#i kinda pushed everything about this outta my head for the past few weeks

[matrixxsystem]

Terrapin Soup Chapter 1

This is my story on Ao3 ^^ He'd been putting this feeling off as long as possible. He tried everything he could think of to get these sort of thoughts to stop. But a childhood accident in where he tasted the blood of his brother made something in his mind change, like a switch he couldn't turn off despite his best efforts. 

He craved it. 

No matter how much food he ate or drinks he drank it was never enough to make that hunger go away. Eventually. When Leo was 12 he caved to those urges, one episode when everyone had been stressed and just one poorly placed word from snapping, he lashed out during training. The rest of his family knew he was a biter, in a playful manner of course, they all fought dirty when rough housing with each other it's just how brothers are. They'd all been playing, and the oldest Raphael was always one to push his brothers wanting them to push themselves even in a nonconsequential game. But after a week of bad luck Leo couldn't hold back like he'd been these past few years since the hunger started. 

He bit his brother. 

And not just a playful bite either, teeth piercing flesh and a scream of pain that echoed throughout the city.. Of course as soon as he came back to his senses he regretted it, he cried and cried trying to fix his mistake. And his brother easily forgave him, he always did. But the guilt never went away, even in the present when he glanced to his brother and saw the dents in his arm where small teeth had punctured he felt his heart sink.. And yet, when he remembers the taste.. The hunger only gets stronger.

He tried everything to get that feeling to go away, weather it was eating till he threw up, sleeping as long as allowed, hitting himself any time the thoughts came back, training till he ached, eating uncooked meat to imitate the feeling, which of course getting sick from. Eventually he even tried biting himself. And though it hurt like hell it seemed that drawing blood was the only thing able to satiate his hunger, if only for a little while. He couldn't tell his brothers, there was no way to explain this in a way that wouldn't end with him being quarantined somehow or being kept from his brothers and isolated further. But something about tearing flesh from meat filled his head with a sort of high that made everything else fade away.

The first few nights Leo had been going out to try and take him mind off his thoughts, something he started doing more and more often to avoid his brothers asking questions. He found himself online, using his phone to scroll though media sites where people could ask things anonymously and receive advice from others. He didn't want to admit anything with his name tied to it, but this seemed like a good way to test the waters. No one else had posted what he was thinking but there were lots of things similar or equally concerning at least. So he made his account and sent out his one and only post; 

hcr/ Intrusive Thoughts Etc

NotoriouslyPrimary420 Asks;

Do you ever just.. I mean I know this is exactly the place to ask "Do you ever think (insert unthinkable things)" But I still feel weird asking. To be blunt, cannibalism has been on my mind. And yeah I know its bad or whatever, and I wouldn't ever go hurt anyone or anything like that, and I know its not exactly normal either. But like, you ever just.. Want to? I had an incident when I was younger and much more feral then I am now where I kind of snapped for a second when I was play fighting with my siblings. Like some kind of instinct took over that wasn't really me and I bit the absolute shit outta one of them. Now I felt bad of course, and I didn't try to take their arm off or like actively eat em, again, I'm not crazy here. But that kinda feeling that made me wanna bite them hasn't gone away and its been years- 

I love my family, more then anything! They'd never hurt me like that and I'd never willingly hurt them, and it was never held over me that I lost it that one time. They were never mad at me or anything and I knew what I did was wrong so it's not some kind anger towards them, but its not for anyone else. It's just for people like me. Which.. It's really hard to explain what "like me" means in the context but like, I have a very certain trait that defines me, and this feeling I get only really applies to those who are the same in that very specific way, I've never looked at a stranger and wondered how they tasted the way I do with people like me. And I've been trying everything over these past few years to get the feeling gone, I mean I've gotten sick so many times because I tried eating things I shouldn't that I thought might help, like raw stuff and just eating till I couldn't anymore (which I've stopped cause obviously it didn't help) And eventually I got to a point where I was hurting myself because that seemed to be the only thing that made those urges go away. But they still came back!!

Even more recently I found something that helps more, but its.. Unethical? To say the least, its not something I'm exactly proud of but its not hard drugs and no one has to know. My family has no clue cause I think they'd be scared if they knew I had these feelings, and it's not like they could help me. If anything they'd only start keeping their distance probably afraid I might snap and do something.. And honestly, I'm scared of that possibility too. But I can't do anything about it! Again, I'm not gonna go hurt anyone or do anything illegal, I'm not a bad person. I just.. Don't know why I'm like this. Any advice that doesn't revolve around "seeing a doctor" would seriously help.

It wasn't till the next night he brought himself to check what kind of responses he might've gotten. And to his surprise it was a lot of kindness towards his situation, no one seemed upset with him but rather reassured him that as long as he didn't act on those urges it was fine to have them. That people of all kinds struggled with things like that. He had a few messages too, but he was still surprised to see that no one had decided to reprimand him for his honestly. There was one however the caught his eye.. Someone who seemed to share his thoughts. That spoke of a troubledchildhood being taken in by just someone they called their "teacher" and his methods of training were well.. Drastic. They didn't go into detail but from how it sounded Leo could tell he'd done things he wasn't proud of either..

As those days turned to months then soon years the wraps on his limbs, that he demanded stay on at all times, got longer and longer until they stretched from his wrists to his shoulders to cover the self awarded marks. One particular night, he left the lair, sitting on a roof far off towards the other end of the city. Just so he was out of range from his brothers internet tracking tech so he could find something, anything, to help him get rid of these pangs. And he did, finally, it was his last hope to save face, and more importantly his sanity. A noodle bar not far in Chinatown that served what could be considered.. Unappetizing to others. And just his luck, they were open late. He quickly gathered his disguise and went on his way. Praying this would be enough. He touched down in an ally not long after, now in the center of Chinatown. The friend he'd met online still talked to him, usually when he went out to clear his head, which was nearly every night now, he found himself talking about his day and listening to his friend about theirs. And over time slowly opened up to each other about their thoughts and feelings, the ones they felt couldn't be shared with others.

He glanced to his phone and hesitantly stepped out. As he thought, no one paid attention to him. He made his way to the ramen shop as his phone directed him, lifting the hanging fabric to go in and take a seat at the counter. No one else was sitting there which he was thankful for. An older man behind the counter looked at him for a moment before shrugging and handing him a menu. "You're out late aren't you? Most young men your age should be in bed for school tomorrow!" He chuckled and turned back to continue his clean up, hoping to have a friendly chat. Leo tapped the counter getting his attention, and pointed to his choice. The man raised an eyebrow leaning over to read what he picked. "Not much of a talker eh? That's alright, I've enough words for the both of us haha. Ohh terrapin soup eh? That's a good one! I use my family's recipe for it you know? It's an acquired taste for sure but once you try it you'll always come back for more!" Leo tapped the counter again, placing money down after, enough for the meal and a small tip. The man made another face but just nodded and took the money. "Alright alright, why the stoic silence hm? You act like you're trying to hide from someone, like in one of those old Yip Man movies haha" He turned his back to Leo and within a few minutes turned back with a full bowl. Leo hesitated for a moment as he watched the smoke rise, was he really about to do this..? He couldn't just bite himself forever.. Or risk snapping again and hurting one of his brothers... 

He had to. 

He took a breath as he raised the spoon to his mouth, trying to quiet the voice inside his head screaming that this was wrong, and took the bite. At first it just sat there, nearly burning the roof of his mouth, but he wasn't about to waste it. He finally managed to suppress all the muscles fighting back and bit down. 

Something clicked in his mind as he felt the first bite hit his stomach, like the warmth of your parents making you hot chocolate on a freezing winter day and feeling that spreading to the end of every nerve, to the tips of your limbs and sending a familiar rush of calm straight to your head almost like a high. Like going all day without water then taking that first sip that brings you back to life, it was finally being able to breathe after being out of breath your whole life. Or finally seeing the colors after years of a world in grey.

For the first time in years, he felt normal, no immense weight in his chest or anxiety vibrating in his hands begging him to do something he knew he couldn't. Just peace and quiet. It didn't take long for him to down the rest of his meal, and when he did he tapped the counter again for attention and signed a 'thank you' to the man. He didn't want to speak and have his voice be something to recognize. He took a pen from its holder and wrote "I'll be back this time next month." and slid it to him with another small tip. The man just smiled and nodded taking the paper and pocketing the money. "Of course, I'll see you then" It was pretty common knowledge that turtle meat wasn't exactly legal in the US, it was a moral grey area and sure buying and selling it weren't allowed but who's to say he knew what he was getting? And who's to say what that tip was for? No one, that's who. He got home using his portal swords, having told his brothers he was going for a walk, and would be back sometime later that night. He made some excuse for himself, along the lines of, "I made a friend the other day, in the.. Mystic hidden city, and we're gonna hang out tonight so don't wait up for me!" He seemed a bit.. On edge before leaving, Mikey of course told the other brothers as they were sitting around that he thought Leo was on a date. What else could make him so nervous? The others at first didn't agree but once Mikey explained how he'd been seeing Leo act more and more strange, that his mind had clearly been elsewhere lately.. It was very possible he met someone. 

After that night when he came home, it was the happiest his family had seen him in months! And once a month, like clockwork Leo would sneak out, stay out for most of the night. Then come home the next morning like nothing happened. His brothers decided not to mention it, but after a full year of his nightly escapades they couldn't just ignore it anymore, if he was seeing someone they wanted to know! And wanted to meet whoever it was. They never thought to follow him, since he always portal-ed away not long after heading out, but the next time Leo went out Donnie had an idea. It wasn't right to snoop, but they waited for Leo to bring it up for months! And he hadn't said a single word about it other then he was gonna go see his 'friend' but only left it at that! No one just goes to see a nameless faceless 'friend' once a month for the whole night for over a year! They tried asking him about it too but he wouldn't say anything, or tell them what him and his friend did that night. But none of their friends around had seen him either, he wasn't going to get pizza or talking to April about it, even when they asked the Hidden City's Police to keep an eye out for him they never reported back, it was as if he just vanished for a night, and as excited as they were for Leo to be happy, it worried them that they had no idea what was really going on.. Part 2

TS Master Post

[littlemisschameleon]

.

[yumihoe]

Housepet

Fandom - Kakeguri.

Pairing - Yandere Yumeko Jabami x Yandere Mary Satome x fem reader.

Summary: As a housepet pet you are required to serve your superiors.

Content warnings- Yandere themes, oral fixation, aged up characters, noncon-rape, Sexual slavery kinda, femdom, abuse of power, the reader gets slapped around/ mentions of the reader getting hurt in the past, degradation, face riding -let me know if I missed anything-mdni.

Word count -1.5k

Your neck was aching, collar heavy around it. The feeling of the leather suffocating, chaffing, and burning like a brand.

A Brand on livestock, A brand on an animal.

You aren't an animal. At least at one point, you hadn't been.

Now you were... what were you?

Yumeko says you're her favorite toy, always so sweet-so kind with her praises, even when she's bringing the belt down on your backside for the tenth time. " Such a good kitty, taking your lashes so well." But mary insist you're a dirty whore, " Why do you insist on babying the little bitch for doing what filthy whores like her are supposed to do"

Even now as Mary wraps another tie around your ankle you can't quite wrap your head around what you are.

Sharp pain from how tight the ties are rings through your wrist and makes you jerk away, earning you a hard slap to the face.

" Hold fucking still waste." Mary hisses. Yumeko jabs lightly at mary with her elbow " Why are you always so mean to her?" Yumeko sighs, rubbing at your thigh. Her voice sounds sincere, caring even but You know all too well that she's only pretending to care, pretending to scold mary for being rough with you.

" The little shit wouldn't have to get tied down if she hadn't had fucking kicked me last time." Mary snaps, yellow eyes glaring at the brunette.

You hadn't meant to kick Mary, but to be fair you had told her that you couldn't handle another orgasm, Yet she persisted, keeping the vibrator on your clit, sneering about how " little shits like you need to serve your purpose." and " If you know whats fucking good for you you'll come again." Your're tenth-or something orgasm had wrecked through your body, sending spasms and jerks- spasms and jerks that had caused your leg to launch out, smacking Mary in her nose.

You had already been punished, of course, mary had made sure to bruise your ass raw, make sure you could sit regularly for weeks, but she still insisted on tying you down before they went on with their regular routine anyways.

Yumeko busies herself unbuttoning her school blouse and stepping out of her skirt

It's not right, twisted how stunning Yumeko's Body is.

Sick people who keep other human beings tied down in empty classrooms shouldn't be allowed to so....beautiful. Sharp collarbone above perfectly round breast that melt into a sharply defined waist. No matter how much you despised Yumeko Jabami you would never be able to call her ugly. And the fact sickened you.

" Aw, you're drooling, am I that pretty kitten," Yumeko giggles, leaning down to smooth your hair back. " Does my good little kitty want something to plug up that sweet little mouth?"

Your stomach tightens knowing exactly what it is she's hinting at. "Open wide for me kitty." Yumeko coos, pushing two of her digits inside your mouth. You know better than to bite down on her fingers, the first and last time you had, mary broke one of yours, and you hadn't been able to bend it correctly for months. So you let the long, slender digits slide past your lips and suck, to avoid punishment.

Mary snorts as she fastens the last tie on your ankle, sitting up. "Ts really fucking gross how you stick your fingers in the little shits mouth like that, how the fuck do you get off on that?" She sneers Yumeko just smiles, pushing her fingers deeper into your mouth, hitting the back of your throat triggering your gag reflex. "If that little fuckface pukes, I swear to fucking god I'll kill you Yumeko." Mary frowns

" 'Sides, there are better ways to put her mouth to use anyways," she mumbles. Yumeko lets out a boisterous laugh " If you wanted a turn with kitty's mouth, all you needed was to say so." Mary doesn't answer, instead motions for Yumeko to take her fingers out of your mouth, to which Yumeko obliges with a sad whimper, letting her now slimy digits drop from your mouth.

"Now, you'll put that whinny little mouth to good use," Mary smirks, positioning herself to hover over your face. You start up your usual protest, about how you don't want her to ride your face, that you'd rather just eat her out on your stomach to avoid her suffocating you, but your pleading is in vain, Mary lets her legs give out anyway, pushing her cunt directly onto your mouth.

You almost panic at the sudden loss of air, but you know better to try and struggle against her, it only ever results in some form of physical assault. And it's not like you could push her off of you, in your current state. So you let your tongue loll out of your mouth to take a swipe at her folds.

" Aww, you're being so good kitten, you deserve an award." Yumeko sings.

" She's not-Fuck- Not being fucking good, the little fucking shit's just doing what housepets are supposed to do." Mary whimpers out, thighs quivering around your head.

Houspet.

Hearing Her say the word- the title is almost foreign since they often call you anything but. Kitten, Toy, Little shit, but still it's a reminder of what you are now. No longer human, and below any animal. A Housepet. A failed gambler.

It all comes pouring back to you like rain, everything you had been, what you were before.

Master gambler, Highroller extraordinaire. You had been on top of the world, winning game after game and match after match, well on your way to becoming an esteemed member of the student body council. Maybe even president of the student body council until-Until you had lost.

It had all happened so fast, you were so certain- still certain that you should've won that game, that it had been rigged and you deserved a rematch - a recount, anything- yet your cries of foul-play had fallen on death ears. Your status as a high-ranking gambler had been revoked, replaced with that of a disgusting, low-ranking rat.

The transition had been slow, yet persistent. The looks of fear and admiration people once gazed at you with turned to disgust and superiority. Where once people had flocked to be around you they had started to avoid you like the plague.

The last and final declaration of your dehumanization had come in the form of a notice from the student council, a notice stating that if you couldn't repay your debt from losing, you would be demoted to the lowest student ranking at Hyakkaou Private Academy. You had begged, on your knees almost for a second chance, but the president had refused, issuing you a collar.

Yumeko and Mary had cornered you a few days after that, forced you to become their personal little plaything.

"No point in resisting, shitty little housepets like you go missing all the time, no one would look for you." Mary had whispered

Yumeko jerking your thighs further apart pulls you out of your moment of self-realization.

"You're doing so well for Mary kitten, I just can't help but reward you." she beams.

Yumeko's rewards always leave you overstimulated and crying, so you don't feel any relief at the mention of receiving one. Still despite how you tense up, clearly uncomfortable with her rewarding you, Yumeko slots herself between your legs, flicking a vibrator on and pressing it against your clit. The sudden sensation causing your hips to buck up, much to the distaste of Mary.

" Be fucking still" the blonde hisses, " Just fucked up my c-climax."

You don't bother to object or tell mary that Yumeko's the reason you moved so suddenly, you know she won't care either way. "s' fucking close" Mary whimpers grinding down against your tongue harder. Her hips stutter, once, twice, before she's shaking, squirting all over your face. You want to gag, cry out, push her off you, but you know you can't, so you let her ride the rest of her orgasm off on your face, sticky, sweaty thighs clamped around your head.

Mary finishes after what seems like forever, standing up on quivering legs, looking around for her clothes.

" Were gonna be fucking late for our next class, fucking c'mon Yumeko" She sighs.

Yumeko pouts from between your legs, two fingers buried in your swollen cunt. "But I didn't get to finish kittens reward, she's been so good we can't just leave her all pent up like this."

you can almost hear Mary roll her eyes." If I have to fucking drag you outta here by your fucking hair Yume-

"Fine, Fine" Yumeko stands up, cutting her off. She slowly reassembles her uniform, grumbling almost like a child who just had a toy ripped away from her.

"Sides you can come back and finish the little shit off after school" Mary shouts, already halfway out of the door. Yumeko smiles down out you, winking before following her friend into the hall.

--

Long after they've left you find yourself sobbing, wishing they had untied you before going back to class.

A sick feeling rises in your stomach as you realize you're not crying about being tied up because the position you're in is uncomfortable or even because you might have been able to find a way out if they had let you free of the ties.

You're crying because You wished they had let you go before leaving so you could stuff a finger into your aching cunt.

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

I really want Yumeko and mary to bully me. 😪

Anyways, as usual, if you enjoyed this don't be afraid to reblog!

[glacecakes]

Wild Hunt

Eugene isn't exactly well liked by his men, but when they want to induct him into their ranks, he's not going to complain! All he has to do is hunt down a beast that they prepared for this event specifically-

It's Varian. Eugene is accidentally hunting down Varian. Now the two have to survive the night together, while one of them is injured, against a squadron of Corona's best men.

Uh oh.

IM BACK! Kinda. Finals are due Tuesday and I wrote this instead of doing them but WHATEVER WHO CARES

This was mostly written on the Varian Hivemind server, with some lovely inputs from the folks on there, and I edited it and finished it before throwing it up here. So uh. Yea. Team Awesome my beloved

Life and Times and VVO will also be updated soon!!! I hope to have at least one if not both chapters done by the end of the month 

ANYWAY HERES 8K OF TEAM AWESOME ANGST

Being Captain of the Guards sure had its perks.

For one, he got to attend meetings with Rapunzel, finally. You'd think being the princess's future husband (probably) and Prince of the Dark Kingdom got him some recognition, but noblemen are jerks and elitists, so what can you do. Granted, the meetings were boring as all hell, but still, it felt like he was actually being respected and taken seriously. Something Rapunzel had been pushing for since the start. Personally, he wasn't all that sure he deserved it, but if she was happy, so was he.

Another was that the guards no longer gave him shit. That's not to say they did before... well, they did. Stan and Pete didn't, but every other guard called him Flynn Rider at least once or twice before begrudgingly accepting him as their teacher and now commander. He no longer had to worry about someone breathing down his back, waiting for him to slip up or commit a crime, eager to throw him back in prison.

Speaking of which...

He turned the corner to see a few guards, couldn't remember their names off the top of his head, forming a small circle around a corner. Their predatory grins barred down on whatever their target was, whichever poor soul had angered them. One of them had his hands on someone much shorter, so short he couldn't make them out beyond the red coats and gleaming gold... which could only mean it was one person.

"Don't get comfy, brat," the one hissed, pushing Varian up against the wall with an audible crack as a skull hit stone, no doubt hoisted up by a shirt collar. "One of these days the princess is gonna get sick of you, and when she does, we'll toss you back into your old cell... and we'll restart our favorite game. Ain't that a swell idea?" Varian hissed, a soft thunk of his boots scrambling for purchase against the wall.

"Hey!" Eugene snapped, having heard more than enough. "Put him down now ." His words were like fire, causing the other two to jump back and reveal the battered and bruised alchemist. His lip was split, a large scuff of dirt on his white shirt.

One of the guards snapped his head around, whacking the leader's shoulder to get his attention. The guard frowned. "Oh yea? Or what?"

Before his new position, he would've leapt into the fray, hackles raised, punching the lights out of these jerks, but now, he had a much better stance. "Or you're fired." He crossed his arms, the perfect picture of a guy in charge who knew how to keep his men in line.

Someone who was clearly not him.

The guard hummed. "You don't have the nerve." To emphasize his point, he shook Varian a little harder, the kid's toes barely scraping the floor and his hands gripping the soldier's wrists. Leather gloves creaked with how tight the pressure was.

But Eugene's glare didn't waver, hand itching for the sword at his hip, his anger radiating in waves. It was enough to get the other two to back off.

"Cmon, Aaron," one whispered. "It's not worth it."

"Yeah, it's not." Eugene agreed. "Put him down now, and I'll lighten your sentence to a week in the stables instead of a month."

Aaron's face turned sheet white, then bright red. With a huff, he dropped Varian to the ground, readjusting his gloves while Varian cried out on the floor.

"You got lucky this time, brat," he hissed.

Oh, he knew that type of speech. The Baron used it all the time. Anyone who got told that never lasted to the next month. "And all other times," he said. "Because if I see you go anywhere near him I'm taking you to the princess."

Aaron rolled his eyes, clearly uncaring, and stormed off with a huff, his buddies trailing after. No doubt they didn't like a criminal ordering them around. Or, ex-criminal. He'd have to keep an eye on them.

A sniffle broke Eugene's musings, the fog of satisfaction and annoyance quickly replaced by concern for his younger friend. Varian sat up, wincing as he did so. He rubbed his neck, feeling for any injuries and finding none except for his ruined collar. "Aw man," he mumbled.

Dad had fixed his collar for him that day, a proud smile on his face. "You need to look sharp for your first day on the job," he'd said, ruffling Varian's hair. They'd grown so much closer in the past few months, the man always seeing his son off. Today was the first day back after his kidnapping, after all; he'd spent a month recovering from a broken rib.

"It's not my first day, I've been working there for weeks," Varian had grumbled, but let him do it with a cheeky grin.

"First day of the week," Quirin rectified, placing a kiss to his baby's forehead.

A forehead now covered in dust and a bruise.

"Hey kid," Eugene offered a hand that Varian gladly took, stumbling a little as he was helped upright. "You ok? Nothing knocked outta place?"

"Just my pride," Varian joked, smile quickly fading. "I'm ok though, really. I'm used to it." He shrugged, hugging himself for comfort. Maybe he could pretend dad was here, hugging him... he always had the best hugs. Even when Varian was little, before they drifted apart. Back when he was just the weird magic kid. Back when his biggest worries were some older kids picking on him... Dad would always scoop him up into a big hug with flowery words and a book of Flynn Rider.

A warm hand wrapped around him, pulling him into a red chest. Eugene took his other hand to ruffle Varian's hair, earning a squawk of complaint.

"Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's ok, you know that, right?" Silence followed. Gosh, this kid... say what you want about being an orphan, at least everyone around you was on the same boat. No place for bullies, nothing to bully about, when everyone was doing just as badly. "If they ever give you more trouble, you come to me, yeah?"

"Huh?" Confused blue eyes met warm brown.

Eugene smirked. "You say the words and I boot them out of the castle, goggles. Team Awesome looks out for each other."

"Oh," Varian mumbled, dazed. He'd never had a protector, never had anyone looking out for him. Cold sneers and flowery words, manipulation and secrets and ulterior motives, sure. His chest fluttered, a laugh escaping.

But then... the anxiety returned full force, maybe even stronger.

If those guys got fired because of him, good god, he could only imagine the fallout. Well, that's not true. He absolutely could. One time in prison a guard got fired for beating a cellmate within an inch of his life, and though the guy lived, the second he was out of prison he got jumped, or so the story goes. In all honesty it was probably an embellished truth, stretched out to frighten prisoners into silence, but god damn if it didn't work. No one ever complained about their beatings. A peep was all that was needed to spend a night in the infirmary for even worse injuries.

"No, no, it's fine," Varian flicked his wrist. The dial on his hand spun with each flick, the ticking grating. "Besides, we have work to do!"

"Oh, yea!" Eugene gasped. Right! The whole reason he came out to this part of the castle was to look for Varian specifically, after all.

"So, right, maintenance stuff." Varian waved his hand, motioning for Eugene to follow. "Here's what I had in mind..."

-

It was a week later, late at night, when Aaron approached him. The moon lay low in the sky, just bright enough to allow for vision without torchlight, but not bright enough that anything beyond shapes were clear. True to his word, the guard had been stationed on stable duty for the past several days, coming back to the barracks covered in dirt and angry every time.

So maybe Eugene had whispered to Max about him. Big deal.

Anyway, the captain was knee-deep in paperwork when Aaron knocked on his office door. "Sir," he said. "Finished up for the day, and I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh?" Eugene put his quill down hesitantly. Aaron was his first big show of power, the first punishment he'd dished. Everything else had been a variation of "keep doing what you're doing" as he settled into his new role. Who knew being in a position of power was so stressful?

(Everyone. Literally everyone.)

"I wanted to apologize for testing you, sir." The man shifted, eyes never meeting. His face was unreadable. "I wasn't sure you were going to be as..... sharp, as our previous captain. And I'm sorry for that."

"....Ok," Eugene said. "Thanks? I think?"

"So, I uh... wanted to do something for you." The man continues. "Me and a few others. It's sorta a ritual for guards. We didn’t do it before cuz of, yknow, Cassandra and stuff. And you're one of us now, so...?" He raised an eyebrow, a quiet invitation.

Oh boy.

Knowing these guys, it was probably something really stupid. Most of the guards were pretty nice, maybe a bit airheaded, but a lot of meatheads mostly. Big fans of machismo and showing their strength, boosting their ego, stuff like that. It's why none of them were fans of being run by a criminal. And no doubt Eugene would have to clean up their mess anyway, so he sighed deeply and rose from his seat. "Alright, what did you do now?"

Aaron placed a hand to his chest. "Why, sir, we did this out of the goodness of our heart! We're just welcoming you to the team!" He laughed a bit at that last part. He pointed out the door, leading his superior down the suspiciously empty barracks, and out into the courtyard.

About a dozen or so guards were outside, waiting. One of them was holding a horse's reins, and a crossbow.

"He's in!" Aaron called, and the guards all broke into cheers and raucous laughter.

"Yea, nice to see you guys too, uh. What am I... in?" Eugene asked, shifting awkwardly.

Aaron's smile widened. "It's just a fun little game, sir."

"The game is simple, really," Aaron slung an arm around Eugene's shoulder, pulling him close, not unlike how Lance does. But unlike his larger friend, this man is wiry, more of a weaselly kind of build, with stick thin arms that hide his muscle. "See, when someone new joins the guard, we test their skill by having them hunt down a beast in the nearby forest. Once they catch it, we all celebrate together! And welcome him into the ranks!" The guards all cheered, no doubt thrilled at the prospect.

"....right...." Eugene smiled uncomfortably, cheeks pulling and stretching, a puppet controlling the strings attached to his face. His stomach swirled, bouncing all over as he was passed around.

"But see, you're not just any guard, you're the Captain," Aaron's smile took an equally unpleasant demeanour. "So we figured we'd give you some extra... challenge." Outside of their little circle, no sounds could be heard. Not a peep from a cricket, or a cry from a bird, just dead silence in the surrounding glen. Just the crackle of torches, and the rustling of men.

"The beast for this occasion is small, smart, and fast. The goal is to catch it before it reaches the wall at Old Corona. All you gotta do is," he makes a noise with his mouth to emulate the crossbow. "Hit the target, and the rest of us will finish the job."

"Finish?" Eugene echoed.

The guards around him smiled with all of their teeth. "Well yea, we're not just gonna waste a perfectly good beast, are we?"

Eugene narrowed his eyes. If Rapunzel heard about this, no doubt she'd flip. "How will I know what I'm looking for? And why should I even approve of this?"

"Relax, sir," Aaron shook him, patting his chest with a heavy fist. "We're not just killing an innocent creature. It's always something that's been marked for slaughter, or is causing problems. And trust me," his voice deepened. "You'll know."

No horse was as good as Max, but that was probably for the best, what with his gut screaming about how this all felt so goddamn sketchy. "This isn't some trap where it turns out I'm the one being hunted, right? Cuz I don't want to shoot any of you with this," he joked, brandishing the crossbow.

"No, sir, not at all! In fact we'll be supporting you! No one makes the first shot until you do." He promised, patting the horse's flank. "Rest assured, no tricks here. Just a beast already marked for capture. Or recapture, in this case. We picked this one special for you."

"That sounds like it's supposed to be flattering but it really isn't."

Aaron shrugged. "Not my problem. Good luck!" With a smack to the horse, she cried out, spurring Eugene forward.

They rode through the Capital, out into Corona proper, lush with trees. At this time of night, no one would be about, not even thieves, laden in their straw beds and cots. The only things out right now are animals, or a beast, in this case. How is he supposed to know what he's looking for? What, is it going to be some giant thing with red eyes? No, Aaron said it was small, how the hell is he going to...

Then he hears it.

It's faint, almost like a windchime, but sure enough, the clanking of chains, and a small whimper. Somewhere through the trees there's a rustling, something moving. He can't make it out, the guards didn't give him a torch, but a blob of something rushes forward, the only thing he can make out the distinctive shine of metal, a chain reflecting in the moonlight.

Ah.

Eugene smirked, the rush of adrenaline from a chase beginning to pump through his veins. It'd been a while since an adventure without any stakes, without any daring challenges or risking death. The last time must've been... gosh, probably the Herz de Sonne misadventure? And even then he and Lance had just goofed off for the majority of it. Maybe the Spire? That one was much riskier but he and Rapunzel had been so outrageously drunk during that whole endeavor that it felt more like a fun jaunt.

He shook himself out of his reverie. Focus, Eugene! Fun or no, you're proving yourself to the guards! Show them that you're a worthy Captain beyond just barking orders and supporting the princess!

He spurred the horse forward, hooves thundering against the undergrowth and disturbing the leaves below. The beast let out a shriek, shrill and shaking, rushing forward. It weaved between trees, trying to throw Eugene off. Man, Aaron wasn't kidding about how fast it was. Even on horseback he couldn't keep up very well. The chains wrapped around the beast's legs screamed in complaint, clanking and clattering with each huff of its breath.

Eugene lowered the crossbow, sticking his tongue out. Steady... steady.... he fired.

The bolt whizzed through the air, lodging into a tree just a few feet away from its target. The beast flinched but didn't slow, scampering through the undergrowth, leaping over a fallen tree towards the river.

"Hyah!" He yelled, leading his horse over the log and splashing down into frigid waters. Water rushed past his horse's hooves, dulling the sound of chains, and when he looked around, the beast was gone.

Drat.

Eugene grumbled, reloading the crossbow before urging his horse onward. If this beast got away he'd never hear the end of it! They'd be all "Yes sir, Captain! We'll catch that criminal! As soon as you catch that beast!" And then they'd laugh and he'd moan and he'd have to go catch the criminal himself which is honestly not too far off from how it is already-

Anyway.

It took a few minutes to find it again, the beast trying to muffle it's movements by shuffling, but the metal song was too alluring to ignore. There was no time to waste. With the horse at a fast trot, quieter and steadier, he fired the bolt, this time getting much closer, barely whizzing past the silhouette and lodging into a tree trunk with a chunk of hair.

The creature cried out again, beginning to run and renew this dance of cat and mouse, but Eugene wouldn't have it. Dexterous fingers clasped a new bolt and quickly reloaded, giving barely a few seconds for the creature to try and run before firing again.

He didn't miss.

It was almost silent, the bolt's descent. Its tip gleamed in the moonlight alongside the chains keeping his prey in place, the one thing that slowed it and gave Eugene the upper hand. Whatever this beast was was quick, too quick, and if he lost it again, no doubt he'd never find it again. So when he aimed, he aimed down, and sure enough, the bolt embedded itself into the beast's calf, sending into stumbling.

It shrieked, screamed and sobbed in agony, noises bordering on almost human-like as it thrashed on the floor. The arrow stuck straight up, bright color on the end almost a beacon for the beast's location. Poor thing. He really should've just aimed for the head and put it out of its mercy, but this was the only way to ensure a clean shot.

Eugene slid off his horse, crouching low to the ground as he readied the final blow. But as he got nearer, as the moon hung lower in the sky, providing light through the filtering trees. He hesitated.

The beast was crawling, still trying to run, front legs pawing at the forest floor and clenching the leaves beneath with hands.

Hands...?

Eugene's stomach sank, lower and lower with each passing step, heart climbing higher and higher in his throat, the closer he got, the more ill he felt.

He saw the chains first. No, not chains like that on a cattle’s neck. Prison shackles, the kind wrapped around a prisoner's legs. And they were wrapped around legs, keeping strides from being too large.

And their torso.... clothed torso..... The beast heaved, each breath causing it to rise and fall with rapid panic.

The Captain's hands brushed against the tree with his other bolt embedded in it, eyes trailing onto it, and he froze.

Blue hair, stabbed by the bolt.

"No," he breathed. "No no no no no..." His boots picked up the pace, speed walking over to his catch, to his victim. Please, for the love of god, let him be wrong. Let this be a cruel prank, just a bear or deer dressed up to fool him... don't let it be...!

The creature heard him approach and sobbed, flipping itself over on shaking hands to get a better look at its assailant.

There, lightened by the moonlight, chest heaving, tears streaming down his face and blood oozing from his leg, was Varian.

"Varian....?" Eugene whispered, tears of his own budding when his friend whimpered, scooting back and away. With each step forward Varian scrambled back until his back hit a tree, at which point he curled into a ball. Like a frightened animal. Like a cornered beast.

Oh god... this whole time, he thought it was just one of the farm animals marked for slaughter, or a meddlesome woodland critter... he thought it was an animal destined for someone's table, so why not the guards'? Why on Earth did he agree to this? Was he so desperate for approval from his peers that he would simply shrug off the ringing alarm bells, put aside his gut instinct, and dive in blindly?

Yes, his mind whispered. You would, and you did.

"Hey, buddy," He leaned down, inching closer. "Varian, goggles, it's me. It's Team Awesome." His hand shook as he reached forward, but Varian flinched violently, causing his leg to spasm. The boy hiccuped, a hand clamping over his mouth to stifle his sobs. A small mercy came from the shadows of the night, with it too dark for details, Varian wouldn't see the blood rapidly soaking his pants.

The crossbow glinted, a sharp refraction bouncing off frightened blue eyes and causing him to wince. Eugene tossed the weapon away like it burned him.

"It's me, it's Eugene," he reassured, scooting closer bit by bit. "I'm here to help. I'm not gonna hurt you."

"You did," Varian gasped, whole form shaking. "You did."

And that really was the crux of it, wasn't it? At the center of Eugene's self loathing was the spiral of guilt that you shot him, you shot the kid. He trusted you, and you shot him.

"I know," he rasped, trying to keep his voice level. "I did. I'm so sorry. Fuck, I'm so sorry." Varian sobbed, unfurling slightly if only to reach out for comfort. Even if this was the man who hurt him, who hunted him on horse and acted as the boogeyman straight out of nightmares, he was also Eugene, his friend, the one who stood up for him against Cass and Aaron, held his hand and promised he'd be there if Varian ever needed it. And god did he need him now.

Shaking, gloved hands connected in the middle, Eugene's grip gentle but grounding, a careful smile on his face. "That's it, bud. You're safe."

“Aw, ain’t that cute?”

Faster than a bullet, the smaller hand retracted, Varian’s eyes wide and horror-struck. In his attempt to comfort the boy, Eugene had let his guard down. He’d forgotten the final rule of the game.

No one moves until you make the first shot.

They were surrounded.

Aaron swaggered up to the duo with a grin, torch in hand. It flickered and sputtered, illuminating his blinding white grin amidst the darkness. The other guards formed a circle around them. Every other man carried a torch, while the rest had a weapon or tool or rope.

“The Captain has captured the beast! And in remarkable time, too.” Aaron simpered, waltzing up and gripping Varian’s cheeks in his hand. The boy snarled, teeth grit as he stared up at his bully.

From behind them came Aaron’s two buddies, the guards from before, each one wrapping an arm around Eugene’s shoulder, hauling him up and away.

For a moment, Eugene's insides were pure ice, frozen in time, unable to react despite the screaming in his mind as the puzzle pieces failed to connect. They jumbled and sloshed in his mind, the picture only half complete and the rest of the pieces strewn atop, obscuring the image from his view.

"Eugene...?" Varian whispered, thawing him.

"What have you done!?" He bellowed, anger hardening his voice. "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" He strained against the guards.

"Just as we told you, sir!" Aaron mocked, forcing Varian to meet the Captain's gaze. "We captured a beast for you to hunt down! And now that you have," The grin was razor sharp, shark's fangs practically drenched in blood. "We'll dispose of it properly."

A guard from the circle threw a rope, the ends tied into a loop. Like a ring toss, the aim was true, ensnaring Varian's wrist and tightening when he pulled. Another guard followed suit, yanking the boy back and forth till his arms were spread eagle and unable to move.

Varian turned a stark white, paler than the moon that neared the horizon. He cried out, straining to try and escape, but another spasm from his leg paralyzed him. “N-no, please not again…!” He sobbed. “Let me go-!”

"Again!? Varian, what do you mean? VARIAN!" Eugene yelled. "VARIAN!"

The boy screwed his eyes shut, praying for the nightmare to end.

"LET HIM GO!" Eugene strained against the guards, lamenting once again, his own stupidity. He should've brought Max, or an actual weapon, like his sword, or something! He'd gone in totally blind, expecting that the guards were decent people and that this wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary. Honestly, he should've known better! After everything he's seen and done, never leave the house without a concealed weapon! You were almost executed by half these assholes!

When he gets back, he's firing everyone except Stan and Pete.

A third rope flashed through the air, this time with a loop larger than the others. It latched itself onto Varian's neck, wrapping tight and close. His eyes snapped open in pure terror, mouth opening in shock. But before the boy could protest or scream, the rope was pulled taut, and his face turned an awful shade of purple. He coughed, thrashing in place with tears of fear and hypoxia trailing his cheeks.

"Aw, the beast is scared! Doesn't he know how all animals are slaughtered?" Aaron cooed, faux sympathy marring his features. "You know, don't you? You were raised on a farm, after all." His question went unanswered, Varian too busy rasping for breath to respond.

The man with the rope pulled harder, forcing Varian's face down into the dirt where his muffled cries barely caused the leaves beneath to move. A steel boot stomped onto his head, and the cries went still.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?" Eugene bellowed, the protective instincts in his mind going haywire, overheating and exploding with pure rage and an intense need to save him, free him. He let this happen, if he had been smarter, stronger, if he hadn't shot him, hadn't let his guard down, hadn't shrugged and taken the guards' words at face value… “Oh relax, it'll be painless!” Aaron hummed, producing a knife from his belt. “The beast didn’t answer the question, but, I’m sure you can figure out how animals are killed after falling unconscious.” He jokingly slashed the dagger in the air above his throat, and Eugene saw red.

"YOU ARE SO FIRED!" He screeched at Aaron. "WHEN RAPUNZEL FINDS OUT-"

"Oh?" Aaron mocked, turning around and placing a hand to his chest daintily. "When the princess finds out? You're making her do all the heavy lifting?" He sauntered up to Eugene, hips swaying with each step till they were nose to nose. "This is your job, sir. You are in charge of keeping us in line, keeping the prisoners in their place."

"Varian is NOT a prisoner," Eugene hissed, meeting his gaze with pure fury. "He is a friend, my friend, my brother."

"Perhaps to Eugene Fitzherbert, but not a Captain of the Guard." Aaron shrugged.

Eugene lowered his head. For a brief moment, Aaron grinned victoriously. Now he's getting it.

"Too bad for you, I'm both."

Aaron's face fell, the cheerful facade falling into a brutal glower. "What does that mea-"

He was cut off when Eugene slammed his face into Aaron's, hitting the bastard's nose with a CRUNCH. He staggered back, and his buddies loosened their grip on Eugene to see if he's ok. It's all the advantage Eugene needed, quickly pushing them both off him and charging Aaron. His shoulder bowled into Aaron, sending him sprawling, and Eugene only stopped to grab the dagger he dropped before sprinting for Varian's crumpled form.

"Oh sun, please be ok, come on kid," Eugene chanted, slashing the rope around his neck. It leaves a brutal ring of red around his neck, as do the ones around his wrist when they're dispatched. There was no time to remove the chains, what with the remaining guards quickly regaining their senses and gearing up for a fight.

He lifted Varian up into his arms as if he were made of glass. Dark black hair lolled against the Captain's chest as he stood to his full height, glaring down at his employees, the hazers, the conspirators.

There was no hope of taking them all on, that much was clear. Charging into battle with hands full and armed only with a knife was stupid. He'd have to outrun them, play the game, and make it to Old Corona where Quirin could protect his son and he could get actual backup from loyal men.

Perhaps this was the true game, the true test of his worthiness.

Aaron snarled, staggering up while clutching his nose. "GET HIM!"

Eugene crouched, letting the first guard try and charge him before jumping out of the way at the last second. This he was used to, dodging men who wanted nothing more than to hurt and destroy what he held dear, making a run for it to the relative safety of the familiar. He fell into the old routine without too much difficulty, leaping over heads and ducking under blows. It helped that Varian barely weighed more than a few grapes, still a stick from his year in prison. He and the others had been hard at work trying to help him gain at the very least some muscle, though Varian was a big fan of skipping meals for science.

According to Quirin he's had that habit for a while, and right now it was a minor blessing.

Huh, he thought to himself as he dodged a crossbow bolt, taking off into the trees. Captain of the Guard isn't all that off from my usual life, just with some added benefits. Another arrow nearly took off his ear. Yea, same old stuff.

His feet pounded against the forest floor, dredging up leaves and dirt alike as he ran. There was no time to cover his tracks or be discreet, there was a whole battalion after him, so it wouldn't do much good anyway. But as his steps quickened, as Varian bounced up and down in his arms, the chains still rattling, the boy stirred, groaning in pain with each motion.

"Gene...?" He mumbled, muffled through the man’s coat.

"Hey kid," Eugene grinned down, not slowing for a second. "Glad to see you're ok. How's your throat?"

"On fire..." a weak hand pawed at his throat, rubbing the soreness away.

"Sorry about that, you're gonna be just fine, ok? It's all gonna be ok."

Varian hummed, eyes glossy and not fully there. His head fell back onto Eugene's chest, a soft smile full of love that he didn't deserve. "K. I trust you."

Varian fell back into an uneasy sleep after that, his breaths wheezing against Eugene, lips stained blue and face clammy. Anytime exhaustion tried to creep into his bones, tried to sneak into his soul and drain him to surrender, he looked down at Varian and his spirit would renew.

At some point, they were hiding behind a tree, keeping to the intense darkness. A few guards could be heard not too far off, their annoyed mutterings like an alarm bell, a siren's song of false security. Just as they passed, Varian coughed, clutching at the fabric for comfort. It was an ugly sound, weak and ragged, as if there was something coming up.

When he looked down, those blue lips were now stained red.

He picked up the pace after that.

But even he couldn't run forever, no matter how light Varian was or how determined he was. Inevitably he had to stop for water, hiding Varian behind a fallen tree and drinking from a stream whose sounds hid them from view.

He just finished his own drink when Varian stirred, and the Captain was quick to help Varian get some water of his own.

They sat by the stream for a bit, catching their breaths, Eugene from exertion, and Varian from strangulation.

It was here that Varian recounted his side of the story, tears dripping and mixing with the stream below him. "I was so scared..." he whispered, voice hoarse.

"I bet," Eugene soothed, running a thumb over Varian's palm. "What happened?"

"....I got jumped," his eyes turned downcast, shame coloring his features. "T-they grabbed me when I was gonna head home. Said that they wanted to make it up to me, to... to give me "a job befitting my talents"...." He sighed. "You can probably guess what that was, huh."

Eugene's ears burned. A flame simmered in his gut, nausea falling away as his free hand clenched at the leaves below him. "Yea. I can." He bit out.

For a moment, neither spoke, unsure of what to say. What could they say? The situation was insane, it was cruel, it was... it was…

Varian hacked, more blood than before coming up and splattering on the shackles that remained.

"Oh, let me get those," Eugene hissed. "I'm sorry, shit," He fumbled for his pockets, procuring a lock pick and making quick work of the shackles. "We gotta move. We can't let them find us." His hands hovered over the bolt, unsure. "Can I... I mean, you can't run with..."

Varian turned a shade of green, barely visible. “It’s stopping the blood from coming out.”

"Yea, good point, sorry." He coughed awkwardly, the stream bubbling and gurgling a simple melody.

"Why do... why do you keep apologizing?" Varian asked, not meeting Eugene's eye for a second.

"Wh- seriously?" He let out a bark of laughter, fading when Varian's face didn't change. "Kid, it's my fault you're in this mess! Sun above, I shot you. I said I'd keep you safe and I shot you." Anger swelled in his words, but Varian didn't flinch. He knew it wasn't directed at him. "Some Captain I am, I'm being chased by my own guys."

Varian bit his lip. "Did..." he hesitated to ask. If the answer wasn't what he was hoping for, he'd never recover. "Did you know it was me?"

"No!" Eugene's eyes widened. "No, I never would've agreed if I knew it was a person, let alone you!" He ran a hand through frazzled hair.

"So..." Varian hummed. "You shot me on accident, and then saved me. Again. Even when your men tried to convince you otherwise." Each sentence was slow, filled with Varian needed to take in a breath, but he met his friend's eyes this time. "I think that's a pretty good Captain."

Eugene blinked, then smiled. "Thanks, kid."

Dark voices shouted across the clearing, words incomprehensible. Varian jolted, hands flying up before doubling over hacking. Each cough shook his body so hard you’d think the boy was trembling with fright.

“Woah, easy,” Eugene’s hand rubbed over his back. “Deep breaths. Come on goggles. You got this.”

“You would think,” Varian rasped. “But I do not.”

Finally, with one final hack, his coughs ceased. Each gulp of air felt like heaven, or at least it did for the first few seconds. Then it was replaced by a searing hell, leaving him scrambling again.

God, what is the culprit?

As his breathing quieted, as the burn turned to a small simmer, Varian’s eyes trailed to the forest floor beneath him.

Stained with blood.

Varian’s eyes widened, his pupils shrunk to pinpricks as his entire world focused in on the blood. The dark blues of night left it hard to see, more a black shine than the vicious red, but there was no denying what it was.

“What-oooh,” Eugene hissed, grabbing Varian’s shoulders for support. Shit, this was bad. He made a mental list of symptoms for the inevitable doctor visit: raspy voice, struggling to breathe, coughing up blood... all signs pointed to the noose as the culprit. Whichever guard had tried to strangle Varian was getting fired and arrested.

No, screw it, all of them were.

“Focus on me, hair stripe,” he warned, shaking his brother slightly. “Are you ok to move?” All he got was a weedy moan.  “I’m taking that as a maybe.” With no preamble, he scooped his arms under Varian’s knees and back, pulling him into his arms as he stood in one fluid motion. “I’m gonna try and make a run for it, ok? We’re almost to your dad. I just need you to stay with me.”

Silence, and then a faint nod moving against his coat.

Each step sent vibrations up Eugene’s spine, tingling and thrumming in his veins and pounding in time with his heart. The sun would be rising soon, it had to be, with the dew that is forming at his feet.

At some point Varian readjusted, shifting so that he could see over their shoulders. He couldn’t run, couldn’t fight, but at least he could keep an eye out.

And it’s a good thing he did, when he beats wildly at Eugene’s chest in a signal. The captain was about to duck behind a bush, but the forest’s edge is within sight! Maybe if they made a break for it...?

An arrow grazed his side.

The pain looped through his system, joining the adrenaline for a joyride through his mind and it sent him sprawling. Varian rolled out of his arms, collapsing at the forest’s edge.

Eugene groaned, raising his face with the sun to see Aaron’s smug grin glowing in the upcoming dawn.

“Well, look what I caught! A daddy beast and a baby beast!” He said.

Eugene gaped. “Could you be any creepier? Really, gotta go for the weirdest shit to say, don’t you?”

“Eh,” Aaron shrugged, crossbow in hand. He stepped past his boss (Er, ex boss), boots crunching on leaves and leaving nothing but dust in their wake. “I’m a weird guy, I guess.”

“Yea, a real weirdo. Kidnaps a teenager and has the captain hunt him for sport. A nice quirk, ain’t it!” Each word is angrier than before until he is spitting acid.

Aaron doesn’t even argue; he’s too caught up in his victory. Varian shook as he struggled to sit up, arms quivering with effort. Just as he raised his head his eyes met the gleaming tip of an arrow, aimed right between the eyes. “Say goodnight, kid. Don’t worry. I’ll make a fine trophy out of you. Hang your goggles over my mantle.”

“Would you knock it the fuck off!?” Eugene wheezed, scrambling up. His feet gave out near instantly, but he leapt forward, colliding with the guard and driving his aim up. The arrow whizzed overhead, harmlessly lodging into a tree.

“Varian, run!” Eugene yelled, still on top of the other.

“I CAN’T! What part of arrow in my leg don’t you get!?” Varian yelled, immediately followed by coughing.

Eugene went to answer, only for the butt of the crossbow to whack him in the face.

Aaron laughed, loud and manic, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. It was quickly stopped by a punch to his stomach from the furious man above him. If the others found them, it’d be game over. Literally.

Whether or not Eugene would be killed was unclear. While he didn’t always need Rapunzel to save him, her good graces granted him immunity from most local threats. But they’d definitely kill Varian, and that was the bigger concern to him.

Unfazed, Aaron slammed his skull into Eugene’s, sending him tearing back. The guard quickly flipped them, crossbow still in between.

“Face it,” Aaron snarled. “You’ll never be a true captain. You can’t control your men, can’t protect a kid, can’t even protect yourself. You just got the job because you saved the lost princess.”

“In my defense,” Eugene wheezed. “Your previous guard couldn’t do that either.” That only angered him more, digging the crossbow into Eugene’s Adam’s apple.

The two men wrestled briefly, Eugene finally getting a good grip on the crossbow, and kicking Aaron off of him. He scrambled to Varian, fully prepared to scoop him up and begin the dance again, just for a little longer, but Aaron just yelled out in anger, drawing a sword from his belt. As strong as Eugene was, he couldn’t outrun him with Varian in his arms. He would know, he trained his men to match him in speed and strength.

Varian moaned in pain. He had to do something, he couldn’t just sit here! Eugene had spent the whole night running around, working his ass off to keep him safe after the initial mistake, he couldn’t let him down...

But the arrow scraped against his bone, pain sending stars across his vision any time he stood…

The captain’s hands clenched down on wood, eyes calculating. He looked into Varian’s eyes, then down at his leg. Then up again. And down again. He hissed between teeth, kneeled down, and clenched his fist around the arrow. It sent a pulse of pain through Varian’s leg, the boy wincing, but understanding.

“Do it,” he hissed.

And yanked.

The pain was so sharp, so intense, that for a moment Varian was certain he was dead. There was no way anyone could survive with this much pain, he must surely be dead or dying. White hot agony stabbed into his leg, and he bit so hard on his lip he broke skin. It took everything in him not to scream.

Aaron laughed again, shadow blanketing them. Eugene turned to see him looming over them, sword above his head. “Say goodnight, Sir!” he shrieked.

Fwip!

Thunk!

The man’s grin vanished in an instant, replaced by sheer shock at the arrow sticking straight into his throat. Blood trickled down the wound, looking more like an impulse tracheotomy. Suddenly, he pitched forward, face hitting the forest floor with a sickening shick as the arrow went the rest of the way through his throat. There wasn’t even a struggle, no death rattles or cry of pain, just the sounds of a morning dove in the coming dawn.

Eugene’s shoulders slumped, and Varian leaned back into the cool grass.

“You doing alright there, Goggles?” Eugene called.

“My lungs are on fire, I can’t feel my legs and I’m sweating in places I didn’t even know I could sweat. I’d say I’m in the mood to die, but I literally just spent the whole night trying to prevent that.”

“...fair enough.”

-

The weeks that followed were, for lack of a better term, a total fucking nightmare.

After pulling themselves together, the brothers managed to hobble to Varian’s house in Old Corona, just in time to greet Quirin at the door. Imagine the poor man’s shock when he was headed out to work only to be greeted by his son’s blood and the captain’s exhaustion. Suffice to say, they got a proper tongue lashing the whole cart ride to Corona proper, the father fussing over them both while he rushed them to the infirmary. And then they had to get chewed out by Rapunzel, and Lance, and pretty much everyone else, despite their repeated insistence that it wasn’t their fault this time.

“What did you expect us to do? We were being hunted!” Eugene whined at Rapunzel while a nurse cleaned up a cut.

“Uh, I was being hunted. You were hunting me .” Varian hoarsely piped up from his own bed, leg propped up in a cast. He paused at the frantic stop motion Eugene was making, and the paling faces of his father and princess. “Oh. Was I. Not supposed to say that.”

“You’re not supposed to be talking,” Rapunzel chided lightly, though that was clearly not the problem. The doctor had been pretty quick to explain Varian’s breathing issues were just from the throat trauma, and would heal with time and supervision.

“I didn’t know! In my defense,” Eugene held up his hands as if to shield from Quirin’s murderous face, but if looks could kill he’d be a pile of bones. “I didn’t know.”

“How do you…” Quirin pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m going to remind myself that you saved my son’s life and ignore the part where you endangered it in the first place.”

“Yes, please do,” He said, shifting under the glare.

And then came the paperwork.

Trying to figure out who among the guards was part of the hunt was hard enough, seeing as outside of Aaron and his cronies, no one was going to say a word. All they had to go off of were the men who saw Eugene off, and the ones who initially captured Varian. And since they hadn’t run into anyone else directly, no one could be properly accused and charged. But Eugene wasn’t going to take any chances, and therefore anyone who he saw at least once was fired, and if they wanted to dispute it they could come to him and explain why they were willing to throw his little brother to the wolves.

Suffice to say, no one did. Which left Eugene with only two thirds his original squadron. He spent a good while of his recovery vetting new recruits and creating incentives for others to try out, and while he was able to replenish his ranks, they weren’t nearly the same elite task force they’d started with. And considering the threats they faced on the regular, that was a serious problem.

It was after a long day of training and interviews that Eugene finally stumbled into the castle library, ready to destress with a nice long binge read of Flynn Rider. He grabbed a few books off the shelves as he walked, headed for his favorite couch and the cozy fireplace at its side, only to stop dead in his tracks.

Varian lay spread across the couch, foot propped up on the armrest as he glossed over some scientific text that Eugene had no hope of understanding. His eyes flitted up and down the page, clearly not actually reading and more just staring at the words.

“Hey,” Eugene called, and Varian barely reacted. “Oi, kid, that’s my spot. Scooch it.” “I got here first,” Varian said, not looking up for a second.

“Older brother gets first dibs.”

“Little brother gets his way.”

Oh he was gonna play it like that was he? Eugene smirked, plopping his books down at the floor before collapsing directly on top of Varian, making care to not crush the injured leg. Varian squawked in protest, limbs flailing.

“Get off! You’re heavy!” he yelled, trying to push him off. When that failed, he resorted to whacking at him.

“Never!” Eugene laughed. “Your little punches feel like flowers!”

“I have an iron deficiency!” Varian responded, cheeks red but smiling slightly. The captain finally stopped suffocating him, but didn’t get off, instead wiggling in close so they could share. “Mean,” Varian whined, a pout on his lips, but didn’t complain.

“Oh hush,” Eugene chided, grabbing a book from the floor. “You know you love me.”

Varian simply hummed, buck teeth peeking through a tiny grin. “So, what did you grab for today?”

“Ah, glad you asked!” Eugene held up the cover, which Varian oohed in appreciation. “One of the older ones, came out when I was your age.” He wrapped an arm around Varian, pulling his brother close, the warmth of his side and the fire combining to create a heavenly cocoon. “You want to read, or should I?”

“Your turn,” Varian responded, stifling a yawn.

The book creaked in protest, Eugene gazing down at his little brother with a smile. He leaned his cheek on the boy’s hair, deep voice dripping with fondness as he started to read.

Being Captain was fun, but being a brother was even better.

[bitchloveskcbaseball]

Tripping Over Myself

Pairing: Logan x OC (Charlotte Wheeler)

Summary: Charlotte’s not the best at communicating and it gets her in a bit of trouble. (takes place shortly after Drawn to a Flame)

Warnings: Language. Lots and lots of language. Seriously...so many f-words. lol Also, mentions of her previous car accident (it’s not super detailed, but it is brought up a few times) and her resulting injuries.

Word Count: 5525. I swear ... I was certain this was going to be nothing more than maybe 2k words. And then this happened and the thing that I wanted to happen in this fic didn’t even happen so that’s fun lol

Logan belongs to Pixelberry, but the other two lovelies are all mine.

A/N #1: This was written for @rodappreciationweek​ MC day. And sticking with the theme from the first two pieces in this series, I have pulled the title from the lyrics of Shawn Mendes’s Stitches.

Also... a huge huge thank you to @burnsoslow for reading a piece of this that had me chasing my tail for what seemed like forever and fixing it for me. You are the best!!

“Hey hey hey! The hell you think you’re doin?”

Freezing mid step to turn back around to where Paul was glaring at her from his now-seated position where he'd rolled out from under her car on his creeper, Charlotte scrunched her nose up in confusion. “You were bitchin’ that you didn’t have your 3/8 down there. Figured I’d grab it so you’d stop muttering to yourself.”

“I had one rule for letting you stay after you showed up here today. And I made it explicitly clear.”

“But – “

“No. No buts.”

“C’mon Paul! You can’t seriously expect me to sit on that damn stool the entire time we’re here. I am fully capable of walking to the toolbox and grabbing a goddamn socket!”

“Lottie, sweetheart. You are still healing. You need to take it easy.” Instead of the calming effect she was sure he was shooting for, the soft gentleness of Paul’s voice just reminded her of an adult trying to calm a child who was in the middle of throwing a massive tantrum. And that ratcheted her mild frustration up until she was actually throwing a damn fit.

“For fuck’s sake! I know I’m fucking hurt. But I’m not a complete invalid. I don’t think me taking three fucking steps across this damn storage unit and picking up a tool that weighs a few ounces is going to do me in when a fucking slab of concrete didn’t!” Her hands flew up to steeple across her nose and mouth. “Shit. Paul – “

Gaze firmly locked on his white-knuckled grip on his wrench, Paul cut her off with a slight shake of his head. “Nah. It’s … it’s fine, sweetheart.”

In two shaky steps, Charlotte was across the unit and gingerly kneeling in front of him. Slowly, as if she were approaching a spooked cat, she eased the wrench out of his hold so she could wrap his hand in her own. “No. It’s not ‘fine.’ I … I shouldn’t have said that. I promised I’d stop acting so nonchalant about the accident.” Before he could interject, she nudged his knee with her own. “Shush, lover. I really am so incredibly sorry. I shouldn’t have lashed out like that. You’re only trying to look out for me. And I appreciate that more than I could ever say.”

Finally lifting his head from staring at the floor between them, Paul’s teary eyes met hers, twisting her heart even harder. In barely a whisper, he asked, “The hell did you have to go there for?”

Letting out a harsh sigh, Charlotte stood up and whirled around. It was a motion she instantly regretted when every thing went a little off kilter and her vision started to swim. Ugh! Not this shit again. She fought against the urge to lean against the work bench to her right, not wanting Paul to decide that she needed to be taken home: that was the last place she wanted to be at that particular moment.

“Lottie?”

Finally giving up any thoughts she'd had of blowing off his question with the pretense of being fine, she practically exploded, “Ugh. I’m just … I’m so fucking tired of all the hovering!” Her fist closed around one of the lug-nut caps that were lined up on the bench, waiting patiently for the new wheels and tires that had yet to be ordered to be installed. The urge to hurl it at the closed roll-up door was only eclipsed by the desire to not mar its mirror-like finish: finding replacements that matched the original set from L.A. was hard enough the first time and she certainly didn’t want to have to do it again because she'd briefly lost her damn mind. So she forced herself to replace it into its previous spot and let out another, albeit quieter, sigh. “Look … I love Logan, ok? Like all that head over heels, all my heart bullshit? I feel all of it for him. With him. But fuck it all. He has barely given me six inches to breathe since he showed up in my damn living room. I know it's only been a few weeks, but it has felt like years and not in a good way. I mean, I had to sneak out of my own fucking home just to come down here today!”

“Sweetheart – “

“I know. And I get it. I scared the shit out of him. Hell, I scared the shit outta both of you guys. But … “ Finally turning back around – slowly and carefully this time -- to face Paul again, she let her shoulders sag. “I can’t live with someone micromanaging every second of my day. Every move I make. I … I cannot go back to that kinda life.”

Stepping up to stand in front of her, Paul gently rubbed his hands up and down her upper arms. “Have you talked to him? Told him all this?”

She laughed bitterly. “I have tried. So many times over the past few weeks. But every time I try to bring this or anything remotely related to the accident up, he just completely shuts down on me.” Voice breaking with the tears she was fighting to hold back, she muttered, “I can’t lose him again. But I can’t keep doing this either.”

“C’mere.” Careful of her still-casted arm and still-tender ribs, he wrapped his arms around her. Instinctively she tucked her face against his neck, letting his presence soothe her. After several silent moments, he pressed a kiss to her temple and asked, “You want me to talk to him ‘bout it?”

“As much as I would love for you to do that … you can’t. I have to be the one to get through to him if this is really going to work between us.”

Tightening his hug ever-so-slightly, Paul kissed her temple again. “I’m so proud of you, Lottie.”

“For what?”

“The girl I met a lil over a year ago would never.”

Pushing back from him enough to see his face, she narrowed her eyes at him as she tried to decipher his meaning. When she came up empty, she questioned him, point blank, “The hell nonsense are you talkin’ about?”

“When you first started pestering me at the sideshows, trying to bully me into giving you a spot in one of the races. You had everything so locked down, I’m not sure a stick of dynamite would have gotten you to open up. Even after I succumbed to my still-ongoing case of Stockholm Syndrome oof – “ using her cast to knock him in the stomach may not have been her smartest idea, but it was still an effective form of retaliation – “and we started hanging out more, you kept most of your feelings tucked away in that vault. I mean, sure, you eventually let me in, little by little … but, my point is, I’m proud of you for admitting how you are feeling.”

Despite the way her eyes rolled exaggeratedly, she couldn’t keep her lips from twitching with the smile threatening to break out across her face. “Would you shut up already?”

“Only after we circle back to that bit about you sneaking out to come down here. Thought you said Logan drove you?”

“Um … how ‘bout we go back to you singing my praises?” All she got in response was a stare down from Paul, so she relented with a sigh. “Fine. I noticed Logan had dozed off, so I slipped out and called a cab to bring me down.” When his eyes went wide, she held up her free hand and quickly added, “I left him a note. I’m not the one that just vanishes without a trace.” The venom in her words caught even her by surprise.

“Maybe without a trace. But never without a conversation.”

“Ugh.” Charlotte’s head fell forward so that her forehead was resting against his chest, grumbling, “Thought you were ‘posed to be my friend and stick up for me?” He shot her a knowing look, but she continued on before he could launch into the spiel she'd already heard dozens of times before. “Fine. Ok. You win. Save the damn lecture and put the time to better use. Say … running me home?”

Laughing, Paul retorted, “Bout freakin’ time, sweetheart.”

A short time later, Paul was pulling up to the curb in front of her apartment building. Mind already running through the things that she needed to say to Logan as she reached for the door handle, she jumped when Paul’s hand came to rest lightly on her shoulder. “Don’t I even get a ‘goodbye’ or ‘thank you’ first?”

“Shit! I’m sorry! Thank you so much. For letting me hang. For forcing me to talk this shit out. For bringing my ass home.”

Chuckling indulgently, he told her, “You’re welcome. For everything.” She once again started to climb from the car, but stopped when he continued, “But, I need you to promise me that you won’t sneak out like this again.”

Chuckling indulgently, she shrugged her shoulders and opened her door before tossing back, “I would, but I don’t make promises I’m not sure I can keep.”

The glare she got in response was stern, but the effect was all but negated by the warmth in his voice as he threatened, “Fine. Lemme put it to ya this way, sweetheart. If you do it again, I’m dumping your ass. For real.”

She waited until she’d stepped out and up onto the sidewalk before she turned around to say, “It’s so adorable when you act like you could live without me, lover,” before turning to walk through the front door, blowing him a kiss from over her shoulder.

As she crossed the lobby towards the elevator bank, her eyes caught on the Out of Service sign and she let out a groan. Despite her annoyance, Charlotte didn’t blink an eye before heading for the staircase, figuring it was only a minor inconvenience. Especially since, at her last appointment, the first thing she’d asked once her doctor had mentioned that she was good to start easing back into very light physical activity was if she was okay to take the stairs to her apartment, because the ancient elevators were constantly having issues and she knew that having the freedom to move around more meant nothing if she couldn’t get in and out of her damn apartment. While he wasn’t exactly thrilled at the prospect, he assured her that she’d be fine so long as she took it slowly and carefully. Still, she knew even with the green light from her doctor, it was going to feel like a trek after having spent so long doing little more than traversing the path between her bed and her couch.

True to her expectations, by the time she’d gotten to the second floor, she was definitely more winded than she’d usually be and her entire body was beginning to take on that achy feel of being suddenly being forced to work. But neither of those things is what had her slumping against the wall with a white-knuckled grip on the handrail. No, that was brought on by the way the world had seemingly begun to spin around her, setting her completely off balance.

What could have been five minutes or five hours later, she chanced peeking an eye open, but the vibrant mosaic tile pattern of the stairs was still swirling and swimming about in front of her, causing her to slam it back closed and drop her head back – gently – against the wall. Frustrated that the only change in how she felt was the deep churning and roiling in her gut, she finally acknowledged that she wasn’t going to be making it up the rest of the way on her own and pulled her phone from her pocket to call Logan.

Without opening her eyes, she placed her finger over the fingerprint reader, waiting for the digital clicking sound that signaled it had been unlocked, but it never came. Steeling herself for the unsettling sensations that were about to wash over her, she once again peeled an eye open and pressed the power button to wake up the screen. A loud groan escaped her when the screen remained dark, reminding her that she had forgotten to charge it the night before.

Faced with the unsettling choice of either continuing on in spite of the vertigo – which seemed risky, even by her standards – or staying in her spot for who knows how long until the episode passed, Charlotte couldn’t hold back the sobs building in the back of her throat or the tears welling in the corners of her eyes as she slid down the wall to sit on the step. All she wanted, with a desperation she hadn’t felt since those first few weeks after he'd walked away the last time in L.A., was for Logan to wrap her in his arms. To whisper all of his sweet reassurances in her ear. To be the calm and steady force that centered her through the storm.

Almost as if her longing thoughts had conjured him, he was suddenly there, hands running gently over her arms and then brushing away her tears as he rattled off question after question, not leaving her space to actually answer one before moving on to the next. It was just as well, however, considering her addled mind couldn’t seem to make any sort of sense out of the words, choosing instead to latch onto the strained breathlessness with which they were uttered.

Wanting, or rather needing, to reassure him that, while she felt awful, she was wasn’t in mortal danger, she blindly reached out until her fingers brushed against the familiar, well-worn softness of his favorite denim shirt. As she ran her fingers across what she recognized as his chest, his free hand came up to tangle gently in her hair and she sank into the touch. A beat later, his forehead was resting against hers and she couldn’t have missed the shudder that ran through his body or the shaky exhale that passed his lips if she’d tried.

Charlotte’s fingers curled around the button-lined edge of shirt and she whispered, “It’s okay baby. I’m okay,” so softly she was surprised when she felt his answering scoff fan across her face, confirming that he had actually heard her.

Instead of a snarky retort or censuring lecture she was expecting to hear, the next words out of Logan’s mouth were simply, “You good if I pick you up?”

Her eyes shot open at the almost frigid indifference in his voice and the sight in front of her knocked the wind out of her like a punch to the gut. His brows were deeply furrowed and his lips were pursed together so tightly that they were barely visible. It was one thing to know that he was worried and upset – she’d felt it in his every tentative touch -- but it was something else entirely to see it.

Wanting nothing more than to ease some of his tension, she trailed her fingers up from his chest along the side of his neck and face, across his forehead until she could smooth them along the deep-set lines running between his eyebrows. It was a left-over habit from when she’d briefly moved into his loft in L.A., one that had never failed to relax him. This time, unfortunately, it didn’t have the same effect and her heart sunk just a little bit deeper into her stomach. Feeling defeated, she let her hand, along with her gaze, drop back down to her lap as she answered his question, “Yeah. I think the dizziness is mostly gone now. So long as we take it slow, I should be fine.”

Without hesitation, Logan pulled back enough to push himself up out of his crouch and it took everything she had not to whine at the loss. Within seconds, he was leaning back down to wrap one arm around her back while the other slid underneath her knees. Instinctively, Charlotte wrapped her free arm around his neck and as soon as she did, he was standing back up and tucking her against his chest, making sure to be mindful of both the strap of the sling across her back and the bulkiness of her cast. He spared her one glance with a raised eyebrow, but immediately averted his eyes when she assured him, “I’m good.”

Despite the way that he was cradling her so carefully in his arms as he carried her up the next two flights of stairs, with what seemed like no effort at all, it felt to her as if there was an entire canyon between them. Not once did he look down at her. Not once did he even twitch as if he was thinking of dropping a kiss to the top of her head. Not once did he open his mouth as if to say something to her. Even when she had to drop her head against his shoulder as a wave of nausea threatened to overwhelm her, the heavy silence remained.

As soon as they were back inside the apartment, Logan settled her gently onto the couch then turned to grab his pillow and a blanket from the pile of bedding he made each morning when he folded the pull-out away. Wordlessly, he tucked the blanket tightly around her – just the way she needs to be able to sleep alone. As he was reaching up to place the pillow beneath her head, she caught his wrist in her hand, whispering his name beneath her breath. Rather than make eye contact with her, he simply shook his head once and slipped away from her grip.

Stung by his rejection, Charlotte didn’t try to stop him again as he left the room. Instead, she curled up into as tight of a ball as she could on her good side, letting the scent of him on the pillow and blanket take over her senses until she was slowly drifting off into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

By the time that she woke up, the living room was cast in complete darkness, save for the bright green LED light letting her know her phone was finished charging. Lotta good that does me now. She blinked a few times in an effort to get her eyes to adjust to the lack of lighting, but still could barely make out the outlines of the rest of the furniture surrounding her. Even still, she knew Logan wasn’t in the room with her: she could always feel his presence when they were in the same space and that feeling was noticeably absent as she slowly pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the couch.

After giving herself a couple of minutes to make sure she wasn’t going to be dizzy again, she got up and headed towards the kitchen, figuring that would be his most likely location. Sure enough, she found him there, perched on one of the oversized chairs that in no way matched the tiny, shitty-ass excuse for a dining table that he currently had his forearms resting on. He was staring at the wall in front of him so intently that he didn’t even seem to hear her enter the room. Or, at least, that's what she was choosing to believe.

With just a couple more steps, she was able to close the distance between them, allowing her the ability to wrap arms around him from behind. She never made it that far, however, because as soon as her palms made contact with his shoulders, he startled and tensed beneath her touch. She opened her mouth to apologize for scaring him, but he cut her off before she had the chance, seething quietly, “Don’t you dare pull that fucking shit again.”

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t just sneak out without a word and then not answer your damned phone for five hours and expect me to be okay with it!”

“Okay, one? I left you a note telling you where I went. Two? As you clearly have already figured out, my fucking phone was dead. I didn’t even realize it until I was on my way back up here!”

Standing up from the chair so fast that he nearly knocked it – and her – over, Logan whipped around to face her, eyes wild with fury. “So one irresponsibility is just supposed to excuse another?”

Charlotte gave up all pretense of trying to stay calm, throwing her hands up in the air as she shouted, “For fuck’s sake, Logan! You knew where I was! If you were that damned desperate to get ahold of me, why didn’t you just call Paul?”

“I did. He wasn’t answering his goddamn phone either! By the time he finally did pick up, it was over half an hour after he’d dropped you off.” While he’d started off yelling at her in a volume that rivaled her own, Logan had trailed of into little more than a whisper by the time he was done. And that cut her deeper than the loudest insults ever could.

Unsure of how to respond, Charlotte reached up to fiddle with his spark plug necklace. It was something that had become a somewhat-nervous habit for her when he’d given it to her back in L.A. and she’d picked it up again once she’d begun wearing it almost constantly after their reunion. That simple, unthinking motion ended up being the answer to her loss of words, however, when the cool weight of it in her hand, combined with all the emotions running rampant through the room, sparked the memory of how she’d come to possess it in the first place.

“Logan, baby.” She paused, waiting until he looked up from the floor to meet her gaze before continuing gently, “You remember what you told me when you gave this to me?”

He raised an eyebrow at her as if asking her where she was going with this abrupt subject change. When she didn’t give him an answer, he let out a harsh sigh before replying, “Not entirely. I remember it was before the Grapevine job. Something about it keeping you safe like it did for me?”

“Yeah, that was part of it. You also told me how you came to wear it, too. How you'd survived a crash that you probably shouldn’t have.”

Rolling his eyes and throwing his hands up in the air, Logan sniped, “Okay … so? What's the point of this random-ass trip down memory lane?”

“You told me that you’d almost died. In a car accident. Right before we were about to go steal four very expensive sport cars. And we were going to steal them off a car hauler on the freeway, no less.” As if he had suddenly figured out where she was going with this, his eyes widened before narrowing on her. He opened his mouth, but she held up her hand to stop him. “I’m not gonna lie. As much as I was so touched that you were giving me something that meant so much to you? The story behind it fucking terrified me. Because if you – who had been driving so long and had so much skill at it – could wreck like that, what chance did I have at holding up my end of the bargain? Not to mention, just the idea of you getting hurt almost sent me into a tailspin. And I’m not so sure that that wasn’t your plan all along.”

“I – “

Walking over to wrap her arm around his neck, she kissed first his cheek and then his lips briefly and tenderly. When he didn’t tense up or pull away from her, she chanced nuzzling her face into the crook of his neck. “I know, baby. You were just doing whatever you could think of to keep me safe. I understand that. And I understand that the result of me being a complete dumbass during that race scared the shit out of you. But I’m still here. I’m still alive. And today’s episode notwithstanding, I’ve been feeling really good. So this whole, hovering-over-me thing? The it’s-too-dangerous-out-there-thing you’ve been doing? It’s smothering me and I … I just can’t do it. It took me far too long to escape it with Wheeler. Far too long to find the strength to realize that it was okay – more than okay – to be who I wanted to be regardless of whether the people in my life accepted it. So … as much as I hate worrying you, I cannot go back to that old, boring version of myself, the one that never really felt like me, just because it's safer.”

Logan inhaled sharply and hands tightened ever so slightly where they had been resting on her hips since she'd tucked herself into him. A couple long beats passed before he finally muttered, “You know, you seemed to have skipped over the most important part of that story, though.”

Face scrunched up, she asked, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. That wasn’t just me giving you a good luck token. That was me trying to tell you not only to make sure you’re always in control, but also to make sure you learn from life's lessons.”

“I know.”

“Do you, though?”

Taken aback by Logan’s abrasiveness, Charlotte stumbled back a step, only to be met by narrowed eyes boring into her. “I ... I … I do.”

“Sure doesn’t seem like it from where I’m standing.”

“Logan – “

“Do you even realize how fucking stupid that stunt you pulled today was? What if that episode had hit when you were out there on the streets somewhere? All alone?”

Even though she knew his point was valid, Charlotte couldn’t bite back her derisive scoff. “First of all, I was literally by myself when it happened, so yeah, I have a decent idea.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Continuing on as if she hadn’t heard his outburst, she added heatedly, “Second, the only time I was by myself today was on the elevator ride down to the lobby, the walk from my cab to Paul’s storage unit and back here in the stairwell. It’s not like I was fucking gallivanting around the whole goddamn city.”

“For fuck’s sake! It’s not – you know what? Just forget it.” Throwing his hands up, Logan turned to storm out of the room.

“Sure. Just ru … run away. It’s – “ Tears that she refused to let fall clogged her throat and she pressed her lips together in an attempt to gather her composure. She realized, however, that the damage had been done, her stuttering robbing her words of their intended venom, so she pressed on with a watery whisper, “It’s what you do best.”

Practically freezing mid-step, he pivoted back around to face her, hands scrubbing at his face. “Damn it, Char. I’m not running away.” Shoulders falling when she rolled her eyes at him, he quickly closed the distance between them to lace their fingers together and insisted, “I’m not.”

“Then why – “

Without warning, Logan crushed his lips to hers in a kiss that left her short of breath when he finally pulled back just far enough to murmur, “’Cause you refuse to acknowledge how fucking reckless you’ve been and it is frustrating the ever livin’ shit outta me. And it just felt like it was better to walk away than say something I’d regret. Something just to hurt you. I don’t want … I can’t hurt you like that.”

Charlotte pulled back a little bit further to meet him square in the eye. “Future reference? Words are no big deal. You walking away? That’s the shit I can’t handle.”

Tangling his free hand in the hair at the base of her head, he gently pulled her face back so he could feather another kiss across her lips before replying, “Noted.” Another barely-there kiss. “Thing I can’t handle?” A slight tug of her bottom lip between his teeth that pulled a sharp gasp from her. “You not takin’ this shit seriously.”

This time, instead of leaning in again, Logan pulled pack just a bit further. She tried chasing after him, but he maintained their separation until she dropped her head back with a groan.

“You even listenin’ to me?”

“Um … yes?”

“Charlotte.”

“Hey!” She tried to glare at him, but instead ended up giggling, “You were the one distracting me!” When he leaned back in for another kiss, Charlotte dipped back as far as she could. “See! You’re doin’ it again!”

“Answer the question and I’ll stop.”

“What if I don’t want you to stop?”

Shaking his head at her with a familiar and fond smile tugging the corners of his mouth upward, he chuckled, “Okay … Answer the question or I’ll stop.” As if to emphasize his point, he pulled his hand out of hers and untangled his other from her hair to place them both on her hips to keep her planted to her spot when he took a step backwards.

Making sure to soften her words with a smile, Charlotte grumbled, “Ugh. Fine. If you’re gonna be so cruel about it … “ A light pinch pulled another giggle from her. “Okay. Okay. Yes, I heard you.”

“And?”

“And … I get it.” The incredulous look he gave her almost had her flinching. “Look, I get that I haven’t been the most … appreciative for the way that you’ve been taking care of me. And I get that I can’t go back to ‘normal’ just because I want to.”

“Char – “

“Hold up! I’m not finished!” Stopping to heave a frustrated sigh, she continued, “I’m going to do better from here on out. I’m gonna take it easy until the doctors clear me. I’ll do a better job of listening to my body when it starts telling me to take a break. And I’ll stop fighting you so much about it.”

“Not stop all the way, huh?”

“I think we both know me better than that.”

Pressing a kiss to the tip of her nose, he snickered, “Okay, that’s fair. That mean we’re done with this sneaking-out shit, then?”

Raising an eyebrow defiantly, she fired back, “Depends.”

“On?”

“Are you done with all your helicopter shit? Because if you are? Then yes. I’m done sneaking out.”

Logan studied her face with an inscrutable expression on his own for what felt like hours before nodding his head once. “Fine. I’ll chill out so long as you behave.”

Wrapping her arm around his neck with a smile, she told him, “I’m so glad we got that settled. I hate fighting with you.”

“God, me too. Are you as exhausted as I am?”

Charlotte snorted as she dropped her head against his chest. “Oh, my god. You have no idea.”

“Why don’t we call it a night, then?”

The hopefulness in Logan’s voice almost made her snicker, but she managed to smother it by placing a kiss to a spot right above his heart. “That sounds like a great idea, so long as we go together tonight.

The words were barely out of her mouth before he was nodding eagerly and answering, “Done.”

A/N #2: Just in case any one is wondering (since I haven’t written about Paul and Charlotte’s friendship nearly as much as I have wanted to) and also because I just really want to share this tidbit behind Charlotte’s nickname for Paul. When the two of them first started to become friends, the way Paul was always calling her “sweetheart” drove her absolutely crazy for reasons I may actually write about at some point? lol so she decided to retaliate by calling him “lover.” Unfortunately for her, however he didn’t mind, so it obviously didn’t have the desired effect. Eventually, it became a habit of affection and each of their nicknames stuck. Thank you for indulging me in this moment of ridiculousness

Perma Tags: @burnsoslow​ @mvalentine​ @anotherbeingsworld​ @adiehardfan​

Logan Tags: @brightpinkpeppercorn

[buckysmischief]

here comes trouble

Peter Parker x reader // Bucky Barnes x reader

Word Count: 2.4k

Warnings: language, mentions of cheating, and kinda cheating.. but not really? It's up to you. kinda smutty??, so 18+ please

Summary: You were supposed to be dating Peter Parker. Then can someone explain why the hell Bucky is treating you better than your own boyfriend.

Masterlist

Another another amazing moodboard by @fangirlinsweden , thank you again 🥰🥰

“Hey Wanda, have you seen Peter anywhere? He said he was gonna be in the lab with Tony all day but they’re both nowhere to be found”

“Nope, haven’t seen anyone but you all day. Come sit with me though, I feel like you need to vent.” You and Wanda have been bestfriends since you moved into the tower, it wasn’t surprising she knew that something was bothering you.

“He’s just been.. weird lately. Like, he doesn’t come back from patrol until 6 am, unless he stays at May’s place. He doesn’t talk to me much anymore, and I hate admitting this but, we haven’t had sex in weeks. I’ve sent him seductive pictures, tried setting up romantic evenings, and still.. Nothing.” You had convinced yourself that Peter was just stressed, but finally saying it out loud made you feel more uneasy about the situation than before.

“That doesn’t sound like Peter, I’m sorry.” she wrapped you in her blanket and gave you a comforting hug. “How about we watch scary movies and drink wine until you feel better?”

“This is why you’re my best friend.”

You got the wine and snacks ready while Wanda got extra pillows and blankets and turned off the lights. There was a pile of movies stacked and ready to watch, Friday the 13th, IT, When a Stranger Calls, and A Nightmare on Elm Street.

“Where do we start?”

“When a Stranger Calls, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen that one.” you put the movie in the DVD player and lose yourself in the chills and thrills of it all.

~

Meanwhile, Bucky is in his room meditating, a habit he picked up in Wakanda, when he heard your voice in the other room. Normally he isn’t the type to eavesdrop on other people’s conversations, but when it involves you, he tends to bend his own rules.

When Bucky moved into the tower a few months prior, he only spoke to Steve and Sam. But after a few mornings of you offering to make him breakfast, he finally caved and the two of you had been close friends ever since.

Friends. He was totally fine with that, at least that’s what he convinced himself. When he found out you and Peter had been dating for the past year, he had no other choice. He told himself he’d never come between you and your happiness, but apparently your boyfriend is doing that all on his own.

“It’s now or never,” he thought to himself, “I gotta at least see if there’s a chance. Especially if Peter’s up to what I think he’s up to.”

He waited until the movie was over to go into the common area. “Hey you two, what’s the occasion?”

“Yn is having Peter problems, he’s being weird. We're trying to get her mind off of it.” Wanda knew about Bucky’s little crush, and she wanted to see how long it would take for him to admit it.

“How’s that going?”

You stand up, walking to the kitchen to grab another bottle of wine, “It’s going great, but if he doesn’t come home tonight I won’t know what to do anymore. It’s aggravating, and I’m tired of bringing it up and him apologizing and then doing nothing to fix it.” Normally you wouldn’t talk to Bucky about Peter, the bad things at least. Your relationship was private, but you were spiraling.

“Hey, doll, it’s okay. S’not your fault your generation is lacking gentlemen.” He joked, picking you up from behind, “Besides, you shouldn’t have to beg someone to care about you, Yn. Not when you have us.” Bucky decided to start out subtle, he didn’t want to push you away if this didn’t end in his favor. This was delicate.

“I know, I feel conflicted about it all.. but less talking, more watching. Join us?” The three of you sat down and watched one more movie. Well, if you count both parts of IT one movie. Peter had patrol that night and you wanted to be in yalls room when he got home, if he got home.

-

Peter didn’t come back until the next morning, walking in while everyone was eating breakfast.

“For someone who was on patrol all night, you sure look well rested.” Bucky pointed out, not even looking up from his plate.

“It was a slow night, and when I got too tired I just stayed at Aunt May’s.” Peter avoided all eye contact while making his plate. You give Wanda a look, telling her that this is what you were talking about.

Once everyone is done eating, Peter gives you a quick kiss goodbye, saying he was going to the gym and then to Ned’s to work on a presentation with him and MJ.

“Hey doll, want some help?” It was your day to clean up the kitchen, but if Bucky was asking, you weren’t going to tell him no.

“I wash, you dry?” He smiles and nods, helping you grab the dishes from the table. You both work in a peaceful silence until you’re almost done washing the dishes, Bucky asks, “Can I give you my opinion?”

“Sure.” You were curious, Bucky having an opinion isn’t anything new. Him asking to express it is, though.

“I think you deserve better than what Peter is giving you, which doesn’t seem to be a whole lot lately.” So much for being subtle and taking it slow.

“And what do you know about my relationship with Peter?” you shut off the water and begin cleaning the stove and countertops. Bucky was supposed to be cleaning off the table more, but instead he’s suddenly pressed against your back, hands moving your hair behind your ear and whispers, “I know that if you were mine, you’d never go to bed alone. Does he even tell you when he’s not coming home?”

He found his answer in your silence. How could Peter treat you this way?

“Does he leave you to do everything yourself too?” you could tell what he was implying, and you began to wonder if Wanda told him what you confessed to her the day before. “That’s a shame. I hope you know that I’m always here to help out, you just gotta ask.”

“Bucky..” it came out hoarse and needy, and you’re sure he noticed.

“I can have you screaming that later if you’d like. But we don’t wanna hurt poor Peter’s feelings, do we?”

Before you could figure out a response, he was gone. Were you dreaming? Bucky only said things like that to you in your dreams. Sure, you have a tiny crush on the Super Soldier, but you would never act on it. Not while you were dating Peter.

But this was real, and you had to figure out this Peter situation before temptation struck again.

-

Over the next few weeks Bucky was relentless, and even though the both of you knew you weren’t going to cheat on Peter, it was an entertaining distraction. Thankfully when he decided to tease you in front of the team, he was subtle enough that no one thought anything of it. Except for Wanda, Wanda somehow knew about the dishes incident and you told her everything.

He started out simple, swapping out his usual black sweatpants for a pair of gray ones. It didn’t go unnoticed by you, just a shame he caught you staring. There were a few times he sat beside you at dinner when Peter wasn’t there and he didn’t even so much as talk to you, but the first time Peter was there since Bucky started whatever this was, he still sat beside you.

Everything was going normal, Steve was even telling a story about the 30’s, you were beginning to think Bucky would continue to let the dinner table be a safe zone. But then you felt the chill of his vibranium arm on your right leg. You tensed underneath his touch and looked around to see if anyone noticed only to find no one, not even Peter was paying attention to you. Bucky didn’t move his hand, save for his thumb that was rubbing small circles on his thigh. He just kept it like that until everyone got up to clean.

The first time you two were alone though, that was more intense.

Everyone was out doing their own thing since it was a Saturday, but since Peter bailed on your plans again, you decided it was a good day to catch up on your endless pile of laundry. You were almost done loading a washer full of the first batch of clothes when you heard him come in, he didn’t say anything, only coming up behind you and running his hands up your arms to your neck.

“I thought you were supposed to be going outta town this weekend.” You question if it’s a good idea to let him continue rubbing your shoulders, but you’ve been stressing yourself out about a relationship you seem to be the only one who remembers you’re in.

“Surprise, surprise. Peter bailed. Again.” you sigh, resting your head on Bucky’s chest. You’ve made the decision you were going to break up with Peter, and not because of Bucky, but because he’s such a bad boyfriend, every time you made plans to hang out (to break up with him, but he didn’t know that), he canceled with a lame ass excuse. The only reason you’re not single is because Peter won’t give you a solid minute of his time.

Bucky moves his hands back down your arms until he laces your fingers with his, “We both know if it were up to you, you’d have broken up with him already. So what’s the harm in pretending for like, five minutes he’s officially out of the picture so I can kiss you.”

You turn around, expecting to see some notion on his face to say he was kidding, but he wasn’t. He looked to be 100% serious. When you didn’t answer, he decided to test the waters and slowly bring your face closer to his. You wanted to tell him to stop, to wait until the situation was different, but he was so close that you could smell his shampoo, you could even feel his breath, and you were caving.

“Actually doll,” he puts his hands up and walks away from you, “you’re right. It’s probably best we wait. Wouldn’t wanna get in trouble now, would ya?”

Once again, he’s gone before you could figure out what the hell was going on.

-

A few days later everyone was eating breakfast when Peter walked in. He made his plate and sat next to you without saying a word. He was close enough that you could smell him though, and you had finally had it. This was the longest you had been with him in weeks, you knew this wasn’t the best time to do it but damn it, this had to be done. Now.

“Peter, I think we should break up.” everyone stops what they’re doing, giving their undivided attention to you and Peter.

“You really wanna do this now?” he wouldn’t even look at you, what had happened to the sweet and caring guy you once cared so deeply for?

But that didn’t matter, all that mattered was that you had finally felt free.

“I haven’t seen you properly in weeks, I didn’t want to let another day go by without saying it. And then you come in here smelling like her and I realized-” you were interrupted by a room full of wait, what’s, and oh my god who’s, and of course Bucky’s what a fucking idiot.

“MJ, you’ve been fucking MJ.. tell me I’m lying.” You’ve finally figured it out he wasn’t even trying to hide it.. he didn’t care. “Months. Months I’ve been feeling bad about Bucky-”

“What about Bucky!?” he stands, Sam pulling him back to his chair before he lunges at Bucky.

“Feeling bad about getting closer to Bucky while you were cheating on me, apparently. But that’s not my problem anymore.” You stood up and left, not really wanting to be around anyone anymore.

You stayed up so many nights thinking of all the reasons why Peter didn’t want to be with you anymore, because that was obvious, he just wasn’t man enough to admit it. But you never thought that him cheating on you, with MJ, was a possibility.

-

Before the day was over you had moved all your things into a new room, on a new floor, as far away from Peter as you could get. It wasn’t until later when you were almost asleep that you found out who your neighbor was. “Goodnight, trouble.”

No way. You got out of bed and threw on a hoodie, and went to the source of the voice, needing to make sure you weren’t hearing what you wanted to hear. Once you got to the door, you waited a second before knocking. What if it’s Sam and I’m going to wake him up? But you heard it again, Bucky’s voice. “Are you just gonna stand at the door all night or are you gonna come in here? Cause I gotta admit, I’m dyin to finally get my hands on you, doll.”

After quickly and quietly shutting his door, you ran to him and straddled his lap. Finally giving in to something the both of you have been thinking about for a very long time. The feeling of his lips on yours, on your shoulder and neck. His hands running up your sides, up your shirt, and your hips grinding down on his.

This is how you should have been spending your nights, not alone. But now you understood why, it was Bucky. You figure it’s always kinda been Bucky. He’s the one you were supposed to be with, and he already treats you better than Peter ever did. You were finally happy, almost happy enough to thank Peter for being a dumbass.. but not quite.

You’d worry about everything tomorrow, though, tonight you were going to see if those grey sweatpants were exaggerating his features.

They weren’t.

~~~~

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[yikesharringrove]

Here’s a little angsty prompt. What if Steve and Billy have an argument over something and Billy really snaps at Steve, like really harshly and Steve obviously is shocked and start to sob while yelling Billy to get out. They don’t talk for few weeks even if Billy tries to because he feels like shit for acting like that towards Steve and for making him cry, but eventually they would sort it out by talking and after that they have very tender sex. I hope this is okay!

Hey! Inbox is officially closed. I’ve been writing a little too slowly to keep up with everything. I wanna get at least 100 or so prompts out before I reopen. (I’ve written over 80 just in July, so hopefully y’all aren’t waiting too long!)

And, I didn’t include smut bc I wasn’t really feeling like writing it, I’m sorry :/

-

Billy was having a very bad day.

Not really for any particular reason, sometimes he just woke up angry, and he didn’t know why or really how to stop it.

He could hear Steve downstairs, clattering about.

Usually he thought it was cute, how much noise Steve always made, but today, he wanted to roll over, go back to sleep, and he couldn’t, because he could hear Steve, as clear as if he was in the damn room with him.

He took a few deep breaths.

He could not snap at Steve today.

He’ll just have to go home.

He got dressed quickly, stopping to poke his head in the kitchen.

“Hey, I gotta head out.” Steve’s smile faltered.

“But I’m making breakfast.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. Gotta get home.” Steve frowned at him.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? We don’t you just stay for breakfast. You don’t have to talk about anything, just sit and eat. I made eggs, and I’ve got bacon in the oven and-”

“Steve! I can’t fucking stay! You want my dad to beat the shit outta me?”

And Billy knew he’d fucked up, knew the second Steve’s face went blank.

But he couldn’t fucking stop.

“Jesus Christ. You’re so self centered.If you just stopped being so fucking clingy and needy and opened your eyes for five seconds, you’d know I can’t fucking stay.”

And Billy had to watch with pure horror as Steve, as his beautiful Steve cracked right in front of him.

His face crumpled, and his eyes shined.

And he burst into tears.

“Get out.” He had to force the words out through his tears.

“Wait, Steve, I didn’t-”

“Get the fuck outta my house!”

So Billy set his jaw, and got the fuck outta his house.

-

Billy came over the next day.

He brought flowers and doughnuts and one of those way too sweet mocha coffee things that Steve is always losing his shit over.

Steve didn’t answer the door, and when Billy finally retreated to his car, Steve came out, and made direct eye contact with him as he poured the coffee into the bushes.

-

Billy tried again the next day, found a raccoon eating the doughnuts he had left the day before, and turned right around.

-

He gave it a week.

He didn’t approach Steve in school.

Even thought he wanted to.

Steve looked like shit.

He was pale, and had dark circles under his eyes.

And Billy knows he probably hasn’t been sleeping, and he just wants to climb right into bed with Steve, and hold him until he does.

So the next Sunday, he came with a peace offering of ice cream and a package of those cheap cookies Steve likes.

And while Steve didn’t answer the door for him, when Billy looped back around, the treats were gone.

-

Billy gave him another week.

He really didn’t want to push his luck.

So the next weekend he showed up, with flowers again, and a big bag of salt and vinegar chips that Steve fucking loved even though they’re gross, and another one of those coffees, and more flowers.

And Steve answered the door.

“Stevie,” Billy trailed off.

Steve looked terrible.

Just as pale as he did in school, but Billy could tell his hair was greasy. And that meant bad, because Steve hated feeling dirty, would sometimes shower twice in one day.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Steve’s eyes weren’t cold, but they didn’t have the usual warmth he reserved just for Billy, either.

“For, for everything. For snapping, and saying what I did, calling you needy.” That was always a sore spot with Steve, had been called needy, clingy, his whole life. “Just, for everything.”

“You know I understand what it’s like for you at home, right? I’m not blind, and I’m not stupid.”

“I never said you were.”

“No, be you insinuated it.”

“I did. I’m sorry.”

“I’m the one that has to clean you up every time. I’m the one who calms you down when you get mad. I’m the one who holds you through breakdowns, and panic attacks, and whatever else, so don’t you dare say that I want that for you.”

“I’m sorry I said that.”

“Yeah, it was fucked up.” Steve gave him a once over. And then he turned, walking further into the house, leaving the door wide open.

Billy figured that would be as good of an invitation as he was gonna get.

He followed Steve to the kitchen, where he was filling a crystal vase with water.

Billy thought it was kinda funny, cheap flowers he bought at the grocery store in an expensive, real crystal vase, straight outta central Europe.

“Look, the real reason I wanted to leave that morning was because I knew it was gonna be one ‘a those days. Where I’m just too angry and I can’t control myself. And I wanted to get outta here because I knew I would, would say some shit to you, and you are the last person I wanna lose my shit at.”

“Billy, I get it. I know that you have those days, and I don’t hold them against you, but it just, you know me so well. You knew exactly what to say to hurt me the most. And that was scary.” Steve wasn’t making eye contact.

And Billy didn’t really know what to say.

He had picked those words carefully. Knew they would slice Steve to the core.

“I’ll leave if you want. Just tell me, and I won’t bother you again.” Steve took a deep breath, and when he finally looked at Billy, his eyes were glassy again.

“But that’s, that’s just it. I don’t want you to leave.”

“What do you want? Anything, Baby. I’ll give you anything.”

“I want, I want you to talk to me. Instead of saying that stuff about your dad, you could’ve, could’ve said it’s a bad day and that you wanted to leave, and I would’ve let you. I know you’ve been pretty much fucking trained to expect the worse, but I’m in your corner, and I love you. All you gotta do is talk.”

“I will. I promise I will. Next time I feel like that, I’ll just tell you that, that I’m fucking mad, and I’ll go somewhere to calm down. And I swear, Pretty Boy, I will fucking never use shit like that against you ever again. That was fucked up.”

Steve nodded slowly at him.

“Can I, would it be okay if I held you for awhile? I missed you a lot.”

“Yeah, I think that would be okay.” Steve looked down at his feet in thick wool socks. “I haven’t really-”

“Been sleeping. Yeah, I noticed.” Steve flushed a bit. “Notice everything about you.”

“Well, quit it. Let me have my secrets.” Billy smiled warmly at him.

“Nah. Never gonna stop noticin’. ‘Cause that means I stopped lookin’.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but he patted Billy’s chest once as he walked past him.

[buckys-forgotten-plum]

A Witchy Kinda Love

Pairing: Witch!Bucky x Witch!Reader (Magic!AU)

Prompt: The world you lived in was known to be full of magic and strange, otherworldly things... But you knew true love was just an old witch's tale even if your familiar insisted otherwise...

Warnings: swearing, fluff, Bucky in cute outfits, way too much italicization, and also this thing is long as fuck. (10,410 words...oopsies)

A/N: Okay this got wayyyy outta hand but who the fuck cares? not me. I would love to give a HUGE SHOUTOUT to @buckybarney​ who helped a lot in giving me the confidence and drive to finish this fic as well as @smutsonian​ who created this dope as mood board and also helped me edit a lil bit. You guys make me so happy and I love and appreciate you both so much<3

✸ ✴ ✦ 

✸ ✴ ✦ 

“Calcifer will you please come help me with this?” your exasperated voice could be heard from the balcony of your studio apartment as you struggled to balance the hoard of glass bottles in your arms. 

Not a moment later, a small fox came trotting onto the (very overgrown) terrace, “Ya know I have things to do too. I’m not your butler,” 

You scoffed at your familiar's grumbled complaint before handing him a couple bottles to hold in his mouth and wrap his tail around, “I know you’re not my butler Cal. But I got you that essence of toad the other day so the least you could do is help me organize my potion materials for a bit.” 

The fox let out a low growl and walked back into your small apartment while you followed behind him, “You know how hard it is for me to form opposable thumbs lady? It’s gonna take a lot more than essence of toad for me to comply,” 

You glared playfully at the fox before sighing and rolling your eyes, knowing exactly what the sly creature was trying to get you to do, “Calcifer if you want pheasant for dinner just ask,” 

There was no response, just the quiet clinking of bottles rolling to the floor as you and your partner began to sort through everything. You really need to start organizing your stuff better. Last week you mixed up your newt toes with skinks and almost blew up your home, so it’s safe to say that your clutter has hit a breaking point. You left Calcifer to sit on your frameless bed as he sorted your bottles to go back out onto your small terrace, breathing in the scent of all of your plants that had happily covered every inch they possibly could. You figured it was as good a time as any to harvest all the herbs you’d need for the month and bottle them up for safe keeping. Quietly humming to yourself, you went around plucking the healthiest looking leaves, sprigs, and sprouts you could find, setting each pile onto the antique writers desk you had put out there as a space for your potion making. 

“Hey Calcifer do you know where I put my Ever-Writing Quill?” You question, brows furrowing as you dig through the drawers of your desk. 

“You don’t remember? You sat on it last week and snapped it in half!” The fox’s response was followed by a string of cackles and snorts as he laughed to himself about your misfortune. 

You let out a loud groan of frustration, tilting your head to the sky and stomping your foot in a small childish fit. “Why didn’t you put it on my shopping list?” You ask, walking back inside to glare at the creature comfortably sitting on your bed. 

Calcifer smiled widely, his pointy teeth fully on show in a sly grin, “oopsies, my bad!” he raised what would be his paws but are now little hands due to his helpful transfiguration powers, and held them in an innocent shrug. 

You squint your eyes at the reynard but hold your tongue, shoving your feet into a pair of leather boots. “Come on, you’re coming with me to the market so I can get a new quill,” 

It didn’t take too long before you had gathered everything you needed, making sure to grab your sweater as the weather hadn’t gotten much warmer in the past months and you absolutely hated to be cold. It only took a stern glare and a threat to have salad for dinner to convince Calcifer to go with you. Though you didn’t miss the petty and painful nip to your calf as you walked out of your door and into the dank hallway of your apartment building. 

✸ ✴ ✦ 

The sky was colored a dark grey with intimidating clouds, blocking out any chance of sun or warmth as you walked down the streets of your small town. You passed by cute little shops and a restaurant or two as you made your way to the market. Your boots stomped loudly on the cobblestone walkway, echoed by the light clicking of Calcifier’s nails while he trotted beside you. 

Your town didn’t have many witches, but the non-magic residents were still fully supportive of you and all the other witches and warlocks that resided in the small rainy town of Adelaide. You had lived there for years and not once had you come in contact with what your community called “Salamers”, bigoted people who had hate filled vendettas against your kind. Many of your friends who had lived in bigger cities had told you about their horror stories involving bigoted people who had cursed (pun intended) and swore at them. Your friend Peter even told you about a man who had spit on him after finding out he was a witch. 

The thoughts of such hateful actions caused a crease in your brow to form and it didn’t leave until you were at the small stone entrance to Wanda’s Magickal Menagerie, the only entrance to the market for miles. It was one of your favourite things about the magical world. The outside looked like just another building with pretty stone walls and a worn wooden sign displaying the name, but to anyone with a high enough magical presence, it was an entrance to the biggest market in the wiccan world. Hundreds of vendors were beyond that door, hidden away to a different space and time by a carefully constructed spell performed by the most powerful witches in existence. 

You couldn’t help the excited pulse of your heart as you opened the door and stepped into what seemed like an entirely different universe. The hustle and bustle of busy shoppers instantly clouded your vision and ears. The air was warm and lighting low in the crowded alleyway that led to the entrance and exit of the marketplace. You took only a moment to get used to the different surroundings before setting off on your way to the real Wanda’s Magickal Menagerie. 

It only took a few steps before you heard the loud yip of pain from your familiar, instantly making you whip around to see what happened, “I hate it here, Y/n! Everyone steps on my tail, it smells weird, It’s dark, everything is all muted because apparently witches only like the color red and I’m colorblind-” 

“Alright ya baby c’mere,” you interrupted Cal’s whining, bending down and allowing him to jump up and wrap around your shoulders. 

“People have no respect for familiars, it’s so uncool,” he grumbled into your ear, resting his snout on the ridge of your shoulder. 

“I know, buddy. But you know how much I hate going out alone. I really appreciate you coming with me. When we’re done here we can go to the butcher and you can pick out what bird you want for tonight,” Your hand came up to softly scratch your friend behind his ear, soothing his nerves and continuing on your way to your final destination. 

It didn’t take long before you arrived at a small wooden hut, a modest sign with an address hanging out front for advertisement to passersby. You quickly approached the shop and pushed the door open, entering the cozy and familiar atmosphere of Wanda’s business. 

“Hey Y/n! Cally, hi baby!” Your entrance was met immediately with happy greetings from your long time friend. 

“Hey Wanda,” you and Calcifer greet in unison, smiles adorning both your faces. 

The red headed witch skipped towards you, wrapping you in a warm hug and lovingly petting the fox around your shoulders. “How’ve you guys been? I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever,” 

“We’ve been trying to declutter the apartment. Y/n’s become such a hoarder.” Calcifer blurts out, letting one of his signature cackles break free. 

“I am not! I’ve just been experimenting with my potions, so I have a lot more ingredients and supplies right now,” You hurriedly explain, not wanting to have your friend think of you as a crazy old witch with a hoarding problem. 

Wanda lets out a quiet giggle at the pair of friends in front of her, finding the relationship between you and your familiar adorable, “What brings you in today? Did you lose your monkey paw again?” 

You playfully roll your eyes at Wanda, “No, I uh... I broke my Ever-Writing Quill,” you admit, trying to fight the warmth that crept up your neck and cheeks. 

Wanda let out a quick burst of laughter before turning around and leading you through the many shelves and tables of her shop, “Come on, I just got a fresh shipment in,”

✸ ✴ ✦ 

“Thanks Wanda! I’ll see you and Vis for brunch on Sunday,” You smile and give your friend a kiss on the cheek goodbye before exiting her shop. 

“Alright Cal, is there anything else you need before we go? Do you want me to get you more fur oil? Are you good on that incense you like?” 

“Yeah I think I’m okay, at this point I just want food,” He grumbled, lifting his head up from your shoulder and sniffing the air. 

You nodded your head in understanding and began the trip back to where you first entered the marketplace. The walkways were absolutely packed; it was nearly impossible to keep from bumping into other shoppers. Calcifer could be heard grumbling profanities every time someone brushed or bumped against him. You couldn’t blame the poor creature, he was naturally anxious and didn’t like strangers, so making trips like these were never too fun for him. You were trying your best to avoid people, but luck was against you and as you were ducking out of the way of one man who looked exactly like Merlin, you ended up running right into someone else. 

You fell right to the floor, Calcifer tumbling from your shoulder and sliding a few feet away due to the force, “Ah! Calcifer? Cal are you okay?” 

“Shit! are you okay? I didn’t see you, I am so sorry,”

Ignoring the stranger above, you frantically look around for your lost friend and spot him a few feet away from you, curling up into a scared orange ball and shoving his snout under his hind leg to hide. You scramble over to him, scooping his small body into your arms and holding onto him tightly, “Oh Calcifer I’m so sorry! I should have never asked you to come with me, I know you hate it here and now look what happened,” 

You couldn’t help the stress induced tears that welled in your eyes as you pet the shaking fox in your arms, “I’m okay, Y/n. Just a little shaken,” His voice was quiet and you knew he wasn’t being completely honest but you knew getting out of the crowded place was more important at that point. 

A tall figure suddenly shadowed over you, making you cower out of instinct and scoot back a few paces, “Hey are you and your fox okay? Really, I didn’t see you. I should have been paying more attention, let me help you up,” A hand comes down offering to lift you from the dirty concrete. 

With one arm tightly holding onto Calcifer, you use your other hand to grab onto the strangers and lift yourself up. “Thanks,” You mumble out quickly, keeping your head down and immediately walking away, your mind completely focused on getting the hell out of these cursed alleyways. 

Once you had fallen out of the exit and back onto the cobblestone streets of Adelaide, you could finally take a deep breath. Leaning up against the cold stone wall near the entrance, you closed your eyes, sucking in the fresh air and gently petting the creature still firmly gripped in your arms. 

A choked cry escapes you suddenly, “I am so sorry Calcifer,” You absolutely hated that you had caused your friend such a terrible experience. He could’ve gotten hurt, someone could’ve stolen him away from you, the street was so crowded you would’ve never found him again! Calcifer would’ve never forgiven you! Might not even forgive you now! Just the thought of it- 

“Alright calm down kid... I’m perfectly fine. Paw hurts a little bit but, really, I’m okay,” the fox in your arms looked up at you, a small smile on his snout as he nuzzled into your hair. 

“Are you sure? I can take you to the vet-” Before you can continue to worry about the injured animal, a deep voice sounds from above you. 

“Uh hey...” 

You quickly wipe the tears from your cheeks and look up, eyes widening in surprise as you stare into steely iris’s that seemed to have a mission on copying the sky that day. “H-hello,” 

As you stared at the burly looking man in front of you, you couldn’t help but side eye his stature. Adorning all black with little glints of silver rings and buckles here and there, a few tiny scars marking his well-structured jaw and cheek bones, and good god those boots must be so heavy and-is that a metal hand peeking out from the long sleeve of his leather jacket?! This guy is too scary to be this attractive...

“I uh... I was the one to bump into you earlier. It’s totally my fault and I really didn’t mean for you to drop your fox like that-it’s just that my familiar took off and I just wasn’t paying attention and it seemed like a pretty bad fall and you were so focused on protecting your pet-” “He’s not a pet,” you spit out quickly, a stern glare etched into your features. 

“R-right, right sorry-I just-I was-I misspoke...” he trailed awkwardly, roughly dragging a hand through brunette hair and grimacing at his own failure to compose a sensible response. 

“Are you a witch?” you mumble out quietly, your glare softening into a more apprehensive, yet curious, stare. 

“Uh yeah, yeah I’m only entry level though. My friend Sam helped me get into the market so I could get a few things but then...ya know” 

You stood silently, not exactly sure of what this weirdo wanted from you. If he thought you were going to apologize he was very mistaken. What if he planned to rob you? To take Calcifer and run? The thought made your grip on the animal even more secure, if that were even possible. 

“Is your arm okay?” Worried eyes gazed down at your arm and the man took a small step forward. 

“What?” You try to flinch away from the soft grasp of his hand around your bicep, but only end up pushing yourself against the wall. 

The man inspected the inflamed scrape that burned a path along your forearm and up to your elbow, “That looks pretty bad doll, do you want some medicine? I think I might have a little with me. Hey Sibi!” 

“Holy shit!” A sharp intake of breath forced its way into your lungs as you saw a giant white wolf bound up to the man. Your breathing sped up, heartbeat following along with it as you gazed upon the giant beast. 

“Do you mind? I gotta get into my bag,” He asked gently, the wolf immediately turning to give him easy access to a large pack that was slung over her back, “Thanks Sibi, can you go find Sam? Tell him I’ll be a bit longer than expected,” The wolf let out a gruff noise of agreement and nodded it’s head before heading back through the magical entrance. 

The man turned back around and walked towards you once more. You didn’t flinch this time when he reached for your arm, careful to make sure you had a good grip on Cal before opening a bottle of light blue gel and tapping some out onto the palm of his hand, “My name is Bucky, by the way,” 

“Okay,” you mumble out awkwardly, your anxious nature getting the best of you and blocking any form of friendly communication to come across while Bucky covers your wound with the gel.

“Her name is Y/n, I’m Calcifer,” You stare down incredulously at the fox, not expecting him to introduce you to this stranger. 

Bucky smiled up at you and the fox, shiny white teeth on display, “Pretty name for a pretty girl,” 

The comment instantly made your face heat up in embarrassment. “Thank y-you...” 

Bucky straightened up after he was done dressing your wound, thankfully taking a step back to give you some space. Why wasn’t he leaving? Why did he care so much about some rando he ran into at the market? Maybe this was just a front to try and rob you...

“Well uh... I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed real spooked back there and I could tell you hurt your arm so I just wanted to check up on ya,” Bucky’s eyes shined brightly as he explained himself. A pink tint colored his cheeks and neck as he sheepishly stared down at the ground. 

His shy nature made your lips tilt into a small smile of your own and you couldn’t help thinking about how cute he looked like that, “thank you, that’s very kind,” you mumbled out.

There was a beat of silence as you and Bucky avoided each other's eye contact before a familiar patronizing voice interrupted, “Hey kid if you’re done flirtin’ with this guy can we go home? I’m starvin’ right now,” 

“Calcifer!” you scold immediately, the familiar burn of pure embarrassment instantly appearing across your face. 

Bucky, however, didn’t seem to be bothered by the fox’s comment and burst out into a fit of deep chuckles, running his metal hand through the long tresses of rich brown hair. 

“Your fox is cute,” 

The comment made Calcifer let out a gruff murmur of disagreement, making you join Bucky in his laughter, “Yeah, I’m really happy he chose to stay with me. Um... I should probably go. Cal hasn’t eaten since breakfast and I still need to go to the butcher-” “There’s a butcher in this town?” The pure curiosity on Bucky’s face made your smile grow that much more as he finally took in his surroundings. 

“Yeah, it’s about two blocks down from here, it’s Calcifer's favorite place,” You say, backing up a few steps to signal your exit. 

“A-alright! well, uh it was nice meeting you! Maybe I’ll see you around sometime?” The male witch fumbles with his words as he realizes the conversation is ending. 

“Sure, maybe,” you nod in agreement, fully turning around and beginning the walk towards your destination. 

As you walked away you couldn’t help but let the small smile on your face grow. What a dork he was... Almost as awkward as you were, the way he kept messing with his hair- ”He’s still lookin’ at ya... And what was all that stuff you were thinking about getting robbed? Why were you so fixated on gettin’ robbed?” 

“Calcifer for christ’s sake!” Your voice was filled with exasperation, rolling your eyes at the familiar's comments and ignoring the fact that the cute witch was still watching you walk away.

“Are you seriously thinking about how him staring at you is cute? Humans are so weird...” 

“Stop reading my thoughts you creep!” 

✸ ✴ ✦ 

A groan echoed throughout your apartment as a streak of the bright morning sun landed on your eyes and woke you from your slumber. Clapping a hand down onto your eyes to block the light, you roughly slide it down in hopes of wiping the fatigue that plagued you. Slowly but surely, you untangled yourself from your sheets, stretching your waking limbs and yawning with an over dramatic sound. You blindly felt around for your phone that was lying on the floor directly by your mattress. Once you located the small device, you tapped it on and read the time. 10:47 am, Sunday...Fantastic. 

You laid on your mattress for a bit, unaware of anything but your tired bones. The only reason you didn’t fall back asleep right then and there was the light buzz that came from your phone. You lazily picked it back up and stared at the too bright screen, taking a moment to comprehend the text that popped up on your home screen. 

Wanda Maxi: Hey! Are you on your way?

What? On my way...

“OH FUCK” You bolt out of bed, slipping on part of your sheet that was draped onto your wooden flooring and almost face planting. 

“Calcifer wake up we gotta have brunch with Wanda and Vis!” you scream out to nothing specific, unaware of where your familiar was. 

As quickly as possible, you gathered an outfit, shoved a toothbrush into your mouth to brush it a little too harshly, got your hair ready, and threw your clothes on. It’s not until you’re almost done getting ready before you see the bright fox bolt in from the balcony, “How could you forget about brunch? This happens every week for fucks sake!” 

“This isn’t entirely my fault! You knew about it too!” you argue while lathering deodorant onto your underarms, already sweating from the stress of the situation. 

“I’m a fox! You think I keep alarms?” he yells back at you, not bothering to stop and look at you as he gathers your things while you hurriedly tried to shove your foot into a shoe. 

Once your shoes were on and Calcifer had given you everything you’d need, you ran to your door and swung it open, “You wanna run with me or do you want me to carry you?” 

“Oh please you can barely run by yourself. You couldn’t handle the weight,” Calcifer scoffs, running between your legs and out of the apartment. 

You immediately lock your door and run after him, “So rude...” you huff to yourself and catch up to the fox. 

✸ ✴ ✦

It only took you about five minutes to sprint across town and make it to the small clay cottage that your friends had lived in for years now. The mossy dark brown Terracotta roof and grey wooden door that had ivy vining in and out of it gave a lovely natural look to the house and you couldn’t help but admire the wonderful home the couple had built. 

Calcifer’s quiet pants mixed with your wheezing as you stumbled up to the door and knocked loudly to signal your arrival. The door swung open, revealing a smirking Wanda. 

“You woke up late again didn’t you?” 

Still catching your breath, you nodded and followed her into her home. Wanda looked gorgeous, as always, wearing a light and flowing yellow sundress with matching shoes and a pretty white ribbon that was tied into her hair. 

“I’m so sorry Wanda, neither of us set an alarm,” you breathed out, following her towards the kitchen. 

“It’s okay sweetie, we didn’t have to wait or anything, all of us were busy talking about the latest man who was admitted into the Grand Council,” she smiled back at you, warm eyes shining from the sunlight that was coming through the glass doors that led to their garden. 

You tilt your head in confusion when you realize her phrasing, “All of us?” 

Wanda gently put a fist to her temple, her face twisting into a slight grimace, “I’m sorry sweetie I completely forgot to mention I invited some friends today! Don’t worry, they’re both great and I’m sure you’ll get along just fine,” 

You nod your head hesitantly, not entirely believing your friend. You wondered who she had invited... Many times over Wanda and Vision have told stories about their old friends who they had met throughout their lives. From your understanding, they had built a wonderful family together and had helped and cared for each other for years so you had no doubt they would be friendly. 

Before you had time to voice whatever worries you had, you were interrupted by the fall of multiple pairs of footsteps. It didn’t take long for three men to walk into the room, all talking enthusiastically over each other. You automatically recognized the slim man walking over to Wanda as Vision, his bright eyes greeting you as he wrapped his arms around Wanda’s slim waist. 

You turn to the other two guests and are unable to hold in an audible gasp when you recognize one of them. Those chilling eyes copied yours as they widened to an almost comical size. 

“Y/n...” The sound of your name coming from his full, pink lips made your hands clam up. 

He was dressed much more formal today with a navy blue sweater over a button up shirt, dark jeans and the cutest wing-tipped shoes you’d ever seen. He looked like he had just gotten out of church with his grandmother. 

“H-hello..” you mutter back, a heavy cloud of confusion and stress surrounding itself around you. 

“Oh...Do you-do you guys know each other already?” Wanda tilts her head a curious finger flickering between the two of you as her squinting eyes try to find the connection. 

Bucky glances at you, then Wanda, then back at you, as if to ask the question of who would be telling the tale of your meeting. You however settled for staring up at the ceiling, handing that responsibility off to Bucky. 

“We um, bumped into each other at the market the other day,” his answer comes after a slight moment of hesitation. 

You held back a scoff at his choice of words... More like you ran over me and almost killed my familiar. 

“Oh great! So then you’ll only have to meet Sam,” Wanda smiles and gestures to the stranger who had refrained from speaking up until now. 

“Nice to meet you, I’m Sam Wilson,” he greets you with a bright smile, a charming gap between his two front teeth and a warm glow emanating from rich brown eyes that winked mischievously. 

He was quite handsome and his automatic charm caused the fog of awkward shyness to thicken in your mind, “Nice to meet you too,” you smile politely and shove your hand out for him to shake. 

A deep chuckle sounds from within his muscular chest as he grasps your hand and gives a firm shake. You quickly tell him your name before stepping back and allowing a new conversation to start. It was hard to focus on what everyone was saying as you felt the obvious gaze of Bucky peering at you from across the kitchen. You found the best way to keep yourself from staring back at him was to focus on the small amount of dirt that you could see hidden underneath your nails. You really needed to get them done again... Although it gets pretty difficult to achieve correct measurements with the long pointy acrylics that seem to be your go-to choice. 

“I dunno man, I just have really bad vibes about that Pierce guy... Steve agrees with me,” Sam’s comment brings you back to the conversation which you had apparently zoned out of. 

“Where is Steven? I thought he said he would be able to attend today?” Vision, always the formal talker, had a questioning glint to his eyes as he switched his focus from Sam to Bucky, then back. 

“Liberty wasn’t feeling too good so he had to take her to a vet,” Bucky was the one to answer.

“Liberty?” a questioning tilt to your head signals your confusion.

Bucky smiles at you before answering, “Yeah, she’s Steve’s pet. Super cute golden retriever that he picked up at the pound a couple years back,”

“Oh... Is he not a witch like you guys?” it surprised you that there was someone amongst their group that wasn’t practicing magic. 

Bucky subconsciously takes a step towards you, his body language changing to signal he was now solely focused on you, “Yeah he tried a few years ago but, it didn’t really go too well,” 

As Bucky answered he held up his metal prosthetic and wiggled his fingers, “Are you serious?! Your friend did that to you?” you gasp in shock, your eyes widening in amazement as you reach out to touch his arm without thinking. 

The metal was smooth and you were so enamored by the new information as well as the mechanical appendage that you failed to notice how tense Bucky got and how multiple pairs of eyes were staring at you. Your fingertips gently ran over the cool ridges of metal sections, “Wow... Did he turn your arm metal or did... did something else happen?” you glance between pretty blue eyes and steely metal. 

Bucky slowly reaches his arm out so you have a better view of what it’s like, “Actually that was kind of a joke,” he stutters, an awkward smile gracing his lips, “The real story is way more depressing,” he mumbles.

You halt your movements and stare up at him, the familiar yet heavy weight of embarrassment settling itself deep within your chest, “O-oh... I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to overstep-” You pull your hands away, folding them tightly against your chest. 

“No it’s okay! Really I’ve had a lot worse interactions,” he chuckles and reassures you once again that you didn’t overstep any boundaries. 

You nod in understanding but inevitably go back into your default of shy silence. Bucky stares down at you with a kind smile in hopes of making you feel a little less like an ass. It doesn’t work. 

After a few moments of deafening silence, Wanda makes a move over to the oven, “Alright everyone, quiche time!” 

“Aren’t you vegan?” Bucky mumbles, walking over to the table and preparing to sit down. As Wanda gives her response and mentions the fake eggs she found at the market, you walk over to the table as well. Bucky pulls out the seat closest to you and gives you a reassuring nod. You give a thankful smile and sit down, allowing him to help you push it back towards the table. 

“Thank you,” your quiet voice has Bucky grinning as he sits down next to you.

“Of course, doll” 

Brunch goes off without any more awkward spells and with the help of Wanda’s amazing skills in the kitchen, you begin to feel yourself relax with each bite you take. The afternoon goes on with the others telling you about how they met, silly stories about their friendly adventures, and at some point the conversation turned to you and what it had been like growing up a witch. It was a unique characteristic that none of your friends, new or old, had experienced. 

“Well, my dad is the one who originally got me into it... He was an aura reader like Wanda, and my mom focused more on spell casting and potions,” a warm grin on your lips signal the fondness your memories bring as you tell about your childhood, everyone was completely invested. 

“especially Bucky” Calcifer pointed out silently, giving you a knowing smirk from where he sat on the floor next to you. 

oh fuck off you stupid fox

✸ ✴ ✦ 

With full stomachs and a few full containers of leftovers, you, Sam, and Bucky stood gathered outside of Wanda’s front door as you all belted out a chorus of goodbye’s and excellent days. 

“It was really nice meeting you Y/n, make sure to keep in touch! I’ll be waiting for a carrier owl,” Sam winks at you as he begins to walk down the path towards the sidewalk, effectively leaving you and Bucky by yourselves. 

“He didn’t even let me say goodbye back...” you mumble out, staring at the confident figure that now waited at the property line by a pretty bush of hydrangeas. 

“Yeah... He’s weird like that,” Bucky agrees, glancing at his friend before fully turning his attention to you, “um so I’ve been meaning to maybe like... um maybe get your contact info? I just... I was maybe thinking we could grab like, tea or something sometime?”

As you take in Bucky’s words, you can’t help but notice the awkward and anxious movements he had started, reminding you of the first day you had met him. It made your lips twitch up just slightly. 

“Oh? like, my phone number?” the dumb answer almost had you on your knees with how hard you cringed. 

Bucky let out a breathy chuckle, “Uh yeah, yeah or like maybe an address? Or ugh that’s probably too personal-” “No! no it’s um it’s not,” you answer a little too quickly, discreetly pinching the skin on the back of your hand as punishment for your blatant lack of social skills. 

After a quick beat of neither of you knowing what to do, you finally speak back up, “You could come over tomorrow if you’d like,” 

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why would he want to come over so- “Yeah I’d love to!” Bucky answers enthusiastically, pulling his phone out from his back pocket and holding it out to you, “Just give me your number and I'll text you, we can figure out the details later, K?” 

You gingerly take the smartphone in your hands and type in your number, forgetting to put a name in for yourself before handing it back to him. Bucky’s hand slightly brushes yours as he takes it back and you’re too busy focusing on the lingering feeling on your hand that you miss the cheeky grin on Bucky’s face as he types in a contact name. 

“Hey tin soldier! You ready yet?” Sam’s smooth voice has you turning around with a start at his unexpected call. 

Bucky nods towards his friend, waving him off and turning back to you, “So I’ll uh, see you tomorrow,” 

“Tomorrow,” You confirm with a nod of your own.

Bucky’s smile grows tenfold and he takes a small step towards you, hesitating for only a moment before he leans in and gives a chaste kiss to the apple of your cheek. He doesn’t wait around to see your reaction, jogging over to Sam and slapping him on the shoulder before walking off down the cobblestone streets. 

Standing with your eyes the size of the moon and your face as hot as the goddamn sun, you don’t fail to catch the string of comments that your sleazy little fox makes. 

“Oh Bucky please just take me away! I’m too shy and socially inept to even speak to you properly, please I just love you sooooo much!” Calcifer’s high pitched mocking made your blood boil as he wheezed with laughter. 

“Shut up you stupid fox!” you yell at him, hooking your foot underneath his belly and pushing up and forward to flip him on his side. 

The reynard continued to cackle hysterically as you walked away from him. You could hear the broken comments he made as Calcifer continued to berate you on the bumpy interactions you always seemed to have with the handsome witch. 

“You’re sleeping outside tonight!” you call back to him, a smug tilt to your lips.

The laughing stopped immediately and was replaced by the clicking of little nails on mossy stone. 

✸ ✴ ✦ 

Calcifer’s eyes were glued to your figure as you made a mad dash around your apartment to make sure everything was clean and properly put away. Your socks allowed you to slide across the wooden floors as you shoved the rest of your freshly cleaned towels into a closet and slam it shut. Quickly turning the other way to sprint then slide the rest of the way to your little kitchenette where an almost comically small oven bakes banana nut muffins. 

“You are a nervous wreck right now kid,” Cal points out, a hint of worry in his mostly humorous tone. 

You look over at him, cringing at the realization that, yeah, you probably do look like a nervous wreck...

“It’s just that... No one has been over in a while and the last person that did come over was Wanda and I know she doesn’t care all that much about my tidiness so it was okay but I have no clue as to how Bucky is going to react and it's not like I don’t want to impress him, I mean I don’t need to impress him like my life doesn’t depend on what he thinks but,” “Christ’s sake kid-” “I mean for gods sake my bed is on the floor! He’ll probably think I’m some broke slob who-” Knock Knock 

“Oh my gods,” you whisper scream, no doubt did your aura radiate pure panic...

You shuffle over to the door, shoving your face up against it to look through the peephole and make sure it was the only person you were expecting. Taking a deep breath, you try and center yourself, then open the door. 

“Good morning, Bucky!” you greet, a bright smile on your face as you take in your guest’s appearance. 

Bucky is looking extra handsome today as he wears a dark grey cardigan over a white shirt, dark fitted jeans and, to your extreme surprise, black Converse.

“Hey, Doll” he smiles back softly at you, quickly taking in your simple outfit of a cute yellow crop top and black shorts, “T-these are for you,”  he mutters quickly and pulls a pretty bouquet of wildflowers out from behind his back. 

You beam at the thoughtful gesture and Calcifer doesn’t miss the sense of pride that Bucky gives off at your excited reaction, “Wow, Bucky these are so cute! I love them, thank you very much,” gingerly taking the bundle of fragrant colors, you invite your guest inside and immediately go to your kitchenette to find a receptacle for them.  

Once you find a nice little vase to put them in you spin back around to find Bucky looking around your small apartment, “Um...It’s not much-but the rent is really good and since it’s just me and Cal it works out pretty nice. If you aren’t comfortable we can always-” “I love it, Y/n. It’s really... you,” he glances back towards you, the look in his eyes warming you from deep within your chest. 

“Hey, tin man” the both of you jump slightly as Calcifer interrupts the thoughtful interaction. 

Bucky crouches down and reaches his hand out to the fox, “Hey... Nice to see you again Calcifer” 

“Where’s your dog?” completely ignoring Bucky’s polite greeting, Calcifer passes by him. 

“Oh uh... Sibi is still in training so I didn’t think it’d be a good idea to bring her into someone else’s home just yet,” the man answers awkwardly, dropping his hand and standing back up to his full height. 

Calcifer be nice you little skeez.

I’m just tryin’ get to know the guy, alright? 

You roll your eyes at the red animal and tell him to go onto the balcony. He thankfully listens, giving you and Bucky some privacy. 

“Sorry about him... He can be a little difficult sometimes,” you apologize quickly, nervously rubbing your clammy hands on the front of your shorts. 

Bucky chuckles and shakes his head, “It’s alright, I understand,” 

You give a questioning look at his phrasing and he quickly moves to elaborate, “Well, uh I guess-Ya know- since you guys are really close... I can understand why he would be protective because um, well since I’m like I’m trying to-” “Trying to what?” 

Bucky’s face was beet red as he tried and failed to explain himself to you, who had absolutely no idea what he was going on about, “In any case, I’m sure he’ll warm up to you soon,” you smile warmly at him and turn towards your oven. 

The embarrassed man watches as you take out the piping hot tray of muffins and set them out on the counter to cool. His stomach growls low as the deliciously sweet smell hits his nostrils. 

“How about we go sit down while those cool off?” you suggest and lead Bucky over to the small sofa that sat against the only free wall. 

You tuck yourself into one corner, folding your legs so they were pressed against your chest as you tried to give Buck as much room as possible. It was quite adorable to see the tall, beefy guy try and squeeze himself onto your small couch. A quiet laugh escapes you and he glances towards you, his cheeks tinged pink, “Guess M’not really made for studio apartment sized things,” he chuckles. 

Glad to see he isn’t upset about the cramped seating arrangement, you relax a little bit and start asking Bucky about his life. The two of you fall into easy conversation, talking about your childhood, past and current friends, how Bucky got into magic, your familiars and anything else that came to your minds. 

By the time there was a slight lull in conversation, it was already mid afternoon and you couldn’t help the growls that sounded from your stomach. 

“Um, do you want me to make us some lunch? I have like, sandwich stuff or mac n cheese?” you ask, swinging your legs off the couch and standing up to stretch. 

“Yeah that sounds good, you want me to help?” Bucky follows your movements and you shake your head. 

“S’okay, if you want you can go onto the balcony and I’ll be right out,” You smile up at him, turning to your little kitchen and focusing on making lunch. 

Bucky makes his way out onto your balcony covered in vining plants and hanging bottles filled with god knows what. Calcifer was asleep on a slightly rusted chair in the corner, his tail and legs curled into his body, making him look like a furry ball of orange. Bucky had never seen a work space quite like it. Sam was more of a trader so there wasn’t much potion making in the home they shared together. As he stared in wonder at all of the bottles covering the antique desk and a good part of the floor, curiosity got the best of him and Bucky couldn’t help but to start picking them up and exploring what was inside. 

Most of the bottles were labelled so he didn’t need to worry about those ones, the curious man was more interested in the unmarked ones. Popping off the cork to a green glass bottle filled with a powder, he brought his nose up to sniff and immediately gagged at the overpowering scent. 

“What is that?” he grumbled quietly to himself, closing that one and picking up a new one. 

This bottle did in fact have a label, but it was chicken scratch and for the life of him, Bucky couldn’t tell what the hell it meant as he picked up the murky glass bottle filled with what seemed to be a bright purple fog and opened it, taking in a quick whiff. 

Almost immediately Bucky felt the effects of the mystery potion and he had to steady himself on the desk so he wouldn’t fall over. Blinking a few times, he gathered his wits and slowly stood straight up. 

“Whaaat are you doing?” Your curious voice from the sliding door made Bucky jump and spin around, hiding the bottle behind his back. 

Your eyes quickly shift from the chilling blue irises of your guest to the suspicious amount of movement happening behind his large frame. Bucky lets out a quick scoff before answering, “What? Nothing, just checkin stuff out ya know,” 

His poor attempt at a casual demeanor was lost on you and it was quite evident in the suspicious squint of your eyes as you continued to stare at the man in front of you. 

“Which bottle did you sniff?” you ask flatly, sticking your hand out expectantly, the other hand making its way onto your hip.

“I-I didn’t sniff any bottle,” Bucky mutters out, metal hand going up to scratch the back of his neck awkwardly.

You waited only a moment before he spoke again, seemingly unable to hold back his comment, “That’s a lie I sniffed this bottle,”

He immediately took a bottle out from behind his back and placed it in your still awaiting palm. You knew what it was as soon as you saw the color of the substance inside and began to laugh. It was the hardest you had laughed all day and the resounding noise of your joyous fit surely made its way down to the cobblestone streets below. Your right hand left its initial place on your hip and placed itself over the left side of your chest as you bent over to steady yourself. 

“Y-you just inhaled a shit ton of Truth-Be-Told Smoke” You cackled out loudly. 

Bucky, though entirely confused, couldn’t help the smile that painted itself onto his pink lips as he stared at your beautiful figure shaking from the prettiest laughing fit he had ever heard, “Your laugh is really pretty,” he blurted out, immediately slapping his hand over his mouth afterwards. 

The compliment startled you enough to calm your laughter and straighten your posture back out, “Thank you, Buck. So I’m just gonna assume you’re wondering what’s happening right now,” He answered you by quickly nodding his head.

You giggled and continued on, “Basically, this stuff is used mainly as a partial ingredient in other potions, but by itself, especially undiluted, it’s a high performing truth serum. You won’t be able to say anything except for what comes to your mind for quite some time,” 

“That makes me really nervous,” Bucky’s voice sounds strained as the hand that was covering his mouth moves to wipe down his face in stress.

“Well don’t go sniffin’ a girl’s potions next time!” you giggle out, walking over to return the potion to its proper place. 

“You smell really good,” before you have a chance to react bucky groans in frustration, “Fuck I am so sorry,” 

A light laugh escapes your lips and you look up at Bucky’s grimacing face, “It’s okay, I don’t mind. Plus it’s nice to know I made the right decision on what body wash to buy,” 

You motion Bucky to follow you back inside, ensuring there would be no more accidental roofying. Two sandwiches sit side by side on the small sofa, a little pile of chips next to each one. 

“This is really kind of you, Y/n” Bucky smiles, lifting up both plates of food and waiting for you to get comfy next to him before handing you one. 

“It’s no problem Bucky, you’re my friend now and-” “I don't want to be your friend,” he bursts out, making you frown.

Bucky quickly fixes his mistake, “No sorry- I uhm- I misspoke I-I don’t want to just be your friend.” another grimace makes its way onto his face, “That’s embarrassing for me to say, I’m embarrassed,” 

If you weren’t already sweating nervously, you were now. Clammy hands grip at the paper plate on your lap as you try and will your face to extinguish the fire that has engulfed it. “B-Bucky, I um…” 

“I’m sorry I said that… It probably makes you never want to see me again,” Bucky mutters out, anxiously playing with the small pile of potato chips.

“Actually…” you begin, taking a deep breath and continuing, “It doesn’t bother me at all,”

Bucky lets out a long breath of air, “Holy shit really? That’s fucking awesome because I wasn’t gonna tell ya that today but then I smelt that thing and I’m sweating real bad right now with how nervous I am-I should not have said that, but now that you said what you just said-” 

You put your hand up, signaling for the witch to stop his word vomit and laughed, “Bucky you don’t need to worry… Honestly, I am just as nervous as you,” 

Maybe it was because of the state Bucky was currently in, maybe it was because of something completely unrelated, but it made you feel brave enough to admit more than what you would’ve ever imagined. Bucky somehow willed himself into eating his sandwich, stopping every once in a while to blurt out a random compliment about you, the food, your apartment, anything. He even complimented how adorable it was that your mattress was on the floor, saying it just made everything feel so much comfier and he wished his apartment was like this. You took the comments in stride on the outside, though on the inside you were dying out of embarrassment. No one had ever said such nice things about you, and to the volume that Bucky was going, even if it was against his will, it still shocked you a bit.

By the time you were both done eating, the effects of the smoke seemed to slow down a bit, which allowed the nervous man beside you to withhold all of his thoughts, though it did keep him from lying still. As you stood to clean up the plates and napkins used during lunch, Bucky mimicked you, following you to the kitchen. 

“Today was really nice Bucky...Thank you for coming over,” you smile up at the tall man beside you and try not to swoon when he returns the warm smile.

There wasn’t a beat of hesitation before Bucky responded, “It was my pleasure, sweetheart,”

The term of endearment had your face aflame, something that has become a recurring struggle whenever you were around Bucky and his stupid compliments that always got to you. 

“Ya know, you’re quite the sweet talker when there’s nothing holding you back,” you tease playfully, making Bucky let out a quick bark of laughter. 

“Was I not a sweet talker before? I must have had some kinda skill since ya let me spend the whole day here,” a sly smirk is pulling at the corners of his lips as Bucky leans down closer to you in a mocking way.

You roll your eyes and put a hand to his shoulder, effectively pushing him away and giving yourself some much needed space. If you didn’t breathe properly soon, you were gonna pass out.

Bucky stayed at your place for a bit longer until he got a text from Sam saying that Sibi was getting anxious and that she missed him. You couldn’t help the grin that made its way onto your face when he explained why he had to leave, thinking it was absolutely adorable that Bucky was the only one who was able to calm that gigantic wolf. When it was time for him to go, it became a waiting game of who was going to initiate the final goodbye. 

Standing by your front door, leaning on the trim, you stared into the piercing blue eyes of the man opposite of you, completely unsure of what to say. In all honesty, you didn’t think it’d go this well. For Bucky to spend the entire day cramped up in your apartment with you, eating snacks and joking around as if you had known each other for years… It shocked you a bit when you truly thought about it. 

Bucky sighed, leaning against the opposite frame of the door as he stared back down at you, “So…” a nervous hand came up to subconsciously tangle into the hairs on the nape of his neck, the Truth Be Told must be wearing off, “I um… Today was really great,”

You nod your head in agreement, “Yeah it uh-it was,” your fingers begin to tangle and pull at each other. 

“Do you...Maybe wanna...Do it again? Soon?” he mumbles out, breaking eye contact as he begins to focus on his shoes. 

A little pinch to the back of your hand ensures that what you just heard was real and you nod, “yes, that’d be awesome! I um… Whenever you’re free of course,” 

Y/n and Tin Man sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!

You quickly turn around to see Calcifer prancing in a circle in the middle of your apartment, a sly grin on his face. 

Gods what are you Five? Shut up you stupid fox! I’m gonna throw you off the balcony!

“Doll? You okay?” Bucky chuckles lightly as he sees your face scrunched up into a cute little scowl that makes him want to squish your face between his hands. 

Calcifer's annoying cackles were heard echoing in your apartment as you turned back around to face Bucky, “Yeah, yeah no I’m good… You were saying?” 

“Just that I was free on Thursday, if you maybe wanted to get coffee with me… But it’s really no big deal if you don’t want to, I would understa-” “No! Er-I mean yes! Yes. I would love to get coffee with you on Thursday,” You cringe at your awkward response and bite the inside of your lip to keep yourself from screaming in embarrassment. 

The bright smile on Bucky’s face grounds you a little bit and gives you the courage to meet his pretty blue irises, “So Doll, I uh was thinking-” Before he can finish his thought, Bucky’s phone pings loudly, making you jump a little, “Sorry” He murmurs.

Snatching it from the pocket of his jeans, Bucky takes a look then immediately lets out a quiet sigh, “That’s Sam, I really gotta go,” 

Trying not to let the disappointment show, you nod your head and straighten up, silently wishing he could stay longer, “Okay...Um I’ll see you on Thursday then…” 

Bucky’s head tilts to the left as he considers your shy demeanor and he can’t help but reach out with his right hand and lightly grasps yours, “I’ll see you on Thursday, pretty girl,” 

You suck in a breath, feeling Bucky lightly tug on your hand and willingly following his lead. Taking a tiny step forward, which was really all you could take with how close the two of you were all ready, the breath your holding tightens in your chest as Bucky leans down closer to you. You could feel the warmth of his breath on your cheek, the brush of his long eyelashes ghosting over your temples, and the light squeeze on your wrist from his large hand. Bucky’s lips were soft as they pressed against the corner of your mouth in a light kiss that made you feel like you were in the clouds.

It didn’t last as long as you’d like and once he pulled away, you were able to let out the painful breath that stayed in your lungs for way too long. Bucky gave a quick wave before backing up a few paces, turning around, and walked the rest of the way down the hall. Leaving you to stand there breathless with the lingering feeling of his soft touches. 

“You two are gross,” The floaty feeling that had fallen over you evaporated as you heard the familiar’s voice from behind you. 

“I’m gonna hit you so hard,” You yell over your shoulder, turning around and slamming the door behind you. You pick up a slipper by your door and make your way over to the cackling fox. 

“W-wait wait! OW” 

“Stupid fox”

✸ ✴ ✦ 

-3 Months Later-

“Steve c’mon, stop interrogating my girl and come help set the tent up!” Steve turns his attention from you to his best friend, a smile on his face as he gets up to help Bucky set up the large canvas tent. 

“We will continue this later,” the blonde says pointedly before leaving you by yourself at the wooden picnic table. 

It had only been a little over three months since you had met Bucky Barnes, exactly two since he had worked up the courage to officially ask you to be “his girl” as he put it, and two hours since you had properly met Steven Rogers. How you had gone so long without meeting Bucky’s platonic other half was beyond you, but apparently the guy was a busy bee, and since your little potion shop out of your apartment had taken off, you didn’t exactly have much free time on your hands either. Fortunately, with a little luck and a lot of asking around for favors and covers for work, You, Bucky, Steve, Sam, Wanda, Vis, and all of your respective animals were able to take a long weekend to go camping. 

“Are you guys ready to eat? These sandwiches won’t keep for much longer,” Wanda stands up from the green metal cooler, hands full of deli sandwiches that she had made for the trip. 

A chorus of agreeance sounded across the cozy little site you had booked as you all gathered around the redhead. Bucky came up beside you, wrapping his metal arm around your waist and placing a soft kiss to the crown of your hair. 

“You excited for the weekend, doll?” he murmurs into your hair sweetly before placing a few more kisses there. 

You laugh lightly at his endearing behavior and smile up at him, “Of course I am Buck. I may never get the chance to spend this much time outside of my apartment again,” you joke, leaning up on your tiptoes to kiss your boyfriend on the sharp line of his jaw. 

After everyone had gotten a sandwich, along with whatever they wanted to drink or eat with it, you all squeezed onto the benches of the picnic table and began to chow down. Everyone talked animatedly about what the plans were for the rest of the weekend. Swimming, fishing, “Building a bomb ass fire” as Sam gracefully put it, all of it sounded like a blast to you. If you were being honest, you were just excited to be out of your apartment for more than a few hours at a time. 

“So, you’re a potion maker huh?” Steve asks, mouth half full of potato chips. 

Bucky lets out a groan and rolls his eyes, “Stevie let the girl breathe for fucks sake,” 

The group laughs at Bucky’s annoyance, but then looks at you, “Well, uh yeah… I um was taught at a young age, so it’s something I’m really good at and I know it’s not the best job or anything-” ''It’s an awesome job, kid. I think you’re doing real good. Our own little entrepreneurial witch!” Sam interrupts your babbling, a bright smile on his face as he pats your back just a little too forcefully.

“I mean… I’m not a witch so I obviously don’t really get it like everyone else does, but you seem to be doing really well,” Steve assures you, sending a sense of pride into your chest. 

You had managed to impress Steve Rogers… Not bad, Y/n.

The guy is actin’ like he’s Tin Man's father… The hell is that about?

You turn your head over to where Calcifer is curled up on a dark blue camping chair, bright yellow eyes trained on the blonde man who was still stuffing his mouth with food. 

Calcifer they’ve been friends for ages, it’s normal.

The fox lets out a quiet snuff in response before getting up from the chair and trotting over to the table. 

“Cal do you want some of my turkey?” Bucky asks, taking a few pieces of turkey from his sandwich and setting it beside him on the table. 

Calcifer doesn’t answer, just hops up on the bench and silently eats the portion of meat. It’s taken a while for Calcifer to warm up to Bucky… And though progress if few and far between, the two have definitely gotten closer in the past couple of weeks. The biggest issue at first was how crazy Sibi acted around other familiars, but after a while and a good amount of training from you and Bucky, the hyperactive wolf finally settled and was on track to be a wonderful helper for her witch in training. 

“So… Do you guys have any plans of moving in together soon?” Wanda hesitates as she not so sneakily takes a chip from Vis’s plate. 

You and Bucky look to each other for only a moment before responding, “We’ve been looking at places to go. It’s hard cause we wanna stay in Adelaide but without buyin’ a whole house, there aren’t many options for apartments,” Bucky explains, a small shrug to his shoulders. 

“And there’s no way all four of us could fit in my apartment,” you add, copying Bucky’s shrug. 

Neither of you were in too much of a hurry to find a place of your own, as you were both content in the homes you were in now. The idea of living with Bucky was quite appealing but you knew the more realistic thing to do would be to wait, save, and research to make sure you both lived in a comfortable environment. 

“You guys are so cute it makes me wanna die! Who knew you’d be the ultimate witchy power couple?” Wanda’s swooning caused you to laugh a little as Vision looked at her with mock hurt in his eyes as if to say ‘what are we then?’

Before anyone had a chance to add on, an unexpected voice responded, “I did,” 

Your laughter immediately ceased and your attention snapped over to the other side of Bucky’s large frame. Calcifer sat proudly on his haunches as he gazed back at your shocked face. 

“W-what do you mean you knew?” Bucky stuttered, equally as shocked as you were. 

“I just knew. From the first day you guys met, it was obvious it was that true love bullshit you humans talk about,” the fox brushes off both yours and Bucky’s shock as if it was nothing. 

The rest of the group laughs as the pair of you stutter out broken objections to Calcifer’s claim, “A-are you kidding me Cal? That stuff is like… a myth or something,” 

“Yeah, I mean I’m in love with Y/n n’ all but-” “You’re in love with me?” 

All of the banter around the table halts as five pairs of eyes stare at a now tomato faced Bucky Barnes. “U-um, yes. Yeah-I um, yeah I’m in love with you…” Bucky’s voice is quiet and you’re not sure if he actually said what you heard, but that thought is soon wiped from your mind as an eruption of cheers sounds from your friends. 

A grin makes its way onto your face as you stare up at those pretty blue eyes that you really never got tired of looking at, and you can’t help but bring your hand up to run along the stubble of Bucky’s jaw, “I’m in love with you, Buck” 

Bucky lets out a sigh of relief and immediately leans down to press his lips against yours in a passionate kiss, both of his large hands framing each side of your face to pull you closer to him. 

“Told ya so” 

“Shut up you stupid fox!”

[sylvain-writes]

Guarded Hearts and Safe Houses (Leonardo x Reader) Chapter 7/9

Rated: T

Gender Neutral Reader, canon typical violence/injury, light angst, strangers to lovers, supportive family.

for @melodiousmelodrama 

The blood drains from your face. You feel light-headed and unsteady on your feet. “Are my… are my…”

Donnie’s eyes lock on yours. “Raph’s there with Mikey. Everyone’s OK,” he says, but it brings little relief. “Your parents were at a charity function for the hospital.”

“And Gram?” Your throat’s gone so dry, you can barely get the question out.

“At the neighbors’.”

A shaky breath passes through your lips as you wrap your arms around yourself.

Leo stalks the mat as he thinks aloud. “This was a targeted attack. Their numbers might not be what we projected. But they didn’t get what they came for - hostages or us. They’ll be back. We have to get the humans to a secure location.”

Your thoughts extend beyond the safety of your family. “You have to protect the apartment building.”

“Yes.” Leo gives a sharp nod. “We have to defend the city. They’ll strike the building again. We can set up a base of operations somewhere close. Keep a lookout.” He whips out his phone and calls his brothers. “Mikey, sweep the area for somewhere to set up a base. Prepare for another attack.”

Mikey’s voice carries over the speaker. “You got it, bro.”

“Donnie,” Leo commands, “get us ready to move out. Whatever we need. Devices to track their signature, that new bo you’ve been working on. Anything else you got that might help against these guys. We’ve never been up against something like this before. We’re gonna need every advantage we can get.”

“The new weapons? But I thought you said...” Donatello rises to his full height at his brother’s nod of approval. “Of course, Leo. It’d be my honor to supply the team with new hardware. To be used in tandem with our traditional weapons, of course.”

Leo urges him, “Go!” and Donnie heads out at a sprint.

When Leo turns to you, you’re having trouble catching your breath. Tears cloud your vision and the lump in your throat makes it hard to speak.

“This is my fault,” Leo says by way of apology. “I shouldn’t have let my feelings distract me. Your family should have never been in danger.”

You understand now. How being a distraction to him is dangerous. The world depends on him. Tending to you, indulging you, led to this.

You believed his fears and insecurity about being vulnerable, showing weakness, were baseless. But leaving the city open to attack, leaving your family at risk… it isn’t worth whatever feelings stir in your chest when you think of him.

You’d rather have him and everyone else safe, than to be selfish. This isn’t him choosing to ignore you, this is him choosing to save the world.

When you return to your family home, Leo kneels before your parents and Gram. “I have dishonored you, failed you. I know my words are not enough, but I hope you will allow me to defend you and your home. I will not fail you again. On my honor. On my life.”

Your father, filled with fear, sputters before leaving the room. You know him, he doesn’t put the blame on the turtles, not really. But he doesn’t have anywhere else to direct his feelings of anger, fear, and confusion. Not yet.

Leo appeals to the women as they remain. “I allowed my mind to be clouded by distraction. It will not happen again. I devote my life to ninja and to your protection.”

His apologies hurt more than you thought they would, know you’re the distraction of which he speaks. Though you came to that same conclusion less than an hour ago, hearing it from his lips ties your stomach in knots.

“It’s time for you to go,” you find yourself saying. “You being here puts a bigger target on us, doesn’t it?”

Leo nods and stands.

“Then, go save the city, Leo. We won’t stand in your way as distractions anymore.”

Leo’s face twists in pain before his emotions slip behind the wall he builds so well. He heads for the window and you close it behind him with more force than necessary.

Once he’s gone, you try not to think of him. Your family needs you. They’re shaken and confused. And you don’t have all of the answers, but you have faith in the brothers. You have to believe they can fight this threat to the city. You have to believe they can win.

The Krang don’t attack again that day. Or that week. And a lookout returns to the roof. But it’s Leo and you won’t go up there. You don’t want to talk to him and it’s clear he doesn’t want you around.

But being in the apartment, unable to spend time on your rooftop escape, is making you stir crazy. You do get little drop ins from the other guys, sometimes right before their patrol.

Raphael will stop in to see Gram, ask about a new stitch he’s working on for his latest yarn project - a blanket for Mikey. A birthday present the young turtle isn’t supposed to know about.

Donatello dropped in to give you a secure phone so you could contact them in case of an emergency. “Or, you know, if you ever just want to talk about life, the universe, and everything.”

Mikey leaves you horoscopes, but it’s bittersweet. He doesn’t stick around to explain what he thinks they mean.

You convince yourself you’ve gotten over Leo, that the reason you spend more time looking at his horoscope than the others is because he’s the one perched on your roof and if the horoscope is predicting bad news for him then that translates into bad news for you, for your family, for your building. And you need to be prepared. You are absolutely not looking for any clues in regard to his feelings for you, any clues as to when you can expect him to knock on the window and apologize for pushing you away. When you can expect him to announce he’s come up with a way for you to be a boon to their cause instead of the distraction he’s determined you to be.

When the Krang launches an attack on Times Square, it’s all over the news. People are frantic. The city is in chaos. And you don’t know what to do. There’s no way off the island - and though you’d like your family to get to New Jersey, to get somewhere safely out of the way, you don’t even think of leaving yourself.

You and Leo haven't spoken to each other in over a week and you have no idea how he’s been handling everything. The guys haven’t given many clues. Mikey’s horoscopes are too vague to understand without his interpretations.

You know Leo holds so much inside, not wanting to burden his brothers with more than what he thinks they can handle. Why doesn’t he realize that if he trusted other people to share the burden, it’d be easier for everyone to carry? His brothers wouldn’t be as worried about him and all four of them would be better prepared to handle whatever dangers are to come.

You kiss your parents and Gram goodbye and head south toward Times Square. They know where you’re going. They don’t try to stop you. Mother straps a pack full of medical supplies to your back and squishes your face before you go. “I would be right beside you,” she says, then casts a meaningful look at Gram and Father.

The city is madness. The streets, which you thought would be teeming with people running for cover, are empty. Everyone who could find shelter has found it. Those who couldn't, well, they don't need shelter anymore.

You charge through the streets on foot, sure the subways are out of order. There are no cabs to take you, no clear streets to drive through even if there was a vehicle to drive.

You duck behind an abandoned news stand as a disembodied brain alien floats past. You peek through the rows of magazines to see it's not the only one. There must be a dozen krang moving down the streets. They don't seem to be looking for anything, led by an unseen force.

You startle when you feel a large, cool hand close over your mouth and nose. "Don' scream, a’right?" You'd recognize Raph's voice anywhere.

The tension in your shoulders eases up, but only a little.

"Your supposed t’ be hitchin’ a ride with Don. Gettin' the hell outta here with Gram and ya parents."

You pry Raph's hand from your face and gasp for air. The dude really doesn't realize just how massive his hand is. "I'm not leaving. I can help."

You notice the gash on his arm, and without hesitation, you swing your backpack off of one shoulder and around to your chest. It takes only a few seconds for you to fish out antiseptic spray and a roll of gauze. You patch him up efficiently. And Rapahel grunts. It's about as much thanks as you could hope to get while he's focused on the fight.

"Told you. I can help. Get back out there. Is anyone else hurt?"

"Bout a few thousand New Yorkers." Raph’s brow furrows and his eyes look haunted. It only lasts a moment before he shakes his head and shifts his frown to a grimace. “These slimeballs fucked with the wrong city.”

You look around at the First Responders on the scene. "What about your brothers?"

"Why dontcha ask 'em yourself?" he asks as he scans the area for any sign of those things .

You grab the secure cell from your pocket and dial the open line to the turtles. "Mikey. You alright?"

"Hey! What's shakin'?" Mikey’s greeting is casual and bright, even amid bedlam.

"You sound winded."

"I'm kinda in the middle of something,” he explains, and you can hear the thuds and shuffling of a brawl. “Can I call you back? Later? Oof. A lot later? Yow! That's my good side, dude!"

In spite of everything, he manages to make you smile. "Where's Leo?"

A gruff voice joins the line. Deep and calm. “I’m right here.” Mikey’s channel cuts out and the background falls silent. Leo has found somewhere quiet to talk. "Where are you?"

Raph leans toward the phone to answer for you. "Wit me."

There’s shock in his voice, confusion and concern. "You're supposed to be with Donnie."

"Well, I'm-"

"Helpin', alright?” Raphael defends. “Got a little banged up over here. Glad I had someone on my side t' patch me up.”

You smile at him and he shoves your shoulder a bit before smiling back. And you were wrong, your first impression of him… that his snarl couldn't be improved by a smile, because when Raph smiles it really does light up his face. Softens his edges.

It's like the rare occasion when Mikey lets himself get lost monologuing about his interests - before he catches himself and hopes that you aren't upset by his enthusiasm.

You've only seen Donnie smile like that once. Carefree.

But you've never seen Leo wear a carefree smile. Not ever.  Maybe something tight lipped. Or something fond. Sad. Leo’s smiles hold secrets and burdens. His shoulders hold responsibility. There isn't a carefree bone in his body. He holds the weight of the world on his shell. And try as he might to hide the toll it takes on him, his brothers can see he can’t do it alone.

"Fine,” Leo concedes. “Stay with Raph."

"We're comin' to you, brutha."

"Wait where you are- No!" There's a thud and a gasp and Leo gives a shout of pain before the line goes dead.

[thewritewolf]

Breaking the Ice

Summary: The gang's plan to spend a week in an Alpine lodge hits a snag when, unbeknownst to Alya and Nino, Marinette and Adrien find out each other's identities. Now it's up to Alya, the power of love, and a freak snowstorm to push past the awkwardness and break the ice.

Hello and welcome to this very special birthday fic that has been three months or so in the making! Sadly Over's birthday came right at the height of me being swamped with the monthly prompts. But I got there eventually! Happy (very) belated birthday, @overworkedunderwhelmed!

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3

The kilometers rolled past, putting them farther and farther away from their homes in Paris. Despite the promise of a cozy cabin in the Alpine woods waiting for them in the not-so-distant future, the mood in the car wasn’t the full and bubbling excitement that Alya had hoped for.

Most of the conversation had been driven by her and Nino, whether it be jamming out to his mix tapes or just talking about recent events. Not that there was much conversation going on right now - a four hour long car ride was enough to take it out of anyone. But for the entire car ride Alya was grinding her teeth at Adrien and Marinette’s seemingly stubborn refusal to talk to each other.

It had been almost a month since everything changed, their last weeks before they graduated from lycee and were set out into the great wide world. For the last year they’d been planning this - going out to Nino’s uncle’s cabin and spending a week hanging out. Just like old times, in case life conspired to keep them apart. After all, while they had resolved to stay in touch and meet regularly, who could really say for sure when they were all going to different universities?

Marinette had even gotten over her insecurity and babbling around Adrien! They had become great friends over the years, but then… something happened and they were back to square one. Except now it was even worse because not only was Marinette a mess, so was Adrien! They could barely make eye contact before looking away, blushing like school kids. Which they technically weren’t any more!

It was disgustingly cute, but also incredibly frustrating. Alya had thought that she had put all of this stuff behind her years ago, even if she was always hoping they’d still end up getting together.

Smiling mirthlessly, Alya stared ahead as the cabin rolled into view. It had been a while since she’d meddled in Marinette’s love life, but it seemed that if they were going back to their old ways, so should she. A plan began to come together…

Hopefully the weather would cooperate.

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

Nino watched the girls head inside with the bare essentials, leaving him and Adrien out here to get the rest while they got everything turned on. He turned around in his seat to look at Adrien as he stretched in the back.

“So, how are you feelin’ from that long ride, bro?”

“Not too hot. And not just because of the time in the car,” Adrien said with a shiver. “I knew it was going to be cold, but still.”

Nino snorted. “Well, maybe getting up off your rich kid butt and helping me out here will warm you up.”

“If you say so, my oh so worldly best bro.” The two of them chuckled as Adrien got out of the car.

While they were only staying there for a week, they packed plenty so that they wouldn’t need to make any unnecessary trips to the nearby town. It was good in theory but it did mean that it took multiple trips to get all the suitcases and bags and coolers.

Plenty of time to chat up his best bud.

“So what’s up with you, dude?” Nino picked up a suitcase for each hand. “Decided on what you’re going to university for yet?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” Adrien said, rolling his eyes. “Father still wants me to go into business.”

“Yeah but I didn’t ask what daddio wanted, did I?”

Adrien sighed. “I’m not entirely sure. I like the idea of becoming a teacher.”

“You’ve tots got the patience for it.” Nino grinned. “You’re almost as chill a dude as I am.”

“As long as someone doesn’t try to mess with your playlists or take over the radio.”

“Driver alone gets that kinda power dude,” Nino said, a solemn air to his words. “You can’t just let anyone go messin’ with that stuff.”

“Uh huh.” Adrien smirked and hefted a cooler by himself. The dude was stronger than he looked. Maybe all that modeling came with some perks besides the obvious? “My other plan is maybe just…” Adrien seemed a little embarrassed. “...starting a flower shop.”

“...A flower shop?”

“Or something like that! Just a little business of my own that has nothing to do with fashion. Where people can’t say that I was only put there because of my father’s connections or whatever.”

“Flowers, huh?” Nino tapped at his chin, smiling. “Lemme guess - does this have something to do with a certain pigtailed friend of ours?”

“I- That’s not- No!”

“How are you two doing anyway, bro? Me and Al have been supes curious about what went down between you two.”

“What about that movie script you were working on?” Adrien said. “You were pretty far along the last time we talked about it. Did you work out the last few kinks yet?”

Nino could recognize such an obvious change of topic when he saw one, but he didn’t have the single-minded drive of his girlfriend and let it slide without comment. Besides, he could use Adrien’s help in talking out some of the more difficult parts of the movie’s plot.

An hour later, just as they’d finished bringing in their stuff and Nino got a good sense of how he wanted his story to go, he looked up at the sky and frowned when he saw the dark clouds and the flurry of snowflakes already coming down.

Nino closed the garage with the car in it and was thankful that they had already brought in plenty of firewood along with the suitcases. It looked like tonight was going to get chilly.

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

The four of them had already arrived fairly late into the day, so by the time they had gotten settled in, the sun was beginning to sink over the horizon. The light was made even dimmer by the snowstorm raging outside, its chill only barely pushed back by the roaring fireplace that they were huddled around.

There were two loveseats in the cabin and when Alya and Nino had taken one, that naturally left the other for him and Marinette. Each pair wrapped up in blankets to keep the cold out and to keep the shared warmth in.

Of course, they had more than fire to keep themselves warm, Adrien thought as he nonchalantly glanced to his side, toward the woman that was always at his side. Even if he hadn’t known just how true that was until a month ago. Was it good fortune that had made this partner and love interest one of his closest friends outside the mask? Or was it terrible luck, since they had barely managed to spare two sentences for each other ever since they found out?

Adrien was almost sure that there was a conversation going on, but for the life of him he couldn’t hear it over his pounding heart. Sitting there still as a statue, he was hoping that no one would notice his current state of distress, praying that he could make it through this week in one piece.

His prayers were immediately not answered since Marinette was slowly but inevitably closing the distance between them. Was it because of the cold? Or was there something else at play here? Either way, his lack of a response - or, at least, him not stopping her - seemed to give her courage as she got ever closer.

Which would be enough for his poor heart to handle on its own if it weren’t for the fact that once she was about as close as she could get without sitting on his lap, the back of her hand brushed against the back of his. It was enough to make his heart skip a beat. He redoubled his efforts to pay attention to the conversation just as it seemed to be ending.

Nino yawned and stretched, raising his arms above the warm confines of his blanket as he did so.

“Well, dudes, looks like I’m gonna pack it in for tonight. All that driving really took it outta me.”

“I’ll probably head to bed too,” Alya said. “The faster I’m under a warm set of sheets, the better.”

“Right. So we’ll be heading to our room now.”

Adrien had a sinking feeling with how they said that and he realized that there was one critical question he had never gotten around to asking during all the time that they had been planning this trip:

“Where is my room?”

“Oh, don’t worry, you and M will have the room just down the hall from us!” ALya said with a grin, her head poking around the corner just before disappearing behind it. “Nighty night!” She shouted once she was out of view.

Adrien’s mouth went dry and he stared at the roaring fireplace for a long moment before turning to look at Marinette, who seemed equally scandalized. With an apologetic shrug and a half grin, he stood up on shaky legs and made his way toward their apparently shared room.

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

Marinette wasn’t sure how much time had passed, since they had awkwardly crawled into bed and rolled over onto their sides, facing away from each other. The room was quiet except for the muffled sounds of the fire in the other room and the howling winds of the snowstorm outside. Darkness had long since crept in, leaving the room a mess of dark shapes and shadows that moved ever so slightly thanks to the faint, flickering light of the fire coming out from below the bottom of their door. Even with her eyes adjusted to the dark, she couldn’t see much beyond a few inches in front of her face.

The quiet left her plenty of time to think. Did she move too fast by getting so close to him in front of the fire? She was still a little mad at Alya for trying to force things along like always. She and Adrien were just… going through something right now. They’d get there in their own time!

...Then again, it had already been a month without any progress. Maybe Alya had handed her a golden opportunity. Was he even still awake? Marinette was the stage of tired where she could feel the exhaustion but knew she would never be able to sleep. Least of all with Adrien right there.

With nothing else to do, she decided to take a chance and roll over. It seemed that the years of fighting alongside one another had put them in sync since he rolled over at exactly the same time. They suddenly found themselves face to face, so close that she could feel his warm breath on her.

“Hey,” she said, sounding lame to her own ears.

“Hey, he said back.

Marinette bit her lip and tried to find the right words to say. Her thoughts were all mixed up and she struggled to make the first move.

“I love you,” Adrien blurted out. His cheeks blushed so fiercely she could almost believe they were glowing. It certainly helped her see him in a new light.

Her eyes soften and she smiles. She scoots closer to him.

“I love you too.”

Slowly and hesitantly, fearful that the spell might be broken and this would all prove just a dream, she leaned forward the final few centimeters between them and pressed her lips to his.

Outside, the storm raged on. But inside, cuddled close together through the night, they stayed warm.

[marvxlousqueen]

Warren Worthington- Mistakes

requested: I don’t know if request are open🙈but whenever you can, can you please make an angsty warren x reader where the reader was mind controlled and attacked warren and maybe hurt him (wings for example) and after, warren broke up w her. She then sees him w another girl and decided to completely ignore him like get him out of her life and let him find peace again/happiness even if it’s not with her. But w a happy ending like them getting back 🥰🥺 I love ur angst warren fics btw 💓💓

word count: 1.3K

warnings: cursing thats it i think

(Y/n) woke up with her head pounding. Opening her eyes, she realized she was in the infirmary back at the school. Last thing she remembered was heat- a burning heat that might’ve been coming from her before she passed out. 

“(Y/n), you okay?”

Sitting up, she looked to her left and saw Ororo watching her, a concerned look on her face. Peter stood behind her.

“Hey Ro, what happened? The shooters-”

“It’s fine. Everythings... everythings fine.”

Peter nodded, but the look on his face wasn’t convincing.

“Pete? What happened? Is it Warren? Is he okay?”

(Y/n) looked around the room  and saw the other beds empty, no sign of a hurt Warren.

“Peter, please. What happened?”

He looked at Ororo. She gave a nod and he answered. “There were more mutants with them than we thought. Thought they had just the two, remember?”

(Y/n) nodded, eyes trained on his face hearing every word.

“There was a third. Some mind control dickwad. He saw that you were the one smoking them out of the building and I guess he tapped into your head. Jean tried to stop him, but she was busy helping Scott save civilians...”

(Y/n) could hardly breath. Someone had controlled me?, she thought. 

“And?” she asked, not even sure she wanted to hear what else had occured.

“He turned you against us. You started flaming at us and the other two mutants got away before we could shoot them down. Got the mind control guy though and he let you go.”

(Y/n) swallowed, “Did I- Did I hurt anyone? Oh god-”

Ororo spoke up, “No civilians.”

“Thank god, but- but the team?”

She continued, “You kinda fireballed my storm and made me fall, but I’m alright. That was about it. Except for Warren.”

(Y/n)’s eyes widened, “I hurt Warren? Fuck! Is he okay? Where is he?”

Peter sighed, “he’s in his room healing up. You basically toasted his wings. Hank says he outta commission for the next few weeks until the feathers can regrow.”

She nodded, head feeling heavy. (Y/n) pulled her legs off the side of the bed facing Ororo and Peter. 

“Woah, where you going?” Ororo pushed her back onto the bed.

“To see Warren. I need to apologize and I- I miss him. Want him to know I’m okay.”

“He doesn’t want to see you.”

(Y/n)’s eyebrows furrowed, “What? Why not? I need to apologize.”

Peter sat down on her hospital bed, “he- he blames you, (y/n). I tried talking to him. I know it’s not your fault- we all know it’s not your fault. He’s just not listening.”

Her throat went dry. 

“Yeah, Peter’s telling the truth. I think you really scared him. He was up pretty high when you shot him down.”

(Y/n) pushed past Peter and pulled out the IV in her arm. She marched down the hallway, still wearing her hospital gown. 

“(y/n) don’t!”

Ororo called after her, but knew there was no good in trying to hold her back.

She made her way to Warren’s door and knocked until he opened it. (Y/n)’s eyes were immediately drawn to his wings. They weren’t the normal pristine white, they were black and charred because of me, she thought.

“Warren I am so so sorry. I had no idea what was happening and I couldn’t control-”

He cut her off with his words, “(Y/n) I’m done.”

His words rang in her head, “d-done? Done with what?”

“You. This. You’ve always been dangerous and it’s sad that you had to just about kill me for me to see that for once.”

“That wasn’t me! I wasn’t the one-”

He shook his head, “you had never been able to control yourself. This is for my own safety. I hope you get that.”

(Y/n) took a second to study his face. The dark circles around his eyes were more pronounced under the lights in the hallway. His lip was busted open, probably from biting it when he got nervous- a bad habit he had never been able to break.

“Warren-”

“Please, (Y/n).”

He went back into his room and closed the door, leaving (Y/n) outside as tears formed in her eyes.

(Y/n) spent the next few weeks adjusting to life without Warren. They had almost every class together, including training. It hurt to see him look so okay with it. But each time she felt tears coming she would suck it up and think about him. He needs to be safe, she would say. With that understanding, she began to put him out of her mind and attempt to move on. 

The thing that made that far more difficult was seeing Warren chat up Betsy during training. It almost made (Y/n) gag. They were getting way too close during partner stretching, but she had to remind herself she wasn’t allowed to be jealous anymore. He wasn’t hers anymore. The worst part was how often Warren would look over to her, almost as if to say “look at me! I’m moving on just fine!”. 

(Y/n) looked away and focused on the task at hand: holding a target for Jubilee to punch at. (Y/n) spared one more glance at Warren only to find him looking back for what must have been the third time that class. His face flushed and he went back to punching the target Betsy was holding. Since (Y/n) wasn’t paying attention and had unconsciously began to lower the target, Jubilee punched her square in the nose. 

“Fuck! Sorry! Jesus- I am so sorry (Y/n)!”

Her hand flew up to her nose to try and stop the blood from hitting the mat below them. 

“Let me take you to the nurse. Here-”

“I can do it! I can- I can take her.”

Warren walked over and nodded at Jubilee before putting a hand on (Y/n)’s back to guide her.

She rolled her eyes, but didn’t risk saying anything since she didn’t want blood in her mouth. The walk to the nurses office was silent. Then Warren sat across from her as the nurse wiped up the blood and checked if it was broken. 

“Yep, broken alright. Stay put and I’ll go see if Hank has anything to help with that.”

(Y/n) nodded, washing her hands in the nurse sink after the woman left. 

“Can we talk?”

(Y/n) turned off the faucet, “about what?”

“About how sorry I am. About how- how I wasn’t thinking and was scared and stupid. So fucking stupid.”

(Y/n) turned around to face him and was surprised to see him standing close to her, eyes getting red. 

“You did scare me, I won’t lie about that. But I was a dumbass for blaming you. You’re not dangerous- you’re really not. Every mission I honestly feel like you’re the only one who can actually protect me. The only one I trust.”

“Don’t trust Betsy?”

His eyebrows furrowed, “Betsy? Oh- I, well, I might’ve been using her to see if you still felt anything towards me.”

Her jaw dropped a little, “that’s so fucked, Warren.”

He nodded, “I know, I know. I’ll apologize to her later, but I just had to tell you that first. I am so sorry.” 

(Y/n) stared up at him as he took a step closer. 

“I don’t expect you to forgive me, but-”

She cut him off with a quick kiss before his nose banged into hers. 

“Fuck! My nose- jesus.”

He grabbed her arm, “you okay? Sit down, sit down!”

He sat next to her on the nurse’s table.

“Sorry- didn’t mean to bang into your nose, just got a little excited.”

(Y/n) laughed before biting her lip, a habit she realized she must’ve picked up from Warren. 

“Excited why?”

He took her face in his hands and turned her towards him, “Haven’t kissed my girl in two weeks because I was an idiot.”

He leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss being mindful of her injury. 

“I missed you.”

taglist: @chocolatealmondmilkshake@thoughtlesspace@chxrrymoons@babebenhardy@rexorangecouny@cyndagoaway@killcomet@mcrmarvelloki@queen-turtle-boiii@hardlylo@ziggymay-blog@onceuponadetectivedemigod​@ixchel-9275​@queen-baelin @radiob-l-a-hblah​@kurt-nightcrawler​@kellypenac​@disaster-rose​@free-pool-trash​@jinxfirebolt18902​

[heychangbin]

The Camping Trip ║ Part One

Summary: An offhanded admission turns into a weekend trip.

Wordcount: 5228 

Warnings: There be smut ahead, Billy working with his hands, that warrants a warning too, right??

A/N: we’re doing parts for this one too y’all, the entire thing came to be over 16k and I’m not about to do that to anyone. I’ll post the next part in the next few days. tag list at the bottom.

It was one of those rare weekends where everyone had a free Saturday night, there were no stuffy business dinners, overseas conference calls, no late night researching of New York City’s penal code, or the chasing leads for The Bulletins next exposé, that's how you found yourself in your favorite comfortable jeans and t-shirt, sitting beside Billy in one of the tables that lined the wall of Josie’s bar, pushing sleeves of his olive green henley to his elbows as he gesticulated  while he, Frank, Curt, Matt and Foggy were in the midst of fleshing out a new and improved screening process of new recruits at Anvil so as not to fall into the mistake of Iron & Steel, a rival company who, due to a too lax vetting and screening process, recruited a soldier with PTSD and was now looking at several lawsuits for a training exercise that went wrong.

After they had hashed out the outline for implementing new training protocols, rescreening the personnel and recruits, and possible mandatory sessions with Curt and his veterans group you turned over to the TV behind the bar, watching the two men in the ring deal blow after blow while you wait for Karen to return with the next round of drinks and continue your own conversation with the blonde.

It was just under two minutes into the first round when one of the fighters, a well built man with fair skin and reddish brown hair, wearing black and green trunks, swung his right arm, landing a green glove covered fist to the underside of his opponent’s, a dark skinned man with closely cropped black hair, wearing ((black trucks with a red stripe going down the side,  jaw, making him stumble sideways along the ropes. He was on his way down when the familiar logo of WHiH New York flashed across the screen, making everyone in the bar, you included, curse and groan at the interruption.

It was after the news anchor, a strawberry blonde in a conservative scoop navy blue dress, recited the scripted greeting and a banner appeared at the bottom of the screen reading, “dead body found at Thatcher Park Trail.” that the bar quieted down enough for you to hear what she was saying.

"Earlier today, what was supposed to be a relaxing stroll through the woods for a young woman and her dog quickly turned to the things of nightmares when she discovered the body of a dead man, who we now know is Senator Silverstein.” a picture of a man in his early 60s, dressed in a charcoal suit, white shirt and bright red tie, with light brown hair and a generous dusting of white throughout his head, thin lips and his features lined heavily by the years that had passed him by, swept in from the right, “Jeff Santoro is at the scene with more on this story.”

The video cut to a man dressed in a dark windbreaker, looking directly at the camera, giving a few small nods, holding a bulky microphone in his right hand, the WHiH logo stamped on the cube under the foam cover at the top.

“Thank you Christina,” the man said into the bulbous cover, the video on the screen splitting down the middle, on the left, the reporter read off the screen of his phone, reciting what the senators last day’s schedule had been, while on the right, various looping clips of Senator Silverstein talking with the press, walking out of The New York Capitol building, sitting in a plush arms chair deep in thought, and of him having lunch at some restaurant with a portion of his staff.

After having finished, he looked up from the screen of his phone, looking directly at the camera once more and saying,

“Christina, everyone in the news station and especially to our viewers at home, the following is graphic in nature, we strongly suggest that our young and more sensitive viewers turn off their screens.”

There was a brief pause, then a nod and he raised his phone again and began reading from the screen. As he read there is a mixture of murmured phrases that range from “holy shit” to “about damn time” throughout the bar as Karen pushed her way through the tightly packed bodies, bottlenecks of the next round of drinks tucked securely between her slender fingers.

“Can you believe that?” she asked, eyes wide as she settled the bottles at the center of the table except for one, bringing the dark brown bottle up to her lips and taking a swig, turning back around, eyes locking on the TV screen.

“Yeah,” you said, taking one of the bottles for yourself, “kinda makes me feel relieved that I’ve never been camping.”

Frank spluttered mid drink, a violent cough wracking his burly body in the seat across from yours, fighting not to choke on the liquid going down the wrong pipe.

"You gotta be shittin' me," he said, wiping the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, "you've never been camping?" Frank asked incredulously.

"It's not that weird Frank." You said, picking up your bottle and taking a measured swig.

"It's kinda weird." Billy chimed from beside you, long fingers slowly turning the dark green bottle in front of him.

"It really isn't,” you argue, annoyance creeping into the edges of your tone, “I bet Matt's never been camping either."

"Red's blind, he doesn't count." Frank said matter of factly, waving off your comment like someone would brush away an annoying fly.

"Wasn't born blind guys, I went camping with my dad all the time before it,” Matt paused, tapping the side of his red tinted glasses with the lip of the bottle in his hand, "happened.”

You looked across the table at him and glowered, it didn't matter that he couldn't see you, you were sure that he could feel it...or was at least picking up on it with his enhanced senses.

It was then that Karen put forth the idea of a group camping trip. As they discussed when it would be a good time and what state park to go to, Billy wrapped an arm around your shoulders and pulled you closer to his side, kissing the top of your head and whispering against your temple,

"Don't worry, I won't let any bears eat you, only I get to do that."

"Gee, thanks." You say, feeling a wave of warmth spread through your body at the image and sensations his words conjure up, you bring the bottle in your hands to your lips, taking another swing of your drink to hide the creeping blush you can feel on your face, making him laugh as the others continue talking enthusiastically about who had and would bring what, things that had to be packed, things that needed to be bought and most importantly, how long the trip would be.

You turned back to the TV behind the bar, tuning them out just as the special bulletin ended, the broadcast signal going back to the fight, a slow motion shot of the man in black and green trucks landing a devastating blow on his opponent, making his head snap to the right, the rest of his body following the motion as his skin rippled with the force of the hit and going down. The bar coming to life with a roar as the hit was replayed, a banner scrolling at the bottom of the screen that read “due to the interruption, the fight will be available on the HBO website” as an announcer came into the ring, a microphone lowering from the ceiling and in a booming voice announced the winner by knockout in the third round, making the man in the black and green trucks raise his arms in victory as the people in the arena and in the bar around you roared to life again.

In the days that followed, the group text was full of pictures of tents, sleeping bags, camping chairs, portable power stations courtesy of Billy, who had four of them lined up with a caption that read, “I got us covered on electricity” and countless other stuff. Between the pictures were questions for possible dates, it was Karen the one that suggested the upcoming holiday, everyone readily agreeing.

You groaned internally, you had been looking forward to those four glorious days to destress with Billy, were secretly hoping that he’d have some kind of overseas conference call that he could not postpone, but when his text came through a few minutes later saying that it worked for him, your hopes were dashed, sending your own reply.

At the end of the following week, after lists were checked twice and everything was carefully packed, you all piled into two SUV's, Billy, you, and Curtis in one, Frank, Karen, Foggy and Matt in the other and were headed to Watkins Glen State Park, a drive that was just a little over four hours, not something you were looking forward to but Billy and Curt assured you there would be stops along the way for everyone to stretch their legs. So far it wasn't bad, the change from city to greenery was soothing, the soft music spilling from the car speakers helping a great deal as were the stories Billy and Curt were recounting of their own trips in the past, Curtis from when he was a kid with his dad and Billy from his time in the military,

“Billy, I don’t think that counts as camping.” you said, turning to him and looking at his profile.

“‘course it does,” Billy argued, taking his hand off the wheel to push his aviators up the bridge of his nose from where they had ridden down. “It’s outta the city, deserted, limited access to supplies. It’s the same thing, just that we ran the risk of an air strike...so maybe a more extreme version of camping.”

You rolled your eyes at him, his laughter filling the small space as he no doubt caught the action out of the corner of his eye.

“Yeah but everyone runs that risk now, what with giant holes appearing in the sky and whatnot.” Curt said from the back seat.

You moved the conversation into lighter topics, and after a quick rest stop Billy maneuvered the SUV through the twists and turns of the park, pulling into the site a while later and killing the engine, the second SUV pulling up just a beat later. It was a flurry of movement after that, trunks were opened and unloaded, you pulled on one of the smaller coolers while Billy tugged on a couple of duffles, hooking the straps to his shoulders and walked off to the northern edge of the site as you gripped both handles of the cooler and carried it over to where Frank and Matt were bringing down the picnic table that was leaning up against one of the more sturdy looking trees.

You were on your way back to bring out another cooler when you saw Billy crouched down on the ground, strong hands pulling and tugging out the large and rolled up tent, followed by a smaller bag. He pulled on the drawstrings that held it close, turned on the balls of his feet and slid out various poles beside the rolled up canvas. You shifted midstep, walking to where Billy was separating the hollow aluminum rods by size and shape.

“Need some help there Lieutenant ?” you asked coming to a stop behind him. Billy looked over his shoulder, the right side of his lip lifting, pushing the apple of his cheek up, making the corner of his eye crinkle in your favorite uneven smile, giving you a quick nod.

“Sure, I could use a hand.” he said, grabbing the rolled up tent, setting it on it’s side in front of him, pulling and gathering the ropes that were holding it close and stuffing them in the back pocket of his loose pants, and giving it a push, the curled up edged flopping open.

“Whaddya need me to do?”

Billy flipped open the folded flaps, his thumb running over a black stripe that ran up the middle “Grab that end, will you?” he pointed a long finger at the opposite end

You walked around him, pushing the sleeves of your plaid overshirt up, the soft cotton bunching at the crook of your elbows and bent down to take the edge, looking over at Billy when you stood back up.

“Gonna turn it so that you’re standing where I am”

You nodded, taking a step in the opposite direction that Billy went, setting it down when you had switched places, then pulled the folded edges at the center, spreading the four corners out until the tent was laying flat on the ground. He walked over to where he had all the poles laid out and picked up a small mallet and a bunch of stakes and went around the tent, pulling the edges, sticking the stake through the grommet and hammering it down, the muscles in his arm bulging and tensing as he brought the mallet up and down.

“Y’know, this’d go much faster if you helped.” you could hear the humor in his voice, and you shrugged,

“There’s only one mallet and I'm enjoying the view too much to ask Frank or Curt if they’ll let me borrow theirs. It’s not every day I get to see you do manual labor.”

“That doing it for you?” he asked, eyes focused on the hook of the spike as he brought the mallet down a little harder than necessary, the muscle in his forearm shifting and tensing, cutting a line that ran along the bottom of his arm all the way to his elbow, looking up when the spike was buried all the way into the ground. Sweat beading across his forehead and down his temples, dampening the roots of his dark hair, a few drops running down and disappearing into the top of his beard.

Warmth that had very little to do with the sun that filtered through the canopy of trees spread throughout your body, as you watched Billy work, Yeah, it is.

He smirks at your silence, huffing out a laugh as he shakes his head and moves along the side of the tent to the next grommet, threading the spike through it and hammering it to the ground.

“Learn something new everyday.” amusement colored his voice as he pushed himself up and moved to the next spot.

It wasn’t long until he was hammering the last spike down, completely securing the bottom of the tent to the ground he braced his hands on his bent knees and pushed himself up, left hand reaching for the brim of his hat and  pushing it up and off his head, running his free hand through the damp long strand of hair.

“Ready to get back to work?” he asked, taking the edge of his shirt and using it to wipe across his forehead, down his nose, and over his top lip.

“I mean I guess, since the show is over and all.”

The chuckle he let out was full and hearty as he placed the faded cap back oh his head and walked over to where you were standing,

“I can give you a private show later.” his voice was pitched low, his breath fanning against your ear making a shiver run up your back, fanning the flames of the simmering warmth that watching him work had sparked.

“Imma hold you to that Lieutenant.” you say, stepping closer to him, his hands instantly coming to rest on your waist, bringing you that much closer, your arms circling his neck, the fingers of your right hand stroking the small hair at the nape of his neck as his fingers find their way under the edge of your shirt, gripping the skin there. The calluses that never seem to completely fade from his fingers press against the soft skin of your waist, making you feel hotter as his grip tightens, his tongue coming out to run across his bottom lip before he pulls it into his mouth, teeth digging into the ample flesh, you press yourself forward, lifting yourself onto the balls of your feet, your chest pressing against his, your head angled to the side ready to slot your lips over his, you feel his hands tense and shift, you’re prepared to hoist yourself up when he wraps his arms around your waist and lifts you up, instead you feel him ease back.

“Let's finish getting this thing up so we can take a break.” he says, giving your skin a final squeeze before stepping away and walking to where the poles are on the ground, you let out a huff and shake your head, muttering “fucking tease”

You go around the tent setting up the poles, you’re on the last corner when you begin to feel beads of sweat gathering at your temples, over your top lip, and at the nape of your neck, you gathered your hair at the crown of your head, twirled the silky strands between your fingers and twist it into a bun, hooking your finger between your wrist and the elastic band that was there and quickly pulled your hair through it twice. You take the last pole and thread it through the two hoops on the tent wall and secure the bottom end to the ground, you take a step back and look at what you helped build, fully erect, it’s big, way bigger than what two people need, could probably fit everyone in this thing.

You walk around the tent, dusting your hands off ready to grab a beer for a job well done when you see Billy walking over, a bundle of ropes and more spikes in his hands.

“Thought we were done?”

“Almost, just gotta secure the poles to the ground using these” he said, holding up the bundle of ropes and stakes as he walked past you to the nearest corner of the tent, you turn on your heel and follow behind him.

“Gonna do a slip knot, hook it to the top of the pole, drop a stake and move to the next one. While you’re doin’ that, I’ll fasten them to the ground. Should be done in no time.” he hands you the ropes and stakes and turns to get to work, bringing the mallet out, angling the stake on the ground and starts to steadily pound on the bent top.

You drape the ropes over your shoulder, stuff the spikes into your back pocket and walk over to the next pole over. You pull one of the ropes free, taking the end and wrapping it generously over your index and middle fingers of your left hand, looping the tail over the standing end with your right, then reaching your left fingers through the loop, you take the standing end and pull it through until the knot tightens, making sure to pinch the tail between your index and thumb of your right hand. You hook the loop on the top of the pole, take a stake out from your pocket and drop it, move to the next pole and repeat the process.

You're more than halfway done when you look over at Billy hammering away at one of the spikes, looping the rope under the hook and pulling it until it’s taunt, muscles bulging and shifting with every twist of his hands, then clamping the hook at the end of the rope on itself and moving to the next pole.

Your mind goes back to the words he had said when he had caught you staring at him, wondering how much stock to put to his earlier statement, from experience, you knew Billy was a man of his word, but the tent you were finishing up could easily fit him, yourself and at least two other people.

Maybe we'll bunk with Frank and Karen, that happens on camping trips, right? You hook the knot you've just finished to the pole in front of you.

“So,” you say, plucking another rope from the bunch on your shoulder and start looping it over your fingers, “we gonna be sharing this place with the others?”

“If you’re cruisin for an orgy--”

“Jesus Christ Billy!!” you cry out, eyes going wide, head whipping to the side to look at him. You roll your eyes at the way his shoulders are shaking with laughter as he takes a break from hammering down the stake.

“Just askin’ ‘cause this thing looks like it’ll fit more than just the two of us.” you pull the rope through the loop a little harder than necessary and hook it over the pole, pulling the next rope free and start working on tying the knot, his laughter following you as you stop at the next pole.

You hear some shifting behind you as you tighten the knot, reaching your hand out to hook the loop over the knob at the top of the pole when you feel Billy press up behind you, his arms wrapping around your waist and bringing you against his chest.

“Just gonna be us in here.” his voice is a soft rumble against the side of your face as he trails the tip of his nose from the apple of your cheek to your temple, “‘nd, just in case you were wonderin’,” he continues, lips brushing the shell of your ear, voice pitched low, “I don't share what’s mine.”

You feel your throat go dry and your body go warm at the low possessive growl at the edge of his words, your knees turn to jelly and you suppress a moan as blunt teeth sink into the juncture of you neck and shoulder, it's just on the side of too much when he laves his tongue over the bite.

“Thought never crossed my mind,” your voice comes out breathy, making Billy chuckle into the space behind your ear, his arms squeezing you just a fraction tighter, making your head fall back against his shoulder. After a few beats you clear your throat a couple of times and squeeze his wrist, “Should probably get back to it, I don't wanna have to sleep with one eye open thinking half this thing is gonna fall in on us.”

"Coulda stayed like this for a bit longer" he hums, his arms loosening their hold on you.

Me too Billy, me too.

You’re hooking the loop of your guide rope on the last corner, already pulling and working on the knot of the next one when Frank suggests you go and gather some wood to get a fire going.

"The hell did we buy those bundles of wood for if you weren’t gonna use them to build a fire?" You asked over your shoulder, pulling the rope through the loop in your hands and hooking it to the pole in front of you,

"It's part of the experience" He says too cheerfully for your taste as he walks over to where you are. You look over at Billy who shrugs, adjusting the guide rope, making sure it’s taunt. Stepping up to you and taking the remaining ropes from your shoulder and draping them over his own with a, “I can finish this up on my own,” holding out his hands for the stakes, which you hand over reluctantly.

"Anythin’ on the floor and dry is fine!" Were Frank's last words to you as you walked off past the treeline that was around your site.

You wandered around picking up sticks that looked dead and dry, constantly looking over your shoulder to make sure there wasn't some wild animal about to pounce on you. You had a decent pile of wood under your arm when you stopped cursing Frank to the moon and back. The scenery was nice, the intermittent sound of birds singing was soothing and the odd sighting of squirrels and chipmunks made you simultaneously smile and curse yourself for leaving your phone behind.

You lost track of time as you kept walking aimlessly, bending to pick up another stick to add to the pile you had going when you felt a pair of hands snake themselves around your waist. You didn't need to turn around to know who it was, you'd recognize the feel of those hands anywhere, (the rougher texture of his right index finger where the pulling of a trigger had made it calloused) you leaned back into the strong chest you had woken on that morning, letting out a pleasant and content hum as his face buried itself in the crook of your neck, soft lips leaving a trail of kisses that went up your jaw and behind your ear, to that spot that turned you into putty in his hands.

"What are you doing here Billy?" You asked, your voice coming out a little breathless

"Came to check on you, make sure you didn't wander off too far." He said, against the shell of your ear, giving your lobe a playful nip, the kind that always had you moaning and shuddering in his arms.

"I'm not having wilderness sex with you Billy" you meant for your voice to come out stern but it came out breathy, making him smile against the shell of your ear.

"Thought never crossed my mind." He murmured, hands going tighter around you as he kissed his way back down to your shoulder, sucking and biting the skin of your neck, and grinding his crotch against your ass.

"Liar, bet it's all you've--” a moan interrupted you as his teeth sunk into the soft skin on the crook of your neck, your hips shifting against his hardening crotch of their own accord, “you’ve been thinking about ever since Karen brought up the idea of a camping trip." You said, hand going to his head and burying itself in the longer strands of his hair, your nails dragging against his scalp. His moan was muffled by the skin he was teasing and sucking on, the grinding of his hips was firmer, their shifting full of purpose, and despite not wanting to give the local wildlife or some stray camper a show, you couldn’t deny that Billy was gonna get his way.

You dropped the pile of sticks under your arm and turned, your arms going around his neck and bringing him down into a kiss, he gripped and walked you back until your back was pressed against a nearby tree, his hand caresses the side of your neck, thumb guiding your head to the side so he can kiss and suck along your neck.

His hand moves down, pushing and squeezing your breast up making you hum into his mouth. He slots his thigh between your legs and you shift against it, you’ve worked yourself up but still need more to help you over the edge,

“Billy…” the single word is a desperate plea for more, for him to touch you were you need him and Billy wastes no time in doing so.

His long finger tug and pull at the button and fly of your jeans with practiced ease, hand slipping past the elastic of your underwear and between your folds. The pad of his middle finger circles your clit with a feather light touch that has your shifting downward. Your hand grip his hair and you mutter out a

“Stop playing around Russo, if you’re gonna fuck me—!!” your words die a swift death as his fingers fully press onto your clit as he flicks it about. His fingers work you relentlessly and you come screaming his name. He keeps circling your clit, each stroke sending shivers through you, making you moan and wince slightly as you quickly became overstimulated.

He slowly pulls his hand from between your legs, slotting his lips over yours, his lips moving slow enough for you to catch your breath. When you have your bearing about you, you pull back, placing kisses to the corner of his mouth, his jaw, his chin, and work yourself further down, placing one on his adams apple, another at the hollow of his throat, you kiss his chest through his shirt as our hands work on loosening his jeans and pushing his boxer briefs down, freeing his length.

You lower yourself down until your level with the tip of his member, have half a mind to drag this out just a few seconds more, but when you look up at him through your eyelashes, see the way his eyes were blown, a barely there ring of dark brown around the pupil, making his eyes look completely black, you couldn’t help yourself. You continued to stare into his eyes, licking your lips before taking him into your mouth, swallowing a portion of his length and pulling back again, repeating the process until you’ve taken as much as you can of him, leaving the rest to pump with your hand.

Above you, Billy sings a symphony of steady curses interrupted by the odd moan and groan, it wasn’t long before his hands tightened in your hair with a breathless,

“...I’m close”

Making you double your efforts, and after a few hard sucks he was crying out your name, spilling into the back of your throat. You swallowed everything he gave you before tucking him back into his briefs and getting up off the floor.  

He was breathing hard as he fully leaned against the tree in front of him, a wide smile on his lips as he pulled you against him, wrapping his arms around you as you both worked to catch your breath.

“We should get back,” you murmured against his chest once your breathing had returned to normal, “Everyones gotta be wondering what we’re up to.”

He chuckled, pressing his lips to the top of your head

“They ain’t wondering shit, they know exactly what we’re up to.”

You pulled away from him just enough to look him in the eyes, arching an eyebrow questiongly, he just shrugged and said,

“I told Frankie I was gonna come after you and see if we could find the answer to the age old question of, if two people fuck in the middle of the forest and no one is around to hear them, do they make a sound?”

You groaned and let your head fall back to his chest. Of course he did, it really shouldn’t be a surprise to you and you imagined it wasn’t much of a surprise to your group of friends either, they had known Billy way too long for any of his antics to shock them at this point.

“Come on, Karen promised me s’mores.” you said as you pulled away from him completely and turned to pick up the small pile of firewood you had gathered, ready to head back when you looked around you and saw that you had no idea where you had come in from.

“Billy?”

“Yeah?” he said, followed by the sound of the zipper of his jeans being pulled up.

“You know how to get back...right?”

Your question was met with an unsettling silence, then, a murmured,

“Shit.”

Gen: @something-tofightfor @its-my-little-dumpster-fire @the-blind-assassin-12 @suchatinyinfinity​ @bts-smolarmy @elanor-of-imladris @emyyjemyy

Billy Russo: @nananananananananananabatman @shinebrightlikeafanbase

[nitholites]

Assuming someone in the BatFam is the end game:

It's been only a week or so since Tony figured out who Ladybug is

She's captured everyone's hearts, but has to go to Gotham soon

For help, but also because of her internship

The Stark Gala becomes a 'you better live and come back one day, Mari or I STG' party, hosted by Tony Stark, of course

She makes all the outfits of the Starks, her parents, herself, Jagged, Penny, Luka, and Kagami (the last two friends minus Chloe from Paris) and she makes extra in case someone has a wardrobe malfunction

Meanwhile, the Waynes have heard a lot about the newest Stark: MDC

Tim is a fanboy. He's found everything related to his favorite rock star's designer/niece there is to find ("I'm not obsessed! They're just super talented, and I'd like something from them! Stop laughing at me, Dick!")

Dick has no room to tease him, as both him and Jason are pretty much in the same boat

Kor'i and Mar'i love MDC, as well

Every one of the Bats are huge Jagged Stone fans

Like... Nearly rabid

(Damian, Bruce, and Alfred redact that statement)

They're invited to Tony's gala thing (he only started it to surpass the Wayne Gala, like the Lil Shite he is)

The night of the party, only Bruce and Jason go, since the rest of the bats are busy

Bruce, Jagged (who brought Fang), and Tony are all chatting in the middle of the floor, 2/3rds of the group are just talking up Marinette

Jason, meanwhile, accidentally runs into this small, adorable child who proceeds to spill her punch all over his suit

He insists it's fine, but she won't take 'no' for an answer ("I am so sorry, please let me make it up to you" "Kid, it's fine, accidents happen" "No, seriously, let me help")

There's a look in her eyes that insists she do something, and he eventually agrees

Cue to Marinette having a suit jacket that matches and fits Jason because "You look like you're the same build as Mr. Stark (she's all for joining Peter in calling Tony 'Mr. Stark' to get under his skin)"

"you know Tony?"

She shrugs, and doesn't comment anymore on it

"give me your address, and I'll bring this back when it's clean again. I'm moving to Gotham for a while soon, anyway"

He does, she doesn't realize he's a Wayne, and they part when the party ends

Cue the entire BatFam sprinting into Jason's room, chasing after a full on scream

Like, they didn't know Jason's voice could get "so high and squeaky, what the hecc?"

They pause as they see Jason litterally jumping up and down

"What the hell, Todd."

Instead of answering, he shoves the jacket in Tim's face with a shite-eating grin

It takes a moment, but Tim scowls and pulls out his wallet

When the rest of the family only look confused, Tim sighs and explains

"He got an MDC original first."

"...you had a bet on that?"

Jason freezes, eyes widening

"HOLY SH*T, I MET THE MDC! SHE WAS SO TINY, OH MY GOD, BATS, WE HAVE TO ADOPT HER!"

They're confused for a solid minute

"YOU DONT UNDERSTAND SHES AN ANGEL AND HAS BLACK HAIR AND BLUE EYES!! SHE'S OBVIOUSLY A WAYNE!"

It takes all of Bruce's willpower not to adopt her on the spot when she visits them

Like, he almost brings up adoption papers

But he knows Stark would fight tooth and nail to keep this baby

So he restrains himself

(for now)

(he swears if one of his children doesn't marry her, he's bringing the adoption papers to court)

She doesn't stay long, only meeting all the Waynes at the house and going back to her hotel

The next day, a villain goes after Mar'i, near the park/mall/something Marinette is by

Instead of becoming Ladybug, she heccin kicks arse

As Marinette

She gets both her and Mar'i out of danger without a scratch using a yo-yo of all things and meets Batman and Robin as they clean up the rest

She's all like "no, it's alright, I'm sure anyone would do the same please stop thanking me, my family's gonna kick my ass to next year for scaring them like this"

Bats comes up and takes her statement, and she happens to mention the situation in Paris

"oh, this was nothing compared to some of the Akuma I've faced" "What's an akuma?" She paled, eyes widening in shock. "You don't know? About Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Red Wasp, Multimouse, Hawkmoth, Mayura, Carapace, Rena Rouge, and all them?"

She explains a little, giving basic information everyone knew, then shows him the app she made a while ago

The Akuma Alert app that held much more than just akuma-related things

She leaves soon after, and Batman has a goal in mind

Within the day, Diana is furious at the lack of response towards the Paris situation

"This Ladybug was left alone for all this time?! Shame on you all, leaving my mother's successor alone!"

When Ladybug is later spotted (hehe, get it?) in Gotham, the entire BatFam finds her and gets her in touch with the League

She explains how she asked both the League and the Avengers for help, all those years ago, and was pushed aside with warnings not to send in prank calls anymore

Of course, Iron Man has already looked into it, but he's not exactly a detective and the more brains on this, the better

Meanwhile, as civilians...

The normal shipping stuff happens

With the exception that nearly every criminal in Gotham low-key adopts Marinette

They may think she's the next Wayne, but the Angel of Gotham is off limits

And not because the little Wayne chases after anyone who even looks at her wrong with a katana

Not just as Robin. As Damian

Marinette actually meets a few villains on the street

She was going to a commission, carrying some hero, vigilante, and villain themed macaroons when she got lost

(before meeting the Waynes officially, actually)

She was in a park, looking lost when Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn came up

She offered treats, and ever since she's the Angel of Gotham

Once, when on a date with her romantic interest, Killer Croc tried taking the restaurant hostage after robbing a bank

Key word: tried

Marinette calmly slipped behind him, grabbed his tail, and dragged his butt outta there

(he blames the fast French girl and the tile on the floor, which didn't let him get a good grip)

By the time Bats and the police got there, Croc was in tears as this tiny French girl lectured him about manners and interrupting dates

(the BatFam can't think of a funnier time)

When the Joker actually kidnaps her as a way to get to Batman, literally everyone rages a rescue mission

Harley, Poison Ivy, Mr. Freeze (Marinette reminds him of the daughter he's always wanted, with his frozen wife), Two-Face (Marinette talked philosophy with him, showing him he still had choices beyond the black and white), Killer Crock (who was impressed by the tiny French girl who threw him out of a restaurant by his tail that one time), Batman, Robin, the Teen Titans, Red Hood, Red Robin, Wonder Woman (she could feel Tikki's influence on Marinette and guessed her identity), Nightwing, all the Avengers, Red Wasp (Chloe, with the Bee Miraculous because she earned it back ages ago), Sabine (no one messed with her baby. No one), a teenage boy wielding a potato gun (who let this kid here?), Pepper, Penny (the two women were fast friends, bonding over their husbands' eccentric ways), Jagged with Fang, Audrey Bourgeois, and the entire police force storm the Joker's hideout

He didn't have a chance

Later, they admit it was kinda funny watching the small Sabine beating the crap out of the deranged clown

Fang, who was usually a puppy with scales, didn't hesitate to bite off the Joker's hand, reminiscent of Captain Hook and the Croc

Marinette's fine (or not, depending on how much angst you want in the story. It's easy to have her tourtured and nearly killed in the Joker's clutches {or actually killed and focused on angst from everyone who knew her [possible heavy Lila/class salt]} and see her move past her PTSD) and she gets home eventually

Around this time, she's made the Guardian of the Miraculous

She eventually goes back to Paris with her huge family (or everyone she thinks could keep their emotions in check)

They kick Gabriel's arse, but Adrien gets away with his mother (who was healed by Ladybug)

Possible second book

Marinette's ship becomes the Black Cat

Time skip, fiveish years later, some of Marinette's classmates see her for the first time since she left

They insult and sass her, not changed since school

Her S/O scowls and debunks them easily, defending Marinette

When they don't stop, Marinette's S/O calls Bruce, Tony, Jagged, and the rest of the League and the Avengers to destroy the morons in the class because they know how long they've waited for this moment

Mari puts her head in her hands, but doesn't stop them because she knows how long they've waited for this moment

Three hours later, the speeches and lectures aren't done yet

Lila eventually goes to Gotham or wherever Marinette is, and tries to warn the person on her arm about Marinette's 'bulling tendencies'

That gets another lecture

Or, her class gets a tour at either SI or WE, depending on when in the story you write it (could be both, and the class just doesn't learn or Tony, Pepper, and their kids were visiting WE to talk about Mari Protection Measures when they overhear it)

Lila goes off on how Mari's S/O is actually Lila's, or how she's BFFS with Batman/Iron Man/ Bruce Wayne and his kids/ Tony Stark and his kids/ the Avengers/ the Justice League

Cue the class seeing Mari

Instant bullying

The resident children and billionaire steps up, insulting and embarrassing the class while defending Mari

Lila tries to turn it around, but they're having none of that

First the kids jump at the chance to defend their little sister and/or girlfriend, then the big guns show up

At WE, it's Bruce, a highly protective Jason, and Tim, who has every single sin/mean thing/lie pulled up in a folder

It's thicker than his hand, and hard to hold

It's both in digital and physical form and sent to every single member of Mari's family- blood related or not

At SI, it's Tony and Pepper

FRIDAY steps up, too

Harley shoots Lila with the potato gun mk 3 until she leaves

The class don't know what they did wrong, but they swear to make it up just to get the scary CEOs and relatives

Also, if anyone knows the AU where Marinette was a street kid with Jason and his little sister (I can't remember who made it or what it was called, but I fell in l o v e), that could work with this one too. Jason would be so proud of his Lil sister being so famous and awesome and "how dare you let me think you were dead!! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!" "I made you worried?! You up and nearly got killed last I checked!"

Jason swore not to tell her he actually died once. He prays she never finds out.

@tired-butterfly @evil-elf16 @doggiediva13 @krispydefendorpolice @mochegato @legallyspawned @kryptored

[meowdymista]

i. the one that got away

Warning: spoilers

Part of Devil’s Backbone project - Masterlist - redrafted on ao3

“I think someone’s coming.”

Sadie leans out from around the station, expecting another false alarm. Abigail keeps her head buried in her son’s hair, breathing in his scent, trying to keep calm. This was why she stayed in camp as long as she had. It was bad enough waiting for his damn horse for the duration of whatever job he was on. The anxiety driven adrenaline was always pumping, and the sudden rush of relief often left her over tired and snappy - she prays under her breath, eyes scrunched closed. Bring him back to me. Please bring him back to me and I will never shout again - I will be silent, I will be complacent, just please, please-

“Is that...?” Riding haggard down the train tracks, he’s rasping, bloody and muddy, but oh so very there. Spotting her with her long blonde braid and the fitted trousers, he forces the crook of his mouth to chisel into his cheek, and tips his hat with the last of his energy.

“Mrs Adler.”

“Arthur!”

Her soft features shatter. Tilly is already running into the road, not looking back, her sobs the opposite end of the spectrum..

“Arthur! Arthur, you made it!”

“Let’s git him off his horse. Tilly, think you can hitch her?” The grunt is undeniable. Raspy, rough and deep. It’s not him. She squeezes her eyes tighter, stars erupting under her lids - Please, please, please-

“Mama! Uncle Arthur’s back!” She tries to gather the energy to keep him close, but her body is a bag of bones with no tendons. The boy tries to tug her up by her index finger, but the weight of the world is suffocating. Her boy - their boy. All that wasted time. She still couldn’t tell him.

“Forget me,” grumbles Arthur, his spurs clanking over the planks. “Where’s Abigail?”

“She’s- she’s here. What happened?”

“Abigail-” The heat that tilts her chin is gentle despite the calloused skin. Her body responds, sweeping her face to the left and then back into the safespace of his hand. “Abigail, look at me.”

A sob heaves out of her chest, her lashes dropping their heavy load as he comes into focus, dishevelled, beaten, but unmistakably there. He takes a breath to speak, but it catches and his own mouth droops lower than she has ever seen. His other hand holds her neck, supporting it. “He-” The tears fall with his hat. “Abigail.”

She throws herself up against him, sobbing uncontrollably, crying harder when she catches Jack’s small voice asking Tilly if Mama is hurt, is he hurting her, she looks like she’s hurting.

“He came back.”

“John?” She scrambles, trying to push him back so she can see the verity in his eyes, but his grip is surprisingly firm for his shrinking frame.

“Abigail…”

“Where is he? Where-” And already her energy is used. She slumps back against the wall, her weight taking him with her.

“Woah there cowboy,” growls Sadie, pulling him back, but Abigail is past caring. There was no weight left to crush her. She feels him resist at first, before relaxing, allowing the woman to pull him back until he is lying on the planks barely able to catch his breath between coughing fits. She hears the slug of water Tilly retrieves from his satchel, and even hears the air as he shakes his hand at her, still spluttering breathlessly.

He groans loudly as the fit passes and he accepts the drink.

“Did you say something about John?” Sadie is squatted next to him, holding his shoulder to keep him balanced. Tilly is knelt the other side, wiping the gleam from his brow. “What happened when you got back? Micah? Dutch? The money?” 

“Jack?” he gasps suddenly.

“I’m here, Uncle Arthur!” The man sighs with relief, or exhaustion. Jack brushes Abigail’s hair from her face. “Mama, are you sick?”

Sadie curses. “I think she’s passed out.”

“Nah, she’s there.” He coughs and staggers to his feet despite Tilly’s objections. “She’s in shock. C’mon, we all need-” He hacks away again, shaking his head as his adopted sister rubs his back. “We need a roof. Somewhere to stay. Somewhere-”

“Somewhere to get you two rested up,” finishes Sadie. He nods. “Tilly, I think there’s a room above the gunsmith.”

“I’ll be right back,” she promises, lifting her yellow skirts, her beaten boots kicking the dirt up behind her.

“Unser Retter!”

“No, no, he’s fine, leave him be.”

“Ist sie verletzt?”

“She’s with me too. I just sent my friend to get us a room.” Sadie tries to disrupt the amalgamation of foreign chatter, but it’s sweeping over Abigail’s head, swirling into nothingness.

“This man- he helped my family. His friend; she is sick also?”

She sighs in exasperation. “Listen, we’ve just been through a lot, we don’t need saving. Like I said, my friend-”

A male voice gushes more foreign sounds.

“My father. He wants to help. He- he-” The small voice sighs. “Er wird sie heben. Heben?”

“I don’t know what you’re saying.”

“I think he’s offering to carry her,” growls Arthur. “We’re fine, friend. Thank you. I can get her.”

“Arthur, you ain’t even carryin’ yourself right now!”

“You and Tilly need to get yourselves out of here.” He looks up to Sadie, blue eyes begging, each breath rasping from his open mouth. “There’s too many of us. I’ll take care of ‘em but I need you-”

“What you need, Arthur Morgan, is to quit trying to be the hero,” she snaps, grunting as she lifts Abigail to her feet. “You helped me out at Hanging Dog Ranch, and I did my best to get John’s family out. You can’t do this alone. Let me help.”

“Fine,” he wheezes, stroking Abigail’s arm as Sadie helps her in the direction Tilly left it.

“Where’s Pa?”

“Listen, Jack. I need you to be brave. Can you do that for me?” The boy nods, eyes wide with fear. “Follow Mrs Adler and your ma. Miss Tilly is getting you a bed for the night.”

“You not comin’?” calls Sadie, glaring back.

“I’ve been runnin’ with Dutch over twenty years. They know who I am. It’s the best chance I can give yer.”

“Sir, you stay with my family.”

He grins. “See, hospitality abound!” He looks back to the girl and her father. “I can’t accept that. I’m a dangerous man, but thank you.” “We found you on the road,” the girl replies. “We brought you home. My father, he has medicine.”

“I’m past medicine, miss.”

“My uncle is doctor in Germany. You come with us. We have medicine.”

******

They pass a week in Annesburg, Sadie scouting ahead with advice of various homesteads.

“If we could get to Strawberry,” murmurs Arthur as the blonde mother forces a bowl of grey blue paste into his hands. “There’s a couple of cabins up there. A taxidermist who’s never home and a newly married feller that rode off the cliff.” “How’d you know about those kinda things, Arthur?” she asks incredulously as he spoons the goo into his mouth. “And what the hell is that?”

“I quit askin’.”

“I know I knocked Pearson the whole time we were in camp, but right now he looks like the chef of the century.”

His  chuckle tickles his throat into a cough. “They make proper food too. I think it’s medicine of some kind. Or poison. Either way, no one else here seems to get it. Want some?”

“I’ll pass.” Sadie surveys him. His eyes are a little less dark, his breathing nowhere near as raspy and somehow his face is a little fuller. “You know, Morgan, I thought you were dead when you rode off.”

“So did I.” He coughs into the handkerchief again before clearing his throat. “Listen, go North outta here an’ take the road North East, up the hillside. Eventually you’ll see a little cabin with blue shutters - last time I went by, the place was empty and had been for a while. Might be a better place for y’all to stay ‘til we can get somethin’ more permanent.”

“What about you?”

“I got contacts. Met a widow an’ a coupl’a hermits.” He shudders as he forces the last of the paste down his throat. “One’s a self proclaimed King. I gotta check the small print, but I’m pretty sure if I kill him, that makes me the new monarch.”

“Oo, look at you! Got your sights set high, huh?” Sadie lands a soft punch to his shoulder as he coughs out a laugh. “Living up to the legend!”

*****

“SNAP!”

“Yeh’re gettin’ good at this, Jack.”

���I’m winning! I’m winning!”

“You sure are, son. C’mon, I’m gonna go a bit quicker now, yeh ready?”

“Damn straight!”

“Hey now, what would your mama do if she heard you cursin’ like tha’?” There’s a small nervous giggle. “Naw, this time it’s just between us boys. Don’t be sayin’ tha’ in front of your mama, ok, Jack?”

“Sorry, Uncle Arthur.”

“S’alright, just don’t go makin’ a habit of it, yer hear? Else she won’t let me play you again.”

The silence is broken by the flick of cards. The world is swirling, knocking her sick. Everything aches and her head is heavy - it takes a few seconds for her brain to catch up. The damp is leaking into her hair before she realises that she’s crying.

“Mama?”

“It’s ok, Jack. Keep practicing.” A chair drags dully across the rug and the rugged warm hands encase the folded frozen pair on her stomach. “Abigail?”

The whisper is warm and dances over her skin, waking it up. Blinking, she tries to open her eyes, but there is too much moisture. His thumb strokes her lashes clean, and she tries again. Arthur is watching her with concern, his blond hair a halo in the light from the window.

“Hey there, darlin’. You thirsty?” She shakes her head, her neck stiff, but as she swallows to speak her throat is dry. “Here, we got you a cup, just take a sip for me.”

She obeys, accepting his help as he tips the cup to her lips. Through the gap her swollen eyes can make, she sees Jack turning cards and counting them to himself. “Did you teach him to do that?” she croaks.

Following her gaze, he chuckles. “Blackjack was no fun without a dealer.” She scowls as he leans back to cough. “I’m just messin’. Kinda.”

She sighs, a smile trying to fight it’s way onto her face, but the anchors pull down at her cheeks. “You said- Something about John?”

He hesitates, glancing at the boy as he scrunches up his handkerchief. She touches his hand, the one that’s still on the bed.

“Please?”

He sighs, fingers scratching into his beard. “I will.” He meets her gaze, his eyes sad and sick. “But not with the boy here. Later. I promise.”

[plentyofgay]

Hey hi me again. Posting questions

These are v intrusive. Idk if they make you feel vulnerable. They sure as hell make me feel vulnerable. If you want me to not then tell me pls. I also read you the ones that make me sounds bat shit crazy. If you want. ALSO KEEP IN MIND IM NOT LIKE THISBYEAR ROUND. Just this time of year is hard for me.

🖤am also hust curious what you and ya dad did in Madison. I kinda like to live vicariously thru other people father relationships.

🖤Do you trust me? That I would never hurt you?

🖤Are you afraid to ask to hang out with me cause you think your parents are gonna be suspicious

🖤Are you overwhelmed with how much I ask to see each other?

Are you just making up excuses or finding ways to get out of hanging out? It’s really okay if you don’t want to. Just like tell me.

🖤If I’m getting to be too much I can back off. Everyone always says I’m too much. But I know so far that you can handle me so that’s why I’m letting you have all of me at this point.

🖤What happened to us hanging out more? I genuinely miss that. It’s getting to where I don’t see you but for a few hours every other week and that’s really really hard. I know that your busy but is that it?

I don’t know how you generally feel about that.

🖤Do you like crave getting to see me?

Like I literally crave getting to see you and hug you and kiss you. Like I want that all the time.

I know it’s hard to sneak around. I know. I don’t want to get you into a issue with your parents

So it just gives me more reason to like fade away from your life. I don’t wanna do it. But I’m starting to think more and more how it can benefit you. That thought really actually breaks me heart. I’ll try anything other than that. Unless that’s what you need. I know it’s not what you want. But do you need that?

maybe. You’ve been so so so busy these past few weeks. I know it’s hard to make time for you to see me. I don’t blame you at all. But it still makes me angry and sad and upset.

Shit I’m sure you could tell your parents that you were going to hang with Kai and they’d be fine with it or that Kai was coming over for dinner and they’d prolly be happy about it.

I have no idea what they’d think if I came to have dinner and hang out. I want to really bad. I wanna come see you everyday if I could. I can make up excuses to come hang. Even if we can’t act like we like each other. I can do that. I will gladly do that. I’ll literally do anything for you.

🖤Like I said I know you love me and I know you like me like I like you. Just things have been happening that keep me questioning it. But things tell me not to doubt it cause that’s when things fall apart is when doubt sets in.

🖤So I’m gonna be confident and optimistic even if i get sad that we can’t see each other as much as we’d prolly like. Honestly you’d prolly get sick of me if you did.

🖤I just wanna cuddle and take naps and play games and get drunk and tickle you even tho you hate hate hate it cause it always turns into us loving in each other.

🖤God I honestly hate how much I want you. I want to know why I’m like this. It bothers the he’ll outta me. Even if I try to forget you I can’t. Not in the way you think I mean it. I think

🖤I’ve tried multiple times. I even had a guy come over that one time and went out on a date with a guy cause I didn’t think you liked me. But all I coukd literally think about was how much I wanted that guy to be you. This was before we even really really got to know each other. Why am I so fucked up? What’s wrong with me?

🖤I just want thing to be happy and everyone to be happy and ti have a solid relationship that’s typical and sweet and fun. I just want that. I want what we have to turn into that. I want a typical basic ass relationship with you. I WANT IT SO BAD.

🖤These things make me feel stupid that I have these random thoughts that make me hella over think.

🖤Like I’m pitiful cause I’m sad that I don’t get to see the guy I like so I sit in the bed. In the dark. HOPING that he may get to come over. It’s so stupid. I’m so stupid.

If him and I don’t work then I’m really really reaaaaally done with dating. I’m not gonna fall for another guy. I don’t think I can handle it. Fuck I can barely handle this.

🖤I’m so fucking thankful for him. I can’t explain how thankful I am for him. There are no words to explain. It’s literally a new emotion.

🖤Here’s a list of things I currently wanna do.

🖤Go out on a date date, go watch the stars, go get a fish for my tank, just fucking cuddle, just fucking kiss you, have sex with you, take naps together, come hang out with you at your house, help you make life choices, take you to meet my mom, take you hiking, take you to my favorite spots, take you shopping, play video games with you, watch you be happy and enjoy life.

🖤God all I want is for you to be happy. I wanna give you the happiness you give me.

🖤Everything is okay? Nothings changed other than the fact that ya know all the things about me now? That’s not making you wanna keep away from me? It’s okay that I’m giving you 120% of the real Ryan?

🖤Is me getting you things too much? I enjoy getting you stuff. But I don’t wanna make that what our relationship is about.

🖤Am I being too pushy?

🖤I know this is a selfish stupid thing to ask but you are really actually busy right? Not just making excuses so you don’t have to hang out? I know in my heart that you’re not lying to me. But I guess this is just me wanting to hear it from you. Trust issues ya know? They ARE getting better. But it takes time for me to really really trust someone. I’m getting there with you. That’s why I have these talks with you. I’m trying to get rid of the doubts. I know I can just trust you. But I always have that little intrusive thought in my head that tells me he’s lying to me to push me away easily. Or telling me your avoiding me to be with someone else. That’s happened way too many times to count.

[yankyo]

Who's Who - Part two

Should I try and change this fic because I dislike it? Probably? But! A few of my favorite people enjoy it as is so here's the full clone fic in all its original glory!

Warnings: you fuck a bunch of clones, overstimulation, anal, double penetration, mention of tentacle, dirty talk, ye

----

Unsurprisingly, Beetlejuice's reaction to seeing you blowing his clone had been an almost immediate boner, a fact that he was almost too gleeful to tell you until he saw the ice cold glare you sent him and he remembered just what a position he had managed to worm himself into. 

"C-come one babes, at least I made sure you had help! Wasn't that thoughtful?" He tried, raising his hands in mock surrender as you stormed up to him to tell him exactly what you thought of him ditching you. 

"Thoughtful? You pushed the mess you made and promised to help clean onto an innocent person!" You shouted back.

"But its clean right? And he obviously did a good job!" He gestured to Bee, who was currently putting himself back together with a guilty expression, as if he thought he would be yelled at too. Which, really, you weren't mad at him, it wasn't his fault your boyfriend was a dick. "I mean, I'm kinda shocked you even noticed." 

"Of course I noticed!" The looks both your boyfriend and the clone on the couch gave you in that moment was curious, mischievous, borderline identical. 

"Really? Do ya think you could pick me outta a line up?" Beetlejuice asked as Bee stood to stand by his side. Huh? What did he...? Before you could even ask, Beetlejuice snapped his fingers and five more clones appeared out of thin air. 

"Beetlejuice." Though the name made him flinch - usually you referred to him by his pet names to reduce the risk of accidentally sending him away, unless he did something to really deserve your ire - he tried to seem confident.  

 "Come on, doll, just seeing if you can put your money where your mouth is." His smile turned into a salacious leer, "that is, unless you're not up to the challenge?" ... damn him. You knew you could say no, hell, even just say his name twice more and send him packing, but... the way the clones were looking at you - and you couldn't deny you had been more than a little turned already thanks to Bee... 

"So the game is I pick you out from the line up? Too easy." The small group of Beetlejuices cackled in response, their eyes lighting up with unrestrained mischief as they swarmed you. You were gently shepherded back to the couch where you were made to sit on one's lap, the others all settled around you. Looking over the group, there were subtle differences here and there, one's ears were sharper, a few were taller, a few were not as soft, one grinning demon clearly had longer fangs than your personal ghoul did - but with how fast everything was moving you couldn't really scrutinize the whole group, especially not when you could already feel multiple sets of hands finding their way onto your body. Gentle nails ran up your thigh, a tight grip held your hips still, a hand on your ankle kept you from pulling your legs together, one grabbed your chin to pull you into a quick kiss and with that simple action all hell broke lose. 

"No fair sneaking the first kiss!" , "Hell, you wanna talk no fair, buster over there got his dick sucked already, he should sit out!" , "If I had been the one called to help, I woulda treated you so good doll, would've seen just how deep I can get my tongue in that sweet pussy." They were talking too quickly for you to be able to tell which one was saying what, even if they weren't tugging your clothing off with all the grace and gentleness of a gorilla on steroids. "You're never gonna want for anything, babycakes, we're gonna spoil you rotten." Sharp fangs sank into your neck, into your thigh, into your hip, the ravenous clones all clamoring for a taste and honestly? You were beginning to forget just why you had been angry in the first place, especially when you felt your legs being spread even wider so one could dive face first into your pussy. You didn't even try to cover the moan that worked it's way out of your throat as a long, squirming tongue wriggled it's way inside of you - not that you were moaning for long as you were yanked into a deep kiss moments later. Rough hands kneaded your breasts, sharp teeth grazed your nipples, hot mouths kissed practically every single inch of your skin, leaving so many bite marks and hickies there was no chance of hiding them tomorrow - you wondered if you hadn't just died and went to heaven at this point. 

"You look so good like this," one hissed in your ear, "but you're gonna look even better when we got you all spread out on our cocks." A slick tongue ran along the edge of your ear as he let out a gruff little groan, "can you handle all of us? What's your safe word again?" For a moment, everything stopped, the hands faltered, the demon at your cunt pulled back, eight sets of eyes all focused on you waiting for the answer.

"Brigadoon." You cried out, desperate to have them back. 

"That's right, doll, why's that again?" You were going to kill him. 

"Because nothing's a bigger boner killer than Brigadoon, now can you please fucking - " you couldn't even get the rest of your sentence out before they were on you again. This time, you felt yourself being moved, this time on your knees bent over the arm of the couch. A rough hand pulled your head up as a cock brushed across your lips - when had they undressed? 

"Real or Clone, doll?" One asked even as you opened your mouth. Peeking up at the demon before you, you looked for anything that could set him apart, even as you dutifully sucked on the offered cock. This version was already clinging to the couch, his nails digging into the dark as he held back the urge to go wild - you pulled back,

"Clone." You declared. On top of being more gentle, you could just barely see a delicate spatter of freckles across his cheeks. Unfortunately, the others were rather quick to guess just how you were able to tell. 

"That's cheating!", "The game will be over before it even starts if that's how you're gonna be guessing.", "I've got this, don't worry dollface, we're gonna make sure you play fair." You shivered at the husky growl in your ear even before your eyes were covered by a soft feeling fabric - you really hoped it wasn't his tie, that thing was rancid on a good day. "There we are, that'll make sure you play by the rules." What rules? If your mouth wasn't currently occupied, you might've snorted at his words or even asked that question - even if you knew there was no answer. Beetlejuice had no real intention of letting you win this game. You knew he just wanted to take your mind off of his transgression so that he could avoid punishment. And honestly, with the stressful week you had on top of his childish behavior, getting fucked into near unconsciousness sounded fan-fucking-tastic right about now, so instead of actually answering, you pressed forwards until you had swallowed the cock in front of you to the hilt and spread your legs wider in clear challenge. Beetlejuice never was one to resist a challenge. 

The 'game' continued with gusto, your legs spread wider so a body could crawl underneath you and toy with your breasts as he made you straddle him, one pressed sweet kisses along your back as slimy fingers worked their way into your ass - anal had been a thing you and Beetlejuice had been playing with, thankfully, but the cock grinding up into your clit didn't exactly hurt either - two more had taken your hands from their clenched position on the couch to lead them down to their straining erections - and honestly it was at this point that you had to stop and think about how you were genuinely having sex with multiples of your boyfriend and that each and every one of these hot, hard, pulsing cocks were just waiting to be inside of you and still there were three more just waiting for the others to get out of their way. It was almost too much. Yet you still found some part of you taking note of the little differences you could feel here and there - like the one beneath you had a scruffier beard that he took way too much pleasure in rubbing across your sensitive nipples if just to feel you jolt and whimper. Fucking sadist. The Beetlejuice currently nibbling on your shoulder had sharper teeth, hell you could feel those fangs delicately scraping down your skin and could only imagine what it would he like if he actually bit you. Thankfully, he was being gentle with you as he slowly but surely worked you open, his heavy cock rubbing against your thigh as he felt your anus clenching around his fingers. The one currently fucking your face wasn't as long as Bee, but was much more enthusiastic as he held your head in the perfect position to try and work his leaking dick as far down your throat as he could manage. Every so often, he would hold you still, the head of his cock dripping down your throat until the need for air was so great you thought you would burst. He was the first to cum, pulling back even as his cock was twitching to cum on your face. 

"You look so good, precious," , "hurry up and get out of the way, let someone else have their turn," , "we're going to fill you up, kitten," you whined at that nickname - just in time for the one at your pussy to finally have enough of teasing you and pulled you down fully onto his dick. "Give her a second, fuck, I can feel you squeezing around me, you're real wound up, aren't you, baby?" You moaned in response, unable to even try and say anything. It felt so good to finally have someone inside of you and the feeling was only heightened as the Beetlejuice behind you took hold of your hips to hold you steady as a surprisingly prehensile member slowly began working it's way inside of you. For a moment, the sensation of the cock you swore you could feel in your stomach and the one working it's way past your rim was all you could focus on - feeling completely, impossibly full. And once they were both completely seated both Beetlejuices leaned in to whisper in your ear. 

"I can feel you squeezing on me, does it feel that good, kitten?", "We're going to ruin you for anyone else. Come on, precious, say our name." In unison, they slowly withdrew before slamming back into you, forcing a sharp moan from your lips. Holy shit. They held absolutely no mercy once they saw you had grown accustomed to them, working together to make you see stars. When one withdrew, the other thrust forwards, making it so you were constantly full, the Beetlejuice beneath you dead set on grinding against your g-spot whilst the one behind you showed off just what his unique member could do as it writhed inside of you - twisting, undulating, rolling. 

"Holy shit, if I knew how much you'd like this, we woulda done this ages ago!" A hand stroked gently through your hair before someone guided you into a kiss, their tongue lapping away the cum drying on your cheeks. 

"Bee?" Your voice was weak, quickly cut off with a moan as someone pressed a thumb to your clit. Too much! You clung onto Bee, who cooed and caressed your cheeks, your body going tense with the orgasm ripping it's way through you before the two Beetlejuices currently fucking you decided that was the moment to kick things into hyperdrive and started fucking you even harder. "W-wait! I can't! It's too much!" Your protests fell on dead ears.

"Why does he get a special name?", "he's already had a turn, kick him out!", "I wanna name!", "I'm about to cum, kitten, gonna fill you up so good.", "that's it, precious, keep on squeezing us just like that,", "we've got you, sweetheart, just let go.", "Make her cum again, wanna make sure she's ready for me." They all spoke at the same time, but all you could focus on was Bee still giving you such gentle kisses as the other two clones used you like a ragdoll before they both slammed into you as deeply as they could and began to cum. 

You were boneless when they lifted you, unable to do anything but cling to the next warm body that took their place and moan as you were filled again. They fucked you fast, hard, making you cum again and again until you were whimpering from overstimulation. "Who's fucking you now?" Was a question you were made to answer again and again, but each time you found something to prove them to be a clone until the very last pair. Beetlejuice, your Beetlejuice, you were certain, gathered you up in his arms and set you on his lap. "We fucking decimated you, didn't we, babes? Come on, tell me, who's touching you now?" His cock teased your entrance, being so gentle as he knew just how raw you had to be. 

"Beetlejuice." You held no hesitation. Your reward was the blindfold being ripped from your face as your beloved ghoul grinned down at you. 

"How we doing, babes? Still got enough energy to handle me?" You snorted softly, leaning in to rest your head against his shoulder. God you would need a long rest after this, and a bath too, you could just feel the cum dripping down your thighs to pool onto his. 

"Fuck me up." You challenged, making him give you a grin. "You're still on my shit list." His grin grew ever wider. 

"Let's see if I can't change your mind."