#he barely set foot in camp and already he’s up to no good

[soulless-bex]

nico di angelo finds a recently revived jason todd, helps him recover from not being dead anymore and brings him to camp half blood when it becomes obvious he’s a demigod. and so begins the game of Who Is That Child’s Godly Parent?

some think it’s athena because he’s clearly smart and well versed in strategy

some others think it’s ares after seeing him fight

hermes cabin is convinced he’s one of theirs because the guy is one hell of a thief

turns out it was dionysus all along. jason knew since day one of course. he just inherited the dramatics from his dad, amongst other things, and wanted to see what would happen

[simpee9000]

Not Just Friends - 5 -

M.List : Prologue : Part 1 : Part 2 : Part 3 : Part 4 : Not edited : 10k words !!!

Childhood best friends turned into something more, at least with the label. Katsuki Bakugo, a fast-rising hero and fast-learning guy who is ever so slow in getting attached to and loving someone. Even three long years into a relationship, and your friends even forget you're even dating. Nothing happening, spare a few kisses.. like 3 kisses, during high school. Graduated and living together, and you guys have done absolutely nothing to further the relationship. Are you sure you're not just friends? CW: Smut, brief domestic violence discussion, virginity loss, aggressive flirting from creeps, gore with pro hero stuff (lmk if i missed any) Applies to all chapters regardless of it is in said chapter.

Katsuki and his closest friend decided to make a tradition of camping during the summer. The group mainly just inviting themselves in on his hiking trips and making it a bigger deal. You remember at first that he looked at you for help, only finding that you were already discussing with Mina about sharing a tent. You and the girls all shared a tent that year, in celebration of graduation.

But now, only a year later, the tradition stuck. It was beginning of August and the group of you were all getting packed. Preparing to meet at the camping site at separate times due to schedule errors. It was a small campground in all, you only knew of it if a local told you, so you had no idea how Katsuki got on the good side of a local, but he did. It was barely in service, just enough for phone calls, but Katsuki had a strict no phone rule.

Despite him being a grump about everything, the campground is beautiful, a lake in the middle of it all but surrounded by many different hiking routes. You were excited to spend this camping trip next him rather than the girls, curious about all the ins-and-outs of this campground.

You often tagged along next to him for his hikes, it was the main way you guys spent your off days. He always needed something to do, and you wanted to be near him, so you followed.

It created countless stories between you two, either inside jokes about one falling over a tree or just the deep conversations you shared as you hiked the trail.

After the hour drive out of the city, you were met with the lush campgrounds. It was just as breathtaking as last year. Just being in view of it, lifted a weight off your shoulders. It felt like you could breathe better overall.

The two of you were the first ones there. Arriving just before sunset. The rest of the group said they'd be here soon. You attempted to convince Katsuki to wait so you could share a ride with Kirishima and Mina, but he was too impatient.

Once your foot was out of the car, Katsuki started handing you things to set up. Giving you some of the tents he brought and to place them near the already made fire pit. He brought most of the camping supplies for the group, everyone else would just have to bring the things that they wanted.

You decided to wait to put up the tents until others got here, unsure of the pairing. So you and Katsuki got to work on putting up the fold up tables and some chairs out. Grabbing the ice chest filled of your food and setting it near the camp fire, which Katsuki quickly had going. Thankfully the campsite sold firewood, so you had no worries of running out.

The rumble of Kirishima's super duty truck made you turn you're head. Soon enough Mina barreled out of the truck and came running to you.

"Hi," she squeeze you into a hug, "Haven't seen you since the party!" You squeezed her back, it has been a while since you've seen her, the party was almost a month ago.

"Of course you guys show up after we finish setting everything up," Katsuki grumbled, dragging his feet as he walked to Kirishima's truck to help grab ice chests.

Kirishima gave a cheeky smile, rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry man, I'm free to help now though."

"Whatever," Katsuki scoffed.

Kirishima gave you a wave, "Anything I can help with?"

You looked around, finally pushing Mina away from the hug, "We haven't set up any tents, so maybe that? I just don't know who's sharing and stuff yet."

Kirishima and Mina shared a quick glance, turning a shy red in their cheeks. "Well," Mina dragged out, "E and I are sharing, Bakugo and you are sharing, so we can start there."

"Wait," you paused them confused, embarrassed about sharing a tent with Katsuki.

"Huh?" Kirishima turned towards the tents laying on the ground, "Denki and Sero can share, I doubt they mind. They can set up another if hey have that big of an issue."

"We only packed three air mattresses," you pointed out.

"They've shared a bed before, it's fine. They're bros," Kirishima shrugged. He wasn't getting the point. You looked to find were Katsuki went and saw him grabbing stuff from Kirishima's truck, not having heard a lick of the conversation.

By the time you look back over to Kirishima, him and Mina were already off to the side of the campsite and setting up their tent. Mina struggling to stand as she laughed, hitting Kirishima with the tent pole constantly.

It was enduring to see them mess around, especially since they were finally getting ahold of their relationship. Both of them have been struggling with a label since the second year.

You looked back at Katsuki, who grabbed all he needed from the truck and was now crouched and working on the fire again. You walked over to stand next to him, bumping his shoulder lightly with your hip to get his attention, "We needa set up our tent."

He scrunched his eye brows, looking over to were the tent were then to were Kirishima was. "They sharing?" he nodded his head in their direction. You hummed, rocking on the ball of your feet, stuffing your hands in your pockets. This felt odd.

" Okay," he stood up, brushing the remains of wood of his hands. You stepped away slightly, giving him room to stand without bumping into you. "Where do ya' want it?"

You looked around the campsite. It was quite big, plenty of space for anything. Trees lined the dirt center that was meant for parking cars and the rest of the camping supplies. Where the trees lined the dirt, there was plenty of open grass plots for a tent. Kirishima and Mina already taking one of the grass plots near the cars. So you walked to the other side, leaving the ones in the middle for the boys to chose.

Katsuki picked up the tent and followed you, dropping the tent bag where you stopped. It was quite the distance from the cars so you would have to move the car briefly so you could blow up the air mattress.

You went to unzip the bag, handing Katsuki the poles to connect together while you pulled out the actual tent to space out. Switching jobs so he could anker it to the ground. You quickly saw why Mina was laughing so hard. The pole you were connecting broke apart in one spot and swung to hit Katsuki in the back of the head.

He wiped his head around, "The fuck?" he barked at you. You hunched over laughing, his face was so mad, it was as if you took a dogs bone. "Asshat," he grumbled, turning to finish the last anker. Before snatching the pole from your hand and threading it through the tent. Ordering you to help connect it on the other side despite you still laughing slightly at him.

The two of you did the other side without much issue, putting the rain cover up as well as threading the pole over the door to keep it steady. He quickly trudged off to bring the car. Mina joining your side as you two watched Katsuki set up the air mattress. "I hate tents," she grumbled.

You looked at her tent, seeing it messily set up, all their stuff being thrown in as well, fully set up. "Why?" you asked.

"Can't really make noise if y'know what I mean," she wiggled her brows, nudging her arm into yours.

"I better not hear that," you made a face of disgust.

"Same to you," Mina laughed, "Though I am curious as t-"

"Don't," you raised your hand to stop her, "I don't even want to know."

Katsuki called you over to the tent, currently fighting with the air mattress.

"What even happened?" you laughed the second you peaked inside the tent, he was currently struggling to get the air pump connected to the air mattress.

"Can't find the hole," he sighed frustrated.

Mina erupted into laughter, "That's what she said!"

You stifled a laugh, moving Katsuki to the side as you pushed the mattress into a better angle. Getting the mattress blown up easily. Katsuki getting out of the tent to place the bedding and your guys stuff in the tent to the side. It was a large tent, plenty of space for you to stand up straight, Katsuki only had to slouch slightly to not hit his head in the middle.

He moved the car and left you to set up the bedding once the mattress was fully inflated it. Knowing it go cold at night you threw a large open sleeping bag over the top of the mattress to sleep on top of, knowing that the air mattress would be insanely cold otherwise. Just throwing your pillows at the end of the bed and then half-assly throwing heavy blankets on top before shuffling out of the tent, hearing Sero and Denki pull up, music blasting.

Katsuki was instantly barking orders at them.

"Chill man, we brought the booze," Denki laughed, opening the truck and pulling out a cooler, Sero doing the same.

"How fucking much are you planning to drink?" Katsuki went wide eyed at the two full coolers of booze.

"We'll probably have to buy more," Sero shrugged.

"Huh? How?" Katsuki looked dumb founded.

"I mean," Sero pointed and count the group, "there six of us, five of us wanting to get drunk nightly this weekend. We all need to drink a lot to get drunk as well."

Katsuki whiped his head to you, "You drinkin'?"

You shrugged, "I mean yeah- wait Sero?"

"Yeah?" he looked up from where he was fishing a beer out of the cooler.

"Did you pack my wine?" you stepped closer to him.

"In the car," he nodded towards the car. You quickly skipping over and grabbing a bottle to drink for the night. Katsuki was busy yelling at everyone to watch how much they drunk, they still had work monday.

Mina groaned at him, lulling her head over to you, "Can you get the stick out of his ass? He's acting like he hasn't been laid in years."

Your face flushed but you laughed to cover it, "I think it's too far up there for me to help."

"Fuck off," he barked at the two of you, causing you to laugh harder.

The group was standing around the fire, Katsuki making sure it stayed steady. Once you got the wine bottle open you joined them, taking the seat next to Katsuki, stretching your legs onto his arm rest of the chair, knowing he wouldn't mind.

"Y'know, sometimes I forget you two are dating," Denki point at finger between you and Katsuki, that same hand also bringing a beer up to his mouth to take a swig. "I only remember when you do shit like that," he gestured to your legs.

"What do you mean?" you tilted your head.

"Well he'd kill anyone else for that," Denki shrugged.

"Ah yes, you bagged quite a man, one that'd kill some one from breathing wrong," Mina laughed at you.

You flushed, embarrassed that even the ones closest to you barely saw the relationship. You looked over to see how Katsuki took the joke, seeing him staring intently at the fire. Poking at it with a fire stick.

"What's our plan for tomorrow?" you looked around the group, taking a sip of wine straight from the bottle. Wanting to skip past any talk about your relationship.

"I'm going for a hike," Katsuki said, setting down the fire stick and leaning into his chair, arms cross.

"Okay," you dragged out, seeing if anyone would add their plans. When no one added you continued, "So Kats and I are going for a hike in the morning, then we'll be back and we can all go to the lake?" you suggested.

"Sounds good, I would go with but I need sleep, works been rough," Kirishima sent an apology to Katsuki, only to be shrugged off.

"Have you been taking better care of your support gear?" you nagged at him, annoyed about the amount of times you've fixed it just this month.

"Yes mom," he groaned.

"Oh shut your mouth," you scolded. The group laughed at your bickering with Kirishima.

The group quickly fell into an banter, all thankful they got the weekend off from hero work. Glad they could escape out of the city. It was refreshing. The view of the camp ground and their faces. They looked a least a little more carefree than normal. Tonight was the calm of the camping trip, tomorrow night would be all chatter and drunk games. It was only Friday night and you guys would be staying till Sunday, with work on Monday. It was a short get away but it was all the agencies could agree too. Everyone already ate their meals during the drive here, so all that was to do was set up.

By the time the fire was out, Sero and Denki still hadn't put their tent up. They'd have to do it drunk and in the dark. Katsuki was already well past tired and demanded to get up early, so you couldn't join them. So you had Kirishima promise to watch for them.

With the rest of the group taken care of, you and Katsuki walked off into your tent. Well he walked, you stumbled and grabbed onto his arm, drunk from drinking the whole wine bottle. He unzipped the door of the tent, holding it open for you and closing it behind himself.

"What side y'want?" Katsuki huffed, reaching for his backpack.

You looked at the options for a moment, "The one near the tent wall, I don't wanna be by the door."

"Ight," he was still digging through his bag. You walked over to your side, just about to sit down before he yelled at you, "The fuck y'doing? Change your clothes, I don't want our bed to smell like wine and campfire."

"But you literally smell like a campfire," you pointed out, "And I don't smell like wine."

"I saw you spill it over yourself, and I don't care. Change," he ordered.

"How am I supposed to change with you in here," you grumbled back at him.

"I'll turn around and so will you," he pointed out blandly.

So after grabbing your pjs, you both turned around and changed. You felt the urge to turn and catch a look but you knew that it'd be all you thought of. You laughed slightly to yourself, amused that you've been dating for three years but have yet to change near each other.

"What?"

Your head almost spun to look at him, but you remembered before you did, "Nothin."

"Why'd you laugh?" he asked differently.

You sighed, " Just the fact we are turned away from each other right now," you shrugged your pj shirt over your head, unhooking your bra from underneath it, just in case.

"Want to watch me get naked?" he teased.

A hot wave flashed through you, "Shuddup," you coughed out after a moment. Quickly putting on your sleep shorts. "You done yet?"

"Have been for a minute," he replied. With the okay to turn around, you quickly climbed into bed. Only then did it sink in that you'd be sharing a bed for the first time. Seeing him lift the covers and joined you excited you. It was a first, and it was thrilling, even if it was just sleep.

"Y'know," you moved closer to where he got comfortable, "We've never shared a bed."

"I'm aware," he peered down at you. He had his head rested on the pillow, arms above his head as he laid on his hands.

"It's weird," you whispered, like you were admitting a secret. You moved yourself to lay onto your stomach, propping yourself up with your arms.

"How?" he asked softly, matching your tone. He adjusted himself, getting into a better position to look at you. Even in the dark, you could see his vibrant red eyes peering at you.

"Like," you looked away from him, overwhelm, picking at the blanket that was over your shoulders, "Feels different, we live together but we don't share a bed, but now we are. Feels like a new step without the other foundations in a way."

"What other foundations would we need?"

"Well none I guess, but we didn't choose this one fully," you shrugged.

"I knew we were going to share, did you not?" he nudged your calf with his leg, grabbing your attention.

"Not really, I'm happy we are, just," you paused, "I don't know."

You heard Denki and Sero laughing from their tent, clearly in a struggle to set it up.

"I get it," Katsuki said after a moment, "Feels like we are doing things in a weird order."

"Yeah," you yawned.

"Go to bed," he order softly.

"Goodnight," you muttered, plopping your head onto your pillow.

"Night."

---

Katsuki woke you up just before sunrise, slightly shaking your arm till you woke up. He already has his hiking bag made, filled with stuff for the both of you. Shoving you a granola bar and a protein shake before he left you to change.

After slipping into some pants, aware of the brisk mornings. Katsuki having warned you while you packed. With your legs warm, you threw on a tank-top with a hoodie over it. Tying your shoes before fighting your way out of the tent, meeting Katsuki at the end of the campsite road.

"Finally," he immediately stepped off, following the tree line. Having you jog slightly to catch up to him.

"Do you sleep okay?" you questioned, worried you kicked him or something in your sleep.

"Yeah," he replied. Well, at least he didn't sleep bad. "You?" he looked over at you briefly, before looking back up, turning into a trail that went out of the main camping area.

"Yep, best in a while actually," you followed him.

The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, trailing through the forest. The trail seemed like it faded in and out, clearly not used often enough to keep a path.

Leaves brushed past your pants as you walked through, following each step he made, keeping up with his steady pace. He often looked back to make sure you were still behind him before he made a turn slightly off path, getting yourselves deeper into the forest. It was a steady up hill for the most part, up until you hit a rocky area with a steady climb.

Katsuki easily jumped up the first step, even with it at waist height, reaching down a hand to help pull you up. He let you walk in front of him from then on, just pointing you towards where to go. Letting you climb up the slight rocks, prepared to catch you if you fell, even if it wasn't higher than five or so feet. Soon enough you were standing taller than the rest of the camp, being able to see the lake and even our campsite from the top of the rocks you climb.

"This is," you let out a breath, "wow."

"See, if you didn't get wasted last time I could of shown you then," he reminded.

You ignored him, watching how the sky was slowly gaining color from the sunrise, a faint pink and orange hue barely kissy the horizon.

"This isn't even the best part," he tugged on your arm, lightly dragging you away from the cliff edge. He went in the opposite direction from the cliff, walking through the small forest that coated the top of the rocky mountain you were on. He held unto your hand until you heard the faint noise of running water. Pulling you in front of him as he guided you to the small pond that ran off the cliff edge and into a small creek.

"Why didn't you drag me with last time," you slapped his arm lightly, walking over to the water, crouching down to feel the water. It was freezing.

"You were bitchin'," he shrugged. Setting his backpack down near a tree.

You started untying your shoes, taking them off along with your socks. On a whim deciding to unbutton your pants.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. You turned your head toward him, his face was flushed as he looked away.

"I'm getting in," you shrugged.

"You're wearing a swimsuit?" he looked back over, still red in the face.

"Nah," you pushed your pants down, "I just wear my underwear, it'll dry."

"It's fucking freezing in that water," he pointed out, looking away once again.

"Scared to join?" you teased, folding your pants and setting them on top of your shoes, doing the same with your hoodie and tank top.

"Oh fuck you," he groaned. Not wanting to back out on a challenge, he tugged his shirt and pants off quickly, leaving them on a rock near his shoes. Joining you just as you started stepping into the water.

You flinched at the temperature but forced yourself to fully get in, letting the water reach your shoulders. Hair tied up to stay dry. Katsuki was by your side after a minute.

It was funny to think that last night you changed facing away from each other, but now you were only clad in underwear and in a random pond. It wasn't a first to be around each other in underwear, you've lived together for a little over a year after all.

"Water's not too bad," you commented.

He shot you a glare, "I hate the cold."

"Ice baths are good for you though, lots of health benefits," you chimed, knowing he hated being told something he hated was good.

"Fuck em," he grunted. He let his face fall into a pout as he stared at the water as if it was his enemy. His arms crossed to hold in any warmth. Butterflies filled your stomach as you looked over his feature. He was made but he looked soft. The worries of the hero world gone, if only for a moment. He looked back up at you, "What?" he bit out.

"Nothin'," you shook your head, "Cold?"

"Obviously," he rolled his eyes.

You stepped closer to him, having stuck at arms length from him. "Hug?" you offered.

"How will that help?" he coughed.

"I don't know, body heat?" you stepped closer.

"But you're fucking freezing too," he pointed out.

"Come on, Kats," you held out your arms for him. With a pout of your lip, he groaned and stepped into your arms. Wrapping his arms around your waist and tugging you towards him. "See, not to bad," you teased, wrapping your arms around his neck.

He nudged his head into your shoulder, "Shuddup." The tips of his ears stayed red from his blush, the heat from his face warming your neck. "Your warm," he muttered, pulling you impossibly closer, his watch scratching your back lightly.

You scratched at his hair, letting your hands play with the strands at the nape of his neck as you looked around. Soaking in the moment. The sky was slowly waking up, the orange and pinks that were barely visible before, took up the entire sky. A steady blue warming in as well. Katsuki let his shoulders sag into your touch as he pulled his face away, catching your attention.

"You're beautiful," he mumbled, embarrassed as he let his eyes track over your face.

"What's up with you?" you laughed shyly, "All boyfriendy recently."

"Just getting used to things more I guess," his voice was soft, but rough from his daily screaming matches with the boys.

"Took three years?" you pointed out. Watching his eyes as he looked over yours.

"You said I can do what I want right?" he asked, referencing your words from the other week when he kissed you for the first time since graduation.

You flushed, "I did."

He looked over your features again before his eyes fell to your lips. Letting his hand unhook from your waist and gently cup your cheek, just as it had that night. He admired your features for a while, letting his thumb barely trace your bottom lip before he leaned in himself. Letting himself fall into the kiss.

You tilted you head and pushed into your toes, letting yourself get impossible closer to him. Letting your body curve into his, fit alongside his perfectly. You let your hands hold unto his hair, pushing him deeper into him. Grasping onto his hair when you felt his tongue trail alongside your bottom lip. You're mouth falling open, begging him to continue the kiss.

Whining when he pulled away, out of breath and eyes lidded. "You're fine with this?" he asked hoarsely brows still furrowed from how he kissed you.

You just tugged him closer to you in response, locking your lips against his. Luckily, he quickly ran his tongue over your lip again, letting it slide into your mouth slowly. The kiss left a buzz going through your body, making your fingers twitch tighter into his hair, wanting nothing but more. Air could wait. You let your tongue fight with his for a moment, playfully toying with the new feeling of kissing him like this, before you gave in, letting him take over the kiss completely.

His hand dropped away from your face, falling back to your hip and he pulled you closer, fully into him. Groaning lowly when your thigh hit him, it falling between his legs.

The groan snapped you into reality. You were making out with Katsuki, and you felt him against your thigh. Clearly enjoying it. Just in attempt to see his reaction, you move your thigh slightly, making another groan fall from his lips and into your mouth before he pulled away from the kiss. Lazily look down at you, "We should probably stop before we.." he trailed off, his eyes falling on your lips again.

"Yeah," you nodded in agreement, looking down at his lips, plump and rosy from kissing.

Both of you sat in a daze of staring at each other, only breaking out of it when you heard faint talking in the distance.

You quickly scrambled off each other and to your clothes. Throwing them on as quickly as possible, wringing out as much water as possible beforehand. You did not want to be caught half naked in a random pond. It would wreck his hero image.

With clothes thrown on you quickly walked back towards camp, running into the couple you heard from the pond on your way down. Stopping when they asked for a picture with Katsuki. Which he was in a good enough mood to agree to.

After getting out of earshot, you started giggling to yourself. "We are so lucky we heard them."

He laughed breathlessly near you, "Yeah, would of gotten an exclusive photo otherwise."

"Your fan girls would have my head instantly," you added.

"You'd kick their ass."

You smiled at his faith in you, "Thank you, that's what I've been saying. Mei thinks I'm crazy."

After only a few tumbles, you were back at the campsite, letting the laughter from the previous conversation flow out of you. Everyone was awake when you got back. All prepared to head to the lake.

"You guys were out for a while," Mina commented, a hinting tone to her voice, "Why are your clothes wet?"

You looked down at your hoodie, the fabric of your bra having soaked the front of your shirt, just as your underwear soaked your pants. Katsuki was in the same boat.

"I took a dive in the water for a moment," you shrugged, "I'm going to put on a swimsuit, we can head out after."

And you did just that, Katsuki doing the same just after you.

You met up at Mina's side, she was in the middle of teasing Denki for how he applied sunblock.

She eyed you, "So, you guys were gone for a whileee."

"Yeah? We went on a hike?" you asked back, confused at her tone.

"You left at 6, it almost 10," she pointed out. You paled at the realization.

"It was a long walk," you defended.

Denki snorted, "Yeah a long 'walk'," he did air quotes.

Lucky enough, Katsuki was in time to hear that comment and swatted him upside the head. Denki squawking at him.

---

The lake was calm, water a perfect temperature along with the weather. Only a few other campers were at the lake but they were a good distance away. You would be able to mess around with your group without having to worry about being too loud or press getting photos.

You guys had set out chairs next the shore and some coolers, one filled with alcohol and the other having food. When the sunblock was all applied and dried, you and Mina instantly ran in. Her challenging you to a race and easily beating you.

"Mina!" you heard Kirishima shout before he tackled Mina into the water. You stepped back from the two, seeing them actual start to drown each other.

"Hey."

You squeaked, scared of being dunked. Turning to see Sero smirking at you.

"Scared of some water?" he teased.

"I'm scared of being drowned by a pro hero, yes," you turned back to watch Mina and Kirishima start to calm down. Unfortunately seeing them start making lovey eyes and leaning in.

"I'm so thankful you and Bakugo don't do that," Sero cringed, turning away from the site.

Memories from the pond flashed through your mind, shooting a quick glance at Katsuki, who was leaned back in a foldable chair. Legs stretched out and arms crossed over his stomach. Head fully leaded back and face the sky, with a hat blocking his fat from the sun.

"I doubt me and him would ever do that," you agreed, shaking your eyes off of Katsuki.

"You guys were gone for a while this morning," he elbowed you.

You scoffed, "It's a long walk."

"Yeah sure," he laughed, "At least we didn't have to hear it."

"Nothing happened," you shoved him into the water.

Sero started making kissing noises.

"Shut up!" you hushed, looking to see if Katsuki heard. When you aw him lift his hat slightly to peak at you, you jumped Sero. Submerging him under water as you smiled back at Katsuki.

Once he put his hat back over his head you let Sero go.

"I know I'm a hero and everything but damn your strong," Sero laughed, coughing some water out.

"Don't cross me," you jokingly threatened.

"You guys seem to be doing better though, he didn't throw your shoes off his chair last night," Sero commented, voice low so others didn't hear, "Was he just off that party?"

"No, he just doesn't like his hands touched for too long," you shrugged, "He always shakes my hands off after a couple minutes."

Sero hummed, "Well I'm getting a beer, want any?"

"Nah, I'll drink the rest of my wine tonight though," you twisted in the water, letting the water swish near you.

Soon you heard Mina start giggling, so you turned and saw her and Kirishima obviously flirting. "Guys!" faked throwing up, "Get a room."

Mina groaned, "You're just like Bakugo," she stuck her tongue out at you, you doing the same.

Before you saw anything more you decided to bug Katsuki, walking out of the water and grabbing a towel to wrap around you shoulders before walking to his seat. With the new shade you moved his hat off his face.

"Hi," you smiled down at him, happy to be here.

"Hey," he returned, "Why ain't you in the water?"

"Missed you," you shrugged, "you should join us."

He hummed, looks around the lake. "We brought the paddle board right?"

"I think Kiri set it up," you looked around for it, seeing it leaned against the picnic table, "Yeah he brought it."

Katsuki stood up, stretching slightly before moving over to it. You had trouble keeping your eyes off the way his back rippled with each movement. He grabbed the paddle board and placed it in the water, "Hold it will ya?" he gave you the foot strap, making you keep it from going too far away as he walked to grab some fishing stuff.

It was small hobby he hardly got to do, but he loved it all the same. Once he grabbed a fishing pole and the right bait he walked back over to you. Setting his stuff down to the said as he grabbed the foot strap from you.

"Get on," he directed, holding the board still. Unaware you were going with you quickly put your towel down before carefully getting on, keeping yourself near the front so he had room on the back.

He handed you the paddle and his fishing gear before he joined you on the board. Taking the paddle from off your lap and pushing you guys off the shore and into the waters.

"Don't fuck on that paddle board! I want to use it later," Denki shouted from his spot next to Sero.

"Shut your damn mouth," Katsuki wacked him with the paddle once close enough.

Denki and Sero crackled out a laugh as Katsuki paddled away from them, further out into the lake.

He was mumbling under his breath. Before he could let it consume his thoughts more you spoke out, "It's beautiful here."

You looked around the lake, it was surrounded by greenery, cliff formations closing the lake in, making it feel closed off from the rest of the world. It was peaceful, Cottonwood trees shedding and filling the air with small puffs of white cotton, it looked like a dream.

"Yeah, last year you were too drunk to remember anything," he poked. Reminding you of how last year you were stumbling around half the time. You hardly remembered that trip, just the bruises that followed when you got back. You had countless scratches covering every inch of you.

You turned to shoot his a glare, seeing him looking amused at your frustration. "Well at least I had fun, you had a stick too far up your ass to have any," you shot back.

He glared at you for a second before letting his face rest again, paddling you guys into a small cove, good for fishing and still in sight of your group. Slowly you turned to face him, careful not to shake the board much.

Katsuki was tying on a hook, looking down intently at the knot. His brows furrowed as he focused. You watched as he tied it off and attached some bait before throwing it in.

Only then did he look at you, finally feeling your eyes on him. "What?"

"Just funny watching the symbol of strength tie a knot," you grinned.

He rolled his eyes. Silence took over for a moment, a heavy breath falling from his lips, "It's still all crazy to me."

"What is?" you shuffled slightly, leaning back on your hands rather then having your back hunched.

"Everything," he looked around, "Like, I really am number two."

"Yeah, you are the shit," you joked.

He shot you a look, sighing, "Not even just that, I'm second and I'm fine with it. Obviously I'll beat Deku soon, but for now I'm content."

Feeling the shift of the conversation, you joined in, "Well you've grown up a lot, you're not who you used to be in middle school anymore."

"It's weird," he looked down. Playing with the string at the end of the pole. "So much has changed but so little at the same time. I've become a top pro hero but I'm still closest to our class in UA."

"Yeah," you nodded along, watching how the sun hit his hair, " I mean, I'm in the top of my business yet I'm still dating you," you teased wanting to lift some weight from the conversation.

He looked up at you, keeping his head down, "No idea why you are. Our relationship is one of the things that haven't changed at all."

"Which is good," you finished for him.

"I mean at all," he added on, "We haven't changed our relationship since second year."

"That's not true," you frowned at him, "We've grown closer, we live together now, we go on dates," you started to list.

"You know that wasn't what I meant," he raised his head, moving to reel in the fishing pole, no longer in the mood for it. Connecting it to the side of the paddle board, securing it so he didn't have to worry about it. Same with the paddle, letting you guys drift with the wind.

"Then what do you mean?" you were trying to get him to say it. He's been hinting at it for ages but hasn't actually said it.

He raised an eyebrow at you, "Need me to spell it out?

"Yes actually."

"We've kissed five times in the total of three years, having know each other since we were fuckin' five," he explained.

"Yeah and?" you pushed.

"E' and Mina have been dating for all of three weeks officially and have probably done everything under the sun," he stated.

"What does that have to do with us?"

"It's just my fault, you've apparently have been wanting to and I've been holding you back," he confessed, shame filling his eyes as he looked at you.

"I'm fine just with you by my side," you answered, leaning up to grab his hands. A spark shooting out before you could.

"Fuck sorry," he dipped his hands in the water, then turned his watch on and his quirk off.

"Have you figured out why you spark?" you wondered, looking at his hands.

He looked back up at you, his eyes clearly searching for a way out of the conversation. His quirk activating clearly setting him far from the idea of talking about it anymore. "I just was trying to keep the watch off to test it earlier," he shrugged.

"No," you shook your head, " I meant overall."

Katsuki paused, looking back down at his hand. You wanted to comfort him, he was obviously not willing to talk about his quirk but you wanted him to confined in you.

Before you could cut in, his hands shot out and grabbed you by your knees, pulling you into him. He smirked at you, wearing his classic grin he wore in battle. The one that made you weak. Your hands flew to his chest to keep balance. "What are you doing?" you squeaked.

Instead of giving an answer he leaned down and crushed your lips in a kiss.

In just the span of a month, you doubled your kiss count with him, and made out with him.

You held your hands steady on his shoulders, letting yourself fall into the kiss, bones melting into his hold as his teeth nipped at your bottom lip.

A gasp left your lips as you tied to deepen the kiss, pushing yourself more unto him.

Unfortunately in the process of doing that, you pushed both him and yourself off the paddle board. Breaking apart before you hit the water.

You came back up laughing together.

---

Everyone only got tired of the lake way into the afternoon. Finally decided to go back for dinner. Which would take a while to set up as it is. Especially with Katsuki wanting to cook a steak on the fire. While he seasoned the steak he left Kirishima to start the fire.

You took your wine out of the cooler, quickly taking the cork out. Everyone, minus Katsuki, was well over tipsy. Having been drinking since the start of the day, so you needed to catch up.

Mina stepped to your side as you poured yourself a cup. "So," she swayed, "Bakugo's a lot calmer today than yesterday."

"Okay?" you focused on how much wine you poured yourself, having a third of your wine in one cup.

"And I saw you two on the paddle board," she hinted.

"Okay?" you took a sip of your wine, finally looking at her.

"Saw you kiss too," she stated.

You flushed, "What are you getting at?"

"Did you guys do it in the forest?" Mina asked excited.

"What?" you coughed, "No!"

"Come on, you can tell me," she pleaded, "Me and E have a bet going."

"We did not have," you lowered your voice, "sex in the forest."

She huffed, "Lame, did you at least do something?"

"Mina," you groaned, embaressed.

"You did!" Mina squealed, "What did you do?"

Katsuki heard the squeal, being only ten or so feet away, and turned his head, "You did what?"

You lost all color in your face, throat going dry. He only just started kissing you. You didn't know how'd he react you telling Mina of all people. You didn't even know if Katsuki talked about that stuff to other people, he didn't even talk about it with you.

"She's just telling me what you guys did in the forest," Mina teased.

Katsuki face flushed red.

"I didn't tell her anything!" you cut in, "She's just making stories to herself."

"Get your nose out of it racoon eyes," Katsuki spat.

You were relived he wasn't mad at you. You didn't know how you would handle that.

Picking up your cup, you decided to drown out the thought with some more alcohol. Switching to listen to the boys banter about who could get a brand and be plain faced during it. Clearly it wasn't wise to keep them near the fire. Deciding to no longer watch that shit show, which Mina joined to egg them on, you walked up to Katsuki. He was still seasoning the steaks, eyes focused as he carefully chose what to add. You stood being him, uttering a small hi before you raised on your tip-toes and rested your chin on his shoulder. Getting his view of the steak.

"Is Mina giving you a rough time?" he mumbled, voice low so the others wouldn't hear.

"Not really," you wrapped your arms around his waist, "she just really thinks we had sex."

He scoffed but didn't add anymore, he just let you watch him. Only pulling away when it was time to put the steak on the fire pit, having them hover on a small grate to cook fully.

---

You stared up fascinated by the stars, they covered the entire span of the sky. With the pollution in the city, you hardly saw the stars unless you were out in the mountains like you were now. It was a breath of fresh air in so many ways. It calmed your soul.

Every part of this camping trip did. You and Katsuki got time together, away from the stress of the world, and you got to spend it surround by your closest friends. They were always lively but you could tell they were even more alive with this trip. It's been the thing you guys talked about all summer. Planning every moment so you could live it up to the fullest. Yet, typical to the group, you guys didn't follow a single plan. The only plan you did follow was getting drunk each night. The group will have downed every last drink in the cooler by the end of tonight.

You looked back down towards the group, they were laughing at the old stories they shared from high school. It was a bond you didn't have with them. After the first year, you were back to a somewhat normal high school experience. And you'd rather forget that year, everything went horribly. You looked at the back of Katsuki's head, watching as he shook his head at what Sero said. You don't think you'd ever forget how you had smeared Katsuki's own blood on his face, trying to keep him with you. Fighting to stop his blood from flowing out of him before he pulled your hands up to his face weakly.

Tears blurred the look on his face, and you hated that you might of forgot his face. Might of had your last moments with his face foggy with tears. It ate you up inside.

The wasn't the only time you've seen him like that, and it wouldn't be the last, but it definitely set a dark tone for each day he left for work. Worried he wouldn't come back that same night. Wouldn't be there to yell at you for reading too much and not there to complain about your shows. The fact that you'd have to eat his last premade meals without him.

You worried about your friends too. You glanced at Mina. There was a day where each of your friends almost died. Mina have burned her own skin off with her quirk. It was a fate that shattered your heart, yet it happened in the hero world all too often. Denki constantly fried his own brain within an inch of life and Kirishima has broken pieces of his skin off after rough villain encounters. Hell, even Sero was almost strangled with his quirk.

Dark memories flooded your brain. Each day they sacrificed themselves yet they were sitting here without a care in the world as they sipped on their drinks. Sometimes it felt like you were the only one that cared and felt the toll, but Katsuki came home drained enough times for you to know that just isn't true. They find that saving others is worth ripping themselves apart. You shook your head at the idea. It was selfish of you, but you knew they wouldn't be selfish of themselves, so someone had to.

Not allowing yourself to fall deeper into that long fall, you took a deep breath and watch how alive they were right now. The biggest thing about knowing heroes, was that you had to live in the moment rather than the what ifs. Those would tear every inch of you apart.

The trees framing the campsite didn't look nearly as alive as your group did. They sat around the fire, poking fun at each other any chance they got. Bringing up Denki's horrible pick up lines and Kirishima's brick of a head. Their very much alive laughter echoing around your campsite.

The group was stuffed full, sitting around the campfire as they told stories. Alcohol stirring up their blood warm.

"No I swear," Denki laughed, "Bakugo literal came up to the photographer and barked."

"Shut it," Katsuki growled at him.

You were gathering supplies to make smores, craving them with the energy of camping. Arms full you walked back to Katsuki and dumped everything on his lap. "Thank you," you hummed, ignoring his protest.

Grabbing the graham-crackers from his lap you cracked one for a smore. "Can you prepare one for me too?" Katsuki asked, putting a marshmallow on a stick for both you and him.

"Breaking your diet?" you quirked a brow but prepped a smore for him as well. Placing less chocolate on his than yours because you knew he didn't care for sweets.

"Haven't had a smore since I was a kid," he confessed, handing you your stick.

"Seriously?" you were shocked, "Are you talking about that summer from when we were seven?" Recalling the last time he made a smore well. He boasted about his skills until he dropped his second one into a fire.

"Yeah," he followed your movements and put his marshmallow above the fire, letting it slowly melt.

"You guys are so cute," Mina gushed. Honestly, you were so wrapped up in your conversation with Katsuki and the memories, that you forgot about everyone else.

You felt the warm of your blush in your ears, grateful that it was dark and no one could poke fun.

"I'm serious," she whined at your silence, thinking you were disagreeing, "Childhood best friends to lovers, I mean come on! Who doesn't love that trope?!"

It was obvious she was drunk.

"Mina, you're drunk," Katsuki shook his head.

"I don't know, I agree with her. It's admirable," Kirishima followed.

"Thank you," she huffed happily.

"I don't know how you've stayed loyal for so long," Denki said, fumbling when you all gave him a weird look, "In the sense of never having a relationship with someone else before, not cheating."

Sero hummed, "Yeah, weird to know you guys haven't dated anyone but each other."

Katsuki shot you a look, you returning it all the same.

"Wait," Sero leaned forward, "Have you guys dated other people?"

"I haven't," Katsuki side eyed you as he focused back on his smore.

Mina whined your name, "Why haven't I been told this?"

"Did we go to school with them?" Denki butted in.

"It had to of been during first year right?" Sero analyzed.

"Oh my god," you shot Katsuki a glare, annoyed he pushed you into the wolves, "It was middle school." He was smug, seeing his friends basically gasp in betrayal before they heard the 'middle school.'

They let out a series of 'ohs.' The dots easily connecting for them. They never heard you mention anyone in first year, plus you dormed with them so their was no way they wouldn't of noticed someone you were dating.

"See. Not a big deal," you kicked your foot into Katsuki's. Annoyed at how he made it seem. They didn't know before because it was irrelevant. You often forgot about it entirely until he threw it in your face as a joke.

"Still, didn't you have a crush on him then?" Sero pointed out.

Making Katsuki turn his attention back on you, "Did you?" Another thing that wasn't shared

"Yes," you looked at him for a moment, "Hence why the relationship was nothing." You and Katsuki never got deep into the discussion of when your feelings started. Just deciding to date after agreeing on mutual feelings and never really resurfacing it.

You looked back at your smore, you've been absentmindedly rotating it, a little too low into the fire. It was charred. You pulled it back to sadly put into a smore. Looking at Katsuki ready marshmallow before making yours.

"Awh," you pouted, "Can we trade? Your looks better," you basically pleaded.

With a huff he gave in, "Fine."

"Thank you," you smiled at him happily. Putting your mostly charred marshmallow into his less chocolatey smore and putting his golden brown marshmallow into your chocolate heavy smore.

You looked back at the group after handing Katsuki his smore. Happy with the new arrangement.

They were in disbelief, Denki speaking up first, "We're not just moving past your previous relationship, are we?"

"Why does it matter?" Katsuki butt in, confused about how this turned into an entire conversation.

"How does it not matter?" Sero shot back, "Your entire relationship is a lie."

Katsuki rolled his eyes, "Not really. It's one small thing that you didn't know."

"It was a dumb middle school relationship," you filled in.

"Yeah, a relationship before Bakugo," Mina added on, "I need details."

Now you were rolling your eyes, "I don't even remember his name at this point, it's been like five years," you dismissed.

"You player," Denki cut in. You gave him a 'really' look, "Hey! I remember their names."

"I dated him for a week before we 'broke up,' it was hardly a relationship. I think we just dated for a school dance," you shrugged, biting into the smore Katsuki made for you. Melting into your seat at the sweet taste.

"Why'd you break up?" Kirishima questioned for the first time.

You smirked, glancing at Katsuki who was already shaking his head. Glad that the conversation could be flipped back onto him. "This dude," you pointed your thumb at him over your shoulder, looking at the group to see their reaction, "Scared him off by barking. Seems like a habit he hasn't lost."

Denki started cracking up, hunching over and spilling his beer sightly, "Why do you do that?" he laughed harder seeing Katsuki's face scrunch.

"He was dropped on his head," you answered for him.

Denki fell over sideways in his chair, the alcohol clearly making him laugh harder than usual. He always laughed when you and Katsuki bickered, but never this hard.

"Fuck you," Katsuki spat at you, "Shouldn't of given you my smore."

"You're the one that started this conversation," you shrugged, patting your stomach, "Smore was delicious though. Would of been a waste on your lame tastebuds."

"My tastebuds are normal," he argued. Kirishima laughed. "What?" Katsuki growled at him.

"Bro, you chug protein drinks and don't even wince," Kirishima answered.

"Cause I'm not a little bitch," Katsuki defended.

You and Mina cringed. "I can't believe you kiss that guy," Mina looked at you face holding pure disgust. You snorted out a laugh at Katsuki's face.

"Me either," you agreed, likely for different reasons.

"That's it," Katsuki stood up, standing in his classic gremlin stance. Arms out, hands up, and knees bent. He sparked his hands briefly, which made you oldy relived. It was nice to know he didn't have the watch constantly turning his quirk off, that wouldn't be good for him. "I'll kill you all," he stepped straight past you and marched to the others.

Denki scrambled behind a chair, pointing out at you when Katsuki stormed past you, "How come she doesn't?"

"She has to go home with me, she'll get it," Katsuki stomped towards the electric blonde. You blushed at the way Katsuki said it, knowing the others would think of it the same way as you.

"Ew," Sero gagged, "I don't want to hear about your sex life."

Katsuki's hand sparked brighter, "That's not what I meant!"

"Sureee," Mina teased, sending you a wink, "Hear that, you're gonna get it later."

You were bright red at this point. "Shut it," Katsuki all but shouted, running towards Mina. Quickly chasing her around the campsite. Mina using her acid to slide further away from him.

---

After Katsuki successfully singed everyone at least one, they gave in. Kirishima, Sero, and Denki all having cried 'uncle' when Katsuki twisted their arm behind their back. Winning easily due to them all being wasted. Katsuki quickly yelled at them to go to bed. Wanting them to sleep before the group hike early tomorrow so they were back in time to pack up to go back home.

Just like everyone else, you stumbled into the tent, similar to how you did the night before. Barely able to unzip the tent to get in, having Katsuki open it for you

"You're a mess," Katsuki chuckled, zipping the tent close behind him after he saw you stumble in.

You grumbled, grabbing the ends of your shirt and raising it above your head. It was dark enough so he'd hardly see as well as anything he would see, he saw earlier in the pond. Which was a lot more intimate than this. You also had the liquid courage of wine in your system.

"What are you doing?" Katsuki hissed.

"Huh?" you turned to look at him, shirt off your head and in your hands.

"Oh god," Katsuki snapped his head the other direction, his quirk sparking off before he quickly fumbled for his watch, turning his quirk off. "Put a shirt on."

You reach to grab your bag off the floor, setting it on the bed to put your shirt back in, grabbing a sleep shirt, "Why does it bug you?"

"Your half naked," he exclaimed in a hushed tone, not wanting the others to overhear despite them being at least twenty feet away.

"Need I remind you of the pond?" you raised your brow at him, but followed his wish. Pulling your shirt back over your head.

"That's different," he argued, looking back at you.

"I was also in a swimsuit all day," you pointed out, unhooking your bra from under your shirt.

He flushed so bright you could see it well even in the dark, "Will you stop that?"

"I'm just getting cozy," you shrugged, "You could do the same y'know?"

You pulled off your pants to slip on your sleep shorts.

"Oh my god," he groaned. You would of laughed at his dramatics but he was covering his eyes at this point.

"What's so bad about it?" you asked softly.

"You're half naked," he repeated.

You crossed your arms over your stomach, "And that's a problem?"

"Yes!" he exclaimed. Exclaimed. Eyes still covered.

"Y'know," you paused for a shaky breath, "you make me feel so insecure."

"What?" he dropped his hands from his eyes.

You looked down, "You're acting disgusted by my body."

"What?" he repeated, "That's not what-"

"Yes it is Katsuki," you cut him off. You could physically feel like heart drop at you calling him his full name and not just Kats. "You're covering your eyes and telling me to cover up. You'd think my boyfriend," you emphasized, "of three years wouldn't be appalled at the idea of my body. "

"You've got it all wrong," he step towards you, you taking a step back.

"Do I?"

"Yes, extremely," he nodded, frustrated.

"Then explain it to me," you offered, "Jolting away from my touch and hugs all these years and now wishing me to not show my skin."

"Fuck," he rubbed his hand over his face, taking a step closer to you, "I just can't handle it. It's too much for me," he admitted.

"I'm going to need you to elaborate."

"It's overwhelming, becomes all I can think about," he took a step closer, and you let him. Arms still crossed as you looked up at him. "I want you more than anything, fuck, more than being number one."

You dropped your arms to your sides, "What?" you asked softly.

"I can't let you touch me for too long because then I just want more. Can't look too long or I'll want to see more," he spoke softly, "it's fucking annoying."

"Then why haven't we..." you left off, knowing he got the hint.

"I'm fuckin scared," he ran his hands through his hair.

"Kats, there nothing to be scared of, " you tried to comfort, "What could the symbol of strength possibly be scared of?"

"Of just that."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm worried I'm going to fuckin' blow you up or something," he blurted.

You paled, expecting anything but that.

"Fuckin' see?" he sat down roughly on the air mattress, resting his elbows on his knees as he held his head in his hands.

You took a seat next to him, rubbing a hand up and down his back. "Why have you never told me?" you asked gently.

"Didn't want to bother you with this stupid shit," he slapped his hands down, looking over at you.

"It's not stupid," you shook your head at him.

"I should be over it at our grown ass age," he huffed, his eyes were getting bloodshot.

"How are you going to get over something you've never addressed?" you pointed out. Dragging his hands away from his eyes when he tried to rub at them. "Why do you think you'll do that?"

"I can't fucking control it, you see my quirk go off," he stared down at his hands.

"Do you know why it does?" you were trying to figure him out, for his sake and yours.

He sighed, "I get freaked out," he paused for a while, "I get nervous then I start freaking out about my quirk going off and it does."

"I don't see it happening in interviews?" you questioned, knowing he gets anxious in those.

He gave you a blank stare, "What are you? Stupid?"

"Hey!"

"I get nervous around you," he spelt out, "This shit only happens around you."

You flushed from head to toe. All you could do was stare at him dumbly. Mei was right. His quirk went off because of you. You couldn't help the light smile that crossed your face.

"The fuck you smilin' for?"

"I honestly just relived," you confessed, "I thought your quirk going off meant that you wanted me as far away as possible, since when I got too close you pushed me away."

"You'd think your quirk would help your dumbass brain but it doesn't," he looked at you in disbelief, "Why would I be with you?"

"It's also why I thought you kept bring up the physical touch thing," you shrugged, "Thought you were using it as your way out of the relationship."

"Why would of put up with your shit if I didn't want you?" he pointed out.

"Y'know, Mei brought up the same points," you laughed.

He groaned, "Mei knows?"

"Sorry," you apologized, "It was eating me up inside."

"It's fine," he brushed off, "I'm sorry too, didn't really think about what you thought was going on till recently."

"It's fine," you stifled a yawn.

"Tired?"

"Very," you admitted.

"Sleep, we have an early mornin'," he motioned to the bed. You happily moved up the bed, happy to get cozy under the covers next to him after he changed into his sleepwear. Watching the way the small light of the flashlight, used to light your way to the tent, created shadows over the span of his back. It was always a welcomed site to see. It felt even better now, knowing that he wanted you in the same way you wanted him.

"It's fuckin' cold," you mumbled, holding the blanket over your cheeks as you curled up.

Without saying a word, Katsuki pulled you into his side. He was a human furnace, so you instantly melted into his side. Flushed with the closeness. Having gone three years with no touch, to making out in a pond and cuddling in bed together in the same day.

The relief the conversation gave you was insane, you no longer felt disgusted and you no longer felt like he wanted out of the relationship.

This camping trip lifted more than a small weight off your shoulders, but all the insecurities and worries of your relationship along with it. Progress in the right direction could finally be made, rather than the stand still you've been at this entire time.

You let out a sigh of relief, curling into his side more as you let sleep cloud your brain.

-Next Part-

I did not expect this to be so damn long, fuck. I've written this in two days and it's literally the longest thing I've ever written for a chapter. I hoped you like the camping trip, it was fun to write and I hope I illustrated it well enough. Thank you <3

In them m.list of this fic comment if you want to be added into a tag list <3

I'll no longer add people to the taglist if they haven't commented there. It's too much to keep up with all the new part. Hope you understand <3

@ldk3347 @suki0 @ez4ra @mithicakurogo @aomi04 @ellielover69 @minori-taiga1 @54fangirl @zoast32 @mushroomsneedystuff @kazuumii @snxwflwr @keiva1000 @thescarletwallflower @juicyfingers @atashiboba @ofcqdesi @americasass1942 @kaboomkayla @ilovedenk-i @iamyoursonly @albakugo @venusluvslove @fairiesgloss @limitedstar @i-bitch-you-bitch @drageonix24 @sweetpandabiscuitrebel @sinyaaa @xreiiss @oddball08 @imsuperawkward @lomlchi @anime-manga-fanatic @irlpadfoot @lord-goosifur @chocoyanchan @gollumsmygel @yuptha-tsme @icedemon1314 @alstrums @suki0 @yesiamrobbysimp @supersecretsamm @maeveorsomethinggg @ivuriexo

(make sure your can be tagged, your blog might be hidden)

[dadsbongos]

my wife is cool, understanding, and goes with the flow

5.7 k words / warnings - fem reader (+referred to as mother/wife), chilchuck's emotional turmoil (he's so in love and so incapable of verbalizing it)

summary - general strings of yours and chilchuck's marriage. good to bad to making up.

~~~

“You know,” you whisper, “If you ignore how nightmarish they were to raise, then they’re kinda perfect kids.”

Chilchuck snorts, letting you hang off his arm as you stand in the doorway to your living room.

Meijack and Flertom are strewn across the couch in opposite directions, Flertom’s feet dangling off an armrest and Meijack’s in her sister’s face. Thankfully, Flertom is not awake to notice the violation of personal space. Puckpatti is curled on the floor before the couch, long auburn hair flayed out and draped over her arms, which she uses as a makeshift pillow.

The front door is wide open, gentle pittering rain having lulled the girls to sleep. Puckpatti had been the one to suggest a ‘slumber party’ in the common space as it rained, even likening the cool air and atmospheric petrichor to camping to incite Meijack. As far as you know, however, none of the girls have been camping, so you’re mystified how that reasoning actually worked.

“Mei and Fler are so big now,” he muses, “Mei thinks she’s ready for the adult world now.”

“As if,” you lay your cheek on his shoulder, silently wishing he’d take the opportunity to kiss your temple. He does not, “We were barely ready when we had them. How’s a nine-year-old prepared for that?”

“That’s what I’m asking.”

Meijack, as if sensing her parents’ lighthearted jabs, rolls over with a grumble and hum, flinging a foot into Flertom’s nose. The younger twin’s face wrinkles in protest, head jerking in the opposite direction -- you and Chilchuck freeze, anticipating a shrill cry, until Flertom relaxes again. The sigh of relief is short, though.

Abruptly, Chilchuck goes rigid, jolting you off him, “Why is Patti on the floor? Like a dog?”

“How am I supposed to know what goes on in that kid’s brain?”

Chilchuck shakes his head and steps over the young girl to shut your front door. Squeaky hinges pull a whine from Patti herself, drowsily rubbing her eyes and calling, “Papa, don’t shut it!”

“What? You want a troll to get in?” he asks sarcastically.

“No,” Puckpatti answers in earnest.

“That’s why Papa wants the door shut,” you kneel by your youngest daughter, brushing back her bangs just to watch her eyebrows scrunch cutely, “So no nasty trolls can get inside…” then you remember your husband’s complaint, “Patti, baby, do you wanna sleep in a chair? Or a bed? The ground doesn’t look very nice to rest on.”

“Yeah, Mama’s right. The ground’s gonna mess up your back,” Chilchuck joins you, ready to scoop up your daughter when she shakes her head.

“Wanna stay by Mei and Fler…” she pouts.

“Okay, but let me set out some more blankets, alright?” you kiss her on the forehead once, then twice when she beams and nods.

Chilchuck is already standing to retrieve spare blankets from your closet, he’s back before you can impede the hallway. He stops you from venturing further by propping a leg in front of you, “Don’t worry about it, I got everything.”

“She’ll need a real pillow, too, honey.”

“Yeah,” he taps at your ankles with his foot until you’re relenting, turning back towards the living room, “I said I got it.”

“Thank goodness for my big, strong man, huh?”

“I am the breadwinner,” he teases, granting you a kiss on the cheek before dropping to lay the blankets out as a makeshift mattress for Puckpatti.

“Self-imposed!” you rasp, stage-swatting at his back, “I could get a job, too!”

“Do you want to?” you want to smack the smug grin off his lips, specifically with your own. In a kiss. For a long while.

“...no.”

He laughs at your sudden shyness. Tempered down only to avoid waking your daughters, “There you go.”

“Boo,” you pull Chilchuck to a stand by the back of his shirt. You pull, and pull, and pull, and you don’t stop until he’s tumbling on top of you into your shared bed, with your door haphazardly kicked shut, “You’re mean to me.”

“I’m mean?!” he whisper-shouts, instantly more affectionate in how he wraps his arms around you and buries his face into your neck, “You choked me, yanking on my shirt like that.”

“You’re alive, aren’t you?”

“Barely,” he abruptly goes limp, “I’m half dead.”

“Half dead isn’t a thing, Chil,” you giggle, trying halfheartedly to shove him off.

“It is, I’m half dead,” he insists, “There’s only one way to revive me.”

“Uh-huh… and that is?”

“A kiss,” Chilchuck lifts his head to look you in the eyes, suggestively bumping his eyebrows, “A sloppy one.”

“No!” you gasp, dramatically.

“Loud and wet,” he nods in even measures, clicking his tongue, “Only way, I guess. Really tough for you.”

“I don’t know about that,” you wiggle out an arm from beneath his body to poke his cheek, “You seem fine now. Very lively and talkative!”

“Means I’m dying faster. It’s the final burst of energy before I shit my pants and die.”

“Ew!” your shout is smothered beneath Chilchuck’s hand, his laughter rumbling your body, forehead digging into your collarbones.

Between choked chuckles Chilchuck manages out a meek, “sorry, sorry!” he gasps for breath and releases your mouth, “That was gross.”

“Yeah, now get off me. You’re nasty.”

“See? You’re mean to me, one mention of shit and I’m just an expendable stud.”

As soon as Chilchuck rolls off you and onto his back, you’re crowding onto him, pawing at his chest and kissing his cheek, “You are a stud.”

“Can I get a kiss for that, at least?”

“I just kissed you, greedy.”

His deadpan stare inspires a bizarre longing in your thumping chest, you stretch to grant his wish. Chilchuck’s hands cup your cheek, holding you close to prolong the kiss as long as you’ll allow. Such restless and selfish want is reserved for behind closed doors, which you wish you could understand, but you don’t.

You’re preoccupied with the dread of death. Half-foots are blessed to live past fifty. Sure, you and Chilchuck are merely scratching at twenty, but life is too short for him to be shy about these things.

“I wish you’d be more open and lovey.”

“Hm?” he hums against your lips, pulling away to stare at you strangely, “Why?”

“‘Why?’” you mock, “I’m your wife! That’s why.”

Instinctually, Chilchuck goes to wave off the answer as a joke and roll his eyes, but then something barks. Both of you pause, heads turning slowly towards the now gaping door to find a shaggy white puppy standing in the dim space. Swiftly, its tail wags, and it barks again before charging towards your bed.

Your screech at the dash rouses Chilchuck from his shock. Clumsily shuffling so he’s in front of you, taking the brunt of the dog’s pounce.

“Since when do we have a dog?!” Chilchuck looks over his shoulder at you, as if you’d know.

“As if I know!” you parrot your thoughts, breath slowing to a calm when the small dog cuddles your husband’s arms, “Kinda cute though, right?”

“He broke in!” Chilchuck accuses, lifting a shoulder to prevent you petting it -- his plan fails miserably and you’re easily scratching behind the dog’s ears, “He could have ticks! He could’ve bit the girls on his way back here!”

“No,” you whine, resting your chin on Chilchuck’s shoulder, “He has a friendly face, he’d never do that!”

“And you know that how…?”

“Aw, Chil, honey, have a heart! He was probably scared of the rain and snuck inside to get away from it!” you reach under the dog’s head to now scritch his chin, “Which is our fault for leaving the door open, isn’t it?” you’re already a lost cause to logic, repeating back to the puppy, “Isn’t it? Yes, it is! Yes, it is! He understands me! He’s so smart, Chil, we have to keep him.”

His silent glowering makes you wilt over his back.

You retreat from the dog to hug your husband from behind, “C’mon, have a heart!”

Irritation pulses through Chilchuck at the turn of tonight’s events. Everything before this dumb dog felt natural, smooth, and familiar. Until you said that.

One thing that makes his heart rate spike. Even though, at twenty, it means very little to him.

‘I wish you’d be more open and lovey.’

He knows this means more.

“Okay, okay,” he eases, snatching a chaste smooch from you before combing a hand down the dog’s soft fur, “I’ll work on it.”

You two never had a dog, though.

Puckpatti is allergic -- you never would’ve gotten a dog since it’d cause your daughter so much distress.

What’s in his arms isn’t a dog, but it isn’t a mimic.

What’s in his arms isn’t a dog because this isn’t real.

.

.

.

Chilchuck’s eyes drift open, a dusty ceiling stares down at him. Slowly, a crushing weight is relieved from his stomach.

Blonde and black hair mingle in his peripherals, then Laios is leaning over him obnoxiously, speaking to the other two while looking at the half-foot, “Does Chil sleep with his eyes open?”

“No,” Chilchuck takes initiative, shoving Laios away by the chin and sitting up with a yawn. His back cracks unpleasantly, and eye crust pokes into his fluttering lids. Rubbing the gross clots away, Chilchuck settles his elbows onto his knees before resting that way -- leaning into his hands even after his eyes have been cleared out.

For a moment, he silently mourns the fading images of his dream; already having forgotten the beginning. No matter how desperately he clings to the story, it escapes, leaking out his ears until all there is left to mourn is the fact he’s awake.

All he knows is that dream ended differently than it should have. Hopefully the ending this time was better than real life, not that it matters. He wouldn’t remember, nor would it change the fact that in reality you two are not together.

“Chilchuck? Are you okay?” Marcille sounds hesitant. Worried.

The last thing he needs is her fretting and prying into what his Nightmare could’ve been about, so instead he lamely says, “Tired.”

“Oh, okay,” she sounds entirely unconvinced. He’s surprised when she doesn’t push.

He’s further surprised when Laios does, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No.”

…

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Chil’,” you croon, hands curling around the man’s waist as he silently uncorks a bottle of cheap wine. He makes sure not to jostle you off as he moves the dark glass to his lips, even cupping your overlapping hands with one of his own to steady you, “You should talk to me about these things!”

“It was fine, we went in -- got what we needed -- got out. I’m back and alive.”

‘Alive’ strikes you, it sticks in the back of your head as soon as he says it. Your arms tighten around his slim waist, the slots of his ribs dig into your forearms and it makes your chest tighten. Swirling thoughts colliding and dragging each other deeper and deeper into your darker concerns: Chilchuck starving himself to maintain an unhealthy weight, Chilchuck burning calories in a revival, Chilchuck having to drink himself under just to fall asleep.

“Would you tell me if you died?”

“Why would you want to know that?” he laughs, yet you’re frowning into his back.

You bite your lip until raw iron spills onto your tongue, gnawing it with the anxiety of how to soften this question. How marshmallowy can you make your tone to avoid lecturing while also not patronizing him? Eventually, you settle on just spitting it out,

“Would you even remember it?” he hums, confused, “You drink a lot, Chil’.”

He squeezes your hands, setting down his wine to turn in your hold, now cupping your cheeks -- flush with upset and ready to dampen with tears, “I don’t get blackout on jobs, you know?”

“But,” you don’t want to pester him, to drive him away from home even during his off time, “Chil’, honey, you’re… with your weight, alcohol could- well- !”

“I know,” he interrupts your stammering, drawing a thumb across the apples of your face tenderly. Though his posture is rigid, and his next statement confirms your suspicion that he just wants to stop talking about this, “I appreciate you looking out for me, but really, don’t think so much about it. Work’s not worth talking about at home. And my drinking is totally recreational, I want to enjoy myself and unwind, is that so bad?”

“No,” you heave with defeat, now planting your forehead against his shoulder. Clenching his shirt in a bunch, you squeeze and squeeze and squeeze hoping it’ll squash out any thoughts of continuing to nag his drinking. It’ll end the same way it always does.

Chilchuck is fine because work is fine and his drinking is fine and his diet is fine because Chilchuck is perfectly perpetually fine.

You’re just a worrywart wife. Your kids are grown, having flown the coop, and you’re going mad in loneliness. You should think less. You should learn to be fine like your husband.

…

“Woah, no way! They want to meet me?”

“Uh-huh,” Chilchuck’s eyes trail after you as you rush from one end of the room to the other, clicking jewelry clasps and snapping buttons into place as you go, “It’s nothing to dress up over,” when you seem to ignore him, he only gets louder, “We’re gonna be late, you know?”

Let me dress up! is what you want to snap at him, but you don’t. Instead, you let those comments join the many others from him that rattle around in the back of your mind like rocks.

“I want to make a good impression,” you finally utter, “It isn’t like you tell me anything about work, I’m excited to meet your friends! Besides, if you wanted me to be more prepared then you should’ve said something earlier.”

“I get it,” and in a bid to be polite, but just coming out tumbling into the rock pile is, “If you had work friends, I’d wanna meet them, too.”

The obvious dig is that you don’t get out. Now that the girls are older and independently caring for themselves, you could more easily find work… the problem lies in how you don’t really want to. You’d be too scared of Chilchuck returning home to an empty house, whenever it is that he does come home.

The hidden dig is that he’s fibbing, he would never want to meet your friends like you want to meet his.

Nevertheless, you tuck a white hyacinth cob into your hair and head for the spot Chilchuck claims his group frequents for after-work drinks. Before tonight, it never really occurred to you that Chilchuck might be grabbing drinks with other people. Not that such an idea alone is what bothers you, rather that he’s out so often and for so long potentially enjoying himself while you’re stuck at home sick over whether he’s alive.

Upon arrival, a pair of tallmen greet you both. Smiles light up their faces, cheeks balling with glee, when their eyes spot you. It should probably be embarrassing how quickly such an insignificant act can get you excited. You wave and they wave back.

“Gonna introduce the lovely lady?” the slightly taller one, black haired with stubble stretching down his neck, prompts.

“We should get to the table first,” Chilchuck reaches for the door, holding it open for you.

(if you were presenting Chilchuck to your friends then you’d repeat yourself introducing him ad infinitum with shining pride, but you add that thought to your rock collection)

“This is my wife,” Chilchuck pulls out your chair for you, waiting until you’re sat before adding your name and sitting beside you, “Hope she’s everything you all hoped for.”

You choose to ignore that. Preferring to strike conversation with his friends until,

“You know,” the blonde woman at the head of the table leans forward, you’ve been rudely trying to avoid looking at her. But how can you blame yourself when she stares at your husband with such a sultry, lidded gaze, “I think you were exaggerating how spacey she is, Chilchuck. Adorable thing’s been keyed into our conversation the whole time.”

Chilchuck grumbles into his rapidly emptying mug of ale, then locking eyes with the blonde woman, “You don’t live with her.”

“Hey!” you sound bratty and grating with the whine, but your spirit feels worse, “Is that what you tell them about me?”

“And clumsy,” the gnome directly across from you chirps.

“But!” the black-haired one from earlier interrupts, apparently sensing your drowning mood, “You’re a good mom! Great, even!”

“Oh,” the compliment does very little to satiate you, given what’s been said against you (you don’t stop to consider that Chilchuck mentions those things because he finds them charming). You look over to your husband, “I’m a good mom?”

Chilchuck is drunkenly chortling over something you hadn’t heard the blonde woman say.

But at least you’re a good mom.

Something plops against the hand buried in your lap. A scattered white hyacinth. Embarrassed suddenly by how much effort you put into your outfit, you sweep the flower off your leg and stare at the table -- praying to avoid more glimpses of the blonde at the head of the table.

Nobody seems to notice your veil of silence, not even Chilchuck to tease you proving his point about spacing out.

On the trek home, you trail behind Chilchuck to test if he’ll notice. At some point, you’re three full paces behind him, and you theorize that the weight of all your freshly added brain-rocks is slowing you down. Again, he holds the door to your shared home open, but does not ask the cause for your sour mood.

Assuming he’s even noticed, anyway.

Given the way he leaves the next morning for another job with little more than a kiss to your forehead, you assume he didn’t. Venomously, you wonder if he would notice the blonde in a bad mood.

That same morning, not knowing how long he’ll be away this time, you pack up and head for Flertom’s house with Puckpatti.

(a flickering hope tries to toss the rocks through your ears, assuring that Chilchuck will come for you as soon as he’s seen you missing)

…

Four years later, Chilchuck does finally come for you.

“Hey, Mama?” Flertom creeps around the corner to the kitchen, hands wrinkled in the skirt of her dress nervously, “You have a visitor…”

Looking up from your book, you roll the handle of your coffee mug in your palm, making the bottom scrape against your daughter’s tablecloth, “Who’d visit me?”

“Dad.”

That makes you hesitate before slipping your book closed around your thumb, “Your father’s here?”

“He’s at the door,” she nods, voice lowering as if he’d hear her across the house, “There’s an elf lady with him!”

“Oh, you’re- !” you purse your lips, sighing through your nose, and nod. Rising to a stand, you replace your thumb with a proper bookmark before skirting around Flertom and through the hall. Curses coagulate in your throat, and you suffer them silently, holding them until they melt back into your chest, not wanting to swear out your ex in front of his daughter.

With more force than perhaps necessary, you pull the door open and annoyedly flick your eyes from Chilchuck to the blonde elf woman behind him.

“What? Came to show off?”

Chilchuck flushes red, shaking his head and tilting a preciously wrapped bouquet towards you, “No! No, we’re not together.”

Elf Lady lets out a quiet gasp before refusing sharply, “Not together at all! He’s here for you!”

“I figure he’s here for me,” you’re much more bitter than you thought you’d be, although to be fair whenever you imagined Chilchuck coming to see you he was never with another woman, “If you’re not together, why are you here?”

She frowns at your tone, Chilchuck sticking an arm out in front of her, “She’s my coworker. And friend. She pushed me to come see you,” he steps forward, waving the flowers under your nose, “Can we talk?”

“About what, Chilchuck?”

His eyes widen at the use of his formal name, plastic wrap crinkling loudly as he squeezes the flowers. Then his gaze drops to his feet, “I didn’t realize we were so unfamiliar.”

“I haven’t heard from you in four years.”

“You haven’t heard from me?” he grins sideways, an agitated twitch in his left eye, “Do you hear yourself?”

You open your mouth to retort, only to then catch the sight of Chilchuck’s ‘friend’ lingering -- staring -- not even three feet back. Glaring at her, you begin to slide the door shut, “I think we’re done here. You show up at our daughter’s house, unannounced, with some pretty, blonde filly and expect us to chat like old friends? You’re just as insensitive as always, Chilchuck!”

As you go to slam the door, Chilchuck shoves his foot in the way, hissing at the resounding ache all through his instep and ankle. Breathless from the sudden pain, he worms the bouquet through the slim gap -- a few stray powder blue hyacinth petals fluttering to the floor at the pressure. Just above the plush flowers is the sorrowful sight of Chilchuck’s wet lashes and batting eyes.

“Come on,” he huffs, not even taking a huff of relief when you let the door open wider. Tensely, Chilchuck wraps his other hand around the bouquet as well, “It’s not like that, you know me better, don’t you? I just need to talk to you,” the wrap squeals again as he squeezes tighter, “I just want you to tell me where I went wrong.”

He’s playing to your big headedness, vying that he’s alone in the wrong. You know him better, most definitely, you know that as soon as you two sit down he’ll bring up the way in which you left. You deserve that much, don’t you? If you could change anything (given that what you can pick from is what was actually your fault), it would be the manner in how you left. You would’ve waited until he was home to tell him to his face.

(except that’s a lie, if you had waited then you would’ve let him sucker you with soft apologies and unfulfilling promises to change)

This is the most vulnerable you’ve seen him in years.

“She’s not coming into my home.”

Chilchuck nods, lips stretching fondly, “You’re so jealous.”

“She’s tall, and blonde! And pretty. And- !”

He cuts you off, tone just as soft as it was seconds ago, “And I’m not giving her flowers, am I?”

“Apology flowers,” you mutter, though sweeping the bouquet from his arms into yours. Skimming one of the soft petals under your thumb before gliding from one bob to the other and touching there, too. Turning toward the burning feeling of eyes on your back, you find Flertom’s blown out stare meeting yours.

Flertom holds both hands out silently, brows raised. Pushing in neither way, only offering to hold -- whether she holds you or the flowers is your decision. You choose the flowers. She giggles and waves you off, whispering to the flowers about what a lovely, empty vase she has just for them!

“We shouldn’t talk here,” you step out from Flertom’s home, “I don’t want to include our daughter in our troubles.”

“What a good mom,” he teases, waving off the elf as he steps down from Flertom’s porch, holding out a hand to assist you down as well. The remark has a new defiance bubbling beneath your skin.

“I can walk myself,” you bypass his offer.

“I know you can, but let me be nice.”

“You had lots of opportunities to be nice.”

A retort is trapped on the back of his tongue. Ultimately, he swallows it, and says nothing except to suggest a bar nearby, “That could be a good spot,” at your judgmental stare, he sputters, “For talking!”

“Right.”

Chilchuck has a favored tavern in Kahka Brud, the one where you told him you were pregnant with Puckpatti. He, very selflessly and pumped full of blind joy, bought a round for the patrons. It's not a particularly popular or nice place, there’s a lingering smell of mildew and the usual customers are lonely old men (basically: Chilchuck). And the door still creaks when he holds it open for you.

And the tables are just as wobbly when you sit there. Chilchuck tries in vain to mask the tipping by forcing it to one side by pressing his elbows down.

“So, what was she doing there?”

“She kept bugging me about my personal life, so,” he sighs, unsure how to explain himself without sounding out of his mind, “In short, I promised she could meet my family.”

“Pretty against your usual tough front.”

“Not tough,” he folds his arms now, hands on either bicep, still trying to keep the uneven table steady, “I just don’t think they have to know my business.”

“You realize how stupid you sound, right?”

“Oi,” a deep voice approaches from the other side of the bar, a man unfamiliar to both you and Chilchuck stands behind the counter, “We don’t serve kids here.”

Chilchuck groans, pointing at his ears without looking back at the man, then his eyes catch the way you’re prepared to hop down from your seat. He shakes his head, “Don’t move for this dumbass. If he can’t tell a tall-man kid from adult half-foots, he’s a fucking idiot.”

“I guess, but what if he just kicks you out for being a dick?” you glance at the bartender warily, trying to sense if he’s gearing up to throw you and Chilchuck out by force.

“I’m not worried about him,” Chilchuck leans forward, almost as if he can assert control over the situation by a meager height difference, “I’m here to talk to you.”

You’re unsure how to respond to that. It’s something you’ve always wanted to hear from him, but now that you have it feels unsatisfying. After four years of your sudden disappearance from his life, he’s finally given chase.

“Do you have any idea why I left?”

“Roughly,” he admits, voice quiet, eyes redirected to the table in shame, “I wasn’t there for you, right?”

“That’s a bit simplified. When you were on crawls, it felt like you being away for work felt the same as when you were home.”

“I wasn’t there for you,” he restates, nodding slowly, “So, that was it?”

His lack of tension hurts you more than you’re willing to admit. Enough that you temporarily forget that you wanted to make him feel the distance between you both.

“Chil…”

You revert to his first name.

“It’s okay, you can say it. That was it. You had enough.”

It goes unacknowledged, and that hurts all over again. It hurts so bad, you start to get angry that he even maintains such an effect on your heart.

“I didn’t want- it wasn’t- I’m…” you groan loudly, eyes clenching shut to avoid him, “That’s the problem, Chil,” his silence prods you on, “You think of me leaving as… as a ‘that’s it’ moment. Do you know how hard that was on me?”

“Leaving was hard on you? I came home to nothing that day! I thought you were just upset, maybe a little depressed, I didn’t think you were planning to leave me! I never thought you’d leave.”

“I told you. I told you why I was upset.”

“When?”

“I told you all the time!” before he can open his stupid mouth, you’re yelling again, “And if you knew I was so sad, then why didn’t you ask?! Did it never occur to you that I might need support? That I wanted my husband to talk to me about how I felt? That he should talk to me about how he feels?”

“I’m no good with emotional shit, you know that. When I’m upset I just feel uncomfortable spilling that onto others, I didn’t want to intrude.”

“We were married! Spouses are supposed to intrude!”

His shoulders droop, face falling like you said something genuinely devastating (but that can’t be, right? why would he be so upset about something he gave such little thought to?), “Were?”

“I was gone for four years before you came to see me, Chil,” you lay your head in your hands, “Four years before you looked for me.”

“I thought you didn’t want to see me again,” he whispers, “I asked Fler about you.”

“She never told me that.”

“I told her not to.”

Redundantly, you say, “I didn’t know that.”

“I thought you hated me,” Chilchuck draws a slow breath, it fills his whole chest before he lets it all out, “And for the first couple of months after Fler told me you were safe, I hated you, too. I was so mad that you didn’t even leave a note. I couldn’t eat or sleep, I was just… confused, and angry. I couldn’t work,” he swallows hesitation, “And the worst part was… I couldn’t talk about it because nobody knew you. Re-explaining it to people would just piss me off all over again.”

“Your old coworkers met me. And we grew up with Dandan.”

“I didn’t want to talk to Dandan,” he huffs petulantly, “I wanted to talk to my wife.”

So many feelings are bottled between you both; shaken up to a fizzy, bubbling mess about to explode from one of you. You fear it may be you. You almost crave for it to be him, though. You hate him. You miss him. You love him.

And you’re lying through your teeth, still, because you don’t hate him at all.

“Being with you, I felt so lonely.”

“I never took it seriously when you said I should open up more. I thought that because we were married that was enough and you’d be content to just be there,” he purses his lips, “I was wrong. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” you reach across the table and pull one of his hands off his arm, lacing his fingers with yours, “I should’ve left a note. I’m sorry. You must’ve been worried sick.”

“I thought some bastards took you. Ran up and down the coast accusing everyone I could see of kidnapping,” he chuckles, although the ragged beat in his voice clues to you that the incident was not as lighthearted as he’s making it seem, “But when I found out the truth, I just thought you didn’t want to be found.”

“Because you wouldn’t want to be found, right?”

“Right.”

“But- !”

“You’re not me,” he squeezes your hand tight, you can feel the full warm softness of his palm without those gloves he pulls on for work, “You’re way different. You run away to prove points,” a bratty hey! follows, “You know yourself really well, and you’re good at being open. I’ve never been like that. I never knew how, it makes me uncomfortable. But you’re my,” he swallows, “You were my wife, I should’ve been comfortable being emotional with you. You shouldn’t have been in a position where me being home was the same as me being gone for days on end.”

“Thanks, Chil,” you smooth a thumb from his knuckle and along his index finger. You glance back up to his face. A sick nostalgia, or perhaps revived affections, rage up from your gut and overdriving your heartbeat. He’s more handsome than you remember.

He shrugs, studying your conjoined hands. As if it’s the last time he’ll see them like this.

It might be.

“What now?” you ask.

“Dunno,” he replies.

Is it pathetic if you ask to get back together? (YES)

“Want to meet my new coworkers?” he blurts, a vicious red overtaking his face.

This is a step. Where exactly, you’re completely in the dark, but it certainly is a step somewhere new.

“You’re seriously not with that elf, right?”

“Of course, not! What kind of person tries reuniting with their wife while bringing a new girlfriend along?”

“You really want that answer?”

“Oh, fuck you,” he snides, getting down from his chair and holding out a hand to help you down. This time, you take it, and leave his palm in yours as you both exit the bar, “By the way, my old boss is a king now.”

“What?” you gasp, spare hand flying down to smooth out your outfit, “Tell me we’re not going yet! I can look nicer than this!”

“You look pretty like this,” his eyes scrawl over your frame, “Not that it matters, right?”

“Why not?” you frown, “I should at least try to look my best in front of a king.”

“He’s just some guy,” he double-backs suddenly, shaking his head sternly, “I don’t even think he’s attracted to people, I think he’s into monsters. You shouldn’t waste your time.”

Oh!

You smile at your husband widely, “You’re jealous!”

“Not even a little. Why would I be?”

“Exactly,” you pull him into your side by your hand in his, “Why would you be?”

Is it pathetic for him to beg to renew your vows?

Yes.

Does he still plan to?

Yes.

…

“You have a wife?”

“Is that so surprising?” Chilchuck can’t help but preen at the shock, carding a hand through his hair like some pompous dork trying to act too cool for the attention, “Yeah, I’m a taken man.”

Clara, a blonde tallman he usually laughs at rather than with, pesters for more information, “What’s she like?”

Her curiosity makes his skin itch, so he shrugs and tries throwing out answers as fast as they come, “Kind of a space case, and clumsy. But it’s cute…” he scoffs when his party coos and ‘aww’s like he’s some kid talking about a crush rather than a grown man his wife, “She’s really caring, too, it made her a good mom,” Chilchuck clears his throat, if only to smother the sight of his broad grin with his hand, “She’s great.”

“We should meet her,” his black-haired cleric suggests suddenly, “She probably wants to know what group has her husband away from home so often. Hopefully she doesn’t hate us, huh?”

“No,” Chilchuck lowers his hand, still feeling a gentle giddy lap over him like sunlight at the thought of you, “She’s pretty understanding.”

~~~

+ and btw and fyi: i think it’d be cool if the dream was actually terrible and only appeared pleasant cuz laios saved chil, like how marcille remembered having a nice dream after being saves. like if the real dream was coming home from a long job to discover his family horribly murdered <3

[sixosix]

SOMETHING HAPPENS | XIAO

summary verr goldet and huai'an playing matchmaker, basically

warnings wc 1.7k, this fic is xiao pretty much watching over reader in his very xiao way so if you’re not into stalking elements pls don’t read LMFAO + xiao having a crushhh

You’ve felt the looming presence of someone watching you ever since you’ve set foot in Liyue.

It wasn’t anything sudden—in fact, no ordinary human being would have noticed it. But you’ve been trained to deal with all sorts of animals, from wild Rishboland Tigers down to slippery Red-Tailed Lizards. You could sense the tiniest snap of twigs and freshly fallen leaves that could have only occurred from an interference.

And having dealt with animals for so long, you can safely conclude that whatever has been following you for the past ten days is definitely not an animal. If it were, it would’ve been some skilled predator that somehow disappears into thin air when you steal a glimpse. The only possible trace you could find is the barely discernible mark on the dirt.

It also helped your Vision gave you the blessing of being attuned to the wind and the shift of air from a heavy presence.

You thought you’d be dead by the fifth day of your stay—murdered by this newly-acquired stalker of yours, but nothing happened. You asked (politely, with a please) this person to reveal themselves and save you both the trouble, but nothing happened.

You even went as far as to throw yourself into the first hilichurl camp you saw to see if anything happened, yet while you were defending yourself against one, all of them fell to the ground limp once you turned back to them. You search for more camps nearby, but they’ve all been cleared—and all of them were freshly beaten as if your stalker made quick work once they figured out what you were up to.

“It’s hard to tell if you’re out to protect me instead of murdering me if you don’t show yourself,” you say to the empty field, hoping for at least one answer, but nothing happens.

You suppose all that matters is that it’s hard to feel lonely with the constant presence.

“You been hanging around Wangshu Inn lately?” asks the man you went up to. It is in case you weren’t alone in what seemed to be the beginning plot of a horror movie. At your reluctant nod, he snorts, “Well, aren’t you a lucky one? Or perhaps it’s the complete opposite if you’ve been up to no good and disrespected an Adeptus.”

You don't understand what this man’s point is. You’ve briefly heard of the term ‘Adepti’ floating around Liyue, but you’re not quite sure if it’s one person or something else entirely. Have you done something to offend any deities in Liyue? All you’ve really been up to is researching the wildlife and tracking down the stalker. 

“What does Wangshu Inn have to do with this?”

“Why don’t you ask and find out yourself?”

You frown. “It would save me hours if you just tell me now.”

“I already told you what I know, kid,” says the man to you, a full-grown adult. “But I suppose I can let you in on one secret: you’ve piqued the interest of someone.”

This man is crazy.

You sigh. You’ve only been hanging around Wangshu Inn for shelter, but the sun is setting a little too fast, and the warm lights and delicious aroma of their food are starting to speak to you—you suppose there is no other way.

Making your way up to an inn has never been more interesting.

While walking, you belatedly realize that you feel the presence of the stranger again. It’s stronger than before, says the winds, and they never lie with what they touch as they fly by.

You also take it upon yourself to ask the merchants and customers alike, calling yourself new and curious as to what they know about the Adeptus lingering around Wangshu Inn.

“An Adeptus? All I know is that this inn is hiding a mysterious secret, but none of us have really gotten to a point where we found more about it.”

A secret.

You’d really prefer if the man you met before weren’t lying, as you would want your stalker to at least be some sort of god than an ordinary human being who has been watching you for no other reason.

You mull this information in your head as you climb up the inn. And then your limbs lock in place once you hear a voice. It speaks to you, for some unknown reason—as if the winds have quieted down to make you listen. You’re not sure if it’s the rasp or the absolute command his voice demands that gets to you, but—

“The next person to come here will ask about me. You will say you know nothing about my whereabouts.”

Then, a new, feminine voice speaks up. It breaks the brief trance you’ve been under. “…Is this the same person you’ve been watching over for the past two weeks, Adeptus Xiao?”

Adeptus Xiao. Watching over…?

Yet when you pick up pace and hurry to the counter, it’s just a woman alone, wide-eyed as she looks at you as if you were the one acting stranger.

“Sorry,” you blurt. “I’m, ah… I thought…”

Were you really just imagining that? No. That’s impossible.

The lady smiles. “I’ve seen you around the Inn recently. My name is Verr Goldet, the boss here at Wangshu Inn.”

“Oh, yes, nice to meet you.” Embarrassed, you choose to stare at the cat resting on the edge of her desk. You wonder if that cat can sense your distress; it’s blinking up at you innocently, surely the eyes of someone who has witnessed what you’ve missed. “My name’s Y/N, and I wanted to book a room…”

Verr Goldet brightens, but you suppose anyone receiving a customer would be, too. “I see. Have you considered the room on our highest floor?”

“Not…really?”

She hums, then smiles like she's letting you in on a little secret. “You should. If not, then at least consider climbing up the stairs and see the view for yourself. Most of my customers book rooms solely for that reason.”

That does sound appealing, and you have time to spare. “I will; thank you for the suggestion.”

Pleased, Verr Goldet turns to her desk to assumably book you a room. In the silence, you find your voice, “Hey, boss.”

You look up, and Verr Goldet’s eyes are sparkling. “Hm, yes? Oh, your expression looks terrified.” She laughs, sliding a key across the desk and urging you to take it. “I’m just used to correcting people who call me ‘boss lady’. What was your question?”

“Well, I’m pretty new, and—I’ve heard something interesting about this place.”

“There are a lot of rumors about this place. You’d have to be more specific.”

She might either kick you out from where you’re standing or understand what you’re about to say. “Well, ever since I arrived here at Wangshu Inn I always felt like I was being watched over… and then a man I met outside from here told me that there’s an Adeptus nearby?”

“I see. So you’ve met my husband,” she smiles knowingly. “You’re not from Liyue, aren’t you?” You shake your head. “Usually, no one knows about this, but my husband must’ve caught it, too. You’re looking for Adeptus Xiao, and I have noticed that he’s been lingering a lot more recently. More so than usual—I’ve concluded it’s ever since you arrived.”

“Should I be scared?” Because you’re not. Your heart is pounding. It’s a little messed up, but the thought of someone so highly esteemed having noticed you sends a thrill down your spine.

“Of course not. Xiao is the slayer of demons—he keeps Liyue and, most notably, this Inn safe from harm. Of course, I can’t blame your curiosity: no one else has seen Xiao with their own eyes.”

“Am I correct in assuming my stalker could be this Adeptus?”

Verr Goldet laughs. “Why don’t you head up and find out?”

Breathtaking is the first thought that crosses your mind as you finally reach the terrace. You can’t hold back your elated gasp seeing the place from this height—the lanterns, the people, the scenery.

And then you say, “Adeptus Xiao, are you here? Verr Goldet told me you’d be.” She didn’t say it directly, but the implications were there.

The wind shifts as a presence materializes behind you. It’s an all-too-familiar feeling. Goosebumps arise in your arms, and it’s not from the breeze. You turn, and come face-to-face with the most beautiful man you’ve ever met.

Xiao clicks his tongue, his pale skin tinted red. “I did not ask for them to resort to matchmaking.”

“You heard that? So you’re not denying that you’re the one who’s been stalking me ever so creepily?”

“Do not disrespect the Adepti with your accusations,” Xiao quickly retorts, like it’s second nature.

But you now know that one of the Adepti has a little crush on you, so you hardly care less about that at this point. “I’d say that invading my privacy is more disrespectful.”

Xiao’s silence embodies a scolded puppy.

You grin, stepping closer. It widens as Xiao stares at you warily, yet doesn’t disappear. The moonlight brings out the color on his face. He’s beautiful and acting unbelievably adorable. “It’s nice to meet you, Adeptus Xiao. Thank you for protecting me during my stay in Liyue.”

It must’ve been the sincerity in your voice that has him clearing his throat, scrambling for some sense of control again. “It’s—It’s my duty.”

“To watch over one person in particular?”

Xiao glares weakly, caught red-handed. “Do not get so presumptuous.” He says, yet he hasn’t disappeared into thin air while talking to you, unlike what Verr Goldet says usually happens. That alone says a lot.

“It’s hard not to when you look at me like that.”

Xiao visibly startles, losing his calm composure by blinking. “How do I look at y—“

“I think I’ll be staying in Wangshu Inn for a little while longer,” you voice aloud, the grin on your lips never once faltering. “I’ll be in your care, Xiao.”

Xiao cannot, in fact, handle this, as his entire face goes up in flames, and he disappears into wisps of teal and black. You’re not too worried. You can still feel his presence, the way you’re already getting used to.

A/N OH MY GOD. A XIAO FIC. FINALLY. FROM SIXOSIX. SELF-PROCLAIMED XIAO MAIN... im shaking as i post this like im so nervous. and i hate this. but out of all the xiao fics i tried to write this one has been the one i actually completed without throwing out halfway through

[tw1l1te]

Your writing is sooo good, i especially love the suggestive's one. And the smut 🙈

I really loved your story with the reader showing skin et flirting. Do you think you could do the same with War (my fave) and Time pretty please? ✨💖

And sorry for any mistakes, english is not my first language

Anon 🐎

I love Time so much, he helps with the daddy issues

𓇢𓆸.𖥔 ݁ ˖

Wars

Being a Captain was difficult in so many factors.

He had to be precise, smart, authorative, put together.

And right now, he is the complete opposite of those things.

After a messy run-in with some enemies from Legend's Hyrule, most of the group was covered in blood, monster guts, mud, you name it.

So Time suggested they all go wash up in some nearby hot springs, specifically the more private ones for your sake.

By some blessing or curse, Wars was allocated the same hot spring as you, the hot mist of the spring already getting to him

You told him that you'll go on the opposite side of the spring to avoid any awkward eye contact or body's touching.

You both turned around to give each other privacy, stripping all of your clothes and setting them on the side to be washed after they were clean.

You got in first, sighing at the hot water encompassing your entire body. You kept your back turned as Wars got in, letting him have some of his dignity

At the go-ahead, you turned around propping your back against the rocky wall, lazily scrubbing away at the caked-on blood and mud on your forearms.

Wars followed your motions, trying to distact himself from the growing bulge under the water. It was impossible considering the curve of your breasts was very visible through the water and your bare shoulders looked a little too unmarked-

"Wars? Can you get the mud off of my back, you know how unflexible I am."

He nodded, knowing if he said a word his voice would crack, giving away his little problem

Just half a foot away from him, he gently scrubbed the mud off, not going any lower than the surface of the water, after all, he was a gentleman he didn't want to be

You suddently spinned around, your face meeting with his chest

"Why don't I help you out...?"

Pardon-

Did he hear you correctly?

Did you want to...

"Turn around! I'll get your back, you stink!!"

By the Three, he needed to keep his mind out of the gutter.

Time:

He wasn't sure the last time he saw himself wearing the Hero's Garb.

It must've been, what, 5 years ago? 10? He lost track of time.

So when Wild showed him the outfits he had stashed in his Slate, he was suprised to see that it was the very same tunic, and not a replica.

He was suprised a second time when he saw the whole set being worn by you: his Sunflower

You walked back to camp, entranced in a flower you were holding, too preoccupied to notice the eldest taking your form in

By the Three, he forgot how skintight those tights were... but you made them look tailored to you

You look up, a slight blush on your ears, "O-oh, hey! Wild gave me your old tunic to wear, I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind at all, Sunflower."

He wish he could've taken a picture of how cute you looked, stuttering and blushing.

You walked up to him, the curve of your ass being just barely visible for him to see. Something about you in his clothes made his darker side ignite.

You were called by Wild, needing you to taste something by the fire. You jumped up, jogging up to wild as the short green tunic flounced at your movement. Your chest bounced slightly as you skipped to the cook, Time's eyes slightly lidded at your form.

You leaned over, hands on your knees, giving Time the perfect tease. You looked back at him for a second before biting your lip, giving him the thought that you were doing this on purpose.

You were gonna end him-

𓇢𓆸.𖥔 ݁ ˖

[malusmagpie]

Unbreakable Bonds

Pairing: Master!AnakinxPadawan!Reader

Summary: A master is supposed to care deeply for his Padawan… Right?

Word count: 3.8K

A/N: IMPORTANT: Anakin is 26 in this one. You’re 21. Okay? Okay. First. Sorry for disappearing! I’m fine and thank you so much for all the kind words in my inbox they meant the world to me. I just got uninspired for writing and burnt out from work. Second. I genuinely thought this was way longer than it is. Uhhhhh it’s a two parter. Maybe a three. No promises. Can y’all tell this is my fav trope? But i missed u guys 🫶🏼 lazy ending warning i didn’t wanna keep going i wanted to split it in two.

The sounds of the 501st yelling around you was not what you expected to wake up to. The men of the battalion had set up a camp for everybody on the remote planet you’d landed on in the Outer Rim the night before because the walk had been far too long to do in one stretch. You couldn’t even remember what the planet was called. You just knew your Master was assigned to a mission here and that meant you were assigned to it as well.

You shot out of your sleeping bag when you heard blaster shots above head. One flew through your tent, barely even a foot away from you. Your hand reached for your lightsaber on the ground and it flew into your grip as you ran through the flimsy tent door.

The bright suns of the desert planet blinded you for a moment and you adjusted your eyes before whipping your head toward all the commotion.

“They’re flanking left!” You heard Fives yell. You ran over to where you saw Anakin using a rock as cover.

“Master, why didn’t you wake me?” You yelled over the sounds of blaster fire and explosions with wide eyes. He smiled at you, a smile that didn’t aid your panic.

“Well good morning, Princess. Sleep well?” He always had time for jokes, even in an ambush. You groaned and ducked further down when you felt a blaster shot coming directly at you. “If you didn’t already notice. We’ve been ambushed, but I have a plan.” He finished and you stared at him with a blank expression.

“What would that be, Master?” You said wearily, you were preparing yourself to hear what could be considered by most to be an insane string of words in response to your question. To you though, it would be a normal Anakin thing to say. The 501st was doing a fantastic job at keeping them at bay for the short duration of your conversation but instead of responding, Anakin simply smiled before running right at the blaster shots, blocking them as if the ambush meant nothing to him.

The five year difference in your ages didn’t seem to matter. You tended to act and feel like the older one most days. It was a shame when your previous Master died, you cried in your room for days when the news arrived and you still flinched when you heard his name, it gave the council pretty much no choice but to put you under Anakin’s charge until you finished your training and completed your trials.

Regardless of who was more mature, you followed him blindly. The knowledge that you could trust him not to get you killed at the very minimum was reason enough to stay right on his heel. He was running toward a tank that was firing explosives at your camp. You tried to take deep breaths to calm yourself when he climbed up on top of it, dodging whatever came his way in the process. You followed him, doing the best you could with what you had been taught.

You stood with him on top of the tank and he used his lightsaber to cut the locked door open. It dropped to the floor of the small space inside the tank, crushing a battle droid in the process. Anakin jumped down to the bottom and you opted for climbing down the ladder, following him closely. He took the second battle droids head off with one swing of his lightsaber and took the piloting chair when the droid fell to the ground. You stood watch behind him, in case anybody came in behind the two of you.

With an aggressive turn to the handles that controlled the top half of the machine, Anakin turned the tanks artillery around causing your body to jostle around. You caught your footing and within moments, most of the battle droids around you became victim to the explosives flying out of the tank.

You heard something above head and your eyes caught sight of a droid holding a blaster toward you. You expected the thing to climb down before it blasted but when it shot at you from its vantage point you stumbled back with a stagger. Using a relatively easy Force ability, you pushed it off the tank and it landed on the ground. The tank moved as if it had gone over a bump and you safely assumed that you had done your job at getting rid of the droid.

“What was that?” He called over his shoulder and you looked down at your arm where your previously dry robe now had a small, blood-soaked patch.

“Nothing. I took care of it.” You replied with no hesitation. You heard the commotion eventually come to an end and Anakin let the 501st finish off the few remaining droids before getting up out of his seat.

“Thanks for trusting me, Y/N.” He said as he walked by you in the dimly lit space. You placed your lightsaber on your hip and followed him as he climbed up and out of the tank. You winced every time you pulled yourself up the ladder with your injured arm but you still got to the top fairly quickly. Anakin hopped down to the ground and held his hand out to help you. His eyes trailed to your stained robe as you reached your own hand to meet his.

Anakin pulled you down with both haste and caution. His eyebrows furrowed as he examined your wound as best as he could and you stared at him with an expression that screamed silent apologies.

“I’m sorry. I misread the situation and it shot me-“ You started and he didn’t let you finish.

“Next time I check in on you. Tell me the truth.” He spoke sternly as he guided you back to what was left of the camp. You closed your eyes for a moment, beating yourself up for not speaking up.

“I didn’t want to distract you.” You spoke softly and he scoffed.

“You know what’s worse than distracting me? Letting me turn around to see you bled out on the ground.” He stopped walking and his hand still held a firm grip on your uninjured bicep. Your eyes watched your shoes, feeling Anakin’s gaze bore into you.

“Never lie to me again. Mistakes happen, don’t let them fester.” Anakin’s voice was softer now. He let go of your arm and he continued walking before you could apologize again.

Your head hung low as you approached the men who fought valiantly for your Master; not because you were embarrassed, but because you couldn’t keep your head up. You felt your body begin to lose stability and you looked at your arm again, the patch had become almost the entire lower half of your arm and you were beginning to feel the pain. The adrenaline wouldn’t bring you much further and you knew it.

You opened your mouth to speak but you began to see small black dots in your vision. Your head spun slowly and your eyes fell shut. You had very little control over where you dropped, but you felt the impact right before you blacked out and you knew it was going to leave a bruise or two.

You woke up to see the interior of Anakin’s star fighter. You blinked slowly, wincing in pain. You looked down at your arm, it was dressed professionally and your sleeve had been cut off, likely to access the wound without undressing you.

“Keep still. You’re still healing.” A voice rang through the room and you turned your head to find the source. You winced when the movement caused your wound to burn. You heard Anakin sigh and stand up. He stood over you, eyebrows knitted in concern with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What part of ‘tell me if you’re not okay’ do you not understand?” He said sternly. You watched his eyes analyze your dressings from afar and you let out a sigh of your own, your voice sounded cracked and dry.

“I’m sorry-“ You started. Anakin held a hand up, signalling for you to stop speaking. His head angled itself away from you and he took a deep breath with his eyes shut. The way he always did when he had to calm down.

“I care about you.” He said after a moment of silence as he let his hand drop to his side, his voice sounded softer again. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you died under my charge. Do you understand?” He gazed at you, looking for a sign that you did in fact, understand. You nodded.

“Good.” He pulled his chair over by the small cot you were laying on and sat down. “How’s it feeling?” He asked, eyebrows furrowing with concern.

You looked at the wound with a shrug. “Could have been worse.” You seethed causing him to deepen the lines in his face, resting his hand on your arm.

“Just… Rest. That’s all you can do until we get to Coruscant.” He looked at you for a moment before getting up, presumably to fly the ship. You leaned back against the pillow and shut your eyes, letting sleep take over you. All you heard before sleep took over your body were the four words he let slip earlier. They echoed in your head as you lulled away.

“I care about you.”

You didn’t dream. At least you thought you didn’t. It was a shock to you when in your slumber, your mind filled with images of your own master smiling, laughing, and holding you. Soft words were whispered behind the backs of the council. His hand reaching for yours to squeeze it because he knew you were nervous. Kisses placed on foreheads and lingering touches were halted when you heard the 501st clanging around beyond your minds eye. In the cockpit on Anakin’s ship. Your eyes snapped open and you immediately closed them again, pretending to stay asleep and trying to grasp what the hell your brain was doing.

By the time the ship arrived on Coruscant, you’d rested and the bacta-bag wrapped around your arm seemed to have worked wonders on you. You opened your eyes to Anakin shaking you softly and the sound of his voice made a small part of you fill with an unexpected warmth.

“I’ll deal with the Council by myself, let me get you to your apartment first.” He said when you finally sat up. He rested a gentle hand on the back of your waist and you felt tingles over your entire back from the contact. The feeling shocked you, causing you to clear your throat to suppress a gasp. Anakin guided you off the bed and helped you off the bridge and onto the landing pad of your balcony.

“Are they angry?” You asked with a look toward him. He smiled, the kind of smile he held on his face when he had a joke in mind.

“They’re not allowed to feel angry remember?” He muttered humorously and you cracked a half smile. “Don’t worry about them.” He finished as he sat you down on your couch.

“Master, I really am sorry.” You spoke as he mindlessly placed the throw blanket from the back of the couch over your legs. Anakin shook his head.

“Really, Y/N. I’m just glad you’re alive.” He said, settling down on the couch beside your legs. His forearms rested over his knees and he clasped his hands between them. You looked at him for longer than you thought appropriate. He looked tired and it took everything in you not to reach out and place your hand on his cheek.

He cared about you. He said it himself. Surely it was the same kind of care every Master had for their Padawan.

But it didn’t feel that way when he looked at you now.

You grappled with your thoughts, convincing yourself you were imagining things, that it was delusion. You almost didn’t hear him speak when he did.

“I almost lost you today.” Anakin said sternly. “I don’t have the time between all my meetings for a funeral, believe me.” He chuckled humourlessly.

“But you didn’t.” You shrugged and played with the frayed edge of the blanket over your legs. He shot you a look that made you smile and he followed with a chuckle. His hair pushed further into his face as he shook his down turned head.

A silence crept its way between the two of you and you watched his every move. You couldn’t explain the feeling that arose every time he smiled at you. It was like a switch had flipped and you desperately tried to figure out a way to flip it back while you watched him place his hands on his knees to push himself to his feet with a sigh. You gnawed at the skin inside your cheek as you watched him.

When he finally looked at you again, your mouth opened to say something, but it shut just as fast. You couldn’t trust your own words right now. Not with the way you were feeling. His lips thinned as he glanced at your arm again and he cleared his throat.

“Rest. I’m leaving you with C3-PO. He’ll help you get back on your feet so we can get back to our job.” He said, not bothering to look at you. You tried to ignore the pang of disappointment you felt at that. You gave him a nod as he retreated to his ship, leaving you with nothing more than a small nod in return.

You worked your jaw as he ascended and sped off. With a swift movement you pushed the blanket off your legs and stood. You felt fine, sure maybe a little bit weak from the blood loss but him calling in a babysitter for you felt unnecessary. You channeled your confusing emotions into annoyance at his childlike treatment of you. Because that seemed healthy.

As you paced your living room you swung your arm around gently to test how mobile you were. It seemed alright, nothing to pause missions or call reinforcements in for. You planned to give him a mouthful when he came back, you practiced your speech out loud as you walked around your apartment.

~•~•~•~

Anakin left yet another long winded meeting with a sigh, closing the door behind him as he left the council chambers. The meetings were a lot more tedious when he didn’t have Y/N with him. She tended to soften the blows, her charm and kindness carried them through plenty of scoldings and lectures from the council. He ran a hand through his hair as he stalked the busy hallways of the Temple.

All he could think of was how dumb he’d been. How blind he was to her struggle. If he’d just taken one second longer to check on her, she wouldn’t have that nasty bruise on the side of her face from the fall. Maybe if he’d kept a better eye on her she wouldn’t have gotten hit with the blaster at all.

Not only did he have to deal with the guilt of letting her get hurt, it was only a matter of time before he finally faced the reality of his feelings toward her. He knew it was coming, he couldn’t hold it back much longer. It already pained him immensely to hide it before she got hurt. Now, the very real fact was, he could misstep once and lose her forever. That dwelled on him and he wouldn’t let anymore time go on without telling her he cared for her in a way a Master shouldn’t care for their Padawan.

He sighed again, turning a corner and making for his speeder that was parked in the corner of the hangar. He’d give her a choice, of course. He’d tell her it was fine if she wanted to ask the council to place her with somebody else. He’d even go as far as push for her trials to be done quicker if it meant she could leave his charge if this all made her uncomfortable. He had every aspect planned but he needed to do it. If not now it would eat him alive forever, possibly until it was too late. He shook the thought from his head as he sped back to her house.

He arrived, later than he wanted, but with flowers and her favourite fruit. It showed he paid attention, at least in his mind. As if any of that would matter if she rejected him.

None of this was right, nor okay. He knew this all too well. He knew exactly what he was doing here and he’d weighed out all the pros and all the cons. Pros, he might have her. Cons, the Code. The damned Code.

He ruffled his hair nervously before taking one final deep breath and exiting his speeder. He caught sight of her pacing around and his eyebrows furrowed. 3PO intersected his path.

“Master Anakin, I fear Miss Y/N has lost it.” He said nervously. Anakin quirked a brow, smirking at the girl pacing her apartment and mouthing things.

“I’ll be the judge of that, thanks 3PO. Stay here.” He muttered as he pushed past the droids and left them on the balcony.

With a swift hand motion, Anakin opened her balcony door and placed her gifts on the table next to him. It wasn’t long before Y/N turned to face him during her paces.

~•~•~•~

“You. What have I done to lead you to believe that I would need not one, but two damned babysitters when I’m realistically only mildly hurt- What’s that?” You stopped in your tracks as you pointed to the flowers on the table. Your eyes landed back on Anakin where he leaned his shoulder against the door frame with his arms crossed.

He gave you a smile and you couldn’t seem to remember where you were in your speech. In fact, you couldn’t remember the speech at all.

“A gift. For you. I guess it’s more of an apology now though, isn’t it? Since you’re upset at me.” He shrugged, looking down at the bouquet and back at you.

“I’m not upset.” You shrugged, crossing your own arms as you took a few steps toward him. Your eyes fixated on him, you didn’t even care about the gift.

“Is that so? I could have sworn..” He trailed and you shook your head.

“Not upset. Glad you’re here.” You muttered and he chuckled as you approached him to snatch up the flowers and fruit to place them their respective places in a home.

“Right.” He nodded, that crooked smile never leaving his face. You didn’t even have to look at him to know what he looked like right now. You muttered something in agreement as you filled a vase with water and began cutting the stems. After a few moments of letting you arrange the flowers, Anakin rounded the counter to stand beside you and cleared his throat. Your breath caught as you looked up at him.

“You feel it too don’t you?” He asked quietly, leaning against the edge of your counter as your hands worked away at the flowers. His words gave you pause, and you placed the flowers neatly in the vase before sliding it to the middle of the counter.

“Feel what?” You questioned, barely looking away from your finishing touches on the arranged bouquet before you grabbed a cutting board for the fruit. His hand rested over yours where you held the board, causing you to look at him again. You studied his features and somehow you knew. You knew exactly what he was talking about, what he was eluding to. Your heart raced as you watched his eyes scan your face, looking at every inch of you to gauge your emotions.

“Don’t make me say it, Y/N. Just tell me if you want it as badly as I do..” His voice was barely above a whisper. Your eyes fell shut for a moment and you took a breath, trying to steady your thoughts. To see reason.

“Say it.” You replied without thinking.

Anakin sighed. “I care about you far more than what would be considered normal… Or.. Correct. In the eyes of the Jedi.” He said, his mouth formed a thin line as he gauged your response.

You stared at him, long and hard. You couldn’t help but feel like this was supposed to happen, that it was always going to happen, that nothing could have stopped it.

“I care about you too, Anakin. But-“

“Show me.” He breathed.

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Show you what?” You asked, already knowing the answer. It was always like this. You were always one step ahead of each other. Which made this conversation feel all the more tedious.

“Show me how much you care. No buts. Use your feelings.” He said, his eyes never leaving yours.

Your breath shuddered again as you placed your hands on the counter next to him and pushed yourself up toward him. Your eyes watched his flutter shut and you followed suit before placing your lips against his.

You melted into him when his hands circled your waist, bringing you directly in front of himself and a small sigh left your lips between kisses. It felt perfect. It felt right. Fated, even. His warm hands sent shivers through you and you wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling yourself closer.

When you finally broke the kiss, he almost chased you before retreating and placing his forehead against yours. His heavy breaths matched your own and your eyes finally opened to see blue hues looking back at you.

“Well. Shit.” You whispered and he chuckled. “What now?” You asked.

“I don’t know.” He said quietly. “I know I’m screwed if you change your mind though.” He finished with a cocky smile.

[ghostboneswrites2]

Girl of Your Dreams || Part 1

New account! @ghostbones was banned! Transferring all my work here slowly!

Summary: Daryl's annoying female sidekick is pestering him.

18+ MDNI: WARNINGS: injury, aggressive Shane, profanity

        You were no stranger to pain. The world had been unfair to you from the time you entered it, but this was a whole new level of torture. You had survived the wake of the apocalypse with your only friend, but when you encountered a group of those undead fucks, she didn't make it, and you were left to run for your life all on your own. You were fairly certain you lost the hungry corpses some time ago, but now you had a new dilemma: how to free yourself from a bear trap?

        The metal dug into your flesh and crushed the bone beneath. You was beyond painful. You were shocked your cries didn't draw anything in to eat you, but you were ultimately alone until he came along. Wit the sleeves torn off a flannel shirt and a crossbow slung over his shoulder, he'd left the camp by the quarry that day to find some food, hopefully enough to feed everyone but chances of that were slim.

        "Ya bit?" Was the first thing he asked, with that raspy voice you would come to find comfort in. 

        "Gee, I'm fine. Doesn't hurt at all. Thanks for asking." You shot back. A woman of sarcasm, something he could appreciate.

        "Show me ya ain't bit and I'll get that thing off ya." He shrugged. You sighed.

        "Not bit." You said, holding your bare arms up, showing him the sides of your neck, and finally lifting your shirt to show him a bite-free midriff. He nodded and knelt down on one knee, setting his bow to the side so he could properly dismantle the trap. You winced and sighed in relief at the release of pressure from your ankle. "Thanks." You breathed, pulling up the leg of your jeans to take a good look.

        The bruising had already begun, and the flesh was chewed to bits. You went to stand but failed. The pressure on your ankle was too much.

        "Great." You grumbled. "Real fuckin' nice."

        "C'mere." He said, standing up now as he held his hand out to you. You took it, seeing little other options. Unless, of course, you wanted to wait for the next flesh-starved freak to come stumbling through.

        "Thanks again." You grunted as you pulled yourself up. You managed to stand on one foot, but there was no way you could walk without aide. 

        "C'mon. Got a camp not too far from here." He told you. And there it was, the beginning. Of course the other campers didn't take so kindly to a new mouth to feed, especially one that could barely walk, but Daryl made sure you had your place, and that earned your respect. It also earned your kindness, which was hard to come by for anyone. You weren't the friendly type, more of the shut-up-and-don't-breathe-in-my-space type. Shane, most of all, was your least favorite. The whole self-proclaimed leader thing got under your skin fast, and he was the first to voice his concerns about your presence among the others. After all, he had a girl and a kid to look out for, which you'd come to find out later weren't even his, but his best friend's, who he told them was dead. He wasn't, though, and he showed up a couple weeks later. Glenn and the others brought him back instead of Merle, Daryl's brother.

        Daryl was outraged to say the least, and when they went back for his kin, they only found a hand where he should have been. Walkers attacked camp the that night, when Daryl and the others were in the city, and you only fucked up your ankle more fighting the sons of bitches off. Still, you prevailed. You always did. You were a survivor. 

        In the following weeks, between burning and burying bodies, finding and escaping the CDC, and getting stranded on the highway only to wind up on a farm, you and Daryl had grown pretty close. You comforted him with your silent presence as he coped with the loss of his brother, and once you could walk again you aided in a lot of the search for Sophia. 

        You went with him on a particularly hot day, carrying the extra water for the two of you, telling him all about how you couldn't take anymore of Shane's pestering. Apparently now that Lori had pushed him away for Rick, he had taken up a newfound fondness of you and your smart mouth. 

        "It's like -- I tell the guy to fuck off and his heart eyes grow bigger." You complained. Scoffed a little laugh and shook his head. Not necessarily interested in your drama, but curious nonetheless. Any excuse to tell Shane off would've been a green light to him. You continued. "You know yesterday he tried to come in my tent when I was asleep?"

        Daryl stopped walking and eyed you intently, waiting for more.

        "Yeah, dude. I was asleep when it happened. Woke up to him running his hand up my thigh. So, if you notice any dark coloration around his eye, it's cause I kicked him. In the eye." You explained. 

        Daryl chewed on his lip and continued walking. You handed him some water to drink as you sipped some yourself. After pushing a little further he sighed.

        "Let's take a break an' eat somethin'." He suggested. You happily obliged, sitting crisscross on the forest floor, unwrapping a napkin with some nuts and dried fruit for the two of you to share.

        "He didn't hurt ya or nothin'?" He asked. You shrugged.

        "If he did, I promise he'd have gotten more than a foot in his eye."

        "Mm." He nodded. "You know I'd kill him, if he did."

        "Awe, are you sweet on me Dixon?" You teased, grinning as you bumped his shoulder with yours. He glared at you.

        "Ain't sweet on no one." He grumbled.

        "Except me." 

        "Shut up."

        "It's okay. I know you put that trap out to catch a girl like me. Lucky for you, I was dumb enough to step in it." You gloated. He got so flustered when you joked like that, but you enjoyed it. As gruff as he was, he was the shy type which made him all the more attractive. You loved a good mystery.

        "Nah, I placed that trap out lookin' for the woman of my dreams an' got stuck with you." He joked. You gasped, mocking an appalled expression.

        "You mean, I'm not the woman you always dreamed of?"

        Actually, you kind of were, now that he thought about it. He'd need a woman that could handle his brother, and in the short time  you spent with the man you handled him quite well. He needed a woman who didn't need to be coddled, a woman with a sharp tongue and an independent nature. Someone who didn't need him, who only kept him around because she liked him. You did check all those boxes.

        "You first." He grunted.

        "Me first what? Are you asking if you're the man of my dreams?" You asked. He shrugged, picking at the last of the food in his hands. "Well, I never dreamed of a man, to be honest. Just figured I'd find one, one day, that didn't get on my every last nerve."

        "Did you?" He wondered.

        "Nope." You laughed. "They all pissed me off. Except you. You're alright, I guess." You shrugged.

        "Guess you ain't so bad." He returned the compliment, if you could call it that. You smiled sweetly, staring down at the crunchy brown leaves.

        "Not bad at all, for someone you got stuck with." You said.

        "Stuck? Nah. I'd have got rid of ya by now if I didn't want ya around."

        "So you do like me."

        "Didn't say that."

        "Mmm. Ya kinda did." You pushed.

        "What if I do? Don't change nothin'." 

        "Nope. It doesn't." You chirped, before leaning in close to him and whispering; "'Cause I already knew ya did." 

        He sighed and pushed you away, you chuckling in the process.

        "Were you always this annoyin'?" He asked.

        "Yes, indeed. I'm vexing by nature. Is that a deal breaker?"

        "Depends how long it takes you to shut up."

        "Oof." You winced. "That was cold."

        "Please. You ain't that soft."

        "Only for you, Darlina." You said. Normally he'd snap at anyone who called him that. Only Merle ever got away with it and that was mostly just due to the fact he had no energy to argue with Merle. Getting a reaction out of him would have only pushed Merle to say it more, anyways.

        "You keep pushin' your luck, girl, and we're gonna have problems."

        "Oh?" You raised your brows. "Do tell."

        "Won't have to. I'll just show ya. Keep  tryin' me and find out."

        "Was that a threat? 'Cause I'll be honest with ya, you're just getting me excited."

        He shot you a sideways glance, smirking a little at the suggestiveness of your comment. This girl ain't got no idea what she's gettin' into, he thought.

        That night at camp, when Shane found you alone, adding your clothes form the day to the dirty laundry, Daryl was watching from afar.

        "Maybe you can talk some sense into everybody." He began. "You've been out there with him. You can tell them there haven't been any leads. We're wasting resources and manpower, here."

        "Sure! I'll do that!" You said with sickeningly sweet sarcasm oozing from your tongue. The prideful officer clenched his jaw tightly at your act of disrespect. "Only, I won't, because we've found two leads already." 

        "Oh, right, a doll he almost died for and a blanket in a cupboard." He scoffed. "What is it with you and him, huh? You out there fuckin'? Or do you really just enjoy wasting everyone's time and supplies."

        "Everyone?  Last I checked, it's just been me and him out there the last few days. Nobody else. And, even if we were fucking, it'd be none of your concern." You spat, stabbing your finger into his chest with malice. He gripped your wrist as you did so, hard, might you add. Tight enough that it actually hurt. You tried to yank you arm away to no avail. You were strong, but he was stronger.

        "Let me go, asshole." You said through gritted teeth. He didn't. Instead he held you still and leaned his face close to yours.

        "Let me make somethin' real clear to you, little girl--"

        "There a problem?" Daryl asked, suddenly appearing behind Shane.

        Shane grinded his teeth together, a blazing glare burning into you for only a second before he let go of your wrist and turned to Daryl. You held your wrist to your body, rubbing it.

        "Nah. No problem." Shane said lowly before he stormed away, maintaining eye contact with Daryl for some time as he did so. When Shane was far enough for comfort, Daryl stepped over from you and grabbed your hand, looking over your wrist. It was still white with Shane's finger prints and he wouldn't be surprised if it bruised later.

        "You alright?" He asked, letting your hand fall back down.

        "Yeah." You nodded, watching as Shane disappeared into the darkness. "Thanks."

        "C'mon." He told you, throwing his arm over your shoulder and leading you toward his own tent. "You're stayin' with me in case he tries anythin'."

        "A sleepover? So soon? No dinner  first?" You joked.

        "Shut up." He said, holding his tent open for you to climb in. When you were inside, he followed, and made sure you had a place to get comfy. "This alright?" He asked, referring to his sleeping bag that he had completely unzipped and laid out flat like a palette. 

        "Perfect." You smiled, laying down on one side. He laid down on the other side, on his back. You were on your side, facing him, still rubbing your wrist. He took notice.

        "Still hurt?" He asked.

        "No, actually. It's just weird. I can still feel his hand around me, you know?"

        "Well he won't get ahold of ya in here." He told you. You smirked. 

        "I know."

        "You know?"

        "Uh-huh." You nodded, smugly. "'Cause you wont let anything happen to the girl of your dreams."

        He scoffed, laughing silently to himself as he shook his head, eyes on the ceiling of the tent.

        "Whatever, (Y/N). G'night."

[joelswritingmistress]

Camp Crystal Lake: Chapter 9

Requested by @yellowjacketsbuzzbuzz

Joel Miller x f!reader (romance/horror)

Setting: Camp Crystal Lake

The reader is taking on the position of a camp counselor at the infamous Camp Crystal Lake. While she begins to enjoy her summer, even crushing on the camp director Joel, a killer lurks in the woods unbeknownst to anyone.

Laying in Joel’s arms all night until the sun came up was perfection, to say the least. I had never been the type to be clingy or fall hard for a guy; but I knew this was the exception. If Joel wanted all my time and attention, I would gladly give it to him.

When I stirred in the early morning hours with the peak of the sun through the blinds, I heard Joel clear his throat beside me.

“What time is it?” I whispered, though it was the least of my concerns. As he cuddled me close to his body, face-to-face, I smiled and all of a sudden didn’t care about my question.

“A little after six,” he said quietly back. A second later his lips pressed against mine and all of the events of the night before played through my mind like a movie. Joel’s hand traveled the length of my bare back and rested on my hip. “Are you an early morning girl?”

I smiled against his lips and we laughed together. “I am.” I sighed and accepted another kiss, “You seem like an early riser.”

Joel laughed a little louder, “I am.” He echoed, pulling up at the back of my leg as I let it hook around the top of his. I was lost in him already. He knew exactly what he was doing and I allowed myself the morning to get lost in my time with him.

As I pulled on the laces of my sneakers with one foot on the bottom step of the staircase, Sandra was eying me as she tied a bandana around her head in preparation for the morning hike. I smirked to myself and she finally giggled.

“Are you going to come out with it or are you going to make me pry?” She asked with a laugh, toying with her bouncy girls.

“I don't know what you're talking about?” I joked.

“You know the windows were open, right?”

I glanced up and stared at her with my mouth half open and Sandra began to laugh a little louder.

“I'm kidding,” she claimed. “We didn't hear anything.”

I swatted her on the arm.

“So did you..” Sandra began but abruptly changed the course of her sentence when her eyes landed on Joel, who casually appeared at the top of the staircase and began his descent down. “Did you eat breakfast yet?”

“I'm probably just going to have a couple pieces of toast,” I said, trying not to smile.

“Like..” Sandra smirked, “.. one piece on top of the other all lathered in butter or just plain side by side?”

I snickered at first and then couldn't help but let out on a full blown laugh. “Umm..” My eyes lifted to meet Joel’s who was fighting hard to suppress a grin as he reached the bottom of the stairwell, pulling a baseball hat on.

Damn he looks good.

“Morning ladies,” he addressed us.

“Good morning Mr. Miller,” Sandra said with a nod, smiling big.

“Morning,” I echoed.

“Ready to learn the walking trails around here?” He asked, “Maybe get an early morning jog in?”

“Walking trails, yes,” Sandra told him enthusiastically. “Running? Not so much.”

“She's just worried us men will show up the girls,” Ted joked, entering the conversation as he crossed his bony arms across his chest.

“You know I can probably beat you up, Ted?” Sandra claimed.

“Promise?” He wiggled his eyebrows and made her laugh.

“Has anyone seen Annie?” Joel asked, glancing around the open floor plan of the bottom floor where everyone else was scattered about.

Jeff wandered toward the window and glanced outside with his hands on his hips. “Her car’s not there.”

“Did she join you at the fire last night?”

Jeff and Sandra looked at one another and shook their heads.

“We saw her come inside,” Ted said, nudging Sandra, “Remember?”

“Yeah we called her name because we saw someone take the stairs onto the porch and go inside. But she must not have heard us.”

“Hmm..” Joel glanced up the stairs and then joined Jeff by the window. “Maybe she went to pick up some more food and supplies for the kitchen. I know that was her concern last night when she went out to the dining hall.”

“Should we walk by it on our hike?” I asked him. “Make sure things are okay?”

Joel nodded. “I'm sure everything’s fine.”

“You didn't hear her come in last night, boss?” Ted asked.

Joel's eyes briefly met mine and he shook his head. “No.”

“That wasn't until after ten,” Teri choked in from where she sat on the couch, toying with her phone.

“Yeah, you were probably asleep,” Sandra added, maintaining an extra second of eye contact with him. The corner of her mouth tipped up in a little half-smirk.

“It was a long day,” Joel explained.

“I'm going to grab a couple bottles of water,” I said, vacating the area and feeling Sandra at my heels as we made our way to the refrigerator.

Joel looked at his watch. “Five minutes. Let's meet out front. Oh and.. no wandering over to the old Camp Blood.” He cleared his throat and Jeff made a guilty face.

Sandra looked over her shoulder with a smile and rolled her eyes. “I wouldn't want to miss dessert.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER

@gissellec1 @cattt777 @mellymbee @armybts20137 @bbiophiliaa @littleblackcatinwonderland @mermaidgirl30 @brittmb115 @yellowjacketsbuzzbuzz @beltzboys2015-blog blog @lwfics @pedropascal111 @mellymbee @itscatrodriguez-thepearl

[heesdreamer]

SILENCED (2)

MASTERLIST

GENRE ➩ enhypen zombie apocalypse au!

SUMMARY ➩ navigating life 1 year post end of the world was already difficult as you avoided rotting corpses with hefty appetites and groups with various bad intentions. things get harder when you run into a group of survivors, 7 boys who make it impossible to run away.

WC ➩ 5k

WARNINGS ➩ everything the zombie apocalypse could bring lol, gore, mentions of death and injuries and lots of talk abt starvation and hunger this time around

AUTHORS NOTE ➩ this is a really short update but it was starting to bug me the longer it sat in my notes so i hope short is better than nothing. not proofread as always

Even small trips weren’t easy in the apocalypse. Runs to grocery stores could be the last thing you ever do and getting a few hours away could take weeks as you navigated rocky terrains and avoided uncrossable areas.

Transportation was something you’d taken for granted back then before the world had fallen apart.

You can remember tapping your foot impatiently against the subway station floor, arms crossed as you huffed and checked your watch for the umpteenth time. Maybe you were running late for school or you had just gotten off of work and wanted to get home fast so you could eat something.

Thinking about this now you felt utterly ridiculous, spoiled and sheltered from how good you truly had things.

But it wasn’t you alone who had these trivial problems and you considered that too as you walked with the group of boys, trailing behind a few feet but never left unattended considering they kept looking back to make sure you hadn’t disappeared into the woods at some point.

You wondered if you’d ever been somewhere at the same time as them. Seoul was big but it wasn’t spacious enough that this was totally an impossible thing to have happened. Maybe they’d been on the same train as you at some point, leaving school together and crowding around each other as they pulled playing cards.

It wasn’t a complete far fetched idea that you could have passed Jungwon on a crowded street when you went to get lunch or narrowly missed Heeseung as he rushed to an appointment he was late too.

You didn’t like to think about them like this, as people who all had lives and families before this all happened. You didn’t even like to think of yourself this way, chest tightening with the reminder of how much you’ve lost as this world changed.

It’d been days now since the camp had gotten overrun and you’d practically spent the last 72 hours straight doing nothing but walking. The straightest route to your destination hadn’t been safe enough to travel through, adding even more time onto the walk.

Most of it had been quiet, only hearing the boys speak in hushed whispers to each other every so often. It was hard to hold a conversation when you were all exhausted and hungry, running on autopilot and the fear filled adrenaline that built up every time the sun started to set.

Heeseung had been the quietest of everybody and he barely looked at the rest of you, his gaze sharp and focused as he continually scanned the surrounding areas. You thought back to your talk, the responsibility he held on his shoulders and you felt troubled for him now that such a major setback had occurred, now that their only home was gone.

He was closest to you as you lagged behind the group, keeping his eye on the boys ahead of him as the trudged along.

You were picking up your pace to catch up to him before you even confirmed within yourself it was a good idea, slowing back to a casual pace once you were side by side and reaching your hand out to gently tug on the sleeve of his long shirt. His eyes were shooting down to the point of contact and then back up at you with a frown.

“Hey.” You breathed out, trying to calm him down before you made your request. His eyes softened just slightly at the sound of your voice and he raised an eyebrow. “If we find somewhere safe to stop and rest for a few hours I can go try to get us something to eat.”

He watched you as you spoke and you knew he didn’t like your suggestion judging by the way his face hardened again, his jaw tensing as he scoffed and looked away from you. You figured he thought this was you finally putting your plan into action, leading them into the wilderness just to ditch them.

“I’m serious.” You had kept your hand on his sleeve still as you spoke and only now moved it, wrapping it fully around his arm so he could understand your earnest words. “They can’t go on like this much longer.”

He looked back over at you as you said that and you felt guilty at the sad expression on his face, knowing he had been thinking the same thing.

It must’ve been impossible for him to deal with the past few days, watching his family and the boys he was meant to lead barely make it through the day. The younger boys were stumbling as they walked, holding each others shoulders occasionally in an attempt to keep steady under their own crippling weight.

“Where’s safe?” He was genuinely asking but his voice broke around the word, already hoarse from not using it or having anything to drink. He sounded disbelieving that it was a possibility and he staggered slightly, knocking into your side.

Sunghoon had been lurking a few feet ahead and hearing this conversation he slowed a bit, letting you and Heeseung catch up as he leaned towards the two of you. “There’s a neighborhood or something up the ways a bit.” His tone was low so the other boys couldn’t pick it up.

You gave him a questioning look and he glared at you, eyes shooting down to your hand on Heeseung’s arm and your close proximity. “I saw it on the map.”

Heeseung nodded at his explanation and pat his back a few times in thanks, walking away from the two of you to alert the others you’d be stopping soon for a bit.

You had expected Sunghoon to follow him or at least drift back to his previous position, furthering himself away from you. It surprised you a bit when he continued to stand next to you but the look on his face didn’t, a suspicious glare as he watched you with no sign of care at your uncomfortable shifting.

“Something on your mind Sunghoon?” You were mumbling in irritation. You didn’t expect to become best friends but you hadn’t done anything to warrant him treating you like a criminal.

“Why are you still here?” He was saying it quickly like it had been on the tip of his tongue and you looked at him from the corner of your eye. “What are you planning?”

“I’m not planning anything.” You scoffed and took an offended step away from him, stopping in your slow pace. “And in case you forgot, I wasn’t given a choice in being here.”

He was stopping too and turning to look at you, sparing a glance behind him at the other boys who had continued walking. They weren’t going fast enough to leave you behind and the road was a straight shot surrounded by trees and no connected off paths so you wouldn’t lose them by stopping.

When he was facing you again he looked more angry and if you didn’t know any better you’d consider him a threat right now, a danger to you. However you’d seen the way he interacted with the group, with the dead even, and he wasn’t any issue. He was more gentle than he appeared regardless if he disliked you and was frustrated.

“Don’t bullshit me. You could’ve left if you wanted to, don’t be stupid.” He was shaking his head and you gave him a confused look so he explained further. “You didn’t even try to get away from them, no tears no questions. I can tell you’re smart and good at this world so I know you can tell the difference between a good person and a bad one.”

“Then what’s your problem with me?” You spat at him and cut him off, not wanting him to say more.

You could tell he was the most observant of the group but you didn’t like what he was implying. Your stomach turned at the thought of him seeing how much you didn’t necessarily want to be alone again, despite knowing it was the best option in the long run.

If you were alone you wouldn’t need to worry about things like this. You wouldn’t have to think about feeding them before you fed yourself because there would be no ache in your heart at the thought of them going hungry.

“My problem?” He was sneering but his voice was desperate like he wanted you to understand his point. “My problem is how excited Riki is to have a friend to talk to. My problem is that Sunoo basically thinks he owes you his life for getting you into this situation in the first place and my problem is that you aren’t going to stay.”

You both fell silent after that and he looked away from you, visibly upset and frustrated at the idea of you disappearing before you got to the place you’d showed them.

He flinched when he looked at you and saw your lips opening and closing, parting as you tried to think of something you could tell him that wouldn’t give him false hope but you also didn’t want to lie to him. Despite his wincing he waited patiently to hear what you had to say.

“Tell Heeseung I’ll catch up with you guys.” You muttered back and he watched in bewilderment as you turned and disappeared into the woods.

——

It took you an hour to stop replaying the conversation in your mind and you were glad considering you hadn’t managed to catch anything since leaving the boys on the road.

Part of you was laughing at the fact that, here you were. In the woods with full freedom and capability to disappear and never come back and yet you were sat crouching behind a log as you attempted to get them all something to eat. You quieted the voice with the reminder you could leave whenever you wanted and you would, you just didn’t want to leave them hungry and lost.

That’s all this was, you kept telling yourself over and over as you continued to track whatever animal was leaving small footprints in the dry dirt.

This was simply you being a decent person, not letting the apocalypse shred you of your morals and humanity. It wasn’t because you were starting to grow used to the boys, starting to care about them and their safety as individuals and a whole.

You’d finally caught sight of the animal as you slowed to a stop, a hefty raccoon shifting over some sticks and rocks just off in the distance. It hadn’t noticed you yet and you were glad for this considering you only had a knife to work with.

Before you could make any attempt at approaching in, steadily planning out the right angle to pounce forward, it was falling on its side and hitting the floor with a cry and a thud.

Your eyes widened in surprise, rushing forward to see what had happened to it. It’s face was bloody and you quickly realized it had been shot in the head by something, more accurately someone. You knew who it was before you turned around to check.

“You’re a good shot.” You sighed as you spoke and glanced over your shoulder to see Jungwon stepping out from behind the tree.

He was definitely the most skilled when it came to weapons, especially in accuracy and you’d quickly noted a few days ago that he was the only boy to have a silencer on his gun of choice. You knew it was him considering the fact there’d been little noise as he killed the animal.

“Took archery in highschool.” He shrugged like it was a casual skill to have as he approached you and the raccoon. “Guess I don’t have to tell you about that though do I?”

For a second you weren’t sure what he was referring to before you realized he was alluding to the fact you also shot with a bow typically, looking up at him with widened eyes which caused him to give you a half smile as he shrugged again.

“Can tell by the way you carry yourself I guess. Plus you’re a hunter, can’t imagine your weapon of choice is a knife.” He was explaining and he crouched down next to you, examining the animal for any bites or signs of disease.

“If you see any bow shops around here feel free to let me know.” You were mumbling back and he chuckled a small laugh. “They send you out here to follow me?”

He was shaking his head and you were slightly surprised at this considering you assumed he had been tasked with making sure you didn’t run away, potentially bringing you back if you made any attempt to. You were reminded of what Sunghoon had said about being able to leave whenever you wanted.

“I was looking for food just incase.” He didn’t finish his sentence but it was obvious what he was implying. Incase you didn’t return and they still needed to eat something.

Jungwon offered you a hand so he could pull you up off the ground where you were still crouching, you eyed him hesitantly but took it with an appreciative nod and stood slowly after you grabbed the animal by it’s tail in your free hand.

You followed behind him in silence as you made your way back to the road, back to where the boys had set up camp for the night. You tried not to think about what this meant and how you coming back willingly was going to come across to them. They were going to find out what you’d been trying to deny since running into them and your stomach was turning.

By the time you got there, the sun had nearly finished setting and it was almost too dark to see in front of you.

The fire the boys were sat around made you nervous considering how exposed you were and how near the woods lingered, the light and crackle of the flames potentially drawing the undead out of the woods and giving you all a replay of what had happened earlier this week. Four sets of eyes turned towards you when you and Jungwon popped out from the woods.

Heeseung was standing up and coming over to the two of you, patting Jungwon affectionately when he spotted the animal you’d handed to him at some point during your walk back.

“You okay?” Then he was turning to you and your face flushed as he grabbed you, his hands holding onto both your arms directly underneath your shoulders as he scanned your face for any sign of distress.

You were nodding awkwardly but your hands were instinctively coming up to cup around his elbows, leaving you both holding each other at an awkward distance. The other boys must have thought you were crazy as you touched their friend and leader but a large part of you felt connected to him after the auto shop, him having saved your life so directly.

When you both made your way over to the fire, Heeseung was clearing his throat and catching the attention of the older boys and Jungwon, who began to shake Riki and Sunoo awake at the signal for directions.

“We’re going to clear the house on the corner.” Heeseung was speaking in a low voice and you took the opportunity to observe where you were sitting.

The neighborhood, if you could call it that, was only a few run down houses neatly tucked away outside the main road. You imagined it had homed one or two families of rednecks in its prime, roofs titled and covered in roots and leaves. The boys had set up the fire in the middle of the three buildings, seemingly waiting for you all to be here before they entered.

“Shouldn’t we clear them all? Eliminate any potential surprises?” You were shocking yourself and the others as you voiced your suggestion casually.

Heeseung was looking at you with a bewildered look for a few seconds before glancing back towards the houses and nodding in agreement, realizing your idea was better than his.

It wasn’t the most grueling task and you’d cleared areas must bigger than this with much more active dead, yet you still had a sick feeling in your stomach as Heeseung leaned his shoulder against the first door and prepared to ram into. It only took one corpse to end everything and you tried not to think about this as he was pulling back and slamming forward against the decaying wood.

He was stumbling forward into the house and again, you could smell them before you saw or heard them. There was three inside and it looked to be a family, one significantly smaller than the other as it attempted to get closer to Heeseung and take a bit out of him. Jake was moving forward in a rush and taking out the biggest one, axe swinging over his shoulder and landing directly between its eyes with a loud crack.

The second was on its knees before you even processed it and you knew it must’ve been Jungwon from the doorway judging by the way it simply crumbled onto the floor without any fight or noise.

Riki was inside the house and tasked on the third walker, the smallest one that was clearly just barely older than him if at all. She had a large blood stain on the front of his pajama sweater and you tried not to wonder what had happened here that left them all like this, what measures were mistakenly taken to try and prevent them from turning. You didn’t like to think about the walkers being people similarly to the way you didn’t like to think about survivors in the old world, easier to make the separation and get it over with.

You could immediately tell Riki was struggling with doing this judging by the way he was frozen in the middle of the room, watching the corpse approach him.

He was facing away from you so you couldn’t see his expression but you didn’t need to anyways, knowing from his stiff back and hands fidgeting around his crowbar that he was hesitating and hesitating was one of the deadliest things you could possibly do. He had told you before that he didn’t kill as much as the other boys, being kept away from it all the best they could manage up until more recently when they started to take him out to practice in small intervals.

You were moving before you thought about it, circling in front of him and taking out the small corpse as cleanly as you could. You cupped your back of her head as she dropped, motionless now, and you tried to help lower her body onto the floor so the impact wasn’t as upsetting.

“I could’ve done it.” Riki’s voice was sounding behind you and you turned your head to look at him, standing back to your full height and giving him a confused glance once you noticed how agitated his expression was.

Before you could ask him what was wrong, if you’d done something or if maybe he was just upset you’d stepped in on his kill, he was turning on his heel and leaving the small house. You were fearful for a second watching him leave and then you remembered Sunoo, Sunghoon and Jay were just a few feet away at the other house over.

You almost followed him out the door in confusion, wanting to understand what exactly had made him look at you like that just to storm off but you were stopped by Heeseung stepping in front of you, bringing a hand up to your chest to stop your advances completely as he looked down at you with an apologetic glance.

“What happened?” You whispered to him, eyes wide slightly with confusion. The look the youngest boy had given you was deadly and the energy in the house had shifted drastically now. “What did I do wrong?”

“He’s just sensitive about that stuff.” Heeseung mumbled back, keeping his voice low in case the boy was still able to hear just off in the distance. The other boys in the house with you weren’t saying anything and eventually filed out once they realized your conversation was taking a private turn.

“Because I took his kill?” Your voice was cracking with disbelief, not able to understand what he was attempting to get across to you. Riki didn’t seem like the type to have an ego so large it would be damaged by you stepping in for an assisted kill. “It was about to grab him.”

Heeseung was sighing softly like you were poking a bear, glancing over his shoulder out the open door for a second before taking another step closer to you. You didn’t lose your confused expression, eyebrows furrowing further when he was bringing a hand up to gently touch your cheek before pushing a few loose strands of hair behind your ear.

He was clearly trying to soothe you and help you calm down but if anything it upset you further, solidifying it in your mind that you had done something wrong.

“You’ll have to talk to him about it. It’s not my place.” He was eventually continuing on when he realized what he was doing wasn’t working in taking your mind off of it.

You nodded softly and made a mental note to bring it up after things calmed down and you were certain things were safe for the night, vaguely hearing a sharp whistle outside that you’d learned to understand meant things were clear for now. The other boys must’ve cleared the other two houses while you were talking to Heeseung and now you were able to eat and get some rest finally before talking to Riki.

——

The food wasn’t a lot but it was enough to help everybody feel a bit better, passing each other small portions around the fire before retiring into one of the houses to rest.

You all decided to sleep together on the living room floor to minimize the risk that being spread out would being, somebody always staying awake in different shifts to keep watch outside on the porch. You laid in silence while you waited for your turn, knowing you wouldn’t be able to sleep in such a foreign place.

When it was the youngest turn to take watch, you sat and tracked his shadow as he left the dark room and slipped out the front door, mumbling a small greeting to Sunghoon who was finally coming in and joining the rest of the boys who were already asleep. You got up as slowly as you could and gently stepped over the bodies on the floor so you didn’t wake them up from their much needed rest, following Riki outside.

He whipped his head over when the door creaked up and sighed when he saw it was only you slowly closing it behind you. You glanced at him awkwardly and tried to decide wether to stand weirdly or to take the seat next to him on the small outside porch couch and risk upsetting him further.

“Just sit down.” He was mumbling once he noticed your dilemma and you hesitantly took the offer, sitting as far away from him as you could.

The two of you sat in silence for a while, listening to the sounds of the night and the woods while you ignored each other. You weren’t sure if you should speak first but he clearly knew why you followed him out here in the first place so you bit the bullet and started to talk before his shift ended.

“I have a brother around your age.” He picked his head up when you started to speak but you avoided looking at him for now. “You actually remind me of him sometimes, just the way you joke around. You’re a bit braver than him though but I’m sure he would’ve grown out of that eventually, you know? I didn’t mind it though… it came easy to me to take care of him.”

Riki wasn’t saying anything just yet but you could hear his breathing increase and you didn’t feel him looking at you anymore and he slowly understood what point you were trying to get across by opening up to him about this. You wanted him to understand why you did what you had for him and why it was second nature for you to step in like that once you thought he was in danger.

“I never though he was childish or a coward for needing my help sometimes, that’s what big sisters are for.” You took a pause so you could breathe, playing with your hands nervously. “It took him a long time to want to ever ask for it though… just too long I guess.”

You didn’t need to finish or directly say out loud what had happened to your brother, he picked it up as soon as you started talking about him.

He was scooting closer to you on the bench and you felt him grab your hand that was in your lap, stopping you from picking at your skin anxiously. You turned your head to look at him with a sad smile, biting your lip to try and stop from crying when you noticed how equally teary his expression was.

“You could’ve killed that walker.” You stated firmly and he nodded along with you, now fully understanding why you had. “Maybe I just didn’t want you to have to.”

Riki was still nodding and you felt slightly guilty now as you watched tears run down his face, avoiding looking at you again out of embarrassment. You wanted to tell him that it was okay if he wanted to cry, it was okay to still feel things in this world that weren’t fear and hunger but you weren’t sure that was even true so you didn’t dare voice it.

You stayed with him for the rest of his shift and when he eventually started to yawn and lose focus on your surroundings, you reassured him it was okay to go to bed and that you weren’t tired.

He hesitantly was leaving you out there and you although you were glad things were patched up between the two of you for the most part, you also felt a wave of relief over having a moment alone. It wasn’t lost on you that you were being trusted as part of the watch shift cycles, despite the fact you could easily disappear in the night and leave them with no warning if something stumbled upon the sleeping boys.

It was getting harder to deny what you were feeling more and more every passing hour the eight of you survived together.

It had bothered you when Riki was upset with you, deeply bothered you to the point of your skin crawling in nerves that you had done something wrong. You were distraught watching them all face hunger earlier this week and you felt deep sadness when they lost their camp and their home.

You especially didn’t want to consider what it meant that you liked listening to their stories around the fire. You thought Sunghoon was funny even when he didn’t seem like he realized he was telling a joke and it made your heart warm when Sunoo and Jungwon covered the sleeping older boys with blankets.

Heeseung was the worst of all, the most confusing part to all of this. You’d been most fearful of him at the beginning but the more you thought about him and his resolve, his brave heart taking leadership and treating the boys like they were more important than his own safety and survival, the more you liked being in his company.

He made you feel seen and human whenever he turned to ask for your opinion on something and he was surprisingly gentle whenever he spoke to you in hushed whispers or helped you over bits of debris in your pathway.

You liked these boys and you liked their hearts and love for each other that this world was slowly running out of.

Yet you couldn’t stop hearing the screams of your family and others you’d encountered, people you knew for months all the way to people you’d simply passed by on one of your runs. People didn’t last long in this world and it was a miracle that all seven of these boys were still together, still without major injury or setbacks.

Maybe that was the secret trick to it all, maybe their care and love for each other above all else was helping them survive and manage without facing the reality of your loved ones being tore away from you and ripped apart limb by limb.

It still made your stomach hurt to think about any of it though, it was never apart of your plan to care about somebody again after everything you’d lost and you were only feeling more and more certain in your decision to leave as fast as you could.

No matter what it takes.

[cheerycherrycandy-resurrected]

What You've Done, You Cannot Undo (Medieval AU)

Chapter 10

Tensions frayed, the ghouls try to move forward.

An upload in under a week? Its a miracle!

Rating: M Content: Words: 5255

Links to full fic: Tumblr | AO3

Hi tag gang! @everybodyshusband @rainsbasspick @revengeghoulette

Read below, or on AO3!

With a new day came new struggles. The tension between Rain and Dewdrop was palpable, and even beginning to rub off on the others. Rain had gone back to barely speaking, only giving monosyllabic answers when he was asked a direct question. Dew had assumed his position at the rear of the pack for a second day. 

The ghouls trudged forwards, the light-hearted chatter of the previous day long-evaporated with the morning dew. They walked almost in single file, Mountain ploughing ahead as though he could outrun the sour mood that followed them. Aether had attempted to stick with Rain, but the already tall water ghoul sat high above him, staring straight ahead and ignoring every concerned look and word thrown his way. 

Similarly, Swiss had attempted to start a conversation with Dewdrop when they paused to refill their waterskins along the way. His skin had started prickling from the negativity floating about, and the sullen temperaments of his packmates was feeding a gnawing discomfort in the pit of his stomach. 

“Is everything alright between you and Rain? You've both been very quiet toda–”  

“We're fine.” Dew bit back a snarl. “Rain still blames me for everything, but it's no big deal, I only saved his life.” sarcasm licked at the edges of his words like flames devouring paper. 

Swiss slunk off, fearful of poking the bear any further. 

By late afternoon, they had reached a fork in the road ahead. Mountain dithered, visibly uncertain for the first time since they set off. Ahead of them the path narrowed and wound through dense trees which sapped the light from the sky. Off to the right curved another path, this one wider and continuing to follow the river to the east. Neither he nor Aether had explored this region before, so the river was on none of their hand-drawn maps. If it continued east rather than curving back north, they could completely lose their way – and precious time. On the other hand, the forest could go on for miles and camping inside its deep emerald walls was opening themselves up to all manner of predators living inside. 

Fed up with his knowledge of the route – even if not totally comprehensive – being ignored, Dew decided to put Mountain out of his misery. 

“It’s not that big a forest, I made it in half a day on horseback both ways,” he interrupted, “the path widens up after it, but you lose the river for a bit longer.” 

“We’re not on horseback though, are we,” Mountain snapped back, “we’re on foot so we’re far slower, and if we get caught in there at night there could be all sorts of animals or bandits or anything!” 

Dew scoffed, but was expecting his reaction. 

“I was just trying to help. It’s not like I’ve made this journey twice in the last week or anything.” 

Mountain grumbled under his breath, but made no further move to argue and instead reverted to pacing back and forth at the junction. 

Dew was annoyed, although unsurprised, that Mountain was still holding a grudge against him, and by extension his input: Earth ghouls were known for their stubbornness after all. He was also annoyed at how easily Mountain and the others had forgiven Rain – they had never even blamed him in the first place. Rain caused the floods that got them into this mess, thought Dew, and yet everyone was acting as if they were something that had simply happened to him rather than something he played an active role in. In fact, Dew thought, he himself had done nothing but try to help his pack since that fateful day, yet here he was: the only one getting chewed out, for doing exactly that. 

Sensing the tension was about to overflow, Swiss interjected. 

“Why don’t we camp where we are for now? This looks like a good place, and Satan knows I need a drink and a bath from that river.” 

“This would be an ideal spot,” agreed Aether, jumping on the chance to de-escalate, “and with the pace we’re making now, we should just about be able to get through these woods in a day, if we start early. Some proper food tonight would do us good too.” 

Mountain huffed and nodded sullenly, but eventually they were all in agreement that a good meal, an early night, and a similarly early start was the best plan. Given Dew’s estimate, they should be out of the woods by nightfall. 

All five ghouls bathed in the gentle flow of the river, the slight chill was refreshing as they washed away the grime of the road and the miserable cobwebs infecting their minds. Dew stayed as far away from the others as he could; the brisk temperature of the water was washing away the stormy mood of the morning, and even Mountain had become talkative again much to Swiss' crystal clear relief. Dew didn't want his apparent feud with Rain to pull the clouds back down around the others, determined not to be the cause of yet more misery for them, and so he kept his distance.  

When the cold became too much, most of them clambered back up the shores of the river to dry off in the warm afternoon sun. Rain refused to leave however, most happy to continue floating around completely in his element in more ways than one.  

Before the soporific effect of the sun on their skin became inescapable, Mountain and Swiss left to go foraging for berries. Swiss had been keen to learn how to distinguish edible plants from inedible ones, and Mountain was eager to teach him. Their ghoulish digestions meant the stakes were low – even the most poisonous berries and mushrooms would not harm them beyond a stomach ache – but the ill effects would still be unpleasant. They pair wandered back in the direction of the road and the thickets either side, chatting quietly as they went about the task at hand. 

Meanwhile, Aether lurched to his feet and stretched his arms high above his head, his spine popping loudly as he stretched like a cat.  

“Right, let’s get to work. Chuck us any fish you see, Rain?” 

An answering splash came from the river, followed by the wet slap of a perch hitting the ground beside him. It thrashed wildly, stunned at its sudden change in environment. 

“Yup, that’ll work!” He chuffed, as Rain popped his head above the water.  

Dew watched on, scowling. Rain was apparently well enough to act cute and silly for Aether, yet he hadn't so much as looked at him since their fight yesterday. 

While Aether set about fashioning spits to roast the growing collection of fish haphazardly tossed their way, Dew found an outlet for his frustration by focussing on making a fire. This was at least one thing he knew he could do better than any of the others. Methodically setting smaller twigs alight and coaxing the flames to lick at the larger branches was therapeutic, calming the inferno that raged in his mind. Soon he had a perfect blaze going, despite the lingering damp. Aether nodded in approval, before calling out with a chuckle to the blue-tinged blur that seemed determined to decimate the population of aquatic life in this portion of the river. 

“That’ll do Rain, we’ll start growing scales if we eat any more than this!” The water ghoul paused his frenzy to flash a grin with too many fangs for his mouth at the pair on the shore. He snapped them once more, and made a big show of swallowing the small minnow he caught in them whole. Dew couldn’t help but feel slightly threatened. 

When Swiss and Mountain returned, they found Dew crouched by the fire. All his concentration was now going into not burning the fish that he was carefully turning over the flames, watching it with an eagle-eyed glare. Two piles sat nearby: one of uncooked fish Aether had expertly gutted, and one of cooked ones being kept warm just out of the fire’s reach on a hot rock. Aether was keeping a close eye on the progress, all too familiar with Dew's previous attempts at cooking, but Dew was determined to not be distracted this time.  

Satisfied that their dinner would not turn to charcoal, Aether had begun making snare traps to set overnight in the woods. Maybe if they were lucky they would catch a squirrel or a rabbit, something to break up the monotony of soups and stews made from dried meats and plants for tomorrow. Mountain and Swiss joined them on the ground as Dew triumphantly added his latest success to the stack of cooked skewers before starting on the next one. The pair seemed to be in a vastly better mood than earlier; the frown lines in Mountain's forehead finally beginning to smooth out, and the stony look on his face eroded away. 

“Where did you two learn to do all this?” Swiss asked, as he watched Aether expertly loop and twist a length of wire. 

“We used to be nomads,” Aether explained, “back before you arrived, even before Dew, we were like most ghouls without a clan. We wandered wherever the fates took us, living off the land and everything it provides.” 

Swiss gazed up at Mountain, intrigued. All the ghouls were cagey about their previous lives, so he wanted to absorb every shred of knowledge. 

“Have you two always travelled as a pair?” He asked, curious. 

“Definitely not!” Aether snorted a laugh. “If Mount had had his way when we met, we’d have never crossed paths again!” 

Mountain smiled slightly at Swiss’s open-mouthed stare of astonishment, before explaining.  

“We first met years before you joined us. I smelled a lone quint ghoul in the woods and started tracking him before he could track me.” 

“He caught up with me eventually,” Aether smirked, “but not before I sensed him coming.” 

Both ghouls shared an apologetic, wry smirk at the memory of that first encounter. 

“We ironed out our differences eventually.” Mountain continued. “I wanted us to go our separate ways, but someone thought it could be fun to try travelling as a pack.” 

“We made a good team,” grinned Aether, slinging a large, miraculously fish-free arm around the reluctant Earth ghoul, “so much so, that we decided to try life in a permanent settlement!” 

“Our hunting skills have gone a little soft since then.” Mountain admitted, shrugging out of Aether’s grasp and resuming his position conspicuously close to Swiss, knees bumping together. The low, quiet purr subconsciously emitting from Swiss’ chest developed a possessive and self-satisfied ring to it that they all chose to ignore. “We used to go on hunting trips for a few days every full moon, to keep ourselves sharp in case things went south with the villagers, but that all fizzled out when we found Dew.” 

Dew had been half-listening, having picked up the general idea of their history early on in his time with the pack, but tuned back in at his name and the pang of guilt it brought. He knew the regular excursions the pair enjoyed had ended because of him and his ineptitude, and the reminder that he had been a burden since day one stung now even more than it usually did. Once he had recovered his strength back then he had tried to join them on a trip, only for them to have to turn back days early. Dew was by far more a hinderance than a help, and as no one wanted to leave him alone in the farmhouse for extended periods, the hunting trips had stopped. 

“Of course, by the time you got here Swiss, they were ancient history,” Mountain finished, “we didn’t need to be on the ball all the time, we could focus on other things.”  

A sour smell, akin to Dew's current mood, rose from the fire. 

"Shit!” he hissed, the forgotten – and now thoroughly cremated – fish smouldering up at him. He snatched it from the flames, stalking off to dispose of it before he had to hear the inevitable sigh of disappointment from Mountain. 

Still floating in the river, Rain watched the four ghouls reminisce while Dew cooked his fish. Rain had caught them dinner, they were practically feasting tonight, and the uppity fire ghoul still believed he was dead weight? He sunk down under the water, leaving only his eyes visible. He felt stronger like this, but watching his pack sitting together was a glimpse at what their life had been like before he appeared. He had tried hard to ignore Dew's comments, but the niggling thoughts that maybe they would have been better off without him leered their ugly heads from the shadows.  

Rain continued sulking in the shallows until Aether called to him, several times. 

“Come on Rain, time to come out and dry off before dinner!” 

He blew a huff of bubbles out through his nose but finally slouched out of the river to sprawl himself and the sopping wet underclothes he was wearing by the fire. Only after a pointed glance from Aether did Dew kick up his own warmth from his position opposite. 

That night, they went to bed warm and finally full for the first time in over a week. They had feasted on their relative banquet of fish and mushrooms, all washed down with handfuls of sweet wild berries. His anger burnt out, Dew now tried as hard as he could to tamp down the ashes of guilt that still lingered in the recesses of his mind. He’d done well today, helping to feed his pack and keep them warm. Mountain was still smarting slightly from his leadership being challenged, but Dew was confident they would make it through the forest tomorrow, and save themselves a detour. Besides, he only knew his way if they stuck to the woods, having meandered through them in reverse all those years ago and then again last week. In hindsight, he had been lucky to make it through unscathed that first time on foot, only having one scary near-encounter with a wolf. 

Dew and Rain shuffled under their shared blanket again, staying as separate as they had the day before. The heated emotions from the previous night had finally fizzled out, quashed by the weight of warm food in their bellies, but a lingering awkwardness hung in the air. Despite this, they both fell asleep quickly in anticipation of the early start they would have the following morning. For once, the pair slept soundly through the night. 

The journey through the forest the next day went smoothly, just as Dew had said it would. Rising early, alongside the sun, they collected in the few snares Aether had set. They had caught two rabbits overnight, hopefully enough to stretch their rations a bit further. 

Progress was fast with all of them feeling renewed after their much-needed break the day before. Rain had even declared that he felt well enough to walk for some of the journey, so the ghouls had gratefully offloaded more of their luggage into the mare’s saddlebags, making them even swifter. The conversation flowed far easier today, the tense undercurrent finally dissolving. Around them, the trees pressed oppressively close as though they were eavesdropping on the trespassers in their midst, so they instinctively spoke in hushed voices. 

The sounds of the forest were a mix of familiar and unfamiliar; the rustling of animals in the underground had been a constant occurrence so far, but the volume here implied a creature much larger than any they had met so far. Unlike the usual, wary animals along the road, this beast didn’t flee upon hearing the ghouls’ footsteps or smelling their unholy scent but instead seemed to stalk them in their progress. Likewise, the light sounds of twittering birdsong overhear were replaced with low, baleful calls. It was clear that darkness still lingered here: ancient magic they had no desire to interfere with. 

By the time they paused around midday for a drink, Rain was beginning to tire again. Dew gently stroked the horse’s nose as they reshuffled, her discomfort with standing still in a place like this manifesting through stressed snorts and stamps of her feet. She had spent the morning trying to pull ahead and move at the speed Dew had encouraged her to on their previous journeys. 

“C’mon girl, we’ve been here before and it was fine,” he cooed to her, “we just need to go a bit slower this time.” 

She whinnied nervously, but accepted the chunk of slightly limp carrot from Dew’s pocket. 

During the following few hours, the atmosphere within the pack changed in a way none of them had been expecting. The looming threat of their surroundings seemed to be pushing them closer together rather than pulling them apart, the ghouls knowing they would need to rely on their collective senses to spot any incoming danger. Luckily no such dangers arose and, despite their fears, the trek through the uneven ground of the dark woods was almost entirely uneventful. 

Eventually the sun began to fade, the light that filtered down to them cut through with flashes of red that turned everything a golden hue. Above them, the trees were finally starting to thin out as they reached the edge of the forest. Another mile or so later, when the sky wrapped the world in a velvet blanket of cornflower blue, the ghouls found a suitable place to make camp.  

The first priority was to make a fire to ward off predators: they might literally have been out of the woods, but figuratively they were not. They were getting further north with each day now and it was becoming progressively colder at night, so it’s warmth was immeasurably appreciated by the pack of exhausted ghouls. The full day, from dawn until dusk, of hiking through the woods had sapped all the strength they recovered the previous night, but they took comfort in knowing the hardest part was over. Dew was certain they were about halfway now, and the terrain should be simpler to traverse from here on out.  

As they sat and rubbed sore leg muscles while eating the rabbits caught the previous night, they all allowed themselves to relax slightly and savour the warmth of both food and flames. Even Mountain seemed calmer; the temporary relinquishing of his leadership position lifting a burden from his shoulders he had not realised he was carrying. They were past the hard part of the journey, at last, and finally learning to work as a team in a new environment. While Rain was still physically weak, he seemed to be recovering mentally and his progress allowed his packmates to finally feel more at ease. With this additional stressor removed, the frayed tensions of the pack could finally start to heal; they were all in this together after all, and the current in-fighting would not do anything to help. 

Mountain had one large weight still resting heavily on his shoulders: his undeniably foul attitude towards Dewdrop. He was self-aware enough to know he was in the wrong; he had been unnecessarily taking all his frustrations out on Dew, but not aware enough to know how to fix things. Despite the more rational part of his brain saying that Dew could not have known that his comments could have pushed Rain over the edge that morning – no one could have predicted that – the part of him that needed to assign blame was too stubborn to admit that he had been equally wrong with his own inflammatory behaviour towards Dew since. 

The fire ghoul still had a lot to answer for; starting with his antagonistic attitude towards Rain who had, to Mountain's knowledge, never done anything to directly upset Dew. Someone should have addressed it sooner, realised Mountain, and that someone could easily have been him.  

As he sat beside his packmate's expertly crafted fire, he wondered if they real reason he was having trouble forgiving Dew was that it involved accepting some responsibility for his own actions. He had sensed Rain's hesitance that fateful morning, when Swiss first proposed the job up at the farm, but he hadn't offered to go with him or help him practice. Rain had clearly been tired, and yet Mountain hadn't suggested that he wait until another day. In fact, he felt in hindsight like he had dragged Rain along to his own jobs so many times, that he had inadvertently pressured him into thinking that it was his duty to accept any work put his way. Likewise, he had snapped at Dew when he mocked Rain, without ever checking in on either of his young packmates to see if Rain was truly as unaffected as he acted, or why Dew was quite so volatile in the first place. 

Mountain sat stewing in his own guilt for a minute longer until he reached what he realised was the only conclusion: he needed to apologise to both of them, especially Dew, before their relationship became damaged beyond repair. 

Sat across the fire, Dew was having similar thoughts of his own. All his anger at Rain had dissolved and was now directed squarely at himself. His comments the night before last had been unnecessary, given that Rain had been sobbing and was clearly already blaming himself enough for the both of them. Before they could both move on with their lives, whatever they would look like from now on, Dew needed to speak to Rain and clear the air between them. With the determination fresh in his mind, Dew scrambled inelegantly to his feet, and made to walk over to where Rain was stood gently stroking the horse as she ate her own dinner. 

Before he could make it more than a few steps, he found himself face-to-chest with Mountain. The bigger ghoul put his hands on Dew's shoulders to steady him. 

“Dew, can we talk?” 

Dewdrop looked up, suspicious. Other than Rain, Mountain was the one ghoul who seemed to be holding an insurmountable grudge against him, and he had no desire for another lecture on responsibility when he had finally worked up the courage to speak with Rain. He shrugged, and Mountain took the hint to release his shoulders but made no move to let him past. 

“It's about Rain.” Mountain added, following Dew's eyeline to the water ghoul. 

“Fine.” huffed Dew, and he let himself be led out of earshot of the rest of the pack. 

Almost before they were fully sat down, Mountain burst out the words that had eluded him for so long. 

“I'm sorry.” 

Dew stared at him, not fully comprehending what he was hearing. 

“I'm so sorry, Dew,” Mountain continued, “I've been so angry at everything the last week, but I shouldn't have taken it out on you.” 

If Dew was shocked at Mountain wanting to talk to him, he was floored at receiving an apology. Now that he was properly sat facing Mountain for the first time since everything happened, he could see the haunted look in the earth ghoul's eyes. The desperation in them scared him; it was a familiar look. 

"Rain's safe now, Mount,” he said, addressing a different point but one he felt was the underlying cause of all of this, “we're all safe.” 

“I hope so...” Mountain trailed off. 

“And I'm sorry too,” added Dew, determined to get this uncomfortable conversation tackled in one go, “I was awful to Rain because of my own issues, without thinking about how it affected him. You told me over and over not to and I didn't listen, it's my fault he lost control and we're in this mess.” 

“Don't think like that,” Mountain said, no stranger to the blame game Dew was also trapped in, “we could all have done something different, but we can’t change the past. Now we need to think about how to move on.” 

They sat in slightly awkward silence for a while, neither one entirely sure how to end the conversation. 

“I shouldn't have taken my frustrations out on you,” Mountain finally said, “I couldn't save Rain, it seemed like you'd abandoned us, and Swiss's visions were bouncing between gone or making him scream with the pain.” He shuddered. “It felt like the whole pack was falling apart and I couldn't do anything to stop it.” 

Dew winced at the reminder of how much his departure had hurt them all. 

“Then you came back, and you saved Rain all by yourself,” Mountain continued, “I wasn't needed at all, and it felt like I'd failed the pack.” 

“You know you aren't responsible for our screw-ups, right?” 

Mountain shrugged sheepishly. 

“Yeah, I know. But ‘cause me and Aeth have been here the longest it feels like I should be, sometimes.” 

Dew nodded, remembering what Swiss had said about Mountain feeling like the de-facto pack leader. 

“And now we're going to a place only you know, and everything is completely foreign and unknown and totally out of my ballpark, and I'm scared because I can't control it and I don't know how to not be the one in charge.” Mountain spoke in a rush, the vulnerable words spilling from his chest before he could stop them. 

Dew hummed in understanding. 

“I get it. I'd be acting the same if you were suddenly making me move to live with a bunch of strange ghouls and humans only you knew.”  

Mountain's shoulders, which had been creeping up towards his ears, lowered in relief as Dew acknowledged the crux of his apprehension. 

“I promise we’ll leave if you hate it,” Dew said earnestly, “as soon as Rain is better, we can move on again. You don't need to worry about being trapped there or the pack breaking apart if they want me to stay. They know you come first.” 

Hearing his worries addressed put Mountain further at ease. 

“One more thing though,” reluctantly, Dew figured if they were clearing the air they should raise all their issues and not leave any resentment simmering, “I do know the way on from here, and it hurts that you keep ignoring that I've made this journey twice in the last week. I might not be an expert in anything related to keeping five ghouls alive in the wilderness, but I know what I'm talking about with the route.” 

Mountain looked suitably chastened again, but he saw Dew's point. Things were going to be different between the pack for a while – it was all but inevitable given the events of the past week – but maybe giving up some control didn't have to be a bad thing. If they wanted to rebuild their fragile trust, they had to start somewhere, and being his usual inflexible self in a situation as volatile as this wouldn't help any of them. 

“You're right, and I'm sorry for ignoring you before. I guess I should learn how to give up control a little.” 

“Not completely!” Dew tried to make a joke, sensing Mountain's discomfort growing again.  “We'd all starve without you!” 

Mountain chuckled weakly, and Dew considered that a success. 

“You do need to apologise to Rain though,” Mountain added, “I don't know what happened between you two the other night, but he's hurting and confused right now and needs your support.” 

“Aye aye, Captain.” Dew made a mock salute. “Where did you think I was going when you stopped me just now?”  

“Thanks Dew,” Mountain clapped him on the shoulder as they stood up, “and I'm proud of what you've done for our pack, y'know. I'm sure it wasn't easy.” 

Dew mimed gagging at the praise, and the pair snickered as they went their separate ways, balance between them restored. 

The chat with Mountain had gone well, Dew told himself. It had gone so much better than expected, as to be almost miraculous. How much harder could talking to Rain be? 

Quite a lot harder, it turned out. Dew psyched himself up on the short walk over to where Rain was hovering with the mare, almost spinning on his heel and returning to the fire with every step. 

“Uh, hi Rain…” tried Dew, unsure what to say. How should one start a ‘sorry I goaded you into murdering several people then blamed you oh and now we’re technically also married” conversation, anyway? 

“Hello Dewdrop,” sighed Rain, briefly looking up before turning back to continue fussing over the horse, tucking stray tendrils of her mane back into the loosening braid, “can I help you with something? It’s been a long day and I’m not in the mood for another fight.” 

Dew stuttered, not expecting such assertive behaviour from the water ghoul, who once upon a time had let himself be walked all over like a wet rag. 

“I– uh– I wanted to talk to you.” He finished lamely. Rain levelled him with a weary stare. The silence stretched out until Dew realised he was expected to continue speaking.  

Dew took a deep breath. The bitterness between him and Mountain had been washed away at last, and the relief of the aftermath felt so sweet. He needed to try and do the same thing here. Mountain was right: they couldn’t erase the past. That was set in stone, but the future was as intangible as water, as unpredictable as fire. Dew dug his claws into every speck of inspiration he could take from the earth ghoul’s courage, and started talking. 

“I'm sorry for what I said the other night, it's not your fault we're here, it's mine. I'm sorry for being a bully ever since you got here. You're not useless, you deserve to be here and I'm so sorry I ever said otherwise.” 

Once Dew opened the floodgates, he couldn’t stop. 

“This is all my fault, I was angry at you for things that were my fault and now you're upset with me and so are the others and I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I don't know how to make things better.” 

Dew gasped for breath, and Rain regarded him with a curious look. He couldn’t recall a time when he’d heard Dew speak as much in one go, especially about anything so emotionally charged. He stayed frozen in place for a long moment, unsure how to respond. 

“Thank you.” He said finally, face strangely impassive. 

Dew looked at him, stricken. He wasn’t sure what he had been expecting: anger, tears, acceptance? A simple and cold thank you was definitely not in his list of possible outcomes, and Dew had no idea how to respond. 

“This isn't entirely your fault though Dew, I can't let you think that.” Rain broke the strange, icy tension by addressing the one part of Dew’s spiel he hadn’t expected him to argue with. “There were plenty of other things messing with my head that day.” 

“What do you mean?” Dew asked, confused. Rain shook his head quickly. 

“It doesn't matter right now.” 

Curiosity burned within Dewdrop, but he clamped his lips together, afraid to disturb the fragile truce that was forming between them. The pair descended into silence again, but a less awkward one this time as they both pretended to be engrossed in the horse next to them. 

“Is there something else I need to apologise for?” Dew eventually begged. “I don’t want to leave anything unsaid.” 

At last Rain smiled, and shook his head in amusement. 

"Just give me a damn hug, Dewdrop.” 

[smilesrobotlover]

Volunteer

Just gonna post the other fic I mentioned. Now fair warning, this is a HEAVY one. Very dark and not for the faint of heart, so please head the warnings.

Warnings: nonconsensual touching, experimentation, cutting, needles, kidnapping, drugging, blood, and injury.

The men had been walking in an open plain for days now, with no signs of civilization to be seen for miles. Fortunately, the path was flat, so it was easy on the ones that weren’t used to traveling by foot. It was just so long, and there was nowhere to hide if they were to be attacked by monsters. It stressed Leon out the longer they were out here.

The others didn’t complain too much though; they were grateful for the kind terrain and chatted with each other as they walked. Leon however remained silent, searching for anything that could endanger them. When the group reached a small group of trees with small hills around it, Leon figured it’d be a good place to stop.

“Let’s set up camp here,” he said, observing a tree. The trees weren’t thick enough to produce good shade, but it was better than nothing. “We’re more covered here, so hopefully any monsters will pass us by.”

“Wow, Leon is stopping before sundown?” Rusl teased, leaning against a tree across from the first knight. Leon frowned.

“I doubt we’ll find a place like this again, so we might as well take advantage of it,” Leon explained, glaring at him. “Besides, we’ve been walking for a while. Might as well rest our feet.”

“Aw, so you do care,” Linebeck jumped in, and Leon rolled his eyes.

“Oh good goddesses, I’m not a monster! I’d never push you past your limits!”

The men remained silent.

“I-I don’t push anyone past their limits! Do I?”

Talon shrugged. “Well you ain’t as bad as you were before.”

Benji and Linebeck snorted and the rest of the men started teasing Leon. He huffed and spun around.

“Oh whatever,” he grumbled, turning away, “I’m going to scout the area to make sure we are safe. Hang tight.”

“Now hold on, you really shouldn’t go alone,” Rusl called out to him, but Leon waved his concerns away.

“I won’t be too far, I’ll holler if I need you.”

“Oh for Din’s sake, Leon—“ Rusl started, but Leon was already gone, jogging to the hills.

It didn’t take long to get on top of the first hill. Fortunately he took off his armor a while ago so he didn’t have unnecessary weight dragging him down. From what he saw on top of it, there was nothing, not even monsters. He was surprised at how empty the place was, and he wondered how many people avoided this place due to the vastness. As he walked along the ridge of the hill, however, he spotted a small, almost hidden trail tucked between two smaller hills across from him. He frowned and started to jog down the hill, curious as to where that trail led to. It was clearly not a well worn trail like the one he and the others were traveling on due to it being well hidden, but he wondered why it was there, and what was special about the hills. As he got closer, he started to hear whimpering. It was a woman crying from what he could hear, and he sprinted up the hill, spotting a traveler on the ground, holding her leg painfully.

“Oh dear,” he muttered, and he slid down the hill, right to where she was laying. She gasped when he was at her side, but relaxed when she knew she was in no danger. The woman was very small and petite, with raven black hair the contrasted her pale skin. Immediately Leon noticed that despite her cries, there were no tears on her face, but he brushed that aside, kneeling to be on her level.

“A-are you a traveler?” She asked, and Leon nodded.

“Yes. What happened here?”

“I… I was walking and I twisted my ankle, I can barely walk on it,” she cried dramatically, gripping her shin with her hand. Leon frowned and gently peeled her fingers away to check on the ankle.

“Alright, don’t worry, I can get you help,” he said softly, gently pulling her shoe off so he could get a better view. He pulled her sock down slightly to finally reveal the ankle and frowned. For a twisted ankle, it looked perfectly fine. No bruising, no swelling, nothing. Leon supposed a twisted ankle was better than a sprained ankle and therefore wouldn’t look injured, but he figured he needed to bring her to Talon to check on it. The woman was smiling at him when he looked up, but it wasn’t a grateful smile that would have been expected from someone like her. It was a smile that made his skin crawl, and he set her foot down, straightening his back.

“What’s your name?” She asked.

“Um… I’m… my name is Leon,” he said, suddenly feeling nervous around her.

“Leon? Oh wonderful. Thank you for volunteering.”

“Volunteering—?” Leon heard the footsteps behind him one second too late, and he was suddenly grabbed with one arm around his neck. A cloth was shoved into his face where a sweet smell assaulted his nostrils. He fought back and was able to tear the cloth off his face, but he was quickly pinned to the ground by a masked stranger, who shoved the cloth in his face again. Leon grabbed at the mask, attempting to tear it off, but black spots began to appear in his vision, and he felt his limbs grow heavy. He let out a muffled cry in an attempt to get his friends’ attention, but being surrounded by hills, it was futile. His arm was torn off the mask and pinned to the ground, but he had no strength to fight back. Darkness began to surround him and the last thing he saw before falling unconscious was the masked stranger and the woman smiling at him.

~~~

“… which room…. in?”

“This one will…. take off…”

Leon’s senses began to return to him, and he felt himself being held up by both his arms as he was dragged through a dark hallway. A person was leading the way, entering a room where he and the two people holding him followed. Leon still felt groggy, and he hardly noticed when they took off his shirt and shoes. He was lifted onto a table, and the cold air woke him up enough to realize what was going on. There was another masked stranger at his side and he swung his left arm at them. There was a satisfying crack from where his hand met the mask, and the individual stumbled back in shock. Leon shot up and tried to jump off the table, but several hands grabbed him, holding him down.

“Quickly, tie him down!” He heard a woman say. Leon grunted as he tried to break free, but the men that were holding him down were strong, and they were successful in strapping him to the table. His wrists were strapped next to his waist, where another strap was tied down to the table. Straps held down his ankles and as he tried to sit up, one more strap went across his chest, keeping him stuck. He thrashed around, trying to escape, but to no avail. He looked around him, finally taking in the room and the masked strangers. The room was brightly lit from strange bulb-like plants stuck to the walls, making everything look a sickly white. The men that attacked him wore masks that had an upside-down eye symbol on them, and they wore hoods that put their white masks into shadows. The woman came into view, her black hair hanging around her eyes, which were staring at him as if he were a prize she just won. He glared at her, trying to break his hands free.

“You—where am I?” He yelled, and the woman smiled more.

“Oh I hit the jackpot,” she murmured, ignoring his question. Her hands started to trace over his arms, her eyes bright. “What a strong man.” Her hands found themselves at his bare chest, he squirmed as they traveled down to his abdomen.

“Stop touching me,” Leon snarled, his teeth gritted, but she continued to ignore him. She tilted her head at his scar on his side, and she poked the middle of the scar harshly, causing him to flinch.

“Still hurts?” She giggled, and Leon glared at her. The woman leaned in and started to play with his hair. “You are perfect.”

Her hand moved to his face, and when it got close enough, Leon bit down as hard as he could. She yelped and jumped back, holding her hand painfully. The masked strangers charged at him, but she held up her uninjured hand, stopping them.

“A feisty one, isn’t he?” She said breathlessly, rubbing her hand. “I can't wait to see how he looks on the inside.”

“Should we gag him?” One of the masked ones suggested, but she shook her head.

“Oh no, you know how much I love to hear them scream.”

Panic spiked through Leon for a moment. What was she going to do to him? Rusl’s warning of not searching alone echoed through his mind, and he internally kicked himself. Why was he so stupid? The woman stared amused as he squirmed in his restraints before looking up at the men and nodding, the group dispensing as they started to grab things.

“My good sir, you’re probably wondering what is going on. We are scientists who conduct experiments for medical purposes. Your cooperation will help save hundreds of people.”

“I didn’t ask for this!” Leon spat, once again trying to squirm out of his restraints. The woman only smiled.

“Do not worry, love. This won’t last long.” She glanced up when a masked stranger arrived with a long needle. Leon felt the blood drain from his face and his stomach began doing flips. The woman giggled at his reaction as the masked one straightened out his arm and started poking at his elbow. “Scared of needles?” She teased lightly. Leon glared at her but didn’t say anything. A sharp pain went through his elbow and panic shot through him again. He began to breathe heavily as the needle stayed inside his arm, terrified to move it.

“You’re so brave,” the woman taunted, and Leon glared at her again. The edges of his vision suddenly became blurry, and he saw her grab a scalpel, observing it as unconsciousness once again began to take hold of him. “Let’s see what makes you tick.”

~~~

Leon’s torso was on fire. It took a moment for consciousness to fully return to him, but the pain from his chest was the first thing that came to him. He struggled to breathe, his throat feeling like it was closed up, and he instinctively went to rub his chest, but the restraints at his wrists stopped him. The woman was hunched over him, staring at his chest intently. She noticed him and mumbled some things but Leon couldn’t hear her. He wanted to scream in pain, he wanted to writhe away from whatever was causing him pain, but he couldn’t move. Another sharp pain went through his other arm, and he gasped, except it was more of a gargled sputter. Something metallic covered his entire mouth—was it blood? He felt the liquid clog up his mouth, and he sat there drowning in his own fluids.

His vision went blurry as he choked on whatever was in his mouth, the pain on his torso making him feel lightheaded. The woman came into view and she barked some orders out as he laid there dying, and he barely felt hands on him. He felt himself get jostled and turned on his side, and the blood poured out of his mouth, finally allowing him to cough and breathe. Leon coughed for a long time, taking in precious air that he didn’t have before. He heaved in silence for a moment, his hands finally reaching his chest, looking down to see what was wrong with it. There was blood all over him, and yet…

The pain was gone. His torso and neck stopped hurting, and he was able to breathe again. Goddesses, he even felt… normal. He looked up and saw the woman grinning ear to ear.

“It worked!” She cheered. She nodded at another masked stranger and he walked up to Leon, popping a powdered substance into the air, which he breathed in accidentally. Leon blinked harshly and shook his head. Goddesses couldn’t he catch a break?

“What’s your name?” The woman asked. Leon’s senses suddenly became dulled, and he looked around him, confusion filling him. Where was he again?

“What’s your name?” She repeated, and Leon squinted. This woman… she… is she friendly? What’d she ask? His name? He should say it right?

“L-Leon?” He said, his words slurring.

“Good good, so your brain is still intact,” she cooed. “Well Leon, you’ve been wonderful to work with. We’ll put you right back where we found you.”

Leon frowned. Right back where she found him? Where was he before this? She smiled patiently at him and he nodded. It was the polite thing to do, right? His arms were grabbed and he was led off the table. He stumbled slightly, but with the hands on his arms, he didn’t fall.

“I’ll let you know if we need you again!” The woman called out as he left the room, and Leon was once again dragged through the hallway.

~~~

He didn’t realize he was walking. There didn’t seem to be a purpose in his march. Where was he going? He was staring at the dry grass and rocks he walked onto, no thought going through his mind. Even when he stepped on a sharp rock, he didn’t flinch. He didn’t feel the pain for some reason.

��Leon.”

He was breathing heavily, sweat dripping off his nose as he walked. Goddesses he was hot. Was he in a desert?

“Leon!”

He stumbled slightly when he tripped over a rock, and he finally stopped, staring at the ground for a long moment. Why was he staring?

“Goddesses, Leon!”

Someone grabbed him and whirled him around. He nearly fell over again, but whoever was holding him kept him steady. It took a moment, but he recognized Linebeck, a worried look on his face. He looked him up and down, his eyes studying his chest for a moment, a disgusted look on his face. His eyes traveled back up to his own, his thumb caressing his cheek slightly.

“What happened to you? You were missing for hours!” He finally said, his voice thick with worry.. Leon squinted. Missing? He was missing? Where did he go?

“What were you doing?” Linebeck asked impatiently when Leon stared blankly at him.

“I… w-was walking,” he mumbled, staring at the ground again.

Linebeck was frowning as he looked him over. “Are you ok?”

Leon nodded enthusiastically.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Leon nodded enthusiastically again. Linebeck gave him an annoyed look.

“You don’t understand what I’m saying, do you?”

Leon paused, but once again nodded enthusiastically. Linebeck rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around his shoulder, leading him somewhere.

“Let’s get you back,” he glanced down at Leon again and gave him a look. “Where are your clothes?”

Leon looked down. He wasn’t wearing his shirt. Why… How funny. He exploded into a fit of giggles, toppling over in Linebeck’s arms. Linebeck swore under his breath as he caught him, holding him tightly against his body. Leon continued to laugh, tears streaming down his face.

“Goddesses, what the heck is wrong with you?” Linebeck grumbled, gripping onto Leon’s waist to hold him up. Leon glanced down and squeezed Linebeck’s arm lightly.

“I didn’t know you… were such a s…strong man,” Leon slurred, tracing his fingers along his arms. Linebeck’s face turned red, his green eyes wide as he blinked at him.

“I—wh—you—“ Linebeck sputtered, but he couldn’t form a coherent sentence together. He opened his mouth to try again, but grunting interrupted him.

“What’s goin’ on?” He heard a voice say.

“Something is seriously wrong with him.” Linebeck explained, clearly anxious to hand Leon off to someone else. Leon wavered for a moment, wanting to lay fully on Linebeck—whether it was because he was tired or because he wanted to mess with him, he didn’t know—so he suddenly went limp, and Linebeck cussed again, this time not being able to catch him. Leon was laughing hysterically now, his stomach sore from giggling so much. He saw another person, Talon, enter his vision.

“What the hell…?” He muttered, and Leon pointed at him.

“That is not an appropriate thing to say,” Leon teased, breaking into a fit of laughter again.

Linebeck and Talon glanced at each other, and Talon sighed.

“Alright, let’s bring him back,” he said, grabbing his arm and swinging him over his shoulder as if he weighed nothing. Leon hung there, going silent now, continuing to stare at the grass beneath him.

~~~

Leon jolted awake. He was under blankets in a tent, a damp cloth resting on his forehead. It felt like he was in death mountain, with sweat clearly coating his entire body. He groaned and tore the blankets off of him, tossing the cloth off his head. Sitting up fortunately wasn’t a challenge for him, but his chest and stomach was killing him. He looked down at himself, and for some reason, he was expecting an injury or a scar, but the only scar there was the one from his son. His eyes traveled to his elbows. No bruise or mark on either of them, but they felt sore. In fact, his entire body felt sore. What happened?

“Leon!”

He looked up to see Talon holding a bowl of water. Relief swept through him to see a friend and he rested on his arms, letting out a breath.

“We were so worried about you!” Talon sat down, handing him the bowl. “Are you thirsty?”

The dryness of his mouth suddenly assaulted him, and he took the bowl from Talon, chugging it until it was all gone. He let out a sigh when he was finished, wiping his mouth. Goddesses he felt terrible.

“What happened to you?” Talon asked, his brows pinched together. “Linebeck found you walking mindlessly across the plain with nothing on but your pants! You were covered in blood too, but no injuries! Except for your feet, those are gonna need some time to recover.”

Leon frowned and pulled his feet out from under his blanket, hissing as they stung from being rubbed against the blanket. They were cleaned up with some bandages, but some scratches and bruises remained. He groaned and rested his head against his hands, trying to remember what happened.

“Are you ok?” Talon finally asked, rubbing his back.

“I… I don’t know,” he muttered, his voice hoarse. He tried to remember what happened before everything. “What happened?”

“That’s what I’m askin’. You left to scout ahead and then you went missing! We spent so long lookin’ for you!”

He went to scout ahead… right… he found a woman, and she…

What did she do? Why couldn’t he remember?

“I-I found a woman and…” Leon hoped that explaining what he did remember, he would be able to jog his memory. But no matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t remember what happened with her.

“Were you… kidnapped?” Talon pressed, and Leon sighed.

“I… maybe? I think… I… I can’t remember.”

Talon frowned. “Ok. Um… are you in pain anywhere?”

Leon closed his eyes. “Yes, my elbows and… my middle,” Leon gestured to the inside of his elbows, then drew a line with his finger down his middle. There were instances of an aching pain in those areas, yet Leon didn’t know what could’ve caused him pain there.

“Anywhere else?”

Leon rested his head against his hand, shifting around to see if anything else hurt. “I suppose my feet, but I do remember injuring those.”

“Hm, weird,” Talon muttered. They were silent for a moment until the tent door opened and Linebeck entered in. He got on his knees and scooted to the two men, worriedly staring at Leon.

“Are you…. Sober?” He asked, and Leon rolled his eyes, annoyed. Linebeck snorted slightly and smiled at Talon. “Well that answers my question.”

Talon chuckled and rubbed Leon’s shoulder. “I think he’s back in Hyrule now.”

“Oh good,” Linebeck smiled more genuinely at Leon. “Let me tell you, I’ve seen some pretty terrifying things, but nothing is more scary than hearing you giggle.”

Leon raised an eyebrow. He didn’t remember giggling. Talon chuckled again.

“It was pretty scary. You’re as stoic and serious as stone face, yet here you were, a bumbling mess!”

Leon smiled slightly. “Well, I’m glad you both found me. I owe you my life. Thank you.”

“Oh, Linebeck deserves all the credit,” Talon lightly teased, nudging Linebeck’s shoulder as he groaned. “He was the one who found you!”

“Oh please—“

“He’s a hero! He didn’t rest until you were found!”

“Talon! I—“

“Threatened to kill anyone who got in his way!” Talon continued as Linebeck glared, giving up on silencing him. Leon smiled.

“Being humble, Linebeck? I didn’t know you could do that,” he teased, and Linebeck huffed.

“You people are so annoying.”

The two men chuckled. It felt good to laugh. Leon felt like he had been under extreme stress for days. He let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes.

“Are you good? What happened?” Linebeck asked.

“That’s what we’re tryin’ to figure out,” Talon said. “Leon doesn’t remember what happened.”

Linebeck’s eyes widened. “Really? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised based on the state I found you in but… nothing? Nothing at all?”

Leon shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. I remember a woman but… I can’t tell if I imagined her or if she was real or…” he sighed. “I don’t know.”

Linebeck hummed. “Benji thinks that you ate plants that made you high. But you were covered in blood when I found you, so I don’t believe that.”

“Leon would also never eat random plants,” Talon added.

“Benji would be the one to eat a random plant,” Leon muttered, and Linebeck snorted.

“Are we sure you’re sober? Because you’re not insufferable to talk to!”

Leon gave him a look. “I can be insufferable if you keep that up.”

“There he is,” Linebeck said with a smirk. “There’s the Leon I know and love.”

Leon couldn’t help but smirk back.

“Alright, well you should get some more rest then,” Talon said after a moment of silence. “You probably need it, and hopefully it’ll… I don’t know… job your memory or somethin’.”

Leon frowned. “I don’t know, I… if I was attacked or something, I don’t think we’ll be safe out here—“

“Oh we’ll be fine. You want to know why?” Linebeck asked, a teasing smile on his face. Leon only stared at him unamused. “Because we’re together.”

Leon groaned, rubbing his face as Linebeck nodded.

“Honestly, If you run off again on your own I think Rusl will try to kill you.”

Leon sighed. “Yes, I’m sorry, but it’s not like I try to go missing!”

“Well next time you try to scout ahead, take one of us with ya!” Talon suggested, bumping into Linebeck lightly. “I’m sure Linebeck would love to go with you!”

Leon frowned. “I’d rather be kidnapped honestly.”

“Ouch.”

Leon smirked and began to lay back, exhaustion beginning to get the best of him.

“Alright, you get some rest, I’ll tell the others that you’re ok,” Talon said, helping him get comfortable. Leon gave him a grateful smile, his heavy eyelids falling, and he was once again swept into unconsciousness.

[knight-of-flowerss]

Ubbe x Shield Maiden!reader

FLINGS OF WAR

Navigation

Vikings masterlist

Ubbe was a polite man, well rounded, never raised his voice unless needed, but when it came to battle, that was all out the window.

Ubbe is still a man. Men have needs, urges, that need to be met. And with Margarethe so so far away, it was making him pent up. And a pent up Viking is not one you want to be around. Maybe it’s good in battles where the anger is needed but when it is just on a ship or setting up camp, you wanna give that blue balled cunt a punch in the face.

Now as a shield maiden you took great pride in yourself for all your accomplishments, especially being the leader of a well known only shield maiden army. You never let a man boss you or your women about. Especially not some Ragnarsson that thinks they own everyone.

Ubbe was basically a foot up your ass with everything you did. You wanted to train your women? Why aren’t you training them with the rest, your not better than us. You wanted to have first grabs on the soup you and your women supplied all the meat for? Why are you being greedy, there’s more than just yourself and your little she-wolf pack here. Yep, a literally kick to the crotch anytime you tried to do anything.

But there was one day. One day when you found him in the woods with one of your more, annoying, shield maidens. You had heard all kind of moans and groans coming from there as you went hunting for tonight’s food.

Finally, you peeked behind a tree and spotted someone’s bare arse cheeks, covering your mouth with your hand as giggles nearly sputtered out. Peeking further, you saw that bitch Aada, on her back like a whore for whoever that man was, then, his head tilted back.

Ubbe fucking Lothbrok.

Jumping out from behind the tree you scream, “AADA! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU LOOK LIKE A SLAVE GETTING FUCKED BY HER OWNER, GET OFF YOUR BACK YOU WHORE!”

Aada jumped up, gathering her cloak to shield her nude body from your piercing eyes. While Ubbe just fucking laughed. “Aww, poor little ___ can’t stand to see me impale another women without her having first grabs like she does with everything.” That cocky little fucker.

“Go.” Ubbe said sternly to Aada who was just sitting there in shock. She quickly gathered her garments and scurried away. “So.. how long were you standing there? I bet you where wishing it was me, i bet your pussy’s soaked just watching me fuck her. Isn’t it baby?” Ubbe smirked while he said that, already knowing it was true.

Remember how I said Ubbe was a pain up your arse, he literally was. By the sense that the pain was his thick cock slamming back into you over and over as he grabs your hair and pushes your head down on whatever surface you’d be fucking on that day.

“Shut up Ubbe. Why where you doing that? Why Aada? Why one of my shield maidens? What about me?” You swore you saw his dick twitch through his pants as you stepped closer, cleavage nearly busting through your shirt.

“I’m a Viking warrior, I take and make it mine, just like Margarethe and just like that sweet pussy that draws my cock to fuck you senseless.“ you looked up at him, “Then why don’t you ever do it? You only ever take pleasure with my ass, why not take me as yours?”

He laughed a little then let out a strained sigh, “You want me to take you right on the forest floor don’t you?” You bit your lip, “Please Ubbe, claim me, make me yours, show everyone who I belong to.”

His large, veiny hands grabbed your throat and brought you closer to him, he slammed his lips down onto yours, aggressively taking control as you gasped into his mouth. Said hands then ripped your shirt and harshly grabbed onto your plush tits, squeezing them and eventually letting go of your lips to bend down and suck your hard nipples.

While he’s giving your tits some much loved attention, he pulls your pants down your legs and forces his fingers inside your sopping pussy, squelching as he fingers your fast and hard.

Your legs buckle underneath you as the sluttiest moan you’ve ever had spews out of your mouth, echoing through the forest.

After pushing your pants fully down and off your legs, Ubbe pulls one of your legs above his shoulder, kissing down from your tits to your pulsing, wet pussy. He latches onto your clit, sucking on it harshly and giving it some much needed attention. Your whole body starts to shake as you can feel yourself nearing your peek, I mean, who could blame you for cumming this early? You have a literal sex god working wonders on your clit and thrusting his long, thick fingers inside of you.

You grab onto his hair and double over, trying to retain some balance. Your moans are all you can hear apart from the squelching and sucking from Ubbe eating you like it’s his last meal before battle.

“Holy fuck Ubbe im gonna cum. Baby I’m gonna cum. Fuck, fuck fuc-“ The the son of a bitch just stops. Panting you look down to him smirking, “WHAT THE FUCK UBBE I WAS SO CLOSE!” He laughed, “I wanna see you work for it,” he took your leg off his shoulder and started to lie down, “I wanna feel that gorgeous pussy fucking itself on my face, desperate to cum. C’mon baby, fuck my face like the little whore you ar-“ with that you planted your pussy on top of his mouth, grabbing his hair, and fucking that cocky mouth ‘til you cum.

Eventually, after a few minutes of grinding on his mouth, you where close, you needed to cum. Desperately. But Ubbe had other plans, again.

He pushed you off him and forced you to the floor, you were just about to start screaming at him before he thrusted his thick cock inside of you. Your mouth which was just open to curse him out let out a gutteral moan as you arched your back on the forest floor.

Ubbe fucked himself into you like a wild animal, grunts and huffs were all you could hear above you. It was his first time inside your pussy and he was gonna make the absolute most of it, his left hand gripped your throat as his right harshly pawed at your tits. Your left hand grabbed your tits aswell, as your right hand travelled down your body to hastily stroke your clit.

You were both lost in the heat of the moment as your peaks were in view, “I’m gonna fuck my children into you my love, I will take you as my wife after this war is won and I’m going to give this pussy pleasure each and every night. You will be the mother of my children, not Margarethe, you. Im gonna cum soon are you ready sweetheart?”

You nodded and he dips his head down to lazily kiss your lips, his hips driving into you at a phenomenal pace. Your whimpers and moan grew louder and louder until you latched your legs around his hips and pushed him deeper into you, making you cum hard.

_____________________________

Hiii! This was asked by an anon so I unfortunately can’t tag them but yep here it is! I feel like I’m still in writers block but this was still fun to write either way :) also sorry if it’s bad I haven’t wrote in a WHILE😅

_____________________________

Tags: @lost-in-fiction-like-ur-mom @thethreeeyed-raven @naaladareia @thelirofnorthlands

[hrefna-the-raven]

Hi it's me ^^

- Can I get a rlly angsty fic/headcanons for Kelvin

- So reader and Kelvin have like an romantic love for eachother but they never actually tell each other (although they're both aware of it)

- It's like an unsaid romance thing

- When the helicopter comes Kelvin doesn't want to go bc he feels like there's more good to do/more mysteries to solve

- Reader was originally gonna leave on the helicopter but Kelvin convinces them to stay with them

- And originally it goes pretty great, since they have more knowledge on the place

- But it goes wrong and reader gets mortally wounded (like some mutation wounded them in the lab)

- And Kelvin's regretting ever bringing them along and wishing they just went back instead

- Since Kelvin's hearing is still barely there he can't really hear anything but they can read lips well

- And as reader is slumped on a wall or something with Kelvin kneeling to try stop the bleeding they just caress his face and say 'I love you'

- Then they die 😭 (this is so sad lmaoooo)

Hi 👋,

omg what a dark request...😱😱😱 I already felt anxious by reading this and imagining Kelvin's darkest and saddest day in my mind 😅

I was not sure if I should keep the ending this dark but as I still liked the challenge to go against all the happiness I wanna give to Kelvin in my stories, I tried my best to come as close as possible to your request and I hope you like it 😊

Last demon

Words: 1106

Warnings: this might break a few hearts, it most certainly broke mine while writing it 😭

BEWARE! Spoilers of the game's ending ahead

Summary:

Reader and Kelvin head to the cube when the tragedy unfolds....

A heartbreaking sob escaped Kelvin as he dragged your unconscious blood-soaked body through the cave underneath the last bunker. How could he let this happen? How did it come to this? It was all his fault and he doubted if he'd ever be able to live with what he had done. All he wanted was to keep this newly found life with the woman he loved most. You and him survived over a months on this cursed island, killing all sorts of cannibals and mutants, up to the point that your camp was barely attacked anymore and you roamed more or less carefree through the woods on your supply hunts. He knew he had lost his place in the world he came from. After loosing his ability to hear he lost his chance to remain a soldier and what else could he even do besides being the one and only thing he was trained to do? How was he supposed to fight on the battlefield without even hearing the enemy? So, back then, when his hand grabbed your shoulder and he shook his head while you had already set a foot into the helicopter, you gave in and granted him his wish. You took a step back, faintly smiling at Timothy and thanking him for the proposition, explaining that you'd remain with Kelvin on the island, watching the helicopter taking off and disappearing on the horizon. It was a dangerous and rash decision but your heart had taken over, choosing that life with Kelvin instead of the sweet memory of that normal life in the old world. You both had grown too fond of each other as time passed and even though you never specifically spoke of it, after all the gentle kisses and reassuring loving touches, he would consider you to be his girlfriend rather than just a fellow survivor. You became his life, his everything and yet he had failed you. He had failed the life he requested from you and now the only true love he ever knew would die in his arms.

Approaching the end of another eight cycles, the two of you headed towards the bunker on the beach before the countdown hit zero, because, as much as you loved your life in isolation from society with each other, you also loved remaining human. None of you was wearing much armor anymore, a luxury you granted yourselves after killing every mutant you came across and them crossing your paths less and less, shrouding you into a deceitful sense of security. As you entered the last part of the cave, you turned around to Kelvin, a smile spread wide of your lips, giggling gleefully, a hand reaching out to him to pull him into a kiss when, in the blink of an eye a demon emerged from the shadows and sank its teeth in the soft flesh at the side of your waist. The excruciating pain left you gasping for a moment, your mouth hanging open in shock. For a second, Kelvin's blood froze in his veins, paralising him, unable to fully process the scene unfolding in front of him. Your body slumped to the ground, the once bright smile now washed away and replaced by a look of despair. Kelvin screamed from the top of his lungs, the agonising sound of it echoing through the cave as he launched forward and slammed his machete into the demon's head before rushing back to your side. His mind refused to acknowledge the dire consequences of the moment, he kept you from entering that helicopter, catching up on him now. You drew ragged breaths, groaning in pain while Kelvin's shaking hands pressed on the wound in a desperate attempt to stop the bleeding. A thousand sorry left his trembling lips as he kept the pressure up, the tears flowing down his cheeks, dripping on your pale skin melting into your own streams of tears. The light that shone at the end of the caved felt like a million miles away and helplessness engulfed his mind and body, leaving him to feel like a tiny ant struggling against a merciless storm, cradling you in the dark pit that had become his world and doom. He racked his brain for a solution, desperate to save your life, his gaze falling back to the shimmering light. The golden room! He took off his hoodie, placing it on your wound, wrapping the arms of it around tightly and securing it with a knot. A pained moan was the last sound that left you before you lost consciousness, your body hanging lifelessly in Kevin's arms. He dragged both you down the cave with heavy steps, his eyes fixed on the golden shimmering light of the cube. If he could bring you in before it sealed itself and avoided mutation, he might be able to help you afterwards. As he reached the room, a golden wall slowly started sinking down and he pushed your body inside before he rolled in, barely making it in time before the wall hit the ground.

A throbbing pain seeped through his head and dimensional energy started pulling alternate versions from him before converging back into one. After a moment, the wall in front of him opens up into a portal. He gazed yet again at the outlines of the dark futuristic city, illuminated by lightening striking at the tall skyscrapers while a huge pale glowing moon hanging menacingly in the night sky. His eyes remained on the dark city, a glimmering thought of the faintest most desperate hope forming at the back of his mind. There was no possibility to determine if he'd be able to help you, if you'd survive this without any medical aid on this island as well as there would be no way of knowing if the both of you would survive entering another world. He had to make a choice and he had to choose fast as he felt the energy from the portal fading again. Kelvin was torn, the last time he took a decision it laid to the very darkness that threatened to consume both of you now. Hesitation clawed at him for a few more moments, but the desperation in his heart and his love's cold body in his arms made him resolute. He took a deep breath, grabbed you tight, and fell through the portal into the new world before it disappeared again, leaving nothing but the a puddle of blood in the now empty room made of dirty golden walls, the corpse of the last demon lying in the dust a few feet away.

Happier Kelvin stories:

A light at night (18+)

First kiss

Silent saviour

Relief (18+)

SotF masterlist

[keldae]

apricity for the prompt meme for the oc of your choice? ♥️

The shadow-cursed lands on the road to Baldur's Gate had been a place of near-eternal nighttime for a century. Yet with Kethric’s death, the land was already healing. Halsin had said the curse was starting to fall away as the group had packed up their campsite after the conquest of Moonrise Towers, only a day ago.

Still, it was one thing to hear it from the druid, and another thing to see it happen before her eyes. Devi had barely set foot on the road to Baldur's Gate, just outside of the abandoned village, when she felt warmth on her back. It didn't feel like Gale had decided to spontaneously hug her from behind, nor did it feel like a fireball thrown from an ambush. It felt warm, and comforting, radiating on her partially-shaved head.

She turned, and felt her eyes widen as she watched the shadows fall away, the grotesque vines and roots of corrupted plants withering under a new sunrise. It had been so long since she'd seen the sun, over a tenday – she closed her eyes for a moment, soaking in the welcome rays of sunshine.

To her right, Halsin chuckled. “I told you we would see the land begin to heal before we left,” the large druid said. “Nature is restoring balance, with Kethric gone.”

“And good riddance to him,” Devi fervently said. “Creepy bastard.”

She could almost hear Halsin's smirk before he turned away. “Ah, stop your complaining, Astarion,” he said. “You said your vampire powers were held at bay by the parasite. You can stand some sunlight.”

“So? It's still so bright!” Astarion complained.

Devi grinned, then felt a larger hand gently take hers and squeeze. She didn't need to open her eyes to know it was Gale at her side. “It's wonderful, isn't it?” she asked. “I'd almost forgotten how nice the sun feels.”

“Mmmm. It's beautiful,” Gale murmured in agreement – although when Devi opened her eyes, the wizard was gazing at her, completely ignoring the huge tree rising from the heart of the village the party was leaving behind. Recognizing he was caught, Gale had the grace to look a little sheepish; still, he reached out to touch Devi's cheek with his free hand. “Your eyes have the most beautiful look in the sunlight – they're the colour of the sea,” he softly said. “I could lose myself in them.”

And to think Devi had come so close to losing her wizard lover, in the depths under the towers in the mind-flayer colony... Forcing back the sudden heat behind her eyes that threatened tears, she stretched up on tip-toe to kiss Gale as the sun, briefly passing behind natural white clouds, came back out into the open. “I'm glad you're here with me,” she whispered. “You deserve to see as many sunrises as you can, Mystra be damned.”

Gale smiled and touched his forehead to hers. “And as beautiful as every dawn is, they're no comparison to you and your smile that lights up a room–”

“Oi!” Karlach hollered from the front of the party. “Save it for when we make camp tonight, you two lovebirds!”

“Please, before I get ill watching you two be so nauseatingly sweet,” Astarion loudly muttered. It was almost enough to hide the sound of Jaheira’s amused snort.

Gale rolled his eyes, then grandly gestured to the road in front of the pair. “Shall we, love?”

“Yes, let's.” Devi laughed and, with a final look back at the healing village and its magnificent new tree, started walking west toward Baldur's Gate. Having Gale's hand in hers felt natural and perfect, like she had been missing that touch for her entire life. She needed the wizard like she needed sunlight and water, and it felt good to know that he felt the same about her.

[newvegascowboy]

The last time he had seen her, she had been a child - in body, if not in mind. She wasn't special in that regard. Cato had never had much of a childhood either, with weapons pressed into his hands by the time he was old enough to hold them and bruises on his knuckles as soon as he could make a fist. Santa Fe offered no quarter, and they had all seen and done things that stripped their childhoods away from them before they had ever truly been possessed. Cecelia had been eight, or thereabouts, when she'd come to the city in chains. He doesn't remember it, of course, but he's seen other children. Fine boned, with eyes too big and wearing bruises from a poorly fitted collar. Before that, Cato doesn't know. He knows enough that he doesn't want to think too hard about it. She'd been fourteen when she and Jack had finally slipped the noose and escaped into the desert. Cato himself had caught Jack - no one had ever caught Cecelia. He has many years of practice averting his gaze from the young women that populate the camp. They, too, learn quickly how not to be looked at. Sitting in a shaded corner, chapped fingers mending tunics and armor, or boiling bandages, seen and not heard as not to draw unwanted attention. Phoenix hadn't been good - outspoken, uncowed women like Renee were an anomaly - but here, on Fortification Hill, it's hard for Cato to look away. He tries to help sometimes, slipping them rations or bandages or little packets of healing powder to be scrubbed into cuts. Enough help that they know to slip into his tent or his eyrie to hide, that he'll help if they ask, but look at them? No. Never look. Not enough to draw attention. It hadn't been as bad in Santa Fe. The women talked. Laughed, even. Maybe not well treated, but it could have been worse. Cato regrets that his idea of morality had been chipped away into ‘bad’ and ‘not as bad’ before he'd even had a chance to learn what bad meant. Everything is skewed too far to the right. His world view sits uncomfortably, teetering between the kind of discomfort he can ignore and the kind that drives a man insane. Like a bone that had set wrong, he had grown used to walking with an uneven limp, and now flinches away from the pain of rebreaking and setting it correctly.  If Cecelia's upbringing in the Legion had affected her once, it doesn't now. She stares at him, hard eyed, eyes glinting like those of the cougars that prowl the wastes around Phoenix, ready to shred a man between tooth and claw. Her hair is wild, barely tamed by the black hat clamped over her head and cutting a long shadow across her face. The wind grabs any strands not encased in her loose braid, pulling it into a snarl across her face, glinting like threads of bronze under the sun. She stands like a wild cat too, posture easy and loose, hiding danger beneath the billowing folds of a poncho. There's a rifle at her side - not pointed at him, but it could be, and Cecelia makes it known as she grips the stock. “Cato. Long time no see.” Her voice is the same easy drawl as Red's. It lacks any inflection that might provide insight on to whether or not she plans to use that rifle. Cato wets his mouth. “I thought you were dead.”  “Nope.”  “Are you going to kill me?”  “Are you gonna give me a reason?”  She shifts her weight, leaning back on one foot. Once more, like a cat about to pounce. Cato doesn't move. “No,” he says cautiously. “Not if you don't already have one.”  Cecelia had not been a young woman of good humor. Even as her lips crack in a little smile, there and gone, Cato gets the sense that that hasn't changed much. Finally, she swings the rifle up to rest upon her shoulder and cocks her hip. “Revenge gets you dead, Cato,” she says. “You and I, we're square. For now.” 

[craziechwiv]

Bennett's lucky day

Bennett is enjoying a fried (burnt) egg for his breakfast, as he looks over the commissions and ruins he'll be exploring today. He had his sword resharpened, his back packed with the essentials, and all he needs now is...luck. It's been kind of dry the last couple of weeks and Bennett barely had anything to show for it. So, with a sigh to himself he got and began to make his trek towards his first commission.

Comm: Clear out a Hillichurl encampment.

Bennett's morning couldn't start of any better than alerting some Hillichurl lookouts to his presence when he was hasn't even set foot near the camp itself. As he was in an intense fight, he was too busy engulfing his fire in flames to notice a Mtihachurl barreling towards him, shield in front of the monstrous foe as he was getting closer and closer to the distracted pyro swordsman. However, it then tripped on a pebble, and face planted onto the ground, gaining Bennett's attention finally as he burnt its shield with ease, and stuck his sword straight in its brain.

Commission, completed!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Objective: Find some treasure in a newly found Ruin.

Bennett was exploring some new Ruins that seemed to have just appeared out of no where. And as much as his senses were telling him to not explore it, his search for treasure was shouting at him to at least gain some profit. So, he took the latter. As he explored the abandoned place, and searched down the empty corridors and inspected every stone pillar in his path, he finally discovered a large room.

The Good news? He could see an overwhelming number of chests in it.

The Bad news? A Ruin Guard was reactivating, and ready to rumble.

Bennett hadn't thought of fighting a Ruin Guard today, but with this must on the line; he really couldn't back out now. As he readied his blade, engulfing it in a fire, he charged at the Ruin Guard with a battle cry. The Ruin Guard made its charge towards Bennett as well, both ready to take out the other.

Bennett has remained victorious, coming out of the fight with a few scratches and all that, he decided to take a breather next to a treasure chest, taking a peek inside only to have it burst open. The shining glow from inside nearly brought Bennett to tears as he saw a mountain of mora staring back at him. He jumped up with excitement, nearly pinching himself thinking it was all a dream come true.

Dream, dream, dream...

In reality, Bennett was found by Amber who watched him closely enter in the Ruin, she saw him take out the Ruin Guard by himself, but not without a hefty cost. He was currently in a comatose state, being nurse by Barbara as most of the Knights with Razor and Fischl in tow, watching over him from a distance. No telling what made Bennett want to go in there alone when he could've asked his closest friends, but they knew it had to have been something important for him to risk his life over.

Bennett had always been one to take risks like these before, even with his bad luck, people had to commend him for going above and beyond on trying his best to be an adventurer. Even if they had to steer clear of his bad luck from triggering around them, there was a certain aura that he'd give off when his plans go right that give people a sense of determination. So, as much as it does seem saddening to say; this wasn't the norm for Bennett to be nursed back to health from something as serious as bleeding out, alone in a ruin.

By the time he did finally awake, Bennett felt the pain of his duel with the Ruin Guard, and the bandages stained with his blood weren't helping him keep his spirits up. As he looked around his medical room, he saw that it was night already, but there laid in what little light he had, he saw a big gift bag besides him, resting on a nearby table.

Bennett grabbed the basket and opened it slowly, expecting it to be a prank pulled by someone who disliked him or something else. But what he saw in there was enough to make him cry. Some artifacts he was saving up for with what little mora he had. Some materials for a new sword, Barbatos knows he needed one for awhile... And a check written to him by Jean herself, to compensate his medical treatment and what he lost down in the ruins.

Bennett never felt truly lucky on any day of the week. But when he did hit a lucky break; boy did it make him forget all about whatever was bothering him to begin with.