#hopefully this chapter turned out well it was supposed to be the big important one

[delicatesoundofthunderr]

Lock-up ~ Chapter 1

{Charles Leclerc x Reader}

Y/N L/N is the new hope of RedBull. Though, her start to the season could’ve known some better days. With RedBull’s pressure, her dad’s reminders that she is only here because of him and Max’s behaviour, Y/N has a lot on her mind.

Someone she used to know seems to notice, but can’t decided wether or not to help.

Read to see how this all unfolds ❤️

hope yall enjoy!!

•••

I changed a bit of things in F1 to make this story work, therefore Perez does not exist anymore 😭. Also the calendar is different, and I made the reader Canadian but her dad's Italian.

The story will be both present, and past for flashbacks and explanations.

Heres a short diagram of the teams Charles and Y/N have been in.

Charles Y/N

2018 (F2): Prema Dams

2019-2020 (F1): Sauber Racing Point

present (F1):       Ferrari RedBull

This fanfic includes all the good stuff, from closed proximity to forbidden love, you guys won't ever be bored 🤭

Enjoy!!

•••

Present Day -  Spain GP, race #7

" And it's a red flag here in Spain... Who could possibly- Oh and it's Charles Leclerc and Y/N L/N who have crashed!" the commentator's voice boomed through the speakers.

Both cars were immobile in the gravel pits of the circuit, with Charles' front wing stuck in the wall.

" For those of you that are new to Formula One, let's just say these two have made it a habit of constantly fighting each other since the start of the season... once in a while resulting into both of their DNFs," The other commentator continued.

" What a fucking idiot. Turning into me like that, what the hell was i supposed to do?" Y/N complained in her radio.

" If she keeps pulling stuff like that she could literally kill someone, including herself. When will she learn to control herself?" Charles screamed in his team radio.

Both drivers got out of their cars without a scratch, and the glare they gave each other through furrowed brows must've been the most intense part of the whole crash.

•••

It wasn't always like this. Battling the other dangerously, loathing stares, and hateful speeches.

Two years ago, when you were with Racing Point and he Sauber, you and Charles were inseparable. People went as far as saying you guys were dating, but that theory was quickly shut down since at that time Charles had a girlfriend and you were seeing someone.

You guys had formed habits together, but the most important one was skiing in the Alps in the off season.

•••

2 Years Ago -  Italian Alps

" Where do you think you're going next?" you ask Charles on the chairlift.

The beautiful and vast Alps were mesmerizing to look at from the chairlift, but Charles had his eyes somewhere else.

" I think we should go... Hörnli." he says, with a determined look on his face.

" Not the ski slopes idiot, the next F1 team you're joining," you laugh.

Skiing and hiking the Alps was your tradition with Charles. It was your third time doing it by now.

" Oh my god I'm so stupid. Well Ferrari have reached out, so if I have the opportunity I'm definitely taking it. What about you?" he watches you carefully.

" I don't know yet. I should know soon though." You added with a smile that quickly faded.

" Don't worry, There's definitely a big team that has you in their sights." He said, flashing you a smile. " Imagine you end up in Ferrari with me!" he added hopefully.

" Oh I don't think you could handle me beating you every race." you teased, shoving him slightly.

" Oh, You wish! Still... I must admit you're the toughest opponent I've had... yet." he smugly added.

His compliment had caught you off-guard.

" You really think so?" you questioned with a cocky smile. " I'm touched."

" I said yet, and with the cars that we have right now. We'll see when we're in bigger teams." he challenged.

" You didn't specify cars..." you teased.

" Oh shut up," he chuckles, hitting you with his ski stick.

Your laughs could almost be heard echoing in the vast mountains of Italy.

Then, you signed with RedBull.

•••

The tension began at the start of this season, ever since Charles joined his dear Scuderia and you RedBull.

Ever since the Canadian Grand Prix.

Charles' selfish action had cost him his already fragile friendship with you. He wanted to get back at you for what you did to him in Monaco. He let his greed cloud his thoughts, but perhaps there was another emotion present in his thinking...

•••

Past - Monaco GP - race 1

Y/N POV

I had to prove myself. Being the only woman on the F1 grid put a suffocating pressure on my chest, because I had to be perfect no matter the occasion. On and off track.

Winning this historical race meant winning everybody's respect. Especially my dad's. He would have no other choice but to hug me tightly after the win, right? Surely he wouldn't have any reasons to be disappointed in me?

I was both eager and scared to find out. My dad  only wants the best for me, but he sometimes struggles to show it. Still, I wouldn't ask for anything else. His severe teaching is the only reason I'm here.

•••

30 seconds before the lights go out. I close my eyes and go over the track in my head one last time before taking in as much air possible in my lungs and letting it go steadily. I tune out every distraction around me and look up without blinking.

Two cars in front.

Lewis on pole and Charles following.

The red lights are on... and off.

I don't have an amazing start but I manage to keep my position. The first few laps require the fullest of my concentration because of Monaco's tight corners and every car being close. I finally hear Ryan (my engineer) telling me to slow down and keep a good pace.

That was until Lewis made a mistake, leading to Charles and I passing him. There was only Charles in front now. No, not Charles. A car.

I was simply looking at a red car who, by team orders, needed to be passed.

And so I attacked. Trying to push the ferrari into making a single mistake, one I could benefit from.

The ferrari in front was incredibly good at defending, and my heart started to beat faster. There were only a few laps left. I had to win, I needed to win.

My impatience got the best of me. It pushed me over the limit, and I was the one that made the mistake. I didn't brake soon enough.

A bit of smoke is all I remember before disassociating from the moment. I fucked up. My dad was never going to let me forget this. What was the media going to say? I ruined both my race and Charles'. Not even one of us was going to celebrate tonight.

My stomach ached so much. My head was spinning. I saw two hands reaching out to me and helping me up from my seat. Was it Charles? Maybe he forgives me. He had to.

I opened my eyes and saw the ones of a worried marshal. He set me down and my eyes instantly searched for Charles'.

I found his eyes glued to his car, then they finally met mine.  The look in his eyes made my heart drop. Hatred. Hatred I created.

I knew I couldn't run up to him right now, But I had to speak to him. We've had our conflicts on-track, but they never lasted long off-track. This time was different.

I start to walk away, and then looked up to lock eyes with my father's. Disappointment. My heart pinched and anger rose in me.

•••

After the race I searched for Charles everywhere and finally found him by the stands, walking alone.

"Charles!" I call out, half expecting him to walk the other way.

He simply stopped walking and looked at me expectantly.

" Listen I'm- " But he cuts me off.

" Y/N you don't have to say anything. Racing is racing. You shouldn't stop yourself from attacking just because I'm the one in the car in front." he said, rather coldly.

I felt so relieved to hear that. I lifted my arms up to hug him, but he quickly took ahold of my wrist. He closed his eyes, and gripped my wrist tighter.

"Just... Expect the same in following races." He said, opening his eyes with a piercing gaze.

He let go of my wrist gently and turned his back on me, leaving me all alone.

What the fuck. What did he mean? His anger would probably dissipate before the next race, like it always did. Like he said, I shouldn't just stop overtaking him to make him happy.

•••

The media ate me alive, and it made me even more frustrated. First race for Redbull and this is what happens...

I make my way out of the interview room and see my dad. My throat starts to close.

" Terrible start, terrible attacking, and overall shitty race. This isn't the result of my teaching, is it?" he coldly states.

"No." I mutter out.

" What? I couldn't quite hear." he says.

" No, it's not! It's my fault entirely." I say truthfully. This was not a good example of my driving and even less of my dad's guidance.

" There you go." my dad says, patting me on the shoulder.

•••

Past - Canadian GP - race #2

Y/N POV

I qualified like shit for my home grand prix. P6 because my car had a problem, and if it wasn't enough, Charles was P7 behind me. I'll show him that his little speech didn't scare me and it was childish of him to menace me with his words.

The race was tight. I had managed to get up to P3, but Charles was very close behind. I defended him fiercely, and for a moment I thought I had it. That was until his "tires locked up" and he hit my side. Both cars were able to get back on track, although Charles ended up passing me because of this. It didn't matter. I fell down to P8 and finished the race with a disappointing P7. I was fucking fuming.

" What the hell is wrong with him? He got a penalty for that right?" I complain in my team radio at the end of the race.

" Um, unfortunately Y/N, there doesn't seem to be any penalty taken from ferrari's part." Ryan tells me.

"WHAT?" I exclaim.

How was that even fucking possible? Did me and the FIA see the same crash?

•••

The post-race interviews were now happening.

" Y/N, I'm not trying to jump to conclusions, but that move pulled off by Charles seemed intentional. Any thoughts?" the interviewer questioned.

" Yeah I think it says a lot about him," I stated angrily. "What happened in Monaco was a mistake and he had NO right to ruin my home race in return. Him not getting a penalty is also very surprising. I'll never forget this childish act from both Leclerc and the FIA." I replied, pissed.

" Those are harsh words coming from your mouth, L/N. Yet, I think this could be the start of a new rivalry between Ferrari and Redbull. Do you?" the reporter continued.

" Definitely." I firmly said.

•••

You met Leclerc on the way back to the RedBull garage.

" I can't fucking believe you Charles, Monaco was a mistake but this? This was on purpose. You did this just to prove what, exactly?" You voiced, irritated.

Charles' expression was unreadable. He seemed at conflict with himself, trying to figure out what to say.

"I think," Charles paused. " I think we should keep our distances from now on."

Your mouth fell slightly open. After all you guys had done together, the strong bond you guys had created?

" Oh, don't worry about that." You stated angrily, storming off.

•••

Present Day - Post Spain GP - race 7

You felt disappointed after today's race, like any other race that finished badly. You loved your team so much- the team that had taken you in after only a year in F1, the team that constantly supported you... Although recently you could see their trust in you falter. You couldn't help but feel like you let RedBull down each time you made a mistake, like you felt with your dad.

Max ended up winning, so you congratulated him and gave him a quick hug that didn't go unnoticed by a certain someone.

Max was like a literal brother to you, having a similar character to yours and the same dad experiences.

" You really gotta stop targeting Charles like that, Y/N. The team won't like it, and I like you, so you better stick around and stop holding grudges." Max joked.

" Mate did you see the incident? I swear he turned into me!" you retorted, eyes wide.

" Yeah..." Max chuckled, not convinced.

" Oh my god just go on the podium already." You annoyingly said, giving him one last tap on the shoulder.

Max left while laughing, and you were left smiling alone. You didn't want to listen to him when he said you should stop holding a grudge on Leclerc, but a part of you knew he was right. You should definitely focus on the championship, since a gap had formed between you and the leaders. This definitely stressed you out, with your dad's constant high expectations and the team slowly losing hope in your talent.

A sudden pair of eyes found yours in the crowd.

Leclerc's eyes had a new look in them, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it. You simply furrowed your brows and looked away.

~~~~

Quite a long chapter to start with, and i think the following ones will be shorter. Also this was copied from my wattpad, so if theres any mistakes im sorry hahaha

Hope yall enjoyed 💞

[waytooinvested]

Forgotten, Not Forgiven - Chapter 27

This and previous chapters are also on AO3

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They sat in silence for a little while after that, the quiet broken only by a low, regular beeping from one of Kara’s monitors and the distant bustle of the DEO going about its day to day business. Out there agents would be dealing with (hopefully relatively minor) emergencies, hurrying about on important missions, gossiping, arguing, keeping the world turning; but in here behind the closed med bay doors everything was blessedly still. As Lena’s breathing synced to Kara’s, she finally began to feel her heart rate returning to something like its normal rhythm. She was alright. It was all going to be alright now.

‘Lena?’

‘Mmm?’

‘Are you sure you’re really okay to stay here? Because you don’t have to, if- I mean, I don’t want you to go obviously. But I know you walked out on a big event for me, and if you have things you need to do, or if you just want some space to process and be mad at me, you can. I’ll be fine, and I promise not to do anything to get myself hurt again if you’re not here to keep an eye on me.’

The small part of Lena that was still inhabiting her other life pointed out that yes, she really should go. She should be checking on Jess and the demo team, reviewing footage, writing press releases and a thousand other things, but she ignored it.

It wasn’t that it didn’t matter.

It was just that the part of her brain where it mattered was so far away from where she was right now, she couldn’t bring herself to do anything about it but hold Kara tighter.

‘As long as you want me here, this is where I want to be. Anyway, the advantage of everyone thinking I just had my appendix out is that I’m now more or less obliged not to do any work for the next couple of days at least, and even after that I’ll need to take it easy while I “recover from my surgery”.’

Saying this reminded Lena of the other recovery plan she had yet to discuss with Kara, and all of a sudden her stomach was fluttering with a very different kind of anxiety to the one she’d felt earlier. The idea had seemed so reasonable when she’d suggested it to Alex, but now it felt bigger somehow, more significant and… intimate.

Don’t be silly. You’re not suggesting a lesbian u-haul, this is a purely practical, platonic, medically sensible arrangement. Just ask her.

‘Actually Kara… I was thinking maybe we could recover together. Since your apartment has so many stairs up to it and Alex doesn’t have a spare room, I wondered if you’d be up for coming to stay with me for a few weeks? Just until you’re well enough to manage by yourself. It could be fun: like a best friend sleepover every night, only with less Twister and more pain meds.’

‘We have never played Twister at a sleepover. We absolutely should though, I love that game, and Alex has refused to play it with me since high school.’

‘So… is that a yes?’

Lena was already smiling through the question, still nervous but finally allowing the feeling to mingle with a growing excitement at the idea of sharing a home with Kara (no matter how briefly and platonically it might be). But rather than the ‘of course!’ and happy smile she was expecting Kara’s worry crinkle appeared between her brows, and she bit her lip. Almost immediately she released it again with a pained hiss, but instead of answering the question she just muttered something under her breath about stupid hard sidewalks and their effect on the stupid soft human body if you fell just a tiny bit, and how was anyone ever supposed to stay in one piece anyway?

‘… Kara?’

The grumbling stopped.

‘Sorry, I’m just- I’m not sure it’s the best idea.’

‘Oh.’

Lena had considered a dozen potential pitfalls for her plan to take care of Kara through her injury, but for some reason the idea that she simply might not want to live together had never occurred to her. She had no right to feel disappointed by that, but she did. Just a little bit.

As if Kara could read her mind, she hurried to reassure her.

‘It’s not that I don’t want to! I’m sure being roommates would be so much fun, and I’m really, really grateful for the offer, it’s amazing of you. It’s just that… well, I’m going to need help with showering and getting to the bathroom and things, at least until my wrist is better. And I just wasn’t sure if you could… do that?’

‘Oh!’ Lena said again, and then chuckled. Was that all?

She might never be a match for her unfairly advantaged Kryptonian friend when it came to physical strength, but did Kara really think she didn’t have it in her to help someone to the bathroom without dropping them?

…Alright, so there had been that one time at the bunker when she had technically dropped Kara, but it had been mostly Alex’s fault, and anyway, Kara didn’t know about that. Besides, Lena had been keeping up her strength training ever since (despite the voice in her head that pointed out how many other things she had to do, and how unlikely she was to end up in a situation where she would need to carry an unconscious adult by herself (again)), and her muscles had never been in better shape than they were right now. She flexed them subtly, feeling the satisfying strain of her biceps against the unyieldingly tight fabric of her shirt sleeves.

‘Luckily for you it just so happens that I’ve been working on building up my strength the last few months. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.’

This time.

‘No, that’s not- I mean, great! Um, wow, that’s- that’s so great, but. Um.’

Instead of sounding relieved Kara’s voice had gone weirdly high, her cheeks blooming suddenly and startlingly pink against the pallor of post-injury shock, and the steady beeping of her heart rate monitor had noticeably increased in a way that made no sense, unless-

Lena swallowed, throat drying as she considered the possible implications.

‘… Is it because I’d see you naked?’

‘Well-’

Kara was now so red she looked almost sunburned, but she didn’t try to bluff or deny it.

‘Um. Kind of? But for you, not me. Things have been so good between us lately, I don’t want to push it too far and make you feel uncomfortable around me.’

‘Oh darling, of course I wouldn’t be. Why would you think I’d feel uncomfortable?’

‘Because of… you know… our fight. The whole…’

Kara hesitated, as if Lena might jump in and spare her from having to finish her sentence, but she didn’t. A dawning, horrified suspicion had begun to form in her mind at Kara’s mumbled words, and she needed her to finish.

After an agonising couple of seconds, she did, in a whisper.

‘The gay thing.’

The gay thing.

The GAY THING?

As in her gay thing?

Or… Kara’s gay thing?

Was Kara saying what she thought she was saying?

It was no good, she couldn’t keep guessing or trying to put the pieces together with an incomplete picture, no matter that she was supposed to know all of this already. She had to ask. Lena closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to picture snow. Frost. Blizzards and ice and the goddamn Arctic Circle to keep her cheeks from flaming, but she was pretty sure it wasn’t working.

‘I think-’

She broke off to clear her throat, and was relieved when her voice came out steadier on a second attempt.

‘I think maybe you and I have a different perspective on exactly what happened in our fight. Would you please tell me your side?’

Kara squirmed.

‘I don’t want to bring it all back up again. I don’t want to ruin this.’

She looked more frightened than Lena thought she had ever seen her before, and it took everything she had not to take the request back, to tell her they didn’t have to talk about it after all, not if she really didn’t want to (but they did have to. They’d put this off too long already. Lena had put it off too long. She needed to know).

‘Kara, I know it’s hard and just after you’ve had an accident isn’t the best time to have this conversation, but I still think we need to. I’m sorry I stopped you when you tried to raise this before, but I’m ready to listen properly now. I’m not going anywhere this time, and I’m not going to get angry with you again. I promise.’

‘Okay…’

Kara stared down at her knees, still looking like she’d rather take her chances jumping off another roof than talking about this, but not arguing any further.

‘So I should probably start at the beginning of the whole Hopeful Paragon thing. Given how our- um… conversation about that went, I don’t think I ever properly explained to you why I was doing it in the first place. And before I do I want to be clear that this isn’t an excuse for what happened with us at all, but I think it might help explain some things. A bit. Maybe.’

Lena nodded encouragingly, trying to look as if she had some idea of what Hopeful Paragon was, and desperately hoping that whatever Kara said next would explain what it had to do with the gay thing without her having to ask (“a different perspective” was one thing, but there was no way to explain why she didn’t know something that was clearly so fundamental to what had supposedly happened between them).

‘Go ahead.’

‘Right, okay… So at the time I was kind of in a rut. I know this sounds like a pretty lame excuse for not doing more with my life, but I stuck out like a sore thumb in Midvale, and after that blending in kind of became my life’s purpose. I kept my head down, tried to fit in, and pushed down all the parts of me that were too loud, or strange, or felt things that people would find inconvenient. Being Ms Grant’s assistant was the perfect job for that person, because the whole point of a PA is that if you’re doing it right, people barely notice you’re there at all. I tried to be happy with that, but the most I could hope to achieve in my day was keeping Cat in a good enough mood that she didn’t make anyone cry, and I hardly ever managed even that much. It all felt so small and pointless, but I didn’t know how to be anything else. Then I created the Hopeful Paragon blog, and I suddenly had this space where I could be something different without having to tear my whole life down. I could still be me the rest of the time, but I could also be a hero.’

Kara winced at herself as she said the word, attempting to wave it away with her bound arm as if forestalling a criticism that Lena had not been going to make. Whatever had happened between them, Kara was a hero. Powers or no powers. Part of Lena wanted to voice the thought, but she held her tongue in favour of hearing the rest of the story.

‘That sounds so stupid now when I’m so obviously not a hero, but that’s how it seemed at the time. The blog got kind of big, and it made me feel confident in a way I never was in my normal life. I got to be loud, and angry, and fight for real change without worrying about getting in trouble for professional conflict of interest, or… I don’t know, being hunted down by someone dangerous I’d done an exposé on. It was this wonderful, private outlet that only a handful of people knew about, and when you and I started talking through it it didn’t seem like a big deal not to say anything at first, because I didn’t really know you well as Kara yet anyway. Only then I did and I still kept putting off telling you. At first because it would have sounded so weird, and then because- because somehow you made it feel like just being myself as Kara was a good thing, like it was the better thing. You made me feel like I didn’t need all the bravado and glamour to be worthy, because I just was. I didn’t want you to stop seeing me that way, so I made more and more excuses not to tell you the truth yet. But the more I waited the worse it was that I hadn’t told you, and then…’

Kara hesitated again, eyes flicking nervously up to Lena’s face and then back down to her own knees, as if she hoped they might take over for her if she willed it hard enough. She clearly didn’t want to say whatever came next, but Lena didn’t prompt her. She sat still on the bed, giving Kara space to find the words she needed and breathing through her own experience of reliving their past. It hurt to hear it aloud, even filtered through de-kryptonised memories. It might always hurt a little bit. But what had once been a knife twisting in her heart was now the gentle ache of a healing scar, and for each painful memory that surfaced in her mind, half a dozen good ones rose up to soften it.

There was so much more to Kara Danvers (to them) than the lie that had torn them apart, and Lena was convinced now that Kara truly meant it when she said she would never hurt her like that again. They were growing past their mistakes, and they were stronger than their history. Stronger together.

The quiet stretched out for several long moments more, but eventually Kara took a deep, shaky breath and continued.

‘When Jack came to town I realised how jealous I was of what he meant to you, and I handled it… badly. After I crashed your date like a total weirdo I promised I wouldn’t ever let myself do something like that again, and I guess the online chats became the place where I was allowed to feel that way. Because Kara knew you were straight and into Jack, and then James, but Hopeful Paragon didn’t. Then when you found out it was a woman who had been flirting with you and you didn’t react how I’d hoped it felt like this huge, personal attack, and I got mad and insecure and I said a lot of things I didn’t mean. And Lena, I know how it sounded, but I truly, truly didn’t mean any of it. Almost as soon as the fight was over I realised what I’d done, but it was already too late by then. You didn’t want to talk to Hopeful Paragon anymore.’

A tear trickled down Kara’s grazed cheek but she didn’t stop speaking this time, forcing the words out even as she began to cry in earnest.

‘I lost you from that part of my life, but you were still best friends with Kara, and I couldn’t bear for you to hate her too. So I kept lying to you, about Hopeful Paragon and about my feelings for you, and… God, I can’t even imagine how awful it felt to find all that out the way you did. What I did to you was the biggest mistake of my entire life, and I don’t blame you for cutting me out for it. I am so, so grateful that you forgave me and came back anyway, but I know that the way I felt -the way I feel- must still make it hard to be my best friend. I just don’t want to push that too far. Because of course helping me shower wouldn’t be about... that, but also, it would be way too much to ask of you in the circumstances.’

Fuck.

Shitfuckfuckfuckshittingfucking FUCK.

That’s what Kara thought they had fought over instead of her making kryptonite?

All this time.

All this time, Kara had believed that Lena was homophobic, and had kept being her friend anyway. And Jack, and James… well, that was a lot to take in too. Was Kara rebuilding false emotions to go along with her false memories for what had happened in those cases, or had she really had feelings for Lena for that long?

Was she every bit as oblivious about Kara’s feelings as Kara had been about hers?

Maybe if she had confessed outright that she was in love with Kara when she had first realised it, her friend would have shared her secret in return, and none of this would have happened.

Lena wouldn’t have withdrawn after Lex had spilled the beans.

Lex would never have kidnapped Kara and stolen her memories.

Kara would never have lost her powers and wouldn’t now be lying injured in a hospital bed, with only sheer luck having prevented her from dying after falling off a roof.

Maybe instead they would be dating now. Working together to save the world and then going home at night to share the same bed.

She and Kara might have had it all.

She reached for Kara’s hand, the tremble in her own obvious as she wrapped her fingers around it and stroked her thumb tenderly across the knuckles.

‘I’m so sorry I made you think I didn’t like that part of who you are, but I promise that wasn’t true. Not for Hopeful Paragon, and never, ever for Kara Danvers. Everything that happened in that fight- you have to understand that what I did then wasn’t what I would have done if you and I were having that conversation. To me S- Hopeful Paragon wasn’t my best friend. She was an acquaintance that I liked and respected, but who crossed boundaries that weren’t hers to cross...’

Lena paused, but only for a moment. Her heart was pounding erratically and she couldn’t quite believe any of this was really happening, but after what Kara had just told her anything but the truth would just hurt both of them, now and later.

‘-They were yours, Kara. James, and even Jack… you never had anything to worry about. If I’d thought you were an option, it would always have been you.’

Kara’s expression flickered through a dozen different emotions ranging from shock, anguish, disbelief, incredulity, and finally, as she glanced between Lena’s face and the hand around hers, settled on a fragile, tentative hope.

‘ Really ?’

‘Really.’

She swallowed thickly.

‘So... if I had just told you…’

‘Or if I’d told you, instead of trying to get you to notice me flirting with flowers and low cut shirts and, ah, media companies.’

‘You- oh. Oh. I’m such a dummy.’

Lena surprised herself with a chuckle, because, yeah she kind of was. Apparently they both were.

‘Maybe, but you’re a very cute dummy.’

She watched Kara’s still-wet cheeks going pink again at the compliment, felt her tentatively turn her hand in Lena’s so she could lace their fingers together, and was hit with a wave of such tender fondness that it was almost too much to bear.

‘So… will you come and stay with me? Let me help you until you’re well enough to live alone again?’

‘I- yeah. Yes. I would love that. Thank you Lena.’

‘Always.’

She still couldn’t quite take in the fact that Kara had actually just confessed having feelings for her, and that she had confessed right back. She had always imagined that if they ever got to that moment, their declarations would be made into the diminishing space between their lips as they met for a kiss that could be held back no longer. She had fantasised about it a dozen different ways, from light and sweet to hungry and desperate. She had kissed Kara in every way and every place she could think of in her imagination and was certain that none of them would live up to the reality of even the softest brush against the unbroken skin of her top lip, but as it was, neither of them moved to make it a reality.

Kara let her head settle onto Lena’s shoulder, and Lena moved so that her cheek rested lightly against the familiar softness of Kara’s hair, their hands remaining clasped together in the small space between them on the bed. It wasn’t the right time for anything more than that, not for either of them. Lena’s silent promise not to have this conversation yet might be lying shattered at her feet, but she could at least make sure that things didn’t go any further until she could be sure that Kara knew what she was choosing, and that this wasn’t just an effect of her false memories.

And if this was all they could have, even if it was all they ever had, it was enough for Lena.

Kara was enough.

[apex-academy]

Chapter 6: The Decay of Our Lives (#20)

“......”

I’m not sure how long he stands there with the rest of us closing in. His gaze flits from person to person, like he’s searching for his master’s approval—or just afraid we’re gonna mob him. As if that’s ever been an option.

“Um, well, if it’s that belated, I might have to check to see if it’s really necessary.”

“The rules don’t have a timeframe, you know...! M-maybe I can open the investigation in a couple of months?”

“MONTHS?! How many MORE of us will be DEAD by then?!”

“Um, none, ‘cuz we’re totally not staying that long.”

She takes one big stomp towards Monochap.

“Just call the stupid body discovery already!”

“U-uwah! But...”

We’ve got him right here. Right at the edge. And with his master right in front of everyone else, there’s not much they can instruct him to do. If this comes down to his interpretation of the rules, he can judge it just about any way he wants. Even if that means pushing the mastermind investigation far past the point any of us would still be standing.

But if it’s up to his own judgment, I know exactly how to handle this. He’s our chaperone—his whole purpose is to make sure we’re playing the game that we’re supposed to be playing.

But, intentional or not, there’s more to him than that single purpose. And that’s what I can easily target.

I was hoping it wouldn’t come to this... But if it can tip the scales, I’ll do whatever I have to.

Several of the others are still clamoring over each other, so I slap my hands together in a sharp clap that startles at least some of them out of it. Enough for me to be heard.

“Monochap.”

“Um, yes?”

“Call the body discovery and start the investigation now. If you do that...”

“I’ll call you my waifu!”

“Gaspu!”

“....”

“....”

Yeah, okay. My trump card is ridiculous. But what here hasn’t been?

“R... Really?”

“Really.”

“Nothing more waifu-worthy than helping your—”

What the heck is the other half of that relationship called? Husbando? Also waifu in my case? 

Master?? O... Otaku???

“—someone who needs what only you can provide.”

“..........”

“Like, yeah, okay.”

“Bring the dude responsible for this crap to justice ‘r whatever, and you can totally be my waifu, too.”

“!!”

“Like, sad little binch waifu, but. Waifu.”

Well, it sounded helpful at first.

“I can also accept these terms, I believe.”

“If I’m, er, understanding the situation correctly...”

“It doesn’t obligate you to marry him if that’s what you mean.” I hope?? “More of a title than anything, I guess?”

“Titles I can handle.”

“I hope you lot don’t expect me to endorse your absurd little christening.”

“As though the holy one herself would designate such honor upon an abomination.”

Yeah, I wouldn’t have expected different.

“I don’t see why it would be necessary for everyone to accede. The fact of the matter is, Mister Monochaperone has no hope of any of us ever referring to him as our waifu if he doesn’t cooperate.” 

Aidan pauses, like he needs a moment to come to terms with the combination of words that just left his mouth. 

“But there’s a chance if I do...?”

“You have my word.”

“Mine as well.”

“Like, both of their words’re way fancier than mine, but same.”

Monochap looks hopefully to the only one who hasn’t spoken up on the matter.

“I...”

“...do NOT agree to call this WHACKADOODLE anything of the SORT!”

“...”

“But I won’t stop the REST of you morons, I GUESS.”

“I’m EVERY BIT as TIRED of this as YOU are.”

“Mmn...”

He’d probably be chewing on his lip if he had lips. Or teeth.

“Well?”

“W-well...”

“I... I’ll do it!”

“Seriously?”

“Heck yeah!”

“You will?”

I really shouldn’t be the most surprised when it was my idea.

“Mmm-hmm!”

“I-I guess I have a lot to get ready...”

“Please excuse me!”

He does about half a curtsy before speeding down the hallway. Upon hitting a dead end, he panics before turning around and speeding the other way until I can’t hear him anymore. I’m not convinced he didn’t just stop in the middle of the hallway once he was out of sight. Guess it’s not too important either way.

The awed silence in his wake doesn’t last long.

“Well. I rather think it’s high time that abomination called off its little game.”

Kanagi cuts off before she can loose a very visible whoop.

“Uhh, called off? But, like, he’s totally doing more of the game-y stuff?”

“But the trial is to locate... the young master.”

“.....”

“So the GAME should be OVER once they get SNIFFED OUT here! Do I have to spell it OUT more than THAT?”

“I think we get the picture, thank you.”

“I may ask for a more exact timetable for this investigation. Mobilizing the current investigators efficiently over so many floors will be, uh...”

“A little tricky.”

“I’ve never wanted to ask, because I feel like he’d give us less time than we’d have otherwise.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”

“Do we, like, even gotta get all the floors?”

“We’re totally just looking in the lab room or whatevs, right?”

Mahavir frowns and retrieves his student ID.

“My, you’d have difficulty organizing this lot to examine a single room?”

“Unsurprising, but still pathetic.”

“Wrangling this crowd is a feat no matter how many rooms are involved.”

“It ought to be more than Lab Room A regardless.”

“WHAT? How about you SPEAK UP! Unless you DON’T want anyone to hear you, then SHUT up!”

Mahavir glances between Ichiriki and Tsunyasha, who at least isn’t facing him. I casually step between those two.

“How so?”

His eyes go to his electroID screen.

“10. All rooms with relevant evidence will be accessible during murder investigations.”

“Thus...”

“...If it has to do with the killer’s identity, we should have access! Right?”

I look to the other smart person in the room.

“It’s a valid reading, certainly.”

I start to ask if there’s a less favorable valid reading, but on second thought, why give the young master any ideas they may not already have?

“Good. Let’s see what we can do.”

Is it wrong to be optimistic? Or maybe it’s been so long since I’ve felt that way that I’m completely misidentifying the feeling.

But this is really the end. Us versus the young master. Whoever outsmarts the other wins, and the game is over. And no one else even had to die.

Of course, if we get it wrong...

“..........”

But we won’t. Even if one person here is against us, there’s no way five Apex Academy students can’t win out.

Let’s finish this.

[BACK] [NEXT]

[bluetraverser]

Long post: The end of a story I never wrote - HighschoolAU - Stardew - Robert/Elliott

...They fell, crushed, stumbled into an embrace and he found himself crying uncontrollably. His entire body felt stiff and limp at the same time, his skin taut over his head and arms while he shuddered and sobbed at the sudden joy and pain of having him in arms reach again. While the life here was good, he had been so terribly lonely, so unable to let go of loving this man and…

(context and full chapter under the cut)

Okay, this needs a bit of introduction because this is basically part of a chapter for a story that would have had 20 or more chapters which I will likely never write. Or not for several years. Who knows. What follows is a very quick summary of the plot and then the actual story.

First of all: Chapter takes place in Pelican town - on the day Elliott moves there, much earlier than in any canon.

Story so far: Elliott and Robert both go to highschool??? Idk, a school where you go to when you're 18 at least, I am not comfortable with younger. Elliott is a rich kid who hates his parents and vice versa. Bookish, unpopular, somewhat aloof, pretty... in a word, Elliott.

Robert is a popular sports guy with all the cliches of gay guy who is terrified of people knowing he is gay so hes a bully and seemingly ladies man who always finds excuses to never actually do anything with them.

Obviously they fall in love.

Both are terrified of it, both pretend like nothings going on. After a very complicated instance of the good old "there is only one bed", they spend several nights of passion before ultimately Elliott breaks up with him and says they will likely never meet again because his dad is a monster, they will never be safe, yada yada, Robert does not take it well.

At the start of this chapter, neither of them has any idea what has become of the other but Elliott has finally managed to get away from his abusive family. Its been 2 years since they last met.

I think that hopefully set up all the most important points. Feel free to ask or comment about this!

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

Elliott felt an odd, uncomfortable weight within himself.

This was it.

He was free.

But he was also poor. He had no degree, barely any money… The bus stopped. „Pelican town!“ Elliott got off with a heavy heart.

It was beautiful.

He breathed in.

He dropped his bags.

Fresh, full air made his lungs blow wide, made the sheer act of breathing a joy. He smelled the ocean and the forests, the vitalizing greens of vibrant moss soaking in the country sun… It was invigorating.

Still, he picked up his bags again and looked around, trying to get a sense of which direction he was supposed to go. The shed he had rented was supposedly right at the ocean. From his notes, that meant he first needed to go left, then across a square, across a bridge and to the left again… But was that left from facing the bus stop or the other way around? He could see a fenced in farm with a house down the street, to his right. Going left was probably wise, but… He dropped his bags again and walked a little bit closer, curious as to his new environment and Neighbors. It was a nice little house that looked like it had recently been renovated. The fields that lay before it weren’t spectacularly wide but seemed to span a large assortment of different plants. How curious! He had thought it would be more common to source only one kind of plant per field. Was this a commercial farm or just someone living there with a big garden? His gaze grazed the mailbox and his heart stuttered in his chest as reality seemed to suddenly be turned on its hinges.

Robert Llyr

!

Elliott felt the air being sucked out of his lungs, stunned, confused, desperate in that insane hope suddenly rushing his mind away. It’s impossible! It can’t be him! It’s a freak coincidence! It’s...it’s…

He squinted over the fields, trying to find sight of anyone doing anything there and- A blond man surfaced between the rows of corn. He had spiky hair and bend down just now, doing something with the plants. Disappointment plummeted through his belly. He was starting to feel sick. The permanent up and down of this weird day, these rushes of hope and dread and pain and that blinding beauty of his new freedom but the sickness of being just so god-damn lonely on this path- He put his hands on his face, breathing. Trying to collect himself, trying to calm down. „Hey! You okay there?“

Elliott startled but the blonde was already approaching him in quick steps. „Looking a lil shaken there, mate.“

„Uhm. Uh. I’m fine, I’m fine, thank you!“

The man examined him for a moment, then his bags. „You new in town?“

Elliott awkwardly shrugged, then nodded. „Yes. I just got off the bus.“

„Ah. Lucky you that the bus runs at all. The man who lives here fixed it only last month. It was broken for years before that!“

„Oh. So. You, uh, you don’t live here?“

The man chuckled. „Nah man, couldn’t afford it. Robert lives here. He inherited the plot and moved here last year. My name is Sam, I live down in Willow Lane with my mom and brother. Do you know where you’re going?“

„I… Yes. I rented a place at the beach. And I wrote down directions. I was just curious I guess and…“ He contemplated for a moment how open to be with this person. He’d been friendly enough and… asking couldn’t hurt, could it. „...say, this Robert Llyr. Do you know him on a personal level? Like… do you know where he lived before?“

Sam made a motion to grab one of his bags. „Want my help carrying your stuff? I’m headed in the direction you’re going so I might as well help you out.“

„I- Uh- I… S-sure, that would be great. Thank you.“

Oh god, what a bumbling idiot I am being! One hint that even reminds me of him makes me a complete and utter fool! What must this man think of me already!

„Sorry, I just. I knew a Robert Llyr once and. It kind of shook me to see his name. I’m Elliott, by the way.“

Sam grinned at him widely. „Well hello Elliott. I’m Sam. But I already said that. Come on, let’s get going.“ He grabbed his bag and started walking. „And sure, I know Robert, we’re friends. Otherwise I wouldn’t have walked over his property and stolen one of his cauliflowers.“ He jangled a bag in his other hand around.

„You stole of him?“

„Not really. It’s cool with him if we take stuff and tell him later and he tells us what we owe once a week. Works out pretty okay. He’s a good egg but I don’t know where he lived before. He’s a little bit secretive like that. But he’s been working his ass off with the farm and making this town a better place, so. Not like anyone could complain about him, ever. What’s the Robert like that you know?“

„He’s...well…“ Handsome. Beautiful. Brave. Sad. God I miss you-„...complicated. We met under somewhat...difficult circumstances and he wasn’t always as nice as he could have been, I guess. But that wasn’t his fault and…“ He sighed. „It’s. Complicated. I mean, I’ll see if its him in good time, right?“

„I would guess so.“ They had reached what was probably the center of town. „This is basically the place where it gets most busy in this place. If at all. You got Pierres over there, selling mostly groceries n stuff, you got the mayors house over there and theres a notice board in front of Pierres shop if somebody in town has a small job or something.“

„Jobs?“

„Yeah, like, if they want somebody to fetch something for them or help them with a project. Things like that. Usually pays okay and people are grateful. Theres also a joja markt a lil further up the road and Clint’s shop is over there but I think he only sells rocks, no idea. I don’t really talk to him.“ They had gone across the square. „And this is the road where I live, Willow Lane.“ He handed Elliott's bag back to him. „You got any questions before I leave you to find your way across the bridge?“

Elliott stared for a moment, still trying to somehow digest the entire situation. „I...No.“ He managed a smile. „Thank you so much. You’ve been a great help.“

„No sweat, man! Take it easy!“ He waved and wandered off, leaving Elliott with a pounding, heavy heart and all the questions in the world.

Where would this person be? What should he do if it wasn’t him? ...what if it was him? Would he forgive him? Was he single? Ye gods, he was desperate to be with him. Had been for the past two years! But the need had been lying dormant and buried for so long now, it had been bearable. The current state was like a fresh, overwhelming physical urge to find him and hold him. To just have him back in his arms! But it was impossible. Impossible. He had to steel himself for the strong likelihood of this just being a freak name coincidence. That he would never see him again.

He walked across the beach and to the ocean.

It was the first time he saw the ocean.

It should be a wonderful moment. And it was. It was amazing to see it.

But it also felt hollow.

Everything seemed to mean nothing like this. Everything was just so dull, so… A figure sat at the end of the pier, near the hut he assumed to be the one he had rented.

Black hair. Slightly hunched.

It couldn’t be.

Elliott dropped his bags again and slowly walked onto the pier, barely daring to breathe. The figure looked even buffer than Robert had been. A broad back. Strong arms. The man was fishing. He looked. A lot like Robert did. As far as he could tell from behind. But the possibility of the man turning and it just being someone completely different-

He took another small step forward.

Another.

And Another. He had to know. He had to know…

The person turned and Elliott's heart stuttered out of his chest, unable to say anything in this moment.

It was him.

Robert looked at him with an unreadable expression. He got up, wiping his hands on a tissue, stepping up to him. He looked just a little bit different. Stronger around the jaw. Overall, even fitter. Kinder in the eyes. More peaceful. A small smile started gracing his features as he stepped up to him, reaching out with one hand, as if to see if he was real.

Elliott took his hand. Heard himself make a whimpering, emotional sound. Or had Robert done that? Robert smiled wider, blinking tears from his eyes. „How… are you here?“

Elliott pressed his lips together, unable to keep the tears from falling. „I...I don’t know.“ He wished he had something poetic to say but he was completely overwhelmed, clasping both his hands now, so full of uncertainty and need and-

-----

They fell, crushed, stumbled into an embrace and Robert found himself crying uncontrollably. His entire body felt stiff and limp at the same time, his skin taut over his head and arms while he shuddered and sobbed at the sudden joy and pain of having him in arms reach again. While the life here was good, he had been so terribly lonely, so unable to let go of loving this man and… He cupped his face, looking at him, drinking in his strawberry hair and those green eyes.

And remembered.

He sighed and let go, rubbing his eyes. „I… it’s. Good to see you. Elliott.“

Elliott stared at him with pained eyes. „Yes… i… Robert I’m. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry! At the time… I was sure there was no hope! I didn’t think so now! Or I wouldn’t have…“

Robert shrugged. „It’s… not like I didn’t understand. I. I’m. I just. I’m not sure what to feel right now.“ He swallowed hard. „What are you doing here?“

„I… guess I’m moving here today.“ Elliott smiled. „I finally got a restraining order against my father and his goons, I worked a little while to get some money and then just. Left. I…“ He sighed. „I would have tried to find you if. If I had had any idea… I suppose. It didn’t occur to me to investigate where you could have gone, to be honest. I didn’t feel like I would deserve your forgiveness. And I felt. I would not be able to bear your disdain, should you… should you feel bitter towards me.“ „So you had no idea I was here?“

Elliott shook his head. „No. I just. I worked for a little while to get a few savings. Then looked for a cheap place near the ocean somewhere. Earlier I saw your mailbox and. Dared not to hope. But. I. Longed for you anyway.“

„God… you make me feel so...conflicted.“

Elliott smiled wryly. “And why is that?”

Robert groaned. If only he wasn’t so cute! If only he hadn’t missed him so goddamn much! Robert had been in absolute agony when Elliott had left with the definitive statement that he didn’t think they would meet again. That Robert should move on. Give up on them. That they would never be safe together. Had left without really giving Robert a say in any of it. And he had been mad for a long time. Because he still loved him. Because he had missed him more than he felt appropriate for what had ultimately been a quick fling in his school years… And yet. Looking at him now, he wanted nothing but give in and fall into him again completely. Robert leaned his head on Elliott's shoulder, sighing. He felt Elliott slowly, hesitantly put his arms around him again. Allowing him time to stop him if he had wanted to… “I’m sorry I hurt you, Robert. I understand if you don’t want to just forgive me.”

------

“It’s… less that I don’t want to. More like I’m not sure if I should.”

Elliott leaned his head against him, trying to just… to just not… God. He wanted this to be okay. He wanted him to be okay. Both of them. They were finally together again but… but… He pressed a kiss to the others head.

I love you.

He had never said the words to him. He hadn’t known when they were together. And later...later… “I. Don’t want to pressure you. And I won’t. I…” He took a deeper breath, trying to feel okay with maybe letting go off him, but Robert was holding on to him tightly, despite the situation… “...I mean. I will be living here now. And you are too. And. If you don’t want to see me for a bit. Then. I understand. Even though I. I would. Of course. Very much want… to see you…” He was staring at his lips. Robert looked at him through tear-stained eyes with a stubborn expression. Elliott waited for a reply but Robert was just staring at him now. Elliott tried not to be too obvious the way he stared at him, tried to stop thinking about wanting to kiss him but the more he tried to stop himself, the more he wanted it, imagined what their lips felt like together, wanted to find a quiet place with him and-

Robert put a hand on his face and kissed him. Elliott felt a bolt of energy unleash in him as he rushed against him to kiss him back, pulling him closer, losing himself in the sweetness of his mouth that dissolved all thoughts and filled him with bliss… They slowly opened another more, lips rubbing and pressing against another while his tongue sought entrance into his mouth and… Mmmh…

He stroked through his hair, down his back, pulled him closer around the hip while he pushed himself forward, thoroughly lost in the sensation now, kissing his lost love on this pier at the edge of his new life, unexpectedly having salvaged the best thing from his old… They finally broke apart after who knew how long, heated and dazed… Elliott stroked his face, fighting the urge to kiss that dazed smile some more. He brushed his lips over his cheek. “Does this mean you want to see me some more too?”

Robert laughed and kissed his nose. “I don’t know if I will regret this. But right now I want to drag you to my home and have sex with you. Which is not actually what we should do, given that you just arrived and all. But yes.” He smiled. “I guess I do want to see you ‘some more’.”

[Plot note, timeskip; off-screen: they go back to the beach. Robert say he needs to sell his fresh fish, Elliott uses the chance to say hi to willy who is please he already knows someone and immediately knows whats up so leaves them alone in the cabin pretty soon but they soon realize they should go to roberts place cause they cannot keep their hands off eachother and Elliott simply wants to shower before doing it for the first time in two years. they decide to shower together] [some mild sex stuff ahead]

Elliott unfastened his tie while brushing his teeth, tracing his eyes over his now-finally-again partner, likewise brushing his teeth. Elliott could barely wait to take his clothes off and see all of him. He already looked delicious, sweats and sweatshirt sticking beautifully to his strong body regardless of fashion choice. Robert rinsed his mouth and Elliott started nearly tripping over himself when he took off his shirt. God, he looked good. The farmwork was certainly working in favor of his physique… He quickly rinsed his mouth, put down the toothbrush and the next moment they were kissing again. Elliott groaned into the kiss, thoroughly delighted to feel his naked chest beneath his hands while they both worked on opening Elliotts remaining buttons… Robert pushed himself against him and his hands wandered down… They had to at least briefly wash themselves, he knew. But stumbling naked beneath the shower with him, so close, so… mmh…

------

Robert wanted to savor this. Two long years since he’d been with him. And all the last times they’d had sex had been fast and desperate in half-public places. Uncomfortable and full of fear in so many terrible ways… But he wasn’t really thinking anything any-more. The water was rushing around them, his hands wandering across Elliotts back and chest and ass, tempted to rub his cock, take it in his mouth, to turn over and…

Elliott pressed him against the wall, kissing him deeply, reaching between his legs-

Robert cried out in pleasure, trying to adjust, trying to spread his legs more in the slippery space when Elliott kneeled down somewhat suddenly and his brain gave out…

He started coming back to himself more when Elliott washed off the shower lotion he’d spread on both of them after. He’d been holding on to the grip bar while Elliott was pleasuring him and was now slowly coming down from the high…

“You okay, darling?”

“...yes…”

Elliott smiled and kissed his forehead, then turned off the water. “I suppose, there goes my plan of keeping my hair dry.” He reached for the towels.

“Heh. Well, you didn’t have to go down on me.”

“Mmh, but I loved doing it.” He squeezed his hand, then pressed a couple of kisses to his cheek. “...And I cannot wait to continue.” ---- They tumbled to bed, kissing and stroking and a part of him reminded him just how incredible this was. Twenty-four hours ago he hadn’t known if he would ever see him again. Had been anxious and unsure about leaving his old home for good, going to a place where he knew nobody with very little resources…

Now he had him in his arms, entwined as they kissed and loved another and it felt better than any time they had done this before.

They were free. They were both free.

He stilled. Pulled himself out of the kiss and focused on embracing him. He rubbed their cheeks together and pressed close, sighing softly. He had his eyes closed and just breathed. Breathed the beauty of the moment. Focused on this feeling of his loves strong arms holding him so tight and so loving, of this buzzing heady feeling in his mind that blinded him to all but the delicate feeling pouring out of him… “I love you.” He whimpered, overwhelmed by his emotion. “I love you, Robert.” He looked into his partners tear-stricken ocean-blues. “I never thought I’d see you again. But in the pain of being heart-broken, I relished in knowing the truth of this feeling. I was prepared to carry the pain until my end, if it meant I could also keep carrying the love. Even if it meant loneliness for all this life.”

Robert sobbed, emotion heavy on his face, changing from sorrow to contemplation and perhaps, some joy in a small moment until a smile graced his features and he stroked over Elliotts face again. “...and now?”

Elliott laughed. “Now I hold you in my arms… in what seems like the most unbelievable twist of my life. In what seems like the universe must have a conscience because our paths leading us here seem to unbelievable to be possible. Now up is down, the world is a circle. The birds sing and will always sing in the mountains of the world because I have you now and in this moment. And if all fails and my heart will be broken again, my love for you will still be whole. Made full, finally, by being here with you, finally offering my heart to you in earnest.”

Robert rubbed his face, crying, shaking his head… “Jesus christ, Elliott… How can you...how…”

Elliott pressed his lips together, hoping, praying he hadn’t ruined it all, That this didn’t mean… Robert embraced him again. “You goddamn dramatic idiot… Of course I love you too!”

Elliott shuddered, hugging him back, more tears flowing from his eyes while his brain seemed to spin and dance and light bloomed deep within him. “I love you.” He cupped his face, smiling like a fool no doubt but more happy than he’d ever been in his life. “I love you.” He kissed him once, twice. “I love you.”

“I love you too! And I hate that I had to wait two years to be able to tell you!”

Elliott smiled and kissed his nose. “Me too. But now we’re together. Isn’t that all that should matter?”

Robert made a face. “Kind of. I guess. I...argh! You’re just… you’re just…you’re… ah…”

Elliott had started nibbling at his neck, breathing warmly into his ear making soft, urging sounds while he touched him some more and…

“Elliott-”

“Hmm?” He kissed him…

...and all thought vanished...

[underforeversgrace]

Welcome to Intro to Ghosts - 3

Title: Welcome to Intro to Ghosts

Words: 3254

Chapter 3 of ?

Story summary: Sure, turning sixteen was supposed to be a big year regardless, but this was a little beyond what Danny had expected when he'd both been told he was now king and then asked to be a teacher for the Intro to Ghosts class while also being a junior in high school. Now he has to juggle a secret identity, being a superhero, doing centuries worth of old paperwork Pariah didn't do, his own schoolwork, AND his students/classmates schoolwork! This'll be fun. Or catastrophic. Hopefully fun.

@redactedgoose

AO3

Tumblr Chapter One

Tucker and Sam walked in together, Sam glaring at Tucker before both shot him sly grins and settled at the desks closest to his. Danny bit back a grin. It was kind of fun - the three of them knowing a secret no one else knew. Sure, technically they had the whole Phantom thing between them, but this was a lighthearted, funny secret that wasn’t meant to stay secret long.

Valerie walked in and immediately settled into the desk closest to the door, a confused glance at Danny since that was his go to seat in most classes.

Dash, Paulina, and Starr walked in together, chatting loudly, as the tardy bell rang, settling into some of the remaining seats in the center. Danny mentally counted off the eighteen expected people were there, grateful none had been late. He really wanted everyone here so he could screw with them.

Once the bell rang and still no teacher appeared, the class began to mutter, glancing out the open door in confusion, one of the maybe a junior, maybe a senior grumbling that of course Casper couldn’t get a new teacher and would forget to cancel.

Danny allowed the muttering for a minute or so before he sighed way too loudly, exaggeratingly getting up from his seat and going to close the door.

“The hell you doing, Fenturd?” Dash asked, more confused than insulting, though.

The halfa said nothing, closing the door and shoving his hands in his pockets as he leisurely walked to the whiteboard, leaning against the concrete wall on the edge. He scanned his eyes over the room, forcing down the smile and/or laugh trying to break through his bored demeanor. He could hear Sam and Tucker’s hearts racing with the effort of restrained laughter (ghost hearing, amirite?) and studiously avoided looking at that side of the room.

“Seriously, Fenton, what the fuck?” Paulina asked.

At that, Danny grinned. “Language, Miss Sanchez,” he reprimanded. Annoyance and irritation flitted across her face.

Paulina was opening her mouth to talk again when Valerie interrupted. “Oh there is no way in hell. You?”

“Sam, I owe you five bucks.” Danny said, still not looking at his friends. Of course, they had made no bet of who would figure it out since this entire thing was impulsive, but he loved his friends as they played along.

“Told you!” Sam called.

“Man, I really thought Dash would get it first,” Tucker lamented.

Danny finally let himself look at his friends. They both were biting their lips, slightly vibrating with restrained laughter, cheeks red. At the eye contact, all of them promptly lost it.

Sam laughed so hard she snorted while tears fell from her eyes, Tucker was wheezing as his laughter became more important than air, Danny once again bending over with hands on knees, laughing while his body shook.

“There is no fucking way.” He heard Valerie insist. He wanted to get onto her for her language as well but just the thought doubled in on his laughter, his ribs aching.

“What?” Several of the students asked, either bewildered or irritated. The irritated ones knew Danny. The bewildered ones didn’t.

“You are not our teacher!” Valerie said adamantly.

Various sounds of confusion, humor, and annoyance swept through the room.

Danny struggled to catch his breath in an effort to stop laughing. It took several strangled breaths, but he managed, straightening up. “I mean, honestly, who else would teach this class?”

Valerie opened her mouth to answer but faltered. She was clearly going through every ghost hunter she knew of and eliminating them as options. Danny nodded. “And that’s why Ishiyama and Lancer asked me.” He grinned. “I have all the knowledge of most ghost hunters and I’m not as biased as all of the other options.”

Danny saw Sam dip her head as though hiding giggles, but he could hear the tap of her fingers against her phone. Damn, she did hide her phone from the teachers well. If he didn’t have elevated senses, even he wouldn’t have noticed, and he could read her like a book.

He took a moment to bask in the glory of the A-Listers’ worried faces as they realized he held power now. Not only that, but honestly, how stupid would it be to routinely fight a teacher?

Unfortunately, he did have a job to do beyond being a little shit. Danny straightened up, calling on some of Phantom’s confidence as he did so. He plucked the binder from the seat he’d abandoned.

“Okay, okay, time to get serious.” He began, leaning against the wall again. “Welcome to Intro to Ghosts. This elective will be about, obviously, ghosts. We will cover culture, history, the general science of ectoplasm, and psychology of a ghost.”

Valerie snorted. “Ghosts don’t have any of those things.”

“What did you expect to be taught in this class, then, Val?” Sam shot back.

“Ghost hunting! Duh!”

“There will be no discussion of ghost hunting in this class. I will not tolerate talks of violence against anyone, human or ghost, just like the other teachers wouldn’t. If you joined this class to learn to hurt something or someone, I’m sure you can get with Mr. Lancer about transferring to a separate elective.” Danny said, far more sternly than he’d meant. He sounded more like confident Phantom than timid Fenton. Students who knew him (sans Sam and Tuck) looked at him, wide-eyed with dropped jaws. Danny kept his gaze evenly fixed on Valerie, watching her reactions. It really was so much easier to read her emotions when she didn’t have her suit’s hood on.

“Thought you were a Fenton.” She glared.

“Also not a bigot. Just because they’re on the opposite side, the ‘wrong’ side, of the line between the living and dead doesn’t mean they aren’t worth anything.”

Discomfort flashed momentarily across her face, but she just crossed her arms and leaned into her chair.

Taking her silence as defeat, Danny continued. “The binders in front of you are what we have for class textbooks. I tried to put everything in there, but some things may be missing. If you notice a topic I’m going over isn’t there, let me know and I’ll get something made.”

“Whoa, wait,” Dash said. “You put this together? Since when do you write textbooks?”

Danny was, to be perfectly honest, surprised Dash was the one to connect those dots. “Yes. I put them together. Between my parents’ studies and the portal literally beneath my bed, the info wasn’t exactly difficult to find.”

A scoff of disbelief from a male senior Danny didn’t know. “You want us to believe you went into the Ghost Zone?”

“Infinite Realms,” Danny corrected. “And yes. I did.”

“How?” Mikey asked.

“So the rumors are, like, true?” Star interjected. “You and your sister help Phantom behind your parents’ backs?”

“We sometimes do as well,” Tucker piped up, sending flirtatious grins to the handful of girls who looked at him in amazement.

“Yes.” Danny answered.

“Oh, mi amor! He kept you safe, didn’t he? My wonderful ghost boy?” Paulina said, a dreamy look in her eyes.

Her obsession with Phantom was slightly disturbing, even to him since his crush on her had faded. Oh, ew. Technically she also had a crush on her teacher. Somehow, that felt even more uncomfortable than a living girl chasing a dead boy.

“Yes, Phantom got me through the Realms and I was able to interview some of his allies.” Not technically a lie. He was Phantom when he flew.

Paulina opened her mouth to say something so Danny interrupted. “Now, some of you I do not know. I won’t make us do any of those lame games we’ve all been doing all day. So I’ll introduce myself, to those of you who somehow managed to survive fifteen minutes in Amity Park without meeting my parents, and then go around the room. ‘Kay?”

Nods and a couple of ‘sure’s and ‘okay’s went around the room.

“Alright, then. Hi, I’m Danny Fenton. I am a junior here. My parents are expert ghost hunters, though they tend to lack in some of the research aspects. I expect all of you to keep an open mind with what you learn here, be willing to accept changes in perspectives. Also, call me Danny. Being a teacher is weird enough already,” that got a couple of laughs, “so I’d rather not go by Mr. Fenton. Especially since that’s normally my dad and most people know to run far away when he appears.” More chuckles. “But do only call me Danny. Not Daniel, not Dan. And certainly no…creative nicknames. Then I will insist you to call me Mr. Fenton.”

“Cuz he’s petty,” mumbled Sam softly, where only Tucker immediately beside her and Danny could hear.

“Speaking of creative nicknames,” Danny glared at Dash. “You can call me Mr. Fenton. The rule applies retroactively.”

Flat out laughter filled the class as Dash blushed in embarrassment.

Okay, maybe that was a little mean.

His introduction done, he selected the person in the first row of the first column, telling them to give him their preferred name and pronouns, then continue down the line.

Sam smiled at him proudly. The pronoun thing had been her idea. Acceptance begins in the classroom or whatever.

As the first person introduced himself, Danny realized his anxiety had faded. He had stood in front of a room full of people, some who had bullied him before, others older who were strangers. His voice had never shook, his knees had never felt weak, he had never doubted himself.

Confidence while in his human skin felt odd, like many things today. But it didn’t feel bad.

Danny paid attention, listened and greeted all the students as they introduced themselves, even the ones he knew, his bullies.

There were three juniors he didn’t know besides the one who was absent - Karl, Leon, and Rosemary, but she asked him to just call her Rose.

The eight present seniors greeted him as well - Jill, Ethan, Chris, Claire, Ashley, Luis, Mia, Zoe, Miranda.

The introductions took up most of the remaining time, the final bell only minutes away when they finished.

“One more thing,” Danny said, the students had already began chattering to each other. He went to his desk, withdrawing permission slips from one of the drawers. He walked as he talked, placing slips on desks. “These are permission slips I need you to get with your parents about. The school board has allowed guest speakers and you may come in contact with ectoplasm, though both will have protective measures.”

“Both?” Someone - Leon - asked. “Why would protective measures be needed with guest speakers?”

“Do you know how to read?” Another new person - Claire - teased. Her voice was playful and Leon merely rolled his eyes, so Danny assumed this was friendly banter and did not interfere.

While Claire spoke, telling Leon to read the slip in front of his face, Danny got to Valerie’s seat. “Meet me after class,” he said to her, low enough no one else heard over the chatter. He did not place one of the pieces of paper in front of her.

Somehow, Claire and Leon had not actually managed to answer the question in their bickering, so Danny did.

“For the ectoplasm, it is as safe to handle as many chemicals you’ve run across in your science classes by now, so general lab safety will be needed. As far as the guests, they will likely not be human.” Valerie made a noise somewhere between outrage and shock behind him. “To be safe, the ghosts will be within a shield they can’t pass through. Phantom or other ghost hunters may be present as well - Phantom said he may be able to get me in contact with the Red Huntress as well -, though only ghosts thoroughly vetted by Phantom and that I have met will come, so it is more for peace of mind than actual need. Similarly, however, the ghosts will be in a protective shield that humans and ectoblasts cannot get through.”

“Oh, that’s just ridiculous! Why would they need that?” Valerie huffed.

It was Sam who answered, glaring daggers at Valerie.

“You mean other than the numerous hunters here who shout their intentions to capture and dissect them on a daily basis?”

Danny elaborated. “To be honest, their afterlives are at severe risk, coming here. But these ghosts are not ones with bad intentions, they just want peace. The portal bridged the metaphysical gap between us and them. But peace isn’t as easy as punching holes in dimensions.”

Doubtful irritation burned on Valerie’s face, but she again fell silent. “Anyway, try to get these slips signed this week, I already have something I want to do. Anyone who is uncomfortable with these things, or who’s parents don’t sign the slip for, will be given alternate assignments.”

Many of the students exchanged unsure glances. They had been expecting a joke of a class, someone like Jack blabbing nonsense and throwing easy assignments that would be forgotten half the time.

Finally done handing out permission slips, Danny crossed his arms over his chest, making eye contact with all of the students one at a time, his face set seriously. “Don’t get me wrong, I intend for this class to be interesting and as fun as school can possibly be. But I also want people to learn and to do my part in bringing a peace my parents don’t believe is possible. So I will be taking this class seriously. If you do the same, this will be an easy A. But only if you do the same.” He uncrossed his arms, letting his face and body relax. “And now you all can screw around until the end of the class.”

Danny grabbed up the other binder from the empty desk, dropping both of them on his desk. The class fell into chatter. He was about to head over to Sam and Tucker when Valerie cornered him. He slunk into his chair and she loomed over him.

“You wanted to talk to me, Mr. Fenton?” Valerie said.

“After the bell, yes.”

“Ugh, why not now?”

Danny gave a shit eating grin. “Because I’m a teacher and I said so.”

“I hate you. You know that, right?”

“You love me, shut up.”

Valerie rolled her eyes as the final bell rang.

The students filed out, Sam stopping by his desk and eyeing Val warily. “You sure, Danny?”

“Positive. Meet me at my locker?”

“Be there in ten minutes or I will bodily drag you out of that seat.” Sam threatened lovingly as she left, meeting up with Tucker at the door.

“I feel like there’s something against threatening teachers in the school rules.” Valerie mused.

“Pretty sure there’s also something about students not also being teachers.” Danny answered.

“Probably both of those are in the same book that say ghosts aren’t real,” Val joked. He laughed, still chuckling when she turned serious. “Anyway. Why did you want to talk to me? And not give me a permission slip?”

“You’re familiar with the Red Huntress, right?”

“Uh, duh. Who in Amity Park isn’t familiar with the only competent human ghost hunter in the city?”

“I’m obligated to at least pretend to be offended on my parents’ behalf.” He said, overexaggeratingly glaring at her before falling back into a grin. “Did you know, though, that her helmet does absolutely nothing to disguise her voice?”

Valerie was nearly as good at lying as he was when she answered. “Huh, didn’t know that.”

“Well, I bring that up in the hopes that she remembers to stay quiet whenever she’s supervising the class. The Huntress will be the preferred watcher when we have ghostly speakers. Valerie Gray, who’s father is quite uncomfortable with ghosts after everything that happened at Axiom, will refuse to sign the slip she definitely got today, so she will be doing alternate assignments.”

Valerie’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t know what I have to do with the Huntress.”

“Other than being her, with ghost infused tech bonded to you at a cellular level?”

Instincts developed after years of avoiding her at this point kicked in as she threw a punch at his face, him sliding out of the chair.

“Did that stupid ghost tell you? Are you going to out me?”

Danny, from his place on the floor, held up his hands placatingly. “First of all - no, I’m not going to out you. You weren’t wrong about being the best human hunter. Second of all - no, Sam pegged you in five seconds that time you caught us, uh… embracing in the park.”

“You have got to be fucking with me right now, Danny.” Realization dawned on her face. “That’s how Phantom knew to pull my mask off in front of my father during the whole thing with the Ghost King. You told him?” Danny didn’t miss the hurt in her voice.

Danny sighed, unwilling to lie more than he had to. “I was already helping Phantom when I learned your secret and it was before we became friends. So, yes, that’s how he knows, too.”

Valerie said nothing, looking slightly like the rug had been tugged from under her feet. Danny imagined he’d look the same way, learning someone had both known and kept his secret for years.

Come to think of it, that was probably the exact face he and/or Dan had made that one time he did find out Jazz knew.

“So, you wanna do it? Or should I call up Phantom?” Danny asked, gently standing up out of her reach and grabbing the permission slip sat on his desk.

Valerie growled, grabbing the slip from him and shredding it into pieces with her hands. “Huntress will be there.”

“I know I can’t tell you no weapons, but - no shooting any ghost that is not openly hostile. This includes Phantom, he may be here sometimes too.” Danny reminded. Some of the guests he wanted to bring - like Frostbite - tended to forget Danny kept his two lives secret from each other and may need the visual reminder of there being two of him in order to remember. “And by openly hostile we are going to use my definition, not your definition of them existing being proof of hostility. Capiche?”

“I can’t believe you are both a teacher and taking it seriously, Danny.” Valerie said, rolling her eyes. “But fine.”

Danny smiled, relieved, as Valerie finally took a step back, no longer cornering him into his own seat. “Oh, but just to be safe, get with Tucker about your suit. He can install a voice modulator and a way to darken the face screen in your visor, to double cover that no one else figures it out.”

“Tucker’s good with tech, but that good? Seriously?”

“Seriously. He should be in jail for several centuries with all the governmental hacking alone that he’s done.” Danny said, shrugging.

“All the what hacking?!”

Danny laughed then tapped on a pretend watch on his bare wrist. “Gotta get to Sam before she comes and bodily drags me out of here. Any other questions?”

“If anyone gets hurt because of your ghosts, I’m shooting you.”

“Not like that’s new…” Danny muttered.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing! Nothing. Just, uh, sounds fair!”

Valerie rolled her eyes but didn’t press further. “See you tomorrow, then, teach.” She said, leaving the room. Danny took a deep breath and sat back down in his chair.

[solalunar-eclipse]

Scars You Can’t See -  Chapter 9

Chapter title: Final Blow

Word count: about 4000 words

Author’s Note: This was originally just going to be an apology for posting this chapter a week late, but now. Now @khinesthetic has made this wonderful, amazing piece of fanart for SYCS, so. This chapter is going to be their appreciation chapter. (Also, please check out the rest of their blog for more cool art!)

Warning for another panic attack on Shadow’s part. If I’ve written something badly in that section, please let me know.

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...

Rouge paced back and forth in the old, tacky motel room that served as the current residence of Team Dark, the worn carpet muffling the clicking of her boots as she moved.

Shadow watched her through vaguely glazed-over eyes, thinking over the basic rudiments of a plan that the bat had laid out for them for the tenth time. The fortress they had in their sights was less than half an hour away- an easy drive compared to some of their extensive cross-country trips. Omega was given the job of getaway driver, despite his protests...unfortunately, a giant five-foot-tall robot was not exactly equipped for this level of stealth.

The two Mobians, then, would have to sneak into one of the most secure facilities on the planet, hack into some of their most secure files without tripping any alarms or otherwise having anybody notice, download all of those files onto their tablet, also without anyone realizing, and get out of said building alive.

This would have been an easy task, usually- the team would have taken it without reservations had it been an assignment from G.U.N. But now, Shadow and Rouge were both heavily underprepared and undersupplied, to say the absolute least. No briefings, no special equipment, and no backup besides Omega. Just them, their wits, and their powers.

And even assuming they survived and escaped capture on the spot...none of them dared to think about what their lives would be like afterwards, if everything went exactly as planned.

As it was, they had tried to get a full nights’ sleep, but they probably wouldn’t be able to get much more rest time than that if they hoped to stay ahead of G.U.N. and successfully complete the mission. So today was the only day to do it.

Right now, the team was just killing time until late afternoon. They thought (or rather hoped) that the guards would be a little more tired by that point, and if the mission took the right amount of time, they might even be able to escape into the night with relative ease. Rouge had planned it all out on the drive over, and sometimes Shadow was truly impressed by her level of tactical skill- especially since she had never had any sort of formal training throughout her line of work. 

Rouge really knew what she was doing.

As time passed, the team tried their best to remain sharp, but it seemed that even resting could become tiring after a while. Eventually, Omega stood up and looked down at both of them. “I have run some calculations. Your mental faculties will continue to deteriorate at a rapid pace if we remain in this room for much longer. This will in turn lower our possible chances of success. We must leave immediately so that our success rate does not fall further, considering it is already dismally low compared to most of our usual missions.”

Shadow frowned, rubbing his brow. Ordinarily, he would have responded to Omega by now, but at the moment, half of the robot’s words had barely even registered. Yet he shouldn’t even be able to get this tired, let alone suffer such consequences from a week or two on high alert.

“Ugh…” Rouge groaned, hauling herself upright. “Let’s just get this over with. I’m too worn out to worry about this anymore. We just do it, and what happens is what happens.”

“Agreed.” Shadow said simply, still trying to ignore the effects of his weariness.

Omega’s eyes turned into their ‘angry’ shapes, but it didn’t seem to be directed at them. “Your cortisol levels have been far above normal for over a week. This level of exposure is highly unhealthy. We must remedy this as soon as the mission is over.”

“Yeah.” Rouge muttered quietly. “If it’s ever over.”

“Studies show that negative thinking precludes negative results. The reverse is also true, for strange reasons unknown to me, as I am not organic. Cease your pessimistic comments, and we will drive to the G.U.N. Fortress immediately.” Omega said firmly, walking out the door. Shadow vaguely realized that the E-series robot had been taking charge more and more over these past few days, and that he’d also become a lot less...enthusiastic around the same time. 

While the hybrid didn’t know if Omega could be worried, the idea that he might be was just a little bit flattering.

…

The drive there was short, barely enough time for Shadow and Rouge to work themselves up into ‘mission mode’. All of the adrenaline that the former had felt last time was barely present now, replaced by a sort of frazzled sensation that made it feel as though every nerve in his body had been overused until it was barely even functional. 

They parked a long ways away to avoid the notice of its various high-tech security measures and just sat there for a second.

The team had been here so many times for various reasons: meetings, briefings, work parties...but this was going to be the first time they entered it illegally. (Or at least, it would be for Shadow. They both suspected that there wasn’t a well-known building in the country that Rouge hadn’t broken into, for kicks if nothing else.)

The robot left the engine running in case of an emergency, switching on his communicator. “Alert me if there are any problems and I will come help you. I will happily destroy this building for a distraction. Or to find you. Or even just for fun.” 

It seemed that Omega had still retained all of his violent tendencies, at least. 

The two rushed over to the entrance, making sure that the guards wouldn’t see them- a practiced maneuver at this point. Rouge carefully turned the two security cameras so that they faced the sky, all without setting off any alarms.

Shadow tucked himself into the niche that held the metal sliding door while Rouge tapped away on the holographic screen near the doorway. His suspicions about the bat having infiltrated this building in the past were confirmed when she whispered to herself, “Let’s see if the backdoor I left is still there...a-ha!” 

She typed in a code on the keypad: 4-8-6-7-8-9. At this point, the entire system automatically let her in- she even had the highest clearance to go with her fake account. Within moments, the door was unlocked with a quiet ‘whoosh’. (Ordinarily, there would have been at least five different checks to pass after this point to get inside, including fingerprint and retina scans.)

Rouge smirked at him before entering the building. “The code is ‘GUN SUX’, in case you’re wondering.”

Shadow could almost have laughed.

They didn’t need to sneak through the halls as much this time, since Shadow decided that it would be better to utilize a few Chaos Controls to get them past some particularly crowded sections. They couldn’t have made it past the ridiculous amounts of security measures- including automated gun turrets- otherwise. This fortress was one of the most protected places on the planet. There was a reason the President had been held there during the Black Arms invasion.

The twisted tangle of halls was specifically designed to confuse intruders, there were cameras to cover nearly all the blind spots, and guards passed every area by in two minute intervals. The hybrid thanked his lucky stars that he was with Rouge, since she seemed to be aware of every tiny flaw in the system, from a glitchy camera that hadn’t been replaced to which guards tended to slack off. He became more and more impressed with his friend’s skills each time she offered him a set of directions that worked without a hitch.

Once, they were nearly discovered, though. A pair of loud footsteps echoed around the metal corridors, sending both Rouge and Shadow into high alert. Quickly, the bat tugged him into an empty room, tucking them both behind a plain desk and out of sight.

“I guess G.U.N. actually switched up the guards for once, ‘cause this guy always used to be paired with another slacker,” she whispered as they walked by, completely oblivious to the two Mobians less than fifteen feet away. They were completely silent, unlike the guards at the old information warehouse- the fortress was much more important to G.U.N. and required a higher level of training and sophistication to maintain its security.

As soon as their steps had faded, the hybrid teleported them both to Rouge’s next location, which was even deeper in the complex. By now, they were several levels below the ground, but they still needed to travel farther to reach the secure servers that comprised G.U.N.’s major database.

Ordinarily, they would have used the elevator, but those didn’t have keypads, just card scanners. If any of the three had attempted to use their cards (which they wouldn’t have anyway, since the system kept track of who scanned their cards at what time) the entire complex would likely have gone into complete lockdown and they would have failed their mission.

Unfortunately, the excessive teleporting left Shadow’s Chaos stores running low, to say the absolute least. He dropped to his knees the second that they entered the main computer room, panting slightly as he leaned his head against the wall while staying out of sight. “You still gonna be good to take care of the rest, honey?” Rouge asked gently, brushing her fingers through the fur on his head. For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to pass out on the floor and remain like this forever, but then he paused, bewildered.

“Why am I so tired? I was literally just resting half an hour ago, and now look at me.” he groaned, looking down at his power inhibitors. He hadn’t had access to a Chaos Emerald in ages, so maybe that was the problem? His fingers brushed over one of the golden rings as he considered taking them off- that would provide him with a boost of power…

“No.” Rouge said decisively, holding his wrist so that he couldn’t release the inhibitor. “I’m not having you passing out on me in the middle of our escape, alright? It’s too risky to do that right now.”

“Either way, I’m going to run out of energy soon- wouldn’t it be better to get some more strength?” Shadow asked, his eyes narrowing. 

She tightened her grip on his wrist briefly to make her point before releasing him. “As much as Omega wants to come in and blow this place up...no. There’s so much more that could go wrong, Shadow, and I’m not willing to risk that.” The bat folded her arms, asserting herself as the one in charge...which she always was.

Shadow glowered, frustrated both with himself and the general circumstances. However, he forced himself to listen to her orders, since she usually knew what she was doing- an impressive sign of respect for him. “In that case, I’ll barely be able to do more than a couple of Chaos Spears. You’ll have to move quickly, Rouge.”

They walked among the stacks of black plastic and tiny flickering lights, searching for one specific computer to link into. Within a minute, the bat had discovered exactly what she was looking for and plugged in a cheap second hand tablet that she’d bought with some more of their spare money.

This tall black piece of hardware was part of a stack all the way at the back of the room, shoved into a corner and covered in dust. It looked completely useless and outdated.

At least, if the viewer wasn’t one who could recognize that these models were actually newer than the rest. The dust, the placement, it was all designed to let the computers pass underneath the average person’s radar and keep G.U.N.’s most secret files under high security, multiple firewalls, and the latest in antivirus technology. 

Rouge, however, was by no means an average person.

Meanwhile, Shadow thanked any member of the pantheon that might be listening that they were getting the job done now. Their resources were running low, so he hoped that after this they could go hide somewhere and get a job to survive. Hiding wasn’t ordinarily his preferred reaction (it had never been his preferred reaction, honestly) but it was starting to sound an awful lot better than the current ball of stress that was his life.

“Alright, we’re in.” Rouge whispered quietly, having used her ‘all-access’ password to enter the system yet again. 

The hybrid peered over her shoulder, curious to see what kind of documents she would discover...only to find that most of it was very confusing, to say the least. There seemed to be no sense of organization, to the point where he could barely tell if it was on purpose or just done badly. As a relatively organized person himself, he quickly grew frustrated by the complete lack of any sort of pattern among the various files.

There was at least one part done purposefully, though, because the folder Rouge wanted to access (labeled ‘requisition forms’ in the middle of a video section...suspicious) was blocked by a passcode. The first two tries- TOWERS and CMNDR- didn’t work. 

The bat closed her eyes and bowed her head. To the untrained eye, she might have seemed like someone in defeat, giving up at the first sign of a struggle.

Shadow knew that she was just trying to focus and tap into her skills.

Eventually, she sighed resolutely. “Let’s give this one a go.” She typed in five familiar letters.

M-A-R-I-A.

It seemed that his sister had touched many lives forever, since it worked. Rouge clicked through a few of the files, her eyes widening with each one. Shadow was certain that his own were equal in size, watching as G.U.N. detained people for weeks without trials, arrested innocents doing perfectly legal things, and pulled many others over on the street and forced them to submit to searches without reason.

In short, hurting ordinary people who they were supposed to protect.

It truly felt as though something sick and twisted had taken root inside of the organization, indeed, that it had been allowed (even encouraged) to spread and grow until it choked the life out of every positive reason that had ever been part of G.U.N.’s founding. All that seemed to be left now was a paranoia-ridden, overly-violent military force with little to no conscience or accountability for its actions.

Eventually, the bat closed the folder, downloading the entire thing onto her device. “Let’s go already!” Shadow hissed, hating the idea of staying a moment longer than was absolutely necessary.

“No.” Rouge whispered. “We end this here. Now. Today.”

Then, she maneuvered the folders into a different part of the server, and smiled bitterly. “They can’t claim it’s faked very well if it comes from them.”

And then the master thief uploaded that entire section of their database onto the Internet, through G.U.N.’s website and every single one of their social media accounts, with one short sentence to accompany it: Doesn’t seem like you’re very good at your job, ‘Guardian Units of Nations’.

Shadow grabbed her by the arm as soon as she finished. “Alright, now come on! We have to go, they’ll figure it out soon enough!”

Rouge logged out and unplugged the tablet, and the two of them rushed to the door and peered out of the glass, waiting until the guards had passed. As they rushed outside, the bat remembered to close the door in absolute silence. Then they hurried down the hall, moving as quickly as they could. Rouge flew and Shadow skated to keep the noise level as low as possible, the faint hiss of Chaos energy and the occasional flap of wings the only sound they made as they ran.

They took basically the same route as before, only using a slightly longer path due to the hybrid’s low energy. It still went well at first, as they kept hidden whenever any guards came near. At any rate, there were no shouts of “intruders!” going off as they rushed upwards, through the halls, and towards the exit.

About halfway up a stairwell, though, several things happened in quick succession.

Alarms began to blare throughout the entire building, and red warning lights began to flash all over. The complex began to go into high alert, although the doors remained open to allow the soldiers to get from one place to another quickly. Although the two former agents couldn’t see it, they knew that all important rooms (including the main server area) would have a set of steel guards placed over them by now, so it was good that they had already completed most of their mission. “How did they figure it out that fast?” Rouge gasped, startled. 

That was when they heard the stomping of guards entering the stairwell, heading downwards towards the computer rooms- and their position.

Shadow stumbled on the stairs, the alarms and lights and those sounds triggering his most horrible memory of all. The raid on the ARK had already been brought forcibly to the surface recently, so it was still a particularly raw spot for him. He faintly felt his friend clasp his arm and begin to drag him forward and up, trying to keep him safe despite the walls of his own mind closing in around him. Remembering that he had to flee, the thought across both past and present situations of get out get out get out RIGHT NOW powered him enough to hold on back and even begin to pull her along.

A pair of guards heard him stumbling on the stairwell and began to fire at them as they ran, forcing the two to dodge bullets as they rushed up the stairs. Rouge flew the hedgehog directly up a level of steps before letting him drop and hit the stairwell running, since they didn’t have enough time for her to properly set him down. The gunfire only added to Shadow’s confusion- that and the dark metal walls of the next hall left him blinking and dazed, struggling to recall where he was...or when he was.

This...this is the Fortress, right? No...but that wiring on the walls…

He grabbed someone’s hand- Maria? Rouge? didn’t matter, he had to keep her safe either way- and rushed faster, faster, through the halls and up more stairs, dodged the gunfire, kept running- look there are some doors, why are there doors on the ARK? It looks like Mobius outside- doesn’t matter- we have to get out so let’s go-

They burst through the double doors, Shadow breaking the sound barrier as he did so while Rouge tried to ride the air currents he created as well as she could. It took all of her strength just to cling to his hand so that she wouldn’t be completely blown away by the force of his movement. 

Shadow vaguely heard the screech of car tires and heard Omega shout “I AM ON MY WAY. RUN.” as they blew past him.

His heart was pounding in his chest and his ears and he felt too hot and he could barely breathe, but he had to keep going. His legs were shaking but he pushed onwards through the difficulties, barely even thinking. 

He couldn’t even see the mountains or the sea. His entire world was just the ground ahead of him and the hand in his own.

He had to run.

Eventually, Shadow heard a whirring noise, turning his head to see a helicopter bearing down on them in the sky. The sight of something even more obviously impossible on the ARK than the doors or the grass shook him out of his confused memories slightly, only to leave him out of focus and disoriented. 

Figure it out later, right now you have to move!

Bullets began to spatter across the grass, blasting from double machine guns mounted on the helicopter, and he heard Rouge- yes, it was Rouge, not Maria- yell something along the lines of “What the actual hell?!”.

Shadow didn’t want to know how anyone had ever decided that chasing down two rogue agents, one of whom could break the speed of sound, with a helicopter spraying the entire area with deadly, aerodynamic pieces of steel was the right way to get them back. Or the smart way, honestly. Already, the helicopter’s fuel was running low, considering that their engine had to be supercharged to keep up even for this long.

He rushed into the nearby woods as it fell back, not stopping until they reached the base of the mountains nearby. They crouched underneath a rocky overhang, and Shadow slowly worked to come back to himself fully.

He had escaped with his companion this time…

His unfocused eyes slowly blinked and he shook his head slowly, trying to drive the lingering images from his head. “I’m here, hon, I’m here.” Rouge said softly, and his ears twitched, trying to shake the nagging feeling that this entire situation should be completely different.

“I gotcha, Shadow, but we’re going to have to move eventually...I can hear them starting a search party.” She scoffed. “Stupid of them to be so loud when they’re hunting a bat.”

The hybrid took one deep breath, and then another. “I’ll be alright.” he said quietly, his unwanted thoughts finally receding into the background enough to allow him to focus. He saw Rouge smile at him faintly, squeezing his shoulder once before giving him some space.

A minute or two later, a stick snapped to their left, and both of the highly skilled, rigorously trained Mobians shrieked (in an impressively high register for Shadow especially) and whirled around, ready to fight. Both relaxed, though, upon seeing that it was only Omega, who in turn gave them a quick once-over. “You are both a mess and G.U.N. will be here at any moment. They will begin to sweep this area soon and we must be far away when they do so.”

“Where do we go now?” Shadow asked quietly, his mental capacity strained nearly to its limit.

“Somewhere. Anywhere out of the way, where we can hide out until things quiet down.” Rouge sighed, her eyes downcast.

None of them were looking forward to what came next- a long wait until G.U.N. gave up searching for them, cut off from all of their friends, where they couldn’t go by their real names or enjoy their usual pastimes….

….and that was if they were lucky.

They got back into their car, again, and set off down the highway, again, looking for a place to hide.

Again.

(Shadow was tired of hiding. Sometimes he found himself wondering, as Rouge kept an eye out for nothing more than a sheltered area to pull their car into for the night, if it wouldn’t be better to just give up entirely...but the sheer idea of G.U.N. winning, especially of being put back into stasis, was too horrifying for him to bear.)

He’d rather suffer a lifetime of fear and of looking over shoulders if it meant he could spend it with Rouge and Omega than return to the endless frozen quiet of a stasis pod.

And as they pulled into the woods and began to cover their car with a decent amount of brush and leaves many hours and two states later, he almost felt a sort of resigned peace. Knowing that they had done what was right and that he would get to be with his two closest friends for a while longer was...not bad, all things considered. Sighing, he lay back in his chair, one hand linked with Rouge’s and Omega’s hand resting next to his ears.

They could hide together, at least.

…

In the morning, he woke up to shouting.

“This is the Guardian Units of Nations! Surrender peacefully or we fire!”

Rouge stared at him, her eyes wide.

Shadow was frozen in place- he didn’t think he could have moved had he tried.

Oh, chaos.

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 34

Man these parts are getting harder and harder to churn out. A lot of plot points converging and real life ramping up. Hopefully you all enjoy this. Please comment your thoughts on the chapter. And if you really liked it, Reblog it. Thats the best way to get others to see it. Also, Please let me know your thoughts. Your comments fuel me.

(Master Post)

_____________________________________________________________

Masquerade surveyed the classroom. Her former classmates now her masked servants. It was fitting how they were all silent. Before, they listened to her because she told them exactly the things they wanted to hear, now they listened because she had power over them. It was kind of poetic in a way.

She looked across the classroom, she realized that there seemed to be more people missing than she initially realized.

“We are missing someone. Aside from Marinette, who is missing?”

The controlled classmates looked amongst themselves. Trying to figure out who was the one that was not in the class.

“Is it Chloé?” Miracular inquired, trying to answer her master’s request.

The akuma looked around.

“Huh… Oh yea, she isn’t here. Well she isn’t important. I was thinking someone else.” Masquerade answered. She looked to her most recently made akuma servant.

The Bubbler, the akumatized version of Nino stood motionless. As if he was not registering what was going on.

“Bubbler? Do you know who is missing?”

The multicolored akuma said nothing. Not even looking in the direction of the mask maiden.

“Bubbler! I order you to answer me!” She commanded with fiery rage.

The akuma turned to face his master, now responding.

“Adrien is missing.” The bubbler answered, his voice robotic and as emotive as a speak and spell.

“So, Adrien isn’t in the room. What a shame. I was planning on turning him into my handsome little knight.”

Masquerade thought for a moment.

Has Adrien been akumatized? Lila wasn’t sure she had ever seen or heard about him getting akumatized. She knew that the class had pretty much gotten hit at least once or twice at some point from what she had heard and read from the ladyblog. But if that goody-goody Marinette hadn’t been akumatized, Adrien likely hadn’t been akumatized either.

“Alright my servants! We have a new mission. I want you to lock this school down! No one is allowed in or out. Anyone you find, bring them to me. If they can be akumatized, then they are joining our cause.”

“Time breaker. Guard the perimeter outside of the school. Anyone outside of Ladybug and Chat noir trying to get in. Tag them, but only if they are suspicious of what’s going on. Stay hidden otherwise.”

“Timebreaker nodded and began skating out of the room in a rush.

“Horrificator, once Timebreaker is outside, seal all the exits in the main building.”

The masked monstress nodded and sped out of the room.

“Dark Cupid, Stoneheart, Princess Fragrance, Miracular and Reflekta. I want you to split up check all of the rooms and bring me potential akumas.”

The five akuma nodded and made their way out the door.

“Gamer and Robostus. I want you to hack into the airwaves. I want access to every Electric device in Paris when I give you the signal. But make sure to be subtle. I don’t want anyone to know about us until I tell you.”

The two nod and start working to get that ready for her.

She focuses her attention to the bubble making akuma that was giving her problems earlier.

Considering how hard it was to break him down, it was understandable. She had saved him for last for a reason. Because he was the hardest one to crack.

He was a relatively calm individual, able to keep a level head. But even he had his weakness. His confidence. Once that was shaken, seeing his entire class taken, knowing his girlfriend was under her control, he couldn't resist another moment. In a way, it was the most satisfying charm on her bracelet.

“Now Bubbler, you are going to go and locate Marinette and Adrien for me. Put them in a bubble and bring them to me. Help that girlfriend of yours.”

The bubbler nodded yes despite severe shaking. Seems even now he is trying to resist the control of the mask.

“Troublesome, but it is only temporary. He will break soon enough.” Masquerade mused to herself.

She looked at the near empty room with contempt. This was hardly a place where she could exact her vengeance. It was so… lame. Though a thought occurs as she realized who she had left standing at attention without orders.

“Evillustrator, I have a special request for you.”

________________________________________________________

“What is this?” Chloé screeched. “My daddy bought me the best phone plan in the city. How can I not have service right now?!”

The nurse felt a chill run down her spine. Could the akuma block out phone signals? Is that why there is no attention being given to the school? How could they call for help? How would anyone know of the akuma attack? Would Ladybug and Chat noir be able to help them?

The nurse started to feel herself going pale, she was just supposed to be a school nurse. Worst thing she needed to deal with was a scraped knee or give a kid an ice pack. Now she has a woman that collapsed on the bed and an akuma that is somewhere in the school. She had just moved to Paris a few months ago. It was her dream to live in the city of love, get her career going, find a nice guy, and just live the good life. But no one told her that supervillain attacks would be so personally connected to her situation? She had heard about this crap in New York and in America. But Paris? It was too much. What if Ladybug and Chat noir didn’t fix everything? What if this was where her story ended. What if…

“Hey!”

The nurse turned to her attention to the voice. It was the brash blonde teen that was complaining.

“You look like you’re going to pass out. Just a heads up, I am not taking care of you.” Chloé commented.

Angela felt her face heat up with annoyance.

“Listen you brat. I don’t have time to deal with your attitude. I have a woman that is out cold from exhaustion in a building with a hostile akuma.”

“Good, at least you aren’t going to faint. I don’t need any more whinny women fainting on me”

The nurse paused, did the girl say that just to help her not succumb to the grim situation?

Chloé started making her way to the door.

“Hey, where are you going?”

“You already got your hands full with the annoying assistant. I need to make a call to daddy. So, I am going to head out the building and try there. Try not to get ripped apart by an akuma, I still need more ice when I get back.”

Angela blinked. This girl wasn’t scared of the akuma. She was actually going out to do something reasonable. If she could call for help, it would mean that this whole thing blows over.

“Okay, I’ll stay here. Be safe.”

“Yea whatever.”

Chloé headed out the door.

Angela felt a ghost of a smile grace her face.

‘Maybe that girl isn’t a complete brat after all.’

__________________________________________________

The shapeshifting sentimonster growled as it smacked the locker. It lost both primary targets. And worst of all, Ladybug appeared to make this even harder. Masquerade needed to hear about this.

“Master, Marinette and Adrien have escaped my sight.”

The sentimonster heard a sigh of disappointment from the other end.

“It is fine Simularé, They wont be able to escape the school anyway. They will be found soon enough. If anything, this is a blessing in disguise. Having them be the last targets will have them bare witness to how devasting it will all be.” Masquerade answered. “Any news on Ladybug and Chat noir?”

“That’s the other bad news. Ladybug arrived, I am assuming that’s how Marinette managed to escape, and ladybug also took Adrien away as well. No sign of chat noir. But if you know one is here, the other is likely soon to follow.”

There was a brief moment of silence, as masquerade mulled over the information she had received.

“Actually, that works out well for us. Meet up at my location, I have the other students out looking for them, I need your power for something more important.”

“Yes master.”

Simularé shifted back into its phantom form, moving quickly down the hallway to obey her master’s request.

Just as it left, Ladybug popped out of a nearby locker. Relieved it didn’t notice.

“That’s not good, Masquerade likely got everyone in the classroom.” The red heroine said aloud.

She activated her communicator and tried to contact chat noir. But there was no sound.

“Damn it. No signal. Lila likely cut the communication as soon as she realized it.?”

“No worries Buggaboo, I happen to be on site.” A voice called out.

Chat noir jumped out of another locker to reveal he was there.

Ladybug felt a bit of relief at her partner’s appearance. She could tell he felt the same. Better a situation with two heroes.

“Been here the whole time?” The spotted heroine asked her cat crimefighting comrade.

“Just arrived a few minutes ago, I figured something was up, so I decided to take a quick peek. Cat curiosity and all that.”

“And you assumed it was with Collège Françoise Dupont?”

“It seemed like a solid guess.”

“Considering the track record, that is reasonable.” Ladybug conceded.

“Ever wonder why it is always this school and never any of the other schools? Paris is a big city. You would think Hawkmoth would decide to branch out to the other schools in the city.” Chat noir inquired as they started walking down the hall.

“I assumed its just a coincidence.”

“Shot in the dark, maybe he has a kid that goes here. He is pretty old” Chat noir dissed.

“I can’t imagine anyone that would want to date Hawkmoth.” Ladybug joked.

“What about the blue lady? She seemed crazy enough.”

“And now that image is burned in my mind. Thanks kitty.” Ladybug sarcastically commented. “Despite the mental scarring, I am glad you got here. Seems a repeat offender got herself an upgrade in the akuma powers department.”

“Lila.”

“How did you know?”

“I was reading the ladyblog, Alya did great work on that article.” Chat noir praised. He mentally applauded his quick thinking.

“Right, kind of the reason I felt the need to keep an eye on this place. But sadly, I was too slow.” Ladybug responded a tad gloomy.

“Hey, don’t sweat it. We will finish this akuma before lunch.”

Ladybug heard a footstep from the end of the hallway.

“Get down!”

Ladybug tackled the cat hero down. Just narrowly avoiding a neon pause symbol, which now suck on the wall.

“Looks like Lila has been busy.” Chat noir noted as he turned his face to the direction of the attacker.

Ladybug looked at the akuma. The white mask covering her friend’s face. Lady Wifi was back.

“Alya…”

The two heroes got into a fighting stance and prepared to take down this controlled akuma.

________________________________________________

The halls were empty and lifeless as the two visiting teens made their way cautiously down the halls.

“Oddly quiet in here.” The fencer commented. “What do you think Luka?”

“Well last time we entered a place with an akuma in it, it was brimming with armored minions. Maybe this akuma has more stealth?” The Musician commented. “So, I don’t think you will be fighting as directly as you are use to Kagami.”

Kagami nodded at that, not exactly happy or sad regarding that remark. Her plan was to see if she could help her friends get out of the building, grab her textbook, and get out. She wasn’t really that interested in fighting a superpowered foe at this moment in time.

The two ceased speaking when they heard approaching footsteps.

“Someone’s coming.” Luka noted.

The two duck into the nearest room.

The two stayed close to the door as they listened to the sound of the approaching figure.

Kagami dropped to the floor silently as to check and see if she could get a visual.

She could only see what appeared to be costume boots of a larger figure. Which made the expert fencer believe it was not friendly.

The figure stopped, looking at the door. The two teens felt their neck hairs stand on edge as they did their best not to make a sound.

After what felt like an eternity, the figure passed the door without checking. Once the sound of his footsteps could no longer be heard, they let out a sigh of relief.

“That was way too close for comfort.”

“Agreed. I would prefer a direct confrontation next time, much less nerve-racking. “

The two carefully open the door and exit the room.

“Seems we found the akuma.” Luka commented. “Now we just need to avoid it and.”

“You mean akumas.” Kagami corrected.

“Akumas?”

Kagami tilted the boys head to look in the same direction she was looking, and sure enough she saw a rather large rock like creature walking the halls.

“Oh… well that is bad.”

Kagami pushed him back into the room and closed the door. Locking it before the rock giant could notice them.

“I’m surprised.”

“By the fact there is an 8-foot-tall rock beast outside?”

“No, by the fact you didn’t try to fight it.”

“I don’t have a weapon.” Kagami replied flatly.

Luka raised a brow at the comment, unsure if the fencer was serious or not about fighting that thing if she had a foil.

“Is something wrong?” A third voice came from behind them.

The two teens turned around, preparing for the worst. Though they were relieved to see it was just an old janitor… in a Hawaiian shirt. Despite his odd dress, he did give off a kind aura. One of a trusting old grandpa.

They noticed that the room seemed to be a sort of teacher’s lounge, with a small counter with a sink and cabinets. As well as a fridge to keep food cold and stored. A place in the school where teachers would come to get a quick coffee or store their lunch.

“Oh good, you aren’t an akuma.” Luka sighed with relief.

“An akuma?” The old man asked.

“Yes, it is very dangerous out there right now. There are multiple villains outside. I would recommend staying put while we go out there and help handle things.” Kagami explained.

“Quite bold of you to go out there against those monsters.” The man responded.

“Don’t worry, we will be careful. We just need to make sure we can get as many people out as we can so Ladybug and Chat noir won’t need to worry.”

“Ah, how selfless of you. You both seem quite capable for ones so young.”

“You’re very kind, but we are just doing what we can. Our friends are out there and they need our help.”

Kagami goes to the door. Checking to ensure the coast is clear again.

The old man pats the musician’s shoulder.

“I am sure you two will figure a way to help your friends.”

“There are too many outside this room.” Kagami grumbled. If only I had a way to fight them.”

The mysterious janitor smiled.

“Say… I did happen to see Ladybug earlier.”

The two teens turned their attention to the old man.

“You did?” they asked in unison.

“Yes, she happened to drop something while rushing. Would you two be so kind as to return them to her when you see her.”

The two of them glance at each other and shrug. The old janitor might be senile.

“Sure… We can give it to her.” Luka assured the old man, trying to remain polite.

The old man moves to a closet, where out of view of the two teens, an elaborate chest with the symbol of the guardian’s decorates the top. He quickly gets two smaller boxes and closes the closet.

“Ah! Here they are.”

He hands the two a small box each. Their eyes go wide.

“They seemed important, so I didn’t want to just leave them on the floor. But I have a feeling you two will take good care of them.”

The two teens were engrossed by the boxes in their hands. They recognized them immediately. These were the boxes Ladybug used when handing out miraculous.

“Where did you find…?” Kagami tried to question, but noticed the old man was no longer there.

“He’s gone…”

“Actually, I am over here.”

The teens look in the opposite direction they were looking in order to see him at the end of the room getting a snack from the fridge.

The duo decided that maybe this old guy wasn’t all there after all and figured it would be best to go somewhere and utilize the ‘gift’ they were just given.

“Stay in the lounge where it’s safe okay?” Luka asked politely.

“Of course. I am not paid if I am not working.”

The two teens checked the door again, and once the coast was clear. They both slipped out of the room.

After he knew they were out of sight, the old man chuckled.

“The senile routine works every time.”

“Master, you really cut it close with that one.” A small turtle creature exclaimed as he popped out from the closet.

“The universe works in mysterious ways Wayzz. What are the odds that there would be an attack on the school the very day I decide to hide out as a janitor?”

“Considering the frequency of akuma attacks, very likely.”

“True, but how about running into two individuals that Marinette had picked to be heroes.” Fu followed up.

“That is quite a coincidence.”

The guardian pulled out his phone and noticed he didn’t have a signal.

“It seems I can’t get a signal to notify her of the reinforcements I sent her way. Likely it would be the same on her end. So, it is a good thing I acted in advance.”

Fu moved to the closet where he kept the miraculous.

“I can’t help but shake the feeling Ladybug and Chat noir will need all of the help they can get.

“Don’t worry master, I am sure Ladybug and Chat noir will be successful.

“Let us keep an eye on things. They might need another ally to turn the tide.

________________________________________________________

“I am guessing you are also familiar with what’s inside here?” Kagami inquired as the two stealthily moved in the hall.

“I may be familiar with it.” Luka commented.

Kagami contemplated the statement. She figured out the truth.

“Seems we both have used a miraculous then?”

“It appears we have. Though I am not sure Ladybug will be thrilled that someone knows I have helped her.”

“I understand the sentiment. Though lets simply agree to keep it between us.” Kagami answered. “Friends do keep secrets like that if I’m correct.”

Luka smiled at the comment.

“Your secret is safe with me.” Luka assured.

“As is yours.”

The two found the locker room and quickly moved inside.

“Coast is clear.”

The two opened the boxes and as they did two magical creatures appeared in front of them.

A floating creature with multiple spikes appeared in front of the fencer, while another floating creature that resembled a cobra stood in front of luka.

“It is a pleasure to see you again Mistress Kagami.”

“It’s been too long, Longg.” Kagami smiled. Happy to see her kwami friend.

“Hello Luka, itssss been a while.” The snake kwami greeted.

“Happy to see you too Sass.” Luka fist bumped his kwami.

The kwamis stop and turn to see the other kwami there.

“Does Ladybug know about this?” They both ask in unison.

“We will inform her after. Right now, there is a lot of danger.” Kagami exclaimed. “Ladybug needs our help.”

The two kwami nod and prepare to fight.

“Consssider us accomplissses.” Sass answered.

The two teens put on the miraculous.

“Sass! Scales Slither.”

“Longg! Bring the storm”

The two teens transform into their heroic alter egos.

Kagami shifting into the dragon miraculous hero Ryuuko, and Luka changing into the Snake hero Viperion.

The two stop to glance at the other.

“So, what should I call you.” The snake hero asked curiously.

“Call me Ryuuko. And what about you mister snake?”

“Viperion is what I am going with.”

“Fitting.”

“As is yours.”

The two give a nod of comradery before making their way out of the locker room. They had to go help Ladybug.

__________________________________________________

Ladybug dashed across the hallway, avoiding pause symbols being flung at her by the conniving akuma.

She slid underneath one of the symbols and preformed a daring slide kick to knock Lady Wifi off balance.

While she was unstable, Chat noir charged and used his baton to make contact with her white mask. Believing it was the obvious weak point.

“Got it!” Chat noir exclaimed triumphantly. The strike of the staff knocking Ladywifi a good several meters. Before lying flat on her back.

“Wow, that is a tough mask. I thought for sure that was the weak point.” Chat noir commented.

Lady Wifi stood up robotically.

“There must be a way to snap her out of it. Unless Hawkmoth is learning from his mistakes.” Ladybug hypothesized as she got up from the ground.

“Well I got nothing.” Chat noir shrugged.

Another set of footsteps approaching caught the hero’s attention. The recognized the multicolored bubble maker the moment they saw him.

“Nino… You too?” Chat noir said under his breath.

The Bubble maker used his bubble wand to summon two large bubbles to capture the heroes. Bringing back flashbacks of their first encounter with the bubble akuma.

Chat noir and Ladybug expertly slide between the gaps of the attack, resulting in Lady Wifi getting hit with the large bubbles and being sent flying into the wall via bubble prison.

Chat noir lunged at the Bubbler, his quick pounce pinning him down before he could attack.

“Maybe I can destroy his mask with…”

“Wait Chat noir!” Ladybug called out.

Chat noir paused.

“What if your cataclysm doesn’t free him?”

“And then I am left without the power before a recharge.”

“Exactly. We need to hold off on using our powers right now.”

Chat noir wanted to save his friend. But he knew his partner was right. They needed to conserve their powers before facing Lila.

The Bubbler managed to get the cat hero off of him with a burst of strength. Knocking Chat noir to the ground.

Lady Wifi had gotten free from the bubble attack and was now blocking the other entrance.

Ladybug and Chat noir moved back to back, Ladybug facing the ladyblogger turned mindless akuma slave and Chat noir facing the akumatized DJ.

“Any ideas, Buggaboo?”

“Seems they can’t adapt. They are pretty much mindless slaves. Which makes sense since Lila wouldn’t want them to think for themselves.”

“So you’re saying their movements are simple.”

“Which means they are exploitable.”

Chat noir felt relief watch over him. He knew Ladybug had a plan.

_____________________________________________________

“EWWWW!” Chloé screeched in disgust. The front entrance to the school had been covered in a pink slime.

She wiped her hand on the cleanest section of wall she could find. This was not her day.

“What is with this nasty gross akuma? First, I can’t call Daddy to come and pick me up. I can’t even post about it! How will Ladybug know to save me? Or better yet, get me the bee miraculous so I can help her save the day?”

Chloé decided to try another exit, since she had no plans of sticking around without knowing if she was going to be given a miraculous or not. Plus, she did say she would call for help, and doing that would make her look good in potential hero points.

As she was walking, she bumps into something in the middle of the hall. Which was bizzare since the hall was clear.

“Ouch, right on my bruise. What the hell is…”

Chloé felt her anger shift to fear when she watched as the empty hall now contained a familiar akuma.

“Sabrina?”

The akuma turned to her, her face covered with a white face mask.

“Eww. Your akuma form looks even tacker than before.”

“Take potential akuma to master.” The akumatized Sabrina stated in an emotionless tone. Repeating the order, she had been given.

“Oh no you don’t! Sabrina, I order you to listen to me!”

The akuma ignored the blonde’s command and slowly walked towards her.

“Sabrina… I am warning you. I am going to yell at you over this later if you don’t stop right now.”

Chloé started slowly backing away. She wasn’t sure of what to do.

“Listen… if you stop right now… I’ll uh… let you take a pick of one of my old sweaters.” Chloé bargained, not intending to let her pick one of the ones she actually liked.

Chloé felt her hand touch the sealed door, and knew she was at the end of the hall. She was boxed in.

“This is so unacceptable.” Chloé stated, preparing to get captured. But a flash of Red and Black came out of nowhere and kicked the akuma hard to the wall.

“Ladybug! I knew you would like save me!” Chloé jumped and hugged her savior.

“Im not ladybug.” The heroine spoke.”

Chloé released the hug as she examined who her savior was.

“Who the hell are you?”

Chloé had never bothered to learn the names of any of the other miraculous heroes. She sometimes forgets chat noir’s name.

“Ryuuko.” The dragon heroine stated calmly, almost regretting saving Chloé.

“Did Ladybug send you? Cause it would have been better if she got me to help.”

Ryuuko decided to ignore Chloé’s comment.

“Now we need to leave before she… Where did she go?” Looking at the dented locker that no longer had an akuma lying on the ground.

Suddenly the akuma popped out of nowhere about to strike from above with her tonfa and steal Ryuuko’s powers, but was stopped when a small harp smacked her face.

“She appears to have invisibility.” A voice called out.

The two turn to see the snake hero as he caught his harp on the rebound.

Chloé took a moment to look over the snake hero. She had to admit, he was pretty cute. Not Adrien cute, maybe she would start learning the names of the other heroes.

“Quick thinking Viperion.” Ryuuko thanked the snake teen.

“Just following your lead.” Viperion responded. The two giving eachother a respectful smile. They both seemed to have gotten used to working together.

The akuma got up. Its white face mask making the akuma’s expression unreadable. But its body language exuded rage.

“Seems we aren’t going anywhere until she is taken care of.” Ryuuko said as she stared down the akuma.

Viperion turned to chloé.

“You need to go and get to safety.”

“Okay!” Chloé says as she runs off.

“How come she didn’t give you any sass?”

“Because I already have him.”

Kagami had to admit that was a clever response.

“Not what I meant, but Chat noir would love that joke.”

“I will be sure to tell him it later.”

“Stick to playing guitar. You’re a better musician than comedian.”

Before they could get off anymore banter. The akuma went for another attack.

________________________________________________________

Simularé entered Ms.Bustier’s classroom.

“I am here.” The ghostly sentimonster announced.

“Excellent.”

The sentimonster looked up to see that the classroom it was expeciting to see had been altered into what appeared to be a rather glamourous throne room. The windows covered by white curtains with the design of an akuma in black. The platforms and stairs had been altered to be marble. And at the top, where Lila’s desk once was was now a golden throne akin to something one would see in a castle. Though despite the impressive change in the classroom it was still being designed. The akuma known as the evillustrator was still creating more furnishings for the room.

“Simulare, I have an order for you.” Masquerade stated as she sat on the new throne. Clearly confident in her position.

The sentimonster approached her master. Stopping only a few feet away.

“I want you to create a mirage over the school. Since Ladybug is already in the school. It would be best if you made sure no one notices whats happening here. I don’t need any additional heroes popping in yet. Let’s handle her before making things public.”

Simularé nodded.

“Understood. But what should we do if she…”

“I have everything under control. Just follow my orders.”

Simularé ceased her questioning.

“As you wish master.”

The sentimonster shifted into her Volpina form and headed out of the classroom.

“She is getting arrogant in her power. If things do go south, I will need to step in.” Simularé said to herself. But for now, she knew she had a role to play.

_____________________________________________________________

And that ends part 34.

Seems things are REALLY heating up. Will Viperion and Ryuuko be able to help Ladybug and Chat noir?

Will Ladybug and Chat noir be able to get through to their brainwashed friends?

Will Masquerade's gambit be enough for her to get her vengeance?

Whats Simularé's deal?

Find out by staying tuned and sharing. Remember Reblogs help content creators and if you do enjoy my content, the support really does help

[writeforfandoms]

Merry Go Round of Life 13

Find my masterlist

Chapter 13! Finally! This one has been a long time coming, but I’ve rediscovered inspiration for this, and I’m working on chapter 14 already. Hopefully you won’t have to wait so long for the next chapter. 

Chapter 13 brings about a cameo that I’m a bit excited about. It’ll be more important next chapter. 

Word count: 1.7k

This one will be Din Djarin x f!reader eventually. Don’t hold your breath folks, this one’s a slow burn. Sort of. 

Warnings: The Child getting into mischief. That’s it. 

In which there are crystals

You woke to watery morning light pouring in from the Kamino window. You sat up straight again and groaned quietly - sleeping in the chair did your back no favors. 

No sooner were you upright, still blinking owlishly as your vision adjusted, than a child was dumped on your lap. You made a very undignified noise and scrambled to grab the giggling child before he could topple off your lap. 

"I need to check on a few things," Djarin told you. He was once again fully armored, and looked as if the green slime incident had never happened. "I doubt I'll be back before tomorrow." 

"Alright," you managed to get out, still working on waking up. 

But that was enough for Djarin, because he nodded once and strode out, the door clicking shut behind him. 

For a couple moments, you simply blinked at the door, a little dumbfounded. Then you looked at the child in your lap, who gave you a big gap-toothed grin. Then you sighed. 

"I know he didn't feed you," you told the child. "I suppose we should start with breakfast, hm?" 

Peli sighed loudly, sending a deluge of bright sparks into the air. "I suppose you'll want to cook," she grumbled, though she was already hunkering down in her logs. 

"Yes, thank you." You smiled at the fire demon and hoisted yourself and the child up. 

It took almost no time to get tea going and breakfast cooking. You fed bits to Peli - it kept her happier, caused harm to no one, and allowed you to cook with much less background grumbling. 

You'd already been cursed once, you had no intention to add more on top of that. 

Breakfast passed without a hitch. The child got himself rather sticky, but nothing that couldn't be fixed with a quick wash. He liked your humming and singing, which easily kept him occupied for the duration of the washing and cleaning up. 

And then you made a mistake. 

You got complacent. 

You were still singing an old sea shanty you'd picked up from home in the local tavern of all places, but you didn't have eyes on the child. That was your mistake. You forgot how quiet the child could be when he wanted. Again, your mistake. 

But Djarin hadn't locked his bedroom door when he left. That was most certainly not your mistake. 

Which is exactly where you found the little troublemaker after several minutes of half-panicked searching and calling for him. The child sat on the floor in the middle of the room, grubby little hands clasped around something. Something yellow, you could just see through his fingers. 

Well. He apparently wasn't in any true danger. And you were curious. So you let yourself look, turning a slow circle. 

Djarin's room was clean and bare past the point of boring. The bed was against one wall, large enough to be comfortable, with simple gray sheets and blanket. There was a single set of shelves on one wall, sturdy and wooden, though they were empty. 

A piece of paper stuck to the wall caught your attention, and you stepped closer to investigate. You couldn't read it, but it looked much like the decor; no frills, no glamor, nothing extra. Just black ink on white paper that shimmered faintly golden when light hit it at just the right angle. 

A coo from the floor brought your attention back to the child, and you found him examining the thing in his hands. It was a… crystal? 

To be honest, it took you a minute to recall the crystals Vanth had given Djarin as payment. You'd thought he had handed over those crystals to the woman, his mentor. 

But apparently not all of them, as the child rolled this one across the floor to you. 

"Well, what can it harm to play a little game?" you mused, picking up the crystal to examine it for a moment before sending it rolling back to the child. "We're not harming anyone. And this way we can wear you out, my little friend. You have quite a lot of energy for being so small." 

The child laughed and rolled the crystal back to you, apparently enjoying the shifting sparkle and shine as it moved. 

"And what are you?" You murmured as you rolled the crystal between your palms. "You're certainly not like anything I've ever seen. I suppose you're magical - Djarin did seem quite interested in you, after all." 

As if in agreement, the crystal shone from within. Not bright, not blinding, but a steady, warm glow that couldn't have been caused by sunshine. You very nearly dropped the thing in astonishment. 

But the child laughed and clapped his hands. 

"You're not surprised," you murmured, narrowing your eyes a little at the child. "Why are you not surprised? This is magic. Well, you are a little wizard, aren't you? Wizard-in-training? Apprentice wizard?" You paused and then shrugged. "Well, no matter. I think you've gotten into quite enough mischief up here. Come on, little one." You stood with only a little creaking and groaning and scooped up the child. He'd gotten hold of the crystal again, and you hesitated. Did you make him leave it? But you had no idea where it had come from. 

Then you shrugged. The child could keep the crystal for now, and you'd simply tell Djarin once he returned. 

Fortunately, the child was sufficiently entertained by helping you clean the rest of the day. You found bits of dried slime across the main room, and it required a fair bit of scrubbing to get up. Peli definitely laughed at you… but she did help you draw up a nice hot bath. So. You figured that made you two even. 

The child stayed with you that night, curled up warm and quiet under the blankets against your side. He reminded you a little of the family cat you'd had as a child - he started at your side, then moved up next to your head, shifted down to sprawl across your chest, rolled off of you to hang half-way off the bed. You woke each time, of course. 

Needless to say, you did not get a full night's sleep. 

The next morning was… much less calm. The child woke up with plenty of energy, and wouldn't stop wandering off whenever you tried to get anything done. Honestly, how Djarin had managed to be a wizard and watch the little monster-munchkin was a mystery to you. 

All of this was not helped by the knocking. It started early from Kamino, a broad man asking for something to force his brothers to tell the truth. The man looked permanently tired, a little furrow between his brows, his hair shaved down close to his scalp and startlingly blonde. 

Peli helped you grab a powder, and you poured a generous amount into a paper bag. You traded the bag for two coins, and the man was on his way. 

That, of course, was only the beginning. 

Next was the sailor's wife looking for a charm to ensure his safe return. Next was a man looking for a finding spell for his lost dog. (That one, fortunately, was resolved as you watched. The child toddled out the door while you were trapped by the man wailing on the doorstep, and returned a few minutes later clinging to the back of the shaggiest black and white dog you had ever seen. Despite the lack of magic, the man insisted on pressing a couple coins to your palm for your child's help.) 

The steady stream of customers didn't cease all day as word apparently spread. You were kept busy answering the door far more frequently than you liked. A few people brought you things to gain favor - a hearty loaf of bread, some salted fish, a handful of delicate and beautiful shells from a very shy little girl. 

By the time the sun set, you were exhausted. So, apparently, was the child, as he'd curled up on your chair in front of the fireplace and was snoring softly. You were hardly more awake yourself, and dragged through making dinner. You knew you'd regret it if you didn't eat. 

The door opened, and you turned to blink at Djarin as he stepped through and shut the door behind him. 

"You were busy today," he said quietly, walking over to take the kettle from you before you burned yourself. "You're the talk of the town this evening." 

"I am?" You blinked at him, startled. 

He nodded slowly. "A new witch, one who is helpful and steady, working out of my shop. The town rumormill is working overtime."

You chuckled, because you could well imagine it. "Kalevala is the same," you told him, smiling. "So I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." 

The helmet dipped again and he turned away to pour the hot water into the teapot for you. "You did well," he murmured. "I didn't hear anything bad about you. And the child is still here." 

You laughed a little, shaking your head. "I take it he's vanished on you before?" 

"More than once." The words were exasperated, with a gentle undercurrent of affection, and you smiled. 

"Oh! Speaking of the child wandering off." You patted around your skirt until you found your pocket, and pulled out the yellow crystal. "I found him in your room playing with this. You must have left your door open." 

"I didn't." He sounded puzzled, taking two slow steps towards you. One gloved hand reached out and took the crystal gently from you, turning it slowly. You couldn't see his expression, but he seemed to be studying the crystal, and he seemed to be… puzzled. 

"I'm sorry," you blurted, twisting your fingers into the fabric of your skirt. 

"It's not your fault. He is proving to be more advanced than I had guessed." Djarin huffed, shaking his head slowly. "Here. You hold onto this. Just… keep it with you." He held out the crystal to you again. 

It was your turn to be perplexed, but you took it and tucked it back in your pocket. 

"I have a favor to ask of you," Djarin continued, abruptly turning and walking away from you. "I'll tell you more tomorrow, but it should not be too taxing for you." 

"Okay," you agreed slowly. 

"Sleep well." The helmet dipped to you once more before Djarin scooped up the child and vanished up the stairs.

--

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[hogwartsmarvelmommy]

In this together

A Harry Holland fic

Spilled tea and lost memories (chapter one)

Summary: Harry tried desperately to not cross the line between professional and personal, but how could he help it when you were you? One little slip, and everything has changed.

Word count: 2.7K

Warnings: illusion to smut (but not actually) drinking, blackout, unknown naked person in bed with reader (but not actually) probably poor understanding of how a movie set works 😂

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➿➿➿➿➿➿

You hurried into the corner store pulling your tea drenched shirt off as you rushed to the counter where your best friend Ruby was sitting. The store was practically empty besides for one old woman who was seemingly distracted by the vast array of chip options, and paying you no mind. “I need your shirt,” You blurted to your best friend, who furrowed her brows at you before seeing you in just a bra. She chuckled shaking her head before quickly taking her hoodie off and then the shirt off her back, and giving it to you with no questions asked. She knew how important this opportunity was for you, this was your chance to get your foot in the door. You let out a loud sigh of relief as you kissed her on the cheek before running out, pulling the shirt over your head as you did so. You were going to be so late.

"Good luck y/n!" You heard her call after you as you hailed a cab.

The movie set was luckily close, enough that you weren't way too late, but being late on your first day was not a good impression in general. You also really needed this job.

“Name?” The tall, burly security guard asked as you walked up to the gate.

“Y/N Y/L/N, personal assistant to Harry Holland,” you told him anxiously. He nodded, waving you through after handing you an employee pass and you rushed to find where you were supposed to be.

The set was incredibly large, and reminded you a bit of a maze. It was definitely overwhelming. There was absolutely no way you were going to be able to get around without a little bit of assistance. You took a deep breath as you looked around all the strangers, who you would hopefully grow to know in the near future.

“Excuse me, Do you know where I can find Harry Holland?” You asked a woman with a clipboard and an earpiece. She glanced at you, seemingly unamused, before radioing for his location. She nodded as someone spoke to her on the other side of the earpiece, before explaining how to get to where you needed to be. With more of a sense of direction than before and a worry at your job security you rushed through the sets and to the room that was labeled assistant director.

As soon as you entered the door you began to spit words out. “I'm so sorry I'm late, there was an incident with a man and some tea, i had to find a new shirt. I promise I am not usually tardy like this, and then, this set is just so big, and no one gave me a map, so I had to ask for help. Sorry i'm rambling, Im Y/N Y/L/N, your new assistant,” You extended your hand at the man, who was still facing the other way. He seemed to be ignoring you, completely. You felt your heart rate accelerate as you feared you were about to be fired “Erm, excuse me?” You asked, tapping his shoulder gently.

Harry jumped, turning and seeing you standing in front of him. Taking out the headphones that had been blasting music in his ears, he smiled at you, instantly recognising you, despite your subtle change in attire. “Hi,” He said.

“Hi, im y/N Y/L/N, your new assistant, sorry i'm late, i had a-”

“Tea spill?” He finished.

You flashed him a smile, “I didn't think you heard me before,” You chuckled.

“Oh, no," he shook his head, chuckling. "It was me that spilled the tea on you,” he confessed. You felt your eyes widen, not having even looked at the man earlier, you were in such a rush.

“Well, this is a small world,” You laughed, extending your hand. “Nice to meet you sir,” You said.

Harry cringed at that. “Please, dear God, no," he groaned at the use of the name, "Harry is fine Y/N,” He laughed before taking your extended hand and shaking it gently.

Days seemed to pass quickly in the beginning. Filming was going smoothly, and it helped having such an attentive assistant, who quickly picked up on all of Harry's habits no matter how small (or odd). Every morning you would stroll in with a tea and a muffin, he never asked you, but you just seemed to know that he would need it. When it came time for lunch you always had a box with takeout ready between scenes, and you always seemed to order his favorite no matter where you ordered from.

“You're a saint, Y/N,” Harry expressed, shoving his face with the food that had just been delivered.

“Just doing my job,” You had told him, but truth be told you had grown rather fond of Harry, he was sweet, and never demanding, he treated you like a person, instead of a rat to run his errands. Harry had also grown a liking to you, you seemed to help the days go by and he couldn't help the feelings he felt growing towards you, especially with the times you guys would be alone. You were attractive, he couldn't deny that, but it was something more that pulled him in, but he did his best to push any and all feelings away. He was nowhere near ready for a relationship, especially with his personal assistant. That would just be a mess.

~12 months.~

Six months of filming day in and day out and the movie wasn't even close to done. Luckily for Harry he had an amazing assistant by his side lessening his workload.

"Hey Har? Sam just texted to let me know his flight was delayed so I'm going to get him at two instead of twelve," you told him as you typed away at the iPad you carried around with you everywhere.

"That's ok, love. I can go get him if it's after noon, you should take the rest of the day off, you deserve a long weekend," he said without a glance in your direction. You stood there shocked, unaware if he had even meant to say what he had, but all you could do was nod.

"Th-thanks" you stuttered as you grabbed your few belongings and you left the room, had he just called you love, or had you imagined the whole thing?

As soon as you left the room Harry felt like a div, he had been so good about keeping things professional with you, so scared of opening himself up again just to be let down, and maybe that wouldn't happen, but he didn't want to find out. He knew the pet name was a slip, and he had been so good about just calling you by your name, but for some reason it had just slipped past his lips like a force of habit.

A weekend with Sam was precisely what Harry needed, a weekend to vent and get things off his chest that he couldn't and didn't want to talk to anyone else about.

"So that assistant of yours, she's something," Sam said, catching Harry off guard,.as they walked down the street towards the restaurant. They had been talking about Scotland and how Sam had been faring alone, but Harry nodded, letting the subject switch to you.

"She's pretty great," Harry admitted, not wanting to talk too much about it with his twin for fear he would figure him out. He wanted to admit his feelings, but he wasn't sure he was ready to say it out loud, because then it would be real. He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with that.

"So, is anything going on?" Sam asked

"What? No! Of course not, I wouldn't take advantage of her like that," Harry blurted out defensively, feeling flustered.

"I meant in general, like with life," Sam chuckled. "But whatever you say mate," he patted his twin on the back as he laughed at the blush that immediately filled his cheeks. There was no denying it, he had caught feelings for you despite every fiber of his being telling him not to.

That same night you were laid up in bed, completely nude as you listened to music, organizing the schedule for the week ahead when you heard the knock on your front door. You had had one too many glasses of wine, and you were not in the mood to entertain company. Choosing to ignore the knocking you turned the music up, but then it stopped being replaced by a ringtone you had assigned to your boss. “Harry?” You asked as you picked up the phone.

“I'm at your front door, and I can hear your music,” His words were slightly slurred together, making you think he too had been drinking. You got out of bed, slipping on your robe to go to the front door.

You opened it to see your redheaded boss, leaning against the wall. "Hey," he said shyly.

"Hi,” You chuckled. “Come in," you offered, stepping to the side. He nodded and walked past you into your small flat.

"I crossed a line earlier today," Harry blurted out as his eyes traveled around the apartment. " I'm sorry," you watched him as he stood there, obviously drunk, twiddling his fingers, apologizing to you.

"Would you like a glass of wine? Or I might have some beer somewhere," you asked him, as you walked to the kitchen.

"Wine is fine," he said, following you. He watched as you poured the wine into two tall glasses. You knew you were already on the verge of being pissed, so why did you choose to drink more, you're sure you had a reason at the time…

You opened your eyes to the sound of a rather obnoxious, unfamiliar alarm. Your head was pounding and your mouth was so dry. You needed water and a few pain pills. You tried to stretch out, but soon noticed the weight on top of you. Your eyes shot open and looked down at an arm thrown over you, belonging to a naked man laying face down next to you. You didn't remember anything from the night before, and you weren't sure you even wanted to know who was lying naked In your bed.

Whoever it was, he had a pillow over his head, probably in an attempt to ignore his own alarm, or to block out the sun that was streaming through the curtains, you weren't sure. You moved the arm of the unknown man slowly, sliding out from underneath him.

Grabbing your robe and your phone, you slipped out of your room and booked it for the bathroom. You didn't know what to do. You were not the kind of girl that sleeps with strangers.

Apparently the only logical thing your brain could conjure up was to call the one person who might be able to help you.

"Y/n?" Harry's voice asked through the phone, his voice was low and heavy, you had probably just woken him up.

"Harry, I got really wine drunk last night and now I'm hiding in my bathroom because there's someone naked in my bed," you blurted out, why you felt the need to call Harry was beyond you, he just felt safe.

"Oh no," he groaned through the phone, there was some noise on his end of the phone.

"I know!” you cried out “What should I do?" You asked.

"No, y/n, I think- you said you were in the bathroom?" He asked as there was a knock on your bathroom door, your hand dropped from your ear, not catching whatever Harry had said. With a deep breath you opened it, only to be completely stunned at who was standing there.

"Harry?" you felt your brows pull together. At first you were confused, as he stood in your hall, sans shirt and pants in just a pair of plaid boxers, until your hungover brain caught up with itself. "Oh my god," you groaned as you buried your face in your hands in complete and utter embarrassment. Welp, at least you didn't sleep with a stranger, right?

"Y/n,” Harry started as he took a step towards you, “I don't even remember getting here," Harry said, giving you hope he wouldn't remember any of the shenanigans that had occured the night prior, not that you did either, but if you knew anything from the past, your lost memories would come flooding in quite soon.

"I'm so sorry,” You groaned looking up at him, “I probably called you over, I have no control when I'm plastered, and you said something yesterday, and my mind couldn't stop from overthinking, and i just- Oh my God" you rambled on.

Funnily enough that was one of Harry's favorite things about you, your constant rambling, it seemed like your brain occasionally couldn't keep up with your mouth, it was cute and endearing.

"I need water," you groaned, passing Harry, and heading towards your kitchen. The worst part about it all, was that you wanted to remember what happened, and what happened leading up to the two of you ending up in your bed naked.

"You have a cute butt, you know?" You said as you chugged a glass of water, immediately wishing you could take it back. Who says that? His cheeks flushed red at your words. "I'm sorry, that was a weird thing to say, this just.. this has never happened to me before, and i'm not sure what to do '' you admitted refilling the glass.

"Well thanks,” He chuckled awkwardly, as he scratched the back of his neck. “Uh. Yeah I don't think this has ever happened to me either. I usually remember my nights, especially the ones that end with me naked with someone the next morning," he laughed, as he brought the glass of water to his lips while taking a long drink. It was the simple action that sparked a memory of the night before for you.

Harry brought the wine glass up to his mouth, taking a big gulp. You giggled, noticing the two of you had gone through an entire bottle in the matter of 30 minutes.

"Harry?" You asked.

"Yes?" He urged, looking over to you.

"Why did you come? Instead of just calling?" you implored. You were hoping his answer wouldn't hurt your feelings, but to be honest, he didn't owe you anything.

"I had to see you,” he admitted, letting a small chuckle leave his lips before looking back at you. “I needed to tell you, in person," he explained.

"Tell me what?"

"That I can't get you off my mind," his words sparked something in you. You already felt things for Harry, but to hear him say he thought about you. Oh man.

You set your glass down on the coffee table, taking his and doing the same. He watched you carefully as you threw one of your legs over him, straddling him.

"You're all I can think about," you told him. You reached up letting your fingers run through his hair as you bit down on your bottom lip. His hands came to a rest on your waist as he looked up at you, waiting. You leaned down, kissing him, letting your tongue slip between his lips as he moved his hands to your bare ass, squeezing as you ground your core down against his growing bulge.

"Oh my god, I totally took advantage of you," you gasped as you recalled the memory of the night prior. You let your face fall into your hands at the absolute embarrassment.

Harry looked at you confused, not knowing about the memory that had come back to you. "I highly doubt there was any taking advantage of me," he laughed, shaking his head.

"I crawled into your lap, practically naked and initiated a makeout session," you told him, face completely serious.

It was hard for Harry to imagine you doing anything of the sorts. You who rambled any time stress levels were high, or when you were flustered. Imagining you, taking control and making a move on him? No way. There was absolutely no way.

"I guess I'll just have to take your word for it," He laughed.

Harry stayed for a bit at your flat, eating breakfast before the two of you ventured back to the bedroom to attempt to find all of his belongings, and by how scattered everything was, you could only imagine how crazy things had gotten the night before.

His pants were right by the bedroom door, his shoes in the hall, his shirt was across the room, hanging over a chair and his phone and wallet were on the dresser, and to your absolute horror, there was no evidence anywhere of a condom, or wrapper.

“Well, ill, see you on monday,” You told him as you walked him out of your place. You felt so awkward, unsure of where your relationship with your literal boss was, you hoped this would not affect the work environment at all, but you were confident it would.

A/n: hi (: I hope you enjoyed this chapter, k that's all.

Tagging ❤️

@violetlilysunshine @petesrparker @harryhollandsgirlfriend @mcushvft @elishi03 @nelebynele @sunwardsss @thesunlightofourpast @blue-4-55-readinglist @theglitterymess @delightfulmuffinclamauthor @minejungwoo @thevelvetseries

[harvestleaves]

Blaine’s Wheezy Warbler

Prompt by Anon: Blaine being overprotective of Kurt 

A/N: Kurt has asthma and Blaine finds out during their time at Dalton and starts going overboard researching the disease.  I might make a chapter 2 if anyone is interested.  It can also be read on Ao3 here.

Rating: G

Word Count: 712

Kurt let out a small sigh of relief as their Friday afternoon Warbler rehearsal ended, smiling as he watched Blaine approach him from across the room.  He hadn’t been feeling well, and didn’t want to go full out, so he’d mouthed the majority of the words to Hey Soul Sister, hoping no one had noticed his raspy, wheezy breaths.

“Hey, are you okay?  You didn’t really seem yourself today,” Blaine frowned as he set down his bag before taking a seat next to Kurt, taking in his pale complexion. Well, paler than normal complexion and flushed cheeks.

“Oh, yeah.  I’ve just been a little tired lately.  This curriculum is no joke,” Kurt tried to joke with a laugh, a laugh that was cut by him starting to cough.

Blaine’s eyes widened in concern at the sudden change in Kurt’s demeanor, his usually perfect posture doubled over as he coughed, deep wheeze filled coughs as he gestured to his bag.

“Your bag?  Wh-what am I supposed to be looking for?” Blaine asked, snapping out of his surprised stupor as he reached for Kurt’s leather bag, and opening the main compartment, not seeing anything other than a few notebooks, pencils, and a textbook.

“In-inhaler.  Fr-front compartment,” Kurt finally managed to wheeze out, motioning to the small zippered pocket, which looked like it would be mostly used for decoration if it wasn’t for the slight lump the inhaler made.

Blaine chose not to comment on that new nugget of information at that moment, instead pulling out Kurt’s inhaler and passing it to the taller male, completely at a loss for what he was supposed to do to help.

Kurt took the device from Blaine and made quick work to shake it and bring it to his mouth for a puff of the medicine, the other male making a mental note of what Kurt had to do to get the inhaler to work.

Settling his hand on Kurt’s upper back, Blaine gently rubbed small circles over the blazer, waiting for the wheezes to clear slightly before speaking again.

“You have asthma?  Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Blaine asked, unable to keep the slight hurt from his voice as he looked at Kurt.  Sure, the taller male was still new to Dalton, but he thought he’d gained enough of Kurt’s trust for the other to be honest with him.

“I do.  And to be honest, I’m kind of bad at remembering I have it.  So, I just didn’t think it was important I guess,” Kurt shrugged as he slid the inhaler back into his bag before turning to look fully at Blaine.  “Just, please don���t tell anyone.  It’s not that big of a deal.  I promise,” Kurt said hopefully, feeling guilty for making Blaine worry.

“Okay, I won’t tell anyone.  But you are going to.  Before the competition next weekend.  Please?” Blaine asked, figuring he’d use that weekend to research all he could about asthma so he was better prepared in case Kurt needed him.

——————————-

Blaine didn’t mean to fall down the WebMD rabbit hole, he really didn’t.  But, it was all too easy as his quick Google search of asthma brought up symptoms, types of medications that were commonly used, triggers, and what to do if he saw someone having an attack.  That last one may or may not have included Blaine writing down notes into his phone so that he’d have them on hand on the off chance Kurt had another attack.

It also practically took every ounce of his being not to make the 1 1/2 hour drive to Lima to talk to Kurt, deciding to give the other some space for the weekend.  But as Monday’s Warbler rehearsal rolled around, Blaine found himself double checking that their rehearsal space had been dusted and that Kurt was wearing a scarf that morning.  Not the flimsy fashion kind, but the thick knitted variety that would help block the chilly November air from irritating Kurt’s lungs.

As much as Kurt wanted to be annoyed by Blaine’s obvious mother-hen imitation, he couldn’t help the warm fuzzy feeling that rose in his chest at his friend’s concern, and he knew that he was going to be just fine at Dalton because he had great people looking out for him.

[wishuhadstayed]

Plus One

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x reader

Word count: 3000ish

Summary: it’s baby time y’all!

Warnings: pregnancy complications, angst

Author’s Note: to those who have been waiting, I AM SO SORRY. I hope this will be worth it! Part 8? to Begin Again. Please feel free to yell at me in the comments if you feel so inclined.

Previous Chapter

Masterlist

Conversation flowed in the dining room and kitchen of the Hotchner residence as the BAU team and family impatiently anticipated the forthcoming announcement.

“It’s a boy, has to be,” Morgan mused.

“No way. Definitely a girl,” JJ contradicts.

“As much as it pains me to say, I think I have to go with Morgan on this one,” Emily admits.

“Garcia?” JJ inquires, “What do you think?”

“I have to agree with Chocolate Thunder on this one, love,”

“Are you all taking his side?” JJ asks with indignation. “I’ll bet you $50 that it’s a girl!”

“Oh you’re on, sweetheart,” Morgan complies with a winning smile.

“I don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy,” says Reid, “but I do know that I wouldn’t bet against JJ.”

“Thanks, Spence,” JJ replies, patting him on the shoulder. “Emily, Rossi? You wanna get in on the action?”

“Oh I am so staying out of this,” Prentiss responds. “Count me out.”

“I’m in with Morgan for $50,” Rossi states.

“Alright, but you’re all gonna be sorry,” JJ says with a smirk.

Overhearing the lively discussion, you enter the room.

“Children, what’s going on here?” You interject, “Don’t make me break up a fight.”

“Y/N! Just the lady I wanted to see!” Exclaims JJ. “May I?” She asks, gesturing towards your growing baby bump.

“Sure, go ahead,” you reply. “Do I even want to know?”

“We’re taking bets on the sex of the baby,” she replies placing a gentle hand on your belly. “And I am so totally going to win!”

“You can’t possibly know that, JJ,” Morgan interrupts.

“Call me crazy if you want,” says JJ, “but a mother knows.”

“I suppose you’ll all find out soon enough,” Aaron cuts in, placing a strong arm around your back and pressing his lips to yours for a quick, tender kiss. “Shall we?”

With that, everyone makes their way to the backyard, where a large golden balloon awaits.

Picking it up from the ground, Aaron asks, “Everybody ready?”

He didn’t really have to ask. The answer was unanimous.

“YES!”

“Jack, would you like to do the honors?” you inquire, holding out a safety pin for him.

“Can I?” he asks hopefully.

“Of course you can buddy. Just be careful, okay?”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Dad and I will count you in, okay? On three.”

Together, you and Aaron slowly count, “One, two, THREE!”

A loud pop from the balloon momentarily startles the crowd and then..... a cloud of pink confetti floats to the ground.

“YES!” JJ shouts in her excitement. “PAY UP, LOSERS! We got a baby shower to plan!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several weeks later found you strolling through the back door of Rossi’s home into the yard where you’d married the man of your dreams not so very long ago.

This time it’s decorated for a slightly different occasion. Pale pink lanterns and streamers adorn everything in sight. A picnic table covered with a pink flowered cloth looks like it might collapse at any moment beneath the weight of a mountain of gifts wrapped in pastel paper. Heart shaped balloons are tied to the corners of another table on top of which is a giant bowl of pink punch, more food than you thought possible, and a breathtaking cake, decorated with tiny pink roses.

A tap on your shoulder brings you back to reality and you turn to see three beautiful, smiling faces. Women that you consider to be not only friends, but family at this point.

“Penny, Emily, JJ,” you say as your eyes begin to well up with tears, “This is too much! You shouldn’t have gone to this much trouble.”

“Oh this is the least we could have done for you, doll face,” Garcia interjects. “Nothing but the finest for my very best friend.”

“Don’t worry about it, my clean sweep at the gender reveal paid for most of this,” JJ jokes.

“You look absolutely radiant,” Emily adds, pulling you in for a hug.

“Where’s the boss man?” Penelope asks. “He’s coming isn’t he?”

“Oh yes” you reply. “He was helping Jack out of the car. He told me to come on in. He’s probably inside hanging out with boys for a minute.”

At that moment, you feel a pair of familiar arms encircling you, one across your chest and one just underneath your baby bump. A soft kiss on the cheek and he turns you around to face him. The tender look in his usually stern eyes melts you as he smiles and says,

“There’s my girls.”

“I love you, Aaron.”

“I love you too, darling.”

“Alright love birds, it’s time to get this show on the road!” exclaims Morgan, coming through the door with both Henry and Jack in tow.

“Thanks for keeping the kids entertained, Derek,” you whisper. “I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“Don’t you worry about a thing, Mama. I’ve got it all under control,” he reassures with a wink.

“Should we be worried?” Aaron jokes under his breath.

“I’ll keep an eye on him,” Garcia offers, trailing off behind them.

Rossi and Reid bring up the tail end of the group, along with Jessica, Jack’s aunt, who had been previously supervising the kids.

“How are the parents-to-be feeling?” Rossi inquires.

“Overwhelmed, and so grateful,” you reply. “I know JJ said she covered most of it with her winnings, but I think we all know you pitched in too. And you’re a fantastic sport for letting the girls decorate your whole house pink.”

“Anything for some of my favorite people,” he replies patting you both on the shoulder.

“I’m so happy for you guys,” Reid chimes in. “This baby’s really lucky to have such loving parents.”

“Reid, stop. You’re gonna make me cry,” you squeak out, pulling a tissue from your purse.

Just then, Jessica wraps an arm around both of you.

“Jess, you know you didn’t have to come,” Aaron says.

“Nonsense!” comes her reply. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

As you go to sit so you can open presents, Morgan pulls out the chair for you, then pulls one out for Garcia as they settle in to watch the kids.

Maybe you were mistaken, but you could have sworn you saw a flirty look pass between them. A mischievous grin crosses your face. Perhaps you should do a bit of your own matchmaking.

“Jack!” you call. “Don’t you wanna help Mama open some of her presents?”

“Yeah! Can Henry help too?”

“What do you think JJ?” you ask.

“As long as it’s okay with you,” she agrees.

The kids ran up to help with their very important present duty. Jack retrieving smaller presents and helping rip the paper. Henry mostly just playing with the shiny bows. Thus leaving Morgan and Garcia free of responsibility.

When the last present had been opened, and the last game played, Aaron made his speech.

“Y/N and I just wanted to thank you all so much for being here today. We love each and every one of you like family, and we are truly grateful for all your love and support. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives. Thank you again.”

As everyone was leaving, Penelope pulled you to the side.

“Did you call the kids over for help specifically to leave Derek and I alone together?”

“Penny, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” came your reply. “I’m just getting too big to be bending over to grab the presents and I thought it would be fun for the kids.”

“If you say so,” she says with a skeptical look.

As she walks away, Aaron whispers in your ear, “You are so wrong for that, you know?” with a playful shove of your shoulder.

“Oh they’re perfect for each other and everyone knows it. Besides, she played matchmaker for us and look what happened,” you reply, rubbing your belly.

“Okay, okay!” he surrenders with a grin. “You’re right. You’re always right. You win.”

——————————————————————————

As the weeks crept by, your little family was not so patiently awaiting the arrival of its newest addition. Being pregnant and taking care of a 6 year old without your husband was extremely taxing, making the moments that you did have with him exceedingly special.

Moments like today. It was nothing exciting, just sitting on the couch, enjoying each other’s company, but sometimes that’s all you really need.

Seated across from each other, You can’t help but admire the sweet look on his face as he touches your belly.

“I still can’t believe we’re having a baby girl,” he mentions.

“Neither can I,” you agree. “She’s gonna be smart,” you state, resting your hand on top of Aaron’s. “A lawyer like her daddy.”

“She can be anything she wants,” he says, looking up with his smile revealing the stunning dimples that caught your eye on your very first date. “As long as she’s happy.”

“God I love you, Aaron.”

“I love you more, angel.”

But mom duty never stops.

“Oh!” you exclaim. “It’s almost time to pick up Jack from school and I haven’t even started dinner!”

“Don’t worry about it, babe,” Aaron says. “I’ll take care of everything, you just relax.”

“But I,”

“Ssshhhhh,” he interrupts. “No buts. I will pick up Jack, I will get dinner. You deserve a break.”

“Alright, if you insist.”

“I do.”

He leans in and gently brushes his lips against yours.

“I’ll be back soon.”

What felt like an eternity later, you hear the front door open and two distinct sets of footsteps.

“Mama!” Jack yelled, scrambling up into your lap for a hug. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, buddy,” you reassure, pulling him close to your chest.

“What’s for dinner, honey?” you ask?

A playful smirk forms on Aaron’s face, raising your suspicions.

“You’ll see. In the meantime, Jack how would you like to watch a movie with me and mom?”

You all settle on the sofa, Jack in Aaron’s lap and your head on your husband’s left shoulder. Just as you were drifting off to sleep near the end of the movie, a knock at the door startles you awake.

“Dinner’s here!” Aaron announces. “Come on buddy,” he encourages Jack. “Help me out.”

As you reach the table where the food is being laid out, tears begin to spring to your eyes.

“I got you fries and chocolate shake. And a cheeseburger. No mayo, extra pickles.”

“Babe,” you squeak out, “you remembered.”

“Of course I remembered. It’s all you talked about while I was away on my last case.”

You laugh and pull him close.

“I knew I married you for a reason.”

——————————————————————————

Around your 36 week mark, Aaron called from his hotel room to check on you.

“How are you, love?”

“Still pregnant,” you gripe.

“I know you’re exhausted, mama. I’ll be home tomorrow. Just remember the go bag for the hospital is packed and sitting right by the front door, just in case.”

“Yes, Aaron. You remind me every day. Honestly I think it’s bit overboard, I’m fine.”

“I just worry about you being alone while I’m gone is all. It never hurts to be prepared. Anyway, I love you. I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Love you too honey. Good night and be safe tomorrow.”

——————————————————————————

When Aaron arrived home the next night, he was greeted by the sight of you dozing on the couch.

Easing himself down on the edge, he swipes a lock of hair from your face. He softly kisses your forehead and watches as your eyes flutter open.

“Aaron?” you murmur. “You’re home.”

“I’m home,” he whispers. “How are my girls?”

“Better now that you’re home. I’ve had some pretty intense back pain, but otherwise fine.”

“Well sleeping on the couch probably isn’t helping,” he states matter of factly.

“Oh thank you doctor,” you reply sarcastically, giving his arm a playful slap. “I would never have known.”

“You’re welcome,” he says with a shit eating grin. “Let’s get some sleep.”And with that, he sweeps you off the couch, heading for the master bedroom.

——————————————————————————

You woke the next morning still in pain, but not wanting to disturb Aaron. You struggle to sit up, finally managing after a few tries. You pull back the sheets and immediately get a sense of panic and dread at the sight of blood on the hem of your nightgown and the sheets beneath you. As the tears begin to stream, you instinctively call out for him.

Waking up at the sound of his name he asks, “what’s wrong, baby?”

But he realizes the problem before you even get a chance to respond.

Amazingly he seems not to panic at all. The tears and hysterics don’t faze him at all. He simply grabs you out of the bed, carries your directly to the car, and buckles you in.

“Stay right here,” he instructs. “I’m getting Jack and we’re going to the hospital right now.”

What seems like an eternity later, but in reality was only a few minutes, Aaron emerges from the house with Jack and the go bag.

He peels out of the driveway and drives to the nearest hospital with no regard for the speed limit.

When you arrived to the emergency entrance, you look at him with a panic stricken face.

“I’m scared, Aaron.”

“Don’t worry darling,” he says soothingly. “I’m going to get you some help.”

The next thing you know several people are helping you out of the car and loading you onto a stretcher. As they wheel you inside he follows closely behind with Jack asleep in his arms.

“What going on?” you plead.

“I don’t know, love but they’re going to help,” he reassures.

Just then you overhear a member of the medical staff informing Aaron that he’s not allowed any farther.

“What do you mean he can’t come with me?” You wail.

“I’m sorry ma’am, but bleeding is very serious. Both you and the baby could be in danger. We need to get you treatment now and we can’t have any family in the room.”

“It’s okay,” Aaron says in a very calm and sure tone. “They’re going to take good care of you. Everything will be fine.”

“FINE? Nothing about this is fine!” you shout. “I can’t do this without you, Aaron.”

“Yes you can,” he replies, holding your hand. “You’re the strongest woman I know. You have to. Do it for her.” He says, placing his hand on your belly.

“We have to go now,” one of the nurses insist.

“Be strong for me okay?” He pleads, gaining a short tearful nod from you in response.

“I love you,” he calls out as they wheel you swiftly down the hall. Just before the stretcher is out of sight he hears your response.

“I love you more.”

——————————————————————————

Collapsing into a chair in the waiting area, mind racing with worry, Aaron does the only thing he can think of at the moment.

The phone rings, and then,

“Aaron! I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon after a case,” Rossi says. “We don’t have plans today, do we?”

“No, Dave. It’s Y/N. We’re at the hospital.”

“Wow, I didn’t think she was due for a few more weeks.”

“She’s not,” Aaron explains, his voice beginning to break. “When we woke up, she was bleeding. From what I understand, it’s pretty serious. You’re the first person I thought to call.”

“Oh my God,” Rossi breathes. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Should I call the rest of the team?”

“Yeah, I think that would be best. I could really use some help with Jack. He’s still asleep for now, but,” Aaron pauses for a moment, choking back tears. “I don’t know what to tell him when he wakes up,” he finishes quietly.

“Just hold on, Aaron,” Rossi replies. “We’re coming.”

——————————————————————————

Within an hour, the whole BAU team was crowding the hospital waiting room. Hugs were exchanged and Aaron had handed a still sleeping Jack off to JJ.

Everyone waited in tense silence, not knowing quite what to say.

“I’m scared out my mind, Dave,” Aaron confines to him. “I can’t lose her. I’ve been through too much already. And Jack, God it would crush him if anything happened to her.”

“I think he’s waking up,” JJ whispers.

“Dad?” He asks in a daze as he wakes. “Miss JJ? Where are we?” He questions now aware of the unfamiliar surroundings.

Coming over to squat down in front of him, Aaron does his best to explain.

“Well buddy, this morning mom got sick, so we brought her to the hospital, and the doctors are taking good care of her.”

“Is she going to be okay?” he inquires. “And my baby sister?”

“I hope so, the doctors are working really hard to make mom better okay?”

“Daddy, we should say a prayer for Mama,” Jack responds. “And my baby sister too.”

“I think that’s a great idea, Jack,” Aaron responds, as he quickly turns away to wipe a tear.

The whole group gathered closely around Jack and Aaron. Everyone took turns saying prayer for the health and well being of Y/N and her unborn daughter.

Moments after the last amen was said; just when Aaron thought he would die if he waited a moment longer, a doctor came through the doors.

“Mr. Hotchner?”

Aaron stood, bracing himself for the news.

“Is it alright if I speak in front of the group?”

“Yes, they’re family. Please, just— do you have news about my wife?”

“Sir,” the doctor continues with a look of concern. “You all may want to sit down for this.”

——————————————————————————

Tag list: @ange-must-die @agenthotchner @moonstuffsteve @poetsacademia @hotchners-slut @arganfics @ladyreapermc @rousethemouse @less-intelligent-spencerreid @tgibstan @themanip @word-scribbless @quillvine @glizzieborden @miss-united-ace @samayoshito

[lubdubsworld]

Insatiable  ( Jungkook x Oc ) Chapter 8

Pairing : Jeon Jungkook x OC

Rating 18+

Genre : Vampire Au!!!! , DILF! Jungkook ! Bodyguard AU! Babysitter OC!   Age difference!!!

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3   Chapter 4 Chapter 5   Chapter 6  Chapter 7

Chapter 8

“Heartbreak looks good on you...” My sister commented impishly, watching me slip the teardrop earring into my lobe, the ruby red stone glinting in the dimlight of the bedroom. 

It was a couple of weeks since my uncle had come over and today, all the important clan leaders from around the country would be heading over to pay their respects to him. As one of the oldest surviving vampires, he commanded a lot of respect and no one really wanted to be on his bad side. 

Which just made me love Jungkook all the more because I couldn’t forget how he’d literally thrown himself in between us that day. I wanted to give him  everything  in return but apparently, all i was allowed to give him was space. 

My father had visited me everyday , giving me a very cryptic, ‘ I’ll make sure the two of you get your happy ending, dearest but you need to trust me and stay away for a while. Just a while. ’. 

But it seemed so impossible, so far away and just so unlikely that I was beginning to lose hope. 

It didn’t help that I hadn’t actually seen Jungkook in these two weeks . Namjoon took his place and my only connection to him was Joowon , who told me his father was busy ...that he stayed with Hwasa most evenings . I felt jittery and nervous and even more so today because of the lavish party being hosted in the Grand Ball Room, which was easily the biggest room in the entire estate. The last time it had been opened was for my parent’s wedding a whole two centuries ago.  

For once I couldn’t hide in the daycare in sweats. My uncle apparently insisted that i be present for the party tonight. 

It only made my anxiety skyrocket. 

I was a mess when it came to formal parties with century old vampires. I had all the formal training of course, but still the etiquette lessons were long forgotten and lot of those cranky old bats had very archaic ideas about what was allowed and what wasn’t. 

I  didn’t want some entitled century old vampire pawing at my neck for a drink tonight. I really didn’t. 

But i had done my part. Put on a red dress, the backline dipping all the way down to the base of my spine , let one of the make up artists in the clan have a go at my face and even put on blood red lipstick. 

I grunted , trying to yank the small lace and leather garter up my thigh. It had a holster for a dagger, the small ornate silver one that all the women in the clan carried. The dagger was crafted with the Hwang crest on its handle and I carefully sheathed it in, patting my thigh to make sure it wouldn’t slip down my limb. 

“Don’t make fun of my misery.” I glared at her and she actually laughed. 

“Sera, you feel too much too deeply. Jungkook isn’t going anywhere. He’ll come around. “ She said gently.

I shook my head.

“I don’t want to wait though. I... I don’t know why I hate waiting but I do..”

“He looks like a kinky bastard. Tell me, did you guys try anything ...I don’t know..risky?”

Nothing riskier than getting edged in front of a whole hotel full of guests and then getting fucked in the back of a car. Oh, did I tell you he spit in my mouth? And I loved it.

“Not really.” I lied but I could feel my face heating up as I turned around, back to the mirror as i felt my ears burning.

My sister shrieked so loud I jumped, nearly knocking over the bottle of perfume on the dresser.

“Oh my God, Sera, you naughty little bint! Tell me now!!!” She screeched and i flushed.

Like hell i was telling my sister what we had done.

“It’s private!!” I hissed when she tried to yank me and she laughed. 

“You’re shy... aww that’s cute. But that’s just because you recently got un-virgined . Bet you  can’t wait for him to desecrate your special place again, huh?” She waggled her eyebrows. 

“That is the single most disgusting thing you’ve ever said.” I gagged.

She laughed again. 

“Relax. He was your first. Happens . But like I said, don’t worry about him being serious about this. I think he is. You guys had sex and dad knows that. And yet somehow he’s still walking around with his had attached to his shoulders. Do you really think father would have let him live if he didn’t have feelings for you?”

I frowned.

“That’s not fair. It was consensual. He didn’t force me into anything or tell me he had feelings ....”

She scoffed at that. 

“Please tell me you still don’t think he hasn’t got feelings for you. He went batshit-crazy when you went on that date with Yugyeom. Jimin thought he was having a stroke or something. Dude’s so gone for you it isn’t even funny.”

“ Fat lot of good that does me! ” I snapped. “ If he doesn’t acknowledge those feelings he might as well not have any. And so far he’s made it abundantly clear that he’s not going to act on them. Ever.” 

“Because he’s clearly involved in something dangerous.” She said easily, making me blink.  “I’m not supposed to be telling you this but I’m kind of sick of you moping around like the world is ending and I’m just going to trust you to be smart about it.”

“What do you mean dangerous?” I whirled around to glare at her, pulse racing. 

“I have no clue. Dad and Jungkook are working on something.  But they’ve been huddled in the administrative building for three days now and no one has seen them . So i don’t really know what it is they’re planning. But I’ve always wondered if Jungkook was hiding from something. It would explain why he’d work as a bodyguard...with his skills he could be so much more.  ”

Frustration bloomed,  this time laced with worry. I wanted to know what was going on. God, if i could only see him. A glimpse would be enough. Just to make sure he was okay. Just to hear from him that he was okay. That he was going to be safe. 

“Think he’ll be at the party?”  I asked softly, feeling a whole lot pathetic at the way my heart lurched hopefully. 

My sister gave me a very mischievous smile. 

“Maybe . Maybe not. You look ravishing by the way.  And everyone out there wants you. Literally. Don’t forget that. Don’t be easy. Make him beg a little. ” She winked. 

I frowned. 

“He won’t beg. He’ll turn the tables around and make me cry.” I shuddered.  . Which really wouldn’t be that hard . I felt like I was always on the verge of tears these days. 

The knock on the door made us both look up. 

“Who’s escorting you tonight?” My sister asked gently. 

I shrugged. 

“No one. I’m just gonna walk in there by myself because I hate all of you. ” I grabbed the small bejeweled clutch from the table and hesitated just a second. 

God , I had no strength for tonight but there was a possibility that Jungkook could be there tonight. And I wanted to see him, if for no other reason than to kick him in the teeth. 

 I slipped into the strappy peep toe heels, stumbling a little because i wasn’t used to them. 

Swearing at the sharp pain shooting up my heel and shin, I wrenched the door open. Ignoring the simpering man on the other side, i stalked right past him. 

It was going to be a long , long night 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The ballroom looked ....for lack of a better word : overwhelming. 

Whoever was in charge of the decoration had clearly taken the budget, quadrupled it and then pretty much ordered one of everything. I stared at the sheer overdose of satin and gauze and felt myself shuddering. 

Red and black was the theme for the night and I half wished I’d chosen to wear something in turquoise blue just to give my eyes some sort of relief. But there was no denying that it looked especially lavish, the huge hall big enough to fit a dozen foot ball fields, the high ceiling that seemed to stretch right up to the heavens and the million candelabras and chandeliers hung all over the place. 

The carpeted floors felt soft under my foot and it was still early, only a few pople flitting about while the ushers and helpers rushed about, tweaking deatils, rechecking placement charts, placing refreshments on the table. Small bottles of blood arranged neatly on the table and I rolled my shoulders, eyes darting around to find someone familiar. 

Kim Minjae and Kim Mingyu were just entering the hall and I grimaced. God, no. But i watched as they casually posed in front of the blood red backdrop, while cameras flashed and i frowned. Were supernatural tabloids really that starved for material? 

“Sera, go on, you need to get your picture taken too!” My aunt materialized out of nowhere , dressed in a puffy red gown with ruffles and I shook my head. 

“Later... i need a drink.” I said quickly, escaping her clingy fingers and rushing away . 

As the only human in the entire damn place, I would have to walk all the way to the bar on the far corner of the ballroom to beg for a drink. 

I was half way there when a commotion at the door made me look up. My father had arrived with him a majority of his counsel and a bunch of other guests as well. I stared, my eyes zeroing in on a very familiar figure , my father’s arm wrapped around his shoulder.

Jeon Jungkook stood right next to my father dressed to the nines and with a dazzling smile in place. 

I gawked at him. 

Trying to process what it was that I was seeing. 

He was smiling. He had the audacity to smile after ignoring me for two whole weeks. 

I took a deep breath.

“You better have a pretty darn good explanation for the radio silence you treated me to the past two weeks. “ I intoned dully to myself , trying to ignore the way he looked, completely at ease in the spotlight. 

He turned a little to the left and his gaze caught mine. I watched as he smiled and shook hands with the people around him before whispering something to my father. 

I dug my heels into the floor, glaring as he extricated himself from the elite crowd and slowly began walking over. God, i wanted to kick him so bad. 

He stopped in front of me, looking expectant and my anger merely doubled in intensity. 

“Anything you wanna say, Jeon?” I snapped. 

“You’re beautiful. Breathtakingly so. Red is your color, angel. I wanna see you in it more often. “ He answered at once. 

My mind went distressingly blank for a whole thirty second. 

“ Did i fucking offer? ” I demanded , angry. “ I’m not dressing up for you. Ever. You ignored me for two entire weeks Jungkook! i didn’t know where you were...what you were doing...” 

“Sera, I’m sor -” He began but I squawked in disbelief, shoving him away hard. He stumbled, more in surprise than from the impact but he looked surprised .  

I felt myself shaking in anger. How dare he?

“Oh, no. No. You do not get to waltz back in with a simple sorry.... not after treating me like shit the past two weeks...Absolutely not.” I snarled, shoving him again but this time he didn’t budge. Ugh. 

I made to move past him but he grabbed my elbow , yanking me back till I crashed into his chest. It was humiliating , the way my body practically vibrated with pleasure from being near him. His arms around me felt like heaven and I’d spent two whole weeks in purgatory. 

“You need to stay with me Ms. Hwang. I’m your bodyguard, remember?” He whispered, lips pressing against my neck, breathing in my scent  and I glared at his arms.

“No you’re not. Namjoon is!! Where is he?” I asked angrily , but he pulled me closer, hands resting on the bare skin of my back as he hugged me tight, lips latching onto my neck, breathing deep and my knees buckled. i had missed this. So much and even if this was all i got, I wanted to savor it. Savor it even if I hated him for the way he treated me all the fucking time.  

“Missed you.” He whispered, lips wet and wanting , damp on my skin as he pressed kisses along my shoulder. I loved it but I knew he was going to leave me again and that just made me angrier. 

“You’re a liar.” I choked out. 

“No. I’ve lied about a lot of things but never about how you’ve made me feel, Sera. You set me on fire.”

I choked, anger and affection flooding my senses, confounding me because it was like being caught in an endless game of push and pull. 

I trembled, fists punching his shoulder in protest but he didn’t move. I could feel eyes on us and it made me flush. How dare he... How fucking dare he. 

“Let go of me! You said you don’t want me so let me go!” I said petulantly and he made a small noise of protest. 

“That’s not true angel...you know it’s not. I want you... Want you so damn bad , i ache with it.” He whispered the words into my skin and I bristled. 

“Fucking liar, let go of me!” i was going to cry. Actually burst into tears in the middle of the ballroom. 

He didn’t let go of me. 

Instead his fingers fluttered down my bare back, feather light and maddening , tracing a path down my bare skin and I gripped is jacket at the electric contact. 

i trembled, my thighs shaking but I couldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I wanted him. I swallowed, shaking my head. 

There was no music and we weren’t even near the dance floor. I couldn’t imagine how we must look to the people around us. But it was hard to think of that when I could feel him all over my body, could feel his heartbeat pulse right against mine and when his arms felt like an anchor , grounding me . 

“You think I need you.” My voice shook a little, “ I really fucking don’t Jungkook and I want you to remember that. I don’t need you. I don’t need to touch you . I’m fine with you never touching me ever again. ” I lied, gripping him harder. 

My words didn’t match my actions at all and he seemed to realize it, chuckling lightly and letting me press myself closer into his warm, solid body. He kept his arms around me, waist pressed into mine and thighs hard and solid against mine.

“I know that... i need you far more than you need me.” He said sweetly, kissing my brow and stroking my hair. He slipped his fingers into the strands, running the silky length between his fingertips , his voice brimming with fondness . It hurt, the fact that I couldn’t have this all the time. 

That somehow I was only offered glimpses of this Jungkook. Little snapshots of a what our life together could be but when I tried to draw closer, he always pulled away. 

I glared at him wanting to demand more answers 

. And then my eyes fell on the small dagger sheathed into his belt. My sister’s words floated into my mind. Was Jungkook running from something? 

“Are you in danger?” I whispered, softly. “ Darling, i need to know if you’re in trouble. I need to know.” 

He trembled a little at the endearment. 

“Baby, I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry about me alright. It’s important that you stay safe. “

The words brought no comfort of any kind. 

I stared at him. 

“What is it with the people around me spewing platitudes in my face without telling me what is going on! Do you just not trust me?” I asked desperately, hurt blooming. 

Jungkook swallowed.

“i trust you with my entire life Sera. But, I just don’t want you to get hurt.” He said gently.

I rolled my eyes. 

“Please....you’re five centuries old , so can you leave the whole cliché knight in shining armor back in the dark ages and just treat me like your equal? I’m not a helpless damsel in distress Jungkook...!!” 

He nodded, reaching for me again but I pulled away, wrapping an arm around myself. He hesitated, hands stretched out to touch but hovering a few inches away . 

“you’re right. I was out of line. But to be fair your father was very firm that I had to stay away from you...no contact of any kind till tonight. “

“And what’s so special about tonight.?” I asked , upset at how little i knew about what was going on. Jungkook’s gaze softened, and he pressed a palm to my cheek, thumb tracing circles on my jaw, before pressing a gentle kiss to my lips. 

“ You’ll see. “ He smiled, “ And as for the rest of it, we’ll talk about this . I promise. We will....tonight after everything ends. I need to go now. Your father’s waiting for me,” 

I clung to him, feeling abandoned all over again. 

“What are you guys upto?” I grabbed his arm but he gently pulled my fingers away. 

“I’ll come find you. “ Was all he said before moving away and I groaned in disbelief. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Uh oh. I can recognize that look. On a scale of one to ten , how much trouble is Jeon Jungkook in?” Namjoon asked gently, watching me glare daggers at the man in question as he hung around near the front of the hall, surrounded by clan leaders.

 He was meeting everyone, apparently a social butterfly and i couldn’t fathom it. The last time we’d had a party he’d sneaked off to get laid with Helena. 

Speaking of who,

“She’s going to castrate him. I can feel it.” The sultry eyed vampire, sat next to me, her long nails tapping the scarlet drape of the table as she watched me, eyes heavy and hot, gaze trained on my neck.

 I’d never felt more like prey. 

“ Nice to meet you Helena.” Namjoon said casually taking the seat next to me. Great.  I was caught between two vampires that knew exactly how gone I was for Jungkook and exactly how ....not gone he was for me.  The night just kept getting better. 

“Always a pleasure daddy.” Helena said , eyes dancing with wicked mischief and Namjoon choked on his wine, spewing it all over the table. I stared at the pair in disgust. 

“Disgusting.” I snapped. “Look at him. He hasn’t looked at me in an hour. How am i supposed to believe that he wants me so much I set his skin on fire.” I demanded shrilly. 

Both of them went quiet. They looked very uncomfortable and i felt myself flush. 

I glared at them , self conscious. 

“What?! Jungkook said so himself.” I protested. 

Both of them began guffawing. 

“I’m never letting him live this down.” Namjoon chuckled and I rolled my eyes. I could feel eyes on me, everywhere. Everyone’s gaze flitted to me every few minutes. Some of the younger vampires hovered a discreet distance away but had their gazes trained on me . 

Everyone looked at me except Jungkook. There really was no justice in this god forsaken world, was there? 

Did he really think I was weak and harmless? I suddenly felt foolish . I wasn’t weak. I wasn’t powerless. 

So , so far from it in fact.

I didn’t use my abilities because of how morally ambiguous they were. My father had drilled it into my head, right from childhood, that I couldn’t use my powers without explicit permission from him and I had listened to him. 

Had played the role of the harmless human who just happened to have really intoxicating blood inside her veins. 

But somehow that had ended up with me being pushed out of the loop with the man I loved. Jungkook thought I was some kind of helpless damsel he needed to keep safe and it just...it irked me. 

It was laughable that he thought something could be dangerous to me. 

It was laughable because I  was  easily the most dangerous creature in this entire room. 

i pulled my phone out, texting furiously.

 I want to see you. 

 I stared at Jungkook waiting for him to see. He pulled his phone out read the screen and to my utter chagrin he slipped the phone back in without answering.

 All right, That’s it.  

I stood up slowly, Namjoon stiffening next to me. 

“Where are you going? “ He asked warily. 

“To mingle.” I said casually. “ you can stay here, daddy. I’ll be fine by myself. “

He spluttered again and Helena laughed lowly. 

“I like her. “ Her voice rang out and i smirked, making a beeline to wards the front of the room, where Jungkook stood with a few other vampires around the same age as him. They all straightened at the sight of me, lust evident in their eyes and I saw Jungkook go a little stiff when he noticed I was alone.

“Where’s Namjoon?” He said shortly. 

“With Helena.” i said with a shrug.” Evening gentlemen.” I smiled softly, parting my lips lightly, letting my tongue dart out and wet them before leaving them parted, tongue peeking out. 

Jungkook pressed in closer, arm darting to wrap around my waist but he seemed to think better of it, pulling away again. 

“Sera...” He began warningly but i cut him off. Jungkook didn’t know what he had. 

And I was too fucking beautiful to be ignored tonight. 

“Isn’t someone starting the music? What a terrible bore this party has been...” I said loudly and the men scrambled closer, almost tripping over each other. 

Pathetic really but at least they served their purpose. 

“Should we get you another drink, Sera?” One of them said. 

“Let me go find that Dj...” The tallest of the lot wandered off. 

“You’re right..are you hungry..? Where’s that waiter?” The one right next to me lifted a hand, waving the nearest uniformed helped and I smirked at Jungkook. 

“Having fun?” I asked. 

“You need to go stay with Namjoon.” He said stiffly.

“where’s the fun in that? “ I hesitated, locking my eyes with him and lightly lifting my heel up to rest on the chair right next to him. The slit in my dress fell open, exposing the entire length of my leg, especially the red lace of my garter. 

Jungkook’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the dagger strapped to my thigh, the red and gold stark against the milky white flesh. I rand a forefinger up from my knee to the top of the garter belt, lightly circling the tip over the sharp edge of the dagger. 

“Don’t...” He growled. I smirked.

“Don’t what?” I whispered. 

“Don’t fucking do it, baby... I’ll be really , really mad if you do. “ He was almost shaking with the effort to not grab me and i could feel it. Feel the urge to put me in my place, simmering beneath his skin but he was helpless. 

Any wrong move on me and he would have a dozen daggers in his heart within the next second. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about .” I feigned ignorance, purposefully pressing the thick of my finger into the edge of the dagger, gasping as it broke skin, tearing my flesh and drawing out my blood. 

A collective gasp ran through the crowd around us and it was quite the sight, an entire group of century old Vampires going stiff as boards,  nostrils flared pupils blown wide open as they all stared at me .

 I smiled wide, trying to inject a note of contrition into my voice. 

“Oops. That was clumsy of me. .” I giggled, holding my finger up. the blood beaded over and spilled , trickling down my wrist and I locked my gaze with Jungkook’s, bringing my arm up, licking the scarlet fluid up, tracing its path with my tongue all the way to where the dagger had nicked me before sticking the finger into my mouth with a lewd pop. 

A vampire, about three feet away from me was breathing heavily , grabbing the chair next to him and sinking into it. His fangs were out and his breathing was erratic. i watched his eyes flash red and I laughed.

“I’m sorry. “ I said sweetly and he gave me a blank smile.

“That’s alright, my lady . “ He was almost choking from the effort to stay composed. Poor thing. I let my gaze flit back to Jungkook who had a terrifyingly blank look on his face. 

“You little whore.” Jungkook whispered softly and i lurched. 

“Yours . If you want me. But if you don’t...then anyone’s really.” I shrugged unrepentant. 

“Really? You think any of the vampires here’s gonna want you after the stunt you just pulled? No one wants a needy little slut.” He said casually but I could see him shaking a little. There was a teeny tiny crack in that cocky attitude and I’d never wanted to stick my fingers in something so bad. 

I felt myself grin in anticipation. 

“It’s not about what I think, Jungkook. Its about what I  know.” 

He stared at me. 

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“You think I’m helpless, Jungkookie.... But the truth is... I can turn every single person here into my own personal  marionette if i wanted to. “ I shrugged. 

Jungkook’s eyebrows lifted, lips parting in surprise. 

“I’m listening.” 

I moved to the table in the corner, patting the chair next to me. He took the seat next to me and I smiled. 

“Now watch....” I snapped my fingers, signaling the waiter with the glass jar of lemon soda  and vodka in his tray. 

“Can you let my father know I want to leave the party early with Jungkook here?” I asked gently. The waiter flushed, but nodded and I casually slipped my finger into the lemonade jar, dipping lightly in the fluid.

Jungkook grimaced . 

“That’s disgusting.” 

I laughed. 

“Now let’s see who gets to drink it.” I followed the waiter as he moved around stopping in front of a group of very young vampires, about four or five of them. Two girls and three guys. They all took glasses of vodka from the waiter and i sighed.

“You know what makes my blood so powerful Jungkookie? “ I said softly. “ It’s the fact that it is  sentient.” 

Jungkook went stock still still next to me, lips parting in shock.

“What?” He croaked. 

I nodded.

“My blood is sentient. It can feel and see and control. If my blood mixes with yours, it will dominate your thoughts and feelings. I will literally take over you. But it also needs my instruction. So it’ll put you in a trance..... Leave you feeling boneless and disoriented , easier to manipulate. People think its because it tastes so good and they enjoy the feeling. They don’t know what the fuck they’re opening themselves up to...by letting me inside. “ I wrapped my arms around myself. 

“I’m painted as the beautiful, kind and precious human who needs to be protected....only because I am anything  but. In this room, Jungkook....I’m probably the one capable of wrecking the most havoc.” 

“Sera...”

“Nobody knows except for my father and I because...well... just the scent of it makes people chase me down. Can you imagine what they’d do to me if they knew the true extent of my powers.” I said bitterly. I let my gaze shift back to the kids with the drinks. The drinks that were tainted with my life essence.  

I watched them take sips of their drink and felt the mild tingling in the back of my head. Like a gossamer thread forming and wrapping around me and I swallowed. It was easy to ignore and I never had any trouble ignoring it when I let my family feed from me. Because I trusted them. 

But these kids though. My body thrummed, focusing on one person. 

The girl in the red halter top. 

“See the girl with the red top and black skirt....” I swallowed. “ She slit the throat of an old woman on her way here.” 

Jungkook swore next to me. 

“I can see the woman... she’s on her knees , begging for her life. She’s really old.” 

That wasn’t all. i could feel the grip of the dagger, the push of the blade against skin, the pull as the flesh gave in, the blood spurting out onto my fingers the scent of death as she bled out. 

I felt nausea bubble and I severed the connection forcibly. The girl’s pretty face didn’t match her filthy insides. i couldn’t stay in her head. The tendrils began wrapping around my head as  the four of them took more sips. 

“When I want... i can influence their thoughts. It takes more effort but it’s possible. it’s why my father wanted to make sure you actually wanted to be with me. He thought I’d coerced you . which I can . if I want. But I didn’t. I don’t do that ever. ” I shook my head. 

Jungkook’s brows raised. 

“By coerce you mean....”

“It can be as simple as influence your decision... but if I really put in the effort, i can make people physically do what I wanted. “ 

“Physically?”

I smiled.

“Remember the boys from my college ? the ones who nearly drained me out?” 

He nodded. 

“My father didn’t have them defanged. They did it to themselves. Literally stuck their own hand into their mouth and ripped their fangs out . Because I wanted them too.” 

Jungkook looked like he’d stopped breathing. 

I swallowed.

“You don’t have to say anything. I just wanted to tell you that if you’re trying to protect me by withholding information, its kind of unnecessary. I can take care of myself.” 

“Alright. What do you want to know?”

“Just tell me what’s going on  “ I sighed.  Jungkook gave me a piercing look. 

“Remember Joo Won’s mother?” 

“The witch you killed?”

“Her father’s out for my blood. He doesn’t know where I am as of now. Your father thinks one of his lackeys must be in attendance today so he’ll know where I am.... and  he’ll come for me. And when he does... I’m going to end it .”

I stared at him.

“ Okay. “ I swallowed. “ How dangerous is he?” 

Jungkook laughed without mirth. 

“I’m not sure if I’m coming out of this alive.” 

Blood rushed to my ears, so fast I felt momentarily lightheaded. My entire body rejected the mere idea of Jungkook getting hurt. And to hear him talk of it so lightly, it messed me up badly. The fragile hold I had on my mind snapped. 

“No.” I said angrily. 

Across the room, the girl in the red halter stumbled,  clutching her head .

  Anger and the urge to hurt clawed up inside me and I tried to get it under control. 

Fuck, I had to sever the connection fully before i did something terrible to her..

 But it wasn’t happening, 

In fact the more i tried to get away the more her conscience seemed to be wrapping around mine., 

 Distance. I had to put distance between us. 

I need to leave now,  I pushed the thought in through the connection and  i watched her as she stumbled away from her friends, hands buried in her hair.

“Sera what the fuck... “ Jungkook grabbed my arm, eyes wide and panicked and I trembled. 

I felt guilty and scared because there was a reason i didn’t do this and the reason was quite simple. This power...or whatever you wanted to call it, It was bigger than me. I couldn’t control it . 

My blood was sentient and sometimes it could control me , just as easily as it controlled others. 

“She’s just leaving... I just made her leave because I’m not .. I can’t. ...fuck...” My head swam as I tried to get my bearings. 

“ okay that’s it...we’re getting out of here.... ” Jungkook stood up, reaching for me and I blinked, disoriented and dizzy. “Come here, baby I got you...” 

I let him wrap his hand around my waist, half lifting , half dragging me out of the ballroom and into the hallway. I gripped his chest, stumbling. I wasn’t tired, just struggling to get my head on straight . 

But the scent of him calmed me. 

“I need you.” I whispered. “ I need you to be safe Jungkook. I’ve spent too long pretending to be something I’m not but with you... I’m.. You... You make me feel human. Truly human. “ 

“Fuck... hang on. I’m gonna take you to my cottage.”

I blinked

“your what?”

“My cottage. Hang on...”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Jungkook opened the door to the cottage, I felt a little like myself again. But my body thrummed , my skin on fire, my fingers trembling with adrenaline. 

“you look like you need to lie down.” He said gently.

I glared at him. 

“The last thing I need is to lie down.” I snapped.

He held his hands up.

“Alright. Calm down, baby..... Why are you so upset?” He asked soothingly and I scoffed.

“ You fucked me in public and the next day  you looked like you’d been handed a death sentence, when my father suggested that you court me and then... you disappeared for two whole weeks....and now you turn up and tell me that your life is in danger. You do all this shit and I’m  not allowed to be upset? ” I said angrily.

He hesitated. 

“I merely meant it would be dangerous. I am not actively trying to die.” He said softly.

“As for the rest of it.... I’m not the same person I was a month ago Sera.... You.. You’ve managed to claw you way into my heart and the only reason I didn’t want to court you was because of what I was involved in. I told you that...the baggage I’m carrying is too much for me to even think about being with you.... That’s the only reason. “

I stared at him. 

“Are you telling me you fell for me too?”

Jungkook smirked a little.

“You were fucking me all the time without touching me. How could I not fall for that utterly shameless gaze of yours. You were your heart on your sleeve and your heart is always filled with filthy thoughts about me Sera. You make it way too obvious. “ He said teasingly. 

“I don’t want you to die.” I said petulantly. 

“That makes two of us. “ He smiled. “ What do you want, Sera?” 

“Want you.” I said automatically, too raw and upset to think too much about it.

“You have me.” He stepped closer, hands resting on my shoulder, eyes earnest and i hated how much I wanted to believe him . But heartbreak after heartbreak after heartbreak had taught me that it was all a lie. I didn’t have him and now ....there was a possibility I could never have him. 

“No, I don’t.” I shook my head, angry. “ Don’t lie to me. I don’t have you.” 

Jungkook made to touch me again but I shoved him away, hard.

“you’re angry. “ He said thoughtfully. “ I understand that. You have every right to be angry. And I’m sorry I can’t tell you what you want to hear right now...Not until this whole debacle ends. But Sera...look at me...”

I bit my lips staring at him.

“I’m here. Now. I’m not going anywhere. It’s just us. You and I. Don’t worry about what happens next. Don’t. Let’s not worry about any of that. I’m here and I’m telling you I’m yours. You have me now.” 

I stared at him, tilting my head as I took him in. 

He didn’t move , merely staring at me evenly.

“You know.... you aren’t the only one who hates being ignored.” I said softly. 

I felt weird. 

Different. 

None of the usual nervousness or anticipation but instead a sort of burning need to  take. To reach out and pin him down , force him to follow through on his promise that I  had him. 

“ I’ve been giving too much of myself to you, Jungkook ...for way too long. I think it’s time I get something back.” I whispered. 

His lips curled in a small, impish smile and he looked a decade younger. His eyes flashed with mischief and anticipation. He looked eager....desperate even and I wondered if this is what I looked like all the time with him. 

“And what would that be...my queen?” he whispered meekly. 

“You. “ I said simply. “ All of you. Your words... your pain...your pleasure... your moans and your very breath. I want to take all of it.” 

I could see his pupils dilating even from the distance between us. 

“Its yours, sweetheart” Jungkook  bowed his head gently, holding his arms out. “Tell me where you want me...how you want me...” 

I glanced around the room. Not the bed. Not yet. 

There was a very sturdy looking chair in front of the small table in the corner. 

“Put that in the middle of the room and sit down.” I pointed at the chair. 

He smiled.

“You want me to stay dressed?” He asked carefully and I nodded. 

“Very well.” He moved to get the chair, placing it in  front of the bed. He sat down carefully. 

“Anything else?” He asked gently.

I narrowed my eyes at him 

“Yes. Keep your mouth shut unless I ask you something.” I said with a smile. His eyes widened in surprise. But he didn’t protest. 

I took in the sight of him on the chair, dressed in his perfectly fitted tux , legs spread and hands on his knees, eyes wide and alert as he stared at me. Pretty red mouth shut obediently. 

I moved closer till I was standing right between his thighs. His hands came up to grip my waists instinctively and I glared.

“Hands’ to yourself Jungkook. You don’t just get to treat me as you fucking like and then touch me without my permission.” I snapped. 

He lowered his hands , letting them rest on his knees again.

“Do you want to touch me , baby?” I whispered pressed my palm to his face before letting my fingers trail up to his hair. it was soft and silky to the touch, the strands like fine silk. 

“Yes.” He answered simply. 

“Then you need to earn it.” I threaded my fingers' into his raven locks, gripping hard and yanking his head back . i stared, fascinated by the ivory length of his neck, the little mole there and i pressed a kiss to his skin. I let my teeth sink in , just a little and then a little bit more. When he shifted, I pulled back, licking the skin to soothe the sting.  His breath caught and he gasped, eyes widening a bit and a small, ‘ fuck’ leaving his lips. 

I pulled back , keeping my fingers in his hair , gripping lightly, before reaching down with my free hand. 

“You have such a pretty neck and it make me wonder what it feels for your kind...sinking your teeth into people and feeding from them. Too bad I don’t have fangs. But you know what I do have?” I winked . 

I brought my leg up, the front end of my shoe resting on the small empty space on the chair , right in the V if his legs. If he moved even a little, my toes would brush the straining length of his cock visible even through the black of his slacks. He was so hard I knew it must’ve hurt. 

I gripped his hair harder and tilted his head down to he could stare at my thighs, specifically the dagger in my garter. 

“I want a taste . Of you. Can I?” I asked gently staring at him, fingers fiddling with the dagger and unsheathing it. 

He nodded. 

“Words. Please.” I smiled.

“Yes...fuck yes.....please...Sera...” 

“Good boy.” I winked, bringing the dagger up to his neck. It was really sharp and I used the tip to lightly draw a small dash, an inch below his ear. I watched the blade tear through the flesh, light and delicate, the skin cleaving and scarlet liquid bubbling up. I chased the flow with my tongue, licking it into my mouth and Jungkook trembled in the chair, jerking forward.

The movement jolted my foot onto his crotch and he grunted, grabbing my ankle when I made to move it away, keeping my heeled foot on his clothed cock. I swallowed,  little out of my league but i stared at him, at the sheer intensity of the desperation in his eyes and I inhaled ....before gently bringing my toes down to press into his cock. 

He moaned, thighs trembling and I  dropped the dagger to the floor.

I slipped both my hands into his hair, holding his head in place as i bent low to capture his lips with mine, sticking my tongue inside his mouth while grinding my foot down into his cock. I licked into his mouth, chasing the warm heady taste of him, my fingers tightening in his hair for leverage and I wondered if he was wet.... If his cock was weeping precum, dribbling into his slacks .

I pulled back to stare into his eyes but he had them shut.

“Look at me.!” i demanded,”  wanna see you...” 

His eyes fluttered open, doe- like and warm and swimming with pleasure and I’d never felt more powerful in my life. I moved my foot slowly, in small controlled circles for a few seconds. 

“You wanna cum in your pants like this? Rutting on my foot like a little mutt? Or do you want to get on the bed and touch me like you wanted to...?” I whispered softly. 

Jungkook swallowed and his fingers tightened on my ankle. . 

“Wanna cum like this.” He said taking me by surprise. I raised an eyebrow. 

“Really... then what about me...?  I want to get fucked too Jungkook ..? How’re you gonna do that if you cum so fast.....” I snapped, gripping his hair harder and he groaned. 

“I... I’ll fuck you again... i promise.. I’ll fuck you hard and make you feel good... just..let me cum...please.. It fucking hurts...” The way his voice cracked a bit on the last few words made my heart jerk inside my ribs. I found myself fighting the urge to give him everything. 

I smiled instead, kissing his lips again.

“Thank God for fast refractory periods huh, my big bad vampire?” I bit his lips, tugging it between my teeth , before reaching between us and slipping the shoe off my foot. Jungkook trembled, gripping me for support when I pulled my foot away and I let him cling to me for a second, before dropping the shoe down and pressing my bare foot on his erection. I spread my toes over the head, pressing down just a little and he inhaled sharply when i circled my toe on the wet patch . 

“Go on them. Make yourself cum.” I whispered, leaning down and kissing him again. He grabbed my ankle with both hands, rutting up into the balls of my feet, hips thrusting up and I let him lick into my mouth, messy and wet as he chased his pleasure. 

I felt him stiffen underneath me, followed by a wash of dampness under my sole and I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close and letting him bury his face into my neck as he trembled through the aftershocks. He gripped my waist, hands shaking as he held me and i waited, worried if I should take my foot off or not. I could feel my legs beginning to cramp and I swallowed.

“You okay?” i whispered.

“Yeah.” He grunted. “ Fuck..that was...” he laughed a little. 

“We’re not done.” I said pressing a kiss to his cheeks and stroking his hair back gently. 

He hummed, gently gripping my ankle and lifting my foot off his crotch. I brought my leg down, wincing a bit. 

“Should we get on the bed?” He whispered. 

I nodded, yelping when he stood up with me still in his arms, he carried me over to the bed, dropping me lightly. 

“Strip.” I said quickly. “ All of it. Want you naked and stretched out on this bed for me.” 

He moved quickly, stepping out of his clothes with ease and I sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing the black tie he discarded. I took off my panties, leaving my dress and the garter belt on. 

 Jungkook naked was a sight i could never tire off and I watched as he climbed into the bed, lying down in the center, legs splayed slightly and hands by his side. 

“Bring your wrists together up over your head” I said quickly and he moved his wrists up , letting me tie them to the head board with his tie as i sat straddled on his chest. I was wet, sopping wet and I felt the trail of dampness I left on his rock hard abs. 

“I’m gonna sit on your face and you’re gonna make me cum. And then , I’m gonna ride you .” I whispered. 

“Fuck.” 

“That’s the plan.”

I scooted forward, resting one knee close to either shoulder before gripping the head board with one hand and the hair on top of his head with the other. Tugging him closer, I lowered my pussy onto his mouth, groaning when i felt soft pressure of his tongue against my center, licking tentatively. 

Jungkook knew what he was doing, and he licked into me with practiced ease tongue slipping into my slit, curling against the walls, before tracing circles around my clit. He used his lips to suckled on the hardened nub , following it up with quick little licks and i slipped a hand between my legs, stuffing three fingers into my cunt to get myself off faster. 

“Oh...fuck... I want... “ I could feel myself shaking and he sped up his movement, licking my lit in quick little strokes and my orgasm hit me like a wave, drowning me in pleasure. I scooted down before losing my strength, collapsing on top of him. The orgasm having knocked me right out of my headspace. I was trembling and shaking, lethargic and completely out of it. 

”Baby...you okay?” Jungkook’s concerned voice came from above and I whimpered. 

“I’m... I’m sorry.... I’m so tired... I...” 

“Don’t worry baby .. i got you. “

I heard the sound of wood splintering and blinked, glancing up. Jungkook had tugged his hands free from the restraint, breaking the headboard in the process. 

I gawked at the scene in disbelief. 

“Did you just....?”

He grabbed the hem of my dress, ripping it up and off me quickly. 

“Fuck..... want to pound you into the fucking mattress my little princess... Such a little tiger aren’t you kitten... so fierce and hot... i loved it baby...you were so good to me ...made me feel so fucking good...” He maneuvered me onto my back and i felt myself blushing at the praise, face heating up as i gripped his shoulders. 

He grabbed the back of my thigh, spreading my legs before lining himself up against my pussy. 

“Fuck...” He slid right in , knocking the breath out of me and i clung to him, whimpering as he pounded into me, hips working so fact I was sure I was going to have trouble walking for a week after this. 

I could feel my orgasm build from the sheer intensity of the thrusts, the hard thick length of his cock pounding into my cunt till i felt swollen and bruised and tender and when it finally tore through me , i was drooling a little, eyes damp with tears and fingers numb from gripping him too hard. 

Jungkook fucked me through the orgasm and chased his own each push of his hips leaving me battered and I bit my lips to stay conscious . When he finally stilled, his cock throbbing as he came for the second time, filling my insides with the wet warmth of his cum, I felt myself shake like a leaf caught in a  storm, my entire body ice cold and trembling. A thin layer of sweat coated my body and I was pretty sure I wouldn’t recover from this for a really long time

“My pretty pretty queen....” He whispered , pressing kisses all over my face as he hugged me closer and I mewled at the warmth of him. 

“Don’t leave me .” i whispered, unable to fight the tug of sleep and exhaustion. 

“I’m right here, baby.” His voice was soothing against my ear as he held me closer. 

Maybe I could have him after all. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s note : okay. well. that happened.  if you don’t give me feedback this will be the last smut scene. 

jk

but please do give me feedback . i love hearing from you guys. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[willyoulovemeinthemorning]

The Prodigal Daughter Chapter 1

Summary: As the secret daughter of Jason Gideon, you’ve always had a certain proclivity towards profiling. After finishing the Academy, you finally have your chance in the BAU- only months after your dad’s passing. Will it all be too much? Will you find yourself sharing another proclivity with your father for a certain genius with big puppy dog eyes?  A/N: Hello! This is my first fic in a very long time, but this story idea has been living in my head for upwards of 6 or 7 years! Please go easy on me, and I hope you enjoy! a big thanks to @candlesandsoftrain for being a great beta! Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!Reader
 Category: Fluff/getting to know you games with the team Content Warning: nothing in this chapter except lots of flirting, tension, sexually charged drinking games, etc. Later chapters will include NSFW Word Count: 4000+

Chapter 1

The years moved by much too fast for your liking. You were older than you were willing to admit, and the years had been hard. Time moved so oddly- it was so difficult and slow when it was happening, but when you looked back, it was as if it sped by like a freight train.

Today was your first day at your new job-  you were 27 and you’d been waiting your whole life for this day to finally come. After hearing stories about your father all through your life; catching the monsters in the dark as well as those that hide in plain sight… you wanted to be a superhero too. And lucky for you, you had a certain proclivity towards reading people. So, you became a profiler. And after years of grueling school, training and fighting to earn your place with no one knowing the legacy in your blood line, you did it.

No, those weren’t tears in your eyes… it was just dusty in the bullpen, that was all. You could feel him everywhere. You knew this was where he lived and breathed and worked for so much of his life. Your mom never understood how you ended up being so understanding about never seeing him, while your brother spent so much of your lives incredibly bitter and angry at him for “abandoning” you both. You always told Stephen that dad spent every minute of every day trying to make the world a safer place for the two of you to grow up in. And now you could finally continue his life’s work.

You caught a few pairs of eyes looking at you when you entered the bullpen for the first time, walking through like you’d been there a million times before- because in your imagination, your dreams, you had. Dad was always so descriptive with his words, and it was never hard to get lost in his stories.

You walked right to the Unit Chief’s office, knowing that Agent Hotchner was already in there waiting for you. You were supposed to have your first meeting on Monday, but when the team didn’t get back in time from their last case- a strangler in Minnesota, he had called you and you rescheduled to accommodate those dang annoying serial killers. Now it was Wednesday, and you could feel the tired energy in the room. It was filled with the sounds of scribbling pens and pencils on paper, the groans and squeaks of chairs as everyone tried to stay comfortable while doing their paperwork. You spotted a few very attractive people around you, but tried to keep your eyes forward as you headed for your destination.

After knocking on the door, you heard a shuffling of papers as a low, gritty voice welcomed you, “Come on in.”

“Hello, Agent Hotchner. Nice to see you again.” You offered your hand, which he took with his baseball mitt sized one. It was rough and strong, and reminded you of your fathers when you were young. You could tell these hands had seen a lot of conflict.

“Y/N , you’ve grown up a lot since last I saw you.” He had a kind smile on his face, which surprised you, even after all this time. Aaron Hotchner was always such a serious man, even when you were younger. “And please, call me Aaron. You know that.”

You chuckled in response. “I know, but it feels weird to call you that now that you’re my boss.”

“Hotch will do then. Morgan will give you quite a hard time if he hears you calling me ‘Agent Hotchner’, I can promise you that. Sit, sit. Let’s get through all the necessary annoyances so I can properly introduce you to your new team.”

After all of the finalized paperwork and introductory nuisances, Hotch finally stood up, indicating it was time to enter the bullpen again, but with a promise of introductions to your new team. You felt a small pang in your heart. You wished your dad could have been here to do this instead of Aaron. He took notice of your second of discomfort- something you were sure to get used to quickly working with profilers.

“Y/N, he’s here… in you. I know how proud he would be of you.” He said to you with a hand falling to your shoulder.

With a smile, you accepted the comfort, turning to look at him again. “Would you mind… could we see Uncle Dave first? I think it would make me feel a little better to have him next to me for this.” That damn dust was at it again. You were fine, really. You’d been preparing for this emotion for months now- there was nothing to surprise you.

With a gentle smile, Aaron- no, Hotch, you remembered- nodded. “Of course. Follow me to his office.” It didn’t escape your notice that, as you followed him, you were on your way to your dad’s old office. Each step brought you to a place you’d heard about, thought about, dreamt about, but had never seen. But when you walked in behind Hotch, you knew this was nothing like your father would have kept it. It just screamed Rossi.

“Y/n! If it isn’t the smartest and brightest star from the Academy, falling right here into our laps at the BAU!” Dave cheered as he saw you, shooting up from his chair and almost running to you, pulling you into his arms while Hotch closed the door to offer you all some privacy.

“Uncle Dave, you can’t believe how amazing it is to have you here on my first day.” You said into his shoulder, holding him close. He was always such a big supporter of your career- there every step of the way whenever your dad couldn’t be. You always said that you were lucky- god blessed you with a loving, mildly helicopter mother, and two superhero dads so fight all the monsters for you.

“You’re gonna be great, kid. Unless your academy grades and reputation were all a lie to get you out of their hair!” He laughed, low and warm.

You giggled, pulling back from him and punching him lightly in the arm. “Rude.” You took a deep breath, and both men noticed that you were preparing yourself to say something important. “Aaron, Uncle Dave... I made it here on my own, with my mother’s maiden name and no one knowing who my father is. I am so proud to be the daughter of Jason Gideon, and I miss him every day… but I think I want to keep my birth last name a secret for now, if you’re both okay with that. They legally changed my name when I was a baby, and while I would be so proud to have his last name again, I’m- just not ready to hold up his legacy just yet.” You explained to them, hoping they understood. Your parents had decided very early on that they didn’t want you to have the last name Gideon. It was just- too dangerous. Your father had put away too many bad people, especially people that preyed upon little girls, to risk your life that way. So while you thought of yourself as Y/N Gideon in your mind, you’d never said it out loud before. Not once.

“Of course, kiddo. Whatever you want, we’ll follow your lead. Hopefully Garcia can’t find anything with your last name, but we’ll have Kevin keep an eye on her search history in case she finds anything. But if you’re worried about anyone finding out, I would tell her and promise her to secrecy though. Because if super tech genius finds out before you tell her… everyone will know.” He explained, and you laughed. You’d heard about Garcia. Your dad used to drive her crazy. You considered Rossi’s advice and nodded, understanding and deciding to think on it.

“Ready?” Hotch said after a moment, gesturing to the bullpen, where you could see several people grouped up at a desk, staring into Rossi’s office with curiosity and perhaps a little bit of uncertainty.

“As I’ll ever be.” Rossi squeezed your hand and you smiled at him, a big toothy smile shining back at you. With two men you knew you’d already trust your life with by your side, you walked out of the room knowing that these people who you already knew so much about would soon also hold your life in their hands. “Team, I’d like to introduce you to the new member of our team, Y/N L/N. She’s transferred in with top marks from the Academy, and she’s been highly recommended by all of her professors.”

You blushed at his compliments, rolling your eyes at him. “I didn’t have the highest marks in ALL of my classes. Shooting targets took me a while.” You smile, waving at the team awkwardly. “Hi everyone, it’s an honor to be here with you. I’ve heard so much about all of you. You’re all pretty famous around the bureau. I can’t wait to meet you all and get to know you as my team instead of people I’ve been idolizing for 10 years!”

Everyone laughed, and a tall, dark and handsome man walked forward with a giant grin on his face. “Hey, Y/N, I’m Derek Morgan. You are welcome to continue to idolize me as much as you’d like.” You could have snorted, he was so much like your dad described.

“Nice to meet you, Agent Morgan.” You said with a mildly flirty smile, holding your hand out to him happily. No worries for you, you were definitely going to like your job if you had him to look at all the time.

“That’s enough touching for now, little newbie,” a big beautiful blonde said from behind him. “That is my man-candy you’re ogling and groping, thank you very much.” There was no venom to her words, just something that you could only describe as adorable teasing. She was so colorful, it was almost as if there was a light shining around her. She was just a glowing ball of sunshine… You knew you’d be fast friends with her. “I’m Penelope Garcia, resident tech Goddess and most loyal beck and call gal.”

You took her hand and shook it, before doing a slight curtsy, earning you a giggle. “An honor to meet you, Tech Goddess Garcia.”

“Ignore her, they’re perfect for each other because of their over inflated egos.” You heard a blazé voice coming from the other side of Derek Morgan. “He’s eye candy for us all, much to her dismay. She’s never been one for sharing. I’m Emily, one of the few normal ones here.”

“Normal, pfft. She’s far from normal. You should hear her talk about her cat. Jenniffer Jareau, but my friends call me JJ.”

You took both of their hands in firm handshakes, grinning at them both. “Nice to meet you, and thank you for the permission to ogle, Agents. As far as normal, I sure hope not. Normal is vastly overrated.” You grinned at them. Damn they were cute. Was this whole team models who decided to become do-gooders and join the FBI?

“Halloweentown, 1998, said by Debbie Reynolds.” A small voice in the back of the group piped in, confident in words and speed, but somehow… demure and shrouded in uncertainty, too. The team parted so you two could see each other, and you swear your heart stopped beating for a few seconds. In front of you was the prettiest, most adorable, hottest guy you’d ever seen. He had a sexy professor thing going on, but simultaneously looked like he was an anxious teenager, terrified of being bullied by this newcomer.

You longed to hold him and protect this stranger from the rest of the world and heal any wounds he had succumbed to in the time before you. He was staring at you too, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights, pupils a little bigger than you can only assume they would normally be. After a snicker broke you both from the weird moment, pretty boy smiled a little and gave an awkward wave. “Hi. Doctor Spencer Reid.”

Oh. God. Your heart stopped a second time, and you swore, this is what a stroke felt like. You’d heard about Spencer for the last ten years. Your father loved him almost as much as he loved you and your brother. Maybe even more sometimes. The BAU resident genius, IQ of 187, eidetic memory, born in Las Vegas and wasn’t allowed in most casinos due to his card counting ability. Ability to empathize and love in a beautiful and incredible way- your father adored him, and because of how he spoke of him, you… you’d always had a crush on this faceless idea in your head with his wild mop of hair and tall, lanky frame. You had a general picture from all these years, but nothing had prepared you for this.

“H-Hi. I’m Y/N. N-Nice to meet you.” You said, trying your hardest not to sound like a little school girl with a crush on her teacher. You’d just met the man, for god sakes. You heard another snicker, and this time you knew it was from Morgan just from the proximity of the sound and the testosterone you could feel from the gesture. You tried to ignore your flaming red cheeks, and held out a hand a second before remembering that he hated being touched by strangers. A big germaphobe, always calculating the risk of what contact could mean for him. But before you had a chance to pull away, he reached out and took your hand, giving it a squeeze. You must have looked as shocked as you felt, but no one else noticed because everyone was staring at Reid with the same expression you were wearing. And to be honest, he looked just as surprised, if not more so.

Garcia made a breathy squeak sound, and somehow, that broke the tension of the moment, and you and Reid pulled away at the same time, both looking like you’d just been shocked by electricity. You stretched your hand out, staring at it, feeling on edge all over again, thinking about how good his hand felt in yours, and how good it would probably feel other pla-

“Well, I hope you all will be on your best behaviors, and treat Y/N like you would want to be treated as a newcomer in a team like ours, seeing what we see.” Hotch finally broke the silence. “Y/N, if you have any problems, come find myself or Rossi and we’ll help sort them all out.” Nodding, you looked at him and smiled, suddenly very embarrassed that your boss and your uncle just witnessed all of that. As profilers, they were going to come to so many conclusions, and each was more embarrassing than the last.

“Pretty boy and pretty girl, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-” You heard Derek sing-songing and he walked away, looking like the cat who got the cream. He was interrupted only when Emily punched him quite hard in the arm, looking at you with a wink and a smirk as she headed back to her desk as well. You tried to avoid looking at the genius again, but it was… difficult to say the least. You wanted to memorize everything about him. You wanted to pick his brain and listen to every fact he’d ever memorized. You wanted to experience him in all the ways your father had gotten to and more.

You watched as the team dissipated and then your eyebrows furrowed. “Rossi?” You asked, stopping him in his tracks as he was headed back to his office. “Where’s my desk?” He looked over his shoulder at you and you could tell he was holding back a shit eating grin as he pointed with his thumb to the desk directly across from Reid.

Fuck. You both looked at each other… or well, you looked at him, and he looked away like he’d been caught doing something and sat down, looking at his paperwork blankly. As you headed to your new desk, you’d give anything to know what was happening inside that massive brain of his.

Staring at your empty desk, you imagined what you could put there. Pictures of your family, pictures of your friends and your cats… One day you would put up a picture of your father… one day. For now, you grabbed your briefcase from your side and opened it up. You started unpacking some of your first day necessities; pens and notebooks, little toys and bright objects to remind yourself that there is good in the world. Your pile of books out; you always kept at least ten books on you at all times. One for every kind of mood you could be in- and at least three that you hadn’t read yet and were planning on.

As you prepped your desk, you could feel those eyes on you, analyzing your every move. You wanted to look up and see if you could find what he was figuring out within those eyes, but you tried to keep busy so you wouldn’t embarrass yourself again.

“Another book nerd, I see.” You heard that deep, caramelly sweet voice behind you. Derek sat on your desk right next to you and smiled a toothy smile at you. “Pretty girl likes to read, huh?”

Smiling at him, you raised a brow. “Reading is an exercise in empathy; an exercise in walking in someone else’s shoes for a while.” You were about to quote the originator, but someone else beat you to it.

“Malorie Blackman. British children’s literature writer and science fiction author.” Your head snapped to the person in front of you, who wasn’t looking at either of you.

Smiling at him, you nodded, and then turned to Morgan. “Yup, Malorie Blackman. Empathy is a huge part of the job, right? Reading allows us to experience a million different perspectives- which, as proflers, is necessary to catch the bad guys. I read so I can try to understand as many perspectives in this world as possible.”

Derek looked a little impressed, at least, and you couldn’t get a read on the gorgeous mop of brown hair on the desk across from you. Derek picked up one of the books still on your desk, not organized in your little library yet. “I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings?” He comments, and you catch Spencer’s eyes flick up at the title, curious.

“It’s my favorite. Not only do I love birds, but I’m a very big Maya Angelou fan. I’ve… always kind of felt like a bird stuck in a cage. Flitting about, trying to figure out what to do with my life and who I am... No book has ever made me feel more seen or understood as a human being.” You caught those big, interested eyes and you almost felt like you might have shared too much. You’ve always been an open book, but somehow, the way he was looking at you made you feel more vulnerable than you had… ever.

Derek nodded and smiled, putting the book down on your desk. “Well, lady genius, I’m going to try and get everyone to get together tonight for drinks, would you be interested in getting to know us in a more fun environment, or would you rather just go to the library with Pretty Boy over here and nerd out together?” He teased, making both of you blush.

“I-I don’t know. I’ve spent all of the years of my adulthood studying and sleeping and working to get here, so I haven’t really… spent a lot of time at bars?” Admitting that wasn’t the best feeling, but better to be honest than try to make up a lame excuse.

“Do I hear we have a light weight to peer pressure?” Derek said, loudly enough to catch the attention of everyone else. JJ and Emily looked enthused, and Rossi poked his head out of his office to chime in.

“Someone’s convincing Miss nose in a book Y/N to go out for drinks tonight? I’m in and I’m buying!” That was met with an uproarious approval from everyone on the team, with the exception of Reid, who was just looking at you, seemingly waiting on you to decide.

You bit your lip, noticing how Reid’s eyes fell to your lips in reaction. Well… if you could spend more time with the prettiest boy you’ve ever seen looking at you like that more… “Well… I guess. Sure. Sure, okay, I’m in.” You finally agreed, everyone whooping and hollering in celebration at you giving in. “Doctor Reid? What about you?” You looked at him through your eyelashes, and you could swear you saw his eyes dilate more.

“Oh, pretty boy barely ever comes out drinking with us anymore. He’s always holing himself up in his apartment- books from floor to ceiling, books in the fridge, freezer, on the bed, in his drawers and closets…” Derek teased, reaching over to Spencer and ruffling his hair.

Reid looked at Morgan and shoved his hand away and tried to fix his hair, rolling his eyes. “I do not have books in my freezer. That would be a terrible spot to put them, it would completely ruin the delicate spines.” You smiled at him in support, and he sat up a little straighter. “I… I’m in. For tonight.” He looked right at you when he said it, and you couldn't help but feel a little flutter in your stomach at the idea that he was going just to get to know you.

Morgan seemed to be thinking the same thing, and the face he gave Reid as he stood up and sauntered away said more than he needed to outloud. Once Reid looked away from Morgan, your eyes met and you both smiled again. “You’re a fan of Maya Angelou?” He asked, nodding towards your book.

“I am. I was always drawn to books that had birds on the covers, but then I actually read it and realized how beautiful it is on the inside.” You held the book in your hands gently. It was a mutual love, one your shared with your dad.

“The number of bird species in a person’s surroundings correlates directly to happiness levels.” He said, smiling at you like you were the most interesting thing in the world. The attention should have made you uncomfortable, but it just made you feel warm… important.

“Really?” You searched his eyes, wondering how much information was in that brain, stacked away for use when necessary. “That’s so interesting. I thought most people found birds annoying because of all the noise.”

He shook his head. “On the surface, they think it’s annoying, but once one becomes used to the sounds all around them, they find the background noise comforting. Most people find absolute silence much more disconcerting.”

“Absolute silence, for sure. But comfortable silence between two people who find solace in each other… I think that’s my favorite background noise.” He looked at you as you spoke, a small bit of hope flickering in both of your faces. You’d felt… alone, since your fathers spirit left this world months ago. It had been so hard to be at school and unable to go to his services, terrified of people finding out who your father was and that information altering your career. You hadn’t even applied to the bureau until you had your recommendation letters in order- you didn’t want Aaron giving you any false starts just because he knew. You liked to visit his grave once a month and tell him all the things you wrote in your letters to him. You carried around his private notebook as a reminder of the people in the world he saved, the people you wanted to save. You clutched your briefcase close, knowing you couldn’t put it in your desk with Reid watching you so closely. You’d find time to slip it in later, when no one was looking. With that eidetic memory, you knew he’d recognize it immediately, and you didn’t want his curious gaze to ruin your secret just yet. You wanted the team to form their own opinions of you before they knew... because the moment they knew, everything would change.

Next chapter

[weirdthinkingdragon]

Welcome To The Family (1/???)

Yandere EraserMic household x reader

Finally decided to start writing it! I’ve never babysat in my life, so if this is incredibly wrong I’m sorry. No warnings for now. No idea how many chapters this is going to be right now, but for sure at least 3-5.

I’m on my way to babysit two new children. Well, a child and later in the day a teenager when they get back from school. It’s beyond astonishing somehow being the one selected to babysit two children of heroes. They’re adopted, but that makes it all the more strange. I can’t complain much though. They’re paying a rather large amount and asked me to keep quiet about it. I have to go there early in the morning and be there most of the day. They also warned me some days I may have to babysit them longer than others. They did also warn me a few of their students may come by to hang out with Eri for a bit. 

My fist knocks on the door four times. Yamada- hopefully, I remembered who is who correctly- opens it. He lets me in with a giant and welcoming smile on his face. In the living room were the other three. Eri, and the other which must be Shinsou, look at me cautiously. Eri hides a bit behind the black-haired adult while Shinsou seems rather watchful and wary of me. I crouch down to her level but stay a bit away to introduce myself. “You must be Eri. I’ve heard a lot about you. My name’s Y/N. I hope to get along with you.” This is true, I’ve been informed by the two about what she has been through. 

The black-haired man confirms with a small nod down to her as she looks up at him. Whatever that was supposed to be about, it helped make her take a step away from him and look at me more. 

Aizawa- hopefully, I’m still correct- looks at the clock. “We need to go now.” the blond nods and leaves for their rather expensive-looking black car. Aizawa leaves as well. Shinsou glares at me one last time before he starts to head towards the door as well. “Don’t do anything you will regret.” He threatens and leaves too. 

Eri sits on the couch still timidly staring at me. To say it felt awkward between us is an understatement. “So, Eri, would you like to show me your favorite toys? Or maybe there’s a show you really like we could watch for a while?” Like a lightswitch, her eyes light up like she was just told she could have all the candy in the world. She then takes off up the stairs for presumably her bedroom. I wait in the living room for her return. I take a moment to examine the living room better. There are hardly any pictures on the walls. There’s only one with the four of them and a bunch of teens. Must be his class. They look like a chaotic and lively bunch. The light gray couch is in the middle of the living room with a large flat screen T.V. in front of it. To the left of the couch and a little behind is a matching gray loveseat with a giant cat tree between it and the wall. Huh, so they have a cat or possibly two. Surprised they’re not in the living room. The black stand under the T.V. matches the coffee table in front of it. There’s a door straight from the main entrance I entered from. My guess is either a bathroom or the kitchen. Next to it is a flight of stairs that Eri went up. That must lead to the bedrooms. There’s another door next to the stairs. A closet maybe? Or maybe another bedroom.

Eri comes down a few minutes later with five stuffed animals in her arms. A green rabbit with matching green eyes, a brown teddy bear with beady eyes, a blue galaxy patterned fox with turquoise eyes,  a yellow dog with blue eyes, and a cute tiny light gray unicorn with glittery pink eyes. It looks like her and seems like her favorite with how it seems a little worn. They’re all so adorable that I think my heart might have melted. 

“Aw, what are their names?” She proudly holds them up and says their names. The one that got me was “Deku”. Doesn’t that mean useless? How would a child know that term? More importantly, how are the adults allowing her to name it that? 

“Deku? Why is it named that?” 

“He saved me. I wanted a stuffed animal like him!” She cheerfully says. I’m not going to question why they chose that name. 

“They sound like amazing people! I can’t wait to meet them someday!” She smiles at me. It quickly becomes sad instead. “But I won’t be going to the school with them anymore…” 

I try to think of how to make her feel better. Those two must be the ones her fathers warned me will come over at some point. “Well, maybe I could ask your parents if they can come over someday after school.” She enthusiastically nods. 

It grows quiet between us again as she holds her stuffed animals. 

I look back at the cat tree. “I see you have a cat tree. Do you know where the cat is?” 

“We have three!” she cheerfully informs. 

“Three? Wow! I bet they keep you safe, huh?” I question. She shrugs. “Mochi is too big to even jump on the bed.” 

“Mochi? Cute name!”

“Mrow” came a sudden voice from the cat tree. There’s a box part on the floor I somehow missed earlier. A rather fat cat saunters out of it. “Mochi!” Eri cheerfully yells and goes over to it. It’s an orange tabby. She tries to pick him up and miraculously succeeds. It’s so comical I can’t help but laugh. A child carrying a cat that’s almost as big as her. She waddles over with it and places them on the couch between us. They just yawn, stretch, and lie down right where they were plopped. They roll over to show their belly. I rub the belly of it. How could I not? Once again, it doesn’t seem to care in the slightest. 

“What are the names of the other two?” I ask. 

“Sundae and Oreo! They’re brothers!” 

“Are they as big as Mochi?” She shakes her head. “No. My dads went to buy things that feed the cats when we are not home.” 

“That’s good! Maybe later we could try finding the other two and have a tea party or something.” She looked like she was nearly screaming in excitement at the news. “Only one of my dads likes to do tea parties with me.” 

I smile. “Well, now you have two that do!”

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

Many hours later, she decided she wanted to do the tea party. We were able to find the other two cats which were sleeping on her dads’ bed. Eri told me they were in there since I didn’t go in there out of respect. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring a dress or suit to change into for her. I’ll have to remember that for next week so I can do it when not babysitting. 

Oreo and Sundae were rather difficult to settle down into chairs around the table. They’re tuxedos and an easy way to tell which is who is apparently the white eyebrows on Oreo that makes him look always angry. We just gave up when they decided to sit on the table instead of the chairs.

The tea set is a pastel green with interesting shiny gold lines decorating it. It’s a great contrast to the small dark red table it’s on in her room. She has tons of drawings with her, Shinsou, and the two adults covering her walls. There’s also a few with a green-haired and blond with her. There is nothing in the teacups as she passes one to me. “Why, thank you, Eri!” She smiles and nods. That smile needs to be protected.

It’s hard to think someone could do something so evil to such an innocent bean. I’m beyond glad she’s in a much better home now. I’ve only known her for like half a day, but if something were to happen to her, I’d kill everyone around me and then myself. She looks behind me and lights up more. “Toshi!” 

I turn around to see Shinsou leaning in the doorway with his arms crossed and a glare aimed at me. How long has he been there? Man, he’s incredibly quiet. I understand why he doesn’t trust me yet. I’m still a stranger after all. It would be more concerning if he did trust me immediately. I give him an inviting smile. “Welcome, Shinsou! Why don’t you come to our tea party instead of standing there? I’m sure Eri would be more than happy to have her brother join!” 

“Yes! C’mon Toshi, please?” She begs. He shakes his head. “You two go ahead. I’d rather watch for now.” He says, hardening his glare at me. Eri doesn’t seem to notice his glare and goes back to her chair. How cute though, a protective brother! She deserves nothing less. 

After that, she wanted to show me her favorite show. Shinsou sits rather close to her between us. Seems a bit excessive, but whatever makes him comfortable I guess. Checking the clock above the T.V., it was almost time for me to go. 

Shinsou goes to the bathroom, but something tells me he’s testing me. I mean, I didn't do anything before he came home, and wouldn’t Eri have already run to him if I did do something? Well, with the villains around you can’t be so sure. 

Eri swings her feet while sitting farther up on the couch. “Are you going to come back tomorrow?” 

“Of course! We still have so many things we have to do together!” I reach over and go to rub her head. She flinches so I take my hand away and think for a moment. How can I get her to trust me without any problems occurring? “Hey, Eri?” She looks at me again with trust, yet a hint of unease still in her eyes. Please don’t tell me I just royally screwed up. “How about this. I do to myself what I’m going to do to you, and you can allow it or not. Like this.” I say, and gently rub the top of my head. I bring my hand halfway to her and wait for her reply. 

It takes a moment, but she gives me a small nod. I rub her head, making her give a big smile to me. 

At that moment, the door opened to reveal the two men. They were tense as we locked eyes, but that went away when they noticed Eri was smiling at me. 

“Welcome back you guys! Eri and I had so much fun today. She even brought me to her tea party! Your cats gave us quite a bit of trouble to involve them though.” I inform as Eri goes to hug Yamada and then Aizawa right after. 

Shinsou comes into the room as well. Like a silent conversation, he gives a curt nod to Aizawa, which he returns. 

Yamada smirks at me. “But what’s important is… Did ya succeed?” 

I shrug. “Kind of. We got them to stay on the table instead of the chair.” He snickers. “That’s those devious two!” He looks down at Eri. “Ya must have had a lotta fun, huh? Sad to miss the party!” 

I decide to leave so they get more time as a family before they have to go to bed. I don’t need to interfere with that. I wave to her as I go to the door and put on my shoes. “See you tomorrow, Eri!” She waves back, shocking the two adults. Wonder why they’re shocked about that. Maybe she doesn’t usually trust new people as fast? Well, I’ve always been pretty good with children. 

I wave at the three men as well and leave excited for what tomorrow might bring.

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

I have rather big plans for this story. Hopefully I keep up with it, and I promise it will get better later on. 

[kylorengarbagedump]

Defy Your Authority: Chapter 1

Read on AO3. Part 2 here.

Summary: You’re a Lieutenant, stationed on Orinda. You’re content with your trustworthy crew, but issues with a certain ship (spoiler alert: it’s the TIE silencer) end up trapping you on the Steadfast, instead. Your relationship with Kylo Ren isn't how you left it. How many more messes can you stand to clean?

(Yes, this is the sequel to Fix Your Attitude.)

Words: 4500

Warnings: None. Yet.

Characters: Kylo Ren x Reader

A/N: Umm... hi!! I don't have much to say other than I'm very excited to post this, and I really hope you enjoy it! I love you all so much. I'm genuinely lucky and grateful to have you in my life.

You weren’t ready.

Since the alert had come in that the First Order would be sending a transporter to Orinda, your hands had been jittery. There’d been no indication, no hint as to what your team should be expecting when they arrived. In the four months since you’d arrived at the fuel post, you hadn’t received a single visitor from the brass.

“Hey, Chief.” 

The voice called you as you were chest-deep in a pile of fuel-cells. Grunting, you wrenched yourself free, patting the reactor dust from your uniform. Certainly there was some in your hair, too. 

“Hey, hi Tonis, what’s up?” You tried to restrain your anxiety to the perimeter of your mind. “Can, uh, can I help you?”

Tonis, your third engineer, sighed, wrangling his hands together as he looked to the ground. “Do you know what’s going on with this transport unit arriving?” His thin lips twisted in a frown. “They’re saying that they might be shutting the post down.”

“Oh, jeez.” You shook your head, grabbing a rag from the terminal and wiping your hands. “No, no. Nothing like that. I’m sure.”

“Okay,” he said. “Good. I really, really, really don’t want to be moved. Again.”

Grimacing, you looked at your reflection in the terminal facade. “I know.”

“Orinda’s really great,” he said. “All the different ships we get to work on. And it’s so quiet. And our team is so great--”

“I know.” You mussed your hair, as if shoving dirty fingers through it would improve its appearance. Incredibly, it did not. “They’re only sending three people. I’m sure it can’t be that big of a deal.”

“But that’s the thing!” he said. “Don’t you think that a transport unit with only a few passengers must be here for something super-official?”

Your chest seized, and you cleared your throat, turning back to him. 

“Maybe.” You ignored the hot burn of your cheeks. “Guess we’ll see when they get here.” 

The terminal blipped, a familiar pattern that indicated the atmosphere had been breached. It’d been awhile since you’d felt like you had the power to summon anything of importance with a single thought. The reminder tweaked your heart. 

“Or… I guess we’ll see now.”

Tonis squealed, running through the post. “Hey! Hey guys! The First Order’s here! The First Order’s arrived!”

Sighing, you looked into the terminal again. Four months hadn’t changed your appearance too much. Not that it mattered. Or it might. But you wouldn’t worry about it. Only a little.

You steeled your nerves and walked out of the hangar into the dusty outcropping of the fuel outpost. Flat land stretched for miles in diameter from your station, a rolling pitch of blue mountains in the far distance, the wind whipping across the plains, rustling the dry grass. Shielding your eyes with a hand, you gazed up and spotted the transporter, a blooming black spot in the cloudless sky, quickening the pace of your pulse with every passing second.

It was just a transporter. He wouldn’t be on it. There was nothing to freak out about.

Tonis had gathered the rest of your massive crew--all three of them, him included--and they surrounded you, faces taut with anticipation.

“What do you think it is, Chief?” That was Mirna, your second engineer, a short, wide-set thing, with buzzed hair and a gruff voice. “You think they’re shutting the place down?”

“She already said she doesn’t think it’s that,” Tonis replied.

“Well, yeah, but then, why are they just sending three people?” said Lin, your mechanic. 

“There’s plenty of reasons they could send three people,” Tonis said, as if he hadn’t just been agonizing over that very issue just minutes ago.

Mirna snorted. “Like what?”

“An announcement,” Lin said. “Maybe they’re canvassing all First Order planets.”

You nodded, chewing your cheek. “Sure. That could be it.”

“Or maybe it’s a survey!” Tonis was almost wiggling with excitement like the little nerd he was. “Does anyone else love filling out those weird surveys?”

“No, nerfherder,” Mirna teased, grinning. “Just you.”

“Could be an escort.” Lin shrugged. “Maybe they’re here to pick someone up.”

Mirna laughed. “Oh, come on,” she said. “Who in the stars could they have an interest in on this planet?”

Blood blazed your face. “It’s a mystery.”

You hadn’t told anyone since arriving what had brought you there or why you’d come. You hadn’t told them when you’d first landed that you still had the cum of the Commander of the First Order leaking out of your cunt. You hadn’t told them that just hours before, he’d held you in his arms, brought you into his mind, and shown you--with a breathless, crushing tangibility--how utterly and completely he loved you.

You hadn’t told them, either, that in the days, weeks, months following your arrival, you hadn’t heard from him at all. 

With a dying wail, the transporter hovered and landed, spitting up a ring of dust that smacked you in the face. You sputtered, wiping your eyes, the rest of your crew apparently victims too. Frowning, you crossed your arms, brow cocked as the ramp whined and descended. Something akin to fear needled your heart in the empty space between the sound of footsteps and the emergence of two Stormtroopers stomping to the ground. 

Something that was definitely fear gripped it as those two troopers were followed by a man you’d hoped to never, ever see again.

“Engineer.” General Hux had somehow lost none of his smarmy, pink-cheeked smugness--his refusal to say your name was out of petty spite at this point. And his face was just as punchable as you remembered. “I see you are, for once, prepared for our arrival.”

“What sort of facility chief would I be if I didn’t stay on top of our arrival queues?” You hid your hands behind your back to hide their quaking. “Though I believe my rank is Lieutenant, now, sir.”

“Lieutenant,” he replied, with the same amount of disdain he’d probably afford a crying child. “I imagine it’s the lack of distraction.” He smirked. “I loathe to think of the productivity you would’ve had on the Finalizer with a similar environment.”

“Oh, as do I, sir.” You offered him a gleaming smile. “I can’t imagine a punishment worse than being in your good graces.”

“Chief,” hissed Mirna. “That’s a General of the First Order. What are you doing?”

Cursing internally, you pinched yourself, stood straighter. Your team would have no idea why you felt so comfortable mouthing off to a man who, otherwise, might’ve had you thrust into the bowels of space by now--and to be honest, you didn’t have much of an idea why at this point, either. Your presumed protection was hardly a current presence in your life. 

You shook your head, wagged out your hands. “Let me try again, sir.” Clearing your throat, you continued, “General Hux, sir. To what do I owe the honor?”

Hux smirked. “As much as I hate to interrupt, Lieutenant,” he said, continuing to let the word drip with more venom than a snake ever could, “I’m here to order you to come with me onto the Steadfast.”

“The Steadfast?” Obviously the name of a ship, but not one you were familiar with. No news bulletins had made their way to Orinda in the time you’d been stationed. “Why?”

“The Supreme Leader’s TIE fighter has ceased functioning. Every engineer we’ve brought to it has failed to diagnose the issue.” His jaw tensed in real, actual reluctance. “We were at the border of the Rim, and unfortunately, I thought of you.”

You blinked. He wanted you to work on Snoke’s TIE fighter? 

And then another question: Snoke had a TIE fighter? 

“Uh…” Frowning, you glanced around at your crew. You couldn’t stand the thought of leaving them for days on end. “How long will I be gone?”

His face betrayed nothing but pure disgust. “As long as it takes you to fix a TIE fighter.” He watched as you paused in thought. “I wasn’t offering you a choice, Lieutenant. We’re leaving now.”

With that, he turned on his heels, marching up the ramp. A long, slow breath left your lungs, and you turned to your team, scanning their faces for any reaction. To your surprise, everyone but Tonis seemed rapt in excitement, eyes wide and chins wagging in awe. 

“I had no idea you were such a big shot!” Lin grinned. The other two nodded in agreement.

Blushing, you rubbed your arm in embarrassment, looking between them. “No, no,” you said. “Nothing like that.”

“You have to tell us the story, one day.” Mirna was smirking.

“Uh… Right.” You coughed. “So, hopefully I’ll only be a day or so, max,” you said. “Mirna, you’re in charge while I’m gone.”

“You got it, Chief,” she said. “Tonis, my first order is for you to please calm down.”

He shot her a glare. “Good luck, Chief!” He offered you a salute, which was both strange and unnecessary. “We’ll be thinking of you!”

Warmth spread in your chest. “I’ll be thinking of you guys, too. Don’t make too big of a mess, okay?”

“Yes ma’am!” they replied in unison--and then broke into laughter. 

You shook your head, finding yourself laughing with them. “Okay. See you guys soon.” 

Bowing your head, you trudged up the ramp into the transporter, taking a seat far away from Hux and the two Stormtroopers. You wondered why he’d bothered to bring them to a tiny outpost like Orinda, but you supposed that self-importance and paranoia knew no bounds in the higher ranks of the First Order. 

As the door closed to the transporter, your heart wrinkled. In the past few months, despite your open ache, Orinda had become your home, your crew had become something akin to your family. You hoped the issue with the TIE fighter was something stupid, like a busted hyperdrive. They were simple to repair, but most engineers wouldn’t mess with lightspeed travel--the mechanisms were so delicate that even a simple mistake could result in splitting the ship. 

The transporter rose into the air, and in seconds, it burst into the sky. A windowless cargo meant you could only imagine the faces of your crew as you disappeared into the horizon. You sighed, watching your feet as they jostled with the jerking of the ship. You weren’t sure what the Steadfast was like, but apparently Snoke had moved his operations there. Though you still had no clue what Snoke looked like, you’d never imagined him to be the type to fly--but perhaps a Supreme Leader required multiple skillsets.

The awkward ride finished without a single word being exchanged between you and Hux, which was fine by you, and possibly finer by him. When the ramp lowered, he speared you with his gaze, waiting for the troopers to exit before standing and ordering you to follow him with only his eyes.

You tromped down the ramp into the hangar on the Steadfast--it looked almost identical to the one on the Finalizer. The ceilings stretched high, like a giant’s mouth, the magnetic shields glowing teeth at the lips of the bay. Ships buzzed above you, racing in and out of their docks, the floor crowded with soldiers and officers alike. 

The rush hit you--sure, the time on Orinda had been fantastic, engaging, rejuvenating. But it would never match the thrill of working in the presence of fleets and fleets of warships, surrounded by the heady spell of urgent, prestigious labor. You sucked it through your nose, held it in your chest, unable to stop your eyes from lingering on every busted ship they saw. In the distance, a team huddled around the smoking wing of a TIE fighter--you bit your lip to prevent yourself from racing over, from tearing it apart for them.

Another thing you weren’t able to stop looking for was any hint, any presence of the Commander--but in the bay, you didn’t even catch evidence of the Command Shuttle. It was a huge assumption to guess he’d be on the Steadfast to begin with, but part of you hoped he’d trailed his precious Supreme Leader to any place he was ordered. It figured that the one time you might have been within thinking distance, he’d managed to make himself scarce. 

Another twine in your heart snapped, joining the collection that’d been unfurling since you’d departed the Finalizer. 

Yes, he’d said he would find you. You still believed him now, even. 

But really. What was taking him so damn long?

Hux led you to a wide dock toward the very front of the hangar. The crews you spotted along the way seemed detached, working without words, communicating with gestures and mirthless expressions. Tonis’ silly salute would never happen here. You frowned. The lack of thrill was worth your autonomy.

“Lieutenant.”

A snap of your head, and you blinked. You were in front of your charge. 

This TIE fighter was unlike one you’d ever seen. Instead of the flat panel wings, this one bore talons, sharp knives capable of cutting space and possibly any ship in its way. Red-paned transparisteel formed the cockpit into a muzzle, imitating an animal instead of a sphere. And it wasn’t a ball suspended on plates, but was rather tucked tight into the body of the ship, creating a seamless, dynamic transition that to you, seemed so new, so modern. It was almost--sexy? 

You looked to Hux. “Are you sure this is the one that isn’t working?” Lips parted in awe, you stepped up to it, placing a hand on the solar array. “It’s gorgeous.”

“The Supreme Leader has been unable to fly it for cycles, now,” said Hux. “I’m sure.”

“All right.” You rolled your eyes. “Got it.” 

What you needed was a post-flight report. You strode over to the nearest terminal and entered your credentials--thankfully, as a Lieutenant now, they were universal to the entire First Order system. Only one ship was logged underneath the access: TIE/vn space superiority fighter: SILENCER.

“TIE silencer?” you mumbled. “Where do they come up with these names?”

You investigated the reports in the past several cycles that detailed the attempts by engineers to get the thing working: thrusters aligned, check. Solar lines flushed, check. Refuel port cleansed, check. Heat calibration reset and replaced, check. 

And yet with each new repair--engine test: fail. 

Engine test: fail. 

Engine test: fail, fail, fail. 

Screwing your lips in thought, you landed on the post-flight report, hoping it would provide you with insight. If he knew what was good for him, Supreme Leader Snoke would be thorough.

You opened the report, and paragraphs of information flooded the screen. Your jaw dropped. Every single system had been left with a meticulously in-depth account of its status before, during, and after flight. The level of specificity contained within each sentence astounded you. It was almost unbelievable that a single person could remember this much, let alone regurgitate it with any level of accuracy. You groaned, lost in Basic.

Hux cleared his throat. “How long do you anticipate this taking, Lieutenant?” 

“As long as I--...” You stopped yourself with a grumble. It would be much easier to hear it from the tauntaun’s mouth, instead of pouring over and cross-checking every single detail. “I’m not sure, General. Is there any way I could speak with the Supreme Leader?” 

A strange, smug look passed over his face. “Certainly,” he replied. “I’ll take you.”

You blinked. That was easy. Almost too easy. “Uh… okay.”

Hux turned on his heel, clipped stride cutting through the hangar. You hadn’t been prepared to meet the Supreme Leader when you woke up this morning, but you supposed anything was possible when working for the First Order. Swallowing, you shut down the terminal, and followed him into the halls.

Returning to a Star Destroyer, in a way, felt like home--the glossy black tile passed like a familiar path beneath your feet, and you spared fleeting glances to the Stormtroopers who passed you. The halls of the Steadfast maintained their similarity to everything else on the Finalizer--though that did nothing to assuage your anxiety about the memories you’d had on that ship. Or who may or may not be on this one. 

“Do you work on the Steadfast, now, sir?” 

Hux was silent for a moment, gaze trained forward. “Yes. The Finalizer was decommissioned.”

“Wait, really?” Your heart thumped. The only datapad message you’d received from your friends had come in the first few weeks after your departure. You just assumed they’d been busy. “What happened?”

“A Resistance attack left it crippled,” he replied. “Leadership and surviving crew were transferred to the Steadfast.”

Terror seized you, your pace quickened. “Sur-surviving crew?” you asked. “Sir?” More silence. You stumbled to catch up with him, fighting the tremor in your voice. “Sir--”

“Engineers Foster and Loren were transferred to this vessel unharmed, Lieutenant.” He leered at you. “Satisfied?”

You heaved a massive sigh, hands falling to your knees. They were here. You’d have to catch up with them, soon. 

“Yes, sir, thank you--” 

By the time you’d finished, he’d already managed to make it what seemed to be fifty paces ahead of you, and you scrambled to keep up with him. 

As you did, a grey-haired man emerged from the corner in front of you both, and Hux stiffened, cursing under his breath. Raising a brow, you tried to meet this man’s gaze, only to bump into the general, who’d stopped, limbs pinned to his sides.

“Shit!” Your face burned, and you jumped back, snapping to attention. “I mean, uh, sorry, General, sir.”

The look Hux offered you was similar to one a parent might offer a simpering child. Right before they murdered that child in a fit of blind rage.

“General Hux,” said the grey-haired man. “Just the one I was looking for.” 

“Allegiant General Pryde.” Hux’s chin jutted to the ceiling. 

The Allegiant General Pryde turned his attention to you, glimpsing your uniform before meeting your eyes. “I’m afraid we’re not acquainted, Lieutenant…”

You gave your name. “Sir.” Clearing your throat, you continued, “I’m Chief of Operations on Orinda.”

“Ah.” His gaze lingered on the fuel cell filth smattering your chest. “Of course.” Something within his eyes categorized you in league with rodents--and something else within them told you he crushed rodents for sport. “Interesting.” His attention whipped back to Hux. “General. Regarding the Council meeting…”

“I plan to present the Supreme Leader with my plan, sir.”

“I know you do,” Pryde replied, “but you failed to run it by me.”

Hux’s jaw tensed. You wished you were anywhere other than this extremely awkward hallway meeting that had absolutely nothing to do with you.

“Forgive me, Allegiant General,” Hux said, “but I didn’t think a basic unit efficiency research required your approval.”

“Everything requires my approval, General,” he said. “Lest we forget the errors of Starkiller Base.”

That was a low blow. You gulped. They both looked at you, and you cleared your throat again, throwing your hands behind your back. The energy radiating from Hux could be classified as skin-scorching. 

“Of course.” Hux’s tone grew tighter with each word that left his lips. “I’ll remember that next time, sir.”

“Good.” Pryde glanced between you. “What brings a facility chief from her station all the way to the Steadfast?”

“The Supreme Leader’s TIE fighter, sir,” Hux replied, still staring into the air. “She may be the only engineer capable of repairing it.”

The Allegiant General frowned. “Really. How many resources did you expend picking up a single person from a remote outpost?” he asked. “Do you not consider this to be something I should know?”

“It was a brief excursion,” he said. “I took two Stormtroopers and a single transport unit.”

“Was that unit’s excursion approved?” He circled Hux, a silvered predator, sizing up his prey. For once, you almost felt bad for the ginger bastard. “What if Resistance staged an attack while you were gone? If we needed that unit for more than a handful of bodies?”

Hux’s lips pursed, chin dimpling with tension. “I don’t know, sir.”

“And how do you think the Supreme Leader will feel knowing you acted without approval, all to retrieve a single engineer?”

Silence drifted like fog over the three of you, thickening as this grey-haired power-laden dickhead glared at General Hux. But Hux’s back had aligned, parallel to the wall, every flicker of frustration fled from his frame. The tiniest hint of a smirk curled at his mouth.

“I think he’ll be just fine with it. Sir.” Hux’s brow quirked. “We’re on our way to speak with him now, if you’d like to accompany.”

Pryde grinned, a serpent’s twist to his smile. “Your confidence has failed you in the past, General,” he replied. “Lead the way.”

You trailed behind the Allegiant General and Hux, fingers starting to quake. Now, you’d not only be meeting the Supreme Leader still smothered in space dust, you’d be meeting him accompanied by the two biggest assholes in the First Order--second only to one other, perhaps. 

Unfortunately, that particular asshole was a ghost to this ship, and there wasn’t anyone in particular you felt comfortable asking about him. If Hux had been superceded by this new jerk, the last thing you wanted was another opportunity for someone with rank greater than your own to question you about your personal relationships. 

Dread pooled in your belly. Supreme Leader Snoke did know about your personal relationship with the Commander. In fact, Snoke had been the one to insist you be his conduit, among other insulting things. You imagined him bringing it up: Ah, yes, the engineer, the distraction… and how have you been, without his cock inside of you?

You shook your head. No, it didn’t make sense for him to bring up his apprentice’s dick at your first meeting. Or any meeting, for that matter. You hoped.

The two men led you through the rest of the journey in silence, animosity prickling like durasteel barbs in the air between them. At least your own team didn’t regard you with vibrodaggers behind their backs--as far as you knew, anyway--and the realization, against the backdrop of your current situation, had you aching to leave. The discussion with the Supreme Leader would be swift and succinct; you’d get the information you needed, diagnose the problem, and be on your way back to Orinda. 

In front of you, a massive turbolift sang its arrival, blast door whirring open. You followed the two men inside, heart tingling. Maybe part of you had been hoping that your long-awaited reunion would have occurred during your time aboard--as you thought it, you tried to stymie the resentment that you’d waited this long at all. The rational part of your mind reasoned that he was a busy man, that lack of contact didn’t indicate lack of thought. 

But every other part of your mind was staving off bubbling despair. Four months had felt like four years, and you’d only grown more desperate, more anxious for his embrace--then furious that he didn’t appear to return the sentiment. 

You knew how he felt. So it didn’t make sense, then, why he hadn’t acted on it for even a single, solitary night in the past sixteen weeks.  

When the blast door opened, you crossed the threshold into an obsidian sanctuary. The floor gleamed, a black lake of glass sweeping into high ebony ceilings that twinkled with artificial stars. The only other illumination came from two enormous spheres that hung, suspended in air at opposite ends of the room, their surfaces a swirl of white-grey light, imitation suns with colorless coronas. At the far end of the room was a hovering stone throne, six dark figures crowding it in a crescent. 

Your heart stammered--you’d seen them before. In memories that hadn’t belonged to you. All of them were outfitted in clothing that seemed familiar, helmets that hid their identities, and each of them possessed a weapon meant explicitly for assassination. The only conclusion you could draw was that they were the Supreme Leader’s bodyguards. 

Whoever they were, to you, they were ominous.

The two men in front of you strode forward, and you followed, catching your reflection whispering by your shoes: your hair was mussed with evidence of engine exhaust, your uniform still glowing with smears of ionization. Internally, you cursed yourself. Yeah, this was exactly how you’d wanted to look when meeting the Supreme Leader of the First Order--like complete shit. Stomach sinking, you sidled behind them as they stood at attention. 

“Supreme Leader,” they said simultaneously.

As if on command, the wall of shadowed soldiers parted to reveal the throne. 

But no one was there.

You blinked. “Oh.” 

Hux’s head swiveled between the strangers in front of you. “Where is he?” He turned to Pryde. “These are his receiving hours--”

“Yes,” replied the Allegiant Asshole. “But perhaps he’s departed early for the Supreme Council meeting. We’d be better off--”

The turbolift doors wailed behind you, and like synchronized chronometers, you, Hux, and Pryde spun to meet the new arrival. 

Your brain went blank.

Kylo Ren crossed the shimmering sable floor in a confident stride, his robes replaced now with padded armor that clung to the contours of his powerful, thick chest, his broad shoulders covered with a hooded cape. His fists, still bound in leather, flexed at his sides--and his face... 

More beautiful, more arresting than you could have conjured in any memory, his lips still pink and plush, his nose still a long line, his hair still rolling in waves, like black silk-velvet at his shoulders. You met his eyes as he advanced, finding them guarded, resurrecting every fear and insecurity, tempering them with hidden warmth. 

“Generals.”

The voice was lightning through your limbs, its owner a perfect match to the soft baritone you’d replayed in your dreams for the past one hundred and fifty two days. All of your systems leapt to life at once: brain spinning, heart soaring, adrenaline coursing. Sweat soaked your neck, your figure thrust whole into a furnace.

“Sir!” Both bowed their heads.

Gazing at him, then, you realized what was happening. This was his throne. You were working on his TIE fighter. Kylo Ren, your lover, your obsession, your galaxy was now the de-facto leader of the actual galaxy. You weren’t in love with the First Order’s Commander, anymore. 

You were in love with its Supreme Leader. 

Shock anchored your mouth open. Your eyes welled with latent tears. You grinned in disbelief.

“Dude!” You laughed. “What the fuck!”

[thesoulspulse]

Reconcile (Good Vlad AU ~ Oneshot)

It happened in early winter, that's all he could tell because of the first signs of snowfall outside of the window next to his bed at the hospital. Vlad had been there for, what, a month or so? Kept in isolation from everyone apart from a couple of doctors and nurses. Honestly, it was entirely possible Vlad had been there for longer for all he knew since every day blurred into the next after the accident.

Vlad couldn't feel it though, the cold, because these days his skin always felt either unnaturally chilly or feverishly hot to the touch. The only constant Vlad could feel was pain. The morphine helped ease that pain a little bit, but all that was left to feel after that was this cold numbness. And since the doctors thought he had been exposed to radiation of some kind -which to be fair they weren't wrong- no one has been allowed to see him after he was admitted there.

But still, Vlad had hoped his friends would come see him eventually. And more importantly, he wanted the chance to give Jack a piece of his mind! That...that traitor knew the portal experiment was unstable and potentially dangerous and yet he still pressed the-

“Excuse me, are you awake Mr. Masters? You have a visitor,” a nurse called after knocking on the door and poking her head inside.

At first Vlad was happy that he had a visitor, hoping it would be Maddie so he could get these feelings off his chest about how angry he was at Jack...but as soon as he saw the large silhouette waiting outside the door he knew there was only one person that would have come here to see him who had such a wide girth. It was Jack. But he wasn't ready to see him, not yet, not when all Vlad could think about is how his best friend had almost killed him...

Turning his head away Vlad finally muttered, “Sorry, I'm not feeling well. Please tell them to come back lat-ER!”

Vlad grunted the last word of that sentence as Jack burst into the room, tears rolling down his cheeks as the man called him by that ridiculous nickname of Vladdy he insists on using. Normally Vlad could shrug it off, but right now the nickname felt insulting somehow as if Jack was making light of what happened the last time they saw each other. Either way it's a good thing Maddie actually was there and managed to help the nurse pry him off, reminding Jack that Vlad's in the hospital as a patient so giving him a bear hug wasn't the best idea.

Regardless, Jack looked at Vlad's bandaged face and sobbed, “I'm so sorry V-man. We tried to come sooner but they wouldn't let us in! We were so worried about you!”

Nodding, Maddie put a supportive hand on Jack's shoulder and continued awkwardly. “He's right, as soon as we recovered from the shock of what had happened to you we immediately went looking for you but you had already collapsed somewhere. Jack was heartbroken and didn't understand what went wrong with the portal. I tried to find out too but it was no use, whatever happened fried the wiring and-”

Cutting herself off as soon as she realized she was going off on a tangent when their friend's well-being was much more important, Maddie dropped her hand from Jack's shoulder and asked with a sad smile, “How're you feeling? Have they been taking good care of you? I tried to explain your condition to the doctor but...they didn't believe me about it being related to ectoplasmic energy.”

“Why would they? As far as they're concerned ghosts don't exist,” Vlad replied with a guarded expression, unwilling to admit he tried to do the exact same thing only for his arguments to be thoroughly dismissed since he's not a doctor. “As for the rest they're...doing the best they can I suppose.”

An awkward silence filled the room since none of them knew what to say after that, but then, Jack spoke up and said, “Vladdy? Um, I know it's a bit squished but I made this for you. It's...my way of saying sorry for everything. I should have listened to you and Mads when you told me to stop.”

Reaching into one of the many pockets of his jumpsuit which according to Jack was handed down to him by his grandfather and designed after an outfit one of his ghost-hunting ancestors wore, he handed Vlad what appeared to be a misshapen block of homemade fudge. The gesture might not have seemed like a big deal to anyone else, but for Jack who absolutely loved the stuff and couldn't help himself from eating almost all of it himself in one sitting whenever he made or bought it, however, the fact that Jack was sharing an entire serving of it just for Vlad really was his way of showing his sincerity. Similarly, Maddie reached into her bag and pulled out a couple of her ghost folklore books for him to read since she figured Vlad must have been bored laying in bed all day.

Vlad was at a loss for words because he had almost given up hope that they'd ever come visit him, hope that Jack would own up to his mistakes for once and apologize. But since he did, Vlad couldn't stay mad. He wanted to, but couldn't, not since this forgetful yet earnest man had gone out of his way to finally come see him. The same goes for Maddie, Vlad was sure she felt guilty too for not stopping Jack in time since she's always been the more careful of the two when it comes to their experiments...

Accepting their gifts but resisting the urge to wipe the tears from his eyes since his face still hurt, Vlad held them in his lap and sniffled, “Thank you. Thank you both for coming. I...was afraid you had abandoned me.”

“Come on V-man, give me a little credit,” Jack smiled, gently punching Vlad's shoulder. “You're my best friend! I know I can be careless and stupid sometimes, but friends have to stick together through thick and thin don't they? We'll get through this together and then maybe we can try again with the ghost portal. We were so close!”

Grimacing at the thought of going anywhere near that portal again, Vlad was relieved when Maddie interjected and said, “Jack, don't forget that it's our fault this happened so before any of that we need to make sure Vlad's going to be ok. We don't know what that portal did to him and the doctors are only going to be able to help him so much. The best thing we can do for him is go back to square one and find out what we did wrong so it doesn't happen again.”

“Shoot, you're right. I'm sorry,” Jack apologized, looking dejected. “Don't worry Vladdy, I'll make this all up to you I promise! And we'll visit more too!”

Smiling weakly more because it hurt to move his face too much, Vlad nodded, “I'd like that.”

Soon after that, before Maddie could comment on anything else the nurse shooed them out so they could get Vlad ready for his next check up. But as soon as he was alone again Vlad reached over to set the fudge and books on the desk next to him when they unexpectedly slipped through his fingers. Blinking in confusion but brushing it off as clumsiness, he sighed and swung his feet over the bed so he could bend down to pick them up again. This time though, when he reached for them again they didn't just slip through his fingers as a figure of speech...they LITERALLY passed through them! Alarmed Vlad recoiled from both objects, his heart racing when he mustered the courage to look at his hands only to find they were translucent.

Realizing his sudden spike in heart activity would alert the hospital staff Vlad concentrated as hard as he could to restore his fingers to a solid state again. It took some effort but thankfully he managed to pull it off. It was in that moment though that Vlad realized, for better or worse, his relationship with Jack and Maddie would never be the same again...

And neither would he.

~

Note: I normally don’t write fully-fledged story content on tumblr apart from headcanon ideas or sharing updates about new chapters for my fanfics, but since I had started this oneshot before my Good Vlad AU started to really kick off and wasn’t that far along I adapted it into a special oneshot about Jack and Maddie coming to see Vlad at the hospital after the accident. I always wondered why they never did and usually assumed Vlad turned them away himself (mostly Jack) along with the doctors and his friends eventually move on and kind of forgot about him for all those years.

Either way, I wanted to see what could have happened if they managed to fix things with Vlad sooner while still on somewhat good terms before that sense of abandonment and resentment for Jack could take root in Vlad’s heart. Hopefully that comes across here in this little story snippet! I might post this on my actual fanfiction account later but for now, it’s here for you guys especially!