#i mean giving it more thought it's probably so they can collect power before attempting anything (which makes sense) on the council

[misclogarts]

mfw i'm writing questionablepie +strawberry family fluff and bb drops more content for them (it's angst)

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

It’s finally finished!! I’m happy at the update but also sad it’s ended. I also loved the little sprinkling of characters in modern times like Judge Wylde and Dr. Orwyle. You just have to love the way Cozened Indigo’s tone shifted from glitz and glamor of Inventing Anna to something more somber and sinister. At first I thought, oh this is quite melancholy, are they just going to move on?

Aemond’s shift in personality reminded me of Cillian Murphy in Red Eye. His intensity is just 😳 also when he grasped OC’s hand at court, I felt like he was about to pull a Michael Gavey and burst out a “fuckin ask me a sum then”! Only he’d say “Say you’ll come to visit me”.

And OC, I feel bad for her but in all seriousness, there is no such thing as free lunch. The moment Larys said the least she could do was greet him because she got an interview, I thought, now she owes them but I wonder if she realized it. My heart sank when she did not even offer something, like a thank you basket, bottle of wine, or actually called Aemond, anything. Not sure if it’s because of my Asian upbringing but I was always taught if we were to visit someone for an interview, ask for a favor, or we were even just an invited guest (like a party, dinner, etc) we can’t show up empty handed.

Also, here’s a fun tidbit, my mom used to work in sales. She was a chemical supplier for hospitals and laboratories back in the day and that meant she’d interact with various people from rank and file to the top dogs. And one thing she always drilled in me was to avoid asking favors if I could help it. This meant declining free dinners or random gifts especially if they’re from higher ups or someone with power, because those will come at a cost later on. Maybe not monetary but acceptance of those favors meant you’re essentially the person’s lapdop or you’re indebted to them. This stems from our culture of debt of gratitude. It’s not the same as just paying it back because the value is something you can’t obtain yourself. In this case, we all know unless Larys stepped in, she’d still be part of The Wall with even no hope of getting close to the prison they’re holding Aemond.

So essentially, whenever someone did you a huge favor, it’s like an unwritten or unspoken rule to sort of offer your services to them or keep giving them gifts for major occasions like Christmas or their birthdays. And the kicker is, it’s impossible to quantify debt of gratitude into something like, 5 visits to Aemond and she’s cleared that debt. And let’s admit it, her career trajectory is something she could never pay off.

Also, I wondered when Aemond decided he liked her. I mean does he have genuine feelings for her or since Aegon said he took everything seriously, is it part of his collect a debt thing? I like to think Aemond has a tendency to fixate on things (wanting a dragon) and this was one of those. When I read dark stories, a part of me wants to lean in to it. So in this instance, I’ll probably imagine, this entails him and OC dating publicly as an insurance of sorts too so OC has no choice. I imagine he liked OC so aside from the threaten to ruin her career and life factor, he’ll behave like a normal albeit very rich and devoted boyfriend. That said, I do want to ask how you imagined they’ll play out 😀

I am living for this feedback, thank you so much! I can really tell that you took your time to really read the story, and it's nice to have someone that just gets what you're attempting to convey. Appreciate you for that!

Aemond's feelings for our MC are definitely complex. He was intrigued by her before he met her, as he'd looked into her when Larys brought her up to him, and found the tragedy of her story appealing - misery loves company.

In my mind, he had only intended to toy with her for his own amusement, but then when he actually met her, he enjoyed her vibe and there was an instant attraction there, which is why he agreed to the interview with her.

His infatuation grew as their interviews progressed, a combination of him leaving himself vulnerable to her by having to open by talking about his childhood, etc. and the fact that she felt forbidden to him.

When she didn't come to visit him, those feelings intensified. He definitely feels that she owes him - she has made a success of herself and has springboarded off of him in order to do that, while he's rotted in prison.

I think he does want a relationship with her - the fact that he let things play out so organically was his twisted way of showing her that it was an inevitability and they can work as a couple. Unfortunately, he slipped up and she found out.

In my mind, he continues to use her as he pleases until the novelty eventually wears off and he feels he has no choice but to kill her, because she knows too much. Or they make a proper go of a relationship and he slowly strips away her independence to ensure she is never able to leave him. Neither one is a very happy ending, unfortunately!

[cosmictapestry]

C10 sounds agonizing 👍

C10. sex while weakened/drained of power

haha yeah. this makes use of a concept i explore in my fic series "we, divinity" wherein dream periodically loses control and becomes "lost" in the collective unconscious, his own consciousness suppressed and buried until he can fight his way back to awareness/sentience/occupying a corporeal form. afterwards he's exhausted and confused and just, like, a mess, generally, for about a day or so

this is like. ouch <3 godspeed

prompt list here

He did not let her stay with him this time, but she cannot bring herself to begrudge him that, when he lets her be with him afterwards.

Lucienne takes him to her own quarters, his arm slung over her shoulders, his breathing thready and rasping in her ear. He could draw lifeforce from the Dreaming to restore his corporeal form, and he has done so before when faced with a threat soon after a loss of control, but he prefers not to. The quakes and storms are disturbance enough, he has said in the past. Seeing his face all pale and sweaty and tearful Lucienne rather wishes he wouldn't worry about being a disturbance.

The short walk down the corridor to her quarters takes the better part of five minutes, and then another minute for her to prop him up against a wall so she can get the door open and guide him into the room. Her lord is so rarely bound by limitations in his own realm. It is unnerving and it is humbling to be here with him like this.

She leads Lord Morpheus to her bed, sets a tea kettle to boiling at the little kitchenette in the corner with a thought. Her quarters are old-fashioned and homey and, she hopes, warm enough to ease the shivers that wrack him. He stares at her listlessly when she sits him down on the edge of her bed. Lucienne swallows hard, brushes lank hair back from his forehead. "May I take your boots off, my lord?"

His brows furrow, he looks down, sees the boots on his feet, and he frowns. "You need not," he mumbles, and in a blink he is naked, and he looks impossibly more exhausted.

Lucienne can't help but grin, because she thinks he probably did not mean to do that. Attempts to use his power when so thoroughly drained often had unintended results. She does not bring attention to his undress, because he does not appear to have noticed, and she pulls back the covers on her bed. "Let me help you lay down, at least."

Lord Morpheus hesitates, like he wants to argue, and he looks down at himself with sudden realization, and he sighs, and he nods his agreement, even gives a tired little smile when she laughs. "My apologies," he says, and he lets her guide him to lay on his side, and he shudders only minutely at her hands on his bare skin. "You might imagine this is why I make myself scarce, afterwards."

Lucienne frowns and swallows hard, drawing the covers up to his shoulder. He is so tired, so lost, and he is usually alone when he is like this, and if she makes him feel this was not a good idea he will decide to be alone next time, too—one fine-boned hand closes around her wrist, brings her hand up to his uncharacteristically pale lips. Her lord kisses her knuckles, breathes shaky against them. "Thank you, Lucienne," he murmurs.

With her free hand Lucienne pets back his hair. She wonders at the trust she is being afforded, and she wants to kiss him, and she has to close her eyes, because what she is feeling right now feels like the fervent worship she felt for him in the very beginning of everything, when he first gave her all she ever dreamed of. He is weak as a kitten in her bed because he has spent the past half a day screaming under the onslaught of Everything. "You need not thank me," she says, choked. "I love you."

Lord Morpheus blinks at her, his throat working, and he nods his head. "I feel I should thank you for that, too," he says, like it's a joke, but tears have not stopped reddening his eyes.

Lucienne smiles at him and does not entertain that line of thinking. "Would you like tea?"

He shakes his head, pulls her hand closer to himself. He wants to ask her for something, and his expression twitches with distress. He is usually alone in this. He doesn't know how not to be. Lucienne leans forward, draws his listless gaze to her face. "May I hold you?"

It takes a moment for the question to land, and then her lord's eyes spill over, and he nods rapidly, and he says, "yes, please."

Lucienne draws her hand from his grasp, which he allows with great reluctance, and she undresses efficiently, discarding her clothing on her dresser to be dealt with later. He watches her as she walks around to the other side of the bed, appears fully too exhausted to turn to her. She crawls under the covers with him, sidles up to his back, very cautiously wraps her arm around him—when he doesn't flinch she pulls him close to her chest, and he melts against her.

She cannot count how many times in all their long history he has healed her, has pulled her broken parts together after an accident or an attack or any other number of troubles which have come to their realm. She has been a raven with a shattered wing, she has been a librarian caught in the middle of an invasion by old gods, and every time he has come to her, has not let her hurt for a second longer than she had to.

He shakes in her arms, cold even in the heat they share. She kisses the side of his neck, runs her nose up through his hair, spreads her hand on his trembling chest. "You're alright," she tells him, tears in her voice, because he is not, and she cannot heal him.

Lord Morpheus grasps the hand on his chest, holds it there. His breath is coming in tiny, panted sobs, like he's trying to choke them off before he starts heaving. "You do not need to stay with me," he croaks. "I can... I have always done this alone."

"I do not want you to," Lucienne says, fiercely, and she wonders whose fault this is, wonders why he so hates to be seen. "I want you to feel safe and I want you to feel loved and I do not want to leave you alone. Please stop asking me to."

He turns his face into his pillow while he cries. Lucienne pets his hair with one hand, his chest with the other, peppers kisses along his jaw and neck, presses herself all down his back, moves with him when he heaves with silent cries. Soft pleasure in this corporeal form is all she can think to give him—is so much of what she wants to give him—is the counter to what he's just been through, the flaying of himself by everything else.

She thumbs over one nipple and he stretches his neck for her, gives her more skin to kiss, and she draws her nails across his scalp in reward, and his body relaxes so completely, gives into what she is offering. "Good," she whispers to him, feels him shiver. Her lord sighs while the hand on his chest slides down, the hitch in his breath more pleasure than bone-deep fatigue.

He is not hard, he is so tired, but with gentle strokes she soon has him thickening in her hold, has him turning his head to catch her lips with his own. He has no energy even to kiss her with, just keeps his lips against hers, his eyes closed and brows drawn in relief and pleasure. "Thank you," he whispers, nearly lost to her mouth, and Lucienne blinks away her own tears.

It is not long before he is panting, new tears rolling down his face, one shaking hand raised to hold her cheek, his sweet little moans rising in pitch. He comes gently, his body hardly tensing with it, and she holds him and pets him and whispers to him until he goes lax again.

With great reluctance he lets her extricate herself to clean them up, and she crosses the room to the kitchenette and returns with a warm wet cloth that she draws over his belly, his groin, his thighs, and this makes him tear up again. Seeing this, Lucienne replaces the cloth with a fresh one and kneels there beside the bed for a long time, now cleaning the sweat from the rest of his body. He watches her like he's never been more confounded or more enraptured in his life.

She crawls back into bed alongside her lord when she's done. He shakes, and she kisses him, and by morning's light he is steady again, and still he does not move, and he lets her be with him.

[defendersalliance]

Letter from a Villain

for @flashfictionfridayofficial 's prompt #FFF162: The Letter. ~700 words.

I wrote this so it could be read alone, but it’s basically a follow up to this snippet which gives more context on Valentine’s job tracking down the villain

~

The villain’s letter landed on Valentine’s desk three days after he’d escaped custody.

“I’ve heard he can be…more annoying in writing,” Brontide warned. Valentine’s hero co-worker gave the envelope one last glance before returning to his desk.

Valentine sighed and grabbed the envelope. “Has this been checked for poison?” he called. Sure, their branch of the Defenders Alliance was lacking in funding, but that didn’t mean they had to throw caution to the wind.

“You’re the ex-assassin!” Brontide replied. He glanced back and flashed Valentine a grin. “Poisons should be your specialty.”

He did know a thing or two about poison. Probably the reason they’d assigned him Sundew. Unfortunately, carnivorous plants were less up Valentine’s alley, and the villain’s new acid trick had made escape easy when he’d finally been captured after a month’s pursuit.

Valentine gave the envelope a closer look. Its pale green color was unusual, but he couldn’t find any discoloration or warping to suggest the paper was carrying extra ingredients. Still, he slid on his gloves before drawing a letter opener from his desk and tearing in. A pale piece of paper came out with letters typed in dark green ink. 

My dear Valentine, Sundew had written.

Great start. Valentine wondered if it was too late to pick a new hero name. Sticking with the fake last name he’d used as an assassin was…not his first choice. But no one asked him what he wanted when he’d agreed to join the Defenders.

With a heavy sigh, he continued reading.

It was lovely finally seeing your place after so many failed attempts to catch me. But let’s arrange the next date somewhere that isn’t falling apart.

The jab at the West branch made Valentine roll his eyes. Flickering lights and strange puddles, sure. But ‘falling apart’ was a stretch.

An art museum could be fun. I think we have different ideas about what “enjoying a museum” entails, though. I am looking forward to adding to my collection this weekend. And now that I’ve said that, I’m looking forward to imagining you on the streets all night in hopes of running into me. Weather says it’s supposed to rain, and I for one would love to see you drenched and miserable.

With Valentine’s luck, that was exactly how he’d be spending his weekend.

Since I’ll be giving myself the gift of stolen art, I thought I’d give you a gift as well. These seeds are so easy to grow that an amateur like yourself should be able to manage. And before long, you’ll have tomatoes! Or pumpkins. I forgot what I put in the envelope.

Valentine, with the utmost caution, tipped the envelope over his desk. A few small seeds rained onto his paperwork stack. Unlike last time, they didn’t explode into vines or venus flytraps.

Sundew, apparently, anticipated his concerns. And relax. They are ordinary seeds. Not my creations. I grow normal plants, too, in my garden. And I make a pretty good grape wine I’d be happy to share sometime.

Despite the promise that the grapes were grown from the ground, Valentine figured he’d have to pass, given the risk. Sundew’s powers also let him generate plants laced with deadly poison. Or, worse, put people in a hypnotic trance.

Though, Valentine suspected he had a different idea of ‘worse’ than most people.

I’m sure you’ve got work to get back to. I do too. I haven’t forgotten my promise that I’d find your real name, Val. 

Catch me again, and I might grant you the privilege of calling me your rival.

Valentine tossed the letter back on the desk with a huff of annoyance. Why couldn’t his first job as a hero have been a villain with a little less…personality?

He eyed the seeds. They hadn’t been the only thing to fall from the envelope. A fine layer of dirt had scattered on his papers as well. And he’d had enough brushes with forensics to know the value of dirt. Intentionally or not, Sundew had just given Valentine a clue to the location of whatever mountain cottage he was shacking up in.

The question was whether it was an accident, or a trap.

[azurillturtle]

too much magic.

another prompt from a friend when I was collecting things to turn into hythhades shorts. hyth-as-emet-selch AU, mildly... graphic... horror????

The first time he channels the power of the Underworld, it nearly consumes him.

The sensation is something like freezing from the inside out. It’s a sharp, ruthless sort of pain, coursing outward from his heart through nerves and arteries as if crystallizing blood and aether in its wake. It does not want to be contained within his skin; it leaps free of his body in spurts and surges. He’s not quite sure anymore if he is “Emet-Selch” or if he has been reduced to a mere conduit between the aetherial and the physical plane.

He is screaming, probably. He can’t quite tell. He has more important problems to worry about than whether he is screaming.

At least he has performed the task requested of him. Of Lahabrea’s firebird, not even ashes remain. Its aether has been so thoroughly scattered that there is no base on which its prodigious healing powers can work. What became of the resentful soul trapped within, he does not know. He can only hope it escaped the bird before it was annihilated. He does not quite remember.

“Emet-Selch,” he hears as if from far away, on the other side of the thick layer of frost that is all that remains of his body. “Emet-Selch.”

Then, when he does not respond, the voice says, sharper and closer and clearer, “Hythlodaeus.”

A pair of hands grips his own. They are a fire that blazes across his skin, melting away the ice. Hythlodaeus nearly jerks away, but the hands only hold tighter.

Slowly the foreign—familiar?—aether chases away the power within him. Slowly sensation returns to his fingers, then to his wrists and up to his shoulders. That familiar aether works slowly, methodically, corralling the power that was never his to control, until at last it is all neatly packaged and shoved away and there is nothing left within his skin but Hythlodaeus.

Hythlodaeus, shivering in the restricted section of the Bureau of the Architect. Hythlodaeus, standing in a room with charred walls and surrounded by glittering icicles of crystallized aether. Before him, Hades, staring at him with a rare expression of panic and concern. Of course it is Hades. It could never have been anyone else.

“Well,” Hythlodaeus says at last, his voice hoarse but level, “isn’t that a sight.”

He doesn’t know if he means the room or Hades.

“Are you all right now?” Hades asks.

Hythlodaeus nods ruefully. He doesn’t feel quite himself yet—being overrun by the power of the Underworld will do that to a person—but his steadiness will return in time.

It was only on a whim that he dragged Hades along on this visit to his previous place of work—a whim, or perhaps a touch of precognition. “I’m glad you were here. I very nearly set a record for the shortest time holding a Convocation seat.”

Immediately Hythlodaeus regrets his weak attempt at a joke. The concern on Hades’s face vanishes; he scowls and snaps, in something more approaching his usual bad temper, “You won’t. You will excel in the seat of Emet-Selch.”

“You would have been better suited to this than me,” Hythlodaeus says. It comes out all wrong, sharp with truth and soft with doubt. He does not realize until he speaks the words that they always have lurked within his heart, and he has never quite managed to discard them. But he has not even held this office for a day. It is far too early to regret and far too early to give up.

Hades frowns. His brows draw together. He squeezes Hythlodaeus’s hands, the movement sending pins and needles up his arms.

“You were the one chosen by the previous Emet-Selch,” Hades says. “The holders of the Third Seat, one and all, have the gift of a discerning eye. If your predecessor thought you the best candidate for the office, then there is no one better suited. You may have your doubts, but I believe wholeheartedly.”

Of course he does. Hades has ever been unswerving in his loyalty. No matter how Hythlodaeus may change, no matter who he becomes, that constant will remain.

Hythlodaeus smiles. He leans his forehead against Hades’s and closes his eyes, the better to disguise the beginnings of tears. “Then I will strive to become someone worthy of that belief.”

Hades releases an aggravated sigh. Hades disagrees with something he has just said, but even Hythlodaeus’s sight is not sharp enough to read the words in his soul. Instead Hythlodaeus prompts, “Is there something you’d like to say?”

He watches Hades’s lips part and then still. Several seconds pass before he clears his throat. He releases Hythlodaeus’s hands and steps away. Immediately Hythlodaeus misses the fire in his touch.

“If you’re unaccustomed to controlling that much power, then I’ll teach you,” Hades says roughly. “It will never be a blunt weapon to wield as you will, but you have the necessary finesse to guide it in more subtle ways, of that I am sure.”

Hythlodaeus blinks, long lashes falling slowly over his eyes. One does not teach fine control of aether by showing. It requires utmost trust on the part of both teacher and student, one leading and the other following, both freely giving of themselves and their magic. It is not so very different from sharing souls.

There is only one proper response to an offer like that.

“Thank you,” he says. He steps close and brushes his lips against Hades’s cheek. Crimson blooms across Hades’s skin, running wild across his cheeks and to his ears and coiling deep within his soul.

Emet-Selch smiles. This much power, at least, is his to freely wield.

[atomic-taco-muffin]

The Legend of Hana Chapter 130

Warnings: Same warnings as last time. I might skip to the end, depending on how fast I can come up with ideas. We’ll see

Rating: SFW

The Foretellers had assembled in a room of the clocktower at the host of their leader, Ira. Ava was getting closer to her due date. And it seemed time was going faster too. 

“There's a traitor among us,” Ira declared once they had all arrived. It was hard to tell if anyone there was surprised--the masks they were forced to wear by the Master of Masters concealed any emotions that might have slipped. 

“Are you certain? What proof do you have?” Invi was the first to speak up. Ira summoned a black Chirithy above the palm of his hand. 

“I found this sniffing around,” he said.

“Is that...a dark Chirithy?” Ava asked uncertainly as she held her pregnant tummy, while Invi froze. 

“Is that...a Nightmare?” she asked as she stood up. It was the word they were all dreading. All eyes went to Ira. 

“It's not me,” Aced said as he broke the silence. He was probably remembering the jokes from when the Chirithy came into the world. 

“There's an easy way to solve this. If we all summon our Spirits, then we'll know,” Gula suggested softly. But Invi calmly shot down his idea. 

“Unfortunately, there are countless wielders in our Unions. It would be easy for any of us to summon a Chirithy that isn't a Nightmare. I'm afraid that your suggestion wouldn't help us get to the bottom of this.” She was right; there were as many Chirithies out there as there Keybearers. No one could argue with Invi’s levelheaded reminder. 

“Yeah, in that case, who's to say that the Nightmare you saw belongs to one of us? It could belong to anyone in our Unions,” Ava said, unable to bear the distrust brewing between them. She knew she shouldn't get involved with fighting the darkness, but she knew she couldn’t sit there and do nothing. 

“That's highly unlikely,” Ira said, brushing aside the notion. “Do you recall the tool the wielders were given in order to make them stronger? We generally don't concern ourselves with what they have at their disposal. However--I believe those tools were the Nightmare's doing. Which means, we must do everything in our power to keep you safe, Ava.” 

Ira was referring to the power bangles and how close Ava was to her due date. Her babies would be born any day now. 

“The bangles? I know when they're equipped, they have the power to collect dark energy, but I thought we all agreed that was okay. And I can take care of myself.” Ava desperately tried to argue, but it wasn’t enough for Ira. 

“Ava, you can barely stand up without help. Anyway, collecting is fine. But using that power is the equivalent of using the power of darkness.” 

“It's a brilliant plan. Everyone knows that all Spirits look the same, and wielders exist in spades. There's no way to tell,” Gula mused. 

“Oh, no. Everyone's already equipped their bangles.” Ava was on the verge of tears; beneath her mask, she might’ve already started crying. Ira was right, she needed to get somewhere safe and away from the fighting. To protect her babies. Aced took a step toward Ira. 

“So what now? How do we find out who's behind this?” he demanded, but Ira kept his cool. 

“Seeing as those bangles couldn't have been acquired by just anyone, I believe it's one of us here in this room.” It sounded like he’d already decided there was a traitor, so Invi stepped in before he could take it too far. 

“No, Ira. I respectfully disagree. What proof do we have that the bangles are tied to the power of darkness, or if a Nightmare is to blame? We shouldn't simply jump to conclusions,” she said. She was trying to call everyone back to their senses, but Aced had more to say. 

“Ira. Some leader you are. You've managed to plant seeds of doubt in all of us with that speech. What? Did you expect the traitor to give themselves up with that accusation of yours? That was foolish,” he said. 

“Aced, that's quite enough,” Invi said in an attempt to calm the situation. Ava lowered her gaze and rested her hands on her hands on her pregnant tummy, while Gula was lost in thought. Meanwhile, Ira was peering at the other four suspiciously, trying to suss out who was the culprit. “It looks to me like the Master made the wrong choice.”

As if he couldn’t stand to spend another minute with them, he turned his back on the other Foretellers and stormed off. 

“Wait. Where do you think you're going?” Invi tried to stop him but Aced didn’t even look back. 

“I think we're done here. I trust you'll keep us all updated,” Gula quipped in his usual affable tone, a stark contrast to Aced’s angry accusations, before he left, too. Ava watched them go, lifting her head. 

“I hope... I hope we can all resolve this soon...” she murmured, bowing briefly to Ira and then taking her leave herself, using the table to help her stand. The only two still there were Ira and Invi. 

“That didn't go as expected,” the leader of the Foretellers said with a sigh. 

“What's wrong, Ira? This isn't like you,” Invi asked. 

“A Lost Page...” Ira said as he raised his head slightly. That got Invi’s attention. “Something's missing from our Book of Prophecies. Each of our copies were said to contain the events of the future. But this incident, well, it's nowhere to be found.” 

“And how does this whole thing with the traitor tie together?” Ira responded to her question by taking up his own Book of Prophecies and opening it. 

“Like I said, it's nowhere to be found...in my Book,” he said. 

“Ira. Are you implying that someone is in possession of the missing page? And the person with the complete Book is the traitor?” Ira nodded at Invi as she arrived at one possible answer. A Lost Page, and a traitor. At this point, the identity of this mysterious double-crosser was still unknown to everyone. 

“There is something going on, and a page is suspiciously missing from the Book. It's not so far-fetched to assume that the one who has the Lost Page has been turned, that they have fallen into the hands of darkness. Trust me,” Ira said as Invi opened her own copy of the Book of Prophecies. 

“There seems to be no record of it in my Book either. You may be onto something.” She paused for a moment, still unsure, then cast a glance at Ira. “I wonder... Could this have been the Master's plan all along? To grant the Lost Page to only one of us.” 

“We have no way of knowing,” Ira instantly replied, and a hint of sadness crept into his voice. “The Master is gone. Along with his daughters.” 

That’s right, the Master and his daughters were gone. The Master had vanished, dimmed, faded while his two daughters went on a mysterious mission with no explanation. No one knew their whereabouts. It was entirely possible that they were gone for good. Invi spoke again, as much to dispel the gloom as anything else.

“I understand what you are saying. I promise to keep a close eye on the others. I will keep you informed, as always,” she said. 

“Thanks.” 

“Of course. After all, that is what the Master asked of me.” Invi started to walk away, but then came to a halt, turned back to Ira, and offered one more bit of advice. “And Ira, may your heart be your guiding key.” 

                                                          ☽✧☽✧

Aced, Ava, and Gula were together in a warehouse in Daybreak Town. Aced, the eldest of the three, was speaking to the younger two. 

“I was wrong about Ira. I thought he would make a great leader, but he let me down,” he said. Gula didn’t seem particularly troubled--he never did--while Ava appeared somewhat dispirited. “Well, what do you two think? You don't believe what Ira said, do you?”

“Of course not.” Gula was the first to reply. “His argument was unconvincing. It’s like Invi said, he's just making baseless assumptions given the situation. There's no evidence to tie his accusations to anyone, let alone one of us.” 

“Maybe there's something he hasn't told us,” Ava gently admonished--mostly because she didn’t want to believe Ira’s claims herself. 

“Then he needs to tell us. How dare he look at us with suspicion. We're his comrades!” Aced snapped with genuine anger. Gula just shrugged. 

“I wouldn't call us ‘comrades’... Anyway, could you get to the point? I know you didn't call us here just to complain,” he murmured. He wanted to cut to the chase and get this meeting over with as quickly as possible, which was why Aced didn’t beat around the bush before laying out his proposal. 

“I want the three of us to form an alliance,” Aced said. 

“But alliances are forbidden, Aced!” Ava immediately refused, while holding her pregnant belly protectively. 

“I knew it. I had a feeling it would come to this. So, we join forces, then confront Ira?” Gula seemed a bit exasperated, but he knew where Aced was coming from. 

“Confronting him is pointless. Ira won't change his mind,” Aced retorted. He was normally so blunt, but here he was being just a tad equivocal. It made his two comrades wonder if he didn’t actually suspect Ira at all. Meanwhile, Aced kept laying his cards on the table. “I know there's darkness at work. There's no question. But, I don't believe for a second there's a traitor among us. Unfortunately, Ira doesn't share the same belief. He's just wasting time trying to figure out who the traitor is. But darkness won't wait and neither should we. We need to band together now and find a way to fight it.” 

“Guess it makes sense,” Gula said, impressed by Aced’s fluid presentation of his idea. 

“I agree that we need to do something to fight the darkness, but combining our Unions? That was strictly forbidden by the Master,” Ava said. It seemed that she was still unsure of what to do as she was at the meeting the other day and that she was told to protect her and her babies as much as possible. 

“He's no longer here,” Aced said quietly, his eyes drifting away. The three Foretellers all fell into thought. Gula was the first to break the short silence. 

“I'm in. But let's be clear: the alliance is just between the two of us right now. I don't want my Union members involved,” he said. 

“Gula!” Ava raised her head to look at her friend, who had just chosen to go against the teachings of their Master. Ava looked away once she realized Aced was watching her. “I want... I want to follow the Master's teachings.” 

But then Ava remembered what Mukuro told her and started to have second thoughts. The Master has lied to them one too many times. Was the Master really going to take her babies as his apprentices, or was he going to do something horrible to them like what she went through growing up? There was no way of telling. 

“Understood. That's your choice to make. You should do whatever you feel is right,” Aced replied, expectantly kind. Ava nodded with relief, and her gaze drifted downward towards her belly again. She could feel one of her babies kick and she placed her hand on top to feel it. But Gula still had questions. 

“By the way, Aced. Do Ira and Invi know?” he asked. 

“I haven't talked to Ira about it for obvious reasons, but I did ask Invi to join us,” Aced said. His eyebrows moved to the entrance of the warehouse--just as Invi herself arrived. 

“You wanted to see me?” she asked as she stopped short as he noticed the younger two. “Gula, Ava, what are you doing here? What's the meaning of this?” 

Gula gave an easy wave of his hand, while Ava kept her eyes focused on her baby bump, wondering what her babies would look like once they’re born. 

“Hear me out, Invi. I want an alliance among our Unions. Gula here has already agreed. Will you join us and together we can--” Aced began. 

“And disobey the Master's teachings!?” Invi cut off Aced harshly, but he didn’t give up. 

“We don't have a choice! Darkness is approaching and we need to combine our strength to stand against it. What about Ava’s unborn babies?! They must be protected from the darkness!” 

“The Master bestowed each of us with a different role and he specifically told us to keep our Unions separate to maintain the balance of power. He told us that any imbalance would lead to a desire for more power, which leads to darkness. I know you haven't forgotten! Perhaps...it's you who has been tainted by darkness.” Tainted by darkness...the Foreteller in the bear mask trembled in anger at such an accusation. 

“I'm tainted by darkness? Then what about you, Invi? You spy on us and report everything you see back to Ira! You really think you have no darkness in your heart after what you did!?” 

“Because that is my role,” Invi replied coolly to her furious comrade. 

“To observe us, yes. But not to disclose everything we say and do to Ira!” Invi averted her gaze at Aced’s fierce reproach. And he still wasn’t done. 

“For all we know, you and Ira could be allies, scheming behind our backs!” 

“That's enough.” All Ava could do was watch their angry exchange uneasily. 

                                                          ☽✧☽✧

Now it was evening. Ava was in the square alone, sitting on the edge of the fountain and gazing absentmindedly at the sky. 

“When will it stop? I don't want us to turn against each other. When will Luxu return? He should at least get to meet his unborn babies...” she whispered. Just then a lone Keyblade wielder approached--Ephemer, the boy with the silver hair. 

“Master Ava!” he called. The two of them had met before. All thanks to Mukuro, who was also gone. 

“Oh. Hello! Your name is Ephemer, right?” 

“Uh-huh! Uh, hey, can I join you?” Ava nodded and Ephemer sat down next to her. “Why the long face? Did something happen?” 

“Hmm... Long day...especially with these two growing in me,” Ava replied as she placed a hand on her tummy. “Do you remember what you asked me before? About why the Unions compete against each other instead of working together. Actually, I always wondered the same thing.”

“Huh? Isn't it just because Mukuro’s father said so?” Ephemer asked, confused.

“Yes, and as such we must obey. The Master said so, so it is. But lately, I've really started to wonder. You once told me that you were looking for answers, that you wanted to solve the mysteries of this world and look for Mukuro. Well, I think that's how things should be. We need to question things and think for ourselves.” Ephemer shrugged. Was that how she really felt? Were her pregnancy hormones getting in the way? 

“Whoa! You're really not yourself today. I guess even foretellers have their off days. Hey, maybe talking about the Book will cheer you up! Maybe even telling me a clue about Mukuro!” he offered cheerily and hopefully. He wanted to find Mukuro. She was the love of his life. 

“Not a chance!” Ava said. 

“Awww,” Ephemer complained with exaggerated petulance. 

“You were trying to pull a fast one on me, weren't you?” she scolded good-naturedly, like a teacher to a misbehaving student. 

“No. But I really want to know what happened to Mukuro. She just disappeared one day. You were one of the closest ones to her. You have to know something.” 

“I’m sorry, but I’m not allowed to tell you anything about what happened to her. And also the book as well.” Ava stood, with the help of Ephemer, and the conversation could’ve ended there. But then she seemed to have second thoughts again. “But, to be honest, I think it would be great if all the Unions could work together and be friends.” 

Ephemer perked up and hopped down from the lip of the fountain. 

“You know, I made a friend from another Union today. Wasn't much of a talker, maybe just shy. We're meeting again tomorrow. We’re gonna search for Mukuro together,” he said.

“You really do love her, huh?” 

“Yeah. She’s the first girlfriend I ever had. We loved each other so much and I still love her. I just wish I knew what happened.” 

“Well, I may not be allowed to tell you a clue but I really do hope you find her. You’d better go home and get some sleep so that you can have enough energy.” 

“'Kay!” Ephemer replied enthusiastically. “Well, it was nice talking to you. I don't know what's got you down, but please cheer up! I heard that stress isn’t good for babies.” 

With proper bow, Ephemer hurried off on his way. 

“Thank you,” Ava murmured as she watched him go. “If the worst happens, I'll be glad to leave the future to the kids who see the world in the way that you do.” 

With this resolution in her heart, Ava looked up at the sky. A single fuzzy dandelion seed danced in the air, brought to her by the breeze. 

“Let the wind carry you far, far away...my Dandelions,” Ava said as the sun set over Daybreak Town. 

[stoneworldsimp]

Can l request an senku x crybaby S/O? Where they are very sensitive to their own emotions and to theirs if they think senkus in a bad place they really try their best to make him feel better like sewing him a sweater, a handmade blanket and some maintenance since he doesnt take of himself from working very hard like a feet message.

Hi!! Oh my goodness thanks SO much for being patient. I appreciate it so much, anonymous messenger. I took a few liberties when making this, but.. I do hope you like it. :)

breathe,

senku x reader

warnings: crying, anxious thoughts, a kiss in the end

it was a good idea, no! a great idea. he’ll be sure to enjoy the gesture.

you reached the front of the lab, about to go in. making yourself known, you called out senku’s name. he called back to come in, and excitedly, you put your hand behind your back to hide the flowers. “i have a surprise for you, i found this huge meadow and—“

“hold on.”

“oh!” you suddenly realized that he was deep in thought, continuously jotting something down on the table. of course he was still busy. “i can wait, if that’s alright.”

he hummed in response.

minutes passed while you leaned against the wall of his lab, and it started to feel awkward. you waited for his okay to give him the small present you collected; a bundle of flowers from a field you came across just an hour or two before. you felt it was fitting to give some to him, he was always working hard, and though there was payoff from his finished projects, you always sensed that it never ended for him. just looking at the slight bags under his eyes made you tired; the heaviness reached your heart every time.

you also noticed how no one really gave him something in return, as a thank you or to even tell him he was appreciated. he wasn’t particularly a fan of flowers, you knew, but it was an on-the-fly decision.. and frankly, you just wanted to show him, not just tell him, that his knowledge means everything to you and the rest of the village.

for just a second, a split second, you saw him glance up from his work. you thought an eternity passed before he even acknowledged you again.

“…can you come later? i’m busy.”

“oh,”you drew yourself back into a corner. the strain on your arm became much more evident as you felt embarrassment sink in. was he mad? no, he’s probably tired. but he didn’t act like that around anyone else… no. he’s tired. he’s frustrated. i think, i think i saw some scribbles on his paperwork.

you placed the handful of flowers on the edge of the table, some smashed from your grip and some fallen to the ground, and walked away promptly. you kept yourself from saying good bye; you felt it’d make everything even more awkward. what if he really is mad at me for interrupting his work? he probably was in the zone.. and i ruined it. this was the worst way to tell him you appreciated everything.

a wipe to your face made your hand wet. it was hard to hold your anxious feelings in; sometimes even your anger turned into tears. silent crying became your super power after realizing how much worse it became when you made any noise. with a quiet sigh, you shook your head; you couldn’t get senku’s annoyed and dismissive expression out of your head. he’s sick of you, he’s sick of you, he’s totally sick of you and your horrible timing.

by the time you made it to your hut, your vision had become almost completely blurry. you flopped to your back and covered yourself with a blanket, finally letting a sob escape you. he works so hard, and that was how i repaid him? he’s probably pissed that i messed up his concentration. humiliation filled your chest the more you thought about the interaction. you tapped your forehead with your fingertips in an attempt to bring yourself back to earth; even you knew you had to take a moment to breathe. there was a way to fix it. another way to show him.

—

“can i come in?”

senku was met with silence; quite honestly, he was ready to wait outside your door for as long as it took for you to respond.

after you walked away in the lab, he knew he fucked up a little bit.

“i, i have something for you.”

the note he held started to feel gross in his hands, and so he sat down and slipped it under your door. to his relief, he heard shuffling around, and… did you give the note back? no, the paper was a different color. it was slightly bigger, too.

you both sat against each other, only the door to your hut separating you from touching. it was a safe barrier, you thought, and it helped you gain the courage to give him something.

it was less, even less than the fistful of plants from earlier. but, you decided, it was good to get the point straight across. no beating around the bush.

you heard him open the note.

YOU ARE APPRECIATED

a smile grew on his face; judging by the deep indent of your makeshift pencil on the paper and double underline of the message, you were very adamant to tell him this. suddenly your random visit and leave from earlier made sense. “were you trying to tell me this in the lab today?”

you didn’t respond; you only focused on how warm your face was when you opened his note.

you have my heart

he sighed before he continued. “i’m sorry for ignoring you like that, right when… you were attempting to tell me something that, that really means a lot to me.”

you leaned the back of your head against the door. “you deserve it. you work so hard that you don’t catch too many breaks. and nobody says anything, because, well.. they see how amazing your brain power is, but they don’t think of you as someone who can get exhausted.” you held his note to your chest. “after a while, they don’t thank you, either… it isn’t bad to forget sometimes. but i want to make an effort to remember. y’know..BLEGH, i should’ve waited until you weren’t busy—or, weren’t as busy—“

“no, i’m glad you came to the lab today.” looking down, senku held your note in his hand gently; he wanted to keep it in as pristine condition as he could. “thank you for the wake-up call.”

somewhat of a comfortable silence fell between you two. neither of you could see the other, but both of you shared the same warmth. it enveloped your insides, reaching your chest and cheeks and hands. you were sure you could feel his smile through the door.

“hey senku,” you said after a while, a smile on your face,”i like you.” you got up from your spot, brushing your legs off as you heard senku get up too.

senku laughed almost immediately after, and replied,”oh, really?”

you opened the door and saw him standing, smirk painted across his face. nodding your head gently moved the rest of your body; you closed your eyes right as you felt his hands take yours, notes still being held.

senku held them against his cheeks near the corners of his mouth; his head was dipped down slightly but his eyes were on your own lips. “i guess i like you too,”he mumbled.

you hummed fondly, opening your eyes; you wrapped your hands around his jaw and brought his face closer for a kiss. small and sweet, you both blushed when you broke away.

[newronantic]

HAIKYUU!! FICS

so this is mostly gonna be for myself to keep track of my favorite fics i’ve read, but hey if anyone else wants to check some of these out then thats great

MHA one is up!!

ill keep updating this as i read more, feel free to send me suggestions!

KageHina

plain as day - emleewrites

In which Hinata has spent the better part of the last twenty years putting his heart and soul into volleyball, hoping to be recognised, to be noticed. And yet he spends all these years also thinking of himself as rather plain, beyond his lack of height and bright hair, and not really noticeable at all.

In Transit - Mysecretfanmoments

Hinata finds that he likes standing close to Kageyama on buses and trains. It doesn't mean anything--probably. Maybe.

I like the way your clothes smell - Mysecretfanmoments

Power outages, ghost stories, and the presence of a certain orange-haired boy lead to bad decision-making on Tobio's part. He'd planned to keep his crush a secret; the universe has other plans.

Chaotic Neutral - akaraka

Who's this Kageyama person on twitter and is he gay?

1: Anonymous: see title

2: Anonymous: curry king

3: Anonymous >> 1: It's the curry king, obviously. Have you been using his memes this whole time without knowing who he was?

4: Anonymous: 1) Hinata Shouyou's boyfriend 2) See above

jellyfish - mysterytwin

At the beginning of his last year at Karasuno High School, Hinata Shouyou starts a list and calls it THINGS TO DO BEFORE GRADUATION, all with high hopes that he’ll be able to complete it before his time runs out.

TsukkiYama

Try This On For Size - CloudMonsta

A lot changed for Yamaguchi Tadashi over the course of high school. He started trying on dresses, for one.

The Great Yamaguchi-Tsukishima Split (Capitalization Necessary) - WyYeuw

"But no, the current situation isn’t normal. This situation requires the full attention of the team.

No, what’s really concerning this time around, is that Yamaguchi is the one ignoring Tsukishima.”

Yamaguchi confesses. Tsukishima fucks up—like, really fucks up. The volleyball club notices and loses a week’s worth of practice.

IwaOi

Terrarium - sausaged

He's practically a professional at being proactive (lies, lies, and lies when it comes to Iwaizumi).

At this point, is he really happy with just staying best friends forever? Will he be writing journals and collecting rocks forever (he will, he knows, but that is aside from the point)?

Can he really tag his Instagram photos with #YOLO if he doesn't actually put that phrase into practice?

A story about Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime, plants, and rocks.

They Say it Rain Diamonds on Jupiter - exsao

"You're in love with him."

Hajime considers denying it. He considers deliberately choking on his drink to express surprise, to create a distraction by spitting onto the man in front of him's pristine white shirt and causing a commotion. Instead, he swallows his mouthful of soda and heaves a small sigh once his mouth is free.

"Yeah," he says instead.

He's never been good at lying, anyway.

bait and switch - Stylographic_Blue_Rhapsody

Oikawa's university volleyball team knows he's in a long-distance relationship with someone from high school. They imagine a sweet-faced girl that matches his sarcasm with patience. They are so incredibly wrong.

my heart is where it’s always been - foreverautumn

Iwaizumi places his phone down carefully.

Oikawa. Pining after someone. There’s no way.

(Iwaizumi knows he shouldn’t care who Oikawa might have feelings for, but within the span of three days, it’s somehow the only thing he can think about.)

KuroKen

Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life - todxrxki

Kuroo Tetsurou runs a private Twitter account where he's constantly tweeting about how desperately in love he is with Kozume Kenma. Little does he know that Kenma sees all the tweets and keeps referencing the account in an attempt to get Kuroo to confess to him. / Or, five times Kuroo didn't notice Kenma hinting about his private Twitter account, and one time he finally did.

the things that get caught in the valves of his heart - ghostpot

Emotional competency is not exactly Kuroo's strong suit. Kenma finds it quite amusing.

Accidentally In Love - todxrxki

Kuroo frowns, but then slowly, the corners of his mouth lift up into a smirk. "Well, if it's so unbelievable, why don't we give it a try?"

Kenma glances up at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Let's do the 36 questions to fall in love," Kuroo says, still smirking stupidly. "If we don't fall in love, then you're right, it's bullshit. But if we do somehow..." Kuroo waggles his eyebrows. "Then I win." / Kuroo decides he and Kenma should do the 36 questions to fall in love as a joke, but they both start to realize they might actually be in love already.

the galaxy is endless (i thought we were, too) - cosmogony

TW: major character death

Kuroken AU where the last words your soulmate will say to you appear on your skin when you turn 16, and how Kenma and Kuroo learn what this means over the course of their lives

even if you’re ahead for a bit, i will catch up - ghostpot

Kuroo first confesses when they're sticky-fingered, wide-eyed kids, and subsequently every day after that. Kenma takes a while to come around.

you’re the brake lines failing (as my car swerves off the freeway) - ghostpot

Kenma thinks that Kuroo looks ugly with his head bent against the arm of the couch like that. Then Kenma thinks that he wants to marry him, and is promptly thrown into the 5 stages of grief.

teach me the way home - icespyders

“Don’t go far off, not even for a day, because —

because — I don’t know how to say it: a day is long

and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station

when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.”

Kuroo and Kenma grow up in transit.

in this universe - crossbelladonna

Living with Kuroo is sometimes, just like this. It always feels surreal like he's living half a world and a lot of things rush by too quickly. Kenma feels like he'd watched him come and go in a blink, eyes wide and wordless as the shared space went snug in an instant and far larger in the next.

All this, and a glass of water.

Beginning’s End - todxrxki

Somehow over the course of Kenma's lifetime, he’s never really had an opportunity to miss Kuroo. He’s always been there. Even when they went to different schools, Kuroo would meet him afterwards so they could walk home together, shoulders brushing, Kuroo occasionally taking the opportunity to guide him when his nose was buried in the newest video game. The thought of Kuroo not being there anymore is uncomfortable, to say the least. / Kozume Kenma's third year and the changes the year brings in himself and his relationship with Kuroo Tetsurou.

All I Want for Christmas is You - todxrxki

“Kuro,” he says. “You’re a single guy.”

“Yeah, great, thanks for pointing that out.”

“And my parents already know you, plus they already know you like guys or whatever so… what if you pretended to be my date for Christmas dinner?” / In which Kenma recruits his housemate and best friend Kuroo to be his fake date for Christmas.

BokuAka

just to miss the sun - rosevtea

Everything begins to implode when MSBY Jackals outside hitter Bokuto Koutarou crashes Akaashi's livestream.

Operation BokuAka - kazzydolyn

After spending two whole years watching Bokuto and Akaashi pine for one another, the rest of the Fukuroudani Volleyball Club has had enough. When everyone meets up for a reunion dinner, the team decides to play matchmaker and finally get the two of them together. Unfortunately, their plan starts to fall apart when they discover that Akaashi is already dating someone. And apparently so is Bokuto. What a strange coincidence.

bitter - silvercistern

He accepted his classmate's chocolates gracefully, then declared his lack of interest with as much dignity as he could muster. She deserved the courtesy. At least she'd acknowledged that Valentine's Day was all about her, and not about him in the slightest.

Because if any of these girls had taken the time to actually get to know him, they’d quickly realize something even more important than his lack of interest in girls.

And that was that Akaashi hated sweets.

In Another Life - LittleLuxray

TW: major character death

Sleeping didn't come as easy as it used to. Bokuto knew this, and now Akaashi did, too.

The hospital AU that no body asked for, but that I took upon myself to write.

120% yes - pissedofsandwich

TOKYO FRANCHISE COMING SOON @OnigiriMiya

in reply to @bokkun_official 

Congratulations! In celebration of your historic engagement, please DM us so we can send you a free membership code with a 25% discount on every fourth purchase!

Kissing Ace - karasunovolleygays

It happens right after training camp.

Akaashi Keiji has a secret he has guarded since he was a child. He won’t go so far as to call it a fear, but more of an aspect of himself of which he is horribly mortified. No one on the team knows about it, and Akaashi does his best to keep it that way.

But years of dodging hugs and casual contact come to naught in the blink of an eye and the swipe of a hand.

daisy rings and frivolous things (i am deliriously in love with you) - gabstar

Akaashi Keiji is in love. Bokuto Koutarou is a star. Everyone on Fukurodani has a gambling problem.

SakuAtsu

The MSBY Black Jackals Read Thirst Tweets - isaksara (syailendra)

Sakusa’s eyes are very dark naturally, sucking in all surrounding rays of light and crushing them in his pupils. For an athlete, he is rather pale. His lips look very pink in comparison. Atsumu is suddenly catastrophically aware that in this instance, ‘accent’ is a euphemism. “Good enough for your Olympic-size ego, Miya?”

(In which Atsumu realizes that he is attracted to Sakusa Kiyoomi in the most inconvenient way possible.)

A Liar’s Truth - internetpistol

In which Sakusa Kiyoomi is raised to believe that gay people go to hell but then takes one look at Miya Atsumu and thinks, then why the hell did God make them so fucking hot?

[beels-burger-babe]

A Little Voice Told Me - Pt.2

Poly! MC Summary: Words hurt and leave their scars. MC learns this the hard way after hearing some not-so-nice whispers about them while on a date with Beel. How are they supposed to be the partner of the seven lords of the Devildom when they just don't measure up? Part 1: HERE, Part 3: HERE ***Good Golly!! Y'all really like the angst, huh? Here you guys go. Cry your hearts out and enjoy! - B*** Beelzebub woke up the rest of his brothers early the next morning. While most of them attempted to flip him off or threaten him at the initial disturbance, all it took was him saying that they needed to talk about you for them to shoot out of bed. In a matter of minutes, all of them, except Levi, were seated around the breakfast table. "If we're talking about MC, why aren't they here?" Satan asked while poking at a piece of fruit. "I don't know about you, but I personally don't feel right talking about them behind their back." Belphie scoffed and laid his head in his arms. "It's not like we're gossiping about them or anything. They were acting off last night, and Beel thought we should discuss what we're gonna do about it." Beel nodded, "They pulled into themself halfway through the night, and was upset but kept brushing me off whenever I tried to talk to them about it." Mammon huffed and crossed his arms. "Maybe they just didn't feel like they could talk to ya about it," he rose to his feet and began to walk towards the door. "I'm the first! I'm sure I can get it out of them, easy peasy! I'll just head in there and-" "Mammon, sit down!" Lucifer hissed. Mammon grumbled under his breath but did as told. Lucifer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We've talked about this. Stop bringing up the whole 'first man' thing. MC is in a relationship with all of us. Not just you." The second-born pouted and stabbed an egg with his fork.

Lucifer rolled his eyes at his brother's antics and looked back at Beel. "Something clearly happened during the date. Do you have any ideas at all at what it could've been?" Asmodeus stirred a swirly straw around in his drink. "I mean, I would be pretty upset if I spent three hours of my evening at a barbaric sporting event too," Asmo chuckled and smirked. "The only good thing about sports is that you get to see all those rippling muscles of the athletes in action." Beel scowled at his brother took a bite out of the omelet that was on his plate. "It wasn't because of the game. MC loves coming to my Fangol games and was having a blast with me until halftime. Something had to have happened while I was gone." Asmodeus opened his mouth to counter the statement when Leviathan came rushing into the room carrying his laptop. Lucifer raised an eyebrow at the sight, "What have I told you about devices at the table?" Leviathan shot him an annoyed look as he plopped down in one of the chairs. "This isn't about table etiquette. This is about MC," he looked over at Beel and Belphie. "I think I have an idea on what may have caused them to start distancing themselves." Everyone perked up in interest at the news; each one of them eager to know what was distressing their loved one so much that they felt like they couldn't talk to them. "Well are you going to tell us, or are you just going to sit there?" Satan quipped, his anger beginning to get the better of him as he sat on the edge of his seat. Levi gave him a flat look before he typed a few things on his keyboard. "I was doing a raid last night trying to keep my mind off of what might've happened with MC and decided to ask my party members about it," Leviathan's expression darkened as he began to explain. It was clear to everyone that whatever was said, wasn't taken lightly by the otaku. Rather than reading the conversation out loud, he turned his laptop screen for all his brothers to see. Leviachan: Gaaah! I just can't focus on the game tonight. My partner came back from a date tonight and has been acting kind of sus. There's definitely something bothering them, but they refuse to tell anyone. Ruri-Chans-Husbando: Dude, you're talking about that stupid human right? Why are you even with them? You shouldn't give a Normie like them the time of day. Waifu-Addict: Exactly! Listen, we've all been talking and you need to drop that whore. They're totally just using you and your brothers for your titles and power. The demons read in horror and rage as the chat room filled with messages from the members of Leviathan's party all saying similar garbage about you and degrading you in every way they could think of. Satan stood up and began to pace near the table as he used every inch of his self-control to keep himself from lashing out. "I want names, Levi. Who are they and why do they seem to think it's okay to talk about MC like- like that?!" Satan snarled as he curled his hands into fists. Levi tsked and crossed his arms, as Lucifer took the laptop to look more closely at the messages. "You say that as if I haven't already used my 'title and power' as Grand Admiral to have my men collect and imprison them. They're at the navy base waiting for us to get our hands on them as soon as we sort this whole mess out." Belphie growled, now sitting up and wide awake. "Get our hands on them is right. No one gets away with this shit," Asmodeus glared at the computer as though it had just dyed all of his clothing brown. "Rotten brats. They're all just jealous of stunning MC. Ugh, Diavolo, haters are the worst." Beel pushed his plate away from himself as he frowned deeply. "As disgusting and horrible as this is, what does it have to do with MC getting all quiet during our date?" A low rumble came from Lucifer as he handed the laptop back to Levi. A fiery hatred was burning brightly in his eyes as he gritted his teeth. "If a bunch of anti-social shut-ins are going around talking about our dearest MC like this, I believe Leviathan's point is that others probably are."

"Ouch. I wasn't going to say it l-like that, but yes," Levi winced and continued, "MC probably overheard people saying something about them. I mean, if people said that crap about me I'd probably hide in my room and not come out for months!" Mammon, who had been surprisingly quiet during all of this, had a very serious expression on his face. "Right, and we don't want MC to go through that. For Diavolo's sake, they've left alone to overthink this enough," Mammon stood up and headed towards the door again, Satan hot on his trail. "I'm going up to there to talk with them. Ya'll are welcome to come with, but you ain't stoppin' me." "Actually, Mammon, you're not. We should wait until MC comes to us," Lucifer interrupted. An animalistic snarl tore its way from Satan's throat as what little self-control he had snapped. Wrath incarnate lunged himself at Lucifer, grabbing his older brother by the collar of his cloak. "Are you serious, Lucifer?! You're seriously putting your stupid pride first, now?!? MC needs us!" Lucifer growled and pushed Satan off of him as he stood to size him up. "No. What they need is to not feel pressured to open up when they aren't ready! We can't make them feel like they can't come to us!" Mammon scoffed from where he stood in the back. "Oh, cause that's perfect logic! News flash, oh wise one, They ain't gonna come to us if they're thinkin' they're a burden! But you wouldn't know anything about that would you?!" Lucifer's eyes widen and he took a step back in shock at the statement. "What is that supposed to mean?" Mammon and Satan both opened their mouths to put Lucifer in his place when Beel all of sudden cleared his throat loudly. All three of the angry demons turned to snap at him but froze as they saw you standing in the room behind them. They instantly straightened themselves up gave you their full attention. The air seemed to lay still between you as everyone waited for the other to make the first move. As with almost every situation, it was Mammon who broke the silence. He took a step towards you. "MC, I was just coming to get you actually. There's somethin' we all wanna talk to you about." They could hear your breath catch in your throat as you took a step back. Panic filled your eyes the moment the words left his mouth. "O-Oh. I, um, I was actually just going to grab an apple and then head off to RAD for class. M-Maybe we can talk afterwards?" Satan frowned as you walked past him towards the fruit bowl. "MC, it's the weekend." You stopped mid-step. An uncomfortable tension filled the room as the obvious excuse was exposed. The brothers waited for you to move, to speak, to do something to give them any sort of sign for what you wanted them to do, but you just stood there, still like a statue except for the tremors in your hand. "Come on, Darling," Asmodeus spoke softly. His face clearly showed the hurt and concern that was coursing through him. "Everything's alright, I promise. We just need to talk about a few things." The brothers had thought of a number of ways you could've reacted to them confronting you. Lucifer thought that perhaps you would snap at them and distance yourself further. Mammon, Levi, and Asmo expected a few small tears followed by a cuddle session. Satan imagined a slightly more dramatic telling, like something from one of his novels, that ended him being your hero and massacring all those who dared speak ill about you. Beel thought perhaps you could talk over a bunch of comfort foods that allowed you to remain calm and feel safe. Belphie had hoped that perhaps you hadn't believed what you overheard, and the two of you could laugh at how idiotic even the idea of them not loving you was. But you, breaking down into tears, sobbing the words "I'm sorry" over and over again? None of them had expected, nor were prepared, for that. ***Apparently this is now going to be a three-part series. This part was interesting to write. I fully believe that if the brothers were in a poly relationship with the MC they would definitely bicker and argue about

who knows MC best and who had the better date whenever MC isn't around. Honestly, they probably have a score chart 😅 I hope you guys liked part 2! Keep an eye out for part 3, where MC finally opens up to the boys and we have some hurt/comfort times \uwu/ ***

[qyllenhaal]

American Pie

Lee Bodecker x Reader

Word Count: 4.8k

Summary: The Summer heat gets to everyone, including Sheriff Lee Bodecker who is looking to stir up with his favorite girl.

Warnings: 18+ only!!! DubCon (!!!), Dark themes, age gap (reader is early 20s), infidelity, alcohol abuse, exhibitionism, unprotected sex, spanking.

A/N: I didn’t expect to finish this in one night, but I did! I may have missed a few things to include in the warnings but I believe I got all the major ones. Enjoy!

Hot weather makes people feel more rowdy, like they can do anything just because the temperature is rising and the sun is out for longer. When the number of troublemakers at the bar goes up, so does the number of visits from the police.

Someone was always anonymously calling the police because someone at Tecumseh Lounge was stirring up some shit. They rarely came and when they did they did nothing. The deputy they dispatched would just write down a few things in a notepad and leave. No one ever truly got in trouble and that's because the Sheriff is rumored to be "in'' with the owner.

The rumors are true but the nice ladies and gentlemen from the nicer parts of the county will never see it for themselves. Tecumseh is rough, and nasty. There were more vices here than just alcohol, and most of it was done under the table.

Y/n was crazy to take this job as a bartender at Tecumseh. She didn't know that a hidden prospective for the job was fucking the patrons. One of the other girls working here did it, and so did Sandy despite her brother being the sheriff. Y/n was not interested in the advances pressed on her by the men. They were either married or been fucking "ladies of the night" for years and probably have something. No one who frequented a place like Tecumseh wasn't someone Y/n wanted to go home with. Yet she let Sandy's brother talk to her in any kind of way.

For someone who was the sheriff, Lee Bodecker was here a lot and it wasn't because the drinks were good. Sometimes his sister served him while he interrogated her about her husband Carl. Y/n had seen Carl a few times and she found him to be sleazy. Poor Sandy was stuck working behind the bar while Carl flirted with a younger girl just a few feet away from her. But Sandy would also take some patrons out to the back and get fucked when her shift ended. It seems like an even deal, but the difference is Carl looks happy doing it and Sandy always comes back looking a mess, and not in a good way.

Y/n has been applying for a waitressing job closer to her house. She wants out of this place yet whenever she says Tecumseh is her current place of work, her application gets thrown out. Her aunt got her the job and she wished to god that woman never did. She should've gone and worked at someone's farm doing hard labor instead of accepting the offer to work. She was talked to like she was a whore and there was nothing to do about it because her boss did the same thing.

Friday night shifts are the hardest for her. The men drink harder because they don't work weekends. The influence of alcohol made them relentless when talking to Y/n. They made what they believed were compliments about her body and proclaimed how they wanted to fuck her. She just had to press a smile because the more they found her fuckable the more they tipped her. The low-cut top she wore was not coincidental. While she didn't fuck patrons for 20 dollars, she did put out for their attention.

Not even 30 minutes before her shift and a fight breaks out. She has to call the police because the fight between two men turned into a fight of three, four, and then five. No one looked interested in breaking up the fight, just watching with glib smiles and jovial laughs. This was the kind of entertainment they came for, but it was a pain to deal with as a barmaid.

Police sirens and the lights made some patrons, including two of the people involved in the fight, went running out through another exit. Their fears were pointless since it was rare for anyone to get arrested here.

"Alright break it up," Deputy Brooks' voice boomed.

Whenever an officer was called to come down to Tecumseh Lounge, it was only three policemen who showed up: Deputy Brooks, Deputy McConnell, and the sheriff. They must've worked out some kind of deal with her boss because they come in, don't do shit about the reason they were called for, and they never failed to ask for a drink before leaving. Tonight is no different; they just break up the fight and tell the men to leave but they never force perpetrators to leave.

The fight dissipated a few minutes after the deputies showed up and the patrons grumbled because the fun was over. The two deputies looked around the place to give off the appearance of holding authority then they made their way over to the bar.

"One of your coldest beers," Deputy Brooks didn't greet Y/n nor was he polite. He just demanded what he wanted.

"No free drinks." She tries to keep her tone of voice strong. She is not afraid of these two men who only feel powerful because they have a badge on them. Deputy McConnell was only a few years older than her and she remembers when he was a scrawny kid who got picked on even as a senior in high school.

"We just broke up a fight at your fine establishment. The least you can do is give us a beer," Brooks rebuttal.

There was no arguing so Y/n sighed and went to grab two beers for the men so they could just get out of her sight.

"I need two beers. Not just one," McConnell interjected. Y/n didn't like how they drank on the job, especially since they were going to be driving so late at night.

But Y/n obliges just to get them out of her face. She hates the smug look on Deputy Brooks face as he grabs his beer and walks out with the other deputy behind him.

The rest of the night is Jenny's problem because Y/n was clocking out immediately. She smelled like cigarettes and just wanted to wash the layer of sweat off of her body. All the money her boss accrues from shady dealings, he was too cheap to install an air conditioner. People get angry and agitated when it's so hot out. Even at night the air feels sticky and falls just to the low 80s.

She headed out the back to avoid the incoming patrons. She is fair game to some people now that she is single.

Out back she can hear three unmistakable voices. Deputy Brooks and McConnell were standing by their car that was parked right next to the nice, clean sheriff's car. Y/n is not in the mood to deal with the two dickheads and their boss sheriff dickhead, but she knows they are going to say something to her as she walks back.

"Well if it isn't my pretty, pretty Cherry."

Lee Bodecker's voice punctuated the night air, making even the humid atmosphere feel cold.

Y/n stops in her tracks, knowing that she cannot avoid this without causing trouble for herself.

"Don't call me that."

"You sure like the name last week when I had my head between those thighs. 'Lee...oh Lee!" He imitated her voice which made his deputies laugh. Lee has a beer in his hand, reminding Y/n that McConnell asked for two back at the bar. She should've known it was for Lee.

She was embarrassed by him talking about their time together in front of his subordinates. Lee is married and Y/n is turned off by men with gold bands on their ring finger who try to take her home after her shift ends. However they have fucked on multiple occasions, making him the only patron she has given into. He was mean, but authoritative. Y/n couldn't help herself and she sometimes let the sheriff rough her up in the back of his car.

"I'm only messing with you sweetheart. You don't gotta stand there lookin like you saw a ghost."

Y/n feels humiliated but Lee doesn't seem to care. Lee gets off on seeing her squirm, on seeing her be degraded. She's not a whore like the other woman who works here and his sister, but he fucks her like she is. He has something many of the men inside the dingy joint wanted. Y/n isn't easy, which rare for a female Tecumseh worker.

"I'm just wonderin if you seen my Sandy," he made an attempt to change the subject.

"She's your sister Lee."

The truth is Y/n hasn't seen Sandy in a week. She said something about her and Carl taking a trip but she didn't say for how long. Y/n is not too fond of Sandy to pry into her life. She feels bad for her though. She always comes into work with dingy hair and not to mention the amount of weight she has lost which makes her face look gaunt.

"You better address me as ‘sheriff’ girl. You have no manners. You weren't even going to say hello to the men who keep you safe."

Lee did nothing to make her feel safe. He made Y/n feel on edge when he was around but downright euphoric when she was in the throes of passing in the back of his car. He was just using her to get his rocks off and he only went after her because he wanted someone "fresh" for him. He doesn't respect her or care for her.

"Shouldn't you three be patrolling? Looking for crime?"

"Don't catch an attitude, Y/n. It's none of your business what we do. Besides, all the crime is in that building you just came out of."

"You guys never do shit. All you do sheriff is come and collect money from Leroy-"

"Watch your fucking mouth."

Y/n is not sure why she's still here trying to bump heads with him. She will never win, especially when he is the authority around here. No one challenged Lee because they were scared to death of him. He's a shady sheriff but he's feared.

"I'm leaving," Y/n sighed. She tried to walk away but Lee stood up from leaning on his car and grabbed her arm

"Uh-uh," he shook his head at her as the grip on her arm tightened. She looked up at him with fear in her arms and he felt his cock getting hard "You don't get to leave until I tell you too. I think you owe me for last week anyway, cherry."

"Please...just let me go," she tried to plead. She tried to plea to the man who she's been fucking, hoping that his attachment to her would make him be kinder to her.

"You need your ass to be put in place. I thought I did that a few weeks ago when I spanked your ass until you cried, but you're still as defiant as ever. You'll never fucking learn."

Lee dragged her back to his car and bent her over the hood. He placed her arms behind her back and cuffed her. He wasn't going to arrest her but making her believe he was sure was fun to him.

She can see both of the deputies watching her. Her face was planted against the top of his car as he held her down. Lee pulls her dress over her ass and she feels so exposed.

"Those panties look damp to me. What do y'all think?"

Y/n hears the deputies chattering lowly amongst themselves, probably afraid to say something obscene about the woman the sheriff is hooking up with.

"How many men seen you like this before? Who you let fuck you today?"

"No one sheriff."

"That's right. That pussy is mine."

His rough hand caresses her ass. He wants to spank her for talking back to him in front of the two younger officers. She was trying to embarrass him which called for a punishment.

"You better count 'em or I'll start over."

Y/n just groaned in anticipation of the first blow to her ass. She hates how Lee takes his time and she wishes he would just get it over with. Her heart is racing as Lee gets a firm grip on her hair.

"Bad little girls get their asses spanked. Don't think just because you're not peddling your cunt that you're not a whore," he threatened with anger.

Her panties were ripped off with rage and she was truly exposed. The warm, summer breeze ghosted across her cunt but it made her shiver. She can already feel the heaviness of her hand on her ass before it even comes down. The first smack was so loud that it pierced the dark night's air. Her cry was even louder.

"One," she says breathlessly. Her eyes close so she doesn't have to look at the two men staring at her with wide eyes and tents in their pants.

Lee believes pain is the best discipline for a girl like Y/n. He would never do this to his wife, but he also doesn't fuck his wife like he fucks Y/n. She was a tough thing to crack but she rides him into the night until his car is shaking and he's cumming into a condom.

"You can count louder than that, cherry."

He was mocking her only because they had an audience. The belittling and having her body exposed was humiliating. But that first slap of her ass sent all the blood in her body rushing to pussy.

Lee smacked her ass again and again and each time she pathetically sobbed out the number of hits her ass has received so far. Her skin felt hot and it wasn't because of the temperature. She wanted to cry so bad but she kept it. She has never cried in front of Lee and she isn't going to start now; no matter how painful his brutality is.

"Look how fucking wet she is from getting her ass whooped."

Y/n heard the shuffling of the deputies and there was not doubt they were looking at her glistening sex. She felt like she was dripping and she wanted to press her thighs together so bad to hide herself. That would only make things worse for her and the last thing she needs is a harsher punishment.

"Learned your lesson, cherry?"

She nods, her eyes still closed.

"Good girl."

The sound of Lee's belt coming undone makes her stick her ass higher into the air. She's been trained like a dog who wants a treat to behave this way. A sense of shame consumes her as she acts so shamelessly.

"My good little bitch," he coos. He pulls himself out and lines up the head with her wet slit. "I don't have a condom on me sweetheart. I finally get to feel that pussy of yours."

He was lying. He always kept a pack of condoms in the glove compartment of his patrol car because he couldn't bring them into his home. Plus having them in there would always leave him ready to fuck Y/n. He did not like the feeling of condoms but he can't knock her up when next year is an election year. Having a bastard child with a barmaid from Tecumseh would fuck everything up and send his efforts down the drain.

"Lee no! You have to use a condom."

"I don't have to do anything."

She's stupid to think he would listen to her. She is completely powerless and can only operate to his whims.

"Then please pull out...please," she whispers in defeat. The laugh he lets out tells her that she doesn't get a say in this at all.

Lee pushes on her back with one hand and the other is holding onto her hip. He finally sinks into her and he is in paradise.

"You expect me to pull out when your cunt is this warm and tight? No fucking chance darlin'"

He starts to fuck into her, each thrust earning him a pathetic moan. She feels so good wrapped around him and he vows to never wear condoms with her again. She's the tightest thing he's had in years and he has to go slowly to brace himself or else he is gonna cum. This position gave him so much access to her cunt and he pushed in as deep as he could. His bare head was kissing her cervix over and over again. His thighs slapped against her bare ass and the noise reverberated into the night.

The deputies just stood there; eyes wide with shock but lust filling their veins. They never took Lee as a cheater yet he fucked Y/n he knew her body so well.

Tears slip down her face, but they aren't from sadness or anger. She's overwhelmed by the pleasure Lee is giving her that she can almost forget that they have an audience.

Lee lifted her head off of the hood of the car. She could see them in the reflection. She looked a mess while Lee looked like he was in heaven in her bare cunt.

"You wanna tell them how you never had a man in your ass until I fucked you? Begged for it like a whore?"

His voice has some much grit in it and Y/n wondered where this new fire in him came from. Lee was rough with her but never has he pounded into her like she was just a toy. Most would be surprised to know that Lee can be a gentle lover that had a primal urge to be inside of Y/n. She wondered if he was like that with his wife, but according to him she was just a "wet blanket." Y/n does not know whether or not to believe him because it's not uncommon for men to disparage their wives to women they're having sex with on the side.

"Gonna cum Lee," she cried.

He felt her tighten around him and he was about to cum too. He was going to cum inside of her.

"Show 'em how you cum for me. Let 'em see that pretty face of yours."

Lee pounded into her until she was crying out. Her orgasm wrecked her body and the only thing on her mind was Lee and his cock. If she was asked to speak right now it would just be babble. He fucked her stupid and he's not going to stop until he spills inside of her.

A few more hard, rough thrusts and Y/n feels Lee spill inside of her. She sighs at the blissful sensation. His grip on her loosens, a symptom of the exhaustion that starts to set in. His cock begins to soften inside of her but the two of them are still panting from what they just did.

"Go on. Go home," he slaps her ass one last time just to tease her. His eyes are trained on the sight of his cum oozing out of her and he never wants to look at anything else. But he has a shift to get back to

Y/n reluctantly stands up, her dress falling over her ass to cover her up. She can feel his cum running down her thigh but she's too embarrassed to clean herself up in front of these mean. She accidentally catches Deputy McConnell's eyes before she scurries off to her car. She hears a laugh and then a few more joining in. She's sure Lee is bragging to them about her always being willing to fuck him. She just hopes he doesn't tell them everything they have done together.

-

Lee had been silent for more than a week now. No calls, no visits to the bar, and even his patrol car hadn't ridden down her street. Y/n felt insecure about his absence; like he thought she was an easy slut like the rest of the barmaids. He knows she isn't willing to fuck anybody, but she was not sure if he believed her when she said it.

The days moved so slowly as she watched the door hoping he would come in one late night. She even hoped for a fight but suddenly no one had the energy anymore for a melee.

Y/n was working a late shift tonight. She'd cover the bar from 12 until last call. It was her day off but she had to fill in for some girl at the last minute. If it had been the weekend she would've said no, but it's a Tuesday night which means it would be an easy night of minimal work.

Y/n was wiping down glasses not five minutes after she clocked in and she heard the shrill voice of her co-worker Sydney.

"I'm not dealing with him. Last time I tried to cut him off he threatened to arrest me! I don't know where Sandy is but she needs to be the one here to deal with her brother."

Y/n's ears perked up. She didn't notice Lee in the room when she walked in. The room was dim and it was not always easy to make out customers, especially if they were far away.

"What's going on?"

Y/n walked over to where Cindy's voice was coming from and she was talking to their boss Leroy.

"Sheriff is drunk off his ass and I'm supposed to deal with him. My shift ended five minutes ago and once I'm off the clock then anything that happens in this place is none of my concern!" She said with contempt.

"You work for me. You don't get to decide what you will and will not do at my bar!"

As much as Y/n wanted to avoid a tiff between her co-worker and boss, she wanted to talk to Lee even more.

"I'll take care of it."

Leroy didn't care either way. As long as he didn't have to deal with Lee who was pissed off at him about something. Lee often complained that her boss was a "useless fucker." Leroy walked away from the two and Cindy gave Y/n a small smile.

"Thank you."

"It's no problem. I'll see you tomorrow Cindy," Y/n called to the blonde who was already peeling out of the place. She doesn't think Cindy likes her all that much but she was at least courteous to Y/n.

The bar was dead enough for Y/n's other co-worker to cover while she went to deal with Lee.

He was at a table in one of the corners of the bar; slumped over in his chair and too intoxicated to speak in complete sentences. There was no way he could properly function or drive home. She had a choice to make whether to leave Lee like this or take him home. She had just gotten to work, but the night was nothing that her co-worker couldn't handle. If Leroy threw a fit and tried to fire her she could just get Lee to threaten him.

He was so heavy as he leaned on her to walk to her car. Y/n loathes this man yet she does so many caring things for him that it makes her stomach hurt. She gets nothing out of this exchange yet she continues to go back with him.

She placed him in the passenger seat of her car and he just mumbled to himself the entire ride to her apartment. She was thankful to be on the first floor because it would be a hazard to try to get Lee to walk up some stairs like this. She helped him sit on her raggedy couch. He looked like he was going to vomit.

"How many drinks did you have?" She began her interrogation on him, but she doubts she will get a coherent answer tonight.

"Just one."

As he spoke he reached into his pocket to show her the "one" bottle that he drank from tonight. A few candy wrappers fell out of his pocket when he pulled the bottle out. They were jolly ranchers wrappers which was the kind she bought to share with him.

"What happened? Why did you get so fucked up? I need to get you home Lee."

Y/n was in panic mode. There was no way she could take Lee home but she didn't know how to deal with him like this. He had been tipsy around her before, sure, but she has never seen him this drunk.

"No, no...don't wanna go back. Just let me sleep it off," he slurred. He haphazardly kicked his shoes off and pulled his jacket off so he could get comfortable on her couch. He's going to wake up with a sore back if he sleeps on that thing.

"You can't get drunk like this ever again. And you also can't stay the night here ever again. Your wife is going to find out one day

He just groaned and turned away from her on the couch. She just sighed in defeat. She will deal with him in the morning.

-

She feels the bed around 3 am. She could not sleep after leaving Lee in a state like that on her couch and she has been up ever since. Y/n was so tired but her body was not agreeing with sleep at the moment. Heavy arms wrapped around her as she held her breath.

"You smell so good, Florence. Just like roses."

"Lee, it's me." She waited for him to respond, afraid that he would get upset or angry with her for no good reason. Her ego was a little hurt after he mistook her for his wife.

"I'm just jokin' with you cherry." Even though he was suffering from a hangover, he still has the capacity to tease her.

Y/n turned around to face him but he had his eyes closed and a pleased smile on his face. She can't deny how handsome he looks, especially with his full cheeks.

"Why did you get that drunk last night?"

"I'm a grown man."

"You weren't acting like it last night. You were like a defiant child," her voice began to rise in volume and Lee winced.

"Don't yell, please. You can be mad at me all you want but please don't yell. I've got a headache that's going to last for days."

"It's what you deserve."

Lee finally opened his eyes just so he could see that pouty look on her face. Y/n called him a defiant child, but she was one to talk. She was always acting like a brat around him.

"You don't mean that girl. If you did, you would've left me at Tecumseh. You care about me."

"Lee-"

"Just admit it. You care."

"Lee, you are married."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

This was the uncomfortable conversation Y/n wanted to have. It was always shot down by Lee. He had no problem fucking her, but talking about where they stand or his cheating was always a problem.

"Cherry, I wish you'd just let things be as they are. Wish you would always be a good girl like you are in the back of my cruiser."

"I don't want to be your mistress Lee. If we keep doing this then we're going to get caught and your wife will leave you. Then what?"

"I'll move you in and put a ringer on your finger. Maybe give you a few kids too," he chuckled.

Y/n couldn't bring herself to find joy in his comments. She has some underlying feelings for him and he's right, she does care. But her conscience can't stop thinking about the fact that he has a wife. The only time she forgets is when his dick is inside of her.

"I'm a whore, remember?"

"Just because I fucked you like one in front of my deputies doesn't mean you are one," his hand rested on her hot cheek and he stroked it with his thumb, "you're my cherry girl. The only person I love being inside of. You act like you hate me but you're always wet for me; I bet you're wet right now. I love what we have and I don't want it to end."

She has no more to say to him. She just sighs and closes her eyes. Lee can practically see the wheels turning in her head. While he saw this as a very simple situation, she viewed it as more complex and always seemed to look for ways to make it complicated for the two to just enjoy it for what it is. Y/n is young and Lee is sure she is not ready to settle down yet. They're just having some fun. And if they do in fact get caught and his wife leaves him, then his cherry would make one hell of a wife.

[velvetcloxds]

AND WHATEVER COMES AFTER THAT| K.M.

Pairing: Klaus x Fem!Reader

Word count: 1991 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Klaus has been trying to convince the reader to be with him for years, but has always failed. At the end of one of Elijah's peace parties, Y/n finally gives in.

“For the lady…” Rebecca says with a smile, holding out my glass of wine for me.

“Thank you,” I say, taking the glass in my hand before refocusing my gaze on the dancefloor where the last few people are still keeping up with the silly beat of the current 60’s song. “You’d think they would have given up by now.” I say, laughing softly as I point down to where Hailey and Elijah are dancing, attempting to keep a somewhat respectable distance between them. Rebecca smiles and moves to rest her glass on the banister of the balcony.

“You’d also think he’d have officially made a move by now, but my big brother does things in his own little way.” She tells me, smiling still as her eyes linger for a sweet second on Marcel Gerard who is making quite the show of the way he’s twirling around his date, her dress shifting higher up her thigh with every turn. Rebecca scoffs softly, taking another large sip of her drink.

“He’s not the only one.” I say with a raised brow, her glass making a soft clinking noise against her ring when she grips onto her glass tighter, eyes drawn tight to show me she’s not exactly pleased with my statement.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, Y/N, but I’d remind you to think very carefully about what you’re going to say next,” She says and turns to face me, leaning forward to make sure I could hear her. “You may very well be my dearest friend and my brother may very well be completely smitten with you, but I’m not above kicking your ass.” She tells me and though her words would prompt a serious tone, I catch the little smile that slips onto her lips when our eyes meet.

“I have yet to see you try, Rebecca,” I offer in reply, laughing lightly as she shakes her head. “Besides,” I start, taking a sip of wine before handing her my glass. “I’d have to remind you that you’d be ruining your own clothing in the process.” I tell her as I move to do a slow twirl and she gasps softly, taking in the Audrey Hepburn inspired ensemble, the black dress and gloves being something that Rebecca had kept from her time spent in the actual decade. Her shock sinks into a small grin as she looks me over, eyes lingering on the pearl necklace we brought at a secondhand boutique last week.

“You look perfectly in place,” She tells me and nods towards the hallway behind us. “Maybe you could convince my brother to step out of his hole long enough to save you a dance.” She says and squeezes my arm softly as she passes by me, losing the glasses on her way down the stairs where she calmly clears the last few guest from the dancefloor and out the door, waving quickly as she closes the door of the ballroom behind her.

I smile, the music seeming louder somehow now that I’m alone in here and I find myself almost drifting down the stairs. I hum to myself, dancing towards the drink table. Swaying to the rhythm as I start pilling empty platters and used plates together.

“You missed the party,” I say softly, not stopping what I’m doing as I hear him still on the balcony above. “It was quite the turnout.” I add, stepping back from the table to look up at him, his lips tilting into a lopsided grin when he sees me.

“My apologies, love,” He shrugs eyes darkening as they slowly make their way from my lips downwards, lingering for a second on the pearls around my neck before slipping lower and lower, until he clears his throat softly, meeting my gaze in an instant. “I clearly had no idea what I’d be missing out on.” He tells me, voice low as he pulls a hand through his hair.

“Maybe you should come down here and get a better look.” I offer, tone matching his as I step back even more, slowly making my way to the dancefloor where he meets me in mere seconds, hands carefully resting on my waist as I move slowly to sway to the gentle melody, eyes glued to his as he lets out a soft breath.

“You are…” He starts, moving a hand to carefully take hold of mine. “Ravishing,” He whispers, the sound sending an almost electric shiver down my spine as he lifts my hand to his mouth where he places a delicate kiss to my palm, not once breaking eye contact. “Tell me..” He begins, using his teeth to carefully pull the glove away, holding my bare hand tightly in his own as he leads me into a dance. “Why won’t you be mine, Y/n?” He asks, holding me against him as he dips me backwards slowly, carefully turning us together before pulling me up to be but inches from his face. “Why won’t you let me love you?” He asks, keeping hold of my waist as he turns me around in his arms where he nimbly lifts my hand in the air, removing the other glove as he attentively traces the length of my arm until I can feel his skin against mine, the glove dropping soundlessly to the floor as I tilt my head to the side to see him.

“We’re dangerous together,” I tell him, carelessly letting him guide my hands to where he needs them and numbly allowing him to spin me out and then in before once again coming face to face with him. “We’d hurt each other,” I say, moving with him as we move one step forward and one step back, twirling and then repeating. “You’d hurt me.” I say, momentarily leaning back against him halfway through the twirl.

“I would never,” He offers and pauses as well, risking the loss of the rhythm to touch my cheek and gain my attention. “I could never.” He adds and I turn around in his hold.

“That’s what they always say,” I say and move my hands to his shoulders where I lead him into the same steps as earlier. “They always promise me forever,” He holds my waist delicately. “They never mean it.” I tell him, his eyes darkening as he tries to read my emotions.

“I am not them, my love,” His eyebrows knit together as he looks me over. “I will gladly give you forever and always and whatever comes after that. I love you. I burn for you,” He announces simply and I let out a shaky breath. “Can you truly say that you don’t feel the same? Tell me you don’t feel anything at all for me?” He asks, voice raw as he waits for a reply and I shake my head, dropping my hands to the side when he suddenly released me from his hold, looking to the sky as he shakes his head as well.

“Klaus,” I begin, pulling at the pearls to release the necklace from my neck, it along with the very obvious tension in the room making me feel like I’m suffocating. “I do feel the same. I feel everything and more, but it doesn’t change the fact that I can’t do this. I can’t possibly give you the power to hurt me.” I drop the pearls to the floor as I fold my arms around me, the playlist coming to an abrupt stop when the slow song ends.

“I understand,” He says after a moment, looking around the room, eyes scattering through the mess of dirty glasses and plates and coats that were left behind. “We should probably allow the staff to clean this place,” He tells me and forces a slight smile when our eyes meet. “Give me a moment to retrieve your things from upstairs and I’ll walk you home.”

“You don’t have to do that.” I say, guilt filling my heart as I see the hurt in his eyes that he couldn’t possibly hide from me even if he had attempted to do so.

“I know,” He says, picking up the fallen gloves and carefully handing them to me. “I want to.” He says, giving me a soft wink before walking up the stairs.

I let out a shaky breath as I pick up the pearls as well, folding them into the gloves to keep them safe and before my mind could even process the thought, I’m walking up the stairs, following the sound of his heartbeat that leads me to the room he spent the night in hiding away from the guests.

I use my foot to carefully push open the slightly ajar door, Klaus’s silhouette visible at the end of the room where he pushes handfuls of paintbrushes into cups of water as an overturned painting rests against the dresser.

“I couldn’t leave them uncleaned,” He informs me, my own heartbeat probably giving me away. “I got distracted downstairs is all, completely slipped my mind.”

“It’s okay,” I say and he looks at me quickly to nod before going back to his brushes and I walk to the center of the room, pulling at the string to turn on the light and get a better view of everything. “You were painting?” I ask, now noticing not just the one canvas, but a whole collection of them, all scattered and resting against multiple pieces of furniture.

“I felt remarkably inspired.” He comments shyly and I smile.

“By what?” I ask, mindfully reaching to turn around the largest of the canvases, the one I saw first and I can’t prevent the audible gasp that leaves my lips when I see the beautiful medley of colors that he’s somehow managed to create my face with.

“You.” He answers absentmindedly, shrugging slightly as he waves my coat and purse in the air to show me that he’s found it amongst everything in here. I smile, bending down to take it all in, every brushstroke and color, every piece of himself that he used to create every stroke of me.

“This is beautiful, Klaus.” I laugh softly, holding the hand with the gloves to my heart as a sudden rush of emotions run though me.

“The painting is only as beautiful as the muse who inspired it,” He comments simply, looking at me sweetly. “I don’t think I could ever verbally explain how much you mean to me, how much I care, how much you’ve changed me purely my existing. I don’t think I could ever completely fathom how remarkable you are and how extremely lucky I am that by some strange twist of faith I’ve been lucky enough to know you,” He laughs softly as well, smiling sheepishly as he catches my gaze. “I want to live my life with you, and I’d wait however long it takes for you to feel the same.”

“Forever?” I ask, standing up and placing the gloves onto the dresser beside me. He nods.

“And always.” He adds and I smile, the dreadful and fearful feeling in my stomach slowly dissolving.

“What about just one more minute?” I ask and he tilts his head, smiling as I slowly make my way towards him, pausing only for a second before cupping his face in mine. “Thirty seconds,” I say and he holds onto my arms. “Ten seconds,” I whisper, his forehead against mine. I breathe out slowly, nodding when our eyes meet, silently asking for permission before his lips delicately meet mine. My entire body filling with butterflies as he pulls away and I smile. “Let’s get married…” I say and his chest vibrates lightly as a happy laugh fills the air, pulling back slightly just to see me.

“Are you sure?” He asks carefully and I nod, pulling him closer to me again.

“I am yours, Niklaus Mikealson. Forever and always.”

“And whatever comes after that.”

Hi there, more of my work can be found on Wattpad under @mjoubertt. Mxx.

Masterlist

[yourmcu]

Birthday

Pairings: The Avengers x  reader

Summary:

It’s your birthday and the team gets creative on how to surprise you, putting their acting skills to the test.

Word count: 2,350

A/n: just a little something because,, well,, it’s my birthday *runs away* also it’s cheesy, hopefully it makes sense lmao

Warnings: uhhh brief mention of explosion? mostly fluff

The Avengers wanted to get creative for your birthday this year. For the few years they've known you they picked up on things about you. One, you paid no mind to your birthday at all and just considered it a normal day like the rest of the 365, Tony took note that you hated parties, at least the really big ones, something that involved only the team would be good.

Okay, you sound like a party pooper, but that isn't the case; it's not a crime to just... not want to have a grand celebration, right? And people singing the 'happy birthday' song to you too while you just sit there in silence. It's awkward, you once told Natasha. It’s also awkward and hard for you to receive presents even though that’s what birthdays are all about, you’re still getting used to it since you knew someone like Tony Stark.

Well, the team think you're an amazing friend and they all treat you like family. They're so glad they met someone like you.

You're immediately called to the conference room on that day. Only to find the team arguing and pointing fingers at one another.

You kinda just slot in, sitting on the chair you usually sit on whenever there's a meeting or mission briefing. Glancing around, you try and find out what they're fighting about.

Security. Suits. Brief mention of Ultron. Rhodey busying himself with phones, probably making a lot of calls. Natasha and Clint talking among themselves, only raising their voice whenever they're included in the conversation which mainly consisted of Tony and Steve arguing.

"Suit up, get the jet ready." Steve dismisses but before he could walk out himself you raise your hand.

"Hey, sorry, I just woke up," you say sheepishly but coolly at the same time. "What happened, is everyone supposed to go? Can I read the file?" Because if this is an Avengers-level threat that required everyone, you'd want to know all about it.

His sharp and expression softens slightly when he looks at you. "No file, I'm afraid. Some of the compound's security protocols have been compromised, someone hacked in." He proceeds to tell you how they particularly had interest in Bruce and Tony's lab so the other rooms were untouched.

Apparently, they took blueprints and materials, maybe a handful of Tony's suits.

But if you think about it, those two carelessly letting the security to their lab loose? Highly unlikely...

You push the thought to the back of your mind and nod when Steve tells you to get ready. Stark tech can be dangerous in the wrong hands, after all. Let alone the Iron Man suits.

Fortunately, those things have trackers. Leaving you to wonder again why those idiots don't even try and take them off so they won't tracked?

Sat on the floor of the jet while everyone was strangely quiet but once again you didn't pay any mind, you sharpen a few of your knives. Natasha sat on a stool near you, idly picking her nails. An hour into the flight you furrow your brows and look around.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yes," Tony states quickly and a matter-of-factly. They all share glances before he continued. "It's the tension. Sorry. My fault."

"It's not your fault, Tony," Bruce starts.

"I'm sorry, to whom were those stolen suits again?" Steve speaks up as well and you could tell it's gonna be a full blown argument again.

"Now hold on just a second-" Tony faces the super soldier to counter.

You merely blink, not expecting a simple question to turn out like this. Clint just glances from the pilot's seat and Natasha almost cracks a smile by the look of your face. If only you knew it was all fake, all planned. But what does she know? You're a spy too, maybe you've figured out what they're up to and decided to play along.

Sad to say you're still oblivious. Maybe the fact that you only slept three hours last night is one case. You wanted nothing more than your bed right now.

Heck, not one of them wished you a happy birthday but you didn't notice at all.

Tuning out their bickering you sit down next to Natasha who's the only one not in the argument.

"I haven't seen Wanda all day," you say and she turns her head to face you. "Or Sam, or Bucky."

"Probably not back from their mission." Natasha answers promptly.

You frown at that. "Steve made this sound like an Avengers-level threat, and it is, shouldn't they be here?"

You don't wait for a response, opening up a globe-shaped hologram that shows where the jet, represented by a blinking dot. Your eyes slightly widen when you see the target location which is one of the places you've been dying to visit your whole life.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. You definitely didn't expect to visit it for the first time on a mission though.

Natasha clears her throat. "Hey, have you read the book I gave you?" She subtly closes the globe up when she catches your attention.

You shake your head bashfully. "You know I'm a slow reader. Give me two months then I'll come back to you." You laugh. Natasha smiles and tells you to take your time. "Have you read the book I gave you?"

"I loved it."

"I knew you would!" You say excitedly and the next few moments you discuss about the specific book. She's just glad you didn't ask any further questions about the location.

--

All of you split up once you reach the base but Rhodey and Bruce stay in the jet as backup. The place reminded you so much of the old Avengers tower, only with darker themes. You're paired with Clint who you follow to the side of the building, with surprisingly no cautiousness. He just... ran in, entrance deserted of guards.

You all had a digital, tech checklist to see what was stolen including all the suit names. So far you've searched two drawers now and still no sign of any agent or guard. But it's weird since the others are clearly doing their part on their floors. Thuds, footsteps and sometimes banging sounds could be heard all around.

“Finally," you mutter when you hear footsteps behind you, spinning around so suddenly to surprise your enemy and take him down with ease. You raise an eyebrow when they don't put up a fight at all.

Clint was in front of a computer when you peek in to one of the rooms but he waves you off. "I'll meet you on the next floor. This'll take a second."

"One suit on the roof!" you hear Steve grunt through your earpiece.

"Remember to remove the arc reactor, that'll shut them down for sure." Bruce reminds through everyone's comms.

You hear Tony let out a noise. "Might have a problem with that, Banner, they're all reprogrammed."

Expecting the man with seven Ph. D's to worry, it only took him a minute to respond back. "It's your tech. I don't believe they could do that completely especially having them for only twelve hours."

"In that case," Tony sighs. "There should be a kill switch under one of their reactors."

"Which one?" Natasha grunts.

The deafening silence from Tony's line explains it.

You fight your way though the thugs which again, don't put up a fight. Sometimes you throw one punch and they're out cold, leading you to believe the intense training Bucky insisted you do worked. The only tough ones were the Iron Man suits themselves.

Ripping out the arc reactors wasn't easy. You had to use all you force. On the second one you encounter it got the upper hand and blasts you through a wall, the impact sending sharp pain to your head and back.

You hear metal thumping of a suit so you get back up and attempt to get your hands on the Iron Man in front of you.

"Hey, hey. Same team. Look," Tony grips on your wrists and lifts his mask up. "You alright?"

“Yeah," you pant, relaxing a bit. "Yeah. One of them got m-"

"We just discovered a bomb, northwest," Clint says. By ‘we’ he means him and Natasha. The redhead speaks right after. “Two and a half minutes. How many suits left, Friday?”

"Only one more suit is fully functional."

You get out of Tony's hold and sprint up the stairs. "I got it."

He smiles to himself. The plan is all coming  to place.

As soon as you enter the room you dodge a blast from the much bulkier Mark XVI. Of course they'd want to make the stealth suit more powerful. You launch yourself towards it, stomping on an arm while trying to dodge blasts from the the other one.

"Y/N! Fifty seconds!" Steve shouts in your earpiece.

You could've just jumped out, leaving the compromised suits here to be blown up but being under pressure made you panic and set your only goal to find the switch.

The suit could still set off a blast from the arc reactor so you couldn't really get your hands on it without losing a freaking arm.

"Get out of there!”

But you didn’t have enough time. So you just curl into a ball against the wall, accepting your fate.

A pop did go off. Loud, but you didn't feel yourself torn into pieces right after. You also heard a bunch of aye’s and oh’s. Redwing whirs by to your head to drop off a birthday hat.

"Happy Birthday!”

Your eyes fly open. Turns out the only thing inside Mark XVI was confetti. Natasha walks over to you to inspect and make sure you're alright.

"What the hell?" Your eyes widen at her, then at everyone. Sam and Bucky were now standing with them, smiling at you amused.

"I think she's in shock.”

“You think?”

Steve glares at Tony with a hint of amusement. "I told you it would be too much."

"Trust me she prefers something like this instead of a big party. Don't you, Y/N?"

"What do you mean?" You take off the hat and clutch it between your hands, appreciating Natasha rubbing your back as you try to collect yourself. "How is none of this real?"

"We basically faked a mission for you." Rhodey says.

You look around all the rubble. "This building, the people, suits-"

"Bought the place," Tony states. "Hired stuntmen, did a few tweaks on the suits...”

"God, why would you do that?" You bury your face in your hands, not knowing if you should be laughing or crying. "I punched those guys!"

"They'll be fine, they signed up for it."

You gently get up and brush off some confetti off your knees.

"But back at the compound... you guys were yelling at each other and during the whole thing you all sounded serious," you point out. "Was that all part of the act?"

Especially when that 'bomb' was about to go off. Steve's panicked voice made you scared for your life, only to know that it was all fake.

They all show signs of agreement, laughing.

"We'd make such great actors." Natasha smirks.

"Alright, the cake isn't going to blow itself." Clint walks up to you with said cake and you meet him halfway.

Everyone gathers around and before they could inhale to sing the stupid song, you cut them off. "You all know I hate to be sung at. Can we just get this over with?"

They all burst out laughing, you giggle in the process, blowing out your candle. You all group hug right after. The laughter makes you miss the sound of faint thunder outside.

"Look who's late." Bruce points out.

"Yes, I got here as soon as I can, my apologies." Thor smiles sheepishly.

Your ears perk up at the all too familiar voice of the god of thunder. Moving everyone of the way, you leap to hug him. "Thor!"

"Happy birthday, dearest Y/N." He grins and pats you on the head. "I'm afraid my - I mean - our gift, is with Loki at the moment."

"Enough with the formality, I’m just glad you’re here.”

Peter rings up Tony to tell him everything's set up at the huge building they rented for your low-key party. Just the Avengers. Peter, Vision and Wanda were in charge of setting things up over there, from decorations and food. Sam and Bucky also helped a bit before they arrived at the fake base.

So you all get into the jet again, this time you look at the windows in awe to see what the city's like. You also asked a bunch of questions on how they pulled something stupid but unique fake mission like that.

Once you've reached your destination, the place was simple yet big enough to fit everyone. Tony really took notes for this year. You didn't like anything too fancy or elegant, and you didn't like huge-ass parties with hundreds of people you've never met before.

Here you're with your family eating, drinking booze and playing games, generally having a good time.

You give the other five Avengers big hugs. Vision's never usually a hugger but for you he made an exception just for today. Everyone was surprised when he lifted you off your feet and spun you around.

"Hugging has a lot of good benefits," Vision says when he lets you go. "Astounding, I know. It is recommended eight times a day, hopefully you've already gotten that much."

You giggle at his remark and Wanda rolls her eyes playfully. “Thank you, Vision.”

“Splendid, that means I don’t have to give you one.”

You turn around to see the god of mischief himself carefully hand you a wrapped box. Loki chuckles when you smile at him. “Happiest Birthday.”

“Loki.... you know you and Thor didn’t have to-”

“Thor? That one’s from me. I assure you.”

“Y/N!” You hear Tony call from the other side of the room. “It’s time for presents, little miss. Good lord this looks like Christmas morning.”

-

unfortunatley i am that extra to post a birthday fic woo hoo

[stardust-kenobi]

My Purpose

Din Djarin/Mando x Reader

Summary: You're captured by the Empire, held for questioning concerning the location of the child. Under Moff Gideon's supervision, you endure harsh punishment. You knew that Din would never leave you behind. The moment you heard blasters firing rapidly outside your holding cell, you knew he'd come back for you.

Warnings: violence, mild torture to reader (no SA), mention of blood, death, reader being "helpless", helmetless Din, fluff

Word count: 2.8k

A/N: I mean, don't we all fantasize about being rescued by a bounty hunter as a helpless damsel in distress? Just me? well, enjoy anyways. This honestly reads like a Mandalorian episode. @ jon favreau, hire me pls. reader is referred to as “her” once or twice but otherwise can be read as gender neutral.

gif credit: @isetthetone

"I won't talk" You spat at the men towering over you. You were firm, and steady in your composure. More troopers, higher ranking than the predecessors, continued in the attempt to break you. The Empire wanted the child, and you'd never let them get close. The vents blasted near frozen air onto your shoulders from above, insulated in your holding cell that was encased with metal and designed for discomfort.

Without another helpless word, and the press of a little red button, bolts of electricity coursed throughout your already exhausted body, delivered by the small device forcibly wrapped around your head. The pain was excruciating, but you were beginning to feel numb with every passing second. This was the 5th...no, 6th time...so far, that this pain has been inflicted on you. It benefitted neither party in the room. You offered no evidence of weakness aside from your obvious pain. They had to know that you weren't any close to revealing any useful information.

"If you won't talk, Moff Gideon will be taking matters into his own hands. Give us the location of the kid, or suffer the consequences" Their voices were muffled in a similar way that Din's helmet muffled his voice. It reminded you of him in an oddly comforting way. You missed him terribly already. Without even seeing the true look in Din's eyes when they captured you only seconds before you were able to make it to the Razor Crest, you knew his heart made the most difficult decision he's ever had to make. You knew it was you or the child, and neither of us would ever let them get their hands on him.

Although you kept your composure in the presence of your captors, you were scared. Petrified, even. Din swore to himself many months ago to protect you in exchange for you assisting him in raising the child. You knew little of childcare, but Din knew you could both figure it out together. After all, you did owe him big time for saving your life when you first met. And here we were, right back where it all started...you needed to be saved again. You hoped he'd gotten the child miles away from here by now. You'd lost track of time but it felt like hours, maybe even half a day at this point.

Your silence was the only response to the further questions.

"Suit yourself" One of the troopers scoffed, and swiftly exited with his partner. The door slid open and closed just barely long enough for them to leave. You were then trapped, cold, and alone again. As much as you wanted to be relieved from your situation, you cared significantly more for the safety of the child and your armored protector.

The minutes dragged and your chest felt heavy as the panic began to sink in. This was it for you. No way they’d let you leave after being of no use to them. Your death was inevitable, and your racing thoughts began to slow as you came to peace with that.

You heard the faint hissing of a door on the other side of your cell, signifying someone's entry. Then suddenly, your cell door slid open, revealing a towering figure. Although you'd never seen the late Darth Vader, the way you imagined him was reflected in this man.

The jet-black shine of his armor was enough to startle you in his presence. But his expression...the menacing grin framed the picture of a despicable man.

Your face was blank. Showing any fear was not an option right now. Although, you were subtly trembling in your seat.

"You know that you've made a big mistake, right?" He said, approaching you slowly, using his height to tower over you while you were seated on a steel bench.

Silence.

"Your beloved bounty hunter isn't coming back for you," Moff Gideon said softly, getting uncomfortably close to your face. "Why not just comply with our requests so we can move along with the search? hm?"

"You'll never find them" You hissed at him.

"Oh, actually I will. That you can count on" He laughed. The insulting tone made you sick. "However, if you tell us where they are, your torture will come to an end and we can get this whole thing over with. What do you say?"

"Never."

"Your persistence is admiring, truly it is. But why waste your time? He doesn't care about you. He's a Mandalorian. They only care about their creed. Everything else is just...a commodity."

You shook your head in denial. That wasn't true.

"You're wrong."

His gloved hand firmly grabbed your chin, pulling your face up toward him. You cringed and winced under his touch.

“Where are they?” He persistently shouted in your face. You jolted your head backward in attempt to put distance between the two of you. With your response of more silence, you were met with a sharp and painful blow to the side of your face. You turned to look back at him, trying to collect yourself from the pain. His fist was still tight and ready to throw another punch.

The second punch was worse, it radiated pain through your entire skull and caused your eyes to go blurry for a moment. The cuts already open on your cheek were split open with damage you were taking. You felt the blood begin to drip down your face. Any additional infliction would be hell, but you’d take any pain necessary to keep everything you loved safe.

His other hand brought to your attention a small red button. The same button the stormtroopers used to electrocute you before. You whimpered in anticipation and tears involuntarily formed in your eyes.

A deranged smile spread across his face. Your fear just fueled his power. And just before he could inflict any additional pain on you, he seemed to have received transmission into his ear.

His brows furrowed. His eyes then locked with yours.

"Repeat, commander" a look of concern was on his face. Disbelief, even.

"Don't let him step foot on my ship" Moff Gideon seethed.

Although you were uninformed to the other side of the conversation, there was no question. You grinned ear to ear. He came back for you. Of course he did.

"Well, change of plans. The Mandalorian dies today" Moff Gideon snickered.

"We'll see about that" You whispered.

The ship shook and vibrated under your feet. As if a ship had docked...or crashed, maybe. Moff Gideon snapped his attention behind him, as if he could see what was happening through the secured doors.

Another transmission came through, one you still weren't able to hear.

"If he doesn't have the child, then he's no use to me. Kill him."

Your heart sank at the mere thought of losing him. But it wouldn't happen. Gideon's troopers were no match.

Moff Gideon kept his close watch over you while he hid like a coward in your cell with you. His hand rested atop his blaster in preparation for what he knew was to come. The cruiser you were aboard had a crew of probably 50 people. If they all served to be as awful at combat as other troopers that you’d seen Din take down, you’d be rescued in no time.

You watched Gideon’s body language grow more and more nervous and fidgety as the commotion grew on the other side of the door. Blasters and the sharp clinking of metal filled the narrow space of the ships walls. That muffled sound was moving closer. As the situation became less favorable for Gideon, it became more favorable for you. That fact alone put a smile on your face.

Then suddenly…three loud bangs penetrated the walls. It sounded as though someone was trying to break through the first door. But that wasn’t regular armor hitting the metal…it was beskar. Gideon trembled. He jolted when the banging arrived at your cell door. He was displeased to hear you laugh at his reaction, which fueled his anger.

He yanked your arm and threw you in front of him as a human shield, pulling his arm around your chest and igniting the dark saber, holding it only centimeters from your throat. The blade vibrated loudly, threatening to take your life in one motion. What a fucking coward. Can’t even fight without using you as bait.

It took less time for Din to break through the second door. Within seconds, the door snapped and broke open, revealing your protector wrapped in his armor as usual. What was unusual, though, was the splattered blood across his chest plate. You couldn’t even imagine what he’d just been through to get to you.

“Step another foot closer and she dies” Moff Gideon insisted.

“Let her go” his soothing voice broke through his helmet, calming your nerves, even with death being only a movement away. “You’re outnumbered, Moff Gideon”

“I would disagree. It seems it’s one on one”

He pulled the saber closer to your neck. You whimpered and squinted your eyes shut. Tears threatened to fall from your eyes as you opened them back up. You see Din’s fist in a ball, revealing his frustration and anger.

“Based on your fighting skills I’d say it’s more like two on one, wouldn’t you think?” Din snapped back at him.

“Alright. Let’s fight then, Mandalorian” Gideon said with a smirk on his face. He threw you down carelessly back onto the bench. You cried out in pain as your face hit in the cold seat.

Both men circled one another with their weapon of choice in the ready position. The saber was still ignited, and Din had his staff of beskar. No lightsaber could ever cut through beskar, not even the dark saber. Din swung first, striking Gideon’s side armor. He retaliated, only to be met with the staff that rejected the saber’s power.

There were flashes of blinding light back and forth, both men having a fair chance against the other. You watched in terrifying anticipation, fearful of Din’s safety. You believed in him, but to watch him fight scared you. After a few minutes, Din finally had Gideon pinned against the floor, with the beskar staff pointed right below his chin. The saber was thrown from his hands, and out of his reach.

This was it, you thought. We are getting out of here.

But not yet. Gideon made a move so swiftly you couldn’t even comprehend what had happened. The staff was knocked from Din’s grip, and he was thrown backward onto the floor. Gideon somehow maneuvered himself on top of him now, with the staff in his control.

No. Please no.

He could’ve killed him in one motion, but instead, Gideon pushed the staff under the grip of Din’s helmet and forcefully pulled it from his head, slicing his chin in the process. You gasped and looked away, to be respectful of his creed. You’d never seen him without his helmet. All you caught glimpse of was the deep brown color of his hair.

You only listened now, as you were unable to watch how this would end.

“You have nothing now” Gideon started, breathing heavy through his words. “Your creed has been broken. You have no purpose” he laughed, pleased with himself for to bring shame to his opponent. "Give it up, Din Djarin."

A familiar voice broke the air that you’d ever only heard through the distortion of a helmet. You gasped softly.

“She is my purpose. The child is my purpose. I won’t let you take that away from me” Din said. It sounded like the voice was directed toward you rather than Gideon based on your positioning. You melted at his words.

Not another word was spoken before the clanging of metal filled the room again, you couldn’t tell what was happening, which made you all the more terrified. Gideon groaned in pain, it sounded as if he was on the ground now.

“You’ll never take the child. And you’ll never see the light of day again. All because you took my girl” Din breathed deep through his words.

You heard the dark saber ignite again.

The vibration from the saber indicated a swift movement.

A loud thud against the ground.

Silence.

You trembled with your arms covering your head in a fetal position on the bench. You knew it had to be Din who was still standing, but you couldn’t bring yourself to move.

“Y/N” his warm voice graced your ears only inches from behind you. You audibly sobbed. Knowing immediately you were safe. He was still helmet-less, you could tell. You turned over to face him, but kept your eyes closed so you wouldn’t see him.

The electrocution device wrapped around your head was removed gently. You'd somehow forgotten it was even there. His hands then wrapped around yours as you moved to sit in an upright position.

“Look at me” he pleased softly

“But your hel-” you started

“Look at me” he insisted, squeezing your hands gently.

Your eyelids folded open slowly. You weren’t afraid, but you were hesitant. He was crouched in front of you. What you saw as your gaze met his, took your breath away. His eyes were brown, a match to his hair you caught glimpse of before. It was Din. You were finally seeing the man you loved for what he really looked like. He was so beautiful. All the words you wanted to say failed to leave your mouth as you scanned his face over and over again. His expression was riddled with worry and concern.

“Did he do this to you?” He referred to the gash above your cheek, and the other visible bruising down your body. You were suddenly aware of how deeply he cared for you.

On the verge of tears and still remaining speechless, you nodded your head. “I’m okay”

“He’ll never take you from me or lay a hand on you again” your eyes travelled over to Gideon’s lifeless body on the floor. Din gently pulled your face back to look at him so you wouldn’t be more traumatized than you already were.

“I’m here” he reassured you. A smile formed on his lips. Maker…that smile. You were seeing him smile for the first time. Sweat and patches of blood scattered Din's face. You couldn't imagine the hell he went through to get to you.

“But Din, your helmet” you remained confused. You knew that meeting other Mandalorian recently may have changed his outlook but you never thought he’d break the creed intentionally. He could’ve put it back on. But he didn’t.

“It’s okay... I wanted to see you with my own eyes. You are my purpose now, y/n”

He said it again. The same sentiment that surprised you before. Your heart was so full in that moment.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here sooner" He remorsefully spoke. "Its my job to protect you, and I almost failed you. It'll never happen again"

You shake your head. He didn't need to apologize. He was here now and that's all that mattered.

“I’ve never been happier to see someone’s face in my entire life” you say, continuing to admire his features. You bring your hand to cup the side of his face. He closed his eyes gently as a result of your caress. Your skin against his was so mesmerizing...so new to you...so new to him. You halted your gaze this time at his lips and then looked back to his eyes. He was looking at your lips too.

Neither of you had to say another word. An unspoken desire between the two of you was about to be fulfilled. His finger guided your chin closer to him.

The silence was so loud. The lack of troopers and personnel on the ship was haunting, yet somehow incredibly peaceful. The beating of your heart was beginning to fill that silence in your ears. It beat rapidly in response to your near death experience in addition to being this close to him. Being completely alone and intimate with him.

You leaned in to him with his guidance. As your lips just barely brushed against his, you took a sharp breath in. The skin on his lips was supple and warm. As you fully pressed your mouth against his, you fell apart into his kiss. Your whole body was encased in warmth and a feeling of security from this closeness with him. His hand rested against the back of your neck and pulled you closer into the kiss, if that was even possible. Even though you were truly alone, this kiss alone made it feel like you and him were the only two people left in the whole galaxy.

You never wanted to pull away from him. You both waited so long for this moment.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to do that" He whispered, as the kiss finally broke.

"I do, Din. Trust me I do" You giggled. You were captivated by the feeling that this kiss had left with you.

He pulled his head back to take another look at you.

"Let's get you home" He said, before standing to his feet.

Even weak from his battle wounds, he scooped you up into his arms, and carried you back to the Razor Crest.

[eliemo]

Snake Bite

Summary: Janus hadn’t meant to lash out. He’d just felt too much like a cornered animal, and now they all had an excuse to cast him out as the villain once again. 

Specifically tagging @anothersanderssidesblog and @wyvern-tales

Based on This Wonderful Post

TW: Panic attack, brief mention of blood, sympathetic everyone

At this point, Janus wasn’t even sure what was being said anymore. 

He knew everyone was yelling over each other, and he knew the anger and insults were all directed at him, but right now he didn’t think he could focus on the words even if he wanted to. 

And he supposed, if it weren’t for the weight on his chest and the pressure building behind his eyes, his sudden lack of awareness would be a blessing. 

He just wanted to go to bed. It had been a bad week, one inconvenience piling up after another, and he was certain if he didn’t get out of this room right now he was going to snap and say something he would regret. 

But Roman was still ranting, arms waving as he paced Thomas’s living room, and Janus knew leaving now would only make things worse. He’d let the Prince get it all out of his system, smile like it didn’t matter, and sink out until everyone calmed down. 

He understood why Roman was angry, and perhaps some of it was well deserved, but the tirade of shouting seemed entirely unnecessary. 

Sure, maybe Janus shouldn’t have disguised himself as Roman after Thomas had summoned his sides for help, especially since he’d begrudgingly agreed not to shape shift since his name reveal, but today there hadn’t been a choice. 

No one would have listened if he’d come as himself. Everyone was still wary around him, and they all seemed extra suspicious around him this week. He knew it was because he’d been a little short with all of them lately, but it wasn’t his fault he hadn’t been able to get a full nights sleep in weeks. 

He’d been waking up every morning even more tired than he’d been when he’d gone to bed, limbs aching and heavy, and by the time he found the strength to force himself out of bed everyone had already been finished with breakfast, which ruled out any chance of friendly conversation or “bonding” as Patton so lovingly called it. 

Not that he cared. He had absolutely no intention of sitting down for their little family meals, no matter what the nagging voice in the back of his head said. 

Besides, he wouldn’t have been wanted anyway. Every time he so much as breathed Virgil would act like he’d just tried to set the house on fire, and Roman didn’t even try to hide his glares. 

Logan just seemed uneasy, and Patton’s attempts to be friendly were so glaringly obvious and fake. 

When Remus made his appearances, at least everything was honest and out in the open. Nothing could offend Remus, and besides filling Thomas’s head with less than ideal thoughts at night he didn’t really mean any harm. 

Things were different with Janus, and he knew they always would be. 

So, it wasn’t completely unreasonable that Janus was beyond tired and frustrated, and he knew Thomas was too thanks to his demanding schedule. 

He needed a break, and Janus was determined to get him to see that. If he called off a few meetings, they could easily have the rest of the week off to recharge and Janus could figure out how to pull himself together. 

But Thomas would never agree to a break unless his anxiety allowed it. And it didn’t matter if Janus was correct, Virgil would be caught dead before agreeing with one of Deceit's suggestions. 

Virgil and Roman seemed to bond over their mutual hatred of him, so in a last ditch effort, Janus had disguised himself as the Prince and risen up with the others. 

He hadn't meant any harm, and it had been going so well. Roman was distracted somewhere in the Imagination, and once he’d gotten Logan to see the logic in taking a few days off Virgil had almost immediately jumped on board. 

And then of course Roman had returned just as they were wrapping up, the living room falling into silence as the two Princes stared each other down, and everything erupted into chaos. 

Janus revealed himself, despite everyone already knowing what he’d done. He’d heard Roman shout a few things like “Villain!” and “Lying fiend” and the surprisingly hurtful “Why did we even give him a chance?” before he promptly lost the ability to make sense of anything happening around him. 

He tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling to avoid having to see everyone’s stares (not to stop himself from crying, because he was not about to cry. He was used to being villainized, he didn’t care), and waited for someone to call Roman off. 

But no one did, and suddenly Roman was right in front of him, jabbing a finger in his face, and Janus couldn’t catch his breath.

“You’re not even listening!” Roman shouted. “He’s not listening! What else have you been doing behind our backs you snake-faced lia--” 

Janus didn’t even realize he was moving until his fangs were suddenly in Roman’s hand, fingers wrapped tight around Roman’s wrist, and he felt the Prince go completely still as Janus’s teeth sank into his skin. 

It all happened so fast, Janus’s mind a frantic, racing blur as he pulled away, feeling horribly like a cornered, wild animal. 

He had exactly two seconds to process what he’d done and collect his scrambled thoughts in the sudden, deafening silence before Roman seemed to realize what had just happened. 

“He bit me!” 

Patton was taking a step forward, and Janus backed away until he was pressed against the wall, wincing when he realized he could faintly taste something coppery in his mouth. 

“Kiddo, try and relax,” Patton said, a hand on the Prince’s shoulder. “I’m sure it was just--” 

“What, an accident?” Roman demanded. “Patton, he bit me! Like- like some kind of snake-faced demon! Pat, I’m bleeding!” 

He was barely bleeding, the bite nothing more than two little pinpricks, and if Janus could find his voice he would have pointed out that Roman was behaving like an overactive toddler. 

But he couldn’t. Because he’d been trying so hard to make progress with the others, to be seen as anything other than a lying villain, and one bad day had just undone all of that, completely erasing any chance he might have had. 

Because as small as it was, he’d just hurt Roman. In front of everyone. In front of Thomas. 

He watched as Logan took the initiative, hurrying to Thomas’s side and guiding him over to the couch. 

Thomas looked pale and panicked, which meant that all the commotion was probably making Virgil—

Virgil. Janus couldn’t even bring himself to look at the stairs, painfully aware he’d just see horror and disgust...and maybe a bit of satisfaction. The anxious side had probably been looking for an excuse to send Janus away. 

“I’m going to die!” 

Janus was pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by a very loud, very distraught Roman who was diligently ignoring Patton’s frantic attempts to calm him down. 

“I find that highly unlikely,” Logan spoke up. “While the reaction was completely unnecessary, the likelihood of Janus being venomous is--” 

“Was this your plan all along?” Roman yelled, and suddenly his sword was in his uninjured  hand. “To wait until our guards were down and then poison us?” 

Janus felt numb. “I did not poison you--” 

“How can I believe anything you say? You were just masquerading around pretending to be me trying to ruin Thomas’s career!” 

“I’m not trying to ruin anything!” Janus couldn’t keep himself from snapping back, feeling abruptly trapped and suffocated. He needed to get out. “I’m doing my job. I’m trying to help. Thomas needs a break- we all need a break!”

“You don’t help Thomas,” Roman snarled, letting Patton pry the sword out of his grip, his bleeding hand held against his chest. “All you do is bring him down! All you do is try to hurt him!” 

“Funny,” Janus snapped, well aware of how much power his next words held. “I remember you saying the exact same thing to--”

Patton was suddenly beside him, resting a gentle hand on Janus’s arm, and Deceit felt like he’d been electrocuted. “Kiddo--” 

“Don’t touch me!” 

Janus yanked his arm away, frantically scrambling away from the wall and nearly colliding right into the television. The room was silent again, but that hardly mattered as he realized with growing dread that he couldn’t breathe. 

The room was going blurry, his vision hazy and distorted, and it took him a moment to understand it was because his eyes were flooding with unshed tears. 

“Janus?” 

He was sinking out before he could even try to identify the voice, rising back up in his room with a strangled gasp. 

It felt like his chest was being crushed, everything too loud and too much even in the solitude of his room. 

He threw his hat across the room, yanking off his gloves with trembling hands and letting them fall to the floor, grimacing at the glittering scales along his left arm.

He hated them. He hated every part of himself that made him different, everything that proved he was just a villain. Virgil could be accepted as one of them but Janus had no right to...to…

Janus was on the ground, his legs no longer able to support him, landing hard on his knees. He didn’t bother to fight against the sobs tearing at his throat. There was no need to hide, locked away in the seclusion of his room. 

He ended up hunched over himself, wrenching sobs tearing their way out of him, his hands moving against his will to tug at his hair, scratch at his scales, pound at the floor- anything to try to unsuccessfully ground himself. 

Anger and sorrow were waging a bloody war in his heart- anger at the others for being so cruel, anger at himself for allowing himself to lose control and hurt one of them. 

Sorrow because...because he knew it was over now. There was no way to undo this kind of damage. He’d tried- tried to be one of them- and he’d failed. Miserably. Really, he never should have expected anything else but...well, lying to himself was a bit of an unbreakable habit. 

They didn’t want him here. And Roman was right, he didn’t help Thomas. 

When had Thomas actually listened to him? Just once after the wedding? They would have come to a conclusion without him once Patton calmed down a bit. 

They didn’t want him and they didn’t need him. Nobody wanted a two-faced, monstrous villain. He’d tried, he’d tried so hard, but…

Virgil had tried to duck out once. He’d been lost afraid and alone, but…

But he’d been needed. He’d been wanted. 

If Janus sunk out it would be different. But maybe...maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Thomas would be an honest person without Janus and...wasn’t that what they all wanted?

He buried his head in his sleeves in an attempt to muffle his cries, the sobbing becoming loud and uncontrollable, and if he had a little more control he might have laughed at the irony of it all. 

Crying over being the bad guy. God, he was so selfish. 

He was just barely able to hear the knock on his door in between ragged, hiccuping gasps, but the sound made panic burrow further into his chest, squeezing until he saw spots. 

“Go away!” He screamed, voice hoarse and broken. “I don’t- I’m...fuck! Just leave!” 

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if he screamed or yelled or hurt anyone, it didn’t matter if someone heard him breaking down. It wouldn’t matter if he just got a hold of himself and ducked out for good. The sooner they could all forget about him, the better. 

But the door to his room was opening (he’d forgotten to lock it, stupid, stupid, stupid), and he quickly curled further in on himself, nails digging into his scalp. 

“Jesus Christ, Jan.” 

Janus shook his head at the sound of footsteps hurrying closer, flinching when someone grabbed at his wrists. 

He tried to tell them to stop, to go away and leave him alone, but he couldn’t get the words out. Every frantic breath was more shallow than the last, and it felt like there was something beating at his chest. 

“Stop fighting me, dumbass,” the voice said, and the shock at realizing it was Virgil was enough to clear his head for a split second. “Come on, look at me. Take a breath and look at me.” 

Slowly, as Virgil pried Janus’s trembling hands away from his face, he carefully lifted his head to meet the anxious side’s gaze. It might have been his imagination, but he thought Virgil’s eyeshadow might be a shade darker than usual. 

“Hey,” Virgil said with a small smile that didn’t match the distress in his eyes. “I need you to just focus on my voice right now. You’re having a panic attack.” 

Janus shook his head, dropping his gaze to the floor until Virgil squeezed his wrists slightly, prompting him to glance back up. 

“I think I know what a panic attack looks like,” Virgil said, once again with that small, unsure smile. Janus thought this might be the first time in months Virgil hadn’t glared at him. “I’m gonna help you. I’m right here, ok?” 

It was all backwards- Virgil shouldn’t be the one crouched on the floor talking a side down from a panic attack, he shouldn’t be forced to be anywhere near Janus who clearly made him so uncomfortable. 

All he was doing right now was hurting Virgil, hurting everyone, and this wouldn’t be happening if he just wasn’t here--

“Hey, hey hey.” Virgil was suddenly readjusting his grip to take Janus’s hands, bringing them to his own chest. “You’re ok, you’re fine. I want you to copy my breathing now, can you do that?” 

“I- I can--” 

“You can do it,” Virgil said. “You used to help me do it all the time, remember? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight, right?” 

Janus swallowed and nodded, squeezing Virgil’s hands despite himself. 

Virgil smiled back at him, and slowly began to count out the breaths, gently encouraging Janus each time he made it through a count, quickly reassuring him when he didn’t. 

He sounded a bit like a mixture of all the light sides, and Janus briefly wondered how many panic attacks his new family had helped him through.

It felt like hours, but gradually Janus was able to begin to breathe on his own, his whole body still shaky and weak. 

He took one last deep breath, and Virgil released his hands when he exhaled. Janus tried to ignore the pang in his chest at the loss of contact.  

“You ok?” 

Janus nodded, running an unsteady hand through sweat soaked hair, steeling himself enough to lie. “I...I’m fine. You can go now.” 

Virgil scoffed. “Yeah, not happening. You’re gonna get cleaned up and calm down, and I’m going to sit here in case you need help. And then you’re going to let Roman apologize before he does something stupid and self destructive--” 

“I don’t need an apology,” he snapped, and it would have been much more threatening if his voice wasn’t still shaking. “And I don’t want to watch you all force him to apologize for something he isn’t even sorry about.” 

Virgil was watching him curiously as Janus attempted to get his half asleep, aching legs out from under him, furiously wiping at his soaked face with his sleeves. 

He needed Virgil to leave and stop pretending to pity him. 

“Why are you even here?” He’d meant it to come out as a snarl, but it turned into nothing more than a quiet, tired question. Virgil tugged at his hoodie sleeves, silent for a moment. 

“You were having a panic attack.” 

“Oh right, and you definitely care about that,” Janus said, finally pushing himself off the ground, grabbing his bed frame for support. “All of you made that perfectly clear today.” 

Virgil moved to stand, hands stuffed in his pockets, shoulders hunched. “I know, I’m sorry. We...I should have stepped in. Roman was pissed and he gets carried away sometimes. I was serious about him wanting to apologize.”

Janus cleared his throat and ran his tongue along his teeth, wincing at the reminder of what he’d done. He glanced back at Virgil, at the sudden lack of contempt or distrust in his eyes. 

“I would have thought you would be thrilled,” he said truthfully. “Today is the perfect excuse to finally get rid of me.” 

And Virgil actually looked...guilty. The anxious side had never been one for eye contact, but now he was definitely doing all he could to look anywhere but Janus. 

“You lashed out because we all ganged up on you after a long week,” he said. “I’d...kinda be a hypocrite if I held that against you.” 

“I disguised myself. I said I wouldn’t do that anymore.” 

“You did,” he agreed. “Because we made you feel like you wouldn’t be listened to if you didn’t, and I...I feel like that’s my fault. Jesus, you just wanted Thomas to take a break. So...yeah. I’m sorry I’ve been a jackass lately.”

“I…” he paused, clenching his jaw against the new wave of tears that threatened to spill over. “Virgil, I...I bit Roman.” 

And Virgil actually smirked, like it was funny. “Yeah, and I know a panic response when I see one. Roman feels bad, Janus. We all do.” 

Janus froze, wondering briefly if Virgil had just suddenly gotten better at lying since the last time they spoke. But his eyes were genuine, hopeful, and Janus found himself wanting so badly to drop his defenses and believe him. 

“Look,” Virgil continued. “I don’t...completely trust you yet. But I know you want what's best for Thomas, even when we disagree. You’re a part of him and...and I know how it feels. To not be sure if you’re wanted. But...but you are.” 

“Virgil--” 

“So here’s what we’re gonna do,” Virgil said. “You’re gonna clean up, and when you’re ready Roman is going to set aside his pride and apologize, Patton is going to smother you for a few hours, and Logan is going to ask you a bunch of invasive questions about your teeth because he’s a nerd. I can tell him to back off if you want me to.” 

Janus let himself smile, small as it was, and he watched as Virgil took another step closer, the anxious side finally looking Janus in the eyes. 

“And then Thomas is going to take a break,” he continued. “And you are never ever going to consider ducking out again.” 

Janus paled, cold panic returning with a vengeance. “Oh, please. You know I would never--” 

“Don’t lie to me,” Virgil said, voice low, and Janus fell silent. “I’ve been there, Janus. I know the look, and I know what it takes to push someone over the edge. You can’t fool me.” 

Janus sighed, running a hand over his face. He was speaking before he could talk himself out of it. “You did it.” 

“I tried to,” Virgil agreed. “I was wrong. Thomas needs me, and he needs you too. Nobody...No one hates you, Janus. I’m sorry things got this bad.”

Janus just shrugged, pushing back the emotions he wasn’t quite ready to feel, let alone share aloud. But it was...nice, he realized, not being given the cold shoulder anymore. 

He hoped it lasted. He missed Virgil more than he was willing to admit. He...wished he was closer to all of them. 

“I’m not upset,” Janus said, even as he wiped at watery eyes. “It’s just...been a long couple of days.” 

It had been a lot more than just a long couple of days, but he figured Virgil knew that. The anxious side smiled sadly. “Well then it’s a good thing you convinced Thomas to take a break.” 

“I just hope it helps.” 

“Me too,” Virgil said. “Now go wash your face- you look awful. I can hang out here until you’re ready to see the others. Unless you, like, want me to leave. I can leave you alone.” 

Janus smirked, finally starting to feel like himself as he straightened his cape and made his way towards the bathroom. 

“I’d really hate it if you stayed,” he called over his shoulder. “You know I absolutely loathe your company, Virgil.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” 

Janus let himself break into a full smile for the first time all day, closing the door behind him as he heard Virgil flop onto the bed. 

[poisonousroxstar]

Imagine:

Hajime Hinata with a Yandere AI S/O who can control the killing game

Trigger warning: Yandere themes (reader/you), forced relationships, manipulation (mentally, emotionally, literally), pain. Probably OOC (sorry). ❗❕SPOILERS❗❕

Note: this was inspired by @daisyfics headcanons on a reader similar to Monika. Please go read them, they're very good! Also. . Idk about this one, I might rewrite it. I just felt inspired and went with it, but it's probably super ooc for hajime.

You were a rogue AI, originally made to help the remnants of despair. But in the end, you only cared about haijme. . Or izuru, but you probably preferred the former.

You took control over everything that happened in the machine, overpowering monokuma's own control. Instead of ending the killing game though, you allowed to continue.

Because, it helped get you what you wanted. And what you wanted was hajime's affection, and love, and devotion.

Hajime only saw you as another classmate at first, but he slowly began to develop a small crush on you. How couldn't he? You affected such a charming personality. He couldn't help but fall for you, especially when you showed him affection (which, originally, he was a bit uncomfortable with).

Day by day, you progressively got more clingy and even demanding of his time and attention. He'd shut you down when you'd get like this, trying to reason with you and attempting to calm you down when it was obvious you were getting jealous and even occasionally hostile; it was getting ridiculous now.

So, you'd take your anger out on the other students. You'd never harm haijme though, probably not anyway.

You began to tweak and twist the personalities and mental states of all the ultimates on the island, making them dislike, avoid, and even react aggressively towards him. He didn't know what was happening, why everyone suddenly hated him. Even chiaki and usami avoided him now, with pained and pitied looks on their faces.

And then, you'd swoop in, showering him with love and affection. You planted seeds in his mind, that he didn't need anyone else; all he needed was you. You two together could take on the entire world. Just the two of you.

And those seeds sprouted magnificently. Haijme had no one to turn to, no one that would listen except you, and your sweet comforting words brought him so much love.

The only time people would listen was during trials, which had progressively became more frequent and violent. He hadn't noticed how bad everyone had gotten, since you kept him on a tight leash.

And even during those trials, people would state their distaste towards them. He even asked why everyone hated him, and all they could reply with collectively was "I dunno, I just do".

The one who seemed to not have any dislike towards him was chiaki, who--while not being able to speak or even interact with him directly--could tell him through letters. She warned him about you, telling him in a note that you were the reason why everyone was acting strange. Why she couldn't talk to him. Why all the students suddenly couldn't stand him.

At first, he didn't believe it. But the more he thought about it, the more he began to get suspicious. You were so clingy, so suffocating even. And soon, he began to believe chiaki. Were you spreading rumours about him?? So you could isolate him? So you could have him only for yourself??

When he confronts you, asking if you were the one who made everyone dislike him, you're puzzled. How did he know?

You tell him no, that you'd never do such a thing, which he doesn't truly believe. Before he can refute, you ask him why he asked, and he replied dumbly by saying it was chiaki who told him.

And this would lead to an argument. You asking why he was with chiaki, him asking why you want to know and why she couldn't talk to him because of you.

He eventually stormed off, frustrated and angry at you. And you were left feeling the same, but now with a deadly thirst for digital blood.

Chiaki was found dead the next day, her body crushed under the weight of broken debris. Several monomi bots were alongside her, flatten into pancakes.

Hajime looked so confused, and disturbed, and distraught at the sight. And here you happened to be, trying to make him feel better. Trying to comfort him in his frozen state, likely running your hands down his arms or patting his shoulder saying 'it was bound to happen' in a neutral or possibly even jovial tone.

But hajime isn't comforted. He's actually scared now, because he thinks you did it. A deeper part of him knows you did it. And he accuses you of it, which. . While yes you did, doesn't make his tone any less hurtful.

So, you tell him the truth about it. How you only did it because she was getting in the way of something she couldn't understand! She was a threat, and had to be taken care of. You described everything, and it only made him feel sick and revolted at you.

He tells you you're a monster, a murderer, and that he's gonna tell everyone what you did. And those words sting, and they make you angry.

So you threatened him, telling him you'll get rid of everyone if he doesn't act like you wanted him too. He challenges this remark, and so you fight back.

You show him exactly what you mean by reanimating chiaki's broken corpse, moving it and speaking through it like a puppet. He's stunned at first, before he freaks out and flinches away when you move it closer to him.

You bring him to where everyone else is, and display just how much power you have over this world. You begin to bring everyone who died back, this time really alive and working. Everyone's shocked, some are even happy. But that happiness is short-lived when you give in to the power.

You started to twist the world around you, and began to corrupt and brutally change everyone. You had them killed, brought back; executed, brought back, and so on. And hajime has to watch them killed in front of his eyes again, and again, and again.

You even punish him too by forcing him to remember who he really was, overloading his senses, and then going even further by killing and executing him as well.

He's breaking down faster then you thought, begging you to stop. He's crying, and in so much pain, but you just keep it going until you think he's had enough. And that isn't until hours in. Or at least what he thinks is hours.

When you're done, everything's gone black. Everyone's gone. There's only hajime in the fetal position, eyes stained with tears and exhaustion. He's shivering, and even the faintest touch would induce pain to him in this moment.

And then you swoop in, gently caressing his skin. Even if his body appeared fine, the pain and cuts and bruises still felt like they were there. So when your touch only caused him to feel soothed and calm, he was confused. . And instinctively his body wriggled closer to you. Weakly

You whispered into his ear, shushing his silent sobs and flinching. You told him it was all ok, it was all alright. You were here, and that's all he needed.

After that, hajime was careful.

You 'reset' the program, bringing everybody and everything back to their original slates. Except for hajime. He's forced to remember what you did to him. You make sure he remembers so he won't step out of line.

Chiaki and monomi are gone. They were no longer needed. And knowing you erased them completely just adds another layer of despair and depression for him.

He hates you. He fears you, but what can he do? You have him and everyone else in your control.

Don't bother thinking the future foundation will help either. Your control is so extreme, you're able to work the machines now. And besides

Their bodies are long dead anyway.

They'll never leave you. . He'll never leave you.

If hajime tries to fight against your grip well. . You may just have to punish him again. And if that still doesn't fix him, then. .

Maybe you'll have to be much more direct with the problem, by picking apart and swapping around his code. After all, everything's just 1s and 0s now.

He may come a little different, but he's still your hajime. He's just. . The version you want him to be.

And if that is the route you choose, then he'll love you unconditionally.

And really, that's all you want.

[starshiningsirius]

Like old times (Yandere Azul x reader)

@bryzie27 - i like what you did with overblot leona. could you do something similar with overblot azul?

Not sure what you mean like the chase scene? The dynamics of Octanivelle's structure still aren't quite clear to me if they can go out in the water but I'll try!

I FORGOT THE GIF IS FROM @flowerofthemoonworld !

Let's give the octopus some love!

"Hey, your Azul right?"

He lifted his head to look at who had spoken to him. It was a mermaid with a strange speckled tail that added to her beauty. She seemed to be more of the reserved type. Her hair had two streaks of the same color on either side of her face and the rest was all one color. Her eyes shimmered radiantly.

He could feel a rush of heat claim his entire face.

"Here." She handed him his books.

"W -why are you doing this?" The young octopus sniffled.

He wasn't expecting this, not with the way everyone else treated him. It didn't make any sense why you'd treat him kindly. A freakish eight legged merman who couldn't swim correctly.

"It's the right thing to do, Azul. I couldn't just swim away with you like this. It'd be immoral."

From that first encounter on forward they became friends. She helped him walk and swim a bit better considering he found it embarrassing. She didn't even have tentacles yet she instructed him so well.. Maybe he inked once or twice, a few times around her on accident, he swears! It didn't matter she was fine with it. She didn't mind one bit who he was.

Even when they went to the Atlantica Museum she stayed by his side and explored it with him. He was a bit slow considering his physique was on the chubby side so he wasn't fast. It still didn't matter, for some odd reason she stayed with him. In the picture commemorating the trip he held her hand since he was a bit self conscious about his picture being taken.

Y/n couldn't help but find it adorable. Everything about Azul wasn't at all strange to her it only made her more curious to get to know him. He would always apologize for any small thing he did wrong. She would always say, "It's fine." as if he did nothing. Her smile always seemed to brighten Azul's darkest days.

She'd visit him in his family restaurant in which his mother and father always welcomed his first friend. They were overjoyed. She saw him gorging himself on the plate of food in front of him compared to her smaller portion. She couldn't help but to stare, it made her understand why he was on the chubby side. Then he looked at her sauce around his mouth and she couldn't help but smile at him with laughter filling the area. He was embarrassed blushing a shade of red and he felt a bit ashamed.

"Azulie, you're absolutely adorable!" She said through her laughter.

It was one of his most fondest memories he ever had with her, but all good things had to come to an end.

Eventually she had to depart from the northern seas to the far southern ones. She had to leave Azul behind. She had given him a hug it was full of so much warmth of which he had never felt before and it made his heart race twice as fast. Both parents of the children found it endearing their children had found a friend.

. . .

And that was that. Time passed and he eventually became Azul Ashengrotto the dorm leader of Octanivelle who could grant any wish just as the sea witch. He could never ever forget the one person he was so fond of though. It never left him every time he wrote down a contract he could remember a time where he truly did care for someone.

The new year at Night Raven was his second year while a new group of first years came entering the school. He had ordered Jade to get information on each of them and when he went through the long list of students that had been sorted into Octanivelle while in his office. He immediately crossed one oh so familiar.

Y/n L/n.

He couldn't believe his eyes. He put the sheet of paper down and opened one of his drawers in the desk that showed him and her back then. He never altered this photo as he did countless others. She accepted him for who he was and that was well enough a reason for him to admire her.

He automatically called upon Jade as Floyd would have probably scared the poor girl. He told him to fetch her immediately.

When he finally did see her for the first time in years he was astounded at how you changed so little but so much at the same time. You had grown taller and your eyes still sparkled just as they always did. You had the same two streaks on either side of your hair which had grown a few inches he might add.

Jade had left to do other tasks he was assigned but Azul couldn't care less seeing as he had his childhood friend and sweetheart in front of him.

"Azulie, that really is you huh?" Your voice had matured but was more timid just like the very first time they met. Of course it was so long ago that they're more like strangers now. That nickname though, it's been a long time since he's heard it.

"Yes, I've changed quite a bit." He was a little nervous though he'd never admit it his voice slightly betrayed him and his face had a little red tint. He tried pushing up his glasses to shield it from her eyes but it was a futile attempt. He heard her chuckle that made his heart race like never before.

"You haven't changed fully as your still the most adorable by far." She said.

That made his face blossom as red as a rose in the rose maze of Heartsbyul. Heat was exerting itself from his still body that he sat in the chair from.

From that moment on he would keep a watchful eye on her. He would always try his best when she was around and get any info on anything going on pertaining to her.

She had met Floyd and Jade before who Azul wasn't too fond of at first, but she reccomended he became friends with them back then since it wasn't everyday someone didn't come up to tease him and noticed his accomplishments. Of course it was only because of Azul that they met again at Night Raven. The first time she met Jade was when he first brought her to see Azul in his office. He looked familiar to her and she mentioned it to him, and they both shared their fondest memories on the way. She met Floyd a little later on in the Mostro Lounge as he had taken her order and he noticed she had come in a lot just to see Azul. Jade had to explain the situation that she wasn't required to pay for any food she ate there because of an order Azul had given out.

Azul would spend some time out of the day to just hang out with you if he wasn't always busy with the lounge. It was always a joy to be with you, it reminded him of when you were both younger. He thought back to those days every night and day that you had still never left his mind. The thought of you leaving again made him lose his sense of reason and fall deeper in his sweet obsession.

He had started to act different you noticed. He had become a bit more invasive of your personal space in which you remember that only happened when he was nervous at least you thought he grew out of it.

Jade and Floyd began to direct you to the Lounge like your life was there and no where else. It'd only be a matter of time before Azul was informed by Jade of his sweetheart's newest infatuation.

Vil happened to catch your attention. It led Azul to be green with envy. He knew the dorm leader of Pomeifore had complimented her one day and it was enough to send her falling head over heels. He had so many followers it made no sense why he had to take something else Azul had wanted for the longest time. With Vil's beauty he only began to question his own.

He had to come up with a solution just as he had done for those bullies. He just couldn't lose Y/n again. Not if he had any say in it.

After hours of pondering in his office sinking his nails into his desk the answer happened to be right behind him. The vault that was situated behind his desk held the many contracts he had collected.

Maybe if he could impress her she wouldn't see him as that stupid, clumsy octopus he once was. All these different magic spells that he obtained from those fools from the exams on land in Night Raven and those idiots who swam under the sea.

That's when his plan fell apart. Y/n avoided him all of a sudden. Mainly having spent time with those troublesome first years he sent to the museum to collect one of the last remnants of his past.

He didn't have time to keep thinking about Y/n at the moment which irritated him quite a bit. One thing led to another and now he was out here trying to negotiate with the arrogant and prideful dorm head of Savanclaw. As soon as he destroyed them all hope was lost.

He was taunting him, but his next few words really took him over the top in terms of a sadistic being.

"You know, one of your little sea friends really wanted to believe you were nice. We just had to show her the real Azul Ashengrotto." Leona had smirked turning his head to the side, beyond the corner of the tunnel his darling angelfish had appeared. Disbelief in her eyes, she couldn't even meet his eyes.

That's when everyone else had arrived, but the deed was already done. He had lost everything and his angelfish had seen him as a weak being, the same stupid clumsy octopus he hated being.

They took her from his side. He had her in his grasp and they stole her. He had lost it.

His newborn and unimaginable power were apparent now. He just had to get it all back. Not even Floyd or Jade wanted to help him either.

He reminded himself of you holding your pen ready to fire another offensive attack. His anger swelled inside him where he could tap into more power.

"GIVE HER BACK TO ME! GIVE ME BACK WHAT YOU TOOK! "

A large swarm of harsh black wind had overwhelmed the group. She still managed to stand but when the dust cleared she saw all of them had collapsed unconscious. Even the prefect who was thrown back the farthest had their head hit the tunnel, it didn't look like she was breathing from here though.

She took a look back at Azul and suddenly she felt her feet carrying her away from the scene, having Azul call out to her from behind.

* * *

It's been a while since she had to swim that fast. Her tail fin was starting to hurt from the constant movement. She wanted to take a break, a never ending nightmare she pleaded in her head to be over.

That was until she heard him calling for her.

"Oh Angelfish! You really have nothing to fear! Come out I promise I won't hurt you!" He said in a sing songy voice.

She was hiding behind a large boulder on the sea floor near a small coral reef.

"Am I not enough anymore?! I'LL DO ANYTHING TO PROVE IT! I'M NOT THE SAME AS BEFORE, YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK AFTER ME! " The tone of voice he had scared her even more so now that she was alone.

"I'm not, ... I'm not that stupid clumsy little octopus anymore." He sounded as if he were about to cry, it pulled at her heartstrings a bit and she thought she could convince him to calm down in this state.

"Azulie I never-"

"There you are! " He said with glee and delight in his tone, that never would have made you think he was sad in the first place.

He successfully guilt tripped her into coming out of hiding. Using his tentacles he pulled her by the tail toward him careful to avoid giving her any injuries. He grasped her in his arms feeling himself relax a bit, at the fact he had her in his grasp once again. She felt warm just as she did all those years ago for him.

He clasped her hands together with his. A deranged smile on his face as he stared into the soul of his adorable little angelfish who shivered under such an intense gaze radiating his madness.

"We'll be together again! Just like old times! Except this time I'm all powerful and no one will be able to steal what's mine!"

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