#i don’t wanna be ripped or super lean I know that’s like the common beauty standard but nah

[mrburnsnuclearpussy]

Transition goals

[graceilia]

[judediangelo75]

We’re Just Friends

A/N: This is an idea that me and @that-scouse-wizard have chatted about while ago. Now that I thought about it, it wouldn’t leave me alone. So here it is.

I hope you guys enjoy this silly one-shot. I would make it super concrete and specific but I don’t have the energy for that.

Just know nobody is truly dating anyone (Judith and Talbott aren’t together yet, neither is David and Merula)

MC friend: David Willows ( @that-scouse-wizard )

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

Anybody who’s been at Hogwarts long enough has heard about David Willows and Judith Harris.

Siblings of the missing Jacob Hall and Jamal Harris.

Hufflepuff’s feared Beaters, known as Hound and Tigress.

The proclaimed Heroes of Hogwarts.

What started off as a simple teammate relationship on the Quidditch pitch turned into an unbreakable bond. The two were thick as thieves, making sure to have each other’s backs through everything. 

You want to talk smack about one of them? Be ready to be grilled within an inch of your life by the other.

You want to try to engage in argument with the pair? Be prepared to walk away in shambles. 

You want to try to gang up on one of them? The other usually not too far away to act as backup.

Cursed Vaults? Psh, the two will be on the front lines, ready to take on whatever danger there is.

Many people have often wondered if the two were more than just friends. 

It’s a common thing to see Judith fussing over David after a rough training session or after he got into fight. Or to see David giving the sleeping Judith a piggyback ride back to their Common Room.

David grew up to be a handsome young lad. Pale skin, dark brown hair with warm dark brown eyes to match. With the help of his growth spurt, he grew up to be a solid 5′11. Thanks to his constant training and his position as a Beater, he maintain an athletic, muscular figure. It was no secret he had his fair share of admirers, girls often giggling or blushing at the sight of the Hufflepuff wizard.

Judith grew up as well. Upon entering Hogwarts, she was a small, slim girl. An easy target to those who didn’t know her and someone often overlooked. As the years passed, she grew to be a beauty. Dark skin, brown-black hair, with pale gold eyes. She didn’t grow past 5′6 (and a half as she normally stresses), making her one of the shorter members of their group of friends. But it suited her, especially with her body build. While she was still on the slim side, her body fill out and reveal womanly curves. Her training with David and Quidditch helped her maintain this figure. While guys still fear her due to her strength and fighting skills, that didn’t stop them from staring at the Hufflepuff witch when she came into view.

Two good looking people with a bond like theirs? They had to be together. There’s no way they would be just friends.

At least that’s what everyone who wasn’t friends with them thought.

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

“David.” The Hufflepuff wizard in questioned turned to his head to his friend.

“Yeah? what’s up, Judith,” he asked. The young witch’s brows were furrowed, as if she was trying to figure something out.

“Have you head the latest rumor going on,” she questioned him. David shook his head, curious to what the students at Hogwarts have came up with this time.

“Someone started a rumor saying that we were dating...” David blinked once before letting out a unattractive snort.

“Us? Dating? Merlin’s beard, people must’ve gone mad,” he laughed. Judith let a soft chuckle.

“You’re not wrong. Especially when we’re in own respective crushes,” she smirked. David took a deep breath to help calm down.

“So, what do you want to do about it? You wanna mess with some peoples’ heads or shut down the rumor,” David asked. Judith’s expression turned into thoughtful one. Very rarely would she tolerate tomfoolery, let alone entertain it.

This was a pretty stupid rumor.

David and her have been friends ever since second year. Never once has she looked at him that way.

Especially not when a loner Ravenclaw caught her eye during the beginning of their third year...

As stupid as the rumor is, it was kind of funny. In a way she can kind of see how people would think that they were dating.

Very rarely would she mess around and entertain something for her own amusement...

But she’ll make the exception this time,

“I’m down to have a laugh,” she finally said. David cracked a smile and laughed.

“I agree.”

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

Judith and David were cackling in their empty Common Room.

It’s been two days since they decided to have fun with this rumor and the reactions were well worth it.

The wide eyes, jaw dropped and jealous looks they received when they were being “affectionate” never failed to make them smirk.

They made sure to hold hands where everyone could see.

Casually flirt with one another when people where in earshot.

David would sometimes play with her hair. 

Judith would occasionally feel up on David’s biceps.

Hell, just earlier that day, Judith was sitting on David’s lap in the Courtyard. They were revising for Charms class as they did this, quizzing each other as they remain close. Guys were glaring at David as he had his arm wrapped around his friend’s waist. Girls turned red out of jealous rage as Judith occasionally nuzzled him.

They definitely looked like the “perfect” couple everyone thought them to be.

“Whew, that was the best laugh I’ve had in awhile,” Judith gasped, leaning on David for support. David rested a hand over his heaving chest, trying to compose himself.

“Honestly! You would think our House mates would know better. They’ve never seen us that close,” he snorted.

Judith let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re not wrong, Hound. Ahhh, I think it;s time to put this rumor to rest.” David nodded with a smile.

Little did they know, their little stunt soon reached a certain Ravenclaw and Slytherin...

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

Talbott growled, ready to rip David a new one. 

Normally he would ignore rumors and such, but when he heard his crush’s name being mentioned, he couldn’t help but to tune into the whispers around him.

He didn’t like what he heard.

‘David is lucky bloke to score a girl like Judith.’

‘David and Judith make such a cute couple, don’t you think?’

‘Ugh! I can’t believe Judith is with him! Now I’ll never get a chance to be with David.’

‘David is such a smug bastard. He’s basically showing off that he managed to lock down one of the prettiest witches at Hogwarts.’

‘Did you see how they were all cuddled up in the Courtyard?’

“If I hear one more time how perfect David and Judith are, I will puke.”

Talbott felt angry towards both of them. He was angry at David for stealing Judith and he was angry at Judith messing with his feelings.

He liked her for quite some time. And it looked like that she returned his feelings. Until he’s heard that she was dating David Willows.

Talbott was hurt and pissed off. He was a bit insecure about himself and the idea of her and David made that insecurity rear its ugly head.

He wasn’t as outgoing as David. 

He didn’t have David’s strength or fighting prowess.

He was no Quidditch player (while he believe that he could make a decent Seeker or Keeper, he couldn’t compare to a Beater. Players who could strike fear into the hearts of others).

He didn’t even have David’s looks. While he felt like he looked decent, he didn’t really have girls openly fawning over him or blushing and giggling after him.

He was a loner who preferred the company of a good book or birds. Hell, there were people who said he looked like their long lost cousin.

David looked like he had everything. Including the girl he’s been pining over for Gods know how long. Talbott just reached outside of the Hufflepuff Common Room where he met a Slytherin witch with a similar murderous expression on her face.

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

Merula’s blood was boiling. 

All day she’s been hearing about how cute Willows and Harris was and she’s at her wits end.

Out of all the witches David could’ve picked, he picked Harris? That bloody disgrace Jamal Harris’s sister?!

What the hell did she have that Merula didn’t?!

Merula is the Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts!

‘Have you won a duel against Harris since you got here?’ Well no, but-

‘Did you forget that she can easily defend herself? Or did you forget the bruises and broken nose she gave you back in third year?’ No, but I-

‘Have you bested her at Flying class? Have you ever won a race against her on your new broom?’ Not yet-

‘Can you conjure a powerful corporeal Patronus?’ I haven’t-

‘Do you have a position on the Quidditch team?’ No, but who wants to play that stupid game anyways?!

‘Easy, David does. And Harris can.’

Merula internally growled at her thoughts. She was angry at Harris for walking around Hogwarts as if she was better than everyone else. As if she was better than her.

She was strong, powerful and apparently beautiful. Merula has even heard Slytherin wizards who picked on her when they were in their earlier years talk about how “pretty” and “beautiful” she was.

Now she stolen Willows’s attention from her!

She stood outside the Hufflepuff Common Room, waiting for the two to emerge when a Ravenclaw wizard stormed up.

“What you doing here,” she questioned with narrowed eyes. Talbott rolled his eyes, not in the mood to deal with the “Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts”.

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he snarked. Merula glared and was about to retort something when the door swung open.

David and Judith were surprised to find their respective crushes in front of their Common Room, suddenly glaring at them.

“You have some explaining to do, Willows,” Merula hissed.

“We need to have a talk, Judith,” Talbott said coldly. 

The two Hufflepuff glanced at each other before back at the Ravenclaw and Slytherin trying to murder them with their eyes.

“Yeah...”

“What the hell is going on between you two?!” Both Hufflepuff winced at the loud yell coming from the enraged pair.

“Whoa, easy with the hostility. We’re just friends,” Judith said. David nodded.

“Yeah, there’s nothing going on between us,” David added. Talbott and Merula narrowed their eyes.

“’Just friends’? That’s sure as hell not what I heard, Judith,” Talbott huffed.

“Friends don’t cuddle up in public together, Willows. Don’t bullshit me,” Merula growled. 

Judith tilted her head to the side and David rose a brow.

“Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell us, you believe those rumors,” the Hufflepuff witch asked.

“Who the hell are we suppose to believe,” Merula snorted.

“Us, of course,” David said coolly.

“How do would we know you’re not lying,” Talbott asked. David and Judith looked at each other and back at them.

“Maybe because we don’t like each other like that,” Judith offered.

“Maybe because we could’ve gotten together a long time ago if that was the case,” David added.

“Maybe because we never started flirting with each other until a rumor started?”

Maybe because our friends, especially in Hufflepuff, would’ve saw this coming a long time ago?”

“Or maybe because we wouldn’t lie to you because we care about you,” they finished together. Talbott and Merula looked at them shocked before they’ve started blushing.

Judith and David shared eerily similar smirks that made the Ravenclaw wizard and Slytherin witch take a step back.

“Is there something you want to tell us,” Judith asked in a sing-a-long voice. Talbott shook his head.

“W-what?! N-no,” Talbott denied, though his voice didn’t come out as forceful as he hoped.

“Is it possible you were jealous,” David teased. Merula blushed harder.

“M-me? Jealous of H-Harris?! Get real, Willows! The Most Powerful Witch at Hogwarts doesn’t get j...jealous,” Merula snapped weakly. 

“Are you sure,” Judith continued, thoroughly enjoying seeing the two squirm.

“I-I... I have no reason to be jealous of David,” Talbott retorted.

“Are you sure you don’t like us? Even a little bit,” David chuckled, enjoying the rare sight as well.

Talbott and Merula didn’t even answer and they took off in separate directions, seeking the relief from the unexpected interrogation from the Hufflepuff duo.

David and Judith laughed as they headed upstairs. 

With the fact that Merula and Talbott may feel the same way about them, they had more of a reason to disband the rumor of them being together.

After all, they had to be single of they wanted to get with their crush...

[ofheroesandvillains]

Wishful Thinking - Billy Russo

Billy Russo x fem!reader oneshot Words: 3.1k Warnings: None Requested by anon

Hi everyone! Figured I’d get back into the swing of this writing thing. Super duper rusty, but I’ll have some more Geralt content out this weekend. Sorry for the long wait, but here’s some Billy to tide you over. I’ve tried to incorporate the whole request, but let me know if it’s trash, anon! Until then, stay safe everyone, I hope you’re all being careful and doing well!

(gif not mine)

You knocked on the door.

Every Friday night was date night. Well, they weren’t really dates, and if Billy was out of town then it wasn’t really every Friday night, but that didn’t matter. It was tradition, and tonight you’d decided to upgrade from eating takeout on your couch to actually heading outside for a change, which brought you one floor up to Billy’s apartment. 

Karen had talked you into finally confessing your feelings after what she dubbed ‘a year of sniffing around each other’, and even though she had good intentions, you wouldn’t deny agreeing just to get her off your back. 

Billy Russo was not a man interested in women like you. He didn’t have dinner dates with the women he slept with, he didn’t play board games with them, or binge their latest TV addiction while they were sprawled out on the couch in worn old sweatpants and no make-up. No, he did those things with you, his best friend, because that’s what best friends did. 

You wouldn’t delude yourself into thinking he had some kind of crush on you just because Karen said so. 

You knocked on his door for the second time.

“Come on, Russo,” you mumbled under your breath. 

There wasn’t a peep on the other side, and you frowned.

“Fine. Have it your way.”

You dug a hand into your handbag, fingers searching for his spare key. Just in case, he’d said when he gave it to you, but he didn’t seem too mad when you used it everyday since. If he didn’t want you using it, he wouldn’t have given it to you in the first place.

The light was on when you stepped inside, and his car keys were on the countertop. 

“I was wondering how long it’d take you to bust down my door.”

“Christ!” You jumped, and whirled around at the sound of his voice.

His lips were quirked into a small smirk, and you suddenly knew why he hadn’t answered. Bare skin, lots of bare skin, and nothing but a towel to hide it from you. Your gaze quickly dropped to the carpet, heart thundering in your chest, and you knew he’d enjoy watching you squirm. It was a running joke you had going with each other—that you were the Penelope to his Pepé Le Pew, the only woman immune to his charms and good looks, and the only one he was desperately in love with. Of course, that’s all it was—a joke.

Billy didn’t do relationships. And you? Well, you weren’t lucky enough to be the one that change his ways.

“I, um…sorry. I shouldn’t have…” you trailed off, gesturing vaguely to the door.

It took everything in you to keep the embarrassed grimace off your face when his legs crossed your line of sight. 

“Real interested in the carpet, huh?” The amusement was clear in his voice.

“Shut up.” You bit back a smile. “You wanna put some clothes on?”

“Nah, I think I’ll wait until you look at me.”

“Billy.”

“Unless you’re secretly grossed out,” he continued, voice dropping to a whisper, “is it the third nipple?”

You laughed, shooting him an exasperated look that brought a wide smile to his face.

“There she is,” he cheered, that same soft look in his eye you’d been trying to decipher for months. “I knew you wanted me.”

“You’re a piece of work, Russo.”

———

It was a hole in the wall. The type of place impossible to find on a map and visited only by those who already knew about it. A friend told a friend who told a friend, and eventually you ended up here. 

“Christ,” Billy mumbled under his breath, warily eyeing the chipped brick and graffitied door. “How’d you say you found this place again?”

It wasn’t exactly appealing on the outside, but the outside wasn’t what mattered. The sun was setting and there was a winter chill in the air you’d rather get out of. 

You slipped a hand into the crook of his elbow and gave it a reassuring squeeze, ignoring the way his gloved hand instinctively dropped to the gun he always had tucked away in the inner pocket of his coat. Looking at him now, dark hair slicked back and dressed to the nines in a coat that cost more than your whole wardrobe, you’d concede that maybe it wasn’t the best idea to bring him out to a place like this.

Then again, if anyone could take care of themselves and you, it was Billy.

“Karen told me about it a few months ago, said Frank loved it.” You shrugged with a small smile. “I thought you might too.”

Billy tore his eyes away from the door to look at you, all traces of apprehension melting away into something softer. You knew that he wasn’t used to people going out of their way for his sake, but that damn look had become increasingly common over the last few months and you had yet to figure out why.

In a blink, he cleared his throat and the look vanished.

“Alright then, lets see what all the fuss is about, huh?” He’d barely taken a step forward before pausing, a thoughtful frown on his face. “Just…maybe stay behind me until I know what we’re up against?”

You rolled your eyes fondly and slipped out of reach to hold the door open for him. He didn’t look too pleased when you glanced over your shoulder. 

“Quick,” you mock whispered, “the little ol’ bartender looks super shady.”

He tried and failed to keep from smiling. With a stern look, you held out a hand and wiggled your fingers. His eyes narrowed, lips curling into a smirk you were all too familiar with. He didn’t have to pluck his gloves off, it was completely unnecessary, but he did anyway and you wouldn’t deny that it felt much better to feel warm fingers engulf your palm than cold leather. 

His eyes, dark and habitually alert, met your own almost cautiously, a look that morphed into his usual confidence the moment your fingers curled around his hand. If his thumb gently swiped over your knuckles, it was certainly an accident.

The inside was just as quaint and cozy as you remembered. A mellow song you’d never heard before, and would likely never hear again, set the mood among the the clinking of glasses and the hum of muted conversation. No one looked up as you passed. Young couples were immersed entirely in each other and old friends had too much to catch up on to care.

There was a booth in the corner with Billy’s name written all over it. He hated not being able to see the whole room sprawled out before him.

Billy slid into the opposite side of the booth with more grace than you’d ever be able to muster, and glanced around the room curiously. You couldn’t help but trace his profile - the curve of his jaw, the slope of his nose, the lines that framed his eyes when he smiled. There was a beauty in him that was rare to find even on runways. He knew he was handsome, but his confidence didn’t just stem from his looks…he was the most capable person you knew. The most reliable friend you had. 

Though, he did have lovely eyes—eyes that locked onto your own with an amused little smirk. 

“So, does it pass inspection? You don’t have to run any background checks?” You asked, as if he hadn’t just caught you staring.

His eyes narrowed.

“You laugh all you want. I’ll have you know that I’ve had to take a bartender down before,” he said matter-of-factly, a slow and reminiscent smile tugging at his lips. “First time Frankie and me came home, got into-“

“-a drinking contest with a biker gang-“

“-and spent the night in a holding cell.” Billy laughed at the memory, a faraway look in his eyes before he shook the thought away. “Didn’t know I told you that one.”

“You didn’t, Frank did.”

One of his brows arched. 

“Oh yeah? You and Frankie talk about me?”

You rolled your eyes at his suggestive tone. That was Billy: your own personal bodyguard one minute, and a flirt the next. Though he usually reserved the flirting for women who genuinely stood a chance—the kind that looked like they were ripped out of the latest edition of Vogue.

“You come up every now and then.”

Billy braced his elbows on the tabletop and leaned forward, voice dropping an octave and sending goosebumps across your arms.

“And what else has he told you?”

There was a knowing look in his eyes that almost made you squirm in your seat, and you found yourself at a loss. There were a million things you could have said, dozens of stories, memories—good and bad. But it was hard to hold onto a thought when he was looking at you like he could read every thought you’d ever had about him.

“Hi! What can I get you kids?”

Billy cleared his throat and sent the old waitress a polite smile.

“I’ll get the…house special?” He peered over at you for reassurance, and you blinked out of your stupor.

“Make it two, Lee. And could we get some wine, please?”

You’d need it.

Leanne owned the place, but she tried to help out as much as her old bones would allow. The few times that you’d waited around for Karen to join you, you’d struck up conversation. She’d told you about her sons, who were set to inherit the place, and her husband Joe who worked in the kitchen.

“Sure thing, kiddo. Won’t be a sec.”

You shared a smile before she was bustling away to the kitchen. Billy shot you a curious look.

“I didn’t realise you knew each other.”

“Yeah, she’s been trying to set me up with one of her sons for weeks,” you laughed.

Billy’s answering smile was tight, but he didn’t have the chance to comment before Leanne was shuffling back over, bottle of wine in hand.

“And, you must be the infamous Billy,” Leanne began, as she poured a glass. “You’re right…he’s such a handsome boy, I can see why you like him so much.”

You busied yourself with your glass of wine the moment he turned his smug little eyes on you. Leanne tattled on some more, all but swooning as Billy charmed her with his handsome smile and velvety words. You’d stopped listening the moment she threw you under the bus, mentally preparing for what was to come. 

“I’ll leave you lovebirds alone,” Leanne said with a motherly smile.

By the time she reached the kitchen, Billy’s smirk had stretched into a grin—a full, breath-taking grin that showcased the lines of his eyes and the perfect rows of his teeth. Damn him.

He looked entirely too smug for your liking. You rolled your eyes.

“Aw, come on. I’m flattered, really,” he laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re gorgeous,” you huffed sarcastically. “You know she’s going to hound me about you whenever she sees me now, right?”

“Sorry,” he shrugged, though he didn’t look the least bit apologetic, “Couldn’t help myself. You get this look when you’re all flustered…”

“I’m not flustered,” you fired back. 

He held his hands up in surrender, lips twitching. “If you say so. But hey, there’s no shame in admitting you’re hot for me, babe.”

“You save that kind of talk for the girls in your harem,” you wagged your finger at him. “I am innocent, your honor.”

He shot you a wicked smile. “Kinky.”

“Why do I put up with you, Russo?”

He bit his bottom lip for a moment before answering.

“Because I’m a handsome boy, ma chérie.”

If his eyes twinkled when you laughed, it was just a trick of the light.

———

One bottle of wine had quickly turned into two, the majority of which you’d had yourself, and by the time Billy was calling for a driver you were fighting to keep your eyes open. He’d tucked you under his arm the moment you stepped out into the snow, eyes scanning his surroundings as they always did, while you waited. He’d forgone his Wraith this time—it wouldn’t survive in one of these streets and though he’d chance the drive with a beer or two in his system (something you’d scold him for endlessly), he’d never risk a passenger. 

“You fallin’ asleep on me, sweetheart?”

Your bleary eyes opened and you realised that yes, yes you were.

“Sorry…”

His chest shook beneath your cheek as he chuckled, and his arm tightened around you.

“’S’alright. Just hold on ’til we sit down, then you can drool all over me if you want.”

You looked up at him with a scowl, one he seemed to find even more amusing.

“I don’t drool.”

He nodded indulgently, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Of course you don’t, babe. Of course you don’t.”

A car pulled up to the curb, and you felt Billy tense until one of his guys jumped out of the driver’s seat to hold the back door open for you. You ducked inside with a thanks, wondering if he felt as cold as you did without his body pressed against your own. Wishful thinking. At least it was, until he threw his arm around your shoulders and let your head loll back onto his bicep.

“You okay?” He whispered.

You hummed.

“Yeah. Yeah, ‘m good.” Your eyes peeled themselves open to peer up at him, transfixed by the way his Adam’s apple bobbed when he noted just how close your lips were to each other’s. “You?”

Though there was no outward sign of it, you felt his chest heave as he took a deep, steadying breath and smiled.

“Never better.”

———

It wasn’t unusual for you to spend the night in his apartment or vice versa, it was one of the benefits of being neighbours, but Billy was adamant that he wasn’t leaving you alone in your current state—no matter how ‘fine’ you said you were. He helped you out of your shoes before you could track muck all over his carpet as you stumbled your way to his bedroom. 

“Hey, no,” he caught your elbow. “Gimme your coat first.”

Your sober self would have been mortified having Billy tend to you like a child, but he didn’t seem to mind. In fact, there wasn’t a hint of exasperation about him as he hung your coat up by the door.

“C’mon, lets get you to bed.” 

You knew his apartment as well as your own, but still he pressed a warm hand to the small of your back and guided you to his bedroom—where you promptly collapsed onto his bed with a groan.

“I’ll get you a change of clothes.”

“Mmm…gonna take more than some wine to get me naked, Russo.”

You chuckled at your own joke, and his eyes crinkled with his smile.

“Damn. There goes that plan, huh?”

He walked back over with a t-shirt and some old shorts.

“I’ll, uh, I’ll use the bathroom to get changed, you let me know when you’re done, yeah?”

“M’kay.”

He stared down at you for a moment, before giving a fond little shake of his head and making his way to the bathroom.

Your bones felt heavy, and you could have fallen asleep right then and there, feet hanging off the edge of his bed, and jeans digging into your skin. But you managed to muster enough energy to dump all but your panties at the foot of his bed and throw on the clothes he’d left you. Oh yes, falling asleep to his scent would be much better than your own. 

“I’m done!” You tried to shout as you slipped under the cold covers, but it came out weak and you didn’t care enough to try it again.

The bathroom door swung open anyway, so it had done the job. It wasn’t fair, you thought absently, that he could look so good even in a plain old shirt and some sweatpants. 

He scooped your clothes of the floor, pausing only for a moment when he caught sight of your bra, before laying them on a plush armchair that sat in the corner of the room. He turned the light off, leaving only the blue light of the moon to outline his silhouette as he crawled his way up the mattress to settle beside you.

His head hit the pillow with a content sigh. Until he heard a sniffle.

He frowned. “You cold?”

You shook your head. Billy didn’t like the heat, not anymore, you knew that. “‘M fine.”

It did little to reassure him, and he lifted his arm in invitation.

“C’mere.”

There were worse places to be, you decided, than in Billy Russo’s arms as you drifted off to sleep. You melted against him, cheek pressed to his chest and a leg thrown over his own. If it wasn’t for the way his arm wrapped around you to stroke small circles into your shoulder, you would have thought you’d overstepped. Because yes, you’d spent the night before, but never like this.

But those were thoughts for another time. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest lulled you to the edge of sleep before his voice jerk you away once more.

“I don’t have a harem, y’know?” He huffed a weak laugh. “Haven’t for a while.”

You hummed, only half listening but feeling obliged to reply nonetheless.

“Why?”

His fingers trailed up to massage the base of your neck and you leaned into his touch like a cat. 

“Don’t want one.”

“Yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he reassured. “Got quality.”

He seemed to realise that he wouldn’t be getting any more out of you that night, and you vaguely registered something soft pressing against the the top of your head for a few lingering seconds. 

“Sleep, baby. I got you.”

And you did.

———

[squishycalumxo]

The Date. Ravenclaw!Calum X Hufflepuff!reader

Part two to “Pinky Promise”

Summary: Calum and you go on a date and drink butterbeer and talk about life

Warnings: some swearing

Word count: 1.6K 

You wake up the next morning, refreshed. It's Saturday, finally. “Holy shit” you whisper to yourself, realizing that you have a date today. “What?” you hear from the bed next to yours. Its  your friend, Y/F/N. You look at her with a huge smile and before you can respond she starts speaking “it's almost like that cute Ravenclaw boy asked you on a date… What's his name?.... Column? No that's not it”

“His name is Calum and yes he did ask me to go on a date. today actually” you say happily 

“Holy shit Y/N is finally going on a date” she says jumping up and down on the edge of her bed that she's sitting on

“He's so cute and sweet. Were going to Hogsmeade” you say even happier

“OMG! That's where Cedric and I went on our first date too” she gushes about her boyfriend and you slightly giggle. You love, love. 

You start getting ready once your friend leaves. You put on a little bit of makeup, some eyeshadow, blush and some lip gloss. Do your Y/H/C hair, and finally get dressed into a yellow sweater with a grey skirt and sheer black stockings. Last but not least a pair of black flats. As if on cue there's a knock on your dorm room door. You answer it to see Ashton Irwin standing there

“Your date is here” he says with a wink. You giggle a little bit hugging him 

“Thank you” you say with a huge smile. You meet Calum in the common room. He looks so amazing. His brown hair falling onto his tan forehead in damp curls like he just got out of the shower. His blue button up shirt has 3 buttons undone and the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows. Is black jeans ripped at the knees, and lastly his brown eyes looking at you almost in awe. 

“Hey love” he says, noticing you staring at him. He holds out a large hand for you to take. When you do he tangles your fingers together. Your hand fits in him perfectly. You blush a deep crimson, causing Calum to chuckle a little bit. 

“Hi” you say simply, like a total loser. “You uh look really good” you stutter. Nervously playing with the hem of your skirt. 

“You look beautiful Y/N” he claims, causing a blush to spread across your cheeks. 

“Thank you Calum” you say with a playful curtsey. He laughs making you smile wider than you were before.

“Well let's start going” he says, leading you by your hand.

“Hiya love birds” you hear a cocky voice from behind you. You both turn around to see the other Ravenclaw keeper, Michael Clifford. 

“Hey mike” Calum exclaims letting your hand go so he can do a crazy complicated handshake with his friend. You laugh at them, you have tried to make a handshake with the twins, they can never remember them after. They turn their attention to you and Calum introduces you. Michael holds his hand out and you shake it. 

“Calum talks about you all the time” he says with a cocky smirk on his face. Calum elbows him in the side “i take it i wasn't supposed to say that” he adds with a laugh

“Well we're gonna be going now” Calum says quickly before Michael can embarrass him further. 

When you finally get to Hogsmeade, you walk straight to the three broomsticks. Calum tells you to sit down at one of the booths. While he goes to order your drinks “butterbeer?” he asks you 

“Yes please” you answer to your handsome date

 “Two butterbeers please” he asks the pretty woman at the bar of the three broomsticks. While you wait the bell for the door chimes. You look up to see your two idiot best friends. They both spot you in your booth and pile in the side of the booth you're sitting on. 

“You guys better not be embarrassing” you dare. They know you won't do jack shit but they also don't want you to be mad at them. 

“Don't worry Y/N/N” they sing. In unison, like everything else that they say. They practiced talking in unison for so long when you were young. The twin telepathy was already super evident they just had to practice. Pretty soon Calum comes back to sit with you. He sits at his own side of the booth and he looks warily at your two ginger friends. 

“Just ignore them, they'll go away” you joke. Causing them both too look at you with their hands over their hearts. Calum just kind of chuckles, the sides of his eyes crinkling slightly. 

“Bloody hell, I guess well fuck right off” Fred sasses getting up “obviously were not wanted here Georgie”

“Well be going now” George adds. You just flip them off and laugh

“I'll see you later guys, love you” you declare to them 

“Love you too Y/N/N” they say almost skipping out of the shop.

“I'm sorry about them, they're idiots. We've been friends since we were like babies. Our mums were friends from school” you say with a laugh “they're kind of like brothers now” 

“It's sweet that they care about you so much,” Calum decides. You just kind of nod

“Yeah I guess.” you say pausing to take a sip of your hot beverage in front of you. "I really love them, they just super annoy me sometimes” you joke.

“I have friends like that,” he admits. “Mikey” he adds with a laugh. You laugh as well. 

We finish our butterbeer and talk about our lives. once the drinks are gone, we get up and we go to Zonkos. Where we run into the twins with Calum’s friends. Not knowing that we're right here they're all talking about us really loudly. You clear your throat and they all turn towards you, their faces turning a deep red. Fred and George promptly start apologizing to you and so do Calum’s friends. Ashton, Michael and the Gryffindor who you've learned is called Luke. you just laugh. 

“You should have seen your faces” you say, throwing your head back in laughter. Calum laughs a little bit too.

You all talk a little bit. Calum’s friends are really nice. You leave and the guys split up from you and your date. 

“Lets go to a spot” you exclaim, leading Calum by his hand.

“Where“ he inquires with a laugh.

“Just come on” you laugh 

Eventually you make it to the top of the hill where the shrieking shack is at. At this point the sun is starting to set. You guys sit down on the cold grass. You shiver a little bit due to the chilling air and the cold ground. Calum starts to scoot over so that your hips are touching and he throws his muscular arm around your waist. 

“Thank you for this date Calum” you mutter happily. Looking over at him you see that he's already looking at you and due to your closeness you almost bump noses. You both fall back onto the grass laughing. 

When you both sit back up you resume your position touching hips with his arm around you. “You can call me Cal” he says unexpectedly

“Alright Cal” you admire with a small smile. “We should probably get going” you mumble sadly. He agrees with a nod. Scrambling up onto his feet. Reaching a hand out to you so that he can help you up off of your butt. You dust your skirt off when you stand up and you both start walking hand in hand towards the Hogwarts castle. 

“This was an amazing date.” Calum says when you finally get back into the castle. 

“It really was” you say with a large smile on your face. 

“I guess this is your stop” Calum sighs 

“Yeah I guess it is” you mutter looking into his eyes. The brown is now a golden honey color in the dim oil lamp light of the Hogwarts hallway. You feel yourself leaning closer to his plump lips. When they finally meet a spark shoots through you. Fireworks go off around you. You never want this moment to end. Calum is the one that pulls away for air. 

“Woah” he says simply leaning in for another kiss, this one turns out to be just a peck. 

“Woah is right” you add with a breathy laugh. “Thank you for today Cal” you say with a large smile

“No thank you for today” he says wrapping his large arms around you in a hug 

“Do you wanna meet tomorrow in the library after breakfast?” you ask awkwardly

“Of course” he says planting a peck on your lips before walking away leaving you frozen in place. 

“Oh my god” you whisper excitedly to yourself. You walk into the Hufflepuff common room after tapping your barrel the correct amount of times and climbing down the ladder. You’re greeted with a burning fireplace and Cedric and Ashton sitting on the couch. You walk over and sit between them. There's a smile evident on your swollen lips and a contented sigh leaves your face as you plop down. They both look up from their books to look at you.

“What's up” Cedric quizzes

“Calum just kissed her” Ashton answers causing you to do a finger gun at him

“Okay then” Cedric says turning back to his book” you stare dreamily at the fire for a moment before getting up, saying goodnight to your friends and heading to bed. 

“So how was your date?” your friend Y/F/N asks sitting up in her bed when you walk in.

“Amazing!” you exclaim causing you both to squeal 

“OMG” she yells in a high pitch

“I know” you tell her. You happily tell her about your date and how he kissed and she fangirls a bit before you both go to bed. There's a content smile still evident on your face as you fall asleep. You couldn't be any happier.

Hogwarts!Calum masterlist

Taglist. @albinoclifford

[forestwater87]

Hey! It's the one who wanted fanfiction writing advice and how to sorta join the fandom. So, I am currently writing a werewolf! au for Gwenvid, and I was wondering if I could ask you something (well, multiple somethings lol)? One, what are things you would like to see in a Gwenvid fic? Two, do you have any advice for writing a good first chapter? Mine is kind of short and not too good, but yours are super good. Three, how would Gwen react to becoming a werewolf? Scared or excited? Thanks!

Oooh, fun! I don’t know if I’m the best authority on this, but I think I have a couple followers who might also have some good insights. Let’s see . . .

Things I personally go feral for in Gwenvid fics:

That UST. Pining, longing, yearning -- whatever you wanna call it, all those little glances at each other then looking away when they get caught staring, getting distracted by a brush of skin against theirs or the other one looking amazing just out of nowhere, standing too close without realizing it and then awkwardly coughing and backing away . . . all of it. These two goobers in love with each other and completely oblivious is just . . . idk, it’s obviously personal preference, but that will-they-won’t-they dance is one of my favorite things about pre-established-relationship Gwenvid, and something I never get tired of. (Also, just saying: werewolf transformations have the distinct side effect of the werewolf waking up partially or completely naked in the forest. It’s a scenario ripe for awkward and/or hilarious situations.)

If they’re in an established relationship already, it’s all about those little domestic things. I mean, there can be domestic things even before they’re dating, because they live together for like 3-4 months out of the year so they have a routine going, but things like one of them keeping the light on for the other without thinking, making coffee/tea and leaving everything laid out just the way the other one likes it, communicating (or even arguing) with just a look, all the casual lil touches of two people so comfortable with each other that it’s automatic at this point. It’s an essential part of fluff that I sometimes feel is overlooked in favor of more dramatic hurt/comfort (which is also excellent, to be clear).

BANTER! It’s not so much a canon thing as a fanon one, but the artist formerly known as Ciphernetics basically established flirty teasing and back-and-forth as a staple of Gwenvid’s charm in their earth-shatteringly beautiful fanfiction (that I can’t link because tumblr softblocks posts with links, but if you look at my blog for like 10 seconds you’ll be able to figure out what I’m talking about), and I think everyone’s writing, including my own, needs more banter. They’re so different, after all; why not have them butt heads in a fun way?

Please please please don’t do NSFW if you’re uncomfortable with it, but there is nowhere near enough of it in Gwenvid-land. Just because we’re wholesome doesn’t mean we can’t also be kinky! (Oh man, I just realized I have no idea how old you are. Uhhhh if you’re not an adult just skip this one on by! Or if you are an adult and this ain’t it. It’s like it wasn’t ever here! Poof! I should probably just delete this, but maybe it’ll awaken a spark of inspiration in someone. Lord knows I haven’t been driving the smut train for a while, so I’m just hoping someone else will do my job for me. Plus Gwen would want me to include this suggestion, especially if there are werewolves involved.)

You know, there’s not a lot of action-hero Gwenvid out there, is there? Most of it’s relationship melodrama and domestic fluff, which I love -- obviously, I write it literally all the time -- but with a werewolf AU you have the opportunity for gratuitous violence, and both David and Gwen have proven they can kick a whole lot of ass and deal out (or take) a lot of pain. If you need two people fighting monsters -- or fighting as monsters -- you could do a lot worse than those two. It’d be a fun change of pace that’d work well with their character dynamic.

Writing a first chapter:

I don’t have a ton of advice here that isn’t pretty common, but the biggest thing is to start in the middle of action. This can range in terms of drama: a camp activity going horribly wrong, a nightmare, maybe even David discovering Gwen’s a werewolf. Your story doesn’t have to go in chronological order, after all, so if you have to backtrack in later scenes or chapters that’s not a bad thing in the slightest! 

It’s much better to start with a really exciting, gripping situation and then backfill in the information that matters than starting off with all that boring worldbuilding and exposition. Don’t get me wrong, that worldbuilding and exposition are necessary, but they’re also like . . . I dunno, salt. It’s essential to the recipe, but no one would say it’s their favorite part of a meal, and having to eat a whole pile of it before they get to the good stuff wouldn’t be enjoyable at all. It’s better sprinkled throughout to add flavor to your story as needed.

I like that metaphor! It’s kinda cliche, but I think it still gets the job done.

So yeah, start with something exciting and know it’s okay for your readers to go, “wait, what the fuck’s going on?” That’s kind of a great thing, actually; it establishes mystery and introduces higher stakes, and just gets your readers going. It’s also more fun to write, which is good! (For example, I just read a really great book call The Chill, which opened with a woman tying a bag over her head, weighting herself down with chains, and throwing herself into a river to “join the work.” Who is this person? What work? Did she know she was going to die -- it definitely doesn’t feel like a suicide, but what else did she think was going to happen?? I’m instantly on board, even if the next few scenes were focused on establishing exposition and actually kinda boring. It’s all about that hook.)

To be fair: I don’t do this all that often in my own fics. For every “starting the story with a botched assassination attempt,” we have “starting the story with waking up.” It’s important to have a first chapter that matches and sets the tone of your story; if it’s going to be a rip-roaring action/horror adventure, you’re going to want to start things off with all that stuff I mentioned before. If you’re writing cute fluff, there’s nothing wrong with your in media res chapter opening being an adorable fluffy scene. Compelling doesn’t have to mean scary or action-packed, but more serve as a teaser for what the rest of the story is going to bring. I’ve been leaning on action or thriller stuff because a werewolf AU implies some level of creature-feature monster spookiness, but any tone works as the start of a fic, as long as it’s not “here’s a laundry list of the universe’s rules,” because that’s boring and you can weave that into the rest of your story later. 

As for your other comment, short isn’t bad at all; in fact, if you want to make your first chapter a really short, compelling scene, that can be a great way to draw people in. But I also am a proponent of writing until it’s done, and couldn’t stick to a page or word count to save my life. My chapters are all over the place, and sometimes I’ll randomly chop them up if I feel like it’s going too long but usually I don’t bother. The more you write, the more you develop a feel for when the story, chapter, or scene needs to end, but as you’re starting out you might wanna snag a beta to help you find that stopping place.

Wow, this is long! Awkward! Sorry about that! I’ll make this last one short:

Gwen the werewolf:

I can’t imagine any universe in which she isn’t psyched as hell. I think she desperately wants to be more special and important than she is, and having a sexy monster superpower would only be a good thing to her, regardless of whatever its drawbacks may be. She might get tired of certain aspects of being a werewolf as the honeymoon phase wears off, but in the beginning I think she’d be excited and maybe even relieved.

Anyway, I hope that helps! It’s a lot of rambling, but I imagine you’re used to that by now. :)

[mypartoftown]

Songs I’m super stoked to hear Taylor re-record part 1

FYI these are ones I me myself are excited for, not necessarily the ones I think @taylorswift is looking forward to

Debut:

Picture to burn-this has got to be such a fun song to sing! Just getting riled up and really leaning in! You never get to get this worked up as an “adult” I hope she lets loose!!l

A place in this world- even when you’re 30/31 there’s still so much unknown. I think revisiting this will remind Taylor of how far she’s come

Fearless

The best day- 🥺 sending Taylor love when she does this song

The Way I Loved You- OH MY GOSH I remember this first love. Every moment together was heaven, every moment apart agony, and each fight ripped my world apart. I loved every minute of it. To re-record right now at Taylor’s age will be like getting in a time machine. Twily walked so cardigan could fly.

Speak Now:

The overall VIBE of the music and the instruments in this album I know that doesn’t count but the style of music made me realize at this time that Taylor and I listened to similar music. I wasn’t on stan soc at that time so all I had was this realization that we had this in common

Never grow up- my heart ! ♥️

Long live - I mean duh we’re here right here with her supporting her as she re-records. She’s making magic again, she’s fighting dragons again! And we’re supporting her every step of the way.

PART TWO

RED:

I almost do- I’ve ALWAYS loved this song. I think this song will be MAGICAL

Holy ground- this seems very special at this precise moment

Sad beautiful tragic- oh geez

The lucky one- I JUST I respect Taylor so much for everything she’s done and whenever she wants to get the hell out I’ll support her 100%

Begin again- it’s so dreamy I can’t help but want to hear this song with her mature voice

This was hard for me because RED is a gattang masterpiece. I almost made my answer “every single song” but I forced myself to choose 😅

PART C

1989:

Out of the Woods- her voice for THE you were looking at me-eh-ay! Stop it I’m just going to cry rn don’t mind me. And I think emotionally asking are we out of the woods yet at this point in her life (after rep and Miss Americana vs before rep) is going to feel very different

Wildest Dreams- I say again her voice during THAT ah-ahh-ah and it’s an incredibly ethereal song I’m just ready to be in my feels

This Love- I can’t even talk about it obvy I’m super emotional thinking about 1989 re-records I can’t even describe my reasons I’m just feeling which ones mean the most

Clean- SAY IT WITH ME CLEAN (TAYLOR’S VERSION) I can’t explain it any more than that she’ll be clean of all the heartache and pain from the masters fight I just

Voice memos- hi yes I want 1989 voice memos for the re-records @taylorswift I wanna hear your process pleaseeeee

[devil-dxrling]

Boredom and Money, No.3

Pairing: Dio x Reader

Warnings: Smut, roughness, blood play, riding crop.

Words: 1693

Summary: Dio shows the reader the greatest high.

That night opened up a new part of my conscience, suddenly, I wanted more. Yes, it was rather easy to stay up to date with all of my work and manage my busy life, but every now and then I would just zone out. My thoughts constantly ran to that ‘Dio’ guy that Diego had talked about. I checked up on the website to see his schedule and, believe it or not, actually called them to book an appointment with him. First time I had ever called to book something, it was a new experience and I was really shy on the phone, I literally had to lock my door and make sure that I had decent soundproofing. Luckily we had a recording studio with soundproofing since one of my friends, Marianne, was a rising artist. When it was time to actually head out, I wore the most basic black skirt, black shirt combo with a pair of black trainers. Obviously, I had my purse with me and I tied my hair up in a ponytail. Not bothering to wear a bra, my breasts bounced as I ran down the stairs - I should’ve taken the elevator. Taking a small boat, I got to the brothel in about 20 minutes. When I walked in, I had 10 minutes before my appointment, so I sat down on one of the couches, and rested on the armrest, scrolling pointlessly through my phone. When the clock struck 7 pm, there were 7 chimes, and just as the last chime ended, I saw Dio strut in and talk to the receptionist. They both spared me a glance before she nodded and Dio walked up to me, offering his hand. Taking it, he led me to the bar and we sat down to talk. We agreed on an arrangement and then sat down to have a couple of drinks. We talked for an hour or so about the most random things, like our birthdays, and favourite food, and the more drunk me got, the more brave we became. We even went as far as to talk about our sexual preferences. He seemed awfully sober compared to me, but I knew he wasn’t FULLY sober. The way his eyes accidentally narrowed down in the most perfect way made my mouth water and the way he smirked and played with my emotions and words made me feel a special type of way. He was completely different for Diego and yet, he played a similar teasing game. He could come off as extremely cocky and self-centred, but that just added to his larger-than-life character. At one point I said the one thing that would change the course of the whole night.

‘You know, I bet I could dominate you if I really wanted to.’

That set off something inside the teasing, cocky, funny Dio I had known. His gaze shifted. Now, his eyes narrowed in malice, and he was fully sober. Just as I put down my drink, he grabbed my by the arm and dragged me out of the bar. Once we were out of the bar, he pushed me against the nearest wall, knelt down, grabbed me by the back of my knees, and threw me over his shoulders. We had already established safe words, and he knew the boundaries I gave him, but this felt weird. I lightly punched his back before giving up and falling limp. I raised my head up to see Diego, he looked at Dio, looked at me, then gave me a shit-eating grin. It boiled my blood as I shouted, ‘Diego, when I’m gone here, I’m coming for your head!’

‘Keep ‘er busy Dio, give me some time to escape ‘eh?’

That bastard with his remarks and comebacks, he was an absolute asshole! Once we got to the room, Dio pulled the handle, kicked open the door, closed it, and locked it.

He threw me onto the bed and said: ‘Undress.’ With that, he walked into what I could only guess was a walk-in closet of some sorts, maybe it connected to the bathroom. He came out shirtless, with a pair of black sweatpants on, holding something is his hands. I was almost done undressing, I just had my panties left, he was really quick after all. The more I looked at it, I realised that he was holding a riding crop.

‘I told you to undress. Why don’t you ever listen?’ He walked up to me and hit my ass with the riding crop before ripping the underwear off. I lightly screamed before I was shoved backwards, my knees hitting the bed as I fell, the soft mattress softening my fall. I went to crawl backwards before he grabbed my ankle and pulled me back towards him.

‘You are not even worthy enough for this cock. You won’t even be able to make me cum with your small, feeble body. I could crush you like a little insect. I’ll slit your neck open and watch you slowly bleed out, squirming, accepting your painful death before you black out. Would you want me to do that?’

‘N… No Dio, please don’t.’

‘Maybe try listening to me for a change!’ The riding crop came down onto my now-pink ass cheek, it stung and brought pleasure at the same time.

‘I won’t hold my breath, kid.’ With that, he lowered his sweatpants and shoved his erect dick into my pussy, giving not a second to adjust to his thicc cock. That riding crop slapped my skin more than I cared to remember. At one point during the night, he threw the crop away and pulled me up onto his lap, glaring into my eyes with that rough anger and passion. He roughly smashed his lips onto mine but wasted no time moving on to my neck where he left his mark. Then, a pan of serious pain struck through me like a wasp’s sting. A scream erupted from the room and pierced the environment, making a glass cup near us shatter. He had just bitten down onto my neck. He lifted his head away from my bleeding neck as a drop of blood ever-so-slowly cascaded down his perfectly carved chin. I don’t know why that turned me on as much as it did, and looking back at it now, it was super silly. Leaning down, I stuck my tongue out and licked the blood off of his smooth chin. It tasted metallic and disgusting but I could feel his dick start twitching under me. I leaned in to kiss him, both our lips bitterly tangy from my blood. It was not a pleasant taste, but it got him much further.

‘You wanna ride me, little girl?’ I gasped as he let those words slip past his lips and nodded. ‘Not like that, now, I want to hear you.’

‘Yes Dio, let me ride you.’ He lifted me up like I was a feather as he laid down and grabbed my ass cheeks. Guess it was my move. Unconfidently, I started to bounce on his cock, until I got the hang of it and started to go faster. It felt like bliss to ride him. We kept going for about 15 minutes and I was about to cum before I was thrown off of him and onto the bed.

‘Sorry, kid, didn’t have a condom on, don’t want to get in trouble with my bosses.’ My mouth gaped open as I looked at him with the most pissed off stare I’ve ever given someone. ‘You fucking jerk! You could’ve put one on before!’

‘Sorry, guess I forgot, you aren’t mad at me, are you?’ He slipped the condom wrapping in between his teeth and ripped it open, slipping the thing material onto his still hard dick. He stood up, discarding his sweatpants, literally walked AROUND the bed to get to me, and sat down in between my open legs as he moved his dick through my folds, giving me that mouth-watering smirk that he gave me at the bar an hour or so back.

‘Let me push you to your limits. I’ll show you what the greatest high can feel like.’ He slammed his cock down into my pussy. This was almost nothing like Diego. Dio wasn’t a tease, he nailed my g-spot every time as he banged me like I was the common whore! Not him, the person actually working at the brothel. He brought me down to a painful reality -  the reality where I was nowhere near as good as he was - his reality. After 20 minutes of being aggressively slammed into by one of the most beautiful people I had ever seen, we both came and just lay there. He threw the condom in the bin and plopped down onto the bed next to me. Pulling me into a hug, he told me he was free for the rest of the night. We fell asleep, drunk, and slightly high on the ecstasy we had just lived.

In the morning, I woke up with a splitting headache, he followed suit soon after, but he didn’t drink as much as I did. Giving me a few pills, he helped me get up, drink some water, and get dressed to leave. While he escorted me out, I saw Diego walk up to us.

‘Dio, ya look like you need some rest before your next job, want me to take beautiful, over here, down to the main lobby for you?’ Dio gave me one last kiss on the neck, where he had bit me, before nodding his head and letting Diego take me.

‘See beautiful, I told you he would show it wouldn’t be that bad. Why do you never listen. Alright, hope you enjoyed your night, I expect ya back! Cya!’ And with that, I made my way out and was almost launched off of my feet by the wind. I didn’t have any  panties on either, since Dio saw fit to rip those last night. Once I got home, I crawled to my room, showered, changed, and fell into deep sleep. Definitely taking the day off.

[icetomeetya]

Wiztober Day 13: Magical Love ❤

Probably one of my favorite prompts to write for!

Warnings: None, just fluff! I finally get to say that after wanting to for 9 whole days.

Rowan breathed in the fresh air of Unicorn Way, walking over to the park, where Jordan was already waiting in the grass, a picnic basket in her hands.

“Rowan!” she said with a tight smile, patting the ground next to her. “I’ve been waiting!”

Rowan returned a hesitant smile back, sitting cross-legged next to Jordan. “Shall we eat?” she asked.

“Knock yourself out! Lemme just get everything settled,” Jordan said, clumsily ripping out a picnic blanket and two smaller boxes with meals for both of them, nearly dropping everything as she did.

“Are you alright, Jordan? You seem nervous,” Rowan commented, raising an eyebrow.

Jordan stared at her for a second before saying, “I mean, yeah, first date and all. It’s pretty scary, especially with someone like you. You’re not scary though, don’t worry; just...super awesome. I never thought I’d be here. Well, on a date with you, not in the park.”

Wait...Rowan’s eyes widened as she tried to piece her thoughts together. “This outing...is a date?” she sputtered.

“Yes? What do you think if someone invites you and only you to have a picnic together in Unicorn Park, and said someone has been flirting with you for the past four months?” Jordan said, stunned as to how someone could miss the hint so badly.

They exchanged glances, then burst out laughing at the exact same time. “Perhaps I’m a bit oblivious,” Rowan said with a short chuckle. “Sorry. Is it a bad time to say that I didn’t notice you flirting with me?”

“HA, oh boy. Maybe it’s a good thing you didn’t realize this was a date, then. Well, er, if you want to leave now that you know, you can,” Jordan said, suddenly preoccupied by a blade of grass between her legs. 

A sudden shyness descended upon Rowan, and she blushed for the first time in her entire life. “W-Well, no, I think it being a date is...pretty cool? Really cool.”

Jordan’s entire face lit up, and she released all the tension she was holding. “Oh, thank fuck. So, you wanna try the food? Made it myself, thought I cheated a lil and asked Taylor about your favorite foods. Still, it counts! I totally think it still counts.”

Taylor’s calm about me now? Huh. “Of course it does,” Rowan smiled, opening her box to find a large bowl of meat stew, sticks of garlic bread, and a bar of raspberry dark chocolate inside. “You made all of this?” she gasped. “Even the chocolate?”

“Course! Try it try it try it!” Jordan begged, her own food forgotten.

Rowan bit into the garlic bread, and every bit of flavor soaked her tongue. “Wow, Jordan, this is...incredible. How long did it take you to make this?”

Jordan laughed. “Irrelevant. All that matters is that you like it, y’know? Alright, I’ll try my own food.”

As both of them ate, Rowan shifted from side to side, burning with a question. “What do you do on dates?” she finally asked.

Jordan shrugged. “Talk, eat, sometimes just enjoy each other’s company in silence. Nothin’ too hard; you can do it,” she teased, nudging Rowan with a wink.

Unfortunately, she forgot her own strength and how skinny (and unprepared) Rowan was, and Rowan fell to the ground, her food thankfully unharmed. “Oh shit I’m so sorr—” Jordan began, but Rowan just laughed, and, quick as a flash, pulled Jordan right down with her.

“Hey, you little squirt!” Jordan snorted, easily flipping Rowan over. “Say you’re sorry.”

“Oh, now I’m the one who has to apologize after you knocked me over?” Rowan teased, mischief glimmering in her eyes the way it never had before. “I see how it is.” Quicker than Jordan could think, Rowan’s hands shot up, tickling her stomach, and Jordan fell off, laughing.

“Fine, fine, I don’t wanna fight you anymore. Let’s actually eat, yeah?” Jordan giggled, wiping her eyes.

Rowan nodded, closing her eyes as she savored the stew. “Don’t worry about it; we both know I would have won.”

With an exasperated shake of her head, Jordan just laughed again. “You and your delusions. Don’t worry, I still think you’re cute.”

Another storm of beet red swarmed across Rowan’s face. “Y-You too. I mean, more beautiful than cute,” she stammered. No one has ever called me cute before. Am I truly? I cannot see it for the life of me.

Jordan’s smile spread even further across her face. “Aww, thanks queen. Takes one to know one though, right?”

An inhuman sound escaped from Rowan’s mouth and Jordan just burst out laughing. All Rowan could manage was a small nod. “I’ll go easy on you so you don’t burst into flame, okay? And let me know if I ever make you uncomfortable.”

“No, this is...really nice. I think I can get used to it,” Rowan breathed, moving slightly closer to Jordan. “I’ve never...this has never...no one has ever...”

“Relax,” Jordan said, reaching over to squeeze her hand. Rowan squeezed back, and didn’t let go after she finished. Neither did Jordan. “First time for everything, y’know? Makes sense that you haven’t had a date yet; the whole...savior of the spiral thing and everything.”

Rowan sighed, finishing the last crumbs of chocolate before turning her full attention to Jordan. “I’m not too romantic either. I don’t understand why you kept coming back after I was so cold to you.”

Jordan shrugged, squeezing Rowan’s hand again. “Pretty clear you were trying to protect me, I guess. Could tell you actually liked me, even though you tried to hide it, and that you looked forward to me showing up. So I did it more!”

With another smile, Rowan turned to Jordan, not quite meeting her eyes as her mind raced. “Jordan, I—I think you’re wonderful. Um. Message me again some time okay gotta go!” Before she could decide against it, she leaned in and kissed Jordan on the cheek before booking it towards the Commons.

Jordan watched leave, mouth slightly open, as she gingerly touched the place Rowan kissed her, a dopey smile plastered to her face. How the hell did this happen?

[soulangel]

Fox in the House-Chapter 1

Summary: The fox has had it up to here with her new shop owner being so rude toward her and the others. She hates him with a passion and wants nothing more than to put him in his place. Maybe it’s a good thing the people that have adopted her are getting her out as quickly as they can.

Group: ONEUS x Hybrid!Character

Genre: Friendship, mild angst, mentions of abuse, some violence

Warnings: The fox character does get hit and bruised a few times in this story so if you do not like reading any sort of violence it might not be best to read this story. I am trying to make this suitable for everyone to read but unfortunately I can’t please everyone.

Word Count: 2.8k

Masterlist x Next

    With a tired sigh from somewhere throughout the shelter, one person stomped out from the living area with a ripped up shirt in hand. “Hojoon! I swear if that...that fox is in my space one more time I’m taking her down myself!” A wolf-hybrid growled loudly towards the front cashier who was trying to mind his own business.

    Hojoon looked over at the wolf wide eyed and gulped. “U-Umm….S-Sorry about her Minseok, I’ll try and talk to her again. She just really likes messing with you for some reason. Maybe she likes you?” Hojoon supplied, awkwardly looking away when Minseok glared at him as if he were the worst scum on Earth.

    Minseok pointed to Hojoon with narrowed eyes, scowling at the words. “One more time Hojoon, I swear.” He rumbled out before disappearing back into his living area.

    Hojoon groaned softly and felt himself collapse onto the seat behind him at the relieved feeling thanks to Minseok leaving him. What he didn’t expect though, was the familiar twinkling laugh of someone hanging up in the rafters above his head; fluffy red fur brushed across his nose before a lean and lithe body jumped down in front of him, on the customer side of the counter. She leaned against it and smiled sultrily at him, her elbow resting against the glass of the counter so she could prop her head up. “Is Minseokkie getting mad because I wanna play?” She asked with a playful pout, staring into Hojoon’s eyes with her vivid golden-yellow colored eyes.

    Hojoon gulped again and glanced around the living area for all the hybrids before he looked back at her. “Sweets, you can’t keep messing with people here. The more complaints you have against you-” “I know I know, the more complaints against me, the lower the chance of a home. You really think I care? And my name’s not Sweets, Hojoon.” She grumbled, cutting him off from lecturing her for the hundredth time since she’d been in the shelter; which was only a couple years.

    He frowned at her, and in place of the awkward look when he thought Minseok would come out, was a look of indifference. “Then what is your name? It’s not like you’ve been adopted before to earn one. All you do is trouble everyone and hurt your chances of leaving. Are you trying to get put down? The path you’re walking down is pretty much your death sentence.” He all but hissed at her, earning an alarmed stare in response.

    She backed up from the counter and frowned towards the guy. “Hojoon that’s not fair…” She whispered, stepping backward until she was in the middle of the room.

    His frown changed into a scowl as he stood up and followed after her, backing her up until she was pressed against the opposite wall. “What’s not fair little fox? The fact you can’t get adopted? Or the fact you feel the need to hide yourself to the point you can’t get adopted?” He mumbled lowly, pushing his hands against her shoulders to the point she was baring her teeth in pain.

    With her canines elongated at the pain, she stared at him in hatred and hissed quietly at him. “You shouldn’t be grabbing me like this. I won’t be sold if I have bruises on me.” She snarked, glancing up towards the camera trained directly on her and Hojoon.

    He rolled his eyes and gently stroked his hand up her arm, causing chills and a deep uneasiness to fill her until his hand landed at her throat. She grasped at his forearm and gave a choked grunt while staring at him, trying to speak through the constriction against her vocal chords. “So pretty. If only you weren’t just a red fox.” He growled, shoving himself away from her body while walking away.

    She reached a hand up to her throat and glared at his back. “What so you only go after the ones you think are weaker than you?! You think I didn’t see you bowing down to Minseok because he’s a wolf?!” She yelled at him, throwing an arm towards the living area where one hybrid watched from the shadows, not wanting to reveal themselves until the perfect moment.

    Hojoon pointed a finger at her. “Talk back to me one more time Sweetie, and you’ll end up in the isolation room where no one will ever see your pretty face again. Don’t you dare talk down to me again!” He shouted back at her, earning a small group of hybrids to step out and see what was going on.

    Hojoon sighed and looked over towards the group of onlookers. “I didn’t say anyone could leave their living areas. Please go back to your rooms.” He told them gently, motioning for the fox to stay where she was at against the wall.

    She hissed quietly and managed to pull herself up into the rafters where she hid away in the shadows until he was unable to try and find her at all. Where she was safest from the front of the store. “How does no one see this?” She wondered silently, curling her legs up against her chest to wrap her arms around them as a security blanket.

          xXx

{1 week later}

    Seoho hadn’t expected to go to a hybrid store any time soon, in fact he hadn’t planned on going to any stores at all. Especially with his childish roommate Hwanwoong who was insistent on getting a kitten! What in the world was wrong with his brain sometimes? “It’s gonna be so cute! And it’ll be cuddled all day, and given pets. Oi, you listening Hyung?” Hwanwoong was rambling, explaining all that would happen at the dorm when the kit moved in with them and the rest of the guys.

    Seoho sighed softly and looked over at Hwanwoong with a small smile. “You’re definitely gonna love it lots aren’t you?” He replied easily, stopped right in front of the door to the Twilight Valkyrie.

    He grabbed hold of the younger boy and looked closer through the window to see what was going on. He was surprised to see a red fox with a choker-like slave necklace around her neck, bruises all over her body and a gash down her arm. Whatever happened to her didn’t look self inflicted, and she looked like she was trying to escape from whatever was holding her in place. She was saying something to the person hiding in the room and seemed about ready to pounce on the person before a prod stick appeared in their vision and she was dropped to the ground due to the voltage. Hwanwoong stopped his excited ramblings and stared in complete disbelief at what was going on in the store. “H-Hyung….are they….are they trying to kill her?” He hesitatingly asked, afraid that saying something would trigger worse reactions to her.

    “No one is coming for you Sweetie! Accept your fate and just die you red fox! You’re not special!” They finally heard someone shout, grabbing up her leg and dragging her to the back room.

    Just as the person was dragging her through a door, Seoho and Hwanwoong tentatively stepped into the store and looked around worriedly. There were plenty of accessories to go with the hybrids in the back of the store, but it all looked super cheap and like it would break at any moment in time. And half of it looked more like torture devices than health and beauty products. So whatever was going on in this store, someone was definitely messing it up for the worse. “Sh-Should we go somewhere else?” Hwanwoong asked awkwardly, gulping softly when they heard the voice of the man shouting before saying he’ll be out to help them in just a minute.

    Seoho was about to reply when a skinny looking blond haired man stepped out from the back room, wiping his hands on a cloth with a fake smile on his face which didn’t seem to reach his eyes. “Welcome to Twilight Valkyrie! Recently bought by me, Kwon Hojoon. What can I do for you both today? Looking for a specific hybrid?” He asked them happily, bringing them over to the counter so they could look at a book of all the hybrids Hojoon had available to purchase.

    Hwanwoong hesitantly walked up to the book and started searching through it. “Do you possibly have-have any cat or kitten hybrids?” He quietly stuttered out, before feeling a gentle hand on his shoulder telling him Seoho was right next to him.

    The faintly heard something coming from the room where Hojoon had walked out, and it sounded like hissing. Hwanwoong’s head shot up to look toward the doorway in surprise, vaguely wondering if it was a hybrid he wanted. Hojoon though, sighed softly and gave another fake smile to the duo across from him. “I’m sorry about that, give me one minute please?” He asked them politely before he moved towards the area.

    They could faintly hear someone growling lowly and a tiny whimper from the back. Unfortunately, they got to see every single thing the owner was doing when he “brought out” the same fox from before. But instead of leading her or gently guiding her, he was pulling her by the wrist. And there were fresh bruises on her temple along with a burn mark on the side of her shirt. “I don’t have any cat or kitten hybrids, but I have this lovely red fox. She’s not much since she’s a common fox, but I’m sure some of her powers can help you with your everyday lives.” He started, squeezing the wrist of the fox when she started growling at him.

    The two didn't even have to look at each other to know they certainly wanted to help her the best they could. “We’ll take her.” Seoho said after barely any thought.

    She looked at the two wide eyed wondering why they would want her as beat up and abused as she was. Would they continue to beat her? Or maybe use her for themselves? What did they want? She squirmed out of Hojoon’s grip and growled quietly at him. But while she was about to defend herself, someone from her living area snuck up behind her and pulled her back to the rooms. “Don’t do something so drastic when you’re so close to being adopted finally. Don’t turn into me Red.” The familiar voice whispered into her ear.

    Tears formed in her eyes at the voice and she turned to her friend, wrapping her arms around the woman. “I’ll find a way to get you out. I promise. We’ll be able to have our own lives soon enough Bub.” She whispered, giggling softly when the brown haired rabbit-hybrid smirked at her and nodded her own head.

    The two were talking quietly when someone cleared their throat behind her, and a pastel purple head peeked around the corner to look at her. He grinned wide when he saw her speaking to someone, and then waved. “Hello! I just wanted to check up on you and see how you were holding up. I know you’ll get to be around me and Seoho-Hyung more, but I was hoping to talk to you first to get to know you? And see if you’d like a name now or later?” He rambled out, shutting himself up when he saw the alarmed look on both hybrid’s faces at seeing him looking at them.

    He turned around to see if someone was behind him, and saw the owner with a small frown on his face. “Are they troubling you? I can have them move further back if you’d like to see everything back here.” He offered, not noticing the glare Hwanwoong was giving him beside him.

    Seoho pulled Hwanwoong away from the door and shook his head silently, telling the younger of the two not to do anything rash while the paperwork was being submitted for approval. “It’ll take a couple days to get everything set up. Is it going to be you grabbing her or maybe someone else?” Hojoon asked the two as the small trio walked back over to the front of the store.

    The fox and rabbit both stared at each other with frowns before holding each other tighter. “It’ll be finalized soon. You won’t have to deal with him anymore. But you have to keep yourself presentable to them. Please. If you don’t want to come back here, you really need to make sure they like you. It’s the only way.” The rabbit whispered, kissing the younger of the two’s temple in affection while stroking her hair.

    The fox practically purred in response and sighed softly, smiling a little at the touch. “I’m so glad I got to know you.” She mumbled quietly, finally managing to tune out the people chatting up front

    The rabbit was about to respond when Hwanwoong appeared around the corner and hesitantly stepped closer to the two females. “Hi again! I just wanted to speak to you one more time before we left for home. We’ll be back in a few days to come pick you up, but we need to make sure your space is cleared and nice for you. Is there anything you might want so we can grab it for you?” He asked her softly, tilting his head once he noticed how hesitant she was to even speak with him, let alone look at him.

    Her ears were flattened to her head and her tail was wrapped around her left leg, her arms wrapped around the rabbit-hybrid she was standing with. “Um, how about she writes you a list maybe? I know she likes a nice bed nook area, maybe get her something for her room. And-ooof!” The rabbit groaned softly when her fox friend elbowed her in the ribs to get her to stop talking.

    Hwanwoong tilted his head as he watched the two interact. “Ummm….I’m sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable. I just hope you’ll see that we’re not going to hurt you. We want to help you.” He said before glancing around himself, “we saw what he did to you…” He then whispered.

          xXx

{One Week Later}

    After cleaning up the front of the store like she’d been forced to do the last 2 weeks, she sat in her living area in the nook she’d made for herself and was about to try and sleep for a little while when someone knocked on the wall loudly. She groaned softly and curled into a ball, hoping to ignore whatever it was. “5 more minutes…”

    The thing snorted and sounded like it leaned against the wall. Without her command, her ear twitched in the direction of the sounds, earning a chuckle from the person. “Are you ready to get out of here Red? Looks like one of those guys are here with someone else to pick you up.” Her rabbit friend said, pointing in the direction of the front.

    The fox shakily stood on two feet and wandered out toward the front of the store where she stopped in the doorway, tail swishing behind her agitatedly as she listened in to what was being said. “We got your phone call about the paperwork approval. Are we too early to pick her up today?” Someone’s low rumble asked softly.

    Hwanwoong was looking around himself before he caught sight of the red fur swishing slowly back and forth around the female he’d talked to the last week. Hojoon nodded his head to the guy he was talking to before he turned to make his way toward the back living area. He didn’t need to move far before he spotted the one he was looking for. “Ah there you are Sweetie. Ready to go with your new owners?” He asked, motioning toward the two waiting by the register.

    She frowned a little, anger showing in the whites of her eyes while she grit her teeth in frustration. She wouldn’t give in to his prodding, not this time. Not when she was so close to being able to leave this godforsaken place she’s hated since being thrown in here. “Yes, I’m ready to go.” She grit out, sidestepping Hojoon to stand before two of the people she’d be serving for the foreseeable future.

    She bowed her head only a little toward them and fought back the urge to run away. “Whenever you Masters are ready.” She mumbled out softly, though with enough force that they still could hear her.

    The two glanced to each other as Hwanwoong hopped over to stand beside her and offered her his arm. “Please just call me Hwanwoong, or Oppa. I don’t like the thought of being called Master.” He said cheerfully, all but dragging her along with him as the other groupmate and friend of his followed after with a quick, ‘thank you’ given to Hojoon.

[thepaperpanda]

I'm Into You || Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Bucky is so in love with you. The problem is that you don't know about this fact yet...

Warnings: none expect a lot of fluffiness and Bucky being a sweet dork

Words: 2516

Authors: Cass & Beast

Bucky was looking at his metal arm that was glistening with raindrops.

He was sitting at the balcony of his room at the Avengers Tower.

It was raining but he didn't care about getting wet. It was one of these days when he was completely lost in the thoughts that were running through his head.

"Y/N... Ah, Y/N." Bucky mumbled under his breath and ran hand through his already wet bangs.

Truth was that Bucky, the former Winter Soldier, was so in love with you. Yet, he had never found a courage to speak his mind aloud.

"Y/N, hi. I was thinking that... No.. It doesn't sound good..." He rubbed his beard. "Y/N. Would you mind me asking you to a.... Fuck." He sighed deeply, hiding face in palms.

When he heard a knocking on his door, he went to open them.

You smiled at him standing in front of him but suddenly your smile faded away when you saw how wet he was.

"Bucky?! What happened? Have you been sitting at the balcony again? You will get sick one day."

You entered his room and started to look for a fresh towel. When you found one, you walked to him and put it simply on his head. "I know that you and Stevie are both after this Super Soldier Serum or something like this but you two still need to take care of your health." You sighed as you were gently wiping his hair.

Bucky pulled towel out of your hands and quickly wiped his hair.

"No.. I mean yeah. I was at the balcony. I like rain. It helps to focus. It helps to realize a lot of things..." He paused and giggled shortly after. "Am I the only one who has an impression that I keep on talking without sense?"

He looked at you but quickly turned head away as he realized that he was wearing an old checkered shirt and frayed jeans. "But. Why did you come here? I mean, do you need something?"

You looked at him and shrugged. "You missed your breakfast, Bucky. I and Steve got pretty worried about you. He asked me to check upon you."

You took another tower and started to wipe his metal arm.

"How do you feel? Everything's okay? I hope you won't get sick.." You sighed sadly.

He shook his head slightly.

"I am used to being outside when it's raining. And well, I am ill-tempered." Bucky smiled proudly and briefly rubbed over his beard. "I am fine. I will eat dinner. Not hungry at the moment."

Silence crawled between two of you. After few longer moments Bucky realized he was staring at you. He had been blinking few times before he dropped a statement. "You look beautiful in that green shirt, Y/N. It suits you."

You giggled and nodded. "Yes, you are so "ill-tempered" that a few months ago you fainted at the gym with a fever of 40℃. Bruce had to put you into a bathtub filled with ice. I spend three weeks taking care of you." You looked at him with smile.

Then, you looked down at your shirt. "Oh... Thanks, Buck... I hate that shirt. I got it from Sam for Christmas. I wear it only so he can think it was a good gift." You shrugged.

He gave a nod. "I see."

Bucky swallowed hardly as he sat down on his couch. "Y/N... Listen. I have a business to you..."

Bucky wanted to bite his own tongue after saying these words but it was already too late.

You blinked and gave a nod. "Okay... What is it, Buck?" You asked and sat next to him on the couch.

"Would you mind me asking you for a...."

But Bucky wasn't able to finish his sentence.

The door to his room was opened suddenly by Sam. "There you are, Barnes!" Man rolled his eyes as he stepped in. "Your boyfriend's looking after you. You were about to go on a mission together, y'know, mate? Fury ordered this so no offence!" Sam put his hands up in the air but a mischievous grin didn't leave his lips for a second.

You looked at both men. "Okay, so! I won't bother you, Bucky. Dry yourself and get ready. We will talk when you will be back. Sam? During breakfast you said you wanna talk, right? So... let's go and oh! Bucky!" You said and then smiled at him, "Good luck on your mission and be careful there. Please." After these words, you left Bucky's room.

As soon as door were closed again, Bucky laid down on his bed, he took a pillow and screamed loudly into its material.

He was so frustrated now, he was almost sure that Sam has wanted to ask you for a date.

Bucky was laying like this for about five minutes and then he got up.

He quickly got dressed, putting on dark cargo pants and black combat boots, dark pullover and a bulletproof vest on top of it. He put his hair into a ponytail and then left his room.

When Bucky left the room, you also were getting ready downstairs.

"Look, Buck! I am going on a mission with Sam! I can't wait!" You jumped happily, already wearing your uniform.

You smiled at Steve. "Take care of Bucky, Steve. I want him to come back in one piece." Then you looked at Sam. "I hope you will take care of me too." You giggled.

Bucky smiled politely but as he was passing Sam by, he threw other man a cold glance.

When Bucky noticed you were busy by talking to Steve, he pinned Sam to the wall of the corridor.

"Try to get too close to her and I will rip your fucking wings out of that ridiculous suit, you get it, Wilson?" Bucky hissed, leaning down to Sam.

"Hey, hey, hey... What the hell got into you, Barnes." Sam growled. "As far as we both know, she isn't your property or anything. This isn't your old, war times, pal. Girls won't jump into your arms just because of your pretty face. First come, first served." He muttered and pushed Bucky away then walked to you and wrapped an arm around your shoulder. "Okay, enough talking, it's time to go and take down those bad guys, am I right, Y/N?" Sam asked, grinning.

You looked at him and nodded. "Let's go! See you later, guys!" You waved at Bucky and Steve and then left with Sam.

Steve looked at his friend. "Everything's fine, pal?"

Bucky hit the nearest wall with his metal fist. "Fucking yes, Steven. Go on or we will be late again." Bucky growled loudly, pushing Steve aside as he walked to the car.

He got into and looked at Steve. "You're going or not?"

This was a tough mission even to Bucky.

He was in Europe with Steve and alongside him, Bucky was fighting with some new gang that was terrorizing few of largest European capital cities.

But he couldn't focus on his duties at all. Especially during long, lonely nights, when his thoughts were drifting to you.

You sighed softly after a long day of fighting bad guys.

You sat on your bed and nuzzled to the pillow, thinking about Bucky.

Sam was really nice and funny but sometimes too annoying.

Weirdly, your thoughts were drifting to Bucky, you were missing him so much.

You closed your eyes and tried to catch some sleep, you couldn't wait till next evening, when you was about to see Bucky again.

Steve and Bucky got out of the car at the driveway of Avengers Tower.

Both of men were tired after last few days.

Steve was grabbing some papers from the trunk and Bucky was packing his knives to the bag, when he saw with the corner of the eye that Sam's car parked on the opposite side of the driveway.

Bucky, however, pretended to be busy with packing.

You were sitting on the couch in common living room.

You hissed quietly as Sam was stroking your leg that was bandaged. "I told you to be careful. Cap was right, you never listen, Y/N." Sam sighed.

You giggled. "You know me. I try to do whatever I can. Even if I will get hurt. Just now I will have a problem... How I will be walking? Bruce said I can't walk too much because of the injury."

Sam smiled and gently rubbed your cheek. "Hey, I can take care of you." He said and hugged you tight.

You nuzzled to him. "Thanks. You are a great friends, Sam."

It was the moment when Bucky stepped into the room with Steve.

As Bucky saw you next to Sam, his face changed, reddening with a rage that was building in him.

"Hi, Y/N, Sam." Steve nodded with a smile, he passed his friend and joined two of you on the couch. "How was it? Oh, Y/N! I knew you'll come back hurt. As always. Our oaf!" He smiled at you, ruffling your hair.

Bucky was taking deep breaths, he was trying to calm himself down.

"C'mere, Buck, join us!" Steve winked at Bucky.

You giggled when Steve ruffles your hair. "Yup! That's me, Cap. Come on Bucky, join us." You smiled at him.

"Yea, join us Barnes." Sam said and then pulled you onto his laps, you didn't protest. "Look, now there's enough of space for all four of us." He said hugging you softly.

"How was your mission? Did everything go fine? Because like you can see, our mission wasn't great in 100%." You joked, pointing on your leg.

Bucky was staying in the same place without a move, soundlessly. He was only clenching his metal hand in fist from time to time.

"Thanks. I will stay." He grunted through clenched teeth. "Our mission went amazingly well. We've wiped three entire towns off the bastards." Man said, improving his bangs nervously.

You looked at Bucky. "Bucky... Is everything fine? You make me worried. Come on, join us. I missed you so much and I would like to hear more." You asked and give him the sweetest smile ever.

It was enough to trigger Bucky.

"FUCKING NO! I won't be sitting next to the fucker that still tries to steal my beloved woman! I FUCKING LOVE YA, Y/N!" Bucky yelled loudly, almost breaking down. "This fucker always has to be around you! He does it with premeditation! But if you like him so much to be sitting on his laps, I fuck this shit. Imma out of this!" Bucky screamed as he dropped his bag on the floor, then he turned around and left the room cursing under his breath.

All three of you blinked surprised at Bucky's outburst.

Tony walked into the room and looked at Sam and you. "Fuck! So you wanna tell me that I have just really lost 500$? Because you got her before Barnes did?"

Sam sighed heavily and shook his head.

You looked at him with a frown. "Seriously Sam? You are the worst! Friday! Tell me where Bucky Barnes is."

"Mr. Barnes is outside, Miss." Robotic voice answered.

"Great. Stave? Would you be so kind? I can't walk." You asked looking at your friend.

Steve only nodded and then picked you up, he slowly walked outside with you.

Bucky was sitting at the stairs in front of Avengers Tower.

He was lazily playing with the lock of his dark brown hair.

Bucky let himself to shade few tears while thinking of you and Sam.

"Buck? I brought you someone. I think you two should talk." Steve said softly and sat you down next to Bucky.

You looked at him and sighed. "Bucky... Hey. Talk to me... Listen. Sam... I really had no idea he was trying to do something. I thought he is just friendly." You explained and gently touched his hand. "Please, don't be mad at me."

Bucky thrusted your hand down off his shoulder. "Don't. Just don't. You should go back to you bestie. He'll be missing ya."

Bucky shifted aside a bit, to be out of your range. "I am not good enough. I know this, okay? Don't worry, I won't be trying ever again."

You rolled your eyes and moved closer to him. "Bucky. I don't care about Sam now. Right now, I care only about you."

You sighed and grabbed his hand. "Bucky, listen. No one said you are not good enough. You are more than that. Look at me, Bucky." You put your hand to his cheek.

Bucky sighed and turned his head toward you. His big, blue eyes were looking deeply into yours, his lips was slightly opened.

"Hey there, handsome." You said quietly, stroking his cheek. "Bucky. Sam isn't more than just a friend. Really, that's all. You are the one that I care the most. You are the one that I think about whole time." You squeezed his hand with your other palm.

Bucky smiled gently and finally found a courage. He leant down to you taking your face in his hands, then he simply kissed your lips.

You purred quietly into the kiss and kissed him back. You smiled softly at him after the kiss. "Bucky? Before our mission... you have wanted to ask me something?"

Bucky nodded. "Yes, Y/N." He giggled as he looked around. "Okay, I don't see Sam around, so... Would you mind me asking you for a dinner? We can eat something tasty, dance a bit... I mean, I know a nice place... If you wouldn't mind me asking you..."

You smiled and nodded. "That sounds almost perfect, Buck... But I need to say no..." You said sadly and looked away.

He stiffened. "W.. What... Why? Did I do something wrong?" Bucky asked with sadness in his voice.

You looked at him. "I would walk with you if there was no dancing." You moved your injured leg. "I can't dance with this leg." You said and laughed.

Bucky shrugged. "Yes. I didn't think of it. Imma sorry. Maybe next time then." He raised corners of his mouth in sad smile.

You took his hand and kissed it. "How about a nice dinner and marathon of an old movies in your room, hmm? We will see where it will lead." You said with mischievous grin.

He blinked and looked at you. Within second he got what you meant and grinned back at you. "I am just afraid Sam won't be able to sleep that evening. And I'll make sure of it." He kissed your cheek briefly and laid his head on your shoulder.

You laughed and stroked his hair. "We both will make sure of it and... Tony has just won 500$." You giggled and nuzzeld to him.

Bucky took a hold of your palm and giggled in a deep voice of his. "Haha, that's good, if it'll be like this, he'll be able to open a fund named "via Sam the loser", hahaha!" Bucky chuckled softly. "I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too, Bucky."

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[purkinje-effect]

The Purkinje Effect, 31

Table of Contents

‘Choly and Geek both shook off once they got inside the Statehouse, and exchanged glances when each noticed the other doing so. After looking to the spiral staircase, ‘Choly put a hand to the Mister Handy’s spherical side and gave it a vague nod. It halved its thrusters to hover lower long enough for ‘Choly to hoist himself up atop its back via its harness,  somewhat like mounting a horse. The three of them then scaled the stairs.

“Holy moly.” One of the Neighborhood Watchmen on duty inside had recognized ‘Choly. “It ain’t true, is it? You ripped off Hancock? You gotta death wish or somethin’?”

The Russian paused halfway up the stairs to glance down at the guard dully.

“Maybe so.”

Unable to interpret his acquaintance’s demeanor as they resumed their ascent, Geek wondered whether ‘Choly had grown tired of hearing about it, or if this was the way the dreg exhibited pride. Rather than dissect it, Geek’s brain fixated again on the bar argument. Shaking, he started into a fresh cigarette, and put the pack back in his sleeve pocket.

When’s your flavor gonna run out, Blue?

“–He’s gonna be heading out soon. Probably wants me to go with.”

“Do you want to go with him?”

“Course I do. ...Provided he still wants me to.”

“How long?”

“Dunno, a couple–” Hancock and Fahr both looked up when ‘Choly dismounted from his Handy. The ghoul mayor stopped pacing and patted at the back of the couch with an odd smile. “Now this is unexpected.”

“I had a bright idea.” ‘Choly took one of the armchairs. “Mmh, we. We did. We wanted to discuss it with you.”

When Geek sat beside Fahr, Hancock leaned lackadaisically on the back of the empty couch to dull his anxiousness.

“You two have my undivided attention.”

Fahr nursed a fat cigar, which Geek stole and traded for his cigarette. In a moment of disconnect, she briefly weighed the safeness of smoking after him, but shrugged it off with only minor nuisance. The musky heaviness of the cigar’s smoke felt outright viscous versus that of the cigarettes, and it soothed him enough to unclench.

“We wanna take back the Boston Library,” Geek began before ‘Choly could get a word in. “Put this lil’... entourage to the test.”

“A proposal for the three of us to work toward a common goal?” Hancock’s thoughtful interest diffused into concern poorly hid behind a smile. “This is way bigger than a problem with rats in warehouses. It’s all right if you need some time before we try to tackle somethin’ like that.”

An implicit ‘I know you’re jumping on this because you can’t sit still’ lingered behind Hancock’s dark ghoulish eyes, and it ate the pink ghoul alive. Geek took a long, slow hit off the cigar in an attempt to steady his breathing, and he didn’t speak or make eye contact before he’d fully exhaled all the smoke.

“This is gonna be so good for Goodneighbor, an’ it’s gonna be good for me. I owe it to this town, an’ I owe it t’Daisy. An’ I... I owe it to you. You navigated that sh, shh. Shitshow when my health was too bad for me to stand up for myself. You’re responsible for me gettin’ cured just as much as the guy who made the cure an’ gave it to me. I’m confident I wouldn’t be here right now if it hadn’t been for you playin’ interference for me.”

No one knew what to say, the only sound the Handy’s thruster as it idled near the doorway.

“Daisy put you up to this, then,” Hancock deduced. He jumped the couch and helped himself to the tin of Mentats on the coffee table. As he slouched on his knees, he let a lozenge melt under his tongue. His hands wandered to fidget with all manner of paraphernalia before him, navigating them as he thought through imagined tactics. “She always has tried to foster chemistry when she thinks it’s off to a rocky start.”

The mayor had nailed not only whose idea it had been, but also how she’d even figured out the trio was soon to become one. When Geek folded in embarrassment of that level of transparency, ‘Choly glanced between the two ghouls in consternation, interpreting the mayor’s description of the merchant’s motives as implicit of Geek and Hancock having hit a bad patch. Had he got himself between a lovers’ tiff?

“Surely you agree with Geek that Goodneighbor stands to gain a lot with this venture. I think we all stand to gain a lot from a library.” The chemist smirked at him coyly. “Can you handle two companions on such an errand, Mayor?”

“I sure as hell wouldn’t go it alone, that’s for sure.” The mayor exchanged a knowing look with Fahrenheit before he reclined back where he sat. “I can tell the two of you have thought this over beforehand, so it’s less a matter of whether this is going to happen and more a matter of how. What kind of game plan are we talking?”

“We, we really ha--” Geek shot ‘Choly a sour look, and the chemist knew he had to improvise. “Well, even if we could just walk in an unlocked front door, I believe that’s not the best recourse. I don’t fare well guns blazing, and even if both of you do, from the sound of it... there’s definitely more super mutants in there than two humans could take at once. I know Angel’s going to be useful here, but we could still get easily swarmed. If I remember right, there’s a subway station underneath the library. We could try to sneak in through the subway and pick off as many of them as we can before they get wind of us.”

“’If you remember right’?” Geek rubbed at his forehead, irritated. “What, you got a photographic memory of prewar blueprints or somethin’?”

“Hey, now. You’re the one putting me on the spot. I’ve been in downtown Boston, and I know the subway made stops at the library. I just don’t remember exactly where the next closest station is, so we could travel below street level.”

“From what I know of subways,” Hancock contemplated, the brain drugs doing a lot of finger-walking across mental maps, “there’s more than one route, and any given train was supposed to only travel on one of them. If there’s a subway station under the library, I’m sure it’s on the same route as Fenway Station and Park Street Station, spatially speaking. I can tell you right here from experience that Fenway’s inaccessible. So that leaves Park Street. Except Geek’s not gonna like that.”

When Geek didn’t get it, Fahr interjected with fatigue, “That’s on the Common.”

“--Hhfuck no. No.”

Geek got up and paced, face broken with grief, but Hancock was still thinking.

“Don’t worry, I don’t like the idea either, but not for a fear of birds. --No, actually, now come to think of it, that’ll be perfect. Though 'Choly, just to rule it out, you don’t think we could just get into the station at the library from street level?”

“I think coming into the building anywhere near the street doors is more likely to give us away prematurely. Entering the subway that close is too risky.”

“So’s wearing all that fur, to address the elephant in the room.”

Fahr matter-of-factly handed Geek her cigarette butt. He swallowed it with a shit-eating grin that somebody had burned ‘Choly over the unnecessary level of pomp, then savored another puff on his cigar. When even Hancock laughed, ‘Choly turned beet red and mashed his ushanka hat into his lap with both hands.

“Aw, y’all, let him have his fancy duds. He dresses to impress. I respect that.” Hancock grinned at ‘Choly. “Really, though. You think going to the loading platform in Park Street Station and rounding west down the tunnels is the best way to go?”

“I do.”

Geek swallowed his smoke butt and with a thought abruptly pointed at ‘Choly.

“What if the tunnel’s collapsed?”

The Russian gave him a brittle shrug.

“We’ll double back, then. We’ve got to rule out the option. I can’t promise an ideal and effortless clean-out going in the back way, but I can guarantee you it’ll get messy if we just walk in the front door.”

“Well, if you two are so committed to this, who am I to deny you?” Hancock chuckled and patted his knees, then stood. “We should rest up, then, take stock of what we might need. I wanna make an early morning of it, though, so before we part ways for the night, I gotta ask how your supply is, of that stuff you used on Fahr. Seems real useful for what all we’re settin’ out to do.”

“Today has been exhausting,” ‘Choly agreed too quickly. “I’m glad I haven’t had the chance yet to unpack everything in my room. Saves me from having to pack up for this. The Lockjoint, though? Mh, haven’t used it on super mutants before, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. I should still have a few left. Though, they’re a bit difficult to craft. ...I’ll see what I can scrape together.”

“I could drop everything and go right now,” Geek bluffed. “But I know y’all both need your beauty sleep.”

Fahr rolled her eyes at him.

“You look like I could push you over and you’d pass out snoring, pink stuff.”

“Rest wouldn’t be out of the question,” Hancock insisted, wrapping his arms around Geek. “Come on. You can stay upstairs tonight if you want.”

Attention piqued, the pink ghoul brightened right up, and Hancock brushed the bridge of what was left of his nose against the tip of Geek’s, seeking a kiss.

“We’ll give you two some privacy,” Fahr jabbed, dragging ‘Choly away when he wouldn’t excuse himself, the Handy following. “Sleaze an’ I say goodnight.”

“--Hey now,” ‘Choly objected as the door shut behind them.

“You were talkin’ with Fahr about... well, me before I came in.” Geek pulled away but didn’t squirm out of Hancock’s embrace. “You don’t have to go with me to the evaluation, if you don’t want to. An’ I don’t gotta sleep upstairs if you don’t want me to.”

“Of course I want to accompany you.” His cheek went to Geek’s. “And I very much want you to.”

“It’s okay if y’gettin’ tired of me. I’m a lot.”

“I could say the exact same of me. Everybody’s a different kind of a lot. You haven’t given me a single reason to cut you loose, and I don’t foresee you giving me one.” Hancock grinned at him, looked him in the eye. “Just ‘cause I’ve been giving you your space doesn’t mean I’m going anywhere.”

Geek melted into fully hugging him before pulling away, smiling tiredly at him.

“Sleep does sound good about now, to be fair.”

Hancock dragged him to the floor atop a sleeping bag in the corner.

“That makes two of us.”

[butwhydoilikethis]

Toxic Chapter Two: I’m Calling

Sitting (quite innocently, considering who they are) on the couch, was IFETCH (without Freak). Inkonti, E.T., Creampuff, and Hysterical. Named for their powers, or, in Hysterical’s case, pure batshit crazy-ness, these were the most powerful people to ever exist. Tadashi was, needless to say, so fucking petrified all previous thoughts of his incoming erection were replaced with pure terror. FUCK. 

He was going to die. Slowly, and painfully. And, knowing how his life tends to go, not even at the hands of Freak. Shit shit shit shit shit fuck. This was not going to be good. Hell, he hasn’t even lost his virginity yet. He was going to die a virgin. For some fucked up, I-have-stopped-giving-a-shit-at-this-point reason, dying a virgin was at the forefront of his mind. He could at least get some sweet lovin’ before he passed. But apparently, that was not happening. Not when, in the torch-lit black-themed room, was IFETCH, only the scariest, most intimidating villains to ever walk the face of good ol’ planet Earth. And that was saying something! They had a lot of competition. What with Lucifer, Gin, Diablo… But nevertheless, sitting right in front of him, were the biggest, baddest, of them all.

Inkonti, with the power Electricity. Armed with a taser, conductor gloves, complete control over powerful electrical currents that could go through anything (no matter how non-conductive), and a penchant for power-outages, he was a giant threat to the superheroes. Like, a really big threat. The-day-he-was-born-caused-Tokyo-to-suffer-a-massive-blackout (and that was his powers at their lowest!) kinda threat. He was not afraid to use his power, too. He was known for his tendency to electrocute people to death (giving him the nickname The Electric Chair in some circles) with a smirk on his face. And right now, he was staring at Tadashi through dark, narrowed eyes, a smirk dancing around his lips. Tadashi got distracted by his hair, which, and he could sympathize with this, appeared to be a massive case of untameable bedhead. Tadashi heard a disapproving hum to the right of Inkonti.  

Beside him sat Creampuff. Creampuff didn’t have the typical appearance of a villain. With light brown eyes and hair of the same colour, he looked almost…soft. But Tadashi knew better. Beyond Creampuff’s outward appearance, he was a formidable opponent. On him were two Glock G19s, a bow, and some arrows. He had such deadly accuracy the best sniper would pale in comparison. Despite being an archer against people with firearms, he always came out victorious in the end. But that’s not all Creampuff brought to the table. He also had the powerful mind control power of ‘Delusions’. Delusions caused his victim to hallucinate whatever he wanted them too. He could incite the fear of walking of a cliff, or the content of being with your love. Either way, he could bend people to his will easily. No one could match him in terms of mind control powers.

Except maybe E.T. You know, the E.T. sitting right next to Creampuff. The E.T. with the power ‘Extra’, meaning he can read minds. And has super strength. And super speed. And damn, E.T. was really out here Harley Quinn-ing this shit with his titanium baseball bat, specially made with rusty nails sticking out at random points  because goddamnit, go big or go home. He was named that because he’s literally an alien. LIke, came-down-in-a-ufo alien. And, quite surprisingly given his attributes, he had the perfect pretty boy look. Was he actually winking at Tadashi? Tadashi heard a dark laugh from the end out the couch. Crap, was that...

Hysterical, the craziest psycho to ever psycho. But now Tadashi looked at the man… he was the most beautiful person Tadashi had ever seen. And, being a superhero (if a self-thought lame one), Tadashi had seen many beautiful people. Hysterical, though…he was otherworldly. Tousled black hair, olive  green eyes, a lean but imposing figure. Tadashi had never seen anyone like him (although, despite the villain’s beauty, Freak still reigned number one on Tadashi’s People Tadashi Wants To Have Intercourse With list). Tadashi knew this was another case of don’t judge a book by its cover. Hysterical was called that for a reason. His laugh was known to chill you to the bone. For a reason, of course. He never laughed…unless he was murdering people. Not just a quick shot to the head, oh no, that would be too easy. Instead he ripped them apart, brutally chopping his targets open with a meat cleaver or his hatchet. Tadashi had seen the pictures of his victims. The most recent still had had a petrified look on his face, guts spilling out from his torn open body. Tadashi had to give Hysterical credit where credit was due, though. Hysterical’s casualties were arranged almost…artfully. The woman Hysterical had murdered prior had been draped gracefully over her moth-bitten couch, hands clasped peacefully across her chest. The only giveaway she had not passed away serenely was her screaming facial expression and disembowelment. Tadashi shivered at the thought of the murders. All in all, the five villains in the room with him made up IFETCH, their initials. And Tadashi was pretty damn scared.

Here Tadashi was, stumbling into a room with a deranged killer, extraterrestrial, Electrical Dude, LSD-personified, and his walking sexual desires. Great. Tadashi belatedly realized he should probably be panicking now, instead of checking out a bunch of villains. Well, to be fair, he was only checking out one of them. The one that was staring at Yamaguchi with a demeaning look on his face. “What’s wrong, Angel? Rethinking following me?” Nope, Tadashi internally thought. It was worth it to see that ass. Freak moved closer. And closer. And closer, until he was whispering in Tadashi’s ear. “Scared, Angel?” Tadashi had Harry Potter flashbacks and had to suppress a manic giggle. Of course he was laughing at a time like this. He was so fucking scared he did not know what else to do. He was beginning to realize why the captives the supers brought back from IFETCH always tend to have a smile on their face. In a situation such as this, where he was so utterly helpless and trapped, what else was he to do? Tadashi began to laugh outwardly now. Freak seemed unfazed. Tadashi supposed this was a fairly common response, which only made him laugh harder. “I’m, ha, in a room with fucking IFETCH. Of course I, ha, am, that’s-that’s just how shit goes. Ha ha ha ha.” Freak was smirking now. This served only to remind Tadashi of a Wattpad fanfiction, where the bad boy was always smirking. He was nearly in a ball on the floor now, he was laughing so damn hard. It was getting hard to breathe, and he began to hyperventilate. Dark spots began to flit around the corners of his vision. This is bad, he though. This is the worse time to pass out. He was just about to anyway, when he felt a crushing pressure on his chest. He looked up and saw Freak was pressing down on Tadashi with his foot, Tadashi noticing the bottoms of his trainers were a burnt orange. How interesting, Tadashi himself had an orange belt. The foot on Tadashi’s chest increased its pressure, pushing Tadashi back into reality. His mind wasn’t quite lucid yet, though, which caused him to grip weakly onto Freak’s ankle. “Hi.” He whispered. Freak seemed amused. “Hi.”

“As touching as this is, it doesn’t change that a superhero still managed to break into our complex.” Someone said. “Barely,” Freak retorted,” he couldn’t have without me. Got caught in one of our nets. Pretty lame, actually. But I took pity on him, so here he is.” “Can I play with him?” a different voice asked. Tadashi was pretty sure it belonged to Hysterical. “No,” Freak said, “He’s mine.” Something inside Tadashi squirmed happily at that comment. Apparently, Tadashi had a kink for possessiveness. He learns new things every day.

But not even Tadashi’s kinks changed Tadashi’s terrified state of mind. Here he was, lying on the floor, at the mercy of extremely strong supervillains who could tear him apart within half a second. This was bad. Very bad. Tadashi became aware of his hands still gripping onto Freak’s ankle, releasing them with a mumbled apology. Tadashi wasn’t sure why he was apologizing. Freak was not someone you would apologize too. Unless you were in trouble with him, which Tadashi supposed he was. Tadashi cringed. This was not good. He tried desperately to think his way out of the situation. What would one of his team members do in this situation. He supposed they were all powerful enough to fight their way out; if someone was powerful enough to escape from IFETCH, it was them. Tadashi still wasn’t sure why he had been placed on that team. He figured it was a mistake made when the higher ups took pity on him with his useless powers. Enough self-pity, Tadashi. He needs to get out of here, hopefully with minimal damage. To himself, really, he wasn’t worried about hurting IFETCH. He didn’t think he could.

Tadashi breathed deeply. There was no use in freaking out. All he needed was to get out of here. He decided to try to talk his way out of it. It was his only option, really. “So, uh, , how’s it going? I see- I see you’re all in good health.” He stuttered. Freak raised an eyebrow. What was Tadashi saying? “So, if you all could, uh, let me go that would be awesome…um, please?” Tadashi was getting desperate and had no real idea as to what he was saying. E.T. walked over to him. Shit. “Are you okay? You kind of broke down earlier and now you’re stuttering.” No. No Tadashi was not okay. But it wasn’t like he could say that. Freak had cracked a mocking smile at this point. He still had his foot on Tadashi’s chest. “Let the wimp speak. I wanna see what he can come up with.” Okay, so maybe Tadashi’s Walking Fantasy had a bit of a mean streak. Tadashi didn’t quite mind. But that was the least important thing right now.

Tadashi felt the weight on his chest lift. He scrambled back up and leaned against the wall behind him. “I’m not sure what you guys are going to do with me,” Tadashi began,” but I promise I won’t tell what I’ve seen here if you let me go. So please, let me go.” Tadashi said the last part with confidence. Or at least, he tried to. IFETCH still didn’t look all that impressed. Tadashi took a deep breath. In and out. In and out. He was going to get through this. He was going to return to his team. Alive.

Freak sighed. “Now you’re not being any fun. I have business to attend to right now, but I’m not sure if it’s in either of our best interests to leave you with these guys for now.” He said, gesturing to the others in the room. “So follow me.” Tadashi obeyed the command. He went through a different doorway this time, one he had previously failed to notice through all his confusion and panic. It was dark again, and Tadashi had to squint, his eyes having adjusted to the torch-lit room. He stumbled a little over uneven pavement, and, unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how he looks at it), that was the moment Freak stopped in front of another door, this one steel instead of black wood, like the previous two had been, so Tadashi bumped into Freak quite harshly. Freak stiffened. Oh shit, Tadashi thought, this isn’t good. As Tadashi panicked yet again, Freak opened the door. Tadashi tripped his way through the doorway, and looked up once he was reoriented. Not for the first time today, Tadashi was petrified. This was really bad for his heart. The room…the room was some Silence of the Lambs shit. It had unmarked white walls, white tile floor, bright lights on the white ceiling, and, judging by the lack of sound when the door was closed, was completely soundproof. It was a sensory deprivation torture room. Although it didn’t seem as though sensory torture was the only torture going on, because of the array of devices covering the walls and some of the tables. Everything from a bone saw, to a whip ending in jagged pieces of steel, to a nasty looking pair of pliers that seemed to be freshly cleaned and sanitized, judging by how clearly they reflected the room. In the center of the torture room were three metal tables. And on one of the tables…Tadashi’s flinched. There was a man, naked, strapped down with leather belts, seemingly unconscious. Tadashi began to back away to the doorway, he himself not really sure what he was trying to accomplish.

“Are you sure you want to do that,” Freak said,” if you leave, Hys might just get to you. Come with me.” Tadashi figured Hys meant Hysterical, and the thought made him whimper. The whimper seemed to echo in the dead silent room, mocking Tadashi for making such a shameful noise. Just the thought of being at Hysterical’s mercy…Tadashi shook his head to snap out of it. When he looked up, Freak was approaching the table with the man strapped to it. Freak had grabbed a small paring knife along the way, and was holding it loosely in his right hand. Tadashi numbly followed him, figuring there was nothing left to do other than to obey Freak’s commands. As Tadashi approached the man, he vaguely recognized the face. Wasn’t this the same man who was recently appointed governor? Tadashi shivered. If a man of that power could be strapped down like this, what could Tadashi do? Freak handed the small knife to Tadashi. “Now I want you to do what I tell you to. Okay?” Tadashi nodded. “Okay.”  Freak pointed to a spot in between the pectorals of the man’s chest. “Right there. I want you to cut it.” Tadashi hesitated. Why? Why was he going along with this? What did it really matter at this point though, there was no going back. Tadashi complied, making a small slice. Freak hummed. “Good. Now make it into a cross.” Tadashi made a second slice, this one longer, perpendicular to the first. He watched with a sick fascination as the blood oozed out of the thin cuts. He felt almost…powerful, in a twisted sort of way. His hands shook as Tadashi examined his work. This is what he had done. What he was doing. There was no going back.

Freak gazed on. “Angel, you have wings. I want you to draw them on this man’s chest.” Tadashi stammered, “I can’t-I’m not an artist.” “Just do it.” Was Freaks exasperated reply. Tadashi took a deep breath. He looked back at his victim to see the man staring at Tadashi with petrified eyes. “He’s awake.” Tadashi mumbled.” “Yes, indeed, not get on with it.” Freak responded, rolling his eyes. Tadashi focused back at the man. He was going to draw his wings on the man. He had to. Tadashi began to carve a vague outline of his wings on the man’s chest. He focused his full concentration on what he was doing, ignoring the man���s painful shrieks and furious attempts to get away. By the time Tadashi had finished the wings, the man had nearly passed out from the intense pain of slowly being carved open. The only thing that seemed to be keeping the man conscious was the occasional slap across the face he received from Freak. Tadashi came fully back into the present and felt his face stretched in a too familiar way. Was he…smiling? No, no that can’t be right. He was a superhero. Superheroes don’t smile, of all things, when they torture people. They do everything they can to avoid it. Him smiling, it was...wrong. Very wrong.

Freak seemed to find Tadashi’s current predicament amusing. “How cute. You’re smiling. Everyone seems to think you’re so innocent, but in reality, you’re just like me. You’re just like me, and Hys, and all the other psychopathic bad guys out there who gain sick pleasure from hurting others. You adorable twisted little thing.” 

Tadashi wanted to protest, wanted to say no, he was not like them, but he knew he couldn’t. Not when he was acting like this. Freak walked around the table to be next to Tadashi. He pulled Tadashi into his side, Tadashi just now realizing how tall Freak was. “Come on, it’ll be okay. You’ll be fun to have around. And when your oh-so-strong team comes looking for you, maybe my team can have some fun with them, just like we are right now. Wouldn’t that be nice?” 

Tadashi flinched. Right, his team. He wondered if they were worried about him right now. They probably were, he should have returned at least an hour ago. He thought about what they would do if they saw him right now, covered in the blood of what he assumed to be an innocent man, casually holding a knife he had used to carve an imprint of his own wings into the man’s chest. They would probably kick him out of the group. He’d never be looked at the same, possibly imprisoned.“Good boy.” Freak commended in a whisper, a finger at Tadashi’s chin, tilting it until their eyes met as he leaned in close, looming, lips nearly touching. Tadashi felt warm and blushed slightly. 

And to him, despite all those possibilities, it was worth it, just to get the praise of a man he had met barely hours before. It really, truly was. The blood dripping from his hands, the screams of the man, the thin cuts he had made all across the man’s chest…yes. It was all worth it. Everything. He made it worth it.

[forestwater87]

I detested most stuff and I still do

You see, I hate everything but you

“God, this is lame.”

“Aw come on, Max!” David, attracted like a bloodhound to the slightest hint of negativity, flocked to Max and gave him his most winning grin. (David rarely won anything, especially with that stupid smile.)  “This is a very special experience for you campers!”

Max rolled his eyes. “A shitty waterpark in the middle of nowhere, full of screaming kids. It’s a dream come true.”

“Well, maybe if you went in the water you’d feel better! I could hold your sweatsh --”

“Touch it and die, camp man.”

“Seriously, Max,” Gwen said, coming up behind David with her arms already crossed in what she probably thought was an intimidating pose. Would probably be scarier if she wasn’t constantly trailing behind David like a duckling with an attitude problem. “This stupid trip cost us money we don’t have, so you better not ruin it.”

“Even if I wanted to run away, where would I go?” He threw his arms out to the side, making a dramatic show of looking around. “This place is more isolated and run-down than most Saw traps. Pretty sure I’ll die of tetanus just walking around.”

David looked like he wanted to say something inspiring (and dumb), but something over Max’s shoulder snagged his attention. “Mr. Campbell! Put those ‘No Running’ signs back!”

As the counselors ran off -- well, David ran; Max was pretty sure Gwen wouldn’t run unless a serial killer was chasing her -- he let his disinterested mask turn into an actual, evil-villain smile.

He’d only said he wouldn’t run away, after all. There were lots of things he could fuck up besides trying to escape.

He just needed his partners in crime . . .

“Max!” Right on time. He had a split second to brace himself before Nikki collided into his back, looping an arm around his neck and nearly dragging them both to the pockmarked cement. “This place is awesome! There are water guns attached to poles and I sprayed Preston in the face!”

“Amazing, Nik,” he replied, shrugging her off and readjusting his hoodie. “You really can find the bright side to even the shittiest things.”

Neil trotted up to them, already a little out of breath and wiping the sweat from his hairline. Max pulled an inhaler refill out of his hoodie pocket, but he waved it away and said, “I don’t think we can steal the guns. Not without a screwdriver, and I’m pretty sure I left mine in the tent.”

Nikki had already moved on. “The vending machine over there is broken! Neil and I got twelve packets of Cracker Jacks!”

“Do you even like Cracker Jacks?” he asked. Weren’t those just packing peanuts covered in caramel?

“I don’t know!” She tore a package open with her teeth and tossed the entire thing into her mouth. “Not really!”

Neil grimaced. “Jesus, Nikki, at least finish chewing --”

“Catch!” Nikki had already ripped into another packet and tossed a handful of Cracker Jacks in his face.

While Neil was spluttering and wiping peanuts off his face, Max said, “So what percentage of the water here d’ya think is pee? I wanna make sure I really emphasize the health code violations in my letter home. Maybe Mom and Dad will be so pissed off they sue the camp.”

(Not that they would; he was convinced his parents had learned English mostly by watching family sitcoms and cheesy coming-of-age movies, and they were convinced that garbage heaps like Camp Campbell “built character” and were part of the “true American experience.” No amount of common sense would get through to them. They were parents -- so, basically hopeless.)

Neil gave the pool a slightly nauseated look before shaking it off and turning back to him. “Even you have to admit this is a little fun.”

“I really don’t think I do.” He swept his arm up and over his head in a wide semicircle. “It’s a beautiful sunny day, everyone’s enjoying themselves, there’s some weird hipster shit playing over this place’s one broken loudspeaker. It’s picturesque. Disgusting .”

Nikki cocked her head to the side, listening to the tinny music crackling through the air like it was being played through a tin can. (And by a tin can. It sounded like a pile of tin cans in a clothes dryer that was also somehow tin cans.) “I kinda like it.”

“There’s a mandolin in this song. You know where mandolins belong? At Ren Faires and Scottish funerals.” Probably. He didn’t know much about Scottish funerals -- or what “Ren Faires” were beyond that Nerris liked them, and she seemed like the kind of weirdo who’d listen to tiny guitars -- but he doubted Neil or Nikki did either, so he was fairly confident he could get away with saying it.

His friends exchanged a look, one that set Max’s teeth on edge. “You’re doing it again,” Nikki said.

“Doing what?”

“Hating things,” Neil replied.

That wasn’t what Max had been expecting. “I mean . . . yeah,” he finally said, shaking his head. “It’s kinda my brand.”

“I know.” Nikki started chewing on the tip of one of her pigtails, the hair muffling her words. “And usually I like causing mischief, but it’s hot and I wanna go on the water slides!”

“She’s right,” Neil added, and Max began to feel like he was in some sort of intervention. “I know this place isn’t the best --”

“I’d rather be in Super Guantanamo.”

“-- but is it really more fun to just stand around being pissed off at everything?”

“Obviously.” The response was automatic, but the question actually threw him for a second.

Complaining was fun. He and Neil could spend an entire Saturday trading complaints and insults about the camp, their parents, even the weather if they were really running low on things that sucked. Max considered himself a champion at bitching about things, but Neil’s super-geek brain was so good at plucking out faults in even the most awesome things and somehow making these observations both stupidly obvious and even funny -- in his dry, “not entirely sure he’s actually joking” way.

And ruining things was fun: Nikki had the worst, impossiblest, batshit-craziest ideas, and buried in all that weirdness were some of the best pranks he’d ever pulled. Even when Max couldn’t shut her down on a bullshit scheme, it was fun watching his friends use science and Nikki-ness to make it work -- and fail, usually. It was even more fun when they were actually able to pull something off that shouldn’t have been possible (usually with his help and great insights; he was the best at causing mayhem and always would be) . . .

The look on Neil’s face when his jerry-rigged hamster ball actually allowed them to roll around the camp without popping on anything, even Nurf’s knives, was priceless. And so was Nikki’s war cry that sounded like an Indian from one of those old racist Westerns, which she reserved for explosions big enough to singe off their eyebrows.

But they didn’t want to do anything like that today. They wanted to just . . . what, enjoy themselves? In this pathetic soon-to-be-abandoned-and-bankrupt pile of junk?

And he was supposed to just go along with that?

Why the fuck would he?

They could hang out without him, they did it all the time. When he was busy . . .

Hating things, usually.

“Okay, fine,” he finally said, letting out a long, beleaguered sigh like they were being too annoying for words. (What? Sometimes being dramatic was fun too.) “I’ll do things your way for an hour. And if it still sucks, we break something. Like David’s legs.”

He wasn’t surprised by the way either of them smiled; after the entire summer he’d gotten very used to both of them. Nikki’s grin, so wide it was almost scary, with a tooth that got chipped during Fighting Camp and another one she lost a few weeks ago (then immediately swallowed to see if the tooth fairy would come into her stomach after it), the way she tilted her head like an excited puppy: same angle, same direction, every single time. Neil’s tiny, shy of his barely-crooked teeth, the way his gaze would land somewhere in the vicinity of Max’s face but never actually his eyes -- forehead, nose, for some reason his left ear (but never the right) -- before flicking down to stare at his dorky T-Rex hands, which he’d twist together until every finger-joint cracked, this teeny little divot in his right cheek that only showed up when he laughed, too small to even put a pinky in.

Max hated people smiling, especially smiling at him . But he didn’t totally mind with Neil or Nikki; they were his best friends, maybe his only friends. It’d be weird if they were frowning at him all the time.

“Come on then, sourpiss!” Nikki cried, taking one of his hands and gesturing for Neil to grab the other.

“Sour puss ,” he corrected, his fingers briefly settling on Max’s wrist, elbow, and forearm before closing tight around a handful of his sleeve.

Max let himself be dragged forward, wincing at the sticky caramel still on Nikki’s hand. “I’m not gonna run away,” he whined, scuffing his toes along the ground before remembering that he liked these sneakers. “You don’t have to --”

“Our way,” she reminded him, breaking into a half-skip, half-run that left Max and Neil stumbling to keep up. “Oooh, look! Flowers!”

“We aren’t seriously stopping and smelling flowers right now, are we?” Max demanded, almost overcome by the lameness of it.

Neil just shrugged, ducking away from a bee that zoomed out of the nearest one. “Our way, Max.”

He sighed and breathed in a lungful of pollen. “Yeah, yeah,” he managed between coughs. “But just for an hour.”

“It’s gonna be a rose, but like . . . a black one. With thorns. And it’ll say ‘Too Cool’ underneath. Maybe in the vines or something.”

“Wow, Ered!” Nikki said, leaning against the rickety wooden railing that was keeping them from falling off the long line up to the tallest slide. “Your dads will let you do that when you’re sixteen?”

She tossed her hair. “Totally.” She turned to Max and Neil. “You gonna get a tattoo?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna get ‘None of your fucking business’ on my forehead.”

Nikki pouted, shooting Ered an apologetic look. “Max, our way!”

“It’s been way over an hour,” he said. His hair and sweatshirt -- which he still refused to take off, though he did dump everything inside into David’s backpack -- were soaked and beginning to steam under the sun, and he pulled his hood over his eyes and rested his head on Neil’s shoulder. “Wake me up when we get to the top.”

His friends were quiet, Ered having turned her attention to a surprisingly impassioned conversation with Nerris over the benefits of each class in DnD. After a moment Nikki said, “Well, the hour is over.”

“And he’s still here.” Neil smelled like sunscreen and chlorine, and his skin was burning warm like the sunburn he would inevitably still get. As a strong breeze shook the wooden tower they were standing on, a chill caused Max to lean more heavily into him for warmth and wind-blocking. (Not snuggling. Not even in the same neighborhood as snuggling.) “Better than I’d expected.”

He could hear Nikki’s smile. “Me too!” They shuffled forward, ignoring the alarming creak of the wood beneath them. “He’s a good friend, deep down.”

“Ehh, very deep down, I guess.”

“Oh yeah. Like, in his toes or something.”

“You know I can still hear you, right?” Max said without opening his eyes.

“Absolutely,” Neil replied.

“We were counting on it!” Nikki added brightly.

“Max!” They’d reached a bend in the line, and he realized with horror, opening his eyes, that they’d come into view of David, who was apparently accompanying Space Kid. Birds of an annoying, friendless feather . “I’m so happy to see you’re enjoying yourself! Isn’t it great having fun off the grid like this?” David’s voice was sincere, a little bit tearful, but with an underlying I told you so that made his blood boil.

Max turned to Nikki and Neil, who understood what he was thinking from his expression. “We’re not letting him get away with that, right?” he muttered.

“Of course not,” Neil said immediately, and Nikki nodded.

“Slide first, though,” she said, as though they were going to just leap off the side of the tower or something. (Which, considering her, couldn’t be ruled out.)

Max grinned, giving in to the oppressive sunshine and shrugging out of his hoodie. “Slide first,” he agreed. “Then we’re doing things my way.”