#i also don't mind the fucked up atmosphere since it was told to us time and time again that the past was... like that

[twodlover]

the more i think about it the more interesting it seems

[ew-selfish-art]

DP x DC AU: Bruce is the one to invite Constantine over, and no, it's not to improve his tenuous working relationship with the asshole. It's the opposite of that.

---

Danny had become a frequent visitor of Wayne Manor in the last few months, and Bruce had to admit that while the kid was certainly a bit ominous for his liking for a partner to Tim, he was a generally kind and happy soul. They'd been dating for a lot longer than the Bats knew of- Kon had been the one to let it slip to Jon who told Damian and so on- and since the relationship was no longer secret, Tim brings him to family functions.

The thing about Danny is... He's dead. More than half of the time. Which again, is not Ideal for Bruce's wishes for Tim's future husband, but it also means that he reviles in being alive. Danny is downright joyous about using his time left on earth properly. He makes Tim eat real food, enjoy real sleep and generally live a more fulfilled life than he had been. The whole family noticed the changes in Tim, and it made them like Danny even more.

So after a particularly grueling day of dealing with Trigon and therefore the JLD's lack of coordination and sensible planning- Bruce gets the idea. John couldn't fucking contain himself admonishing Bruce, and perhaps it was vindictive, but Bruce figures that John should meet Danny. Sans context of course.

...

John is really over dealing with Batman's prissy, over complicated and perfectionist attitude. Come to the Cave he'd demanded, as though John didn't have a favorite bar to get back to, deal with a ghost he ordered like John didn't have other priorities than some random shade.

When walking into the space however, the second his teleportation portal closed, John knew something was deeply, deeply fucked. The shadows were growing longer, the second hand on his watch ticked slower, the air smelled of sulfur and... Red Robin was sitting working at the computer like nothing was wrong. But what was wrong, was the kid was marked by The End. Marked by The Infinite. FUCK.

John knew Death, the Endless, and knew she could pick favorites just like her siblings (Dream's immortal drinking buddy comes to mind). But this wasn't her work, this was something other.

"Mate- the Bat said there was a ghost?" John feels like he might throw up, the eerie atmosphere complicating what should have been a simple request.

"Uh, obviously." The kid didn't even look over from his screen or pause his typing.

John slowly approached, looking over each shoulder a few times, turning in a few circles as the shadows appeared to dance and echo within the cave. He could see his breath, the air became so cold so suddenly. And then, with the gentleness of a pin drop, a new agonizing sound appeared with a Kid walking down the cave stairs. The aura of the room turned dark, every cell in John's body screaming to run, that this was basically the little girl from the ring crawling through the TV as the young man walked down the steps.

"Babe, your grampa says that dinners going to be ready in a second. Oh, uh, hey dude." The creature speaks, turning his eyes to John for only a moment to study him. It feels equivalent to a butterfly being pinned by its wings.

"Y-y-you, you're, you're one of the Endless?" John stutters, his body reacting in fear despite the nonchalant posture of the Beast. The young man rolls his eyes.

"Nah, one of the Ancients but like uh, I'm new in town. And hon seriously don't be late, A made tiramisu for dessert and you're not allowed to have any if you're late and I don't want to deal with you pouting."

"You had me at Tiramisu!" Red stands up from his computer and then turns, "John, what are you doing here again?" Red Robin finally looks over at him, completely confused.

"Just leaving." John mutters, his eyes still trained on the ANCIENT.

---

Bruce could barely hide his laugh when Tim reported the Magician meeting Danny in the cave.

That'll show the asshole to question Batman's knowledge of the occult.

[stxrvel]

the outbreak pt. 2

summary: you've kinda been into therapy and turns out it worked?

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

words: +4k

warnings: nothing really, i think. this is actually kinda fluffly. i was in a good mood.

note: i didn't planned on publishing the second part so soon, but i had a lot of free time and a mind running wild. still didn't liked that much how this chapter turned out tho. hoping i could make another part to see what happened to my girl wanda! see you guys in the next fic, love yall. the feedback is always appreciated! thank u for reading.

(if a part 3 never appears, just know this is an open ending)

part 1, extra: 1.5

“So, how've you been doing these past few weeks?”

“You don't have to make small talk to me, Natasha. I enjoy the silence.”

“I ask genuinely. I barely even see you in the halls of the Complex. We only really talk on missions and we've had three since that happened.”

“Don't worry about me.”

“I just want to know how you're doing.”

You turned your head to look at the woman sitting next to you. The uncomfortable leather chair you two were in did nothing to appease the constant headache you'd been having these past few days. Natasha watched you with an arched eyebrow and her hands in her lap. You knew she was right, everyone was always right when it came to you. Apparently Bucky was right when he said everyone knew but you, and that spectrum extended to everyone always seemed to know how you were doing if only by the movement of your eyelids.

That's why you had begun to avoid people.

You spent more time in your room and in the Complex gym, doing research assignments for Fury that involved leaving the building, the three missions with Natasha (fully mandatory and against your will) and sometimes in the lab with Bruce when he needed someone to hold his canisters full of chemical liquids.

Fury and Bruce were the only people you tolerated lately. No funny looks, no awkward questions, no innuendo; just what they needed and goodbye.

But, that time, you did have to go out with Natasha. You weren't given the option to come on your own and it was understandable. A little bit. Even though you were trying to make amends for what you had done, not only on the mission a few months ago but also for what you had done to yourself for years, you didn't know that recovery meant you had to have a watcher on you at all times.

And what's worse, that watchman came with a bird.

“I'm fine, Nat,” you replied to her liking finally.

A short laugh from across the room caught your attention.

“Tell that to the tantrum you threw Fury so we wouldn't come with you.”

You gave Clint Barton a hard look, almost lying on the other longer couch as if he were admiring the earth from a cloud. He had one arm over his eyes which he had raised slightly to give you a mocking look, and one leg bent so that his foot was on the couch.

“I didn't throw a tantrum.”

“Fury, please, I know how to take care of myself. I don't need two bodyguards behind me all day. I'm fully capable of getting there and back on my own.”

Clint's poor imitation of your voice caused you an undercurrent of irritation, but you easily made the decision not to let it come out against him. It turns out that sometimes you could just shut up instead of exploding against others, crazy, right?

“First, I don't talk like that.”

“That's right. Lousy imitation, Clint,” Natasha had your back.

“Second, I only asked him once to let me come alone. I didn't beg him like a fool.”

“Sam told me otherwise,” Clint countered and you frowned. You felt the smile on his mouth.

“Sam's an idiot.”

“Sam's on Bucky's side,” Natasha mused.

And then, an awkward silence.

That was something you hated and still couldn't get used to. When people would say Bucky's name around you, the atmosphere would get strangely tense and suddenly everyone would go silent. It felt strange at first, but when Wanda did it you understood what was going on.

“Stop doing that,” you grumbled with a grimace. “I'm not fucking marble. I'm not going to crack from hearing his name.”

“We didn't say anything,” Natasha spoke again, her innocent little dove expression getting on your nerves.

Count to ten, Y/N, don't forget…

“You guys always go silent after you say his name like he's going to spontaneously explode. We're adults, you know? There are things to get over.”

“Wow,” you heard Clint mutter.

“Shut up, bird.”

Clint made a negative, game-like sound when you gave an incorrect answer.

“Three points off. Natasha and Clint are in the lead,” the man snorted as he rose from his position on the couch. You couldn't do more than give him another look, waiting for him to evaporate into thin air.

Natasha stirred next to you looking around at her surroundings, the dark colors of the room almost absorbing all the natural light coming through the few windows that were in the building.

“You haven't talked to him yet?”

“No.”

“Do you plan to?”

“I don't know. Maybe not.”

“Why?” Clint inquired, suddenly more interested in the subject.

“Because I don't feel like I give a s-”

Clint made the sound again.

“Two points off.”

“Clint,” Natasha reproached him with her tone of voice and the aforementioned only flashed her a smile. “It's been several weeks since you were last together. And you've had a lot of improvement-”

“That's debatable.”

“… don't you feel ready to talk to him?” Natasha questioned, completely ignoring Clint's intrusion into the conversation, again.

“I really don't know,” you admitted. “She told me I'm on the right track too, but just the thought of seeing him again after all those things he said… that I said…”

You sighed. Your gaze focused on the dark floor, a bluish-green hidden behind a black carpet with red, the most horrible carpet you had ever seen in your life.

“It scares me. I don't think I can do it.”

The woman let out an affirmative sound from her throat and the room became silent once again.

You almost let your mind begin to wander into memories, conjuring up the times when you felt like you were on top of the world when you were really about to hit rock bottom. But you quickly focused on where you were and what you were going to do there.

You were going to pick up Wanda. You had wanted to do it alone because it had been several weeks since you had last seen her. The last thing you told her was that you were going on another mission with Bucky and that you hoped it wouldn't end as badly as the argument you had that half the building heard. After that, she left.

She had made the decision to come and talk to Stephen Strange and had told you a few days before you left on what would be your last (official) field mission. She left the Complex the day after you left and all you had heard from her since then was that she was fine, that Strange hadn't locked her in a dungeon and that she was learning many things about her magic, especially how to control it to have power in things like her dreams. You still didn't know what those lucid dreams she had been having for a while had been due to, but judging from the letter you had received yesterday where she asked you to go to the Sanctum Sanctorum, it looked like she had gotten some kind of response.

When you told Fury what you were going to do, he didn't hesitate for a second to say that he would ask the Wonder Duo to accompany you. Clearly you balked, not as many times as Sam and Clint implied, but you didn't expose any more complaints to the Director's authoritative voice.

So, there you three were. Waiting for the wizards to appear from somewhere as you waited in one of the most horribly decorated rooms you'd ever seen.

“Sorry for the delay.”

The new male voice that echoed in the room startled you. You cringed and turned your head every which way until you came upon Strange's figure standing at the entrance to the room, not far from where you three were standing. Natasha and Clint remained unperturbed and you suppressed your desire to complain about the intrusion. You were the only one who hadn't heard him coming, apparently.

“Y/N!” you heard Wanda's voice.

You shot up from the uncomfortable couch the moment you saw her emerge from behind Strange's body. Quickly, you met halfway and melted into a big hug. You shifted from side to side trying to keep your strength and tears held back because of how much you had missed her.

“You look great!” was what she said to you the moment you parted.

“Don't lie to her, Wanda,” Clint exclaimed, and shortly you heard Natasha hiss in his direction.

“I've had better days.”

“I can't believe the day is here already! You have to tell me everything. What happened on the mission? What happened with Bucky?”

Again, the unpleasant silence.

“Why are you two making those faces?”

Wanda was watching the Wonder Duo right behind you and you couldn't help but let out a big exhale.

You turned to look at the only person who really gave a damn about your life.

“Thanks for everything, Strange.”

The man nodded in your direction. “It was my pleasure. Hopefully everything will be better from now on.”

Wanda waved goodbye to him as you turned around and pointed the other two people in the room toward the exit.

The other goodbyes were short and you were soon finding yourselves exiting through one of the portals opened by Strange, where you met the entrance to the Complex head on.

“Ah, magic. It makes life so much simpler,” Clint commented before starting to walk in the direction of the common room.

Natasha had the decency to bid you farewell and followed the bird's path at a tight pace.

“I thought they were going to join us,” Wanda mused, watching their figures walk away.

“No, they were just my nannies.”

“Nannies?” you saw her frown.

You watched the grimace on her face and almost have the urge to ask Sam to come give her a rundown of what had happened in the last few weeks since that last mission, but you mentally pulled back and offered a small smile to the confused woman in front of you.

“We have a lot to talk about.”

---

“Have you eaten today?”

The haze that clouded your mind slowly disappeared, your head barely registering the movements your body made to stay conscious. The soles of your shoes were too hard for your liking and you'd had to go sit down while you waited for Wanda to return. You didn't know how long it had been since that, but it seemed to be long enough for Steve Rogers to approach the cafeteria table where you were sitting with a tray containing the day's food.

“You look like you could use some of this.”

The blond gently pushed the tray until it was on your side of the table, and the smell of beef stew didn't take long to reach your lungs. It smelled good, to be honest. You looked down at the food and moved your hands to grab the silverware.

“Thank you.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I'm just waiting for Wanda. She went to talk to Fury.”

“I saw her coming in. She said she had a lot of things to tell.”

“She told me exactly the same thing.”

“And did you get to talk about anything before she left?”

You glanced at the fork in your left hand before looking up and meeting Steve's unconcerned face. You had learned very quickly that it wasn't too hard to get to know the captain in your position as opposed to how unreachable he looked to the rest of the population. He was a rough and tough man, but he would do things like bring lunch to a female shipmate who had a blank stare and sit down and try to chat with her.

He was good. Steve was good.

But he wasn't sneaky.

“If you want to know the verdict, talk to Strange. He's a close friend of Tony's.”

The man only sighed, his shoulders slumping in time with his breathing as if he'd been in alert mode all day.

“I didn't mean to sound so…. opportunistic.”

You rolled your eyes.

“You didn't sound opportunistic, Steve, you're just bad at trying to hide your curiosity,” you expressed with a small smile, but the man didn't look convinced by your words. “She's fine. She looks fine. She sounds fine. Whatever they had done, talked about or practiced, it surely paid off. I don't think you have anything to worry about.”

“She looked really scared before she left. You didn't see her. She asked me several times to communicate with you because she didn't know if it was a good idea to do that anymore.”

“She asked you that?”

“Yes. But the mission was very delicate, we couldn't risk it.”

You nodded in your direction, your gaze wandering back over the food.

“I just want her to be okay,” Steve mumbled and you almost missed the way his face contracted. His blue eyes found yours. “She's been through too much throughout her life and now this. It's like a joke of the universe.”

“She'll be fine. She has us. If she needs strength, she'll have plenty.”

Steve smiled, and then you took your first bite of beef stew.

You grimaced.

The blond frowned.

“Was the smell better than the taste, again?”

You nodded with your mouth full. Your hands went to the glass of water in the corner of the tray and you didn't hesitate to down the meat with all the liquid in it. You were almost never lucky enough to taste good lunches in that cafeteria.

“FRIDAY,” you heard Steve say.

“Yes, Captain.”

“Can you order a 12-inch tuna Subway on whole wheat bread with all the vegetables except the bell peppers and olives, please.”

“Right away, Captain.”

“That wasn't necessary,” you turned to the man as his gaze focused on yours.

“You can't go without eating.”

“I would have been able to place the order.”

“Mmm, really?”

“Of course! Do you think I waste the opportunity to spend Tony's money every chance I get? Even, I would have ordered more.”

“Oh, seriously?” Steve had a mischievous grin on his face and you furrowed your brow at his strange expression. “FRIDAY, make it three.”

You half-opened your lips.

“Sure thing, Captain.”

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What's with the attitude? It's Tony's money, isn't it?”

You hadn't heard that kind of boldness from Steve very often, and when it happened it was a complete event to witness. The man was a stickler, everyone knew him that way. He didn't understand the word rest and most of his free moments were only used to keep reconsidering attack strategies. Steve wasn't one to let loose and go with the flow very often, but when he did it was something to be enjoyed.

“You know he doesn't mind, right?”

And the moment was over.

“No? I thought he still hated me from lying to him about the book.”

“Uhm…” Steve fumbled over his words and you were amused at the way his features scrunched up. “He doesn't hate you. He was just angry. Besides, it's been a long time, he probably doesn't even remember that.”

“I think he's going to remember that until he dies.”

“Steve.”

You froze in place.

Abort mission. Abort mission. 911. Mayday, mayday, mayday.

Steve looked over your shoulder and then back up at you, your eyes on the embroidery of his brown jacket. You tried to keep your expression composed and sent him a smile of assurance that even you couldn't believe. But you couldn't do anything else. You couldn't break down at that moment. Besides, he would most likely ask the blonde to come with him and Steve would go. You wouldn't really have to deal with anything.

“He's really coming,” you heard Steve mutter in your direction.

Your face scrunched up in confusion, and you watched his expression of poorly disguised panic. You had told Steve only once, days ago, that you weren't ready to talk to Bucky at all. And, apparently, he had made it his problem too.

“Are you busy?”

You heard Bucky so close that a shiver ran through your body. It had been weeks since you'd last heard his voice. On that mission.

“No, I was just talking to-”

“Captain.”

But what was this, the all-call-Steve-at-once festival?

You sank back in your seat when you recognized the Director's voice. If he was there, it meant Wanda must be coming with him, and judging by the contractions in Steve's face, going from confused to incredulous to dumbfounded to flushed, your friend was most likely waving him out of there.

“A word, please,” Fury spoke again, and Steve barely let a second pass before he sprung out of his chair like a spring. He gave you a look and you could almost see the apology written in his eyes.

“Buck, I'm sorry- I mean, wait here for me.”

“What?”

“I won't be late, I promise.”

“I can wait for you in the living room…”

“No,” Steve contradicted him sharply. You caught a glimpse of his stiff expression out of the corner of your eye. “Wait for me here, can you?”

You didn't hear an answer, but you guessed it was positive when you saw Steve's face a little more relaxed. He looked back at you and barely gave you a nod before he started walking toward the exit. You turned in your seat to see him, and barely caught a glimpse of Wanda's triumphant face before she hid behind the back of a naive Fury as she saw your gaze on hers.

That woman really had no idea…

The chair Steve was occupying shifted and Bucky appeared in your field of vision. He was looking anywhere in the cafeteria before he was looking at you. And well, that was good, it gave you time to analyze what you had missed in those weeks without any communication.

He clearly looked calmer. Even though you two were forcibly put in an uncomfortable situation, he didn't seem to mind too much. He looked a little tense, you could barely make out a twitch in his jaw, but other than that he was pretty relaxed.

You didn't know how to interpret that.

The last time you had thought about seeing Bucky again (which was that very morning when Natasha brought it up) you thought that one of you would run away without even a second's notice. It seemed that the only one too scared about that reunion was you. Surely Bucky hadn't thought about it for a single moment since the last time you were face to face.

And his hair. He had cut his hair much shorter than last time. Its ends were directed to the ceiling and you could no longer mess it up if you ran your hands through it. It would rearrange itself in seconds. His eyes were still the same, clear and bright as the clear sky, his expression just as stoic and unperturbed, his body leaning slightly to one side with his hands clasped in his lap. Almost everything about him remained the same except for his hair.

And except he couldn't look you in the eye.

You looked down where the tray with the stew was still intact. You didn't have anything else to distract you with so you grabbed a vegetable and popped it in your mouth.

Turning your head away, you missed Bucky's gaze on your face analyzing the grimace of disgust you were trying to hide.

You swallowed hard and grabbed the water bottle so that it almost slipped through your hands. It was empty.

You almost threw up on yourself.

“Are you okay?”

You met his gaze and froze. His wary eyes were on your face.

“Yeah.”

“Doesn't look like that food is good.”

“Because it isn't.”

You shook your head and pushed the tray away from your personal space once and for all.

“Why don't you order something else?”

“Steve already ordered me something.”

“Oh.”

And silence.

You usually enjoyed the quiet moments, when no sound flooded the surroundings other than your own breathing and the ramblings in your head. You could really enjoy your solitude and the quiet it brought with it. But this silence didn't come with solitude, it came with tension, strain, uncertainty.

You didn't know if you felt you should say something or if you felt you should run away. If you stayed you didn't know what to say to him and if you left you didn't know under what excuse.

Bucky's light eyes met yours again after wandering his gaze for a while around the room.

“Wanda's back,” was what he said.

You nodded.

“We came with her this morning.”

“Yes, Steve told me.”

“We don't have to do this, you know.”

His neutral expression turned chaotic for a moment. Then he went back to being unflappable as if nothing.

“We don't have to do what?”

“This. Talk like it's nothing. It's awkward.”

“Ah. You find it awkward?”

You furrowed your brow at his genuine curiosity. For a moment you thought he was being sarcastic, but his eyes detailed your expression intently, waiting for an answer.

“Don't you?”

“Why should I?”

“Can you stop answering with questions, please.”

Bucky averted his gaze. He repeatedly ran his hands over his jeans.

“I'm sorry. If it makes you uncomfortable I'll keep quiet.”

“Still, you don't answer my question.”

“It's not awkward for me,” he finally said, his slightly tilted head pointed in your direction. “It's just normal small talk. Between two people.”

You hummed a nod and your head moved in sync.

“It's easier for you to pretend nothing happened.”

Bucky shook his head, attentive. He narrowed his eyes and it didn't go unnoticed the way you tensed your shoulders as the words left your mouth.

“I never said that.”

“It's just what I can glimpse.”

“What you think you see is not true. I'm not trying to feign insanity.”

“Oh, yeah. I forgot you're an expert at knowing what I think,” the words left you before you could process them and give them the proper filter, and you were sure Bucky had noticed the way your composure wavered for barely a second. If he had, he chose to ignore it.

You saw him twist his lips and lower his gaze, as if he suddenly felt distressed even though he wasn't the one who should be worried about something like that.

“You're angry.”

“And why would I be, according to you?”

“Maybe you were expecting a different reaction from me. You don't like what I'm giving you.”

You let out a laugh. “I never thought arrogant was your type.”

Bucky took in your gesture and mimicked it. Seeing a smile on his face after so long brought back images you thought you had sent far out into the ocean of your mind. Maybe you didn't feel your heart racing as it had so many times before, but you definitely felt something different from the fear and dismay that normally accompanied his memory. Even though you didn't want to accept it, you couldn't help but stretch a little towards that new sensation.

“I was joking. I have no idea why you're mad.”

The small smile on your face disappeared, and you allowed your head to wander down the paths of self-healing and self-improvement. Perhaps it was situations like these that your therapist always referred to. Stealthy confrontations that you usually used to avoid like rain, were the perfect moments to divulge a kind of self-reflection and improvement. To, perhaps, make known the emotions and thoughts you used to suppress and keep to yourself, the reason you had ended up that way to begin with. That was supposed to be what people normally did, to talk about their feelings…

So you just let it out.

“I'm not angry. I think I feel… embarrassed.”

“Embarrassed about what?” Bucky cocked his head to one side, his eyes scrutinizing your face as if trying to figure out if you were being serious or not.

“For confronting you.”

“Me?”

“Yes, Bucky. Here's to having you face me and confirming once again that you were right,” you rolled your eyes and took the moment to look anywhere in the cafeteria but into the blue eyes that wouldn't leave yours. “You were always right, I guess. No one else stood up to me like you did and I still lied to you looking you in the eye, wouldn't you feel the same way?”

The movement he made as he shrugged his shoulders drew your gaze, and met you with such a frightening familiarity that you felt old memories and feelings creeping up from the back of your mind to return to the surface. His calm gaze and tension-free body was what you had always been used to, and at that moment it was what you were seeing.

You didn't know how much you missed him until you saw it again.

“It's possible, yes.”

“The point is, knowing that doesn't make it any less complicated. In fact, it's a little harder to cope with. Being aware of the embarrassment… makes you more embarrassed.”

Bucky let out a short laugh. Your gaze didn't leave the way his corners turned up and then how his shoulders moved and his chest contracted in sync with that laugh. You hadn't noticed until that moment the change in the atmosphere around the two of you, much lighter and cozier, not at all hostile and toxic compared to the last few times you were together after the argument.

Mmm, maybe you were liking all that stuff about therapy. To be honest, up until that point you had discerned very few results, although some were quite important. Like, for example, you were able to keep your mind clear of self-destructive thoughts for longer, or that you could look at your past actions and reflect on them, determining clearly what things you were doing wrong and why it was wrong to do them. And there were many, many of them. Not just with the people around you, but more so with yourself.

However, in that moment, having Bucky in front of you and having been able to not only carry on a conversation for more than a minute with him, but also having been able to admit to him how you had felt and show true regret for what happened, you were able to understand that the change was much bigger than you had initially sized it up to be.

“It's serious. It complicates the process for me. That's why I didn't want to see you.”

He nodded without wiping the smile off his face. You could sense the understanding emanating through his gaze and, by the way he straightened his body, you knew he was going to give voice to the thoughts going through his head. Bucky usually kept his opinion of people to himself, he wasn't one to go around highlighting qualities in others unless he was asked or it was necessary for him to say so. Because of this, you could learn to tell when he was going to keep quiet about it and when he was willing to let it all out.

“Still, if it makes you feel any better, I can see you've come too far. Six months ago you wouldn't have said that to my face. I probably would have heard it from Sam who heard it from Clint when he eavesdropped on some conversation of yours with Wanda.”

You were really glad about what he just said, but…. what the fuck?

“Clint eavesdrops on our conversations?”

Bucky went blank. His features froze and the tension emanating from his body enveloped you both.

“Well… I only heard it once. Clint had said he'd upgraded the device for his hearing and was hearing three times as many things as he should. Among those things, he could hear you talking to Wanda in the next room.”

“I don't believe it.”

“There's nothing to tell you for sure that he did it again.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“Mmm, two years, I think.”

“Did he ever say anything to you?”

Bucky didn't answer for a few seconds, his gaze seemed lost in yours, with a solidity and strength too forceful for your tolerance. You suspected the answer was positive, but received the opposite.

“He only told me what had happened. He never told me if he understood anything he heard.”

“Uhm, you're good at getting out of tight spots.”

He gave you another one of those smiles that felt like home.

“I've had years to practice.”

The silence that followed his words was much more welcoming than before. You seemed to be able to move around the masses of air so freely that all the tension in your body could disappear in a gentle breeze.

“I'm sorry this was uncomfortable for you, but it was good to see you. And hearing you.”

“It wasn't that uncomfortable.”

“You're squeezing your legs under the table.”

You looked down, surprised, though you shouldn't be. Bucky had always been good at reading your body language. It was almost like it was his way of communicating. And yes, you were.

“You rocked from side to side. Your hands never stopped clenching in your lap. You were uncomfortable.”

“Still, I don't regret what I said.”

“I know.”

“Good.”

“Good.”

You had a duel of glances and you longed for that comfort you had been missing for so long. During those almost seven months of barely seeing him and not speaking to him, you had learned to appreciate the little moments in life. And you were surprised to think that before you thought you were living your life as you were doing at that moment, the present, but you were not. You learned the cruel difference between existing and living, and it wasn't hard for you to deduce why you had had such complicated moments in your life some time before.

You had never lived anything. You went through your life as a tourist and many times you weren't even in the picture. You tried so hard and constantly to convince yourself otherwise every day that it ended up tiring you out emotionally, and in the process taking everything out on the one person who tried to reach out to help you.

“Buck!” Steve's exclamation echoed throughout the cafeteria, just on time.

You turned to see him in the doorway, his raised hand gesturing for the man in front of you to follow him. Bucky stood up, but didn't leave before turning a glance at you with a warm smile worthy of summer.

“I hope to keep hearing from you more often.”

“We'll see if you're worth it.”

[winterlynightlystories]

��Another way out”

Tw; spoiler for Age of Ultron I guess

Do not steal my work please

Tony/Villain Male reader

Summary; After the Ultron catastrophe, everybody turns against Tony. No one listens to him and soon the hero feels trapped. Until an old enemy unexpectedly offers him a hand.

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The tower was silent and Tony Stark hated it. It was his fault, he could not deny it. He had fuck up. Now hundreds of people had died, and a whole town had been whipped out. His greatest creation had turned into a nightmare. Ultron should have stayed an impossible dream. Not an actual project.

The worse was probably the fact no one wanted to talk to him. Pepper was long gone before he was home and the team separated the second they landed. No goodbye, not a single word. It didn't matter if he took all the blame if he already called to pay everything to rebuild the town or heal the wounded. They refused to look or talk to him.

Of course, the journalists and news channels were having the time of their life! Tony Stark had, again, done something horrible.

With a bottle of bourbon in hand, Tony walked down his lab. Jarvis was gone and he needed to work on Friday, even if he didn't have the heart to do so.

Manually opening the lights, Tony froze. Something was wrong. Yet, the genius couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. Everything was in its place. But the atmosphere was wrong. It felt as if someone had come and gone without him noticing. It was impossible; only he had the code to come down.

Tony almost dropped his bottle when he saw you sitting behind his computer, a smirk on your lips. Cursing, Tony searched for anything he could use against you, but you had made sure there was nothing that could harm you. Out of ideas, Tony brandished his bottle, ready to throw it at you.

- “Really, Tony?” you asked, your voice surprisingly soft. “I come to talk, and you, you want to hurt me?”

- “Shut up! How the hell are you alive?” hissed Tony, wondering how he could walk out of this mess.

Of course one of his greatest enemies would show up when he was alone, without anyone to call in backup. It has been a while since you two had an altercation. To be honest, Tony thought Natasha had killed you when she shot you. He had been so angry he had tried to punch her. Of course, his fist never touched her and only made the situation worse.

You weren't as brilliant as him, but you were one of the best inventors he knew. He had seen you build or create things with barely anything for the base. He both loved and hated fighting you. You challenged his brain, but also his heart and morals.

While a part of him was happy you weren't being eaten by fish, Tony wondered what you had in mind for him. No way you wouldn't seek revenge against him!

But you surprised him again by laughing. It took Tony off guard. Of all the possible reactions you could have, laughing at him was the one he had imagined. Calming himself, Tony stared at you. You wore black leather clothes and the musky smell of your cologne reached his nose. He couldn't see your gun but knew you at it somewhere. You seemed also pretty relaxed.

Not a surprise.

- “Really Tony. If I had wanted you dead, you and your little friends wouldn't have landed. But I don't want you dead.”

- “And what do you want from me? A hug? A thank you card?” asked Tony, still not lowering his improvised weapon. “I saw you get shot by Natasha and fall from that cliff. How the hell are you not dead?”

- “Tony... Tony... You should know by now; no corpse, then not dead!” you replied happily. “As to how I had myself covered against her little toys.”

- “Then what do you want from me?” asked Tony, dropping the bottle on the table before sitting next to it.

- “I told you. I came to talk.” you repeated. “I saw everything on the news and wanted to come and see by myself how you were doing. Not great should I say.”

Tony said nothing and opened his bottle. Of course, he wasn't doing fine, he didn't need you to point it out.

- “Now that you saw how miserable I am, can you go away? I'm trying to get drunk here.”

- “No, I don't think so.”

You came to sit next to him and Tony ignored you, drinking from the bottle. You didn't stop him or even tried to take it away, but the genius did keep an eye on you.

- “Tony, you and I have been through a lot together. We have fought and laughed and cried. You even cursed and blasted me through a wall once. We do know each other well enough, dare I say. So let me ask you this; why are you still with them?”

Tony turned his head toward you and stared, unsure of what to answer. He didn't need to ask who you were talking about. The Avengers. You always bothered him with that. Why? Because when Loki came and fucked the shit up, he had no choice. Yet, even when everything was over, he didn't leave. Even if he wasn't good at teamwork or listening to others, he stayed with them.

Why?

- “Honestly buttercup, I don't know.” he sighed, finishing his bottle.

The alcohol was barely affecting him and Tony cursed Pepper. She must have changed all his liquors for something weaker.

- “Then what are you doing with them?”

Again, there was no answer to that. Besides saving people? Nothing.

- “You are giving them everything you have, Tony. Your money, your life and more importantly, your brain and trust. What are they giving you?”

Tony kept quiet, too busy finishing his bottle. He wanted nothing more than to smash it against your head and beats you with it. But you were saying the truth. Forcing it in his face.

Like always.

That's probably why Natasha shot you that day.

- “Nothing” he finally answered, feeling his eyes filling with tears. “Nothing at all.”

- “Then leave them” you replied, drying one of his tears with your thumb. “Tony, you deserve better. “

- “Yeah, no. I deserve worse.” he chuckled before you slapped him behind the head.

- “I'm serious Tony.”

You sighed and lay down on the table, crossing your arms under your head.

- “I didn't just come to check on you, to be honest. I also want to offer you a partnership.”

- “Are you fucking kidding me? Me? Joining a villain?” snapped Tony. “The world might turn its back to me, but I will never...”

- “That's not what I mean so calm your tits.” you interrupted him “I and other have noticed the shift in the world. There are more and more villains on Earth, but the worse threats are coming from either space or other worlds. We are not prepared for when Thanos comes back. You also know he will be back. So, my accomplices and I have started our little Club for Earth Defence and we want you with us Tony.”

- “Excuse me?” blurted Tony

- “Yeah, I know. Not quite the arrangement I expected of my lifestyle, but here we are!” you chuckled as you sat back, petting him in the back. “You were there Tony, in space. You saw it firsthand and fought those aliens. We want your expertise on them and help. We all left our old life behind and faked our death so we can focus on that. Of course, we are not asking you to do the same. But if you join us, it would be better for you to stay away from the S.H.I.L.D. and the Avengers. You could go back solo!”

Of all the possibilities, never Tony had expected you to come up with all that. It made so much sense now why you were pissing off Natasha so much; you were trying to get shot! And there as been many suicides and accidents lately in the scientific community.

It has been under his nose all that time!

- “And if I accept, how do I contact you?” he asked

- “For now? With that number. I'm sure you will find a more practical way to do so” you said, giving him a card.

- “You’re serious? C.E.D?” you asked in disbelief

- “Told you we named ourselves Club for Earth Defence!” you laughed, jumping off the table. “ Hope you gave us a call soon, Tony. It was good seeing you again.”

Tony watched you walk toward the stairs, hands in your pockets.

- “It was good to see you too, Y/N.” he finally said before you took the stairs.

You gave him one last smile and left. In his chest, Tony felt his heart race. Joy, fear, confusion... There were so many feelings he felt at that second. But the best one was hope. Because he wasn't alone anymore. There were more people ready to do anything to protect their world and know it was coming.

Starting at the card, Tony scoffed. Yeah, once he had made the calls to leave the Avengers and the S.H.I.L.D. he would work on a better name for the club.

[dsireland86]

There is Beauty in the Pain

CHAPTER 3 PT.1

***Warnings: angst, mentions of abuse

Summary: Noah and Sophie find each other in the most unprecedented circumstances. Whether it's the Universe, fate, destiny, or pure luck, they can't deny that their souls were simply meant to be

***If you want to be added to the tag list, let me know :)***

TAGS: @nyxthedestroyerofworlds @missduffsblog

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Revised and updated chapter

--Link to Chapter 3 Pt 2 at the bottom--

Noah:

A text came through my phone. I wanted to ignore it but I knew the shit I would get from doing that wouldn't be worth it. It was Jolly. He sent me the address to the bar a few blocks from the venue Matt told me about before I left. Every one was there and wondering where I was. I rolled my eyes and groaned. I wasn't in the mood to party. I just wanted to be alone.

Another text came in this time from Matt telling me the same thing. Shit. So much for being alone. I clicked on the address then on the directions, and started walking towards the bar.

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"You know, if you frown any harder your face might stay that way."

Folio cracked open the beer in his hand and slid it to me and sat down.

"Still thinking about that girl?" 

I nodded, taking a sip of the beer.

"Sucks you didn't get the chance to meet her like you wanted." 

I shrugged.  

"It is what it is, Folio. There's nothing I can do about it now is there?" I sighed sitting back in the chair.

"Very true. Still, I wish I could have seen how pretty she was. You don't confess a woman's beauty often, Noah, but when you do, you're always right." Folio took a sip of his beer, sitting the bottle down gently. "Always?" I raised an eyebrow. "Hey Sarah may have been fucking crazy, but she was hot as hell. Sorry, I don't mean to bring up old shit, but she was." I shook my head, taking another sip from my drink. "Don't apologize, Folio. You're right, she was hot. Bat shit crazy, but hot." He and I exchanged laughs as Jolly joined us, taking the vacant seat next to Folio, crossing one leg over the other and tossing his hands behind his head and clearing his throat.

I rolled my eyes to show I wasn't in the mood to play his game. 

"Alright, lets hear it. Lay it out, Jolly, I'm waiting." I crossed my arms over my chest, noticing his cheeky expression.

"I got nothing," he admitted, shaking his head. "What makes you think I do?" The corners of his mouth turned up.

"Uh, your face. What, you want to say how stupid I was for letting my emotions get to me? How I should have remembered the last time I fell for a girl who was a fan and how terribly fucked up it turned out?" Jolly held up a finger, signaling me to stop. "To be fair, Sarah also worked for us, so technically she wasn't just a fan." "Fair point," Folio threw in. "Ha! Not like she was the best at her job. Bitch flirted with every love-sick bastard that showed up at the merch tables, even after we started dating." Running a hand through my hair, I picked up my beer and took a long drink, relishing the coolness as I swallowed it.

"Look," I muttered, annoyed with how this conversation was going. I set the bottle down a little harder than I meant to. "Can we please just stop fucking talking about Sarah, please? I mean she's been mentioned more times tonight that any other time since we ended things. It's fucking depressing me. What does she have to do with the girl from the concert anyway?" My eyes shifted between Folio and Jolly, who sat across from me silent. "Whatever. Just don't talk about her anymore, okay?" They both agreed, and thankfully changed the conversation.

After a few hours and a lot more beers, the atmosphere of the place had relaxed and everyone seemed chilled, compared to the tight, tensioned environment of the last eight weeks. I had to admit it was a nice distraction and it felt really good to just sit and not have anything work related to think about, but my mind wouldn't let up on the constant thinking of that girl and all of the what if's and could have happened if only she and I had met. As my sight drifted around the bar, watching everyone laugh and have a good time, I could only think about her beautiful face and the little things about it I could remember; the shape of her nose, the curve of her lips, the brightness of her eyes. I closed my eyes, thinking about kissing her, tasting her, feeling her body squirm beneath my fingers, and wondering what turned her on or what got her excited. I thought about how hard she made me in that one particular moment standing in front of her and how her cheeks reddened, making me smile. God, I was so fucked for her and if someone asked me to do anything for one moment with her, I would gladly do it.

If I was going to get through this night with my sanity in tacked, then I needed something stronger. I went up to the bar and asked for a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass, taking it back to the table and throwing myself back into my chair. I poured a little of the amber liquid into the glass, raising it to my lips.

"Noah, the fuck, dude? Since when did you start drinking whiskey again?" Nicholas stared at me, eyes wide and mouth opened.

"What," I said defensively, shrugging my shoulders and throwing back the shot. It burned, but I welcomed the feeling, hoping it would mask the memory of her at least for a little while.

"Are you trying to get hammered?" Nick's tone made me groan.

"So what if I am? I don't have any responsibilities right now. We managed to pull off another sold-out, successful tour, and," I said, raising my glass with another shot, "I didn't lose my voice this time." I gave him a sarcastic grin, throwing it back and wincing as it went down. Besides," I continued, laying back against the chair with my arms folded tightly across my chest again, "I have thoughts I need to drown out." I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and waited for the whiskey to kick in.

"Noah, are you pouting?"

"What? No!" scoffing, raising my head to look at him.

"Why the whiskey then? Huh? Is this about a blue hoodie girl?"

"Go away, Nick," I mumbled. "Leave me alone."

"That's not happening. Talk to me man," he pleaded, sitting down next to me.

I shook my head. "It doesn't matter anymore, Nick. What I wanted is never going to happen. She left, or got lost, or what the fuck ever, and I'm left with just these messy feelings I don't know what to do with." He sighed, folding his hands together and rested his chin on them. "I get it. I'm sorry, Noah. But just slow down on the liquor. You remember the last time whiskey was you go to choice for a heartbreak." I filled the shot glass and took my third shot, frustrated that the past was brought up again.

Jolly walked over and snatched the bottle off the table. "Alright party boy, slow the fuck down before I have to pick your ass up off the floor." "Hey! Give it back Jolly! Give me back the fucking bottle!" I jumped up from my chair, reaching for it. He shook his head. "Noah, I will fucking punch you if I have to," he threatened. I backed off, shooting daggers at him with my eyes. "Noah, we get you're upset man, but you know this isn't the right way to deal with it. You know what happened last time. Don't put yourself or us through that shit again." "That was different!" "Yeah, how so? Huh? You were hurting then and you're hurting now; we get it. But this," he said, shaking the bottle, "this isn't going to fix anything. It's only going to make everything worse."

Jolly was right, and I knew it, but would never admit it because I was a prideful asshole. Folio handed me a bottle of water which I accepted, suddenly feeling a little light-headed and dizzy. I was a fucking lightweight when it came to drinking and should have known how quickly the liquor would hit me. Opening the bottle, I guzzled down its entire contents, hydrating myself to try and get the intoxication under control. Sitting back down at the table, I laid my head down on my arms, closing my eyes. My head was spinning and the voices around me started blurring together. Instead of fighting it, I succumbed to the whiskey, letting it drag me away from reality.

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The banging was relentless. It echoed through my ears making the pounding in my ears worse. I awoke and tried to focus on the room around me, thankful it wasn't spinning as bad as I was expecting, as the banging continued. I slowly got up, bracing myself for a second against the table to gain my balance, then proceeded over to where Nick and Matt were sitting.

"Who wants to make a bet, that's a bunch of crazy ass girls who found out we were here," Folio hollered from somewhere in the back of the bar. I looked around, finding him in the back corner playing pool with Jolly, and Bryan. 

"Okay, okay, I hear you," Alex, the owner of the bar hollered. He tossed his cleaning towel down and walked over to the front door, peering through the closed blind. "Alex, please let me in; it's Sophie," begged a voice on the other side. "Please open the door. Something happened and I really need your help."

Nick, Matt, and I exchanged concerned looks, all of us walking closer to the front to see what was going on as Alex quickly unlocked the door and opened it. "Sophie, oh my god, what happened," Alex gasped, pulling a blue hoodie figure of the girl inside and shutting the door behind her. I instantly froze. There, standing right before me was the girl I'd been pinning over all night, looking like she had the shit beat of her.

"Fucking hell, Sophie!" Alex cried, taking her face between his thumb and finger, turning her head slowly to investigate her wounds. Her eyes landed on me and her mouth fell open. The bruises covering her face made me cringe and the partially dried blood from the open wounds on her cheek bones and mouth stirred the scattered, intense emotions running through me.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered, still in shock. "I could ask you the same thing," I replied quietly. Alex looked at Sophie and then to me, confused. "You two know each other?" Sophie snapped her attention back to him, throwing her arms around his torso and planting her face in his chest. She began to cry, sobbing against Alex's shirt as her body violently shook. Wrapping his arms around her and holding her close, Alex consoled her. He kissed the top of her head, gently caressing her neck. My heart felt crushed at thinking the two of them were together. Of course they were, how could a girl as beautiful as Sophie not be taken. But what the hell had happened to her?

"Alex, what happened to her?" Matt asked. Alex shook his head, but from the look on his face, I think he had a good idea.

"Uhhh, Noah, that girl's wearing a blue hoodie; the same hoodie..." "I know Folio. It's her," I muttered without taking my eyes off Sophie.

"Soph, can you tell me what happened? Is this what I think it is?" Alex was calm, as if he'd been through this before with her. That thought was a little unsettling. "Do you want to sit down? You're shaking." But Sophie shook her head, only squeezed him tighter and continued crying. "Sophie, talk to me. Tell me what happened?"

I couldn't get past the fact she was actually here in front of my eyes. But the version I was looking at wasn't the version I met back at the concert. Sophie had been abused and possibly.... no, I wouldn't let my mind go that far. Something traumatic happened to Sophie between the time she left the concert until now and it was eating away at me not knowing what it was.

Sophie's breathing suddenly became short. She started gasping as if her airwaves were cut off, removing her arms from around Alex to grip his arms instead as she bent over to the floor trying to breath. "It's okay Soph, just breath, baby. You're okay. Just deep breaths," Alex encouraged her. Sophie was having a panic attack, something I was very familiar with myself. They were horrible and could make you feel like you were going to die from not being able to catch your breath. As Sophie continued to hyperventilate, I thought about what I could do to help. Really I just wanted to be near her even despite the circumstances.

Almost as if Alex could read my mind, he beckoned me over. "Stay here with her while I go get some stuff to help her out." I nodded, taking a spot next to her on the floor. I laid my hand gently on her back and ran it slowly up and down. "Breath, Sophie. Take a deep breath," I instructed. "I know how you're feeling. I used to get them all the time too. It's hard, but you can do it, you can get through it." Sophie's breathing began to slow. Her body was still shaking, but not as bad and her crying had ceased. I continued to caress her back, staying right beside her. Her hand began to search for something and I thought it was for Alex. "He went to get some things for you," I told her. She shook her head, reaching for me, so I gave her my hand. She took it, wrapping her cold, smaller one around it and locking her fingers around mine. That same electric feeling from before shot through me and I knew she felt it too when she looked up at me.

"Here," Alex said, coming up behind me and handing me a warm cloth." I took it and began to carefully wipe her tear stained cheeks, trying to not apply any pressure especially around the bruising. Our eyes met. I smiled at her and watched the corners of her mouth slowly curve a little. "See, all better," I whispered. I kissed her forehead before standing up and allowing Alex to continue.

Folio was watching from behind me. His face was bleak, mouth set in a hard line. I'd never seen him like it before. "Folio, what is it?" I asked, coming over to him. He shook his head slowly. "Have you seen something like this before?" "Yeah," he answered flatly. My nostrils flared and I bit the inside of my cheek as all kinds of bad thoughts began to run through my head, making me overthink every worse case scenario.

Sophie eventually stood up with the help of Alex, grimacing each time she moved. There was more damage done to her than what was on the surface. I tried to not let my mind go to those dark places again, but I was in serious fear of finding out what happened to her. But thankfully, I didn't have to wait very long.

"Sophie, were you raped?" I quickly looked at Folio, wondering what the hell he was thinking asking her something so horrible so bluntly, but my eyes shifted over to Sophie who only stared at him disarmed at first and eyes wide with terror, before folding over again and loudly sobbing, painfully.

CHAPTER 3 PT.2

[eashmo]

7 minutes in hell, or is it heaven? Part 9

-I'm Here-

Warnings: smuty chapters, fluff, and lots of angst. Billy is a soft, mushy boy for y/n.

A/n: another long chapter! trying to find decent 80s dresses was a bitch because the fashion companies were going through it back then. 😆 also, I know Billy's outfit isn't prom ideal like a tux would be.

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*y/n pov*

"Hey shitbird you're riding in the back," Billy yelled at Max, who was starting to get in the front seat as we walked over.

"Hey y/n, your riding with us?" She asked.

"Indeed I am, kiddo," taking her into a quick hug.

"Awesome!" She happily says.

I smiled at her then to Billy, who was trying to hide a smile while he got in. During the ride, the atmosphere was quit, other than Max's Walkman blaring "running up that hill" by Kate Bush in her ears.

I whispered to him with a small laugh "Well so much for hiding the relationship for a bit. Couldn't wait until tonight."

He chuckles, "I'm actually glad it's out." He says as he places a hand on my thigh, giving it a squeeze.

"You guys are being too mushy. Just say love you always." Max fake gags.

"You told her?" Looking at him in disbelief.

"She sort of figured it out." He sheepishly says.

"Because I'm a genius," she laughs, taking off her headphones.

"Fuck off Maxine!" He snaps flicking her off.

I started to laugh at their step siblings antics, because I knew that Billy cared for Max deep down. He just doesn't know how to tell her that, tho. Pulling into my driveway.

"Thanks for the babe, see you tonight."

"Anytime princess, see you later."

*small moment at the mall*

Sitting with Nancy and Robin at the food court, I pushed my food around with my fork while Nancy talked away. I wanted to listen, but my mind was on Billy and prom.

'Y/n? Are you alive, sweetie?" Nancy asks.

I look up at her, "Yeah, sorry, kinda zoned out." I chuckled.

She laughs. "I was just asking, when did you and Hargrove finally make a move with one another."

"Literally last night, but we've been secretly been friends since the day after the incident at the gym. Sorry for not telling you guys."

"Really?! That's great, so are you finally going to tell us why his nose was broken?"

"I punched him because he was being a dick." I say which was sorta the truth.

"Well, color me impressed, I have noticed you been a bit ballsy lately since after the party." She chuckles.

" So you guys aren't mad that I never told you the truth about stuff between us?" I asked.

The girls shook their heads no. "we are kinda hurt that you couldn't come to us, but we also understand, I'm just glad you can finally say you're dating Hargrove because your daydreaming was quite sad this year." Robin says through a small laugh.

Scoffing "Oh piss of Ro-Ro" laughing with her.

"Honestly the way he looks at you seems like you have him wrapped around your fingers, it's actually really adorable how he looks at you, never thought I would see the day that he would actually obey someone." Nancy says.

Laughing, I shook my head in amusement.

"So what the hell are you planning on wearing? Leave it to us for doing this last minute." Robin says.

"I honestly don't know." I shrugged. Getting up, we headed to vaporwave for our dresses.

We tried on literally everything in the store, but nothing seemed right.

"Wait here, I think I know what you ladies need." The older female clerk says.

The clerk pulls out three beautiful dresses from the back room.

"Ladies, I think we officially found our dresses!" Nancy yells as we all jump up and down.

*time jump*

Standing in front of the mirror in my mirror, half put together. The reflection of the clock on my dresser reminded me that I was running out of time to get ready. Breaking eye contact with myself, I reached over and took the dress out of the bag.

"Come on, y/n," I breathed nervously . I stepped into the dress, slipping on my heels. All that was left was the zipper.

It was just Billy. I shouldn't be nervous. But I was going to prom with Billy Hargrove, the most beautiful man in the entire school, who is now my boyfriend. which was even hard to believe. It had taken us forever to even get to this point. We tiptoes around feeling this year.

Someone knocked on the front door, shaking me out of my mind. They let themselves in without waiting for an answer.

"Billy, is that you?" I called from my room.

"Yes, baby girl, it's me." A husky voice travels up the stairs.

"I'm almost done!"

He chuckles, "Take your time, beautiful."

Taking a big breath, I walk out of my room. Stopping at the top of the stairs. I notice Billy's head is down as his fingers fiddle with the corsage box. Clearing my throat, his head whipped up fast. "Fuck he's gorgeous" I thought as my eyes wander over him, he's wearing a leather jacket, a red button up that was barely buttoned, paired with jeans.

"W-wow y-you look absolutely amazing, baby girl." He stuttered a little.

"Did the famous Billy Hargrove just stutter?" I laughed.

"I take it back," he grumbles

Walking up to him, placing a hand on his chest. "Thank you, and you don't look half bad yourself." Moving my hand behind his neck, pulling him down for a kiss. A soft kiss. He pulls away with a smile, slipping the corsage onto my wrist. "Susan helped me with picking this out." He quickly says.

"I'm nervous......" I say quietly, "people are going to stare."

"Let them stare, but I'm nervous too, more so because I don't want to mess this up."

Giggling "love you dork."

"Love you too, nerd," he says, kissing my forehead.

"Do you mind zipping me up?" I asked as I turned my back to him. His fingers feathered by back until he reached the zipper, pulling it up swiftly.

"Are you ready, princess?" He asked, holding a hand out. Without hesitation, I nodded and took his hand.

*at prom*

We met up with Nancy and Robin in the school parking lot, along with Jonathan and Vickie. We chatted for a few minutes before heading in.

As we filed into the school gym, we all stared in amazement at how incredible the decorations looked. The gym was completely decked out with silver stars and streamers; it looked like the night sky. Seeing other classmates dancing to "take on me" by A-ha, genuinely enjoying the night. It was everything we could have imagined. With that, Nancy, Jonathan, Robin, and Vickie went running onto the dance floor.

"Let's get some food and drinks," Billy whispers in my ear.

Nodding, I follow him over to the refreshments table. Both of us grab food and drinks for us and everyone, we found a table that was near the dance floor.

"I can't believe I'm actually at a dance." Billy laughs a bit.

"Thank you for asking me and taking me. Since middle school, I've always wanted to experience a dance, especially with someone." I shyly say.

"Anything for you, princess." He smiles as he grabs my chin, looking up at him. I see how the lights made his blue eyes like sapphires, and his hair glows like a halo around his face. This man is literally going to be the death of me, I thought. He leans in, his lips hovering over mine, getting inpatient. I seal our lips together with desire.

Robin laughed at the both of us, "Christ, get a room, you two."

"You never know Buckley, we might." He jokes, earning a hand over his mouth.

*few minutes later*

"Now it's time for a slow song, so grab your special someone," the dj says over the speakers.

*"Right here waiting" by Richard Marx starts playing*

Billy got up from his seat. "may I have this dance?" He grins, holding out his hand.

"Yes, you may."taking his hand with a huge grin. Stopping in the middle of the dance floor, I was beginning to get embarrassed with everyone staring, my arms shakily wrapping around his neck, while his confidence ones slink around my waist, we begin to sway back and forth, I rested my head on his chest, my head under his chin, hearing his heartbeat I closed my eyes and savored the moment.

"Oh, can't you see it, baby? You've got me going crazy. Whenever you go, whatever you do, I will be right here waiting for you." He sings in my ear with the song.

Laughing "you are so cheesey."

He laughs with me, "You love it."

Looking at him, "indeed I do."

The song slowly ended. we made our way back to our groups table, and my friends were still on the floor together, I giggled at them, being weird to the song "You Spin me Round" by Dead or Alive. I saw Billy bobbing his head to the beat, which made me giggle harder.

"What?" He asked.

Smiling, "Nothing, I'll be right back. I'm going to the restroom."

"OK, princess." He says.

*few seconds in the bathroom*

While I was finishing up in the stall, I heard a group of girls come in, peering through the crack between the door. I saw that it was Anna, Veronica and Mary.

"Did you see how hot Billy looks tonight?" Veronica says.

"Oh, I definitely did. It's a shame he came with that ugly fat cow, I would be a much better date." Anna says as she checks herself out in the mirror.

"You know they are dating, right?" Mary sneered.

"They won't be for long when he sees me." Anna says as they cackled out the restroom.

My heart felt like it had been crushed into a million pieces. Tears were brimming were brimming my eyes. Letting out a long, shakey sigh, walking out of the restrooms, and going into the hallways. Walking through the empty corridors, the music gets quieter and quieter. Tonight was supposed to be the best night of my high school life, and it was turning into a nightmare because of my insecurities. Maybe I was having second thoughts about everything.

"Best night of our lives, my fucking ass." I mumbled to myself.

"Baby?" Billy voice broke the silence behind me, causing me to jump.

"B-Billy! Why are you here?"

"I saw you leaving the gym, princess. What's wrong?" He asks with concern in his voice. I threw my arms around him, pulling him close. He wraps his arms around me, I bury my face into the crook of his neck, and tears fall down my face.

"Baby girl, tell me what happened?" He asks again. Gently rubbing my back, pulling away enough so I could look into his eyes.

"How can you love someone like me? Someone that looks like me." I whisper.

"What?!"

"I overheard a few girls talking about me in the restroom. One of them wanted to steal you away because she prettier."

"Don't listen to those cunts, she will never be my type, she will never be you, you hear me?" He was getting angry.

"I love you y/n, you're stuck with my crazy annoying ass whether you like it or not."

Laughing through tears, "I love you too, I'm sorry for being insecure.

"It's ok baby, you know we don't have to go back in there if you don't want to, we can just go home, yeah? Get into bed, binge watch horror movies." He says calmly, hoping to sooth me.

I take a deep breath, "what about prom?"

"It's kinda overrated," he jokes.

Laughing "it kind is, isn't it?, let's go day goodbye to everyone."

Walking back into the gym, I was glued to his side. He noticed how I stared at a group of girls that were looking at us. "Were they the one?" He asks into my ear, shaking my head yes.

"Which one wanted me?" He asks, and I secretly pointed to Anna.

"Stay here, I'll take care of it." Was all he says as he walks to their table. Anna was smirking like she had won, but her smirk literally turned into a Shriek has billy poured her drink over head. He bent down to her ear.

"I wouldn't have looked at you if you were the last girl on earth, let alone touch you. You can never compete with y/n," he says loud enough for me to hear.

There was no denying that people were staring now, some even whispering. It started to make me nervous. He took me into his side again.

"You're amazing Hargrove you know that, right?" Grinning.

He chuckles. "I know, I try."

We looked into others' eyes. Everything was perfect. No one else around us mattered.

"You're cute." He winks , pulling me into a kiss, before being rudely interrupted by two people throwing their arms in between us. Pulling us back a bit.

"Jesus hargrove, you're heavy to move," Nancy says, struggling to move him. He chuckles at her.

I turn to Robin, who has me. "Didn't I tell you two to get a room!" She jokes again.

"Oh shut up," I joked back, slapping her shoulder lightly.

It really was a perfect end to a perfect night. What could top this?

Previous Chapter

Part 10

Masterlist

2023

[kmze]

Finally decided to do a TVD rewatch now that the 'verse is complete. Since I know how everything ends I thought it would be interesting to see how I react with that knowledge. Curious if my feelings might change about characters, ships, storylines etc. (obviously I am fully aware there's going some bias).

Adding my thoughts after I complete the half-way mark of each season (there is simply too many episodes to do a recap of each one). I am talking to the void mostly here but feel free to leave comments, thoughts on my posts for those who still follow me or just find this post. However, I am not here to argue, I simply DO NOT CARE whatever you think is right totally, please leave me alone.

Recaps tagged with k rewatches tvd

S1 Episodes 1-11

I am loving the dark atmosphere of the first season, feeling so much nostalgia! Nice to go back in time to when vampires were scary on this show. That's not really criticism because every supernatural show goes through this. The big bad must always be upped as it goes on but it was nice when the stakes were lower and the mythos was being developed.

Damon makes me feel so uncomfortable so far... I know he was the 'villian' for most of the beginning of the season but his treatment of Vicki and Caroline is just so predatory and gross. Which brings me to...

WHY HAS NO ONE GIVEN CAROLINE A GOD DAMN VERVAIN NECKLACE ALREADY!!! Stefan and Elena both know Damon was using her (and they know damn well he hasn't stopped). Her Mom has the vervain to give her and just has not for no reason!! GET AWAY FROM HER ALREADY! I got so mad when Damon was compelling her AGAIN in the 10th episode. I'm so glad she outlives them all, justice for my baby!

I'm sorry but Stefan is so creepy and self-righteous in the beginning, I remembered this but did not remember how bad it was. Also he did not need to kill Vicki, that pissed me off. I don't think it did as much when I first watch this (mind you that was literally 14+ years ago) but just knowing how freely everyone neck-snaps around here it was bullshit. His one cool moment remains when he told Logan he can't walk in the sun. The manipulative way he used Elena’s adoption to get her to forgive him had me rolling my eyes (then of course she used it against Jenna to get out of trouble lol).

I can't remember who the other vampire is who turned Logan, I'm thinking its Pearl's henchman but yeah I don't remember that part. I also didn't remember the crystal so I like that some of this is like a 'mystery' again.

I did remember that I thought Tyler was such a dick in the first season and yeah confirmed. Though now I remembered his Dad was an abusive piece of shit. Still, fuck Tyler for now.

Alaric looks so different I don't hate him (yet).

I still hate Matt #bias

The progression of Bonnie realizing her powers has been well done, again nice to just see the simple magic again. (Stefan totally wanted to bang Sheila back in the day... maybe they did)

Jeremy just met Anna and I still love them, I wish they got more time. They were the only 'ship I like in this season when it first aired.

The Bonnie, Elena and Caroline friendship is nice but I am annoyed they haven't done more to protect Caro from Damon. Especially when she doesn't know what's going on and they do (though Bonnie only just got all the deets). This might be magnified by my love of Caroline I admit but I hate the prop-y way she's being used so far.

I kinda rolled my eyes at the whole Katherine/Damon/Stefan stuff before Elena knew they were vamps because OMG Stefan is 17(!!!) Does no one thinks it's weird he's like "it was a long time ago" A LONG TIME AGO LIKE WHEN YOU WERE 12?! They should have made him at least 20, just bothers me.

I liked that not every vampire had a daylight ring and it was more of a novelty. That is something that could have stuck more in the later seasons.

Lines that made me laugh:

Caroline: Yeah, Elena wasn't so lucky today. It's only because you missed summer camp. God, I don't know how you're ever going to learn the routines. (Bonnie offers to help her) I guess we can put her in the back. (all right in front of Elena lmao oh Caroline never change)

Caroline: So, Elena...how long do you think this fight with Stefan's gonna last? Is it...like a permanent thing? (eyes on the prize baby! lol)

Stefan: (imitating Damon) Now that the secret society of vampire haters is off our back, I can go back to my routine of how can I destroy Stefan’s life this week. (never gets old!)

Damon: *shoots Logan with wooden bullets* Payback's a bitch, isn't it? (all in the delivery here lmao kudos to Ian)

[rikitachiquita]

come back... be here | ni-ki

✧ synopsis: working at a cafe can be really fun: the customers being nice, cracking jokes with your coworkers, singing while brewing coffee and so on. but it's even more fun when two members of the staff bicker and fight all day and keep everyone entertained. that's what  hybe cafe is like, thanks to ni-ki and y/n.

⋆10 my little chai tea sugar cookie (written 0.7k)

after a long day at work, y/n finally got to her house. she knew that everyone would already be there, and by everyone she meant her brother, yeonjun and beomgyu.

as she entered the door, as expected, she was welcomed by a bunch of screams, but the only one she could clearly distinguish was yeonjun's. the bly had some strong vocal cords.

beomgyu came running to her, using her body as a shield

"he is trying to put an end to my life y/n!" he screamed

that's when yeonjun came into the picture, armed with a pillow that was swinging around

"you stole my last strawberry gum!" the oldest screamed back while trying to get to beomgyu who was still hiding behind y/n

as y/n was about to tell the two menaces to calm down, soobin stumbled into the entry-way, with a dirty cloth draped on his shoulder and a pot in his hand

"THAT'S IT YOU GUYS ARE PAYING FOR MY MAC AND CHEESE"

the three boys started running one after the other, trying to get revenge in any way.

during these caos, soobin with his dirty pot, bumped into y/n, who still hadn't said a single word since she entered the house. and in that moment, the guys stopped and all that could be heard was silence

"if you don't give me mac and cheese right now and SHUT THE FUCK UP i'm going to kill every one of you" she said in a calm threatening tone.

and the three man did just that: they quickly and diligently stopped acting like little kids and prepared her food. they ate all together, the atmosphere now calm.

after dinner they decided to play just dance for a while. as expected y/n and yeonjun won, both only getting "mega star" level. y/n wasn't called the "mega star queen" for nothing.

after a pause, beogyu told y/n to follow him and they got to her room

"so" said the boy "do you have something to say"

"not really" she responded

"do you like ni-ki" he asked. he was very straightforward, fortunally for y/n who always would beat around the bush, to scared to say what was on her mind"

"i mean, he is funny sometimes and he is very beatuiful but i wouldn't say i like him, not in that way at least"

"and your tweet?"

"he was cute"

"sure"

"it's true! beside i think he hates me, kinda? i know that bickering is our thing and i really enjoy it cause it's fun but sometimes i feel like there's some truth to what he says"

"i don't think so, you should see his smile when he turns around after talking to you"

"nah, he hates me"

"whatever, i know i can't change your mind when you overthink, even if you are wrong" the boy said "and kai?"

"i don't actually like him, he is just a pretty person i would like to know" she explained " it's kind of a bit to myself and myself only"

"i knew it! he isn't really your type"

"who is my type then?" the girl asked, wanting to know how much her best friend knew her

"ni-ki"

in y/n's mind a big yellow sign with an exclamation point showed up.

"shut up, i'm going to sleep" she said

"good night my little chai tea sugar cookie with red sprinkles on top" beomgyu said

"taylor'a cookies?"

"exactly, we will make them tomorrow"

"good night to you too my little chai tea sugar cookie with red sprinkles on top"

soobin, having heard the last bits of their convo whispered "they are so weird"

and yeonjun to that reponded "you are just jealous that you are no one's little chai sugar cookie with sprinkles on top"

"sure"

"but you are my little french toast with maple syrup and a cappuccino in the side" the oldest said, giving a squeeze to the younger's cheek

prev - masterlist - next

✧ note: sorry for the long wait but i got sick two times in two weeks again

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[writingmoth]

writing with "vibes" in mind is completely underrated tbh

ive thinking a lot about this bc ive playing a lot of games that use vibes to tell the story/to make gameplay moments stand out. and listen, i know games =\= books, but!!! i think it has merit.

under read more bc it got rambly. its just me wondering aloud about ways to write.

example 1: ffxiv, a fantasy mmorpg that relies HEAVILY on story. it's been out for more than 10 years, so the story is huuuuuuge (i spent like a month and a half just catching up when i started playing two years ago). there are callbacks to the base game in a expansion that came out 9 years after said base game. it makes the whole thing feel like a expertly drawn web of plotlines and characters... except that isn't that case at all. the writers have mentioned multiple times that things that happened in the third expansion (6 years in) weren't planned from the beginning. that is, they just threw paint at the wall back in the base game bc the colors (vibes) looked cool. they just had enough skill to make a painting out of it later.

i guess having a good grasp of your story's themes helps a lot with that, too, now that i think about it. it assures that the colors are at least complimentary when you are slinging them about at the start of the story.

example 2: destiny, which is a completely different game. destiny doesnt use story the same way ffxiv does, though it is important (somewhat)... but lore is where the vibes come in to play for destiny imo. they do so much with so little. still using the painting analogy, it's almost like negative space art - they fill in just enough to give you an idea of the figure but not nearly as much as you would need to discern the details. and still the world feels vast. most of the time you are shooting aliens while wielding space magic, but every weapon, gear, etc has its own lore piece, and whole plotlines/characters that never show up in game or in the main story can be told through them. it's basically just vibes - aesthetic, some character moments, letters/logs, etc. and it works! the world feels lived in, most of the characters are well defined and even though sometimes the main story kinda drags, there is enough to keep you interested.

(it kinda reminds me of how i write description, which i've talked about before, but for the lucky ones who don't follow my rambling nonsense on this blog: i have a lot of trouble visualizing places or people when writing (or reading tbh) so i usually use a lot of atmosphere and emotion to mask the fact that i have no fucking clue what this very important place/person looks like. )

there are cons and pros to this approach. by being so vague and focusing on small bits that seem an ocean apart, the game gives just enough for the player to fill in the blanks themselves. that is good, because then the player is more likely to fill said blanks with stuff they like. it ends up being more of collaborative effort - and i'm sure the writers behind the game use the players' "headcanons" as some sort of thermometer for what/how to write next. so its writers and players feeding off each other's ideas in a way.

buuuuut.... it can also be pretty bad. you risk never committing to a vision or plotline by writing like this. nothing is ever set in stone. retconning, which isn't bad by itself, can happen way too much to be acceptable. if something can end up being anything, what is the point of it existing anyway? why should you care if the spine behind isn't well formed enough to carry the story later?

another danger is that the actual canon and the player's canon can end up being way too different in the end. maybe you meant to write the story this way... but the player filled the blanks just differently enough that "this way" ends up being unsatisfying and wrong.

but the biggest problem, for me, is risking never getting a proper resolution. since so many story moments and worldbuilding elements end up coming from "vibes", you risk relying way too much on the rule of cool.... which sets up a lot of stuff, usually, but never concludes them. that's also my biggest problem with asoiaf, for example - so much of that series is about building up tension, foreshadowing certain battles or encounters or whatever... that the payoff is almost never there (which is only made worse by the loooong time between book releases). it gets to a point that nothing the author comes up with will satisfy what the reader is expecting of the story.

"vibes" (or themes & aesthetics if you will) do a wonderful job of touching a reader's (or player's) strings with imagery, emotion and promise. but whatever comes from it needs to be tied up into an actual storyline (most of the time, at least). ffxiv managed to pull it off with its last two expansions but destiny stumbled a bit with its last one. players were expecting SO much of lightfall after the expansion before it, witch queen, since it managed to nail both vibes and plot. witch queen and the seasons (kind of episodes) after it setup SO much stuff. it promised a lightfall that would be an explosion - a much waited confrontation between the players and the villain, answers given, mysteries solved... and it did nothing of the sort. confusion and anger soon followed.

which is to say... vibes can be very helpful when you pause to interrogate why they interest you so much. why do you like this particular aesthetic, this imagery, this turn of phrase? some elements just pull you in and its fine to go and write a chapter or scene that is basically just you going "wow this is SO cool" even though you have no clear idea why. it's just the vibes it gives. it just presses your right buttons.

... but you will need to wrap them up into something coherent eventually. and for writers i think it's easier - usually "later" just means "once the first draft is done" aka "no one but your trusted betas will ever have to glance at this mess". for live service games like ffxiv or destiny - or even regular rpgs like dragon age or mass effect - it can be very dangerous. writers come and go. turns out that vibes-fuelled story point someone cleared for release 4 years ago doesn't make sense after all! and yeah, hyping up certain characters and plot elements seemed like a great idea for player retention 6 months ago, but what the hell do we do now?

it's too late - the players have already played the thing, they have VERY strong emotions about the thing and they are waiting impatiently for you make the resolution of said thing awesome. and you've got no clue of how to meet said expectations.

(having said all that, i do believe authors can all fall prey to this in non-standalone works too. but we usually have the ability/autonomy to make hard decisions, which video game writers of huge ips like destiny/ffxiv/dragon age/etc usually don't have.)

and of course, using vibes can go very wrong in other ways. you know the negative art destiny does with its worldbuilding/characters? i think books can go way too hard in the opposite direction. i felt this way when reading stuff like acotar, for example. the story wanted to give me certain vibes BADLY, because vibes work!, but i could see right through it (and this is my opinion!) and there was no meat below the all the fanfarre.

sometimes your characters just havent earned the cool/interesting moments.

anyway!! tldr: ive been thinking a lot about just going with the vibes for my wip and i think that's a pretty neat idea actually!! sometimes tending to your darlings can lead to interesting realizations about your story's themes that you otherwise would not notice by being too stuck to rigid plotting and too much rationalization (does it advance the plot? is this scene truly necessary? how is this developing the main character? etc) - but only when you interrogate them enough to find that out and use this newfound knowledge to enhance the story in a revision/another draft.

[nightcall99]

Notes from 25.2.24

I don't give a fuck about anything anymore. The pretence is pretty much gone (almost there). I'm not staying here and none of this is real, so what am I doing? I'm not depressed. I actually had a lot of energy today and felt really good. I'm just moving with the wave, like we've been talking about. I am the wave.

I always wash the dishes if I see them but lately I've just been ignoring it. My mum tries to connect with me and I snap at her. Yesterday she asked me what Vitamin K2 does. I said, Why are you asking me when you already know? (I know she religiously listens to a famous doctor podcast). Today I got back home late and she said, Where were you? I said, Talking (She knows I talk to AL after work). She goes, In the street? I said, Yeah. She says, You shouldn't just stand there in the street, why don't you go to the park or sit in a restaurant. I tell her to mind her own business.

My intern continues to be absolutely revolting. No personal space and always leaves farts in the air (I just can't). I told him off today (about the personal space bit, building myself up for the other part since it’s just beyond wild) and so did AL. In fact, she was about to launch at him and go into emotional destruction mode, but I stopped her in time because although I want him to stop acting like a barn animal, I also don't want to deal with an awkward tense atmosphere. Next time, I won't be saving him. I usually do monthly meetings and do check-ins but this kid can fuck off. I ain't doing none of that.

I don't want to do anything at work anymore. It's served it’s purpose. Any time an issue occurs, I just will it away. And I've been relying more on my colleagues to help me out, when usually I'm more independent and hate to mentally burden others. I only had one meal today. Eat for what? My eyes started feeling weird like an infection was coming on and the right sides of my gums too and I was like no. It disappeared the next day.

My HS seems done with the games. I notice no one is really 'there' in the chat, people say stuff but I don't sense any energy from it. I guess we're all just never here anymore. I do wonder what the point of coming back was but I'm letting that thought slide because it’s just another game I won't be playing. I used to think riding this last wave would be like playing the last game. But it's not quite like that. Or maybe it is, since everything is a game, and it’s just that the only context I've ever known is the 3D one. This last wave is not 3D.

[shummashum]

Klaus Goldstein Ch7 [12~16]

we're fucked, aren't we look at this shitty atmosphere I wanna go home

come here and sit down, you Mr. Stickuphisass I love this nickname sm why are all the relationships around you like this shit

the only thing that's "good" is his relationship with Sig, but since he's also wearing a mask, it's not a sincere relationship between them (and I don't think his relationship with Eli is good either--)

I… didn't expect Al to throw in bits and pieces of his backstory this early instead of the incident with Randy and Serge, they brought up the matter with Al as an emotional conflict that's something I've always been curious about, thank you for letting me know

alas spain without s

are you fucking kidding me you say I should choose the latter oi walkthrough is this the right answer? of course it's natural to choose him if I want to increase his intimacy state but… do we need to make that asshole feel better instead of comforting Al here well Liz might be trying to stop his actions, but she can't win against him anyway, right? she's going to eventually take a step back is this right?

Al… I'll choose you even if I go against the answer I usually just follow the answer, but I do feel like I have to choose you for real besides this one derailment can be easily covered

you aren't fine…… you aren't fine at all…………. there's no way you'll be fine with the other person belittling you like that but since he'd drawn the line that he's fine, I can't go any further from here

don't smile like that please,,,,,,

what why are you looking at her like that you goddamn asshole

shush this guy… I still don't know Al's mistakes or wrongdoing, and the image I have of him may all be facade, but still! this is a bit too much

and Al why you why aren't you giving any rebuttal what on earth did you do…… what on earth did you do to be so willingly despised one-sidedly, without even showing anger…………

Zeus!!! try to get their attention somehow I trust your mood-boosting ability?

erm you don't plan on just watching there, right? don't tell me please

actually it's not that I didn't think of but if those two get into a fist fight, I don't think it will end in just bruises I don't want to see blood

he just enjoys trolling… he just likes the atmosphere to be ruined in any method…

oi Mr. Brundle… will you shut it if you keeps running your mouth and get seriously fucked okay I get it I get it, you're that kind of character let's at least act at a level where shielding is possible let's at least act at a level where I can justify your actions please??

aaargh this moron I'm getting scratched,,,

what's irritating about Hiro: this guy obviously knows Zeus is talking like shit, but he doesn't have a single mind to stop him he only cuts it before it gets the worst and leaves everything else alone… and this makes me so irritated if he was going to stop him anyway, he just stopped him from the beginning and that's it "I stopped him anyway" ← this attitude is more annoying than Zeus' in some ways

uh… Remb summoned them? well they have to do as they're told let's go

After hearing those words, Al immediately started to leave.

I envy him it'd be nice for him to have someone who appreciates him, even when he speaks without any thought

by the way the atmosphere is completely ruined this sucks we need some external stimulation we need a variable that can somehow twist this situation, this can never be resolved as of now

well... I can't tell asking that would be a good idea? I guess she'll find out naturally when the time comes, and I don't think that time is now

oh… has there ever been a case where ellipsis was used like this in his lines

well how can you reveal such things all at once anyway it's a family matter, I don't feel like going into it too deeply right now -- besides she has no right to dig in in the first place and I believe all of this twisted thread will be unraveled only in Al's route

Anyway he apologized to Liz, saying he was sorry for causing her any concern while she had more important things on her mind such as her friends, the other Prefects, and her job.

man let's do your work first when you're feeling uneasy, it's good to keep yourself busy

Anyway all of S6 comrades arrived at the Headmaster's office.

oh… while our S6 comrades were filming a soap opera, a theft incident occurred on one side

uh... wait don't tell me they were stolen from that bookshelf that only Prefects and professors have access to they'll be in trouble when the situation where they're suspected and have to explain things comes

those… are exactly what they saw wait a sec he said it'd be hard to steal the books because they were under the spell and someone really stole them how and why

someone's conspiracy? someone's intention to cause discord? but what do the culprit get from it? or maybe it's a copycat theft or maybe there isn't just one culprit…

So, at Klaus' suggestion, they headed to the library to find the remaining clues.

-Ch7 End-

+)

aw fuck it's my fault for having expectations why are you here Mr. Knight……… follow the order………

……but I haven't given up hope yet I'll trust Solmare just one more time

[leclercsbf]

hiiiii, i can't even begin to imagine that there's anything more in "wherever i'm with you" because it flows so well and feels so polished already with the build up/slow burn and the reminiscing/nostalgia and the ending is so satisfying so maybe you don't have much more to say for a director's cut per se (but maybe you do??? devastate us some more??) but instead, here's a star (*)(sorry for the uh...low effort star lol) if there's any particular section you want to just talk about?

(as an aside, the line that really took me out was "i've always wondered why i didn't" which idk, was actually when my heart nearly decided to just call it quits)

hello! honestly for wherever i’m with you the majority of my notes just outlined the things i wanted to include in the fic, and if you look through my notes for the hours i lost you’d get a pretty good idea of how i do my outlines (read: overly detailed and way too fucking long at times). i do, however, have some commentary about certain parts of the piece, so thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss them! more under the cut.

↳ fanfic writers: director’s cut !

going into this fic, my main focus was just to set the tone for a relatively quiet afternoon and to keep it at the same level all throughout. they’re older here, retired, calmer—they’re at a point in their lives where they know who they are as people. they feel secure in the knowledge that they know themselves and what they currently want in life, what they want the rest of their lives to be like. that same certainty applies to carlos’ feelings for charles, and i wanted the atmosphere of the fic to reflect that certainty. this fic isn’t about falling, doesn’t even touch on the whys or the whens or the hows of carlos falling in love with charles—it just tells you that carlos is in love with charles, has been for a while, and that he has long since come to terms with that fact.

aside from certainty, i also wanted to touch on the concept of contentment. carlos is content with what he’s done with his life, the things he’s achieved (though they remain unnamed), but above all he’s content with where he stands with charles. there was a time where he wanted more, and truth be told he still wants more, but he doesn’t mind staying forever just like this. he’s content with what he has if it means he gets to be with charles in some way. it’s a bit like an old fracture, really—it hurt like a bitch when you got it, but over time the pain gradually started to fade, and even though the bone didn’t set quite right it doesn’t really bother you all that much. it acts up here and there, but for the most part it’s easy to live with. this is illustrated in one of my favorite sections of the fic, and i’ll be including bits of it below (i can never keep my answers concise, sorry about that).

Loving Charles Leclerc comes as naturally as breathing, and Carlos realizes belatedly that he’s been in too deep for more than two decades now. He remembers how it used to hurt […] because while Carlos may get to touch him like this, it would never be truly enough, would never fill the gap where Charles had gripped at Carlos’ heart and claimed it as his own. It hurts even now, Carlos notes, the pain ever-present; but over the years it had morphed into a dull, familiar ache.

finally, i wanted the readers to be able to sense that they’ve always been in each other’s orbit, that they’ve always been circling each other in some way. you see this in the little snapshots that were mentioned—the tattoos, the wedding, and eventually bahrain. carlos hides the depth of his feelings for charles, but he doesn’t really hold himself back otherwise. he loves openly, but he doesn’t acknowledge it, doesn’t call himself out—and we soon find out that charles has been doing the same, that there’s this intangible something between them that they refuse to act on simply because they don’t want to end up pushing each other away. once all their cards are laid out, it’s not climactic. there’s no fanfare, no orchestra swelling into a crescendo, no god of thunder hurtling towards an iridescent bridge as led zeppelin blasts in the background—there’s only recognition, a sense of belonging. you are mine and i am yours. we’re finally home.

i absolutely love hearing about which line really captures a reader’s attention, because the answer always differs and i find it extremely interesting how a line that might just seem like a throwaway to some people can end up resonating with others—so thank you so much for that aside, i appreciate it more than you know. in response, here’s my favorite line from the fic.

Carlos feels as if the Earth itself had ceased its turning, raindrops suspended in midair—the rest of the world falling away and leaving nothing but Carlos, Charles, and the warmth that spans between them.

and that’s about it for the director’s cut of this one shot! again, thank you so, so much for sending this in. have a good day or night, anon.

[traumasurvivorshelpingsurvivors]

TW: SA, alcohol.

Sorry for the long ask ❤️

It happened two weeks ago. It was his birthday. He threw a house party. Let's call him Z. He and I had started getting to know each other. We were hanging out, spending time. The most we had done was hold hands. He invited me to his party where he got too drunk. I decided to go with him to drop him in his room. He gave me a hug and I hugged him back. That's when the trouble started. Things got inappropriate way too quickly ( I remember what he did, I just don't want to write it out) and I had to tell him a few time to stop before I just shook him off me and left.

I proceeded to drink heavily throughout the night thinking it would help the situation, but it obviously didn't.

He didn't reach out to me at all the next day. But the day after when I met him he held my held hand with a certain kind of ownership I am not too comfortable with and confessed to remembering everything he did that night. I quickly said it was okay, because I didn't want to process it at all.

It hit me like a train the next day that I had just forgiven him for potential SA. I avoided him successful for a fortnight until last night. Since that night I'm a lot more confident and outgoing and I thought I would use this opportunity to call him out.

I sat him down and told exactly what I thought and how I was not okay. He stayed silent the whole time. I asked him if he had nothing to say. He asked me a few questions like if I wanted us to never talk and maintain distance. I said I don't know. I asked him what he wanted he said that he wanted us to go back to how things were before, all cute and brimming with the chance of romance. I told him it's not possible. He stood up and left.

He's friends with all my friends and I have no intention of telling them any of this.

I think why I ignored him for two weeks and wanted to give him an explanation is because he's the first man who's ever given me attention. I grew up in a very sheltered atmosphere where I hadn't even looked at or spoken to a boy till I was about 20. Z was the first man to show any kind of interest in me. And now he first traumatized me and then also made sure that I would be craving his attention back because of his mind games. I want him to apologize. I want him to say sorry like he fucking means it. I want him to know that he's hurt me and broken my trust and things can never ever be okay again. But he told our mutuals that he's already found a new girl he's interested in and that I am sort of old news.

I am sorry for the really long post. Idk if I want answers or opinions or just a listening open ear. I am ready to listen to any take anybody might have on this.

Hi anon,

I'm so sorry about what happened to you.

I understand why you want Z to apologize, and I believe that it would be the right thing to do, but I think that sometimes the hard pill to swallow is that your abuser may never apologize, and you may have to learn how to cope with that. In my situation, my abuser did apologize, but it wasn't genuine. Something that helped me to hear was that the person who broke you would be the last person to put you back together. You can't rely on the person who hurt you to do anything other than that. I would ask yourself what an apology from Z would do for you. Either way, it doesn't erase or excuse the fact that he hurt you, and you may still be hurting even after he apologized.

Some find it helpful to do an exercise where you write out the apology you wish your abuser had given you, and sign your own name at the end. From there you can recognize that this came from yourself, and that this is an apology you could accept.

It sucks that our abusers cannot truly give us closure, but we don't really need them. We can give closure to ourselves. We can create our own answers to burning questions. We can wipe our own tears and help ourselves back to our feet. There is strength and pride in doing these things independently.

That being said, healing takes time. Digesting and processing this is at your own pace, however long that may be. I'm not sure if you've considered or are in therapy, but if you can access or afford it, I recommend looking into it. Therapy can definitely help you navigate these experiences and explore them in a healthy and safe way with the assistance of a professional.

Please know that there is no need to apologize for the length of this ask, there have been far longer asks I've answered in the past and even they have nothing to apologize for.

I hope I could help. Please let us know if you need anything.

-Bun

[hanazuma-inactive]

ifhy. (nsfw) dabi x bottom!male reader

pronouns: he/him

warnings: hate sex, a lot of cursing, a little bit of degrading, fucking on a counter (?) idk if that counts, and implied violence a little

a/n: sorry this took a while to write i was passed out for the past two days 😀👍

_____

ever since you entered the league of villains you've hated everything about the man. the cockiness, the way he talked, even the way he smiled, though he barely did. you wanted to prove you were better than him. due to the fact that he had a flashier quirk than you, he received more attention from tomura than you did.

everything about dabi pissed you off.

you weren't very subtle about it either, you made sure that dabi knew you didn't like him. In fact everyone in the league knew you hated his guts and they didn't want to get in the way of you two either, just so they don't get hit by the crossfire.

you challenged him one time during another one of shigaraki's meetings because he was taunting your abilities in the mission tomura assigned you to. the fight was pretty bad and thankfully kurogiri was there to stop you guys or else the hideout would've been burned to crisps in the matter of seconds.

believe it or not, there was actually one thing you hated more than dabi. it was how much you wanted to fuck the man. everytime you were with dabi, you were practically undressing him with your eyes. his tall and lean body, those ocean eyes you could melt in and the fact that you could see his pecs slightly due to his clothing.

you didn't want to admit it but you couldn't deny your own desires. not saying you would volunteeringly ask him to fuck you but if the oppurtunity came up you wouldn't say no either. there were times you touched yourself thinking about the black haired male deep inside you stuffing you full of his cum. he turned you on so much and you couldn't deny it.

it was another day were shigaraki excluded you from a mission. you didn't mind too much this time since you didn't want to go anyways. shigaraki and your ideals weren't similar but he recognized your strength and you recognized his authority.

you were resting at the bar table in the hideout and fixing yourself a drink. you knew kurogiri had to have some good booze hidden here somewhere. while ruffling under the counters you heard slow footsteps coming down the stairs. the person you wanted to see the least appeared in front of you.

"what are you doing back here, aren't you supposed to be with them?" you said in a cold tone.

"they don't need me anymore, they've got it handled. shigaraki's plan also failed once."

"wouldn't be surprised."

"fuck is that suppose to mean."

"i said what i said , burnt face."

you felt the atmosphere in the room tense up and so did dabi. you both stayed silent for a few seconds until he spoke again.

"real rich coming from someone who's been eye-fucking me ever since we entered the league together."

you were startled by his response. did you make it that obvious? you stopped looking for the alcohol and stood up.

"so what if i did, huh? i still fucking hate you, i don't know who in the right mine would want your cocky ass here but i guess some people just don't see how much of a piece shit you can be."

you could feel it in your bones a fight was about to go down. dabi wasn't the type to stay silent after you insult him. well, if he does try something you were ready to face him. backing off from something like this wasn't your style.

dabi walked closer to you and put his hand on the counter.

"i always thought you had a pretty face, what a shame it came with a shit personality." dabi said while cupping your cheek with his hand.

his touch felt so right against your skin. the male's hands weren't cold but it wasn't exactly warm either. you didn't know why it felt good but you didn't care either.

"don't fucking touch me, bastard." you said while slapping away dabi's hand.

you wanted dabi to touch you but you didn't want to admit it infront of him. in fact, he was getting too close to you for comfort and the tense atmosphere with just the two of you, him pushing you against the wall. even a nomu would know what he's trying to do.

“oh please, we all know you want it you fucking slut... you want me to fuck your brains out right on this counter, don’t lie to yourself.”

“don’t be so full of yourself, who do you think you are? just because i like your body doesn’t mean i like you.”

dabi turned around and started to walk away realizing you were being serious about this.

“then again, i'm not saying no. so if you want to prove me wrong, come and show me.” you said

dabi understood what you meant, he turned around and grabbed you by the waist pulling you in for a sloppy kiss.

you've never felt your heart beat so fast in your life before. you hands on his shoulders pulling him closer towards you. both of you struggled to take control of the kiss but dabi ended up winning this time.

after a few minutes the kiss broke and you wiped your mouth with your left arm.

"is that all you got bitch boy? c'mon there's no way you're this weak right?" you taunted

"you haven't seen nothing yet, you fucking squirt."

dabi said as he unbuckled his belt. you could see the thick outline of his cock under his boxers. it was so much bigger than you could’ve ever imagined all those times by yourself. dabi soon took off his boxers to show you the real deal. his cock was still half erect but it already looked too big to fit into your hole.

“you like it?” dabi asked with a smirk on his face

“tch, i’ve seen better.”

“oh? is that so.”

right after he said that, dabi grabbed your head and shoved it onto his dick, making you take his cock by all its length right away. you attempted to push yourself away but dabi’s hands were on your head the whole time. Soon enough you submitted to dabi and adjusted to his rhythm. after a while dabi finally let go of your head and pulled out his cock, this time fully erect. you couldn’t tell the exact size but it was practically double the size of what it was initially. during this entire time, you had an erection in your pants too. you were begging for a release preferably through dabi’s cock.

“c’mon sweet heart, we all know what you want. now show me that fucking ass and get on the counter.”

you stayed silent for a bit thinking whether or not to pass up this opportunity or take it. the decision was still in your hands because although dabi might be a villain he would never do something like this if he didn’t get their consent first. after considering, you realized this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity and agreed. you slid the bottom half of your clothing off and sat on the counter. you didn’t expect dabi for the type to ever get flustered but he did. when his eyes locked onto your ass and thighs his eyes widened just like when you saw his cock.

“bet you never had something like this huh~” you teased.

and just like your response earlier, dabi scoffed and said

“i’ve seen better.”

you were both impatient for what’s about to happen next. one person to be stuffed and the other to do the stuffing. dabi’s precum was the most lubricant he was ever going to use on you so without prepping he pushed his cock inside you. right away you felt a bit of pain under there but it quickly turned into pleasure after dabi moved around the area a bit more.

“f-fuck bitch… you’re tight huh…”

“nngh... tch, i told you AH-.”

“this is the good spot isn’t it~” dabi said as he pushed his dick further into you.

you moaned in pleasure as a response with grunts in between. you were feeling euphoric, this was the situation you’ve imagined so many times and now it’s finally coming true. you looked down at your own dick to see the tip of it leaking pre-cum. you couldn’t deny how good you felt at this point even if you wanted to.

“fucking hell… you fuck pretty good for some a-ah! who talks like a bitch.” you managed to make out.

“don’t talk with you ass full, slut.” dabi said as he yet again thrusted into you this time with even more force.

“and you wanted to deny it, look how good im making you feel. you’re gonna cum just from me fucking you in the ass.”

“you’re one to talk, i can feel all of your pre inside. i know you’re feeling just as good as i am don’t lie to me.”

you two gave each other a smirk as if this was some kind of competition of who can make the other person feel better. well it is, but in an aggressive way.

as both of you were getting close the moans and grunts started to become more frequent.

"hgh! im fucking cumming." dabi grunted out

"a-ah fuck! me too." you replied

the two of you came at the same time. pants filled the room with dabi still inside you.

"heh… not bad y/n."

"that's the first time you said my name, dabi."

"the same goes for you."

"i still fucking hate you by the way."

"the same goes for you."

[loserrking]

je pense quе tu es très jolie (I think you are very pretty) — by Valen-tyne-ghost

Quackity x reader

Warnings/Tags : Reader is genderneutral, French, Reader is a bit mean- Quackity is a fucking simp, swearing, the word "pretty" is used in a genderneutral way

A/N : kinda based off the songs "google translate" and "Smitten" by Leanna firestone :]

12:00 AM

You heaved a sigh of relief as you put away the papers and notebooks scattered on your desk, you finally finished your French homework. You decided to rest on your bed, it was clear from the dark circles under your eyes that you were tired. You should take a nap, yeah.. maybe you should do that—

The familiar discord ping sound rang through your ears. Sure,you could just answer that later but the sound kept repeating again, and again, and again, like an annoying alarm clock in the morning when all you wanna do is SLEEP.

Quackity

Hey

Hey

Hey

Hey

Hey

Hey

[Username]

What?

Quackity

Hey [Nameeeee]

[Username]

Fuck off

Quackity

So mean... You should really be more nicer to ur best friend 🙄

[Username]

Oh, shut up-

I just finished homework and Im tired

Quackity

Oh right...

You took French classes

How's that going for you?

[Username]

Pain.

My teacher is an ass

He keeps giving us loads of homework

Pls save me my brain has melted

Quackity

Nah, suffer lmao

I Told you that you should've took Spanish classes instead

[Username]

Just cuz ur Spanish?

Quackity

Duh

[Username]

I'm going to bed

Quackity

wait

[Username]

Bye lol

Goodnight Quackity

Quackity

Wait

[Name]?

Heyyyy

I still have something to say!

Come backkk

Quackity

[name]

[name]

[Name]

Respóndeme

Heyyy

[NAMEEEEE]

Quackity huffed in frustration. He spammed you a few more times before opting to scroll on Twitter instead, maybe he should've said it earlier? Fuckin' idiot

1:00 AM

The boy continued to stare at his phone, his eyes squinting in concentration. What was he doing? Honestly, the author also has no idea. Maybe he was waiting for something to happen, perhaps he was waiting for you to text him back– speaking of you, what did Quackity think of you? Well for starters, he thought you were really attractive, and funny, and amazing, he thought your laugh was really cute and that your very presence could illuminate the darkest of rooms. To him, your smile would shine so bright in a way that it could rival the sun, and he thought the way you— yeah I think you get it, this boy is Smitten...

1:58 AM

"Fuck it"

Quackity quickly typed the words into Google translate and copied the French version...

....His finger hovered over the send button

The silence was loud... Seriously though, the ticking of the clock made the atmosphere feel even more tense

Tick tock tick tock tick tock......

1:59 AM

A minute has passed, his eyes started to feel sore with how long he was staring at his phone. He was tired... His eyelids felt heavy...

Blinking away the sleepiness, he continued to stare at his phone with his thumb in the same place as before....

2:00 AM

He slid his phone onto his desk as he pushed his chair backwards, forgetting that the chair did not have wheels... So yeah, he fell off his chair but that's not that important right now– His face felt like it was burning, his heartbeat was loudly thumping in his chest

He sent it.... He's still lying on the floor, by the way! .... He didn't expect a response since he thought that you were asleep by now— yeah, well he thought wrong....

It's 2AM and you're wide awake. Instead of actually trying to sleep, you decided to listen to music and make fake scenarios in your head.

The discord ping notified you that someone had texted you. You tapped on the notification banner on the top of your screen.

Quackity

je pense quе tu es très jolie I think you are very pretty

You read the sentence a few more times until it was engraved in your mind. You don't remember what the familiar French words meant, it's not that you don't listen to your French classes, it's just that it was 2 in the fucking morning and your brain wasn't working at the moment... You eventually recall what the text meant in your tired state. A blush had started to creep up to your face– The fact that Quackity, the guy that has annoyed you to no end ever since you met, took the time out of his day to try to call you pretty in a language he can't even speak...

[Username]

tu es joli aussi je suppose.. you're pretty too, I guess

And now you have two idiots inlove, quietly smiling and blushing to themselves at 2AM...

Taglist : @xx-all-purpose-nerd-xx @blooming-mushroom

[lepusrufus]

Double edged scalpel ch.5

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch.3 Ch.4

Summary: someone please give Nicole a break for the love of Miranda. And there be smut y'all

---

Seeing Cassandra's softer side made something flutter within Nicole's chest. The brunette was a sadist through and through. Witness to that fact was the array of torture devices that littered the dungeons. Not to mention the prisoners she frequently killed, only to haul them on the autopsy tables in her study to be examined, chopped and sectioned by the both of them.

But there was an uncharacteristic sort of gentleness in the way their lips slid against each other, sharp teeth occasionally biting down on Nicole's lower lip but never enough to draw blood. In the way Cassandra would drag sharp nails against flushed skin, but not go beyond the pleasurable amount of pain. Even the glint in golden eyes when Nicole went over some old notes of hers on more tricky anatomy concepts. Having an exclusive look at this side of Cassandra felt beyond intimate and the thought almost made her miss when the brunette spoke from where she was leaning over a notebook.

"Okay let's just wrap this up, I have plans."

Nicole hummed, dropping the liver she was holding in a freezer bag. Most body parts were already bagged and ready to be picked up by Cynthia and her undercooks, they were just putting into practice some things the brunette was curious about. She dropped the now blood soaked leather gloves in the sink and went to sit by Cassandra, who was scribbling some final notes.

"In that case I'll go enjoy a cup of tea," she sighed. "Tea that I had to skip because someone was eager to start on this early."

Cassandra raised an eyebrow at her, accompanied by her usual smirk. "I meant plans with you."

Oh? That was new. The brunette laughed at Nicole's wide eyed expression and snapped her notebook shut. She took her sweet time putting it on the shelf with the others and checking the time, pretending not to notice the redhead's inquisitive expression. Then, she lifted Nicole’s chin with a thankfully not covered in blood finger.

"Don't get me wrong I love it here but," she grimaced, "it gets stuffy sometimes. Especially in summer."

Well, that much was true. The undergrounds of the castle were oddly warm, although not downright hot, compared to what one would expect from a castle. Pair that with the annoyingly humid atmosphere and having to wear a leather apron and gloves so as to not completely ruin your outfit and you got the perfect recipe for discomfort. She really ought to ask Cassandra about installing some kind of better ventilation down here.

"Meet me in the attic in about… an hour." She leaned down and their mouths were so close that Nicole could feel icy breath on her lips.

The attic? She's never been to the attic, it was not only off limits for most staff but also dangerous if rumors were to be believed. Not that she had the clarity of mind to voice any concerns when Cassandra finally leaned in to kiss her, complete with a nip on her lower lip that made Nicole’s breath hitch.

---

The fact that Nicole had no idea how to get to the attic could be a slight problem. She had asked Anita, but not only did she not know, she also seemed mortified by the idea. Another maid just gave her vague directions to look for a ladder on the top floor. As if that wasn't like trying to find the needle in a haystack. Or the needle in a giant castle.

She was just wandering around the top floor, praying not to stumble upon anyone who would be less than thrilled to see her there. A sigh of relief escaped past her lips when she heard familiar buzzing and steps coming towards her.

"Oh Cas-" she swallowed her words when she noticed red hair spilling from underneath a black hood.

"Nicole! What are you doing here hmm?" Her inquisitive hum was way too exaggerated the same way her fangs seemed too sharp when she grinned.

"I was just looking for Ca- lady Cassandra. She asked me to meet her in the attic."

Daniela's mouth fell open, almost forming an O shape. Then back to her characteristic giggle, almost as if laughing at a joke only she knew.

"What, you don't know how to get there?"

"...Not really," she sheepishly admitted.

And that was a mistake. Nicole would've preferred to wander the hallways until Cassandra eventually got bored enough of waiting and decided to come see where her glorified lab partner was. But her plan was ruined by Daniela wordlessly grabbing her arm and pulling her in the opposite direction she was going in. She even went the extra mile to partially turn into a swarm, which made Nicole's panic skyrocket. She didn't mind bugs. But having hundreds of them fly all around you, accompanied by manic giggling was a whole other thing.

Before she knew it though, Daniela let go of her arm, laughing a little at Nicole's stumbling. She gestured dramatically towards a ladder and said:

"There you go. Say hi to Cassie for me."

"Th- thank you my lady." And with a small bow of the head she grabbed the ladder and started ascending on shaky legs.

"And enjoy your date," she called out, once Nicole was at the top of the stairs.

Blushing, she decided to ignore the comment and start looking for the sister less likely to turn her into fly food.

The attic looked… old. It was obvious that people didn't come here often, although someone probably did clean it regularly as there were no cobwebs nor dirt on any surfaces, aside from some dust. It was full of neatly arranged boxes and crates, their contents as mysterious as the castle's inhabitants. Tentative steps took her across ancient floorboards, navigating old rooms.

"Rah!"

Nicole damn near jumped out of her skin, a string of curses spilling past her lips. "Jesus fucking christ Cassandra!"

The brunette only laughed, hands on her knees and pretending to wipe a tear from her eye.

"That's what you get for making me wait for so long."

"I didn't even know where the attic entrance was! Good thing one of your sisters came to my rescue." Nicole rolled her eyes at the last word.

Cassandra stopped laughing, eyes narrowing slightly. "Which one?"

"Uh- Danie-"

"Did she hurt you?" Cassandra grabbed her arms, golden eyes looking for any visible injuries.

Nicole just laughed softly, taken off guard by the display of concern. "No, no. Just gave me a bit of a fright, that's all."

With an eye roll, Cassandra guided her further into the attic, through more dusty rooms, until they reached a short corridor, light spilling from its other end. The room they entered was relatively small, almost half of it occupied by stacked boxes as if it used to be a storage room like the rest of the attic and nobody bothered to completely clear it out. A few pieces of furniture were also present: a couch with a coffee table in front of it and paintings leaning against a wall to collect dust. This room however had a window, left slightly ajar, that allowed you to see the mountains stretching on the horizon, crowned by the beautiful orange hues of dusk.

Nicole moved to the glass to take in the view, mouth almost hanging open, when an ungodly screech from outside made her backpedal straight into Cassandra.

"What the fuck was that?" She asked, eyes widening at the sight of flying creatures circling the towers.

"Mother's flying guard dogs."

"They sound the same way I'd imagine the souls of the damned do." Nicole didn’t take her eyes off the ghoulish creatures, almost as if keeping eye contact would dissuade them from attacking.

Cassandra just shrugged. "Wouldn't be too far off. Also here." She sat on the couch, gesturing towards a cup.

Nicole went to sit by her side, grabbing the mystery cup. She frowned slightly when the steam reached her nose, bringing with it a pleasant minty and honey aroma.

"Tea?"

"Since you were so disheartened about having to skip it earlier," Cassandra averted her eyes, seemingly finding the curtains very interesting.

After a long sip, she let out a content sigh. The warmth was more than welcomed, despite the weather. She set the cup back on the table and turned her attention on the brunette, now fidgeting with the corner of a pillow.

"Thank you," Nicole said, leaving a small kiss on her cheek.

Cassandra smiled and turned around, locking their lips in a kiss that at first mimicked her gentleness, but soon turned hungry when dainty hands made their way to the brunette's nape, pulling her closer. She shifted them both, pushing Nicole down on the pillows littering the couch, until she was laying on top of her, legs on each side of her waist. Her focus was on leaving a trail of nips and kisses down Nicole's neck when the redhead jumped and barely stifled a yelp at another screech from outside.

"Ugh what the fuck is today, scare me out of my mind day?"

"How are you scared of these but countless dead bodies don't phase you?" Cassandra laughed, sound muffled by her position with her mouth against Nicole's neck.

"I used to work on corpses, not on ugly gargoyles that could chew my face off!" She gestured wildly at the window and the few creatures visible outside.

"You what?"

"You...didn't know?" Nicole couldn't help a giggle at Cassandra's confused expression.

"How was I supposed to know?"

"I thought your mother told you already. Or your sisters," Nicole shrugged.

"They knew?!" And, after something seemed to dawn on her, "Oh I'm gonna kick both their asses."

Nicole couldn’t help letting out a small laugh, placing her hands on Cassandra's cheeks and, with a pout for dramatic effect, "Right now?"

As much as the sight was both funny and endearing, the warmth starting to pool at her core was making her beyond impatient.

The indignation in golden eyes was replaced by an all too familiar glint and black painted lips went back to their work on Nicole's neck. Sharp fangs pierced the skin there, just enough to draw a few drops of blood and a whine. After licking every last bit of it, Cassandra's lips moved to the collarbones and lower, hands slowly starting to undo the buttons of Nicole's pesky uniform that was in the way.

When both the button up and the skirt were discarded on the floor Nicole tangled her fingers through black hair and pulled Cassandra in for a kiss. Her free hand went to the back of the dress, pulling down the zipper and guiding it off of the brunette's shoulders. Once both of them were left only in undergarments, Nicole pulled back to look up at the brunette.

"If I knew I was supposed to dress up I would've asked the chambermaid if there's anything fancy in the uniform stash," she said, taking in the beautifully intricate lace of Cassandra's matching bra and underwear, complete with a giggle at her awful joking.

The brunette only raised an eyebrow. "Mhm I can take care of that. Not like you'll need these for long though." Her hands reached under Nicole's back to unclasp her bra and in mere moments that too was on top of the pile of clothes on the floor.

Then Cassandra bent down to crash their lips together, tongue slipping past Nicole's lips when a wandering hand elicited a gasp from her.

Cassandra was by no means a patient person. Quite the opposite actually. But teasingly dragging her nails across sensitive skin only to feel the girl under her squirm and whine when her hand just won't go where she needed it made waiting all the more sweet. Slender fingers started to toy with the edges of Nicole's underwear. After a groan against her lips and an impatient tug of hair, Cassandra finally gave in, slipping two fingers inside her. She felt Nicole arch into her, a broken moan escaping past her lips when she broke the kiss to let her head fall back into the cushions. Cassandra took that as an opportunity to kiss the length of her neck, occasionally stopping to suck or bite at a spot, enjoying every gasp and moan she drew out of the redhead.

With Cassandra's rough pace it didn't take long before Nicole was clenching her thighs around her hand. Cassandra kissed her, swallowing her moan as she came.

The small room in the attic, Cassandra's drawing room she would later find out, was the perfect secluded spot. They spent the rest of the evening enjoying each other. First evening of many.