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Pairing: Drew McIntyre x Desiree Simons
Warnings: self blame, a little bit of angst
a/n: After last nights rumble disappointment, I whipped my tears, and continued on. I still love Drew, and I would still storm the ring with him and Angela of course. I hope you guys enjoys this chapter, likes, reblogs, and comments are appreciated. Follow me for more, and if you’re interested, my main characters have character introductions linked in my pinned post. Love ya
Chapter 2: Motive
On my way to the guerilla, I spot Renee standing nearby with a camera man, and microphone in hand. She perks up upon hearing my voice, “Hey Nae Nae!” Her head pops up, and her eyes widen in excitement. She greets me with open arms, I squeeze her smaller frame as tightly as possible, I remember how she would send me updates of her daughter frequently during my recovery. Even when I did not respond, she kept in touch. I can feel my eyes sting at the sentiment, but I hold it in so I wouldn't ruin my makeup. “Hey yourself, you look amazing Des.” Her eyes give me a once over, a small grin stretches across her lips. I held my face blushing, and I did a small twirl, bowing playfully, we both let out a fit of giggles before we sober up.
“Okay, okay, we doin an interview for me?” I clap my hands together, from my peripheral I caught Drew watching with an amused expression etched across his face, he leaned against a brick wall in the hallway. Matt Riddle seems to be chatting him up to the point I don't think Matt even knew Drew wasn’t paying attention anymore. I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling, Renee calls my attention back to the task at hand, she brings me over to my mark, which is next to her so that we’re both in frame. “Ladies, and gentlemen I’m here tonight with an oh so special guest, as she prepares to go out, Desiree, how are you feeling about this mixed tag match. We’ve never seen you tag with anyone before, let alone Drew McIntyre…” She trails off, holding the mic to me waiting for my answer. I press my lips together, I glance over to Drew momentarily, but turn back to Renee. “Aw man Nae, I’ve never felt better, ready to put my foot up Becky Lynch’s ass, hopefully for the last time because I’m just that tired of seeing her face from the other side of the ring. It doesn't matter if I was gone for weeks, months, or years, I stay ready, and you can bet all the money in the world that I’m always gonna deliver the W. She may have broken my knee but she hasn’t broken my spirit, as a Black girl in America…well you’re gonna have to do better than a steel chair.” I pause hearing the roar of the thousands of fans responding to my words, and that may not have been aimed at Becky directly, but I truly felt that way. And yeah, I absolutely have a chip on my shoulder about it. I took a breath looking down at my shoes trying to regain my focus, then looking back at Renee with a smirk on my lips, Becky’s music hit, so I tried to wrap it up quickly.
“As far as Drew is concerned, well what better a person to go into battle with than a Scottsman?” I end it with a tiny smirk, looking right into the camera lens, then I slap Renee on the shoulder, and walk out of frame letting her finish up her interview. Just then Colby walks past us, he descries Drew, then to me I stood on the opposite side of the hallway. He says nothing, but instead laughs his signature irritating laugh, his music plays, then struts his way through the curtain. I roll my eyes, but I don't give ‘The Drip God’ anymore attention. I finally cross the hall to Drew who’s gaze never left me, his eyes light up excitedly waiting for me to speak, but right when I take a breath to address him Matt Riddle pivots to me. His chill demeanor only raising a step above that, I didn't think it was physically possible for him to show any more energy anyway.
“Whoa, look who it is! Ya know I was just telling D-Man how good you guys would look as a couple. I’m actually glad your back bro, Austin Powers here was walking around real broody every week while you were gone. I told him he should have just visited you if he missed you so much.” Drew, and I gape at Matt in disbelief, it seems to me he let some shit slip that he shouldn't have. The look in Drew’s eyes held a promise to run Matt a receipt that he’s gonna be feeling for the rest of his life. Matt looks between the two of us, aloof of the tension between us because of his loose lips. My face settles into a look of chagrin, and ultimately ruins my mood. Then it dawns on me, “Austin Powers is British you idiot.” I roll my eyes, Drew’s lips parting as if he was going to say something, but my entrance music hits, it’s too late. I face the curtain before I could suffer anymore embarrassment, I took a deep breath, and to my credit, I was trying my best not to grimace.
“Look at the scowl on Desiree’s face tonight, usually she’s more lively, but she means business on her returning night. This would be her first in-ring match in a year. If you were Desiree, what would be going through your head right now, and what is the strategy to ensure you come out a winner?''Micheal Cole asked Wade Barret in commentary.
“I’ve known Desiree for quite a while now, she can be very easy going, and easy to get along with. She’s very sweet, but she’s all business in that ring no matter who her opponent is. All she needs to do is stay focused, keep her head in the game, and she’ll be just fine.” Wade says candidly, they watch as she finally makes her way to the ring, but doesnt get inside, instead she waits outside the ring.
“That seems to be easier said than done, you see how she’s distanced herself outside the ring, waiting for her tag partner tonight, Drew McIntyer, a two hundred and seventy five pound Scottsman. An unlikely pair of Desiree, and Drew, things could get very interesting. Unlike our former womens champion, Desiree, Becky Lynch seems to be in a playfull mood. She says that she’s been waiting, and biding her time for Desiree’s return. There’s been some talk among the women's locker room that the only reason Becky got the win that night at Wrestlemania was because of the damage she did to the knee of Desiree.” Micheal explains, looking into the camera, then to his partner Wade.
“I think I’m siding with Desiree on this one, the Becky v Desiree drama is starting to run stale. I’m very much looking forward to seeing how she fares against Mami, Rhea Rippley.”
I watch as Drew makes his entrance, he makes his way down the ramp, Angela by his side as always. I cannot deny how sexy he looks, like something right out of a fantasy novel. Though I was still annoyed by the previous events, I could feel my tough demeanor softening. His gaze locking on Colby in the ring, he pointed Angela towards him with an unspoken promise of an asswhooping. When he finally reaches me, he tears his eyes away from our opponents, and settles them on me. An apology reflects in his sky blue eyes fleetingly, then a look of playfulness, and soon he was smiling at me charmingly. He took me by the hand, and walks me around to the other side of the ring where his sword holder was attached to the ring post. He sits Angela down on the apron temporarily, then he turns to me, and he holds his hands out to me signaling that he wants to pick me up. At first I try to reject the idea, but Drew is insistent. “Beam me up Scotty.” I sigh, giving in, he lifts me by my midsection, gripping me securely, and places me on the apron in front of the ropes. I press my lips together, a last ditch effort to keep the giggles that are threatening to press past my lips. He then climbs up, and stands tall next to me. He turns to the crowd holding Angela out to them with one hand, fire blast from the ring post, and the people roar to life once again. A proud smile on his face, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, and held the ropes open for me.
“Hey, hey, hey, relax a little. Calm down.” Drew and I have a small side bar while the announcer does her due diligence, when he sees that I’m not letting go of my mood, and choosing to be stubborn despite him being able to see through my shield. He shrugs as the bell rings, then slaps me on the shoulder hard enough to nearly knock me over. I stumble forward a bit, the glare on my face is enough to bury him, but he backs away, then ducks between the ropes before I get a chance to slap him back.
“I’m over here sweetheart.” Becky whistles to me, we circle each other, arms raised looking to lock up. She overpowers me, pulling me into a headlock, and cutting the blood flow to my head. I can see Drew in the corner watching closely, he seems annoyed which for some reason rubs off on me, and for a second I get a bit of energy back to somewhat break out of her hold. All I could manage was to buck my hips back into her, she let out a yelp, and had no choice but to let me go. My breathing heavy, and ragged. As soon as I get some separation, Becky ruins it, and kicks me roughly in my gut. Down I go.
“Are you kidding me! That’s all ya got? Aren't you supposed to be a five time champion?” I can hear Drew yelling at me from our corner, I wasn't sure what game he was playing at right now, but if it was meant to get my angry boy it was working. He knew exactly how to push my buttons, and he always did it at the worst times.
“Um, are these supposed to be words of encouragement from Drew?” Micheal asked no one in particular.
“Yes, unfortunately, this is indeed Drew’s vexing, yet effective way of getting you fired up. He’s very good at getting under your skin, in your head, and picking you apart. Putting that Criminal degree to use here in the WWE. Weirdly enough it works, so I don't question his methods.” Wade explains.
“C'monn, wha’yer doin down there takin a nap? We got work to do, get your arse up DeeDee!” He continues to shout at me, I grunt out in frustration, and as I’m getting to my feet Becky is grabbing me by my arms, pulling me all the way up, and irish whipping me into the ropes on the other end of the ring. I bounce off, running at her, she's trying to set me up for a power bomb, but I duck in enough time. I pause mid stride catching her off guard, she stands frozen, and we take a moment to let the crowd react before she turns to run to the ropes. She bounces off, and comes at me full speed. I counter her moves, lifting her up by the waist, and slamming her face fist into the matt.
Wade stands to his feet, “look at the strength! I’ve never seen the Falcon Arrow so wonderfully executed.”
“WOO! That's what I’m talking about!” Drew, and the audience popped at the same time. They have better liked that, I’ve been practicing that move with Colby for god knows how long, and I never got to use it till now. I look back at Becky, I knew she wasn't getting up for a moment, so grab her by the arms, and drag her over to her and Colby’s corner. “Hey! Hey you brat! I taught you that!” He shouts at me, he leans over the turnbuckle to make the tag, and climbs in.
“Yup, and I did it better.” I taunt him, swiping my shoulder like I was dusting it off. Then I trudge over to Drew and I’s corner where he waves at me innocently, I slap him on his chest as hard as I could muster. He groans, feeling the sting, but I’m sure that barely hurts him in comparison to the beatings he usually takes, he clenches his jaw suddenly not finding humor in his own game. The ref acknowledges our tag, “You do realize this behavior won't fly missy.” Drew mumbles to me.
“Ohh I’m so scared, is the big bad man gonna punish me?” I say in a childishly mocking voice, the look in his eyes held promise of something too inappropriate for tv, his stare lingers on me for a moment, before he sets his intensity on Colby. Their start off is the exact opposite of Becky and I, there weren't any formalities, forgetting all about the lock up, Colby wastes no time punching Drew right in the face. Which if anything appears to make him more upset, Colby stares at him like a deer caught in headlights, but when Drew jumps forward faking a counter move, Colby sprung to action. He ran for the ropes, bounces off of them, and sent himself right into Drew’s forearm eating a nasty looking closeline.
“BOOM!” Drew shouts, feeling confident, and looking even more arrogant. The crowd eats him right up, no matter how badly he beats on their heroes, in the eyes of the people that man is always validated.
“Seth knows better than anyone how explosive Drew’s temper can be. I've had the misfortune of knowing how Drew McIntyre can flip like a switch.” Wade lets out a deep chuckle, “At first he’s sweet, and then boy oh boy is he sour.”
Seth jumped off the second rope, meaning to go for a ddt, but Drew caught him mid air, skull to skull. As usual Drew won that battle.
“OH! Glasgow Kiss, and a Falcon Arrow this early in the match up. Drew McIntire and Desiree did not come to play.” Micheal Cole nearly jumps out of his seat along with the rest of the crowd.
The sound of their skulls clanging together sends a shiver down my spine making my whole body cringes, there’s no nice way to deliver a headbutt, however I can't help but feel that one was personal. There’s no love loss between Colby, and Drew, in fact I don't think they ever got along behind the curtain. Thankfully for Hunter, the two of them know how to be professional for long enough to put on a good show. Drew would never go into detail about why he doesn't like Colby, and every time I’ve asked it usually results in an argument. “Some role model he is, ‘oh lighten up, have fun’ he says” I mumble mockingly in the corner, my interpretation of his accent rusty from not being around him in so long.
“What did you say?” Drew whips around, I nearly jump out of my skin not realizing he’s not too far from me, Colby is outside the ring, on the floor near me. His breathing heavy, as he clutches his shoulder, I glance back to Drew who’s still watching me. Meanwhile the ref is counting out Colby, I roll my eyes, and get down from the apron. Everyone watches me with confusion, Becky starts to holler at me as I make my way over to Colby, and help him up.
“Gosh you’re fat.” I grunt as I try to pull him up from the floor, I yank his arms as hard as I can to lift him, and suddenly he comes up with ease. I smile to myself thinking that all my training has been paying off till I see who’s on the other side holding onto Colby’s arm, Drew not only looks confused, but furious.
“Aye, I know what I’m doin’ I don't need you getting involved.” He fusses at me, Colby’s tired body now leaning on me, his face in the crook of my neck, and it hadn’t even dawned on me how this must look to everyone else. Becky shouting at us to get back in the ring, the ref following her lead, and the whole arena in disarray. That may or may not be my fault. But the fans are eating it up, so I just go with it, I push Colby off me, and back into Drew’s arms.
“You were taking too long! I dont wanna win by count out! Get him in there, and let's go already!” I clap my hands trying to herd Drew to the apron.
Wade chimes in trying to make sense of what’s happening for the viewers, “I don't know what’s being said exactly but it seems like Desiree was beginning to get impatient with Drew, Seth Rollins who’s still very much winded probably doesn't know where he is right now after Drew roughly threw Rollins into the barricade over the top rope causing Seth to go head, and shoulder first into it.”
“Becky Lynch the only competitor in the ring right now, but her partner Seth Rollins is still technically the legal man right now. She has the ability to change the pace of things, and it seems as if she’s making that choice right now as she climbs to the top looking to fly while Drew, and Desiree are too busy arguing. AND OFF THE TOP BECKY GOES! A hell of a crash landing from The Man, Becky Lynch.”
Drew looks up above me, “watch out!” I duck in enough time to dodge out the way, and not almost die from her crash landing. Drew catches her in his arms, she squirms in his hold, but he wasn't sure what to do with her. The crowd was in a frenzy, “hey, hey, over here!” I call Drew, he shrugs his shoulders, then hands her off to me, but she begins to fight back. I fight her off with a few punches to the ribcage, then putting her over my shoulders, and dropping her face first onto my knee. I roll her into the ring then climb in after her. I let her rest for a moment while I took a short break myself. I flip her onto her back, hook both her legs, putting my body weight across her chest, and lift my fips for good measure. The ref counts, three, the bell rings, and just like that I end the match with the win. The crowd erupts, it felt good to know I had them back in my corner. Drew’s large hand grasps mine, and raises it high, almost lifting me off my feet from our dramatic height difference.
“Oops, sorry, I forget you're a wee little lad.” He chuckles, graciously holding the ropes open for me like the gentleman he is, then stepping through the middle rope, and jumping down. This time when he offers to pick me up, I don't argue, but rather hop into his arms, he catches me with ease. The fans shout for our attention, I notice how many phones are on us right now, and we might possibly get in a bit of trouble for this interaction. I didn't care for the moment, for now I’ll ride the high of my return.
“Great job out there partner.” Drew compliments me, the night isn't completely over so there were still a few Superstars scattered about, warming up, or chatting with each other. No one really paid us any mind, that’s if they could see me underneath his large frame, but that got me thinking about all that I want to bring up tonight over dinner.
“Think I might be giving Sheamus a run for his money?” I ask, we approach the women's locker room, the mens a little ways from here, he was sweet enough to pass up his own stop.
Drew’s face lights up at the mention of his best friend, letting out a hearty laugh, his head thrown back, and his hand on his chest. He peers down at me, hands on his hips, “Keep dreamin las, maybe if you put on a few extra pounds, and pick up some weights. You might come close.” I couldn’t help the grin that stretches across my face, his energy infectious, I raise my head to look up at him. If he leans in a little lower he could kiss me, his eyes flicker to my lips, and back to my eyes. He takes my hand, turns it over, pressing his lips to my palm gingerly, and then pressing my hand against his bare chest. His chest hairs are soft beneath my palm, but I hardly notice. “What I should have said earlier was that I’m happy to see you, and I’m glad you’re well.” He said softly, his other hand came up to gingerly sweep the hair stuck to my lip out of my face. I swear I couldn't breathe right now, but I inhale as much air as possible to make sure I dont pass out from lack of oxygen.
“It’s okay.” I whisper, the door to the locker room opens, and out comes Mandy Rose. She looks between the both of us seemingly upset, but I couldn't fathom why. We weren't ever the best of friends but as far as I knew we had a fairly decent working relationship. Drew did not spare her a glance, his eyes remained on me, and eventually she’s out of sight. Unfortunately that little exchange took me out of the moment, my stamina wearing off, and the beating I took earlier is catching up to me. I let out a deep breath, letting my hand slide down his body, and dropping down to my sides.
“I need a hot shower, and a change of clothes. I’ll see you later?” I lean my hip against the door, one hand already twisting the handle. I knew if I didnt get from under his microscope now then I’d end up in his clutches for sure.
Drew let me choose the restaurant per his request, and when I got there he was already there near the back. I walk up to the greeter at the front, he smiles at me kindly, and I return his gesture, “Table for Galloway.” He checks his tablet, then leads the way to the back of the restaurant where the lighting is a bit dimmer, and intimate. I suddenly feel nervous when Drew looks up from his phone, our gazes meet, my lips part as I take him in from afar. He’s simply dressed in a white button up, the first few buttons undone showing off his chest hair, and dark denim jeans. He stands from his seat like a gentleman, he smiles charmingly, his eyes sparkling with desire. I thanked the host, then he left us alone, left me alone…with Drew. “Well, at least I know I didn’t over dress?” He takes my hand holding it up, and he gently pushes my hip signaling me to turn. As I’m twirling, I notice we caught the attention of onlookers, as Drew is the largest man, probably in the entire restaurant. He hums satisfiedly, a giggle pushes past my lips; sometimes he makes me feel so easygoing, and not caring about a single person watching.
Still, but holding onto me, his other hand comes around my waist, and pulls me in closer. Leaning down, He places a chaste kiss on my cheek, then whispering into my ear. “You always look, beautiful princess.” His lips brushing my ear, my voice caught in my throat, and he took my frozen stature as an excuse to keep me there a moment longer. He dips his head lower to the crook of my neck inhaling my perfume as deeply as he could. My stomach began to flip aggressively, I’ve never wanted to kick my own ass so badly, because what was I thinking, just ignoring him for a year? Not wanting to cause any more of a scene I press my hand to his midsection pushing him away, and getting some space between us.
“Drew…” I groan, this was supposed to be a casual dinner but he was acting like he wants to spread me out on the dinner table. I was only going to have as much self control as he was. That's how we got into this predicament. He kissed me at one of LA Knight’s Christmas parties four years ago, unbeknownst to us how much chemistry there was between us.
“Right…casual dinner, here lemme get this for ya.” He reluctantly let me go, pulling out my chair, waiting for me to sit, and slowly pushing me in. By the time he got around to his size, a waiter was approaching us, a polite smile spread across their mouth.
“Evening, are we ready to order?”
Drew gestures for me to order first, not wanting to make anyone wait, I went for my usual choice. “I’ll have blackened salmon, with the roasted potatoes…can I also get sauteed broccoli on the side please.” The waitress quickly jots down my order, then moves on to Drew, who is of course a heavy weight, ordering a medium rare ribeye steak, buttery mashed potatoes, and roasted vegetables. He could definitely eat more, I once witnessed him damn near inhaling a platter of buffalo chicken tenders, fries and downing a beer to wash it down.
“Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks, and then your meal should be shortly after that.” Then they disappear out of our eyesight, yet again we were left alone. I wasn't sure where to start, so I blurt out the first thing that comes to my head, “I got a cat..sss, I got two cats.” He perks up in interest, I pull my phone from my purse, scrolling through my photos, and find the hundreds of selfies I took, but never sent. I slide the phone over, our fingers graze sending a shock of electricity through me, my skin prickles, and I quickly pull my hand back.
“Well look at that, you’re a cat mom, who would have thought. What’s their name?” He asked, he stared at the photos adoringly, we both leaned in over the table to try and get a good angle of the phone. I scroll back to the selfie of me and my gray Scottish Fold, I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, “this is Andrew…” There was a long pause as I watch him stare down at the picture on my phone, a look of adoration in his eyes. “Is it weird that I named my cat after you?” I smile sheepishly as his facial expression changes into one of shock, then a look of affection. His eyes brimming with tears unexpectedly.
“Yeah, it's a teeny bit weird. But! It’s literally the sweetest thing ever. I’m flattered that you thought of me.” He smiles, a bittersweet expression in his eyes, my lips parting to speak, but the waitress saves me. Placing our drinks down in front of us, and kindly reassuring us our food is on the way.
We simultaneously sip, I take as long as I can, and swallow impossibly slow. When I looked up from my glass, Drew was already looking at me, and I nearly choked on my wine. He watches me with his eyebrows raised, as I continue to chug, his own glass lowers. I paused for a second, but he encourages me to continue, “go on, don’t let me stop ya.”
I gulp down the rest of the dark red wine knowing I might regret that sooner than later. I felt proud of myself the way he looks at me from across the table, usually Drew is the heavy drinker, and eater at that. I smile bodaciously, my lips stretching across my face, he slams his fist onto the table. He chuckles deeply, bringing the attention of the restaurant back to us.
“Never knew I needed to see you chug wine, till I saw you chug wine…that is something.” He confesses as he gazes at me, mesmerized by what he just witnessed.
“I learned from the best.” I chortle, shrugging my shoulders, glancing down at my phone. It brought my mind back to what I wanted to say a moment ago. Taking in a deep breath, then letting it out slowly, I try to get serious again. Clearing my throat, I spoke up, “I did think about you a lot, there’s a lot of drafts in my phone, and selfies I wanted to send.” I exhale, then snuck a quick glance across the table, and sure enough he’s hanging on my every word. Blue eyes watching me attentively. “And the reason I didn’t…honestly I just felt like I’d bring you down. There were some good days I could have told you about, like when I adopted Andrew, and Sadie. But then I felt like, why would you even want to talk to me at this point? Were you even still interested in me?” I didn’t intend on confessing as much as I did, but his silence is motivating.
“For every time I had something good or positive to tell you, my own subconscious slammed me down. You know me, I’m prideful, I never want to tell you all the bad things, it just felt like complaining. So here I am, pouring my heart out hoping you’ll take me back. I mean, I understand if we’re just friends, I’m perfectly okay with that.” Lies, all lies, of course I wasn’t going to be okay with being just friends, my eyes found interest in my nails as I lay my palm flat against the dinner table cloth.
His large hand took mine, then interlocking our fingers, and brought my attention to him. “First of all, of course I still want to be friends, we were friends first, remember? Secondly, I wanted to hear everything, no matter how miserable you thought it was because that’s what real friends do sweetheart.” He says ever so gingerly, I could have cried, the fact that he had to reiterate that made me feel stupid. I sniffled a little trying to hold back tears. Looking up to the ceiling, I wonder what I did to deserve such a man in my life. “I wanted to be there for you through it all, but your crazy arse wouldn’t let me.” He jokes, just then our food came, so reluctantly Drew broke the hold he had on me to allow the server to place our food in front of us.
“What now then?” I ask, I was just fine with letting him steer things because clearly I couldn’t handle being in charge. He thought about it for a moment, cutting into his steak, and taking a few bites. I nibble at my salmon, suddenly in the mood for different meat to be in my mouth. I cross my legs one over the other, thankful for the table cloth, but I’m sure my facial expression gave me away. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions. Drew’s mouth twitches, an attempt to hide a slight smirk on his lips.
“Hmm, well we can’t be friends.” He says, playfully, and I almost choke. I place my fork down calmly, and fold my hands in my lap to keep from trying to stab myself in the eye.
“We can’t?” My voice above a whisper, his lips press together, and his eyebrows drawn, a pensive expression etched across his face. This is not how I thought things would turn out at all, I mean he made it clear that he was mad initially. But to just leave it behind completely.
He shook his head, “nope.” I sat for a while, when I peake at him from underneath my lashes I saw how he’s simmering. Desire deep in his eyes, his gaze piercing, he leans forward in his seat.
“Why not?” I tug at my bottom lip, his eyes dropping to my mouth, and tongue flicking out to wet his lips. Memories of how that same movement could weaken me, and make me scream his government.
“Do you really think after a year of not seeing you, not having you…that I would let you roam free? Getting rid of me won’t be that simple I fear, but it’s ridiculous to call us just friends after all this. I mean, who are we kidding, I’ve done things to you that won’t ever compare, and I don’t need another man daring to try.” He reaches across the table, taking my hand in his, his thumb caressing my knuckles, and his other holding onto his cup of Guinness. Then this crazy man proceeds to chug his beer, nearly inhaling it. He lets out a grunt after roughly setting his glass back down, his lips settles into a small smile as she leans forward. “You and I both know, our chemistry is just too intense to call it quits. So, meet me in the middle, and take things slow?” He offers, and after a whole year away, I finally know exactly what I want.
“Yea…I’d like that.” I agree meekly, biting in my bottom lip, taking things slow with him sure is going to be hell on wheels. All I’ve wanted him to do since earlier today was rip my clothes off, but if I want to be more present in this relationship, I can’t let my pussy do all the taking for me. We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, then I accidentally let out a yawn.
“Past your bedtime already?” Drew chuckles, a soft smile curled into his lips, making his dimples more prominent, and a smile of my own mirroring his.
“I didn’t even tell you about my time off yet.” I whine, falling back in my seat, unlady like, but we’re way past that point.
His smile deepens into a grin, “how about you tell me on the ride back to the hotel?” He pulls out his wallet to place his debit card down, and I knew better than to make a fuss about it. My eyelids were already feeling heavy, and my body was settling into the kind of ache you get when you’ve been awake too long. After the waitress returns with styrofoam boxes, and everything is taken care of, Drew helps me to stand.
“Up ya go princess, that a girl.” He drapes one arm protectively over my shoulder letting me hide under his large body, and my arm wraps around his lower back. He opens the passenger door, holds out his hand for me to use, and of course my shoe slips on the door— the inside of the panel wet, and slick from rain— causing me to panic. As I stumble backwards, Drew catches me, placing one hand on my hip, and the other on my back, supporting my weight. I successfully made it into the vehicle, thanks to my man.
As soon as my body relaxes into the heated leather seats, my eyes close. It wasn’t my intention to fall asleep, but once he turns the radio on, the sound of soft music playing is the icing on the cake. By the time I open my eyes, we’re driving up to the hotel valet. Drew is already on my side of the car helping me out. We walk to the elevator hand in hand, when we finally step on, instinctively I wrap my arms around his waist snuggling up to him like a cat. I let my eyes slide close, leaning all my body weight on him, the elevator came to a temporary stop, and though I knew someone had got on they didn’t speak. Drew’s body tenses slightly causing my eyes to fly open, thinking we might be getting into an altercation, but seeing the only other person in the elevator is Mandy I relax. Her eyes flicker from Drew then to me; I wasn’t sure what her sour facial expression is for, but I speak to her anyway, deciding not to let anything ruin my night. “Hey, it’s a nice night out.” To my credit, I was trying to be nice, but I’m met with a blank expression.
“It’s raining.” She deadpans, and I didn’t mean to laugh, but I let it slip. I couldn’t fathom how someone as pretty as she is could make such an ugly face. Hmm, how disappointing.
“Yeah, but rain can be beautiful.” I said softly, a faint smile curling up onto my lips. Her eyebrows drew together, her lips parts to say something, but it seems her voice was caught in her throat. I held her gaze, it looks like she was going out; her makeup was freshly done, coat, and purse in hand. Her outfit was revealing, and perfectly tailored to show off all her petite curves. I didn’t realize how intensely I’m staring till the elevator doors ping, I tore my eyes away to look up and see it was my floor.
“Welp, that's us.” Drew spoke up for the first time since we got on, if our arms weren’t tangled together, I would have forgotten he was there. He all but shoves me out the elevator doors, at last second I caught a glimpse of the way Mandy gloweres at Drew and I’s hands clasped together.
“Ya know, is it just me, or does Mandy seriously have it out for me. Like did you see that attitude?” I could feel anger rise in me, and settle in my chest. I definitely didn’t deserve all the passive aggressive energy she’s giving me.
“That’s not the last thing you wanna think about before bed.” He says softly, and like that, my peace is restored. We stand on either side of the door, he had one foot on the threshold, playing with the idea of him coming in, but fighting himself on it.
“Then what should I be thinking about then?” My hands crept up his chest, reaching up his neck, and held onto him. My fingers play with his low ponytail, twirling it around my index finger. He pulls me in closer, my chest pressing to his abdomen; I tilt my head back so I could see his face. His eyes resemble a clear blue sky, his gaze hazy, and full of lust; butterflies swirl in the pit of my stomach, giving me chills. His hand slid up my arm, to my face where he cups my cheek.
I stand up on my toes to try and meet him halfway causing the corners of his mouth to curl upwards, he chuckles lightly. I wasn't sure what he found so funny, but I didn't bother to ponder it. As much as I want to invite him in, and request he do unspeakable things to me, I decide against it. “Only a goodnight kiss.” I clarified, a yawn fell from my lips accidentally, and this time Drew let out a boisterous laugh.
“Alright, alright. Goodnight sweetheart.” He presses a chaste kiss to my forehead, then my nose, and lastly my lips. My hands cup around his face, gripping his beard, and holding him in place for a moment longer. My hands slid down to his chest to create some space, and at my request he slowly separate himself from me. I lean against his body for a moment to catch my breath. Drew on the other hand is breathing like he just ran a mile, his hands gripping the fabric of my dress. His eyes darkened, “excuse my abrupt exit, but if I don't walk away right now…well lets just say you won't be waking up till 12 pm tomorrow.” He whispers almost achingly, and with a look of determination in his eyes he pushes away from me. When he turned to head back to the elevators, all I could do was stand there speechless. I clean my puddle off the floor, force myself to go into my hotel room, and get ready for bed. I barely slept that night.
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In The Soup
Fandom: DC Comics, Batfam, Superfam
Summary: Jason Lives AU where he and Superboy become friends, despite Bruce's disapproval of Superboy. (ft. Jason's service dog, Gromit)
Chapters: 6/?
Characters: Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Alfred Pennyworth, Barbara Gordon, Conner Kent, Roxy Leech, Rex Leech
Relationships: TBA
Additional Tag: Jason Todd Lives, Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain, Jason Todd Has PTSD, Conner Kent is Superboy, Good Friend Jason Todd, Protective Jason Todd, Overprotective Bruce Wayne, Barbara Gordon is Oracle, Disabled Characters, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along, Good Parent Bruce Wayne, Developing Friendships, Sneaking Around, Disguise, Fluff and Humor, Secret Messages, Hiding in Plain Sight
Chapter Six: Market Stepmommy
Conner waited for Barbara to let him past the security system, and he followed her directions to the kitchen, where Jason scrambled to make their sandwiches. “Hey, Jason?” Conner asked. Jason froze in place, staring up at Conner. “How hard did you fall?”
“Oh, not hard. I have nerve damage. Like today isn’t a bad pain day, but it’s a numbness day,” Jason explained, “It’s funny how a few hits to the head can do a lot to your body in the long run.”
“Sports?” Conner asked.
“Not exactly,” Jason replied as he finished making breakfast. “Gromit, here, buddy. Thanks for the pick me up this morning.” He fed Gromit two slices of bacon and washed his hands. Gromit brushed his face against Jason’s ankle. “I love you too, Gromit.”
“Food smells great,” Conner replied as Jason gave him his plate.
“Thanks… Barbara! Food’s done!” Jason hollered.
“Why are you yelling? Just use the intercom,” Barbara complained as she entered the room. “Hi, Baby Boy, watch out,” Barbara whispered as Gromit walked past her, proudly chewing his treat.
“Oh, Barbara. Conner thought you were my stepmom,” Jason chuckled.
“I would never date Bruce, though… That’d be gross, but I might start telling women at the grocery store that you’re my son. Do you think that works the same way it does for cute babies in sitcoms? How about it, Jason? Do you wanna help me find you a new stepmommy?” Barbara joked.
"I thought you were talking to that computer guy?" Jason asked.
"I can't have a backup plan? Besides, what if you don't like your future stepdad—?"
"Eww, okay. This joke is getting gross. Conner, she isn't my stepmom, she's a friend of the family. We wouldn't know what to do without her. Hey, Barbara, could you get Conner into school with me?" Jason asked as he took three pill bottles from Gromit's backpack. Conner watched as Jason washed his pills down with half a bottle of water.
"Mhm, I'll have him enrolled by Sunday night," Barbara answered.
Conner looked up from his sandwich. "Whoa, you guys were serious? That's—. Wow. Thank you," Conner smiled.
"It was easy. Don't worry about it. Do me a favor and make sure these two get outdoors,” Barbara requested, “And we’ll call it even.” Conner chuckled and nodded.
“Jason, where do you like to hang out?” Conner asked.
“I haven’t been to the museum in a while,” Jason replied, “Oh, and there’s this place called The Sewer, and they play live music sometimes. But it’s only cool at nighttime…” Jason looked at Barbara with wide eyes.
“I’ll watch Gromit while you hit the teen club tonight, but only because he’s great at keeping me company. How about it, Gromit? Do you want to work with Auntie Barbara tonight?” Barbara asked as she scratched under Gromit’s chin.
“Nothing too dangerous,” Jason warned her. Barbara nodded. “Does anybody want another sandwich? I’ve got a bunch of leftover bacon.”
“Please,” Barbara replied. Conner nodded along with her.
After breakfast, Jason let Conner go to his room with him while he got ready to go out. “Thanks for coming over. Are you gonna spend the night after The Sewer or—? Sorry, I haven’t been out and about a whole lot, so I’m excited to have somebody to hang out with—.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I don’t have anyone normal like you to hang out with, so it’s nice to be able to chill with you,” Conner smiled. Jason threw on one of Bruce’s old beat-up flannels and pulled on his pants. Conner laid back and stretched out on Jason’s bed. “What’s it like living with Bruce Wayne? Is he like your dad or something?”
“Yeah, he is my dad. I love him a lot, but he’s got this weird vendetta against you because he thinks you’re gonna hurt Superman or something,” Jason confessed, “Which is why he can never know you’re Superboy. He’d flip his lid if he knew we were friends.”
Conner turned on his side and grinned at Jason. “So, we’re friends?” Conner asked.
Jason’s cheeks went rosy. “Shut up,” Jason giggled without meaning to. “We can do whatever you want between the museum and The Sewer tonight.”
“What is The Sewer exactly?” Conner questioned.
“It’s a nightclub for teens. After eight, it’s sixteen and up,” Jason replied, “I snuck in once when I was eleven… But I haven’t been able to get in since.”
Conner chuckled. “I’m sorry. I’m not—. Well, I kind of—. I imagined a tinier you in a nightclub moshing with teenagers,” Conner laughed. Jason snickered, and it built into a full-body laugh that left him doubled over.
“Oh, it was terrible,” Jason laughed, “I got tossed around like a ragdoll.” Conner and Jason laughed until tears rolled down their cheeks.
“I would’ve given anything to be a real kid,” Conner mumbled. Jason stopped laughing.
“You are a real kid,” Jason replied. Conner smiled and shook his head.
“I’m a science project being passed off as a kid,” Conner replied, “You don’t have to be nice about it. I know what I am—.”
“Clone or no clone, you’re a regular sixteen-year-old kid to me—. No, you’re better than most sixteen-year-old kids. You’re empathetic. You’re not judgmental. You’re funny. You’re friendly—. I mean—. I’m glad you were made in a lab because that’s what it took for me to get a friend like you,” Jason stated. Conner smiled.
“Thanks, Jason,” Conner whispered, “Hey, do you like fast cars?”
“Do ducks fly south for the winter?” Jason replied. Conner laughed.
“How ‘bout I take you flying on the way home tonight?” Conner suggested.
"Yeah, I'd love it, but my chair—."
"I can carry the chair too. Just fold it up. What do you say?" Conner asked. Jason nodded, his mouth open at the thought of flying. "It'll be fun. I promise."
Barbara knocked on the door. "No curfew tonight. It’s Saturday, and I think the chances of you two getting arrested are slim to none,” Barbara whispered.
Jason’s phone rang. “Oh! Hold on, it’s my dad. Mind if I take this?” Jason asked. Conner shook his head. “Hi, Bruce. Everything okay from abroad?”
“Mhm… I miss you,” Bruce whispered, “I don’t think I’ll be home this week, though… Jason, are you alright with Barbara until I get home?”
“Mhm… Are you gonna—? When are you and Alfred coming home? Do you have any idea?” Jason asked. A loud wind blew on Bruce’s end.
“It’ll be at least a week… Hopefully no more than a month, Jason—.”
“Is it dangerous?” Jason asked. Conner heard Jason’s pulse pick up speed.
“No more than the usual… I love you, Jason,” Bruce whispered.
“I love you too… Bruce? Um… If you’re in trouble—. Can you have Alfred write me or call me if something happens?” Jason asked.
“Uh-huh… Jason, are you alright?” Bruce questioned.
“Yeah… I just—. I’m hanging out with my friend tonight, so I might not answer my phone,” Jason replied.
“Okay… Be good, and feel free to call me if you need something,” Bruce whispered, “I gotta go.”
“Bye, D—. Bye, Bruce,” Jason whispered. He hung up and dropped his phone in his lap. “Okay. Ready to go?” Jason smiled, but there was no hiding his discomfort.
#fic#batfam#superfam#Jason Todd#Bruce Wayne#Alfred Pennyworth#Barbara Gordon#Conner Kent#Roxy Leech#Rex Leech#Kon El#Jason Todd Lives#Jason Todd Has Chronic Pain#Jason Todd Has PTSD#Conner Kent is Superboy#Good Friend Jason Todd#Protective Jason Todd#Overprotective Bruce Wayne#Barbara Gordon is Oracle#Disabled Characters#Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne Get Along#Good Parent Bruce Wayne#Developing Friendships#Sneaking Around#Disguise#Fluff and Humor#Hiding in Plain Sight#in the soup fic
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When you get this, publish 5 songs you like to listen to, then send it to ten mutuals!
Ooh this should be fun. Only five? I could do this all day but let's go. In fact I'm just gonna give you a chunk off my aptly-named "writing MMX fanned fiction" playlist that I keep going back to listen to, because, well. Guess what I've been doing still.
I feel like there should be a way to do a small embed but if there is I can't find it, sooooo uhhhhh sorry for the long post!
1.
I'm not actually sure if it's got anything to do with the plot but the vibes are impeccable so I kept it. Ghost kinda fucks.
2.
This is so extremely a character song and I won't bore the uninterested by going into it but if you have read any of my shit you can immediately figure out who. I'm 100% positive about that. I dunno where I got this. I think I was just letting Spotify run on its own and it pulled this out and I went, oh hey hold up I can rotate a blorbo to this...
3.
Songs that just hit exactly right when you're writing a series in a setting that's basically running on sentient robot slavery. Essenger is alright, but Scandroid is kinda what makes it work for me. On their own Essenger is a little too downtempo for my tastes.
4.
This is also a character song! Whose? Mmmmm you'll figure it out or you won't. The point is though that it's fucking cool and Gary Numan is doing some awesome shit these days. I wouldn't have even known but my buddy @uendwen send it to me and I immediately was obsessed.
5.
I'm cheating and this is two songs, but the first goes straight into the second without a break, so I'm calling it one.
Really gotta listen to them back to back. Spotify randomly played MHz and I went, whoa, what is this, I kinda like it. The more I listened to it the more I got into it, and then I listened to Problem Me just to see if I liked it, and it slaps also. The vibe was so exactly what I was looking for too. I'd never heard of Modwheelmood. Sometimes the Spotify algorithm is good, actually.
I am a little braindead today and don't feel like finding ten people to send this to, so consider yourself tagged. I wanna hear your tunes. Hook me up with some new shit to listen to.
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Isekai Is Not For Me
૮꒰˶ᵔ ᗜ ᵔ˶꒱ა Pairings : Me!!! x Many characters, many medias :3
૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა W.K. : 3.9k
໒꒰ྀིᵔ ᵕ ᵔ ꒱ྀི১ Tags/CW&TW : Crack, I fuck with everyone (annoy)
໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : Tired, bored and slightly more mentally deranged than usual, so here have some short stories regarding: “Why I, Crow, would not last in any media as an Isekai victim”:
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍰🍡🍪୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
Waking up in a dark secluded place was not how I wanted to spend my morning.
Yesterday was the last day of school. everything was good, I got to stay up late, even got ice cream for - the bare minimum - not failing math.
This is not how I wanted to spend my first day of summer break.
So obviously I shook and shrieked and screamed and banged against the walls of my current container, my first genuine thoughts being “I will not be like my ancestors today!! I am a free black person god damnit!!!!” While I push and shove inside my confines, unaware of the… “cat” outside staring in confusion and slight fear.
Eventually the box set on fire and I, of course, screamed louder and began kicking with more force until the front splintered open under the combined forces of the heat and my throwing all 150 pounds of me against it.
Falling flat on my face, I barely registered the annoying voice of Mr. Cat next to me talking his head off, my first thought was if I had my phone. I also noted the floating coffins, first thinking that I would absolutely die if buried alive, then realizing that hoLY SHIT THERE WERE FLOATING COFFINS!!?!?
Jumping up and still ignoring the cat, I waved a leg under the coffin to see if anything was holding it up, then glared above it to see the same, honestly getting a bit scared when I saw nothing.
“HELLO??!!” Screamed a voice and I whipped around to look for its source, not finding one.
“DOWN HERE?!?” I looked down to see the cat I have vaguely seen in the corner of my eye.
“Thank you! Now, as I was saying-“ “Did I finally take drugs? Is this what a drugs is like?” I interrupted.
“What-“ “Alright cat hallucination, where are we, and why can you talk?.. Wait wrong order-“ I shut up before looking away again, staring at the other coffins.
“What was I saying? Fuck… it’s kinda cute that you’re standing on your legs like a little guy.”
Grim had never regretted something more than choosing me as his victim.
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍯🍧🍩୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
“SHIT TITS FUCK AGH-“
That was what a Mr. Gojo was greeted with as he dealt with a curse.
It was nothing for him, obviously, but he was told that all civilians had been evacuated. So naturally he had to find out who was left behind! Who knows, this could be fun (for him at least)!
Teleporting over, he was met with a teen no older than his first year students fussing over a… video game?
“Hello there-“ “SHUT UP HOLD ON!! Fuck… SHIT!.. Come on come on…”
They didn’t even seem to notice that the area around them was completely decimated.
“Hey kid, where are your parents? Friends? Anyone? Or are you alone?” It’d be easy to get them out of here, just hit ‘em with the “natural charm” and led them out with a grin!
“I said shut up your old bitch, can’t you see I’m doing something! Stranger danger you old fu- Whoa. What happened to this place?”
Wow. They really didn’t realize they were in the middle of a war zone. That was very intriguing.
“One, I’m not old. Two, did you not see the flashing lights or hear the sounds of fighting?” He questioned.
“Two, nah dude I had my AirPods in. Was blasting music, wasn’t paying attention to shit. One, you look old as balls my man, white hair ain’t doing you no justice… also why are you here?” They responded, showcasing said AirPods by taking one out, music blaring from it.
“Hey! The hair adds to my charm~ and well… since you asked, I am Gojo Satoru, strongest of all Sorcerers, here to save you from-“ “No it doesn’t, and thanks I’m good.” They interrupted.
“… Huh?” “I don’t need saving. I’m gonna assume you mean from the funky little guys that are everywhere?” “You mean curses?-“ “Yeah them.” This really was interesting! They saw curses and Gojo assumed they knew of the harm they caused, yet didn’t want to leave?
“Yeah we’re cool. I let them hang with me and they bring me shit and tell me all sorts of stories. Sure, sometimes they’re grotesque and downright disgusting, but they bring me money, so that’s nice.” … Did they have an actual relationship with the curses??
“Yeah I do, by the way you said that out loud. Plus, I think I figured out what happened now, no thanks to you.” He chuckled at that.
“And what would that be?”
“Big guy, a new curse - I assume that’s what they’re called - I just met was getting pissy that I wasn’t paying attention and said he was gonna get someone else to pay attention to him, and then I got sucked into my game. So I guess… this was him getting his attention.” They shrugged.
“Hmm… well it’s a shame then…” Gojo started, they only glanced at him.
“A shame what?” “A shame I killed him, that’s all.” He was expecting questions, shock, anything!!.. But instead he got:
“Oh that is a shame. Fucking loser couldn’t take an old man like you. He deserved it if he fell to some white-haired full of himself pussy such as yourself. Bet I could beat your ass in ten seconds flat.”
“OI IM NOT OLD!!”
“Yeah you are gramps, it’s time to take your dementia pills cuz you ain’t no spring chicken no more let me tell ya.”
… He had to have them as a student.
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍪🍮🧁୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
Lucifer stared in disbelief at the scene before him.
Batter smeared across the ceiling, metal bowls and pots and pans were thrown about, flour and other ingredients strewn about over every available surface, and the cherry on top?
Somehow, some DAMN way, the back wall of the kitchen was GONE and CERBERUS was poking his head in, LICKING AT THE MESS.
Crow and Mammon stood side by side, drenched in the same batter and some chocolate chips. Their hair was tangled and their hands covered in egg.
“… I am going to give you each one chance to explain yourselves. You have thirty seconds. Go.”
Immediately Mammon jumped on the opportunity to explain.
“WELL WE WERE GONNA MAKE SOME COOKIES CAUSE WHY NOT??? WE WERE BOTH CRAVIN’ ‘EM BUT THEN THIS HUMAN DECIDED IT WOULD BE A GOOD D IDEA TO BAKE A BUNCH IN BULK USING MAGIC-“
Meanwhile the human had an extremely betrayed expression on their face.
“FUCK YOU MEAN “IT WAS THE HUMANS IDEA” YOU BITCH???? YOU HAD THE STUPID FUCKING IDEA TO MAKE BULK SO WE COULD SELL THEM DON’T YOU TRY AND THROW ME UNDER THE BUS MR. BULLSHIT!!”
Mammon gasped while placing a hand on his chest in faux outrage.
“How DARE you Human?? I thought we were in this together-“ “We WERE until you LIED!” “I didn’t LIE!! YOU casted the SPELL!!-“ “Well YOU came up with the GODDAMN IDEA in the FUCKING FIRST PLACE-“
“S I L E N C E !”
Both shut their mouths, Crow having a grip on Mammon’s shirt about to punch him while Mammon tried his best to lean back, a hand on the counter behind him.
“Both of you will clean this mess up immediately after this conversation. Then, you’ll bake those cookies, but only for me and the others. THEN you’ll both go to your separate rooms and study for the rest of the night and following morning until it’s time to leave for R.A.D. And as extra consultation you’ll be making all dinners this week and walking Cerberus as well.”
Both stared at the black haired man in shock. Then Crow smirked.
“What if I don’t? Huh?~ Humans can’t function all too well with sleep! Fuck you gonna say to that, smart ass?”
Lucifer smirked back.
“What of all those all-nighters you pull with Levi?”
Crows grin immediately dropped.
“Damnit…”
“Alright you two, start cleaning.” “Yes sir…”
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍩🍰🍬୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
When Tanjiro wanted to meet another friendly demon, this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind.
Behind him, Zenitzu cowered and Inosuke huffed with the intent to kill.
Before him?
A large crow/harpy like - and when he said harpy like, he meant covered head to toe in feathers with a western suit vest on with sharp talons long and broad wings with a few more then usual finger-like feathers on the alula - demon whose only human like body part left was its face.
Otherwise the entire thing was a bird, looking like a mix between a crow and something with a long neck like a swan or a crane. It was at least 14 ft tall, its neck making up 3 of those ft with its body being ratioed out to be 5 ft for the body and 6ft for the legs.
It leaned down to face the boys before biting down on its lip and laughing.
“WHYS THE PISS COLORED ONE SHAKING LIKE A LEAF PFFT BWAHAHAHA!!-“
It shook in laughter, throwing its head back and covering its mouth with feathered hands.
“AND THE BOAR LOOKIN’ ONE HAS THE SILLIES POSE I CANT-“ Tanjiro looked back to see Inosuke standing like this: 🧍🏾♂️
“A-anyway pfft hehe… what you y’all want?? Like, why are you here? I haven’t eaten a single bitch and the village down the way thinks I’m their protector sooo-“ “Miss. Tamayo sent me to you.”
Silence before another chuckle.
“Ole miss demoness sent ya huh? Well, a friend of hers is a friend o’ mine. Anyway, I got a feeling I know what she sent ya for. Also, might wanna find a way to hide your sister better.” Tanjiro gaped.
“Why you look like that?? Any demon worth their salt could smell her through that shitty box of yours-“ “DON’T YOU DARE SAY NEZUKO-CHAN SMELLS YOU FOUL BEAST!!1!11!1!1!1111!!” The demon stared at the suddenly very passionate Zenitzu.
“I know the piss colored fuck did not just shout at me. How bout before talking about other peoples smells you think of your own. I wouldn’t even have to be a goddamn demon to smell your sweaty ass from here. I can literally smell all the sweat and tears you’ve shed all your life, including all the times you’ve actually pissed yourself in battle. It is an actual goddamn miracle your scent alone hasn’t brought out a demon. You’re just damn lucky I live surrounded by wisteria trees, you know I could just fly out of this forest and choose to drop demons right in the center and your ass to fight them all. So shut that shit up before I make your ass shut up, m’kay?”
The three stared in shock, Zenitzu the most devastated.
“Alright now that we go that settled, lemme take you to the old uppermoon I kidnaped- I mean… borrowed indefinitely!~ <3”
“You what-“
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍰🍡🍫୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
“CROW!!” “N-NGH?!? HUH EH WHAT???-“
The rest of the class stared at Crow as they woke up from the desk they were sleeping on.
“W-What’s happening-“ “Did you… fall asleep??” “Yeah… why..?”
Aoi slammed her hands down onto her desk, and with tears flowing down her face screamed:
“SAKURA JUST DIED AND YOU’RE SLEEPING??? DO YOU NOT CARE???” She continued to slam hands down onto her desk as she shouted at her still drowsy schoolmate.
“Eh… I mean, yeah I do but like… y’all never cared when I slept through the other class trials? Why care now?” They slumped on their desk, rubbing the sleep from their eyes and the drool from their lips. Aoi seemed even more enraged.
“BECAUSE THIS WAS SAKURA!! SHE WAS THERE FOR ALL OF US IN OUR TIMES OF NEED!” “I mean, I stayed away because I was always a little afraid of her-“ “DON’T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT!!” “Damn sorry-“ “MAYBE YOU KILLED HER THEN!”
The room went silent and Crow stood up strait immediately, all semblance of sleep erased from their form. A shadow covered their face as they sighed, then words that would cause an uproar settled from their lips.
“If saying I did will get you to shut up then-“ “You’re going to give up? Just like that?”
Makoto spoke up, silencing the other.
“Really? Just like that? A single accusation and you give up?” “I never truly cared, that’s the thing.”
All eyes turned to them, small noises of outrage sounding from the crowd. Though, Kyoko and Byakuya only listened on.
“The second Monokuma started this game I knew we were doomed. The way some of you looked at each other… I just distanced myself, that’s all. You guys made it easy too, the only person who checked on me was Kiyotaka, and even then it was just for the sake of his rules. After you found out I just locked myself in my room, no one came to check on me. Monokuma delivered my meals because, and I quote “Dying of starvation is a dumb way to go in such an exciting game!~””
Some were shocked out of their stupors when they heard a perfect mimicry of the black and white bears voice, Kyoko muttering about how they were “The Ultimate Voice Actor after all.”
“I had no reason to talk to any of you, only coming out for the trials and even then I wasn’t questioned because I never left my room. So in the end I couldn’t care less. Whether I live or die is in your hands as well as us as a group. I couldn’t give a rats ass about all this ‘hope and despair’ bullshit. I’m tired and willing to sleep until I die, I come to these things as a formality because even though I’m okay with dying at this point I don’t want to see the “punishment” Monokuma would dish out for missing one of these.”
They flipped the hair over their shoulder and blew a remaining piece of it out of their eyes. A hand rested on their hip and a fist on the stand before them.
“If you want me to be as blunt as possible I’m ready for all of us to die, I mean… death would be better then whatever hell this is, right?~”
A grin of sharp teeth revealed themselves to the room, pointed towards the now shocked Aoi.
“So say I killed her. You were so ready to shout it to the not-listening gods so go on. Blame me. See where it gets us~ I couldn’t care less at this point but I’m sure you’d rather stay breathing right? Or do you want to join your litter friend in the depths of hell-“ “That’s enough, Crow.”
Their gaze then directed to Kyoko, who had hands crossed across her chest. Byakuya smirked and pushed his glasses up.
“Why stop them? I say things were just getting good.” “Because this is getting us nowhere. Let’s focus back up. You’re free to sleep again if you truly don’t care.”
Eyes turned back to Crow who was still smiling, through now much more drowsy then mere seconds ago. The waved a hand dismissively and slumped back down instantaneously, breathing slowed and snores soft.
“Now so that we may continue…”
And the class trial went on, Makoto staring at the fallen student.
…
“It’s rude to stare, y’know.”
Makoto stood a few good feet away from Crow, who was sat at a table in the dead of night while everyone else was sleeping. A bowl of cereal sat before them, still cold and freshly poured.
This was Makoto’s first time seeing them so lively. The usual bags under their eyes were significantly smaller and lighter than usual, and their eyes had a shine to them, unlike earlier when they were so, so dull.
“Did… did you mean everything you said at today’s trial? About not caring?”
They stared at him like he was stupid. He hated this feeling, feeling like he was the idiot for not understanding. It was something he knew more intimately since being trapped in the school with the killings…
They chuckled, genuinely chuckled, at him.
“I’d be a liar to say I didn’t, but at the same time I’d be a liar to say I did.”
“Huh?”
Now Makoto really did feel stupid. He tilted his head with caused the other to giggle. They patted their seat and passed the untouched cereal to the brunette. When he refused, the shrugged and took a spoonful. After a moment of quiet filled with chewing, they swallowed and sighed.
“We were being watched, as you obviously know now. Whoever the sick fuck is watching us, they want a show. Now, Byakuya’s figured out that much and decided to give them such a thing, choosing to explicitly be the “antagonist” to your “protagonist”. While Kyoko is essentially taking up the “sidekick” role. Nearly everyone is on your side so I figured you’d need another antagonist, one that wasn’t a one time thing, like Celestia or Mondo or Leon. My whole thing is not caring. I’ve already reaped my rewards for it.”
They stuffed a hand in their pocket and then slowly pulled out a vile of… something.
“Formaldehyde. Commonly used to store limbs and bodily parts such as lungs and hearts. On occasion can be used as a poison because trust me you don’t wanna ingest this shit. Got it a few nights ago with a little note that said “From your biggest fan. I know all about your hobbies so this is a little gift! Do with it as you please.~” Fucking creepy right?”
Their voice went high pitched in mock, but despite that they held the little vile with care.
“I wanted to be a mortician. I love voice acting don’t get me wrong but… Morticianing was more of my calling. But we don’t all get what we want, huh?”
They turned to Makoto, who seemed lost.
“…Don’t worry about it anymore. Go get some rest… I’ll be here every night. Same time. Won’t answer shit during the day but if you come at night… well I won’t say I’ll be an open book but I’ll definitely be willing to talk some, alright?”
Makoto nodded and stoop, but stopped when something grabbed his sleeve. He turned back to Crow only to see a different kind of light in their eyes.
A desperate kind of light.
“Hey uhm… you’re doing great out there, by the way. Maybe I might uh… might give that hope stuff a try… A-anyways goodnight.”
They let go of his sleeve and quickly turned back to their cereal, taking a spoonful and shoving the vile back in their pocket. Makoto watched for a second then smiled.
He smiled all the way back to his room.
૮꒰づ˶• ༝ •˶꒱づ ˚ʚ ꒰⁐⁐⁐⁐୨🍮🧁🍦୧⁐⁐⁐⁐꒱ ɞ˚
Mammon, Beel, and Asmo really couldn’t say to much at the sight before them.
Old Demons were something not commonly talked about in the Devildom, no matter how much of the population they made up.
Something even less talked about were the “Old Sins” as many called them. Some preferring to use the term “The Chaos” as well.
When the Demon Brothers fell, it was decided by the Royal Society to split the sins across the seven, the Old Ones giving up their titles to live lives out of the spotlight.
But today, they finally met them. And apparently, they weren’t seven.
Greed, gluttony and lust had apparently been one thing at some point, or had one thing in common, that being their representative.
Wrath and Envy were one and Pride and Sloth were the other. Which made for some… odd combinations but whatever.
Mammon was just excited to meet the being that controlled the treasury and economy before him.
…What? Just because he couldn’t hold his - or his brothers - money doesn’t mean he was any less important in the grandeur scheme of things. Beel was the same, wanting to see how the food trades were handled and Asmo… well Asmo really didn’t want to see them because he was already prefect and sure they were probably close as well but he was avatar of lust now he didn’t need to see them-
Long winding rock brick halls slowly changed too polished shiny ones filled with servants dressed to the nines, literally.
They looked like they had stepped right out of a human catalogue from the early 1900’s.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of servants flooded the halls, shouting orders and directions to each other about food and drink, to bring out this performer and who would go next and this and that and so on and so forth.
Suddenly Mammon gaped with caught his younger brother’s attention, who both also then began to look on in awe.
A long, large golden smoking pipe was being flown through the air by winged Demons. At least five hundred men flew with the thing, and they weren’t small either. Taller and wider than Beel they were, faster too with how quickly they were moving the thing.
“Ah! You must be Greed, Gluttony and Lust, yes? Come come, do not be shy! The King wants to meet you as quickly as possible!”
A woman, much taller than them, suddenly appeared by their side. Her skin was a rich black, with pure white eyes, no iris. Her hands and legs were like that of a birds, but still thick and holding muscle definition. Her claws were long and sharp, and perched on her back were two large wings that resembled a crows.
She placed a hand on Mammon’s and Asmo’s backs, Beel in her middle getting shoved along by her midsection. The three tried to make small talk but were met with nothing but silence.
Twists and turn around many different bends led them to a room larger than life. Music blasted from every which way, coming from stages embedded in the walls ranging from ground level to sealing high. Many tables were scattered around with dozens of Demons seated at them, ordering drink and food. Laugher and joy filled the golden colored lounge as smoke from cigars, cigarettes and pipes filled the air.
“Now whatchu doin’ down there not havin’ a good time fo?”
The three were shocked at the booming… voice? Voices? That sounded behind them. Then, they were picked up by a hand the size of the observatory in their home. They were brought up thousands of miles into the air, only to be met by an eye the size of the palm they were sat on.
The crowd began to cheer uncontrollably at the new arrival, the brothers began to figure out why.
They were held back from the face…es(?) that was covered in masquerade masks. A tight fitting mermaid dress hugged their huge form, though it stopped right under the… pecks? Breast??? Of the being. They supposed pecks because the body looked more masculine. One arm held up the pole that held up their main face, decorated with feathers and pearls. A pipe - the one they had seen in the halls - protruded from its lips.
Arms held up other masks floated around as she got a good look at those on his palm.
“Awe look at the lil’ darlin’s!~ I do suppose It’d be ‘bout time we met our replacement! And aren’t y’all just the cutest lil’ things I done ever seen!!~~”
Mammon basically vibrated at the amount of gold surrounding them, Asmo stared at the being slack jawed in awe, and Beel stared down at the food with drool pouring from his lips.
This was going to be a wonderful week.
໒꒰ྀི˶˙Ⱉ˙˶꒱ྀིა Author’s note : All of these were written at times I very should’ve been asleep, so if anything’s misspelled or wrong, no it’s not. Lemme know if you want more of this bullshit tho I didn’t mind writing crack about myself LMAO-
Also take this as some fucked up kind of apology for not posting a lot. Going through it rn but like I said, schools almost out so I should have more free time soon!~ <3
#random#author x characters#platonic#platonic relationships#author x reader (??)#I’m not typing all the fandoms this was for me and me alone#(and the inevitable one like it’ll get LMAOO-)
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Response to fic request (Malleus, Idia)
For @moody-b1tch, the only person who responded to my "give me two characters and I'll write a few lines of dialogue" invitation.
Which is probably a good thing, because this is ... I don't even know what this is.
Characters: Malleus, Idia, with extra bonus prompt: water
Which is included...metaphorically, I guess.
As usual, this kinda got away from me. Don't think it's good enough to post on AO3 - it's hardly good enough to post here on Tumblr - but it's 1221 words and I do love when the word count is a fun number like that.
Also: TIL that Tumblr has a limit of 30 tags per post. How did I learn this? No reason in particular.
Also also: It used to be 1221 words and then I panicked and rewrote some of it.
“Sometimes it’s better to forget. Pretend it never happened.”
“Is that how you truly feel, Shroud?”
“Gah! You look like you’re ready to incinerate me! Not that I think you’re gonna go all OP again. … Uh, you’re not, right?”
“It would be foolish to repeat such folly. Surely you, of all people, can agree.”
“Of course I agree! I’m just like. Not used to this heart-to-heart protag chat. I’m not some shounen manga hero with an 'I'm-all-fired-up!' speech, and even if I was, it’d be pretty cringe coming from me. Your guards are good at that sorta thing. Especially the big guy. He seriously likes to talk! Or Silver. He’s got that intense princely vibe.”
“Silver and Sebek have had much to say, but it is your thoughts that I am most interested in hearing.”
“Because I’m one of the SSR level problem children? You could talk to anyone else about this! Leona, he was big mad. Your guards were there; they can vouch. Or Riddle! That hothead was the first. He probably has some S tier thoughts on his experience.”
“SSR…? Shroud, I am interested in your thoughts. You hold the power to enter the underworld. To speak with those who have crossed to the other side.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! I can open the gate, but that was a one-time thing, going down there. You saw how that turned out.”
“I did not. I was at Night Raven College, if you recall.”
“Of course you were here. After you went all berserker mode, I don’t think Charon would’ve been enough to get you to the Island of Woe.”
“You could have simply invited me.”
“Invite the great and powerful Malleus to play a sim game? Are you for real?”
“I am quite real.”
“That’s not - yeah, okay. Anyway, it’s more like a curse, the gate opening thing, and not Pumpkin Knight level cool.”
“Is it not? Shoenheit, Rosehearts, and Kingscholar all mentioned that the closer one travels to Tartarus, the colder it gets.”
“I meant it wasn’t exactly fire. Not like … dragon fire, fire. I mean, it’s not…”
“Shroud. I am merely teasing. Is that not what friends do? Lilia and the Child of Man assure me that it is.”
“Friends?”
“We have spent time together. We have shared experiences. Are you telling me that is not common with friends?”
“You sound like Ortho.”
“Your sibling is wise indeed. I understand that it was he who prevented you from using your River Lethe. Come now, Shroud, surely you can agree that at least some of those memories were to be cherished.”
(Eep! Is he serious? Even if I had an IRL trap card to flip this, could I even use one against someone as OP as him?)
“Shroud, are you unwell?”
“I’m f-fine! HP is at max. Wait, what are you doing?”
“Calling Lilia so that he may assist me in translating.”
(Gah, is he really using a synchro summon?) “You don’t need to do that!”
“It appears I cannot. My phone screen is blank. Lilia will be rather cross.”
“Your phone’s broken?”
“It happens frequently. Lilia has told me many times to be careful. My lightning has broken several phones just this semester alone.”
“I, uh, can fix it.”
“You would do that?”
“Hee hee. It just needs to withstand high electrical input. EZ PZ.”
“Lemon squeezy.”
(Did he seriously just say ‘lemon squeezy?’)
“Shroud?”
“EEP! I mean, I was just surprised to hear you say that.”
“Is that not how it goes?”
“No! You got it right! It’s just weird hearing it from the Malleus Draconia.”
“Why is that?”
“It just is! Let me see your phone. I mean, if you trust me with it.”
“Here. You cannot possibly damage it more than I have.”
“How old is this phone? I haven’t seen one of these since pre-5G.”
“Can you repair it?”
“Of course I can fix it, but it needs a serious upgrade.”
“What would you like in exchange?”
“Huh? You don’t have to give me anything!”
“Of course. Because we we are friends.”
“No, we're not!"
“Is there something about myself that causes you hesitation?”
“It’s not that. It’s not you, it’s me.”
“I, too, would like everyone to forget what happened. What I did. The lengths to which I went in order to selfishly hold on to something - to someone - who is dear to me.”
“Where is all this heart-to-heart coming from?”
“If we are to be friends, we should be honest with one another. I have learned that by watching Lilia with Diamond and Al-Asim, and by listening to Silver and Sebek. It is not an easy thing, but I must start somewhere.”
“Why are you starting with me?”
“Because we have a shared experience. This ‘SRR problem child’ status.”
“SSR.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“Ah, the uh, it’s SSR, not SRR. It stands for Super Super Rare.”
“That makes what we share uncommon.”
“Yeah, you, me, and five other people. Uh, here’s your phone.”
“You are done with it already?”
“I couldn’t upgrade it more with what I have here, but the screen is fixed, and it has lightning fast internet speed. No pun intended!”
“You do get so easily flustered around me. You are an interesting man, Shroud. Oh, I see Lilia has been trying to reach me. We must do this again.”
“Uh, yeah, sure.”
“Until we meet again.”
“Yeah, kthxbai.”
“Idia? Was that Malleus Draconia who just disappeared into thin air?”
“Hey, Ortho. Yeah.”
“You have made another new friend!”
“We’re not friends! My HP is critically low after that.”
“Your heart rate is accelerated, but the rest of your vital signs are within normal ranges. And I clearly heard Malleus Draconia state that you are friends!”
“I know you mean well, Ortho, but-”
“I think he needs a friend, too.”
“Malleus Draconia? Needing a friend?”
“We have spent time together. We have shared experiences. This ‘SRR problem child’ status.”
“Idia?”
“Yeah, Ortho?”
“You’re smiling.”
“I was just thinking about the new volume of the Mew Mew Chronicles manga!”
“Yes, I remember. It arrived in the mail just this morning.”
“So of course I’m excited. It’s the only good thing that’s happened since all of this started. I’m, uh, going to the store to pick up some snacks, if you want to go with me.”
(Your heart rate and eye movement tell me otherwise, Big Brother, but I am happy to see you happy.) “Of course! I’m interested in seeing the ingredients in this new mystery flavored fruit twist that Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade were arguing over.”
“It can’t be worse than last year’s pineapple-lemon-licorice mystery flavor.”
Ortho remembered that. It had been very popular the first two weeks, with numerous reactions posted to Magicam. After that, the only person purchasing it had been Lilia Vanrouge. His eyes lit up.
“You should buy some for Malleus Draconia and Lilia Vanrouge! And Silver and Sebek Zigvolt, too! And Cater Diamond, and Rook Hunt, and…”
By the time they were done, they’d purchased a mystery flavored candy twist for all of the third year students, all of the housewardens, plus Silver and Sebek Zigvolt, Ace Trappola and Deuce Spade, the Ramshackle prefect, and Grim (especially Grim).
Ortho’s analysis of the candy indicated the primary flavors were seaweed and cinnamon, and he could hardly wait to see everyone’s reactions.
Everyone's, but especially Idia’s newest friend, Malleus Draconia.
#twst fanfic#sorta#it's lines of dialogue#but a lot of lines of dialogue#and three not-dialogue paragraphs at the end#I tried#Idia Shroud is really really hard to write#Malleus isn't exactly easy but sooo much easier than Idia#idia shroud#malleus draconia#fic prompt#it's not even Halloween themed#missed opportunity right there#don't hate me#this may be the worst thing I've ever written#and that's saying something#not even in a funny way#because I don't know if you know this but I'm hilarious#except not this time#oh no I hear trick or treaters outside and I have like zero candy#which has nothing to do with this not-fic thing#but I still feel really bad about it#so now that's two terrible crimes I've committed on Halloween#this may be one of those posts where I quietly delete it after giving it way too much thought#I am a tweet-and-delete kinda person on That Other App#although tbf I have more reason to be over there#still though I am already overthinking the wisdom of letting this see the light of day#it may still make it to AO3 at some point#Happy Halloween everyone
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Event | Sanrio characters x A3! | Chapter 2
Itaru: …
Itaru: …Fufu…
Yuki: The hell was that? It’s gross when you sit there just giggling to yourself.
Izumi: Looks like he’s having fun at least. Not the worst way to spend a day off.
Yuki: He’s just on the couch with his phone basically giggling and kicking his feet in the air.
Sakuya: Are you watching something?
Yuki: Nothing that’s worth your time.
Sakuya Itaru-san, what are you watching?
Itaru: Oh, this? It’s a video from the Hello Kitty Channel. Kitty and Mimi’s twin manzai acts are such classics…
Itaru: I’m gonna have this Gyodon Gyodon bit stuck in my head until the day I die. Gyodon, Rokeroppi, Gyodon… Fufu… (1)
Sakuya: Twin manzai?
Itaru: Here, look.
Sakuya: Ah, it’s Kitty-chan…!
Itaru: There’s Gudetama and Cogimyun and a bunch of others too… All the videos with the other Sanrio characters are insanely funny and addicting too.
Itaru: I’ve heard there’s a Puroland channel that shows the Sanrio characters looking all cute and squishy while doing 10-minute endurance exercises…
Itaru: One of my favorites is a video on Kitty’s channel where she does a song about fixing a popcorn machine.
Itaru: Half the time I’m supposed to be working, but I just can’t look away. It’s the ultimate antidepressant… Straight-up serotonin.
Izumi: You sure do watch a lot of videos, Itaru-san.
Yuki: You have that sort of time?
Itaru: Excuse you. This is a fundamental part of nerd religion.
Izumi: Ahaha…
Sakuya: Puroland…
Itaru: You’ve been thinking about it?
Sakuya: Umm… Yeah. I also heard some other stuff about it just the other day…
Yuki: Puroland, huh? It’s been ages since I last went.
Sakuya: You’ve been there, Yuki-kun?
Yuki: Well, yeah, a long time ago. I used to love all the My Melody stuff.
Itaru: Yeah, that checks out. You seem like you’d like My Melody.
Yuki: Since it’s been so long since I last went, I kinda wanna see what kind of shows they put on now.
Izumi: They have a couple of different theaters, right?
Yuki: Yeah. Like the one that’s like a forest with talking trees.
Sakuya: That sounds amazing…! I wonder what it’s like.
Izumi: (Sakuya-kun’s eyes are shining. He seems really interested in Puroland.)
Izumi: …Well then, why not try and go with everyone?
Sakuya: Eh!?
Izumi: There’s the shows, of course, but there’s also the costumes and makeup, lighting and sound effects…
Izumi: Plus it’s necessary to experience plays held at places that are different from regular theaters.
Itaru: That’s true, a theater is a theater.
Yuki: Stop lying, you know you just want to go there for fun.
Izumi: …But that’s the pretext we’re going to operate under when we talk to Sakyo-san!
Yuki: Sure, pretext, call it whatever you want.
Yuki: …Well, whatever, the Sanrio characters are still cute and all. Guess I’ll tag along.
Izumi: Thank you! Now that we’ve drafted Yuki-kun into the budget war against Sakyo-san, we’re sure to win.
Itaru: Wait, seriously? You wanna attempt running that boss?
Sakuya: It’d be really great to go… I’d love to be able to see the shows and meet Kitty-chan.
Itaru: …I’ll go get Senpai in on this.
· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·
Sakuya: Waah….! This is… Puroland…!
Kazunari: Setzer, Tenten, Aririn, Sumi! Take a pic with me!
Banri: Sure.
Tenma: What are you… Gh, whoa!?
Misumi: C’mon, Tenma, you gotta come with us~!
Homare: Such artistic and cute poses, now… Gorgonzola ♪
Guy: I have only heard stories of this place… Hmm, the entrance is quite nice.
Tasuku: It’s an indoor thing, huh? So the theater is in there then…?
Citron: You two have no evaporation!
Azuma: Fufu, you mean “imagination”?
Muku: They have a shop inside that has headbands that let you look like the characters! I wonder who I should get…
Masumi: I’m getting whatever one matches with Director…
Hisoka: …
Yuki: Strange to see you actually conscious for once.
Hisoka: I heard there’s a place with cinnamon marshmallows, I can’t do anything else until I try one…
Azami: Yeah. That checks knowing you.
Itaru: Everyone is so excited. Never thought I’d see the day this would actually happen…
Sakyo: Learning about this kind of entertainment is something that’s necessary for the future of the company.
Chikage: So that’s why you had us all come?
Sakyo: Obviously.
Taichi: Omi-kun, did you bring your camera?
Omi: Of course. I’ll do my best to get pictures of everyone.
Juza: I also brought a cheap camera with me.
Tsuzuru: I brought one too. Seems like it’d be fun to take all kinds of pictures.
Sakuya: …We’re really here.
Tsumugi: Fufu, I’m glad we are. You seemed really interested in Puroland, Sakuya-kun.
Tsumugi: Let’s have a lot of fun with everyone today.
Sakuya: …Yeah!
Izumi: (I hope today’s trip will turn out to be a good experience for everyone.)
[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]
• • •
T/N:
(1) I’m guessing that the “Gyodon” and “Rokeroppi” is referencing Hangyodon and Keroppi.
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Remembering my legacy story...
That tag has me thinking about my legacy story and how the story was shaped by my discoveries and ignorance while learning about this game. The first few generations were kind of tragic. I played vanilla and on normal life, and it took me until the day before X's birthday to get married. I was so scared he was gonna die without children, causing me to fail the challenge on the first try lol. He actually was engaged before, but his fiancé showed up the night before the wedding as an elder!! My boy had to start all over. UGH! He eventually found someone, but he had to propose to her three times! FINALLY he got married and had two children before he croaked.
His wife died on their son's teen birthday, leaving both children an orphan! I was terrified social services was gonna come and take them away! 🤣 I didn't know yet that teenagers were just baby-faced adults. 😑 But man, that period was hard. Those poor kids had to grow up way too fast. They got jobs to pay the bills, and they had almost zero free time. They were tired ALL the time because all they did was work. They had their jobs, but they also had a garden they had to take care of because the flowers paid the lion's share of the bills. They stopped doing their homework because it took up too much time. Their grades plummeted, and the principal called every day. But somehow I discovered you could have their birthdays at any time, so I aged the oldest one up like 4 or 5 days early because those poor kids needed a break!
(more generations under the cut)
At the end of generation two and through three, I felt like I had a good handle on the game and what it could do, so my curiosity came out and so did Stories By Jes2G lol. That's when this story started to get real messy LOL. My heir had a girlfriend, but the relationship wasn't really going anywhere so he started seeing this other girl. But he didn't know girlfriend #1 was pregnant! He fell all the way in love with girlfriend #2, moved her in (learned my lesson from gen 1!!), married her, and knocked her up. They had a happy little family for a while. No sooner than he forgot about girlfriend #1, the bastard son showed up at his door all casual like my mama said you're my daddy...nice house! 🤣 That did not go over well. As a matter of fact, his wife was very upset and tried to burn off some steam on the treadmill. But she was an elder and... RIP Adalynn.
Generation four was when I learned just how much you can learn about your characters just by letting them be autonomous and watching them go. The tragedy of this generation was what happens when two horny teens get married out of high school lol. Those two had nothing in common and led two separate lives under the same roof. That was partly because I was focused on making them complete their aspirations, but also they rarely interacted with each other when they were autonomous. The wife was a career woman and was not interested in having a third child. But the first two were girls, and this legacy was a strict patriarchy and I needed a son. That caused a lot of drama in the story, but he found a way to make her give in. But things were never the same, and she eventually divorced him and left the kids which of course affected the next generation.
Every generation up til like...seven had some kind of drama/tragedy, and I didn't realize it until I stopped and read the story myself. I was like WHOA! This is so much! This is what I put my readers through? LOL I made sure to tone things down in the second half of gen 8 because we needed the break. We had peace and happiness for a while followed by a veeery slow burn. Then I kicked the drama back up and ended on a hopeful tragic note, bring back the fall out from the gen 3 mess. It was a great ride!
I used to love building in The Sims 3, but something about this game's building mechanics completely turned me off. To be honest, I don't quite know what it is about building that just infuriates me. So the generations two through like...eight(???), my legacy house was made up of styled rooms lol. I honestly don't know anyone else who even used those things. I'd just piece together those rooms and close them in with walls lol. Needless, the legacy house was very odd and much bigger than it needed to be because of all these oddly shaped blank spaces. 😅 I made use of every single one of them too!
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Valentine’s Night
Fandom: Tacoma FD (TV)
Characters: Lucy and Ike
Rating: T for one instance of language
Notes: Set after the events of 4.06 “Valentine’s Day” with spoilers for S3 and 4. “Tacoma FD” doesn’t do romance among its ensemble but the “Raiders” homage in 1.08 got me thinking about these two as a ship. Tagging: @fluffbruary
After a final shower, Lucy had changed into her civilian clothes and was standing in Station 24’s garage, debating what to do tonight when Ike acknowledged her.
“Hey, Lucy, I’m heading out,” he called as he walked past her. She nodded and gave him a wave, watching him climb into his pickup truck before deciding she had to say something.
“Hey, Ike.” She jogged over to his driver’s side door, and he looked down at her, the door held half-open.
“I’m sorry you missed working Valentine’s Day at the club this year.” She knew he needed the tips, having had his savings wiped out. Twice.
“Aw, it’s okay,” he assured her with his usual good humor. “I got to spend the day with you.”
Something about the open, frank manner in which he said this made butterflies appear in Lucy’s stomach.
“Uh, thanks,” she mumbled, instantly feeling like a fool. Seeking to correct her lame reply, she quickly followed up with “You doing anything later?”
A hesitant look crossed his face. “Yeah, I was gonna go out…”
She held up her hands to stop him. “Got it.”
“Oh, no, but you could come with!” he said, the words spilling out in an excited rush.
“You sure?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
With that, he leaned over to his right and opened the passenger door for her from the inside.
She climbed up and they buckled themselves in.
Lucy had been expecting to head to a bar or a club, but Ike drove them out to a skatepark of all places.
He parked in a lot and as Lucy got out, she shot him a look.
“You skate?” she asked, trying to picture him wearing a helmet and pads on a skateboard and biting back a laugh at the image.
“Nah,” he said with a laugh of his own as they ascended the slope of an embankment. “I just like to come up here sometimes.”
They reached the crest of the rise and Lucy couldn’t help a gasp as she stared out at the view before them. The lights from the city twinkled far off in the distance while in front of her, a series of concrete skating ramps were laid out in an alternating pattern from left to right. A few skaters were flying back and forth on three of the ramps. The skateboarder at the top of the ramp closest to them, a boy wearing elbow and knee pads and a blue helmet, paused to adjust his chinstrap and nodded at Ike.
“What’s up, old man?” he said in greeting. “Whoa, you brought a girlfriend?” he added as he noticed Lucy behind Crystal.
“Hey!” she snapped as she marched toward him. “Show some respect, you little asswipe!”
Blue Helmet let out a chuckle and just skated away from her down the ramp.
She huffed, using her annoyance to distract from the fact that she hadn’t corrected the kid’s assumption that she and Ike were dating. Neither did Ike, a small voice inside her said, making her butterflies return.
“Can you believe him?” she asked her fellow firefighter, shaking her head.
“Yeah, no, Kyle’s not that bad. That ‘old man’ thing’s kind of a joke. Besides, he hasn’t met Cap.”
“Or my dad,” she muttered.
“And he’s nothing compared to Hunter.”
Lucy had to agree, and she let the subject drop.
They settled themselves on a strip of grass at the edge of the park, Ike alternating between watching the skaters practice doing tricks on the ramps and looking up at the sky or out at the lights of Tacoma in the distance. Lucy followed suit but she also snuck glances at the handsome man beside her.
As the sun set, the air turned colder, and Lucy’s jean jacket over her black dress didn’t afford her much protection from it. She found herself nestling into Ike for warmth and shelter from the wind as they lounged side-by-side on the grass. He wore a beige workman’s jacket that Lucy had never seen before, and he shrugged out of his left sleeve to share it with her without being asked. She gave a contented sigh when she felt the jacket’s thick flannel lining drape over her shoulders and back, cocooning her in warmth and the scent of Ike’s…soap?
“You’re not wearing cologne?”
“Nah, I’m not working at the club tonight.”
“Well, thanks for sharing your jacket with me,” she said quietly, not wanting to disturb the comfortable atmosphere between them.
“Anytime.”
Now that they were talking again, she let her curiosity take over.
“How did you find this place?”
“Oh, a friend of Kyle’s broke his arm out here one weekend and I drove Granny over. That’s how I met Kyle—he called 911. I come back once in a while when I feel like I need some space.”
“Yeah, it’s got plenty of that,” she agreed as she adjusted the side of his jacket collar that was by her neck.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Lucy. You get any good stuff this year?”
She turned her head to look back up at him and nodded. “Yeah,” she agreed. “I think I got something really great.” A wide grin broke out across her face as she remembered her conversation with her parents, and she raised her hand for a high five, which Ike happily returned.
“Happy Valentine’s Day, Ike.”
She leaned her head against his shoulder and went back to watching the skateboarders fly by against the backdrop of the darkening sky.
#my fic#tacoma fd#Lucy McConky#Ike Crystal#Lucy x Ike#fluff#my only excuse is that I’ve been watching with shipper goggles on#their ship name can be Like I mean
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CHAPTER 1 | CHAPTER 2 | CHAPTER 3 | CHAPTER 4 | CHAPTER 5
Prompt from @thesassywallflower for @spnfanficpond Secret Santa): Donna is horrified to learn that the boys have never had a proper Christmas, so she invites them to her house for the holiday.
Pairing/characters: Dean Winchester x Donna Hanscum, Sam Winchester, Jody Mills, Claire Novak, Kaia Nieves, Patience Turner, Alex Jones
Chapter warnings/tags: finale-fix it, there was no rebar, fluff, domestic, mistletoe, Dean in a black merino wool sweater,
Chapter WC: 2100
Author’s notes: This is multiple chapters written in 3rd person POV, shifting perspective in each section. Many thanks and love to my dear @brrose-apothecary and @stusbunker.
Text divider by @talesmaniac89.
Donna and the girls are still dancing when Sam and Dean come in from the rapidly darkening and chilling outside. Sam makes a beeline for the kitchen with the box from the liquor store, and Dean crosses the living room to the tree with a couple of colorful, tissue-filled gift bags.
The girls’ impromptu dance party has Donna feeling warm and euphoric, but the weight of Dean’s gaze and the way he's just out of her line of sight makes her skin feel hot and tight. Just when she thinks she should cut things short and get in the shower, Elvis’ Santa Claus Is Back In Town fills the air.
Donna recalls a time when her ex-husband Doug was still attracted to her and told her his fantasy was for her to do a “sexy dance” to it for him. She never did it because she lacked confidence. But here, safe in her own home with some of the people she loves and trusts the most in this world, she smiles and pushes her hands up into her already messy hair. Donna sways and dips her hips to the heavy beat, and the girls sing along, pretending their thumbs are their microphones like they’re rock stars.
“You gonna see me comin' in a big black Cadillac, oh-whoa-whoa-whoa it’s Christmastime, pretty baby!”
Donna laughs and spins until she sees Dean watching her. His eyes are twinkling gold and evergreen, his heavy lips twist in a smirk, and his arms are folded across his chest. As she sways toward him, his gaze roams her face and drags downward. It makes her breath stick in her chest, and she gasps, but she’s still grinning.
Dean drops his arms open and licks his lips like he did that morning just as she comes to a stop beside him to retrieve her phone from the charger.
“Havin’ fun?” he asks. His voice is close and warm, but it makes her shiver in the best way. She closes her eyes and draws a deep breath. She can’t hide it from him anymore, and she doesn’t want to.
“I am,” she replies, pocketing her phone. When she looks back up at him, what she sees redefines the word swoon, and her breath catches again. “Thank you for coming.”
Her sudden expression of gratitude seems to surprise him. He tilts his head and narrows his eyes. “Thanks for havin’ us, D.” His small, wondering smile, turns to a grin.
Dean reaches up and does that cliched brushing of a stray hair from her forehead. She closes her eyes for a brief moment to savor how close he is and the way he’s touching her. She knows she must look a mess, but she doesn't care about that.
Except she has other guests coming soon.
“Alright, folks,” she says, pulling her gaze from Dean’s... everything and twisting her hair on top of her head with an elastic from her wrist. “I’m gonna hop in the shower and get dressed. People’ll be here in less than two hours.”
Alex claps her hands together and asks Patience to help her start getting the buffet set up.
“What can we do?” Sam asks Donna as he hands Dean an open beer.
Dean’s still eyeing her like she’s personally on the buffet, and she likes that he’s doing it. Sam seems slightly less surprised and uncomfortable with their eye fucking than he did this morning, so that's a good sign.
“Welp, you two strapping gents can get the coolers ready on the back porch with ice and drinks.”
“Copy that,” Dean says, and she has to make a concerted effort not to giggle like he’s said something incredibly thrilling.
Instead, she calls out to Jody in the kitchen. “Hey, Jodes?”
“Yeah?” Jody replies, peeking around the doorway.
“Can you show the boys where the coolers are?”
“Sure thing!” Jody chirps. “Turkey’s done, by the way!”
“Oh, good.” Donna sighs. “Okay, well, I’m off to shower.” With that, she turns and all but sprints down the hall.
She closes her bedroom door and falls back against it, breathless. Since this morning’s events, Donna decided to wear something other than a Christmas sweater tonight. First, though, she needs to try it on.
“Uffda,” she mutters to herself before striding toward her antique wardrobe and opening the doors with purpose. She spots the sumptuous top she had in mind right away. As she begins to examine her selection, there’s a gentle knock at her door.
“Hey, can I help?” Jody walks into the room, and her eyes go wide as she closes the door behind her, whistling low and long. “Whoa.”
“Yeah?” Donna turns back to the wardrobe and closes one of the doors to check out the situation in the full-length mirror.
Jody appears behind her in the reflection. “Donna, that is gorgeous. How have I never seen this?”
Donna shrugs. “Never had the occasion. Or the courage.”
She and Jody study and appreciate the red satin bustier and its delicate crystal straps.
“Wendy talked me into it. Still has the tags on it.” Donna snorts as she walks to her bed to lay it next to the jeans she plans to wear.
“Well, if Christmas Eve isn’t the best time to debut a red satin bustier, I don’t know when is,” Jody says, joining her.
“Right?!” Donna whips her henley over her head and lets it drop to the floor before removing the festive top from the hanger to fit it over her sports bra.
Jody steps in to help adjust the top, and once they have it fastened, they face the mirror again.
“Oh, that’s nice,” Jody says. “Perfect color, perfect fit, and with those jeans-” Jody playfully smacks her friend on the shoulder. “I cannot believe you bought this! But... god, it looks amazing!”
Donna feels like she might bubble over with excitement. She loves the way it feels against her skin, the way it hugs her ribcage, and holds her breasts. It’s luxurious.
“Ya know, it didn’t really cost that much,” Donna says, feeling like she needs to make excuses for treating herself.
“Look at your tits!” Jody exclaims, and Donna does. Again. She can’t stop looking at her tits, honestly. “That alone is worth a million dollars — come on.”
Donna nods. “They do look pretty fantastic, don’t they?” she says.
“And...” Jody pauses then lowers her voice, despite glancing at the securely closed door, before she continues. “Not that I have any idea whether he’s a boob man, or...” Jody gestures around Donna’s hips and backside. “Regardless, that man out there is going to lose his shit.”
Donna tilts her head and purses her lips. “Ya think?”
“I know,” Jody replies. “Now. What’re you doing with this glorious mane of yours?”
Donna chuckles, tossing the bustier back to the bed, and begins to tell Jody about her beauty plan for the evening.
Claire sidles up beside Dean as he dumps a bag of ice into a cooler. “So, uh, you got something other than lumberjack chic for tonight?”
Dean arches a brow and crumples the wet plastic bag into a ball. “No, smart ass, Donna said we didn’t need anything special.” He turns and tosses the ball of plastic into the garbage before grabbing another bag.
“OK, well...” She pauses, shifting her weight beside him as he fills a second cooler. “I may have brought you something. Special.”
Dean looks over at her to find her eyes wide and her lip thoroughly chewed. He chews the inside of his own lip as he balls the second plastic bag to toss it toward the can, misses, and swears under his breath.
“Claire, you should really save your money. We’ve talked about this.” He gives her a pointed look as he flips the lids of the rest of the coolers open.
“It wasn’t that expensive.”
Dean sighs and turns his full attention on her with his hands on his hips.
She’s still so young, and it’s times like these it really shows. She’s a busted-up kid, orphaned by the age of 16. But she has great fucking instincts with zero trust in herself. That’s a Hell of a combo.
He wishes he could teach her things. He wants to tell her that she’s worth so much. He figures the best way to do that is to lead by example.
“OK, well...” He surrenders his hands. “Where is it?”
Claire barely suppresses her excitement as she produces a plain paper bag from behind her back. Dean chuckles and feels a little heat in his cheeks as she hands it to him.
“The fashion blogs all say they’re really versatile,” she starts to babble, a blush darkening her own cheeks. “It’s warm but like not too warm-”
Dean’s heart skips a beat. It’s not often he receives gifts, and as gifts go, this is a nice one. He flicks his gaze to hers and arches a brow. Inside the bag is a black merino wool sweater.
“It’s not like it’s cashmere or something. You’ll still be manly.” She rolls her eyes half-heartedly.
Dean huffs a quiet laugh and shakes his head as he reaches to wrap an arm around her shoulders and pull her in for a hug. “Thanks, kid.”
“Sure. Now you can be all handsome for Donna,” Claire teases, poking him in the side.
“What the...” Dean scoffs, rearing back in mock disbelief. “Does everybody know about...”
Claire’s eyebrows shoot toward the ceiling of the porch. “About...?”
Dean narrows his eyes and tucks his tongue into the side of his cheek.
“Got the drinks,” Sam says as he walks out onto the porch. “Jody said to do soda in one cooler, White Claws in another, and beer in a third but leave the fourth cooler with just ice.”
Dean squeezes Claire’s hand in his before turning to Sam.
“Hey, look, Claire got me a sweater,” he preens, making Claire roll her eyes again with a giggle.
“Oh, cool, you gave it to him?” Kaia says as she walks out with a case of soda.
“Dude. Are you gonna wear that?” Sam asks, looking like he doesn't understand sweaters, but Dean thinks he’s probably just jealous.
“Fuck, yeah,” Dean replies, brushing past his brother. “You just wish you had one, too.”
Claire and Kaia laugh and Sam shakes his head.
Donna exfoliates from head to toe, and carefully shaves, paying close attention to her more delicate areas. She doesn’t necessarily intend to get naked with Dean tonight, but this routine is a surefire confidence booster. She wants to feel her most feminine and beautiful.
Outside the shower, she uses her favorite scented body lotion and slips into her sexiest pair of panties. They're a shimmery pink, and she likes the way they complement the red of the bustier.
In her bedroom, she sits at her vanity for make-up and hair. She spends just as much time on her lips as everything else combined — red to match her top. Lastly, she removes the shower cap, unwinds the rollers from her hair, and brushes and situates her waves.
“Alright, D-Train, this’s it.”
Donna pulls on a pair of trouser socks, shimmies into her soft, worn blue jeans, and finally dons the bustier. Before walking out into the fray, she steps into her black ankle boots and draws a deep, cleansing breath as she takes one last look at herself in the full-length mirror.
Dean smooths the soft wool under his hand and checks his hair in the bathroom mirror once more before walking out into the hallway. A light, fresh scent like the respite of lime after a shot of tequila wraps him up, and then she says his name.
When he turns toward her voice, he’s almost knocked flat on his ass.
“Well, look at you, handsome,” Donna says with a beautiful, blinding grin framed by the most luscious cherry lips Dean has ever seen. She's all curves, smooth skin, and bouncy golden hair packaged in an outfit so hot Dean can barely breathe. It's just jeans, but...
“Holy shit,” he breathes. “You look fucking amazing.”
Donna’s throaty chuckle chases heated blood straight to Dean’s dick. As Donna saunters closer in the dimly lit hallway, that heat gradually spreads to all of his extremities, making him feel soft and heavy and ready to pull her down with him.
“This is nice,” Donna says, tracing the delicate tips of her first three fingers in a soft line from the tip of the shallow v-neck of Dean’s sweater down his torso. Her hand drops away after just a few inches, and Dean immediately feels the loss.
He nods. “Claire,” he says, reaching into his pocket.
Donna hums and smiles. “She does love her uncle Dean.”
The moment is something that might be captured in one of those Hallmark movies with Christmas lights that make everything shine and the beautiful blonde look like a walking, talking present from under the tree. The biggest difference is Dean’s internal wish to get that present alone so he can slowly unwrap it and play with it to both of their hearts' content. The Hallmark channel is a family channel.
“Found the mistletoe,” Dean murmurs, twirling the small, berried branch between his thumb and forefinger as he holds it aloft. He dips to look at Donna from underneath. “Is it time? Or do we have to wait ‘til midnight?”
Donna smiles so wide, her big, sparkling eyes are framed by a spray of sunshine. “That’s New Year’s Eve,” she replies quietly, taking a tentative step closer.
“Ahh,” Dean whispers, letting her close the distance. “Well, then...”
She rests her hands against his chest, and he dips further with his eyes closed until he feels the warm, lush press of her lips against his.
Chapter Four
Please don’t leave without telling me what you think!
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Get to know you tag game
Thanks @hergan416 for the tag i needed a distraction frm anxiety supreme
Three Ships: I’m gonna cheat and say MAS, MarcoAce and SaboAce— but that doesn’t count bc its the same characters just. Add or take hdbdn I’ll try find some variety and not make them all one piece: MAS, Reguri (pokemon), dimiclaude (fe3h)
First Ship: naruto and sasuke yeah BAYBEE its all about the nindo way dattebayo (i was 12)
Last Song: Just One Yesterday (Fall Out Boy) its my favourite song ever, I listen to it almost daily and never get tired of it, wish I could see how many times ive played it because its been 10 years since save rock and roll came out as an album so i assume its ALOT of repeats, something about the melody something about the lyrics jts fucking genius i love it esp the part:
Anything you say can and will be held against you
So only say my name
It will be held against you
Makes me go balls to the walls everytime lol
Last Movie: Mario movie it was nice, wish I watched in America tho, i think alot of the references and jokes were lost on the audience here :(
Currently Reading: fanfiction i just wanna get serotonin lol i cant commit to books that i might hate (unfortunately a common problem for me, maybe i just dont like reading anymore who knows) i just hang out on the Ace AO3 tag and hope someone posts smth 😭
Currently Watching: totk stuff im poor gotta wait for payday to buy at the end of this month
Currently Consuming: like food? Nothing i dont eat until evenings
Currently Craving: something that can shut my brain up for one second, its loud and i hate it like intrusive bad thoughts i want to hit alt f4 on that shit, more Ace content (surprise whoa) and like a ten year coma where i can just wake up and go wow im gender and its gonna be daijobu
Tag List: @longingforthecosmos @liferockingitout @authenticaussie @bakyura @childofmothermoon @oz-gauze @arielxlazarus @kawaiikoalagarden @kingsofneon @itsthefandommash @/anyone everyone i forgot sry in advance ofc no pressure this is only if you wanna do this :3
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20 Questions for fic writers!
this is from @ozais-lobotomist and i tag any writer who sees this post lolol
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
ive deleted a fuckton and pretty much started my account over in july lol but right now there are 20 things on there
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
101,151. Since mid-July. omg wtf.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
SO MANY in the past, but my ao3 right now just has for atla and theres one les mis oneshot thats YEARS old that i cant bring myself to delete lol
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
wow ive never checked let me see 1. Zuko Amongst the Dragons 2. Zuko and Sokka Get Engaged in the Most Zukka Way Possible 3. Hidden Pain, Shared Love 4. Scratchy 5. Mother whoa tbh im v surprised by this list
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
YES i try to say thank u to everyone!!!
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
omg i cant CHOOSE uhhh its gonna have to be One Last Time
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
i dont have a lot of those? lol but its probs gotta be the sequel to One Last Time, The End of All Things
8. Do you get hate on fics?
omg no i could not imagine
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
hehehehe nah not really, im not the best at it. i write other fucked up shit instead. we love us some torture porn
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
nah, not really my style tbh
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
no that would be wild (bad)
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
no that would be wild (good) ive thought about translating some of my own fics but i just dont know if the demand would be very high to be worth it???
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
not in a long long long time but i'm interested! other zukka writers hmu (though I'm pretty picky about who I write with. It's not personal, just a style thing)
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
My all-time favorite ship to WRITE is probably Zukka. It's really fun and comes real naturally to me
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Probably my Divorced Zukka The Last Five Years AU. I couldn't get it off to that strong of a start, the reception wasn't great, and there's a lot of boring stuff I'd have to get through before I got to the Good Stuff, so that motivation is just dead.
16. What are your writing strengths?
tbh just Being In Character. That's what I get the most compliments on. also grammar and spelling, that kind of thing.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
I skip over description and setting scenes as much as I possibly can, and it's not necessarily that I Can't as much as I Don't Care To... I get away with it because it's fanfiction but I'd like to... start trying a bit harder at it
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in a fic?
I guess if I had reason to? If it fit with the flow/plot of the fic, there was good reason to do it, and it was in one of the only two other languages I speak... I don't see there being a reason for that in this fandom though lol
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Star Wars, about 15 years ago lol
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
all of my children have a special place in my heart. I love Zuko Amongst the Dragons and One Last Time. Also bad idea right? was just super fun and is a bit underrated if u ask me lol
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Tag Game: This or That Writer’s Edition
I was tagged and it’s been a long time since I’ve done one of these. Maybe it’s good to get it out there how much I’ve changed. Thanks very much @pens-swords-stuff for reminding me and keeping me in the game.
*note to whoever wants to play (or pass on): feel free to tag others. I won’t say you have to, like writing, I feel like one shouldn’t be obligated to do something. Like any other game, you should play because you want to.
1. historical or futuristic
Yes and yes. Futuristic was always a fun theme for me to work with. What could have changed? What’s familiar to us now that I could have made better in the worlds I created. Can I make it as intriguing as Dune or Star Trek or Star Wars? There’s the challenge.
Historical is also fun though. There’s an established frame in which to work. But what can I throw in that people might not have known about before? Clothes? Political subterfuge? Warfare? Ancient technology and terminology? Knowing the historical stuff also helps to build framework for fantasy stories.
2. the opening or closing chapter
The easiest chapter is the opening - the reader doesn’t know anything about the world that they’re about to delve into. Everything is a surprise from the first paragraph onward.
The closing chapter is the challenge - everything that you’ve written up to that point needs to be tied together in a way that will make the reader go, “Whoa!” And it has to be done in a way that will make the story memorable. That’s hard.
3. light+fluffy or dark+gritty
I got my start writing light and fluffy - kid’s books and later with young teen stories. Didn’t do it for long, but I wrote them with other writers in my school about some of the things that we were going through. Normal teen drama stuff, nothing really bad. My teachers always insisted that there was a pleasant resolution by the end. Useful as it was to teach me some of the fundamentals about writing, it always stuck with me: there isn’t always a happy ending in real life.
So if I’m being perfectly honest, I prefer dark and gritty. The dark stories always seemed more relatable to me. I read those stories and I think, “Ok, my life doesn’t seem so bad now.”
4. animal companion or found family
For a long time in my life, my dog was my only friend. And comforting as that was, I used to wish for real friends. I think this is why in so many of my stories, my protagonists usually wind up making their own families. Even my own family didn’t really get me because I was an introvert, not the first pick for sport’s teams, or ever the top of the class. I always like retreating to my own corner with my book to read or my notebook to write in and letting everyone else have their fun. That’s why so many of my characters are surrounded by people that they choose to be around because dogs can only help you accomplish so much.
5. horror or romance
I never really liked horror. Too many things in the world are scary as it is. Romance is easier to do. Don’t get me wrong, getting a romance story good and believable and (most importantly) to make it satisfying to my own standards is about as easy as walking on the sun. But yes, romance, all the way.
6. hard or soft magic system
One of my first writing professors once told me “keep it simple”. “Magic systems, political systems, money systems... keep it simple. The less complicated, the more easily your reader will believe it if they don’t have to try and figure it out.”
My problem is, I’m an overthinker. I have to know and set the rules or else I might wind up with a hole in the plot that critics everywhere will drive a truck through. So, yeah... not gonna lie, I make it a hard system.
7. standalone or series
I like series, writing and reading. Standalone stories are great, but I like to expand on an idea if there’s room for it. If it’s got to be a standalone, I like to make it as detailed as possible.
8. one project at a time or always juggling 2+
For me, writing is me juggling a chainsaw, a burning stick of dynamite, and a mason jar full of nitroglycerin. Keeps it more interesting that way. I should focus on only one at a time, but my stories are like kids and trying to pull you in various directions all at once. You can’t not just focus on one, you have to work with them all when you can as often as you can.
9. one award winner or one bestseller
If I can be picky, I’d rather have a bestseller. I’ve got two nephews and a niece to help put through college.
10. fantasy or sci-fi
I go both ways. But to be honest, my sci-fi stories outnumber the fantasy stories I’ve written by about 5:1. Fantasy is definitely lots of fun because you can do things with it that you’d have to explain in a sci-fi story (sometimes). Fantasy: monster exists, no one needs to know where it came from, but it can be slain with this/that magic spell. Sci-fi: creature was created through twisted science (or alien exists on a previously unexplored world) and can only be killed by this/that because their origin didn’t include this/that or because their native environment made them vulnerable to this/that.
11. character or setting description
Depends on the story. Character descriptions need to be given only the once, I think, unless the reader needs the occasional reminder for this trait or that. But the setting - unless it takes place in the same room/area - for the whole story, changes all the time, doesn’t it?
12. first or final draft
Gold bars go through a less rigorous purification process than any final draft I’ve ever written.
13. love triangle in everything or no romantic arcs
I can count on one hand - with two fingers left over to scratch my face - the stories I’ve written that didn’t have a romantic arc in them. Love triangles are a bit tricky though, so I usually end up with an unrequited love arc. They seem more realistic to me.
14. constant sandstorm or rainstorm
Sandstorms come first, then the rainstorms that follow turn that piled up sand into cement.
If you see this and want to do it too, please do! Feel free to say that I tagged you, I’d love to see.
If you want to be tagged by me for tag games, click here!
#write it#writers on tumblr#writing#writers#writing games#writer#writing prompt#my writing#daily writing prompt#daily writing#writing tool#story
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Lukanette Month 2019 | Week One | Firsts
Content: Fluff, Angst, Canon Divergence, Aged-Up Characters
Pairing: Viperion | Luka Couffaine/ Ladybug | Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Header: @/katydoodles on Tumblr
Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!
This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.
Sunday September 1st, 2019 - First Day
When Marinette first met Luka, it was when she decided to help Ivan, Juleka and Rose with their band. They invited everyone in class to either come and help or come for the show. Which of course meant Adrien was invited and he told them that he was going to come and help (he had somehow gotten his father to agree)! Marinette was so excited for him to be there, but as it got closer and closer he hadn’t even sent a text.
Marinette sighed. “He’s not here yet.”
“No worries girl.” Alya slung an arm around her shoulders. “The gig hasn’t started yet.”
“What if he doesn’t know Juleka’s address? Or he got the wrong day? Or he’s lost?” Marinette listed off all the reasons as though why Adrien was late. “Could you check with Nino please? You know, of course, just… casually.” She pressed her fingers together, embarrassed.
Alya roller her eyes then called out to Nino. “Hey Nino, have you heard from Adrien, by any chance?”
Nino looked up from what he was doing as he adjusted his cap. “He had something to do his old man. He said he’ll come right after.”
Alya turned back to Marinette with a knowing look. The pigtailed girl flushed and released an unsteady giggle.
“Capitaine Anarka speaking to ya! So how’s it coming along me young pirates? Ready to celebrate the-” She looked at Marinette then adjusted her glasses. “Whatcha up to, there, matey?”
Marinette jumped, almost dropping the box that was in her hands. “Uh, hello ma‘am. I’m cleaning up for tonight! Your boat’s gonna be clean as a whistle!”
“You’re cleaning!” Anarka let out a deep belly laugh. “We never pick up ‘round this house! Didn’t me daughter tell ye?” She gestured to the boat. Taking a look around, Marinette notice how messy the boat actually was. “We like the lived-in look. We have no rules on The Liberty! Out of chaos comes creation! Messiness is life.” And with that, she strutted off.
“That was… interesting.” Marinette gave an unsure smile to Alya who returned it with a shrug.
Nino’s ringtone announced itself in the silence. Marinette knew that ringtone. She knew exactly who it was for and she felt her heart breaking before he even answered. “Wassup dude?...Wow, what happened?... Whoa, that’s real rough. Good luck dude, see you tomorrow!” He hung up and turned to the girls.
“That was Adrien wasn’t it.” Marinette could feel her heart sinking deep into her chest. “He can’t come.”
Nino nodded and Marinette sighed.
Rose approached Anarka and saluted. “We’re ready Capitaine! Uh… but Luka is missing.”
“Marinette, is it?” Ararka faced her. “Since you’re free of ye cleanin’ duties, could you go and fetch Luka?”
“Of course. Uh, but who’s Luka? And where is he?”
“Luka’s my son, you’ll find him in his cabin.”
Marinette nodded and headed below deck, peeking into rooms until she heard the sound of a guitar being plucked. Without thinking she pushed the door open. When she set eyes upon the boy who sat on the bed she let out a startled gasp. “Uh!’
“Hey, my name’s Mama—uh Mamamarinette!” Anymore stuttering and she’d bite off her tongue. “Your mom sent me down here. The groove—uh… group’s waiting for you.”
“Hello, Mamamarinette.” He chuckled.
Marinette’s face fell. She’d only known him for a few seconds and she had already made a fool out of herself. Seems like that was all she’d be known for.
“Sorry. I tend to make more sense with this.” He strummed a few cords his guitar. “That’s strange. It seems you have something like this in your heart.” He continued the melody.
“How do you do that?” Marinette almost slapped a hand over her mouth but held back. It’s fine to ask questions, she reminded herself.
“Music is often simpler than words.” He reached over and grabbed a familiar looking guitar pick.
“You like Jagged Stone’s music?”
“He’s my favorite singer.”
She smiled. “Mine too.”
He held the pick out to her. “You can have it if you like. I’ve got plenty.”
“Wow! Thanks!” She plucked it from his hands.
“I think I’d better go join the… groove, you said?”
Marinette flushed. “Did I really say that?”
Luka laughed. “You’re a funny girl, Marinette.”
A little flutter kicked up in her tummy.
She liked his laugh.
Monday September 2nd, 2019 - First Concert
She must have followed Luka in a daze because the next thing she knew she was being shaken by Alya. “Are you okay girl?”
Marinette nodded. “Mhh-hmm.”
“Ho, ho, sailors! Let’s give them a show! Whenever your ready, Luka!”
Mylene walked over and handed them earplugs. “You’re going to need these, believe me.”
Luka strummed his guitar loudly. At least that’s what Marinette assumed because she could still hear him through the earplugs. She took them out, however, when Officier Raincomprix pulled up beside the boat.
“Mme. Anarka, are you completely out of your mind? I’m reading one hundred sixty decibels! That’s ten times the sound of a jet engine! You can’t do this. You’ll have to play something else!”
“It’s the National Music Festival today, Officer Roger! My crew’s allowed to play whatever they want!”
“It’s a music festival, not a noise festival. If you don’t turn the volume down, I’ll ban your concert altogether!”
Marinette spoke up. “Uh, maybe we could turn the volume down a bit, Capitaine? Then there’d be no more problems, right?”
“No, out of the question. I didn’t name my galleon Liberty for nothing, you know! It’s a matter of principle! Haven’t you heard of speech, Roger? This is me home! I will do as I want!”
As they got into a heated argument, Marinette slowly slinked away from the scene. She knew Anarka was going to be akumatized and that there'd be no stopping it, if her attitude was anything to go by. It’d be easier to just be ready then to possibly get captured, so with that thought, Marinette transformed then zipped off to the nearest building behind the boat.
Moments later the boat was covered in dark purple smoke. She didn’t think the whole boat would be effected. She returned, gasping as chains wrapped around the passengers and dragged them below deck.
“Liberty! Fire!” The cannons fired at the bridge destroying it and clearing the path ahead.
“This isn’t good.” She threw her yoyo at the railing and slid in threw an open port hole on the side.
“Ladybug!” Alya called.
“Shhh!” She crouched down. “What’s the situation?”
“Juleka and Luka’s mom was akumatized because Officer Roger gave her a lot of tickets.” Alya explained.
“She didn’t care about the tickets… it was more so about the freedom.” Juleka softly spoke up.
Ladybug nodded. “Okay. Did anyone see where the akuma flew into?”
“The compass.” Luka answered.
Ladybug smiled. “Thanks. I’ll have everything back to normal before you can say ‘Ladybug’!”
Easiest way to get it done was from the outside rather than trying to sneak up top. She went back out the way she came then shimmed her way to the back of the boat. She almost jumped a foot in the air when something thudded beside her.
“M’lady.” Chat Noir nodded his head.
She nodded back. “Chat.”
“What’s the situation?”
“It’s a battle for freedom.” She nudged him to the left as Aranka moved closer to their location. “See that compass over there? The akuma is over there.”
“Cataclysm?”
“Cataclysm. I’ll give you an opening.” She snuck across the left side of the boat and waited until Aranka’s back was turned.
“Hey! Capitaine!” Ladybug shouted.
Aranka spun on her heel and glared. “How did you get on my ship?”
Ladybug took another step to left. Aranka followed and took a step to the right. “Why are you destroying public property?”
She just had to get the compass out of her peripheral. She watched as Chat Noir slinked closer and closer to the compass, Cataclysm at the ready.
“It goes against me freedom. The freedom of the Liberty!” She took a threatening step forward. “As long as this ship sails, so does freedom.”
“Well I’m sorry to tell you but it looks like the sails of the Liberty to lose their winds! Now Chat Noir!” At her call, Chat Noir touched the compass, having it rust and crumble into nothing.
“Noo!” Aranka ran at Ladybug but as soon as the akuma was out of the compass Ladybug snapped it up and purified it.
“Bye bye, little butterfly.” She thrusted her yoyo in the air. “Miraculous Ladybug.” The little ladybugs repaired all the damage the Liberty caused.
Ladybug and Chat Noir pounded fist. “Pound it!”
Anarka looked up at the two. “What happened?
“Oh not much, you just had a bout of… Seasickness.” Chat Noir’s Miraculous beeped. “Time to raise the sails my lady.” He pounced away.
Ladybug gave Anarka a wave as the previous captures came above deck. “Enjoy your gig, bug out!” She jumped off the boat, seemingly disappearing but actually hanging on the side. She made her way to an open port hole and slide her way into the bathroom.
“Spots off.” She opened the door and peeked into the hallway.
“Marinette?” Luka called her from down the hall.
She fully stepped out into hallway. “Y-yeah. I came down here earlier and hid during the akuma attack. Everyone okay?”
Luka sighed. “Yeah. Yeah, everyone is fine.” He gestured toward the stairs. “Come on. We’re about to start.”
Marinette smiled and followed after him.
The concert was amazing. Surprising but amazing. And Adrien was there so that made the day the best ever!
But… her gaze kept drifting to Luka. Her heart being played by the strings of his song.
Tuesday September 3rd, 2019 - First Fashion Show
Marinette’s nerves were frayed, but she was pumped. After a push from her parents, Alya and Tikki, Marinette entered a fashion show and was accepted. She immediately began sketching up designs that would go with the theme: Synthesia. Each contestant was to choose a song and design an outfit that match with what colors they believed were associated with that song.
Marinette had an advantage since she did actually have synthesia, so of course she choose her favorite Jagged Stone song. However, she noticed her colors started to shift after the first few listens. They went from their usually purples and black to shades of blue, and the one person who reminded her of so many shades of blue was…
Luka
She shook her head, leaving to deal with it later and continued working on her designs.
Hours later she was in a large room filled with rolls of fabric, spools of ribbon and boxes upon boxes of beads, jewels and other knick knacks.
Just as she put the finishing touches on her work, the contrast director walked in. “Hello everyone! Are you almost done with your designs?” The crowd muttered a mix response of mostly “almost done". “Well then, I think your ready to hear about the surprise!” She paused for dramatic effect. “You’ll be modeling your designs!”
“What?!”
She nodded. “Yep! Why do you think the models had the same exact measurements as you?” She clapped her hands once. “Well, we’ll be on in two hours. Enough time for hair, make-up and any finishing touches. Good luck!” And with that she left.
Marinette took a deep breath. She already had her suspicions, so she had been doing certain alterations to fit her specifically. She exhaled then moved to a vacant vanity to get started on her prep as she looked for make-up inspiration on Instagram.
“And now Marinette Dupain-Cheng walking to Blue Waves by Jagged Stone!”
Marinette took a deep breath then let a smile graced her features as she stepped out onto the runway. She kept her eyes straight but from her peripheral she was able to see Jagged tapping his boot to the beat of his song with Penny right by his side, tapping her own foot. Her parents recording the whole thing with dropped jaws, her friends sitting in the crowd with their own looks for awe.
And him.
Luka.
The boy who had inspired it all.
Wednesday September 4th, 2019 - First Blush
“Thanks for taking me out, Bridgette.”
“No prob, Mari. You deserve it.”
Marinette and her cousin, Bridgette, were out and about and had decided to stop by Andre’s to get some ice cream. Marinette immediately knew what the ice cream flavors represented, but she chose to ignore it.
“I’m serious Mari. You’ve been doing better since you’ve moved on past him.” Marinette hummed. “Seems like Andre’s noticed too.”
Marinette looked away. “O-oh really? I didn’t noticed.”
Bridgette laughed. “You’re way too smart to have noticed, Mari. You totally like Luka.”
Marinette felt her cheeks redden. “No I—!”
“Oh hey! Luka!” Bridgette called. Mariette whipped her glowing head face around and almost bolted from the spot. Of course Luka was only standing a few feet from them.
He smiled and approached them. “Hey… Bridgette, right?”
“Yep!” She nodded then turned to Marinette with a pout. “Jeez, Mari! I thought you’d talk about your most favorite cousin with your friends!” Marinette stumbled for a response.
Thankful Luka answered for her. “Oh no, she’s definitely mentioned you before. I just have a little hard time remembering names.” Luka rubbed the back of his neck as he gave her a sheepish smile.
“Oh well then that’s fine.” Her phone vibrated. “Whoopsie.” She checked the message then turned to Marinette with a guilty look. “Looks like Felix needs me for something.”
“Oh yeah, yeah. Sure. Go see what’s up.”
“Thanks Mari!” Bridgette bolted faster than Marinette thought was necessary.
“Hey, Marinette.” Mariette gripped the ice cream cone, cursing both her cousin and Felix for their terrible timing.
She’d get them back later. “Yes, Luka?”
“You wanna go to the park with me?” Marinette eyes widen by a fraction when she caught the familiar pink tinge his cheeks.
She smiled despite her hammering heart. “Sure.”
As they walked to their destination, their hands brushed against each other until Luka pulled her hand into his.
She just about fainted.
Thursday September 5th, 2019 - First Touch
He held her hand the entire time they were in the park and even now as they mindlessly walking around the city.
“So, where to next?”
“N-next?” He still wanted to hang out?
Luka nodded slowly. “Yeah… unless you have something to do.”
“Nonono!” Marinette furiously shook her head. “I just don’t know where to go next...”
Luka hummed. “Maybe we could go to a music store?”
Marinette nodded. “That seems like fun.”
They listened to a lot of music that was primarily by Jagged Stone. Marinette was surprised at the light the filled Luka’s eyes as listened to a new song. He would babble on and on about certain parts and things he would add and change.
Next, they headed to a pet store where Marinette gushed over the hamsters. Unbeknownst to her, Luka was giving her the softest smile.
Finally, he took her to a hole in the wall diner. Everyone there seemed to know him really well, so the atmosphere was light and fun. It finally allowed her red cheeks to take a break.
On the walk home, their hands rejoined and swung lightly between the two of them.
Friday September 6th, 2019 - First Kiss
It was later in the evening when Marinette has finally returned home with Luka. She had an amazing time and honestly Marinette wanted to have the day play on repeat so she could do it again and again.
Luka stopped short but a few steps away from the store. “I’ll see you around?”
Marinette gave him her brightest smile and nodded. “Of course!”
Luka leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I’ll see you around Mamamarinette.”
Marinette lifted a hand to her cheek and stood frozen for what felt like years. Finally she made the few steps home after Tikki snapped her out of the trance.
When she entered her room she almost spun on her heel and went right back out.
Bridgette was giving her the smuggest look.
“Shut it.” Marinette hissed. “One word and I swear to—”
“I promise on our sistership.”
“You better.”
Saturday September 7th, 2019 - Second Chance
Marinette stared at the box on her desk which contained a Miraculous.
Specifically the Cat Miraculous.
She really hated to think about it. How everything seemed to fallout.
Was it her— was she to blame?
No… it couldn’t be. She set her boundary and he crossed it. He wasn’t able to comprehend the responsibility of being a hero of Paris. He wasn’t able to respect her as a person. He put her on such a high pedestal that he didn’t know how to act.
And as much as it hurt.
It had to happen.
But that’s in the past and this is the present.
“Tikki, spots on.”
She had to go find her new partner.
“Luka Couffaine.”
“Ladybug? What are you doing here?”
She gazed into those beautiful blues that now captured her heart. The beat changing from a fast set thump to a steady bump.
But she couldn't let her heart dictate everything.
But… she knew Luka. She knew that he is someone who is loyal, smart and cunning.
That he is the rightful owner of the Cat Miraculous.
Ladybug took a deep breath. “Luka Couffaine, this is the Miraculous of the Cat, which grants the power of Destruction. This power shall only be used for the greater good. I present this Miraculous to you. Do you accept this power?”
“Of course, My-.” Ladybug’s eyes widen.
Not that.
She didn’t want to hear those words again. “-mamarinette.”
Ladybug gasped. “H-how did you?”
“Didn’t I tell you?” He smiled as he took her free hand in both of his. “You’re an extraordinary girl, Marinette. As clear as a musical note and as sincere as a melody. You’re the music that’s been playing inside my head since the first day we met. Mask or not.”
Ladybug gave him a watery smile. “Thank you, Luka.”
Thank you for being my second chance.
Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist
#alie ficlets#alie series: lukanette month 2019#lukanette month 2019#lukanette#luka x marinette#long post
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Can I introduce you to conniving Iroh? The uncle that played everyone? Get rid of Zuko, Defeat his brother and niece, Convinced the Gaang that he wants the war to end. But Azula finds out after finding Zuko imprisoned. The Gaang is displeased to learn the truth but doesn't trust Azula. Zuko is just laying in grass.
This is what happens when you hand me a vaguely interesting concept.
Enjoy this new AU, everyone. It got a bit out of hand. Feel free to send asks if you want to, maybe I'll write more for it if you're interested.
I'm gonna shove this onto Ao3, too. Maybe tomorrow.
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Word Count: 7478 (my god what is wrong with me)
- - -
On Azula's fifth escape, she realized that no one was home.
Well, that wasn't particularly accurate. Rather, it was only the staff there. The Avatar, her uncle, and their little friends were all gone.
The first servant she asked was shaking. She must've been new, being that nervous. The servant stated that they were to be back within the hour.
Azula went into the city. She didn't make it out of Caldera before they caught her again.
They weren't there the eighth, sixteenth, or twenty-first times that she escaped, either. Every time, she tried to get out of Caldera. Curse her and her kind heart for doing her best in their fights not to destroy the homes of her people. It wouldn't do to have a revolt happen the moment she took the throne.
On the twenty-fourth time, she didn't even make it out of the Upper Ring of the city before they caught up to her.
Azula wasn't an idiot. That was obvious, but it seemed to be a fact that was ignored often by her uncle and his little allies. They hadn't outright told her, but Azula knew what they had done to her father. She knew that the Avatar had reached inside of him and snuffed out his Fire. Like it was nothing.
Azula sat in her cell after the twenty-sixth escape attempt and wondered, vaguely, why they didn't just take her bending too?
Having more time for thoughts was... interesting, at the very least. Up until the Comet, Azula had been so busy that she hadn't done anything but think about what was coming next. It had been one thing after another, finishing one order from her father and then moving onto the next. Now, when she wasn't escaping, it was just her and her mind.
(She remembered, through the haze that had fallen over the summer months, that the only times she had rested were when Ty Lee, with Mai's help, had forced her to.)
(For the first time in a long time, Azula felt a pang of worry, and tried to push away the surprise she felt at realizing that she was hoping her friends were all right.)
One of the things that Azula thought about the most was her father. Surprising no one. Or, at least, it would surprise no one, if anyone else was there to know about it. No one came to visit her, though. Not the Avatar and his friends. Not her uncle. Food and water were pushed through a slot. It was as if she was a common prisoner.
Regardless, she thought about her father. It was after the thirty-third escape attempt, though, that she came to a terrifying realization. A question that she didn't quite know the answer to.
Did her father actually love her?
He'd always said he had. Or, at least, he had always seemed like he had. Azula, for her whole childhood, had known that Father's love was hard to earn. That had been normal. She had been sure of it.
When the guard came to drop off the food for the day, she called out to them.
"We are not permitted to hold conversation with you, Princess Azula," the guard responded immediately.
Azula snorted. "I don't care. I have a question that I need answered."
The guard was silent for a moment, and if Azula's hearing hadn't been honed by combat, she would've thought they'd left. Instead, she waited patiently in the quiet until the guard spoke again. "Yes, Princess?"
"How long is it supposed to take to earn the love of your parents?"
The guard paused again. "What?"
Azula huffed and repeated the question. She just needed an answer. Was it supposed to happen when you're a teenager, and she was just overthinking things while she was stuck in this cell? Was it supposed to happen in childhood, and she was right? She had to know.
"Princess, children aren't supposed to have to earn the love of their parents at all."
Azula couldn't help it. She laughed. "Don't lie to me."
The guard let out a shaky breath from behind the door. "I'm not lying, your grace. Parents are supposed to love their children, unconditionally. It is one of the things that the Great Spirits themselves have stated."
Now, Azula knew that there were more spirits than just Agni. More Great Spirits than just Agni. It had been left out of her education by her father, but she'd learned about it on her own after realizing there was something missing. She knew from Mai and Ty Lee that, at the very least, the Great Spirits were all spoken about in most Fire Nation schools. There was simply an emphasis on the might and power of Agni, the superiority of their God. As there should be.
Azula never really heard many people talk about the other spirits, though. She didn't ever care to look into what they did, and no one ever said anything about them, so clearly it didn't matter all that much.
During her thirty-seventh escape, when her uncle and his friends were absent from the palace once more, she did not attempt to make her way to the edge of the city. Instead, she went straight to the Fire Temple. She walked right past the Fire Sages, not caring as they called after her, and into the Archives. There was another Sage sitting behind a desk, there. Behind him, there were endless shelves of scrolls.
"I need to see things about the statements of the Great Spirits," Azula said. The Fire Sage stared up at her. He opened his mouth to speak, an eyebrow raised, and Azula added, "I will gladly burn everything in this place to the ground." Her reputation preceded her as the Fire Sage led her back into the rows of shelves.
The guard's statements from a few days previously rang true as her eyes scanned over the words. She'd explained to the Fire Sage on the way what it was that she wanted proof for, and the Sage had delivered. The scroll in front of her told its truth.
'And the Great Spirit Agni, echoed by his equals, set the next Law of Family: A parent is to love their child completely and wholeheartedly. A child is not required to love their parent in the same, for they had no choice in the matter of their conception. However, a parent is to have no restrictions or reservations in the love they hold for their child. Should they, there shall be a special place held in the Beyond for their soul.
'The Great Spirits spoke the words, and the People heard them and knew them. And so it was.'
Azula hummed and pushed the scroll back into the hands of the Fire Sage. She took his lamp from his grasp, then, and walked back down the way they had come, leaving the Sage in the darkness. She was barely a block away from the Temple when she was recaptured.
So. Father was, for all intents and purposes, wrong. He'd told her for her whole childhood, that she was the golden child, she was his favorite, she was the one who was proving herself worthy of his love. And yet, he was meant to give it to her without any complaint. He was meant to give it to her brother, too. Father cited the words of the Great Spirits, of Agni, often, in order to further his advocacy for his plans. Yet he ignored these Rules. It was as if he was picking and choosing to fit his argument. Azula never thought her father would stoop so low.
(During all this thinking, it crossed her mind that she didn't think of Father as 'Dad' anymore.)
On her thirty-ninth escape, she caught wind of where her father was being kept.
On her forty-second, she went to speak with him.
"Azula," Father spoke as she slipped inside after knocking out the guard. "My daughter. I am so glad you're here. Come, come, break me out, and we can leave this place. We can take back our nation from your treacherous uncle and brother."
Azula ignored his words for the moment. "Why did I have to earn your love?"
Father's grin didn't falter, to his credit. "What are you talking about, Azula?"
She repeated herself, this time making her words even firmer.
"That's how it is, Azula," Father said. "My time is valuable, as you very well know. I cannot be wasting it on a child that does not deserve it."
The question of his time hadn't really been what she was after, but she continued on either way. "That's against the Word of Agni."
This time, he did falter. "What?"
"I read one of the Proclamations of the Great Spirits within the Fire Temple Archives. It says that Agni himself, echoed by the rest of the Great Spirits, stated that, regardless of a child's view of their parent, a parent must love their child unconditionally, without restrictions or reservations." She paused. "You haven't done that."
"Says who?"
"You."
Father didn't have a response to that.
Finally, he muttered, "I should've burned those scrolls when I had the chance."
Ah. So he was a coward, too. Not owning up to his own mistakes, not facing them like he always told her she had to with her own. No, he was simply thinking about what he should've done, dwelling in the past.
(Your mother is gone, Father said to her. Don't think on it. Don't dwell in the past, Azula. It's the sign of a weakling, and I didn't raise a weakling.)
"Parents who give their children love without them doing anything to deserve it raise nothing but weaklings," Father said, then. "Look at your brother."
She ignored the end of his statement. "Bold of you to speak of weaklings, Father, when you're the one who needs my help to get out of here."
"I don't need your help. I presumed your loyalty would ring true."
"Go ahead, then. Escape on your own. I'd love to see you do anything without your Fire to back you up."
There were footsteps coming down the hall, then, and Azula spoke one more time before the door to the cell slammed open.
"Even Zuko would've been a better Fire Lord than you were, Father. Only cowards hide the truth, and he never did. That's far more than you can say."
Being compared to her brother seemed to be the tipping point for him. Father pushed off of the ground and surged forward with a roar right as the door behind her blew open. Azula took a single step back, away from the bars that her father slammed into from the momentum, and her arms were gripped by rough hands, which pulled them behind her back.
"I'll walk on my own," Azula said, gritting her teeth.
"We're not inclined to believe that, Princess."
Azula huffed and allowed them to lead her out of the cell. She didn't look back at her father once.
Back in her cell once more, she couldn't help but think. Azula had gone her entire life believing every word that her father said. The glaring proof that he had been lying to her, as well as the fact that he had been actively defying their God... It was a lot to handle.
The next morning, as she was rearing herself for her next escape, the door opened. That hadn't happened, ever. Azula never got visitors.
A strip of metal flew through the cracks in the bars and wrapped around her wrists, tying them together. Ah. She didn't need to look up to see who was there. Azula leaned back a bit to rest her head against the wall that the top of her cot was next to. She stared up at the small slivers of sunlight that fell through the tiny window at the top of her cell, watching as the bright light illuminated particles of dust floating through the air.
One of her visitors cleared their throat.
"Ask what you want to ask," Azula said. "Maybe I'll think about answering."
"Why did you visit Ozai?"
It was the Avatar who had spoken.
"I had questions for him. Don't worry, I won't be going back. I got my answers."
"You won't be going back my ass," one of them, the Water Tribe boy, muttered under his breath. She cocked an eyebrow.
"My father won't be escaping. Not on my watch. He's a coward." She paused. "He directly disobeyed the words of the Great Spirits. A Proclamation of Agni. You can do whatever you wish to do with him. I couldn't care less." She ignored the ache in her chest as she said it. She wondered how long it would take for her to stop loving her father.
"People disobey the Proclamations of the Great Spirits all the time," the waterbender girl said. "I think the only nation that has ever followed them almost completely was the Air Nomads, and even then I don't think they were infallible."
Azula grit her teeth, but she was sure they couldn't tell. "He used other Words for his own benefit, while actively ignoring ones that went against him. He is a coward who refuses to admit to what he has done wrong. I have no respect for him." Especially not without his bending.
"You have to stop trying to escape," the Avatar said. "We might have to resort to different methods of containment if you don't."
Azula snorted. "I'd like to see you try." Her father being out of the picture, now, made her much more confident in her ability to give Zero Fucks Whatsoever.
There was silence, and then the group began to move out of the cell. After a moment, Azula's throat stung and she called out, "Wait."
Her voice was strained. She did not want to ask a single thing of them, but she had to know.
"What?"
"Why hasn't my brother visited me, yet?"
There was a pause. Then, the Avatar spoke once more.
"Zuko isn't with us. I don't know why you thought he was. We haven't seen him since Ba Sing Se." He paused. "Iroh says he's on the run, though, and that he's sure that Zuko is safe, at least."
Azula's heart stuttered, but she said nothing, and the door began to close again.
Information for information. They'd tell her more in the future if they thought they'd get something out of it.
"Water Tribe," she called out. The door stopped moving. Both the waterbender and her brother poked their heads in. She turned her head to look at them, and locked eyes with the boy. After a moment of staring at him, watching the nervousness swimming in his eyes, she said, "Your girlfriend's in the Boiling Rock."
The boy seemed to stop functioning. The waterbender said, "The Boiling Rock?"
"Yes, yes, our best prison. She's there. If you want her."
There was silence. Then the door slammed shut.
Azula made a face and leaned her head back, moving a bit too quickly and smacking it against the stones of the wall. She set her jaw. A headache. Wonderful.
She thought for a moment about what she had actually just done.
…Damn, she was going soft.
So. Zuko wasn't on their uncle's side. Another thing her father was wrong about, then.
She wondered where Zuko was. Maybe Mai and Ty Lee were with him, that would make sense. Zuko and Mai were dating still, she was sure. They were always so gross with one another after coming back from the Earth Kingdom. Azula was surprised she managed to make it through those few months.
On Azula's forty-fifth escape, she went straight to the kitchens of the palace.
"Princess Azula?" The Head Chef asked, clearly surprised. "Uh, I thought Prince-, er, Fire Lord Iroh had you imprisoned?"
Azula didn't respond to that. Instead, she said, "I want spice rice."
She got what she asked for, as well as a small bundle. She raised an eyebrow at the chef, who bowed and turned away from her without a word.
The bundle was warm, and lumpy. Azula made her way back to her cell quietly, nibbling on the rice as she went, and set the bundle down on her cot. Inside, there were four rolls, clearly fresh. Azula hummed, placed the bundle inside of the near-empty pillow case shoved into the corner of the bed, and sat on the foot of the cot, continuing to eat the rice until the cell door slammed open. She was silent as her uncle watched over the guard moving into the cell to take the half-eaten rice cup from her.
The next day, they forgot to give her food. Or maybe they didn't forget. She wasn't sure. She wouldn't be surprised by either one.
Azula's forty-ninth escape had her wandering through the palace. She wanted to see if things had changed. It had been over three months since the Comet.
She went to her quarters, first. They had been ransacked, it looked like, and then left there. No one had cleaned them. Azula avoided looking in the mirror as she moved to the closet. She ignored all of the clothing strewn across the floor and instead reached into a drawer, pulling out a small hair-tie. Azula pulled her hair back, ignoring how dirty it felt, yanked another few ties onto her left wrist, and left her room, the door hanging ajar in her wake.
She went to the Royal Bathhouse, next. The servants there looked a bit surprised to see her, but also seemed far too tired to call any guards to come and deal with her. They drew her a bath, and somehow remembered the exact temperature that she preferred. Of course they did. They only hired the best for the Fire Nation Royal Palace. At least that was the same, still.
Azula grabbed every unscented soap she could find and spent far too long scrubbing every inch of her body. As soon as she slipped into the bath, a servant girl appeared, took her prison clothes, and was gone. The same girl returned twenty minutes later with the clothes, washed and dried, along with a towel.
Her hair was all she had been really caring about, but being clean in general was a big perk.
The servants bowed their heads as she left, and Azula was surprised to find that her uncle and his allies were still not back. The halls were empty of guards looking for her.
Her hair damp and tied back once more, Azula continued to wander. She watched with a wary eye as guards turned away from her, as if they didn't see her. She could work with that.
The secret entrance to the dungeon was right where she remembered it being. The only person who was supposed to know about it was the Captain of the Royal Guard (and the Fire Lord, she supposed), but Azula knew about it. Of course she did. She easily picked the lock with a hairpin she'd swiped and made her way into the dungeons, curious to see if Mai or Ty Lee were there. The dungeons were only really meant to be holding cells, as being without access to the sun for long enough could be disastrous for a firebender, but her friends were nonbenders, and these were special circumstances. It wouldn't hurt to check.
She doubted they'd be on the first floor of prisoners, so she went lower. The dungeons didn't go low enough into the earth to be anywhere near the magma that rested beneath the city, but the rock of the walls did change a bit the farther down you went.
She was in the staircase moving to the bottom and final floor of cells, which were never used, but she had to check, when she heard footsteps roaring down the steps above her. Azula hopped over the rest of the stairs and pushed through the door. She had to know if they were there.
She was three cells down the twenty cell line when the staircase door burst open again. Azula growled, threw back a wave of bright blue flame to slow them, and ran down the hall, glancing at each cell to her left and right to ensure her friends weren't there.
She was glancing over the eighteenth cells, another wave of fire being thrown back from her hands as she did, and was prepared to move on when she paused. The thunderous pounding of footsteps, the calls of the guards and Uncle's men, and the roaring of flames in the air all fell silent in her ears. Her gaze focused on the cell in front of her, the eighteenth one on the left, and felt everything go still.
Her heart in her throat, her chest empty, her blood cold, Azula breathed, "Zuko?"
He didn't look at her. In fact, she wasn't even sure if she could be certain it was him. He was curled toward the wall, his hair thin, obscuring his face from view. His arms were wrapped around him, and Zuko always had been too thin. His hair shifted a bit as he took a shaky breath, and Azula caught a glimpse of the scar marring his face.
That was it. The proof she needed.
Her brother wasn't working with their uncle, wasn't on the run.
He was right here, right in front of her. The only thing between them was a set of iron bars. That was nothing.
Then, though, earth was locking around her wrists, pulling them behind her back, and hands were grabbing her, dragging her away from the cell.
For the first time in weeks, Azula fought back.
She screamed and thrashed, managed to bite at least three separate people. "No, no! Let me go! Fucking traitors, cowards, let me go!" She opened her mouth to let out a stream of fire, and another band of rocks flew forward, bending around her mouth and holding itself in place on her face. It didn't hurt, but she felt the inexplicable urge to sob anyway.
When she was back in her cell, nursing her jaw with the bag of ice they had been generous enough to give her, Azula felt her heart beating harder and faster than she had ever remembered.
The next morning, after her food was delivered, she took out the last of the rolls from days prior and ate it. She tested her flames, allowing them to curl over her fingers, dancing in the air. Finally, as the late morning sun peaked over the walls of the palace and flowed into her cell at last, Azula was ready.
Her fiftieth escape, Azula went straight back to where her last one had ended.
She wasn't running, but people jumped out of her way anyway. They looked at her with more fear than anyone had in a while. She couldn't care less. She stopped only once, to enter the kitchens. Silently, the Head Chef packed her another bundle of rolls. She liked the chef.
"I need scissors," Azula said as she was handed the bundle. The chef stared at her for a moment before opening a drawer and pulling some out. Azula slipped them between the folds of the bundle and moved on.
She walked through the dungeons to the bottom floor as if she was being controlled by an outside force. She knew she had to go to the eighteenth cell on the left, and so she did.
She had been wondering overnight whether the image of her brother had been just that: an image. A hallucination. A fake.
Here he was, though, sitting in the same spot he had been when she was pulled away the day before.
There would've been no way out for any ordinary firebender. Thankfully, Azula was no ordinary firebender. She wasn't the Wielder of the Blue Flame for nothing. Her fire melted the bars with ease, and she stepped through into the cell, allowing the glowing liquid metal to cool behind her.
She stood over her brother. He hadn't moved beyond the incessant trembles that rocked his body.
"Zuko."
Nothing.
She sighed. Azula sat down, the bundle being placed down next to her. She grabbed a roll and held it in front of his face.
Nothing.
Azula huffed. In any other circumstances, she would say he was acting like a child. These weren't normal circumstances, though. Azula broke off a piece of the roll, forced open her brother's jaw, and slipped the bread into his mouth.
He was still for a moment before he began chewing. Azula settled back a bit. Zuko always wore his heart on his sleeve. He was so easy to read. With his face so obscured, though, she couldn't see his eyes, which were always so expressive. Azula hated not knowing what he was thinking.
She grabbed the scissors, then, reached forward, and started snipping off thin strands of hair. His hair was dirty, just like hers had been before yesterday, and it was uneven, the ends frayed, as if he had been pulling at it in some places.
Zuko jerked as she began cutting his hair. Azula scoffed. "Calm down, Zuzu."
He was still tense, but he didn't moved anymore as she made her way around his head. For someone who had never cut hair before, Azula had to admit that she did a great job. His hair looked just a little bit longer than it had been when he'd joined her side in Ba Sing Se in that (fruitless) bid to defeat the Avatar.
"Better," she said.
His eyes were dull, duller than they had been even after Mom had died, or after the Agni Kai with Father. It wasn't a great look on him, and prison chic didn't really seem to be doing wonders for him either. The combination was even worse.
Azula shoved the roll into his hands. "Eat. Or I'll make you."
He moved slowly, but he did listen. After another three bites, Zuko let the hand holding the roll fall limp and looked up at her. His brow furrowed a bit, as if he was confused. "Azula?" His voice was scratchy and weak, as if he hadn't used it in a while. Azula rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, Dum-Dum, obviously."
"...Why are you here?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"...Why are you here?"
Azula's frown deepened and she leaned back. After a moment, she said, "I didn't know you were here until yesterday. I would've come earlier."
"Why, though?" He asked.
"Cause clearly you're not a traitor if Uncle locked you down here!"
Zuko was silent for a moment. "I was, though. I went up to Father during the Eclipse and told him I was going to break Uncle out and help him end the war."
Azula raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
Zuko nodded. "I did. It was too late to follow the Avatar, so we went to meet up with his Order of the White Lotus people. When... When we did, he..." Zuko swallowed and fell silent. "I thought... He said that he thought of me as a son, once."
Azula didn't have to ask what Uncle Iroh had done once they had met up with Order of the White Lotus. Looking at her brother now, she had a pretty good idea.
"Well, it doesn't matter that you betrayed Father because he betrayed both of us," she said. "So we're on each other's side now."
Zuko stared at her, confusion once more glimmering in his golden eyes. Azula had always been jealous of his eyes, though she never said that. "How did Dad betray you?"
Still using 'Dad.' Zuko always had been too forgiving. "He went against one of the Proclamations of the Great Spirits. Specifically one from Agni."
Zuko's eyes widened, almost comically. "What?"
Azula nodded. "There's one that says a parent is meant to love their child unconditionally. No... No restrictions, or reservations, or anything like that. It's cause the parent made the choice and commitment to always love their child by bringing them into the world, I think."
Her brother said nothing.
"He said that I needed to earn his love. Didn't seem like he ever gave it to you in the first place. When I talked to him about it, he refused to even own up to it."
Zuko's eyes flicked to the wall and then back to her. "When did you go see him?"
"A few weeks ago. I escaped and visited him in his prison cell."
"And you didn't break him out?"
Azula snorted. "After finding all that out? No way in hell, Zuzu."
He was quiet again.
Azula swallowed forced herself to put on her best Ty-Lee-When-She-Finds-Out-Someone-Is-Sad voice, saying gently, "C'mon, let's go."
Zuko was still. Then he nodded.
"Can you walk?"
It turned out he could. He just couldn't do it well. Azula forced herself to throw out all qualms with what she was doing. The bundle rewrapped and held tightly under one arm, Azula supported her brother with the other. They had a lot of stairs to climb, but he did it without complaint.
Azula, just a few months ago, would never be caught dead helping someone like this. Now, with her father being a traitor and her uncle having betrayed her brother, and her friends disappearing, she truly had nothing left. Might as well hold onto what she could.
They emerged from the secret dungeon entrance, Zuko making no comment on the door that she knew he had no idea about.
"Where do you wanna go?" Azula knew they had no chance at escaping. She wasn't an idiot. She would let her brother pick, because no place would be more safe than another with her uncle's men everywhere, and they would sit there. She would protect him. She had one thing, now, that was hers. She would not let it be taken from her, not like everything else was.
Zuko was silent. "I don't know."
He was even paler now that they were out of the dungeons. How long had he been imprisoned? At least as long as Uncle had been Fire Lord. Had he been in that cell the whole time? The shakiness with which he was walking led her to believe that.
Azula thought for a moment, her head twitching to the side as she readjusted her brother's body against her own.
Most courtyards had many entrances. There was one nearby, though, that she knew only had two, as it was backed against the Bathhouse, so there were no windows or doors on two of the sides.
That would work. They could go to the back area and Azula could stand guard for as long as possible while her brother rested and soaked up Agni's rays in order to get some of his strength back. Once he was strong enough to firebend, they would have a better chance getting out of here.
A lock of his newly-cut hair shifted with his head and brushed against her cheek. She scowled. She'd love to get him to the Bathhouse, instead, but they had priorities. Safety was at the top of the list.
"Leave it to you to be imprisoned and still manage to be heavy afterward," she hissed to him as they walked. It was lie. Honestly, her brother was terrifyingly light. She wasn't going to say that, though. They kept walking.
As they stepped into the courtyard, the sunlight from the midday sun splashing over their skin, Zuko let out a small choking sound. Azula ignored it in favor of moving to that back corner. She released her brother.
"Sit."
He did. Azula tossed him the roll he had been eating earlier.
"Eat."
He did.
Twenty minutes of peace passed. There was movement out of the corner of her eye. Azula watched carefully as a single servant stepped into the courtyard. The woman, who looked to be around the age Mom had been when she left, walked toward them. Azula was on her feet her hands out in front of her. Her teeth glinted in the sunshine.
"Take another step. I dare you."
The woman was silent. Then, she reached into a bag that Azula just now noticed she had and placed down two canteens. Water.
Azula narrowed her eyes. The servant glanced to the two entrances before leaning down again and pouring water from each one into her own mouth. Azula watched as she swallowed without a care. The woman gave her a bow and was gone.
Azula hated charity. This wasn't charity, she reasoned. This was a servant doing her job: serving the royal family. At least some of the staff knew where their loyalties should lie.
Zuko drank the water greedily until Azula told him to slow down. She watched as he did, and then sipped carefully from her own container.
After Zuko had finished with the roll, he took another drink of water and then leaned back to lay down in the grass, his arms out to his sides.
"What are you doing?" Azula asked.
"Laying in the grass," her brother responded.
"Why?"
"...It's been a while."
Azula paused. "Have you been down there since Uncle became Fire Lord? Did you never come out?"
Zuko didn't respond. They both knew that he didn't have to. Her question hadn't actually been a question. Not really.
What she had to guess was another hour passed in relative silence. She kept seeing movement, though, out of the corner of her eye. Every time she turned, there was nothing. The entrances to the courtyard were bare. Still, Azula stayed on guard. Zuko stayed in the grass.
Azula took the scissors at one point and let her hair down, cutting along it until a few inches were gone. She hadn't particularly enjoyed letting it grow out over the last few months, but she hadn't really had any other options, either. She tied it back up when she was finished, her hair back to the length it had been during the Comet. She could work with that.
Finally, after they had been in the courtyard for an hour-and-a-half, something happened.
"There she is!"
The Avatar and his friends ran out from one of the entrances. There were none of her uncle's guards or men in sight. Uncle Iroh wasn't there, either. It was just those four kids she had been fighting against for months, as well as the Kyoshi Warrior, who they must have retrieved from the Rock as soon as Azula said where she was. Well, at least this would be more of a challenge. That had been what she had been looking for when she told them the Warrior's location in the first place.
(If she'd known when talking with the Avatar and his friends in her cell that she would be protecting her brother from the Kyoshi Warrior in a few weeks' time, Azula never would've said a thing.)
"Give it up, Azula!" The waterbender exclaimed. "You've got nowhere left to run!"
"I've been here for over an hour," Azula said dryly. "If I'd been planning on running, I would've done so already."
The Water Tribe boy opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the bling earthbender girl.
"Who's that?"
She felt her heart skip a beat. They hadn't noticed Zuko, apparently, and then the earthbender just had to say something. The way the girl's brow raised and her head twisted toward Azula, she had noticed the tiny heart beat change, as well. Well, shit.
The Avatar leaned forward, his eyes widening. "Zuko?"
Azula growled as the kid took a small step forward. "If you come any closer, I will burn you so badly that there won't be a body to bury."
The waterbender look furious, though. Azula remembered how Zuko had 'betrayed' the girl in the Crystal Catacombs of Ba Sing Se, and clearly she wasn't over that yet.
The waterbender's hands moved quickly. Water flowed out of the pond in the opposite corner and shot toward them. Azula watched as it soared past her, wrapped around her brother's hand, and solidified into ice, dragging him forward. In a single motion, Azula's foot slammed down and shattered the ice. Zuko fell limp once more, and didn't seem to even want to bother melting the ice encasing his wrist. He shifted in the grass again and stared back up at the sky once more.
The water from the pond raised again, but the Avatar put a hand on his (girl?)friend's shoulder as the earthbender said, "Calm down, Sugar Queen. He's literally just laying in the grass. At least wait 'til we're actually fighting."
"I'm not gonna wait for them to attack," the waterbender said roughly.
"I won't attack unless you attack first," Azula said, and it was true. Before the Comet, she was sure she could've easily taken all of them on. Now, though, she'd been imprisoned for over three months. She was weaker than she had ever been in her life. And she had a brother to watch over.
"Sure you won't," the Kyoshi Warrior said sarcastically, and Azula supposed it made sense that she wouldn't believe that. Still, Azula shrugged.
"I'm not lying."
A few sets of eyes turned to the earthbender as she said, "I can't tell with her. You all know that."
"Even if you don't attack," the Water Tribe boy said, "How do we know he won't? We haven't seen him in months! For all we know, he's just been training and getting even stronger, waiting for the right moment to strike!"
Zuko, with his wrist still encased in ice and decked out in a dirty prison outfit, didn't move from the grass.
"Sure," Azula sneered. "Because it's so easy to get strong when you're imprisoned."
"Imprisoned?" The Avatar asked, and he looked so confused at her words that she almost could've believed it.
"Don't act like you don't know," Azula said.
"No, what are you talking about?" The Avatar cried, and he looked so distressed at the idea that it almost disturbed her.
"I'm talking about how you locked my brother up for months and didn't even do me the fucking courtesy of telling me. You told me he was on the run, you fucking liars!"
"We thought he was!" The Avatar exclaimed.
"For all we know, he could've been," the waterbender said, and Azula wanted nothing more than to punch the other girl in the face, just to get her to shut up. "They're both well-known for lying."
Azula almost snorted. Zuzu was the worst liar she knew.
"Either way, we need to keep our guard up," the Water Tribe boy said, and it was astounding how bad they were at strategizing. How had they managed to invade the Fire Nation and defeat them during the Comet when now they were talking about plans right in front of their enemy? "Even if he was imprisoned, somehow, Zuko's, unfortunately, always been one of the most resourceful people we know. He'll find a way to catch us off guard and burn out backs if we're not careful."
"Yeah, I hate to admit it, but he's one of the best firebenders there is," the waterbender nodded.
"Not anymore."
Zuko's voice had cut through the conversation like a sword through a man's arm. Or a knife through butter. That worked too. Azula couldn't help but turn toward her brother. The others weren't stealthy, anyway. She'd see if they tried anything.
"What?" She asked. "What are you talking about, Dum-Dum?"
"Not anymore," he repeated. "Did you not hear me?"
"I did," she confirmed.
"What does that mean, though?" The Kyoshi Warrior said from off to Azula's left.
As Zuko opened his mouth to speak, a few thoughts flickered through Azula's brain. She noticed the ice on her brother's wrist, slowly melting the sun. The skin beneath it was bright red from the cold. She thought about how Zuko reacted when they stepped out into the sun for the first time. She thought about how he'd been shaking when she'd found him. Not really shaking, though, but shivering, she was realizing.
Like he was cold.
There was a sinking feeling in her stomach. There was a cold in her chest even deeper than the one from the day before when she'd found her brother. He opened his mouth and spoke, and Azula almost didn't want him to.
"I can't bend anymore."
She couldn't breathe.
Then, she turned to the Avatar. "You took his bending?"
The Avatar shook his head frantically, looking pale. "I didn't! I didn't!"
Azula growled, low and threatening, and took a step forward. Her enemies shifted into stances, though the Avatar stayed still, staring at Zuko with more horror in his eyes than Azula thought possible. She couldn't care less, though.
Right before she was about to launch an arc of flames at them, though, her brother spoke.
"He didn't," Zuko said, and his voice was surprisingly calm, given the fact that he was shaking violently again. "He didn't take my bending. That's not a thing."
"He did it to Father," Azula said.
Zuko blinked, his gaze still on the sky. "Oh. Well, he didn't do it to me." Zuko's fingers were pulling small blades of grass out, grasping at them with a surprising amount of desperation. "I just lost it."
"...How?"
Zuko was quiet. "Things happen," he said, and Azula vowed to go back to the Archives as soon as possible. She was sure there would be something there that could tell her what had happened.
"How... What did it feel like?" The Avatar asked shakily.
Her brother was silent. Azula almost didn't want him to answer. She didn't want to know. She didn't want to hear about what she could've stopped if she'd just looked in the right places from the beginning.
"I thought I was dying," he said. He turned to Azula and she felt cold as their eyes locked and he said, "It was worse than the Agni Kai." He turned his gaze back to the sky. "I think death would've been better." He was quiet for a moment before adding, "It doesn't hurt anymore. I'm just... empty, now."
Azula, for the first time in a while, fought back tears. That was her brother. Hers.
A few minutes passed of complete and utter silence. Then, the earthbender said, "Iroh's coming."
Azula immediately was at her brother's side. They weren't going to make it out of there, but there was no way she was just going to let them take her away from him. Not now.
Abruptly, the earth shifted around them. Azula let out a sharp breath of air and gritted her teeth, but instead of being restrained, a dome of rock wrapped closed over her and her brother. She felt her stomach drop from under her as the rock shifted. There was a small hole in the top, allowing a bit of light in, and Azula realized abruptly that they were being moved underground.
They stopped as the blades of grass brushed the top of the hole. One hand tangled in the fabric of Zuko's sleeve while the other found the ice on his wrist. She heated her hand to melt the ice and strained her ears to listen.
"Ah, my friends, there you are. I wasn't sure if you heard: Azula has escaped once more."
It was her uncle's voice. Azula almost cried out in rage, but Zuko's hand was on her arm, then, squeezing lightly. Grounding her.
"No, we didn't hear that." It was the voice of the Water Tribe boy. "Again?!" He was surprisingly good at sounding surprised.
"Lucky number fifty," Uncle Iroh joked, and if they hadn't been in hiding, Azula would've lit something on fire. "Don't worry, we are looking for her. Feel free to relax, though. The White Lotus has this handled. Just let someone know if you hear anything."
"You got it, Fire Lord," said the earthbender, and it sounded like a joke, but it made Azula seethe.
Uncle Iroh chuckled, and there was no more conversation. Another few minutes passed, and then the earth around them shifted again. Azula blinked as she was in the sunlight again, and stood up. Zuko stayed sitting, his hands finding some grass to run through lightly.
"All right," the Avatar said, looking rather nervous indeed. "Let's talk this out, all right?"
Azula grit her teeth and set her jaw, and then was reminded of her brother, just a foot behind her, whose connection to Agni was ripped out of him, snapped like a cord, because of something their uncle did.
Their uncle, who this group just hid them from.
"Fine," she said. "Let's talk."
- - -
Azula and Zuko good sibling relationship for the win! Suck it, canon.
Let me know if you wanna see more, drop any asks, someone please come up with an AU name. Currently I'll be tagging it under 'Corrupt Iroh AU' until we all come up with something better.
This one kinda got away from me. I was glad to write in Azula's perspective, though. Good practice. Hope I did her justice. This one is a lot more canon-compliant than Fractures is, but the conditions for Zuko losing his bending through the (rare) natural process were still fulfilled, so we got to see that!
Yes, there are conditions. I have a list of them, I check them off for situations like this.
Anyway, like I said, I'll post this on Ao3 soon. It's very long, it's a worthy fic, I think.
#atla#atla fanfic#corrupt iroh au#what an awful au name lmao#is it even accurate?#kinda ig#this was fun yes yes#gonna tag characters whoa i never do that#little story tho so might as well#azula#zuko#iroh#uncle iroh#aang#katara#toph#sokka#suki#ozai#wow so many peopel#its like there are a lot of characters#mai and ty lee would show up soon if this continues btw#cause i love them and i love azula doing her best to work her way through her issues on her own#zuko will be a big help tho#and having actual friendships#with both old and new friends#withered lotus au#thats the name now
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Let's Spar and Pretend We're Not in Love | Xiao/Aether
Summary: Xiao and Aether tease each other.
Characters: Xiao (Alatus) | Aether
Warnings: None
Tags: Fluff, Cuteness, Aether being a lil shit but so is Xiao
Word count:
A/N: idk what this is tbh
***
"Xiao!"
The adeptus who had been watching closely from atop a nearby boulder, let out an amused breath from his nostrils. He bit the inside of his cheek as the traveler struggled, tangled in a bush. The little fairy next to him wasn't doing much to help, floating about him like a bee and yelping unhelpful directions.
Xiao was more than amused. He was the one who pushed the boy into the bush, after all.
"XIAO!"
"Stop moving, idiot!"
"Maybe if you listened to the fairy." Xiao brushed the imaginary dust off his spear.
"PLEASE!"
Xiao merely blinked at Aether lazily, watching as he sank further into the thick of the bushes, his face disappearing entirely.
"Traveler, no!" came the fairy's dramatic cry.
Xiao sighed exaggeratedly. "Fine, I will show mercy." He dismissed his spear, and straightened to his feet. The fairy floated out of his way as he approached the bush, and smirked at the blond traveler who blinked up at him with large eyes.
"O mighty Vigilant Yaksha. Spare... Me..." Aether stretched out an arm before going limp, closing his eyes. Xiao had never seen such dramatics, but the traveler seemingly always had some kind of surprise for him.
With a roll of his eyes, Xiao hooked a finger into the front of Aether's armor, and yanked, pulling him upright.
"Whoa!" Aether's arms flew out to grasp at Xiao's shoulders as he faced the adeptus, a dopey smile on his lips. Hot breaths of exertion fanned across Xiao's face. He tried to ignore how the traveler's eyes zeroed in on Xiao's lips. "Hi."
"Hm." Xiao laxed his grip and the traveler dropped back onto the ground with a thud.
"Aether!"
This time, Xiao really had to bite back a laugh. Actual pity rose in his chest as the traveler frowned up at him, dried leaves scattered all over his hair, and the deadly glare pointing Xiao's way could not be any less threatening.
"Alright," he relented, "no more tricks."
He extended a hand, and before he realised his mistake, Aether was already grinning mischievously, grabbing the extended arm and yanking -
Only to be absolutely shocked at Xiao's lack of reaction. He had stood his ground, unaffected by the weight pulling on his wrist, blinking slowly- and most annoyingly, thought Aether.
"...Are you made of rocks?"
"I didn't even see him move!" Paimon quipped.
Xiao resisted the urge to roll his eyes once more.
"That's the Vigilant Yaksha for you, I guess," sighed Aether, finally being pulled to his feet and standing straight, straightening his clothes.
"Yaksha or not, your pull was weak."
A pause. Paimon sighed. "Here we go."
Mischief glinted across the gold in the traveler's eyes, and he summoned his sword. "Is that a challenge?"
Xiao merely raised an eyebrow. "You wish to prove your strength?"
"Only if you're willing to lose."
"I never lose." Xiao kicked his spear into the air and grabbed it, twisting it with style before stabbing the ground, a smirk playing on his lips.
"I'm gonna see what Xiangling is up to," Paimon sighed, floating away. The traveler didn't pay her a single second of his attention, eyes fixated on the adeptus, grinning madly. "I'll be back with snacks. Don't die." She shot a look at the traveler.
Xiao scoffed. "I don't kill mortals."
"Yawn. Let's start already."
Without so much as a warning, the traveler lunged forward. His movements were heavier on the feet, and Xiao took advantage of that fact and leaped, landing a relatively soft kick to the traveler's shoulder before hitting the ground gracefully.
"Hah!" The pointed end of a sword stabbed at the air near Xiao's ear, and he spun, taking advantage of the traveler's hastiness once more and flipping over his head - but not before pushing at his shoulder and landing him in yet another bush.
This time, Aether recovered quickly, springing to his feet and grabbing his sword with both hands.
Xiao chuckled and waited for the traveler to lunge at him once more before kicking at his right wrist, hooking his leg into Aether's elbow and twisting his hip. The traveler landed on his back with a thud, sword still held in his hands, pointing skywards.
"Fuck - "
The sharpened end of Xiao's spearhead missed the traveler's ear by a couple inches as he rolled away, grabbing at Xiao's boot.
Caught by surprise, the Yaksha flicked his trapped foot, lifting off the ground - a mistake, because Aether had grabbed at the other foot. Xiao slipped, and the ground, dried thoroughly by the scorching summer sun, scraped at the exposed skin of his back. He was sure to suffer a great many scratches on his back.
With a growl, he kicked both his feet into Aether's chest, successfully ripping the blond off of him, and pouncing immediately over his body before it could even hit the ground, feeling the puff of air that escaped his lungs from the impact on his own face.
From a high angle, Xiao could tell that the traveler was ready to give up, a grin already etched across his face. Xiao drew his knees upward, straddling Aether's chest, and pressed the pole of his spear against his throat. He increased the pressure slowly, giving the traveler enough time to suck in his oxygen without completely giving up the advantage of his position. Aether glared, as much as he could from his position, at Xiao, then closed his eyes as the pressure on his throat increased.
Xiao leaned in, feeling the rise and fall of the other's chest against his stomach. "放弃了吗?Giving up?"
Slowly, the traveler opened his eyes. He groaned. "You've gotta teach me those moves some time. Also, I have no idea what you just said."
"Sounds like you answered my question, anyway." He removed the weapon from his throat, sitting back and gloating, his ever-so-irritable smile - as Mountain Shaper had so elegantly put it once, a long while ago in a similar sparring session - and crossed his arms.
Aether placed his hands on his thighs then, humming. Xiao pretended that the gesture did not affect him, sniffing with faked nonchalance.
The traveler had lately started to put his hands on Xiao, caressing parts of his body that felt like it was on fire every time he did so. At first, Xiao did mind; He was not a fan of unnecessary skin-ship. But Aether did it so naturally it didn't even feel like it was supposed to make Xiao uncomfortable. Eventually, he even learned to enjoy it, even opting to return the favour every once in a while.
"How are you so skinny and yet you overpower me every time?" The traveler sighed, dragging his nails over his thighs and forcing a shiver out of the adeptus.
Xiao scoffed. slapping at his hand half-heartedly. "I might be lithe, but you forget that I ride the wind. You are, for some reason, heavy on your foot, and predictable in your actions. Always charging ahead like an ox. Some patience could do you some good."
Aether hummed, dragging his hands higher, slowing just below Xiao's hips.
"My sister used to cover my ass."
Xiao paused.
"She was lighter, you see, and quicker on her feet. I defended, and she attacked. We were a good team."
Xiao tilted his head, drinking in this newfound information. Aether rarely spoke of his twin, while Xiao rarely spoke of... anything, and now he felt uncomfortable. He could deal with his own festering thoughts, but not with others', although he did admit that he gave decent advice sometimes. Well, better than what Cloud Retainer would cough up, anyway.
"Much like you and I." Aether smirked, and the awkward moment was gone.
Xiao scoffed again, loudly this time. "I work alone."
Aether rolled his eyes, gripping at Xiao's waist. "I was flirting, in case you hadn't noticed, sir."
Xiao chose to stay silent for a moment longer before deciding that he probably needed to get off Aether.
"Where are you going?" Aether frowned and tightened his grip.
"Away from you. So you can breathe."
"I'm breathing just fine."
"I still need to get off you eventually."
He shifted under Xiao's weight, seemingly a little too comfortable. "Teach me how to fight like you."
"I can't do that. Our styles are far too different."
"Secretive. Selfish."
"More like strategic."
"Just teach me."
Xiao sighed. "What's in it for me?"
Aether smirked, reaching up to touch the Xiao's hair. "My respect and adoration."
"Aren't you already giving me all of that?" He smacked at the nosy hand, but it stayed.
"Almond tofu."
"One can only have so much sweet tofu before they get tired of it."
Aether slid his hands higher up the adeptus' body, up his sides and over his ribs, stopping right under his pecs. "My sweet lips, then."
Xiao shook his head. "Why must you always be so flirtatious?"
"Because you're lovely."
"I had my spear against your throat five minutes ago."
"Yeah," Aether sighed, dragging his upper body away from the ground underneath, and approaching Xiao's face.
"I have you pinned under me."
"Oh, yeah." The blond's eyes were half closed now, inching closer.
"I also see that Paimon is coming."
"Mm, yeah. Paimon's - Wh - Huh?"
Xiao laughed then, watching Aether look frantically around through the slits of his eyes - obscured slightly by his cheeks as he slumped his body forward, clutching at Aether's wrists.
"You - !"
"She's probably only just reached Wanmin, Aether, but - your - your face!"
"Not funny. We were having a moment."
Xiao pressed the back of his hand against his mouth. "It was a terrible moment."
"Oi!"
"Ah-" Xiao's smile dropped. "Oi?"
The traveler only leaned closer. "Oi, oi."
Xiao grabbed at the traveler's chin, and pulled him forward. "No respect."
Aether only smirked. "Oh no, what are you going to do about it?"
Xiao leaned forward to take the flesh of Aether's cheek between his teeth, biting hard into the skin.
"Euwhhh!" A weak hand slapped at Xiao's shoulder.
He leaned back to inspect Aether's cheek, now an angry red. Xiao grinned and leaned in to bite the pout off his mouth next.
"Nn!"
"Serves you right," Xiao whispered against Aether's mouth, licking the red spot on his bottom lip.
And if the red-faced, wide-eyed face of Aether's was reaction enough, then Xiao was thoroughly satisfied.
#xiaother#xiao x aether#genshin fanfiction#genshn fluff#xiao#aether#genshin impact#genshin fic#lili writes#xiaoaether
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Diving (Deku x Reader)
Pairing : Deku x fem!reader (aged-up characters)
Rating : E, 18+
Tags : smut • fem!reader (she/her) • best friends to lovers / childhood friends to lovers • quirkless AU • p*rn with feelings (like. a lot of them) • public sex (more or less) • switching • hair pulling? • pining • Deku being flustered and an absolute angel what’s new • Reader being a teasing brat • It’s all soft and fluffy, I’m as vanilla as you can get 🤷♀️ • Happy birthday to the bestest boyyy I love him so much it hurts
Word count : 10 600 (Holy sh—)
A/N : Thank you @hoe-doroki my beloved and savior for beta-ing <3
Written for @rat-zuki’s collab in honor of our favorite birthday boy, The Deku Agenda Escapes no One. Thank you so much for letting me join! (go check out the other amazing writers and artists!)
MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!
The ground grinds repeatedly under your hiking shoes, some pebbles being kicked forward on your way. You’re way too deep in the forest to hear any cars passing by and during the two hours you’ve been here you haven’t run into anyone. The place seems empty, the only souls breathing the forest’s thick air being you, Izuku and the birds chirping all around you.
The afternoon is coming to an end, the sun sinking down on its way to hide behind the mountains. The remains of its soft light are filtering through the dense leaves all around and above you. You’re surrounded by green, lush and immeasurable greenery, every plant merging into another.
You’ve left the marked paths, now wandering deep in the richest, boundless part of a forest you both know like the back of your hand after roaming it all over innumerable times. All over, except for this part, in which you’re setting foot for the first time today. Your many previous hiking sessions were shortened by your questionable sense of organization, always arriving too late to explore further into the unknown.
Leaves brush against your knees with every single step you take as you follow Izuku on his heels. He’s moving at a steady pace, his hands holding tight the straps of his yellow backpack that he’s had for as long as you can remember. He’s always so organized, has everything you two could eventually need and generally never do. Two huge flasks of water, an entire meal he calls ‘little snacks’, with sandwiches, fruits, protein bars, even hard-boiled eggs. A first-aid kit with disinfectant, bandages, scissors and painkillers. Hell, you’re even wondering if he has any pads for you in there, in case of an unexpected period. You wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
You giggle lightly when you see him stumble for the sixth time since you got here; he can’t seem to keep his curious eyes from drifting up and around, looking in every direction, probably retaining every detail and logging it in some impressive mental database of his. And he’s commenting on every little thing he sees too; he makes you notice things you never would have if it weren’t for his candid interest in everything.
“Oh! Look at that bird!” he exclaims, pointing at a branch over your heads. “Do you see it, right there, with the red mark!”
You turn your gaze to where he’s pointing and see a little bird, very cute, but so tiny you’re wondering how one could spot it without specifically looking for it. That’s probably what you like most about Izuku: his attention to detail. That’s the thing—nothing is too small for him, everything is worthy of interest. His eyes always light up with such curiosity, this child-like wonder and it was always one of your favorite things to witness growing up.
When he came over to your house at age six, he was always running around with some bug on his forearm, calling your name, yelling, “Look at this!”
Most of the time, it was a snail or a ladybug, and that always managed to catch your interest. Sometimes, it was a spider or a beetle, and he had you screaming in horror more than once, running to your mother’s legs with weeping eyes. Those times, he always watched you go with wide, sad eyes and a wobbly lip, because, “I would never hurt her, Mom! I swear I didn’t want to scare her!”
“Oh, yeah, I see it! It’s so cute!”
And it is cute, the way his huge green eyes go even rounder in amazement. You treasure these hikes for providing occasions to witness this. But as much as you wish this moment could last forever, the sun is beginning to set, you probably shouldn’t go deeper in the forest at sundown.
“We should probably head back to the car, Izuku. It’s gonna be dark soon.”
“Come on, it’s still so light—there’s no rush!” His lips crook a bit into an impish smile. “Scared that a bear is coming to get you?”
“There aren’t any bears here—we’ve been coming for five years.”
“Because if it’s the bears you’re afraid of,” he begins, ignoring you on purpose, “you know I’ll protect you, right?” he says, sticking out his chest like he’s some superhero.
“Against a bear? Right.”
“You’re underestimating me? That’s just mean.”
You chuckle at his antics, shooting him a look of yours that says, ‘Come on, please?’.
His eyes soften a bit, but he’s used to that look; it’s been years since it worked on him as well as you’d like it to.
“We can just keep going this way, then we’ll make a loop and head back to the car directly! It’ll be even shorter this way.”
“Alright, let’s do that,” you agree, and the smile it elicits from him makes something tingle deep in your stomach.
You move forward again, sinking deeper within the forest. It’s becoming harder and harder to walk, brambly branches and huge leaves blocking your way more and more with every step.
You’re a bit ahead of him when you catch sight of a sparkle behind the bushes. Just a glimpse of light, but you’re positive you saw it. Is there water here? You never really looked at a map of the place before—you just always went wherever you felt like and used the same tracks on the way back. You hurry up a bit, curious eyes fixed on that glimmer of light.
Soon enough the dense greenery comes to an end, and you’re finally out of the bushes, finding your way into a little clearing. You’re standing, speechless, in front of a pond: it’s about forty feet wide, catching the last rays of sunshine in a dazzling reflection. The water is surrounded by gigantic trees big enough to be home to an entire niche of biodiversity, and a half-sandy, half-stony shore with reeds rising from the water on both sides.
It’s all calm and quiet and massive trees, branches pouring, cascading above still water. The air feels cool, filled with a pure smell of dew and spring even though it’s the end of a hot day of July.
Izuku is close behind you and lets out a very cute, “Whoa,” ditching his backpack on the ground next to you in the middle of the cove. The both of you just stand there for a moment in complete silence, aside from the birds chirping. Izuku breaks it first:
“How come we’ve never seen this before? This place is amazing.” He sounds distant as he speaks, soaking up his surroundings like he always does.
“I guess you never know everything about anything,” you say mindlessly, without detaching your gaze of the wonderful view ahead.
He’s standing close to you, very close. You’re only noticing now that you’re coming down from the high of your discovery. Your arms are brushing, you can feel his body heat from how close you two are. It wouldn’t be the first time; you’re no stranger to being physically close to Izuku. You’ve been playing together since you were able to put one foot in front of the other. And you wish you could say it feels any different right now, but that would be a lie. Being close to him always felt the same. Always felt like the only easy thing in your life. The only constant.
Yet it’s not enough. No matter how close, it’s never enough, it never was. You hate yourself for feeling that way; you’ve never been the greedy, unsatisfied type. You have everything with Izuku. Well, almost everything.
But right now this place—this very quiet, beautiful place with no one in sight is doing things to your fertile imagination. Despite the sun just beginning to set, the summer air still remains thick with heat. You find yourself staring in the abyss of that water, admiring the masterpiece of a reflection on the surface, a painting of leaves and clouds and blue sky. It calls you, sings an irresistible song of fresh water on sweaty skin and strong, freckled arms wrapped around you.
You don’t know if the slight, insignificant detail that you would have to undress in order to dive into that water—since you didn’t bring a swimsuit—is a better reason to do it or to refrain from doing so.
You’ve lost count of how many moments you’ve shared with him just like this one. So many chances for you to take. You never have.
Back to the original issue: can you see yourself walk out of that clearing the way you always do? Can you see yourself going home, adding this missed chance to your growing collection of lost memories, of hands within your reach that you chose not to take?
The answer pops in your mind, crystal clear for the first time since you met him.
You drop your bag on the ground, turning to Izuku with a delighted expression stretching your features. The look on your face reminds him of one he’d seen on you as a kid, bouncing on the balls of your feet in front of the ice cream truck. At this moment he just knows you’ve got some stupid shenanigan in mind, like you always do. Once again, he isn’t wrong.
“Wanna take a dip?” You’re squinting at him from his side, a mischievous smile lighting up your face.
“I-I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” he stutters.
It’s been a long time since he last stuttered in front of you. He got rid of it years ago, but it still resurfaces sometimes in front of intimidating strangers or in a socially uncomfortable situation. Never in front of you, though.
“Me neither,” you answer plainly with that same impish smile, and his eyes go round at your implications.
“Wait, you can’t be—Oh my God—”
His heart does a great flip in his chest when he catches you taking the hem of your shirt up over your head. In less than five seconds, you’ve got him scorching hot, feverish and suddenly he can’t tell right from left.
His reflex is to bury his face in his hands. He respects you too much to take a peek, but you’re making things very difficult for him. He can hear you move towards the water, can hear the thump of your forgotten shoes hitting the ground one after the other, can hear the soft pad of your naked feet on the rocks.
“For the love of God, please, put it back on…”
“What? Look at this view, it would be a shame not to make the most of it!”
He’s not looking at the view right now, he can’t let himself. He knows very well he won’t be able to focus on the trees when you’re standing pretty much naked—although he’s not sure to what extent—in front of him. You could be entirely naked right now and he wouldn’t be able to tell, his burning face still hidden in his shaking hands. His voice comes out muffled when he stammers, “I-It’s starting to get late, we really should get back to the car…”
“What, you’re scared of the bears?”
He can’t see you, but he knows you’re sporting that smug grin of yours, the one he first saw when you showed him your impressive collection of Pokémon cards on your preschool’s playground. You’ll have to take a lingering silence for an answer.
“Izuku, come on. I don’t bite.”
He’s not entirely sure the sight of you won’t gnaw him to the bone, won’t melt his entire body down and leave him a hot mess. He won’t be a man anymore, just a walking flame fueled by the heavenly sight of you. No, he can’t let himself fall into that. Obviously you don’t know what you’re doing to him.
Nevertheless, you’re probably the most stubborn person he knows. And he’s friends with Katsuki Bakugou, for God’s sake. He won’t be able to get out of this as easily as he wants, especially as he hears the delicate noise of water splitting at your feet as you enter the little pond.
He slowly moves his hands off of his face. You must have your back turned to him, so maybe he can drift his eyes off somewhere—
You are in front of him, thigh deep in the water now. In nothing but your panties. Your white, flower-patterned lace panties that are doing a very bad job at covering your backside. He lets out a long, pained whine, standing in the middle of the little shore with his arms dangling down his sides, not sure what to do with them.
“Why didn’t you at least keep your bra on?” His voice comes out way more wobbly than he intended to.
You turn a little so you can look at him, and it takes every little bit of strength he’s got left to look you in the eye. But as you’re turning around, the smooth curve of your breast starts showing, and God, is that your nipple?
He wants a giant hole to swallow him right now. He wants some forest creature to come for him right this instant, anything to keep him away from you, keep him from doing things he might regret. To punish him for having such thoughts about you, because you trust him, you’re so oblivious, so innocent, and he’s so weak against this inner monster that’s eating him away.
With a little frown, you deliver the answer like it’s self-evident as you kneel into the water, the surface just above your chest:
“I didn’t want it to get wet.”
“But you’re okay with your panties getting wet?”
The realization of what he just said is slow but surely comes. And when it does, he wishes even harder to get erased from the surface of this planet he’s already lucky enough to share with you. There is a long silence, and all he can hear for a few seconds are the birds chirping and the violent pounding of his heart against his ribcage, straining to get out.
You turn back around to look at him, dumbstruck.
“I’m more than okay with that—”
“Please forget I just said that,” he cuts you off. He’s not sure he can bear to hear more of this.
“I’m never forgetting you said that. It’s pure gold,” you scoff.
He can only answer with a drawn-out whine. He doesn’t have any choice in this, does he?
When you dive in the water, he takes both his shaking hands to the hem of his shirt and starts undressing.
What the fuck am I doing?
The water is so pure you can see underwater as clear as day: the few rocks at the bottom, the little silvery fish all around you, and the last rays of sunlight permeating through the calm surface above your head. The water feels a bit cold on your naked skin since the sunlight and summer heat must only hit the clearing at certain hours of the day. Still, the cold water isn’t enough to clear your foggy mind.
What was I thinking?
You’ve always been a bashful person, why is it changing all of a sudden? Maybe it’s the devastating effect Izuku has on you.
You try to calm down a bit, taking a deep breath. So, you’re pretty much naked in front of him. Well, it definitely wouldn’t be the first time, and it (probably) won’t be the last. Now you just have to go through with your stupid idea. It’s no big deal, it’s only Izuku. Only Izuku.
Only Izuku.
Fuck.
You finally surface, not only because you can’t hide underwater forever, but also because, surprisingly, you’re not a fish, you have to actually breathe.
You push your dripping hair to the back of your head, still careful to keep your breasts under the water. Izuku’s already in to his hips when you turn around to look at him, your vision still blurry from the water trickling all over your face. He’s merciless, standing like that, only the elastic of his boxers peeking out of the water. You’re a bit surprised by the plain, black color. You were expecting something along the lines of blue, yellow and red. Izuku is full of surprises.
But nevermind the color of his underwear—what you find just above is mesmerizing. Your indiscreet, incorrigible gaze can’t help following the thin trail of hair tracing up to his navel, then the stunning lines of his abs, partly hidden behind his freckled forearms shyly crossed over them. The freckles spread up his powerful arms, gently sunkissed, scattering all over his broad shoulders.
Is he actually hiding, though? Doesn’t he know he looks like he was carved by the gods themselves?
“Have you done this before?”
The sound of his voice startles you a bit. Ah, right. You were shamelessly staring. It takes you a couple of seconds to force your distracted mind back into focus. “Done what?”
“Skinny dipping?”
“No, it’s my first time. It looks like it’s yours too.” His big, bright eyes drift around like they don’t know where to look. It’s really cute.
“It is,” he admits, now kneeling into the water as well. “I would’ve thought you were used to this.” You arch a single eyebrow in an amused frown.
“What, do I look like I have a professional degree in skinny dipping?”
“No, it’s just…You look confident, it just seemed like it.”
Confident? You’re nowhere near confident—you’re terrified. You try to keep your cool, but it’s probably the first time you’re putting on an act in front of Izuku.
“Well, you’re not so bad at it yourself.” You don’t miss the little blush coating his cheeks at that. “Also, I’m not exactly naked.”
“You’re not exactly dressed either, that’s a...v-very small piece of clothing.” He’s blushing a bit harder, looking away.
“Oh, seems like you paid some attention to my piece of clothing then, good to know.”
Now he’s quite simply scarlet. A very cute, very hot, freckled tomato. He’s so easily flustered, it only makes you want to tease him some more.
“Were your legendary All Might boxers in the dirty hamper? That’s a shame. I’m a bit disappointed,” you say in a mockingly innocent voice.
He doesn’t retort, simply stands there on his knees, shooting you an unreadable look and a little pout. After a few seconds, you open your mouth to continue, only to be startled by a strong splash hitting you in the face.
When you snap out of your shock, hair and face dripping all over your shoulders, you look up at him with what must be the scariest look of betrayal. Or the most ridiculous, apparently, since he starts laughing, louder and louder, and can’t seem to stop.
“Oh, you’re pretty pleased with yourself right now, aren’t you?” You can’t help but chuckle while talking, his laugh is so contagious.
“I am, yeah!” he manages to articulate, only starting to calm down.
As the calm of the forest returns, you watch his eyes go back to their usual round shape bit by bit, his face relaxing again. His smile causes butterflies to fly up and around in a whirlwind deep into your belly. You chuckle a bit at the feeling, almost embarrassed by how he’s making you feel like you’re in some dumb, cliche rom-com movie. On the outside, you must look a bit like a maniac, but he’s a nice guy, so he simply asks, “What is it?”
And before you can overthink yourself out of it, you’re hurling yourself at him. He barely has the chance to stutter a weak, “Wait!” before you’re putting all your weight on him, sinking his head deep in the water. Izuku may well be a nice guy, but you know he isn’t going to let you get away with this, so you’re not surprised when you’re dragged underwater by your legs. He lets go immediately, a bit abruptly, even, like it burnt his hands to touch you.
You both emerge from the water soon, and it takes you a second to get rid of the water blurring your vision, but then it hits you. How tantalizingly close you are to each other now, your bodies an inch away from touching. You’re both on your knees, enveloped in the coolness of crystal clear water and the reflections of the canopy of leaves above your heads. A spark of electricity makes you freeze on the spot; you’re so close to him your breasts slightly brush against his chest.
After a little eternity, you find the courage to look up at his face. He looks mindblowing, really. Despite the two decades you spent together, you’re not sure you’ve ever seen the pure, astonishing details of his freckles from this close. You would remember it, you definitely would. It’s a spectacular view, one of those visual memories that comes back to hit you in flashes. His nose and cheekbones are covered in them, drawing a mesmerizing pattern, more complex than the Milky Way itself. They’re an uncrackable equation, like a weird quirk of nature that you’ll never understand but don’t question anyway. They spread a little more scattered, but still very present, up to his forehead and down to his delicate jaw.
And his eyes—you could just drown in them. There’s this bright, blinding light there that feels like laying in the grass and looking up at the sunlight coating the leaves of this tree, the one you grew up near and always played under.
You swear you didn’t move, neither did he, and still you manage to get even closer to him. Now it’s you against the inexorable attraction that pulls you towards him like a fierce magnet. And it’s a losing battle, you think, as you’re both entering each other’s personal space like you share just one.
There’s nothing friendly about the way he can’t look you in the eye, seemingly too obsessed with your lips. You drop your gaze to his and find them calling for you. It’s been so long, now the thought of kissing Izuku seems unfamiliar despite being ever-present in your imagination for so many years. Like repeating a word so much it ends up becoming a series of meaningless sounds to your confused mind.
He’s the one who finally closes the distance, his lips landing on yours so softly you can barely feel them. He doesn’t move, simply content with the contact. You’re both eight years old again for a minute. The kiss feels like the little peck a kid would finally give to his crush in the middle of their school’s playground before running away to his friends.
Time seems to stop for God knows how long, and after what feels like no time and forever all at once, his lips move hesitantly against yours, bringing you back to reality. Right then, it all crashes on you like a tremendous wave. The distant echo of your mothers’ voices from the kitchen and the stupid cartoons they made you watch so they could talk for ten more minutes. The games alone together because no one wanted to play with you two weirdos. The piggyback rides, the dumb jokes, the video games (you always won). The neverending texting sessions at night because one of you couldn’t sleep. The fights that never lasted long enough to see the next sunrise because you both are way too weak for each other. All those stupid places that wouldn’t have looked half as breathtaking if it weren’t for him.
His lips are soft but roughly bitten. Hot and wet from the water and maybe from something else. He doesn’t taste like anything other than home, and that’s more than enough for you. His hands went up to cup your face at some point, but you’re too drowned in all the feelings coming up to the surface to pay attention to anything other than his soft mouth pressing on yours, more and more, opening up—
And it’s already over. You only notice that you’ve closed your eyes when you open them again when you don’t feel anything against your mouth other than the summer air. When your mind manages to regain any sense of function, the blurry focus of your gaze settles on his eyes. Wide open. Pupils eating up the dazzling viridian that puts the forest to shame. And a terrified expression in them.
He’s looking at you like he hurt you. His lips should still be on yours, kissing and sucking, not frozen like they are right now, obviously trying to express something painful as a few weak sounds pass their barrier before he finally manages to speak:
“Oh—Oh my God, I-I’m s—”
You don’t let him finish his stupid sentence. You don’t think twice before you take his face in your hands and lean in to kiss him again, with shameless intent this time. No more pretending—you’ve been waiting long enough for this and apparently, so has he.
It’s nothing gentle this time when your mouths crash against each other, teeth clashing and lips bruising under the weight of twenty years. You hold to his face like a lifeline, fingers sinking just a bit into his cheekbones, the tip of your nails getting caught in the knots of his dripping hair just above his ears. It’s messy, your noses rubbing before he angles his face better. One of his hands loops around your waist in a tight grip, forcing your chest to crush against his, the other burying in your hair at the base of your skull.
The feeling is electrifying, indescribable. It’s nothing like the pale, miserable depiction of your imagination. It’s discovering life in color when all you’ve always known was black and white.
The water is cool, but his body scorches against yours, burns your skin in the most exquisite way. The kiss is desperate on both parts, but neither of you is confident. His lips suck on yours with tentative motions, and you respond in kind the best you can. They are hungry, starving for flesh but don’t know how to hunt.
Your hands are gripping more and more of his hair, pulling harder, sending waves of heat all the way down his groin, and he’s not sure he can hide the bulge growing there for much longer.
He has to be sure, he has to be absolutely certain you want this as much as he does, because once he starts, he may not be able to stop. But you feel so good, all pressed against him. Your skin feels so soft under his hand at the small of your back he has to dig his nails in the skin of your waist so he doesn’t cross a line. But the curve just above your ass is begging for him to grip at the tender flesh and squeeze, fill his hands with it. He’s been dreaming about this for so long.
No, he can’t just hurl himself at you like a hunting wolf the first chance he gets—what kind of friend does that?
It takes him every bit of focus he has left to break the kiss, to part away from you. You have to discuss this, he can’t just throw away twenty years of friendship! Now you’re looking up at him with puppy eyes saying, ‘Why won’t you play with me?’ He breathes out a shaky sigh, and begins:
“Um, look. Believe me when I say I’ve wanted this for a very, very long time, and I love you so, so much. As a friend, I mean.” He sees you frown at this, catches a glint of something he doesn’t like in your eyes, then panics. “No, no, no, I mean, a-as a friend, but also more than that, o-obviously. But I don’t know what you want, you might be...d-disappointed, or...um—” His face starts heating up like it hasn’t in ages. He takes another breath, tries to clear up the muddled mess happening in his head. “Look, I just want the best for you, but you look...good, very good, and you’re making things very difficult for me, doing...this—”
“Izuku.” The deafening hubbub filling his mind falls suddenly silent, your voice a comforting, steady rock for him to cling to when his mind is storming out of control.
“Yeah?”
You get even closer to him, since he gradually set some distance while mumbling his anxious thoughts out again. You cup his face in your hands, a gentle, featherlight touch, and look up at him with determination in your eyes. You pull his head down a bit to settle on yours, your foreheads and noses connected, never breaking eye contact. Your lips graze over his, both your breaths mixing there, your voice a quiet whisper as you speak again. “Do you want me?”
Out of the jittery mess of his mind, the answer comes out like evidence, plain and simple: “Yes.”
“Then shut up and kiss me.”
You take action immediately, kissing him once again and this time he doesn’t hesitate to put his—still rather shaky—hands on you. The feeling of you is addicting, pushing his insecurities further in the back of his mind. He starts at your waist, running his thumbs there, feeling the goosebumps rising on your skin. They wander up your spine, counting every single bump of your bones, all the way to your nape. Then dragging them back down to settle on your hips, his fingers digging in the soft flesh. The little sigh you breathe on his lips causes an impressive amount of blood to run straight to his dick.
Your mouth is distracting, dizzying, sucking on his bottom lip, nipping playfully. His tongue slides over your lips, then against your own when you open up immediately for him. You’re pressing against him even more, your breasts rubbing against his naked chest and he swears you’re going to be the death of him. You’re hanging from his shoulders by now, your arms circling his neck, still gripping a handful of green hair, pulling. You have to stop doing this—he might cum right away. He doesn’t say it aloud, only lets a moan escape him into your mouth.
He wanted this, wanted this for so long, and now that it’s real, it’s beyond everything he could have imagined. The heat of your skin, the weight on his shoulders as you cling to him, your breath in his mouth, your little sighs.
He’s only now noticing that his hands have gone to reach their destination with a mind of their own. They’re on your ass underwater, feeling the white, wet lace, the sole cloth on your entire body—that thing is just there to tempt him. He’s unsure if you like what he’s doing until you release a whimper, louder this time, enough to send a vibration against his mouth (and straight to his cock at the same time).
Suddenly, he wants to taste a lot more of you. You’re all open up to him for the first time—he has to. He trails a series of open-mouthed kisses from the corner of your mouth to your jaw, savoring every little sigh escaping your lips, then to your neck, dragging his tongue up the column of your throat.
The water is fresh all over you, and he doesn’t miss the shivers running up and down your skin at the contact of the twilight breeze. He needs to warm you up, needs to make you feel good, needs everything to be perfect for you. With his hands still on your ass, he trails lower down to your collarbone, allowing some occasional nips on the way that have you shaking. He freezes, looking up at you from there.
“Is this okay?”
The answer comes out breathy, a little desperate: “Yes, yes, please!” It sends a wave of heat all over him, the way you like what he’s doing to you, the way he’s making you feel good.
He’s not experienced or anything, only had a few hookups a couple of times, so he’s not very confident in his capacities, aside from running his hands all over you because that’s how his instincts are manifesting. You know him better than anyone—of course you would know how lost he could be in this kind of situation. But he also knows you’re not much more experienced than him, and that thought is comforting.
He’s experienced in one thing, though. He feels like the worst, filthiest person on the planet for this, but it’s astonishing the number of times he jerked off to the thought of what’s happening right now. How many times did he fuck his hand in the shower thinking about the water trickling down your skin, about licking it off your breasts all the way up to your neck.
So he does what he’s been dying to do for years. your breasts are just above the surface, so he sits on his heels and licks down your chest. When his tongue finally reaches your nipple, giving it a tentative lick, you let out a gasp, encouraging him to get bolder. And he does, closing his mouth on it like it’s the sweetest lollipop; it’s all cold and hard and raised from the water, but it warms up really quickly against the furnace of his mouth. His right hand leaves your ass to cup the neglected other, running his thumb against the bud, squeezing the flesh. That’s when you reach out to bury a hand in his hair, and pull again. God, you can pull on his hair all day and night like this; he’ll never get enough.
His left hand, still on your ass, rises up to the small of your back, feeling you arching more and more, pushing against his mouth. A harder nip has you gasping and he lets his hands run all over you, wandering without direction. It’s messy and urgent; he can’t help it—you feel so good, so soft under his hands. He’s like a kid getting to open his Christmas gifts in the morning after an endless, sleepless night waiting for Santa.
You trail your hand down his chest and his abdomen, a gentle reminder that the power he holds right now could slip through his fingers any moment. He’s willing to give it to you, especially since he doesn’t really know what to do next.
Like you just read his mind, you take his hands in yours, stopping their chaotic race. He’s feeling himself flush a bit—was he going too fast for you? Did he scare you? Or did he just let himself become overwhelmed by his feelings and it didn’t feel good for you? His eyes are looking down directly at your naked chest, he realizes he never took a proper look at them, too busy throwing himself to taste them. They look just as good as they taste, as beautiful as the rest of you.
Tentatively, he raises his eyes to find your reassuring gaze and fond smile. You lead his hands down slowly, setting them on your hips, over the criminal lace fabric preserving your modesty. Your foreheads connect again, but you never break eye contact. Lacing your fingers together, you guide his thumbs into the elastic on both sides, and now that he gets what you’re trying to do, his mind just stops.
Your voice is barely a whisper, a mesmerizing caress on his lips when you speak again. “I think I’ve waited long enough, Zuku.”
Your tone is fond, but you sound so desperate, it’s unbearably cute. His mind fogs up, the smoke of your words filling his skull and he wants to drive you as mad as you drive him. Sure, you’ve waited a lot, but so has he. He isn’t going to rush this, not if he has any say in it.
He slides your panties down your thighs underwater inch by inch. It’s even too slow for him; right now he just wants to rip the stupid piece of lace off of you and fuck you and him both stupid in the water, hard and fast. But even more than that, he wants to take his time with you, wants to take you apart piece by piece. And the testy whine it elicits from you makes it all so worth it.
You shift a bit so he can take your underwear completely off and, in a second, it lays abandoned on the sandy ground of the shore. Just knowing you’re now completely naked in front of him, it sends boiling desire flowing through every single vein in his body. He can’t see that part of you yet, the water darkening along with the sky clouding his view beneath the surface, but nightfall can’t do anything about Izuku’s wild imagination. He’s dizzy, feeling himself slowly falling into a half-conscious daze, but you anchor him right where you are, bringing him back to the reality of your arms hooked around his neck.
He rests his hands on your hips, dragging his fingertips down the soft flesh of them. The idea of touching you down there is making his head spin, he can’t wait any longer.
“Can I—”
“Yes, I want your fingers inside me,” you say before driving your lips back against his.
Without further ado, one of them goes straight to your core, making you jump a bit, breaking the kiss just for a second. He runs his index between your folds, feeling hot slick already coming out of you despite the fresh water around. His touch is light, slow, hesitant as it glides up and down, testing the waters. He’s getting a bit further, putting a bit more pressure with every stroke and earning a few pleased sighs from your heavenly mouth.
He expected a sudden reaction as soon as he found your clit, but that doesn’t mean he was prepared for the drawn-out moan coming out of your gorgeous lips, wet from his mouth and from your dip earlier. He wants to hear that again, every day for the rest of his life. He drags his thumb over it, again and again, slow at first, but then quicker and quicker, and your voice grows louder with every speed-up of his finger.
Your hands go frantic over him, running up his chest and down his abs in repeated motions that feel a lot like it’s lust driving your limbs much more than your mind. You stopped kissing him at some point, your mouth too busy expressing every ounce of pleasure you felt to focus on such basic motions. Your face is buried in his neck, your hot breath crushing against his skin.
He presses his index inside, but he’s so focused on what he’s doing, trying not to hurt you, that he doesn’t notice the shift of your own hand leaning down until he feels it cupping the painful bulge in his boxers. His eyes go wide with a gasp, and when he looks at you, you already have a playful, but intense, gaze piercing right through him.
“Did you think I was gonna let you play all on your own, Zuku?” Your fingers graze over the soaked fabric, down his entire length and to his balls, throwing gasoline on the fire that’s been consuming him for ages. “Don’t be selfish,” you whisper directly in his ear as your hands slip his underwear down his thighs.
As soon as the piece of cloth gets to join your forgotten panties on the shore, you wrap your pretty hand around him. And when you start stroking, his eyes roll so hard he swears he can see the inside of his skull. It feels better than he ever could have imagined; it’s blistering, astonishing. The only idea his brain can manage to work out right now is that he wants you to feel just as good.
He only notices now that his fingers stopped moving, and they go right back to a steady pace, but it’s a matter of seconds before he drives another finger into you. Soon, you’re both fucking the life out of each other with your hands. You’re sucking and nipping at his ear, and every single moan he draws out of you ends up turning against him, breaking into the defenses he built year after year by your side. He’s simply fucking into your hand now. He can’t help it, you feel so good. He doesn’t even want to think about what it’s going to feel like to fuck into your tight little cunt, he might cum hard just from the thought of it.
The spongy spot he finds inside you feels like he just struck gold. It’s glorious, the sounds you make right now, higher, louder. You’re tightening around his fingers, but it’s okay—you can crush them for all he cares. He wants you to moan higher for him, wants you to keep riding his fingers like your life depends on it.
“Izuku, ah—I’m close, I’m so close, please…”
“I got you, baby. I got you, shit—”
He quickens the pace again, feels like his fingers are gonna fall off his hand the moment he gets them out of you, but fuck, what his princess wants, his princess is gonna get. Your orgasms shatter the both of you to pieces, and in the bliss of his high, he can hear some birds flying away, scared by the harmonious, but probably very loud, song of your combined moans.
While his cum strikes out by ropes into the water, his clouded mind can only think about one thing.
He needs more of you.
You can barely stand on your knees, worn out from cumming the hardest you have in your entire life. You actually have to lean on Izuku so you don’t fall into the water head first like some boneless ragdoll. You just let your forehead rest on his shoulder and count the freckles there, splattered in a fascinating work of abstraction.
But apparently, he has other plans. You’re swiftly lifted up and out of the water, huge scarred hands firmly holding the back of your thighs that immediately come to circle his waist.
“Oh, nice. I don’t mind getting carried around like a baby. Where are we going?”
“Not far,” he says with a little grin, walking out of the water. “Do you think you’ll be able to walk?” His voice holds a sarcastic tone, one you’re not used to hearing out of Izuku’s angel mouth.
“I think I can manage, yeah.”
He drops you to stand on your legs, and immediately goes for his backpack. The sun has just set, its last rays of light filling the pink sky over your heads. You can still easily make out everything around you, and Izuku’s body is no exception.
You’re watching him with a raised eyebrow, letting your shameless gaze follow every curve you couldn’t see underwater. The day he started exercising in high school was the day you knew it was over for you. It was the day you couldn’t deny what you felt anymore, you couldn’t deny your best friend was everything you needed, and everything you wished for. The physical factor was only a—very pleasant— addition to the list of things that made you fall hard for Izuku Midoriya.
Your eyes linger over his impressive figure, staring at the dimples at the small of his back. You always knew they were here, but you never allowed yourself to look at them, to imagine how they would grow repeatedly hollow with every thrust of his hips into you.
He finally digs out what he was looking for: a plaid picnic blanket, because of course he would have one in there. He’s wearing a little victorious smile when he stands and turns around to spread it on a grassy spot that looks a lot more comfortable than the hard ground. He turns back to you but averts his gaze to the side, hardly looking directly at you for more than a second at a time. The heat of his gaze tracing your curves through quick glances pools deep in your core.
“You know you can look, right?” You sure aren’t refraining from doing so after all.
His face reaches its usual redness—hasn’t he learned anything from making you cum like crazy with just his fingers? It’s cute nonetheless; Izuku will never change.
He doesn’t answer your rhetorical question, only gives you a shy command in that tentative, very cute voice of his.
“Could you lay down on this for me?”
You saw this coming, but still, you’re a bit surprised he’s asking you that out loud. You gladly oblige with your legs pressed together, slightly bent. It’s another golden opportunity to tease him a bit:. “This isn’t exactly the right use for this blanket. Aren’t we supposed to eat on this?”
He smiles at the ground while kneeling at your feet.
“Maybe that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.”
Your sly smile fades away. His tone is a contradictory mix of shyness and determination, so it’s a bit confusing but also unbearably hot—you swear an astounding wave of heat is crashing through your deepest parts, untouched, just from some words and a funny tone. You rub your thighs together before he grabs and parts them to slip himself between them.
He crawls over you and leans down to kiss you, a bit more confident than earlier. His hips are pressing between your legs, where you can feel his hardness best.
He’s rutting more and more against you as the kiss intensifies. You could think it’d be a lot less exciting now that you know he’s going to eat you out, there’d be no suspense. Wrong. The little shit apparently likes to tease you to death, because he left your lips to kiss your face, nip at your neck, suck at your ears. Dragging his devilish hands everywhere, pressing harder each time you get louder. An especially heavy whine makes him buck hard, his mouth back against yours.
“The more impatient you get, the slower it’s gonna be,” he murmurs against your lips, and starts to make his way down to where you want him, kissing every inch of you, clouding your mind with desire. It’s way too much and still not enough; it’s maddening. When he finally reaches down, you’re on the verge of a second orgasm like you hadn’t just come down a few minutes ago.
He’s holding your thighs apart in a firm grip. Just the touch of his fingers burns your skin deliciously, and the look he’s giving you from between your legs...his eyes are clouded, half-lidded, looking at the part of you he’s never gotten to see before. It feels like he’s been looking forever and just a second at the same time.
He finally dips into you, leaving butterfly kisses all over your inner thighs, punctuated by little nips, nuzzling the soft skin. He’s not looking you in the eye anymore, his gaze lingering all over your body—all over except for your face. You can make out a slight blush on his cheeks despite the dimness all around. You know him better than anyone, so you immediately recognize what’s going on in his mind just from the slightest hint in his eyes. He looks like he’s fighting a battle against himself, his shyness against his hunger. And you know who you’re both rooting for.
He finally gives in, and it takes your breath away. A single, slight lick on your clit and you’re gone. And the next ones, more and more intense, more and more hungry, push you further to tumble over your edge. He grunts into your heat, multiple times. Moans like he’s the one squirming under your mouth.
His hands hold a firm grip on your hips, squeezing the flesh and keeping you in place—he doesn’t even give you an inch to move. You can only take and take and take. But you still have the luxury of your free hands, and they rush to bury in the knots of his messy wet curls, your nails dragging, scratching his scalp.
His lips close on your clit and suck just a bit, and before you can refrain, you pull on his hair, hard. He gasps, and the moment you think you hurt him, he breathes his loudest moan, right into you. You’re filled with the vibrations—they spread all over your body, have you throwing your head back, trembling from head to toe.
The louder you are, the hungrier he gets, filling you with his insatiable tongue. You have to look at him right now. And you expected quite a show, but you certainly weren't prepared to see this—him rutting against the ground like an animal. You realize he’s getting off just from your taste, just from eating you out. His hips roll repeatedly, making you salivate just to the thought of those same hips bucking into yours, fucking you into oblivion. And the more he ruts, the louder he gets.
Now if he wants to moan, you’re going to give him a good reason to.
You hint for him to face you with a light tug on his hair. As soon as he’s back up, he dives in to kiss you. You don’t let him. In a second he’s on his back with you seated on his hips.
“What did I say about letting you play on your own, hm?”
The ‘deer caught in headlights’ look is so cute on him. And the rest is a marvel to look at. You’re straddling him and he has no other choice than to let you devour him with your eyes—not that he couldn’t bounce you off of him with just a thrust of his hips, but he already would have if he wanted to. You let your gaze wander mindlessly over him—it’s surreal. There’s no way he’s actually under you, waiting for you to please him back with his mouth and jaw still shining with your juices. It has to be a dream—it’s always been after all.
You shift so you’re straddling his parted thighs. You can finally take a look at him. The whole thing, that is. His cock is resting against his lower stomach, hard and swollen and thick. It’s a pretty, bright pink, shining with pre-cum at the tip. Your mouth waters just at the sight of it.
He’s looking down at you, his face as flushed as his dick, that usual blush still exquisitely coating his freckles. You take him in your hand, dive in to give a lick to the tip and his head falls back down with a whimper. You let your tongue drag over the whole length on the underside, and your lips close around the tip in a wet smooch. His hips jerk up a bit, startling you.
You finally take him whole in your mouth, and you can feel his whole body tensing under you. You start bobbing up and down, going a bit further each time, earning a series of shameless moans because this boy is loud. You expected him to express himself during sex since he’s such a mumbler—and frankly, it was always one of your biggest fantasies, hearing him come undone because of you, lose any sense of shame and self-restriction when he’s such a anxious person otherwise.
But you could’ve thought about it every night and day and still never be ready for this. It’s sinful. His hand goes to grab your hair just like you did to him, and now you get why he liked it so much. The feel of his nails scratching your scalp is electrifying, soothing and destructive at the same time.
Your tongue hits a precise spot just under the tip and he jerks up again, nearly screams, “Fuck—yes, right there, please—d-do that again!”
And you do, you can only oblige—he asked so nicely. Your lips go up and down, over and over, your tongue grazing this spot with a bit more pressure every single time. You squint over him, and what you find there is a mess. Trying so hard not to buck into your mouth but failing miserably. Sounding like he’s at Heaven’s gate.
“Easy, Zuku. You’re gonna scare the birds away,” you chuckle against him, your lips brushing the tip, dripping with your saliva and pre-cum.
“Do I need to remind you…how loud you were for me earlier?” He’s looking back down at you as he speaks, a tremble in his voice telltale of his approaching climax. “You sounded...so good, baby, I swear...wanna hear you again, wanna make you scream, just for me, fuck—”
You can feel yourself soaking the blanket, can feel the slick trickle down your folds and stain the plaid cotton. Is he aware of what he’s doing? Or is he just saying whatever is going through his chaotic mind? In any case it has you starving. So you let go of his cock and, before he can protest, crawl back to his face and kiss him desperately. Tasting both of your fluids in a mindblowing mix.
You pull back just enough to be able to speak, because you need him to understand you loud and clear when you say: “Please, Izuku, I need you inside me, I’ve waited so long. Please.”
“Okay, okay, fuck—” He cuts himself off, his eyes slightly drooping like a sad puppy. “I-I don’t have any condoms.”
“You mean you probably have pads in there for me but no condoms?” you say with your eyebrows raised, your mocking tone hinting at a teasing remark, far from criticism.
He frowns in confusion. “How do you know I have pads in there?”
“So the legend turns out to be true. After all these years—”
“Shut up, you’re impossible,” he chuckles heatlessly, resting his hands on your back.
“It’s okay. I’m on the pill,” you assure him with a soft tone.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m pretty sure I’m on the pill, yeah.”
He rolls his eyes, then clarifies, a hint of hesitation clear in his voice.
“No I mean...you’re sure you wanna do this?” He marks a brief pause, takes a short breath. “With me?”
You don’t even think before answering, it slips your mouth like it’s not even your own words: “I don’t want it with anyone else.”
There’s a silence.
“Fuck, that sounds cheesy,” you scoff, looking away.
“It does, but we’re both cheesy idiots, apparently.”
You look back at him. His smile is so fond, so loving; it melts your heart in the best way.
“I wanna be your cheesy idiot,” you say against his mouth, looking right into his eyes, willing to fall in them.
“You always have been,” he nearly whispers. It fills your stomach with familiar warmth, intense and overwhelming, comforting.
There’s a bittersweet taste in your mouth, one of regret and lost time and God, we’re idiots.
Now it’s about time you make up for it all.
You look down at him, rolling your hips against him, dripping all over his cock, coating him in your juices.
“I think I asked you something, didn’t I?”
A whimper escapes him at the feeling. His hips buck up slightly, hands gripping at your back. When you do it again, you don’t get the chance to see his reaction; you’re on your back again, him towering over you, his thigh between your legs.
He’s looking at you with something in his eyes you don’t recognize, but the tone he speaks with has your entire body quaking.
“And you’re gonna get it, sweetheart.”
He holds himself over his left forearm, his hand thumbing at your cheek while the other strokes the whole length of your thigh. Your noses are brushing, your breaths crashing together. Your hands hold tight to his nape, playing with the short hair mindlessly as you’re waiting to be filled, finally.
You feel the stretch instantly. You try to focus on those mesmerizing emerald gems he calls eyes. They look right through your soul, eating you up and you barely feel the pain. He’s taking it slow, inch by inch, giving you all the time you need, caressing your cheek with a tender stroke of his thumb.
“Relax for me, baby.”
Izuku’s voice is a soothing sound over the incessant chirping of the grasshoppers. It was always one of your favorite things to hear, its every tone another blessing to your ears. It’s loving when he asks if you’re okay, comforting when he whispers sweet nothings to you as you cry on his shoulder, heartening when he’s going on about anything he’s passionate about.
He’s kissing every part of skin he has access to, over your face, your jaw, your neck. You feel yourself relaxing around him, and roll your hips up to give him the hint.
When he starts moving it’s still slow and careful. He doesn’t break eye contact, so you can see his every reaction, and he can see all yours. His hand is still playing with your hair, even as his pace speeds up with every second. The weight of him over you feels amazing, it holds him close against you, countless parts of you both rubbing together: your chests, your stomachs, your thighs. He doesn’t even have a lot of space to move. But getting to touch and get touched by him like this, it's incredible. You always had him so close to you, always right there and still so out of reach.
You still need more; you’re insatiable. You need to see him come undone under you, because of you. You push him to roll on his back, and you end up straddling him, setting the pace yourself. You start bouncing up and down on his cock, taking balance on the hard planes of his abs. He immediately reaches up to grab your hips, guiding you along.
His face tenses up, frowning, his nose wrinkling, his lips parted just to let out a series of breathy sighs. He looks wrecked and dizzy and stunning. He’s keeping his eyes open, fixed up on you, specifically on your breasts, bouncing with your every motion. And you can feel his gaze on your skin just as much as you feel his hands gripping harder at the flesh below your hips.
“Eyes up here, Zuku,” you coo with two fingers pointed at your eyes.
He doesn’t answer, only sits up easily and wraps his arms around your waist.
“You look so amazing, you have no idea what you do to me,” he says with a trembling voice, filled with bliss.
Your heart misses a beat at his words, they fill you with warmth and comfort because he definitely doesn’t have any idea what he’s doing to you. He delves his face into your neck, kissing and nuzzling, his breath coming shorter and shorter, crashing against your skin and his hands running all over you. The sound of his hoarse voice resonates through the forest and through your soul, echoing an enchanting song.
With little effort, he puts you back under him so he can pound into you with full force, and your legs immediately come up to wrap around his waist, pulling him deeper. Your hands grab his hair, tugging to see if you get the same reaction as earlier, and it doesn’t miss: he lets out a groan right into your ear, speeding up his pace again.
The sky is dark now, and all you can hear are his moans and yours and the slap of your hips coming together repeatedly. Your head is thrown back when he grabs you by the hair, forcing you to turn your head and face him.
“Look at me. I wanna see you.”
“Izuku, I’m gonna—”
“I know, baby. Let go for me, come on.”
Just the feel of his hand trailing down your stomach awakens something in you, this familiar pressure growing tight in your belly. And when his fingers reach your clit, a couple of strokes are enough to have you screaming his name, tightening around him, and pulling him towards his climax with you. His thrusts come franticly as you milk him dry, clawing desperately at his back, panting in his mouth as he leaned down to kiss you through both your climaxes.
As soon as he comes down, he rolls over on his side, still laying close to you, an arm thrown over you. You both take a minute to catch your breaths and, weirdly enough, you don’t hear anything aside from your panting. You really must have scared the birds away. Izuku breaks the silence first.
“Do you wanna...sleep at my place?”
He’s looking over at you and, despite the sky getting dark, you can easily imagine the blush coating his cheeks right now, like he didn’t make you scream his name, drunk on his cock two minutes ago.
You can’t repress your fond smile at his proposition.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
You take a minute to gather your clothes from all over the place and get dressed, then grab your bag to tug it over your shoulder.
“You got everything?”
Izuku is waiting for you just outside the trees. You take a quick look around, making sure you haven’t forgotten anything, and turn around without a second look at the place.
Because although it was your first time setting foot here, it definitely won’t be the last; you will come back here with Izuku every chance you get, making it your shared secret, your own little wonderland.
You gladly take the hand he’s offering, making him blush a little harder, and you head straight back into the forest together.
You walk side by side as a comfortable silence settles, only disturbed by the grasshoppers’ incessant, boisterous chirping. The sky is utterly dark now, you can make out a few stars shining above the dense trees. You walk at a steady pace, but Izuku is going a bit faster with every step. Soon enough, he’s walking a bit ahead of you, still holding your hand. Another golden occasion to tease his eagerness.
“Are we in a hurry, Zuku?”
In the dark of the night, you struggle to make out the look on his face as he turns around to look at you. A second later, he’s running, and with your hand firmly held in his, you can’t do much but try to follow along. You giggle as you run, and it quickly grows into a belly-deep laughter. He’s fast, doesn’t get tired, but you follow him anyway, probably as eager as he is. You have to zig-zag so you don’t run straight into the massive trees standing in your way.
You get to the car in no time, but you’re both out of breath when you finally get in your respective seats, ready to go home.
Izuku doesn’t even wait to catch his breath before he starts the car, the engine roaring loudly in the silence of the night, probably scaring the birds away for the upteenth time that night. You catch his happy grin in the headlights glow before he heads back into the road.
You have a feeling the night is not over; you’ve only got twenty years to make up for after all.
#bnha smut#deku smut#deku x reader#izuku midoriya x reader#bnha x reader#midoriya izuku x reader#midoriya smut#mha smut#there it is omg it's long af#weasel writes
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