#i also got a few ‘where is vi’ inquires

[bunderbye]

💣 GET JINXED! 💣

🦈 Arcane inspired: Jinx and, Kid Jinx Fabric Jet Tags - 6.5” x 1.5” 🦈

- Available on my Etsy -

[ladey]

When I Brush Your Hair | Chapter 4

Jinx x Fem!Reader 🌙🦋🎀

Word count: 2.4k

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

"Vander learns none of this."

"No worries there. Powder took care of the evidence." Mylo replies making Y/n silently glare and flip him off.

"I tried, okay? You don't get it. You're older, you're bigger. It- it isn't fair!" Powder tries to defend herself, throwing her arms around as she grows frustrated.

"So stick with us. Take a punch or two!" Mylo retorts, slumping back into the couch when at the same time the door creaks open.

"Everyone alright?" Vander's voice is heard, making everyone scramble to pretend like nothing happened.

"Never better." Mylo huffs out. Way to make it obvious. Vander walks around the room and behind the couch the two younger girls are sitting on. They avoid looking his way, practically hiding their faces in their knees.

"Good. I don't suppose you can explain why it is that I'm hearing about an explosion and a foot chase topside? Five children fleeing the scene." He inquires. No one says a word.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Y/n just knew it. How he figured out it was them, she didn't know. But she knows that she's mad at whoever snitched.

"That we can handle a real job." Vi's voice cuts through her thoughts, making her turn her head to watch.

"A real job?"

"We got our own tip, planned a route, nobody even saw."

"You blew up a building."

"That wasn't—"

"Did you even stop to think about what could've happened to you? Eh? To them?" Vander motions to the others, who immediately look away to avoid eye contact.

"Where did you even get this tip?" He then asks. It's silent before Powder lifts her head and speaks up.

"We just heard it at Benzo's shop."

"From?" He glowers.

"Little man." Powder grimaces, and Vander has to look away and groan. But Vi quickly stands up, quick to defend.

"I took us there. If you wanna be mad, be mad at me. But you're the one who always says we have to earn our place in this world." Her voice is raised, getting caught in her feelings. Y/n feels overwhelmed and the space between her eyebrows get hot. She wishes she could say something to help, but...

"I also told you time and time again, the Northside's off-limits. We stay out of Piltover's business."

"Why? They've got plenty while we're down here scraping together coins. When did you get so comfortable living in someone else's shadow?" The room is deathly quiet as Vi and Vander have a stare-off. Y/n and Powder share an awkward glance.

"Everyone out." Vander says sounding oddly calm. Everyone very awkwardly stands up and exits the room. Y/N takes one last peak before the door is closed. Her and Powder exchange concerned looks, but decide to leave even though she wants to try listening with that object Mylo is holding up to the door.

Powder goes out back to fetch a few things while Y/n goes up to the bar area. She hasn't spoken to her cousin in a while and she wonders what she's been up to. She kind of scares her sometimes but she feels very fond of her at the same time and can't help but give her a nice warm hug whenever she says goodbye. Even if it's not always fully reciprocated.

Advancing up the stairs Y/n wanders around a bit until her eyes land on a familiar muscular figure hunched over a table with a couple other scary looking individuals. Her smile widens and she makes her way over.

As she approaches, the scent of her cigar grows strong. She waves her hand to rid of the smoke in her face, and when it clears she's face to face with Sevika.

"Hi cuzo, what's cracka-lackin?" Y/n cheers. The woman just looks at her almost nonplussed. She knows that she annoys her, especially when she's with her friends.

"Hey, kid." Sevika huffs. Y/n looks down at the table and recognizes the poker game Sevika must've been in the middle of playing.

"Having fun losing your money?" Sevika's eyes widen and the others sitting around the table are heard snickering. Y/n appears indifferent however; she was being genuinely serious.

"You're funny, kid. What do you want?" Sevika brushes it off, trying to make this quick so the little girl would just leave her alone. Y/n holds her hands behind her back and bounces on the balls of her feet.

"Nothing. Just wanna know what you've been up to." She responds sweetly.

"Not much." Sevika says shortly. She's lying, but her little cousin didn't need to know that. She opens her mouth to dismiss her but the girl beats her to it.

"Aw, that's boring. You'll never believe what happened today, though. Me and Powder went out with Vi and the others, and a building blew up. It was so scary. And then we got chased for hours. I thought I was for sure gonna die, especially when I almost fell off a roof." The young girl rambles, the whole time playing with the gold coins scattered around the table. The others just listen and watch utterly jaw-slacked.

"Uhuh.." Is all Sevika can give as a response.

"Yeahh, hahah.. I probably shouldn't have said all of that.." Y/n trails off and frowns feeling embarrassed. Then she catches Powder's blue hair not too far the stairs.

"I'll talk to you later, cuzo. Bye!" She gives Sevika a hug, pulling away before before she can even reciprocate it, and happily waves before bouncing over to her friend. The woman is left staggered.

Y/n quickly takes notice of Powder's slumped shoulders and sad face looking around the room. The taller girl turns her head and meets her eyes when she notices her now standing in front of her.

"Hey! ...You alright?" Y/n asks, placing a hand on Powder's shoulder. The girl's eyes look to the side and she shrugs.

"Yeah, I'm okay." She answers.

Usually Powder shares everything with Y/n, positive and the negative. So for her to not tell her what's going on when something is visibly bothering her both shocks and hurts her a little bit. Her hand squeezes her shoulder a little bit before letting it drop.

"Alrighty.." Y/n responds, pausing for a moment. Powder opens her mouth to say something but Y/n doesn't notice and beats her to it.

"Well I have to go since it's super late." This makes Powders eyebrows raise and look a little disappointed. She slowly nods her head.

"My dad will let me stay with you tomorrow though. And if not I'll just run away." The shorter girl laughs. She pats her friend's head with a parting smile and skips away.

Powder watches her exit the bar, wishing she could've stayed just a little bit longer.

-

It's the next day, and earlier Y/n's dad escorted her to The Last Drop. Beck knew of the possible dangers associated with her, and didn't want to risk anything. But he was also aware that she would rather be with the other four more than anything during this time. And after him and Vander had a long discussion about their fiasco in topside, he thought it would be best if she too stayed in a safer area with the rest of them.

"Remind me again why we bother with this dump." Mylo asks while picking his nose and flicking a boogie off to land on a wall.

"Vander said to lay low. Enforcers never come down here, so this is as good a place as any." Vi responds as she pants, having just finished a round of using their punching machine that has been there for what feels like decades.

"Oh, what's the matter Mylo? You worried Powder's gonna beat you again?" Claggor teases from across the room. He leans back carefree against a wall, a smirk growing as he watches Mylo's face turn into a scowl.

"Hey, if she didn't keep fixing these things, I wouldn't keep missing." One second after he says that, Powder pops up from behind the counter and connects two wires. The shooting range turns on with a buzz of bright lights.

Her evil smile grows once she hops over the counter and Mylo attempts to hit the targets, and then Y/n looks over to watch too. Boy was he godawful.

"Geez, are you even trying?" Y/n taunts dangling off the railings surrounding Vi's machine.

"Shut up."

"You guys know I wouldn't take you on a job you couldn't handle, right?" Vi asks sounding a little perturbed. Mylo is quick to answer.

"Are you kidding? That was the best job we're ever done! Maybe just don't take Powder and Y/n next time." He says, making Y/n slide off the bars and Powder roll her eyes before taking her aim at the moving targets.

Y/n doesn't see this too often, but when she does she nearly falls to her knees. She's fairly good with a gun and has her own dexterities and what have you, but Powder is without a doubt better than her. It makes her wish she could display her own abilities more often without a skill issue.

And without a problem, Powder hits every target square on, impressing anyone who sees. When it's over she places the fake gun back down on the counter and sneers at Mylo.

"Dang Powder, you're op!" Y/n chuckles and pats her shoulder as they walk over to an arcade game randomly sitting in a corner.

The shorter girl leans her side against the arcade game as she watches Powder play with a dreamy expression, still admiring her. It doesn't last long though because they both hear commotion coming from the large stained glass window. Powder look up at the same time Y/n turns around with a baffled expression. They look through a jagged hole in the glass.

"Tell me where to find them." A man is being restrained by a group of enforcers while one interrogates him.

"Topsider business ain't my concern." The guy argues.

"It's every one of you trencher's concern now. Give me a name." The enforcer gets in his face and sternly demands.

The man spits and it lands on the enforcer's shoe with a splat.

"Ew.."

The two girls share a weary look. Powder steps back and warns the others.

"Hey, guys? You should see this—"

A man is suddenly flying through the room and then tumbling aggressively to the floor, stopping after a couple of rolls. A moment of silences passes where nothing happens, but now the whole group of enforcers can see them.

"Search them." The one in charge says. And one by one they enter through the much larger hole made in the window.

Y/n and Powder have now backed up against the counter at the shooting range. Y/n feels Powder stiffen beside her and looks down to see her hand hiding something in her tiny bag hooked on her belt. That's when she remembers that Powder had been keeping those stones with her. She never thought why, but she's knows now that's it's definitely an inconvenience.

"Go ahead, idiots. We've got nothing." Mylo taunts while holding his hands up in surrender when an enforcer shoves a stick in his face. The two girls internally panic. And when Violet and Powder's eyes meet, the redhead immediately gets the message.

The head enforcer just so happens to be the one to approach the younger two, looming over them as he looks down at them with terrifying looking eyes. Y/n feels her heart drop.

But then it all happens before she even knows it has. Violet turns to Claggor who hasn't moved from his spot, and he pulls a lever that turns on a blue light, making the room significantly darker than it was before. Y/n doesn't focus on that too much, because she's running.

Everyone does what they can to escape; Vi throwing a metal piece at an enforcer's head while Claggor shoves down another to the ground. Y/n and Powder make their way through the shooting range, manoeuvring around the moving figures until they hide behind one at the very back.

They're both panting and shaking, desperately trying to stay calm and not get noticed. Powder grabs onto Y/n's hand and tries to make another run for it, but the second her head pops out from behind their spot a hand reaches out and manages to grab onto her braid. Powder screams nearly tripping over her feet.

Y/n gasps feeling anxiety shoot up her spine, and then her blood boil. When the enforcer pulls on Powder's hair again, his arm spontaneously catches on fire. His hand lets go and he immediately waves his arm around like a fool, trying anything to put it out. Y/n grabs Powder's hand again at the same time Vi grabs Powder's arm. The five of them run to a door farther back and kick it open, now sprinting down an alleyway.

They get maybe 50 feet when they see a couple other enforcers pinning a person up against a wall. They look over at them and drop the guy on the ground completely disregarding him. They turn back around but the other enforcers are charging towards them. They're trapped.

A whistle sounds above them and a ladder slides down beside them.

"Over here!" Leave it to Ekko to randomly save the day.

Vi is the first to jump and climb up. The enforcers are pelting towards them, and Y/n is scared they might not all get up in time. Soon she's one of the last ones below, she can hear the sounds of their boots stomping against the cement as they get closer to her. Her brain feels like a whirlpool of dread and she swears her vision turns blurry.

I’m so dead.

She lets out a fearful a whimper and covers her eyes with her arm, the other one shooting out in a pathetic attempt to defend herself, even though she knows there's really no point. At that moment she gets surrounded by a ring of fire, blocking both sides from approaching any closer. She can no longer see them, but she can hear the enforcers letting out coughs and yells of protest. Powder looks down astonished from her spot on the ladder, making Y/n usher her to keep going with flailing arms.

Even though Y/n makes her way to the top, Vi still aggressively kicks the ladder down to the ground just to be safe. She glares down at the group of men as the fire slowly dissipates then turns around to follow the others.

"You need to hide those crystals." She all but demands.

"Yeah, no shit."

Chapter 5…

—

y'all better eat this lore up in the future.

i'm trying to introduce u to this fire thing slowly and not be cringe with it. i'll talk abt it later tho.

[kanencrow]

Can I request a twdg violet x reader where she and reader go onto the bell tower and look at the stars like in the game and confess to each othrr

Underneath the Stars - The Walking Dead | One Shot

A/N: Of course! I got a few similar requests, so I'll just do one singular one shot so I'm not reposting the same exact thing multiple times.

SUMMARY: She wanted to get away from the constant stress that getting ready to face the raider's brought on, and she wanted you to come with her.

WARNINGS: Swearing, kissing, the Delta, Violet giving herself a hard time, (probably) a drawn-out confession, slight angst (?), fluff.

WORD COUNT: 1763

“Do you think we even stand a chance?” 

“Hm?”

“With the Delta,” Violet clarified, as she sat beside you on the edge of the bridge that was somehow still standing, connecting the bell tower and its twin tower together. She considered the place as her own personal safe space, and you understood the appeal. Though, currently, she seemed extremely uncomfortable in her own personal element while her fingers gripped the ledge tightly, the whites of her knuckles showing. “I have this sinking feeling that they’re gonna…” 

When the blonde trailed off, you took your eyes away from the black abyss above and lowered your attention to fully focus on her instead. All you could see of her was her side profile, which was sharp and defined, but you also noticed the clear tension she had circling her features. The muscles of her face were taught and full of clear discontent, but she tried so hard to hide it. Having been around her for so long, though, you could always see through her, like a pane of glass that had been uncovered by its curtains. “You know, they always say there’s strength in numbers, but… even then, I think we stand a chance.” 

Violet let out a humorous scoff the moment she heard your attempt at trying to be as optimistic as possible, as she glanced at you out of the corner of her eye. You awkwardly chuckled to yourself shortly after, acknowledging your unhelpful way of trying to lessen the weight of worry the both of you felt, but your amusement was quick in dying down. So did the girls’ beside you. Her expression was swift to fall within a millisecond, as she lowered her chin and looked between her knees, watching how her legs dangled off the edge of the bridge. It reminded her that she was so high up. Like she was on top of the world. “Who knows, maybe there’s strength in the relationships you have with the people around you.” 

Her voice was quiet, contemplative… almost mute to your ears, like the whistle of wind as it passed by your head. Though, there was still that little, tiny distinct sound you could hear in the process. Just loud enough so only you were the one who’d be able to acknowledge it. And you did. You leaned forward slightly and turned your head to try and peer at her face. The same one that refused to meet your eyes. “What’s on your mind, Vi?” you inquired, your tone soft as your eyebrows furrowed in worry for the young woman beside you.

The blonde took in a large, quiet breath, before letting it out as her shoulders slumped. “A lot of stuff, honestly,” she admitted, while lifting her chin up to stare forward and into the darkness of the night. “Those child-snatching assholes, just waiting to bust down our gates when we least expect it,” she listed off, as she shook her head in distaste. “And on top of that, I’m just… worried, I guess.” 

“About…?” You leaned closer to Violet, trying to get a better look at her face, but she continued to keep her eyes away from your own when she raised her head to stare up at the night sky. An annoyed huff came from her lips shortly after her movement, but you knew she wasn’t angry with you. You’d be able to tell if she was. She was frustrated about the situation she, you, and the rest of the kids down below were suddenly forced to face. And you didn’t blame the emotion at all. Though, you did want her to feel better, even if only a little. “You can talk to me, V.” 

“I know I can,” Violet replied, her tone slightly raising in defense, though not a considerable amount. “It’s just…” She trailed off again and fell into silence, as her chin lowered to stare onward once more. “It’s hard to talk about a… problem… when the problem is the person I’m talking to.” Your features scrunched up in offense the moment she said that, and she quickly glanced at you and widened her eyes when she saw the way you reacted. “I mean, I’m not saying that you’re, like, a problem, or anything. It’s just… you’re not a problem.” She let out a hushed groan and flickered her irises down slightly, refusing to keep her focus with yours. “I just… wanted your company. You know, before we die.”

“We’re not gonna die,” you disagreed, shaking your head. “You know Clem isn’t gonna let that happen.” Your statement was quiet as you voiced it, but you were sure you got your point across when you heard an almost silent hum come from the blonde next to you. It was a sound that made you let out a sigh and lean back to rest your palms against the cement below you. “I won’t let that happen. Because I can’t lose you, and I don’t want to,” you said, your throat becoming scratchy as you thought out your next words. “You mean too much to me to let that happen, Violet.” 

“Can I tell you something?” Violet’s voice suddenly filled the temporarily silent air. She sounded nervous, which caused you to furrow your eyebrows in slight concern and turn your head to gaze over at her. Of course, she was still staring forward, but that didn’t last long the moment she breathed in and shifted her attention to focus on you instead. She eyed you for a few, long seconds, before eventually speaking. “I’ve watched people leave before. Family, friends. They never come back,” she admitted, moving a leg up to rest her arm against her knee. “There were so many times where I pushed you away, made it seem as if I don’t care about you… but you’d always stay, even after I’d hurt you. You’d always linger around and wait for me to get my head screwed on straight. And I didn’t deserve that type of care, at all.”

You frowned faintly at her words. You remembered all those times, but you never faulted her for it. You knew she was healing in her own way, and although you gave her advice on healthier ways to do that – when she was willing to listen, you knew that you needed to be as patient as possible, and not hate her for making a mistake. Like every human does. But the human before you was someone you would have done anything for, even if she thought you were crazy in turn. “Of course you do, V. You make mistakes, just like me and every other person in this school and on this earth. What matters is that you self-reflect and fix what you’ve fucked up on, and that’s admirable, because not a lot of people are able to do that.” 

Violet sent you a small, but warm smile in response to your words. She gazed at you for a few moments, before glancing down at the space between the two of you and letting out a sigh. “You’ve given me so many chances, Y/n. More than what people usually give,” she told you quietly. “And, now… I can’t imagine what my life would be like if you weren’t here. You’re just… that important to me, and I–” 

Your heart overpowered any other aspect of logic in that moment, as you suddenly scooted closer to the blonde and raised your hand up to gently grab her chin. Your index and thumb lifted her head up, and when her eyes met yours, you waited to check for any sort of discontent from her. And as you saw her glance down at your lips, showing the mutual feelings you had, you leaned in and softly pressed your mouth against her own. Immediately, your eyes fluttered shut at the feeling, and you swore you felt sparks fly when she pressed her palm against the side of your neck, a quiet exhale coming from her. 

Only a few seconds passed before you and Violet equally pulled away from one another, faces flushed and eyes opening, only to convey complete surprise. Her hand was still cold against the side of your neck as she leaned back slightly, but with how warm you felt, it soothed you more than anything. Your own fingers fell away from her chin shortly after, but the proximity between you and her was still undeniably close, as you let out a breathless chuckle to yourself, before smiling at her. 

You were completely at a loss for words.

Though, Violet wasn’t, as she shook her head in utter disbelief and let out a scoff of bafflement. “Holy shit.” She looked at you as though you just did something she never would have expected, and in a way, you did. At her reaction, you laughed once more, and she quickly did the same, as she giggled out an: “I mean, holy shit.” 

You lightly shrugged your shoulders at the response and uttered: “I care about you too much to let you say things like that about yourself.” You reached a hand out and rested it on her upper arm, “There’s nothing you can do that’ll make me stop caring about you. I want you to know that.” Your fingers curled in to give her limb a soft squeeze.

Violet’s expression was quick to fall and contort into awe instead. Her pale green eyes quickly became glassy, but you didn’t notice it when she looked down and grabbed your hand that sat against the ground. She picked it up and rubbed her cold thumb over the back of your palm, cradling it, which caused goosebumps to rise on your skin. “Thank you, N/n. It means a lot.” You knew she wasn’t open about her feelings often, but even the simple statement went a long way. Your heart fluttered the moment you heard it, content with the fact that you made her a little less worried about what was to come.

…

The last few moments up in that bell tower were spent with you and the blonde sitting in a comfortable silence. And it was a silence that the both of you cherished, as you and her waited for those raiders to come knocking down the gates of Ericson. You were once terrified of what could soon happen, but now that you knew you had the person you loved aware of your devotion, and vice versa, you felt practically unstoppable. 

Even if that might have just been delusion coursing through your veins. 

Still, you had more hope than ever before.

Feel like this could be better, but my brain is mush at the moment.

Hope you enjoyed and have a good day!

[literaryobsession]

hand in hand || bakugo x fem!reader

summary: all the top 3 students from the sports festival are required to open the socialization night for the school festival

warning: mild cursing

word count: 1440

chapters: i , ii , iii , iv , vi , vii

viii

"Hey pretty."

Wandering over the list of food on the menu to the source of the sound, you frowned and cringed to see a man standing by your table. You always avoid places where you can get hit on because you really hate having to deflect the most obnoxious men. Guess a cafe isn't as safe as you thought.

"Can I help you?" At twenty, you were used to the slimeballs that life seem to always throw at you. Mineta was the practice dummy that you have spent years getting used to.

"Yeah, how about you and me go out on a date?" The man couldn't seem to take the hint of your glares.

This made you laugh, "Sorry, you're not my type."

"Oh yeah, what's your type, baby?" The man inquired further, "Maybe I can change that around."

Your eyes found your boyfriend who just entered the establishment. His eyes surveyed the place before he found you. He frowned at the man hovering over you and immediately made his way behind this lanky fellow. Bakugo's bigger form shadowed over the man who has been making moves on you.

You point out your boyfriend before smiling, "Him. I like my men angry and blond." The man turned, expecting someone smaller than the Pro Hero Dynamight. He scurried away, muttering some apology towards you and Bakugo and you laugh, "Hi baby."

"Tch, really? Here in this cafe?" Bakugo pulled out a seat and sat down, "You really can't go places without me, huh woman?" He took his coat off, revealing the arms you loved the most.

After UA, Bakugo bulked up. More than he could ever do in school, he made it another goal to be able to make sure his body doesn't fail him on his journey to the top. His quirk was getting stronger and you enjoyed the times when you can run your hands on the fruit of his hard work. Katsuki Bakugo is a snack. Your snack.

"I know." You offered him the menu, "Well, before we get distracted, go on and order." You glanced at your wrist watch, "They're late."

Bakugo grunted while reading the menu, "What do you expect?" He had his free hand resting on the table, open for you to take but you were feeling quite mean this afternoon so you ignored it. The blond noticed that his hand has been vacant for a few minutes and glared at you, "Y/N, hand."

"What?" You tilted your head innocently, "What about my hand?"

"Don't play coy with me woman. When I have my hand like this, you hold it. I have told you this every single time." Bakugo out the menu down and using this hand, he grabbed yours and placed it on his waiting hand. "Dumbass." He muttered before looking back down at the menu.

You smiled at this.

When you started dating on your first year, Bakugo could never say the words that he is so used to speaking now. He will grab your hand, sure, but he will never vocalize the need for you to do the same. He would simply mumble under his breath and it took you months to realize that he wanted you to take his hand too.

He didn't even learn to vocalize until your second year, when you finally got the girlfriend title. Bakugo had to go through months of plucking up the courage to actually say it and you were simply overjoyed when he finally asked the question. For then on, Bakugo learned to verbalize things he wanted done and this would often make you into a blushing and blabbering mess. Play flirting is his strength now.

On your third year, the perks of dating and being Bakugo's girlfriend was in full bloom. Not only did he show you and everyone else that you were the most important person in his world but he also made it a point that you know this every single day. You never doubted him, his loyalty, or his feelings.

You never had a reason to because he never gave you one.

After graduation, Bakugo gave you the free time that he rarely gets after being employed. Being a hero meant you barely had time to rest and the thought that he is giving you the small chunks of free time he is able to scrape from his busy hero life meant the world for you.

"Sorry we're late!" Kirishima flopped down on the chair next to Bakugo, following him were Sero, Mina, and Kaminari. You all had busy lives and this is one of the rare moments when you'd get to meet up.

"Tch, you're always so damn late, you extras." Your boyfriend told them. He was right, they always seem to be late and they always found reasons why they were. It irritated him too much.

"Ah, as if you don't like the extra quiet time with L/N." Kaminari scoffed as he called for a glass of water.

You shared at look with Bakugo when Kaminari called you by your last name, so you lifted the hand that he was holding and fixed your hair with it.

Mina gasped almost immediately when she saw you move. Your bestfriend never misses anything. "He didn't! He did? When? How? Why did you not-"

"What?" Sero's eyes wandered over to Mina then to you. That was when he found that glistening rock on your ring finger. "Dude! Really? Wow! Congratulations!"

"Pay up, Kaminari." Kirishima laughed, extending a hand towards the other blond who took some cash from his wallet.

"You're still betting on our life, people?" You laughed as you showed Mina the ring that Bakugo gave you when he proposed the night before.

Bakugo watched you and Mina fawn over the engagement ring he gave you and together with it, the promise he offered you, the life he offered you.

"Congrats man." Kirishima told his best friend. He knew that Bakugo would propose eventually since he was there when Bakugo bought the ring two years ago. He and the boys were there when Bakugo swore that he will keep you, that he will eventually marry you, and even though it was just after graduation, he pooled all of his savings (from study-work and from his first job in the agency) to get you that ring.

The boys just didn't know when he'd do it. But when you called up your friends out of the blue yesterday night, Kirishima knew. He knew that there is a big news that you'd share with them - Kaminari bet that it was simply nothing, L/N just missed everyone but Kirishima was adamant.

You were getting married.

You found your friends suggesting wedding ideas over drinks and cake. Mina even sent a message to the Class I-A group chat (which was named Mr. Aizawa's Problem Children after graduation) which resulted to you receiving congratulatory messages. Bakugo had to personally keep your buzzing phone because it was irritating him.

"How about one photo? I'm so excited to post this on my Instagram!" Kaminari took out his phone and you glance at your boyfriend for permission. He shrugged, it was better that the news come from Kaminari than some nosy journalist.

Kaminari raised his arm and took the selfie. He inspected the photo and laughed, "Can we not have a photo of Kacchan looking at L/N like it is the first time he fell in love with her?" He handed the phone to you and you nudged your soon-to-be husband.

He always does this, looking at you like you're the only person in the room, in the world. It always made you feel butterflies.

"One more." Kaminari took his phone and took another one. "Ah, I'm just gonna have to post this one."

"He's always looking at her, what do you expect man?" You heard Sero say.

Was he still...

You turn to face Bakugo who was indeed looking at you, the love of his life. There was a certain softness in his expression that not a lot of people are able to comprehend. He was the same explosive Katsuki Bakugo from school but whenever you come in the picture, his walls break.

He has long accepted that his emotions could never make him weak because loving you, being able to wake up beside you, and being able to spend the rest of his life with you are some of the many motivations that keep this going every single day.

He vowed to never lose a match so he can always come home to you.

And he kept this promise.

Every single day.

tagging: @icedemon1314 , @deneuves , @pink-hufflepuff

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

I’m sorry, but can I just go on a little rant about the Louis, clouis, and the Clem comic...? 

I didn’t really talk about Louis in my overall review of the comic because I wanted that to be more contained to the content shown on the pages, Clementine’s relationship with AJ, and her as a character.... but the more I think about these comics and Louis, the more frustrated I become thinking about what Clementine abandoning everyone would do to him. 

[... okay it’s not little anymore since I guess I can never just do anything simple when it comes to Louis, sorry my bad]

So, no surprise, we all know the comic’s bullshit by now. Clementine leaving everything and everyone behind because she’s not happy is dumb, AJ just letting her go is dumb, and Clem going to the mountains on crutches and a peg leg to find this so-called happiness is dumb. 

Now that we’ve established it’s dumb, I wanna talk about Louis because I got a lot of built up feelings about how bullshit this storyline is with how Clementine would not only abandon AJ, but also abandon Louis. 

Because let me tell you..... his heart would be broken beyond repair and I need to talk about why.

Sigh.... so.... muh boy. 

Before he met Clementine, Louis was this laidback, irresponsible, but caring and musical person who kept his head down to avoid conflict and never looked at the future. He was the kind of person who took things one day at a time, saw survival as a day-to-day task, and said that the future doesn’t exist, there’s only today. You get the point, he was never too concerned with things because they always seemed to work out, and if they didn’t, then that sucks and that’s why we should appreciate every day while we have it. 

Louis is shown to be charismatic and friendly, he spends his free time playing piano and card games, but no one really takes him seriously. Not even Marlon, his best friend for 8+ years. While he doesn’t seem to be on bad terms with anyone [including Aasim, they just act like people who disagree with the other’s point of view and have had the same argument many times, but that doesn’t mean they hate each other, y’know?] he also doesn’t appear super close with anyone outside of Marlon and possibly Violet, but even then. 

Marlon’s shown to have little faith in him with the way he talks about if Louis will even show up to hunt. He has a controlling grip on Louis that’s prominent during the confrontation scene when he uses intimidation to try to convince Louis to not interfere. Oh, and there’s the fact that Marlon’s been lying to Louis for the past year about the twins and then continued to lie to his face about what really happened to Brody... which isn’t great when you consider how Louis was the only one who had blind faith in him as a leader and, according to Marlon, was the only one who couldn’t see how pathetic he always was. 

Violet, while having a few more nicer moments with him than Marlon, still invalidates him and his feelings several times throughout the first half of the game which makes me wonder how close they ever were, or at least if Violet ever considered him a close friend to begin with. And no, a small monologue in the dorms doesn’t make everything better or confirm they were brotp the whole time... especially when once they’re on the boat, Louis might as well not exist because Violet can’t be bothered to acknowledge what happened to him or inquire about how he’s doing. I guess she just didn’t have time react while standing in her cell for several unbothered minutes-- no wait, it’s she already reacted off screen. Right. Good writing is good.

What I’m getting at here is that even though Louis is surrounded by people who he genuinely cares about, there is an argument to be made that he’s a lonely person. Hell, he’s aware of his loneliness when he says that no one hears past his music and jokes. I mean, how many nights do you think he spent by himself playing the piano because no one wanted to hear it? Are they like Violet and crack jokes about how he doesn’t have actual talent? Probably, given that someone literally carved “you suck at playing” onto the side of the damn piano. 

Oh, and let’s touch on that backstory of his. Louis grew up wealthy with two parents who loved him and each other, and they gave him anything he wanted except singing lessons. Louis says he wanted to be a real musician. But I guess his father didn’t like that idea and told him no, with the [as Louis puts it] dumb dad lesson of, “You get to be happy, or you get to be rich, can’t be both.” ...which is interesting given that Louis and his family were stupid rich but also.... were they not happy? well, that doesn’t make sense because little Louis knew that if he broke up their marriage, they would be hurt. 

So yeah, Louis was so upset that his father continually refused to let him take singing lessons that he broke into the man’s credit cards and faked an affair, which led to his parents divorcing... and then he spit his father’s words back in his face. 

Then they dumped him at Ericson. And the walkers came. 

There’s so much to unpack from the story he tells that it could be it’s own analysis, but basically.... Louis is aware of why what he did was fucked up, and he carries it with him every day. 

He regrets what he did, chews himself out for being such a “vindictive fuckhead” [and the amount of force used in that line tells you a lot, like how it’s not the first time he’s chastised himself like this] and he admits that he doesn’t even know the person he’s talking about. Yet, he still sees himself as bad, saying that they [I assume the staff] told him and the other kids they’re bad people. I don’t doubt that Louis internalized that which played a huge role in the confidence and self-esteem issues he has during tfs. 

Anyway, I’ll come back to this later, but when you take that amount of guilt and regret, and mix it with the fact that they dropped him off at this school that was supposed to make him better.... then the walkers came and those teachers, staff, and headmaster? Gone. Left a bunch of kids to fend for themselves, with the exception of Ms. Martin [but given how she looks when we find her I doubt she lasted that long] and I cannot imagine how horrifying that was for all of them. The dead are up eating people, and if you die you become one of them... and the people you thought you could rely on just fucking left you to die at this school. 

Every kid in that school has trauma and abandonment issues from before and after the world went to shit, every last one, and Louis isn’t the exception here. Over the years, a lot of kids died and they’ve all seen horrible shit. They all knew they were never going to see their families again, and as far as we know, no one came to get their kids at the beginning. They had to find ways of coping while trying to survive, and all they had left was each other. 

Louis copes with music and games and jokes. He’s built up this persona where it seems like he’s unaffected by the comments the others make, that the death and suffering he’s gone through is in the past, that he is confident and open to those around him.

But then Clementine and AJ show up, and Louis grows close with both of them. They had immediate chemistry upon first meeting, he was the one who looked after AJ since it seems like everyone else saw him as a little terror, and he went out of his way to be kind and make them comfortable. 

When they go hunting with him, Louis and Clementine have a moment after taking care of the walker where they lower their guards a bit-- Louis gives her more in-depth reasons for his views of survival, and going off her expression, it gets to her and makes her think.... but they’ve know each other a day and he’s not quick to infodump his life story or let her in, so he cuts the conversation short.

Then we have the Marlon confrontation scene that I have gone over so many times in the past. I won’t dillydally with it too long but..... Clementine appeals to Louis, who curls in on himself because of the control Marlon has on him. He wants to help, and hell, he knows this is wrong but he’s so used to not getting involved that he gets defensive.... plus, he’s known Clementine for two days, and he’s known Marlon for 8+ years.... he wants to believe Marlon but you can tell he doesn’t want this, either. It takes Clementine talking to him to give him courage to stand between her and Marlon’s gun and it’s a lot.

AJ shoots Marlon and everything goes to shit, and Louis is a goddamn mess. His best friend was murderer right in front of him, so add that to the trauma list, and he’s overwhelmed with all these feelings that again.... they keep getting invalidated by Violet because “Marlon was a liar and murderer, therefore you shouldn’t feel bad about his death. Get over yourself, Louis, you can be such a shithead sometimes.” 

Oh yeah Vi, I guess he should care more about two people he’s known for a total of two days rather than for the safety of the people [including you] he’s grown up with and cared about for 8+ years.... makes sense. 

So yeah, little to no support during this time. Alone again. 

And just because I have to make this clear so no one gets a hair up their ass-- both Louis and Violet are wrong here. Kicking them out isn’t the solution, but neither is acting like AJ was right to commit murder just because it was Marlon.

 But plots gotta plot, so they get voted out and you can see that Louis is conflicted about the whole thing. He wants them gone, but at the same time, he knows what kicking them out means. You can see it on his face that he’s not okay with kicking them out. He’s hurting when he’s there in the dorms telling them how the vote went... he literally doesn’t know what else to do. He just knows that everything hurts, Clem and AJ caused it, and he wants the pain to stop. He even tries to justify it to himself by figuring that they’ve done this before so they’ll be fine. Not a great thing to say, Lou. 

Anyway, we know the story, Clem and AJ come back and Louis once again sees the consequences of acting out of pain.... AJ is shot because Louis was hurt and he made a bad decision that he’s gotta live with.... something that he’s done before, and this affirms to him that he’s bad. He wishes he could take it back, and goes as far as to admit that to Clementine during the archery scene. 

By the way, credit to him for his apology to her. It’s rare in these games that Clem gets a genuine apology from someone who hurt her and doesn’t turn around to repeat the hurtful behavior, y’know? Plus, I can think of plenty of characters who owed Clem an apology in the past or if they did apologize, it was half-assed. 

You can feel how conflicted he is with this whole thing-- learning who Marlon really was and what he did, feeling something for Clementine before everything went down and not knowing how to handle those feelings afterward, caring about AJ and understanding why he thought shooting was the best choice but still hurting that his friend is dead.... 

And the thing is.... Louis forgives her for so much, as she does him, and through all of that bullshit, they manage to develop that strong connection that turns romantic. Louis lets himself be fully vulnerable with her and is honest about his feelings, how she listened when no one else did and seeing him for more than just the persona he put on. 

This works on Clementine’s side, too. Clementine has been through her own fair share of bullshit-- trauma, abandonment, loss, injury, you name it. She’s made mistakes, done terrible things, and has been in enough groups to know that romance usually ends in heartbreak.... and yet, she’s willing to open herself up to Louis and admit she feels a lot for him. 

Is it a little rushed? Yep. Could it have been handled better? Of course, most things this season could’ve, but what we got was pretty good. 

So Clementine and Louis are romantically involved now, the raiders attack, and she saves him... and boy does Louis feel guilty about that one, too. He feels bad enough that he questions why she would pick him because he can’t fathom his life being worth saving over another’s. He doesn’t see himself as useful, and even though Clementine is literally his girlfriend at this point, his self-esteem is so all over the place that he can’t understand why she would have him at her side. 

And when Clementine tells him that he’s too important to her, he’s too baffled to even give a response. He looks at her in disbelief like he wasn’t expecting her to say that.  But this shows that at the beginning of their relationship, he still doubts himself, and through her working with him, he begins to build up that strength in himself. 

He becomes brave enough to share what got him sent to the school with her, and he plays Don’t Be Afraid for everyone at the party and like.... for once, everyone is listening to him. Really listening to him. They’re not talking shit about his musical skills, they’re not ignoring him or the feelings he’s putting into the song, they’re sitting there with him and I just..... if you watch him, you can see that his eyes get pretty glossy throughout the song. The moment meant something to everyone. 

There’s also the fact that Clementine asked him to come with her and AJ onto the boat, and to be the one in charge of the bomb... that’s a huge responsibly and he feels the pressure of that. He starts to panic a bit about if he can do it, because what if he fucks up? What if he gets them caught and makes everything worse? What if something happens to Clementine and he can’t do anything about it? 

She’s there to reassure him that she believes in him, and that he can do this. They’re going to get everyone back, and he needs to focus... then he asks her to slap him which why would you? that’s dumb, so Clementine smooches him instead and like.... he physically relaxes into her because he’s comfortable and trusts her in this situation. 

Also, he loves her and cares about this mission enough to cover himself and his fancy jacket in walker guts.... sure, he complains while doing so but how else is he gonna cope with rubbing rotten guts on himself to blend in with a herd of walkers? 

Skipping ahead so that we’re not here all day, I wanna talk about the walk back to the school because it’s one of the most important clouis moments in the game and a huge reason that solidifies why the comic is bullshit.

Louis went off on his own to go out and find them. He didn’t know where they would be, he just knew that he had to go out and find them after making sure everyone was okay back at the school because he couldn’t bare the thought that he had lost them. And the way the AJ gets so excited to see him? and the group hug??

At this point, Louis has grown so much as a character. With Clementine by his side to support him, he’s grown stronger and more reliable. Remember how he never thought about the future? Well, now he is because his relationship with Clementine has given him a reason to long for a future. He talks about building this imaginary house with her, one he knows they can’t physically build... but it’s his way of saying we can build a home together, that he wants a future with her and AJ and everyone else. It’s such a personal conversation that flows so easy between them. Louis is more comfortable talking to her about things from his past, which is something he didn’t want to do back in ep1. 

He confides in her how he’s feeling after he shot and killed Dorian, he tells her that having a home means protecting it and I just.... it’s so good, okay? And from Clementine’s side, you can feel how at ease she is with him, too. Just the way she smiles at him as they’re walking? like he’s the cutest thing and she’s so happy to have him with her? 

But then we gotta deal with Minerva’s crazy ass on the bridge and well, AJ shoots Tenn and Louis is having flashbacks to Marlon and it’s not great. That’s a whole thing, and he ends up separated from them while escaping.

We don’t get to see Louis’ reaction to Clementine getting bit and losing her leg since I guess that puts a damper on the overly happy ending. But, going off of what we know about him and what I’ve explained [which isn’t even all of it, this isn’t a full Louis character analysis. if it was, it would be much longer and in multiple parts... believe it or not, I’m trying to not make this too long and only sorta failing...] we can get an idea of how he would react. 

Um, to say he was upset is an understatement.

Because remember, he had no time to think and climbed over the fence, thinking he could get them to climb over and they could get away, but it didn’t work. He ended up leaving them in order to save himself since walkers were closing in on him.

But you know that he’d blame himself for the bite. A lot of, “if I had just stayed” and “I should’ve climbed back over, I should’ve stayed with you.” I’m sure there were points where it looked like Clem wouldn’t make it and I can’t imagine how much hurt he went through watching her suffer and heal from losing a leg like that. 

Not only that, but knowing that AJ was the one to do it? And him thinking about what Clem’s death would do to AJ after all this? There isn’t a doubt in my mind that Louis would take care of AJ if she died. He cares about AJ, and he loves Clementine, so he be there for both of them, even if he’s still hurting from Tenn’s death. 

However, Clementine didn’t die. She survived the bite and amputation, and when we flashforward, she and Louis are still happily together. Louis is right there next to her at dinner, and he’s the one to help her with her crutches. He’s there to go over future plans to meet the traveling caravan, and Clementine wants him to be the one to go. 

Oh, and Louis once again forgives AJ for shooting Tenn, claiming that he understands that AJ saw something that he couldn’t. Like with Marlon, he’s not happy Tenn’s dead but he can see why AJ did it to save his life. 

I just..... happy ending. Clementine and Louis are together and she’s truly happy to have found a home for her and AJ with him at Ericson. 

....But then the comic thought it would be fun to say “nah.” 

The comic isn’t canon, I’m still insulted that it would ever consider itself as such, but even so I can’t help but feel so frustrated about how this would destroy Louis. 

He finally found someone he would consider his best friend, not just his girlfriend. She saw past that funny man persona and he trusted her enough to let her past this wall he built around himself. He let himself become vulnerable around her, he named his song after her. Their initials are carved into his piano with a heart surrounding them. He loved her. 

Clementine left him feeling loved, something he probably hasn’t truly felt since he was a little boy with his parents before their divorce. She loved him even after hearing his past because she knew that wasn’t him anymore, and she helped him build the confidence he needed to step up. Because of Clementine, Louis wants to enjoy every day while also looking at the future. He isn’t lonely anymore, he has her and AJ. He’s truly happy.

So to tell me that Louis would wake up one morning only to have AJ tell him that Clementine’s gone, she’ been planning an escape without telling anyone because she wasn’t happy...? I’m sorry, but if you think that wouldn’t leave Louis absolutely devastated, then you know nothing about him as a character. 

This idea is just.... look, Louis is perceptive. That’s a big part of his character, he’s perceptive of those around him. If Clementine was showing signs of being unhappy or depression, he would see it. He would notice a change. He would be able to tell if something was off, and he would ask her about it. Louis is the type of person to ask you what you need. What can he do to help? What do you need to feel better? And if you don’t know, it’s okay, he’ll help you figure it out in any way possible. 

Plus, the comic suggests that there are times where she went off on her own but came back [probably doing her escape prep ugh] and you expect me to believe that Louis wouldn’t notice that or wonder what she’s doing? Wouldn’t sense that something’s going on? 

After she’s gone, he’s going to blame himself for not being enough. He couldn’t make her happy and he was a fool to think he ever could. AJ lost the only family he’s known since he was born because Louis couldn’t help her, couldn’t do anything to stop her from leaving. 

And for him to realize that she didn’t love him? Clementine, the girl he thought the world of because of how strong and confident and in-charge she was, because she saw him for who he was..... she left him, abandoned him... and she couldn’t even be bothered with a goodbye.... that says that she didn’t care all that much about him in the end.

You KNOW that he would think he had this coming, too. How could the universe allow him to fall in love and be happy with someone who loved him back after what he did to his parents? He would feel so heartbroken that he would see this as some sort of karma for breaking up his parents happy marriage as a kid years before he ever met Clementine and before the apocalypse.

I fucking can’t.... I don’t have the words to fully explain how much I hate this. Louis wouldn’t be okay afterward, and I doubt he’d ever fully recover. I wasn’t joking when I mentioned before that Louis would stop playing piano. How could he sit there and play when I he can see is their initials and remember the night she confessed to him? When he named his song after her? Clementine left and took the music with her because Louis wouldn’t have it in him... something that he used to cope would be ruined and that’s just.... it’s fucking awful. 

Not only that, but now he has AJ who I assume is hurting just as much [though the comics inaccurately assume he would just let Clem go sooo... yeah] and he would be the only one Louis would really talk to about it, but then again.... what if AJ doesn’t wanna talk about it? What if AJ starts to act out and things just become terrible and Louis is just too overwhelmed? 

I just.... UGH. That’s how I feel. UGH. 

Clementine from the comic? Not her. She would never fucking do this to Louis, AJ, or anyone else at Ericson, and you would know that if you played the tfs. 

Sigh.... sorry, I just needed to get this all out. I haven’t seen anyone talk about how Clem leaving would affect Louis and I’ve gotten some asks/come across some posts about Louis that have left me incredibly annoyed.... well, I was annoyed before because of the comics, so my annoyances with those things were only heightened. So yeah... I wanted to talk about Louis’ character in hopes of explaining why he would be so hurt if this comic was canon. 

Which it’s not. So it’s fine. 

How are we all feelin’ at this point, by the way? I know I’m not the only one still annoyed with the comic, so I hope y’all are doin’ okay. Hope you’re stayin’ chill and thinking about your faves to help cope with this mess hahaha

[marvelsbanner]

Body, Mind, and Soul

Prompt: there simply needs to be more vision fic out there🥺 may i request a cute one where you've been going out for a while but the big L word hasn't been said yet and vis is just.. trying his best to tell you but doesn't know how🥺🥺 he's just so cute like that😭❤️ kissy i love ur stuff

Pairing: Vision x reader

Warnings: Slight language, tooth rotting fluff - beware of cavities 

Word Count: ~1700

A/n: Reblogs, likes, and feedback are very much appreciated! <3 All mistakes are my own! 

**I do not own marvel, sadly** **not my gif**

“Darling, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Vision phased through your walls to where you were sitting on your bed reading. Months ago you would have jumped straight out of your bones, startled by the synthezoid’s intrusion and lack of personal boundaries. In all honestly, it was no sooner after you had explained the concept of privacy and simple manners to Vision that you had come to look forward to his visits, not caring if he was intruding as long as he came to see you at all. 

It was strange, you’ll admit- very strange. You were the newest Avenger recruit, and the youngest (if you didn’t count that he was technically born a little over a year ago? He had the wisdom of a thousand year old sorcerer, so you didn’t think of him as younger) and so he had a naturally protective nature about him when it came to you. 

He always tried to be by your side during missions, saving your ass on multiple occasions. He never made you feel weak or like you needed protecting, but he was just always there for you. Not just in missions, but in everything. Joining the Avengers was a life changing decision that was not easy in any sense. You didn’t exactly have the prettiest past, which is partially what landed you there in the first place. You knew that none of the members there were exactly saints, but you couldn’t help but feel like you didn’t deserve the new chance at life you were given. Not to mention you had been hearing about the Avengers for years now, and in your mind it was hard to take them off of this pedestal of superhero-assassin-gods to simple coworkers and family. 

Vision could sense your uneasiness, they all could really- but he had no filter and no sense of boundaries and was the only one to confront you about it. You were taken aback at first, but it was truly exactly what you needed. 

He would bring dinner to your room, offering to sit with you as you ate- even though he didn’t need to himself. He brought you DVDs, claiming Wanda told him that they were what lifted her mood. When that didn’t work he tried bringing some old records that Tony recommended, eventually bringing some books from Steve’s “project modernization” stash that peaked your interest. Some nights he would sit with you as you read, reading over your shoulder or watching something on the tv, just content to be in your presence. You never asked him to, and you never asked why, but you also never asked him to leave. 

The dynamic between the two of was certainly an unlikely one, Steve even asking you at one point if he needed to tell the Synthezoid to back off before you assured him that it was fine. 

Somewhere along the way you found yourself falling for Vision, utterly terrified and mortified over the uncertainty of if he could even feel those kinds of feelings towards anyone in return. But then you would hear him laugh at one of your jokes, a real hearty laugh when the joke wasn’t even that funny- or that smile, that god damn smile that stretched across his entire face with those pearly whites that made your heart flutter in your chest, or even worse- the small, shy smile that he would give you when he didn’t think you could see him that brought a faint blush to your cheeks every time. It was in those moments you let yourself feel a slimmer of hope that he could maybe, just maybe feel the same way. 

He eventually figures out that he feels the same as well, after a long conversation he had with Tony and Bruce over whether those feelings should even be possible for him or not. He decides that whether or not he should be able to, he most definitely did, and suddenly fleeting glances and stolen cozy nights turned into hands intertwined under the table during meetings and stolen kisses in the compound halls. 

A year later and everyone knows that it’s never just y/n or Vision, you get the both of you or neither of you, because you were a team.

About a month after the two of you had confessed your feelings Vis had asked you to “go steady”, it was adorable really- he said he saw it in a movie and thought it was what most human couples still did, and he was so nervous and flustered and cute you couldn’t help but say yes. 

Boyfriend and girlfriend, partners in crime, lovers- whatever you wanted to call it, you were. The labels didn’t matter, all that mattered was that you knew how you felt about each other. At least, you hoped you did. 

Vis had been acting strangely lately. He seemed more nervous around you; he was stuttering and losing his train of thought- he would sometimes act like he had something important to say and would end up saying nothing at all. Sometimes he would bring you flowers out of nowhere or prepare a meal he knew you loved, just to disappear for the rest of the night and you weren’t sure what to make of it. Sometimes he would babble on and on about some sort of poetic metaphor and ask if you understood what he meant and when you didn’t he would just tell you to pretend he said nothing at all. 

So there he was, phasing through your wall and asking to talk and you could see a large bouquet of roses behind his hand and you weren’t sure whether to be excited or scared or all of the above, so you simply dog-eared your book and set it aside, patting the empty side of the bed next to you for him to sit. 

He settled on the floor before walking over to the side of the bed and sitting, revealing the bouquet of flowers fully before shyly offering them to you.

“I was informed bouquets are a romantic gesture appropriate for such occasions” he explained, hands fidgeting as he spoke, not making eye contact with you. 

“And what occasion is that?” You inquire, quirking a brow at his behavior. 

“Ah yes that, right, well..” He started before opening and closing his mouth a few times, unsure of how to go on. 

“Darling, I don’t have much to go on with this in terms of past experience- this is all very new to me as you know, however, I have come to understand that there is a certain point in relationships, romantic relationships that is, where the feelings that one has for the other might start to change.” He explains, fingers continuing to fidget and pull at another. 

“Vis.. if this is you wanting a break from me, from us- flowers don’t exactly portray that message clearly..” You reply, anxiety beginning to settle in your chest.

As soon as you say that, any worries at what he could be implying flood your mind as his face fills with distress.

“Oh no- darling, no, that’s not what I was getting at at all!” He hurriedly says, setting the flowers on the bed and taking your hands in his own. “No no, it’s quite the opposite actually! See, I’ve been wanting to tell you this for quite a while, months even! But I wasn’t sure when a good time would be, and no article online could give me a set answer and I didn’t know how you felt- I thought I did sometimes but other times I just couldn’t be sure and then on this last mission when you almost got hurt and I couldn’t bear the thought that-“ you cut off his rambling by taking his cold face in your hands, “Vis hunny, slow down. What is it you want to tell me?” You ask, finally getting him to meet your eyes. He looked more nervous now than he had been for any mission in the past. 

He hands came up to rest atop your own on his face, intertwining your fingers together as he spoke softly, “Well darling, I just- I just thought, we’ve been together for quite some time now, and I think I can safely say- maybe- I hope- that neither one of us want to be letting this go anytime soon and I, well I just thought you ought to know that I love you.” 

A smile immediately pulled at your lips, you had been so afraid just a moment ago that he wanted nothing to do with you and there he was, telling you that he wanted everything to do with you. You wanted to say it back, you wanted to scream it out but he was sitting there with his big anxious doe eyes and a small, nervous smile as he awaits for your answer and suddenly all your words fail you- so you pull him in to a kiss instead. 

It was sweet but not chaste, lips firmly planted against each other as you fought the urge to cry because he was so perfect and you felt more loved than you had ever felt before. Your hands clutched the sides of his face as he planted his on your shoulder blades, bringing you closer to him but never too forcefully- always giving you the option to retreat, but you never take it, and you never will. 

The two of you finally part, gasping for air as he searches your eyes to gouge your reaction and finds a singular stray tear, chasing it away with a swipe of his finger. 

“So, may I assume that this may be reciprocated?” He asks shyly and you laugh, the two of you laugh together with big smiles and open hearts and you assure him “Yes, Vis, I love you, I love you too. Body, mind, and soul.”

“Body, mind, and soul.” He repeats, a smile forming at his lips before he pulls you in for another kiss, the rest of the world melting away until it felt like only the two of you, like it was always meant to be. 

[matryosika]

shoot me, chapter VI

pairing — changbin x reader

rating — 18+

genre of the overall series — smut, angst, fluff if you squint

prologue chapter I chapter II chapter III chapter IV chapter V chapter VI

word count for this chapter — 4.1 k

warnings — mentions of alcohol and emotional abuse

note — this chapter has no smut in it. still, the love-story gets completely developed here. next chapters will be filled with smut and angst so stay tuned! i haven't read this chapter because i wanted to upload it as soon as possible, so it may contain grammar mistakes. i will check it later since i have to go out with my family to have dinner! <3 hope you enjoy

taglist:@cozyblues @ahgasearmyfan @binnie-m00n @minaamhh @pinkishwen @spilledtee

*

[changbin's pov]

"so?" you asked him, modeling one of the dresses that you had previously selected from the expensive clothing shop "what do you think?"

she looks like a goddess.

"good" changbin limited to reply. "is that the last one?"

"c'mon you are not helping at all" you grunted, turning around slightly on the mirror to see the full silhouette of the dress "this might be the one, don't you think?"

i think so. i think you look perfect in all the things you have tried on, actually.

"it's alright" the dark-haired man reply "just take that one and let's get this over with"

"jesus, changbin" you whined "you are such a pain in the ass. if you were in a bad mood then you shouldn't have accepted to drive me here so i can buy a dress for the wedding"

you had been in korea for a month and 2 weeks now, your relationship with changbin growing unconciously intimate as you often engage in sexual encounters with him. you wouldn't say the both of you were close, but each day that passed by you could feel how you learned more about him just like he learned more about you too. you wouldn't consider him a good friend, since hostility made a presence every now and then between the both of you, but you had learned to spend time with him without feeling the need to put plugs into your ears and a blindfold to stop acknowledging his existence.

"if you needed help picking a dress" changbin interrupted, standing up from the seat he had been occupying for the last 45 minutes "you should've asked hyejin or ryujin to come and help you out, not me"

"hyejin is busy" you were quick to respond "ryujin had work today and you were the only other person i know that owns a car"

"cabs exist"

"yeah well" you made a pause, swallowing hard "i don't like cabs"

"you could've asked arthur to lend you his private driver" changbin tilted his head slightly.

"i get uncomfortable with strangers" you answered after a few seconds of being completely silent, changbin's gaze making you incredibly nervous.

"really?" he inquired, one of his hands traveling all the way to the pocket of his jacket as he pulled his wallet out. "why won't you just admit that you wanted to spend time with me?"

"fuck no" a grimace of disgust was quick to appear on your face "don't get confused. i would rather be dead than to spend more time with you than i already have to"

"yet you are still here" he teased "maybe i'm not as unbearable as your mind is trying to convince you i truly am"

with lazy steps he took the bunch of dresses that were piled up on the chair next to him, putting them all over his shoulder as he walked to the counter. "what are you doing?" you asked, still wearing the last dress you tried on.

"you are indecisive and i am starving" he said without even looking at you "i don't need to spend another 45 minutes here looking at how much you struggle to pick between 5 dresses, just have them all and pick one when you are alone"

you looked at him in desbelief "do you have any idea of how much just one of them cost? are you stupid?" you almost yelled in astonishment, looking at the figure of changbin slightly turning around to face you.

"i am not stupid" changbin reply "like i said, i am just hungry"

and currently thinking about how beautiful you are looking right now with that look of amazement on your pretty face. if i could, i would buy you the entire world just for you to destroy.

[y/n's pov]

"i will pay every single one of those dresses back before i leave" you mumbled, eating your food as if you had been starving for days "i had money, i didn't need you to come and rescue me as if i was some sort of damsel in distress"

"you were in distress though" he added, taking a sip of the drink he ordered "you took almost 30 minutes just to pick one dress to try on, you are really undecisive"

"yeah well, it's not like i had anywhere else to be" you replied.

"isn't arthur going to have a small gathering at his house today?" changbin inquired "like a pre-celebration of the wedding or something?"

you shrugged your shoulders "i don't know and i don't care. i am just here for the wedding and then i will be finally free"

you kept on eating your plate of food, confused as to why changbin's gaze stayed fix on you. "what, do i have something on my f-?"

"are you leaving right after the wedding?" he asked in a very hostile way, almost as if he had completely forgot that you were not going to stay forever.

"not right after but that's the main reason i came here, yeah" you replied, having a mixture of feelings inside your guts.

you couldn't deny the fact that you missed tsukuba, but living there meant to be trapped in the university dorms 24/7 just studying. but still, the lifestyle you have had for the past time was absolutely something you could get use to it: ryujin, hyejin, going out on the weekends, being free from school, changbin...

changbin?

"i still don't know the exact date though" you added "school doesn't start for me in another months so..."

"how is your life?" he asked, earning a weird look from you as you couldn't quite understand his question "in Japan, i mean"

you sighed. you had thought that living in japan was really good and you felt utterly comfortable living there until you arrived to korea and discovered a whole new life style that you had already learned to love. not only that, but leaving everything here was going to get you a bit nostalgic in the future. "it is great, better than people say it is honestly" you responded as he nodded "i live at the university dorms so life is pretty much everything but rushed. i spend my days at the library studying, i sometimes work as a shadow teacher for like 4 or 5 kids and on weekends i go and visit my mom and her partner"

"your mom got married after divorcing arthur?" changbin followed, just in time as he finished his dish of food.

"uh, it's complicated" you gave him a smile "she lives with someone and she is very happy"

"and are you?"

you were about to answer the question when you felt a pinch on your heart. a month ago you would have replied "yes" without a doubt. you thought you were happy living in japan, you thought you were happy when you visited thea, your mother, and reiko, her girlfriend. you thought you were happy when reiko made you her special coffee and you thought you were happy when they ocasionally visited you on winter nights at your dorm. you thought you were happy when you worked with children and spent time with them. you thought you were happy when you rode your bike from school to work and you thought you were happy when ryejin visited you and your mom on the holidays.

however, you had learned a new definition of happiness here.

"are you?" you fired back.

changbin slightly tilted his head as he laid completely back on his seat "i could be"

"what is exactly stopping you from being happy?" you asked him, intruiged.

"even if i explained it to you" he mumbled "i don't think you will be able to understand it"

"ah, there you are again" you scoffed, slightly rolling your eyes "your god complex has not show all day. i guess you missed it."

"c'mon" he grunted, raising his hand at one of the waiters at the restaurant "let's go somewhere else"

"where exactly?" you laughed "to your place? your car? a motel? jesus changbin, you can't really go a day without fucking, can you?"

"that's not actually what i had in mind" he replied, taking out his credit card as he saw the waiter approaching the table "but i mean if you want to fuck i won't say no"

"you had something in mind?" you asked, faking excitment "for me? you planned something for me?"

"if you want i can drop you at arthur's place right now so he can force you to have dinner with him and his bride. it's up to you"

you weren't really feeling like spending "quality time" with your father, and you also knew that hyejin was probably not going to attent the dinner, so there was no point of you being there. but at the same time, the thought of spending time with changbin doing non-sexual activities was something that it always made you nervous for an unknown reason, and you were feeling particularly nervous today.

"whatever"

*

the evening went on peacefully and that alone was unreal. he drove you to the center of seoul and suggested to take a walk around the most popular avenues because "the city looked better at night", something you have always believed too.

changbin was attractive and, even though your personalities crashed every damn time, you couldn't deny the fact that there were some sort of intimate bond going on between the both of you since that very first night at the bar. still, you wouldn't accept it. you wouldn't accept that the one person you disliked the most was starting to change your mind.

and you couldn't get yourself to trust him either. you couldn't trust any men, for that matter.

"have you thought about which dress you are going to wear tomorrow?" he asked so casually, his hands inside the pockets of his jacket as his gaze diverted from building to building.

"no" you replied, trying to get back at the trail of thoughts you had been threading since you left the restaurant with him. "have you?"

"have i thought about the dress i am going to wear tomorrow?" he laughed "i don't know, it will depend on which one you lend me"

"i got distracted" you admitted "but i will try on all the dresses tomorrow morning and i will give you the rest of them so you can return them to the store"

"i won't do that" he clicked his tongue "i bought them for you"

your heart skipped a beat after hearing those words and it was everything but pleasent.

"i don't want them"

"you can't reject a gift" he mumbled "that's the whole point of a gift"

"i will sell them on the internet" you threatened.

"do it, at the end of the day they are yours" he gave you a side look while smirking "but i wouldn't sell them if i were you. you look good in them"

"oh so you want to give opinions about the dresses now, huh?" you asked, mildly annoyed "you could've help me back at the store but you chose to be grumpy"

"at least i am helping you now"

"you are unbearable" you whispered.

a bright smile was quick to appear on his face. a genuine smile, as if he was enjoying the conversation. not only the conversation but the whole moment: you and him, walking around the city and talking about something so casual and trivial like which clothes you were going to wear tomorrow or which dress he liked best on you.

and for a moment it felt nice.

you felt safe.

"the red one was pretty" he added. you looked at him confused, once again lost in your trail of thoughts. "the red dress, the one that you tried on last"

"good" you responded "i'll make sure not to wear that one"

"you hate me that much?" he teased while a faint chuckle left his lips.

"oh changbin, you have no idea" deep down knowing it wasn't more than a vile lie.

*

you looked in the mirror one last time before you heard hyejin calling your name once again "y/n, how long will you take? i need to stop by the bakery to pick up the wedding cake"

"i'll be out in a minute" you replied, noticing how your hands got sweatier by the second.

you were quite nervous, but couldn't really understand why. maybe the sole thought of your father having his "happy ending" made you jealous because you knew that he did not deserve that at all; he didn't deserve the love he had.

the emotional abuse your mother and you suffered throughout your childhood and adolescence was not something that could be fixed in a month or two and you were certain about it. no matter how happy your father was, you couldn't help but to feel jealous about how he never had to suffer like you and your mother did.

and even though you got over your negative feelings towards him, the scars and aftermath of an abusive household still caught up on you: the mistrust, the negativity, the hostility and the lack of commitment were things you had to deal with on a daily basis.

of course he was the one to blame. but you were an adult now, and you were supposed to deal with all those issues by yourself. no one was going to fix them for you.

"jesus y/n, we are running late" hyejin busted the door open "are you ready now?"

"yes" you were quick to respond, grabbing the purse on your bed and trying to quickly divert from your sister's gaze.

"wait" she mumbled, gripping both of your shoulder as you intended to the leave the room "why are you tearing up?"

"i am not" you replied "i yawned"

she didn't look convinced, but still decided not to push any further "i'll meet you in the car, i just have to grab a few things"

you nodded and made your way through the hallway. because of how rushed she was, you didn't have a chance to tell hyejin how gorgeous she looked. she was wearing a golden shiny dress that embraced her body just fine and carrying a maching clutch with it. she was really pretty, maybe the prettiest woman you had ever seen, and not only that but she was also very smart. any guy would be head over heels for her, but she still decided not to engage in a "silly love story" as she called them because "it is a waste of her precious time, and time is money"

you wished you had the same mentality as she did, but you grew up getting educated on how love was portrayed in books, movies and television. it was ironic how you were the first person on earth to deny that love actually existed, but you were still a hopeless romantic after all.

*

[changbin's pov]

"changbin, are you too far from the church?" haeun, his mother, asked desperately as changbin picked up the phone.

"i'm right outside" he grunted "i told you i was not going to be late"

"we are sitting on the second bench at the left of the altar" the old woman added "hurry up"

changbin hung up the phone and cursed under his breath. the weather today was maybe too nice for his own liking and his clothes were a bit too uncomfortable to be wearing them under the sun.

as quickly as he could, he closed the door of his car and started walking towards the entrance, making sure that the ceremony hadn't started just yet so he wouldn't make a scene.

"did you bring the gift?" jang-yeop inquired as he sat down next to him and changbin nodded "did you also bring your mother the pair of shoes?"

"yes" he responded "how long is this going to take?"

"40-45 minutes?" his father replied "i have no idea, what time is it?"

"7:02 p.m." haeun was quick to answer "now, the both of you shut up"

right after she mumbled those words, music started to sound on the church. changbin, being in a rush to get to his seat before the ceremony started, didn't notice that arthur was already standing up next to the altar and waiting for his soon-to-be wife. changbin's gaze was fixed on arthur, then it diverted into the bride walking down the aisle and then returned to arthur once again. he never thought about marriage or building a family. hell, he never thought about having a romantic relationship that would last longer than a few months actually. but as he grew older, and as he experienced new stuff, he wasn't sure if he still had the same mentality he used to have last year.

to changbin, arthur seemed genuinely happy. his half-lidded eyes along with that bright smile he was wearing indicated that the man was living one of the happiest days of his life. and as changbin witnessed that romantic scene, the question that popped up in the conversation he had with you last night grabbed his attention once again.

what exactly is stopping me from being happy?

and before he could respond himself with words, his eyes had already found the answer: standing on the bench at the right of the altar and wearing that promising dark red dress that could drive any man insane, the woman he never dreamed of looking just as beautiful as the very first day he met her.

not being able to have her completely.

*

[y/n's pov]

after the ceremony, a big party was held at a very elegant event hall located in one of the tallest buildings of seoul. you were not particularly excited about having to see arthur's side of the family, but you still managed to keep yourself together the whole time.

"you are wearing the red dress" a sudden voice whispered into your ear as you were counting the tables that were still missing their dinner plates, an order given by hyejin. you slightly turned around to meet changbin's breath dancing on your neck and nape, goosebumps filling every single inch of your skin due to the proximity.

"congratulations" you sighed "your vision is crystal clear"

"i have been watching you since the ceremony" changbin added "i can't help but think about how pretty you are going to look when you are taking that dress off for me"

a spark of electricity traveled around your whole body and directly into your core. you immediatly looked around and notice a few people who worked for arthur's company sitting not that far away from the both of us "do you really want to do this here?" you asked "aren't you scared of being caught by any of arthur's friends?"

"are you concerned about that now?" he chuckled "that didn't seem to bother you at the company's elevator"

"c'mon" you whispered, your back slightly pressing against his chest "i have to help hyejin with some stuff"

changbin slightly gripped your hand and guided you to the dancefloor that was crowded with couples dancing around "i am sure that she can handle all of this by herself"

before you could protest, you took out your phone and sent her a message with the information she asked for. you had no idea what changbin was up to, but you still decided to follow him.

changbin positioned his hands on your waist as he gracefully dragged you across the dancefloor, looking for a spot in the middle of the crowd so it would be easier for the two of you to get lost.

"you are spending the night at my place" he mumbled over the slow songs that were now playing. it wasn't a question nor a petition, it was an order.

"yeah right" you chuckled "if you are too desperate to fuck we can do that, but i am not fond of sleepovers"

the thought of you spending the night with him was terrifying, but you would've been lying if you said that you hadn't think about what it would be like to wake up next to his him.

"i wasn't asking" he responded. "tell me when you are ready to leave".

with a swift movement, your whole body was pressed against his, his hands resting on your lowerback as you both swinged from side to side, following the rythm of the song. this was a whole new side of him that you didn't know it existed, and you couldn't deny that you were loving every second of it.

"who thaught you how to dance, huh?" you asked, your gaze fixed on his eyes that looked even brighter because of all the lights adorning the hall.

"there is so much about me that you don't know" he replied.

"oh i know everything there is to know about you, changbin" you scoffed "but let's see if you can keep surprising me"

*

it wasn't even midnight but people were already starting to get completely intoxicated with alcohol. arthur had spent the night dancing with ara and, after she was done being the unofficial wedding planner, hyejin ended up getting wasted with the small group of friends she invited to the wedding. you, on the other hand, spent the night dancing with changbin and eating your dinner with him.

it was not unusual to see the both of you together since you spent too much time at the company, but tonight it was sort of different. the looks he gave you, the way you two danced for hours on end, the way he was treating you... it felt different, a little bit more personal and intimate. his parents probably noticed this too, since they made a lof of comments about "how happy they were about us being really good friends". if only they knew.

"i think i am ready" you said to changbin after telling hyejin that you were going to spend the night somewhere else. she nodded her head and agreed to say, if asked, that "you were at ryujin's" even when she wasn't invited to the wedding in the first place. you just smiled at her and nodded, not leaving without telling one of her sober friends to look out for her.

"don't worry" the pretty pale girl mumbled "she will stay at my house tonight"

you glanced over to arthur and ara who were still having the greatest time of their lives on the dancefloor, and proceeded to walk away from the party with changbin. "you parents will stay here?"

"yeah, they will leave in an hour or so" changbin replied "i told them that you wanted to go home and that i was going to drive you"

"perks of living alone i guess" you joked.

the walk through the empty corridors of the building felt eerie as the loud sound of the music were still ringing in your ears. even though you were walking on your own, you could still feel changbin's ablazing touch on your body and that only provoked your heartbeat to go even faster.

as you waited for the elevator to open their doors, changbin's lips unexpectedly crashed against yours. it wasn't a passionate kiss, and it wasn't rushed either. it was just a kiss, an innocent kiss, a kiss you give to your significant other as a demostration of how much you love them. his soft lips dragged against yours as his teeth bite softly your bottom lip, earning a small whine from you. his hands, that were now located into your waist, guided you to the insides of the elevator once the doors were opened.

"you look so beautiful tonight" he whispered interrupting, his breathing getting faster each second that passed by "i can't get you out of my head"

his lips left yours to meet the sensitive spots on your neck, peppering soft kisses all over the surface. your gaze found the reflection of the scene in the mirror of the elevator, looking at how changbin was tasting every inch of your skin with his eyes closed, his rushed hands traveling all the way from your waist to your lower back trying to memorize every single trace of your body.

"i don't want to hurt you tonight" he continued "no roughness, no pain, no petnames. i want to make you completely mine, in the most pure way"

and for the night, you agreed to let your feelings out and let go.

no fear and no mistrust, you were ready to face the overwhelming feelings that had been building up inside you since the day you met him.

even if you could potentially regret it later...

[rrickgrrimes8]

Normality is Death

Chapter Twelve ~ TS-19

masterlist

The next morning, Rick woke up, his eyes catching the bright lights of the room, which immediately blinded him. As he tried to hide away from them with a blanket, he soon realised that his head was banging profusely, which just added to his problems. Bravely, Rick lifted his head out of the blanket attempting to power through the pain, only to see the emptiness of the room. Right away he felt a surge of panic force through him but settled realise that they were, in fact, safe and protected by the C.D.C. Rick sat up grabbing the clothes he'd left lying around, still somewhat fearful that he wasn't with his family. 

Jacey watched from the table they had all sat on the night before as her father shyly walked into the busy room. 

"Hello," he addressed them all, really feeling the effects of his hangover. 

"Morning," Dale cheerily greeted making some of the adults groan. 

Jacey laughed at them before returning her gaze to her father, "Morning dad." 

"Morning, princess," He gladly returned, scruffling her hair and taking the seat next to her. 

"Are you hungover? Mom said you would be," Carl giggled. 

Rick sighed, taking a sip of water, "Mom is right." 

"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori stated as a matter of fact. 

Rick looked down at the table to the bottle of aspirin, only slightly paying attention to Glenn and T-dog's conversation, "Where'd these come from?" 

"Jenner," Lori answered. 

"Could you help me, please?" Rick sweetly requested from his wife after attempting to open it a few times. Lori did as he asked, opening the bottle easily, surprising Rick, which caused Jacey and Carl to laugh. 

"Your back still hurting?" Rick said to his daughter, which she nodded to, remembering how the pain had surfaced this morning more brutal than the day earlier. 

"What's wrong with your back, Jace?" Lori looked to her daughter, who just shrugged, not wanting to get into it. 

Rick took another pill out of the bottle for Jacey, passing it over to her, swallowing it immediately, "Thanks, dad." 

Soon after Shane walked in, much like Rick just had, grabbing the coffee pot and a cup, "Hey." 

"Hey, you feel as bad as I do?" the officer queried. 

"Worse," Shane now sat at the table, next to Jacey, which was another empty space. Lori visually tensed at his presence which no one seemed to notice except Jacey. 

T-dog walked past the group dishing out the eggs to different people and instantly noticed the scratches Lori left that littered Shane's face and neck. "What the hell happened to you? To your neck?" T-dog exclaimed. 

Shane did his best to make a puzzled face and looked around, "must've done it in my sleep." 

"Never seen you do that before," Rick appended, still unaware of the situation between his best friend and his wife. 

"Me neither," he started before bitterly looking at Lori, "Not like me at all." 

Jacey watched as her mother's attention shot down to the food, ignoring Shane. She wondered what he could've done to make her mother so uncomfortable but reminisced on how Lori had said that Shane had upset her the night before. 

Jacey had also yet to say anything about what had happened the night before in the bathroom. She didn't exactly know what they could do to help if she was honest. It wasn't like therapy was an option anymore, and besides being honest about her hallucinations would just add to the stress of the group. How would she even say it? She felt as if she couldn't just tell the whole group that she saw her dead friend last night and watched as he reenacted his final moments. It would sound crazy - well, it is crazy, she told herself. 

When Jacey looked up from her plate, she realised the extra presence in the room of their new acquaintance, Doctor Jenner. He walked in, wearing the same clothes he did the day before smiling softly. Shane and the man exchanged pleasantries as he sat down with the rest of us, tucking into the eggs that T-dog made. 

"Doctor, I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-," Dale began before Jenner cut him off, "But you will anyway." 

"We didn't come here for the eggs," Andrea deadpanned. 

Leading us all over to the main room, Jenner looked at us all and said to VI, "Give me a playback of TS-19." VI did as he asked, projecting a mess of data or rather that's what Jacey saw it as. Seconds later, the image on the screen changed to one of a brain accompanied with an abundance of information and a large timer filling the bottom of the screen, "Few people ever got a chance to see this, very few." 

Staying close to his sister and parents, Carl asked, "Is that a brain?" 

"A very extraordinary one," Jenner spoke softly to the young child, "Not that it matters in the end. Take us in for E.I.V."  

"Enhanced internal view," VI repeated, processing the request. The display shifted into a view from the side, everyone watched mesmerised. The computer zoomed in further pinpointing a part of the screen that held a large state of colour. "What are those lights?" Shane asked the man as the picture became more detailed. 

"That's a person's life," Jenner stated, Daryl looking around the group confused on what the hell was going on, "Experiences, memories, it's everything. Somewhere in all that wiring, all those ripples of light is you- the thing that makes you unique, what makes you human." 

"You don't make sense ever?" Daryl leaned back on the desk behind him, annoyed. 

"Those are synapses," Jenner told him, "Electric impulses in the brain that carry all messages. They determine everything a person says, does or thinks from the moment of birth to the moment of death." 

"Death? That's what this is, a vigil?" Rick called out. 

"Yes. Or rather the playback of a vigil," Jenner put, dejectedly. 

Andrea walked forward, closer to where Jenner and Rick stood, "This person died? Who?" 

"Test subject 19. Someone who was bitten and infected... and volunteered to have us record the process," the doctor said, before speaking to VI once more, "VI, scan forward to the first event." VI did this, causing the brain to zoom back out the colour that once graced the image gradually was overtaken by blackness. 

"What is that?" Glenn blurted the surprise and curiosity getting the better of him. 

"It invades the brain like meningitis. The adrenal glands hemorrhage, the brain goes into shut down. Then the major organs... Then death. Everything you ever were and ever will be gone." Jacey's eyes stayed glued to the screen, to the person that was tested on. What happened to them, whoever they were, was the same thing that happened to Addie, to Mitchell and to that kind old man. It threw her into a state of morbidity. They died in so much pain indirectly because of her. They had their body shut down, their brain too all because of her. Tears began to fall freely, which came as second nature to Jacey now as she didn't even bother to wipe them. Jacey continued to watch the screen ignoring the chatter amongst the group, some regarding her, which she was happy to shut out. 

"The resurrection times vary wildly. We had reports of it happening in as little as three minutes," Jenner continued, looking at Jacey for a moment and then back to the screen, "The longest we heard of was eight hours. In the case of this patient, it was two hours, one minute... seven seconds." 

I wonder how long it was for Addie she darkly thought. 

Suddenly, the majority of the display began to change darkness branching off further, but a red streak down the base of the brain spawned. 

"It restarts the brain?" Lori inquired. 

"No, just the brain stem. Basically gets them up and moving." Jacey watched the back and forth between her father and the doctor discussing what happens to the person, "Dark, lifeless, dead. The frontal lobe, the neocortex, the human part - that doesn't come back. The you part. Just a shell driven by mindless instinct." 

"That's the part of me that you killed," A voice said to her from her right. Jacey jumped at the sudden voice, the voice of yet another deceased. She closed her eyes, not daring to look at her. 

"Go away," she whispered, trying to not draw attention to herself. 

"It's funny, that's what I said, what I screamed when you got me killed. All I wanted was them to go away! For them to leave! All I wanted was to live, but you took that from me," Jacey brought her hands over her ears, "Why didn't you save me Jacey? Why weren't you there? I needed you, and you left me. You left me alone to die. Just like you did with Mitchell." 

Attempting to distract herself from the booming voice, Jacey turned to the group to listen in to their conversation or even to see if they could hear her too, but Addie's voice stopped her. 

"Leave me alone, please," she whimpered softly. 

"God, you're so selfish, Jacey. How didn't I notice that when I was alive? First, you leave me for your family. Second, you get me killed. Third, you then kill me once more. And now when I'm here, alive, wanting to talk to you once more, you want me gone! You begged me to come back, remember? I don't want to be here. I don't want to be anywhere near you. I'm only here for you!"  

"Stop ignoring me!" Addie violently slammed her hand on the desk closest to Jacey. Yet still not drawing the attention of the others. Now the girl finally looked at Addie, but it wasn't her Addie, it was the dead, monstrous version of her. The version Jacey had killed. The walker jumped to Jacey, ready to take a chunk out of her neck. 

Gasping, Jacey pushed herself away from her, subsequently knocking into Daryl as she did. 

"Watch it," he spat in his gruff voice. 

"W-what? Y-you didn't see that?" Daryl looked at the girl confused, seeing nothing around that would warrant that sort of reaction. 

"What do you mean, kid? What should I have seen?" Jacey shook her head, moving away from Daryl still panicked, "You okay?" 

"M' fine. Jus' fine," She assured him, still out fo breath but glad to see no trace of Addie around. 

"Dr, Jenner," Dale started, really taking Jacey out of her hallucination and back to reality, "I know this has been taxing for you and I hate to ask one more question, but that clock... it's counting down. What happens at zero?" 

"The basement generators. They run out of fuel," Jenner told him. 

"And then?" Her father asked, who thankfully had not seen what had just happened. Jenner ignores him and walks out of the main room, unable to meet any of their eyes. "VI, what happens when the power runs out?" Rick called to the machine. 

"When the power runs out, facility-wide decontamination will occur," VI responded. Promptly following VI's reply many of the group, including her father, ran out. 

[the-moon-prince]

The Last Of us~Kurapika x Reader ~Chapter X

AN: Hi my lovely fellows!

I’m sorry for the delay! Thank you so much for your patience and support! I’m here with the new chapter! I jope you will enjoy.

I wish you a pleasant read, and I hope you’ll enjoy the new chapter of my story.  (Chapter I) (Chapter II) (Chapter III) (Chapter IV ) (Chapter V) (Chapter VI) (Chapter VII)(Chapter VIII)(Chapter IX) (Chapter XI coming soon!)

Paring: Kurapika Kurta x GN! Reader

Word count: 2 652

TW: Mentions of Hospital ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The swings.

(Y/n) loved swings. So charming and amusing.

Even if they couldn't play like the other children, they could always go to the swings. Waving forward and then backward. Heights frightened them and even now terrified them. But with the swings, it was not like that. They felt brave and free. They had visited many. However, they remembered one in particular: the one that his grandfather gave them. The one in the garden of the house where they grew. When they swung, they could see the clouds and the sky. Knowing that their family saw the same azure as they did. They remembered the wildflowers that flourished at the end of the tubes that held it. They had quite a few memories of that swing. That also took place in that location. Their mami's face of horror at seeing them on the ground coughing blood tormented them for a while.

They were back in the hospital. They knew that they would return.  The lonely hours where no visits were allowed seemed long, even reading.

The moments when they were able to be with their grandparents were joyous. Perpetually trying to smile so they wouldn't worry about them.

"(Y/n)!"- a voice cried their name.

They lifted as fast as they could, responding as well as the tubes in their throats allowed.

"Julian!"- They felt so relieved to see him. Each night they spent awake, believing that they would never see him again. The boy, despite being simply 2 years older, was much taller than them. He ran to them sobbing and held them as if they were going to vaporize.

Because that's what they believed.

"(Y/n)!"-he sobbed their name again-"I'm so sorry; I'm so sorry; I shouldn't have left you alone that day. Not because you can't play ball with me, I want you to leave me."-his grip tightened.

They were weak, and their arms were shaking. Yet, that did not prevent them from returning the hug with all the strength that their small body had.

"It doesn't matter anymore. I'm not upset right now."- they consoled. 

If they were in his village, the two of them would look more like animals. Julian's tail would surely shake restlessly, and (Y/n) would rub their cheeks into him. They would be cat and dog, but they loved each other so much. Regularly playing clapping games, going for walks, reading together, or playing video games together. It's not like (Y/n) had someone else. From an early age, they had had difficulties relating to other cubs, including adults. 

"Julian, watch out for running! They are going to scold us!"- a sweet voice called. Immediately two elders entered, their hands full of bags and gifts.

"Mami, Papi! Hi!"-they greeted, already smiling.

It was an afternoon full of laughter, cake, sweets, and gifts. They played cards and chess - matches (Y/n) won- watched movies, read new books, and hugged stuffed animals. Except it was not (Y/n)'s birthday. 

Only visiting hours end sooner or later. And their company had to withdraw. The only difference was that the man stayed a while longer. Opposing hospital rules, which, as a doctor, he had never done previously. (Y/n) stared at him for a moment, not delivering eye contact, until they looked up.

"Papi, I'm going to die?"-they were looking directly in his eyes, searching for a response. 

They had a particular method of expressing their feelings, but that didn't mean they did not feel-they possibly felt with more intensity than the majority. Most would expect a kid their age to cry in that situation, but they did not cry. They were smiling.

"(Y/n)..."-the old man whispered and sat near them. He hadn't the courage to say it.

"I can't tell you that. However, if I can tell you one thing."-he took out a small case from the pocket of his trousers. He held their hand and placed the present in their palm-"Whatever happens, I'll be with you. Wherever you go, you will not be alone. And if so, you have nothing to fear."

When they parted the lid of the box, in its inside covered in red velvet, laid a pair of earrings. They were drop-shaped pearl pendants. A peculiar gift for a kid their age. Most would give jewelry like this to someone older.

"My grandfather gave them to my mother, she gave them to me, and today I give them to you."-he continued-"When you have them on, I will accompany you wherever you go. Since our auras live in flowers, a part of mine lives in those earrings. I'll be reminding you who you are and where you come from. So don't forget that you have a home to go to. Don't be afraid (Y/n)..."

The room's door was locked, and the curtains were down. The old man did not own the same appearance as moments ago; he resembled a massive wolf. Intense but soft fur and a spot on the right ear. He knelt to be at the child's height. They looked into each other's eyes, which some say are the door to the soul, for a long time. Without vociferating a word.

"I love you (Y/n)."-he wept, holding his tears.

The mentioned one offered him a smile.

"I love you, Papi."-they mumbled. They leaned forward to hug him, taking the opportunity to snuggle in the older's neck fluff.-"But I am not afraid. Not at all."

The man hugged them back. His paws were so big that they would definitely fit them into just one of them.

After that, he left, promising that they would return the next day.

What they told was a lie, they were afraid. They sobbed enormously that night, except they didn't want their family to see them that way. 

~

Kurapika opened one of his drowsy eyes, not feeling the embrace anymore. For a moment he was scared of being alone, that it was all a dream. Though (Y/n) was right next to him. Sitting on the mattress, their backs on the bed frame. They were not sleeping, just staring at the emptiness.

"(Y/n)?"-he groaned, the voice hoarse from sleep.

The appointed blink, as if dispersing the spirits that had them trapped.

They turned their heads to detect where the voice was originating from.

"Kurapika?"-they whispered, the speech clear.-"My apologies, did I wake you?"

"No. Rather, what are you doing awake?"-he was already awaiting the worst.

"I woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. Don't trouble yourself,  please."-they quietly answers with a smile. 

How could they request him not worry for them? You can't stop caring about what you love. 

"What hour is it?"- he inquired, a bit bothered about the fatigue they might receive in the morning. At least it was Sunday, meaning neither of them had to labor. They would have the possibility of recovering hours of rest if they required it.

After a few seconds of silence, they answered-"4:37."

Kurapika knew the hard nights when attaining rest in a lonely bed seemed tedious. The difference is that they were not abandoned.  He was there for them and wasn't intending on leaving anywhere anytime shortly.

At least they hadn't had a nightmare, if so they would have told him so, right?

He lifted the blankets as a symbol for them to lie down next to him over. He didn't know if they would. Simply with them reclined anew, he would be satisfied. They paid obeisance to him, approaching and lying down nearby him. They came face to face. Kurapika enveloped his arm over their body, they did not hug him back. Yet, they pressed their forehead on his chest.

~

The morning was peaceful and pleasant. Kurapika and (Y/n) were sipping coffee and eating leftover cake from the night earlier in the salon. A disk was playing on the record player. The melody was smooth, the saxophone and the lyrics combined quite well. The silence among the two was charming. From time to time, they were silent, in the same room, just savoring the existence of the separate person. Not because they had nothing to tell. Rather, it was a matter of having their own spaces without isolating themselves.

Except, the silence always finished up breaking.

"I suggest we watch a film tonight. Today you can choose it if you'd like."- Kurapika enunciated, happy to spend quiet time with his lover. Having relaxing nights was rare.

"I...I deem the most convenient thing is for you to come home."-they hesitated, to resume right away-"Not that I don't want to be with you. I'm pretty occupied tonight, and I don't wish for you to miss a night of rest."

The answer surprised him at first.

"Are you going to cover someone in the unit anew?"-he questioned fully of irritant. They were profiteers with (Y/n). His companions rested on their professional integrity and goodness. Kurapika got tired of seeing his lover could stay awake nights in a row to cover night shifts or take care of delegated documents. He knew they would not leave a patient to their own fate; although he foresaw to have a discussion concerning it with them.

"No, not this time."-(Y/n) disclosed. If it was simple paperwork, they did it often with him, as long as he did not interrupt them.

"What will you do?"-he scoffed this time, no commitment had been mentioned to him. Although they had a poor mania to omit some points, not maliciously; globally they were details. That was not a detail.

They resembled uncomfortable. Kurapika already recognized their body language, and despite their perpetual smile, he could read them.

Their gaze was downcast, shoulders hunched, and they played with the edges of their sweater sleeves.

"I'm going to reclaim someone from my clan..."-they wept after a moment of the uncertain reserve.

From the beginning, (Y/n) had helped him regain scarlet eyes. Getting information and accompanying him. Nonetheless, they hadn't mentioned anything about getting their clan back. No contact, no remains, no meeting. Until today. Why? They were trying to preserve him? Did they want to avoid him at a distressing moment? Kurapika believed that retaining such secrets had ended since their discussion. That stubborn part of them that dedicated obstinately to secrecy frustrated him.

"(Y/n)."-he scolded once more.

They narrowed more as if craving to hide from his gaze. He wasn't mad at them. But it frustrated him that he was powerless to help them.

"(Y/n), I'm not angry."-his tone softened-"I desire to accompany you."

Their posture decompressed, though they started to fidget more.

"It will be a rather longspun night. It will be tiresome."-they maintained.

"I do not tend."- He would stand firm with this.-"I am here to assist you."

They suspired-"Thank you, Kurapika."-They had communication difficulties to solve, and weren't oblivious. 

"What time will it occur, where and with whom?"-he hinted, making sure to know the circumstances.

"The event will be held with a private collector. At his residence at 8:40 pm."-they specified-"Only that there is a relevant detail."-they added with a cautioned voice.-"The collector is another hunter."

The collector is another hunter. Not for lack of ability, but for the votes that restrained their children. It would be necessary to rely upon the strategy to evade some violent confrontation. On top of that, their identities could be in check.

"As it is clearly practically impossible to hide the fact that I am a hunter, I presented myself as a mere fellow hunter fond of oddities."-as suspected they already had a method.

"Regarding your company, we can pivot on my weak appearance."-they continued with the strategy-" He will never believe that a hunter would require a bodyguard, but an assistant is plausible. He told me that the "merchandise"- saying that last word with disgust-"will be weighty."

"I perceive that you had the strategy ready. That's why I don't worry. I'll stick with it."-regarding the tactical abilities of (Y/n), Kurapika did not waver. Their experience was remarkable.-"Still, you must tell me these genera of things."

"Reasonable, my apologies."-they bawled. 

Kurapika wasn't going to reprimand them. He was aware that they were not doing it maliciously, the communication obstacles were rather difficulties. He could never get mad at them for having some kind of challenge. 

~

The place concluded up being in an upper-class suburb of YorkNew. For the other hunter to live there, it had to be wealthy. And to be wealthy he had to be skillful. For this occasion, (Y/n) did not use its own vehicle. They rented a truck with a roomy hood. Once the house was spotted, they parked the truck far enough away for the details not to be well distinguished -being black it was conveniently camouflaged with the darkness of the night-but close sufficient to get there quick running. 

Before going down, (Y/n) was silent for a short moment. Without moving from the driver's seat. Their pupils would look very dilated if it weren't for the contacts they were wearing. They both wore, so as not to give any kind of clue about their origins. Followed by that silence, they closed their eyes and pronounced a rhyme while poking their chests with two fingers, in a language that Kurapika did not understand. A mantra for good luck, perhaps.

There was no security of any kind seen from the facade. They walked to the front door, which was quite high and made of black wood. Shortly after the bell rang, the door opened. Revealing a man, about 31 years old, but he looked younger. It couldn't be said that he had good taste in dressing, but the clothes they wore were of great quality. His hair was somewhat lengthy yet shorter than Kurapika's and ash-black in color. His aura felt dense and heavy. It was easily deduced that he had no intention of hiding it.

The man, like his aura, was imposing. He made them notice it as if testing their courage and challenging them to enter. Almost as if they were unworthy. 

"I presume you are (Y/n)."-he said, waiting. His voice was considerably gruff. The kind of speech that tilts in your eardrums.

"Precisely, a pleasure."-(Y/n) greeted, pulling their hunter license out of their wallet and showing it.

"Good, and he?"-the man pointed at Kurapika.

"Kurapika is here to assist me. I remember listening to you specify that the object was going to be substantial."-they reported hurriedly. Their tone of speech did not denote fear or insecurity. They weren't happy with the rudeness of pointing their lover

"I see. To be a hunter you look frail."-he expressed-"Come in, come in." The walls of the house were wide and the ceiling high. The interior was mostly light gray. The decor had a pretentious modernist tendency. A large number of objects stood out. Of all kinds, but all rare and peculiar. Shelves placed well in sight, figures, frames, vanities. They followed the man through corridors to a small bar, its wall full of bizarre exoticisms.

 If it weren't for the assiduousness they were displayed in, one would say that the person was an accumulator. The idea that the person had become a hunter just to gain privileges and the ability to purchase ostentatious exclusive treasures was more and more evident.

"Let's sit down and have a drink."-the man bossed. 

"Oh, don't bother. We-"-they got interrupted by the man. It was clear he was vulgar despite his money. 

"I don't bother. I want to make sure that I'm not selling one of my prized items to anyone."

[microcos-pod]

Micro-Cosmos S1E3: A Little Piece of Home Transcript

(The crew celebrates a special day. Transcript begins below break.)

[THEME MUSIC FADES IN] ANNOUNCER Futuristic Trail Mix Productions presents Micro-Cosmos: A Science Fiction Podcast. [THEME MUSIC FADES OUT] [sfx: button press] ATHENA Hey, HQ. It's Officer Athena Romero, with Crew #0137-F. I'm transmitting from... North 54 degrees, West 109 degrees, in a moment of alone time. Camp's not too far, I just... wanted to come out here to record. We were up so, so early, but we made really good time getting our travel in for the day. And... I don't know. I felt like being introspective. I know that's rarely a good thing to be, for people of our situation... but sometimes it can't be helped, I guess. We're nearing what Doctor Couvillion calls the temperate forest region of the planet. Oh, uh, Felix is... fine, by the way, in case you were wondering. I know I haven't talked about him a lot for the last week since his little run in with Mercutio, and in hindsight, that was probably a little alarming from your perspective. But, no. He's, um... just been very focused on his work. Ever since our encounter with that little... strange... cat lizard dinosaur thing, he's taken to a pretty enthusiastic approach of figuring out what it actually is. You know, what is eats, how it behaves, it's characteristics. Thus, he's not been his usual social self, but he's had what I guess you'd call a breakthrough. He's named it. The species, I mean. Varanus concolor. Apparently he's determined that it's a new species of monitor lizard. Exciting stuff. Miles and Cal have been sorta... tense, the last little bit? I don't know if Miles is still mad at them about that terrible, terrible prank or just for being, you know, Cal. I like Cal. And Miles. Honestly, I do. I think they're almost a little too similar to get along sometimes. I get that. I've been in the same spot for most of my life. I only recently figured out how to sort of... stop taking my own reflection personally. [sfx: fingers drumming on comms, pacing footsteps] ATHENA (CONT’D) Alex is good! If you're wondering. You know, morale and all. We've been talking a lot, since we're sort of the only ones not in our own world. Well, I guess we're all in our own world, that's sort of our job, but... 

[Athena laughs.] ATHENA (CONT’D) Literal humour, Athena. Good one. Anyways, she's nice to talk to. Leadership skills to boot, in case you didn't already know and needed someone to sing her praises. I think I'd be more than willing to sing her praises. So... the mission's going very well. Everyone is healthy and accounted for, and we're absolutely on track to get to our shipment drop-off point. Comms and tech and climate are all nominal. We're okay. We're okay.

[sfx: bag shuffling as she picks it up, footsteps] ATHENA (CONT'D) Oh, by the way, before I head back. It's my birthday. I don't know if that's something I should mention. Just thought... I don't know. I don't expect the others to notice, or even know at all, really. But it's nice to acknowledge another year, you know? I'm certainly not spending it where I would've expected to be if you had asked me on my previous... thirty birthdays. Anyways. Yes, it is my birthday, and I kind of miss home, and also I kind of don't, and also being here is present enough. So, I will celebrate by breaking open some of the candy in my bag, and getting some sleep- FELIX, ALEX SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! [Athena laughs.] ATHENA Guys! What are you doing?

ALEX Oh, come on Romero. You didn't really think you were going to get it past us, did you?

ATHENA No, I wasn't meaning to-

ALEX Oh, don't bother backtracking. You're busted.

FELIX There's no real party, or, presents, or... anything that would make this a proper birthday because of our circumstance, of course, but...

ALEX But an ambush was the least we could do.

FELIX The Commander and I only found out when she was conversing with Cal, inquiring of the database today's points of interest, or else we would've...

ALEX Done more than an ambush.Alex observes Athena, who's just standing there, staring at the two of them and grinning. But, I don't know. Seems like the ambush worked out pretty well. Try to smile less, huh?

ATHENA Heh. I, I mean... this is really sweet of you guys, I appreciate it.

MILES Appreciate what?

[sfx: footsteps, tapping on a screen] [C41′s JINGLE PLAYS] ATHENA Oh, uh, hey Miles!

MILES Heeey Athena, guys. What's up?

FELIX Did we...?

ALEX Nope.

FELIX So we forgot to...?

ALEX Yep.

FELIX Dammit.

ALEX Well, when you assume...

C41 Oh, um! Happy Birthday, Athena!

ATHENA Oh, uh, thank you Cal. Anyways, I was thinking we could get to bed early-

MILES Crap, it's your birthday?

ATHENA ... Yeah.

MILES I am so so sorry, I had no idea, I must have like, missed the memo, but-

ATHENA No, no, Miles, it's okay, I promise. I didn't say anything, and so how would you know? Spending it away from home, I wasn't really sure what to do, it's kind of hard, but...I just got busted by the Commander, so... [The crew laughs nervously.] MILES Happy Birthday.

ATHENA Thanks.

MILES You're welcome. Yeah, uh, actually, Cal and I forgot something back at our setup.

C41 We did?

MILES We did. The thing. We need. We need that thing, Cal, uh... we will be back... later. [sfx: footsteps walking away]

[C41′s JINGLE PLAYS.] FELIX Well, who wants to get this party started and play some cards?

***

MILES Caal! Why didn't you tell me it was Athena's birthday?

C41 I didn't think it was that big of a deal. It's just another day of the year, which... happens to be the day that Athena was born. You can congratulate her on still being alive, like you did, and then move on! Didn't seem that important to me.

MILES Yes, it's a big deal! It's like you said, it's the day someone was born, not just another day. Come on, Cal! Remember when Em and I made a huuuge deal about it on the anniversary that I created you?

C41 By chance, do you mean Doctor Macey? If so, then unfortunately, yes I do remember. It was very loud. If not, I haven't the slightest clue who 'Em' is.

MILES Yes. Her. Doctor Macey.

C41 Okay whatever. Anyways. Do continue on with what you were saying. It's proving to be really entertaining.

MILES Oh, I'll show you entertaining.

How did you not know that birthdays were important? Seriously, there's even a song about them. I taught you better than that.

[Miles sighs.]

MILES Cally, I didn't mean it like-

C41 It's Cal. And no, you're right. Why would something the O Great and Powerful and All-Knowing Miles Abbott made be so inconsiderate and dumb?

MILES Seriously, Cal. I didn't mean it. You know how I get.

C41 Yeah?

Oh, just drop it.

[C41 lets out a long series of scoffs and huffs in the following silence.]

C41 (CONT'D) ... Miles?

Miiiiiiles...?

MILES Caaaal....

Caaaaaaaal.....

C41 Miles- MILES Cal, I need to make Athena a birthday present!

I don't even know what she'd like, let alone what I could make her! There's like, nothing even worthy of being a gift on this planet.

[sfx: Miles snapping.]

MILES (CONT'D) What do I have? What do I even have? What does our camp have? I need to find something. Anything. I'll make it work. Cal, help me look. Please.

[C41 snorts.]

C41 Oh.

Oh, you mean actually help.

[sfx: a buzzing noise of C41′s form]

C41 (CONT'D) Um... well there are some big batteries that Alex didn't need over there, she left them this morning with her equipment. There is a... There is a... it looks like... is that a plastic fork? I really hope that isn't used. You all are a mess. And, um... what's that box, over there? What's that?

[sfx: footsteps, objects being knocked over]

MILES It's, uhhh... Chocolate. And... more chocolate. A gift from Emily, I... forgot I had these.

C41 Huh. A... whole box, huh? Of chocolate? What could you even make with those?

MILES I don't know, okay? I don't even know like, maybe I'm overreacting. Athena didn't tell us because she's not at home, or whatever-

Wait. Cal, what, um, what does Athena's home have?

C41 What?

MILES Where she's from. What's it like?

C41 Patroclus C? Well, it's-

[sfx: a long glitch]

C41 (CONT'D)- Patroclus C. A moon in orbit around more well-known terrestrial body Mirana Dunis. Patroclus-C is known for it's industrial prosperity and plentiful resources, as well as it's freezing conditions.

Notable landmarks include it's few geysers. All imported plant and animal life have adapted to the cold climate, however they take refuge in the steamy geysers that provide both water and heat- MILES Okay, Cal. That's enough, thanks.

[sfx: the same glitch, a zap]

C41 Oh, ouch. Eugh. Why did you let that happen? You know I hate that mode!

MILES I'm sorry! I'm stressing a bit here, if you haven't noticed.

C41 Yes, I'm well aware.

MILES Anyways. I... I think I have a plan.

C41 That's never good.

MILES Let's just hope this turns out. Mmm.... a decent start. ***

FELIX Have any... fives?

ALEX Go fish. [sfx: drawing a playing card].

ALEX (CONT'D) Got any queens?

FELIX Yes, yes. Queen of stars.

ALEX Thank you! Got any threes?

FELIX Go fish.

[sfx: drawing a card]

ALEX So close.

[sfx: approaching footsteps]

FELIX (with his mouth full) Better luck next time. Do you have any-

ALEX Want us to deal you in, Romero?

FELIX Athena? Hm. Cannot believe you were still doing work on your birthday.

ATHENA What's the name of the game?

ALEX Go fish. Do you play?

ATHENA I like to think cribbage is more my forte but... sure. Deal me in.

[sfx: cards shuffling]

ATHENA (CONT'D) Who's winning?

ALEX Me. I've won three matches.

ATHENA And how many has Felix won?

ALEX We've played three matches.

[Alex and Athena laugh.]

FELIX I am beginning to suspect her a cheat.

ALEX Can't help having an eye for this stuff.

ATHENA For what, counting cards?

ALEX I wish. Patterns. Got any kings, Athena?

ATHENA Go fish. Is that technically cheating, then? Patterns?

[sfx: drawing a card]

FELIX I believe I can call it cheating if it makes me feel badly about myself.

ATHENA Fair enough. Felix? Any fours?

FELIX Go fish. See, that felt perfectly fair.

ALEX Doc, I said patterns, not x-ray vision. You keep accusing me of cheating, I'm gonna start to take it personally.

FELIX I harbor suspicion, not accusation. Commander, do you have any aces?

[Alex sighs.]

[sfx: passing cards]

ALEX Dishes and comets. Happy?

FELIX Yes. Athena, do you have any sixes?

ATHENA Yeaaah. Here you go.

[sfx: passing cards, movement of pairs]

ALEX Feeling better about yourself?

FELIX Yes. Very.

ATHENA Jeez, you're already on track to win.

ALEX Felix, should I start repaying you all that whining?

FELIX I-

MILES (distant) DOES ANYONE HAVE JUMPER CABLES?

[sfx: stumbling, approaching footsteps]

FELIX Speaking of.

ALEX Uh... no, I don't think so. Maybe you should ask Cal?

MILES (distant) No. That's okay. I'll use the transport hawser. That should work... just as well if not better. I'll... I'm gonna go get that. Bye.

[sfx: retreating footsteps]

ATHENA That's... that's for... emergencies, what do they need that for-

ALEX My guess? Nothing good.

FELIX Commander, do you have any twos?

ALEX No, but I do have a Petty Officer who needs their marbles back.

[sfx: standing, retreating footsteps]

ATHENA Alex?

ALEX (O.S.) I'll be right back!

FELIX It's her turn, actually. Which one of us should go next?

ATHENA It's my birthday. Got any sevens?

***

[sfx: shuffling]

MILES I got something! Not cables, but... almost even better.

[C41′s JINGLE PLAYS]

C41 You're... actually doing this?

Oh... Okay. Even if it may be sliiiightly dangerous? Not that I care or anything-

MILES Look, I just can't sit back and do nothing for Athena's birthday.

C41 Yeah, but I think it would be better to guarantee everyone's safety than... You know, possibly blowing us up and setting everything on fire.

[sfx: metal chain drops]

[Miles sighs.]

MILES I guess that's true. I just don't want to disappoint her.

ALEX You're not disappointing her, kid.

MILES Huh?

Oh. Hi, Commander.

ALEX Wipe that sad look off your face. Even if you didn't know, she's happy that you're at least thinking about her right now.

[sfx: footsteps, shuffling, sitting]

MILES I... guess that's true. But I want to make her something. That's what I specialize in.

ALEX Fair enough. I guess I just didn't know you guys were this good of friends.

MILES I don't know that we are. It just seems like the kind of thing I should've tried for, I guess. We've got so much time to spend together and I don't want you guys thinking I'm cold and ignoring you all just because I get wrapped up in crap and get away from myself and especially lately with everything going on with Cal-

ALEX Hey. We don't think that. And I'm not just saying that, either. What were you planning on doing?

MILES I- ... Well, if I tell you, it would ruin the surprise.

ALEX Okay, okay. Do your thing, fix-it guy.

[sfx: getting up, a few footsteps]

MILES Hey, Commander? What if she doesn't like it?

[sfx: footsteps stop]

ALEX Remember what we talked about, kid. Make it from your heart, and she'll love it.

MILES O-okay, Commander... Thank you.

ALEX No problem, Miles. Always here to help. Let me know if you need anything else, yeah?

MILES Mhm! Now, I... I gotta get this show on the road.

ALEX Cal, keep an eye on them for me.

C41 Will do, Commander.

ALEX Good luuuck!

[sfx: retreating footsteps, tent closes]

C41 Well, that surely was-

MILES Alright Cally! We have some major business to attend to!

C41 -motivational.

MILES Okay, so I'm thinking... What if we melt the plastic fork? Like, all the way, and then, and, and then shape it around to make a base for the volcano geyser thing?

C41 That sounds incredibly dangerous. And like it would be highly amusing to watch.

[sfx: a whirring]

C41 (CONT'D) And according to my calculations I am correct on both counts. Do it.

MILES And... then we can put the chocolate in- Hold on, do we have anything to keep the chocolate melted?

C41 Hm. Probably not.

MILES Dammit, okay. That's fine, that's cool, uh... We can hook it up to the batteries someway to keep the heat constant and the launch device powered, that's fine, I can do that...

This is going to be a piece of cake. Let's go, Cally!

C41 How many times to I have to tell you? It's Cal.

MILES Mhmm, yeah. Let's just kick this baby in the teeth.

C41 Wh... what?

MILES It's an expression. Like, "let's blow this popsicle stand"? Or... "let's get this show on the road"?

C41 I don't understand how that could be related to either of those meanings.

MILES Whatever. I am gonna get this thing started, and it's going to be great.

[sfx: prolonged noises of tinkering and contstruction, a zap of electricity]

[Miles yelps.]

[C41 laughs.]

MILES Not funny!

[sfx: more sounds of construction and tinkering]

MILES Aaaaand there! Done. Finished. Phew.

C41 That looks...That... looks...I mean, um...That looks so good!

MILES You think?

C41 Yeah, I think she's-

ALEX (O.S.) How's it looking in here?

MILES Yeah, I think everything went great!

ALEX Perfect!

[sfx: Alex claps]

ALEX (CONT’D) Well, grab it and let's go; we have a birthday to celebrate. Take Cal and we'll meet her and Felix at that clearing. We're doing a little more celebration for Athena.

MILES Okay, Cal. You heard the boss; let's get going then.

C41 Yuuup.

MILES You know, I’m pretty proud of this.

C41 As you should be, Miles.

***

[sfx: approaching footsteps]

MILES HEY! Hey, guys I'm back!

FELIX Hello- oh. Oh wow. What...

ATHENA Miles... what's all this?

MILES It's, uh, it's your gift!

ATHENA Oh, Miles, really you didn't need to do that, that's super sweet, but-

MILES Oh, it's... it's just a little... something... electrocuted myself a few times making it, but- Happy Birthday!

ATHENA Oh. Oh, wow, that's really something, Miles, I love it!

What is it?

MILES It's a geyser. Like... you said. Well, actually you didn't say, but I did some digging and your... your home plant has... geysers, yeah? So it's like a little piece of home.

A geyser.

ALEX A geyser.

ATHENA Oh! Yes! A geyser. Of course! That's really thoughtful, Miles, you, uh... you shouldn't have! So it's like a... trinket! Or a little... a sculpture!

ALEX Oh... just you wait.

MILES Well, it's for more than just show.

Heh. Bet you've never seen anything like this before.

FELIX I'm quite sure I have not.

[sfx: setting down the present, the geyser bubbles and erupts pathetically, with a crackle]

[Miles breathing heavily.]

MILES Ta-dah!

ATHENA Ohhhh, wow, that's... that's so cool. Was it... was it supposed to melt like that?

MILES It was not the intention but apparently... that doesn't matter now-

[C41′s JINGLE PLAYS] 

C41 Evidently.

[sfx: more crackling]

ALEX Oh, okay, is this thing going to blow, Miles? Like actually, really blow?

MILES Shouldn't. It's a possibility... but it shouldn't.

ALEX Cal?

C41 Probably not? It'll be fine! Maybe Miles should get a little closer to shield the blast just in case.

MILES DON'T YOU RUIN THIS BY TRYING TO GET ME KILLED!

C41 Who, me? Never.

[sfx: the crackling and bubbling stops]

ALEX Alright, okay, okay. That was very cool. Right Athena?

ATHENA Right!

ATHENA (CONT'D) Look Miles, I really appreciate this, it's very, very sweet and I just hope you didn't feel like you had to do this, or anything-

MILES No, no, no. I wanted to. I mean... you were around to... keep me calm when I thought we were gonna get eaten in the woods. I didn't want you to think I didn't care, and... I wanted to make something nice for you. Normally I have more stuff to work with than forks and batteries and... chocolate.

FELIX Real chocolate?

ALEX Yes, real chocolate. Not now.

FELIX Ugh, and it's all on the grass, and... what a waste.

ALEX There will be more chocolate. Actually. Felix?

[sfx: receding footsteps]

[Alex and Felix whisper as they retreat.]

ATHENA Um, okay, but... Anyways. Thank you, Miles. That was a lot of fun. And I hope you didn't actually electrocute yourself.

MILES Oh, don't worry, it's not the first time.

C41 They're not joking.

MILES More of a shock than anything.

ATHENA Doesn't sound great for your health either way.

MILES Well, heh, yeah, I mean- Hey, wait a second. Wait what's-

ATHENA Huh?

[sfx: candles burning, approaching steps]

[Alex, Felix, Miles and C41 begin singing “Happy Birthday”]

ATHENA (overlapping) Oh, my... guys, what are you... that better not be our only fruit cake-

ALEX Come on, blow out the... flare candles. Make a wish.

ATHENA Okay, okay!

[sfx: blowing on candles, a glitch]

[sfx: candles burning]

[Alex laughs.]

[Athena hums in confusion]

[sfx: blowing on candles, a glitch]

[sfx: candles burning]

ALEX Come on, Romero. All in one go, now.

ATHENA Right. [sfx: blowing on candles, candles extinguishing]

[The crew cheers.] ALEX Happy Birthday. I'll clean up Miles's present later.

[Alex and Athena laugh.]

FELIX Time for cake!

[Felix leads Alex, Miles, and C41 in singing “For She’s a Jolly Good Fellow”]

FELIX  Cake! ***

[THEME MUSIC FADES IN]

ANNOUNCER Micro-Cosmos: A New Science Fiction Podcast. This episode, "A Little Piece of Home", was written by Zyrel Thompson and Lauren Tucker, edited by Luka Miller, and directed by Jesse Smith, Zyrel Thompson, and Lauren Tucker. It starred Jesse Smith as the voice of Athena Romero, Jackson Rossman as the voice of Miles Abbott, Luka Miller as the voice of Alex dela Cruz, Kaleb Piper as the voice of Felix Couvillion, and Pippa van Beek-Paterson as the voice of Cal. Original music by Julia Barnes, and sound editing by Tobias Friedman. Be sure to stay tuned to our feed for upcoming episodes from the new backpacking intergalactic adventure from Futuristic Trail Mix Productions. To follow the show and find transcripts, you can find us on Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram as @MicroCosPod. Questions, comments, and concerns can be emailed to us via futuretrailmixpros@gmail.com. Find more information on the show on our website, microcospod.space. Thank you for listening.

[THEME MUSIC FADES OUT]

[megashadowdragon]

on lukes moment of weakness and how it is fitting for luke  among other comments

Personally I TOTALLY believe that George's Luke would have been VERY similarly to Rian's Luke.

And here is the reason why.... Luke has almost always been George's insert (lucas pronunced luke S )  and it makes total sense for Luke to be "exiled" and secluded away just as George became with Star Wars after the backlash of the prequels. But at the end of it, he comes back and stands up for what makes Star Wars what it is. Which is what Luke does for the Jedi and themes of Star Wars by the end of TLJ. He has learned from his mistakes, atoned for them, found redemption, confronted those he has failed, inspired hope, and learned to show compassion once again.

Now while George may have done it differently, I do believe that Luke being in exile was a metaphor for George's own relationship with Star Wars and its fandom.

www . reddit . com/r/StarWars/comments/ebb4f3/lukes_momentaneous_thought_of_killing_ben_solo/

I know I'm stepping on dangerous territory here by talking about The Last Jedi, and I only do this because I think this is an interesting take on a key moment of the movie. Just bear in mind that I do not intend to make my point-of-view the absolute truth of it. After all, this is just my opinion.

We all know very well how divisive Episode VIII was, with many people pationately hating that movie. One of the main reasons of complaint is the fact Luke Skywalker had attempted to kill his apprentice and nephew, Ben Solo, because he sensed the Dark Side to be too strong in the latter. Luke Skywalker, the only person in the entire galaxy that saw there was still light in Darth Vader, tried to kill his relative. When even Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda had lost all hope Anakin could be saved, Luke helped putting him on the path of redemption, helping Vader turn back to the Light and fulfill the prophecy of the Chosen One. It seems to be an insult that this same character gave up on his nephew so easily and tried to kill him.

I believe things must be analyzed more carefully.

I've just finished marathoning the Skywalker Saga (by the way, I STRONGLY recommend the Ersnt Rister order: IV-V-I-II-III-VI) and noticed something very interesting while watching Return Of The Jedi.

During the final moments of Luke and Vader's duel aboard the Death Star II, we see the young Jedi Knight wants to avoid fighting his father so as not to fall in the trecharous web of Palpatine, who wants to turn the young Skywalker to the Dark Side. Luke is hiding beneath the Emperor's throne. Vader chases him and, through the Force, reads Luke's thoughts to lure him into confrontation:

You cannot hide forever, Luke. Give yourself to the Dark Side. It is the only way you can save your friends. Yes, your thoughts betray you. Your feelings for them are strong. Especially for... sister! So, you have a twin sister!

In this moment, we see Luke's face and he's completely terrified by the idea Darth Vader found out about his sister. It is something new and Luke fears for Leia's well-being. Also, we hear from Vader's words that he cares a lot about his friends, the people he loves. Vader continues:

Your feelings have now betrayed her too. Obi-Wan was wise to hide her from me. Now his failure is complete. If you will not turn to the Dark Side, THEN PERHAPS SHE WILL!

Now we have something different. Since he was brought before the Emperor, Luke had been constatly confronted by Palpatine and Vader with the idea of him turning to the Dark Side. When Vader talks about the possibility of that happening to Leia, it's not a threat directed to him, but to someone he loves. In this moment, Luke loses it completly and attacks Vader viciously, totally enraged. The Sith Lord can't stand the power of his son, fuelled by hate and falls to the ground, defeated. In this moment Luke is prepared to make the final blow, but then he hears Palpatine laughing and clapping. This makes him go back to his senses and realize what he's been doing. He then turns off his lightsaber and refuses to kill his father.

"I'm a Jedi, like my father before me" and so on... we know what happens, so let's fast-forward to The Last Jedi.

When Luke is confronted by Rey, who demands him to tell what had happened between him and Kylo Ren, we learn how things unfolded through Luke's perspective:

I saw darkness. I sensed it building in him. I'd seen it in moments during his training. But then I looked inside, and it was beyond what I ever imagined.

In this moment of the flashback we see Luke's hand reaching out to his lightsaber, almost unconsciously. He then proceeds:

. He would bring destruction and pain and death, AND THE END OF EVERYTHING I LOVE BECAUSE OF WHAT HE WILL BECOME, AND FOR THE BRIEFEST MOMENT OF PURE INSTINCT, I THOUGHT I COULD STOP IT.

Here it is again. Like in Episode VI, we see Luke reacting in a similar way by the notion of something posing a threat not to him, but to the people he loves and cares about. Luke feared Ben would destroy everything he cherished, just like Vader had threatened by turning Leia to the dark. And, just like in the OT, it was a passing shadow:

It passed like a fleeting shadow, and I was left with shame and with consequence. And the last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose Master had failed him.

I've already written way more than I expected, so I'll just conclude here. I've realized the act Luke commits in the Sequels is the same (or at least VERY similar) as from the OT: he attempted to kill Vader then his nephew, out of fear of seeing what/who he loved destroyed. He repented and managed to stop himself in the act in both situations. And he was ashamed. So, at least regarding this point of the movie, I see the same Luke Skywalker.

(luke had more to lose now then he did before 

another example which I saw dont remember where I saw it  but I saved the comments unfortunately I didnt put in the links:

edit: (now I remember www . reddit . com/r/StarWars/comments/9a3hdl/)

Luke considered killing Ben for about two seconds in a vulnerable moment

Sort of like he almost got baited into killing Vader by a few mocking words, and cut the hand off his own father in blind rage.

Luke is still just a person. If we've learned anything in Star Wars it's that the Jedi are not superhuman paragons of virtue and perfection, no matter how they might appear to the unwashed masses in the SW universe. They have the same flaws, temptations, failures, etc as anyone else. Yes the Force can help them overcome some of this, but they're far from perfect. Luke could have, and I agree should have grown in a positive way, but it's not impossible or even unbelievable that he didn't. He just had his life's labor wiped out in front of him and blamed himself for it. All those years of finding lost Jedi knowledge and artifacts, being what he believed to be the last Jedi in the universe with the responsibility to restart the order on his shoulders alone. All those lives that he took under his protection and guidance as the Master of the new order, wiped out in one night. Because of him (at least in his mind). Everything he was working towards for years just totally undone in a few hours and it was all his fault.

So he leaves and says fuck the whole lot of it. He lives by himself, stews in his misery and regret, retreats into himself and rejects the most foundational principle of the whole concept of being a Jedi: to help people. He's the most powerful Force user alive and he's wasting away by himself on some desolate rock, swearing off the rest of the galaxy because he thinks that he's a failure, that he wasn't strong or good enough, that he can't win, that it's not even worth it to try anymore, and that even at the height of his wisdom and power, it was all undone, and by himself no less.

another comment

Stuff has changed, I mean he’s quicker to come to his senses. I wouldn’t call that his flaw though. His flaw is one of his greatest traits, his care for his friends and family. It’s a flaw cause it causes implusive actions, lashing out on Vader, leaving Yoda, a single thought that he could stop a horrible fate in Ben.

I personal struggle with a temptation in my life, a temptation to do something my faith says is wrong to do. I may have overcome it some days, but other days, whether the same circumstances or not, I might fall into it. Temptations are a constant battle, not a one and done thing. Flaws are similar, you don’t just grow past a flaw after one instance.

Because a day may come when you will brought face-to-face with that temptation or flaw again, but the circumstances will be different, and it won’t be so easy to overcome.

You mentioned Toy Story in a post, and that’s a decent example when it comes to one facet. Woody might not get jealous when another flashy toy comes along that gets more attention like Buzz did.

A better example of the nagging of a temptation, like Luke dealt with, is in Lord of the Rings. The Ring is a constant temptation to the bearer and those around them. At least by the film, Frodo may have resisted the urge to use it under the tree, but he still was tempted to use it at other times, and it was a constant battle. Same with Bilbo. Bilbo held the ring for 60 years. And the temptation of it held him greatly. He drops the Ring in Bag End, letting it go. If he was viewed similarly to how people viewed Luke tossing the saber, that’d mean he freed himself from it’s grasp and from the temptation to take and use it. We see in Rivendell that isn’t the case for him. He has a moment of wanting to take it back, and even at the end of his time in Middle Earth, he inquires about it, although more innocently curious.

That would be more similar to Luke’s case. To fall to the dark is a constant temptation that Jedi should always be aware of, and if you get close at one point, there’s the possibility that it’ll happen again, and if you aren’t prepared or it comes in a different form, you’ll either fall or get really close.

That turned out longer than I meant it, but I see this idea and..it’s just not the case.

another comment 

Just because you get older doesn't mean you necessarily get wiser and better.

Jedi are still people (and some aliens, but you get the meaning), and the prequels (and even the OT) showed that even the oldest and wisest among the Jedi were capable of mistakes and misjudgments.

I think it's unreasonable to assume Luke should have become incapable of making, or even repeating mistakes and succumbing to emotion.

Right because people only get better as they get older and we grow past our flaws and doubts permanently right?

You guys are weird.

Luke overcame that moment of doubt before he almost struck Vader down and you think what ....... Luke got some kind of videogame like powerup where that character flaw would never come back again?

Some of you have a very black and white (boring) opinion on life and human growth.

Spoiler: People have flaws, we don't all overcome those flaws.Your boy Luke is no exception.

Consider what nearly proved to be his downfall in Return of the Jedi: for all the Emperor's taunting about the Rebel Alliance's imminent demise, it was Darth Vader who finally pushed his Berserk Button by discovering that Leia was his twin sister and suggesting that if Luke didn't change sides, he and his master might have better luck turning her. Then, when Luke went berserk, it totally worked: he curb-stomped Darth Vader and still didn't go evil in the end. His father's killing off the Emperor also put an end to a whole lot of the Empire's evil and birthed the New Republic.

Flash forward thirty years, and once again someone is threatening everyone and everything Luke loves, and killing the guy would surely preempt a whole lot of trouble. In his heart of hearts, he doubtless remembers what Yoda taught him about how easy and seductive the Dark Side is, but he also remembers how Yoda's mistake of hiding the truth about his lineage from him nearly brought his downfall. He also remembers how killing the Emperor solved so many problems the way he'd better not try to solve them this time... Well, what's so tempting about that?

Luke had more to lose at this time. He knew what a relatively free, peaceful Galaxy looked like, and had other students to care for besides Ben. Instinctively, he was acting out of concern for them. Luke makes an important point when he gives Rey the truth: it is a split second. Luke is a hero, but he's human. He was impulsive and acted on instinct in his youth, so the fear of Ben turning is enough to push him to the edge for a second.

hopeforben . tumblr . com/post/623000635980333056/theres-a-significant-portion-of-the-fandom-that/embed

@emeraldspiral​ 

@daughter-of-water​

@someoneintheshadow456​

[elisaphoenix13]

Spider Aunt

Peter drags his feet as he steps off the elevator and into the penthouse, barely putting effort into throwing his backpack toward the stairs. He was too upset to actually climb them so he could properly put his things away in his bedroom. The teen had a bad day. A really bad one. Every moment spent outside a class, especially at lunch time, bullies had picked on him. Tripping him, throwing food at him, stuffing him in the tall lockers...if they could think it, they did it. Of course there was never a single faculty member in sight when it all happened so Peter had to endure it like he always did.

He really needed one of his parents right now.

When he turned into the living room though, he didn't see either of them. Just Natasha, Steve, Bucky, and Vision. The android and Bucky were reading, the captain drawing, and Natasha had a tv show on that she was half paying attention to as she spoke quietly with Steve. Peter could have easily picked up their conversation from where he was standing, but that took effort that he didn't want to use.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" Peter asks hoarsely and clears his throat.

Steve looks up at him and frowns at the poorly hidden look of distress on the teen's face. "Tony was dragged away by Pepper for something SI related, and Stephen had some Sorcerer Supreme business to attend to." 

Peter visibly slumps at the words and Bucky sits up from his resting spot against the arm of the couch. "What's wrong kid?"

"Nothing. I'm fine."

The teen turns when he feels tears threatening to spill over, and then stiffens when he hears someone stand and approach him. Peter did not want to deal with anyone hovering. He childishly wanted the comfort of one of his parents, but neither were available. It made him even more upset. Sixteen years old and he was looking to his parents when he had a bad day at school? He didn't think he could get any more pathetic.

"Baby spider." Natasha says softly and makes him turn back so she can pull him into a tight embrace. "Bad day?"

Peter could only nod as his tears finally slipped free. It was no use trying to hide anything from the assassin because she would see though his lie in a heartbeat, so he just accepted the little bit of comfort she offered. Natasha wasn't nearly as cuddly as Stephen, but she led him back over to the couch she had been occupying earlier so she can sit down and pull him down with her so he could lay down and lay his head in her lap. Steve and Bucky kindly returned to what they were doing before to keep Peter from any further embarrassment (though Bucky periodically looked at him with a protective  gleam in his eyes), and Vision had lain a blanket over him after getting a glass of water from the kitchen. He sets the glass on the coffee table in front of the teen as Natasha combs his hair with her fingers, and Peter releases a half-content sigh before closing his eyes.

The comfort wasn't from his parents, but it would do. Natasha's smell of leather and gunpowder threw the teen off since he was so accustomed to Stephen's smell, that he couldn't fully relax. Yes, Nat was safe, but she wasn't home. Stephen had a gentle smell that enveloped him whenever they cuddled, and Tony had strong hands that knew just where to kneed away stiff muscles. Either way, Peter relaxed enough to fall into a light doze, but with Nat he could at least relax and enjoy the fingers in his hair.

Peter focused on the scratching of a pencil against paper, the periodic sounds of a page turning, and whatever tv show Natasha had on. He didn't care enough to focus on it to figure out what it was.

"Nat..." Steve suddenly whispers and Peter picks up a growl from Bucky.

The captain must have pointed because Natasha's hand moved from his hair down to his chin to gently tilt it. "Mama Bear is not going to be happy." She says. "Who gave you this bruise ребенок паук?"

"Doesn't matter." Peter mumbles.

Natasha left it alone. She wasn't happy about the bruise either, but she couldn't force the teen to tell her who had done it. Even if he did, there wasn't much she could do about it.

"Perhaps some ice will help?" Vision questions but the teen keeps his eyes closed as he waves in the android's general direction.

"Its okay Vis. It'll heal in a few hours. Thanks though."

Everyone kept quiet after that, save for a protective growl here and there whenever (Peter assumed) Bucky looked back at the bruise. It was a good thing the rest of the bruises he got today were hidden by his clothes because Peter was pretty sure the soldier was one more bruise away from looking for the one responsible and wiping the floor with them. Bucky was like a protective older brother at times, which was a little weird in Peter's mind because Steve and Nat were like an aunt and uncle. Everyone was a collection of aunt's and uncle's, but Bucky and Wanda? They somehow were placed in the older siblings category. Bucky was very briefly an uncle but at some point Peter changed it, but he couldn't say when. It just happened.

Vision was different. He was just Vision. Not quite uncle material but not exactly sibling material either.

A couple more hours pass, and Peter was feeling a little better when he heard the unmistakable sound of a magic portal opening. Stephen's natural smell immediately settles over the teen when the sorcerer steps into the living room and closes the portal behind him, and Peter finally relaxed fully. He didn't bother opening his eyes until the man walked over to Peter and Natasha, and that was only when a gentle trembling hand brushes a loose strand of hair away from the teen's face.

"Bullies?" Stephen asks in his low baritone and Peter gives him a single nod. "Make room."

The vigilante lifts his head from Natasha's lap and sits up while Levi leaves Stephen's shoulders so he can sit where Peter's feet had been. Once the doctor settles, Peter instantly snuggles into his arms and tucks his head under Stephen's chin and Levi drapes over him, completely covering him and hiding him from sight. Natasha rolls her eyes when the sorcerer stretches his legs out over her lap, but says nothing as she returns her attention to her show and sets her own feet up on the coffee table.

It only took Peter a few minutes to drop off to sleep, his light snores a clear indication.

"He came home upset." Steve elaborates after a couple of minutes and Stephen glances at him.

"I could tell something was wrong the moment I got here."

Bucky snorts. "Mama Bear senses were tingling?"

Stephen sighs. "Barnes, if you start that--"

Natasha looks up from texting on her phone. "Oh...so I shouldn't have sent a group text about it?"

"I hate you."

Tony had arrived minutes later and made a beeline to the couch when he saw Stephen on it with a very identifiable lump on top of him. Whenever Levi was hiding the teen completely, it always meant Peter had been in distress. It didn't happen very often, not even during sensory overloads (when the cloak only covered him a little bit) because it was more of an emotional tactic. It was the teen's way of blocking out the world and seeking comfort from whoever he was curled against. He always managed to make himself smaller during those times.

"He's still clinging?" Tony asks as he carefully moves the cloak away to check on their sleeping son. He then glares at Levi when it smacks his hand away and covers the teen again. "Was that really necessary Stephanie?"

Stephen chuckles softly. "That wasn't me. The cloak issentient." He then motions toward Natasha. "Natasha was coddling him until about ten minutes ago when I got home."

"Nat doesn't mother hen. She's too cold hearted." Tony grins when the woman smacks his leg in retaliation.

"I'd threaten not to bother trying to help your kid next time but I like Peter too much. He's the baby." Natasha says with an indignant sniff.

"Any chance I can add to that cuddle pile? I've been in meetings all day and could go for some snuggling myself."

Tony shrugs off his blazer and throws it at Steve's face, who gives him an unimpressed glance as the billionaire sits on the couch when the sorcerer carefully makes room for him, and then sneaks a hand under Levi to massage the tight muscles in Peter's back. The cloak at first moved as if it were going to slap Tony away, but then it stopped and settled again when Stephen gave it a look. The doctor telepathically telling it to calm down. Levi liked Tony, but it liked Peter more and never had a problem with smacking everyone away to protect Peter. It had tried that once with its master and Stephen had punished it by locking it in the closet. Levi never tried that again. It actually looked sullen when the sorcerer finally let it out, and now Stephen was trying a more gentle approach regarding its behavior with Tony. It only lashed out at the engineer when it came to something emotionally serious. Levi thankfully stayed back when Peter was physically hurt because it knew it would be in the way. Unless it was asked to help of course.

"Is the glass of water still on the table?" The teen asks from under the cloak, and both parents roll their eyes when Levi grabs the water and gives it to Peter. "Thanks Levi."

Steve bursts into laughter when the cloak gently pats Peter's head as the teen drinks his water, and presses his fist into his mouth to stifle it as Levi returns the empty glass to the table. Even Bucky looked close to losing it himself, but was doing a good job of keeping it together. Vision and Natasha were unaffected. In fact, Vision didn't pay them any mind. He had also been one to keep an eye on Peter when the teen first got home and settled on Natasha's lap, but once Stephen got home, he put his full attention back on his book. If he was needed, they would let him know, but otherwise Peter was in good hands.

"Do you have homework cub?" Stephen asks as he gently cards his fingers through brown waves.

"Just some math."

"You wanna talk about what happened today?" The engineer inquires.

"No. There's no point talking to the school again either." The teen says when Tony opens his mouth.

Tony sighs instead. "If they draw blood again, I'm going in."

"...fine."

Bucky moves to his feet and hovers near the covered teen, knowing not to try and touch him  with the way the cloak was reacting. "How do cookies sound kid?"

"Great. If you keep the peppermint out."

"I think I can manage something." The ex-soldier says with a smile and stalks off into the kitchen with Nat getting up to follow. She always liked eating the cookie dough.

"Feeling better?" The doctor asks.

"No." Peter wraps his arms around Stephen. "I'm comfy."

"I am too Underoos. Who cares about Mom."

Stephen glares up at Tony and pinches his thigh, only for Peter to yelp. "Sorry Spiderling. I thought that was your father."

[goddessofthundathighs]

Happy early birthday to my twin @panthergoddessbast! Always remember that I love you immensely! 😘

—————————————

VI. THREE-HEADED MONSTER

The sexual tension on the ride back to O'Shea's house was so thick it could be cut with a knife. Erik could feel the way her eyes bore into the side of his face, her stare unrelenting. She wanted more, but he still didn't think she deserved it. She was gonna have to work for the dick, no matter how many times her hand brushed against his hardening third leg.

"What are you doing, Ms. Powell?" he asked, his eyes never leaving the road.

"I was a good girl at dinner. I think I deserve a treat."

"You got one in the bathroom, don't be greedy Princess." This made Shea pout, but she was determined to make him break.

"Please Daddy?" she tried again, sliding her perfectly manicured coffin nail up his thigh.

"O'Shea, I said no," he scolded firmly causing her to recoil slightly.

"No?" she inquired, her eyebrow raised in confusion. Being the spoiled Daddy's girl she was, no wasn't a word she was used to hearing. Erik noticed her change in demeanor and decided to exploit the situation.

"Yes, I said no, Bianca. Any other questions?" She huffed loudly, turning her body back to face the windshield.

"First of all, I'm an adult and you will address me as such. You're going to give in eventually. That tent in ya pants will need to be handled somehow."

"I have Skylar for that," he added just to antagonize her further.

"Nice try, but Skylar is a lesbian."

"Skylar is just like you, she doesn't give a fuck who eats her pussy, I'm just the only man she lets do it," he replied with a shit-eating grin. O'Shea remained silent the rest of the ride to her place, not even bothering to give him a look back as she walked up to her door and into the house. He couldn't exactly explain why, but he loved getting her riled up the way he had. He loved seeing the fire in her eyes when she was angry at him. It made his dick even harder and the dormant beast within him began to come to life.

Let me have a taste, the beast growled.

"Soon, big fella. Soon," he told himself. Little did O'Shea know he had his own Bennie, and Killmonger was an expert brat tamer.

--

"Why in the fuck would you tell her that? She should've punched your ass," Skylar fussed from her seat behind Erik's desk. She was on the computer, her long nails tittering away on the keyboard as she worked on an informative pamphlet for her own clients.

"The three major components of the cognitive-behavioral approach are: (a) replacement of sexual anxiety with sexual comfort; (b) adopting positive sexual attitudes and learning sexual skills; and (c) a program of individually designed sexual exercises to be done between therapy sessions. The goal of this therapy is to develop a comfortable, functional, and satisfying sexual style... How does that sound," she asked aloud.

"Like you copied and pasted it from a generic article but it serves its purpose and describes what we do. I might just change the name of the practice to mine and steal your pamphlets."

"I don't think so," Skylar mumbled printing multiple pamphlets before ejecting her drive.

"You couldn't do that in your office?" Erik teased watching her lips purse in indignation.

"I could've but I was already here," she replied, taking a sip from her caramel macchiato. "So how are things going with you and Shea?"

"Oh the usual, however, I think we're making progress with her attitude. She's starting to learn that acting out and misbehaving gets her nothing but blue balls."

"I don't think women can get blue balls, but go off I guess."

"Shut up you know what I meant, nigga," he replied, blowing the wrapper of his straw in her direction. The pair shared a laugh before Erik grabbed his leather notebook from the desk drawer.

"I need help coming up with the next method I want to try with her. She's the ideal candidate for experimental therapies. We can really take this thing as far as it goes with her. Hypnotherapy was successful, I've taken thorough notes on that session after watching the footage a few times. And the toy. The toy did exactly what it was designed to do. However, it's not just toys and hypnotism. I've found that engaging her in non-sexual ways are just as effective to bring out her little personalities.

"Oh, so you met them already." Sky leaned forward interested in where the conversation was headed.

"I've tapped into her Little behavior and experimented with some of her kinks. Buttercup is the Little and she appears whenever she feels that I'm upset with her. There are layers to that psychologically that I'd like to examine."

"Hmm," Skylar nodded intrigued.

"Bianca is the brat you and I are used to."

"Too used to it." Skylar's eyes roll.

"She's obviously triggered by the word 'No' and tends to act out when she doesn't get her way. She's also fairly easy to contain... Bennie-"

"You don't need to tell me about Bennie, I work in a sex shop. Bennie comes to work every day."

"I'm kinda stuck now... I have all of this leeway yet I can't decide which method to use next. When I look at her I see endless possibilities. Since you know her, what do you suggest?"

"How about you do some type of exercise in which you bring all of her little personalities to the surface? Get her high."

"Seriously? That's it?"

"Yeah. You'd be amazed at what you'll learn from her when she's under the influence." Erik rubbed his chin as he pondered the thought.

"But you know how I get when I'm high, Sky," he said, sending a sly grin her way.

"Boy get your slick ass away from me. Save the bedroom eyes for O'Shea, thanks."

"On some serious shit though, how do I go about asking her to the crib? That violates all types of rules and crosses all types of barriers."

"Well technically it doesn't because it's possible to file it under intensive in-home services," she chuckled.

"Sky..."

"Okay, seriously working with the client in their home is not out of the ordinary. Don't make this weird."

"Aight, so you think we should do this at her crib since I've already been there before?"

"Yes. Her home is easier to justify on paper since it's familiar territory and she'll be more relaxed in her own space versus yours."

"Yo smart ass! That's why I keep you around," he said kissing her forehead repeatedly.

"I thought it was because I rolled the best weed but both compliments will do."

"You know I love you girl. That reminds me, you still got that dispensary connect in LA?"

"Maybe, why? You tryna get some specialty shit?"

"Yes, ma'am. Something that will ease her mind and body and allow her to open up to me."

"I know just the thing. It's called Green Goddess."

"Ooh, sounds exotic. I need two ounces."

"$2500."

"You know my account info. Get it for me and bring it by. Oooh, bring some In & Out too. And Cold Stones."

"Nigga is O'Shea the female in this situation or you?"

"Hush woman and do what I say," he said with a sharp smack to her ass.

"Yes Daddy," she teased in a soft, Princess-like voice.

"Aye chill out, it's been a minute." Skylar's soft giggle rang throughout the hallway as she walked towards the entrance. He thought for a minute before typing a quick text to O'Shea.

Busy tonight?

Nah why?

Netflix and chill at your crib? I'll bring the bud and food.

You had me at bud. See you at 7.

"Spoiled ass," he chuckled as he put his phone away.

The rest of the work day went by smoothly and soon it was time to head to his patient's house. As usual, Skylar came through with the bud he requested and both his and Shea's favorite meals from In & Out and ice cream from Cold Stones.

"At this point, you owe me your life," Sky fussed from her desk. "Traffic was hell. There was an accident, a four-car pileup." She was working late due to Erik and his needy ways so she opted to facetime him as he made his way to O'Shea's house to make her frustrations known.

"I knew it would be something that's why I knew I wouldn't have the time or patience. But you know I always got you, ma. If all else fails, I'm marrying you."

"Choke on rocks," she pouted. "Always using me for the shit you don't wanna do. I'm getting a new best friend, one that respects how great I am and loves me for me."

"If it's a dude, I'ma kill him. Killmonger don't share."

"I ain't Killmonger's bitch," she countered. "And murder is very much so illegal. This ain't the Navy." He smiled, revealing his bottom row of gold. He cleared his throat before dropping his voice several octaves.

"You sure about that, ma?"

"Oh no, put the demon away."

"Nah, you said you were replacing us. You sure you wanna do that?"

"Unlike O'Shea, I can do what I want, but no sweetheart, I'd never replace you."

"Pinky promise and swear on Crip."

"On Crip, I'd never replace you and you know we don't lie on the hood."

"Aight we good. I'll call you later to let you know how things go." The pair shared their goodbyes and Erik exited his vehicle.

"You're early," O'Shea noted as she stepped back to let him in. The clock on the microwave read 5:30.

"Work was light and I figured I'd just go ahead and come over. Problem?"

"No. Is that Cold Stones?" She asked wide-eyed.

"Yes it is and no you can't have it."

"B-But why?" she pouted.

"Later, Bianca."

"How many times must I remind you that I am an adult?"

"Barely," he regarded with a smirk as he made his way to her kitchen. She followed him the whole way, pouting all the while as he pulled everything out of the bags.

"Fix ya face or you won't get any at all."

"That's not fair!" she pouted harder, folding her arms over her chest.

"Life isn't fair, Lil' Mama."

"This is some bullshit," she fussed as she walked to the couch.

"Bet. I'll keep this sweet cream and oreo shit to myself," he teased, noticing how her mouth dropped in shock. Erik's grin only widened as he walked over to the couch with their food and drinks.

"So what we watching, Bianca Boo?" he asked, reaching for the remote.

"First of all, my name is O'Shea."

"You're acting like a brat so your name is Bianca, now answer my question."

"Can we watch Hercules?"

"Fuckin' child," he mumbled as he pressed play on the movie. The couple ate, sang, and smoked as they breezed through their little Disney movie marathon. From Hercules to Mulan to The Emperor's New Groove they relived their childhoods while the Green Goddess indica worked its magic to mellow them both out and allow them to talk and bond on a more personal level. Several hours into the Disney and chill session, O'Shea figured she'd try her luck again. She noted how much more mellow Erik was when he was under the influence, using this opportunity to fully appreciate how good he looked dressed down. The charcoal gray turtleneck clung to his muscles effortlessly, barely covering the Patek Phillipe watch on his left wrist. His black slacks fit him well, as though they were tailor-made just for him. Her eyes remained glued to the bulge in his pants as he sat with his legs spread wide on the couch. O'Shea fought hard to keep herself from staring, but of course, Erik noticed. He had been watching her watch him for the last 20 minutes and the beast within him noticed too.

"You gone suck or just stare at it?" Killmonger growled, startling O'Shea from her shameless eyefucking. The deep timbre of his voice had her quaking and before he could change his mind, she dropped down to her knees in front of him, seizing her moment to strike him down to a base level of weakness. Surely he could not withstand her oral talent no matter what contenders he'd faced before. Skylar was a master of oral sex when it came to women, but O'Shea was the oracle when it came to men. She looked up at him innocently as she took him into her mouth, lightly teasing his tip with gentle licks before finally taking as much of him as she could down her throat. Though she was cursed with a gag reflex, she was still a master at her craft and the way he was moaning above her proved that she hadn't lost her touch. His stout, thick fingers found their way into her curly mane, lightly gripping her tresses to help guide her head up and down his shaft.

"Just like that, Shea. Grip that shit, stroke what you can't fit in that wet ass mouth," he encouraged. O'Shea moaned around his shaft, using his praises as encouragement to show out on the dick. She wasn't sure when she'd get him this loose again and wanted to make sure this experience was memorable. Just as she was finding her groove, he made the most awful sound above her.

"Ah, shit! What the fuck?!"

"Wait, stop moving!"

"That shit hurt, what the fuck did you just do to me?" In all of the 5 years that O'Shea had had her braces, never once had they gotten caught on anyone. Leave it to Erik Stevens to be the unlucky contender.

"I-I'm sorry, that's never happened before," she said fighting back her laughter. He was being more dramatic than the situation really called for.

"Oh, that shit's funny to you? I'm fucking bleeding."

"You're not, but ok," she said standing from her position on the floor.

"Man move," he fussed, rushing to the bathroom to assess the damages.

20 minutes. 20 whole minutes was how long he left her to her own psyche while he calmed down. He knew she didn't mean to do it, but the fact that she laughed is what really pissed him off. Once he composed himself, he walked out to see her back on the couch with her head down towards the floor. He didn't speak to her, only went to the kitchen to throw away the trash and grab his keys.

"So are you going to leave and not speak to me? I told you it was an accident."

"I know, Buttercup and I'm not upset. I just think it's a good idea to end this session where it is. I'll have Harper contact you about your next appointment. Have a good night." With that and a kiss to the back of her hand, he walked outside and back to his car, leaving O'Shea a confused, sad mess. She didn't do well with people being mad at her, especially at this point in her life when her little personalities were fully functioning entities. The buzz of her phone brought her out of her psyche.

"Daddy's sorry for the way he left you, Buttercup. I meant what I said about not being angry at what happened, but what really pissed me off is the fact that you thought it was funny."

"But you laugh at my pain all the time," she replied meekly, curling up into a ball on the couch.

"I don't laugh at your pain, I laugh at the fact that you think you run shit. How about this, let's meet somewhere and talk about it."

"Where?"

"Cold Stones."

"But I have ice cream in the freezer."

"Since when have you turned down more?"

"Touché. Give me 10 minutes." She quickly dressed, happy that he wasn't upset and that he still wanted to continue their therapy and build their potential relationship. Though he was indeed her therapist, she felt comfortable with him. More comfortable than she had felt with anyone in a long time and if she were being honest, it scared her. She hated how vulnerable she was around him having been so guarded for most of her life, yet she liked that she could be her true self without fear of judgment and ridicule for her behavior. The benefits of having him as her therapist outweighed her fears. He got her on a level that no one else had before, not even Sky.

Excitedly, she met him in the air-conditioned shop finding him with ice cream in hand. On her approach, he rested his palm atop her head as if to say welcome.

"So now I'm a dog?"

"Nah, you just small. Have a seat, baby girl." She sat down beside him and began eating the cold sugary concoction of sweet cream, chocolately brownie chunks, crumbled graham crackers and walnuts all drizzled with thick caramel. She bounced happily in her seat as the divine mixture set her tastebuds ablaze. This was one of her all-time favorite combinations and she was glad he'd remembered it to the smallest detail. He smiled as he watched her smiling and bouncing in her element, happy that she was happy. She was eating so fast that she dripped ice cream onto her chin and brand new royal purple Disney spirit jersey. She pouted, but he merely grabbed a napkin and cleaned her mess.

"Why the long face, Buttercup? I thought a messy little girl was a happy little girl."

"Sky just bought this for me, though. I didn't want to get it dirty. There's even a stain on Mickey." She turned her body slightly to show him the smudged caramel on the sparkly D emblem.

"Well that won't do, will it? You're welcome to take it off. You wouldn't want to spill again."

"But I'm not wearing another shirt," she pouted further.

"Less material to worry about. You should enjoy your ice cream freely. Do remove the shirt, Buttercup.. for your own good." She nodded, slowly lifting the sweatshirt over her head and laying it on the table. He grabbed and folded it neatly before placing it on the booth beside him. Now free from the constraints of the jersey, she tore into her ice cream like a woman starved.

"Doesn't that feel better? Your sweater is now safe from any harm and Daddy will worry about having it cleaned. That's not something a little girl should concern herself with."

"Yes Daddy, thank you," she said with a wide grin. It had been so long since she had been allowed to freely be in her little space, especially to this degree and it was nice to put the stresses and worries of adulting to the side, even if it were just for a little while.

"Um... I'm sorry sir, but um.. shirts are required in this establishment... Sorry..," the gangly scooper spoke nervously, obviously intimidated by his stature though he was not in his imposing state. The anxiety in the guy's eyes rubbed him the wrong way. Another negative profile. If that was the case while he wore a sweater and a name brand watch, he thought, the man deserved to feel fearful.

"Several pale skinned patrons are wearing sports bras and cropped bandeau tops, similar to my date's. Are you going to say the same to them?" Erik asked with a raised eyebrow watching the guy stammer in distress.

"I- It's just- Nevermind," the scooper stumbled, making his way back behind the counter. He started to pick up a phone, but when Erik made eye contact and mouthed a message, he put the phone back down.

"What did you say just now," O'Shea inquired, looking from the counter back to Erik's peaceful expression. The behavior of the scooper didn't match his face.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about, Buttercup. Take your time. Finish your ice cream and we'll be on our way." O'Shea shrugged but continued to bounce happily as she ate her ice cream, even going as far as to ask Erik for another bowl for later. Because of the way he behaved earlier, he obliged.

"Whadya know, Buttercup! We got this one free."

"Yay!" she squealed, happily thanking the fearful scooper who nodded without eye contact.

"I-It was no trouble, really," he stuttered, eyes never leaving Erik's menacing scowl. As the couple turned to leave, Erik bucked at the young scooper, laughing loudly at the way he flinched, dropping a tower of ice cream all over himself.

"Damn, nigga. You need to lift weights or something," he smirked opening the glass door for O'Shea.

"Where do you wanna go now, Buttercup?" he asked as he brushed a rogue curl behind her ear.

"I wish it wasn't so late. I really wanna go to Disneyland." Erik checked his watch and noted that the park would indeed be closing soon.

"We can't get into the park, but Downtown Disney is still open."

"Ooh can we go to Salt & Straw?" she asked, bouncing on her toes.

"Buttercup you just had ice cream and got a free one to go. Not to mention you still have ice cream in the freezer from earlier."

"Yeah, but none of those were honey lavender with whipped cream and a waffle cone," she pouted.

'You're right, but considering the fact that I'm a doctor who also cares about your physical health, the answer is still no. You are sweet enough." She was upset but didn't protest further for fear that he'd just decide to take her back to her house. No matter how upset she was, Disney fixed everything. As the pair roamed the district, O'Shea's eyes grew wide watching Erik walk into to the Pandora shop. She'd been wanting new charms for her princess-themed bracelet forever, but never had the time or the extra funds to splurge on herself the way she wanted.

"How about I make my Buttercup something special?" he beamed down at her, rubbing circles into the small of her back.

"Oooh, what is it?" she asked happily.

"It's a surprise, but why don't you go get us two of those honey lavender cones and it'll be done by the time you get back."

"Ok!" she squealed happily, taking his card and running out of the store before he changed his mind again. It took her all of 10 minutes to go and come back with her half-eaten cone and his full one. Her grin was wide as she regarded Erik standing in front of the counter with both hands behind his back. His shit-eating grin was back like he knew he was that nigga. And at this moment, he was.

"Whatcha got back there, Daddy?"

"Just a little something for my second favorite princess," he replied stepping closer to her. "Close your eyes and hold out your left wrist." She quickly complied and her beaming grin grew even wider as she felt the cold metal against her skin.

"Alright, open." He watched smugly as her eyes opened and widened. Her heart was so full she thought it would burst. She hadn't even realized that he had slipped her princess bracelet off her wrist until she saw it in its complete form.

"You finished my bracelet?"

"Yes ma'am, chronologically just the way you had it and I started your villain one." Her fingers toyed delicately with the Tinkerbell and poisoned apple charms on the princess bracelet before moving to Maleficent and the Evil Queen charms on the villain bracelet. Then her eyes met his. She wanted to cry.

"Thank you so much, Daddy."

"Anything for my Buttercup. I even left off Anna and Elsa because I know those are the ones you like the least." Again, he'd remembered something seemingly frivolous solely because he knew it was important to her. She felt her little heart swell two sizes.

"You're the best, really." She rewarded him with a sweet kiss on the lips, which he deepened when he grabbed her chin and added a little tongue. Just enough to leave her wanting.

"Come on, pretty girl. Let's get you home, we both have work in the morning."

—————————————

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[jalalason-blog]

Clouis Oneshots - scares 

 Just some Clouis one shots. Some of them take place in the apocalyptic world, and others are AUs. Hope you enjoy them! Requests are OPEN, but know that there's no promises your request will be written. It all depends on how much time I have, if I like the idea, ect. Art on cover is not mine. Let me know if you know who created it! DISCLAIMER: I don't own twdg or it's characters.

Read on wattpad, A03, and fanfiction,net if you like words on those platforms better. 

~This one takes place in the apocalyptic world, some time after the final      episode~

The chilly winter breeze sent chills down Louis's spine, despite him being only a few feet from the little campfire.  He shivered and pulled his girlfriend closer to his chest, and she snuggled into him.

All of the kids sat in a circle around the heat, huddling together to keep warm.  The old couches and chairs that they sat on helped a little with the cold, acting as a barrier to keep the heat in.

They passed around a stack of cards, playing truth or dare in their odd little way.  Once the cards had made it all the way around, everyone flipped their's over to see who got to ask and who had to answer.

Clementine won, and Aasim lost.  Louis got déjà vu at the results.

"Ah, you two meet again," Louis spoke, talking as if he was narrating an old fairy tale.  "Last time, Aasim was forced to request a kiss from a girl he like liked, to which he was slapped.  What shall he have to do this time, your majesty?"

"Hmm..."  Clem voiced, squinting her eyes as she tried to decide.  "Maybe the same thing?"

"Aw, really?"  Aasim groaned, uneasily glancing down at Ruby, who sat next to him.  

The red head giggled, saying, "Don't worry, I won't slap you this time."

"Okay, then," Aasim said, turning to face her.  "Um, can I have a kiss?"

"You sure can," she agreed, getting up and pressing her lips to his.  Aasim's eyes widened in surprise, then closed as he pulled her face closer to his.

"Ewwww," AJ groaned.

"Nasty!"  Willy shouted.

The couple ignored them, their kiss getting more intense.

"Okay, you guys can stop now," Violet told them, wryly scrunching her face at the pair.

"Enough porn, you two!"  Louis proclaimed.  The couple snapped out of it, and they pulled away from each other.  Both of their cheeks were bright red.  "How about we do another round?"

The dread locked teen began to pass the cards around the group, chuckling as he saw AJ's cringing face.

When Louis said go, they all flipped their cards over again.  This time, Omar won and Louis lost.  

"Alright, Omar," Louis said,  "what's it gonna be?  A treacherous truth?  A deadly dare?"

"A dare that you finally won't be able to do," Omar claimed, wearing a smug smile.  

"No dare will ever stop me,"  Lou asserted.  

"Okay, then; go lick that yellow snow."  Omar pointed to a yellow spot in the snow you could just faintly see by the fire, unable to hide his mischievous grin.

"Ewww!"  The rest of the kids let out in unison.  Well, everyone except Louis.  He tilted his head at the color, actually debating on doing it.

"Who peed there?!"  Ruby asked, disgusted.  

"It was Rosie,"  AJ said.  "I saw her do it earlier."

Clementine backed away from Louis to look him in the eye.  "You better not do it.  If you do, I won't be kissing you for a week."

"But Clem, I have to," Louis whined.  "I haven't ever not done a dare.  I can't lose my title as dare king."

"Louis," his girlfriend repeated firmly, "Don't.  Do.  It."

Louis bit his lip, glancing over at the colored snow.  

"Don't do it," Clementine said again.

"I have too!"  Louis declared, jumping up from the couch he sat on.  He ran to the pile, got on all fours, and gave the snow a great, big lick.

All of the children let out sounds of disgust, and Clementine face palmed.  Omar's smug smile immediately dropped as he gagged.  Louis stood up proudly, wiping his mouth.

"I didn't think you would actually do it," Omar admitted, cringing.

"Well then you obviously don't know me well enough," Louis chimed.  He sat next to Clementine, and she scooted away from him.  

"Nuh uh, pee breath," she told him.  "I'll snuggle with AJ, who'll still get my kisses for this week."  Clem patted the spot next to her, and AJ happily crawled up with her.  The teen wrapped her arms around the tot and planted little pecks all over his face, making eye contact with Louis as she did so.  Her boyfriend pretended that this did not make him incredibly jealous of AJ's place.

"Worth it," he stated.  "I'm still the dare king."

"You won't be thinking that by tomorrow,"  Clem mumbled.

"How about we do another round?"  Ruby suggested.  The cards were all passed around again, and this time Violet won and Clem lost.  

"Victory Violet," Vi spoke, smiling.

Clementine sat up straighter, awaiting her truth or dare.

The blonde studied her, deciding on what to give her.  Finally, she said, "I think I'm feeling a truth this time."

"Alright," Clem voiced.  "Shoot."

"What scares you the most?  You know, scare as in makes you scream, jump, or whatever."

Clementine was quiet for a moment, pondering the question.  After a couple moments of silence, she admitted, "I don't know.  Nothing, I guess."

"Nothing?"  Louis asked dubiously.

"Nothing," Clem confirmed.

"Snakes?"  Louis pushed.  "Walkers?  Bad people?  Storms?"

Clementine shook her head to all of his tries.

"When's the last time you screamed because you were scared?"

"I don't remember."

"Well there has to be something that scares you,"  Louis claimed, crossing his arms.

"No there doesn't," Vi countered.  "She's a bad ass, and she's fearless.  What's so hard to believe?"

"Even bad asses get scared by little jump scares every once in a while," Lou stated.

"I just don't get scared," Clem said.

"I'll have you know, Clem, that I not only hold the dare king title, but ALSO the scare king."

"Okay..."

"So I'll make you a deal.  I scare you within the next 24 hours, you have to kiss me again."

Violet snorted, saying, "You really are desperate, aren't you?"

"Shut up," Lou told Violet.  Then he looked back to his lover.  "So what do you say?"

Clementine pursed her lips, debating on taking the deal.  "What happens if you don't scare me?"

"I don't know.  What do you want?"

The girl thought for a moment, before a mischievous grin spread across her face.  "I want to cut your hair."

Louis's hands flew up to his precious locks.  "No way!"

"Fine, then, I guess I won't take the deal."

Louis twirled his hair on his finger.  "Alright, fine, you can cut my hair if I don't scare you.  But I'm not worried about that, because I promise you, I'm gonna scare you so bad you'll pee your pants."  He stuck out his hand for Clem to shake.

Clementine took his hand in hers and shook.  "You better enjoy your hair while you still have it, Lou."

"How are you gonna cut it, Clem?"  Violet asked.  "I say you shave it all off."

Louis shot her a dirty look.  "Hey, have some faith in me, Vi!"

"I would," Vi said, "but Clem's pretty bad ass, and you're pretty lame."

"You got that right," Clementine agreed.

"I'm gonna go all out, though," Louis warned.  "All.  Out."

"Do it," Clem challenged.  "I can take it."

"Okay.  But you're gonna regret saying that."

Violet rolled her eyes, and the pair stopped shaking hands.  Just then, a large gust of wind blew, blowing the little fire out.

"And that's our cue to go inside," Omar asserted.  

The whole group got up to go inside. Louis scooped Clementine and carried her bridal style, and AJ picked up her crutches.  

As they walked back to their dorm, Lou went to give Clem a kiss on the forehead, but was stopped by her finger.  

"Nope,"  Clem told him, "Not until next week."

"I think you mean until after I scare you," Louis corrected.

"Mmm, nope.  Not until next week."

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

"How old was AJ when you taught him to shoot?" Louis asked Clem as she hobbled down the dirt path in the woods;

"Probably, like, three," Clementine estimated.

Louis's eyes widened. "You trusted him with a gun at that age?"

"Well, he actually kind of taught himself. He had seen me use it, and one day, I didn't see a walker coming, but he did. So he grabbed the gun and shot the walker himself. Right through the head, first try."

"I don't think I'll be that good," the dread locked teen said. He nervously eyed the weapon in his girlfriend's back pocket, and she noticed.

"It's not that hard," Clem assured him. "Besides, you've got the best teacher to teach you."

Louis smiled. "You're damn right I do."

The couple was heading towards a little makeshift shooting range, where Clementine would give Louis his first shooting lesson.  Louis was anxious about it, but he felt better knowing that it was Clem teaching him.

He had already tried multiple times to scare her in the morning, but none of his attempts worked.  Before Clem woke up, he hid in a box outside of her door to try and jump out and scare her.  When she came out of their shared room and he jumped out, she didn't even flinch.

At breakfast, he tried to make it look like he had sliced off his finger cutting carrots.  However, Omar was in on it, and he wasn't a very good actor.  The chefs giggling through Louis's very realistic screams of pain gave him away.

He tried another jump scare before they left for their shooting lesson, too.  He hid behind a tree close to their meeting spot for about fifteen minutes, before he gave up and came out.  However, little did he know that Clem saw him go into his hiding place.  She ended sneaking behind him and shouting, "Boo!"  Louis had nearly shit his pants.

So, in short, it wasn't as easy to scare Clementine as he had thought it would be.

As they walked, Louis fidgeted with the fake mouse he had in his pocket.  He had found it earlier while wondering around the attic.

This will get her.

"Hey, what is that?"  He questioned, going towards a little pile of dead leaves and snow.

"What?"  Clem inquired, turning to watch as he went.

Louis squatted down, sneakily slipping the toy from his pocket to the pile.  Then, he stated, "Eww, gross..."

"What is it?"  His girlfriend repeated.

"A DEAD MOUSE!"  Louis shouted, whipping around and throwing the mouse at her.  She just stood there and let the mouse hit her, and it flopped to the ground.

"Wow," she said, unimpressed.

"How did that not even gross you out?"  Louis inquired, disappointed his trick didn't work.  "What if it had been a real mouse?  What would you have done?"

Clem shrugged.  "I've had walker guts on me before.  Nothing seems grosser than that."

Louis sighed, feeling defeated.

"Aw, don't be sad, Lou," Clem cooed.  "I promise I'll make your haircut look good."

Almost immediately, his spirits were boosted back up.  "The day's not over yet, Clem.  I've still got time."

==

At some point, it started snowing, making their trip to the shooting range harder than it needed to be.  Louis, being the good boyfriend he was, made Clem wear his jacket.  She didn't want to at first, but he insisted that she needed to so she "wouldn't get frostbite and lose the other leg."

Even though Louis was shivering now, he felt content knowing that Clementine was nice and warm.

Eventually, they made it to the shooting range, and the girl began to teach right away.  She wanted to get out of the cold as soon as possible.  They both did.

"Okay, first, make sure you have a wide base," she instructed.  He obeyed.  "Good.  I'm going to give you the gun now.  Don't freak out or anything.  Just hold it."

She handed the foreign object to Louis, and he gazed at it in awe in his hands.  "Isn't crazy to think that this little thing has the ability to take a life?"

"Or save a life," Clem added.  "Which is why we're doing this."

Louis pointed the gun at the makeshift target, closing his eye and trying to figure out how to aim.  The weapon was only a few inches away from his face.  Clementine smiled, being reminded of Sarah by the way he did it.  She adjusted  him the same way she had fixed her old friend.

"Also, remember, it's just a thing."

"Just a thing," Louis repeated.

"The most important thing to remember is to take a breath before you pull the trigger," Clem taught.

"Okay."

Then, Clementine showed him how to aim, how to load the gun, see if safety was on or off, all that jazz.  Soon enough, it was time for Louis to actually practice.  

He stood just like Clem had showed him, pointing the gun at the old book she had posted up on a tree about ten yards away.

Louis took a deep breath to shoot, but when he went to squeeze the trigger, he couldn't get his finger to move.

The dread locked teen tried again, but still, nothing.

Clementine placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.  "I know, it may seem scary at first, but after you just do it, it's not scary."

"Okay," Louis breathed.  "I can do this."

"How about on the count of three?"  

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Okay.  One, two-"

BANG.

The shot rang throughout the woods, making the few birds who remained scatter away into the sky.  You could see that a corner of the book was knocked off, and Louis smiled proudly.

Clem laughed.  "I never made it to three."

"But I did it,"  Louis said.  "I shot a gun!"

"Yeah, and you actually hit the book.  I'm impressed."

"It's too bad we can't celebrate with a kiss," Lou said, wriggling his eyebrows at her.  

"Yeah, too bad.  If only someone hadn't licked dog pee yesterday."

"I rinsed my mouth out!"  Louis claimed.

"Still."  Clementine gagged.  "That's disgusting."

Louis got back into shooter stance.  "Okay, I'm ready to go again."

"Whoa whoa whoa, slow down their, hot shot," the girl ordered.  "I've gotta take a piss.  And I don't want you shooting that thing until I get back."

"Ugh, fine."

"Once you earn my trust with it, you can shoot it whenever, but today's only your first day."

"Yes ma'am.  I won't shoot it until you get back."

"Okay."  Clem turned and started to hobble off on her crutches.  "I'll be right back."

Louis watched until Clementine walked out of his sight, then sat down on a little stump.  He traced the ridges on the gun and hummed to himself, until the low, deep groan of a walker reached his ears.

He looked up from the gun to see one of the dead slowly dragging itself toward Louis, half of its body frozen and stiff.  The teen glowered at the sight of the walker.

Reaching into his back pocket and grabbing his spare knife, he walked up to the walker, stopping a few feet in front of it.  The monster tried to speed up to reach him, but ended up just falling down because of his immovable side.

Louis actually pitied it for a moment, watching it lay there and struggle.  He took his gun and stood how Clem had shown him, aiming at the head.  

"Bang," he spoke, pretending the bullet had actually fired.

Suddenly, he got an idea.

Oh, that would scare the shit out of her.  If it actually works.

A mischievous grin spread across Louis's lips as he dug deeper into his new found prank.  "I'll be kissing her by the end of the day," he said out loud.

First, he took the knife and plunged it into the walkers head.  Once it was dead for good, he turned it over and cut open its stomach, like AJ had when they had to sneak onto the boat.

After that, it was time for the gross part.

"Do it for the kiss," he mumbled, trying to encourage himself to plunge his hands into the corpse's guts.  Without giving himself too much time to think about it, he dove his hands right in.  

Lou picked up a big glob of the monster's insides and smeared it on the side of his head.  He cringed as he added more, trying to make it look like a bullet had gone through his scull.  Then, he took the walker's blood and dyed a small patch of the snow red.  Once he was done, he dragged the body out of sight.

Louis didn't really have any reflective surfaces, so he could only hope that he did a good enough job on his head.  When he felt ready, he went and got on his knees above the pile of blood.

"Here goes," he uttered.  Then, he pointed the gun straight up into the sky and pulled the trigger.

At first, everything was silent.  Not one bird chirped, and no walkers moaned.  However, after a couple moments, he heard Clementine call, "Louis?"

He quickly laid his head down into the blood, but kept his eyes open.

"Louis!"  His girlfriend yelled again.  "Answer me!"  He could hear the panic in her voice.

He kept quiet.

Then, he could hear her crutches as they hit the forest floor, moving faster than he'd ever heard them before.  They were getting closer to him, and soon, he could just barely make out her outline.

"Louis?!"  Clem shouted.  "Where are you?"

He closed his eyes, but barely raised up his eyelids enough to see his girlfriends reaction.  

When Clementine saw him, she stopped in her tracks, dropping her crutches as her hand flew up to her mouth.

"No," she whispered.  "No, not again!"

The girl frantically hopped over to where his body lay, and Louis didn't move a muscle.

She got down on her knees letting out a sob as she inspected his body.  She took out the gun from Louis's hand and threw it to the side.

Lou had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from moving while Clementine gently touched the fake bullet wound on his head.

"W-why?" She asked, her voice breaking as the tears began to fall.  She pulled Louis into her lap, caressing his cheek and stroking her thumb across his dread locks.  "How c-could you j-just l-l-l-l-leave me?"

Okay, I didn't think she'd actually fall for it, Louis thought to himself, feeling guilty as his girlfriend wept over him.

"I n-need you, Lou!"  The distraught girl cried.  "God, w-what am I g-going to do?"

I should probably give myself up now...

Clementine took off her hat and threw it on to the ground, running her fingers through her hair.  "Why d-does this always h-happen?  Why do a-all the good o-ones fucking leave?!"

She laid her stump on the ground, and rested her forehead on her good leg.  Louis felt terrible as her body trembled, both from the cold and the despair.  

Clem reached down and grabbed Louis's hand as she sobbed, harder than she ever had before.  She brought it up to her lips, kissing it.  

"I should've b-b-been h-here.  I d-didn't m-m-make y-you h-happy enough.  I-I'm so s-sorry."  

She let out a little whimper that broke Louis's heart.

"It's a-all m-my fault."

Louis couldn't stand to see her like this anymore.  He wiggled the fingers of the hand she was cradling, and Clementine jumped back, reaching into her back pocket for a knife.

The boy sat up once he saw her reach back there.  "Don't worry, I'm not turning into a walker," He claimed, reading her mind.

Her eyes softened and seemed relieved for a moment, before they grew wide again.  She reach out to touch him, on his "wound."

Louis nervously rubbed the back of his neck.  "Yeah, that's not real."

"So y-your okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"And y-your s-still a-alive?"

"Yeah.  I'm not, like, a ghost, or anything."

As Clem realized this, her face hardened, and she sent the scariest death glare towards Louis that he had ever seen.  It felt as if she were staring a hole right through him.  

Louis went to say something, but was cut off by his suddenly livid partner.  "Y-you fucking a-asshole!"

She stood up on her one leg and began to hop towards her crutches, and Louis was quick to beat her to them to hand them to her. "Okay, I deserved that," he admitted.  "I didn't think you would actually fall for it, though-"

"You're s-so f-fucking stupid!"  She exclaimed, her stuttering from her crying still present, but not as bad.  "Who the h-hell does that?!"

"I thought you would see my attempt to scare you and laugh at it!"  He defended himself.  "I didn't think you would actually buy it!"

"Idiotic dick!"  She cussed.  "Bone head of the fucking century!"  

"Hey, I said I'm sorry!"  Louis said, a little surprised at how angry she was.  "I told you I was going to do whatever it took to scare you, and you said that was fine.  You were scared, weren't you?"

"Yes, Louis, I was scared fucking shitless.  I thought I fucking lost you!"

"Well I'm here.  And I'm okay."  He stepped closer and caressed her cheek, attempting to calm her, but it just made her even madder.  She jerked away from his touch.  

"I'm going back to the school, and don't you dare fucking follow me," she warned menacingly.  

She started to turn and walk, but Louis walked next to her, claiming, "I have to stay with you to keep you sa-"

He was cut off has Clementine reared back and swung herself on her crutches to send her foot flying into Louis's crotch.  A devastating blow. He groaned in pain, doubling over and holding his groin area.

"I can take care of myself," she growled.  Then, she started to walk off again, before stopping and turning around to tell him one last thing.  "Oh, and you know what?  We're through!"

"What?"  Louis asked through clenched teeth.

"This," she said, gesturing to her and then to Louis, "is over.  I don't need a boyfriend who makes me cry my eyes out just for fun."

"I already told you, it wasn't like that!"

Clementine ignored him as she walked off,  not looking back behind her.

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

Louis waited until sundown to go back to the school.  He was too scared to go any earlier.

He was frowned at by Willy at the gates, and got a disapproving look from Omar as he entered.  Aasim shook his head as Louis passed him, and Ruby glared at him as he went to the music room.  Even Rosie didn't come to Lou when he called for her.

Louis sat alone in the music room, trying to tickle the ivories a bit to clear his mind.  But anytime he would start a piece, he would get lost in thought about what happened earlier, and his fingers would hit some random keys and mess up the song.

Finally, he just gave up trying to play at all.  He ran his fingers through his hair, resting his forehead on the piano.

"Aw, shit," he mumbled to himself.  "I really fucked up."

"Yeah, you did," Violet agreed from behind him.  He turned to see his old friend leaning in the doorway, and he sighed and turned back around.  "So, I hear you got dumped."

"Yeah," he admitted.  

"How does it feel?"

"Glorious," he sarcastically replied.  "I love it."

"Well, you kind of deserve it," Vi opinionated.   "What you did was messed up."

"I know."

"What were you thinking, anyways?"

"That I wanted to kiss her so bad, and that I should give playing dead a shot.  I didn't think it would actually work."

"So not terrible intentions."

"No."

Violet came next and sat next to him, sighing.  "I already talked to her a little for you.  I said that you just do dumb things sometimes, to not take it personally.  But she [retty was pissed."

"Thanks."  Louis lightly pressed the lowest key on the piano.  The deep, dull town it let out pretty much summed up the way I felt.  "For talking to her, I mean."

"You should try talking to her," Vi suggested.  "Before she just gets madder."

"I've already been kicked in the balls once today.  I don't want her to do it again."

"That's a risk you gotta take if you ever want her to forgive you, Lou."  Violet stood up.  "And if you ever want her kisses.  That's why you did this whole thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah."  Louis played another note.  "I guess I probably should go and talk to her."

"Good luck," Violet wished him as she started to walk out.

"I'm gonna need it," he replied.

He caught their initials out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his lips slightly raised as he recalled the memory he had at this bench.  For a moment, he forgot the situation he was in.  Then, as reality set back in, he stood up, a newfound determination filling him.

I have to fix this.

0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0~0

Louis made his way over to Clementine's dorm, freshly picked flowers in hand.  He rehearsed his lines in his head:  Clem, I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have done that to you.  I just wanted to kiss you, so bad.  I can't wait a week!  I wasn't expecting my prank to actually work, either.  Please, please forgive me.

As he neared the room, he saw AJ walk out of it.  "How's it going, little man?"  Louis asked as he passed him.  

"Okay," Alvin Junior claimed.  "Where are you going?"

"To see Clem,"  the teen responded, showing him the flowers.  "How is she?"

"Mad.  Like really, really mad.  I left because I didn't want to be in there with her when she was that mad.  She's scary when she gets like this."

"Well, I'm going to fix her," Louis announced, walking toward the door again.

"Aren't you the one that broke her?"

"... I'm gonna make her better, okay?  Just, go play with Willy or something."

"O-kay," AJ said, rolling his eyes.  

Louis watched until AJ rounded the corner of the hall, then hesitantly stepped up to the door.  He raised his hand up to knock, but stopped right as he was about to do so.  "Don't fuck this up," he murmured to himself.  Then, he lightly rapped on the door.

"Who is it?"  Clem asked, the annoyance clear in her voice.

"Me," Louis answered.  

"Go away, Louis."

"But I have something for you."

"I don't want it."

"They'll die if I don't get them in something soon."

Clementine was silent for a moment.  "What is it?"

"Guess."  Louis leaned his head against the door to see if he could hear her reaction.

"No.  Leave."

"But Clem-"

"God damn it, Louis, just get the fuck out of-"  She was suddenly cut off, and Louis heard a loud thud.

Without thinking, Lou through open the door to find Clem on the floor, lying on her stomach.  He set the flowers down and bent down to help her up.

"Are you okay?"  He questioned, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet.  

She jerked her arm away from him.  "I'm fine."  She grabbed hold of the bed and hoisted herself on top of it.  "I can get up myself."

"Did you forget again?"  Sometimes, Clementine forgot that she didn't have half of her leg.  She would get up to do something without thinking, and usually fell flat on her face.

Clementine didn't reply, and Louis took that as a yes.

Louis picked the flowers up from off the floor, and held them out to her.  "I got you these."

She glared at him.  "I'm allergic to flowers."

Louis faced dropped, and he threw the bouquet behind him.  "Oh."

They both just stared at each other for a moment, the uneasy tension making the boy uncomfortable.  Clementine took advantage of that, sending him a death stare.  "You can leave now."

Louis started to turn around, but stopped.  He faced Clem and made direct eye contact with her.  "I'm sorry."

"Okay."  

"I'm am so, so sorry," he repeated.  He sat down next to her on the bed, and Clementine scooted the opposite direction and up against the wall.  Louis pretended not to care, continuing, "I just couldn't stop thinking about how badly I wanted to kiss you.  And I also didn't think it would actually work!  I thought that maybe you would see me and just yell at me for shooting without you there."

"Well either way, it was stupid."

"Yeah, I know.  That's why I'm swallowing my pride and apologizing, Clem.  You know me; I can be fucking stubborn sometimes.  But I'm here right now, admitting to you that I was wrong."

The girl just stared at him.

"I'm also known to do stupid things, Clem," Lou added.  "You should know that by now."

"Stupid things lead to people dying, Louis!"  Clementine suddenly snapped, making Louis jump.  "Believe me, I know!"

Louis was silent, shook from her outburst.  She broke eye contact and stared at he bed, surprised by her sudden words, too.

"Sometimes, it's not even anybody's fault," Clem muttered, more to herself than Louis.  "It's just the universe, giving us all a hard fucking time."  She looked up from the blankets and back to Louis, her eyes misty.  "I was reminded of that today.  Stupid things happen all the time.  People who were happy do dumb things, and they leave me..."

Louis grabbed her hand, and this time, she didn't tear it away.  "Hey, I would never do that to you."

"Jane said that, too."  Her eyes took on a glazed over look, as if she wasn't really there.  In a way, she wasn't;  she was sucked into her memories. Back to when she found Jane hanging from the ceiling.  "But she lied.  Just like everyone else.  Left me and AJ on our own."  She closed her eyes, the memory painful.  "Fucking selfish."

Louis said nothing.

"That wasn't the first time, though.  Everyone in my life, they don't stick around for too long.  I don't know what it is, but every time I come into a group, they fall apart.  People die, friends betray... and it only happens when I show up.  I don't know, maybe I'm like a bad luck charm, or something."

"Don't say that," Louis scolded.  "You're the best thing that's ever happened to us."

"I've learned to never get too close to people," Clem continued, ignoring Louis's last comment.  "The only exception I made was to AJ.  Everybody else, though, I try to not get used to them.  But today, when I saw you in the woods..."  She took a deep breath to keep control of her emotions.  "I realized how much I let you mean to me.  How much I let myself I need you.  How much I let myself  love you."

Louis's stomach did a flip at the last sentence.

"I let you get too close..."  She bit her lip as a tear trickled down her cheek.  "If that had been real, Lou, I don't know what I would have done.  I was debating on killing myself, Louis..."

Upon hearing that, he scooted right up next to her and pulled her into an embrace.  She didn't hold back from him at all anymore.

"I've always been okay on my own.  But now that I've met you, I never want to be alone again.  And I hate you for that."  Her voice broke.

"It's love, Clem," Louis softly whispered, holding her tighter.  "One of the downsides of it is it turns our whole world upside down.  But it's worth it.  You don't have to be tough all by yourself.  You're not alone anymore, and that's good.  You don't have to push me away."

The teen girl let out a tiny sob, and Louis gave a gentle squeeze.

"Know that I'll never leave you, okay?  I won't hurt you.  I won't let anyone else hurt you.  You're safe.  It's okay to let people in now."

"Okay," she muttered into his shoulder.

Louis held her close, softly swaying back and forth to calm her down.  It worked, and she slowly stopped crying.  

After a little while, she pulled out of the hug and wiped her runny nose.  Louis wiped off her tear trails with his thumb.  

"I think I know what scares me the most, now," she claimed.  

"Oh yeah?  What?"

"Losing you.  Or AJ.  Anybody here, really."

"Well you don't have to worry," Louis assured her, wrapping an arm around her.  "I won't let that happen.  That's an irrational fear, with me around.  It's like you saying that you were scared of bunnies."

Clementine let out a small laugh, and Lou smiled.

"So... are we still broken up?"

"No," she stated.  "We're officially a thing again.  As long as you don't pull another one of your pranks."

"I won't," he promised.  "Never again."

Clem smiled at him, and her eyes fell to the flowers on the floor.  "Hey, can you get those for me?"

"I thought you were allergic," he spoke, getting out of bed and bending down to get them.

"No.  I was just mad at you."

Louis chuckled, handing them over.  Clem took them and inhaled deeply, satisfied with their fresh scent.  Then, he crawled back into bed, and Clem scooted over to him.  She snuggled into his chest, and he pulled her close.  Out of habit, he turned his head and planted a kiss on her forehead.  His eyes widened once he realized what he did.  "Sorry, I forgot I'm not allowed to yet.  Please don't kick me in-"

He was cut off as Clem planted a tender, passionate kiss on his lips.  At first, he was too startled to react, but once he processed what was happening, he kissed back.

After a moment, Clementine parted their mouths and went back to laying on his chest.  "You're allowed to kiss me now."

"Good," Louis breathed.  He glanced out the mostly boarded up window to see that it was dark already dark outside.  "Geez, it got dark pretty quick."

"Mhmm," his girlfriend replied, her eyes closed as she rested her eyes on Louis's chest.  

Louis smiled, whispering, "Goodnight, Clem."

"Night."

"I love you."

"Love you, too."

Louis gingerly stroked Clementine's hair as she drifted to sleep, quietly humming a made up tune.

He couldn't help but smile at how peaceful she looked.  

At some point, he fell asleep, too, a wide grin plastered on his face from admiring who he loved most.

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

AN:  well, there's that. hope you liked!

got any requests for another one?

[brandyxlynn91]

Galaxies Together pt. 6

Garrus was feeling a little down that Jane hadn't come visit him since taking down the doctor. He had told her he needed time to think but he had still hoped she'd continue her frequent visits. They were always the highlight of his time on the Normandy when they weren't out shooting Geth.

"What's wrong, turian? Missing a certain female commander?" Wrex teased from across the bay.

Shit, he noticed. Garrus thought but before he could retort they heard Jane on the comm.

"Wrex. Garrus. Suit up. We're reaching Feros." She told them.

Well, at least I'll get to see her and get some geth action, Garrus thought as he smiled.

As soon as they exited the Normandy, they saw geth attacking some colonists. They immediately stepped into action. He and Jane sniped the geth from a distance while Wrex did his usually deadly head butting whenever his shotgun started overheating. Afterwards, Garrus stole a glance at Jane but before he could say anything she had started running towards the colonists. After talking with the leader they learned that they were a small colony on the planet with the exogeni research facility. The leader told them that their big problem was the geth transmitter in the tunnels and they had mediocre problems that the other colonists could tell them about. Jane decided she wanted to talk to them. Upon doing so they found out they had a water shortage, a need for power cells, and a problem with an alpha varren. Upon asking about the colonists odd behavior, the leader just excused it as an effect of the geth attacks though Garrus noticed Jane didn't seem convinced. He also told them not to worry about the menial problems but Jane seemed determined to help them with everything. Yet again she showed such compassion even though it wasn't necessary of her. Garrus had learned to admire that about her, he even stopped arguing about it or pointing it out and just went along with it.

Inside the tunnels and through a doorway, they ran into the alpha varren and after taking the pack down and grabbing power cells, Jane mentioned something about wanting a varren as a pet. He thought she was joking but realized she was probably crazy and tough enough to handle one. Further into the tunnels, she had turned on the water pumps and they ran into a lone colonist. He seemed like he was trying to warn them about something but then he started yelling at himself and Garrus thought he was plain crazy. Jane tried to offer him help but he claimed she couldn't do anything and stopped talking. They then took out the transmitter and headed back. The colonists seemed grateful but were still acting odd. They decided it would be best to head for the exogeni facility, along the way Jane took out geth with the mako guns again, even though a few times he swore she was going to drive off the edge. They intercepted radio chatter and found some of the scientists holed up. Two of them were arguing about what to do. The woman seemed to be worried about her daughter and the man was telling her to forget about it. Jane told the woman she'd keep a lookout for her and upon asking they claimed not to know why the geth were attacking. After telling them to stay hidden, they continued to head towards the facility. Upon exiting the mako in the garage, a gunshot had barely missed Jane. Garrus immediately aimed his gun at the direction to see a scared young woman.

"Shit. I'm sorry. I thought you were a geth or varren." She apologized profusely.

"Look. It's fine. Just try not to do it again." Jane told her.

"Who are you?" Garrus inquired. He wasn't happy about her almost shooting Jane and was still holding up his gun.

"Easy Garrus. It was an accident. I'd be jumpy too if I was her." Jane told him.

"I- again I'm so sorry. My name is Lizbeth. I was trying to finish up some data when we evacuated and got stuck behind this forcefield." She timidly replied.

"Lizbeth? Your mother was looking for you." Jane told her then turned to Garrus. "Seriously, you can put the gun down."

"She's alive? Thank God." Lizbeth said gratefully.

"Do you know what's causing this forcefield?" She asked the girl.

"I think they have a ship powering it." She told them.

"Alright. Stay here. Guys, let's go take down this forcefield." Jane told them.

"I hope it involves blowing something up!" Wrex exclaimed.

"Probably. but we just got done blowing up geth on the bridge." Jane told him.

"Yeah but that was like over 20 minutes ago, Shepard." Wrex said while both she and Garrus just shook their heads while they headed into the building.

They took out the geth room by room until they came into a room where it looked like the geth was worshipping some kind of tech. They were puzzled about it but decided they needed to move on. They finally happened upon where the geth ship was attached to the building. Upon reading a note, they learned the bay doors that the ship's legs were attached to were being glitchy. Jane used this to her advantage to make the doors slam down on them, making the whole ship fall and blow up.

"Look at that. Your girly human is pretty resourceful." Wrex told Garrus while nudging him.

"Knock it off." Garrus told him even though he had grown impressed with how she handled situations like that.

"You guys say something?" Jane asked.

"Yeah! You sure know how to show a krogan a good time, Shepard. I mean we get to shoot geth and blow up their ships. Whoo!" Wrex exclaimed. At least he hasn't let Jane know about his teasing and suspicions Garrus thought. Jane just smiled at him and for some reason that made Garrus lose himself for a moment. After a little banter, they decided to go ask about this Thorian creature they found out about from the VI. Upon asking Lizbeth about the thorian, she confessed that it was some creature they found that seems to have mind control powers and the real reason she stayed behind was to try to get a message out because she didn't agree with using the colonists as test subjects.

Down the road, they heard arguing on the comm again and upon investigating they saw the man aiming his gun at the woman. Lizbeth ran over there before Jane could stop her so they were forced to show themselves. The man was yelling about exogeni forgetting them and that they were expendable in a panic. Jane somehow managed to use her charm to calm him down although Garrus would've personally preferred to shoot him. She told him she knew about the thorian and the colonists. He confessed to his involvement while the woman seemed generally confused. He told them that the thorian was under the colony but its control over the colonists would force them to die defending it from being found. Jane expressed the desire to find a way to not harm the colonists when the woman inquired that she could concoct a gas for their grenades that would simply knock them out. Jane agreed to it after finding out it wouldn't affect them at all.

"Remember do not kill the colonists." Jane told them.

"Are you sure this will work?" Garrus asked her. He was a bit skeptical.

"Well, we'll find out. Just don't shoot them. They're under mind control of that creature." She told him before they headed out. There she goes being all compassionate again he thought as he smiled. It used to annoy him as a hindrance but now he was happy to comply with her wishes.

Once reaching the colony, some zombie like thralls that were beyond saving were mixed with the colonists. Garrus and Wrex carefully shot down the thralls while Jane perfectly threw the knockout gas at the colonists. Upon reaching the crane control and lifting part of the building up to reveal a hidden tunnel the colony leader showed up with a gun. They all pointed their guns back. Jane tried reasoning with him but he was incoherently talking about being controlled before shooting himself in the head. Jane looked away for a moment and seemed bothered she couldn't help him before leading them into the tunnels. Upon entering they came across a giant plant like entity that spread throughout the tunnels.

"We're gonna need bigger guns." Jane expressed.

Then a green looking asari was spit out from the creature. The asari told them that Saren struck a deal with the thorian in exchange for a cipher for the prothean beacon, he would leave the thorian be. She then tells them that Saren betrayed it by sending the geth to attack it to prevent Jane from getting the cipher. The asari then called them meat bags and attacked. After taking her and the thralls down, Jane started shooting at the thorian roots attached to the walls. Garrus realized what she was doing and he and Wrex shot down the thralls as they came at her until she finally shot enough roots to knock it down, killing it. After wards, the asari came from a pod in the wall. She explained that she was with benezia and was left as a gift for the thorian from Saren. She then told them she could give Jane the prothean cipher for the beacon and linked with her just like Liara had done before. Jane seemed a little drained afterwards but said she was fine when Garrus asked. He wasn't sure if she really was but decided not to push it but he kept an eye on her as they headed out. Upon exiting they saw the scientists had rejoined the colonists. The colonists thanked them after they were asked if they were okay. The colonists and scientists told them they were gonna stay behind and rebuild. Jane double checked to see if they were okay before they headed back to the Normandy.

In conference, Liara offered to join minds again to see if the cipher helped. Afterwards she said it seemed to be a warning but still didn't understand what it meant.

Later on in the cargo bay, Garrus heard the elevator and was delighted to see Jane.

"Hey Garrus. You up for talking?" She asked.

"Yeah." He replied, trying to act casual despite his joy. "I wanted to thank you."

"Thank me?" She asked, seeming confused.

"Yeah. After what happened with the doctor, I've been thinking I might go back to C-sec. Of course, not before we take down Saren." He told her. It looked like she seemed conflicted for a moment but then she smiled.

"That's great!" She exclaimed.

"Yeah. You make fighting for the innocent seem a little easier than it felt before. I see everything you do and how you stick to your convictions has inspired me. I don't think I've met anyone like you before. I just--" He was telling her before he heard Kaidan on her comm asking her to come up.

"Yeah. One minute, Kaidan." She replied into her comm. "I'm sorry. You were saying?" She said turning back to Garrus.

"Uh, nothing. Just like I said I wanted to thank you and I can't wait to take down Saren." He said, feeling a little disappointed.

"Okay. Well, I'm proud of you, Vakarian." She told him before heading back.

"Well, that went smooth." Wrex laughed from his corner.

"You guys know that Alenko is sweet on her, right?" He heard Ashley say from the lockers.

"Oh. Looks like you have competition, pyjak." Wrex teased him.

"No. It's not like that." Garrus replied, defensively. Of course, he's sweet on her. He thought. Who wouldn't be? She's beautiful, strong, smart, charming, and resourceful. Then he shook himself off trying to get rid of those thoughts. Thinking she'd rather be with someone of her own kind anyways.

[fanfictionized]

Help Me Help You - EXmode (5/?)

Character: Bucky Barnes x Enhanced!Reader / OFC

Chapter summary: They've finally cracked Hydra's database, meaning that they have a name; The next one of Hydra's victims and they need to find her before they do.

Also they have more of an idea of what enhancement-program they're dealing with...Something familiar, perhaps?

Warnings: Mentions of torture and death, angst?

Words: 1.9k

Previous Chapter // Help Me Help You - Masterlist

“It didn’t occur to me until I tried matching the people’s blood samples up with the rest in S.H.I.E.L.D’s database.” Bruce recited as he called up the different hemograms. Bucky wasn’t entirely sure what he was looking at, numbers and percentages listed in tabular form that didn’t make a whole lot of sense to him.

Bruce rambled on about the numbers and percentages and Bucky noticed that he was not the only one drifting off until the next swipe with his hand showed a microscopic animation of real blood cells. He remembered that much from school. Micrography had been quite a new technology, allowing to show real, yet blurry and black and white examples over a projector. But that was nothing compared to this.

Those cells were red and pink with a purplish center and it seemed as if they were vibrating as they coursed slowly into one direction like a current. The dark purple was starting to spread out into its entirety, the yellowish green edges of the cell beginning to extend small antenna-like arms that wiggled their way outside the cell. Bucky had never, in any way, been good at biology or science, but he didn’t need to to determine it strange. Nothing but normal.

“But I had kept myself so busy with the mutation in your blood and what the super serum did to you” He continued, looking at both Steve and Bucky “That I didn’t think about the rest of Hydra’s altering experiments.” His head turned towards Wanda. She had been staring at the screen for quite some time now.

“It’s… mine, isn’t it? My blood?” She asked cautiously and Bruce nodded, pushing back the glasses onto his nose and continued explaining with a soft tone to his voice.

“Strucker’s experiments were revolutionary after Zola’s.” Bucky looked up at the familiar name, a shiver running down his spine. “It seems as if Hydra has gotten more information on how to put both of their lives’ work together.”

“To create the ultimate weapon. Indestructible and enhanced.” Vision stated as he had entered the room by floating through the glass. Another thing Bucky wouldn’t be able to get used to. It was only the third time he had seen him. He had disappeared to go on his own mission weeks before. Something about S.H.I.E.L.D he assumed, but it didn’t really matter anyway.

“Vis!” Wanda squealed excitedly as she saw him floating towards her and wrapped her arms around him. The others smiled and greeted him back. “Vision is right. I’m not just talking about your super strength or physical resilience” He looked back at Bucky and Steve “Or your enhanced abilities, Wanda. This could be a whole new thing.” He shook his head in disbelief as he showed the next picture.

A sea of dark purple spots trembling across the screen. The room got quiet as everyone watched the oval cells with jet-black cores quivering with, what everyone assumed; pure fucking energy.

“What the hell is this?” Sam asked, clearly shocked. “That’s the sample of Nina Alice, one of the victims.” Bruce added before Sam interrupted him “And let me guess; the others look exactly like hers?” Bruce nodded. “More or less, yes. You can see a slight change in the bloodstream, but my guess is that Hydra is still playing with the formula…” “But” Natasha inquired “They were all dead when they found them, right?” Her voice was laced with something Bucky had never heard from her. Possible fear of what they were facing. “Yes, unfortunately-” Bruce began but she continued. “Then how… are the cells still moving?”

Goosebumps crawled over Bucky’s skin at the realization and the others looked just as horrified as him as they faced each other. Bruce sighed deeply.

“All of them were found within 24 hours after their initial time of death. The autopsy showed that even though their hearts had stopped beating, they were not quite… dead… in a literal sense.” “What are you talking about?” Wanda asked, as confused as the rest of the group. “Their brains are still active. Something inside them was still keeping them alive for a couple more hours.” “The new serum?” Natasha asked. “Probably.” Tony responded “Their brains’ activity essentially shut down after an average of 16 hours after their death.” “Actually, post-mortal brain activity is not uncommon, but the average time span for that is maybe up to six minutes.” “Not sixteen hours…” Steve repeated calmly as he looked down, either thinking or processing. “How the fuck are you so calm? Man, we got a new Hydra weapon that could take us all down, how are you not freaking out right now?” Sam clearly wasn’t. Rightly.

Bucky’s own heart had begun to thump inside his chest at a maddening pace. He didn’t want to imagine what those people must’ve gone through in comparison to him. His story was one to ignite nightmares by its own. He had gone a long way to become what he was, but it was the aftermath that still traumatized him. They had died getting there.

“I’m not.” Steve replied “But we might be able to stop them before anything else happens to any more civilians.” He said and gestured to Tony who was still pacing around restlessly. “…Tony? Do you know something we don’t?” Natasha asked as he picked up his tablet. “Maybe.” He shrugged and projected the picture on the screen above the table with a tap of his fingers.

“S.H.I.E.L.D has found more than one of Hydra’s programmer. They… interrogated them-” He raised his brows and Steve scoffed “What do you want from me, Cap? Because I want this to end.” Steve crossed his arms in front of him but let Tony continue.

“-Anyway, they got enough information from them to add to the hacking of the system they had already achieved to find out the plan on the new serum.” The information on the operation appeared with a title.

“The Exome-Modification and Enhancement Program.” Tony said “Also called EXmode.” He remarked, letting everyone observe the information in front of them. “We have the names of the victims right here- “ “Along with their process-evaluation during their treatments.” Bruce finished his sentence “They never wrote down the actual formula, but what it did to the people as they used it on them.” “Something like a fucked-up diary…” Sam muttered angrily. Bruce began to look more and more depressed during the course of explaining the current situation.

“They have all the names here in order. But not only the ones that were found… but also the ones they still… want to experiment on.” “There, after Yorick Lambert.” Natasha pointed out the name on the sheet. “Has anyone after him been reported missing yet?” “Not yet, no.”

Annabelle Feldner. Bucky read inside his head. She was the next one on the list, right underneath Yorick. There was nothing else, no date, no information.

“We need to find her, Tony.” It just slipped out, his thoughts running freely and he felt the need to express them. “We can’t let them get to her.” All eyes were on him. Although he didn’t speak much, his words had value once they were out. And of cause he was right, they all knew it.

“S.H.I.E.L.D is already on it.” He assured him, but it didn’t quite answer his question. “Are they bringing her to a safe location?” Bucky asked, but Tony only fidgeted on the spot, looking over at Bruce who was already eyeing him.

“Not exactly…” Bucky’s scalp began to prickle, the fiery sensation spreading over his skin. Nausea settled inside his stomach the second he thought about other people living through the same hell as he did. This was no longer a simple mission. This was personal.

“What do you mean…?” His voice was low and dark. “Well, first off; There are a few Annabelle Feldners on the face of the earth. Trying to find out which one Hydra is interested in is a bit of a predicament since we still don’t know what connects all of them.” He tried to explain. Bucky’s shoulders tensed up.

“Second, I have my doubts S.H.I.E.L.D will tell us once they’ve figured that one out, because, well…” He sighed and took off his yellow sunglasses “They still don’t have the serum. My guess is that once they know which Annabelle they’re after, they will wait for Hydra to show up so they can see where they’re taking her.” All of them listened carefully as he explained his theory.

“Of cause this is all just assumption, but I’ve known those guys for a couple of years. They are trying their best to find her, but also they won’t let an opportunity like this slip through their fingers. Thinking about the greater good- “

“No way.” Bucky interrupted as he stood up, almost knocking over his chair. He was angry. Tired of this, but mostly angry. He had sworn to himself that he wouldn’t let one more person be the victim of the “greater good” because the “greater good” had him killing pointlessly for decades for it. Who were they to decide if they could spare that life? They would take Hydra down to help themselves to their knowledge to use it for whatever, but not for the greater good. “They can’t do that.”

“I’m afraid that’s not up to you anymore.” Tony said and sunk back into his chair with a huff “We’ve come this far but I wouldn’t count on S.H.I.E.L.D taking us any further than that. Maybe they’ll call us if they want their base destroyed or their agents taken out. But I doubt they’ll let us know about the formula once they have it. They want to avoid this- “He pointed at Bucky, Steve and Wanda “-happening again. Not unless they know how to control it.” “So what? You’ll let them play god?” Bucky asked incredulously. “Buck…” Steve started reaching for his friend’s arm but he pulled it back. “Bucky is right.” Wanda agreed and stood up as well “You’ll never know what it’s like to be experimented on like that. They cut you open, the pump you full of stuff that makes your veins burn and make you wish you were dead.” Tony lowered his head at her words and even though she had hit a blade in his heart with the accuracy of her words, Bucky was proud of her speaking up as well.

“They don’t have a voice, Tony. But they don’t deserve it. No one does and that should be out first priority instead of being sad because we cannot change how it is.” “She’s right, you know.” Sam muttered. “I know!” Tony groaned “Of cause I know that.” “We’re Avengers.” Steve spoke “We need to stand up for the little guys. Especially since no one else will.”

Bucky chuckled. Captain America in its full glory. He was expecting nothing less. “Then it’s settled.” Vision spoke with a faint smile on his lips. “Oh, so what now exactly? I’m supposed to break into S.H.I.E.L.D’s security network?” Tony huffed sarcastically. “Haven’t you already...?” Bruce asked him, but Tony immediately tried to shush him. “Shhht! All right, okay.” He threw his hands into the air dramatically “God, I feel stupid for saying this, but let’s spy on S.H.I.E.L.D.” “We can do it. As a team.” Steve said and Tony rolled his eyes. “Whatever, Miss American beauty pageant. I’ll do most of the work anyway so lay back until I’ve found a name.” Everyone laughed at that.

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