#god there was so much blood pouring out of my mouth the entire route back home omgg hhh it was honestly insane xd

[yuriyuruandyuraart]

posting this wip before i go to bed cause i'm so so tired aughgah<333

[muichiroslover]

Heyo could I request a ban x reader

Where ban and y/n first started dating before elaine so when elaine got into the picture she was a little jealous of their relationship and would try and break them up. And so one day ban and y/n got into an argument, the next day y/n and all of her stuff was gone. Elaine thinking it was a perfect time to take ban tries to comfort him but all he can think about is y/n. So eventually he finds y/n and apologizes in which y/n forgives him.

HAPPY ENDINGG

(Srry If its 2 long u don't have to do it if u dont want 2) (also I do not hate elaine xD)

Hi hi!! Yes I love this idea I love me some angst with happy ending 👀 I hope this is to your liking butterscotch!! <33 enjoy (●’◡’●)ﾉ♥︎♥︎

(Sorry it’s a little late ☹︎)

Pairings: Ban x reader

Warnings: Mentions of blood and wounds (not bad)

Genre: Angst with happy ending

_______________________________________________

You and ban had been a couple for as long as you could remember, at first it was kind of hard to approach him when you guys first met but when you guys had warmed up to each other you guys were absolutely inseparable

You guys did everything together and you were so well known your couple name around towns were “The bandit couple”

As you guys explored the world one night Ban brought up news about this drink that could give you immortality, using the sly line

“Then we can be together forever”

To which you laughed and hit him playfully, but he was entirely serious, you sighed and ended up agreeing to your adventurous boyfriends plan, if it wasn’t real at least you guys would have a fun time

So you guys began your journey to the fairy kings forest, when you guys had finally got to the tree you looked up and groaned

“That’s a huge tree, do we have to climb it?” You ask and he snorts as he already begins getting his hands and legs ready to climb

“You don’t have to, you can wait down here” he says smugly and you glare at the back of his head

“No I’m coming, I might as well see it through” you mutter annoyed to which he laughed

“That’s my girl” he says and you look away in embarrassment, feeling flustered at the comment which almost sent the blue haired man flying off the tree in amusement

As you guys climbed and finally made it to the top a girl, a little one at that looked at you both with a straight face as she puts her hand up and a huge wind blows you guys off

You scream in fear as you get blown far back and far above the ground, Ban grits and teeth and clicks his tongue as he grabs you as you guys start falling and takes the impact

You quickly got off of him and looked at him, tears almost in your eyes

“Oh my god! Ban! Ban I’m so sorry I didn’t mean for you to take the impact! Ban!! Ban-“ you frantically said to the man on the ground who’s eyes were closed

“If you keep calling my name out like that it’d be plain bullying if I didn’t wake up” he groans as he slowly sits up and you quickly hug him to which he chuckles and embraces you back

“Alright let’s try again” he says and your eyes widen slightly

“But ban-“ you begin and he just looks at you with his normal goofy smile you can never turn down, you sigh, deeply may I add and look at him

“Okay..I trust you” you say and he grins even wider as he grabs your hand and stands up as you guys started running towards the tree

The same thing happened a few times, it hurt, a lot but Ban never let you get too injured, always taking the impact of the fall even if you tried to fight with his grip in the air

The last time you guys got up there Ban grabbed his weapon and your eyes widen slightly thinking he was gonna attack the little girl

But he manipulated his staff and instead grabbed the cub with his weapon, You gasped as you two got quickly bounded by trees and the girl took the cup from Bans hand

The girl stands in front of you guys seemingly doing something then she lets us both go, Ban started explaining why you guys wanted immortality and those of such, You didn’t expect him to tell her his whole life’s story but

“Well shes too strong Y/n, let’s just go back” he says smiling at you as he holds out his hand, you smile lightly and nod as you grab it and you both head back down the tree

You guys were camping near the tree those days you were climbing it, you decided you’d stay another week since the fairy kings forest is actually quite pretty and you wanted to explore a bit before leaving since this opportunity may never come again

One night as you laid asleep in your sleeping bag you felt moving, you opened your eyes groggily to see your boyfriend quietly leaving the tent, you thought nothing of it, maybe he was going to pee or he was extra hungry or there was something dangerous nearby

Ignoring it you let yourself fall back into a deep slumber

But as the days and nights continued he kept sneaking out, you started getting suspicious so on the 4th night he snuck out you waited a little bit pretending you were sleeping and after a few minutes you slowly crept out of the tent

You looked around whispering your boyfriends name, this could be a huge misunderstanding after all

You went all around the forest and no sight of Ban

You went back to the tent and looked in, maybe you missed him?? But nope he wasn’t in there

You finally stopped in front of the tree and looked up, remembering the girl that resided there, logically speaking she was older then both of us since fairy’s live longer

“He didn’t” you whisper, you didn’t want to think, no you absolutely were wrong, must be seeing the wrong picture

Your boyfriend of years and hardships is not sneaking out at night to meet up with another girl, no it sounds absurd even thinking about it

‘I’ll just climb and check and I’ll be wrong, I’ll take the wind blow’ you think nodding your head reassuring yourself

You start climbing up the tree as quietly as possible, when you finally made it up and peaked up your mouth fell agape as you saw Ban and the girl chatting and laughing, all close

It surprised you so much that you lost grip on the tree and fell back, you rolled down the tree as if it was a hill, your limbs flying to and fro as you finally hit the bottom

You groaned quietly in pain

“What was that?” Ban says as he stops his conversation with Elaine hearing a soft thump

Elaine looks to the side

“ I didn’t hear anything?” She says and Ban shrugs as they continue to talk

You on the other hand shakily get up as you look at yourself, your arm was bleeding but you don’t know from where, your left ankle was sprained for sure, and your back was killing you it probably had a horrible bruise forming

A tear slipped out as you limped to the tent, you sat down as you grabbed bandages and started cleaning your wounds, the blood was coming from a gash just below your shoulder, probably from a sharp branch

You put a stick in your mouth as you took a deep breath, you grabbed some of Bans alcohol and poured it over the cut, you bit down harshly on the stick but no scream made it through, tears can’t say the same though

You spit out the stick as you breathed hard, every breath of air seeming like you haven’t had oxygen for a while, you take a bandage and wrap it around your arm securely

Usually you would make herbs for wounds and etc, but your hands were shaky, mind a daze and eyes blurry from tears

You wrapped up your sprained ankle and just let your back be in pain because there wasn’t much you could do about the pain back there

You sat silently in the tent waiting for your boyfriend to arrive, he did not arrive till the morning, about an hour and a half before you would usually wake up

When he opened the tent and saw you staring blankly at his empty sleeping bag he went to you and was about to touch your shoulder to ask you what was wrong but you jerked back

He was surprised as you looked at him, your eyes puffy, a huge sign you were crying

“Y/n what-“

“Where were you last night Ban?” You ask and he goes silent

“No in fact where were you the past 4 nights??” You ask and he sighs

“Y/n I just went out to explore and hunt, the foods not gonna come to us-“

You scoff, tears forming up, if he’s lying then is it true that he..

“You’re lying Ban, you’re lying to me” you grit out and he looks at you a little confused but mostly surprised

“What?”

“You were up there in that tree with that girl..” you say dangerously quiet and he sighs his head falling as he realizes he’s been caught and it looks totally wrong too

“Y/n..” he begins and you shake your head

“No no dont Y/n me, why did you lie and why were you sneaking out?!” You shout

“Y/n we were just talking I swear, I lied because I didn’t know how you would react-“

“HOW I WOULD REACT? HOW WOULD YOU REACT IF I WAS SNEAKING OFF LATE AT NIGHT AND MEETING UP WITH SOME GUY BAN?? HUH??!” You ask pushing him back but you wince as the wound near your shoulder moves

Ban notices this then notices the bandage on your arm and ankle

“Y/n what happened?” He asks quickly as he pulls your ankle into his palm to examine it, but you pull it back quickly

“You’re not even answering me, I-I can’t believe this, I can’t.” You say as you lay down in your sleeping bag, you were extremely tired from staying up the whole night already

You laid on the opposite side you usually lay on because of the wound on your other shoulder and thankfully it was the side not facing Ban

You guys didn’t speak for the whole day and when night came you woke up only to see Ban gone

“Y-You’re kidding” you whisper, you quickly get out, you run to the tree as you go up the route you began to remember with your mind at this point

You climbed up skillfully fast ignoring the roaring pain in both your ankle and shoulder, you peaked up and not to your surprise you see Ban and Elaine speaking under the oh so romantic fairy lights

With no sound you climbed back down, you walked to your tent and went in, grabbing your bag you grabbed your herbs, bandages, clothes and canned foods, leaving some for Ban even in your mood

You rolled up your sleeping bag and dig the dirt under as you grabbed your bag of coins, you and Ban always hid your money in case of any intruders, you guys were bandits after all

You take your money and put it in your bag as you get out the tent and leave

Ban returned back in the morning, he had asked Elaine what he should do to fix things and what a girl usually would like in this type of situation, you guys had never fought so bad to the point you didn’t speak the whole entire day

He was scared you were actually done with him, he had a few picked flowers in his hand and he took a deep breath as he opened the tent

But his eyes widen when he sees your stuff gone and your sleeping bag rolled up, he drops the flowers as he looks around frantically

“Y/N?? Y/N WHERE ARE YOU?!” He yelled, he ran everywhere around the forest looking for you, but you were no where in sight

By the time night fell he still couldn’t find you and it felt like his whole world was collapsing in front of him, he couldn’t think and he couldn’t even yell anymore bc he was sure he lost his voice by how loud and long he was screaming your name

He quickly wiped a tear that rolled down his cheek as he quickly climbed the tree, Elaine looked over at him worriedly

“You didn’t come at our usual time I was worried” she said and looks away blushing slightly

“She left Elaine! She left and I can’t find her anywhere” he says as he falls onto his knees and the tears finally come out

“She left me Elaine I-“ he says hoarsely

Elaine frowns sadly as she goes over and hugs him

“Well Ban...maybe she wasn’t the right one..there’s other people who can make you happy” she says

“Her injuries, she had bandages on her right arm and an injury on her ankle as well! She can get really hurt out there I have to find her” he cried

“Ban she left you, maybe it’s time to move on” Elaine says hintfully and lets go of Ban as she flies to the cup, she gives it to Ban and smiles at him

“Really?” He asks and she nods blushing a bit, he drank it slowly and when Elaine wasn’t looking he poured some inside of a glass bottle

“Ban I like-“ Elaine begins but Ban gets up

“I’m sorry Elaine I think this is the last time you’ll be seeing me, I checked every inch of the forest last night so that means Y/n has left the forest, I’m gonna be leaving as soon as I make it to the tent and get my stuff” he says to the girl who’s face falls in despair

“W-What wait but Ban she-“ she began

“She left? She had a good reason, if I was in her position I’d be upset too I can’t blame her” he says running a hand through his hair

“B-BUT SHE-SHE” Elaine tries to plead but stops when she sees Ban smile at her

“No matter what she did or does, she’s the only one my heart races for, in life or in death Y/n is my one true love so...wherever she goes I’ll chase her” he says and with that he jumps off the tree

Elaine falls to her knees as she watches the spot Ban once stood in, her head falling down as tears fell on to the tree

Ban had gotten to the tent and began packing all his stuff he got his money bag from under his sleeping , though he wonders where you hid yours and leaves

He travels for towns and towns looking for you, he had finally found you but much to his dismay you got captured since you were injured and were in a pretty tight situation as you were on death row

He watched as you and other prison mates were in a yard just doing your own things, you were laying on a bench staring at the sky

“Pssst”

You look up quickly and look around not seeing anyone, you were about to lay back down

“Pssst Y/n!”

You look around again noticing the familiar voice

“I must be going crazy” you mutter as you hold your forehead

“You’re not! Look over here!”

You slowly look to the side of the fence you were near and your eyes slowly landed on a bush, soon blue hair popped up from behind the bush and Ban gave you that grin of his

“Ban!” You say, a smile on your face, but you quickly replace it by a scowl and look away from him

He smiles slightly at that

“Y/n come on look at me” he whispers and you begrudgingly look over at him and he smiles, causing you to get flustered and your scowl to shake trying not to smile

“What are you doing here, you better hurry up and escape before they catch you too” you whisper not looking at him, instead watching the guards

He laughs

“As if I would leave you in a jail cell, come on let’s go” he says and you look at him stupidly

“Let’s go? No thanks death row isn’t that bad” you say coldly and he sighs

“Fine, guess we have to do this the hard way” he says shrugging

“HEY GUARDS” He shouts and your eyes widen as you sit up and block him with your body as the guards and inmates look at you

“UHH YEAH GUARDS, UHM YOUR ZIPPERS DOWN” you say and cringe deeply when the guards both look down and one coughs as he zips up his zipper, the inmates laughing

When everything died down you looked at Ban deadly

“Are you crazy?” You whisper

“Crazy for you”

Your mouth closes as you try to not blush but it’s inevitable as your brows unfurrow and a small smile takes over

“There’s that smile I love” he says and you roll your eyes as you huff slightly

“You better explain, I’m not giving you another chance so don’t you lie to me” you say and he nods quickly like a dog, you can basically see the tail behind him wagging

“Now step back babe, you’re boyfriends here to save you��� he says smugly and you roll your eyes as you back up

He takes out his staff and in a swift motion breaks the fence, the guards all look over

“HEY” one shouts and you gasp as Ban quickly scoops you up and starts running

“It’s okay! I’ll take this bandit off your hands!” He shouts amused as he runs, he runs into a forest and does many turns eventually losing the guards who had to return back before any other inmates escaped

He puts you down lightly and you cross your arms to which he snorts

“I can run you know” you say and he shakes his head as he leans down and takes out a jar of green stuff

“They’re not as good as yours but they should do” he says and he gently takes your leg as he pulls up the inmate suit and sees your swollen ankle

“Tch stupid guards didn’t even treat it” he mutters as he takes some of the green cream and slowly and gently rubs it over your ankle

You can’t lie this felt really good but

“The first night I went up to try to plead for the youth drink” he says and you look at him

“The second night I went up to try and bribe for the youth drink”

“The third night I spoke to her, I tried to get to know her so she can see we have no bad intentions but one night wasn’t enough”

“The 4th night she had decent trust in me, so we continued talking”

He sighed as he started wrapping the bandage around your ankle softly, you don’t think you’ve ever seen Ban this gentle

“And the 5th night?” You ask and he looks to the side, you noticed a slight blush

“The 5th night I asked advice on what I should do to make you forgive me..” he mutters and your mouth falls agape slightly, it slowly forms into a small smile

“I’m sorry for not letting you explain..” you say and he shakes his head

“No, I can see how this looked from your perspective” he says as he rolls up your sleeves and switches the old bloodied bandages on your arm

You chuckle softly

“So I guess we can’t be together forever” you say sighing and as he rubs the herb cream on your bruised back he raises his eyebrow and pulls out a glass bottle with pink liquid

“Sorry but you’re not escaping me so easily” he says and you gasp as you grab the bottle and look at it

“This is really it??” You say looking back at him and he nods proudly

You slowly open it and drink it, but you didn’t feel that different

“Did it work?” You ask and he shrugs to which you deadpan

That day you both held hand as you jumped off a cliff, when you landed you guys sat up as you laughed and high fived, it worked

After a few months both you and Ban were caught purposely cause life began to get boring, you both sat in the same cell, after 33 executions you both are still alive in confinement

“I win” you say as you cross an all three X’s on the tic tac toe you made on the dirt in the ground

“You’re cheating” Ban replies and you laugh

Soon the door blows open and you two looked over to see a short man with blonde hair, you both smiled as Meliodas smiled back at you two

“Glad to see you two are still lovebirds”

[starshipsofstarlord]

Sheer | Kai Parker

Warnings; SMUT, ANGST, and FLUFF, mentions of death, mourning, loss, mentions of murder, trauma, swearing, unprotected sex,

A/N; sorta made up a whole storyline for this imagine, may be a teeny bit different and may have gotten a little carried away, please enjoy loves

It would not uphold, the weather held a grudge against you as you trudged through the pouring rain, cursing you for thinking that you would be safe on your lonesome.

Instead of a monster, the world wished for you to drown in its falling rivers, making you shiver down to the bone. It was too cold, but you had to go there, it was a ritual.

Since the death of your boyfriend, Aaron, who was killed by Damon, someone you thought to be a friend, you felt broken.

You had tried everything to bring him back, but without the power of a witch, it was deemed impossible, and Bonnie refused to help you, claiming that it was necromancy, and far from her beliefs.

It angered you, how everybody would dismiss the lost lives that Damon took. He got a free pass, he didn’t even regret his own invalid actions.

He was a monster, and you hated him. If you couldn’t bring Aaron back, then you would instead kill his murderer. That would not only give you a sense of revenge, but also make the world a safer place. There would be one less vampire making people’s lives a misery.

“Hi there.” You stopped in your tracks, the voice sending shivers down your spine. Whilst it sounded like a man, in reality it could be anything.

The skin of a human was a disguise the majority of the time, a bloodsucker or a wolf coping inside the exterior, thirsting to break free from the walls of bones and flesh.

“Kai.” He was not exactly human, he was a witch, the one thing that you needed. You had met him through Elena, who was luckily also angered by Damon’s actions, Aaron had been her friend.

And just like that, he had died. But she hid her feelings well, pretending all was fine because she was in love with the gruelling monster that you wished to execute.

However, even though you wanted to bring back your lost beloved, the time that had passed made your mind being up the idea of moving on.

The first person that sprung into your imagination was Kai Parker, the new sociopath in town. He was new, unaware of the traumatising past experience that lingered in your heart, and not to mention, his specimen was one of beauty.

Those grey eyes, ever so curious could bore straight into your soul, and you’d gladly let him mangle it, you no longer had a use for it anyway.

“Why are you out here y/n/n?” He asked with a tilt of his head that had your heart beating profusely.

Everyone knew of his effect on you, but they told you to dismiss it. It was cruel, that they’d rather have you mourning the loss of your partner than to move on with another.

To you, it didn’t matter if he were supposed to be the enemy, you no longer wanted to fight their battles. All you desired was to be in love, with somebody that felt the same.

And whilst you doubted that Kai knew how to feel such a strong emotion, some attention wasn’t the worst thing in the world. As a matter of fact, it worked well as a distraction, it made you almost forget the grudge that you held against the eldest Salvatore.

Almost.

“It’s nothing.” You whisked the direction of the conversation away from your deceased boyfriend, not wanting to talk about him to anyone, let alone Malachai Parker.

Even thinking of Aaron caused a void to open in the middle of your chest, it was unbelievably painful. You thought some people, such as Bonnie would understand, rather than think the loss as a regular occurrence.

To put it simply, the entire ordeal was completely fucked up, and you felt much more guilty for biting your lip at the expression that Kai pulled; his eyebrows raised, and his fingers carefully running down the side of his own jaw.

Oh god, his fingers. There were so many things that you could imagine him doing with those, and from the way he waved them on a greeting, he knew that he teased the thought too.

“Basically...” he began, rolling his grey eyes with what he liked to call modesty, and you classified as boredom, “you’re stuck out in the rain, and if I’m not mistaken, you live halfway across town.”

“Stalker much?” You sneered, crossing your arms across your chest, which only made his gaze wander down, and hold their movements for a dragged out moment. “What are you looking at?” You exasperatedly sighed, only understanding when you followed his peering.

He was focused on your chest, that through your white shirt, appeared almost bare. The lace of your bra was giving him a clear frontal, and so you adjusted your arms, so that they covered more and whatever they had pushed up to peak his intrigue.

“Why am I not surprised?” Shaking your wet hair, which was pointless considering that it was still raining, you realised that you felt the creeping of the cold.

You had been oblivious to it, thinking that it was a side guest to your tears, almost a consequence. But you were no longer tearful, mostly angry at the killer that ruined your future and acted as though it were no big deal.

“I thought you were supposed to be at college.” Kai quirked his brow, proud of the fact that he knew that. However you shook your head, and watched as he removed his jacket, clasping it around your shoulders, shielding you somewhat from the weather.

It appeared as no big deal to him, but it was to you, sociopaths weren’t famous for being kind and charitable. They always had agendas, their agendas, well they were obviously sociopathic.

But from the glazing of the witch’s eyes, you only saw a lost man. He was misinterpreted by all that he knew, they treated him like an outsider, alienated him as though he were a monster, and validly that was why he was seen as one.

“No.” You whispered, confused as to why you were so complied to correct the man. “My boyfriend was killed, I don’t want to go back there, it’s clear why.”

You attempted to give him a small smile, but it came out as a pained grimace. Just the thought had your mood drained, even more so since there was no route to resurrect him.

“Oh yeah, I heard about that.” He didn’t shiver in the rain, instead he seemed comfortable simply standing there, conversing with you in the rainfall. “Damon did it, right?”

Licking your lips, you hesitantly nodded, ashamed of the fact that you had once called the vampire a friend. From the start, you were always wary of him, but eventually you managed to become close to him. And then he ruined your chance of happiness, literally sucking the life out of it.

“What a dick.” Kai was blunt with his annotation, but you couldn’t deny that he was right about them. “Sorry for your loss and all that blah blah. We should get somewhere warm though, you can tell me more.”

It was a strange feeling, you felt pulled to the male, it was as though he was one side of a magnet, and you were another. And so you accepted his invitation, and followed him, breathing in the scent of his black coat. It was much sweeter than you had expected.

🏹

His so called home was an apartment, that you no doubt expected he had convinced someone with his magic to give him rent free. Or he killed them, either or you guessed.

But the thought of death itself was one that you weren’t too keen on thinking about, not now. Instead, you’d rather enjoy the company of someone that didn’t shame you for hating and desiring to kill the one and only Damon Salvatore.

Most of your friends didn’t take you seriously, they just barked laughter, not believing, nor willing to think that you could ever commit such a sentence. But they didn’t share your pain, if they did, you were sure that they’d understand.

Matt got it, he resented the vampire and a lot of the other blood suckers too. And your certainly couldn’t blame him, he had lost his sister, and there was no reason behind her change. It had all just been a game, a gruesome one at that.

Kai lightly removed his jacket from your shoulders, hanging it on a hook to dry. He almost appeared embarrassed, having you in such a private space.

But you didn’t want him to endure such a mindset as that. Instead you smiled, brushing your damp hair out of your face, grasping his hands. They were cold, and that made you frown. No one ever cared what he had gone through, instead they just wanted to rid the world of him.

Even his family had dismissed him, all because he had been different, and treating him as such had definitely had a mind mingling affect on him. It repented an unstoppable rage inside of him, one that ended in dead children and imprisonment.

“Thankyou.” The small example of affection had Kai tilt his head awkwardly and pull his hands away from your own. He wasn’t used to people even being polite towards him, let alone openly sharing contact with him.

You should have been scared of him. Or at least somewhat repulsed, but you weren’t, and it was a first for him. Most around him taunted him with blame, or pointed out his obvious flaws.

And so he ducked his chin downwards into his chest, taking a couple of steps back, mumbling something about retrieving you a dry shirt.

As you waited for him, you peeled off the sheer layer, dropping the ball of wet material upon the ground. Your bra had soaked into your skin, but you left that on out of modesty.

When Kai returned, his mouth gaped open, eyes widening at the half undressed sight of you. But he tried to avert your gaze, blushing at your lack of attire.

“It’s okay.” You jested to him , reaching out for the clean shirt that he had brought for you. “You can look, it’s not like I’m naked.”

“Yet.” He smirked as he allowed his stare to freely roam. His voice had been small, but you had heard it as clear as day. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be thinking like that, you’re in mourning and I get that you wouldn’t want to, yknow.”

His hand gestured between the pair of you , prompting what he was talking about. But maybe he was wrong, after all, it had been a while since you had any physical intimacy, and you’d be a fool to deny that there was chemistry between you and a particular witch.

“Don’t be sorry.” You put the dry shirt aside, walking closer to the brunette. “I am in mourning, but I’m going to get my revenge, and a distraction sure wouldn’t hurt.”

“And here I thought that you were just a pretty face.” Kai’s hand drifted to the side of your face, pulling you closer so that your lips were almost brushing. His breath ghosted over your own intermingling the fumes of lust and intrigue. “But it seems that there is a darkness in that mind of yours, I’m impressed with your plans to say the least.”

“I haven’t even told you any of them yet.” Your hand drifted under the band of his jeans, plucking teasingly at the denim, licking your teeth as you made strong eye contact with him.

“Tell me after.” He ordered, grasping your hips, and clashing your bodies together. Your lips worked hungrily against each other, both pairs of your hands grabbing all that they could, you and him both desperate to hold onto anything.

Kai shoved you backward into a table, trapping you against it as his lips fell downwards, and began to suck at your neck.

But at that contact, you pushed Kai away, freezing for a moment. Damon’s teeth had been on Aaron’s neck, sinking in and draining all that be worth.

“See Elena thinks I’m a monster, and she’s right.” You were unable to move as Aaron stood against the vampire, you had been compelled, and you wanted nothing more than to scream out for Damon to stop, but there was no audio in your throat.

There was no scream as Damon bared his fangs , nor when he sunk them into your boyfriend’s neck, instead you were holding back your tears, as you had been commanded to.

He held him to his mouth for a moment before dropping his body lifeless upon the ground. And you couldn’t help but stare at the sight.

Enzo wore a content smirk, and it sickened you to your stomach. Damon turned, his thirsty eyes boring into your form, that wanted nothing more than to crumble into a million people.

“You may now speak.” His pupils found yours, engaging with your soul, that felt broken and completely shattered.

“Are you going to kill me too?” A part of you was hopeful that he would, but as he came closer, you recognised the mischief in his stance.

He had plans for you, none of which you suspected to like. “Do it, show Elena how much of a monster you really are!”

If he killed you, you’d have liked to think that Elena would be furious , but it was expected that eventually she would forgive him when he put his humanity back on.

“Or instead...” you feared his humoured expression, eyes flickering between his feet that were walking closer to you and your dead partner that lay lifelessly a couple of meters away. “I could show her how much of a monster you are.”

He bit into his wrist, bringing it towards your mouth, and as much as you felt the urge to squirm, you could do nothing more but stand there and abide his compulsion.

“Are you okay?” Kai asked, brushing his nose against your own, wanting to know if you wanted to continue. He knew that you were a victim of trauma, and he understood it’s affects.

In regards to his past, his coping method had been inflicting it in return. But you had done no foul against him, and so he would not torture you or force you into something that you had no intention of continuing.

“Yeah.” You breathed, blinking to push the memory away, temporarily at least. “Bedroom.” You ushered, squealing distractedly as he hoisted you into his arms, wrapping your legs perfectly around his waist.

He dropped you upon the mattress, hovering over you, removing his shirt after you began to tug on the dark and rain pelted material.

Leaning your elbows, you unclipped the back of your bra, discarding it somewhere far from your memory, and Kai sunk down, his lips latching onto your nipple, playing with the other in his rough hands.

“Your fucking gorgeous.” He hummed around your breast, his fingers drifting down your stomach to the band of your leggings.

His compliment made you smile, and as he ripped off your pants, he slipped a hand inside of your panties, rubbing your sensitive flesh. But you groaned, frowning at his tantalising actions.

“Just need you inside of me.” You told him, and he was more than happy to comply, so he worked on his belt, as you slipped off your own underwear, and removed the torn fabric from around your legs.

When you looked up, you noticed that he was completely bare, and already had himself in hand. There was precum balancing on his tip and at the sight you licked your lips.

“You ready?” He asked bringing his head down to your chin, placing a delicate kiss upon the bump, and teasing his other tip against your opening, swiping through your wetness and using it to lube himself up.

“God yes.” You sighed, your hands finding refuge upon the back of his shoulders, your nails sinking into his firm skin.

And so, with consent, he pushed in, groaning at the initial tightness. “And I thought that it was wet outside.” He laughed, causing you to snort, he was funnier than you had expected him to be.

It almost made you swoon, but no, you couldn’t be interested in Kai, could you? Everyone thought you had been, even Bonnie had stated that you often undressed him with your eyes in the worst of situations, but it had never been a big deal to you.

And then it hit you like a ton of bricks, with a snap of Kai’s hips. All along you had denied any interest of another man, all because of the one that you had lost. And everyone already knew that there were sparks between you and the witch, before either of you had caught on.

“Shit.” He huffed, reaching down and biting your lips, causing your eyes to flutter sensuously, and dark veins to appear underneath.

At the feeling, you tried to bury your face sidewards into the pillow so that he couldn’t see, but he held you still as he gave shallow thrusts inside of you.

“Don’t look away, I think you’re beautiful.” Him saying that alone had you almost in tears. Despite trying to bring Aaron back you feared what he would think of you when he returned, or well, if he could.

Would he think you a monster, that stood idly by when he was killed? Because if so, you’re heart would literally break, and you wouldn’t be able to bare living any longer.

Living, funny. You hardly described what you were doing as such anyways. But currently, you did truly feel alive again, perhaps that was just the affect of having a dick inside of you.

But as Kai reached down and fiddled with your clit, you knew that you were done for. Your head fell back, eyes closed and mouth open, showcasing your fangs, your orgasm hitting you like a train.

He continued his movements until he felt he was nearing his point, and then he finished too, having no worry in impregnating you as you were well, to put it lightly , dead.

Both of you panted as he pulled out and fell beside you. Your eyes stared at the ceiling, your concentration eventually broken when Kai spoke.

“Damon did it, didn’t he? He turned you.” Your face had returned to its previous disguise, you looked human once more. But it was no secret that you were now a savage, a monster like Damon.

“Yeah.” You bit your lip, trying not to cry at the thought. It was the last thing in the world that you ever wanted, but Damon knew that too. And so he had cursed you, for all of eternity.

“Then he deserves to die.” Kai stated, he was already against the Salvatores, but his hatred for them had just increased.

[houndsofcerberus]

Lament of a Father

Technoblade was a lot of things. In whispers passed along as he walked through the market he was a monster. In quiet reverence after turning the tides of a war he was a hero. In loud jeering after the tides of war had been changed he was a villain. In stories passed between families of a man on trade routes at midnight he was a benevolent spirit, a god even. He held many titles but the one he cherished, the one he would wear like a badge of honour until the day he died? Well he had only worn that one for a year, maybe less. He would never speak of it to anyone, never share that vulnerability to anyone. Except of course for the one who had tenderly taken the title from him. He was eternally grateful and indebted to Philza for what he had done, but chat occasionally disdained him for stopping them.

Tommy, despite looking so much like his dad, despite sharing his blond hair, his sapphire blue eyes full of life and curiosity, was well aware of the fact he was not his biological child. The only biological child his dad had ever had was his older brother Wilbur. Though it was easy to assume the opposite. Wilbur had taken after his mother, who had long since passed, her presence only existing by the picture pinned up on the fridge. She had been gone long before Tommy’s arrival, though his dad often spoke of how it was because of her invisible influence on him that made him take Tommy in. The story Tommy had only ever known was that his parents had left him behind. His brother, jealous of the time and the care his dad seemed to pour into Tommy but give him sparingly, had once told Tommy his parents didn’t want him. Had left him to die in the woods. He had never asked his dad because as far as Tommy was concerned they had. It didn’t matter to him how they had left him, it mattered that they left him at all. It mattered every time he heard the other kids whisper about how Tommy was a bastard child. Unloved. Unwanted. Out of place.

Tommy had been content never meeting his biological parents. That would be fine by him. Philza had been adequate. He had a roof, a home, a bed, food. Despite his brother’s occasional jealousy or the common squabbles between the two he was happy to have his brother. He wouldn’t have it any other way. Besides, his parents must have been terrible people to leave him behind like they did.

Tommy stared from behind Wilbur at the stranger in their door whom their dad had been welcoming warmly. Tommy frowned, trying to look past the improvised mask made out of a hoglin skull, wondering if the slight tusks coming from the mans mouth were also not his own. He noted the long pink hair, the way he smelled strongly of blood despite the fact that there was none to be seen on this stranger. Tommy could see a crossbow on his back, a weapon his own dad didn’t wield but he’d seen occasionally used, shown off in weapon shows in town. People around here didn’t use crossbows. He also took note of both the axe and the sword on the man as well. The axe was not the woodcutter’s axe outside, but a battle axe. A mean looking thing, but the soft glow of it was mesmerizing and what little of the blade he could see was sharp, definitely for fighting. The sword was sheathed at the man’s hip, but the hilt he could see under the man’s red cape was ornate, a beautiful gold glinting in the light along with the rest of the man’s jewelry. There was a ruby at the bottom, looking like fire in the candlelight. Tommy froze as he looked back up at the man’s face, making eye contact. He frowned and stuck his tongue out indignantly.

“What’re you lookin at?” He snapped.

Technoblade had to suppress a soft chuckle at that. He was so small, hidden behind his brother, but he said it with such fire in his belly that Techno was half convinced that had he heard it on the battlefield he might have looked away. He looked back at Phil, who smiled fondly.

“Long time no see mate, we should talk,” he said softly.

“We should,” Techno replied, eyes flicking back to Tommy. In that moment though he wasn’t a young man, nor a child. He was an infant, held so tenderly in Techno’s arms.

He remembered the day as if it were yesterday. He had remembered it since it happened, he relived it over and over. Tommy’s mother had died. He wished he had known her longer. They hadn’t been married when Tommy came along, and she had been the opposite of Techno. She hadn’t lived long after Tommy was born. As was Techno’s luck seemed to be. She had known it and she had held the tiny golden haired baby who had her eyes and his father’s smile. So rarely given but a treat to be savoured. The tiny child had squealed and grinned at her once his crying had stopped, his eyes fixed on her until his father gently lifted him from her arms after they had gone limp. Techno had promised many things. But above all he promised that no matter the price their child would live the best life he could live. 

Technoblade had spent a little under a year with the title of father. He had cherished every second. He hadn’t believed he wanted to be a father, not until he was. He didn’t believe attachments were a good idea, but he would never regret this. Never. He had named the small child Theseus, he wanted his child bearing the name of a warrior. Of a man who had carried hardship and walked tall yet still. He wanted Theseus to be strong, he wanted the name to fit the man he knew his son would one day be.

He had spent the entire year carefully taking care of the child, despite the voices in his head screaming to rid himself of the danger. The danger someone would use this tiny bundle of giggles and straw blond hair and watery blue eyes against him. They insisted this helpless baby would be his demise. They chanted for blood but Technoblade would not concede. At least for that year. He would hold the child, speak softly of great heroes, of gods and of monsters. He would fall asleep, arms around this tiny life that had been left for him to care for, protecting him. He still believed wholeheartedly it was the best year of his life. The year he had replaced his old titles, the title of monster, of god, of hero, of villain. He would maintain for the rest of his life that father was the only title he would ever want.

“Please Philza,” came the strangled sob as Techno held out the bundled up child. “Please.”The rain had soaked through Techno’s clothing long ago, his hair soaking, though when Philza took the child into his arms he noted that there wasn’t a drop on the sleeping baby.

“Techno, are you sure? This is the greatest gift you could receive, are you positive you want to give it up?” Phil said sadly, looking up at Technoblade, soaked in rain. His crimson eyes were bloodshot and Phil knew his old companion well enough to know he had grown fond of the child he held. Fond enough to weather the storm.

“No. I’m not sure. I don’t want to give him up, if we lived in a perfect world I would never. I would hold him until the world burned around us. But you know damn well why I can’t.” Techno said, looking away, eyes landing on a framed image of Philza, his long gone wife, and his child. Theseus would be safe here. Theseus would be loved. It didn’t matter that Technoblade felt his heart was being ripped from his chest. He had come so close. He wouldn’t risk it again.

“Mate...” Philza said, face falling. “You can’t help it, you know you wouldn’t dare,” he said softly.

“I wouldn’t. They would. They tried. I am not putting him in danger by simply being alive in my presence. Please, please I am begging you. Take him. Take care of him like I can’t. He deserves better than to grow up to fear his own father.” Techno begged, holding back the tears that were stinging his eyes. 

“...okay...” Phil agreed, relenting. He offered the bundle back to Techno, offering a moment to say goodbye. Techno took the chance eagerly, holding the child close.

“I love you, more than you could ever understand. You are my heart and soul Theseus. Be a good man,” Techno whispered, the tears he’d been choking back betraying him and falling down his face. “I will always love you.” He added solemnly, taking another look at his sleeping son. So peaceful, so blissfully unaware. He handed Theseus back to Phil. “He gets nightmares, often. He doesn’t sleep well still, but this-“ Techno pulled out a stuffed animal, a simple plush toy his son adored, a stuffed cow, floppy and well loved, handing it to the other. “Warm milk and Henry help him sleep, he prefers to be held though, it makes him feel safe. He doesn’t like to be alone,” Techno rambled. Phil nodded, taking note of everything said until Techno reluctantly took his departure.

Tommy and Wilbur sat outside, pretending to play as they kept an eye on the window, watching the strange man inside talk to their dad. They were sat at the table, their expressions confusing for Tommy. Smiling but...not happy. Their dad had made the two of them tea after shooing the kids outside to play. The grass rippled around Tommy in the breeze as he ripped some of it up and let it fly away in the wind.

“What do you think they’re talking about?” Tommy asked, staring at the back of the stranger’s head.

“Dunno. Maybe they’re finally taking you somewhere they’ll teach you to have manners,” Wilbur joked, tossing a dandelion he’d picked at Tommy.

“Shut up, if anything you’re the one who doesn’t behave,” Tommy replied easily, rolling his eyes and tossing the flower right back at Wilbur. Things hadn’t always been so easy between them. Tommy had been treated like he was precious cargo by their dad. Neither knew why, Wilbur didn’t care why. His dad was paying attention to Tommy not him. He didn’t like it. As they got older it got easier but there had once been a time where their ‘fights’ hadn’t been in jest. Where they actually meant it when they said they hated one another. Tommy could still tell Wilbur didn’t like that their dad clearly had a favourite but he no longer blamed Tommy. His relationship with his dad had soured mildly though their dad hadn’t seemed to notice.

“Phil I can’t tell him.”

“He deserves to know. I never told him anything, he’ll start looking one day and if he finds out that I never told him who you were when you were right here? When he could’ve asked questions? He’ll not only never forgive me, he’ll never forgive you.” Phil said. “He’s a stubborn little shit, he got that from you.”

“Phil he’s better off with whatever story he’s come up with in his head. He may not want the answers to the questions he has.” Techno said softly. “No child deserves to know their own father tried to kill them.” 

“Techno that wasn’t you and you know it. You’ve gotten a handle on chat now, you’re not the stupid kid who runs headfirst into battle without thought anymore. If what I’ve heard is right he’d be proud. You’ve won multiple tournaments, that’s something he’d find interesting.” Phil said.

“Phil please. You and I both know this won’t last. I’m not a person who stays out of trouble for long.”

“You’re going to regret this.”

“Don’t I always?”

Technoblade’s name had become well known by the siblings after that conversation. Phil hadn’t yet introduced them until years later when Techno showed up for one of Tommy’s birthdays, giving Phil a book and telling him to wait to give it to Tommy. Then came the Pogtopia vs Manberg war. Techno had played a major part in the war though his efforts were wasted once the president of Manberg dropped dead in front of them. Since that day Lmanberg had rebuilt the damage caused by both Wilbur and Techno. Phil had come back. But Techno’s reputation for being ruthless and dangerous hadnt faded. Nor had the knowledge he was a private person. Which is why when he found a certain young man in his house he had been shocked.

“What are you doing in my house?”

Tommy froze, looking up at Techno from where he was still climbing the ladder, head poking out from the hole he thought he’d hidden decently. Tommy tried to scurry back down but Techno caught him by the back of his shirt and easily lifted him off the ladder and set him on the ground.

“Why are you in my house?” He asked again.

“Well...someones clearly woken up on the wrong side of the bed!” Tommy said. “You’ve got to fix that temper big man, or else nobody will want to hang out with you,”

“I don’t want anyone to hang out with me. That’s the entire point. Get out.”

“God this place is ugly. You really should hire a decorator. I know someone who could help y’know, I could call them. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you out. A charity case if you would. She’s great really.” Tommy rambled.

“Theseus.” Techno said firmly. For some reason this was what made Tommy shut up. It sent a chill down his spine and he felt like someone had poured ice water down his back. “Why are you living under my house?” Tommy couldn’t respond. He didn’t know why but the nickname Theseus that Technoblade had given Tommy made him falter every time without fail. Tommy attributed it to the speech Techno had made all that time ago, yelling for him to die like the hero he wished to be. Since then Techno had almost exclusively used that name in their few interactions. Sometimes it would be sternly, fewer times it was affectionate, though the name gained positive meaning the longer Tommy stayed with Technoblade. Techno spent time training Tommy, and soon even just spending time with him. Technoblade taught Tommy how to make his own weapons and how to make them near perfect after realizing how woefully terrible Tommy’s current weapon was, especially for his fighting style. 

Tommy had always been mesmerized by the way Techno fought. It was like he was dancing, every movement was muscle memory, every step rehearsed, measured. The way he locked his eyes onto his target but seemed to be oh so aware when eyes were on him. Watching Techno and Philza fight was a real treat. It was like watching a performance. Technoblade had clearly learned from Tommy’s dad, and Tommy wanted to hear the stories of their old adventures, though neither would give up the goods. Phil’s movements were airy, near effortless. Though he lacked the power Techno threw into every swing, and Techno lacked a lot of the effortless grace that Phil seemed to have a birthright to.

Tommy sat, transfixed as he watched his dad’s wings flare out, though unable to carry him now due to the large chunks burned away he still used them, catching himself as Techno shoved him back. Phil had a grin on his face as they sparred, though Techno’s face was as it always seemed to be, stony and unchanging. Tommy could’ve sworn that he saw the smallest glint of excitement in those wine red eyes. Techno had a tendency for nonstop movement, and redirecting his momentum. Techno had said, quite hypocritically, that it was a stupid move however. It took a lot more energy to redirect and change momentum and still have enough power for your hit. Though it seemed that Techno wasn’t lacking in power as the sparks flew between Phil and Techno’s swords, illuminating their faces briefly before being extinguished in the snow. Phil was considered better by many, but for whatever reason Tommy found Phil all too predictable. He liked the unbridled power and erratic movements that Techno made, the way he seemed to keep his eyes fixed on you as you sparred, attention unwavering and unyielding. It was intimidating and Tommy had never wanted to be on the other side of the sword when Techno really meant it.

He had never wanted it. Never wanted this. Lmanberg was crashing around him, exploding constantly, the crater going deeper as the noise of the explosions mixed in with the screaming of the withers. Tommy couldn’t take a breath without the acrid smoke stinging his lungs, couldn’t move without the raging fire below the platform he stood on warming his skin to a near unbearable extent. But somehow nothing hurt him more than the look of pure sorrow and rage in Techno’s eyes as he stood behind the crossbow, firework loaded, ready to kill Tommy. Ready to end him where he stood. Tommy cowered behind it, his voice ever steady despite the tears cleaning trails of soot off his face betraying him.

“Do it.” He said. “Prove me right.”

Techno took a breath and for a moment Tommy thought he was going to actually pull the trigger. He flinched as he heard the click of the trigger, and then the explosion of the firework. But he was fine. He opened his eyes and saw Technoblade reload his crossbow before putting it away. He pulled out his trident and looked up, holding his free hand out as the first raindrops fell.

“We part as we did the first time. I’ll miss you Theseus.” Techno said softly, pulling his arm back before launching into the air with his trident. Though Tommy swore he heard something he couldn’t decipher it over the loud roar of the withers, the pattering of rain, and the ever insistent booming of the explosives digging ever deeper. Tommy stood, rain soaking his hair and washing his face of the soot and ash of the country he once built with his brother. He once took back with his uncle. The country he had staked everything on from the beginning. It was gone. For good now. There was no rebuilding. Tommy exchanged a look with Tubbo, the two of them locking eyes. Neither said a word but they both knew, they both understood that it was over. Dream had won, and Technoblade and Phil had helped. Tommy was surrounded by people but he had never felt more alone in that moment. Not even in exile. And he couldn’t tell you why. Though maybe it had something to do with the red fur trimmed cape he still had hanging up at home and the axe that had once been a gift and was now stolen property in his enderchest.

Techno had stopped paying attention to any and all news regarding Tommy. He told Phil it didn’t matter. He didn’t care. He didn’t want to know. But they both knew he was lying through his teeth. He cared. A great deal. But that was the problem now wasn’t it? He had his son. He had an optimal time to tell him. And he was going to. Until Tommy charged into the community house. And Techno had watched in that moment as Tommy chose the corrupt government that had just prior ordered his execution and had imprisoned Phil. Tommy chose them over Techno, who had once more thought about retrieving the title of father. The title he missed every day of his life since he handed it to Phil.

“Tommy is dead.”

Techno’s blood ran cold. There was no way. No way. Phil turned and stared at Techno. Phil loved Tommy, he had. But they had grown estranged. Techno however? He had been attached to Tommy since the day he showed up under his house. Techno had grown close and lost Tommy but he still cared. He still loved his son. Techno didn’t love many things or people, but his son was one of those things.

Phil relaxed slightly as Techno joked, but he didn’t miss the way Techno rushed through the meeting, the way he bolted out of the room into the ever winding maze outside. Phil said his goodbyes before darting after Techno, going through the halls. He found him leaning against a wall, looking queasy. Phil didn’t even get to Techno before he heard him retch and a splatter. Phil saw him turn and wipe his mouth, face ashen and colourless, he was shaking violently and Phil could see how distant he was. Chat. Again.

“You good mate? Come back to me Techno. We can figure this out. Just breathe,” Phil said. “You’ll be o-“

“Do not finish that sentence.” Techno snapped, glaring at Phil. “He’s dead. I am not going to be okay.” Phil had seen Techno angry many times. But he’d never seen this look. The look of a man with nothing left to lose. It wasn’t even like he was looking at Technoblade anymore, not in the way he knew his beloved friend. It was more like staring a wild boar in the face. A very angry, very hungry wild boar. Phil stepped back, knowing very well he could find his throat ripped from his neck if he chose to move forward.

Techno took many long hours to calm, and by the time he had he was empty. It was like everything had been drained from him. Every ounce of Techno had been ripped out and all that Phil had left was the shell. His heart broke because he knew exactly how it had felt. He knew what it was like. After he lost Wilbur Phil had disappeared into the woods for days, he remembered killing anything that moved, hitting the trees until his knuckles bruised and bled just to feel something other than the all consuming sorrow and despair. Anything to stave off the feeling of emptiness. And it was like that until Techno set off. He said he was going to go train. Except he didn’t come back for what felt like years. Tommy had come to visit. As had Wilbur, newly revived from the dead. And Phil had nearly lost it, so relieved to see his son even if his son wasn’t thrilled to see him. It didn’t matter. Wilbur could tell him a million times that Phil no longer mattered, that he wasn’t family, and Phil would still just be relieved that he was okay. That he was alive.

He saw the way Tommy looked at them. Saw the jealousy in his eyes. He had tried so hard to stop him from feeling that when he was a kid but things were different. Things had changed. They didn’t talk much, they weren’t family like they had been. And Phil wanted Tommy to know he had family. But it wasn’t his story to tell. Not yet.

Techno had come back oh so very briefly, a week maximum. They celebrated his birthday, and Techno received a letter summoning him to the prison. Phil was apprehensive and when Techno didn’t come home that night, or the next day, or the day after that Phil started to worry. He had read the will. He knew the plan. But he didn’t like it. Too many things could go wrong. The next time Tommy visited Phil was a wreck. Tommy did his best to comfort Phil but honestly Tommy was worried too. He knew Techno could handle himself. He knew what Techno was capable of but he also knew what Dream and Sam were capable of. 

Phil however was worried about several things. He had faith Techno would be fine, he always was, but… there was a nagging in the back of his brain. He needed to tell Tommy. No matter what he needed to tell him. If Techno died in the prison Tommy should know, and if he got out as planned then Tommy should get to be allowed to know his father. He shouldn’t know before it’s too late, especially when it might already be too late. 

“Tommy?”

“Yeah Phil?” Tommy replied, picking up the two mugs he had, each with tea in them. He set one down in front of Phil at the table and sat nearby, looking at him. Phil looked like a fucking wreck. There were deep circles under his eyes, he looked exhausted and he seemed older in that moment than Tommy could ever remember him looking before.

“I need to tell you something. The truth.”

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it right now, you can tell me later,”

“No. I have to tell you.” Phil said adamantly. He knew if he didn’t say it now he never would. And Tommy might never get to know Techno as his dad instead of a friend or mentor. He wanted Tommy to have a dad. He owed it to him after he had suddenly stopped being one. “I knew your parents. Your mother and father, they were friends of mine. Your mom is… she’s not around…” Phil said quickly. He kept going before Tommy could react. “Your father. He’s a friend. He’s still alive.”

“…what?” Tommy asked, voice quiet. 

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you.”

“Why didn’t you? I spent years wondering what the fuck was wrong with me or my parents that they dropped me in the middle of nowhere, why the fuck didn’t you say anything?” Tommy asked, rage and pain clear in his voice. Years of self loathing, of wondering why he wasn’t good enough, why he was abandoned. Why he didn’t get to have a family. Why he didn’t get to know his father at the very least.

“There’s a lot you don’t understand, I wish I could’ve told you but I couldn’t Tommy,” Phil answered.

“There’s a lot that you don’t understand! I’ve been wondering every day of my life why I wasn’t good enough! Why I couldn’t be happy, why I didn’t deserve to have my own family! You had the answers and you just didn’t give them to me!” Tommy yelled, standing up and banging his fist on the table. “Who? How many times have I met my father and you didn’t say a word? How many interactions did I have where you didn’t tell me I could’ve asked him questions? How many times was he right there?” Phil looked down and sighed, shaking his head. He didn’t wanna say it.

“Tommy….” Phil sighed softly, looking at Tommy. He was right to be pissed. Phil knew that. But he wished he wasn’t. 

“Tell me! For once in your fucking life be honest Phil! You’ve been lying to me for years, you owe me this! You owe me this cause I died and you didn’t bother to care!” Tommy screamed, tears running down his face. “Owe up to it for once in your life.” 

“It’s Technoblade.” Phil choked out. He swore, Tommy almost lunged for his neck to choke him. In that moment he looked so much like his dad. He was so angry. He’d never seen Tommy this angry before, not even on doomsday. Phil would’ve let him strangle him, he’d deserve it. But Tommy didn’t. He slammed his fist into the wall.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He yelled. It was so loud and Phil could hear his voice almost giving out. “He was right here! This whole fucking time! What the fuck is wrong with both of you? You had months, months to tell me!” He screamed, his voice quavering. “You’re both full of shit!” He screamed, turning around and storming out. The door slammed and Phil flinched, hearing the pictures on the wall rattle. He didn’t think it would go this badly. Granted he didn’t know how it would go when he said it. Phil sighed and put his head in his hands. He fucked up. He was gonna regret this.

Techno regretted going into that prison. By the time he got out thanks to the stasis chamber and an ender pearl. He felt himself teleport and stumbled as he found himself in the syndicate’s meeting room. He felt someone grab him and he flinched away.

“Calm down mate, it’s alright, it’s me,” Phil’s voice said softly. Techno looked around confusedly, breathing quickly and seeing it was in fact the syndicate room, not Pandora’s Vault. Phil pulled him along and had him sit down at one of the chairs. “You alright?” Phil asked, stepping back and looking at Techno. He looked like shit. He was thinner, he was pale and shaky. He looked like he didn’t know which way was up. “What the fuck happened in there mate?” 

“It sucked. The syndicate has a responsibility to take it down, it’s as corrupt as anything could be.” Techno sighed.

“I can see that mate.”

“They don’t really feed you in there… Tommy was in there wasn’t he?” Techno asked. Phil paled.

“Yeah… he was.” Phil said, sighing. “Listen I…I have to tell you something Techno. It’s about Tommy.” 

“Is he okay? Did something happen to him?” Technoblade asked immediately, looking terrified.

“No, no he’s fine. I fucked up though mate. I’m sorry, I told him. I didn’t know whether things would go as planned or not, he deserved to know while you were still alive.” Phil said quickly, not looking at Techno. He heard the other sigh.

“….I suppose we owed it to him. Better sooner than later.” Techno sighed, shaking his head. “How’d he take it?” He asked, looking at Phil and leaning back in the chair with a groan.

“Bad. He was….angry. Angry we didn’t say anything earlier. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so pissed.” Phil replied, sitting on the table. He left out just how much like his father he had looked for that moment. Tommy looked like his mother but he certainly had some of his father in him. Techno’s face had fallen more. Phil hadn’t seen Techno cry in ages, but he looked close. Tears in his eyes that he was too proud to let fall. Techno shook his head as if it would shoo them away and stood.

“He’s not wrong to be angry.” Techno said softly. Phil nodded and walked with him up the staircase to the igloo concealing the entrance. “I was going to tell him. Why didn’t I? I should’ve told him. Things were good. He deserved to have my honesty,” Techno muttered under his breath. Phil opened his mouth to respond before closing it. He had a feeling Techno’s words weren’t for him. 

They arrived to their conjoined cabins in silence, and Techno told Phil that they would convene the syndicate later on, and that he was tired. Phil knew it was a lie but he didn’t push, he knew Techno would appreciate him leaving him be more than he would prying. Techno spent a few days in his cabin alone, trying very hard not to be angry with Phil. But who was left if not Phil? He couldn’t be angry at Tommy. Tommy was in the right. Theseus had every right to be pissed, to want nothing to do with him. So the only person left to blame was Technoblade. He spend hours muttering to himself, talking back and forth with chat. Chat seemed to be divided. Half believed it was the better thing to do, to keep it secret, the other said that he should’ve told Tommy ages ago. They weren’t wrong. He had a chance. In Pogtopia he had a chance. Before doomsday, before the community house he had a chance. Tommy had been through hell and back, and Technoblade could’ve prevented it, but he didn’t. His own son died because he had stayed silent. Techno slammed his fist into the wall before letting out a soul shattering scream of frustration. How could he have been so stupid?

Tommy stood outside the houses, staring between the turtle shell helmet in his hands and the cozy inviting cabin he’d once called home. At one point it had been entirely alone, nothing but Carl in his stable outside but now it was busy. The house stood facing Phil’s own cabin, a small pond below the bridges connecting them, beacons shining nearby, Ranboo’s house not so far, a large herd of cows in a pen, polar bears inside and outside the house, a dog kennel and several dogs lounging in and out of it. It was nothing like the desolate and lonely house Tommy had last seen it as. He took a breath and shook his head. Clearly Technoblade was fine. He had Ranboo, Phil, his animals. He wouldn’t be alone. It was a bittersweet thought. On one hand he didn’t want Technoblade to be left entirely alone. He was angry but…Techno had been kind to him. Given him gifts, a home, hidden him. But on the other hand…it felt like Tommy was being abandoned, replaced. Ranboo had taken his spot as Tubbo’s best friend. Hell they were married and raising a child. Now Ranboo was living happily alongside Technoblade and Phil. Tommy wasn’t a fan of the pattern he was seeing. But unfortunately Ranboo was disgustingly pleasant. He considered turning back, maybe even just tossing the shell onto the porch by the door and making a run for it before anybody saw him, but in his moment of hesitation the decision was made for him. Techno closed the door behind him and turned, freezing, bow slung over his shoulder.

“…you weren’t supposed to see me here.” Tommy said hesitantly when he realized Techno wouldn’t say anything first.

“Your helmet,” Techno said, pointing at the turtle shell clenched in Tommy’s hands. 

“Yeah. I was going to return it to you.” Tommy said, shrugging awkwardly.

“…why?”

“You know why. Don’t act stupid.” Tommy said glaring at Techno. “You can’t expect me to not be upset after finding out you abandoned me and lied to me my whole life. I know you’re not good with people but you can’t be that stupid.”

“I’m sorry, I know, I was just… you should keep the helmet Theseus-“

“Don’t call me that. Don’t use that stupid fucking nickname!” Tommy yelled.

“…I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t make up for it, but I promise you I didn’t want it to go the way it did.” Techno said, sighing.

“You’d take it back? Fat load of good that does now.”

“No. I’d do the same. Not this part. Not keeping it a secret.”

“Thanks. Makes me feel so much better to know you still don’t want me.” Tommy said sarcastically. 

“What? Of course I wanted you.” Techno said, frowning and walking down the steps to stand in front of Tommy.

“Then why did you get rid of me so easily? Why didn’t you want me to know you?” Tommy asked, rage boiling in his chest.

“Giving you to someone else was the hardest thing I ever did. I spent a year as your dad, your first word was papa, you were my heart and soul.” Techno said softly. “I had to give you to someone else. I had to give you a better home Tommy.”

“Why couldn’t you have kept me?” Tommy asked, the venomous tone in his voice dying down slightly.

“Come, I’ll tell you everything. It’s too cold out here and you don’t have a coat,” Techno said, walking back up the stairs. Tommy was going to refuse, but his legs moved automatically, and he followed Techno inside. Techno gestured for him to sit at the table and filled the kettle with water, setting it on the wood stove and pulling out cups. “Usual?” Techno asked, looking over his shoulder. Tommy nodded and watched Techno pull out the sugar and milk. The tea was done quickly and Techno set Tommy’s cup in front of him, sitting across the table from him. “How much do you want to know?” Techno asked after taking a breath. 

“Everything. I want you to be honest with me.” Tommy replied curtly.

“Alright. I suppose I should start with your name. Theseus is your actual name, Tommy was a nickname. Your mom called you Tommy, so it stuck.” Techno admitted.

“It…wasn’t just a stupid nickname?”

“No.”

“You have terrible taste in names big man.” Tommy said, a hint of a smile on his face.

“Yeah, you may be right on that,” Techno replied, laughing. 

“My mother…what happened?” Tommy asked.

“She died a few hours after you were born. There were some issues, we knew she wasn’t gonna make it weeks before, so she decided that she would just hold you until she went. And she did just that.” Techno sighed. Tommy couldn’t figure out the look on Techno’s face. He seemed to be both sad and happy at the same time. It was odd, he hadn’t seen Techno look like this before. 

“Did you love her?”

“Absolutely. The only person I ever loved more is you.” Techno replied easily. “We didn’t get married, but it didn’t matter much to us.”

“What was she like?” 

“She was…like you actually. Everything I could only hope to become. She was kind, happy, she was always smiling. She saw the good in everything and everyone, and she stood up for what she believed in regardless of the cost. You look just like her, you have her hair and her eyes. You’re more her than me, that’s a good thing.” Techno said, smiling fondly on the memories of her. He saw so much of her in Tommy and he was unbelievably grateful for it.

“So…why did you give me up then? If you were so happy to have me or whatever?” Tommy asked, not looking at Techno. He heard him sigh deeply and almost retracted the question but decided not to. He had a right to know.

“You know about chat? The voices I hear?” Tommy nodded in response. “Well… sometimes chat is too hard for me to handle. Sometimes they take over. Sometimes they win. And one night they almost did.” Techno reached out and held Tommy’s jaw loosely, thumb running over the scar there. “They almost won and I almost lost you. You deserved a dad who didn’t try to kill you. You deserved a stable family, I didn’t want you to grow up not feeling safe cause I couldn’t control myself. So I gave you to Phil.” Techno pulled away and sighed, leaning back in his seat.

“Did you ever wish you hadn’t?” 

“That’s…hard. I wish I didn’t have to. I wish it wasn’t what had been best at that time. I wish I hadn’t needed to do it, but I don’t regret it. I would’ve loved to have been your father for as long as I lived. But I wasn’t about to risk your life for my happiness.” Techno explained.

Tommy had wanted to stay angry. Some pet of him still was, deep down. He still wanted to hit and scream and throw a tantrum, but the other part, the larger, more rational part, the part of him that had been through everything including death and war, felt the anger wash away. He hadn’t been abandoned. He was wanted. He was loved. He was cared for. It had been out of necessity, not because Techno just didn’t want him. Tommy couldn’t remember the scar, or getting it. Some part of him was scared but he remembered doomsday. Techno had a clear chance to kill him. To end it there. But he didn’t. He knew Techno wouldn’t hurt him, even if he was pissed. 

“…I died.” Tommy said quietly. He heard Techno draw in a sharp breath.

“I know.”

“Did…did you care?”

“It destroyed me. I almost killed Philza. There’s a grave site on a mountain a few hours from here. I carved the headstone and planted the flowers. I cared.” Techno said quietly. Tommy let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and with it came a river of tears. Sixteen years of anger, frustration, misery, loneliness, isolation, all of it, came rushing out as he nearly choked on his sobs. He wiped at his eyes quickly, trying to stop himself but he couldn’t. He kept sobbing and the tears kept coming. He felt arms wrap around him and let them pull him onto the ground. He leaned into someone, sitting on their lap. It took a few moments for him to realize it was Techno.

Tommy turned and buried his face into his shoulder, sobbing freely into it, soaking Techno’s shirt with tears. He felt Techno gently rubbing his back and quietly mumbling as he kept crying, encouraging him to let it out. It felt like forever before he stopped, head pounding, eyes burning and exhausted. He drew in a deep shaky breath, sitting up again and laughing pitifully.

“This is your fault,” he said lightly, not actually angry.

“I’ll try to stop messing up,” Techno replied, laughing and smiling. He gently brushed the hair in Tommy’s eyes behind his ear and smiled at him. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you. I was going to but I just…didn’t.” Techno added, sighing.

“It’s okay…well it’s not but… I forgive you,” Tommy said. He paused for a moment. “I wouldn’t mind if later you were my dad again,” he added tentatively. Techno’s face lit up.

“You mean it?” He asked.

“Yeah…we can try again.” Tommy said, nodding.

“I’ll do better,” Techno said sincerely. He paused and thought. “Can I call you Theseus?” He added.

“Yeah…I’m okay with that. Only you though. It’s a dumb name,” Tommy replied, smiling. Techno laughed and nodded.

“Fair enough. Thank you for giving me another chance kid,” Techno said softly, holding Tommy close to his chest.

“Thank you for wanting to give it a shot,” Tommy answered, letting himself lean into Techno and relax for what felt like the first time in ages. It felt like home.

https://www.archiveofourown.org/works/32077654

[pandoras-princess]

Next Best Thing (Tommy Shelby x fem!reader, John Shelby x fem!reader)

*gif not mine//credit to the owner

A/N: Woop wooop! Helloooo my lovely peoples!! 🌸 yes I am wayyy overly excited because this part just came out so effortlessly so I am hyper af 💃💃 I am very happy to welcome you to part three, and while it may seem a little lacklustre, it’s the lead up to the final part which will be show stopping material and I hope you’ll agree 🤗 you have all been so nice and absolutely amazing about this fic and I appreciate it so much I can’t wait to bring you part four 🥰🥰🥰 but let me shut up and get to it. Happy Reading Peoples! 🥳🥳 as ever I appreciate every like, reblog and follow, feedback is always welcome 😌

P.S: Y/N/N = your nickname

Summary: Fantasies are shattered and dreams come true as Y/N navigates her way through this messy love triangle...

Pairing: (OOC) Tommy Shelby x fem!reader, John Shelby x fem!reader

Warnings: Violence, swearing, blood, alcohol

PART ONE PART TWO PART FOUR

━◦ ♡ ◦━◦ ♡ ◦━◦━◦ ♡ ◦━◦ ♡ ◦━

“What can I get ya?” You shout to the burly man on the other side of the bar.

“Two whiskeys and a pint of beer love!”

The buzz of the crowd continues to drown out your voice, which not only made your job unnecessarily hard, but also provided a little tune for the tiny men occupying your skull to hammer away to, so it turns out.

Little hairs lining your throat were long since singed and a dull ache seeps through the bones in your feet as you set about preparing the next round of drinks.

Quickly scanning the area to your left, a smile spreads across your face when you land on the pair of ice blue eyes you were after, his cheeky wink inspiring a new burst of energy in your overworked muscles.

That smile drops as quickly as it spreads; the once friendly and loving gaze of your best friend now replaced with a cold glare.

In the weeks that had followed your last encounter John hadn’t been near or by the house, and every time you had a shift at the Garrison he was conveniently held up elsewhere. It was the longest you’d ever gone without speaking to him and it was safe to say you couldn’t take much more.

One of these days you’d have your old Johnny back, you thought.

One of these days...

“Where’ve all the glasses gone?”

“Out there.”

Harry’s thumb jerks in the direction of the ever growing crowd, earning an all too familiar groan in response.

‘Get a job you said... it’ll be fun you said... it’s just pulling pints!’

You disappear into the sea of people grumbling to yourself, only managing to grab four empty pints before you begin to carve a route back. Your struggle - along with your mood - was only to be made worse as you near two men in the midst of an argument, the stench of beer and stale cigarettes rudely invading your senses.

“Excuse me!”

“What yerr shaying about me wife” the large man slurs, entirely oblivious to your presence behind him.

“Excuse me!”

Nothing.

“Excuse m-”

You watch, frozen in horror, as his fist connects with the second man’s jaw, sending the large brute hurtling into you.

Crashing to the ground, a pained scream tears from your throat.

Tommy - who was engrossed in a conversation with his two brothers - hadn’t witnessed you get hurt, but he definitely heard it.

He shoves his way through the crowd until he is met with your body hunched over, quietly whimpering as you attempt to dislodge shards of glass from your right palm. His eyes follow the steady stream of blood trickling down your arm and any facade he held about your relationship quickly fades away.

“You’ve hurt my girl.”

He rounds on the man responsible, nostrils flaring and lips snarling as he reaches for the deadly cap atop his head.

Despite being a good foot taller, the stranger shrinks away, vigorously shaking his head as he rushes to apologise.

“I’m so-sorry Tom real sorry. It- it was an accident I didn’t know she was y-yours ho-honest!”

“I suggest you leave.” Tommy spits out. “That goes for everyone. Leave, now!”

The once jolly punters trip over themselves to squeeze through the narrow doors. Within a matter of minutes the pub is empty and Tommy is crouched at your side inspecting the cuts.

John remains in his seat, jaw set and knuckles white, as Tommy scoops you up and disappears into the office.

He carefully lowers you onto the desk; a warm kiss lingering on your forehead as he’s tending to your injuries.

“You’re okay Princess” he mumbles wrapping a bandage around your hand. Whether he was reassuring you or himself you weren’t quite sure. But thoughts of any kind are banished from your mind as he draws you into a kiss.

His lips are chapped and salty as they move against yours. It was slow and it was sweet. It was the kind of kiss that called every hair to attention; the kind of kiss that replays in your mind as you drift to sleep.

Without warning Tommy is ripped away from you, an involuntary yelp slipping out at the sudden loss of contact. Brain scrambling to make sense of it all you soon zone in on John’s forearm tight against Tommy’s throat pinning him to the wall.

“You bastard! I warned you- I warned you to stay away from her! She’s not one of your little whores you can pick up and fuck off when you get bored. I fucking told you to stay away!”

“What do you mean, you warned him?”

The quietness that followed easily could’ve been passed off as nobody hearing your question. And it probably would’ve been, if you hadn’t seen the slight drop of John’s head.

It was physically impossible for him to ignore you; it always had been.

Tommy took this opportunity to push his younger brother away and the two men stood glaring daggers at each other, embroiled in an argument only they were privy to.

“Tommy, what’s he talking about?!” You ask your boyfriend, who was now unable to meet your eye.

Once again your question is met with silence.

“Will somebody bloody answer me!”

Your small hands ball into fists at your sides as you look between them.

John’s face softens when he finally looks at you, the confusion that passes over your delicate features serving to break his heart further.

The guilt that flashes in his eyes as he threads a hand through his hair adds to your impatience. “Well get on with it then!”

“He knew, Y/N/N, that you liked him. He knew because he read your diary. He already knew and he had it all planned out in his little fucking mind the minute you asked him for the job. Why’d ye think he said yes? I told him-” an accusatory finger points at Tom standing a few feet away “-you weren’t to be played with, and now look!”

You fail to register John lunging at Tom. You fail to register the scuffle that ensues as a result. You fail to register Polly screaming at the top of her lungs to separate the brawling idiots.

Piece by piece, memory by memory, your new found utopia crumbles between your fingers and you stand, completely oblivious to your surroundings, as everything clicks into place.

“You knew?” You whisper, inching towards Tommy.

He watches you shift from confusion to anger to disgust as the revelation sinks in, shredding through the trust he’d so effortlessly built. And he was utterly powerless to stop it.

“The whole time... you knew? When you came to me and- and asked me to... you knew?!”

His mouth opens, but the words escape him.

With a final shake of your head, your trembling figure retreats from the office; the following slam of the double doors eliciting a flinch from everyone.

The parilysis subsides, and he jams his finger into John’s chest. “You have no fucking idea.”

“Y/N wait.”

Your feet cry out and your muscles scream in protest as you storm down the cobbled road, Tommy hot on your heels. But with the searing pain in your hand creeping up your wrist, you push on, desperate to escape any person with Shelby as their last name.

“Y/N please I can explain!”

“You can explain? You can explain?!” Shrieking you finally give in to the blind rage that threatens to consume you.

“You can explain what exactly Thomas? You can explain how you violated every ounce of trust we’ve ever had? You can explain how you thought it’d be a good old laugh to have me convince the man I was hopelessly in love with to marry someone else?! You can explain how the past 7 months - everything between us - was one big lie! You don’t need to explain anything Tom, honest. It all seems pretty fucking clear to me.”

Tommy watches your hands wave and point and clap and throw themselves in the air as the anger pours out of your every word. See, it was a tough one for him really. On the one hand, he’d really fucked up and the least he could do was pay attention to the scolding he was rightfully due. On the other, you were so god-damned irresistible when you were angry it was driving him mad.

“God Tommy! I thought you were different! I actually thought you were fucking different. I thought you loved me, not as a lie, not out of fear, but honest true love. And that’s the worst part, really Tom, it’s not that you pulled the wool over my eyes, no no, it’s that I fooled myself into thinking this was actually real! I should’ve known I was just another pawn in your stupid game.”

Whirling around, you resume your getaway.

“If this was all a game, why would I have this?”

When your body slowly turns back to face him, Tommy knows the argument is done.

“What are you...” your voice trails off as you find Tom on one knee in the middle of the deserted street.

He held a little black box, and in that little black box sat a gold ring set with a diamond so flawless it remained sparkling under the gloomy skies of Small Heath, and a sapphire so blue you’d get lost at sea if you dared to stare too long.

“I do love you Y/N, have done for a while. Not as a game, not until I get bored, just honest true love.”

Tommy moves to stand in front of you, stopping inches from the tip of your nose. He takes your left hand and slides the ring onto your fourth finger with ease, pausing to admire the look of the gold metal against your smooth skin.

“I had to ask you to convince John or you’d still be in love with him today, wasting away oblivious to how much you’re really worth. Yes I had a plan when this started, but I could never have planned falling in love with you-”

Chapped lips graze over your knuckles, kissing each one softly.

“-I could never have planned the amount of time I spend thinking about you in your absence-”

His lips brush over your wrist, leaving pecks along the length your arm.

“-and I could never plan the desperate need to hold you in my arms, to see your smile and hear your laugh and cherish you, because you’re the only thing in this god foresaken world that can keep the storms at bay.”

His feather-light kisses trail over your shoulder and along the curve of your neck, stopping just above your lips in an undeclared challenge. You close the distance, hungrily drawing his bottom lip between your teeth as his fingers tug at your roots, deepening the kiss.

The intoxicating taste of sweet smoke and Irish whiskey sweeps over your tastebuds and you tangle your fingers in his soft brown tresses.

Reluctantly separating a few seconds later, you’re both left panting as you make up for the lack of air. His hands make themselves at home on your waist, whilst yours settle comfortably on his chest.

“You know... I never did say yes” you smirk, twisting the gold band around your finger.

“Mm it was implied.”

So caught up in the joys of young love were you and your fiancé, that you failed to notice the wooden doorway supporting John’s weight as he watched in the distance...

[dialovers-translations]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Para-Selene Vol.5 Sakamaki Laito [Track 4]

Original title: 信じられるもの

Source: Diabolik Lovers Para-Selene Vol. 5 Sakamaki Laito [CD not owned by me]

Audio: Here (37:53~53:32)

Seiyuu: Hirakawa Daisuke

Translator’s note: Laito talking about his true feelings for the MC is honestly A+ content. As much as his HDB route disturbs me and the whole ‘nfu~’ thing doesn’t do it for me either, I have to admit that Laito is probably the most complex and interesting character of the franchise. (Or at least in the top 3) because the plot of his CDs is always so good. I had high hopes for this one since the Para-Selene series is generally very good and thank god Rejet did not disappoint me. uwu 

Track 1 ll Track 2 ll Track 3 ll Track 4 ll Track 5

→  LIKE MY TRANSLATIONS? SUPPORT ME ON KO-FI!

Track 4: What I can Believe

*Rustle*

“Nn...Mmh...Where am I...?”

 You look around, asking if he recognizes the room.

“...Haah...It’s the guest room. At a certain castle in the Demon World.”

You tilt your head to the side.

“Right, I guess you don’t know. The words you spoke to me here...What I wished for... ーー And how I was changed forever.”

*Rustle*

“You can’t recall, you can? Even though this most definitely would count as an impactful memory. I guess my existence is only worth that much to you, huh? ...Just kidding. I suppose I’m in no position to say that as the guy who was just messing around up till now. First I was pushed around by your memories, and now my own memories are doing the exact same. Laughable, isn’t it? I feel like a clown.”

You frown.

“Say...The Paraselene Syndrome can be...cured, right?”

You ask him what the Syndrome is specifically about.

“A disease caused by the Paraselene also going by the name ‘Paraselene Syndrome’. It’s the name of the illness you’ve been infected with. As far as I know, those infected lose their memories during the time the paraselene is out. These lost memories turn into hallucinations, affecting anyone who happens to be near, locking them into an illusionary world. Therefore, the illusions will end once the person regains their memories. However...I forgot one important detail. What if...they don’t remember? 

Laito takes a seat on the bed.

*Thud*

“Haah...Nobody ever told me that is impossible. You might forget about our time spent together forever. As we are stuck reinacting past memories for eternity. Hilarious. I was out here getting sidetracked by the pleasure in front of my eyes, without realizing just how dangerous this situation we’re in really is. Even though that isn’t the kind of fun I’m looking for.”

You sit down next to him.

“Fufu...What’s gotten into you? Taking a seat next to me like that. Are you feeling pity towards me, perhaps?”

You express your worry.

“Pfft...Fufu...Fufufu...I can’t understand that. Why would you be worried about me? To your current self, shouldn’t I be someone you’d wish to avoid at all costs? Because unlike you, I do remember everything. How much you disliked me when we first met, for example. Hmph. Yet, in the end, you found yourself caught in my grip as I slowly but surely worked my way into your heart. (1) ...Hilarious, don’t you think? It truly is laughable. ...At one point, you’d even start saying you ‘love’ me and I tooーー ...I finally realized that I felt the same towards you.”

You listen carefully.

“But the person I love isn’t the one you are right now...It has to be my Bitch-chan...”

You tell him you’ll try your best to remember.

“Hmm? Are memories really something you regain through effort alone? Although if you claim you’re willing to remember for my sake...”

*Rustle*

“...You’d still cooperate with me, even if I were to try and kill you, right?”

Your eyes widen in fear as he pins you down.

*Thud*

“...An intense experience. Those can become the trigger to regaining your memories. Do you know what that means? That your memories are more likely to come back, if I treat you horribly. Can you truly entrust yourself to me, when you’re looking at me with eyes full of fear like that?”

You nod.

“...!! Ah...Why...? That’s pure hypocricy. You’re simply pitying me.”

*Rustle*

“...Don’t get too full of yourself. You don’t even have memories, so how dare you say that!? Right now, you’re just pretending to be a Saint! The moment your life is in true danger, those sweet words will most definitely turn ugly and rotten.”

*Rustle*

“You’ve got such a pretty neck. I’d probably have no trouble squeezing it shut. Like this...”

Laito starts strangling you.

“...You poor little thing~ Gasping for air~ Is it suffocating?”

*Rustle rustle*

“Fufu...Fufufu...I don’t intend to kill you or anything. I’m only waiting for you to reveal your shameful true nature. Aaah~ You seem to be suffering.”

*Rustle*

“Woah there...~ That was close. You can’t faint on me now, can you? ...Fufu~”

You take a deep breath.

“Exactly...You should use this opportunity to take in as much air as you can. Because soon enough...You won’t be able to breathe again once more.”

Laito kisses you deeply.

*Smooch*

“Ahn...Mmh...”

*Smooch*

“...Fufu~ The inside of your mouth is completely dry. Should I moisten it up with your blood? It feels good to get sucked from your tongue, you know? Haahn...”

He bites your tongue.

*Sluuuuurp*

“Mmh...Hah...! Haah...Ah...It tastes delicious, mixed in with your saliva. Aahn...”

*Gulp*

“Mmh...”

*Gulp gulp*

“...Hah...Say...? Don’t you think it feels great to have me suck your blood while you’re struggling to breathe? With your consciousness growing faint, doesn’t it feel like the pleasure is slowly travelling through your entire body?”

*Rustle*

“Look at you slouching...~ You’re not throwing in the towel already,are you? I mean...You were going to regain your memories because you just felt so bad for me, no? In that case, you have to go all the way. ...Or do you want to run away after all?”

You shake your head.

“...I wonder why you’re this stubborn. I don’t exist within your memories. And your body is shaking like a leaf. I can’t imagine you would do this out of any other reason but hypocricy. ...Or were you simply left unsatisfied by this? In that case, savor it with all your might. The pleasure I give you, that is. Well then...I suppose I should suck from your chest next...~?”

*RIIIIIIP*

“Ah-aaah...Look at that expression of yours. How shameless. ...Say, why don’t you try fighting back like before? Come on. Hurry!”

You refuse.　

“Kuh...! Why...are you trying to accept me? Not a single one of your memories have returned, so why are you pretending as if you know me!?”

You explain that his situation hurts you emotionally. 

“Why are you experiencing heartache over this? There’s no reason for you to be suffering...The one who is hurting...is me! ...Exactly. It hurts. Very much so...I want you to love me from the bottom of your heart...”

You suddenly embrace him.

*Rustle*

“...Ah! ...Bitch-chan...? Are you sure it’s safe to do this...? You can’t guarantee what I’ll do when you embrace me like this, right?”

You tell him you want to trust him and learn to love him once more.

“...!! Those are...some very dangerous words to speak right now. (2) ...You’re going to make me believe that you will accept me for who I am, with or without your memories. Say...Can I believe in you? Will you truly...love me?”

You nod.

“Ah...I feel the same.”

He returns the hug.

*Rustle*

“Bitch-chan...You truly are a strange girl. You are probably the only one...who can rouse my emotions this much.”

*Smooch*

“...Does your neck hurt? ...I’m sorry. I grabbed it too tightly. Will you let me make it up to you...? I’ll blow your mind with pleasure...Haahn...Mmh...”

Laito bites you once more.

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“...Ah~...”

*Sluuuuurp*

“Starting to feel better? I’m sucking you gently after all. ...Nfu~ You’re making a cute expression. ...You like it when I drink your blood from here, don’t you? Mmh...”

*Rustle*

*Gulp*

“Ah...Nfu~ I knew it. I can tell just how good it feels for you from the slightest twitch of your fingers, you see? That proves just how many times we’ve repeated his action. Mmh...”

*Gulp gulp gulp*

“Bitch-chan...Hold my hand...”

You hold his hand.

“I’ll pour my heart and soul into you. So...Give me your feelings too?”

You agree.

“Mmh...Thank you...”

*Gulp gulp gulp*

*BZZZZZZZZZZZ*

*WOOSH*

ーー TO BE CONTINUED ーー 

Translation notes

(1) Literally he says that she slowly had her heart melted by him.

(2) Laito uses the term 殺し文句 or ‘koroshi-monku’ which is a ‘clincher’ or a ‘pick-up line’ in English.

[outerbanx-4]

Dang Kooks

Prompt;; JJ and you had been friends since you could remember. While JJ being on the more “kook bad pogue good people” you tended to, while understanding where he came from, were a little more lenient. Until the day you ran into Rafe Cameron.

WARNINGS ;; Violence, angst, swearing, sexual content(no actual smut), fluuf(slight)

`this is my first time writing anything, so it will most likely be TRASH.

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

The air was muggy on the cut today, pretty much clinging to your body the whole time you were walking back from John Bs chateau. You couldn't believe how hot it has been recently and were praying that it would cool off, even just for a day. The walk from the chateau to your house was a fairly quick one, passing by familiar landmarks with the dirt road underfoot. You surprised yourself a little when you decided to choose a different route home. 

Deep in thought about what you and your fellow crew were going to do later in life you had wandered a bit further away from your house then you had noticed. You were known to space out, “lost in the twilight zone” as JJ called it, from time to time especially while walking home.  Coming up to an older playground where the swings were broken and the latter to the slide was missing rungs here and there you decided to sit and think.

Without realizing almost an hour has passed, looking at your phone and the screen lighting up to tell you that it indeed was 5pm and you told your parents you'd be home by 430p to help set up for dinner, you got up and made your way towards the road and back to your house. While on your way you took note of the broken tree branches, and just the general unkempt state of the lawns you passed by. While unkempt isn't really unusual for this part of the cut, the storm that had recently brandished its way through the island seemed to only make it much worse. Sighing you kicked some rocks as you walked. 

“Now should someone as pretty as you really be walking by herself?” you heard a voice call out from behind you making you jump in surprise and go to retort about how you are indeed and big girl and can handle yourself the gravelly voice continues his words “especially with how some of you pogues act. Never know who you're going to run into” 

Rolling your eyes you turn around and groan inwardly as you see the one and only Rafe Cameron. Everybody knew him. He was the worst of the worst. With the second worse being Topper of course. Sanding there in his stupid khaki cargo shorts and expensive pink polo he eyed you up and down in a way that made your skin crawl just by standing in his presence. “What are you doing here Rafe? I thought you hated this side of the island?” the contempt and hatred flowing through your syllables easily. 

“Oh I thought what a beautiful day it was and thought to myself.. Hmmmm where can i go find some cheap pussy?” he wiggled his eyebrows at you in a suggestive manner. Looking closer in his face because even though you know rafe cameron is a horrible person you even couldn't believe he would be this horrible and nasty. Low and behold you noticed that his pupils were dilated almost to the point of his entire eye being an ominous jet black shade. 

“You’re gross Rofe Cameron, why dont you go find some stupid touron or kook to take advantage of?” you asked as you turned back around and started to walk away. By now you had managed to make it closer to your house. Breathing a slow sigh of relief you hoped you would be able to make it home without any more issues. 

Suddenly you felt a hand grab your wrist and yank you backwards, and as your body unwillingly followed the momentum of the pull and your head whipped around to see who it was that happened to be touching you you noticed; you didn't know if you noticed because you were now scared or because of something else, something e;se you had started to notice had been happening recently. You where right in front of your best friends house, and while he was generally not at home and at the chateau you hoped and prayed and sent everything you could that he was home, because it was Rafe who had grabbed you and pulled you into his chest. One of his arms securing you, unwantedly, up against his body making you let out a groan.

“Rafe seriously let me go!” you all but yelled, purposely talking louder in hopes someone would hear you. Your best friend, the neighbors, your parents, heck even your best friends horrible father! Just anyone that would come and pry this ass off of you. Instead of letting go he pulled you in tighter. Chuckling he spoke quietly into your ear “Shhhhh now baby you know you're enjoying this.” and with that he grabbed at your ass and latched his mouth onto your neck. At this point you were helplessly flailing your arms in any hopes that one of the many hits your arms did would make him release you.  At one point he let his teeth sink into your neck which caused you to let out a squeal that you couldn't contain and made him grunt in approval.

Suddenly Rafes entire body pressure was off of you and not pushing up against you and within not eve none second the muffled thudding of someone's fist flying into Rafes cheek bone was evident. Stumbling but catching your step you saw the tall silhouette of your best friend, JJ, standing in front of Rafe, his toned arm rippling with each punch he threw, you could see that blood started to pour as each time his fist drew back his knuckles where coated.

“JJ! JJ! Stop please, hes down im safe!” You cried and you ran up to him and grabbed onto his arm as he raised it. Knowing how JJ got in these you knew you had to something more as he threw another punch ripping through your mesly grasp. “J come on please stop!”

Thinking for a minute at how mad he would be if ke knew what you were about to do, hed scold and yell andbe mad but there was no one else here to hold him , to stop him. Pope went home to study, John B and Sarah were out doing god knows what and Kie’s parents where making her work all day. You had nothing else to do.

Watching as Rafe stumbled backwards stood up and he'd managed to get a good swing in and landing it right on JJs perfect peach mouth, and you saw his lip rip open an start to bleed, and his normally sparkling cerulean blue eyes seemed to be a dark and stormy grey color. His fist reached back again and about to step towards Rafe. This is when you make your move, running and standing in front of him grabbing his wrist again and yelling more worried this time.

“JJ please stop!” His eyes snapped to yours for a second, still stormy as they bore down into your eyes, they flicked back to Rafe and he tried to push forward again. You dug your feet into the ground and brought your other hand up to graze his cheek and pulled his face down again. The eclectic sparks shooting through your body surprised you a little as the radiated from each and every touchpoint that you had on his face. 

“Ya JJ listen to your girlfriend just stop” Rafe mocked your  voice as you held JJs face now in both hands as his fist started to lower slightly. The storm started to clear out of his eyes a little as he finally looked at you and slowly nodded. Stepping back he moved slowly out of your embrace and glared at Rafe. USing his voice for the first time, “Stay off the cut you damn kook, no one wants you here.” 

Turning away you both followed him, that is until all of a sudden Rafe  spoke up and said the one thing he never should have, “Yeah ok Maybank but make sure you keep your girlfriend in line, stop letting her dress like a fucking skank.”

You knew it was over and JJ just turned and smashed Rafe a hard one to the jaw and Rafe fell to the ground blood gushing from his nose as his eyes rolled back. JJ just grabbed your hand and walked you towards his house. “Y/N you ok? Did he hurt you?”

Shaking your head you relished the feeling of his rough hands in yours, he stopped in front of his house and lightly cupped your cheek and gazed into your eyes. His eyes seeming to be released of the storm, he leaned down and pressed his lips firmly to yours. Releasing your lips fro his but keeping his forehead on yours he goes “I promise i will always be here for you to protect you. I love you babe “

  Smiling and pressing your lips against his again you mumbled “i love you too JJ”

He pulled away and started leading you to your house. 

“Dang kooks.”

~~~~~~~~~

ok i know its terrible im sorry but it just fell into my head

[dammitlogan]

Babe | Kageyama Tobio x Reader

wc: 2k

Another day, another game. That was your motto at this point of the volleyball season. Days seemed to be a never-ending loop of volleyball, be it practice or a game. Not that you minded; you loved it actually. Even though you were only a manager for the Karasuno boys’ volleyball team, you looked forward to each day. Even on days like this: the days you arrive at the school at six in the morning on a Saturday to catch the bus to a tournament.

It was rough, but it was definitely worth it.

Yawning, you lean into Hinata’s side as you wait for the rest of the team to file into the bus. He blinks tiredly and chuckles. “Do I make a good pillow, (Y/N)?” He teases through a yawn. You only hum in contentment, closing your eyes for a moment.

”Oi! You gonna take a nap in the parking lot or get on the bus, dumbasses,” Kageyama complains. You frown, peeking at him through one eye. He impatiently waits at the door of the bus, usual scowl in place. Groaning, you pull yourself off Hinata and stumble toward the bus.

”It’s too early for yelling, grumpy pants,” you mumble as you pass him to enter the bus, playfully pushing his shoulder. He grunts, and you are well aware he rolled his eyes before following after you. Plopping yourself in the only empty set of seats, Kageyama and Hinata pile in next to you. Kageyama’s shoulder presses into yours and he stiffens immediately. You can’t help but giggle at his obvious discomfort.

”Do you wanna switch seats with me, Kageyama?”

He stares at you for a moment with an unreadable expression. He looks oddly embarrassed. You’re too tired to even try to read into the hidden meanings of minuscule pieces in his expression, so his glare is all that is evident to you. However, you also barely notice a tinge of pink coloring his ears.

”No.”

”Are ya sureeeee?”

”Yes.”

”Are ya sure you’re sure?”

”Shut up already.”

”Fine,” you huff, leaning into his shoulder. “I’m gonna be using you as a pillow then. I don’t want to bump my head on the window.”

You shuffle into a more comfortable position, finding it the most comfortable borderline curled into Kageyama’s side. Closing your eyes, you expect a quick retort: a refusal of some sort or an insult. He would try to fight you regardless of knowing he would never win. However, he is quiet for a moment. You wait in the stiff silence, feeling his tensing shoulders beneath your cheek. You’re about to question his peculiar behavior, but you are stopped before you have the chance.

”Whatever.” He is clear the discussion is over.

As you doze off, he prays that you aren’t close enough to hear his racing heart.

*~*~*

Stretching your hands over your head, you blink in your surroundings. It felt good to stretch after being on a stuffy bus for so long. As everyone marches into the gymnasium with their stuff, you teasingly nudge Kageyama with your elbow.

“You’re a good pillow, you know that?”

He glares down at you for a moment, unable to think of a proper retort. Quickly, he looks away, as if he never saw you. You stare for a moment, confused by his lack of comebacks today. You hardly notice his, once again, pink ears. You fight off your own blush as you notice for the hundredth time that week just how pretty he is.

Shrugging off his weird mood and pounding heart, you look around the building you have entered instead. It was pretty big, larger than the Karasuno gymnasium even. The amount of teams and spectators already filing in only make it seem larger.

Behind you, Hinata watches at the interaction curiously, noticing the blushing and awkward composure. Though he wants to shrug it off, something urges him to get a second opinion. Grabbing Tanaka by his jacket sleeve, he motions for the upperclassman to come closer. Once they were a safe distance from the group, Hinata quickly glances around as if Kageyama would appear suddenly. Squinting thoughtfully, he lifts a hand to shield his mouth. “I think Kageyama has a crush,” he whispers carefully, gesturing to you and said boy with a nod of his head.

Tanaka grins wickedly. “Oh?”

They watch for a moment as you walk in a comfortable silence next to Kageyama. Slowly, moving almost robotically, he steals a glance at you before ripping his gaze elsewhere. The pink coloring of his ears only darkens. Hinata and Tanaka give each other a knowing look, giggling like two school girls. Suddenly, Tanaka becomes alarmingly serious. His stony face becomes similar to that of a soldier.

“You know what this means.”

”Huh?”

”We have to do something!”

Hinata nods excitedly, saluting to his “lieutenant”. Scheming, the players place their bags along the wall of the gymnasium. They, very conspicuously, observe you and Kageyama and question whether you like him or not. Most signs point to yes, but they couldn’t wrap their head as to why.

In the midst of their theorizing, Oikawa arrogantly approaches Kageyama. They seem to start arguing, which isn’t that surprising. Awkwardly, you slowly shift away from the pair. You attempt to look unbothered, but you were sure it was obvious you weren’t sure what to do. Soon enough, you wander to a spot by Hinata and Tanaka. You begin to strike conversation, but they ignore you for the sake of watching Kageyama.

”Ah, man. Looks like Kageyama is in trouble,” Tanaka mutters. You quirk a brow at him.

”I think he’ll be fine,” you laugh. He shakes his head firmly, closing his eyes and clenching his fist dramatically. Oikawa laughs and Kageyama’s cheeks flush.

“No. We have lost a soldier.”

”Kageyama will survive.”

”But if he gets all annoyed, he’ll be too distracted to play his best!” Hinata argues. You honestly doubt Kageyama would allow his feelings to get in the way of a match. Watching the scene, you had to admit you felt bad abandoning him. He angrily yells at his prior teacher.

”He’ll be fine,” you attempt to convince yourself. Though you tried to hold the uncertainty in your tone, enough slipped out to inform the boys that you were genuinely worried.

”I think you should go save him, (Y/N).” Hinata suggests. Tanaka nods in approval, firmly shoving you into their direction. You turn back to them, attempting to stay put as they fight against you.

”Why can’t you? Just say you need him for something if it bothers you that much!”

”Noooo, we can’t do that. We- uh... We gotta go get something off the bus actually, right, Hinata?”

”Yup! You should pretend to be his girlfriend! Then Oikawa will leave him alone.”

Your attempts to protest were silenced with a final shove and you stumbled forward. You glare over your shoulder at your motivators, who shiver in response but give you a thumbs up nonetheless. You quietly clear your throat and straighten your posture before approaching. Slinging an arm around Kageyama’s waist, you smile brightly at Oikawa. His teasing expression quickly shifts into one of surprise.

”Hi! I’m (Y/N). Nice to meet you,” you greet with the friendliest air you can manage. He blinks at your sudden appearance, before introducing himself back just as energetically. Turning to Kageyama, you mentally brace yourself. Hopefully, he’d be able to play along and not hate you afterwards. Quickly, press a gentle kiss to his cheek. A fiery red creeps up Kageyama’s neck and cheeks immediately. Oikawa tries to suppress a laugh. Gently, you grasp both his hands in yours. “Could you help me with something, babe?”

“B- Ba- You- Wh- Bab- B-,” he stumbles clumsily over his words as you pull him away and into the hallway outside of the gym. The second the doors close, you deflate entirely. Blood rushes to your face, and you allow yourself to fall to your knees tiredly. You can hear your heartbeat pulsating in your ears. Shoving your burning face into your hands, you cry out an apology.

“Oh my God! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. Oh my God, I can’t believe I did that. I’m sorry! I’m so sorry-“

”Babe?”

Removing your face from your hands, you stare up at Kageyama. His face seems even darker than before as he stares blankly down the hall. One hand gently cups the cheek you kissed.

”What?” You breathe squeakily.

Slowly, his gaze lowers to your sunken form. He mumbles something before coughing awkwardly. For some reason, the way he looks at you makes your heart skip a beat. His hand falls delicately from his cheek to hover over his chest, as if to calm his heart. “Did you- did you call me..,” he pauses as if he were a child about to swear, “babe?”

You stare at him blankly. Was this all just now processing for him? This moment alone had lasted far too long for you; at least several years. Why is that the only thing he’s questioning? In your opinion, there were plenty of questionable things you had achieved in the past two minutes. Cupping your cheeks in your hands, you groan at the ground before looking back up at him. Looking him in his infuriatingly gorgeous eyes only burned your face more.

”Yes. Yes, I did,” you mumble. Slowly, he sits down in front of you. He stares at you, obviously in deep thought. His eyebrows furrow, but not in his usual scowl. Your heart feels like it’s going to beat out of your chest as his eyes burn into you. You aren’t sure what to expect. Maybe a bit of yelling, being called an idiot (but with a look in his eyes that tell you that’s not what he really thinks), or getting hit over the head with a surprising gentleness... Like he has for all your previous stupid choices.

”....Why?” He finishes lamely. You can only look at him for a moment. What were you supposed to tell him? Hell, you weren’t even sure why you took the specific route you did. You easily could have pulled him away by telling him Hinata needed him or something. You open and close your mouth like a fish, desperately trying to grasp onto a hook that is a proper answer.

Then, it all pours out of your mouth in the form of word vomit. You tell him every single detail to the point it was unnecessary in one long exhale. Taking a breath, you once again hide your face. “So, yeah. It was their idea.”

”Oh...” He sounds almost disappointed with your answer. You hear him shuffle around as he rises from the floor, but refuse to look at him. This was all simply embarrassing. All you can do now is question why you were so awkward at all points in time.

Gently, a finger pokes your head once. When you don’t move, he pokes even softer a second time. When you finally look at him, he refuses to look you in the eye, but offers a hand to help you up. Gingerly, you take his hand. You try to distract yourself from how perfectly your palm fit into his.

He doesn’t let go of your hand when he reaches to open the gym doors before pausing. His fingers hover around the handle, shaking ever so slightly with poorly hidden anxiousness. Allowing his silky, raven hair to cover his face, he refuses to turn to you. He clears his throat to take away the growing silence, but also by himself a moment. “You don’t need to be sorry,” he says in such a quiet tone, you can just barely hear. Confused, you’re about to question him, but you’re stopped before you have the chance.

“I... I don’t mind it if you- If you call me... babe.”

Color blossoms across your face once more at his words. You are stricken into a wide-eyed silence. You couldn’t formulate a proper response. Temporarily paralyzed, you allow him to pull you into the gym. A love-struck grin gradually pulls its way onto your face.

His ears were red.

[sserpente]

A/N: Request from anon. I’ve been writing so much fluff lately, I hope you enjoy!

Words: 2029 Warnings: injury, fluff

Autumn truly was the most beautiful time of the year, your small cabin deep in the woods the best investment you had ever made. Every year, at this time, you came here to recharge and take a break from the exhausting and busy city life; living surrounded by red, yellow, orange and brown leaves both on the trees and on the ground made this the perfect and most breath-taking opportunity to do so, even if it was only for the weekends.

The day had started off quietly. An amazing breakfast, a cup of coffee and a good book. It was tranquil, idyllic… the land around you beautiful and peaceful—that was until you suddenly spotted a body lying on the ground not too far from your cabin. You gasped, an ice cold shiver running down your spine as you hurried to put on your jacket and then stormed outside in midst of the forest.

It was a he. A handsome, outrageously good looking he. Sharp cheekbones, a beautiful face… a thin but well-trained body… biting your lower lip, you touched him gently. Still warm. And there was a pulse. You breathed out relieved. He was alive then.

So why was he unconscious? Your eyes scanned his heavenly body, searching for any injuries. Once more you gasped. His dark blue shirt was drenched in blood. You had to help him. You knew what injuries like these could cause in the woods. He could be dead before dusk—if he didn’t bleed out, surely a wolf or another wild animal would claim him.

Taking another deep breath to gather your strength, you bent down to grab his upper arms and pull him inside.

He was heavy. Heavy enough your back hurt when you had finally managed to lift him on your sofa.

Carefully, you lifted up his shirt, your mouth watering despite all the blood. God, he truly was hot. You could see his abs heaving with every ragged breath he took.

But now you had to work quickly—and you were beyond grateful for that first aid crash course you had enrolled for a year ago. You knew what to do.

Fortunately, the wound wasn’t too deep, no stitches necessary. Thank God he was unconscious when you dipped some gauze into disinfecting alcohol solution from your first aid kit and began to treat him with a sigh.

-

James Conrad woke with a start, stinging pain rippling through his abdomen when he tried to sit up. The last thing he remembered was the bear that had caught him off guard. He had known how to react correctly but in surprise, he slipped on the moist leaves.

A sharp rock must have bored itself into his flesh, the blood loss and his head hitting the ground knocking him out.

He was lucky to still be alive. Where the hell was he, anyway?

The cosy room he was in was not a hospital, it much reminded him of a cabin instead. A fire was crackling in the background, a blanket draped over his form.

He turned his head when he heard silent footsteps on the carpet, laying his eyes upon a beautiful young woman. His rescuer, most likely.

“Hey… I found you in the woods, bleeding to death.” You explained shyly, smiling down at him in the process. It was an old tick, really—being all timid around men you found handsome and attractive.

The stranger in front of you swallowed. Once again, he attempted to sit up, this time succeeding after a pitiful grunt of pain.

“Where am I?” His voice was low, velvety and pleasant to the ear. A shiver ran down your spine.

“In my cabin, not far from where you passed out. I always come here on the weekends in autumn.”

“I presume you were the one who patched me up?”

You nodded, your gaze becoming thoughtful. “What happened to you?”

“I’m a tracker,” he growled, his face distorting upon another wave of pain. Quickly, you handed him the painkillers you had been sure he’d need. He took them and swallowed them without hesitation. “Two weeks ago, a thirteen year old girl disappeared in these woods while taking her dog for a walk. The police couldn’t find her and her parents are devastated.”

“Oh… I see… how did you get hurt?”

“A bear surprised me and I slipped. Simply an unlucky fall.”

You frowned. You knew there were bears in this region, of course. They usually didn’t mind the few humans passing by though. “Did the bear attack you?”

The stranger shook his head. “I’ve dealt with worse…”

Instantly, his thoughts appeared to drift away, somewhere you were unable to follow him.

“A-anyway, I’m (Y/N). You… feel free to stay for as long as you need to heal.”

“James Conrad, decommissioned British SAS officer.” He held out his hand and when you took it to shake it politely, his skin touching yours felt like your whole hand igniting. Your heart skipped a beat, even more so when his piercing blue eyes locked with yours and studied you for an intense moment. “Thank you for the offer but I’m not staying. I need to find that girl.”

“In this condition? You’ll get yourself killed! Not to mention the animals that will smell the blood on you.”

Conrad paused. You were right. It was indeed risky to return to the woods with his injury. But the girl’s safety was at risk too. He did not dare think she might be dead already. He had lost one innocent soul once and he would not let it happen again. He had to leave—and you could see the determination sparkling in his eyes.

“At least stay the night and recover. It’ll be dark soon.”

-

James, much to your surprise, obeyed. After the sun had disappeared, he took the freedom of helping you prepare supper despite his wound. The painkillers had worked wonders, yet you chided him for not staying on the sofa to rest.

You could tell, clearly, that he had indeed been through much worse. Surely, this marked man had uncountable stories to tell. So you didn’t object.

“Why do you spend your weekends in a cabin in the woods all on your own?” He asked all the while chopping vegetables on the counter next to you.

“Work life is busy. I’m a junior sales executive, the job gets rather exhausting after a while. I love what I’m doing, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes I need to… just breathe a little.”

Ever since he had told you about the girl who had gone missing, you were a little worried though. What if some cold-blooded murderers roamed these woods, in search of their next victim? What if they had abducted her and now kept her as some kind of sex slave underground?

All of a sudden, you were glad for James’s presence—you would be for as long as it lasted. Who knew? Perhaps in a few weeks’ time, you could meet again for a cup of coffee. Without one party having been severely injured and on the brink of death.

“James, uh… do you have any idea why this girl disappeared? Are there any theories?”

“You’re concerned.” He stated unfazed, without looking up from the chopped vegetables. Apparently, he was excellent at reading people too.

“A little… these woods… they’ve always been safe, you know. In fact, I’ve always felt much safer and more secure here than in the city.”

“That’s reasonable. Here, let me.” James stopped you when you attempted to lift the griddle off the fridge as you were too small to reach it yourself. Usually, you’d get a chair and climb on it.

“Thank you.” Watching his muscles flex for just a brief precious moment, you distracted yourself by pouring the potatoes you had cut into slices onto it and then seasoned them with some salt, pepper and rosemary. Along with the rice and the vegetables James had cut, this supper would be simple but amazing. You didn’t bring too much food with you on the weekends, after all.

“The police are groping in the dark. For all they know, Lucy was attacked by one of the bears or she, like myself, slipped somewhere, hit her head…” And in that case, she’s unlikely still alive, he added mutely. “Still, you can’t rule out the possibility she was indeed kidnapped. Her parents told me she took her dog for a walk at the same time of the day all week long, taking the same route. That would make her an easy target.”

You swallowed. “I see…”

“How long are you staying?” His expression was genuine. He cared.

“I’m leaving on Sunday evening but I’ll come back next weekend. It’ll be the last before it’s too cold anyway. The chimney is fine to heat the cabin with but it takes quite a while to get out here by foot.”

Though as of right now, you were unsure whether you should.

-

James and you chatted throughout the entire evening. You got to know him better, his motives, his thoughts, his morals. He had indeed seen terrible things, done terrible things, too. And he had been involved in the expedition to Skull Island, that uncharted piece of land still a mystery to the rest of the world. He would not utter a single word about it.

With every word he did speak though, you began falling for him a little more. How likely would that be? That you’d find an injured man all alone in the forest, treated his wounds and then took a serious liking into him?

“I haven’t properly thanked you yet.” He began when you returned from the bathroom wearing your sleep wear. The coffee this morning wasn’t nearly enough, all the excitement of potentially having saved a life today tearing on your energy. You were tired.

A smile spread on your lips, your heart speeding up. “You’re welcome, James. I was planning on watching a movie before bed. Would you like to join me?” Your TV truly was the only luxury in this cabin. Acquiring the electricity for it had been tricky but you were proud of the outcome.

“What kind of movie?”

“Well… Halloween is coming up. How about something spooky?” And the background noises of the TV would make you fall asleep easier. You didn’t tell him that, of course.

If anything, James Conrad was restrained, surrounded by a hard, impenetrable shell. He was warming up to you, slowly but surely and with that, melted your own timidity.

You picked a movie from the stash you had brought on your first weekend, with James disappearing in the kitchen to prepare some tea for you two. It was a simple gesture, one he could not help. It had been a while since the last time he was with a woman—a woman he was undoubtedly interested in.

It was so simple, so raw. You, wearing an oversized shirt and fluffy socks, your hair in a bun and wearing no make-up. So natural and somehow… vulnerable—and that, compared with the fact you had saved his life today—made you seem so incredibly strong and independent he felt his heart beating faster upon laying his eyes on you.

Carefully, so he wouldn’t trigger any pain, he sat down, putting the steaming mugs on the coffee table.

It didn’t take you long to get sleepy as soon as you hit play, once again grateful to fate for having brought a mysterious and handsome man to your doorstep. Before you knew it, your head dropped onto his shoulder and you drifted off into dreamland.

James smiled to himself. It was a strange and unusual way to meet a woman—but certainly, he was not going to complain. It would be irresponsible of him not to make sure you were safe and sound when you came back here next weekend.

He’d pay you a visit, hoping that by that time, he’d already have found the girl and could relax, preferably, with you in his arms. But for now, he pressed a tender kiss on your head before carrying you to bed.

-

A/N: Check out my blog to find more Imagines and take a glimpse at my first (to be) published novel! Also, if you enjoyed this story, I would appreciate so much if you supported me on Kofi! ko-fi.com/sserpente ♥

[flamingo-writes]

Setting Up The Prank — Corazon x Reader

Request by @attack-on-onepiece:  Not sure if this qualifies as fluff, but since you wanted something for Corazon ^_^. Could I ask for a scenario where Corazon and his s/o, who's also part of the crew, keep their relationship a secret from Doffy and co. But then one of Doffy’s men (your choice who) starts hitting on/flirting with her, like in a really creepy way with stalking and so on. So they decide to make it clear that they are taken.

Fluffvember Post

A/N: I swear to god, I’ll fling myself into the sun if I can’t post this on my 6th attempt. If you guys see this, then I’m okay, if not, I’m already crisping myself in the sun. Also, this turned longer than expected. 

Word Count: 1.6K

Warnings: swearing, stalking. 

It didn't come as a surprise to anyone that you two eventually became close friends. Corazon, the clumsy man prone to accidents, always followed by the only one who can treat them. Whether if he was your second shadow, or you were his, people could not tell. You two were always together. 

Doffy once accidentally saw you two going at it. You on top of his brother rocking your hips back and forth, low grunts and soft escaping the passionate kiss you were sharing. 

However, he didn't think much of it at first. Thinking, maybe you two were dealing with some sort of dry spell, and dealing with it.

It wasn't until other occurrences in which he found you two asleep, cuddling next to each other. Bodies tangled in such a way that only lovers did. That's when he started suspecting about the affair Corazon and you kept secret from the rest of the family. 

Not that Doflamingo minded, he certainly did not care who his brother slept with, or whether he told him something or not. Yet, Doffy wanted to have his share of fun. 

One morning, Doflamingo was ready to wreak havoc and see the length Corazon would let things go before admitting your secret affair. 

"Hey, Trebol, look at that" Doflamingo gestured with his hand, his cup of coffee in his hand. "Don't you think [Name] looks particularly fine lately?" From the corner of his eye he could see how Corazon shot his eyes open, drinking from his coffee, no particular look in his eyes. 

"She does look sexy, doesn't she?" Trebol smirked, his usual gross smile reflecting the not so good thoughts he just had. 

At this, Corazon clenched his jaw, knowing the kind of dirty guy he was and hating that he was talking about you. 

Doflamingo noticed the way his brother's knuckles were turning white from how firmly he was holding his mug. 

"Doffy, you think she'd go out with me if I asked her out?" 

Several things happened within the seconds following Trebol's question. 

For starters, Doflamingo smirked, pleased with what Trebol had just said, thinking he didn't have to work his way there and instead Trebol did it on his own. 

Secondly, such question made Corazon almost choke on his coffee. Coughing, he accidentally knocked over his mug, not really minding the hot coffee pouring on his leg, or his unstoppable coughing, as his entire mind was focused on the idea of Trebol thinking about making a move on you. You were  Corazón's girl and no one else's.

Unfortunately for you, the next week was horrific. There was a reason why you usually avoided all the high ranks in the family, most of them either creeped you put or you were slightly afraid of them. But Trebol, holy shit, Trebol.

The man simply disgusted you. He was creepy and physically he was also repulsive. Ever since he started chasing after you, it all became a living nightmare. 

And needless to say, Corazon was pissed. Very annoyed. And since Trebol started his hunt, Rocinante would hardly leave your side, and would always be defensive, standing up for you. 

One day, the highest ranks were simply hanging out in the dining table, everyone else had just finished having breakfast and went to attend their respective duties. 

"Oi, Corazon, how the fuck am I supposed to ask her out if you're always with her!" Trebol complained. 

Blowing smoke out of his mouth and nose, Corazon wrote on a small notebook he usually carried around. 

"Leave her the fuck alone, you're creeping the hell out of her" it read in long stylized handwriting. 

"Aren't you just jealous of Trebol, Roci?" Doflamingo joked poking his brother's buttons. Corazon, however, scoffed sarcastically. "Aren't you afraid he'll steal your precious little friend?" 

Corazon kept writing. 

"As if!" Doffy laughed loudly as Corazon once more wrote in his notebook. "Stay away from her"

"Are you reading this shit, Trebol?" Joker smirked. 

Corazon's attitude annoyed Trebol, very much to Doflamingo's attitude. And driven by said annoyance, Trebol was more careful to hunt you down, more silently, more carefully. Creeping from the shadows and the corners like a worm or a ghost. 

While you were cleaning the many drawers with all sorts of medication, you heard the infirmary's door slide open. Your first thought, sparking flutters in your stomach and missed beats, you thought maybe it was your lover. 

Such was your disappointed, only surpassed by your fear when you saw Trebol's wide smile lurking from the entrance. The coldest of shivers running down your spine as your.mind quickly entered fight or flight mode. 

"You're not busy, are you, [Name]?" It was hard to hear what he'd just said from your strong heartbeat pounding blood to your lumps, the adrenaline spiking the hairs on your neck, as unconsciously you scanned the room for the quickest escape route. "You don't seem very busy" he hissed walking closer to you. 

You stepped back, still paralyzed by the fear

 Tripping on the bed behind you falling flat on your bum on it. 

"You're looking a little pale, [Name]-chan. Let me take care of you" his voice was sour, tainted with malice as one of his slippery wet hands stretched, reaching slowly towards your face. 

As much as you wanted to stop him, you couldn't. As much as you desired to hurt him, you'd be dead before you even knew it. And as much as you wanted to scream, you didn't have any control over your body.

Before Trebol could lay one of his sticky gross hands on you, another hand stopped him. 

A strong grip, menacingly stopping him. And before Trebol could complain, knowing perfectly well who it was who stopped him, he still felt an ice cold shiver wash over him when he met Corazon's dreadful stare. 

He'd never seen such a look in Corazon before. The look alone was enough to remind him who his brother was, making him realize that if Doflamingo was unstoppable, his brother should be too. After all, psychopathy was a genetic trait, thought Trebol.

A low gasp echoed inside the infirmary, as you noticed a few more members of the family poking inside, curious, confused, alarmed. 

“What is going on here?” Diamante aked, walking inside. 

“I was about to ask the same thing” Doflamingo followed, gazing into the scene. “Everyone, out. Except you three. You need some explaining to do” 

Just as commanded, everyone else dissipated, fearful of Doffy’s low frightening voice. 

“What is going on?” 

“Co-Corazon intervened with…” 

Rocinante glared at Trebol, feeling the same cold shiver run down his spine, he shut up immediately. As Corazon pointed at you with his index finger, motioning his arm, now pointing at his chest with his thumb. 

The silence was dense, almost palpable. A cold consuming silence until Doflamingo spoke. 

“What the fuck do you mean by ‘she’s mine’?” He hissed, comprehending what Corazon tried to say. 

Corazon pulled out the small notebook he usually used to communicate and quickly wrote in it. 

“She is my girlfriend” It read in Corazon’s handwriting, his eyes glued to his brother’s sunglasses.

“Is that so?” Doffy murmured. “You, nurse, what exactly do you have with my brother?” 

“I-I’m in love with him…” Nervously, you felt your heart in your throat. 

Corazon turned around and looked into your eyes, a special kind of warmth showing in them as he smiled gently,happy to hear those words coming from your mouth. He mouthed, not a single sound coming out of it, but you could clearly read his lips. 

“I love you” He mouthed. 

“How long?” Doflamingo interrupted the sweet little stare exchange you two had

“Two...years now?” You said exchanging stares with Corazon, not really sure of how long it had been, yet Rocinante’s nod confirmed your answer. 

“Corazon, why keep your relationship a secret?” Doffy asked.

“Because of the rank difference” Corazon wrote, to which Doffy nodded as it made sense. The highest rank with a lower rank. 

“Oi, lady” Doflamingo addressed you defiantly as you felt a slight sense of fear. “You hurt my brother, you better leave this island before I find out, otherwise, you’re dead. Understand?” 

“Yessir” You nodded. “Don’t worry, I don’t think I’d ever hurt Corazon, he’s far too dear to me” Suddenly you were feeling confident while talking. And felt slightly shy since you could feel Corazon’s stare on you.

“You better be telling the truth” Doffy hissed in a lower voice before turning towards the other commander “Trebol, leave, now”

“Bu-but Young Master…” He whimpered, however, Doflamingo interruted hi, not really caring about what he was going to say.

“Stop creeping on my brother’s girlfriend. If he hurts because you were messing with his girl, I won’t interfere and let him beat the shit out of you, understand?”

“But...Master…” Trebol’s voice shook nervously, however, Doflamingo interrupted him once more.

“Did I make myself clear?”

“Y-yes ir” Trebol’s voice shook slightly nervous, as you were looking at the scene fascinated by how intimidating Doflamingo could be. Corzon, however, was still looking at you lovingly, not minding the mess happening before him.

“Good, now get your sticky ass away from her... “ Doflamingo said leaving the infirmary. 

Trebol followed him soon after, leaving you and Corazon alone. You sighed loudly and sat on the bed. You felt a slight change in the atmosphere and looked around, recognizing the slight faint bubble surrounding you and Corazon. 

I’m sorry about that…” Rocinandte said, sure that only you could hear him. 

“It’s okay, thank you for standing up to me. Especially in front of your brother….” Grateful, you smiled at him, while he sat on the bed next to you. 

“Don’t thank me, darling…” Wrapping his arm around your shoulders, he kissed the top of or head “I love you” He purred.

Looking up, you smiled back at him, leaning closer and placing the softest of kisses on his lips, and brushing your nose lightly against his.

“I love you too” You whispered before Corazon leaned closer, kissing you with a wide smile on his face. 

[breakingsomething]

dark silence

@taikeero-lecoredier this one's for you! this got very, very long. 2.3k words, in fact. but i'm glad i finally got it written! please enjoy.

basic summary: chase's late night milk run goes horribly wrong.

trigger warnings: blood, descriptions of gore and injury

all chase wanted was a bottle of milk.

it was late at night, almost eight. chase hated to be that asshole that came into the store right at closing time, but he and the others were planning on making hot chocolate and watching the good place, and he wouldn't want for them to miss that. it was his fault, as henrik said, for using the last of the milk in his tea, so he'd been nominated to go get more. that made perfect sense. perfect sense that he'd have to walk down the dark, silent streets to the nearest convenience store to buy milk. it was his own fault, after all.

this was sad. why was he freaking out so much? he'd been down this exact route hundreds of times in his life. he could've made it there blindfolded. but for some reason, the combination of the cold darkness and the lack of people out was making his heart pound, his breaths quickening as he raced through an alleyway to get to the store quicker.

it was bright and slightly warmer inside, calming chase's nerves. he smiled at the shopkeeper as he paid and took his time putting his change away. no one else was in the store anyway. everything was unnerving quiet and empty.

back outside, clutching a bottle of milk in hand. the streetlights outside the store along the street had gone out.

chase stopped dead, taking shaky breaths, considering. he could, theoretically, call henrik and ask him to come get him. but he pushed that thought from his mind as soon as it arrived. what was he, five? he couldn't call henrik just because he was a bit scared of the dark. no, he corrected himself. he wasn't scared of the dark. just…creeped out, that was all. that was all.

he took a deep breath and started forwards.

with the streetlamps out, it was pitch black. he passed the carton from hand to hand, his fingers numb with cold and fear, shaking slightly. oh, how he wished he hadn't had that tea earlier. then it could be jackie or henrik who was down here. that thought made him feel slightly guilty, but he shook his head and pressed on.

something cracked behind him. he jumped, whirling round to face nothing but empty blackness behind him. fuck, fuck, but he was scared.

someone was following him. something was following him.

he started walking faster. he wished he had headphones to put in music and not hear the whispering, the crunching, the giggling, the footsteps, and fuck, now he was running, he was running and there was laughter roaring in his ears, and he was so close to home, or he should be, he should be, home was right through this alleyway -

and all the lights in the alley were bright, bright red.

three streetlamps along the right side of the wall, casting the wet floor in a wave of neon scarlet. the intense colour of it hurt chase's eyes, and hs squinted. at the end of the alley, he could see the block of flats, just across the street. fuck, he could see their living room window from here.

all he had to do was go through this red alley.

he couldn't bring himself to move. he couldn't catch his breath. his feet were bound to the floor beneath him.

take one step. the only other route is an extra ten minutes, and your brothers are waiting for you. stop being such a crybaby, don't make them wait, just go. just go.

he took a step, and instantly the alley was plunged into darkness.

all he could hear was his own trembling breaths.

there was a hand on his sleeve there was a hand on his neck there was a hand on his hat there was a hand in his hair there was -

a man, standing at the end of the suddenly illuminated alleyway.

chase just stared. it was all he could do.

the man looked… familiar. even just his silhouette. he was average height, average build, wearing a cap on his head. for some reason, chase's mind wasn't functioning, everything was going slowly and it took all his strength to take another step, further into the alley, in line with the first red streetlamp. from here, despite the black shadows casting his face, chase could see him smile.

"jack?" he blurted. it was the first name that came to mind, seeing that man. his smile disappeared.

"jack," the man at the end of the alley repeated. even his voice was jack's, but it was horrendously distorted, the tone dipping up and down in pitch. he said no more, just stood there, his body drifting in and out of focus.

chase took another step forwards. behind the man, chase could see the lights of the houses. the wind ruffled through his hair.

"who are you?" he shouted, his voice far braver and steadier than he felt. "what do you want from me?"

"who are you?" the man mimicked in the voice of a child, and a glitch ran through his body, so wrong against this real life setting. "what do you want from me?"

chase's boots splashed in the red puddles. he was in line with the second lamp now, and he felt tears of panic pricking his eyes. "can you leave me alone? please, please, i need to get h-home, i need to get away!"

by now, he understood. he knew what was happening. that didn't make him fear this any less. a jolt went through him as he realized that the hat the man was wearing was his own. chase's hair was hanging free in a loose bun, the scar on the side of his head showing for anyone to see.

this time, it was the man that stepped forwards, into the light.

he looked different from the last time chase had seen him. he had a yellow scarf wrapped round his bandaged neck. his bare arms were covered in scars, mostly in the areas where jack's tattoos were. his wildly curly hair was brown now, poking out from the sides of chase's grey and pink hat. when he smirked, a fang pointed out from his mouth.

"jinx!" anti crowed. he spread his arms out, grinning as his eyes turned a solid black. "ah, ah, what a long time it's been! last time i really spoke to you, jack's neck had never even seen a knife, haha!" he giggled maniacally, and chase noticed the huge kitchen knife in his hand. how hadn't he seen that already?

"aiden," chase said. his voice shook. "i don't - i don't understand."

the man's face darkened into a sneer. "don't ever fucking call me by that name if you want to keep your pathetic little tongue, jinx."

chase subtly patted his pockets, searching for anything that he could use against the glitch. all he had was the milk in his hand, a packet of cigarettes, and a lighter. what a fat lot of use that was.

anti took an exaggerated step forwards, lining himself up with the third lamp. they were so close to each other now, so close that chase could have counted the freckles covering his face and arms, could see the white scars tracing down his face from his eyes. they were new. chase didn't remember those.

"jinx, jinx," anti crooned softly. his hand touched chase's face, gently lifting his chin up. "oh, i have wanted to speak to you like this for so long now. even before i had your dear arzt in my possession." he tossed back his head and flickered his eyes, and when he lowered his head they were brown again. "ah, and the doctor was so fun! his screams were lovely, jinx, you should have heard them!" he laughed like he had been regaling a funny story rather than recounting tales of his brother's torture. "he called out your name so often. of course, he stopped when i put the tip of my blade on his tongue and pressed down with the promise of -"

chase whacked anti in the side with the bottle of milk.

he hadn't thought it through. anti doubled over for only a brief second, immediately straightening and lunging for chase. chase cried out as anti seized his wrist and slammed him into the wall, kicking his shins in to prevent him from rising again. before he could even try to move, anti's knife was - oh, oh. it was slicing through his sleeve across his arm like it was nothing. oh, fuck.

chase howled in agony, the wound instantly throbbing and spilling blood down his shirt. he clutched at it, sinking into himself in an effort to avoid being injured again. all the fight had instantly gone out of him.

"please, please," he whimpered. god, he was pathetic. anti had crouched down in front of him, and chase forced himself to look into his eyes, tears pouring from his own and stinging when they fell onto his arm. "god, fuck, no more."

anti was laughing loudly. "well fuck, jinx, i thought you could handle far more than that! only one little cut, not even a vein or anything! do you know what your brother had to go through in his time with me?" his hand gently brushed over chase's neck. "maybe you should ask him the next time you see him."

chase squeezed his eyes shut. breathe. breathe. "where are my children? louise, connor? please, please, aiden…" he cracked his eyelids open again, fresh tears spilling out. "please tell me they're ok."

for a moment anti was silent. then he frowned. "that's the wrong name to use if you want any answers out of me."

the fingers that were gracing his neck suddenly squeezed, instantly cutting off all of chase's air and causing him to gasp, clawing at the wall behind him in an attempt to pull himself up. anti just watched, amused, the knife in his other hand tapping playfully on chase's thighs.

"ba - stard -" chase spat, his chest heaving with need to get air, air, air. without warning, anti got to his feet, pulling chase up with him. he couldn't get his footing, and desperately grabbed anti's arms, wheezing. the red lights blurred as tears obscured his vision entirely

"ant - can't - breathe!" he spluttered. "can't -"

anti let go as suddenly as he'd grabbed him. chase collapsed to the wet floor, coughing and spluttering, but before he could even get his breath anti's knife was right against his throat. "fucking pathetic, pathetic, pathetic, your weak older brother could handle more than this! ah, maybe it's a good thing me and dapper have your kids, you're clearly no good for them, what kind of a fucked up role model are you? drinking, fighting in bars, are you some kind of wild animal?" he dug the blade into chase's skin, and he could feel small trails of blood seeping from it. "do you need to be tamed, jinx?"

and for some reason, there was only one thing that chase took from that whole furious spiel.

"who's dapper?"

anti's expression changed from smug satisfaction to shock to pure rage. "shit," he mumbled.

and then the knife was in chase's neck it was ripping through skin and the front of his body was wet with hot blood practically spouting from the wound and that wasn't all, that wasn't all, there were stabbing pains in his arm, slashing though him, he tried to scream and copper bubbled into his mouth and the world -

went black.

he woke in hospital.

"chase? hey, bro, you awake?"

his eyelids were too heavy to raise. he could feel his arm hairs standing on end from the cold already, a chill going through his aching body. and fuck, all the pain hit him at once. it burned, and he could feel each individual cut, each bruise. chase groaned loudly. even that movement alone caused his throat to scream with pain. god, everything hurt. he wanted to cry.

"chase!" it was jackie. fuck, it was jackie, reddish hair and dark blue eyes and big round glasses perched on his crooked nose. he leaned over chase, concern etched into his face. "shit, shit, i'm so glad you're ok, i thought you were going to - i thought -" he sobbed noisily, covering his face with his hands. "i'm going to kill that bastard!"

chase's throat burned. he raised his hand and softly touched the bandages on his neck. ah, now he remembered what anti had done.

"ja'ie," he tried, but his voice caught and he couldn't get the words out. "di'nt… ge' th' milk home..."

jackie blinked, then laughed, tears streaming down his face. "you're really worried about the milk? chase, we thought he'd killed you! there was so much - so much bl-blood, so much -" he sniffled, his chest shaking. "fuck."

chase leaned his head further into the pillows of the hospital bed. the walls were a pale blue, he could see now, and there was a lot of equipment - he couldn't think of any names. shit, had anti really cut his throat?

"you're lucky henrik got there quickly," jackie said, scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. "we went out looking when you didn't come back and we saw the red light from our window. fuck, we were so scared, chase." he ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a trembling breath. "chase, it was - it was… anti, right? not…"

chase nodded. not marvin, he communicated. not marvin.

jackie nodded, more tears threatening to fall. "ok," he murmured. "henrik is getting some food at the vendies, he'll be up soon. you'll be ok, we'll be ok. this is ok."

chase couldn't even muster the energy to respond. he just closed his eyes and listened to his friend break down, the light behind his eyes a dangerous red.

[buckyreaderrecs]

So Far Away: Chapter 1/?

Summary:  Bucky Barnes doing what he does best. Saving. Loving. In this particular case, the object of both is you. (Bonus: Bucky Barnes happy, healing, doing really well!)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes/reader Characters: Bucky Barnes Additional tags: mostly canon compliant (Infinity War and Endgame didn’t happen, Stark Tower still exists),  possible future smut (who knows, not me), she/her pronouns, more tags/characters to be added with future chapters, hero Bucky Barnes, canon typical violence, warzone/disaster zone setting Warnings: possible triggers for anxiety, PTSD, grief

Note: I don’t know where I’m going with The Girl With Too Much Power (ideas welcomed) so here’s my other series. Feedback always encouraged and welcome. Thank ya’ll! xo Rhi

Tag list: just @darlingtholland lel

So Far Away Chapter 1 / ?

The city was crumbling and between the crashing sounds of buildings toppling, screams and cries were painfully audible. That wasn't the most terrifying part though. It wasn't the lifeless bodies lying in the streets or the sight of your mangled hand that were causing you to panic. It was that everything was happening somewhere else. The crumbling and screaming seemed so far away. If the action was elsewhere, so were the heroes.

Nobody was coming to save you.

For almost half an hour they'd ripped through the city unchallenged; nobody really counted the unified effort of the first responders. They never stood a chance against the enemy from above. It took ten minutes for The Avengers to hear about it. They were en route within another ten. Even with all that Stark tech though, it still took them just over eleven minutes to arrive, landing and launching into action.

You'd watched the heroes bounce off buildings and fly through the sky. They represented hope, but they couldn't save everyone.

The evacuation wasn't fast enough and whole blocks of the city were wiped off the map. By the time you'd crawled out of the rubble of yours, the trucks taking people to safety were long gone. In their wake, tire tracks in the dirt and dust, and bodies left behind to save room for the living.

You could walk, but terrified that someone… something… would circle back around, you dropped down behind a car that had been violently propelled across the street. Making yourself as small as possible, pulling your legs up to your chest and burying your face in your lap, you just listened. Thinking was too hard, and your thoughts were sure to be only dark and anxiety-inducing anyway.

It all seemed so far away.

Then, the tell-tale sound of trouble. No no no no no! you screamed in your head, covering your mouth with your hands to not let the terror out.

It was moving fast, but tearing everything up as it went. The sound coming from it was alien, but it still someone seemed like speech. It was communicating with the others. Then, you realised, it was looking for something. Sitting in a pile of bricks and glass, all you could do was hope to god that creatures from literal outer space didn't come to Earth in search of an old Ford.

Bits of debris came from over the car, rejected by the creature and cast aside. First, rocks and chunks of cement - too big for any human to throw so easily. They hit the building in front of you and shattered. A bad situation got worse when it dug deep enough to find the people who had been trapped under fallen buildings. Bodies flew over you, sometimes in parts.

After what felt like minutes but was only seconds, your entire body was shaking with abject horror. On the very cusp of losing consciousness from fear and blood loss, you heard one foreign sound. It was almost like a gunshot… but more… Star Wars-esque. It was immediately proceeded by silence.

Run! the voice in your head told you, but you were completely immobile.

"This thing's too damn light… Feels like a fuckin' toy," a human voice spoke. A pause for, presumably, a reply you didn't hear. "Yeah, it worked. Not the point." Another pause. "Call me that again, Stark and I'll-" The speaker abruptly stopped his conversation.

You hadn't heard him arrive. Unsurprisingly, you did not hear him as he walked through the destroyed street to the car you were hidden behind. To any other person, you were silent. However, he could hear the slight crunching of gravel beneath your feet, the air being inhaled and exhaled from your nose, and the tiny squeaks you were making entirely subconsciously.

Moving slowly, he made his way around the side of the car using footsteps that would make noise, announce his arrival. Don't scare her. You could feel him standing just metres from you. He spoke, but not to you.

"I got a friendly… She's out of the evac zone." The pause for reply was long. "It's a ghost town here. Nobody's gonna be coming through for-" He was interrupted. "Don't care. Gonna bring her in."

Again, he moved slowly.

Your face was still buried and although you knew it was somebody good crouching in front of you, everything was all too overwhelming to respond.

"Hi… I don't need ya to move just yet. Gonna have a look at your hand, if that's alright?"

His voice was calm. Far beyond the point of being in shock, it didn’t hurt when he gently took your arm. As he tightly wrapped your injured hand, you began to unwrap yourself. Lifting your head and opening your eyes, everything came into focus. Mostly, everything you could see was war. But, there he was. Easily recognisable, Bucky Barnes was finishing first aid on you.

His eyes lingered on the bandage for a moment, and you wondered where he'd stashed it before it stopped your bleeding. Did he have pockets of band-aids?

When he looked up at you, you were already looking back.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi," you replied, your voice weak.

"Reckon we should get out of here. What do ya think?" As soon as you nodded, he mirrored the response and stood, helping you to your feet. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"N-no," you told him. That wasn't strictly true, but you were mostly numb. Deep, dark bruises would bloom all across your body over the coming days. How you managed to escape otherwise unharmed was magic or a miracle.

"Stronger than you look, huh?" he said, smiling. How he could smile in an environment like that was also magic or a miracle. "I know a couple people like that, so you're in good company. Always my favourite type of people,"

"I didn't… didn't think you'd talk so much," you said. It kinda just came out, the same way the thoughts of little kids do.

Bucky's left arm was around your waist, holding almost all of your body weight. He was making carrying you through a warzone seem easy. Giving you a bit of a casual shrug, Bucky said, " I don't… Trick to keep ya conscious. Don't want you passing out on me,"

"I'm not gonna pass out," you said, more in defiance than anything else.

Bucky scoffed. "Alright. So, what's your name then? What do you do?"

He'd obviously seen them before you, so by the time you clocked the creatures scrambling through broken buildings and rubble in their search, Bucky had already taken you off the road. Backs to the wall, he didn't appear in the slight bit concerned about the situation. He even looked to you, waiting for a reply before making his next move.

"Y/N," you told him.

"Y/N. Good to meet you, Y/N. I'm Bucky,"

"I know,"

"Yeah… Everybody fuckin' knows… Alright. Gonna need you to stay here for just a second, okay?"

As he went to peel away from the wall, you grabbed him with your one working hand. "Please don't leave me!" you begged in a harsh whisper. Tears had been streaming down your face since the first building went down, but a fresh flood started to sting your cheeks.

Bucky cupped your face with his gloved hands and looked you dead in the eyes. "I'm not leaving. I promise. I fuckin' promise you."

Slowly, you nodded. As soon as you did, he swooped off the curb and brought a reckoning down on the creatures. They hadn't seen him coming. Bucky moved with grace and ease, like he was born to fight. Later, when you were safe, you'd think about that moment, about the way he moved, and it would make you sad.

Back, Bucky wrapped himself around you again. And, that's how you got through the city. It was slow, but Bucky continually refused offers of help from whoever was in his earpiece. Resources were needed elsewhere, he said. He had you, and he'd get you to safety.

Time once again warping, fifteen minutes later you could hear voices and see human movement. It felt like you'd spent hours in Bucky's arms, watching him take down threats and crack bad jokes to keep you awake.

Before you realised what was happening, people were carrying you away from Bucky, pouring water down your throat and yelling at you that you were safe. Although you understood you were safe, it felt the opposite. "No! Please, please, please," you yelled, pushing free from the helpers and clinging back onto Bucky. All your words were rammed together, scared and needy.

Bucky let you hold him, wrapping his arms around you with the perfect amount of pressure. He hushed you with soft, "Shhhh," sounds. Using his teeth as a vice, Bucky pulled the glove off his right hand, then ran his fingers through your hair. "You're okay, Y/N. You're safe. You gotta stay here and have someone look at your hand. I gotta go help."

Although you nodded into him, you made no attempt to move. You'd been safe before it all happened, but it happened anyway. There was nothing to say that as soon as Bucky left, more creatures wouldn't arrive.

"Y/N. I got Captain America in one ear and Iron Man in the other. They can't do shit without me," Bucky joked. It made you laugh, looking up at him. "I'll come back when this is done. Bring ya flowers in the hospital,"

"I'm scared,"

"Yeah. Aliens are invading. It's scary. But it's kinda cool too, right?" he said with a wink.

He gently led you to one of the makeshift medical tents set up. When you were sitting down, he ruffled your hair in a weird gesture that confused you both, then left the safe zone. As soon as he was gone, you started to cry.

Chapter 2. 

[justjessame]

Never Have I Ever (Chapter 1): The Game

I was sitting across from the devil himself. At least that’s what they’d all told me. All of my friends. All of my family. They all considered him Satan incarnate. I had my doubts.

“Rick the Prick has a sister.” He was studying me as I studied him. Here in his domain. Here where I’d been brought along with Daryl when he’d murdered Abraham and Glenn. Daryl, taken because of his temper, me for God knew what reason. Possibly just another dig at my older brother. I didn’t answer Negan. It wasn’t a question, and I felt that Rick’s confirmation of who I was to him pretty much covered it. “Bet you’re wondering why you’re here.”

“Mildly curious.” I answered, taking in the man sitting before me. He was more at ease here, in his apartment. The leather jacket gone, the red scarf tossed too. Just him, me, and that fucking bat still coated in Abe and Glenn’s brain matter and blood. “More curious about where Daryl is right now.”

Negan’s eyes narrowed as he considered what I was saying. “You and the redneck?” I smiled. Oh, he wanted to know if Daryl and I were a thing.

“Does it matter?” I asked, thinking that the best way to learn what this entire deal was would be to question him, subtly.

“Makes it funnier,” he shrugged and my eyebrow arched in annoyance. “He’s fine.” He waved off the topic of Daryl. “You’re not curious why you’re here?”

I tilted my head. Waiting. And we sat together in silence. I didn’t want to break it first. Not give him that power, the power to force me to jump to his commands. I wanted him to get that me and my people weren’t to be dismissed or trifled with. That we weren’t his playthings. That he wasn’t my boss, my god, or my master.

He sat back, the leather couch making a slight crunching noise that denim on leather makes. “Curious about good ole Daryl, but not about your own fate. That’s ballsy, princess.” I shrugged. “What if,” his hands tented into a V shape under his chin, watching me and contemplating his next words. “What if I brought you here for-” I catch his eyes flick toward the bed. And I snorted. Hard.

“Sex?” I laughed, long and hard. “What if you brought me here to fuck? Oh that IS hilarious. Are you hard up, Negan? Have to take women hostage so they can come play in your bed?”

He watched me laugh and it was a real true laughing fit. This terrible, evil man was trying to insinuate that he brought me, Eveyln Grimes, here to screw. Jesus, I hadn’t found something so funny in so long I felt almost hysterical. I got my shit under control as he waited, surprisingly patient, hands still tented.

“You done?” I nodded, feeling a hiccup build. “Trust me when I say I am NOT hard up.” I raised an eyebrow and grinned. “I’m not, sweetheart, in fact I’ll take you to meet my wives later.”

“Wives?” I snorted again, another laughing fit threatening to hit. “Dear God, I don’t know which scenario is more pathetic, a man with NO game, or a man who thinks he has TOO MUCH game.” I rolled my eyes and sat back in my chair. “Now I am curious. Why am I here, oh great and wondrous one?” I was holding back another eruption of giggles, but just barely.

His eyes narrowed. Clearly he was finding me more than a little irritating. Good. I wanted to piss him off. I wanted to make him see that I wasn’t just some girl he could crook his finger to and I’d come running. The fucking nerve of him. Even if there wasn’t a tiny voice reminding me that he’d just murdered two of our people, I wouldn’t show him fear.

“Tell me about yourself.” A command, loud and clear.

“No.” Just as loud, just as clear. My arms crossed over my chest and I got comfortable. He could put me wherever Daryl was, he could fucking kill me at this point, but he wasn’t going to get me to jump just because he said to.

A raised eyebrow and his hands moved to lay on top of his thighs. The movement forced my eyes down, to see that fucking bat sitting on the table between us. “You’re not being very fucking cooperative, princess.”

“I’m also not a fucking princess, but that fact doesn’t seem to bother you.” I tossed back. I hated being called ‘princess’ by anyone. My own father didn’t do it.

He was chewing on his words again. And I really wanted to see him lose it. The confidence, the coolness. I wanted him to be fucking irritated to the point I’d be shunted out of his presence and hopefully imprisoned near Daryl. Harder to get an escape planned if I didn’t know where he was.

“Let’s play a game.” I rolled my eyes, what were we twelve? “I’ll even let you pick.” He stood up and walked to a small bar I hadn’t noticed behind his sofa. He was fussing with the bottles, and I had a flash of an idea. Fuck, if I could get his ass so damn drunk that he didn’t know which end was up, then I could possibly get the hell of this room.

“Never Have I Ever.” I said, and he looked at me like I’d lost my mind.

“Never have you ever what?” Oh, he truly didn’t fucking know the game. “Played a game?”

I shook my head. “No, it IS a game. Grab a couple of shot glasses and whatever stupid nasty rotgut you’ve got piled over there and we’ll play it.” He smirked. “A drinking game?” Clearly he was taking in the fact that I’m barely five foot tall barefooted and just over a buck twenty pounds. Yes, underestimate me, Negan. Please.

I nodded and he grabbed a few bottles and juggled two glasses. Sitting them on the table between us, I waited until he’d re-seated himself. I explained the rules, and he nodded his understanding.

“You can even ask the first ‘never have I ever,’” I offered, thinking it would tell me more about where his mind was anyway. “But first we have to pour the drinks.” And so we did.

“Never have I ever been married.” He drank, clearly understanding, yet misinterpreting the rules. Look, if it got his ass drunk first, then I’d roll with the rule breaking. I didn’t take a drink. An eyebrow from him, and I rolled my eyes.

“Never have I ever been into science fiction.” Fuck it, let’s start easy. He drank and I snorted. Negan as a nerdy geek wasn’t something I was prepared for. “Trek or Wars?” I asked, knowing just enough lingo to get by.

He smirked. “Never have I ever gone to a renaissance fair.” He didn’t drink, but I did. “Hark who’s shaming.” I grinned. Ok, so we’re both nerds.

We kept up the easy lobs, I found out that he liked Trek better than Wars. That he was into classic rock, but wasn’t completely against newer music (before the world went to hell and creativity died). I found out that Negan was strangely normal. He’d taught PE in a high school. He learned that I hadn’t been in touch with my family for a few months prior to the outbreak. That I hadn’t known that Rick and Carl had survived until they showed up in Alexandria. He knew that I preferred mint green to pink, that my car had been a restored ‘67 Mustang and I missed the car more than I missed most people. It was time to go down to the scary ones. And we were both far too sober.

“Never have I ever raped someone.” I offered and he didn’t drink. That was a surprise, I guess.

“Why fuck someone who doesn’t want to? Why violate someone when there’s always a willing partner just down the way?” He offered, but there was a sharpness in his eyes. “I’d kill anyone here who tried it.” Well, that calmed some of my tension. “Never have I ever killed someone before this shit started.” I know what he meant, before the world went to shit. I knocked back another drink and this time his eyes went wide.

“What?” I asked, going for a nonchalant air, but it fell flat even to my own ears.

“Why?” He asked, and I was going to fight answering. It wasn’t his turn. But fuck it, why not?

I sighed. “My job, Negan, that’s why.” And he was still staring. “Allow me to introduce myself properly.” I stood up and at attention, ramrod straight. “Captain Evelyn Grimes.” I didn’t salute, he wasn’t my commanding officer. “I’d just taken a position in Washington when shit went to shit.”

He was staring at me as I sat back down. Looking at me like he’d never seen someone like me before, which he probably hadn’t. “Which branch?”

“Army.” I answered. “I liked that one quote from the poster, ‘Join the Army; travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting, unusual people and kill them’.” I shrugged. Could we be done now? He nodded to himself and I took it as a go. “Never have I ever been handcuffed.” I didn’t drink and neither did he. Weird, figured at least some woman would have done it to him at some point to get him at her mercy, if he hadn’t gotten on the wrong side of the law.

“Never have I ever-” Negan stared at me and I knew he was trying to decide the best route. “Given a lap dance.” Shit, I drank. His eyebrow raised. “Why, Miss Grimes, that’s a fucking surprise.”

Rolling my eyes, and swallowing past the burn of the dark liquor I’d shot down, I smirked at him. “If that surprised you, then you might not fucking survive the game.” Then taking stock of him, my grin grew. “Never have I ever had a lap dance.”

His dimples came out in full bloom as he took his own drink. “Doubt that surprises you much.” He offered, as he savored his drink. “Never have I ever flirted with a teacher.” I waited to see if he took a drink from his own glass, because I highly doubted he’d be able to stop himself. When he didn’t I rolled my eyes and took my own. “Damn, dirty little thing aren’t you?”

“I think you should have drank too,” I squinted at him. “Never tried to get a little Mrs. Robinson action in school?” He laughed, and it was the strangest thing I’d ever heard. A laugh from his mouth, his mocking hateful mouth, and it was almost musical.

“Nah, I preferred the sure bets.” I chuckled. Yeah, his ego wouldn’t have taken the hit of an older woman turning down his ass flat. “Did you only flirt?”

“It’s not your turn, Negan.” His eyes widened. Too bad, not his turn. “Never have I ever kissed someone that was my own gender.” Neither of us drank, damn it. I’d hoped, I wasn’t sure, but I didn’t get it.

“Never have I ever slept with a teacher.” Damn it. I took a drink. “Seriously, dirty little girl.” Were his eyes twinkling? Asshole. “It’s not my turn, but fuck if I don’t want to know more.”

“What’s to know? I like older men.” I shrugged. “Never have I ever had a threesome.” I hadn’t, I don’t like to share or be shared. Since he had WIVES I assumed he’d drink. When he didn’t, I was annoyed. “Seriously? You have a harem and you’ve never decided to double dip at one go?”

He shook his head. “I like to keep my focus on what I’m doing.” Getting yourself off, I supplied. “More than one target and my attention isn’t where it should be.” On yourself. “Never have I ever been caught fucking.” We both drank, and I had to laugh.

“You’re gonna get yourself hammered, Negan, asking those questions.” I raised an eyebrow, and considered my next. “Never have I ever watched someone fucking outside of porn.” He drank, I didn’t. Voyeurism wasn’t something I aspired to. I was smirking, certain that while he didn’t partake in threesomes, that he might expect entertainment from the wives.

“Not them.” He offered, clearly reading the smirk for the thought that it came from. “Just got lucky a few times.” He winked and I rolled my eyes. “Never have I ever been fucked for an audience.” Different from being caught, he wanted to know if I’d done it for fun. I drank and his eyebrow nearly left his face. “Damn, Captain Grimes, I may have underestimated you.”

I swallowed the sip and glared into my glass. “This shit is disgusting.” It was, but not because it was homemade or because it was bad quality. I just hated brown liquors. “Never have I ever-” I tilted my head to study him. “Fucked the enemy.” Neither of us drank. “Glad to know that I won’t be the first to shoot your ass down.” I muttered, and he laughed.

“Ah, sweetheart, I’m not the enemy.” I raised an eyebrow. “You just don’t KNOW me yet.” I snorted, loudly. “Never have I ever had sex with a stranger.” He didn’t drink, but I did. Shit. This was a horrible idea for a game. “Fuck, Evelyn, I think you’re a fucking package full of surprises aren’t you?”

I licked an errant drop of the burning alcohol from my bottom lip and saw his eyes focus on it. “Never have I ever kissed a stranger.” We both drank, and I was starting to feel the slight ease that comes with alcohol. The lightning of the tension that had built up from the moment I’d been forced to my knees in the dirt.

And it went, on and on, until I think we both felt far more friendly and happy. Not drunk, just pleasantly buzzed. “Never have I ever,” I studied him, thinking about the facts I’d learned so far, and smiled. “Fucked a student.” I didn’t drink, but he did. “Why Negan, aren’t you just a kinky little bastard.” I sat back in my seat and my grin grew. “So did she play naughty school girl and you were the randy professor?” He was watching my glee grow. “Oohh, did she wear the uniform? Or-” I closed my eyes and a laugh bubbled up, “you taught PE, was it a cheerleader uniform?” I opened my eyes to see him staring at me. I put on a pout and tilted my head as I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger. “Coach, I just don’t think I’m gonna be able to get the split just right, can I have a little extra help?” I’d made my voice a little breathless and I batted my eyelashes.

He snorted, and rolled his eyes. “She was an adult, asshole.” I laughed. “I’m not that fucking ridiculous.” I stared at him. “Never have I ever-” he bit his lip. “Been spanked, as an adult.” Thank goodness he added that in, because prior to his adulthood he’d no doubt worn a red ass as a constant. I drank, trying to take a smaller sip. Fuck, was one bottle empty already? And the other was surprisingly low. “Uh huh, drink it.” Shit. Fucker.

I swallowed the fully shot. Damn him. And his stupid fucking game. Wait, I picked this game, didn’t I? I was trying to think it through when he cleared this throat. “What?” I snapped, still picking through my memories of sitting down and this miserable game’s origin. I raised my eyes to his and he was smirking. “What?” I snapped again.

“Think you’re shitfaced, princess.” I glared. “Had a bit too much of your own medicine?”

“I’m not drunk.” I said, and I almost believed myself. “I’m NOT.” I admonished. And then I realized that he wasn't showing ANY of the signs of all the shots he’d taken. And he’d taken a fair few, but NOT nearly as many as me. “Never have I ever LIED during a game of ‘never have I ever’.” I glared at him as he started to laugh and took his own shot. Fucker. “You cheated.” I accused, feeling completely indignant that he’d dare to sully the sanctity of our game. I crossed my arms over my chest and sat there feeling so wronged.

“You are so fucking drunk, honey,” dimples and eyes fully loaded on this asshole across from me. “Think you should probably sleep that off.” I shot a look at his bed and felt my face flush. “Alone.” Ah, that’s unexpected.

“Fine.” I answered, standing up, and happy that I was more steady than my sluggish brain would have implied. “I’ll take the couch.” I hiccuped and sighed. Damn it. My wonderful plan, undone by this asshole.

Negan stood up, and took my arm. “Not fucking happening.” He walked me to the bed and pulled back the covers. “I may be a lot of fucking things, but I won’t let a lady take the couch.”

I rolled my eyes, and looked at the size of the bed. Thankful again that I wasn’t so drunk that I was seeing doubles. “Looks big enough to share, without touching.” I added, just to be clear.

He chuckled beside me. “Why, Miss Grimes, are you asking me to sleep with you?” I glared up at him, and he shocked me by brushing my hair out of my face. “Sleep. Sure.” And then he motioned to a door I hadn’t noticed. “Bathroom’s through there, if you need it.”

I did. I needed that bathroom more than I ever thought I’d need anything in my life. I rushed over and sighed at the sight of a toilet. I hadn’t realized just how badly I needed to go until he mentioned it. So closing the door behind me and rushing over, I took care of business. After I flushed, washed my hands, and took stock of myself in the mirror, I left the bathroom.

Negan was already in bed. His bed. And he was shirtless. And the sheets riding low enough to see that he had a happy trail low down on his stomach and my mouth went dry.  Shit. Who knew he looked like THAT under his clothes? Damn it. I shot a look at the couch.

“Evelyn.” Fuck, why hadn’t I noticed how deep his voice was? “Come to bed.” Shit. Why did that sound so fucking appealing?

I squared my shoulders and gave myself an internal pep talk. Reminding myself that I was Captain Evelyn Grimes, for fuck’s sake. I did NOT give in to my basic, primal urges anymore. Not on a whim. Not without thought and serious pro/con lists weighing the options. I kept the internal dialogue up until I reached the empty side of the bed, and kicked off my shoes to climb in.

“You’re not wearing all that shit to bed are you?” His damn voice drug me from my debate. “I’m not gonna make a fucking move, princess, I want you to be FULLY aware when we finally fuck.”

I raised an eyebrow, but shrugged at the fact that sleeping fully clothed when I had options was a stupid move. Comfort, especially after drinking around two fucking bottles of booze that I hated the taste of, would be key to waking up and not wanting to die in the morning light. Unbuttoning my jeans, I was unzipping the zipper when I heard him shift slightly on the bed. Looking up, I saw his eyes locked on my hand. Oh, so he wanted a show? I took my time lowering the zipper, biting my lip to keep from laughing when I saw his Adam’s apple bob from his swallow. I opened the sides, tugging first one side, then the other down my hips. Keeping my eyes on him, I shimmied out of them and was very happy that I’d worn the one pair of pretty panties that had been clean in my small pile of clothes. I was bent over, my loose v-neck t-shirt hanging open so he could have a nice view down into the v of my cleavage. I heard him swallow this time. Victory.

When I stood up, he’d pulled the blankets back further, keeping himself covered, but giving me ample room to climb into the bed. I cleared my throat and his eyes met mine. “Thank you.” I laid back on the pillow on the side of the bed he’d left for me. “Night, Negan.”

“Night, Evelyn.” His voice sounded as raw as my nerves felt. Fuck, thank God I’d drank my weight in shitty booze, I thought as the drink pulled me under to sleep. Otherwise, sleep would be the furthest from my mind.

[stardust-writer]

beautiful ghost [Mystic Messenger Week Day 7]

Written for @mysmeweek2020‘s 7th day prompt: a Free Day! This is so rushed because it was meant to be posted earlier, but my laptop decided to shut down and stay that way for over six hours. I might revamp this later in the future, but it will stay this way for now.

Summary: Areum wakes up in a hospital and can't find Jihyun.

Warning/s: Near death experience, comatose, swearing, Spoilers for V Route

A/N: I have a different OC for each route. Areum Song is the OC I use for Jihyun/V’s route. Other OCs may appear, but for this work, Areum takes on the MC’s role. This work contains information that cannot be deemed accurate. I’m no medical expert, so please do not consider anything I’ve written here as something that could happen in real life.

Song While Writing: Beautiful Ghosts - Taylor Swift

“Areum.”

“What is it?”

The look Jihyun gave her was concerning. He was smiling, but it didn’t reach his eyes. Perhaps it was just the pouring rain, it made it difficult to see, after all. Still, the energy that her husband was emanating did little to soothe her nerves.

“Nothing,” he said simply. The traffic light turned red and the pedestrian light switched to green. He wraps an arm around her shoulders, pulling her further under the safety of the umbrella he held. “I just wanted to tell you that I love you.”

Areum quirked an eyebrow, but smiled nonetheless. They walk off onto the pedestrian lane.

“I love you, too, Jihyun.”

There it is again, a twinge of sadness in his mint-colored eyes. She wanted to ask about it but before she could even open her mouth, a flash of light blinded her vision and everything went dark.

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

The first thing she registered was the beeping of the heart monitor.

It didn’t immediately occur to Areum that she was in a hospital until she heard the unmistakable chatter of medical terms from above her.

Bright light clouded her vision as she attempted to open her eyes.

“Areum! Oh, thank goodness!” A woman that looked like an older version of herself came forward. Tears pricked at her eyes as she cupped Areum’s face with her hands.

“Mom?” Areum rasped. “What happened?”

“It’s okay, honey,” her mom breathes, pressing a long kiss to her forehead. "You were in a car accident, but you’re okay now.”

She held the hand against her face, feeling the familiar warmth. The haze that clouded her brain began to disappear and suddenly it all came back. The pouring rain, the barely visible pedestrian lane, the sound of a horn. Jihyun’s arm wrapped around her shoulder.

“Jihyun,” Areum said. She tried to sit up, but her mother pushed her back down gently. “Mom, where’s Jihyun?”

Her mother's brows knit together.

"Who?"

"Jihyun," Areum breathed. "My husband?"

There's a moment of silence. Areum felt a tension build in the room. Her mother stared at her strangely then laughed nervously.

"That's funny, sweetheart." Her mother caressed her hair, still smiling. Areum could only look on, confused. "Husband! I suppose you had kids, too?"

"Mom," Areum pushed her mother's hand away and made another attempt to stand up. "I'm serious! Where's Jihyun?"

The laughter in her mother's eyes disappeared. It shifted to concern. She meant to say something, Areum knew because she parted her lips, but a doctor approached before anything could be said.

"Song Areum?" The doctor addressed her.

Warily, Areum nodded her head in recognition.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Lee Hyeok. How are you feeling?"

"I'd feel better if someone told me where my husband is."

A look of realization then sympathy crossed Dr. Lee's face. Areum wanted to ask what made him throw such a look at her.

"Ah, before that, I'd just like to ask you a quick question." He smiled the way professionals did, charmingly and reassuringly, but without depth. "Do you know what date it is today? Or rather, what day your accident happened on?"

"Of course," Areum said. The fact that he said 'what day' like she'd been asleep for longer than a couple of hours bothered her. "It's July sixteen, twenty-twenty."

The same look passed over the doctor's face and beside him, her mother looked like she had just been struck by lightning.

"Ah. Alright, before anything else I'd like to inform you that when you were brought to the hospital on the day of your accident, you were in pretty bad shape." The doctor tried to send her another reassuring smile, but Areum had her guard on. At the moment, she had only been half-listening and her other half was still trying to figure out where Jihyun was. "We had to get you into surgery immediately and you fell into a coma."

Areum's attention immediately snapped right back to Dr. Lee.

"I was in a coma?"

Dr. Lee nods.

"For how long?"

There's another moment of silence. Areum could practically see the gears turning in the doctor's head, wondering if she could handle the answer.

Her mother was the one that stepped forward.

"You've been in a coma for four years, darling."

Areum felt her heart sink. It was like the world had disappeared. All she could hear in her head was 'four years'. She'd been asleep for four years. Then, a thought crossed her mind.

"Jihyun," she said. "What about him? Is he okay? He was with me during the accident."

The thought of Jihyun no longer being there crossed her mind. Jihyun not surviving. Her hands were shaking, she couldn't handle it if that were the case.

"Please, tell me if he's alright!" She begged.

Dr. Lee took a breath, then faced Areum with a serious stare.

"Ms. Areum, when a patient goes into comatose, they only become unresponsive on the outside. The brain is still very much active, and may sometimes play tricks."

Areum only looked at him with a confused expression. This wasn't the answer she was looking for.

"There are accounts of people who go into comatose and still stay aware of their surroundings, like hearing the people close by," Dr. Lee continued. "Others have accounted that it was like they had a brief, unrealistic dream where they met with 'God' or a respected and loved person that has passed on. And some have said that while in a coma, their brains created a world of their own."

"I...I don't understand." Areum said.

Dr. Lee gave her another pitiful look. Areum was beginning to get pretty tired of that expression. She turned to her mother to say as much, except she shared the same look as Dr. Lee.

"Today's date is July Sixteen, Twenty-Twenty." Dr. Lee said simply. "Your accident happened four years ago, on July Nine, Twenty-Sixteen."

The blood froze in her veins. Nothing was making sense to Areum. A headache was beginning to form, and she could barely register the doctor's next words.

"It is highly likely that your brain created some world of its own, syncing from the time you were in the accident to today, when you woke up. There's a huge chance that the memories you have right now are all just dreams your mind conjured while you were in the coma."

"No," Areum breathed.

It was impossible. She remembered it all so vividly. Saeran luring her to the Mint Eye, Jihyun's first attempt to rescue her, their wild escape with Luciel's help. She remembered Vanderwood, Jumin, Yoosung, Jaehee, Zen—even Elizabeth the third! She remembered the day Jihyun proposed, how he lifted her up and spun her around when she said yes. She remembered the day of their wedding, when they shared their first kiss as husband and wife, had their first dance, and left for their honeymoon.

They were all so clear in her head, they couldn't just be dreams.

"No, you're lying." Areum squeezed her eyes shut. The more she thought about it, each memory became hazier. "You're lying! Where's Jihyun?"

"Sweetheart, look at me, please."

Tears were now leaking down her cheeks, even as Areum did her best to shut her eyes tight. Her mother was pulling her into her arms now. She struggled, still calling for Jihyun.

"Darling, I know this all must be so overwhelming for you," her mother said. Her voice was trembling, and Areum felt the telltale drip of tears as her mother held her tight. "And I'm so sorry that it's happening. Let's just take a deep breath and get some rest first, okay?"

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

A week passed.

Dr. Lee came in to check in on her everyday, each time trying to ease her into the reality of things. That Jihyun and her life with him was just a figment of her comatosed imagination. Areum refused to believe it.

She didn't want to. Her heart ached at the mere thought of it all, but even she couldn't deny it anymore. Things began to make sense when she took it into consideration.

The day Saeran lured her into the Mint Eye was July Nine, Twenty-Sixteen. She had no recollection of ever having the app he used to contact her initially, and she just went along with his early instructions without giving it much thought. The sly comments that Luciel made in the chatroom, indicating some sort of fourth wall that never seemed to make sense at the time. The way Jihyun looked at her the last time she saw him—eyes filled with a sadness that Areum only realized now meant it was time for them to part ways.

She felt a sob escape her throat. She hadn't even realized she was crying.

Areum loved Jihyun so deeply, so truly. She had an entire life with him and was ready to spend the rest of it just by his side. The fact that all those happy memories—the happiest she had—were simply figments of her imagination crushed her soul.

"Jihyun," she sobbed. She yearned for his strong arms to wrap around her, for him to press a kiss to her cheek and whisper that they would get through this, as he always did when she was upset. Except, the more she thought about it, the harder it became to imagine.

The more she tried to remember all her memories in the world she created, the faster they faded.

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

Three years later

Areum still thought about it sometimes. After she had been discharged from the hospital, she found herself trying to recreate the traces of the world she built in her mind.

She went to the ballroom she suspected that they always held the RFA parties at, to the mountains where Mint Eye's building would have been, or to all the places she and Jihyun would have frequented.

But after a while, even she lost sight of what she was doing.

The memories began to fade faster and faster, until all she had left was the memory of her waking up from her coma.

Wait, no. That wasn't true.

At night, in her dreams, the memories sometimes came back. Areum would feel a sense of peace as she's brought back to the world she's grown used to, to the people she loved and adored. But come morning time, they all disappeared, leaving her with a vague sense of sadness. The best she could hold onto was the ghost of a memory, one where she danced with a familiar warmth, but couldn't picture his face.

These days, the only place she revisited was the coffee shop she suspected she and Jihyun used to go to all the time. At this point, she's forgotten why she decided on that shop. She just knew that she liked the way they made her coffee, and that she felt at peace whenever she was there.

Today, she stopped by before heading home from work. People always asked her why she came after work instead of before, but Areum would just smile and shrug. Because even she didn't know, she just felt like doing it that way.

"Hello and welcome! What can I get you today?"

Ateum smiled at the clerk, at Jaehee. Jaehee began working at the café about a year and a half ago, apparently after leaving an office job she thought she could be content with. Areum once thought that maybe she's seen her before, but nothing came to mind. Still, she introduced herself and they've reached a point where Areum might even call them friends.

"Hey, Jaehee. I'll have a Caffe Americano for here, please."

"That's unusual," Jaehee commented.

"It is?"

"Caffe Americano is a little more bitter than your usual choices," she explained, punching the code in the register to generate a receipt. "You just always get a drink on the sweeter side, that's all—your total is 5,000 won."

"Huh. I never thought about that." Areum handed her the money and left to find a seat as she waited for her drink.

The café was a little slow today, so Jaehee left the register to her coworker—who Areum still couldn't remember the name of after all this time—and got a start on her drink.

Gentle music played through the speakers and echoed around the shop. Areum closed her eyes, smiling a little. The notes were familiar, and in her head she could imagine herself laughing as she danced around  a hazy room with a faceless entity. She was so lost in her little daydream that she barely noticed the sound of the cafe’s door bell ring.

“Assistant Ka—”

“She’s not your assistant anymore, Jumin.”

The familiarity of the voices snapped Areum out of her reverie.

She looked around the cafe wildly, but stopped herself. She tried to remember what made the voices so familiar, but nothing came to mind.

“Caffe Americano for Areum!”

She shook her head in an attempt to reduce the strange paranoia she developed and headed for the counter. She smiled at Jaehee gratefully as she took the cup out of her hands. She took a tentative sip and almost immediately scrunched up her nose.

Jaehee’s right, she thought. This is too bitter.

She turned to leave. She’d rather just drink the coffee than tell Jaehee she didn’t like it. Except, before she could even take two steps away from the counter, a body collided with hers and spilled the hot liquid all over her.

“Ah, it’s hot!”

“Oh gosh, I’m so sorry!”

There it was, that familiar voice again. Areum’s gaze snapped up, and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest. In front of her, donning a similar surprised look, was a man with mint-coloured hair and eyes.

“I...er...It’s okay,” Areum managed to stammer. Those bright eyes were so familiar. The way his brows creased with worry almost made her want to smile for no reason other than that she found it strangely endearing.

“No please,” he said, grabbing a tissue off the counter and offering it to her. “It’s my fault. Let me buy you another one.”

“No, really, it’s alright,” Areum laughed this time. It felt natural, so easy. She took the tissue gratefully and began to dab at her blouse. “I didn’t really like the drink much anyway. But thank you, er…?”

“Jihyun,” the man supplied, hastily handing a hand out for her to shake. “Kim Jihyun.”

There’s a twinge in Areum’s heart at the mention of the name, but she can’t seem to figure out why. Instead of paying it any mind, she took Jihyun’s hand and gave it a shake.

“Song Areum.”

They’re both silent for a moment, just staring at each other, hands still clasped together.

“I’m sorry,” they say in unison. “But have we met before?”

[last-minute-hero]

Men Walk Where Gods Play.

I couldn’t keep my balance. The ship was rocking and digging into the shore, bombarded by the angry sea and unyielding land. People were screaming. I was soaked and I felt frozen to the core. Sluggish. The temptation to just … lean against the wall was almost overwhelming. Just a moment of rest. Rest my eyes.

The ship slammed into the ground again, the forward hull digging a trench in the ground as lightning arced across the sky. The reality of screaming, crying, and fighting were suddenly a reality in my head again. Gravity also doing a reality check, as momentum from the impact sent me forward and through a wooden doorway. My body slid across the floor as I rolled out to the deck, having been taking a sad attempt at hiding on the second floor of the galleon.

Hiding. A stowaway. On a slave ship, in this day and age. As a very recently retired young pirate, I was keenly aware of the shipping routes. I knew what happened. I wasn’t innocent. Maybe this was punishment, whatever god had decided to fuck us into the shoreline. Well. Whatever the case was, the Slavers were not interested in who I was. The yelling and screaming were not directed at me. The clashing of steel on steel was not mine. The innocents crying out.. The children.. They were not mine. Not my responsibility.

Rain pelted my skin as I quickly got to my feet, bracing myself against the flagpole as I took in the violence around me. We had definitely been attacked. I saw no Limsan colors. I did, however, see a dark figure darting here and there to Pirates, knocking them overboard or out. Probably both. A mercenary. The ship rocked again, kicking up the screaming again. I finally looked towards one of the sources, and saw a family. Soaked. Pathetic looking. Huddled together and chained to a steel cage that wasn’t big enough for them, but had managed to spit them out during the assaults. They were still attached.

I was no hero. Not my responsibility. I was a damned Pirate a week ago. These people would have been cargo. Teeth gritted again as I trudged through, grabbing an axe off of the deck of the ship as I reared it backwards on approach, the dad going to protect his family. Brave man. Foolish man. But brave. The blade came down on the chain. It took a few more hacks, and they were free. I didn’t even know what I was doing anymore. This certainly wasn’t me risking my life for others. I should have just grabbed a lifeboat, and hoped for the best.

Lifeboat. I barked out orders, screaming over the fighting and other screams. “ Over there! Go! Wait until more people come before you lower it! I will send more! GO! “ That didn’t even sound like my voice. Gods I sounded desperate. Of course I was. I was going to die. Run through by the crazy attacker, or a slaver. The next family was saved, and the next. Slavers became fewer and fewer. But gun shots had started to join in with the thundering of the storm. The slavers were scared. Then I heard a scream. An order. Stop the white haired man. Well. I had white hair. My body didn’t listen, though, as much as I tried to coax it. Gotta get the next slaves. Still life boats. More shots. It felt like time decided to fill me in on the actual amount of trouble I was in. I looked to my side. Like time slowed down just to fuck me patiently. Four Slavers running towards me, one had fired a rifle at me. Did the bullet hit me? Did I just not feel it? Did he miss? Time relented, and a figure landed in front of me, wielding the very essence of Light in his right hand. The ship practically glowed in the thunderstorm with its radiance. A Miqo’te. Dark haired. He was shouting something. It didn’t work. They all stopped and fired at us at the same time. He never left his spot in front of me. Protecting me, or the family. I didn’t know. I didn’t care.

He made a slicing motion in the air in front of him, and the bullets.. The slavers were just.. Gone. An arc of light .. I’d never seen anything like it. The flagpoles had all been sliced in half from the width of the attack. They fell over as I blinked, staring at him. Crying. The family. I snapped out of it, and went back to freeing the family. “ Lifeboat. Run. Go. “ It felt robotic. Something about witnessing that made me question reality. I looked back to the miqo’te. He was covered in blood. Why hadn’t he just used such a weapon right off the bat? Why was he trying to knock people out instead of just killing them? Why be so strong if you’re not going to go all the way? I had so many questions.

Then I felt a two children run into my leg. Crying. I picked them both up, the miqo’te giving me a look, but not saying anything as I questioned them both. Parents? Sleeping and not waking up. Dead. I was opening my mouth to finally thank this guy for saving my life. Then an impact on my shoulder as I staggered forward, and the cry of a child. The miqo’te caught me from falling as he lowered me down. Shot. I knew the feeling. I coughed as I looked down, and saw entirely too much crimson. It wasn’t all mine. The child. The bullet had gone straight through my shoulder and hit the child's head. The other child was all alone in this world now. The miqo’te looked down in horror at the child, he didn’t have to ask. Me, or the child. It was obvious who would be fine.

My right shoulder was slowly going limp, as I let the child drop to the ground, trying to stand with the surviving sister. A small miqo’te girl. She wasn’t crying. She already looked mentally gone. But I wouldn't let her die. Not today. “ You have… to get.. off of this ship. GO! “ I blinked, clearly he intended to leave as well? The slavers were regrouping. Hell, I was surprise the one that had shot me wasn’t taking another pot shot. But the look he gave me.. Those eerie white hues.. They were just as bright as that sword. His teeth were bared. Gods, he was growling. It was terrifying.

I held the girl to my chest with one good arm, and ran towards the lifeboat. I heard shots, but I didn’t turn around. One last boat. Save the girl. Last boat. Save one more life. I climbed on, and set the girl down.. Who still hadn’t spoken another word. I was fighting for my breath before I looked back towards the Miqo’te. Dead bodies of slavers surrounded him, but they still came. I started lowering the boat down into the water, only to be greeted with the sight of the man leaping high above the ship, his sword drawn. A roar. A swing. A long arc of energy erupted from the great katana. Lightning flashed. As if the elements fought over who was more dangerous. I would have put money on him. Then nothing. I came to with my back on the sand, the ocean lapping at my soaked feet as I sputtered. Girl. Girl! I looked down, she was at my side. Still wordless. Ok. She was still alive. I heard hissing. What sounded like two waterfalls, and water hitting something extremely hot. I slowly sat up. Dozens of survivors littered the shore, any slavers that lived were tied up, or being beaten. Whatever justice the mob had decided to unleash upon them. But the Galleon had been sliced clean in half. A straight lined hole had been dug into the ground beneath the waves, which water was still cascading into. God. Had his sword done that? What the hell was he? Was HE a God? Crying. The girl wasn’t at my side anymore, I was so dumb founded by the scene before me, I hadn’t even noticed her sudden absence.

I slowly got to my feet in what I imagined in my head to be in a hurry, still feeling like I was in some sort of foggy dream, and I’d wake up from this land of Gods and swords that scared the shit out of me. But my dream took me to a miqo’te male, who’d been placed on wooden wreckage, crimson from his wounds mixing with sweat and sea salt. God, his whole upper body was covered with scars. Was he dead? I fell to my knees beside him, putting my head to his chest to listen for a heart beat. Still there. He was still breathing. The sword was in the scabbard beside him, almost in a death grip.

The more I stared, the more questions I had. I could almost make out blue pulsing lines under his skin. Who was this man? WHAT, was this man? The small girl had found a canteen, and was pouring water on his face. Not the first thing I would have done, but it worked. The man coughed, and shot straight up, breathing quickly as those creepy white hues looked at us, then around. “ Everyone… is safe? “ He said it between breaths, this was a very sharp contrast from his tone earlier. Almost light hearted, filled with concern. Caring. Earlier, that growl.. I shivered at the memory, but nodded. “ Aye. Everyone.. Well,  most  everyone made it to shore.. I can’t say for sure.. If.. “

He looked at me, as if to stop my words in front of the girl. I looked at her, complying with the visual request. The three of us surveyed the damage before he slowly stood up, me and the girl doing so as well. “ Who.. the hell are you? “ The miqo’te was standing there. He was wounded. He should have been seeking medical attention. But he was speaking into something. .  “ Medical Assistance will be here soon for you, and the others. Try and keep them calm, until they arrive.. also.. make sure none of the slavers get away. “ My teeth gritted, feeling abit ignored. “ I said who the HELL are you man?! Ya just exploded a ship! Yer shootin’ .. GODS knows what from your damned sw* “ His voice was light as he spoke, and the asshole had the balls to smile at me. “ Ruke. Yours? “ Mine?! If I had the balls to deck him right there after all he’d done, I would have.  

But I answered. “ Hutch. “ I said it simply, but I tried to inch in some audible annoyance. He didn’t seem to notice. He was definitely injured. He was not one of the Gods. That, or Gods could be put through galleon planks, and take damage. “ Hutch.. Were you a slaver? “ I froze. Of course I wasn’t. I was a stowaway ON a slaver ship, a pirate stowaway. I thought of how to explain this before he continued. “ It doesn’t matter. You.. risked your life to save those people. I saw what you did. The will to put others above yourself.. Is a rare trait. “ He said it simply, his voice quiet again. “ We need more of that in this world, Hutch. We also need forgiveness.  Second Chances.  "

I stared at him, trying to absorb all of this.  Second chances. Hell, in my head, what I’d done was stupid. Reckless. I felt the little girl hug my leg. I was all she had left. I was going to protect her. The feeling came so freely, it was scary. A daughter all of a sudden. Ruke smiled at me, a sad smile. A guilty look in those white hues. He blamed himself for those deaths. I knew it. I felt the same. Was this supposed to be a good feeling? She squeezed my leg again, but still said nothing. “ Alright. “ I answered softly, I knew why his voice had lowered. I didn’t like this feeling at all.

“ I’ll find you.. We’ll find you.. A better path. For you.  “ His words got more hoarse as he spoke, almost wavering on his feet. Then I saw a group of others running down the beach. A small miqo’te woman, what a commanding presence she had, for one so small. I could feel it from here. Any pretense of business disappeared from her yellowed gaze when she saw the shape of Ruke, however. She called out to him, her voice hitching as she ran to us. To him. Right on time, he fell over, and into her arms. She cried out for someone named Jaxx. The others that had come with them were passing out medical supplies, and a red headed miqo’te male ran over, checking on her and Ruke.

I left them. I took the girl. I didn’t know her name, and she didn’t talk. I couldn't feel. Great combination. I headed to Ul'dah with the girl the next morning. I wonder if I'd ever meet him again.

[notapaladin]

now i don’t take pleasure in a man’s pain

hi....did you know....regicide can actually be SO romantic and is a great way to confess your feelings to your crush? now you do! i had a fucking galaxy-brain idea based around the fact that uh...historically, we do not KNOW how tizoc died, but most historians blame his brother ahuizotl. me looking at the obsblood universe: It's Free Real Estate.

you do NOT know how hard it was to resist titling this “is this talk of love or regicide?”

on ao3

It had been so easy to make it look like an accident. Acatl thought he should probably be concerned about that—after all, if he could exploit this smallest crack in the Revered Speaker’s magical protections others surely could as well, and that would be a risk for Teomitl—but such feelings had fallen by the wayside long ago. Even if he hadn’t despised Tizoc-tzin beyond words for his own personal reasons (that peasant’s daughter burned in his heart like a coal), there was simply no other path left but this. Tizoc’s crimes had piled up like stones, and someone had to bury him under their weight before they broke the Empire’s back. There was only as much justice as he could make.

(One: the clergy of Tlaloc.)

(Two: the ghosts.)

(Three: the Great Temple, cracked open like a ribcage with—with things pouring out of it—)

The Empire wouldn’t hold. Not with a Revered Speaker barely able to channel a glimmer of Huitzilpochtli’s light, a man so callow and craven he was unable to even meet his god face-to-face and beg for his favor. Not with their enemies baying for blood, not with the stars still glinting in the sky at dawn. The boundaries slipped a little further every day, and when the Great Temple’s latest construction had begun to fill with blood and starlight Acatl had known what he had to do to keep them steady.

It was a small spell, a tiny drop of poison. Something barely noticeable. Something that greater and more powerful men, used to magic that lit up the sky, would never think to look for.

(Something that would grant Teomitl the crown he deserved.)

Tizoc’s long-overdue death was approaching fast—a matter of days, the healers said—and Acatl was free to make concerned noises at the right times, to pat Mihmatini’s shoulder when he saw her after another long shift of trying to halt the Revered Speaker’s slow decline (to feel a little bad about how much work it was making for her, but not much), to stand in front of Quenami and Acamapichtli with his face like stone. Yes, of course it was a shame. No, he couldn’t help, there was certainly nothing Mictlantecuhtli could do except hasten the Emperor’s end—oh, Acamapichtli’s spells weren’t having an effect either? How terribly unfortunate.

(Acamapichtli didn’t smile. He didn’t meet his eyes. But in the set of his jaw and the incline of his head, Acatl read Thank you.)

It would be soon. Acatl knew he’d feel it when it happened, and so he didn’t worry himself overmuch with keeping track. So long as he showed a placid face to the world, there was nothing to fear. An unworthy Revered Speaker would be dead and gone, and a far better one would take his place. He knew deep in his bones that Teomitl would be glorious, the radiance of Huitzilpochtli’s favor pulsing under his skin like a bright heartbeat. Time had polished his arrogance into calm authority and honed his edges like a Tarascan bronze knife; when he ascended the throne, the sun would shine brighter than it had even for his grandfather Itzcoatl. The Turquoise-and-Gold Crown would fit perfectly on his head, and Acatl would kneel with his heart full of joy.

(Full of—other emotions, too, which he would not name in daylight. Teomitl didn’t need to be burdened with that knowledge.)

And yet, for all that, the sound of his footsteps hurrying up the temple steps was the same as it had always been. Acatl took a breath and set his reed pen aside; he’d been noting down the names and clans of those lost to Tizoc’s latest folly, a mismanaged attempt at expanding the Great Temple that had come perilously close to cracking a set of very important wards. He could come back to it after he saw what Teomitl wanted. Maybe he misses me, breathed a hopeful part of his mind—it had been a few days since they’d had time to talk—but he quashed that line of thought before it could do any serious damage. He and his former student were friends, nothing else. Friends. If the merest touch settled on his skin like a brand, if he dreamed of something more, that was his own problem.

“Acatl-tzin.”

The entrance curtain shifted, less forcefully than it usually did, and Teomitl stood in the doorway. Backlit, he gleamed with the signs of his rank; his red cloak and loincloth shone like blood, his armbands like the sun, and he’d pulled his hair into a noble’s topknot with a headdress of quetzal feathers. It struck Acatl to the core. For a long moment all he could do was stare, but then he registered Teomitl’s serious expression and recalled himself. He hadn’t been Acatl-tzin in private for ages, unless matters were very important indeed. I should have known this wouldn’t be a social call. “What’s the matter?”

Teomitl let the curtain fall behind him. As he stepped inside, Acatl reflected that it really was a small room. “I…” His gaze flickered to the floor, briefly, and a muscle worked in his jaw as he met Acatl’s eyes again. “I have a question I hope you’d answer for me. Truthfully.”

Acatl swallowed. Something in his chest tightened nearly to the point of pain. Memories—a clasped hand, the heavy heat of a feverish body in his arms, the brush of fingers at a shared meal—zipped through his mind like thrown daggers. For years he’d barely even dared to look at Teomitl for too long, lest his thoughts show on his face. True, Teomitl was smart and observant, but he’d been careful. He forced words out past the hard knot of fear in his throat. “I’ll not lie to you, Teomitl. You know that.”

Teomitl took another step forward. The room was really too small. He made a motion as though to reach for Acatl before visibly drawing himself back, straightening his spine. “I do. But...you understand why I have to ask.”

Acatl held his ground. “I do.” I love you. I love you, and you’ll scorn me for it.

There was a long, slow breath and another flicker of averted eyes before Teomitl looked him in the face again. “Are you doing...all this...for the sake of the Fifth World?”

He had to make himself breathe. “I’m...not sure what you mean.”

Teomitl gestured, an angry, stabbing motion. “Tizoc.”

Oh. He was still breathing. His heart was still beating. But it was all feeling very, very far away. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands hard enough to draw blood; the pain grounded him enough to speak, though the words felt like they were being torn from his lungs. Don’t. Teomitl, please. “I.” Through supreme effort of will, he managed to keep his gaze focused in the general area of Teomitl’s face. “I don’t believe I ought to answer that. Why do you think I’m involved?”

“Oh, come on! You think I don’t know what even a trace of your magic feels like?!” It came out in an impatient huff. “You’ve taught me too well for that, Acatl-tzin. Quenami even asked me if I was doing it, and had the nerve to remind me that I wouldn’t gain the Southern Hummingbird’s favor that way, as though I’m not well aware of it! But of course, you wouldn’t have to worry about that. I only want to know—is this for the Fifth World, or not?”

He couldn’t speak. I promised never to lie to you. I promised you that. But for this… He could picture Teomitl’s reaction to the truth all too easily—the shock, the avoidance, the way their easy camaraderie would dissolve like mist.

Teomitl’s hand shot out and grabbed a fistful of his cloak by his shoulder; Acatl was too stunned to react as he stepped into his personal space, eyes dark and furious. “Is it, Acatl?!”

He closed his eyes, hating himself for it. Teomitl deserved Mihmatini, who spat in the face of fear; Acatl was too weak even to look at him while he held out his heart to be torn to shreds. My parents were right, after all. I’m a coward. But Teomitl had asked for the truth, and so he would give it to him. “Not—not only for the Fifth World, but for you.”

Silence descended, punctuated only by Teomitl’s harsh breathing and Acatl’s shaky ones. He felt more than heard his heart beat a frenetic tattoo in his chest.

He opened his mouth again—he knew he was rambling, but he couldn’t stop himself. Anything was better than this deadly void, and in any case Teomitl was between him and the nearest escape route. “He is a cruel, paranoid coward, and not fit to be Emperor. But you—you are. I know you; you’re brave and intelligent and your heart is so wide when you—when you love, and you’d lead the Empire to greatness. I’d—I would be so proud to serve you in any way you’d have me. I know it doesn’t excuse—“

“Acatl.”

Teomitl’s voice cracked halfway through his name, sounding more than a little desperate; he opened his eyes, and therefore he had a moment to brace himself as Teomitl breathed, “Shut up,” and pulled him into a hard, messy kiss.

The world stopped. There was Teomitl’s mouth on his—hot and wet and definitely with more teeth than Acatl had really imagined would be involved in kissing—and the faint shimmer of Huitzilpochtli’s magic that always accompanied him felt like sunlight on Acatl’s skin. Sunlight through the water, green as jade, some dizzy part of him thought with half a memory of Chalchiuhtlicue, but then Teomitl slid his tongue into his mouth and he forgot how to think entirely. If Teomitl hadn’t still had a deathgrip on his cloak, he might have reeled.

(He hadn’t dreamed about that.)

And then, very suddenly, Teomitl wrenched himself away. His mouth was very red, the working part of Acatl’s brain noted, and his eyes were wide as a deer’s. “I—I’m so sorry. Acatl-tzin, I wasn’t thinking…”

He should probably say something (Gods, I love you), or move (pull him into his arms, never let him go), but he couldn’t make himself do either one. He lived in a new world, one where Teomitl had just kissed him, and it needed some time to settle on its foundations. Teomitl. Life returned to his fingers first, twitching at his sides—then his arms, and he managed to lift a disbelieving hand and trace his own lips, marveling at the way they still tingled, the way he could still feel the impression of that mouth against his own—

Only to realize that Teomitl was stiffly drawing himself up and turning away, turning to leave. Acatl’s voice came back to him in a rush. “Wait!”

“So you can reject me kindly, is that it?” Teomitl’s voice shook, fists clenching as he fixed his gaze on the wall. Acatl watched as he flushed a deep red. “Scold me about how I shouldn’t have done that, how you have your vows and I have a loving wife and I’m breaking her heart? I’m not, you know. Your sister’s too smart and too relentless for that—she’s been telling me for years I should do something about it.” He snorted bitterly, shaking his head. “Well, I did something about it, and now I get to tell her how badly I’ve misjudged.”

He was walking away. Acatl couldn’t let him; there would never be another chance for him to say this. Shakily, he took what felt like his first breath in a thousand years. “No. That’s—that’s not it at all!”

Teomitl turned in the doorway, one hand at the curtain, and stared at him. The expression on his face shifted slowly from stubborn self-hatred to a sort of wary hope. “...What is it, then?”

He’d always been bad with words. People took what he said poorly, or just ignored him when he said something they disliked. So, in this instance, he decided not to rely on them. Duality, let me not be making a mistake, he prayed. His palms still stung where his nails had cut them, and he dedicated the pain of it to the gods.

(He’d never prayed or sacrificed to Xochipilli in his life. He resolved to start immediately.)

Carefully, he stepped forward. Just as carefully, he reached out and took Teomitl’s unresisting hand in both of his own. It was easiest to meet his eyes if he didn’t look away, and thus he saw them widen at the first touch. It made his heart flip over in his chest; he had to pause for a moment, drawing in another breath, to drink in the sight of Teomitl slowly softening and turning towards him. Oh, I love you. Let me show you.

He’d never kissed anyone in his life, but they were nearly of a height (Teomitl had gotten slightly taller than him since they’d met, which he probably shouldn’t have found appealing—but it had brought some rather interesting thoughts in the night) and so it was easy to lean in, tilt his head a bit so they didn’t bump noses, and brush his lips softly against Teomitl’s own. He kept it light and chaste, but it still sent shockwaves through him. This is what it’s like to kiss Teomitl. This is his mouth, this the shape of his lips and the line of his nose. This is what it feels like when he melts against me.

Because Teomitl was melting, gently tugging his hand free of Acatl’s to slide both arms around him and hold him like something precious and fragile. Fingers tangled lightly in the ends of his hair, weaving through the strands, and it sent a shiver through him. Acatl had had some vague idea of keeping the kiss brief—a way to make certain Teomitl knew of his feelings, nothing more—but Teomitl seemed inclined to linger over it. This one was soft and delicate and as unlike the previous attempt as it was possible to be, but the magic limning Teomitl’s skin still warmed him down to his bones. Helpless, all he could do was hold him close; it seemed the most natural thing in the world to cradle the base of his skull in one hand, burying his fingers in thick, soft hair. Teomitl sighed against his mouth, and he hummed in response.

When they finally parted, Teomitl’s voice was soft with wonder. “All this, for me?”

He thought of Tizoc slowly dying, his bones flaking to ash in the funeral pyre. He thought of his own hands red with the blood of an emperor. He thought of Teomitl crowned in turquoise and gold, with jade and precious feathers at his feet.

(For the first time, he allowed himself a place in the dream. In any way you’d have me, he’d blurted out, and meant it.)

“Always.”

Teomitl kissed him again. It was more careful and yet more passionate than the first time, with the sharp pressure of teeth turned to a simmering promise that lit his blood on fire. And this time, with Acatl knowing it was coming, he could adjust accordingly. His lips parted easily for Teomitl’s tongue, and he surprised himself with the soft, hungry sound that rose up from his throat. A shock ran up his spine when Teomitl’s grip tightened on his hair, and he realized in a rush that he wanted more, wanted to see how strong Teomitl really was.

Teomitl nipped lightly at his lower lip—oh, he liked that too—and pulled away, eyes dark and heated. “...Acatl.” His voice was rough around the edges. “You’ve no idea how much I want you, but...I won’t ask you to break your vows for me.”

My what? It took him a shamefully long time to realize what Teomitl was talking about; when it struck him, he had to smile even as a rush of embarrassed heat pulsed through his veins. “Teomitl.” Feeling suddenly bold, he settled his hands at Teomitl’s hips, pulling him closer. Like this, there was no possible way of hiding his desire. “If I planned to keep my vow of chastity, I would not be doing this.” Looking back, it had probably been a lost cause since the first time Teomitl had smiled at him, but when he’d begun to wake hard and trembling with lust he’d known that if Teomitl were to ask...well.

(He’d sworn his obedience to Tizoc, and look how well he was keeping to that. What was one more oath shattered on the ground so that he could dance amidst the shards?)

Teomitl surged forward to meet him, pressing their bodies together. Their cloaks were no obstacle at all; he could feel the heat of his skin through them, and when the fabric shifted, the bare skin on his own felt like Tlaloc’s lightning in his veins. He made a desperate noise that might have been pleading for a kiss, but Teomitl ignored him and lowered his head to mouth at his throat instead and his knees almost buckled. He was achingly hard already; when Teomitl dug his nails into his shoulderblades, he had to bite his lip to stifle a cry. Anyone could come in. It wasn’t safe here. He kept thinking that—they wouldn’t have much time, it wasn’t safe—but then Teomitl’s teeth scraped lightly over the juncture of neck and collarbone and his ability to think anything flew out the window.

Then he lifted his head—not by much, Acatl could still feel his breath on his skin—and murmured, “Gods, Acatl, can I…?“

It was enough to jar his brain into functioning again. “Not here,” he breathed. “Go change out of all that—“ he wouldn’t mind Teomitl keeping it on, actually, but all the gold and quetzal feathers were the farthest thing from discreet, “—and meet me at home. I’ll—I’ll be waiting for you.”

Teomitl took a shuddering breath and stepped away, passing a hand over his hair. “Gods. Gods. Alright.” The edge of his smile was shy, but radiant as the dawn of the Fifth Sun. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

This time, when he left, Acatl didn’t stop him. He knew they’d see each other again soon.

(Later—much, much later, when they were sweaty and sticky and spent—Teomitl twined a lock of Acatl’s hair through his fingers and grinned wickedly as he asked, “So, how are you dealing with Tizoc, anyway?” Acatl, smiling in return, told him.)

(Teomitl all but tackled him back onto the mat.)