#i struggle with clothing folds a lot but these came out alright 8^8

[tawnysoup]

Really wanted to practice clothing folds today. Thank u Atem for being the guinea pig

[angelic-jeonghan1004]

I think it’s perfect | Nicholas

&team time again! I’m giving a lot of my old writings to them for groups I dont write much anymore but liked the work I made for them, this was originally for Hongseok but Nicholas I think fits alright as well <3

Warnings: Mention of food, light cursing, very corny

Pairing: Nicholas x reader

Genre: fluff! Soulmate au were your only way of communication is via singing you can always hear ur soulmates hums/voice but can’t give info like ur name and such (usual soulmate au rules)

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

It started when you were 8 that you started hearing your soulmate sing, for all people it was different ages where it started but for you it was 8 when you heard him sing. Working on a school project you got shocked when you heard a boy's voice start singing a happy birthday to what you where assuming was one of his friends, asking your parents if that was normal they laughed and nodded their heads yes remembering when they’d go to birthday parties and hear the other one singing for a friend.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

As you two started growing in your teenage years the boy had a beautiful voice which left you self conscious so the only time you’d be singing is when you’d do it mindlessly. Unknown to you your soulmate was confused on why you didn’t sing as much but he had no way to poke at it to find out, he enjoyed your singing voice and liked hearing it even if it stopped him from sleeping sometimes from your late night studying with playlists in the background.

One of your most embarrassing yet meaningful moments with your soulmate was when you were really scared of how your grades would be in your project you worked hard on that was supposed to be a group project; yet you ended up being the only one to work on it leaving it sloppy in parts. Grading came back getting a D. You were distraught since it was an assignment that meant a lot for your grade and you feared your parents reaction. Not being able to stop the tears running through your face you tried to listen to music that would comfort you, deciding to humm the lyrics quietly. Your soulmate took quick action being able to hear the sobs in your humming he worried for you, you were his soulmate after all.

“It’s okay~ you’ll be okay~” he sang, he wanted to comfort you but didn’t know what to do since he can only communicate through singing. You smiled, taking note at how your soulmate is sweet for trying to help, not sure if he was singing a song but you realized from your humming he probably heard your muffled sobs through the song.

“I’ll be okay~” you sang shaky while chuckling lightly at the absurdity of it all. He couldn’t help but feel warm hearing your laugh effect the ‘okay.’ Through this interaction he wondered what other things he could talk to you about through singing for how much the laws of singing soulmates would allow.

It’s a warm moment you hold with you, it also started the asking questions in a sing song voice or communicating through the songs you’re listening to with that.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Even though you weren’t the most confident in your voice you really wanted to communicate with him. Thinking of different ways to start a conversation through a song or a sing-song voice you’d seem to back out easily. You’ve also spent times thinking about how you’ll meet him, will you be able to tell it’s him just from his voice? What will happen if you hear him sing in front of you? Many questions you don’t have the answer to but nonetheless you still are eager to meet him, sleeping on those questions you waited till morning to brainstorm a bit. Waking up you brushed your teeth and got ready for the day but since it was a weekend you didn’t have much to do so you searched up songs on youtube to play. You were struggling to pick a song but decided with L.O.V.E by Frank Sinatra to listen to as you cleaned your room up mindlessly you started to sing along to the song swaying your body as you folded clothing.

“L is for the way you look at me~ O is for the only one I see~” you sang, letting yourself let go for a moment to just enjoy the warm feeling that was being created.

“V is very very extraordinary~” Your soulmate sang along morning voice active in how he sang obviously sleepy, you found it cute that he knew the song and sang along; it wasn’t uncommon for him to jump into the songs you were listened too but you were always pleasantly surprised from him knowing the song. You also couldn’t help to admit how dreamy his voice is, he definitely was gifted in vocals and that you were sure of.

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Sleepovers with your best friend were always pleasant, she gave the most welcoming space to you whenever you came over. Baking cookies she got reminded of a certain someone and went quickly to tell you about him.

“Soooo y/n there’s this guy that I think you’d hit it off with amazingly. He’s from the cooking workshop I have been going to this week and I became his friend early on and I think you two would make a great pair, can you please please please let me play matchmaker just one time?” She said to you looking at you with plead in her eyes, chuckling at her please you decided to hear more into her reasoning before accepting the offer of match making.

“Okay okay tell me more about him,, I’m a little unsure since what if he’s not my soulmate?” You said.

“But !! To counteract what if he IS your soulmate?? And he’s tall, muscular, very sweet, charming, smart and a really good cook and your love for food and his match well” She said laughing, it doesn’t seem like a bad idea to give it a shot she genuinely seems to like him as a match for you out the different times she’s tried to play matchmaker this one seems different.

“Okay fine but if the date goes wrong you owe me okay?” Nudging her shoulder

“Deal.” Your friend said nudging you right back

“Wait what’s his name?”

“Nicholas” your friend said with a wink causing you to roll your eyes. You soon began to smell a little bit of burning quickly marking the question.

“How long have the cookies been in there?”

“Oh fu-”

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

Your friend doing her magic in getting the okay to give you his phone number for a date you couldn’t help but get a little nervous. What if things are awkward? What if he’s not like how she says he is and he’s only like that with her since he’s trying to impress her? Millions of questions pop up until she texts you.

The best girl: his number is ×××-×××-×××× thank me later😘

The roll on your eyes could not be stronger but you typed his number in your phone and went to text him

Y/n: hey is this Nicholas?

Nicholas?: Yes it is 😊 I’m guessing your y/n?

Y/n: So do you want to grab coffee Saturday? We could get to know each other?

Nicholas: sounds like a plan☺️

☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ ♡ ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ♡

All the days leading to Saturday many thoughts were taken and texts were sent back and forth so you weren’t complete strangers and he was genuinely really sweet and you did have a lot in common, you hadn’t checked up on your soulmate through sing quizzing in a while so you were nervous in some senses since what if this is your soulmate? Or what if he’s not? So many questions but you’d rather let them stay blank for now instead of stressing further.

Walking down the sidewalk you started humming a holiday tune whether it be Michael Buble or Frank Sinatra you were having a euphoric moment in the giddy feeling of going on a date with the snow falling from the sky. Your excitement was prominent. The sweet feeling had a curl to it when your soulmate started humming to, what if you’re meeting him? But what if you’re not and he’s so cutely humming with you? Not wanting to have this moment you stopped humming and quickly started moving towards the end of the block where the cafe was at.

Once reaching it you went inside standing near the entrance so he’d see you when walking in, going to text him on your phone saying you were here was quickly stopped once you got a tap on your shoulder.

“Excuse me, are you y/n?” Turning around seeing a tall unbelievably handsome boy say to you, standing there taking in his features you noted his cute brown hair and plump lips, he looked like a cute tall ducky in which you smiled at him before getting too lost in thought.

“Yes that’s me” You said smiling brighter with a light chuckle causing him to flash a smile right back.

“Would you like to order with me?” He said taking his hand out for you to hold, taking his hand in yours nodding; your heart stumbled at how nice it felt to be on a date and how cute he was.

Once ordering drinks and getting to your table you began to start talking together.

“So what did you do before getting here?”

“Well I got ready, made sure to look nice, then went on my walk to hear humming a few tunes, not the most interesting things” saying with nervous laughter, you saw his eyes shoot up.

“What were you humming?” He said quickly.

“Oh just your usual holiday season music like 'It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas’ simple songs like that.” You said starting to think about your soulmate and see if this could be the make or break if this was your soulmate.

“This may sound crazy but you might be my soulmate.” He said ears red.

“Did you hum along the tune with me?” Saying barely above whisper. He quickly nodded at you looking down at your hands that were still connected giving it a tight squeeze.

“To attest can you sing for me? I know my soulmates voice like the back of my hand at this point.” You said smiling causing him to go beat red, you both knew you were most definitely right but not too bad to be careful.

“L is for the way you look at me” Once he sang you knew it was him, the smile beaming on your face your heart couldn’t help but melt at the simple reference for song choice.

“I can attest it’s you, your voice is gorgeous Nicholas. I wish mine was as good as yours” You said with a blush growing on your face.

“No matter how you feel about your voice I think it’s perfect.”

[frombeyondtheblackhole]

Hermit DSMP Swap AU: Part 8

X helped Grian sit back down and handed Grian a clean rag from his inventory. Grian pressed it against his nose to curb the bleeding as X checked his eyes. X asked Grian several basic questions before asking him to count backwards from 100 by sevens and listened as his friend struggled. 

“100… 97 no 93… 87... um... um, ow-” He faltered, staring into space for a long moment. 

“You’ve got a concussion.” X shook his head.

“Can’t I just take a health pot and get back to work?” Grian asked.

X folded his arms and shook his head “Health pot’s don’t work like that. You know how when you take a health pot the cuts all seal up just leaving some bruising. A concussion is just a bruise on your brain so it would be kind of useless. Regen might help a little because it boosts your body's natural healing process but it has the same problem as health in that it won't target bruising. I would avoid coffee for now and anything else with speed pots in it for that matter,” X added, noticing Grian reaching for his unfinished coffee mug.

Grian pouted “What can I do?” 

“You can go home and rest... though you probably shouldn’t be flying for a while. I’ll walk back with you.”

Grian sighed and let X help him to his feet. To be honest he was starting to like the idea of resting, his head was spinning and he was having trouble focusing. “Alright, you win. Just be sure to let me know if you figure anything out about the whole server problem will you.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be the first to know,”

---

The day before, Scar and Grian had given Skeppy and George a tour of Boatem. Scar had offered to let the two of them stay in his landboat (As it had more space than Grian’s house) till they could make their own starter bases. 

Skeppy had been startled when, as soon as it started to get dark, the sun blipped in the sky and it was on the other horizon. George explained to him that the night was skipped here, something to do with a Time King named B-dubs. He apparently could cause night to skip for everyone if he slept. George wished he could do cool things like that when he slept, as it was, all he did was talk to demons or gods or whatever XD was. Skeppy insisted that was way cooler than time powers. George didn’t believe him.

Grian had left to work with X on the server problem and Scar was off gathering some stuff to help get them settled in. This left Skeppy and George alone to snoop around Boatem town on their own. They explored Scar’s base but soon became tired of that and went outside. 

They were nosing around Grian’s base and the nether portal when Skeppy noticed something odd. There were a lot of things here he had never seen before but this felt different somehow. It was about a foot in diameter, dark and smooth and round, shining with a deep purple iridescence, and it seemed to call to Skeppy, like the egg, like the blood vines. It called to him, not quite with words but more with instinct, urging him to touch it. Skeppy reached out-

“What’s that you found?” George called snapping Skeppy out of his trance. 

“I have no clue,” Skeppy shrugged.

George came closer and squinted behind his glasses, bringing his face close to the things surface. The air around it tingled like static. “I never saw one myself but I think it might be a Dragon egg,” George said, reaching his hand out to touch it.

Skeppy shoved George out of the way and grabbed for the egg. He was going to be the first one to touch it. The Dragon Egg. His fingers brushed against the smooth surface then fell through to air. He stumbled and caught himself on the now empty quartz pedestal. 

“What the hell, Skeppy?” George protested. Then his eyes fell on the egg sitting on the grass not far from him. 

They’d both seen it. Skeppy caught his eyes. They held each other's gaze, silently urging the other to stay put. They both lunged for it. 

Skeppy collided with George practically landing on top of him but it was too late George's hand knocked into the egg and it disappeared.

Both of them scrambled to their feet looking for where it went. Skeppy found it over the hill but hesitated before reaching for it this time. 

“No you don’t” George cried coming up behind him. Skeppy jumped at the sound seconds before George tackled him directly into the egg and it was gone again. 

“Ow ow- hold on, get off,” Skeppy protested, pushing his palm against George’s face trying to shove George off himself, “This isn’t working. It’s being all teleporty and shit.”

George backed off, and huffed to himself, as he brushed himself off. 

“What are you two doing?” Scar said as he came over. “Oh look,” He stopped as he noticed the dragon egg at his feet. He placed down a piston next to it and a button and *boop* the egg was pushed right into his arms. He picked up the egg and looked back at the two who were still sitting on the ground, grass stains on their clothes and hair disheveled from their fight. “Looks like you two touched the egg. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Grian,” He said with a wink placing it back on the pedestal. 

Skeppy and George just stared at him. “Wait, how did you do that!” Skeppy shrieked pointing. 

Scar laughed, “The egg can be tricky, it doesn't like being touched but you can trick it into thinking it isn’t being held by using a piston. You can also break the block underneath it and catch it as it falls, just make sure to place a torch first... something about the heat is important.”  

“I’m holding it!” Skeppy announced scrambling to his feet and moving towards the egg. 

“Who says you get the egg, I saw it too,” George argued.

“We’ll I saw it first,” Skeppy retorted, sticking his tongue out, summoning his shovel from his inventory.

George scowled “You didn’t even know what it was till I told you.” He summoned his netherite axe from his inventory, the one XD had given him. 

“Well you didn’t even know that it teleported so-” Skeppy started digging down next to the pedestal.

“Woh woh woh, you both can hold it if you want,” Scar said trying to break up the tension “You can’t keep it though, it’s Grian’s,” He added.

Skeppy and George both turned and glared at him. There was a calculating pause then George’s posture changed, he seemed to relax. “Heh- sorry about that,” He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, “It’s just neither of us have ever seen a dragon egg, guess we got a bit carried away,” He shrugged. 

George wanted that Dragon egg more than anything. Skeppy probably did too. That was the rarest thing on the server and if someone could get it and bring it back to the Dream SMP then they would be the most powerful person on the server. But there were a lot of hermits. Way more than the two of them. It was probably best that they not make them mad. He could find a way to get the egg without them noticing another time. 

Skeppy looked surprised and a little too satisfied with himself as he continued to dig out under the pedestal. He placed the torch and mined away the pedestal catching the egg as it fell. It was surprisingly warm, he felt it vibrating with power as he held it against his chest, his arms wrapped around it, nestled in the folds of his bright blue hoodie. He grinned, he felt like a proud father, why did he feel like a proud father? He hadn’t even felt this way about Sapnap and he practically helped Bad raise him… multiple times.  

“Don’t look so pleased with yourself, it's not that great,” George scoffed, rolling his eyes. 

“Hey Scar, can you come over here real quick” X called as he and Grian walked back into Boatem town. 

“Yeah, be right over,” Scar called back before turning to Skeppy and George “Just make sure to put it back,” He said before running over to see what X and Grian needed. 

George glared at Skeppy over his glasses, he was still holding his ax. “You're putting it back ok,”

Skeppy turned his body to put himself between George and the egg. “And why should I?” He pouted. 

“Because,” George said calmly and quietly, so the others talking by Grian’s house couldn’t hear, “If you take it now they will know it was us and won’t let us leave.” George watched the gears turn in Skeppies head “So truce for now... we work together to steal the egg later,” 

Skeppy glanced off to the side as he thought about it. Finally he nodded “Alright, agreed,” His fingers were crossed. 

George grinned and pushed his glasses back into place “Great.” His fingers were crossed. 

Skeppy climbed out of the hole and George helped him put the dirt and pedestal back. Skeppy begrudgingly let George hold the egg before putting it back on the Pedestal.

Ok so maybe holding the egg was kind of cool George thought smiling softly before Skeppy made him put it back.

---  

“So what’s up?” Scar asked coming over to join X and Grian. Now that Scar looked at him, Grian wasn’t looking too great. His feathers and hair were rumpled more than usual and he was leaning on X’s arm. “You ok there?” 

“Yeah, Just got a concussion.” Grian shrugged. 

“He flew into a barrier while trying to get into the Dream SMP Server,” X explained.

“Oof,” Scar winced at the description.

“He should be fine after a month or so, he just needs to rest and not do anything too strenuous.” X continued, “Also it is probably a good idea not to let him sleep unsupervised for a couple of days.” 

“Got it,” Scar nodded “I’ll be sure to keep him in line,” 

“C'mon guys, you don’t trust me?” Grian teased.

“I wouldn’t trust you with a ten foot pole,” Scar laughed. 

“Fair,” Grian chuckled, “Well anyway, thanks for walking with me back here X” He said letting go of X’s arm.

“No problem, just take it easy, got it?” X reminded Grian.

“Don’t worry. Besides this means I’ll have plenty of time to help the new guys settle in.” Grian added as he noticed Skeppy and George standing looking at his Dragon egg. 

“Oh no you don’t. You are going inside and resting,” Scar said, taking Grian by the shoulders and guiding him into his house. 

“No, but- I, I’m fine really,” Grian protested

“No buts, You rest, I’ll take care of everything.” Scar insisted and Grian gave up, letting himself be led off to bed. 

[So I know I said I already had a bunch written in advance but when editing this part I realized I needed to add some interactions with Skeppy and George. I really like how this turned out but it is now longer than I originally planned so I am breaking it up into sub parts. The next segment will be out soon]

[pbandjesse]

Taking Sundays off was a great call. Because I don't think I would have survived working today. And I got so much accomplished!! Even though I was tired and stabbed myself in the hand with my craft tools twice and my eye is a little swollen. I was still so proud of myself for all the things I got done.

I slept really well. Deeply. I don't remember James leaving for work but I woke up and texted them good morning.

I kind of had a mini melt down when I first got up. The online dermatologist said my psoriasis was to bad to treat with topicals but it's so much better then it was so I was super upset and sent two messages. One when I was really upset and one 15 minutes later when I had calmed down a little more. And he said we can continue with the topicals but it would be time consuming. Which I already know. And it really is getting better. The spots on my legs and body just get dark red when I get hot and that makes me feel very ugly and diseased. But it's not all the time. Mostly I feel a lot more comfortable and that is good.

I got dressed and had a half plan of what I would do today. I wanted to fold and pack my clothes for camp that James had washed for me. I had not brought home the extra clothes because there was not space in the car on Friday with PJ being in there. But that is alright. I'll deal with that this week.

So I packed my clothes and had some cereal. I played Stardew for a bit but I'm at a place again where there is so much to do that I feel overwhelmed. So I am trying to focus but also my in game girlfriend and my character are engaged now and it's a whole thing. But I played for an hour before I decided to change the plans for the day.

Instead of doing my art stuff first, I decided to do my errands. I got myself ready to go out and headed to joann's for yarn.

It was a nice drive with good music. And when I got to joann's a nice worker lady helped me find the yarn I needed because they were moving everything and it was a little confusing. I got a little overwhelmed with fabrics so I did not buy the fleece for the fruit and veggie project for the museum but I'll get to that. Just not right now.

I left there after getting to use two coupons and went to lunch. I had five guys and enjoyed it very much. And then off to the grocery store to get cat food. I tried to buy batteries but I couldn't figure out what one I needed, laughed with the lady behind me in line, and gave up. Just the cat food and then over to the thrift store.

I looked at dresses to find jumpsuits but no luck. I got tank dress I'm excited about and a white eyelet Tshirt dress, but the big find was my new bear foot rest!!! I have been trying to find one only eBay and stuff for literally years. They are always so expensive. And this was only $8 after the coupon I had. I must have looked funny the way I grabbed it off the shelf I was so excited.

I also found one of those old exercise machines that vibrates you and I was very close to buying it but I did not. Only regret it a little.

I went home after that. I was feeling good. And when I got home, while I struggled to get everything inside, I made it upstairs without breaking anything.

I tried on the dresses and started figuring out how to catch up on my knitting. I think I may have missed a day or added a day. I am very much not sure. But I will do better keeping track this week. Actually write it down and not just have James sort of do it. That got to confusing.

But I got all of last month done and took my picture of the month. And then I was tired and went and laid down.

I watched tiktoks for a while. Thought about sleep but did not actually fall asleep. James would come home soon and they were very very sweaty when they did.

They would join me in the ac. Before going to finish editing their podcast. I came and sat with them in their room and played Stardew for a little longer. And then James made us dinner.

I had to sew all of the ears for my bears. James flipped them all inside out for me and then I did all the sewing and I'm so glad I do it this way now rather then trying to make tiny ears separately and place them. This is such a better way of doing it. And after that was done I put on all the eyes and noses. Where I stabbed myself in the hand with the newly sharpened tool. Cool cool cool. Ugh.

I made some Thai tea to bring with me to camp and James made me angel food cake because they love me. And I felt happy and good.

Eventually I would go and take a bath. And now we are in bed. I am very tired. And tomorrow I must wake up early to go to camp! I hope it's a really good week. I am really looking forward to it. I hope you all have a great night. And a beautiful day. Sleep well everyone.

[cl-01-kestis]

My Little Rebel - Inquisitor!Cal Kestis x Female Rebel!Reader | Part 8

Summary: After reuniting with the force and discovering your past as a Padawan, you join Cere and Greez, and Merrin in hopes to restore the Jedi order.

Warnings: violence

You woke from your meditation hours after, eyes stinging from the sudden light pouring into your room. Never in your life had your body felt so relaxed, so comfortable and at ease. You can’t remember the last time you didn’t have a back ache or a sore neck. It felt nice.

You walked into the main hanger of the ship and yawned, stretching your arms out and covering your mouth as you approached the holotable located in the centre. You looked over to your right and noticed a young woman with stone grey skin and silver hair, her eyes were dark and she had unmistakable markings on her face. You couldn’t believe your eyes, that was a Nightsister.

You remember your time at the Jedi temple, your master spoke a lot of nightsisters and warned you about them, calling them witches and trouble makers. You had never met a Nightsister before so you didn’t have a personal opinion of them.

The Nightsister spotted you at the table, didn’t flinch or jolt at your sudden appearance. She kept a respectful stare on you and it seemed that she wasn’t causing any trouble, she didn’t seem that intimidating either. You wanted to speak to her, but you were aware about the situation with the Nightsisters. She might as well be the last of her kind, you doubt she’d want to trust anyone or speak to anyone after what happened on Dathomir.

But still, you decided to sit at the other side of the couch and sat with your elbows on your knees, hands clasped as you looked up at the holotable and spectated all the planets that were available to go to. The Nightsister turned her head to look at you, her eyes neither judgmental or wary, she simply just looked and sighed as though she was underwhelmed by something. You paid no mind to it and continued to look at all the planets until Cere appeared from the cockpit and smiled warmly at you.

“How did it go?” Her voice was eager and excited, standing in front of you a few paces away from you and crossing her arms over her chest as she awaited your answer. You smiled, tucking a strand of hair behind your ear.

“It went great, Cere, I saw Shaak, she was there” You rejoyced in a calm yet happy voice, earning a bright grin from Cere who was more than happy for you.

“That’s wonderful” She gave you a loose hug and patted your back, her heart was filled with warmth at your rediscovery and she felt as though she finally accomplished something useful, something meaningful.

“Sorry for being so abrupt, but is there a shower I can use around here? I stink of oil” You laughed, sniffing the sleeve of your mucky shirt and pulling a disgusted, scrunched up face. Cere chuckled, pointing you to the hallway you just came out from and directing you to the showers.

“Straight on and on your left, next to your room” She said, smiling as you thanked her and quickly rushed off to get a shower.

Merrin stood up from her chair, walking towards Cere whilst watching you scurry away.

“I’m not sure she’s the right person for this” The Nightsister whispered, leaning close to Cere so neither you or Greez knew what they were speaking of.

“She is, I’m certain of it” Cere insisted, nervously fiddling with her necklace and pursing her lips at the kick of hope within the Nightsister.

“What is she ends up like Cal?” Merrin had to ask, her friend had been taken by darkness and she didn’t want the same happening to you even though she hardly knew you. Cere’s head snapped in Merrin’s direction and for a second she didn’t know how to reply. The mentioning of their old friends name caused a stir within Cere and her heart collapsed remembering him.

“She’s strong, she’s older than him as well... her master was a wise woman, I doubt (Y/N) would want to face her disappointment” Was Cere’s answer, earning a sharp eye roll from Merrin who returned to her seat and folded her arms over her chest.

“You said the same thing about Cal” Merrin grumbled, tears of frustration filled her dark eyes and Cere felt guilty for a moment, watching as Merrin wiped her eyes and sniffed.

“What if he gets her? What will happen then?” She continued, but that was the last of her pushing questions. Merrin stood up and stormed to her room, leaving Cere alone in the main hanger of the ship to think about the conversation they just had, maybe Merrin had a point.

Cere never forgot the say she lost Cal to Trilla, her old Padawan. She’ll never forget the feeling of horror when she saw Cal in that black and red uniform. She was too late to save him from the dark side, but she wasn’t going to let that same mistake happen to you. Even if Cal was after you, you were proven to be stronger than him, in many ways that you didn’t realise just yet. Cere had to let you meditate again, she needed to let you see more of your past and discover more powers you forgot about. You were her last hope, you were all she had left.

-

Getting into the showers, you threw your towel over the door handle and made sure it was locked before grabbing the handle and twisting it. It squeaked in an almost deafening high pitch as cold icy water came out of the shower head, giving a great shock to your toes which where in the wet zone of the shower cubicle.

There was only one in the ship, it was fairly spacious and it had the necessities for cleaning and getting the dirt off you.

The sound of water hitting the ground echoed around the shower cubicle and it mushed together with your busy thoughts. You got your head under the shower and gasped at the bitter cold of the water, your body tensing and goosebumps raising as a response. It felt good though, you can’t remember the last time you had a shower.

You held your head underneath the shower for a few minutes, letting the water deep through just to be sure you were going to clean it correctly. You grabbed the shampoo bottle closest to you and squirted it into your hand, rubbing it together before smearing it all over your scalp and massaging it into your hair. You felt euphoria as you felt all the mud and rain leave your hair, brushing your fingers through tangled bits of hair and winding as you accidentally pulled some strands out.

After rinsing out your hair, you scrubbed your face with your hands and scrubbed your body with soap will it was sore. You had to be 100% certain you were clean, you wouldn’t leave the cubicle unless you were absolutely positive.

You weren’t sure how long you were in the shower for, probably under an hour at most. You turned the faucet off and wrapped your body in the towel on the door handle. You rubbed your hair until it was no longer dripping with water before creeping out of the cubicle and scurrying to your room, only to realise you had no fresh clothes.

You looked around your room, through the drawers of the cabinet in hopes something would’ve there. Nothing. Damnit. You flushed a furious red as you chewed your nails, other hand holding the towel wrapped around your body.

A light knock behind you caught your attention and you turned around to see who it was. To your surprise, it was the Nightsister. In her hands she held a pair of fresh clothes that appeared to be hers. A red tunic and a black long sleeved shirt, black leggings and red boots.

“It’s not much, but it’ll do” She spoke to, catching you off guard with her thick Dathomirian accent but you found it unique.

“Thank you” You smiled, using one hand to take the neatly folded pile of clothes from her arms all whilst holding your towel on. The Nightsister bowed her head respectfully and returned the smile.

“I’m Merrin” She blurted out, fiddling with her hands behind her back as she tried to smile without feeling awkward or embarrassed. Your smile only widened and you bowed your head back.

“I’m (Y/N)” You said, watching as the Nightsister nodded her head to you once again before turning around and closing the door, leaving you in peace to get changed and into more comfortable attire.

-

You weren’t sure what time it was, possibly around 3 in the morning. You’d lost track of time a long time ago on Bracca and at this point your body was malfunctioning and lost its rhythm of sleep. You slept a solid 2 hours since you arrived on the Mantis, mostly because you couldn’t get to sleep with all the thoughts running wild in your head. So you decided to stay up and join Cere on the couches. You fit well in Merrin’s clothes, thankfully you and her were similar sizes.

“Alright people, we’re in coming to Kashyyyk, saddle yourselves up” Greez called from the cockpit, alerting you and Cere and interrupting your conversation. Merrin emerged from her room, clearly practicing her witchcraft, and strapped herself in to the seat behind you in the cockpit.

You remembered the last time you were in Kashyyyk, it felt like years ago. Your eyes widened as they fixated on the familiar vibrant greens and blues of the Wookie dominated planet, heart thumping in your chest as if the occurances that happened months ago would happen all over again. You couldn’t afford that, neither could Cal.

“Are you alright? You seem a bit tense” Cere asked curiously, turning her head to look at you as her eyes held reassurance and serenity. You nodded your head, your lips in a thin line as you struggled to keep the memory of you and Cal meeting at bay.

There was a strange surge in your stomach, something felt wrong as the Mantis aoproached the landing bay at the hidden Rebel base. Cere was worried, she could feel how uneasy you were. She wanted to ask more but it had to wait for later.

As soon as Greez landed, you unfastened your seatbelt and bolted to your room, fetching your lightsaber before returning to the middle of the ship, meeting Cere and Merrin half way. The two women stared at you with wide eyes as you walked out bravely on the open ramp and scanned the area. You ignited your lightsaber, the feeling in your stomach grew stronger as your feet touched the green grass of the planet and the wind swirled around you.

“Stay inside” You called to Cere, walking forward to investigate the area. Cere wasn’t sure whether to follow you or let you do your thing, she could feel how on edge you were and by the looks of it Merrin could as well.

“Should we listen to her?” The Nightsister turned to Cere with questionable eyes, looking back and forth at you two until Cere shook her head and pointed to you as you finally came to a stand still and closed your eyes.

There was a faint noise in the distance, it sounded heavy. Mechanical feet stomping on the grass and nearby as you slowly crept back. Your predictions were true, the Empire was here.

“Are there any rebels here?” You asked, running back to the ship with urgency and desperation in your voice. Cere nodded and pointed to the entrance to the base which was a small secluded door that was extremely hard to see. Quickly, you thanked her and ran to the door.

“The Empire are here, we need to evacuate the area” You yelled over your shoulder, sprinting to the entrance and slamming your fist onto the brass door which was concealed by leaves and dirt.

You heart footsteps behind the door, lots of them, and the door opened to reveal a man with heavy war armour and ran skin, a bald head and dark eyes.

“Who are you?” He asked sternly, eyes narrowed and fixated on you as you raised your hands up to prove you weren’t here to cause any harm.

“I’m (Y/N), listen, I know you don’t know me but I spotted an AT-ST nearby. You need to evacuate now” You were straight to the point, earning a gasp from the man in front of you before he looked behind you to see the Mantis and Cere who was standing, waving on the ramp to signal they had ally’s.

“Are you a Jedi?” The man asked, and for a moment you felt your heart leap.

“Yes” You answered, feeling an overwhelming amount of adrenaline pumping through your blood as you confirmed who you were. The man tinged a smile, moving to the side to let you in and share the evac info to the rebels within the base. There was a lot of them, you could already feel that this was going to be a long operation.

It took a while to get everyone’s attention and spread the word that the Empire had arrived on Kashyyyk, a few rebels cried, others were determined to fight. It was a disasterous heap of nerves and emotions.

You learned the man in the war armour’s name was Saw Garrera, he was a freedom fighter and a rebel like the rest of the people there, but you can’t remember seeing him during your time as a rebel. You introduced yourself and helped him prepare for evacuation. Many other rebels prepared for war.

You wanted to fight, I mean, you had a lightsaber now, and the force! You’ve meditated a few times already before you landed on Kashyyyk and you remember so many tricks and skills up your sleeve that could be very useful in situations such as facing the Empire in battle, especially for that.

“We’ll evacuate those who do not want to fight, if you aren’t evacuating, please follow (Y/N) and help the others onto the transports” Saw yelled over the loud commotion within the Rebel crowd. All of them nodded and only moved faster at this, running and skidding around the underground hide out.

“Saw” You grabbed the commanders attention quickly so you could try and wrap your head around with what’s going on.

“What if there’s an Inquisitor?” You asked.

“Then that’s for you to handle” Was his reply, sharp and it caused you to mutter a cursive under your breath. You were the one with the lightsaber after all, don’t get all weak now (Y/N). You thought to yourself.

There wasn’t much time to doddle about and daydream, you helped board the transports and there was one left behind for those who were fighting. Saw Garerra stayed behind and decided to fight with you, his faith in this fight was sky high and it was clear he expected much from you.

Once the transports were off, you and 20 other rebels were left behind, loading guns and checking ammo. You inspected many blasters and snipers to check that they were stable enough to use, polishing the pipes and making sure the triggers weren’t stiff. Next to you was a young girl, she was polishing rifles and rubbing her nose on the sleeve of her khaki jacket. You glanced at her for a few seconds, realising she was far too young to be involved in a fight such as this but you decided to stay quiet in case she took it personal.

You spoke with a few other rebels stationed nearby, some that were suiting up and others who were checking the cameras outside to see if the enemy was near.

“We’ve got an AT-ST south exit” One rebel reported, it implied to whoever was working beside them and by the looks of it things were getting hectic outside.

You looked back to the blaster in your hands, noticing it had a small rebel sign carved onto its side. You looked around and snuck the rifle onto your belt, just to be sure you had the right weapons and a backup if your saber went missing. Everyone around you finalised their equipment and approached the door with confidence, yet you could feel the pressure surrounding them. This wasn’t their first fight but they feared it would be their last.

You walked up to the front since the rebels moved to make a line for you, watching intently as you ignited your lights saber, illuminating everyone’s face and even making some of the rebels gasp. It was clear some of them had never seen a lightsaber before, or met a Jedi. You smiled at their curiosity before kicking the door open with as much strength as you could muster, immediately sprinting outside to the scorching sun of Kashyyyk and immediately hearing blaster shots in the distance.

The rebels followed you, yelling and chanting with rage and anger towards the Stormtroopers ahead.

“Go! I’ll take care of the AT-ST!” You yelled to all of them, running to the side and letting the Rebels take the lead as you sprinted to the south exit where the mini Walker stalked the grounds.

You crept up onto a nearby slope, spying on the AT-ST that trampled over the greenery and nature of the planet, it hurt your heart to see how much destruction it caused.

Just as you were bout to strike and jump onto its head, you were met with a flashback, an unlocked memory.

“Concentrate (Y/N), enemy vehicles are always hard to take down but you need to make it quick and swift” Wolffe’s voice echoed in your mind and slowly, the force filled your body and you remembered your training, another missing piece that was useful in situations such as this.

You sprinted towards the Walker and pounced on it within seconds, grabbing onto the head with one hand and using the other to cut into the inside and grab whoever was steering it. The Walker started spinning in circles, as if the person inside was trying to find you and see what was happening. Your saber cut through the top like butter as soon enough, you were let face to face with an Imp who’s eyes were blown open with fear and shock. Pulling him out, you threw him to the ground and knocked him out immediately, you didn’t want any blood on your hands just yet.

Getting into the Walker, you looked at the controls cluelessly, there were so many. The rebel inside You was itching to steer it and use it on the stormtroopers, but the Jedi in you wanted to hand it over to someone else so you could focus on what was really important. Conflicted, you decided to push a few buttons and see what the Walker did. It steered around and you were thrown to the side, face slamming against the wall and causing you to groan out in pain.

“Okay... maybe not” You told yourself, avoiding the button you just pushed and instead going for the steering wheel. You had no clue what you were doing, you just went with your gut instinct and steered it towards the fight. It felt so heavy, the feet practically slammed against the earth and made you tumble inside it with every step it took. You grumbled in frustration, trying to keep yourself in place as you trampled over forest territory and towards the fighting and the sound of blaster shots.

Before you knew it, a few rebels began shooting at you, thinking it was still in Imperial hands. You were quick to stand up, ducking as a blaster shot missed you by a hair. “It’s me!” You exclaimed, waving your arms for the rebels to see and feeling relief as they lowered their blasters and apologised to you profusely.

“Sorry about that, Jedi!” A young rebel girl yelled up to you, her hand cupping the side of her mouth so her voice could echo. You waved her off and shrugged, hands pressed on the edge of the walkers head and looking out to the land of Kashyyyk. You had such a better view up on the Walker, you could see the fight from where you were located and witnessed a flurry of red blaster shots and flames. Your instinct was to get there as quickly as possible.

“Someone take this, i gotta go!” You exclaimed, grabbing your saber and jumping out of the Walker with clumsiness before sprinting past the rebels and towards the battlefield.

You ignited your lightsaber as you approached the field of scrambled Rebels and stormtroopers. You jumped right into the mix and ran to the middle of the battle, raising your saber and concentrating on blocking the blaster shots and deflecting them so they could return to the person who shot them and hopefully hit them as a result. The Rebels around you were relieved now that you were here, helping them out with everything you had and putting your all into the fight. This was the first time you’d fight as a Jedi, adrenaline flowed through you but so did the Force, controlling your every move and helping you balance and get rid of the anxiety you had moments before. The force was helpful when it came to deflecting shots and charging at stormtroopers, lightsaber gripped tightly in your hand as you struck them down one by one.

You let it guide you through battle and dodging enemy attacks effortlessly, cutting through the piles of white armour and securing the area as though it was an easy task. Your heart wrenched as a few Rebels were taken down, crying out for them as you went for their killer with your lightsaber, no hesitance in taking their life quicker than they took the rebels.

The stormtroopers were reluctant attacking you as they watched you take down so many enemies, so many bodies of white and black that hit the ground faster than you could say ‘Bantha’. They eventually called a retreat but you weren’t finished yet, you kept going after them along side the other rebels who certainly weren’t finished with them either. Angry cries left their lips as they shot down the remainder of the troop, bodies falling and eventually coming to a halt when none of them were standing.

A sudden silence erupted amongst the group of rebels behind you, no one spoke a word as a strange sound ripples through the sky above. Your heart sank to the pit of your stomach, you felt like your throat was about to dry up and you’d suffocate on your own breath. The very distant echo of a Tie howled above you and the rebels, their first instinct was to immediately run and get to the transport as soon as possible. You turned around and looked up behind the rebels, head tilted slightly as your eyes met a Tie fighter charging right towards your location, practically the size of your fingertip but slowly getting closer and closer.

“We have to go! The Inquisutor is coming” The young rebel from earlier called out, tugging on your arm desperately to get your attention in hopes you’d come with her and board the transport.

“No” You replied, voice firm and sure of what you were about to do.

“Are you sure? You’ll be killed!” She argued.

“Someone has to stay behind to distract them, you go ahead and board the ship, we’ll see each other again. Please, can you tell my crew I might be a while?” You pressed a reassuring arm on her shoulder and looked up to meet her scared eyes, eyes that only recently witnessed the death of her friends.

The girl had no other option but to nod and listen to your command, tears welling up in her blue eyes as she sniffed and wiped her nose with the sleeve of her grubby clothes.

“Please be careful” She whimpered, patting your shoulder a few times before running off into the trees to reunite with her comrades and board the transport that awaited them.

You smiled as you watched her disappear, but the smile was short lived when the tie from earlier was right behind you and was currently landing, the leaves and grass around you blowing away in every direction which caused your hair to whip in your face. You didn’t dare turn around, scared to see whoever it was as you quickly blocked off your force aura and made sure the Inquisitor didn’t recognise who you were. The ship soon came to a halt and you heard the hatch open up, the clear footsteps of an Inquisitor landing on the ground as they jumped down from the ship.

You tensed, unable to recognise who it was but you still didn’t turn around, you kept your head high and fought back the fear as you awaited their move.

“So... you’re the Jedi I’ve heard so much about”.

Your heart stopped and you felt like you were going to throw up at the least, a horrific churning stirred in your stomach as you recognised the voice of Cal Kestis standing right behind you.

You realised now how late you were at explaining yourself, your lightsaber out, ignited and on full show as your back faced the man you loved with every bone in your body. You fought back tears now, biting your lip and hoping he wouldn’t so much as hate you when he realised who it was standing in front of him.

“Is someone shy? Uncommon for filth like you” He continued, you felt a sting in your heart as he spoke his words of disgust. You weren’t used to this Cal, you didn’t like it. Not one bit. But overtime you started to realise that this was really who he was, this was his job, his lifestyle. He was now your hunter, and you were his pray.

Sucking in a breath, you swallowed your fear and turned your head slightly, unable to see anything but his feet. Slowly but surely, you turned around and you were finally face to face with Cal. He wasn’t wearing his helmet which meant you could see every bit of shock break out of his face when he realised it was you. His golden eyes snapped open and he took an almost offended step back, his lightsaber already ignited before he realised it was you and his other hand balled into a fist.

“What-“ He blinked a couple of times just to check he was seeing correctly, lips quivering and heart racing in his chest.

“When did this happen” His voice wasn’t friendly, full of demand and frustration as he gritted his teeth and his hand clenched around the hilt of his lightsaber. You tensed at his sudden change of emotion and took a cautious step back, lightsaber slowly readying in case he had any ideas as he stood meters away from you.

“Yesterday, I already feel so welcome” You said sarcastically, you started circling one another like predators with their prey, ready for whatever was about to happen but also hesitating because of your feelings towards each other.

“I don’t want to fight you (Y/N)... just give me the lightsaber and we can act like none of this happened” Cal’s voice came out more reassuring this time, realising a hand out to you as the other still gripped his scarlet lightsaber. You scrunched your face up in confusion, eyes sharp and narrow as they concentrated on your boyfriends face.

“No” You muttered, shaking your head and making your answer known to the Inquisitor in front of you who’s gold eyes were ablaze with rising anger. Cal didn’t want to raise his voice to you, he didn’t even want to lay a finger on you, he was angry because he wished it wasn’t you who he was up against. Out of all the Jedi left, you had to be one of them. You were the thing he was trained to kill.

“It doesn’t have to be this way” You called out to Cal in a more confident and clear tone, scared that he would take it the wrong way as you two continued circling one another.

“Come with me” You carried on, raising your own hand this time and spreading it out so he could take it. Bewildered, Cal took another step back and swallowed a lump in his throat, not sure where to look as he trembled. There was a war going on in his head, a war he couldn’t conquer just yet. He looked back up to meet your desperate gaze and softly shook his head.

“You know I can’t do that” He shook his head and his voice croaked out to you as if he was holding back tears, you could feel the sadness and guilt from where he was standing. It made your head dizzy. You wanted him to come with you, maybe run away with you and start a new life. But he wasn’t for budging, you could tell it would take some time to get him to think about leaving his life as a killing machine behind.

It pained you to see him like this, it also didn’t help that neither of you had seen each other in over a month and your meeting wasn’t on good terms. He was here to kill you, you knew it.

“I’m not going to fight you Cal, I’m not” You unsheathed your lightsaber that once was his, clipping it to your belt but a part of you was screaming to get it back in your hand and defend yourself. Cal didn’t unsheath his own and kept still, eyes wide and his brows furrowed.

He didn’t say anything, his bottom lip quivered as he sucked in a shaky breath and tore his gaze from you.

After what felt like minutes, he unsheathed his lightsaber and his hand was shaking violently as he held it. You sighed in relief, heart thumping wildly in your chest as you awaited his further actions.

“Where did you get that lightsaber?” He asked, eyes flickering to your waist where the lightsaber lay. You took a hesitant step closer to him, taking the lightsaber from your belt again but not igniting it.

“Bracca” You answered truthfully, watching his gaze shift from curious to confused.

“What were you doing there?” His voice was hoarse all of a sudden, like his old life was flashing before his eyes at the mention of his old home.

“A mission with the rebels” You looked at the lightsaber and traced it with your fingertips intricately. Cal watched you with a soft gaze, he looked down at your lips and all of a sudden felt his heart speed up just that little bit more.

Cal wanted to kiss you, but he wasn’t sure how many eyes were on you right now. You were both amongst bodies of fallen stormtroopers and rebels, it wasn’t entirely the most ideal place to kiss you. But maker he wanted to, he wanted to kiss you even though he was supposed to kill you. Sharp pain lingered in his chest at the fact you were now a priority within the Inquisutors, another Jedi on the list to take out. As much as he is loyal to the Empire, he can’t take out the one person who made him feel true love for the first time in his life. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, and it made him feel worthless. But in his head your life was more valuable than his, he’d die for you if it meant getting you away from the Empire. You weren’t aware of the impact you made on his life, you were the first and only person to have been put in front of his job, the meeting on Kashyyyk goes to prove it.

You looked down past the lightsaber in your hand and looked at Cal’s free hand which was balled into a fist. You reluctantly stroked it with your fingers, hand slowly but surely slipping into his own and intertwining. Cal felt all the stress and anxiety flush out of his system as he felt your hand in his, he looked up to you and all of a sudden his lightsaber dropped to the ground with a loud thud, proving how heavy it really was.

In a flash, his other hand cupped your cheek and he brought you in for a passionate, longing kiss that made your stomach flutter. You dropped your own lightsaber which landed next to his and wrapped your arms around his neck, his own wrapped tightly around your waist. You ran your fingers through his red hair, pulling him closer to kiss you deeper as his hands gripped your waist. His lips felt so soft against your own, teeth tugging on them softly as you opened your mouth to let him in. You weren’t sure how long you stood there kissing for, the sun started to set on Kashyyyk and you didn’t want to let him go so soon after not seeing him for more than enough time.

Cal dipped his head to your neck and bit down on it, lips teeth and tongue creating a dark bruise on your skin which you guranteed would be there for over a week. It felt sore, you tugged on his hair and let out a weak whimper as your eyes shut over. Cal smiled against your neck, biting down once more before leaning his head back and returning to your lips.

“(Y- (Y/N) are you there?” It was Merrin, her voice was static with the quality of the coms device on your wrist but you heard her loud and clear. You took a hesitant step back from Cal who’s arms were still around your waist.

“Yeah, I’m here” You replied, your voice cracking slightly which caused a blush to rise on your face as Cal chuckled silently and tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

“Thank Maker you’re still alive, we were told an Inquisitor had arrived on Kashyyyk, are you alright?” She asked with worry, her heavy Dathomirian accent ringing out in the warm Kashyyyk air.

“I’m okay, a little hurt from a blaster shot but it’s just a scratch” You smiled, looking to Cal who frowned at your words and took a step back to inspect your body. You stifled a giggle as he spotted the blaster shot on your leg and looked like he was about to rip someone’s throat out.

“We’ve got bacta patches here, hurry up and get to the Mantis, Cere wants a word with you” Merrin sighed before switching off her coms and leaving you once more with your Inquisitor boyfriend.

Cal froze in his spot, looking up to you and opening his mouth to say something. Nothing came out of his mouth, you were guessing he just didn’t want to go and leave you once again.

Taking a step close to him, your heads leaned against one another and you closed your eyes, enjoying the silence between you and wrapping your arms around Cal once again to bid a painful farewell to him. Cal buried his head in your neck and hugged you tightly, stroking your hair as you yawned in his shoulder and caused him to chuckle.

“I should let you go” He sighed, pulling away and making you frown. Just as you were about to protest, you realised how late it was getting and how impatient Cere must be. You ruffled his hair playfully and made him laugh, his golden eyes narrowing as his cheek raised with the smile on his face.

“I really should get going” You mumbled, cupping his cheek and tracing it with your thumb. Cal closed his eyes and leaned into your touch, purring at the feeling until his eyes opened once more at the sound of a distant yell.

“I love you” You whispered to him, kissing him firmly and cupping the back of his neck as he kissed you back with just as much passion.

“I love you too” He pulled away, flicking your chin playfully with his index finger before you both picked up your lightsabers and gave each other one last yearning glance before running off in opposite directions, returning to the opposite lives you both had.

[marshmallow-phd]

Midnight Hours

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Sehun x Reader

Summary: For you, being a good witch was easier said than done. Something dark was lurking inside of you and the others knew it. When you’re forced to tag along with Soomi and help a local wolfpack face a coming evil, you’re sent on a path that breaks into a crossroads. While you struggle with your inner demons, could the wolf Sehun be the key to your ultimate fate?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11 I 12 I 13 I 14 I 15 I 16 I 17 I Final

**

Panic swept over Sehun like a tsunami after an earthquake.

“(Y/N)!”

He launched himself at the open window, eyes scanning the immediate area for any sign of you. Not even a bird or raccoon seemed to be around. The clearing surrounding the farmhouse was empty of any sign of life. One difference he noticed, however, was the bush below the window was much bigger than Junmyeon had every let it get before. Did you really leave this way?

“Sehun, what’s going on?” Kris was in the doorway, his breath heavy from rushing to get here. 

Sehun’s throat was thick, swollen almost to the point of being unable to speak. “(y/n)’s gone.”

Kris narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

“We had a fight and she locked herself in here. I left to give her some space, but she’s disappeared.” Sehun collapsed down on the tile floor, banging his fist against the wall beside him as he put his back to the window. “This is all my fault. Again. I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

“Junmyeon told me,” Kris nodded with a frown. “In times like this, staying quiet might be the best option.” He stepped up to Sehun, hand out. “Come on. Let’s go find her. I’m sure she couldn’t have gone far.”

Sehun thought about it for a moment or two. You left for a reason. Didn’t you once say that you were able to work through your thoughts best when you were alone? So maybe that’s all you were trying to do right now. But the woods were dangerous. If you wanted to think, he’d rather you did it somewhere safe. He’d leave you alone, but he needed you near, where he could be there for you in a moment’s notice. 

Taking the offered hand, Sehun let Kris pull him up to his feet. They left the empty bathroom behind and headed for the first floor. 

“Where are you two going?” Jongdae asked as they passed through the living room. 

“To go look for (y/n),” Kris replied bluntly. Sehun cringed. Why did it always sound like you were his child he’d lost in the grocery store?

Jongdae raised an eyebrow. “She’s gone again?” Jiyoung, who was sitting beside him, gave a very pointed nudge. The two of them exchanged a silent conversation driven purely by facial expressions. Then he stood up. “Alright. I’ll come help.”

“Thanks,” Sehun mumbled. As worried as he was about you, he didn’t want the whole pack trailing along. He knew that would frustrate you even more and possibly make it worse. They needed to head out before anyone else volunteered. “Let’s go.”

Outside, the wind blew at a speed that was unusually fast for this area. The trees audibly rustled, the mix of leaves and pine needles whispering taunts to Sehun. They mocked him. Would he be able to track your scent? Would the pull come through for him and allow him to find you? They teased with the possible negative outcome. 

The thought that you were the one creating this wind lingered in the back of his mind as he stripped out of the constricting clothes and headed for the treeline on all fours. Kris and Jongdae flanked him from behind, following his lead. Sehun kept his nose down as he tried to find the direction that you went. But he found nothing. No scent, no trail, no evidence, absolutely nothing. He couldn’t even feel what direction you were in. How was this possible? He’d seen his brothers do this a dozen times. 

Sehun, Kris called out after traveling in circles for what seemed like hours. Have you picked up anything yet?

No, Sehun growled. The wind had not died down even a little bit to help him out. The ground was too rustled up for him to find any footprints that would give way to your location. Or at least what direction you went. I can’t sense anything. This isn’t supposed to be possible.

Well, she is a witch. Maybe she knows how to cover her tracks? Jongdae pointed out. 

Kris looked up at the thickening clouds overhead. Let’s head back before the weather gets worse. 

But-

We won’t find her like this, Kris said, too reasonably for Sehun’s liking. And we’ll need Soomi if (y/n) really is covering her tracks with magic. 

Sehun stared off into the distance. He willed for your location to just come to him, to know where you were so he didn’t have to go back and try another method. He was your mate, your wolf. He was supposed to feel you without even trying, but here he was, useless. 

Fine. We’ll head back. 

Maybe we’ll get lucky and she’ll have decided to go back to the house on her own. Would certainly save us a lot of trouble.

Kris threw Jongdae a look that told him shut up in a way that didn’t quite satisfy Sehun, but he’d take what he could get. 

With great reluctance, Sehun followed his older members back into the direction of the farmhouse to try and find you another way. 

**

This was much harder than you thought. 

You didn’t really have that much of a plan when you left the farmhouse and the evidence of that was starting to come to the surface. Your emotions were running high causing the wind around you to blow harder than you were meaning for it to. All you were trying to do was cover your tracks so Sehun wouldn’t be able to follow your footprints or your scent. At one point you even crossed the river to throw it off even further. 

Just get to town, you told yourself. Get to town and find Dana and Mina. 

Maybe you’d get lucky and you’d find the latter alone. Or maybe you could find the right ingredients and perform an incantation that might give some sort of hint to Mina’s motivations. 

Really, you needed to find out what she even was. Was she human? A secret witch? Something more?

Supernatural creatures weren’t limited to just witches and werewolves. The world was vast and diverse beyond comprehension. It was possible for there to be “others” you weren’t aware of, races that you knew nothing about. And that was terrifying to you. 

Did you even know what you were walking into? What would happen if you confronted Mina? Were you really prepared?

The answer was probably no. You were grossly unprepared with a handful of confusing visions in your head and powers that you had a shaky handle on. A tiny, nagging feeling kept at you, saying that you shouldn’t have come out on your own, that this was stupid and you were going to embarress yourself - or get killed. 

You must do this. 

There is was again. That whisper. 

You whirled around to try and find the source. The presence felt like it came from somewhere else, but there was no source, no one around that could have let those words out into the air. You were alone. But you knew that thought wasn’t your own. 

Keep going.

You obeyed, albeit at a slower pace than before. Each step was hesitant, worried that you were doing exactly what the whisper - what possibly Mina - wanted. The possibility of you walking into a trap was great. For a moment, you considered going back. You could bring Sehun with you and-

No.

You couldn’t explain it, but anger and rage suddenly boiled inside you. He wasn’t needed. You didn’t need protection or for him to be by your side. You were fine. You could and would do this by yourself. He didn’t want a witch for mate? Fine. You’d show you didn’t need him either. 

As you pushed yourself farther and farther, the trees in front of you began to thin. Past the trunks, you could make out a clearing. When you passed the final row and broke through, you gasped. It was the clearing. And you weren’t alone. 

“Hello, (y/n),” a twinkling voice greeted you. It matched the delicate figure that stood before you.

But it wasn’t Mina. 

**

“So what do you think we can do?” Kris asked Soomi. 

The witch was sitting on the couch, worry etched and carved into every line on her face. When Kris had first sat the witch down to fill her in on the situation, she’d insisted that you would never do anything like that. As many opportunities as you’d had to run away in your life, you’d never taken them. So why would you now?

Sehun went on to explain that he could find you, either by scent or by the pull. Soomi couldn’t understand that part. Even though you could easily cover your scent from the wolves, as far as she knew, you didn’t know how to magically hide yourself from the pull. That was never part of your training nor would you have access to that information. 

“I can try a locating spell,” Soomi offered. Her tone, however, was not hopeful. That was not a good sign. 

The witch got up from the couch and disappeared upstairs for five or so minutes before coming back down with a small square box made of a dark red wood and a bracelet Sehun had seen you wear once or twice. 

“You don’t happen to have a map of the area, do you?” Soomi asked as she kneeled down between the coffee table and the couch. 

Jondgae left the living room and was back with a folded map in his hand. He set it down for Soomi to take before resuming his position back against the wall, arms folded over his chest. Jiyoung poked him in the cheek, pulling the faintest of smiles from him before he pulled her into his chest. 

Taking a deep breath, Soomi unfolded the map, spreading it out and smoothing the lines so it would lay flat. She lifted the lid and pulled out a chain where a quartz rock as long as Sehun’s pinky hung. The surface reflected a pearly shine in the light. It reminded Sehun a bit of the moonstone necklace that Evie always wore, though her stone wasn’t quite as opaque. 

Under her breath, Soomi began to recite in a language that Sehun didn’t know. With your bracelet in her stretched out palm, she began to gently spin the chain around the map with her other hand. The crystal circled the area at a slow pace as Sehun watched it go round and round. 

After a while, nothing happened. Soomi dropped the crystal and shook her head. “I can’t find her.”

“What do you mean you can’t find her?” Sehun snapped. “She couldn’t have just disappeared off the face of the earth!”

“Sehun…,” Kris warned. 

“No, he’s right.” Soomi pushed herself back to her feet. “She couldn’t have just vanished out of existence. Someone very powerful is masking her essence.”

Sehun growled in frustration. “I thought you said (y/n) wouldn’t know how to do that?”

“She can’t,” Soomi said. “That type of magic is ancient and rarely taught in the covens. Certainly not ours. Whoever is doing this is very powerful… and most likely a practitioner of darker magic.”

“So, it's probably safe to say that whoever is hiding (y/n) is also the same person that she’s been seeing in her visions? The one who’s coming?” Kris guessed. 

Soomi nodded solemnly. “Yes. I dare say that is a safe conclusion. If they’re already masking her from my magic and the connection to her mate, she might already be with them. And if she is...” She looked up at Kris with fear in her eyes. “If she is, then (y/n) is in insurmountable danger.”

A roar erupted from Sehun as he stormed out of the living room. He stopped on the porch, gripping onto the railing so tightly that he could hear the creak and whine of the wood under the stress. His eyes searched the area as if by some miracle you’d come walking out of the forest and back to him. 

This was all his fault. He’d driven you to this. He’d pushed you away with his words and right into the hands of whoever was haunting his family. 

Their Plan B had turned into a dead end. And now what options did he have? 

“Sehun?”

With a sigh, he turned to Kris standing in the doorway.

“Yeah?”

“We’re getting the pack together. We’re going to go back out once the storm is over and we’ll find her. Together. Don’t you worry.”

Don’t worry. That was much easier said than done. But Sehun nodded and went back inside, ready to move on to Plan C. Because he would find you. No matter what it took. He would find you and he would bring you back home. 

[kimjongdaely]

Eternal [Chapter 6]

Vampire!AU

Pairing: Baekhyun x Reader

Warnings: Language, violence, abuse, sexual situations, abortion, mention of suicide

Summary: You’re not sure how to deal with your current situation. Your owner, Byun Baekhyun, isn’t helping with the stress. But what happens when you find a risky solution that might just solve all your problems?

Prologue [M]│Chapter 1│Chapter 2│Chapter 3│Chapter 4│Chapter 5│ Chapter 6│Chapter 7│Chapter 8│Chapter 9│Chapter 10│Chapter 11 │Chapter 12│Chapter 13

You wake up to find yourself snuggled against Baekhyun. It’s a bizarre, tender feeling; you’ve always been alone when you wake up.

His breathing is slow and steady, still asleep. You smile, brushing hair out of his eyes, seeing the way his nose scrunches up slightly as he snuggles closer to your warmth.

You feel so, so tired. Yesterday was so draining for you. A chill shoots down your spine at the thought that you were so close in losing your child. You press a reassuring hand over your stomach, so glad Baekhyun didn’t go through with it.

You see his eyelids shift, as if he’s dreaming. You press a kiss to his cheek before getting up, slipping out of the room. You almost bump into Sehun, who greets you with a cheerful smile.

“Oh, good morning.” He says. “Are...are you alright?”

“Yes,” you answer, returning his smile. “Everything’s alright now.”

He let’s out a quiet sigh of relief, nodding. “That’s good. I was afraid Baekhyun would do something he’d regret.”

“He...almost did.” You whisper, feeling another wave of relief and exhaustion hit you. You are unable to shake off the vision of him actually forcing the abortion, how it would feel to lose your child. You hug your stomach again, biting your lip.

“What’s important is that he didn’t.” Sehun says softly, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder before yawning. “Well, I’m going to bed now. See you later.”

You nod as he retreats into his room. You find it slightly odd that he would be up so late—early? You’re not sure; vampire timezone is weird. 

You descend the stairs, exhaling deeply. The morning sun fills up the house with warmth, and you bask in it gratefully. You feel rejuvenated, something in your life finally turning out for the better.

You find Jongdae’s Pet in the living room, folding clothes while humming a light tune. You blink, surprised. “You came back?”

She pauses, turning towards you with a smile. “Thorn! Yes...I came back.” Her eyes shuffle to the side, her teeth sinking into her lip uncomfortably. You frown at that, cocking your head.

“Why? I thought you wanted to leave and live a new life.”

“Well, a lot of things happened.” She runs down the gist of what happened, how Victoria had attacked them, about Hui getting hurt and is resting in her room. You stand dumbfounded at her recounting, unable to process it.

It seems like you’re not the only one going through a hard time. You take a tentative seat next to her as she resumes folding her clothes, the silence slightly uncomfortable but not awkward.

You glance at her from the corner of your eye, finding her looking...happy. Content. She must’ve left it out, but you’re sure she had a good talk with Jongdae. They might even be together now. It’s about time, any way.

“So,” she starts suddenly. “How are things with Baekhyun?” Her tone is filled with worry, though she tries hard to mask it.

You smile, for the first time not having to force it. “We’re making things work.”

Her hands freeze mid-fold, eyes wide as she turns towards you. “So he knows? He accepted it?”

“Not at first.” You admit. “But I think I got through to him.”

She squeals, pulling you into a big hug. You wince slightly, still sore from old wounds but you hug her back, letting her warmth seep into you. “That’s great! I’m so happy for you.” She pulls back with a wide smile, tears swimming in her eyes. “Maybe we’ll all finally be happy here.”

You tear up as well, feeling, for the first time in a long time, so filled with hope. Hope for a better life. Hope for the future. For your child and for Baekhyun. You almost choke up when you answer, “Yeah.”

“Thorn?”

You turn towards the familiar voice, beaming when you see him. You hurry over to give him a welcoming hug. “Welcome back, Yixing.”

He chuckles, squeezing you gently back. “I’m home.”

You pull back with a slight frown, feeling your heart ache for him. He looks tired, a little sad. If Jongdae is in a relationship with his Pet, that must mean Yixing had been rejected. You still feel bad for him. “I...uh...How are you?”

“I’m fine.” He pauses, then corrects himself. “I will be fine.” He let’s out a quiet laugh. “You’d be surprised how many times I’ve gone through heartbreak.”

Baekhyun flashes through your mind. You don’t pry.

“How are you?” Yixing asks, eyes narrowing on you in scrutiny.

“I’m ok now.” You answer, rubbing your sore wrists that were tied down yesterday. You can’t help the way your lip wobbles as the memories come slamming back into you. It’s always hard to keep things from Yixing.

He looks at you suspiciously, able to read you like a book by now. “What did he do?”

“He almost aborted the child.” You whisper. You see the way his eyes darken, disbelief and rage in his handsome features. Your hands come flying up in defense, trying to calm him down. “But! He didn’t. He accepted the child. Everything’s okay!”

“It doesn’t change the fact that he tried to murder his own child.” His tone comes out dark.

“He’s scared, Yixing.” You murmur, seeing the way his expression softens.

“I know.” He sighs, shaking his head. “I know, but...” He gives you a hard, stern look. “Are you excusing his actions just because he’s scared?”

“I—” You pause, unable to answer. You are, aren’t you? Excusing every terrible thing he’s done to you just because you know he’s scared and because you love him?

Yixing lets out another long sigh, already knowing your answer. “You shouldn’t spoil him so. Well...I’m not the one to talk. We’ve spoiled him plenty already. I suppose it’s partly our fault he became the way he is.”

“I believe in him." You say finally as he turns to leave. “I believe he’ll do the right thing.”

Yixing takes one last look at you, his expression indescribable. “I really hope he does.”

Baekhyun is just waking up when you enter your room at dusk. He blinks sleepily at you, his face so cutely blank.

“Hey sleepyhead.” You chuckle, climbing in next to him and he pulls you down to him, wrapping you in his arms tightly. 

He let’s out a soft sigh, eyes sliding closed again. “Is it night already?”

“Yeah.” You answer, running your hands through his soft hair. 

His eyes flutter open again, sniffing the air and then frowning slightly. “Did something happen? Something seems off.” His eyes are glowing slightly, alert.

You tell him what Jongdae’s Pet had told you, recounting their story. Baekhyun growls out, hold tightening on you. “I knew that damn Victoria wasn’t any good.”

You hum in agreement. You get chills whenever you remember her. She just felt...off. If what Jongdae’s Pet said was all true, then Victoria was somehow brought back to life. Who could have done something like that? And why?

You shiver at the thought, snuggling closer to Baekhyun. “Hey Baek?”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever thought about the future?” You ask absentmindedly, hands trailing over your stomach. “About our child?”

He stiffens, eyes darting away, turning over and leaving you cold. You expected this reaction, but you needed to ask anyway. You wanted to know what he really thought.

“I don’t know.” He answers gruffly after a pause. “Can’t we just take things one step at a time?”

You want to tell him no, that he should think more about your child’s future but you stay silent, pressing your cheek against his back. He’s still adjusting, still in the process of accepting. You don’t want to push him too far. “Okay.”

He sighs, hearing the soft dejection in your voice and turns back over, cupping your jaw in his palm. “Look, I—It’s not that I don’t—I just—” He struggles over what to say, how to explain but you smile, pulling him into a hug. You breathe him in, feeling how perfectly his body is against yours.

“It’s okay. I get it.”

He exhales, relaxing into your arms. “I’m the worst.”

“No you’re not.”

He goes silent, and you know he wants to disagree but doesn’t want to start a fight. You squeeze him tighter.

Finally, he says, “What about you? Have you thought about the future?”

Your heart bursts inside your chest, surprised by his words. He is asking you? He wants to know? He cares? You can’t help the happiness that fills your soul, the warmth that blooms in you. “Just a little.” You admit.

He hums softly when you begin to tell him, imagining your child playing in the backyard, hoping Baekhyun’s brothers will be cool uncles. You giggle at the thought, hardly able to imagine nine powerful vampires playing with a child. You tell him how you imagine him to look when he first holds the child, almost able to picture the tenderness and love in his eyes already.

Baekhyun scoffs lightly at that, rolling his eyes. “I highly doubt I’d feel anything.”

“You will.” You assure him confidently. “I think you might even cry.”

He laughs quietly. “As if.”

You grab his hand, moving it over your stomach and he stiffens, eyes going wide. He waits for a moment, then exhales almost in...disappointment?—when he says, “I don’t feel anything.”

You chuckle, nodding. You close your eyes, focusing on breathing. “Not yet. The baby will grow bigger and eventually you’ll be able to feel it move.”

He makes a face of disgust, but you know he’ll love it when the time comes. He’d probably want to feel your tummy a lot, can see the look of awe on his face in your head.

You’re so excited. You can’t wait.

“Babies are weird.” He wrinkles his nose. “I can’t imagine something moving inside of you.”

You laugh loudly now, pressing a kiss to his nose. “Well, not as weird as living with nine vampires.”

He snickers at that, eyes going slightly hazy. “I don’t think I’ll be a good...dad.” He says the word like it’s foreign.

“Of course you will.” You say. “You’ll be great. And I’ll be there to help!”

His face darkens, jaw tightening. You reel back, realizing what you had said. You repeat gently. “I’ll be there.”

“I—” Baekhyun looks away again, his heart locked up again. You panic when he gets out of bed. You reach for him, wanting to pull him back but he’s too far away, already on the other side of the room in an instant. “I’m gonna go walk around. Go to sleep.”

He leaves without another word, and you feel your heart crack. You hug your stomach again, feeling tears well up in your eyes. “We’ll be okay...we’ll be okay, right?”

Something deep down tells you it’s not okay.

Previous Chapter│ Next Chapter

Eternal Mini Masterlist

A/N: Fluff! It turned into angst again though, sorry 😅 Not quite sure if I should make the next chap jump through her pregnancy or have it go on for a few chapters...Please let me know if you liked it!

Tags: @loser-dot-com @meryljill-111192 @ugeuuupabo @baekyeolbeom @weirdsofagirls @and-you-found-me @ilovexiu @enchanting-exo @byunfirstlady @skjdln @kkatherinesky @xoforxiuchen @dear-fake-diary @chibi-desu-yo-01 @marimsun @sebootyforlife @baekhyuq @kyoongies @lavellanfriendliness @wongxiexie @always-wishing-for-rain @suhoandbaekhyunruinme @noonaofjungkook @mango-bear​ @lightmochi​

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©kimjongdaely

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[roleplay-lanay]

The Meaning of Family / Normal is Overrated

Chapter 1: Abnormal Beginnings

>>Chapter 2

The story begins just before the happenings of X-men First Class.The reader and her son, Charles, approach Charles Xavier seeking help. Charles and Raven decide to take them in and they prove to be valuable additions to their small but growing family. It will follow pretty closely to the official movieverse timeline although some aspects of the story will be changed.

This story is my own. It is posted on Ao3, Deviantart, and Wattpad. However, I do not own any characters from the X-men universe, they are the sole property of Marvel. Please leave comments and constructive criticism. All my love x

Holding tightly to my 5-year old’s hand, I stood outside the pub in a dimly lit street. Bikes littered the sidewalk, all laid up against the tan brick walls of the building. It was a clear night out and the streets were quiet. Not long past 7 o’clock and it seemed already an abnormal night.

I took in a breath of the cool air and stashed the crumpled piece of paper in my coat pocket. It wasn’t a heavy coat or a particularly nice one. Slightly old and well-worn pale blue that reached just below my knees.

“Alright then, it’s now or never isn’t it Charlie?” I smile down at my son who was standing patiently gripping a light brown teddy bear to his torso. It had once been white. His coat and trousers weren’t high quality or expensive, but they were much nicer then the clothes I wore. This child was my pride and joy, it was most important to me that he looked well kept even if that meant that I didn’t.

He squeezes my hand with a bright smile and pulls me with him to the door. I open it to a warm atmosphere, ushering young Charlie in. He moved towards the coat rack and begins to take his off, setting the bear, lovingly named Teddy, on the ground. I remove mine and grab his as he bends down for the bear. Hanging the coats up, I glance around the room of moving bodies and low yet boisterous chatter. Maybe he wasn’t here yet or maybe I had missed him. No, I had to think positively because this was my only chance.

“Charlie, love, see that booth over there?” I bend down to his height and point quickly in the direction of a booth along the east side of the room.

“Go sit with Teddy over there. I’ll get us something to drink, alright?”

I smooth his hair as he nods and moves quickly towards the booth. I stand up and straighten my blouse before moving towards the bar. I glance back once more to check that Charlie was settled. The bartender acknowledged me.

“What would you like, love?” he asks as he places a glass of scotch down for a man who looks a bit down.

“One cola and a water, please.”

He nods and quickly starts pouring our drinks. I rummage through my coin purse finding the amount I need. I look up just as a man walks up beside me with a beautiful blonde woman beside him. They were laughing and talking quietly, so I paid them little mind. The bartender, which the man beside me called Norman just seconds before, placed my drinks on the counter and thanked me before swiping the change off the counter and turning his focus to the couple. I nod and grab the glasses but when I turned around Charlie wasn’t sitting at the booth.

“Charles,” came out in a panicked whisper. In my panic, I turned to scan the room, my elevated heartbeat caused my hands to shake. The glass of water slipped right out of my hand before I could set it back on the counter.

“Wooah!” The man beside me had quickly leaned down to grab the glass not too long after it left my hand. “Don’t want to break one of these.” He looked at me with a kind smile as he placed the glass and the other one he grabbed out of my hand on the counter.

“Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I just—” I look around again and he grabs my arm gently. I was very appreciative that he saved me a lot of hassle, but my son was still missing. I turn back to him about to snap at him and he holds his hands up defensively, “I’m sorry, I just think we’ve found who you’re looking for.”

He moves so that I have a full view of Charlie glancing up at the man and holding onto the skirt of his partner. The relief that washed over me nearly brought tears to my eyes. I quickly bent down and took hold of his hand that gripped her skirt. “Charlie you can’t just move around like that. You nearly gave mommy a heart attack.”  He bit his bottom lip and whispered a sorry before pointing up at the man. I look up at the pair.

“I’m so sorry for causing you trouble.” I look at the woman and then towards the man. He shakes his head after taking a sip of his drink. He puts his glass down, “Nonsense, you see, I have a feeling you came here looking for me.”

Charlie wraps his arms around my neck and I hold him, standing up. “That’s him mommy, see?”

I look at him truly for the first time. The crumpled paper sitting in my coat pocket was a picture of him, torn from a newspaper, with the address of this pub on it. He holds his hand out to me, “Charles Xavier. It’s a pleasure.” I reach my hand out and grab his.

“This is my sister, Raven.” I nod and reach out to grab the hand that Raven offered me. “You have a very cute kid.” I smile as I take my hand back and place it on Charlie’s leg. “My name is [F/N] [L/N]. And this is Charles, but I usually call him Charlie.”

“It’s nice to meet you there Charlie. Welp—” he turns around to grab his glass, the glass of cola and the water glass between them. He nods his head in the direction of the east wall, “—why don’t we take a sit in that booth that Teddy is keeping warm.” He smirks at my confusion and strides across the floor. Raven strode after him with a knowing smile. I paused and looked at Charlie, “Did you tell him Teddy’s name?”

He shakes his head and I look over to the two standing by the booth watching us expectantly. I begin to walk and Raven slides in opposite Teddy. I set Charlie down on the seat and take the water from Xavier and he sets the cola down for Charlie. I thank him before sliding in after Charlie. He sits on his knees and places Teddy on the table before grabbing the glass. I help tilt it for him so that he doesn’t spill it.

“So, you came in here looking for me, might it have anything to do with the child?” Charles slides and settles in. I looked up at him incredulously as I help Charlie set his cup down. Charlie isn’t a talkative child with strangers. How could this man always seem one step ahead? He lets out a small chuckle, his blue eyes glistening with amusement. “I’m sorry darling, I haven’t told you anything. I am like your son, Raven is too”, he gestured to his companion, “though I suspect not in the same way.”

You see, I have a particular type of mutation that allows me to communicate with human and mutant brains alike.

I watch him, but his lips had been shut tight just then. “Was that you just then? In my head?”

He smirks and glances over at Charlie. Raven leans over the table with her hands folded in front of her, “Hey Charlie, what cool trick can you do?”

Charlie looks over at me seeking permission but before I could say anything Charles speaks up, “I don’t think that would be appropriate in public Raven, he is only a child. Whatever his trick is, we can’t be sure he can control it properly.” She sighs and looks at Charlie scrunching up her nose, “Party pooper.” Charlie giggles as I look between them.

“I came to find you because of him, yes.” Charles nods at me to continue while Raven and Charlie play some silent game together. “I heard— I read somewhere that you were an expert in mutations. He began showing signs of his mutation earlier this year.”

“You were scared for him, you heard about other mutants and how they were being treated.”

“Yes. And then I read about you in the paper.”

“And you thought you would seek him out and see if he can help in some way.” Raven looks up from her game with Charlie and I nod to her.

“I was hoping that we could seek sanctuary with you.” I look over to the child sadly, “Or at least he could. As we are now, I am struggling to support him, and I don’t have the means to protect him.”

They went silent for a second obviously having a silent conversation. I took the glass of water in front of me and played with it nervously, suddenly feeling parched but not willing to bring the glass to my lips. It was now nearly 8 o’clock and the pub seemed to get slightly busier. Charlie touched my arm and I moved it to allow him to climb into my lap, kissing the top of his head. Charlie then spoke up to a question I had not heard Charles ask. “We were on the train for a really long time before we got here.”

Charles nods and focuses on the both of us, “Would you like somewhere warm to stay?”

Charlie peers up at me as I look between Xavier and Raven. Raven smiled warmly at us, as did Xavier.

“You both look like you could use a rest. We can talk more in the morning.”

I smile and let out the warm breath I seemed to have been holding in since before walking into this place. I close my eyes and let my head rest against the top of Charlie’s.

“Mommy says thank you”, he smiles happily towards them. Charles slides out and helps Raven out.

“Let’s get our coats.” Charles suggests. Charlie grabs Teddy and slides out to grab Raven’s hand. They walk towards the coat rack. Charles offers me a hand and I take it. “Thank you, Mr. Xavier, for –”

“Just Charles, please.” He offers, and I smile. He ushers me to the rack as well where we put on our coats. I pick Charlie up and follow them out into the cool air. The street was still dimly lit and mostly empty, but the sky seemed clearer than before. I follow their lead all the way back to their manor on what could only be described as a truly abnormal night.

[nemobookaholic]

What if ...

Loki where a 21st century woman?

Part 2

Scene 8

Back at home, we enter a room where Kevin and Loki are sitting face to face. As Kevin had said, an hour a day - now we know he meant it. Yet, just because he looks like an Irish leprechaun, it doesn’t mean he has the same wit. Indeed we can assume that he has inherited more but the ginger hair. Loki seems like she’d figured it out already, according to her staring. It’s like the game we all played as kids. A staring contest, losers gonna look away first. Both of them want to be at the winning side. We start to wonder what kind of therapeutic use this game shall have, as Kevin breaks the silence, not looking away of course.

‘You really think that you are Loki of Asgard?’

‘I do not think so. I know who I am!’

Not the best opening line for a therapist. Here we see the trainee.

‘Good… had you ever the desire to — well, use the boy’s bathroom, or play with cars instead of dolls?’

We move our angle, so we can see what Kevin writes down on his notepad.

‘Seriously? That is what you want to know? — To be honest I was thought to play with knives and illusions, as well as with my brothers foolishness. Trust me, gender never was a big deal for me. I can be whatever I want to,’ Lokis boasts.

° narcissism

° dissociative identity disorder

° a lot of anger/rage

Is what we can read by now. Dr. Freud might had added hysteria.

‘Tell me about your brother,’ is Kevins next question.

‘I would not know why,’ Loki appeals stubborn.

‘We have a deal, remember?’

‘I don’t see any sense in it, as you obviously don’t believe me, but here you go. Thor, god of thunder. Not the brightest glowing candle. Likes his hammer… a lot. Future king of Asgard, if you’d ask him. Has a soft spot for Midgard. I came here to say hello,’ she’s checking on her fingernails while speaking.

‘To me it sounds like there is a rivalry between you and your brother?’ for a second we catch discomfort in Lokis eyes.

‘He’s not my real brother. It’s not that long ago when I was told, I am adopted.’

‘Who told you so?’

‘My fa…, Odin. He promised me a throne! Just to tell me, that I was nothing more than a hostage.’

°daddy issues

Kevins pen is wandering on the paper.

‘Tell me about your mum.’

‘She’s kind an loving. I’m afraid, I might never see her again, only in my dreams.’

‘Why do you think so?’

‘Never mind! There is witchcraft, even in dreams. You would not understand. — By the way, how come this reality is blocking out almost every magic?’ Loki’s time for questions.

‘Honestly? As you really seem to believe it, I have some bad news for you: There is no magic, and no gods or stuff like that. Most of us, including me, don’t believe in sorcery or different realms. I’m sorry to disappoint you.’

We don’t fail to notice how Kevin is struggling, to take the topic serious. Meanwhile Loki has an enlightening moment.

‘That must be part of the problem! People don’t believe…,’ she mumbles to herself. Aloud she says, ‘tell me about your world, please. I know a bit from Barton but me seems this one is unlike his. What is the history of this country for instance?’ Lokis eyes are glowing.

‘Are you kidding me? — You don’t know?’ Kevin looks puzzled.

‘Would I ask otherwise?’ annoyance is speaking out of her voice.

Kevin starts a lesson in english history. Loki is rather interested in the war of the roses and the Tudor King. We start to get a bad feeling, that this might won’t end well; with her question, ‘you are saying, England has never grown out of monarchy and is ruled by a Queen until today?!’

‘Yes and a King, - people always seem to forget about him, poor guy,’ Kevin sights.

‘Tell me everything about them!’ there is a lot of motivation in Loki’s behaviour now.

‘I think that’s enough for today. I’m not that interested into royal gossip, - if you want to know more, you can look it up on the internet, or go to the library,’ he sounds tired.

We suspect that this session didn’t proceed as planed. He has our empathy, cause he doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. Or at least he doesn’t believe it. Not all of us would, but we have the benefit of knowing Loki, and we are just observer. We should feel sorry for Kevin, as he doesn’t realise what Loki’s mind is wandering of to. We remember well, how much Loki desires a throne. Not that she didn’t mention it while talking about Odin.

‘The leprechaun showed me how to use this thing called internet. I’m impressed! I had known that it could be a useful weapon, yet I had no clue how much. It’s like an addiction, all those informations. Makes it a pushover to take over this kingdom! Ehehehehe. I read on, a plan is growing, I like how it sparkles. The discovery of the actual age, of the monarchs, makes it even better. Their son isn’t that much younger. To my satisfaction, there are two princes next in row, to follow the crown. Not the baddest idea to become a woman. Nothing is going to stop me!

‘Helloho! I’m talking to you, freak. Stop that creepy laughing and help me to cook dinner, would you?! If you want to share our home, you can do something for it. Maybe Kevin is alright with you behaving like the Queen of England, well I’ll tell you something, I ain’t!’ the warrior has her hands pressed to her hips and usually I wouldn’t give much about her complaining, but for the sake of learning from them, I follow her into the kitchen.’

Scene 9

Picturing Loki and Beatrix in the kitchen, we feel a little smile stealing onto our faces. The idea, of Loki doing the cooking, is hilarious. Beatrix commanding her, comes close to a catastrophe and is a test for Loki’s self-control.

Let’s get a bit closer and listen to their conversation, shall we?

‘Did you never cut a tomato?’ we hear Bea.

‘Not with a dull knife. If you would have let me use my dagger, I would have been faster!’ Loki mutters.

‘Yeah, as if this dirty piece, wherever you hide it, was made to cut vegetables with. I don’t like to imagine your family dinners,’ Bea folds her arms, waiting for Loki to get the veggies ready.

‘Sure, the are awkward. I have to approve, you are right. The dagger was made to cut into meat,’ Loki let the knife run through her fingers, staring at Bea in disgust.

‘Sorry to disappoint you missy, but one of our rules is: No meat for dinner, nor in this kitchen. I am vegan and no dead animals will cross our door!’ Bea turns around to light the gas of the stove.

‘Who said I was talking about animals?!’ Loki mutters to herself.

‘What?’ Bea turns around with a pan in her hand, pointing it at the other girl.

‘Nothing. I’m done with the vegetables, what’s next?’ Loki grins, swirling the knife again.

‘Would you please stop?!’ she points a finger at Lokis hand, ‘it’s a bit dangerous, don’t you think?’

‘What, the knife?’ she looks at it impenitently, ‘not really, unless I decide it should.’ Loki grins again. Annoying Bea, gives her satisfaction.

The girl, almost done with her nerves by now, tries to take away the sharp object from her reckless flatmate. Unfortunately, Loki is a lot taller and has enough strength back, to use her magic pockets. What makes the knife disappear every time Bea comes close.

‘What are you, David Copperfield for the poor? Hand me the bloody knife, or I swear I’ll…,’ she doesn’t come any further as Kevin enters the room, in the exact moment things almost escalated.

‘I see you start to get along a bit better?’ he smiles naively. We start to wonder how he will ever be a psychologist? Maybe he just picked the wrong job?

From Lokis face we capture a innocent, but satisfied look into Kevins direction, as Beatrix let go of her to roast the vegetables.

‘Veggies again, … what are you cooking love?’ Kevin steps closer to see what is in the pan.

‘Rice with tomato, carrots and peas,’ Bea lists the ingredients.

‘Delicious, can’t wait for it,’ he rolls his eyes behind her back, ‘I’ll cook something proper when she has her night out,’ he whispers into Lokis ear, while handing her a towel. For a second she stands there holding it, not sure what Kevin wants. Soon enough she figures, he wants to do the dishes while Bea is busy at the stove. We might make a guess, that Kevin is frightened of his friend, when she’s in such a mood. Or maybe we have to admit, that he is more cunning than anyone could tell.

‘The food that the warrior princess has cooked, isn’t as bad as I’d expected. Not that I would tell her. She’s a ghastly person. I’ll have to tolerate it, until I’ve found a way into Buckingham palace. For now I can have my fun with both of them. Nonetheless I’ll have to keep an eye on Kevin. He hasn’t shown all his cards yet, I can sense it. Plus I’m unsure if I can trust him.

Anyway, it’s exhausting with them.

Maybe it’s because I haven’t had enough rest, but I’m dead tired. All I want to do, is to lie down and think of a plan, to infiltrate the royal family. To my disappointment, we have to do the dishes — again! For the warrior has done the cooking. Not enough that she forced me to help her with it.

‘Are we done now? I’m tired,’ I tell the leprechaun after the last, clean fork.

‘Sure, but don’t you want to join us? We have our movie night. Could be a good chance to get to know each other better,’ he shows me those puppy eyes. Something in them beg me to join, I can’t help myself.

‘Fine. If it’s that important to you,’ I sigh.

Plans can wait until tomorrow, I guess. Let’s see what kind of pleasures a movie night might bring.

‘Yay! I’ll make popcorn and get everything ready. Do you want to take a shower in the meantime?’

That’s a good idea. It has been a long time since water has seen my body. A short sniff approves my misgiving. I smell.

The ginger almost pushes me into the bathroom, while explaining everything. He hands me fresh clothes and faster than I can soak in all informations, he has left. I’m alone in the middle of the tiny room. The only space, to place my wardrobe, is the toilet seat or optional, the ground. I have to make a sacrifice, fresh clothes onto the toilet, the stuff I’m wearing onto the ground. I can’t wait to feel the water refreshing me. The only thing that keeps me away from it, is the bloody bra! What kind of sadistic person has invented this fastener?

Probably one of the torturers from Hel.

The quiet ‘plop’ as it opens, couldn’t be more satisfying. I almost jump into the shower and turn the water on. A mistake as it turns out. The water is cooking. It burns my freed breasts.

Who the fuck takes a shower this hot?!

The water becomes a moderate temperature, as I soap myself with a strange smelling piece, I’ve found on the tray in the corner.

Afterwards my hair is nearly impossible to comb — should I have used those bottles instead? Probably would have thought about it, if I had not been that distracted by my new body.

Anyway, time to get dressed and see what kind of night lies ahead.

I stop after entering the living room, not sure what is expected of me.

The two mortals are sitting on a sofa, cuddling.

‘Ah, there you are. Come, sit! We have waited for you,’ Kevin says.

‘Like forever. What have you done in there?’ the warrior is still grumpy, but not as much as during dinner.

I take the offered seat, on the edge of the sofa, cause the leprechaun is looking at me in expectancy, ignoring the comment of the veggie queen.

‘Come a little closer, or do you want to fall over? Allow yourself some comfort,’ he hands me a bowl with ‘Popcorn’ as he calls it, and I’m surprised by it’s buttery, salty taste. I like it!

I almost start to get comfortable but the strange behaviour of my seat mate destroys that feeling. Why is he sniffing at me?

My gaze must have made him aware of his doing. He stops, turning red.

‘I’m sorry! It’s just… which bottle of shampoo did you use?’ he wants to know.

‘None of them. Didn’t trust their substances. I’m all for the old-fashioned way in showering! I took the soap.’

The burst out of laughter from the girl disturb me, ‘what have I done wrong?’

‘Oh well — that was Hina’s special soap, against rash. We try to avoid it, because of this strong smell of marigold -‘

‘Now you smell like a granny!’ Bea’s giggles interrupt Kevin.

‘- you must know, sometimes it makes your skin burn or become itchy, if you use it without the need to ease your rash,’ he adds.

‘Great! Thanks for the warning.’ I almost yell at him.

‘Calm down. Here, have a nice glass of wine and a blanked, you must be cold.’

I suppose he never heard of Frostgiants, anyway, I take the blanked and if it’s only to cover this ugly thing that doesn‘t deserve the name pyjamas. A big sip of wine, helps me over the fact that the warrior is still laughing. I swear by Odin, I’m going to cut her throat , in her sleep, if she doesn’t stop soon.

‘ ‘kay ladies, enough silliness for now. Let’s get to the movie. Are you ready?’ Kevin asks, while he presses a button on the remote control.

The movie starts while Kevin explains to me that it is called ‘Star Wars’. After a few minutes I lose interest in it. This species has no clue what is going on in the universe. Not to mention the horrible special effects and this stupid emperor in a mask, calling himself Vader … they should meet Thanos!

At some point I decide to enjoy the food and the wine to let my thoughts wander. To correct the movie was fun, until they got angry with me because of the steady interruptions.

All those delicious details I’ve learned today!

The grandson of the Queen, Edmund, has been in the newspapers a lot, for his excessive party live. Would be stupid if I didn’t use it to make my way into the palace. The only problem will be my lack of patience. Every detail has to be perfect, so this croutons won’t realise how I infiltrate them. Maybe I should have ‘sight-seeing’ around Buckingham Palace tomorrow… ?’

As always, I’m happy about constructive feedback. Tell me what you think about it, if you’ve read until the end. And I’m sorry for the pic,.. next time I’ll draw a better one 🙈 it’s not that easy to transform him,...

[survivorparr]

the sun and her moon, part 6/8 (all you wanna do)

aka, In Which we Journey North

Ex Wives/No Way | DLUH | Heart of Stone | Haus of Holbein| Get Down

.....

Aragon rubbed her hand vigorously up and down her right bicep to dull the sharp pain.

“What the heck, Kitty??”

“Punch buggy, no punch backs!”

Aragon let out a sharp gust of air as she flicked her eyes towards the ceiling of the van, then retrained them on the green hillside whizzing by outside the window.

Behind her, Anna and Parr were deeply engaged in an argument about whether John Dowland or Hans Gerle had been the better lutenist. The air was filled with a faint, sweet melody coming from Jane, humming in the driver’s seat.

And folded in upon herself in the back seat, eyes aimed at the window but certainly not paying attention to the scenery, was Anne. The events of last night danced in her mind’s eye:

“Are you alright, Cath?”

“Yes - no - I don’t know. Yes, I’m fine”.

“‘I don’t know’ isn’t yes. Tell me what you’re thinking”.

She had taken one of Cathy’s small, warm hands in hers. There was no sound except the pounding of her own heart. Then:

“I just... think I need a minute to think”.

“God Cath, I’m so sorry, I just assumed - in the bar - I thought there’d been a moment and I -“

Cath squeezed her hand hard. “There was. There was a moment. And... I want there to be more moments, a lot more. It’s just... I’ve never... been with a woman before”. Her eyes shone and she seemed to be wrestling with her own mind in order to get the words out. Anne suddenly felt the absence of Cath’s hand in hers as she retreated onto her bed.

“I’m so sorry, Anne. It’s just that you mean the world to me, and if I can’t manage to come to terms with... feeling this way about you, and something goes poorly, I just don’t know what I’d-”

“You don’t need to apologize for anything, okay? Promise. Go to sleep, I’ll see you in the morning”.

“Actually... could you stay a minute?”

Anne’s chest had tightened, but then she’d seen how small Catherine looked, how vulnerable. She’d crawled onto the bed and molded Cath into her empty spaces, running her fingers through her thick curls.

Thick curls that were now covering the back of a head sitting as far away from her as possible. Not a word was spoken between them all through breakfast, or all through the long drive to Leeds. Anne supposed perhaps Cathy was just nervous to be returning close to home for the first time since they’d come back, but she’d been chattering nervously to the other queens all morning (she and Anna were now debating the merits of the hurdy-gurdy as an instrument, for Christ’s sake). Anne turned up the volume of her headphones to drown it all out, hoping this would have some effect on the heaviness in her heart.

The whirring of the greenery and buildings outside came to a sudden slow, and then finally, a stop. Anne pulled out an earbud to get an idea of what was going on.

“...completely sure? It’s really no trouble, Parr, we can drive you out to York”.

“That’s alright, Jane, the train will be fine. If you lot come with me, I’ll just chicken out and turn us back around”.

“If you’re definitely sure, then. Good luck with your grandmother!”

Anne’s eyes widened. Grandmother... She suddenly remembered how last week, in the middle of French Film Friday, Cath had paused Amelie to ask whether Anne thought anyone else from past times might’ve been brought back to life. “We’d better hope not, otherwise, we might get run off the stage by a country band made up of Prince Albert’s five daughters,” she’d joked.

Stupid. She mentally slapped herself on the wrist. Some kind of friend you are.

Thoughts bubbled up in Anne’s mind more quickly than she could process them - I’ll go with her, I’ll apologize, I’ll—

By the time she was on her feet, Catherine’s blue sweater had disappeared into the crowd outside the train station.

...

Cath tightly gripped the crumpled sheet of lined yellow paper as she walked. She glanced again at the words printed in her own flowery scrawl: 456 Ravensworth St, York. They had not changed since the last time she’d looked (which had been about 54 seconds ago). She knew she had about a minute and a half to compose herself. God, why was she so nervous to meet a woman she’d never even known?

She supposed that was what made it so strange, though. Most girls didn’t get to come back from the dead and meet their long-lost grandmothers who had also supposedly come back from the dead. She felt her ribcage rise as she drew in cold air through her lips. Ravensworth Street. There was no turning back now.

She surveyed the houses on the right side of the street, attempting to estimate which one would be 456. Her eyes fell upon beautiful brick buildings, perfectly trimmed hedges, and-

“Anne???”

Cath rubbed her eyes with her fists, but when she stopped, Anne was still perched on the stone wall of a lawn about four houses down.

Without thinking, Cath broke out into a jog. She stopped in front of the tall iron gate.

“What the hell are you doing here? I said I was fine on my own”.

“I know you are. You’ve always been fine without anyone”.

The words stung, and Cath shifted her weight uncomfortably.

“How did you even beat me here?”

Anne shrugged nonchalantly. “Trains are slow, Cleves drives fast”.

Cath’s jaw dropped a little. Jane never let Cleves drive - the queens had decided she was a hazard to public safety.

“Look, you say the word and I’ll go back to the hotel, I promise. I just thought... I came here because... I know that this is a big deal for you, and I know you don’t need me, but I wanted you to know that you don’t have to do this alone if you don’t want to”.

Anne looked at Cath’s face for any hint of what she might be thinking, but found she could not read the intense gaze, furrowed brow, or parted lips.

“You know what, I’m sorry. Clearly this is personal for you, and I’ll go”.

Anne gathered her bulky messenger bag under her arm and pulled herself up off the wall.

“Wait. Anne”.

She waited for Cath to say more, but Cath simply held out a slender hand. A wave of relief washed over Anne. She took Cath’s hand, and pulled open the gate with her other.

...

“A frog? Truly, Grandmother?”

“I swear it on my life! Oh, the whole castle could hear Uncle Richard hollering. Then, he ran about the halls in just his nightclothes! Lady Anne and I were absolutely beside ourselves”.

“That’s absolutely brilliant, Lady Fitzhugh! I might have to try it out myself on a certain Spanish queen”. Anne waggled her eyebrows mischievously at Cath, who exaggerated an eye roll and then chuckled and smiled brightly.

“Please, dear, Elizabeth is just fine. Any friend of my granddaughter’s is a friend of mine”.

Anne grinned, and she realized she felt lighter than she had in a while. Her own grandmothers had been distant, much too busy conniving and calculating to pay her much mind.

“We appear to be out of tea cakes”.

“Appearances aren’t everything, darling. In the kitchen, cooling on the bottom rack of the oven”.

Cath rose from her seat and disappeared from the room in search of the pastries.

Anne struggled ungracefully with the too-large bite of ham sandwich in her mouth. When she had finally swallowed it, she turned to Lady Fitzhugh.

“Thank you again for allowing me to stay for lunch. I know you were only expecting one guest, and we didn’t mean to put you out. Or rather I didn’t mean to, Cathy had nothing to do with it, honest. Anyways, I really appreciate it”.

“Oh hush, it was no trouble at all. Do you know how often an old bag of bones like myself receives visitors? You’ve been nothing but a pleasure, dear. Besides, anyone who loves Catherine the way you do is welcome in my home any time”.

“Oh, I don’t - err - I mean, she’s not, uh, we’re not-”

“I know exactly what you are. You are her sun, and she is your moon. The Catherine that I watched over and protected from the beyond was wise and kind, but so tentative and full of doubt. But now, with you, she has an ease I’ve never seen in her. She seems... strong, and sure. Now, I can’t speak to who you might have been, but I can see the way you look at her. Like all your life, you’ve been running at breakneck speed, and you’ve finally found a place you can rest”.

For once, Anne had no words.

“I know my granddaughter. You may make her more spontaneous, but she still overthinks everything. She always comes around in the end, though. Until she does, you just keep standing by her, and she’ll stand by you. None of the rest of it matters in the end, you’ll see”.

Lady Fitzhugh smiled reassuringly. Anne suddenly felt warm, her clothing too bulky. Pulling at her sweater, she whispered, “Thank you”.

“Found them! Grandmother, do you have the recipe for these?”

“I do! Remind me and I’ll write it out for you before you leave”.

“Thank you! What were you two talking about then?”

“Nothing, dear”. Lady Fitzhugh winked at Anne. “Just the moon”.

...

“Alright, so we’ve seen the river where you and your sister used to skip rocks, the tree where you broke your arm climbing with your brother, and the tower where you studied French. Next up on the Cath’s Classics tour is...? Where are we, then?”

A ribbon of crystal blue water lazily burbled beneath the warped wood under their feet. Sunlight fell golden on dappled leaves that hid the two of them from the outside world.

“This is where I used to sit and write. It was my favorite spot - the only place that was just mine”.

Cath‘s legs felt heavy as they dangled from the edge of the bridge. Anne looked around and then lowered herself awkwardly down next to where Cath sat.

“Until now”.

“Mmm. Until now”.

The two of them sat there in silence. Catherine looked at their images reflected in the water, edges blurred, bending and blending together.

“Why did you come today, Anne?”

“I told you. I thought you might’ve been nervous, and-”

“I mean, why do you keep coming back for me? I’m always messing up, pulling away, doing the stupidest things. All the queens know it, I can tell. It’s like I’m broken or something, and I just... don’t know how to be happy. You’re not like that. You’re... magnetic, and people like you, and you’re... good, just way too good for me. So why did you come?”

Cath was finally able to bring herself to look at Anne’s face. When she did, she was confused by the deep frown and hurt eyes she found. She thought she’d said nice things...

“Is that what you think, Cath? That you’re too broken for me? I’m the broken one. God, I’m so scared of being abandoned that I cling too much, or I self-sabotage when someone gets close. I am constantly trying too damn hard to be the thing that everybody wants while simultaneously keeping them all at arm’s length. Except for when I’m with you”. She reached out her hand and swept her thumb across Cath’s cheekbone. “Being with you feels like getting home and putting on sweatpants after a two show day”.

Cath furrowed her brow in confusion.

“Err - what I mean is, when I’m with you, I don’t have to try so hard. It just feels comfortable. I think you might be the only one who knows who I am. Look, I know that these feelings are confusing for you, and that they go against everything you’ve ever believed. But you can have all the time in the world to figure it all out, because I’m not going anywhere”.

The space between their bodies diminished, and Anne kissed Cath’s forehead gently.

“All I want to do is be with you”.

.....

A/N: I LOVE YOU ALL I’m sorry this update took SO long, this summer has been a certified Mess. But here she ism and she’s long to make up for it - I hope you enjoyed! One part and an epilogue left - almost time to wrap this motha up!

Tags (copied from the last update in case you still wanted!):  @mimymomo  @supernova-nightmare@allthequeensdeservedmore@demidoubter @alexs-galaxies @sweet-sappphic @sarahzarahh @musical93 @six-aimie @imborrrrrrrr 

[thewritewolf]

Nino’s Quest Chapter 9: At the Gates

The party finds the lair of the Necromancer and struggle to find a way in. Their righteous quest quickly devolves into a cuddly sleepover.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 (Final)

Enjoy!

Read on Ao3. My ko-fi.

The wind was howling as Nino and Alya approached the bakery. Winter was well and truly here, but that wasn’t too surprising. It was the last week of November, after all. Nino looked up at the grey skies and frowned as a few stray snowflakes danced to the ground. They had gotten lucky so far with very little snow, but something in his gut was telling him that wasn’t going to last much longer. Just in case, Nino had brought a change of clothes. Who knows if they were going to get snowed in? Especially given how long this session was going to last.

It wasn’t every day they marched into the halls of the Necromancer, after all.

For now, though, they marched into the bakery.

“So… how’d it work out yesterday? I didn’t see much of them after we let ‘em out,” Nino whispered to Alya as they waved at the Dupain-Cheng parents.

She poked her head into the living room and turned to look at him with a wide grin. “See for yourself, babe.”

The two of them were sitting on the couch playing Ultimate Mecha Strike. Despite the fact that the entire couch was open to them, Marinette was practically sitting in Adrien’s lap. His arms were wrapped around her and his chin rested on her head. For a few solid moments Nino was left stunned at the threshold of the room, staring in awe. At least until Alya jabbed him in the back with her elbow.

His startled yelp caught Adrien’s attention. A bright smile lit up his face. “Awesome timing, guys! We were just about to decide who was the absolute master of Mecha Strike.”

“It was me,” came Marinette’s reply as the victory screen played.

“As if there was any doubt,” Adrien murmured. Closing his eyes, he nuzzled his nose into the crown of her head.

“Hey! That tickles.”

“Too bad.”

“Well,” Alya cut in, “if you two are done being sickeningly cute, we’ve got a Necromancer to stop. In case you forgot?”

“I know, I know. Fighting evil, saving lives - the usual.” Adrien didn’t open his eyes or loosen his hold on Marinette, but Nino could see the knowing smirk on his face.

“Speaking of the usual…” Marinette said as she extracted herself from Adrien. “How does croissants for everyone sound?”

Alya followed after Marinette, leaving Nino to start getting set up. It wasn’t hard to miss the dopey smile that his best bud wore, or how he was almost melted into the couch. Even though that had been the plan all along, Nino was still surprised it actually worked.

“So… you and M, huh?”

“Mhm…” The smile grew wider.

“Dude, you’ve got it bad. I’m just glad you guys finally figured it all out.”

“Yeah…”

“Mind telling me what happened?”

Adrien shrugged. “We just needed to talk things through. That’s all.”

“Sure, dude.” Nino softly punched Adrien on the arm. “Just took a locked door and a bunch of time to make you do that.”

A blush spread across Adrien’s face. “We got there eventually..”

As much as Nino wanted to pry or tease a little more, he was just glad to see his friend so happy. Those two definitely deserved each other.

Just as he finished setting up, the girls returned with a plate of fresh croissants. The perfect food for planning an invasion.

“Alright, my dudes. You’ve discovered the great entrance to the ruined dwarven city. The gates are big and strong. You can hear something moving, can catch glimpses of something marching back there. But whatever it is, it’s not alive.” Nino tugged on his cap. “Well, uh, not in the usual sense, anyway.”

“We can probably take them,” Alya said as she cracked her knuckles. “We’ve trounced worse baddies.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Skeletons gave us a lot of problems back in the mines.” Marinette was tapping a finger to her cheek.

“I know that look, Mari.” Adrien grinned. “What are you thinking?”

“Well, what if we don’t use the main entrance? If it really is a city under there, then there’s no way the Necromancer can have the entire place guarded.”

Alya crossed her arms. “That sounds great and all, M, but do we know of any other entrances?”

“I don’t know.” Marinette locked eyes with Adrien. “Do we?”

Adrien seemed to catch on quickly and scrambled through his notes. “Oh! There’s got to be some legends or stories about this place, right?”

“Hm…” Nino made a quick roll and nodded. “Yeah, you’ve heard a few tales. And between the four of you and all those years of neglect, you could prolly find it. But what are you gonna do once you’re there?”

“That’s where I come in,” Marinette wore a serious expression, her eyes distant as she imagined their mission. “With my super high stealth, I can steer us clear of patrols. And if I find a good place to stash the rest of you, I could even do some scouting on my own.”

Alya narrowed her eyes and cupped her chin. “If we pull this off, then we might just avoid the Necromancer’s entire army…”

“...AND we’ll have the element of surprise.” A vicious grin split Marinette’s face. “He won’t have a clue that we’re coming.”

“Right, okay.” Nino took a deep breath. This… wasn’t exactly what he expected them to do, but being DM meant being able to improvise. Nino rolled a perception check for the four of them, more for show than anything. They’d have to roll pretty high to spot a secret passage. “After a few hours of following your half-remembered story, you don’t find anything. Do you want to keep looking?”

They all nodded resolutely.

“Right.” Nino rolled another round of perception checks. Nothing. “More hours pass. The sun is starting to set. Do you still want to keep looking?

Alya was looking a bit less certain, but Marinette remained confident and that was enough for Adrien. With majority in favor, they kept searching.

“So the moon is out now. It’s full and half of us are some kinda elf, so we could keep searching, but-”

“We keep going.”

“M, what if we can’t find anything? Maybe we should make camp, figure out a new plan.”

“Alya, trust me. I’ve got this.”

“But M-”

“If this plan doesn’t work, then we just aren’t equipped to open the gates and fight the baddies. We’d have to go back anyway. Besides - I’ve got a good feeling about this.”

Alya sighed. “Alright… We stay at it.”

Nodding, Nino rolled a perception check for them. His character failed, as did Alya and Marinette’s. All that was left was Adrien’s character.

Who, naturally, rolled a twenty. His first of the entire campaign. Shocked, it took a minute for Nino to recover. “So, um… With the moonlight coming down, Adrien spots some glowing runes on a rock. He plays the song that he has been following and sure enough, the stone totally vanishes, revealing a stairwell that leads deep underground.”

“Sweet.” Alya says as they all tear into celebratory croissants. “What do we see down there, babe?”

“You’re walking for a while, but eventually the tunnel opens up into a dusty, abandoned quarter of the city. You pass through long abandoned checkpoints and guard posts. When you step into the main cavern, you realize why the city went quiet.” Nino paused to down his pop, leaving the party enraptured. “The ceiling had collapsed, tons of mountain stone crushing the city. Even now, a massive ramp of rock squats in the middle of the city.”

Adrien, his hands folded in front of his face, narrowed his eyes. He spoke in his bard’s voice. “Who knows what lies beneath?”

“Soon enough, the Necromancer.” At their confused looks, Nino added, “Even though you feel death all around you, the air is filled with the sounds of picks hitting stone… And the rattle of bones.”

“Is there somewhere nearby that I can hide these guys?” Marinette jerked a thumb towards the other two.

“Sure. There are plenty of abandoned buildings around here. Most of ‘em prolly won’t collapse ontop of them.”

“Yeah, well, thankfully I have all that training in engineering, remember? I pick the most structurally sound one and try to sneak over to the cave in.”

“Oh, dang. Forgot about that.” Nino cleared his throat. “With the other dudes safely tucked away, you can sneak over to the landslide. Roll for stealth.”

“What am I hiding from?” She asked as she searched for her d20.

“Human zombies in rusty metal armor.”

“Huh. Rusty because of being really old or because zombies don’t take gear of their stuff?”

Nino thought about it for a moment. “The second one.” He glanced at the die roll. “Okay, that’ll be good enough. You get a clear view of the rocks and, well… there are tons of short, stocky skeletons in tattered rags. Probably dwarven, most of them are only armed with picks, but there are a few dozen of ‘em crawling over it. As you watch, one tumbles off and shatters as it falls down the cliff… and right into a huge hole. Whatever they’re digging for, you get the feeling they’re close.”

Marinette tapped at her chin. “Alright, I get a good look around to see if I can guess where the Necromancer might be.”

“There’s a battered but sturdy guard tower that sometimes flashes a sickly green light. Other than that, its shambling undead everywhere.”

“Can I get there easily?”

“Uhh… maybe. There are guards out front, but the tower is kinda out of the way, away from the throng of undead.”

Adrien make a confused face. “Why would he set up there…?”

“Not a lot of intact buildings, I bet.” Marinette nodded. “And he wants some quiet too. Maybe we can use that in our favor?”

The session devolved into making plots and figuring out how best to ambush the dark wizard. They were so engaged in their conversation that they didn’t notice Sabine’s arrival until she put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders.

“Gah!” Marinette started and tilted her head straight up. “Oh, hi maman. What’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you kids know that Tom and I are going to bed. The snow is coming down pretty hard now, so we’d rather you all stay the night.”

While Marinette tried to gently brush off her mom’s hands as they messed with her hair, Nino got up to look out the window. Sure enough, a layer of snow blanketed Paris with no signs of stopping. The darkening skies also reminded him of how early he’d had to wake up the last couple days.

Fighting down a yawn, he turned back towards his party. “What do you say we call it here and pick it up in the morning? Maybe we can watch a movie or something.”

Marinette tilted her head up to look at her mother. “Can my friends spend the night in my room? Then we can be out of the way when you guys wake up in the morning.”

Sabine seemed to consider this for a few moments before replying, “Of course dear, but remember our talk…”

A fierce blush spread across Marinette’s face. “Maman!”

“I’m just saying!” Laughing, Sabine left the room.

An awkward silence stretched before Adrien naively asked, “What talk?”

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

After a few movies, they were exhausted. Nino was looking down from Marinette’s bed at the unfolding drama of who would get the chaise.

“Adrien please - I’m fine sleeping on the floor. I’ve got plenty of pillows and blankets. It isn’t that bad.”

“If it isn’t that bad then I can be on the floor. You already gave up your bed to Alya and Nino. At least take the chaise.”

“I’m the host!” She hissed in irritation. “I have to make sure all my guests are comfortable!”

“And I will only be comfortable once I know you’re sleeping on something nice and soft!”

In a huff, Marinette threw her pillows and blankets on the floor of her room. For a hot second Nino was worried that she was about to jump him, but no, she was just angrily building a nest on the floor. Adrien gaped at her for a moment before dropping his stuff on the ground and doing the same.

“I mean it, hot stuff,” Marinette growled through a faint blush. “I’m sleeping on the floor no matter what you do. You may as well just take the chaise.”

Adrien took a deep breath as if winding up for a long spiel. “No.”

Both of them stubbornly get into their blanket nests and glared at each other, but from his spot from above, Nino could see them slowly inching together. He shook his head and ducked under the covers, where Alya had already tucked herself in. Her eyes were closed as she nuzzled against the pillows.

As he was taking off his glasses, she mumbled, “The babies still being ridiculous?”

“You know it.”

“Good. Can’t have everything change all at once.”

“Right as usual, babe.” Nino leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Night.”

A serene smile graced her face as she whispered back, “Night.”

[serenlyss]

Don’t Thank Me Yet Chapter 9

Rating: M (canon typical violence, referenced neglect/abuse, murder, guns, trauma/ptsd, blood) Relationships: ritshou, ritsu&shigeo, shou&reigen Summary: “Alright then. I’m Shou,” he says, introducing himself more properly this time. “I’m an esper, like you, the first in existence to be forcibly awoken by Claw’s crazy torture machines. They kidnap kids with potential latent psychic powers and break them, over and over, until either their powers emerge or they die. It doesn’t matter either way to them.” His expression hardens as he speaks, clear distaste and outright malice evident in his tone. “I could really use your help here, you know. A partner of sorts, someone to watch my back. What do you say?“ Ritsu hesitates. He isn’t a fighter by any means, and the psychic powers now churning beneath his skin are still very new and frightening. It’s all very overwhelming, but Ritsu can’t help but feel a sort of sickening hope at Shou’s promise for revenge. It did have a sort of dark draw to it. In which Claw is a lot worse than they seem and Shigeo isn’t able to find his brother after he’s kidnapped. Crossposted to AO3: Chapter 9

Chapter 8 // Chapter 10

Listen... I knew I said this would be the last chapter, but I lied. Halfway through writing the ending, I decided to split this resolution/epilogue chapters into two different chapters, once from Shou's pov, and one from Ritsu's. As such the TRUE last chapter will be next Wednesday, provided nothing comes up that prevents me from finishing it! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

---

Shou falls asleep on the drive home.

It’s been, to put it lightly, a long day. He’s covered head to toe in bruises and cuts and he’s a little concerned that he might have a minor concussion from being thrown around so much, though his headache does subside just a bit as the night wears on. He doesn’t even mean to fall asleep, but his head ends up wilting against the window of the taxi they take back to the house and he’s out so quickly that he doesn’t remember the driver pulling away from the curb.

Searching for his father had been a quick, quiet affair. Once they’d dug him out from underneath the huge, inexplicable broccoli in the center of downtown, they’d immediately handed him over to the government to have him contained. To Shou’s surprise and suspicion, he hadn’t resisted his arrest at all, perfectly content to let the government’s espers ship him off to whatever lab they planned on trapping him in. Part of Shou feels vindicated that his father will finally get a taste of what had happened to him growing up, but another, smaller part of him grieves. The moment he feels it start to surface, he stomps it to death, unwilling to let even the slightest bit of pity or regret bring him down.

They’d hardly exchanged words as Shou had handed his father over, except to tell Touichirou that he’d never see the light of day again after everything he’d done. In the end, in fact, Shou had found he’d only had one question for his father before they’d loaded him into the back of the police car. “Was it worth it?” he’d asked, but Touichirou had refused to answer, and so he’d watched quietly as an agent named Joseph loaded his father into the back of a police cruiser and took him away without another word.

Fukuda shakes him awake as they’re pulling into the driveway of the house, and he’s roused slowly from his dreamless sleep. He blinks a few times, reaching up to scrub the sleep from his eyes with the heel of his hand. “Are we back already?” he asks around a yawn.

“Yeah, it looks like the others made it back okay,” Fukuda replies, waving a hand to the familiar car parked on the curb across from the front door.

Shou lets out a breath and nods. “That’s good,” he murmurs, reaching over to push open the car door with one hand and clamber out of the back seat. “I think I just need a night. That should be long enough, and then we can go tie up all our loose threads.” He stretches his arms over his head briefly and winces as his various cuts and scrapes rub against his clothes and sting in protest to his movements.

Fukuda gives him a small, grim nod, and then moves to pay the taxi driver so the four of them can head back into the house. If everything had gone well, Ritsu would be waiting alongside Shigeo and his other two friends. Shou hasn’t bothered to learn their names just yet, but he will. Eventually. Once all of this is finally over for good.

What will I do once I’ve finished everything I need to? Shou wonders to himself as he cracks open the house’s door. He hasn’t thought that far ahead.

Muted voices reach his ears as he shuffles inside behind Fukuda and sheds his shoes and shredded jacket. As he rounds the corner, he sees Ritsu and Shigeo on the ground in the living room with the group’s two newcomers, their box of first aid supplies scattered around the room haphazardly. Shigeo’s proclaimed master is kneeling on the ground in front of a weary-looking Shigeo, cleaning away the blood from his arm. Ritsu has bandages wrapped around his head and hands, which have been stripped of his dark gloves to get at the injuries underneath, and he’s talking quietly with the blond boy from earlier. Hanazawa, if his earlier conversations are to be remembered correctly, but he can’t remember the boy’s first name.

Ritsu turns to look at Shou as he rounds the corner, dark eyes meeting Shou’s own blue ones from across the room. “How’d it go?” he asks immediately, standing up from his spot beside Hanazawa and nearly clambering over his brother in his rush to meet them.

Shou casts a glance at his six spectators, three of whom already know and three of whom are gloriously in the dark, still, and decides he’d really rather not have this conversation in front of them. “Did you fill them in?” he asks, choosing to answer Ritsu’s question with one of his own.

Ritsu frowns, concern tinting the edges of his expression, and he nods. “More or less. They know about your father, in any case,” he replies quietly.

Shou casts another glance into the living room. Shigeo pointedly averts his gaze, looking down at his bandaged arm, but his master and Hanazawa are watching him expectantly. He takes a breath before he lets himself become overwhelmed, then gives a firm nod. “I’ll fill in the blanks later,” he decides, reaching up with a hand to push his hair away from his face. He looks down at the ground for a moment, then adds, “First, I need to get cleaned up, and… the two of us need to talk.”

Ritsu casts a glance over his shoulder at his friends, bites his lip, and then nods in acceptance. “Sure, of course. You go ahead, wait for me in your room. I’ll get the stuff,” he assures, and even manages a smile for Shou’s sake, the corners of his mouth twitching despite his obviously worn-out state of mind.

“Thank you,” Shou murmurs, and puts all the meaning he can muster into it in his half-asleep state. He turns and heads down the hall, ducking into his bedroom and pushing his door closed behind him as quietly as he can.

For a moment, he just leans against his door, fighting the headache that blooms behind his forehead where he’d been struck and trying to calm his racing heart a little. Calm down, think things through, he reminds himself in an attempt to stave off the anxiety attack he’s found himself in the middle of. His palms itch, and he resists the urge to pick at them with his nails as he walks over to his bed and sinks onto the edge of it.

He’s known for a long time that this conversation with Ritsu is one that they’ll need to have, that the subject of what comes next has likely been on both of their minds for a while now, but it doesn’t stop his stomach from twisting at the thought of actually talking it out. His hands feel clammy, clasped in his lap, his fingers sticking to his palms as he folds them into fists and opens them again. What comes next? He can’t think of a single thing he wants to do, his brain too fuzzy to find the answer.

Ritsu cracks open his bedroom door after a few minutes, slipping quietly inside. Tucked under his arm is a variety of first aid supplies he’d snagged from the mess on the floor, and it’s then that Shou remembers once more the sorry state he’s in. “Hey,” Ritsu says, pulling up the lone chair in the room so he can sit across from him.

“Hey,” Shou replies, mustering up a faint smile in response to Ritsu’s clipped greeting. “Looks like everything went well on your end.”

Ritsu nods, already reaching for one of Shou’s hands. They’ve gone through this routine so many times in the last few months that it’s become almost therapeutic for Shou to let Ritsu patch him up after a fight, and his head clears some at the familiar contact. “Yeah, it wasn’t too bad. Teru was able to find Shigeo pretty easily, and Reigen wasn’t a total pain to be around.”

Shou nods, mentally filing those names away for later. How long does it take for a normal, well-adjusted person to learn someone’s name, he wonders? Then again, very little about this situation makes any of them seem like normal people. “I’m glad,” he replies simply. “Things didn’t really go the way we planned, but I guess everything worked out in the end.”

Ritsu nods his head, dabbing away a trail of blood that runs down Shou’s arm from a cut on his bicep. “So then, your father…?” he starts, glancing up at Shou questioningly.

“Gone,” Shou confirms. “We handed him over to the government. I don’t know what your brother did to him, but he didn’t even struggle. They’re not gonna let him out of there until he dies.”

Ritsu nods once more, pressing his lips together. “I’d wondered if you might try to kill him yourself,” he admits, “but I’m glad you didn’t.”

Shou sniffs, reaching up an arm to wipe at his nose. His throat feels tight. “I wanted to,” he mumbles, glancing away, “but when it came down to it, I couldn’t bring myself to follow through.” He’d had the opportunity right in front of him. His father, nearly too weak to stand, half-buried in broccoli roots where no one would be there to interrupt him. It would have been easy, the easiest murder Shou’s ever committed, but the traitorous part of him that remembers the father who had wanted him had held him back in that crucial moment.

“Shou,” Ritsu speaks, his bandaged fingers reaching up to brush against Shou’s jawline, to turn his gaze upward from where he stares incessantly down at his hands. “You did the right thing,” he says firmly when Shou meets his gaze, his thumb trailing over the skin of Shou’s cheek in a way that is decidedly tender.

The motion makes Shou’s heart stutter in his chest, his breathing hitching noticeably, and he hastily reaches his hand up to smear away the tears that pool in his eyes before they can fall. “Yeah,” he agrees shakily, leaning his head into Ritsu’s touch and letting his eyes fall shut for a few long seconds.

Eventually, Ritsu removes his hand and goes back to cleaning up Shou’s wounds. The ones on his head are the messiest, blood from his gashes dripping down his face and drying in his hair. He’ll have to shower later in order to get all of it out, but for now he settles for mostly clean and makes a mental note to shower once everything’s calmed down a bit more. Ritsu is as quick and gentle as he always is, and he fills Shou in on what he’d missed while he works. It turns out to not be much, in the end; they’d gone straight back to the house after digging up Shigeo and had spent their time waiting for Shou to return cleaning themselves up and swapping out their ruined clothes for ones borrowed from Ritsu’s closet—all except for Reigen, who’s far too large to fit into any of Ritsu’s own clothes. Instead, he’d swiped something from Higashio to loan to Reigen until he could get some of his own things from his apartment later on.

Once Shou’s wounds are cleaned and covered to the best of Ritsu’s abilities, and Shou has changed out of his ruined clothes and into something clean and comfortable, Ritsu asks, “So, what happens now?”

Shou pulls on the clean shirt, wincing as his sore arms ache in response to the movement. “Well, the hard part is over, so now all that’s left is damage control,” Shou replies. He pauses, hesitant. This is the part of the plan he hasn’t told Ritsu yet, the ‘after’ that he’s pretty sure Ritsu isn’t going to like very much. He sits back down on the bed and meets Ritsu’s gaze across from him. They’re sitting close enough together that their knees brush, Ritsu’s socked foot taking up the space between Shou’s bare ones. “Now that my old man is behind bars, things won’t be so intense anymore, but there’s still stuff I have to do to make sure Claw doesn’t just band back together under a new leader, someone like Shimazaki,” he explains, shifting slightly under Ritsu’s stare.

“Stuff you have to do?” Ritsu echoes, cautious, and the way he stiffens in his seat tells Shou that he’s caught on somewhat to his plan already.

Shou bites his lip and glances away. “Ritsu, I have to go away for a while,” he says, finally. “Like, off the radar, even more than I am right now. I’m going to cooperate with the government to track down the rest of Claw’s upper echelon, but since I’m the son of the leader of Claw…” he trails off, letting out a frustrated breath. This is harder to talk about than he’d anticipated. “They might try to get me to lead them instead,” he says at last, the words heavy and bitter on his tongue. “So, I’m going to hide out for a while, play double agent, wrangle up the stragglers, and then I can finally put this whole mess behind me.”

Ritsu’s mouth falls open, but no words come out. He’s speechless, expression shifting from bafflement to confusion and then to anger, the betrayed form of anger that Shou’s been on the receiving end of before. “Then I’ll go with you,” he insists, a hint of desperation creeping into his voice as he speaks. “We started this mess, so let me help you finish it.”

Shou shakes his head. “I’m the one who started this whole thing, remember?” he points out. “I’ve been at this a hell of a lot longer than you have, but that’s not why you can’t come with me.” He lets out a soft sigh, reaching out to take Ritsu’s hands in his and letting them rest atop their legs between them. “Originally, I was going to bring you with me, until we were both free to go, but you can’t stay hidden forever. Your parents will be coming back to Japan soon, and something tells me your brother isn’t going to be so eager to let you go again. It’s time for you to go home.” He looks down at their joined hands, and gives them a reassuring squeeze. “It won’t be for long. A few weeks, maybe a month at most, and then I’ll be able to… do whatever it is normal thirteen-year-olds do.” He glances up and meets Ritsu’s gaze once more, fervent and pleading. “Will you wait for me?”

Ritsu hesitates, his face screwing up in the way that Shou recognizes to mean he’s thinking it over. Shou lets him; it’s kind of a big ask after everything they’ve gone through together, but Shou really can’t come up with a good enough reason to pull Ritsu away from his family any longer. After a minute of deliberation, Ritsu lets out a breath and shifts his grip on Shou’s hands so he can lace their fingers together. “Okay,” he relents, voice soft and defeated. “It’s… going to be weird, going back to a kinda normal life. Don’t leave me on my own for too long, alright?”

“You make it sound like I’m leaving you to fend for yourself,” Shou chuckles. “Ritsu, you’re going to be fine. You have friends and family all around you, you don’t need me to pick you back up anymore.”

Ritsu snorts, contemptuous. “Maybe not, but I still like having you around,” he insists. After a moment, he untangles one of his hands from Shou’s and reaches up to pull him forward by the back of his neck, leaning forward until he can press their foreheads together. “Just be quick, okay?”

Shou’s brain turns to static and god, he doesn’t want to think right now about how easy it is for Ritsu to dissolve him into a stuttering mess. “Quick as I can,” he promises, swallowing back a nervous laugh and fighting a stupidly large smile. There’s a million more things he wants to say to Ritsu in this moment, but he files them away for later. There will be plenty of time to spill his guts once Claw is really, truly, completely out of the picture. For now, he tucks those revelations close to his heart, where he can use them as an incentive to finish things up as fast as possible.

“Good,” Ritsu says, pulling away just far enough to give him a tiny smile. Shou can tell he’s not exactly pleased with this arrangement, but he seems to have at least accepted it. “Now go shower, you smell like death.”

Shou snorts out a laugh and pushes himself up from his spot on the bed, nodding his head. “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say,” he replies, snagging his towel from the hook hanging on the inside of his door and heading for the bathroom. The shower is empty, thankfully, so he swiftly ducks inside and locks the door behind him before anyone can tell him to wait.

The hot water steams up the bathroom walls quickly, and Shou welcomes it, the heat of it soothing his sore muscles as he steps under the spray and lets it wash away the blood that Ritsu had missed or been unable to reach. It stings his wounds, particularly the one on his head, but he grits his teeth and bears it long enough to get cleaned up. Scrubbing the sweat and dirt of the day from his body gives him something to do with his hands, and he washes his hair twice before he’s certain he’s gotten all the concrete dust and blood out of it.

As he showers, his thoughts wander back to the question on his mind, the one that’s quickly proving itself to be the question of the hour: What would he do once he’s finally rid himself of Claw for good?

Maybe I’ll reach out, try to find out where Mom ended up, he thinks to himself. He hasn’t heard from his mother since she left him behind all those years ago; at one time, she’d worked to change her husband’s mind, to remind him that power isn’t the end all and be all of the world, but she’d given up after Shou’s sixth birthday when he’d still refused to see how his ambition was hurting his family. As much as Shou thinks about her decision, he can’t find it in himself to blame her. She’d done what she could and, ultimately, had made the decision to save herself rather than sitting around waiting for Touichirou to come around again. She’d tried to take Shou with her, of course, but he’d refused, still too young and naive and blindly trusting to see what his father had become. Maybe it’s time to reconnect.

Still, the thought makes his stomach knot up in nervousness, because it’s been seven years since he’s seen her and he isn’t sure what he would even say to her if he saw her now. Even if she is his mother, he can’t imagine telling her about everything he’s gone through. They’re too estranged for that.

Then, there’s other things to consider, too, like where he’s going to live after this, if he’s going to try school again for a change, or if he’ll just continue to hide out and sneak around until he figures everything out. He’d anticipated having more time to plan, but, well, he’s starting to see that things rarely go as planned.

Shou turns off the water and dresses in a clean pair of clothes, feeling substantially better now that he’s dirt-free and doesn’t smell like blood anymore. He’s drying his hair with a hand towel as he steps out of the bathroom and heads into the kitchen, following the sound of voices. He’s expecting to find everyone out here, catching up on everything that had happened and figuring out what to do next, but instead he finds the room mostly empty except for Reigen and Teru, who are sitting on the couch and pouring over something on Reigen’s phone.

“Ah, hey,” Teru greets, glancing up to see who’s approached them. “If you’re looking for Ritsu, he’s in his room with his brother.”

Shou pauses, hovering awkwardly on the line between the kitchen and the living room and meeting Teru’s gaze across the room. “Oh, yeah, that makes sense,” he replies, unsure of how to approach them. This goes especially for Reigen, who had actively put his life on the line trying to protect him at the top of the cultural tower despite not even knowing Shou’s name. “Uh, I wasn’t looking for anyone in particular, I just heard you talking,” he adds, and immediately wishes he’d said something else, because that makes it sound like he’d been actively eavesdropping on them.

If they notice, neither of them speak up about it, but Reigen does offer him a little smile, friendly, almost inviting. “We were just looking at the news to see what they’re saying,” he explains, waving Shou over. “Come join us, you probably want to know, right?”

Reigen is right, he does want to know, so he drapes his towel around his neck and sits in the armchair across from Reigen and Teru. “What’s the news saying?” he asks, running his fingers absent-mindedly through his uncombed, damp hair. He can’t decide if he should be polite or aloof around Ritsu’s old friends, but polite’s never been his style, so he settles for something resembling calm half-interest, slinging one arm over the back of his chair and crossing his ankles casually in front of him.

“Not much,” Reigen admits. “They’ve grounded all the helicopters until they figure out what was interfering with the electronic signals around the tower, so there isn’t a whole lot of video out yet. Plus, no one really wants to be the first to walk up to that giant tree in the middle of the city.” He shakes his head, turning to pass his phone to Shou.

Shou takes it, skimming the opened article. It’s mostly speculation, statements from police officers about what might have gone down, even though no one had been close enough to really know. The article does mention Touichirou briefly, but he skips that part, too. He’s had enough of his father for one night. “Hmph, they’ll never figure out what actually happened,” he sighs, handing the phone back over to Reigen.

“You sound like you know exactly what happened,” Teru retorts, raising a brow at him inquisitively.

Shou leans back in his seat, blowing a stray strand of bright red hair out of his forehead. “Not entirely, but I can infer the gist of what happened, I think,” he replies. “I mean, you must have sensed it too, right? That broccoli tree was positively radiating Shigeo’s aura. My old man’s aura was there, too, at least a little, but it was mostly Shigeo. He did something to all my dad’s extra energy, diverted it someplace it could be used up without exploding. I guess the broccoli was his solution.”

“Of course I sensed it,” Reigen says without missing a beat, but it’s fairly easy to tell just based on what he’s seen from the older man already that he doesn’t have a sliver of psychic power to sense anything with. “Still, a broccoli? I mean, I gave Mob some broccoli seeds after one of our recent jobs, but that was a long time ago… that can’t be right, can it?” He exchanges a glance with Teru, who just shrugs in response.

“In theory, I think it would work,” Teru says carefully, “but the amount of power you’d have to have to grow a broccoli that big is…” he trails off, shaking his head.

Shou scoffs, crossing his arms. “About twenty years’ worth,” he finishes knowingly. “Yeah, I’ve got a pretty good idea.”

Teru flashes him a look that might be interpreted as worry, though Shou doesn’t really know him well enough to say for sure. Then he stands up with an exaggerated sigh and stretches his arms over his head. “Well, we don’t have to figure everything out tonight. I know I could use a break, I’m exhausted. Is it alright if I use your shower?”

Shou, who at this point has grown to somewhat expect visitors ending up here on a whim after the last few days, just waves a hand in assent. “Sure, just watch out, I have no idea how much hot water’s left in the tank,” he replies.

“Will do,” Teru replies good-naturedly, and disappears around the corner in search of the bathroom, leaving Shou alone with Reigen.

He hasn’t done more than exchange a few words with Shigeo’s proclaimed master, and it’s obvious to him that any relationship he has with all the psychic upheaval going on around him is purely accidental rather than intentional. Still, Reigen does seem to care about the teenagers he works with, and that’s more than Shou can say for many of the adults he’s grown up around. Even Ritsu seems to have some sort of abject trust in Reigen, even as he continues to badmouth him. It’s enough to make Shou at least a little less cautious when Reigen suddenly asks, unprompted, “Can I ask you a few questions?”

Shou folds his arms, defensive, and cautiously answers, “Sure, hit me.” He’s curious about what kinds of questions Reigen might ask, and simultaneously concerned that he might try to dig a little too deep.

“How old are you?” Reigen asks, and wow, that questions hadn’t been anywhere on the list of possibilities Shou had been expecting. It throws him off, brain rushing to determine what exactly Reigen could possibly hope to gain by asking such a question.

“Thirteen,” he replies hesitantly, “why?”

Reigen lets out a breath and clasps his hands in his lap, brow furrowed and a deep frown on his face. Shou squints; is he concerned? “Okay, yeah, that sounds about right,” Reigen mutters, reaching up with one hand to run his fingers through his hair. “Thirteen. God, that’s really young. Uh, and you’re the leader here, right? How long… how long have you had this arrangement going on?” He gestures around himself with his hands, at the house, the empty rooms where the rest of the group usually slept.

Shou narrows his eyes, leaning forward in his seat. He can see where this conversation might be going, now. “A little over three years,” he replies. “I was ten years old when I left home.” He watches Reigen closely, sharp blue eyes taking in every microexpression and movement Reigen makes as he tries to decipher what exactly Reigen might be getting at. “That doesn’t really matter, though, does it? It’s in the past.”

Reigen blinks at him, as if in surprise, then lets out a breathy, humorless chuckle. “Yeah, of course, of course,” he manages, and Shou can practically hear his mind running at a hundred miles an hour. He takes a few seconds to compose himself, sitting up a little straighter on the couch, and Shou watches every minute movement with interest. “Okay, well, this is a lot to take in, as you can probably imagine,” he continues. “Mob and his brother filled me in on the details, but I guess I’m still having a hard time imagining it.”

“Because we’re just kids?” Shou says defensively. It's a knee-jerk reaction to what is most likely a well-meaning comment, but Shou's had enough of people underestimating and condescending to him.

"No—I mean, yes, that's part of it, but not the way you're saying it—I’m sure you can handle yourself fine, better than most kids your age, but…” he trails off with a frustrated sigh, taking a moment to compose his thoughts. Shou lets him, if only because he’s interested to see what kind of rationalization Reigen will give to go with his statement. Finally, he says, “You have psychic powers, and that’s great. It’s a part of who you are, and it’s an excellent method of defending yourself against people like Claw, but you really shouldn’t have to defend yourself in the first place! You guys are capable, sure, but you’re still kids. No matter who you are, adults shouldn’t be targeting you.” The way Reigen speaks is animated, Shou notices, watching as he throws his arms this way and that. It’s as though he’s being swarmed by mosquitoes and is doing his best to keep them at bay.

Shou just shrugs, and glances away. “It’s a nice thought, I guess,” he relents, “but it’s a little late to lecture them, I think.”

Reigen sighs, and his hands settle back into his lap. “Yeah, I can see that,” he replies, and Shou doesn’t miss the way his eyes linger on the scars that climb Shou’s arms. He’s used to people staring at him, but it doesn’t make the discomfort of it go away.

They sit in silence for another moment before Reigen speaks up again, hesitantly. “You know, I’ve been kind of… watching over Mob, you could say, for a while now,” he begins, drawing Shou’s attention again. “Recently, Teruki’s been hanging around my office a bit too, when he finds the time, but the kid’s too stubborn to let me interfere in his life any more than that.” He pauses, shaking his head. “But that’s not what I wanted to say. I don’t know what you’re planning to do once you finish up whatever you’re doing here, but, um…” He reaches one hand into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulls out a business card, holding it out to Shou. “If you ever need help, or need to get in contact with the boys, or anything, really, just give me a call.”

Shou eyes the card uncertainly, and doesn’t make a move to take it. He does his best not to show it, but he’s baffled by Reigen’s sudden desire to help, at no apparent gain to himself. “Why?” he asks, scrutinizing Reigen’s expression with piercing blue eyes. “What do you get out of offering me help?”

Reigen flashes him a grin, one that is distinctively sly. “Well, I do run a business, you know. Spirits & Such, home of the 20th century’s greatest psychic prodigy,” he brags, slipping easily into an air of showmanship and grandeur. “I’m always looking for ways to expand my business, you know, and having a few extra hands on deck can never hurt. More than that, though, I’d hate to see a good kid like you end up somewhere you don’t want to be.” His expression softens at this, taking on a more serious, even kind appearance. “I know a thing or two about handling things on my own, and I’ve been in your shoes before, minus all the psychic powers and near-death experiences and all that. I didn’t have a lot of trustworthy adults to turn to growing up, and it seems like you don’t really, either. I’m no replacement for real parents or anything like that but… just consider me your last resort, at least?”

He’s compromising, Shou recognizes, between what he wants to offer and what he thinks Shou might accept, but he can’t help but feel like it’s working. It’s terrifying, the thought that an adult he barely knows is willing to do this much for him after nothing but a few minutes of interaction and whatever stories Ritsu’s given him, but Shou finds he can’t feel any sort of manipulative intent in Reigen’s offer. Slowly, hesitantly, he plucks the business card from Reigen’s still-outstretched hand and glances down at it. It’s tacky as hell, not at all the professionally-made card he’d expect from someone running a semi-profitable business, but he supposes it doesn’t matter in the end. “I’ll keep it in mind,” he says after a moment, grudgingly. It’s been a long time since someone has reached out to him in good faith, someone with no ties whatsoever to his father, to Claw, to his old life. The card feels heavy in his hand.

Reigen stands up once the card has changed hands, checking his watch briefly. “Well, I’m going to check up on Ritsu and Mob and probably try to find a supermarket. It’s late and none of us have eaten yet, I’m sure you boys must be starving,” he announces, and heads away down the hall without another word.

Shou is hungry, he’s been hungry for a while, but food is kind of the last thing on his mind right now. He turns the business card over in his hands; Reigen’s office phone number is printed on the front, but on the back, in scratchy, rushed handwriting, is another number with the words “cell phone” written in pen beneath it. Something about it makes Shou’s throat feel a little tighter, and he hastily tucks the card into his back pocket before he can let himself think about it too hard.

As promised, Reigen walks down to the nearest convenience store and returns after twenty or so minutes with a handful of pre-made boxed meals he’d paid for out of pocket. Now that they’re all cleaned up and wearing fresh clothes, the atmosphere around the kitchen table is lighter, more rambunctious. Shigeo finishes his food before Shou can even get halfway through his, and he’s quick to pick up the conversation for the rest of them while they fight to catch up. Shou interjects occasionally and tries not to let his discomfort show; it’s been too long since he’s been around so many people his age, and he has to remind himself that he’s only going to be around for another night before he goes off the grid again. Still, he can’t help but look forward to the day he’ll be able to come back, and he lets himself hope, just a little, that Ritsu won’t be the only one waiting for him.

---

Shou leaves the next afternoon. It’s a brief and relatively painless affair, as Shou explains to everyone in few words where he’s going and how long he’ll be gone. The hard part is over now that he’s told Ritsu what’s going on, but that doesn’t stop him from reconsidering all his life decisions when Ritsu hugs him good-bye just as he’s about to leave.

“Let me know as soon as you’re done,” Ritsu insists, and Shou can’t help but agree, because of course Ritsu would be the first to know.

He pulls out a lone key from his pocket and presses it into Ritsu’s palm. “Just lock up when you head home, alright? Take the time you need, but don’t stick around too long, either, you have stuff to do,” he tells him, letting his hand linger in Ritsu’s for maybe a little longer than is typically expected of such an exchange. He doesn’t seem to mind, though.

Ritsu nods, slipping the key into the pocket of his jeans. “Yeah, of course. I’ll, uh, try not to take too long,” he replies, some of his nervousness about finally going home showing through in this moment. Shou doesn’t comment on it, just gives him what he hopes is a reassuring smile.

“Thank you, for sticking by me for so long,” he says quietly, keeping his voice low so the others can’t hear him. They’re waiting on the porch of the house while Ritsu and Shou say their good-byes, but they’re still close enough that they might hear if he speaks too loudly.

Ritsu just grins at him. “Don’t thank me yet,” he reminds him. “You can thank me for real once you get back.”

And Shou can’t help but laugh, because he can’t think of more fitting parting words than those. “Alright, alright, I get it,” he chuckles, slipping into the back seat of the car. “See you soon,” he adds, before he pulls the door shut behind him.

“See you soon,” Ritsu echoes, and offers him a little wave as Higashio pulls the car away from the curb and Ritsu’s waiting form disappears around the corner.

Ootsuki turns around to regard Shou around the back of his seat. “You sure you’re ready for this? Government work can get pretty shady sometimes, it could be dangerous to get involved.”

Shou snorts, crossing his arms. “We’re already involved, and it’s not as though our work up until now hasn’t been shady. We can handle it,” he says with confidence. “Let’s just make it quick, the less time it takes the better.”

Ootsuki just nods and turns back toward the front of the car, and Shou gazes out the window, to the houses that pass by in a blur. He leans his head against the window and thinks, After all, I have something to come back to now.

[fanfiction-writers]

Lies and Discoveries Ch. 8

Pairing: Toshinori Yagi/All Might x Reader

Summary: You’ve been in a relationship with Toshinori Yagi for a while now, but you’re just now realizing that he’s been lying to you. Trying to get the truth out of the man is difficult when you can barely get ahold of him, let alone have a conversation with him…

A/N: Here’s a link to chapter 1 on a03 if you’re interested...

Team 4: Tenya Iida, Denki Kaminari, Minoru Mineta, Toru Hagakure

This team had been a bit harder for you to read. Each student seemed different, but determined to win and willing to work together to pass. Except maybe the little purple one, who spent a good time lamenting the fact that he got stuck with all men and one girl, who was invisible so he couldn’t actually see her. After an attempted leer at the invisible girl, the one yellow haired kid shocked him while the taller one thoroughly reprimanded him. You weren’t entirely sure that the invisible girl hadn’t slapped him, but suddenly the purple’s kid face went sideways quickly one time.

Using her invisibility to her advantage, you can sense her a bit as she crept around the building, forgoing her clothes to be completely invisible. The others were outside while she wandered around, looking through the building.

 Well, if there was one student you’d expect to pass for a stealth mission, it’d be the invisible kid.

“Hagakure, do you know where the hostage is?” the tall one with the glasses asked, looking around.

“Yeah!” she told him, plucking her gloves from his arms so they knew where she was. “Upstairs, fourth room on the right,” she told them while you waited around the corner. “I didn’t see anyone else here.”

Nodding, the kid with the glasses took a running stance and sped upstairs quickly using his quirk. The others remained walking around, but you had to keep your quirk up to sense where the invisible girl was so you wouldn’t give yourself away. A few minutes later, All Might and the speedy kid came back downstairs.

Slowly, you follow behind them through the city. They’re nearly half a block in front of you and almost to the designated area before the students turn and the speedster kid runs at you quickly. You hadn’t realized they saw you, having stopped using your quirk to rest a bit.

Leaping backwards as the kid kicked at you lightning fast, you feel a rush of air as his foot just misses contact with your body. That would’ve hurt, you can’t help but think as you stagger backwards. He continues his assault as you do your best to dodge. Using what fighting techniques that Gunhead had taught you, you manage to keep the attacks at bay fairly easily even though the kid got a few hits on you with his speed.

As another powerful kick came at you, you feel arms grab you backwards and down onto the ground.

“Got her!” the invisible girl yelled. You felt a knee in your back as she kneeled on you.

“Excellent work, Hagakure!” the fast kid complimented.

“You guys got her!” the yellow haired kid came running up. As you struggle a little, he lets his hands spark with electricity. “Don’t move unless you want to get shocked.”

“You four did really well, and you managed to catch the villain,” All Might told them. “You worked really well together using Young Hagakure to explore without going undetected. Young Mineta, you could’ve done just a bit more, though. You let the others do most of the work.”

You had to agree. The purple kid, Mineta, didn’t do a whole lot to help out. He had just stayed with All Might while the others had fought you, and it was the others who did most of the searching for the hostage. The other three did well and had great quirks to work with. You were excited to see what they’d do with them as they grew as heroes.

“Team 5, you were the last to go…” All Might continued.

 Team 5: Momo Yaoyorozu, Mina Ashido, Shoto Todoroki, Rikido Sato

 The four students in the last group did really well. Which is no surprise since All Might had told you that two of them had gotten in on recommendations without having to take the tests. The taller girl seemed to have a very keen sense of observation, knowing what to do and how to get it done.

The others seemed to follow her instructions and suggestions easily enough, working well together. It seemed like the pink girl and the bigger boy let the other two take the lead. The red and white haired boy would freeze the inside of the buildings that they thought had All Might in, but they hadn’t reached you yet. It seemed a bit overkill, maybe not the best option for rescue missions, but you supposed it would incapacitate the enemy. As well as the hostages if they didn’t know the layout…

You waited inside the room with All Might for a few minutes, waiting for the children to make it to the building. “Not going to shout for help?” you ask him with a chuckle. He shrugs, giving you a far-too-innocent smile as he sat there. You eye him suspiciously as you head out to find the students. It didn’t take them long to find the right building, and even less time to find you and fight you.

Facing off with the students was a bit more difficult than some of the rest. With the ice kid’s powers, they kept you at bay while the pink girl had acids that you also had to dodge if you got too close. The other boy got stronger once he ate something from one of his pockets, but he was easily put to sleep since he was just a close-combat fighter. However, the three on one wasn’t much better.

The other girl was creating weapons and capture items that the students now had to help them. The ice that was being thrown at you, both wide attacks and precise attacks, were hard to dodge but you avoided a full-on confrontation by keeping close enough to the other students to make him think about hitting his classmates. He did manage to freeze your shoes to the floor, but you managed to slip your feet from your shoes once the pink girl’s simultaneous attack had melted the ice just enough.

As the three closed in on you, you push your quirk into the general area around you, causing them a sudden intense fear to make them hesitate. However, the ice-kid’s reaction to the fear made you stop short. He immediately flinched backward, creating a thick wall of ice between himself and you feeling like he was almost in a panic.

Such an intense reaction, you think, watching him closely. While you try to sense more from him, the taller girl captures you efficiently with a capture weapon and has the ice-kid watch you while they search the building for All Might.

“The four of you worked really well, each of you taking on an appropriate role in my rescue.”

The three of them looked happy, while the ice boy still looked a little blank-faced. You worried about the fear you felt from him earlier. What had caused it?  The therapist in you wanted to know, but that wasn’t your job for now. However, you’d keep an eye out.

“All right, I hope you students learned something today,” All Might told them. “Let’s get back to class.”

The students talk amongst themselves as they made their way back towards the main school building to change out of their hero costumes. You can’t help but smile as you watch them, their general enthusiasm for hero-ing rubbing off on you, even without your quirk. Some of the heroes you used to see had become cynical and hardened to most things. It was refreshing to watch the students ready to take on the world, even if they didn’t quite know what they were doing yet.

“Hey, Chiyo, have you seen-?” Toshinori started to ask as he walked through the nurse’s door that was open just slightly. However, he stopped mid-sentence when he saw you asleep in one of the beds after classes were over for the day.

“She’s been asleep for a little bit,” Recovery Girl answered. “What did you have her doing today?”

“She helped with a rescue training scenario. Why?” he asked, looking down at you. He only wished he got to watch you in person, or even on an actual mission. He felt like you’d be incredible, although the news about you working in Capture and Interrogation was quite the surprise. It was still a bit odd for him to pretend not to know you, but he tried to remember that All Might had only met you a couple of times.

The nurse sighed but stood from her chair. “Just keep an eye out for her so she doesn’t overdo her quirk for me, alright?”

Toshinori looked over to see a sad, worried look pass over the usually happy face of the older hero. “Chiyo?”

“If you want to know, you can ask her,” she said with a small smile. “Just keep an eye out on her; consider it a personal favor.”

Confused, and mildly worried, he nodded. He’d find a way to ask when you woke up and the two of you got back to one of your houses for the night. To pass the time, he waited beside the bed in a chair and graded the students on their performances during class.

He waited for a while, looking over at you every so often until you woke up and rubbed your eyes. God, you were adorable. “Long day, today?” he asked you with a small, fond smile. You grunted, squinting as the lights overhead shone down. “Are you ready to go home?”

Toshinori can’t help but chuckle at you, as you nod, still groggy from the nap. You seemed alright so far, even if a bit tired. You mumble something about a headache as Toshinori grabs your hand to link his arm with yours as the two of you head outside to hail a cab home.

“It’s good to be home,” you exhale while stretching as you walk in the door. Toshinori followed behind you, taking off his jacket to fold it over a kitchen chair. You could still feel a slight headache pounding at your temples, and you immediately headed for the bathroom.

“Still have a headache?” Toshinori asked you. Since your house was small, you could easily hear him down the small hallway that the bathroom and bedroom were located.

You didn’t bother using your quirk since your headache started, but if you didn’t know better, you’d say he sounded worried. “Yeah, I’ll be alright after some medicine and a shower.” Taking some pills for the headache, you walk back into the living room where Toshinori stood, slightly fidgeting with his hands.

“Umm… Recovery Girl said something earlier… And I was curious,” he started to say.

“She warned you about me overusing my quirk, didn’t she?”

He nodded silently, and patiently waited for you to answer, or tell him that you didn’t want to talk about it. But you wanted him to know, there wasn’t a reason for him not to. You grabbed his hands and lead him to the couch so the two of you can sit and be comfortable while you talk. “So my quirk, technically, let’s me sense the levels of neurotransmitters and chemicals in the brain. These readings translate into different emotions that I can read, sense, and alter,” you begin.

“My quirk works best in close quarters; it’s not suited for long distance.” Then you remember that Toshinori didn’t know you worked in the Capture and Interrogation unit, so you backtracked a little. You weren’t sure how he kept his two lives secret for so long. “I worked with the police before I became a therapist,” you tell him again. You have to hold in a laugh as he pretends to not know that. “I was the third best interrogator in the country,” you smile proudly. “Well, at least, I used to be. It’s been a few years.”

“I’m sure you’d still be amazing,” he tells you with a smile, running his hand through your hair.

“That almost sounds patronizing,” you stick your tongue out at him, before snuggling into his side. You weren’t missing the opportunity to curl up next to him, placing your legs over his while he sits back normally on the couch.

“Anyway,” you continue. “Sometimes if I use my quirk a lot, my own brain gets a bit mixed up in the process. I can get super emotional, depressed, or really anxious. The last case I worked on was intense. There had been a lot of children who had been kidnapped and our team was called in to help several different departments that were working together. It took a week to work through any and every suspect or criminal that we could get our hands on.”

You take a deep breath, remembering all the faces of the children and parents. “There were children of all ages and quirks. We all pushed ourselves well beyond our limits until all of us were exhausted. We worked around the clock, only sleeping in shifts for a couple hours at a time. I pushed my quirk far longer than I should’ve without a break; how could I not with so many kids in danger, you know?

“On the seventh day of non-stop interviews and interrogations, we managed to get a few reliable leads and found out where the kids were being held and saved them.” You still had dreams, both good and bad, about that night. You hated people targeting children in any way, and this case always found a way to work its way under your skin.

 “Anyway, after making sure every child made it to the hospital for check-ups and what little help they needed, our team finally made our way home for some rest. When I got home, I was exhausted. I remember taking off my dirty clothes and crawling into bed… it gets a little fuzzy after that. I kept losing track of time, watching the sun come up, just to feel like I blinked and it was in the middle of the night.

“I was physically, mentally, and emotionally tired, to where I couldn’t even muster up the energy to move. There was a bottle of water on my nightstand that I wanted so badly, but I just couldn’t make myself move to get it. I was in and out of my own mind, sleeping and spacing out.”

He grabbed you a little tighter, pulling you as close as possible without squishing you to his torso.

“My best friend, Rika, who is also on the team, stopped by my house a few days later. When she found me, I was unresponsive and severely dehydrated. She grabbed me and immediately took me to the hospital, where I stayed for a few days, which is where I met Recovery Girl.”

“So that’s why she asked me for a favor,” he muttered, now rubbing your back slightly.

You nod and squeeze him a bit. “It was only the once, and I decided I couldn’t do that to myself again, so I stuck with rescue missions and worked on becoming a therapist instead, after taking classes and getting certified. I usually don’t use my quirk enough for it to affect me, but sometimes I can get headaches or just get really lethargic. I guess I used my quirk a bit more than I was used to in class today, so it caught me by surprise.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” he tells you with a kiss to your head. “But I’m glad you made it through alright. Others aren’t always so lucky.”

The two of you sat quietly, basking in the silence of the information you had told him. You didn’t think he’d baby you, but you knew he’d be there if you ever needed it. “I love you, Yagi,” you whisper to him. He squeezes you again, giving you another kiss. You knew he’d be red-faced and embarrassed, yet happy all the same.

Shortly after, you get into the shower making sure Toshinori ate something while you were in the bathroom. He wasn’t quite ready to share a shower with you yet, getting easily flustered and stuttered excuses, so you didn’t bother asking in case it made him uncomfortable. You figured he’d tell you when he was ready. Afterwards, you put on some comfy, fuzzy pajamas and crawl into bed with Toshinori, snuggling up again until you both fall asleep.

A/N: Let me know what you guys think! I don’t have the next chapter yet, but reviews make me work on them faster! If you have any cute fluffy ideas, let me know and I might put them in a future chapter! ^_^

[thirstygirlclub]

A Boy Named Box - Part Two (2)

KozikxGayMale!Reader

(this is my second time writing this. i had finished this, all done, until my internet crashed and i lost all of it. hopefully, this one will be as good as the lost part.)

(the second part of a request from an anon! where the reader is Juice’s twin brother that moved away from Queens to Charming for a new start and falls for a certain sandy haired son)  

also this part is dedicated to @marcus-demitri455 and @samcro-saint99 who were so lovely when i was so heartbroken about this, love you my angels! ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

p.s legit thought that this was only going to be 3 parts max but I didn’t factor in the fact that i always get carried away and that this is all so cute that it is consuming me more than i ever thought possible? so this is going to be part 2 of 4 (for now but knowing me i’m going to turn it into a whole McFreakin’ book or some shit)

WARNING: CONTAINS CUTE STUFF

Tig was trying to rile you up, you knew he was, but that didn’t stop you giving him exactly what he wanted. You grabbed him by the front of his kutte and you couldn't give a shit about disrespecting the leather and sons of Anarchy colours when he was disrespecting you like he was. You had had enough of your sexuality being the butt of all of his jokes. You knew he was joking and he didn’t mean it, not really, but that didn’t stop it from offending you. Juan was getting sick of it too but he let you fight your own battles now you were both adults.

“Say that again,” you hissed lowly, “you bastard.”

“I said,” Tig said loudly with a laugh, “I’m not gonna let a gay kid beat me in the ring. Unless you’re scared-”

You bashed him roughly against the brick wall of the work bay while he grappled at your hands and work shirt; trying to get you to release him but his attempts proving fruitless. His eyes showed panic and pain, there was blood running from his nose and down his chin from where you had punched him to try and get him to shut up. Despite the expression on his face, he laughed as you were wrenched away from the older man. 

You struggled against Kozik’s grip. He had pulled your arms behind you, almost like a police grip, and was pulling you away. Even though he was strong, he was struggling to do so. Kozik practically threw you into the parking lot then pushed you back by the chest when you had rounded on him to get back to Tig.

“That’s enough!” Chibs commanded from where he had been watching the brawl and walking over to you, “Stop this now. You know he doesn’t mean it!”

“I don’t give a fuck if he means it or not,” you growled at the Scottish man, “I’ve had to deal with that shit all my life. I’m not dealing with it here, get it?”

“Alright, alright,” Chibs sighed with an understanding nod at you before turning to Kozik, “go deal with that dickhead. I’ll get the kid calmed down.”

“I’m not a kid!”

“Yeah? Then stop fucking acting like one!”

He grabbed you by the scruff of the neck and started walking you off but you fought him off. Chibs let go and put his hands up in surrender but followed you anyway. When you cast a glance back, Kozik grinned at you then turned back to go have a look at Tig’s face. 

“I’m takin’ bets on a fight night,” Chibs told you and took a drag of his cigarette, “first match is you against him. If you’re willing to clear the air in public.”

“If he’s not scared of losing to a fa-”

“Enough Box! Are you in? I’m sick and tired of you bein’ at each others throats all the time.”

“Yeah,” you spat, “I’m in.”

“Right. 2 weeks time, you and him in the ring then all this gets put to rest. Yeah?”

You had been sleeping peacefully, in a drunk and stoned stupor, snoring away when you were woken up by a voice in your ear.

“Box,” you heard them whisper in your ear, “time to get up.”

When you opened your eyes you saw Kozik stood over your bed, with his arms folded and that stupid grin on his face, you sat up with a gasp and pulled the blankets up over your naked body and stared up at him with wide eyes.

“What the fuck man?!” You shrieked hoarsely, “get out!”

Kozik laughed at your now bright red face but didn’t leave. When he didn’t say anything you shook your head in a ‘what the fuck’ kind of way. You knew you weren’t the most attractive person while you were sleeping, especially after a night of drinking and smoking. You hastily wiped the drool off of your cheek and tried to fix your bedhead.

“You know you snore?” He asked with a laugh.

“Yeah, thanks,” you said with a scoff.

“Get up now; we’re going training.”

“Training?”

“Yeah. I bet $64 on you winning and I’m not gonna get it back with that right hook so get up, get dressed.”

He picked some shorts and a black shirt from a pile of clothes from the pile of clean washing on the desk chair to throw them at you. He then stood looking around and the room that you were sleeping in.

“Uh, kinda naked here bro,” you said and held the blankets tighter to your bare chest, “you wanna leave?”

Kozik smirked, knowing he had already seen everything, but turned to leave anyway. Once the door was shut, you checked the time and groaned, standing up and pulling on the clothes.

“Are you joking?” You asked him as you stormed through to see him sat drinking coffee at the little dining table in the kitchen, “it’s 6-fucking-05 in the morning. What is your problem?”

“Gotta get there before the crowds. Come on. Let’s go, we’re jogging to the gym.”

He stood up and hit you on the bicep as he walked passed you and out the front door. You sighed and followed him, stretching and yawning as you went.

Evidently, you weren’t as fit as you thought you had been. You had been jogging for a total of 10 minutes and you already needed to sit down since you were puffing, panting and sweating profusely. You grabbed the back of Kozik’s shirt and braced yourself on your knees before collapsing on some nearby grass. Your running partner chuckled then same to sit by you. Luckily, it was still morning and reasonably cool out.

You had only been in Charming for about 6 weeks but you were already sick of the heat. You were so used to the chillier, grey weather in Queens and you hadn’t yet acclimatised to it like Juan had but then again, he was always a fan of warmer weather. You used to say he was like a lizard.

“Come on Box,” Kozik groaned once you had caught your breath, “we’ve been sat here for 20 minutes and I actually want to get to work today.”

“I still have to go to work after the gym?” You huffed then rolled onto your side and curled up in a ball when he nodded.

“Stop being a drama queen.”

“Who are you calling queen?” You asked venomously.

“You know I didn’t mean it like that! Fuck you’re grouchy in the morning!”

You sat up to glare at him and saw that he was already stood up and was holding his hand out you to help you up. You sighed in defeat, taking his hand and letting him help you stand and you weren’t sure but maybe he held it for a second too long when you were on your feet. And maybe there was that mischievous glint in his blue eyes but you couldn’t know for sure because as soon as you had thought you had seen it he had turned around to run on ahead of you.

Training with Kozik was simultaneously the toughest but most entertaining thing you had done in your life, kind of. You had got a chance to talk to him properly about everything you had been through and it was nice to open up to somebody that wasn’t Juan. As much as your brother loved you, you knew he was getting fed up of hearing about your ex. He would never say anything to you about it but you could just tell. That twin intuition, you know?

Kozik had listened patiently to your worries while you battered the punching bag. He eased your concerns that the guys hadn’t accepted you as yourself and still just thought of you as one half of The Juice Box, that they all thought you were running away from your past, that they didn’t accept you for your sexuality with them being a biker gang and all.

“You know the guys talk shit but honestly Box... listen to me. They love you, alright? We all do besides, we all got our thoughts on Tig. Nobody gives a fuck if you’re gay. And yeah, you’re Juice’s brother but you’re also Box. We get you’re a different guy all together. Got better hair for a start,” Kozik had told you, ruffling your sweaty hair and making you laugh; diffusing the tense atmosphere you had brought with you that one particular day, “and don’t worry about running from where you came from; we all got something we’re running towards. You know?”

You hadn’t been ashamed to wipe away a few tears when he told you that; you needed to hear that and it meant so much coming from him. But as he patted you comfortingly on the shoulder you couldn’t help wondering what it was that he was running to. 

On the plus side, you hadn’t been in better shape for a long time. You were waking up at 6am every morning without needing him to barge into your room and drag you out of bed. He had given you special instructions not to drink, smoke, do drugs for the entire 2 weeks you had been training with him and he had even put you on a special diet. This mostly consisted of you sharing his lunch, normally some kind of salad with lean meat or pasta, while you were working and him bringing you the food for your dinner. It was nice to have someone looking out for you every now and again.

You had a good little routine going too, wake up at 6 then run to the gym with Kozik at 6:30; work out and train until 8 so you were all ready to hit the showers and seeing him in just a towel afterwards was always a bonus, not that you would tell him that of course; he was already big-headed enough. 

The buzz around TM and the club house was electric on the day of the fight. Word had got out that Kozik was training you up and teaching you the way that Tig fought so he had enlisted the help of Chibs. This meant that it was no longer just a competition to see who was the better fighter but also who was the better coach too. The animosity and fighting talk was so bad between the two teams that Clay had to schedule the shifts so that neither team was mixed together. You had tried to defend yourselves and say that it was all friendly but Clay was having none of it.

You had also been promoted to “mechanic’s assistant” which essentially meant you were Kozik’s own personal go-fer boy and he was loving it; he was asking you to get any number of different things that he could easily get for himself. Every time you complained about it, he would remind you that Clay was keeping an eye on you to see if you were worth keeping on the team which would make you grumble but kick him the wrench that was about 3 inches away from his hand.

The sound of a motorcycle drew you out of your angry thoughts and you turned to see Juan climbing off of his motorcycle wearing his Sons of Anarchy kutte and sunglasses. He carried himself differently when he was wearing the vest and you kind of wanted one too but you had a feeling that regardless of how accepting they were as people, the other charters and club rules probably wouldn’t allow a gay man into the club. It didn’t stop you craving the sense of belonging that your brother had found with them though.

You were leaning casually against the front of a green dodge charger, beside Kozik as he was under the hood of the car, as you ate the rest of the blonde man’s chicken salad, when Juan came sloping over to you with his eyebrows raised and a smirk on his face. You sent your twin a quizzical look which he returned sarcastically.

“You ready for tonight little brother?” Juan asked you, “you think you’re gonna win?”

“Uh yeah,” You scoffed, stuffing another bite in your mouth, “why? You got no faith in me?”

“Nah, obviously I do. I just mean that Chibs is a good coach, that’s all.”

With that comment, Kozik raised himself from under the hood of the car and stepped in front of you, between you and Juan, with his arms folded and his chest puffed out. Juan tried his best not took look threatened but his small step backwards betrayed his smug face. You peeked over Kozik’s shoulder and smiled around another bite of salad. Your brother looked between you and Kozik with a knowing smile but said nothing, turning to head into the clubhouse.

You knew Juan knew about your teeny tiny, minuscule crush on your fighting coach. Again the twin intuition, but knew better than to call you out on it. 

“You wanna pass me that wrench?” Kozik asked you once you had clipped the lid back on his tupperware tub.

He was pointing to a black handled tool in the tool box. All he had to do was bend down and grab it but he really was loving having you as his personal servant. With a sigh, you bent down to grab it and give it to him but he stood with his hand out stretched until you had placed it in his palm but even then he didn’t close his fingers around it.

“I meant the other one, the one next to it,” he said, that mischievous glint back in his eyes.

You sighed and raised your eyebrows at him before grabbing the other wrench and swapping it for the next size down. 

“No, the other one,” he grinned.

“Are you fucking kidding?”

“Less of the attitude mister,” he hit you in the chest with the wrench you had just given him before turning back into the car, “Clay is always watching you. You wanna be my butler forever?”

“If I don’t kill you first,” you muttered but turned away when you saw Clay peering at you through the blinds in the office.

“What?”

“Nothing man, just saying how much of an honour it would be.”

“Yeah. That’s what I thought you said.”

You laughed with him and brushed your shoulder against his as you lent under the hood to watch what he was doing, sharing a look with him before he turned back to his work with a smile on his face.

(legit have no idea how to write guys, i’m sorry!!)

[armadaderaj]

The Sky in Your Eyes

Day 1: Photographer/Model au  @francisandtheworldweek

Pairing: (pre) Gerfra

Characters: France, Hungary, Germany, Prussia

Rating: T for language

Word count: 1219

Summary: Three years after the Great War, Germany is struggling to honor the Treaty of Versailles. France retaliates with military force. Stuck in the midst of the turbulent times are a particular German photographer and a French solider fresh from the front. 

Note: Not exactly a traditional photographer/model au. I decided to interpret and stretch the prompt a bit, hope I still did it justice

                                                                                                December 12, 1917

Lud,

     Congratulations on your new job, bud! Told you that newspaper would have to be crazy if they didn’t take you! When I get back you better be throwing an awesome party to celebrate. I expect lots of beer and women. Can’t forget the women, kiddo. And the wurst! The food here is trash but what can you expect I guess. Can’t wait to get home, but that’s gonna take a while. In the mean time, you take care of yourself, Lud. Work hard at your job and avoid the draft at all costs. The war is not all what is seems. Till next time little brother, and thanks for those cigarettes!

-Gil

                                                                                                       March 8, 1921 

It had only been four years, and the words were already fading. Not that it really mattered anymore. Ludwig had memorized them long back. 

His eyes traced along the curves of the horrendous writing, looking over the crumpled letter once more before folding it gingerly. He exhaled softly, tucking it inside his vest pocket before pulling his boots and coat on. A cursory glance around his shabby excuse for a room revealed he had forgotten his cap and his beloved camera. He scooped the two things up, placing the former upon his head before running out of the door. 

Taking the steps two at a time, he descended to the ground floor, rushing out the door and into the crisp morning air. Sadly, this morning he had no time to enjoy the weather. He had already spent too much time with his letter, and now he was going to be late for work. 

“Extra! Extra! Hear all about Germany’s failure to pay the Allied reparations!”

“This bread was not nearly so much last time!”

“Madam, I cannot control the value of the money! Now will you pay or will I have to make you leave?”

Ludwig kept his gaze averted from the lives surrounding him, each one with a sob story of their own, all alike due to one reason. The war.

It had ruined Germany. And continued to do so. As if the lives it had already took were not enough. Ludwig pulled his cap down further, quickening his pace, glancing up only when he knew he had made it to the publishing house. 

He had counted the steps. 

He slipped into the little building, immediately tackled by his partner. “Ludwig! You’re finally here!”

Prying the excited Hungarian off of him was a bit more difficult than he expected but he managed. “Yes. Sorry for being late, Eliz-Daniel” he quickly corrected. “Did the boss notice?” He glanced over the sharply dressed w- man in trousers and a button up, her feminine figure hidden under the larger clothing. 

“Oh he noticed awhile back!” Eliza snickered. “He said he’d fire you the moment you showed up!”

Ludwig cursed under his breath. Shit, right when he was going to be promoted too.

“But don’t worry Luddy! I just told him you were out on an assignment and he was okay with it,” Eliza chirped, smile so bright it could break her face probably. 

It took a few moments to understand what Eliza had stated, especially in Ludwig’s frazzled brain, but once he did he did not feel relieved. “What assignment did you tell him I was on?” he asked, afraid to know.

“Oh just that you were investigating some of the brothels in town.” Eliza flashed him an innocent smile.

Ludwig groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Why?”

“What do you mean why? It’s for your own good! You needed an excuse, and I gave you one! No need to thank me! That’s what friends do!” Eliza linked arms with Ludwig pulling him along out of the publishing house. Ludwig sighed in resignation.

“What’s the assignment today?”

“Oh just the usual. The economy’s terrible, the reparations are so hard to pay, the Republic is unstable, all that,” Eliza replied with a wave of her hand as she looked around at all the people. “It’s a bit boring don’t you think Ludwig? The same old thing always.” 

The same old miserable thing.

“Wonder when it’ll get better,” the Hungarian murmured.

Ludwig didn’t reply, looking ahead as the two roamed the streets, steps falling in sync. 

A strange tremor ran through the ground. At first Ludwig dismissed it at his imagination. But it only grew. The vibrations of footsteps quaked through the streets below them, and Ludwig stopped, moving neither foot. The footsteps continued despite his halt. He looked up only to see the same puzzled expression upon Eliza’s face. “Eli-”

Blue. Out of the corner of his eye he saw blue. Ludwig turned his head to be overwhelmed by the color. Clad in blue cloaks and red trousers, men marched down the streets of Düsseldorf, guns poised upon their backs and helmets gleaming in the sun. 

“The French...”

Ludwig turned back to see Eliza watching with wide eyes. He glanced around to see the rest of the native crowd ogling at the newcomers, some even hanging out of their windows to see what was the commotion. He soon enough directed his attention back to the men, walking down Germany’s streets...As if they owned them. Ludwig’s blood boiled in a rage, and he clenched his fists as Eliza nudged him. “Quick! Take pictures!” 

“You want me to take pictures of invaders?!” he hissed.

“They’re for the newspaper Ludwig!” Eliza insisted, nudging Ludwig. 

Ludwig grit his teeth and raised his camera. His finger lay poised on the button, the only thing stopping him was his own hesitation and anger. 

Bastards. Scum. As if he’d take a picture of those fucking sons of-

Click

No more hesitation perhaps. Certainly not as the German straightened, looking up from the lens to see the exact thing that had captured his hesitation and rendered him hopeless. 

Blue. But a better blue than those hideous uniforms. No this blue was more like that of the sky and the sea, free and spirited. And gold. Hidden beneath that cursed helmet, but Ludwig could still make it out. 

He was talking to the soldier next to him, laughing at something he said and shaking his head. And all Ludwig could do was stare as the man moved in front of him adjusting the strap of his gun slightly. 

He felt a sharp jab in his side and a hissed word of pictures. He brought the camera up again, but this time he didn’t hesitate. 

The sea of blue flowed through the streets and out of sight, taking the golden soldier with them, leaving Ludwig behind with a camera in hand and that dazzling smile in mind.

Ludwig didn’t know for how long he stared after that color but soon he was shaken back to reality. Literally.

“Earth to Lud! Are you functioning? Hello?” 

Ludwig blinked. “What?”

Eliza snorted. “Man, you’re really out of it. Come on, we have to get back to the publishing house to get this story down.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back in the direction they came. “Process those pictures quick, Lud cause we’re going to need them.” 

Ludwig glanced down at his camera. Yes they certainly would be needing them. He needed to find him again. That Frenchman with the sky in his eyes.

Author’s Note(s): 

- According to the Treaty of Versailles, Germany was to pay hefty reparations to the Allies in both money and raw materials. Due to the heavy burden the reparations placed on the country, Germany repeatedly could not pay it’s dues, and according to the Treaty, the Allies were able to impose military sanctions should Germany default on the payments. So on March 8, 1921, the French sent in troops to the towns of Duisburg, Ruhrort and Düsseldorf. This would eventually expand into the full on occupation of the Ruhr by 1923, and while France managed to get the raw resources they needed from the occupation, it was Germany who gained sympathy from the world thanks to their passive resistance and the spread of news. But by 1923, the hyperinflation of German currency (the mark) that began in 1918 had reached ridiculous levels with one dollar being worth 4.2 trillion marks, making the situation even more grim. (Note-this is just a general overview of the occupation, there are far more details and complications than this, but this is a general overview that will hopefully help explain the background for this piece)

- I know there’s a lot of unanswered questions in here like what happened to Gil? Why’s Eliza dressed up as a man? Will Ludwig ever find the mysterious Frenchman? Well I’m planning on making this a multi chapter fic and continuing it past this event, but that really depends on how much time I’ll have. Should I is the question

- So I know the prompt was photographer/model au, but I wanted to tweak it a bit, so I guess Francis is a model? Just an unwitting one at the moment XD. Hope that’s alright. Remember kids, in modern day it’s just creepy if you take pictures of people and in some cases illegal

[pagsys-writings]

It’s Not the Path but the Destination that Matters

Chapter 8: Am I confusing missing you for something else? (5132)

There were a lot of things Hanai expected when he stepped out of Tajima’s hotel room to make a call to Sakaeguchi. Often, his friend was expressive and said whatever came to mind, especially now that they were older, but most of the time it was something encouraging unless Hanai royally fucked up.

And this just may be one of those times. So when Hanai told Sakaeguchi about where Tajima was going to be staying, he expected an outburst like the one just hours earlier at the hospital. What he did not expect was to be met by utter silence. Hanai even checked to see if perhaps the line had been disconnected.

“Are you… mad?” He asked Sakaeguchi. Without being able to see his friend’s face, he had no way of judging what was going through the other’s head. He figured the best course of action would be to straight up ask.

“Hanai,” Sakaeguchi’s voice was eerily calm, “I’m fucking livid.”

The words sent a shiver down his spine. Now he could imagine the pissed off look on Sakaeguchi’s face, and it scared him. He and Suyama had only ever seen it once or twice throughout their years of knowing him, and they both made a pact to never get on the smaller’s bad side. They were just glad that Sakaeguchi was a generally happy and kind person that it was difficult to get him to that level of anger. They actually pitied whoever had to face Sakaeguchi like that.

The fact that Hanai was experiencing this truly meant that he had fucked up on an unbelievable level. And he was terrified.

Hanai quickly thanked whatever higher being was out there that Sakaeguchi didn’t live close enough anymore to just drop what he was doing to come knock some sense into him. He had no doubt that Sakaeguchi would probably slap him for being so stupid, and Hanai couldn’t blame him. He was already feeling the doubt creep in. This whole situation was a bad idea, but he couldn’t take it back now. He was a grown man - he’d figure it out.

But still… the apology spilled from his lips. He wasn’t sure why he was necessarily apologizing. Maybe it was because he felt like he was letting Sakaeguchi down, or maybe it was because Sakaeguchi (and Suyama) had been there whenever something went wrong. His friend had been through everything with him, and Hanai knew he’d be there again if (or when) this situation went bad. No, don’t start thinking it’ll go bad yet, he told himself. Nothing is set in stone.

“Don’t apologize…” Sakaeguchi said followed by a sigh. Hanai could imagine his friend’s shoulders sagging with a look of exhaustion upon his face. He sounded the way Hanai was starting to feel now that everything was settling in his mind. “Are you really sure about this? Do you really think this is a good idea?”

Humming, Hanai leaned his back against the wall. His eyes were fixated on the window at the end of the hallway as he thought about how to answer. He could lie and say he was absolutely sure. It was his idea anyway, but he knew better. Sakaeguchi had known him long enough that he had no doubt his white lie would be seen through.

“Hanai?” Sakaeguchi asked softly, pulling him from his thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Hanai sighed as he straightened up a little. “Honestly, Sakaeguchi…” As much as he wanted to be confident, he really couldn’t. “No… I’m not an idiot. I know this is pretty stupid, but I can’t just let him try to go on without someone watching him, you know?” Sakaeguchi hummed in agreement. “I was also the person that kinda decided everything for him…”

He heard a snort through the speaker and smiled a little. “Yeah,” Sakaeguchi said, “you’re an idiot.”

“Don’t rub it in.” Hanai grinned at that and let a small chuckle slip past his lips.

“So…” The word stretched out as Sakaeguchi filled the silence. “Everything with the surgery went well though?”

Ah, right. Hanai had completely forgotten to even mention that part. He’d just dropped the bomb on Sakaeguchi instead. “Yeah,” he nodded to himself, “it went relatively quickly, but he had Ryou as his surgeon so I’m really not surprised. He told us that he was able to fix everything and nothing looked out of the ordinary with the tear.”

“Oh?” Hanai didn’t miss the teasing tone. “Ryou was his doctor you say? How is good ol’ Ryou? Still calling you Azusa?”

Groaning, Hanai turned to lean the side of his head against the wall. “Not again…”

“Listen to me!” Sakaeguchi practically giggled, but Hanai didn’t want to listen to this again. “He’s a really good looking guy and he calls you-”

“Can you just give it a rest with that?” Hanai cut him off. He’d already had enough of Sakaeguchi’s words when he was in graduate school with Ryou. He didn’t need nor want this torture all over again. “We’re close, yes, but it’s not like that, okay?” He and Ryou had both been working through tough programs, but their relationship was strictly a friendship. Hanai couldn’t even think about Ryou in that way. Besides… “He has a fiance, you know… and she is really nice.”

He heard Sakaeguchi sigh. “Yeah, I remember.” Hanai swore he sounded disappointed. “You know I still think if you’d made a move back in graduate school, he’d be dating you instead.”

Rolling his eyes, Hanai just let him talk. He’d said the same thing back then as well, but it had been too close to… Hanai let his eyes wander to Tajima’s door. “You know why I didn’t,” he mumbled, and the line went silent between them.

“So the surgery went well?” Sakaeguchi asked, and Hanai hummed. “I’ll let the rest of the guys know. They were wondering about it.”

“Thanks,” Hanai said, smiling a little again. “So are you still pissed?”

“Ah,” Sakaeguchi let out a huff while he thought it over. “I guess I really can’t be, can I?” Hanai chuckled at that. “But I’m serious about what I said earlier.”

“What?”

“If you need us to come visit, just let us know.”

Hanai smiled warmly at that. “I think I got it covered, but if you want to come to see him, I’m sure he won’t mind. He seemed surprised that you were here to visit a few days ago.”

Sakaeguchi laughed. “Well it has been a few years. I’ll talk to Shouji about it, and see if we can make the trip. Can we stay at your place?”

“Yeah,” Hanai pushed off the wall and moved toward Tajima’s door. “I’m thinking Tajima will be sleeping on the recliner for at least the first week. It’ll be easier, so the bed will be free this weekend if you want to come up.”

“Sounds great!” Sakaeguchi cheered happily. Hanai couldn’t blame him for sounding happy. Despite the mess between him and Tajima, they were all friends, and it really had been years. “Oh, and Hanai?” He asked, and Hanai hummed. “You’ve always had shit luck, so don’t do anything stupid while he’s staying at your place.”

Sakaeguchi’s voice was teasing, but Hanai frowned at the words. “What do you expect to happen?” He asked, reaching for Tajima’s door that he’d left cracked just a bit.

“Nothing!” Sakaeguchi said much too quickly for Hanai’s liking. “Just… you know…”

Hanai’s hand gripped the handle on the door, but he didn’t push it open yet. He could hear Tajima packing his stuff up. “Just what, Sakaeguchi?”

“You and Tajima have a lot you still need to talk about,” he said softly. “The two of you always had this connection that was hard to explain. If you finally do talk with him, be ready.”

He let the words settle in his mind. Sakaeguchi was right - his friend was rarely wrong in this area. “I know, alright?” Hanai grumbled. “What do you take me for?”

“An idiot who invited his ex into his home for the next few months,” Sakaeguchi said in a light, teasing voice that even made Hanai laugh.

“Okay, enough,” he said, sobering up. “I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay, see you, Hanai!” Sakaeguchi cheered.

Hanai laughed as he pushed open the door. “See you, Sakaeguchi.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and closed the door behind him. “Hey, Tajima, are you-” He turned back around to have Tajima standing right in front of him. Too close.

“Was that Sakaeguchi?” Tajima asked, angling his head a little. “What’d he want?”

“I uh…” Hanai took a slight step backward to increase the space between them. Sakaeguchi’s words were fresh in his mind, and he’d be damned if he left something stupid happen so soon. “I promised him that I would let him know how your surgery went.” Tajima kept staring at him, unblinking. “What?”

“Nothing!” Tajima grinned, right arm scratching the back of his head. Hanai knew that look, but if Tajima wasn’t going to tell him, he wasn’t going to press for more. Tajima turned away from Hanai and walked back over to his bag.

Hanai watched him struggle to fold the clothes and shook his head. “Here,” he said, walking over and gently nudging Tajima away. If he let Tajima do this himself, they’d never get to his house. “I’ll do this.” He purposely avoided looking at Tajima. “You just get everything together. It’ll take you hours.” Tajima snickered, and Hanai felt an annoyed blush form on his cheeks. “Shut up, and go get the rest of your crap.”

“Yes, sir!” Tajima saluted him and walked away to the bathroom, laughing.

Rolling his eyes, Hanai focused on folding Tajima’s clothes and putting them away. He may have only brought one suitcase, but it was a lot larger than Hanai had originally thought and Tajima also had a lot more clothes too. Three different pairs of shoes, a couple pairs of jeans, multiple shirts and jackets… It was a wonder that they all fit in this bag to begin with.

Tajima made multiple trips to the bathroom to gather his things - unable to carry much at once with only one arm. Hanai quickly folded the clothes, and tried to distract himself from the question that had suddenly popped into his mind while looking at the amount of clothes. Don’t, he told himself, it’s not worth the hassle.

He picked up an oddly familiar t-shirt. It was faded from years of wear and looked ready to fall apart, but Hanai could still make out the screen print on the front. What the fuck, he frowned and shoved the shirt into the suitcase. Just because Tajima still had one of his shirts that he’d given him years ago didn’t mean anything.

“Done!” Tajima’s grinning face appeared before him again. “I can’t actually put them away in the bag, but everything’s together.” He sat down on the bed, trying to get comfortable while Hanai continued packing for him. “Hey, you alright? Not having second thoughts, are you?”

Hanai glared at him with more anger than he meant to. “Of course not,” he said, shoving the t-shirt farther from view so Tajima wouldn’t see what he had been looking at. “I said you’ll be staying with me, and I meant it.”

Tajima was quiet for a moment while Hanai packed the rest of his things. “Just making sure,” he finally said, voice showing the annoyance he must have felt at Hanai snapping at him. “I don’t want you to think you have to do this.”

Sighing, Hanai shoved the rest of Tajima’s things in his bag and zipped it. He finally looked up to see Tajima frowning at him. “Sorry,” he apologized, knowing he shouldn’t have reacted like that. “It’s not that I don’t want you to stay over, alright?” He hoped Tajima could tell he was being honest. The situation was going to be weird… that’s all. Tajima studied him for a second before nodding. Hanai let out a breath. “Is there anything else that you need to pack?”

Tajima looked around the room. “I don’t think so.” He struggled getting off the bed without the other hand to balance him, and Hanai was there beside him pulling him up by his right hand. ��Thanks,” Tajima grumbled.

Hanai couldn’t stop the smile from reaching his lips. “Ah,” he said, easily picking up the suitcase and putting it on the ground, “you’re going to hate the next few weeks.” He couldn’t help teasing when Tajima was obviously displeased with his current state.

“Why’s that?” Tajima asked, following Hanai.

Grinning down at him, Hanai opened the door. “You’ll have to rely on others until you can move that arm again.” He watched Tajima’s face shift from confusion to pouting at the news, and couldn’t stop the laugh. Hanai teasingly poked the crease that formed on Tajima’s forehead. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure it’s not too painful for you.”

“Shut up,” Tajima grumbled as Hanai continued to laugh.

They left the room and took the elevator down to the lobby. Hanai stood off to the side while Tajima checked out. He knew he really shouldn’t bother him too much since Tajima could easily make the months he’d (probably) be staying with him absolutely miserable. But the idea of Tajima having to heavily rely on others for the simplest things was just a mental image he couldn’t help but grin at. He could already imagine the pouting and grumbling, and it somehow brightened Hanai’s mood.

He had to stop himself from walking over to help Tajima. Too soon after the teasing, he thought, but it was actually a little painful to watch. Tajima was even struggling with his wallet. Hanai stifled a laugh when Tajima used his teeth to extract his card causing Tajima to send him a glare.

When Tajima was done, he walked back to Hanai silently, eyes challenging Hanai to say something about the exchange. “Done?” Tajima nodded and followed Hanai towards the doors. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to having only one hand.”

Groaning, Tajima let his head fall backward. “God, I fucking hate you.”

“Nah,” Hanai grinned down at him, “you know you love me.”

Hanai refused to acknowledge the fluttering in his stomach at the airy laugh he received from his lighthearted jab. He adamantly told himself that it was only because of that stupid shirt he saw and the fact that it had been years since he last saw Tajima. I only missed him, he thought, as a friend.

“Yeah, yeah,” Tajima rubbed his eyes while a large grin stretched across his face. “Whatever you say.”

Tajima looked at him with bright eyes, and Hanai swallowed. This was a horrible fucking idea. He made a mental note to message Sakaeguchi to get him and Suyama there that weekend. Tomorrow was Friday. Surely, he could handle one day being around Tajima. It would be fine.

The ride back to Hanai’s place didn’t take very long even if he lived along the town’s outskirts. It was a relatively small place and only took twenty minutes to get from one side to the other. Thankfully, the ride had been painless. It was quiet, but unlike the drive to the hospital, the silence felt comfortable. There were no legs shaking or fingers tapping. Tajima gazed out the window while Hanai focused on the road without worrying about the person next to him.

“It’s different,” Tajima said when they were minutes away.

“What is?” Hanai glanced at him, but the other was still looking out the window.

“Compared to where you were before,” he said, gesturing to the open fields and trees. In the distance, the outline of the mountains was visible.

Hanai hummed in understanding. His apartment that Tajima had known was cramped and nestled in the city. There was a lot going on at all times. The city never really seemed to sleep, but this was the polar opposite. It was quiet and quaint with plenty of open space. Everyone moved at their own pace as well. It was nice.

“I like the mountains close by,” he finally said as he pulled up to his small house. He got out and grabbed Tajima’s suitcase from the backseat. “I take Kiko and Shiro there a lot to go on hikes.”

Tajima frowned at him from the other side of the car. “You take who?”

“Kiko and Shiro?” Hanai frowned at the confused look on Tajima’s face as they made their way to his front door. Had he not mentioned them yet? “My dogs?”

Tajima’s eyes grew large and excited. “You have dogs?! Like plural?! As in more than just one dog?!”

“Yeah,” Hanai said, shaking his head at how happy Tajima seemed at the idea. “I have two of them. Speaking of…” He unlocked the door, but didn’t open it. He eyed Tajima’s arm. “Give me like two minutes. I’m not really worried about Kiko. She’s a sweetheart, but Shiro… He likes to jump on Sakaeguchi when he visits…”

“So you want to calm him down first?” Tajima asked, tilting his head slightly.

Grinning, Hanai nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go in first and then I’ll let you know when it’s safe.” Tajima nodded while Hanai walked in, closing the door quickly behind him. Shiro was there in an instant, jumping on his legs, while Kiko was sniffing Tajima’s suitcase that he’d pushed to the side.

“Hi, hi,” Hanai laughed as Shiro licked at his clothes. “Yes, I’m home. Relax bud!” He knelt down, wrapping his arms around Shiro and allowed himself to be licked. If it kept Shiro from hurting Tajima’s arm, it was worth it. “You can come in!” He called, but frowned and shut his eye when Shiro’s tongue got too close to it.

Tajima’s laugh touched his ears and he heard the door close. He felt Shiro lurch in his arms, but held him back. “Hey,” he said seriously to his dog. He let Kiko go about sniffing Tajima. “Relax,” he warned, but he felt Shiro’s tail hitting his leg and knew the dog was eager to meet the new person in his house.

“Hello, beautiful,” Tajima cooed as he let Kiko sniff his hand. When she was content, she happily let him scratch her head. “You must be Kiko.” Hanai smiled warmly at the two. “And then… Shiro?”

Hanai laughed at the confused look on Tajima’s face. “Probably weren’t expecting a black lab?” Tajima laughed as well and shook his head. “Before you ask, I did not name him but I couldn’t bring myself to change his name. I thought it was cute.”

Tajima laughed as he let Shiro lick his hand. “I feel like that’s a name I would have picked,” he joked as his face scrunched at the amount of licks his hand was getting.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly,” Hanai said, and regretted it once Tajima’s sharp eyes found his. Maybe he should have kept that bit to himself. Hanai felt Shiro calm down. “I’m going to let him go now.” Tajima nodded, preparing for the worst. Once free, Shiro circled around Tajima a few times. He looked ready to jump, but a stern ‘no’ from Hanai had him sitting back on all fours.

“They’re good dogs,” Tajima commented as he followed Hanai farther into the house with the dogs following closely behind them.

“Only when there’s company,” he teased. Hanai opened the backdoor, and once they were out, he shut it. When he turned back, Tajima was wandering around his house looking at different things. “So this is my house…” He hoped his nerves weren’t obvious.

Tajima grinned at him. “I like it. I think it really suits you.”

Hanai could tell Tajima was being genuine and it made him smile. He ignored the warmth he felt in his face, but his hand was already at the back of his neck - a sign that he was embarrassed. “Thanks,” he mumbled, hoping Tajima hadn’t noticed. But the mirth in the other’s eyes was enough to tell him that he’d been found out. “I’ll show you to the spare room.”

He grabbed Tajima’s suitcase and pulled it down the hall, and made it a point to ignore that Tajima was probably looking around. It felt oddly embarrassing. It shouldn’t, he told himself, it’s your home and he’s your friend. Sakaeguchi has been in every nook and cranny of this place. But with Tajima… it just felt different.

“Here’s your room,” he said, placing the suitcase against the wall. “You’ll probably want to sleep on the recliner for the first week or so. It’ll be more comfortable on your shoulder.” Silence met his explanation. Turning around, he found the space behind him empty. “Tajima?” He called.

“So this is your room?” Tajima called out from down the hall, and Hanai felt panic creep up.

“Hey!” He snapped and rushed out of the room. Tajima was already sitting on his bed and making himself at home. “What do you think you’re doing?” He didn’t like the way his voice rose in pitch.

Tilting his head to the side, Tajima had the audacity to look innocent. “What?” He asked, leaning back against the pillows. “I’m just checking out your home. Why do you look so panicked?” He asked, and Hanai could see the glint in his eyes.

“That’s my bed,” he said, steadying his voice and calming his facial expression.

“Your point?” Tajima challenged. Hanai stared at him. What was Tajima trying to prove from this? What could he possibly gain from being so annoying. Was this just revenge for the teasing earlier? “Hey, is this still the same bed from college?” Tajima asked when Hanai refused to acknowledge his first question. He rolled from his back to his right side and back again. “Feels like it.”

Hanai closed his eyes and took a breath. Yes, it was still the same bed, but he wasn’t about to tell Tajima that with him lying exactly where he used to. “Your bed’s in the other room,” he stated - surprised at how calm he sounded with the growing unease he felt.

“You didn’t even-” Hanai stopped himself from arguing. He could still see the mischief in Tajima’s eyes and if he kept responding, it was only going to instigate him. You’re better than this, he told himself. Huffing in annoyance, Hanai turned toward the hallway. “You’re sleeping on the recliner anyway,” he said with a sense of finality. “Keep rolling around like that and you’re gonna bother that shoulder.”

Perhaps noticing that his little game was over, Tajima sat up with a small pout on his lips. “Do I seriously have to sleep on the recliner? What kind of host makes his guest sleep on the couch?”

Hanai’s face softened at the annoyed look from Tajima. “I know it doesn’t seem comfortable, but Sakaeguchi sleeps on the couches all the time. Besides, you always favored sleeping on your left side. It’ll help you sleep through the night.” Tajima frowned at him. “What?”

“You actually…” Tajima began but shook his head before finishing his thought. “Nevermind,” he stood up from the bed. “You’re right. I’ll sleep on the recliner.”

Although he was confused, Hanai let whatever Tajima had wanted to say go, and brought Tajima back to the guest room. “Do you wanna unpack now or later?” Hanai asked, moving the suitcase to the bed for better access.

“Let’s do it later,” Tajima decided and Hanai nodded, not even questioning how Tajima already wanted to do it together. It would be easier that way anyway. “Hey, can we play with the dogs?” He asked, eyes lighting up. “It’s been years since I’ve had a dog.”

Hanai grinned at that. “Yeah, sure.” Making their way to let the dogs in, Hanai had to contain his laughter. Tajima was basically buzzing with energy. How he managed to be that excited and happy after having surgery earlier that day, Hanai would probably never understand. “If you’re that excited, you’re going to get Shiro wound up again.”

“Sorry,” Tajima laughed at himself. However, any and all attempts to stand still ended quickly. “I just love dogs.”

“You don’t have any pets?” Hanai asked, a frown pulling at his lips when Tajima shook his head. “I would have expected you to at least have some sort of animal running around.” He wouldn’t have been surprised if Tajima had a flying squirrel or something like that.

“No,” Tajima said, eyes on the door waiting for Hanai to open it and let the two dogs in, “I was going to, but it never felt like the right time, you know?”

Hanai didn’t believe that for a second. It had barely been a year into their relationship before Tajima had suggested adopting a dog, and suddenly he’s saying it never felt like the right time? “Really?” Tajima just nodded, but Hanai didn’t miss the fact that Tajima was avoiding his eyes. “Huh, I find that hard to believe,” he said honestly, but opened the door to let the dogs in. Kiko walked in slowly, but Shiro ran straight for Tajima and Hanai had to grab him before he jumped.

Tajima laughed happily as he knelt down to cuddle with Kiko. Hanai smiled as Tajima hugged her tightly and ran his fingers through her fur. “You really are beautiful,” Tajima said to her, and Hanai could swear Kiko’s face lit up at the words.

It was cute to watch, but Hanai couldn’t really see well with Shiro trying to lunge free for Tajima’s attention as well. “Would you just calm down for once in your life?” Hanai asked in exasperation. Shiro’s tail was wagging a mile a minute out of sheer excitement of having someone else in the house. “You weren’t even this excited the first time you saw Sakaeguchi and you love him!”

“It’s because dogs love me!” Tajima grinned, moving to let Shiro sniff his hand. He also got an unfortunate lick or two or twenty, but Tajima just kept smiling happily through it all.

Hanai smiled - glad to see Tajima so different from his behavior before the surgery. “No wonder you always wanted a dog,” he said softly.

Tajima glanced at him before petting Shiro’s head, who was finally starting to calm down. “Yeah, I had a dog when I was younger. They’re great companions.” Hanai hummed in response and let Shiro go. The dog pressed his body up against Tajima’s body and sat there. “What’s he doing?” He chuckled.

“Oh,” Hanai gave Shiro a small pat, “he just does that whenever he wants attention.” Tajima gladly gave it to him, ruffling his fur and scratching his ears. “He really does like you a lot. I mean it. The only other person he remotely attached himself to like this was Sakaeguchi, and it had taken a couple visits for that to sink in.”

“Well I like him, too.” Tajima stood up, but Shiro kept himself plastered to his leg, making Tajima laugh again. “He reminds me of that dog…” He trailed off and the grin on his face faded to a small smile.

Hanai’s face fell a little as well. “Yeah,” he whispered, “I know he does.”

He couldn��t lie about that. One of the main reasons he’d fallen for Shiro in the first place was because he reminded Hanai of the dog Tajima had pointed out years ago. At first, he’d been apprehensive to adopt Shiro, but it felt like fate in a way and it had provided a sense of closure. He would have laughed at that thought now, seeing Tajima in front of him, but at the time… it had seemed perfect, and Shiro had a personality that had him falling in love in seconds.

“Anyway,” Hanai cleared his throat and avoided Tajima’s eyes, “what do you want for dinner?” He walked into the kitchen to start looking at what he had.

“Food already?” Tajima asked from behind him.

“Well, yeah,” Hanai said, trying to decide what he could throw together. “I might as well start cooking now, so it will be ready. I want you to be able to eat before you take your pain medication.” Tajima laughed. “What could possibly be so funny about what I just said?”

Tajima waved him off as he sat down at the kitchen table. “No, it’s just,” he chuckled again before he managed to get his words out, “you’ve been spending way too much time with Sakaeguchi.”

“What? Why?” Hanai frowned at the large grin on Tajima’s face.

“You’re like a mom now. He’s rubbing off on you.” Another fit of laughter had Hanai rolling his eyes.

“Well, I’m sorry for wanting to keep you pain free.” He turned away from Tajima. “So what do you want?”

“I’ll eat anything.”

“Good,” Hanai said as he pulled random ingredients out of his pantry and fridge, “because I honestly don’t know what we are going to eat…” He hadn’t exactly been expecting company. I should probably go to the store after work tomorrow.

As he looked over his hodgepodge of ingredients, Hanai resigned himself to the fact that whatever he made was going to taste weird. The question then became: Was it worth cooking or should they just order out?

Glancing over his shoulder, Hanai smiled. Kiko was lying at Tajima’s feet and looked fast asleep. Shiro, on the other hand, was sitting next to Tajima and had his head plopped in the other’s lap, looking up at the human with what could only be considered puppy eyes. Hanai rolled his eyes at how needy the black dog was.

It was unbelievably domestic and it left Hanai with conflicting emotions again, and he couldn’t quite distinguish whether his stomach was flipping in worry or something else.

“Hey,” Hanai said and waited for Tajima to look up at him. “How about pizza?”

Tajima’s face lit up at the words. “Thank god,” he groaned, “I was a little worried about your cooking skills.”

Hanai should have felt offended and he tried to look annoyed, but he could feel the corners of his lips pulling upward. “I’ll have you know that my cooking skills are amazing.”

“Hanai,” Tajima gave him the most incredulous look, “you had trouble making instant ramen.”

“That was in college!” He defended himself as he scrolled through his phone to find the number he was looking for. “Besides, I had a good teacher,” he said before pressing the contact and waiting for the phone to ring.

He turned to put everything away, missing the confused look that passed across Tajima’s face at his words.