#i tell him i would want to die but the anguish and the want of death would fade like the stars at dawn and things would be much as they are

[eccentrcks]

gone through time ; the prelude

Chapter Title: "The Prelude" Word Count: 4k Synopsis: Nearly tortured to death and just almost at death’s doorstep when she was recuperating. Marlene regained her determination and to continue on living just to ensure that her loved ones are safe, unable to bear if they were to die on her watch. Yet thrown back in time, five decades behind, and found herself in an undesirable situation that leaves Marlene unsure if she’s able to go back home while meeting unlikely allies and enemies in beginning of her new journey. Author's Note: I might cross-post this on Ao3 and Wattpad eventually in the future. I don't know, we'll see. This is a different take than I genuinely anticipated, but my brain had been scrambling for another approach to this series and I followed my gut. Glad I did a lot of improvisations for the first part of the series. Comment to be tagged on, or removed from the taglist if you want! Have a lovely day and night. Taglist: @revnah1406, @welldonekhushi, @alypink, @littlemissclandestine, @walder-138.

“We made it, kid! Just hold on!”

“Tell my mom that… I’m sorry and I never meant what I said.”

“Oh no, no, no! NO! Marlene! MARLENE! NO! Don’t die on me!”

“If you knew it all then? Would you do it again?”

“Where am I?”

“I promise… I didn’t do it.”

“They would’ve been disappointed in you right now.”

“... Just like them to you as well…”

“Hey. You’re a goddamn survivor, kid. Just like your mama. Four times and going. No one with guts like yours could’ve done what you did. Let alone endure the ridiculous shit you’ve been put through. Think about it. You’ve lost and learnt, but it’s all about perseverance in the end.”

“I wish you were my dad...”

“Don’t do it, Marl. You don’t want to end this way.”

…

…

…

The consideration of ending it all had always been in her thoughts ever since losing Anthony. She was just nineteen years old at the time. Her bestest friend, her better half, her soulmate. Her breathing had hitched when she looked down from the window, placed in one of the top floors after getting liberated, with the breezy winds hitting her face.

Until the base had been attacked by an unknown group of operators who definitely knew their shit due to the lack of casualties on their side while she was getting dragged off by Phillip and covered by David with the other Shadows after they jumped out of the floor to the bottom when a grenade was thrown at them.

Lucky or not, she’d survived the impact, sprawled on the floor with the inability to pull herself together. Her breathing was so weak despite having an adrenaline rush. Marlene couldn’t even comprehend her surroundings. The helplessness was there all over again, she couldn’t help herself, or the others, to get out of the danger zone.

It felt like Marlene was slowly dying in the midst of destruction- or so she’d hoped. They didn’t want her to give up so soon, but she held no resistance for the darkness that's consuming her blurred vision. Incoherently mumbling apologies and weakly leaning on Phillip’s shoulder before getting laid down somewhere. Leaving a large amount of blood trails behind them.

They needed to leave her and she desperately pleaded for them to go, which sounded like a wheezy whisper, before she eventually fell into the deep slumber with her heartbeat decreasing by each second. She felt one of them shaking her limp form, shouting her name, and felt their anguished grief. It pained her numbed soul so much, especially when her unmoving face was buried onto someone’s neck while they cradled her in their grasp.

Marlene can’t let anyone else die on her watch. At this moment, she’d die this time for good. Even if it meant without saying properly goodbye to everyone else, although the mere thought of seeing him again to wherever he was brought some little hope to her broken self.

She imagined seeing his stupid, goofy ass dimpled smile. The beautiful light in those vibrant brown eyes that held so much life. The curls at ends of his perfectly brushed short dark hair just bouncing whilst he happily greets her. Nostalgia painfully hits her hard. Remembering she would bury her tearstained face onto his shoulder when they were together, when he was alive, inhaling his soft fragrance, and tightly clinging onto her better half as if he were gonna vanish.

Anthony… I’m coming…

…

…

…

Then her heartbeat was beating once again. Instead of being embraced with death as expected, she was met with the feeling of a long syringe plunging deep into her thigh. Monotonous and disembodied voices were heard with machineries whirring.

Someone mumbled something about her vitals becoming more steady now and got off their knees to walk off after getting called over to assist the others. It sounded like they needed her alive more than dead, otherwise she wouldn’t be slowly waking back up right now.

Her breathing slowly went from shallow to normal, or at least close to what normal as it gets, as Marlene felt like she was laid onto the cold floor, her limbs sprawled, with the ability to move around slowly coming back to her. Regaining and stabilizing her senses too.

Groaning softly and her eyes fluttering open just to see herself in the garage of the overruned base. Largely spacious with crates scattered all over and a group of numerous operators moving around to activate some sort of device. Barely noticing her regaining consciousness and busied with whatever they were doing.

Marlene’s fingers twitched as she struggled to push herself off the floor with a soft grunt. Leaning against a nearby crate after managing to crawl on all fours, without making a single sound, so she can hide behind one of them.

What the hell happened? Why aren't I dead? Why am I still alive? These thoughts ran through her distorted mind as the young woman readjusted her brown jacket over her shaky form and peered over her shoulder to search for a way out.

Unable to understand why and how she is still alive, Marlene knew better than to sit around and wait before something bad happened to her, so her instincts were telling her to evade and think later when it's safe. Just like her mom always says.

Marlene quickly picked at the corner of the crate and yanked some of it, without getting any splinters, although she did chipped a couple nails and didn’t really care about it, to make a handmade weapon. It was the size of her hand, but it was more than alright. Using her nails to make a sharp end and inspected it in her hand after she was done.

Perfect.

Thankfully no one noticed her disappearance and she peeked over to see most of them were still busy. Marlene grunted under her breath when she quietly walked around the shadows while crouching, despite her injuries aching badly, before stopping behind a black bronco.

“Detonation will be ready in five and we have the target subdued,” She hears one of them announce to the radio. “Do you copy? Over.”

The radio cackled in response before another voice was heard. “Copy. We’ll be there in three. We lost visual contact on the other targets, but it doesn't matter, we got the girl. So we’ll be there with the commander. Over.” Someone monotonously answered.

“Copy that. Over.”

Then Marlene noticed one of the operators that was keeping guard, far away from the group, walking towards her area. They wandered closer to her range before pausing in mid-step after hearing a little rustling sound.

Stepping closer to the source of the sound, they cautiously peeked over the hood of the bronco and saw nobody there at all. Straightening up and just stood there for less than a minute before they shrugged it off.

“Huh…” They shook their head, assuming they were just hearing things, or maybe it was a rat, and turned around just to have a wooden weapon shoved right in their jugular and slicing across the throat as they gagged and choked hard before Marlene quietly laid them on the floor so no sound was made.

Breathing heavily as she let them bleed to death before yanking their weapon off them. Heckler & Koch KH94A3. Checking the safety and ammunition. Safety on and magazine full, just what I actually need, thank fuck. She also unstrapped their knife, holstering it at the back of her jeans, before limping off in a crouching position still.

Whatever they injected in me with… I’m not completely immobile compared to before… She considered just leaving before her situation could get any worse, but then they’ll just come after her- or worse, after the ones who she cares about too. I don’t know if they made it out or not…

Marlene decided to take a stand and not yield to these assholes. Hurrying to the other side after hiding and disposing of the body, she mustered whatever strength induced into her, and regained through one's will, they weren’t gonna get away with this. Her morality bar got low a long time ago anyways, she isn’t opposed to taking down whoever is responsible for attacking them.

Mom would do the same thing… She thought grimly before cocking the weapon in her hands.

One of them went to check on her before realizing that she wasn’t laying there unconscious anymore as Marlene rushed up to the unfortunate soul and shoved the end of her weapon below their chin and pulled the trigger.

The gunshot startled the others as blood and clumps of brain splattered on her clothes down to the floor. She couldn’t care less and began creating carnage among them with whatever energy she had left.

Using the crates and unignited vehicles for cover, they didn’t last much due to their weapons and group of numbers, occasionally grabbing onto one of them to use as a meatshield before blowing their head off and dumping them aside, as Marlene didn’t waste a single bullet.

Taking the dead ones discarded guns with the magazines to replace her current empty one. Heckler & Koch MP7A2. Quietly crawling fast underneath an obstacle to sneak up behind another to stab the back of their right calf before using her submachine gun to take them down.

“She’s over there!” One of them shouted to their teammates- which ended with a few bullets through their visor of the helmet, dropping dead as she sprinted, her bad leg making her stumble a little, as Marlene tackled an unsuspecting operator from behind and plunged the knife through the back of their neck. Twisting it roughly before pulling it out. Snatching a flash grenade from the vest and tossing it over with a clicking sound towards a group of seven.

“Goddamnit!” One of them snapped in frustration while removing his helmet, carelessly dropping it aside on the ground, to rub his eyes so he could try to recover from the temporary blindness. “Don’t kill her! We need the target alive!” Squinting and looking around for her whereabouts. She wasn’t nowhere to be seen, much to his displeasure.

Until the sound of an engine being ignited, headlights getting flashed upon them, caught him off guard once most of them were rammed by a bronco. Dropping almost like dominoes and most of them succumbed from the impact.

“... I should’ve known why we were selected for this operation.” The incapacitated operator groaned in discomfort and slowly rolled to his side to try to stand back up on his feet. Just hearing the vehicle’s door opening and slammed shut with the sound of staggering footsteps coming towards him. He looked up at her, seeing the gun barrel aimed at his face, as his target just stared down at him apathetically. No remorse for her actions. He actually has a good amount of respect for that.

Her mother raised a killing machine for sure… He internally commented to himself.

“Before I blow your brains out from your skull. All I wanna know is… Why?” Marlene asked with her hand trembling a bit. Looking down at him, he is a caucasian male seemingly in his late-twenties, short messy dirty blonde hair, grayish blue eyes, and looked like shit from what she just did to him not too long ago.

He remained unresponsive just for a minute before giving her a serious look. “We’re just following orders here, kid. This was just bound to happen sooner or later.” The operator gave a cryptic response instead of a direct one.

This answer barely made her happy at all. This just irritated her and she wanted nothing more than to tear his throat apart with a bullet through his skull. Marlene bit the tip of her tongue in frustration and looked aside to see some sort of heavy looking device, but what caught her attention was that it had a timer on it.

Fifty-nine seconds left.

It looked like it could take the entire building down with that amount of explosives on it. Someone clearly wanted to get rid of any evidence of this attack on this base. Although she was quite unfamiliar with a blue glowy, bioluminescent-looking substance inside some glass tubes tied between wires and whatever you’d need for a bomb.

Shit… Marlene blinked owlishly and turned her head to look down at the man.

As if reading her mind, the nameless man just gave her a blank stare in return. “There’s no point. You won’t be able to disarm it – even if you tried.” He grunted when she kicked him right on the sternum before dropping back down onto his back on the floor when he tried getting up.

“I’d ask who the hell are you, or who are you working for, but I'm not gonna waste anymore of my precious time when you clearly aren’t gonna give me straight answers.” Marlene said coldly and just turned around right after shooting his left thigh and right ankle, he screamed and writhed in pain, as she pushed herself towards the exit. “You can just die here for all I care…” She mumbled under her breath.

I need to make sure they’re still alive… I can’t live with myself if something happens to them… not again… I can’t go through this again...

Just before Marlene can reach for the door handles, it suddenly bursts open, making her stagger backwards slightly, as she is met with an intimidating, masked and heavily armed individual who raises their gloved fist and swiftly pounded it against her face.

Her mouth opened in a silent shriek from the sudden punch as she fell on her backside onto the floor. Ignoring the pain coming from her face. Hastily pushing herself back up with a grunt, looking back up to see her attacker marching towards her, whipping out some sort of electric baton from their thigh holster.

Marlene shouted in pain when they managed to lunge forward to swing the weapon and hit right onto her gut. Almost stumbling on her feet like a newborn fawn, she turned and began running around the garage to avoid the hits while trying to steady her breath at the same time.

“I literally don’t have time for this bullshit!” She can already feel the adrenaline leaving her. This wasn’t good at all. Marlene needed to get the hell out before this place imploded in less than a minute. Unable to think properly while getting chased, she simply found a barrel filled with gasoline ahead of herself, raising her weapon to shoot at it just in time, running past it as being pursued at the same time.

Getting ungracefully flung forward onto the floor, with her attacker flailing to the side, roughly landing against the wall and crates. Their weight crushed them as they laid limp in the pile, meanwhile Marlene sighed in exhaustion against the cold floor, unbothered by the heat against her backside, and pushed herself off the floor to on her knees.

Barely able to fully stabilize herself in a short span of time. Marlene felt her wrist getting toughly tugged by the same operator she’d just incapacitated not too long ago. He yanked her closer and slapped some sort of device, or whatever weird looking watch it was, onto her wrist. She winced when the sharp feeling pierced into her flesh. Recoiling away as the young woman felt like writhing right there when the device triggered something within her.

A gasp slipped from her lips once the device imploded. Flashes of a blinding whitish, bluish hues filled her vision as it felt like gravity became nonexistent.

Then everything became black.

-

It was all bright and everything happened so fast. She could barely comprehend and wondered if she was actually dead this time, or somewhat survived, because this was getting ridiculous for her.

Marlene felt the left side of her face just numbingly cold and wet. It’s snow, she’d know the feeling. Breezy winds hitting the exposed side of her face as she softly groans, slowly pushing herself up, and those brown eyes fluttering open just to see she was in the middle of nowhere.

She felt fine- which shouldn’t be fine. Marlene was painfully aware that she wasn’t born normal like other people, her mom had tended to constantly remind her that since she was young girl, but this hasn’t happened to her once before.

However her head was throbbing real bad with the nauseous feeling hitting her. She couldn’t barely recall the last time she’d felt this whiplashed. Now Marlene could barely recall the entire event that just happened before literally landing here. It’s like recalling bits of scenes of a broken film or something.

And Marlene wasn’t entirely sure if her attire would keep her warm long enough to seek refuge. Her brown jacket wouldn’t be enough against the snow just as her blue hoodie underneath it.

“Whatever, at least I’m not half naked.” She muttered to herself and dragged herself through the thick snow. “I can keep whatever is left of my dignity.” Snorting in disbelief to herself after saying that.

“I need to wait this weather out somewhere warm in the meantime. Something tells me that I’m definitely not in Alaska or Wisconsin.” Marlene sighed, slightly annoyed due to her circumstances, and trudged along into the blizzard. Her boots weren’t suited for winter as well. She can already feel the snow going into them.

The temperature was bringing back some bad foggy memories and she was just glad that nobody was pouring steaming hot water on her at the same time.

~

Marlene shivered and her teeth chattered, wrists twitching against the leather binds, as she was barely able to recover from the bucket of cold water with ice in them getting poured right on her before the bucket of hot water after that.

Dissociation was her friend in this moment as she zoned out while muting out their voices.

Biting onto her tongue and cheek from the inside of her mouth to prevent herself from screaming when the process was repeated. Soon pneumonia would catch up to her if they don’t use the blowtorch on her later.

“Bluebird, tree frog, ladybug… bluebird, tree frog, ladybug…” Marlene kept repeating those words under her hoarse breath and rocked herself at the same time. It helps her pass the time, soon she’ll be back in her claustrophobically small cell, and a few hours of peace will be granted to her before they bring her back out of there again.

~

How long can this go? It felt longer than ten minutes since she’d been walking in this cold hellhole. Huffing and almost wheezing as Marlene pushed her legs forward while rubbing her arms. On the bright side… At least this isn’t the desert where I could've passed out from a deadly heat stroke by now… She tried to be optimistic about this, really, she did.

The device on her wrist wasn’t helping either.

Something sharp that felt like needles was digging deep into her wrist whenever she tried to yank at it, or make an attempt to take it off, but her attempts were futile for now as it remained on her. Chopping her hand off wasn’t an option.

“Bluebird, tree frog, ladybug, bluebird, tree frog, ladybug, bluebird, tree frog, ladybug…” Marlene repeated and continued on as pausing in mid step once she heard sounds of a helicopter, or more than one, above her. “Oh, I don’t like that.” She muttered and shook her head before increasing the pace throughout the thick snow.

Something caught her eye from the right above as a figure moved through the trees with such speed. Barely able to react and just kept going faster so she could find some civilization with someplace warm to recuperate for the meantime.

Hearing someone yell from the distance with some gunfire as it lasted for about a minute before it abruptly stopped. Quite unsettling for her, but Marlene had to keep her cool, no pun intended, and decided to check it out by changing her direction.

Snow got lower and easier for her to move around. Hopping once Marlene got onto the solid ground and practically jogged towards the source of noise until she ungracefully slipped on the unnoticed ice beneath her, grunting in pain when she landed on her bad side, and went to get back up before stopping when droplets of blood dropped next her to hand.

“Huh?” Looking up and almost slipping again once Marlene immediately noticed a dangling corpse, what appears to be a soviet uniform, or what's left of the body, hanging from a tree with a black wire wrapped around their mangled neck. Her breathing stopped there for a moment.

“What in the- oh, what the actual fucking hell!” Cursing when realizing the blood was getting on her clothes and hastily got back on her feet. Messily wiping it off her sleeve and regulating her breathing pattern before a panic attack hits her.

Furrowing her eyebrows and inspecting the mess noticing the necessities, which is a pistol with ammunition, a few grenades, and a small medkit onto the body. Marlene thought about this for a minute and due to her condition being on the thread right now, her moral compass was completely gray at this very point.

… This is so wrong, but I’m gonna need those… Sighing to herself and reluctantly grabbed a long branch after looking around for a second and began climbing onto the nearby tree with ease. Then jumping onto the same branch that held onto the hanging body, her body ached, but ignored it, she began hitting the pistol off. It took some hits for the weapon to fall off as it landed on the ground.

Letting go of the branch and landing on her feet, well, onto her knees due to staggering slightly. She reached down for the weapon and checked if it was full, which it was, before looking back up to aim for the wire after turning the safety off.

It dropped once she shot it loose as Marlene looked around cautiously before kneeling down next to the corpse to take what she needed. “I’m sorry…” Mumbling under her breath and standing back up right after just looting a dead body.

Somebody would've done the same if they were in my position…

Grimacing when the blood continued flowing and the red liquid almost surrounded the body in the snow. Then Marlene made a move on and kept a wary eye over her shoulder just after that, knowing she likely wasn’t alone out here. It wasn’t safe for anyone like her to be roaming around in the snowy woods.

Jesus… How long will it take for me to get to a nearby town? Marlene was sure enough that she might have to take camp for the night sooner than later or else a wild animal will have her for dinner.

“It would be un-bear-able for me if I got wolf-ed down… heh…” She chuckled dryly to herself for making such a wildlife joke, it was good in her personal opinion, when nobody else was around to hear it.

“Bluebird, tree frog, ladybug, bluebird, tree frog, ladybug, bluebird, tree frog, ladybug…” Marlene continued with the mantra and climbed over a log, wincing with everything in her entire body and began to ache again, as she was mentally and physically overwhelmed.

It wasn’t long before she crumbled down onto the ground with a pained sound. One of the most painful headaches pounded at her head as well. The gun slipped from her shivering hands, she could barely move a limp without feeling like she was back in that dark hole again, getting tortured all over, and it only hurt more when she tried moving.

Tears swelled up in those brown eyes as she eventually stopped writhing with her breathing becoming shallow and black dots blocking her blurred vision.

The last thing that she heard was snow crunching nearby with branches moving as a pair of boots stood in front of her limp form.

[heartoflesh]

"Things don't have to end, but they can't stay the same." "Ok. Let me die then."

Excerpts from a book I'll never write, William

[mumblelard]

i didn't get the chairs put up before that storm last night so they got soaked. this morning, i was trying to dump the puddles out of the dents where the butts go, but boba wouldn't get out of the way. when i tried to move her, little punk juked me and jumped right in the puddle. she spent a minute cussing that chair, but i think all will be forgiven by this afternoon or when the world gets all hot and basky, whichever comes first

i had given away all my cameras, but i just got an old polaroid, basically for free, at an estate sale. it's had some film in it for a couple of weeks now, but i've been saving it for who knows what. that hoardy feeling is making my brain itchy so i am going to use it by the end of the week or else

[specialagentartemis]

I have a different post in the works about Maddie not having children in the "Masters of All Time" timeline - it makes the emotional dilemma about whether Maddie should help Danny repair and reset the timeline straightforward and clean, but the thing is, the premise that "Masters of All Time" gives us is a FASCINATING and potentially really anguishing emotional dilemma if the writers were allowed to acknowledge it.

Maddie isn't happy in the MoAT timeline. When Danny shows up in her timeline, frantically trying to explain to her that he's her son with Jack Fenton from a different timeline, she accepts and embraces this explanation pretty quickly. It feels like she wants to believe it - she wants to believe that if things had gone differently, she would have married Jack, had children, had a ghost-hunting career she could be open and proud about. Everything Danny offers to her is something she wants more than what she has - a husband who has been lying to her, who dislikes ghost stuff and disapproves of her ghost research, so she has to do it in secret and hide it from him.

Something that goes totally unaddressed: Danny, her son from a different timeline, is a ghost. He's dead.

Never once does anyone stop to wonder what it means that her teenage son is a ghost.

And I know it's because Hartman & co. refuse to let anyone acknowledge that ghosts are dead people... but imagine they did.

Maddie Masters is... happy enough, she guesses. She married her college friend, and he is her friend, and she's not opposed to this. He doesn't support her work, but, well. She deals. She has her basement ghost research lab, even if she has to keep it secret from Vlad. She lost touch with Jack decades ago, and still regrets that, but that happens, sometimes, and his grievances aren't unfounded. She doesn't have children.

And then a ghost boy claiming to be her son shows up, and tells her that in a different timeline, the timeline that should have happened, she married Jack Fenton, she has two children, she is is out and proud about her ghost research and ghost-hunting and Jack enthusiastically collaborates with her on it. He tells her she's happy.

He doesn't tell her how he died.

And Maddie has a heartbreaking choice to make. Does she help him make this reality happen, restore time to how it's "supposed" to go?She wants to believe him, to believe in this alternate history where things went differently and she got the life she wanted! She has a wacky house full of Ghost Contraptions, a husband who loves her and supports her and collaborates with her, and two children she loves.

... and one of those children is going to die when he's 14. That comes with this choice.

Can she live with that? Consciously make this timeline happen, knowing she's going to have this child and then see him die.

It puts me in mind of one of the major emotional through-lines of "Story of Your Life" by Ted Chiang, the story of a linguist who makes contact with aliens and learns their language that allows her to see all of time at once, where it will go, what the outcomes of events will be. She sees her daughter dying. She knows from the moment she has this child that she will die in a rock-climbing accident in college. She sees it all at once, her whole life, and makes that choice to have a baby anyway.

I think MoAT!Maddie should have to consciously make a similar choice, and have similar feelings about it. Unlike the protagonist of "Story of Your Life," she doesn't know how it will all go. She only knows it as Danny tells her, and she herself won't really experience this, going forward. But she, another version of her, will. And Danny doesn't explain the halfa thing or the portal accident or anything, leaving Maddie to have to make her own hypotheses about what her alternate-life's future holds, about the grief that's going to come with the love, and make that choice to make it happen anyway.

[killerkillerkillher]

Bound to Fall in Love

Angel/Demon! 141 x reader

Tags: kidnapping, sacrifices, religious references, reader is too angry to die, reader commits murder lol, canon typical violence??, reader gets a kissy on the forehead, a tad crack-ish

Inclusivity tags: reader is referred to w he/him and they/them pronouns, no bodily description, no y/n

A/n: call my brain an apple w all the worms it's got. This was just a blurb at first, but I made room in there for me to potentially make it into... something I guess.

minors dni!

"Cole, I can't fucking focus while they're just... staring at us like that."

"Ignore it, Bess. We have to finish these candles."

You wish a bolt of lightening would come down and strike all three of you at once. Or maybe the building spontaneously combusting would be better. Anything, anything, would be better at this moment than watching your boyfriend and best friend work together to light a summoning circle after having tied you up in your sleep.

For a fraction of a second, you wonder if any gods are watching, if any of them would be willing to give you a boon and allow you one last chance to punch both of these betrayers in the face.

"Okay, okay, the book," Bess mutters, going to the pick up her ritual book from the coffee table you bought. Honestly, if they were going to try to sacrifice you somewhere, your living room is one of the most disrespectful places. Probably right under your bed room.

"I'm sorry," Cole has the gaul to look down at you with a face stricken with grief. Like you're dead already. "We didn't know what else to do. We're both in bad places and you've always been so good to us, so we figured-"

"You better hope this fucking kills me." You grunt. Cole's face melts into a glare. "Because if I'm still breathing, it's going to take more than Satan's intervention to save you from me. I swear on my mother." You jerk forward, making him jump back a step.

"Cole...?" Bess looks at you, then up at Cole with unease. Cole doesn't say anything for a second, sorting his feelings out with a leer before turning to her.

"Read the book."

He drags you into the middle of their pentagram while she sings Latin words off the old book pages. The candles flicker and waver before their flames grow twice as tall. Cole rolls you onto your back and pulls a knife from his back pocket.

"I meant it when I said I'm sorry," Cole mutters. You snarl, but don't jump at him like you want to.

"Yeah? Yeah, you're sorry? Kiss my ass!" You shout over Bess's reading. "If I'm still alive after this, I'm killing you and burying you in the fucking septic tank!" You crane your head up so you can see Bess as well. "Time to get some stuff off my chest, yeah? Bess, I fucked your older brother on the day we graduated."

Her eyes go wide, and she almost stops talking, but Cole shoots her a look that forces her to continue.

"And his friend Carl, the one you had a crush on. And Cole? I never. Fucking. Finished. Ever! You are the only person I've dated who couldn't get me off." Cole's hand's twitch around the blade.

"Are you serious?"

"Does now look like a time to- ack!" You don't get to finish because Bess finished the spell and it was time for your blood to fuel it. The blade buries in your gut, turning this way and that way at measured increments. You just lay there and twitch, breathy gasps falling from your gaping mouth, the pain only throwing fuel to the fires of your rage.

"Please, we call you here! Honor us with your presence!" Bess chants. Cole step away from you when the candles roar and your vision is filled with bright red and orange.

The ground beneath you rumbles. Whispers fill your ears, nothing you can ever imagine understanding, but something tells you they're other summoners. Or maybe little souls of those who were just where you are now, with a people sacrificing them.

It's odd, you think as blood soaks your back, your hair. You thought you'd be more scared in what could be your final moments. But there's only anguish where there should be fear. Only unfettered violent tension felt in your muscles, and a tongue hungering for iron and gore. You're jaw is wound tight enough to shatter your teeth.

If you could think straight, if you weren't about to die, you might be a little concerned. Never have you wanted to sink your fingers into someone's soft bits as much as you do now. This is normal, right? A normal amount of rage for the people taking your life.

Something in your gut tells you it's not.

In the fog of your rage, you missed the appearance of a pair of men above you. They hover, leathery plum colored wings sagging. One wears a leather strap harness across his chest, while the other favors an unbuttoned silk shirt. One of them looks at you curious as the fire dies, steam and copper colored smoke bellowing from his mouth. A thick cigar hangs on his lips.

"You came! There's... two of you?" Cole gawks, then falls to his knees beside Bess. You can't help but scoff at their sniveling forms.

"We did. There are." The one without the cigar brushes back his long mohawk to get a better look at the whimpering humans. They're nothing new to them, just another set of weak little things looking to get something without putting in the work for it.

Well, they might have had to put in the work to capture you, based on the way you still squirm and fight the rope keeping your arms together. So much blood has left you. You are going to die. Yet you spend your last moments doing what most humans find to be a waste of precious time. Being angry. It's interesting.

"What do you want?" The bearded one in the silk shirt grunts out around his cigar. Bess lifts her head just a bit to speak.

"We want to make a trade. A soul for a better life for us."

There's a moment of silence. You blink your heavy lids, growing too tired to do much else anymore. Both demons look back at you, then to the kneeling humans.

"They're not dead." They say at the same time.

Bess and Cole stiffen and finally chance a glance at you. You're bleeding, a glassy look to your eye and a smile on your face, but you're not dead.

"See, Bess?" You cough up blood only to swallow it back down, "what did I tell you? The cunt can't make me come and can't... can't even make me go."

The mohawked devil pops a wicked smile, not even hiding it from his would-be contractors.

Cole fumes. "I can finish the job. Fuck, am I going to finish the job." He stands, moving to step into the circle only to yelp, the invisible border around the summoning circle becoming visible if only to shock Cole back.

"Not so fast," the bearded one spawns a scroll in his hand. He's eyes glow a molten orange as he scans it. "Section 1, clause 3, part 19 states: executioner(s) must sacrifice one(1) human soul to contractee(s)... Let's see... Here it is: Sacrificee(s) must be dead upon arrival so that proper collection can be done. If sacrificee(s) is still soul bond upon arrival, then they are made the true contractor and all work will be conducted with them."

"In other words," the mohawked one grinned, "you should have went for the heart." He taps at his chest.

"Or the neck." The other devil offers.

"Or that vein in they're thigh."

"The sephenous, Johnny."

"Yeah, that."

"No, no!" Cole grabs at his hair as Bess looks like she's about to start crying. You want to laugh. They deserve the despair. They deserve the horror in their mistake. They were going to kill you!

"That means," the devils lean back to look at you. "You're our contractor. You get two requests at the price of one, human. I suggest one of those requests includes healing you." He flicks the ashes of his cigar on your leg. You don't even have to think of what you want most right now.

"I want you to untie me." You roll on your side. They wait for the rest. Cole and Bess look like they're going to shit themselves from the pale faced looks of terror they give you. Your eyes narrow. "And a hammer. A old fashioned iron and wood handled hammer."

Another beat of silence before the infernals bend over in laughter. The room shacks, sulfuric smoke pouring from their mouths to funk up the room. Cole tries to cox Bess to her feet while they're distracted. Their feet can't move though. It's like they're glued in placed and no amount of pulling and tugging could get them loose. Shame.

"Yer a funny one, love. I'll love having your soul for a few eternities." The one in leather floats over you, tilting his head this way and that way to get a good look at you. You settle him with a neutral look. "My name is Johnny. You sure that's what you want? I think you've only got a few minutes left in you."

"Then let's hurry this up a little, huh?"

"Ooh, you heard 'em." The cigared one snickers and snaps his claws. Two contracts appear in front of your face, both written in a language you can hardly comprehend. A pen appeared in front of your mouth. "Sign on the dotted line please."

You take the quill in your mouth, dip it in the blood beneath you.

"Rah 'ere?"

"Mhm."

You lean forward to dot the paper with your sloppy signature, but bizarrely enough, it seems like the powers that be have decided that they haven't made enough appearances. The floor trembles, and you worry about your poor infrastructure for a fraction of a second, when a set of gold doors spawn right behind you. You roll back onto your back to intake everything. You swear you're hallucinating when a pair of white winged angels step out, the clouded blue of heaven at their back.

"Hello?" You greet stupidly. You must be losing your mind, right? What the fuck is happening.

"Do not sign a thing." The bronzen angel instructs. "Human, we are here as messengers. God sees great things for you in your ascension. Please do not squander that to these demons." He shoots a sharp look at the demonic pair. The angel's counterpart wears a white cloak, obscuring all but his glowing golden eyes. You half expect him to sing "Be not afraid." despite you actively shitting bricks.

Oddly enough, their appearence seems to have some sort of healing property. Your lethargy starts to clear and the blade in your gut starts to get pushed out. Nothing hurts anymore.

"Oh, so we've got a big soul on our hands here, huh?" Johnny smirks. "Price, what's the plan?"

Price the devil throws his cigar to the ground and crushes it.

"Do what we do best. Bargain."

"Don't play with us, Price." The shrouded angel grunts. He's got a mind piercing voice that's got your head ringing, and you swear it echoes despite the room being well furnished. "We can provide them with just as much, if not more, at no cost of their soul." Those gold orbs land on you. "All we ask for is your faith."

"Jesus fucking Christ!" You tug at your bonds with renewed vigor. The angels wince at the mention of their Lord, but only watch as you force yourself upright. "I could not give a rat's ass who gets what! How about this? First one to get me free and a hammer in hand gets my loyalty."

There's two resounding snaps from either side of you. The ropes disappear, a hammer is in your left and right hand. You don't think deeper on what that implies. You finally stand, dropping the hammer in your nondominant hand, and march over to the two people you thought you could trust. They kneel now, seemingly ready to beg for their souls.

"Come on, don't look scared now." You drop your hands on your hips. "What happened to you finishing the job?"

"I didn't want-"

"Say it with your chest." You poke his breast plate with the iron hammer head.

"I didn't want it to come to this!" Cole yells. The divine audience doesn't say anything about it. They watch you curiously as you bounce the hammer in hand. Your soul is visible to them. What should be a glowing ball of light is a red and white morning star, all sharp edges and pulsing like a heart. Your soul will certainly not end up with the others, that much is true.

"I just... I couldn't keep up with you! Your life style, the way you act, your job. I never left good enough. Bess expressed the same thing and we just... clicked. We would have just left, but we could have never lived without struggling, so we just..." He swallows. You can't look at him anymore, hands clenching at what he says next. "The book called for someone we cared for."

''That supposed to make me feel better?" You tilt your head. Cole winces, eyes falling on your feet. You look to Bess. "Thought you were better than this. You were going to kill me. Because what, I was happy? I loved both of you, you could have just talked to me."

"We're sorry! What more do you want?" Bess sobs. You straighten up, bouncing the hammer on your hip, acting like you next action is something to deliberate. You already know what they deserve, and a flash of sadness bubbles in your chest, but it quickly passes as a hot, searing emotion burns a hole into what little hesitation you had left.

"Reckon I want your souls after all the shit you've caused." You grin before swinging the hammer back and caving in Cole's chest.

"Fuck..." is all you can say after everything is done. Cole and Bess lay in a bloody heep, all recognizable features destroyed and crushed. You pant, hands trembling and nothing but white noise and static crunching around in your head. You just killed your best friend and boyfriend. For some reason, you've never felt so light.

Someone's whistle gets followed by a clap.

"Impressive. Done that before?" Johnny chuckles. He floats closer, hand running down your back as he moves past and pokes around the pulped organs. "Shite, did them right in. Can't tell which is which."

"I've never-" you start to answer, but hands are clapped onto your shoulders, shocking you into silence.

"Well, that was a good place to start, lad. Your swings were a bit sloppy, but we can fix that." Price squeezes at your trapezius, massaging the stiffness out of them. A throat clears, and Price sighs like he forgot there was other company.

"We aren't finished. The human is our ward now, Price." The uncloaked angel snaps his finger, pulling you from Price and making you spawn between the two angels. The bronzen angel smiles down at you with teeth so white you could damn near see your reflection.

"There you are. It's nicer to have you close. My friend here is Simon and I'm-"

"Come on, Kyle, you know he's ours!" Johnny spits, his wings flaring out. "We gave him the hammer first, so piss off."

"Uh...huh." Kyle's smile falls. "I think you're a bit mistaken. Look, after executing the human's request, I have his name here." A stone slab appears in front of your face. It's smells like sunshine and warm grass. What the fuck. "His pledge to the Lord has been set and his soul already has a place next to Their throne."

"Right, right, like we don't have documentation neither." Johnny huffs. The stone disappears as a scroll appears next to the devil. The smell of sulfur and smoke wafts over to you. "His name is right there, pretty boy. Getting yer fuckin' lookers on."

Kyle ignores the rude tone and does pull out a pair of reading glasses to go over the scroll. You stand there in the silence, a little too scared to speak up. What could you do anyway? In a blind anger, you didn't really have the mind to think any of this out. Angels and devils are fighting over you because you'd stupid ass was too blood hungry to think past murder. All that can be done is for them to figure this out amongst themselves, and for you to wait for the sentencing. Heaven, or Hell?

"...Simon." Kyle slowly pulls his glasses off. "This is legit. His soul is promised to all of us."

You glance up at Simon, the scary motherfucker. He blinks. Once. Twice. Then pinches the bridge of his nose with a hagard sigh.

"Shit."

That's not good.

Johnny laughs, Price grinning like a dog with a bone. Kyle marches over to you, patting your shoulders with an awkward smile. His demeanor reminds you of the way your mom acted when she said she was going to divorce your dad. And all you can think is "Not this again." Are you going to be spending your afterlife going between heaven and hell forever? Does God get weekends because Their day is Sunday or whatever?

"We need to go and talk this over with some superiors. We'll clean this up," Kyle snaps and the gore is gone, so is the ritual circle and candles. "And we'll get back to you in the morning." He places a feather light kiss on your forehead, and suddenly you're squeaky clean and in the softest set of pajamas you've ever worn. "Stay safe while we're gone and don't allow these two to influence you. Get some rest."

"Blah, blah, blah," Johnny mocks from the sidelines. Price tilts his head, and there's nothing but amusement behind those eyes. Yeah, this is exactly like your parents divorce.

"O-okay? I mean, I'll try." You shrug.

Simon nods. "That's all you can do." He steps back into the golden doorway and Kyle falls in stride. You make some distance, and with a final wave from a white toothed angel, the doors shut with a slam that shakes the house's foundation.

"Just you and us now, stud."

You turn with a comedic slowness to the devils. Price chuffs and floats forward. His assess you, takes you in in all your fluffy white pajama glory, and it seems he finds what he wants when he nods.

"Guess we've got to talk with top brass to see what's going on ourselves. Pity we couldn't stick around longer." The devil's eyes never meet yours, staying glued to various parts of your face. They hop from ears, to your eyebrows, down to your lips. Christ on a bike, is it getting hot in here? His blue, glowing cerulean eyes appear to flash with something.

"Shite, yer right." Johnny groans. "I hate going down there."

"Suck it up, love. You know how I feel about sharing." Price drops his interest in you like an old toy and takes Johnny close by his waist. You watch with a lead poisoned stare as their noses touch intimately, words you can't hear being exchanged. It's kinda of awkward to just stand there and watch but your brain isn't really functioning well enough to tell you to stop.

"Hey, stud." You blink, refocusing on the pair. Johnny seems to have climbed his partner, his legs on his waist and arms around his neck. Price makes busy opening a portal to hell in your livingroom with one hand, supporting Johnny under his ass with the other. "Sit pretty, yeah? 'll be back before those two arseholes, promise."

"Right... yeah." You nod. "Uh, be safe?"

"Be safe, he says." Price mutters. "Cute." Johnny waves until Price steps through the infernal hole and falls from view. The portal closes right behind him so you'd have no hopes of seeing anything but the red hue of smog and dust.

And here you are. A little dazed, a little sad, probably holding back a break down from the last hour of events. But you're alive and you're healed. There's no blood to clean, you're in comfortable pajamas. Could probably sleep right now if your brain would stop for a minute, but it doesn't look like that's in the plans.

So you look for something to do. Cole and Bess and moved around all your furniture to make the summoning circle. Guess you can start there, right?

[lemonmaid]

You know what I love chat? Reincarnation.

Imagine being Sukuna's lover in every universe, in every life, every time stamp, but not surviving a single one.

Sukuna remembering every, e v e r y single one. The anguish, the raw feeling he feels every single time watching you die.

Warnings: slowly crippling insanity, yandereish, pregnancy, male pregnancy, omegaverse, mention abortion, gender neutral reader but the first and second are female and male, child birth, sacrificing

First.

It was a typical love story, a farm boy meeting a daughter of a shaman. When Sukuna first started courting, the man of the house, (Name)'s mother, told him that he had bad, very demonic energy and needed to be cleansed. (Name) and Sukuna rolled their eyes and eloped.

Sukuna rushed to his shared home with you. He was in the fields working in the blistering summer heat when a messenger ran towards him, telling him his wife was in labor.

He felt ecstatic. He prayed to the gods that your delivery would be safe.

Appernlty no gods bared him that request.

"Mrs Ryomen!! Relax".

(Name) let out a pained cry, their stomach contracted, tighting to move the babe from their stomach, "I- FUCK! I CANT!".

Midwives held onto (Name)'s hands, easing (Name) onto their knees, "Ma'am- you have to push-".

Sukuna slammed open the door, hearing his wife's crys, "I'm here!!".

(Name) looked at Sukuna with teary eyes, "Suki- OH GODS!".

Sukuna rushed to (Name)'s side, holding her hand, "Breathe my love-".

(Name) let out a scream, the midwives speaking amongst themselves. A small cry was heard, "it's a boy sir".

Sukuna held a proud smile on his face, looking down at his wife to see their reaction.

(Name) looked at Sukuna in a daze and back at their son, "he's beautiful Suki....".

Sukuna looked at (Name) with worried eyes, looking at the midwives, "something- hey- something is wrong!!".

One of the midwives looked under (Name)'s nightgown before going pale. One rushed out of the small hut. Sukuna gave his son to a midwife, before putting his focus on his wife, "hey hey hey, look at me, don't close your eyes".

The doctor didn't show up untill three hours later, but by that time (Name) was gone.

Sukuna looked at his crying son, his heart heavy, his mind weaked.

'I would do anything to bring them back'.

'Anything?' A voice rang out.

Sukuna looked backed at his crying son, then at the marbled statue at the altar.

That day, Sukuna murdered his own blood for a gamble with a hinnagami. It wasn't until his death that he knew what he wished for.

Second.

When Sukuna awoke, or when he first gained consciousness; he was in a different world or what he concluded a different universe.

Alphas, betas and Omegas.

It was... peculiar, different, but when he found you again, he stopped caring. You were a male this time, a beta male. It didn't matter to him. You were his mate, his soul mate, and he wasn't going to lose you this time.

"I want you to take birth control".

You looked at him with a deadpan face, "Okay werido".

"I'm serious".

You sighed. You've only dated or courted Sukuna for a year, and it felt like he knew everything about you, he had his quirks but it didn't make you love him any less.

"Baby." You reached over, grabbing his waist, "I'm a beta.... I can't get pregnant. "

"Sir, I'm surprised to say this, but you're pregnant".

Sukuna felt his heart drop to his chest. You were flabbergasted, "HOW!?" Both of you said in allusion.

"It looks like you're just.... an omega in terms".

Sukuna growled, "in terms of what? He doesn't have a scent nor-".

"I understand that, sir, your mate has.... we just need to do further testing".

After the doctor left the room, Sukuna has his eyes on you. "You need to get an abortion".

Your eyes widen, "excuse me?".

"You need to remove the thing-".

"That thing is our pup-".

"It's going to kill you-".

"You don't know that! People give birth every day, and it there's, like, barely a chance of death! We live in a time of technology! Not like, the stone age!".

Sukuna huffed, "I think....".

"I think you're just scared, baby..." You grabbed his hand, "... it's..... I know you're scared and I am too, but I want this with you... I'm ready. " You smiled softly at Sukuna, your smile relaxing him.

You were five months pregnant when you died. Sukuna could've laughed. It wasn't this pregnancy that killed you. No, it was a freak accident. Who would've thought that a fire happened at your work trapping you inside on your last day before maternity leave.

Three

When Sukuna awoke again, he vowed to just convince you (trap you) to stay at home. This time, he would get a vasectomy when he was of age.

Sukuna searched for you.

He didn't care about this world.

He just wanted to find you.

He found you.

But you were already dead.

20

In this life, luckily, he had the chance to grow up with you. You both went to the same school, became highschool sweethearts.

War broke out, separating you two.

No matter how much Sukuna fought against it, he was drafted. Sukuna didn't care who he hurted, he just wanted to go back home to you.

Which is why he cut his own foot off. He heard of other men doing the same thing, so why couldn't he?

While waiting in the discharge center he found out that his home town had been bombed.

Sukuna started hating humanity.

He hated this curse.

He hated that no matter what lifetime he was in, he could never have you to himself.

489

This life started out strange. He was born back into the Hiean period. But he couldn't find you. Instead of killing himself to reset the life, he decided to take centuries long frustration on humanity, it was a good run, people called him "King of Curses".

Instead of dying, cruelly, he was punished by being sealed. During that he rest he could only think of you and only you, how beautiful every form, every life you've had, you were still breath taking.

He couldn't stand the fear in your eyes. He came back, and here you are staring at him like he is a monster. Sure, this isn't his body. And yes, you just saw him take over your student's body. But it doesn't matter anyways, he's back.

And no one is going to take you away this time.

[darkdevasofdestruction]

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓮𝓵 𝓝°5 ~ 𝓗𝓾𝓼𝓴𝓮𝓻 𝔁 𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻

Oh, to be young and in love, in the most romantic era of the notorious 1950s, with one very magical man who never fail to make you swoon with every suave look who offers.

It isn't very often that Husker reminisces his past life - He knows, if he does, he will remember all of the good times, when his heart was gold and trembling with pure emotion - After all, if he recalls the time he was alive, and very much in love, his frozen heart will just shatter to dust once again, with the same infinite anguish he felt once everything was ripped away from his grasp.

A pain so intolerable, that runs so deep - A pain that no amount of alcohol can mend.

He never truly knows whether he wants to remain asleep forever, so that he will never have to face reality again, or if that would be a nightmare, tormenting him for the remaining abyss of eternity...

Or, perhaps he should stay awake, so that memories will stop toppling him over, beginning with a most beautiful reverie, yet always ending with the same night terror he must face every time.

If this is his way of paying for his irredeemable sins, then he is well aware he deserves it, and even more - Yet every smell reminds him of that sweet Chanel N°5 that she used to wear. Every time he closes his eyes, he dreams of the gracious dances he would share with her. Every song he hears, he recalls that angelic voice of hers, and every time he lays abed and stares up at the ceiling, her seraphic visage flashes before him.

"You are drinking again." Angel slumped in one of the stools by the bar, noticing his best friend looking in a far worse state than usual. "Rough day?"

"Rough life." Husk rasped, chugging down a whole bottle of strong spirits.

"Wanna talk about it?" he tried, in vain, to appear sympathetic - The feline demon was far too gone into his own darkness to even think about slurring away his never-ending sorrows.

"I wanna die, that's what I want." he growled, slamming away the bottle into the nearest wall. "Just like this fucking bottle. That's what I fuckin' wanna do - I wanna die, damn it!"

Angel's eyes widened greatly - Yes, life in hell surely was crazy, and especially for demons like the two of them, who sold their souls away because of their own failures, both in life, and now, in hell - But what in the world could it have caused him to get so hopeless that he was unable to fight back the tears glistening in those tortured eyes?

Even someone like him couldn't dare to make light of the situation, or try and crack a joke, let alone taunt or flirt with him. He felt... Pity, for the poor bartender who always listens to others' woes, yet dares naught speak out his own problems.

"Listen... Husk, ergh... I'm not the best at comforting, okay? But... If I can help, you can tell me... And, if not, then... I'll still be here. And maybe try to keep the others away from you. How's that?" Husk didn't quite seem to compute what his friend said, though he robotically nodded his head, as if remote controlled.

Angel remained in that stool for a few hours, watching the winged demon drink bottle after bottle after bottle, yet his sorrows only washed over him tenfold with each shattered glass against a different wall. He wonders what is going through Husk's mind, what he's ruining himself over with each sigh o grip on his fur.

Who would have thought that, of all things possible, Husker's greatest lament was...

"I fucking hate red. Why the fuck are my wings red? Of all the fucking colours in hell, they just had to be red, yeah?" he stammered angrily, pulling at his feathers. "Y'know what? They can't change colour. Tried dyeing 'em, but nothin'. Got so much fuckin' red on me - I wonder if it's Hell's way of punishin' me forever for my fucking sins."

He hates red...? What an odd statement - He truly seems to have a personal vendetta against that colour - But why? It's just a colour, after all, it can do no wrong. "Why... Do you hate red so much...? Angeldust dared to ask.

At first, he was met with a low growl, hostile, yet inoffensive at its core. Then, he heard a most disturbing answer. "That was the colour of my wife's dress when I last went home." Angel's brain shut down completely. To think someone was trusting him with such a vulnerable piece of himself, the very core of their hopelessness, their weakness; In a way, he felt flattered that Husk trusted him so much, yet in another way... He couldn't help but feel borderless pity for his friend. He wishes such a fate to no one... Well, maybe to Valentino.

Angel forced himself to smile softly, placing his hand gingerly over his own, taking away the alcohol from his hand. "What was her name?" Husk looked up with shock, a little startled, right into his dual coloured eyes - He hasn't ever spoken her name out loud, it almost felt like a blasphemy against her purity. Yet... Maybe... "Y/N." he dared whisper.

"Y/N." Angel repeated after him. "A beautiful name for a beautiful lady." Husk nodded his head.

"She was a Princess." he muttered, his sight blurry with tears.

"A Princess? Really? Nobility and all that?" much to his surprise, Husker chuckled.

"Nah, not quite." he rasped. "At heart, she was. Her family was very rich, so she was pampered up. Huge manor, servants, a personal maid, luxury brands, jewellery and perfumes, indulging in any studies and hobbies she liked..."

"How'd you two meet? I don't suppose you were a Prince or something, were you?" Angel tried to joke friendly, encouraging his friend to open up.

"Ha. Far from it." in his hand, a few dices appeared, and he idly played around with them. "I was an ugly dead beat from a working class broken family. Hardly worthy of her attention." he gritted his teeth bitterly. "Got around to finding work at a young age - Gambling, magic, sax player - If I had money to live, anything worked."

"Did you meet at one of your gigs?" Husk nodded his head affirmatively.

"No clue what she saw in me, Angel. She could do so much better." for a split second, he had a dry smirk on his face, before it disappeared again. "I asked her once, what the hell did she see in me - And she said... I played her favourite song. Silly, innit?"

He didn't receive a mocking laugh, much to his surprise - Instead, Angel cooed. He never imagined the jaded demon before him could be so romantic! "What did you play?" Instead of answering, Husk turned around to his bar, and took out another bottle, yet this time, he hummed a familiar tune as he was doing his bartending for two glasses. "Oh, now I get it - You always hum that song when no one's around! I thought you were just bored out of your mind." he let out an amused exhale. "Fly me to the moon... Refined tastes, alright."

"The stars in the sky never sparkles as brightly as those in her eyes when she looked at me." no wonder he never accepted any flirting from anyone - How could anyone match the love he had for Y/N? "If I were a decent man, I'd have told her not to waste her precious time and love on me. Instead, I was a selfish fuck. I stole years of her life... And in the end, I even stole her life. All because I wasn't even half the fucking man I pretended to be."

The conversation soon turned significantly sour. "I was the man - I was supposed to provide for her. Afford all that fucking expensive Chanel N°5, and the Dior dresses, the Chantelle lingerie, and the damn Cartier and Tiffany's jewellery." even someone more modern like Angel knew all those luxury brands, and was even more impressed and shocked that they could so easily afford such high-end items. "I brought her flowers every day and I took her out on brunches every morning, on dates every afternoon, and to soirees every fucking evening. She loved dancing at parties... But I suppose she preferred the moonlight over the chandeliers."

"You must have overworked yourself a bunch to afford all these things. I'm sure she appreciated it." Angel tried to comfort him, earning a nod of agreement.

"She told me she didn't need any gift, except for my presence. Genuine woman, that one. But how could I, in good conscience, go to her parents and ask for her hand in marriage, when I couldn't even afford a half-decent house with a room for each of her hobbies, a drawer for each month outfit, another for her shoes and three more for her bags, jewels and perfumes; and a large flower garden and a fucking rose gazebo and a swan pond with ten different breeds of pedigree dogs." Angel cringed a little, realising the tremendous gap between their living conditions. "I lost myself on the way to greatness. She was making me so euphoric that I just wanted to see her excited every moment of her life. I didn't need to eat or drink, I just needed to see her smile, and I could work again a few more days without rest."

"But then... You collapsed from overworking?" Husker shook his head.

"Worse. I fooled her parents completely, and we planned our wedding." he replied bitterly.

"How is that a bad thing? Isn't the wedding day the happiest day in a couple's life?" Husk sighed, from the deepest part of his soul.

"It was." he said. "I got greedy. I went to loan sharks, took a shit ton of money to make that wedding the most grand event the country saw in a while. Then went on a month-old honey moon around the world." he cursed in a few different languages that Angel couldn't understand, but was sure were some highly offensive and crude words that he would never utter around Y/N. "I don't need to say more, do I?"

Yeah, he needn't continue speaking the descent into madness, alright. Angeldust didn't want to hear that his friend's love story ended up in his soulmate getting murderer by the loan sharks, only for him to end up killing them, and then himself, out of pure rage and sorrow. He didn't want to hear that an innocent woman like Y/N never knew that her husband was broke and took loans, just to try and mimic the lavish lifestyle she grew up with and deserved. He didn't want to hear the broken shriek of anguish, or the streaming river of tears that befell as Husker saw her dead, on the floor, her pearly pink dress dyed a deep crimson from her own blood, and getting even more stained with each strong embrace he held around her shattered body, just like a precious porcelain doll fallen off the shelf.

They only just recently became something akin to 'best friends' from both sides... Yet Angel couldn't bare to hear the tragic end of the story, and he couldn't even begin to imagine the pain he felt, having to live his afterlife as a Sinner, for as long as he has, without the woman he loves by his side.

"It's better this way, I guess. At least she finally got rid of me. Wherever she is, she must be living far better, than with a lying fuck like me who couldn't keep it together." the spider demon frowned, watching his friend slump on the bar counter.

"I don't think that's the case." he spoke vehemently. "I don't believe there is any person, of any kind, treasuring her as much as you did." Husk's ears perked up immediately, twitching lightly. "At least on an emotional way, I'd say, you and Y/N were lucky. There's so many people who never experience the love you had, let alone get to meet and marry their soulmate."

"What the fuck would you know?!" he growled, throwing a bottle at his head, only for the demon to dodge.

"... I wish I had fallen in love too, you know?" Husk gritted his teeth, realising the sensitive wound that he unwillingly stabbed open - But it wasn't his foult - He is hurt! He is in pain! "As a human, as a demon... I was like you, sort of. I was so shit at managing my life, that I ended up falling prey to my vices... I needed more and more, and I couldn't resist. I had no ration or logic. I gave in to my so-called 'friend group' and got addicted to drugs... Couldn't get rid of that addiction even after death... And I clinged on the only demon who could give me what I wanted... And now, I can't escape Val, even if I wanted to turn my life around and live the life that I never could." Angel had a wry smile on his face. "Do you really think a drug addict or the most famous porn star of hell would be able to meet his soulmate, without destroying their life in the process also?"

The two remained silent, only hanging their head and sighing. No matter how happy life can be for some... It will never have a chance of turning around for them. It just couldn't be. They are in hell, after all. Even Charlie won't be able to save them and bring them on the path of redemption, no matter how insanely enthusiastic and cheerful she can be... They were still sure to drown.

Somehow, this few hours of vulnerability brought Husk and Angel closer, and although they won't be speaking about it again, it was clear to the residents of the Hazbin Hotel that the two were as close as two demons can get, without the inclusion of vice or extortion.

Things were going well enough for them, even with the new addition of Sir Pentious, the villain turned... Something? It was still not too bad around the hotel. Though unsure of whatever Charlie's plan was, to fight against the purge from the Angels, they were still there to sort-of support whatever dream the Princess of the Pride Circle has.

That is, until the Hotel opened its doors to a brand new resident, a gorgeous demoness dressed elegantly in a dress of pearly pink, adorned with high quality jewellery, and with her long hair done stylishly, and smelling like a fresh day of Spring. She walked in guided by the Radio Demon, of all people, and she was smiling so demurely, completely unafraid of the fiend next to her, yet still reserved and soft.

"No way, is that Chanel N°5?! How'd you get it in here?!" Angel squealed, fangirling over the flowery perfume - But then, it clicked for him. Didn't Husker mention his wife loving this scent the most?

"Oh, you noticed! I am so happy that there are more sensible people - Erh - Demons with refined tastes!" the girl unfolded her laced fan and giggled behind it demurely.

Although she looked even more regal than even the Princess of Hell herself, as they stood next to each other, there was one particular detail that made the new-comer stand out from any other netizen.

With her hands clasped together over her chest, a bright white gold ring, with a most brilliant zircon was shining brighter than even the moon herself.

Whilst the other demons gathered around the seraphic beauty, wanting to have her attention, and even going as far as to have Alastor speak out about this new lady, Husker's breath stopped completely; His brain was going into overdrive, and his heart, he wanted to rip out of his chest.

That ring... That ring, he knew all to well - After all, he bought it himself, when he proposed to Y/N. That voice, the fashion, the mannerism... Even with altered looks, she looked the same. Even in hell, she looked the same. Even with demonic eyes, she looked the same.

She was the most beautiful woman in the universe.

"Y/N, this is Husker, our bartender." Charlie's face was split open by her overly-cheerful grin. "Husk, won't you introduce yourself to Y/N?"

"I'm not a fucking child. I don't need to introduce myself." the man hissed aggressively. "This is fucking stupid, I'm out." without even realising, he shattered the glass in his grasp, before stomping away into his room.

How could that be? Was this a nightmare? Surely, this must be some impersonator demon or something - There's no way an innocent being like Y/N could possibly have ended up in Hell, with a bunch of Sinners, of all thing. Was this his fault also? Did he bring her down with him to hell? Was he never going to be forgiven for all of the shit he's done in his previous life? Did Alastor bring her to the Hotel, so that he could blackmail him even more? Was his empty soul worth so little, in the end?

He was so afraid - Will Y/N be angry once she realises who he is? He couldn't blame her, obviously, he's earned her scorn... Yet why is his heart hurting so bad? He wishes so badly to jump on her and wrap her in his arms and wrings, and never again let her go. Ah, but he looks like a stupid flying cat... He looks ridiculous. There's no way...

...

Perhaps... She should stay with Al...

He has the influence, the money, the fashion sense, the looks, the freedom and privilege, the elegance...

Alastor has everything, and embodies everything that he could never be.

In life, he was selfish, and he didn't let go of her. Perhaps, the only way to apologise and make up for his sins was to let her be cherished by a man capable of doing what he never could.

As he lay awake on the bed, curled up and cursing his whole existence, wanting to sob until his body was all dried up and shriek until his throat was bleeding raw; he wanted to claw his face to velvety ribbons and drown his lungs with all of his blood... As he was succumbing to his self-hatred and spiraling down into the depths of despair, Y/N decided to end the day with some delicious pastries and an aromatic cup of tea in the garden, with her friend, Alastor.

Y/N was idly playing with her ring, looking at the inscription inside of it. 'Y/N ♡ Husker'. How absolutely adorable, she thought, a beautiful smile gracing her features. "He looks... Different. Are you sure it is the same person, Alastor?" her voice showed nervousness.

"Y/N, Y/N, would I lie to you?" he grinned, as always, sipping from his tea. "You should hear him purr. He truly resembles a little kitten."

Y/N looked up into he friend's eyes, a look of intense surprise and borderline intrigue taking over. "Are you being truthful? He... Purrs?" she gasped, quickly slipping her ring back on her finger.

"Yes, my darling. Unconsciously, someone strokes his fur, he gets so very adorable~." Alastor hums, watching the lady before him being so romantically melancholic over a life long gone. "What did you think about today's meeting?"

Y/N sighed, looking up into the sky. "I feel guilty for enjoying the moment I ripped Velvette apart, yet I feel no remorse for killing her. Such an uncouth and vulgar person has no right to behave with such disrespect towards me." Alastor's grin widened significantly. "And... I cannot wait for the next purge. I want to burn Heaven to cinders. Those hypocrites have grown far too arrogant for their own good, and I believe they need to be taught a harsh lesson."

"I see we are on the same wavelength as always, my dear." the demon sipped from his tea. "I am quite glad those arrogant hypocrites turned you away, for such a silly thing like - Vanity - They say. Beautiful women should be allowed to feel that-a-way, not ostracised for being such jewels for one's eyes." ever the charmer with poison dripping from his tongue. "Before I turn in for the evening, I have a gift for you - For friendship's sake." Y/N rose a suspicious eyebrow, watching as he took out a carefully folded picture from his blazer's pocket, and handing it to her. "I am going for a new fitting with Rosie tomorrow, should you wish to join us for a lovely day of self-care." the girl smiled, nodding her head at him in appreciation. "Have a pleasant evening."

Y/N muttered her pleasantries, and waited for Alastor to leave her sight, before unfolding the picture and bursting to tears. She cradled the precious memory to her heart, and sobbed for as long as her heart needed.

What have they done so wrong to deserve this? They were so happy while alive, so what went wrong? Was her opulent life, the reason for their downfall? Did her beloved think she wouldn't love him, if he couldn't match her family's wealth? Were all soulmates made to be torn apart while at their most blissful?

Still, she was grateful that she wasn't accepted into Heaven, for she would have had a most awful afterlife, as opposed to the many Overlord friends she made since she's been sent to Hell after her gruesome death, and the many favours she received from the Lords and Royals who went to Earth to retrieve items of importance for her.

Drying her tears, Y/N walked back inside the hotel, ready to turn in for the night, only to stop in her tracks as soon as she heard a soft sob, followed by a few very familiar curses in a variety of languages that she knew all too well. Her heart clenched as she stepped cautiously towards the foreign room, eavesdropping for any other sound, only to be met with more muffled cries.

Biting her lip, the demoness knocked on the door, only to be cursed harshly and told to fuck off. Y/N gulped, feeling taken aback by being talked in such a way - Though she immediately composed herself, reminding herself that he, too, is hurting, most likely far more than she is.

She excused herself before opening the door and entering. "What fucking part of 'FUCK OFF' don't you FUCKING UNDERSTA---" Husk was livid, getting in a sitting position as he growled with incredible hostility at the one who dared barge in his bedroom so rudely, only to remain speechless as he realised it was the demoness herself, standing with a sympathetic smile on her face. She also seemed to have been crying prior to this. "Oh. It is you." he cleared his throat, getting back on the bed, unable to face her.

"I have missed you dearly." her voice was so soft, so beautiful, so endearing... "I... Cannot believe that I am seeing you again. It seems to me that, no matter how far apart, our souls will forever traverse oceans of time and space, just to embrace each other once more."

She could hear him sniffling, his nails digging deep into the blanket. "You have always been so romantic and poetic." he grumbled, hiding his face in the pillow. "You shouldn't be here."

"You will have to be more specific, my love." she hummed, moving to sit on the edge of his bed. "Here - In Hell? Or here - In your room? Either way, I would say, I am right where I need to be."

"I don't understand." as if burning with frustration, Husk shot up, looking with self-hatred at the girl. "You did nothing wrong your entire life. You were nothing but a living sunshine. A fucking flower in human form. What the fuck did those angels not agree with, that they cast you to this shit hole?"

"There was a time when you would beat up any man who would curse in my presence." Y/N's adorable giggle made the demon's face flush red. "I am sorry that you are suffering so much, at my expense. I could never repay you for everything you have done for me, while we were alive."

"What the hell are you apologising for anyway? I got you killed, not the other way around - And even if it were that way, it'd've been a blessing in disguise, getting rid of a dead beat worthless fuck like me." he huffed, looking away. "You always were too good for me." the demon had so much to say, so many regrets to yell, so much love to spill... Alas, he remained quiet. "You seemed happy with Al. I wish I could be that, while we were alive." his voice went to soft, it was barely audible. "You should... Stay with him."

"Yes, I am happy being friends with Alastor. He was the one who introduced me to Rosie and Carmilla and Zestial, and I cherish them all dearly, as my like-minded friends." Y/N spoke calmly, reaching her hand to cup her lover's soft cheek. "He also was the one to tell me of your misdemeanours. How you succumbed to your vices; to gambling and alcohol, to the the point that you lost your soul in a deal with him. How pitiful." he was so confused as to where she was trying to get with her words, yet in spite of the anticipation for blames and reproaches, he couldn't help but lean into her warm and gentle touch. "He is the one who helped me become an Overlord, and I took your place. And it is Alastor, and some other friends of mine, who helped retrieve some objects I thought long lost."

"... You still smell like Chanel N°5." his comment made the girl giggle again.

"One of my friends had his little imps go to the human world and rob an entire Chanel store, to bring me all Chanel N°5 perfume bottles." how incredulous, Husk thought, staring at the girl flabbergast, speaking of a clear crime, committed in her name. And then, he started laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of her statement.

"Angel would kill to have a whole room of Chanel N°5." he said, his eyes softening as he put his hand over hers. "Y/N... Knowing that you are doing fine... That you aren't suffering... Or anything that I put you through... It makes me... Content."

"My darling." Y/N called out. "Do you remember the day of our wedding?"

"Of course I do. What's that question?"

With a cheeky grin, she took out the picture from her purse, handing it to her beloved. "Alastor was able to find this. His connections truly are amazing." Husk's eyes were wet with falling tears, and his lips were trembling. "I forgot I had pink roses braided in my hair. I was so busy looking at my handsome husband, that everything around me vanished." Husk's sobbing got even louder. "I wanted to frame this picture first, but I couldn't resist showing it to you first."

"Get out, Y/N! Get out!" his voice was broken and raw, so pained that even her heart shattered. "I am not the man you fell in love with. Why do you think my name is 'Husk'? I am just that - A husk of the man I never was. I am not worth anything. I don't amount to anything. I just gamble money I don't have and drink booze until I pass out. I don't deserve a second chance, and I certainly don't deserve you. I never did. I got you killed, damn it!"

"You think too much, you fool." Y/N cupped his face, bringing him into a gentle kiss - A kiss so loving that it numbed his pain, and hightened his senses, that got his heart pumping again and his lungs screaming for air. "I fell in love with you for good reason, and I intend to remain by your side, loving you." she smiled, wiping his tears with her thumb. "You can try as much as you wish to drive me away, but it will not work. You may succeed in convincing yourself that you are a lesser man, but you cannot do that with me. I know the man before me, and I know I will never leave you."

"Y/N..." the man sniffled, burying his face in her bosom, holding so tightly onto her petite body that he almost feared breaking her.

"There was once a time when you would only call me 'Sweety'." her honeyed giggle sounded so teasing, yet it didn't embarrass him. It served only to make him chuckle.

"There was also a time when I would only call you 'Chanel', if you recall." it almost felt as though they were both alive, and during their honey moon, without a single care in the world, and living a most carefree life.

"That does bring back some very amusing memories." Husk hummed in agreement, feeling melancholic, despite the intense joy surging through his body. Perhaps it was due to the unfamiliarity of this positive feeling, that he felt exhausted, or maybe from his excessive crying and whining. Regardless, he wanted nothing more than to cuddle up in his wife's arms, and never leave this blasted room ever again.

"Can you promise me something?" the man asked. "I am selfish still - Even more so as a demon. I am nothing but filth. I didn't deserve you then, and I deserve you even less now. Still... Now that you're here... I can't let you go again. So..."

Though he found himself eating his words, Y/N only smiled, laying down on the bed and taking him down with her, nestling him comfortably into her loving embrace. "Alastor said you purr like a kitten. I would love to hear that, tonight." she hummed, hearing his annoyed snarl. "And every night going forward, for as long as we may live in this afterlife we have." Husk's body became stiff, frozen with shock. "That is what you wanted me to promise, isn't it? That I will never leave you." he didn't respond. "It is within our wedding vows, silly. There is no way I would walk away, after I have just found my soulmate."

"... Even though I look like... This? And I am irredeemably addicted to gambling and drinking, even more so than before... And I have lost my soul to the Radio Demon? I am stuck doing his bidding for eternity... And..." Y/N only hugged him closer.

"No matter what, in sickness and in death, you and I will still be soulbound." his small body was softly trembling with emotion. "I've got you, my darling. Worry not about anything. I have got you." she remained silent for a little while. "But, Husk..." her voice sounded so distant, so... Melancholic. "Do you... Still like me? The way you did before?"

Startled by her words, Husker jolted up, looking at the pitiful visage of his lover. "What... What do you mean...?"

"My skin is pure white, with no colour, except for my make up. My eyes are black where they should be white, and the worst carmine red, where they should be embodying the aspect of nature. Even my hair looks to be an abnormal colour, and no matter how much I try to dye it, it will not retain its original shade." she gulped, looking away from him. "Any shred of normalcy that I have... Is so tiresome, so much work to keep up, the princessy facade that I used to have, that I used to love... That you used to love..." she sighed softly. "Yet even that completely dissolves as soon as I transform in the monstrous form that I fight so hard to keep veiled from the world."

"Y/N." he caressed her soft face, only to notice small particles of powder latching onto his fur. "I'm a fucking furry mammal with wings. I look like a children's plush toy or somethin'. Meanwhile, you look as doll-like as always, and you're afraid I wouldn't like you anymore? How silly." he sighed, leaning to place a kiss on her forehead. For a few seconds, he stopped to ponder over a rather bold move, and in a split second, he retrieved a wooden box from under his bed. "This is my secret. Nobody has to know about this." he spoke, a rosy tint on his cheeks. "Open it."

Carefully, the girl did as instructed, revealing the content of the box. A bunch of letters were preserved there, all of them neatly placed and handwritten with black ink. "Husk..." Y/N felt the air in her lungs dissipating, as she realised all those letters were recreating the exchange of love words from their time alive. "H-How...?"

"I have all our letters memorised." he chuckled lightly. "I... Needed some way of keeping you close... Of remembering you. I am shit at drawing, but I have a good enough memory... So this was the only way of preserving what we had."

"It's been so long... And yet, you... You still remember... All of it? There must be tens, if not, hundreds of them... How...?" the girl was flabbergast, yet melting completely.

"I read them every night before sleep, when alive, and I read them every night now also." those precious teardrop diamonds caressing her cheeks falling down so gracefully.

𝐼 𝓃𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓇 𝓀𝓃𝑒𝓌 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓅𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈; 𝐼 𝒹𝒾𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓀 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈 𝒸𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝓇𝓊𝑒; 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹𝓃’𝓉 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝒾𝑒𝓋𝑒 𝒾𝓃 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒, 𝒰𝓃𝓉𝒾𝓁 𝐼 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓂𝑒𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊.

His usual raspy voice sounded so romantic as he recited the love poem he wrote to her. A voice that he only reserved for her. A voice that only she would ever know.

𝐸𝓋𝑒𝓇𝓎 𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝓌𝒾𝓉𝒽 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝑔𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓁𝓁; 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝒾𝒸𝒽𝓁𝓎 𝒻𝓊𝓁𝒻𝒾𝓁𝓁. 𝐼'𝓂 𝒶 𝒻𝑜𝑜𝓁 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒸𝒽𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈; 𝒴𝑜𝓊 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓃𝑔 𝒾𝓃 𝓂𝓎 𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈; 𝐿𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓂𝑒; 𝓅𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓈𝑒 𝓈𝒶𝓎 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁.

A love so pure and true, bottomless and without boundaries; Husker himself forgot just how endless his emotions could run. He thought himself jaded and cold, having lost his own heart, the second he lost her... Yet now... Perhaps it wasn't as bad as he first thought. Perhaps... Even someone like himself deserves some kind of redemption.

𝐻𝑜𝓁𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒽𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒲𝒶𝓇𝓂𝓈 𝓂𝓎 𝒽𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒾𝓉𝓈 𝒸𝑜𝓇𝑒. 𝐼𝓉’𝓈 𝒽𝒶𝓇𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒾𝓂𝒶𝑔𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝐼 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓁𝒹 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓂𝑜𝓇𝑒.

Without her, he wasn't whole. Without her, he is not himself. Without her, he is empty. Without her, his whole life falls apart. Without her, he is nothing but a worthless deadbeat.

𝒥𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓁𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝒢𝒾𝓋𝑒𝓈 𝓂𝑒 𝒶 𝓉𝒽𝓇𝒾𝓁𝓁. 𝐼 𝓁𝑜𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓃𝑜𝓌, 𝒜𝓃𝒹 𝐼 𝒶𝓁𝓌𝒶𝓎𝓈 𝓌𝒾𝓁𝓁.

But now, he is not alone anymore - Well, perhaps he never was to begin with, considering he still had Angel and Charlie, to some extent, yet nothing can compare to sweet Y/N's existence by his side. Nothing can heal his aching soul, or revert the damage he did to himself throughout life and afterlife, the way her love for him did.

♡ ~𝓘 𝓵𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝔂𝓸𝓾, 𝓶𝔂 𝓼𝔀𝓮𝓮𝓽 𝓟𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓬𝓮𝓼𝓼~♡

[dmwrites]

The site of Jimmy’s grave was a bit more damaged then it had been before. There were craters all over the land from the wither- a damn wither, really Grian and Etho?

Cleo opened the chest that had been Jimmy’s makeshift coffin, pulled out the bit of rotten flesh she’d put in to represent him. She brushed the squishy lump off and lifted her shirt slightly, slapping the flesh back onto her torso. It was a wet sound, and she was kind of disappointed that no one else was around to be disgusted by that.

Cleo wondered how long after Jimmy’s death could she start calling herself a psychic for having him attend his own funeral on the same day that he did, in fact, die. She put a hand on the gravestone she’d made- poor bastard, she thought to herself.

There were footsteps behind her, and she turned to see Joel approaching her.

“Hello, Cleo.”

“Hi Joel.”

“What are you doing?”

“I was just cleaning up from the funeral.”

A silence fell between them. Cleo shot a look at Joel. He held his bow loosely in his grip, staring at the gravestone. Cleo did some quick mental math. Of everyone on the server, it really must have been Joel that had lost the most. His wife. His ally. Whatever odd homoerotic thing Jimmy and Joel had going on all the time. She had heard his screams of Jimmy and Mumbo’s names as they’d perished- they’d both died right in front of everyone. Anguished cries that no one even had the time to acknowledge in the chaos.

Cleo wanted to walk away. She really did- hell, she and Joel were on opposite sides of the spectrum at this point- he’d lost so many, and Cleo had her two idiot allies back at home, green and happy and alive. Why on earth would she possibly care about anyone other than her own allies?

She sighed. She didn’t walk away.

“I’m sorry, Joel, for your losses today.”

“Doesn’t matter- was bound to happen anyway.” Joel spoke in a deeply bitter tone, like he was trying and failing to spit acid.

“Alright, play the emotionally unavailable guy, see if I care.” Cleo did make to move away, but Joel spoke again, softer now.

“Why did they have to die, Cleo?”

“We all will, probably sooner rather than later, Joel.”

“But why them? Mumbo and Jimmy and… Lizzie.” Joel’s name caught on the word Lizzie, and his face crumbled. Cleo watched him as he stepped forward, putting a hand on the gravestone. “Could you leave this up, Cleo? It would be nice for… some people on the server to be able to visit every once in a while.”

Cleo decided not to tell Joel that she’d planned on leaving the gravestone up so she could gloat about guessing that Jimmy would die.

“Sure, Joel.” Cleo said, and her heart felt like it was twisting horribly as she watched Joel sag against the cold stone, hand pressed to the sign with Jimmy’s name. She walked forward, softly, and etched Lizzie and Mumbo’s names into the wooden sign.

“You… take all the time you need. Or anyone else who needs to… mourn.”

She took a few steps away, then stopped and turned around again. Joel was tracing the letters of Lizzie’s name now, over and over again. Cleo lowered her gaze and continued walking away- it felt indecent to watch.

[awellposhmagazine]

a 10pm thought re: oral between friends

thinking about fucking around in the studio with the guys & making an offhand comment re: bringing back the blowjob lyrics & george hitting u back with can't do that cos healy's not getting them anymore. & matty just tells u guys to fuck off as usual but it sticks with u and u start scheming. 

it comes up again a week later on the floor of his living room, with you stretched out on his concrete floor flipping through one of his wanky coffee table books. he’s settled on the couch just above you, watching you laze about at his feet like a housecat in the sun. 

“y’ look nice down there.”

he means it innocently enough, but it’s the perfect opportunity to push him around a little.

“yeah? giving you some inspo for that new blowie song?”

he rolls his eyes hard, reaching out a socked foot to nudge you teasingly on the shoulder.“yeah haha very funny matty in his incel era.”

and maybe its the warmth of the sun making you delirious, or just the overwhelming domesticity of the moment, but the words leave your mouth before you can even think to stop them.

“'m being serious. i’d get you off, if you wanted.”

matty almost chokes to death on his own spit.

“don’t fuck me about.”

you might as well have socked him in the jaw for the look on his face. his mouth has fallen slack, just slightly, and his expression reads as vaguely pained. 

the silence between you carries on for a little longer, and you can see him disappearing further and further into his own head. its in moments like these that you realise perhaps he’s more of a sap than you’d thought. public image matty necks tequila and takes his coffee black, but yours would prefer a malbec and a cappuccino with two and a half sugars. public image matty gets off with groupies and regularly toes the line of public indecency, but yours is looking at you like he might keel over and die at the prospect of a blowjob. you’d been half joking really, but the intensity of his reaction has shelved any plans you'd been harboring to tease.

“‘i’m not,” you shake your head resolutely, suddenly developing a stomach ache at the consequences of your own actions. “i’d never.” despite attempting to maintain a flirty tone, you have to swallow down a lump in your throat the size of the texas.

“kiss me first?”

“huh?” your reply comes out as more of a breath than coherent speech.

“if we’re gonna do this, 'wanna kiss you first. will you do that for me?”

you're not sure what he's playing at, really. you're more than happy to oblige, of course; you'd dreamt of kissing matty loads of times. admittedly never as precursor to casual oral, but you'd take what you could get. you'll chalk it up to being another facet of his sentimental nature. that, or he just needs a minute to work himself up before you get him undressed.

either way, you huff and scramble up to meet his request only to be stopped by a gentle hand on your cheek. his hands are so big, so warm, and you can’t help but nuzzle further into his touch. you're playing all the right cards and he and he still doesn’t kiss you, just lets his eyes linger on your embarrassed face and presses a bruising thumb to your bottom lip. 

“fuck, matty - please.” he’s just teasing you now, he has to be. it's making you itchy.

“please what, darlin’?”

“thought you wanted a kiss. you’re being cruel.”

“don’t like me mean?”

“dirty, maybe. not mean.”

“jesus christ. alright, ok.”

he surges forward then, eyes squeezing shut in a uniquely sexy breed of anguish. if he weren't already holding you steady, the force of the kiss might’ve knocked you on your ass. his lips smear against yours messily; movements punctuated with gentle, bubbly gasps. it's hot and messy and charged with desperation - which reminds you abruptly of the task at hand.

he grunts when you draw back, but his disappointment is short-lived. 

“can i suck you off now?”

matty thinks he might actually die.

when you slide down and start messing with the zipper of his jeans, hes certain.

from the minute you get your mouth on him, matty’s floundering like he doesn't quite know where to put his hands; where he’s allowed to. he’s writhing around against the couch cushions, hands balled into tight fists atop his thighs. to your great satisfaction, he can't seem to look at you for longer than about five seconds at a time. every attempt only results in a littany of curses and his eyes flying to the ceiling instead. you figure he's trying to hold off on his orgasm, but you're greedy; you want him to look at you.

you intend it as a bit of a power move when you reach for his hand and bury it into your hair, but it backfires completely when he gives it a tug and you moan all slutty around the length of him. you’d been doing so well keeping your sounds to a minimum, but the dull ache sends a shock of pleasure up your spine. 

something about the action must’ve done it for matty too, because not a second later he’s spilling down your throat with garbled incoherence and choked groans. ‘fuck, ’m coming, fuck -”

you ride it out with your mouth flush to the hilt of him, eyes closed with concentration in committing the sounds of his climax to memory.

finally, his eyes drop down and burn right through you as pull off him and place a chaste kiss to his inner thigh.

“up,” he chokes out, bordering on frantic; “up - come here.”

you comply happily, dopey with pride at having caused the fucked out look on his face. he manhandles you easily despite his exhaustion, slotting you comfortably atop his thighs and squeezing your waist.

he looks lovely like this; lips bitten raw and sweat beading at his hairline. you want to eat him whole. 

it’s different when you kiss him for a second time, after the dust of his manic lust has settled. its quaint almost; clumsy and a bit unsure. like this is perhaps more intimate than any moment preceding it. every second movement of his lips is punctuated with weak, breathless thank yous.  his lips are still parted slightly when you pull back, as though you’ve cut him off early from his ministrations. your heart flutters wildly in your chest. 

“fuck, stop looking at me like that. you’re mental.”

he sounds pained again. you muffle laughter and continue toying with his fingers where your hands are gently intertwined.  “like what?”

“all sweet and that like you didn’t just have my cock down your throat.” 

“i think that was very sweet of me.’

“fuckin’ more than. gonna write a whole blowjob album now, honest.”

“can i do it again? later, i mean?”

for the third time today, matty's soul nearly vacates his body and ascends to the heavens.

"'f i ever turn you down for that, please smack me 'round the mouth."

you giggle breathlessly, and matty gives you disbelieving sort of smile and lets his forehead fall slack against your shoulder. it's only now in the afterglow of your determination to get him off that you settle into the discomfort of your own arousal. he's gone all warm and sleepy beneath you, tracing circles on the bare skin of your knee, and you suddenly feel like you might burst into tears. "sorry, uh- i gotta pee."

a flicker of panic flashes across matty's face, and you can tell hes back in that worried, overthinking place in his brain. that is, until he takes in the heaving of your chest and the way you can't quite keep your legs still.

"oh, lovely girl. need me to take care of you now too, 's that it?"

arguably nobody had ever needed anything more. you’ve soaked through since he’d first kissed you; itchy and sweating through your clothes. 

“please, matty.”

the desperation in your voice seems to knock the energy back into him tenfold. it’s forceful but never rough when he maneuvers you onto the couch beside him and drops to the floor. "i've got you, darlin'", he admonishes, hiking your skirt up past your thighs.

“tell me if i do anything you don’t like, yeah?”

you find it hard to imagine he’d be capable. you nod anyways. “yeah, yes - okay.”

promoted to his knees, matty edges between your legs and drapes an arm across your hips. the implication hits you like a train; you won’t be able to hold still. 

fuck.

[carmesi-butterfly]

kiss me and bite me

vampire nishimura riki + female human reader. word count 1,8k. vampire au/fantasy au. warnings mention of illness and death. not proofread.

"Riki..." you murmured, the hard breathing leaving your mouth was accompanied by the soft wind, both sounds making a pleasing melody for the youthful boy, who was enchanted by you.

"Hm? What?" responded, leaving the panorama of the clear sky to look at you with curiosity, only to stumble upon your eyes shedding a few tears. "Are you okay? Why are you crying?" his body moved fast, leaving his spot where his figure lay down on the grass to reach near your body, now your faces were just a few centimeters distant from each and the closeness between your forms created a more comforting aura, appropriate for the two young lovers.

A few more tears left your eyes before you could reply, "I'm afraid of what's going to happen in the future…" your words unleashed an unstoppable sobbing by your side, leaving your lover confused for a second. After a few sobs, you took a deep breath, in an attempt to clear your throat and mind, the words stood clear in your heart searching for being released. "I'm not recovering, Riki, I'm just getting worse" you cried, "the doctor visited me yesterday… he did not tell me anything but I spied on him talking with my parents, my health is just declining and it would be a miracle for me to last long from now on" you broke the news for the boy who seemed impacted by your words.

"What are you saying…" The boy broke the silence, filled with confusion and anguish.

"I'm losing my strength, I'm tired. Soon I won't be able to get out of bed, I will lose my senses, and probably it won't take much for me to be completely worthless" Your clarifications developed more than an ache in his heart, it felt like being stabbed on the chest over and over again.

If being a vampire implied that things as such strong emotions could not be felt, why did his soul hurt this much? He felt like dying, perhaps the sin of love could kill an immortal spirit.

His body distanced from yours, not simply cutting all physical contact but also creating more distance between the two of you, getting up on his feet and looking at you from above with an indecipherable gaze.

"No… Are you going to give up this easily?!" his words hurt, from the bottom to the top of you being you were also hurting, and even though you cried incessantly, Riki didn't notice.

"I'm dying! What do you want me to do?!" your voice reciprocated his, increasing itself trying to show all the feelings it holds. "You would never understand it, because you can't die!" your body followed him, standing up from the grass to confront the situation, "you don't conceive the idea of death, because it's not something meant for you to experiment. You will never pass through the illness, your friends or family will never die, and you will never understand what is to perish in this agony" The discussion escalated quickly, reaching its end at the same peace. The things you said defined the end of this senseless conversation and for Nishimura Riki, your words didn't feel like stabs anymore, the heartache remained and his feelings got hurt, but this was the reality hit he needed.

"I know I'm being selfish…" As an abrupt act, he got on his knees desperately hugging your legs and clinging to the end of your dress, holding as if his endless life depended on it. "But I don't want you to die, please, let me help you… I c-can turn you into a vampire" Big tears ran away from his eyes, and the sobs impeded the words from coming out properly, "I know you don't want this, but please, please… I can't live without you…" you could notice a ramble was coming, about all the reasons you had to accept the proposal and how it would benefit all of you.

"How would you do that?..." your weak whisper could be hardly heard by your lover, whose ears were plagued by his cry.

The question made his body react, his head raised leaving its spot on your legs. "I can turn you into a vampire, I just need to bite you, we can do it right now if you want!" Riki rapidly got up, his hands holding your shoulders excited.

"But… What am I going to tell my parents?" The idea of becoming a vampire crossed your mind more than twice, all these thoughts generated by the presence of the youthful Nishimura who appeared in your life unexpectedly and changed the perspective of your life as a normal person in a small town.

"U-uhm… They don't have to know" he said, without giving it a second thought.

"Yes, it's a good idea because they are not going to notice that I'm not dying anymore, furthermore that I'm not getting old" Your sarcastic reply got him out of the fantasy cloud he had the opportunity to stay in for a few seconds.

"You're right, then… I will tell them! No parent wants to lose their daughter, and even if they are against the idea, we can run away together" Both pairs of hands connected, intertwining their fingers looking for more contact. "I have my family and my friends to help us! Jungwon was converted by Jay, it's secure to ask them about it"

The course of the actions being so sudden didn't help your already blurred mind, your disease has been part of you and your current life for most of it, always having hope about successfully evading the so-frightening called death, and the show up of your couple finished wrecking what lasted of your sanity. How could life be so cruel? Assembling two opposite individuals to fall into something so deep as love, the first one; was a vampire, a fortunate specimen blessed by nature, who didn't have to worry about the expected loss of life. And the second one; a poor human, the dangers of the surroundings being enough for such a weak personage.

Between your relationship was a line, an invisible border that could only be crossed by the weakest one and possibly now was about to fade.

"I don't want to die" Your lips dropped, maintaining that low tone you used before, full of fear and worry, "Let's do it, Riki"

And then, under the shadow of a big weeping willow, the connection between both bodies becomes stronger, your lips fused in an act of pure love after a few minutes of discussion that felt like an eternity.

When the sun went down and the secretive night welcomed everything that reached its perimeter, the figure of your loved one could be seen from your window, stealthily letting himself into your room.

"Psst, hey y/n, wake up" With light footsteps, he moved closer to your bed, where you lay comfortably while sleeping.

"Hm?" Your eyes opened slowly, trying to adapt to the nonexistent light in the space, "Riki? What are you doing here?" asked while changing your position, taking a seat on the mattress and patting softly on your side inviting him to do the same.

"Sorry, I couldn't wait anymore" Imitating your action he got comfortable on your side, talking with the lowest tone he could manage to, "I spoke with my mom about this, she was a little… concerned? But in the end, she permitted me to do it" said with his characteristic big smile. "I also talked with Jay and Jungwon, the conversion should be something easy, just a bite"

"Okay, we should do it now then?", you offered, "Mom and Dad, they… we can tell them later" Searching for contact in this moment of nerves, your hands reached his. His head nodded in response, "But wait!" your voice raised, luckily not enough to be noticeable by the other people in the house, "First, kiss me"

"Why? Do you need me that much?" The boy asked playfully, teasing you up a little bit.

"I want comfort, I'm about to be bitten you know? What if this turns out wrong and we can't kiss anymore? Of course, kissing is not the only problem, what if I die? Or end up defective? I may be immune-" a verbal vomit built by anxiety came out of your mouth, only being stopped by your boyfriend, who placed a peck on your lips.

"You don't have to worry, I'm not an idiot to do it wrong," said, with a jolly smirk and a bit of an "arrogant" manner, nothing new to see on the young Nishimura.

"Okay, let's do it…" With that the conversation ended and the so-called conversion ritual began.

Riki didn't want to bite your neck, not simply for being a pretty visible zone but also because he did not want to inflict you more pain than the one you're already passing through, evidently, something like sinking his teeth into her lover's skin wouldn't be painless, but if he can avoid generating her additional pain than the needed, that's okay. Your arm was grabbed so softly and delicately, the tact being so gentle that you could feel like he was holding a porcelain doll, both hands pressed smoothly in your extremity, finding the perfect spot.

"Should I count to three? Maybe it will help" suggested by pure courtesy, his body positioned and mouth near your upper limb waiting for you to give the green light.

"Please," you responded, accompanied by a few scared nods.

"One, tw-" and then, completely omitting the countdown he suggested, sank his fangs into your left arm, drilling your skin and releasing the poison.

You barely had any time to react to the puncturing pain of two deep needles piercing your skin, it hurt so much that you felt like you were burning, groans departing your mouth, such was the case that utilizing your free hand you had to seal your lips, and then, a huge wave slam your senses, sharpening every one of them; your ears? Possessed by an incessant whistle; your tact? It was overwhelming, even the slightest fold in your clothing could be felt; and probably the most shocking one, your vision; nothing could escape your new falcon view, small details on your walls that you hadn't noticed after years of living there were now extraordinarily detailed, the presence of tiny bugs hosting on the corners of your room is now detected, everything felt clearer.

By the time he was done, you had fallen into a trance, the venom running through your veins made your body temperature increase, and an unpleasant sensation spread to your teeth focusing on the fangs, implicating that the transformation already started and soon your hunger would awaken, and as an act of love between two vampires, he could ask you to kiss and bite him.

[wingedhallows]

my choice; sirius black

pairing: sirius black x reader | 2.3k words plot: nothing was ever choice, so helping the order and and finding your way back to the love of your life is finally your choice. authors note: hi hi, so this was requested by my dear scarlett @arwensloanebarnes & I'm so happy to have finally written it. I hope you like it, even if i've put my own little twist on it. love u & thank you for always throwing ideas and words of motivation towards me <3

navigation

“I want to break up.” His kind, lovely eyes now glared at her in disbelief. His arm slacked off the doorframe. His demeanor changed, his coolness gone. You watched him crumble, watched him break. His mouth opened and he didn’t say a word, your gaze wandered to his feet.

The shame washed over you like a cold shower. “Break up?” You couldn’t look at him, the man you loved to the moon and back, the man you would die for. That’s exactly why you were doing this, why you had to push him away.

“What the fuck do you mean?” He barked as he took a step towards you.

“I want to end our relationship.” You spoke, voice without emotion. He stared you down, hands in fists.

“End? What-what the fuck, you can’t just end our relationship like this, we’re Bonny & Clyde, we’re ride or die, we’re made for each other… we belong with each other.” He tried, his arms flailing around in anguish. You bit the inside of your cheek in hopes of stopping yourself from bursting out in tears.

“Not anymore, Black. I don’t date blood traitors.”

He stumbled back, his face in an expression you never hoped to see. It tore you apart, your chest felt tight as you watched him. “What?” You took a breath and grabbed your bag.

“Take care, Sirius.” Before you could turn back and tell him why you acted this way, why you had to hurt him in such a horrific way and take everything back, you dragged yourself through the door and left him behind.

You stood hidden behind a trash container, sparks flying and grunts audible. Damario and Vincius, two fellow Death Eaters, gleamed with confidence as they had cornered Albus Dumbledore in an alleyway. Their wands were held high, smirks on their faces.

“The Dark Lord will award us dearly, Vincius.” Damario spat, yellow teeth faced your way.

“I don’t think he will, Damario.” Albus tried as he popped a lemon drop in his mouth. He fished his wand from his long clothing and without a word spoken, his wand unleashed a spell so powerful that the both of them flew several feet. Damario grabbed Vincius’ arm and in a flash they were gone. 

Albus didn’t put his wand away as he turned towards you, eyes set on your frame.

“You can come out now.” He said and you cursed yourself, of course he would feel your presence. You tucked your wand away and raised your arms.

“You’re more guarded with me?” You tried, his face didn’t change though, your joke fell through.

“Of course, Damario and Vincius aren’t remotely as skilled as you are, Y/N.” You gave him a smile and stepped further towards him.

“Thank you, Headmaster.” He frowned and took a step towards you, wand still raised. “What brings you here, Y/N?” He paused to eye you.

“Do you wish to murder me as well?” The smile vanished from your face and you shook your head. “No, I do not wish to murder you.” You paused as well as you let your arms fall to your side.

“Then what is it?” You sighed and fished a small container from your jacked, and pulled your wand from your other.

“I wish to help you.” He frowned and cocked his head. “You mean betray your master?” You chuckled and shook your head.

“I do not have a master, nothing of what happened with me or my friends was my choice. I wish to help you, help you defeat Voldemort and make decisions of my own.” He lowered his wand and took a step towards you.

“I’ll show you.”

Without hesitation you raised your wand to your temple and pulled the desired memory from your mind and bottled it up for Albus to take. He took the bottle from you and left you behind, his form vanished with a worp of his surroundings.

You pulled the pack of cigarettes from your pocket and lit it with the lighter Sirius had gifted you on your sixteenth birthday. You eyed the small object and sighed, you’d make everything right.

Starting with this, with your memories. Would Albus believe you? He needed to, those memories were reason enough, right?

“We gave you so much freedom, so much space to become a respectable young woman, a great witch but what do you do?” Your mother paused, wand raised at you.

“We feed you, we provide you with education and a roof over your head and you go around whoring yourself out to a blood traitor!?” A woman, you didn’t know, held you by your neck, wand pressed into your flesh.

“You think you can go against us? Against the ways of the noble Devereux household? Every member of this family will serve the Dark Lord and his ways, my dear daughter.” Her fingers crawled into your arm as you tried to get away, desperately.

Another man and your father came to your mothers side. You stared at your father, tears in your eyes as he watched you.

“Stop fighting.” He tried to calm you down. You didn’t listen, your body twisted and wound with as much effort as you could manage. Screams and tears left your face, desperate to set an end to this madness.

Your mothers cold fingers grabbed your cheeks, nothing but hatred visible in her old face.

“Stop fighting it, dear. It was never your decision to make.”

Without wasting another minute, she placed her wand on the soft flesh of your lower arm and branded you, damned you.

Albus had sent his phoenix with a letter. It had said to invite you to a meeting, to announce your plans of being a double agent and to apologize for having thought ill of you.

You had learnt the hard way to not take others' words personally.

“They’ll insult you, take your appearance as an insult.” He spoke as he tapped his wand on the door of Sirius’ parents house.

His parents were arrested not too long ago, the house was now empty. You sighed as you watched the house appear through rumbles. Why exactly this damned house?

“I’d be disappointed if not.” You sighed as you flipped the cigarette away. Your hair moved in the subtle cold wind and your heart beat like it’ll break down any minute from all the effort.

Albus didn’t answer and stepped inside, you followed him. Your coat found its way onto the overflowing coat hanger. The dark hallway seemed too familiar, making your heart skip a beat. The old wizard walked forward, he was greeted with bright hello’s and smiles.

You kept your head high, hands shoved in your jeans as you followed Albus into the kitchen. Lily threw her hand to her mouth and James shoved her behind himself. Remus watched you, body motionless. You didn’t look his way, you couldn’t.

“Albus, what is the meaning behind this?” Minerva questioned, hand propped on the dark wooden table.

“Why would you bring a Death Eater in our midst? What the fuck are you doing here?” James threw your way. You stood behind the headmaster as your mouth shifted into a grin.

“Lovely to see as well, James.” You paused, fingers playing with your lighter inside your jacket.

“How’s Harry?” James' face contorted into hatred as Sirius raised his wand. “Don’t you take his name in your filthy mouth.” Your eyes wandered to the man you missed the most. He looked good, tired, broken but strangely enough, good.

“My bad.” You stopped as Albus eyed you, demanding you to finish whatever this was.

Albus sat down, you did as well. “Y/N offered to act as a double agent.” He paused and took a sip from his cup.

“After careful consideration, she has proven herself to be trustworthy.” Sirius huffed in disbelief, his wand still tightly clasped in his right hand.

“How are you so sure?” Sirius spoke, eyes in slits. You couldn’t fight the urge to smirk. He still had it, the fire.

“I saw Y/N’s memories.” The room stilled of all motion, attention once again on you.

“What memories?” Albus shook his head at Sirius' question. “Not my place to tell, Sirius.” He eyed you down and left it at that.

You closed the room to the restroom, turning off the light. Someone’s hand on your elbow as he dragged you towards the living room. The back of his head gave him away.

“What do you want, Sirius?” He closed the door and turned around. “What do I want?” He spat, his hand on the cabinet by the door.

“What do you want?” You crossed your arms, face in an emotionless mask. “I want to help you.” He shook his head, his lips formed in a cruel snarl.

“Don’t give me this crap, help us? You turned your back on us, you became one of them.” Your eyes left his face, shame crawling up your back.

“I’m sorry.” You simply stated. He swallowed, eyes leaving your face. You were never good at arguing when you were at fault, especially not with Sirius.

“You’re sorry? Alice and Frank were tortured into insanity, Y/N!” He yelled, face turning red.

“Marlene was murdered, her whole family wiped out!” He threw his fist on the couch.

“Our friends died, butchered like animals and you’re sorry? Sorry doesn’t cut it, Y/N.” He came towards you.

“You ripped my heart out and became one of those, those disgusting vile creatures, like it was nothing to you!” He was now yelling in your face.

“You disgust me.” He spat. You swallowed and watched him walk away from you. His hand was on the handle as you spoke.

“It wasn’t my choice.” 

He turned around, face hard and mad. You looked away, eyes already collecting tears.

“Nothing ever was my choice.” His eyebrows furrowed.

“What do you mean?” You let your hands fall to your side as you looked at him once again.

“I didn’t become one of them.” You paused to take a breath.

“They made me one of them.”

He watched you, his eyebrows still furrowed.

“Made you?” You tried to fight the tears but one of them left your eyes either way.

“My mother had me pinned to the ground.” He held onto the couch as his eyes widened.

“To brand me as one of their own.” You pushed some hair behind your ear as you took a deep breath.

“I had no choice but to belong to one side. Reaching out to Albus was my choice, betraying Voldemort was my choice and being a double agent was my choice, this is for once my choice and I’ll take responsibility for it.” 

You wiped the tears off your face. “I understand that you hate me, that I broke your heart and that I destroyed our friends lifes and I’ll take that guilt of not having saved Alice, Frank or Marlene but I’ll do my best to save Harry, Lily and James. To save Remus and You. I’ll do whatever it takes, so please, let me make this right.” You spoke, voice strained.

He watched you, eyes glossy.

“Why’d you have to push me away?” You gave him a sad smile.

“I had to keep you safe.” He nodded and turned to leave. Just as he opened the door he spoke again.

“I won’t stand in your way.” You didn’t answer.

“Oh fuck, don’t you die on me, Nicolai.” You cursed as you dragged the man with you, his blood made it impossible to keep a good grip on him.

“Fuck, fuck.” You cursed over and over again, his body almost limp. With the last strength you could muster, you aparated to a place you knew.

Street was dimly lit, the air was cold and the blood stuck to you like a second skin.

With a huff you sat Nicolai down next to the stairs leading up to the front stairs. You smashed your hand against the dark door and waited, hands hanging limb at your sides.

The door opened and before you stood a half smiling Sirius. His eyes widened as he took your appearance in. His hands flew to your shoulders, your waist, arms.

“Are you hurt?” He threw at you as he inspected you. “Not mine.” You managed as you pointed your finger at the unconscious form on the ground. “Good.”

“James, Remus!” Sirius yelled as he pushed himself past you. You leaned against the door frame, the pain in your shoulder slowly fading in again.

“Come in.” Lily spoke, her hand held out for you. You looked at her and reluctantly gave in. She guided you inside, sat you on Sirius’ sofa and brought you a cup of water.

“Sirius told us everything.” You nodded but kept your gaze on the ground. “We understand.” She said before she left you alone.

You downed the water and tried to get rid of the blood on your hands which had already stained your nails. Sirius made his way into the living room as he sat down on the chair which you had given him as a christmas present three years ago.

“He’ll make it.” He said as he pushed a cigarette between his lips. He held the pack out for you and without much thinking you took one.

He lit it for you and just like nothing of the past years had happened, you sat there.

“I didn’t know where else to go.” You spoke. “It’s fine.” He paused to take a drag.

“I’m glad you came to me.” You looked at him, a sad smile on your lips.

“I never stopped loving you.”

It had left your lips without much thought.

“Neither have I.”

He said, his lips in a small smile.

“Thank you for keeping me safe.” He spoke again and you chuckled, trying to keep as much ash in the ashtray as possible.

“Always.”

His hand found yours as his thumb brushed the back of yours.

This was your choice and it felt like the right one.

[larluce]

Arthur and Merlin travel back in time without knowing the other is from the future too AU

LINKS TO THE OTHER PARTS OF THIS AU HERE: PART 1 , PART2 , PART 3 , PART 4 , PART 5 , PART 6 , PART 7 (You're here) , PART 8

A little more of past trauma

Merlin, Arthur, Lancelot (who isn't a Knight yet) and some knights camping in the woods.

Knight 1: (hesitantly) Sire...

Knight 2: (careful) We need wood... for the fire, sire.

Arthur: (a little confused by their behavior) Pick some fallen branches then.

Knight 1: Ahm... (sweats)

Lancelot: (realising why they're so scared. Sighs) There's no fallen branches, isn’t there?

Knight 2: ... No.

Merlin: (thinking and looking at Arthur carefully) Oh, no...

Arthur: (hardens his features) search harder.

Knight 1: We searched the whole perimeter three times, sire. There are no branches, no even leafs.

Knight 2: These trees are practically naked. We need... We need to cut one down.

Arthur: No.

Merlin: Arthur...

Arthur: No. We don't need fire anyway.

Lancelot: (the only brave enough to contradict him apart from Merlin) Sire, we need to cook the meat and if we don't make fire we'll freeze to death.

Arthur looks conflicted. Merlin sighs. He appreciates what his prince is doing. He went as far to almost forbid all his knights to hunt and cut any plant, especially trees, ever again and he knows Arthur would have ban any of this practices all together in the entire kingdom if he weren't still a prince. Fortunatly, he talked him out of it, so now Arthur allows hunting only when strictly necessary. Cutting trees, however, was always out of the question. They managed to avoid it... until now.

Arthur: (pointing to a knight) Hey, you. Take off your shirt. We can use that.

Knight 1: What?! Sire, but-

Arthur: (very serious) Are you questioning me?

Merlin: Arthur (holds his hand and pulls him gently til they are apart from the rest). Arthur, it's okay.

Arthur: (almost shouting, firmly) No, Merlin! Not with this. No!

Merlin: (reassuring) It just hurts badly when they do it for fun or there's no need. Now we need it. It's fine.

Arthur: (shakes his head, anguish in his eyes) I can't make them hurt you.

Merlin: They wouldn't be really hurting me. Besides, would you rather let me die of hunger and freeze to death? (Puts a hand on his face and smiles) I'll be fine, I promise.

Arthur: (sighs) alright. (Goes to his Knights)

Lancelot: (aproaches Merlin, whispering) Can't you make some branches fall?

Merlin: (shakes his head) these branches aren't thick enough for a fireplace, and I need to get use to this. Arthur too.

Lancelot: (nods in understanding) He must love you a lot.

Merlin: (nervous) Wha-?! What do you mean?

Lancelot: Don't tell me you didn't notice. He was willing let us starve and freeze so you wouldn't feel any pain just a minute ago.

Merlin: He cares for me. I'm his friend.

Lancelot: I'm his friend too and he never looked at me the way he does to you, like you are the sun. Or use any excuse to touch me, like he might die if he doesn't have you close for more than 5 minutes.(pause) And I don't believe you're not aware of this either.

Merlin: (sighs) I don't want to get my hopes up. I'm happy with how things are. I don't want to ruin things between us. (Thinking) Not again.

Lancelot: (smiles encouringly) You don't have to confess your feelings or anything. Just try to make a move to taste the waters and you can decide what to do from there.

Arthur orders his knights to cut down the farrest tree they could find. It's useless though. No matter how far, Merlin still can feel it. Merlin doesn't scream in pain this time, but he still trembles and flinches. Arthur hugs him close through all this and somehow he ends up sitting on Arthur's lap, and hiding his face in the crook of Arthur's neck. He whimpers and whimpers in pain until he falls asleep in Arthur's arms.

Lancelot: (aproaching them) You should wake him before they come back.

Arthur: (shakes his head) He needs this.

Lancelot: If they see you like this they'll think-

Arthur: (sharply) They can think what they want.

Lancelot: (smiles softly) You don't really believe this is some medical disease, do you?

Arthur: ...

Lancelot: You know about Merlin.

Arthur: (sighs) And he told you. (thinking, a mix of angry, hurt and jealous) He told you before telling me.

Lancelot: No, but I catched him. He echanted the weapon I used to kill the griffin.

Arthur: (snorts) This idiot.

Lancelot: He was careful I'm just observant. Why haven't you told him that you know?

Arthur: I want him to tell me himself.

Lancelot: Why?

Arthur: He deserves that much. And I want to prove that he can trust me.

Lancelot: I don't think it's a matter of trust. He trusts you a lot, Arthur. I know he really wants to tell you but he just doesn't know how to. I mean, can you blame him? He's been told all his life he should hide who he is. I don't think he ever willingly told anyone. (sighs) Even outside Camelot, there's hardly a place where magic users are safe.

Arthur: (with conviction) When I'm king there will be. Camelot will welcome magic again and he won't have to hide anymore. (looking at Merlin sleeping peacefully in his arms, thinking) And this time he will be able to live it and enjoy it.

Lancelot: (to himself) I knew it was a sign.

Arthur: (confused) What?

Lancelot: I never told you why I came to the citadel.

Arthur: You wanted to become a Knight. (thinking) Though you arrived earlier than I expected.

Lancelot: That too, but I also had a dream.

Arthur: A dream?

Lancelot: I saw myself in a knight armor. There was some sort of hole or crack in the air, I don't know, everything's kind of blurry. But I do remmember clearly two faces. Faces I never saw before in my life, but in my dream they were familiar. It wasn't until I came here that I recognised them. They were yours and Merlin's. You were in my dream.

Arthur: (in shock, but composes himself quickly)... I see. And you believe that's a sign. A sign of what exactly?

Lancelot: That one day you will be the king I'll serve with honor.

Arthur: Right... Did you have another memo-I mean dream about us?

Lancelot: (shakes his head) That's all. (looks at the sky) It's getting late. I'll go look for the knights, they may need help. (thinking) And you can have some time alone.

Arthur: (stops Lancelot before he leaves) Lancelot. You said me appearing in your dream mean I'll be the king you'll serve one day. What about Merlin? What does he appearing in your dream means to you?

Lancelot: I thought it was obvious.

Arthur: What?

Lancelot: Well, every king needs a queen sire. (laughs a little and leaves before Arthur can process his words)

...

Tagging @everything-is-applepie , @iwillalwaysbearealfan , @merlinsbeard2 , @procrastinating-angels , @thecornerofbelu , @an-entity-i-think , @smileytrinity , @the-night-viewer , @tansyuduri , @fuckyeahsnackables , @stalesaltinecracker , @lucifertookmyshoe , @aceauthorcatqueen and @virgil-wannabe since you all left beautiful comments in the other parts. Thank you so much! 🤧. Please if you have any idea for this AU or want to see a moment in particular between these two or other characters, just ask. I'm just writing random moments that come to my mind 😅

[gogh-with-the-flow]

Part 3 of Cheating!Soap I hope yall are ready to hurt

Hurt/barely comfort if you squint. Soap and reader are both a little (a lot) pathetic.

Johnny didn't move a muscle on the couch. He sat until he was sure you had cried yourself to sleep. He listened as your weeping got more and more subdued, as your heartache wore you down until he could no longer hear your gasps for air. He figures you must have wept yourself to exhaustion. That is, until he hears the bedroom door creak open. He listens to your bare feet pad down the hardwood hallway until the sound is muted by the living room carpet.

Johnny lifts his head from his hands to see you standing there at the other end of the couch. He's never seen you look so weak. So defeated. He did that to you. Your head hangs low and your shoulders are slumped forward; your eyes are dull and your hands hang limp at your sides.

He drops his head again, unable to face what his actions have done to you. You, his angel, his perfect wife. Always patient, always brave, always waiting for him to come home safe. He can't look at you now. He feels the seat beside him sink with your weight. The silence drags on for far too long. When you finally speak, your voice is proven, as if he had personally smashed your throat beneath his foot. He might as well have.

"If this is you..." You pause, searching for the right words. You start again. "If this is you trying to... to figure something out..." You trail off. Your mind isn't all there right now, it melted out through your tear ducts. "If this is you... experimenting..." You take a shaky breath. "Then we can work on this."

He slowly turns his head toward you, eyebrows pinched in confusion. You should be asking for a divorce. You should be telling him to get his filthy ass out. And yet, here you are extending an olive branch. It shouldn't be you. He's the guilty party. He should be groveling at your feet for forgiveness, and you should be denying him.

Your ring still gleams on your finger.

Johnny shakes his head. You've got it all wrong. You're giving him too much compassion. Giving him the benefit of the doubt. It's all wrong. But he can't get the right words out either. All he manages is a shake of his head.

"That's not..." he chokes out. His chest feels like it's encased in iron. Your face crumples again. That awful, anguished look that he had never seen before this night. You make a small, pathetic noise in the back of your throat, trying desperately to hold onto your threadbare composure.

"Then why, Johnny?" You croak out, sounding like you have his fist wrapped around your neck. That would hurt less than this. You gasp for air. "Why did you do this to us?" Us! His poor darling, still thinking of you two as a unit. Can't you see he's ruined it? Why aren't you screaming at him?

"I was scared," he answers. You look at him with great worry in your eyes, now.

"Did he... did he force you?" Oh, there you are again, caring too much for this wretched man before you, giving him compassion he does not deserve. He's quick to deny it. He won't give himself such an easy out. He deserves the shame of the truth.

"No- no! He didn't- we-" he's scrambling for an explanation that won't shatter you completely. You're already fragile and broken. The details will only grind you to bits, won't they? But your looking at him like that, like you won't stop until you know why.

"We were pinned. Communications were dark. There was no way out, and were were in that house for so damn long, I... I didn't think I was coming home." He wants you to snap at him. He wants you to scream at him. That's what you did before you thought you would die? Your last act was to betray your wife? But that's not at all what you do. You're quiet again. Subdued, drowning again in that pretty head of yours.

"Do you love him?" You whisper, the sound made of glass. You barely contain a sob as you stare down at your toes. The answer comes easily to him.

"No." You squeeze your eyes tight, like you don't believe him.

"If it's just sex, I- then I c-can live with it but-" your breath is escaping you as you chase after it to keep it in your lungs. You're losing the race. "But please tell me you don't love him!" And you break again. You wrap your arms around yourself and dig your nails into your arms. You're hurting yourself when you should be hurting him. Tearing him up, throwing him out like the garbage he is. He can't stand the sight of it. He moves.

"I don't! I don't love him!" He rushes out as his hands snap to yours to prevent you from raking harsh lines into yourself. He finally touches you, finally, and it's like cool water on a summer's day. You fall into him, and he wraps you up.

"I can't take it if you love him!" you wail, eyes and nose and mouth all wet. "Please!" He holds you tighter, pulls you onto his lap, tucks your head under his chin, cradles you like an infant.

"I promise," he says right into your ear. He needs to make sure you hear it. "It's you. It's only you. I love you. I love you. I love you." He utters it like a prayer. Breathes it out like a confessional. Utters it only for your holy ears to hear. You cling to him like a raft in a storm. Your nails dig into his chest. Finally, he can pay for his sins. Penance through pain. He hopes you break the skin. A blood sacrifice to the goddess in his arms.

"Please don't leave me," you mumble. It's a pitiful plea. He hates himself for knocking you down so low. Why are you begging him? Don't you know it should be him instead? He holds you impossibly closer, almost afraid to crush you.

"Never. Never." You draw back suddenly, both hands holding his face. There's a firey desperation in your eyes. He feels the metal of your ring pressing into his cheekbone.

"Swear to me." Your wild eyes dart back and forth between his.

"I swear-"

"Whatever you do out there- whatever you have to do to make it through- to make it home-" your words come out rushed between panicked breaths. You grimace and shake your head, unable to finish the thought. "Whatever you do, you come home to me. Me. Your wife."

"My wife," he repeats and nods.

"Swear it!"

"I swear!" And then you kiss him. It's wet and clumsy and shaky. Your lips taste like stomach acid but he can't find it in himself to care. He'll do anything you want if only to lessen your pain.

"We made a vow, John MacTavish," you whisper, lips trembling against his. Your fingernails dig into his shaved scalp. Good. "You are mine."

"I'm yours. I'm yours." You press your forehead against his.

"Now take your wife to bed."

---

Part 4

[lili-harg]

Can you do a izana fic? where he falls for the reader at first sight? It would be too cute!!! Tyyy

Hello and thank you for your request, if you want part two of this, tell me and I will be happy to write it. 🫶🏻

Fall in love at the first sight

• Izana x reader

• warnings: mentions of sadness, depressive behavior

A sunny, calm, silent and a little melancholy afternoon, Izana would say if he could define it. He was sitting looking at the city dock.

He was in a state of tranquility or at least that's what it seemed like from afar, the reality is that the white-haired man felt empty, broken. He himself couldn't define it, but he knew that something inside hurt. Maybe remembering the tragedy of his life, or remembering Shinichiro, he doesn't know.

His hair moved gently in the wind, appearing calm, but his repairs became irregular, and his eyes began to water without asking permission. Anguish, perhaps that's what Izana was feeling, he lowered his head, forming an even more melancholic image, perhaps loneliness embraced him and that's what he belonged to, those thoughts passed through the young man's head.

The violet-eyed man didn't realize that he was being watched by a young woman who had worried too much.

-'I hope he's not thinking about doing what I think he's going to do' said the young y/n, she was very afraid of having to witness such a tragic act.

-'I have to go, even though I don't have the guts, come on y/n! you can' the movie and/h he encouraged himself.

Without thinking for another moment he walked towards the young man who seemed depressed and shouted

-"STOP!"

Izana, without waiting for that sudden scream, turned around ready to act in defense until he saw a female figure approaching him quickly. When she was at a reasonable distance she decided to stop to breathe, she had forgotten her terrible physical condition.

Izana still couldn't see the face of that strange young woman who yelled at him since she had her head down trying to catch her breath. Meanwhile y/n could make out that red uniform, and of course, it was that of one of the most dangerous gangs in the city;

-'Great y/n you're brilliant, you yelled at a gang member and now you can't even look him in the face, just great. You will die in the stupidest way possible' but she quickly remembered why she was there and that it was not the time to mentally fight with herself for her impulsive decisions.

So she raised her head with the dignity she had and (with his eyes closed since he was not brave enough to look at him) he said quickly and almost without modulating the words:

-"please don't throw yourself away, I know that life sometimes It seems like shit but there is always something good that rewards it, so don't do it, please!" and slowly opened his eyes expecting to see a gang member ready to beat her up for her meddling .

But to her surprise she found beautiful violet eyes, now that she thought about it, the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in her life and coming out of that bubble he can see the tears falling from them.

The young woman quickly forgot her fear of the gang member and took his hand, trying in some way to show that she was trying to support him, even though she didn't even know his name.

Izana couldn't really explain what he was feeling or why he was allowing himself to show this level of weakness to a stranger who had taken her hand without permission.

But perhaps it goes without saying that the white-haired man had never seen someone like that young woman, so beautiful and with the purest look he saw, that despite not even knowing who she was, he went and tried to help him.

Was it perhaps a justified weakness? Not even he knows. What he does know is that he wants to continue seeing that look and that he will not waste this miracle.

[chuluoyi]

UNHOLY MATRIMONY — 05

✩°｡ ⋆ sinner's punishment

- fushiguro megumi x oc/reader - oc/reader's character name is hara sena, pronouns still refer to “you” and i won’t mention it often—just for the sake of aesthetic rather than repeatedly writing "y/n"

in another life, in which fate is still screwing his life over, Fushiguro Megumi finds himself in an arranged marriage―with you.

genre/warnings: arranged marriage au, heavy angst, minor character death, description of panic attack, mentions of blood, hurt/comfort

notes: if i may be so bold, this is my favorite chapter so far. but please pay attention to the warnings and read with discretion

✩°｡ ⋆ unholy matrimony (masterlist) | chapter four : going downhill <- previous ✩ next -> chapter six : a longer dream

In hindsight, the first person you could’ve called shouldn't be your husband. You could’ve called the police, or informed the jujutsu headquarters that traces of a curse user were found in your mother’s humble cottage.

But you were on the verge of having a panic attack, and the first person you could hold onto was Megumi. He promised to come to you as soon as he finished his mission. And for the next agonizing four days, he was there with you.

And on the fifth day, when Itadori Yuji, who was in charge of this investigation, came to your doorstep to deliver the grim news, you felt yourself shaking, overwhelmed with the beginnings of hysteria.

"N-no..." Your breathing was getting harder and out of control. "T-there must be... a m-mistake..."

"I'm sorry, Sena-san," Yuji drooped his head apologetically and gritted his teeth, seemingly pained that he must be the one to tell you this. "We found the corpse at the west area of the river bank. And we've identified her as your mother."

It started with choked sobs, and then an almost inhuman scream erupted from your throat and you started weeping so intensely that you nearly crumpled, saved only by Megumi's strong grip that kept you from collapsing entirely.

You grabbed a hold of his shirt so tightly that your knuckles turned pale, almost ripping it, looking at him through your torrents of tears. "I-it's not true... r-right? I-it's just a nightmare! Please w-wake me u-up..."

"Sena." Megumi's deep voice resonated, reflecting his own struggle in processing this devastating news. He looked at Yuji, who was close to tears himself, and then at you, before pulling you into his arms tightly.

"N-no!" you wailed, thrashing against his hold. "Megumi! No! My mom―my mother! S-she can't b-be―"

Your mother, who used to brush your hair and pat your back to get you to sleep when you were little. Your mother, who stood against your father because he would marry you off to some bastard who could make your life hell and got shut away. And your mother―who cried in relief on your wedding day, realizing that you would be in good hands with Megumi.

The reality of her death suddenly hit your conscience, sinking in with profound gravity. You began to wheeze, your screams and sobs merging into a cacophony of anguish. You nearly passed out in Megumi's arms as your ability to stand forsaking you entirely, but he still refused to let you go. He continued to hold you, pressing you tightly against his chest, even as you sank to the floor and pounded his chest in agonizing despair.

"Cry it out," he whispered. "Don't hold back. Just cry. It’s alright."

How did it come to this? Who in the world would murder your kind, loving mother? Why did it have to be her? What had she done so wrong that she deserved this?

Or was this karma? A divine punishment? For trapping the unaware Megumi into this marriage?

You couldn't think straight, the sheer pain of it all numbed your very being and you wanted to die too along with her. Even when you knew you were using him, you couldn't help but hang on Megumi's strong grip as you cried your heart out.

The first days after the news broke were excruciating for Megumi as well.

He felt his chest ache whenever he saw you sobbing and crying in pain nonstop. It was a new form of torment, seeing you like that. He wanted to somehow alleviate your pain, albeit a bit. Or do anything to help you at all.

The preparations for the funeral mostly fell to him as you barely functioned. You were even more inconsolable after you saw the sight of blood on the white blanket that covered your mother in the autopsy room―you insisted on seeing her one last time, but you completely broke down afterwards and didn't dare to lift that piece of blanket. You feared the sight to remain in your nightmares.

And Megumi understood that. If he were in your position, it would destroy him too. Even though he had forgotten how his mother was like, he figured that should he lose Tsumiki this way, he could very well go feral altogether.

There weren't many that attended the funeral, and by the last day, your crying had subsided, replaced by this eerie silence and blank stare. You were dressed in all black and barely said a thing or two to the mourners. The only time your eyes glinted with something other than voidness was when your father had the audacity to come and pay his respect before the altar.

Cold fury. Megumi never saw you like that. You surged with so much hatred that when your father asked if you were okay you just turned your head away and refused to give him an answer.

"Please... look after my daughter," your father, the Hara clan head, said to Megumi outside the funeral house as the last of the mourners of the final day. He had looked so concerned and Megumi didn't have the heart to turn him away. He just nodded and bid his farewell curtly.

He would. Of course he would. What sort of husband would he be if he didn't?

When he got back, he found you staring at the altar in total stillness.

"My mother..." You croaked out, strained and barely audible. It was the first time he heard you saying something today other than many hollow “thank you” you muttered to each attendee. "She said... she'd rather take her own life rather than seeing me be married to Naoya."

Megumi's jaw tightened. Your voice radiated so much pain that it made his chest constrict and his desire to embrace you intensify. He approached you cautiously, aware of the anguish you were going through.

He turned to face you. "She was a great woman."

"She―was," you were quick to force the word out. You still looked so utterly heartbroken, but it seemed like you no longer had tears to spare. "I'm... going to find whoever did this," you muttered next, voice lacing with steel. "I won't let them free. I can't―this is the least I could do for her."

He nodded. Of course, he would extend his help too. All evidence pointed to this being the work of a curse user, which meant it wouldn't be long before you could find them.

It was easier said than done. Coming to terms didn't mean you would be able to go back to the way things were. A part of you was permanently shredded, and it would never be the same anymore. Megumi realized it firsthand when one night, a little over a week after the funeral, he heard quiet whimpers from your bedroom.

Truthfully, he also felt a sense of emptiness as well. Even though he didn’t know his mother-in-law that well, he remembered seeing her soft smile for him during the wedding, and of course the fact that she had sent many boxes of oranges just for you. He knew for a fact that she loved and cherished you so much.

And so, he tapped lightly on your door. Because the urge just got too much, and seeing you in grief made something in him want to rush to your side just to make sure that you were okay.

“Can I come in?”

Meanwhile inside, you had dampened your pillows with tears due to the dream of your happy childhood that just woke you up. Megumi's voice startled you as you tried to compose yourself.

You had noticed it. He had become even more considerate for you as of late, perhaps driven by sheer pity or sympathy. You didn’t care which—the fact that he did at all warmed your heart in a way you wouldn’t find the correct word to describe with, and you were grateful for his unflappable presence.

You wiped away your tears, and replied. “Yes.”

Megumi entered your room then, in his black sweater and visibly weary eyes. Despite his exhaustion, his concern for you was evident as his gaze met yours. “Are you alright?”

“…I’m fine. Sorry if I woke you.”

“No, I was getting the water,” he explained. “Do you have trouble sleeping?”

“Oh no... Not really.”

He hummed. “Want some company?”

You blinked. You would have never expected that Megumi would willingly offer you his presence just because he heard you sniffle to yourself at the dead of the night.

It was tempting—to continuously take advantage of his kindness. You knew it wasn’t right. You swore you knew.

But tonight…

Fushiguro Megumi is still your husband. By name and law it might be, but he did all his husbandly duties perfectly regardless. He was there to defend you, and hold you when you lost the only thing that mattered in your life.

And so as any wife would, you took up the offer of being in his presence. “Yeah.”

Megumi closed the door to your bedroom and studied you intently, his dark eyes narrowing. "Have you eaten tonight? I'm sorry I missed dinner. My mission ran late."

You found comfort in that simple question. "I didn't have the appetite. Anyway, it's okay."

His brow furrowed at your answer. "You can't go without eating anything. You'll get hungry and miserable."

To your surprise, Megumi left your room and then returned promptly, holding a box of cheesecake from a popular bakery in his hand.

"When did you get that?"

"On the way after finishing my job," he replied curtly, offering the treat. "Here. Eat now."

You were slightly taken aback as the pretty cheesecake was now in your hands. "It's midnight. I'm going to build up calories," you whined but clamped your mouth shut when he threw you a withering look. With a sigh, you pierced the fork through the fluffy cake and took a bite.

It was tasty, and you shyly indulged in another bite as Megumi smirked, as if silently conveying an "I told you so."

"No longer feeling as miserable, are we?" he asked with a hint of laughter.

You just hummed in response, avoiding eye contact. He chuckled. "Good then. I'm glad you like it."

It occurred to you that Megumi actually didn't like sweet things. He always took his coffee black, and he rarely ate the pastries you'd bring back. So he must have bought this with you in mind.

A warm feeling enveloped you, realizing that someone still cared about you enough to consider your feelings and bring you comfort.

"Thank you, Megumi," you mumbled, looking down at the half-eaten cake. The loss of your mother still stung you and in the darkest corner of your heart, you barely managed to find the will to continue living. But Megumi's presence made it better, a hundred times over. And most of all, you feel safe with him.

"Don't mention it." He breathed a sigh of relief.

It wouldn’t have been easy, and he knew it was going to take time. Healing was a process, and he was willing to be there every step of the way.

“Your eyes are red,” he pointed out. “Do you want me to get you a cool compress?”

You responded while still chewing the cheesecake. “Mmm, no. That’s okay.”

“Don’t be stubborn. Last time you didn’t listen to me, you almost tripped if I didn’t catch you.”

“That’s purely by accident! And hey, did you remember when we—”

That night, you and Megumi sat together on your bed, reminiscing about various things before eventually basking in comfortable silence. You didn't know when you started getting sleepy, but you did and the next thing you knew, in the morning, the first sight that greeted you was Megumi's sleeping face.

He was here the entire night. And you realized that with him here, you were no longer overcome with the urge to weep as much.

What is this feeling? Why couldn't you take your eyes off him?

Megumi is fairly attractive. He looked grumpy and unfriendly by default, but even then he was still handsome. And now that he was defenseless like this, he looked soft. It was the sight only you, his wife, got to see. No one else could come close to see him like this as you did.

Because you are his wife, and he is your husband.

In this very marriage that you instigated.

Your chest twinged as a wave of guilt washed over you. How could you forget that? You were a sinner. All of this pain and suffering—you had brought it upon yourself, and your mother had paid the price.

A fresh wave of tears welled up in your eyes. Your sweet mother. She was the reason of this whole sham marriage. Now that the reason no longer existed, there was truly no need for either you or Megumi to continue on this path.

It felt even worse because you were falling for your husband. You might have deceived yourself until now, but this was an undeniable moment of truth. You weren't exactly sure when it had started, but you had willingly let Megumi capture your heart and have it. He was blunt but reliable and treated you well. Truth be told, you were genuinely enjoying this new life too.

But this has to stop. You couldn't fool over him forever. For his sake, you had to let him go.

Today was Sunday, so neither of you had to work. You had gone to the kitchen to ponder how you should bring the topic up when he stumbled in, still looking half-asleep.

"Ah, I fell asleep in your room," he remarked, yawning. The sight tugged your heartstrings because he looked so unguarded. You wanted to smother him, hug him, kiss him even―

No. This fantasy ends here.

"Megumi," you began, your tone carrying an edge that instantly put him on alert. "We need to talk."

He visibly frowned. "Yes?"

And nothing would've prepared him for the words coming out of you next.

"I think we should get a divorce."

✩°｡ ⋆ next -> chapter six : a longer dream

🏷️ taglist

@moonmalice @hellothere9597 @qtnfer @firstplaidpeachnickel @waddlingwanderer @chilichopsticks @satorus-slut @dcvilxswish @lees-chaotic-brain @tojirin @bluebreadenthusiast @pandabooster @cole-silas @becsmarvel @giuli-in-earth @fuckimgenderfluid @haitanisrarity @kimura-uzuri @bicchaan

[bakugoushotwife]

inextricable p3 Sasuke xFem!Uchiha!Reader)

a/n: thank you guys for your patience in waiting on this last part! I will be releasing the angst ending later today and will link it to this post for convenience later!! i also have to thank you for voting in how this part should turn out and overall even reading these!! this has by far been my favorite series and makes me want to do more in the future! also also, I was thinking about making this expandable if I get more requests, so you can request specific moments for the Uchiha Princess like Kakashi finding out she's pregnant or more on Sasuke and Y/N's stay in the Sand!

cw: violence, death, fighting, mentions of sex nothing crazy, pregnancy, etc. not proofread so shoot me

wc: 17, 212

part one // part two

He was thinking about you. He wondered what you would think if you could see him like this, teeming with rage and anguish. Ever since he was told about the truth, since he shared that truth with you, he hasn’t been able to stop the rage brewing inside him. He watched his brother die, he helped kill him. He endured three days worth of suffering in his brother’s genjutsu, watching helplessly as his parents died over and over. His brain was so damaged when they found him, it took a Tsunade miracle to piece him back together. He lost his best friend, separated in order for him to foster this hatred in order to carry out this revenge. He has done what his brother wanted: he has activated his mangekyo and stalked the man with the most to do with assigning Itachi this mission. Yet still, he yearns for your company. He wants you to see the man that wrecked your life too. He wants to help get your revenge too. But you’ve always been so much calmer, he guesses that was Kakashi’s influence. Would you join him in this crusade? No. You’ve tried to talk him off the ledge several times, you would be appalled with his behavior. That realization hurts a little bit, hurts in a different way than everything else. Itachi engineered him to be a being of hate, knowing that someone would stop him from going too far. Does he think Kakashi or Naruto have the capability? Did Itachi prepare for that person to be you?

He knows that the newly-recognized Hokage Danzo will be in the Land of Iron, that all five kage would be in fact. He didn’t initially plan on a visit to the Leaf, but the opportunity to see you again weighed heavily on him. He just wanted a chance to talk to you in person. To try and convince you one last time to join his revenge tour. He could teach you more and keep you safer than Kakashi can. You are the last of the Uchiha, you are inextricably bound to him. He needs you, this is meant to be a journey for two. You would come to him this time, he’s sure. You may disagree with his methods, but he remembers you swearing your allegiance to him, telling him with big teary eyes how much you missed him. Surely that would outweigh any anger you have. That’s why he sent Madara ahead to scope you out in the Leaf, to make sure you were safe and well cared for. So imagine the surprise, the pride, the wide amalgamation of anxiety and something close to fear that Sasuke experiences whenever Madara comes back to report the antithesis of what he had expected. 

“The Sharingan Princess is not in the Leaf.” 

Sasuke’s head whipped toward the masked man. “What? Not in the Leaf? Where is she?” He asks in rapid succession, getting to his feet. 

Madara held his hands up in uncertainty. “Who’s to say? She seems to be cloaking her chakra very cleverly. She’s been listed as a deserter in the Bingo Books.” 

Sasuke narrows his eyes in confusion, his mind reeling. He couldn’t figure out what would make you leave so suddenly, he hadn’t had the chance to speak with you in months, too focused on his plans. Had you become so worried you came to look for him? “Were you able to find out why she left?” He asks in more of a statement, expecting the man to provide more information. 

You could hear the smile in the masked man’s deep voice. “Pain attacked the Leaf. It seems many died in the initial attack, including your lady's father. Naruto Uzumaki was able to get Nagato to reno-rebirth them all, but it seems our Green Goddess of the Leaf left before that happened. They haven’t seen her since. Naruto Uzumaki keeps making efforts to find her, no luck. It’s believed that Y/N Uchiha has obtained the Mangekyo Sharingan with an ability similar to Shisui’s dangerous Kotoamatsukami.”

Sasuke’s rendered speechless. You’ve been on the run for several months, with Mangekyo powers and with a renewed sense of hatred? He had to find you. His mission to the Iron seemed incomplete now, and he couldn’t risk the Leaf finding you first. He glanced at the other members of his team and sighed. 

“We have to find her first.”  

Madara chuckled. “No need. It seems the Last Uchiha Princess was searching for you, and found you indeed.” He says, stepping aside to reveal your form. Time slowed to a stop, he swears. Your hair had returned to its full black, all the traces of dye long gone. The moon’s beams gave you an angelic glow. Your shinobi headband was gone .Two swords crisscrossed in sheaths on your back. Your eyes shined the color of blood, the symbol of your Mangekyo made his lips spread into a grin. You were beautiful, just as he knew you would be from his crows over their many visits. Revenge and anger flowed through you freely, and he thought that looked good on you. 

A girl with bright red hair and eyes stepped forward with her arms crossed. She looked at you with malice. Your eyes snapped to her. “Whatever you’re thinking about saying to me, don’t.” 

Sasuke nearly chuckles. Your presence was like medicine, and he was relieved to know your ferocity remained intact. 

Karin frowned at your words, and the shark-featured boy next to her giggled lightly. “Oh don’t mind her, Y/N,” He says, as if you’re old friends, “She’s probably just wondering how you found us.”

“I could detect Sasuke’s chakra even if he repressed it to zero.” You reply flatly. “Plus, I ran into this guy and followed him back up here.” You add, still eyeing the girl analyzing you. Her eyes flickered back to Sasuke, who was watching you carefully. You smirk at her, tracking her eyes. “Hey, girl.” You chuckle, the smile on your face vicious, eyes crazy. “Don’t try it.” You say as sweetly as you can manage, clapping her on the shoulder and moving towards your old friend. 

She frowns, the smile on Sasuke’s face as you come closer was unmistakable mostly because he had never smiled so widely before. Suigetsu elbows her, distracting her from watching your every move. 

Your smile wasn’t missable either, and you did have to repress the urge to wrap your arms around him and cry out in relief. However, given the reputation you’ve both acquired, it would be in bad taste. It’s been years, four to be exact, since you last laid eyes on him. He’s perfect, tall and well-built. Your cheeks grow warmer as you realize just how beautiful he has grown. It’s also like no time has passed, his chakra presence putting your nervous heart at ease. He holds his hand out with a small half-smile. You never look away from his eyes as you gently place your palm in his. You turn your eyes off, returning his tiny grin. The moment felt intimate despite all the other people gathered in the hideout. The truth was the two of you had been imagining this moment for years, wondering when you’d find yourselves together again. He looked at you gently, with all the love left in his mangled dark heart. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too.” You say plainly, you’re both walking a fine line of collapsing into all your emotions and showing none at all. You felt vulnerable, and in front of Sasuke that was alright, but in front of all these new and dangerous Akatsuki members, you wanted to look strong. Because you are, the months that passed proved fruitful for your talents. 

“I’m glad you’re okay.” He adds after, his thumb stroking the back of your hand mindlessly. 

“It’s good to see you safe.” You say, essentially the same message. We’re alive and back together. 

He makes a nervous chuckle of some sort. He thought it was interesting that you considered him safe, he was a rogue nin and now you were too. “I’m..sorry. About Kakashi.”

Your grip on his hand loosened momentarily. The memory of his death flashes before your eyes and you're forcing yourself to smile gratefully. “I appreciate it…it truly was the last straw.” 

“Do you think he would support you?” Sasuke asks, more out of own curiosity since he knows that Kakashi is alive. He feared you finding this information out, would you flock back to him? 

You nod. “Kakashi specifically asked me to leave the village just before he was killed. I have to believe that he knew I would come to you.” You answer truthfully, able to talk yourself into believing that your adoptive father’s support and love for you could never waver. 

He hums at your response. Perhaps you were right, it was a calculated risk that the Sensei took on his deathbed. It was desperate, but it made sense. Kakashi knows you well, he knew the craving for revenge that brewed in your heart and he wanted you to satiate it safely. Maybe he knew that the other Uchiha would never hurt you, maybe he just hoped that was the case. Either way, Kakashi would be stupid to think you wouldn’t search for the only other person that mattered to you. 

“How did you find my chakra?” 

You smirk again, proud of yourself. “I’ve told you, dear Sasuke, I’m very strong.” 

He matches your expression, knowing that with his Mangekyo where it was as of now, you were probably just as prodigious as him. “I know you’re powerful, Y/N. I want to know the specifics.”

“I have insane chakra control and tracking abilities from my senseis.” You say, moving your bangs to show him the seal on your forehead. “I found an old friend of yours…name’s Kabuto.” You share with a shrug, watching Sasuke raise his eyebrow in interest. “He told me about Danzo...the man that ruined our lives. Apparently there’s a Kage Summit in the Iron, I knew you’d be around here somewhere. I could sense all the chakra pooling and then I saw Madara standing down there, almost like he knew I was coming.” 

“Interesting indeed, I wonder why Kabuto felt inclined to help you.” He says, truly just wondering out loud. 

“Same reason anyone does, power. He’ll be an issue later.” 

Sasuke is markedly impressed. You had a variety of different talents and abilities, and though you may never be as strong as he was, he doubts many could ever be as strong as you are. And for a time, you were inarguably stronger. He was glad he never sparred with you. Your prowess in most fields made you borderline invincible. Perhaps Kakashi was no slouch after all. 

“You’ve unlocked your Mangekyo.” He states, but his brow is raised like he wants you to add further comment. 

You nod, hand still in his warm one, eyes still locked. “Kakashi’s death.” 

He nods, the intensity of his gaze makes you feel like a precious jewel under his microscope. “I see. Your abilities?”

“Similar to Shisui’s. I don’t have full blown mind control, but I can move the body and speak with the mouth. They usually don’t remember anything that happens.” You reply with a broad grin, now this was something you definitely were proud of. "My other eye lets me cast my jutsu effects on others. So if I put someone in a genjutsu, they see my delayed sense on me and whoever I touch."

Once again he has to fight a chuckle. It felt weird, the odd rhythm of his heart as he looked at you with such fondness unfamiliar to everyone else. The other Akatsuki decided to give you some time to catch up, much to Karin’s dismay. They went to make preparations for their short journey into the Iron. This left the two of you standing alone in a cliffside cave, staring at each other in hopes it said everything you wanted to say. 

“Have you performed a susano’o yet?” He wonders where the limits of your expertise were without Kakashi there to guide you. 

You shake your head. “I haven’t needed to, you know how it goes.”

He nods. “That’s good, but you’ll need it soon.” He says with a hint of his familiar arrogance. 

It makes you smile this time though, and you nod in agreement. “Alright, noted.” You hum, your smile so warm and genuine that it’s hard for him to imagine you as you were when you entered the cave. He takes time to admire your features, the arch of your brow and the pink dusting your cheeks. He notices the stress lines forming under your eyes, which makes him frown. But mostly he notices the purple headband on top of your dark hair and the purple earrings you wear, complete with purple bracelets. It was interesting, your clothes all black, he felt the need to comment his thoughts. 

“I thought I was purple and you were green?” He asks, the ode to childhood seemingly out of place given your current conversation of power. 

You touch the headband with your free hand, almost like you knew that’s why he said anything at all. “Oh. I guess I was. I just like the familiarity of purple.” 

The sentiment in your voice hits him like a ton of bricks. He had noticed the headband before, thinking it was some sort of reminder of him. But it ran much deeper than that, the headband was your prized possession. It gave you lines to both Sasuke and Kakashi, made you feel close to them. You needed no reminder of him, you needed a connection. He thinks of the way his chest tightened every time he saw something in the same deep green of your tricycle, the same shade of your chakra, the bright lime. It put your face in his mind each time it happened. His hand squeezes yours, suddenly refocused on the lack of a normal childhood he had, you had, what you two could have had together. 

“We’ll kill him. For Itachi, for Shisui.” 

You nod. “For our parents, for the entire clan.” 

Naruto slams his fist on the wall, clearly frustrated and guilty. He can’t find you. He can’t find Sasuke, though, even he is smart enough to assume you two are together. Losing Sasuke crushed him. He loved him like his own brother, even though he never really knew how that felt. He saw Sasuke’s strength and wanted to surpass it, make a name for himself and become Hokage. But how could he do that if he can’t protect the people he loves? Losing you was a devastating blow. You were family, his love for you hard to quantify. You were the sunshine of Konoha, how could you leave? 

Kakashi insists it’s his fault, though it’s easy to see his grief wearing on him. He told you to leave the village. At that point, he was scared for your life. He just wanted you to get away, preferably finding Naruto. He should have been smarter than that, but in that moment of weakness he’s able to admit he thought about the possibility of you going to Sasuke. He wasn’t angry, nor would he say he’s necessarily disappointed. It’s hard to put a name on this feeling, other than guilt. He’s sad, and he’s worried about what this means for the future, but he knows if you were here right now he would sigh with relief and hug you close. 

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Naruto.” Kakashi breathes, trying to hold tightly to the students he had left. He can see how this weighs heavily on the young man, his face tightened up as he tried not to scream and cry. 

“My friends! What have I learned if I can’t even keep my friends in the village?!” 

“It has nothing to do with you, Naruto..” Kakashi says in comfort, his own heart panging at the sentiment. What kind of Dad am I if I can’t keep her in the village? “They…have their own troubles to deal with. In time, we will get them back. I don’t think he’ll hurt her.” Kakashi adds, hoping to ease some of Naruto’s worries.

The blond widens his eyes, looking at the last teammate. “He’s tried to kill Sakura twice!” 

“He won’t.” Kakashi repeats, more sternly this time, trying to convey a message behind the simple statement. He was trying to say, ‘Yeah, well, Sakura isn’t his childhood friend and last lady Uchiha either. She doesn’t matter to him the same way Y/N does.’ 

Naruto’s lips tightened in a thin line, seemingly dissatisfied with Kakashi’s urgency. “Aren’t you worried sick? She’s an enemy of the village now!”

This was true, as a deserter there were no exceptions. Classified as a SS threat, there was nothing he could do to lower your profile now. All you had were enemies, in a way, Kakashi was hoping you did make it to Sasuke. He tried to sway Tsunade, explaining that he told you to leave, but it was no use. The Lady Hokage was visibly upset by this as well, a mentor to you in your teenage years. He knew it would take work, but he knew he could get you admitted back into the village after some time. Even if you had to serve a small sentence, it would be better than living as a rogue nin for all your days. He only wished there was a way to find you, but you knew how to hide. He had taught you. And you didn’t even know he was alive, if only he could talk to you. 

“Of course I’m worried about her future, but I’m not worried about her safety at the moment. It would be wiser to come up with some sort of plan.” 

“Go on, take it.” Your best friend says, holding out a red crane fashioned from folded paper. He had made you all kinds of things, a paper purple  rose, a gray elephant, an orange cat. He never looked you in the eye when he handed you the little trinket, almost like he was embarrassed. 

You smile softly, gently taking the bird from him and inspecting it. He really was quite good at origami, and you wondered when he learned how to do this. “Thank you Sasuke.”

“Mm.” He grunts in acknowledgement, fingers busy working on yet another paper craft. 

“I wish I knew how to make you something, I feel so useless over here.” You chuckle, setting the crane down next to his other creations. 

He sighed, like it was a dumb thing to say. “You are giving me something.”

You hum in amusement, thinking about what he could mean. You two rarely spoke in lengthy flows, much of your communication was non-verbal or through a system of subtle noises. “I’m stumped.”

He looks into your eyes this time, and slides his latest design across the mountain-side hideout floor.You arch your brow and notice the light shade of pink dusting his cheeks and nose bridge. You look down at his symbol of affection, a green paper heart under your fingers. 

“You came to me, that’s quite the gift.” 

It’s your turn to heat up. You knew you couldn’t tease him like your first instinct is to, since he’s being so vulnerable, but it also made you feel a tad exposed. “You have a point there.” You hum, deciding to combine both approaches. “Does this mean this qualifies as the date you said you would take me on when you saw me again?”

It’s no wonder that neither of you are well versed in the language of feelings and human emotion. All you knew was that Sasuke meant more to you than anyone in the world. 

A couple beats of silence pass, and he hums in approval. “Yes.”

The three of you stand on the bridge, carefully watching as Danzo Shimura unravels the heavy bandaging around his arm. When he drops the gauze, Karin gasps. His right arm was riddled with the sharingan of your dead clan. Your eyes narrow in anger, the pit in your stomach impossible to ignore. These are the deep seeds of hatred, and you are letting them grow. Sasuke’s eyes widen and then squint in disgust, the stare in his eyes as dark as they come. 

His regular sharingan analyzed the mutative arm his enemy possessed, and with a menacing tone he asked, “How did you get those eyes in your right arm?”

Danzo looked unbothered, the eye visible to his challengers closed, the other side bandaged up in similar fashion to his arm. It made you feel as if he were hiding more of your clan’s eyes under there. You searched to find Shisui’s, determined to take it back, but you couldn’t see it easily. That was to be expected, your brother’s Kotoamatsukami was easily one of the most powerful Mangekyo abilities to be had, and your training on your own had discovered it was much the same. You could now influence thoughts as well as control the body, you could choose when to release it, and it was only penetrable by other genjutsu. Still, it would be nice to have your brother’s eyes back in your family and usable for your Eternal Mangekyo. It was clear either way that the man before the Last of the Uchiha severely underestimated the power of each of you individually. 

“Through various means, it would take too long to describe.” He answers nonchalantly. 

“Any explanation would have upset me more.” Sasuke says with a stern frown. He closes his eyes. “Forget it. I’ve decided to kill you. Y/N, stay back unless I need you.” He says, to which you nod affirmatively. You would step in if his chakra was running out, as your chakra control and storage made you tireless. He nods back, satisfied with your answer. “Before that, let me ask one thing: Is it true that Itachi Uchiha eliminated our clan by order of the Elders?”

Danzo doesn’t respond. He simply starts weaving hand signs and staring blankly at him, and then he runs. He sprints full speed straight at Sasuke, reeling his arm back for a chakra packed punch. It’s stopped by a purple wall of Sasuke’s chakra. 

“Part of a susano’o..” You wonder softly aloud. 

Danzo stumbles back in surprise. The fist of Sasuke’s summons sweeps Danzo into the air and threatens to crush him. 

“So this is the Susano’o.” The old man groans, obviously struggling for breath in this chakra hold. The fist starts to squeeze inward. You’re standing off to the side, not quite able to read Sasuke’s expression, but his raised voice tells you everything you need to know. 

“I’m going to ask one more time. Is it true that Itachi Uchiha eliminated my clan by order of the Elders?” His voice thunders, larger than you’ve ever heard before. 

Danzo looks at you, clearly unfocused on Sasuke’s line of questioning. 

“I’m asking if it’s true!” Sasuke roars again, demanding his attention. The Susano’o’s fist tightens once more, and you’re sure Danzo’s bones will start to break soon. You smile at this, knowing it is kinder than what he deserves. Danzo grunts out, the pain clear. “Answer me!” 

“I–I didn’t think he was that kind of man.” The Leaf’s Hokage says with a trace of disgust. Sasuke gasps softly at his words. “Damn Itachi. I see he revealed everything to you before he died. As I thought it seems that you are truly special, that younger sister of Shisui as well.”

Sasuke seems stunned, lost in thought momentarily. You’re thinking of the night of the massacre, what Itachi said to him then. He made hate his driving emotion in hopes of this, this revenge that’s happening right before your very eyes. He built Sasuke himself, pushing him as far as he could go to increase his power. Did he do this for you as well? Did he know that you would become such a powerhouse yourself, was he expecting you to be part of this retribution? 

Surely. Itachi was nothing if not meticulous and intelligent. He could basically see the potential future, and he figured out exactly how to play the cards to his game. He knew. He knew there was nothing he could do to keep the two of you apart forever. He just needed it to happen long enough for Sasuke to breed this strong emotion in his chest. He needed you to learn under talented teachers until the day you came back to serve in avenging the Uchiha. 

Itachi and Shisui were betrayed by the shinobi world, abused and thrown away like nothing. You find yourself clutching your fists and begging for a chance at one of the men that made it all happen. 

“Answer me!” Sasuke’s voice cuts through your hazy train of thought. 

“I…I didn’t think Itachi was the kind of man who would reveal secrets.” Danzo says, genuinely frustrated that Itachi dared to share their corrupt ways. 

“Does that mean it’s true?” Sasuke asks calmly. 

You watch as his susano’o grows in power. The formerly bony skeleton mass of purple chakra became strapped in muscle and flesh, eyes glowing like two stars in its skull. You marvel at the creation, grinning at what you would be able to accomplish in time. Who knows, maybe you would get the chance to try it out against this pile of trash. Sasuke stands proudly before his susano’o, knowing he’s effectively bulletproof. Karin gasps and covers her face in fear, making you roll your eyes. And she hoped to be with Sasuke? Sakura was more bold. 

“Self-sacrifice…That’s what epitomizes a shinobi. Never seeing the light of day. Toiling in the shadows. It is as it was in the past. That is what a true shinobi is.It describes not only Itachi. Countless other ninja have died the same way. Niceties alone will not make the world go round. Peace was attained all because of people like him.” He says, almost generous in the way he speaks. That demeanor quickly turned sour. “People like you who misunderstood Itachi’s intentions couldn’t possibly understand. Still, for Itachi to reveal such a secret to you makes him a traitor to the Leaf.” 

Upon hearing those words, Sasuke’s Susano’o fully closes his fist around the man, and your eyes widen slightly as the blood oozes out from its palm. 

“Don’t say anymore about Itachi!” Sasuke said, staring at the dangling corpse of Danzo. 

“You’re right…Then let us proceed to a battle of the eyes.” Danzo’s voice rang out from behind him, kunai drawn. Sasuke whips his head around, Mangekyo fully displayed, Susano’o surrounding him. Danzo charges again, attempting to plunge the blade into the chakra shield. 

You were astounded that the fool was even alive, knowing it had to be some kind of ability related to the sharingan he stole. But even you had to laugh aloud at his pathetic attempt at piercing a Susano’o. Karin looked at you wearily, and you just shrugged. It was a terrible move. 

“As expected…Susano’o.” Danzo says as if the gigantic chakra skeleton man did not tell him that it was a Susano’o. You cover your mouth so as to not laugh again. “Just the thing to protect yourself.” 

At just the moment he finished speaking, Sasuke’s susano’o dropped a pile of rocks likely from the landscaping above. It landed right on top of Danzo, yet you felt as if he would somehow escape this death too. You watched as the debris cleared, focused on Sasuke and his chakra levels. He was using quite a bit with his Mangekyou and Susano’o. You needed to figure out what kind of jutsu Danzo was using and quickly, to end this for good. 

“The power in its attack is as expected.” Danzo says, you and Karin quickly look to the side of you. There he stood, up on a carved stone tower a few hundred feet away. Sasuke stared at him, you could tell he was working to sort it out just as you were, but the emotion he felt was getting harder and harder to ignore. 

You knew this couldn’t be a genjutsu. You were extremely resistant and everyone’s chakra remained undisturbed. It had to be some unique ability connected to one or all of the sharingan in his right arm. Sasuke’s Susano’o had only formed from the spine up, yet it had the balance to rear back a punch to the tower, sending Danzo flying on a lifeboat of a stone slab under his feet. He landed on the ground below, just in time for another punch from the chakra being. Fog from the debris clouded your vision and flew towards you both, Karin screaming out in fear. Against better judgment, you wrap your fingers around her wrist and reluctantly pull her out of the way with you. 

You turn your regular Sharingan on, searching for Sasuke within his Susano’o. You see him fly towards the head of his summons, and you hear the faint deep rumble of, “Amaterasu.” 

You sigh, knowing he would be even more depleted by this, and Danzo would know that too. The fog clears enough for you to see the Elder being consumed by the signature black flames of Sasuke’s Mangekyo ability. Danzo plummets to the ground in agony as Sasuke lands back on his feet with his chakra shield summon dissipating around him. 

You can see how tired he is, and you begin to worry. He’s been using his Mangekyo all this time, it had to be bleeding or close to it. His body heaved with heavy breath, yet you knew this still was not over. Effectively the third time he had killed the Hokage, but it was not over. You and Karin scanned for his chakra presence, shouting in unison, “Sasuke, behind you!” 

“Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!” Danzo shouts as he weaves his hand signs to activate the jutsu. It sends several compressed air bullets flying Sasuke’s way, and you wince as once slices open the top layer of skin on his arm. It shatters the rocks as he flies through the air to avoid them, sending himself flying over the bridge. 

“Sasuke!” Karin cries out, moving towards him. Your hold on her wrist keeps her in place, she looks at you with confusion. 

“He’s not an idiot, he has a plan.” You promise, eyes focused on the scene. 

Before you know it, Sasuke is rising before you, standing on the back of a giant hawk. Karin sighs in relief, but you just smile smugly. You never doubted him for a minute. 

Danzo chuckles. “Amaterasu. It’s been a while since I last saw that. You are Itachi’s younger brother after all.” 

It’s now that you can see his face that you confirm your earlier suspicions. His left eye is already bleeding. He hovers in the air on the bird, crouched on its head. Your eyes flicker between him and the enemy, watching as an eye closes on the back of his arm. That had to be significant. 

“You’ve taken over Itachi’s jutsu.” Danzo observes, just serving as kindling for Sasuke’s fire. 

“I told you never to speak of Itachi again!” He reminds not-so-politely. 

“Brothers with the same ability…Yet, what your eyes perceive is so different. I wonder if the sister of Shisui is the same. The truth about them doesn’t matter to you. You direct your hatred at whomever you can lay your hands on. You two make the sacrifice of the Uchiha Clan meaningless.” He spits, holding that disgusting right arm over his face. 

Sasuke snarls. “You have no right to talk about the Uchiha!” His bird soars toward the man standing on the bridge, his hand gripping his sword. Danzo begins to weave more hand signs.

“Wind Style: Vacuum Blast!” This attempt sends some of the debris towards the hawk, which the rogue nin easily evades by jumping off and pulling his sword in the air. Sasuke scans for him in the smoke, catching the spinning shuriken hurled his way. He easily evades this as well, bending backwards out of line of danger and flipping himself to a safer position. He positions his sword in front of his face and spots Danzo atop a large rock pillar. He sends two more rounds of spinning shuriken Sasuke’s way. He catches one on the tip of his sword and sends the other one flying in the air. You notice the screech of his hawk, as if he was instructed to do something here. Sasuke slings his sword, sending the rotating weapon back to the sender. Danzo knocks it upwards, watching as it takes a chunk of rock off hurtling toward the spot where he stood. He had no choice but to move towards Sasuke. The Uchiha jumped toward him, hopeful of landing a blow with his sword, but Danzo caught him by his neck. 

Your eyes widen in anxiousness, Karin once again pathetically screams his name. The hawk screeches again, and you see the missing shuriken from earlier come back into play, slicing Danzo’s arm and allowing Sasuke to strike yet another fatal blow. You inched forward, hoping this was the final time. How many times could Danzo use whatever it was he was using? Surely he would be done soon. Karin elbows you as another eye on his right arm closes. 

“It’s like they represent his lives, almost.” You say, to which she nods. 

“No way!” She says, prompting you to follow her eyesight up to where Danzo once again stood above you all on one of the only carved pillars remaining. 

“It’s useless.” Danzo says to Sasuke once more. The wind blows across Sasuke’s face, moving his hair to let you see the serious glimmer to his eyes. He would not give up, you would have to join him yourself when he got too tired. His eyes widened again, and out from his body came a murder of crows. Danzo seemed genuinely thrown off by this, searching wildly around him, coming face to face with the figure of Itachi. 

“Th-this is…Itachi?” The man asked, staring at the sharingan of the boy gone too soon.

Itachi stares blankly at him, more crows circle overhead. 

From the ground, you watch Sasuke’s chakra dwindle even more as he says,”Die…Amaterasu.” 

Danzo is consumed in flame yet again, but now you begin to expect his scheming survival. “I commend you for placing me under genjutsu.” 

Sasuke capitalized, taking the time that he had for Danzo to be distracted to appear behind him, sword nearly pressed into his back. 

“However…” He knew Sasuke was there. He realizes this truth too, grimacing. The blade of the sword dropped a little. 

“Sasuke! Now’s your chance! Why did you stop?” Karin yells, and you want to punch her for her stupidity. 

“He can’t move.” You say, the answer is obvious to you. And sure enough, a curse mark burns its way up Sasuke’s body. 

“I was aware of your genjutsu long ago. It is a far cry from Itachi’s powerful Tsukuyomi in which he freely manipulated time.” Danzo says dismissively, he’s growing arrogant. 

It’s clear that Danzo placed this mark when he touched Sasuke earlier, and you didn’t come this far to watch him lose. This is what you were here for, it was time for you to take over. You turn your eyes to Mangekyo, ready to throw your version of Kotoamatsukami down. You feel a hand on your shoulder before you can focus, causing you to turn toward the figure.

Seemingly, Karin had the same hopes to help as you did, mindlessly running up the pillar and subsequently being plainly kicked off. She lands in a pile of rocks with a loud whine, and you fight a smirk. 

You shrug the hand off your shoulder, faced with Madara Uchiha. You sigh at him. 

“He needs to do this on his own, it’s Itachi’s will.” 

“Sometimes I think you’re just making shit up for your own benefit. Itachi doesn’t want him to die!” You argue back with a faint snarl. 

Once again, you can hear the fondness coating his voice. “Oh, dear Y/N, have some faith.” Madara encourages, eye flickering between the fighting above and you. It was apparent that someone had to keep you back, or else you would prevent Sasuke’s growth. Danzo makes eye contact with you both on the ground, seemingly deep in thought. 

You sigh and fold your arms over your chest, pouting like a child. “I deserve revenge too.” 

Madara nods. “And you will have it, my dear. We both want to see Sasuke at his fullest potential. He cannot do that if you save him now.” 

You bite the inside of your lip and nod. “Fine.” 

But Madara is not dumb, he won’t leave you unattended now. 

“He’s your ultimate mistake.” The words from above caught your attention, watching with true fear as he swung Sasuke’s own blade toward his paralyzed body. You jump, but Madara’s arms stop you. 

You gasp. The Susano’o reappears, much bigger and sturdier than before. It burns a mass of purple flamed chakra, the skeleton becomes armored and stands tall. Sasuke lets out a guttural yell, and you can tell his chakra stores are expanding, as if he’s leveled up his hatred yet again. The curse mark fades, and he gains control of his own body. 

Danzo sucks in a breath and flies through the air. He tries to stay out of reach of the Susano’o, landing on the remnants of the bridge in front of the armored mass. Sasuke shoots an arrow of pure chakra at the man. He looks as if he’s about to weave, but then abandons it in favor of summoning a massive tree to absorb the blow. 

“Wood style?” You hum to yourself, amused and confused. You notice how his chakra has plummeted with the attack as well, making you take a sigh of relief. It all makes sense to you, something Tsunade showed you a long time ago. Hashirama cells…it must be to manipulate the powers of the sharingan. He must be getting close to his last few extra lives, and that’s why he’s getting desperate. 

“Sasuke! That’s the real Danzo! The jutsu that makes him invincible is broken right now!” Karin yells out, making you hum. She was smarter than she acted. “He’s vulnerable!” 

That makes you slap your hand over your face. If she figured it out, if you figured it out, that means he had figured it out too. The last thing he needed was her advertising that he knew. 

Danzo’s seals were fast, but Sasuke raced to hit him with another purple beam of chakra. He was clearly exhausted, one eye closed it was ailing him so badly. He was breathing hard, trying to accomplish his one true goal for the two of you. He felt rejuvenated, having you there to watch. He didn’t want you to fight. As good as you were, he hoped he could prove to you that he could defeat anyone on his own. 

Karin celebrates, but you hold your breath. 

Surely, Danzo reanimates just next to the spot he was standing in. You look at Karin, she had figured out his chakra levels were fluctuating just as you had. 

“The key has to be in the eyes that close. Maybe they’re used up for the time being?” You hypothesize aloud. 

“Sasuke!” Karin brainlessly calls again, causing you to grab her and shake her a little. 

“Get a grip. Your screaming is only going to distract him or get him killed, and if that happens, I will kill you. So shut up, and keep watching Danzo for better reads.” You say, to which the redhead tearfully nods. 

Danzo runs for the Susano’o only to be impaled by the chakra weapon. It’s almost as if nothing happened, Danzo appears again right in stride, still running towards Sasuke. He creates a gigantic air bubble, blowing it towards the Susano’o. It’s guarded easily, but you can tell these attacks are just to bait him and tire him out more. You believe in his abilities, but he didn’t have to fight alone, so why make him?

“Madara, please, he’s running out of time.” You say shortly, eyeing the masked figure that still stood so close. 

“No.”

You huff, folding your arms again. “This is ridiculous.” You turn your head back toward the action in front of you. Or rather, inaction. Danzo stood, catching his breath and analyzing his next move. You would finish him where he stood, no time for pleasantries.  You were sure he would do the same if he wasn’t so wiped. 

To your surprise, Danzo summons a massive elephant-like beast. It creates a vortex of wind as Danzo sprints toward the Susano’o. The summon sucks everything toward it like a vacuum, allowing him to get close enough for another wind style attack. The Susano’o is unable to move properly, and it seems as if Danzo needed that to happen  . 

Sasuke sends a fireball for the beast to eat, gaining mobility of his Susano’o back, He swings around in time to punch his opponent in the face and body, sending him flying towards the rocky ground. Sasuke falls to his knees, and you inch toward him, though you know you won’t be allowed to move much further. Sure, you could try to fight Madara, but that would only distract Sasuke and possibly damage his support so you didn’t want to take the risk. Though it slowly became more and more of an option as you watched your best friend cough up blood. 

Your heart quickened, the thought of the only person in the world that held your heart perishing here, right in front of you, just days after you’ve reunited, felt like hell. You needed him to get up and finish this so that you two could get the revenge you deserved. 

The Susano’o starts deteriorating, matching Sasuke’s chakra levels. Karin explains her findings aloud, and you nod along with her explanation. “Oh please don’t–”

“Sasuke!” She calls up to him, “I figured out a little bit of that guy’s jutsu! Listen. Alright?”

“When all ten of your eyes have closed on your right arm, your jutsu will be undone, isn’t that so?” Sasuke asks, focused on the enemy. 

You smirk, and look at the girl with a glimmer in your eyes that portrays exactly how smug you feel. 

Danzo seemed unimpressed, but his words prove otherwise. “You knew about Izanagi?” 

“As I suspected!” Sasuke says, dropping down to his level inside the remnants of the Susano’o. 

“You tricked me? What a crafty brat.” 

“Y-you fool! Why are you engaging him?” Karin asks, and you slap her arm. 

“Haven’t you questioned him too many times? Let him prove himself.” You say with a fond smile, proud of what Sasuke had been able to accomplish. You still wanted to vent your rage, but Madara had a different target in mind for you. 

Danzo tried to stop the Susano’o’s approach with a gust of wind, but it was only delayed. He dropped an elbow down on top of the Hokage, waiting to see if an eye closed. It did. 

“Sasuke! Get away from him now!” Karin panics, outwardly showing her fear. That’s where she made her mistake, and you know it. “Prolong the battle!” 

You groan, watching as Sasuke turns away from her loudmouth. He doesn’t hear her, you don’t think. He’s entirely too focused. “You idiot, if that means that his jutsu is undone, then all of Sasuke’s chakra is still gone and he’s uninjured.” 

Sasuke has his back to you, but when he turns back around he’s flinging shuriken at the man coming at him in the air. Another eye closes. Just two more minutes, two more killing attacks. Danzo disappears from midair, appearing behind him. Sasuke’s palm is encapsulated by chidori, one of the only things that he learned from Kakashi. He forms it into a sword, wielding it by his side as he yells, “How many Uchiha did you kill to get that right arm?!” 

Danzo has a chakra blade of his own it seems. “It was Itachi who enabled me to get it.” 

“You made him do it!” Danzo’s eye grows wider and everyone watches in wonder. Sasuke’s lightning blade rests burrowed deep in his chest. 

“You were too hasty. My eye is still open. Go to Itachi so he can lecture you. I win.” 

You shook your head in disbelief. No, this couldn’t be it. He had done it! What did he mean, he wins, no he doesn’t! Not against Sasuke, not here. 

“You may think you’ve seen through Izanagi..” But then the man’s eyes go wide in a mix of shock and fear. He coughs up a stream of dark blood. It’s not working, you think, Sasuke put him under a genjutsu. The last eye closes, and you clench your fists as you eagerly watch on. Sasuke pushes the man back slightly, freeing his lightning blade from his abdomen.

“You’re the one who is going to see Itachi.” Sasuke states smugly, watching as his opponent fell to his knee with a grunt of pain. Sasuke’s exhaustion was clear, and you hoped this would be the extent of it. You’re not as confident about him having to do this over if the Izanagi was undone. With another yell of suffering, Danzo falls forward on his hands, inches away from Sasuke’s feet. 

“Now that’s battling with your eyes. Don’t underestimate the Uchiha.”

You watch them carefully. Danzo never used Shisui’s eye, perhaps he was worried about you or Sasuke or even Madara getting it back. You knew that he was seeking power and prowess, but you were sure he would allow you to keep your brother’s eye. You want to get it back, it should’ve never been abused like this. None of this should have happened like this. Danzo is the reason your brother is dead. All because they wanted his abilities. You are his second coming, the now mostly heartless version of the boy who had been so kind. Your abilities will make up for the loss of his. 

Ripping you out of your thoughts was Sasuke’s yell of pain. You focus back on the present, moving toward him as far as Madara would allow. Karin runs fully fledged, and you’re annoyed that he lets her. This of course is an ultimate move to keep you out of danger and to allow Sasuke to be the best. Madara knows Karin can’t contribute anything too useful, whereas you could have used your Mangekyo ability to control everything. 

Karin crouches next to him. “Are you alright? Hurry up and bite!” 

You roll your eyes. That would be how her healing works, how stupid. He grabs her arm and his eyes flitter over to you for a moment. He looks back down at her wrist and reluctantly chomps down. You can actually feel your body temperature increase when she moans out and turns red, obviously getting something from this. 

“Bringing that woman was a wise decision, she’s useful. I see why Sasuke chose her.” Madara says, and you wonder if he gets pleasure from pissing you off. You’re fully capable of healing too, it really wasn’t necessary for her to be here at all. Sasuke did want her to join, however, and now you’re wondering why. It felt silly to be so jealous at a time like this, so you force the thought out entirely, choosing instead to watch the scene before you. 

You watch as Danzo summons yet another huge tree from his Hashirama given ability. It makes you wish you could make trees this powerful under your plant jutsu, but the wood style was so unique to the first Hokage. 

“What a persistent guy!” Karin says as Danzo reaches to undo the bandages covering his head and right eye. You almost shout for her to get out of the way, but something causes the words to die in your throat. 

“Not yet. This is where we battle with our eyes.” Your stomach sinks. This could really only mean one thing. The sharingan in his head was Shisui’s. All you see is red, wishing you could throw caution to the wind in order to get it back. 

Almost as if he’s able to read your thoughts, Madara’s other hand claps down gently on your shoulder. “We’ll be getting it back.” He promised, needing both of the Uchiha to unlock their eternal Mangekyo status. His visual prowess combined with yours would make any opponent terrified to stand across from you. 

Sasuke realizes this as well, recognizing the sharingan pattern of your older brother. He charges at Danzo with his left hand consumed by Chidori. But Danzo doesn’t wait for him to make it, choosing to run around to hold Karin by the neck. You clap your hands over your face. Of course, she would be annoying this entire mission and then get herself taken hostage when the battle was nearly won.

“You used your visual prowess too much, didn’t you?” Danzo asks, a smug expression on his face. 

Karin struggles in his grip. “Sasuke..!” 

“Useless.” You mutter, directly arguing Madara’s earlier claims. “I could have healed him faster and avoided this.”

“Isn’t it ironic that you, who glorified self-sacrifice, would take a hostage?” Sasuke asks calmly. You know that he has a plan. 

“It’s not that I consider my life precious. But for the sake of the Hidden Leaf Village…for the ninja world…I cannot afford to die here.” He replies, making it clear how much of a rat he truly is. He cares not for the Leaf like he claims, he only cares about power and winning. “No matter what the means, I must survive. For I will be the one reformer who will change this ninja world. This woman will be sacrificed for that cause.” He adds, tightening his hold on the redheaded healer.

You can’t find it in yourself to care. You just want Danzo dead and your brother’s eye returned to you. You want to get rid of this whiny brat that thinks that she has any of Sasuke’s attention. You want to balance out the scales and go home, wherever that would be. 

“Sasuke help!” She pleads again, not an ounce of self-preservation instinct in her. 

“Don’t move…Karin.” Sasuke says authoritatively, causing the girl to smile with relief. You gasp. He looks terrifying right now, nothing but coldness and brutality emanating off of him. He shoots a beam of his chidori straight out, hitting Karin and Danzo both. 

Karin’s eyes are wide, blood seeping from her mouth. Even you are surprised. Your shock turns into a smile, appreciating his desire for revenge. He would never let Danzo get away, just like he had promised to himself and to you. 

Danzo is stilled, hit in a vital point. It should just be seconds before he draws his last breath. 

“Brother…one down.” He says with a satisfied smile. 

“Sasuke…what was I to you?” She asks desperately, as if the answer was not clear by his willingness to sacrifice her life to get what he wanted. 

“Karin…You managed to get taken hostage, you are nothing but a burden to me.” His chidori finally powers down and Karin’s injured form falls face first onto the cement. Danzo’s breathing grows heavy, and you can still hear the woman struggling for her own breaths. Sasuke is satisfied. There is no guilt or remorse. 

Danzo turns and starts to lightly jog away, his desperation clear. He had no other options, and was cornered once more. Sasuke starts to calmly walk after him, his dark eyes glowering with a crazed desire. He smirks, walking Danzo down. Madara takes you with him as he jumps to the bridge, cutting off his escape. 

“Danzo..I’m taking Shisui’s eye.” He says with finality. Sasuke reflects on the night he found out about Shisui, the pain he felt for you. He couldn’t have imagined what it would be like to lose Itachi yet, and if you felt even a fraction of the way he did now, you deserve this retribution tenfold. 

Danzo seemed enraged. “For the sake of the ninja world…for the sake of the Hidden Leaf…I will not let you three live!” He declares, a black seal appearing on his body. 

“Sasuke! Get away from Danzo!” Madara yells, dissolving into the ground below. You and Sasuke jump into the air.

You shake your head. “No! Shisui’s eye!” You remind, eyes fixed on the man destroying himself just to keep you from having it. The two of you land on the Samurai Bridge, close to Karin’s body. There’s not any time to process what happened, and you think you’re hallucinating when you see Sakura walking toward you two. 

She pleads with Sasuke to allow her to join your team, claiming she, too, has defected. You immediately know she’s lying. If another team seven member left the village, every available ninja in Konoha would be after her. And, as sweet and talented in medical nin as she was, she was not gifted in evasion or lying. 

Sasuke seemed to play her game, telling her she could replace Karin on their squad if she killed her. You could see the terror flashing in her eyes. She wouldn’t do it. Karin groaned in obvious agony, watching all three of you. As Sakura approaches her, you share a glance with Sasuke. You shake your head, eyes flickering over to the other women briefly. He nods, agreeing with you. He lights his hand with what little chakra he has left, but before it goes anywhere, Kakashi flies onto the bridge, swooping the pink-haired woman away.

Your heart stops, your mind goes blank even. Kakashi? You really must be hallucinating now. You watched him die, how on earth is he standing before you? Is this a joke, no, no, a cruel prank. He sets her down, instructing her to take Karin somewhere else, if you hear him correctly. 

After that, you’re not really sure what happens or what’s being said. You can hear the cold and biting tone in Sasuke’s voice. He’s really going off the rails, he’s getting more cruel and more dark. You knew that was Itachi’s goal for the most part, but only to drive this revenge and keep the name of the Uchiha respected. But he had killed the most prominent motivator behind the massacre, shouldn’t he feel better? Kakashi…it really is him. It’s his voice, all the body language is the same. A strange noise comes out of your mouth and you’re embarrassed when your knees buckle. 

Kakashi is relieved to see you unharmed and relatively safe. He sees the myriad of emotions on your face, and for a moment he wants to pause all of this arguing to give you a hug and tell you that it is really him. That he’s not angry with you and he’ll do anything it takes to keep you safe, even if that includes hurting Sasuke. 

You hear the battle between them commence, a few ninjutsu here and there until Sasuke summons his Susano’o. You know no matter how this ends, you’ll be heartbroken for a time. You wanted revenge too, but even you could admit that you were worried for Sasuke once again. And if Sasuke hurt Kakashi in any permanent way, you would hold that against him. His Susano’o falters, running on fumes of chakra at this point. He taps you in. 

“Y/N, take care of this pretender!” He demands, enraged, that Kakashi has the sharingan and the chakra control to use it as a non-Uchiha. 

But you don’t move. You know you can’t, you could never even imagine it. Deep down, Sasuke knows this too. That’s why he gives you such an order in the first place. He’s losing himself, he can feel that. All his love and care for you has been devoured by this Amaterasu of emotion. The only thing he can comprehend is hatred, is the need for crushing anyone and anything that’s hurt him. He’s jealous and angry at you, too, for having someone care about you like Kakashi does. You didn’t have to experience everything on your own like he did. Once, he wanted you to get revenge too. He wanted your hatred to burn and consume you just as it had him. But yours wasn’t strong enough. No, because you had weaknesses. Your loyalty to him could be blinded by your devotion to the man who raised you. Maybe at some point he had appreciated this about you. Part of him may even be glad that you had a family. But when you denied him the first time he was baffled. He knew you had to care for him more than that, right? But here you sit, on your hands and knees in the river, denying him again. Uchihas feel every emotion deeply, and you love him. You have always loved him, so how dare you choose Kakashi right now? It was your chance to prove that you were indeed strong. 

Kakashi was going to be a few seconds too late. Sasuke moved toward you with the intent to kill this time, and he was stunned. Was he really this close to bringing you back home only to be responsible for your death?

Your eyes widened once you realized that he was coming at you, and then all you felt was a gust of wind and a strong body and chakra wrapped around you. You looked up, arms around the neck of Naruto Uzumaki. Maybe under different circumstances you would smile at him. But now, your emotions are so conflicted. Even when Naruto smiles warmly down at you and sets you back on your wobbly feet, you don’t know what to say. Because really, you are just as bad as Sasuke. You let him attack Karin and you would have let him kill Sakura on a whim, just because you knew you could. You got revenge, but you were devastated about not retrieving your brother’s eye. You fed off of Sasuke’s negativity instead of him feeding off of any of your light. You knew there were more targets, but how many innocent people would you have to hurt to finish attaining revenge?

Part of you died again with Kakashi. With every loss, your heart grew smaller and your eyes more powerful. You enjoyed being powerful, but at this cost…the price was much too high. It becomes clear to you that the only person that can save Sasuke is himself, and only Naruto can get close enough to him to force this. Kakashi’s hand is on your head, bringing you out of your thoughts while Naruto and Sasuke exchange words and promises. Sasuke wants to attack the Leaf, Naruto swears to defend it to no end. Life was so different just moments ago, but you have to let Sasuke go. It’s the only way you can ever hope to mend what you have, if that time ever comes. Kakashi’s hand is large, but it’s a welcome reminder of the best thing to come of this: his return.

“Are you alright?” He asks, eyes carefully analyzing you. He knew this must be beyond difficult, as most your life had been, he understands. 

“I think so.” You reply unsurely. The truth was absolutely not. How could you be okay? You were in the Bingo Books but all you sought was justice, corrupted by the desire toward the end. And now, the only true love you’ve ever known would have killed you had Naruto not showed up. 

Madara and Zetsu show up, trying to de-escalate the situation and take Sasuke away. Zetsu wanted to further the fighting to take you back, and perhaps capture the nine-tails inside Naruto, but he was luckily talked down from that. They disappear, and you’re left looking around at Kakashi and Naruto without a clue in the world what to say. 

“Don’t worry Y/N-chan, Kakashi-Sensei and Old Lady Tsunade will get all of this taken care of! We want you to come home!” Naruto says cheerfully, though you can tell he’s hiding his emotions by distracting himself with yours. 

You look down at the river beneath you. “Is it really that easy? I..I don’t know how I can face anyone..” 

Kakashi’s face softens. He knows the feeling. “You’ll do what you have always done before. You’ll train and go on missions and earn back trust over time. It won’t be easy, but it’s nothing you can’t manage.” 

“Plus we’re always here for you!” Naruto adds, patting you on the shoulder affectionately. “I missed you! I looked everywhere for you Y/N…” He chuckles nervously, clearly not trying to get on your case.

“I know, you got close several times. I’m sorry…I thought that this is what I wanted.” 

“It’s alright, really! Don’t worry about it, you’re coming back home to the Leaf and now we can train together and we’ll be ready to take on Sasuke!” He holds his hand out for you to take, and you do. You squeeze it out of appreciation, and he seems a little lost for a moment. It causes a smile to sneak up on you, he wasn’t familiar with acts of affection and it made you wonder why he held his hand out to you at all. 

“We’ll be ready.” You confirm, heart aching already at the thought of the Last of the Uchiha standing against each other instead of beside. Your smile is weak and it’s easy to tell that you’re still weary, but it means enough to the jinchuriki and your father figure that they both smile softly at you in return. 

“Let’s go home.” Kakashi hums, relieved to have you in tow. But he felt immense guilt over Sasuke, and what lay ahead for you. 

Home. You nod, wondering the same. Wondering what home really means, and if life is always this painful. 

Naruto starts talking about some old story that Jiraiya told him, and you’re grateful that he keeps the journey from being silent. 

“Gaara! I will stay and fight with the Kage!” You proclaim, taking up a spot beside him and aiding Tsunade in his healing. 

He hums his approval. “Good, your prowess will help us well.” He says honestly, the last time he saw you was at the Kage Summit, and you were not so helpful then. But before that, you helped save him from Sasori and Deidara, and before that, you were kind to him at the chunin exams. Overall, he has more reasons to believe in you than not, and he chooses to trust in you. 

The Mizukage sprays a lava jutsu all over the place, allowing the Raikage to pull off some lightning style moves. 

Madara re-emerges from the rubble in a big blue Susano’o not unlike Sasuke’s. You hum, finishing up Gaara’s healing to form a Susano’o of your own. You had been practicing it as far as you really could, stressing yourself out by reliving your different traumas until your summon was perfect. A bright green chakra statue comes together in the sky, your Susano’o standing directly against Madara Uchiha’s. Madara throws attacks at you, Gaara’s sand creating a protective barrier around everyone else. You crush the attacks with your hands. 

“Another pesky one of my own, is that so?” Madara chuckles deeply, almost admiring your perfect Susano’o. “It’s too bad I’ll have to kill you, child!” 

Gaara covers his Susano’o with his sand, preparing for his ultimate sand coffin burial. Madara shoots his chakra through, piercing the layer and preparing for another attack. The Mizukage covers the field in mist, obscuring the rinnegan’s ability to see. The Raikage takes the opportunity to get through, and you follow his lead to take a shot at Madara’s Susano’o too, the sound of chakra against chakra like nails on a chalkboard. You knock him from the being, powering yours down to fight regularly. You punch the ground, creating a physical rift and hopefully some sort of visual one.

The Tsuchikage talks Naruto’s shadow clone into trusting in the five Kage’s abilities, especially with you as added backup. Naruto trusts you too, maybe more easily than you deserved, but his clone sped off and left the six of you to take Madara down. 

Madara wraps vines around the Tsuchikage’s defense, and you recognize the plant style similar to yours. You grin, you summon your own vines in the variety that would smother out his own, considered more powerful but also more chakra consuming. Your seal appears on your forehead, and you’re ready to consume what you’ve had stored for so long. 

Your vines take out half of his plants, but it's not enough. They start to admit a poisonous pollen, which Tsunade advises everyone to avoid. Everyone jumps in the air, giving Madara an opening to reform his Susano’o. The commotion of his summons sends everyone flying towards the tree roots he’s created below. He uses a fire style to light the wood on fire, smoke inhalation making you all fall forward, unable to overpower it. The Tsuchikage uses all of his remaining strength to use a metallic jutsu, repelling the flame away. 

It takes a few minutes, but slowly you all wake, rushing to the Tsuchikage’s aid. Madara reveals his addition of Hashirama’s powers to his own, taking the time to insult Lady Tsunade’s powers in comparison to her grandfather’s. He even calls her a weak woman, to which your promise he will pay for. 

“Alright it’s time for you to stop talking!” You grit your teeth, watching Tsuande’s 100 healings jutsu seal wraps around her body, and her punch is enough to actually physically crack Madara’s Susano’o. You’re mystified by this, and proud of one of your teachers for defending her abilities. Hashirama was a God amongst men, there is no comparison to be made except for maybe Naruto. The Mizukage has to jump in to extinguish another bout of fire style. Her water dragon comes next, allowing Tsunade and the Raikage to score hits on the chakra shield. Their punches land, cracking the usually impenetrable guard and taking Madara right out of it. 

“I’ll admit it. Undoubtedly you are not weak woman. However, Hashirama, I don’t know exactly what it is you’ve left to all your followers. But this falls short of your abilities. If you’re going to let your underlings take over, you should have taught them how to resurrect you. The only thing that is ever truly passed down, of course, is hatred.” He says smugly, arms folded over his chest. 

Tsunade flies at him. Landing a punch to his chest. The Raikage calls for Gaara, letting him enact his plan. He captures Madara in a sand pyramid, and you jump over to land with Tsunade. 

“Way to go!” You cheer, just as a beam of chakra erupts from the tree root you’re standing on, shooting right through your mentor. It lifts her into the air, the rest of you staring in shock. Apparently Gaara sealed a wood style clone instead of the real Madara. Tsunade yells out, a guttural mix of frustration, anger, and the desire to win. She ‘cha’s’ the chakra beam impaling her,  and this time even Madara is surprised. She holds onto the other end of the tentacle-esque formation, slamming it to the ground below her. Madara sends her flying into a pile of rocks, even more shocked when she pushes them aside and stands ready to fight again. 

The Tsuchikage tries an attack from behind while Tsuande aims one at his front, but Madara is able to deflect. He summons five clones for every one of you, taunting you with the option for them to use Susano’o. Yours forms again, ready to take on most of the clones yourself. Your Susano’o fights with two samurai blades, slashing through several members of Madara’s army. One still hits the Mizukage, sending her flying back as well as Gaara when he tries to intervene. Lady Tsunade and the Raikage land a few shots on their own shadow clones, and then Madara decides to pick the Raikage out of the crowd. He puts him under a genjutsu, and the Tsuchikage’s summon is the only thing that saves the former’s life. 

The Five Kage plus you stand aligned, ready for what came next. You knew the clones were going to be an issue, though Madara seemed less sure about them now that your Susano’o stands tall too. 

The Tsuchikage sends out a particle style jutsu, absorbing the rest of the clones and forcing Madara into his perfect Susano’o. You force yours to his level, knowing that if you don’t, all five Kage will die. Madara hits the cliff, sending everyone but your shielded form back a few hundred yards. His Susano’o walks up to yours. You slash at him, but he’s quick. He lands a hit on your chakra form, making you take a couple steps backward. You block his next attack with one sword, using your other to stab through. For a moment, you believe your attack is what causes him to drop from his Susano’o, but he declares that something is wrong with the jutsu he’s been using. 

You grin, knowing that if you can continue to hold him off, you may overpower him simply from your chakra stores. He obviously has virtually hundreds of years of fighting experience and Hashirama Senju was his opponent, but still, you  tell yourself that your power compares to no one else, not even your brother. 

“It appears that the reanimation jutsu has been released.” He says unbothered, though you feel like it’s a ruse. You drop from your Susano’o in favor of your right eye’s Mangekyou ability, Subete o Mamoru. It allows you to project your genjutsu onto everyone else, giving you the opportunity to give the Five Kage your delayed sense. 

Madara barrels toward you, and the only person you can’t protect is Lady Tsunade, who barrels ahead to meet him. You watch her stutter mid-air, her seal must have worn off. The Raikage jumps to catch her, but she’s gently placed down on a tree root before anyone can actually make it to her. You’re all confused, as she seemed to have passed out in the air. When she comes mentally back, she seems re-energized, claiming she got to see an old friend. It must have been the reanimated souls making it back, someone came to see her. You wondered if it was Dan, or her brother, or even Jiraiya. 

Madara claims that she will see him then again soon, releasing the jutsu. He voices his desire to go for Naruto instead, which you vehemently protest. 

“Even if we can’t stop him, we can’t just let him get to Naruto!” You proclaim, arguing with the Kage of the Villages. You’re not sure what happens next, all you see is the ground beneath you growing closer dangerously fast. 

It’s Kakashi that shakes you awake. The sun is hanging in the sky, things are mostly quiet other than a low rumble of a few people talking here and there. His eyes look at you with worry, but your gentle smile puts him at ease. You were mostly unharmed, just a few scrapes and bruises here and there. You fought valiantly and stood toe-to-toe with Madara. He pats your head. 

“Is it over?” You ask, looking around at the immeasurable damage done. 

He nods slowly. The war is certainly over, but Naruto and Sasuke were standing against each other for the final time. 

“What is it?” You ask cautiously, able to read that there was more to know. Your heart drops, and you fear that you’ve lost your friends. 

“Naruto and Sasuke are fighting in the valley.” He states, watching your expression shift. You didn’t even know Sasuke had shown up, and you immediately feared that he was fighting with the other Uchiha. 

“Sasuke? Did…he–”

“No, he fought for the Leaf…he needs to fight Naruto a final time, I think. To fully put this to bed.” Kakashi explains calmly, lifting you into his arms to take you and Sakura to the scene. He lets the two of you heal each other, silently. There was a quiet understanding that you had between each other, and you were okay with that. 

When you get to the valley though, all the fighting is done. The two boys lay almost lifeless on the rock, missing an arm and bleeding out. Sakura runs over the rock to Naruto, and you find yourself automatically moving the same way, sitting by Sasuke’s side with a pained smile. 

Sakura is in tears, healing Naruto and looking between the two of them in wonder.

You hold your hand over Sasuke’s wound, and the look in his eyes is heartbreaking. His other hand closes around your wrist, pushing your hand away. 

“I don’t deserve it.” He says, seemingly realizing the mistakes he’s made all at once. As he looks at you, someone who had every right to turn out just like him, but someone who was so much better. You were kind and forgiving and full of love for other people, and it hurt him to look at your brightness. Especially when he almost smothered it out, almost killed the person he cares most for simply out of anger. 

You peel his hand off of yours, pooling your chakra to heal the wound. “You deserve to live, Sasuke.” 

“I hurt you. I’m sorry, you didn’t do anything to deserve that.” His voice is thick and shaky, and you know he’s fighting tears. 

You rest your other hand on his face. “Apology accepted. The world doesn’t work off of who deserves what, Sasuke. We can only do that for each other, from now on. I’ll give you what you deserve if you can do that for me.” 

He nods, watching you stop his bleeding and bandage the nub that used to be his right arm. You’re beat up, and he wonders who you were fighting with and against in the war. He wonders how you can forgive him so easily and touch him so tenderly after everything he’s put you through, all the back and forth and the mistreatment and the danger. He can tell by the softness of your features, the gentle smile playing at your lips and the life that shines in your eyes, you aren’t upset. You meant what you said. He feels another emotion, one he’s felt in short bursts before, but this time it’s overwhelming. Anger and hatred burned from the inside, turning everything to blisters and scars. But what he feels as he looks at you, it soothes. It’s a rush of cool water relieving all his burns, stronger than the gusting winds of his doubt. He knows it will be alright, for the first time. He knows he will do whatever it takes to give you what you deserve, it’s the least he can do, so he’ll do even more than that. 

He’ll make it up to you, or spend his life trying. 

Kakashi was chosen as the Sixth Hokage, much to your enjoyment. You knew the job would keep him on his toes, but you couldn’t imagine anyone better for it. He pardons Sasuke for his crimes, citing his war effort and even Itachi’s work to protect the Leaf as the reasons why. 

Itachi and Shisui are officially commemorated as Heroes of the Leaf. It warms your heart to know that this came from Sasuke’s journey. Just like you had hoped, Naruto forced him to save himself and understand his actions. 

In an effort to continue making up for his transgressions, he vows to search the hidden villages for any more Kaguya-level threats to keep the Leaf safe for as long as he lives. Itachi would be proud. Sasuke cites you as the biggest reason he was able to come back to himself, the way you stood strong was inspiring. A true example of the honor, strength, and integrity of being an Uchiha. 

It has only been a few months, but the two of you have become inseparable. All is right in the world, the Last of the Uchiha stand side by side wherever you see them. That doesn’t change even as he gets ready to set out on this mission, your journey unarguably bound with his. He knew you would come with him, but part of him worried that you would change your mind. He worried that you would realize that you were better than him, that he had done unforgivable things, he broke his promise. He swore he would never hurt you yet that’s all he’s ever done. 

So how can you look at him so happily, bouncing up to your fellow Uchiha with a bright smile and a bag hanging off your shoulder, no doubt packed for the trip. How can you leave Kakashi behind in favor of him, the man who almost killed you? The warmth in your heart sparks life in him, determined to take your forgiveness and make the most of it. You look as magical as you usually do, your Uchiha-crested shirt form-fitting to your womanly figure. You took the comfortable and utilizable route of shorts, knowing that you would be active. Your cloak is snapped above your chest, the purple cape flapping in the breeze. And that damned purple headband keeps your dark hair out of your shining and love-filled face. 

You love him, he realizes again. Once, it upset him. He felt entitled to your love without even really knowing what it meant. He thought a woman’s love was pure devotion, that it was something mindless and just another facet of life. From his earliest ages, he remembers assuming he’d marry you. He remembers not being bothered by the idea, but didn’t think you were much like a wife when you were little. His mom was quiet and sweet, and you were a yelling demon of a girl. His mom always made good dinners and always made him happy when he cried,so that’s what thought love meant. And he could live without a good dinner or and he doesn’t cry often enough to need someone to cheer him up. 

That’s what he used to believe, until now. Now that he’s watching you carefully pack onigiri in a small box, rambling on about Shikamaru and Temari’s wedding that would happen while you two were gone, it all makes so much sense. The unfathomable care and worry he had for you that night, grieving your loss as a child, wondering if he would ever see you again. The jealousy of watching you become close with Naruto and Shikamaru, the deep need to have you by his side at his lowest mental point, it’s because he loves you too, and it means so much more than he thought. 

You fill the emptiness in him with your smile, the sound of your laugh makes his heart beat funny but he likes it. If anything happens to you, he fears what he truly would become then. He decides to push that out of his mind, knowing he would never allow that. You would be safer than you’ve ever been, because he would die for you. 

Your eyes narrow at him. You could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t listening, he was lost in his own head again. You wonder if it’s a good or a bad place, whatever he’s thinking about. You think it’s pleasant, from the small grin betraying him. His hair ruffled slightly with the breeze, his dark cape doing the same. He stood tall, seemingly growing more even over the past few months. He traded his purple clothes for black, knowing you would keep the purple alive. His robes were simple, but you thought he would get too warm on the long road ahead. 

Over the past few months, the two of you had grown closer, however that was possible. It seemed easier now, like after your traumas you were able to let things flow more freely. Unfortunately, neither of you were magically gifted with the ability of affection all of a sudden, though you were each trying to work up the nerve to display your true emotions in a more bold way. So far, the furthest confirmation you had received from him was the green paper heart tucked still in the pocket of your bag, and the most he had from you was your utter stoppage of Karin every time she was around. It was clear how much you meant to each other, and you were able to say as much. You usually stayed with him in his old apartment, which made conversations flow unfiltered and with plenty of wonder from you, gazing at the nearly barren place. 

He’s been here since you were kids, and it didn’t have any personal decoration or flare to it. It barely looked lived in, though you imagine his desertion at 12 had a lot to do with that. Yet still, it was a time capsule of comparison. You had six years of learning to be a person with Kakashi, he had six years of beige walls and a ticking clock on the wall. Nothing but his own mind to keep him busy, his emotions and need to get stronger motivating him to train hard. You marveled at the dust settled over everything, opening the window to air the apartment out. You two had spent that afternoon cleaning the entire place, and you displayed a few pictures and some of the origami he made you to decorate. He smiled at the gesture, a picture of the two of you as rogue nin framed. It made him want to chuckle, so he did, though it sounded strange.

“What, you don’t like it?” You pouted, moving to grab it back. He quickly stopped you by stepping in between the picture and origami setup on the dresser and your lunging form. 

“It’s just an interesting picture, that’s all. I do suppose that’s the only one you have, though.” He admitted with a shrug, a tiny smile on his lips. He was amused by the pouting and by the effort to make his apartment seem more like a home despite the fact you two would be leaving it to dust over again in a few months anyway. “I like it.”

You arched a brow. “Are you lying?” 

“No. I don’t get the point of decorating when we’ll be leaving again, but I think it’s nice of you to worry about things like that.” He says, and you look at him critically, deciding he was telling the truth. 

“Because it’s still yours. It makes me a little sad to think about tiny Sasuke growing up here. I guess I can’t undo that, of course, but..I can make the future better.” You say, pouting again at the idea. 

He smiled and nodded. He definitely agreed, you were just about the only thing that could make him better. 

So now that you two are ready to set out, he wonders if he has the nerve to push things just a little further with you. You set all his paper origami creations on his table that day a couple of months ago, all except the most important one. 

“Hey, did you keep the..paper heart-thing I made you..?” He asks just as you were about to ask if he was listening. So that’s what he was thinking about. The question and his awkwardness makes your heart quicken. 

You nod. “Yeah, it’s right here.” You reply, undoing the button on your bag so you can pull it from the pocket to show him. 

He smiles softly when he sees it, and almost instinctively looks away. “Why did you keep it, instead of putting it up in my apartment?”

“Because this one means something else, I thought.” You say back, quicker in response than he anticipated. There’s a knowing tone to your voice, like you understand what he’s working towards and are letting him have the time to do it. 

“It does.” He confirms, and it wasn’t as hard as he expected. He holds his hand out to you again, like he did in the cave months earlier, but instead of letting you grab it, he looks down at it like he wasn’t sure how to accomplish what he wanted. He wasn’t sure how to simply express his affection for you other than what you did to him after the war. He tilts his hand a little and rests it on your cheek instead. When you touched him like this it was gentle and sweet, he could feel your forgiveness. He hoped you could feel his love for you.

“I love you too.” You hum, sinking into the touch. He could feel your cheek move for your soft smile. Your fingers close around his wrist, The two of you just looking at each other. There was nothing else to say, out loud anyway. His heart softened at you words, you did know him so well.

Time heals most wounds, and so does working missions with your partner. It felt like the two of you versus the world, in a good way. The way you had always imagined it would feel. The wide open sky welcomes you both, stars lighting the way of your walk. It had been another few months since the two of you left the Leaf to start exploring threats, and since you confessed your previously unspoken love for one another. Not much had changed since then, other than the two of you holding hands as you talked about all kinds of different things and explored the hidden villages. 

The beautiful night sky just served to highlight your beauty, in the eyes of Sasuke. It really was a miracle that you didn’t fall for someone else while he was gone, truly the Last Princess. Uchiha were unusually beautiful, but you were angelically so. Not to even factor in your immense power and perfect persona. He wasn’t completely sure anyone deserved to be with you. He was lucky you gave him that chance. 

“We should rest here for a while.” He says in that ever calm voice of his. You hum your agreement and begin to set up a little pallet bed for each of you. He came over to help set up his own, remembering something you had said a few months ago. “Hm. Isn’t Shikamaru and Temari’s wedding today?” 

You gasp and nod, pilfering through your bag for a scroll to write them a letter. “Yes! I completely forgot, thank you for reminding me!” You say, taking out the paper and bearing down on the ground with your ink pot. 

“Silly girl.” Sasuke mused, summoning two crows. “This will be faster, and they’ll show clones of us. What would you like to say?”

You stand back up, pleasantly surprised that he would send chakra birds to deliver your message faster. “Of course, of course, uh let’s see.” 

You stare off at the stars above you, biting your lip. Maybe everything really was worth it, if in the end he gets to keep you. You’re impossibly seductive, even when you’re simply thinking of what to tell your good friends.

“Congratulations, Shikamaru and Temari! I’ve known that this is how your story goes since we were chunin, the chemistry you two have is so amazing! I love you two so much and so does Sasuke!! We’re sending you a wedding gift when we get to the next village so be on the lookout for that. Can’t wait to see you both soon! Sasuke, say bye!” You say, cheerful and bouncy. He can’t help himself, everything in his body aches to grab you in his arm and kiss you, uncouth as it may be. So he does. He steps forward and wraps his left arm around your waist, tugging you close.. You look up at him when he does this, only surprise and excitement on your face as your hands brace yourself on his chest, waiting expectantly. He brings his hand up to hold your face in the way he likes so much, thumb gently stroking over your cheekbone. He leans down, trusting his body to know what to do. Your lips meet his, soft and warm. He finds that he does know what to do, mouth moving over yours easily. You feel him relax, hands still balled up in his clothes. His body is tingling, your breath giving him life and motivating him to keep going on. Only when he’s breathless does he pull away, resting his forehead on yours. His heart races but in a comforting way. Like he would spend the rest of his life chasing that feeling, of your hands and lips on him and no one else. 

His eyes widen when he realizes that the chakra crows would replay the scene, and you seemingly understand this at the same time. You giggle and shake your head, turning back to them. “He gets a little excited, sorry about that you guys.” 

He smiles sheepishly, waving towards the birds. “Um, yes, I apologize. Congratulations on your marriage,” He weaves the sign to send the birds, looking horribly embarrassed when he turns back to you. 

You can’t help but laugh again, giving him a shorter but just as sweet kiss. “Well now the Leaf gets to commemorate our first kiss!” 

The journey involves a few firsts for the young couple. You discover that you have an insane fighting chemistry, able to read each other’s moves and capitalize. Fighting together feels amazing, like all is right in the world. You train and keep your abilities sharp together, eat every meal by each other’s side. 

You’ve been traveling for a little over three years, marked by your eighteenth birthday. Sasuke had already celebrated this milestone earlier in the year, but he wanted to make it more of a spectacle for you, if that can be believed. He visited a shop and had cookies made, and even sacrificed some of the money to spend the night in an inn. It still wasn’t nearly what you deserved, but he wanted you to feel loved by him. He’s not stupid, he knows he’s not very romantic verbally, so he had to rely on his actions to help. 

You, of course, nearly sob at the gesture. It was impossibly sweet, and it got his message across perfectly. 

“Happy birthday, Y/N.” He says after showing you the room you two would rest in for the night. You were taken with the space, it was bigger than Kakashi’s apartment, and it was decorated beautifully. The Mist definitely knew how to leisure. 

“Sasuke…this is great!” You beam, throwing your arms around his neck. “I love you!” 

“I love you. Don’t waste the cookies.” He says, returning your hug. He relished the way your body felt pressed against his, the way you tucked your face into his neck and the way your hands rubbed circles into his shoulder blades.  

You giggle at the sentiment, releasing him in favor of trying your birthday cookies. 

That night, you celebrate another first time, gifting all of yourselves to each other and demonstrating all your love. 

“I think we should be married.”  He says almost absentmindedly, the two of you walking by some official-looking building in the Stone. 

“Oh, is that so?” You reply with a short hum, wondering if he was being serious. Though, admittedly, he’s not the type to joke around. 

He hums in reply. “Yes. We’ve loved each other our whole lives, I think it’s safe to get married…I know that ladies enjoy things like that.” He adds, as if he hasn’t been daydreaming about marrying you since you sent chakra crows to celebrate that occasion for friends of yours. 

You arch your brow. “Just ladies, hm?” You tease with a gentle yet mischievous smile. 

“Not just, I…I believe you deserve to be a wife and not a girlfriend. That title undermines your importance to me.” He says, cheeks turning red despite your closeness.

You squeeze his hand. “Well, is that your way of proposing, Sasuke?” You whisper, almost afraid of looking up at him for his answer. 

He squeezes back. “Yes.”

“Then I say yes.” 

He stops walking and looks at you, a soft smile on his face. He holds your cheek and gives you a loving kiss. It says what he cannot find the words to, that you’ve made him the happiest man with that answer, that he wants to have your marriage in order immediately. 

“Would you like to have it done here, in the Stone?” You ask, looking over the village you were visiting. To be transparent, you didn’t much care where you were married and you didn’t care for a big party in an event. You would be more than happy to marry Sasuke quietly in the Hidden Stone and have the legal work forwarded to Kakashi to announce the celebration. 

“I would like that, dear Y/N.” 

And so that’s how it went, you visited the officials in the Hidden Stone and had them perform a short and simple wedding ceremony. You both remained in your regular shinobi clothes, only the giddiness on your face revealed the importance of the situation. 

You promised to love and support each other always, be honest and loyal forever, and to respect and honor each other above all else. When the village official pronounces you man and wife, you whoop and holler just to aggravate your new husband. He flusters, the only other person in attendance was the officiant, and even he chuckles at the scene. 

“Well go ahead, kids, make it official and kiss!” The old man cheers, his day made by the charm of young love. 

You don’t have to be told twice, leaning in to each other for a lengthy union. His lips were always a tad icy, giving you goosebumps every time. Everything else about him was warm, his hand on your face and the care he took in kissing you. Like usual, he rests his forehead against yours. This time his smile is hard to miss. 

“My lovely wife.” He muses, proud of himself for making the moves. He wishes Itachi were here to see him, he’s sure he would be proud of his choice of bride. He hopes that Shisui would be happy to see his little sister married to him. This was a long time in the making, fated to the highest degree. You were practically made for each other, and now you two will make a new Uchiha name. 

You two continue your missions as husband and wife, the last of the Uchiha united. Another year passes without incident. You miss Kakashi and the rest of your friends, getting word from Gaara in the Sand that Naruto and Hinata were married shortly after Sakura and Rock Lee. It makes you happy to know that all of your classmates were safe and enjoying their lives. Gaara congratulated you two on your marriage, just passing your first anniversary. He graciously offers for Sasuke and yourself to stay in the Sand for around a month or two, in order to rest and help them with some recurring invaders. 

The two of you agree to stay, being put up in a nicely sized inn room for the duration of your rest. The Inn reminds you of your birthday treat, and you two can’t help but recreate that night several times over the course of the next two months. 

It takes three and a half months to fully absolve Gaara of his concerns with the Sand. 

  There had been a string of violent robberies in the village, yet it seemed like the perpetrators were traveling into the village each time. It ended up being a team of rogue nin from another village, and you were able to take them into custody easily. Later that day, when debriefing Gaara on the situation, you nearly fainted. You were hit with a bout of lightheadedness and felt yourself fall into the wall that is your husband. 

One of the Sand shinobi brought you a chair and Sasuke helped lower you into it. Gaara hummed in concern. “Are you alright, Y/N? Should I send for the medical team?” He asks Sasuke, who looks to you. 

You wave off their concerns with a hum. “I’m probably just a little dehydrated, I can check.” You say in an effort to ease their worries. Your palm is covered in your chakra, allowing you to scan your body for any ailment. You place your hand over your kidneys, expecting to see a little damage. You were not expecting what you found instead as you gasp dramatically. 

“What is it?” Gaara asks with more concern. 

Sasuke crouches beside you, taking your free hand in his own. 

“I’m pregnant.” You say softly, lips parted with shock. The room is quiet for a few moments, Sasuke visibly surprised. His hand squeezes yours tighter. 

“Congratulations again, you two.” Gaara says with the trace of a smile. “Should I send word, or would you like to keep this between you for now?” 

“We need to make arrangements to go back to the Leaf.” Sasuke replies, his mind made up. You still couldn’t quite tell how he was feeling, but you didn’t want him to assume you were useless now. 

“Woah, Sasuke, I don’t want to go back home yet. We can wait until I’m further along! We can get so much more done.” You advocate, anchoring the hold on his hand to make him look at you instead of the Kazekage.

“I’ll not have you in harm's way, not now.” He says, effectively dismissing your argument. Anything can happen to you at any time. You’ve just changed his life, the entire way he thinks. He was going to be a father…

He couldn’t risk anything happening to you on this journey. You were the most important person in the world, the thought of anything happening to you already was unnerving but he selfishly wanted you to come along. But now it’s not just you, you were rebuilding the clan, a job much more important than his. He nods to Gaara, as if to say, ignore her and do what I’ve asked. Gaara nods back. 

“Sasuke, please, don’t just banish me!” You pout, still worried that he was upset about this surprise. He turns to face you, his features softer than just a few moments ago. 

“My love.” He breathes, holding your face and placing a kiss on your forehead. “I’m not punishing you, I could never carry on if something happened to you and now the child. You won’t ever for a moment be alone if you don’t want to be, Kakashi would never forgive me if I didn't send you home. I’ll join you before it’s time, I promise. It’s my job to protect you.” He reminds, smiling softly. It’s a mix of emotion, he doesn’t want to miss you like that ever again. But he had to make a choice for someone other than himself, for you and what’s best for you now that you’re giving him the greatest gift a wife can give her husband, especially in this case. 

You reluctantly sigh. He was right, and you knew it. Part of you knew you wouldn’t be able to be a shinobi in the same capacity again, so you wanted to keep fighting to stay. 

In the end, Sasuke won. You’ve been back in the Leaf for five months, estimating yourself around six and a half months along at this point. You basically moved back in with Kakashi, who spends all of his spare time preparing for his grandchild. All the ladies of the Leaf are thrilled, doting on you as you dote on them. Many of you are pregnant, hoping for another generation of classmates, you all would joke. 

Hinata and you schemed the same way Sasuke’s and your mother did, planning playdates for children that aren’t even here yet. Sasuke was right, you were happier in the village with other women that knew what you were going through and the comfort of Kakashi and Naruto. Sasuke stays by your side in other ways, regularly sending his chakra crow clones to make sure that you and baby are healthy. Being apart this time isn’t as hard as it was before, maybe because you know he’ll come back this time or maybe because your relationship was much more concrete than it had been in years passed. In any event, you were counting down the days until he came home, just missing your lover.

You were over at Naruto and Hinata’s place when Sasuke came home, and he figured that would be the case based on the amount of times his crows had to track you there instead of his apartment or Kakashi’s. Hinata gets the door when you hear the knock, giggling happily at the visitor and escorting him into the living area. Sasuke hums at the sight of you, letting you jump all over him once you’ve realized he’s back. 

He chuckles at your behavior, kissing your forehead without embarrassment. Naruto and Sasuke exchange pleasantries, you can tell how the men have missed each other and you make a mental note to let them have some time to catch up soon. He comes back to you, resting his hand gently on the small bump you’ve formed. He thought pregnancy looked amazing on you, and he wondered how it was possible for you to grow even more beautiful to him. 

“I missed you.” You hum, resting your hand over his. 

“I missed you, my love.” He returned, and the sound of his voice makes your baby kick ferociously. You gasp and then giggle, Sasuke’s brow arching in careful confusion. You move his hand to the location of the kicks, and his eyes widen slightly when he feels the sensation of pressure. 

“They like the way your voice sounds, I think.” You giggle again, memorizing his shocked look. It was sweet, he was fascinated by it and couldn’t believe that he was the cause. 

“Oh, well, be nice to your mother.” He said, a small grin on his face, his hand moving in subconscious circles over your belly.  At this moment, everything is perfect. He never imagined a life like this for himself. His friends laugh and are happy to see him, the woman he’s wanted his entire life is at his side and growing his child in the first step to rebuilding their clan. 

You’re at peace, knowing the only thing you’re missing now is Kakashi, who was probably still working hard at keeping the village secure. You’re safe, loved beyond measure, and living the dream. You know your family would be proud of the shinobi and woman you became, and now you can only pass on their memory to the Uchiha you would give life to. 

“Would you like to go home?” Sasuke asks, and for the first time, you know exactly where home is.

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