Payne. She was clearly exhausted and in shock, her eyes struggling to stay open. What really worried him was the nastly burn that extended the entire length of her left leg. He got out a can of water for her to drink, but she collapsed before he could hand it to her. He cursed under his breath.

Fahr paced angrily. The sound of her boots grated his frayed nerves.

“Could you go make a sweep out there? Make sure no other mutants are going to surprise us. Take the leftover grenades.”

“We just watched Payne go all ‘Grognak-the-Barbarian’ and you want to be alone with her?” she balked.

“She can barely walk, Fahr, even if she was awake. It shouldn’t take you long just to look.”

Fahrenheit scowled. “If I come back and she’s pulling off your arms and beating you with them, I’m just going to watch and laugh.” She steamed off.

Hancock shook his head and focused on the task at hand. Pouring the water on a rag, he started to clean the gore from Payne’s face, pulling chunks from her hair. He inspected her burn. It was a deep, and filled with debris and remnants of fabric. It needed to be cleaned out before it started to heal.

Suddenly, he heard retching coming from outside. He put the water down carefully next to Payne before poking his head out the door. Fahr stood doubled over across the street, heaving into an ancient concrete planter. A bad feeling started to prickle the back of his brain.

“Are you okay?” he asked as he crossed the street quickly, feeling it would be tempting fate to leave Payne alone for too long in the state she was in.

Fahrenheit gasped for air. Unable to form words, she just pointed behind the building.

Hancock rounded the corner and immediately stopped. Inside the façade of the gutted building lay a half-dozen giant green bodies in various stages of dismemberment. Returning to Fahr’s side, he found himself fighting a wave of lightheadedness.

Taking off his hat with one hand, Hancock ran his other hand over his snarled scalp. “Well, that’s all kinds of fucked up.”

“Ya THINK?” Fahr spat back. “It looks like she fucking climbed through a few of them.” Her eyes were on fire as she glared at him. “And you were going to tell me about this when?”

Hancock shrugged uncomfortably. “It didn’t really come up.”

“HANCOCK! Seriously? What would have happened if she went nuts in town and ripped through… god knows how many people?”

“That’s not going to happen. There is no reason for there to be any super mutant blood anywhere in town. Besides, I told Charley to only give her clean drinks.”

“What about out here? We could have ended up in that pile!”

Hancock shook his head. “That didn’t happen. She wouldn’t do something like that.”

Fahr’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then why did we hide?” Hancock paused, eyes narrowing. Fahrenheit took this as proof she right. “Payne is dangerous, and you know it. Leave her here. If the other shit you’ve told me is true, she'll be fine."

He could feel his chest get tight, his face tighten. “She hasn’t killed anyone who hasn’t deserved it! And she saved our asses just now!”

“Quit thinking with your dick and think with your head! She’s not worth the risk!”

He stomped the crumbling cement. “Fahr!”

He meant for that to end the argument, but Fahr had other ideas. “No, John. Not this time. I’m not playing this game. I’m leaving. You need to come with me.”

They stared at each other in the still dark night. Stone faced, Fahrenheit turned on her heels and walked away, leaving Hancock alone in the middle of the vacant street.

This trip was definitely not going as planned. He had wanted a little jaunt to stretch his legs. Maybe they'd get some firsthand look at the Brotherhood. If Fahr and Payne could work out some of their kinks, even better. What a shit-fest.

He started a small fire and kept watch over Payne until she started to stir about an hour later. She woke bewildered like before, calling out for Hancock and Fahr.

“I’m here, Payne,” he sounded a bit more tired than he intended.

“Where’s Fahr?” she asked tensely.

“She’s fine…” He guided her attention away from Fahr’s absence. “How are you feeling? You did quite a number on those mutants.”

“I hurt all over. My leg… is it burned?” She tried to bend to see the swath of burned fabric covering her raw leg. “Oh, shit. That’s bad.”

“Do you recall what happened?”

“I don’t…” she struggled for words. “I don’t remember much. I remember the suicider… and then one grabbed me,“ her hand went instinctively to her throat, then to her mouth. She grimaced and looked down, shame on her face. Her voice was barely a whisper when she spoke next. “Did I hurt her?”

“No. You didn’t lay a finger on either of us. Fucked those muties right up, though.”

She was silent for a while. "Did you two fight?"

Hancock nodded his head.

"She thinks I'm a monster." he didn't move this time. More silence. "You know, she's right."

"When I became Mayor of Goodneighbor, I made sure everyone knew that everyone was welcome. No judgments. I still stand by that."

He could see by her eyes that she had a hard time believing that. "I just have to double check that Charley keeps the super mutant martinis off the menu." He felt he had won a small victory as she cracked the smallest of smiles.

"Now," he continued. "We need to get to some nasty business. That leg needs to be cleaned out, and it ain't gunna tickle."

"Bring it..." she didn't sound so sure. "I can get most of it, probably to the knee. But after that, I'm gonna need some help."

Hancock had studied the wound.” Many of the edges appeared fused with the burn.  "First off, we need to get those pants off.”

She propped herself up on her elbows, chuffed and ignored the innuendo. “That’s not going to be easy… just cut the leg off.”

Hancock froze for a second before he realized she meant the pant leg. He grabbed his knife.

“I’ll get it.” Payne grabbed the blade from him, slipping the blade between the fabric and her skin. Her weakened state combined with some very awkward angles, she struggled to cut it, but the edge was sharp and soon Hancock was helping her remove the blood soaked denim. Exhausted, she dropped back to the floor, sweating and panting.

Recovering her breath, she asked “Could you get that bag of concrete?” She pointed to the corner of the room. “I am going to need something to lean on.”

Hancock was sure the prewar package would split under the stress of being moved, but it stayed intact as he slid it into place. Payne pulled out the two blood bags she had packed, a prize for once they finished. Over the next hour and a half, the two of them worked in tandem to remove bits of burned fabric and embedded rocks from her leg. Payne grunted and hissed as the pain peaked and ebbed. Pulling her boot and sock off earned the bag of concrete a few choice punches. Washing the wound was reserved to the very end, their clean water supply pitifully low. When Hancock finally gave the all clear, she guzzled the blood down greedily.

Morning had begun to lazily stream through the board-covered windows as Payne’s wounds started to ever so slowly close.

“Mind handing me a stimpak?” She asked. “It’ll help a little bit.”

“Won’t it make you sleepy?” Hancock asked as he handed one over.

“Yeah, but with daybreak, I’m not going anywhere soon.” She stuck the needle into her bare thigh and pushed the plunger down.

Hancock scrounged up a pair of Potato Crisps, tossing one to Payne. They munched in silence.

“Why did you stay? I would have been fine.”

“Would you have come back to Goodneighbor, if I left?” Payne didn’t answer. “That’s why. You’re a halfway decent bodyguard. Plus, I trust you.”

“What about Fahr? She’s not going to be too happy to see me when we get back.”

“You really think this is the worst thing I’ve ever done?”

Payne shrugged.

“She’ll get over it. She always does.”